People may complain about Hollywood, but there is just something about a classic Hollywood story or a story of classic Hollywood that does it for us. Who doesn't want to see something about the glitz, glamor, and seedy underbelly of this place that has inspired countless dreamers? Who doesn't want to see an old school David vs. Goliath adventure, but one told in a new way?
They make not be perfect films, but "Hail, Caesar!" and "The Finest Hours" do have a whole lot to recommend them.
Just what makes a professional gambler tick? How do they go about their job and what do they think of it? How do they see others who do the same? Scott Eberly joins us today to talk about his new documentary, "The Best of It," which explores these issues.
Not only that, but we also delve into Scott himself and find out why he chose to make this film.
Josh thinks Michael Moore isn't wrong in his ideas, but he does think that Moore's execution in the director's latest documentary, "Where to Invade Next," his frustrating. More than frustrating, Josh finds it infuriating.
Why? Where does Moore go wrong? What is missing? For that, you will have to listen.
"The Lady in the Van" has so much to offer the viewer. It isn't just about the incredible performance by Maggie Smith, or the great story, it is also about the brilliance of setting the Alan Bennett who writes opposite the Alan Bennett who lives and then tossing in the real Alan Bennett for good measure.
It makes one stop and think. At least, it made Josh stop and think. Hear what he thought--or what he says he thought--on this episode.
Shot as a first-person movie, "Hardcore Henry" offers up a fascinating gimmick that it is never able to turn into a worthwhile movie. It is a great disappointment because a lot of effort has to have gone into the filming itself but it's effort wasted. It isn't just that the story is dismal, it's that the gimmick itself is poorly executed. Today, we discuss.
In 2015, Robert Edwards premiered his newest movie at the Tribeca Film Festival. Now, almost a year later, the film, "One More Time" (shown at the festival as When I Live My Life Over Again"), is opening in theaters.
Edwards joins "Lass is More" today to talk to us about why he stepped away from his comfort zone for this movie and whether his experience writing songs for the film may have inspired a career change.
Josh loves his son, but that hasn't made it any easier for Josh to watch his son grow up preferring red lightsabers and always choosing to be a Stormtrooper or Sith Lord over a Jedi. Could the boy be Kylo to Josh's Han? It is a fear that has kept Josh up at night.
Perhaps though watching "The Force Awakens" has stopped the young lad's trip down the Dark Path. Perhaps it no longer dominates his destiny.
Perhaps.
Just what does it take for a writer/director to get their vision on screen? Just what does it take for two of them to make it happen together? Today, the co-directors and co-writers of "They're Watching," Jay Lender and Micah Wright, stop by the podcast to tell Josh about their process, whether it's in animation, graphic novels, or this not-quite-a-horror-comedy that is opening in theaters and on demand on March 25th.
Today, Josh cogitates about "The Peanuts Movie" and "Zootopia." These two films are, as he sees it, almost exact opposites of one another. "Peanuts" depicts a stripped-down world, the distilled Charlie Brown story. "Zootopia" on the other band builds an incredible, exciting, amazing world.
Two films, two opposite approaches, but both wind up being brilliant.
Want to see people get angry? Talk to them about bailouts and banks and the way we should treat those who tank the entire economy in order to line their own pockets.
"The Big Short" does just that and it does it well, but Josh isn't entirely sure it does it well enough. If you ask him (and you do), it comes up short in one very important area...
When did asking people to be humane and do the right thing become political? When did the notion that we should all help each other out become political? Why is it that we all too regularly turn on each other when we should be looking out for one another?
"Lass is More" is back after taking last week off and Josh finds himself disheartened with the world.
Earlier this week, "Lass is More" released the first half of our interview with two of the folks involved in a movie looking at Colorado's legalization of marijuana, "Rolling Papers." That discussion concludes today with Ricardo Baca, an editor at The Denver Post and the man in charge of the marijuana coverage at the paper and affiliated website, The Cannabist (http://www.thecannabist.co).
Today we have the first part of our interview with two of the individuals who took part in the documentary, "Rolling Papers." The film focuses on the first year marijuana was legal in Colorado. As for us, we speak to Mitch Dickman, the director of the movie, and Ricardo Baca, who helms The Denver Post's coverage of marijuana and a central figure in the movie.
A long conversation, we at "Lass is More" have opted to split it into two parts, with the second part coming in a couple of days.
The movie "Grandmother" offers us all a look at a very serious issue which Josh does not tackle here as well as the notions of love and family, which he does.
What does it mean to have someone in our lives like Lily Tomlin's Elle Reid? She is a woman whom her family can go to when they need help. She is fiercely protective and while she may be a little exuberant or uncouth, she has her loved ones' best interests at heart.
For years--decades, really--Josh has pined for a larger television, something to help immerse him in whatever sort of nonsense he chooses to watch at home. A bigger TV, in his mind, would mean less to pull away away from a movie.
This week, Josh explains that desire in depth and wonders whether it would have helped his enjoyment of Guillermo del Toro's latest film, "Crimson Peak."
Soliloquies are lovely, but how many can you really have in a single movie? People talk to each other, people have conversations, people interact with one another. It's the way it works in real life and it's the way it works in the movies.
So, because February is approaching and because relationships are important, today "Lass is More" looks at the relationships seen in three different movies, "Chi-Raq," "Meet the Patels," and "Burnt."
Have you ever watched a movie and thought "that could never happen to me?" Sure, we all have. Why do movies have such trouble identifying those moments? What makes them so hard to see?
The otherwise brilliant "Straight Outta Compton" has a big one. We discuss on today's episode.
Welcome to the new year. It is a time of change, a time of upheaval. A time of approaching things different.
We regularly hear about revolutionary change at this time of year, but that's not how Josh works. He prefers incremental change; incremental improvements. Take the movie "Sicario." It is a fantastic cops vs. drug traffickers story, the exact same kind you've seen before. But it's also better than the ones you've seen before.
Why? Incremental improvements to a proven formula.