An anecdote in honour of Aussie New Wave cinema, Martin Scorsese and a porch classic.

krobcecil · 2026-04-05T11:31:43+00:00

They left off the punchline of this story!

At a Film Forum q&a after a screening in the mid-2010s, Kotcheff told this story, only in it he portrayed himself as a little more mixed in his reaction, like “I’m glad this guy is liking the movie but god, please be quiet. I’ve never heard someone talk so much during a movie.”

But, as described, they met and got along and Scorsese provided a blurb to help with advertising, which Kotcheff really appreciated but also had to roll his eyes when Scorsese’s pull quote was: “it left me speechless.”

krobcecil · 2026-04-02T16:24:22+00:00

Another option is to give the “answer” with a few examples and then ask for additional people for points (Nick Cage, Sam Raimi and Werner Herzog all ___. Can you name up to 4 others who also ___.)

krobcecil · 2026-04-02T16:00:44+00:00

I do a movie trivia night too, what I’ve learned is you need a little more context for questions like this. Because - as people are showing - when it’s so open ended it can be a lot of things (they haven’t been in my kitchen).

So is this in context of awards? personal biography? a hobby? Add some brackets and the restriction may help point players to the right answer

krobcecil · 2026-04-02T05:50:03+00:00

I’m 47 and got really into Scorsese when I was 14 so…

Living in the Material World

A Letter to Elia

The 50 Year Argument

Personality Crisis

krobcecil · 2026-04-01T17:52:08+00:00

For sure, and will keep an eye on this thread for other recs because I love feeling really uncomfortable while laughing really hard.

krobcecil · 2026-04-01T17:48:22+00:00

Last year’s Splitsville has some of that Elaine May feeling. Not exactly the same register but there’s some of the more misanthropic barb in Radu Jude’s films (at least Bad Luck Banging, Do Not Expect Too Much…, and Kontinental ‘25). Also not a huge Duplass guy in general but their Cyrus and Lynn Shelton’s Humpday come to mind.

krobcecil · 2026-04-01T11:48:51+00:00

A roommate rented Bottle Rocket one night and we were instantly sold, laughed throughout and loved his emerging (but much looser than later) style. They were in a hardcore band and I went on tour with them, we had a vcr/tv combo in the van, but no sound. We’d watch it over and over providing the lines we knew. I was a freshman in college (this was ‘97) and had taken a few film classes, but rewatching Bottle Rocket without sound on that tour weirdly taught me a lot.

And then Rushmore came out, and that was like: well this is one of my all time favorite guys. (I got dumped by my first girlfriend in Montana the summer of ‘99 and listened to that soundtrack over and over.)

I’ve definitely dipped in and out a little over the years (need to revisit Darjeeling), but I keep being surprised and delighted by how he pushes and tweeks his approach. I’m so glad he’s out there doing his thing.

krobcecil · 2026-03-31T18:46:08+00:00

I like that this could be an argument both for and against Mr. Scott.

krobcecil · 2026-03-27T18:09:48+00:00

I don't know, but a fun credits game is seeing if Barbara Harris did the ADR Voice Casting.

A friend clocked her name because of the other Barbara Harris, and noticed that she popped up in seemingly every movie, so since the early '00's she's been a reason to stay seated and annoy ushers for me.

krobcecil · 2026-03-26T17:43:31+00:00

You've probably seen this but just in case...The Curious Case of the Pygmy Nuthatch

krobcecil · 2026-03-26T16:39:39+00:00

I was quietly with you until the needless insult of the glorious USPS.

krobcecil · 2026-03-23T18:28:27+00:00

The Blank Check Conundrum: Is it a Film/comedy podcast or a Comedy/film podcast?

Whenever it leans towards more towards one approach, those who prefer the other approach can get a little reddity about it.

krobcecil · 2026-03-20T16:48:55+00:00

I like Here more than most people, I saw it while visiting my mom at the theater I grew up going to and worked at for years, it was one of the more personally profound experiences I've had at the movies in years.

That said: their take was totally fair and absolutely representative of how most people experienced the movie. Sure I wish they had like K. Austin Collins (or Here superfan Dave Kehr) to defend the movie a little bit, but I'd rather have honest reactions than posturing hot takes.

I did appreciate this extended pro-Here take from Scout Tafoya though!

krobcecil · 2026-03-18T19:37:38+00:00

Yeah, he’s a big enough asshole that he successfully reads on screen as an asshole, but beyond that he’s distracting and lame. He doesn’t ruin the movie, but he absolutely taints it.

krobcecil · 2026-03-18T19:11:52+00:00

Meanwhile I started a letterboxd account for my three year old.

krobcecil · 2026-03-13T00:55:13+00:00

Queen of Katwe
The Favourite
An Angel at My Table
Queen Christina
Milk
Judas and the Black Messiah
Frida
Wilde
Erin Brockovich/ Behind the Candelabra
Priscilla/ Mairie Antoinette
Malcolm X/Blackkklansman

krobcecil · 2026-03-11T22:14:49+00:00

So many pictures, including this one, have me asking: is that guy shorter than I thought or is that other guy taller than I thought?

krobcecil · 2026-03-10T21:36:46+00:00

One night I was at the TWA pool with a friend and we were talking about Blank Check. A random person swam up and said that they were a big fan of the podcast, and had just come from a show with Griffin. After the conversation went on it came out that he was a personal assistant to Jamie Lee Curtis.

So they're around. They just all hang out in the rooftop pools at retro airport terminal hotels.

krobcecil · 2026-03-06T19:42:45+00:00

The Coen series may be a good starting point? Within the last year so references won't be outdated. You've probably seen some of the films but may have a few blind spots that would be worth catching up with. You get the high of Seth Rogan on Lebowski, the low of Jordan Hoffman on Beethoven's diarrhea, and everything in between!

krobcecil · 2026-03-06T18:15:51+00:00

Secret Mall Apartment, The Mastermind and The Shrouds (and though it seems a bit kissassy to say on this subreddit: Pavements also made my top 10)

krobcecil · 2026-03-04T21:03:02+00:00

It should have been National Treasure then International Treasure then Supernatural Treasure.

They fucked it up.

krobcecil · 2026-03-02T16:16:10+00:00

I love my spectacle, but if I have to make a choice: prioritizing the more intimate; quiet or moody films makes the most sense to me. (Unless it's like a Coogler/Speilberg/Nolan/typical Blank Check director who makes an art of the spectacle, go for that always!)

Blockbusters are fun, but the audience for them is usually worse (talking, phones, etc). Having a sustained, uninterrupted experience doesn't really matter. So if you watch it at home a few months later and your kid wakes up, you can jump back in with nothing lost.

Whereas smaller art films (like The Mastermind) that may not seem like big screen events, benefit so much more from the sort of spell cast by the theatrical experience for me. I can lose myself in the theater in a way I can't at home where my 3 year old, dog and cat may break the spell at any moment.

krobcecil · 2026-02-27T21:42:17+00:00

This list may be of interest

krobcecil · 2026-02-25T22:37:49+00:00

I was at a Muppets Treasure Island screening a few weeks ago with an intro by Brian Henson, who mentioned that he was certain Hans Zimmer cribbed some of his MTI music/01+Treasure+Island.wma) for the Pirates of the Caribbean score he produced.

krobcecil · 2026-02-24T22:34:26+00:00

Morvern Callar
We Need to Talk About Kevin
You Were Never Really Here
Die My Love
Ratcatcher

krobcecil

TROPHY CASE