POP ART – Details, episodes & analysis

POP ART SAYS: HAPPY HALLOWEEN. THE GIRLNAPPERS: Episode 118, 10 Cloverfield Lane/The Collector

“I’m sorry, but no one’s looking for you”. For these two films, I and my annual Halloween guest, Lisa Leahey discuss two films revolving around women being abducted and held prisoner.

We especially had a great discussion on such topics as why do abduction films seem to usually focus on women? What is it about apocalyptic and alien invasion films these days? Who is William Wyler? Where does Beauty and the Beast come in? Check it out.

Also check out Lisa Leahey’s sites, both at Rabbit Hole Podcasts:  

https://rabbitholepodcasts.com/the-gift-of-horror/

https://rabbitholepodcasts.com/pictures-and-conversations/\

Check out my blog at https://howardcasner.wordpress.com/

My books, More Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader, The Starving Artists and Other Stories and The Five Corporations and One True Religion can be found at https://www.amazon.com/s?k=howard+casner&ref=nb_sb_noss

Be sure to like, follow or comment on my podcast. I’d love to know what you think. And check out the other episodes.

POP ART SAYS “WE’RE BACK”: I AM SPARTACUS–Episode 116, Total Recall/General della Rovere

“Consider this a divorce”. For these two films, I and Bubbawheat (Nate Winthrow) of the Fight Club Minute, had a great time discussing two films that ask the same question: are you who you are? Are you who you think you are? Or are you who others think you are?

We especially had a great discussion on such topics as modern trends in sci-fi films, the directors Roberto Rossellini and Paul Verhoeven, and the question posed above—who are we?

I highly recommend checking out Bubbawheat’s The Fight Club Minute at https://rabbitholepodcasts.com/fight-club-minute/?fbclid=IwY2xjawFhYvZleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHabC_Oj7cyrjZjbcTmWGipcCMz9rKGJV-A4gQ4plRj-bS9CnakgFvFp9CA_aem_37hJ3PNyt-HGxrWCe0r3MA

And his blog, Flights, Tights and Movie Nights https://flightstightsandmovienights.com/?fbclid=IwY2xjawFhYxZleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHYbVJhuZr5W_5C7uGeqLyFBbIRkIB9L04wpn5J_gblEnrPPAk9h9qWNXeQ_aem_Ef9c5eMkE6rXbPsgART81Q

And It’s Time to Rewind https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bubbawheat

Check out my blog at https://howardcasner.wordpress.com/

My books, More Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader, The Starving Artists and Other Stories and The Five Corporations and One True Religion can be found at https://www.amazon.com/s?k=howard+casner&ref=nb_sb_noss

Be sure to like, follow or comment on my podcast. I’d love to know what you think. And check out the other episodes.

PEEK A BOO: Join me and blogger and film lover James S. Wilson as we talk two masterpieces, Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window and Krzysztof Kieslowski’s A Short Film About Love, two films about voyeurs and voyeurism.

“Why would a man leave his apartment three times on a rainy night with a suitcase and come back three times?” You’re alone in your own apartment. Doing your thing. Maybe you’ve murdered someone. Or maybe you’re having sex. When suddenly you get this feeling…Am I…being watched? Probably…Sounds like it’s time for Episode 108 of Pop Art, where we find the pop culture in art and the art in pop culture. It’s the podcast where my guest chooses a movie from popular culture, and I’ll select a film from the more art/classic/indie/foreign side of cinema with a connection to it.

Today, I am happy to welcome as my returning guest, blogger and film enthusiast, James S. Wilson, who has chosen as his film one of Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpieces, Rear Window, while I have chosen one of Krzysztof Kieślowski’s masterpieces, A Short Film About Love, both films about voyeurs and voyeurism.

And in this episode, we answer such questions as: Who slept on the set of Rear Window while it was being made? Why did Kieslowski decide not to use different directors for each entry in The Dekalog? Who is Bess Flowers? Why did Kieslowski expand A Short Film About Love into a feature film? Who is Ross Bagdasarian and what is his contribution to children’s culture? How does both Hitchcock and Kieslowski’s Catholicism influence their films? Who played Jeff’s agent in Rear Window? What are the differences between the source materials and the final feature for both films?

Check out James’s blog Blogging by Cinema-light at http://bloggingbycinemalight.blogspot.com/

Check out my blog at https://howardcasner.wordpress.com/

My books, More Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader, The Starving Artists and Other Stories and The Five Corporations and One True Religion can be found at https://www.amazon.com/s?k=howard+casner&ref=nb_sb_noss

Be sure to like, follow or comment on my podcast. I’d love to know what you think. And check out the other episodes.

“Wax on, wax off. Wax on, Wax off.” Feeling the world is ganging up on you? Feeling targeted in some way? Even bullied by those around you? Who would you rather have on your side? Mr. Miyagi or Eli? The perfect time for Episode 18 of Pop Art, the podcast where my guest chooses a movie from popular culture and I select a film from the more art/classic side of cinema with a connection to it. This time, my guest, film enthusiast and podcaster, Todd Liebenow (of The Forgotten Film and Walt Sent Me Podcasts) chose the Ralph Macchio/Pat Morita iconic coming of age martial arts classic, The Karate Kid, and I chose Swedish filmmaker Tomas Alfredson’s moody, atmospheric new take on vampire films, Let The Right One In, both about bullying. And here we answer such questions as: How can you combine getting free labor while training someone for martial arts; who was the original choice for Mr. Miyagi; where the heck are the adults, for God’s sake; what does Let the Right One In bring to the vampire genre; what happens when you don’t invite a vampire in and they come in; and how are the issues of bullying dealt with and resolved in each movie, if they are indeed.

“Lies, deceit, mixed messages... this is turning into a real marriage”. Not quite feeling yourself these days?  Do you suspect you might not be who you think you are? Maybe that you might even be…someone else? Just in time for Episode 17 of Pop Art, the podcast where my guest chooses a movie from popular culture and I select a film from the more art/classic side of cinema with a connection to it. This time, my guest, filmmaker and screenwriter AJ Bermudez, chose Hong Kong filmmaker John Woo’s over the top action thriller Face/Off while I have chosen David Lynch’s surrealistic neo-noir Mulholland Drive, both with characters who are not exactly themselves for most of the story. And here we answer such questions as: What happened to John Woo in America? What the hell is going on in Mulholland Drive? Is John Travolta better at playing Nicholas Cage, or Cage better at playing Travolta? What are the best scenes in each movie? What do I and David Lynch have in common and what do the French have to do with it? What is the weakest scene in Face/Off? Who or what is Harve Presnell and would you want to be one?

“Never give up. Never Surrender.” Feeling a bit overwhelmed? That the world is ganging up against you? Need some outside help? Time for Episode 16 of Pop Art, a podcast where my guest chooses a movie from popular culture and I choose a film from the more art/classic side of cinema to go with it. For this episode my guest, filmmaker Anna Remus, has chosen the cult classic space opera, voted the 7th best Star Trek film of all time, Galaxy Quest, and I have chosen Akira Kurosawa’s great samurai epic Seven Samurai, both films in which a band of intrepid heroes join forces to defend a small defenseless group threatened by a vicious enemy. And here we answer such questions as to which characters correspond to other characters in both films? Why didn’t Galaxy Quest do better at the box office? What did Toshiro Mifune do that was so revolutionary in Seven Samurai? Who almost had the lead in Galaxy Quest and who is our favorite Galaxy Questian? What does Kevin Spacey have to do with it? And listen to other episodes of the podcast and don’t forget to Like, Comment and Follow.

“By the way, I would have voted for Obama a third term, if I could.” Are you feeling a bit paranoid these days? Wondering if your mind’s your own? Time for Episode 14 of Pop Art, the podcast where my guest chooses a movie from popular culture and I choose a film from the more art/classic side of cinema. This time my guest, Anastasia Washington, stand up comedienne and co-host of the Cereal Killer podcast, chose the Jordan Peele game changing horror film, Get Out, and I chose writer/director Shane Caruth’s experimental, WTF sci-fi film, Upstream Color, both films about mind control. And we talk about such subjects as: Why is Get Out perhaps the most important movie of the 2010s? What is genre meets diversity? Pigs, pigs, pigs? Which ending for Get Out is the best? What happens when you write, direct, star in, edit, compose music, co-photograph and self-distribute a movie? What can be achieved on a nothing budget? So keep thinking good thoughts, if they are indeed your thoughts. Also, like, comment and follow

“Wanna hear the most annoying sound in the world?” Running a bit short of money these days? What would you do if, out of nowhere, you suddenly found a large amount of money in your possession? Find out what others have done in Episode 14 of my podcast Pop Art where my guest chooses a movie from popular culture and I choose a film from the more classic/art side of cinema. This time my guest, Hollywood hyphenate actor/writer/director/producer Alan Ritchson (his latest project Cicada 3301 will be released…well, when this quarantine thingy lets up) chose the Farrelly brothers first film, the outrageous farce Dumb and Dumber, and I chose the film noir cult classic Too Late For Tears, both about people who find themselves suddenly in possession of a great deal of filthy lucre. And in this episode we answer such questions as Why did Jeff Daniels only get $50,000 to do the movie while Jim Carrey got $7 million? What is the appeal of Jim Carrey? How does Clint Eastwood fit in and what does it have to do with toilets? What is the appeal of film noir? How were women seen in the 1940s and 1950s? What is a Dan Duryea and would you want to be one? And don’t forget to LIKE, COMMENT and FOLLOW.

“I have to return some videotapes.” Is the quarantine turning you a bit…crazy? Perfect time to list to the latest episode of Pop Art, my podcast where the guest chooses a movie from pop culture and I select a film from the art/classic side of cinema with a connection to it. This time, my guests Tessa Markle and Carolina Alvarez of Femme Regard Productions have chosen the adaptation of bad boy Bret Easton Ellis’s book American Psycho and I have chosen bad boy Roman Polanski’s atmospheric black and white horror film Repulsion, both concerning characters who, let us say, are going off the deep end a bit. And here we answer such questions as: Which is the more feminist film? Does the ending of American Psycho work? What does Gloria Steinem have to do with any of it? What is important about the female orgasm in Repulsion? Don’t forget to LIKE, COMMENT or FOLLOW.

"Come out to the coast, we'll get together, have a few laughs..." Have things reached a point where the world desperately needs a hero to save us? Find out with the twelfth episode of Pop Art, the podcast where my guest chooses a movie from popular culture and I, in turn, will choose a film from the art/classic side of cinema. This time, my guest, screenwriter and producer Ann Kimbrough, has chosen everyone’s favorite Christmas movie, Die Hard, and I, in turn, have chosen the French parkour/martial arts classic District B13, in which the lives of a group of people rest in the hands of some unexpected heroes. And here we discuss such topics as: Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? What part did Cybil Shephard’s pregnancy have to do with everything? To parkour or not parkour? What is the lasting influence of Die Hard? How does the movie Taken fit in? Is this the end of French cinema as we know it? What can screenwriters learn from these movies?