MacGuffin Film Podcast Episode 115 - Foreign Influences

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Episode 115 – Foreign Influences

Date: Tue, 29 Nov, 2011 at 12:39 PM | Author: Spencer Fornaciari | Category: Podcast Releases

Spencer and Greg share some of the foreign films that have influenced them, suggest some early 2011 releases worth revisiting and give DVD picks of the week.

For his DVD pick, Spencer selected Werner Herzog’s mesmerizing documentary, Cave of Forgotten Dreams (/). Greg went for the Blu-ray release of , the fourth season of the BBC’s hit series.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Spencer Fornaciari

Co-Host/Editor-In-Chief Seattle, WA

Spencer grew up with the many great films of the 1980’s before having his world rocked after seeing The Usual Suspects. That film inspired him to become a filmmaker.

Follow him on or .

Comments

Mike C

What did you guys think of Contagion? I wanted to love that movie because of the director and the genre, but it just seemed a little dull.

Also regarding Super 8, I liked it, but I felt the ending was a little generic for me. I’m thinking about giving it another chance though.
Spencer Fornaciari

**To be honest, sadly I haven’t seen Contagion yet. The reception it got seemed a bit mixed (as does your response to it), so I passed on seeing it in the theater, I’ll definitely check it out when it is on DVD.

You are right, the ending to Super 8 is a bit generic, but I guess I don’t have as much problem with it since I knew that was what it shooting for…there is a lot to debate about the film (the amount of violence, etc), but to me I see it as an homage to childhood adventure films (particularly films like Goonies and ET), and ultimately those films all ended on happy notes, albeit the more Hollywood-ish type endings. I don’t mind generic endings most of the time as long as the ride was enjoyable. Also, I think Hollywood has gotten a little too attached to “twist” endings in recent years, so I honestly enjoy things being straightforward and inline with the rest of the movie.

The only other real direction I could see a film like that going is down a more horror type route (with the alien starting to kill more people).
Brandi

Personally, I thought Contagion was great. I have been wanting to get my hands on the screenplay to dissect it a bit, because the film is really, really impressive in terms of how the story is told and how the momentum keeps up with so many characters. If I had my way it would be on people’s minds for writing awards.
timmonsgray

Just adding agreement to Contagion. One of the better movies of the fall and an excellent take on what could happen if a real pandemic hits, and how you would see the effects and contributions on a more global level, as oppposed to something relegated to one town or country. Was not boring, but it did make you want to wash your hands afterwards.
Spencer Fornaciari

How does Contagion rank for you in comparison to Sodebergh’s other work?
It sort of reminds me when the Hot Zone came out and that book was all the range because of how it scared people.
Mike C

It was definitely a more realistic take on the pandemic. I just thought that a few of the story lines were a little weak. I really enjoyed Damon, Fishburne and Law’s story line, but I felt that the main doctor, Jennifer Ehle, story line wasn’t too great. And Winslet was great as usual. Maybe I’m being a bit too hard on it.