By Nicole Funari & Spencer Davis. In the latest edition of the Movies That Matter podcast, we discuss the critically-acclaimed World War II film, Dunkirk, from director Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception, Interstellar). It’s a decidedly unconventional summer blockbuster; though the subject matter and the production values put it squarely into Oscar bait territory, it plays like an action movie or even a disaster flick. Nolan’s pedigree as the thinking person’s crowdpleaser of choice make him the perfect filmmaker to tackle this topic, and he once again plays his usual tricks with time, utilizing a complex intersection of three different timelines to reframe the narrative on the key theme of cooperation in a time of crisis. The result is perhaps the first truly modern war picture—a complete stylistic break with the past. And the movie raises fascinating questions about how our history is written, how we talk about the virtues of military service and heroism, and the basic value of human lives during times that sacrifice them so cheaply. You can download the podcast here or via iTunes.
Nicole
The Podcast: Movies That Matter Discusses 20th Century Women
By Nicole Funari & Spencer Davis. In the latest edition of the Movies That Matter podcast, Nicole and I discuss writer/director Mike Mills’s latest film, 20th Century Women, starring Annette Benning as the single mother of a teenage son in 1979 who enlists the help of the jaded teenage girl he loves (Elle Fanning), an artistic punk rock photographer (Greta Gerwig), and a quiet hippie handyman (Billy Crudup) to teach him the ways of women, men, and life. It’s an ambitious movie that’s rife with big questions about the gender roles we impose on one another and the inability to connect across generations, and as Nicole and I agree, it only partly succeeds in meeting those ambitions. We talk about that and plenty more, from the “end of men” to online dating to the status of marriage and divorce in America today. You can download the podcast here or via iTunes.
The Mixologist: Miracle Waters
[Editor’s Note: Nicole Funari, who hosts the Movie That Matters podcast, was kind enough to let us post this latest mix from her Badges & Wristbands Records project, in which she visits the many under-the-radar music festivals out there and compiles a mix of the best unknown artists she discovers].
By Nicole Funari. I am a veteran of the multi-venue, multi-day music festival. Each time I attend, I get a sense of place along with an abundant supply of music. The first thing I learned about Reykjavik was that turning the left tap brings pure, cold, mineral-laden spring water, and turning the right tap brings naturally hot, slightly malodorous, geothermal water. It seems appropriate that this tiny island nation bent on being a humanist utopia should have free healthful water to drink and to heat it streets and houses. It has a similarly wide and deep social safety net so effective that Icelanders no longer have the concept of a broken home. Icelanders are proud of their Viking heritage despite being a peaceful, progressive people who believe in elves. Perhaps that’s why their music is both mellow and digital. Two things I hate. Continue reading
Shadows & Noise 