Movies

A Damn Fine Cup of Culture Podcast #89: Second Chances (feat. Shirley MacLaine)

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It’s that time of the year again, when we look at films we didn’t enjoy originally and give them another chance. This time it’s Sam and Alan having another look at movies they’d previously bounced off of, and both films feature Shirley MacLaine: Billy Wilder’s The Apartment (1960) (yes, Alan hasn’t been a big fan of the film to date!) and MacLaine’s first film, The Trouble with Harry (1955), her first feature appearance and one of the movies generally considered to be lesser Hitchcock. Will our intrepid two come away with a new appreciation of these films, or will their original opinions be reinforced?

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I’ll be in my trailer… watching trailers: The ball goes into the hole

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Join us every week for a trip into the weird and wonderful world of trailers. Whether it’s the first teaser for the latest instalment in your favourite franchise, an obscure preview for a strange indie darling, whether it’s good, bad, ugly or just plain weird – your favourite pop culture baristas are there to tell you what they think.

This week, Alan contributed to our ongoing Six Damn Fine Degrees series with his look back at accidentally discovering the ’90s Italian comedy Volere Volare. Sadly, it’s as difficult to find a trailer for the film as it is to find the film itself, so here’s a short sequence (in Italian) that’s a nice illustration of how Volere Volare blends live-action film and animation.

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Six Damn Fine Degrees #218: Maurizio Nichetti’s Volere Volare

Alan Kuhl Graham3 Comments

Welcome to Six Damn Fine Degrees. These instalments will be inspired by the idea of six degrees of separation in the loosest sense. The only rule: it connects – in some way – to the previous instalment. So come join us on our weekly foray into interconnectedness!

When I was young, in distant, far-off days when television in the UK was limited to just four channels, you could sometimes find yourself idly watching the box when a genuine oddity would come up. Nothing you would actually have ever thought about watching, but it was on and, before you knew it, BANG, you were hooked.

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I’ll be in my trailer… watching trailers: Fix your hearts or die

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Somehow, losing David Lynch hits harder, not only because of his art, which is often beautiful and disturbing in equal measure, but also because of who Lynch seems to have been: a kind, strange, generous soul, as an artist and as a human being. As anyone looking at our front page and at the name of our site will be able to tell: Lynch had an impact on us, and his absence will be felt.

We’ll dedicate most of this week’s trailer post to the weird, frightening, wonderful worlds of David Lynch, but first, let’s have a look at what we did this week.

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A Damn Fine Espresso: January 2025

The Barista Collective1 Comment

Sometimes they come back: in late 2024, Robert Eggers broke with his series of films titled “The” followed by a proper noun with the release of his remake of Nosferatu. Following F.W. Murnau’s 1922 version, a rip-off of Dracula so good that it took on a life (or should that be undeath?) of its own, and the 1979 remake by living legend Werner Herzog, Eggers’ Nosferatu calls back to the earlier versions while putting its own spin on the material. Join Alan and Matt for their discussion of the film: What does Eggers’ Nosferatu bring to the table? How does it compare to other versions of Nosferatu and of Dracula? What are the film’s greatest strengths, and where does it perhaps falter? And where do Matt and Alan stand on big bushy moustaches?

For more talk of the undead, make sure to check out our episode “Three Draculas” from October 2023, in which Julie, Sam and Matt talk about Murnau’s Nosferatu as well as the 1958 and 1992 versions of Dracula.

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Six Damn Fine Degrees #217: L.A. Confidential, revisited

Julie3 Comments

Welcome to Six Damn Fine Degrees. These instalments will be inspired by the idea of six degrees of separation in the loosest sense. The only rule: it connects – in some way – to the previous instalment. So come join us on our weekly foray into interconnectedness!

Director Curtis Hanson with Kevin Spacey. Image copyright Warner Bros.

Although I try to avoid plot spoilers, for those who have never seen L.A. Confidential: skip this article and see the film first. It’s worth it, and inevitably there will be minor spoilers ahead.

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I’ll be in my trailer… watching trailers: Forget me not

The Barista CollectiveLeave a comment

Join us every week for a trip into the weird and wonderful world of trailers. Whether it’s the first teaser for the latest instalment in your favourite franchise, an obscure preview for a strange indie darling, whether it’s good, bad, ugly or just plain weird – your favourite pop culture baristas are there to tell you what they think.

Remember this week’s Six Damn Fine Degrees instalment, or have you already forgotten it? Continuing from the theme of revenge of the previous week, Matt looks back at the first film by Christopher Nolan he saw, Memento – which, while not perfect, is still his favourite movie by the director.

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Forever Fellini: Amarcord (1973)

Matt2 Comments

It seems that Fellini’s Amarcord, a semi-autobiographical film inspired by the director’s childhood in and around Rimini, is a tremendously easy film to like. Critic Vincent Canby called it “Fellini’s most marvelous film” and “extravagantly funny”, while Roger Ebert described it as “a movie made entirely out of nostalgia and joy”.

Me, though? More than halfway into Amarcord, I would have said that I’m not a fan at all. I didn’t find it funny or joyous. One of the tropes I’m more than a little tired of is: boys will be boys – and as a result I would’ve gladly thrown all of these guys below under a car.

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Six Damn Fine Degrees #216: Sometimes the best revenge is the one you forget about

Matt2 Comments

Welcome to Six Damn Fine Degrees. These instalments will be inspired by the idea of six degrees of separation in the loosest sense. The only rule: it connects – in some way – to the previous instalment. So come join us on our weekly foray into interconnectedness!

Revenge is one of the staples of our culture. Think of Hamlet, or The Count of Monte Cristo, or even of Carrie. Think of Kill Bill or Mad Max or The Princess Bride. Revenge is a motif, and indeed a motive, that’s clear, easily understood, and it allows us to vicariously enjoy our darker impulses through others. We may fantasise about getting our own back on those who have wronged us, but we rarely put it into practice – and most definitely not as spectacularly as Maximus the Gladiator, or Beatrix “the Bride” Kiddo, or Inigo Montoya, the sword master we’ve all wanted to be at one time or another.

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I’ll be in my trailer… watching trailers: Oh, the shark, the cat and the chimp have such teeth, dear

MattLeave a comment

Join us every week for a trip into the weird and wonderful world of trailers. Whether it’s the first teaser for the latest instalment in your favourite franchise, an obscure preview for a strange indie darling, whether it’s good, bad, ugly or just plain weird – your favourite pop culture baristas are there to tell you what they think.

We look back at the week that straddles two years, which for us here at A Damn Fine Cup of Culture began with Matt’s retrospective of 2024, bookended by Hirokazu Kore-eda’s wonderful Monster and the wondrous Flow.

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