Celluloid Jelly

For our Halloween episode this year, we're looking back at a classic 1980's horror movie, featuring one of the iconic modern movie monsters: the cheery, Christmas-colored Fred Krueger. Yes, it's Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street. We begin with a quick, glowing, non-spoiler review of Bong Joon Ho's Parasite from Cesar, while C.J. talks a bit about Lethal Weapon. During the show, we mention our friend and former guest, Jason Swoboda, who has started his own podcast called Heroic Nonsense. Give it a listen. Real-time fact checking isn't our strongest suit, so here are a few notes related to our discussion: (1) The Thomas Jane Netflix movie based on a story by Stephen King is 1922. (2) New Line Cinema was actually founded in 1967. The studio was in the midst of a "devastating financial slump" (from Wikipedia) when A Nightmare on Elm Street was released. The resulting success from Craven's film and its sequels earned New Line the nickname "the house that Freddy built." (3) Yes, it was Patricia Arquette w

It creeps and leaps and glides and slides across the floor... It's our episode on The Blob, the original cult classic starring a young Steve McQueen! We begin with Cesar's take on Takashi Miike's most recent film, First Love (Hatsukoi); and C.J. briefly discusses two recent rewatches from 1985: House and Clue. Following our main discussion, we've included a quick bonus conversation about Todd Phillips' Joker. Click here to join the Celluloid Jelly Facebook Group. Click here to follow C.J. on Letterboxd. Click here to follow C.J. on Twitter @settingtheframe. Click here to find Cesar's reviews at Film Smash. Click here to follow Cesar on Letterboxd. Click here to follow Cesar on Twitter @juniorbeho.

This week's topic is Billy Wilder's THE APARTMENT, a movie that manages to be both hilarious and heartbreaking, often times in the same scene. Cesar begins with brief recommendations of the current run of X-Men comics and Tazza: One-Eyed Jack, while C.J. talks about recent rewatches of both Stardust and Upstream Color. As usual, this is a spoiler-filled discussion. If you haven't seen The Apartment, seek it out and enjoy it before hitting play on this episode. Click here to join the Celluloid Jelly Facebook Group. Click here to follow C.J. on Twitter @settingtheframe. Click here to follow C.J. on Letterboxd. Click here to find Cesar's reviews at Film Smash. Click here to follow Cesar on Twitter @juniorbeho. Click here to follow Cesar on Letterboxd.

With IT: CHAPTER TWO leading the box office this Labor Day, Cesar chose another Stephen King adaptation, Rob Reiner's 1986 ensemble kids movie classic, STAND BY ME. The conversation begins with a few recommendations; Cesar talks about finding great award-winning shorts on Kanopy, and C.J. talks briefly about Blake Edwards' EXPERIMENT IN TERROR. We also touch on Disney's decision to release episodes for their new streaming service weekly, instead of in season blocks. You can follow C.J. on Twitter @settingtheframe and Letterboxd here. You can follow Cesar on Twitter @juniorbeho and Letterboxd here. You can find Cesar's reviews at Film Smash here. You can join the Celluloid Jelly Facebook Group here.

This episode covers THE MATRIX, a genre mash-up of science fiction, martial arts, comic books, and Japanese Animé, from the Wachowskis. Cesar chose this title before the news broke that Keanu Reeves, Carrie Anne Moss, and Lana Wachowski would be returning for a fourth Matrix movie, which is set to begin production sometime next year. So, while this may seem timely on our part, it is unintentionally so. You can follow Cesar on Twitter @juniorbeho and on Letterboxd here. You can find Cesar's reviews at Film Smash. You can follow C.J. on Twitter @settingtheframe and on Letterboxd here. You can join the Celluloid Jelly Facebook Group here.

Returning from a nine-month haitus, C.J. Talbott and Cesar Alejandro are back to discuss Shane Black's seventies-set comedy, THE NICE GUYS. You can follow C.J on Twitter @settingtheframe. You can follow C.J. on Letterboxd here. You can follow Cesar on Twitter @juniorbeho. You can find Cesar's reviews at Film Smash. You can join the Celluloid Jelly Facebook Group here.

Just in time to kick off the holidays, we're joined by another former co-worker, Jason Swoboda, to talk about PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES. Shockingly, this happens to be a first-time watch for both C.J. and Cesar. For Cesar's reviews of both classic and contemporary Asian Cinema, please visit Film Smash. Follow Cesar on Twitter @juniorbeho. Follow C.J. on Twitter @settingtheframe. Follow Jason on Twitter @swobobafett. Check out "Searching for Candy," a blog and future book release from Tracey J. Morgan here.

For Halloween this year, we chose THE WAILING, a terrifying South Korean thriller from director Hong-jin Na. Being a first-time watch for both of us, much of the discussion is spent trying to work out our own feelings on this ambiguous story of a mysterious disease plaguing a small village, the cause of which may be supernatural. For Cesar's reviews of classic and contemporary Asian Cinema, visit Film Smash. Follow Cesar on Twitter @juniorbeho. Follow C.J. on Twitter @settingtheframe. Join the Celluloid Jelly Facebook Group to continue the discussion.

Sticking in the eighties after our last episode, this week's movie is the 1984 cult classic, THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI ACROSS THE 8TH DIMENSION. Visit Film Smash for Cesar's reviews of classic and contemporary Asian Cinema. You can follow Cesar on Twitter @juniorbeho. You can follow C.J. on Twitter @settingtheframe. You can join the Celluloid Jelly group on Facebook here.

We're looking forward to Shane Black's THE PREDATOR, so we decided to go back to the 1987 original for Episode 37. Our love of this film shines through with every minute of discussion, including a few terrible Schwarzenegger impressions. Visit Film Smash for Cesar's reviews of classic and contemporary Asian Cinema. You can follow Cesar on Twitter @juniorbeho. You can follow C.J. on Twitter @settingtheframe. You can join the Celluloid Jelly goup on Facebook here.

For Episode 36, we're revisiting Joe Dante's THE BURBS. Also covered in our warm-up are NOTHING TO DECLARE, OUTLAND, and a couple of full-spoiler minutes on CAPRICORN ONE. (Skip to the 17-minute mark to avoid that.) Visit Film Smash for Cesar's reviews of classic and contemporary Asian cinema. You can follow Cesar on Twitter @juniorbeho. You can follow C.J. on Twitter @settingtheframe. You can join the Celluloid Jelly group on Facebook here.

We haven't done a sixties movie since our first episode on THE HUSTLER; so, we're going back to that decade to discuss Stanley Donen's CHARADE, a movie that features two of the biggest stars of the fading Hollywood studio system: Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. Visit Film Smash for Cesar's reviews of classic and contemporary Asian Cinema. Follow Cesar on Twitter @juniorbeho. Follow C.J. on Twitter @settingtheframe.

For this episode C.J. is joined by frequent guest of the show, Ms. Chelsea Dove, to talk about Jospeh Mankiewicz's ALL ABOUT EVE. You can follow Chelsea on Letterboxd here or on Twitter @chelseaD713. You can follow C.J. on Letterboxd here or on Twitter @settingtheframe. You can find the Celluloid Jelly Facebook Group here.

After a 30-day haitus for summer vacation, we're back to prove that we ain't afraid of no ghosts! This week, Cesar and C.J. are joined by Chelsea Dove and the biggest GHOSTBUSTERS fan we know, friend and former video store co-worker Jordan Smith. You can follow Jordan on Twitter @JordieMac5. You can follow Chelsea on Letterboxd here or on Twitter @chelseaD713. You can follow C.J. on Letterboxd here or on Twitter @settingtheframe. You can follow Cesar on Letterboxd here, on Twitter @juniorbeho, or find his reviews at Film Smash.

This week's movie was picked for us by an old friend from the video store days, Nik Pollutra. Nik's a hard-core fan of classics, especially Westerns, and we're thrilled that he was able to join us for a discussion of Anthony Mann's THE NAKED SPUR. "Spur" was one of Mann's many collaborations with James Stewart, and is one of the best examples of the darker, psychological westerns of the 1950's. You can find Nik's Letterboxd account here. You can follow C.J. on Twitter @settingtheframe and find his Letterboxd account here. You can follow Cesar on Twitter @juniorbeho, find his Letterboxd account here, and check out his reviews at Film Smash.

For this episode, we're returning to the midpoint of the 1980's for some Cold War hijinks from Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd in SPIES LIKE US. You can read more about George Lucas' fight to rename the "Star Wars" missle defense in this 1985 Washington Post article. You can follow Cesar on Twitter @juniorbeho. You can follow C.J. on Twitter @settingtheframe.

"An Adventure 65 Million Years In The Making." That was the tag line when JURASSIC PARK was released in theaters exactly 25 years ago today. And what better time for us to tackle our first full episode on a Steven Spielberg movie? Follow Cesar on Twitter @juniorbeho. Follow C.J. on Twitter @settingtheframe.

For Episode 29, we once again took to our favorite local moviehouse or cineplex to watch the most recent blockbuster; this time sitting down to view the latest offering from Disney and Lucasfilm. Many questions surrounded the troubled production of SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY, but we try to "stay on target," focusing on the final onscreen version of the film. Follow Cesar on Twitter @juniorbeho. Follow C.J. on Twitter @settingtheframe.

It's a happy coincidence that we chose OUR LITTLE SISTER (aka UMIMACHI DIARY) for our latest episode because Hirokazu Koreeda, the film's director, was awarded the Palme d'Or for his most recent work at the Festival de Cannes only a few days before we recorded. You can read Cesar's Film Smash review of the film here. You can follow Cesar on Twitter @juniorbeho. You can follow C.J. on Twitter @settingtheframe.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been building towards this cosmic conflict since 2012's THE AVENGERS, but does INFINITY WAR live up to the hype? We discuss our reactions to the latest box office juggernaut in Episode 27.