Cinema Oblivia

Episode 18: An Episode About My Dad

My dad passed away a few weeks ago.
My love of movies, and this podcast, would not exist without him, so I wanted to take some time to talk about him, the movies he loved, and all the ways he was a really awesome dad.
I miss ya, guy.

Episode 17: The Driver

Walter Hill's 1978 existential, minimalist masterpiece about a getaway driver trying to outsmart not only the cops, but the crooks who want him dead, was a bomb when it first came out. But in the years since it's rightfully earned its place as a cult classic. Writer and hardcore film geek Brian Ashcraft joins to talk about this under-appreciated gem.

Episode 16: Natural Born Killers

I am very happy to be joined by Kyle Shutt from the band The Sword and the podcast The High Way to talk about Natural Born Killers, a film that could have only been made the year it came out and no other year. Is it super dated? For sure, but does it hold up? Find out!

Episode 15: Perfect and Killer Workout

Put on your leg warmers! Matt Kucick joins me to talk about two films that tried to cash in on the 80s aerobics craze, and failed miserably: the John Travolta/Jamie Lee Curtis romantic drama Perfect, and the cheapo sleazo slasher Killer Workout (aka Aerobicide). Both are bad, but in entirely different ways. Although, both have pretty great soundtracks.
Disclaimer: This episode was cursed and plagued with technical difficulties that shan't happen again. The audio quality dips from time to time, and the conversation does get a bit scattershot as we were continually disconnected throughout our talk.
Travolta must've heard us smack-talking his crotch.

Episode 14: Gone In 60 Seconds and the H.B. Halicki Cinematic Universe

H.B. Halicki had a dream: A dream to smash as many cars as possible. And he achieved said dream with his 1974 magnum opus, Gone in 60 Seconds. Twitter's supcat and I talk about that classic, the films Halicki made afterwards, and the bizarre legal wranglings that have made finding the original versions of said films a nightmare in the 21st century.

Episode 13: Silver Streak

Action! Suspense! Comedy! Romance! Ray Walston shooting cops! This movie has it all! Diamond Feit joins me to talk about this Gene Wilder/Richard Pryor classic, why it's still a great movie, and why parts of it might be a little shocking to see today. All aboard!

Episode 12: Smokey And The Bandit

Smokey and the Bandit was the second most popular movie of 1977 (behind Star Wars - perhaps you've heard of it) and it spawned a whole slew of pale imitations in its wake. While the car action genre is bigger than ever thanks to the Fast & Furious films, Smokey's kind of been left in the dust. But that's not fair! Listen to me and my guest Elliot Long talk about how this movie is still great and one of the funniest action movies ever made!

Episode 11: Golgo13 - The Professional

Golgo 13: The Professional is a landmark piece of animation that still looks breathtaking all these years later. Norm from A Question of Character joins me to talk about the film's revolutionary use of CG, fantastic sense of style, and dope soundtrack. We also talk about some of our other favorite old-school anime from the 80s and 90s!

Episode 10: Cloak and Dagger

Cloak and Dagger! Atari: The Motion Picture! Sure, it was a crass attempt at blatant product placement, but it's also kind of a sweet movie about a boy and his dad. And Elliot from ET murders a dude with a gun.
Fellow movie geek and all around great guy Tony Recznik talk about what's great and not-so-great about this 80s classic.

Episode 09: Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia

Giant Bomb's Alex Navarro and I take a swig of tequila, follow it with a chaser of despair, and plunge into the miserable depths of Sam Peckinpah's underappreciated masterpiece of misanthropy - Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia!
Content Warning: We do discuss the scenes of violent misogyny and sexual assault that are in this film.