Cult Classics Podcast

In this week's spooky episode we discuss Laika Studios stop motion animated film Paranorman. Norman is a misunderstood boy who takes on ghosts, zombies and grown-ups to save his town from a centuries-old curse.  This movie sets itself apart from other children's movies, not only because of its stunning animation, but also in the way it handles it's more mature themes. Stay till the end and hear us discuss our favorite use of stop motion animation in tv/film. 

Directors: Chris Butler, Sam Fell

Cast: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Tucker Albrizzi, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Leslie Mann, Jeff Garlin

Hosts: Jordan Jones, Cameron Jones, Mark Nussle

This week we discuss an overlooked stoner comedy horror movies to kick off our Halloween schedule. Seventeen year old slacker Anton Tobias (Devon Sawa) wakes up one Halloween morning to discover that both of his parents have been turned into two headless Halloween decorations. After speaking to his equally irresponsible friends, Mick (Seth Green) and Pnub (Elden Henson), he discovers that his right hand has a blood-thirsty mind of its own and is hell-bent on wreaking havoc whether he likes it or not. 

Director: Rodman Flender

Cast: Devon Sawa, Seth Green, Elden Henson, Jessica Alba, Vivica A. Fox

Hosts: Jordan Jones, Cameron Jones, Mark Nussle

This week we are discussing a movie that is set in Chicago. Starring John Cusack as Rob Gordon, a music-loving man with a poor understanding of women. After being dumped by his long-term girlfriend, Laura, he tries to understand how he failed in his relationships by seeking out his old partners. By day, he works at his record store, Championship Vinyl, where customers drift through. He and his employees Dick and Barry, armed with an encyclopedic knowledge of all things musical, compile "Top 5" lists for every conceivable occasion, openly mock the tastes of their customers, and sell a few records. Stay till the end, and Cameron will attempt to give his top 5 albums of all time.

Director: Stephen Fears

Starring: John Cusack, Iben Hjejle, Tod Louiso, Jack Black, Lisa Bonet, Joan Cusack, Tim Robbins

Hosts: Mark Nussle, Cameron Jones, Jordan Jones

This week we discuss a nostalgia film for the cult.  In comparison to classics like The Goonies, and The Sandlot Little Giants is in the second tier of rag tag coming of age movies from the late 80s to mid 90s. Rick Moranis  stars as the younger brother who lived in the shadow of his Heisman Trophy winning older brother, played by Ed O'Neil. and wackiness ensues. Stay till the end of the episode for this weeks Mt. Rushmore: Movies from 1994.

Director: Duwayne Dunham

Stars: Rick Moranis, Ed O'Neil, Shawna Waldron

Hosts: Cameron Jones, Mark Nussle, Jordan Jones

This week we delve into Carpenter’s politically charged sci-fi/action film that not-so-subtly critiques the dangerous effects of blind consumerism during the the 80s era of Reaganomics. Starring WWF superstar Rowdy Roddy Piper as “Nada”, a vagabond who discovers a pair of sunglasses that allows him to see the human race is subservient to a ruling class of blue aliens hiding in plain sight. Combine that with, at the time, the longest on screen fistfight in cinema history, legendary one-liners, and a dynamic chemistry between Piper and journeyman actor Keith David, and you get a cult classic. Make sure to stick around until the end of the episode to hear us discuss this week’s Mt. Rushmore: best professional wrestler turned actor.

This week the cult dips our toes back into the John Carpenter pool which is vast and deep with a plethora of cult classics. Carpenter teams up once again with Kurt Russel in the 1981 sci-fi dystopian classic. It's 1997 and Manhattan has been turned into a maximum security prison. When the United States president crash lands into the city after fleeing a hijacked plane, a ruthless prison warden bribes ex-soldier and criminal Snake Plissken to rescue the president, who is being held hostage. In this weeks episode we discuss Kurt Russell's career and his collaboration with John Carpenter, Snake Plissken's costume, and of course the parallels this movie has with The Warriors (1979), and Godspell (1973)-obviously.

Director: John Carpenter

Starring: Kurt Russel, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleascence, Issac Hayes, Adrienne Barbeau, Harry Dean Stanton

Hosts: Jordan Jones, Cameron Jones, Mark Nussle 

This week the cult discusses arguably the best hostage airplane movie from 1997. We discuss peak Cage's physique and hairstyle , John Cusack's only movie role where he doesn't wear a trench coat, and John Malkovich being John Malkovich. Oh, and it also has Steve Buscemi, Ving Rhames, Danny Trejo, and earlish/mid career Dave Chappelle when he acted.

Director: Simon West

Cast: Nicolas Cage, John Malkovich, Steve Buscemi, John Cusack, Monica Potter, Ving Rhames, Danny Trejo, Colm Meaney, Mykelti Williamson, Dave Chappelle

Hosts: Jordan Jones, Cameron Jones, Mark Nussle

This week we discuss an adaptation of H.P Lovecraft's 1922 horror short novel, which if we're being honest is  a re-imagination of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Re-Animator is a classic 80's B movie filled with enough gore to satisfy the purest fan of the genre( Cameron, and Mark), mixed with the right amount of intentional/unintentional humor to cross over to novelist fan (Jordan). On a side note, it's just great to see practical effects.

Director: Stuart Gordon

Starring: Jeffery Combs, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton, David Gale, Robert Sampson

Hosts: Jordan Jones, Cameron Jones, Mark Nussle

Twister

Director: Jan De Bont

Starring: Bill Paxton, Helen Hunt

Hosts: Jordan Jones, Cameron Jones, Mark Nussle

This week the cult discusses Waiting For Guffman

Director: Christopher Guest

Starring: Christopher Guest, Fred Willard. Catherine O'Hara, Parker Posey, Eugene Levey, Don Lake, Michael Hitchcock, Bob Balaban, Larry Miller, David Cross, Scot Williamson, Deborah Theaker

Hosts: Jordan Jones, Cameron Jones, Mark Nussle