Room

This week we talk about a movie with difficult subject matter, but executed in a superb manner.  Academy Award nominee Brie Larson gives a great performance in a film that also gets Frank director Lenny Abrahamson his first Oscar nomination.  We spend time on both the lead actress and the director, but we also point out the other great performances in this movie that I'm sure we will both revisit, even if it may be difficult.  Subscribe on iTunes:  https://itun.es/i6gB67Y  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer and follow us on twitter @actorengineer.

Oscar Controversy

This week we dig into the Oscar controversy relating to the lack of racial diversity in Oscar nominees.  We also use this opportunity to talk about two movies that many people believe missed Oscar nominations:  Straight Outta Compton and Beasts of No Nation.  Subscribe on iTunes:  https://itun.es/i6gB67Y  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer and follow us on twitter @actorengineer.

The Revenant

This week we dig into the Academy Award nominated film from Alejandro Gonzáles Iñárritu and Leonardo DiCaprio.  We briefly comment on some of the other newly announced Oscar nominations, but the bulk of the episode is spent stuck in the early 1800s Canadian wilderness with actors and filmmakers who decided to challenge themselves and take the audience along.  Subscribe on iTunes:  https://itun.es/i6gB67Y  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer and follow us on twitter @actorengineer.

The Hateful Eight

This week we go back to post Civil War era Wyoming and are trapped in a room with eighth (or nine) despicable characters.  How does this new film from Quentin Tarantino compare to his other films?  How do the actors handle the Tarantino-esque dialogue?  We talk about all of this and a couple of movies that we have been watching, including Wet Hot American Summer and a documentary about the director of Drive.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Just yesterday, in a galaxy very close to this one...we talk about the newest entry in the Star Wars saga, helmed by JJ Abrams.  We get to see Han, Chewie, Leia and meet new characters (Rey, Finn and Poe), not to mention BB-8!  We are talking about Star Wars...because it's frickin' huge.  Subscribe on iTunes:  https://itun.es/i6gB67Y  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer and follow us on twitter @actorengineer.

Spotlight

This week we talk about the newest film from writer/director Tom McCarthy that tackles the cover-up of child molestation in the Catholic church from the point of view of the Boston Globe newspaper.  It is chock full of great actors and there is likely to be some Oscar buzz surrounding this one.  We also talk about some of the shows that we have been watching, including The Leftovers on HBO and why Josh should start watching it.  Subscribe on iTunes:  https://itun.es/i6gB67Y  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer and follow us on twitter @actorengineer.

Christmas Movies

This week we hear those sleigh bell ring-aling, ting-ting-ting-a-ting too.  We talk about our favorite Christmas movies and what meets our criteria for a Christmas movie.  Will John McClane make an appearance?  Which one of us doesn't like Christmas Vacation?  Subscribe on iTunes:  https://itun.es/i6gB67Y  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer and follow us on twitter @actorengineer.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

This week we watch the classic Newman-Redford western (Paul for the first time).  How does it match up to other westerns of the time and what makes it unique?  Check out our discussion to find out what we thought about it.  Subscribe on iTunes:  https://itun.es/i6gB67Y  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer and follow us on twitter @actorengineer.

Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 (Part 2)

This week we finish up our discussion on Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2.  Subscribe on iTunes:  https://itun.es/i6gB67Y  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer and follow us on twitter @actorengineer.

Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 (Part 1)

This week we try something a little different.  We are breaking up a rather lengthy discussion of the newest Hunger Games movie into two episodes.  We begin this episode talking about the new Batman v Superman trailer and a little more Bond.  But then we get into our thoughts on the final Hunger Games movie.  Check out our part 2 episode that will be coming out next.  Subscribe on iTunes:  https://itun.es/i6gB67Y  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer and follow us on twitter @actorengineer.

Frank and Project Greenlight Wrapup

This week we finish up our discussion of the fourth season of Project Greenlight and our impressions of the show and the movie.  We also talk about the film Frank.  Between the cast including Domhnall Gleeson, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Michael Fassbender (playing the titular Frank) and a director, Lenny Abrahamson (whose new movie "Room" is already getting Oscar buzz), this movie has a lot to talk about!  Subscribe on iTunes:  https://itun.es/i6gB67Y  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer and follow us on twitter @actorengineer.

Spectre

Bond...James Bond is the subject of our podcast this week.  We talk about the fourth Bond movie for Daniel Craig (and the second for director Sam Mendes).  We explore the info from the Sony email hack which gave insight into how the script changed during development (probably for the better).  We also talk about the Bond women (Lea Seydoux and Monica Belucci) and the villain (Academy Award Winner Christoph Waltz).  Subscribe on iTunes:  https://itun.es/i6gB67Y  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer and follow us on twitter @actorengineer.

Steve Jobs

This week we talk about the new collaboration between Aaron Sorkin and Danny Boyle that we had a hard time categorizing.  Is it a biopic?  Is it a slice-of-life movie?  Is it a tryptic?  We also talk about the Sorkin-ized dialogue and Danny Boyle's disguised thumbprint.  Fassbender, Winslet, Stuhlbarg, Daniels, Rogen...  The list goes on.  Subscribe on iTunes:  https://itun.es/i6gB67Y  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer and follow us on twitter @actorengineer.

Roles That Were Recast

With October 21st, 2015 recently behind us, we talk about the first star of Back to the Future that never made it on screen, Eric Stoltz.  We also talk about other movies that had major roles recast either right before or during filming.  Subscribe on iTunes:  https://itun.es/i6gB67Y  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer and follow us on twitter @actorengineer.

Crimson Peak

This week we try to get into the Halloween spirit by taking in writer-director Guillermo Del Toro's newest film, Crimson Peak.  Does it live up to his previous creepy films?  Or does it leave us wanting more?  How does he use the three main actors in the film (Mia Wasikowsa, Tom Hiddleston and Jessica Chastain) and how cool is Jim Beaver's beard?  Check out the podcast to find out.  Subscribe on iTunes:  https://itun.es/i6gB67Y  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer and follow us on twitter @actorengineer.

Blue Ruin

This week we talk about an independent movie that ratchets up the tension quickly and keeps it there.  The second feature by writer-director Jeremy Saulnier focuses on a man who is bent on revenge, but may not know exactly the way to go about it.  We also talk about the last few episodes of Project Greenlight and how Jason Mann is progressing with making his first feature, Leisure Class.  Subscribe on iTunes:  https://itun.es/i6gB67Y  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer and follow us on twitter @actorengineer.

The Martian

This week we talk about what could be considered the first big movie of awards season.  Ridley Scott is back to sci-fi, and this time it has nothing to do with Aliens.  We talk about Matt Damon's performance in this movie that has Cast Away qualities.  We also discuss the casting choices for the supporting characters and what we think the reasoning may have been behind some of them.  Subscribe on iTunes:  https://itun.es/i6gB67Y  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer and follow us on twitter @actorengineer. 

Actors Who Play Against Type

This week we talk about male and female actors who choose roles (or are chosen for roles) that are a bit out of their comfort zone.  We bring up a few of our favorite filmmakers and wonder how they saw the dramatic potential in comedic actors and, to a lesser extent, picking dramatic actors for more comedic roles.  Subscribe on iTunes:  https://itun.es/i6gB67Y  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer and follow us on twitter @actorengineer. 

Black Mass

This week we talk about the new movie starring Johnny Depp as the blue-eyed, ruthless South Boston Mob leader Whitey Bulger.  Will this Scott Cooper-directed movie add to the long legacy of brilliant gangster movies?  Listen up and find out!  Subscribe on iTunes:  https://itun.es/i6gB67Y  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer and follow us on twitter @actorengineer. 

Skeleton Twins and Project Greenlight

We spend the beginning of the episode talking about the return of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's Project Greenlight to HBO and the small furor that the first episode's "Damonspaining" created.  Then we talk about Skeleton Twins, a movie that came out last year starring Kristin Wiig and Bill Hader.  We talk about the particular sense of humor that this movie has, our views on the main performances and the stellar supporting performances.  Subscribe on iTunes:  https://itun.es/i6gB67Y  Check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/actorandengineer and follow us on twitter @actorengineer.