Love That Scars

     This week... Insurmountable obstacles, unfortunate events, and darker obsessions collide in four films about love that wounds and scars and ends unavoidably tragic.

     When a young woman is found murdered after leaving his house, down on his luck and violently tempered screenwriter Dix finds himself squarely in the police's frame. Only the testimony of his beautiful neighbor keeps him from immediate arrest. As his prosecution drags out, a relationship between them blooms. Can the blossoming relationship withstand the suspicions and outside glances? Did Dix succumb to his rage fueled impulses and will he do it again? An existential noir masterpiece with a towering lead performance, In a Lonely Place.

     In the summer of 1972, young Vada Sultenfuss lives with her widowed father. Vada has a tendency toward hypochondria and a fascination with death, likely from losing her mother at birth and growing up in the town funeral parlor. This summer, Vada begins growing into her own and suffers many of life's first times. Widely considered a classic of the 1990s with a pair of fantastic child lead performances and a final act that scared a generation, My Girl.

     Young Douzi is abandoned by his mother at a Peking Opera troupe. His youth is spent training to play dan, female lead, roles while his best friend, Shitou, learns jing, heroic male roles. From the brutal violence of their training, the oppressive occupation of the Second Sino-Japanese War, and the crushing repression of the Cultural Revolution, Douzi and Shitou's relationship carries them through 50 years. Beautifully shot, delicately edited, and widely considered one of the best films produced in Mainland China, Farewell My Concubine.

     Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona Beach, where we lay our scene, from ancient grudge break new mutiny... the star-crossed lovers draw the conclusion of Baz Luhrmann's Red Curtain Trilogy of theatrical motif. Hyper stylized with an energy that has few equals and a cast that matches it beat for beat, The Bard's most well known work's third major film adaption that still brings tears of joy to long suffering High School English teachers everywhere... William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet.

     All that and Dave loses a letter, Tyler feels new emotions in a fetal positions, and Kevin likes to watch... everything. Join us, won't you?

   Episode 410- Love That Scars

The Dross

     This week- two movies about puppets that want to become real boys.

     Malcolm Shanks is unable to hear or speak. He communicates through mime and puppetry. When a local mad scientist finds use of his talents, Shanks is set on a course of tragedy. The last film directed by genre icon and master of promotion William Castle- Shanks.
     The heavily sanitized for streaming audiences story of 1980s hair metal band Mötley Crüe. Inspired by the band's own autobiography and the first traditional narrative feature by reality entertainment trailblazer Jeff Tremaine, The Dirt.
     All that and Dave considers fun new ghost removals methods, Kevin laments modern society's lack of hair spray centric culture, Craig has an apoplectic epiphany, and Tyler has a nostalgic one. Join us, won't you?

   Episode 409- The Dross

Worts & All

     This week- a pair of films about bad dads creating generational trauma.

     Kōhei and his friends are making a video game. One day he and his girlfriend, Nami, go for a drive and come upon a huge seemingly abandoned mansion. Soon they discover that Nami's connection to it might be much deeper than they could have imagined. The film adaption of a 1999 PSX remake that never left Japan of a groundbreaking 1991 SNES visual novel that never left Japan- St. John's Wort (aka Otogirisō).

     Dong Zi is working as a debt collector, under the mentorship of Jun, to pay for his father Qi's hospital treatments. He spends his evenings with Jiu'er, a tattoo artist and ex-wife of local crime boss Four. A grim and gritty neo-noir in 2004 Sichuan, China- Streetwise (aka Gaey Wa'r).

     Join us, won't we?
  Episode 408- Worts & All

Getting a Head

     This week- two films about getting, in several common definition senses, a head, also using multiple definitions.

     When a teen in Biarritz, France decide to take advantage of his mother having to live in another country for work and begins hosting sex parties for the whole school to attend. Soon relationships are broken and videos from the parties begin making their way online threaten the make the activity known to all. The first feature from Eva Husson, Bang Gang (A Modern Love Story).
     When the teen daughter of a powerful Mexican crime lord becomes pregnant, a bounty is put on the unborn child's father. Two months later, a Mexico City bar and bar managing pianist  Bennie finds himself on the road with his girlfriend, Elita, on a small errand that will give them both the chance to completely change their futures. Sam Peckinpah's uncompromising and violent black comedy, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia. 
     All that and Tyler asks a simple question. Join us, won't you?
  Episode 407- Getting a Head

Salty about Craig's Vinegar

 This week- a tour through Craig's Vinegar Syndrome collection brings ruin.

When Madeline, who lost her ability to speak due to trauma, is picked up, on her way to therapy, by Tony, a human trafficker who enjoys writing taunting letters to his victim's families, she is soon forced into a life of addiction and sexual assault. Fortunately, she is given every Monday off to attend classes in revenge. A seminal, in both uses of the word, film in the rape-revenge genre: Thriller- A Cruel Picture.
16-year old Candy is abducted on her way home from school. The kidnapper's demand is simple, her stepfather just leaves a bag of diamonds from the store he manages in a trash can and the girl will be released. Unfortunately, stepdad has too much to gain from Candy dying in the very near future and is more than willing to make sure it happens. A grimy 70s thriller that has only more recently received its cult status: The Candy Snatchers.

Don't say the name Madman Marz in these woods or he will respond. On the last night of camp, a playful night around the campfire turns into a bloody struggle for survival. Will the campers live to be picked up by their parents? Will the councilors be able to have their final hot tub canoodle without having to hose out the blood? Will that song ever leave my head? Madman.
A group from an all-girls Catholic college go to catalog the collection of their late benefactor, Tyler Welles. After finding the diary of a young woman who died in the house decades earlier, they decide to hold a seance. Soon supernatural and much more Earthly horrors begin to befall the girls one by one. Will any of them live to see the auction they are working diligently towards? Will their nun chaperone recover from her headache or are their devilish shenanigans keeping her down? Just how hard am I supposed to squint to see the resemblance to that painting? Possibly the tamest release to ever land in Tromaville- Girls School Screamers.
All that and Dave needs a nap, Craig considers dentistry, Tyler revels, and Kevin goes to his happy place far far away. Join us, won't you?

   Episode 406- Salty about Craig's Vinegar

Polyes-tsar

     This week- two movies about magic and women at the end of their ropes.

     An up-and-coming Senator, Nick Rast, is on the fast track pushed by a kingmaker with a beautiful wife in a loveless marriage of convince and a terminally ill son. When a mysterious faith healer, Gregory Wolfe, seems to cure the boy, the powerful interests driving Rast won't allow this good turn to go unpunished. Are Wolfe's powers real? Is it all an elaborate scam? Just how easily manipulated is this senator?? Harlequin.
     Francine Fishpaw watches as her middle-class suburban Baltimore life crumbles. Her husband runs a pornographic theater, her daughter is promiscuous, her son is a glue-sniffing serial foot stomper, and her mother is a cocaine-snorting snob. When Francine demands a divorce, after catching her husband cheating, she falls into a alcoholism and depression. Can Francine recover? Will she find new love, save her children and claw back??? Polyester.
     All that and jealousy over olfactory inputs. Join us, won't you?
   Episode 405- Polyes-tsar

We're Gonna Need a Bigger Laser Pointer

     This week- a pair of films about the most basic human need for connection.

     Naturalist, Hank, lives in Africa with a huge number of big cats. Everyone around him are terrified of Hank's massive cat hoard, which continuously harms everyone that comes into contact with it while Hank laughs uproariously. Hank brings his family over for a visit, neglecting to mention how he is living and leaves them to fend for themselves unaware and unsuspecting. A massive undertaking that took over a decade to make, bankrupted the writer-director-producer-star, and 73 members of the cast and crew to be mauled- Roar.
     Manon leaves her crappy job at a grocery store behind to earn more as an exotic dancer at a club which specialized in high concept performance art routines. There she finds new ways to explore her sexuality and new opportunities to pad her income. Manon immediately begins a friendship with coworker Mia, an aspiring actress, which soon blossoms into something more. Manon must make decisions that could have long lasting and far reaching consequences for her new erotic lifestyle and My Sole Desire (original French title: À mon seul désir).
     All that plus Dave is getting senile, Tyler loves to love on loving lovers who love, and Kevin and the 6th badger battalion return from a glorious victory. Join us, won't you?
   Episode 404- We're Gonna Need a Bigger Laser Pointer