Episodes

We run through Tom Hanks’ “Forrest Gump” and discuss: Cinematography, long takes, Vietnam; Story & Writing, destiny vs random chance, stories of the downtrodden; Favorite moments; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Sooner or later, if man is ever to be worthy of his destiny, we must fill our hearts with tolerance.“ – Stan Lee Notes & References: Supports us on our Patreon here! “The Endurance” (2000) – this is the documentary Wes is talking about Watch us on YouTube! This Week’s ...

We visit Edson Oda’s “Nine Days” and discuss: Cinematography, natural lighting, poor man’s process; Story & Writing, world building; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Hold fast to dreams, For if dreams die, Life is a broken-winged bird, That cannot fly.“ – Langston Hughes “Dreams” Notes & References: Supports us on our Patreon here! Poor man’s process note: safer on a combo stand not a C-stand lol, didn’t mean to say C-stand Macon Film Festival “Here for the Twist” Festival block MI...

We dive into James Cameron’s “The Abyss” and discuss: Cinematography; Story & Writing, original ending changes everything, “yes, but” storytelling; Dramatizing real life things; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Curiosity is the most powerful thing you own.“ – James Cameron Notes & References: Supports us on our Patreon here! Michael Arndt Insanely Good Endings (Pandemonium.com) Watch us on YouTube! This Week’s Recommendations: “In the Heart of the Sea” (IMDB) / “Dept. Q” (IMDB) T...

We load up Zach Cregger’s “Weapons” and discuss: Cinematography, zooms and high angles; Story & Writing, witchy stuff; Music; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Our job as Americans and as Republicans is to dislodge the traitors from every place where they’ve been sent to do their traitorous work.” – Joseph McCarthy Notes & References: Check out our Patreon here! “Weapons” bidding war (Deadline.com) BTS of child actor on “The Witch” (instagram.com) Watch us on YouTube! This Week’...

We merge with Alison Brie’s “Together” and discuss: Simultaneous Invention, aka “You stole my idea!”; Story & Writing, symbolism, rules rules rules; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back.“ – Plato Notes & References: Check out our Patreon here! Simultaneous Invention (wiki) “Together” is being sued for copyright infringement (thewrap.com) Writer/Director Michael Shanks responds to lawsuit (thewrap.com) Watch us o...

We rocket into Guillermo del Toro’s “Pacific Rim” and discuss: Story & Writing, rule of resistance, the wall; Action Movie Energy; Sound design; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Imagine all the people living life in peace.“ – John Lennon, from “Imagine” Notes & References: Support us on our Patreon here! Watch us on YouTube! Art Spotlight: “I said Oatmilk” directed by Justin Betancourt This Week’s Recommendations: “War of the Worlds” (IMDB) / “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” (I...

We sight George Clooney’s “The American” and discuss: Cinematography, compositions, center framing; Story & Writing, cold opens, adding complexity to simple stories; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Love is like war: easy to begin but very hard to stop.“ – H.L. Mencken Notes & References: “The American” Script link (scriptslug.com) – the PDF is 130 pages, but the listed page count is 108 Director Anton Corbijn’s IMDB – his other big movie is “A Wanted Man”, and he also directed “L...

We try out Penny Marshall’s “A League of Their Own” and discuss: Editing, follow the eyes; Story & Writing, comedy, sports arcs, themes; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “The development of leadership, initiative, and self-confidence in the girls who are to have the tremendously increased responsibilities of women must carry in another generation is surely of vast importance. If they can be encouraged to think, judge, and act on their own responsibility they gain an asset that should...

We soar into James Gunn’s “Superman” and discuss: Cinematography, wide angles; Story & Writing, punk rock, rule of repeats; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “To me, punk is about being an individual and going against the grain and standing up and saying ‘This is who I am’.“ – Joey Ramone Notes & References: Macon FF 2025 The Pestle Patreon Sonic 1 teeth controversy (YouTube) Rendition / Black sites (wiki) Watch us on YouTube! This Week’s Recommendations: “Materialists” (IMDB) / “...

We salute Steve Martin’s “¡Three Amigos!” and discuss: Story & Writing, classic comedy, setting up the confusion; Favorite moments; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “All for one and one for all, united we stand divided we fall.“ – Alexandre Dumas, from The Three Musketeers Notes & References: Check out our Patreon here! Texas Film Commission Locations Service (texas.gov) “Christmas Vacation” Chevy Chase scene Watch us on YouTube! This Week’s Recommendations: “Like Water for Chocola...

We joyride through Brad Pitt’s “F1: The Movie” and discuss: Cinematography, wide angles; Story & Writing, exposition, the real antagonist; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “No one is bigger than the team. If you can’t do things our way, you’re not getting time here and we don’t care who you are.“ – Gregg Popovich Notes & References: Check out our Patreon here! Wolfgang Bodison (IMDB) – actor from A Few Good Men did go on to have what looks like a very respectable acting career! (I’m...

We behold Danny Boyle’s “28 Years Later” and discuss: Cinematography, silhouettes; Story & Writing, sequels, genre tropes; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “The reason that clichés become clichés is that they are the hammers and screwdrivers in the toolbox of communication.“ – Terry Pratchett Notes & References: 28 Days Later budget was $8m USD 28 Years Later budget is reportedly $75m USD 28 Years Later Music by: Young Fathers 28 Weeks Later scripted by Rowan Joffe & Juan Carlos Fre...

We conjure Rackaracka’s “Bring Her Back” and discuss: Child violence on screen; Story & Writing, torturing the audience & characters; Competent filmmaking, character work; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Come back. Even as a shadow, even as a dream.“ – Euripides Notes & References: The big crunch (wiki) Watch us on YouTube! This Week’s Recommendations: “The Life of Chuck” (IMDB) / “The Conjuring” (IMDB) The post Ep 326: “Bring Her Back” appeared first on The Pestle.

We scorch Ben Stiller’s “Tropic Thunder” and discuss: Cinematography, selling satire; Story & Writing, satire vs tropes; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “I think that the power is the principle. The principle of moving forward, as though you have the confidence to move forward, eventually gives you confidence when you look back and see what you’ve done.“ – Robert Downey Jr. Notes & References: *The book is “Hearts of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad; the documentary is “Into the Heart o...

We dive into Tom Cruise’s “Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning” and discuss: Editing dialog-heavy scenes; Story & Writing, exposition dumps, the real villain; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty.“ – Henry David Thoreau Notes & References: AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) (wiki) Emergent Phenomena (wiki) Watch us on YouTube! This Week’s Recommendations: “Warfare” (IMDB) / “Rain Man” (IMDB) The post Ep 324: “Mission Impossible: ...

We drill into Paul Thomas Anderson’s “There Will Be Blood” and discuss: Story & Writing, plot vs character; Daniel Day-Lewis; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.“ – Upton Sinclair Notes & References: *first 15 minutes have no dialog, the script is a little over 6 pages in this sequence *It won Oscars for Best Actor, and Cinematography, only nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay...

We cross into Matthew Vaughn’s “Stardust” and discuss: Cinematography, polished camera moves; Story & Writing, fairytale rules, character wants, love; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep. The more I give to thee, The more I have, for both are infinite.“ – Shakespeare, from Romeo and Juliet Notes & References: 1 Atheist vs 25 Christians Debate (YouTube) Watch us on YouTube! This Week’s Recommendations: Alex O’Connor’s YouTube and P...

We trek across Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road” and discuss: Cinematography, compositions, first frame last frame; Story & Writing, structure, morality, terse dialog; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.“ – James 1:17 (Bible verse) Notes & References: John Hillcoat (IMDB) – directed “Lawless”, “The Proposition” Kodi Smit-McPhee (wiki) – had been acting a...

We summon Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” and discuss: Story & Writing, fairytales, flashbacks, and protagonists; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him.“ – John F. Kennedy Notes & References: Eric Roth (IMDB) – Forrest Gump, Killers of the Flower Moon, Dune Part One, Munich, etc Ludwig Göransson* (not Gustafsson like Wes dumdum said) Loving v Virginia* (wiki (also not Love...

We surveil Rami Malek’s “The Amateur” and discuss: Story & Writing, how world-building impacts the audience experience, setting up your character arcs; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “What idea havers don’t understand is that it’s in the making of all of the microdecisions that the actual work of creation takes place, and that without it the idea might as well not exist.“ – Neal Stephenson Notes & References: “Idea Having is not Art” (Substack.com) – Neal Stephenson article on the ...

We devour Eva Green & Ewan McGregor’s “Perfect Sense” and discuss: Cinematography, contrast, camera movement; Story & Writing, scene character, relationship epidemics; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Yes, there is joy, fulfillment, and companionship, but the loneliness of the soul in its appalling self-consciousness is horrible and overpowering.“ – Sylvia Plath Notes & References: “Scene Character” article (Wordplayer.com) Watch us on YouTube! This Week’s Recommendations: “Life i...

We double-cross Tom Cruise’s original “Mission: Impossible” and discuss: Cinematography, split focus diopters; Story & Writing, the opening, big set pieces; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “Without promotion, something terrible happens… nothing!“ – P.T. Barnum Notes & References: David Koepp (IMDB) Robert Towne (IMDB) Watch us on YouTube! xx Art Spotlight: “The Untold Story” Christian Guzman Documentary This Week’s Recommendations: “The Studio” (IMDB) / “Argo” (IMDB) Wes Evans...

We drift through Sofia Coppola’s “Lost in Translation” and discuss: Cinematography, specificity & purpose with the camera; Story & Writing, Tokyo & language as a metaphor; Performances, Scarlett Johansson doing Marvel movies; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “I try to just make what I want to make or what I would want to see. I try not to think about the audience too much.” “There are always things that I wish were different, or I feel like I’ve made mistakes. But it’s just part of i...

We dig through Steven Soderbergh’s “Black Bag” and discuss: Cinematography, practical lighting; Story & Writing, story engine, subplots; and other such stuff and things and stuff. “A success, to me, is the ability to keep working. That’s success. It has nothing to do with money; it’s the ability to keep getting things made, period.“ – Steven Soderbergh Notes & References: Steven Soderbergh interview (Deadline.com) Looks like there was a B camera operator for at least some scenes (IMDB) Watch u...