Optimism Vaccine

SHAWN GLINIS SPOOKTOBER 2021 kicks off with a pair of eccentric Lamberto Bava splatter flicks, Demons and Demons 2. We also take an ill-advised swerve into trying to figure out how many Demons sequels there are, which coincidently is a great way to track the trajectory of the Italian film industry from the mid-80s to mid-90s. At least it gives us a great excuse to talk about Michele Soavi's brilliant Demons-adjacent film, The Church.

THIS WEEK: Demons (1985), Demons 2 (1986), The Church (1989)

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If a bipedal ape kills in the forest and no one has a GoPro, was a crime ever committed? Can great apes even be punished for capital crimes? Why won't Jack just acknowledge his love of Chicago's premiere retro-themed diner, Ed Debevic's?

In case it isn't abundantly clear, we watched a pair of found footage sasquatch films to finally dip our toes into the rich and rewarding world of Bigfoot Cinema.

THIS WEEK: Exists (2014) and Willow Creek (2013)

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There was a time when Jack proudly declared that he would never watch another Steven Paul movie ever again. That lasted roughly a week. For our final Bond-adjacent podcast before No Time To Die, we're watching the classic direct-to-video Steven and Stuart Paul penned, Corey Haim classic, The Double 0 Kid.

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What is film? What is television? What is my life? What started as a potentially fun dalliance with R.L. Stine quickly devolves into Netflix-induced existential crisis as the OpVac crew examines the centuries-spanning franken-content opus: Fear Street.

THIS WEEK: Fear Street: Part One - 1994 (2021), Fear Street: Part Two - 1978 (2021), and Fear Street: Part Three - 1666 (2021)

Apparently Steve promised you sickos out there a link to the Ghosts of Fear Street pilot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_Y6duxPnsE

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Nia DaCosta and Jordan Peele liked our podcast on Candyman (1992) from a few years ago so much, they decided to resurrect the series with a direct sequel! They also pulled the classic move of trying to erase the two poorly received sequels from the film's continuity. We can't simply stand back and accept Tody Todd erasure. Join us as we examine the new, critically acclaimed Candyman and dig back into the derided films in the series that buried the franchise for over two decades.

THIS WEEK: Candyman: Farwell to the Flesh (1995), Candyman: Day of the Dead (1999), Candyman (2021)

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With No Time To Die less than a month away, Jake and Jack take another Bond knockoff detour into Stephen Chow's 1994 Chinese spy comedy spoof, From Beijing With Love.

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Stuart Paul has spent three decades creating mega-budget outsider art and his producer/agent brother, Steven, has been with him every step of the way. Turns out when he's not producing mega-blockbusters like Ghost in the Shell (2017) and Deadly Lessons (2006), Steven Paul is making films of his own. Is it possible that one man can make Jerry Lewis dull, Elliott Gould grating, and Michelle Pfeiffer unconvincingly British? Yes.

This is the cinema of Steven Paul.

THIS WEEK: Falling in Love Again (1980), Slapstick of Another Kind (1982), and Eternity (1990)

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It's a Caustic Content Crossover as we explore a selection of works from cult icon in the making Stuart Paul. Our panel attempts to answer such difficult questions as: Just how much money did Burl Ives make? How many times can one man cast himself as a flawed messiah? What's the deal with the Ku Klux Klan? Why is Rebel? Is this all gibberish? Yes. Yes it is.

THIS WEEK: Emanon (1987), The Legend of Simon Conjurer (2006)/Deadly Lessons (2013), and Reverse Heaven (1994)/Heaven & Hell (2018)

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Filmmaker, critic, and author Scout Tafoya (@Honors_Zombie) joins us for the final episode of our Tsui Hark retrospective series. We look at how Tsui Hark interprets the cinema of John Woo, discuss if a tiger and shirtless Mickey Rourke is the secret to creating the perfect film, examine the acting prowess of Rob Schneider, and touch on Hark's interpretation of big, populist blockbusters.

THIS WEEK: A Better Tomorrow III: Love and Death in Saigon (1989), Double Team (1997), Knock Off (1998), and Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2010)

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We're continuing our Tsui Hark retrospective by returning to his early career to see how he transitioned from making a nihilistic masterpiece about kids blowing things up for fun to producing gorgeous post-war period romances and earning the title of the "Hong Kong Spielberg."

Oh and then we just jump to his return to HK filmmaking in 2000 after a brief stint in America because it's our podcast and we'll do whatever the hell we want.

THIS WEEK: Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind (1980), Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983), Shanghai Blues (1984), and Time and Tide (2000)

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