Watch This With Rick Ramos

Frontier Justice: William Wellman's The Ox Bow Incident

On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Mr. Ramos goes it alone to discuss a seldom seen, little discussed film in the Western genre, William Wellman's The Ox Bow Incident. Henry Fonda leads a cast of noted character actors in an early look at the Western,  closer to it's actual truth. A controversial and disturbing look at mob rule and lynching in American society, Wellman's film is a challenging examination of the Western genre. Take a listen as I ramble on for about an hour. It's a li'l bit of fun. Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. Many Thanks.

Direct download: TheOxBowIncident.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:04am EDT

Madman's Miracle: Jodorowsky's El Topo

There are a few filmmakers that when you watch their work you can step back and honestly say that you are watching a visionary work. The great Russian-Chilean filmmaker, Alejandro Jodorowsky, is a filmmaker of immense talent and visual uniqueness. From his earliest films, including his earliest film Fando y Lis thru The Holy Mountain and his ill-fated adaptation of Frank Herbert's Sci-Fi Classic, Dune - Jodorowsky has been an admired, venerated, controversial, and polarizing figure.

On this week's episode, Mr. Chavez & I sit down to look at one of his masterpieces, 1970s El Topo. A beautifully poetic Eastern-Western, Jodorowsky's midnight movie masterpiece is justly regarded as a classic. This week, Ibrahim & I express our admiration, confusion, and love of his cinema. Take a listen . . . it's an interesting conversation that covers the poetics, the beauty, and the controversies surrounding this exceptional film and it's even more exceptional director.

Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. Many Thanks.

Direct download: ElTopoFinalProject.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:29am EDT

Postwar Paranoia:  Defining the 50s

On this week's episode of Watch This W/Rick Ramos, Mr. Chavez & I sit down and continue our examination of the definitive films of their respective decades. This week we look at the 1950s . . . A Post-War America, The Red Scare, McCarthyism, and the "Imagined Idealism" of the Leave it to Beaver decade. It's a fun talk as we dig into our respective choices for the films that define the 1950s. Take a listen as we discuss a host of directors, actors, themes, and stories. It's a fun talk  as we barrel towards the new millennium of film-making. Take a listen. Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. Our Continued Love & Thanks. 

Direct download: Great50sFilms.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:04am EDT

More Than Seven Words: George Carlin's American Dream

On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, I visit with an old friend, Mrs. Amy Nelson Melle. Amy & I first met thirty-three years ago as sophomores in the Camelback High School Drama Department. The only two Chicanos (and - maybe two of less than seven or eight Non-White students), we bonded early with our mutual love of Soul Music, Cinema, and Stand-Up Comedy. We went to our first George Carlin concert at the CelelbrityTheatre in Phoenix, AZ sometime in the early-90s. Carlin has been a constant source of strength, intelligence, and hope in our lives. We're thrilled to sit down and discuss this iconic performer and the Judd Apatow/Michael Bonfiglio directed HBO Documentary, George Carlin's American Dream (2022), which premiered May 20th.

Looking at Carlin's tumultuous life: compromised early career, counter-culture shift, rocketing success, drug and alcohol abuse, marital problems, dip in popularity, and late career resurgence which solidified his position as one of the greatest stand-ups of all time - all of this comes together to help us understand ourselves, the culture, and - ultimately - the species. This was a great time talking the past, the present, and the future with Carlin a constant presence and - to some degree - a contrarian guide. We invite you to sit in with us. It's a fun time between two old friends.

Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. Many Thanks.

Direct download: CarlinAmericanDreamHBO.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:56pm EDT

Sons of South Gate: The Cypress Hill Story

On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I bring it home with this  fun discussion digging into Mr. Chavez's feelings, attitude, and memories of his hometown, South Gate, CA. - which also happens to be the birthplace of Latino Hip-Hop pioneers Cypress Hill. We look to cinema for inspiration and the new Showtime Documentary, Cypress Hill: Insane in the Brain (2022, Dir. Estevan Oriol) provides just that. It's a fun, informative, and enlightening talk for me and a trip through the past for Mr. Chavez. We discuss the 1990s and Mr. Chavez's hometown of South Gate, CA - its music, people, culture, and history. It's a goddamn good time that you're not going to want to miss. Take a listen and see if you agree. 

Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com.  Many Thanks! 

Direct download: FinalCypressHillSouthgate.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:38pm EDT

What Was Real? Andy Kaufman, Latka Gravas, Tony Clifton, & Jim Carrey

On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Mr. Chavez & I look at the life and career of Andy Kaufman. Kaufman was always a polarizing figure in the world of comedy and entertainment. A challenging artist, constantly at odds with his audiences, Kaufman was responsible for some of the most controversial "crowd stunts" in late 70s and early 80s entertainment. From network specials designed to confuse and trick audiences, through his ambivalence in playing Latka Gravas on the sitcom Taxi (1978-83), berating and wrestling women, and his alter-ego - the obnoxious Vegas lounge singer - Tony Clifton, Kaufman has been heralded as a genius and "ahead of his time" and also a spoiled Hollywood star. This week Ibrahim and I discuss Milos Forman's 1999 biopic Man on the Moon, featuring a Golden Globe winning performance from Jim Carrey and the 2017 documentary on the making of the film, Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond. It's an intersting conversation on the trappings of stardom and the responsibility of the artist. 

Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. Many Thanks. 

Direct download: ManOnTheMoon_2.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:06pm EDT

Black Summit 64 - Regina King's    One Night in Miami

On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Mr. Chavez & I sit down to discuss the 2020 critical hit from first-time director, Regina King, One Night in Miami. A fictionalized portrait of a meeting between four of the leading figures of 1960s Black Culture: Soul Singer, Sam Cooke (portrayed by Leslie Odom Jr.)/NFL fullback and soon-to be Hollywood icon, Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge)/Muslim minister and Human Rights activist, Malcolm X (later Malik el-Shabazz - portrayed by Kingsley Ben-Adir), and the 22 year old Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Civil Rights Leader, and Cultural Icon, Cassius Clay - on the cusp of becomming Muhammad Ali (Eli Goree). It goes without saying King's film is one that rarely gets made. A work of subtlety and nuance that looks into the lives of the Black struggle and the roles of leaders in said struggle. It's a film that we walked into unsure of and walked out of excited by the conversation that would ensue. Take a listen and let us know what you think. Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. Many Thanks for Your Continued Love &  Support. 

Direct download: Miami.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:30pm EDT

More Than Hardboiled: Defining the 40s

On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, my partner, Mr. Chavez & I are continuing our look at the very best films of each decade, culminating with our opinions on the single films that define the decade. This week we look at the 1940s . . . a period of The U.S. coming out of The Great Depression, the beginning and conclusion of World War II, and the opening of cinema as an international movement (although cinema had been viable art throughout the world before this time). For this episode, Mr. Chavez & I discuss our Top 10 films and the honorable mention titles that barely missed the list. As with all titles, we have picked these films after careful consideration and understand that the lists will - probably - change within minutes of our talk. That's the nature of cinema. Take a listen and hopefully, you'll remember some great films and  be introduced to others. We have our opinions and you're going to have yours. Either way, it's a fun talk.

Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. Many Thanks for the Continued Love & Support.

Direct download: The_Very_Best_of_the_1940s.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:32pm EDT

"Toons . . . Gets 'Em Every Time!" Robert Zemeckis's Who Framed Roger Rabbit

On this week's episode of WatchThis, Mr. Chavez & I discuss the ground-breaking 1988 Robert Zemeckis Classic Who Framed Roger Rabbit. This is truly a game-changing film that succeeds far beyond any novelty it may appear to be. With a collection of classic fan favorite cartoon characters from Warner Brothers (Bugs, Daffy, Tweety, Yosemite Sam), Disney (Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and many of the cast of Fantasia), Max Fleischer Studios (Betty Boop), Walter Lantz Studios (Woody Woodpecker), and MGM (Droopy), this is a film that is both a nostalgic look back at Classic Animation and a beautifully realized 1940s style Film Noir. Better than it has any right to be, Zemeckis's film is a triumph of animation, technology, and acting led by Bob Hoskins (never better), Joanna Cassidy, the voice talents of Charles Fleischer, Kathleen Turner, Tony Anselmo, June Foray, The Greatest of All - Mel Blanc, and a live-action Christopher Lloyd - in one of his greatest performances - as Judge Doom. This is a fun conversation in which we dig into the film, the history of Animation, Noir, and Los Angeles. Don't miss out.

Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. Many Thanks.

Direct download: RogerRabbit.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:00am EDT

"It's the pictures that got small." - Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard

This week, Mr. Chavez & I continue our descent into the ruthlessness, horror, and sadness of Hollywood - Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard (1950), a true classic of cinema and a film that continues to astonish audiences over 70 years later. With a young William Holden cementing his stature in cinema, and brilliant performances from Silent Cinema legends, Gloria Swanson as one of the most iconic characters of the silver screen, Norma Desmond, and her broken, loyal, and forgotten manservant and one-time director, the great Erich von Stroheim (both Academy Award nominated), this is a classic of the studio system and a film that only grows in power year after year. Ibrahim & I are thrilled to talk this film and are hoping that we are introducing it to a few new viewers. Take a listen and let us know what you think. Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. Many Thanks. 

Direct download: SunsetBlvdRedux.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:40pm EDT