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A Very Good Year

Author: Jason Bailey & Michael Hull

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“Fun City Cinema” hosts Jason Bailey and Mike Hull proudly present “A Very Good Year,” a podcast with a simple premise: each week we invite a guest (filmmakers and actors, critics and historians, comedians and musicians) who loves movies, and ask them to select their favorite year of movies. Some pick a year from their movie-going past; some go deep into film history. Whichever the case, we spend (about) an hour talking about that year: we ask them to share their top five films of the year, and tell us why they love them; we look at the year’s news headlines, award winners, and box office champions; and we finish with a lightning round, where we talk about as many films as possible in as few minutes as possible.

For show notes - including where to stream this week's movies, links to referenced media, and more - subscribe on Buttondown at https://buttondown.email/AVeryGoodYear. https://plus.acast.com/s/a-very-good-year.





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107 Episodes
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Hello, and welcome to the wrap party.After two years and 100 episodes we're taking a look back at A Very Good Year with highlights from some of our favorite guests. In this episode we're going way back to the 20s & 30s, we're getting into silents, talkies, and the transition. We cover the big names everyone knows and get into some hidden gems that have been buried deep in the vault. "He Who Gets Slapped", anyone? This episode features our very first guest, Alex Winter, and a murderers row of great film minds including Dana Stevens, Sarah Bea Milner, Megan Abbott, Jessica Pickens, Monica Castillo, Marya Gates, Catherine Stebbins and the king, Leonard Maltin.Thank you for listening! For show notes - including where to stream this week's movies, links to referenced media, and more - subscribe on Buttondown at https://buttondown.email/AVeryGoodYear. https://plus.acast.com/s/a-very-good-year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2000 with Mac Welch

2000 with Mac Welch

2024-11-1701:21:59

Mac Welch is an actor, cartoonist, filmmaker, and podcaster, but more importantly, he’s been friends with Jason and Mike nearly as long as they’ve been friends with each other. Join us as we talk about the movies we all saw together in 2000, AND ALSO where we’ll be taking the show as we reformat for our next season. For show notes - including where to stream this week's movies, links to referenced media, and more - subscribe on Buttondown at https://buttondown.email/AVeryGoodYear. https://plus.acast.com/s/a-very-good-year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1974 with Kevin M. Kruse

1974 with Kevin M. Kruse

2024-11-1001:15:44

Author, historian, and professor Kevin M. Kruse joins us to walk through the very eventful year — historically and cinematically — of 1974, including the take-no-prisoners energy of “Foxy Brown,” the grimy perfection of “The Taking of Pelham 123,” and a double-barreled shotgun blast of Mel Brooks. For show notes - including where to stream this week's movies, links to referenced media, and more - subscribe on Buttondown at https://buttondown.email/AVeryGoodYear. https://plus.acast.com/s/a-very-good-year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1996 with Kristen Lopez

1996 with Kristen Lopez

2024-11-0301:27:49

Film and television critic, author, and essayist Kristen Lopez joins us to discuss her book “But Have You Read the Book,” the TWO books she’s working on next, and the movies of 1996, from the teen-girl dream of ‘Romeo + Juliet” to the drive-in pleasures of “From Dusk Till Dawn” to the hilarity of “The Birdcage.” For show notes - including where to stream this week's movies, links to referenced media, and more - subscribe on Buttondown at https://buttondown.email/AVeryGoodYear. https://plus.acast.com/s/a-very-good-year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2008 with Daniel Waters

2008 with Daniel Waters

2024-10-2701:16:53

Screenwriter (“Heathers,” “Demolition Man,” “Batman Returns”) and encyclopedic cinephile Daniel Waters joins us to discuss 2008—a key year for him as a filmmaker and film lover, thanks to the likes of “Synecdoche, New York,” “Love Exposure,” and “The Dark Knight.”  For show notes - including where to stream this week's movies, links to referenced media, and more - subscribe on Buttondown at https://buttondown.email/AVeryGoodYear. https://plus.acast.com/s/a-very-good-year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Catherine Stebbins is intimately acquainted with the year of 1930 - because it was the subject of the most recent of her year-by-year movie ‘zines, which makes her an ideal (and overdue) guest. Join us as she discusses the nutty “King of Jazz,” the heartbreaking “City Girl,” the sublime “People on Sunday,” and more. For show notes - including where to stream this week's movies, links to referenced media, and more - subscribe on Buttondown at https://buttondown.email/AVeryGoodYear. https://plus.acast.com/s/a-very-good-year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2018 with Abby Olcese

2018 with Abby Olcese

2024-10-1301:14:47

Abby Olcese’s new book “Films for All Seasons” walks the reader through “the church year at the movies,” finding unexpected movies to tie in to the liturgical calendar; she joins us to explore the calendar year of 2018, including “Bad Times at the El Royale,” “First Reformed,” and “Eighth Grade.” For show notes - including where to stream this week's movies, links to referenced media, and more - subscribe on Buttondown at https://buttondown.email/AVeryGoodYear. https://plus.acast.com/s/a-very-good-year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1958 with Beatrice Loayza

1958 with Beatrice Loayza

2024-10-0601:12:34

Film critic, editor, and intrepid festival traveler Beatrice Loayza joins us for another probing look into the oft-dismissed 1950s—this time 1958, as we look at a Hitchcock classic (“Vertigo”), a pre-New Wave banger (“Elevator to the Gallows”), a hard-hitting social drama (“The Defiant Ones”), and more.  For show notes - including where to stream this week's movies, links to referenced media, and more - subscribe on Buttondown at https://buttondown.email/AVeryGoodYear. https://plus.acast.com/s/a-very-good-year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1966 with Charles Taylor

1966 with Charles Taylor

2024-09-2901:08:53

Charles Taylor is the author of one of our fave film books, “Opening Wednesday at a Theater or Drive-In Near You,” so he joins us to discuss the “hinge year” of 1966, which included late films from old masters (“El Dorado”), manifestos from provocateurs (“Masculine-Feminine”), and electric shocks from cinematic wild men (“Tokyo Drifter”). For show notes - including where to stream this week's movies, links to referenced media, and more - subscribe on Buttondown at https://buttondown.email/AVeryGoodYear. https://plus.acast.com/s/a-very-good-year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1947 with April Wolfe

1947 with April Wolfe

2024-09-2201:07:40

Screenwriter (and former film critic and podcaster) April Wolfe joins us to talk up the postwar pleasures of 1947, so bring your nun’s habits (“Black Narcissus”), femme fatales (“Out of the Past”) and questionable Irish accents (“The Lady from Shanghai”). For show notes - including where to stream this week's movies, links to referenced media, and more - subscribe on Buttondown at https://buttondown.email/AVeryGoodYear. https://plus.acast.com/s/a-very-good-year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2020 with Emily St. James

2020 with Emily St. James

2024-09-1501:15:46

TV critic, author, podcaster, and television writer Emily St. James is the co-author (along with previous guest Noel Murray) of the book “LOST: Back to the Island” (out Tuesday), so she joins us to geek out with Mike over that show and discuss the unusual offerings of the very odd year of 2020, including “Wolfwalkers,” “Da 5 Bloods,” and “The Empty Man.”  For show notes - including where to stream this week's movies, links to referenced media, and more - subscribe on Buttondown at https://buttondown.email/AVeryGoodYear. https://plus.acast.com/s/a-very-good-year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1993 with Nick de Semlyen

1993 with Nick de Semlyen

2024-09-0701:07:50

 “Empire” magazine editor Nick de Semlyen’s most recent book, “The Last Action Heroes,” is a delightful history of ‘80s and ‘90s action cinema, so he joins us to discuss 1993, from the blistering action of “Demolition Man” to the action satire of “Hot Shots! Part Deux” to the pointed inaction of “The Remains of the Day.”  For show notes - including where to stream this week's movies, links to referenced media, and more - subscribe on Buttondown at https://buttondown.email/AVeryGoodYear. https://plus.acast.com/s/a-very-good-year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1984 with Andrea Chalupa

1984 with Andrea Chalupa

2024-09-0101:17:23

Author, filmmaker, and “Gaslit Nation” host Andrea Chalupa joins us to discuss 1984—an appropriate year for an Orwell scholar—in advance of the release of her new graphic novel “In the Shadow of Stalin.” Listen in as she gives much love to “Amadeus,” “Once Upon a Time in America,” and, of course, “1984.”  For show notes - including where to stream this week's movies, links to referenced media, and more - subscribe on Buttondown at https://buttondown.email/AVeryGoodYear. https://plus.acast.com/s/a-very-good-year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1945 with Jill Blake

1945 with Jill Blake

2024-08-2501:08:23

Film historian, podcaster, and Cine Journeys co-founder Jill Blake joins us to walk through the post-war euphoria and darkness of 1945, including “I Know Where I’m Going,” “Brief Encounter,” and “Leave Her to Heaven.” For show notes - including where to stream this week's movies, links to referenced media, and more - subscribe on Buttondown at https://buttondown.email/AVeryGoodYear. https://plus.acast.com/s/a-very-good-year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1972 with Zach Clark

1972 with Zach Clark

2024-08-1801:09:03

Independent filmmaker Zach Clark joins us in advance of the release of his new film “The Becomers” for a look at some of the most delightfully insane movies of 1972, including the stylized mayhem of “Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion,” the melodrama of “The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant,” and the total decadence of “Pink Flamingos.”  For show notes - including where to stream this week's movies, links to referenced media, and more - subscribe on Buttondown at https://buttondown.email/AVeryGoodYear. https://plus.acast.com/s/a-very-good-year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1981 with Josh Lewis

1981 with Josh Lewis

2024-08-1101:11

Film critic and podcaster Josh Lewis explores the “sleaze canon” on his “Sleazoids” podcast, and he joins us to discuss the very sleazy year of 1981, from the gore of “The Beyond” to the paranoia of “Blow Out” to the surprising depth of “MS. 45.” For show notes - including where to stream this week's movies, links to referenced media, and more - subscribe on Buttondown at https://buttondown.email/AVeryGoodYear. https://plus.acast.com/s/a-very-good-year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Film critic and podcaster Stephanie Crawford usually dabbles in horror and exploitation cinema, but she is also obsessed with screwball comedy — so she joins us to discuss 1940, a banner year for the subgenre, thanks to “His Girl Friday,” “The Philadelphia Story,” and “Christmas in July.”  For show notes - including where to stream this week's movies, links to referenced media, and more - subscribe on Buttondown at https://buttondown.email/AVeryGoodYear. https://plus.acast.com/s/a-very-good-year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1982 with Chris Nashawaty

1982 with Chris Nashawaty

2024-07-2801:10:07

Film critic and author Chris Nashawaty’s latest book is “The Future Was Now: Madmen, Mavericks, and the Epic Sci-Fi Summer of 1982,” so you’ll never guess what year he joins us to talk about! Hear us wax rhapsodic about the thrills of “Blade Runner,” the chills of “The Thing,” the Catholic guilt of “The Verdict,” and much more.  For show notes - including where to stream this week's movies, links to referenced media, and more - subscribe on Buttondown at https://buttondown.email/AVeryGoodYear. https://plus.acast.com/s/a-very-good-year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2019 with Noel Murray

2019 with Noel Murray

2024-07-2101:19:18

Film critic and O.G. AV Club member Noel Murray does not usually suffer from recency bias, but he thought it would be fun to glance back just five years to 2019, which gave us the hang-out pleasures of “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” the stinging commentary of “Parasite,” and the shocks and thrills of “Us.” For show notes - including where to stream this week's movies, links to referenced media, and more - subscribe on Buttondown at https://buttondown.email/AVeryGoodYear. https://plus.acast.com/s/a-very-good-year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, we’re joined by the other co-author of the must-read new book “Corpses, Fools and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema”; film critic Caden Mark Gardner discusses the cinema of 1995, including such now-classics as “Safe,” “Heat,” and “Devil in a Blue Dress.”  For show notes - including where to stream this week's movies, links to referenced media, and more - subscribe on Buttondown at https://buttondown.email/AVeryGoodYear. https://plus.acast.com/s/a-very-good-year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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