The Next Picture Show

BLACK BAG, Steven Soderbergh’s latest 90-minute collaboration with writer David Koepp, is in theory a sprawling international spy thriller, but in practice it’s a more intimate study of how a marriage can thrive in an environment where trusting your spouse is considered a weakness. This week we talk about how that genre disconnect works for and against BLACK BAG, before bringing in this pairing’s companion film, 1934’s THE THIN MAN, to compare how Nick and Nora Charles’s bantering, crime-solving partnership compares to the cooler, less boozy charms of Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender’s married spies. Then for Your Next Picture Show, we reach back to one of this podcast’s very first episodes to cannibalize a recommendation for a film that we’ve already covered on the show, but was too clear an inspiration on BLACK BAG to ignore. (And really, is there ever a bad time to recommend WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?) Please share your thoughts about THE THIN MAN, BLACK BAG, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.Next pairing: David Cronenberg’s THE SHROUDS and THE FLYChapters:Intro: 00:00:00-00:02:04Black Bag discussion: 00:02:04-00:29:03Black Bag/The Thin Man Connections: 00:29:03-00:58:35Your Next Picture Show: 00:58:35-01:04:50Next episode preview and goodbyes: 1:104:50-end Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steven Soderbergh’s new BLACK BAG is a spy thriller, sure, but it’s also the story of a marriage, and watching its sophisticated central couple banter their way through a sprawling mystery, it’s hard not to be reminded of one of cinema’s most enduring and endearing crime-solving couples, Nick and Nora Charles. So this week we’re going back to their film debut, 1934’s THE THIN MAN, to see how W.S. Van Dyke’s (barely) pre-Code crime caper balances the effervescent charm of its hard-drinking stars against the plot mechanics of a murder mystery, and whether any of the film’s many supporting players ever manage to steal the spotlight from Nick, Nora, and their disobedient dog Asta. Then in Feedback, a listener writes in with a notable omission from our recent discussion of STARSHIP TROOPERS.Please share your thoughts about THE THIN MAN, BLACK BAG, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.Chapters:Intro/favorite movie dinner scenes: 00:00:00-00:08:44The Thin Man Keynote: 00:08:45-00:15:43The Thin Man Discussion: 00:15:44-00:56:44Feedback/outro: 00:56:45-end Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bong Joon Ho’s new MICKEY 17 takes a lot of big swings, from star Robert Pattinson’s vocal affectation to a comedic fixation on “sauce,” all of it in service of big, bold, arguably blunt satire. It all makes for a somewhat messy but highly discussable film, both on its own and in conversation with Paul Verhoeven’s STARSHIP TROOPERS, another big swing of a sci-fi satire that aims to entertain as it undermines propagandistic societies where leaders rule by catchphrase, where citizenship is conditional, and where working-class lives are expendable. We dive into all of that, plus space bugs that may not actually be bugs, then offer a Your Next Picture Show recommendation for another MICKEY 17 pairing contender, Duncan Jones’ MOON.Please share your thoughts about STARSHIP TROOPERS, MICKEY 17, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.Next pairing: Steven Soderbergh’s BLACK BAG and W.S. Van Dyke’s THE THIN MANChapters:Intro: 00:00:00-00:01:55Mickey 17 discussion: 00:01:56-00:31:19Mickey 17/Starship Troopers Connections: 00:31:20-1:07:03Your Next Picture Show: 1:07:04-1:12:50Next episode preview and goodbyes: 1:12:51-1:16:11 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s pairing is brought to you by: space bugs! Specifically, space bugs as a metaphor for a fascistic society’s disregard for any perceived-to-be-lower life form, human or otherwise. Inspired by the clear satire of Bong Joon Ho’s new MICKEY 17, we’re revisiting Paul Verhoeven’s STARSHIP TROOPERS, whose satirical intent was less clear to some audiences when it hit theaters in 1997. Today, while we’re on the same page as far as what Verhoeven was going for with his propagandistic display of military might, opinions still differ among our panel as to how well he pulled it off. We get into that disagreement, as well as the surprisingly enduring effects and the improbability of a film like this being made in Hollywood today. Then in Feedback, a listener inspired by a recent pairing shares their reaction to a first-time viewing of THE KILLING FIELDS. Please share your thoughts about STARSHIP TROOPERS, MICKEY 17, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.Intro/space threats discussion: 00:00:00-00:06:02Starship Troopers Keynote: 00:06:03-00:11:41Starship Trooper Discussion: 00: 11:42-00:52:46Feedback/outro: 00:52:47-end Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Carson Lund’s feature debut EEPHUS moves at the same deliberate pace as the trick pitch for which it’s named, leisurely unfolding over the course of a season-ending game between two small-town recreation leagues that’s also probably the last time many on the field will ever play. This week we’re joined again by film critic and baseball lover Tim Grierson to discuss how EEPHUS approaches that sense of finality with low-key humor and a subtle sense of nostalgia, before bringing Ron Shelton’s BULL DURHAM back on the field to compare these two films’ ideas about aging, masculinity, and America’s pastime, emphasis on the “past.” And in Your Next Picture Show we offer a recommendation for another unconventional baseball movie that offers a rarely seen perspective on the game, 2008’s SUGAR.Please share your thoughts about BULL DURHAM, EEPHUS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.Next pairing: Bong Joon Ho’s MICKEY 17 and Paul Verhoeven’s STARSHIP TROOPERSChapters:Intro: 00:00:00-00:01:51Eephus discussion: 00:01:52-00:27:37Connections: 00:27:38-1:00:12Your Next Picture Show: 1:00:13-1:04:25Next episode preview and goodbyes: 1:04:26-end Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Quietly observing as a small-town recreation league plays out their last game of the season, and likely ever, the new EEPHUS is a feature-length subversion of “the big game,” simultaneously embracing and rejecting such baseball-movie cliches in a manner that reminded us of 1988’s BULL DURHAM. We’re joined this week by pinch-hitter Tim Grierson to discuss all the ways Ron Shelton’s classic, often cited as the best baseball movie ever, throws out the sports-movie playbook, from its multiple protagonists and rom-com structure to its acknowledgment that baseball, like life, has an expiration date. And in Feedback, a frequent contributor returns with some bonus observations from our recent pairing of PRESENCE and THE OTHERS.Intro/favorite movie sports teams: 00:00:00-00:08:51Bull Durham Keynote: 00:08:51-00:14:55Bull Durham Discussion: 00:14:56-00:56:14Feedback/outro: 00:56:14-endPlease share your thoughts about BULL DURHAM, EEPHUS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The story of two journalists reporting on a common cause despite their vastly different backgrounds is what gives NO OTHER LAND its narrative shape — and is what inspired us to pair it with 1984’s THE KILLING FIELDS — but the Oscar-nominated documentary is at heart a story about activism, and the weight of maintaining hope amid a generations-spanning conflict with no resolution in sight. We’re joined again this week by Slate culture writer Sam Adams to discuss how NO OTHER LAND makes the political personal, then bring THE KILLING FIELDS back in to compare these two portrayals of journalism from very different moments in journalism history, and the quandaries of privilege and guilt that accompany partnerships of unequals. Then in Your Next Picture Show we tout SWIMMING TO CAMBODIA and Jonathan Demme’s ability to spin Spalding Gray’s monologue about his bit role in THE KILLING FIELDS into a BTS feature like none other.Intro: 00:00:00-00:02:25No Other Land discussion: 00:02:26-00:24:28Connections: 00:24:29-00:46:00Your Next Picture Show/Goodbyes: 00:46:01-00:56:35Please share your thoughts about THE KILLING FIELDS, NO OTHER LAND, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.Next Pairing: Carson Lund’s EEPHUS and Ron Shelton’s BULL DURHAM Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Intro & Oscars Chitchat: 00:00:00-00:08:52Keynote: 00:08:53-00:13:50The Killing Fields Discussion: 00:13:51-44:37Feedback & Outro: 00:44:38-endSummary: The Oscar-nominated documentary NO OTHER LAND, a collaboration between Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers whose common cause and eventual friendship does not change the stark contrast in their political status, brought to mind another story of two journalists from strikingly different backgrounds who bond in the midst of a geopolitical hotspot: 1984’s THE KILLING FIELDS. We’re joined this week by Slate writer and critic Sam Adams to revisit Roland Joffé’s dramatization of the relationship between New York Times reporter Sydney Schanberg and Dith Pran, the Cambodian interpreter who worked alongside him as the country fell to the Khmer Rouge, to consider how THE KILLING FIELDS plays several decades removed from a conflict that would have been recent history for contemporary audiences. And in Feedback we share a listener’s explanation for one of our lingering questions from our recent discussion of THE OTHERS. Please share your thoughts about THE KILLING FIELDS, NO OTHER LAND, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steven Soderbergh’s new PRESENCE flips the typical haunted house narrative inside out, but unlike the other film in this pairing, THE OTHERS, it makes its point of view clear from the opening frames. But that POV doesn’t slide fully into focus until PRESENCE’s final-act reveal, which left us with some questions, both critical and metaphysical, to dig into this week. Then we bring THE OTHERS back into the conversation to discuss how these two very different takes on the haunted house — one classical, one revisionist — each makes use of confined space, complex parent-child dynamics, and ambiguity about how time functions in an eternal afterlife. Then we keep the ghost stories coming in Your Next Picture Show, with some recommendations for films with an unusual or memorable perspective on domestic hauntings.Intro: (00:00:00-00:01:58)Presence review (spoiler-free): (00:01:590-00:20:10)Presence review continued (spoilers): (00:20:11-00:27:56)Connections: (00:27:57-00:56:14)Your Next Picture Show: (00:56:15-01:06:50)Next episode preview and credits: (01:06:51-01:11:05)Please share your thoughts about THE OTHERS, PRESENCE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.Your Next Picture Show:• David Lowery’s A GHOST STORY• Guillermo del Toro’s CRIMSON PEAK• Jack Clayton’s THE INNOCENTS• Sidney J. Furie’s THE ENTITYNext Pairing: NO OTHER LAND and THE KILLING FIELDS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steven Soderbergh’s new PRESENCE is an unconventional haunted house story with a twist that reminded us of 2001’s THE OTHERS, though to say exactly why risks spoiling how Alejandro Amenábar performs his own twist on a comparatively traditional haunted house story. That twist forms the foundation of our discussion this week, which freely roams spoiler territory as we consider how the ending revelation shapes our understanding of THE OTHERS' perspective on religion and the afterlife, and how the film’s abundant symbolism lines up with its narrative as a ghost story. Then in Feedback, we revisit our recent “Fanged Attraction” pairing with a couple of listeners offering their own interpretations of BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA and NOSFERATU.Please share your thoughts about THE OTHERS, PRESENCE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices