This podcast takes a look at the highs and lows of your favorite Hollywood artists! Each month, Wes and Clay will use Rotten Tomatoes to determine the best and worst film in one individuals filmography. Then you can listen along as they try to figure out what went right and what went wrong!
Wes and Clay wrap up their coverage of the 2020 Academy Awards by watching their B-Roll selection of the Best Picture nominees, “Marriage Story”. Directed and written by Noah Baumbach, “Marriage Story” stars Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson as a married couple going through a divorce. We, as the audience, arrive just in time to... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
The lowest rated Best Picture nominee at the 2020 Academy Awards is Todd Phillips’ “Joker”. Currently at 68% with 543 reviews, the film stars Joaquin Phoenix as the eponymous villain. Based on the Joker character from DC Batman comics, Phoenix assumes the character of Arthur Fleck. Fleck is an unstable man who lives with his... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
Who would you say is the “Parasite” in this film? Bong Joon Ho brings his work home to Korea in this pitch-black modern fairytale. Meet the Park Family: the picture of aspirational wealth. And the Kim Family, rich in street smarts but not much else. Be it chance or fate, these two houses are brought... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
We are continuing our coverage of the “master of horror”, Wes Craven. We have already discussed “Vampire in Brooklyn” and “A Nightmare on Elm Street“. With our “B-Roll” selection, we chose to watch 1996’s “Scream”! Scream is a metatextual homage to the slasher films that defined the late ’70s and 80s. It stars Neve Campbell... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
Happy Halloween! Our “Wes Craven” themed coverage continues with the director’s highest-rated film (according to Rotten Tomatoes), “A Nightmare on Elm Street”! It’s the film that gave the world one of the most iconic villains of all time: Fred “Freddy” Krueger! A child murderer who haunts the dreams of children, Krueger’s weird aesthetic and iconic... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
Happy Halloween! As is customary in podcast culture, Reel Ripe & Reel Rotten are covering something horror-themed: the “Master of Horror” himself, Wes Craven, and his critical low-point, “Vampire in Brooklyn”. Starting off with Craven’s lowest-rated film, Wes, Clay and Amanda watched “Vampire in Brooklyn”. Released in 1995, “Vampire in Brooklyn” stars Eddie Murphy with... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
For the B-Roll selection of our coverage of Kathryn Bigelow, we are turning out the lights, pouring ourselves a tall glass of blood, and watching “Near Dark”! “Near Dark” is Bigelow’s 1987 attempt to meld the vampire and western genres. She had wanted to do a straight western but had to add something currently (as... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
In “The Weight of Water“, journalist Jean Janes (Catherine McCormack) begins researching the 1873 axe-murder of two sisters and discovers new information in the case. Meanwhile, her marriage to writer Thomas (Sean Penn) begins to fall apart. The show has moved into the “rotten” side of director Kathryn Bigelow‘s career and we’re here today discussing... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
The show has moved onto Kathryn Bigelow because Clay “deparately wanted to do her” and that means we’re starting off with the critically acclaimed “The Hurt Locker“. Directed by Bigelow and scripted by Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker is regarded as the best film about the most recent Iraq War. it stars Jeremy Renner as... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
The B-Roll selection for Amy Adams has Wes and Clay watching a film that both of them are unfamiliar with, 2016’s Nocturnal Animals. Directed and written by Tom Ford, Nocturnal Animals is the story of an art gallery owner named Susan (Adams) who reads a new novel written by her ex-husband and begins to insert... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
For our coverage of the “best” Amy Adams film, we discuss the intellectual science fiction of Arrival! It’s currently at 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and it secured several Academy Award nominations in 2016. Amy Adams stars as a linguist who is recruited by the US miitary to decode the language of aliens who have landed... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
Amy Adams stars in a truly horrible romantic-comedy where the jokes fall flat, the Irish are maligned, and Adam Scott is mis-used! “Leap Year” is a film from 2010 and is currently at 23% on Rotten Tomatoes. Adams stars as Anna, a woman who heads to Ireland on February 29th to propose to her boyfriend... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
To complete our coverage of the 2019 Best Picture nominees, we have selected “A Star Is Born” as our B-Roll. It’s Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut, and he also stars as the talented but troubled rock star Jackson Maine. When Jackson meets Ally (Lady Gaga), the two begin a relationship of incredible highs and devastating lows.... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
This episode of the podcast covers the highest rated Best Picture nominee from 2018, Ryan Coogler’s MCU entry: Black Panther! The crown jewel of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (so far), Black Panther follows the adventures of T’Challa, the newly crowned king of Wakanda – an African nation that is supremely advanced. When a villain named... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
As a special event, we’re going to cover the “ripe” and “rotten” films nominated for the 2019 Best Picture Oscar! For the low end of the spectrum, we start with Bohemian Rhapsody, a biopic about the rock band Queen, and specifically its frontman Freddie Mercury. Directed by Bryan Singer, the film is a rapid overview... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
We say farewell to Edgar Wright with the final film in his Three Flavors Cornetto trilogy, The World’s End. At 89% on Rotten Tomatoes, it is critically adored but audiences generally see it in a different light. Starring Simon Pegg as a flunkie who assembles his childhood friends to finish a pub crawl, the film... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
This week, we take a look at the lowest rated film on Edgar Wright’s Rotten Tomatoes listing: 2010’s Scott Pilgrim vs the World. Currently at 81%(!), Scott Pilgrim stars Michael Cera as the titular “hero”, a young twenty-something who falls for a girl with several ex-lovers. And of course, he needs to fight them to... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
We kick off our Edgar Wright coverage with his highest rated film, 2017’s Baby Driver! Currently at 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, Baby Driver tells the story of a getaway driver (the best in the biz!) who yearns for both a different lifestyle and a Spotify Premium membership. It’s a film that relies heavily on its... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
Denzel Washington’s “B-Roll” selection is Man on Fire, which is currently at 39% on Rotten Tomatoes. Highly stylized in the way that only early 2000s action films are, Washington takes the role of John Creasy, an alcoholic bodyguard. When his young ward is kidnapped, Creasy becomes vengeance incarnate and hunts down those who have done... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
When a racist cop inherits the heart of a black lawyer, the end result is a fun-filled comedy romp that ends in shotgun murder! Denzel Washington’s worst film (according to Rotten Tomatoes) is the 0% rated “Heart Condition“. It’s a tonally inconsistent film that can’t decide if it wants to be a light-hearted, anti-racism version of... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
Denzel Washington has been acting in Hollywood since early in the 1980’s but his highest rated film is 2016’s Fences, which stands at 94% on RottenTomatoes. Originally a theatrical play, the film is a showcase of writing and acting (Washington both directed and stars in the film). Featuring a tight-knit family in 1950s Pittsburgh, Fences is... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
In our first “B-Roll” episode (where we discuss a film of our choosing from the topics filmography), we discuss the 2002 neo-noir sci-fi thriller, Minority Report! Featuring a plot that examines the battle of free will and determinism, Minority Report is a solid sci-fi movie that might be a tad underrated. How does Cruise work... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
Hook might have been excessive and over the top, but it also might have been an attempt to recapture the feeling of E.T.? We discuss the 98% film and try to figure out where the love comes from, and if it’s deserved. Spielberg has been criticized for being schmaltzy and melodramatic, and does it all... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
Steven Spielberg is the highest grossing Hollywood director of all time, and is considered to be one of the greatest filmmakers that the world has ever seen. But even still, he did make “Hook” which is at 29% on Rotten Tomatoes! Clay and Wes discuss the two and a half hour long take on Peter... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
Risky Business launched Cruise’s career, and it also ended its directors! A 96% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Risky Business features Cruise as a high school senior who learns some hard lessons about life and prostitution while trying to get into an Ivy League school. Does the satire and tone hold up in 2018, or... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
The power running, intensely emoting, Xenu worshipping Tom Cruise is the next subject of Reel Ripe & Reel Rotten! In this episode we start at the bottom with Cocktail, a 1988 film that currently sits at 5% on Rotten Tomatoes. Cruise plays an up and coming bartender who is unhappy with life at TGIFridays and... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
A Good Year is a perfect example of a director taking on a genre that they are ill suited to handle. A romantic comedy that features very little romance and almost no comedy, A Good Year has Russell Crowe playing an unethical day trader who comes into possession of a vineyard in southern France. His... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
Famed director Ridley Scott is this month’s focus, and we kick things off with the modern classic, “Alien”, which is currently at 97% on RottenTomatoes! When the crew of a towing spaceship intercepts a message from a nearby planetoid, their investigation leads to the discovery of an incredibly dangerous life form. Clay and I discuss... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
After covering Patrick Stewart last month, it’s time for Clay and Wes to discuss a director! We put the selection up to a vote on Patreon.com, and this short episode will let you know which director we’ll be covering, and which films we’ll be discussing in December 2017. Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
After discussing Stewart’s nuanced performance in “Logan”, Clay and I discuss a holiday movie that has no nuance whatsoever. It’s 2015’s “Christmas Eve“! The film may list Patrick Stewart as the lead role, but it’s actually an ensemble piece that tells the stories of six groups of New Yorkers who are all stuck in elevators... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
“Logan” is a 2017 superhero film that features Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier (the 7th time he’s played that character), the leader of the mutant group called the X-Men. Set in the near future, “Logan” is a genre defying story that features a sick and dying Professor X, a sick and dying Wolverine, and a... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
This podcast takes a look at the highs and lows of your favorite Hollywood artists! Each month, Wes and Clay will use Rotten Tomatoes to determine the best and worst film in one individuals filmography. Then you can listen along as they try to figure out what went right and what went wrong! In this... Links! • https://thepenskyfile.com/links • e-Mail : thepenskyfilevideo@gmail.com
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