077 THX 1138

George Lucus's debut feature THX 1138 was one of the first and last Zoetrope films to be produced by Francis Ford Coppola's nascent production company. Before Star Wars and the ILM empire was founded, Lucas cut his chops on true Sci-Fi themes in this dystopic 1984 story revised for the 60's/70's bomb-shelter generation. Matt and Mark digest the themes of the film, embellished by a haunting sound track and stark sterile visuals. Both agree this is rock-solid sci-fi which mainstream film rarely dabbles in and few get right.

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076 Sholay

Attempting to expand our listenership to the sub-continent of India, Matt and Mark review the #1 Indian cult film of all time, Sholay! A movie that leverages familiar tropes of western film to create what is called the "masala" Curry Western, director G.P. Sippy provides a bit of something for everybody. Having little exposure to Bollywood film-making, we both feel that if you're going to start somewhere, Sholay is the place. Now throw your arms in the air, like you just don't care!.... uhm... not you Thakur.... yeah, yeah... we know.

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075 Office Space

Damn, it's good to be a gangster! Matt and Mark review the 1999 cult classic Office Space by Beavis and Butthead creator Mike Judge. An existential film if there ever was one, Office Space mines the heart of darkness lurking in the quiet desperation of our ubiquitous industrial parks. In lamenting the soullessness of modern corporate life, Judge releases subtle comedic gold. We've all met Lawrences and Lumbergs, but Judge is able to introduce you to these archetypes deftly and without the heavy-handedness typical of more mainstream Hollywood comedies.

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074 Jaws

Mark's virgin viewing of the high-concept classic Jaws, from sophomore director Steven Spielberg. Mark gets to the heart of his prejudice against Spielberg and tries not to bring his baggage into the review, but we both find it fairly hard to defend the director's later efforts. Despite his reliance on emotional claptrap, Spielberg delivers a terrifying fish story held tight by the superb acting trio of Scheider, Dreyfuss, and Shaw.

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073 The Virgin Suicides

You miss them until they're gone... such is the paradox of the ephemeral and beautiful teenage girl. This week Matt and Mark try to get to the bottom of a film that admits it has no answers, Sophia Coppala's The Virgin Suicides. An extremely evocative film, it deftly plays with the idealism of youth juxtaposed to the tarnished mediocrity of adulthood, allowing you only brief empathetic glimpses into the life of adolescent girls.

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072 Blazing Saddles

The originator of the first cinematic fart joke, Mel Brooks hits his farcical stride in the 1974 film Blazing Saddles. Exploiting exploitation itself, Brooks manages to charm his audiences with the absurdity of our shameful national history. Both making fun of the Old West and the titular film genre of the 50's and 60's, Brooks uses every gag known to man, making its cheap laughs nearly transcendent. So fix yourself a plate of beans and a pot of coffee and join in on the gastrointestinal hilarity.

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071 The Dark Crystal

Another world! ... Another time! This week Matt and Mark review the Jim Henson Frank Oz puppet show masterpiece The Dark Crystal. A marvel of classic special effects, TDC proves to be an evocative film minus its human-free celluloid. Marketed as a children's movie, it challenges youthful sensibility with a touch of Grimm's fairy tales, and in so doing, gives its viewer the benefit of the doubt. So forget James Cameron's heavily borrowed Pandora and settle in to the more imaginative world of The Dark Crystal.

Download: 071 The Dark Crystal