FilmWonk Podcast – Episode #207 – “Killers of the Flower Moon” (dir. Martin Scorsese)

Posted on 10/21/2023 by Glenn B.

CW: Discussion of abuse

This week, Glenn and Daniel follow the western genre into the oil-rich 20th century and the terror of white supremacy in the Osage Nation with Killers of the Flower Moon (55:22).

May contain NSFW language.

FilmWonk rating: 10 out of 10

Show notes:

[00:23] Review: Killers of the Flower Moon
[39:33] Spoilers: Killers of the Flower Moon
Native perspectives on Killers of the Flower Moon:
- Gangsters are the villains in ‘Killers of the Flower Moon,’ but the biggest thief of Native American wealth was the US government by Torivio Fodder at The Conversation
- Joel (@trythebuffer)’s review on Letterboxd (via Twitter)
- After “Killers of the Flower Moon,” There Are Many More Indigenous Stories to Be Told by Stephen Carr Hampton at Native News Online.
- Indigenous ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ actors talk about their experiences during world premiere by Allison Herrera at KOSU (NPR).
- A profile of Sundown, a 1934 novel by an Osage writer, John Joseph Matthews, written by Brian Phillips at The Ringer.
The film features Fox News newsreel footage of the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot, and Daniel referenced another terrorist attack two years later in rural Levy County, Florida, the Rosewood massacre.

Listen above, or download: Killers of the Flower Moon (right-click, save as, or click/tap to play)

FilmWonk Podcast – 10th Anniversary Spectacular – “Raging Bull” (dir. Martin Scorsese), “Lawrence of Arabia” (dir. David Lean)

Posted on 08/31/2020 by Glenn B.

CW: During our review of Lawrence of Arabia, we discuss an incident of sexual assault from T.E. Lawrence’s biography, as discussed by his biographers, and as depicted in the film.

This week, Glenn and Daniel reflect on ten years of the FilmWonk Podcast, and review two cinematic blindspots from the AFI’s Top 100 list – Lawrence of Arabia and Raging Bull (01:48:15).

May contain NSFW language.

FilmWonk rating (Raging Bull): 7 out of 10
FilmWonk rating (Lawrence of Arabia): 10 out of 10

Show notes:

[00:21] Intro: Ten Years of the FilmWonk Podcast
(Thank you for listening – feel free to skip this!)
[03:50] Review: Raging Bull (1980)
[20:17] Spoilers: Raging Bull (1980)
[40:26] Review: Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
CORRECTION: We mispronounced the last name of Raging Bull editor Thelma Schoonmaker, who is still editing films at the age of 80, including The Irishman just last year. We wish her well and regret the error.
Daniel referenced a handy site for boxing history and fight details – that site is BoxRec.com, which has a complete history of LaMotta’s fights.
Books we mentioned during the Lawrence of Arabia discussion:
- A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and The Creation of the Modern Middle East by David Fromkin
- Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly, and the Making of the Modern Middle East by Scott Anderson

Listen above, or download: Raging Bull, Lawrence of Arabia (right-click, save as, or click/tap to play)

FilmWonk Podcast – Episode #157 – “Terminator: Dark Fate” (dir. Tim Miller), “Dolemite Is My Name” (dir. Craig Brewer)

Posted on 11/04/2019 by Glenn B.

On this week’s podcast, Glenn and Daniel see the triumphant return of an iconic character from yesteryear, for whom fucking up motherfuckers is the game. Also, they watched Dolemite Is My Name (48:48).

May contain NSFW language.

FilmWonk rating (Terminator: Dark Fate): 6/10 (Daniel), 7.5/10 (Glenn)
FilmWonk rating (Dolemite Is My Name): 8 out of 10

Show notes:

[02:04] Review: Terminator: Dark Fate
[18:29] Spoilers: Terminator: Dark Fate
[32:25] Review: Dolemite Is My Name
Music for this episode is the tracks “I’m Gonna Kill Dolemite” by Scott Bomar and “Dolemite” by Craig Robinson, from the score and soundtrack of My Name Is Dolemite.

Listen above, or download: Terminator: Dark Fate, Dolemite Is My Name (right-click, save as, or click/tap to play on a non-flash browser)

FilmWonk Podcast – Episode #156 – “Joker” (dir. Todd Phillips), “Rocketman” (dir. Dexter Fletcher)

Posted on 10/06/2019 by Glenn B.

On this week’s podcast, Glenn and Daniel check out yet another scary clown with Joker, a film that insisted we think deeply about its shallow politics and half-baked philosophy. We ponder whether death of the author is even possible when the author won’t shut his mouth, and whether a strong, dark, and gritty Joaquin Phoenix performance is enough of a selling point in a world in which You Were Never Really Here already exists.

Then we venture back to earlier in 2019 and find ourselves shocked by our unabashed praise for Rocketman, a biopic of Elton John that we refuse to call a jukebox musical. Glenn decided to make Daniel watch it this week because it’s as close to the opposite of Joker as he could muster, but also because it’s an entry in a genre that we could’ve sworn was creatively bankrupt, and we found ourselves delightfully mistaken (58:03).

May contain NSFW language.

FilmWonk rating (Joker): 4 out of 10
FilmWonk rating (Rocketman): 9 out of 10

Show notes:

[02:49] Review: Joker
[19:55] Spoilers: Joker
[36:59] Review: Rocketman
Music for this episode is the tracks “I Want Love” and “I’m Still Standing”, by the cast (and from the soundtrack) of Rocketman.
A few solid reads on Joker:
- “You’re Not Going To Remember Any Of This Shit: Joker, Reviewed” by Felix Biederman (Deadspin)
- “Love it or hate it, the Joker movie presents a tempting fantasy” by Tasha Robinson (The Verge)

Listen above, or download: Joker, Rocketman (right-click, save as, or click/tap to play on a non-flash browser)

FilmWonk

Reviews, critiques, and general film-wonkery.

Tag Archives: Robert De Niro

FilmWonk Podcast – Episode #207 – “Killers of the Flower Moon” (dir. Martin Scorsese)

FilmWonk Podcast – 10th Anniversary Spectacular – “Raging Bull” (dir. Martin Scorsese), “Lawrence of Arabia” (dir. David Lean)

FilmWonk Podcast – Episode #157 – “Terminator: Dark Fate” (dir. Tim Miller), “Dolemite Is My Name” (dir. Craig Brewer)

FilmWonk Podcast – Episode #156 – “Joker” (dir. Todd Phillips), “Rocketman” (dir. Dexter Fletcher)