Watch This With Rick Ramos

The Filmmaker's Friend - Remembering Roger Ebert (June 18, 1942 - April 04, 2013)

It's been six years since Cinema lost one of it's greatest champions - Roger Ebert. On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I sit down to remember this great critic, journalist, Pulitzer Prize winner. He would become the film critic for The Chicago Sun Times in 1967 and continued in this capacity until his death from complications stemming from papillary thyroid cancer in 2013.  However in his 70 years Ebert revolutionized the world of film criticism, and with his partner - Chicago Tribune film critic - Gene Siskel would emerge as the two most important, powerful, and influential critics the world of cinema has ever known.

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 support.   

Direct download: RogerEbert.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 11:26pm EDT

The Kid Stayed in the Picture: Robert Evans - A Remembrance (06/29/30 - 10/26/19)

On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I sit down to pay tribute to Robert Evans, one-time head of Paramount Pictures (1967-1974) and arguably the most popular producer of the 1970's. Evans would make a name for himself with The Odd Couple and Rosemary's Baby (both 1968), playing an instrumental part in introducing Roman Polanski to American audiences. Bringing back Paramount Studios from the brink of financial disaster with Love Story (1970) and The Godfather (1972), Evans cemented his importance in Hollywood bringing Paramount Studios from the ninth of the nine major studios to first place. Every great ascent brings with it an equally tragic fall and such is the case with Evans. With a conviction for cocaine trafficking and rumors of his involvement with a murder during the making of one of his biggest failures, The Cotton Club, the 1980's proved a volatile and damaging blow to his career. Evans would recover and return to Paramount finding success later in his career, however he would never reach the heights of his 70's heydays. It was a great time to talking about this over the top character (lampooned mercilessly, but with great heart and admiration by Dustin Hoffman in Barry Levinson's Wag the Dog) this was a wonderful time discussing Evans, the 70's, and the continuing evolution of the industry. Take a listen and let us know what you think. As always, Questions, Comments, Complaints, and Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. Many Thanks. 

 

Direct download: RobertEvans.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 3:02am EDT

On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I sit down to discuss the new film from documentarian Errol Morris, American Dharma. In a career that has spanned nearly forty years, Errol Morris has proven to be one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed documentary filmmakers in cinema history. From his early championing by Roger Ebert for his debut feature Gates of Heaven (1981) through critical notoriety for his examination of the case of Death Row inmate Randall Dale Adams, 1988's The Thin Blue Line (ultimately leading to Adams exoneration and release from prison), Morris has been one of the continuous shining lights of cinema. In 2003 he premiered what would become the first of what many critics would call his trilogy profiling controversial world leaders, first with Secretary of Defense (1961-1968) Robert S. McNamara in The Fog of War (2003), followed by The Unknown Known in which Morris profiled former Secretary of Defense (1975-1977 & 2001-2006) Donald Rumsfeld. Rounding out this unofficial "trilogy" is Morris' newest film, American Dharma (completed in 2018 but held up because of distribution struggles until 2019) which looks at the work of Former Executive Chairman of Breitbart News and White House Chief of Strategist for Donald Trump's 2016 run and subsequent win of the presidency. Dharma may be a controversial film, however it is powerful, important, and never boring. This is a spirited conversation that examines a great deal of what's going on in today's society. We may not be on point about everything, but our discussion is fueled by passion and a very real concern. Take a listen and let us know what you think. Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. As always, many thanks.

Direct download: AmericanDharma.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:06am EDT

Pride Goeth Before the Fall:

The Life of James Riddle Hoffa in Martin Scorsese's I Heard You Paint Houses and Danny DeVito's Hoffa

On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Mr. Chavez & I sit down to discuss one of the most highly anticipated films of the year, Martin Scorsese's I Heard You Paint Houses (The Irishman). A major cinematic event that has been inundated with controversy regarding story as well as Netflix's limited release, Martin Scorsese's new film is a definite high point in his career as well as a game-changer for the industry. The disappearance and (highly probable) murder of International Brotherhood of Teamsters President James R. Hoffa has been a subject that has fascinated the public for decades and is beautifully examined by one of cinema's greatest artists. On this week's episode of WatchThis, Ibrahim & I discuss this film as well as Danny DeVito's 1992 epic biopic Hoffa featuring a magnificent performance by Jack Nicholson as the labor leader and DeVito as his loyal right hand man. It was a great opportunity to return to DeVito's film and discuss it in a historical and artistic context. 

Take a listen and let us know what you think. Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. As Always, Our Deepest Thanks & Appreciation. 

Direct download: JamesRiddleHoffa.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 1:44am EDT

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