There are a lot of noir crime thrillers in the world, but most modern ones have a problem digging too deeply into the noir part of the equation. “Killing them softly” does away with the winding plot and instead gives a simple premise, with a simple resolution, and a world so real in its crappiness you can kind of smell it. Maybe it’s a grime thriller? It’s certainly the best at it if you’re into this sort of thing.

0:00 - Intros

3:30 - Monster: The Ed Gein story (Netflix, 2025)

7:35 - Devil In Disguise: John Wayne Gacy (Peacock, 2025)

9:35 - Little Evil (Netflix, 2017)

12:45 - Palm Royale (Apple TV)

20:00 - Dune pts. 1 and 2 (2021, 2024)

33:45 - Killing Them Softly

Join us for a look at the underrated Troma classic from 1992, Frankenhooker! What could a movie called Frankenhooker possibly be about, you ask? Don’t be stupid, it’s literally about a STEM weirdo from New Jersey who loses his girlfriend in a freak accident, only to bring her back by sewing her head onto a body stitched together from the parts of dead prostitutes. Duh. And it is one of the more astoundingly entertaining things we have all watched in months! Like, stupidly entertaining. Like, more enjoyable than any movie this dumb has a right to be. Let it wash over you like a sea of calm… and gore… and bare breasts for no reason other than this is a B-movie with the ingenious title of Frankenhooker. Wanna date?

0:00 - Intros

4:50 - Fantastic Four: First Steps and Thunderbolts

14:30 - Legion

21:20 - Prey

25:25 - Alien Earth

31:35 - Frankenhooker

This week, we view Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)—a film that dares to ask: what if Dracula were horny, operatic, and deeply confused about accents?

With Keanu Reeves giving the most unintentionally British performance ever committed to celluloid (bless him, he tried), Winona Ryder looking vaguely confused but still cashing checks, and Gary Oldman chewing scenery like it’s soaked in blood and Oscar nominations, this movie is a visual fever dream you almost forgive for being a narrative mess.

We unpack the lush production design, jaw-dropping in-camera effects, shadow puppetry, Monica Bellucci's succubus cleavage, and that iconic armor that looks like a walking anatomy chart. Oh, and monster rape. Because apparently, that was necessary?

So join us as we ask the eternal questions: Was this movie genius or a hot mess? (Spoiler: Yes.) And should anyone ever let Keanu attempt an accent again? (Spoiler: No.)

Grab your blood goblet, adjust your shadow, and renounce God—it’s time for another Magnificently Huge Podcast!

0:00 - Intros

6:05 - Cosmic Devolution Tour

7:05 - Lene Lovich

8:00 - DJ Cummerbund

8:45 - DEVO

11:20 - The B-52s

15:10 - TRON Ares (2025)

28:55 - Hell or High Water (2016)

30:55 - Tulsa King

33:50 - Horror Express (1972)

37:10 - Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

What do you get when you take a creatively brilliant director, give him all the leeway he wants, resulting in a film that is a commercial failure but a sleeper hit? You get a very pissed off John Carpenter is what you get. Despite a career of culturally significant awesomeness - “Starman,” “The Thing,” being Adrienne Barbeau’s husband - all it took was some big trouble in Little China for funding to dry up. With that comes the shot-on-a-shoestring horror classic, “Prince of Darkness.” It is an acquired taste, as you will see. As usual, we also talk about a bunch of other stuff we’ve been watching, because this is a podcast, and that’s what you do.

0:00 - Intros

7:25 - Superman (2025)

18:45 - Hacks (HBO)

23:20 - The Studio (Apple TV)

27:00 - Strange New Worlds (Paramount)

29:30 - Robocop: Rogue City (Xbox)

36:00 - John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness (1987)

We’re gonna Thelma & Louise the shiznit out of this show with our picks for Best Onscreen Duos! That’s right, from Abbott & Costello to Matthau & Lemmon to Rick & Morty and everything in between, it’s a quasi-intelligent chat about our favorite duos from film and television. What makes a duo dynamic? Which duos are garbage? And how can we possibly cram a reasonable number of onscreen duos into one podcast without making it seem like we came utterly unprepared and instead shout out listicles? From our trio of pieholes direct to your ears, the magic unfolds like Tango & Cash at baby’s first communion… monster trucks and all!

0:00 - Intros

8:20 - Walking Dead Sequel Shows

10:25 - Marvel Zombies

14:00 - Honey Don’t (2025)

20:25 - The Roses (2025)

25:55 - Sisu (2025)

30:55 - Best On-Screen Duos

James Bond is on the menu this week, as Brian winds down his journey to watch every canonical movie in sequential order. That means we finally hit up the first appearance of Daniel Craig in the 2006 throwback/reboot/reset adaptation of the very first Ian Fleming novel - Casino Royale! Or did we do the very terrible star-studded psychedelic comedy trainwreck from 1967? Or maybe the Americanized, made-for-TV version from 1954? Confused yet? You won’t be once you listen to our take on the GOOD Casino Royale.

0:00 - Intros

3:35 - LCD Soundsystem

7:50 - Your Friends and Neighbors (Apple TV+)

10:50 - DEVO Documentary (Netflix)

21:30 - Weird Al Bigger and Weirder Tour

27:55 - Taskmaster

34:20 - Casino Royale

Here is the Patrick (H) Willems take on the Craig Bond Years https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bNXqwpm-rk&ab_channel=Patrick%28H%29Willems

Ever watch a TV show and simply think, WTF? Oh, sure, there are plenty of new programs out there that make you go hmmmmm…. But we’re focusing more on the ones from further back in the historical record that have managed to become part of the zeitgeist despite (or because of?) their best and weirdest efforts not to. These are the shows that may not have aged well, may not make any sense using a modern context, or simply have no clue how amazingly weird they really are. For every Hill Street Blues, there is always a Cop Rock. For every Modern Family, there is a Brady Bunch. For every… well you get the idea. So here is our very arbitrary, very lazy, and incredibly haphazard look at The Weirdest TV Shows in History!

0:00 - Intros

5:45 - Liarmouth (Book. Waters, John)

13:25 - Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, Tomorrow Never Dies

39:05 - Weirdest TV Shows to get made, but are popular anyway

40:20 Hogan’s Heroes

50:40 Gilligan’s Island

56:20 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

1:03:10 - Friends

1:05:50 - Three’s Company

This week, we dissect Death of a Unicorn, the 2025 indie-horror-fantasy-corporate-satire you didn't know you needed. Follow the bizarre journey of a father-daughter duo who hit a unicorn—yes, an actual one—and are promptly dragged into a corporate scramble over who gets to exploit the thing’s magical healing powers first. Because what better metaphor for late-stage capitalism than weaponizing purity, bottling it, and selling it to shareholders?

It beats reality anyway. Also, Alien Earth and more James Bond!

Episode 343 - Sinners

We finally take a look at Ryan Coogler’s dynamic, thematically-dense social critique of how the Jim Crow South refuses to die, and the skepticism towards big tent progressivism on certain cultural groups in America. Or maybe Sinners is just a basic vampire tale? We’ll be the judge of that! Just don’t invite any strangers in, or you’ll be sorry. Unless it is us. In which case, you will likely still be sorry. Sinners… it’s good. See it.

0:00 - Intros

7:30 - The Truth About Jussie Smollett

15:30 - Fantastic 4: First Steps (2025)

25:45 - The Naked Gun (2025)

33:10 - Marc Maron - Panicked (2025)

40:45 - Sinners (2025) SPOILER DISCUSSION

Do the Muppets even carry the same cultural heft now as in their 70s heyday? Who cares? Because there is no movie as pure and joyful and fun as The Muppet Movie, so say us. Jim Henson and Co. took what was best about their TV show and turned it into a road-comedy with heart, an erstwhile origin story of how the Muppets became THE MUPPETS. With lots of classic, catchy bangers by Paul Williams thrown in among the (now dated?) cameos by stars you may not even remember if you are younger than 50. This thing is peak Gen-X, kids. It is also a movie guaranteed to lift your mood - a 90-minute shot of dopamine, serotonin and positivity mainlined into your brainpan by cute and cuddly puppets, all wrapped in a giant, fuzzy warm hug.

0:00 - Intros

5:28 - Old Henry (2021)

12:15 - Jason Statham movies

19:50 - Friday Night Dinner (BBC)

23:55 - Starfleet Academy trailer

25:30 - The Paragon (2023)

28:5 0 - The last 3 Roger Moore James Bond Films (For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View to a Kill)

41:55 - The Muppet Movie