Spotlight - LaF 131

Welcome to today’s review of Tom McCarthy’s journalist procedural Spotlight. An all-star cast led by the iconic Michael Keaton, play the Boston Globe reporters who uncovered a massive scandal involving the local Catholic Archdiocese and child molestation. The film is an engrossing look into how newspapers bring their stories to the page. Using a deft hand, the difficult subject of pedophilia and its effect on every part of the Boston community is uncovered layer by layer and expertly examined. This masterful craftsmanship has earned six Oscar nominations for Directing, Original Screenplay and Supporting Acting for Rachel McAdams and Mark Ruffalo.

Join us as the LaF podcast gets ready to publish their front page review of Spotlight.

Room - LaF 130

Today’s review is of Lenny Abrahamson’s harrowing film adaptation of the New York Times best selling novel Room. Brie Larson’s powerful portrayal as Joy Newsome, has made her an early front runner to win the Best Actress Oscar. Having been forced to live in terror in a small locked room for seven years, she tries to be the best parent possible to her five year old son, played by newcomer Jacob Newsome, and raise him sheltered from the horror of their situation, while giving him all the warmth and love of a normal childhood. The film uses the bond of mother and child to explore thematically the incredible power and resiliency of love. The Academy of Motion Pictures has nominated this universally acclaimed movie for two other awards in Adapted Screenplay and Best Director.

Join LaF on another Best Picture review as they discuss Room.

The Revenant - LaF 129

Today’s review is about the wilderness survival tale The Revenant. The film depicts the true story of Hugh Glass’s attempt to trek 200 miles alone after being mauled by a bear and left for dead by his hunting party. Filmed using only natural light, every shot is a masterpiece that has rightfully earned the movie nominations for Best Visual Effects, Cinematography, and Director.The film has earned nine other nominations covering almost aspect of filmmaking, from Leonardo DiCaprio’s and Tom Hardy’s Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor nods, to award consideration for Production Design, Sound Editing, and Costume Design. At the end of the night, there is good chance this film walks away with more Oscars than any other 2015 film. 

Bundle up and join LaF’s attempt to retrace the footsteps of one man’s incredible journey as they review The Revenant.

The Martian - LaF 128

The review du jour is Ridley Scott’s sci-fi drama The Martian. Matt Damon has been nominated as Best Actor for his role as Mark Watney, an astronaut stranded on Mars after accidentally being assumed dead. The rest of the film’s cast is a who’s who of Hollywood elite featuring Jessica Chastain, Kate Mara, and Michael Pena as the astronauts racing to save Mark, and Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sean Bean, and Kristen Wiig comprising the NASA staff coordinating the rescue. This box office juggernaut has a legitimate chance to chance to collect a lot of Oscar gold. The film has been a smash hit with audiences and critics alike, so it is no surprise the film has garnered 7 Academy Award nominates, including Adapted Screenplay, Production Design, and Visual Effects. 

Join LaF as they strap in for an intergalactic voyage to the fourth planet to review The Martian.

Mad Max Fury Road - LaF 127

For today’s review, The LaF Podcast races into the future to discuss George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road. This fourth installment of the Mad Max series may possibly be the best action movie of all time. A high-Octane, High-Speed, High-Concept thriller that delights and thrills its audience through its tight stunt choreography and incredible practical effects, this movie may be the overall winner of this year’s Oscar Race, boasting 9 additional nominations including Best Director, Best Cinematography, Film editing, and Visual Effects. A virtuoso technical achievement, Fury Road stars Tom Hardy as the titular Max Rockatansky and contains an impressive physical acting performance  by Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa, who may have reason to be even angrier than Max himself.

Join the LaF Podcast as they ride along with Ripsaw Imperator, the Organic Mechanic, and the Doof-Warrior to "Fang it" down the Fury Road in pursuit of Furiosa’s War Rig.

The Big Short - LaF 126

Welcome to this special edition of LaF: LaF goes to the Oscars.

Our review today features Adam McKay's dissection of the 2008 financial crisis, The Big Short. Boasting five academy award nominations, this movie made quite an impact at the end of the year, and, like its subject matter, took many people by surprise. Marked by witty dialogue, snappy editing and innovative film techniques, The Big Short solidified its Oscar chances by winning top honors at this year's Producer's Guild Awards. Other Oscars nominations go to Christian Bale for his performance as financial analyst Michael Burry, and Best Director Adam McCay who also earned a Best Adapted Screenplay nod along with Charles Rudolph. Rounding out the nominations is Hank Corwin for Best Film Editing. In addition to Bale, this film boasts an impressive cast which includes Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, and Steve Carrell. 

The LaF Podcast wanders into the confusing world of Default Swaps, Hedge Funds and Synthetic CDOs to analyze The Big Short. 

Brooklyn - LaF 125

Welcome to this special edition of LaF: LaF goes to the Oscars. 

Today's film is director John Crowley's critically acclaimed 1950's period drama, Brooklyn. Boasting impressive acting performances from Saoirse Ronan as young lass Eilis; Emory Cohen as her Italian working-class boyfriend, Tony; and Domhnall Gleason as Jim Farrell, this movie effectively captures the Irish Immigrant experience and examines the intense conflict between responsibility and romance. In addition to Best Picture, the film earned two other Oscar nominations for best actress and best adapted screenplay for Nick Hornby based on Colm Toibin's novel of the same name. 

Join us as the LaF Podcast takes the long, arduous journey by freighter to and from Ireland to review the film Brooklyn. 

Bridge of Spies - LaF 122

Welcome to this special edition of LaF: LaF goes to the Oscars. Ryan and Richard, along with special guests, analyze and discuss the Best Picture nominations for 2015. For episode 122, the guys are reviewing director Steven Spielberg's Bridge of Spies. Co-written by Matt Charman, Joel and Ethan Coen, this period picture takes us back to the height of the Cold War to dramatize a prisoner exchange involving the downed American U2 spy plane pilot, Gary Powers and a KGB spy arrested for espionage. The taut thriller stars Tom Hanks as James Donovan, Amy Ryan as his wife Mary, and nominated best supporting actor Mark Rylance as the Soviet spy Rudolf Abel. In addition to Best Picture, this film has earned 5 other Oscar nominations including Production Design and Original Screenplay. 

Join us now as the LaF Podcast travels to Berlin's Glienicke Bridge in 1962 to review Bridge of Spies. 

Have you seen Bridge of Spies? Send in your review by emailing the show at theLaFpodcast@gmail.com, tweeting @theLaFpodcast, or messaging us on Facebook.com/theLaFpodcast. The best comments will get read on a future show.

Birdman - LaF Reviews the Oscars Part 8 - LaF #18

The long journey is almost over as LaF reviews the final Best Picture nominee. Join the L-Train and Mr. Two-Frames as they discuss Birdman starring Michael Keaton and directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. Does this film about a washed up actor trying to revive his career deserve to win Best Picture? Tune in to find out what LaF talks about when we talk about Birdman. 

Have you seen Birdman? LaF wants to know what you thought of the film. Send us your thoughts by emailing us at thelafpodcast@gmail.com, tweeting us @thelafpodcast, or sending us a message on Facebook. We will read the best comments on a future episode. 

Selma - LaF Reviews the Oscars Part 7 - LaF #17

LaF is so excited about the Academy Awards that the guys cannot stop reviewing the Best Picture nominees. On today's show, the L-Train and Mr. Two-Frames plus guest host The Registrar are reviewing Selma starring David Oyelowo and directed by Ava DuVernay. This movie tells the story of Martin Luther King's march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama  and the hardships faced along the way. Tune in to find out where this film ranks against all the other Oscar nominees

Have you seen Selma? LaF wants to know what you thought of the film. Send in your thoughts by emailing us at thelafpodcast@gmail.com, tweeting us @thelafpodcast, or sending us a message on Facebook. We will read the best comments on a future show. 

Boyhood - LaF Reviews the Oscars Part 6 - LaF #15

LaF has gone Oscar crazy this month. The guys are reviewing every film nominated for Best Picture. Round six features the film Boyhood starring Ellar Coltrane and directed by Richard Linklater. Mr. 'Koala' Lumsden is joining in to help the L-Train and Mr. Two-Frames discuss this film. Does this does fictional biopic, that took twelve year to make, deserve to win Best Picture? The answer is on the other side of the download. 

Let us know what you thought of Boyhood by emailing us at thelafpodcast@gmail.com, tweeting us @thelafpodcast, or sending us a message on Facebook. We will read the best comments on a future show.

The Imitation Game - LaF Reviews the Oscars Part 5 - LaF #14

LaF loves the Academy Awards. We're devoting an entire podcast to a review of each Best Picture nominee. Today's episode is the fifth in the series. We're focusing on a little film called The Imitation Game starring Benedict Cumberbatch. This biopic tells the story of mathematician Alan Turing's attempt to break the enigma code during World War 2. Will The Registrar be able to convince The L-Train and Mr. Two-Frames that is the Best Picture of 2014?  

**Warning: This episode contains mild spoilers***

Let us know what you thought of The Imitation Game by emailing us at thelafpodcast@gmail.com, tweeting us @thelafpodcast, or sending us a message on Facebook. We will read the best comments on a future show.

The Grand Budapest Hotel - LaF Reviews the Oscars Part 3 - LaF #12

The L-Train and Mr. Two-Frames are back with round 3 of their reviews of all the Best Picture nominees. Next on the list is The Grand Budapest Hotel starring Ralph Fiennes. What do the guys think of the eighth movie from director Wes Anderson? Tune in and find out.  

**Warning: This episode contains mild spoilers***

Let us know what you thought of The Grand Budapest Hotel  by emailing us at thelafpodcast@gmail.com, tweeting us @thelafpodcast, or sending us a message on Facebook. We will read the best comments on a future show. 

Whiplash - LaF Reviews the Oscars Part 2 -LaF #11

The L-Train and Mr. Two-Frames are back with round 2 of the eight movies nominated for Best Picture. This week, the boys are reviewing Whiplash starring Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons.  The L-Train has already professed his love of the film, will he convince Mr. Two-Frames that Whiplash is one of the great movies of 2014? The answer is on the other side of the play button. Onward intrepid listener. 

***Warning: This episode contains mild spoilers***

Let us know what you thought of Whiplash by emailing us at thelafpodcast@gmail.com, tweeting us @thelafpodcast, or sending us a message on Facebook. We will read the best comments on a future show. 

American Sniper - LaF Reviews the Oscars Part 1 - LaF #10

Join LaF this week as the guys review American Sniper directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Bradley Cooper. The movie is one of eight nominees for Best Picture at this year's Academy Awards. Over the next few weeks, the L-Train and Mr. Two-Frames plus some surprise guests will be reviewing all the Best Picture nominees. 

***Warning: This episode contains mild spoilers***

Let us know what you thought of American Sniper by leaving a comment, tweeting us @thelafpodcast, or sending us a message on Facebook. We will read the best comments on a future show.