It’s Oscar season this week, and on Alcohollywood we’ve got Ry from our friends at CinemaJaw to help us talk about Best Picture nominee Gravity! Acclaimed director Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men) gives us this simple-yet-strong tale of survival and faith in space, as astronauts Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) find themselves stranded in space after a cloud of space debris destroys their shuttle.
The two must overcome obstacle after obstacle, as Cuaron sends his camera floating right alongside them, capturing both Clooney and Bullock’s strong performances and the gorgeous visual effects. We also cap the episode by talking about Oscar picks and making our predictions for who will take home the trophies this year! Listen to our episode below, and check out our custom cocktail and drinking game!
NOTE: The audio quality drops a bit during the quiz, but picks back up to normal at the end. Apologies for the technical difficulties!
This week on Alcohollywood, we dig into the grit and grime of Joel Schumacher’s 1993 thriller Falling Down! On a sunny Los Angeles day in the early 90s - in the face of poverty, scalding heat, and the boiling pot of post-Rodney King race relations – Bill “D-Fens” Foster (a powerful Michael Douglas) finally snaps and starts a long walk home, taking out his frustration on societal ills in the process. Meanwhile, an easy-going cop on his last day (Robert Duvall) finds himself the only one able to put together the pieces of D-Fens’ little crime spree, culminating in a crazy, harrowing dark comedy/thriller that is absolutely captivating to watch. Luckily, we’ve got our custom cocktail to wash down your Whammyburger, and drinking rules to go along with them – enjoy!
Happy Valentine’s Day to all you lovers out there! Check out our drinking game and custom cocktail for 1970’s classic romantic film Love Story! It's the classic tale of a rich white kid (Ryan O’Neal) and a poor, spunky college student (Ali MacGraw) who fall in love and deal with the melodrama that ensues. Our regular Valentine’s guest Julia joins us for discussions of Ali MacGraw’s deadly disease, father/child relationships, and the ins and outs of Harvard Law. Love means never having to say you’re sober, so give us a listen!
This week on Alcohollywood, we head for the land of the lost with the found footage flick The Dinosaur Project! Equal parts Cloverfield and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World, the film follows a group of experts who head for a mysterious African island, hoping to find dinosaurs. Well, guess what they find? Despite the goofy premise, we actually had quite a bit of fun with The Dinosaur Project, since it commits itself quite well to the found footage gimmick and has a fair bit of visual style. The CGI isn’t great, but not bad considering the film’s low budget, and the acting is solid. Be sure to explore this film with our signature cocktail and drinking rules!