The Overlook

4 Essentials- SIFF and its Offerings, Anthony Mann’s “Men In War,” Films you missed in 2015,”River.” Seattle International Film Festival Opens Thursday May 19th. A world class event with hundreds of films from around the world.

The four essentials this week bring us Richard Nixon shaking hands with Elvis Presley, Patrick Stewart as a nazi, some good French wine with cigarettes and wanderings in Irish fields. Yup, it’s the Overlook Podcast. As indiv...

We fell under the weather this week. Our apologies. It’s this darn unpredictable spring. Too many viruses, too much pollen. So, here is a contemplative episode right for the occasion. Matt Zoller Seitz wrote an article remin...

Are there some sort of just okay movies that are elevated by great performances? Robert and Steve share a couple of ideas. What movies come to mind for you? Listen to our podcast than nominate your great performances in so-so movi...

Who gets to make the choice? The controversy over casting Zoe Saldana as Nina Simone raises big questions about race and privilege and power. One of the 4 essentials from Robert Horton and Steve Scher this week. How do you feel ab...

Robert is back from his South America travels and ready for The Overlook. Batman v. Superman v. Batman v. Superman v. Batman. Really The Dark Knight has been reincarnated so often that only Superman, who has also been featured on ...

Back in 2014, Robert and Steve sat outside “Luc,” a little French bistro in Seattle’s Madison Valley on a sunny May afternoon, sipped Campari and Soda and Manhattans and talked about the ways the French make film...

Robert is still scanning the roiling seas for penguins and Steve is heading back to the south for a civil rights pilgrimage, so we thought it might be a good week to remember last year’s Oscar’s snub of “Selma...

This weekend the Oscars will offer tributes to the artists who died this past year. Put yourself into that space by listening to our review of the Oscar tributes from 2014. What will you make of this year’s tributes? The Osc...

Robert is off gallivanting the southern seas. So Steve went rustling through the archives and found this Oscar worthy show from 2014. Winners that year included Matthew McConaughy, Jared Leto, Cate Blanchett, Lupita Nyong’o,...

Last year Ian McKellen’s “Mr. Holmes” garnered Oscar buzz. The film was snubbed. But it was one of our favorite films of 2015. McKellen weighed in on the Oscar whitewashing controversy with a point of his own. Wh...

Femme Fatales,”Son of Saul,” “The Revenant,” “A Perfect Day.” are the four essentials for February 5th, 2016 Robert is heading out for a cruise to Tierra del Fuego and points around. Wow! His jo...

Snoop decries, Rampling lets fly, Oscars try, Hitchcock, Truffaut and Monroe, auteurs in the sky. Warning: Snoop Dog weighs in with his expletive laced displeasure for the Oscars. Charlotte Rampling doesn’t get it. A new doc...

Our four essentials this week starts with Oscars chalky coating. The Oscars are too big to be so blind to their own institutional shortcoming. Also, and perhaps by way of counterpoint, the international popularity of Ip Man. A Blu...

Two great artists leave us with a legacy of film, music and image. We join the world in thinking about the influential work of David Bowie and Alan Rickman. Follow us at @citizenhorton, @sscher , @theoverlookpod on Twitter. On Fac...

Looking Back at 2015 Memorable Screenings Before rolling into the 2016 season, Robert and Steve look back at four essentials from 2015. Robert’s were personal experiences, seeing two films while he was in Edinburgh, Scotland...

As the new year begins, a quick question- do films about social issues help drive the agenda? Concussion and The Big Short tackle questions of health, physical and economic. Do we learn enough to motivate policy makers to make cha...

The Four Essentials for December 2, 2015 1) “Chi-raq,” Spike Lee’s new film 2) “Janis Joplin: Little Girl Blue,” a documentary about the music and the life of the great singer 3) “Going Clear,” a chilling documentary about Sciento...

The Four Essentials For November 20th, 2015 1) “Brooklyn” is sweet and smart. See it. 2) Too many films, including, “Spotlight,” are visually flat. 3) Time to catch up on the films of 2015 you might’ve miss...

The 4 essentials this week boil down to action and a quest for truth and creativity. The new Bond film is great, but maybe the actor and director are a little tired. Two new films focus on American journalism. “Truth” ...

We are back again with our 4 essentials for this week. 1) Bill Murray, though his new film, “Rock The Kasbah,” is not worthy of him. 2) Brilliant Acting by Mark Rylance in “Bridge of Spies,” Ben Mendelsohn in “Mississi...

The BBC recently asked film critics from around the world to compile a list of the 100 Best American Films. Really, another damn list? Why not, it’s something Steve and Robert can argue over. Join in. You have some favorites...

Robert Horton and Steve Scher review the new film about a very old Sherlock Holmes.

What happens to your understanding of the world if your only point of reference is cinema. Robert Horton and Steve Scher discuss the intriguing documentary “The Wolfpack.” Seven brothers were homeschooled by their pare...

Robert Horton tells Steve Scher that the Howard Hawk’s film, “Only Angels Have Wings” is a marvel of persuasive detail that draws the viewer in. Many movies work very hard to create a complete world. Some don’t. But ...

Robert Horton and Steve Scher are back with the Overlook Podcast, grappling with the relative worth of the graphic novel, the comic book, the movie and the written word. Is the written word a better vehicle for the imagination tha...

Robert Horton and Steve Scher talk about the ways David Letterman re-shaped television. David Letterman brought a radical normalcy to show business, playing with the form, popping the 4th wall and grumpily asserting the rights of ...

Steve Scher, a member of the faithful, and Robert Horton, a skeptic, though no heretic, discuss the new Star Wars Trailer. Yup the trailer! The movie won’t be out until Christmas. But for those in the church of Star Wars, an...

Robert Horton and Steve Scher talk about “Ned Rifle,” the new film from indie filmmaker Hal Hartley. They also talk about the weather in Scotland, where Robert is hiking the Pentland Hills and eating cakes and drinking...

Robert Horton and Steve Scher look at a tough and sobering film from Israel about divorce, “Gett:The Trial of Viviane Amsalem.” An Israeli woman, portrayed by Ronit Elkabetz, is trying got finalize her divorce, ...

Robert Horton and Steve Scher take up the modern media phenomenon of binge watching TV shows. Terrible term, don’t you think? Though it does capture the feeling of the effort. Among the shows we touch on; “Mad Men,R...

Robert Horton and Steve Scher pull a rabbit out of their hat while discussing “An Honest Liar,” a documentary about the magician debunker James Randi. Randi engaged in a bit of deception himself from time to time. The ...

Steve Scher and Robert Horton revisit Selma, the movie and the actual place. Steve just returned from a pilgrimage to Selma. 53 people from the University of Washington, Bellevue College and Utah State University wen...

Robert Horton talks to Steve Scher about “A Fuller Life.” The documentary about the American director of “Pickup on South Street” and “The Big Red One,” is directed by Fuller’s daughter, S...

Steve Scher Skypes with Robert Horton in Edinburgh to review two Russian Films. “Leviathan” is a novelistic exploration of the Kafkaesque world of the Russian bureaucracy. “Hard to be a God” is a str...

Melodramatic “Mommy” and Trippy “The Duke Of Burgundy” Steve Scher and Robert Horton talk about an old Jimmy Stewart film, “Fool’s Parade” on The Overlook Podcast. But the focus is on a couple of new films. “Mommy” is a bold new w...

Robert Horton and Steve Scher discuss Marion Cotillard and her oscar nominated performance in The Dardenne Brother’s “Two Days, One Night.” It is a film that asks, are your co-workers your friends, your comrades?...

American Sniper is in a race for Oscar recognition. The film has garnered some accolades and some criticism. Too much Americuh, for some, but Robert finds that director Clint Eastwood brings us a fairly neutral editorial stance. S...

Of course you know we end 2015 with the new Star Wars Film. But that is just the beginning. Coming to a screen near us in 2015, a slew, a score, a veritable cascade of new films featuring very familiar characters. Robert and Steve...

Maybe Seth Rogen and James Franco are lucky to have had their film, “The Interview” become an international controversy. Otherwise the critics might have focused on the film itself and that might not have gone so well....

Three films from 2014 worth seeing if you haven't yet. "The Drop," "Alive Inside" and "The Grand Budapest Hotel."

“Blue Ruin,” “Under the Skin,” and “Boyhood” are three 2014 films popping up on many “best of 2014” lists. So while we take some time to watch movies with our families, here are thre...

The wonderful PBS documentary on Bing Crosby got us thinking about the man, the singer and the movie persona that seemed to reveal on facet of his complex personality. Follow us at @citizenhorton, @sscher , @theoverlookpod on Twit...

Steve had the privilege of spending an hour onstage with the great John Cleese. Amazing. Robert saw The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1. Not so amazing, actually. Follow us at @citizenhorton, @sscher , @theoverlookpod on Twitter. ...

American television journalism is tarnished. There is just too much time spent riling us up. The bright spots, Stewart, Colbert and Oliver. Jon Stewart’s new film, “Rosewater” is as much about American media as i...

Who doesn’t want to take a trip off this crazy rock? But a space movie has to really make us feel like we are blasting off. Does “Interstellar” have the rocket fuel to get us beyond the pull of our disbelief and ...

Robert Horton likes his horror films with a soupçon of fear. Steve Scher hides under the seats. A dissertation on the horror film. Or maybe dissection. It’s bloody to be sure. Robert Horton reviews movies for The Herald (Eve...

The actor and his roles. Once again the subject raises itself. Michael Keaton in the role of his late career. Does it deserve the buzz? Robert Horton is talking Frankenstein at Elliot Bay the 25th. Steve Scher is talking to John C...

“Dracula Untold ” is a big blockbuster of a film. Robert Horton finds it too big to be actually scary. That gets Steve and Robert talking about the way these stories are part of the warp and weft of the modern times. R...

Back at Scarecrow Video, Steve and Robert talk about Bill Murray and his latest film, “St. Vincent.” Robert will be at the Frye Art Museum October 19th to talk about how the movie “Psycho ” pops up i...

It is as if Batman traveled to Metropolis to hang out with Superman. We have a special guest appearance by extraordinary reader Nancy Pearl to help us consider the adaptation of the popular novel “Gone Girl,” to the mo...

Why are movies such a draw for us? Robert and Steve are hanging out in Steve’s basement, amidst the old comics and books and trying to figure out why the movies that were shown on weekend afternoons on local television stati...

Robert Horton will be talking to filmmaker John Sayles at the Port Townsend Film Festival Saturday September 20th. The festival starts tomorrow. We talk about Sayles the storyteller working outside the Hollywood system. Ste...

Steve and Robert convene in Steve’s basement. They don’t spend enough time thumbing through Steve’s huge comic book collection- Silver Age for the most part-but rather talk about two new movies. The Drop is a well-made crime movie...

Robert Horton and Steve Scher get a bit metaphysical in this episode of The Overlook Podcast. Robert recently gave a tour of the Seattle Sculpture Park, where he talked about how filmmakers use time and space within the frame and ...

We are back sitting in the Z’s at Scarecrow Video. You may have read that Scarecrow is trying to transition to nonprofit status. Check out their Kickstarter Campaign. “Alive Inside” is a new documentary about the...

Paul Mazursky died at the end of June. James Garner passed away mid July. Mazursky’s films captured the cultural moment of the Seventies. Garner was a more timeless character projecting a kind of ideal Americanness, funny, s...

“I Origins” is a scifi drama about a scientist who apparently needs to see beyond the rational to the mystical. It’s an idea that Robert finds a little too pat, a little too woo-woo and a little too dangerous. So...

“Boyhood,” is Richard Linklater’s newest film. He shot it over 9 years with the same actors. Robert and Steve talk about the ways time becomes a character in this well received film. Write us with your thoughts a...

Alfred Hitchcock is considered the foremost director of film. He led the way in creating the visual language for suspense films and thrillers. He smartly mixed in comedy and wry observations on the human condition. Robert Horton a...

There is an argument being made that too many adults are reading young adult literature and flocking to too many young adult themed movies and those adults should feel ashamed. Well, that’s us! The article was from Slate by ...

We are back in the ‘Z’ section at Scarecrow Video. The videos for sale are gathering a little dust. We aren’t, new challenges await! Just like long popular Tom Cruise, we will plow ahead; making career choices that may...

A few weeks ago, Robert and Steve headed up, appropriately, to the overlook at Scarecrow video. We settled into the orange chairs to discuss adaptations. Through Humanities Washington, Robert offers a lecture on the subject. Someh...

At Luc, the French bistro in Madison Valley in Seattle, sipping a cocktail or two, we ponder the role of monsters, doubles and slashers in our movies. We give a few toasts, some stronger than others, to Godzilla’s latest ram...

We sat outside “Luc,” a little French bistro in Seattle’s Madison Valley on a sunny May afternoon, sipped Campari and Soda and Manhattans’ and talked about the ways the French make film. It was the moment, ...

Robert Horton gives a talk on adaptations for Humanities Washington. That got us thinking about the successful, unsuccessful adaptations and wondering why so many films are adaptations. Do too many filmmakers rely on books or play...

Sorry folks, but somehow, mistakes were made, technical problems arose. Couldn’t have been operator error, could it. Next week a new show. This week a great rebroadcast , a discussion of cult films. Lots of fun.

We are 13 episodes in, so we are going to take a break and repod ( a word I have just made up and will copyright soon) episode 3, a conversation about the future of video stores in the era of the download. We’d like to hear ...

In this episode of The Overlook Podcast, Robert and Steve wander out of the “Z’ section t Scarecrow Video and settle into two noisy orange lazy boys in the Westerns section, across from the Adventure section. Scarlett ...

Westerns have been tumbleweeding across Steve Scher’s wide open prairie of a brain lately. A lot of Encore Westerns and OTR shows like “Frontier Gentleman” and “The Six-Shooter”

Is Noah a good movie? Robert Horton thinks it has some good points. And Russell Crowe makes a good arc-builder. Also, why have so many religious groups attacked the film. they may like it.

Matt Zoller Seitz wrote an article reminding film reviewers that the picture matters. The framing of the shot, the camera placement, the sound shape our perception of a film and that is worth talking about.

Robert Horton extolls the virtues of Lars Von Trier. Steve, in truth a bit of prude, or maybe something worse, isn’t so sure.

What do filmmakers Wes Anderson and Ernst Lubitsch have in common? Robert Horton, author, essayist and film critic for the Herald in Everett, Washington offers up a connection.

The Oscar ceremonies always features a montage of the influential people in the industry who died the past year. Robert Horton and Steve Scher remember their work, including one great filmmaker whose death came as the Oscars ended.

The show's over, but the winners and the losers are still wandering the red carpet. Well, at least we are.

The Oscars broadcast are coming. Who's gonna win? What do the nominations tell us about the state of film as we blow right into the middle decade of this fast aging century.

Three films get a review, "The Past" is fascinating, "Winter's Tale" is terrible, "Monuments Men" is well-meaning.

What is the fate of video stores in the era of streaming media? Should they become the 3rd place for people who love to immerse themselves in film?

Why hasn't Hollywood released more angry films about the economic collapse of 2008?