Caliber 9 From Outer Space

This one hurt. This week we lost one of Hollywood's great mercurial talents, Val Kilmer. In this bonus episode, Rob and Joe talk about the man, the enigma, sometimes the spanner in the works that was Val Kilmer. Then they deep dive into one of his lesser celebrated later films, David Mamet's Spartan (2004).

We do have a Spoiler Territory section for Spartan, so you can skip ahead to the 55:10 mark to avoid spoilers if you haven't seen the film.

RIP Val.

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Theme music: "The Cold Light of Day" by HKM. Check out HKM on #SoundCloud or Bandcamp

We're still fixated on HEISTS, people!!! Nick Langdon pops in to discuss Charley Varrick (1973), directed by Don Siegel, and then Hudson Hawk (1991), directed by Michael Lehmann. Walter Matthau gets dark and grisly under Siegel's immaculate directorial hand (even if he didn't get the movie at all, apparently) and Joel Silver lets Bruce Willis' ego off the leash completely (with the result that very few people got the movie at all). Underappreciated gems or not? You be the judge! And then see if you agree with us!

It's not really possible to spoil Hudson Hawk (plot is kind of secondary), but we will call out Spoiler Territory for Charley Varrick. If you want to skip ahead from that point, you can rejoin the conversation at the 1:23:51 mark to avoid spoilers.

Want to get in touch? You can reach us on [email protected]

Theme music: "The Cold Light of Day" by HKM. Check out HKM on #SoundCloud or Bandcamp

Marek Turner stops by to tell tales of Gigi the Loser, as we pair another classic Italian giallo with one of the great classics of film noir. We check out Rififi (1955), directed by Jules Dassin, and The Cat O' Nine Tails (1971), directed by Dario Argento.

We will be announcing a Spoiler Territory section for both films, so if you haven't seen them before you listen, you can nevertheless avoid spoilers for Rififi by skipping ahead to the 1:01:24 mark, and for The Cat O' Nine Tails by skipping ahead to 1:52:20.

Want to get in touch? You can reach us on [email protected]

Marek's new book, Born to Lose: Tales of Gigi is available in paperback and ebook on Amazon

Theme music: "The Cold Light of Day" by HKM. Check out HKM on #SoundCloud or Bandcamp

Jonathan Owen joins us this week as we venture into Eastern Europe to lift the lid on the greatest cinema you've probably never heard of. Together we Czech out (see what I did there? And sorry about that) Marketa Lazarova (1967), directed by František Vláčil, and I Killed Einstein, Gentlemen (1970), directed by Oldřich Lipský. Sublime dark-age psychedelic freak-out paired with ridiculous comedy of errors with a sci-fi Surrealist twist.

It's not really possible to spoil I Killed Einstein, Gentlemen but we will call out Spoiler Territory for Marketa Lazarova. If you want to skip ahead from that point, you can rejoin the conversation at the 1:21:27 mark to avoid spoilers.

Want to get in touch? You can reach us on [email protected]

Theme music: "The Cold Light of Day" by HKM. Check out HKM on #SoundCloud or Bandcamp

Samm Deighan is back to chat with us about one of our favourite niche subgenres: the Two-Mortal-Enemies-From-The-Past-Get-Frozen-In-Ice-And-Reanimated-In-The-Future-So-They-Can-Chase-Each-Other-Around-And-Smash-Stuff-to-Bits movie. We check out Demolition Man (1993), directed by Marco Brambilla, and The Iceman Cometh (1989), directed by Clarence Fok.

We won't be announcing a Spoiler Territory section for either film this week, because we just don't think they can be spoiled!

Want to get in touch? You can reach us on [email protected]

Check out Samm's podcast Eros + Massacre and look out for the Criterion Release of Godzilla vs Biollante, which includes her latest audiocommentary

Theme music: "The Cold Light of Day" by HKM. Check out HKM on #SoundCloud or Bandcamp

It's 8 o'clock in the F#%KING MORNING and we are joined by full grown sandgroper, Adam Trainer to dig up a couple of unsung antipodean gems. We discuss Fortress (1985), directed by Arch Nicholson, and then Fortress (1992 - no relation), directed by Stuart Gordon. Deep kindertrauma in the bush and dystopian prisonbreak glory - this week's episode is a psychedelic trip down some very obscure Australian rabbitholes so put on your stubbies and blue singlet, crack open a VB longneck and settle back for a couple of hours of Ozploitation fun.

It's not really possible to spoil Fortress '92, but we will call out Spoiler Territory for Fortress '85. If you want to skip ahead from that point, you can rejoin the conversation at the 1:18:47 mark to avoid spoilers.

Want to get in touch? You can reach us on [email protected]

Theme music: "The Cold Light of Day" by HKM. Check out HKM on #SoundCloud or Bandcamp

Our outro music today is "Son of Neck" by Adam's band Original Past Life (M. Caratti, W. Hall, A. Trainer)

Sammy joins us this week to check out a couple of films which (a) feature Michael Caine in less-than-flattering roles and (b) may have been regretted by their directors in later years. We discuss Blame It On Rio (1984), directed by Stanley Donen, and then On Deadly Ground (1994), directed by Steven Seagal. This week's episode is brought to you by the letter P - for Problematic. Yikes!!!

It's not really possible to spoil On Deadly Ground (Seagal prevails, guys - he always does), but we will call out Spoiler Territory for Blame It On Rio. If you want to skip ahead from that point, you can rejoin the conversation at the 1:09:46 mark to avoid spoilers.

Want to get in touch? You can reach us on [email protected]

Theme music: "The Cold Light of Day" by HKM. Check out HKM on #SoundCloud or Bandcamp

The Walking Dead's Charlie Adlard joins us this week to talk comic books, kaiju and the iconic art of Saul Bass. Together we check out Bass' sole feature as a director, Phase IV (1974), followed by Destroy All Monsters (1968), directed by Ishiro Honda.

It's not really possible to spoil Destroy All Monsters but we will call out Spoiler Territory for Phase IV. If you want to skip ahead from that point, you can rejoin the conversation at the 1:14:28 mark to avoid spoilers.

Want to get in touch? You can reach us on [email protected]

For the best overview of Charlie Adlard's amazing career as one of the world's foremost comic book artists, go to charlieadlard.com His latest book, Heretic is available on Amazon and via all good booksellers. Look out for his upcoming book, Altamont, which is slated for an English language release later in 2025.

Theme music: "The Cold Light of Day" by HKM. Check out HKM on #SoundCloud or Bandcamp

This week we are celebrating the diva that was Elizabeth Taylor! Sakana joins us once again to celebrate the work of this prodigious star - with a close look at two of her most bizarre and off-kilter projects: the Italian psychosexual thriller, Identikit (1974), directed by Giuseppe Patroni Griffi, and Tennessee Williams' Boom! (1968), directed by Joseph Losey. Macrobiotic orgasms, bomb attacks on the streets of Rome, Richard Burton getting attacked by dogs and then sulking about not being fed enough, plus cameo appearances by Andy Warhol and Noël Coward. It's a wild ride, folks.

We will be announcing a Spoiler Territory section for both films, so if you haven't seen them before you listen, you can nevertheless avoid spoilers for Identikit by skipping ahead to the 1:25:00 mark, and for Boom! by skipping ahead to 2:08:02.

Want to get in touch? You can reach us on [email protected]

Theme music: "The Cold Light of Day" by HKM. Check out HKM on #SoundCloud or Bandcamp

There's mad, and then there's MAD. John Horgan joins us this week to check out Madhouse (1981), directed by Ovidio Assonitis, and then Watch Out, We're Mad (1974), directed by Marcello Fondato. Sheer slasher insanity from the deep south, followed by chases and fights a-plenty with Bud Spencer and Terence Hill.

It's not really possible to spoil Watch Out, We're Mad as the plot doesn't matter (it's all about the crashes and bashes, basically), but we will call out Spoiler Territory for Madhouse. If you want to skip ahead from that point, you can rejoin the conversation at the 1:12:33 mark to avoid spoilers.

Want to get in touch? You can reach us on [email protected]

Theme music: "The Cold Light of Day" by HKM. Check out HKM on #SoundCloud or Bandcamp