July 6: Michael Moore and Michael Bay are about as different as two directors can be. One traffics in left-wing propaganda, hoping to affect change or, at the very least, provoke outrage; the other traffics in big-budget, effects-driven spectacles, hoping to entertain or, at the very least, provoke massive headaches. But despite their obvious differences, including their respective platforms (non-fiction vs. narrative), the two Mikes arguably share the distinction of being the two least subtle filmmakers in cinema today, wielding their cameras as blunt instruments aimed at bludgeoning their audiences into submission. The always controversial Moore doesn't appear on screen in his latest effort,
"Sicko," a two-hour tirade against the U.S. health care system, until almost 50 minutes into the film. Adam and
Time Out Chicago's Scott Smith discuss Moore's (slightly) less confrontational approach and rate "Sicko" against his previous films.
In Kevin Smith's hilarious "Clerks II," Randal Graves denounces the
"Transformers" as "an unholy curse from the beast we call the Desolate One." Randal surely wasn't offering an early review of Bay's new film based on the popular '80s animated TV series and line of Hasbro toys. Or was he? Adam and Scott weigh in... and wind up feeling really old.
Also on the show:
Listener Feedback,
Massacre Theatre, and our
Top 5 'Fight The Power' Movies.
Music by
Jon Rauhouse courtesy of Bloodshot Records.
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Filmspotting #167:22-17:10 - Review: "Sicko"
Music: Jon Rauhouse w/ Neko Case, "East of the Sun"18:10-31:10 - Review: "Transformers"
Music: Jon Rauhouse w/ Rachel Flotard, "Harbor Lights"31:41-33:58 - New DVDs, Donations
33:59-36:41 - Massacre Theatre (Winner: Stan Bell)
36:42-40:40 - Poll Questions
40:41-46:51 - Listener Feedback (Top 5 Actors We'd Cast)
Music: Jon Rauhouse w/ Kelly Hogan, "Big Iron"47:19-1:02:58 - Top 5: 'Fight The Power' Movies
1:02:59-1:04:30 - Close/Next Show
CORRECTIONS/NOTES- The couple I referred to as having six daughters during the "Sicko" review had six children -- but not all daughters.
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"Tauzin switches sides from drug industry overseer to lobbyist"- Joe Schmidt correctly points out that Lee J. Cobb was the original juror #3 in "12 Angry Men," not George C. Scott who was in the Showtime Channel remake. My bad.
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