Wind, Reel, & Print

“International Westerns”

EPISODE 023: META MOVIES
 
Featuring: The Power of the Dog (2021), Sukiyaki Western Django (2007), The Good, The Bad, The Weird (2008), Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
 
In the preliminary episode of this quasi-Olympic competition for the title of best international Western, Ryan and Kevin focus on films from Korea, Japan, Italy, and New Zealand. Ranging from bombastically absurd to spiritually poetic, these global competitors exemplify ways the Western genre communicates national values, especially in regards to masculinity, imperialism/colonialism, and nostalgic mythology.

“Big Trouble in Hollywood China”

EPISODE 022: BAY AREA FLICKS
 
Featuring: Big Trouble in Little China (1986), Hollywood Chinese (2007)
 
It’d be difficult to talk about the Bay Area without discussing the region’s prominent Asian American community and John Carpenter’s “Big Trouble in Little China” seemed like the perfect opportunity to start that conversation. Accompanied by Arthur Dong’s 2007 documentary “Hollywood Chinese”, Ryan and Kevin examine the ways “Little China” portrays its Asian American characters before diving into the goofiness of this Kurt Russell-led fantasy action thriller.

“Bowling with Bumpers”

EPISODE 021: LETTERBOXD TOP 250 SHUFFLE
 
Featuring: The Shining (1980), Paper Moon (1973), Apur Sansar (1959), Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021)
 
Within the context of children and trauma, bowling with bumpers offers a safeguard against the pitfalls of gutterballing. Yet, the restrictive boundaries remain an airtight personal prison, a stronghold fortress of subconscious trauma responses eerily established as a predestined child. The newest episode of the Letterboxd Top 250 Shuffle presented by Wind Reel & Print provides a glimpse into a range of genre musings on the effects of death and trauma on the child psyche. From screwball revivalists and Neorealism fanboys to former YouTube sensations and cinematic GOATs, this week’s batch of movies certainly complete the frame.

Gremlins & Gremlins, Too

EPISODE 020: WEIRD @ WR&P
 
Featuring: Gremlins (1984), Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
 
Joe Dante’s “Gremlins” takes over the studio and threatens the hosts with a good time. Combining classic Spielbergian filmic language with Dante’s knack for meta-mindset, both the original and the sequel deliver on its perceived promise of weirdness.

Princess Mononoke (1997)

EPISODE 019: THEATER ADVENTURES
 
After watching Hayao Miyazaki's iconic action drama “Princess Mononoke” in theaters, Ryan and Kevin take a moment to discuss the film's story, characters, themes, and social commentary. The WR&P hosts also highlight the difference between a subbed and dubbed version.

Top 4 Redux

EPISODE 018: Revisiting “Our Top 4 Favorite Films”
 
Ryan and Kevin summarize recent changes to their respective Letterboxd Top 4 films by explaining what qualifies for the list and what they consider when making swap-outs. Kevin leaves off Richard Linklater’s “Before Midnight” for a Thai coming-of-age picture, while Ryan reaffirms his love for "Come and See” and Robert Eggers’ “The Lighthouse”.

"Cinema as a Spiritual Experience"

EPISODE 017: LETTERBOXD TOP 250 SHUFFLE
 
Featuring: Nobody Knows (2004), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), A Man Escaped (1956), Aftersun (2022)
 
This latest episode of the anticipated Letterboxd Top 250 Shuffle features a quartet of films that scratch at an existential itch by affirming life as a resounding act of faith. Here at Wind, Reel, & Print, we reserve the belief that cinema bears the power to change your life, and nothing evokes this sentiment more than this week’s collection of films. From stories as small and intimate as a family vacation in Greece to something as large as the story of the universe, each of these four films search for the spirituality in cinema.

Hit Man (2024)

EPISODE 016: NEW ADDITIONS
 
In the podcast’s formal introduction to director Richard Linklater, the WR&P hosts dissect the genre-bending “Hit Man” starring Hollywood’s newest movie star Glen Powell. In discussing Linklater’s prolific filmography, Ryan and Kevin touch on how the filmmaker chooses to extend his creative range while remaining loyal to his actor-friendly writing process and rehearsal sessions.

Harold and Maude (1971)

EPISODE 015: BAY AREA FLICKS
 
Steeped in classic Bay Area imagery and counterculture ideology, Hal Ashby’s definitive “Harold and Maude” is a seemingly perfect example of Bay Area Cinema. But the podcast conversation deviates from local geography and cultural history, as Ryan highlights the film’s proto-Wes Anderson-isms and Kevin traces the film’s metamodern philosophical ponderings.

From Cassavetes to Today

EPISODE 014: INDIE CINEMA
 
Featuring Shadows (1959), The Little Shop of Horrors (1960), She’s Gotta Have It (1986), Shakespeare in Love (1998)
 
In an effort to track recent film history, podcast hosts Ryan and Kevin examine the trajectory of independent cinema through a collection of films by John Cassavetes, Roger Corman, Spike Lee, and Miramax. The discussion wanders away from the films themselves, instead focusing on these four prominent film pioneers and how they define indie cinema with budgetary restrictions, creative freedom, and opposition to the Hollywood system.