The Cult of Matt and Mark

Drive, was a critical darling when it debuted and also the focus of populist backlash... which in our opinion, was a good thing, because we wouldn't have Refn's Drive otherwise. Matt and Mark concur that underneath it all, this is a character study. As the fable goes, why does the scorpian kill the frog and himself, despite the consequence of mutual destruction? Driver understands it: because it's his nature. The world is gray and as such, there are no pure psychopaths. There is, however, a thirst for redemption and change, stoked by a kernel of empathy that's dying to get it out. Download: 191 Drive

Matt and Mark finally get around to reviewing the 80s cult classic Repo Man. A film that holds an affection for the early 80's LA punk scene, it breaks B-movie convention with its multi-party hilarity and deft inside jokes. While not a great movie, it is entertaining and it seems few film roles are dedicated to the weird legal twilight of the repo man. Also in this episode is a certified Matt and Mark double feature, our mini-review of the new Star Wars film at the end (warning spoilers!) Download: 190 Repo Man

This week Matt and Mark review the meta-horror film The Cabin in The Woods. Boiling down the standard slasher/creature horror formula into a mythology and turning it into a type of Aztec sacrifice ritual works brilliantly here. Mark sees a deeper meaning in the psychology of stage managers who setup and operate this human slaughterhouse while Matt enjoyed the film's dark humor aspects. And for anyone that enjoys horror monsters, TCITW serves up a full plate of your favorites. Mermen anyone? Download: 189 The Cabin in the Woods

Celebrating our 4 year anniversary here at The Cult of Matt and Mark we review the Stephen King adaptation The Mist! Hot off reading the novella, Mark sizes up the adaptation and gives it the nod for staying true to the source material while Matt relishes in The Mist's B-movie creature-featureness. But the end... You either hate it or you love it, and Mark and Matt split our votes on this one. I'm sure if you're a veteran listener, you'll probably be able to guess who voted for what. Download: 188 The Mist

Signs, signs, everywhere signs... A film about apostasy that just happens to be set in the midst of an alien invasion, M. Night Shyalaman's Signs explores the importance of belief systems and the human brain's need to create constructs via pattern recognition. Mel Gibson, the mad genius bastards that he is, delivers one of his best performances as the recently faithless Reverend Hess. An exercise in less is more, Signs brings tension to the table sorely lacking in current films. M.Night shouldn't be dismissed due to his recent bombs, and here he's firing on all cylinders.   Download: 187 Signs

Matt and Mark continue the John Hughes theme this week with the first of the Ringwald trilogy films, Sixteen Candles. A product of the 80's, the character of Jake portrayed here should no more be the focus of teenage girl wish fulfillment than a drunken frat berserker armed with roofies and the tenderness of a Viking war chief. But back then, things were different. Matt and Mark agree that the true "hero" of the film and focus of most of the action is Farmer Ted. A freshmen with a motor, he provides the late night hilarity and action while the passive Samantha merely laments her predicament and falls asleep before midnight. Download: 186 Sixteen Candles

A little late for Thanksgiving, we offer up our review of the John Hughes holiday classic Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Matt coughs up a few anecdotes regarding his experience with the modern marvel we know as domestic air travel, while Mark picks apart the turkey carcass of Neil Paige's fairy tale domesticity, complete with the awaiting water-eyed angelic housewife and the immaculate oven, complete with a photogenic 25 lb butterball. Download:  185 Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Ending the "For the Kids..." movie review marathon this week, we give our spin on the classic Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory. Matt stumbles trying to offer up his take on the titular character, while Mark cuts to the chase and sizes up Willy as an entrepreneur akin to Silicon Valley monomaniacs like Musk, Jobs, Bezos, and Gates. Paranoid and zealous, Willy lives a hermetic world where those who don't share his vision of a candy utopia are not to be trusted and tested. Meant to be a wholesome family musical, Willy Wonka is more dark comedy with a cutting wit and little regard for handling kids with kid gloves. Download: 184 Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory

This week we review Transformers The Movie, a result of the 80's high concept marketing campaign for the toy industry. Back in the day, Matt and Mark used to watch after school half hour advertisements for Mattel and Kenner in the form of Transformers and the like. Wasted Youth? Who knows. Mark laments dragging his mother to see the film twice while Matt decries the resurgent recycling of 80's toy culture. Is Transformers a good film? Hard to say really. Like wandering minstrels of the Medieval Era, its hard to put oneself in the shoes of the audience to gain any kind of appreciation, but it may be safe to admit, it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Unless you're Michael Bay of course, then you'll hump it forever. Download: 183 Transformers The Movie

Matt and Mark's "For the Kids" movie review marathon continues with our take on the 1984 classic The Neverending Story. The world of Fantasia is being destroyed by The Nothing, a metaphor for the grinding gray of adulthood and diminished imagination. At least that's the way Matt saw the film, where The Nothing's werewolf agent Gmork is nothing more than a stand in for any HR manager in a nameless multi-national corporation. A film with astonishing classic affects, Mark points out the brilliance of it's set pieces and characters while rattling off the whose-who of its talented credit list. Also, it can be agreed that Atreyu is one of the more metal names to come from a children's story (take that Veruca Salt!). Download: 182 The Neverending Story

Matt and Mark's "For the Kids" marathon continues this week with the "family" adventure film Watership Down, a famed animated production from Britain released in 1978. Despite Matt's decades long ignorance regarding the film's name (It's a place? What? Not some esoteric reference to societal downfall?), we try to suss out what's great about this film. With realistic depictions of violence and a naturalist style, it marginalizes the familiar animated tropes of Disney-esque anthropomorphism, elevating it to something greater. And why a film about rabbits? Because there's perhaps a universal truth to be told from creatures who must fear everything, a justified dread that taps into our vestigial brains and perhaps a reason so many children remember this film. Download:  181 Watership Down

Matt and Mark's "For the Kids" movie review marathon continues this week with our take on the 1985 box office misfire "Return to Oz". Lacking in the thematic elements of its uber-famous predecessor, it does expand the Oz universe, drinking from the well of the original Baum children's novels. However, it's creep factor, complete with ruined Yellow Brick Road, Munchkin Holocaust, and Chernobyl-style post apocalypse of the once great Emerald City could really only be redeemed by another tranch of ten or so Disney princess movies. So, do an Elton John and say "goodbye Yellow Brick Road", or do a Bowie, and "put on your red shoes and dance the blues." Download: 180 Return to Oz

Matt and Mark's "For the Kids..." movie review marathon continues with the beloved Miyazaki's last film, Ponyo. A film that is beautiful to watch, it teases out what is best in anime: the ability to create emotion with the warmth of hand drawn animation. Matt and Mark contrast the style with out current CGI fair and marvel at the imagery. Pivoting on themes of separation, Ponyo welcomes all ages and entertains all. If you don't enjoy Ponyo, Mark and Matt are pretty sure you must be dead behind the eyes and a cold-hearted psychopath. Download: 179 Ponyo

Kicking off the "For the Kids..." movie review marathon, we start with the 1986 Henson classic Labyrinth. A little weary from our hard-partying weekend, Matt and Mark ramble a bit with our review as we attempt to bond with our inner child. Matt gets nostalgic for his adolescent Jennifer Connelly crush while Mark expresses his disappointment in the film's cliched violent climax and odd mix of tone. But what ties this movie together? Like a cat from Japan, well hung with a snow white tan... Bowie... Bowie in all his scrotal glory. Download: 178 Labyrinth

Taking the better parts of earlier films (and perhaps lesser films), Director Cosmatos manages to conjure the atmospheric and menacing Beyond the Black Rainbow. Taking New Age psychedelic notions of transcendence to their limits, the denizens of the Arboria institute attempt enlightenment with a concoction of drugs and a black pool of sensory goo. Half liking/half hating the film, Matt derides its cliched and uncharacteristic end, while Mark is more sympathetic. Anyway, give it a watch and dare to hit the mother lode! Download: 177 Beyond the Black Rainbow