Shows
Random Acts of Cinema433 - Patriotism or The Right of Love and Death (1966)Content warning: this film contains depictions of suicide. Come check out Mike and Charlie realizing exactly what they’ve gotten themself into AFTER watching this movie and getting about halfway through our discussion about it. Yukio Mishima and Domoto Masaki’s rich confrontation of Noh-style staging with richly visualized sensuality propels a short film about a married couple’s suicided following a failed coup-d’etat in 1936 Japan. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server here! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our merch store. T...2024-10-141h 13
Random Acts of Cinema652 - Monsieur Verdoux (1947)At the beginning of the 20th century, a deranged serial killer was convicted of seducing, marrying, robbing, and murdering over a dozen women. It is believed that he killed many, many more than that. So the lovable Tramp himself, Charlie Chaplin, decided to portray him in a movie. What’s his light-hearted take on this unexpected premise? Human society is diseased and nothing matters. In a funny way, though. Join our Patreon and support the podcast! Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server here! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone y...2024-05-271h 12
Random Acts of Cinema163 Hopscotch (1980)Can we chalk this up as another Walter Matthau all-time slam-dunk that most people have never heard of? Or is this old man spy caper exactly what it looks like? We are joined by the duo Brad and Jake from the Never Did it podcast as we race across the globe in search of a potential antidote to Moonraker (which Charlie still thinks is a very good old man spy caper for some reason). Join our Patreon and support the podcast! Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server here! *Come support the podc...2024-04-081h 19
Random Acts of CinemaBONUS PATREON PREVIEW - Are you Friedkin Kidding Me? (The Exorcist, 1973)Come listen to a free preview of our upcoming Patreon podcast Are You Friedkin Kidding Me?, where Mike, Charlie, and Alexandra (celebrated returning guest host) watch a different film (or tv show or documentary) from the oeuvre of acclaimed director William Friedkin. And we’re starting with his all-time genre-defining horror masterpiece The Exorcist (1973). The first taste is free. Keep an eye out for more information on our upcoming Patreon and your chance to listen to more episodes of Are You Friedkin Kidding Me?2023-10-311h 19Random Acts of CinemaLD19 - Blade Runner (1982)We’ve podcasted things you people wouldn’t believe. Like the international theatrical release version of Ridley Scott’s tech noir stunner starring Harrison Ford doing his uh… best?… voice-over narration. Mike picks this for Charlie’s annual incept-date show! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our merch store. T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Doulos (1962).2023-03-131h 26Random Acts of Cinema790 - Lady Snowblood (1973)Mike likes the sword hidden in a parasol. Charlie likes that it takes place during the Meiji era. But who are we kidding? The best part is that Toshiya Fujita’s visually dynamic action/revenge film really lives up to the title. Lady. Snow. Blood. *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our merch store. T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Toshiya Fujita’s Lady Snowblood: Love Song of Vengeance (2023-02-271h 14Random Acts of Cinema29 - Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)It turns out that while Mike knows EXACTLY what happed to the girls who disappeared on a school trip in Victoria on Valentine’s Day 1900, Charlie really doesn’t. Director Peter Weir’s period-set mystery explores the unknowable horror of gloves and corsets within the restrictive confines of the Australian landscape. Or maybe its the other way around? If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Michael Haneke’s Funny Games (1997).2022-09-191h 35Random Acts of Cinema077 - And God Created Woman (1956)How many times do you think that Mike will bring up Serge Gainsbourg in an episode about a movie that has nothing to do with him? The answer is one more than the amount of times that Charlie all-too-casually mentions second-wave feminism. This must mean that we are watching Brigitte Bardot's breakthrough starring vehicle about love, lust, freedom, and the sandy beaches of St. Tropez. If you'd like to watch ahead for next week's film, we will be discussing and reviewing Marlon Brando's One-Eyed Jacks (1961).2022-05-021h 22Random Acts of CinemaLD118 - Silverado (1985)This year, Mike has selected Lawerence Kasdan’s star-studded, rollicking western update as his “gift” for the birthday boy Charlie. Why? That’s still a little unclear, but your hosts are still delighted by this crowd-pleasing action/western. So gear up with your pearl-handled colt, fancy 2-gun rig, derringer, boot knife, or a Henry rifle for each hand and ride out with us to save Linda Hunt at all costs. If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (1954).2022-03-141h 29Random Acts of CinemaLD124 - Dr. No (1962)For Charlie's annual birthday episode, his very good friend Mike has chosen Terence Young's filmed adaptation of Ian Fleming's novel Dr. No. That's right, there's technically a James Bond movie in the Criterion Collection. And since the birthday boy is a super-fan, eager for a soapbox upon which to blurt out decades of pent-up interpretations, criticisms, and hot takes, get ready for a wild ride. Songs about fruit! Solitaire in the dark! Women's sunglasses! It's all here. If you'd like to watch ahead for next week's film, we will be discussing and reviewing John Cassavetes' The Killing of a C...2021-03-221h 39Random Acts of Cinema565 - The Great Dictator (1940) with Kevin Allison of Risk! and The StateThis week we are joined by special-guest Kevin Allison (of Risk! The Podcast and The State) to talk about a powerful and hilarious film: Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator. So, you know when fed-up people call fascists on their practices and they respond by saying they aren’t “technically” fascists? So then they are pressured to walk back their language a little bit and the criticism gets all muddied on a point of semantics based on strict political definitions? Like when a leader who clearly would have been pretty cool with Nazi tactics and ideology gets all butt-hu...2020-06-081h 17Random Acts of Cinema1000 - Son of Godzilla (1967) with AngieFollowing the random selection and then explicit demand of AJ from the Cult Popture podcast, we’re dipping back into the Showa-era Godzilla films, with Jun Fukuda’s Son of Godzilla. We’re joined by longtime friend and Godzilla-expert Angie to help us make sense of this eighth(!) entry into the franchise. This time, there’s a baby Godzilla, a remote weather experiment station on a pacific island, a lady who has been hiding in a cave for some reason, and zero stakes. So it’s a pretty distant echo of the original 1954 masterpiece. Still, there’s something in it’s...2020-06-011h 21Random Acts of Cinema521 - Mystery Train (1989)We have our first sample of Jim Jarmusch with this little gift that Mike chose for Charlie’s extra-special birthday episode. Is this classic three-part anthology set in crumbling Memphis environs a perfect present or a devastating disappointment? With tales of tourists on a rock n’ roll pilgrimage, a widow beset by colorful locals during an unexpected layover, and three working stiffs caught up in an unintended crime spree, the viewer is left to find either a maudlin kind of transcendental revelation or a bitter laugh at the absurdity of a town still echoing with the ghostly sounds of Elvis...2020-03-1659 minRandom Acts of Cinema776 - Moonrise Kingdom (2012)Stylistic pastiche. Symmetrical framing. Murray. Schwartzman. 1960s-centric jukebox soundtrack. It looks like this must be our first Wes Anderson movie. A tale of young love set against scouting, parents in a failing marriage, a lovelorn “cop”, and an oncoming storm of the century combine to either charm or annoy Mike and Charlie. But which is it? If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Nagisa Oshima’s Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawerence (1983).2019-09-231h 07Random Acts of CinemaIntroduction & PremiseQuiet on the set! Before we start watching movies, come an meet your hosts: Mike and Charlie. We lay out the structure and rules of the podcast, discuss why we wanted to do this in the first place, and select our first film. Tune in next week for our inaugural review of Lawrence Olivier’s Richard III (1955).2019-06-2729 min