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