Speaking English

MAILBAG HERE

We're back with our first wrap-up in a while. It's the best of what we read and watched in September, October, AND November of 2024. Lots of good stuff here.

Introduction (00:00)

Mailbag (4:29)

Books (10:52)

Movies (22:30)

What's Coming Up and Our Albums (1:34:33)

Thanks for listening !

⁠MAIL BAG HERE⁠

Well, we finally did it. It's Casablanca for this episode.

Introduction (00:00)

Op-Ed Corner (7:09)

Double Indemnity Ep 175

The Big Sleep Ep 136

Chinatown Ep 138

Movie Discussion (11:19)

What's Coming Up (44:37)

Albums and Outro (46:08)

Thanks for listening !

MAIL BAG HERE

Well, we made it. For our 200th episode we are taking a look back over our first 4 1/2 years by selecting our podcast favorite book and movie of each decade. Join us for a fun discussion and nice retrospective.

Introduction (00:00)

Rules of the Game (7:45)

The Game Itself (9:50)

Summary and Look Ahead (1:21:30)

Our Album Recs (1:25:53)

Thanks so much for all the listening over the years !

MAIL BAG HERE

FABLE BOOK CLUB HERE

We're back with our first ever Book Club re-read ! We're once again taking a look at The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. Stick around for some fun times and nice discussion.

Introduction (00:00)

Book Discussion (6:49)

What's Coming Up (54:00)

Album Recs (58:30)

Thanks for listening !

MAILBAG HERE

We're back in action with the best of what we read and watched in August of this year. Back to our intercontinental format with this one.

Introduction/ What we've been up to (00:00)

What you guys put in the mailbag (7:35)

What we read (16:08)

What we watched (30:48)

What's coming up on the pod (1:18:50)

What we think you should be listening to (1:20:30)

Lot's of big milestones coming up, so stay tuned!

Thanks for listening !

MAILBAG HERE

A little different episode this time around, as we take a look at Battlefield Earth (2000), notorious for being one of the worst movies ever made. Find out what we thought of it, some of our opinions on what makes a movie bad, and much more here in this episode.

Introduction (00:00)

Decision to Leave (7:02)

Battlefield Earth (17:58)

What's coming up and our album recs (49:18)

Thanks for listening !

MAILBAG HERE

We're back with our July wrap-up for this time around, with the best of what we read and watched in July here in one place.

Intro (00:00)

Mailbag/ Show and Tell (4:17)

Books we read (10:10)

Movies we watched (21:10)

Album Recs (1:04:48)

Thanks for listening !

MAILBAG HERE

Challenge Week is back for the first time in quite a while. We have an excellent selection this week, with Bringing Up Baby (1938) d. Howard Hawks and Amadeus (1984) d. Milos Forman. Two excellent pictures directed by two of our best boys.

Intro (00:00)

Mailbag and etc (4:54)

Bringing Up Baby (18:54)

Amadeus (37:12)

The Fireman's Ball was featured in ep 84

What's Coming Up (51:07)

Album recs (52:40)

Thanks for listening !

MAILBAG HERE

We're back right on time with a June Wrap-up filled with fun discussions, primarily what we read and watched in June 2024.

Introduction (00:00)

Mailbag (8:58)

w/ special guest Sierra

What we Read (19:34)

Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler

Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire

What We Watched (36:15)

24 Hour Party People (2002)

Asteroid City (2023)

The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)

Thief (1981)

To Catch a Thief (1955)

Heathers (1989)

ParaNorman (2012)

Hundreds of Beavers (2022)

Kinds of Kindness (2024)

What's Coming Up on the Pod (1:05:20)

Our Album Recs (1:06:44)

Thanks for listening !

MAIL BAG HERE

At long last, we have returned. And this time around we have a book club for you hot off the presses. We read Dubliners by James Joyce and talk all about it here.

Additional topics include: what we've been up to lately, some sacred movies for us, and more Mad Max.

Thanks for listening !

MAIL BAG

Welcome one and all, especially if this is your first time visiting us. We decided that our first episode doesn't really paint a good picture of what we do here, so we made a bonus episode as an intro to the pod.

So this is what Speaking English is all about: a little about ourselves, what you can expect from us here, and what we do in our different types of episodes.

Thanks for listening, and hope to see you around !

Mail Bag Here

We're back in action this week again with another wrap-up episode of the best of what we read and watched in May 2024:

Introduction and Weeks (0:00)

Mailbag and Op-Ed (12:19)

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance featured in Ep. 15

Books we read (17:22)

Federico Garcia Lorca by Ian Gibson

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

La Nochevieja de Montalbano by Andrea Camilleri

Movies we watched (32:46)

The Addams Family (1991)

Red River (1948)

The Blues Brothers (1980)

My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

Evil Does Not Exist (2023)

¡Three Amigos! (1986)

City Lights (1931)

When Marnie Was There (2014)

Challengers (2024)

Perfect Days (2023)

Ivan's Childhood (1962)

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Coming Up on the Pod (1:21:54)

Our Album Recs (1:23:09)

Ladies of the Canyon -Joni Mitchell

A Sailor's Guide to Earth -Sturgill Simpson

Thanks for listening !

MAIL BAG HERE

It's a new movie this time around, as we watched The Fall Guy (2024) d. David Leitch, a PG-13 picture we may add. A fun time for all involved.

Bullet Train was discussed in Episode 158 for the record.

Introduction and what we've been up to (0:00)

Mailbag (7:36)

The Fall Guy (17:34)

What's Coming up on the Pod (44:40)

Our album recs (47:22)

Thanks for listening !

MAIL BAG HERE

We're back at it this week with another movie episode, this time watching What a Way to Go! (1964). It was a wonderful time for one and all.

Intro and Our Weeks (0:00)

Mailbag and Editorial Corner ? (8:36)

What a Way to Go! (15:02)

What's coming up on the pod (54:34)

Our Album Recs (59:53)

Thanks for listening !

MAIL BAG HERE

We're back with a movie episode this week: The Face of Another (1966) d. Hiroshi Teshigahara. Listen to hear what we thought about it, as well as some other fun stuff.

Intro (00:00)

All about our weeks (1:45)

Mailbag (12:27)

The Face of Another (12:40)

What's Next on the Pod (45:18)

Our Album Recs (50:10)

Other Episodes mentioned:

The Devil All the Time Ep. 30

100 episode special Eps. 99-101

Thanks for listening !

MAIL BAG HERE

We're back in action once again, with a wrap-up for both March and April this time. The best of what we read and watched, and whether you should check it out too:

Intro & How our weeks have been (00:00)

Mailbag (11:20)

Books we read (12:36)

Movies we watched (26:50)

What's coming up next episode (1:34:14)

Albums for the week (1:38:00)

Other Episodes mentioned:

Norwegian Wood: Ep. 51

La Notte: Eps. 95 &96

Thanks for listening !

MAIL BAG HERE

Book Club is back, and this time we read Stoner by John Williams. This book is a frank portrayal of a life with all of its ups and downs, and we thought it was a bleak yet oddly satisfying read.

Other Episodes mentioned:

Wings of Desire - ep 184

Thanks for listening !

MAIL BAG HERE

The Shiners have arrived once again! Tune in to see who took home the prizes in the biggest movie award show around !

Intro (00:00)

Our Previous Shiners episodes: 108, 152

What We Did This Week (02:30)

Quick Oscars Discussion (09:46)

The Shiners Begin (15:20)

Ensemble Cast (16:30)

Best Soundtrack (20:16)

Screenplay (22:57)

Sound Design (25:20)

Editing (27:30)

Costuming (31:13)

Production Design (33:38)

Supporting Performance (35:32)

Cinematography (37:41)

Most Unique Picture (40:50)

Direction (43:11)

Lead Performance (45:15)

Best Picture (47:50)

Award Show Conclusion (51:38)

- I wanted to point out here that Nobody Knows is also one of our favorite movies of last year that didn't end up winning any awards

What's Coming Up on the Pod (54:31)

Our Album Recs (55:58)

Thanks for listening !

LINK TO SHINERS VOTING

(LAST CHANCE TO VOTE)

We're back with another wrap-up for the month of February 2024. All the best of what we read and watched over the past month.

Thanks for listening !

SHINERS VOTING HERE

We're back after another fairly long break with two movies for the price of one. This week we watched Wings of Desire (1987) and After Life (1998), two more entries from the Criterion Channel's Interdimensional Romance collection.

Thanks for listening !

VOTE FOR THE SHINERS HERE

It's our first regular movie episode of the year, and this time around we watched Starman (1984). We wanted to choose something from the Criterion Channel's Interdimensional Romance series and so we did just that.

Thanks for listening !

VOTE FOR THE SHINERS HERE

We're back at it with a new wrap-up episode. Happy February one and all! Celebrate the beginning of the new month with a wrap up of what we read and watched in the month of January 2024. Enjoy !

Episodes Featuring movies/books we talked about here:

4, 75 : PlayTime (1967)

24: Oldboy (2003)

82: I Married a Witch (1942)

112: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (The Book)

124: Prisoners (2013)

132: Thirst (2009)

Also, The Daily Is Eight!

Thanks for listening, and have a great February !

Features

Shorts

Canon (will be linked once I make the list)

Movies mentioned that aren't from 1923:

The Cameraman's Revenge (1912)

Corpus Christi (2019)

Sherlock Jr. (1924) - Watched for the pod in ep 149

Sunset Boulevard (1950)

Shanghai Express (1932)

Thanks for listening !

Go vote for The Shiners HERE

LINK TO THE VOTING FORM

We're back this week for the third annual Speaking English Awards nomination show. We talk about the best of the best of what we watched for the pod in 2023 and nominate up to five movies or people for each category. Enjoy !

List of movies eligible for nomination:

Color Out of Space (2019)

A Separation (2011)

Stranger Than Paradise (1984)

The Big City (1963)

Badlands (1973)

Charlie's Angels (2000)

Wuthering Heights (1939)

Nobody Knows (2004)

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

Amelie (2001)

Barbie (2023)

Oppenheimer (2023)

Cria! (1976)

Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

The Lure (2015)

Carrie (1976)

Double Indemnity (1944)

In a Lonely Place (1950)

Torn Curtain (1966)

Bell, Book and Candle (1958)

Links to my 100 Years Ago Project:

Features from 1923

Shorts from 1923

Watchlist for 2024 (Movies from 1924)

MAIL BAG LINK

Book Club returns once again. This time we are discussing Kindred by Octavia Butler. It was a great discussion for all involved.

Thanks for listening !

MAIL BAG HERE

We're back in action with another New Year's Special. Our fourth all-time, which is crazy. The best of what we watched and read last year, as well as some resolutions for this one.

Thanks for listening !

MAIL BAG HERE

Our pre-Christmas episode this week, we watched Bell, Book and Candle (1958). We got to talking about that one, as well as a different movie from the same year, featuring the same two leads: Vertigo. Enjoy, and have a happy holiday season.

Thanks for listening !

MAIL BAG HERE

Movie episode this week, as we watched Torn Curtain (1966) Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Here is where we discussed it, among a few other things.

Thanks for listening and do great things this week ! We both believe in you

MAILBAG

We're back in action to talk about what we read and watched in the month of November. This is quite a long one (Our new longest episode ever!) , so buckle up as we jump around through all sorts of topics for discussion.

Thanks for listening !

MAIL BAG HERE

We're celebrating Noirvember this week with a double feature of two of the greats. Double Indemnity (1944), and In a Lonely Place (1950) are on offer for this week. Can we find Addie at least one classic Noir to like? Find out on this episode !

Thanks for listening !

MAILBAG HERE

Book Club is back in action once again! The long-awaited return brings us 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, a science-fiction/adventure banger from the brilliantly creative mind of Jules Verne. Buckle up for an adventure under the high seas, as we discuss this great work.

Thanks for listening !

MAIL BAG HERE

We're back with another long October Wrap-up. The best of what we read and watched in the month of October 2023.

Let us know about your favorite remakes or any dream remakes you'd like to see

Thanks for listening !

Mailbag Here

Our last October movie has arrived! This week we watched a classic, with Brian De Palma's Carrie (1976). A fun one for us, checking out a horror classic that neither of us had seen before.

For the mailbag this week, we'd like to hear about your favorite remake or if you have a dream remake you'd like to see. Let us know!

Thanks for listening !

MAIL BAG HERE

We're back in action after a quick turnaround with The Lure (2015) directed by Agnieszka Smoczynska. Another horror-musical! We had a lot to say about this one.

Thanks for listening !

MAILBAG HERE

We make our return with the first of our October programming: Phantom of the Paradise (1974) directed by Brian De Palma. We also discuss Cria Cuervos (1976) and more fun topics.

Thanks for listening !

MAIL BAG LINK

It seems like each time we take a little hiatus it is for a longer and longer amount of time. No matter. We are back once again with a bit of a wrap-up/update on the last month-and-a-half or so. Just in time for Spooktober, which we love to get into the spirit of.

More stuff to come in the coming weeks and months, but it feels good to make an episode again.

Thanks for listening !

MAIL BAG

Book Club is back, and this time around we read I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman. It was a great time for all involved.

Thanks for listening !

MAIL BAG HERE

We're back again, this time for some wrap-up awesomeness. July was a tumultuous month, but we were each able to read and watch some stuff. Here is where we talk about it all.

Thanks for listening !

MAILBAG HERE

We're back in action with somewhat of a double feature. Two movies that just came out? unheard of for this podcast ! Yet here we are. We watched both Barbie and Oppenheimer for this week, and we talk all about them here.

We did have a bit of a delay when recording, so any audio weirdness can be explained by that. Should be fixed by next time.

Thanks for listening !

MAIL BAG

The Speaking English Pod returns after a bit of a break. This week we cover what we've been up to recently, some stuff we saw in June, movie-watching burnout, and Asteroid City. A full episode, but not too full.

Let us know what you've been watching or reading while we've been gone in the mail bag above and we'll talk about it next week. Would love to hear from you.

Also you can find my YouTube channel here if anyone is interested.

Thanks for listening !

MAILBAG HERE

Book Club is back! This time around we read Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy, and we talked all about it.

Thanks for listening!

MAIL BAG HERE

For this week, we watched Amelie (2001). There were a lot of French people and things in it. Give a listen to see what we had to say about it and add to the discussion in the mail bag linked above.

Thanks for listening !

Mailbag Here

Challenge Week is back, and this week we watched Inglorious Basterds (2009) and Nightcrawler (2014). Two movies with some creepy dudes. A fun time for all involved though.

Thanks for listening !

Mailbag Here

What we read and watched in the month of May, 2023.

Thanks for listening !

Mail bag here

We had a re-watch week for this time around, and we decided to revisit The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012). A very fun and interesting watch, and here is where we talk about it.

Thanks for listening !

The episode we talk about Kore-eda's other picture, Still Walking (2008) is 21. And the link directly to our postbox is right here . Say whatever there, and also let us know if there is a director you think we should tier-list.

Thanks for listening !