Episode 215 is, perhaps, one of the finest films ever made, and one of the most impactful. Finishing our Films You Should Definitely See Once, we turn to 1993's "Schindler's List." Directed by Stephen Spielberg, with a screenplay by Steven Zaillian based on the book by Thomas Keneally, this film details the real life of Oskar Schindler, a German entrepreneur during World War II who became an unlikely hero to the 1,200 Jewish prisoners he employed in his factories. Schindler (Liam Neeson) brings Jewish prisoner Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley) into his business as his bookkeeper to help him rescue Jewish prisoners from the Holocaust by employing them in his metalworking factory. He meets Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes) who is in charge of the camp the Jewish prisoners are incarcerated in. Slowly, Schindler's factory gains a reputation as a haven, somewhere where workers aren't abused or killed. As the war goes on, and the atrocities continue, Schindler begins to see that his haven may just be his chance to help change the lives of so many unfortunate victims of the Third Reich. Make sure you watch to the very end! Plus, the trio reveal which films they're going to review in the next pairing as a tribute to Carl Reiner!
Episode 214 begins our pairing of Films You Should Definitely See Once with 1986's Oliver Stone vehicle, "Platoon." Directed and written by Stone, the film stars Charlie Sheen as Chris Taylor, a soldier in the infantry newly cycled into Vietnam during the war. His troop includes Tom Berenger as Sgt. Barnes, Willem Dafoe as Sgt. Elias, John C. McGinley as Sgt. O'Neill, Keith David as King, Forest Whitaker as Big Harold, Francesco Quinn as Rhah, Kevin Dillon as Bunny, Reggie Johnson as Junior, Corey Glover as Lt. Wolfe, Johnny Depp as Lerner, and Tony Todd as Warren. The film follows Chris through three different time-periods during his "365 and a wakeup" in Vietnam, and his gradual loss of innocence throughout the year as well as the transformation he undergoes. An incredibly powerful film, based on Oliver Stone's actual experiences as an infantryman during the Vietnam war.
Acclaimed director, writer, and producer Joel Schumacher passed away on June 22nd, 2020, so this is the second part of our pairing in tribute to him. For Episode 213, it's a story of racial justice and injustice in the deep south in 1996's "A Time to Kill." Based on a controversial John Grisham novel, Jake Tyler Brigance (Matthew McConaughey) is a lawyer in Mississippi, trying to keep his firm afloat after his mentor, Lucian Wilbanks (Donald Sutherland) was removed from the Bar. With office manager Ethel (Brenda Fricker) and his friend and shady divorce lawyer Harry Rex Vonner (Oliver Platt), he's just trying to keep the lights on. But after Carl Lee Hailey's (Samuel L. Jackson) daughter is raped, abused, and almost lynched, and Carl takes the law into his own hands, Jake may be his only hope. And he finds help going up against C. A. Rufus Buckley (Kevin Spacey) and cantankerous Judge Omar Noose (Patrick McGoohan) in the form of idealistic, genius law student Ellen Roark (Sandra Bullock). But amidst and against the rampant racism and violence of Mississippi, do Brigance and associates have any hope of sparing Carl the death penalty? The film also features Charles S. Dutton, Kiefer Stutherland, Ashley Judd, Chris Cooper, Kurtwood Smith, and the final big-screen appearance of Joe Seneca! Plus, the trio announce the names of the next two films in a pairing they're calling "Movies you only ever need to see once!"
On June 22nd, 2020, we lost acclaimed director, writer, and producer Joel Schumacher. Thus, for this pairing, we're going to pay a tribute by focusing on two films from Schumacher, starting with Episode 212 and his 3rd cinematic offering, 1985's "St. Elmo's Fire." The story follows seven college friends, Kirby Keger (Emilio Esteves), Billy Hicks (Rob Lowe), Keven Dolenz (Andrew McCarthy), Jules (Demi Moore), Alec Newbary (Judd Nelson), Leslie Hunter (Ally Sheedy), and Wendy Beamish (Mare Winningham) just after they've graduated from college. The story revolves around the gradual dissolution of the ties that bound them together at college as they begin to navigate the adult "real world" and realize that things are not going to stay the same as when they were still in schoo. This was the film to feature the largest number of the "Brat Pack" of the 80s, missing only Anthony Michael Hall and Molly Ringwald, and also started the career of Andie MacDowell, who play's Kirby's object of obsession. A film to watch with your mid-20s in mind, or if you're IN or near your mid-20s!
Episode 211 is the second in our pairing of films which can be linked three different ways! It's a Christmas film that was moved up six months so that its production company could compete against Ghostbusters. Released on the same day, it's director Joe Dante's 1984 horror comedy "Gremlins!" Written by Chris Columbus and starring Hoyt Axton, Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Polly Holliday, Dick Miller, Francis Lee McCain, Corey Feldman, and Judge Reinhold, with a cameo by animator Chuck Jones, and the voice of comedian Howie Mandel, this is the story of a cute little creature, a Mogwai named Gizmo, who joins the Peltzer family one Christmas. Billy (Galligan) is the recipient of the gift, and he is told the three rules for keeping the Mogwai: No bright light, don't get him wet or give him any water, and never, ever, under any circumstances, feed him after midnight. And, as you might guess, each of these rules gets broken, unleashing calamity upon the sleepy little town of Kingston Falls. The film that helped create the PG-13 rating! Plus, the trio reveal how they intend to honor the passing of the great director Joel Schumacher with their next pairing!
Episode 215 is, perhaps, one of the finest films ever made, and one of the most impactful. Finishing our Films You Should Definitely See Once, we turn to 1993's "Schindler's List." Directed by Stephen Spielberg, with a screenplay by Steven Zaillian based on the book by Thomas Keneally, this film details the real life of Oskar Schindler, a German entrepreneur during World War II who became an unlikely hero to the 1,200 Jewish prisoners he employed in his factories. Schindler (Liam Neeson) brings Jewish prisoner Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley) into his business as his bookkeeper to help him rescue Jewish prisoners from the Holocaust by employing them in his metalworking factory. He meets Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes) who is in charge of the camp the Jewish prisoners are incarcerated in. Slowly, Schindler's factory gains a reputation as a haven, somewhere where workers aren't abused or killed. As the war goes on, and the atrocities continue, Schindler begins to see that his haven may just be his chance to help change the lives of so many unfortunate victims of the Third Reich. Make sure you watch to the very end! Plus, the trio reveal which films they're going to review in the next pairing as a tribute to Carl Reiner! 
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