Arty Arty Oxen Free

This week we go full head up the rump and wrestle with some art films. Masterpieces of moving images... at least that is what we were told.
First, we dig into the film that is widely accepted as gateway Buñuel. We gaze deeply into the inner... uh... somethings of people who like to dinner party. Their failures and dreams lead to total confusion over The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie.

What do you get when you combine a novella from the father of cyberpunk, one of cinema's most fiercely independent voices, and two of the greatest character actors of their generation? I don't know but there's a close approximation with New Rose Hotel.

Peter Greenaway's The Pillow Book is a tale of revenge wrapped over a technical exercise inspired by a classic book that has thrived over the last thousand years. 

Finally, one of the silent era's most brilliant voices plays with composition and sound, shadows and multiple languages combine with horror and mystery inspired by the pen of Sheridan Le Fanu in Vampyr.
All that and Dave has a rant, Tyler is overwhelmed by the beauty, Kevin marches to the beat of his own sensory deprivation chamber, and in the shadows a grand scheme is being hatched. Join us, won't you?

Episode 143- Arty Arty Oxen Free

Salem's Cocktail

     We take a detour through King country up in Maine and spend three hours mostly just staring at an old house. I guess it's creepy... but not enough to explain a writer's obsession. Right, there are 1970s TV vampires there. Tobe Hooper too. We get lost in Salem's Lot.

     Then we again take a long hard look at teenagers and camming and coming of age and lesbians and oddly forthright stunted waitresses and hooking and first world problems of the kind only Netflix execs truly understand all shook up in a Teenage Cocktail.

     All that AND Dave watches another King adaption, Chris laughs without joy, Tyler strikes another off his top 2000, and Kevin keeps stalking everyone else in a blue box. Join us, won't you?

Episode 142- Salem's Cocktail

Blood on Tape

     Joined by intrepid guest Lucas, the crew takes a the sights of a 1970s art film and a South Korean-Japanese co-production that totally overlooks the countries complicated and brutal history with each other.

     The only Bill Gunn film to get any kind of release before being quickly pulled and butchered by opportunistic distributors who had zero concept of the beauty they held. When an ancient dagger gives Dr Hess Greene a bad case of blood addiction, he takes pretty well to his new life until the estranged wife of a former associate enters his life. A brilliant meditation on cultural imperialism, African American assimilation, addiction, social structures, and more than a passing eye at organized religion... it's not a surprise that it didn't take off even at the height of New Hollywood. Bill Gunn lays so much of his soul bear through Ganja & Hess.

     Seventeen years ago two children saw their friend run over by a car speeding around a blind turn. Today one of them is killing people in an effort to resurrect their dead friend on the orders of an unknown god. Deciding an article written by his fellow witness is the sign he has been waiting for, he lures her and a cameraman to an abandoned apartment building to witness his last two murders and an act of true love.  J-horror vet Kōji Shiraishi, better known for more fantastical monstrous women, delivers something far more grounded and brutal with A Sweet Record of Murder.

     All that and Lucas thinks six moves ahead, Tyler stumbles into a trap fully unaware, Dave doesn't get it, and Kevin sees his tentacled Elder God master in the gaps between time and space. Join us, won't you?

Episode 141- Blood on Tape

Midwest Bushranging

     This week we are joined by Kevin Shields from Cracked Reel (find it on Facebook, Apple Podcasts, and Stitcher) joins us for a globe trotting odyssey of dreamers and nihilists.

     A Cleveland skate crew try to find a way to achieve their dreams of glory by selling the epic quantity of molly they found in a car trunk. Of course, this plan doesn't go without a hitch and soon they are hunted by drug baron Mama's aggressive and violent crew of scooter based assassins. Will the boys live to find street skate glory or will they be more casualties to life in The Land?

     In the wild days of late 1800s Australia, an outlaw is given a deal- kill your older brother or we will hang your younger one. This begins an introspective and gritty journey through the bush of both the outback and the soul. Nick Cave wrote a hell of a tale with a hell of a cast. How will things change after The Proposition?

     All that AND Kevin discusses words, Dave admits ally stabbings, Tyler boasts of skillz, and Kevin shouts across space and time. Join us, won't you? 

Episode 140- Midwest Bushranging

Nitro Changed

     First, an edge of your seat thrill ride through the back roads near an oil town in a truck loaded with unstable explosives. Mario, Luigi, Jo, and Bimba take a life risking assignment to deliver a load of nitroglycerin that can extinguish a raging well fire. Is the risk worth The Wages of Fear?
     Next, George C Scott retreats to a small college in the Pacific Northwest after a tragic loss, only to find himself in a haunted house. Can you compose a masterpiece of mourning while being harassed by The Changeling in a tantrum?
     All that and Dave suffers, Tyler tries to pun, Chris has no idea what is happening, and Kevin pretends to be above it all. Join us, won't you?

Episode 138- Nitro Changed