120 The Terminator

Matt and Mark take an objective look into whole the Harlan Ellison-James Cameron kerfuffle over the origins of the film The Terminator. After much deliberation, we determine that not only is Harlan Ellison kind of a dick, but that Cameron should be given credit for taking the nascent Outer Limits episode Soldier and fleshing it out into a more exciting action packed narrative. Regardless, its always nice to entertain the notion of traveling back to Reagan's big hair 80's and getting the chance to blow that miserable decade back to hell.

Download: 120 The Terminator

119 Secrets and Lies

It's a storm of swords and a clash of kings this week as Matt and Mark enter the bloody battle space of drama film reviewing. Secrets and Lies is not a popcorn movie, unless you like to salt your popcorn with the tears of bleak desperation and catharsis. But one thing Mark and Matt did conclude during this contentious and disagreement fraught podcast is that the dramas one likes are deeply personal, and perhaps for unexplained reasons lacking resolution. Even if you haven't seen S&L, tune in and see what reviewer becomes a feast for crows.

Download: 119 Secret and Lies

118 Deliverance

This week we head down river into the "squeal like a pig" back woods of Southern hill billy-dom when we review the unforgettable John Boorman film Deliverance. Not necessarily an essay on the nature of violence, Deliverance offers up questions of morality vs. civilization's legal framework. Because it's one thing to be a victim of violence, it's another to be at the mercy of unknown justice. An adventure story perhaps, Matt argues that it is something more, while Mark wrestles with contrived plot mechanisms and ham-fisted allegory.

Download: 118 Deliverance

117 The Seventh Seal

Would you like to play a game... with Death? Only really a stalling tactic, Max Von Sydow's Antonius Block endeavors to play Death a game of chess, not necessarily to put off the inevitable, but offer God a chance to make himself known. A literal movie, Ingmar Bergman's The 7th Seal dispenses with metaphor and allegory, instead relying on stunning visuals to deliver its point. Endlessly parodied and borrowed, The 7th Seal is a cornerstone of our collective cinematic language.

Download: 117 The Seventh Seal

116 Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Heading off for a savage journey to Heart of the American Dream, Matt and Mark discuss the pros (Matt) and cons (Mark) of the Hunter S. Thompson adaptation Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Terry Gilliam. Matt attempts to slice and dice the absurdity, comparing such existential musings with the likes of Sartres and Camus, while Mark shrugs his shoulders at the irredeemable assholes which are Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo. It's hard to argue either way.

Download: 116 Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

115 Threads

Are you ready for the feel good movie of 1985! ... No? Perfect. Let's watch Threads! The unrelentingly bleak UK film about the realities of nuclear war. Humanity may survive such an apocalypse, but what does it really mean to survive in world without progress, a civilization in regression... ugh... so hopeless... Anyway, Threads will make want you want to fire up the XBox and play a little Fallout 3 to dissolve the gloom. Armageddon was supposed to fun, wasn't it?

Download: 115 Threads

114 They Live

A strangely influential John Carpenter B-movie, They Live's premise of an Alex Jones alien conspiracy to take over our planet Republican-style could only be effectively pulled off with a healthy serving of camp. Matt indulges his loathing for all things moneyed and corrupt while Mark puts it all in perspective. So OBEY and enjoy! Remember to like us on Facebook and tune in to Matt's mini Sci-Fi animated film short festival.

Download: 114 They Live

113 Screamers

We conclude our Dan O'Bannnon'othon this week with the 1995 Screamers. Not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination, Matt finds himself in the odd position of defending cheesy B-grade sci-fi to Mark. Despite being ridden with plot holes and degraded by lack of production value, Screamers achieves in theme what many more blockbuster offerings only hint at. Holding true to its Philip K Dick short story source material, Screamers surpasses the likes of Paycheck and Minority Report without the Hollywood head-start.

Download: 113 Screamers

112 Altered States

Mark gives Matt enough rope to hang himself when Matt goes on a hippie-hating tangent in the guise of scientific credibility this week when we review the cult classic Altered States. What is consciousness? Does it matter when you're talking about insight into our own inner human experience? Maintaining its high for the first part of the film, AS descends into silly farcical horror the latter half, which is to not necessarily diminish its effect.

Download: 112 Altered States

111 Total Recall

Matt and Mark review the Verhoeven 1990 classic Total Recall starring Arnold Swarzenegger. Matt struggles to evoke the sense of sci-fi wonder in Mark when he becomes fixated on the notion of a Hilton hotel room on the planet Mars, complete with cheesy wall art. But despite this, Matt and Mark do thoroughly plumb the Phillip K Dickian notion of "what is real" and Total Recall's deft delivery thereof. Total Recall's true magic is its ability to literally spoil the plot for you 1/4 of the way in, yet keep you riveted until the very end.

Download: 111 Total Recall

110 Closer

Matt and Mark try to get closer to Closer this week when we review the 2004 adaptation of the titular play. Like Mike Nichols other film The Graduate, this film examines the lives a self-involved privileged and generally unlikable people, daring its audience to take a stake in their relationships' outcomes. Is there a 'theme' here? Hard to say, but memorable well written scenes, this movie has many. So why do you like this movie? Perhaps you're a f*&%ing caveman!!!

Download: 110 Closer

109 Lifeforce

Vampires in space! Oh the high concept! Matt and Mark find the thin blue/green/red/gray line of our mutual tastes with this week's review. While Matt picks at the film's contrived ideas and its poorly thought out feasibility, Mark gives Lifeforce a pass, enjoying the dry wit of the British characters and B-movie silliness. A movie that really should never have been made, Lifeforce, like many megaplex flops, is a film artifact, and for that reason, I/we suppose it is worth a watch.

Download: 109 Lifeforce

108 Predator

A simple twist on the "Most Dangerous Game", Predator extrapolates big game hunting into the interstellar. When compared with the chicken-shit style of hunting ala Dick Cheney's "fish in a barrel" Texas ranch shoot-your-friend-in-the-face or the deservedly maligned Melissa Bachman lets-blow-away-an-endangered-cat-because-I-can nonsense, the Predator plays fair, allowing its prey to shoot back. So when Ahneld asks the question "What da' hell ahr you?" and the Predator mimes back the question, the exchange is more poignant than it may seem.

Download: 108 Predator

107 Alien

The Dan O'bannon-othon continues this week with the 1979 classic Star Beast (original title) aka Alien. Matt and Mark discuss at length Mr. O'banon's hand in making this film and his purity of vision compromised for better-or-worse by the deft hand of Ridley Scott (probably for the better). While the alien xenomorph is a beautiful monster designed by H.R. Giger, its ingenious biology was not as much a consequence of stylistic creativity than it was plot necessity, which may have worked even better.

Download: 107 Alien

106 Blue Velvet

David Lynch's proto-Twin Peaks film Blue Velvet lays the groundwork for many of the quirks that define the film maker. A tale of curiosity, sex, trauma, and torture, Blue Velvet deals in darkness, but not in an exploratory way which many have criticized as giving the heavy subject matter short shrift. However, to take anything else out would be to leave the film bereft of its powerful imagery and atmosphere. Crack a Pabst Blue Ribbon you fucking fucks, and enjoy, because this... is... it!

Download: 106 Blue Velvet

105 Heavy Metal 1981

Don Felder, the unsung hero of the most loved/hated band ever The Eagles, bestows some righteous licks upon the adult animated universe in this week's cult classic Heavy Metal (1981). Another notch in the belt of Mark's Dan O'bannon'othon, Matt takes a nostalgic trip into his 80's adolescence and remember his first exposure to the T&A laden comic book magazine. Not exactly up to the snuff of today's slick CGI bombast, Heavy Metal does lay the groundwork for future tropes however.

Download: 105 Heavy Metal 1981

104 A Clockwork Orange

This week Matt and Mark review Kubrik's A Clockwork Orange. Viddying the horror-show ultra-violence and some of the ole in-out in out, we seek the film's thematic elements through its stylistic fog. While Alex is a miserable, violent, and possibly irredeemable bastard, he provides us a window into an alien personality that we experience but with whom we aren't necessarily asked to sympathize. And that may've been the films worst sin in many critics' eyes, thus dismissing a beautifully wrought film of near artistic perfection.

Download: A Clockwork Orange

103 Return of the Living Dead

Once again Matt and Mark return to the sub-genre of horror comedy. A highly rated film by Alien screenplay writer Don O'Bannon, RotLD sets the mood for all slapstick zombie horror to follow ("brains... more... brains"). While Mark indulges the silliness and touts its original ideas, Matt is less engaged. Not necessarily an indictment of the film per-se as much as a 'been there, done that' attitude calloused by henceforth imitators. None-the-less a worthy outing.

Download: 103 Return of the Living Dead

102 The Thing 1982

And finally.... John Carpenter's The Thing is reviewed this week on The Cult of Matt and Mark. While much is to be said about the making of this strange dread-filled movie adaptation of the original Campbell novella, Matt and Mark delve into the viability of The Thing as an organism, attempting to rationalize its motives, desires, and biology. Dismissing Ebert's dismissal of this seminal Sci-Fi horror classic, we are drawn to the film 30 years on, engaging it again and again with homage prequels and video games as we try to capture a little of Carpenter's original paranoid beauty.

Download: 102 The Thing 1982

101 Kill List

Matt and Mark are back in movie review mode this week with our take on the UK soon-to-be cult film Kill List. Skillfully made by Ben Wheatley, with measured pacing and realistic dialogue, the film is a mash-up domestic drama, hit man thriller, and horror. While echoing the Wicker Man (Podcast #10), the Kill List, whether intended or not, does not tie up its loose ends neatly, which is both evocative and maddening.

Download: 101 Kill List

100 BONUS EPISODE!

It's The Cult of Matt and Mark's 100th Episode, and this week we decided to take topics from our loyal listeners, film related and otherwise. So come join us, knock back a few (we always do), and allow us to waste your time with inadequate answers to very thoughtful questions/topics! Much thanks to friends of the show Aaron C. of Ireland and Tom H. of Australia.

Download: 100 Bonus Episode!

099 Killing Zoe

Not a spectacular movie but one of Matt's cult films none-the-less, Killing Zoe has the heavy hand of Quarantino all over it. A churn of graphic violence, drug use, criminality, friendly prostitutes, KZ is a walk on the wild side. Lacking the thematic meat of other films, Matt and Mark get slightly tangential, which is why we're soliciting topics for our 100th podcast! Make sure to email us desired topics at cultfilmreview@gmail.com. Film based or other-wise, we will discuss ALL emails sent in!

Download: 099 Killing Zoe

098 The Big Lebowski

The Mt Everest of cult films, The Big Lebowski may offer too much meat for Matt and Mark to digest properly, but we give it a go regardless. Like Sam Elliott's cowboy, we ramble quite a bit. Matt wastes a great deal of time trying to pinpoint his loathing towards all that the fraudulent Reagan-inspired titular character represents, while Mark thankfully stirs us towards more interesting topics like the fleecing of Walter and The Dude over the funeral home's most modestly priced receptical.

Download: 098 The Big Lebowski

097 A Scanner Darkly

A film tailor made for Philip K Dick fans, where many Hollywood blockbusters have failed (yep, that's my finger and it's pointed at you Stephen Spielberg and John Woo) Richard Linklater delivers the goods.... which may be the reason ASD didn't bring the masses to the megaplex, but whatever. While not necessarily the most coherent of podcasts to date, we try to get to the 'dark' heart of A Scanner Darkly's drug fueled paranoia, with our meager sober minds.

Download: 097 A Scanner Darkly

096 Children of Men

What most action movies strive to achieve but somehow completely fail at, Children of Men, the apocalyptic drama by director Alfonso Cuaron, succeeds. Filmed with such immediacy and consequence, it's hard not to be in the shoes (or flip-flops) of Clive Owen's Theo and ponder the slow whimper-filled twilight of mankind's tenure. So pull yourself up a bottle of Scotch (Matt a 20yr Macallan, Mark a 12yr Glenfiddich) and embrace the sweet oblivion.

Download: 096 Children of Men

095 Trainspotting

No, Matt and Mark did not indulge heroin for this week's podcast, even though our off-kilter and awkward Skype issues might give one the impression of a nascent junk habit. This week we review the British cult 90's classic Trainspotting. Not much of a morality tale, and as the viewer you don't much care, as it offers up a buffet of interesting characters all swirling around the desperate world of heroin use. Solidly directed with solid actors, Danny Boyle made a name for himself with this iconic film, leading to a career that continues to challenge its viewers.

Download: 095 Trainspotting

094 Pink Flamingos

With the invention of the internet and its vast inexhaustible 24/7 geek show, the relevance of Pink Flamingos has long past. Despite its obsolete status, it still does not fail to disgust (there's a little bit of vomit-in-your-mouth for everyone). John Waters somehow managed to carve out a mainstream film career from this cinematic circus freak show, which defies convention. Not really Matt and Mark's cup o' tea, we both struggle to take a little bit away.

Download: 094 Pink Flamingos

093 Akira

Matt and Mark review the Otomo classic Akira this week, taking stock of its 25 years and whether or not its message of creation/destruction is transcendent or buried in the generational zeitgeist of post-war Japan. Released at the height of the cyberpunk wave, its flashy urban grit and ground-breaking animation make for anime spectacle despite Matt and Mark's lament that the use of psychic powers is weak sci-fi sauce, but that's just nitpicking.

Download: 093 Akira

092 The Maltese Falcon

Matt and Mark get into the way-back machine and rediscover The Maltese Falcon, the hard-boiled film noir that started it all. So borrowed in pop-culture, to watch the unaltered/unmolested original, the film that started the genre, is an experiment in perception. Matt of course takes issue with old film (as usual), moaning about dialogue and realism, while Mark enjoys the quick-paced action and direction of the one and only John Huston, finding the movie uniquely fresh 70+ years on.

Download: 092 The Maltese Falcon

091 Night of the Living Dead

Q: mommy, daddy, where do zombies come from? A: from vampires of course! It's no accident that the walking dead resemble all the mythical tropes of a vampire, undead-ness, feeding on human flesh, etc... Heavily borrowed from Richard Matheson's novel 'I am Legend', George Romero reinvents the idea giving birth to the rich cornucopia of zombie entertainment today. Matt and Mark discuss this nuance, and others, like the subtext of American racial tension in the late 60's on this week's podcast. 

Download: 091 Night of the Living Dead

090 Muriel's Wedding

A little late this week, Matt and Mark, consumed with the Sisyphean chores of yardwork the prior weekend, managed to finally get the podcast out! We review Muriel's Wedding and Mark discloses his affinity for the melancholia of the ambition-less suburban existence while Matt riffs on the US and Australia's mutual affinity.

Download: 090 Muriel's Wedding

089 Outland

Not really a science fiction film if you hold a snobby attitude towards the genre, but perhaps a nicely wrought 'space opera' more akin to Star Wars than Blade Runner. Matt and Mark review the film Outland starring Sean Connery, a recasting of the 'High Noon' western tale set on the far-flung Jovian moon of Io. A straight forward plot filled with hit-men, corrupted lawmen, and seedy power-brokers, it makes for a very enjoyable film, minus pretense. Absent heavy thought-provoking sci-fi themes, Matt and Mark discuss the minutia.

Download: 089 Outland

088 Over The Top

A movie about arm wrestling? really? It's high concept, Mark and I both agree this odd Stallone vehicle, strangely ridden with ad placement, is that, but what else is it? Matt finds this Hollywood misfire a strange concoction of sap, corniness, and bad acting while Mark manages to find a certain redemption. What's most troubling is how Mike Hawk is handled in the film, stiff but lacking potency, and at the film's climax, a little dry.

Download: 088 Over The Top

087 Annie Hall

Matt and Mark come to the conclusion that reviewing comedies is tough business and Annie Hall is no exception. More meat on its bones than the romantic comedies that came before and after, Annie Hall provides an interesting window into Woody Allen's persona, one both of us (more so Matt) can easily relate to: neurotic, self-deprecating, liberal, and fond of easy intellectual pretentious stereotypes that invite mild ridicule. We try to do it justice, so... you decide.

Download: 087 Annie Hall

086 Alphaville

Famous French director Jean-Luc Godard explores a world if 60's vintage IBM created a dystopic city hellbent on galactic domination! A sci-fi film minus the leotards and lasers, Alphaville is more about theme than flash, which is to its credit. A society devoid of emotion or passion creates a ant-hive like world where its doped numb citizens only live for the now. Mark expresses a budding affection while Matt expresses admiration despite its derivative sci-fi themes.

Download: 086 Alphaville