Watch This With Rick Ramos

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs 

The Coen Bros. Re-Imagine The West & How Netflix is Changing the Face of Cinema 

On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos Ramos goes it alone to talk The Coen Brothers new film, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, a film that is the culmination of nearly everything the Brothers have produced over the past 30-plus years. Ramos was overwhelmed by this film and was thrilled to finally sit down and talk about it . . . although it did take him three viewings before he was able to fully put together his feelings and attitude regarding this new classic. On this episode he talks the film itself, but also the changing world of movie-watching. Netflix is definitely changing the world of movies. Take a listen and let us know what you think. Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. Thanks for your continued Love & Support. 

Direct download: BusterScruggs.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:22am EDT

Psycho - Hitchcock & Van Sant

On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I sit down to discuss Hitchcock's masterpiece Psycho (1960) and Gus Van Sant's shot-for-shot re-imagining from 1998. We discuss the brilliance and importance of Hitchcock's original and the pointlessness of Van Sant's remake. An interesting conversation that forces both of us to understand the films better, we are proud to put out an episode that we hope captures the quality of the first film and understanding of the purpose of the second.

As always, we appreciate your continued love and support. Questions, Comments, Complaints, and Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com

Direct download: PSYCHO.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:44pm EDT

Catching Up On The Classics:

To Be or Not To Be (1942) 

Director: Ernst Lubitsch

On this week's episode of WatchThis w/RickRamos, I go solo to talk Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 Classic To Be or Not to Be, starring the great Jack Benny, Carole Lombard (in her last role), and - a very young - Robert Stack. A profile of a Jewish acting company in war torn Poland, Lubitsch's film was one of the earliest films to tackle the Nazis on screen (in a comedy, nonetheless!) and was not considered entirely "respectable" when first-released, however it has grown in its importance over the years. 

We're trying something a bit different with the podcast this week . . . a new angle that we hope to implement throughout the life of the show. Focusing on individual films in my collection, I'm looking forward to finding and talking about the great films that I have somehow missed. Take a listen as I discuss #607 in the Criterion Collection with hopes to get through everything that I own and have not watched. Thanks for listening. Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions should be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com

Direct download: 2BorNot2B.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:19pm EDT

The Dead Man's Hand: A Goodbye to Ricky Jay & Others in 2018 

On this week's episode of WatchThis w/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I sit down to mourn the passing of the great sleight of hand artist, magician, writer, actor, and historian Ricky Jay (June 26, 1946 - November 24, 2018). Focusing heavily on directors Molly Bernstein & Alan Edelstein's Deceptive Practices: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay (2012) - a fascinating study of the great sleight of hand magician, this is an examination of - probably - the greatest practitioner of magic the 20th & 21st Centuries have ever known. We round this episode out with a discussion of others who have passed this year including: Mitzi Shore (Owner and Co-Founder of The Comedy Store), Stan Lee, and former president George H.W. Bush. We look back on what these lives have meant to us as well as the lessons learned from them. As always, we appreciate your continued Love & Support. Questions, Comments, Complaints, and Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. Many Thanks!

 

Direct download: GoodbyeRickyJay.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:37am EDT

1