Shows
The Cult of Matt and Mark325 E.T. the exxtra-terrestrial
Matt and Mark review another kids mid-80's sci-fi film with the indelible E.T. the extra-terrestrial. Spielberg pioneered the mythic utopia of 80's California sub-urban life, a virtual "Oz" ripe for the visitation of a wayward space farer. There's very little for adults here, which is perhaps the reason it has lost staying power with the Gen-X'ers who dragged their parents to the film for almost a solid year's run in the cinemas back in 1982. Withe "cute" puppetry of the alien itself, to the overwhelming purple score of John Williams, E.T. remains...
Download: 325 E.T. the e...2020-07-0700 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark324 Explorers
Matt and Mark review the Spielberg-ian mid-80's kid's adventure film Explorers. The film stars the pre-teen Ethan Hawke and River Pheonix in what can only be described as an Elon Musk ferry tale, from inventing your own spaceships to scoring chicks and coming up with an underground boring system powered by nothing more than a 9 volt battery. A clever film, it offers up a first contact story more pragmatic (strangely) from an alien standpoint, by keeping us a**hole humans and arms length with a proper filter. Oddly similar to Carl Sagan's plotline from Contact, including t.v. waves...2020-07-0300 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark323 Star Crash
Once again Matt and Mark have a lot to say about current affairs (it's 2020... so, it's like every week these days), and less to say about the Star Wars coattails outing "Star Crash", a movie poorly engineered in order to capitalize on the Lucas pop culture phenomena. A bad move, of course, it's major sin is that it's boring. If you're going to bad, please be entertaining. We try to do our best to inject a little MST3K into the mix, but it is what it is... However, we are treated to a worthy Hoff' in an early role...2020-06-2200 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark322 The Empire Strikes Back
For the 40th Anniversary Matt and Mark review the best of the Star Wars "ennealogy" Episode 5, The Empire Strikes Back, as we should. Why is this one the better? A host of reasons one could say, but it's really the scenes and production of TESB that makes it what it is. Care is taken with each scene to frame the acting and gravitas of each situation. Unlike the latter films, we're not fire-hosed with undigested CGI and stiff inconsequential acting. The sets and scenes of TESB are unique and atmospheric and pause accordingly to allow the viewer to take a...2020-05-2700 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark321 Downfall
Matt and Mark enter Hitler's bunker this go 'round as we review Downfall, the intimate depiction of the Third Reich's final hours as it finds itself ruling over a dramatically smaller and smaller piece of Germany. While this is Hitler's story, it's also the story of the evaporation of national socialism into nothing. Like all imagined ideology, when there's no one left to believe in it, it becomes not only irrelevant but absurd. This is more the story of the knowing citizens of Germany during Nazi rule, here from the viewpoint of Hitler's personal secretary, and the creeping compromises and g...2020-05-2500 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark320 The Boys from Brazil
This go 'round Matt and Mark review the 1978 speculative fiction film The Boys from Brazil. Loaded with actual science, we get to see the acting powerhouses of Gregory Peck and Sir Laurence Olivier mix it up with the acclaimed Police Academy actor Steve Gutenberg! A nature versus nurture debate tied in with cloning ethics, a film that offers up important questions even today. Could fertilizing the Earth with 92 Hitler Clones get us anything more than your standard shitty sociopath-type CEOs or could you actually hatch the 4th Reich? I suppose that question remains to be answered.
Download: 320 The B...2020-05-0300 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark319 The Lathe of Heaven
Matt and Mark go cult arcana this week with the 1980 PBS production of the Ursala Le Quin classic The Lathe of Heaven (Watch it on YouTube for free!). Hidden away for more than 20 years due to a broadcast rights issue, it stuck in our collective cinematic consciousness. A pioneering film in contrast to the more bombastic space opera fair, it delves into the purity of true Science Fiction, laying the ground work for such 21st Century film makers as Alex Garland and Shane Carruth. A "monkey's paw" story, we enter the mind of the main character Orr's "effective dreams." A...2020-04-2500 minThe Cult of Matt and MarkSpecial Episode (Bonus Episode #5)
Matt and Mark throw off the movie review mantle for a little free-wheelin' chat. So for the post-apocalyptic hordes who really wanted to listen to a podcast of the film adaptation of J.G.Ballard's High Rise, you can skip on to the next episode and not suffer 30 minutes of our free-wheelin' intro. Here we're chatting about the world-crisis pandemic and our own myopic inconvenient take on this particular plague. There's been many before, there's one now, and there will be more in the future... that's the way this creaky millennia old civilization rolls, I'm afraid.
Download: Special E...2020-04-0400 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark317 Wonderland
This week Matt and Mark review the mediocre Wonderland, capping off our So-Cal Drug/Porn/Val-Kilmer loose theme. While not a great film, it bookends our four film review. While we spend a great deal reviewing our current global pandemic (sorry.. just skip ahead enlightened mutants of the far future) we do get into some of the decent points of the film and it's Roshoman approach to the high-profile Wonderland murders of the early 80's. There's a few stand-out performances, and Val-Kilmers' sleazy glean is charismatic, at least enough to make the film worth a watch.
Download: 317 Wonderland2020-03-2300 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark316 Spun
Matt and Mark continue our SoCal drug-fueled cinematic voyage into the world of Spun. A more realistic if not overly frenetic depiction of tweaker life in the fringes of LA's exurbs. A powerhouse of acting talent turned up to 11, Spun features a wealth of Y2K actors including John Leguizamo, Brittany Murphy (RIP), Jason Schwartzman, and of course Mickey Rooney starring as the meth cook version of Mickey Rooney. With a now antiquated music video vibe (ala its director), Spun leaves you with drive-by portrayals of drugged out vignettes. Its characters lack back-stories, but in the end they don't need...2020-03-1700 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark315 Boogie Nights
Matt and Mark review the exceptionally great Paul Thomas Anderson film Boogie Nights this go 'round. A humanizing portrayal of what is known (or viewed as) as an objectifying/de-humanizing industry, we join the young DD on his nascent career into the ever-changing adult film industry. All A-listers in their own right, every actor fills out the ensemble in layered scenes that are great to watch. 20+ years on, it feels like the film came out yesterday. One thing is for sure... you'll never listen to Night Ranger's "Sister Christian" again without the jarring expectations of an ill-timed firecracker going off...2020-03-0100 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark314 The Salton Sea
This go 'round Mark and Matt review some stylized drug-fueled So-Cal tweaking with the Val Kilmer film The Salton Sea. A film that somehow romanticized meth use in a weird away, we ride along with Danny Parker / Tom Van Allen on his circuitous route to redemption and revenge. Along the way we meet the Vincent D'Onofrio incarnation of "Pooh-Bear", a film character like no other, also backed up by the fun Mexican-stereotypes of drug toughs played by non other than Luis Guzman and Danny Trejo (in one film!). So snort a line, kick back, and watch three days burn in...2020-02-0500 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark313 The Beastmaster
This geological epoch, Matt and Mark review the Sword and Sorcery/Sandal 80's fantasy film The Beastmaster. Chronologically speaking, a simultaneous release (more or less) with the Milius classic Conan The Barbarian, The Beastmaster lacks the exotic "Je ne se quoi" of the former with a more "back lot" quality that speaks to its production quality. Is it a watchable good film? Kind of... But for a non-discerning 10 year old in the early 80's it was Dungeons and Dragons gold! Shot with Kubrickian precision, it's Barry-Lyndon quality night-shots give it a peculiar look that makes for an honest effort. The...2020-01-2700 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark312 10
Matt and Mark review the Dudley Moore classic 10, a mid-life crisis film with a more manic honest depiction of sexual irrationality of the 40 year white male than our previous Blame it on Rio review. Can you ever really live a fantasy? Probably not, and 10 makes that argument in genuine comedic fashion. The brain has the odd prediction for overestimating an experience despite one's better judgement. Was Bo Derek all that? Matt and Mark ponder... a Playboy model, yes, but what about those corn rows? hmm...
Download: 312 102019-12-2300 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark311 Blame it on Rio
From Mark's "The Great T!ts" film catalog, we review the 80's sex comedy "Blame it on Rio." In this film the "ancient" 47 y.o. Michael Caine has an affair with the nubile daughter of his best friend and as you would expect... hi-jinks ensue. What could have been an honest potrayal of the obligatory mid-life crisis episode ultimately fails in this film (resulting in its 5% RT rating), however it does beg one to wonder, would anyone make a movie like this now? It's hard to say. With free 24/7 HD streaming pornography one wonders if this type of VHS-rewind-for-the-odd-boob-shot is...2019-12-0500 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark310 Stalker (1979)
Matt and Mark review the Tarkovsky Soviet-style Sci-Fi film Stalker. A film that introduces the "The Zone", similar to that of the recent Annihilation's "The Shimmer", is an alien anomalous zone arrived via meteor to the planet Earth. A journey into The Zone promises revelation and wish fulfillment, but sadly this film only delivers "elliptical" conversations embedded in Tarkovsky father's poetry. Meant to be a sublime journey into meaning, Stalker could have done more with the less it had to work with (in Matt's opinion). Perhaps worthy of 1.5 hours instead of the 2.5 it runs, it challenges the viewer. It's definitely...2019-11-1700 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark309 Vampire's Kiss
The poster says "A biting comedy", but the comedic is a little sketchy with the odd intentions of this particular Nick Cage descent-into-madness story. Matt and Mark complete our Paranormal Cage theme with Vampire's Kiss. A little American Psycho, it offers up an asshole, complete with strange effete non-accent, and then let's us ride along as he spins out into a homeless vampire of a delusional existence. For whatever reason, it's a watchable weird film and a new/old take on Goth LARP'ing.
Download: 309 Vampire's Kiss2019-11-0100 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark308 The Wicker Man (2006)
Bees!!! Matt and Mark continue our "Paranormal Cage" theme with the much maligned/beloved bad movie remake of the sinister 1973 titular classic. As fans of the original, we both ponder why this version is such a failure. Yes there's the goofy bear scene, bees, and odd punching-the-lights-out of forest wandering women, but there's something at the core that fails. Matt speculates that unlike the original, where things are not what they seem, in this version you're served up pagan cult weirdos as soon as you get off the sea plane. Sadly, where horror once worked, farce now reigns.
...2019-10-1600 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark306 Valley Girl
We're back (finally) and it's time to wrap up our "young lust" theme with the 1983 cult romance classic Valley Girl starring a young Nicholas Cage. A movie the breaks out from the teen-sex swamp of like genre films of the era, VG's character-driven story arc elevates it above the common Porky's-type drivel. Still with a dose of ample 80's boob shots, it has a little for everyone. Mark and Matt both agree it falls apart in the last 3rd of the film as it delves into the realm of silliness and cop-outs (violence doesn't really solve anything... it really doesn't...2019-08-2600 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark305 Before Sunrise
The penultimate entry into our "Young Lust" theme, this go 'round we review the Linklater Gen X love letter Before Sunrise. The first in the "Before Trilogy" we get off the train with Celine and Jesse for a night on the streets of Vienna. Matt works to give life to Mark's cold dead heart, and finds a few bits and pieces of Before Sunrise that lifts his current Morrissey fog. A film made over 25 years ago, the "simpler time" element is more in contrast than ever, a time before the slums of our current internet age befouled the purity of...2019-07-1700 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark304 Romeo + Juliet
We continue our "Young Lust" theme with the crazy-ass Luhrmann joint Romeo + Juliet. Yes it's Billy Shakespeare (kind of), but the frenetic images and neck-snapping cuts overwhelm to a point that uptight Bard-heads may find "le'essence" diminished. Mark and Matt are not of that camp. An adaption for the MTV-video-games generation? Sure. But what the hell. Despite the R n' J focus, the film shines with its supporting players, specially Tybalt, Mercutio, Father Lawrence and the Nurse. So let's head off to our Sophomore English class shall we and enjoy some star-crossed love action.
Download: 304 Romeo + Juliet2019-07-0500 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark303 The Dreamers
"Young Lust" continues with our review of NC-17 rated The Dreamers from 2003 by Bernardo Bertolucci. Matt and Mark get into the world of the over-heated Paris apartment's artificial realms of cinema, sex, and sibling co-dependence. Heavily driven by the nostalgia of the chaotic Paris streets of 1968, it's hard not to see why the Bohemians of this era champion this film. However, there's something stranger and darker going on that's hard to comprehend. While having unending sex with Isabelle (Eva Green) for days on end sounds enticing (well, at least for dudes), the creepy monitoring of her brother Theo is the p...2019-06-2400 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark301 Say Anything
Matt and Mark start our "Young Lust" theme with the classic Cameron Crowe late 80's teen romance film Say Anything! Why do all Gen X women love Loyd Dobbler? Why? Because he's an absolutely nearly perfect good guy with few/if-any flaws. Everyone loves Loyd and he loves everyone, despite his minor if negligible personality quirks like the "talking thing" and the obligatory adolescent aimlessness that was the hallmark of a generation. And at the end, we all cheer Diane's reunion with Loyd, because if she hadn't taken him back, we could collectively agree she's the worst human being on...2019-05-3100 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark300 300
Stop! Sparta-time... This week we review the obligatory 300 for our 300th podcast. Every one of our prior episodes like a fallen Spartan at Thermopylae, buff, ripped, free, and bloody. A perfect exercise in the notion of style-over-substance, 300 delivers a healthy plate of jingoism and old-timey masculinity to pump up our inner Conan the Barbarian. What is it about the "few against many" theme? Not sure, but suffice it to say the Spartans weren't your typically boot-strapping citizen soldiers. Atop a slave-fueled pyramid scheme, Mark and Matt ponder King Leonidas of Sparta's "freedom" rallying cry. I suppose everything's relative (and not...2019-04-0800 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark294 Krull
Matt and Mark review the 80's sci-fi/fantasy fusion film Krull! Diametrically opposed, Matt and Mark square off about what Mark liked and Matt did not! A highly derivative epic, Krull attempts to mash-up the tropes of high fantasy classic quest with something a little more Star Wars. Does it work? Despite its many stumbles of illogic and poorly sketched motivations, Krull is a well-filmed and produced popcorn movie with a decent set of supporting characters and a few trippy set pieces. Nostalgia may have been Matt's greatest enemy here, while Mark enjoyed it for what is... whatever that may...2019-01-2300 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark293 Two-Lane Blacktop
It's Matt and Mark's 7th Anniversary of doing the podcast, and for this go 'round we finish up with our 70's car movie theme with the artsy Two-Lane Blacktop. With a set of steamy hunky rock n' rollers racing about in a built out 55' Chev, this is as American as it gets... or is it? TLB has been debated as a 'metaphor' due to the sparseness of its character sketches (if they can even be called sketches at all), but what they're a metaphor for and what archetypes they represent are not obvious or clear. In the end, we...2019-01-0800 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark292 Death Race 2000
This go 'round Matt and Mark continue our 70's car movie them with the campy Death Race 2000. Like a macabre Cannonball Run, DR2K takes place in a futuristic dystopia where the sweaty masses (somewhere off-camera) are appeased by the breads and circuses of the titular race. Does it make any sense? Not really, but we go with it anyhow. Composed of farcical racers and their campy race cars, one can help but be reminded of far better fair in Swarzenegger's Running Man, specifically when it comes to production value. Matt takes issue with lack of geographic framing (no St...2019-01-0200 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark291 Mad Max
Matt and Mark continue our 70's car movie theme with the quintessential movie that started it all, the original 1979 Mad Max. Mark declares it to be his favorite of the Max saga as its characters have yet to enter the realm of post-apocalyptic genre fiction. With real characters and a recognizable yet distorted quasi-present, we can feel Max's reality more than the nuclear wastelands of the Humongous. Matt revels in the badassery of the 70's muscle car with a middle-aged crisis wish to one day ride into the empty deserts behind the wheel of an 800 hp super-charged v8 pursuit special...2018-12-1100 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark290 McQ (and Rendezvous)
Matt and Mark do up a double feature this week (kind of) for our 70's car-movie theme with the 1976 short "Rendevous" and the John Wayne 1974 Neo-Noir McQ. Matt waxes nostalgic over his favorite city Paris, while both Matt and Mark wax nostalgic over the uncrowded free-ways of early 70's Seattle. As Seattle natives, we ponder the set pieces of Wayne's McQ and its set-piece car chase, while parsing out the acting talents of the venerable and storied Wayne. Is it a Bullitt knock-off? Does it matter? Foreign to both Wayne's Western canon and the zeitgeist of early 70's popcorn cinema...2018-12-0400 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark289 Vanishing Point
Continuing our 70s car movie theme, we review the classic Vanishing Point. A road movie that's nothing more than a cross-country chase in a 71 super-charged Challenger, we probe the classic film archetype of Kowalski. Reaching for deeper themes, Matt and Mark ponder Kowalski's origin and try to parse his enigmatic back story. But in the end we determine it may not really matter. Do we care? Or do we just like road movies? Dunno. A man with death nipping on his heels. Kowalski meets it head on... literally.
Download: 289 Vanishing Point
2018-11-2700 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark288 Duel
Continuing our 70's car movie theme (and our political discussions... sorry, fast forward ahead 15 - 20 mins) Matt and Mark review the inaugural Spielberg outing Duel. A made for TV movie, it's simple Plymouth vs Peterbilt road rage spectacle is not so much about the literal mechanics of the setup, but a psychological experiment. The Dennis Weaver character in his modern man impotence is an avatar for our own anxious helplessness. What makes Duel interesting is the "what would I do?" dynamic in each of its scenes. If the impotent David Mann was more a stoic Mad Max character, this film...2018-11-2000 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark287 Corvette Summer
This week Matt and Mark kick-off our 70's car movie them with 1978 comedy-drama Corvette Summer starring a recently minted Luke Skywalker (aka Mark Hamill) and a super-sexy Annie Potts of Designing Women fame. Sadly, at this point in Hamill's career the die was cast. His lack of acting chops and psuedo Buster Keaton physical antics would seem to doom him as an A-listers post Jedi. Thankfully Potts's "hooker with a heart of gold" Vanessa lit up our labido's to propel us through this silly snapshot of 70's pop culture. FYI... skip the first 20 minutes, if our political musings leave you...2018-11-1400 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark286 The Serpent and The Rainbow
Finishing up our zombie run, we review the Wes Craven "true life" zombie film The Serpent and the Rainbow. Steeped in voodoo, Wes goes to the source of the zombie origin story and brings to life (pun intended) the legend of the "undead." While the film conjures the supernatural, it's blended into the story in such a way that skirts the magical, making it a fun ride. Matt and Mark spend a considerable amount of time debating the "exotic fetishism" of Dr. Alan's character with only a modicum of genuine theory. Whatever the true impetus, we both agree it seems...2018-11-0500 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark285 Dead Snow
Another international zombie entry into Matt and Mark's zombie Halloween run-up. A ridiculously simple "teens, cabin in the woods, monsters" combination, Dead Snow is a high concept film. One can almost see a couple of Nordic would-be filmmakers smoking a little of Amsterdam's finest pondering the simple combo "Nazis?... zombies?.. Nazi zombies!" And Voulais! Unfortunately, Dead Snow has a lot of grist for the mill, but fails in its ability to tie up plot elements and expand/exploit more intriguing ideas. Regardless what you might think about National Socialism, it's staying power as an ideology among the undead is remarkable...2018-11-0100 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark284 28 Weeks Later
Our first back-to-back sequel review! This week we review 28 Weeks Later as part of our zombie film run-up to Halloween. Matt and Mark, while remembering the movie as decent, stumble upon a change-of-heart. While the first half is memorable, the second half is nothing more than a typical chase scene with a nonsensical ending that betrays the valor of its heroes. While some framing exposition to the military fallback protocols would have helped us invest in the situation, 28 Weeks dismisses the notion. And as result, we dismiss it as well.
Download: 284 28 Weeks Later
2018-10-1700 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark281 Dune
Matt and Mark review the flawed but redeemable Lynch sci-fi interpretation of the Herbert classic Dune! ... finally. Despite its limited running time and abbreviated faulty plot, Dune shines in its quintessential Lynchian moments. Lynch's portrayal of the Harkonnen Geidi Prime captures an aesthetic that is uniquely alien as it is human; something we have never seen before on film. When the mutated spice junkies of the Guild wander onto set, sloppy and warped, you buy into their psychedelic prescience. Yes, Dune could have been done much much better (we know Mr. Jodorosky... yes, we know), but as a disowned Lynchian...2018-09-0500 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark280 The Fly (1986)
The "Summer of Sci-Fi" continues with our review of the Chronenberg classic The Fly. An exercise in cinematic body horror, the fly takes the squirmy parts of our anatomy and its associations and full throttles it into a disquieting aesthetic. While Matt and Mark detail the fundamental scientific boundaries of true teleportation, we both agree Ronny played by Gina Davis is a full-on Physics Phd groupy. But how can she resist and acne-ridden Babe Ruth gorging totally cut Jeff Goldblum? Anyway, flies are gross and this movie does the species no favors.
Download: 280 The Fly (1986)2018-08-2800 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark279 Mad Max: Fury Road
"What a Lovely Day!" This go 'round Matt and Mark review the Miller reboot of the Max franchise with Mad Max: Fury Road. While no doubt an undisputed masterpiece of 21st Century action, one has to wonder does it hold up on repeat viewings? Mark hmms and hahs certain details overlooked in the initial bombast, while Matt codifies the tropes of the Max universe which has made it an archetype of its own. Part Gandalf, Part Clint Eastwood, Hardy's Max is a catalyst for the feminist action of Furiosa's story. Fury Road also goes to prove that yes... you can...2018-08-0900 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark278 Reign of Fire
What can we say about an Apocalyptic Dragon mash-up film like Reign of Fire? Matt and Mark indulge this most unlikely of films with our review of the McConaughey/Bale sci-fi/fantasy popcorn movie. While it shouldn't work, it kind of does and for that we forgive it its many grievous sins of plausibility and bad acting. The fact that Ebert gave it 1 star, yet here we are reviewing it 16 later should count for something... shouldn't it? Nothing of this elder talking dragon nonsense, what do we like most about dragons? Burning shit up!
Download: 278 Reign of Fire2018-07-2300 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark277 The Time Machine (1960)
This week Matt and Mark go "old timey" with our review of the classic 1960 The Time Machine. True to the original source material, The Time Machine gives the cinematic treatment to the original 19th Century novel by H.G. Wells. A far future epic (which there are surprisingly few in cinema) we enter a world of split humanity, decay, and of course... troglodyte cannibalism. Unlike more tired tropes of antiquated sci-fi, The Time Machine remains fresh and inventive today. Will there be hot blondes speaking perfect English 800,000 years from now? Watching this film, you can almost believe it to be...2018-07-1000 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark276 Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
A slice of life from the whimsical 80's, Matt and Mark review Bill & Ted! Not the first time travelling comedy by any stretch, it un-apologetically plays with the "fish out of water" routine to full affect. While Bill & Ted may be SoCal caricatures of the proto "dudebro" aesthetic, they are played by Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves as fully fleshed out 3D characters. Are the historical figures cartoonish? Very much so. But that serves the point in the end. Hidden within the obvious gags are tinges of subtle comedic moments. Before the pastiche of Wayne's World and the dynasty of...2018-07-0500 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark275 Annihilation
Can a recent movie be considered cult-worthy? Regardless, Matt and Mark have endeavored to review the recent 2018 release Annihilation. Based after Jeff Vandermeer's novel of the same name, it is a cinematic treatment of the sci-fi "New Weird" genre. An alien encounter film in the vein of Carpenter's The Thing and H.P. Lovecraft's "The Colour Out of Space" (complete with rainbow shimmer) it defies the almost obligatory anthropomorphic alien encounters so typical in film. Annihilation doesn't spend its time sketching its characters in a reality we typical expect. Its characters, while fully human, are as unreal in their interpersonal...2018-06-2300 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark274 The Ice Pirates
Matt and Mark review the space-camp early eighties cult classic The Ice Pirates. A pre-Spaceballs riff on all things Star Wars and other associated derivative Sci-Fi (e.g. Roadwarrior), it begs, borrows and steals shamelessly to stitch together a watchable silly film that for whatever reason has stuck in the consciousness of Gen Xers recalling their adolescence. There's some decent gags and the film mercifully doesn't attempt to take itself seriously (that would run an extra $10 million in budget).
Download: 274 The Ice Pirates2018-06-0900 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark273 Solaris
Matt and Mark finally get around to kicking out another podcast. This time we review the 1972 Soviet sci-fi classic Solaris. A well-reviewed film and ground-breaking for its era, Matt and Mark decide that for whatever reason its slow trudging art-house chic has grown a bit shabby. In our review we compare the film to its Stanislaw Lem source material (and recent translation) in addition to the latter-day remake by Steven Soderbergh. But none-the-less, the questions this film poses to the audience require insight and introspection, a form of sci-fi film making that we so preciously crave, but so rarely receive.2018-05-2900 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark272 Kelly's Heros
Burnin' Bridges! This week we review the 1970's ensemble war-heist film Kelly's Heroes. Filled with stable of well-known heavies including Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, and Donald Sutherland, it's a WWII film injected with Vietnam-era sensibilities. A cynical movie, perhaps? Maybe, maybe not. What it is is a whole lotta fun. Matt and Mark discuss the true logistics of the would-be denouement... because it does beg the question: how do you get a few thousand pounds of gold out of WWII's western front when the road home leads through Berlin? Maybe it's not for us to worry about. A cult classic...2018-05-0200 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark271 Anomalisa
Matt and Mark are back... to back! this week with our review of the 2015 Charlie Kaufman film Anomalisa. Using stop-motion puppetry to enhance the Fregoli syndrome metaphor, Anomalisa dissects the ubiquity and transactional nature of the protagonist Michael Stone. When he meets Lisa a momentary emergence of beauty invigorates Michael, but it's ephemeral and more of self-illusion than authentic. Anomalisa paints middle-aged human interaction as a desert of intimacy with its perceived oasis nothing more than mirages. Not a "feel good" movie by any stretch, it does attempt a level honesty most likely unattainable with live actors.
Download: 271 A...2018-04-1700 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark269 SLC Punk
Matt and Mark get around to reviewing the 1998 cult film SLC Punk! in Goodfella's fashion, Stevo takes us on a tour through the punk scene of Reagan-era Salt Lake City. Musing on the paradoxes of Anarchy and Le'essence of being a punk, we're privy to the seemingly endemic metamorphosis of youthful rebellion. While in its throng, the youthful punk may not know where his chaos leads but Stevo knows better, and that's okay. Why? Because Stevo's honesty is one of this films most enduring qualities. Drop the Dungeons and Dragons, slap in a little Minor Threat, and enjoy!
...2018-03-2600 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark268 Baby Driver
Again keeping up with our recent endeavor into current movie reviews (possibly with cult potential), Matt and Mark review the car chase heist film Baby Driver. Not quite a musical, it insinuates a musical element in the movie like another actor. The cast is ridiculously good, with the currently maligned Kevin Spacey, Oscar worthy Jamie Foxx, and lovably evil John Hamm dealing the bad guy goods. With a truly three dimensional main character, Baby Driver builds out a Ansel Elgots Baby with a great deal of humanity. It's a fun flick. Check it out.
Download: 268 Baby Driver2018-03-1000 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark267 Marathon Man
Mark and Matt review the 1976 thriller Marathon Man. While not a particular strong movie or a well-plotted film, Marathon Man holds its own as well as any thriller of its genre, so much so that's it's remained a cult favorite for over 40 years. With Dustin Hoffman and Roy Schieder in their prime, backed up by the lethal paranoid presence of Sir Laurence Olivier, MM indulges the 70's aesthetic or "je ne sais quoi" of the era. That and everyone hates Nazis, so seeing a Nazi get what's coming to him is always a crowd pleasing claptrap.
Download: 267 Marathon M...2018-02-2000 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark266 Blade Runner 2049
In the year 2049!... Matt and Mark break with tradition this go 'round and review the recent release Blade Runner 2049. Like the Roman Empire before it, Los Angeles 2049 is dependent on slave labor to maintain its tenuous expanse. And as a result, this society suffers from the endemic sickness that comes with the inhumanity of such practice. Whether it's your lawn mower, a pet, or in the case of 2049, a replicant/simulacrum, how you use (or abuse) owned property reflects on your own humanity. Is Joi real? Does it matter? While yelling profanity and vulgarity at your home Alexa Echo may...2018-02-0500 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark265 The Usual Suspects
This week Matt and Mark get it together to review the classic The Usual Suspects. A plot intensive illusion, it leads the viewer along with its narrative with the classic "Just the Facts!" detective boilerplate. But at it's center is a deception, a ruse perpetrated by an unreliable narrator, for this film is a long-con and it's not only playing the characters, it's playing you the viewer. While Verbal and Kayser Sose are possibly one-in-the-same, neither one are confirmed real. The Usual Suspects deals in perception as a tool of social currency, exploiting our confidence. In classic Phillip K Dickian...2018-01-2400 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark264 Ronin
This week Matt and Mark review the bombastic (and slightly silly) Frankenheimer actioner Ronin! More like a tabletop RPG come to life, Ronin deftly utilizes a McGuffin plot in which to thread its Mamet enhanced characters. For whatever reason, we forgive it its military-grade body count and implausible set pieces. Why? Because its a fun film. Unlike most action drivel, Ronin's interstitial scenes have lives of their own and not just a scaffold to tie the car chases together.
Download: 264 Ronin2018-01-1700 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark262 Clash of the Titans (1982)
Matt and Mark get around to cranking out another podcast with our review of Ray Harryhausen's classic stop-motion masterstroke Clash of the Titans. An end of an era, Clash attempts the high concept marketing of Star Wars but using the public domain creatures of Greek Myth. Despite the clunkiness of the composite special effects, Harryhausen brings real menace to the likes of Calibos and Medusa. With the venerable chops of Laurence Olivier and Burgess Meredith, Clash delivers its epic suite of Saturday matinee melodrama. Perhaps not timeless, it is a classic.
Download: 262 Clash of the Titans (1981)2017-12-3000 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark261 Holy Motors
Matt and Mark review the 2012 French film "Holy Motors" this go around. A very Jodorosky-esque film, its filled with cut-up non-sequiturs loosely tied together by a vaguely metaphoric limousine and it's enigmatic passenger. Perhaps too reference heavy for average American Joe, Holy Motors nods to all that is cinema, providing a meta-landscape where its denizens are in fact incarnations of film themselves. Beyond it's context-free acting indulgences, Holy Motors is a striking film to look at and absorb. But if you're looking for anything resembling a plot, move along.
Download: 261 Holy Motors 2017-12-0600 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark259 Blown Away (1993)
Matt and Mark review a lesser known offering from the 80's child actor duo The Coreys Haim and Feldman. Set to get on our Samurai Cop/The Room bad movie mojo, we find ourselves oddly enjoying 1992's Blown Away. Yes! Nicoel Eggert is naked a lot in the movie, but the plot does keep you kind of guessing and there is a bit of attention getting intrigue. It fails in its ending, but that's a common sin among stronger fair. Mark and Matt admittedly didn't mind this film. It's not bad and watchable. So as sad and tragic as the...2017-11-1000 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark258 The Wolf Man (1941)
Mark is stunned and amazed this week to learn there's an old timey film that Matt actually appreciates and has chosen for the ultimate end to our mini werewolf marathon leading up to Halloween. The best offering of the werewolf films so far, The Wolf Man pipes in the smoke to enhance the gothic atmosphere of this classic tale. Pioneering the silver bullet and full moon tropes of the werewolf, The film deftly handles the the ying-yang schizophrenic themes of the beast man unlike lesser later offerings. Unfortunately, the theme of male stalkers fails to transcend the film's era and...2017-11-0100 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark257 The Beast Must Die
The third werewolf film in our three film Halloween run-up. A quirky Hammer-style exploitation schlock-fest, The Beast Must Die starts out with a great "whodunnit" set-up but in Matt's opinion, squanders it with overly long action/chase scenes and hokey non-menacing werewolves. While the acting is solid, and the characters have promise, there is no M.Night twist/suprise after the werewolf-break reveal. Mark liked this movie more than Matt, but all-in-all a German Shepard shot with a night-lens fails to bring out the visceral horror of later special affects offerings.
Download: 257 The Beast Must Die2017-10-2800 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark256 The Howling
Are werewolves just lesser vampires? Is that why there's such a dearth of werewolf fair when compared to the vast catalog of vampire films? Perhaps. While they share many of the same traits, werewolves lack the sexy urbane sophistication of a vampires, because they're basically just ... well... dogs. The Howling from 1981 is a notable film, at least in its modern depiction of the werewolf/wolfman transformation. While out-competed by American Werewolf in London at the time, its blend of camp and horror, combined with eerie tones make it enjoyable. However, due to the previous comments, Matt and Mark are only...2017-10-0900 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark255 Star Trek The Motion Picture
Going where no man has gone before, Matt and Mark review the 2001'esque Roddenberry big screen debut of Star Trek. A film intended to bring the spaced-out psychedelia of Kubrik's pioneering film to the popcorn audience, it ended up being a mixed offering to the hardcore Trekkies. While Kahn II would set the trend of current Star Trek actioners, STTMP basked in the awe of the cerebral questions of creation and existence. Despite the spa-staff uniforms of the crew and the uneven effects, the initial Star Trek brings the goods to those willing to shun unrealistic expectations.
Download: 255 St...2017-10-0400 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark253 Silent Running
Continuing our ad-hoc 70's Sci-Fi theme, we review the Bruce Dern film "Silent Running." A theme-heavy sci-fi film, we take a peak into the mind of an eco-terrorist of sorts. Back in the early days of the EPA and environmental themes, Silent Running assumes a bereft Earth devoid of natural beauty and encrusted by a mall-like super structure of artificial living with Dern's Freemen the champion of Earth's last natural vestiges. Matt and Mark discuss the nature of ideological zealotry as it concerns environmental heroes and come to the conclusion, that while necessary to a certain extant, one could argue i...2017-09-0700 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark249 The Day the Earth Stood Still
Stop fighting, you silly humans! This week Matt and Mark review the 1951 classic The Day the Earth Stood Still. Matt takes issue with the message of this film, which seems muddled in his alien-godlike appearance of Klaatu and his pimp hand Gort. Did Klaatu just impose of slavery onto humanity? A forced utopia? To what degree would Gort allow for some on-planet nuclear rough housing? So many questions to a thoroughly unsatisfying movie. Despite the bigger questions, The Day the Earth Stood Still also lacks perhaps the usage of more inventive sci-fi tropes offered in the literature of the day...2017-07-0900 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark248 Tron
This week Matt and Mark review the surprisingly ahead of its time Tron, by none other than Walt Disney Productions. A film that is unapologeticaly set within the confines of a computerized world, it would set the precedent for such later VR films as The Matrix and Inception that would give the filmmaker free reign to design plausible and spectacular fantasy worlds manufactured inside printed circuit boards. A beautifully rendered movie, Tron holds its own 35 years later and is as fresh and fun now as it was back then: a summer movie if there ever was one. It's a movie...2017-07-0400 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark247 Scanners
Matt and Mark review the Chronenberg cult classic Scanners this week. A nicely stylized B-movie with decent production and a well crafted premise, scanners falls a bit short. With too much plot, the machinations and motivations of the characters are archetypal at best, implausible at worst. There are hints here of what Chronenberg would become and its refreshing to go back in time and see a classic director in the rough. Unlike Advanced Dungeons and Dragons psionicists rules for combat however, the Scanner "mind fights" are not only cathartic but at times spectacularly visceral.
Download: 247 Scanners2017-06-2900 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark246 Over the Edge
This week Matt and Mark review the 70's teen rebellion film "Over the Edge". Despite its teen crime hyperbole, the film brings insight into the corportizing of the American family and it's dehumanizing affect on community and landscape. While such a movie could have fallen flat, Over the Edge is deftly executed with a cast of competent teenage actors and careful direction. Introducing a young Matt Dillon and packed with an iconic set of 70's rock n' roll (Cheap Trick, The Ramones, and Van Halen), Over the Edge has stuck in the collective memory.
Download: 246 Over the Edge 2017-06-2000 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark245 Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
After a three week hiatus, Matt and Mark are back with an epic review of Twin Peaks Fire Walk with Me. A discussion which comprises the entirety of the Twin Peaks mythos (including TP: The Return), we set the stage and dig deep into the cinematic debut of the ultimate cult television drama. Matt confesses that FWWM was his introduction to Laura Palmer's world, which despite the obvious spoilers, had little effect on its appreciation. Filmed on location and Matt and Mark's actual high school (Go SHS Panthers!) and adjacent neighborhoods, the film is particularly evocative and fun. A definitive...2017-06-1300 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark244 Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie
Shot Mark and Ivy Matt finish out our docu-athon this week with the dispassionate Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie, narrated by William Shatner. Its lack of emotion coupled with a minimalist straight forward narrative is argued to be its drawback, while Matt argues the opposite. As an engineering project, Trinity and Beyond takes the viewer through the lab bench proving grounds of the Pacific and Nevada as the United States hones the weaponry which re-defined geopolitics. As a hardware nerd, the film offers quite a bit (or at least as much as it can in 90 minutes), however as...2017-05-2200 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark243 Crumb
Continuing with the docs this week, Matt and Mark review the cult documentary Crumb from 1994. Less a film about the man and his art, its fulcrum is Robert Crumb's dysfunctional upbringing and its creative aftermath. What Robert Crumb channels is the artistic byproduct of his autobiographical torture, accented by interviews with his neurotic/psychotic brothers. While funny and witty, Crumb in the end fits the asshole artist stereotype, going to prove that turmoil and resentment often offers the best muse.
Download: 243 Crumb2017-05-1700 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark242 Exit Through The Gift Shop
The week(s) Matt and Mark are still in full doc mode and review the Banksy film Exit Through The Gift Shop. A meta-documentary of sorts, Bansky deconstructs the art hype machine with the human graffiti equivalent Thierry Guetta, an OCD film maker turned street artist. A film so deftly wrought, the ability of the viewer to discover the edge of the hoax and the beginning of reality is seamless. Banksy sets fire to the trash heap of post-modern philosophical mental masturbation and lights his cigarette with it.
Download: 242 Exit Through the Gift Shop2017-05-1000 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark241 Grizzly Man
This week Matt and Mark discuss the indifference of survival and nature's cruelty when we discuss both United Airlines contract of carriage and the definitive Herzong documentary Grizzly Man. Tim Treadwell created an anthropamorphized fantasy world in the Alaskan Tundra where he spent 13 summers with Earth's most fearsome carnivores, the North American Grizzly. Passions exceeded pragmatism and in the end, Tim paid the price inhabiting his self-created world. An interesting character sketch the likes of which we rarely see on film.
Download: 241 Grizzly Man2017-04-2400 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark240 Waltz with Bashir
Matt and Mark continue to review documentaries this week with the 2008 Lebanon War animated film Waltz with Bashir. Not so much a reconstruction of events leading up to the infamous Sabra and Shatila Massacre, as it is the personal exploration of an Israeli soldier who 20 years on finally comes to terms with his complicity in the atrocity. Such horror is endemic to human history it seems, and in away, no human being is truly innocent of crimes done in their name, despite the paper thin facade of nationalism. An amazing movie and one of kind, Waltz with Bashir is an...2017-04-1700 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark236 Memento
This week Matt and Mark review the Christopher Nolan timeline reversal Memento. While gimmicky, the regressive timeline synthesized the amnesiac Leneord's sense of disorientation, all the while keeping the reveal until the end/beginning. Skirting the ragged line of plausibility, Memento attempts to question the mnemonic landscape which helps us stitch our lives together. Have you ever walked into a room of your house and not know why? What's the bare essentials of your brain's memory operating system? Maybe there's a little Leonard in all of us.
Download: 236 Memento 2017-03-2100 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark235 Face/Off
This week we review the stateside John Woo effort Face/Off. Mark appreciates the "switcheroo" action take of typical comedy tropes while Matt laments the overwrought over-length action sequences and melodrama. Besides the plausibility elements, Cage and Travolta's effort to impersonate their stylings was notable, but without a true immersion, the illusion isn't fully complete. At 2 hours and 20 minutes, Face/Off is possibly a harbinger of Michael Bay's to come. Too much action with too little substance.
Download: 235 Face/Off2017-03-1300 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark234 Dr. Strangelove
This week Matt and Mark review the holy grail of black comedies, Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove... A biting satire about the very realistic possibility of a nuclear holocaust. It's impressive not only for its subject matter, but also for its timing: in the middle of paranoid ravaged 60's America. Peter Sellers' performances coupled with G.C.Scott's Turgidson, Slim Picken's Kong, and Hayden's Ripper are some of the greatest comedic and satirical performances put to film. So, as Morrissey says let the bomb bring us together.
Download: 234 Dr. Strangelove2017-02-2700 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark233 Roadhouse
Matt and Mark review Roadhouse this week, an 80's classic starring Mr. Swayze in his physical and acting prime. Basically a modern day Western, Roadhouse fallows the plot mechanics and tropes to a 'T'. Cinematic westerns were always steeped in a lawless era that never was, and when recast into the Aquanet Monster Truck Reagan era, the fantasy becomes even more implausible. But armed with a proper suspension of disbelief, Roadhouse is a worthy watch.
Download: 233 Roadhouse2017-02-2000 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark232 Last Tango in Paris
Ending our somewhat informal "May/December" movie half-marathon, we review the classic Bertolucci film "Last Tango in Paris." Matt and Mark agree that LTIP is a difficult watch because the main character is so unlikeable. Watching a wild animal act out its crude sexual id as a coping method for grief is what's on display here, portrayed by an off-the-rails Brando. There's a few questions regarding "who is anybody?" framed in a seemingly improbable collision of strangers, but for the most part it's the Brando Show, complete with ad-lib monologues involving a lot of pig talks.
Download: 232 Last T...2017-02-1300 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark231 Max Mon Amour
Mark defies the "May/December" movie marathon theme by going bestial with the odd-ball Max Mon Amour, a bizarre film that's less about monkey love and more about normalcy in the face of predicament. As a podcast listener, if the movie doesn't inspire you to give this one a go, Matt and Mark's "Show News" goes radioactive as we take a Facebook argument live with more political nonsense. Get it while it's hot, we may put a moratorium on such Trumpian digressions soon.
Download: 231 Max Mon Amour2017-02-0800 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark230 Lost in Translation
Film three in our loosely sketched out "May/December" movie marathon, we review one of Matt and Mark's favorite films, Lost in Translation. An Oscar nominated performance that Bill Murray should have won, coupled with the nascent stardom of ScarJo, gives life to authentic characters in believable, if not quirky but ordinary situations (namely business travel). Sofia Coppola deftly captures the shimmer of an ephemeral relationship, relationships relieved of the day-to-day routine, allowing us to connect, strangely, in more meaningful ways.
Download: 230 Lost in Translation 2017-01-2400 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark229 Leon: The Professional
Continuing our May/December movie review marathon this week, we review the 1994 debut of Natalie Portman in Leon: The Professional. When a precocious hard scrabble 12 year old Matilda meets up with the emotionally stunted hitman Leon, a unique chemistry forms. Matt and Mark discuss the primary argument of why Besson chose a 12 year old for the lead role. Despite Ebert's nebulous and inconclusive derision, the film flat out wouldn't work as well if Matilda were older. Also of note, is Oldman's chthonic maniac portrayal of DEA agent Stan. OIdman at his finest.
Download: 229 Leon: The Professional2017-01-1900 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark227 Valhalla Rising
This week we review a contemporary companion film of El Topo with Refn's arthouse adventure drama Valhalla Rising. Matt prattles on about possible meaning while Mark gets to the heart of what makes this evocative film intriguing; dudes, violence, vikings, gladiators, general badassery, and no chicks! (except as the reward of pillage and conquest). The beauty of the Scottish Highlands is on full display in this film and Refn delivers. Believe me, there's nothing quite so satisfying as standing in the highlands, longsword in hand, surveying the great mountainous expanse.
Download: 227 Valhalla Rising2017-01-0300 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark226 El Topo
Matt and Mark finally review the midnight movie classic El Topo by Alexandro Jodorowsky. A Deepak Chopra myth salad of religious symbolism, Matt chooses to not take the ride while Mark extracts the essential parable of the film. While the stylistic surrealism is intriguing and evocative, the Spaghetti Western set dressings and overwrought violence cater to a more specific crowd. An allegorical trip through misguided purpose and failed redemption, there's something here here. To soak up the strangeness no doubt requires multiple watchings, an investment perhaps a certain few are willing to make.
Download: 226 El Topo 2016-12-2900 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark224 Withnail and I
Matt admits failure this week when we review Withnail and I, the beloved British cult film from 1987. Without the benefit of repeat watchings and dialogue insight, the witty writing and conversations were lost with Matt's virgin viewing. Mark luckily picked up the major slack. A tiny slice of the 60's, Withnail and I indulge the youthful abandon aesthetic of the time. So, we apologize in advance to the devoted Withnailers for our review. We tried.
Download: 224 Withnail and I2016-12-0600 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark223 Computer Chess
This week Matt and Mark review the 2013 film Computer Chess. Like Terminator's man-vs-machine themes (without time travel and plasma-rifle wielding cyborg killers), Computer Chess is an idiosyncratic look at humanity's constant yearning to recreate itself. When we finally stumble upon the holy grail of Vinge's Singularity, mid-80's nerd competitions in a nondescript Holiday Inn will usurp Newton's Apple as the defining moment of human progress.
Download: 223 Computer Chess2016-11-2900 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark222 Idiocracy
Not a current comment on our body electorate or anything, but this week Matt and Mark review the unsung Mike Judge classic Idiocracy. Besides the gags, Matt and Mark try to unearth the kernel of incurious idiocy Judge depicts. In a world of junk food convenience, the lack of ownership and struggle may work to numb us and dumb us down to a level you see in the film: wandering zombies of simple needs, hamsters on a wheel, etc... Anyway, at the expense of sounding too faggy, Idiocracy manages to redefine the lowest common denominator.
Download: 222 Idiocracy2016-11-2300 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark221 What We Do In The Shadows
A fitting coda for our Matt and Mark's Vampire Weekends movie review marathon, we review the New Zealand mockumentary What We do in the Shadows. A film that's gimmick could've easily sabotaged it, the high concept of a Real World for vampires is handled deftly with a genuine love for it's characters. Well edited and tight, all the gags and bits flow seamlessly. This movie is funny and worth more than one viewing, dare I say an "instant cult classic."
Download: 221 What We Do In The Shadows 2016-11-1500 minThe Cult of Matt and MarkBonus Episode #3
A surprise bonus episode this week (Matt was overcome by a swarm of feverish screaming children, and didn't' get to watching the movie). After a minority of us voted to make America Great Again, Matt and Mark thought we'd take some time and hash over the aftermath of the 2016 election. If you're sick of politics, low-rent punditry, and snobbish West Coast libtard commentary, skip this one. However, Mark does insert a quick review of Gibson's Hacksaw Ridge, which may make us worthy of redemption.
Download: Bonus Episode #32016-11-1200 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark220 Byzantium
This is the end of Matt and Mark's Vampire Weekends movie review marathon! And to go out, we review Neil Jordan's sophomore vampire film, Byzantium (not to be confused with Matt's dismally selling novel Nova Byzantium). Beautifully wrought with a carefully crafted atmosphere, Jordan takes the vampire tale in a different baroque direction, filled with Illuminati-esque intrigue and nascent melancholy romance. Where Twilight is bubble gum and Tiger Beat, Byzantium is The Cure mixed with midnight readings of Edgar Allen Poe. Hope you enjoyed our set of blood-sucking cinema critique!
Download: 220 Byzantium2016-11-0100 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark219 Near Dark
With skin more volatile than kerosine mixed with flash paper, the vampires of Katheryn Bigelow's Near Dark redline their existence into the daylight hours (often). Vampire Weekends continues with our penultimate offering this week on The Cult of Matt and Mark. A Western-genre modern-horror mashup, Near Dark is stylistically polished with gritty murderous characters that eventually gets what's coming to them, and deliciously so. However, for a horror film, it really fails to terrify.
Download: 219 Near Dark2016-10-2500 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark218 Fright Night
And Vampire Weekends movie review marathon just keeps on rolling on The Cult of Matt and Mark with Fright Night, a solid mid-80's vampire offering. While the main character of Charlie Brewster merely provides an avatar for the viewer, the power of the film resides in its supporting characters. While Evil Ed and the two-bit Van Helsing Peter Vincent add color, it's Chris Sarandon as the seductive vampire lord Jerry Dandrige that adds an awesome brush stroke of menace. In so doing, it could be argued that Sarandon's performance could go down as one of the greatest cinematic vampires...2016-10-1600 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark217 Shadow of the Vampire
And Vampire Weekends keeps rolling with The Cult of Matt and Mark's vampire film movie review marathon. This week we review the 2000 indie film Shadow of the Vampire, starring powerhouse actors Malkovich and Defoe. While Matt developed a nascent pining for an "is it real?" theme, Mark re-aligns the compass and delves into the power of film and the historical schism it created when action itself could be cast in stone for later generations. A meta film, Shadow of the Vampire asks the hypothetical question: Was Nosferatu documenting the end of the vampire legend or its beginning?
Download: 217 S...2016-10-1200 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark216 Blade 2
This week Matt and Mark continue our Vampire Weekends movie marathon with Guillermo del Toro's sequel Blade 2. Despite being a fun Matrix-style neo chop-socky action film, it also deals with the idea of "vampire normalcy" in pop culture. Having familiarized ourselves with vampiric menace for decades now, Blade 2 must invent a more sinister "Reaper" variety to inspire the menace, a beast so sinister it feeds on vampires as well as humans. Because with your garden-variety vampires no more sinister than club kids, you gotta take it up a notch.
Download: 216 Blade 22016-10-0300 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark215 Thirst (2009)
Our second Park Chan-wook film review, Matt and Mark review Thirst from 2009 while in the midst of our Vampire Weekends movie marathon. A lesser film than the more intense Oldboy, Thirst deals with the moral dilemma of vampiric transformation and its predatory aspects. While Matt took issue with the insertion of Catholic guilt, Mark enjoyed the film's more visceral aspects. Matt's viewing comprehension was piss poor this go around, but luckily Mark's astute viewing habits mopped up the film's fine details.
Download: 215 Thirst (2009)2016-09-2600 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark214 The Lost Boys
The Vampire Weekends movie review marathon rolls on and this week, as Matt and Mark review the very 80's The Lost Boys from 1987. A modern retelling of Peter Pan with vampire teenagers? Besides the flying and the name, we're not big enough Pan Fans to give this much credence. While Matt liked exactly the opposite of what Ebert liked (Is Mark the anti-Ebert incarnate?), Matt indulged the very 80's aspects of this film, including the first union of the Two-Coreys, and the whole "I wear my sun-glasses at night" Corey Hart tribute.
Download: 214 The Lost Boys2016-09-2000 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark211 Surviving the Game
A modern take on the venerable Most Dangerous Game, Matt and Mark review the Ice-T vehicle Surviving the Game. A cast list like something out of a whose-who of guy-movie favs from the VHS era, we get to have fun with the likes of Gary Busey and Rutguer Hauer as they go on the male-bonding ritual of the bum hunt. Mark and Matt disagree on the plausibility of the action, but what we do agree on is that Janet Maslin of the NYT coats the premise with a racist paint brush and as a result, dismisses not only a decent...2016-08-2900 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark208 Dragonslayer
Tyrian? Valerian? Dragons? Could George RR Martin's Game of Thrones be nothing but an homage to the great Disney/Paramount hybrid Dragonslayer from 1981? Since Mr. Martin considers Vermithrax Pejorative the greatest cinematic dragon of all time, it just may be. Matt and Mark review the 35 year old dragon picture and believe that its classic affects still hold up to this day. An aged ragged bat-like dragon brings realism to the mythical beast, assuming such a monster had once existed. Beyond its quest/dragon mantle, Dragonslayer builds out its characters into complicated moral creatures questioning justice and the statusquo of patriarchy.2016-08-0800 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark207 Pandorum
In the vein of Pitch Black and Event Horizon, we review another unsung solid B sci-fi film; this time Pandorum. An oft trod sub-genre of science fiction, the "generation ship" gets its due in this film to entertaining affect. Completely undeserving of its 28% Rotten Tomatoes rating, Pandorum is a niche film that unlike its many contemporaries is true science fiction, not just a western set in outer space. While Mark had his list of plausibility complaints, they were small and outweighed by the care of production design.
Download: 207 Pandorum 2016-08-0500 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark205 Pitch Black
Mark has stealthily kicked off his "Summer of Action" (unbeknownst to Matt) a few movies back, and now we're full throttle this week with the Vin Diesel engine Pitch Black! Inaugurating a milquetoast space opera franchise that still lingers, here we're introduced to the titular Riddich! A straight up decent B sci-fi film, PB doesn't pretend to be anything its not and in the process delivers a well rounded fleshed out cast of monster fodder. Benefiting from the blackness, the sins of nascent CGI effects are dutifully hidden for maximum affect.
Download: 205 Pitch Black2016-07-1800 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark204 Spanking the Monkey
Ah yes, the classic teen summer sex comedy where the frustrated protagonist, in a series of hijinks, ends up sleeping with his mom... no.... wait! Yep, 1994's Spanking the Monkey builds the strangely believable scenario of how such a preposterous Greek drama may actually unfold in the sub-urban present day. Matt and Mark agree that the film would have been able to deliver its point without the taboo act, but would it have been as poignant? Perhaps. But in a truly dysfunctional family, rife with jealousy and unrequited needs, incest as an act of vandalism maybe isn't that unbelievable. However...2016-07-1100 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark194 Saturday Night Fever
This week Mark has a slight fever and decides to promptly take a Tylenol to get rid of it. Long after the disco inferno has gone to ash and receded a whole new pop landscape, John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever still draws a crowd. Matt and Mark attempt to figure out why this was Gene Siskell's favorite movie... hmm... Despite it's ancillary (and terrible) sub-plot elements the idea of rising above one's station seems to be the overriding attraction, perhaps. Regardless, it's hard to not think you're watching an episode of the Jersey Shore circa 1977. GTL ya'll.
...2016-02-2200 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark190 Repo Man
Matt and Mark finally get around to reviewing the 80s cult classic Repo Man. A film that holds an affection for the early 80's LA punk scene, it breaks B-movie convention with its multi-party hilarity and deft inside jokes. While not a great movie, it is entertaining and it seems few film roles are dedicated to the weird legal twilight of the repo man. Also in this episode is a certified Matt and Mark double feature, our mini-review of the new Star Wars film at the end (warning spoilers!)
Download: 190 Repo Man2016-01-1900 minThe Cult of Matt and Mark189 The Cabin in the WoodsThis week Matt and Mark review the meta-horror film The Cabin in The Woods. Boiling down the standard slasher/creature horror formula into a mythology and turning it into a type of Aztec sacrifice ritual works brilliantly here. Mark sees a deeper meaning in the psychology of stage managers who setup and operate this human slaughterhouse while Matt enjoyed the film's dark humor aspects. And for anyone that enjoys horror monsters, TCITW serves up a full plate of your favorites. Mermen anyone?Download: 189 The Cabin in the Woods2016-01-1200 min