Jason Sacks, Paul McCoy and Shawn Hill continue their journey through the films of John Carpenter with the two movies that close out his run as a feature director: Ghosts of Mars (2001) and The Ward (2010). Neither is a lost classic, but there's plenty to dig into.

Ghosts of Mars plays like a third-generation copy of Carpenter's own greatest hits: Assault on Precinct 13 on Mars, with Big Trouble in Little China's framing, Escape from New York's look and the Vampires villain back for another round. The guys praise the cast (Ice Cube, Jason Statham, Clea DuVall, Pam Grier, Joanna Cassidy), the model work and the costumes, then dig into what goes wrong: the nested flashbacks, the Martian temple we never get to explore, the late recasting of Natasha Henstridge's role (Courtney Love was originally cast) and a director flying solo without his usual collaborators. Plus: the other Mars movies of the era, the metal soundtrack and the alien language.

Then The Ward: Amber Heard, a 1960s asylum, a twist you can see coming, and Carpenter's last feature to date. The guys talk about the Hitchcock-blonde setup, Jared Harris's thankless exposition, the hospital as a location, and why a ward with this many girls never says where everyone else is. Why did Carpenter take the job? And how do the two movies rate?

Next time: Carpenter's television work.

CHAPTERS

0:00 Welcome: Ghosts of Mars as a Carpenter greatest-hits second album

4:16 The cast, the model work and the costumes

12:11 Why the script, the ending and the flashbacks don't land

22:03 Other Mars movies, the alien language and the late recast

33:57 The Ward (2010): Carpenter's last feature

48:52 Why Carpenter said yes, and the ratings

TAGS

#JohnCarpenter #GhostsOfMars #TheWard #HorrorMovies #MoviePodcast #FilmPodcast #AmberHeard #IceCube #JasonAndTheMovienauts

In the latest episode of our minute-by-minute review of Robert Altman's classic 1975 film Nashville, we leave Haven's icy recording booth for the warmth of the Fisk choir, as Linnea Reese leads "Yes, I Do."

Jason and Dan compare the two studios and what Altman sets up between Haven and Linnea, his two central characters: business against passion, polish against looseness, a fixed tradition against a gospel sound that was still new. Why is the least polished singer in the room singing lead?

Plus Lily Tomlin on getting cast (in a role meant for Louise Fletcher), Opal's "darkest Africa" monologue, Geraldine Chaplin's layered costume, and Steve Altman in the credits.

Timestamps

0:00 Intro

0:44 "Yes, I Do" vs. "200 Years"

8:42 Why is Linnea singing lead?

27:48 Lily Tomlin on getting cast

30:21 Opal in the gospel studio

35:40 The credits and Altman's son Steve

Jason and Michelle kick off a new Jason and the Movienauts series on Ernst Lubitsch, the director Billy Wilder idolized, with two of his wild, delightfully naughty German silents: The Doll (1919) and The Wildcat (1921).

In The Doll, Lubitsch himself builds the set by hand before the story comes to life. A shy young man is sent to marry a lifelike doll, and the doll maker's daughter, Ossi Oswalda, ends up playing the doll. We talk about the gluttonous monks, the paper-and-paint sets and a heroine who is never just a puppet.

In The Wildcat, Pola Negri blazes across the screen as Rischka, a mountain bandit determined to have the dashing (well, "dashing") lieutenant Alexis. Lubitsch frames nearly every shot through stars, circles and other masks, and he lampoons the military two years after Germany's defeat.

Along the way: Lubitsch vs. Chaplin (from Joseph McBride's How Did Lubitsch Do It?), Pola Negri's larger-than-life career, why this kind of acting can't be recreated today (sorry, Babylon), and a preview of the series ahead, from The Oyster Princess to Trouble in Paradise, Design for Living and The Shop Around the Corner. Both films are restored, in the public domain and free to watch on YouTube.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Welcome: launching our Ernst Lubitsch series

02:25 The Lubitsch touch, and silent films

05:02 The Doll (1919): the dollhouse opening and Ossi Oswalda

13:54 Lubitsch vs. Chaplin

16:20 Lancelot, the monks, and the doll's wedding night18:45 The handmade sets

20:50 The Wildcat (1921): masks, cutouts and Pola Negri

27:57 Alexis, the "irresistible" lieutenant, and military satire

33:24 Big acting you can't recreate today

36:33 What's coming up in the series

#ErnstLubitsch #SilentFilm #PolaNegri #TheDoll #TheWildcat #ClassicFilm #FilmPodcast #JasonAndTheMovienauts