Can We Still Be Friends? – A Movie Podcast

With the Academy failing to nominate a single non-white actor in any acting category for the second year in a row, Nate and Ryan watch John Singleton’s breakout 1991 film Boyz N the Hood. The film earned the first-time writer/director nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Director, making him not only the youngest person nominated for the award (24 years old), but also the first black person to receive the best directing nomination. It would be 19 years before another black person was nominated for Best Director, when Lee Daniels was nominated for Precious. This second straight year without a non-white acting nominee has prompted many to take a serious look at what is really happening in Hollywood.

Additionally, high-profile and controversial performances by Beyonce at the Super Bowl and Kendrick Lamar at the Grammys are causing (at best) conversation about the realities of systemic racism and life as an African American and (at worst) fear-filled reactions to the idea that these thoughts and feelings are finally being expressed on the world’s biggest stages.

Boyz N the Hood is a unique and personal story from a way of life that was, and is, severely misunderstood by most people in America. Released just one year prior to the Rodney King beating and the riots that followed the acquittal of the police officers responsible, Boyz N the Hood is not only considered a landmark film from a dynamic first-time director, but has proven to be an important primary historical source, telling the story of life in south central Los Angeles as it was happening.

Nate and Ryan have it out over 1983’s beloved A Christmas Story just in time for the most wonderful time of the year: Christmas movie season. This is one of their earliest film fights, and time has done little to calm the storm. As with any good blizzard, it’s best to just put another log on the fire, cuddle up, and watch the madness from the safety of your home.

What are your thoughts on A Christmas Story? Is Ryan too sensitive? Or do you agree with him, but you’ve been afraid to admit it for fear of the backlash? Is Nate right to join in singing the praises of this holiday classic? What place does this movie (or any other Christmas movie) have in your annual traditions?

In this episode, Nate and Ryan discuss the listener-suggested, landmark 1999 documentary American Movie. Director Chris Smith profiles independent filmmaker Mark Borchardt, a Milwaukee native who dreams of finally making the film that has been brewing inside him from childhood. With aspirations only outsized by his debts and with self-motivating talk that only barely drowns out the detracting voices of his family, Borchardt gathers together friends and other aspiring filmmakers to help complete “Coven.”

While American Movie is held in high esteem, it has its fair share of critics who question the attitude the audience is supposed to take toward Borchardt. As always, Nate and Ryan don’t shy away from the tough questions and tackle those issues head-on, man.

American Movie is streaming on Crackle.

During the episode we mention this recent interview with director Chris Smith on The Dissolve.

Also, we spend some time talking about Jodorowsky’s Dune. We both highly recommend it.

In honor of the 20th anniversary of the release of Pulp Fiction, Nate and Ryan invite their good friend Tim Yoder in to point guns at one another while screaming about the polarizing figure that is writer/director Quentin Tarantino. Pulp Fiction is a brilliant film that marked a change in American film, especially American independent film. Spawning several imitators and even more debates, Pulp Fiction solidified Quentin Tarantino as an important filmmaker. It also left many questioning whether he was a genius or just a provocateur.

Nate, Ryan, and Tim discuss Tarantino’s full catalogue as a way of better understanding who he is and how we might receive his work. If you haven’t seen all his movies, or haven’t seen them in a while, we suggest watching and re-watching them. It’s an interesting exercise and you’ll probably find that the films aren’t quite what you remember, for good and bad. However, we’d suggest spacing your viewings out a bit. Too much Quentin Tarantino can be quite Tarantiring.

In the episode, Tim mentions a video by Tony Zhou that analyzes the visual comedy of Edgar Wright, but also mentions Tarantino and is a fantastic, interesting video nonetheless. Zhou does an amazing job explaining quickly and simply why Edgar Wright is on another level when it comes to comedy film-making. A must see for fans of Edgar Wright. And if you aren’t a fan of Edgar Wright, what is wrong with you?

Nate and Ryan revisit Oliver Stone’s controversial classic from 1991: JFK. Inspired by the incredible light-shedding documentary OJ: Made in America, Nate and Ryan wanted to rewatch another film that explores the details of one of the most famous events in history. The film follows New Orleans attorney Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) as he dredges up any and all information he can about the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Something about the assassination and subsequent government report seemed off to Garrison so he pursued the truth, even if it meant the collapse of his professional and personal life. JFK is a quiet classic. Critics and film historians revere it, but it is rarely brought up among the greats of all time. Nate and Ryan discuss whether it deserves a place among the best films, or if it is too loose with its blurring of facts and agenda.

Have you recently sat through all of JFK? What do you think about it as a movie, or as a piece of historical art? What is your opinion of Kevin Costner or Oliver Stone? Who is more divisive? Let us know!

Frontline panel discussion featuring Oliver Stone – Hollywood & History: The debate over JFK.