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*SPOILER WARNING* – This episode features Whiplash spoilers throughout, including discussion of the plot twists and the film’s climax.
Episode 92 of The Movie Robcast sees Robs Daniel & Wallis looking back at Damien Chazelle’s blistering, Oscar winning 2014 debut, Whiplash. And to make sure the Robs are not rushing or dragging, they’ve invited their friend Tessa Scott along for her opinion. It was Tess’ first time watching the movie and she delivers a cymbal crash of great insights.
Across a lively 70mins, the trio discuss what makes Chazelle’s debut so memorable six years after release, the performances from Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons (who picked up a Best Supporting Actor Oscar playing the music teacher from Hell), how the film compares to La La Land, and much more...
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BFI Player is currently playing host to the excellent Japan 2020 season.
Its Japanese Classics collection showcases great movies from the Golden Ages of the 1930s and 1950s, the post-war generation who shook the system from the 1960s onward, plus the filmmakers who came to prominence in the 1980s and 1990s.
Spanning multiple genres, the collection contains some of the best films ever made. Choosing five you should start with was tough.
But, here is a quintet of movies we think provide a good introduction to the collection…
For more information on BFI Japan 2020, click here
To view Japan 2020 on BFI Player, click here
FLOATING CLOUDS (1955)
We make no apologies for this being the first of two M...
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Welcome to this bonus episode of The Movie Robcast. The BFI Player Japan 2020 season continues in June with a collection dedicated to Yasujiro Ozu, joining fantastic collections on Akira Kurosawa and Classic Japanese movies.
We had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Alexander Jacoby about Yasujiro Ozu and why the director is so important to Japanese cinema. An expert on Japan and Japanese film, Alex conveys why the director’s films remain enjoyable, accessible and continue to dazzle today.
The BFI Player collection includes the numerous masterworks Ozu made, including Early Spring, his final movie An Autumn Afternoon and his most famous film, Tokyo Story.
This episode is a cut down of a longer interview...
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The BFI Player Japan 2020 season continues in June with a collection dedicated to Yasujiro Ozu, joining fantastic collections on Akira Kurosawa and Classic Japanese movies.
A giant of Japanese cinema, Ozu made 54 films before succumbing to cancer on his 60th birthday in 1963. The BFI Player collection will feature 25 of the 36 surviving Ozu movies, by far the most that have been made available on VOD.
The collection includes the numerous masterworks Ozu made, including Early Spring, his final movie An Autumn Afternoon and his most famous film, Tokyo Story. The latter has appeared in the top 10 of Sight and Sound’s Greatest Films of All Time polls since 1992. In 2012 it placed no...
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Director: Yasujiro Ozu
Writer: Yasujiro Ozu, Kogo Noda
Cast: Chishu Ryu, Chieko Higashiyama, Setsuko Hara, Haruko Sugimura, So Yamamura
Producers: Takeshi Yamamoto
Music: Takanobu Saito
Cinematography: Yuharu Atsuta
Editor: Yoshiyasu Hamamura
Cert: U
Running time: 136mins
Year: 1953
What’s the story: Japan, 1953. Elderly couple Shukichi (Ryu) and Tomi (Higashiyama) travel from the south of the country to visit their adult children in a Tokyo suburb. But, they are largely ignored, save for their widowed daughter-in-law, Noriko (Hara).
What’s the verdict: That some audiences may be daunted by the prospect of viewing Yasujiro Ozu’s 1953 masterpiece is understandable.
First up, it’s a masterpiece from 1953, originating in J...
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‘Coming To Theaters’ announces the new trailer for Christopher Nolan’s Tenet. Perhaps wisely, it is not date specific. That current 17th July release may end up as wobbly as the temporal laws in the film itself.
But, we will see Tenet at some point in the next twelve months, preferably sooner rather than later. The trailers for Nolan’s 11th theatrical outing promise the you’ve-forgotten-all-about-your-popcorn-event-cinema experience we’ve now come to greedily expect.
Since debuting with 1998’s Following, Nolan’s films have ventured into deep space, deep inside the mind, redefined the superhero movie, and showed us what new ground (air and sea) can be covered in the war movie.
Like his character...
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Would it be cheesy to describe episode 91 as “suh-MO-kin’!”? It would? Okay, we’ll Carrey on at a slightly more measured tone.
With Sonic the Hedgehog still one of the country’s most recent movie releases despite hitting cinemas in February, the two Robs decided to delve deep into Jim Carrey’s catalogue and review more than the blue-rinse speed hog. Although they do talk Sonic, don’t worry.
For Rob Wallis in 1994, Carrey was a formative movie influence. For Rob Daniel, more advanced in years and considerably creakier, Carrey was an annoyance besmirching the good name of cinema. Ironically, both the Robs learnt to like Jim through The Mask, that zany family movie that happily still holds up today.
The Robs look at how Mr...
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Director: Staten Cousins Roe
Writer: Staten Cousins Roe
Cast: Poppy Roe, Katie Brayben, Christopher Gilling
Producers: Giles Alderson, Poppy Roe
Music: Laurence Love Greed
Cinematography: James Layton
Editor: Esther Gimenez
Cert: 15 (TBC)
Running time: 18mins
Year: 2013
What’s the story: Minnie (Roe), the director of a euthanasia centre, must hit a target of ten “clients” in ten days or be closed by the Euthanasia Licensing Board.
What’s the verdict: 2019’s A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life is a British psycho movie to savour, mixing mirth and murder in one delicious cocktail. The feature debut of Staten Cousins Roe, its darkly wry humour is also present in Roe’s award-winning 2013 short film, This Way Out.
A sketch...
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Director: Yasujirô Ozu
Writer: Yasujirô Ozu, Kôgo Noda
Cast: Michiyo Kogure, Shin Saburi, Keiko Tsushima, Kôji Tsuruta, Chishû Ryû
Producer: Takeshi Yamamoto
Music: Ichirô Saitô
Cinematography: Yûharu Atsuta
Editor: Yoshiyasu Hamamura
Cert: U
Running time: 115mins
Year: 1952
FILM:
EXTRAS:
The Flavour of Green Tea Over Rice is released as part of the BFI Japan 2020 season
Click here for Japan 2020
What’s the story: Frustrated well-to-do housewife Taeko (Kogure) is exasperated when her niece Setsuko (Tsushima) refuses to enter a traditional arranged marriage. Taeko’s own marriage reaches a crisis point when her husband Mokichi (Saburi) sides with Setsuko.
What’s the verdict: Due to his famed minimalist style and...
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Blu-ray Review: The Flavour of Green Tea Over Rice