Movie of the Month/LAMBcast #92: Moon

Duncan Jones' 2009 sci-fi drama Moon kind of crept up on audiences, but they quickly fell in love with its intimacy, it's ambition, and its inventiveness. Made for a mere $5MM, its setting and effects gave the impression of a much larger-budgeted film, and Jones' direction combined with a career-defining performance by Sam Rockwell (in a career seemingly chock full of new peaks) made it an Oscar hopeful and surefire cult favorite for years to come. The IMDb summary, for those unfamiliar:

"Sam Bell has a three year contract to work for Lunar Industries. For the contract's entire duration, he is the sole employee based at their lunar station. His primary job responsibility is to harvest and periodically rocket back to Earth supplies of helium-3, the current clean and abundant fuel used on Earth. There is no direct communication link available between the lunar station and Earth, so his only direct real-time interaction is with GERTY, the intelligent computer whose function is to attend to his day to day needs. With such little human contact and all of it indirect, he feels that three years is far too long to be so isolated; he knows he is beginning to hallucinate as the end of his three years approaches. All he wants is to return to Earth to be with his wife Tess and their infant daughter Eve, who was born just prior to his leaving for this job. With two weeks to go, he gets into an accident at one of the mechanical harvesters and is rendered unconscious... ."

First up, the links! Thanks to all of the LAMBs that sent in their posts for this edition of the MOTM (great turnout this month!).

* Big Thoughts from a Small Mind
* Bonjour Tristesse
* Commentary Track
* Defiant Success
* Duke and the Movies
* Exiled from Contentment
* Filmophilia
* Movie Reviews by Tom Clift
* Surrender to the Void
* The Velvet Cafe

It's also time to vote on next month's movie. I've included many of the choices from last month, but swapped a few out to keep it interesting. You have one week to vote.

Online Surveys & Market Research

As we do every month, the LAMBcast is tied in with the MOTM. Unlike our last (controversial) entry (Bronson), we stood mostly in agreement on Moon. Still, we discussed Steve's reasoning for suggesting the film, what we do and don't like about it, what it means, why it's different (special) and touched upon Jones' career. Also in on the discussion were Sam, Nick, and host Dylan.

Also on tap:

* Rants and Raves of the Week
* Last LAMB Standing



If you're interested, you too can be a LAMBcaster - we love new blood! For more information on the LAMBcast, check out the topic at the LAMB Forums. Music provided royalty-free by Kevin MacLeod's Incompetech website. Big thanks to Kevin for providing this service. The LAMBcast loves feedback, too. Either here in the comments section or to dylan@manilovefilms.com or to our Facebook page. Also, we're on iTunes, and would still love a review, even if it's a bad one.

Thanks for listening!

Movie of the Month/LAMBcast #88: Bronson

Tom Hardy has been acting in high-profile films since the early 2000s (Black Hawk Dawn, Star Trek: Nemesis), but it wasn't until 2008 when he made a name for himself, first in Guy Ritchie's "comeback" film RockNRolla, and subsequently in the film of the day, Bronson. The sixth film from Danish director Nicholas Winding Refn (Drive) is, well...have a look at the plot synopsis from IMDb, as it might be the most concise the story can be told as::

"In 1974, a hot-headed 19 year old named Michael Peterson decided he wanted to make a name for himself and so, with a homemade sawn-off shotgun and a head full of dreams he attempted to rob a post office. Swiftly apprehended and originally sentenced to 7 years in jail, Peterson has subsequently been behind bars for 34 years, 30 of which have been spent in solitary confinement. During that time, Michael Petersen, the boy, faded away and 'Charles Bronson,' his superstar alter ego, took center stage. Inside the mind of Bronson - a scathing indictment of celebrity culture."

First up, the links! Thanks to all of the LAMBs that sent in their posts for this edition of the MOTM (great turnout this month!).

* Andy Buckle's Film Emporium
* Big Thoughts From a Small Mind
* Bonjour Tristesse
* Cinematic Paradox
* Dear Film
* Dirty with Class
* Duke and the Movies
* Films From the Supermassive Black Hole
* French Toast Sunday
* Movie Reviews by Tom Clift
* Spooky Bloggery
* Surrender to the Void
* The Movie Encyclopedia

It's also time to vote on next month's movie. I've included many of the choices from last month, but swapped a few out to keep it interesting. You have one week to vote.

Online Surveys & Market Research

As we do every month, the LAMBcast is tied in with the MOTM. This time, we bickered and bantered and nitpicked and - wouldn't ya know it - had the most disparity in opinions on an MOTM film that we've we had yet. Suffice it to say that Bronson is quite the divisive film. On hand were host Dylan and his co-host Nick, as well as James, Sam, and Steve.

Also on tap:

* Rants and Raves of the Week
* Last LAMB Standing



If you're interested, you too can be a LAMBcaster - we love new blood! For more information on the LAMBcast, check out the topic at the LAMB Forums. Music provided royalty-free by Kevin MacLeod's Incompetech website. Big thanks to Kevin for providing this service. The LAMBcast loves feedback, too. Either here in the comments section or to dylan@manilovefilms.com or to our Facebook page. Also, we're on iTunes, and would still love a review, even if it's a bad one.

Thanks for listening!

Movie of the Month/LAMBcast #85: Bande à parte

Are you ready to get your Nouvelle Vague on? We take a gander at Jean-Luc Godard's 1964 film Bande à parte for the MOTM this time out.

For those unfamiliar with it, the plot synopsis from IMDb:

"A triangle: Franz, Arthur, and Odile. Franz, a young man with Alain Delon good looks, has met Odile in an English class. She lives in Joinville with wealthy benefactors and has mentioned to Franz that Mr. Stolz keeps a pile of 10,000 franc notes unlocked in his room. Franz tells his friend Arthur, a swarthy guy whose shady uncle is pressing him for money. Arthur and Franz, who mimic American movie tough guys, case Odile's house, pressure her to assist them with a burglary, and make passes at her as well. She's alternately compliant and distressed. Will they pull off the heist? "

First up, the links! Thanks to all of the LAMBs that sent in their posts for this edition of the MOTM.

* Bonjour Tristesse
* Cinema Sights
* Real Reel Reviews
* Southern Vision
* Surrender to the Void

It's also time to vote on next month's movie. I've included many of the choices from last month, but swapped a few out to keep it interesting. You have one week to vote.

Online Surveys & Market Research

As we do every month, the LAMBcast is tied in with the MOTM. This time, we had a great sprinkling of new and old participants - host Dylan was joined by James and MOTM standby Steve, as well as returning-from-hiatus Courtney and first-time LAMBcaster (but veteran podcaster) Fredo, of Film Yarn.

Also on tap:

* Rants and Raves of the Week
* Last LAMB Standing

If you're interested, you too can be a LAMBcaster - we love new blood! For more information on the LAMBcast, check out the topic at the LAMB Forums. Music provided royalty-free by Kevin MacLeod's Incompetech website. Big thanks to Kevin for providing this service. The LAMBcast loves feedback, too. Either here in the comments section or to dylan@manilovefilms.com or to our Facebook page. Also, we're on iTunes, and would still love a review, even if it's a bad one.

Thanks for listening!

Movie of the Month/LAMBcast #80: The Long Kiss Goodnight

Renny Harlin's 1996 film The Long Kiss Goodnight was, for better or worse, mostly left behind by audiences. With a $65 million budget and close to $100 million in worldwide receipts, it undoubtedly made money, but its $33 million gross in the United States stamped the film as a failure in spite of overall positive reviews. More to the point, since its release, it seems to have been largely forgotten by film fans, wedged somewhere in between the boffo successes of its predecessors like Lethal Weapon and Die Hard and more celebrated but arguably (or not) much worse films from the likes of Steven Seagal and Jean Claude Van Damme. The film stars Geena Davis as an amnesiac assassin and Samuel L. Jackson as a disgraced cop who unwittingly becomes embroiled in her affairs.



For those unfamiliar with it, the plot synopsis from IMDb:

"Samantha Caine, suburban homemaker, is the ideal mom to her 8 year old daughter Caitlin. She lives in Honesdale, PA, has a job teaching school and makes the best Rice Krispie treats in town. But when she receives a bump on her head, she begins to remember small parts of her previous life as a lethal, top-secret agent. Her old chums in the Chapter are now out to kill her so she enlists the help of a cheap detective named Mitch. As Samantha remembers more and more of her previous life, she becomes deadlier and more resourceful. Both Mitch and Charly proceed to do the killing thing, the bleeding thing and the shooting thing. "

First up, the links! Thanks to all of the LAMBs that sent in their posts for this edition of the MOTM. Be sure to check out the varied opinions on this forgotten actioner:



* Bonjour Tristesse

* Deny Everything

* Deny Everything (2)

* Man, I Love Films

* Public Transportation Snob

* Surrender to the Void



It's also time to vote on next month's movie. I've included many of the choices from last month, but swapped a few out to keep it interesting. You have one week to vote.

Online Surveys & Market Research

As we do every month, the LAMBcast is tied in with the MOTM. This time, Dylan, Nick, and Steve were joined by the leading champion of The Long Kiss Goodnight - the man behind the LAMB's new Twitter account (follow it at @LambThe!), Joel Burman of Deny Everything.



Also on tap:



* Rants and Raves of the Week

* Last LAMB Standing

If you're interested, you too can be a LAMBcaster - we love new blood! For more information on the LAMBcast, check out the topic at the LAMB Forums. Music provided royalty-free by Kevin MacLeod's Incompetech website. Big thanks to Kevin for providing this service. The LAMBcast loves feedback, too. Either here in the comments section or to dylan@manilovefilms.com or to our Facebook page. Also, we're on iTunes, and would still love a review, even if it's a bad one.



Thanks for listening!

Movie of the Month/LAMBcast #76: The Third Man

Veteran LAMBcaster James was pushing hard for The Third Man to be the next MOTM for a few months now, and he finally got his way. The 1949 drama starring Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles is regularly included on lists of the best noir films and was voted in 1999 as the best British film of the 20th century by the BFI.

For those unfamiliar with it, the plot synopsis from IMDb:

"An out of work pulp fiction novelist, Holly Martins, arrives in a post war Vienna divided into sectors by the victorious allies, and where a shortage of supplies has lead to a flourishing black market. He arrives at the invitation of an ex-school friend, Harry Lime, who has offered him a job, only to discover that Lime has recently died in a peculiar traffic accident. From talking to Lime's friends and associates Martins soon notices that some of the stories are inconsistent, and determines to discover what really happened to Harry Lime. "

First up, the links! Big thanks to the LAMBs that sent in their posts for this edition of the MOTM. Like I said on Facebook earlier this week, I can kind of understand the lower output this time around given the 1949 release date of the film so please do check out the opinions on this classic below:

* 1001plus
* Bill's Movie Emporium
* Bonjour Tristesse
* Cinema Sights
* Duke and the Movies
* Flickers
* Friday Night Films
* Rachel's Reel Reviews

It's also time to vote on next month's movie. I've included many of the choices from last month, but swapped a few out to keep it interesting. If you'd like to place the poll on your site, click on the "Copy Poll" link below. You have one week to vote.

Online Surveys & Market Research

As we do every month, the LAMBcast is tied in with the MOTM. This time, Sam, Steve, Tom, Dylan and James gathered 'round our virtual table and produced what I tend to think is one of of best episodes yet. Also of note, a thanks to Dan of the Midnight Movie Club for sharing a technical tip with me that has hopefully made the sound quality the best yet (for sure - a good connection helped, too). 76 episodes in and we're still getting better!

Also on tap:

* Rants and Raves of the Week
* Last LAMB Standing

Finally - here's the video Tom tells Steve about - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu02VSsLorE.

If you're interested, you too can be a LAMBcaster - we love new blood! For more information on the LAMBcast, check out the topic at the LAMB Forums. Music provided royalty-free by Kevin MacLeod's Incompetech website. Big thanks to Kevin for providing this service. The LAMBcast loves feedback, too. Either here in the comments section or to dylan@manilovefilms.com or to our Facebook page. Also, we're on iTunes, and would still love a review, even if it's a bad one.

Thanks for listening!