Tag Archives: Kristofer Jenson

01.06.17
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HIDDEN FIGURES and Martin Scorsese’s SILENCE on Episode #130

Liam Neeson in Martin Scorsese's SILENCE

Liam Neeson horrified by the violence in Martin Scorsese’s SILENCE

Dave and Kris are back to start 2017 in style! This week the guys examine their favorite karaoke songs through the lens of 90s front men before they get to the movies. First, Dave shares his experience growing up as a Rush fan (at 6:58), and the sadness he felt watching the documentary RUSH: TIME STAND STILL for the second time. His story reminds Kris of DEATHGASM, an awesome movie about metal kids that he strongly encourages Dave and Evan to see. Next, Kris reviews HIDDEN FIGURES (at 16:50), a charming true story about three African American women working for NASA during the Space Race, which transcends genre tropes. Then the guys arrive at their main event: Martin Scorsese’s SILENCE (at 27:46). All three have seen it, so they have a LOT to say about the film’s commentary on religion, colonialism, and Christian arrogance through its 17th century tale of Portuguese priests conducting missionary work in Japan. They each have complaints and find the whole thing too long, yet ultimately respect what Scorsese is shooting for.

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12.16.16
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ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY, COLLATERAL BEAUTY, and BOFCA AWARDS on Episode #127

rogue-one

Pee talk takes an unexpected, yet movie-related turn at the start of this week’s episode. Once the guys dispense with their bathroom discussion, they move on to the Boston Online Film Critics Association’s yearly awards, which were recently announced to the public. The guys quickly walk through their ballots (at 4:37), mentioning their favorite films that didn’t win, exploring the nuances of their votes, and teasing movies like FENCES that they look forward to discussing in future episodes. After the awards excitement, Kris reviews COLLATERAL BEAUTY (at 28:00), a picture that sounds like an emo side project, where the filmmakers couldn’t decide between making an awards movie or a Christmas movie, so they made both and got something awful. With that out of the way, Dave and Evan take on this week’s big release, ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY (at 44:00), a prequel that doesn’t have much in common with other entries in the STAR WARS franchise. It has a diverse cast of skilled actors, deaths with weight, and a director that cares about framing shots, however Dave and Evan don’t think it deserves the hype from critics.

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12.09.16
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LA LA LAND, WHY HIM?, 13TH, THE DRESSMAKER, and Recaps Like Woah on Episode #126

Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in LA LA LAND

Kris and Dave have some disagreements about LA LA LAND

You want movies? We’ve got your movies this week! The episode opens with a segment of “Catching up with Crean,” aka “Crewind,” where Evan shares his issues with THE HANDMAIDEN (at 6:18) before he covers the sharp Netflix documentary 13TH (at 9:24), which has a well-formed argument about the exploitation of minorities by US lawmakers and the prison industrial complex. After that Evan tackles THE DRESSMAKER (at 13:32), a zany movie that’s overstuffed with plot, yet funny and engaging, with one hell of an ending. Starting at 24:00, Kris and Dave provide very brief recaps of several films including THE LITTLE PRINCE, RED TURTLE, THE FITS, DE PALMA, ZOOTOPIA, and MORRIS FROM AMERICA. Once they get tired of recapping, they move on to this week’s two main events. Dave shares the excruciating agony that is WHY HIM? (at 32:42), or as he calls it “Why Me?”. Then finally, he and Kris review LA LA LAND (at 42:24), a musical with Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, which they really disagree about.

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12.02.16
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MANCHESTER BY THE SEA, THE HANDMAIDEN, KRISHA, and more on Episode #125

Casey Affleck and Lucas Hedges in MANCHESTER BY THE SEA

Casey Affleck and Lucas Hedges in MANCHESTER BY THE SEA

This week Kris shares the unusual tale of his 10 year high school reunion. The guys carry their silliness from that story over into their intro, where they ask, you the listener, which 60 Minutes anchor you think they are. It’s a good thing they get to the movies, because there are several to cover. Kris starts with a segment of “Keepin’ up with the Jensons,” where he talks about why he liked SWISS ARMY MAN (at 6:00) more than he expected. Then he and Dave join forces for a recap of HELL OR HIGH WATER (at 18:04), where they joke about the title, discuss the score, and dissect its Western elements. They get to new movies with their review of THE HANDMAIDEN (at 28:09), a three hour movie that flies by due to a layered story and perfect performances, set design, and camerawork. Next, Evan quickly reviews KRISHA (at 42:23), a tough film about a woman spending Thanksgiving with her estranged family that’s shot and edited in an unsettling way. Lastly, he and Kris review MANCHESTER BY THE SEA (at 48:32), an effective examination of grief that also reveals how frustrating it is to drive in Massachusetts.

https://radiopublic.com/spoilerpiece-theatre-8Xr54V/ep/s1!96953

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11.18.16
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FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM, NOCTURNAL ANIMALS, and More on Episode #123

fantastic-beasts

FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM (i.e. inside Eddie Redmayne’s suitcase)

We’ve got movies coming out the wazoo this week! First, Dave and Kris tackle the ambitious Harry Potter prequel FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM (at 4:00), which tries to cram five movies into one. Much to their annoyance, only three of those five movies are good. Next, Dave explores NOCTURNAL ANIMALS (at 24:56), writer/director/fashion designer Tom Ford’s sophomore film. It has two stories about toxic masculinity that don’t add up to a whole movie, so during the review Kris develops a new segment called “Dr. Kris, Medicine Man,” where he shares how he’d fix the film. Following that segment, Dave offers his brief thoughts on the music documentaries OASIS: SUPERSONIC and RUSH: TIME STAND STILL, which only seem to be for diehard fans. Evan bats cleanup with three more movies from the Boston Jewish Film Festival (at 51:00): the mediocre crime thriller A GRAIN OF TRUTH, the emotionally compelling documentary FREEDOM TO MARRY, and the thought-provoking comedy doc THE LAST LAUGH.

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11.11.16
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ARRIVAL, LOVING, MOONLIGHT, and THE ORIGIN OF VIOLENCE on Episode #122

Alex R. Hibbert and Mahershala Ali in MOONLIGHT.

Alex R. Hibbert and Mahershala Ali in MOONLIGHT.

On this week’s episode, Dave gripes about his record club’s inability to send him records he wants, before discussing his burgeoning November beard and his latest Baby Henry story. After the guys get some good laughs in to compensate for their election sadness, Kris gets things going with ARRIVAL (at 6:10), a sci-fi film starring Amy Adams as a linguist that speaks heptapod. Adams plays the same character she always does, but it does some very interesting things Kris doesn’t expect and really turns out to be the kind of high concept sci-fi he enjoys. Next, Evan and Dave keep the good movie momentum with their description of LOVING (at 21:26), an emotional drama based on a true story with amazing performances by Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton. Kris follows with his take on MOONLIGHT (at 33:32) a three-party story of a gay man’s life that’s not revolutionary, but so well-assembled that it kind of is. Evan closes out the show with THE ORIGIN OF VIOLENCE (at 48:36), a French film playing at the Boston Jewish Film Festival that turned out to be more about the Holocaust than he expected, although not in a bad way, since the film uses it to tell a compelling story.

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11.04.16
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HACKSAW RIDGE, The Boston Jewish Film Festival, and Coolidge Corner Horror Movie Marathon on Episode #121

Andrew Garfield in HACKSAW RIDGE

Andrew Garfield in HACKSAW RIDGE

On this week’s episode the guys ponder the strange variety of foods available in New York City diners before they dive into movies. Kris kicks everything off with his rundown of HACKSAW RIDGE (at 4:50), Mel Gibson’s World War II film about a conscientious objector who volunteers for military service. The first half has a delicate touch, while the second half is standard Mel Gibson, which Kris emphasizes with enthusiasm. Evan jumps in next to talk about The Boston Jewish Film Festival (at 26:57). He comments on four films playing there; two documentaries (DISTURBING THE PEACE and WOMEN IN SINK) and two narrative shorts (AND THEN, VIOLENCE, and JEWISH BLIND DATE). He discusses the things that each do well, and the reasons why they’re all worth watching. Dave and Kris close out by recapping the 16th Annual Halloween Horror Movie Marathon at the Coolidge Corner Theatre (at 41:40). They share brief reactions to the films they saw there, which include SCREAM, SCREAM 2, THE FOG, THE HOWLING, CREEPSHOW, and GHOST STORY.

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10.28.16
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INFERNO, GIMME DANGER, and BURNT BY THE SUN on Episode #120

inferno

Tom Hanks looking just as puzzled as Dave about what happens in INFERNO.

As the guys imagine their dream pets, Kris reveals some horrifying aspects of Venus flytrap ownership at the start of this week’s episode. Then Dave jumps into the Tom Hanks/Ron Howard vehicle INFERNO (at 5:24), a movie that contains a surprising amount of swearing (at least according to him). He laments the picture’s misuse of Ben Foster, while also wondering aloud why Hanks and Howard continue making rotten films from shit Dan Brown books. Next up is Evan to take on the Jim Jarmusch documentary GIMME DANGER (at 36:10), which chronicles the rise, fall, resurgence, and influence of Iggy and the Stooges. Jarmusch has the right sensibilities and sympathy for its subject, but his toolkit is limited and the experience suffers despite some fascinating insights about Iggy Pop’s upbringing and his attitude as musician. Kris closes out the episode with his exploration of the 1994 Academy-Award-Winner BURNT BY THE SUN (at 48:06), a Russian movie by Nikita Mikhalkov that tackles some heavy subject matter, yet still contains a lot of antics and shenanigans. Before ending his segment, Kris teases analysis of the movie’s unexpected sequels, which he’ll conduct on next week’s show.

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10.21.16
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JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK, OUIJA: ORIGIN OF EVIL, and 12 ANGRY MEN on Episode #119

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back

Tom Cruise and Cobie Smulders do a lot of running in JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK

This week Kris is caught completely off-guard by Evan’s response to his Russian joke. Once Kris recovers from shock, he and Dave spoilerpiece JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK (at 5:12), which features Tom Cruise doing a lot of running and making a lot of phone calls. Its plot is rushed, and you can see everything coming, so the guys assure Evan that he didn’t miss much. Following tangents on END OF DAYS and as-seen-on-TV products, Evan reviews OUIJA: ORIGIN OF EVIL (at 34:42), the reason he wasn’t at JACK REACHER. Unfortunately he didn’t do much better since this horror flick is only 2/3 of a good movie. There is genuine tension, production value, and artful shots, but everything falls apart in the final act, when it rushes to a hasty and nonsensical conclusion. Lastly, Evan covers 12 ANGRY MEN (at 52:32), a movie he just got around to seeing. He praises Sidney Lumet’s picture for its narrow scope, superb acting, great dialogue, and fantastic blocking. The discussion then opens up to a larger one where the guys talk about other Lumet films they love.

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10.14.16
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THE ACCOUNTANT, THE DYBBUK, and A MAN CALLED OVE on Episode #118

the-accountant

THE ACCOUNTANT: Who knew that taxes and number crunching could be exciting?

This week Dave recalls a random middle school experience that struck a chord with him for very middle school reasons. Following his hilarious anecdote, the guys all review the Ben Affleck thriller THE ACCOUNTANT (at 4:36), which has good solid killing, a scrappy Anna Kendrick, and a story that’s delightfully narrow in scope, however it does fall victim to clunky exposition in its second act. Next, Kris reviews THE DYBBUK (at 45:16), a really good pre-World War II Polish movie in Yiddish about possession and conjuring Satan (which make it so metal). Lastly, Dave covers with the Swedish picture A MAN CALLED OVE (at 55:24), a story you’ve seen a million times about an old guy with a dead wife. Its characterization of this perpetual grump’s interactions with young people and his botched attempts at killing himself are charming in a way that only a non-American filmmaker could pull off.

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