SLIM That’s on Prime, still on my watchlist. It’s also on my second watchlist that I try to organize because the first one is just too out of hand. The Inspection also is hitting video on demand this week. 3.5 average from Elegance Bratton. Flynn left review when she first saw it. “Closing night at NYFF and what a film. Absolutely devastating and beautiful.” So that’s hitting VOD. Last call out, Bardo. I have some friends that do a podcast called Reel Latinos and they’re covering Bardo this week. So if you’re looking to expand your audio horizons, be sure to check them out. Should we get into our holiday watchlists you think?

MIA We should but can I just say that I saw Jeanne Dielman?

SLIM What? The Sight and Sound number one movie of all time?

MIA Yes. I saw it. I saw it in a theater, in a movie theater in New York City.

SLIM Oh my god. How was that experience? That’s like seeing Avatar: The Way of Water but without 3d glasses.

MIA Honestly, Jeanne Dielman is my Avatar, like it is the same runtime. But I am so, so happy I saw it in a theater because it really like demands your—you’ve seen it, Slim.

SLIM Yeah, I have seen it. It does demand your attention. Absolutely.

MIA If I had watched this at home, I would be pausing to scroll on my phone every five minutes. Not good. So I’m very, very happy I saw it in theaters because it forced me to watch and I am so happy I did because now I know Jeanne’s routine intimately. I know everything she does every day and I will notice if she drops a fork and it will make the whole audience scream.

SLIM Yeah, I when that list came out, I think Gemma wrote an article, we had an article on Journal that spotlighted how so many people out of their their watchlist on Letterboxd. You have to imagine so many other people had never even heard the movie. If I wasn’t doing The Letterboxd Show, I probably also would not have seen it. And it does command your attention. It’s like three and a half hours in another language. You can’t be on Twitter. You can’t be on IG explore. You gotta focus.

MIA No, you got to watch this woman eat her soup.

SLIM Okay, so a new segment just for this episode only this year, our holiday watchlists. We asked folks to tag their lists. What do they watch every year on the holidays? So we’ll spotlight some in a few minutes. So we put down five or so movies on our holiday watch list. Mia, what’s the first thing on your watch list for the holidays that you fire up every year?

MIA It has to be Bridget Jones’s Diary. It just does. I have spoken about this before, but I am a strong believer in abolishing the Love Actually industrial complex. We have to take that out of the holiday rotation, you guys we have to replace it with Bridget Jones’s Diary. It’s just the better Hugh Grant Colin Firth movie. They’re fighting in the streets. Slim, how do you feel about Colin Firth as Mark Darcy?

SLIM He’s an absolute dud, Colin Firth’s character in this movie. He’s an absolute dud. We talked about this on the Four Faves episode this week with five of us. And that was the first time I’d watch Bridget Jones’s Diary. I had a great time. I just couldn’t connect with Colin. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me. Maybe I’m the odd man out everyone thinks he’s just a hunk in this movie.

MIA He’s very boring. I’ll give you that. He’s boring but he’s dependable and he likes her just the way she is. And he doesn’t treat her like Daniel Cleaver does.

SLIM There’s a review that I moved later in the show that was tagged Weekend Watchlist. Rob also watched Bridget Jones’s Diary: “Colin Firth, I’m free most days, please call me I’d like to talk.”

MIA See... Other people see, other people appreciate him and see his personality through his stoic demeanor.

SLIM The one that I watch every year is Christmas Vacation. I love Christmas Vacation. I love this era of Chevy Chase. I just rewatched it with my lovely wife, Amanda, I gave it five stars. And there’s a 4k of it that recently came out as well. I haven’t grabbed that just yet. But I did watch it digitally. There’s just something about Chevy Chase in this era as I get older, like I connect with way more, you know, as you become a family person, maybe you have kids, you have relatives over, just the stuff that he does just cracks me up. It’s so real. There’s also one moment in the movie that I love is when he fails to light up the house in front of like his in-laws, his parents, everyone’s just like, kind of like disgusted with him. And his daughter sticks up for him. You know, hey, you know dad worked really hard on this. And that is like one of the most beautiful moments. My god, if my son is ever in that position, and he stands out from me, I’ll probably just turn it soup. You know, I’ll probably start crying like right in front of them. What a great job Chevy did raising that kid. You know, love it.

MIA My truth is I haven’t seen it yet.

SLIM It’s okay, it’s okay. There’s a lot more holidays on our horizon.

MIA Plenty of Christmases left to watch.

SLIM Yes. What’s next on your on your watchlist?

MIA  So I actually just rewatched The Holiday. Oh yeah, yeah, I love my holiday romcoms. This one’s silly, The Holiday is silly. And it’s fun. Have you seen it?

SLIM Is this the one with Jack Black in it?

MIA Yes!

SLIM Oh my god, Jack. No, I have not seen this. I’ve only seen the poster. Kate Winslet in this? Oh my god.

MIA Oh, man. Yes, yes. It’s Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz swap houses, LA and England. And they each meet a different man. So Jude Law is in England, Jack Black is in America. And you know, when the movie first came out, people were like, oh, Kate Winslet gets Jack Black and Cameron Diaz gets Jude Law? Like Cameron really won. But when you actually watch the movie, Jack Black is the better man. He is so sweet and cute and charming and goofy. So, The Holiday.

SLIM He looks so young in this poster. This is not even that long ago. It was 2006. But man, he looks like a young man with many more holidays ahead of him as well.

MIA Yes. What else? What else is on yours?

SLIM I always watch Planes, Trains and Automobiles during the holiday season. That’s maybe one of my favorites. Steve Martin, John Candy, you know, they’re just trying to get back home for the holidays and high jinks ensues, you know, their personalities are so different. And they have to you know, stay in the hotels, the other travel across country. I always point out that if I was ever in this situation, and I didn’t have my cell phone, like if I was taking a plane ride home, my phone went missing and the flight was canceled. And I had to find an alternate means of getting home, I would be dead in twelve hours. There’s no way I could survive in any way shape or form without a phone in that spot, right?

MIA No, absolutely not.

SLIM Back in the day, I had to print out Mapquest directions on my car. That’s how I used to get around, Mia! Can you imagine doing that today?

MIA No.

SLIM It sounds like I’m from the Stone Age when I just said that out loud.

MIA I actually, I had to do that recently when my my phone cell service stopped working. I had to be on the phone with my dad as he gave me directions to get somewhere. And see! Even that is a phone, even that is a phone, like there’s no way.

SLIM We would be dead. We would both be in a ditch. What else? What’s another holiday movie for you?

MIA Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, 2019. I rewatched that in a theater last year, and I weep every time. You might think, this time I’m going to be strong. I know what happens, I know what happens, I’m gonna make it through. Nope.

SLIM I love that movie. That’s a perfect movie. I love the scene where they’re just dancing outside the house together. What a beautiful scene.

MIA Oh yeah, give me another holiday fav, Slim.

SLIM Another holiday fav, I’ll tell you what, we have some friends that tagged their lists on Letterboxd Weekend Watchlist, so I’ll look at Stephen’s list. Stephen has It’s a Wonderful Life on there. That was probably another one on my list.

MIA I mean, I think that is like the greatest Christmas film of all time, probably.

SLIM Yes. Confirmed. If you don’t cry while watching It’s a Wonderful Life, I don’t know what to tell you, you need to get checked out.

MIA :I want to live again!” That’s what he says.

SLIM ”Ah, it’s in Bill’s house! Ah! Ah!” I sound like a bird.

MIA He sounds like a bird, so.

SLIM Holiday Inn is also on Stephen’s list and The Bishop’s Wife. Have you seen either of those?

MIA Okay, I need to see The Bishop’s Wife because it stars my man Cary Grant. That’s one that I’ve been wanting to watch but I’m always like, oh, it’s not Christmas. I don’t want to watch it. But now I can. Yay.

SLIM I also pulled up Nick’s list and funnily enough [Avatar: The Way of Water and Barbarian are on Christmas watchlist 2022 for Nick. So very different interpretations of holiday films. But Jingle All the Way is on Nick’s list. Have you seen Jingle All the Way with Arnold?

MIA No. You know, my truth is I actually have quite a big Christmas movie blind spot.

SLIM We have some work to do.

MIA I do. I have a lot to cram in the next couple days.

SLIM Darthgnome put a list together. Gremlins is on there. So have you seen Gremlins?

MIA Yes, yes, I have seen Gremlins. I have seen the Gremlins.

SLIM On Darthgnomes holiday list, Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas, which you got the last time you’re on the show as your watchlist shuffle. So how did that go? You watched that in preparation for the show.

MIA I did. I watched Emmett Otter and his wonderful jug-band. So this this little special, it’s like a 53 minutes special by the Jim Henson Company and so they’re their little Muppet guys. Kermit the Frog makes a special appearance. He introduces Emmet. It’s amazing. But other than that, I don’t know the lore of these otters, but it made me curious. I need to know more about them.

SLIM The otter lore.

MIA They’re my new favorite band. This was actually a very sad special. Have you seen this Slim?

SLIM No, I have not seen this. I know I talked about adding it to my watchlist. But I did not watch it.

MIA You should definitely add to the watch list. But just be warned, everybody, this is sad. It’s about these otters. And they’re very, they’re living in poverty. They have nothing.

SLIM Potterty.

MIA And all they want to do, in order to get money they have to win this contest where they play in this band. And it’s the only way for them to get money. But a lot of the movie is them just kind of being poor and destitute and singing about how they don’t have anything and they look so cold. Be prepared for that.

SLIM Keep that in mind. Keep that in mind. Yeah, it’s on Peacock , it’s on Prime streaming. So if you have either those services, you can fire this up this weekend with the fam and listen to some jug-band music. You know Kermit could probably help out these otters. You know he’s rolling in it.

MIA Exactly. I was kind of thinking that. I was like, Kermit, I know you have that movie money. I know you’re a Hollywood star, we saw The Muppets Movie.

SLIM Probably got driven off in a limo after he said goodbye to his otter friends, Kermie. Kermie. My shuffle was Dreamscape with Dennis Quaid that had been on my watch list for a while, wasn’t bad. Max von Sydow has a mustache and it just blew my mind. He was young, he had a mustache, ot freaked me out. Really great cast. Kate Capshaw, my queen from the second Indiana Jones movie. I do wish there was more sci-fi in it. It seemed very drama and intrigue. Like they work with psychics to enter the dreams of people who are sleeping, which kind of sounds pretty cool. Like I know Inception did some dream stuff but like when you mix in psychics, I thought to myself, like actually, is this possible? Could we do this? But I’d love to see a remake of this nowadays, and maybe with some more, you know, budget sci-fi stuff to like, enter the dreams of these people. Pretty cool stuff. Pretty cool. I liked it.

MIA I have seen this movie. I want to say. So I first watched it for Dennis Quaid a couple of years ago. I have to be honest.

SLIM He’s a young hunk in this.

MIA He’s a young hunk, the poster is very much recalling Indiana Jones.

SLIM Yeah, you’re like, in your head, look at this poster, am I adventuring into people’s dreams for two hours? It’s not quite that. It’s still very real world the with some, you know, jumping into people’s dreams and like the only thing that really shows that someone’s dream is like the red tint in the camera. It’s like, oh, I’m in someone’s dream. That’s about it. There went the budget for the red tint. So let’s see, before we shuffle again, we’ll spotlight one or two reviews from our community. Brandon watched The Driver. I think Brandon just got a 4k release: “The opening chase had my blood pumping. Ryan O’Neal and Isabelle Adjani in 1978 4K. I’ve already said too much. Bruce Dern’s hair is angelic”

MIA DiddyRose saw Violent Night: “each stabbing slain and knockout drag out satisfied every angry bone in my body and David harbor smoldering intensity satisfied so much more.” I’m telling you, the sexification of Santa!

SLIM It’s time, we’ve said it before. It’s time to sexify him, please. So we mentioned before. So next week is our 2023 preview episode, all three hosts. So we will still shuffle but it’s going to be a little bit before we actually talk about these movies. We’re taking January off, taking the month off. And as folks know, in this feed, Mia, you’re moving on up. You’re hosting a new show on Letterboxd, Best in Show, so you’ll be doing some of that during January. So let’s head to our watchlists. And we’ll shuffle and then this will be the first movie we talk about once we’re back in the game for Weekend Watchlist in February after next week. I’m going to filter stream only, I’m going to sort by shuffle. Oh my god, it’s time. George Romero’s The Dark Half from 1993 on Pluto and Tubi. Timothy Hutton. There are very good reasons to be afraid of the dark. Great poster. Thad Beaumont is the author of a highly successful series of violent pulp thrillers. But when he decides to kill off his alter ego in a mock ceremony, it precipitates a string of sadistic murderers matching his novels. George Romero, Timothy Hutton, what could go wrong? 3.0 average. [shuffle sound plays]

MIA You know, Slim, I just shuffled, I also got a violent thriller. Ms .45.

SLIM Oh my god!

MIA Oooh, gun! It’s directed by Abel Ferreira, it’s been on my watchlist for so, so long. You know I love it when women get revenge. I just think it’s neat!

SLIM What a pick. Abel Ferreira. There’s nobody like him.

MIA No, this will be my first April Ferreira. [slim gasps] I know! I know. Listen, I know.

SLIM Oh my god. This is going to be a big February for us. We’ll hear about this movie. And then next week, our final episode until February 2023.

[theme song ramps up, plays alone, fades out]

SLIM Thanks so much for listening to Weekend Watchlist brought to you by The Letterboxd Show. You can follow Mia, Slim—that’s me—and our HQ page on Letterboxd using the links in our episodes. Don’t forget, next week is our giant 2023 preview episode with all three Weekend Watchlist hosts, so we need you to buckle up and get ready.

MIA Thanks to our crew and thanks to Letterboxd member Trent Walton for the theme music, Izon. Thanks to Jack for the facts and Sophie Shin for the episode transcript and to you, for listening. Weekend Watchlist is a Tapedeck production.

[Tapedeck bumper plays] This is a Tapedeck podcast.