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Cinema Oblivia
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Vampires! Spies! David Byrne! Gangsters! Beavers upon Beavers! Japanese bankrobbers! Chainsaw Man! Joan Crawford! Cher looking more amazing than anyone else who ever lived!
Anthony Abatte and I run down some of the best, worst, weirdest, and craziest movies that we saw this year. I hope you finish this episode with 20 or so movies you want to see next year!
While Warlords of Atlantis might look like just another silly late-70s adventure film that was instantly dated the second it came out thanks to Star Wars, there's actually a lot going on with this crazy movie. And it happens to star ONE OF THE BIGGEST BOX-OFFICE STARS OF ALL-TIME (really!) It also has Doug McClure. You might remember him.
Anthony Abatte returns to the podcast to talk about this, man. It goes places.
In the past I used to write about forgotten music on my blog, and now I talk about forgotten and obscure movies, but I rarely talk about the forgotten obscurities of TV.
But recently, I watched Michael Darling's amazing YouTube videos covering sitcoms and dramas that primetime forgot, and I felt compelled to bring him on the show to cover how he made these amazing feature-length TV mixtapes. And since I'm no TV expert, I also asked Gayest Episode Ever's Drew Mackie to join me as well!
When people thing big pop stars of the 1980s, they think Michael Jackson, Madonna and Prince. And they should. BUT THEY SHOULD ALSO THINK OF PHIL COLLINS.
Phil Collins was so huge in the 1980s that, just like those other pop stars, he got his own movie - Buster, a true-crime caper/romantic drama/period piece that came and went in five minutes, but not before starting some serious controversy in the UK.
The internet's number one Phil Collins fan, Jeremy Parish and fellow prog aficionado Elliot Long join me to talk about the film, the odd controversy around it, and how you all should fear and respect the power of Phil Collins.
Anthony Abatte returns for my 100th episode! To celebrate this momentous occasion, we discuss a women in prison film from the mid-80s. But not just any women in prison film, we're here to talk about The Naked Cage, perhaps one of the sleaziest, trashiest, nastiest films Cannon ever released (and that's saying something)!
Content warning: This is a women in prison film, so expect discussions about scenes that feature sexual assault, unflattering LGBTQ stereotypes, violence against women, and so on. Also, some iffy racial politics and racial slurs.
Anyone who listens to this podcast knows that I love me some Peter Cushing, so I thought I would take some time to rattle off 20 or so Peter Cushing films that I feel are absolute must-sees, and three that you should avoid like a zombie plague.
Heavenly Bodies is blatant low-budget Canadian rip-off of Flashdance that completely bombed when it came out. It's gone on to have a dedicated cult following because it is, quite frankly, one of the lightest, happiest, most energetic and delightful films ever made. And it has a banger of a soundtrack that almost never stops. Anthony Abatte and I talk about this charming as hell movie, and do a deep dive on every single song and musical artist that appear in the film. (That's why this episode is over two hours long.)
Madeleine Koestner returns to Cinema Oblivia to talk about American Gothic, a supremely gnarly late-80s hidden gem of a slasher about a seriously dysfunctional family and the idiots yuppies they decide to slay.
Content Warning: We discuss fictional depictions of graphic sexual assault, and considering the tone of this film, our tone is certainly not serious when doing so.
The Challenge, directed by John Frankenheimer and starring Scott Glenn, is not the greatest film in the world. It was certainly not the greatest film to come out in 1982, but it's about a giant white dipshit living in Japan and making an ass of himself. And as a giant white dipshit who lives in Japan who routinely makes an ass of himself, I felt seen. Although I've killed far less people than Scott Glenn does in this movie (at least, so far).
Fellow American in Japan Diamond Feit joins me to talk about this very silly film.
Last month it was Ant with Anthony Abatte. This month it's Bees...with Anthony Abatte...because I don't know anyone whose name is Bee.
You've never seen a killer bees movie like The Bees. Believe you me. In a time of great strife and war, the themes of unity and togetherness that are touched upon in The Bees should inspire us all to make the world a better place.
And John Saxon. John Saxon is great (and oddly attractive).
ANThony Abatte joins me once more to discuss this ANTagonistic film about killer ants. It's real great bad movie, even if the ending is really ANTiclmatic.
Sorry. (No I'm not).
Ever wish that every other person on the planet would vanish in a puff of smoke? Feeling that way more than usual lately? So have I! And so has Scott Sharkey, who wanders in from the wastelands to talk about The Quiet Earth, the hugely influential New Zealand classic about what it would be like to be the literal last man on Earth (and then suddenly not be).
We're closing out this year at Cinema Oblivia by offering a virtual smorgasbord of lesser-known film recommendations. Diamond Feit joins me once ore as we browse the absolute depths of Letterboxd to find the weirdest, most out-there, and criminally under-seen films we've watched, as well as our picks for the best movies we've seen this year!
Depressed over the current state of the world? Have you considered using a monster truck to solve your problems?
Diamond Feit and Anthony Abatte join me to talk about Rolling Vengeance, the world's only monster truck revenge movie. Yes, it is Canadian. And it rules.
It's nearly Halloween so I thought I'd meet with Joe & Rob from Caliber 9 From Outer Space to share some recommendations for spookytime movie watching. Whether you're into actually scary movies, gory movies, or just silly goofy movies with a horror bent, we got something for you in this episode.
And stay tuned at the end to hear which presidential candidate earns the coveted official Cinema Oblivia endorsement!
DON'T YOU SAY THAT.
Emmett Watkins Jr. returns to the podcast to talk about this wacky Blaxploitation spoof that helped to launch the Wayans family empire. We had a lot to say about this one, it may be my longest episode yet! We also talk about its lesser-known sequel/spin-off (yes, really!) and another attempt at Blaxsploitation homage that did not work nearly as well, Original Gangstas.
What's more terrifying than a circus full of clowns? A circus full of vampires!
Joe Odber from the Caliber 9 From Outer Space podcast returns to Cinema Oblivia to talk about Vampire Circus, a 1970s Hammer horror flick that's oddly disturbing when compared to their other flicks featured fanged villain. Slight content warning on this one, there is some icky stuff in this one!
Anthony Abatte joins me once again to talk about Catch The Heat, an utterly forgotten late-80s B-grade action flick written by Sterling Silliphant and starring his wife Tiana Alexandra. It's a mess! But it's a charming mess. When it's not throwing out really bad racial slurs in its attempt to criticize racism.
Yeah, um, content warning on this one.
Rob Hill of the Bad Movie Bible returns with possibly the most British thing I have ever seen in my entire life. If you've never seen Mr. Jolly Lives Next Door, for God's sake go on YouTube right now and watch Mr. Jolly Lives Next Door, it's only 53 minutes long! Then come back and listen to us laugh about Mr. Jolly Lives Next Door for over 90 minutes.
Doris Day makes her long-awaited debut on Cinema Oblivia!
I put together this episode with Anthony Abatte and Diamond Feit because I wanted to introduce them to the wonderful world of Doris Day. And while we did that, I think we spent even more time talking about the amazing wit of Eve Arden and the inhuman dancing of Gene Nelson!



