[Schumacast] Falling Down (1993)

Windy Bowlsby joins Angie and I as we dig into this notorious early 90s thriller about anger, entitlement, and petty acts that explode into excessive violence. Check it out here.

[Sleigh Bell Cinema] Christmas in Connecticut

I'm back for another year as Michael sleighs in for another celebration of Christmas movies. This time we discuss another favorite of my mother's, a classic romance farce involving fake celebrities, starved soldiers, flippy-flopjacks, multiple impostor babies, and Sydney Greenstreet raiding the fridge for leftovers. Check it out here.

[Masters of Carpentry] Halloween (2018)

Alex returns as he, JD, and I take on the latest reboot of the franchise, erasing all sequels as a team better known for their comedies take on the reunion of Michael and Laurie, both of whom are older, wiser, and angrier than ever. What works, what doesn't, and where do we feel the franchise can go moving forward. Check it out here.

[Projection Booth] Dead Heat

I had the delight of recording with Heather Drain for the first time as Mike had me back for a discussion of this 80s hybrid of buddy cop and zombie movies, as Treat Williams and Joe Piscopo navigate the crime sprees of suspects who either won't stay dead, or rapidly decay into goo. Where heroes solve their own murder, Vincent Price heckles from a corner, a bloated biker corpse looks awfully familiar, and an entire kitchen of undead animal edibles arise to attack. Check it out here.

[Masters of Carpentry] Rob Zombie's Halloween 2 (2009)

JD and I take on Rob Zombie's sequel to his infamous remake, where he took the franchise off in some wildly new directions - some of which work, some of which very much do not - and we parse out the significant differences between both cuts. Check it out here.

[Schumacast] 2000 Malibu Road (1992)

Evie joins us as Angie and I learn the hard way what happens when you combine Joel Schumacher with the 90s prime time soap opera world of Aaron Spelling, the star power of Drew Barrymore and Jennifer Beals, a head writer who was escorted from the set of her previous series, and story threads like a Hollywood agent getting a doctor's diagnosis that a voodoo curse has indeed been enacted upon his penis. Check it out here.

[Masters of Carpentry] Rob Zombie's Halloween (2007)

JD and I finally dig into Rob Zombie's notorious and controversial remake of Halloween, and all the gore, rape, and trash Americana shoveled within. Enjoy? Check it out here.

Stuff I Read & Watched in July 2019

July 2019

Blue means I liked it
Red means I didn't
No color means it'll be discussed on a future thing

[Cinemaspection] Quatermass and the Pit

I had the honor of joining Tim & Corrine of Cinemaspection to discuss one of my favorite films of all time, Quatermass and the Pit. We discuss the film, it's mixture of science and theology, it's place in the broader Quatermass franchise, and even the attempt to remake it as a Hollywood blockbuster in the 90s. Check it out here.

[Projection Booth] Krull

I had the honor of once again guesting on The Projection Booth, to discuss the 80s fantasy adventure Krull. Gooseberries are sought, gazebos are exploded, early drafts are explored, Slayers are parasitically erupted into the ground, and it turns out there's more than one person who was born at a time where Star Wars didn't become a defining work of their childhood. Check it out here.

Stuff I Read & Watched in June 2019

Blue means I liked it
Red means I didn't
No color means it'll be discussed on a future thing

  movies

American Beauty (1999)
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
Aquaman (2019)
Being John Malkovich (1999)
Boys Don't Cry (1999)
But I'm a Cheerleader (1999)
Dance of the Drunk Mantis (1979)
Drunken Tai Chi (1984)
Election (1999)
eXistenZ (1999)
Girl, Interrupted (1999)
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
Halloween (2018)
The Insider (1999)
Iron Man 3 (2013)
John Carter (2012)
The Karate Kid (1984)
The Karate Kid 2 (1986)
Krull (1983)
Lock, Stock, and 2 Smoking Barrels (1998)
The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)
The Talented Mr Ripley (1999)
X the Unknown (1956)

  scripts

Halloween (2018)
Krull (1983)
The Quatermass Experiment (1955 - 6 episodes)
Quatermass II (1955 - 6 episodes)
Quatermass and the Pit (1958 - 6 episodes)

  tv

Cloak & Dagger (2019)
 11 Restless Energy
 12 White Liens
 13 Shadow Selves
 14 Rabbit Hold
 15 Alignment Chart
 16 B Sides
 17 Vikingtown Sound
 18 Two Player
 19 Blue Note
 20 Level Up

The Quatermass Experiment (1953)
 1 Contact has Been Established
 2 Persons Reported Missing

Quatermass II (1955)
 1 The Bolts
 2 The Mark
 3 The Food
 4 The Coming
 5 The Frenzy
 6 The Destroyers

Robotech: The Macross Saga (1985)
 9 Miss Macross
 10 Blind Game
 11 First Contact
 12 The Big Escape

  comics

Atlantis Attacks (1989)
 1 How Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth (Silver Surfer Annual 2)
 2 Two if by Sea (Iron Man Annual 10)
 3 Double Cross (The Uncanny X-Men Annual 13)
 4 Abominations (The Amazing Spider-Man Annual 23)
 5 Knight Fight (The Punisher Annual 2)

Iron Man (1989)
 Annual 10 There Are No Wire Hangers Underwater

The Punisher (1989)
 Annual 2 Dark Seeker
 Annual 2 Punisher's Fighting Techniques

The Saga of the Serpent Crown (1989)
 1 Creation (Silver Surfer Annual 2)
 2 Blood Feud (Iron Man Annual 10)
 3 Serpent in the Garden (The Uncanny X-Men Annual 13)
 4 Cataclysm (The Amazing Spider-Man Annual 23)
 5 Heirs Apparent (The Punisher Annual 2)

Silver Surfer (1989)
 Annual 2 Burried Treasure
 Annual 2 Shooting Star

Uncanny X-Men (1989)
 Annual 13 Jubilation Day

My CONvergence 2019 Panel Schedule

I'll be on 6 panels at this year's CONvergence. Feel free to say hi if you're attending.


Thursday, July 4

1999 Movies, Twenty Years Later
5:00pm-6:00pm
Hyatt 4 Great Lakes B
"1999 was the year of The Matrix, The Phantom Menace, Galaxy Quest, Being John Malkovich, Fight Club, The Mummy, The Sixth Sense, and The Iron Giant. Let's take a look back at a year in which genre films took a great leap forward. Participants: Laura Okagaki-Vraspir, Kristina George, Matt Gamble (mod), Niles Schwartz, Noel Thingvall"

Cloak & Dagger Fan Panel
8:30pm-9:30pm
Hyatt 2 Greenway B
"This show has so far lasted two seasons. Let's discuss what works on the show and what doesn't. Participants: Dirk Thomas Ykema, Rakhi Rajpal (mod), Lathan Murrell, Noel Thingvall"

Halloween 2018 Fan Panel
11:30pm-12:30am
Hyatt 2 Greenway HI
"There's a new entry in the franchise - let's talk about it. Participants: Jei Herald-Zamora, Michelle C, Kyle B. Dekker (mod), Noel Thingvall"


Friday, July 5

I am Iron Man? Identity in Iron Man 3
7:00pm-8:00pm
Hyatt 4 Great Lakes A2
"As Phase 4 begins to envelop us, let's return to the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist that started it all: Iron Man. No, wait. Tony Stark. Wait... IRON MAN 3 literally deconstructs our hero and puts him back together again. Let's discuss. Participants: Lee Blauersouth, Windy Bowlsby (mod), Noel Thingvall"


Saturday, July 6

Sequel Strikes Back
11:30pm-12:30am
Hyatt 2 Greenway CDE
"Successful films often have sequels. Some sequels are superior to the films that spawned them. Join us as we discuss films from The Empire Strikes Back to The Dark Knight and everything in between. Participants: Diane Blumenfeld, Niles Schwartz, Aaron Coker, Noel Thingvall"


Sunday, July 7

Remaking the Remake
2:00pm-3:00pm
Hyatt 2 Greenway HI
"How many versions of a superhero's origin story do we need? Godzilla's? Why we keep doing this to ourselves? Participants: Taylor Cisco, John Shea, MD, Noel Thingvall"

[Schumacast] Dying Young (1991)

Angie and I are once again joined by the wonderful Lore to explore a passion project Julia Roberts brought to Joel Schumacher after her sudden rise to A-list celebrity, where actors and a story don't get along, and everything is lost in a maze full of death. Check it out here.

[Masters of Carpentry] Dennis Etchison's Halloween 4

JD and I dig into several drafts of an early, unmade version of Halloween 4, when John Carpenter and Deborah Hill were still producing, Joe Dante was in talks to direct, and noted author Dennis Etchison was behind the wheels for an oddball story about resurrections, rebelling teenagers, parents who just won't understand, and a 20-foot tall Michael Myers crashing the drive in. Check it out here.

Stuff I Read & Watched in May 2019

Blue means I liked it
Red means I didn't
No color means it'll be discussed on a future thing

  films

Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Bomba, the Jungle Boy (1949)
The Dark Crystal (1982)
Emperor of the North Pole (1973)
Europe '51 (1952)
Journey to Italy (1954)
Jungle Jim (1948)
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Police Story (1985)
Police Story 2 (1988)
Police Story 3: Supercop (1992)
Rim of the World (2019)
Tarzan and the Mermaids (1948)
Tau (2018)
Yes, Madam (1985)

  prose

Star Wars: Han Solo 3 - Rebel Dawn (1998 AC Crispin)

  scripts

Halloween Returns (unproduced Dunstan & Melton - 2 drafts)

  comics

The New Mutants (1990-1991)
90 To Hunt the Hunter
91 Prey for the Living
92 When the Carnival Comes to Town
93 Madripoor
94 Lethal Weapons
95 X-tinction Agenda: Shell Game
96 X-tinction Agenda: United We Stand
97 X-tinction Agenda: War
98 The Beginning of the End 1: The End of an Era
99 The Beginning of the End 2
100 The End of the Beginning

Wolverine (1989)
17 Basics
18 All at Sea
19 Acts of Vengeance: Heroes & Villains

  tv

Avatar: The Last Airbender (2006)
21 The Avatar State
22 The Cave of Two Lovers
23 Return to Omashu

Fosse/Verdon (2019)
2 Who's Got the Pain?
3 Me and My Baby

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983)
10 A Friend in Need
11 Masks of Power
12 Evil'Lyn's Plot

Highlander (1992)
3 Innocent Man

The Orville (2019)
24 Sanctuary
25 Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
26 The Road Not Taken

Robotech: Macross Saga (1985)
4 The Long Wait
5 Transformation
6 Blitzkrieg
7 Bye-Bye Mars
8 Sweet Sixteen

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1988)
6 Return of the Shredder
7 The Incredible Shrinking Turtles
8 It Came from Beneath the Sewers
9 The Mean Machines

The Tick (2019)
13 Lesson One: Think Quick
14 AEGIS and You

Tiger & Bunny (2011)
7 The Wolf Knows What the Ill Beast Thinks

Twin Peaks: The Return (2017)
12 Let's Rock
13 What Story is That, Charlie?
14 We Are Like the Dreamer
15 There's Some Fear in Letting Go

[Projection Booth] Emperor of the North Pole

I had the honor of joining Mike White and Cullen Gallagher for this discussion of one of my favorite movies, a meaty Robert Aldrich depression era action adventure which pits Lee Marvin against Ernest Borgnine atop a moving train. What more do you need! Check it out here.

[Greystoked] Tarzan and the Huntress

Tim joins Michael and I for a look at the last film featuring Johnny Sheffied's Boy, as he and the Tarzan clan take on a political coup, and draw a river in the sand for a team of hunters who just can't resist crossing over that river and bringing down Tarzan's wrath. And there's a flying monkey! Check it out here.

Stuff I Read & Watched in April 2019

  movies

The Babysitter (1995)
Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
The Flowers of St Francis (1950)
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
Kong: Skull Island (2017)
The Machine That Kills Bad People (1952)
Shazam (2019)
La Strada (1954)
I Vitelloni (1953)

  scripts

Halloween 3D (unproduced)

  prose

The Exile Waiting (1975 Vonda McIntyre)

  tv

Arrow (2016)
  93 Legacy
  94 The Recruits
  95 A Matter of Trust
  96 Penance
  97 Human Target
  98 So It Begins
  99 Vigilante

Dad's Army (1968)
  1 The Man and the Hour

Feel Good to Die (2018)
  1
  2
  3
  4

The Flash (2016)
  1 Flashpoint
  2 Paradox

Gotham (2017)
  64 Pretty Hate Machine
  65 Destiny Calling
  66 Heavydirtysoul

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983)
  5 She-Demon of Phantos
  6 Teela's Quest
  7 The Curse of the Spellstone
  8 The Time Corridor
  9 The Dragon Invasion

Highlander (1992)
  1 The Gathering
  2 Free Fall

My Hero Academia (2016)
  1 Izuku Midoriya: Origin

Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1990)
  25 Women of the Prehistoric Planet
  26 The Corpse Vanishes

The Orville (2019)
  18 A Happy Refrain
  19 Deflectors
  20 Identity 1
  21 Identity 2
  22 Blood of Patriots
  23 Lasting Impressions

Sgt Bilko: The Phil Silver's Show (1955)
  1 New Recruits

Supergirl (2016)
  21 The Adventures of Supergirl

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987)
  1 Turtle Tracks
  2 Enter the Shredder
  3 A Thing About Rats
  4 Hot Rodding Teenagers from Dimension X
  5 Shredder & Splintered

  comics

The New Mutants (1990)
  88 The Great Escape
  89 The Gift
  Summer Special 1 A Mutant in Megalopolis

Wolverine (1989)
  11 The Gehenna Stone Affair 1: Brother's Keeper
  12 The Gehenna Stone Affair 2: Straits of San Francisco
  13 The Gehenna Stone Affair 3: Blood Ties
  14 The Gehenna Stone Affair 4: Flying Wolves
  15 The Gehenna Stone Affair 5: Homecoming
  16 The Gehenna Stone Affair 6: Electric Warriors

[Masters of Carpentry] John Carpenter's Firestarter

AJ MacReady joins me for a massive two-parter where we look at Firestarter. The Stephen King novel, the Mark Lester film, and two drafts of John Carpenter's surprisingly revisionist attempt to film the material before he was booted from the project by Universal.

Check out Part 1
Check out Part 2

[Schumacast] Flatliners

Angie and I are again joined by the amazing Melissa Kaercher for this epic, multi-part look at the medical thriller which not only exploded Joel Shumacher into the 90s, but marked his first #1 box office hit. We discuss the original, the remake, the proposed sequel, the music video, and even weave together some thoughts for what we'd do with a new entry exploring these ideas.

Check out Part 1
Check out Part 2

[Thundarr Road] Fortress of Fear

Mike, David, and I continue our ride as Thundarr and co fall victim to their most overwhelming threat yet, landing our heroes back in the bonds they once escaped from as they stare down the man of many eyes and his cyclopean forces of fear. Demon Dogs! Check it out here.

[Greystoked] Tarzan and the Leopard Woman

Michael and I take fellow caster of pods Carlin Trammel out for a lunch of nerds as we kick back for a cool glass of Acquanetta, as homes are invaded, leopard statues are worshiped to, and even children finally get to experience the thrill of cutting out a beating heart. Check it out here.

[A Random Podcast] Chatting Cloverfield with AJ

Download MP3

About a year ago, shortly after The Cloverfield Paradox exploded on the post-Superbowl nation, AJ MacReady and I recorded an unrelated and soon-to-be-released podcast where we occasionally drifted off topic, and one of those outtakes is this discussion of the film, the franchise, and even what could be done with Friday the 13th.

[Schumacast] Now We're Cookin'

Angie and I are joined by our friend Cat, as we swing back for a look at Joel Schumacher's short-lived attempt at breaking into writing and producing sitcoms. Check it out here.

[BarBROians] Final Thoughts

JD and I shift between hijinks and philosophical reflection as we look back on the broader career of the Barbarian Brothers, where they came from, the films they both starred and briefly appeared in, and where their lives have gone as they escaped the industry and struggled with drugs, metal illness, their own art, and passionately being the individuals they are. Check it out here.