Back at the Movies (with Scott Mason)

This week, Film Studies and English teacher Matt Ryan joins the show to chat about a movie that won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival and was nominated for 5 Academy Awards, 2021's "Belfast" directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring Jude Hill, Caitriona Balfe, Ciarán Hinds, and Judi Dench! We discuss the movie's origin and semi-auto biographical nature, the sentimental storytelling and brilliant acting, the multitude of awards it was nominated for and why it probably deserved even more acclaim than it received, as well as a whole host of fun facts about the film that you may not know! Plus, we talk Richard Roeper's review of the film (unfortunately, both Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert had passed away years before Belfast was released) and we answer the questions Siskel and Ebert were famous for asking themselves after every movie they reviewed! Ranking on the year-end 10 best movies of 2021 list: Richard Roeper: #1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, musician, music critic, DJ, voiceover artist, and former ABC News music librarian Allan Raible joins the show to chat about Academy Award nominated 1970 film that inspired arguably the most successful American sitcom of all time,, "MASH" directed by Robert Altman and starring Donald Sutherland and Elliot Gould! We discuss how the movie brilliantly played off of the tension of the war at the time, the state of the art film making style, long lasting impact of the movie and how it was turned into a very successful television series, as well as a whole host of fun facts about the film that you may not know! Plus, we talk Gene Siskel and Rogert Ebert's reviews and we answer the questions Siskel and Ebert were famous for asking themselves after every movie they reviewed! Ranking on the year-end 10 best movies of 1970 list: Gene Siskel: #2 Roger Ebert: #2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, actor, writer, and MMA podcast host Andrew Benjamin joins the show to chat about the 1996 Academy Award nominated Coen brothers film that inspired a multi-season hit televsion drama, "Fargo" starring Frances McDormand and William H Macy! We discuss the excellent storytelling, all-time great performance of Frances McDormand, the long lasting impact of the movie and how it was turned into a very successful television series, as well as a whole host of fun facts about the film that you may not know! Plus, we talk Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert's reviews and we answer the questions Siskel and Ebert were famous for asking themselves after every movie they reviewed! Ranking on the year-end 10 best movies of 1996 list: Gene Siskel: #1 Roger Ebert: #1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, former WWE creative team member and former Soaps In-Depth writer Frank Scalise joins the show to chat about the movie that was nominated for 3 Academy Awards AND inspired a successful weekly sitcom, "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Ellen Burstyn and Kris Kristofferson! We discuss how the movie brilliantly played off of the gender dynamics of its time, the outstanding performance that won Ellen Burstyn an Academy Award for Best Actress, the long lasting impact of the movie and how it was turned into a very successful television series, as well as a whole host of fun facts about the film that you may not know! Plus, we talk Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert's reviews from 1975 and we answer the questions Siskel and Ebert were famous for asking themselves after every movie they reviewed! Ranking on the year-end 10 best movies of 1975 list: Roger Ebert: #3 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a special bonus episode as actor, writer, and MMA podcast host Andrew Benjamin joins the show for a spoilwe free review of the movie that took the Sundance Film Festival by storm, Adam Meeks' addiction and recovery drama "Union County" starring Will Poulter! We discuss how the movie came into being, the strong performance of lead actor Will Poulter, the elements of the film that provoked a standing ovation from the crowd at Sundance, and some fun facts about the movie revealed by director Adam Meeks and star Will Poulter did a very special question and answer session! Plus, we talk what we thinkGene Siskel and Roger Ebert's would have said about ther film and we answer the questions Siskel and Ebert were famous for asking themselves after every movie they reviewed! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, musician, music critic, DJ, voiceover artist, and former ABC News music librarian Allan Raible joins the show to chat about the movie that won best picture in 1967 AND inspired a successful weekly television drama, "In the Heat of the Night" directed by Norman Jewison and starring Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger! We discuss how the movie brilliantly played off of the racial dynamics of its time, the excellent storytelling anchored by two of the finest actors of their era, the long lasting impact of the movie and how it was turned into a very successful television series, as well as a whole host of fun facts about the film that you may not know! Plus, we talk Roger Ebert's review from 1967 (Gene Siskel was not yet a professional movie critic when the film was released) and we answer the questions Siskel and Ebert were famous for asking themselves after every movie they reviewed! Ranking on the year-end 10 best movies of 1967 list: Roger Ebert: #10 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, "Van Halen Rising" and "Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer's Life in Music" author Greg Renoff joins the show to chat about one of the most overlooked movies of the "New Hollywood" era, 1974's "The Last Detail" directed by Hal Ashby, written by Robert Towne, and starring Jack Nicholson, Randy Quaid, and Otis Young! We discuss the challenges the movie faced in getting made, how the film managed to stay consistently funny despite the serious nature of the subject matter, the multitude of awards it was nominated for and why it probably deserved even more acclaim than it received, as well as a whole host of fun facts about the film that you may not know! Plus, we talk Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert's reviews from 1974 and we answer the questions Siskel and Ebert were famous for asking themselves after every movie they reviewed! Ranking on the year-end 10 best movies of 1974 list: Gene Siskel: #2 Roger Ebert: #5 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Film Studies and English teacher Matt Ryan joins the show to chat about one of the best and most underrated movies of the 21st century, 2001's "In the Bedroom" directed by Todd Field and starring Tom Wilkinson, Sissy Spacek, Marisa Tomei, and Nick Stahl! We discuss how the movie pulls off the ultimate bait and switch with perfection, the brilliant storytelling and acting, the multitude of awards it was nominated for and why it probably deserved even more acclaim than it received, as well as a whole host of fun facts about the film that you may not know! Plus, we talk Roger Ebert's review from 2001 (unfortunately Gene Siskel was no longer with us by the time the movie was released) and we answer the questions Siskel and Ebert were famous for asking themselves after every movie they reviewed! Ranking on the year-end 10 best movies of 2001 list: Roger Ebert: #3 Richard Roeper: #5 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Scott Mason and an all-star panel of co-hosts for Back at the Movies, a weekly look back at some of the favorite films of noted critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. Plus in-depth reviews of classics Siskel and Ebert missed the boat on and new movies where we speculate about what the iconic duo would’ve thought. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices