Trash, Art, And The Movies
The podcast that pits arthouse cinema against brainless entertainment—and then declares a victor.

Just in time for Christmas, Erin and Paul review two films about harrowing home invasions. First: HOME ALONE, Chris Columbus' 1990 blockbuster starring Macauley Culkin as a boy who fights off a pair of bumbling burglars after being accidentally left behind when the rest of his family goes on a trip to Europe; then, FUNNY GAMES, Michael Haneke's shot-for-shot 2007 English-language remake of his 1997 German original, a Brechtian suspense film about a family whose Long Island vacation home is invaded by a pair of sadistic killers. An iron to the head, or a golf club to the kneecap: which will prevail?

Plus: our quick takes on WILD, ANNIE, INTO THE WOODS, and TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT, as well as our favourite underrated Christmas movies, and listener choices for the director who's had the most negative influence on movies and/or moviemaking.

Direct download: TAATM_129__Home_Alone_vs._Funny_Games.mp3
Category:TV and Film -- posted at: 11:21pm EDT

Erin and Paul review a bunch of films with the same title, but very different views of the law enforcement system. First: BAD BOYS and BAD BOYS II, Michael Bay's pair of over-the-top action blockbusters starring Martin Lawrence and Will Smith as squabbling Miami cops whose investigations leave a massive trail of destruction in their wake; then, BAD BOYS, the gritty 1983 drama starring Sean Penn as an unrepentant teenage criminal who is sentenced to a tough juvenile correctional facility after a small-time robbery gone wrong. A suitcase full of drugs, or a bunch of corpses full of ecstasy: which will prevail?

Plus: our quick takes on TOP FIVE, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, STRANGER BY THE LAKE, and IT'S SUCH A BEAUTIFUL DAY.

Direct download: TAATM_128__Bad_Boys_vs._Bad_Boys_and_Bad_Boys_II.mp3
Category:TV and Film -- posted at: 2:54am EDT

Paul and Erin review two movies about angels mingling with mortals while wearing heavy overcoats. First: WINGS OF DESIRE, Wim Wenders' 1987 classic about an angel in Berlin who decides to become human after falling in love with a beautiful trapeze artist; then, DOGMA, Kevin Smith's raunchy 1999 religious comedy starring Linda Fiorentino as an abortion-clinic employee who is assigned the holy mission of stopping two rogue angels from returning to heaven and thereby causing the end of the world. A Nick Cave concert or an Alanis Morissette cameo: which will prevail? 

Plus: our quick takes on CITIZENFOUR, TUSK, PALO ALTO, and STEP UP ALL IN.

Direct download: TAATM_127__Wings_Of_Desire_vs._Dogma.mp3
Category:TV and Film -- posted at: 2:41am EDT

Erin and Paul review two films about the exciting world of futuristic law enforcement. First: MINORITY REPORT, Steven Spielberg's 2002 Philip K. Dick adaptation, set in a world where a tank full of clairvoyant genetic anomalies allow the police to arrest people for murder before their crimes even happen; then, DEMOLITION MAN, the 1993 sci-fi action satire starring Wesley Snipes as a hyperviolent 20th-century criminal running amok in a wimped-out, politically correct future, and Sylvester Stallone as the cryogenically unfrozen supercop assigned to take him down. Three mysterious "precogs," or three mysterious seashells: which will prevail?

Plus: our quick takes on EVEN COWGIRLS GET THE BLUES, ALTMAN, PREDESTINATION, and BIRD PEOPLE.

Direct download: TAATM_126__Minority_Report_vs._Demolition_Man.mp3
Category:TV and Film -- posted at: 2:47am EDT