Sam and Beth discuss a personal favorite from back in the home video days of one night rentals and compounding rental fees. Repo Man is a Gen X cult classic that we think in many ways accurately reflects Gen X sensibilities. If you want to understand Gen X, watch this movie. Lead actor Emilio Estevez set himself apart from the rest of the Brat Pack by choosing interesting projects, which would prepare him for later success as an actor and filmmaker through the coming decades. Director and writer Alex Cox developed this satirical film with fellow UCLA grads, based on his own experiences working with a repo agent. Harry Dean Stanton (of Alien fame), turns in a surprisingly hilarious performance as “Bud” the battle tested veteran of the industry who shows “Otto” (Estevez) all the tricks of the trade as he shares the sacred “code” that all good Repo Men should abide by. This film is kooky, chaotic, and filled with great sight gags, but it also has something to say —-no matter what circumstances we are born into, there is an inescapable confusion and pressure as we are thrown into adulthood: “it still hurts”.

BONUS: Our usual opening banter has been replaced this episode with a several minute scathing rant regarding the recent transition and partnership between Podcasters and Riverside. We sincerely hope you tune in.

Sam and Beth roll it back to discuss this quintessential 80s classic directed by Jonathan Demme. It could be argued that this film was responsible for launching the careers of Melanie Griffith, Jeff Daniels, and Ray Liotta —who would all go on to long success as perennial A-Listers (RIP Ray ❤️). It also solidified the status of artists like David Byrne, and Laurie Anderson in popular culture as pioneers and innovators in music. The soundtrack is extensive with 29 songs featuring The Feelies and an iconic performance by Sister Carol (one of Demme’s favorite artists and who he also featured in Married to the Mob). We go heavy into the discussion about what defines the true 80s aesthetic, and the authentic early 80s experience —something we think that filmmakers frequently get wrong. This film is a beautiful snapshot of a particularly special time in NYC, where people of all walks of life were creating a scene and making things happen. NYC was going through a time of reimagining and reinvention. Demme’s film unfolds to reveal an experience that is one of thousands of tales from the city, and provides the texture and sound that is the closest thing to actually living it. Episode links: “Greetings from New York” (1983) https://youtu.be/49KYA88FfmM?si=l1XofuovZreOWYsS “Jean Michel Basquiat the Radiant Child” https://youtu.be/YMVHH5EKbGM?si=djjPWnTOeKr8h6XA “Art and Music: Street Scene Takeover NYC 1981” https://youtu.be/5rtpO55HJA8?si=UssPDFSVK2s1Mrpq

Please join us for our final film of Pride month! This time we chose the delightful dark humor dramedy, The Handmaiden, directed by Korea's super-director, Park Chan-wook. This is quite a ride of hairpin twists and turns, but we promised to end Pride on a high note, and we delivered! Come. Grab a nice little serving of Soju, close the curtains, and join us! 🏳️‍🌈

Please join us for our second film of Pride Month! This time we take on the oh-so-sublime, thoughtful, compelling, sexy, cerebral, and alas, still timely film, The World to Come. Why is it still timely? Because even though this lyrical piece is set in 1856, women are STILL fighting for a level playing field. Beth and Sam discuss the film, the amazing quartet of actors in the film, and the myriad ways in which, yes, we've come a long way, baby...but have taken many steps backward. It is not advisable to be complacent; with complacency comes a return to chattel status. This film is a romance, a tragedy, an ode to women in love, and a warning to take nothing for granted. 🏳️‍🌈

New episode will be dropping soon. Sam and Beth also suggest some of our previous episodes that we think our listeners might enjoy as this month of Pride comes to a close. Reminder: We will be dropping one more pride-centric episode after The World to Come.

Reunited and it feels so good! Just in time for Pride, Sam and Beth return with our first episode in June. We decided to mix things up and cover two films that Sam and Beth have wanted to cover since we started our podcast. “Infamous” and “Capote” offer different treatments of two of the most celebrated writers of the 20th Century. Truman Capote and Harper Lee were childhood friends who would grow up to and leave an indelible mark on American literature with Capote’s groundbreaking “In Cold Blood” and Lee’s Pulitzer winning “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Episode link https://youtu.be/TIJ_uxQa1gM?si=5YaZaOGeQB8Cztn7

HAPPY PRIDE EVERYONE! We are overjoyed to celebrate with you. The podcast wives are REUNITED (and it feels so good)

Inspired by the recent release KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, Beth and Rick felt compelled to do a deep dive into this wildly successful franchise that permeated the pop culture of the early 70s. It also set the bar extremely high for practical makeup effects, earning a special honorary Oscar for artist John Chambers, and would influence and inspire generations of makeup artists that followed. We also somehow managed to segue into an impromptu discussion about WDW and “The World of Avatar” (we aren’t sure how that happened, but we decided to roll with it). Beth is ecstatic for the return of her “podcast wife” Sam, who returns in June. We are currently cooking up content to celebrate a fruitful and fruity Month of PRIDE! Episode links “Roddy McDowell home movies” https://youtu.be/lCm74dnwujk?si=R6BrAQrIExQ3QuOf “Making Apes” How artists changed film forever https://youtu.be/rG1twlWuQbs?si=cnNTZk8B9TuVxa5X Bonus link for any WDW “World of Avatar” listeners “An excruciatingly deep dive into the World of Avatar” Jenny Nicholson https://youtu.be/xrIxGWterYA?si=IJ3cPaU1ZMg59oVM

As some of you may have noticed we haven’t been posting episodes as frequently, the simple explanation is we are just inundated with life. That’s how it goes sometimes, but rest assured Sam and I will be back putting up episodes together as much as we can. Still so thankful for our friends and back room co-hosts for keeping the seats warm and the discussions interesting. For now, enjoy our little foray into a genre our friend Bill lovingly refers to as “Dumb Movies”. Together we tackle the iconic comedy classic, Airplane!”. While some opine that a film that takes so many comedic risks would (and maybe should) never be made today, I think Bill and I agree that effective satire has to challenge our expectations and move us out of our comfort zones. The writing and directing team of Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker were true Hollywood outsiders when they collaborated with director John Landis to bring their own “Kentucky Fried Movie” to the big screen. Airplane! was their first feature and the trio had difficulty finding a studio to make the picture they envisioned. The “ZAZ” trio have had long successful careers in Hollywood, and are Masters of Parody with the successful Naked Gun film franchise as well as films Top Secret and Hot Shots (and PT Deux), and have gone on to great success directing and writing far beyond their college obsession with late night tv commercials. Episode links: “The Making of Jive Talk” https://youtu.be/7fkZdz4Vz10?si=QaQ_t7jXQ9iDCWMb “Behind the Scenes” https://youtu.be/Kn2aTcRJkE8?si=UEMj4g9kWNqcjeYz