More than 20 years after directing Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, George Miller returns to the director’s chair again for the animated children’s movie: Happy Feet. Elijah Wood is Mumble, an emperor penguin born with the curse of a terrible singing voice, something unheard of in a colony that relies on singing songs in order to find a mate. Despite his vocal shortcomings Mumble has the secret power of dance and uses it to strut, shuffle, and kick-ball-change his way into the hearts and minds of his fellow penguins. Surprisingly, there is a lot more to this movie than that: fish shortages, penguin religion, fearsome seals and whales, and of course the mystery of alien abduction.

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It’s back to the wasteland of the post-apocalypse as we join Rutger Hauer and Joan Chen in the Australian love child of ‘Mad Max’ and ‘Hoosiers’ as a Team of Juggers struggle to make a living playing the only game they know. Whether you know this movie by its original title or the American recut: ‘The Blood of Heroes’, it’s a story of a young woman’s dream of claiming glory, and an old man’s quest to reclaim his honor. Along the way we meet colorful characters, strange, yet familiar, locations, and learn that, at the end of the day, mastery is its own reward. A huge "Thank You" to Joe Devitt-Rix for helping us find a copy of the international version.

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Joanne Samuel is back in a film that Bleeding Skull’s Joseph A. Ziemba called, “a decent rip-off that moves slow and never crosses the line.” When young Alison Findlay and her friends decide to play with an Ouija board their fun in interrupted by an ominous spirit warning our heroine to stay away from “them” on her nineteenth birthday. Flash forward a few years and despite the otherworldly warning, Alison is heading home to spend her nineteenth birthday with her Aunt and Uncle. Before she’s aware of what is going on, Alison is trapped in the clutches of a demon-worshipping cult and it’s up to her boyfriend, Peter, to rescue her before it’s too late.

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It’s time to watch the film that was lauded as the precursor to Mad Max, the familiar tale of a cop and a gang of bikies who work together and gradually come to mutually respect each other as a shadowy assassin seeks to kill members of the gang. Okay, so it may not be the same story, but the elements are there: Motorcycles, high-speed chases, awkward ear-piercing, and a cast so full of actors that will later appear in Mad Max that it’ll make your head spin. Before you listen, please be aware that the version of the movie we saw on YouTube had an abnormally long run time, so there are some ultimately inaccurate statements about how long this movie actually takes to watch.

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This week it’s the nearly 3-hour-epic that tells the story of Mel Gibson losing his wife and exacting his bloody revenge on the men who took her from him (this should sound familiar). As William Wallace, Gibson leads a colorful cast of Scotsman on a bloody campaign to oppose King Edward “Longshanks” of England, in the First War of Scottish Independence. A long movie warrants a long podcast, so buckle in with us as we praise Gibson’s improved acting ability, rage against prima nocta, and end up talking more about court intrigue than battle. Did we like Braveheart? Should you spend 3-hours on a Scottish war epic directed by an American raised in Australia? Listen and find out.

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Our Hiatus between Mad Max and The Road Warrior kicks off with 1971’s Vanishing Point, the story of a man, his car, and the authorities that want to stop him. Anyone worried about spoilers should watch the movie before listening to us talk about the movie because we go through everything that happens. There’s a blind radio DJ, inept police officers, a naked woman on a motorcycle, and even some faith healers on the long road from Colorado to California. We also talk about what we liked, what we didn’t, and whether we would recommend this film. (This episode may sound strange, we changed recording spaces and microphone settings)

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This is it, the final chunk of credits featuring the props and mechanical department, stunt team, post-production team, and special thanks. The discussion questions focus on our villains: 1) How was Toecutter as an antagonist for Max? Could he be considered a rival? 2) Does Johnny the Boy have a character arc? Could he also be considered a main character in this movie? Last of all, we outline how we’ll handle hiatus material and give our final thoughts on Mad Max.

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Mad Max Minute: Beyond Microphone

It’s another day of end credits, that covers the second half of the cast credits and gets into the crew listings. Special note is given to the TV newsreader, most of the directing staff, and some of the special effects people. Discussion questions for this episode: 1) Was Jessie a fully realized character? Should she have been featured more or less? 2) What role did Jim Goose play in Max’s story? How does he compare to Jessie as a companion to Max?

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Max drives away from the wrecked ute as a fiery explosion erupts behind him. With his vengeance complete Max drives along an empty road and the movie fades to black. We talk about Max leaving Johnny the Boy behind, Max having nothing left to live for, and the excellent choice of music for the end credits. We also discuss the following question: 1) Who is Max? What kind of person was he at the beginning of the movie? At the end?

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Our last full week of minutes ends with Johnny the Boy pleading for mercy as Max collects a hacksaw and informs Johnny that if he wants to survive, he will need to free himself. With that, Max turns and walks away, leaving a crazed and desperate Johnny to his fate. There’s a lot of consideration for the pros and cons of Max’s contraption design, and the conversation turns to what we would do if we found ourselves in Johnny’s situation. We are joined by special guest Alex Robinson from www.starwarsminute.com.

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Mad Max Minute: Beyond Microphone