040 Godzilla (Gojira)

Reliving the Japanese A-bomb nightmare via cathartic "monster movie" therapy, Japanese director Ishiro Honda made the culturally significant Gojira in 1954, a mere 9 years after the nuclear devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (too soon?). While a silly movie, it's hard to deny its pop significance. Spawning 27 movie sequels, there just seems to be no end to the joy of seeing a guy in a foam rubber suit smashing up miniaturized cities. Gojira set a precedent for all disaster movies that followed, some better than others, some worse (Michael Bay, anyone?)

Download: 040 Godzilla (Gojira)

039 Straw Dogs

Perhaps our most controversial film review yet! This week we discuss Sam Peckinpah's 1971 masterpiece Straw Dogs starring Dustin Hoffman. Actually Matt and Mark don't see what all the fuss is about, while graphic, the depiction of violence and rape fits a context of the human animal that isn't necessarily distorted or exaggerated. It's perhaps easy to view the events of the film through the lens of civilized man with all of modernity's prejudices, but once removed, what we're really viewing is a primal (and hated) truth.

Download: 039 Straw Dogs

038 Brick

A classic hard-boiled film noir set in a contemporary SoCal high school seems like an unlikely marriage, but somehow Rian Johnson's Brick, released in 2005 and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, mostly succeeds in pulling of the 'high concept' task. Mashing up a little Twin Peaks, spaghetti westerns, and Cowboy Beepop for style, Brick is an interesting recasting of familiar police procedural tropes. Similar to modern adaptations of Shakespeare (think 1996's Romeo and Juliet), the characters defy their surroundings without a wink and a nod, oblivious to their displacement while maintaining the illusion. Enjoy!

Download: 038 Brick

037 Point Break

"If you want the ultimate, you've got to be willing to pay the ultimate price", which was about $3.00 for a matinee screening of Point Break back in 1991, Kathryn Bigelow's ode to surfer extremophiles. At the heart of the movie is Johnny Utah and Bodhisattva's (short for 'Bodhi') bromance, played by a quintessential Keanu Reeves and the late Patrick Swayze. Matt calls bull%$@t on Bodhi's warrior poet nonsense while Mark defends the Swayze character as less hypocrite and more paradox. Regardless, Point Break is a beautifully shot movie and basically a series of one-liners stitched together into script form. It's 100% pure adrenaline! Enjoy!

Download: 037 Point Break

036 Excalibur

The king without a sword! A land without a king! In 1981 John Boorman directed probably the most successful King Arthur film adaption ever with his beautifully wrought Excalibur. Filmed entirely in Ireland with a host of nascent Irish film stars including Gabriel Byrne and Liam Neeson, Excalibur fleshes out a Dark Age Britain that never was. While its Shakespearean overtones fail to evoke a human story, Matt and Mark agree: that really isn't the point. This a cursory Cliff Notes of Malory's Arthur myth produced for a matinee audience. Watch with some popcorn and enjoy!

Download: 036 Excalibur

035 Rollerball

As the original comments were lost in our feedburner mix up, we can only sum up that Rollerball is less about a future dystopia controlled by corporations, but more of an Ayn Randian commentary on the power of the individual over the collective. Anyway, an oldy but a goody review, tune and enjoy the roller derby of the future.

Download: 035 Rollerball

034 Dark Star

In space nobody can hear you laugh. Sadly, that seemed to be the case when John Carpenter and Dan O'Bannon (the writer of Ridley Scott's classic Alien) released their debut film Dark Star to audiences in 1974. Despite its poor box office sales, Dark Star has since become a cult classic with its generous mix of existential absurdity and Kubrik-style satire, giving new meaning to the word "smart bomb." Instead of focusing on Carpenter, which we plan to do in a later podcast, Matt and Mark discuss the late O'Bannon, whose mark on cinema is significant. O'Bannon would go on to contribute to the aforementioned Alien, but also wrote the scripts for some of Hollywood's most successful Philip K Dick adaptions, including Total Recall and Screamers. Enjoy!

Download: 034 Dark Star

033 Waiting for Guffman

This week Matt and Mark review 1997's Waiting for Guffman by Christopher Guest. In the mockocumenteray genre he made famous with follow-ups Best in Show and A Mighty Wind, Guest blends ad-lib sketch and musical comedy into a film length feature. Mark explores the plight of the characters, while Matt attempts to overcome his cynicism in order to embrace their delusional yet sincere need to entertain. Both of us wonder, however, if Guest's stereotypical portrayal of gay Corky St. Clair won't be the equivalent of "black face" a few decades down the road. Enjoy!

Download: 033 Waiting for Guffman

032 Fight Club

Breaking the first rule of Fight Club, we're talking about Fight Club this week. David Fincher serves up a nihilistic schizophrenic parable about the inherent paradox of masculinity and modern civilization. Viewing the film in middle-age may have tempered Matt and Mark's ideological reaction to the subject matter, but we definitely avoid the old man "grumpitude" of Roger Ebert's less then complimentary review. More of an 'amoral' film, FC paints nihilism in a dysfunctional and harsh light when compared to our current consumerist hypocrisy; neither an attractive option. Fight Club stars Edward Norton, Helen Bonham Carter, and Brat Pitt. Enjoy!

Download: 032 Fight Club

031 Vertigo

Usurping reigning champion Citizen Kane as the "Best Film of All Time" according to the British Film Institute (and thankfully so), Matt and Mark review Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 masterpiece Vertigo, starring James Stewart and Kim Novak. With such a weighty title, we try to give this film its due. Mark cuts to the l'essence of Stewart's John "Scottie" Ferguson character by calling Scottie out for his nascent pimp-hand as his obsession warps him into a most diabolical Pygmalion. Doing what M.Night Shyamalan attempts but rarely succeeds at, Hitchcock pulls off one of movie history's famous twists. With a beautiful mid-century San Francisco as the backdrop, Vertigo has most definitely earned its BFI accolades. Enjoy!


Download: 031 Vertigo

030 Hard Boiled

With a body count of 307, John Woo serves up a bullet-ridden slice of Hong Kong action with his 1992 breakout Hard Boiled. Cast from the Dirty Harry mold, Chow Yun-Fat's Tequila, with his ATF-Waco style of police intervention, is a hardened cop with a vigilante sense of street justice. Matt and Mark find it odd Tequila's ability to escape multiple manslaughter charges despite his sloppy gun play, but to inject reality into HB would only detract from its charm.

Download: 030 Hard Boiled

029 Delicatessen

Unlike the depressing Cormac McCarthy adaption of The Road, 1991's Delicatessen is a a post-apocalyptic cannibal movie that caters to a wider audience. Jean-Pierre Jeunet would go on to direct The City of Lost Children and Amelie, garnering more praise for his Gilliam-esque style, but with Delicatessen he burnished his quirky chops with this off-beat cult classic. Matt and Mark attempt a deeper discussion regarding vegetarianism vs carnivorism, but instead get mired in the bizarre notions of cultural delicacies.

Download: 029 Delicatessen

028 Dead Alive

We indulge a little of Peter "Action" Jackson's earlier works this week on the podcast when we review his zombie comedy-horror film Dead Alive, released in 1993. Matt and Mark speculate how the Oscar winning director of the Lord of the Rings films got from homicidal rat-monkeys and zombie-babies to Gandalf and Frodo. Strangely, we come to the conclusion that it wasn't too great a leap. Emulating the style of Evil Dead director Sam Ramie, we're treated to splatter-fest of hilarious proportions. Enjoy!

Download: 028 Dead Alive

027 Gattaca

Another means to keep the haves and the have-nots separate, or a Brave New World? Matt and Mark discuss the near-future world of Andrew Niccol's Gattaca, released in 1997, starring Uma Thurman, Ethan Hawke, and Jude Law. Mark takes the libertarian transhumanist stand while Matt remains a bleeding heart skeptic. Is it human nature to defy human nature? The answer is probably yes. Enjoy!

Download: 027 Gattaca

026 Risky Business

WTF! This week we review the 1983 classic Risky Business by Paul Brickman, starring pre-Scientology Tom Cruise and the stunning beauty Rebecca De Mornay. With recent news of TomKat's newly announced divorce, we couldn't help but get sidetracked into the Tom Cruise enigma (always entertainment blog-fodder). But despite his couch-jumping strangeness, Cruise is a most excellent actor and delivers up a nuanced and efficient performance as the Princeton-bound Joel Goodson. With near perfect dialogue, Risky Business is an 80's teen movie that sets the bar incredibly high, casting shadows over all future films in the genre. Enjoy!

Download: 026 Risky Business

025 Time Bandits

"Evil apparently has something to do with freewill" so goes the Supreme Being's nebulous rational for his creation in the 1981 classic Time Bandits. Matt and Mark explore the richness of Terry Gilliam's cinematic palette as we indulge a kid's movie that transcends the genre, all the while sneering at the absurdity of adulthood and its materialistic trappings. Backed by a few of the Pythons (John Cleese and Michael Palin) and starring the talents of Sean Connery, David Warner, and Ian Holm, Time Bandits lays the groundwork for Gilliam's quirky future filmography. Enjoy!

Download: 025 Time Bandits

024 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

One bastard goes in, another comes out. Like an exercise in game theory, Matt and Mark delve into Sergio Leone's classic The Good, the Bad and the Ugly released in 1966, starring Clint Eastwood in his defining role as "Blondie" (aka the Man with No Name). Taking typical western tropes and turning them on their head, we're treated to a post-modern recycling of the well-trod American western. TGTBATU legitimized the much denigrated spaghetti western into high art, raising the bar, and in doing so, usurping the genre it pays homage to. Enjoy!

Download: 034 The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

023 Sorcerer

Matt and Mark return from our Scottish sojourn! This week we review the strangely titled Sorcerer by 70's power-director William Friedkin and starring Roy Scheider. A remake of the 1953 classic Wages of Fear (which we both have not seen), we can only speculate as to whether or not it achieves the homage Friedkin was going for. As far as tension goes, the simplicity of the concept is second-to-none in cinema. Themes of fate-versus-freewill are hinted at in a story about deliverance, not necessarily out of Hell, but out of Purgatory. Enjoy!

Download: 023 Sorcerer

022 Local Hero

As both Matt and Mark are currently in Scotland, we thought we'd serve you up another helping of Scottish themed cinema with Bill Forsyth's sleeper hit Local Hero, released in 1983. With its quiet plot and measured pacing, Mark goes for a more literary approach and comes up with a dire interpretation of the ending while Matt begs to differ. Filled with small town quirk and handcrafted snapshots of seaside village life, Local Hero makes for an enjoyable dramedy that's worth coming back to. Enjoy!

Download: 022 Local Hero

021 Highlander

Matt and Mark are heading off to the Highlands of Scotland! (Matt's getting hitched!... kilt and all!) So, in the spirit of our travels we thought we'd pick an appropriate cult favorite: Highlander. Matt and Mark discuss the logistics of immortality and come to the realization that only after about 1000 years does an immortal truly gain a sense of humor (Lighten up Macleod!) So, Cheers Lads and Lasses, enjoy!

Download: 021 Highlander

020 Blade Runner

"More Human than Human" that's our motto. This week we review the dystopian near-future masterpiece Blade Runner by Ridley Scott. Released in 1982, starring Harrison Ford, Sean Young, Rutguer Hauer, Edward J Olmos, and newcomer Darryl Hannah, this proto-cyberpunk neo-noir laid the groundwork for an entire genre. There's so much ground to cover, Matt and Mark try to do this evocative film justice, but no doubt come up short. If you haven't seen this film recently, please do yourself the favor. As I always say, Blade Runner will always be about life thirty years into the future, no matter what future you currently occupy. Enjoy!

Download: 020 Blade Runner

019 Adaptation

Breaking the genre mold, Spike Jonze brings us a "meta-movie" with Adaptation released in 2002, a "sort-of" autobiographic film about screenwriter Charlie Kaufman's struggles with adapting the nearly unadaptable book The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean to film. Matt and Mark explore Charlie's inexhaustible supply of self-doubt and social anxiety, and in trying to answer the questions the film offers up, circle the existential dilemma of passion with a bit of clinical dispassion, but not without irony. Adaptation stars a brilliant Nicolas Cage as the Kaufman twins Charlie and Donald, with an Oscar winning performance by Chris Cooper. The film also stars Meryl Streep, Brian Cox, and Tilda Swinton with walk-ons by John Cusack, Katherine Keener, and John Malkovich. Enjoy!

Download: 020 Adaptation

018 Scarface

With a 1.23 "F--k" per minute count, Matt and Mark review the gangster (gansta?) classic Scarface by Brian De Palma, starring Al Pacino as the iconic cuban crime boss Tony Montana. Inspiring hip-hop artists and Middle Eastern dictators everywhere with its thuggish 'rags to riches' tale of meteoric excess, Scarface introduces us to the cocaine empire of 80's Miami, Florida. Mark details the nuance of Latino machismo while Matt opines on Tony's gaudy sense of interior decoration. Enjoy mang!

Download: 018 Scarface

017 Let the Right One In

With an intro courtesy of the late Jim Henson, we embark to discuss the superb Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In by Tomas Alfredson, released in 2008. Both Matt and Mark agree this is the best vampire film of the past 25 years, and like all great films reviewed on our podcast, we set about nitpicking the details. Throw your Twilight boxed set into the trash, sell your Blade action figures on eBay, take down your Corey Haim/Feldmen Lost Boys pinups, and forget about the sub-par (but worthy remake) Let Me In, because Let the Right One is all you need for blood-sucking goodness. Enjoy!

Download: 017 Let The Right One In

016 Caligula

What happens when you merge a sword and sandals epic with 70's era pornography? Matt and Mark find out in this week's review of the "controversial" Caligula by Tinto Brass and famous Penthouse smut peddler Bob Guccione. Starring an A-list cast of notables, including Peter O'Toole, Sir John Gielgud, Malcolm McDowell and Shakespearean actress Helen Mirren, Caligula is a what we would consider, at the least, a watchable film. Minus a few digressions into porn nostalgia, Matt and Mark come to consensus that Caligula, while not exactly worthy of Ebert's famed no-star review, is more style than substance, but not in an "utterly worthless" or "vile" way. Grab yourself a bottle of Chianti and Enjoy!

Download: 016 Caligula

015 Batte Royale

Did The Hunger Games rip-off Battle Royale? meh.... Matt and Mark are pretty sure we don't care. This week we attempt to review the 2001 Japanese blockbuster sensation Battle Royale by famed film director Kinji Fukasaku. Sadly this review will no doubt disappoint those seeking more Suzanne Collins versus Koushan Takami fodder, but the web is already clogged enough with that nonsense. Unfamiliar with the novel or subsequent manga, BR proves a challenge to absorb with its 44 characters and nuanced back stories. We did give it our best shot though... Enjoy?

Download: 015 Battle Royale

014 The Shining

We all shine on! (just some more than others). This week we review the 1980 Stanley Kubrick classic The Shining, based on the novel by Stephen King and starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall. Defying the usual horror movie gimmicks, Kubrick does what few directors are able to do, convert the The Overlook Hotel itself into a villain, packing it with an eerie cavernous malignancy that is without parallel in cinema. Matt attempts to put to bed the whole "movie not as good as the book" argument, while Mark gives his first-timer thoughts on the film. Here's Johnny! Enjoy!

Download: 014 The Shining

013 Primer

What if Steve Jobs had forgone his world conquest of the consumer electronics market and built an accidental time machine in his garage instead? Primer, released in 2003, answers this question with a cautionary tale of what happens when you try to pack 36 hours into a 24 hour day. Matt manages to put his physics knowledge to inadequate use with some Feynman diagram hand waving while Mark explores the combination of claustrophobia and Argon as we review this low-budget sci-fi indie. Enjoy!

Download: 013 Primer

012 The Warriors

Can you dig it!! This week we review the 1979 street gang classic The Warriors by Walter Hill. While firmly set in the late 70's nocturnal blight of New York City, The Warriors defies its reality with a stylized depiction of gang fiefdoms and eerie synth-rock soundtrack, courtesy of Barry De Vorzon. Enter the world of terrifying baseball Harlequins (Baseball Furies!) and Afro-chopsocky legionnaires (Grammercy Riffs!) with our discussion of this cult classic. Enjoy boppers!

Download: 012 The Warriors

011 Heathers

%$#@ me gently with a chainsaw! This week we enter the halls of Westerburg High in the 80's cult film Heathers by Michael Lehmann, starring Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, and Shannen Doherty. Matt searches in futility for a broader psychological, social, and/or historical meaning while Mark cuts to the cynical chase and calls Heathers out for the cathartic misanthropic dirge that it is. Chock full of memorable quotes and sinister flourishes, Heathers does not disappoint. Enjoy!

Download: 011 Heathers

010 The Wicker Man

It's time for your appointment with The Wicker Man! This week we review the 1973 cult classic by Robin Hardy. Rated as one of the top ten British films of all time, The Wicker Man defies film making convention, skirting the line between horror and thriller, while making a comment on religion and its relationship to modern society. While paid nothing for his work, Christopher Lee stars as Lord Summerisle in this breakout role that would eventually lead him to later fame in the Lord of the Rings and the Star Wars prequels. Besides a little sacrificial unpleasantness, both Matt and Mark agree, to be a 'born again pagan' may not be all that bad. Enjoy!

Download: 010 The Wicker Man

009 Nosferatu

We kick it old school this week with our review of the 1922 silent vampire classic Nosferatu by F.W.Murnau. Finding it hard to discuss the film without indulging its copyright history, we give some back story to its sorted relationship with the source material, Bram Stoker's Dracula. Crude special effects, awkward overacting and pacing, showcase just how far cinema has come in the past century, but one thing that cannot be denied, however, is the menacing performance of Count Orlok by the enigmatic Max Schreck, a film icon if there ever was one. Enjoy!

Download: 009 Nosferatu

008 Rushmore

We enter the "slightly heightened reality" of Wes Anderson in his breakthrough 1998 film Rushmore. Beyond its illusionary comedic mantle lies a darker film that explores the limitations of youthful hubris and the facade of success. Jason Schwartzman, at the age of 17, offers an outstanding performance as the punkish Max Fischer, while Bill Murray plays his foil as only Bill Murray truly can. Enjoy!

Download: 008 Rushmore

007 The Naked Lunch

Interzone awaits in this week's film review, The Naked Lunch by David Chronenberg, released in 1991. A biopic like none-other, we take a glimpse into the drug addled world of the beat generation's number one author, William S Burroughs. Despite its homoerotic phantasmagoria and post-modern cut-up nature, we both come to the conclusion that the film is more or less a straight forward narrative of a tortured soul. The Naked Lunch stars an outstanding Peter Weller as William Lee, Judy Davis as Joan Lee/Frost, Ian Holm, Julian Sands, and the late Roy Scheider. Enjoy!

Download: 007 The Naked Lunch

006 Dark City

We review the certified cult classic Dark City by Alex Proyas (released in 1998) in this week's episode. While both admitting this film is an amazing, groundbreaking, and influential piece of cinema, we spend a great deal of time discussing the film's theme (and our minor confusion thereof...) with a bit of nitpicking... perhaps undeservedly. Avoiding the usual scene-by-scene breakdown (we leave that up to Roger Ebert's excellent DVD commentary), we instead stick to 'big picture' concepts in the film. I tout its Sci-Fi street cred, while Mark begs to differ... Dark City stars Rufus Sewell, Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly, and William Hurt. Enjoy!

Download: 006 Dark City

005 Dead Man

In this week's episode, we review the 90's postmodern/psychedelic western Dead Man, by indie film director Jim Jarmusch. Both of us agree this is an exceptional film and ground breaking in its re-interpretation of what could be considered a bygone genre, the western. Packed with notable personalities, Jarmusch offers a beautiful sequence of vignettes, that unto themselves, requires little context. Filmed on location in our native Northwest, we attempt to add a little local flavor to the discussion. Dead Man stars the ever adventurous Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, awesomely weird Crispin Glover, Lance Henricksen, legend Iggy Pop, Michael Wincott, Billy Bob Thornton, Alfred Molina, John Hurt, and late western icon Robert Mitchum. Enjoy!

Download: 005 Dead Man

004 Logan's Run

In this week's episode we review the 70's Sci-Fi cult classic Logan's Run. Unfortunately nostalgia for the post-hippie free love and drugs era wasn't enough to stave off the plot holes and silliness of this far out mind blower. In the end, Matt and Mark both decide Logan and his young attractive city dwellers were better off dying at 30. Logan's Run was directed by Michael Anderson and stars Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Richard Jordan, and Peter Ustinov. Enjoy!

Download: 004 Logan's Run

003 Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

We up the production value with a little bumper music courtesy of Dan-O at www.danosongs.com while adding in a little Ebert-esque intro clip. In this week's episode, we discuss the seminal cult classic Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, a cult movie if there ever was one. Mad Max 2: TRW was a watershed moment for action film and the post apocalyptic fiction in general. It literally defined the look and feel of the genre. The Road Warrior was written and directed by George Miller and stars the volatile and never boring Mel Gibson. Enjoy...

Download: 003 Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

002 An American Werewolf In London

This week we review An American Werewolf in London by John Landis released in 1981, an excellent early eighties example of camp/comedy horror that would lead the way for such classics as Evil Dead II. Matt laments the current state of CGI and the blight of Stephen Meyer's Twilight and its dismal degradation of werewolves and the horror genre in general. Enjoy!

Download: 002 An American Werewolf In London

001 Lost Highway

In our inaugural episode we attempt to untangle the byzantine plot of David Lynch's Lost Highway and are marginally successful. Lost Highway stars Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, Balthazar Getty, Robert Blake, Robert Loggia, and Henry Rollins.



Download: 001 Lost Highway