Tangentially Xmas

    This week we bring 2021 to a close with a three pack of movies that are firmly winter holiday adjacent. 

     Christmas Eve 1918, a lawyer comes to visit Mrs. Allen and her three children. He brings an amazing offer that will get them out of not their squalid apartment and give them a chance to improve their lives greatly. That is, if they don't mind a few ghosts. Before they can say some cockney rhyming slang two of the kids are off on a time leaping adventure that will change their lives forever. Just don't think of The Amazing Mr. Blunden and his paradoxes.
     After a month as classifieds editor at the Los Angeles Eye and finding that she has been sleeping with the wrong reporter to get a career boost, wannabe reporter Kim takes matters into her own hands and, without editorial sanction, begins to look into a woman's strange death by spontaneous human combustion. At her very first stop, she becomes the target of a coven of lesbian witches. Crammed full of ideas cut from a previous feature, cult hero Brian Yuzna brings a tale that appropriately hates everyone but loves giant cockroaches. Who will survive Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation?
     Three odysseys across LA. Sean Baker's raw and up close ground level view of a distinctive and specific sex-trade subculture. Anchored by three phenomenal central performances and filmed with bleeding edge technique and stuffed with style, Tangerine.
     All that and Kevin get serenaded, Dave wonders if Killer Santa was inside him all alone, and Tyler learns the true meaning of Life Day. Join us, won't you?

Episode 237- Tangentially Xmas

Evilnauts

     This week a pair of effects heavy movies from the past. 

     Jason returns home to take back what was stolen in his infancy. In order to rally support for this, he decides to head out and steal the Golden Fleece. With some support from the goddess Hera, his crew set out to confront a whole bunch of stop motion monsters brought to life by the brilliant Ray Harryhausen. Will he succeed? Will any of his crew return home? Will they all meet grizzly ends and join the skeleton army? Who dares sail with Jason and the Argonauts?
     The second installment in Paul W.S. Anderson's wildly successful video game adaption series. When Umbrella finds they are unable to contain the infection from overtaking Raccoon City, they pull their assets and begin an operation to remove all evidence. Tragically, Dr. Ashford's daughter was misplaced in the rush. Now Ashford is reaching out to game protagonists Jill Valentine and Carlos Olivera to support film protagonist Alice to save his daughter before nukes rain down and Tyrant rips them all in half. Who will pull themselves out of the wreckage of Resident Evil: Apocalypse?
     All that and Dave burns chrome, Kevin is filled with the Holiday Spirit, and Tyler learns that he bleeds T-virus. 

Join us, won't you?

Episode 236- Evilnauts

Ruthless Charles

     This week- psychopaths hiding in plain sight and a disdain for social morality.

     A young couple kidnap their former boss's wife as revenge for his stealing their work. The boss hoping his wife never comes back. The boss's lover's blackmail attempt doesn't go anything like planned. A serial killer terrorizing a neighborhood. 80s fashion, premium speakers, nightmare inducing masks, home video cameras that weigh over 100lbs, and a gaggle of  Ruthless People.
     Uncle Charlie's visits are always welcome in the Newton home. Young Charlie, his namesake, has always felt a deeper connection to him than anyone else. Unfortunately, Uncle Charlie might possibly be the notorious Merry Widow serial killer. The incompetent men hunting him see fit to burden young Charlie with this knowledge. Is his charm and their connection enough to remove her Shadow of a Doubt?
     All that plus Kevin and Dave both peer into the wild world of Holiday films and Tyler learns he only responds to tank controls. Join us, won't you?

Episode 235- Ruthless Charles

Rothrock and Roll

      This week- two movies, four women, and multiple trios of bumbling idiots.

     Naama lives in an Israeli suburb with little to do except drugs and casual hook ups. When she meets a new student, they are immediately attracted to each other. Meanwhile, he racist parents are desperately searching for her AWOL sister who might have run off with a nice young Palestinian boy. Blush (aka, the much better title, Barash).
     Two of the best action stars of all time together in the second film directed by Hong Kong legend Corey Yuen and produced by Sammo Hung which started an entire subgenre. Tragically, the draws are pushed aside for some of the worst garbage outputted by the painfully unfunny Luck Stars but when allowed to do what they do best, they rival any other of the period and force you to say... Yes, Madam. 
     All that and the Spencer Mansion collapses on Dave and Tyler's heads while Kevin leaves his noir funk behind for candy colored holiday cheer. Join us, won't you?

Episode 234- Rothrock and Roll