Episode 288 – Cinema Smorgasbord Sells Out – Eddington (2025)

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Check out all the episodes of CINEMA SMORGASBORD SELLS OUT right here.

We’re selling out ONCE AGAIN with Ari Aster’s controversial neo-western thriller black comedy EDDINGTON, starring Joaquin Phoenix as sheriff Joe Cross, who runs for mayor against Pedro Pascal’s Ted Garcia in a small New Mexico town during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s sometimes uncomfortable, occasionally hilarious, and has some real bite – though some audiences didn’t know what to make of it. On this episode we go through some recent watches, discuss the Ari Aster films we’ve seen so far, and then have the DEFINITIVE conversation about EDDINGTON (with some warning before any spoiler talk). Enjoy!

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Episode 287 – We Do Our Own Stunts – The Protector (1985)

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Check out the full We Do Our Own Stunts archive right here

For the final time (until his real breakthrough a decade later), Golden Harvest is trying to make Jackie Chan a star in the U.S. and they’ve signed up U.S. exploitation film director James Glickenhaus to transform Chan into a high kicking Charles Bronson in 1985’s THE PROTECTOR. Playing a hard-nosed New York City cop teamed with Danny Aiello, Chan swears and shoots through a blood revenge film, but  then – thoroughly displeased with the experience – he went and added a bunch of new scenes for the Hong Kong release. On this episode of WE DO OUR OWN STUNTS we look at Jackie Chan’s frustrations, the good (and bad) of each release and WHICH REIGNS SUPREME. Enjoy!

Check out the 88 Films release of THE PROTECTOR right here: https://88-films.myshopify.com/products/the-protector

Watch a (censored) version of The Protector on SHOUT! FACTORY’s YouTube channel:

Also available on Tubi right here: https://tubitv.com/movies/257298/the-protector

 

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Episode 286 – Serpent’s Tail: The Films of Kiyoshi Kurosawa – Kandagawa Pervert Wars (1983) & Bumpkin Soup (1985)

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It’s the PREMIERE episode of our new limited series SERPENT’S TAIL: THE FILMS OF KIYOSHI KUROSAWA and on this episode we discuss why we chose the filmmaker as our subject, our (limited) experience with his work, a bit about his background and dive into his first two features: 1983’s KANDAGAWA PERVERT WARS and 1985’s BUMPKIN SOUP (aka THE EXCITEMENT OF THE DO-RE-MI-FA GIRL). Both films have a unique mix of eroticism and surrealism, and are a world away from the films we most closely associated with Kurosawa. Enjoy!

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Episode 285 – You Don’t Know Dick – Rock All Night (1957) (/w Alan Cerny)

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Check out the full You Don’t Know Dick archive right here

On this long-awaited episode of YOU DON’T KNOW DICK we’re joined by film critic extraordinaire Alan Cerny to discuss the life and career of actor Dick Miller, starting with a cut sequence (directed by Joe Dante) from the film AMAZON WOMEN ON THE MOON featuring Dick as a beleagured ventriloquist, and finishing up with a lengthy look at the 1957 Roger Corman classic ROCK ALL NIGHT! We discuss its soundtrack (featuring The Platters and The Blockbusters), the attempted remake by Quentin Tarantino and Dick Miller’s incredible performance as guy with the biggest chip on his shoulder imaginable. Check it out!

If you want to check out the cut sketch from AMAZON WOMEN ON THE MOON, it’s right here:

If you want to check out ALL of ROCK ALL NIGHT, it’s available on YouTube (among other locations) right here:

Be sure to follow the great Alan Cerny on BlueSky right here, his writing at vitalthrills.com and his podcast Matinee Heroes right here.

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