Ready For Close-Up

Episode #38 - Our Year in Movies 2025

It's one year later and that time of year again to review our year in movies 2025! Andy and Sam have both had a rich cinematic experience this time round, from attending film festivals and joining the Letterboxd crowd to catching up with both classic cinema and the purportedly best films of the year. They have each picked three personal favourites: Ranging from award season layovers and festival darlings to very recent releases, they finally settle on three shared highlights of the year, all of which deserve the label 'visceral experience' for sure. Listen in and travel through our 2025 in movies with us!   

Episode #37 - Our Best of 2024!

It's the end of the year again and Andy and Sam have coordinated their Best of 2024 lists of films they loved, admired, marvelled at or were so sickened by that they almost left the cinema! In an epic roundup, they not only talk about the splendid year this has been for the cinematic experience in general, but they discuss in detail their 10 top picks of the year. This (somewhat unexpectedly) includes anything from animated powerhouses to spectacular sequels, gruesome body horror to teenage romance,  witchy musicals and sexy tennis pulp to catholic politics. Overall, they find cinema to be in an excellent spot, catching up with delayed releases yet at the same time opening up new avenues for surprising highlights. It's a wrap, 2024, but we can't wait for the new year to dazzle us!

Episode #36 - Giallo! When Italian thrillers were all the rage

Giallo was by far the most productive and popular genre of Italian cinema of the 1960 and 70s: Shockingly bloody, daringly sexy and graphically gory murder mystery thrillers were all the rage and sold extremely well internationally, too. Directors like Mario Bava, Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci and Aldo Lado pushed boundaries with exciting visuals, experimental soundtracks and putting well known stars at the mercy of often leather-gloved or black-cloaked killers. What Andy and Sam find so fascinating is that despite their clear flaws (including terrible dubbing and questionable gender roles), they have proven enormously influential on modern horror thrillers and provide a fascinating glimpse into Italian society coming to terms with institutional repression.

Episode #35 - Our Meryl Streep anniversary appreciation!

The great Meryl Streep is turning 75 this week and Andy and Sam finally take the opportunity to extensively talk about her incredible filmography, from early Oscar fame in Kramer vs. Kramer and Sophie's Choice to romantic favourites like Out of Africa and Bridges of Madison County, but also her great comedic work in Death Becomes Her, The Devil Wears Prada or indeed Mamma Mia! Her impact in dramatic and political films such as The Hours or The Post or TV work such as Angels in America and Only Murders in the Building also add to her incredible versatility in small or big roles. She is therefore rightfully called the best of her generation, has received innumerable awards and honours, such as recently in Cannes. We discuss why that is, what makes a Meryl Streep performance tick and why she has left such an indelible mark on cinema and our cultural memory. Join us for a festive appreciation!

Episode #34 - Oscar edition 2024!

The movie award season has just been officially ended with the handing out of the Oscars this week and Andy and Sam are discussing the 96th edition of these Academy Awards in their newest episode: Who won and who should have won? What were the biggest suprises and snubs (and Barbie is just one of them!) and what does the field of nominations really tell us about the state of cinema after an unusual year in film that was 2023? Listen in when we discuss our favourites and recommendations, from the blockbusters we refuse to see to the most original and most disturbing films of the year!

Episode #33 - Our Best of 2023 in Movies

To wrap up their year in movies, Andy and Sam are looking back at 2023 as a much welcome return to good blockbuster and popcorn movies. Besides the obvious dominance of the Barbenheimer phenomenon and the shockwaves of the Hollywood strikes, the year did kick into gear again towards the end with some of our favourites hitting cinemas right in time for award season: From biopics to courtroom drama and from highly stylized thrillers to heartwarming musicals, our favourites eventually take us to the central question of the year: Was the plastic doll summer phenomenon a stronger contender of the year than one master director's masterful and harrowing depiction of a key episode in American history? Listen in to find out what we thought - and for some early 2024 highlights that we look forward to!

Episode #32 - Four Blockbusters and Two Strikes

Finally, after months of suspense, Andy and Sam are back with a blockbuster episode on - well - a summer of blockbusters cut short by the two Hollywood strikes looming over future releases. What results is a two-edged discussion about the merits of Barbenheimer, the two main attractions this summer, which spoiled some of the profits of two anticipated sequels released weeks earlier, Indy 5 and the latest Mission: Impossible entry, Rogue Nation: Part One. And even though we were happy with most of our summer movie gifts, we discuss why our moviegoer hearts are also on the side of the writers and actors on strike, even if it means uncertain, yet interesting months ahead: What shall be released? 

Episode #31 - Our Best of 2022 Lists!

With the new year just having started, it's mandatory for Andy and Sam to look back and compare our respective Best Movies of 2022 lists. Even though they overlap in parts and divert at times considerably, we agree on one thing in particular: The past year had fewer moments of complete cinematic indulgence, where we felt movies had truly swept us off our feet and lingered with us for days afterwards. Still, there were highlights, strangely enough many of them dealing with islands (The Menu, Glass Onion, Fire Island) and superpowers (The Batman, Wakanda Forever, Everything Everywhere All At Once) but also standout comedies (Bros, The Worst Person in the World), historical drama (Corsage, The Northman) and even horror (Bones and All, Nope)  Join us for a journey up our lists with a brief outlook at what we've missed and what we can't wait to see in 2023!

Episode #30- Back with Our Fall (P)Review!

It's been a long summer travelling between Mexico City and Hollywood for Andy and the most scenic locations of southern Europe for Sam but we're back with a myriad of cinematic impressions, including some fresh theatrical releases: Universal's first mainstream LGBTQ+ romantic comedy Bros and the newest entry into the Marvel Universe, Wakanda Forever, have us both laughing and in tears - and mostly at the intended moments. Our reviews are imbued with gratitude and excitement for well-written and well-judged new releases and our preview is brimming with excitement for some of the highlights coming out this winter: from Avatar to Tar, and from Babylon to Bones and All, we can't wait for theatrical gifts to reveal themselves. Join us for our fall (p)review!

Episode #29 - Cinema exhibited! Do movie museums work?

After a quick review of fresh content they have seen over the summer, Andy and Sam talk about recent movie-related exhibitions they have seen: the brand-new Oscar Academy Museum in Los Angeles and the Fellini exhibition at Zurich's Kunsthaus. From these impressions, they discuss what makes an inspiring and worthwhile movie museum and what criteria should be behind the selection and presentation of such exhibits. Besides their favourite movie displays, they also ask whether cinema is increasingly becoming a thing to be shown at museums and if that is necessarily a good or bad omen for movie-making as a whole. Join us to find out!