Blake and Jamison dish on their most recent book club book Michel Faber's The Book of Strange New Things and how it triggered Blake's memory of LOST. Then we talk about what we are drinking in order to prepare to talk about what some people eat...namely other people. That's right, we take on the cult classic Cannibal Holocaust as the first entry in our October series on proto-found footage films.

In this episode, we talk about this film's reputation, how it started a subgenre craze, and simply whether it has anything valuable to say. Then we talk about the likelihood of watching Eli Roth's Green Inferno having now seen the original inspiration.

It's a fun romp and we hope you enjoy it!

Blake suggests using Zencastr once again on this episode and finds out that it really is as shitty as they once thought. Jamison and Blake continue to remind their listeners to not use Zencastr because it is no longer any good. We also talk about parental leave, a Chico, CA connection Blake has at his church, and what documentary is. With this, they turn their attention to Jamison's selection of three episodes or "short films" from "How To with John Wilson." They come to the conclusion that the show is what would happen if Woody Allen made documentaries. Off-putting, yet surprisingly profound in equal measure.

Clip from The Life Aquatic.

On the next episode, Blake and Jamison will be discussing three episodes from the HBO show* How To With John Wilson. For those following along at home, the episodes we will cover are

The homework for the episode is the article “How documentaries mark themselves out from fiction: a genre-based approach” by John Ellis (link).

*We make no apologies to anyone offended by the fact that we, a film podcast, are covering a TV show. Nor do we apologize for choosing three discontinuous episodes. We do what we want.

Welp. Due to technical difficulties with Blake's mic, the audio is a little wonky on this one. Jamison goes in and out of sounding like an automaton while you hear everything Blake does including clicking a mouse and breathing. My apologies for this. We were only willing to put so much effort into this low-effort podcast.

Nonetheless, Jamison and Blake talk about sleep while having kids, American myths and their theme parks, and the good feeling parents get when their kids are overjoyed to see them. Then we turn our attention to the next two films in the McDonagh Bros. filmographies, War on Everyone (2016) and Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) and their requisite controversies and how non-American directors and writers write about America and what it has to teach us about the bullshit myths we outsource to other countries. Tune in (despite technical difficulties) for what was an enlivening conversation.

Clip from War on Everyone (2016).

Blake does a late introduction to the next round of McDonagh Brothers films.

And apologizes for very little.

Jamison and Blake and special guest Ciara Barsotti (artist and better half of Jamison) talk about parenting, "Nice Cream," and her high effort, pristinely-produced podcast Chico Creates. Folks, we have hit the big time. Our first real major podcast personality joins us for a discussion of 2017's Mandy starring Nic Cage, Andrea Riseborough, and Linus Roach.

We talk about how Panos Cosmatos (whether he is a real person or not) mirrors the paid film criticisms of Nicolas Winding Refn who is always said to be all style and no substance. Yet we talk about how Mandy differs from other revenge flicks and how its color palettes and heightened violence end up giving us a greater lesson about the cost of such actions. Ciara brings the neon pink heat on this episode. Come to listen to her and stay for the typical bullshit from Blake and Jamison.

Clip from "Mandy" by Barry Manilow.

Blake and Jamison talk about getting their boys swim-worthy during the hot summer months, the inherent misogyny in grilling rice, and what books we are reading (or not reading, as it were). Then we turn our attention to the next two films in our exploration of the films of the McDonagh brothers: 2012' Seven Psychopaths and 2014's Calvary. We talk about what it means to be a psychopath and how that relates to slow motion gun shots to the head. We even get a little serious towards the end. (It's hard not to with a film like Calvary.)

Clip from the film Psycho (1960).

Blake and Jamison banter about severe weather, suss out the origin of the naming of the convenience store chain Kum & Go, talk about Shakesperean adaptations, and about our favorite music of the year so far. Then we turn to our discussion of Blake's pick, the 2021 Swedish thriller Knocking. Or at least try to discuss it and get some meaning out of it. Mostly we just talk about all the ways it could have been better.

Join us for the episode and feel free to knock on our podcast door anytime.

Clip taken from Catch Me If You Can.