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 In this episode, first time guests Charlotte Wells and Chris Piuma ("It's Just A Show") join the podcast. They bring along the movie Purple Rain. Marty and Clif give Charlotte and Chris the movie America's Sweethearts to watch.

This week on Talking Pondo, Marty and Clif welcome Chris and Charlotte from the “It’s Just a Show” podcast for a double feature that jumps from behind-the-scenes Hollywood comedy to rock-and-roll mythology.

First up is America's Sweethearts, a Hollywood satire starring Julia Roberts, John Cusack, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Billy Crystal. Set during a chaotic press junket for a troubled movie production, the film pokes fun at celebrity culture, studio marketing, and the machinery behind selling a film to the public.

Then the conversation shifts to Purple Rain, the iconic Prince-led music drama that helped define the sound and style of the 1980s. The crew digs into the film’s strange mix of concert movie, melodrama, and star-making myth that launched Prince into pop culture legend. They talk about the film’s messy narrative, Prince’s complicated on-screen persona, and why the final performance of “Purple Rain” still hits like a lightning bolt.

 #TalkingPondo #PurpleRain #AmericasSweethearts #Prince #FilmPodcast #MovieDiscussion #80sMovies #RomCom 

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Theme Song "The Rain" by Russ Pace

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 In this episode, Marty gives Clif the movie Jawbreaker to watch and Clif gives Marty the movie Wrong to watch.

First up is the dark teen satire Jawbreaker. When a birthday prank gone wrong leaves the most popular girl at school dead, a trio of queen bees scramble to cover up the crime. The guys explore the film’s campy tone, its attempt at biting social satire, and whether its over the top aesthetic actually works.

Then things get truly bizarre with the offbeat indie Wrong. The story follows a man searching for his missing dog, but the journey spirals into dream logic, unexplained symbolism, and scenes that feel deliberately disconnected from reality. Marty and Clif debate whether the film’s surreal style is meaningful artistic expression or simply weird for the sake of being weird.

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 In this episode, first time guest Isabel Teran ("That's Bodacious, Dude! 80 Radical Movies from the '80s!") joins the podcast. She brings along the movie Paprika. Marty and Clif give Izzy the movie The Lost Boys to watch.

This week on Talking Pondo, Marty and Clif welcome podcast host Isabel Teran to the show for a wildly different double feature: a mind-bending anime classic and one of the most iconic vampire films of the 1980s.

First up is Paprika, the visually explosive psychological sci-fi film from director Satoshi Kon. The crew dives into the film’s dream-within-a-dream storytelling, its influence on modern sci-fi (including comparisons to Inception), and how its surreal imagery blurs the line between imagination and reality.

Then the conversation shifts to pure 80s vampire energy with The Lost Boys. Featuring the legendary “Two Coreys” and a gang of leather-clad Santa Carla vampires, the film invokes horror, teen rebellion, and MTV-era style into one unforgettable cult classic.

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Theme Song "The Rain" by Russ Pace

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 In this episode, Marty gives Clif the movie Running Time to watch and Clif gives Marty the movie Sinners to watch. Includes a season recap!

First up is Running Time, the black-and-white, real-time heist thriller directed by Josh Becker and starring Bruce Campbell. Shot to appear as a single take, the film leans into guerrilla film making energy and cult sensibilities. Marty and Clif break down the strengths of its momentum and ambition, and whether the experiment fully pays off.

Then it’s on to Sinners, a contemporary genre film packed with symbolism, social commentary, and big thematic swings. The conversation turns toward modern film making, allegory versus overt messaging, and how we judge movies in the moment versus years later.

 #TalkingPondo #RunningTime #Sinners #FilmPodcast #IndieFilm #ModernCinema #MovieDiscussion 

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Theme Song "The Rain" by Russ Pace

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 In this episode, first time guest Ben Cheknis joins the podcast. He brings along the movie Blue Thunder. Marty and Clif give Ben the movie Vision Quest to watch. 

First up is Vision Quest, the coming-of-age wrestling drama starring Matthew Modine. Marty, Clif and guest Ben Cheknis ("The Two Vague Podcast") explore it's themes of obsession, identity, masculinity, and the quiet intensity of high school isolation. From its iconic soundtrack (hello “Lunatic Fringe”) to its grounded performances (including an early appearance by Forest Whitaker) the conversation explores why this 80s sports drama still resonates decades later.

Then it’s up in the air with Blue Thunder, the Roy Scheider-led action thriller about police militarization and surveillance technology. What starts as pure helicopter spectacle quickly turns into a discussion about institutional power, civil liberties, and how eerily prophetic this 1983 action film feels today. The crew digs into its strange dialogue (courtesy of Dan O'Bannon), practical stunt work, and the gritty 80s paranoia that defined the era.

 #TalkingPondo #VisionQuest #BlueThunder #FilmPodcast #80sMovies #CultCinema #MovieDiscussion 

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 In this episode, first time guest Derek Schlender ("Schlender 5 Productions") joins the podcast. He brings along the movie Dragonheart. Marty and Clif give Derek the movie Rollerball to watch.

Season 4 kicks off with a guest, and a double feature that couldn’t be more different.

Marty and Clif are joined by Derek Schlender to break down two films connected by spectacle, ambition, and wildly different results: Dragonheart (1996) and Rollerball (1975).

First up is Dragonheart. Rob Cohen’s mid-’90s fantasy epic starring Dennis Quaid and featuring Sean Connery as the voice of Draco, the last dragon. The crew digs into peak-’90s CGI, bad medieval wigs and whether nostalgia is the only thing keeping this cult fantasy afloat. Is it a charming kid’s adventure? A tonal mess? A necessary stepping stone between Jurassic Park and Lord of the Rings? All of the above?

Then it’s on to Norman Jewison’s Rollerball (1975), a dystopian sports thriller about corporate control, violent spectacle, and individualism crushed under the system. What starts as futuristic world-building turns into a surprisingly talky meditation on power, celebrity, and manufactured entertainment.

 #TalkingPondo #Dragonheart #Rollerball #FilmPodcast #90sMovies #CultCinema #FantasyFilm #DystopianFilm 

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 In this episode, Marty gives Clif the movie Withnail and I to watch and Clif gives Marty the movie The Commitments to watch. 

Season 3 wraps with a British/Irish cult double feature.

First up is Withnail and I (1987) - Bruce Robinson’s chaotic, quotable portrait of two struggling actors at the tail end of the ’60s. Marty and Clif explore its “British Fear and Loathing” energy, cult status, and surprising influence on American indie cinema.

Then it’s The Commitments (1991) - Alan Parker’s story of working-class Dubliners forming a soul band with big dreams and fragile egos. What starts as a scrappy music underdog story becomes something sharper: a brutally honest look at ambition, creative tension, and why great bands fall apart.

Along the way, they talk British cult film, music realism, indie influence, creative partnerships, and closing out a season that covered 72 films in nine months.

Season 4 starts next week.

#TalkingPondo #WithnailAndI #TheCommitments #SeasonFinale #FilmPodcast #CultCinema #BritishFilm #IrishCinema #IndieFilm #AlanParker 

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Theme Song "The Rain" by Russ Pace

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 In this episode, Marty gives Clif the movie The Border to watch and Clif gives Marty the movie The Last Detail to watch. 

This week on Talking Pondo, Marty and Clif stumble into a theme they didn’t plan but couldn’t ignore: Talking Nicholson.

The connective tissue between this double feature is Jack Nicholson, starring in two very different films from two very different eras: Hal Ashby’s The Last Detail (1973) and Tony Richardson’s The Border (1982): both centered on authority, systems, and men trapped inside them.

They start with The Last Detail, a funny, deeply melancholy road movie that finds Nicholson escorting a young sailor to an eight-year prison sentence for a petty crime. They dig into Ashby’s “fried-out” ’70s tone, lived-in performances, stark realism, and why the film’s matter-of-fact ending lingers long after the credits roll.

Then they move to The Border, an early-’80s studio film that feels both rougher and conflicted with itself. Nicholson’s morally compromised border agent drifts through corruption, half-hearted redemption, and a system designed to chew people up. Marty and Clif explore the film’s uneven tone, British director perspective, TV-movie aesthetics and the way Nicholson and Harvey Keitel elevate material that never quite comes together.

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Theme Song "The Rain" by Russ Pace

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 In this episode, first time guest Ben Apuan joins the podcast. He brings along the movie Clerks. Marty and Clif give Ben the movie Say Anything to watch.

This week on Talking Pondo, Marty and Clif are joined by Ben from Chasing the Whimsy for a deep dive into two landmark films that helped define independent cinema: Cameron Crowe’s Say Anything (1989) and Kevin Smith’s Clerks (1994).

On the surface, these movies couldn’t be more different. One is a heartfelt, romantic coming-of-age story, the other a black-and-white, foul-mouthed retail comedy. But together, they capture the shifting cultural moment between the late ’80s and early ’90s, when indie filmmakers proved you didn’t need studio polish to say something real.

The conversation digs into Clerks as a once-in-a-lifetime debut: it's handmade feel, sharp dialogue, budget-driven creativity, and the birth of the View Askewniverse. From newspaper machines and 37 infamous confessions to Jay & Silent Bob’s unlikely legacy, the crew explores why Kevin Smith’s $33,000 gamble still resonates decades later.

They also connect the dots between both films through music, tone, first-time directors, and a shared DNA of alternative cinema that celebrate authenticity over perfection.

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Theme Song "The Rain" by Russ Pace

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 In this episode, Marty gives Clif the movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to watch and Clif gives Marty the movie Wind River to watch. 

This week on Talking Pondo, Clif Campbell and Marty Ketola celebrate the show’s two-year anniversary with a wildly mismatched double feature.

First up is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), the surprise hit comic book movie that also happens to be the first film Clif and Marty ever reviewed together. They revisit its surprisingly dark tone, Jim Henson creature work, early appearances by future stars, and why this PG-rated movie still feels more adult than anyone remembers.

Then things turn sharply with Wind River (2017), the haunting conclusion to Taylor Sheridan’s unofficial frontier trilogy. The conversation digs into its themes of violence, justice, isolation, and why this powerful trilogy feels frustratingly unfinished.

Along the way: listener mail, Pondo origin stories, movie nostalgia, and reflections on how 1990 impacted film.

 #TalkingPondo #TMNT1990 #WindRiver #MoviePodcast #FilmDiscussion #ComicBookMovies #90sMovies #TaylorSheridan 

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Season One

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Theme Song "The Rain" by Russ Pace

Photos by Geoffrey Notkin