The Shining (Recorded in 2012)

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: The Shining (Recorded in 2012)

174 2001: A Space Odyssey

Mopping up the Kubrik, Matt and Mark finally get around to reviewing the flawed masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey. A film broken up into four vignettes, we go about reviewing it as such. Despite all the big themes of human evolution and questions of mankind's existential crisis in the universe, what 2001 gets right is humanity's relationship with the tools it has created, and how we are now at the whims of those tools, good, bad, and indifferent. So open up the pod bay doors and set the controls for the heart of the sun (cue Pink Floyd... now!).

Download: 174 2001 A Space Odyssey

173 Somewhere In Time

Matt and Mark attempt to break out of our cult film review comfort zone this week and review the 1980 sci-fi fantasy romance Somewhere In Time. Trying to go gynocentric, we fail at finding the appeal of this film as it would pertain to the ladies. Centered around a somewhat charmless 36 hour romance more typical of bodice-ripper fair, it becomes an exercise in forced gravitas, leaving the viewer little investment in its time-crossed lovers' tragedy.

Download: 173 Somewhere In Time

172 Under The Skin

This week we get back into the serious and review Jonathan Glazer's enigmatic Under The Skin, starring Hollywood A-lister ScarJo as the alien seductress. More evocative than thematic, its disturbing imagery sticks with you long afterward. Matt attempts to find an analogy for the alien's motivations, but such metaphors may defy what the film was trying to provoke. Perhaps it is best to leave Under The Skin as undecipherable as a street conversation among Scottish Glaswegians.

Download: 172 Under The Skin

171 Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie

Matt and Mark's Summer of Funny concludes this week with our review of Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie. T&C's brand of humor isn't for everyone, but if you can handle its mix of stupidity and darkness, there's genuine comedy to be had. While Ebert's write-off of the movie is understandable (0.5 stars), dopey overweight white guys with a healthy disdain for corporate propaganda (no one we know of course) should enjoy this movie more than your average joe film critic.

Download: 171 Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie

170 Up In Smoke

Our penultimate film for the Summer of Funny, this week Matt and Mark review the cult stoner classic Up In Smoke by comedy duo Cheech (Marin) and Tommy (Chong). While stoner humor tends to be one note (or one toke), C&C deliver a nice combo of outrageous characters stirred up with a nice mix of comic timing and physical humor. So head down to your local weed shop (unless you live outside the spliff utopias of Colorado and Washington State), kush out, and take a low ride into the bakey funny.

Download: 170 Up In Smoke

The Wicker Man (Recorded in 2012)

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: The Wicker Man (Recorded in 2012)