“The Alchemist” from The Tobolowsky Files selected for NPR’s Earbud.fm

Today, NPR published earbud.fm, which is their attempt at building a database of the best podcasts on the internet. I was honored to see that Stephen Tobolowsky’s “The Alchemist” (ep. 4 of The Tobolowsky Files) has been selected for inclusion.

Stephen has often described “The Alchemist” as the turning point in the history of the podcast, when it transformed from being a fun podcast about the film industry, into something that had the potential to be of lasting, cultural worth. If you who still haven’t listened to the podcast yet, I hope you’ll consider checking it out.

Thanks to listener Andy Koopmans for being one of the people that recommended this podcast to NPR. Listen to this episode, and more, at earbud.fm.

Steve Jobs Review

A contentious review of Steve Jobs, the newest film by Aaron Sorkin and Danny Boyle. What responsibility, if any, does art have to verisimilitude? We discuss.

Bridge of Spies Review

Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks reunite, for a slow burn cold war drama. Here’s our /Filmcast review.

The Walk Review

The Walk was a moving film, but unfortunately not enough to captivate mass audiences. Our review on the /Filmcast.

The Martin Review

The Martian is a beautiful, moving film. Our /Filmcast review.

Sicario Review

An incredible film by an incredible director. Here’s the /Filmcast review of Sicario.

The End of the Tour Review

The /Filmcast is back after a several-week hiatus! This week, our review of The End of the Tour.

Remembering Wes Craven

A lovely remembrance of Wes Craven from Fresh Air. My favorite Craven quote from the segment:

Too much of American cinema dealt with reaffirming fantasies. It was a Disney-like approach to the entire spectrum of our reality. And at the same time, in the “real world,” quote-quote – whatever the hell that is – we were seeing more and more of the veils stripped away, you know? The myth of American supremacy and infallibility. The myth of, you know, bombs dropped to win wars and you don’t see the people that they hit. The reality that the American soldier was heroic in all cases and never did anything that was terribly disturbing. All those were being stripped away in the public forum, but in cinema it was still desperately trying to reaffirm the myths. And my feeling was, it’s time to stop dreaming. And I guess that’s become the theme of my entire work – it’s time to wake up.