FYF Podcast Picks: ‘Synchronic,’ ‘Dick Johnson Is Dead,’ ‘Rebecca,’ And ‘The Bad and the Beautiful’

Other films reviewed include 'Timecrimes' and the William Friedkin directed horror/thriller 'Bug.'

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Anthony Mackie and a conquistador in "Synchronic." (Well Go USA Entertainment)
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Running at a brisk 78 minutes, we cover a ton of films on the latest Find Your Film episode. Topping that list is Synchronic, the latest masterwork from directror Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead. Detailed show notes and our podcast is below!

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Anthony Mackie in “Synchronic” (WELL GO USA Entertainment)

Synchronic centers on Steve (Anthony Mackie) and Dennis (Jamie Dornan) best friends and New Orleans paramedics who are going through their share of personal problems. When they encounter a series of gruesome deaths which may have been caused by a designer drug (“Synchronic”), Steve takes it upon himself to investigate the drug’s effects.



All of us absolutely love Synchronic, and the less said about the movie (directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead), the better. It’s easily one of the most original movies I have seen in 2020, and Mackie/Dornan deliver inspired work. I will be checking out The Endless, Spring, and Resolution after loving Synchronic, and Bruce Purkey recommended the previous Benson/Moorhead films on the show. Synchronic is now out in theaters and drive-ins via Well Go USA Entertainment.

Rebecca: (L to R) Kristin Scott Thomas as Mrs. Danvers, Lily James as Daphne, Armie Hammer as Maxim de Winter

Bruce Purkey has not seen Rebecca, but he loved Kill List. Both films are directed by Ben Wheatley. Coincidentally Moorheard and Benson recommended Kill List on the Grindhouse Messiah podcast. As a Hitchcock fan, I thought this remake was going to be atrocious, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Continued props goes to Eric Holmes, who continues to follow his cinematic obsessions to no end. Lately he’s been diving into Kirk Douglas’ body of work, and this week he reviews one of Mr. Douglas’ best known films (The Bad and the Beautiful). Directed by Vincente Minnelli, the picture stars Kirk Douglas, Lana Turner and Walter Pidgeon. I also recommended Two Weeks In Another Town, a movie that reunites Douglas and Minnelli, to Eric Holmes during the pod. Both films are available on Blu-ray via Warner Archive.

Dick Johnson appears in “Dick Johnson is Dead” by Kirsten Johnson, an official selection of the U.S. Documentary Competition at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by John Wakayama Carey.

Bruce Purkey, as usual, has his share of gems to share on the program with the 2007 feature Timecrimes and the Netflix documentary Dick Johnson Is Dead. I should have been on the ball regarding Dick Johnson Is Dead as I am a fan of Kirsten Johnson’s previous doc Cameraperson.

Last but not least, Bruce Purkey reviews and highly praises the William Friedkin feature Bug. Eric Holmes is a fan of that film, and check out the first two episodes of Find Your Film for our spotlight on William Friedkin (Killer Joe is featured on Episode One, The People vs. Paul Crump, Good Times and Sorcerer are featured on Episode Two).

You can listen to our latest Find Your Film episode on Spotify:

Next week Bruce Purkey will spotlight the Joe Dante films Matinee and Gremlins!! Since Gremlins is Eric Holmes’ favorite movie of all time, that episode should be a keeper (translation: I will let them do all of the talking!!).

Take a listen to the latest episode of Find Your Film below, and you can also catch us on wherever you get your pods (including Apple Podcasts and Stitcher!!). Show breakdown is at the end of this post!!!

‘FYF Reviews: Synchronic, Rebecca, Dick Johnson Is Dead, The Bad and the Beautiful’ Breakdown:

:45 – Fun fact: Bruce Purkey used to be a punk rocker!
1:09 – Eric Holmes remembers his friend Tom Stutte.
1:45Synchronic is our Main Movie review this week.
2:43 – Bruce Purkey watched David Mamet’s The Winslow Boy because I praised the heck out of it. Streaming on Amazon Prime Video Mr. Purkey was not too thrilled with this flick!!
3:44 – How many f**king times has Eric Holme watched The Trial of the Chicago 7?” Jeez!!!
5:07The Winslow Boy review from Bruce Purkey!! “It was a rough one for me,” said Purkey.
9:18 – Bruce Purkey’s choice for the next Director’s Spotlight is Joe Dante!
12:40 Gremlins is the greatest movie ever made – so says Eric Holmes!!!
15;09 – Review of Synchronic and a discussion of directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead.
16:20 – Bruce Purkey’s favorite film from the Benson/Moorhead collaborations is Spring.
17:33 – Bruce likens them to a modern day John Carpenter!
31:00 – Synchronic is “pretty fantastic.” – Eric Holmes
31:50 – Shout out to William Lindus (Movie Bears Podcast) and Andrew Martin (Andrew Watches Movies)!!
32:50 – Eric Holmes recommends Vincente Minnelli’s The Bad and the Beautiful starring Kirk Douglas. Holmes has been watching a ton of Kirk Douglas movies the past several months. He calls this a “top shelf” Kirk Douglas film.
35:55 – The camera moves like a David Fincher movie. The DP of the film is Robert Surtees.
38:00 – Props to fellow cinephile Joseph Bridges, who received Eric Holmes’ DVD of Intensity!
38:32 – We mention the movie Vamp!
39:39 – Vincente Minnelli did not directed The Paper Chase, it was helmed by James Bridges. And James Bridges might pop up down the road in Find Your Film!!
41:50Paths of Glory and The Killing are Eric Holmes’ favorite Stanley Kubrick films!!
43:31 – I’m giving Eric Holmes a piece of homework – to watch Two Weeks In Another Town, a film which reunites The Bad and the Beautiful director Vincente Minnelli and Kirk Douglas.
 – Bruce Purkey recommends Dick Johnson is Dead now streaming on Netflix, which is directed by Kirsten Johnson (Cameraperson).
47:40 – “It’s a really interesting documentary and it goes places that you are not quite expecting.” – Bruce Purkey, who also adds that it ends in a way that “you are not expecting.”
48:57 – My gmail account is now at 100,000 emails!!
49:22 – I highly recommend Cameraperson!!!
52:06 – Eric Holmes contributed to Don’t Die, an indie film which was seeking funding on Seed and Spark.
55:49 – I praise director Ben Wheatley’s Rebecca, a remake of the Alfred HItchcock film (which was based on Daphne Du Maurier’s novel).
60:03– Bruce Purkey recommends the Ben Wheatley feature Kill List.
62:19 – Speaking of recommendations, Purkey talks about the 2007 feature Timecrimes (he describes it as a “super good” film)
67:25 – Bruce Purkey praises the “amazing” William Friedkin feature Bug, a movie that crackles with “insane energy.” We spotlighted William Friedkin on the first two episodes of Find Your Film.
75:00 – Purkey listens to movies with his headphones on. Are you a headphones wearing movie watcher?   – Check out Bruce Purkey’s Rustomire YouTube Channel for his movie reviews and video versions of our podcast!!

The video version of Find Your Film are available on Bruce Purkey’s Rustomire Channel:

Jamie Dornan and Anthony Mackie in “Synchronic” (WELL GO USA Entertainment)

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