Episodes

We look for weaknesses in Brad Pitt’s “World War Z” and discuss: establishing zombie rules; making a hero; making bad situations for the hero; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “I don’t think you need to spend $40 million to be creepy. The best horror films are the ones that are much less endowed.“ – George Romero Watch us on YouTube! Short Spotlight: “Brewhaha” by Elissa Marie This Week’s Recommendations: The post Ep 123: “World War Z” appeared first on The Pestle.

We invade Edgar Wright’s “Shaun of the Dead” and discuss: cinematography, revealing a punchline; comedic editing; humor, apocalypse humor; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “If I fail, the film industry writes me off as another statistic. If I succeed, they pay me a million bucks to fly out to Hollywood and fart.“ – George Romero Watch us on YouTube! This Week’s Recommendations: The post Ep 122: “Shaun of the Dead” appeared first on The Pestle.

We take a stab at “Tucker and Dale vs Evil” and discuss: story & writing, Final Girls, dramatic irony, violent humor, hiding exposition through humor; cinematography, supporting story perspective; practical effects; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “The most difficult character in comedy is that of the fool, and he must be no simpleton that plays that part.“ – Miguel de Cervantes Watch us on YouTube! This Week’s Recommendations: The post Ep 121: “Tucker and Dale vs Evil” appeared f...

We pedal through Rick Famuyiwa’s “Dope” and peddle: story & writing, coming of age stories, writing humor, upping the stakes, kick the dog storytelling; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “There are so many people that don’t come in contact with black men. Whether they live in a homogeneous area that’s mostly white or whether they live in places where they don’t have to come in contact with them. So what kind of contact do they have with African-American males? They have the media, and...

We survive Will Smith’s “I Am Legend” and discuss: cinematography: using light for dramatic effect & storytelling; writing & storytelling: what makes this fun to watch, and what is this movie about; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Every man gotta right to decide his own destiny.“ – Bob Marley Notes & References: For the record: Alice Braga is Brazilian! (And a brilliant actor) Budget for “I Am Legend” was $150 million Watch us on YouTube! This Week’s Recommendations: Gavin Cast...

We invert storytelling convention with Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” and discuss: cinematography, was an actor underexposed?; writing and storytelling, loading the gun film theory, creating a solvable puzzle; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Always make the audience suffer as much as possible.“ – Alfred Hitchcock Notes & References: What is a Shirley Card? Loading the gun theory (“Chekhov’s Gun”) – a dramatic principle that states that every element in a story must be necessary, a...

We re-mem-buh Michael Mann’s “Miami Vice” and discuss: cinematography, shooting multiple formats, emulating a style; story & writing, starting deep into the story, grounding the world; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Leading medical researchers are coming to the conclusion that marijuana, pot, grass, whatever you want to call it, is probably the most dangerous drug in the United States and we haven’t begun to find out all of the ill effects, but they are permanent ill effects.” – R...

We get together, fall apart, and start all over again with Theodore Witcher’s “Love Jones” and discuss: acting, adding subtext through performances; Story & writing, how a romance creates tension, and why sex scenes are great storytelling tools; And other such stuff and things and stuff. “There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart’s desire. The other is to gain it.“ – George Bernard Shaw Notes & References: Roger Ebert’s review circa 1997 – I found this a really fun read cons...

We go all-in on Daniel Craig’s “Casino Royale” and discuss: cinematography, camerawork; Storytelling, rebooting a character, 7 ingredients to a Bond film, and the ending; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Do not let circumstances control you. You change your circumstances.“ – Jackie Chan Notes & References: Sinking a building in “Venice” Video looking at the physics of sinking the building Would Idris Elba accept a James Bond role? Sony exec wanted Idris Elba for next Bond iteratio...

We compute Danny Boyle’s “Steve Jobs” and discuss: cinematography, camerawork; music; Story & writing, dramatic conflict; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “I define nothing. Not beauty, not patriotism. I take each thing as it is, without prior rules about what it should be.“ – Bob Dylan Notes & References: CinemAtlas.com! – cool site to cross-reference films/tv shows, give it a whirl! David Fincher was originally slated to direct and even referred to the script as a “play” The ori...

We quietly watch Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight” and discuss: cinematography, camerawork, and lighting; Directing, visual storytelling; Makeup, how it can affect the schedule; Story & writing; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic.” – Oscar Wilde from “The Picture of Dorian Gray” Notes & References: Excellent article with story writer Tarell Alvin McCraney Watch us on YouTube! This Week’s Recommendations: The post Ep 11...

We invade Christopher Nolan’s “Inception” and interpret: directing: riding the line between dramatic and hokey; writing: creating a new universe, the meaning in a name; the ending: what is the answer to this mind-spinning ending; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.“ – Buddha Notes & References: SPOILER at the bottom of this section in gray text Charles & Ray Eames wikipedia Eames exh...

We salute Aaron Sorkin’s “A Few Good Men” and discuss: cinematography: background and blocking; writing: strong characters, subtext, character descriptions in a screenplay; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “They’re entitled to full respect for their opinions… but before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.“ – Harper Lee, from To Kill a Mockingbird Watch us on YouTube! Notes & Reference...

We look at Ava DuVernay’s “13th” and discuss: cinematography, inserting metaphor into the frame; editing; stories of casual encounters with police; protests in Austin; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery.“ – Malcolm X Police Encounters from my friends A couple of Shomari’s stories: https://thepestlepodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Police-stories-Shomari....

We dig our way through Frank Darabont’s “The Shawshank Redemption” and discuss: cinematography, color, camerawork, and lighting; editing, the use of dissolves; story & writing; why Shawshank is so rewatchable; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.“ – Nelson Mandela Notes & References: Article about prison rape – clarification from the article: “it’s not clear...

We latch onto Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite” and dissect: cinematography; writing & story, setups, payoffs, simple exposition; contextualizing art; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “What makes international cinema so interesting is that each territory has its own sensibility. When you look at an Indian or French film, there’s a certain flavor. And even though the language is different, if the film is successful, it has something very common and understandable.“ – Wong Kar Wai Notes & ...

We find serenity in Jerry Seinfeld’s “Seinfeld” and discuss: story & writing; cinematography; and other such stuff and things and stuff. Calvin & Hobbes – “Calvin: Isn’t it strange that evolution would give us a sense of humour? When you think about it, it’s weird that we have a physiological response to absurdity. We laugh at nonsense. We like it. We think it’s funny. Don’t you think it’s odd that we appreciate absurdity? Why would we develop that way? How does it benefit us? Hobbes: I sup...

We gather our rosebuds to watch the pilot of “How I Met Your Mother” and discuss: writing & story, how HIMYM is different from Friends; cinematography; casting a project; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.“ – Maya Angelou Watch us on YouTube! This Week’s Recommendations: The post Ep 106: “How I Met Your Mother” (Pilot) appeared first on The Pestle.

We grab a spoon and dig into the pilot episode of “Friends” and discuss: cinematography; editing a laugh track and establishing shots; writing, how Friends shifts over its entire series run; and other such stuff and things and stuff. A.A. Milne, from Winnie the Pooh – “Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. “Pooh!” he whispered. “Yes, Piglet?”, “Nothing,” said Piglet, taking Pooh’s paw. “I just wanted to be sure of you.“ Notes & References: James Burrows iMDB Watch us on YouTube! This Week...

We drop in for a quick brew at Ted Danson’s “Cheers” and discuss: cinematography; TV comedy writing; theme song; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “And I will make it felony to drink small beer.“ – Shakespeare’s Henry VI (year 1592) Notes & References: James Burrows iMDB Watch us on YouTube! This Week’s Recommendations: The post Ep 104: “Cheers” (pilot) appeared first on The Pestle.

We gaze into Alex Garland’s “Devs” and discuss: cinematography, deterministic camera movement; music; story & writing; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “History is a race between education and catastrophe.“ – HG Wells Notes & References: The Double Slit Experiment explained (PBS on YouTube) Watch us on YouTube! This Week’s Recommendations: The post Ep 103: “Devs” appeared first on The Pestle.

We weep through Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women” and discuss: cinematography, distinguishing past from present; editing, using pace to set expectations; story & writing; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “To free us from the expectations of others, to give us back to ourselves – there lies the great, singular power of self-respect.“ – Joan Didion Notes & References: Greta Gerwig on the Scriptnotes podcast Watch us on YouTube! This Week’s Recommendations: The post Ep 102: “Little Wo...

We march through Sam Mendes’ “1917” and discuss: cinematography, first and last frame, creating coverage in a long take; story & writing, setups and payoffs; editing, tips & tricks of hiding a cut; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “The enemy? His sense of duty was no less than yours, I deem. You wonder what his name is, where he came from. And if he was really evil at heart. What lies or threats led him on this long march from home. If he would not rather have stayed there in peac...

We travel through Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” and discuss: cinematography, resetting the frame; audio + music; writing & storytelling, immersive storytelling; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Breaking rules isn’t interesting. It’s making up new ones that keeps things exciting.“ – Christopher Nolan Short Spotlight: “A Palawan Prewedding” by John Carl Tejada This Week’s Recommendations: The post Ep 100: “Interstellar” Redux appeared first on The Pestle.