At The Flicks

That fooled you!  Yes, yesterday’s show only covered Jo’s choices from 10 to 5.  Here is the second half, where Jo tells us her favourite musical films of all time. Enjoy, and remember to check out Jo’s excellent podcast Jo Durrant’s Beautiful Universe. Cheers

For this episode we are joined by Jo Durrant, creator of the amazing podcast Jo Durrant’s Beautiful Universe (and I am not just saying that because we are frequent guests on it).   Jo’s podcast deals mainly with all things science.  However, those of you that listen to Jo know also she is a keen musical watcher.  We thought it would be great to have Jo as a guest and talk about her favourite top ten musicals. Jo agreed, and now we have our Summer special – a fun show that’s a little different for us.  It even got Graham singing along!  If you know what Jo’s fantastic musical selections are, you’ll have to give the podcast a listen.  To help, here are a few advance clues as to some of the films included ·        A film Jeff really hates (and one that has been discussed on Jo’s podcast, so has some science attached to it). ·        One that has never gone out of fashion or favour since its release in the 1970’s ·        A remake that proves a musical can raise important social points  ·        Includes a fil

Throughout 2025 we have been bringing you shows where people share their memories of picture palaces.  We have a few more of these planned for the year, however for this show in that unofficial series we have something a little different for you. Lyn Williams is a life long film fan, and film music aficionado, who also happened to be, for many years, a cinema manager.  In this podcast Lyn shares with us his love of films, some of his earliest memories in wonderful cinemas now sadly long gone, and some incredible stories of his time managing cinemas. You will be entertained by Lyn’s tales about: - Working late in a haunted cinema - How to stop a fight between rowdy patrons on a cinema stage - How he avoided serious injury when part of a building collapsed - How not to bring a generator into a cinema. - And much, much more!  You may also detect another voice in the background.  That is Lyn’s wife Merril, who gives some lovely pointers to make sure we stay on message.  Indeed, meeting people face to face is

There is a saying that the At The Flicks management live by – it’s “better late than never”.  Actually, it’s more of a reality than a motto! Take this show.  We were lucky enough to get Tessa to join us to give us her views on the Academy Awards and her impressions of this year’s Glasgow Film Festival.  And then what happened – we took our time in releasing it! However, it might be late, but it’s still great. It’s a show of two halves.  In the first part we dissect the Oscar winners and talk about what gems from 2024 were left out or ignored.   In the second half Tessa speaks about some of the impressive films she saw at the Glasgow Film Festival.  Movies such as The Return, On Falling, Ebony And Ivory and the very powerful From Hilde, With Love. Check it out, we think you’ll enjoy it. Until next time, see you At The Flicks

Welcome to the latest edition of At The Flicks. Back by popular demand is another of our Carry On Streaming episodes, hosted by the very knowledgeable Declan (and his two bickering assistants Jeff and Graham). So, if you plan to spend Easter in front of the TV catching up on what you’ve missed since Christmas or looking for something new, then this is the show for you. And what an exciting line up Declan reveals. You can catch up with such recommendations as: Adolescence – As this is the show everyone from the Prime Minister down is talking about, we have to have our say. Wolf Hall: The Mirror And The Light – A handsomely mounted BBC production – but was it underfunded? Toxic Town – Another powerful Netflix series and Jeff and Graham reveal a connection to the real story which is set in Corby While coming soon: The Studio – Love movies – then this Seth Rogan show is for you The Last Of Us Season 2 – Will it be as good as the first season? Murderbot – Graham goes on and on and on about this one

Welcome to At The Flicks and another in our cinema memories series. If you haven’t caught up with this series yet, check out episodes 260, where Jeff and Graham talk about their favourite picture palaces and episode 264, where Declan reminisces. For this episode we chat to another team member. This time it’s Darren. From first films, to his local cinemas and along the way there’s a very surprising revelation. Darren also takes the conversation in a fascinating direction with his memories of video stores and the wild west that was video rental in the 1980’s. We go from classics to those must-see cult movies that found a life thanks to the wonders of the now long gone video cassette. So, sit back and wallow in the nostalgia of double bill cinema features and trips to the mecca that was the video store. Enjoy. We are currently planning a show where we talk to a cinema manager from that era – coming soon as they say. Until then we look forward to seeing you At The Flicks. Bye for now.

It’s one of those shows again! Phil and Jeff meet for a review face off. Regular listeners to the show will know by now that Phil and Jeff have very different tastes in films and constantly clash on these pop up reviews.  In fact we have been told it’s why some people listen to the show, to hear these two bicker! This one, true to form, will be brutal.  In fact, it is The Brutalist, that epic about life in America for immigrants just after World War 2.  It’s an epic in all senses, from length, to the the themes and a remarkable use of Vistavision.   For once Graham hasn’t seen the film in advance.  His plan, so he revealed to us, was to listen to the two very opposing views and then decide if he would watch the film or not.  Who is he kidding?  There is no way that Graham is going to listen to Jeff’s view, he will follow whatever Phil says.  After all, we still have Graham denying Thank God It’s Friday for the masterpiece it truly is because Jeff likes it. As the two dissect The Brutalist, they cover such

Welcome to a different At The Flicks. In this show Graham, Jeff and Phil give their predictions for the 2025 Academy Awards.  Hang on I hear you say, that event is now in the past.  Quite correct, and we held back on this so that you can laugh at their floundering or be amazed at how mystic they believe they were.   Don’t worry, we don’t cover every award.  The team talk about the top six awards – Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. After that each of them talked about another award they are especially interested in.  These are:   Graham : Visual Effects Jeff : Music Phil: Cinematography Of course it wouldn’t be an At The Flicks podcast without at least one bizarre rant from Jeff.  There were two, but one, around the lack of representation for A Real Pain had to be removed for legal reasons.  The other we will leave you to discover as the show progresses. Awards season is over for 2025 (although we have another show on the subject co

Welcome to the At The Flicks archive. This one is a real blast from the past!  Recently Graham was rummaging around in the At The Flicks vault and fell over some old recording cans that had been left on the floor.  Luckily Graham had been drinking that day, or he might have swerved passed them by and this show would still be sitting there! After swearing and moaning about his now sore leg, Graham checked the cans and realised it was an unreleased edition of our very popular Rediscovering the classic with Elijah series.  It is our discussion about the classic historical epic El Cid (1961). Apart from Jeff and Graham, the team for this episode comprised, of course Elijah, and a voice we miss on the show.  Neil. For those of you not familiar with the film, it stars Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren and is a bio pic about legendary Spanish hero Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (aka El Cid), a knight who lived in the 11th Century.  Normally it is Elijah who is discovering the film for the first time.  Not here, this time i

Welcome to an exciting show for Graham.  Yes, it’s the latest from The Mel. Sadly, Mel Gibson is only behind the camera for this one, but that’s enough for Graham. For such a special event, Niall Browne from Movies In Focus joins to discuss the action thriller Flight Risk.  Now most reviews have put down this exciting movie.  Not here, here you will find a discussion which includes our thoughts on: - Were there religious reasons behind Mel Gibson selecting this project? - Would this work as a theatre piece?  - Is this one for the fans of Downton Abbey?  - Is there a Trumpian dislike of authority on show here?  All of these, and many other questions you haven’t thought of are answered in this show.  Niall also talks about his recent interview with Michael Polish about his film Alarum.  A jammed packed and exciting show – just like Flight Risk itself!  We hope you enjoy and look forward to seeing you At The Flicks  Bye for now. 

Welcome to an At The Flicks pop up review show. Listeners will know that the best way to annoy Jeff is to make him watch a subtitled film. And that’s exactly what we do here. While there were legitimate reasons for picking this feature, upsetting Jeff is always an added bonus. The film in question, Declan’s suggestion. Is director Hirokazu Koreeda’s follow up to Shoplifters called Monster. No, this is not a horror film (at least not in the conventional sense), it’s a powerful study of prejudice, abuse and misunderstanding. In our discussion we cover: - The Rashomon film making style employed - How the different perspectives of the characters fit together to a cohesive whole - Ryuichi Sakamoto’s wonderful music score (his final one). We use a very brief selection from it for our intro and outro music to the show. - What the ending means (so it is advisable to watch the film before listening to the show) - Why Dec believes this is a film we all should be watching One final comment. The film deals with

Well, At The Flicks episode 260 certainly made an impression with you guys. Our reflection on the cinemas that moulded Graham and Jeff generated much comment from listeners, and we hope to bring some of those stories to your attention in the future.  One listener who wanted to talk about his cinematic experiences was At The Flicks team member Declan. As a result we have devoted this whole show to him to tell us about the cinemas of his youth (starting with his sneaking in, underage, to what has now become a Christmas classic), up to his current favourite cinemas. These favourite cinemas are very special.  They are independently run by people who have a love of movies and want to give that extra special something to their patrons.  After all, if you have a bad experience, especially in your youth, are you more likely to go back to a movie palace?  These cinemas (and see the links below for their names – please try to visit if they are local to you) do go that extra mile, from membership deals, to special sea

Welcome to the second of our shows looking at key franchise films from the Summer of 2024.  This episode we go all dark, scaring Graham along the way, as we discuss Alien Romulus. The team of Graham, Jeff and Phil don their spacesuits and boldly go into foreboding places to talk in hushed tones about the latest Alien film. Amongst the aspects of the film they talk about: -         The original plan Disney had to make this for their streaming service  -         Is Fede Alvarez the right director for the job? -         The controversial use of the likeness of an actor from the very first Alien film -         The actor in the cast who impressed everyone in the review team -         How Alien Romulus fits into the overall Alien series Surprisingly, the reviewers (with minor carping from one of the team and I am sure you can guess who that pedantic person is) all enjoyed the film.  Sorry about that Phil’s brother!!!  What did you think of Alien Romulus?  Please let us know. Until the next time, see you At The

Welcome to the start of an At The Flicks double bill. Enough time has passed for us to look back sensibly (well as sensible as we can be) at the franchise films that revitalised their brand in the Summer season that was 2024.  This first one and subject of this show is Deadpool & Wolverine.  Here we will shock you, so be prepared.  It’s like listening to something from one of those alternative dimensions.  Jeff actually defends the superhero movie while Phil, with an almost Trumpian rage, wants this movie burned at the stake.  Perhaps Phil has been exposed to the radiation that is Marvel films for too long and has now turned into some sort of intellectual Hulk, while Jeff is responding to Graham’s mental torture where he constantly repeats “Marvel is good, Marvel is good”!  Other than taking opposite sides of an argument, here is what else you can expect in this episode: -         Has Marvel over extended with this film? -         Can you watch this without knowledge of other Marvel products?  -         Wh

The last show in our series looking back at 2024. In this show long time contributor and friend of the Pod Phil discusses the state of cinema in 2024 and his three favourite films of the year. Long time listeners will know that Jeff and Phil have very different views on what makes a good film. This show is no different with both of them arguing about: - Civil War - Challengers - All of Us Strangers So grab your popcorn and let battle commence!

Welcome to one of the most personal At The Flicks podcasts. It was 50 years ago, on 10th January 1975 that I, Jeff, went to a vampire double bill in my home town of Pontypridd that changed my life.  Up to that point I had always had a fascination with cinema and TV (TV in the 60’s for a child was amazing, but that’s another story).  However after that visit I resolved to try to once a week and learn as much about cinema as I could. 50 years later I couldn’t always keep to the once a week rule, life and work sometimes got in the way, but overall was fairly successful.  As for my knowledge on cinema, without blowing my own trumpet, I would say it’s pretty good.   So in this podcast Graham and I reminisce about the past and that most holy of holies – the cinema buildings themselves.  We talk our favourite cinemas and how things have changed over the decades.  Give us a listen and please let us know your cinema memories, we would love to hear them. However this isn’t just a nostalgia kick – it’s the start of

Welcome to the second At The Flicks year end show. For this edition Graham and Jeff are joined by Tessa Williams, a person far more knowledgeable on film than the two of them combined. Tessa is not only a prolific film watcher, she is also contributes to film selections for local festivals. Tessa reveals to us her favourite films of 2024 and talks about some of the upcoming movies for 2025 she is most looking forward to watching. To say any more would spoil some of the surprises in this every entertaining show, especially when Jeff talks about the 1970’s (again) and Graham reveals his dislike of horror movies (again). However the star of the show is Tessa who makes some fascinating choices. Check this out and enjoy. Our final year end show is coming very shortly.

A very Happy New Year from At The Flicks. Another year over and we are leaving 2024 in style with a discussion about the films of the year with Niall Browne, the creator of Movies In Focus.  Yes, Graham and Jeff are chatting with the man on the film pulse to find out what was worth seeing in 2024.  The beauty of this conversation is, Niall goes beyond the norm (in both his film watching and his excellent interviews which you can find on [moviesinfocus.com](http://moviesinfocus.com/)).  Sharp eyed listeners will also note that we don’t have any links or film titles to go with these show notes.  That’s because for this and the next films of the year podcast we are keeping them as a surprise. The next one you say?  Yes, we have some other people who have shared their films of the year with us and that is on a podcast coming very shortly. Check that out and for all At The Flicks listeners, we say have a great 2025 and we are sure to see you At The Flicks.

Today’s pick is an animated feature that was produced by an all woman team in the 1980's. Can you guess what it is?

The writer / director wrote this romantic Christmas comedy specially for the four leads in the movie.