Movies About

Hunger (2023)

Sat, 29 Apr 2023 03:24:29 +0000

Issues of class, ambition, nihilism and family permeate our discussion of the Netflix movie Hunger (2023). We found it entertaining but cliché and lacking depth. We also discuss Thai food, Thai filmmaking, and high food culture. The movie had, to us (especially Jim), some unfortunate comparisons to a movie we hated, and covered in a past show: Whiplash. At least Hunger gives us a character with some redeeming qualities. Hopefully this movie generates some future interest in greenlighting future movies from Thai directors, a trend we welcome.

Movies About clips available on our YouTube channel @moviesabout

Instagram: @moviesaboutpodcast

The Wedding Singer (1998)

Wed, 05 Apr 2023 13:40:57 +0000

We return to the 1980s, sort of, with the 1998 hit comedy The Wedding Singer, starring Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler. We talk wedding gigs, 80s culture, singer moods, Drew and Adam’s chemistry, inappropriate humor, Cece’s recent trip to Australia, and Jim’s past loathing of Adam Sandler.

Movies About clips available on our YouTube channel @moviesabout

Instagram: @moviesaboutpodcast

95th Oscars Special Part 2

Sun, 12 Mar 2023 07:32:30 +0000

Part 2 of a Movies About / Now It’s Dark crossover edition for the 95th Academy Awards. Tim Paugh and I discuss all 10 of the Best Picture nominations, chose our who will/should win for the major categories, and close with Tim’s Top 10 movies of the year list.

Tim’s podcast Now It’s Dark is available on Apple, Spotify, Substack , and other platforms.

Now It’s Dark YouTube channel: @nowitsdarkmovie

Patreon: patreon.com/nowitsdark

Movies About clips available on our YouTube channel @moviesabout

Instagram: @moviesaboutpodcast

95th Oscars Special with guest Tim Paugh (Part 1)

Wed, 08 Mar 2023 03:12:28 +0000

With CeCe on holiday in Australia, Tim Paugh and I decided to do a crossover podcast for the 95th Academy Awards. Tim is a filmmaker and host of the excellent movie podcast Now It’s Dark, a pod that was an inspiration to us when we got ours off the ground. In this Part 1 of 2, we take stock of where the Academy is at in 2023. We discuss the oscars-so-white and metoo social media campaigns and how they are influencing popular filmmaking—in narrative content, popular culture, and the news media landscape. We ask what kind of politics cinema is doing and talk about Hollywood insider campaigning—in particular, the Andrea Riseborough controversy.

Tim’s podcast Now It’s Dark is available on Apple, Spotify, Substack , and other platforms.

Now It’s Dark YouTube channel: @nowitsdarkmovie

Tim's Patreon: patreon.com/nowitsdark

Highlight clips of Movies About episodes, plus other content, is available on our YouTube channel @moviesabout

Instagram: @moviesaboutpodcast

Music - Tár (2022)

Mon, 20 Feb 2023 09:07:14 +0000

As we approach the Oscars, we return to Movies About Music to discuss the Todd Field film Tár. Cate Blanchett gives a stunning performance as the titular character, a powerful symphony conductor who gets canceled for sexual impropriety (we never learn what exactly). We discuss the electric scene of her shaming a gender-fluid student in class for dismissing Bach. We ask the question “What if she were a man?” and make connections to Harvey Weinstein, issues of power, and what it means to have influence over others. We discuss the job of conductor and how it drives and interprets the music. We make call-backs to our previous episodes on Whiplash and Mr. Holland’s Opus and talk briefly about our recent trip to Thailand.

MA Places - Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)

Sun, 15 Jan 2023 06:57:39 +0000

We visit Spain in our second Movie About Places—specifically, the titular locale of our film Vicky Christina Barcelona, directed by Woody Allen. It was a second viewing for both of us and we felt even more love for it than our first. We take a deep dive into the women in the film. Jim sees the three as channeling, in a Hermann Hesse style, three different personas or identities, while Cece discusses the different ways the women express a Beauvoirian sense of self in relation to the men around them. We finish with an update on our bordercollie Cera, whom Cece sees in Penelope Cruz’s María Elena.

Movies About Christmas - Home Alone (1990)

Sun, 18 Dec 2022 23:42:46 +0000

Jim had never seen this movie. He was too busy trying to be cool. So we decided to uncork this masterpiece of millennials for our first Movie About Christmas. We discuss the movie, the celebrity and the actor Macaulay Culkin, and somehow veer into an odd discussion about Donald Trump. We also debate what makes a proper Christmas movie. We may do another pod for Home Alone 2, or maybe we’ll save that for next year, we’ll see. Enjoy, happy holidays, and Merry Christmas!

Movies About Places: Seoul - Parasite (2019)

Fri, 18 Nov 2022 05:08:28 +0000

Movies About Places: Seoul. After a long break, we’re back with Season 2 of our podcast, which is now named “Movies About.” Our first episode is in the category of Places. Our place is Seoul and our movie is Parasite. We picked this not only because it tells us a lot about contemporary Seoul, but because of recent events in the city: The tragic Halloween deaths in the Itaewon neighborhood, the raging capitalism and rush for profit that drives the city, and how hard it is to have a border collie in Seoul. In Bong Joon-Ho’s film, money is a disease that effects everyone in horrific ways. It’s a genius film that says a lot about the city we live in.

Singles (1992)

Fri, 16 Sep 2022 08:41:31 +0000

September 18 marks the 30-year anniversary of Singles, a movie that dramatized the grunge and dating scene in early ‘90s Seattle. It’s a movie about an era more than music, and our discussion reflects this. We talk Seattle and grunge, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. But this episode is more generally a celebration of and nostalgic look back at what was a great time to be young and alive. Much of our talk is about the overlap of eras—the ‘80s into the ‘90s and the ‘90s into the 2000s (with a side chat about the documentary Woodstock ’99). We remember the fashion, the magazines, the books, the attitudes, the technology (or lack of it). We close with a hint toward some upcoming changes in our podcast.

Honeysuckle Rose (1980)

Sun, 04 Sep 2022 03:07:01 +0000

For our 21st episode, we discuss Honeysuckle Rose, which… there’s no other way to say it… Cece absolutely hated. But as we talked through it, an interesting discussion emerged—about what it means to enter another world, a world that through cinema felt very real. It’s a terrible script with a shady protagonist, but it also gave us a view into Texas country music in the late ‘70s. (Later we realized this was a remake of a 1936 film, Intermezzo.) We try to reconcile all of this with the greatness that is Willie Nelson and praise this as a musical peak in his career. We also spend a lot of time, perhaps too much, discussing the adorable border collie we’re fostering.

Dog rescue links and fostering (mentioned during the show):

Care Korea: https://instagram.com/care_korea_official?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

The Dove Project: https://www.dove-project.org/

Sister Act (1992)

Tue, 09 Aug 2022 09:57:34 +0000

Fresh off our return from a three-week trip to California, we watch the only movie about music set in San Francisco that we could think of: Emile Ardolino’s Sister Act, starring Whoopi Goldberg. We found this popular ‘90s popcorn movie to be surprisingly deep, with its tensions between tradition and change, church and community, and race relations. We talk about the “magical negro” trope, some problems with POC representations in Hollywood, Whoopi’s singing, Lauren Hill’s debut in the sequel, and the odd depiction of the Noe Valley neighborhood. It’s a charming, cute, lively film that may not be true to the City, but is a fun ride.

A Star Is Born (2018)

Sat, 02 Jul 2022 15:25:06 +0000

We’re back after a longer than anticipated break to fulfill a promise we made to discuss the 2018 version of A Star Is Born, directed by and co-starring Bradley Cooper. Lady Gaga is the titular character and, at least ostensibly, the protagonist; but we struggled to understand where her heart (and her music) lay. We discuss Gaga the singer and the spectacle, and the parallels between her career and the film; generational differences between the two films and the two characters; and comparisons with Streisand and Kristofferson. We close by wondering whether this kind of storyline has any relevance anymore, given today’s music culture. Finally, we hint toward some changes in the podcast going forward—including a new name and new direction.

Pink Floyd The Wall (1982)

Sun, 22 May 2022 03:33:03 +0000

May 23, 2022 marks the 40th anniversary of the Alan Parker helmed film Pink Floyd The Wall. We mark this moment with CeCe’s deflowering experience of the movie (okay, pun intended there) and a wide-ranging discussion about this work of art. She found it genius and Jim agrees. We talk politics, fascism, identity, Roger Waters’ songwriting, symbolism and editing in film, the connection of 완성도 with “world” and “concept,” and whether music like this is even possible anymore. We also address the question, “which one’s Pink?,” and close with a pitch to CeCe’s upcoming Liquid Arts performance / gathering in Seoul on May 28.

Liquid Arts No. 36 event information: https://facebook.com/events/s/liquid-arts36-featuring-poet-j/697365654849615/

Round Midnight (1986) with Gordon Bazsali Jr

Thu, 05 May 2022 05:47:06 +0000

Special guest Gordon Bazsali Jr joins us for our 17th episode to discuss the 1986 film Round Midnight, directed by Bertrand Tavernier. It stars famed bebop tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon, a role that earned him an academy award nomination. We talk about the music performances in the film, notable for being real, authentic, live performances; the all-star cameos by some of the giants of the 1980s playing the bebop of the late ‘50s; the film’s take on the theme of addiction; and dip into some side conversations on jazz in Korea and our fantasies of Paris in the 1950s.

Gordon is a jazz trumpet player and a composer of a wide variety of styles and genres. You can hear his music at gordonbazsali.bandcamp.com.

Amadeus (1984)

Sat, 16 Apr 2022 11:06:03 +0000

Episode 16 is a discussion about the popular 1984 movie Amadeus, directed by Miloš Forman. We focus on the cultural impact of the film, its very ‘80s aesthetic codes, art versus commerce, notation as the “recording” of music in the past, and the genius narrative. While we loved the film and all its lush extravagance, we both found it odd in 2022 to hear very American speaking styles in a story about Vienna. Other random topics include similarities with Shakespeare in Love, music and corporatism, censorship, Mozart and hiphop, and travel in Austria. Somehow we end the show singing Whitney Houston before closing with a tease of Episode 17.

Studio 666 (2022) plus Taylor Hawkins and Will Smith v Chris Rock

Tue, 29 Mar 2022 04:54:05 +0000

Our 15th episode centers on FooFighters horror comedy Studio 666. But the episode is much more than this. The film, the loss of Taylor Hawkins, and the Chris Rock v Will Smith incident allow us to dig into themes of narcissism, violence, delusions of grandeur, being a band leader, drugs and rock n roll, the pressures of success, 90s music, drumming styles, and many other related topics. We begin by discussing the Oscar winners and The Slap (hint: we’re fully #TeamChrisRock); then discuss Studio 666, a fun, campy B-movie that turns out to be deeply allegorical; and end with a proper (and tearful) tribute to Taylor Hawkins.

#Oscars2022, #TaylorHawkins, #Will Smith, #ChrisRock

2022 Oscar Special pt. 2: The Nominees

Wed, 16 Mar 2022 11:47:45 +0000

We conclude our two-part Oscar special with a wildly undisciplined but mostly spoiler-free discussion of all the major nominees for the 2022 Academy Awards. We pick our favorites and unreservedly criticize what we feel are less deserving nominations. Hint: we loved Belfast, CODA and Drive My Car, and we’re confused why Power of the Dog and West Side Story were nominated for anything. We finish up with a rave review of Summer of Soul for documentary, and do a spoiler-filled comparison of Encanto and Raya for animated film, one of which we loved and the other not so much. Podcast Info RSS Feed: http://www.jimbatcho.com/feed/podcast/moviesaboutmusic Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/movies-about-music/id1587809806 Amazon Podcasts: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/15ebb340-23ab-4585-8def-8569d7c6c45d/movies-about-music Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/movies-about-music Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1jqaiHvjgfR28DLfkzQqM7 YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgf2uGXgLNhQ2q4_tubCSKA Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5qaW1iYXRjaG8uY29tL2ZlZWQvcG9kY2FzdC9tb3ZpZXNhYm91dG11c2lj Instagram: @moviesaboutmusic

2022 Oscar Special pt. 1: CODA (2021)

Tue, 15 Mar 2022 01:08:52 +0000

Welcome to Part 1 of our two-part Oscar special. In this first part, we heap lavish praise on CODA (2021), a beautiful, emotional movie about music nominated as Best Picture. In addition to discussing the film and how it made us cry, we move into discussions about deafness and how it is represented, translation and its frustrations, the notion of living in multiple worlds, and the genius of Joni Mitchell. Our conversation continues in Part 2. Podcast Info RSS Feed: http://www.jimbatcho.com/feed/podcast/moviesaboutmusic Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/movies-about-music/id1587809806 Amazon Podcasts: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/15ebb340-23ab-4585-8def-8569d7c6c45d/movies-about-music Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/movies-about-music Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1jqaiHvjgfR28DLfkzQqM7 YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgf2uGXgLNhQ2q4_tubCSKA Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5qaW1iYXRjaG8uY29tL2ZlZWQvcG9kY2FzdC9tb3ZpZXNhYm91dG11c2lj Instagram: @moviesaboutmusic

Love Lies (2016)

Tue, 01 Mar 2022 10:39:11 +0000

In our 12th episode, we take our first look at a Korean film about music, 해어화 or “Love, Lies” by director Park Heung-sik. Available on Netflix, this 2016 film explores the collision of tradition and modernity in 1940s Japanese-occupied Seoul through two singers. In addition to working through this complicated and heart-wrenching tragedy, we discuss a wide range of cultural factors surrounding the film and its story. In particular, we examine the pressures placed on Korean women to perform, an issue that continues today, and the uniquely Korean phenomenon of the “hostess bar.” We close with a preview of our Oscar Special podcast coming in two weeks. Be sure to subscribe to the pod, and if you have a moment, please post a positive review of the show!

Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

Sun, 13 Feb 2022 08:49:38 +0000

Fellow musician, podcaster and friend Gino Brann joins us for a discussion of the Coen Brothers film Inside Llewyn Davis (2013). We talk about folk music, Llewyn’s disgruntled outlook on his life in music, and debate the tensions of purity, performance and attitude through his character. Gino brings the research, situating these songs within the folk tradition and the period of time depicted in the film. We end the show with Gino’s performance of the ballad played the film, “The Death of Queen Jane.” Gino’s Liquid Sound podcast can be found at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/liquid-sound/id1538454444 and his YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/EnablingHarmonic.

A Star Is Born (1976)

Fri, 28 Jan 2022 08:57:30 +0000

A theme of death and loss looms over our 10th episode as we discuss A Star Is Born—the 1976 version starring Barbara Streisand and Kris Kristofferson and directed by Frank Pierson. It’s another trip back into the 70s, when sex, drugs and rock and roll were actual things. CeCe talks about Joan Didion’s writings on grief before learning about Kristofferson the songwriter. We marvel at Streisand’s perfect voice, discuss the problems of the film as well as its heart, and ponder how this film represents the offscreen entity that was “Barbara Streisand.” We close with a brief discussion of James’ new book of political philosophy titled Living in an Age of Survival (Glass Spider Publishing).

9 Movies About Music – Tick Tick BOOM (plus Kieslowski’s Veronique)

Wed, 12 Jan 2022 03:32:10 +0000

We discuss two very different movies in our ninth episode. The main film under discussion is Tick… Tick… BOOM (2021) by Lin-Manuel Miranda, a Netflix biopic about Jonathan Larson of Rent fame. Jim is deeply critical of the music and filmmaking style; CeCe expresses her dislike of the film, while sharing a love/hate relationship with the Rent-heads out there. We discuss the general topic of musicals, the time and place in which Larson was working, how the AIDS epidemic was tragically affecting artists at the time, and the deux ex machina genius composer cliché. We lead off with a brief discussion of Krzysztof Kieślowski’s The Double Life of Veronique (1991), currently on MUBI. It’s a movie Jim thought was about music, but we realized while watching that it’s not. Still, it allows us to have a lively discussion about the male gaze, feminist cinema, singing and dubbing, the composer Zbigniew Preisner, and the metaphysics of spirit in philosophical filmmaking.

8 Movies About Music – The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)

Wed, 29 Dec 2021 07:32:00 +0000

Our New Years’ episode is a discussion of Steve Kloves’ movie The Fabulous Baker Boys from 1989. Our talk centers around the dynamic between Jack and Frank as the artist versus the gigging musician, and how this movie compares with Whiplash. This leads into discussions about different aspects of music performance: the corporate gigging life, the jazz aesthetic, and how the pandemic has negatively affected the psyche of the music performer. We also briefly discuss the Sex and the City reboot And Just Like That…

7 Movies About Music – White Christmas (1954)

Wed, 15 Dec 2021 10:33:18 +0000

We call an audible for our seventh episode and discuss the closest thing to a Christmas movie-about-music we could think of: Paramount/Michael Curtiz’s holiday classic ‘White Christmas.’ We marvel at the stellar singing of Crosby and Clooney, the inimitable dancing prowess of Vera-Ellen, and the still-fresh comedy of Danny Kaye. In this wide-ranging episode, we also riff on a variety of topics: our own musical lives lately, collective jingle-writing, and CeCe’s longing for a proper male crooner in today’s music milieu. We also talk briefly about the Peter Jackson Beatles documentary ‘Get Back,’ and share our recently recorded cover of the Christmas gem ‘Fairytale of New York’. The song can be accessed at: https://youtu.be/tN77z2UWM-U

6 Movies About Music – Whiplash (2014)

Tue, 30 Nov 2021 07:52:22 +0000

In our sixth episode, we express our total hatred of the very popular and widely acclaimed movie Whiplash, directed by Damien Chazelle. We wonder what is the point of a film with horrible people who seem to have no love for jazz or music. As we tear this film apart, cliché by cliché, we also dip into cringy side topics like verbal abuse, incels, and Jordan Peterson fans. If you love this movie, we’re sorry, but we don’t understand you. If you hated this movie, enjoy.

5 Movies About Music – Hustle and Flow (2005)

Sun, 14 Nov 2021 23:34:49 +0000

In our fifth episode, we discuss Hustle and Flow, directed by Craig Brewer. As Jim displays his total ignorance, CeCe is there to take him to school on what was going on in 2005’s world of rap and hip-hop. In addition to discussions about Terrence Howard the actor and how we should feel about his character DJ, we also discuss Jim’s man-crushes, the toxicity surrounding rap culture, women within the cultural milieu, high and low art, and the question of quality in rap music. And yes, CeCe sings the line.

4 Movies About Music – Mr Holland's Opus (1995)

Mon, 01 Nov 2021 02:38:21 +0000

For our fourth episode, we discuss Mr. Holland’s Opus, directed by Stephen Herek. We talk about the white man’s journey, a familiar theme in movies from this era, the student/teacher dynamic in the arts, music education, and the value of education in our techno-capitalist era. Finally, the hosts, who are neither parents nor young people, give unsolicited advice about parenting and being young.

#mrhollandsopus #musiceducation #teachingmusic

3 Movies About Music – Almost Famous (2000)

Thu, 14 Oct 2021 02:32:35 +0000

In this episode we watch and discuss Cameron Crowe's film Almost Famous. We talk about rock music of the 1970s, the magic that is Penny Lane (and Kate Hudson) and why she defies the manic pixie dream girl trope. We also take a strange detour into the awfulness that is Coldplay, wonder at the Wilson sisters, and dig into what it means to truly love your favorite band. We end the show with a tease of what is coming for Episode 4.

#almostfamous #pennylane #katehudson #70smovies

2 Movies About Music - Sound of Metal (2019)

Fri, 01 Oct 2021 02:26:07 +0000

In this episode, we discuss Sound of Metal, directed by Darius Marder. We dig deep into the two lead characters and what it means to fully live the musician life. CeCe feels for Lou's situation as a performing artist, romantic partner, and daughter, while Jim explores the tragic and spiritual themes of the narrative, with some personal reflections on his own temporary hearing loss scare.

#movies #music #soundofmetal #hearingloss #drummermovies

1 Movies About Music - Introduction

Mon, 27 Sep 2021 02:11:29 +0000

Welcome to the first episode of Movies About Music, where we introduce ourselves and the aims of the show. This is a re-upload for our migration to RedCloud. It originally aired on Sept 27, 2021.

#movies #music #performance #filmtheory #bts #koreanmusic