Someone Else’s Movie drops its 350th episode today, and while numbers don’t mean anything … well, that’s objectively a lot of episodes. But I’ve been doing this for almost six and a half years now, so it’s nice to have something to show for it.
And this is a fun episode to hang a milestone upon, as I’m joined by magician and mentalist Cameron Gibson — who’s a member of Jamie Allan’s Illusionarium, the immersive-magic exhibition that opens down at the Toronto Star building Thursday — to discuss the mysteries and wonders of Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige, a movie I was kind of cool on the first time through but have since come to appreciate as a Rosetta stone for the filmmaker’s own career. (Plus the whole “Batman Vs. Wolverine” thing is now pleasantly complicated by the presence of both Black Widow and Maya Hansen from Iron Man Three.)
You know the drill: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher to get it instantly, or download it directly from the web. (We’re using Simplecast now, but you’ll figure it out.)
And here’s a coincidence: Today’s episode of NOW What touches upon the Illusionarium as well! Kevin and I talked to Lighthouse Immersive’s Svetlana Dvoretsky and Corey Ross a while back, when the project was still unable to set a release date due to Ontario’s COVID restrictions, and it’s an interesting conversation about how they do what they do, and how they’ve had plenty of time to figure out their safety protocols. And last Friday’s episode is also somewhat theatrical, with me talking to Glenn about the return of live theatre to Toronto’s outdoor spaces, and how happy he is to be going out to see shows again. I get it.
But that’s not all, folks: I’m also on this week’s episode of Hollywood Suite’s A Year in Film podcast, discussing the British invasion of 1994 as embodied by Four Weddings and a Funeral and Shallow Grave — two very different films that nicely summarize the explosion of talent and commercial potential in the UK at that point in time. Check it out! And watch those movies again; they both totally hold up.
Want more? Jeez, fine: Here’s me having a quick chat with The Green Knight‘s Dev Patel and Joel Edgerton about finding the right rhythms for David Lowery’s deliberate Arthurian fable, with video and everything, and here’s a conversation with Alex Wolff, who plays two very different roles in Pig and Old. Oh, and here are my reviews of Pig and Old, and the new season of Ted Lasso.
Which brings us to last week’s NOW What to Watch page, I guess, with capsule reviews and a look at Criterion’s dazzling Deep Cover Blu-ray. You’re gonna want to snap that one up.