Alcohollywood

While we continue to get our full-length radio drama production of Indiana Jones and the Monkey King up (listen to the trailer here!) for the 200th episode, we continue on to 201 with Michael Bay's 1996 explosion-fest The Rock! Featuring Michael Bay's signature excess and kineticism before many people got sick of it, The Rock stars Sean Connery and Nic Cage as an unlikely duo who need to stop a crazed former general (Ed Harris) from gassing San Francisco after holing himself up in the prison island of Alcatraz. Chris Bashen of Nerd Outcast Podcast joins us to ask the hard questions, like: Isn't Ed Harris actually right? Why does this movie get a pass from people who hate Michael Bay? What happened to Park Ranger Bob? Take a listen and check out our custom cocktail and drinking game! (Thanks to our sponsor Lodge Management Group and Wingfest, as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)

This week on Alcohollywood, Grant of Chip & Ironicus fame joins us to talk the 1986 John Carpenter cult classic Big Trouble in Little China! THRILL as Jack Burton (Kurt Russell) wryly smirks his way through a rescue mission in the heart of San Francisco's Chinatown, oblivious to his role as the film's sidekick! GASP as mystical Raidens and old mascara-d ghost-men kidnap green-eyed girls for demonic rituals involving mall escalators! We chat about all this and more, so give us a listen and check out our custom cocktail and drinking rules! (Special thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity, a proud member of the Chicago Podcast Coop!) Related Links: Our Wizard World episode, feat. our interview with James Hong! The Thing episode for Alcohollywood

This week, our friend Betsy joins us to talk one of the more baffling nostalgia-fueled cultural phenomena of the 90s - Space Jam! Based on the best-sneaker-selling Super Bowl commercial, Space Jam contrives a situation in which Michael Jordan ("playing" himself) joins Bugs Bunny and the rest of the Looney Tunes for a high-stakes game of basketball against the Monstars, in order to keep them from being kidnapped and made into amusement park attractions. (Apparently the screenwriters of this film had never been to a Six Flags; it already happened.) Along the way, we ask the important questions: What is Lola Bunny doing here, and why does she get five minutes of screentime? Is the film a hidden exploration of Michael Jordan's personal demons and his temporary retirement from basketball? Why is this movie about cartoon basketball called Space Jam?! Listen to find our answers and more, including our custom cocktail and drinking rules! (Special thanks to our sponsor Basecamp, a proud member of the Chicago Podcast C

Happy birthday, America! To celebrate our nation’s birthday (and recent events have made us pretty proud to be an American), the Daves from the Blurry Photos Podcast join us to talk about the 2004 Nic Cage movie National Treasure. Part Indiana Jones movie, part Pirates of the Caribbean, part social studies filler movie, National Treasure follows adventurer Ben Franklin Gates (Cage) and his trusty crew as they work to stop evil Englishman Sean Bean from stealing the Declaration of Independence by… stealing the Declaration of Independence? Along the way, we ask all manner of questions, including: Did George Washington have to campaign for the presidency? How distrustful are we of people without American accents? Does Ben Gates think about all the historical artifacts he destroys along the way to the treasure he doesn’t even really want? Find out these answers and more, along with our custom cocktail and drinking rules! (This episode is sponsored by Iron Galaxy as part of the Chicago Podcast Cooperative!) Relate

This week on Alcohollywood, we make a double feature of “shitty 90s comedies Clint watched too often as a kid” by following Good Burger with the lamentable John Leguizamo vehicle The Pest! Guest (and author of You Don’t Know Me But You Don’t Like Me) Nathan Rabin joins us as we witness the irredeemably-shrill Pestario Vargas (Leguizamo) vamp, titter, and offend his way through a Most Dangerous Game-like scenario involving Jeffrey Jones as a Nazi human hunter. Along the way, Pest manages to reference every 50s or 60s movie and TV figure the presumed kid audience of the film would not get, as well as scores of 1940s-era racial stereotypes so pernicious they almost become anti-humor. Listen to us shake our collective heads at this baffling piece of cinema, along with our custom cocktail and drinking rules! (Special thanks to this episode's sponsor Jackbox, as part of the Chicago Podcast Cooperative!)

This week on the podcast, we engage in our first LIVE episode of the show as part of the charity podcast marathon PodSlam ‘15, with special guest Nathan Rabin (author of You Don’t Know Me But You Don’t Like Me and every online movie review/thinkpiece you’ve ever loved)! Given that this was a wrestling-themed charity marathon, we decided to take on the baffling Hulk Hogan vehicle Mr. Nanny*, in which the mustachioed lunkhead plays a former wrestler turned bodyguard tasked with nannying/protecting the precociously homicidal kids of a rich inventor (Austin Pendleton) from the cartoonishly chrome-domed villain Thanatos (novelty singer David Johansen). Along the way, Hulk is beset with electrocutions, fake blood, and savage head trauma – and that’s just from the kids. Still, we had fun dissecting this fascinating disaster, thanks to our live audience, who got to enjoy our custom cocktail and drinking game!

This week on Alcohollywood, we get a bit more obscure with Theo from Twin Cinema as we discuss William Friedkin’s lost 1977 thriller Sorcerer! An unfortunate casualty of the end of New Hollywood and the beginning of the Star Wars era of special-effects blockbusters, this remake of the classic French film The Wages of Fear sees a group of disparate expatriates (including Roy Scheider) in a small South American hellhole, tasked with a dangerous mission to transport unstable nitroglycerin 200 miles to put out an oil rig fire. What follows is a moody, tense, existential and deeply stylized journey through the bowels of hell and human frailty, resulting in one of the most personal and fascinating works of Friedkin’s career. Check out our episode, along with our custom cocktail and drinking game! Related Links:Scout Tafoya's Sorcerer video essay on The UnlovedFan edit from Louisa (@infamoussphere) - Our 80s truck-building montage dream come true! Louisa Fan edit 2 - Thanks Infamous Sphere for your amazing gift!

CAN YOU DIG IT, listeners? This week, returning guest Julia of Mercy Street Theatre Company bops with us as we watch Walter Hill’s 1979 cult gang thriller The Warriors! A pulpy, disco-tinged Greek epic about a beleaguered street gang from Coney Island lost on the wrong side of town after being framed for killing a prominent gang leader, the movie’s long on style and short on complexity. We found quite a bit to talk about, from apocalypse theories to the unfortunate Director’s Cut. Throw on your tight blue jeans and brown leather vest, ‘cause we’re ready to play-ee-ay with our custom cocktail and drinking game! Related Links: Tickets for Edge Productions' revival of MacSith, beginning April 3rd at the Pendulum Space in Chicago!This Week in Academia: "Film Chronicle: Trash and Poetry" by Vernon YoungThe (Terrible) Intro to the Director's Cut ("Over Two Millenniums Ago...")

This week on Alcohollywood, playwright Dusty Wilson joins us to talk 1995’s Leaving Las Vegas, starring Academy Award-winning Nicolas Cage (in a role that gives his craziness some context and pathos) and Oscar-nominated Elizabeth Shue in one of her finest, most sensitive roles, as a drunkard and a prostitute who spend several weeks together in Vegas while the former drinks himself to death. It’s not the lightest material a drinking games/alcohol-based podcast can cover, but the complex psychology of its characters and dreamlike narrative give us plenty to chew on (much like our Lost Weekend episode, linked below!). Be sure to sit back and enjoy this deviously melancholy drama with our custom cocktail and drinking game! Related Links: LAMBCast #265 – Clint’s Guest Spot on the Furious 7 Episode Alcohollywood’s Live from NMX Vegas Episode on Diamonds Are Forever, with special guest John Campea Our Episode on The Lost Weekend (another serious film about alcoholism)

I AM HERCULES! Just in time for Dwayne Johnson’s latest turn in Furious 7, this week returning guest Craig joins us to talk last year’s Rock-tastic adventure Hercules! Directed by Brett “I don’t have a style” Ratner, this sword-and-sandal epic remodels Herc as a flawed strongman with a coterie of badasses (including Ian McShane and Rufus Sewell) who help him build up the legend of Hercules so they can get money. However, when Lord Cotys (John Hurt) tasks them to take down an army of centaurs, Herc and crew get more than they bargained for. The film’s an enjoyable trifle, and we have a great deal of fun discussing The Rock’s stretch marks, the merits of “shield wall” class, and much more. Enjoy, along with our custom cocktail and drinking game! Related Links: Clint’s Fresh Pour review of Hercules

(NOTE: We switched to a new laptop this week, so some driver issues made the sound quality a bit less sweet this episode. We promise it’ll be repaired next week.) This week on Alcohollywood, we’re getting shibby with returning guest Nick Ostrem to talk the 2000 stoner comedy Dude, Where’s My Car? When perpetually-stoned Jesse and Chester (Ashton Kutcher and Seann William Scott, who never actually smoke anything in the film) try to track down their car, they stumble upon a mad chase between “hot chicks,” dudebro jocks, space nerds and Hugo Boss models in order to track down a magical Space MacGuffin and get their twin girlfriends back. Some of us went into this expecting to hate it, but our responses might surprise you. Along the way, we also chat about the gender politics of space hot chicks, Fabio’s run-ins with fowl, and the unfortunate history of the TV show Sliders. Check out the episode, along with our drinking rules and custom cocktail!

Great Scott! This week on Alcohollywood, Justin Gerber of Consequence of Sound and James Thompson of Geekspotting stop by to go back in time and learn the power of love with 1985’s Back to the Future! Bob Zemeckis' 80s sci-fi comedy classic sees slacker Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) jumping in a retrofitted DeLorean created by his creepily-close mad scientist friend Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) and zipping back to 1985, contending with 50s nuclear family politics, the prospect of getting back to his own time, and making sure his parents fuck so they can make him. For a movie that needs no introduction, we find a surprising amount to talk about, from the fanbase’s crazy conspiracy theories (9/11! Benghazi!) to the intriguing Reagan-era conservative links between Future and Forrest Gump and so much more. Flip on the flux capacitor to 1.21 jiggawatts, crank the engine up to 88 miles per hour, and check out our custom cocktail and drinking rules! Related Links: Kooky 9/11/JFK Back to the Future Video The Power of

Konban wa, listeners! This week, Ele from Our Fair City and Wildclaw Theatre joins us to talk the Japanese cult film Battle Royale – the tale of a group of kids forced to participate in a punitive government program to punish bad students by making them fight to the death on a deserted island with random weapons. Of course, since the students have apparently not heard of this at all, what’s the point of Battle Royale if it doesn’t sufficiently scare people into doing better at school? Still, we have a lot of fun with it, involving discussions about Beat Takeshi’s sweet tooth, the importance of basketball, and so much more. Don’t forget to check out our custom cocktail and drinking game below! (This episode is sponsored by Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Cooperative.)

Erin go bragh, listeners! We’re gearing up for St. Patrick’s Day along with returning guest David Rheinstrom of Twenty Questions Tuesday (and Our Fair City) as we tackle the 1959 Disney film Darby O’Gill and the Little People! The third in our unintentional trio of Robert Stevenson Disney musicals after Mary Poppins and Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Darby follows the titular character (Albert Sharpe), an old coot living in a quaint Irish village who finds himself in a series of folksy shenanigans. Involved are his daughter Katie (Janet Munro), a young Dubliner (a young Sean Connery), and, of course, some leprechauns. Join us as we fawn over Connery’s Bing Crosby-esque singing voice, and try to figure out just where those little leprechaun-sized horses come from! (Don’t forget to enjoy our custom cocktail and drinking rules as well.) (This episode was sponsored by Basecamp, in conjunction with the Chicago Podcast Cooperative.)

Greetings, listeners! Grant from Chip & Ironicus and the Six Feats Under podcast network joins us in our new and improved Alcohollywood Labs 2.0 to talk the 1995 cyber-thriller Virtuosity! Years before they’d meet up in American Gangster, Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe face off in this cyber-thriller that sees an ex-cop convict with a robot arm (Washington) tracking down the anthropomorphized version of an AI serial killer named Sid 6.7 (Crowe, hamming it the hell up). What follows is all of the best, misguided clichés about virtual reality and future technology, wrapped up in an loud neon bow of explosions and techno music. It has to be seen to be believed, but we do our best to sum it up for you, along with our custom cocktail and drinking rules! (This episode was sponsored by Busy Beaver Button Co. as part of the Chicago Podcast Cooperative.)

Greetings, listeners! Sorry about the long wait, but this just means you’ll get two episodes this week! Ryan Bond of Our Fair City joins us to talk about 1985’s Young Sherlock Holmes, written by Chris Columbus and directed by Barry “Men in Black” Levinson. Taking a Muppet Babies approach to literature's greatest detective, the film follows tween Sherlock and Watson as they solve a supernatural mystery involving a mysterious Egyptian cult, as well as solving the mystery of their changing bodies and his newfound interest in girls. Columbus’ footprints are all over this, as the movie plays out much like the first two Harry Potter movies (complete with a blonde bully for Sherlock). Still, we found it tremendously charming, and we’ve got some drinking rules and a custom cocktail to wash down all the adolescent intrigue!

OSCAR SPECIAL: BIRDMAN (2014) W/TWIN CINEMA  FEBRUARY 20, 2015EPISODES, GUESTS, NEW RELEASE, SPECIALS Happy Oscar season, listeners! This week, Jared’s been “kidnopped” by Keanu Reeves once more, so our special guest Theo from Twin Cinema drops in to help Clint talk Best Picture nominee Birdman, along with returning guest Andrew Saenz! The latest film by Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu is a dizzying, one-shot wonder starring Michael Keaton as thinly-veiled Keaton allegory Riggan Thomson, a washed-up superhero actor attempting to gain cred as a serious artist by putting on his own show on Broadway, with all the drama, introspection and telekinesis that typically entails. It’s a good movie, but it does have its problems, from an uneven script to an exhausting desire to do too much at once. Still, we delve into those issues and more in detail in the episode below, along with our custom cocktail and drinking rules! (Stay tuned later today or tomorrow for a special Oscar-chat minisode where Clint and Julia go over t

Happy Valentine’s Day, lovers! This week, regular guest Julia and Leah Pickett from Consequence of Sound joins us to talk Sleepless in Seattle, the seminal Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan romantic comedy from 1993! This film (about a divorcee who finds himself the talk of female America after a particularly heartfelt radio call-in segment) features Hanks and Ryan at their prime, with some solid comedy as they try to navigate the precarious middle ground between practical relationships and the romantic notion of true love. Still, the movie raises some questions, like “just how creepy is Meg Ryan for stalking a man she doesn’t know?” “Why is the whole of New York City so willing to accommodate a lost kid in his romantic mission?” and “What’s wrong with Bill Pullman, anyway?” All these questions and more are explored below, along with our custom cocktail and drinking rules! (NOTE: This is our first episode with our brand-new setup, so we should sound a bit more profesh! We're still messing with sound levels, however, so be p

This week on Alcohollywood, recurring guest Derek joins us from the basement to talk Satanic panic movies with Race with the Devil! This 1975 Peter Fonda-Warren Oates road thriller follows these two easy riders along a two-lane blacktop to evil, as they (and their girlfriends) must use the incredible powers of their RV to hold off an increasingly encroaching horde of Satanists who catch them spying on their latest sacrifice. A gonzo combination of the ‘devil’s cult’ and road movie genres of the 1970s, the film certainly elicited varying reactions from us, including: Why do our protagonists have to steal library books? Is everyone in Texas a Satanist? Why does everyone immediately let their guard down as soon as the immediate danger is over? Should there have been more snakes? Learn the answers to these questions and more in our episode, along with our custom cocktail and drinking rules! NOTE: We didn't have time to work out the kinks of our new setup before recording this one, so this is still the same room-m

This week on Alcohollywood, we (along with Jason Soto of Lair of the Unwanted) finally take on our first Tom Cruise movie with the Ridley Scott fantasy Legend! Right off the heels of Jared’s appearance on the Blade Runner episode of the Nerd Outcast Podcast, we take on another 1980s Ridley Scott movie featuring unicorns and inhuman creatures. This time, though, we get to see a young, buck-toothed Tom Cruise battle a devilish Tim Curry (as literally the Devil) for the soul of his princess lover Mia Sara. Along the way, we get some imps, surprisingly modern goblin henchmen, and Frozen parallels, as we chat it up about our favorite movie Satans, find even more euphemistic uses for the word ‘magic,’  and so much more. Check out our custom cocktail and drinking game below, and be sure to listen to (and share) the episode!