Cinemaball 14: The Legend of Billie Jean (1985)

On this very special episode of Cinemaball, we celebrate Ebony’s achievement of scoring the first proper goal in the history of the game with an examination of her goal film, the overlooked 1985 teen power ballad of a movie that is The Legend of Billie Jean. Our conversation covers the film’s noteworthy respect for its young heroes (and, by extension, its young viewers, too), the unique power of a female hero who disrupts the gender binary, and the role that male entitlement plays as a force of evil, among other things. As always, we each rate the film according to Ebony’s brother’s patented 100-star system, and then discuss the future of Cinemaball.

This week on Cinemaball, Carolyn and Ebony take a close look at James L. Brooks’ 1987 masterpiece about the collision between professional ethics and personal desires, Broadcast News. The film features Holly Hunter in a breakthrough performance as news producer Jane Craig, a woman fiercely dedicated to maintaining high ethical standards for herself and her news crew, who finds herself falling for a man who represents everything she’s been fighting against. Meanwhile, another colleague, one who shares her ethical commitment, finds his love for her unreciprocated.

On the latest Cinemaball, Ebony and Carolyn venture to the deserts of the Coen brothers’ 1987 comedy classic, Raising Arizona. We get into Nicolas Cage’s indelible performance as a kind of living cartoon, the peculiar nature of this film’s American dream as a land where all of us can find grace, and the film’s impatience with certain specific types of masculinity. We also discuss the meticulous nature of the filmmaking on display, what exposure to filmmakers like the Coen brothers can do, and Carolyn talks about the ways in which it’s sometimes inevitable that a numerical rating will fail to adequately reflect our complex feelings about a work of art.

On this episode, we arrive in perpetually sunny Los Angeles for writer-star Steve Martin's romantic ode to the city, L.A. Story. Ebony and Carolyn discuss the film's gender and class politics, Martin's distinct blend of zaniness and magic, and the way in which the film champions sincerity and depth of feeling. Unlike the movie itself, the podcast does not feature a Patrick Stewart cameo, but it does feature Carolyn briefly imitating Patrick Stewart's character. As always, we offer up our scientifically accurate ratings, and Ebony reveals where the Cinemaball is headed next!

This week on Cinemaball, Ebony and Carolyn venture to the gloomy and foreboding realm of Transylvania via Francis Ford Coppola’s lurid 1992 adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. We get into the film’s bold visual style, the way it calls attention to its own artifice, and the film’s psychologically complex handling of the place where sex and death collide. Of course, we have plenty to say about Keanu Reeves’ much-maligned performance, as well as the way Anthony Hopkins creates a Van Helsing who relishes life. Before all is said and done, we offer up our ratings on the film, and Carolyn announces our next cinematic destination!

This week on Cinemaball, Ebony and Carolyn go on a globe-hopping adventure via the 1991 Jim Jarmusch anthology film Night on Earth! From Winona Ryder in Los Angeles to Armin Mueller-Stahl in New York and beyond, five cab drivers in five cities participate in the carnival of human life, in all its whimsy, happenstance, joy, and sorrow. Listen as we discuss Jarmusch’s knack for capturing the beauty of lived-in places, the gentle compassion the film has for its characters, and how, looking back on this film from the present era of Uber and Lyft, there’s a melancholy sense that we’re glimpsing a fading world. As your “sommoviers,” we also offer suggestions for films to pair with Night on Earth, and Ebony announces what film we’ll be watching next week.

It’s time for our Cinemaball Midseason Report! Join Ebony and Carolyn as they provide a quick summary of the Cinemaball rules and a spirited recollection of the competition up to this point. Then, it’s the moment you’ve been waiting for as Carolyn reveals what movie we’ll be kicking things off with when Cinemaball resumes next week! If you’re new to Cinemaball, there’s never been a better time to hop in and become a listener!

This week on Cinemaball, Carolyn scores a field goal with the John Woo-directed Jean-Claude Van Damme action flick, Hard Target! It’s got JCVD as a New Orleans drifter named Chance Boudreaux, Lance Henriksen in a scenery-chewing performance as Emil Fouchon, a man who makes his fortune by letting rich people hunt poor people, and Wilford Brimley as Chance’s Uncle Douvee. (It’s also got a scene in which Van Damme punches a snake.) It may not be a good film, but it sure is a fun one, and Ebony and Carolyn savor the film’s Louisiana setting, its seeming concern with the economic struggles of New Orleans and its people, and the glorious Woo-ness of it all.

This week on Cinemaball, Ebony and Carolyn endure the nail-biting tension of the 1979 nuclear disaster thriller, The China Syndrome! We discuss the ways in which the film taps into very real concerns of the period about the safety of nuclear power, the ways in which TV news can be a tool of corporate propaganda or a force for justice (yes, it’s about ethics in journalism), and how it functions as a critique of capitalism run amok. We applaud the film’s authentic little observations about TV news production, as well as Jack Lemmon’s wonderful performance. In a new segment called Sommovier, Caro and Ebony each suggest fine films with which you could pair The China Syndrome to make for a great double feature. Finally, Carolyn excitedly reveals what we’ll be discussing on next week’s show. It’s gonna be a good one.

Adventure! Romance! Racism! On the latest Cinemaball, Ebony and Carolyn swing into the 1984 swashbuckler Romancing the Stone, starring Kathleen Turner, Michael Douglas and a very funny Danny DeVito. Our conversation covers the interesting way in which the film depicts a scene from a romance novel, what was happening in actual romance novels at the time this film was released, the deeply racist depiction of Colombia and its people, the gleeful absurdity of the film’s plot, and much more.