Episode 293 – Praising Kane – Sticky Fingers (1988)

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2025 is the YEAR OF CAROL KANE! From Star Trek to It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia to a documentary about her relationship with her mother (CAROL &JOY, coming soon!), to appearing in the latest Darren Aronofsky movie, it’s a busy time in the world of PRAISING KANE and we’re loving it. We break down all the latest news on this episode, followed by a look at the strange Caitlin Adams-directed crime-comedy STICKY FINGERS starring Helen Slater and Melanie Mayron as two down-on-their-luck street musicians who are saddled with a bag containing almost a million dollars! With supporting turns from Christopher Guest, Eileen Brennan, Stephen McHattie and – of course – CAROL KANE! Enjoy!

Here’s a link to the TV guide interview mentioned in the episode:

https://www.tvguide.com/news/danny-devito-carol-kane-always-sunny-in-philadelphia-interview/

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Episode 292 – Wild in the Streets – Bloody Payroll (aka Violent Milan) (1976)

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Two gang members pull a double cross on Claudio Cassinelli’s Raul Montalbani after a bank robbery in Mario Caiano’s occasionally spirited 1976 film BLOODY PAYROLL (aka VIOLENT MILAN). BIG MISTAKE! Cassinelli spends most of the film tracking them down to get a little revenge, helped by the sympathetic sex worker Leila. It’s bookended by some terrific action (especially the car and motorcycle chases in the first thirty minutes, but then settles down into some Noir-ish score settling buoyed by a terrific, jazzy soundtrack. But what did we think? CHECK IT OUT!

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Episode 291 – Further Reeding – Z.P.G. (1972)

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Your Oliver Reed-loving pals are BACK on a brand new episode of FURTHER REEDING and we’re checking out the filmed-in-Denmark 1972 science fiction oddity Z.P.G., where Reed and Geraldine Chaplin play a couple in a dystopian near-future where childbirth has been outlawed. Instead people cling onto weird child-like automatons while slowing losing their minds and eating steak-flavored paste. That’s good eating! When Chaplin’s Carol decides she wants to have a baby anyway things get.. pretty goofy, especially when the neighbors discover the couple’s not-very-well-hidden secret. It’s strange! Check it out!

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Episode 290 – Bartel Me Something Good – Hollywood Boulevard (1976)

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Uh oh! The gang is back talking all things Paul Bartel on another episode of BARTEL ME SOMETHING GOOD and this time not only are we yacking about 1976’s HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD, the made-for-a-bet directing debut of both Joe Dante AND Alan Arkush (and featuring Paul Bartel, Dick Miller and Mary Woronov among many other familiar faces), but we also start with a very special episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents from 1985 directed by Tim Burton(!), featuring music by Danny Elfman(!) and starring Griffin Dunne, Laraine Newman and – wait for it – Paul Bartel as a pretentious art critic. It’s even.. uh.. sort of an adaptation of a Ray Bradbury story. All that and so much more, so enjoy!

Watch THE JAR right here:

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Episode 289 – How Do You Do, Fellow Kids? – The Last Outlaw (1993)

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One this rootin’-tootin’ episode of HOW DO YOU DO, FELLOW KIDS? we’re checking out the made-for-HBO western THE LAST OUTLAW from 1993 featuring a murderer’s row of early 90s character actors: Mickey Rourke, Dermot Mulroney, Ted Levine, John C. McGinley, Keith David and – of course – Steve Buscemi! Not only that, it was written by Eric Red (who wrote THE HITCHER and NEAR DARK) and directed by THE QUIET EARTH/YOUNG GUNS II/FREEJACK’s Geoff Murphy and features plenty of ultra-violence in a (transparently) WILD BUNCH-inspired revenge tale. All THAT and the latest Steve Buscemi news!

Watch THE LAST OUTLAW right here:

Check out how Steve Buscemi dies in the film:
https://bsky.app/profile/dougtilley.bsky.social/post/3lvvh4bs2dk2w

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

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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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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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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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Episode 284 – Cinema Smorgasbord Sells Out – Superman (2025)

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You will believe a pod can cast on a brand new episode of CINEMA SMORGASBORD SELLS OUT where our mild-mannered hosts go deep on Superman lore, our favorite Superman comics and films and – of course – having a nice chat about James Gunn’s new SUPERMAN film, and the launching of the new DC cinematic universe. There’s lots to get angry about, so look up to the sky.. it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s time to LISTEN!

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