Movie Meltdown - Episode 229

Always going that extra step to find our audience, this week we set up shop at the Flea Off Market to spread the word about the show. But then as usual, we just hang out and primarily talk amongst ourselves about movies. So as we are seated there between carved statues of bears, various clothing articles and the multitude of record vendors... we proceed to discuss important subjects like Iron Man 3, Pain and Gain, The Call, Kiss of the Damned and - The Notebook? Plus the gloves come off... as we discuss what child of a celebrity is a complete sociopath. But what we didn't expect was the "interesting" people we would meet while we were there, including a guy in a killer whale shirt, a woman who claims she delivered a pizza to Harry Dean Stanton and a vendor who tells us he likes to run marathons dressed in his Captain Jean Luc Picard uniform. You gotta love the flea market! 

Plus as we attempt to suplex a small child, we also mention... sea shells crafted into Ninja Turtles, the death tunnel, justice vs. wasted tax-payer dollars, going to the drive-in, Session 9, self absorbed machismo, Tony Stark, a Hollywood surreal art house film, Jennifer Garner, Marvel vs. DC, The State Lunatic Hospital at Danvers, Rogue vs. Storm, spawned something, Donatello... the survivor, John Cassavete's films, Vincent D'onofrio, Silence of the Lambs Lite, Star Trek, Xan Cassavetes, John Carter, Happy Accidents, Milo Ventimiglia, Faces, Brad Anderson, Gothika, having an underground lair, the M. Night school of script picking, a fake, Michael Bay, going to Cheeks, High Fidelity, Waverly Hills Sanatorium, The Island, Thor in Santa Fe, Next Stop Wonderland, smelling hair, the Iron Man paradox, post-traumatic lock down, The Machinist, Reverend Horton Heat's phone number, being dressed like the Universal Monsters, Halle Berry, Dances with Wolves, the natal pod that birthed you, a collection of wiffle bats and a shark mouth that you could walk through. 

Spoiler Alert: Spoilers for "The Call" are contained in this episode.  Also... for those who are wrestling-ignorant as we are, David Otunga aka Officer Jake Devans, is a WWE wrestler. 

"People show minor interest in our wares and then wander off..."

Movie Meltdown - Episode 228

R. Lee Ermey declares war on lame podcasts and so he joins forces with us here at "Movie Meltdown" to deliver a great episode! Most people know R. Lee Ermey from his legendary performance as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in "Full Metal Jacket". But in his time, he's been involved in 75 movies, hosted TV shows, done animated voice-over work, been a product spokesperson and so many other projects. But more important than that, long before his acting days he served his country in the Marine Corps and actually went to war himself. So we discuss his early days, just how he got involved in the military, and what eventually led him to Hollywood. Plus we hear his stories about working with the likes of Stanley Kubrick, Francis Ford Coppola and Peter Jackson! And even though he's been through the horrors of war, we discuss what might just be the scariest thing R. Lee Ermey has ever experienced... kissing Jack Black! 

And since we are talking to the man most synonymous with warfare on the silver screen, we settle into "The Grind" where the group sits down to discuss - War Movies. And along the way we mention... Leo Tolstoy, Inglourious Basterds, Apocalypse Now, The Steel Helmet, The English Patient, learning history from film, Born on the Fourth of July, Anna Karenina, The Patriot, hegemony, Thor, The Big Red One, General Grant, Enemy at the Gates, Albanian genocide, Principal Skinner, Cold Mountain, Tom Stoppard, stock war characters, Henry the V, Sam Fuller, K-19: The Widowmaker, the birth of text messaging, shell shock, military therapy, Fixed Bayonets!, Osama Bin Laden, keeping the Emperor, Terrence Malick, George Takei, D.I. Darren McGavin, Zero Dark Thirty, Casablanca, 300, Erwin Rommel, Black Hawk Down, making a movie in a typhoon, Tribes, internment camps, relationships against the backdrop of world events, I turned down ten films last year, The Return of Martin Guerre, the civil war, Schindler's List, MASH, Braveheart, do war movies have to be historically accurate?, what do you say when there are Nazis about?, The Boys in Company C, going to Vietnam, trying to get away from the law, Patton, War and Peace, George Washington's military career, war hero as super hero, honor or emo?, Vassili Zaitsev, the revolutionary war, joining the Marines, The African Queen, is the individual greater than the war?, The Black Robe, Purple Hearts, The Deer Hunter, Nathanael Greene and changing trench warfare. 

"If you see my name on a movie... better go see it, because it's a kick-ass movie." 

Special thanks to SOG Knives for their help on this episode, check out R. Lee's exclusive "Gunny"  knife at: http://www.sogknives.com/

Movie Meltdown - Episode 227

This week the gang sets up shop in our favorite raven-hued church as we discuss great gothic filmmaking... and Satanism. But first we talk about seeing Quentin Dupieux's new film "Wrong". Plus we find out about some of the terrific guests and activities at the upcoming WonderFest (some of which are tied to our movie!).  Then we head into this week's Sofa Theater feature - the 1934 version of "The Black Cat" starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. 

And while we plan our honeymoon in Hungary, we also mention... Space 1999, connoisseur villian, Edgar G. Ulmer, Thriller, the opposite of the American dream, The Ghoul, The Ninth Gate, Peter Bogdanovich, Pushing Daisies, the sickness in our culture, Dragnet, Star Trek Into Darkness, Necrophilia, learning English from cowboys, The Raven, Lee Meriwether,  taken over by Communist, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, Gerry Anderson, Lee Stringer, Dead Like Me, changing identities, making movie theaters out of unusual spaces, the Ennis-Brown House, Lost and Found, Roger Corman, unionizing, Karloff and Lugosi: The Story of a Haunting Collaboration, Bela Lugosi Jr., angst riddled teenagers, Ed Gein, McChurch, HuLu addressing you by name, goofy Americans, girls under glass, absurdist, hobby show, Wonderfalls, Satan on spanking?, Sara Karloff, Targets, Satanic bedtime stories, supernatural bologna, David Manners, The Third Man, Hugh Hefner's gothic division, "suggested by" Edgar Allen Poe, male honor, running the Church of Satan, Rubber, you just don't get me Google, going on strike, denying you are hungry, The Return of Crawling Joe, being bullied by NetFlix, Peter Lorre and Thunderbirds Are Go!!!

Spoiler Alert! - Full spoilers for the 1934 version of "The Black Cat". Beware... take care (of spoilers). 

"It's the single most perverse film... of the Universal cycle..."

Movie Meltdown - Episode 226

This week, we come to you "live" from The Found Footage Festival as we discuss some of our favorite clips from the presentation as well as our conversation with the co-creator of the festival Nick Prueher. 

Plus as we reminisce about The Legend of Dwayne's World, we also mention... the woman who lives with Fred, one of the first viral videos, estate sales, David Letterman, topless arm-wrestling, smuggling tapes, an early advanced sense of irony, Finger Tips, public inside jokes, diabetic foot ulcer, John Waters dressed as Riff Raff, umbilical cord guitar, not one but two accordions, John Stuart Mill's Utilitarian Theory, Winnebago Man, the Magical Rainbow Sponge, birth explosion, opossum massage, Flower Power, viewing parties, find McC, Goodwill, finding tapes in the trash, The ButterCream Gang, Small Wonder, Mr. T educational video, physical media, David Lynch's estate sale, when you parents get a camcorder, John & Johnny, sponging patterns, demolition of a house, The Queen of Versailles, the Angela Landerbury exercise tape, Wheel of Wounds, Across the Universe, working at McDonald's, potty training, cursing at a fly, Hand Made Love, first run syndication, The Salvation Army, Inside and Outside - Custodial Duties, Rent-A-Friend, King of Kong, Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'em, help have sex, accidental community, part of our show is about commiserating, being able to control a movie in your home, the VHS cover slideshow, the formats change but bad ideas don't, a lot of ambition and questionable talent, American Movie, Babes in Toyland, how to carve a Santa face, irony puberty, Kato Kaelin, vinyl sex appeal, Dirty Country, a love of things that were so bad they were good, the production value of a snuff film, video fireplaces and Marlena's extensive knowledge of sexually perverse terminology. 

"There wasn't much else going on in our hometown. So this was our entertainment." 

Movie Meltdown - Episode 225

This week we discuss the 1977 film "The Car", starring James Brolin. And somewhere along the road, we also mention... Peter Weir, Home Alone, No Country for Old Men, Duel, The Village, The Last Wave, the French horn player, Ronny Cox, E.T., the embodiment of evil, Hotel, Lady in the Water, a parade, Escape to Witch Mountain, being semi-evil, Jaws, Sinister, taking care of the annoying characters, Christine, Skyfall, getting chased by a car, Ray Milland's corpse, best dad ever, Paul Giamatti, Michael Myer, Burt Reynolds, John Marley and The Cars that Ate Paris. 

Spoiler Alert: Full spoilers for "The Car". So go watch the movie before listening. 

"I mean, it's a movie about a car that is Satan incarnate, going around picking off people in a desert town. How can you not have fun with that?!"

Movie Meltdown - Episode 224

Before we delve into the "Evil Dead" we take a slightly more serious look at death, as we note the passing of film critic and the Godfather of all movie geeks... Roger Ebert. An interesting man and a great writer, he inspired many people over the years and arguably helped create our own show.

Then we debate the merits of Fede Alvarez's return to the franchise with "Evil Dead". We attempt to look at the film on it's own and occasionally compare it to the previous movies - as well as examine how it fits into the "Evil Dead" universe. 

And while eating spaghetti and watching a movie, we mention... Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, the state of journalism, Diablo Cody, the evil in the woods, 306 movie reviews, deadites, Leonard Maltin, high water, five souls, I'm not awesome at math... but I can count to five, Gene Shalit, drugs, Jennifer's Body, trying to exploit rather then tell a story, a virus, At the Movies, Jane Levy, practical effects, it's not what a film is about... but how it is about it, The Great Movies, a waiting demon, Russ Meyer, audacious, gore-fest and Who Killed Bambi?

Spoiler Alert: Full spoilers for the 2013 movie "Evil Dead". So watch it now before listening to this episode. 

"If you watch a horror movie, and you get mad a people who make dumb decisions... you're just not watching it for the right [reasons]..."

Movie Meltdown - Episode 223

This week we talk to Bob Braunbeck, Jacques Cousteau's helicopter pilot for 16 years! He is, as he describes it - an old-school pilot. And in time he would also earn his title as "Director of Aerial Photography" for Cousteau's films. He's lived an amazing life, filled with adventures that most of us can't even imagine.   

Then we discuss the 1956 film "The Silent World", Jacques Cousteau's legendary and Oscar-winning documentary. As it turns out, this movie is something very different then what we expected. The world was a very different place in 1956, and many things take place that would never be allowed today. If you watch the movie... you'll know what we mean. So beware, there some disturbing images mixed into this visually stunning documentary. 

And as we find out about hotwiring a helicopter, we also talk about...  there's never anybody on the radio, learning a new language, the red beanie, balancing four things at once, communicating with whales, listening with your mouth, a licensed mechanic, Russell Brand's words to live by, working in Germany, Kansas City, rubber bungee, backing up in a helicopter, getting permission to shoot, living in France, burning a tree,  running a helicopter in saltwater conditions, learning French on a pillow, damaging the blade, he always wanted to be somewhere else, putting a butterfly in a coal mine, two colors - blue and green, flying through caves, it's like we were brothers, I had to watch part of it through my hands, the Air Force Academy, believing what the older animals tell you, arguing is a waste of time, hosing down a shirtless dude, I had to get back to the boat... and it was getting a little dark, the pleasures of life, deforestation, power line control, I'm confused by what part of what they did was science, New Albany, taking me to pull my fingernails out, using the wrong word, judging the blades, traveling around the world, getting arrested in a foreign country, ADHD, sun block, the Bureau of Aviation, dead fish, a straight-up beau hunk, the difference between a reason  and an excuse, breaking the helicopter, have you been filming?, floating frat party, staying out of the air traffic,sea turtles and avenging the whale! 

Spoiler Alert: I don't know if you'd call them exactly "spoilers", since they actually happened... over 57 years ago! But this film features tons of beautifully shot footage as well as a few horrifying parts, by today's standards. So watch the movie beforehand, and you will know what we are talking about.  

"...they showed me all the places where you don't land, 'cause that's where all the smugglers come in - and they'll shoot you if you land there."

Movie Meltdown - Episode 222

This week we head to Cincinnati HorrorHound as we check in with one of our own favorite podcasts... Night of the Living Podcast. Then we sit down for one of the most awesome interviews in the history of the show... as we talk to Dee Snider and Adam Green! 

Dee you may know from a lifetime of being a kick-ass rock star. But he's also a huge horror fan who has crossed over as an actor, writer and producer. Similarly Adam Green is know best as the director of the popular movies "Hatchet", "Frozen" and "Hatchet 2". But Adam is also a writer, actor and now the creator of the TV series "Holliston" - where he co-stars with the likes of Joe Lynch, Laura Ortiz, Corri English, Oderus from GWAR and Dee Snider himself!! An unusual cast of characters that come together to make a TV show, specifically geared for movie geeks!

And as we ask the question, You want Oderus - on a sitcom??, we also talk about...  Love It Down Your Throat, going to the 70th anniversary of Stalingrad - for your birthday, teen heartthrob Eric Stoltz, Robert Patrick's pants, Coffee & Donuts, Scream, watch the director, a lord or a lady or a butler or a footman, Tribeca Film Festival, he's busy dealing with his lady-scarf, The Dinosaur Project, borrowing/stealing video equipment, nursing babies... Area 51.. World War 2, a big fat movie producer, Victor Crowley, a weird ADD-type kid, Pee Wee Herman, What's most stylish in life?, Downton Abbey, heavy metal Yoda, having a live audience, the alien in my closet, Burn in Hell, ask your cable provider, Maniac, Annabeth Gish, all the weird things that happen... and all the cartoon characters that you turn into, copyright infringements, the horror world was just so pathetic, dollars to donuts, walking the red carpet, getting Niedermeyer, Dean Cundey, Chucky and the Leprechaun, a stuffed tiger, Bon-Jovi wants to fly, I'll make you afraid!! Go to sleep... I'll come in your room in the middle of the night!, having final cut, Danielle Harris, Back to the Future, John Doggett, A Chance in Hell, eating babies and placentas, breaking the 4th wall and that's my bruised daughter!

"Do you wanna make cable commercials forever, or do you wanna make movies?" 

A big thanks to Adam and Dee! Check out more about Holliston at: http://www.fearnet.com/

Special thanks to: http://www.sharonvilleconventioncenter.com/

And thanks to Nathan for putting the convention together: http://www.horrorhoundweekend.com/

Movie Meltdown - Episode 221

This week we welcome one of our favorite people back to the show. You may know Doug Jones as the Silver Surfer, or as Abe Sapien, or from Pan's Labyrinth, or from his many other numerous roles - but this week, you'll just know him as special guest co-host of "Movie Meltdown". And after catching up with Doug, we delve into this week's movie... David O. Russell's "Silver Linings Playbook". As it turns out, Doug worked with David O. Russell in the past, and we find out if that set was subject to O. Russell's notorious directing style. 

Plus as we learn the truth behind Doug's scandalous internet sex experience, we also discuss... Holy Motors, The Landlord, fancy lads and lasses, Alan Menken, Barry Bostwick, arguing with George Clooney, Harold and Maude, Jennifer Lawrence, The Watch, Dash Mihok, Fallout: Nuka Break, the dance-off, the webernet, Three Kings, getting nominated opposite Daniel Day-Lewis, I don't have a filter, tripping Mark Wahlberg, we all have issues, Hal Ashby, The Neighbors, 3G's!, dead in the sand, Bradley Cooper, Research, Chris Tucker, there's gotta be a weird doctor out there somewhere, Robert De Niro, driving to Pittsburg to see a movie, Falling Skies, healed through dance, Chris Tucker, people building up your expectations for a movie, driveway up... driveway down, Mime Very Own Book, commitment to family, cheaper then the silicone dummy, Dead Man Down, John Dies at the End, For Your Consideration, the Hollywood-issued ending, The Danger Element, a soda and a carrot, Jacki Weaver, a tweed-clad biker gang and a message from Phineas the unicorn. 

Spoiler Alert: Full spoilers for "Silver Linings Playbook", so see the movie before listening. 

"Yell all you want David O. Russell... if you keep making art."

Movie Meltdown - Episode 220

This week we discuss the 2013 German film "The Silence", directed by Baran bo Odar. And while we imagine being in a bed surrounded by cakes, we also mention... Act of Violence, the new Soderbergh film, math is fiction, My Life as a Dog, Lost Highway, I felt so bad for Jessica Chastain, Nabokov, it had a plot, David Lynch, I jumped several times, Jorge Luis Borges, vices could be kept... like a house plant, you've written five better movies, a dinner in Versailles, Jeff Daniels, a drunk bear, househunting in Germany, not good at math, Blood Simple, Gérard Depardieu, a Lon Chaney pedophile, Dreamland Theater, Steve Martin, fastidious, The Shining, Clue, Side Effects, Roger Ebert, cinematography, George W. Bush and the Queen of England, gratuitous full-frontal male nudity, Rooney Mara, The Guillermo Del Toro Theory, a replicated crime scene, in a bathtub with ice cream lined up around the sides, a memoir, it suggests a much better movie then it is, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Mama and going over the country with a lint roller. 

Spoiler Alert: We discuss full spoilers for this new film, so watch "The Silence" before listening. 

"He... on several occasions, captures this perfect look of... despair."