In a year that for most people has been largely defined by not leaving the house, Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland is a paean to wide, open spaces.
Based on Jessica Bruder’s non-fiction novel, we follow Fern (Frances McDormand). Uprooted by the 2008 recession – the film opens in 2011 – and by the death of her husband, Fern has hit the road in her camper van; seeking out seasonal employment along along the West Coast.…
Robs Daniel and Wallis give their take on Oscars 2020, aka The 92nd Academy Awards, aka the year that a film not in the English language finally won the Best Picture statue, not just Best Foreign Film. Sorry, Best *International* Film, as the Academy are now calling it.…
The Movie Robcast reaches its 80th episode, so we have a fittingly bumper show in store, opening with a tribute to the late, great Terry Jones, who died on 21st January 2020, aged 77 after a long battle with dementia. The two Robs were raised on Life of Brian so have words of praise for the Python polymath.…
Rob Daniel & Rob Wallis touch the sore tooth that is Oscar nominations 2019.
They discuss the insanity, or at least inanity, of nominating Bohemian Rhapsody for Best Picture, and how safe the Best Picture nods are in general. They’re happy Spike Lee finally has his Best Director nomination, and acknowledge a few other things the Academy got right.…
The Electric Shadows Podcast reaches its 40th episode.
What better way to mark this landmark episode than by discussing the biggest night in the movie calendar: the Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars. Best known as the awards where they announced the wrong movie last year for the biggest win of the night.…
Rob Daniel & myself do an early morning post-Oscars review after staying all night to watch the ceremony. The highs, the lows, the biggest gaffe in Oscar history, we chat all about it here. Jimmy Kimmel did a great job, the (possibly staged) Celebrity Zoo was a bizarre misfire, and damn… that ending.
Progress comes in many forms, both self-evident and obscure.
For every grand act of public heroism or defiance that makes it into the history books, seeking to set up a new beachhead of progression, there are million moments of quiet, often unacknowledged toil; individually chipping away at the bedrock of prejudice.…
Denzel Washington is not a man who chooses his projects lightly.
Even a consistent run of by-the-numbers actioners – 2 Guns, The Equalizer, The Magnificent Seven – have, in recent years, served as vehicles for his charm and gravitas; only helping to ensure his elder statesman status.…