Episode 90 - You're Going to Need a Bigger Podcast

Watch out, the cave is flooded and we have been beset by man-eating sharks!  We go back to the 70's for two films that took our eternal fascination with these fearsome beasts and try to use that to bring people to the cinemas.  We start off with 1975's "Shark's Treasure", which stars the legendary Cornel Wilde who also produced, wrote and directed the film.  Essentially a little  tale  of treasure-hunting adventure in the caribbean, this film packs in a huge amount of subtle, and subversive content. This is a great movie that is filled with surprising turns.  We follow that up with 1976's "Mako, The Jaws of Death" from genre filmmaker William Grefé, and starring one of our favorite actors, Richard Jaeckel. It tells a story of a man who has become an ally with sharks and who fights against the humans that are out to exploit and kill them. It is a fun exploitation film with a strong performance from Jaeckel and some truly stunning scenes of shark attacks.  We loved both these films and would love to hear what your favorite shark movies are. Please write to us at flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com, or you can just post a message on our Facebook page.

 

Episode 89 - No Djacket Required

We go back to Italy for another dose of fine Italian cinema, this time focusing on two of their many "Spaghetti Westerns".  We start off with a Django film with surprisingly-low amounts of Django in it ( we figured it had, roughly, zero percent of Django in the actual film ) but...it was still totally awesome.  We are talking about the oddly-titled "Django Kill...if you Live, Shoot" from 1967. This is a weird and  twisted film that you really should search out. It has a wonderfully-complicated plot and a seemingly-endless stream of bizarre characters. All of whom are focused on screwing each other over. We follow that up with the absolutely brilliant "Keoma" from 1976 which stars the legendary Franco Nero ( the original Django ) as a half-breed indian who returns to his childhood home and must settle ALL the scores and right ALL the wrongs. It is amazing and impressive on almost every level.  Listen to the podcast to find out which level we feel doesn't quite measure up to the rest. Please let us know what you think of the show and send us suggestions for films to cover by writing to flickersfrom@gmail.com or flickersfrom@yahoo.com or just leave us a message on our Facebook page.

 

Episode 88 - Flickerin' Down the Road

We hit the road again this week, thanks to a great suggestion from one of our awesome listeners named Andrew. He told us about an amazing Canadian film from 1970, called "Goin' Down the Road" from director Donald Shebib. The film follows to "maritimers" who leave their homes to travel to the big city of Toronto with hopes of a chance to live a better life.  An incredible film, with honest and powerful performances, we had never heard of it and are thrilled that we were able to see it. We pair that one with 1974's "Road Movie" from director Joseph Strick.  This one also has incredibly brave and poignant performances, including a very young Barry Bostwick, and the truly mesmerizing Regina Baff as Janice, the catalyst in the storyline. It is the tale of two truck drivers who are following their dream of being independent drivers, who set off on their first run in their new rig...and things don't really go how they imagined.  These are two stunning, and bleak films, that don't leave you happy, but instead show the lengths that humans will go to, just to keep some semblance of hope. These are characters clutching at straws and frequently coming up short, if they come up at all.  Please let us know what you thought of the show by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com, flickersfrom@gmail.com or post a message over on our Facebook page.

 

Episode 87 - Flickers of the Blind Cave

We love getting recommendations from listeners but it might seem like we were ignoring one of those recommendations, but we assure you that is not the case. Thanks, and apologies, go out to Hugo, who suggested that we look into the "Blind Dead" films from Amando de Ossorio.  We  missed Hugo's message for a LONG time, but when we found it, lurking in the dark corners of our inbox, we leapt on the suggestion.  Starting with the first of the four films in the series, Tombs of the Blind Dead, from 1972, which tells the story of a group of Knights Templar that return from the crusades and are forced to pay a heavy price for their fall from grace.  A pretty grim movie overall, this one started it all.  We follow that up with the fourth and final film in the series, 1975's Night of the Seagulls. This one has lots of Lovecraftian influences and is probably a better overall film than the first one, but they both have plenty to recommend them.  Thanks to Hugo for the great suggestion, and our apologies again for taking so long to get to them. Please let us know what you thought of the show and send your own suggestions to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com or just post a message to our Facebook page.

Episode 86 - Outlaw Country

We are sticking close to home with the latest episode of the podcast. We look at two films that are totally products of our home-state of North Carolina. We start off with 1968's Killers Three, which was produced, co-written by, and co-stars the one and only Dick Clark!  With a surprisingly strong cast and a  well-paced story, this movie is a real blast ( literally at times ). We follow that up with 1978's Seabo, a.k.a. Buckstone County Prison.  Produced by, and starring local-legend Earl Owensby, it really wants to be more than it quite reach, but still delivered a fun, cheesy romp through the mountains of the Old North State. We loved these bits of homegrown goodness, and would love to hear about your own local filmmakers and the things they've produced, so send us some info to flickersfrom@gmail.com or flickersfrom@yahoo.com or just post a note over on the Facebook page.

Episode 85 - Bride of Frankenheimer

For this episode of the podcast we wanted to rewatch some films we had seen before but had NOT like, and see if our opinions changed on them this time.  It was an interesting experiment.  We  start with 2003's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. which has a truly impressive cast and is based on a graphic novel series of the same name from the legendary Alan Moore. We follow that up with 2006's Ultraviolet, from director Kurt Wimmer ( who made one of our favorite films, Equilibrium ) and stars the bellybutton of Milla Jovovich. In many ways, it was like we had never seen either of these films before, in both good and bad terms.  Let us know if you've had experiences with movies where you rewatched them and found yourself with new opinions on their qualities. Please also let us know what you think of the show and if you have any suggestions for the future. You can reach us at flickersfrom@gmail.com, flickersfrom@yahoo.com or leave us a message on our Facebook page.

Episode 84 - Freaky 2015

A Flickers podcast that doesn't look at films from the 70s or 80s!?!?! What has the world come to!?!?
We wanted to update things a bit this time, so we are looking at two from 2015, starting with The Invitation, which is very much like if Werner Herzog directed a claustrophobic remake of the Big Chill. Filled with great performances and a great ( and surprising ) story, this was a real treat. We follow that up with The Witch, and we both felt that it did, in fact, live up to all the hype that surrounded its release.  It tells what feels like a very authentic tale of an family that is disintegrating while something possibly supernatural taunts them from nearby shadows. We follow these two up with a discussion of other recent horror greats, but eventually the nurses come to give us our medicine and put us to bed before we get too excited.  Let us know what you've seen from the last couple of years that impressed you by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com or leave us a message on our Facebook page.

Episode 83 - The Quiet Pork Pie

Thanks to faithful listener Jason, we discovered something new and wonderful for the is episode of the podcast.  He turned us on to New Zealand director Geoff Murphy and suggested that we pair up two of his films. We start with 1981's Goodbye Pork Pie which follows a nutty young man named Jerry and his accidental companion John as the travel basically the entire length ( north to south ) of New Zealand in a bright yellow, stolen mini-cooper.  We think there's a lot more going on in the film that might appear at first glance and we talk quite a bit about our ideas. We follow that up with 1985's The Quiet Earth which is another in a proud history of post-apocalyptic tales.  This one does a lot of things differently however and really impressed us with it's craftsmanship as well as the arcs of it's main characters.  We were thrilled to get Jason's suggestions and hope that you will contribute yours to the cause as well.  Send your ideas, feedback, and naked photos to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com or post a message on our Facebook page.

 

Episode 82 - Flickers and Caves and Bears Oh My

We are off to Jellystone for this episode of Flickers!  There are bears in those woods and they are wanting to do more than ruin your picnic.  We start with 1976's Grizzly from director William Girdler and featuring performances from some of our favorite character actors, including Christopher George, Richard Jaeckel and Andrew Prine.  In a story that is VERY similar to a certain hit film about 3 guys who are looking for a big shark off the coast of Amity Island, this is a solid PG-rated movie that entertains but is not lacking problems. We follow that up with another movie about a killer bear, 1979's Prophecy from legendary director John Frankenheimer.  This time we bundle in environmentalism, the lousy treatment of native Americans, and corporate malfeasance...this is a heck of a stew.  With lead performances from Richard Foxworth, Talia Shire and Armand Assante, we really liked this one a lot.  Let us know what you thought of the show and send us your suggestions for future pairings by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com or just leave a message on our Facebook page.

Episode 81 - Stallone Again...Naturally

What is it about the inescapable pull of Menahem Golan?  We have yet another film from this storied filmmaker this time, but we start with 1986's Cobra, from George P. Cosmatos, who had previously given the world, Rambo: First Blood Part 2.  In a solid tale of a renegade cop who's trying to stop a ruthless serial killer from knocking-off a witness to one of his kills, Cobra delivers everything that you might want in an action film from the 80's ( except maybe nudity, which there is none of ).  We follow that up with Mr. Golan's 1987 film "Over The Top" which tells the story of Lincoln Hawk, a trucker and arm-wrestler who is trying to mend a shattered relationship with his youngish son.  Oh, did we mention that both of these films star the one and only Sylvester "Tango" Stallone? Well they do, and he is actually pretty great in both of these.  This show was built from a recommendation from Dylan over at D's Movie Corner...if you check out his site, please tell him that you heard about it on Flickers from the Cave. While you're letting people know things, let US know what you thought of the show and what movies you'd like to see added to the big pile of stuff that is filling up the cave. Write us at flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com or leave us a message over on our Facebook page.