For our "Two Shot" episode featuring New York City movies, Emilio, Julian and Madeline welcome on Mariquita Reese, fellow cinephile and cohost of Post Film Clarity, to talk two recent NYC based films about late night desperation that sends characters racing around the boroughs - the Safdie Brothers' 'Good Time' from 2017 and Sean Baker's 'Anora' from 2024, the current Best Picture winner. The group discusses the depths of Connie's ineptitude and audacity, the ugly truths that the Safdies wanted to keep in the film, the shifting nature of power in both these films, compelling casting choices, why these bummer endings are actually pretty good, Mikey Madison's mastery of insulting with a Brooklyn accent, the going rate these days for a farm in Virginia, how DVD commentaries can redeem a bad movie, why Dick York is the superior Darrin, and much, much more!

Follow Mariquita on IG, Tik Tok and Letterboxd at keeta_babe - and check out Post Film Clarity, her podcast with cohost Lindsey Strickland, at postfilmclaritypod

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For a bonus episode this week, Emilio goes solo for a (mostly) spoiler free talk about a film he really loves, Ang Lee's "The Wedding Banquet". It was a successful and critically acclaimed independent film back when it was released in 1993, but has mostly stayed relevant as its esteemed director's international breakthrough. Yet it's a timeless film full of humor, compassion, and reflections on what we sacrifice of ourselves due to societal forces and the expectations of our families. Its enduring place in cinema history is evidenced by it being reimagined by writer/director Andrew Ahn - this remake can currently be seen in theaters nationwide. Emilio gets into what he enjoys so much about the original, shares his thoughts on the remake and how it is distinct from the original, and speaks with Professor Zhen Zhang, an NYU film professor who shared this film with him in an undergraduate seminar, about Ang Lee's original film.

Professor Zhen Zhang is a film professor at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and the Director of the Tisch's Asian Film and Media Initiative. She has a decades long, decorated career in academia that also includes guest-curating film programs for the Film Society at Lincoln Center of Performing Arts, Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Women Make Waves Film Festival in Taipei.

If you enjoy our podcast, please rate and review us on your podcast platform of choice. This really helps us find new listeners and grow!

Follow us on IG and TikTok: @sleeplesscinematicpod

Send us an email at sleeplesscinematicpod@gmail.com

On Letterboxd? Follow Julian at julian_barthold and Madeline at patronessofcats

Madeline, Julian, and Emilio continue their cycle of New York City movies with a "Suggestion Box" entry covering "Problemista," the film debut of director, writer, and actor Julio Torres, known previously for his writing on Saturday Night Live, HBO special "My Favorite Shapes," and co-creating and starring in the supernatural comedy "Los Espookys." Like other films the group have discussed in this cycle, "Problemista" depicts a recent immigrant's struggle to get by in New York City, but through a distinctly contemporary lens that stands out for its surrealism and vivacious humor. In discussing Alejandro "Ale" Martinez's journey towards steady employment and a work visa, the group look in depth at the magical realism throughout (with emphasis on "Craigslist" and "Bureaucratic Limbo"), how people with power use or abuse their privilege, and the enigma that is Elizabeth, Alejandro's erratic presumed employer played by a tour-de-force Tilda Swinton. And perhaps they'll match some databases in FileMakerPro in the process...

If you enjoy our podcast, please rate and review us on your podcast platform of choice. This really helps us find new listeners and grow!

Follow us on IG and TikTok: @sleeplesscinematicpod

Send us an email at sleeplesscinematicpod@gmail.com

On Letterboxd? Follow Julian at julian_barthold and Madeline at patronessofcats