In episode 56 of The Electric Shadows Podcast we commemorate the 25th anniversary of Bill Hicks’ death. Rob Daniel and Ian Bird, who are both old enough to remember the shock at discovering the comedian had died of pancreatic cancer aged 32, discuss why Hicks has remained relevant and remembered a quarter of a century later. Their chat was recorded late one night in Manchester, so it all becomes quite drunken and gigglesome by the time they recall their favourite routines.
But, there’s space before that to run through Hicks’ career, the impact his comedy has made on their lives, and broaden it out to chat about other funny men. Denis Leary, Stewart Lee, Frankie Boyle, Jerry Seinfeld, they’re all here.
As we’re a movies podcast, the Robs Daniel and Wallis debate the merits of t...
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Rob Daniel & Rob Wallis touch the sore tooth that is this year’s Oscar nominations.
They discuss the insanity of nominating Bohemian Rhapsody for Best Picture, and how safe the Best Picture nods are in general. They’re happy Spike Lee finally has his Best Director nomination, and acknowledge a few other things the Academy got right.
But, the two Robs mainly lament the omissions. No Best Actor nom for Ethan Hawke in First Reformed? No Mary Poppins Returns in Best Picture? Not a single nod for Mission: Impossible – Fallout?
As Rob Wallis points out, this is the first time the Golden Globes got more nominations right than the Oscars. A sobering state of affairs…
And we haven’t even talked about the major omission...
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Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Writer: M. Night Shyamalan
Cast: Bruce Willis, James McAvoy, Samuel L. Jackson, Sarah Paulson, Anya Taylor-Joy, Spencer Treat Clark
Cert: 15
Running time: 129mins
Year: 2019
What’s the story: In a mental institution, a doctor tries to convince the seemingly superhuman David Dunn (Willis) and Kevin (McAvoy) and the brittle-boned Elijah Price (Jackson) they are not real-life superheroes and villains.
What’s the verdict: We blame Christopher Nolan. His Dark Knight trilogy received the plaudits for bringing superheroes and villains into a world recognisably our own. And made a few billion bucks into the bargain.
No-one really mentioned M...
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As 2018 draws its final breaths, Robs Daniel and Wallis reveal their Top 10 films of the year. There are some crossovers on the two lists, there are films one loves and the other can’t see the fuss.
Over the next hour they will discuss what impressed them most on the cinema landscape this year, plus those films that weren’t up to snuff.
No spoilers for what comes in at the number one spots on both their lists. Other than to say it isn’t Skyscraper. Which Rob D had down as a film of the year at one point. That point being before he saw it.
Thanks for listening in 2018, we look forward to amusing again with our movie ramblings in 2019.
To check out Rob Wallis’ movie writings, head over to: www.ofallthefilmsites.com
Twitter: rob_a_daniel
iTunes Podcast: The Electric Shadows Podcast
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Time thwarted us and we didn’t get chance to write up a review of 2017. We weren’t going to allow a second year to pass without forcing our opinion of how the year in cinema shaped up on the cinema-going public.
2018 may have seen politicians outdo themselves in dumb-fuckery and the world was put on final notice regarding climate change. But, amidst the wreckage there were pleasures to be had. Many of them found within the dark confines of your local picture house.
Here are some of the most notable moments. But, to match the mood of the year, we’ll open on a downer…
WORST FILM OF THE YEAR – You Were Never Really Here
Lynne Ramsay’s adaptation of Jonathan Ames’ novel is not bad in the sense that it is poorly made...
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To mark the 50th anniversary of Night of the Living Dead, The Electric Shadows podcast looks back at the brilliance and influence of George A. Romero’s horror masterpiece.
The film that invented the modern horror film, we look at what made it so radical back in 1968, a year riven with civil riots violence, assassinations and the Vietnam quagmire.
We look at why it has endured, and the copyright foul-ups that inadvertently lit the fuse for zombie apocalypse tales that would explode some forty years later when The Walking Dead became a phenomenon.
Romero’s early career in advertising and directing inserts for Mr Roger’s Neighborhood. The influence of Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend on Romero’s fiendishly fine tale of murder and mayhem...
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Director: David Yates
Writer: J.K. Rowling
Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Johnny Depp, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Zoë Kravitz, Callum Turner, Jamie Campbell Bower
Cert: 12
Running time: 134mins
Year: 2018
What’s the story: When dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Depp) escapes justice, Newt Scamander (Redmayne) unites with his old wizarding schoolmaster Albus Dumbledore (Law) to stop the villain’s plan to enslave the “No-Maj” (i.e., no-magic) world.
What’s the verdict: So arrives the second of a planned five films in the Fantastic Beasts (and Where To Find Them) Harry Potter prequels, based on a Hogwarts textbook of the same name.
With the Fantastic Beasts movies following eight previous Potter outings, we are firmly in lucrative franc...
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Episode 52 of The Electric Shadows Podcast sees Robs Daniel and Wallis pulling a late night recording session after viewing Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
Fittingly, talking from half-past midnight onwards, the pair are uncharacteristically disciplined as they cover a variety of topics. Despite there being a lot to jaw about in the ep.
First up, the pair pay tribute to Stan Lee, the godfather of modern superheroes and Western comics who sadly passed away this week.
After discussing Suspiria on the previous episode when rounding up the London Film Festival, the Robs discuss Luca Guadagnino’s remake again now that Mr Wallis has seen it. We recommend listening to both episodes for a full appreciation of what both Robs think of it!
As a main course, they move onto Fantastic Beas...
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At Electric Shadows, we like art of all stripes. Particularly when that art is infused with an achingly cool sense of noir. A painter who has recently grabbed our attention is Vincent Kamp.
For his latest solo exhibition, on Thursday 8th November Kamp will turn Mayfair’s Clarendon Fine Art gallery into a den of iniquity, featuring wily card sharps, inked mobsters and gun-toting barmaids.
Comprising thirty new paintings and featuring a cast of twenty characters, The Long Game tells the story of a high stakes poker match that ends badly. For one night only, the cast will be present, alongside ‘the narrator’, re-enacting the story to create a unique interactive experience for the viewer.
Acknowledged as one of Britain’s most evocative and exciting new figurative artists, Kamp is fas...
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