The Hell With This

Today we dip our feet in the world of "modern" independent film. Mark brings us to a film that recently caught his attention: "The Trust" – made in 2016, starring Elijah Wood and Nicolas Cage (with a hint of Jerry Lewis in a thankless role).

Performers of note: Nicolas Cage, Elijah Wood, Ethan Suplee, Jerry Lewis, Sky Ferreira.

This is one of those slow-burn modern-classic films that only David Fincher could have directed. Mark and Chad discuss, well – is it a "classic"? Chad seems to think so. Mark isn't as certain. One thing is for sure, however: the film didn't play well on first viewing, but ultimately gets much, much better on repeat viewings. Is that because it breaks the modern storytelling tropes? Does it break traditional structure? Does the film climax?

Will all these questions be answered here? Probably not, but we'll touch on some of it.

Performers of note: Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards, Robert Downey Jr., Brian Cox, John Carroll Lynch

Mark's back with previous guest Josh Trotter to discuss the child-traumatizing film, "Poltergeist" – the movie that haunted Josh in his youth (and he's never seen it – only listened to it from behind a couch).

So there's that. And other stuff. Did Spielberg direct this?

Performers of note: JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Heather O'Rourke, Oliver Robins, Dominique Dunne, Zelda Rubinstein, Tobe Hooper, Steven Spielberg.

Ah, the sweet, sweet smell of being back. Mark and Chad are back after an extended break! Chad went and directed a feature film in Australia (currently untitled), and Mark's been busy busting his butt on shows like "Preacher" and "My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend". That said, we're back weekly from here on out (for the foreseeable future).

Let's get to it, shall we?

This week, Chad and Mark deep dive back into Robert Altman (that didn't come out right)… with "The Player", a 1992 opus that features every fucking actor ever. The movie breaks the first rule of filmmaking: don't make a movie about filmmaking. If you haven't seen it before, maybe check it out before listening – as always, we WILL spoil the movie (and cameos) for you.

Performers of note: Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Fred Ward, Whoopi Goldberg, Peter Gallagher, Brion James, Cynthia Stevenson, Vincent D'Onofrio, Dean Stockwell, Lyle Lovett, and a million cameos.

Mark, Chad and guest Steve Phelan return after a week off to explore Steve's pick, "Rumble Fish", Francis Ford Coppola's generally forgotten art-house epic(?) from 1983. Photographed on gorgeously lush black and white film, "Rumble Fish" is a film that most likely couldn't see the light of day in our era or filmmaking – a large cast of up-and-coming stars, including Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Diane Lane and Nicolas Cage, would frankly be unheard-of in a modern independent shot on black and white film (or video, for that matter). It's a relic of its time, for sure.

Performers of note: Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Diane Lane, Dennis Hopper, Nicolas Cage, Chris Penn, Laurence Fishburne, Tom Waits, Sofia Coppola, S.E. Hinton, Francis Ford Coppola.

2008 came and went with no really big issues, right? Uhh, wrong. Guest Brian Finifter and co-host Mark Heiliger take a look (minus Chad) at "The Big Short" (Mark's first time). They ponder exactly what went wrong (with the economy – not the movie), and leave us with a sense of overall dread. Thanks, guys.

Performers of note: Steve Carell, Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, Finn Wittrock, John Magaro, Tracy Letts, Marisa Tomei, Rafe Spall, Hamish Linklater, Jeremy Strong, Melissa Leo.

With whispers that Terry Gilliam's ill-fated Don Quixote project might finally see the light of day, we thought we'd dive into another Gilliam film that almost didn't make it to screens: "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus". With the passing of Heath Ledger – half way through production – Gilliam and crew had to shut down and regroup. The result is stronger than one might expect, given the circumstances, with some flaws along the way. The real question is – can Terry Gilliam return to form?

Performers of note: Heath Ledger, Andrew Garfield, Lily Cole, Christopher Plummer, Verne Troyer, Tom Waits, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell, and a hint of Gwendoline Christie.

Mark and Chad dive deep into John Carpenter's "Prince of Darkness" – a film which Chad is seeing for the first time. They talk about their collective love of Carpenter's collected works and the sentimentality they feel for that "lost" brand of filmmaking. Actually, it's kind of a depressing episode, so have a beer handy and drink down your sorrows.

Performers of note: Donald Pleasence, Jameson Parker, Victor Wong, Lisa Blount.

Pretty sure you've heard of this one before. "The famous Oscar loser", as Mark puts it, gently. But Mark's never seen it, and Chad has (too many times), so here we are. Why tackle a movie that's hot off the press? Well, maybe it's a half-hearted attempt to have a conversation about hype and how too much of it can be a turn-off – can a great movie surpass the expectations of hype, or is it always doomed to fail?

Performers of note: Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, Rosemarie DeWitt, J.K. Simmons.

Chad and Byron Smith tackle Chad's favorite movie from 2014, the wonderful (but oddly divisive) "It Follows". This movie loves suspense, adores suspense and craves suspense – teasing the audience from start to finish. Stylistically, it set the bar for last year's "Stranger Things", but it did so in a way that was probably more terrifying and less nostalgic. Not loved by everyone, but certainly worth a look.

Performers of note: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Lili Sepe, Olivia Luccardi