At The Flicks

Welcome to our first end of month review show of the year.  It has been a few months since our last reviews show, so we start with a little catch up. Star Wars fan Phil Foster aka Phil the Bear joins us to discuss Star Wars : The Rise Of Skywalker (or as Jeff has cynically named it – Star Wars : The Death Of A Saga). It is a film which has divided audiences as much as it has done for our panel. Whatever your view on the film, I am sure you will agree that proved to be an odd end for a story which started a long, long time ago. More up to minute reviews include 1917, JoJo Rabbit and Bombshell. While discussing releases, we could not pass up the opportunity to talk about Cats. Generally reviled, however one member of the team speaks up in its defence. I wonder who would be that contrary to go against what most people are thinking? I will give you a clue, he is Welsh and annoys Neil a lot!  Joining us for the reviews is Darren from @dazzalovesmovies. Darren puts us to shame with regard to movie watching, and

Welcome to the first of a limited series looking at the Rambo films. While that might seem an odd series for At The Flicks to go into such detail on, it is something that has been on political Jeff's mind since watching Rambo Last Blood.  What this series will hopefully achieve, is a critique of each film and the political times in which it was made.  Each film will get its own episode. What better place to start than at the beginning, so we begin with First Blood (1982).  Without doubt one of Sylvester Stallone's best films and one that tackles the important issue of what happens to people after combat.  Especially, as in the case of Vietnam, where the war was lost.  As the At The Flicks team are British and John Rambo is very much an American hero, we have brought in one of our American contributors for the series.  Elijah will be joining us for each episode, to give his view on both the film and the politics.  This first episode has a particular meaning for Elijah because of a personal connection to the

After the last couple of shows which have focused on listeners and contributors favourite films of 2019, it is now time for the At The Flicks team to put theirs together. It wasn’t easy! The period of creating and comparing the three lists ended up in Game Of Thrones style intrigue. Jeff threatened to release incriminating photos unless his picks were selected. This plan backfired when he realised Neil and Graham actually had even more incriminating photos of him. The one of him sitting there in his Marvel Pjs, watching the Marvel film cycle on repeat will now not be published. At least, not yet…. After all that, we finally agreed on a top ten – here it is. We would love to hear your opinion about this list. But wait, that is not all. We have also included in our review of the year show the following: Obituaries : 6 key obituaries from 2019 that had an impact on the team.  Awards : Want to know which movie won the Mel Gibson award of the year and what won the Heaven’s Gate award for the most embarrassing

On New Year's Eve we released episode 69 (Neil's favourite episode) where some of our contributors and guests revealed their top films of 2019. Following some fantastic feedback, we now have, for you, the second half of the show. Once again, guests and contributors tell us what their favourites were. For our guests and contributors we have an equally strong list: Declan - Who takes a break from watching TV for Carry On Streaming to tell us his top picks from the movie world Nick - All the way from across the pond to tell us about the movie year Stateside Elijah - Staying in America, our classic film reviewer also reveals his best films. Lucy - Lucy takes a break from preparing some fascinating discussions for her State Of The Movie feature to tell us what she considers great from 2019. Zayn - A new listener to the show from sunny Cape Town who has some very interesting choices Ashley - A sneak peak as Ashley tells us what impressed him during 2019. We have a more detailed interview coming with this

A very happy New Year to all our listeners.  What would the start of a new movie going year be if you didn’t have a close look back at the one that has just passed? If you had a good New Year’s Eve, then your hangover time should be spent assessing what was good and bad in 2019. Trust us, that is what we will be doing! We thought we would ask some of our contributors and listeners what their views on 2019 were. In the end we had so much good material that we put The Irishman’s length to shame (although the de-aging process that worked there, sadly didn’t help our Neil in any way). As a result and because of an executive decision (well, our Graham told us it would happen this way), we have split the show into two. One for New Year’s Eve and the other a few days later, when we have sobered up enough to complete the editing. So, welcome to Part One where you will find  Regular columnist Phil aka Phil The Bear with his extremely knowledgeable cinema assessment. That said, there is a very interesting “discussi

Christmas is coming and like every family, the 'At The Flicks' team will be settled in 'Silent Night' fashion in front of the TV. Well, it is better than talking to one another. Anyway, by that time we would have fallen out, Jeff will no doubt be complaining about who ate the last roast potato, Neil will be hyper after his annual glass of wine and Graham will be trying to get us all to stand for the Queen’s speech! Once all those disputes are settled, the question will then be “what shall we watch next”. Luckily this podcast has the answer. We brought in TV expert Declan for this special Carry On Christmas Streaming episode. Dec tells us about some shows we have missed over the last few weeks which may well be worth catching up with following our turkey dinner binge. This might even be the time to catch up with the Crown (we could even persuade Graham it is a documentary which has replaced the Queen’s speech this year). If we are too lazy for a retrospective selection, then maybe it is time for some “live”

Welcome to another podcast in our occasional series – Director on Director. Writer / Director Phil Stubbs (Last Chancers) joins us again, to talk about another of his favourite directors, Tim Burton. Join us on a journey that starts with Tim's early days at Disney and ends with .... Tim's recent time at Disney. This is a journey that starts with imaginative characters set in fantastical worlds and gradually, over the years devolves into corporate pleasing, sequels and soulless remakes. During our discussion we draw a line in Tim Burton's filmography where we think things started to go stale. The journey ends on a "bit of a downer" but the masterpieces of the 80's and 90's are discussed in full. A unique talent whose many films include such classics as Beetlejuice, Batman, Ed Wood and Mars Attacks. How do you rate Mr Burton, please let us know, as always we would love to hear from you.

Podcast regular Darren, joins the At the Flicks team to discuss our favourite foreign language films. Jeff's language skill are found lacking, as he tries to introduce each film in it's native tongue! For this Podcast we each select two films (8 in total) that are personal favourites of ours. By the end of the show, we all had at least a couple of gems that we wanted to watch. Our selection of foreign language movies cover a broad spectrum of genres, from a couple of martial arts masterpieces to a animated classic, a much maligned vintage Swedish tour-de-force and an 80's French noire thriller. As usual the detailed technical analysis quickly goes off the rails with Jeff insisting that a Indonesian action movie is in fact, Welsh. Darren describes the movie that brought John Woo and Chow Yun Fat to the notice of western film fans. Neil returns to his "safe space" with a beautiful Japanese animated classic and Graham describes his selection of an 80's French thriller as a "one hit wonder"! We hope you enjoy

In this show, we chat to fellow Podcaster Em from Verbal Diorama about female superheroes. We discuss the portrayal of female heroes in movies past, present and future. Em in her signature chatty style, regales the team with her views of the TV series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She even has some positive thoughts on the much maligned 1992 movie of the same name. We talk about the role of the incredibly powerful women in the X-Men franchise. Em confesses to watching "Arnie" movies under age and the effect Brigitte Nielsen's, Red Sonja had on her, growing up. As this is a show featuring three movie nerds, the conversation sometime veers wildly off topic and we end up discussing Logan and drawing comparisons with Joker. Em gets side tracked by the Iron Giant and Jeff details why he needed three toilet breaks during Captain Marvel. Other topics are the theory that Em's cat might actually be a Flerken! The correct drink to have before Em discusses Buffy and the only good thing in the Fantastic Four movie? After

Welcome to our mid month show, which is as usual packed with a variety of goodies for you. We chat to Jardiel the creator of the film distribution company Pulp Cereal, which deals in films and TV with pulp fiction roots. Learn – as we did – about such classic serials as Flash Gordon, The Shadow and The Tiger Woman.  Elijah is also back as we start the first of a long running series of chats on the films of James Bond. Where better to start than at the beginning as we focus on Dr No. Amazingly we also have time to squeeze in a little movie news. Jeff talks film music (again) and Graham reflects on an anticipated sequel coming next year which was filmed locally. The local comment is interesting as while the show will continue weekly, or thereabouts, for the next few weeks, the At The Flicks team will be anything but local. Sorry listeners the prospect of another British election run by the cast of a Carry On movie is enough for us to jet off to the sun. We have put some shows together for you and clever Gr

We have a very special double bill for you in this episode. First up, we speak to Emma who attended the London Film Festival for the first time this year. Emma tells us the highlights she saw there. If you are anything like us, your 'what-to-watch' list is about to explode, as you add some of these fantastic titles. From a new person on the show, we then catch up with Declan who has a round up of what is hot or not on the various streaming services. Oh, and he also throws in some interesting titles on the BBC for good measure. Another packed show for you. Enjoy.

Welcome to our monthly review show. Sorry, it's a little late this month. The reason is explained in our "Next Month" segment. This show features reviews of Joker, The Irishman and many others. New team member Darren returns to detail his favourite four films of the month for his segment, Darren's Dash! Regular contributor Steve Wright from Cineworld details all of the films that you can catch at your local multiplex from now until Christmas.

You asked for it - you now have it! There was much debate with our listeners over show 52, Actors Of Our Generation. Some of our choices were questioned - "Why don't you like Ryan Gosling?", "Surely Matt Damon should be on the list?" and, perhaps most telling of all, "Where is Rebel Wilson?" Now we have broadened the debate. Let's look at the actors of the previous generation. Do you agree with our choices - is there anyone we have missed? Please let us know your thoughts?

On this show, Jeff admits he's wrong! It doesn't happen often (well, never) so listen out for it. As for the rest of the show, we have an interview with young South African film composer Daniel Gadd. Make a note of that name, he is a talent to watch. Daniel talks about his musical roles on some very big British films and the documentaries he has been involved with. Listen out for his excellent score to “Bruce Lee and The Outlaw”. Lucy returns, with some very interesting news! This is a piece we recorded in the Summer, over too many glasses of wine as we tried to put the film world to rights and make sense of the year so far. Lucy speaks sense, Jeff rants on about comic book movies, Neil wonders where he is, and Graham desperately tries to keep order. In short, we all had fun and we hope you do to. Finally, we have the movie news. This month Neil brings us a scoop from our American Reporter about one of the big ones currently filming in Augusta Georgia. Jeff talks about another TV character moving from th

"I love the smell of a podcast in the morning, it smells like victory"! With those words ringing in your head, it's time to go back into the jungle. The helicopter blades are whirring and Ride Of The Valkyries is queued up ready to play. All of this can only mean one film - Apocalypse Now. Or to be more specific, Apocalypse Now : Final Cut. Film maker Sam Pope, a huge fan of the Francis Coppola's masterpiece, guides your At The Flicks team up the river, deep into a discussion of the film and its meaning. On the journey we will discuss whether the resurrection of the French plantation sequence adds anything to the film, the performances of Robert Duvall and Marlon Brando, Francis Coppola's direction and the genius that is Walter Murch. At no time are the words "the horror, the horror" spoken.  Part way through the journey we will stop to take in the landscape of 1970's cinema which gave birth to Apocalypse Now.  If you think you know this film or are only just discovering it for the first time, then why

Regular listeners to the show know what a stickler for detail our Neil is. He has to review and approve everything before we are allowed to upload each podcast. Unfortunately the end of September also clashed with the annual Tory party conference, for which Neil has a season ticket. So we had to wait for his return before we could get his seal of approval and then put the show out. Sorry about that. To make up for it, our reviews show is more packed than ever. Neil and Graham joined Jeff and Darren for such treats as It Chapter Two, Crawl and Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark. Only kidding, they were of course no where to be seen when any of the above were showing. Luckily Jeff and Darren made sure they were covered for your spooky listening pleasure. Amazingly Graham also missed the latest from his hero Gerard Butler. Yes only Neil and Jeff were there for Angel Has Fallen. What did they think of it? Indeed what did our reviewers name as their film of the month? Listen in to find out, although it will come

For the 2019 International Day of Older Persons, the At The Flicks team invite you to meet Dingle. Dingle, who is now in his leisure years, looks back on his love of films, which comes from his youth. The particular focus of our discussion is his visits to Saturday Morning cinema in the late 1940's. Prepare to be enthralled as Dingle describes his typical Saturday, which revolved around his mid morning visit to his local cinema in the hope of seeing a couple of great Western movies. It was a real honour to chat with this entertaining local resident and we hope to be able to bring you more cinema memories in future podcasts. For now, prepare to sing-a-long with an exuberant audience, enjoy some old fashioned entertainment and then gallop home. Dingle, thank you, it has been a blast.

This month the At The Flicks team speak to Phil Foster aka Phil The Bear about his latest director retrospective. Welcome to the fast talking, blood splattered world of Quentin Tarantino. For this very special discussion, we are joined by film maker Sam Pope, who is also a Tarantino fan. In a sense this podcast is the young against the old. Phil and Sam are like the Vega twins in cool suits and snappy dialogue. Graham, Neil and Jeff don the shades to become the Reservoir Old Dogs (although Jeff reckons Neil fits better as an Inglourious Basterd, spelling optional!).  This age difference is quite important when we get to Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, as the At The Flicks team use their experience to talk about that TV and film culture first hand. Before discussing Tarantino's latest, we go through the classics. Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill, Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight are all mulled over in detail. Along with our thoughts on the man himself. We ask the

The 'At The Flicks' team are proud to present our latest and a very special podcast. Special because this month we are actually ahead of the curve, interviewing and reporting on landmark films that are coming in the future. First up we have an interview with Stefen Harris, whose excellent thriller Blue Moon is currently winning awards on the festival circuit. Stef gives us a fascinating insight into the world of low budget film-making and how that really can achieve results. The link to the Blue Moon trailer is below and if it comes to a film festival near you, we urge you to check it out, you will not be disappointed. Going further ahead, we also include this month an 'on set' report from the drama Falklands Square, which we first reported on back in July. Graham and Jeff travelled to Portsmouth on a blistering hot day in August to watch the film being made. Whilst on set we interviewed the cast, including writer and star Russ Meyers, along with the director Miles Petford.  Neil missed out on this real treat

For this podcast short Neil dares to be different. In a bold move, he seized control of the order paper making Graham and Jeff listen to him for the entire day. Luckily we were able to distil that working day down to its most interesting parts as Neil tells us over and over again, about his love for foreign films. In a vein effort to get Jeff to watch more cultured films, Neil compares foreign language classics to their English remakes. He waxes lyrical on the beauty of Infernal Affairs, Let The Right One In and Oldboy. Jeff talks about The Departed, Let Me In and, oh yes, Oldboy! Rather than our usual banter, this is a much more cultured affair with some fascinating points about different film cultures, remakes and language. Perhaps we should let Neil take over more often, what do you think? We hope you enjoy this rather different pod short from your At The Flicks team. Please tell us where you stand in regard to this interesting discussion.