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UW Film Club Podcast #91: Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

“You are down to your last life. My prescription, no more podcasts for you. You need to retire.”

For today’s podcast, we look over Joel Crawford’s latest 2022 animated film Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and how its stunning word-of-mouth talk by fans has helped it to be one of the most surprising hits of the last year. In this episode, we go over its breathtaking visual style, amazing storytelling, complex character design, the fact we are getting a Shrek 5, and how the film has helped capture tender moments that can appeal to all ages. All that’s left to ask is, do you like gazpacho? Find out here on the UW Film Club’s 91st podcast episode!

On this episode: Drew Favors, Luke Wilhelm

You can find us on Facebook at /UWFilmClub, and on Twitter and Instagram @FilmClubUW. Make sure to rate, comment, and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify, and Google Play, and tune in every week for a new episode of the UW Film Club Podcast!

Harrison Hall’s Top 10 Films of 2022

Perhaps it’s a little too early for me to speak so boldly on this topic, but 2022 was far-and-away the most formative year of my entire life so far, something that movies played no small part in. This was the year that I really discovered my taste in film, beyond the circle of stuff like Pulp Fiction or The Shining that everybody kind of likes anyways. A Sam Raimi binge fine-tuned my brain to horror films– a genre I had previously written off as not-my-thing, now one of my absolute favorites. I’ve begun to crack the pre-1980s bubble that had long eluded me, which opened my eyes to an entire new galaxy of movies. But what’s most relevant to anybody reading this article: 2022 is the year that I set up camp and became a movie theater goblin. I visited the movie theater 72 times in 2022, finishing the year having watched more than 60 2022 releases, a fair increase from having only seen 20 films in theaters the year before (granted, COVID was a much greater obstacle in the way of theatrical releases in 2021 than it is today).  I will disclaim that my viewing habits are strongly dominated by American films, as I only have reliable access to Regal/AMC theaters– i.e., not arthouse. As such, the international presence on this “best of the best” list is more than likely underrepresenting the fantastic movies that are produced overseas– I wouldn’t know, because I didn’t get the chance to see them. But with that aside, here are my favorite films of 2022.

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Review: ‘Plane’ Didn’t Land

In today’s day and age, big budget action films dominate the box office. Wowing the audience with violence, CGI, and outlandish heroic feats, they seem to always bring in raving reviews and satiate the viewers need for a just resolution. But in Plane, one doesn’t need to be an expert to see that in writing this film doesn’t satisfy.

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Review: ‘Glass Onion’ Has Layers

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (dir. Rian Johnson) is a murder-mystery film that follows famed detective, Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), in his career after the events of Knives Out (2019). Though none of the other characters are the same, the centrality of Blanc’s character breeds cohesivity between the films.

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Review: ‘M3GAN’ Brings Fun Back to the Movies

Recently it’s felt like a lot of movies don’t know how to have fun anymore, they’re either too serious or take on a self-aware tone when dealing with any dramatic or over the top elements.  M3GAN, directed by Gerard Johnstone, is a step forward towards creating films that can be over the top and crazy.  Yet, these films totally embrace that and don’t feel the need to make it more than it is, they’re okay with it just being a silly movie.  A summation of the plot reveals how absurd this film really is.  M3GAN tells the story of an orphaned child named Cady (Violet McGraw) who becomes attached to a new type of doll which her adoptive Aunt Gemma (Allison Williams) gifts her, M3GAN.  She is a robot that can perfectly fill the place of a human friend.  Things go awry though when M3GAN goes too far in her defensive and caring nature of Cady and people get hurt. 

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Review: ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ is a Goodbye and a New Horizon

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (dir. Ryan Coogler) is the sequel to Marvel’s Black Panther (2018). Wakanda Forever is exactly what Marvel’s Phase Four of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) needs to say goodbye to the late Chadwick Boseman (who died in 2020), as well as reintroduce some beloved characters and debut refreshing new ones.

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UW Film Club Podcast #90: Signs

“Morgan, this podcast stuff is just about a bunch of nerds who never had a girlfriend their whole lives.”

For today’s podcast, we look over M. Night Shyamalan’s 2002 invasion film Signs and its cultural impact by fans of the eccentric director’s style. Here, we discuss its beautiful shot composition, timeless framing/VFX, the absurd yet heartfelt dialogue, how it cemented Shyamalan in the world of auteurs, and how the film encompasses the true meaning of faith and family while also begging the question: Does M. Night Shyamalan hate dogs? Find out here on the UW Film Club’s 90th podcast episode!

On this episode: Drew Favors, Bennett Nye

You can find us on Facebook at /UWFilmClub, and on Twitter and Instagram @FilmClubUW. Make sure to rate, comment, and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify, and Google Play, and tune in every week for a new episode of the UW Film Club Podcast!

UW Film Club Podcast #89: The Rocky Horror Picture Show

“It’s not easy having a good time! Even podcasting makes my face ache.”

For this podcast, we go back in time to 1975 and dive into the cult phenomenon of our guest, Zoe Williams, favorite film, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. In the podcast, we discuss its enchanting and timeless soundtrack, its legacy in the midnight cinema circuit, and its overall impact on the LGBTQ community and an ever-growing generation of non-conformists. From costuming, acting, and one of Tim Curry’s finest performances, it is all here on the UW Film Club’s 89th podcast.

 

On this episode: Drew Favors, Zoe Williams

You can find us on Facebook at /UWFilmClub, and on Twitter and Instagram @FilmClubUW. Make sure to rate, comment, and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify, and Google Play, and tune in every week for a new episode of the UW Film Club Podcast!

 

 

Review: ‘Violent Night’: Santa Slays

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the mansion,

Terrorists were swarming, demanding their ransoms.

Hostages taken, struck with despair.

Luckily for them… Saint Nicholas was there.

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Review: ‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio’: Unbound by the Strings of Expectation

For some godforsaken reason, pop culture is currently in the midst of a Pinocchio epidemic. Left and right, up and down, Pinocchio is everywhere. Disney dumped out their live-action remake of Pinocchio earlier this year, a drab, mostly beat-for-beat remake, apart from the addition of pop culture references and Disney+ advertising. Then, over from Russia, we have the infamous Pinocchio: A True Story, a very-fictional animated film starring Pauly Shore, which is almost certainly a front for a mafia money-laundering scheme. And, finally, in the world of gaming, we have Lies of P, a grim-and-gritty reimagining of Pinocchio as a magical steampunk Blade Runner, where Pinocchio himself resembles a cybernetically-enhanced Timothée Chalamet. It’s a little unfair to lump that last one in with the others, but regardless, Pinocchio has become an icon of unoriginality, a soulless husk puppeteered by corporate forces looking to make an easy profit off name-recognition. But just as it seemed that there was no integrity left, out has emerged Guillermo del Toro to grant the character life once again.

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