Alcohollywood

This week, Jared and Clint go it solo after their stint at the Chicago Podcast festival to talk about 1977's psychedelic animated flick Wizards! Directed by 70s animation guru Ralph Bakshi, Wizards launches you into a classic tale of post-apocalyptic good vs. evil: the diminutive Avatar (voiced by a guy doing a hell of a Peter Falk impression) against his evil brother Bloodwolf for the fate of a bombed-out planet. Throw in some busty faeries, existential burlap robots, and rotoscoped footage from other movies, and you've got a stew going! It's messy, unfinished, and full of unironic Nazi propaganda footage, but it's definitely a sight to behold. Check out our episode, along with our custom cocktail and drinking game! (Thanks to our sponsor Swap.com as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)

This week, we bring you a LIVE episode of the podcast, talking about the short horror anthology film Trick 'r Treat with special guest Ele Matelan (WildClaw Theatre)! Recorded at Chicago Theater Works as part of the 2nd Annual Chicago Podcast Festival, we take advantage of our 30-minute time slot to blitz our way through Trick 'r Treat's surprisingly fun short tales of candy and carnage. From deceptively sexy werewolves to the ghosts of dead children, to a demonic pump-kid with a burlap sack over his head, Trick 'r Treat has spooks and scares galore. Take a listen to our live episode, and check out our custom cocktail and drinking rules! (Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!) Related links:  Check out the other half of our live podcast double bill at the Chicago Podcast Festival, CinemaJaw!

This week, we close out Horror Octorbor 666 with our final piece of Satanic cinema - 1977's bizarre sequel Exorcist II: The Heretic! Journeyman film critic extraordinaire Jacob Oller joins us as we break down John Boorman's out-there followup to the William Friedkin classic, as young Regan (Linda Blair) teams up with a disgraced priest (Richard Burton) and a psychiatrist (Louise Fletcher) to chase the demon Pazuzu everywhere from Deepest Africa to Regan's childhood home from the first film. Along the way, we get supernatural hypnosis machines, James Earl Jones in a tribal locust outfit, and kids rolling foam octagons down hallways for no reason at all. Check out our podcast, along with our custom cocktail and drinking game below! (Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)

HORROR OCTORBOR 666 continues apace with a look at the mid-90s Christopher Walken angel drama The Prophecy! Written and directed by Gregory Widen (known for writing all the Highlander and Prophecy movies, and well, that's it), The Prophecy tells the convoluted story of an angelic civil war, the little girl who might hold the key to some evil spirit (or something?), and the bland humans who dedicate themselves to stopping it. It's boring and full of pseudo-religious gobbledygook, not to mention some confusing (and somewhat offensive) Native American mysticism. Still, it's mildly bolstered by a couple of great scenery-chewing performances from Walken and Viggo Mortensen, and some brief supporting turns from Amanda Plummer and Adam Goldberg as Walken's creepy familiars. Check out our podcast, as well as our custom cocktail and drinking game, below! (Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)

HORROR OCTORBOR 666 continues, as we move down our list of devil-themed horror movies with the schlocky legal drama The Devil's Advocate! Jon Espino of HollywoodChicago.com and The Young Folks partners with us again to tell the story of Kevin Lomax (a ridiculously Southern Keanu Reeves), an unscrupulous Florida lawyer brought up to New York with his wife (Charlize Theron) to join the law firm of grimy legal titan John Milton (Al Pacino). It's two and a half hours of goofy CGI demon faces, complicated legalese, and Trump allusions we'll never get back. Still, we braved this decidedly goofy bit of 90s kitsch to bring you our custom cocktail and drinking rules, so take a listen! (Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)

Greetings, mortals! We drag back Some Kind of Goblin this year for our sixth horror theme month, HORROR OCTORBOR 666! It's all devil movies all month, baby! To start off, Scott Bufis of The Butter Hours joins us to talk about the crazy late-period Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle End of Days.  Ever wanted to see Arnie fight Satan, all while secretly playing a Bruce Willis character? Come see a blue-period Schwarzenegger get gritty as a disgraced, suicidal ex-cop forced to protect a young woman (Robin Tunney) from being impregnated by Satan himself (a hammy Gabriel Byrne) on the eve of the New Millennium. As fun as that sounds, the results are grimmer and duller than you might think.  Check out our episode, along with our custom cocktail and drinking game! (Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!) Related Links: Clint's guest spot on Nerd Outcast Podcast, talking about Star Trek Voyager!  

Are you ready to rumble?! This week, we're bringing you the recording of our LIVE episode from PodSlam '17, a wrestling-themed charity podcast marathon dedicated to Connor's Cure! Recorded at iO Chicago on September 23rd, Jared and Clint (along with special guest Randall Colburn of Consequence of Sound, The AV Club and elsewhere) break down the abject silliness of the WWE-Hanna Barbera collab Scooby-Doo Wrestlemania Mystery! Hear us entertain our live audience with the tale of Scooby and the Mystery Gang as they travel to the mystical land of WWE City, where they must solve the mystery of a mysterious Ghost Bear that terrorizes the town! (With the help of John Cena, of course).  Take a listen, and check out our custom cocktail and drinking game! (Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!) Related links:  Get tickets to our other live show at the Chicago Podcast Festival, 10/5 at Chicago Theater Works!* *ANNOUNCEMENT: For Chicago Pod Fest, we're bringing on horror movie

This week, Grant of Chip and Ironicus, Sex Archie and History Honeys joins us for the 2003 semi-cartoon comedy Looney Tunes: Back in Action! In this Joe Dante-directed mix of live action and animation, Daffy Duck gets fired from the WB lot because he's tired of playing second fiddle to Bugs Bunny. Before long, they (along with hapless human co-stars Brendan Fraser and Jenna Elfman) find themselves wrapped up in a curious spy caper, as Fraser must save his spy-actor dad (Timothy Dalton) from the clutches of the ACME Chairman (Steve Martin) and save the world from being turned into monkeys... or something. Check out our podcast, custom cocktail and drinking game! (Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!) Related links:  Get tickets to our live show at PodSlam ’17, 9/23 at iO Chicago! Get tickets to our other live show at the Chicago Podcast Festival, 10/5 at Chicago Theater Works! Preorder Mark Soloff’s upcoming book The Silent Scream of Melania Trump from Inkshares!

This week, Theo of Twin Cinema (who covered this film on their show as well) joins us to talk about the classic 1944 psychological thriller Gaslight! When a young newlywed (Ingrid Bergman, in an Oscar-winning performance) moves in with her controlling new beau Anton (Charles Boyer) into her late aunt's home, she finds herself the victim of psychologically controlling behavior meant to keep her from suspecting her husband of criminal activities. It's a cracking noir with beautiful performances from Bergman and Angela Lansbury (in her debut role), so check out our episode, along with our custom cocktail and drinking game!  (Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!) Related links:  Get tickets to our live show at PodSlam ’17, 9/23 at iO Chicago! Get tickets to our other live show at the Chicago Podcast Festival, 10/5 at Chicago Theater Works!

This week, we go do some crimes with regular guest (and director of The Plagiarist's latest show, Ubu II) Nick Freed as we talk about the 1984 punk cult classic Repo Man! Alex Cox's deliberately weird, anarchic joyride follows an aimless young punk (Emilio Estevez) who finds himself employed at an unscrupulous auto repossession company. Learning the ins and outs of the repo life with seasoned veteran Bud (Harry Dean Stanton), he runs afoul of a Chevy Malibu which - surprise! - has radioative alien bodies in it! It's a trippy, quirky movie not for ordinary fuckin' people, and we had a blast talking about it.  Check out our episode, along with our custom cocktail and drinking game! (Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!) Related links:  Get tickets to our live show at PodSlam ’17, 9/23 at iO Chicago! Get tickets to our other live show at the Chicago Podcast Festival, 10/5 at Chicago Theater Works!

Julia (Clint's co-host for our new releases spinoff On Tap) joins us this week to check another movie off Jared's wishlist - the quirky John Travolta vehicle Michael! Fresh off his Pulp Fiction success, Travolta leapt straight into this schmaltzy Nora Ephron rom-com, which gave him license to go full Adele Dazeem on a group of tabloid reporters (including William Hurt and Andie Macdowell) hoping to get a picture of a real-life angel - with wings and everything! It's kitschy and more than a little self-indulgent (the whole thing's clearly a Travolta vanity project), but it's certainly got its charms.  Check out our review, along with our custom cocktail and drinking game! (Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!) Related links:  Get tickets to our live show at PodSlam '17, 9/23 at iO Chicago! Get tickets to our other live show at the Chicago Podcast Festival, 10/5 at Chicago Theater Works!

This week, Clint antes up with guests Zach Powers (of The Revisionists) and Aaron J. Amendola (of VStheUniverse) to talk about the 1998 card-shark drama Rounders! Matt Damon plays a down-on-his-luck poker virtuoso/law student who gets dragged back into the world of underground high-stakes Texas hold 'em by his old friend Worm (Edward Norton), fresh out of prison with a huge gambling debt to repay. Will Damon choose the thrill of the cards over his law career and his bland, responsible girlfriend (Gretchen Mol)? Or will he go back for one last round with the cartoonishly Russian Teddy KGB (John Malkovich)? Is there even a question?  Load up a sleeve of Oreos like Malkovich does and check out our episode, along with our custom cocktail and drinking rules! PRODUCER'S NOTE: We're trying a few different ideas regarding mic placement as we finish up work on the new recording studio, so apologies if some of the audio sounds a little more echo-y than usual. We'll get it sorted out soon, promise! (Thanks to our sponso

This week, we saddle up with The Next Picture Show's Keith Phipps to look back at the 1974 Mel Brooks comedy classic Blazing Saddles! Equal parts raunchy and deliciously subversive even today, Blazing Saddles is a beautifully acerbic parody of the classic Western, following a black sherriff (Cleavon Little) tasked with defending/offending the puritanical town of Rock Ridge, while scheming huckster Hedy ("Hedley!") Lamarr (Harvey Korman) plots the down's demise. It's a drop dead hilarious movie that still holds up today, and is a wonderful testament to one of comedy's greatest filmmakers. Check out our episode along with our custom cocktail and drinking rules! (Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!) Related links:  Get tickets to The Nerdologues Presents Your Stories: At the Movies!

CW: Discussion of scenes of sexual assault from the film itself. For our 300th episode, the lovely Lauren Faits of the upcoming podcast She-Ra: Progressive of Power and Our Fair City joins us to talk about the cult 1987 anime film Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise! From the makers of Evangelion, Honneamise is an early example of the fluid animation and mature themes that would fuel the anime craze of the 90s in the US. Set in an alternate Earth in which two steampunk societies gear up for war, the film follows a young man named Shiro and his desire to go the stars. Apart from one unfortunate scene, the film's a fascinating subject for discussion, so check out the episode along with our custom cocktail and drinking game! (Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!) Related links:  Watch Wings of Honneamise on HIDIVE!

Load up your red Caddy with booze, guns and a suitcase full of drugs, because we're headed to The City of Lights with Blastropodcast's Mark Soloff to talk about Terry Gilliam's bizarro Hunter S. Thompson adaptation Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas! Based on Thompson's free-wheeling quest for the American Dream in the early 70s, the film follows Thompson surrogate Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp, chewing as much scenery as he does cigarette filters) and his "attorney" Dr. Gonzo (Benicio Del Toro) through casinos, acid trips, and the odd encounter with a dwarf. It's a kaleidoscopic tale perfectly suited to Gilliam's eccentricities, and we love it so very much! Take a listen to our episode and enjoy our drinking game and cocktail - lovingly rendered below in a beautiful Steadman-esque drawing by Jared Latore himself! (Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)

It's Shark Week once again this year, and we're celebrating with The Film Stage Show's Michael Snydel as we break down Blake Lively's cult summer hit from last year, The Shallows! Check our our custom cocktail and drinking rules as we talk about Blumhouse's micro-budget genius, CG sharks, and helpful seagulls named after 90s action stars. (Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)

This week's episode sees the return of lovely recurring guest Ele Matelan (from Our Fair City, Starlight Radio Dreams and Locked Into Vacancy Entertainment), to help us unpack 1986's Rawhead Rex! Written by horror icon Clive Barker (a.k.a. Pervy Lovecraft) and based on his short story, Rawhead Rex sees the return of a goofy-looking hell demon to terrorize a small Irish village, with only an obnoxious American photographer and his sexy grey cardigan to stop it. Check out our episode, along with our custom cocktail and drinking game! (Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!) Related links:  See Ele do foley work at The Second City for their latest show, 13 Treasons Why! Sign up and submit your scary scripts for the 10th Annual DeathScribe: The International Festival of Horror Plays (courtesy of WildClaw Theatre!)

This week, we test our commitment to Sparkle Motion with Jon Espino of The Young Folks and HollywoodChicago.com as we revisit Richard Kelly's 2001 cult time travel teen drama Donnie Darko! The hit of the Hot Topic crowd in the early 2000s, for better or worse, we go back to this twisty, navel-gazing mixture of American Beauty and The Butterfly Effect to see if its profundities still hold up. Take a listen, and check out our custom cocktail and drinking rules! (Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)

This week, regular guest Derek Jarvis joins us to talk about the little-seen (but surprisingly effective) home invasion thriller Unlawful Entry! When a couple (Kurt Russell, Madeleine Stowe) narrowly survive a home invasion, they run into a shady cop (Ray Liotta) who seems all too willing to abuse his power to take over as man of the house. A creepy post-Rodney King erotic thriller about police brutality and white flight, we actually dug Unlawful Entry quite a bit. Check out our review, along with our custom cocktail and drinking rules! (Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)

This week, we toke up with Shannon Campe (of the podcast Stage of Fools) and Zach Powers (also of Stage of Fools and The Revisionists) as we dig into 2001's stoner comedy How High! When Method Man and Redman get into Harvard by smoking the ashes of their dead friend, you know you're in for a baffling experience. Come check out our thoughts along with our custom cocktail and drinking game! (Thanks to our sponsor Cards Against Humanity as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)  Related links: Cynthia Fuchs' review of How High in PopMatters