16. The Giver

This week, we discuss Lois Lowry’s The Giver!

In this episode, we read and watched:

• The original novel, originally published in 1993. Buy it on Amazon or iBooks.
• The 2014 movie, directed by Phillip Noyce and starring Brenton Thwaites, Meryl Streep, and Jeff Bridges. Watch it on Amazon or iTunes.

Footnotes:

• The Island (2005)
• The Weinstein Company
• Walden Media
• “I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.”
• Screenwriters Robert B. Weide and Michael Mitnick
• Pleasantville (1998)
• Stellar Skateboard
• The Giver panel at San Diego Comic Con 2014
• The Giver trailer on YouTube
• Baraka and Samsara

15. Murder on the Orient Express

This week, we discuss Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express!

In this episode, we read and watched:

• Agatha Christie’s novel, originally published in 1934. Buy on Amazon or iBooks.
• The 1974 movie, directed by Sidney Lumet, and starring Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot. Buy on Amazon or iTunes.
• The 2001 made-for-television movie, starring Alfred Molina. Watch on YouTube (we literally couldn’t find it anywhere else).
• The 2010 feature-length episode of Agatha Christie’s Poirot, starring David Suchet. Buy on iTunes.
• The 2017 movie, directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh. Buy on Amazon or iTunes.

Some of the stuff we talked about in this episode:

• Clue
• The Lindbergh Kidnapping
• “It’s the Juice! Run, OJ, run!”
• Gosford Park
• The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
• Arthur, starring John Gielgud as a butler
• Ranking Every Episode of Agatha Christie’s Poirot
• The original trailer for Kenneth Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express
• Michael Green, screenwriter of the 2017 Murder on the Orient Express and Logan

14. The Princess Bride

This week, we discuss William Goldman’s The Princess Bride!

In this episode, we read and watched:

• William Goldman’s original novel, The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure (The “Good Parts” Edition), originally published in 1973. Buy on Amazon or iBooks.
• The 1987 movie, directed by Rob Reiner, and starring Robin Wright, Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, André the Giant, Wallace Shawn, Chris Sarandon, and Christopher Guest. Buy on Amazon or iTunes.

Some of the stuff we talked about in this episode:

• “That’s a Christopher Guest reference.”
• The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
• Marathon Man
• Misery
• A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
• Carl Reiner, Norman Lear, and All in the Family
• This is Spinal Tap
• Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits
• Anton Chekhov
• The Somerville Theatre in Somerville, Massachusetts
• “Princess Bride” star Patinkin reveals his favorite line in the film
• Jason Reitman and Live Read