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Alternate Ending

Alternate Ending was formed when three friends realized that they all shared a passion for movies. Tim had been reviewing films at his old blog Antagony & Ecstasy for over a decade, and Rob & Carrie had found great success with their year-old podcast, when they all decided to combine forces to create a new site, dedicated to their desire to watch and discuss the best (and worst) that cinema has to offer. The result is the website you see before you. What makes Alternate Ending different from all the other film sites on the internet? Well, we humbly suggest that it's the three of us: very different people with very different thoughts about the movie. Too many film sites cater to the same kind of audience, with one overwhelming voice in the writing, but what we treasure at Alternate Ending is diversity: diversity of opinion, diversity in belief about what film should do and how it should do it. We want to celebrate our different opinions, and celebrate yours as well. This isn't a site for people who just want to talk about the latest hot new movies in theaters right this minute. This is a site for people who can't get to the theater until the third week a film is out; a site for people who just want to find something great to stream online after the kids have gone to sleep, a site for people whose favorite pastime is to grab a bunch of classic films on DVD from the library and watch them all weekend. It's a site that believes that every great movie is a wonderful new treasure, whether you see it the night of its premiere or fifty years later. It's a site about discovering good movies, one bad movie at a time.
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Now displaying: Page 8
Mar 12, 2021

I love my kids.  Though, between you and me, I also really loved my life before kids too.  I've definitely sunken into all of the parenting cliches of glueing finger paintings all over my house, seeing my friends almost never and saying things like "because I said so" a million times a day.  The thing is, I swear used to be fun.  I never missed a party (like never ever, actually, I probably should have skipped a few). I traveled, hiked, biked, spiked... I was in a band for Godsakes!  But having kids is like a constant battle, waged on your sense of self, and they usually win.  I said I love my kids, right?

The thing about Yes Day...

I don't think it's a film for everybody.  In fact, I know Tim is going to want to claw his ear drums out.  But the thing about Yes Day is that I feel seen. Miguel Arteta and the writing team know me.  They know that I used to be fun.  They know that I thought I was going to be the "fun parent." They know I can't be because my husband is made of unset pudding and can't bear to tell the kids "no".  They know that I'm the one that understands the importance of not wasting food.  They know that I'm doing the right thing when I don't help them clean up all of their messes.  They know that most of the time I feel like a terrible Mom, because trying to raise good humans sometimes means "saying no." **Deep inhales**

Yes Day family

Talking with Miguel Arteta

I know I say this all the time, but gosh, what a nice guy. Miguel Arteta is a Puerto Rican director known for his independent film Chuck & Buck , The Good Girl and Like a Boss. It seems like directors are always so relieved when we love their movies.  There was an audible weight lifted as we shared that our whole family gave Yes Day a big thumbs up.  It's been hard for us to find family films that all of four of us connect with, so lately we've defaulted to some of the classics (DON'T re-watch The Mighty Ducks, DO re-watch Jumanji).

Miguel Arteta

We hope you enjoy hearing more about Yes Day, from Miguel Arteta.

Yes Day is available on streaming March 12, 2021!

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Tim LetterboxdRob LetterboxdCarrie Letterboxd

Mar 9, 2021

Real talk.  The most common question I get from friends about Alternate Ending is, "how do you juggle it all, on top of jobs and kids and the rest of your life?" The motivational speech answer is, we juggle and take on too much, until one of us feels like we're on the verge of a panic attack and then the other person rises to the occasion, if the other breaks.  Feel free to write that down in your wellness journal.  On this particular occasion, Rob was on day 5 of the same pair of sweatpants and his face was twitching.  And that, is the story of how I ended up going-it-alone on a press interview for Language Lessons with Mark Duplass and Natalie Morales.

So many questions about making Language Lessons

Without having participated in a press junket, I over-planned and prepped a million questions, because what if nobody else remembered to join? Or what if there were only two of us and the other interviewer underprepared and I had to carry the conversation? OR what if Mark Duplass and Natalie Morales realized at the exact same moment that we were destined to be best friends and we ended up talking for hours?   As it turns out, real press don't forget about their interviews with movie stars or get confused with time zones and they come prepared with really great questions that make me question everything about my originality.

Language Lessons with Mark Duplass and Natalie Morales

Why You'll Love Mark Duplass and Natalie Morales

Few movies focus on true platonic friendship.  There always seems to be an underlying romantic intent, but in the case of Language Lessons it's ends up being so much more about how our need for human connection and how our empathy drives us forward.  I should mention the the film is almost entirely captured on ZOOM, but the screens that separate them do not detract from the characters chemistry.  The film's premise is that Adam (Mark Duplass) has been gifted Spanish lessons from his partner Will (Desean Terry) with a young Cuban woman Cariño (Natalie Morales).  The film takes such unexpected gut-punching turns that make "another ZOOM" movie uniquely fresh.

Read the full Language Lessons review here from Brennan Klein

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Tim LetterboxdRob LetterboxdCarrie Letterboxd

Mar 8, 2021

Our next podcast topic comes courtesy of Patreon subscriber Andrew, who had a simple request: watch and discuss two of the richest, most exhausting costume dramas ever filmed. It's a Spoiler Alert this time around, as we dive deep into the late epics by the legendary Japanese director Kurosawa Akira: the 1980 Palme d'Or winner Kagemusha, and the monumental King Lear adaptation Ran, from 1985. That's almost six hours of the most sumptuous pageantry Japanese cinema (or world cinema, for that matter) has to offer, and six hours of the most morally complicated anti-war fury as well. It's no small task to undertake both of these movies in one go, but we're up for the challenge!

In Worth Mentioning we're cover Tom & Jerry, Coming 2 America, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, Raya and the Last Dragon, Language Lessons and Yes Day.

Mar 6, 2021

At the Ready premiered at Sundance 2021 and I was super excited about it.  It appeared on my most anticipated films of Sundance list, in fact.  The headline reads "a group of seniors train to become border control agents at El Paso's Horizon High School, near the US/Mexico border." I surmised that the film would feature stupid kids that don't have a big-picture view on humanity. Then, over the course of At the Ready I was going to feel all warm and fuzzy as these kids are given an education on empathy and how we treat other humans.  Well, I was wrong.  The the small-minded view on humanity, instead fell on me.

A bit about At the Ready

At the Ready is a documentary that aims to show the world "in the gray".  Immigration is such a polarizing topic and the last several years have pushed us into very tightly woven perspectives.  At the Ready focuses on El Paso, Texas because its demographic is predominantly hispanic, so the officers who police the border are largely of Mexican descent.  At the Ready focuses on the lives of a handful of students that are a part of this "border control" training program so that we can better understand the perspectives of why in the world this job would be appealing.  I'll offer a bit about the gray parts (but I encourage you to see At the Ready for yourself). Not to mince words, these jobs are very well-paid and offer solid benefits.  Beyond that, in El Paso, border agents are seen as jobs that actually are a service to not only the US, but also to families coming to the border.  In fact, the perspective is as a border agent you are helping to guide and provide needed services.  The job is respected and valued in the community. Admittedly, with my 2000 mile away view from Madison, WI, I just always pictured a bunch of dudes with buzz cuts, that got picked on in high school and decided they wanted to exert control over people in need.  But see, there's that small-minded view.

At the Ready Documentary

Sitting down with Maisie Crow

I told Crow right out of the gate that I see the world in black and white.  Then she told me she sees the world in the gray (which is the accurate way to see the world, btw).  So what I'm saying is, the interview went well.  Crow shared how her background in reporting enables her to share the origins of perspectives she may not sure.  I asked her if it's difficult to not feel the frustration of documenting the adults and educators who express ideologies incongruous to her own.  She said no, it's not hard. Because she's a documentarian and not an emotionally-charged psychopath like me.  Well, she didn't say that last part, but she thought it for sure.

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Tim LetterboxdRob LetterboxdCarrie Letterboxd

Mar 1, 2021

Welcome to the inaugural episode of Take 2, a sideshow hosted by AE contributor Brennan Klein, where every other week we will dive deep into a movie mentioned on the previous episode.

As a followup to the Top 5 Love Scenes episode, Brennan is sitting down with Carrie to discuss a movie she had never seen before: 2005’s BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN!

Join us as we discuss our differing opinions on who is the more frustrating partner, Carrie goes to great lengths to make sure she can see every detail of the tent scene, and Brennan teaches her about a LOT of gay sex stuff!

Feb 27, 2021

Wild Indian made it's debut at Sundance 2021

Wild Indian stars Makwa (Michael Greyeyes), a young Anishinaabe boy, is dealing with two pretty terrible parents..  He's abused, he's neglected and all of the trauma pours over into his mental health.  He and his only friend, Ted-O, like to escape by playing in the woods, until the day Makwa murders a schoolmate.  It's a shocking and unexpected moment that leaves you considering whether to blame nature or nurture.  After covering up the crime, the two boys go on to live verydifferent lives. Now, as adult men, we see these two different paths converge and the outcome is once again, unsettling.  Makwa has become professionally powerful but has not shed the ghosts from his past.  Makwa is juggling the married man life with his wife (Kate Bosworth), his executive life where we meet his eager employee (Jesse Eisenberg) and his sociopathic/creeper life.  Talk about a lot going on.

Wild Indian Movie

A bit about composer Gavin Brivik

It was a pleasure to sit down with the mind behind the film score of Wild Indian Gavin Brivik.  The candid conversation flowed easily and could have probably continued for a few more hours.  Brivik is a composer best known for his work on the Netflix original series Living Undocumented (2019), the 90th Academy Award Nominated film My Nephew Emmett(2018) and the Blumhouse/Netflix Original film Cam (2018).

We talk about breaking into the industry, hitching your cart the "right horse" and how sometimes you have to place bets on yourself and a film to get your foot in the door into Hollywood.  Albeit for many of these up-and-coming score designers, the cart has no wheels and the the bets are free.

Wild Indian hasn't been picked up for release yet, but in the meantime, enjoy Gavin Brivik's work!

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Tim LetterboxdRob LetterboxdCarrie Letterboxd

Feb 22, 2021

Valentine's Day is just behind us, but we're still feeling a little swoony and amorous. That's why our next episode is going to be dedicated to those movie moments that make us feel all tingly and gushy inside, with our picks for the top 5 love scenes in movie history. Maybe they're as sweet as a first kiss on a spring day; maybe they're as hot and steamy as the lead-up to a round of athletic screwing; maybe they involve very prim Brits in seventeen layers of clothing finding the moral strength to refer to each other by first names. Whatever the case, if it made us feel that pang of romantic longing, you can expect to see it on our lists.

In Worth Mentioning we cover Little Fish, The Mauritanian and Rams.

Feb 15, 2021

You've probably never heard of Little Fish and that's a real problem.  It's like when you hear some 14 year old, who is also an Inta-Snap-Tic-Tac-Toe influencer, makes bazillions of dollars singing auto-tuned rhymes, while the actual musical geniuses are eating ramen and playing at dive bars in Chicago.

I'll get this out of the way first, the "will love prevail in the face of imminent disaster?" trope has my name all over it

It worked for me in Eternal Sunshine, and Perfect Sense and it worked for me big time in Little Fish.  It probably helps to add that our love story begins with Olivia Cooke and Jack O'Connell, whose chemistry will ignite your own memories of those first intense months of a relationship, destined for more than smooches (if you know what I'm sayin').   As we all come to find, relationships can be hard.  They're made even more difficult when a global virus is spreading quickly and robs you of your memories.  I'll just leave the plot there, because Little Fish ends up being so much more about the experience of the film than anything else.

Olivia Cooke and Jack O'Connell in Little Fish

Mattson Tomlin based Little Fish on a short story by Aja Gabel and is brought to life by the creative mind of Chad Hartigan.  We had a chance to sit down with Hartigan and talk about how he was able to capture the intensity of their fear, grief and love, simultaneously making us feel a bit like we were either dreaming or on drugs.  We really enjoyed our time with Hartigan and we hope you will too!

Olivia Cooke in Little Fish

Watch Little Fish with your partner who doesn't like to watch movies with you

Just some unsolicited relationship advice, that's all.  There's something in it for you, there's something in it for them and for any couple that has defied the dire current relationship statistics, compromise is almost always the answer.

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Tim LetterboxdRob LetterboxdCarrie Letterboxd

Feb 15, 2021

I'll put my hand on the bible right now and tell you right now that Mother Schmuckers will be the weirdest movie you'll see all year.  Weirder than The Holy Mountain. Well, maybe equally weird but in such different ways.  There's fecal consumption and bestiality and plenty of unshaven-body nudity.  What am I even saying, it's exactly The Holy Mountain.

I'm going to plagiarize the Sundance's synopsis of Mother Schmuckersbecause frankly, I have no idea what I saw

Two low-down, rotten brothers named Issachar and Zabulon are starving and can’t seem to scrounge up a meal anywhere. Things only get worse when they lose the beloved dog belonging to their mom, Cashmere, who kicks them out of the family apartment until they return her nippy little January Jack. Things are going to get uncomfortably bizarre with these two dopes on the run in the ruthless urban jungle of Brussels.

mother schmuckers

Filthy and yet oh-so-charming, the Belgian filmmaking duo of Harpo and Lenny Guit (who will likely never be confused with the other Belgian directing duo, the Dardenne brothers) are quite the Midnight discovery. Their madcap adventure goes gross Three Stooges. It’s sparkling with energy, lo-fi visual trickery, and the ingenuity to make every creative decision equal parts surprising and ridiculous. Mother Schmuckers is sure to offend some—hell, that’s the point—but it is destined to find cult comedy status.

Contains graphic depictions of animal abuse, sexual violence, and other subject matter that could be offensive to some viewers. Not suitable for audiences under 18.

Not suitable for audiences under 38, actually

Mother Schmuckers was all a bit overwhelming for my sensibilities.  Its gross gags build on each other, each time becoming more shocking. To be clear, it started with pan-fried poop.  What's even more shocking is that somewhere in its 70 min runtime, a bit of charm emerges.  If you put your brain on pause and forget the horrifying nature of what you're watching, you see two very wildly imaginative young directors who are having so much fun.  They are trying to shock you and to make you uncomfortable.  They hope that you're questioning whether you should turn it off, but end up watching until the end. For these things, Mother Schmuckers is a huge success.

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Tim LetterboxdRob LetterboxdCarrie Letterboxd

Feb 15, 2021

In the chaos of Sundance we had about 10 minutes to spare.  Luckily Raspberry was just 7 breezy minutes between me and snagging some lunch. At minute 1 my eyes were quickly pooling with water, by minute 2 I had tears streaming down my face, by minute 3 I was laughing, at minute 4 I was laughing through sobs, coming in at minute 5 I was audibly crying and sucking back nose drool, rolling on to minute 6 I was in shock and by the final minute I had a tension headache.

Raspberry is a film you have to experience for yourself

There is basically one plot point that is a spoiler, so don't worry, I'll steer clear.  A family is grieving the timely loss of their father and husband.  With almost no dialogue, we have a sense of the family dynamics and each child's relationship with their Dad.  What's more, we understand their fears and insecurities and how they are respectively dealing with their personal tragedy.  The experience of Raspberry is deeply personal and offers its viewer a glimpse into the sometimes awkward situations we can't avoid.

Raymond Lee in Raspberry

While it was mostly ugly crying for me, there is some levity brought by Raymond Lee.  It's little things like movements and ever-so slightly jarring sounds, that make you giggle.

Julian Doan played my heart like a mandolin

In our interview with writer/director Julian Doan, he basically explains to us that every single emotional beat was planned.  Every noise, every gesture was expertly created to sear my heart. Like I said, Raspberry feels born of personal experience and because of that, Doan sharing the film being a way to process his final moments with his own father was slightly less of a gut punch.  I mean, it was still like when you catch your pinky toe on the coffee table, but at least I felt like I saw it coming.

I know you're probably shaking your head because I know you think I'm a giant mush-ball that's an easy-sell for a movie like this, so if you don't believe me, maybe you'll believe Tim.

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Tim LetterboxdRob LetterboxdCarrie Letterboxd

Feb 12, 2021

I'm going to tag this post as #journalingforwellness and #freetherpy and hope that you don't throw rotten tomatoes at me as a traverse my feelings on Cowboys.  The last few years has forced me to grapple with some hard truths about myself.  I've spent the majority of my life thinking that I was "good" just because I don't care what you look like, who who love or how you live your life.  But that complacency has made me so terribly ignorant.

Somehow I thought I was "better" because I didn't ask questions, because being inquisitive means that you see somebody differently and because I DON'T CARE, I now have so much to learn. Ugh.

A bit about Cowboys...

The story at its core introduces us to Josie "Joe" (Sasha Knight), who is a 10 year old kid that is acutely aware he was born in the "wrong body" and identifies as a boy.  Joe gets up the courage to tell his parents that he wants to nix the dresses his Mom keeps pushing on him and live and present as a young man.  His parents' response is mixed and friction arrises between Troy (Steve Zahn) and Sally (Jillian Bell).  At this point, Troy does what all good spouses do when you disagree on parenting - he flees the state with his son, in search of Canada (because everybody is kind there, as you know).  Though, it's much more complicated than that.  While you're probably thinking "GO ZAHHHN!", he struggles with fractures in his own mental health that make running off into the wild, not the most solid parenting decision. Cowboys movie with Steve Zahn and Sasha Knight

Preparing for our interview with the cast of Cowboys...

Two interviews were ahead of us.  The first with Sasha Knight and Steve Zahn, followed by a conversation with Jillian Bell and Anna Kerrigan.  While Sasha is playing a trans character, he is also trans "in real life." It was so, so (so) important to me to non-creepily convey my admiration for his bravery to represent the trans community.  I'm still not really sure if I succeeded, but you can listen to the interview to judge me quietly.  Admittedly, while we were thinking through our questions for Knight and Zahn,  I felt overwhelmed by all of my potential missteps or any possibility that I might hurt a single feeling.   So, I phoned a friend (well, two actually).  Our good friends daughter came out as trans a couple years ago and not only are they wonderfully supportive of their daughter, they are wonderfully supportive of educating their friends.

I asked so many nit picky questions - "can I say in the trans community? because if I say that, does it imply that you're not in MY community?" Like, REALLY nit picky.  I spent so must time worrying about what I wanted to say to Knight, I ran out of time to fully think through what I wanted to say to Steve Zahn and Jillian Bell.

Did the fear meet reality...

My goodness.  Sasha Knight is the first child-actor I've interviewed and realize now that it totally triggered Mom-mode. I sort of forgot Zahn was there for a bit and zeroed in on school and how much fun he had being a part of such a big movie.  I was so impressed by the poise and polish of this young 10 year old, whose confidence is no doubt built on the foundation of his supportive parents (who were sweetly whispering in the background of the interview).  Zahn reminded us that he was a part of the movie by jumping in on a few questions too.

We also had a chance to talk to Jillian Bell and director Anna Kerrigan.  If you were wondering, Rob was able to squeeze in a joke about "running a marathon" with Bell, which received an audible eye roll (ha!).  With these two we spent more time talking about the message of movie and what they hope viewers take away.

And while I probably agree with with Brennan's review, that Cowboys is entry level LGBTQ cinema, we all have to start somewhere!

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Tim LetterboxdRob LetterboxdCarrie Letterboxd

Feb 9, 2021

Jockey didn’t make my most anticipated list of Sundance, because frankly, horse movies usually depress me.  The horse always gets injured or dies or gets injured and then dies and who amongst us really needs that kind of heartbreak right now?

Well shame on me for judging

In a surprising turn, I don’t even really remember much about a horse in Jockey.  I mean, there definitely is a horse and there is definitely horse racing but the tragedy is wrapped up in the self-destructive addiction to a profession, which he believes gives him purpose.  In so many ways it’s reminiscent of Sound of Metal, in that you’ll be tightly clenching your teeth and yelling “JUST STOP” with exasperation, for most of the film.

A bit more about Jockey from the festival program

Seasoned horse jockey Jackson (Clifton Collins Jr.) has weathered decades of races on the riding circuit, but he now finds himself facing what could be his last season as his health deteriorates. With the help of Ruth (Molly Parker) and a promising new horse, Jackson starts to prepare for the upcoming championship. His plans take a left turn when a budding young jockey (Moisés Arias) shows up and claims to be his son. Caught between yearning for a connection and uncertainty about his own future, Jackson confronts difficult questions regarding his legacy.

Jockey with Clifton Collins Jr

Shot at a live racetrack and with a keen eye for veracity, Jockey gives us an achingly personal window into a world we’ve never seen up close before, where fortunes are flipped upside down from one moment to the next and the freedom of riding comes at a grueling physical price. Collins delivers an intimately layered performance guided by director Clint Bentley, whose own experiences imbue authenticity and naturalism into this moving portrait of a sport unlike any other.

Clifton Collins Jr. undoubtedly gives an outstanding performance that earned him the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Best Actor.  Personally, I thought that Moisés Arias’ (who you might remember as the best part of Five Feet Apart) performance was really great, as well.

About the interview with the cast from Jockey

We had a link to a panel conversation following the movie, which usually are the cast on a ZOOM link with a moderator asking questions.  It was 8pm, so I jumped up to put our kiddos to bed and Rob decided to pop in to check out the conversation (from bed, in his nighty shirt).  When I came back 20 minutes later, Rob was nowhere to be found.  He did emerge finally from the basement (after I had dealt with 30 minutes of the kids demanding water and snacks and other absurd things). The story goes, that when Rob joined the ZOOM, he was one of 4 other press members and Clifton asked why “this Rob Jarosinski guy wasn’t joining on the video.” Which triggered a frantic search for a hat and a race to the basement to plug in and record.

So please enjoy this unique episode with Clifton Collins Jr., Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar!

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Tim LetterboxdRob LetterboxdCarrie Letterboxd

Feb 8, 2021

Well, Sundance is over and we're all breathing a collective sigh of exhausted relief. Over the course of 5 days, we cumulatively watched over 50 features and shorts.  While our experiences were wildly different, with Tim watching at least 7 films a day and cranking out reviews, while Rob and I averaged 3-4 films a day and stressed about prepping for interviews. 

On this episode we talk about some of the highs and lows of Sundance and our varied perspectives on the best movies.  There was certainly a wild mix of movies, from dudes with testicles flying off to 90's beastiality comedy (was that a thing?!).  To be fair, there were some really great movies too that made us feel good about humanity warmed our hearts, but I guess I don't need to keep talking about Tim's #1 pick. 

In Worth Mentioning we cover Cowboys and Earwig and the Witch.

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Feb 3, 2021

Eight for Silver made the Most Anticipated Movies of Sundance lists for both Rob AND Tim.  Despite our often differing tastes, there are still through lines that connect us.  For this film, “extreme violence and gore,” meets werewolves, was all they needed to know.

I’ll tell you my worry, for this Eight For Silver interview

For starters, Boyd Holbrook and Alistair Petrie.  These two edgy bad-guys top my list of favorites. I loved Holbrook in Logan and Petrie in Rogue One, but with my penchant for revennge and holding grudges, I wasn’t sure I wanted to meet these two.  Nevertheless, Rob reminded me that they are in fact “actors” and are probably lovely in real life and they were lovely, indeed.

Boyd Holbrook in Eight for Silver

We also had a chance to talk with the mind behind this wild horror-haunting-monster genre mash-up, Sean Ellis.  I mean, the dude clearly has incredible talent, that is obvious even if you’re not a “extreme gore” fan.  Metro Manila and Anthropoid were two of his more popular films.

Three interviews for the price of one

We met with Holbrook first and his mellow Kentuckian disposition, put us right at ease.  He was funny and casual and as you probably can guess, my favorite parts of the conversation are when we deviate from talking about movies (ha!).  So, in particular, I really in enjoyed talking about family and kids and juggling all of that, on top of a career.

Then on to Petrie, which is where things get a bit more intimidating.  English people, right? There is just a shift is presence and polish that puts my insecurities on edge.  I probably just didn't breathe for the first five minutes or so, as I tried to settle in to his sense of humor.  Of course this always-villain was incredibly gregarious and warm, gosh, why would I ever have thought differently.


The conclusion of our interview is something best caught on video.  All I'll say is that Rob's ZOOM dropped, immediately after he's caught Petrie off guard asking about his foundation Borne, which is something he is passionate about, given his personal experience with premature birth and miscarriage.  My heart skipped 17 beats, as attempted to plug in and carry the conversation without any premeditated questions.  I still haven't played it back to see the horror on my face, probably never will.

At long last, Sean Ellis.  He came to us from his closet and admitted he hadn't brushed his hair.  We commiserated, but truth be told, we don't usually brush our hair and still did for this interview.  I hadn't heard of his name before Sundance this year.  However, Ellis proactively offered that his preference is to not have his name known, so the film's success is marked by the story and its characters.

A mini snapshot of Eight For Silver, that it no way prepares you for what you're about to see

In the late nineteenth century, brutal land baron Seamus Laurent (Alistair Petrie) slaughters a Roma clan, unleashing a curse on his family and village. In the days that follow, the townspeople are plagued by nightmares, Seamus’s son Edward (Max Mackintosh) goes missing, and a boy is found murdered. The locals suspect a wild animal, but visiting pathologist John McBride (Boyd Holbrook) warns of a more sinister presence lurking in the woods.

Eight For Silver Movie with Alistair Petrie

It's pretty grim and it's definitely filled with more than one cringe-worthy jump scare, but it's also incredibly beautiful and provides an interesting commentary on some of the social issues of the time. And, if you're like Rob and Tim, it's pretty extreme and violent and gory and you'll probably love it.

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Feb 2, 2021

While the experience of the students at Lowell High School is many standard deviations from my own, its exploration is an empathy trip, nevertheless.  The college application process has become increasingly rigorous and the competition for top tier schools is tight.  The teens in Try Harder! have centered their entire high school experience around joining the “right” clubs, making the “correct” connections and constantly seeking perfection in the name of “Stanford”.  Granted, Lowell kids aren’t your average students, but their plight is shared by so many teens today.

Try Harder! reminds us how relieved we are that high school is over 

Filmmaker Debbie Lum, takes us on a eye-opening anxiety ride (I do mean that kindly) that follows 5 students with very different familial and socioeconomic backgrounds.  Beyond that, the film explores the realities of racial bias and its role in educational opportunities.  For a moment, we get a peek into these teens lives and boy, it's stressful.

Try Harder! film

Catching up with filmmaker Debbie Lum 

I had mentally prepared for Rob to unknowingly alienate me from the conversation as he and Lum exchanged “Thurston Howell” chuckles about the good-old-days of being in advanced high school programs.  To be clear, this premonition didn’t come from a place of insecurity, but rather born of Try Harder!’s connectedness to “nerd culture” in high performing schools. 

But I was wrong (you can blame that on my 23 I got on the ACT).  Lum’s intimate portrait of high school’s many intense pressures was really just the work of an experienced filmmaker.  In fact, her experience was much like mine. Sorry Rob. 

Live interview with Debbie Lum

We hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did - you can check out Try Harder! when it releases on February 12, 2021.

Catch our video interview with Debbie Lum!

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Feb 2, 2021

From sleeping amongst the wildlife to building set pieces from scratch, Robin Wright went all in on Land

Robin Wright hasn't done many interviews on her new film Land. We know, because we googled like crazy to capture a glimpse of her, in an effort to baseline our conversational expectations.  So why us, we thought?  We're not professional interviewers, by any stretch, and we're not exactly People magazine.  The truth is, our chat with Wright about her directorial debut, Land, will forever remain one of those magical mysteries that make life wild and unpredictable.

Leading up to the interview we joked a lot about how we could infuse questions about The Princess Bride and House of Cards, but all the sarcasm flew out the door 15 minutes leading up to our interview. My left arm pit was sweating like crazy, my right eye was rapidly twitching and Rob had started doing the thing he does where he talks more intensely and asks me lots of questions, which only makes my arm pit sweat more.

Then, there she was.  Gosh darnit, we thought we were prepared, but if she wasn't even more lovely than we could have ever imagined.  To tell you that all of my anxiety melted away would be mostly true, but I'm also not sure I could have told you exactly what we talked about more than 10 seconds after our conversation ended, either.

Robin Wright Land Interview

The conversation flowed easily with Wright's careful and measured responses.  We had to literally bite our lower lips to not jump in during the small gaps of silence.

Wright shares her perspective on the timeliness of Land and the urgency of its message.  She also shares candidly, "I wanted to do this movie in particular because it came to me during the time when the world and America was experiencing the random shootings that were going on, almost bi-weekly and I'm just thinking about the level of grief these poor people are experiencing and how do you get through that?"

I've gotten ahead of myself a bit, so let me tell you a bit about Land

When Edee’s (Robin Wright) life is tragically altered (it's really bad), she loses the ability to connect with the world and people she once knew. She retreats to a forest in the Rocky Mountains with a few supplies and leaves her old life behind indefinitely. The beauty of her new surroundings is undeniable yet quickly humbling as she struggles to adjust and prepare for the winter ahead. When Edee is caught on the brink of death, a local hunter (Demián Bichir) and his family miraculously save her, but she alone must find a way to live again.

Robin Wright in Land

The film has other layers too.  It's about resilience and hope and perseverance, but Land doesn't suggest that these things can or should be solved alone.  Rather, we need the help of others, with community and friendship, being at the core of our wellness.

The secret to why Land will be successful for Robin Wright 

Connection and community, indeed.  Wright was quick to elevate the work of her fellow castmates and crew.  From the team who erected the dilapidated cabin to her literal hero in the movie (Demián Bichir).  Wright reminds us that being genuine and having compassion, really matters. With a director and a cast who lives those values, it makes it a whole lot easier for us to believe it on the screen.

PS.  If you're like us and you had no idea that Robin runs a jammie company, you should definitely check out Pour Les Femmes.

Video coverage of the interview with Robin Wright!

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Jan 25, 2021

The Alternate Ending gang is going to the Sundance Film Festival! Or, anyway, the Sundance Film Festival is coming to us: due to the ongoing public health crisis, the 2021 edition of the fest is going to be conducted entirely online from January 28-February 3, meaning that we don't even have to brave the snowy mountains of Utah to get a peek at the wide world of indie films. We can do it right from the equally snow fields of Wisconsin. But at least we don't have to deal with mountains! Um...

Either way, we have a wide assortment of 72 films to pick from, and we're going to spend our next episode  getting ready for the festival by discussing some of the movies we're most excited to see, from new works by major directors to exciting debuts, from gritty documentaries to feverish genre films. Our Sundance 2021 preview will also give us a chance to compare notes on the best way to tackle a film festival in strange times like these. Check out the Sundance schedule!

In Worth Mentioning, we cover Monty Python's Life of Brian thanks to Patreon, Jack Chivers and The Father.

Rob:
5. John in the Hole
4. CODA
3. Eight For Silver
2. Land
1. Judas and the Black Messiah

Carrie:
5. Searchers
4. Passing
3. Together Together
2. At The Ready
1. CODA

Tim:
5. Eight For Silver
4. Judas and the Black Messiah
3. In The Earth
2. President
1. Prisoners of the Ghostland

Jan 18, 2021

So we've reached the end of another very normal year, full of very normal movies, and there's only one thing to do: painstakingly sort through all the many, many films available to us, to select our top ten best movies of 2020. Join us as we share notes on our many adventures with streaming, our very few (and genuinely nerve-wracking experiences with post-pandemic movie theaters, and all the time we've had to catch up on great movies from years past. Reliving the last 12 months might sound like the worst decision you could possibly make right now, but with Rob, Carrie, and Tim by your side, we promise it will be... probably still pretty horrible, but at least with dick jokes!

Rob:
10. The Climb
9. The Painter and the Thief
8. Boys State
7. Sound of Metal
6. The Invisible Man
5. The Nest
4. Let Him Go
3. Love and Monsters
2. Palm Springs
1. The Trial of the Chicago 7

Carrie:
10. Run
9. Happiest Season
8. The Trial of the Chicago 7
7. Never Rarely Sometimes Always
6. Spontaneous
5. Love and Monsters
4. My Octopus Teacher
3. Promising Young Woman
2. Sound of Metal
1. Soul

Tim:
10. Corpus Christi
9. Bacurau
8. Emma.
7. Tenet
6. City Hall
5. Zombi Child
4. The Wild Goose Lake
3. Ride Your Wave
2. First Cow
1. Wolfwalkers

Dec 14, 2020

Almost as much as Santa Claus and reindeer, you can't have a Christmas movie without some miserable SOB who starts out by humbugging their way through throngs of cheerful celebrants and has, by the end of the second hour, learned the True Meaning of Christmas, whatever it might be in this case. To help our own hearts grow two-and-a-half sizes at the end of this tough year, we're looking at our top five curmudgeons in Christmas movies, the bitter old souls who just need a dew-eyed child, or a festive song, or a kindly old man in a red hat, or a hellfire vision of their own death, to be jolted into feeling peace and goodwill for all humankind.

In Worth Mentioning we cover Wild Mountain Thyme, Bad EducationPeppermint and the recent Warner Bros. announcment.

Nov 30, 2020

This week's podcast topic comes from Patreon subscriber Jack Chivers, who has asked us to look at our favorite films from the United Kingdom, a national cinema broad enough to include stories about nice people laughing while having tea, crying while having tea, and getting shot by gangsters while having tea. There are films as intimate as a working class romance and as epic in their sprawl as the Harry Potter series, as hilarious as the work of Monty Python and as horrifying as a Carry On sequel. As long as it's from Britain, it's fair game for our list of the Top 5 British films.

In Worth Mentioning we cover Hillbilly Elegy, The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two and The Day the Earth Stood Stillthanks to Patron Zev Burrows.

Nov 26, 2020

If there's one thing The Nest is not, it's light and breezy. It's heavy and chest tightening and emotionally dense. So naturally, with so much to unpack, our first question for Sean Durkin was if he saw any resemblance between Jude Law and Rob Jarosinski. There was awkward laughter, but no confirmation. 

 

A bit about Sean Durkin

Born in Canada (lucky feller), Sean Durkin won his first cinematic accolade at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival for his first feature Martha Marcy May Marlene.  His short film, Mary Last Seen, on the same theme as Martha, won the award for best short film at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.  Nearly a decade later, Durkin released his second film, The Nest(which feels a lot more like a sixth or seventh).  The film had its world premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.

On his newest feature The Nest 

Like I said, The Nest is pretty gut wrenching, but in a way I haven't felt watching a movie before.  The story follows and Englishman, Rory O'Hara (Jude Law) and his American wife, Allison (Carrie Coon), who are raising their two children in New York City.  The pair seem to have the perfect little hamster wheel life that so many parents live in, but Rory starts rattling the cage when he convinces his wife to move to England in search of better work opportunities. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm all about being supportive, but when the family movies into this massive mansion and Rory starts buying horses and cars and enrolling his kids in private school, I started to give Rob the side-eye. 

The next hour-or-so, is a painful slog through relationship complexities.  Rory's unhealthy obsession with success and money alienates his family and everybody around him.  Meanwhile, his wife who has been trying to hold her family together, starts to question her own sanity, from the constant gaslighting of her loving husband. 

The Nest is available on streaming - check it out and let us know what you think!

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Nov 26, 2020

I'll admit it, because I'm nothing if not honest, I had no idea who the director of Run, Aneesh Chaganty was by name (I still question how I got roped into this movie podcast thing, but anyway).  But then, I saw that he was the writer/director of Searching, which I really loved and suddenly, the pressure felt a bit greater.

Just a bit about Aneesh Chaganty

Sometimes you meet people and they just have a presence about them, a magnetic vibe, if you will.  I'm absolutely certain I had a weird grin plastered on my face for the entire entire interview (I won't be playing it back to find out).

So this guy's 29.

Aneesh Chaganty

When Chaganty was 23, he made a two minute short film called Seeds.  It quickly became an internet sensation and garnered more than 1 million YouTune views in 24 hours.  Following its success, Chaganty was invited to join the Google 5 team at Google Creative Lab in New York City. He spent two years writing and directing Google commercials.  After working on over 25 short films and videos, Chaganty directed his first feature film, Searching, which one the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize at Sundance.

On his newest feature Run

Even though the spoilers come early, I will tread lightly for fear of exposing the twists! Run is a edgy thriller that follows Diane (Sarah Paulson) who gives birth very prematurely.  Seventeen years later, we find Diane living as the doting (micromanaging) mother of Chloe (Kiera Allen).  Chloe has a whole bevy of health issues, but in spite of her challenges, she is incredibly smart, self-sufficient and hell-bent on going away to college.

Sarah Paulson in Run

Like I said, Run quickly takes some really dark turns. You're guaranteed to find your fists clenched, your heart pounding and maybe even your left arm pit a bit sweaty (is it weird that it's only the one? I'll get that checked out).

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Nov 15, 2020

Freaky Friday the 13th

You can't keep a good slasher killer down, so we've got even more Freaky Behind the Scenes coming your way! This time I had the opportunity to sit down with co-screenwriter Michael Kennedy, who notoriously teamed up with director and co-writer Chris Landon in a pitch rehearsal turned creative partnership!

We sat down to chat about what it means to write an openly queer character in a slasher movie, some fun sequel ideas, and how it feels to have your debut film suddenly become the only film in the back quarter of 2020.

I feel like I already expended most of my Freaky analysis in the blog intro to Chris' interview, so it's time to get a glimpse into my glitzy and glamorous Hollywood lifestyle. I first met Michael in the summer of 2018, when I was brought on to produce Attack of the Queerwolf, the queer horror podcast I ended up co-hosting with Michael, Nay Bever, and Mark Fortin.

Before and after recordings we would all talk shop and chat about what was going on in our lives. It was a delight to watch Michael go from an elated "I have a meeting with Chris!" to a tight-lipped "I can't say anything at this time" to a boisterous "holy shit, Freaky is actually happening!" Michael's primary goal is to make people laugh and have a good time, and it was an incredible privilege to watch that dream come true and unfold before our eyes (in feature film form at least, he wrote for television before Freaky came together - this isn't his first rodeo).

And between you and me, it's always nice when the friend you're supporting turns out work that's actually good and you don't have to fake it, so what a lucky break for me!

Freaky is in drive-ins and select theaters Friday, November 13 and on digital VOD December 4th!

Nov 14, 2020

All week, Rob annoyingly wandering around the house talking about our upcoming Let Him Go interview with Thomas Bezucha.  He was using a thick Italian mobster accent and probably mispronouncing his name "Ba-zooooo-ka." By the time we got to the interview, it was so burned in my brain, that there's a fair chance I referred to him as a large rocket launcher weapon.

Thomas Bezucha in a nutshell

Please, please comment below if you read the above headline and instantly thought about Robin Williams. I need to know, so we can be friends forever. Anyway, Thomas Bezucha is an American screenwriter and film director.  If you don't recognize his name you'll certainly recognize his filmography.  He wrote and directed the films Big Eden (2000), The Family Stone (2005) and Monte Carlo (2011).  He also co-wrote the films The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018) and The Good House.

Thomas Bezucha

Admittedly, I haven't seen any of his earlier films.  I asked Rob not to share, but like in all good relationships, he failed me.

On his newest release Let Him Go

In a diversion from his previous films, Let Him Go is a 2020 American neo-Western drama, based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Larry Watson.  After the death of their son, Diane Lane and Kevin Costner, a retired sheriff, set out to save their only grandchild.  Basically, you find out real quick that their daughter-in-law's new family she's married into is bonkers weird and violent.  So, we have to count on Costner and Lane to come in and bust some faces, and that's where I'll leave that.

Diane Land and Kevin Costner in Let Him Go

We didn't talk about something during the interview, because we found out the hard way on our Top 5 Jump Scares episode, when Rob criticized his parents participation in Halloween, that my in-laws apparently listen to our podcast.  But let it be known, that Blanche Weboy (Lesley Manville) the horrifying matriarch of this abusive family is TOTALLY my mother-in-law. (Please note: she's not violent, but she is pretty cray).

The film is tense and stressful and really beautiful.  On one hand, I was super sucked into the thriller/suspense aspect of the movie. On the other hand, I'm super frustrated that anybody would have to deal with the situation altogether.

The film was theatrically released in the United States on November 6, 2020, by Focus Features, check out and let us know what you think!

You can also read Tim's review of Let Him go.

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Nov 12, 2020

I have been extremely lucky in my life as an entertainment personality-type person to have already had the chance to podcast with Chris Landon twice before (most recently about the movie Carrie).

Not only is Chris the writer-director of Happy Death Day, Happy Death Day 2U, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, and his new upcoming feature Freaky, co-written with Michael Kennedy, but he’s also one of the most genuinely nice guys working in the industry today.

He did nothing to dim that impression when we sat down for this interview where we chat about Freaky, how a pitch rehearsal turned into a full-on partnership, the importance of giving a queer character time to shine, how to turn your home into the perfect Freaky viewing environment, and (definitely most importantly) what we’re watching during quarantine.

One thing that we hit on in our discussion is the queer element of Freaky, which is certainly foregrounded: one of the lead characters is a queer teen. But that isn't the only way Freaky, which was written by two gay men, is a queer film. At the center of Freaky is the idea of the body swap, a concept that most would look on as fodder for comedy and wacky impressions. And yes, of course it provides that. But for queer audiences in particular, this can resonate more deeply. There's nobody in the world who hasn't wished their body looked different at some point in their life. But the very notion of being queer means rebelling against the strict parameters that society has set for the type of body you live in, from how you look and who you love, all the way on down to little things like what movies you'll like or what color clothes you should wear.

Having an identity that doesn't match the body you were born in obviously comes with the territory for trans and nonbinary folks, but even cisgender queer people ("cisgender" means that your gender identity matches your birth sex) feel societal pressure about their behavior not matching the meat puppet they're piloting around. There are few cis gay men who haven't at least once wish they could have been born with a vagina so that they could publicly hold hands with a guy they're dating without fear of blowback. Or cis lesbians who feel it would have been a damn sight more convenient to have been born with a penis so they wouldn't be ostracized for the mere act of loving.

These concepts might seem too highbrow for a simple slasher comedy, but I assure you they're not. The body, and all the expectations placed on it, form the backbone of Freaky. Vince Vaughn might not be delivering a Socratic seminar about queer theory in this movie, but the idea that this film is born from would be treated much differently if it were written by a pair of straight, cisgender people.

But enough from me! Let’s hear from the man in his own words as we dissect everything that went into making this wild movie a reality!

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