A.C. Film Club #4 - Chungking Express

On this latest episode myself and Stephen (Gweilo Ramblings / Eastern Kicks) take a look at Wong Kai-Wai's "Chungking Express", a film comprised of two rather untraditional love stories as Takeshi Kaneshiro plays a cop who finds himself caught up Brigitte Lin's mysterious drug smuggler. At the same time Tony Leung (also playing a cop) who in attempting to get over the loss of his girlfriend (Valerie Chow) attracts the interest of the quirky snack bar worker Faye (Faye Wong) who has become determined to improve his situation

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We also share our Asian cinema shames as we take a cue from the "Cinema Shame" project and reveal the films they perhaps should have seen but for whatever reason have yet to, while also taking a look at the films of Kim Ki-duk

Further Watching

 

 

Fallen Angels
3-Iron
Samaritan Girl

A full list of films covered on the show can be found here

A.C Film Club #3 - Tears of the Black Tiger

Stephen (Gweilo Ramblings / Eastern Kicks) and myself head to Thailand for the latest instalment of our introduction to Asian cinema which on this episode looks at possibly the most fabulous western ever "Tears of the Black Tiger".
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An Eastern Western which combines elements of romantic melodrama with John Woo style heroic gunplay and a Sam Peckinpah western to create something truly original 

We also take a look at the career of Meiko Kaji as well as the live action spectacle that is “Kaiju Big Battel” and their upcoming video game from “Super Walrus Games“

MBDS Showcase #49 - Dog Soldiers / Cannibal Holocaust

Fellow Brit Zoe (Zobo With A Shotgun) joins me for this latest episode to share her love of all things dark and twisted which formed the basis of her site. 

On this episode we look at British horror with Neil Marshall's "Dog Soldiers" aswell as the notorius former video nasty "Cannibal Holocaust"

We also discuss the censorship and the darker side of horror, living near horror movie sites and Zoe reveals which horror icon she'd most like to take for a pint.



You can find the full MBDS Showcase movie list here

Opening Theme: "Hyperfun" - Kevin Macleod (http://incompetech.com/)

End Theme: "Out of Limits" - The Marketts

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AC Film Club #2 - King Kong Escapes

On this episode of the "Asian Cinema Film Club" myself and my co-host Stephen (Eastern Kicks / Gweilo Ramblings) look at the second attempt by Toho to cash in on the appeal of King Kong by this time having him face off against his mecha counterpart Mechani-Kong in "King Kong Escapes"

Directed by legendary Kaiju director Ishiro Honda the plot itself is the usual randomness with Evil scientist Dr. Who creating his Mechani-Kong which he plans to use to dig for “Element X” in the North pole only to find that the radiation emitted by Element X shuts down his creation. Meanwhile Commander Nelson  and his crew have discovered Kong living on Mondo Island who Dr.Who now plots to use to dig out the Element X by hypnotising the giant ape to do his bidding. Of course its not long before Kong goes wild once more while heading for a showdown with Mechani-Kong on top of the Tokyo Tower!!

Also on this episode Stephen shares his thoughts on the Live-action adaptation of "Ghost In The Shell", The anniversary and legacy of Gundam Wing aswell as why "Attack On Titan" is so essential.

Further Watching

Godzilla (1954)

Destroy All Monsters

MBDS Showcase #48 - At The Earths Core / Challenge of the Tiger

The "MBDS Showcase" is a cult movie podcast which aims to provide an introduction to cult and obscure cinema, while inviting my guests to share their own cult movie obsessions.

Youtuber and cult cinema fan Brandon Tenold (Brandon's Cult Movie Reviews) returns for an ass kicking double as we look at the overlooked Bruceploitation movie "Challenge of the Tiger" in which Bruce Le directs and stars as a CIA Agent paired with Richard Harrison's swave womaniser as the pair try to locate a super-sterility drug 

We also get to see Doug McClure team up with Peter Crushing for "At The Earth's Core" as he fights dinosaurs, seduces cavewomen and solves problems by punching them!!

 

All this plus Canuxploitation, movie ratings and the appeal of bad movies, plus much more!



You can find the full MBDS Showcase movie list here

Opening Theme: "Hyperfun" - Kevin Macleod (http://incompetech.com/)

End Theme: "Out of Limits" - The Marketts

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AC Film Club #1 - Ghost In The Shell

On the latest episode of the MBDS Showcase we kicked off our brand new sub-show "The Asian Cinema Film Club" in which myself and my co-host Stephen Palmer (Eastern Kicks / Gweilo Ramblings) set out to provide an introduction to Asian cinema by on each episode highlighting a title worth seeking out. 

On this first episode we kick things off with "Ghost In The Shell" as with the live action remake fast approaching what better time to go back an revisit the 1995 original anime, widely considered to be one of the best anime of all time after "Akira".

Directed by Mamoru Oshii The film's follows the hunt by Section 9 for a mysterious hacker known as the Puppet Master. With the assistance of her team, Cyborg team leader Motoko Kusanagi finds herself drawn into a complex sequence of political intrigue and a cover-up as to the identity and goals of the Puppet Master.

Further Watching

Redline

Seoul Station / Train to Busan

Adventures In Podcasting #2

Time for another round up of my latest adventures in podcasting, presented here now as one big ole boxset of movie talk goodness.

The "Mad, Bad and Downright Strange Showcase" is my podcast were I invite bloggers, film makers and fellow film junkies to help me work through the 1001 film introduction to cult and obscure cinema which is the "Mad, Bad and Downright Strange" list with each show seeing my guest picking one or two films from the list to discuss.

MBDS Showcase #4 - May / American Mary

Vern (Vern's Video Vortex) joins me in the studio to look at two ladies putting their surgical skills to very different uses.

First up we have Lucky McKee's directorial debut "May" which brings a unique spin to the classic "Frankenstein" mythos in which the titular May, sets out to make herself a friend using the body parts of those around her.

For the second half of this editions double feature we look at the Soska Sisters (The Twisted Twins) critically acclaimed follow up to their grindhouse esq debut "Dead Hooker In A Trunk" with "American Mary" as the sisters turn their attention to the world of underground surgery and body modification.

All this plus we discuss cosplay ideas, forming a blogger band and ten minute triangle solos!!



MBDS Showcase #5 - Le Samourai / Branded To Kill

Will (Exploding Helicopter) joins me to look at two very different yet highly influential Hitman movies.

Kicking things off is Jean-Pierre Melville's acclaimed "Le Samourai" which see Alain Delon giving a memorable performance as Jef a hitman who lives by his own samurai style code of honour and who after a hit goes wrong finds himself being pursued by both the cops and his former employers.

Next up is Seijun Suzuki's Yakuza drama "Branded To Kill" were Goro (Joe Shishido) the number three killer in Japan with a fetish for the smell of boiling Rice. However when he botches a hit he soon finds himself marked for death.

All this plus exploding helicopters, the importance of Quentin Tarantino, aswell our attempts to get your votes for the LAMBcast MOTM.



MBDS Showcase #6 - Kaiju Gaiden / Destroy All Monsters

David Hall, Producer and Director of the forthcoming documentary "Kaiju Gaiden" joins me for this latest episode to talk about his debut film recently funded through Kickstarter.  Aswell as discussing his film he also finds time to talk about his movie tastes aswell as sharing his thoughts on the the Godzilla classic "Destroy All Monsters".

All this plus the winner of the LAMBCAST MOTM revealed, feisty leading ladies and some serious Kaiju fanboy obsessing!!



MBDS Showcase #7 - Alt. Christmas Special

It's that time of year once again, were we can dig out all those movies which take shall we say a more warped view of the festive season.

Emily Intravia (Deadly Doll's House of Horror Nonsense / The Feminine Critique) joins me once again to discuss the festive slashers "Christmas Evil" and "Silent Night, Deadly Night", while at the same time finding time to highlight some of her other festive favourites.



MBDS Showcase #8 - Ghost in the Shell / The Evil Dead

Brandon Tenold (Brandon's Cult Movie Reviews) makes his podcast debut on this episode to discuss two of his favourite films from the list.

First up is the Anime classic and highly influential "Ghost in the Shell" in which cyborg cop Major Kusanagi hunts with her team for an illusive hacker called the Puppet Master.

Also discussed is Sam Raimi infamous and controversial debut "The Evil Dead", in which a group of friends accidently unleash an ancient evil with memorably gory results. A film which not only created a Launchpad for his directing career, but also for b-movie legend Bruce Campbell as well, while we also look at its long lasting legacy.
 
All this plus Saturday morning cartoons, questionable cash in's, the video nasties scandal and much more!!

** Sorry about the sound issues at the start, which I hope won't affect people enjoyment too much **



MBDS Showcase #9 - Dead Hooker In A Trunk / Phantom of the Paradise

Kicking off the 2015, author (Wake Up, Maggie)and one half of the Feminine Critique podcast Christine Makepeace making her debut on the show.

First off we have the Soska Sisters* neo-grindhouse debut "Dead Hooker In A Trunk" which sees four friends life thrown into chaos and confusion upon discovering the titular dead hooker.

In the second half of the show we look at Brian De Palma's flamboyant rock opera "Phantom of the Paradise" were several classic horror stories including "Phantom of the Opera" and "Faust" are given a unique Rocky Horror style twist.

All this plus we discuss the state of genre cinema, Mumblegore and the appeal (or lack off) of teen dance movies and more!!

*Apologies to the Twisted Twins whose surname I also mispronounce.



MBDS Showcase #10 - The Brood / Magnolia

The "French Toast Sunday" invasion of the show continues with this episode as Jess joins me to discuss the David Cronenberg's early body shocker "The Brood" aswell as P.T. Anderson's three hour LA epic "Magnolia"

All this plus Hitchcock, psycho children, the career path of Jake Gyllenhaal and much more!!

* Apologies for the sound issues with this episode, which were the result of a recording screw up I didn't discover until I came to edit it.


MBDS Showcase #11 - Little Shop of Horrors / Legend

Todd Liebenow (Forgotten Films) joins me for this latest episode to disuss Frank Oz's all singing and dancing remake of the Roger Corman Classic "Little Shop of Horrors" aswell as Ridley Scott's dark fantasy "Legend" featuring not only an unrecognisable Tim Curry, but also an early leading role from Tom Cruise.

All this plus we pit two movie years against each other with 1984 Vs. 1999, Discuss the art of Puppetry, boyhood crushes and show some serious love for "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" plus so much more!!



MBDS Showcase #12 - I Spit On Your Grave / Pink Flamingos

February is "Women in Horror Month" so its perfect that I'm joined first this latest episode by BJ Colangelo (Day Of The Woman) to discuss two of the more controversial titles on the list.

**Warning: Do Not Listen If Of A Sensitive Nature**

First up we have the notorious Rape Revenge Horror and former video nasty "I Spit on Your Grave". We also look at John Waters's midnight movie favourite and Filth Opus "Pink Flamingos".

All this plus the Video Nasties scandal, the legacy of Divine, feminism within the horror genre and so much more!!


Make sure to regularly check my podcast page for new episodes, while any feedback would be great, especially if your interested in being part of future episodes let me know in the comments section below.

The Nutcracker In 3D

Title: The Nutcracker In 3D

Director: Andrei Konchalovsky

Released: 2009

Starring: Elle Fanning, Charlie Rowe, John Turturro, Frances De La Tour, Aaron Michael Drozin, Nathan Lane, Richard E. Grant, Julie Vysotskaya

 

Plot: Set in 1920s Vienna where nine-year old Mary (Fanning) is given a Nutcracker doll by her uncle Albert (Lane) which is brought to life via her imagination. Together they travel to a magical dimension were toys are human and where the evil Rat King (Turturro) and his army threaten to overthrow humanity.

 

 

Review: A favourite of my good friend Emily, who it seems is on a one woman campaign to champion the hell out of this movie, not because it is any good but more because of how spectacularly awful it is, as she highlighted when she came on the podcast recently for the "Alt. Christmas Special" so really it was only a question of time before I gave in to temptation and watched it. One of the equally fascinating aspects of this film is that it was a pet project of Director Konchalovsky who is best known for “Runaway Train” and “Tango and Cash” and would spend over 20 years trying to get it developed though having seen the end results there is an overwhelming feeling that you kind of wished he hadn’t bothered.

 

One of the main problems with this film (and there are certainly more than a few) is that its tone is so confused it’s hard to tell if Konchalovsky had anyone else in mind other than himself when it came to his target audience, as here we have scenes of childlike fantasy slotted alongside holocaust and fascist imagery, which only becomes more confusing when the plotting is so sporadic and loosly strung together that your never quite sure what it is your watching, much less if the script actually existed to begin with or were the actors just being given notes on how to play things.

 

Of course things take a turn for the strange pretty early on, as the traditional setting is mixed up with the introduction of Uncle Albert who is none other than the world renown physicist Albert Einstein. Why him? Who knows as like so many aspects of this film it is never explained, but here he is and atleast played by Lane with some element of fun and perhaps a hint of Mary Poppins. Randomly breaking the fourth wall when the urge grabs him for no reason other than to seemingly highlight well nothing it would seem he is also the most interesting character in the film especially when bursting into a song about his theories of relativity… I mean who knew he was so musical?

 

Rivalling him though has to be the truly insane rat king portrayal by Turturro who equally seems to also be having the most fun here, whose fascist regime comes with some worrying comparisons to the Nazi’s especially as he commands his creates pyres of toys to burn in his factories to block out the sun as part of his great plans for world domination. At the same he emphases his evil nature by bursting into “Cabaret” inspired song and dance inspired routines, including one which climaxes in him electrocuting his own pet shark! Still not sure about the logic of this move whether it was to lose the Bond villain comparisons or generally just further emphasise his evil nature. As such it ends up yet another random plot point and one of the shopping list of things which is never explained so done with any kind of rational reasoning.

 

Still if this wasn’t bad enough his face also warps into a demonic rat head when he gets angry which was kind of shocking to myself so god knows what the kids made of those scenes, as after all this is supposed to be a family film. This is of course only topped by him random decapitating the Jamaican drummer boy before tossing the head around in a warped game of catch. Okay the Jamaican boy is supposed to be a toy brought to life like the rest of this world inhabitants, but seeing how they don’t resemble anything toy like, its hard to see this as anything other abit of gratuitous (yet blood free) violence.

 

The majority of the music is taken from Tchaikovsky’s original music for “The Nutcracker” which then have lyrics added by none other than Broadway legend Tim Rice. That’s right kids the same guy who is responsible for giving us the likes of Evita and The Lion King was also involved in this creative car crash. Clearly he never saw the “Star Wars Holiday Special” as he would have known have that adding words to popular classics never turns out well, I mean who could forget Carrie Fisher warbling about life day to the Star Wars theme?!? Still regardless of his song writing credentials the songs here vary between forgettable and annoying with some even managing to straddle the two.

 

Too weird for mass consumption and too tedious for the most part for the open minded, this is the kind of movie that you watch with the intention of generally tearing it apart and making your own amusement from as to watch it in a more traditional sense is just sheer madness as this is one dream project which is just more of a nightmare while leaving you no doubt feeling that the twenty plus years he waited to make it weren’t nearly long enough!

Adventures in Podcasting #1

 

Recently I have had a real burst of podcasting activity and rather than just post a heap of announcements for these posts I've decided instead to pool them all together in one big old boxset of podcast goodness.


 



 
 

 
As regular readers of the blog will know I recently launched the "Mad, Bad and Downright Strange Showcase" with the aim of working though the whole 1001 film introduction to cult and obscure cinema which the list provides. 

 

For those of you also wanting to chart your own progress, you can also find the list now in a much more user friendly form at Letterboxd

 

Kicking things off for the premier episode was my good friend and fellow blogger Emily Intravia (The Deadly Doll's House of Horror Nonsense / The Feminine Critique) were she shared her thoughts on "Starship Troopers"
 

For Episode 2 I was joined by director Carl Bachmann who stopped off not only to talk about the kickstarter campaign to help fund the indie comedy horror "Party Slashers", but also to discuss his theories for the truly random killer tyre movie "Rubber"

 

Episode 3 saw Head Editor / Writer for "French Toast Sunday" Lindsay Street taking on a double bill as we looked not only at Rian Johnson's Neo-noir "Brick" but also Sam Mendes directorial debut and one of Lindsay's all time favourites "American Beauty"

The LAMBcast is really the podcast which started it all for me and since my first podcast with them discussing "Ghost World" I have as you can see below tried to podcast with them when I can.

LAMBCAST #230 - Ghost World

LAMBCAST #232 - Whatcha Been Watchin' Lately - TV Edition

LAMBCAST #234 - Sin City A Dame To Kill For

LAMBCAST #239 - Audition

LAMBCAST #242 - Halloween Franchise Lookback

This last one is a real biggie and while clocking in at over two hours of fanboy rabidness was a lot of fun to record, while looking at the high points and the serious lows the series has been through over the course of the ten films from John Carpenter's classic original film through the Rob Zombies attempts to reboot the franchise.

Bubbawheat at "Flights, Tights and Movie Nights" hosts a great podcast were he gives his guest a comic book movie they haven't seen and in return you get to give him a film to watch which he hasn't seen.

For my turn incase you can't guess from the groovy (and kind of creepy) poster he gave me "The Dark Knight" to watch (I know shame on me) while I gave him the underrated psychological thriller "Perfect Blue"

Filmwhys #38 - Perfect Blue and The Dark Knight

Filmwhys Extra #17 - Nolan's Batman Trilogy




So I Launched A Podcast!

Over the last couple of months I have been making appearances on both "The LAMBcast" as well as "Filmwhy" podcasts having decided to bite the bullet after wasting far too much time saying I wanted to do podcasting but not actually doing anything about it. Needless to say I have had a blast doing these podcasts and through them have met some great bloggers, while getting to chat with others who until now the only contact I've had was through either e-mail or comments on each others posts.

So now I've decided to throw my hat into the podcasting ring by launching my own podcast which in turn will tie into what we started with the 1001 film introduction to cult and obscure cinema I created with a number of other bloggers when we put together the "Mad, Bad and Downright Strange" list. The idea for the podcast now being to work through the list and cover each film, while getting the chance to discuss them with likeminded bloggers / film junkies. The podcast also aiming to build on the showcase feature I ran over on the site for the list.




So together with Emily from "The Deadly Doll's House of Horror Nonsense"  and "The Feminine Critique" we recorded the pilot show which is now available on PodOmatic for your listening pleasure were we looked at "Starship Troopers".



Of course I appreciate any feedback that you guys and gals have to offer and especially would love to hear if you'd like to be involved and come on discuss some great and frequently random cinema.