Movie Meltdown

Movie Meltdown - Episode 624 We’re back to round out the Enzo G. Castellari trilogy as we discuss Escape From the Bronx.  And while we carefully construct an exact miniature version of our future city, we also delve into… Dune 2, Sydney Sweeney, Jodorowsky's Dune, Poseidon, Emmy Rossum, Turkey Shoot, Henry Silva, Mark Gregory, the death truck rolls up and the guys pour out, George Miller, are they being exploded or electrocuted, Piranha 3D, animal safety in films, Wish stormtroopers, Antonio Sabato, goombas in suits, influencing science fiction, Wolfgang Petersen, Strike Jr, Three Thousand Years of Longing, The NeverEnding Story, Australian post-apocalyptic movies, setting up explosions, Escape from New York, a post-apocalyptic sewer, Australian exploitation cinema, so it’s just these two dudes wandering through the sewer now, John Carpenter, The Adventures of Milo and Otis and the sexy popcorn bucket.   Spoiler Alert: Full spoilers for “Escape From the Bronx”. I mean, if you can actually spoil that movie? “Nothing was really done here… we just killed time and people.”

Movie Meltdown - Episode 623 Join us "live" from Lexington as we discuss our day at the Lexington Comic & Toy Convention!   And while we assemble and eat our Mr. Bones candy, we also address… Julie Brown, crocheting, Tim Jacobus, American Gladiators, Emma Roberts, maybe I am the reason you stress out, 3D printing, Scream 6, Earth Girls Are Easy, The Fast and the Furious, Cynthia Rothrock, VHS rental pricing, What We Do in the Shadows, walking with your elbows all the way out, Kathy Long, Goosebumps, garbage can candy, Sam Irvin, Dune, getting movie posters back in the day, Jeff Speakman, R.L. Stine, getting stung by a jelly bean, seeing Madonna live, Fight Club, Don "The Dragon" Wilson, people being polite, Out There, Mark Dacascos and the best way to judge Charisma Carpenter's height.  Spoiler Alert: Spoilers for Scream 6, Scream 4 and random moments from season 4 of What We Do in the Shadows… you have been warned.  “Oh, wait a minute… I’ve seen movies!” For more on the convention, go to: lexingtoncomiccon.com

Movie Meltdown - Episode 622 This episode we discuss the recent comedy Bottoms directed by Emma Seligman and starring Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri. And while we take turns punching each other in the face, we also mention… Mad Max: Fury Road, The Monkees, Easy Rider, football players, The Bear, the most level-headed out of a bunch of crazy people, magic melons, Leslie Nielsen, phone books, cloning is real, alternate crazy world, winning awards, quick one liners, the commentary track, painfully realistic, this should be red flags all over the place, smart comedies and dumb comedies, Instagram posts, musical ironic jokes, the differences in being a high school student today versus years ago, Head and the insane universe of Jim Steinman. Spoiler Alert: Full spoilers for the 2023 movie "Bottoms", so watch the movie before you listen.  “Ha, ha… joke’s on you! You got a better movie than you even thought you were gonna get.”

Attack of the Killer Soundtrack 68  Composer Erich Stem once again joins us as we play and discuss all the 2023 Oscar nominees for both Best Original Song and Best Original Score. And as we try to decide if we are really into serialism or total serialism, we also cover… the mandocello, the use of motives, electro punk, Tōru Takemitsu, chord progression, it disrupts the food industry, Threnody, sci-fi predictions, singing about battling oil and greed, Woman in the Dunes, whispering song voice, hard bop, real life events attaching themselves to songs, scat singer, Disney songs, connecting with the song, detuning, Juilliard trained, AI writing, compared to other songs of a similar style, a dry studios recording sound, free jazz, Milton Babbitt, use of instrumentation, Krzysztof Penderecki, ultra modern pop and a certain very successful song writer.  “...I think it makes it better for the movie industry.”

Movie Meltdown - Episode 621 (For our Patreon "Horror Club") The horror club returns to discuss the 2007 horror/comedy The Mad directed by Johnny Kalangis and starring Billy Zane.  And while we try to decide who can just kinda get it, we also bring up… Saltburn, Fargo, Circuit City, Twin Peaks, what an inconvenient place to kill somebody, the finer and lesser points of fake bacon, Mtv, Jon Hamm, eating meat, camcorder shooting, I’m grossed out but I want to know more, Dave Foley, choking on a bone, steer clear of  drummers, domestic abuse, vintage TVs, Barry Keoghan, necrophile, VCR head cleaners, awkward adoption conversations, turn down the banjos, those parts were definitely swinging, Jennifer Jason Leigh, the tiger, I want you to be sexy when I put you in the ground and cows.  Spoiler Alert: Full spoilers for “The Mad”, so go watch before you listen.  “It’s really gross and like really beautiful and it’s really something.”

Movie Meltdown - Episode 620 Sam Drog returns… as we adamantly argue both sides of Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire.  And while we're trying to pick out our favorite Trapper Keepers, we also delve into… Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Lisa Frank, it's an Oliver Stone critique of American foreign policy mixed with a zany Disney brain switch movie in Cambodia, if I came out of a vacuum, Man of Steel, taste vs style, Star Wars, when we go to Gladiator planet, if you like that story you’ll see it dressed up in different ways, Michael Bay, Kill Bill, a unified vision, an army of art directors and designers, towing the company line, watching video games, visually striking emotionally shallow movies, Alan Moore, throwing talent to the sarlacc pit, Heavy Metal, intensified reality, anime style, J.J. Abrams, Flash Gordon, nobody gets to retire, a hodgepodge call back to every sci fi thing you've ever seen, Netflix blockbusters, Army of the Dead, the desperation of content creators, David Goyer, a chicken pot pie of cultural references, Slim Pickens writing the atom bomb down, an unhealthy relationship with a filmmaker, Seven Samurai, we wanna forgive, Anthony Hopkins robot, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Tarantino's directing style, a victim of his success, George Lucas, very presumptuous, Sucker Punch, watching concept art, space orifices and the impending Snyder cut.  Spoiler Alert: Random spoilers for “Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire”, watch it beforehand… if you want to.  “Man, Zack Snyder underlines, highlights, italicizes and puts fifteen exclamation points, in all caps - on everything he does.”

Movie Meltdown - Episode 619 Sam Drog is back! Listen as we discuss Family Switch, Slave Girls from Beyond Infinity, Flash Gordon, A Christmas Story: The Musical and so much more. And while we continue to work on our how’s it going response, we also address… John Carpenter, Phantom of The Paradise, Star Wars' disco cousin, Joe Dante, were we media saturated, John Woo, punch upwards, song and dance numbers, the peak of cinematic achievement, George Romero's Polar Express, he did not read the script, let’s make as much stuff as humanly possible, community theater movies, dead eyed automatons, Snowden, a Swedish meatball, Flash Gordon, so Santa Claus and the alignment of planets, somebody has to bear witness to the horror, Escape from L.A., an act of torture and an act of brutality that is almost inhuman, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2, I was wondering why Oliver Stone was in my shed, a magic metal bowl, everybody's kind of in on the joke, approachable B movies, Sam Raimi, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, kind of like smutty back in the day, big toothpick, they're pandering to people of a certain demographic, the career of McG, you've never punked me before, trapped inside the genre that you're in, In the Mouth of Madness and Frito-Lay feeding the cultural discourse.  “This discussion has been an emotional roller coaster.”

Movie Meltdown - Episode 618 This episode we discuss Enzo G. Castellari’s 1983 post-apocalyptic “classic” Warriors of the Wasteland aka The New Barbarians.  And as we strap on our bubble armor, we also mention… As Above so Below, Skinamarink, Please Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain, Once Upon a Deadpool, bad smoke effects, George Eastman, the unnecessary dome, George Miller, extra tubes n’ stuff, A Fistful of Dollars, VHS, there's secretly a Matt Damon hiding somewhere in your movie, questionable theme music, the Starscream of the group, three different cameras shooting at three different film speeds, a weird creepy kid, the most awkward shadow sex, floppy shoulders, no backstory, a very hilly area outside of Rome, if Indiana Jones was a horror movie, Fred Savage, wearing camouflage in the 80s and the golf carts from hell.  Spoiler Alert: Full spoilers for Warriors of the Wasteland, I mean if you can actually ruin this movie? “Again that’s what I love about these movies. Like, half the time none of this shit makes sense… but you just kind of just keep going with it.”

Movie Meltdown - Episode 617 (For our Patreon "Horror Club") Gather around the yule log as The Meltdown Horror Club comes together to discuss the 1987 holiday "classic" - Silent Night, Deadly Night 2. And as we all practice our festive maniacal laugh, we also cover… who’s your Grinch, The Cult of Humpty Dumpty, Boris Karloff, the feet stuff, the plot made very little sense… and I don’t think really mattered anyway, not even following your own rules, the child welfare system has issues, Thurl Ravenscroft, having someone else’s flashbacks, a fake movie theater, murder with eye contact, what are those nuns doing, the meet cute where you get hit by a car, exploding eyes, line delivery, everything's better with Yakety Sax, being crazy gives you super strength, awkward love scenes, nuclear waste exposure, Benedict Cumberbatch, that guy at a party that you get cornered by that’s been doing coke all day, becoming a vigilante, put your tee hee fingers away, he wears preppy clothes in the woods, they are wearing the most Party City black vampire capes, Eric Freeman, off-screen kills, Makit & Bakit Suncatchers, we flash forward in the flashbacks, Chuck Jones, alternate universe Christmas music, who decided how much time do allot to each of these things, Quentin Tarantino, watching movies in the shower, the time-honored tradition that is… hopscotch in the dark, Ron Howard, rolling down the stairs, toxic Mother Superior and who wanted this… who asked for this?! Spoiler Alert: Full spoilers for Silent Night, Deadly Night 2. And since half of the movie is just re-watching the first movie, also spoilers for Silent Night, Deadly Night. “I don’t think Billy had a chance to tell ‘em… ‘Hey, I saw some boobs and killed a guy!’”

Movie Meltdown - Episode 616 (For our Patreon "Horror Club") There's no place like Movie Meltdown for the holidays, and this year the horror club comes together to discuss the 2019 movie Pilgrim directed by Marcus Dunstan. And as we make Thanksgiving dinner like the children we are, we also bring up… A Haunting in Venice, The Conference, Bob Clark, Kerr Smith, Psycho 2, the healing power of love, a set dinner for cannibalism, Into the Dark, Hallowe'en Party, look at everyone with a skeptical eye, (There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays, iPad finance dad, the elaborate dunking chair, jelly bean flavors, headbutt technicalities, Agatha Christie, the taffy timeline, Psycho IV: The Beginning, doing things as a family and a marketing goldmine. Spoiler Alert: Full spoilers for “Pilgrim”, so go watch the movie before we listen. “I’ve seen this movie like four times, I think… and I just turn my rational brain off.”

Movie Meltdown - Episode 615 Join us as we return to the Super Series and discuss Nia DaCosta’s The Marvels. And as we try to decide just what makes a good movie versus a limited series, we also delve into… Secret Invasion, Loki, The Automat, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Hellhouse, The Flerken, Ke Huy Quan, Hugh Jackman, The Supreme Intelligence, what shoes do you wear in space, Iman Vellani, Norman Osborn, Japanese culture, Miles Morales, Police Squad, post-credits scene, Brie Larson as an actress, Dogpool, Florence Pugh, Blue Beetle, Repossessed, The Void vs. Sentry, Teyonah Parris, The Young Avengers, Candyman, the DC universe, banned movies, Jonathan Majors, Carol Danvers, translating from page to screen, White Widow, Gal Gadot, Leslie Nielsen and alternate universe casting. Spoiler Alert: Full Spoilers for "The Marvels", so go watch the movie before you listen. “This is like one of my favorite characters, of anything - in years… I think she is so - not just likable, which she is… but also, it’s this humanity that she brings to it.” 

Movie Meltdown - Episode 614 Listen as we're heading back from Scarefest and all the fun that trip entailed. And while we reserve the right to pullover at any point to look for different Boo Buckets, along the way we still address… Tyler Labine, Van Helsing, American Horror Stories, Felissa Rose and Karen Fields, a very sexy birthday present, Emma Roberts, avoiding a spoiler, Paris Jackson, the troma-est, non-troma movie, Reaper,  Street Trash, Sam McMurray, Hackers, Tim Cappello, The Fog, Kaia Jordan Gerber, pregnant bellies, Deadbeat, C.H.U.D., I totally went to sleep because I was trying to escape, Sleepaway Camp, New Amsterdam and being a Judy. “This movie’d be great if it didn’t suck.” For more on Scarefest, go to: https://scarefestweekend.com/

Episode 613 (For our Patreon "Horror Club") On this Halloween "special" we discuss Ginger Snaps, so prepare yourselves for a bloody celebration. And while we present our own special accessory montage, we also mention… The Fall of the House of Usher, Haunted Mansion, Magic, Bat Boy: The Musical, practical effects, a van full of drugs and a dead werewolf, marrying Mothman, dog behaviors, pumpkins or lack thereof, Mike Flanagan, interspecies… woodland creature… orgy, builds tension, what movie are you in, getting the curse, purple beaded curtains, banging an alien, she gets called a virgin and a slut at the same time, squishy and silent, it’s like equal parts John Waters and Frankenstein and My Fair Lady, crowdsourcing costume ideas, get real ghosts, look how much fun we had being inside, rude teens, living in a greenhouse, having a tail and that’s part of why I am the weirdo I am today.  Spoiler Alert: Full spoilers for 2000’s “Ginger Snaps”, so go watch the movie before you listen.  “Oh you guys are getting so many period stories.”

Movie Meltdown - Episode 612 (For our Patreon "Horror Club") Join us as the horror club watches and discusses the 80s slasher Silent Madness. And while we are pretending real hard that we were watching the 3D version, we also cover… Barbarian, Gravity Falls, Incantation, Dragon Slayer, a skateboarding chick, Unca Scrooge, a giant industrial-size basement, an abandoned hospital, pouring Coke on your cereal, pulls a John McClane, getting cursed, mental illness, The Toxic Avenger, we need a Jackie Gleason type, Justin Long, girls that live in workout gear, Team Pluto, a ghost hunting team, Bill Skarsgård, the difficulties of trying to get girls to take their tops off, the transition from mental hospital to sorority house, having a baby, constant running water, so much expository dialogue, economical filmmaking and what was going on in that ward? Spoiler Alert: Full spoilers for “Silent Madness”, so go watch the movie before you listen.  “Who is their licensing board?! Who are the overseeing agencies?!”

Movie Meltdown - Episode 611 (For our Patreon "Horror Club") This meeting of the horror club we're discussing the Tom Sizemore creature feature Bottom Feeder directed by Randy Daudlin. And as we take a break from attracting crows and training them to be our own personal crow army, we also bring up… What We Do in the Shadows, Night of the Creeps, Only Murders in the Building, glowing fluids, a person growing a pumpkin patch out of spite, low-rent Blofeld, exposition dump, Sarge, a sinister military plan, Wendy Anderson, she’s pure-hearted and she also bakes people into cookies, growing eyes on your back, the Alligator comparison, evil millionaire obviously, blade master versus rat man, side effects, writing is hard, hallways… that’s all we got, stroking a lizard, one step from Jar Jar, silent kung fu man, I had my own horror movie moment in my home, once you make a billion dollars they melt your face, the business of tongue depressors and you take what you can get.  Spoiler Alert: Full spoilers for “Bottom Feeder”, so go watch the movie before you listen. “Rat Man is in his business pants.”

Movie Meltdown - Episode 610 We continue talking with Sam Drog as the old men try to not get bogged down in the ever alluring... deadly nostalgia. And while we realize it’s never been better, we also delve into… Barbenheimer, the writer’s strike, Street Trash, selling your likeness to the studios, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Superman 2, the actual age of the universe, Phil Tippett’s Mad God, 99X, Night of the Creeps, Kate McKinnon, Knock at the Cabin, how humanity invented its own destruction, The Phantom Menace, cryptids on Tik Tok, lessened atrocities, we were so blown away by, you only got one shot as a child of the Griswolds, touring concerts, junk food entertainment, everybody’s refrigerator art, Slime City, the most low-budget takeover of Earth,the value of the human-made artistic work, homeless hobos that drink a lot, how quickly life changes, finding your crutch, going to be part of the scene, movie theater hangover, Harry Potter, certified made by humans, we’re not here long enough to really get old, getting dressing up for the movie, people are becoming obsolete, wanting to live in the past, the upgrades of movie theaters, I want to be seen, Fred Dekker and generically amazing. “People just get nostalgic for the wrong aspects of things.”

Movie Meltdown - Episode 609 Sam Drog is back! And of course, almost immediately he and our host turn into a couple of hominids jabbering about movies.  And while we figure out the exact science of teleportation with or without side effects, we also address… Paperbacks from Hell, Matt Damon’s real identity, the death of movies, I must be immersed in the experience, Alan Arkin, being swallowed up by the subway system, V all the time, Paul Reubens, joining a cult, building full-size Enterprise, Daylight, Tim Burton's Ed trilogy, watching a reaction video vs. watching the actual thing, Night of the Juggler, figuring out what a movie is, listening to CDs, Queen of Blood, blatant-text, assigned movie seating, a rowing team underdog story, you’re totally diluting my brand, will John Williams just back off a little bit, taking space to enjoy these commercial products, pretty Brad Pitt, finding people that agree with your thoughts, Edward Scissorhands, having physical media, couples with matching jogging suits, Short Walk to Daylight, the hope of tomorrow and - wait… that’s just a model! “That triggered this repressed memory of the movie in my head that I hadn’t thought about.”

Movie Meltdown - Episode 608 Join us for a wrap-up of this year's Harry Dean Stanton Fest - featuring a discussion with biographer Susan Compo. And while we remember our favorite moments with Sean Young, we also mention… Warren Oates, Young Doctors in Love, watching movies in a cemetery, where did I get that voice, The Man Who Fell to Earth, laughing uproariously, changing seats while the vehicle was in motion, Hector Elizondo, front page of the LA Times, Frederic Forrest, F. Scott Fitzgerald, heading out to Joshua Tree to look for UFOs, a Corey art house movie, Sam Shepard, One from the Heart, this veneer of not caring, it was so designed to fail in a way that I find really fun, I was in my little childhood room with my rotary dial, Nicolas Roeg, Dream a Little Dream, a football field size open space, David Bowie, The Fourth War, Peter Fonda, roadtrips and mushrooms and Harry Dean Stanton’s scene in Apocalypse Now.  “Things go pretty seamlessly with Harry Dean Fest… and I’ve always said, that’s just because of the magic and the energy that surrounded Harry.”  

Movie Meltdown - Episode 607 (For our Patreon "Horror Club") This time around the horror club gets together to discuss Deadcon directed by Caryn Waechter. And while we come to terms with the fact that we are not social media superstars, we also cover… The Dark and the Wicked, Halloween at Aunt Ethel's, Orphan: First Kill, Lauren Elizabeth, pickled chocolates, dripping blood, The Sisterhood of Night, symbols and runes, 1408, it felt like you shouldn’t be watching this, can I unsee this, Isabelle Fuhrman, the lampshades are on upside down, they might have used some sort of witchcraft, movies are supposed to distract you from reading, she’ll make candy out of you, Keith Machekanyanga, clunky exposition or the lack thereof, a peeping Tom, The Shining, old time software, I have a lot of questions about the administrative staff of this hotel, Julia Stiles, status update, the chair is on the bed, I’m just overwhelmed by how amazing you guys are for just making this happen, The Strangers, Claudia Sulewski, a closet that eats children and was it supposed to be funny? Spoiler Alert: Full spoilers for “Deadcon”, so go watch the movie before you listen. “Why wouldn't you just go stay at the DoubleTree?”

Movie Meltdown - Episode 606 This episode we talk with Emily Swallow who you may know as The Armorer in The Mandalorian. Join us as we discuss how she got into acting, favorite movies, seafaring ghosts, the challenges of acting in costume, the worrisome aspects of organized religion and of course - what it’s like to work with Grogu.  And while we batten down the hatches just in case a hurricane is coming, we also bring up… Big Fish, Fight Club, Burning Bright, Haunting of the Mary Celeste, obsolete technology, caterpillar metamorphosis, based in Kali, Garret Dillahunt, making VHS videos, trying to figure things out sometimes to a fault, Werner Herzog, fighting with tools, Helena Bonham Carter, shooting in Sausalito, Legacy Effects, tracking fake things in the sky, this movie is going to destroy you, Pee Wee Herman, interning at the State Department, Meat Loaf, an angel in the church choir, every single piece of the process can be helpful to my own process, Star Search, a completely ramshackle we're lucky it didn't sink kind of a boat, Lauren Kim, puppet vs CGI, Tim Burton and why would you buy an evil tiger? “Honestly… my first real grasp of the character came with my first costume fitting when I saw the sketches.”  Follow Emily Swallow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigeswallz/ For more on PopCon, go to: https://popcon.us/