What does it take to change the essence of a man? This week, we find out (along with regular guest Derek Jarvis) as we dive into Steven Seagal's eco-friendly auteur explosion-fest, On Deadly Ground!
Seagal's sole director credit, On Deadly Ground features He of the Ponytail as oil-fire specialist/secret military badass Forrest Taft, a fixer for evil petroleum exec Michael Jennings (Michael Caine, doing his damndest to sound American) in the Alaskan oil fields. After he uncovers a conspiracy to knowingly allow their new super-rig to blow up just so they can keep the rights to Native American land, Taft teams up with perpetually useless Native representative Masu (Joan Chen) to bludgeon, explode, and gun down every single one of Jennings' mercenaries - you know, for Mother Earth.
On Deadly Ground is suffused with a healthy dose of Steven Seagal earnestness, gross native mysticism, and a hamfisted environmental message that would make Greenpeace execs wrinkle their nose. (Don't forget the incredible non sequitur bar fight that suddenly turns into a treatise on toxic masculinity.)
It's a crazy, crazy ride, so take a listen and check out our custom cocktail and drinking game!
(Thanks to our sponsor Overcast as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
Related links:
Nathan Rabin's piece on Steven Seagal's alt-right novel The Way of the Shadow Wolves
Jared's been zapped into another dimension, so Jon Espino of The Young Folks and HollywoodChicago.com joins Clint to investigate the mysteries of Netflix's Super Bowl-marketed sci-fi disaster The Cloverfield Paradox!
A previously-unrelated sci-fi thriller given the J.J. Abrams treatment, The Cloverfield Paradox turns Julius Onah's The God Particle into a confusing, meandering installment of Paramount's favorite clearinghouse for original sci-fi movies!
Here, the crew of the Cloverfield Station (Daniel Bruhl, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, John Ortiz, Chris O'Down, David Oyelowo, Ziyi Zhang, Aksel Hennie) run a Large Hadron Collider in space to solve the world's energy crisis. Once they fire it up, though, they find themselves in another reality with the Earth gone, a mysterious visitor (Elizabeth Debicki) stuck in the wall, and all kinds of crazy dimension-warping shenanigans.
That sounds really cool, right? Unfortunately, it becomes a boring slog of flat characters, confusing technobabble and some arbitrary connections to the rest of the otherwise-solid Cloverfield universe. Still, Clint and Jon soldier on for your pleasure - listen and check out our custom cocktail and drinking game!
(Thanks to our sponsor Overcast as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
Danger, Will Robinson! With Netflix's reboot of Lost in Space coming out today, we (along with Lauren Faits, co-host of She-Ra: Progressive of Power) decided to talk about the first time the classic sci-fi show got revamped: the 1998 film Lost in Space!
Reverse-engineering the campy 60s TV show into a four-quadrant CG blockbuster, Lost in Space sees the Space Family Robinson (William Hurt, Mimi Rogers, Heather Graham, Lacey Chabert, Jack Johnson) hurtled into unknown space along with their Robot and cocky pilot Don West (Matt LeBlanc) after traitorous Dr. Smith (Gary Oldman) sabotages the ship. It's got everything you expect from the 90s - shitty techno remixes of the original theme, annoying CG space monkeys and pre-Youtube teen vlogging!
Clint thinks it has its charms (including Oldman, the bubbly, neon-soaked production design and the rousing Western-tinged score by Bruce Broughton); Jared and Lauren are...less than convinced by the hokey script and flat performances.
Does it deserve its status as the film that finally sunk Titanic from its 15-week reign at the box office? Or should we just wait for the Netflix show instead? Find out, along with our custom cocktail and drinking game!
(Thanks to our sponsor Simplecast as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop! Use the promo code CHICAGO to get 50% off your first three months.)
Related links:
Clint's piece on the Netflix reboot of Lost in Space for Consequence of Sound
Somebody once told us to watch the 2001 ensemble road comedy Rat Race - we ain't the sharpest tools in the shed, so we did it (along with our very own all-star, Theo Estes)!
The latest in a long tradition of star-studded broad comedies featuring groups of A-list actors on a wacky cross-country race, like It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and Cannonball Run, Rat Race follows a half dozen strangers (including Whoopi Goldberg, Seth Green, Jon Lovitz, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Rowan Atkinson) who are tapped by a wealthy benefactor (John Cleese) to race from Las Vegas to Silver City, New Mexico, where $2 million awaits them. From there, it's a madcap chase to the finish line as they run into murderous taxi drivers, cows on hot-air balloons, and charter buses full of Lucille Ball cosplayers.
Between Smash Mouth cameos, tongue studs and Mr. Bean in a motion picture, Rat Race is early-aughts as hell, but there are a few charms here and there. But hey, you never know if you don't go, and you'll never shine if you don't glow - so listen to our podcast, and check out our custom cocktail and drinking rules below!
(Thanks to our sponsor Backblaze as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
Erin go bragh, faithful listeners! This week, we celebrate St. Patrick's Day with our very own St. Patrick MacDonald of HollywoodChicago.com, as we down a pint and fight some beasties with the Irish horror comedy Grabbers!
When a sleepy Irish town is beset by extraterrestrial octopods with a thirst for blood, the town must rally around an alcoholic local cop (Richard Coyle) and his straight-laced partner (Ruth Bradley) to fight them off the only way they know how - by getting piss drunk!
Much like previous podcast subject Attack the Block, Grabbers is deeply indebted to the droll horror-comedy humor of Edgar Wright, and manages to find its own charms within that level of sincere imitation. Check out our thoughts, along with our custom cocktail and drinking game, below!
(Thanks to our sponsor, The Second City Training Center, as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
It's Oscar season once again, and like we do every year, we do a deep dive into one of the Best Picture nominees! This time around, Michael Snydel of The Film Stage joins Clint (who's a little stuffy this episode, apologies in advance!) and Jared to talk about Guillermo del Toro's nomination-sweeping fantasy love story The Shape of Water!
Set in a Cold War-era America filtered through del Toro's intricate dark-fantasy lens, The Shape of Water follows Eliza, a lovesick mute girl (Sally Hawkins) who falls for an man-like fish creature (Doug Jones) imprisoned in an American military research facility by the evil Strickland (Michael Shannon). Along with her band of outsiders and misfits, Eliza schemes to break the fishman out of the facility and get him home.
Opinions vary on whether this is one of del Toro's mythic masterpieces or a flawed blend of mish-mashed tones and influences, but it makes for an intriguing discussion all the same. Check out our episode, as well as our custom cocktail and drinking game!
(Thanks to our sponsor Simplecast as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
Happy Valentine's Day, sweethearts! Tighten your straps and practice your safe words, because we're getting kinky with 2015's Fifty Shades of Grey!
The lovely Katie Rife (The AV Club) joins us to discuss Sam Taylor-Johnson's joyless adaptation of EL James' dangerously unsexy Twilight fanfiction novels detailing the dom/sub love affair between clumsy ingenue Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) and brooding baby-billionaire Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan). In between, we discuss issues of kink, consent, the dark underbelly of Christian and Ana's relationship, and the film's troubling absence of dong. Also, some fun Mad Libs of one of the book's steamier segments!
Enjoy our episode, along with our custom cocktail and drinking game below!
(Thanks to our sponsor Overcast as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
Related links:
The Alcohollywood podcast is back after a month hiatus! We're moving to new episodes every two weeks, but we'll still bring you all the goodies you've come to expect.
For this episode, we usher in 2018 with the found-footage horror flick Apollo 18, about a group of NASA astronauts at the height of the Cold War launching a clandestine moon mission to spy on the Russkies. What they find, however, is more than they expected... and, given the film's found-footage conceit, kinda hard to see. Join us (along with returning guest Nick Freed) as we plant our flag in this forgotten relic of the post-Paranormal Activity era, and see if it's got the right stuff. Check out our custom cocktail and drinking game below!
(Thanks to our sponsor Overcast as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
Related links:
The brilliant space-race documentary For All Mankind, in HD on Youtube in full!
The full speech Nixon would have given if the Apollo 11 mission failed, featured in the film
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!)
Related links:
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!)
Related links:
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!)
Related links:
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!)
Related Links:
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!