Now that the holidays are over, it's time for the real reason for the season - Connickuh! Every year, we celebrate the life and works of Sir Harry Connick, Jr., he of the golden voice and chiseled jaw.
This year, our old friend Derek Jarvis comes on the show to harken back to the 1940s with the Frankie Muniz boy-and-his-dog movie My Dog Skip!
Based on the memoir by William Morris, My Dog Skip follows young Willie (Frankie Muniz, voiced by Connick as an adult) growing up in the 40s with his adorable Jack Russell Terrier Skip. Along the way, he finds love, becomes a man, and defeats some moonshiners! (?) It's basically Tree of Life with a cute pupper instead of dinosaurs - what's not to love?
Check out our podcast, drinking game and custom cocktail below!
(Thanks to our sponsor Simplecast as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
Merry Christmas and happy holidays, everyone! For this unconventional Yuletide, we bring in our dear friend, actress Alexia Jasmene, to discuss one of Clint's favorite Christmas films - 2015's trans-centric dramedy Tangerine!
Directed by Sean Baker (The Florida Project), Tangerine follows trans sex workers Sin-Dee Rella (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) and Alexandra (Mya Taylor) on one unseasonably hot Christmas Eve in West Hollywood. Sin-Dee wants revenge on her cheating boyfriend/pimp Chester (James Ransone), while Alexandra just wants the chance to perform at her favorite bar. Meanwhile, an Armenian cab driver (Karren Karagulian) intersects with their wild, crazy day in unexpected ways.
It's a bold, refreshing and wholly original film, both in subject matter and presentation (the whole thing was filmed on an iPhone!), and we think it's well worth some Christmas attention. Take a listen to our episode, and check out our custom cocktail and drinking rules!
(Thanks to our sponsor Backblaze as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
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In anticipation of Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Jodie Whittaker's imminent ownership of the TARDIS on Doctor Who, we brought on Allison Shoemaker (Debating Doctor Who, Podlander Drunkcast) to talk about the interstellar action-comedy Attack the Block!
When a council estate comes under siege from pitch-black beasties from outer space, it's up to gang leader Moses (John Boyega), his group of streetwise toughs, and an innocent nurse (Jodie Whittaker) caught in the crossfire to stave off an alien invasion. Joe Cornish's only directorial effort to date is brisk, breezy, and effortlessly fun, with a light sprinkling of social commentary thrown in the mix.
Check out our episode on the film, along with our custom cocktail and drinking game!
(Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
We step into the ring this week with Emmanuel Noisette of E-Man's Movie Reviews to talk about Ryan Coogler's hit 2015 boxing drama Creed!
Creed, starring Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone (in a role that almost won him an acting Oscar - curse you, Mark Rylance!), is one of the most acclaimed and heartfelt sequels of all time. Charting the trajectory of Adonis "Donnie" Creed (Jordan) and his quest to fill his father Apollo's footsteps, Coogler and crew craft an incredibly heartfelt drama that also pairs as one of the best sports movies of the 21st century.
Check out our thoughts on Rocky's relationship to Creed, one-take boxing matches, and the long memories of turtles on the podcast below, along with our custom cocktail and drinking game!
(Thanks to our sponsor Overcast as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
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This week, we strap on our guitars and talk about the forgotten 1980s musical drama Eddie and the Cruisers!
Telling the fictional story of a one-hit wonder band in 1960s New Jersey, Eddie and the Cruisers follows the remaining members of the band (including Tom Berenger) trying to piece together their lives after the untimely death of frontman/visionary Eddie Wilson (Michael Pare).
Equal parts The Day the Music Died, Bruce Springsteen and Jim Morrison, Eddie and the Cruisers is a bafflingly dull music biopic with a few glimmers of inspiration (and an ambitiously soundalike soundtrack courtesy of Springsteen knockoff John Cafferty). Listen to us break down this cult favorite, along with our custom cocktail and drinking game!
(Thanks to our sponsor Overcast as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
This week, playwright Dusty Wilson joins us for one of the most poorly-timed movies of all time, 1986's Space Camp!
A Spielberg pastiche that's equal parts E.T., Apollo 13 and Porky's, Space Camp follows a group of teen misfits (including Tate Donovan, Kelly Preston, Lea Thompson and a young Joaquin Phoenix) and their teacher (Kate Capshaw) as they learn the ins and outs of Space Camp. Thanks to some well-intentioned sabotage from a literal-minded robot (JINX, voiced by Frank Welker), the cadets find themselves flung into space, with only their wits - and some helpful Star Wars references - to aid them.
Released six months after the Challenger exploded, Space Camp suffers from some poor timing and even poorer scripting. But are there enough charms to make it watchable? Check out our podcast, along with our custom cocktail and drinking game to find out!
(Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
This week, Jared and Clint strap on their eyepatches and impractically-sized Uzis for John Carpenter's sci-fi action flick Escape from New York!
When the President (Donald Pleasance) crash-lands on the island prison of Manhattan, only one (inexplicably famous) prisoner can save him - Snake Plissken! Equipped with nothing but his wits and a bomb in his neck that will go off in 24 hours, Snake must survive the trash-filled streets of a dystopian New York City that's just a dumping ground for prisoners.
Between Carpenter's nitty-gritty aesthetic, the synth score, and Russell's stripped-down performance, Escape from New York more than earns its cult reputation. Check out our thoughts, along with our custom cocktail and drinking game!
(Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
This week, Jared and Clint go it solo after their stint at the Chicago Podcast festival to talk about 1977's psychedelic animated flick Wizards!
Directed by 70s animation guru Ralph Bakshi, Wizards launches you into a classic tale of post-apocalyptic good vs. evil: the diminutive Avatar (voiced by a guy doing a hell of a Peter Falk impression) against his evil brother Bloodwolf for the fate of a bombed-out planet. Throw in some busty faeries, existential burlap robots, and rotoscoped footage from other movies, and you've got a stew going!
It's messy, unfinished, and full of unironic Nazi propaganda footage, but it's definitely a sight to behold. Check out our episode, along with our custom cocktail and drinking game!
(Thanks to our sponsor Swap.com as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
This week, we bring you a LIVE episode of the podcast, talking about the short horror anthology film Trick 'r Treat with special guest Ele Matelan (WildClaw Theatre)!
Recorded at Chicago Theater Works as part of the 2nd Annual Chicago Podcast Festival, we take advantage of our 30-minute time slot to blitz our way through Trick 'r Treat's surprisingly fun short tales of candy and carnage. From deceptively sexy werewolves to the ghosts of dead children, to a demonic pump-kid with a burlap sack over his head, Trick 'r Treat has spooks and scares galore.
Take a listen to our live episode, and check out our custom cocktail and drinking rules!
(Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
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Check out the other half of our live podcast double bill at the Chicago Podcast Festival, CinemaJaw!
This week, we close out Horror Octorbor 666 with our final piece of Satanic cinema - 1977's bizarre sequel Exorcist II: The Heretic!
Journeyman film critic extraordinaire Jacob Oller joins us as we break down John Boorman's out-there followup to the William Friedkin classic, as young Regan (Linda Blair) teams up with a disgraced priest (Richard Burton) and a psychiatrist (Louise Fletcher) to chase the demon Pazuzu everywhere from Deepest Africa to Regan's childhood home from the first film.
Along the way, we get supernatural hypnosis machines, James Earl Jones in a tribal locust outfit, and kids rolling foam octagons down hallways for no reason at all. Check out our podcast, along with our custom cocktail and drinking game below!
(Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
HORROR OCTORBOR 666 continues apace with a look at the mid-90s Christopher Walken angel drama The Prophecy!
Written and directed by Gregory Widen (known for writing all the Highlander and Prophecy movies, and well, that's it), The Prophecy tells the convoluted story of an angelic civil war, the little girl who might hold the key to some evil spirit (or something?), and the bland humans who dedicate themselves to stopping it. It's boring and full of pseudo-religious gobbledygook, not to mention some confusing (and somewhat offensive) Native American mysticism. Still, it's mildly bolstered by a couple of great scenery-chewing performances from Walken and Viggo Mortensen, and some brief supporting turns from Amanda Plummer and Adam Goldberg as Walken's creepy familiars.
Check out our podcast, as well as our custom cocktail and drinking game, below!
(Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
HORROR OCTORBOR 666 continues, as we move down our list of devil-themed horror movies with the schlocky legal drama The Devil's Advocate!
Jon Espino of HollywoodChicago.com and The Young Folks partners with us again to tell the story of Kevin Lomax (a ridiculously Southern Keanu Reeves), an unscrupulous Florida lawyer brought up to New York with his wife (Charlize Theron) to join the law firm of grimy legal titan John Milton (Al Pacino). It's two and a half hours of goofy CGI demon faces, complicated legalese, and Trump allusions we'll never get back.
Still, we braved this decidedly goofy bit of 90s kitsch to bring you our custom cocktail and drinking rules, so take a listen!
(Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
Greetings, mortals! We drag back Some Kind of Goblin this year for our sixth horror theme month, HORROR OCTORBOR 666! It's all devil movies all month, baby! To start off, Scott Bufis of The Butter Hours joins us to talk about the crazy late-period Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle End of Days.
Ever wanted to see Arnie fight Satan, all while secretly playing a Bruce Willis character? Come see a blue-period Schwarzenegger get gritty as a disgraced, suicidal ex-cop forced to protect a young woman (Robin Tunney) from being impregnated by Satan himself (a hammy Gabriel Byrne) on the eve of the New Millennium. As fun as that sounds, the results are grimmer and duller than you might think.
Check out our episode, along with our custom cocktail and drinking game!
(Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
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Clint's guest spot on Nerd Outcast Podcast, talking about Star Trek Voyager!
Are you ready to rumble?! This week, we're bringing you the recording of our LIVE episode from PodSlam '17, a wrestling-themed charity podcast marathon dedicated to Connor's Cure!
Recorded at iO Chicago on September 23rd, Jared and Clint (along with special guest Randall Colburn of Consequence of Sound, The AV Club and elsewhere) break down the abject silliness of the WWE-Hanna Barbera collab Scooby-Doo Wrestlemania Mystery! Hear us entertain our live audience with the tale of Scooby and the Mystery Gang as they travel to the mystical land of WWE City, where they must solve the mystery of a mysterious Ghost Bear that terrorizes the town! (With the help of John Cena, of course).
Take a listen, and check out our custom cocktail and drinking game!
(Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
Related links:
Get tickets to our other live show at the Chicago Podcast Festival, 10/5 at Chicago Theater Works!*
*ANNOUNCEMENT: For Chicago Pod Fest, we're bringing on horror movie maven Ele Matelan to talk with us about the horror anthology Trick 'r Treat! You won't wanna miss it, so pick up your tickets now!
This week, Grant of Chip and Ironicus, Sex Archie and History Honeys joins us for the 2003 semi-cartoon comedy Looney Tunes: Back in Action!
In this Joe Dante-directed mix of live action and animation, Daffy Duck gets fired from the WB lot because he's tired of playing second fiddle to Bugs Bunny. Before long, they (along with hapless human co-stars Brendan Fraser and Jenna Elfman) find themselves wrapped up in a curious spy caper, as Fraser must save his spy-actor dad (Timothy Dalton) from the clutches of the ACME Chairman (Steve Martin) and save the world from being turned into monkeys... or something. Check out our podcast, custom cocktail and drinking game!
(Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
Related links:
Get tickets to our live show at PodSlam ’17, 9/23 at iO Chicago!
Get tickets to our other live show at the Chicago Podcast Festival, 10/5 at Chicago Theater Works!
Preorder Mark Soloff’s upcoming book The Silent Scream of Melania Trump from Inkshares!
This week, Theo of Twin Cinema (who covered this film on their show as well) joins us to talk about the classic 1944 psychological thriller Gaslight!
When a young newlywed (Ingrid Bergman, in an Oscar-winning performance) moves in with her controlling new beau Anton (Charles Boyer) into her late aunt's home, she finds herself the victim of psychologically controlling behavior meant to keep her from suspecting her husband of criminal activities.
It's a cracking noir with beautiful performances from Bergman and Angela Lansbury (in her debut role), so check out our episode, along with our custom cocktail and drinking game!
(Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
Related links:
Get tickets to our live show at PodSlam ’17, 9/23 at iO Chicago!
Get tickets to our other live show at the Chicago Podcast Festival, 10/5 at Chicago Theater Works!
This week, we go do some crimes with regular guest (and director of The Plagiarist's latest show, Ubu II) Nick Freed as we talk about the 1984 punk cult classic Repo Man!
Alex Cox's deliberately weird, anarchic joyride follows an aimless young punk (Emilio Estevez) who finds himself employed at an unscrupulous auto repossession company. Learning the ins and outs of the repo life with seasoned veteran Bud (Harry Dean Stanton), he runs afoul of a Chevy Malibu which - surprise! - has radioative alien bodies in it! It's a trippy, quirky movie not for ordinary fuckin' people, and we had a blast talking about it.
Check out our episode, along with our custom cocktail and drinking game!
(Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
Related links:
Get tickets to our live show at PodSlam ’17, 9/23 at iO Chicago!
Get tickets to our other live show at the Chicago Podcast Festival, 10/5 at Chicago Theater Works!
Julia (Clint's co-host for our new releases spinoff On Tap) joins us this week to check another movie off Jared's wishlist - the quirky John Travolta vehicle Michael!
Fresh off his Pulp Fiction success, Travolta leapt straight into this schmaltzy Nora Ephron rom-com, which gave him license to go full Adele Dazeem on a group of tabloid reporters (including William Hurt and Andie Macdowell) hoping to get a picture of a real-life angel - with wings and everything! It's kitschy and more than a little self-indulgent (the whole thing's clearly a Travolta vanity project), but it's certainly got its charms.
Check out our review, along with our custom cocktail and drinking game!
(Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
Related links:
Get tickets to our live show at PodSlam '17, 9/23 at iO Chicago!
Get tickets to our other live show at the Chicago Podcast Festival, 10/5 at Chicago Theater Works!
This week, Clint antes up with guests Zach Powers (of The Revisionists) and Aaron J. Amendola (of VStheUniverse) to talk about the 1998 card-shark drama Rounders!
Matt Damon plays a down-on-his-luck poker virtuoso/law student who gets dragged back into the world of underground high-stakes Texas hold 'em by his old friend Worm (Edward Norton), fresh out of prison with a huge gambling debt to repay. Will Damon choose the thrill of the cards over his law career and his bland, responsible girlfriend (Gretchen Mol)? Or will he go back for one last round with the cartoonishly Russian Teddy KGB (John Malkovich)? Is there even a question?
Load up a sleeve of Oreos like Malkovich does and check out our episode, along with our custom cocktail and drinking rules!
PRODUCER'S NOTE: We're trying a few different ideas regarding mic placement as we finish up work on the new recording studio, so apologies if some of the audio sounds a little more echo-y than usual. We'll get it sorted out soon, promise!
(Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
This week, we saddle up with The Next Picture Show's Keith Phipps to look back at the 1974 Mel Brooks comedy classic Blazing Saddles!
Equal parts raunchy and deliciously subversive even today, Blazing Saddles is a beautifully acerbic parody of the classic Western, following a black sherriff (Cleavon Little) tasked with defending/offending the puritanical town of Rock Ridge, while scheming huckster Hedy ("Hedley!") Lamarr (Harvey Korman) plots the down's demise. It's a drop dead hilarious movie that still holds up today, and is a wonderful testament to one of comedy's greatest filmmakers. Check out our episode along with our custom cocktail and drinking rules!
(Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
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Get tickets to The Nerdologues Presents Your Stories: At the Movies!
CW: Discussion of scenes of sexual assault from the film itself.
For our 300th episode, the lovely Lauren Faits of the upcoming podcast She-Ra: Progressive of Power and Our Fair City joins us to talk about the cult 1987 anime film Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise!
From the makers of Evangelion, Honneamise is an early example of the fluid animation and mature themes that would fuel the anime craze of the 90s in the US. Set in an alternate Earth in which two steampunk societies gear up for war, the film follows a young man named Shiro and his desire to go the stars. Apart from one unfortunate scene, the film's a fascinating subject for discussion, so check out the episode along with our custom cocktail and drinking game!
(Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
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Load up your red Caddy with booze, guns and a suitcase full of drugs, because we're headed to The City of Lights with Blastropodcast's Mark Soloff to talk about Terry Gilliam's bizarro Hunter S. Thompson adaptation Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas!
Based on Thompson's free-wheeling quest for the American Dream in the early 70s, the film follows Thompson surrogate Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp, chewing as much scenery as he does cigarette filters) and his "attorney" Dr. Gonzo (Benicio Del Toro) through casinos, acid trips, and the odd encounter with a dwarf. It's a kaleidoscopic tale perfectly suited to Gilliam's eccentricities, and we love it so very much!
Take a listen to our episode and enjoy our drinking game and cocktail - lovingly rendered below in a beautiful Steadman-esque drawing by Jared Latore himself!
(Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
It's Shark Week once again this year, and we're celebrating with The Film Stage Show's Michael Snydel as we break down Blake Lively's cult summer hit from last year, The Shallows! Check our our custom cocktail and drinking rules as we talk about Blumhouse's micro-budget genius, CG sharks, and helpful seagulls named after 90s action stars.
(Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
This week's episode sees the return of lovely recurring guest Ele Matelan (from Our Fair City, Starlight Radio Dreams and Locked Into Vacancy Entertainment), to help us unpack 1986's Rawhead Rex!
Written by horror icon Clive Barker (a.k.a. Pervy Lovecraft) and based on his short story, Rawhead Rex sees the return of a goofy-looking hell demon to terrorize a small Irish village, with only an obnoxious American photographer and his sexy grey cardigan to stop it. Check out our episode, along with our custom cocktail and drinking game!
(Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
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See Ele do foley work at The Second City for their latest show, 13 Treasons Why!
This week, we test our commitment to Sparkle Motion with Jon Espino of The Young Folks and HollywoodChicago.com as we revisit Richard Kelly's 2001 cult time travel teen drama Donnie Darko! The hit of the Hot Topic crowd in the early 2000s, for better or worse, we go back to this twisty, navel-gazing mixture of American Beauty and The Butterfly Effect to see if its profundities still hold up. Take a listen, and check out our custom cocktail and drinking rules!
(Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)