Double Feature

From the Spanish Civil War to the 2016 Valley. But the other way around. Also, probably not 2016. Ti West returns, and inevitably there’s going to be some conversation about horror. The term ‘slow burn’ is sort of getting annoying. Ethan Hawke, John Travolta, and some other people your parents would recognize. Jakup’s imprisonment in The Devil’s Backbone. Wait, the Devil’s Backbone isn’t entirely in the Spanish civil war is it? Guillermo del Toro strikes back, but more like before. The constant reminder of peril. Also, drones!

Prowlers meet up in a pairing of Nightcrawler with Smash and Grab: The Story of the Pink Panthers. In Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler, Louis Bloom (a driven man desperate for work) muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism. There he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story. Havana Marking’s Smash & Grab: The Story of the Pink Panthers. The world’s most successful diamond thieves take us into the dark world of the international jewel trade.

Slasher marathon number thirty! Ghoulies 1-4. In the first Ghoulies, a young man and his girl friend move into an old mansion home, where he becomes possessed by a desire to control ancient demons. Then in Ghoulies 2 (Ghoulies II), the Ghoulies wreak havoc at an amusement park, disposing of those who mistake them for mere fairground attractions. Also, toilets. Ghoulies 3: Ghoulies Go to College (Ghoulies III) is a real movie. Well, mostly. John Carl Buechler directs a college teacher brings the little creatures back to his campus, where they proceed to terrorize the faculty and students. Finally, in Ghoulies 4 (Ghoulies IV) a retired occultist turned police officer must battle a former lover as she attempts to summon forth demonic forces after escaping an asylum.

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Pairing Tom Laughlin’s Billy Jack and Werner Herzog’s Aguirre, Wrath of God. In Biily Jack, ex-Green Beret hapkido expert saves wild horses from being slaughtered for dog food and helps protect a desert “freedom school” for runaway. Aguirre, Wrath of God! Everyone’s friend Werner Herzog. Do yourself a favor and follow @WernerHerzbot on Twitter. In the 16th century, the ruthless and insane Don Lope de Aguirre leads a Spanish expedition in search of El Dorado. This is the plot of Aguirre, the Wrath of God, but it really doesn’t prepare you for this shipwreck. Oh wait, that was the last Herzog movie. Spending some no-fucking-kidding time with Klaus Kinski.

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The ongoing war and peace series continues with American Sniper and The Man with the Golden Arm. Clint Eastwood brings the story of Chris Kyle in American Sniper. Navy S.E.A.L. sniper Chris Kyle’s pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and turns him into a legend. Back home to his wife and kids after four tours of duty, however, Chris finds that it is the war he can’t leave behind. Michael lives in Texas and has feelings about American Sniper. Otto Preminger’s The Man with the Golden Arm talks about the impact of drugs in a time when that wasn’t talked about. A strung-out junkie deals with a demoralizing drug addiction while his crippled wife and card sharks pull him down.

Two really strange rides when R100 meets Brining Out the Dead. Hitoshi Matsumoto’s weird movie R100. Someone tried to describe R100 like this: An ordinary man with an ordinary life joins a mysterious club. The membership lasts for one year only and there is one rule: no cancellation under any circumstance. The man enters into a whole new exciting world he never before experienced where crazy love goes wilder and crazier. Is it an illusion or is it real? Welcome to the world no one has dared to explore until now! Martin Scorsese’s weird EMT movie Brining Out the Dead. Haunted by the patients he failed to save, an extremely burned-out Manhattan ambulance paramedic fights to maintain his sanity over three fraught and turbulent nights. Some real information from a real nurse might not be the expected.

Definitely eat while watching this double feature. Fast Food Nation tastes delicious with Taxidermia. Michael has lots of questions about Eric being a vegetarian. Pseudo-veganism. In Richard Linklater’s Fast Food Nation, an ensemble piece examining the health risks involved in the fast food industry and its environmental and social consequences as well. Propaganda films. About Taxidermia: Three generations of men, including a pervert that constantly seeks for new kinds of satisfaction, an obese speed eater and a passionate embalmer. It’s a folktale. Sort of?

Horror filmmaker who keep audiences waiting. Michael: We’ve got two movies today by two directors who made me like movies. Eric: Very truly so. That is Lucky McKee and the great Eli Roth. I should say the great Lucky McKee and, you know I just get giddy. Michael: Right, right. Eric: When it turns out Eli Roth has a movie…but both of these guys are guys who put a good length of time between their masterpieces. Michael: This is true. So to start off, there’s a couple places you could start to really get the most out of the show today. The first place you could start is where the show started, which is the beginning of this year at Citizen Kane and The Godfather. That will teach you, here’s what that will teach you. That will teach you what the fuck we do and how we do it. That’s what you’ll learn from that. The other place- Eric: “Will properly lower your standards” I believe. Michael: Right. Eric: I believe that’s what you’re saying, yeah. Michael: The other place that I think might be a wise place to start? Based on conversations we may have, but also based on these film makers…or maybe this is where you go back to. After having seen these movies because how would you even be here without watching them? I don’t even know how that would work. Eric: No, that’s impossible. Michael: I’ve never showed up to record and not watched the movies… Eric: Well that’s a little different. Michael: So I can’t imagine anybody does the same thing. Eric: Alright. Michael: And that would be to watch, and I suggest a double feature of, Cabin Fever and May. Eric: Oh, yeah. Michael: That would be a really good place to go because that was Eli Roth’s first big hit after The Rotten Fruit, and it was Lucky McKee’s first big hit as well.

Works of art some some believe should not be available to other humans. Double Feature dives into the obscene and tasteless in a variety of ways in a conversation on the contrasting films Henry Fool and Harmony Korine’s Trash Humpers. What is cult and what is subversive? Where is the Underground? The people on these towns are asleep. We wake them up. Dirty, tasteless, taboo riddled cinema- Why does it exist and why is tasteless film vital to society?

Come on, step inside, dead bodies everywhere. An hour long discussion about the problems those pesky corpses cause in one classic and one contemporary film. Explaining it only makes it worse. Exploring two movies with a common theme: whoops, I guess there’s a body now. Jim Mickle realized what you need. What’s the vision and what is expected. So, neo-noir and probably zombies. Sick mom, fucked dad, dealing with life. Nick Damici! Sam Shepard! Hedwig! Close one door, open the next. Hate. Alfred Hitchcock avoids prison as a good son. Strip the plain – not giving in. What is the Trouble with Harry? Probably unrelated: dreams never achieved and being fucked at dealing with your life. Still convinced no one reads episodes notes. “You want me to be something I can never ever be.” Free me of your life, inside my heart dies.