This week review the 1981 historical sports drama film Chariots of Fire directed by Hugh Hudson. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice. Ben Cross and Ian Charleson star as …

This week we discuss the 1957 American legal drama film 12 Angry men directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Henry Fonda, Lee J Cobb, Ed Begley, E G Marshall and Jack Warden. The film tells the story of a jury of 12 men as they deliberate the conviction or acquittal of a teenager charged with murder on the basis of reasonable doubt; disagreement and …

This week we review the 1980 biographical drama film The Elephant Man loosely based on the life of Joseph Merrick (referred to as "John" in the film), a severely deformed man who lived in London in the late 19th century. The film was directed by David Lynch. It stars Sir John Hurt, Anthony Hopkins, Anne Bancroft, Sir John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, Mic…

This week we discuss the 1985 American comedy Brewster's Millions directed by Walter Hill and starring Richard Pryor and John Candy. What a concept this is....what would you do? Spend the $30m in 30 days for a chance to win $300m or take $1m up front (1985 values). Did you know this is based on a 1902 novel? The story is over 120 years old. No, nei…

This week we review the 2003 comedy film School of Rock directed by Richard Linklater. The film stars Jack Black, Joan Cusack, Mike White, and Sarah Silverman. Black plays struggling rock guitarist Dewey Finn, who is fired from his band and subsequently poses as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. After witnessing the musical talent …

This week we review the 2016 American coming-of-age drama film Moonlight written and directed by Barry Jenkins, based on Tarell Alvin McCraney's unpublished semi-autobiographical play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue. It stars Trevante Rhodes, André Holland, Janelle Monáe, Ashton Sanders, Jharrel Jerome, Naomie Harris, and Mahershala Ali and it wo…

This week we review the 2019 American psychological thriller film Joker directed by Todd Phillips. It stars Joaquin Phoenix and provides an alternative origin story for the Joker. The film follows Arthur Fleck, a failed clown and aspiring stand-up comedian whose descent into mental illness and nihilism inspires a violent countercultural revolution …

This week we discuss the 2009 American comedy film The Hangover directed by Todd Phillips and starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong and Jeffrey Tambor. It tells the story of Phil Wenneck (Cooper), Stu Price (Helms), Alan Garner (Galifianakis), and Doug Billings (Bartha), who travel to Las Veg…

Today we are reviewing the 1987 American war comedy film Good Morning Vietnam directed by Barry Levinson and starring Golden Globe winner Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, JT Walksh and Bruno Kirby. Set in Saigon in 1965 , during the Vietnam War, the film stars Williams as an Armed Forces Radio Service DJ who proves hugely popular with the troops, b…

This week we review the 2000 American biographical sports drama film Remember the Titans produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. The screenplay is loosely based on the true story of coach Herman Boone, portrayed by Denzel Washington, and his attempt to integrate the T. C. Williams High School (now Alexandria City High School) football team in Alexandria, Vi…

This week we discuss the 2014 American psycholigcal drama music film Whiplash starring Miles Teller and J K Simmons. Considered one of the best movies of the 2010's this won Simmons every award going. The Aussie takes over - he hadn't see it but being a movie about excellence in performance and pushing as hard as you can to get the most out of your…

This week we review the 2017 absurdist psychological horror thriller film The Killing Of A Sacred Deer directed and co-produced by Yorgos Lanthimos. It stars Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Barry Keoghan, Raffey Cassidy, Sunny Suljic, Alicia Silverstone, and Bill Camp. It follows a cardiac surgeon who introduces his family to a teenage boy with a con…

This week we review the 1993 American coming-of-age crime drama film A Bronx Tale directed by and starring Robert De Niro in his directorial debut adapted from Chazz Palminteri's 1989 play of the same name. It tells the coming-of-age story of an Italian-American boy, Calogero (Lillo Brancato Jr), who, after encountering a local Mafia boss (Palminte…

This week we review the 2012 American political action thriller film Zero Dark Thirty directed and produced by Kathryn Bigelow. The film dramatizes the nearly decade-long international manhunt for Osama bin Laden, leader of the terrorist network Al-Qaeda, after the September 11 attacks. This search leads to the discovery of his compound in Pakistan…

This week we review the 1979 American legal drama Kramer vs. Kramer starring Dustin Hoffman (oscar winner for this movie) and Meryl Streep. It tells the story of a couple's divorce, its impact on their young son, and the subsequent evolution of their relationship and views on parenting. Kramer vs. Kramer explores the psychology and fallout of divor…

This week we discuss the 2014 biographical war drama film American Sniper directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller This film is loosely based on the memoirs 'American Sniper' by Chris Kyle who became the deadliest marksman in US military history. The Aussie and the Scotsman discuss life in the military, the horror of…

This week we review the 1999 American psychological thriller Fight Club directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter. Norton plays the unnamed narrator, who is unhappy in his white collar job. He forms a 'fight club' with soap salesman Tyler Durden (Pitt) and starts a relationship with Marla Singer (Bonha…

This week we review the 1981 sports war film Escape to Victory directed by John Huston and starring Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, Max von Sydow and Pelé. The film is about Allied prisoners of war who are interned in a German prison camp during the Second World War who play an exhibition match of football against a German team. The film receive…

This week we review the 2009 war film Inglourious Basterds written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, starring Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger, Daniel Brühl, Til Schweiger and Mélanie Laurent. The film tells an alternate history story of two converging plots to assassinate Nazi Germany's leadership at a Paris …

This week we review the 1957 epic war film The Bridge on the River Kwai directed by David Lean and based on the 1952 novel written by Pierre Boulle. Alec Guinness stars as Colonel Nicholson, a British officer imprisoned in a Japanese POW camp run by Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa), where he's forced to build a railway bridge. After initially resist…

This week is a 'best of' week. The best Injustice Movies. We review and discuss our favourite Injustice Movies. From Bombshell to Richard Jewell to Shawshank Redemption. The Killing Fields to The Pianist. Mississippi Burning to The Accused. The Hurricane to the Elephant Man and much more We finish with our top 10. As the Aussie says - these types o…

This week we discuss the 2023 American biographical sports drama film Air directed by Ben Affleck and starring Ben Affleck , Matt Damon, Jason Bateman, Marlon Wayans, Chris Messina, Chris Tucker and Viola Davis. The film is based on true events about the origin of Air Jordan, a basketball shoeline, of which a Nike employee tries to strike a busines…

This week we review the 2023 American biographical romantic drama film Maestro that centers on the relationship between American composer Leonard Bernstein and his wife Felicia Montealegre. It was directed by Bradley Cooper, from a screenplay he wrote with Josh Singer. It was produced by Cooper, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg. The film stars …

This week we discuss 1989 American epic biographical anti-war drama film Born on the Fourth July directed by Oliver Stone, starring Tom Cruise, Willem Dafoe, Kyra Sedgwick, Tom Berenger, John C McGinley, Vivica Fox and many others. The Aussie had not seen this one and wow this really struck a chord with him. Both the boys are passionate and empathi…

This week we are delighted to welcome Ben King to the studio. Ben King is an on-set photographer. We hear about the good experiences and the not so good experiences within the movie industry. We hear about some of the biggest movies and biggest stars Ben has worked on and with. Ben tell us about his experience working on the Robbie Williams bio - B…

This week review the 1991 American action film Point Break directed by Kathryn Bigelow. It stars Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Lori Petty and Gary Busey. The film's title refers to the surfing term "point break", where a wave breaks as it hits a point of land jutting out from the coastline. The film features Reeves as an undercover FBI agent who is…

This week we review the 2011 American biographical sports drama film Moneyball written by Aaron Sorkin. This is an account of the Oakland Athletics baseball team's 2002 season and their general manager Billy Beane's attempts to assemble a competitive team. In the film, Beane (Brad Pitt) and assistant general manager Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), faced …

This week we are reviewing the 2024 biographical legal thriller The Correspondent directed by Kriv Stenders. The film stars Richard Roxburgh, Julian Maroun, Rahel Romahn, Yael Stone, and Mojean Aria. The plot focuses on Australian foreign correspondent and journalist Peter Greste, who was arrested in Cairo and held in an Egyptian prison, and is ada…

This week we review the 2023 epic biographical thriller drama film Oppenheimer written, directed, and produced by Christopher Nolan. It follows the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American theoretical physicist who helped develop the first nuclear weapons during World War II. The film chronicles Oppenheimer's studies, his direction of the Los Al…

This week we review the 2007 American period drama film There Will Be Blood written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, loosely based on the 1927 novel Oil! by Upton Sinclair. It stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Kevin J. O'Connor, Ciarán Hinds, and Dillon Freasier. The film was nominated for eight awards at the 80th Academy Awards, winning two …

This week we are in esteemed company as we welcome Marty Benson to the show. Marty is currently Director of Content for Melbourne for Endemol Shine Australia. Endemol Shine Australia is a part of Banijay, the world’s largest international TV and media content producer in the Southern Hemisphere. As an individual content producing company - the bigg…

This week we discuss the 2019 biographical musical drama film Rocketman based on the life, music, and career of British musician Elton John. The film focuses on the story of Elton in his early days in England as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music through his musical partnership with Bernie Taupin. The story is told through his music and is tit…

This week we review the 1975 American biographical crime drama film Dog Day Afternoon directed by Sidney Lumet and produced by Martin Bregman and Martin Elfand. The film stars Al Pacino, John Cazale, James Broderick and Charles Durning. The movie chronicles the 1972 robbery and hostage situation led by John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturile at a Cha…

This week we review the 1982 American romantic drama film An Officer and a Gentleman directed by Taylor Hackford starring Richard Gere, Debra Winger, and Louis Gossett Jr. It tells the story of Zack Mayo (Gere), a United States Navy Aviation Officer Candidate who is beginning his training at Aviation Officer Candidate School. Unsurprisingly this is…

This week we review the 2016 American drama film Manchester by the Sea written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan that stars Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, and Lucas Hedges. Revolving around the themes of depression, guilt, grief, responsibility, dysfunctional families, and post-traumatic stress disorder, the plot follows a depresse…

This week we discuss the 2010 American biographical drama film The Social Network directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin. It portrays the founding of social networking website Facebook. It stars Jesse Eisenberg as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, with Andrew Garfield as Eduardo Saverin, Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker, Armie Hammer…

This week we review - for the 2nd time - the 1990 American biographical gangster film Goodfellas directed by Martin Scorsese. Except this time we review it with Australian TV and movie star Pia Miranda. If you haven't listened check out our interview with Pia here: https://aussiescot24.podbean.com/e/interview-with-pia-miranda/?token=5f56c4c635af82f…

This week we discuss the 2016 American black comedy crime film War Dogs directed by Todd Phillips. The film follows two arms dealers, Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill) and David Packouz (Miles Teller), who receive a U.S. Army contract to supply ammunitions for the Afghan National Army worth approximately $300 million. It's not a classic by any means, bu…

This week we review the 2016 epic biographical war film Hacksaw Ridge directed by Mel Gibson based on the 2004 documentary The Conscientious Objector directed by Terry Benedict. The film focuses on the World War II experiences of Desmond Doss, an American pacifist combat medic who, as a Seventh-day Adventist Christian, refused to carry or use a wea…

This week we review the 2009 biographical sports film Invictus directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, making it the third collaboration between Eastwood and Freeman after Unforgiven (1992) and Million Dollar Baby (2004). The story is based on the events in South Africa before and during the 1995 Rugby World Cup. The …

This week we review the 2017 American biographical musical drama film The Greatest Showman directed by Michael Gracey. The film stars Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, and Zendaya. Featuring nine original songs written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and an original musical orchestral score the film is a heavily fictional…

This week we discuss the 1995 epic Vegas mobster film Casino directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, Kevin Pollak and James Woods. The Aussie had not seen this one. He prefers this movie to Goodfellas. It is the 11th collaboration between De Niro and Scorcese. Michael Franzese, an American former mobster, s…

This week we review the 1988 American crime thriller film Mississippi Burning directed by Alan Parker that is loosely based on the 1964 investigation into the deaths of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner in Mississippi. It stars Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe as two FBI agents investigating the disappearance of three civil rights workers in fictional Je…

This week we review the 1986 musical fantasy film Labyrinth directed by Jim Henson with George Lucas as executive producer. The film was written by Terry Jones, and many of its characters are played by puppets produced by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. The film stars Jennifer Connelly as 16-year-old Sarah and David Bowie as Jareth, the Goblin King. In…

Following the furore and backlash from our recent review of Duel we read out some emails and letters received from listeners. Who do you agree with? The Aussie who absolutely detests the move - and thinks it is boring, disgraceful and a waste of time or the Scotsman who appreciates this classic for what it is and what it stands for. Let us know in …

This week we review the 1971 American road action-thriller television film Duel directed by Steven Spielberg. It centers on a traveling salesman David Mann (Dennis Weaver) driving his car through rural California to meet a client. However, he finds himself chased and terrorized by the mostly unseen driver of a semi-truck. This is the podcast that c…

This week we review the 2022 American action drama film Top Gun: Maverick directed by Joseph Kosinski . This is a sequel to the 1986 film Top Gun. Tom Cruise reprises his starring role as the naval aviator Maverick. It also stars Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Monica Barbaro, Lewis Pullman, Ed Harris and Val Kilmer, who rep…

This week we review the 1986 American action drama film Top Gun directed by Tony Scott and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. It stars Tom Cruise as Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a young naval aviator aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. He and his radar intercept officer, Lieutenant (junior grade) Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (A…

This week we discuss the 2017 British biographical war drama film Darkest Hour about Winston Churchill in his early days as Prime Minister of the UK during the second world war depicting his refusal to seek a peace treaty with Nazi Germany amid their advance into Western Europe. Starring Gary Oldman as Churchill with Kristen Scott Thomas, Lily Jame…

This week we are delighted to welcome Pia Miranda to the podcast. Pia is a well known Australian actress, writer and presenter. Pia kicked off her career in Neighbours, then had her break out role as Josie in Looking for Alibrandi. Pia played Jodie Spiteri in Wentworth has starred in several short films, was a recurring guest on All Saints, The Sec…