In the Mood for Podcast: Episode 34

EPISODE 34: The Wowface Concept

[1:24:38]

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It's Episode 34 of In the Mood for Podcast, a British-based film podcast hosted by Calum Reed of Ultimate Addict and Pete Sheppard of In the Mood for Blog. This week we get heavy with reviews of Oscar-nominated political dramas "Lincoln" and "Zero Dark Thirty," as well as getting into the controversy surrounding the latter. (It's at this point that Cal would like to point out that he is a left-wing pacifist, despite how it might sound on the audio.) We tackle the education system with a discussion of "Won't Back Down" before Pete takes on derided comedy "Movie 43" and Cal opts for Arnie in "The Last Stand." We're also analysing the Oscar races after the Screen Actors' Guild Awards, and previewing next week's top ten lists. Listen out for whose performance Pete thinks is "nothing wowface," kinder words than are offered to Jennifer Lawrence.

Discussed on the podcast: 

Opening Segment: Analysing the impact of the Screen Actors' Guild awards on the Oscar races. [2:40 - 18:30]


*Preconception Corner*

Reviews of: 

• "Lincoln" [audio lost at 34:40 but returns at 35:44]
• "Won't Back Down"
• "Movie 43"
• "The Last Stand"

[23:40 - 1:00:05]

Closing Segment: Discussing Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty" and digging into the controversy surrounding its depiction of torture  [1:00:10 - 1:17:25]

*Shag, Marry or Kill?*
*The Watson Factor*
*The Poupaud Range*

Intro Music: New theme music!
Outro Music: Blondie, "Hanging on the Telephone"

Won't Back Down (2012)

Wont Back Down

Directed by Daniel Barnz

Starring: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Oscar Isaac, Dante Brown, Holly Hunter, Rosie Perez, Marianne Jean-Baptiste

Grade: C+

As you may have heard, this story about a school upheaval in inner-city Pittsburgh caused a bit of a stir over in the states. Many responses to “Won’t Back Down” have cited the film’s source of funding (a right-wing billionaire) as a cynical outlet for anti-unionist propaganda (in order to revitalise the school the staff must cut up their union cards), but as is so often iterated in the film, isn’t the education system foremost about the kids? The film’s real – and rather major – shortcomings come from its familiar underdog-success-story formulae – most notably the notion that everyone resistant to change is an ogre or hag with no respect for ethics. Those characters who are enlightened upon get treated a little better, the relationship between the two mothers cannily alluding to the different strengths of each women despite being separated by academia. It finally lost me when a dramatic incident of backstory involving Davis’s character amped the level of manipulation up considerably, but I’m still inclined to defend “Won’t Back Down” for offering interesting personalities and conflicts to counter its run-of-the-mill narrative arc.