Citizen Dame

The Dames discuss favorite (and problematic) holiday movies, including why we love 80s commercials, Elf, and...Hercule Poirot. Plus, we go deep on Jane Campion's deconstructive western The Power of the Dog. 

This week! The Dames finish up Noirvember with a look at gender tropes and traits in classic noir. From The Velvet Touch and Black Widow to The Blue Dahlia and The Dark Mirror, we take a particular look at the women of noir, the femme fatales and the virginal girls. 
We also spend a little bit of time talking about the talk around Licorice Pizza and revisit the disturbing way social media treats people with opposing views.

The Dames take a break from a noir to discuss everything GHOSTBUSTERS, including:
Why we are fans of all the Ghostbusters films (that we've seen)
How Ghostbusters II has been unfairly treated
Why Ghostbusters: Answer the Call was the perfect sequel
Plus! Karen rounds up some AFI fest news and recommendations. 

This week is all about Robert Mitchum! From The Night of the Hunter to His Kind of Woman and plenty of movies in between, the Dames talk about his career, his unexpected charisma, and how we still find him a little terrifying. Also, Lauren hypothesizes that he is, in fact, a vampire. We also talk a *little* bit about the hoopla over Eternals.

The Dames ease from Spooky Season into Noirvember with a discussion of Expressionist director Fritz Lang. Including:
Is Metropolis Lang's most watched work?
What can M and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse say about contemporary America?
How Lang's interest in unlikable protagonists and likable villains contributed to the development of film noir
Plus: Karen justifies her Dune reaction. 

This week! The Dames are talking all about the films of Wes Craven! From The Hills Have Eyes to Scream 4, the horror master has given us some of the genre's most iconic characters, with a few other gems thrown in.
Also, in memory of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, her husband and the American Film Institute have created a scholarship fund to help pave the way for future cinematographers. If you would like to donate, please click this link. 

For this bonus episode, the Dames discuss Lana and Lilly Wachowski's Oscar-winning film, The Matrix. What still works? What definitely doesn't? And how is Keanu Reeves NOT the coolest part of this movie?

For this bonus episode, the Dames discuss the perfection of James Whale's 1935 classic, The Bride of Frankenstein.

As Spooky Season continues, the Dames discuss all things vampiric, including:
A brief history of sexy scary monsters
Transgressive sexuality, Freudian nightmares, and rapacious aristocrats
Why Bela Lugosi is the best Dracula
Twilight's de-fanging of the vampire
Why Coppola's Dracula is really problematic
Plus! The Last Duel kerfuffle and why a medieval epic about rape might not be such a big hit right now. 
For more sexy/scary vampires, check out our Letterboxd list: https://letterboxd.com/citizendame/list/sexy-scary-sexy-vampire-movies/
 

This week! The Dames are kicking off Spooky Movie Season with a deep dive into the evolution of horror, especially in the later years. From the Satanic Panic of the 70s and 80s to the social justice films of today, we explore all the things we love about modern horror movies, with a little bit of classic appreciation thrown in for good measure.
We also spend a little bit of time discussing Neon's elitist release strategy of Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Memoria: https://twitter.com/IndieWire/status/1445403907161792523

The Dames take on documentary and film criticism this week, discussing how we talk about documentary filmmaking and why it's important for critics to divide their feelings about the subject from critique of the film itself. 
Plus! Are we intimidating? Why is Crisp Rat playing Mario? And other important questions of the day. 

This week we're talking genres! What are the genres, how do they work, or why do they matter? Plus listener questions and deep dives into Nia DaCosta's Candyman and the 1947 film, Nightmare Alley.

The Dames teach a master class in film criticism, including:
How to read a film beyond the plot and dialogue
When critics should take a step back
Historical and cultural context and subtext
Subjectivity and objectivity
Plus! The Matrix Resurrections trailer and our reactions to James Wan's Malignant. 

This week!
How are people getting things so wrong?
Why do we love movies?
Is Taxi Driver more of a Paul Schrader film than a Martin Scorsese film?
Stuff we've been watching like Theater of Blood, Sunset Boulevard, and What We Do in the Shadows - Season 3 is finally here!

The Dames provide their most whiplashy of whiplash episodes, discussing:
Disney films and cultural context
Why you're all wrong about the current season of Ted Lasso
Horror films based on urban legends
Nia DaCosta's Candyman

Catch a clip of our August bonus episode, a deep dive into the joy and wonder of the 1988 Oscar-winning movie, Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Supplemental Reading: 15 Things You Might Not Know About Who Framed Roger Rabbit 

This week the Dames talk about the wonderful world of animation for grown ups! 
Plus:
The ongoing "theatrical experience" debate 
Jurnee Smollett and Misha Green are getting their Black Canary movie!
Brief reviews of The Green Knight and The Night House
And Listener Questions!
For further reading:
https://www.indiewire.com/2021/08/film-critics-challenge-studios-in-person-screenings-1234653798/

The Dames discuss the term "Hitchcockian" in celebration of Alfred Hitchcock's upcoming birthday! What does "Hitchcockian" mean? Why is it so overused? And why does Brian De Palma suck so hard? Plus:
Why are superhero directors so obsessed with Martin Scorsese?
James Gunn is a dingbat, and
Our feelings about The Suicide Squad

This week we're talking!
Ghostbusters: Afterlife trailer and nostalgiahttps://twitter.com/mattzollerseitz/status/1420064165381558273
David Ayer defends his Suicide Squad:https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/suicide-squad-david-ayer-warner-bros-1234990360/
Scarlett Johansson vs. Disney: https://www.thewrap.com/disney-to-black-widow-star-scarlett-johansson-20-million-is-plenty/
Listener Questions!
And what we've been watching lately

The Dames discuss:
Female directors and blockbusters: https://www.forbes.com/sites/travisbean/2020/05/09/box-office-the-25-highest-grossing-movies-ever-directed-by-women/?sh=6d5354355e7c
Roadrunner, Anthony Bourdain, and the ethics of documentaries: https://twitter.com/futurecanon/status/1415714075267448836
Julia Ducournau's historic Cannes win for Titane: https://www.cnn.com/style/article/cannes-film-festival-2021-palme-dor-titane-julia-ducournau-highlights-spc-intl/index.html
Nicolas Cage's turn in Pig
and whether Fear Street 1666 sticks the landing. 
Fear Street 1666 discussion starts at 58:00 and ends at 1:08:30, so skip if you don't want spoilers!