Ben Affleck’s new AIR is a feel-good capitalist tale about a guy-behind-the-guy who bets it all on a single sports star, a.k.a “pulling a Jerry Maguire,” but that premise really only represents one half of Cameron Crowe’s 1996 crowd-pleaser. Much like its protagonist, JERRY MAGUIRE splits its attention between sports and romance, and how successfully the film marries the two is a topic of some debate in this week’s discussion, along with the general efficacy of Tom Cruise, romantic lead. 

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about JERRY MAGUIRE, AIR, 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.

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While the new RYE LANE shares a basic premise with 1995’s BEFORE SUNRISE — two strangers meet by chance and spend the day exploring a city and getting to know each other — Raine Allen-Miller’s film operates as a romcom first and foremost. Whether that’s to the film’s benefit or detriment is at the heart of our discussion of the new film, and RYE LANE’s romcom nature proves a frequent point of contrast when placed alongside BEFORE SUNRISE in Connections. It also inspires this week’s Your Next Picture Show challenge, to provide an on-the-fly recommendation of a great 21st-century romcom. 

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BEFORE SUNRISE, RYE LANE, 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.

Next Pairing: Cameron Crowe’s JERRY MAGUIRE and Ben Affleck’s AIR

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The new Sundance hit RYE LANE is broadly speaking a romantic comedy, but it is more specifically a walk-and-talk romance, focused on two attractive young strangers who share a moment that turns into a day spent traveling around a city while getting to know each other. That naturally pointed us in the direction of Richard Linklater’s BEFORE SUNRISE, in which strangers on a train make a momentary connection that they decide to extend through the night — and, eventually, through two more films in the resulting trilogy. It’s hard not to discuss those subsequent films in this week’s revisitation of BEFORE SUNRISE, and we don’t entirely succeed, but we do our best to remain in the moment of Jesse and Céline’s first date as we discuss the film’s interest in transitory moments, cynicism in the face of romance, and all the varied ways in which humans communicate. 

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BEFORE SUNRISE, RYE LANE, 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.

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The John Wick series originated as the straightforward story of a skilled killer on a mission of revenge, but since then its mythology has expanded to encompass four films spanning multiple countries, an ever-mounting body count, and increasingly opaque motivations for Keanu Reeves’ titular revenger. We’re joined once again by Vulture critic and friend of the show Alison Willmore to discuss the newest entry in the Wickiverse, whether its extreme closing speed offsets a baggy middle section, and how the film’s illusion of closure is undercut by an array of spinoff-ready characters. Then we return to the origin of this pairing by bringing POINT BLANK back into the discussion to talk codes of honor and disposable underlings as they pertain to men on a mission of revenge.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about POINT BLANK, JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4, 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.

Next Pairing: Richard Linklater’s BEFORE SUNRISE and Raine Allen-Miller’s RYE LANE

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The revenge narrative has proven fertile ground for film in general (indeed, this is not our first pairing inspired by the subject) and the John Wick franchise specifically, which has just spawned its fourth chapter tracing a one-man killing machine’s path of righteous destruction across the globe. It’s also provided us with a fine excuse to revisit 1967’s POINT BLANK, the John Boorman cult classic that follows Lee Marvin on a more localized but no less brutal revenge tour of his own. So in preparation for John Wick’s globe-trotting mayhem, this week we’re joined by Vulture film critic and returning guest Alison Willmore to talk over POINT BLANK’s alternately dreamlike and bleak portrait of a man who’s lost his humanity — symbolically or literally, depending on your read — plunging violently back into the human world.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about POINT BLANK, JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4, 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.

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Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis Creed begins the new CREED III in a similar position to that of Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa in ROCKY III, as a highly regarded, highly comfortable champion who must return to his roots in order to triumph in the ring. But CREED III’s antagonist figure, Johnathan Majors’ Damian Anderson, comes with a more interesting set of motivations and resentments, which we talk over with returning guest Matt Singer in our discussion of the new film. Then we get into the echoes between these two related points on the extended Rocky timeline, from their deployment of narratively convenient character deaths and training montages, to their respective ideas about underdog narratives and what one generation owes the next one. 

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ROCKY III, CREED III, 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.

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Originating as a late-stage ROCKY sequel, CREED has since evolved into its own multi-sequel franchise, with the new third entry bringing star Michael B. Jordan back into the ring as well as the director’s chair. That’s the same dual role Sylvester Stallone had for 1982’s ROCKY III, which similarly finds its star prizefighter far from his scrappy beginnings, and needing to humble himself in order to find glory again. There’s a lot connecting these two films, but only one of them can boast the involvement of Hulk Hogan, so we’re joined by critic, friend of the show, and ROCKY III advocate Matt Singer to discuss what issues Stallone and the franchise were working through with this underestimated second sequel. Plus, our extended discussion of extended sequences continues in Feedback as we consider some less-loved examples of the long take.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ROCKY III, CREED III, 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.

Outro music: “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor

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Steven Soderbergh’s MAGIC MIKE’S LAST DANCE ends the Channing Tatum male-stripper trilogy in a much different place than it began, centered on the unlikely romance between Tatum’s Mike and a wealthy woman, played by Salma Hayek, who’s interested in nurturing his talents. And while we’re all in agreement that’s to the detriment of the movie, it does make for a useful comparison point with 1951’s AN AMERICAN IN PARIS. After working through our frustrations with LAST DANCE with the help once again of Chicago critic Deirdre Crimmins, we compare them to our frustrations with AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, as well as the nuances of each film’s unbalanced power dynamics and extended climactic dance sequences. 

Note: due to a technical failure during recording, some of the audio on this week’s episode is suboptimal. We apologize for the aural inconvenience.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, MAGIC MIKE’S LAST DANCE, 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.

Works Cited:

Channing Tatum takes an alternate-reality approach to his stripping past in ‘Magic Mike’, by Genevieve Koski (avclub.com)

“Female pleasure looks mighty odd in ‘Magic Mike XXL,’” by Tasha Robinson (thedissolve.com)

“How It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Pulled Off Mac’s Jaw-dropping Dance,” by Maria Elena Fernandez (always-sunny-mac-dance-season-13-finale.html">vulture.com)

Outro music: “Pony” by Ginuwine

Next Pairing: Sylvester Stallone’s ROCKY III and Micheal B. Jordan’s CREED III

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While both of the films in this week’s paring center on American men living and dancing abroad, the main thing linking the new MAGIC MIKE’S LAST DANCE to 1951’s AN AMERICAN IN PARIS is the relationships those men have with wealthy women who wish to be their patrons, and perhaps a bit more. Each relationship and the problems that come with them are distinct to the social customs of the time in which the film was made, a fact that’s difficult to ignore when viewing AN AMERICAN IN PARIS today. But for every clunky regressive beat in this Gershwin trunk musical, there’s another that rings true, so we’re joined this week by Chicago film critic Deirdre Crimmins to consider the limits of Gene Kelly’s charm, and the limits of our tolerance for 17-minute dream ballets. Plus, our recent discussion of the long takes in CHILDREN OF MEN prompts an appropriately extended conversation on the subject in Feedback.

Note: due to a technical failure during recording, some of the audio on this week’s episode is suboptimal. We apologize for the aural inconvenience.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, MAGIC MIKE’S LAST DANCE, 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.

Outro music: “An American in Paris” by George Gershwin

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It’s difficult to watch HBO’s new hit dystopian drama THE LAST OF US without being reminded over and over again of Alfonso Cúaron’s CHILDREN OF MEN, and for good reason: the video game on which the series is based was openly inspired by Cúaron’s 2006 film. That’s most explicit in the series’ central relationship between a hardened, cynical survivor (Pedro Pascal’s Joel) and a young woman who holds the key to reversing humanity’s misfortune (Bella Ramsey’s Ellie), but Cúaron’s film echoes through the series in other ways both broad (depictions of a totalitarian government and violent resistance) and specific (unexpectedly early character exits). We dig into several of those links after a discussion of how THE LAST OF US’s first five entries — in particular its dazzling third episode — distinguish this series from its most explicit reference point and the many other post-apocalyptic narratives that came before. And if that’s not enough well-wrought intergenerational dystopian drama for you, Genevieve has a suggestion for another recent series to check out in Your Next Picture Show. 

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CHILDREN OF MEN, THE LAST OF US, 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.

Outro music: “Never Let Me Down Again” by Depeche Mode

Next Pairing: Vincente Minelli’s AN AMERICAN IN PARIS and Steven Soderbergh’s MAGIC MIKE’S LAST DANCE

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