Episode 152 - Shake and Bake

It seems fitting that the show where we focus on two of the most famous disaster epics from the 70s, would be the show where we experience disasters in the production. Our entire first section, where we spoke in depth about 1974's Earthquake, was TOTALLY lost due to a recording issue, so we recorded a doubled-up section where we tried to cover that film as well as 1974's The Towering Inferno...that recording only lasted about 30 minutes before it ALSO screwed up when the machine we were recording on, locked-up.  Soooooo, Julie and Marty had to record a THIRD section, where we again tried to summarize and settle all our thoughts on these two titans. It made for a wonky, disjointed show, but there's still plenty to chew on in there, so we hope you enjoy it.  Let us know your thoughts by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also send us messages via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!

Episode 151 - Flickers S Cavingham

We chose two movies from Mr. Sean S. Cunnigham for this episode, starting with 1982's A Stranger is Watching, from best selling author Mary Higgins Clark. Starring the late Rip Torn as a truly despicable monster who rapes and murders a woman in front of her young daughter at the very beginning of the film...this one is ROUGH! Though effectively tense, it felt slightly overlong, but it's impressive on many levels, most notably is Rip Torn's performance. Worth your time, but be warned that he is a REALLY bad man. We follow that up with 1985's revenge flick The New Kids, which features a bevy of great young actors including Lori Laughlin, Eric Stoltz and James Spader who is aggressively chewing up every bit of scenery he can as the dastardly Dutra. Packed with violence, and threats of violence, it is another rough ride but it has a heightened tone which helps to slightly smooth the edges.  Let us know your thoughts by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also send us messages via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!

Episode 150 - Hip-Mo-Tized!

The movies this time were picked by Julie and both feature stories where reality becomes unreliable. We start off with 1981's Looker from writer-director Michael Crichton and starring the fantastic Albert Finney.  It is a great sci-fi story that looks at a world where advertisers strive to present perfect images to help them sell products, and they use computers and doctored images to fool the populace...what a weird and highly unlikely situation THAT is.  We follow that up with 1994's Brainscan from director John Flynn and starring young John Connor...I mean, Edward Furlong.  This story is also somewhat sci-fi but leans heavily into horror as it shows us a disaffected youth who is sucked into a "game" which starts bleeding into real life...or does it. These were both entertaining and had plenty of elements that would make them worth your time. Let us know your thoughts by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also send us messages via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!

Episode 149 - Beep Beep Zip Tang!

We LOVE the original Cannonball Run movie from Hal Needham, so when we found these two movies that came out in 1976  ( 5 years BEFORE Cannonball Run ) that tell similar, fictionalized tales of the true story that inspired that later film...we had to cover them on the podcast! We start of with Cannonball from show-favorite Paul Bartel, with a great cast of regulars from the Roger Corman camp that focuses on David Carradine as Cannonball Buckman, who's trying to get from California to New York City in his badass TransAm. It's a solid, but largely disposable flick with a ridiculous amount of incredible cameos. We follow that up with The Gumball Rally from stuntman-turned director Charles Bail. Starring Michael Sarazin and Raul Julia ( as well as many other familiar faces ) it is a true powerhouse of amazing stuntwork and film making...this one is awesome!  We loved both of these movies and would love to hear what your favorite car-based movies are. Please send your thoughts and feedback to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also send us messages via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!

 

Episode 148 - Glick In House

We return to one of our favorites this time as we look at two films from director James Glickenhaus. We start off with the Jackie Chan vehicle The Protector from 1985. It co-stars Danny Aiello and casts Jackie as super-cop Billy Wong, a New York city cop with connections in Hong Kong. It is a crazy international story that has Chan and Aiello punching and shooting in a variety of exotic locales as they try to stop a sinister crime lord and rescue a socialite he had kidnapped. It has moments of Chan's signature stunts and some standout action set-pieces. VERY worth your time. We follow that up with 1988's Shakedown, starring Peter Weller and Sam Elliott. Also set in New York City, it follows a public defender played by Weller who relies on his rough and tumble, undercover cop friend played by Elliott to help him bust up a group of "blue jean cops" that are going wild in the city. There are some really nutso stunts and a very well told story that rockets right along until the very end. Another one well worth checking out.
Let us know what you thought of the show by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also send us messages via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!

Episode 147 - Hit the Highway

Julie ( with an assist from Eli ) suggested two great movies this time, where the characters take to the roadways in pursuit of love and happiness. Along the way they face darkly weird challenges and tests...do they succeed? We'll never tell, but we WILL tell you that you should track down both of these excellent flicks and put them into your eye holes.
We start off with 1991's Highway to Hell, from director Ate de Jong, which stars Chad Lowe and Kristy Swanson, with tons of surprise guests. The film starts with Swanson being kidnapped by the "Hellcop" which forces Lowe to pursue her down the eponymous highway, which is packed with puns, sight gags and references to mythology and literature...it is a totally bizarre but completely entertaining oddity that we all enjoyed.  We follow that up with 1987's Dudes, from director Penelope Spheeris and starring Jon Cryer, Daniel Roebuck and Flea as New York City punks who pack themselves into a dilapidated VW Beetle and head off to California in search of a better life. What they find instead is Lee Ving from Fear who turns EVERYTHING upside down and puts them on a path to revenge. This was another strange one, but a great little time capsule with incredible music and maybe the best character we've ever seen...Daredelvis!
Let us know what you thought of the show by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also send us messages via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!

Episode 146 - Canadian Cave

We head north this time for two really great Canadian slashers. We start off with Bob Clark's legendary Black Christmas from 1974 which is considered by many to be one of the proto-slashers that established many of the things we would come to expect from the genre. It has a great cast, and a tightly told story and is packed with genuinely creepy and dark moments. It truly deserves it's classic status.  We follow that up with the notorious My Bloody Valentine from 1981. We had only seen a heavily cut of the film before, but for the podcast we tracked down a version with ALL of the gore and violence intact. This is a strong movie, with some of the most impressive makeup effects we've seen.  Another excellently crafted thriller, with an interesting cast, great locations, and a unique spin on the idea of a slasher film, this one is a real standout. Let us know what your favorite Canadian film is or just send us your thoughts on the show by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also interact with us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

 

Episode 145 - Thunder Crap

Thanks to Eli for pointing us in the direction of a series of films that had somehow flow under our collective radars...we are focusing on the "Thunder Warrior" series, starring Trash himself, mister Mark Gregory!  Borrowing liberally from movies like Billy Jack, First Blood, Cool Hand Luke, and lots of others, the "plots" focus on lead-character "Thunder" who is a descendant from a great warrior chief who is trying to right various wrongs for his tribe and for himself. He runs up against tons of racist cops, sheriffs, and townspeople over the course of the 3 films. We start off with "Thunder" from 1983, proceed to "Thunder 2" from 1987 and wrap things up with "Thunder 3" from 1988. The quality starts fairly high with the first and then just slides downward with the next two, but still, they are entertaining diversions with lots of goofy fun and more than a few cringe-worthy moments that will either start you laughing or make you gasp in disbelief...totally worth your time!  Thanks again Eli!
We also do our normal rambling with personal stories and asides, so brace yourself for some meandering discussions. Let us know what you'd like us to look at next by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com.  You can also reach us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!

Episode 144 - When Subs Fly

Back to Japan for this episode! We look at two movies from the father of Godzilla, Mr. Ishiro Honda, starting off with 1963's Atragon which tells a complicated story of toxic masculinity and intrigue. Featuring a miraculous flying sub that is sent to defend the earth from a lost undersea kingdom that has it's eyes set on conquering the world! It is delightfully cheesy and full of signature Tsuburaya effects. We follow that up with 1969's Latitude Zero, which raises the bar in every conceivable direction...this movie is INSANE in the very best ways. We have hidden societies, miraculous machines, incredible cross-breeding surgeries, lasers, and some impossibly skimpy outfits...oh, and also jet belts!!!  This is pure, nutty, gold! Let us know what you thought of the show by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also send us messages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!

 

Episode 143 - Night of the Flickers

We got really lucky once again as we feature two extremely enjoyable movies in the cave this time. We start off with the thoroughly delightful 1984 movie "Night of the Comet" which is a charming spin on the post-apocalyptic genre, with two teeenage sisters in southern California finding themselves two of few survivors after a mysterious comet passes close to earth and starts all sorts of trouble. This is a lightweight, fluffy little movie with some surprising twists and turns and a satisfyingly cheesy ending. We follow that up with a classic though, 1986's "Night of the Creeps" from genre wunderkind, Fred Dekker. Featuring an outstanding performance from Tom Atkins as Detective Ray Cameron, who finds himself at odds with squirmy little extraterrestrials who infest a college town and interrupt everyone's date nights. This is a total blast of a movie, with great gore effects, solid writing, mostly good performances and a killer 80's soundtrack. It's as close to mana from heaven as we are likely to find.  Please let us know what you thought of the show and send us suggestions for future shows to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. Take a minute and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.