134: Summer of Soul (...or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (2021)
It's a new month for the Watchcast, and with that comes a new theme of music movies! And kicking things off is the 2021 ?uestlove film Summer of Soul, a doc that unearths a treasure trove of musical performances from the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival.
CHAPTERS:
(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 134: Summer of Soul (...or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (2021)
(00:00:38) - Intro.
(00:02:32) - The times in which this festival takes place.
(00:07:05) - We love a documentary that unearths footage people haven't ever seen before.
(00:12:26) - What an insane lineup of great music.
(00:16:45) - How did this festival happen, and why did this footage disappear for so long?
(00:30:13) - Break!
(00:30:58) - We're back, and it's time to get into the festival itself.
(00:34:48) - The marvel that is Stevie Wonder.
(00:39:12) - The Chambers Brothers.
(00:40:48) - The youngest any of us have ever seen BB King look."
(00:42:46) - On jazz flute and The 5th Dimension.
(00:45:48) - A whole lot of gospel.
(00:53:15) - David Ruffin sans Temptations.
(00:55:56) - Shout out to Gladys Knight (and The Pips!)
(00:58:15) - Here comes Sly.
(01:03:37) - The broader cultural shifts.
(01:08:03) - Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln.
(01:10:06) - The power of Nina Simone.
(01:17:27) - How good this movie is at weaving its history with the performances.
(01:22:43) - Final thoughts.
(01:28:34) - Housekeeping for Alex's upcoming list, and next week's movie: Metallica: Some Kind of Monster!
(01:34:41) - Outro.
--------
1:35:22
133: Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)
We close out April on the Watchcast with the weirdest documentary of the slate, notorious street artist Banksy's examination of himself, the scene he stood at the vanguard of, and his (perhaps) unwitting hand in the commercialization of the movement, Exit Through the Gift Shop.
CHAPTERS:
(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 133: Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)
(00:00:17) - Intro.
(00:00:53) - Alright, let's just get into it. Is any of this shit real?
(00:14:32) - It's time to uncover Banksy (not really).
(00:23:34) - The Space Invader connection, and the arc of Thierry's career through the movie.
(00:29:04) - Thierry films EVERYTHING.
(00:35:02) - Break!
(00:35:26) - We're back, and Thierry breaks in.
(00:47:10) - Banksy and Thierry become fast friends, and the street art scene becomes mainstream.
(00:56:52) - Life Remote Control.
(01:02:14) - Banksy becomes a filmmaker, and Thierry becomes an artist.
(01:13:05) - Life Is Beautiful (is a nightmare).
(01:21:01) - A rousing and tragic success.
(01:28:59) - What, if anything, did we learn?
(01:32:35) - Final thoughts.
(01:46:08) - Housekeeping for next month's theme: Music Movies!
(01:54:49) - Outro.
--------
1:55:40
132: Jurassic Punk (2022)
On this week's Watchcast Brad's documentary pick is up to bat, and he's selected Jurassic Punk, a movie that both chronicles the early days of computer generated special effects at ILM, and serves as a character study of the embittered genius that is Steve 'Spaz' Williams.
CHAPTERS:
(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 132: Jurassic Punk (2022)
(00:00:30) - Intro.
(00:15:55) - The central figure of this week's doc: Steve 'Spaz' Williams.
(00:22:44) - Diving headlong into The Abyss.
(00:27:11) - The Terminator 2 flex.
(00:36:39) - Break!
(00:37:05) - We're back, and let's talk about the team around Steve.
(00:44:58) - A movie about some dinosaurs.
(00:51:35) - On hierarchies and Oscar speeches.
(01:00:24) - Running afoul of George Lucas.
(01:04:00) - Steve's first special lady.
(01:06:20) - Steve's post-Jurassic Park career.
(01:20:09) - Maybe the least memorable computer animated film of all-time.
(01:22:11) - Things take a dark turn.
(01:26:57) - Things do manage to improve.
(01:32:16) - A little bit of Where Are They Now?
(01:37:09) - Final thoughts.
(01:47:53) - Notes on our final film for April: Exit Through the Gift Shop!
(01:50:30) - Outro.
--------
1:50:57
131: American Movie (1999) and Coven (1997)
It's time to kick off our month of documentaries, and leading us off is one of Alex's favorite slice of life stories in cinema, American Movie! Join us as we talk through Mark and his motley film crew's attempt at making the next great American horror short film, and then review the aforementioned short film as well. That's right, a double feature (technically)!
CHAPTERS:
(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 131: American Movie (1999) and Coven (1997)
(00:00:27) - Intro.
(00:01:12) - Our first documentary for this month of April: American Movie!
(00:07:50) - The set-up, and who is behind this movie.
(00:13:15) - Mark's frustrations and failures (and other people's perceptions of him).
(00:18:29) - Is this a depressing movie? Also, how viable is Mark's market strategy here?
(00:27:52) - The level of access the filmmakers had to these folks.
(00:32:18) - Break!
(00:32:46) - We're back, and let's talk about the people Mark is able to bring into his orbit.
(00:39:03) - The beautiful soul that is Mike Schank.
(00:46:35) - Uncle Bill.
(00:50:38) - The various other players.
(00:56:59) - The long winter of pick-up shots and ADR, and Mark's new love.
(01:02:26) - Mark hates having a real job, and all the delightful behind-the-scenes filming footage.
(01:07:54) - Getting ready for the premiere.
(01:15:17) - We have seen Coven. It is a film that was completed, and we watched it.
(01:25:41) - Mark made a movie, but at what cost?
(01:29:35) - Where did they all go after this?
(01:35:59) - Final thoughts.
(01:42:12) - Some quick notes on next week's movie, and outro.
--------
1:44:58
130: Dark City (1998)
We round out our month of weird dystopian cities with the darkest dystopian city of them all: the one literally called Dark City. Join us as we try to find the way to Shell Beach, and along the way finally answer the question of what makes a man: his memory, or his power level.
CHAPTERS:
(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 130: Dark City (1998)
(00:00:25) - Intro.
(00:01:10) - Getting into our histories (or non-histories) with our movie this week: Dark City!
(00:07:54) - What is a man? What is real? Is this The Matrix?
(00:11:52) - Talking about the city design and its mishmash of eras and architectures.
(00:15:00) - How this movie got made, and how it differs structurally between the theatrical and director's cuts.
(00:27:30) - Kicking off the movie with Kiefer's Capital A Acting.
(00:33:34) - John Murdoch has no idea what's going on.
(00:40:40) - The Strangers.
(00:48:30) - Emma, you may not have a future in lounge singing.
(00:54:15) - Break!
(00:55:02) - We're back, and we're taking a trip to the Automat.
(00:59:39) - Meeting Inspector Bumstead.
(01:04:26) - The Strangers first make contact with Murdoch.
(01:12:58) - A brief divergence into Star Trek lore.
(01:15:04) - John and Emma meet (for the first time?)
(01:18:30) - Mr. Hand reveals his, er, hand.
(01:23:23) - Spiral man's crazy apartment, and The Tuning begins.
(01:35:22) - Mr. Hand takes the mind juice, and John (briefly) meets a kindred spirit.
(01:40:07) - Mr. Hand accosts Emma.
(01:44:20) - Visiting Uncle Karl.
(01:48:09) - Bumstead's accordian.
(01:53:23) - A building sandwich, and John is...under arrest?
(02:00:09) - Schreber's big dumps, and what's on the other side of that wall.
(02:10:36) - John is dragged to the subsurface city, and Dragon Ball Z happens.
(02:18:53) - A terrific epilogue.
(02:25:54) - Final thoughts.
(02:32:55) - Some foward looking talk for the Watchcast.
The Nextlander crew branches out into media that doesn't require a controller to enjoy! Join Alex, Brad, and Vinny as they watch the movies, shows, and anime they've either missed out on up to this point in their lives, or just want to revisit again.
Australia