The VHS Strikes Back

Chris' pick this week is to get us into the Christmas mood with Arnie! Jingle All the Way was written by Randy Kornfield and directed by Brian Levant, and of course stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sinbad, Phil Hartman, Rita Wilson, Robert Conrad, Jake Lloyd, and Jim Belushi.

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Plot Summary:

Howard Langston, a mattress salesman, is constantly busy at his job, and he also constantly disappoints his son, Jamie. After he misses Jamie's karate exposition, he tries hard to come up with a way to make it up to him. He says that all he wants for Christmas is a Turbo Man action figure. Unfortunately for Howard, it is Christmas Eve, and every store is sold out. Now Howard must travel all over town and compete with everybody else including a mailman named Myron Larabee to find one, and to make it to the Holiday Wintertainment Parade, which will feature Turbo Man.

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Stephen Reid has our Patreon pick this week and has gone for the 2001 French action horror movie, Brotherhood of the Wolf. Directed by Christophe Gans and starring Samuel Le Bihan, Vincent Cassel, Émilie Dequenne, Monica Bellucci, Jérémie Renier, and Dave's man-crush - Mark Dacascos.

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Plot Summary:

In 1764 something was stalking the mountains of central France. A 'beast' that pounced on humans and animals with terrible ferocity. Indeed they beast became so notorious that the King of France dispatched envoys to find out what was happening and to kill the creature. By the end, the Beast of Gevaudan had killed over 100 people.To this day, no one is entirely sure what it was, a wolf? a hyena? or something supernatural? The Beast is a popular myth in France, albeit one rooted firmly in reality; somewhat surprisingly it is little known to the outside world, and perhaps incredibly it has never been made into a movie. Until now. Based on the true story of the Beast of the Gevaudan that terrorized France in the eighteenth century, the movie aims to tell first and explain afterwards. In the first part, a special envoy of the King of France, altogether biologist, explorer and philosopher, arrives in the Gevaudan region, in the mountainous central part of France. The Beast has been attacking women and children for months and nobody has been able to harm it or even take a good look at it. In the second part, our hero Chevalier de Fronsac will not only have to fight the Beast, but also ignorance, bigotry and conspiracy and will rely on two women, one an aristocrat, the other a prostitute, as well as the enigmatic Mani, an Iroquois he met in New-France (Canada).

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Patreon Kent's pick this week is an Art Haus movie he was introduced to in German class! The 1976 movie, Kings of the Road, was written and directed by Wim Wenders and stars Rüdiger Vogler and Hanns Zischler.

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Plot Summary:

Near the Eastern borders with West Germany, Bruno, a solitary, permanent citizen of the road and film projection equipment repairman, witnesses the sad sight of a VW beetle car storming straight into the River Elbe. After a while, however, the depressed driver, Robert, instinctively accepts an offer for a lift in Bruno's repair van, and just like that, an impromptu relationship begins. Now, against the backdrop of the German countryside, the new companions find themselves sharing the same need for freedom, visiting dilapidated movie theatres for maintenance, and getting to know each other one small town after another. But, no one knows, or cares, how long is the road that stretches out ahead of them. After all, the only thing that matters is one's commitment to a precious ideal. Have the kings of the road found life's true meaning?

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Also known as 'Victory', this one was replayed at Christmas over and over in the UK growing up. Escape to Victory was directed by John Huston and written by Evan Jones, Yabo Yablonsky, Djordje Milićević and Jeff Maguire. And stars Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, Max von Sydow, Pelé, and half to the UEFA Cup-winning Ipswich side!

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Plot Summary:

In World War II, a group of Nazi officers come up with a propaganda event in which an all-star Nazi team will play a team composed of Allied prisoners of war in a soccer (football) game. The prisoners agree, planning on using the game as a means of escape from the camp.

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In the build-up to the FIFA World Cup 2022, Chris has picked the 2001 mockumentary-style comedy, Mike Bassett: England Manager. Directed by Steve Barron and written by John R. Smith and Rob Sprackling, this stars Ricky Tomlinson, Amanda Redman, Bradley Walsh, Dean Lennox Kelly, and Geoff Bell.

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Plot Summary:

The manager of England's national football unexpectedly succumbs to a heart attack, and suddenly the search is on for a replacement. Most people who seem qualified for the position have the good sense to turn it down, and so the responsibility falls to Mike Bassett, a scruffy and loud-mouthed lout whose claim to football fame is leading a previously undistinguished team to a league championship. Bassett insists that England will win the World Cup under his leadership, but that's before he replaces his star player with a once-gifted footballer who has since developed a drinking problem, and hired a one-time car salesman as his assistant. After stunning losses to Poland and Belgium, Bassett goes from a favorite of both fans and the press to one of the most hated men in England; hoping to whip his team into shape, he subjects them to the high-tech training methods of eccentric Dr. Shoegaarten, which injures more players than it helps. Despite Bassett's ineptitude, England manages to qualify for the World Cup tournament thanks to group opponents Turkey losing their final game, and he flies to Rio with his team in hopes of somehow turning their bad luck around.

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Patreon Dylan's pick this week is the 1998 Coen Brothers Comedy/Crime movie, The Big Lebowski. Directed by Joel Coen and written by Joel and Ethan Coen, and stars Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, David Huddleston, John Turturro, Philip Seymour Hoffman.

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Plot Summary:

When "the dude" Lebowski is mistaken for a millionaire Lebowski, two thugs urinate on his rug to coerce him into paying a debt he knows nothing about. While attempting to gain recompense for the ruined rug from his wealthy counterpart, he accepts a one-time job with high pay-off. He enlists the help of his bowling buddy, Walter, a gun-toting Jewish-convert with anger issues. Deception leads to more trouble, and it soon seems that everyone from porn empire tycoons to nihilists want something from The Dude.

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Patreon Paul Griffin chose this week's movie, the third installment of the Karate Kid trilogy. The Karate Kid Part III was directed by John G. Avildsen and written by Robert Mark Kamen, and stars Ralph Macchio, Noriyuki "Pat" Morita, Martin Kove, Thomas Ian Griffith and Sean Kanan.

Catch Paul on The Paul and Griff show: https://podfollow.com/1512788543 or on https://twitter.com/paulngriffshow.

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Plot Summary:

An eccentric scientist changes the world with his teleportation technology: when his experiment seems to be going well, Dr. Seth Brundle tests his machine on himself and he gets fused with the worst kind of pest on Planet Earth; The Fly. What is the price of a man playing God? Only Seth knows.

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In our Halloween crossover episode with Mandatory Music and CD, we have Tony Farina and Max Byrne join Chris and Dave in this week's classic, The Lost Boys (1987). Directed by the late and great Joel Schumacher and written by Janice Fischer, Jeffrey Boam, and James Jeremias. This vampire classic stars Corey Feldman, Jami Gertz, Corey Haim, Edward Herrmann, Barnard Hughes, Jason Patric, Kiefer Sutherland, and Dianne Wiest.

Catch Mandatory Music and CD wherever you get your podcasts from and find more of Tony's work at https://www.arfarina.com and Max at https://twitter.com/maxybyrne. The Podcast boys will also be covering the album and will release on 30th October.

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Plot Summary:

A mother and her two sons move to a small coast town in California. The town is plagued by bikers and some mysterious deaths. The younger boy makes friends with two other boys who claim to be vampire hunters while the older boy is drawn into the gang of bikers by a beautiful girl. The older boy starts sleeping days and staying out all night while the younger boy starts getting into trouble because of his friends' obsession.

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The second movie in our Halloween-themed run is the 1986 David Cronenberg movie starring Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis, The Fly. A favorite of Dave's but a hated genre of Chris', I think we know how this will go.

If you enjoy the show we have a Patreon, become a supporter. www.patreon.com/thevhsstrikesback

Plot Summary:

An eccentric scientist changes the world with his teleportation technology: when his experiment seems to be going well, Dr. Seth Brundle tests his machine on himself and he gets fused with the worst kind of pest on Planet Earth; The Fly. What is the price of a man playing God? Only Seth knows.

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https://linktr.ee/vhsstrikesback

Sick of stiching himself up, Chris has decided to actually pick a classic this week! And what a classic it is!

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Plot Summary:

It's a hot summer on Amity Island, a small community whose main business is its beaches. When new Sheriff Martin Brody discovers the remains of a shark attack victim, his first inclination is to close the beaches to swimmers. This doesn't sit well with Mayor Larry Vaughn and several of the local businessmen. Brody backs down to his regret as that weekend a young boy is killed by the predator. The dead boy's mother puts out a bounty on the shark and Amity is soon swamped with amateur hunters and fisherman hoping to cash in on the reward. A local fisherman with much experience hunting sharks, Quint, offers to hunt down the creature for a hefty fee. Soon Quint, Brody and Matt Hooper from the Oceanographic Institute are at sea hunting the Great White shark. As Brody succinctly surmises after their first encounter with the creature, they're going to need a bigger boat.

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