The LAMBcast

Balloons, Fireworks, Dance Numbers and spectacular productions featuring celebrities! We have none of that this week, our 700th Episode celebration is more muted but nevertheless still interesting. A few of the hosts of the LAMBcast get together to talk about old times, Lampardy Cheating, and how the podcast has developed. We are joined by a couple of Lambs for some games, one of which you can participate in, just by listening, and we got a last minute addition to the show, at literally the last minute. Come meet the hosts and stroll down memory lane in commemorating 13 years of this podcast. 

This week we are going to Listen to Hotel California and Saturday Night Fever on the radio. When we turn on the TV we can watch Laverne and Shirley, Three’s Company and Mork and Mindy. If you want to make a bundle, bet on  Leon Spinks against Muhammed Ali. You will believe a man can fly and you won’t believe that Kiss agreed to be in a movie monstrosity.

Our Decade Lookback this week is for the year 1978. So put on your disco shoes, line up for a cup of Kool Aid and get ready to hear about some great movies.

Flying swordsmen, deadly assassins, duel handed weapons and Chinese History, this movie has all sorts of things that should make you want to listen. The Podcast has Tony Coogan, Howard Casner and guest host Heather Baxendale-Walsh, so that should also make you want to listen. Wirework, subtitles and cinematography are on the menu for our talk this week about the seminal martial arts film from prolific Chinese Director Yimou Zhang. Jet Li, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung and Ziyi Zhang take us on an incredible trip with visuals that will dazzle. 

The Lamb Community voted for Meg 2:The Trench to be the new feature we cover in August. Was that a wise choice? Maybe not. You expected the film to be dumb fun, but were you expecting just dumb? The Lambs on this episode are bouncing around it, some might give it the benefit of the doubt, others would put it as far down in the Trench as it can go. This week, you get a short show because after all, how much stupid can you take? You do get a Meg Adjacent Game and the exit question of the week, so that is worth your time for sure. 

It's summertime and the viewing is easy. All you need are some recommendations and a little chat to go along with your choices. This week, Four Lambs have some discussion about Double Features and Drive-In Theaters, and then we program an evening for you. Everybody is enthusiastic about their suggestions, some of us have themes, some included a whole set of extras, but you can treat it like a cafeteria, take what you want and personalize it for yourself. The discussion  includes a little nostalgia, a lot of movies, and four people who you will enjoy listening to, so come on, buy a ticket and stay for both features. 

The biggest blockbuster opening of the year features a doll that has been with us for sixty-five years and dozens of animated movie, but is finally a live action character. How did the transition turn out artistically? That's what we discuss on this episode of the Lambcast. There is a lot of love for Barbie, the movie, but we had one curmudgeon who certainly dampened the mood during the show. Come listen and find out why so many were so happy, and so few were so disappointed. Oh, and don't forget to wear pink while you listen. 

Drug dealing aliens and interstellar law enforcement officers find their way to Earth in this 1990s time killer. Mark Hofmeyer  championed a movie that made him feel good after some arduous viewing for his job, let's see if you can lean into the film and get some relaxing vibes from it as well. Dolph Lundgren stars as a rule breaking rogue cop, and he is partnered with a straight laced FBI agent, Brian Benben, as they go after a yuppie crime gang. Things start to go awry when 7 foot tall aliens intervene. Yep it's that kind of movie. We only have terrestrial a-holes on the show, but we do talk about the space a-holes plenty.  

This week, the Lambs create their own individual lists, with some surprises along the way. Multiple New Waves, an overlooked director, changing opinions on films and a host trapped in the 70s, this is what you have in store when you listen to this episode. The Exit Question of the Week addresses the issues from last week's canceled show, and we have a game that was not challenging at all.  

Wes Anderson films are definitely different. Some people can't get enough, and some can only tolerate so much. This week we have a range of opinions on "Asteroid City". There are existential questions  about the script, the actors and the style, and only a couple of points seem to create unity of thought. This is just the sort of conversation you want to have with your friends after seeing a movie and getting together in a coffee shop afterwards to dissect it. Howard Casner from Pop Art offers his insights and they are contrasted with Rachel Wagner's doubts about the plot. Rachel brought her friend Conrado Falco to the show for his first visit to the Lambcast. “You can’t wake up, if you don’t fall asleep.”

A troubled star, a staggering franchise, a corporate shake up, and guess what, the film is actually really good. A full contingent of our own superheroes take on "The Flash", the newest DC Comic Book film, and we find lots to recommend, including the lead performance and the return of "Batman". This is a multiverse film in a world overrun by multiverse movies, but there are some strong emotional moments, and best of all, some laughs to be had. We have a cast of guests that is rich in comic lore to guide you through the Universe and help you come out on the other side with as little damage to your own universe as possible.