Watch This With Rick Ramos

"There's Nothing As Trustworthy . . . As The Ordinary Mind-Of The Ordinary Man" - Lonesome Rhodes

November Goddammit! We're starting our dive into politics with one of the greatest looks into the media end of the political system - The Elia Kazan directed, Bud Schulberg scripted 1957 Classic    A Face in the Crowd. This is an incredibly important film that feels essential to our understanding of the current political system. Featuring a star-making debut from Andy Griffith, and supporting roles for Patricia Neal, Lee Remick, and Walter Matthau, there's not a great deal that I can put down on this one. All I want to say is that I found it an incredibly moving film that we should have paid attention to in 2015. The episode isn't fully focused on Kazan's film, as I veer off into a political rant on this, my 46th birthday. Take a listen and celebrate with me as I treat myself and you to one of the great warnings in cinematic history.

Thanks for the continued love and support. Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com

 

Direct download: FaceInTheCrowd.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 4:49am EDT

"Made me from dead. I love dead . . . hate living."

On this week's episode of WatchThis W/Rickramos, Ibrahim & I sit down to discuss one of the great stories of cinema, the James Whale directed Fankenstein (1931) & The Bride of Frankenstein (1935). The legend of Baron Victor (Henry in the original film) Frankenstein has enraptured audiences since it's first publication as Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus in 1818 by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. The novel was a sensation when first published, however it would become iconic after the iconic, star-making performance of English actor Boris Karloff. Karloff would become immortalized in his three portrayals of the creature - Frankenstein (1931), The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and Son of Frankenstein (1939). 

Take a listen as Mr. Chavez & I discuss these great films and the Frankenstein mythology that rings true even in modern-day society.

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

Direct download: FrankensteinFinal.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:39am EDT

There Are Things to Fear - Ten Horror Films to Go Back to

On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Mr. Chavez is absent so Mr. Ramos is forced to fly solo and talk "Ten Films That Continue to Scare the Hell Out of Him". Horror, Serial Killers, Thrillers, Chillers, Chainsaws, Sideshows, Monsters & Mad Scientists . . . the Horror Genre has never been one to shy away from doing what is necessary to get the scare. Sit back and take a listen as Mr. Ramos talks ten films that continue to scare the shit out of him. Hope you agree and hope you take that leap into films that you had only heard about, but were too afraid to watch. Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com.

Many Thanks for Your Continued Love & Support.

Direct download: TenHorrorFilms.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:22pm EDT

Stanley Kubrick's The Shining - Is a Scare Ever Really Just a Scare? 

On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I sit down to talk one of the great films of Modern Horror Cinema - Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining (1980). It's important to recognize Stephen King's role in this film. So often Kubrick is given sole credit for all that is on screen. Even if King's dissatisfaction with the film has been incredibly vocal through the years, we have to discuss what his original creation means to the final product. Without a doubt it's an incredible film and a great deal of this is due to Kubrick's vision, but also the violent, intense, and captivating performance of Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance, the innocence of Danny Lloyd, a beautifully nuanced Scatman Crothers, and a pained and painful performance by Shelley Duvall that can only be called soul-draining. Take a listen as Mr. Chavez and I look back on this classic of paranoia and terror. We also spend time discussing Rodney Ascher's strange, warped, and confused Room 237 (2012). The less said, the better. Take a listen . . . it makes for an interesting conversation.

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

 

 

 

 

Direct download: TheShining.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00am EDT

A Modern-Day Ghost Story - John Carpenter's: The Fog

On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I return to one of the great filmmakers of the 70's & 80's and a Master of the Horror Genre . . . John Carpenter's The Fog. This is a film that neither of your reviewers had seen before this episode. With the power of Carpenter's surrounding filmography, there are certainly expectations to be met. Some of these are achieved and some of them are not. Take a listen as Ibrahim & I sit down to discuss what works, what doesn't work, and what this film means to the Horror Genre.

Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. Our Thanks For Your Continued Love & Support.

Direct download: TheFog.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm EDT

The Nostalgia of Scares - George A. Romero & Stephen King Come Together For Creepshow

On this first episode of October, Mr. Chavez & I celebrate the Halloween season by looking back at a classic of our mutual childhoods . . . 1982's Horror Anthology, Creephshow. A Dream Team collaboration between two of the biggest names in Horror - From the Page: Stephen King; From the Screen: George A. Romero. Creepshow - Five Distinctive Vignettes, with some popular faces in exciting, stomach-churning, and laugh-out-loud stories of greed, family strife, egomania, revenge, and death. Happy October All. We're looking forward to a great time. 

Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. Our thanks For Your Continued Love & Support.

Direct download: Creepshow.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm EDT

Lies & Paranoia/Fact & Conspiracy: 9/11 and the Mysteries of Truth

On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Mr. Chavez and I sit down to continue discussing the wave of documentaries that flooded social media after the September 11th Attacks. On this episode we look at documentaries that examine the attacks from multiple societal angles and discuss their virtues and faults. We profile Daniel Avery's Loose Change (2005), Anthony J. Hilder's The Greatest Lie Ever Sold (possibly 2004), and Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004). Take a listen and hear the two of us debate the merits and problems with each of these films as well as the far-reaching (and still controversial) events of September 11, 2001.

Thanks for your continued support. Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com.

Direct download: 911_Documentaries.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 7:36pm EDT

A Master is Gone - Remembering Michael Chapman (November 21, 1935 - September 20, 2020)

The great cinematographer Michael Chapman has passed away at the age of 84. Join me on this solo episode where I pay tribute to the man who lensed Hal Ashby's The Last Detail (1973), Philip Kaufman's Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), Carl Reiner's Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982) & The Man with Two Brains (1983), and Bill Murray & Howard Franklin's Quick Change (1990), and his last film Gábor Csupó's Bridge to Terabithia (2007). Nominated for The Academy Award twice -his second nomination in 1993 for Andrew Davis' The Fugitive (1993), but the two films he is best known for are the Martin Scorsese directed masterpieces Taxi Driver (1976) and Raging Bull (1980) - for which he received his first nomination. He also directed a half a dozen films including the Tom Cruise starring All the Right Moves (1983) and Clan of the Cave Bear (1986). He was truly an exceptional artist and although he had retired in 2007 his passing is a loss to the artistry of cinema.

Thank you for your continued patience, love, and support. Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com.

Direct download: MichaelChapman.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 1:42pm EDT

When It All Changed - Remembering September 11th - WatchThis W/RickRamos

On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, Ibrahim & I sit down to discuss the 19 year anniversary of the September 11th attacks which took the lives of nearly 3,000 people. We give our own recollections of that day as well as discuss the movies that depict these events and were inspired by that day. We discuss Oliver Stone's World Trade Center, Stephen Daldry's Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Spike Lee's 25th Hour, and Paul Greengrass' United 93. Take a listen as we remember this horrible day.

Thank you for your continued support. Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. Thanks!

Direct download: WorldTradeCenter.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:09pm EDT

Evil Hides in Plain Sight - Tim Roth's The War Zone

On this week's episode of WatchThis W/RickRamos, I welcome Mr. Chavez back to the podcast to discuss one of the most unjustly overlooked films of the 1990's - TimRoth's look at a family slowly disintegrating. Featuring a cast led by Ray Winston as Dad, Tilda Swinton as Mum, and Lara Belmont and Freddie Cunlieffe as their teenage kids. We can't say more about this film without giving away too much. So, take a chance on one of the best films that too few audiences have seen.

Questions, Comments, Complaints, & Suggestions can be directed to gondoramos@yahoo.com. Thanks for the continued support.

Direct download: TheWarZone.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:13am EDT