The Cinematic Schematic

The Cinematic Schematic’s Three Films That Got You Through the 2020 Pandemic interview series concludes in its final entry with the Oklahoma City Museum of Art head of film programming and theatrical operations, Lisa Broad, PH.D. I talk with Broad about how the pandemic impacted the museum’s ability to play films before discussing how her team pivoted to the virtual cinema. We close out the conversation with a look at her selections. Broad joined the Oklahoma City Museum of Art’s Film Program in 2017 and has served as Head of Film Programming and Theatrical Operations since April 2020. She earned her Ph.D. in cinema studies from New York University, where she received the 2017 Jay Leyda Award for Academic Excellence. Her dissertation research focused on the relationship between film and the philosophical notion of possible worlds. In addition to teaching graduate and undergraduate courses on film style and contemporary international cinema, Broad has published and presented on French film, Hitchcock, and phil

In today’s episode of The Cinematic Schematic, first-time special guests Brock Lay and Josh Reid are welcomed to the show to share their fond memories and experiences with the Mortal Kombat franchise before joining me to review the 2021 HBO Max/theatrically released Mortal Kombat from producer James Wan and first-time director Simon McQuaid. Video game big-screen adaptations have a pretty poor track record for box office and critical success with very few films justifying full-blown franchises and even fewer managing to be received well by critics or remembered fondly by audiences. The flops date back to one of the earliest attempts by Buena Vista’s 1993 Super Mario Bros. One of the more notable exceptions to this trend is 1995’s Mortal Kombat, a film made on a relatively low budget of $18 million. It struck a chord with filmgoers who simply could not resist the synth-heavy theme, resulting in over $120 million at the box office. Though the film has remained appreciated by generations of moviegoers, its 1997

The Cinematic Schematic maintains our annual tradition of hosting an Oscar predictions episode with recurring guest host, Laron Chapman. It’s our aim to give listening cinephiles, award show junkies and casual watchers a slightly better idea of how to hedge their bets for Sunday’s 93rd Academy Awards. 2020 was full of unexpected twists. There were global pandemics, historic elections, and how can we forget it was just a year ago that Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite became the surprise Cinderella story that swept the Academy? With so many major studio films and highly anticipated indie films being pushed back until theaters reopen, the floor is open for the 2021 Oscars to be another show full of surprises. Who will take home sought after best lead Actress? Will it be the SAG winner, Viola Davis? Or what about the BAFTA winner, Frances McDormand, or the buzzed about Promising Young Woman performance from Carey Mulligan? This also marks the first year more than one woman was nominated for best director, with Chloé Zhao

The Three Films That Got You Through the 2020 Pandemic interview series enters its final stretch on The Cinematic Schematic in part nine, our penultimate interview, with the Oklahoma Film+Music Office(OF+MO) outreach and production manager, Yousef Kazemi. I talk with Kazemi about how the pandemic impacted Oklahoma’s film industry before discussing how his team pivoted and turned last year’s unprecedented times into a period filled with silver linings. The conversation wraps up with a look at the three films that helped Kazemi get through it all. Within two years, Kazemi was promoted to locations coordinator for OF+MO where he served in this role for nearly a decade. Now, as outreach & production manager, Kazemi works actively to engage statewide community development in support of the state’s film and television industry through OF+MO’s Oklahoma Film Friendly Community Program while continuing to provide locations, permitting and logistical support for productions filming on-location in Oklahoma. Additionally

The Three Films That Got You Through the 2020 Pandemic interview series continues on The Cinematic Schematic in part eight with the managing partner of Tower Theatre in OKC, founder of Mostly Harmless Media, and the director of technology of the deadCenter Film Festival, Stephen Tyler. I speak with Tyler about how the pandemic impacted the operations of Oklahoma’s historic theater before discussing how they pivoted in order to keep the film and concert venue afloat during the economic challenges they faced during the pandemic. To close out the conversation, we do what we’ve always done in this series by taking a look at the three films that helped him get through it all. Tyler is one of the Oklahoma City film community’s hardest working individuals. He’s a jack of all trades in all things technology for the deadCenter Film Festival and also co-operates Oklahoma City’s historic Tower Theatre. The Tower Theatre opened in 1937 and is one of Oklahoma City’s last original movie houses with an intact auditorium and

Since 2014’s American Godzilla reboot, Legendary Pictures, Warner Bros and Toho have been slowly building up their combined “Monsterverse,” set to end in a climatic rematch between Godzilla and King Kong. It would be the rematch of the century, coming 59 years after they first crossed paths in 1962’s King Kong vs Godzilla. In a world where mega-franchises and CGI spectacle is king, how could a crossover this big fail? Despite the warm critical and box office reception of Godzilla and 2017’s Kong: Skull Island, 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters was a huge flop with critics and audiences, leaving the future of the franchise in question. Does this epic crossover, Godzilla vs Kong, step up its game to deliver the type of crowd-pleasing spectacle audiences have been clamoring for throughout the pandemic, or have the goliaths fallen out of favor with fans due to uninteresting human characters? The Cinematropolis co-founders Jacob and Zachary Burns rejoin host Caleb Masters to get the answers by reviewing HBO Ma

Tune in for a special announcement regarding an update to our April programming. The post April 2021 Programming Update appeared first on The Cinematropolis.

For years, fans called on DC and Warner Bros. to #ReleasetheSnyderCut after the poor reception of the original 2017 release that was completed by Joss Whedon, and on March 18, 2021, the studio answered the call with a $70 million dollar HBOMax release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League. In this episode of The Cinematic Schematic, we assemble a group of panelists including Geek Girl Features’ Chelsea Ratterman, The Cinematropolis’s Daniel Bokemper, and DC aficionado, Bobby Griffith, to review the long-rumored and fan demanded director’s cut. We’ll kick the conversation off by getting perspective on how each member of the panel has felt about the Snyder films previous to 2017 before giving our verdicts on this new release. We’ll close out the discussion by diving into what to make of the film’s final chapters and what we’d like to see next in the increasingly unclear future of the DCEU. Does Snyder’s vision justify years of hype, a four-hour runtime, and the hefty price tag? Listen in to get the final verdict from

The Three Films That Got You Through the 2020 Pandemic interview series continues on The Cinematic Schematic in part seven featuring the host and producer of the Tunes/Toons podcast, Harold Storey. I speak with Storey about how the pandemic impacted his ability to produce his podcast and changed how he spoke with guests. As always, we shift the conversation to the three films that helped him get through it all to close the show! Special Guest Harold Storey, host of the Tunes/Toons podcast Listen to Tunes/Toons on Spotify or wherever your podcasts are found Follow Harold on Instagram or on Twitter According to the Apple Podcasts description, “Harold Storey heads up the Tunes/Toons Podcast – a show dedicated to all things concerning animation and music.” Storey has recorded nearly 150 episodes and featured a wide variety of people of interest in the Oklahoma City area as well as special guests including Jim Lang (Hey Arnold!), Jaret Reddick (Bowling for Soup), Mike Kennerty (All-American Rejects), Butch Hartman

The Cinematic Schematic returns for a review and spoiler-filled discussion of Walt Disney Animation’s latest film exploring a post-apocalyptic southeast Asian fantasy, Raya and the Last Dragon. Rejoining us for this conversation is our resident animated film fan, Lauren Weingart, founder of Video Peach Productions. After a full year away from a theater, the slow release of blockbuster-quality studio films had come to a crawl. That is with a handful of exceptions, including Disney’s latest $30 Premiere Access release. Raya and the Last Dragon is about as big a scope you can get with a Disney movie. It’s set in a fantastical world that had been ravaged by evil. The only way our hero, Raya(Kelly Marie Tran), can hope to save her world is by taking a globe-trotting, Indiana Jones-style adventure to reassemble a magical dragon gem with her new partner, Sisu(Awkwafina). It features sword fights, treasure hunts, and a timely message. Does it deliver on something fun and new? Is it worth the $30? We discuss all of th

The Cinematic Schematic returns in part six of our ongoing Three Films That Got You Through the 2020 Pandemic interview series with entertainment writer, filmmaker, and host of the Hardcourt Hunnies podcast, Shea Vassar. We speak with Vassar about how the pandemic impacted her work as a freelance entertainment writer focused on native stories and her coverage of international film festivals like Sundance. We’ll wrap up the conversation by talking about the three films that helped her get through it all.  Special Guest Shea Vassar Writer, filmmaker and host of the Hardcourt Hunnies podcast Follow Shea on Twitter @justsheavassar According to her website, “Shea Vassar is a Cherokee Nation citizen and member of the Native American Journalists Association. Her film criticism career started as something to do to pass the time in film school at Hunter College and since has been published at Roger Ebert, High Country News, Film School Rejects, and Zora Magazine among others. Currently, she is working with the Red Hou

In the fifth part of The Cinematic Schematic‘s ongoing Three Films That Got You Through the 2020 Pandemic interview series, we sit down with Adam Chitwood, the managing editor at Collider, co-host of The Collider Podcast, and member of the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle. We speak with Chitwood about how he landed the Collider gig while working from Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the ways the pandemic impacted their coverage of the movies in 2020. The conversation wraps up with Chitwood’s three films that got him through 2020. Special Guest Adam Chitwood Managing Editor at Collider and co-host of The Collider Podcast Follow Adam on Twitter @adamchitwood According to his Collider author page, Chitwood has been working for Collider for over a decade, and in addition to managing content, he also runs point on interviews, awards coverage, and he co-hosts The Collider Podcast with Matt Goldberg (which has been running since 2012). He’s the creator and author of Collider‘s “How the MCU Was Made” series and has interviewed Bill

The Cinematic Schematic continues our special Three Films That Got You Through the 2020 Pandemic interview series with part four of this ten-episode run. In this episode, I speak with film studies educator, Oklahoma Film Critics Circle member, and Ward 2 city councilperson in Oklahoma City, James Cooper. I talk with Cooper about the importance of media literacy in the current climate and how the pandemic impacted how he taught his classes and interacted with his students. When talking with Cooper, I’ve learned he’s not here to give you his opinion, and he’s more focused on telling you his story through references to everything from Richard Linklater’s Waking Life to essays from academia like Andre Bazin’s “The Myth of Total Cinema.” He’s not just providing a quick take, but rather taking you on a journey to ensure his perspective is honest, grounded, clear, and empathetic. Did I mention he’s also passionate about horror movies like Scream 2?  Special Guest James Cooper College educator, Oklahoma Film Critics

In the third entry of our ongoing Three Films That Got You Through the 2020 Pandemic interview series, The Cinematic Schematic welcomes two of the GoodTrash Media co-founders, Arthur Gordon and returning guest Dalton Stuart, to the show to talk about how the pandemic impacted the production of their podcast, The GoodTrash Genrecast. They’ll discuss how the challenging year had them rethink their programming before getting into the three films that got each of them through last year. For a chance to have your three film selections read on the air later in the series, email us at thecinematropolis@gmail.com. Special Guests Arthur Gordon Co-host of GoodTrash Genrecast and GoodTrash Media co-founder Follow Arthur on Twitter @thearthurgordon Dalton Stuart Co-host of GoodTrash Genrecast and GoodTrash Media co-founder Follow Dalton on Twitter @Doll_Stew According to their website, goodtrashmedia.com: GoodTrash Media was birthed out of one simple idea – to have an intelligent conversation about film and pop culture.

The Cinematic Schematic continues our special Three Films That Got You Through the 2020 Pandemic interview series. In part two of this ten-episode interview series, we speak with Native filmmaker, artist, and podcaster, Sterlin Harjo. We’ll talk with Harjo about how the shutdown of Hollywood impacted his creative process and TV pilot production before hearing about the three films that helped him get through 2020. Special Guest Sterlin Harjo Filmmaker, Artist and Podcaster Credits include Mekko, Love and Fury, and the upcoming FX series, Reservation Dogs Follow Sterlin on Instagram @SterlinHarjo Sterlin Harjo recently made headlines when his FX series, Reservation Dogs, also co-produced by Thor: Ragnorok and Jojo Rabbit writer/director Taika Waititi, was greenlit for a full season by Disney during the House of Mouse’s December investor briefing. Raised in Holdenville, Oklahoma, Harjo is a member of the Seminole Nation and has Muskogee heritage. After studying art and film at the University of Oklahoma, he rec

The Cinematic Schematic interupts your normally scheduled film conversation-centric programming with a special look at the first batch of episodes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s (MCU) first Disney+ TV mini-series, WandaVision. To provide this review, episode breakdown, and Marvel Easter egg hunt, we are rejoined by Lauren Weingart AKA Video Peach. In our discussion, we’ll talk about what it’s like to reconnect with the MCU after receiving no new releases in 2020(the first in ten years) before taking a look at the upcoming slate of series coming from Marvel studios including Loki, Falcon and the Winter Soldier, What If…?, and many others. How well does WandaVision launch the next phase of the MCU following the highest-grossing movie of all-time, Avengers: Endgame? We’ll start by giving our initial reaction to the series as a whole so far before going through each of the first four episodes in a spoiler-tastic fashion. Then we’ll close out the conversation by making our bold theories and predictions for wha

Today marks the beginning of a new special interview series for The Cinematic Schematic – Three Films That Got You Through the 2020 Pandemic. In this limited ten-episode interview series, we will speak with a wide variety of colleagues, professionals, and artists working in the film industry, largely in our backyard of Oklahoma. We’ll talk with each guest about how the pandemic has impacted their line of work before talking about the three movies that helped them get through it all.  In our inaugural episode, we sit down for a talk with the deadCenter Film Festival‘s executive director, Alyx Picard Davis. Special Guest Alyx Picard Davis The executive director of the deadCenter Film Festival Follow Alyx on Twitter @alyxpicarddavis Follow deadCenter on Twitter @deadcenter Purchase passes for the virtual deadCenter 2021 Film Festival today! The deadCenter Film Festival is Oklahoma’s largest film festival and it’s dedicated to “inspire, promote, and celebrate creativity and community through film,” according to t

Welcome back to The Cinematic Schematic, the official podcast of The Cinematropolis.com. Today I’ll be proving my review of Emerald Fennell’s directorial debut, Promising Young Woman.  DISCLAIMER: Potentially triggering topics including rape and sexual assault are a central part of the plot and themes of Promising Young Woman. If you are sensitive to these subjects, this review and the film may not be for you. Reader and listener discretion is advised.  According to IMDB Promising Young Woman is described as “A young woman, traumatized by a tragic event in her past, seeks out vengeance against those who cross her path.” The film is written/directed by Emerald Fennell and stars Carey Mulligan, Bo Burnham, and Allison Brie. Fennell’s directorial debut is a bold, sharp and oftentimes excruciating examination of the double standard between men and women, accusers and the accused and victims and their predators in our society. It’s a rape-revenge thriller that not only disregards your comfort, but actually relishe

The Cinematic Schematic podcast returns for our final episode of 2020. This week we’ll review the long-delayed sequel to 2017’s smash hit, Wonder Woman, and the latest continuation of the DCEU, Wonder Woman 1984. We’re rejoined by recurring guest co-host, Freaky AF and You People writer/director, Laron Chapman, and Geek Girl Features writer Chelsea Ratterman, to provide a spoiler-free review of the film before having an in-depth spoiler discussion. In 2017, writer/director Patty Jenkins made her name in superhero filmmaking with the box office and critical success story, Wonder Woman. After bringing in a staggering $822 million worldwide and garnering the coveted “Fresh” Rotten Tomatoes score of 93%, the hopes and expectations for the follow-up couldn’t be higher. Enter the 2020 pandemic. After several short-term delays in late 2019, the film finally landed on a June 2020 date that would eventually be pushed several more times due to the pandemic before finally having a historical simultaneous HBO Max and the

Merry Christmas and happy holidays, dear listeners! The Cinematic Schematic podcast is here with a special bonus episode reviewing Disney Pixar’s new movie releasing directly on Disney+ on Christmas Day, Soul. To meet the special occasion, we are joined by my 2020 COVID-pandemic partner in crime, the Video Peach, Lauren Weingart. Tune in to hear our reactions and analysis of one of this year’s biggest holiday releases, being released exclusively via Disney’s streaming platform. Longtime fans of Pixar may remember the Soul co-writer/director Pete Doctor‘s past films with the studio including Monsters Inc., Up, and Inside Out–their cream of the crop. If 2015’s Inside Out was Doctor’s exploration of human emotion, Soul is his examination of human spirituality. Where does inspiration originate? What’s the special energy that gets individuals motivated and excited to take on each and every day? How do purpose and fulfillment work together in the human psyche to create happiness and a sense of belonging? These are