At the Movies

A plot summary of "Heart of the Beast" amounts to the entire plot: a military veteran played by Brad Pitt and his dog, itself a combat scout veteran, are on a survival trek through the Alaskan wilderness. In this episode, HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano talk about how well Pitt and the dog act amidst strikingly beautiful scenery. Although Mike has his usual share of quibbles, Marie points out that this is an endearing dog movie. Our critics also discuss "Primetime," in which Robert Pattinson portrays Chris Hansen, whose TV show "To Catch a Predator" ran from 2004 to 2007. Marie and Mike agree that Pattinson and others in the cast give strong performances, but the film itself skims the surface of the troubling legal and ethical issues involved here.
Link to Episode Transcript Available Below: 
https://www.howardcc.edu/discover/arts-culture/dragon-media/dragon-podcasts/podcast-transcripts/at-the-movies/heart-of-the-beast--primetime.php

Director Ridley Scott is 88 years old and just keeps going strong. However, his latest film, "The Dog Stars," is not strong. HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano use this podcast episode to tabulate all of the ways in which it is disappointing. Set in the wake of a population-devastating pandemic, the film stars Jacob Elordi as a lonely widower who spends a lot of time flying an old airplane through the Colorado skies. Without spoiling anything within the apocalyptic plot, the film lurches uncertainly between overtly sentimental scenes and bizarrely violent scenes that seem lifted from a "Mad Max" movie. Marie and Mike also discuss "The Rivals of Amziah King," in which Matthew McConaughey plays a beekeeper in rural Oklahoma. Marie loves this film and Mike, well, does not love it. One of the few things they agree on is that the film's title is awkward.
Link to Episode Transcript Available Below:
https://www.howardcc.edu/discover/arts-culture/dragon-media/dragon-podcasts/podcast-transcripts/at-the-movies/the-dog-stars--the-rivals-of-amziah-king.php

Director Christopher Nolan is no slouch when it comes to making a cinematic spectacle, and "The Odyssey" has really delivered both critically and at the box office. HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano have a lot to discuss as this podcast episode analyzes Nolan's 172-minute epic. Although Mike believes the film owes more to Hollywood than to Homer, he agrees with Marie that the Trojan horse and other famous episodes are impressively staged. Matt Damon portrays a PTSD-afflicted Odysseus, and others in the starry cast include Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Bill Irwin, Charlize Theron, Robert Pattinson, Samantha Morton, Lupita Nyong'o and John Leguizamo. Marie and Mike also discuss a very different film, director Olivia Wilde's deliberately claustrophobic "The Invite," in which a couple played by Wilde and Seth Rogen invite the upstairs neighbors, played by Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton, for a dinner party. Their awkward and at times acrimonious conversations take "The Invite" into quirky psychological territory. Every scene may not totally convince, but you'll be an alert viewer.
Link to Episode Transcript Available Below:
https://www.howardcc.edu/discover/arts-culture/dragon-media/dragon-podcasts/podcast-transcripts/at-the-movies/the-odyssey--the-invite.php
 

Director Steven Spielberg has had a career-long interest in aliens, as witness "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977), "E.T." (1982) and "War of the Worlds" (2005). HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano discuss Spielberg's latest close encounter with alien life forms, "Disclosure Day," in this podcast episode. Josh O'Connor and Emily Blunt star in a paranoia-driven story about a secretive agency trying to suppress public awareness about the aliens among us. Although Marie and Mike are less than enthusiastic about various aspects of the storytelling here, they acknowledge that the busy plot holds your interest and, of course, Spielberg has his usual cinematic expertise on display. Marie and Mike also talk about a small indie horror film, "Backrooms," that has been doing big business at the box office. The film's nifty premise about a furniture store salesman (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who discovers a secret room in the store's basement is not sustained in a feature-length film, but there is a convincingly ominous atmosphere that keeps you watching.
Link to Episode Transcript Available Below:
https://www.howardcc.edu/discover/arts-culture/dragon-media/dragon-podcasts/podcast-transcripts/at-the-movies/disclosure-day--backrooms.php

Ian McKellen gives one of his finest performances as a curmudgeonly famous artist in "The Christophers," and he's well-matched in terms of acting skill by Michaela Coel as the young assistant he hires. In this podcast episode, HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano agree that there's a terrific dynamic between these two actors, and they also like how director Steven Soderbergh handles the criminal intrigue in a plot that hinges on art forgery. Although Marie and Mike may be curmudgeons in their own way as they tabulate some of the things that don't quite work for them here, they recommend the film. Our fussy critics also talk about "I Love Boosters." They agree that director Boots Riley's first film, "Sorry to Bother You," is thematically more successful, but they also gleefully acknowledge that there is much to enjoy in this fashion world satire. Keke Palmer, Taylour Paige and Naomi Ackie portray boosters who steal expensive clothes from stores owned by an imperious designer played to the hilt by Demi Moore. The scattershot satire loses focus as it goes along, but the movie is colorful, energetic and just plain fun to watch.
Link to Episode Transcript Available Below:
https://www.howardcc.edu/discover/arts-culture/dragon-media/dragon-podcasts/podcast-transcripts/at-the-movies/-the-christophers--i-love-boosters.php
 

"The Devil Wears Prada 2" certainly qualifies as a belated sequel considering the first movie was released in 2006. In this podcast episode, HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano compare notes on what has changed in the world of high-end fashion journalism during the intervening decades; and, of course, they talk about how Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci and Emily Blunt still look basically the same! Marie and Mike both have some plot-related quibbles, but you have to like a movie in which Lady Gaga gets to tell off Meryl Streep. Our critics also talk about "Michael," which as Mike points out is very much an estate-authorized biopic. Although this film does not explore various aspects of Jackson's life, the late performer's nephew Jaafar is terrific in the title role. "The Devil Wears Prada 2" and "Michael" deservedly are box office hits.
 
Link to Episode Transcript Available Below:
https://www.howardcc.edu/discover/arts-culture/dragon-media/dragon-podcasts/podcast-transcripts/at-the-movies/devil-wears-prada-2--michael.php