0:51 What makes a documentary memorable? In honour of this month’s The Power of the Documentary Film Festival, Nick and Fiona discuss the feature docs that have made the most impact upon them.

9:42 Documentary filmmaker John Pilger joins us, and talks to Fiona about his body of work, curating The Power of Documentary Film Festival, American politics, and what he’s been watching (sort of).  

 34:55 Fiona has been watching The Coming Back Out Ball, a documentary coming to cinemas next week.

35:12 Nick was bored by Outlaw King, new to Netflix.

Ep 72 Great documentaries / John Pilger / The Coming Back Out Ball  / Outlaw King

0:43 Nick is excited about Melissa McCarthy and Richard E Grant in Can You Ever Forgive Me?

3:18 Fiona gets a few things off her chest about Mortal Engines.

10:33 Nick was disappointed by Creed II.

15:49 Producer Dan sits down with Keisha Castle-Hughes for an interview about SBS drama On The Ropes.

30:00 Fiona has been watching - and enjoying - the HBO show Succession.

31:40 Nick went back to the ‘90s to watch The Day Today.

Ep 73 Can You Ever Forgive Me? / Mortal Engines / Keisha Castle-Hughes / What We’ve Been Watching

Nick and Fiona run through the absolute best and worst of 2018’s movies and TV.

THE PLAYLIST 74 - The best movies & TV of 2018

Boxing Day is a major movie day in Australia. Fiona and Nick talk you through their pick of the releases. Fiona interviews the director of her favourite film of the year, Cold War.  We give you some personal recommendations of movies and TV shows to watch at SBS On Demand over summer. 

01:24: VICE. Christian Bale bulks up and adopts the smirk of Vice-President Dick Cheney, in a scathing depiction of the White House mover and shaker, by the makers of The Big Short. Does it amount to much more than an impersonation?  Nick and Fiona discuss.  

07:45: The Wild Pear Tree is the new film by Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan. Fiona is a fan of this 3-hour story, which is also about personal vices, in a far less showy way than, well, VICE.

09:39: Nick is not very enthusiastic about Nutcracker and the Four Realms, or The Grinch

10:14: Nick rewatched one of his favourite films, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Spoiler: It held up to a second viewing. 

11:04: There's another Mary Poppins out on New Years Day.  Nick didn't love it and somehow didn't realise it was going to be a musical (Fiona doesn't believe him). 

12:42: Fiona seizes another chance to rave about her favourite film of the year, Cold War, which is in cinemas on Boxing Day. 

15:14: Pawel Pawlikowsi, director of Cold War, joins Fiona to talk about his parents, whose own complicated relationship informed his film, and about how he manages to make his films, his way, despite trying political circumstances at home in Poland.  

33:51: With holidays on the way, Fiona and Nick recommend movies and TV shows worth streaming at SBS On Demand:

Fiona's first pick: melancholy dark comedy saga about Chinese society and bureaucracy, I Am Not Madame Bovary

Nick urges you to binge the wonderful comedy about terrible people, You're The Worst

In recommending I, Daniel Blake, Fiona realises that she has a thing about melancholy sagas about society and bureaucracy 

Nick is happy to report that Search Party  is still available and ready to binge over summer 

Fiona is going to rewatch Pedro Almodovar's Volver  over summer

And just for something completely different, Fiona recommends the realism of Amal Escalante's The Untamed, and the way it weaves in the supernatural element of an alien sex monster. Yes, you read that correctly.

THE PLAYLIST 75 - Boxing Day movies / Cold War's Pawel Pawlikowski / What to stream over summer

The Playlist is a culture podcast from SBS Australia, in which hosts Fiona Williams and Nick Bhasin canvas the week in movies and TV, while also highlighting the best of what’s streaming at SBS On Demand.

The Playlist

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