It’s that time of year again and Chris is kicking off our Holiday Employee Picks with The Boy Who Saved Christmas (1998).  Despite the title, it’s actually about Santa’s adventures in LA dealing with amnesia all while trying to get back to the North Pole to save his wife from the clutches of his evil brother.  That’s correct: we’ve got a love triangle involving the Clauses.  There’s also henchmen that aren’t elves, email and lasers.  It’s not a stretch to say that this movie is kind of nuts.  In other words, it’s the perfect holiday treat, so get some cocoa and a blanket and tune in!

Lucy Valentine, host of the podcasts Boonta Vista and Savant Garde, is in the guest seat today and we’re excited to talk to her because she’s brought North (1994).  This Rob Reiner adaption of a young adult book stars Elijah Wood, Bruce Willis and too many others to list.  Despite all that talent on screen, the film did not land well, famously inspiring Roger Ebert’s hatred.  It’s a film for the neglected child in all of us while being full of adult humor and some very bizarre choices. All in all, it got us all talking and inspired many strong reactions, so tune in!

Manolo Moreno, host of Dr. Gameshow, is back and with him is Melisande Osnes who’s calling at the bottom of a tower for Barbie as Rapunzel (2002).  But Barbie will not let that hair down (don’t hold your breath), because this CGI family tale is about painting and being yourself, even if that means that you can’t tell anyone who you are.  It’s not what you’d expect and sits squarely in the uncanny valley.  Come for the life lessons, stay to watch a poorly animated otter/weasel coil around Anjelica Houston’s character’s neck.  It’s unforgettable, and an inspiration to the child in us all that doesn’t know what to paint, so tune in!

Molly Rich, a friend of the show, has got us out of horror-fueled haze with the breath of fresh air that is Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985).  Inspired by the popular song by Cyndi Lauper, it follows the exploits of new girl Sarah Jessica Parker who befriends Helen Hunt as they both attempt to get a part on Dance TV, all while navigating catholic school, an angry father, boys and nerves. Jonathan Silverman and Shannen Doherty are in the mix, too. It’s a good-hearted, fun coming-of-age film that can’t decide if it’s sexual or not, but who cares?  We all had a blast, and so can you, so tune in!

Ethan Sarezky, America’s foremost expert on collectible VHS tapes, is in the studio to talk about, and I can’t believe I’m typing this, My Father the Hero (1994).  Part of a wave of French remakes in the 90s, this film is about a young Katherine Heigl convincing an entire resort that her father, played by “complicated” actor Gerard Depardieu, is actually her boyfriend just to make someone else jealous.  It’s full of puzzling, if not upsetting choices, and leaves one with many questions and concerns, but we’re doing out best to field that.  Spoiler alert, listening is better than watching this time around, so tune in!

Finally, the leaves are changing color, Kennedy Cooper, host of the podcast The Most Important Election of Our Lives is here, and we’re getting the pumpkin spice lattes out for… Evil Bong(2006)?  While it may sound like a horror film (and it is), this Charles Band directed effort is more of stoner comedy that’s a love letter the Full Moon universe that also has a bong puppet and Tommy Chong in it.  Despite the fact that a good portion of the film takes place in the nightmarish strip club that Kennedy calls “bong world” the film feels much closer to hanging out with a group of friends rather than watching a movie.  Evil Bong can unite us all, even you, all you need to do is tune in!

Our final episode of Spoooooky Season is here and writer/editor/gamer Merritt K is back to throw open the doors of the haunted house that is Conquest (1983).  Not a typical horror film, but a gory, phantasmagorical, fantasy epic directed by famed Italian director Lucio Fulci.  A gauzy, meandering yarn of young demi-god(?) who brings the mind-boggling tech of a bow and arrow to a “primitive” people, which really freaks out the nude, mask-wearing woman who has dominion over therm.  It’s a lot of people in prosthetics, fog and arresting imagery and a pretty solid time with others, so tune in!

Friend of the show Christy Admiraal is here for Week Three of the Spoooooktacular and she’s brought up something mysterious from the basement, it’s Graveyard Shift (1990).  This Ralph S. Singleton film was based on a Stephen King short story and contains, if briefly, the enigmatic Brad Dourif.  It’s both a horror film and a slice-of-life film that both contain lots of rats.  One works better than the other, but that’s not exactly a compliment, though we all agree it has a certain charm.  And lots of thick, questionable accents.  And cute rats!  Anyways, shifts startin’, better punch in, then tune in!

Our spooktacular continues with journalist Dais Johnston whose got an especially wicked treat in their goody bag, The Last Horror Film (1982).  From former song-and-dance-man David Winters, it’s many things and one of those things is a meta-horror film about Joe Spinell’s Vinny stalking Caroline Munro’s famous scream queen Jana Bates at Cannes.  It was filmed guerilla style in France, has a cast of friends and (probably) people just found on the street and it’s full of inexplicable nudity and montages.  Sometimes the last two are even combined.  Anyway you slice it, this horror film got our attention, so tune in!

​Spooooooky season is here and so is our dear friend Kate Bellock.  This librarian is kicking off our spook-tacular by taking us to Horror School with Student Bodies (1981) a horror-comedy parody of slasher films.  Directed by Mickey Rose and staring a bunch of unknowns (including an unforgettable unknown called The Stick), it skewers many tropes of the genre all while flinging jokes at such a rapid pace that it’s hard to linger on the ones that don’t land.  All in all, it’s a pretty good time, so tune in!