Spineless: The Future Films of 4K

Nick is joined by actor-playwright Adelina Marinello to discuss some of this week's screenings at the 62nd Chicago International Film Festival, including Minotaur (dir. Andrey Zvyagintsev), Mouse (dir. Kelly O'Sullivan and Alex Thompson), and the collection of horror shorts After Dark: Siren Songs on this bonus episode of Spineless!

Full list of films included in Siren Songs:

Banshee (dir. Peter Vass)

Dëmm (dir. Aïda Captijn)

Embla (dir. Katla Sólnes)

Scissors (dir. Hannah Alline)

Rusalka (dir. Oleg Batrakov, Nikita Bulgakov, and Vlad Fisher)

Man Eating Pussy (dir. Emily Lawson)

Screening info for 10/24 and 10/25 for After Dark: Siren Songs

Screening info for 10/25 for Minotaur

Read Nick's capsule reviews for Animation: Altered States, The Echo Chamber, and After Dark: Siren Songs

The niche of physical media is growing. More and more movies are getting quality releases on the newest and best format, making any film not yet available on 4K disc...SPINELESS. Join Nick and Brennan (your very-favorite SPINELESS BOYS) as they cover the classic and contemporary films they feel are most deserving of the 4K treatment.

REACH OUT TO THE SPINELESS BOYS:

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @spinelessfilms

Letterboxd: @SpinelessFilms

As always, thank you to Joey Johnson for our music and to Sparrow Potter for our artwork.

The 62nd Chicago International Film Festival is in full swing, and Nick is on the scene in Chicago covering the robust lineup! On this bonus episode of Spineless, Nick and Brennan talk about the highlights of the festival so far, and what films to look out for this fall and beyond. Plus: the first ever Physical Media Fair at CIFF!

Nick's capsule reviews for Clementine Orange and Eight Bridges are availaible to read here.

Films discussed in this episode:

The Echo Chamber (dir. Andrea Pallaoro, North American Premiere)

Eight Bridges (dir. James Benning)

A Long Winter (dir. Andrew Haigh)

Once Upon a Time in Harlem (dir. William and David Greaves)

Ink (dir. Danny Boyle)

All of a Sudden (dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi)

Club Kid (dir. Jordan Firstman)

Victorian Psycho (dir. Zachary Wigon)

Behemoth! (dir. Tony Gilroy)

Fatherland (dir. Pawel Pawlikowski)

Tangles (dir. Leah Nelson)

Mariinka (dir. Pieter-Jan De Pue, North American Premiere)

Three Colors: Pan-African (dir. Elijah Davis, Allison A. Waite, Tyler Ocasio Holmes)

Possible Love (dir. Lee Chang-dong)

Elephants in the Fog (dir. Abinash Bikram Shah)

Rose (dir. Markus Schleinzer)

La Gradiva (dir. Marine Atlan)

Clementine Orange (dir. Lisa Forslund, North American Premiere)

Look Back (dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda)

Cherry and Virgin (dir. Masanao Kawajiri)

The niche of physical media is growing. More and more movies are getting quality releases on the newest and best format, making any film not yet available on 4K disc...SPINELESS. Join Nick and Brennan (your very-favorite SPINELESS BOYS) as they cover the classic and contemporary films they feel are most deserving of the 4K treatment.

REACH OUT TO THE SPINELESS BOYS:

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @spinelessfilms

Letterboxd: @SpinelessFilms

As always, thank you to Joey Johnson for our music and to Sparrow Potter for our artwork.

Put on the Ritz with this episode of Spineless!

We're launching our Spine-Chilling Month of Horror with, er, not a horror movie, but a spoof of them: it's Young Frankenstein, one half of Mel Brooks' 1974 output! Nick and Brennan get into the spooky season by talking about their history with Frankenstein and his Monster, their thoughts on Mel Brooks' signature brand of comedy, and the facial contortions of the great Gene Wilder as they break down the iconic send-up of Universal monster movies. Plus, our thoughts on the Broadway musical adaptation of the film and a full digression into the stacked cast of the film: Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, Teri Garr, Peter Boyle, Cloris Leachman, Kenneth Mars, AND Gene Hackman?!? It's an embarrassment of comedy riches on this episode of Spineless.

Read the inaugural issue of Nick's Discs, featuring Nick's thoughts on two other Mel Brooks movies: To Be or Not to Be (1983) and Robin Hood: Men in Tights!

We are sincerely sorry to Jason Reitman.

The niche of physical media is growing. More and more movies are getting quality releases on the newest and best format, making any film not yet available on 4K disc...SPINELESS. Join Nick and Brennan (your very-favorite SPINELESS BOYS) as they cover the classic and contemporary films they feel are most deserving of the 4K treatment.

REACH OUT TO THE SPINELESS BOYS:

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @spinelessfilms

Letterboxd: @SpinelessFilms

As always, thank you to Sparrow Potter for our artwork.

This episode was supposed to be longer but we accidentally cut out 18-and-a-half minutes of tape*

On this episode of Spineless, Nick and Brennan are joined by Dane McDonald, co-host of the excellent podcast Supporting Actresses, to discuss the strange mix of teen-comedy-cum-political-satire that is Dick (1999), which sees two teenage girls become embroiled in the Watergate scandal that rocked American politics in the 1970s. We discuss disgraced President Richard M. Nixon and the extent to which he did anything wrong, debate the potentially over-exaggerated effects of weed cookies depicted in the film, and dive into the careers of our two leading ladies, Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams. Plus, Brennan tells us about his time working with a longtime Nixon impersonator on the very normal play The Trial on the Potomac, and Dane drops some lore about the infamous "I am not a crook" speech! Spoiler alert: he was.

Listen to Dane on Supporting Actresses and subscribe to their Patreon!

Learn about Rich Little, Nixon impersonator and Brennan's former boss!

Explore the Trial on the Potomac, the play that made Brennan think Nixon did nothing wrong!

*It was a Watergate joke.

Spineless: The Future Films of 4K does NOT endorse the actions of Richard M. Nixon or his associates. We DO however endorse the righteous victory of Betty and Arlene, alias Deep Throat.

The niche of physical media is growing. More and more movies are getting quality releases on the newest and best format, making any film not yet available on 4K disc...SPINELESS. Join Nick and Brennan (your very-favorite SPINELESS BOYS) as they cover the classic and contemporary films they feel are most deserving of the 4K treatment.

REACH OUT TO THE SPINELESS BOYS:

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @spinelessfilms

Letterboxd: @SpinelessFilms

As always, thank you to Joey Johnson for our music and to Sparrow Potter for our artwork.

Two strangers walk onto a train...

For the 50th episode of Spineless, Nick and Brennan went back in time to the 50s with their good friend Alfred "The Hitch" Hitchcock to talk about his 1951 masterpiece Strangers on a Train. Brennan tries to talk Nick into doing a criss-cross murder of their own as the pair discuss their history with The Hitch, the development of the film based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith, and the bravura performance of Robert Walker as a psychopath named Bruno who we recommend you do NOT talk to on a train. We also do not recommend you attend a carnival with Bruno. Maybe it's best if you don't even talk about Bruno. Instead, listen to US talk about Bruno (and Guy) on this episode of Spineless!

Alfred Hitchcock floats down the Thames

Listen to Nick's guest appearance on Four Stars: A Chicago Film Podcast talking about Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2!

The niche of physical media is growing. More and more movies are getting quality releases on the newest and best format, making any film not yet available on 4K disc...SPINELESS. Join Nick and Brennan (your very-favorite SPINELESS BOYS) as they cover the classic and contemporary films they feel are most deserving of the 4K treatment.

REACH OUT TO THE SPINELESS BOYS:

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @spinelessfilms

Letterboxd: @SpinelessFilms

As always, thank you to Joey Johnson for our music and to Sparrow Potter for our artwork.

Happy birthday dear Spineless!

It’s the two-year anniversary of Spineless, and on this special episode, Nick and Brennan take a break from talking about movies that don't have a 4K release yet to talk about some movies that do. Each of us present three 4K releases that we watched in their entirety--commentaries, special features and all. Brennan tells us all about Synapse Films’ edition of Suspiria (1977), the Italian release of the currently-Spineless-in-North-America Megalopolis (2024), and Criterion's new edition of Network (1976). Nick walks us through the underseen Dead Mountaineer’s Hotel (1979) distributed by Deaf Crocodile, Criterion’s edition of Malcolm X (1992), and the out of print steelbook of The Incredibles (2004). Plus, Nick ambushes Brennan with not one but TWO surprise guests as Brennan finds himself in a Kinney Sandwich (the Kinneys are the bread in this situation and also there are three of them). In other words, it's a massive, must-listen episode and a heartfelt celebration of two great years of Spineless! Thanks for listening!

Suspiria in 30 Seconds and Re-Enacted by Bunnies

Original American Trailers for Suspiria

Original International Trailer for Suspiria

Suspiria: Synapse Films 4K release

Trailer for the 4K restoration of Dead Mountaineer's Hotel (1979) by Deaf Crocodile

Dead Mountaineer's Hotel: Deaf Crocodile 4K release

TV featurette on the making of Malcolm X

Malcolm X: Criterion 4K release

Network: Criterion 4K release

The Incredibles/Die Hard With a Vengeance

Deleted scenes from The Incredibles

Vowellet: An Essay by Sarah Vowell

The Adventures of Mr. Incredible (and Pals)

The Adventures of Mr. Incredible with COMMENTARY by Mr. Incredible and Frozone

xkcd: No Pun Intended

The niche of physical media is growing. More and more movies are getting quality releases on the newest and best format, making any film not yet available on 4K disc...SPINELESS. Join Nick and Brennan (your very-favorite SPINELESS BOYS) as they cover the classic and contemporary films they feel are most deserving of the 4K treatment.

REACH OUT TO THE SPINELESS BOYS:

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @spinelessfilms

Letterboxd: @SpinelessFilms

As always, thank you to Joey Johnson for our music and to Sparrow Potter for our artwork.

Our discussion has never been more coherent.

On this episode of Spineless, Nick and Brennan are joined by filmmaker Shane Chung to discuss COHERENCE, James Ward Byrkit’s mind-bending 2013 film about how much it sucks to play a game at a party. Is mumblecore good? What about improv? How about actors from Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Our hosts have varying thoughts. Plus, discussion of Shane’s award-winning short film CHECK PLEASE, which I don’t have a joke about because it looks awesome.

Follow Shane on Instagram @tunavegas!

The niche of physical media is growing. More and more movies are getting quality releases on the newest and best format, making any film not yet available on 4K disc...SPINELESS. Join Nick and Brennan (your very-favorite SPINELESS BOYS) as they cover the classic and contemporary films they feel are most deserving of the 4K treatment.

REACH OUT TO THE SPINELESS BOYS:

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @spinelessfilms

Letterboxd: @SpinelessFilms

As always, thank you to Joey Johnson for our music and to Sparrow Potter for our artwork.

🎶🎸🎵🎤 looks like a Garbage Pail Kid 🎵🎸🎶

On this week’s episode of Spineless, Nick and Brennan discuss Akiva Schaeffer’s 2016 film POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING, a picture-perfect satire on the music industry and a poignant picture of The Before Times™️. They discuss their histories with The Lonely Island, the various misadventures of one DJ Khaled, and Brennan’s Christmas traditions. We’re on a boat! Haha just kidding folks we’re actually on the podcast streamer of your choice so please subscribe and leave a review.

Jack Sparrow (feat. Michael Bolton)

I'm On A Boat (feat. T-Pain)

I Just Had Sex (feat. Akon)

Just do yourself a favor and watch all the Lonely Island Songs

To Sound Like T-Pain...You're Already Doing It

DJ Khaled's jet ski adventure

The niche of physical media is growing. More and more movies are getting quality releases on the newest and best format, making any film not yet available on 4K disc...SPINELESS. Join Nick and Brennan (your very-favorite SPINELESS BOYS) as they cover the classic and contemporary films they feel are most deserving of the 4K treatment.

REACH OUT TO THE SPINELESS BOYS:

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @spinelessfilms

Letterboxd: @SpinelessFilms

As always, thank you to Joey Johnson for our music and to Sparrow Potter for our artwork.

Ruh roh, jinkies, and zoinks! Oh my!

On this week’s episode of Spineless, Nick and Brennan are let off the leash with three-time guest Adelina Marinello to discuss SCOOBY-DOO 2: MONSTERS UNLEASHED (2004), written by James Gunn and starring a pitch-perfect cast as the Mystery Inc. gang. We talk about growing up with the iconic lime-green DVD case, how this sequel compares to its predecessor, and which member of Mystery Inc. we identify as. Does CGI Scooby hold up? What does it mean to “do a Frozone”? Is Sweater Velma hotter than Leather Velma? Scooby-Doo is a talking dog, we are meddling kids, and we aimed to crack the case of what makes this movie endure as a cult classic.

Support Adelina's new play She Is Risen by donating to this GoFundMe!

NYC: Come see She Is Risen, co-written and featuring a performance by Adelina and friend of the show Sophia Talwalkar, on Tuesday, August 18th at The Tank! Tickets available here

Chicago: Come have a pastry and a coffee at Adelina's pop-up cafe on Saturday, August 1st! Nick will be there helping serve up delicious baked goods and beverages. All proceeds support the world premiere of She Is Risen!

See A Little Night Music at the Marriott Theatre!

The Freddie Prinze Jr. clip that indirectly led to this episode

Watch The Scooby-Doo Project, the Cartoon Network parody of The Blair Witch Project

Sign the petition to bring back the original opaque Scooby-Doo gummies

The niche of physical media is growing. More and more movies are getting quality releases on the newest and best format, making any film not yet available on 4K disc...SPINELESS. Join Nick and Brennan (your very-favorite SPINELESS BOYS) as they cover the classic and contemporary films they feel are most deserving of the 4K treatment.

REACH OUT TO THE SPINELESS BOYS:

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @spinelessfilms

Letterboxd: @SpinelessFilms

As always, thank you to Joey Johnson for our music and to Sparrow Potter for our artwork.

Visit beautiful Valkenvania, where Nothing But Trouble awaits!

Dan Aykroyd loves two things: aliens and prosthetic makeup. In his 1991 directorial debut Nothing But Trouble, he's all out of aliens, but he makes up for it by casting himself as not one but TWO different characters in full-body makeup. On this episode of Spineless, Nick and Brennan dissect this bloated studio comedy, which serves as a cautionary tale of '90s excess and a fascinating insight into the mind of one of Canada's greatest comedic talents. How did a movie starring Chevy Chase, Demi Moore, and John Candy become a notorious commercial and critical flop? Why is Tupac Shakur in this movie? WHAT is on Dan Aykroyd's nose?!? But most importantly, does it deserve a 4K release? So crack open your Crystal Head vodka and climb aboard Mr. Bonesplitter for a ride--and an episode--you'll never forget.

Exploring Nothing But Trouble

The niche of physical media is growing. More and more movies are getting quality releases on the newest and best format, making any film not yet available on 4K disc...SPINELESS. Join Nick and Brennan (your very-favorite SPINELESS BOYS) as they cover the classic and contemporary films they feel are most deserving of the 4K treatment.

REACH OUT TO THE SPINELESS BOYS:

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @spinelessfilms

Letterboxd: @SpinelessFilms

As always, thank you to Joey Johnson for our music and to Sparrow Potter for our artwork.