The Next Picture Show

The narrative and tone of Todd Phillips’ latest is heavily inspired by TAXI DRIVER and KING OF COMEDY, but given the attention paid to the work of Martin Scorsese on this podcast of late, we decided to look at Phillips’ new JOKER in tandem with a more literal cinematic predecessor: Christopher Nolan’s THE DARK KNIGHT, featuring Heath Ledger’s posthumous Oscar-winning performance as the Clown Prince of Crime himself. In this half we consider Ledger’s Joker in the context of a film that took a radically different approach to the comic-book movie and its villains, debate some confounding plot specifics—and whether they ultimately matter that much to one’s enjoyment of the film—and try to remember what it was like experiencing DARK KNIGHT independent of the subsequnt superhero movie deluge it helped spawn. Plus, we respond to some feedback on our recent episodes looking at CASINO and HUSTLERS. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE DARK KNIGHT, JOKER, or anything else film-related, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: Hans Zimmer, “Why So Serious?” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lorene Scafaria portrays the criminal scam at the heart of HUSTLERS with a sort of cinematic brio that has earned the film comparisons to the work of Martin Scorsese, in particular the similarly flashy Vegas epic CASINO — and not just because both prominently feature chinchilla fur coats. In this half of our vice-ridden pairing, we talk over what works and what doesn’t about HUSTLERS before diving into the two films’ shared preoccupations with destructive trust and capitalist systems and compare the filmmaking flourishes Scafaria and Scorsese use to draw viewers into their seductive worlds. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CASINO, HUSTLERS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Show Notes Works Cited: • “The Hustlers at Scores,” by Jessica Pressler (thecut.com) Your Next Picture Show:  • Tasha: Takashi Miike’s FIRST LOVE • Scott: Jim Jarmusch’s THE DEAD DON’T DIE • Genevieve: Anthony and Joe Russo’s AVENGERS: ENDGAME Outro music: Britney Spears, “Gimme More” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The big question at the heart of Lorene Scafaria’s new HUSTLERS — one about the corrupting force of American capitalism and who is allowed to rip off whom — is the same one that drive’s Martin Scorsese’s 1995 Vegas gangster epic CASINO, a question both films address with no small amount of verve and flash. In this half of our vice-ridden pairing, we dig into CASINO’s reputation as a GOODFELLAS retread and how its characters conform, or don’t, to our expectations about Scorsese characters. Plus, a couple of otherwise unrelated feedback letters get us talking about the expectations we bring to films and how they can shift the viewing experience. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CASINO, HUSTLERS, or anything else film-related, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: Devo, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s too early to know whether Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s horror-comedy READY OR NOT will eventually become a cult hit in the manner of 1985’s CLUE, but the two films share a foundation in dangerous games and the even more dangerous people who play them. After parsing how READY OR NOT works as both horror and comedy, and inducting star Samara Weaving into the scream queen hall of fame, we dig into the two films’ crucial central performances, how both incorporate elements of class satire and farce, and the extent to which each is indebted to actual game mechanics. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CLUE, READY OR NOT, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show:  • Scott: Ognjen Glavonic’s THE LOAD • Keith: Netflix’s THE DARK CRYSTAL: THE AGE OF RESISTANCE, Criterion’s The Koker Trilogy Box Set, Olive Films’ BUCKET OF BLOOD Blu-ray release • Tasha: “The Crazy Story of How ‘Clue’ Went From Forgotten Flop To Cult Triumph” by Adam B. Vary at Buzzfeed.com Outro music: “The Hide and Seek Song” from READY OR NOT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The gamified murder and mayhem of the recent horror-comedy READY OR NOT put us in mind of a similarly scrappy, low-budget affair with board games in its DNA: John Landis and Jonathan Lynn’s flop-turned-cult-classic CLUE. In this CLUE-centric half of our deadly games pairing, we get into how much both sides of that flop/cult reputation are earned, how much of the film’s genesis in a board game comes across on screen, and how much those additional endings add to the film. Plus, we respond to some feedback taking us to task for one of the many controversial elements of ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD that we left out of our discussion of the film. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CLUE, READY OR NOT, or anything else film-related, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  Works Cited:• “The Crazy Story Of How ‘Clue’ Want From Forgotten Flop To Cult Triumph” by Adam B. Vary (Buzzfeed.com) • “Why Are You Laughing At Bruce Lee?” By Walter Chaw (Vulture.com) • “Bruce Lee’s Daughter Says Quentin Tarantino ‘Could Shut Up’ About Her Father’s Portrayal” by Audrey Cleo Yap (Variety.com) Outro music: Bill Haley and the Comets, “Shake, Rattle and Roll” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices