Random Acts of Cinema

American masculinity is fully skewered.  Finally.  Actually, I guess everyone is skewered is Alexander Payne's black-hearted comedy about a Midwest American high School student… election. Opinions are divided on this one. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server here! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our merch store.  T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you'd like to watch ahead for next week's film, we will be discussing and reviewing Barbet Schroeder's Koko: A Talking Gorilla (1978). 

Wong Kar Wai brings us - way back - to lovelorn Hong Kong.  Upon discovering that their spouses are having an affair with with one another, two neighbors strike up a sad acquaintance that soon blossoms into an unrequited affair of their own.  Of course, this makes no sense because who would ever cheat on Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung?  But that's not really the point.  The point is cigarette smoke and silk dresses. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server here! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our merch store.  T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you'd like to watch ahead for next week's film, we will be discussing and reviewing Alexander Payne's Election (1999). 

I don't think we're in the standard spine numbers anymore, Toto… Because we're returning to the Laser Disc collection with this all-timer. Are we doing this in honor of the upcoming release of the second Wicked movie?  No.  No we are not. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server here! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our merch store.  T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you'd like to watch ahead for next week's film, we will be discussing and reviewing Wong Kar Wai's In the Mood for Love (2000). 

The most accurate description of this episode is that we review 6 Short Films starring W.C. Fields. The idea is that he's arrogant jerk. That's pretty much it.  Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server here! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our merch store.  T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you'd like to watch ahead for next week's film, we will be discussing and reviewing Victor Fleming's The Wizard of Oz (1939). 

In 1989 the Berlin Wall fell.  3 months before this, in an act of desperate love, a sex-reassignment surgery was planned and subsequently botched.  And a punk/drag icon was born.  John Cameron Mitchell's Hedwig croons, screams, and stage-banters her way into our hearts.  Don't let the fact that this is TECHNICALLY a rock opera (ugh) dissuade you from putting on your foam wig and experiencing this all-time indie classic. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server here! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our merch store.  T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you'd like to watch ahead for next week's film, we will be discussing and reviewing W.C. Fields - 6 Short Films (1933). 

Director Lizzie Borden dares to imagine a world in which promised egalitarian reform is achieved, just not for women.  Women from all backgrounds, walks of life, and lifestyles debate, struggle, and eventually unite to fight against male repression in this documentary-style dystopian action/drama.  If that doesn't sell this movie to you, then how about this? 1980s, queer, punk, radical feminist, New York City. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server here! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our merch store.  T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you'd like to watch ahead for next week's film, we will be discussing and reviewing John Frankenheimer's Seconds (1966). 

Our odd run of road movies continues with a classic from an American master.  Terrence Mallick turns the couple-on-a-crime-spree sub genre into a deadpan fairy-tale with stirring visuals, iconic performances, and a meditative tone. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server here! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our merch store.  T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you'd like to watch ahead for next week's film, we will be discussing and reviewing Lizzie Borden's Born in Flames (1983).

We return to Monte Hellman's examination of American masculinity with a James Taylor and Dennis Wilson-starring road movie.  Two nearly silent racers ramble across the American southwest, acquiring a disreputable father-figure, a notably underage girl, and a supporting cast of American weirdos.  Vroom. Also join us for a bonus follow-up discussion now that Mike has finally watched Highest To Lowest (2025)! Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server here! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our merch store.  T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you'd like to watch ahead for next week's film, we will be discussing and reviewing Terrence Malick's Badlands (1973).

In honor of Spike Lee's… interesting… new adaptation, we return to the surprisingly satisfying sub genre of Akira-Kurosawa-crime-thriller with his two-movies-for-the-price-of-one kidnapping procedural.  Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server here! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our merch store.  T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you'd like to watch ahead for next week's film, we will be discussing and reviewing Monte Hellman's Two-Lane Blacktop (1971).

Bertrand Tavernier builds a lushly realized foundation around which to topple the poisonous heart of European colonialism.  Whether our hapless police chief chooses deliberate inaction, working towards everyone's best interests, or succumbing to his own selfish impulses, everything and everyone around him rots due to the fundamental moral corruption of racism.  But, like, its a comedy. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server here! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our merch store.  T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you'd like to watch ahead for next week's film, we will be discussing and reviewing Akira Kurosawa's High and Low (1963).

Edo Japan. A town swarming with warring yakuza. And one detached, unstoppable blind swordsman caught in the middle. And Tate. Don't forget about Tate. The legend of Tate starts here. Kenji Misumi brings Zatoichi to the screen, with beautiful staging, and soapy twists and turns. Long-time guest Max joins us to put it all into a historical perspective and to make an exciting podcast announcement! Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server here! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our merch store.  T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you'd like to watch ahead for next week's film, we will be discussing and reviewing Bertrand Tavernier's Coup de Torchon (1981).

Hungarian director Marta Meszaros adds unprecedented depth, humanity, and a whole other meaning to the question asked in countless groan-worthy bumper stickers: "Who adopted who?" A lonely middle-aged widow is picked by a teenage girl from a nearby state-run home for children as a kindred spirit and unlikely ally.  Identities like mother, daughter, friend, sister, confident, and advocate are intentionally and unintentionally tried on for size as both struggle against the constrictive demands of the well-meaning, but institutionally-bound men in their lives. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server here! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our merch store.  T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you'd like to watch ahead for next week's film, we will be discussing and reviewing Kinjji Misumi's The Tale of Zatoichi (1962).

Poverty.  Betrayal.  Heroin.  Death. But, like in a really funny and clever sort of way that's just a real pleasure to watch.  Spend some time with some of your best Scottish friends!  Director Danny Boyle fully inhabits, then redefines 90s cinema, in this groundbreaking international phenomenon. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server here! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our merch store.  T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you'd like to watch ahead for next week's film, we will be discussing and reviewing Marta Meszaros' Adoption (1975).

Kon Ichikawa sumptuous remake of an Edo-period revenge tale is magnified by lush camerawork, stirring performances, a jazzy soundtrack, and a fascinatingly unexpected exploration of gender, sexuality, and identity.  The Kabuki actor Yukinojo performs and lives as a woman, breaks the hearts of all around him (men and women alike), and deftly schemes to enact vengeance on the men who destroyed her family. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server here! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our merch store.  T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you'd like to watch ahead for next week's film, we will be discussing and reviewing Danny Boyle's Trainspotting (1996).

How Kate got her groove back… could be an alternate title to David Lean's Katherine Hepburn-starring romance set in the canals of mid-century Venice.  An aging single American lady, looking for a little bit of culture and beauty, discovers far more than just a bit of Murano glass in this visual stunner… By which I mean that she finds no-strings-attached sex with hot Italian dudes. Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server here! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our merch store.  T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you'd like to watch ahead for next week's film, we will be discussing and reviewing Kon Ichikawa's An Actor's Revenge(1962).

Feast your ears on a special release of the Patreon-only hit podcast Are You Friedkin Kidding Me? where your intrepid hosts (plus Alexandra!) watch the films of William Friedkin.  This episode…. The poster, wherein a lady is sitting upon the face of a gentleman, says it all. But you may as well also know that it features a thrillingly slow car chase through the city of San Francisco (which is kind of a character in this film, if you think about it.) Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server here! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our merch store.  T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you'd like to watch ahead for next week's film, we will be discussing and reviewing David Lean's Summertime (1955).

Feast your ears on a special release of the Patreon-only hit podcast Are You Friedkin Kidding Me? where your intrepid hosts (plus Alexandra!) watch the films of William Friedkin.  This episode…. Well it's only his timeless 1990s erotic/thriller/horror masterpiece The Guardian!  You'll never look at Los Angeles architecture the same way ever again! Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server here! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our merch store.  T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you'd like to watch ahead for next week's film, we will be discussing and reviewing David Lean's Summertime (1955).

Fresh off of his iconic career topping Dracula, director Tod Browning returns to his roots with a domestic drama/crime film cast almost entirely with side-show performers with little-to-no screen acting experience.  The viewers are asked - and very much confronted with the question of - who are the REAL freaks? Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server here! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our merch store.  T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you'd like to watch ahead for next week's film, we will be discussing and reviewing David Lean's Summertime (1955).

Director/Writer/Star Albert Brooks reawakens an early shared film trauma of your two loyal hosts.  Can this Uber-Boomer satire of drop-out idealists living in Reagan's America be salvaged?  Might it even be... good? Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server here! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our merch store.  T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! If you'd like to watch ahead for next week's film, we will be discussing and reviewing Tod Browning's Freaks (1932).

Now that another season of Random Acts of Cinema has passed, Hollywood can finally take a moment to catch its breath before it must prepare another year of potential delights for us to mercilessly tear to shreds.  Well, not really.  It's just Rando Awards season, where your hosts reflect on and recognize the greatest things we saw in the Criterion Collection this year.  Join us! Join the Random Acts of Cinema Discord server here! *Come support the podcast and get yourself or someone you love a random gift at our merch store.  T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and more! It you'd like to watch ahead for next week's film, we will be discussing and reviewing Albert Brooks' Lost In America (1985).