All's Fair in Love & Film

Hi! Apologies for the hiatus, we've had a few crazy weeks of not being able to record or post anything due to sickness, stress and life in general getting in the way! Easing ourselves back into the swing of things with one of our favourite films, Chef! Directed by and starring Jon Favreau, this flick is wholesome, lovely, features delicious food and touching moments, and we truly love it. Thanks for bearing with us everyone! Hope you like the episode!

Phew! Finally, this week's episode is up! Sorry about the late posting, folks. It's been a busy one. We chat pretty ramblingly about Steven Spielberg's 'Catch Me If You Can' this episode! We disagree on a lot, but somehow agree that this film falls somewhat short of our expectations, though for slightly different reasons. Hope you enjoy!

Hello! This episode, we talked about Casino Royale (2006), Daniel Craig's debut as the well-established character of James Bond. Like all Bond films, it has its highs and lows, but has long been a mainstay in our house! Hope you enjoy our chat!

Hi! Bit of a special episode this week in that we're covering three movies in one- that's right, we're kicking off the letter C with the Captain America Trilogy! So we get a bit rambly and rambunctious but we love these movies, so why not go off and rave about them for a bit? Apologies for the late posting- things are hectic of late!

Hey hi hello! We had a good natter about The Bucket List today. My gosh this film makes me WEEP. That aside, it is also very visually pleasing, has a great engaging narrative, and displays some beautiful bonding and chemistry between the two lead actors. Morgan Freeman love forever and always! Hope you all like it!

Hello! I'll keep this short and sweet! We talked about The Breakfast Club, a film that was a highlight and cultural touchstone for many a teenagers. we have mixed thoughts- this film is moving and iconic, but has some insurmountable problems we just can't ignore!

Hello! Another Pixar film to talk about today, and many more to come. We talk characters, soundtrack, Merida's hair, cinematography and... bears. So much about bears. Many, many bears. Our thoughts on the bears are many and varied, as are our opinions on this film... while there is a lot to love, there's also a lot to criticise! Not a film that holds up to the incredible standard set by Pixar, but a lot to love nonetheless.

Hello! Sorry this episode drop comes a week late! We were on holiday! We discussed Blade Runner 2049, following our episode on the original Blade Runner last time. We had a lot of positives and a fair few negatives for this week's film, discussing characters, gorgeous visuals, meandering plot and yet another film that is simply too long! Hope you enjoy it!

Hello! We had a very good chat about the original Blade Runner this week. A sci-fi classic that we love in this house, we talk neo-noir genre blending, eclectic costumes, philosophical sci-fi and lots more. This is one of Ryan's all time favourite flicks! Lots to love, mistake to acknowledge- we talk through it all. Hope you like!

Hey hi hello! Sorry we're a day late posting! We talked about Black Panther, and more or less state the obvious- that this film is phenomenal. Stellar story, performances, cinematography and production design. The 18th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe certainly has a lot to delve into, and we do our best to give an overview of our surface impressions of this film. Wakanda Forever!

Hey everyone! This week, we talked about The Birds! An Alfred Hitchcock classic, we talk pacing, plot and pigeons and try to figure out whether we like this film or not. There are certainly some stellar moments and cinematic choices, however there are some deeply problematic themes all too common for films of this era. All in all, this may not be our favourite flick, but we certainly had fun!

Hey there! This week we talked about Mike Nichols' 'The Birdcage', 1996. We love this movie! Ryan has a really deep history with it, and Laura has only seen it twice- and wishes she'd seen it sooner! We talk about representation and lack thereof in cinema, especially in the mid 90's, we talk about use of colour and cinematography and how they complement scenes and emotions and how this film really makes our hearts happy. Hope you like!

Hey hi hello! This week we're talking about Beerfest! An undeniably problematic, but somehow strangely delightful comedy. We talk problematic stereotyping, poor treatment of women and female characters, and what kind of comedy ages well and what doesn't. We also discuss how surprised we are that this film is still enjoyable in places, and dig in to how the film has achieved that through humour, imagery and character relationships. Hope you enjoy!

Hello! Quick announcement; after this episode, we'll be moving bi-weekly on a permanent basis (at least for spring/summer!). The sun's out, poeple! Today, we watched Batman Begins. We admire it as a precursor to The Dark Knight, but... little else. Come along for the ride!

Hello! This week, Ryan and Laura talk about (yet another) Stanley Kubrick film, Barry Lyndon! Suffice to say we were... not thoroughly impressed. To us, this film lacks a compelling or substantial plot and characters, which we dig into in our discussion, but more than makes up for it in terms of cinematography and other production elements. A real mixed bag makes for a great discussion for this episode! Enjoy!

Hey hi hello! Sorry for the late posting! Today we're talking about Robert Zemeckis' Back to the Future Trilogy! We have a chat about this iconic trilogy, jumping around the three films and talking about all the things we like, things we dislike, and things we find incredibly fun! These films obviously have their issues, but are widely known and appreciated for a reason. We definitely enjoy them, and hope you also enjoy our takes!

Hello! We have a fast and loose conversation about the two most recent Avengers movies, Infinity War and Endgame! There's a LOT of hours in these films and a LOT of action to cover, so instead of picking through every scene, we discussed some highlights, chatted a whole ton about the MCU, and just did a bit of a grab bag of stuff we liked (and tried to piece together some stuff we don't) about these truly epic flicks. Hope you enjoy!

Technical difficulties mean that we're a day late posting...sorry! This week we discuss Attack the Block, a silly film with aliens that also makes comment on race, class, and the relationship of those from different backgrounds with law enforcement. The interplay of these themes during a time of crisis makes for a fascinating watch! Throw in some comedic levity, excellent cinematography, and character development, and I think we can agree that we have a damn good film. Hope you like it!

Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of rape, sexual assault and other related violence. Hello there! This week's episode, covering Joe Wright's 'Atonement', covers some heavy themes, including WWII and the Blitz in addition to those highlighted above. It may not make for a very fun discussion, but we do talk about balancing our personal enjoyment of films against their artistic and emotional value, as well as a thorough commentary on how beautiful this film's cinematography is. Outstanding performances from the whole cast really do make this an impressive piece of cinema as well as wrenching your heart from your chest, so we hope you enjoy our chat about it! Thanks for listening!

Hey there folks! This week we try not to go on for too many hours about how much we love this movie! We've found that it really stands the test of time and honestly struggle to find things we don't like about it. Who doesn't like a sci-fi adventure movie with a diverse cast of characters that is based on thousand-year-old lore that has inspired mythologies around the world? Not us, that's for sure! It's a shame this Disney movie isn't at critically acclaimed as some other Disney films out there, but for us, it's way at the top of our lists. Hope you're inspired to rewatch!

Hi there! Today we talked about Aquaman, directed by James Wan! We make a start on the wider discussion to be had on the DC vs Marvel cinematic universes (which I'm sure will be discussed in greater detail when we cover Justice League), and discuss why we feel that this film didn't quite reach the (admittedly incredibly high) bar set for modern superhero narratives. However, it must be said that this film is aesthetically stunning, with very well done cinematography, CGI and set design. Also, we are big fans of the cast and feel they all did a super good job! The narrative. meanwhile, is somewhat lacking. We'll get into it. Enjoy the episode!

What's that? The first MCU movie we're covering on the podcast?! No way! And it's a sequel to boot! ...we don't have the first Ant Man movie on DVD. Admittedly, our DVD collection of the MCU movies is... patchy. Ant Man was on Netflix for a long time, so we never added the DVD to the collection... so we're kicking off the MCU hype with Ant Man and The Wasp! We mostly just gush about this movie's use of perspective surrounding the changing sizes of characters and objects, but we also comment on some aspects of the plot we don't like (Hank Pym, who cares, am I right?). We love the MCU and this movie is no exception. Enjoy!

TOGA, TOGA, TOGA... That's right, this week we covered National Lampoon's Animal House, directed by John Landis. Where to even start with this movie? While there are certainly some moments that make us laugh, there are far too many unnacceptable slurs and bad treatment of certain types of characters and tropes that have, unfortunately, formed part of its legacy as an influential luminary of the comedy genre. This film is seminal in its genre, and elements of it, both good and bad, can be seen in similar comedies from its release to now... so we talk about some of the elements that have made this film the entity that it is! Hope you enjoy!

Hello there! This week's episode is on childhood classic and animated wonder, Anastasia! This film, although aimed at a younger audience, certainly engaged us as much as it ever has throughout our lives! We talk about suspending disbelief, history and alternate history, get our teeth into these compelling characters and wax ever so poetic about the soundtrack (this film was ROBBED at the Academy Awards when it lost Best Original Song!) With an all-star cast, menacing villain and Bartok the Bat, what's not to like? Note** in the episode, Laura refers to 'Once Upon a December' as the song that was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song... it was actually 'Journey to the Past' that received that nomination. Sorry for the misinformation!

Unlucky episode 13! Spooky... which befits this week's film, comedy-horror 'An American Werewolf in London' directed by John Landis! This film has some insanely cool practical effects which we wax poetic about, but may leave some things to be desired in terms of plot. A cult classic, this DVD has sat on our shelf for a year... without either of us watching it til now. Our bad! But we definitely enjoyed watching it, and chatting about it for you guys now!

Hey everyone! This week's film is American Hustle, which was nominated for... 10 Oscars?! We weren't surprised to find it didn't win any. This is possibly our most up and down discussion yet in terms of this films pros and cons, a real roller coaster... pity the plot wasn't such a ride. Hope you like our episode!

Hello! Epsiode 11 sees us discuss Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous, recipienct of exactly one academy award! (For best original screenplay, no less). We discuss coming-of-age narratives, ill-formed female characters and Frances McDormand's exceptional mom energy. This film has many good and bad facets, and we have many mixed opinions! Thanks for listening!

Hello! This week we bring you a special episode to celebrate the tenth epsiode of our fledgling podcast, by covering the recently released Soul by Pixar! We fell in love with this beautiful movie and its beautiful, life affirming messages, so we wanted to explore some of these themes on our podcast even though we can't add it to our DVD collection just yet. It's the perfect film to balm your soul during what are undoubtedly troubling, difficult times, and we can't recommend it enough. SPOILER WARNING: As with all of our episodes, this review contains spoilers of the film discussed. Usually this doesn't matter as the films we talk about are years old... but since this time, the film has only been out for a matter of weeks, we gave a quick, spoiler-free summary at the top of the episode, as well as stating our opinion of the film, before we dive in to the plot. We'll shout when the spoiler-y section will start!

Happy New Year! We're kicking off 2021 by concluding our Alien/Alien vs. Predator run, ending our reviews of the 'Total Destruction Collection' (until we return to talk about Predator much further down the road!). So... this film is not one we particularly enjoyed. What we did enjoy was dunking on it, commenting on everything from poor cinematography to poor plot and character development. Such a shame to conclude a great franchise with a truly terrible film. We look forward to a whole new year of talking about more films, and hope you enjoy this episode!

Hello! This week, we're talking about Paul Anderson's Alien vs. Predator. We did say we were going to do a double bill... unfortunately, due to professional commitments, we only had time to watch one of the films. So the Alien/AVP Total Destruction Collection rolls on, but will conclude in two weeks time after we take a break for the holidays. We get into the film's role in the franchise as a prequel, and dig in to both its nods to and departures from the previous films. We also repeat several times how we LOVE this film but do not know why! Hope you like it, and are inspired to give this movie another watch. Go on. You know you want to.

To continue our 'Total Destruction Collection' box set marathon! This week, we're talking about Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, which we have... varying opinions of. We love sci-fi, Ellen Ripley, xenomorphs and Ron Pearlman, but what we don't like is lack of characterisation, half-baked plots and needless misogyny. We hope you enjoy episode two out of three of our Alien franchise episodes, and join us next time for our round off with the Alien Vs Predator Double Bill!

It's a double bill! As the proud owners of the Alien/Predator franchise 'Ultimate Destruction Collection' DVD boxset, Ryan and Laura start a three-episode streak of double bills covering the Alien films. We kick off with 'Alien', directed by Ridley Scott, and 'Aliens', directed by James Cameron, comparing and contrasting the genres, stories, characters and discussing which one we like the best. Watch out- Laura will go on, at length, about how Ripley is the best female action/horror hero in history- but we do get in some discussion about monsters, sci-fi horror, and some technical stuff from Ryan about filming and camera techniques!

Hey, hi, hello! Episode 5 sees Ryan and Laura dunking on Steve Pink's 'Accepted', a light comedic romp with a angle commenting on the American Higher education system. We dive deep into the characters that, in this film, are debatably little more than set dressing, and talk about why we derive enjoyment from films that, under scrutiny, are just not that good!

Hey there! This week, we have a very fun conversation about one of our favourite historical comedies, Brian Helgeland's A Knight's Tale! We talk positive character relationships, genre-mashing and our appreciation of a sparkling cast (and yet more love for Heath Ledger) in our chat about this light-hearted hero's journey. We love this movie, and hope you love it as much as we do!

For our third episode, we're discussing Stanley Kubrick's legendary (or infamous?) classic, A Clockwork Orange. This one may prove slightly divisive in our house, and we get stuck in to a discussion of where the line lies between making an artistic statement and needless exploitative content in film. Whatever your thoughts, we hope you enjoy our thoughts and opinions on this intriguing, controversial cult classic!

Hello! In our second episode, Laura and Ryan discuss Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. We talk special effects, the origins of many of sci-fi's most iconic visuals, human evolutionary confusion and varying levels of satisfaction with ambiguous story plots. This film scores quite highly for us both, and we hope you enjoy our chat about it!

Hello! Our first episode has arrived! We're kicking off our podcast journey through our DVD collection with 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), directed by Gil Junger. We discuss Seattle, white teenage feminists, Heath Ledger being an actual prince, and how American school kids are allowed to do ridiculous things in 'shop' class! Listen for our insights into how this film stacks up against others of the same era and genre, and why we have this one on our shelf. Find us on twitter @AllsFairPodcast, on Instagram @AllsFairInLoveAndFilm, or email us at allsfairinloveandfilm@gmail.com

Welcome to All's Fair in Love and Film! In this trailer we give you a very brief overview of what's to come in the course of our new podcast. We're going to be posting the first episode covering Gil Junger's 10 Things I Hate About You, this next Saturday (17/10/2020) We hope you'll give us a listen! All the best, Ryan and Laura