CineJourneys (master feed)

Description: Tiffany Vazquez joins Aaron and Jill after a brief hiatus, which we explain. There’s some catch-up where we talk about Aaron’s book, Tiffany’s Mira Nair class. We then get into our selections from the flash sale, which serves as a look at some of the titles we missed. We cover the December 2025 and 2026 announcements, and we’re fortunate to have Tiffany to discuss the Mira Nair and Raúl Juliá titles. Links: Video of this Episode Tiffany’s CineJourneys Channel Tiffany’s Social Media: Bsky | Instagram | Twitter Follow Us: Cinejourneys – YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: Adrian Martin joins to talk about his plans regarding the upcoming “Fritz Lang: Inside the Machine” Online Class coming up in September. He talks about what to expect from this class, and what types of great films students will discover. He also touches on some exciting topics and directors that he wants to cover later, which include Ersnt Lubitsch, Chantal Akerman, Brian DePalma, François Truffaut and so many more. Links: Fritz Lang: Inside the Machine – Details and Registration Adrian Martin’s Guide Page Adrian’s Website Adrian’s Wikipedia Page Follow Us: Cinejourneys – YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: Matthew joins to talk about his upcoming classes, starting with Film Theory and then Genre Theory. Stick around for the teaser about Weimar Republic films. Please register for his classes and follow him online at the links below. Links: Video of this episode Intro to Film Theory – Details and Registration Intro to Genre Theory – Details and Registration Matthew’s Guide Page Histories of the Present – Matthew’s Substack The Pacific Northwest Insurance Corporation Moviefilm Podcast Matthew’s Social Media – Twitter | Bsky Follow Us: Cinejourneys – YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: Louis Hill joins to recap the CineJourneys A24 Journey that he had in April. Louis is an original Founding Member and a Kickstarter backer. He’s excited about the book and he went a little extra with this journey, spending the month watching the weekly films and also seeking out others. Links: Video of this episode The A24 Journey Aaron’s A24 Ranked List Louis’ A24 Ranked List Follow Us: Cinejourneys – YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: Tiffany Vazquez joins to talk about Barry Jenkins, who is arguably the most impactful individual who has worked with A24. Moonlight famously won the Best Picture Academy Award, and he’s been putting out great work ever since. We briefly touch on If Beale Street Could Talk, The Underground Railroad, Mufasa, and we get into his influence as a Producer. People might be surprised by how many films that he has produced and distributed with A24. He’s a monumental talent and he’s not done. Links: Video of this episode Tiffany Vazquez Channel at CineJourneys From Shakespeare to Street Fighter: The Range of Raúl Juliá Find Tiffany at Instagram | BlueSky | Twitter Follow Us: Cinejourneys – YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: Christian Gutierrez joins Aaron for the first time. He has a podcast called Reel Latinos, and is an expert in Latino cinema. He has tastes for world cinema and classic Hollywood. We talked about the July 2025 Criterion announcements, and we went through the TCM Film Festival schedule to look at conflicts and which films for him to prioritize at the 2025 fest. Links: Video of this Episode Christian’s Links Real Latinos Links Follow Us: Cinejourneys – YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: Ali Khamseh joins Aaron from Tehran, Iran. It was the first time podcasting with someone anywhere close to that region, and it was a delight! Ali talked about his projects, the state of cinema in Iran, many of the Iranian masters like Abbas Kiarostami and Jafar Panahi, and how some filmmakers have become internationally known while pacifying the government. Ali likes a lot more than Iranian cinema and we had a good time looking through the Criterion titles too. Links: Video of this Episode Ali’s Links Ali’s Letterboxd Follow Us: Cinejourneys – YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: David Blakeslee joins Aaron. Jill is absent for the near future, and while she can’t be replaced, David is a terrific co-host. We start by talking about Killers of the Flower Moon and some viral news that Criterion had allegedly approached Apple to put out a release, and Apple refused. We dig into the source and have some questions. While we are not expecting an imminent release, we think this is irresponsible reporting, but the sentiments that made it go viral are in the right place. We also talk about yet another rich month of Criterion announcements after they unveiled their June 2025 slate. Links: Video of this Episode eightslicesofpie’s post on the Blu-Ray forums. The follow up post after the story went viral 120 Days of Pasolini David Blakeslee’s Guide Profile on CineJourneys Follow David on BlueSky Follow Us: Cinejourneys – YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: Alex Mell-Taylor from Alex Has Opinions joins to talk about A24 and representation. We talk about some of the recent examples of positive representation and compare it with some not so great examples. We also talk about how someone who is not part of a particular group benefits from seeing what their life is like when representative actually reflects that experience, and how great it feels for people to see characters and stories that they can identify with on screen. Links: Video of this episode Alex Has Opinions – Website Alex’s Patreon Follow Us: Cinejourneys – YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: Chris Haskell from They Live by Film and Punk Vacation joins to talk about Miramax. Covering a film company is not easy, and it’s saying a lot to credit A24 as being solely responsible for a modern new wave movement. There were many independent movements throughout film history, and the independent film was truly embraced in the 1990s. Miramax was a groundbreaking independent film distributor and A24 benefited from their success. We had to preface this episode that Harvey Weinstein is a terrible person and nothing that we say positive about Miramax reflects our feelings about his character. Links: Video of this episode The A24 New Wave Kickstarter Punk Vacation Podcast They Live by Film Podcast Chris’ Subreddit Follow Us: Cinejourneys – YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: Jill and Aaron talk about Flow, which appears to be the first Janus Contemporary that will get a Criterion spine release. We then talk about the May 2025 Announcements, and the new trend of increasing the number of new titles with upgrades. We speculate whether this has to do with the Steven Rales and Indian Paintbrush acquisition. Links: Video of this Episode ‘Flow’ Will Join the Criterion Collection Later This Year with 4K Special Edition Kickstarter Campaign for The A24 New Wave Follow Us: Cinejourneys – YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: Imogen Sara Smith joins to talk about her plans regarding the upcoming Powell & Pressburger Online Class she is teaching. She also touches on some exciting topics she wants to cover later, and what types of film topics she finds interesting. Links: Video of this episode Matters of Life and Death: The Cinema of Powell and Pressburger – Details and Registration Imogen Sara Smith’s Guide Page Imogen’s Writing at Criterion Follow Us: Cinejourneys – YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: Becky D’Anna joins to talk about Alex Garland, and specifically the films that have been released by A24 — Ex Machina, Men, and Civil War. We talk about the sense of dread that he creates and how he’s such an excellent writer. Becky compares his work to Ingmar Bergman. He uses sound and photography to accomplish this, and there are parallels to Hour of the Wolf, Shame, and others. Links: Video of this episode The A24 New Wave Kickstarter Becky’s Website Becky’s Letterboxd Becky’s BlueSky Becky’s Twitter/X Follow Us: Cinejourneys – YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: Zach Bryant from They Live By Film joins to talk about Osgood Perkins, who has one film with A24 — The Blackcoat’s Daughter. He has since achieved acclaim thanks to Longlegs and has an upcoming film called The Monkey that looks to be yet another breakthrough in his career. We get into his other films, and also Bryan Bertino’s The Monster, which Perkins produced. Links: Video of this episode The A24 New Wave Kickstarter They Live By Film Podcast Zach’s Letterboxd Follow Us: Cinejourneys – YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: Derek Smith talks about his film experience and the Online Classes he plans to teach, beginning with Japanese New Wave and eventually David Lynch. Links: Video of this episode Japanese New Wave 1965 – 1970s – Details and Registration Japanese New Wave 1956 – 1964 – Details and Registration Derek Smith’s Guide Page Slant Magazine – Derek Smith Letterboxd – Derek Smith BlueSky – Derek Smith Follow Us: Cinejourneys – YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: Jill and Aaron are back after a little bit of an unintentional break. We talk about Aaron’s upcoming new book. We pay tribute to the loss of one of our favorite filmmakers, David Lynch. Finally we talk about the April 2025 Announcements, which include seven titles, with two from Sean Baker. We have a brief digression about Gerard Depardieu’s airplane behavior. Links: Video of this Episode Criterion Now – Episode 154 Video Criterion Now – Episode 155 Video Kickstarter Campaign for The A24 New Wave Follow Us: Cinejourneys – YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: Aaron is writing an A24 book with Jill Blake editing. There is a Kickstarter campaign that is in progress right now, and this is the second episode of the accompanying podcast. Jill and Aaron talk about David Lynch first and foremost, as he is omnipresent with any conversation about modern cinema. We then get into the book and how we are approaching this topic, and where this could lead. Links: Video of this episode The A24 New Wave Kickstarter Follow Us: Cinejourneys – YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: Aaron is writing an A24 book. There is a Kickstarter campaign that is in progress right now, and this is the first episode of the accompanying podcast. This episode will appear in all podcast player apps soon, and is always available here on the website and on our YouTube channel. We are very excited about the book and looking forward to your support! Links: Video of this episode The A24 New Wave Kickstarter Follow Us: Cinejourneys – YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: We visited with Daniela Taplin Lundberg, the owner of Stay Gold Productions and host of the Hollywood Gold Podcast. She has produced films such as Harriet, Honey Boy, Beasts of No Nation, The Kids Are All Right, Under the Silver Lake, Nanny, and several more. Her podcast is focused on showcasing producers with stories of the blood, sweat and tears that go into making Hollywood Gold. After the discussion with Daniela, Jill Blake discusses her trip to Los Angeles where she caught the Robbie Robertson Tribute show, which could become a Scorsese documentary, and also seeing Joni Mitchell at the Hollywood Bowl. Links: Video of this episode Stay Gold Features Stay Gold Pledge Stay Gold Instagram | Hollywood Gold Instagram Follow Us: Cinejourneys – YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – BlueSky | Letterboxd

Description: Celeste de la Cabra is a horror expert, at least in Aaron’s opinion. They spent some time going through Aaron’s Top 100 Horror Films of the 21st century. Celeste had not looked at the list beforehand, and it turned out she had seen 63 of the films. She had some great takes, as expected. Links: Video of this episode Aaron’s Top Horror Films of the 21st Century Celeste de la Cabra YouTube | Patreon | Letterboxd | Instagram Follow Us: Cinejourneys – YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – Letterboxd | BlueSky

Description: Derek Smith joins Aaron to talk about the Slant list for best horror films of the 21st century. Derek writes for Slant and is going to be a guide for CineJourneys, so he had some great insights. Of course we quibbled about some of the results, but that’s kind of the point with lists. Links: Video of this Conversation Slant Magazine – The 100 Best Horror Movies of the 21st Century Where to find Derek – Slant Magazine | Letterboxd | Twitter/X Follow Us: Cinejourneys – YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – Letterboxd

Description: Jill and Aaron review the Variety 100 Best Horror films, film by film. Somehow Jill was possessed and we aren’t sure why, but good news, she’s fine now. Overall we thought this list was okay. We have some quibbles and there were a couple of films we thought were too high, some too low. There were a couple that we thought were egregiously low, but that’s bound to be the case with most subjective lists. Links: Video of this episode Variety – The 100 Best Horror Movies of All Time Follow Us: Cinejourneys – YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – Letterboxd

Description: Brian Saur of Just the Discs and Pure Cinema Podcast joins the show to discuss the December 2024 announcements. We also talk about Criterion Channel additions, including the new J-Horror series. Since we’re likely going to have a flash sale and Barnes & Noble sale, we also go through recent and upcoming releases to provide some recommendations. Links: X/Twitter | Instagram X/Twitter | Instagram | Patreon Brian Saur – X/Twitter | Instagram Filmmaker Shirts Criterion Collection – Coming Soon Follow Us: Cinejourneys – Website | YouTube Channel | Discord Server Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – Letterboxd

Description: Brad McDermott joins to talk about the Japanese Horror Journey that is in progress, including Onibaba, Hausu, and the films of Kiyoshi Kurosawa. We also get into discussions about The Substance and just generally spooky season films. Links: Video of this Conversation Japanese Horror Journey Details Follow Us: Cinejourneys – YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – Letterboxd

Description: Kristina Dijan joins to talk about the upcoming Japanese Horror Journey and also talks Spooky Season movie watching in October, with recommendations. Aaron talks about The Substance and how it is a must see, preferably in theaters. Links: Video Version of this Discussion CineJourneys – October Japanese Horror Details and Registration October CineJourneys Shirt Follow Us: Cinejourneys – YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – Letterboxd

Description: The second chapter of our Classic Suspense Journey is called “Buckle Up.” We watched Henri-Georges Clouzot’s The Wages of Fear (1953), which is widely considered to be among the best suspense films of all time. We followed it with William Friedkin’s Sorcerer (1977), which had some distribution challenges (mostly due to being released close to the time frame of Star Wars), but it is still considered one of the best classic remakes of all time. We feel it is more of a re-imagining. The films work differently, and reflect differences in filmmaking from their time frame and changes in global politics. During this call, we dive deep and have a constructive discussion about both films. Ultimately it was an experiment to watch them closely together, and while the films were appreciated, the results depended on the individuals. Links: Chapter Two Video Call Explosive Terror in The Wages of Fear (1953) – Jill Blake Classic Suspense Journey Details Follow Us: Cinejourneys – YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – Letterboxd

Description: Jill and Aaron welcome Keith Enright, The Completionist. Keith is a longtime friend of both Criterion Now and CineJourneys, and he was primarily the motivator for us to schedule a Coen Brothers Screwball Comedy Journey. This episode is a brief conversation after the conclusion of the journey, and we talk some about the Coen Brothers being part of the Minneapolis community, but more about just being a fan of their films and how that has lasted through time. We also have a conversation about lists and what we had for breakfast. Links: Keith’s Letterboxd My Coen Brothers Odyssey – Aaron West Unedited Video Episode Follow Us: Cinejourneys – YouTube Channel | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Threads Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – Letterboxd

Description: This is the first episode of Read Her to Heaven, which is our new Journey where we look at film related books. We were delighted to have Erica Shultz as our inaugural guest. She is the author of The Sweetest Taboo: An Unapologetic Guide to Child Kills in Film. which is as crazy and also hilarious as it sounds. We released our YouTube Channel. Future podcast episodes will appear on the CineJourneys master feed. Links: Read Her to Heaven – Episode One on YouTube Unsung Horrors Podcast Follow Us: Read Her to Heaven – Journey Hub | Discord Channel | CineJourneys Group Cinejourneys – Read Her to Heaven Journey | Facebook Group Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – Letterboxd Unsung Horror Podcast

Description: This is the third chapter of our Coming of Age Journey, and we really dived deep into Dazed and Confused. We also discussed Rohmer’s The Green Ray, and the pairing worked well because there’s a clear connection between the work of Rohmer and Linklater. The Green Ray is cited as a direct influence. As for Dazed and Confused, we shared a couple stories from Melissa Maerz’s book “Alright Alright Alright” and talked about the impact of the film. We released this call on our YouTube Channel and podcast on the CineJourneys master feed. Links: Chapter Three Video Call Follow Us: Cinejourneys – Facebook Group Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – Letterboxd

Description: Ryan Verrill joins the podcast to announce that we are joining Someone’s Favorite Productions network. We also get into the November 2024 announcements on the heels of having already reacted (somewhat critically) to the CC40 boxset. We are pleased with this month, and we show a different side of Mifune to show our gratitude. Links: Criterion Now – Episode 152 – Video Someone’s Favorite Productions links Disc-Connected Links Criterion Collection – Coming Soon Follow Us: Cinejourneys – Website | YouTube Channel | Discord Server Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – Letterboxd

Description: Jill and Aaron take a look at the recently announced Criterion Collection 40 box set, which was based on the selections of guests who have visited their closet and recorded a video. We think this was a bad idea and strays from their vision, and we are not exactly sure who this is for. Links: Criterion Now – Episode 151 – Video Criterion Collection – CC40 Details Follow Us: Cinejourneys – Website | YouTube Channel | Discord Server Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – Letterboxd

Description: Imogen Sara Smith joins for our special episode 150, which we recorded without interruptions. We talk about a number of subjects including the thrill and rarity of seeing a repertory nitrate screening. She talks about her craft process, and how she approaches writing about film. We talk about modern French film and specifically how Celine Sciamma has pushed the boundaries of telling a visual story. We talk about the 2024 October Criterion announcements, including the Val Lewton set which features an Imogen interview. Finally, Imogen weighs in our Jill and Aaron’s choices for the upcoming #Noirvember Blogathon. Thanks Imogen for helping us celebrate this milestone episode! Links: Criterion Now – Episode 150 – Video Film Noir Foundation Maine Media – Imogen Sara Smith Criterion Collection – Imogen Sara Smith – Rohmer’s Tales of the Four Seasons Follow Us: Cinejourneys – Website | YouTube Channel | Discord Server Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – Letterboxd

Description: Jill and Aaron return the Criterion Now podcast with a long overdue episode. We get into the ownership situation with Criterion Collection and Indian Paintbrush, and what we expect from it. We also look at the recent and upcoming releases, and what we are looking forward to seeing as new or for the first time. Links: Criterion September 2024 Reaction with Josh Hornbeck CineJourneys – Join Our Inclusive Online Community Cinema Ritrovato Follow Us: Cinejourneys – Website Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – Letterboxd

Description: Jill and Aaron welcome Joe Petrucelli. Joe is a founding member and listener of the Criterion Now podcast, but we didn’t get to meet him until he joined CineJourneys. He has been here since the beginning and watched this begin with no website, then barely a website, and now a full website, so we reflect on that experience with him. We also talk about the Japanese Films Journey, which was such great fun, and Joe was a big part of what we enjoyed about that. Links: Japanese Films Journey But Also – Video Loop Follow Us: Cinejourneys – Facebook Group Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – Letterboxd

Description: Jill and Aaron welcome Caitlin Kuhwald. We had the great pleasure of working with Caitlin on the art for CineJourneys, and we couldn’t be happier with the results. Usually when people see the website, the art is what they compliment. We also talk about Screwball Comedies and her Criterion covers. Links: Caitlin Kuhwald Illustration   Follow Us: Cinejourneys – Substack, Facebook Group Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – Letterboxd

Description: Jill and Aaron welcome Andrew Pierce from The Curb. He is also co-chair of the Australian Film Critics Association, and has written books on Australian Cinema. This past year he started voting for the Golden Globe Awards, which was really intriguing to hear about. Andrew takes his credibility serious and the Globes have a checkered past, and this year was surprising in that the Awards became part of the conversation again, in many ways thanks to Andrew and others who have tried to establish some dignity. We also speak about Awards Season generally, and he talks about the state of Australian Cinema. Links: The Curb – Andrew’s Website Australian Film Yearbook – 2021 Edition, by Andrew F Pierce The Curb – Facebook The Curb – Instagram Andrew F Pierce’s Rotten Tomatoes Profile   Follow Us: Cinejourneys – Substack, Facebook Group Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – Letterboxd

Description: Jill and Aaron are ready and excited for the imminent launch of the CineJourneys website. In this call we give a preview of what’s to come, and we share a call where the remainder of the 2024 Journeys are unveiled. Current subscribers are excited and we think you will be too. Once the site launches, we will have registration open for all remaining 2024 Journeys, plus we’ll start onboarding new Guides who will lead their own Journeys. Follow Us: Cinejourneys – Substack, Facebook Group Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – Letterboxd

Description: Jill and Aaron catch up a bit on exciting topics such as David Zaslav, Dune 2, Naked Attraction, and we give a tribute to David Bordwell who is responsible for a lot of people’s journeys into cinephilia. We also wrap up Modern Classics by discussing two of the films that resonated the most, Marie Antoinette and There Will be Blood. We also get a surprise guest for a Paddington 2 review. Links: David Bordwell tribute from colleagues Criterion Tribute to David Bordwell Naked Attraction Trailer Modern Classics – Chapter 2 Call Modern Classics Journey Rankings   Follow Us: Cinejourneys – Substack, Facebook Group Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – Letterboxd

Description: Michael Schulman, New Yorker staff writer and author, joined us to discuss the Oscar experience. Michael recently wrote the wonderful book, Oscar Wars. We talk about this year’s Oscars and a couple of the controversies, and then we dive into one of his book chapters. This was when Gregory Peck was President of the Oscars and with his all Candice Bergen, he made sweeping reforms to allow the young American New Wave directors into the Academy. We discuss the blacklist and how that impacted the Academy, and we also talk about the great Meryl Streep, since Michael has also written a book called Her Again. Links: Michael Schulman’s New Yorker articles Michael Schulman’s Website The Oscars are Confused About Barbie How the Oscars Got Groovy – Excerpt from Oscar Wars about Gregory Peck and the Academy CineJourneys – Kazan Naming Names – Aaron West Follow Us: Michael Schulman – Twitter/X | Instagram Cinejourneys – Substack, Facebook Group Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – Letterboxd

Description: Derek Smith from Slant Magazine joins Aaron and Mark Hurne to dig into Awards Season. He has seen pretty much everything and then some, and he just recently participated in Virtual Sundance and shares some highlights. We also talk about Modern Classics and how he inadvertently suggested a 14-hour film, and also whether any films from 2023 have potential to become classics. For the Oscars, we talk about the highlights of the nominations, a few snubs, and also some great films that did not get nominated. Links Slant Magazine – Derek Smith Variety – 25 Great Films Snubbed by the Oscars IndieWire – The Best Movies of Sundance 2024, According to 166 Critics Follow Us: Cinejourneys – Substack, Facebook Group Derek Smith – Bluesky | Letterboxd Mark Hurne – Letterboxd | Twitter/X Aaron West – Letterboxd

Description: We had a great time hosting Rodney Wade, who was one of the more active participants in our first ever Journey, Noirvember. We talk about the films, the overall experience, and what we learned from it going forward. Follow Us: Cinejourneys – Substack, Facebook Group Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – Letterboxd Rodney Wade – Letterboxd

Description: Welcome back! We have another episode. This time it’s a deep dive into true crime documentaries, and how they’ve changed throughout the years from informational to entertainment (or info-tainment) and how the seeds were there within classic documentaries. Since we’ve been watching Noir films in November, true crime files like a worthwhile supplemental topic. Follow Us: Cinejourneys – Substack, Facebook Group Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – Letterboxd

Description: We are joined by Marya E. Gates, the “professional cinephile” who has worked with TCM, FilmStruck, Netflix, Criterion, and many others. She famously coined Noirvember 14 years ago. It was a way to further her cinephile journey, and has grown to become a phenomenon in the years that followed. She talks about that in detail during our discussion, and we unpack many other topics such as women in noir, our favorite noirs, Gloria Grahame’s off-screen exploits, and looking at Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life as noir. Links: Marya’s Noirvember Letterboxd Lists Cool People Have Feelings, Too – Marya’s Substack Noirvember on Facebook Noirvember Registration Noirvember and Founding Member Details Follow Us: Marya E. Gates – Instagram | Letterboxd | BlueSky | Tumblr | Twitter Cinejourneys – Substack, Facebook Group Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – Letterboxd

Description: Noirvember is our first Journey. As of today, we’ll be spending the month soft-launching our platform and enjoying noir films with friends. In this episode we discuss what Noirvember is going to look like for us, including the film list and how we’ll unpack these films. In response to some questions, we discuss how the CineJourneys platform integrates with Substack. Since many of the subscribers of the journey are film experts, we also go over some of the film noir basics. Links: Noirvember Registration Noirvember and Founding Member Details Follow Us: Cinejourneys – Substack, Facebook Group Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – Letterboxd

Description: Drew Morton is our first guest to CineJourneys, but he’s someone we’ve talked to plenty in the past. We get into 31 Days of Horror, and the near impossibility of completing it every day, and how we are watching horror films in October. Drew talks about his visit to the Stanley Hotel from The Shining (1980). We also talk about Jill’s aversion to slasher films, and how she can navigate around that and still enjoy some horror. We also get into the allure and appeal of horror films, and how we can be fascinated by gruesome subject matter. We delve into Carol Clover’s Final Girl theory and discuss whether that summarizes or informs the genre. Links: Noirvember Registration The Sun – Snowflake Students Dub Frankenstein as Misunderstood Victim Wikipedia – Final Girl Follow Us: Drew Morton – Twitter/X Cinejourneys – Substack, Facebook Group Jill Blake – BlueSky Aaron West – Letterboxd

Description: Jill and Aaron return to podcasting with a brand new show and brand new project called CineJourneys. We give an intro to this new project and where we expect it to go. For the inaugural episode, we talk about Hayao Miyazaki. We have some fun with an Onion article about him having to resign his HVAC job. We then dive in deeper into Miyazaki’s aesthetic and widespread appeal, and why he means so much to his fans. Links: What is CineJourneys? – Substack Hayao Miyazaki Satire Article – The Onion

We are pleased to have Dave Eves back on the show. We talk best of 2022, February and March announcements, and the Sight & Sound list.

Now that we’re back, we had some catching up to do. This week Drew Morton joined to go back through all of the months that we missed during hiatus — August 2022 through January 2023.

Filmmaker Sean Baker and his co-director for Take Out and frequent collaborator Shih-Ching Tsou join to discuss Take Out, Criterion, and other topics.

We took an unannounced hiatus for a lot of reasons. Jill and Aaron are now officially back and ready to resume the show. This one was just us “shooting the s**t” without an intro or anything. We just wanted to get back into the swing of podcasting, plus sharing what we’ve been up to, and what we’re looking forward to. As it happens we have two other episodes that are in the pipeline so expect more soon.