Hello Brave Listener and welcome to Sound on Film, your PGA-Championship-city home for all the latest film news and greatest film reviews. On this episode, Hope Schiphorst joins me, Robert Kahne, to review the films A Most Wanted Man and Guardians of the Galaxy. After that, Hope and I discuss the film adaptation of The Goldfinch and the History Channel’s take on the life of Harry Houdini. Also in this episode, Hope and I will pay our respects to the late, great Robin Williams, who tragically passed away shortly before the taping of this episode. This episode is going to be fun! I promise! THIS...Is Sound on Film

A Most Wanted ManA Most Wanted Man stars the late Philip Seymour Hoffman as Gunther Bachmann, a German spy master attempting to ferret out a terror network by using the ill-gotten inheritance of a Chechen immigrant played by Grigoriy Dobrygin. The plot becomes more complex when his German bosses start disapproving of his methods and the American embassy becomes involved. The film also stars Robin Wright, Rachel McAdams, Willem Dafoe, and Homayoun Ershadi. The film was directed by Anton Corbijn and is based on a novel written by John le Carre.

Guardians of the GalaxyThe latest film from Marvel Studios takes place far from the homes of Captain American and Iron Man. Guardians of the Galaxy centers around the story of Peter Quill, played by Chris Pratt, who is taken from his home on planet Earth and eventually thrown into a cosmic conflict between Ronan the Accuser (played by Lee Pace) and the Nova Corps (with agents played by Glenn Close and John C. Reilly). Joining him on this wild adventure is the assassin Gamora (played by Zoe Saldana), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), plus Rocket Raccoon and Groot, a tree (voiced by Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel).

The GoldfinchThe film rights to critically acclaimed novel The Goldfinch have been snatched by Warner Brothers, and producers have already been attached to the project. Brett Ratner and NIna Jacobson are slated to produce. Ratner is best known for directing Rush Hour and Red Dragon, but also directed this summer’s Hercules. Jacobson produced The Hunger Games. The Goldfinch is a long novel that is quite brooding and includes a lot of difficult subject matter. It will be interesting to see where this project goes.

Harry HoudiniIt is no surprise in this day and age for big screen stars to showcase their talents on television. On Labor Day, Adrien Brody will star in a two-part series on History about the life of Harry Houdini. A trailer was released recently and hints that the series will focus on Houdini’s life at the peak of his fame. While cable television seems to be somewhat saturated with the period drama right now with shows such as Masters of Sex, Halt and Catch Fire, Downton Abbey, The Knick, True Detective etc, etc; it is interesting that History is opting for a two-night event instead of what is becoming customary: a 10-episode anthology.

Robin WilliamsNews broke on August 11 that Robin Williams had taken his own life. Williams was a bright spot in many of our lives and the pinnacle of his career matched the time when Hope and I were both in our most formative years. Williams was known for his incredible comedic talents, but had an incredibly diverse career: from Aladdin and Mork and Mindy and Flubber to One Hour Photo, Insomnia, Dead Poets Society, and Good Will Hunting. In all the tributes since his death, it has become apparent he was well loved by many of his colleagues in addition to his fans.

Thanks to Mashable for the Robin Williams Supercut, which you can find at http://mashable.com/2014/08/11/robin-williams-tv-film/