The Pestle: In-depth Movie Talk, No Fluff | Film Review | Spoilers

We devour Brian Duffield’s “Whalefall” and discuss: Cinematography, visual storytelling; Story & Writing, memory lane as exposition; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Life is not always a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well.“ – Jack London Notes & References: Supports us on our Patreon here! Brian Duffield (IMDB) – “No One Will Save You”, “Spontaneous”, “Underwater”, “The Babysitter” Watch us on YouTube! This Week’s Recommendations: “Sense and Sensi

We go a little mad over Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” and discuss: Cinematography, using shadows, camera moves, visual storytelling; Story & Writing, MacGuffins, rule of resistance; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Fear isn’t so difficult to understand. After all, weren’t we all frightened as children? Nothing has changed since Little Red Riding Hood faced the big bad wolf. What frightens us today is exactly the same sort of thing that frightened us yesterday. It’s just a different wo

We level with Tom Cruise’s “Digger” and discuss: Story & Writing, satire, showing the reaction instead of the event, what makes a great monologue and a great argument on the page; Cinematography, the flat color palette and pillarbox framing, wide-angle close-ups; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: Oh Lord, make my enemies ridiculous. And God granted it.“ – Voltaire Notes & References: Supports us on our Patreon here! ExxonMo

We sit (Ubu, Sit! Good dog.) through Brad Pitt’s “Heart of the Beast” and discuss: Cinematography, composing a nice image; Story & Writing, man vs nature, structure; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Learning does not make one learned: there are those who have knowledge and those who have understanding. The first requires memory and the second philosophy.“ – Alexandre Dumas, from The Count of Monte Cristo Notes & References: Supports us on our Patreon here! Heart of the Beast was fil

We dive into Zach Cregger’s “Resident Evil” and discuss: Video game adaptations; Cinematography & Directing, single source lighting, building a moment; Story & Writing, choosing the right character for the story, theme?; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Look, whispered Chuck, and George lifted his eyes to heaven. (There is always a last time for everything.) Overhead, without any fuss, the stars were going out.“ – Arthur C. Clarke Notes & References: Supports us on our Patreon here

We relive Bill Murray’s “Groundhog Day” and discuss: Story & Writing, humor, theme; Finding a surprise supporting actor; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “I used to live in a room full of mirrors; all I could see was me. I take my spirit and I crash my mirrors, now the whole world is here for me to see.“ – Jimi Hendrix Notes & References: Supports us on our Patreon here! *Correction: Pretty sure Ramis is pronounced “RAY-miss” and not “RAY-mee” – per this CNN segment that’s how they