Dark Discussions Podcast

Pride month is wrapping down. So for the last film for our theme month where we are reviewing lesbian arthouse movies, we take a look at the definition of an arthouse film. The movie, ELENORE MAKES LOVE, from 2015, is a short hour long feature with the feel of the type of film that showed daily in New York City during the heyday of black and white erotic films. And yet, like many of them, it presents itself the esoteric and complex arthouse feel that turned erotism into avante-garde or artifice.

From IMDB: A young, tall, blonde, female photographer, Dee (Dee Herlihy), meets a pretty brunette model, Eleanor (Audrey Kovar), in an upscale hotel suite in New York City for a private photo shoot. They soon romantically connect and spend the weekend together in the room. As the film progresses into a non-linear dream-like mix of conversation and making love, it is slowly revealed that the two women have a past together. In the end, that past may be more present than we think. In the different flashbacks, the photographer’s brother (Ryan Balas) tells her that he disapproves of her dating Elenore, while Elenore the model has another lover, a married man, whom she spends time with on the side.

The film was directed and written by Ryan Balas while also starring as Dee’s brother. A cast of only four, the film stars Dee Helihy, Audrey Kovar, Ryan Balas, and Richard Buonagurio. Being shorter in length, and as deeply arthouse as a film can be, the movie has little reviews by press or websites. Your co-hosts, however, decide to take a look at this little film and give their thoughts.

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Internet influencers are no longer a new phenomenon. In this day and age, there are so many, and everyone can take a shot of being one. Whether it is cooking, exercise, home repair, music, or gaming, viewers can never find enough of what they are looking for. The horror movie has also shown this before. Whether it is the film GONJIAM: HAUNTED ASYLUM (2018) or FOLLOW HER (2023), social media and the platforms of influencers are an interesting plot device for scary cinema. A new film, BODY MIND SPIRIT (2024), makes this format its own.

Anya (Sarah Bartholomew) inherits her grandmother’s house in California. Bored and without direction, she decides to make her own YouTube channel as a yoga instructor. When she finds her grandmother’s journal, she changes directions and instead follows the “exercises” within it. But is the journal a summoning book for demons, a detailed encyclopedia of witchcraft spells, or just a fun and silly workout for Anya to present for her followers?

The movie was directed by Alex Henes and Matthew Merenda and written along with Topher Hendricks. Besides Sarah Bartholomew in the lead role, the film also stars Madi Bready, Anna Knigge, and Kristi Noory. Your co-hosts take a look at this “found footage” movie and give their thoughts.

Small budget films pop up every so often that get a lot of good buzz. Many don’t necessarily have an original idea, yet they do it a new way. The new film, WHAT YOU WISH FOR (2024), doesn’t much tell you anything from the title, but by the ending of the movie it makes perfect sense.

Ryan (Nick Stahl) heads to Colombia to visit his old culinary arts college buddy, Jack (Brian Groh). His real reason to visit may be more to do with escaping loansharks. When an unfortunate incident happens, Ryan decides to do the private chef’s dinner that Jack was supposed to do. Soon, things turn out a bit different than he had hoped. And what he wished for may not be what he really wanted.

The movie was written and directed by Nicholas Tomnay. Beside Nick Stahl and Brian Groh, the cast includes a great group of performers including Tamsin Topolski, Juan Carlos Messier, Penelope Mitchell, and Randy Vasquez. Your co-hosts take a look at this VOD selection and give their thoughts.

For our theme month where we are reviewing lesbian arthouse movies for pride month, we take a look at a very interesting film about the creator of Wonder Woman and the women in his life. The film is a well received film entitled PROFESSOR MARSTON AND THE WONDER WOMEN (2017)

Professor William Marston (Luke Evans) is a professor at Harvard University with his wife Elizabeth (Rebecca Hall). When student Olive Byrne (Bella Heathcote) becomes his assistant, the three become entangled in a love triangle. Using his ideas entitled DISC theory, he begins to live his life that way, as well as invent the character of Wonder Woman following the same hypothesis.

The film is written and directed by Angela Robinson. Since it did not contact the family and estate of Marston, Elizabeth, and Olive, the film is very much fictional about actual individuals. However, is the film any good and does it have compelling plot points to standout? Your co-hosts take a look at the movie and give their thoughts.

A weekly podcast discussing the weekly Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon

Bugs, creepy crawlies, and spiders have always been a human fear.  As a result they have made appearances in so many films to scare the heck out of folks.  From Shelob in THE LORD OF THE RINGS (2002-2003) to the large spiders from the 2007 film, THE MIST, spiders are alive and well in film.  The new French film, INFESTED (2024), has joined the "web".

When a young collector of insects and exotic animals purchases a spider from the Paris black market, he brings it back to his apartment building.  Not knowing what type of spider, he becomes careless and the creature escapes.  Soon it multiplies, using mammals and people as hosts, resulting in an infestation that will kill them all.

The movie has received excellent reviews.  The movie most recently made its debut to the Shudder streaming service where it received a lot of attention.  Does the film live up to the word of mouth that has followed it?  Your co-hosts take a look at the film to give their thoughts.

Pride month and lesbian arthouse films continues. For our second film in the themed month of the podcast, we take a look at a 2017 release called BECKS (2017).

Rebecca (Lena Hall) is an aspiring folk singer. When her girlfriend has an affair, Rebecca, broke and apartmentless, heads back home to St. Louis to live with her widowed mother, Ann (Christine Lahti). Soon Rebecca gets a music gig at her old friend’s bar where she meets Elyse (Mena Suvari), a married woman who comes to listen to music with her friends. Soon Elyse takes up guitar lessons from Rebecca. And as always, life doesn’t follow the expected past.

The movie stars Lena Hall, Mena Suvari, Christine Lahti, Dan Fogler, and Michael Zegen; a very impressive group of character actors and actresses. The film was co-directed by Daniel Powell and Elizabeth Rohrbaugh and made the festival circuit back in 2017 during its release. Your co-hosts take a look at the movie and give their thoughts about the film.

THE PLANET OF THE APES series has become an institution.  For whatever reason, audiences get a kick out of seeing intelligent apes taking over the world.  With the 2011 reboot film, DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, the series took off once more after being dormant for many years.  The fourth film in the reboot, THE KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (2024), was recently released to some acclaim.

Intelligent chimpanzee Noa (Owen Teague) sees his village destroyed and his clan taken prisoner by renegade apes.  He goes off to save all he can.  On his journey, he is joined by Raka (Peter Macon), a Bornean orangutan, and Mae (Freya Allan), a human, and their journey leads them to Proximus (Kevin Durand) who has set up a coastal ape city where Noa's clan may have been taken to.

The film is directed by Wes Ball, written by Josh Friedman, inspired by the novel by Pierre Boulle.  Besides Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Peter Macon, and Kevin Durand, the film's cast includes William H. Macy, Dichen Lachman, and Travis Jeffery.  Receiving good reviews from critics and audiences alike, your co-hosts take a look at the latest film in the franchise and gives their thoughts.

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