Late to the Movies

Singin' in the Rain

January 9th, 2023  |  1 hr 9 mins

ben holt, bfi, cyd charisse, debbie reynolds, donald o'connor, film, gene kelly, greatest films of all time, jean hagen, late to the movies, movie, poll, review, sight and sound, singin in the rain, singing in the rain, stanley donen

Sight and Sound Month continues with the 10th ranked film on the most recent decennial Sight and Sound Poll - 1952's Singin' in the Rain! Ben and Martha discuss the legendary musical-comedy that launched the career of Debbie Reynolds and secured Gene Kelly's place in film history.

Directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds and featuring Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell and Cyd Charisse.

Citizen Kane

January 2nd, 2023  |  1 hr 27 mins

ben holt, bfi, citizen kane, film, greatest films of all time, herman j. mankiewicz, joseph cotten, late to the movies, mank, movie, orson welles, poll, review, sight and sound

...and a Happy New Year! Late to the Movies kicks off 2023 with a new theme for the new month - we'll be picking a few films from the Top 10 of the latest decennial Sight and Sound Critics' Poll!

Up first is the longest reigning #1 in the poll's history, down to #3 this time: 1941's "Citizen Kane"! Ben, Anthony, and Kay are on hand to discuss the life and times of Charles Foster Kane, Orson Welles, and the (unfortunately) evergreen relevance of this revolutionary movie. MANK FEVER IS BACK!

Directed by and starring Orson Welles, who co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. Featuring Joseph Cotten and Dorothy Comingore.

The Hobbit (1977)

December 26th, 2022  |  1 hr 14 mins

ben holt, fantasy, film, john huston, late to the movies, movie, orson bean, otto preminger, rankin/bass, review, richard boone, the hobbit, the lord of the rings, tolkien

Happy Hobbit-days reach their thrilling conclusion with a classic (...ish) Rankin/Bass holiday special - 1977's The Hobbit! Ben, Greg, and Robbie talk about the songs, insanely stacked cast, and occasionally bizarre voice acting of this hand-drawn take on the classic Tolkien tale.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

December 19th, 2022  |  1 hr 43 mins

andy serkis, ben holt, bernard hill, cate blanchett, christopher lee, dominic monaghan, elijah wood, fantasy, film, ian mckellen, john noble, karl urban, late to the movies, liv tyler, movie, orlando bloom, peter jackson, review, sean astin, the lord of the rings, the two towers, tolkien, viggo mortensen

The Journey Ends, though Happy Hobbit-days continue as we discuss the final movie of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy - The Return of the King. Ben, Cory, Greg, and Robbie make a final stand against one of three movies to ever win 11 Academy Awards and the only fantasy film to win Best Picture.

Directed by Peter Jackson, based on the novel by J. R. R. Tolkien, and featuring Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Bernard Hill, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Miranda Otto, David Wenham, Karl Urban, John Noble, Live Tyler, and Andy Serkis.

Next week - The Hobbit (1977).

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

December 12th, 2022  |  1 hr 40 mins

andy serkis, ben holt, bernard hill, cate blanchett, christopher lee, dominic monaghan, elijah wood, fantasy, film, ian mckellen, karl urban, late to the movies, liv tyler, movie, orlando bloom, peter jackson, review, sean astin, the lord of the rings, the two towers, tolkien, viggo mortensen

Happy Hobbit-days continue as Late to the Movies scales The Two Towers! Ben, Greg, and Robbie discuss the epic middle chapter of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Directed by Peter Jackson and featuring Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, John Rhys-Davies, Bernard Hill, Christopher Lee, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Karl Urban, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett, and Andy Serkis.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

December 5th, 2022  |  1 hr 45 mins

andy serkis, ben holt, cate blanchett, christopher lee, dominic monaghan, elijah wood, fantasy, film, ian mckellen, late to the movies, liv tyler, movie, orlando bloom, peter jackson, review, sean astin, sean bean, the fellowship of the ring, the lord of the rings, tolkien, viggo mortensen

Happy Hobbit-Days! This holiday season, Late to the Movies takes a long walk to Middle-earth to cover Peter Jackson's seminal Lord of the Rings trilogy. Up first - Ben, Cory, Greg, and Robbie offer their swords, bows, and axes to The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).

Directed by Peter Jackson, based on the novel by J. R. R. Tolkien. Featuring Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Sean Bean, Ian Holm, and Andy Serkis.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

November 28th, 2022  |  53 mins 57 secs

animated movies, animation, ben holt, bill murray, cartoons, fantastic mr. fox, film, george clooney, jason schwartzman, late to the movies, meryl streep, movie, noah baumbach, owen wilson, review, roald dahl, stop motion, wes anderson, willem dafoe

Animation Month ends on Late to the Movies with Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox! Ben, Anthony, and Kay dig in to all the anthropomorphized antics of this 2009 stop motion Roald Dahl adaptation.

Directed by Wes Anderson, screenplay by Anderson and Noah Baumbach, and starring George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, and Owen Wilson.

Akira

November 21st, 2022  |  51 mins 23 secs

akira, animated movies, animation, anime, ben holt, cartoons, cyberpunk, film, japanese animation, katsuhiro otomo, late to the movies, movie, review

Animation Month continues on Late to the Movies with the ultra-influential Akira! Ben, Cory, and Noah discuss the jackets, psychic babies, and cyberpunk dystopia of this 1988 animated classic. Directed by Katsuhiro Otomo.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

November 14th, 2022  |  1 hr 15 mins

animated movies, animation, ben holt, bob persichetti, brian tyree henry, cartoons, christopher miller, film, hailee steinfeld, into the spider-verse, into the spiderverse, jake johnson, john mulaney, kimiko glenn, late to the movies, liev schreiber, lily tomlin, luna lauren vélez, mahershala ali, movie, nicolas cage, peter ramsey, phil lord, review, rodney rothman, shameik moore, spider man, spider-man, spiderman

Animation Month keeps swingin' on Late to the Movies with 2018's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse! Ben, Greg, Ray, Robbie, and Will discuss the groundbreaking, eye-popping, poignant instant superhero classic, produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.

Directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman, and starring Shameik Moore with the voices of Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, Luna Lauren Vélez, John Mulaney, Kimiko Glenn, Nicolas Cage, and Liev Schreiber.

The Iron Giant

November 7th, 2022  |  1 hr 17 mins

animated movies, animation, ben holt, brad bird, cartoons, christopher mcdonald, film, harry connick jr., jennifer aniston, late to the movies, movie, review, the iron giant, vin diesel, warner brothers

It's a new month and that means a new theme on Late to the Movies: November is Animation Month! Ben, Bree, and Sam kick it off with a discussion of Brad Bird's 1999 classic, The Iron Giant.

Directed by Brad Bird and starring the voices of Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick Jr., Vin Diesel, and Christopher McDonald.