060 War Games

Shall we play a game? Galaga? or Donkey Kong... maybe Pac Man? In War Games, Matthew Broderick's character David (a fellow Snohomish High alum!) was pining for something more in home gaming, which leads him to the Pentagon's NORAD launch computer WOPR/Joshua. More of a tangential podcast than most, Matt and Mark cover many topics including extinction events, AIs, and Ally Sheedy's strange attraction for the John Lennon-esque professor Falken. War Games gave hope to thousands of shut-in hackers that it's theoretically possible to one day make out with a chick.

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059 Aguirre The Wrath of God

In 1972, Werner Herzog released the cult masterpiece Aguirre the Wrath of God starring the mad acting genius of Klaus Kinski. Matt struggles to verbalize the proper analogy for this obsessive story of hubris and doom, while Mark points out religion's seemingly absurd (yet obvious) place in the New World's conquest. Regardless, Aguirre is an amazingly shot experiment in gonzo/guerrilla film making that would go on to be heavily borrowed by other directors like Francis Ford Coppola and Terrance Malick.

Download: 059 Aguirre The Wrath of God

058 Being There

Life is just a state of mind! Yes, in a way, and if you have the mind of Chauncey Gardener, played brilliantly by Peter Sellers in the Hal Ashby film Being There, that mind is a little... lacking? Matt and Mark share differing opinions regarding the film, with Matt criticizing the film's dated satire while Mark basks in the 'alien-like' preternatural Chauncey. Regardless, Being There hits the right notes and manages to avoid going the 'full retard', laying the groundwork for cultural feel-good hits Forrest Gump and Rain man.

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057 Ghost in the Shell

Conjuring the 'ghost' of the bygone 90's cyberpunk era, Matt and Mark review Mamoru Oshii's anime classic Ghost in the Shell, released in 1996. Pondering such Sci-Fi topics as the Technological Singularity, we discuss the viability of a world dominating artificial intelligence and how the GITS's Puppet Master may fit such a paradigm. But more importantly, we discuss whether or not anime cyborgs are truly anatomically correct.

Download: 057 Ghost in the Shell

056 Re-Animator (1985)

"But you're just a talking head!" And so are Matt and Mark this week when we discuss Stuart Gordon's 1985 Cult Classic Re-Animator, based loosely on H.P. Lovecraft's short story of the same name. Matt and Mark get into the finer physiological details of 're-animation' and come to the conclusion that freezing your head, despite its promise of immortality, will not even get you close to the body-less monstrosity of the film's Dr. Carl Hill. Sorry Mr. Disney.

Download: 056 Re-Animator (1985)

055 Conan the Barbarian (1982)

Q: What is best in life? A: Watching John Milius's 1982 sword and sorcery epic Conan the Barbarian starring Arnold Schwarzenegger! Matt and Mark attempt to discuss one of the greatest films of its genre. Slightly before J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit there was Robert E. Howard's Conan short stories in Weird Tales, an influential fantasy character that still resonates with audiences today. Managing to get it right, Milius's Conan pays tribute to the venerable character while adding new dimensions to the barbarian king's story. There is only one Conan movie, and this.... is.... it!

Download: 055 Conan The Barbarian (1982)

054 Intacto

Is Luck an ephemeral 'thing' that can be swapped and stolen? Matt and Mark try to sort out the nuance of that question this week when we review Juan Fresnadillo's freshmen effort Intacto. Starring the venerable Max Von Sydow as the Luck Master, this visually stimulating film plays with its magic in such a way that may hide its truer reality. Dismissing its magical gimmick, Matt and Mark discuss the film in a practical context, for better or worse.

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053 Showgirls

"You're going to have to sell it sometime"... and for Elizabeth Berkeley that time was 1995 when Paul Verhoeven released the over-the-top NC-17 rated Showgirls. An exercise in off-color exploitation, Showgirls is viewed by many as not only a camp classic but also satire. What is it satirizing? Perhaps the feel-good "a star is born" tropes of Americana, hard to say, but one thing you can say is that 17 years on, people are still talking about it, which unlike most of Hollywood's endless parade of vapid offerings makes it worthy of at least a little discussion.

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052 The Crying Game

A very gender neutral podcast this week as Matt and Mark review Neil Jordan's 1992 much talked about The Crying Game. While set in "The Troubles" of IRA political intrigue, its message about love and attraction is much more basic, yet altogether complex. Mark derides Matt for his soon-to-be antiquated old-timey prejudices and dares him to imagine a manly world where macho men still seek the company of their catamites, much to Matt's obvious discomfort. The Crying Game delves into our facades, with the overt not necessarily being the most malign.

Download: 052 The Crying Game