Double Exposure

Guillermo Del Toro was in the Twin Cities last week for the opening of a new exhibit at Minneapolis Institute of Arts, titled, Guillermo Del Toro: At Home With Monsters.  The exhibition includes more than 500 pieces, most of them from Del Toro's personal collection at his home, Bleak House. Mia's own collection is also represented, and the cumulative effect of At Home With Monsters is magnificent. The exhibit runs at Mia until May 28th. Read more about the exhibit, here Buy Tickets Del Toro contains one of the most gifted cinematic imaginations of our time, and At Home With Monsters is a rare opportunity to peer inside the obsessive nature of that imagination.  While Del Toro was in town, Chris had the distinct pleasure of sitting down with Guillermo and a few other journalists for a wide-ranging conversation about his work, his life, and what he thinks of the direction the US is taking right now. Find out why Del Toro's grandmother performed an exorcism on him, and what his personal favorite Del Toro proje

Starship Troopers is a tricky pick for the Movies Steve Bannon Would Hate miniseries. Because, frankly, we're not sure that Steve Bannon would hate it. But we're certain that he should.  Paul Verhoeven's 1997 big-budget science-fiction intergalactic bug-war dons all the attire of a fascistic warmongering battle hungry war film. And if one doesn't pay close attention, then that's what you'll find. But Verhoeven is no fascist, and his film undercuts every moment of fascism and authoritarianism it portrays. So argues Chris, anyway. So why would Steve Bannon Hate This Movie? Well, Bannon is a Clash of Civilization ideologue. His worldview, as expressed in his Vatican Speech, seems to employ war and conflict as a tool to meet his political aims. Which is terrible, and the very target of Starship Troopers.  Also on this episode: much discussion of how terrifying Steve Bannon's appetite for war is, how wonderful Paul Verhoeven's appetite for sex is, and a request for listeners to donate to the people doing the work

Everyone's favorite abortion comedy is surely a movie that Steve Bannon would hate, right? For week two of our miniseries on Movies Steve Bannon Would Hate, Courtney and Chris discuss Obvious Child, as well as abortion politics in America, the alt-right anti-women vision of Breitbart, Bannon, and Milo Yannioupolous.  Breitbart called Obvious Child propaganda for Planned Parenthood, among other, equally stupid names. But Gillian Robespierre's hilarious and touching debut feature film is much more than a promotional film for the health and reproductive services offered by a vital organization like Planned Parenthood.  But hey, if Obvious Child were a promotional film for Planned Parenthood, that would be alright by us. And if you want to donate to Planned Parenthood, that would be even better.  You can do that here:  Click here to make a tax deductive donation to Planned Parenthood Click here to donate to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund Also on the episode: abortion in film comedies, Jenny Slate's fierce/fu

Last week marked the end of Season One on Double Exposure. Before we start Season Two, we’re dedicating some time on the show to the subject that is sucking the oxygen out of Chris and Courtney’s, and so many other Americans’, lives: presidential politics. More specifically, Steven Bannon. The former Executive Chair of the alt-right propo site Breitbart News somehow managed to turn his controversial brand of anti-everything-and-everyone politics into one of the most powerful political positions in America: Donald Trump’s Chief White House Strategist. There are no strings to hold Bannon down, now. Maybe not even his boss. There’s something about the position of Steve Bannon in our country right now that is deeply troubling. To put it mildly. So welcome to week 1 of Double Exposure: Movies Steve Bannon Would Hate! For the next few months, Double Exposure is going to explore the life and politics of Steve Bannon, through movies we believe he would (or should) hate. In our first Movies Steve Bannon Would Hate! i

Deborah Carver is a writer, editor and filmmaker, just about to wrap up her first short film, The Great Man Theory of History. She joins Double Exposure this week to discuss the woman of a million facial expressions, Winona Ryder.   Where to find Deborah: DeborahCarver.com @FightWithKnives Winona Rider was the it girl of the late 80s and early 90s, starring in everything from sci-fi/horror comedies to Scorcese-directed period dramas. By the mid-90s was a Gen X icon and a two-time academy award nominee. You could say she really made something of herself by the age of 23.  For the show, we discuss the 1988 school-shooting comedy Heathers and the 1994 slacker-romance Reality Bites. The former features Ms. Rider as a 16-year old actress making a meal of a terrific screenplay, the latter finds her wading through the middle of a corporate slough. Or so one of us thinks anyway.  But no matter the movie, Winona Ryder plays her naturalism and authenticity to maximum effect. So we decided to judger her on that very qua

Josh Stifter is a director of bloody, gory short films and wickedly funny animation. Stifter thinks too much of the Minnesota film scene takes itself too seriously. So he goes the other direction, completely, making "wild and batshit crazy" shorts about killer Christmas stockings and the perils of early parenthood. "Who cares," Josh says, "it's fun to watch."  Stifter makes these films for his company Flush Studios. But he got started working for Kevin Smith, animating episodes of Smodcast, and eventually creating an animated scene for Smith's film Tusk (the scene was eventually cut, but is available on DVD and Blu-ray bonus features). Where to Find Josh: Patreon Youtube.com/FLUSHSTUDIOS Josh picked two early David Cronenberg films to discuss: Scanners and The Fly. Scanners marked Cronenberg's first wide-release, introducing his signature style of violence to the nation. It was a critical and box-office failure in 1981, but has become a cult classic. The Fly was a different story, a critical hit and Oscar win

Self-described poptimist Harold Burnett joins Chris and Courtney to talk about man of the moment Denzel Washington. Harold's first Denzel experience was Spike Lee's Mo' Better Blues, and he has been hooked for decades.  Find Harold:  @HaroldBurnett Everything Processed For the past 15 years or so, Denzel Washington has split his on-screen time between Serious Acting Pictures and average-to-below-average action thrillers. For this week's Double Exposure, Harold has chosen one of each: 1998's He Got Game and 2014's The Equalizer.  In this episode we cover everything you need to know about Denzel Washington, plus a vibrant discussion about Geriaction, the recently popular genre of grandpa-aged action heroes, Spike Lee's visual style, and a shout out to W. Kamau Bell and Kevin Avery's podcast Denzel Washington is the Best Actor Ever Period.  

Let me introduce Mike Epperson, aka, Mike Writes.    Epperson is a Philadelphia-based rapper and English Professor at Arcadia University and Philadelphia University. He joins us this week on Double Exposure.  Find Mike Bandcamp For discussion, Mike brought Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo and North By Northwest, two undisputed masterpieces from the master of suspense. Vertigo recently topped the Sight and Sound critics’ poll, surpassing Citizen Kane as the best film of all time. And North By Northwest has long been considered among Hitchcock’s most successful thrillers. The question for these films is not are they great, but why are they considered so? How should we account for Hitchcock’s obsessive fetishism for manipulating women into manipulating men? How do fears of mistaken identity effect modern audiences? And why does Hitch make his actresses keep expressionless faces? Which film will be the most Hitchcockian? And what does that mean when Hitchcock made so many and various films? Let us know what you think.

This week Double Exposure welcomes comics artist and wunder-adult Robert Algeo. Robert is sitting in this week for Courtney, who is at home with the Algeo's.....new baby! Congratulations Courtney and Bob. Tremendous work. Bob joins Chris to discuss Robert Zemeckis' Forrest Gump and Contact. Zemeckis is a populist art-maker, working with stars in the studio world. But he's also an experimenter in the industry. An acolyte of Steven Spielberg, Zemeckis is known for pursuing the advancement of technical elements in filmmaking to great success. His most-beloved films, Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, were early successes in seamlessly integrating visual effects, CGI, and live-action. He would take that to the extreme in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and more recently, push it even further with his motion-capture films (Polar Express, Beowulf, A Christmas Carol). But is Zemeckis' skill mostly technical? Forrest Gump was a Best Picture and Best Director winner, and a beloved Baby-Boomer reflection. But does Gump tell a

This week Double Exposure welcomes poet and writer, live performer and all around wonderful nerd, Bao Phi. Bao is a two-time Minnesota Grand Slam Champion and a finalist for the National Poetry Slam. In his collection, Sông I Sing, according to the New York Times, "Mr. Phi writes rhymes with the truth." Find Bao Phi  BaoPhi.com For his double feature, Bao selected director Ang Lee, and his films Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Hulk In 2000, Crouching Tiger won 4 Academy Awards, including Best Foreign Film. A combined production of Ang Lee's Taiwan and American studios, the film was perceived negatively in China. But it was a smashing success in the west.  Such a hit was Crouching Tiger that Ang Lee was given buckets of money in 2003 to make the Marvel adaptation Hulk. Eric Bana and Jennifer Connelly star in Lee's weird little superhero movie about adult children wrestling with the legacies of their highly troubling fathers.  Bao, Chris and Courtney explore every corner of Ang Lee's work (like all of them) a

Wes Burdine is an academic who studies English Literature and Psychical Research. What is psychical research? It's rad scientific research into paranormal stuff from the early 20th century, such as ghosts, time travel, and all kinds of stuff that fits right at home in the work of Guillermo del Toro.  Wes is also the Managing Editor of FiftyFive.One,  an online magazine that covers soccer in Minnesota and beyond.  Where to find Wes: @MNNifeFC FiftyFive.One For his double feature, Wes selected auteur director Guillermo del Toro. Pan's Labyrinth was del Toro's triple Academy Award winner from 2006. In the decade since it has become recognized as one of the best films of the 21st century (BBC's recent survey of international critics placed the film as the 17th best of the this century). del Toro followed Pan's Labyrinth with Hellboy 2 in 2008, based on the Dark Horse comic created by Mike Mignola. On this episode, Wes argues that Hellboy 2 is a conservative film, and that objective scientific answers to mysterie

TV writer Mary Lordes and actor Zach Broussard are this week's guests on the film podcast Double Exposure. Mary currently writes for Tru TV's Adam Ruins Everything, where she, well, ruins what you love. Zach's upcoming credits include the films Coin Heist and In Case of Emergency. For their double feature, Zach and Mary chose Kevin Kline, America's favorite normal guy of the movies. In 1993, Kline played the body double to the President in the Ivan Reitman film Dave. Then, in 1999, Kline would take his big-budget blockbuster turn in the Barry Sondenfeld bomb Wild Wild West.  Hosts Chris Zumski Finke and Courtney Algeo discuss with Broussard and Lordes the work and legacy of Kevin Kline, as well as the romance that brought the world six (6!) Resident Evil films, and a little known web-treasure called wikifeet.

LA-based Comedian George Chen joins Courtney and Chris for a discussion of director Alex Cox. Cox erupted onto the scene in 1984 with the punk-rock dark comedy Repo Man. Four years later, he made his last wide-release film, a strange biopic about the 19th century militia man William Walker, who took over Nicaragua and installed himself as president. Both films are bonkers, frankly, and representative of Cox's creativity and outsider-position in contemporary cinema.   

It was 8:00 PM on an unsuspecting Tuesday evening in St. Paul, Minnesota when Chris and Courtney skyped their way into the future: Wednesday morning in Jakarta, Indonesia. This week, Double Exposure goes international. On the other end of that call was the activist and writer Alanda Kariza. Kariza is the author or co-author of eight books--five works of fiction and four non-fiction. Her latest, Beats Apart, is a romance she co-authored with Kevin Aditya. Alanda also created the Indoneisan Youth Conference, meant to inspire youth to achieve their aspirations.  Not bad for a 25-year old.  Where to find Alanda: @alandakariza alandakariza.com Alanda's selection for Double Exposure is the French actress Marion Cotillard. The Oscar Winner is well known on this side of the pond for playing an often mysterious character who lives around the edges of a central story or plot. She dissembles with the best, and on-screen it can be difficult to capture what is under the surface.  Such is the case for both the Double Expo

Artist and Podcaster Lea Devon Sorrentino has a love for To Wong Foo that can never be extinguished. It is, as she says on the latest Double Exposure, her favorite comedy ever. The drag-queen comedy is actually the raison d'etre for this week's show: Lea appreciates any reason to have people watch-then discuss- To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. On top of being a wonderful artist and video maker, Lea is the host of the podcast Lea and the Internet, where she interviews guests about how internet shapes culture, people, and the way communities interact. Definitely check her work out. Where to find Lea Deon Sorrentino: Artwork: LeaDevon.com Podcast: LeaandtheInternet.com / @andtheinternet   Twitter: @hehleah For the double feature, Lea has selected the Wesley Snipes / Sylvester Stallone science-fiction romp Demolition Man. A film that asks: Would you want to live in a world where all restaurants are named Taco Bell?  Wesley Snipes was doing everything in the movies in the early 90s, and in this e

It was a happy accident that brought Nick Nolte to Double Exposure. This week's guest, Danno Klonowski, had planned to choose Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. as his subject for discussion. But realizing the filmic nature of Double Exposure, Danno looked for another connection to his choice of pictures. So he took his two Vonnegut adaptations, Mother Night and Breakfast of Champions, and pulled out their common core.  Thus, Nick Nolte.  Good work, Danno, because somehow Nolte just doesn't get the reps he deserves. Danno Klownoski, by the by, is the host of the Wayne Gale Variety Hour, a wonderful and wild pop culture podcast that discusses movies, current events and politics and all sorts of other brilliant things like Tim Heidecker's On Movies at The Movies. . It's not easy to describe, but WGVH is a wild and wonderful affair, and we're very excited to have Danno in the DE studios. Where to find Danno, and Wayne Gale Variety Hour @WGVHpodcast Wayne Gale Variety Hour As for Nick Nolte, you can get more Nolte than 1996's 

Episode 4 of Double Exposure is the first featuring only your humble hosts. Courtney and Chris embark on their first solo (times two) episode to discuss the work of director Karyn Kusama. Kusama is having a banner year in 2016, having released the critically beloved horror film The Invitation. Her fourth film in 16 years, The Invitation is, as one our hosts wrote, a “significant, powerful achievement.” The victory must be sweet for Kusama, who saw her career nearly derailed ten years ago by the disastrous Aeon Flux. Courtney chose Kusama because she loves discussing women directors , and she’s been meaning to get around to watching Kusama’s third feature, Jennifer’s Body. To complete the double feature, Courtney picked Kusama’s debut drama Girlfight. So, this week on Double Exposure: Kusama’s career, Megan Fox drinking blood, and Michelle Rodriguez making big-screen debut. Plus Buffy, a bad 2003 Lance Henrikson film, and as always, two new trailers.

Let's all welcome Jay Gabler to Double Exposure. For Minnesota Public Radio's The Current, Jay Gabler writes about music. At ClassicalMPR, Jay writes about Classical Music. And over at The Tangential, Jay covers pop culture and film. The Tangential also recently published a book, Sexts from the Sea, that includes a piece co-written by Courtney. So make sure you buy it! Where to find Jay: thetangential.com @JayGabler On this week's episode of Double Exposure, Jay calls upon all his various layers of expertise, personal experience and more to try to crack the mystery of Michael Douglas. Beginning with 1987's Fatal Attraction. Adrian Lyne directed Douglas in what would eventually become the highest grossing film of the year (alas, for the days when adult dramas were #1 at the box office). The film would also garner Academy Award nominations for the Director, as well as Glenn Close as Douglas maniacal one-night-stand partner, and Anne Archer, who plays Douglas' wife. For the pairing, Gabler chose Paul Verhoeven's

Bryan Bliss's new book Meet Me Here was recently described by Paste Magazine as "probably the most underrated novel of 2016," and "one of the best young adult books about PTSD."  Meet Me Here is Bliss's second novel, 2014's No Parking at the End Times.  No Parking is about a family that moves across the country as part of a doomsday cult. Bliss comes to Double Exposure to discuss why he writes YA Fiction about Very Serious Issues.  Bryan chose Bill Murray largely as an excuse to discuss Ghostbusters. The 1984 sci-fi comedy was Bill Murray's highest-grossing picture (surpassed this year by Jungle Book), and remains after 30 years one of his most beloved films.  So we paired it with 2003's Lost In Translation. Sofia Coppola's 2003 drama of lost souls in Tokyo finding comfort in each other's company. Lost in Translation earned Murray his only Academy Award nomination, and signaled a high point in the career resurgence that began with Rushmore. 

Voice Over Actor. Musician. Radio DJ. Mom. Linnea Mohn.  Linnea is a singer in the band Rogue Valley. Their latest album radiate/dissolve was released on June 21. Buy it here.  Linnea is also a DJ at Go 96.3, where she hosts the morning program Lazy Sunday.  Linnea comes to the Double Exposure studio to talk about Sarah Polley and her films Take This Waltz and Stories We Tell.  Polley is a Canadian actress, writer and director. In her first directoral effort, Away from Her, Polley was nominated for an Oscar for Best Screenplay.  Polley next wrote and directed the romantic drama/comedy Take This Waltz, starring Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen and Luke Kirby. While making Waltz, she was also creating the personal documentary Stories We Tell, which examines her family history and her own parentage.