Episode 177 - What Scares You - Volume 3

We continue our Halloween tradition of looking at films that hit our personal phobias...this time, it's the idea of "eye trauma". We start off with 1975's appropriately titled "Eyeball" from Italian director Umberto Lenzi. A fairly boilerplate giallo with a gloved killer and tons of misdirects, but it is fun and moves along quickly. It also features a number of off-camera eye gouging incidents that makes it a fairly decent choice for this theme. We follow that up with an absolute masterpiece...1987's "Anguish" from director Bigas Luna. This is a really trippy and, at times, genuinely unsettling experience. Using the idea of hypnotism and combining that with a layered series of meta narratives, it's truly something you need to see. We then proceed to a discussion of things we've seen lately. Please send emails to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com.  You can also reach us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Episode 176 - He's No Hack...Man!

 We've all missed Gene Hackman since he stopped acting with 2004's Welcome to Mooseport. On this episode of the podcast we look at two of his films from the early 70's and then proceed to dissect them bit by bit. Starting off, we look at 1971's The Hunting Party with a brutal game of cat and mouse between the impossibly rich Hackman and the scoundrel Oliver Reed who has inadvertently kidnapped Hackman's wife, played by Candice Bergen. The relationships and situations in the film are ALL problematic, but there are some excellent performances and incredible sweeping vistas. We follow it up with 1972's Prime Cut which brings Lee Marvin in as a fixer for the mob who is tasked with forcing Hackman and his inbred hillbilly family to pay up. It is similarly problematic but has a little more Hollywood sheen to it. We then launch into an epic round of "What Else Have You Seen Lately®" and even talk about what might be featured in upcoming shows. Please send emails to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com.  You can also reach us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Episode 175 - Fill in the Blanks

The cave is filled, once again, with the furious sounds of martial arts as we are joined by Eli to look at two movies from the 1990s that star Mr. Tae bo himself, Billy Blanks! We start off with 1993's "TC 2000" where Blanks plays part of a "Tracker-Communicator" team in a  dystopian future where the elite live underground in secure facilities, while the surface of the earth is populated with roving groups of ne'er-do-wells who are constantly trying to break in. It has shades of Robocop and includes several action-movie greats in key roles, including Matthias Hues and Bolo Yeung. We follow that with 1990's "The King of the Kickboxers" where Blanks plays the evil villain Khan who is killing people in snuff movies. The usually reliable Don Stroud and Richard Jaeckel send a total jerk to infiltrate the operation and lots of great fighting ensues! These were both very entertaining, but to call them "good" might be an exaggeration! The conversation continues with us all running down the various things we've watched lately and we end up with a bit of an epic show. Please send emails to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com.  You can also reach us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Episode 174 - Flickers Ahoy

We go deep on this episode of the podcast and get soaked in the process. We start off with 1998's "Deep Rising" from director Stephen Sommers, which stars Treat Williams and several other notable big-name Hollywood stars in a tale of a heist gone horribly wrong. It takes place on an ocean liner that meets up with a horrific beastie from the depths with teeth in places you don't expect. It is a big, noisy, dumb movie that is also a total blast to watch. We follow that up with an entirely different take on aquatic horror, with 2020's "Underwater", directed by the very impressive William Eubank and featuring an incredible lead performance from Kristen Stewart. It is an unrelenting tale of miners in the deepest part of the ocean who find themselves dealing with a sudden collapse of ALL the systems in their facility, and who come face to face with an unspeakable swarm of creatures that seem determined to kill them all. It is an absolute masterpiece and we highly recommend it. We would love to hear your thoughts on these two and also your recommendations for future movie pairings. Please send emails to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com.  You can also reach us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Episode 173 - Soldier On

We fight our way back into the 90's action-movie world for this episode of the podcast. Starting off, we look at "Universal Soldier" from 1992. Directed by the typically lousy Roland Emmerich, it stars two genre favorites, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren. It tells the story of a group of resurrected soldiers, equipped with high-tech equipment who fix problems that seem to have no possible solution until one of them goes rogue and must be taken out. It's a decent movie, but 100% by-the-numbers. We follow that up with "Soldier" from 1998, directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and starring the always reliable Kurt Russell. It similarly focuses on a group of super-soldiers who find themselves being phased out by newer models and the struggle to not be replaced. The film has great 90's era effects and some top-notch action. We enjoyed both and would love to hear your thoughts on them and also your recommendations for future movie pairings. Please send emails to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com.  You can also reach us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Episode 172 - Hammer Time

Fred "The Hammer" Williamson starred in some great films throughout his still-continuing career. We look at a great one, and a...not so great one. We start with a film from 1983 that  goes by a handful of names, but we watched it as "The New Gladiators". Directed by show-favorite Lucio Fulci, it is a clunky, goofy, slow-moving slog that is representative of Fulci's worst films. We survived it just to get to our second film, the excellent "Hell Up in Harlem" which was released in 1973. It is from writer/director Larry Cohen. It is the sequel to the also-great "Black Caesar", also from Cohen. It continues the story of Tommy Gibbs from the first movie, and it succeeds in every way. We'd love to hear what your favorite Fred Williamson movie is! Please send emails to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com.  You can also reach us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Episode 171 - Pixels and Panties

We were longing for simpler times, when all you needed to be happy were video games, psychic powers and a few garter belts. We start off with 1983's Joysticks from maestro Greydon Clark. It is enjoyable if you think of it as a parody of the teen-sex-comedy genre, but extremely rough-going if you watch it as a regular movie. We follow that up with the "star"-packed 1982 movie Zapped, with Willie Aames and Scott Baio caught up in basically a Disney movie with boobs...it is not good, but it really took us back to that simpler time when we had no idea just how problematic these types of stories were. Listen in and let us know where your cinematic "happy places" are and let's all try to find some relief during these trying times. Please send emails to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com.  You can also reach us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

 

Episode 170 - Tommy Guns and Roses

We finally got the whole gang back together again for a long, drunken, food-filled episode, with a truly apocalyptic amount of rambling. We look at two movies that explore the life of notorious bank robber John Dillinger. First up is 1973's Dillinger, from maverick writer/director John Milius, with Warren Oates playing the titular character. It is a rough and rowdy tale of criminals and the big strong lawmen who are chasing them down. It's violent, and full of that signature Milius dialogue. We follow that up with 1979's The Lady in Red from the killer combination of John Sayles and Lewis Teague. It focuses more on a young woman played by Pamela Sue Martin who has a VERY rough life then meets Dillinger at the diner where she works and they fall in love. This one is also very rough in spots, with the main character being subjugated, beaten and mistreated in a myriad of ways. We all loved both movies and recommend them fully. 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 169 - Stoned Wheelers

We have gotten the gang back together...sort of...for this episode of the podcast. In what can only be described as "The best we can do at the moment" we present a hodge-podge of recordings and a metric ton of rambling as we look at two classic motorcycle movies of the 70s. Thanks to a great recommendation from Craig, we were turned on to the 1974 Australian classic "Stone" which none of us had heard of before. It completely deserves it's legendary status and kicked ass in every way possible. We follow that up with also excellent 1973 British flick "The Death Wheelers" ( aka Psychomania ). It's a much more light-hearted affair, but still a unique twist on the biker genre and total blast. 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 168 - Flickers from the Block

We're back with another two-seater Covid19 special from the cave, looking at two films with similar storylines but VERY different tones. We start off with 1985's Tenement from director Roberta Findlay. It is a super low budget, exploitation movie that takes place mostly in and around a tenement building in the South Bronx. There are some very rough moments in the movie, and they pack a punch, even with some of the less than perfect acting and very basic special effects. It is a grimy, mean-spirited movie, and we recommend it 100%. We follow that up with Enemy Territory from 1987, which has Ray Parker Jr. in one of the two lead roles. With Tony Todd playing the leader of a vicious gang called "The Vampires" it follows an insurance salesman who has gotten himself into a seriously bad situation and who relies on the kindness of the residents in an enormous apartment building to escape from danger. It has a lighter tone than Tenement, but still has some bleak moments. This is another one we think you should check out. 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.