This week we turn our attention to two very different romantic tales. First, we discuss Baz Lurhmann’s highly caffeinated adaptation of The Great Gatsby. Then, we compare notes on Shane Carruth’s enigmatic work, Upstream Color.

This week we discuss two very different films. First we compare notes on the second instalment of the rebooted Star Trek franchise. Then we take a look at acclaimed Soviet director Andrei Tarkovsky’s first feature film, Ivan’s Childhood, which was recently re-released on Blu-ray as part of the Criterion Collection.

This week we discuss Fernando’s upcoming move to Tokyo, before turning out attention to the action blockbuster Snitch. We then consider the somewhat dire state of contemporary Romantic Comedies (RomComs), looking at films like Celeste And Jesse Forever and The Big Wedding. Finally, we explain our plan to add some regular reviews of recent Criterion Collection releases to the podcasts.

This week James leads us off with a review of The Host. Adapted from the novel by Stephenie Meyer of Twilight fame, this teen-angst driven Sci-Fi feature is directed by Andrew Niccol, best known for Gattaca, Lord of War and In Time, as well as for writing The Truman Show.

Then we take a longer look at Danny Boyle’s new, highly entertaining (if somewhat noir-ish) thriller, Trance. While it’s easy to agree this stylishly made film is worth viewing, it was harder to agree which film it most resembles and our choices for Trance‘s kindred cinematic cousins might surprise.

Finally, Fernando takes us to sleepy Port Adelaide to explore a fascinating retail start-up, Film Buff Central, run by three hardcore cinephiles, with the aim of sharing their passion for arthouse cinema in a way that is refreshingly new and old, at the same time.

This week we are back to our regular pattern of reviewing films. We take an in depth and critical look at Oblivion, the latest big budget blockbuster from Joseph Kosinski, the director of Tron: Legacy and starring Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman (and Andrea Riseborough and Olga Kurylenko). Then we turn our attention to a documentary, The Act Of Killing, before finishing up with a somewhat apology riddled review of This Is 40.

Before boarding planes to traverse Asia, James and Fernando got together to discuss Hong Kong Filmart and the business of selling films. We look behind the scenes of a major film market and the different ways filmmakers, distributors and festival organisers meet and do their work.

We celebrate our quarter century of podcasts with a short special, looking back over this week’s Academy Awards. Having managed to correctly pick 20 and 19 of the winners respectively, James and Fernando reflected on the winners, the whole game of second-guessing the Academy’s hive mind and what the awards say about the year in film.

In this podcast we take at Oscar nominated films Lincoln and Beasts of the Southern Wild, as well as the Chinese hit Lost in Thailand, the unusual indie release to.get.her and the current slasher, Texas Chainsaw 3D.

This week we return to our normal rhythm of reviewing films, starting with Quentin Tarantino’s much anticipated Western, Django Unchained. Then James and Fernando compare notes and offer differing perspectives on the epic Lana and Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer adaption of Cloud Atlas. The show ends with a look at Ruben Fleischer’s Gangster Squad.

We’ve made our lists and checked them twice and now it’s time to reveal our picks for the best films of 2012. James and Fernando reveal their respective top ten films for the year along with a few other choices for best performances, discoveries and even biggest disappointments.

And, in a rare break from routine, we were both in the same room together, perched high above Hong Kong harbour to record this special episode, the 20th from The Society For Film.

This week we travel with James to sunny Qatar and learn about the Doha Tribeca Film Festival. We discuss the vibe of the fest and the selection of films James saw in the Arab Film Competition.

Then, we switch gears and consider the best (and worst) Bond films of all time and where the most recent film, Skyfall, might sit within the Bond canon (you can see James’ list here, read his spirited defense of his favourite Bond film here and find Fernando’s rankings here).

This week’s show is all about love, sperm and rock ‘n’ roll. We discuss in depth Woody Allen’s new romantic comedy, To Rome With Love, explore the surprisingly modern Bollywood artificial insemination comedy, Vicky Donor, and consider two unexpectedly engaging films about troubled love, The Perks Of Being A Wallflower and Your Sister’s Sister. Finally, we take a look at the concert film, Led Zeppelin Celebration Day.

This week we mark the end of James’ summer odyssey of film festivals, Festageddon. We hear about films screened at Fantastic Fest, held in Austin, Texas, including Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie & Leos Carax’s much anticipated Holy Motors, as well as some lesser known releases such as Hellfjord, Taped and Blackout.

We also get some insider perspectives on selecting releases for Fantastic Fest, the somewhat blood-thirsty Fantastic Debates, that pits critics against filmmakers on the debate floor and in the boxing ring, and a long overdue win for the international team in the Fantastic Feud.

This week we catch up with James in London, on the latest leg of Festageddon 2012, his around the world tour of fantastic film festivals. James updates us on FrightFest and a fascinating little Japanese festival called Zipangufest. We also discuss ParaNorman, the latest animated feature from the makers of Coraline.

After an extended hiatus we have returned! In our latest dispatch Fernando and I discuss the many cinematic delights of this year’s PiFan Film Festival in South Korea, highlightng films as diverse as Miike Takashi’s For Love’s Sake and Zal Batmanglij’s Sound Of My Voice. Enjoy!

In this special dispatch, we take a close look at Christopher Nolan’s third and final Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises. As avid fans of Nolan’s work (and the previous two films in Nolan’s Batman franchise), our expectations were high for this film. Listen to see if The Dark Knight Rises lived up to the hype and how the new characters and villains fared in what will surely be one of the biggest films of the summer.

This week we discuss & enjoy some contrasts in cinema. On the one hand, we look at some delightful animated films – Brave, the latest offering from Pixar and Aardman’s new adventure, The Pirates! Band of Misfits. On the other hand, we consider a couple of wonderfully unhinged and entertaining Scandinavian films that are most certainly for adults only – Headhunters and Klown.

After a short hiatus – we are back, and stronger than ever before. On this week’s dispatch we discuss our Top 5 films of 2012 so far and cast a discerning eye over Marc Webb’s superhero reboot, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. Feel free to share your own lists and comments below!

The new science-fiction blockbuster from Ridley Scott, Prometheus, is the focus of our attention this week. We start by discussing the original Alien films, then consider in depth this prequel (of sorts) that has already drawn huge numbers of cinema-goers around the world.

In our 10th dispatch, we start by looking at Rupert Sanders’ big budget directorial debut, Snow White and the Huntsman and David Mackenzie’s Perfect Sense, before focussing our attention on Gareth Evans’ gripping Indonesian action film, The Raid: Redemption. We also have a quick look at What To Expect When You’re Expecting and Taiwanese hit Din Tao: Leader Of The Parade.

In this week’s dispatch we look at two impressive films we’ve seen recently, World On A Wire and The Hunter, before turning our attention to the genre-challenging film, The Cabin In The Woods.

This week we are joined by a special guest, Casey Lau, social media expert and editor of Neon Punch to discuss The Avengers and the connections between the film and the comics that inspired it. We also cast our gaze forward to the summer blockbusters, including Prometheus, The Dark Night Rises and The Amazing Spider-Man.

In the latest dispatch from The Society For Film James gives us the second half of his round-up of the best movies from this year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival, including Coriolanus, Take Shelter and the alarmingly titled The Woman In The Septic Tank. And then, Fernando takes a look at the recent Bollywood epic Guzaarish (pictured). We hope you enjoy the show!

This week on The Society For Film dispatch Fernando grills me about some of the best and worst films I have seen during the first week of the Hong Kong International Film Festival, including Kieran Darcy Smith’s Wish You Were Here, Gerardo Naranjo’s Miss Bala and Julia Loktev’s The Loneliest Planet (pictured). Enjoy!