056 – Death Wish 3 with Will Menaker

The delightful Chapo dad joins us for Death Wish 3, possibly the simultaneous nadir and high point of the Death Wish series.

Hear the whole episode at our Patreon and get access to more than 50 bonus episodes!

According to Danny Peary in his book Guide for the Film Fanatic, “when director Michael Winner complained that Death Wish III [sic] was given an X rating because it had 63 killings while the R-rated Rambo [: First Blood Part II, 1985] had 80 killings, the woman at the Ratings Board explained that most of those killed in Rambo are Vietnamese.”

Paul Talbot, Bronson’s Loose!: The Making of the Death Wish Films

For more Will, listen to our episode about the controversial Friedkin film Cruising.

054 – Immortel, ad vitam

Egyptian gods in Immortel, ad vitem (2004)

Niel Jacoby (@fuckinalpamare on Twitter) joins us to ask: just what the hell is Immortel, ad vitam? It appears to be an incomprehensible dystopian flick based on an incomprehensible graphic novel. We spend a lot of time mocking the movie’s incredibly cavalier attitude towards sexual assault.

Join our Patreon and get access to more than 50 bonus episodes!

The film is based on a graphic novel by Enki Bilal. Remarkably, Bilal was allowed to direct the film in spite of having only one feature and a couple of shorts under his belt.

Along with films like Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow and Sin City, Immortel, ad Vitam was part of a new wave of “digital backlot” movies. This refers to movies made entirely in a green screen environment.

We highly recommend Niel’s very funny podcast (and maybe the only one about Timothy Spall), Spall Talk!

For some much better big-budget sci-fi, try our episode on Event Horizon.

053 – Interstate 60, Part 1

Have you heard of Interstate 60? It’s what we call a “Tim movie”—that is, a movie that only Tim seems to have seen. We go incredibly deep, even though the movie probably didn’t merit it. So much so that you’re getting a two-parter!

Interstate 60 was written by the guy who co-wrote Back to the Future and it’s tailor-made for dads who wistfully scroll through classics dot autotrader dot com on weekends.

Hear the whole episode at our Patreon and get access to more than 50 bonus episodes!

For Part 2, click here.

052 – Incubus

William Shatner embraces Allyson Ames at the climax of Incubus (1966)

Jen and Tim are joined by author and podcaster R.S. Benedict to discuss one of the few movies ever shot entirely in Esperanto: Incubus. It is also the only movie ever shot entirely in Esperanto and starring William Shatner.

Anthony M. Taylor, producer of Incubus (1966), poses in front of a poster for the film
Anthony M. Taylor, producer of Incubus

R.S. Benedict is a writer of speculative fiction. She also hosts a writing podcast called Rite Gud, which Tim and Jen have both appeared on. Find it on Patreon!

For more weird independent film, try our episode on The Evil Within!

051 – Eek! The Cat with Bill Kopp

Bill Kopp, animator, writer and voice actor, displays an animation cell
Bill Kopp

Tim and Jen are very excited to have animator, voice actor, and writer Bill Kopp on the show to discuss his career, especially the beloved-but-now-scarce Fox Kids show Eek! the Cat. Sorry we had to record Bill on Edison cylinder lol

Hear the full episode at our Patreon!

For another creator interview, listen to our episode with Dutch director Ate de Jong.

049 – Farewell Uncle Tom with @RickyRawls

Addio Zio Tom key art by Renato Casaro
Addio Zio Tom key art by Renato Casaro. Via his website.

Thank you to all our patrons for being so patient with us! As your reward, this month’s bonus is an extra-stuffed (nearly two hour) episode about a widely reviled mondo slavery documentary. This one’s called Farewell Uncle Tom (Addio zio Tom in the first language of the filmmakers). Jen and Tim are joined by T. of the great Champagne Sharks podcast and we all tackle one tough-to-watch but necessary film.

Hear the whole episode at our Patreon and get access to more than 50 bonus episodes!

The movie is viewable in full on archive.org.

For more uncomfortable 70s film, why not try our episode on Roar?

048 – Beautiful Boxer

Asanee Suwan in Beautiful Boxer (2003)

Jen welcomes special guest Julia Schiwal to discuss a wonderful Thai biopic called Beautiful Boxer. It’s about a trans woman who becomes a fighter in order to forge her own path.

YouTube has a highlight reel of Nong Toom’s career.

The movie Julia recommends at the end of the show is Adam barfi (1995)

You may also enjoy our interview with martial arts superstar Cynthia Rothrock!

047 – The Silent Scream with Mellie Macker

The Silent Scream is an especially pernicious example of pro-life propaganda. Reproductive justice activist Mellie Macker guests to dissect the mendacious thinking behind this ghoulish artifact.

You can see the original film in its entirety on Vimeo.

If you’re looking for more controversy, listen to our episode on David Cronenberg’s Crash!