Shows
FilmboundTenetJohn David Washington tries to bring an end to a war being waged on those in the present by people in the future in Christopher Nolan’s TENET. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer selects Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman’s four features (CHRONICLE OF A DISAPPEARANCE, DIVINE INTERVENTION, THE TIME THAT REMAINS, and IT MUST BE HEAVEN) and Columbus, Indiana's architecture and tours, as seen in Kogonada’s drama COLUMBUS. Paul Markoff picks director Michael Showalter’s romantic comedy THE BIG SICK starring and co-written by Kumail Nanjiani. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com....
2021-12-2842 minFilmboundGremlinsOn this special holiday episode, a teenage boy receives an unusual creature as a Christmas gift. In director Joe Dante’s 1984 horror-comedy GREMLINS, chaos ensues in a small town when the rules for caring for the Mogwai are violated. Also, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff look back at their film-related wishes for 2020 and share those they hope might be granted this season and in 2021. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ GREMLINS clip courtesy Warner Home Video Mu...
2021-09-0847 minFilmboundThe Truman Show | Real LifeOn this themed episode, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff look at two movies exploring the nature of filming realism for mass entertainment. Jim Carrey stars as a man unaware that his known reality has been built around and is the subject of a long-running and popular television series in director Peter Weir’s THE TRUMAN SHOW. Also, Albert Brooks plays himself as an acclaim-seeking filmmaker trying to document the day-to-day ins and outs of a regular American family in his 1979 comedy REAL LIFE. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twi...
2021-02-0849 minFilmboundTeslaStarring Ethan Hawke as the famous inventor, writer-director Michael Almereyda’s experimental biopic TESLA covers about twenty years of Nikola Tesla’s time in the United States, from working for Thomas Edison in 1884 to his J.P. Morgan-funded experiments in Colorado Springs in the early 1900s. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer selects the Martin Scorsese short film compilation Blu-ray set SCORSESE SHORTS. Paul Markoff picks Cameron Crowe’s family drama WE BOUGHT A ZOO. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ T...
2021-01-1334 minFilmboundThe Old GuardCharlize Theron leads a team of immortals trying to fight the good fight and find a new, emerging one of their kind without detection by those who might exploit them in director Gina Prince-Bythewood’s THE OLD GUARD. Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff also discuss how they they’re feeling about not going to movie theaters during the pandemic and what the future may hold for the theatrical experience. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ THE OLD GUAR...
2020-12-2829 minFilmboundEurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire SagaWill Ferrell and Rachel McAdams are Iceland’s best and most unlikely hope for international musical glory in director David Dobkin’s comedy EUROVISION SONG CONTEST: THE STORY OF FIRE SAGA. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer selects Errol Morris’ documentary about Sunshine State eccentrics in VERNON, FLORIDA. Paul Markoff picks 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU, a teen romantic comedy twist on Shakespeare’s THE TAMING OF THE SHREW. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ EUROVISION SONG CONTEST: THE STORY OF...
2020-10-3035 minFilmboundDa 5 BloodsFour Vietnam veterans, including Delroy Lindo and Isiah Whitlock Jr., reunite in Ho Chi Minh City in search of the remains of their leader, played by Chadwick Boseman, and the gold bars they hid decades ago in Spike Lee’s DA 5 BLOODS. Also, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff speculate on the actors and actresses from the 1980s to present day who future generations may come to view as defining stars of their times. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/...
2020-10-121h 07FilmboundThe LovebirdsIn Michael Showalter’s romantic comedy THE LOVEBIRDS Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae star as a longtime couple on the verge of breaking up when they get mixed up in a murder and citywide conspiracy that compels them to run around New Orleans looking for answers and to clear their names. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer highlights the second season of the film-adapted TV series WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS. Paul Markoff picks the French romantic comedy PRICELESS (HORS DE PRIX) starring Audrey Tautou. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. ...
2020-07-2733 minFilmboundThe Half of ItHigh school senior Ellie accepts payments from second-string football player Paul to write love letters for him to popular girl Aster he has a crush on in THE HALF OF IT. Although their relationship starts out as just business, a friendship forms between them and is threatened when it becomes apparent that both are pining for Aster in writer-director Alice Wu’s twist on CYRANO DE BERGERAC. Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff also discuss their histories with drive-in movie theaters, which have been rare places to see films in public during the pandemic. Send your co...
2020-07-2449 minFilmboundThe Vast of NightIn Andrew Patterson’s THE VAST OF NIGHT a 16-year-old switchboard operator and a young radio announcer in small-town New Mexico in the 1950s search for answers about the unidentified sound transmission she hears interrupting his broadcast. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer picks David Wain’s romantic comedy spoof THEY CAME TOGETHER starring Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler. Paul Markoff chooses Nanette Burstein’s AMERICAN TEEN, a documentary about high school seniors in small-town Indiana. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmbo...
2020-06-1039 minFilmboundThis Is Not a Film (In film nist)While director Jafar Panahi appeals his 20-year filmmaking ban and potential incarceration by the Iranian government, he uses the time under house arrest to begin staging what his most recent film would have been in THIS IS NOT A FILM (IN FILM NIST). Co-directed by Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, the 2011 non-fiction work expounds on the nature of a film and the life of an artist when continuing to create involves great personal risk. Also, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff discuss how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting their movie watching, what changes may be coming to movie theaters when they...
2020-06-0254 minFilmboundThe RookieIn John Lee Hancock’s fact-based, inspirational sports drama THE ROOKIE, Dennis Quaid stars as a high school science teacher and former pitching prospect who gets one last unexpected chance to become a Major League Baseball player. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer selects Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s SUGAR, which observes the professional and personal challenges for a pitcher from the Dominican Republic as a minor leaguer in middle America. Paul Markoff picks Robert Zemeckis’ CAST AWAY featuring Tom Hanks stranded alone on an island. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. ...
2020-05-1257 minFilmboundIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom | The Last StarfighterIt’s a 1984 double feature as Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff look back at another adventure featuring Harrison Ford’s whip-wielding archaeologist in Steven Spielberg’s INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM and the story of a teenager whose arcade game skills get him recruited to be an elite interstellar war pilot in THE LAST STARFIGHTER. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM clip courtesy Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment THE LA...
2020-04-2145 minFilmboundOnwardElfin brothers voiced by Tom Holland and Chris Pratt embark on a quest to find a stone that will help them bring their deceased father back for a day in ONWARD. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer reports on the best films he saw at this year’s True/False Film Festival, including CITY SO REAL, DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD, MAYOR, and COLLECTIVE. Paul Markoff picks PITCH PERFECT, the a cappella competition comedy starring Anna Kendrick. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fil...
2020-04-1433 minFilmboundA Shaun the Sheep Movie: FarmageddonIn the stop-motion animated comedy A SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE: FARMAGEDDON, the woolly protagonist tries to help an alien return home while Farmer John turns his property into a extraterrestrial-themed tourist attraction for those fascinated by local rumors of outer space creatures being in the area. Also, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff discuss actors playing themselves on screen and what to make of such meta performances. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ Music: "Parasail" by Silent Partner
2020-04-0832 minFilmbound#108: To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love YouLara Jean is now in a real relationship with Peter in TO ALL THE BOYS: P.S. I STILL LOVE YOU, but another boy who received one of her love letters responds positively and complicates matters. Michael Fimognari directs and Lana Condor and Noah Centineo star in the sequel to the teen romantic comedy TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer picks Gus Van Sant’s meditative drama GERRY, in which Matt Damon and Casey Affleck get lost in the wilderness. Paul Markoff chooses Joe Wright’s HANNA starring Saoirse Ronan as a high...
2020-03-3133 minFilmboundPortrait of a Lady on Fire (Portrait de la jeune fille en feu) | DownhillIn Céline Sciamma’s PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE (PORTRAIT DE LA JEUNE FILLE EN FEU), Noémie Merlant is brought to an island in the late 1800s under the guise of being a companion for Adèle Haenel when she has really been hired to paint the young woman’s wedding portrait for which she refuses to sit. Also, Will Ferrell makes a split-second decision during a family ski vacation that exposes the fault lines in his marriage to Julia Louis-Dreyfus in DOWNHILL, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash’s FORCE MAJEURE remake. Send your...
2020-03-2438 minFilmboundThe Best Films of 2019Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff reveal the titles making their lists of the Best Films of 2019 in this special edition episode. They also discuss their favorite performances in last year’s films. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ Music: "Parasail" by Silent Partner Recorded January 18, 2020.
2020-03-1857 minFilmboundTwo British soldiers in World War I are instructed to make a treacherous journey on foot to deliver a vital message to the 2nd Battalion in Sam Mendes' 1917, which is constructed to appear as though it unfolds in a single unbroken take. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer picks Josh and Benny Safide’s short GOLDMAN V SILVERMAN featuring Adam Sandler. Paul Markoff selects the the stop-motion animated PARANORMAN about a boy who can speak with the dead. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.fa...
2020-02-2622 minFilmboundLittle WomenLITTLE WOMEN writer-director Greta Gerwig brings a new version of Louisa May Alcott’s story about the March sisters to the screen with a cast including Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Emma Watson, Laura Dern, Meryl Streep, and Timothée Chalamet. Also, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff discuss the 92nd annual Academy Award nominees in the major categories. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ LITTLE WOMEN clip courtesy Columbia Pictures Music: "Parasail" by Silent Partner Re...
2020-02-191h 07FilmboundStar Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of SkywalkerSTAR WARS: EPISODE IX - THE RISE OF SKYWALKER wraps the third trilogy in the saga with with the resistance, including Daisy Ridley’s Rey, hoping to bring final defeat to the First Order and the reemergence of Emperor Palpatine. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer selects Ira Sachs’ FRANKIE starring Isabelle Huppert as a terminally ill actress trying to arrange the future happiness for her family. Paul Markoff picks James L. Brooks’ HOW DO YOU KNOW, a romantic comedy with Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, and Owen Wilson. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com.
2020-02-0446 minFilmboundUncut Gems | Richard JewellAdam Sandler is a New York City jeweler who obtains a rare black opal that could be the score of his life in Josh and Benny Safdie’s UNCUT GEMS. Ever the risk-lover, he places big bets on the stone and the NBA playoffs that could cost him everything. After the bombing at the 1996 Olympics, the security guard who saved lives by bringing the suspicious package to attention goes from hero to suspect in director Clint Eastwood’s RICHARD JEWELL. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Fa...
2020-01-1548 minFilmboundMarriage StoryWriter-director Noah Baumbach’s MARRIAGE STORY tracks Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson as a couple trying to end their relationship amicably but finding that goal much harder to achieve. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer picks Todd Haynes’ legal thriller DARK WATERS with Mark Ruffalo taking on a chemical company. Paul Markoff chooses Glenn Ficarra and Jon Requa’s fact-based comedy I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS with Jim Carrey as a con man who finds the love of his life among his fellow inmates. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbo...
2020-01-0834 minFilmboundFrozen II | Knives OutThe future of Arendelle is at risk, and the secret to saving it may require discovering the origin of Elsa’s powers in the Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee-directed FROZEN II. Also, Daniel Craig is a private investigator hired to solve who, if anyone, killed a wealthy mystery novelist when several family members and a caregiver stand to gain from his death in Rian Johnson’s KNIVES OUT. The star-studded cast include Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Chris Evans, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette, Christopher Plummer, and Ana de Armas. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to f...
2020-01-0740 minFilmboundHome AloneOn this special holiday episode, Macaulay Culkin is an eight-year-old who is accidentally left behind when his family goes on a Christmas trip to Paris and must defend himself and the house from burglars played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern in HOME ALONE. Chris Columbus directed and John Hughes wrote this 1990 blockbuster family film. Also, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff share the film-related wishes they hope might be granted this season and in the new year. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https...
2019-12-2541 minFilmboundThe IrishmanRobert De Niro looks back on a life working for the mob in Martin Scorsese’s decades-spanning crime drama THE IRISHMAN. Joe Pesci and Al Pacino also star in a film that reflects on the actors’ and director’s representations of gangsters in their work. Also, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff discuss Scorsese’s recent remarks about franchise films and what he considers cinema. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ THE IRISHMAN clip courtesy Netflix Music: "...
2019-12-2542 minFilmboundDolemite is My NameEddie Murphy stars as the comedian Rudy Ray Moore, who polishes the filthy jokes the neighborhood derelicts tell into an act as a kung-fu fighting pimp character he wants to bring to the movies in director Craig Brewer’s DOLEMITE IS MY NAME In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer makes a special selection. Paul Markoff picks Mike Leigh’s HAPPY-GO-LUCKY featuring a breakthrough Sally Hawkins performance. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ DOLEMITE IS MY NAME clip courtesy Netflix
2019-12-2534 minFilmboundParasite (Gisaengchung)The unemployed Kims scheme for every family member to get lucrative jobs in the home of the wealthy Parks, but holding onto their cushy positions is tougher than expected in director/co-writer Bong Joon-Ho’s PARASITE (GISAENGCHUNG). Also, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff discuss the idea of filmmakers using actors’ likenesses to create new digital performances and what effects this technology may have in the future. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ Music: "Parasail" by Silent Partner
2019-12-1748 minFilmboundThe LighthouseWillem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson occupy a lonely island in 1890s New England where they must keep the lantern lit for the ships at sea while wrestling to maintain their sanity in director and co-writer Robert Eggers’ THE LIGHTHOUSE. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer picks SOUND & FURY, the short anime film accompanying the Sturgill Simpson album of the same name. Paul Markoff selects his favorite film of 2010, Christopher Nolan’s INCEPTION. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ THE LIGH...
2019-12-1632 minFilmboundPhenomenaJennifer Connelly’s psychic ability to communicate with insects may help her find the serial killer claiming victims at and near her Swiss boarding school in Dario Argento’s 1985 horror mystery PHENOMENA. Also, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff discuss the state of mainstream film comedies and if there are obstacles to them being made today. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ PHENOMENA clip courtesy Synapse Films Music: "Parasail" by Silent Partner Recorded October 10, 2019.
2019-11-2945 minFilmboundJokerThe origin of one of Batman’s primary antagonists is dramatized in director Todd Phillips’ JOKER. Joaquin Phoenix stars as a mentally troubled clown and aspiring comedian who finds his identity by turning to nihilism and violent crime. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer picks Mystery Science Theater 3000’s The Great Cheesy Movie Circus tour. Paul Markoff selects Henry Selick’s stop-motion animated CORALINE, which tells a story about a girl who discovers an alternate world behind the door in her new home. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Fa...
2019-11-2837 minFilmboundAd AstraU.S. Space Command believes catastrophic power surges are being sent to Earth by Tommy Lee Jones, who led a deep space mission that has gone silent for more than a decade, and Brad Pitt is his son, an unflappable astronaut who is asked to travel to the moon and then to Mars to try and establish communication with his long-absent father in director James Gray’s AD ASTRA. Also, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff discuss some of this decade’s defining movie-related moments. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Tw...
2019-11-2751 minFilmboundBrittany Runs a MarathonJillian Bell commits to get fit in more ways than one in Paul Downs Colaizzo’s comedy BRITTANY RUNS A MARATHON. Michaela Watkins, Lil Rel Howery, Micah Stock, and Utkarsh Ambudkar co-star. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer enjoys DOWNTON ABBEY's transition from TV to the cinema. Paul Markoff hunkers down with Drew Goddard’s satirical horror film THE CABIN IN THE WOODS. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ BRITTANY RUNS A MARATHON clips courtesy Amazon Studios DOWN...
2019-10-0935 minFilmboundHustlersIn writer-director Lorene Scafaria’s HUSTLERS Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu lead a team of strippers who weather the 2008 financial crisis by scamming money from Wall Street men with high credit limits and desires to party. Julia Stiles, Keke Palmer, and Lili Reinhart also star. Also, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff discuss whether being scary is an essential quality for a horror movie. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ HUSTLERS clip courtesy STX Entertainment Music: "Pa...
2019-10-0239 minFilmboundIt Chapter Two27 years after fighting something evil in their small Maine town, a group of friends reunite with the goal of eliminating it in director Andy Muschietti’s IT CHAPTER TWO. Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader, and James McAvoy play some of the now-grown Losers Club members. Bill Skarsgård stars as the terrifying clown Pennywise. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer reports on his favorite films at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. Paul Markoff chooses Peter Lord and Jeff Newitt’s stop-motion animated comedy THE PIRATES! BAND OF MISFITS. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com.
2019-09-2842 minFilmboundThe Peanut Butter Falcon | American FactoryA young man with Down Syndrome runs away from a care facility to fulfill his dream of becoming a wrestler in THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON. Zack Gottsagen, Shia LaBeouf, and Dakota Johnson star in the heartwarming adventure from co-writers and directors Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz. Also, Dayton-area filmmakers Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert capture what happens when a Chinese company directly invests in United States manufacturing in the documentary AMERICAN FACTORY. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/
2019-09-2657 minFilmboundBlinded by the LightDirector and co-writer Gurinder Chadha’s BLINDED BY THE LIGHT features a Pakistani-British teenager falling in love with Bruce Springsteen’s music while feeling misunderstood in a working class English town in 1987. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer highlights Jennifer Kent’s revenge film THE NIGHTINGALE about a young woman convict who goes into the 1820s Tasmanian wilderness in search of the men who killed her family. Paul Markoff picks Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland’s STILL ALICE with Julianne Moore as a woman with an early onset diagnosis of Alzerheimer’s Disease. Send your comments, q...
2019-09-1136 minFilmboundThe Karate Kid (1984) | Just One of the GuysIt’s an ‘80s double feature on this episode as a bullied teenage boy new to California finds help from a kindly maintenance man who teaches him a martial art in John G. Avildsen’s THE KARATE KID. Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue, and William Zabka star. Also, Joyce Hyser believes being a girl is why her story isn’t entered in a high school competition for a summer job at a newspaper, so she poses as a boy to get what she thinks she deserves in Lisa Gottlieb’s comedy JUST ONE OF THE GUYS. Send...
2019-09-041h 07FilmboundFast ColorGugu Mbatha-Raw’s Ruth comes from a family of women with superhuman powers in director and co-writer Julia Hart’s FAST COLOR. Ruth fled home years ago, but while being chased by government officials in a rain-deprived dystopia, she seeks safety with the mother and daughter she left behind. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer picks Mike Mitchell’s superhero comedy SKY HIGH. Paul Markoff selects BEYOND THE LIGHTS, Gina Prince-Bythewood’s romance about Mbatha-Raw’s pop star and Nate Parker's police officer. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Face...
2019-08-2831 minFilmboundOnce Upon a Time ... in Hollywood | The FarewellQuentin Tarantino recreates a changing movie industry and culture in 1969 with ONCE UPON A TIME … IN HOLLYWOOD. Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt star as an actor on the decline and his stunt double/personal assistant while next door neighbor Sharon Tate, played by Margot Robbie, is a rising star married to one of the hottest directors at the time. Also, in Lulu Wang’s THE FAREWELL a Chinese family chooses to hide an elderly family member’s terminal diagnosis from her and plans a wedding as a cover story for bringing everyone together to see her for the fi...
2019-08-2356 minFilmboundThe Lion KingDirector Jon Favreau’s THE LION KING uses photorealistic animation to remake the 1994 Disney animated film about a young lion who is tricked out of his rightful position as ruler of the pride. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer chooses James Bobin’s children’s adventure film DORA AND THE LOST CITY OF GOLD and Eric Mahoney’s rock documentary BRAINIAC: TRANSMISSIONS AFTER ZERO. Paul Markoff picks Bennett Miller’s true crime sports drama FOXCATCHER with Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, and Mark Ruffalo. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Face...
2019-08-1433 minFilmboundStuberKumail Nanjiani is a rideshare driver who picks up a police detective played by Dave Bautista and winds up ensnared in the cop’s search for a drug lord in Michael Dowse’s action-comedy STUBER. Also, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff discuss some of the most memorable film screenings they’ve experienced. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ STUBER clip courtesy Twentieth Century Fox Music: "Parasail" by Silent Partner Recorded July 13, 2019.
2019-08-0750 minFilmboundSpider-Man: Far from HomePeter Parker has his European vacation interrupted when Nick Fury and Quentin Beck, a superhero from another universe, need his help to stop the latest threat in Jon Watts’ SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME. Tom Holland, Samuel L. Jackson, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Zendaya star. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer picks the streaming video search engine JustWatch and end credits extra scenes database MediaStinger. Paul Markoff selects Rob Minkoff’s animated comedy MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ SPI...
2019-07-3139 minFilmboundMidsommar | I Am MotherFlorence Pugh and Jack Reynor go with their friends on a trip to a remote Swedish commune for a solstice celebration and gradually discover they are among a pagan cult in Ari Aster’s MIDSOMMAR. Also, after an extinction event a robot known as Mother initiates a human repopulation program in a bunker. In Grant Sputore’s I AM MOTHER, her teenage daughter begins to question the artificial intelligence’s honesty when a woman played by Hilary Swank arrives and tells her a different story. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. ...
2019-07-2453 minFilmboundToy Story 4Woody, voiced by Tom Hanks, frets about his role in the life of the child he entertains in director Josh Cooley’s TOY STORY 4. Woody must also keep a close eye on Forky, a new toy who becomes a fast favorite but rejects his role as a plaything. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer chooses ANIMA, Paul Thomas Anderson’s short film starring Thom Yorke and featuring three songs from the Radiohead singer’s solo album of the same name. Paul Markoff picks Stephen Herek’s 1991 teen comedy DON’T TELL MOM THE BABYSITTER’S DEAD starring Christina Applegate. Send y...
2019-07-1748 minFilmboundThe PerfectionIn Richard Shepard’s horror-thriller mix THE PERFECTION, Allison Williams is a former cello prodigy whose return to the arts world and new friendship with her successor, played by Logan Browning, yield surprising twists. Also, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff discuss if summer 2019 movies have been underwhelming so far and if box office returns for these films indicate that franchise filmmaking may be near a tipping point. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ THE PERFECTION clip courtesy Ne...
2019-07-1034 minFilmboundBooksmartKaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein are best friends and scholastic overachievers who aim to prove how fun they can be at a party the night before high school graduation in director Olivia Wilde’s debut feature BOOKSMART. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer picks Jim Jarmusch’s zombie comedy THE DEAD DON’T DIE with Bill Murray and Adam Driver. Paul Markoff selects J.J. Abrams’ Spielberg-esque adventure SUPER 8. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ BOOKSMART clip courtesy Annapurna Pictures...
2019-07-0639 minFilmboundTransitA German man fleeing fascists attempts to secure passage from France by assuming a dead author’s identity in director Christian Petzold’s TRANSIT. Franz Rogowski and Paula Beer star. Also, with so many films being made in recent years, will anyone remember them? Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff test their memories in a game in which they challenge one another to recall films they reviewed between 1997 and 2017. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ Music: "Parasail" by Silen...
2019-06-2652 minFilmboundRocketmanElton John’s rise to fame and fortune as a rock superstar is traced in Dexter Fletcher’s ROCKETMAN. Taron Egerton stars as the chart-topping singer-songwriter. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer selects director Jeff Nichols’ music videos for Lucero’s “Long Way Back Home” and Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis’ “Astrodome,” which he co-directed with José Luis González. Paul Markoff picks Jay Roach’s political comedy THE CAMPAIGN with Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ R...
2019-06-1936 minFilmboundAladdinThe Disney animated classic ALADDIN is remade in live action by director Guy Ritchie. The story about a street urchin who finds a magical lamp and tries to win the heart of a princess stars Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, and Will Smith as the wise-cracking Genie. Also, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff add to the Filmbound Canon, their personal collections of all-time great films released beginning in 1995. Mark chooses Jonathan Glazer’s visionary UNDER THE SKIN with Scarlett Johansson as a man-hunting alien. Paul selects Jeff Nichols’ drama MUD with Matthew McConaughey as a drifter seeking to recon...
2019-06-1239 minFilmboundBoyz n the HoodWriter-director John Singleton’s BOYZ N THE HOOD takes us into south central Los Angeles, Crenshaw specifically, to observe what life is like for a group of friends as they grow into young adulthood with violence or the threat of violence a part of their community. Cuba Gooding Jr., Ice Cube, Morris Chestnut, and Laurence Fishburne are among the cast of Singleton’s 1991 debut film. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer thrills to the ancient Chinese action and political intrigue in Zhang Yimou’s SHADOW (YING). Paul Markoff appreciates the drama and dark humor in Ruben Ӧstlund’s FORCE MAJEURE...
2019-06-0549 minFilmboundLong ShotIn director Jonathan Levine's LONG SHOT an unlikely romance develops between an unemployed journalist-turned-speechwriter and his boss, the United States Secretary of State and an aspiring Presidential candidate who also happens to be his former babysitter and childhood crush. Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen star. Also, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff discuss how moviegoing and show production have changed for them in the shift from their longtime television show NOW PLAYING to this podcast. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com...
2019-06-0247 minFilmboundNon-Fiction (Doubles vies)In NON-FICTION (DOUBLES VIES) writer-director Olivier Assayas considers the digital age's effects on art, media, and personal lives. Guillaume Canet, Juliette Binoche, Vincent Macaigne, and Nora Hamzawi star in this comedy set in and around the Parisian publishing world. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer admires David Robert Mitchell’s UNDER THE SILVER LAKE, which features Andrew Garfield obsessing over codes to solve the mystery of a missing woman. Paul Markoff picks Doug Liman’s EDGE OF TOMORROW with Tom Cruise caught in a loop as his life ends and restarts in the war against aliens. Send your...
2019-05-2242 minFilmboundAvengers: EndgameThe Marvel Cinematic Universe superheroes who survived Thanos’ snap in AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR search for a way to reverse it in AVENGERS: ENDGAME. Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, Chris Evans’ Captain America, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, and plenty more seek resolution in the adventure from directors Anthony and Joe Russo. Also, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff discuss what differentiates films from television and if such distinctions matter. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ AVENGERS: ENDGAME clip courtesy...
2019-05-1851 minFilmboundMissing LinkHugh Jackman’s explorer goes on an adventure with a Sasquatch-like creature voiced by Zach Galifianakis in writer-director Chris Butler’s stop-motion animated MISSING LINK. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer reports on this year’s Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, otherwise known as Ebertfest, and highlights David Mirkin’s comedy ROMY AND MICHELE’S HIGH SCHOOL REUNION with Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow. Paul Markoff selects Kent Jones’ drama DIANE featuring Mary Kay Place. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ MISSING L...
2019-05-0928 minFilmboundShazam!Superhero powers are bestowed upon a teenage foster kid in director David F. Sandberg’s SHAZAM! Zachary Levi stars as the hero who looks like an adult but has the maturity level and wisdom of a young teen. Also, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff discuss the Motion Picture Association of America’s film ratings and how they have changed through the years as a tool for parents. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ SHAZAM! clip courtesy Warner Bros...
2019-05-0247 minFilmboundTrampsIn director Adam Leon’s TRAMPS Callum Turner and Grace Van Patten are strangers who are stuck together trying to fix a mistake made during a criminal job and might start to fall in love while hanging out. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer picks Katt Shea’s NANCY DREW AND THE HIDDEN STAIRCASE with Sophia Lillis as the teenage sleuth. Paul Markoff selects Jonathan Levine’s cancer dramedy 50/50 with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, and Anna Kendrick. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fi...
2019-04-2434 minFilmboundDragged Across ConcreteVince Vaughn and Mel Gibson are cops scheming to keep their income flowing while on suspension by robbing criminals in writer-director S. Craig Zahler’s DRAGGED ACROSS CONCRETE. Also, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff discuss how “true” films based on true stories must be and how to approach such movies as viewers. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ DRAGGED ACROSS CONCRETE clip courtesy Summit Entertainment Music: "Parasail" by Silent Partner Recorded March 30, 2019.
2019-04-1736 minFilmbound3 Faces (Se rokh)In 3 FACES (SE ROKH) a distraught girl, whose family refuses to let her attend a Tehran conservatory, reaches out to two filmmakers for help but appears to commit suicide on a smartphone video she sends them. Actress Behnaz Jafari and director Jafar Panahi play themselves as they travel to a remote Iranian village in search of the truth. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer falls for director Sebastián Lelio’s GLORIA BELL starring Julianne Moore. Paul Markoff picks film critic Josh Larsen’s book MOVIES ARE PRAYERS: HOW FILMS VOICE OUR DEEPEST LONGINGS. Send your comments, quest...
2019-04-1130 minFilmboundUsLupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, and their two children are terrorized by a family that looks exactly like them in writer-director Jordan Peele’s US. Also, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff discuss the five films they would show someone to convey their tastes in movies. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ US clip courtesy Universal Pictures THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (LES PARAPLUIES DE CHERBOURG) clip courtesy The Criterion Collection FIELD OF DREAMS clip cour...
2019-04-031h 00FilmboundExoticaThe lives of alienated and secretive individuals converge in a strip club in writer-director Atom Egoyan’s 1994 drama EXOTICA starring Bruce Greenwood, Mia Kirshner, Elias Koteas, and Don McKellar. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer covers the Wexner Center for the Arts’ Cinema Revival: A Festival of Film Restoration and spotlights Alfred Santell’s melodrama THAT BRENNAN GIRL and John Berry’s CLAUDINE with Diahann Carroll and James Earl Jones. Paul Markoff picks Nicolas Winding Refn’s DRIVE with Ryan Gosling as a stuntman by day and getaway driver by night. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmbou...
2019-03-2741 minFilmboundCaptain Marvel | Fighting with My FamilyIn CAPTAIN MARVEL Brie Larson’s superpowered Vers is caught in a war between two alien races and finds a partner stopping the villains in Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury. Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck direct the latest Marvel adventure. In Stephen Merchant’s FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY, Florence Pugh is a working class teen from a family of wrestlers trying to become a WWE champion. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ CAPTAIN MARVEL clip courtesy Walt D...
2019-03-2050 minFilmboundIsn't It RomanticRebel Wilson hits her head and wakes up to a life inside a romantic comedy in director Todd Strauss-Schulson’s ISN’T IT ROMANTIC. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer reports on the True/False Film Festival, with highlights including Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert’s AMERICAN FACTORY, Brett Story’s THE HOTTEST AUGUST, Todd Douglas Miller’s APOLLO 11, and Jodie Mack’s THE GRAND BIZARRE. Paul Markoff is in favor of Jeff Nichols’ LOVING, which tells the story behind the landmark Supreme Court case.. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmb...
2019-03-1336 minFilmboundHigh Flying BirdAndré Holland is a sports agent protecting his interests and those of his rookie client during a National Basketball Association lockout in director Steven Soderbergh’s HIGH FLYING BIRD. Also, with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences tinkering with this year’s Oscars, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff discuss potential changes to future awards ceremonies. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ HIGH FLYING BIRD clip courtesy Netflix Music: "Parasail" by Silent Partner Rec...
2019-03-061h 02FilmboundThe Lego Movie 2: The Second PartIn THE LEGO MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART, Bricksburg has become Apocalypseburg, and the threat of alien invasion looms. When Lucy, Batman, and others are kidnapped and taken to the Systar System, it’s up to the Chris Pratt-voiced Emmett to save them and stop the impending Our-Mom-Ageddon. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer reconsiders director Jake Kasdan’s musical biopic parody WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY starring John C. Reilly. Paul Markoff selects David Twohy’s thriller A PERFECT GETAWAY with Milla Jovovich and Steve Zahn. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. T...
2019-02-2735 minFilmboundCold War (Zimna wojna) | Velvet BuzzsawDirector and co-writer Pawel Pawlikowski’s COLD WAR (ZIMNA WOJNA) follows the volatile, fifteen-year romance between Tomasz Kot’s music director and Joanna Kulig’s singer in communist Poland and beyond. Also, writer-director Dan Gilroy reunites with his NIGHTCRAWLER stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Rene Russo for a satirical horror film about the fine art world with VELVET BUZZSAW. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ COLD WAR clip courtesy Amazon Studios VELVET BUZZSAW clip courtesy Netflix ...
2019-02-2043 minFilmboundGlassIn GLASS M. Night Shyamalan’s comic book-inspired trilogy concludes. Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, and James McAvoy reprise their roles from UNBREAKABLE and SPLIT. In recommendations in time for Valentine’s Day, Mark Pfeiffer chooses Michael Dowse’s WHAT IF with Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan trying to be friends while denying their romantic feelings. Paul Markoff picks David Frankel’s HOPE SPRINGS with Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones seeking to rekindle the love in their longtime marriage. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebo...
2019-02-1339 minFilmboundThe Best Films of 2018Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff reveal the titles making their lists of the Best Films of 2018 in this special edition episode. They also discuss their favorite performances in last year’s films. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ THOROUGHBREDS clip courtesy Focus Features ANNIHILATION clip courtesy Paramount Pictures A STAR IS BORN clip courtesy Warner Bros. BISBEE ‘17 clip courtesy 4th Row Films WILDLIFE clip IFC Films FIRST REFORMED clip cour...
2019-02-101h 18FilmboundMary Poppins Returns | Bird BoxTwenty-five years after first helping a London family, a magical nanny comes back to aid the now-grown Banks children in saving their Cherry Tree Lane home in director Rob Marshall’s MARY POPPINS RETURNS. Emily Blunt takes over for Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins. Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer, and Lin-Manuel Miranda also star. Seeing supernatural creatures causes people to kill themselves in Susanne Bier's BIRD BOX, so Sandra Bullock and her two children must travel blindfolded down a river in the hope of reaching refuge. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com....
2019-01-3038 minFilmboundSpider-Man: Into the Spider-VerseMultiple realities and different versions of Spider-Man converge in Miles Morales’ hometown in Bob Perischetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman’s animated SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer chooses ZVIZDAL: [CHERNOBYL - SO FAR SO CLOSE], the Belgian group BERLIN’s mix of documentary film, dioramas, and performing arts used to present an elderly couple who still reside in the village within the zone of the 1986 nuclear plant accident. Paul Markoff picks director Jonathan Demme’s RICKI AND THE FLASH with Meryl Streep as a mother who focused on her rock stardom ambitions over family. Se...
2019-01-2332 minFilmboundIf Beale Street Could Talk | RomaWriter-director Barry Jenkins adapts James Baldwin’s novel IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK, which focuses on a young couple in love and expecting a child. KiKi Layne and Stephan James star as the lovers who are torn apart when he is accused of a crime and imprisoned while their families try to prove his innocence. Alfonso Cuarón’s semi-autobiographical ROMA lovingly observes a maid who cares for a middle class family in Mexico City in the early 1970s. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Faceb...
2019-01-1650 minFilmboundThe Ballad of Buster ScruggsWriter-directors Joel and Ethan Coen serve a slab of dark Americana in THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS. The Old West anthology film tells six tales with a cast including Tim Blake Nelson, James Franco, Liam Neeson, Tom Waits, and Zoe Kazan. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer selects MINDING THE GAP, Bing Liu’s documentary about skateboarding friends in Rockford, Illinois. Paul Markoff picks Doug Liman’s AMERICAN MADE with Tom Cruise as a pilot who flies missions for the CIA and smuggles drugs for the Medellín Cartel. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail...
2019-01-0929 minFilmboundVox Lux | Shoplifters (Manbiki kazoku)Celeste, played as a teenager by Raffey Cassidy and as an adult by Natalie Portman, emerges from surviving a school survivor to become a jaded pop star in writer-director Brady Corbet’s VOX LUX. In Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Palme d’Or-winning drama SHOPLIFTERS (MANBIKI KAZOKU) a makeshift family creates meaningful bonds in caring for one another while struggling with life in poverty. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ VOX LUX clip courtesy Neon Music: "Parasail" by Sil...
2019-01-0249 minFilmboundThe FavouriteSet in early 1800s England, director Yorgos Lanthimos’ THE FAVOURITE features Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz scheming against one another to become the preferred friend and adviser to Olivia Colman’s Queen Anne. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer appreciates the zaniness of a robot fighting a force controlling cell phones in S. Shankar’s science fiction-action-comedy 2.0. Paul Markoff is compelled by how Alex Garland explores the feelings between a man and an artificially intelligent creation in EX MACHINA. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.fa...
2018-12-2640 minFilmboundThe Hudsucker ProxyOn this special holiday episode, Paul Newman suggests a corporation’s board of directors promote Tim Robbins’ recent business school graduate to president as a means of devaluing the stock they wish to buy on January 1 to retain control of the company in THE HUDSUCKER PROXY, Joel and Ethan Coen’s 1994 comedy influenced by the films of Preston Sturges and Frank Capra, including IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE. Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff also share the film-related wishes they hope might be granted this season. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Tw...
2018-12-2443 minFilmboundRalph Breaks the Internet | WidowsWreck-It Ralph and Vanellope, voiced by John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman, learn what life is like beyond arcade games when they go online in RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET. Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, and Elizabeth Debicki lose their husbands in a heist gone wrong and must follow in their thieving ways to come up with $2 million their spouses took from a crime boss in director and co-writer Steve McQueen’s WIDOWS. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ RA...
2018-12-1954 minFilmboundCreed IIThe ROCKY series continues in director Steven Caple Jr.’s CREED II with Michael B. Jordan’s heavyweight boxer Adonis Creed facing a challenger whose father killed his father in the ring more than thirty years ago. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer picks Matthew Heineman's drama A PRIVATE WAR with Rosamund Pike as conflict zone journalist Marie Colvin and the comedy INSTANT FAMILY with Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne as foster parents. Paul Markoff likes Aardman Animations' holiday comedy ARTHUR CHRISTMAS. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Fac...
2018-12-1237 minFilmboundWildlifeA teenage boy watches the marriage of his parents, played by Carey Mulligan and Jake Gyllenhaal, dissolve in early 1960s Montana in director and co-writer Paul Dano’s WILDLIFE. Also, as awards season is in full swing, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff discuss the merits, or lack thereof, of the withdrawn plan to introduce a Best Popular Film category at the 2019 Academy Awards. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ WILDLIFE clips courtesy IFC Films Music: "Pa...
2018-12-0741 minFilmboundThe GrinchA grumpy, green hater of holiday cheer plots to steal Christmas from Whoville in a new 3D computer-animated version of Dr. Seuss’ THE GRINCH. Benedict Cumberbatch voices the villain whose heart is two sizes too small. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer spotlights COLD WATER (L’EAU FROIDE), Olivier Assayas’ snapshot of a sixteen-year-old boyfriend and girlfriend restless to take control of their lives in early 1970s France. Paul Markoff selects director Clint Eastwood’s HEREAFTER, which connects three stories about people with mystical experiences regarding death and the afterlife. Send your comments, questions, and feedback t...
2018-11-2827 minFilmboundBohemian Rhapsody | Can You Ever Forgive Me?From the rock band Queen’s early days through its Live Aid performance, director Bryan Singer’s BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY follow the group’s rise through the story of its lead singer Freddie Mercury, played by Rami Malek. Also, Melissa McCarthy is a struggling writer who finds her work more in demand when creating and selling fake celebrity correspondence as the real thing to memorabilia dealers in director Marielle Heller’s CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/film...
2018-11-2141 minFilmboundHalloweenMichael Myers breaks free and seeks to terrorize Haddonfield, Illinois again forty years later, but Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode is ready and waiting to get her vengeance in co-writer/director David Gordon Green’s HALLOWEEN, a sequel to John Carpenter’s 1978 horror classic. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer finds the appeal in Hirokazu Kore-eda’s crime drama THE THIRD MURDER (SANDOME NO SATSUJIN). Paul Markoff enjoys the humor and camaraderie among three nerdy friends living in a tough neighborhood getting mixed up in things they shouldn’t in Rick Famuyiwa’s DOPE. Send your comments, questions, an...
2018-11-1433 minFilmboundBad Times at the El RoyaleJeff Bridges, Jon Hamm, Cynthia Erivo, and Dakota Johnson are strangers with secrets whose paths cross at the declining, border-straddling motel where they’re staying in writer-director Drew Goddard’s BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE. Also, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff discuss how, or if, one should separate the art from the artist when someone involved with a film is alleged or convicted of wrongdoing. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYA...
2018-11-0734 minFilmboundFirst ManDirector Damien Chazelle’s FIRST MAN tracks the space race via the work and home life of Ryan Gosling as astronaut Neil Armstrong. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer admires Frederick Wiseman’s small town documentary MONROVIA, INDIANA, and Paul Markoff appreciates the humor and scares in Rob Letterman’s GOOSEBUMPS. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ FIRST MAN clips courtesy Universal Pictures MONROVIA, INDIANA clip courtesy Zipporah Films GOOSEBUMPS clip courtesy Columbia Pictures Musi...
2018-10-3138 minFilmboundA Star is Born | Private LifeIn the latest version of A STAR IS BORN, Bradley Cooper directs, co-writes, and stars as successful but self-destructive musician Jackson Maine, who finds love and an ascendant talent in Lady Gaga’s Ally. Also, Kathryn Hahn and Paul Giamatti are a couple in their forties feeling pressure and disappointment in pursuing fertility treatments and other options to have a child in writer-director Tamara Jenkins’ comedic drama PRIVATE LIFE. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ A STAR IS B...
2018-10-2455 minFilmboundHold the DarkJeffrey Wright goes into the Alaskan wilderness to hunt wolves suspected of killing children in director Jeremy Saulnier’s HOLD THE DARK. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer appreciates the action, humor, and satire in John Carpenter’s THEY LIVE and picks BISBEE ‘17, AMÉRICA, and HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING as must-see films at the Wexner Center for the Arts’ Unorthodocs. 2018 film festival. Paul Markoff savors the lurid thrills of David Fincher’s GONE GIRL. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmbou...
2018-10-1728 minFilmboundA Simple Favor | The Land of Steady HabitsA good deed that Anna Kendrick performs for Blake Lively eventually leads to investigating her mysterious and glamorous friend’s disappearance in Paul Feig’s comedic thriller A SIMPLE FAVOR. Also, Ben Mendelsohn finds that a divorce and early retirement haven’t made him happier in writer-director Nicole Holofcener’s THE LAND OF STEADY HABITS. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ A SIMPLE FAVOR clip courtesy Lionsgate THE LAND OF STEADY HABITS clip courtesy Netflix Mu...
2018-10-1040 minFilmboundThe PredatorBoyd Holbrook leads a group of misfits, including ex-soldiers and an evolutionary biologist, to retrieve some alien technology before the government and hunter aliens find it in director and co-writer Shane Black’s THE PREDATOR. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer is dazzled by the bold visuals and sound design of Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani’s crime film LET THE CORPSES TAN (LAISSEZ BRONZER LES CADAVRES). Paul Markoff chooses Ramin Bahrani’s drama 99 HOMES with Andrew Garfield assisting Michael Shannon in a shady real estate business. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com...
2018-10-0332 minFilmboundSearching | To All the Boys I've Loved BeforeJohn Cho plays a desperate father who searches his missing teenage daughter’s computer and social media for clues to her whereabouts in director and co-writer Aneesh Chaganty’s thriller SEARCHING. Also, Lana Condor is a high school junior whose secret love letters are unknowingly sent to onetime objects of her affection and lead to a fake relationship of convenience with Noah Centineo in director Susan Johnson’s TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE, an adaptation of Jenny Han’s young adult novel. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twit...
2018-09-2743 minFilmboundBlacKkKlansmanTwo Colorado Springs police officers infiltrate a local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan in director Spike Lee’s BLACKKKLANSMAN. John David Washington is the African-American cop developing close relationships over the phone with Klan members, and Adam Driver is the white, Jewish colleague who stands in for him at face-to-face meetings. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer praises Ingmar Bergman’s WINTER LIGHT (NATTVARDSGÄSTERNA), a notable inspiration for Paul Schrader’s FIRST REFORMED. Paul Markoff appreciates Alexander Payne’s NEBRASKA with Bruce Dern and Will Forte. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com.
2018-09-2244 minFilmboundEighth GradeWriter-director Bo Burnham’s EIGHTH GRADE explores the middle school experience through the eyes of Elsie Fisher’s introverted teen, who worries that the disappointments of junior high will continue the next fall in high school. Also, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff add to the Filmbound Canon, which are their personal collections of all-time great films released beginning in 1995. Mark selects Whit Stillman’s 1998 comedy THE LAST DAYS OF DISCO starring Chloë Sevigny and Kate Beckinsale. Paul admires the silliness and weirdness of Gore Verbinski’s RANGO. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com...
2018-09-2041 minFilmboundBlindspottingCo-written by its two lead actors and directed by Carlos López Estrada, BLINDSPOTTING features Daveed Diggs trying to get through his last days of probation without Rafael Casal, as his best friend, getting him into additional trouble. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer enjoys the humor, drama, and romance in director Jon M. Chu’s CRAZY RICH ASIANS, and Paul Markoff admires director John Lee Hancock’s THE FOUNDER with Michael Keaton as the highly ambitious and ruthless businessman who transformed McDonald’s into a dominant fast food chain. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmbou...
2018-09-0635 minFilmboundSorry to Bother YouLakeith Stanfield is a telemarketer whose professional success comes at a price neither he nor his girlfriend, played by Tessa Thompson, could have ever imagined in the dystopian comedy SORRY TO BOTHER YOU from writer-director Boots Riley. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer enjoys The Beatles’ animated trip to Pepperland in director George Dunning’s YELLOW SUBMARINE, and Paul Markoff is intrigued by Jake Gyllenhaal meeting his doppelgänger in director Denis Villeneuve’s ENEMY. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ SO...
2018-08-2235 minFilmboundSkyscraperDwayne Johnson plays a security expert who goes to extraordinary lengths to get into a burning Hong Kong building so he can save his family in writer-director Rawson Marshall Thurber’s SKYSCRAPER. Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff also discuss movie ticket subscription services. (Note: this episode was recorded before recent developments regarding MoviePass.) Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ SKYSCRAPER clip courtesy Universal Pictures Music: "Parasail" by Silent Partner Recorded July 21, 2018.
2018-08-1539 minFilmboundLeave No TraceBen Foster and Thomasin McKenzie are a father and daughter living by choice in a Portland, Oregon park and trying to avoid detection in director and co-writer Debra Granik’s LEAVE NO TRACE. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer finds an unlikely escape in Ol Parker’s ABBA jukebox musical sequel MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN, and Paul Markoff has his heart warmed by director Morgan Neville’s Fred Rogers documentary WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook...
2018-08-0845 minFilmboundAnt-Man and the WaspScott Lang’s connection with Hope van Dyne’s long-missing mother brings Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly together again in director Peyton Reed’s ANT-MAN AND THE WASP as they work to rescue Janet van Dyne from the quantum realm. Although they’re not superheroes, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff also discuss their origin stories as movie lovers. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ ANT-MAN AND THE WASP clip courtesy Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Music: "...
2018-08-0441 minFilmboundJurassic World: Fallen KingdomIn director J.A. Bayona’s JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, and their team work to save the dinosaurs from an imminent volcanic eruption and relocate the magnificent beasts to an island sanctuary, but others have more profitable destinations in mind for the creatures. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer selects FILMWORKER, director Tony Zierra’s documentary about Stanley Kubrick’s longtime assistant Leon Vitali. Paul Markoff picks DETROIT, director Kathryn Bigelow’s intense drama depicting that city’s 1967 riots. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound
2018-07-2529 minFilmboundHereditaryIn writer-director Ari Aster’s horror film HEREDITARY, Toni Collette stars as an artist struggling to cope with the death of her mother, with whom she had a fraught relationship, as well as the tension at home with Gabriel Byrne as her husband and Alex Wolff and Milly Shapiro as her two children. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer selects the unrestored 70mm print of Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY that is currently on tour. Paul Markoff chooses a journey of earthly indulgences with director Malcolm D. Lee’s comedy GIRLS TRIP starring Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Jada Pi...
2018-07-1133 minFilmboundFirst ReformedEthan Hawke stars as a pastor wrestling with his faith and a bleak view of the future for himself and the world in writer-director Paul Schrader’s FIRST REFORMED. Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff also discuss what they believe the role of the film critic is and how they approach the duty. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ FIRST REFORMED clip courtesy A24 Music: "Parasail" by Silent Partner Recorded June 23, 2018.
2018-07-0700 minFilmboundSolo: A Star Wars StorySOLO: A STAR WARS STORY reveals the origins of the space smuggler in the original trilogy. Director Ron Howard’s film features Alden Ehrenreich as the younger version of the character made famous by Harrison Ford, Donald Glover as the young Lando Calrissian, and Emilia Clarke as the love interest Han Solo gets separated from when trying to flee their home planet. In recommendations, Mark Pfeiffer picks writer-director Michael Pearce’s psychological thriller BEAST, in which a young woman, who feels unforgiven for a violent act she committed as a youth, bonds with a man suspected of being...
2018-06-2700 minFilmboundDeadpool 2Ryan Reynolds returns as the wise-cracking mutant in director David Leitch’s DEADPOOL 2. In the sequel Deadpool shows some capacity for personal growth by striving to protect a boy with newly developed superpowers from using them to ruin his life and risk getting killed by Josh Brolin as the time-traveling soldier Cable. Drawing on two decades-plus as critics, Mark Pfeiffer and Paul Markoff also discuss film clichés they dislike and enjoy. Send your comments, questions, and feedback to filmboundpod@gmail.com. Twitter: @filmbound Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmboundpod/ DEA...
2018-06-2000 min