Checkout Cinema

Happy October! It's the season of scary movies and your favorite librarian podcasters are discussing EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC (1977), John Boorman's widely maligned sequel to William Friedkin's THE EXORCIST (1973).

Amelia and Janine are reviewing this movie in preparation for Knoxville Horror Film Fest, where they will be showing the 2025 documentary BOORMAN AND THE DEVIL about the production of the film. Checkout Cinema will be at the festival and posting mini-reviews of the hellish horrors being screened!

As Janine and Amelia grapple to understand this film and its vision, there is some discussion of trauma and adverse childhood experiences, including references to childhood sexual abuse. If you are sensitive to these topics, please take care of yourself and skip this one. You can find resources for support through RAINN (rainn.org), or call the hotline at 800-656-HOPE.

Thanks to Darrell Winfree for editing this podcast. Support your local library!

Clips used:

Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) - Bonus Clip: Actress Linda Blair Discusses The Sequel (HD) https://youtu.be/5dBA_tShNl0?is=DGvPpFIjXVMFiWfl

Brad Dourif on Exorcist II https://youtube.com/shorts/9t9DKN8muJQ?si=8ByQWer0GaL3IHWM

Clips from the films The Exorcist and Exorcist II

00:00 Intro

01:15 Knoxville Horror Film Fest (KHFF) History

02:15 KHFF Lineup 2026 / Intro to our film review of Exorcist II

04:00 Amelia's experience of KHFF

06:00 Sticks and Stones short film starring Amelia

08:45 KHFF 2026 Theme: Hell-Centered Horror

09:45 Beginning of Exorcist II: The Heretic review / Discussion of The Exorcist (1973)

12:56 Discussing the disappointment of Exorcist II

17:25 Boorman and the Devil (2025) showing at KHFF

18:02 How does Exorcist II work as a sequel?

20:10 Summarizing the plot

21:56 Exorcist II as an examination of trauma

25:45 Good vs Evil rather than grounded in Catholicism

29:20 Metaphysical philosophy framework

34:41 Discussion of psychological effects of adverse childhood experiences

38:17 Regan's possession as a metaphor for sexual exploitation of a young girl

42:40 What would a successful sequel look like?

44:30 Interesting visuals in the film

45:18 Audience in 1977 versus today's horror movie watching audience

48:00 What if they made a sequel today?

50:55 Final thoughts on the film

52:30 KHFF 2026

53:15 Future series: Ballroom dancing films

54:19 Would you checkout the film again?

55:30 Outro

Checkout Cinema listener Lydia recommended that Amelia and Janine discuss IN A LONELY PLACE (1950), a film noir starring the iconic Humphrey Bogart. Luckily, Amelia already had many opinions about this movie ready to go, and gave Janine a little bit of time to catch up by watching the film and sharing her thoughts on this week's episode.

Nicholas Ray's 1950 film noir IN A LONELY PLACE stars Humphrey Bogart as Dixon Steele, a misogynistic screenwriter embittered by Hollywood. When he becomes a prime suspect of the murder of a coat check girl, his neighbor Laurel Gray (Gloria Grahame) becomes his only alibi... Until his violent nature has her doubting Steele's innocence as their relationship deepens.

Thanks to Darrell for editing this episode. Support your local library!

This week, Amelia and Janine discuss iconic filmmaker Gregg Araki's I WANT YOUR SEX (2026), an erotic thriller-comedy starring Cooper Hoffman and Olivia Wilde. While they unpack the story, the central question becomes clear: is this film a critique on generational differences relating to sex and sexuality, or is it a complicated character study? We'd love to know what you think!

Thanks to Darrell for editing this episode. Support your local library!

Clips:

Gregg Araki Q&A with Cooper Hoffman https://youtu.be/W3IEUvtUlkw

AI Podcast Example https://youtu.be/ovM3FmHkfUs

Amelia and Janine are joined by giveaway winner Joey to discuss his favorite film: AMÉLIE (2001), a French romantic comedy following whimsical waitress Amelie Pouline as she tries to help people with their life and love problems. She keeps all of her plots a secret, instead hoping people will believe everything that happens is by fate rather than her own interference.

It's always a delight to watch and discuss someone's favorite film, and this episode is a real treat!

Thanks to Darrell for editing this episode. Support your local library!

Amelia and Janine watched John Early's directorial debut MADDIE'S SECRET (2025), a satirical comedy drama centering on Maddie Ralph, a foodie content creator whose recent success has brought her past struggles with food back to the forefront.

While it was a first watch for Janine, Amelia had the chance to see the movie during TIFF last year and even got to interview the cast. Read her full review here: https://www.cinematary.com/writing/2026/1/20/maddies-secret-2025-by-john-early

This episode discusses complicated topics such as eating disorders, childhood abuse, and mental health issues. If you or a loved one is struggling, there are resources available to help you. Find support through the National Eating Disorder Association online at

https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/ (NEDA).

Thanks to Darrell for editing this episode. Support your local library!

THE VIRGIN SUICIDES (1999, dir. Sofia Coppola) centers on the Lisbon sisters, five sisters in 1970s suburbia who all die by suicide. Framed by the recollection of the teenage boys who were fascinated by them, this beautiful and striking dreamscape of a film tries to lay bare the complicated minds of teenage girls.

Darrell joins Janine and Amelia to discuss this movie, the three of them examining this movie from their unique perspectives in relation to their understandings of femininity and girlhood.

This episode discusses complicated and emotional issues like suicide. If you or someone you know are struggling with suicidal thoughts, there are resources available to help you. Call or text the National Suicide Hotline at 988. https://988lifeline.org

Thank you to Darrell Winfree for both joining our conversation and editing this episode. Support your local library!

Thanks for listening to Checkout Cinema, a podcast where two librarians check out movies and review them! Today's episode is a meta episode of sorts where we discuss some upcoming guest episodes, projects, and some films we recently watched locally in Knoxville.

Thanks to Darrell Winfree for editing this episode. Support your local library -- and projectionist!

00:00 Intro / "Season Preview"

01:30 Upcoming Guest: Giveaway winner Joey, discussing AMELIE (2001)

03:09 Upcoming Guest: Crew Smith, director of ANGEL OF LIGHT (2024)

04:05 Amelia's Acting Project

05:55 Knox Horror Fest / Central Cinema / Film Fest Knox shoutout

06:30 Knoxville is a film town! CHROMA and Public Cinema

07:52 CHROMA introduction by Amelia

09:28 FIREWORKS (1947, dir. Kenneth Anger) and NOWHERE (1997, dir. Gregg Araki) - CHROMA showing discussion

16:50 TWILIGHT (2008) and fandom discussion

21:17 JUPITER ASCENDING (2015) as the ultimate middle school girl wish fulfillment

22:23 Back to NOWHERE (1997) and discussing the inversion of teen movie stereotypes

25:18 Amelia's new substack: BABE CINEMA http://babecinema.substack.com/

28:40 Checkout's new project: PERF! https://www.instagram.com/perf_cinema and discussion of film projection

34:34 Outro / Links

Here we go again! Another episode from your two favorite film-loving librarians, Amelia and Janine! We're back to musicals as we discuss MAMMA MIA! (2008), a jukebox musical of ABBA songs starring Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgård.

Thanks to Darrell Winfree for editing this episode. Support your local library!

Happy birthday Clint Eastwood! On this episode of Checkout Cinema, we checked out a copy of PLAY MISTY FOR ME (1971), a psychological drama about obsessive listener Evelyn Draper (Jessica Walter) and the target of her limerance, radio DJ Dave Garver (Clint Eastwood). We also briefly discuss UNFORGIVEN (1991) and other Eastwood films we've watched. You won't want to miss this one!

Thanks to Darrell for editing this episode. Support your local library!

Thanks for listening to Checkout Cinema, a podcast where two librarians check out movies! In this episode, we discuss "WUTHERING HEIGHTS" (2026), Emerald Fennell's reinterpretation of the Emily Brontë novel starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. While some celebrated this film for its heightened sexual tension between the leads, we found the exploration of this psychosexual relationship to fall flat. We also discuss some recently watched films like HAROLD AND MAUDE (1971) and UMA MUSUME: PRETTY DERBY - BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA (2024).

We apologize for the gap in uploads. We had some computer issues preventing editing and uploading, but we recorded several episodes regardless meaning you'll be getting a lot more Checkout content coming your way!

Thanks to Darrell Winfree for editing this episode. Support your local library!