We're celebrating the life and work of Val Kilmer, who passed away on April 1st, 2025. He left us a catalog of over 100 films, but we've chosen two of his best. First up, directed by Oliver Stone, 1991's "The Doors" chronicles the rise and fall of singer Jim Morrison. After leaving film school, Morrison (Kilmer) recruits his friend Ray Manzarek (Kyle MacLachlan) in an effort to start a band. They add Robby Krieger (Frank Whaley) and John Densmore (Kevin Dillon) and begin to perform as "The Doors." But Morrison is also smitten with a woman he followed home from the beach, Pamela Courson (Meg Ryan), and declares her his muse. After using psychedelic drugs to fuel their inspiration, the band is discovered by producer Paul Rothschild (Michael Wincott) from Elektra Records, and they're on their way to stardom! Unfortunately, Kilmer's fascination with alcohol, drugs, and other women, continually threatens to destroy the success the band has found. Also starring Michael Madsen, Billy Idol, and Kathleen Quinlan!

The second film in this pairing is another giant monster sequel, but this time to a Kaiju film from the 1950s. The original "The Return of Godzilla" was directed by Koji Hashimoto and Ishiro Honda. But, like the original in 1954, an Americanized version was created by shooting scnes with American actors and inserting them into the original film, which resulted in "Godzilla 1985!" With the American scenes directed by R. J. Kizer, the film featured veteran actor Raymond Burr reprising his role as a reporter by the name of Steve Martin. In this story, it's been 30 years since Godzilla originally attacked mainland Japan, and he has awakened from his hidden slumber to once again find and feed upon nuclear energy. This time, however, a young sailor, Hiroshi Okumura (Shin Takuma), a reporter, Goro Maki (Ken Tanaka), Professor Hayashida (Yosuke Natsuki) who studies mutations, and his research assistant Naoko Okumura (Yasuko Sawaguchi), who is also Hiroshi's sister, team up to try to find a way to stop the natural force that is the giant radioactive dinosaur. But even the best scientific minds, and the government's secret "Super X" plane, may not be enough to stop another battle that will destroy Tokyo! Plus, the trio reveal which two films they've chosen for the pairing honoring the late Val Kilmer!

This pairing was seeded by a request from one of our Patreon supporters, Flat Doug, who asked us to look back at this first film. Directed by Dino De Laurentiis, and written by James Ashmore Creelman, Ruth Rose, and Merian C. Cooper, 1976's "King Kong" was a record-setting special effects marvel and the first big-budget re-imagining of the original 1933 classic! The film follows Petrox oil executive Fred Wilson (Charles Grodin) who, along with his scientific advisor Bagley (Rene Auberjonois), are headed for a mysterious fog-shrouded island in search of oil. Just before their ship departs, however, a paleontologist named Jack Prescott (Jeff Bridges) sneaks on board, convinced that there's more than oil to be found at their destination. Along the way, they find a young woman named Dwan (Jessica Lange, in her first film role) unconscious abort a raft, drifting in the ocean. After rescuing her, she joins the expedition to Skull Island. When the company arrives, however, they discover that Prescott was right, and that something even bigger than a massive oil depository to be found on the island! Also starring John Randolph, Julius Harris, and Jack O'Halloran!

The second film in this pairing moves from one kind of theater to another very different kind! In 2000, Christopher Guest moved from small-town community theater to national-level canine showmanship in "Best In Show!" Exploring the world of dog shows, we meet the owners of the dogs who will be competing in the Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show in Philidelphia. Gerry (Eugene Levy) and Cookie (Catherine O'Hara) Fleck, from Florida, bring their Norwich terrier, Winky. Meg (Parker Posey) and Hamilton (Michael Hitchcock) Swan arrive escorting their weimaraner, Beatrice. Arriving with his Bloodhound, Hubert, Harlan Pepper (Christopher Guest) arrives with high hopes. And Sheri Ann Cabot (Jennifer Coolidge), trophy wife and dog-show enthusiast, bring along both dog trainer Christy Cummings (Jane Lynch) and her standard poodle, Rhapsody in White. And Scott Donlan (John Michael Higgins) and Stephen Vandorhoof (Michael McKean) accompany their Shih Tzu, Miss Agnes. Along the way, we see the extremes these dog show parents are willing to go to in order to try and insure a win for their pet. Also starring Bob Balaban, Larry Miller, Ed Begley Jr., Fred Willard, and Jim Piddock! And at the end of the episode, the trio reveals what listener request informed the final pairing of the first batch of 2025!

For this pairing we return to the genius that is Christopher Guest and two of his films we've yet to do on this podcast... until now! Directed by Guest and written with Eugene Levy, 1996's "Waiting for Guffman" is a somewhat twisted love-letter to the trials and tribulations of participating in community theater. Eccentric writer, director, and actor Corky St. Clair (Christopher Guest) is in charge of the Blaine, Missouri sesquicentennial celebration's closing event - an original stage musical which celebrates the history of the town entitled "Red, White, and Blaine!" The cast is made up of a few of the town's community theater regulars: Ron (Fred Willard) and Sheila (Catherine O'Hara) Albertson, a pair of married travel agents, and Libby Mae Brown (Parker Posey), a young and enthusiastic Dairy Queen employee. Corky also casts newcomers Johnny Savage (Matt Keesler), a mechanic who's never been on the stage, and Dr. Allen Pearl (Eugene Levy), a local dentist who has finally worked up the nerve to audition for a show. He also manages to convince Clifford Wooley (Lewis Arquette), long-time resident and now-retired taxidermist, to serve as the show's narrator. But when the cast hears that Mort Guffman, a legitimate Broadway producer, is coming to see their production, the tension gets turned up from high to extreme! Also starring Larry Miller, David Cross, Bob Balaban, and Brian Doyle-Murray!

The second film in our pairing pedantically entitled "Uncomfortably Prescient Dystopian Science Fiction" moves ahead 40 years from the first. Directed by Mike Judge and written by Judge and Etan Cohen, 2006's "Idiocracy" looks at an army experiment in suspended animation that, thanks to its director being arrested, goes on much longer than expected! Test subjects Joe Bauers (Luke Wilson) and Rita (Maya Rudolph), two average people who were supposed to awaken a year after going to sleep, end up waking after 500 years into a world gone dumb, due to the fact that the uneducated have been procreating 100 times faster than their intelligent brethren! Joe awakens and meets his future lawyer, Frito (Dax Shepard) and a stoned doctor (Justin Long) before being arrested. In prison, Joe is given an IQ test, and is determined to be the smarted man in the world! Joe is taken to the White House where President Comacho (Terry Crews) makes him the Secretary of the Interior and gives him the job of fixing all of the nation's problems. After reuniting with Rita, Joe and Frito attempt to start repairing the world by figuring out why none of the nation's crops aren't growing! Also starring Patrick Fischler, Darlene Hunt, and Thomas Haden Church, the film from 2006 plays more like a future documentary than a comedy, especially when looked at in 2025! Plus, the trio reveal which Christopher Guest films will populate the next pairing on the podcast!

One of the things that separates science fiction from any other genre is its ability to gaze into a crystal ball and attempt to predict what the future might be like if humanity continues on a certain path. This pairing is dedicated to science fiction films that looked into a darker future for humankind and, unfortunately, seem to have been uncomfortably prescient with their predictions, as evinced by the direction certain civilizations seem to be headed. First up, from the brilliant mind of author Ray Bradbury and the direction of acclaimed French director Francios Truffaut, is 1966's "Fahrenheit 451!" Set in an undetermined future, humanity has chosen to turn its back on the written word in favor of "equality for all." Newspapers have become pictograms, television is the primary form of learning (although it's completely controlled by the government), and firemen now have a different job: They locate and destroy (by burning) any books or other written materials found and confiscated by the authorities. The film follows Guy Montag (Oskar Werner). A fireman by profession, he is married to a drugged and brainwashed woman, Linda (Julie Christie) who is clearly unintelligent and passive. One day, on the way home from work, Montag meets Clarisse (also played by Julie Christie), who asks him if he has ever been tempted to read one of the books before he burns it, to see what the government is so afraid of. Thus begins Montag's awakening to the reality of his world and its mission. Also starring Cyril Cusack and Bee Duffell!

Our tribute to Gene Hackman moves to 2001 and his only collaboration with writer/director Wes Anderson, in a part Anderson wrote specifically for Hackman. In 2001's "The Royal Tenenbaums, also written by Anderson and Owen Wilson, Hackman plays estranged family patriarch Royal Tenenbaum. He is many years separated from, but still married to, wife Etheline (Anjelica Huston), and is father to three children: Chas (Ben Stiller), Richie (Luke Wilson), and adopted daughter Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow). Childhood next-door neighbor and friend of the children, Eli Cash (Owen Wilson), and house manager Pagoda (Kumar Pallana) round out the initial cast. As the story moves ahead to the children's adulthood, we also meet Raleigh St. Clair (Bill Murray), Margot's husband, Etheline's accountant and fiance Henry Sherman (Danny Glover), and Chas's children Ari (Grant Rosenmeyer) and Uzi (Jonah Meyerson). Narrated by Alec Baldwin, the story chronicles the numerous dysfunctional relationships inherent in being a Tenenbaum, parent-to-child, friend-to-friend, and sibling-to-sibling, in Wes Anderson's inimical style. Plus, the trio reveal which two eerily prescient dystopian science fiction films make up their next, and rather unsettling, pairing!

On February 18th, 2025, legendary actor Gene Hackman was found dead in his home. With a career few actors experience, Hackman was a two-time Oscar winner and was a part of over a hundred separate cinematic projects. This pairing is dedicated to the career of Gene Hackman, starting with 1986's Oscar-nominated basketball film "Hoosiers!" Directed by David Anspaugh and written by Angelo Pizzo, the film follows former college basketball coach Normal Dale (Hackman) who returns from a 12-year hiatus to take over as head basketball coach at Hickory High School in rural Indiana. Basketball is the other religion in the town of Hickory, and Dale begins with only five players, an absent superstar, and a reticent and hostile community. Slowly, over time, he earns the respect of his players, the trust of his fellow teacher Myra Fleener (Barbara Hershey), rehabilitates the town drunk Shooter (Dennis Hopper), and converts the townies to his flavor of basketball. Based on the true story of the Milan Indians of Milan, Indiana and their 1954 state championship. Also starring Sheb Wolley, Chelcie Ross, and Michael Sassone.

The second film in our pairing of Scottish cinema reunites director Ken Loach and writer Paul Laverty, this time for a dramedy heist film that still has all the working-class pathos Loach is famous for! In "The Angels' Share," the story begins by showing us a series of individuals all getting sentenced to "community payback" (community service) for their particular crimes: Robbie (Paul Brannigan), Albert (Gary Maitland), Rhino (William Ruane), and Mo Jasmine Riggins). They meet when they report for their first day under supervisor Harry (John Henshaw). Robbie is about to become a father and is determined to turn his life around. After witnessing Robbie getting beaten by his partner Leonie's (Siobahn Reilly) brothers and father, Harry takes Robbie under his wing. When Robbie and Leonie's son Luke is born, Harry treats Robbie to a toast with a glass of very old and expensive whiskey, which also reveals that Robbie has a very evolved sense of smell, allowing him to detect all the subtle notes and nuances of the drink. Later no, after a trip to a whiskey tasting where the group learned about the discovery of a very old and rare cask from Malt Mills distillery, Robbie hatches a plan to make them all very rich. The only problem is actually pulling off the plan without getting caught! Also starring Roger Allam. And the trio reveal which two films will make up their tribute to the late, great actor Gene Hackman!