podcast | the m0vie blog

113. Once Upon a Time In America (#70)

Posted on January 12, 2019 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, The 250 is a fortnightly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users.

This time, Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America.

Drawn back to New York City from a decades-long exile, retired gangster David “Noodles” Aaronson discovers that the past is not buried nearly as well as he might like. Navigating a complex web of secrets and betrayals, “Noodles” is forced to confront sins past; both his own and those dearest to him.

At time of recording, it was ranked the 70th best movie of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

Continue reading →

109. Star Wars (#22)

Posted on December 15, 2018 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, this week joined by special guests Marianne Cassidy and Grace Duffy, The 250 is a (mostly) weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released every second Saturday at 6pm GMT, with the occasional bonus episode between them.

This time, George Lucas’ Star Wars.

A long time ago in a galaxy far away, the Empire and the Rebellion struggle for control of the cosmos. Against this backdrop, three unlikely heroes ascend, embarking upon a mythic journey that will reveal dark secrets and promise new hope.

At time of recording, it was ranked the 22nd best movie of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

Continue reading →

Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: a new hope, auteur theory, capitalism, fandom, grace duffy, marianne cassidy, new hollywood, podcast, star wars | 4 Comments »

New Podcast! On “Filibuster #147” Talking “Christopher Nolan: A Critical Study of the Films” with Lee Hutchinson and Dallas King

Posted on December 12, 2018 by Darren

I had the good fortune to stop by the latest Filibuster to chat about my latest book with Lee Hutchinson and Dallas King. Lee and Dallas were, as ever, gracious hosts and t was a joy to discuss Nolan for an hour with two fans of contemporary cinema on their last podcast of the year. I hope you’ll give it a listen.

You can listen to the podcast directly at the Filibuster website, but you can also listen to it directly below. You can also buy Christopher Nolan: A Critical Study of the Film as a print or ebook from a variety of online (and bricks and mortar) stores now.

Filed under: Movies, Podcasts! | Tagged: Christopher Nolan, Dallas King, filibuster, Lee Hutchinson, podcast | 2 Comments »

New Podcast! Standard Orbit #246 – “A Tale Of Three Producers “

Posted on November 26, 2018 by Darren

I was thrilled to be invited to join the great Zach Moore on Standard Orbit, a Star Trek: The Original Series podcast hosted over at Trek FM. I appeared on the show last year to discuss the third season of the series, and so it makes sense that I should be back to discuss the second season.

Zach got in touch after reading some of my reviews for the second season from several years back. He was particularly fascinated with my breakdown of the season between three producers: Gene L. Coon, John Meredyth Lucas and Gene Roddenberry. Each of those three producers had their own unique style and each brought their distinct sensibility to the series. In fact, watching the season in production order, there a discernible shift between the three talents involved. Coon was much more interested in playing with the tropes and conventions of the young series, while Lucas was engaged with more traditional science-fiction storytelling and Roddenberry had his own strong idea of what the series could be.

Zach was, as ever, a very gracious host. I had great fun discussing it. You can hear the full discussion below or visit the episode page here.

Continue reading →

Filed under: Podcasts!, The Original Series | Tagged: discussion, Gene L. Coon, gene roddenberry, john meredyth lucas, podcast, review, season 2, standard orbit, star trek | Leave a comment »

New Podcast! Scannain Podcast (2018) #44!

Posted on November 22, 2018 by Darren

It’s time for the latest Scannain podcast! Almost live from the Dublin Feminist Film Festival this week.

Recorded late on Wednesday evening, following the screening of the festival shorts and Parklands. Directed by Kathryn Millard, with cinematography by Mandy Walker, Parklands is notable as Cate Blanchett’s first starring role. So Jay Coyle, Ronan Doyle and I talk a little bit about our reactions to both the shorts and the film itself.

As usual, we talk about the top ten and the new releases, as well as what we’ve watched this week outside of the festival. In this episode, Jay discusses both the massive list of great films he has to watch before the end of the year, and his decision to watch both The Meg and Skyscraper instead. Ronan has seen two of the films in the top ten, having very strong opinions about both A Star is Born and Bohemian Rhapsody.

There is a lot to cover in news, including the announcement of a new Criterion streaming service risen from the ashes of Filmstruck, the awards at the Cork Film Festival, the Irish Film Festival London, the Polish Film Festival at the Irish Film Institute and the launch of Screen Skills Ireland. So a busy week.

The top ten:

Overlord
Johnny English Strikes Again
Burn The Stage: The Movie
Smallfoot
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
Widows
A Star is Born
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Grinch
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

New releases:

Robin Hood
Nativity Rocks!
Nobody’s Fool
Serenity
Shoplifters
Student of the Year 2
Pokemon: The Power of Us
The Camino Voyage
The Christmas Chronicles
The Girl in the Spider’s Web

You can download the episode here, or listen to it below.

Filed under: Movies, Podcasts! | Tagged: a star is born, bohemian rhapsody, film, podcast, review, scannain, skyscraper, the girl in the spider's web, the meg | Leave a comment »

105. Bohemian Rhapsody – This Just In (#123)

Posted on November 18, 2018 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and with special guests Marianne Cassidy and Luke Dunne, This Just In is a subset of The 250 podcast, looking at notable new arrivals on the list of the 250 best movies of all-time, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users.

This time, Bryan Singer and Dexter Fletcher’s Bohemian Rhapsody.

At time of recording, it was ranked the 123rd best movie of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

Continue reading →

Filed under: This Just In | Tagged: bohemian rhapsody, film, imdb, podcast, remi malek, The 250, This Just In | Leave a comment »

New Podcast! Scannain Podcast (2018) #43!

Posted on November 15, 2018 by Darren

It’s time for the latest Scannain podcast! A somewhat abridged edition this week, due to time constraints.

This week, I join Jay Coyle and Grace Duffy to discuss the week in film. As usual, we talk about the top ten and the new releases, as well as what we’ve watched this week. In this episode, Jay discusses continues his disaster movie marathon with Volcano and the questionable inclusion of Cliffhanger. Varda Season continues apace. Meanwhile, Grace gets into the Christmas spirit and walks us through some highlights of her ~~binge of~~ research into Netflix’s Christmas films.

The news this week is abridged, but there’s a brief discussion of the passing of Stan Lee and the awards given out by Irish Film London before the Irish Film Festival London.

The top ten: