Secret Movie Club Podcast

DEFEND THIS MOVIE #8: DRIVE MY CAR

Secret Movie Club Team members Connor Lloyd Crews and Daniel Ott agree on a lot of things… but NOT Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car, one of last year’s most lauded films! Daniel shares his opinion with the critics that it is a beautiful meditation on grief and art. Connor thinks it is long, boring and pretentious. Will these two knuckleheads ever see eye to eye on anything again? Or will this descend into a mutual therapy session that has little to do with the film and much more to do with their personal lives? Only one way to find out! And in the intro, SMC programmer and founder Craig Hammill eulogizes the recently deceased Jean-Luc Godard.

SMC Pod #118: Fan films, edits, remakes and more!

The Secret Movie Club Team (Connor Lloyd Crews, Edwin Gomez, Daniel Ott, and Craig Hammill) gabs all about fan-made content and works in honor of SMC’s screening of Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation! Daniel talks about all the Star Wars fan films. Edwin enjoys Steven Soderbergh’s edit of Heaven’s Gate. Craig remembers his time helping make Our Robocop Remake. Connor pulls the car over to talk about video games instead of movies. Megachurches and the Team members’ own James Bond ideas are also discussed!

SMC Pod #117: Unrealized films and projects!

The Secret Movie Club Team (Connor Lloyd Crews, Edwin Gomez, Daniel Ott, and Craig Hammill) has a chat about their favorite unrealized movies and what could have been! Daniel is obsessed with Sergio Leone’s Leningrad: The 900 Days. Craig laments the loss of Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods. Connor desperately wants to see The Beatles’ and Kubrick’s bizarre version of Lord of the Rings. Edwin ponders Jodorowsky’s legendary adaptation of Dune. Ridley Scott’s Blood Meridian, Fellini’s The Journey of G. Mastorna, and Coppola’s possibly upcoming Megalopolis all get discussed. They also talk a lot about made-movie RRR and how handsome lead Ram Charan is.

DEFEND THIS MOVIE #7: Michelangelo Antonioni’s L’AVVENTURA

Secret Movie Club programmer and founder Craig Hammill and SMC blog writer Patrick McElroy take either side on Michelangelo Antonioni’s seminal 1960 masterpiece, L’Avventura! Scorsese called Antonioni “The Man Who Set Film Free,” and Patick agrees. Craig thinks the movie is pretentious. Both acknowledge its impact on film language. They talk about the cinematography, the themes, the style, and everything else! Who wins? We’ll let you decide!

 

Check out Patrick at: https://www.facebook.com/patrick.mcelroy.3726 or his IG: @mcelroy.patrick

SMC Pod #116: HELLBOY (2004) + comics and film

The Secret Movie Club Team (Connor Lloyd Crews, Edwin Gomez, A.J. Grier, Daniel Ott, and Craig Hammill) summons a discussion about Hellboy (2004), Guillermo Del Toro’s adaptation of Mike Mignola’s cult/occult comic. They also branch off in a hundred directions talking about comics, film, adaptations, and fans. A.J. and Daniel want comic book movies to have soul. Craig likes the kinky Batman Returns and runs into trouble at home. Connor does a list that he’s not going to retype here. Edwin is on his phone.

DEFEND THIS MOVIE #6: RIO BRAVO and ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 (1976)

Two men – Secret Movie Club Team members Edwin Gomez and Craig Hammill – who both love John Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13, but who disagree on its noted predecessor, Howard Hawks’ classic Western, Rio Bravo! Craig loves the film, but Edwin thinks you should skip it! Can he convince Craig that saying “get along, little doggie” to Rio Bravo is fine, or will Craig get Edwin to admit he should respect and acknowledge the film’s influence on the movies Edwin loves? And how long will they talk about forgotten sci-fi Sean Connery-led High Noon-riff Outland?

SMC Pod #115: TOM CRUISE: The Podcast

The Secret Movie Club Team (Connor Lloyd Crews, Edwin Gomez, Daniel Ott, and Craig Hammill) are once more joined by Celeste Menchaca, this time to talk about a single actor: consummate professional, incredible stunt performer, and enigma, Tom Cruise! From Risky Business to Jerry Maguire, Magnolia to Eyes Wide Shut, Collateral to Tropic Thunder, and Mission: Impossible to Mission: Impossible 2. Celeste views Tom as an action-man. Daniel loves Top Gun: Maverick. Craig admires Tom’s work ethic. Edwin makes a lot of what-could-be-called-jokes with movie titles. CLC talks about [REDACTED].

SMC Pod #114: UN CHIEN ANDALOU & Surrealism in film

The Secret Movie Club Team (Connor Lloyd Crews, Edwin Gomez, Daniel Ott, and Craig Hammill) adds their entry to the pile of conversations about essential 1929 Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí short, Un Chien Andalou. If you’ve been to film school, you’ve seen it! If you haven’t, it’s on YouTube! The Team also discusses Surrealism in film. Connor loves the hell sequence in Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey. Edwin thinks Head is amazing. Daniel admires the work of Apichatpong Weerasethakul, hates hand-ants, and reveals what he knows about P3. Craig mostly talks about his dreams and Jack Nicholson.

SMC Pod #113: DRIVE & Nicolas Winding Refn

The Secret Movie Club Team (Connor Lloyd Crews, Edwin Gomez, Alex Olivier, Daniel Ott, and Craig Hammill) reviews Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn’s 2011 cult-hit neon-noir, Drive, and the rest of Refn’s filmography! Drive is one of Alex’s favorite films, but he’s less hot on some of Refn’s other works. Edwin loves Bronson. Craig defends the violent and divisive Only God Forgives. Daniel predicts a resurgence in popularity of the Miles Teller-starring Too Old to Die Young in a post-Top Gun: Maverick world. Connor contributes.

DEFEND THIS MOVIE #5: KING KONG ‘33 vs KING KONG ‘76 (vs KING KONG ‘05)

Like Alma vs Elisabet, Secret Movie Club Team members Edwin Caesar Gomez and Craig Herbert Hammill go head to head on which version of America’s favorite ape is the best! Craig stands with the original 1933 King Kong, while Edwin professes to love most the 1976 remake starring Jessica Lange and Jeff Bridges! Peter Jackson’s 2005 update is also discussed… and may, in fact, be the ACTUAL favorite of one of our competitors! Everything is discussed: the music, the effects, the themes, the performances, the legacies, Craig’s grandpa and more! Who wins? You decide!