Another entry in the Field of Screens After Dark sub-pod, this one goes off the rails pretty quickly, only because Varsity Blues rocks so hard that we barely have anything to critique.

A movie that left an indelible mark on pop culture, not just in its own right but also through the parody of Not Another Teen Movie.

Phil had never seen this one before despite being entrenched in its pop-cultural footprint in the late 90s as an MTV Films-head, and was somewhat bowled over by the charm, craft, and depth of the story, even as it plays to melodrama and low-hanging fruit.

Coach Bud Kilmer is easily one of the great cinematic villains of the 90s. The actor who plays him slides into the skin of this psycoh far, far too easily, but we do benefit as the audience.

Van Der Beek successfully anchors this movie as its lead, although it is as much an ensemble piece as any of its contemporaries like American Pie or Road Trip.

That being said, Varsity Blues cuts deeper. The “I don’t want your life” trailer moment we have seen hundreds of times still managed to hit harder in the context of alcoholic has-been or never-was parental units who are desperately clinging to their disappointing past.

Which brings us to Ali Larter and Amy Smart, two of the most reliably solid and incredibly likeable actresses of their cohort. I am please to report, they are real-life friends, a bond I imagine was formed during this movie.

Larter specifically plays a surprisingly complex identity crisis of her own with incredibly brief screen time and material. The whipped cream scene is an afterthought, not the main attraction.

Smart, similarly, takes a fairly lean role and completely fleshes it out in her behavior and dialogue. Her dressing-down of Mox at work is simple, straightforward, honest acting of a caliber that is not commonly associated with this type of movie or the people in it. And that’s a shame.

I encourage everyone to revisit this one or watch it for the first time like I did. There is a lot to like and only a couple dated F-bombs that they get out of the way pretty early.

So, throw on your baggy jeans and a Unionbay sweatshirt, and hop up into Billy Bob’s truck with us and Bacon. We’re blasting Foo Fighters and crushing road beers.

Here is a link to the Spotify episode.

Also known as “Olympic Terror” - which do you prefer?

Colin and I are both absolute fiends for horror movies - a near-lifelong obsessions for both us - and the idea sprang to mind to do a special bonus episode. All we had to do was find a horror sports movie (that wasn’t one of the Teen Wolves).

1983’s Fatal Games left us with some unanswered questions, of course, but one thing we know for sure? That apartment in the above picture is cool as fuck. And we’re not really sure what Frank’s sport was….

Follow our ensemble of varying size and importance as they navigate, uh, semi-adolescence (?) or early adulthood - you be the judge. Either way, I hope everyone is of age in the shower scenes.

Like many movies of questionable intent and quality, Fatal Games is not without two or three compelling scenes - mostly involving the older actors. The subplot to the murders - the motive behind which is eventually explained via Psycho via Sleepaway Camp - is some kind of ubermensch-esque juicing scheme, using our ambiguously-aged principal cast as guinea pigs. Weird stuff!

Speaking of Phil - he has his own place. His girlfriend has a walk and talk with her dad about grades. How fucking old is anyone? What is this academy?

Please, someone who has actually competed in the olympics - let us know how right or wrong Fatal Games got it.

Credit to Colin for fully unpacking the headier concepts in this post-Miracle on the Ice story of athletics. Like it or not, Fatal Games is a Cold War film.

It also utilizes some of the most obviously-ripping-off-John-Carpenter music I have ever heard, and if you watch, you will hear the difference between John Carpenter’s haunting minimalist genius and Shuki Levy’s earlier work before hitting his stride with theme songs for such favorites as Inspector Gadget and The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

Notice the special thanks to Haim Saban as well!

If it isn’t obvious from our episode, we love horror movies, and thank you all for the chance to crack-wise about one this Halloween.

Here is a link to the Spotify episode.

Is James Woods a good actor or not?

Sure, he’s a total piece of shit - he seems to even take pride in it - but it’s an art vs artist high-wire we have both been balancing on for some time. With this episode, Colin and I finally confront the truth.

And the truth is - I have never seen this movie from the very beginning! What a, uh, playful and bouyant prologue in prison we get to see, capped off by one of the great protagonist-being-picked-up-from-prison moments of all time. Not the cherry on top, but it’s some kind of dessert.

Like many films of its era, Diggstown is populatede by a deep bench of familiar players, most of whom are crushing it. The MVP is probably Gossett Jr. with Oliver Platt close behind. Heather Graham is reliably loveable and grounded, although seemingly miscast as Tex Cobb’s sister - the age spread is curious. Bruce Dern is a living legend to this day and elevates this one at least a half star.

Come on down to Diggstown, where Vigo the Carpathian is the titular Charles Macon Diggs, a wheelchair-bound former boxer who is seemingly incidental to the story. There is so much more to unpack about how we get to the inciting incident - essentially, Oliver Platt betting that Diggs couldn’t have knocked out 10 out of 10 men, and that he knows someone who can. Yes, this movie is probably the most about gambling, somehow.

Diggstown tends to deliver despite having no real momentum as a story or point of view. It features an alarmingly out-of-place murder in the back half, charged with racial tension the movie does not deal with at all. That is easily its greatest flaw, because even the goofy, harmonica-drenched James Newton Howard score gives it a nostalgic texture rather than detracting from the picture.

Worth a watch if you have a spare 90 minutes - it will feel longer.

Here is a link to the Spotify episode.

Somewhere between Twin Peaks and Home Alone.

Colin and I both took notes but hardly referred to them, aside from some major questions we had top of the mind, so I wanted to share the raw notes below for a window into our fractured psyches.

Psyches littered with stray characters from classics such as Twin Peaks and Home Alone.

Colin’s:

* Mark Wahlberg has definitely seen this movie

* Dude is wearing full leather for a B Ball game

* Cuba looks like he is late to teach some chess matches in the park

* The amount of effort that goes into bullying is staggering

* This is a hell of a school morning

* Is his name “Shortcut Trouble?” Does he have 2 pseudonyms?

* Jackets

* Cell phone

* I like to think the Dad called Sharkey, just dialed a random number

* Mares Eat Oats!!!

* Dennehy knocking Cubes out the ring!?

* How did Loggia get out of this unscathed?

We were very much aligned on things that stuck out to us. Personally, I found in this movie an urtext of my personal style, especially as a youth.

Phil’s:

* Loggia says the Mares Eat Oats thing that Leland Palmer sings in fuckin Twin Peaks also starring of course James Marshall.

* Weird fuckin racial implications in this movie.

* The music jacked me up as a kid.

* Why is John Heard written out of this movie?

* Ossie Davis, man.

* Same cinematographer (Tak Fujimoto) as Silence of the Lambs. Looks amazing.

* Tommy Riley? Tommy Boy?

* I think I learned about teen pregnancy and aneurysms from this movie.

* That montage was deeply jarring. I needed it but was so unprepared.

* Truly unhinged needle drops in this shit.

* Loggia seems to care about Tommy but in the wrong way. Why is he rubbing his shoulders so much?

* Where the fuck is this building that Cara Buono can just find it?

* This movie definitely solved racism. (this movie definitely did not)

Remember - the top of the head is the hardest part of the human body. Everyone owes somebody. And if you want to be able to drop everything when you feel the heat around the corner, make sure to have a mobile phone briefcase and do all your business out of a diner.

Here is a link to the Spotify episode.

We were not prepared for how good and how sad this movie is.

This movie is so damn good, it nearly tarnishes the Rocky movies and, by extension, Sly’s already shaky reputation as a somewhat narcissistic opportunist.

With a genuinely revelatory performance from Anthony Quinn at its center, Requiem feels incredibly relevent. The performance also demonstrates what separates the aforementioned movie star and someone like Quinn - the latter brings an incredible depth of vulnerability to this role. Vulnerability that is rare in any time, from any actor, not just in a movie from 1962.

A timeless tale of exploitation by impotent men (and one monstrous woman) with cinematography, writing, and direction that is echoed in so many films in its wake.

The meta-narrative is interesting as well - we go back to 1962 only to find that this very mature and artful film is, in fact, an adaptation of a teleplay from 1956. So, yes, we have had 40 Spider-Men in 2 years but let that be a reminder to people exhausted by reboots and remakes (like your hosts): don’t let it get to you, this is how the business has always been to some extent. As I have lately said - if it’s good, it doesn’t matter.

Somewhat unique to this adaptation, the writer/director team from the original is intact. Requiem stands as testament to Rod Serling’s incredible prowess in screenwriting and introduces us to director Ralph Nelson.

I would be remiss if I did not shout out Mickey Rooney and especially Jackie Gleason, forming the triangle of toxic masculinity geometrically slicing through the picture.

Of course, Muhammed Ali appears in the very opening, not too shabby!

Sort of our one woman (besides Madam Spivey as Ma Greeny - yeah that’s right), Julie Harris is heartbreakingly sympathetic to “Mountain,” but listen in to Colin’s theory about how she’s a bit of a freak.

We hope you enjoy - and thank you for listening! This is a really special movie - a rare masterpiece in the mix like Hoosiers. Give it a chance - you can borrow it from the library.

Here is a link to the Spotify episode.

And how about a link to Podbean? Flick that shit.

Pretty sure Fox was supposed to return and, uh, did not. So….

Even more discussion of Becker and Chicago Sons than you could ever imagine or want!

Colin delights Phil with the anecdote about his lost summer of amateur boxing - and why it ended.

We peel back the sports tape to unpack Chubby’s emotional triggers and why the fuck they recast the coach.

We come away scratching our heads as to why John Astin hates werewolves and cares so much about boxing.

Phil blows Colin’s mind with his understanding of the Astin/Duke family dynamics and reveals his longtime love of family matriarch, Patty.

For some reason, we keep talking about “Clint Eastwood” by Gorillaz, because why not?

All that and more in the first episode of our boxing series!

Not a horror movie! Or is it?

Hear Colin’s incredible breakdown of the visual theme conveyed in the opening of this 80s movie that isn’t really an 80s movie!

FInd out how many countdowns we can have in one episode!

Try to follow Phil's tangents as he bursts with meaningless insight into one of his favorites.

Finally, see how our basketball season shakes out, ranking-wise, and stick around for what's next!

The coziest opening, ever.

Hackman. The Hack-Man. RIPD, first of all. He and Dennis are coaching heaven’s Hoosiers, now.

In all seriousness, two of the rarest birds in their respective flocks, born within a decade of each other and yet they feel miles apart as actors and men. Not in a bad way, and certainly in ways we all benefited from as audiences over many decades of entertaining and compelling work.

Speed. The Royal Tenenbaums. Blue Velvet. The Conversation. That barely scratches the wary surface. I digress.

Barbara Hershey is bringing her somewhat enigmatic assertiveness, to great effect, and even with a sort of underdeveloped romance, I buy that she and Gene are into each other.

Anyway, this one was an easy couple hours, with a guest appearance by Phil’s better half (and a cat!). Please enjoy the inane loop experiments!

Why is this movie so bad?

It feels a bit cursed. Perhaps the accusations that would plague Marv Albert - an extended cameo performer in this, for some reason - the year after this was released hang heavy in the cinematic air.

Frank Langella himself, who began a romance with Whoopi amidst filming that ended their respective marraiges - I am serious - has more recently been cancelled for impropriety, being replaced in Netflix's House of Usher; the vibe, as they say, is off.

In any case, there are way too many writers for what we thought was a down-the-middle, fish-out-of-water sports comedy. Too many cooks makes a rancid casserole, and Eddie is way overcooked. Not even Lisa Ann Walter can rescue this one.

What could Air Bud possibly have in common with The Batman and The Shining?

What if Bud tragically died at the beginning and this whole movie is a Jacob’s Ladder scenario?

1997’s Air Bud was, I thought, a canonical kids’ sports flick a la The Sandlot, The Big Green, Little Giants - par for the course with a dog thrown in.

My oh my, how wrong Colin and I were, to our surprise and delight.

Air Bud is a neat way to spend 90 minutes, especially as an adult. Or, if you were a childhood fan, reopen that old wound and find out how upsetting Michael Jeter (RIPD) can really be.

How is there a secret basketball garden? What is the original coache’s real damage? All these questions and more go completely unanswered as we comb the existential beach of b-ball, buddies, and boyhood.