Trylove

Featuring special guests Ben Hanson and John Carson! Directed by Danny Boyle (TRAINSPOTTING, 28 DAYS LATER) and written by Alex Garland (EX MACHINA, ANNIHILATION), SUNSHINE is a fun little space thing with dreams of being the next big postmodern space opera. What it ends up being is more of a bizarre tonal roller coaster (hitting all the notes from courtroom drama to odyssey thriller to gross-out slasher) that forces its characters to accept one universal truth: you can't escape the sun. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters.

Strap in for a second STORY about POLICE! The follow-up to Jackie Chan's blockbuster POLICE STORY (1985) doubles down on the stunts, explosions, and smarm of the original and adds more plot than is strictly necessary (about 25 minutes' worth). Despite that, and some reprehensible treatment of a deaf/mute villain, it's still a fun moment-to-moment movie that juggles violence and comedy with an appreciable subplot that moves Chan Ka-kui and May's relationship forward (a sweet thing which none of us really expected it to do). "英雄故事" / "Hero Story" instrumental presumed property of Golden Way Films Ltd. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/half-assed imitations of John Waters's "No Smoking" PSA by Jason and Cody.

CW: some discussions of violence towards women (as played for comedy). Whatever else Jackie Chan is (poet, philosopher, philanderer, tax evader, bigot, tool of the state), he's a man who understands that the best part of martial arts is its humor. Like the best of Chan's work, POLICE STORY is a creative, reactionary, and funny celebration of the beauty of expressive motion. It also has a minute-long scene of Jackie Chan stepping in shit and moonwalking it off his shoes. So yeah. Perfect film. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters.

Featuring special guest and THE FIFTH ELEMENT stan Seth Zarate! What does THE FIFTH ELEMENT add to the sci-fi canon? It's certainly not the first action/comedy/sci-fi hybrid. It's also a slurry of politically unfocused mishmash that seems altogether uninterested in exploring the endpoints of those elements. If it's special, it's because of the world built around it – one that features gender-fluid talk show hosts, Middle Eastern breakbeat radio hits, whole bodies 3D printed from a single cell, and a whole lot of other ideas brought vividly to life by the teams of visual effects artist Mark Stetson and costumer Jean-Paul Gaulthier. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters.

Forget what you heard about FARGO (1996): BARTON FINK is actually the Coens' most autobiographical movie. Telling the bizarre odyssey of self-righteous playwright-turned-Hollywood screenwriter Barton Fink, the film was scripted during a bout of writer's block while making MILLER'S CROSSING (1990) – and counting the rings of this script, that adds up. It indicts Barton himself (no small feat in a movie where John Goodman does what he does in this one) by questioning any writer's ability, intent, and responsibility to write for "the common man". This episode is the sixth and final in our short series on a selection of Coen Brothers films screened at the Trylon Cinema in 2019. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters.

The Coen Brothers' 2009 existential dramedy A SERIOUS MAN trades on their Jewish upbringing to paint a larger picture about the voices that take over amid the inescapable silence of organized religion. As Harry says, it's a movie about "paying more attention to the people in your life." With eternal suffering the only constant in human existence, inaction is a recurring motif – the line, "I didn't do anything!" is meant in a different way each time it's spoken – as an increasingly untenable excuse in the woebegone life of St. Louis Park physics professor and cuckolded family man Larry Gopnik. This episode is the fifth in a short series on a selection of Coen Brothers films screened at the Trylon Cinema in 2019. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters.

Featuring special guest Eric Leith! In Tom Reagan's gritty gangster world, caring is a quick way to get yourself shot. It's too bad, then, that he cares very much about Leo O'Bannon, his Irish mob boss, and Verna Bernbaum, the woman they both think they love. When Verna's brother runs afoul of the rival Italian mafia, Tom is forced to reconcile the charge of his position, his loyalty to Leo, and the pain in his heart. "What heart?" This episode is the fourth in a short series on a selection of Coen Brothers films screened at the Trylon Cinema in 2019. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters.

CW: Discussions of suicide as plot. Listening advisement: Harry's track ended up sounding bad. Sorry. While watching THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE, it's easy to see why it's one of the Coen Brothers' relatively overlooked films: nested between box office smashes O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? (2000) and INTOLERABLE CRUELTY (2003), it failed to break even on its modest budget and has become a cult classic in a filmography full of cult classics. From its period setting to its black-and-white presentation to its Camus-like reckoning with the absurd, it also sometimes feels like it purposefully evades scrutiny. That didn't stop us! This episode is the second in a short series on a selection of Coen Brothers films screened at the Trylon Cinema in 2019. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast!

Featuring special guest and honorary Minnesotan Emily Csuy! FARGO is probably a non-Minnesotan's first impression of Minnesotans, but how essentially Minnesotan is it? Why is it set here, and what does that choice reveal about the Coen Brothers' attitude toward their home state? How often does a Minnesotan actually say "you betcha"? Is FARGO secretly a case study for the Second Noble Truth of Buddhism? Now, you know, none of us are scholars of Eastern religion, but all of us live in Minnesota, so we thought we'd give these questions a try anyhow. Real good, then. This episode is the first in a short series on a selection of Coen Brothers films screened at the Trylon Cinema in 2019. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters.

Featuring Nabil Azzouzi! Just to put it out front: THE PLEASURE GARDEN isn't a mystery, thriller, or horror film. It has its moments (it's even funny sometimes, which is awe-inspiring for a 90-year-old movie to pull off), but being Alfred Hitchcock's first feature, it's most interesting to watch in the context of his filmography. It's got the corrupting influence of power; it's got love and lust; it's got men (even the "good" ones) being really terrible people. In that way, it's kind of a proto-proto-Hitchcock movie – like seeing the outline of a movie he would've scrapped later in his career. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters.

In a special, spoilery, distinctly non-Trylony episode, we're proud to host Nick Ransbottom (@TheEzioKenway) to talk about Rob Letterman's loose adaptation of the 2016 video game of the same name. We – four video game-literate men in the same general demographic – all liked it a lot. Go figure! And then go see it! It probably would've been enough to make POKÉMON: DETECTIVE PIKACHU a facsimile of the game from which it takes its title or any in its namesake series. Fan service would've gotten millions of butts in millions of seats. But the movie is far more than fan service. It's a heartfelt realization of the world of Pokémon, and just a really well-rounded film, that succeeds by finding natural ways to include the mega-popular creatures in the story rather than by relying on them as its focus. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters.

Content warning: This film contains depictions of attempted sexual assault and plenty of "period-specific" racism. Heavy on the air quotes. For all his cowboy pageantry and vague machismo, John McCabe is just a sad, insecure man (and not the kind who's rewarded for it, either). In Robert Altman's "anti-Western" MCCABE & MRS. MILLER, he's a wingless frog who keeps bumping his ass, flailing to escape the gravity of society, capitalism, and emotional vulnerability he's evaded his whole life. He's foiled by the incredibly competent Constance Miller, who deals with the same pressures like a well-adjusted adult: through companionship, self-expression, determination, and drug use. In this episode, we pore over the film's depiction of place, violence, performance, and what the hell it means to be an "anti-Western." Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters.

Inside CLUELESS (1995)'s comedic portrayal of stereotypically vapid California Beverly Hills high schoolers' lives, there might be a genuine message of self-actualization through social performance. Does it earn that appraisal? Does it matter? As guest Charlie Mackin says, "If you're becoming a better person just because you want to become a better person, that's an okay motivation to do things." Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters.

Featuring Nick Grossman! Throughout our little series on Akira Kurosawa's most popular works, we keep setting up each movie as the progenitor of modern genre pieces (STRAY DOG for police procedurals, YOJIMBO for highfalutin' Westerns, etc.). Even so, SEVEN SAMURAI is the genesis of most character-led ensemble movies – period – and has itself been remade countless times. It uses several samurai (born and adoptive) to criticize the institution of samurai, refocusing its message on the common people of Sengoku-era Japan. Remember what we said about THE HIDDEN FORTRESS? Like that, but better in many ways, including the literal number of samurai. Thanks. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters.

A straight-laced detective quickly frays when his gun is stolen on the bus home, leading him on a slow chase across Tokyo during a heatwave – and leading modern cinema to the genesis of police procedurals. Akira Kurosawa's STRAY DOG is noir with a heart, pulp with a conscience, and drama scarred with the impact of World War II on three generations of Japanese society. In this episode, we argue that STRAY DOG could be Kurosawa at his best, leanest, and most sincere. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters.

Comparisons to STAR WARS aren't necessarily a bad way to look at THE HIDDEN FORTRESS (1958), but they won't add much to your viewing experience. Yes, Akira Kurosawa's feudal epic (featuring Toshiro Mifune as General Rokurota Makabe and Misa Uehara as Princess Yuki) lives in a cleverly-built world of deposed princesses and disgraced swordsmen, but it's also a picaresque grounded in people of the lower class – a hallmark of the best Kurosawa. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters.

The closeness of Toshiro Mifune and Akira Kurosawa's relationship – a closeness that would be their undoing – is well-exemplified in RED BEARD. Their final collaboration for a number of reasons (personal and financial clashes are both rumored), the movie isn't typical Kurosawa, either. The director said as much at the time, admitting that the movie represented a turning point toward the conservative for his production process. The result is a somewhat more ponderous movie with maybe a little bit less to say than his preceding epics. Don't worry, though – even as a teddy bear, Mifune still gets to kick a lot of ass. Audio excerpt from RED BEARD © 1965 Toho Co., Ltd. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters.

(You can skip to about 10 minutes in if you want to hear about the movie. It’s all sexy ASMR and shop talk until then.) SANJURO (1962), sequel to the groundbreaking YOJIMBO (1961), is not so groundbreaking. It’s where you start to get a sense for the commercial viability of Toshiro Mifune’s inimitable character (he’d go on to appear in ZATOICHI MEETS YOJIMBO in 1970, pairing him up with the blind swordsman for the most ambitious crossover event of all time). Despite being specifically named after the character this time, SANJURO feels somewhat less true to the spirit of YOJIMBO. That’s maybe not surprising given that it’s an adaptation of a completely separate novel into which the character of Sanjuro was written to capitalize on the commercial success of YOJIMBO. Trivia! Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters.

Longtime Akira Kurosawa muse Toshiro Mifune’s grumpy ronin with a heart of gold in YOJIMBO (1961) codified the “man with no name” archetype on which Western movies survived for decades (including Sergio Leone's unlicensed 1964 remake A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS). The movie's synopsis – a town stuck in a bloody spat between two profiteering families is forced to reconcile when a mercenary swordsman blows into town – makes the movie sound significantly darker than it actually is, a fact highlighted by the humor that runs through its writing, editing, cinematography, direction, and acting. It’s an absolutely essential movie for understanding both Western and samurai cinema and a hoot to boot. Also, the soundtrack slaps. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters.

Featuring Emily Csuy, Aaron Grossman, and Cody Narveson! Martha Coolidge's second directorial credit, VALLEY GIRL, can be a frustrating movie to love. Steeped in (plausibly self-aware) '80s aesthetics and some adorably goofy lingo (see "trippendicular"), it also has something to say about the cultural challenges of just relating to another person – and how we sometimes create those challenges for ourselves. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters.