The Cult of Matt and Mark

Not a spectacular movie but one of Matt's cult films none-the-less, Killing Zoe has the heavy hand of Quarantino all over it. A churn of graphic violence, drug use, criminality, friendly prostitutes, KZ is a walk on the wild side. Lacking the thematic meat of other films, Matt and Mark get slightly tangential, which is why we're soliciting topics for our 100th podcast! Make sure to email us desired topics at cultfilmreview@gmail.com. Film based or other-wise, we will discuss ALL emails sent in! Download: 099 Killing Zoe

The Mt Everest of cult films, The Big Lebowski may offer too much meat for Matt and Mark to digest properly, but we give it a go regardless. Like Sam Elliott's cowboy, we ramble quite a bit. Matt wastes a great deal of time trying to pinpoint his loathing towards all that the fraudulent Reagan-inspired titular character represents, while Mark thankfully stirs us towards more interesting topics like the fleecing of Walter and The Dude over the funeral home's most modestly priced receptical. Download: 098 The Big Lebowski

A film tailor made for Philip K Dick fans, where many Hollywood blockbusters have failed (yep, that's my finger and it's pointed at you Stephen Spielberg and John Woo) Richard Linklater delivers the goods.... which may be the reason ASD didn't bring the masses to the megaplex, but whatever. While not necessarily the most coherent of podcasts to date, we try to get to the 'dark' heart of A Scanner Darkly's drug fueled paranoia, with our meager sober minds. Download: 097 A Scanner Darkly

What most action movies strive to achieve but somehow completely fail at, Children of Men, the apocalyptic drama by director Alfonso Cuaron, succeeds. Filmed with such immediacy and consequence, it's hard not to be in the shoes (or flip-flops) of Clive Owen's Theo and ponder the slow whimper-filled twilight of mankind's tenure. So pull yourself up a bottle of Scotch (Matt a 20yr Macallan, Mark a 12yr Glenfiddich) and embrace the sweet oblivion. Download: 096 Children of Men

No, Matt and Mark did not indulge heroin for this week's podcast, even though our off-kilter and awkward Skype issues might give one the impression of a nascent junk habit. This week we review the British cult 90's classic Trainspotting. Not much of a morality tale, and as the viewer you don't much care, as it offers up a buffet of interesting characters all swirling around the desperate world of heroin use. Solidly directed with solid actors, Danny Boyle made a name for himself with this iconic film, leading to a career that continues to challenge its viewers. Download: 095 Trainspotting

With the invention of the internet and its vast inexhaustible 24/7 geek show, the relevance of Pink Flamingos has long past. Despite its obsolete status, it still does not fail to disgust (there's a little bit of vomit-in-your-mouth for everyone). John Waters somehow managed to carve out a mainstream film career from this cinematic circus freak show, which defies convention. Not really Matt and Mark's cup o' tea, we both struggle to take a little bit away. Download: 094 Pink Flamingos

Matt and Mark review the Otomo classic Akira this week, taking stock of its 25 years and whether or not its message of creation/destruction is transcendent or buried in the generational zeitgeist of post-war Japan. Released at the height of the cyberpunk wave, its flashy urban grit and ground-breaking animation make for anime spectacle despite Matt and Mark's lament that the use of psychic powers is weak sci-fi sauce, but that's just nitpicking. Download: 093 Akira

Matt and Mark get into the way-back machine and rediscover The Maltese Falcon, the hard-boiled film noir that started it all. So borrowed in pop-culture, to watch the unaltered/unmolested original, the film that started the genre, is an experiment in perception. Matt of course takes issue with old film (as usual), moaning about dialogue and realism, while Mark enjoys the quick-paced action and direction of the one and only John Huston, finding the movie uniquely fresh 70+ years on. Download: 092 The Maltese Falcon

Q: mommy, daddy, where do zombies come from? A: from vampires of course! It's no accident that the walking dead resemble all the mythical tropes of a vampire, undead-ness, feeding on human flesh, etc... Heavily borrowed from Richard Matheson's novel 'I am Legend', George Romero reinvents the idea giving birth to the rich cornucopia of zombie entertainment today. Matt and Mark discuss this nuance, and others, like the subtext of American racial tension in the late 60's on this week's podcast.  Download: 091 Night of the Living Dead

A little late this week, Matt and Mark, consumed with the Sisyphean chores of yardwork the prior weekend, managed to finally get the podcast out! We review Muriel's Wedding and Mark discloses his affinity for the melancholia of the ambition-less suburban existence while Matt riffs on the US and Australia's mutual affinity. Download:  090 Muriel's Wedding

Not really a science fiction film if you hold a snobby attitude towards the genre, but perhaps a nicely wrought 'space opera' more akin to Star Wars than Blade Runner. Matt and Mark review the film Outland starring Sean Connery, a recasting of the 'High Noon' western tale set on the far-flung Jovian moon of Io. A straight forward plot filled with hit-men, corrupted lawmen, and seedy power-brokers, it makes for a very enjoyable film, minus pretense. Absent heavy thought-provoking sci-fi themes, Matt and Mark discuss the minutia. Download: 089 Outland

A movie about arm wrestling? really? It's high concept, Mark and I both agree this odd Stallone vehicle, strangely ridden with ad placement, is that, but what else is it? Matt finds this Hollywood misfire a strange concoction of sap, corniness, and bad acting while Mark manages to find a certain redemption. What's most troubling is how Mike Hawk is handled in the film, stiff but lacking potency, and at the film's climax, a little dry. Download: 088 Over The Top

Matt and Mark come to the conclusion that reviewing comedies is tough business and Annie Hall is no exception. More meat on its bones than the romantic comedies that came before and after, Annie Hall provides an interesting window into Woody Allen's persona, one both of us (more so Matt) can easily relate to: neurotic, self-deprecating, liberal, and fond of easy intellectual pretentious stereotypes that invite mild ridicule. We try to do it justice, so... you decide. Download: 087 Annie Hall

Famous French director Jean-Luc Godard explores a world if 60's vintage IBM created a dystopic city hellbent on galactic domination! A sci-fi film minus the leotards and lasers, Alphaville is more about theme than flash, which is to its credit. A society devoid of emotion or passion creates a ant-hive like world where its doped numb citizens only live for the now. Mark expresses a budding affection while Matt expresses admiration despite its derivative sci-fi themes. Download: 086 Alphaville

It's not rebellion that defines youth (that's a given) but it's really how one rebels... In the case of Dustin Hoffman's Ben Braddock in The Graduate, his act of rebellion comes in the form of easy sex with the venerable Mrs Robinson played by Anne Bancroft. Juxtaposed to 60's counter-culture, Ben's form of revolt lacks a needed creativity or a new paradigm which was the hallmark of his more adventurous generational peers, which is why he is so unlikable. Matt and Mark discuss a film whose time may have passed but is still relevant in its capturing the 1967 zeitgeist, still making it worthy of discussion.  Download: 085 The Graduate