Explore every episode of the podcast Talking Images

Do you turn into a human film seminar every time a movie ends? And if so, do you need help? Are you scaring away those around you? Do you even enjoy films anymore?

Could it be that interpretation is really the enemy of art and joy?

In this episode, Chris, Arthur, Ben, and Sol grapple with the ideas of Susan Sontag’s infamous essay "Against Interpretation", and someone will make the exact opposite case: that interpreting films can really make them come alive.

Oh boy, are we the armchair intellectuals ruining everything?

In the 1910s, Lois Weber was one of the most powerful figures in Hollywood. She wrote, directed, produced, and even starred in films that pushed boundaries, made huge profits, and frequently angered censors. But how well have her morality tales actually held up, and did she ever make anything remotely as good as Suspense, either before or after?

In this episode, Allison, Brett, and Chris walk through her films, from anti-abortion dramas to colossal blockbuster epics, and everything in between, to find out which films still manage to speak to us.

Spoiler: While Brett maintains that Suspense is her only truly impressive work, the film he hates the most is actually Chris' favourite.

While everyone is decrying the death of movie theatres, Lauren could not care less. For her, watching films at home is an entirely superior experience; too many movies have been spoiled by seeing them with others on the big screen. Can the case be made that the home experience is simply cozier, quieter, and, well, better ... or will the panel attempt to tear her apart?

Has any director achieved more than Chantal Akerman while still in their 20s? The only comparison point is really Orson Welles. This is the woman who made Jeanne Dielman, voted the greatest film of all-time by Sight & Sound, when she was 24, and the masterpieces kept coming.

In this episode, Matt and Chris dive into what makes Chantal Akerman's early masterpieces so special, from their daring and changing form, redefining what cinema could be, to their deeply personal, human, and touching connections.

We will also explore why these films put so many people off, even pissing them off, and the controversy around Jeanne Dielman in particular - but more importantly, we will discuss each of the 4 major feature films Akerman made in the 70s - timestamps included:

• Je tu il elle / I, You, He, She (1974) - 00:17:12
• Jeanne Dielman (1975)- 00:32:45
• News From Home (1976) - 00:52:07
• Les rendez-vous d'Anna / The Meetings of Anna (1978) - 01:05:01

We also made the decision to include the more often overlooked 5th major film she made immediately after her 4 early masterpieces:

• Toute une nuit / A Whole Night (1982) - 01:16:40

A worthy inclusion in this set? Let us know, but we felt we had to talk about it!

Are biopics mostly just lazy summaries of Wikipedia articles? A production mill of comfort food aimed to cash in on the icons of your youth/past? Or: Are they great insights into intriguing people of the past and present?

Join us as our hosts share their disdain for conventional biographies, before being told - by IMDb - just how many biopics they actually love.

For 13 years, the ICMForum has hosted a poll of obscure favourites. In that time, only 6 films have won.

In this episode, we discuss we discuss each winner in detail, and talk about why you NEED to seek them out.

Oh, and the 14th edition is going on right now. You can submit your vote up until the 30th of September.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Intro

00:10:19 - Letter Never Sent

00:26:53 - Sundays and Cybele

00:49.09 - Muddy River

01:03:48 - Carriage to Vienna

01:15:37 - Rapture

01:32:42 - Birth Certificate

Buster Keaton was so dedicated to his craft that he broke his neck and still finished the take. Then showed up the next day.

In this episode, we trace his rise from Fatty Arbuckle's sidekick to his own master, ending the journey while Keaton was still at the top of the world, with his last solo-directorial effort in the silent era: The General.

We'll chat through his best shorts, with particular focus on One Week and The High Sign, get into his first attempt at a feature film with Three Ages, and then cover his two arguably best films, Sherlock Jr. and The General.

Along the way, we'll pause to just awe at the incredibly creative, hilarious, and often death-defying gags and stunts, and talk about why he remains icon to this day.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Intro

00:10:22 - Fatty Archbuckle's Sidekick

00:17:47 - One Week

00:30:02 - The High Sign

00:35:02 - Three Ages

00:45:40 - Sherlock Jr

00:54:13 - The General

How many films will we be able to agree on this time? Listen in as Arthur, Chris, Sol, and Tom reveal their top 10 films of 2024.

Spoiler: As usual, even our number 1s are not safe from criticism, though we did have a few surprising overlaps and agreements.

And while we may not see eye to eye on everything, we do seem to all have one thing in common: the belief that 2024 was a pretty amazing year for cinema.

The ICMForum community has voted on the best films of the 2020s (so far). Join us as we present and react to their (our) choices, with a surprising number of disagreements!

In this episode, we go through the top 50. Feel free to explore the complete list of ICMForum's Top 250 of the 2020s.

You can also see the list on IMDb and iCheckMovies.

Do you love exactly the same films for exactly the same reasons as you did 10-20-30+ years ago?

In this episode, we try to figure out how and why taste changes, and explore how different our preferences are from when we first got into cinema.

We will also ponder the very serious possibility that cinema acts as a literal drug, where the more exposed we are, the stronger a fix we need.

Could it be that we are all on the same path to more and more extreme tastes, be it experimental cinema or the goriest horrors we can find?

Listen in and find out.

Showgirls went from being considered one of the worst films of all time to one of the best in less than 30 years.

How does a film go from winning both Worst Picture and Worst Picture of the Decade at the Razzies to being in They Shoot Pictures Don't They's Top 1000?

Was everyone who saw it then just "wrong"? Did they come in with the wrong expectations? Or: Was Showgirls just too ahead of its time?

In this episode, Sol and Arthur tackle these and more questions while complaining, over and over again, how none of the original haters wanted to rewatch the film and join the podcast.

Should everyone just bite the bullet and see Showgirls again?

He made the B-movie about a rubber tyre killing people with its psychic powers. He had superheroes give monsters cancer and stoners raise a dog-sized fly. Quentin Dupieux is weird. He's surreal. And ... kinda trashy and lowbrow when he wants. 

In this episode, we turn everything on its head, starting with his most recent film (that we have all seen - Daaaaaalí! - and working our way back to his very first mini-feature Nonfilm - as we try to figure out what makes him tick and how we could explain his films at a dinner party.

Timestamps:

Intro: 00:00:00

Dinner Party Pitch - 00:03:00

Daaaaaalí! - 00:12:14

Yannick - 00:22:08

Smoking Causes Coughing - 00:34:07

Incredible but True - 00:39:38

Mandibules - 00:45:00

Deerskin - 00:51:17

Keep an Eye Out - 00:56:32

Reality - 00:59:23

Wrong Cops - 01:04:33

Wrong - 01:09:19

Rubber - 01:11:46

Steak - 01:19:43

Nonfilm - 01:23:17

One of us rated Emilia Perez 1/10 - find out why, as we make blanket statements about why the Academy may love it, estimate its chances and utter the words "inspirational trauma porn" more than once.

Are we in a new 60s, where Hollywood is burning out of steam and foreign films, along with A24 and Neon, are taking the spotlight? Could we be on the road to one of the best decades in history, or is it something far more lacklustre going on? Join us as we break down our impressions of the first half of the 2020s and guess/share our hopes of what this decade will be remembered for. How wrong will we be?

The ICMForum's 8th annual film festival is here. In this episode, Chris and Matt discuss the 10 films on the main slate and shout out favourites across the program.

Adam, Brett, and Chris collectively watched practically every single Pixar Short, from the early CGI experiments in the 80s to Academy Award nominees and winners to DVD extras and the still-running "SparkShorts."

Exhausted from endless Cars Franchise tie-ins, though more optimistic about Toy Story, this episode flies between love and admiration to disappointment.

Listen in to hear which Pixar shorts we love, which disappointed us, and which sparked a heated debate with "soulless content" accusations.

Don't worry, it ends on a note of positivity as we discuss the co-op program, an initiative we were all thoroughly ignorant of, but resulted in some of the best work from Pixar employees.

Are all war films horror? Someone on today's panel will claim so - but in that case - where can we draw the lines? Join us as we try to define horror and, more controversially, make bold claims that some huge horror films, including The Omen, don't qualify.

Join us as we see where we fit in on the scale between Grown Ups and Jeanne Dielman, accidentally diss a bunch of people as being part of a hive mind, and stumble onto moments of self-awareness and discovery.

We may love cinema, but some movies are just pure torture. In this episode, we will reveal our picks for the worst movie ever made, dive into what makes us hate (or dislike) films in general, and, as a provocative bonus, reveal which critically acclaimed darlings we have rated 1/10.

Can returning champion [NAME REDACTED] hold onto their title against new and old foes? Tune in to the 2nd edition of Talking Images' Big Quiz Show to see which of the hosts actually know what they're talking about.

P.S. Be sure to check out our first Quiz Show episode as well.

Clint Eastwood's westerns are iconic! His more "contemporary" westerns ... less so.

In this episode, we discuss each of the 7 times Eastwood directed and starred in Western masterpieces like Unforgiven and odd quasi-western misfires like Bronco Billy.

Can we find anything connecting them? Is there a line running from High Plains Drifter to Cry Macho? Oh, and how many of his characters were ghosts? Listen in and find out.

Timestamps:

• 00:00:00 - Intro
• 00:14:23 - High Plains Drifter
• 00:29:20 - The Outlaw Josey Wales
• 00:43:07 - Bronco Billy
• 00:50:06 - Honkytonk Man
• 01:01:01 - Pale Rider
• 01:10:14 - Unforgiven
• 01:30:09 - Cry Macho

Pssst ... Space Cowboys is not discussed in this episode, but we might get to it in the future. Want to here us talk about Eastwood some more? Let us know on ICMForum.com.

We did it! We have recorded 100 episodes (+ a pilot) of our extremely niche film podcast, and it seems some people care!

Join us as we walk down memory lane, reveal our most cringe-worthy, as well as proudest moments, and share our so-far hidden stats of the most listened-to episodes.

We'll also reveal our unpopular film opinions, which just might become future episodes.

What's wrong with Tom? How can we break through to him? Join our intervention/hateful interrogation of why he has no interest in watching more documentaries.

Do people still read, or should all communication about film now be in the form of memes?

In this episode, we reveal what film magazines we still read (for some, it is zero), why we review films ourselves (are we just screaming into the void?!), and discuss whether Letterboxd could be throwing reviews a lifeline (though the joke reviews always seem to win out).

We'll also explore what we actually want from film reviews, decry spoilers, shake our heads at heavy plot descriptions and try to give tips to writing reviews in today's TL:DR generation.

The death threats are flying in this episode as Lauren comes face to face with a loud and proud strategic voter.

Join us as we discuss whether strategic voting has its place in pushing up under-watched gems, changing narratives, or solidifying the canon—or if those who do it are just dirty, rotten liars and cheats.

We will also finally open up about the controversial Sight & Sound results of 2022 and whether or not we think the results were genuine.

Eric Rohmer was in his 70s when he delivered his final official cycle, Tales of Four Seasons. How do these 4 films stack up against his legendary Moral Tales or Comedies and Proverbs cycles? How do they capture the seasons, let alone youth? Was he still on point?

Join us as we talk through A Tale of Springtime (1990), A Winter's Tale (1992), A Tale of Summer (1996), and An Autumn Tale (1998) in chronological order, and break down their themes, how they fit together, and how they make us feel.

Timestamps:

• Intro: 00:00:00
• A Tale of Springtime: 00:08:26
• A Winter's Tale: 00:24:12
• A Tale of Summer: 00:43:59
• An Autumn Tale: 01:05:28

What makes a list exciting or worth working on? In this episode, Sol takes the host's chair as we dive into exactly what types of film lists we enjoy working on, what makes them great, and, to throw in some negativity, what lists we wouldn't touch with a barge pole.

No Barbie?! No Oppenheimer?! So, what the hell did we pick? Listen in as Chris, Sol, and Tom reveal their top 10 favourite films of 2023.

Let us know how much you agree/disagree, or if we put you on the path of some hidden gems, on ICMForum.com.

Has Pixar lost the magic they once had? And if so, how did it all go so, so wrong? Can we blame it on Disney? Join us as superfans and nay-sayers clash over the past, present, and future of Pixar Animation.

Can we name a single original film from the last 10 years? Can you?! Listen in and find out as we somehow end up bickering over whether originality even exists.

We will also try to pinpoint the most original films of all time, and discuss whether or not originality truly matters. That is, if originality exists at all, as Sol doesn't really seem to think so.

Do we want to oppress you and decide what you can and cannot watch? Listen in to find out!

Is Hiroshi Teshigahara on the shortlist of the greatest Japanese directors of all-time? Sol certainly thinks so, yet Chris will admit he has none of the master's films in his own top 1,000 - much to Sol's despair.

There's no denying that Teshigahara made one of the biggest Japanese classics in his trippy Woman in the Dunes, but what of his other films?

Why are so many of them struggling with distribution, and are they worth seeking out?

In this episode, we will go through each of his 7 features, as well as his lauded documentary, Antonio Gaudi, and answer that very question.

Timestamps:

• Intro: 00:00:00
• Why Sol Thinks Teshigahara is an All-Time Great: 02:32
• Woman in the Dunes: 00:08:33
• Pitfall: 00:20:36
• The Face of Another: 00:31:10
• Man Without a Map: 00:46:31
• Summer Soldiers: 00:53.31
• Antonio Gaudi: 01:02:26
• Rikyu: 01:11:38
• Go-Hime: 01:18:26

Who's the biggest cinephile? Find out as we play Cinephile: A Card Game in our Season 4 finale.

We also have the audacity to invent a new rule we think improves the game.

Happy new year!

Was Sean Connery the best Bond? Apparently not! At least according to our panel.

Join us as we rank the actors who played the iconic superspy, talk about our favourite and least favourite films from the franchise, and give our opinions on who should step into the tuxedo next.

The last question took a bit of a turn as we all seemed to want it to be Pierce Brosnan ... as he is now, in his 70s, and doing an old-Bond film ala Logan. Are we high, or is that a genuinely good idea?

Oh, and would Bond being gay make things interesting? Sol really seems to think so.

Timestamps:

• Intro & Secret Panel: 00:00:00
• Best Bond: 00:10:00
• Worst Bond: 00:25:00
• Best Bond Films: 00:38:29
• Worst Bond Films: 00:52:19
• Best Bond Songs: 01:03:05
• No Time to Die: 01:08:34
• Where Should The Franchise Go Next: 01:19:30
• Should James Bond Be a Gay Black Woman?: 01:23:08
• Who Should Play Bond Next: 01:27:49

Watching the Moral Tales Cycle is witnessing a great director be born, experiment and find his voice, but how good is Eric Rohmer's most famous cycle? Do the early no-budget films hurt it, and how do we deal with the generally loathsome, holier-than-thou mortalising male leads looking to have little adventures?

We will also address why on earth Rohmer chose to pill a George Lucas before George Lucas by making the 4th film of the cycle before the 3rd, discuss where to start and how well the series actually works as a single entity with a clear progression from story to story.

The iCMForum's 7th annual film festival is here! For the last year, 8 programmers have worked tirelessly, combing over underseen films to find the true top-of-the-crop most film fans missed.

In this episode, 4 of these 8 programmers present the 10 films on the main slate, ranging from comedies to anime, drama and even what can only be described as a "remix" film.

They will also shout out their favourite films and slates from the rest of the program, which should have something for everyone, including horror and arthouse lovers.

Join us as we dive into the nightmarish and surreal worlds of Polish master director Wojciech Has.

Our main focus will be on his three arguably most acclaimed films:

• The Noose (1958)
• The Saragossa Manuscript (1965)
• The Hourglass Sanatorium (1973)

We will take them on in chronological order, and with this track his journey from what could still be recognized as the real world, with nightmarish touches, to increasingly surreal fairytales and odysseys.

We'll also try to unpack his symbolism, but most importantly, try to figure out whether he deserves to be in the Guinness World Records for most skulls on screen.

Timestamps:

• Intro: 00:00:00
• What Makes Has Special: 00:02:39
• The Noose: 00:10:35
• The Saragossa Manuscript: 00:28:31
• The Hourglass Sanatorium: 00:47:51
• Has' Other Films: 01:07:35
• Is Has an Auteur?: 01:15:23

Were Peeping Tom and Psycho the first two slashers? (Or, at least, the ultimate proto-slashers?). Which came closest to the genre we know and perhaps love today? Do both deserve to be called masterpieces? And why was one of them trashed to the point of utter destruction?

Peeping Tom and Psycho were released just two months apart, but their reception could not have been more different. Peeping Tom was trashed across British media and flopped so badly it destroyed the career of its director, the legendary Michael Powell. All goodwill was taken away. How could he have made something so despicable? It took decades before the film was rehabilitated.

Meanwhile, just some weeks later, Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho was instantly praised as a masterpiece and became one of the biggest box office hits the year.

More than 60 years later, we measure the films up against each other, look at how similar and different they actually are, and try to decide which was the most groundbreaking, the scariest, the best shot and acted, and, of course, which is actually better.

Could it be true that Peeping Tom was just robbed by prudish British critics and is actually the better film?

When is a film just too long? Does the ideal runtime exist? Oh, and are films with run-on mainly victims of indulgent directors without good producers and editors to clean up their mess?

Listen in as we talk about the runtimes that make our skin crawl and how open we are to watching films over the 3, 4, and 5-hour mark. We will also reveal the big films we are avoiding due to the runtimes and, in an attempt to redeem ourselves, list our favourite long films.

Are we long film bigots? You tell us!

How spoiled have we become by Blu-rays and 4k? Are our old VHSs and DVDs trash now? How low can the image quality get before the viewing experience is damaged, and when do we say: Hell no, I'm not watching that!

In this episode, which somehow descends into death threats, Tom will admit that he refuses to watch a long list of Satyajit Ray films in their current condition, while Sol reveals he doesn't mind bad visuals as he watches a ton of films on his iPad.

We will also all admit to watching bad VHS transfers and corroded silent films on YouTube (YES, INCLUDING TOM).

Join us as we dissect just how important crisp visuals actually are, whether we can still stand DVD and VHS quality and reveal the worst-looking films we have ever sat through. We will also discuss whether less than crisp and even damaged visuals can be positive, with a brief look at Dogme 95 and Guy Maddin.

We also invite you to assess just how genuine Lauren's death threats are and if her potential victim has it coming.

We have gotten an experienced Quiz Master to test just how knowledgeable we actually are. Who will come out on top, who will be left embarrassed, and would you have done better?!

Is Beau is Afraid a daring surreal masterpiece or a complete mess? Will it usher in a series of auteur-driven art films, or be this generation's Heaven's Gate? Yes, could A24 actually end up reigning in the freedom of Ari Aster and up-and-coming directors because of just how badly Beau is Afraid bombed?! You are divided on this film. We are divided on this film. Let's talk it out.

We have never disagreed more about what the best films of the year were! Listen in to see which (if any) of us you agree with, as we unleash off-the-hip choices mixing literal toilet humour, big Hollywood prestige project and "challenging" arthouse picks.

How can it be that we "all" seem to hate beloved Turkish, Russian and Indian comedy classics and mega hits, despite their incredibly IMDb averages and striking vanguard?!

Is it because comedies just don't translate that well? Is it because we just don't have a sense of humour? Or: Is it because we have been brainwashed by the cultural dominance of the US, the UK and to a lesser extent France and Italy?

Yes, how do we actually feel about US and UK comedies? Do they translate everywhere? 

And how come the ratings for many of these Turkish, Russian and Indian films are so insane, towering over almost all beloved classics from other countries? Is something deceptive going on, or do they just strike a powerful nerve with the local population?

We will also dive into the controversial decision by IMDb to actively remove the Turkish classic Hababam sinifi (1975) from their top 250, despite having an average rating of 9.2 and more than 40k voters, a decision that stands until this day. Is it pure Anglo-Saxon chauvinism or could there be something else to their decision?

Timestamps:

Intro: 00:00:00

Do Any of Us Believe Comedy is Universal: 00:04:20

Do we laugh easily? 00:07:44

Are US and UK Comedies Universal Due to Cultural Dominance?: 00:18:16

Will Anyone Defend Turkish Comedies: 00:27:48

How Bad Are the Soviet Comedies?: 00:44.24

Indian Comedies: 00:50:35

Was IMDb Right to Remove Hababam Sinifi from Their Top 250?: 01:03:19

Do Comedies Need to be Funny?: 01:10:25

Is it easy to rank your favourite directors? It can be a daunting task! How can we for instance even begin to compare directors who made 50+ films with directors who made 5? How do we compare studio directors to arthouse auteurs? Oh, and is it just a matter of how great the films are, or do we look for something else, such as personal style and artistic impact?

In this episode, we will look at the 4 most common ways of ranking directors:

• Average rating
• Number of favourites
• A personal/intuitive connection
• An assessment of their career and impact

Lean back as we try to poke holes in each other's systems, or perhaps even attempt to dismiss helpful systems altogether, and ponder the big questions related to what truly makes one director better than another.

Are any films more visually impressive and pioneering than Kalatozov's golden trio of late-life films, The Cranes Are Flying (1957), Letter Never Sent (1960) and Soy Cuba (1964). Thanks to the innovations of his brilliant cinematographer, Sergey Urusevskiy, the camera is simply ALIVE! 

The unbelievable long takes, trailing through all-consuming fires, moving through buildings and generally just feeling truly free, would likely need to be done

with CGI today, but here, they are done as is, on the ground, years before Godard or Truffaut debuted, and with far more prowess.

How was it possible?

Oh, and did Kalotozov invent the disaster movie genre in the process?

Listen in and feel free to leave your comments on ICMForum.com.

Timestamps:

Intro: 00:00

What Makes These 3 Films So Impressive: 00:01:51

The Cranes Are Flying: 00:06:15

Letter Never Sent: 00:35:10

Soy Cuba: 00:52:01

Quick notes on Kalatozov's Other Films: 1:12:34

Can watching too many films cause you to lose your love of cinema? Our surprise guest, who watches well over 100 films every month, says no.

The 80s was the decade Jean-Luc Godard was suddenly back on everybody's lips. He did talk shows in the US, huge stars were lining up to work with him, he pissed off the Catholic church, and perhaps more importantly for the fans, he made what he deemed his "2nd first film". Yes, critics called it a comeback with good reason.

It is insane to think that as the 80s rolled in, JLG had alienated both old friends and ardent fans. For more than a decade he had dedicated himself to political activism and essay films, and the people who cared about his new films, or were even aware he was making them, were dwindling. And then: It all changed.

In this episode, we look at 5 of his biggest and most acclaimed films of the 1980s, which you can jump to via the timestamps below, and try to explore what we love, like, and dislike with these films, not to mention who they are for.

Every Man For Himself: 00:09:32

Passion: 00:24:24

First Name: Carmen: 00: 34:44

Hail Mary: 00:52:24

A Surprise Bresson Takeover: 1:05:45

Detective: 1:09:14

JLGs Other 80s Films: 1:18:24

Yes, there is no denying that JLG's 80s work has a bit more of a niche following than his 60s films, but should you check them out, and if so, where should you start? Listen in and find out.

P.S. If you are interested in JLGs 70s work, we have an episode on these films already in our archive.

Are you prejudiced against shorts? You are not alone! From actively avoiding them to finding them unratable, to championing "separate but equal" rhetoric, the panelists of this episode are fired up with outrageous short film bigotry.

BUT: Can that change over the course of this episode?

Join us as we explore where we think shorts may fall ... short, whether they are even truly films, and if there are any shorts we love at all.

What, if anything makes them different from features, can they hold the same power and impact and are there some stories and concepts that are simply far more suited for a shorter running time?

The ending may surprise you, as we set aside our differences and explore what can actually be done to make shorts appeal to audiences again.

In this episode, we get personal as we discuss if any of us would be able to stand up to 11 angry jurors and hold our ground. Would we have the courage to stand alone, and would we be able to argue our case? 

Who would we have been in the juror room? Would we have changed our minds? Do we believe the accused is innocent? The answers may surprise you. 

We will also dive head first into how a film set almost exclusively in one room, with our protagonists sitting around a table, manages to be as powerful as it is, step out of its teleplay origins and become truly cinematic. 

Two of us are also fresh from viewing the 1954 original 1-hour teleplay and will dive into how they compare, how good this earlier version is, and even drag in the 1997 remake. 

Oh, and is the title at all honest? How many of these men are actually angry?