The Cult of Matt and Mark

One of Matt's favorite authors J.G. Ballard introduced us to a special quirk of the future near-apocalypse and thus the term "Ballardian" was coined. The film adaptation High Rise depicts an absurd apocalypse, a break down of society with no fundamental driver. But that's not exactly the point. The point is the emergence of a different human being, one that's enticed by the transformation of end-times, not one nostalgic for what was. While somewhat 2-dimensional, its characters hint at our specific pandemic moment, one that forces an appreciation of something perhaps more truthful, more atavistic than our current artificial landscapes and manufactured routines. Download: 318 High Rise . 

Matt and Mark throw off the movie review mantle for a little free-wheelin' chat. So for the post-apocalyptic hordes who really wanted to listen to a podcast of the film adaptation of J.G.Ballard's High Rise, you can skip on to the next episode and not suffer 30 minutes of our free-wheelin' intro. Here we're chatting about the world-crisis pandemic and our own myopic inconvenient take on this particular plague. There's been many before, there's one now, and there will be more in the future... that's the way this creaky millennia old civilization rolls, I'm afraid. Download: Special Episode

This week Matt and Mark review the mediocre Wonderland, capping off our So-Cal Drug/Porn/Val-Kilmer loose theme. While not a great film, it bookends our four film review. While we spend a great deal reviewing our current global pandemic (sorry.. just skip ahead enlightened mutants of the far future) we do get into some of the decent points of the film and it's Roshoman approach to the high-profile Wonderland murders of the early 80's. There's a few stand-out performances, and Val-Kilmers' sleazy glean is charismatic, at least enough to make the film worth a watch. Download: 317 Wonderland

Matt and Mark continue our SoCal drug-fueled cinematic voyage into the world of Spun. A more realistic if not overly frenetic depiction of tweaker life in the fringes of LA's exurbs. A powerhouse of acting talent turned up to 11, Spun features a wealth of Y2K actors including John Leguizamo, Brittany Murphy (RIP), Jason Schwartzman, and of course Mickey Rooney starring as the meth cook version of Mickey Rooney. With a now antiquated music video vibe (ala its director), Spun leaves you with drive-by portrayals of drugged out vignettes. Its characters lack back-stories, but in the end they don't need any. You know how they got to where they are, and you just want to see where the day takes them. Pop an old Blondie (or Judas Priest) cassette into your Chevette's tape deck, snort a crystal or two off our thumb, and kick back for a few days drive with Spun. Download: 316 Spun

Matt and Mark review the exceptionally great Paul Thomas Anderson film Boogie Nights this go 'round. A humanizing portrayal of what is known (or viewed as) as an objectifying/de-humanizing industry, we join the young DD on his nascent career into the ever-changing adult film industry. All A-listers in their own right, every actor fills out the ensemble in layered scenes that are great to watch. 20+ years on, it feels like the film came out yesterday. One thing is for sure... you'll never listen to Night Ranger's "Sister Christian" again without the jarring expectations of an ill-timed firecracker going off in your ear. Download: 315 Boogie Nights

This go 'round Mark and Matt review some stylized drug-fueled So-Cal tweaking with the Val Kilmer film The Salton Sea. A film that somehow romanticized meth use in a weird away, we ride along with Danny Parker / Tom Van Allen on his circuitous route to redemption and revenge. Along the way we meet the Vincent D'Onofrio incarnation of "Pooh-Bear", a film character like no other, also backed up by the fun Mexican-stereotypes of drug toughs played by non other than Luis Guzman and Danny Trejo (in one film!). So snort a line, kick back, and watch three days burn in the blink of an eye and enjoy... The Salton Sea. Download: 314 The Salton Sea

This geological epoch, Matt and Mark review the Sword and Sorcery/Sandal 80's fantasy film The Beastmaster. Chronologically speaking, a simultaneous release (more or less) with the Milius classic Conan The Barbarian, The Beastmaster lacks the exotic "Je ne se quoi" of the former with a more "back lot" quality that speaks to its production quality. Is it a watchable good film? Kind of... But for a non-discerning 10 year old in the early 80's it was Dungeons and Dragons gold! Shot with Kubrickian precision, it's Barry-Lyndon quality night-shots give it a peculiar look that makes for an honest effort. The Beastmaster knows what kind of film it is, and it serves it up well. That and Rip Torn is a decent stand-in for the ominous "Thulsa Doom" villain archetype. Download: 313 The Beastmaster   

Matt and Mark review the Dudley Moore classic 10, a mid-life crisis film with a more manic honest depiction of sexual irrationality of the 40 year white male than our previous Blame it on Rio review. Can you ever really live a fantasy? Probably not, and 10 makes that argument in genuine comedic fashion. The brain has the odd prediction for overestimating an experience despite one's better judgement. Was Bo Derek all that? Matt and Mark ponder... a Playboy model, yes, but what about those corn rows? hmm...  Download: 312 10

From Mark's "The Great T!ts" film catalog, we review the 80's sex comedy "Blame it on Rio." In this film the "ancient" 47 y.o. Michael Caine has an affair with the nubile daughter of his best friend and as you would expect... hi-jinks ensue. What could have been an honest potrayal of the obligatory mid-life crisis episode ultimately fails in this film (resulting in its 5% RT rating), however it does beg one to wonder, would anyone make a movie like this now? It's hard to say. With free 24/7 HD streaming pornography one wonders if this type of VHS-rewind-for-the-odd-boob-shot is necessary anymore. Perhaps nostalgia reigns supreme for Blame it... Download: 311 Blame it on Rio

Matt and Mark review the Tarkovsky Soviet-style Sci-Fi film Stalker. A film that introduces the "The Zone", similar to that of the recent Annihilation's "The Shimmer", is an alien anomalous zone arrived via meteor to the planet Earth. A journey into The Zone promises revelation and wish fulfillment, but sadly this film only delivers "elliptical" conversations embedded in Tarkovsky father's poetry. Meant to be a sublime journey into meaning, Stalker could have done more with the less it had to work with (in Matt's opinion). Perhaps worthy of 1.5 hours instead of the 2.5 it runs, it challenges the viewer. It's definitely not intended as entertainment (sadly), a fun romp it is not. Download: 310 Stalker (1979) 

The poster says "A biting comedy", but the comedic is a little sketchy with the odd intentions of this particular Nick Cage descent-into-madness story. Matt and Mark complete our Paranormal Cage theme with Vampire's Kiss. A little American Psycho, it offers up an asshole, complete with strange effete non-accent, and then let's us ride along as he spins out into a homeless vampire of a delusional existence. For whatever reason, it's a watchable weird film and a new/old take on Goth LARP'ing. Download: 309 Vampire's Kiss

Bees!!! Matt and Mark continue our "Paranormal Cage" theme with the much maligned/beloved bad movie remake of the sinister 1973 titular classic. As fans of the original, we both ponder why this version is such a failure. Yes there's the goofy bear scene, bees, and odd punching-the-lights-out of forest wandering women, but there's something at the core that fails. Matt speculates that unlike the original, where things are not what they seem, in this version you're served up pagan cult weirdos as soon as you get off the sea plane. Sadly, where horror once worked, farce now reigns. Download: 308 The Wicker Man (2006)

We're back for our run-up to Halloween. This go 'round we're thinking "Paranormal Cage", and to begin our offering, we review a film that's near and dear to our hearts: Drive Angry (Shot in) 3D. Why? Well, one of our good friends not only was the art director but had the privilege of getting his sandal-wearing ass killed by diabolical leader Jonah King! While no doubt a Cage paycheck film, it is a well wrought 'B' movie with all your typical camp: there's a sex-gunfight, schemes of satanic child sacrifice, and then there's Cage's hell jailbreaker bringing it all back home. And tying it all together is a superbly fun William Fichtner as the Accountant. Download:  307 Drive Angry

We're back (finally) and it's time to wrap up our "young lust" theme with the 1983 cult romance classic Valley Girl starring a young Nicholas Cage. A movie the breaks out from the teen-sex swamp of like genre films of the era, VG's character-driven story arc elevates it above the common Porky's-type drivel. Still with a dose of ample 80's boob shots, it has a little for everyone. Mark and Matt both agree it falls apart in the last 3rd of the film as it delves into the realm of silliness and cop-outs (violence doesn't really solve anything... it really doesn't... come on, this isn't Rambo folks). Oddly inspired by the titular Zappa hit, the linguistic impact of the era is not to be understated. Download: 306 Valley Girl

The penultimate entry into our "Young Lust" theme, this go 'round we review the Linklater Gen X love letter Before Sunrise. The first in the "Before Trilogy" we get off the train with Celine and Jesse for a night on the streets of Vienna. Matt works to give life to Mark's cold dead heart, and finds a few bits and pieces of Before Sunrise that lifts his current Morrissey fog. A film made over 25 years ago, the "simpler time" element is more in contrast than ever, a time before the slums of our current internet age befouled the purity of human-on-human interaction. While we know what becomes of Celine and Jesse in later entries to their story, Matt still appreciates this tattered Harlequin romance novel that is Before Sunrise's male wish fulfillment, while Mark? ... not so much. Download: 305 Before Sunrise