At The Flicks

Howdy partners, and welcome back to the trail. I would move in closer if I were you, as you are standing too close to where Snake Eyes Neil let the horses roam after eating. Be warned, this trail is a little darker than the last one. OK a lot darker. We talk about Ralph Nelson’s powerful and shocking Western Soldier Blue. For two thirds of its length this is a violent survivalist story. The last third is a recreation of the infamous Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 when the third Colorado Cavalry brutally butchered most of the inhabitants of a Native American village. Tough stuff indeed and made even tougher by the parallels the film makers drew to the My Lai massacre which had happened in Vietnam a couple of years prior to the release of this movie. We talk at length about the climax of Soldier Blue, its initial impact, the extraordinary preview cut which almost got some of the film makers attacked and the censor cuts which have taken place since the film’s initial release. If you have 20 minutes to spare why not

Welcome to the latest At The Flicks review show. Regular listeners will notice a few changes this month, the biggest being that, thanks to lockdown, there aren’t many new movies to review! Which is of course a problem for a review show. However before we talk about our sneaky approach to that problem, let’s look at our new expanded team. Let’s start with the regulars “Oracle” Jeff “I make my film selections to annoy Jeff” Neil “If I could edit Jeff out of the show I would” Graham are now joined every month by the following ultra keen film goers (when cinemas are open) “I will never side with Jeff” Phil “Just who is this Jeff person anyway” Darren What a team. It’s like the magnificent seven but with only five! So just what are our team up to with a scarcity of new releases. Well luckily they found two, one thanks to Netflix. Other than that Graham came up with an excellent idea, although both Jeff and “Tory boy” Neil tried to claim credit for it. Graham’s plan was to pick movies that had been released during

Our continuing and popular series on the politics of the Rambo films has the team journeying to Afghanistan to talk about the most expensive film of the series, Rambo III. Note that there is no more mention of First Blood in the title. This time our own Rambo style native warrior Neil (no knife, all golf club) joins us as the battle lines of discussion are drawn. During the course of this in depth discussion we answer these questions: * Why was this such a troubled production? * Who was the original director? * What weapon, designed by the Americans during the 1980’s (and prominently shown in Rambo III) was first used in this conflict? * Did John Rambo actually support the Taliban? These, and many other questions you didn’t know you wanted, or cared enough to ask. As with every other men on a mission flick, there are disagreements within the team. Nothing new there are Jeff and Neil disagree on many aspects of the film and each thinks they are right. Meanwhile Elijah and Graham talk around them, making s

Last Year Jeff had a rant (nothing new there) about Disney + and their staggered release pattern. He said it would be a disaster outside of America. Well, COVID proved him wrong as the UK had a record number of subscribers when lockdown hit. What else was he wrong about? Find out on our Disney + podcast discussion. On this podcast Phil the bear (a subscriber) joins the team to talk about the release and impact of Disney+. Neil and Graham have also signed up. Jeff hasn’t, apparently this is a protest as one of the Disney classics has not been added to the service. Oh, and Jeff, it never will… Despite that one omission, many of the great Disney and Pixar movies can be found here. Plus (so that’s what the + stands for), you can watch the Star Wars films, the Marvel movies and The Simpsons. Great value for money – or is it, we talk about that as well. Also under discussion are such topics as what is happening with the Fox library, can Disney show the more adult content from their own and the Fox libraries and

The Witcher, Daredevil, The Punisher and Hannibal are some of the most highly praised and watched TV shows of recent years. They have all had episodes directed by our guest on this show – Marc Jobst. This special episode is devoted almost exclusively to Marc talking about his career, from his early stage days to the heights of being one of the most sought after directors working today . Marc talks in depth about the shows he is most famous for and also answers some of our listeners questions put to him about his work. As a sneak peek, he gives us advanced notice about a new show coming to Netflix later this year called Jupiter’s Legacy, As if that isn’t enough, Marc also talks to us about his movie in development, a UK based project called Home. I am sure you will agree, this specially extended episode is a fascinating insight into the film maker’s craft. On top of that we have our latest film news. Neil tells us about Fishermen’s Friends 2 (and we hope to have some exclusive news on that film in an upco

Ain’t lockdown a bitch? The At The Flicks team can’t get out to go into a cinema. Can’t go to a bar to get that beer Neil owes us. We are all stuck in our respective properties having to decide what to watch next. Jeff has to make sure he avoids anything Marvel, Graham is stuck in an endless cycle of Mel and Gerard movies while Neil has to work out how to turn the TV on. Even after you get to your channels or downloads, how do you know what is going to be any good? It is bad enough having to be stuck inside for weeks, without having to waste your time watching rubbish. Luckily we can help. Our two resident experts Emma and Declan are on hand to tell you what is worth watching and what is best avoided. Emma tells you about films that you may not be aware of that are worth a watch. This is certainly a wide ranging list, from acclaimed foreign language features, creature features (many creature features) and movies with top stars that sneaked past most of us. If you enjoy the films half as much as we enjoyed

Howdy Partners. Don’t stand so far away, come closer to the campfire, grab some beans and coffee while its still hot and settle back as the At The Flicks team talk Westerns. Welcome to the first in a series of podshorts from the At The Flicks western team. While you help yourself to the food, we’ll introduce ourselves. There’s Jeff the Kid, Itchy Trigger Finger Graham and Snake Eyes Neil (don’t stare – he doesn’t like that). We have selected 20 films between the years 1960 – 2020 to talk about, which we consider great movies of the genre. Why those dates? Two reasons 1) Many say the great Westerns had all been made by 1960 – we beg to differ. Here are 20 which are worth anyone’s time. If you disagree we will see you on Main Street at noon, and you had better have your colt six shooter with you (that’s COLT Neil). 2) All the films come from within the team’s lifetime. We have grown up and become saddle sore with many of the films we are proud to talk about. So, where do we start? Why not with a fun Western

Dec and Phil join the team to pick two films each that were personal disappointments. The complete list of all ten films can be found in the show notes for this episode. Attheflicks.co.uk

Welcome to our end of month show, slightly late, but then everything is crazy at the moment! We hope you are all coping well with whatever lockdown is taking place in your country and are following all the social distancing rules. To keep you entertained here is our review show for March. Most of these we were able to watch in cinemas (remember them?) Like everyone else we have no idea when cinemas will open again, however our shows and reviews will continue. We will shortly reveal to you our film review criteria for the end of April, keep listening to the shows and all will be revealed shortly. Stay Safe

Jardiel from Pulp Cereal joins us to ask a very important couple of questions. Who is Roger Corman? What is his importance in the history of cinema? Without giving too much detail away – we don’t want to spoil your enjoyment of the show – we will just say, that without Roger Corman, cinema would not be as we currently know it. Well known names such as James Cameron, Francis Ford Coppola, Jonathan Demme, Martin Scorsese and Jack Nicholson were given major opportunities by Mr Corman. We discuss all aspects of Roger Corman’s prolific career with Jardiel. His early directing efforts in the 1950’s, his producing skills, the boundary pushes, bringing world cinema to America, the legendary Edgar Allan Poe features and, now in his nineties, his plans for making more entertainment for us! A man who should be spoken of in the same breath as Walt Disney. And as an added bonus, there is Jeff’s much repeated story (to the rest of the team to the point of boredom), of how he thought he was going to die when he once watc

After the success of episode 72 (The Politics Of Rambo), we return to one of Sylvester Stallone’s most famous characters as we critique Part II. In preparation for this, your jungle team of Elijah, Graham and Jeff put on their bandanas, get out their bows and arrows and journey into the undergrowth. The undergrowth of politics that is. We examine why the second Rambo film, the most successful of the series, made such an impact when it was released in 1985. Culturally and politically this became one of the films to see that Summer. Even President Ronald Reagan was talking about! During the course of this in depth discussion we answer the questions: * Why was the movie so successful when the idea had already been used in many similar features? * Were there really American POWs still in Vietnam in the mid 1980’s? * What involvement did James Cameron have in the production? * How did the aftermath of the Vietnam war assist in the downfall of the Soviet empire? * Is it true John Travolta almost played Sylv

The world around you may seem to be going mad as everyone enters lockdown phase, however don’t worry, the At The Flicks team are there for you. We have more content stored than Neil’s toilet roll collection and it is of better quality. Yes, throughout this crisis we pledge to deliver to you shows on a regular basis. You may not agree with our views (no one ever agrees with Jeff), but we hope to keep you informed about all aspects of movies and also to try to keep you smiling. Take this show, our mid March spectacular. We have two top quality interviews and a batch of movie news more infectious than the coronavirus! First up in our interviews is Ashley, the top sound engineer on Cape Town’s morning show Expresso. Jeff recorded this interview with Ashley when he was in Cape Town recently and says he wishes he was back there now – so do we Jeff. Ashley talks us through a typical day and tells us about sound recording techniques that make Graham jealous. After that we have an interview with Swedish film directo

The last, the longest and the wittiest awards show review of the year. As we are so late to the party, the At The Flicks team approached this assignment like a Quentin Tarentino movie. The usual suspects are here, however for this one we had to go bigger and bring in some extra Reservoir Dogs. Like every great Tarentino movie we break the action down into chapters, such as the Controversies and the movies the award winners would rather forget! We cover all the big awards with Tarantino wit and violence (well that always happens when Neil and Jeff are together). As the team sit around the table reviewing the action, let’s for fun, cast them with Tarentino regulars. Brad Pitt plays Jeff (because Jeff wrote this and had first pick) Uma Thurman plays Neil (again because Jeff wrote this) Samuel L Jackson plays Graham (the sage, quick to violence when Marvel or Mel are mentioned too many times) Michael Madsen plays Phil aka Phil the Bear (a quiet type but never mention Green Book around him when he has a razo

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In podcast 78 “Is it too early for Sherry” we had so many reviews that we had to split the show into two parts. This Podcast is the second part of our End of month Review show. This show contains reviews of Bad Boys for Life, The Rhythm Section, Emma, While you were sleeping, Slenderman, 71, The Buddy Holly Story and a review of the first six Studio Ghibli movies that aired on Netflix in February. We hope you enjoy this show.

Welcome to our end of February show. It might be the shortest month, yet paradoxically it has the biggest show. So big in fact that we have had to split it in two! We could have edited some of the content out, but if we did that we would have to put up with another Jeff rant as to how he was being censored. This seems a good compromise, and as an added bonus, if you have to self isolate in the weeks ahead, well, you now have plenty to listen to. In fact if you are sealed in, then the first item on the show is essential. Dec’s guide to streaming (carry on streaming) returns. There are some excellent shows on here, although Jeff cannot let his love of Gavin and Stacey go! Yes we know it was the biggest hit on TV over Christmas, now move on. Dec, like Graham and Neil, ignores Jeff and provides some series well worth streaming, especially if you unexpectedly find yourself all alone for a couple of weeks. By the way, if you want to get tips on how to survive alone, send your questions to us and we will ask our res

The “it’s back” episode. It’s back to great interviews, it’s back to movie news and it’s back to Elijah who is once again re-discovering the classics. It’s also back to Jeff’s rants, Neil’s confusion and Graham’s unnatural obsession for all things Mel. Put that from you mind as we tell you about our big interview. Our first interview of the year and we start with a bang. Kirk Doman is a major movie art director in South Africa. It didn’t start out that way for Kirk who tells us how he got involved in the film world, firstly as a movie prop supplier and then as an art director. Jeff was fortunate enough to get some of Kirk’s very busy time when he was over in Cape Town recently. He also got to spend time wandering through Kirk’s company called prop art, which he co-owns with Barry Coetzer, where some amazing props are on display. Check out the link below to their website and also below are some of the amazing pictures Jeff’s wife took when they were there. Jeff conducted the interview in the very busy prop

On this Podcast short special we talk to director Marc Jobst about his latest in development project Home.  Marc will be bringing a concept performance from the film, a movie “pitch” if you like, to this year’s Stroud Film Festival. As the Festival guide explains the event “ Home is a multi generational dance musical about three young homeless people who meet on the streets of Bristol. Researched in Gloucester and Bristol, it’s being pitched in the UK and Hollywood.” After the event Marc will be chairing an open discussion with the audience about their ideas on thoughts on Home. If you have ever wanted a chance to influence a Hollywood movie, this is your time. To be part of this amazing opportunity, you can get tickets for the event via the Stroud Film Festival website – check out the link below. Hurry though there are only a few days to go and you do not want to miss out on getting tickets for this one.  The At The Flicks team will see you at the event.

The 2020 Stroud Film Festival starts with a lead in event on 21st February and to discuss the programme for this year we sat down with Co. Director of the Festival, Andy Freedman. In this podcast we talk about the films, venues, competitions, events and workshops that make this festival such a unique experience. If you have an interest in cinema then the Stroud Film Festival, which runs until 28th March is an event you will not want to miss. Check out the full festival programme here and get your tickets before they all go.

In the last few years film fans have complained that the movie industry was churning out nothing but Sequels, Reboots and Remakes. What exactly are these modern phenomena? In 2019 we had more Avengers, another John Wick, Godzilla back again, Pets continuing to be secret, X-Men doing the Phoenix saga again, the return of the Toy Story crowd, yet more Annabelle and a further helping of the Men in Black. Where is the originality? In this Podcast we are joined by regular contributor Phil Foster to discuss the sequel, reboot, remake phenomena. We look at some of the best and worse in each category. Warning: this gets very messy, very quickly.