Alcohollywood

This week on Alcohollywood, we’re watching the 1997 disaster flick Dante’s Peak, starring Pierce Brosnan and The Terminator‘s Linda Hamilton as a rockstar volcanologist and a small-town mayor, respectively, who attempt to escape a rampaging volcano terrorizing the small town of Dante’s Peak. Basically Jaws with a volcano, the film… Continue reading The post Dante’s Peak (1997) appeared first on Alcohollywood.

This week on Alcohollywood, we're watching the 1997 disaster flick Dante's Peak, starring Pierce Brosnan and The Terminator's Linda Hamilton as a rockstar volcanologist and a small-town mayor, respectively, who attempt to escape a rampaging volcano terrorizing the small town of Dante's Peak. Basically Jaws with a volcano, the film is a cheesy rollercoaster ride, but not nearly as obnoxious as its volcano-film partner, Volcano. The effects hold up well, the stakes are clear, and the filmmakers actually go for the gut with some of the deaths. With that in mind, it's certainly an interesting artifact to explore: a perfect encapsulation of a time when coffee was ubiquitous, everyone dressed like Blossom, and science robots were still a fascinating gimmick. Check out our rules and custom cocktail, as well as our review below!

This week on Alcohollywood, we’re getting weird with it! 1977’s House (Hausu) is a wacky, sprightly, insane Japanese horror-comedy that follows seven teenage girls (all named after their chief personality trait) who visit an aunt’s house for the weekend, only to be greeted with carniverous pianos, watermelon-based horrors, deadly mattresses,… Continue reading The post House (Hausu) (1977) appeared first on Alcohollywood.

This week on Alcohollywood, we're getting weird with it! 1977's House (Hausu) is a wacky, sprightly, insane Japanese horror-comedy that follows seven teenage girls (all named after their chief personality trait) who visit an aunt's house for the weekend, only to be greeted with carniverous pianos, watermelon-based horrors, deadly mattresses, and spooky cats, all filmed with a colorful, cartoony edge by experimental film director Nobuhiko Obayashi. The result is incredible in its wackiness and childlike glee, and truly has to be seen to be believed. We are joined this week by Three Brothers Theatre's Nick Ostrem, who helps us untangle this madness, along with our signature cocktail and drinking rules. Check it out!

One award loss and one sprained ankle later, Jared and Clint return from Vegas to resume their duties as your humble hosts! This time, friend of the show Craig stops by to help us dissect and make sense of one of his favorite films – the 1982 post-apocalyptic Italian anomaly… Continue reading The post She (1982) appeared first on Alcohollywood.

One award loss and one sprained ankle later, Jared and Clint return from Vegas to resume their duties as your humble hosts! This time, friend of the show Craig stops by to help us dissect and make sense of one of his favorite films - the 1982 post-apocalyptic Italian anomaly She! The film stars Conan the Barbarian's Sandahl Bergman as a sexy warrior goddess helping two be-permed schlubs find a girl captured by the garishly dressed Norks. This film is a schizophrenic nightmare that will either leave you rolling in your seat or screaming in agony. There's scene after scene of shoddily-assembled and murkily plotted events see our heroes avoiding werewolf orgies, fighting robot Frankensteins, cutting the limbs off multiplying stand-up comedians guarding bridges and more. It's a film you really have to see to believe; luckily, it's available on Netflix streaming. We've also got the drink and the rules to get you through it!

Coming to you live from Las Vegas, Nevada, this episode of Alcohollywood sees Jared and Clint podcasting from the New Media Expo (recorded on Jan. 8th), joined by Editor-in-Chief of AMC Movie Talk John Campea, who graciously sits with us and gabs about Oscar nominations speculation (with which we make… Continue reading The post Diamonds Are Forever (1971) w/John Campea of AMC Movie Talk (Live from NMX Vegas) appeared first on Alcohollywood.

Coming to you live from Las Vegas, Nevada, this episode of Alcohollywood sees Jared and Clint podcasting from the New Media Expo (recorded on Jan. 8th), joined by Editor-in-Chief of AMC Movie Talk John Campea, who graciously sits with us and gabs about Oscar nominations speculation (with which we make many wildly inaccurate guesses about what ended up being nominated). For the most part, however, we end up talking about James Bond's biggest Vegas vacation, Diamonds Are Forever! The start of the overt campiness of the Bond era, we see a very tired and flabby Sean Connery come back to the role to interact with one of the weirdest rogue's galleries a Bond film has ever had. Along with John, we also get into the Bond series as a whole, and we all learn a little something.

Happy New Year, listeners! For 2013, we (along with Julia once again) are starting out the year with The 13th Warrior, the strange 1999 film starring Antonio Banderas as a Muslim who finds himself recruited to help stop a group of ‘demons,’ in true Beowulf style. Directed by both John… Continue reading The post The 13th Warrior (1999) appeared first on Alcohollywood.

Happy New Year, listeners! For 2013, we (along with Julia once again) are starting out the year with The 13th Warrior, the strange 1999 film starring Antonio Banderas as a Muslim who finds himself recruited to help stop a group of ‘demons,’ in true Beowulf style. Directed by both John McTiernan and author Michael Crichton, based on the latter’s novel Eaters of the Dead, the film is a muddled, dimly lit mess that is difficult to follow and unfortunately hard to look at. Despite some great practical effects, and a committed performance by Banderas, it still can’t escape just how mediocre it is. However, we’ve got some magic potions to help you through the film, along with our rules and review here!

Merry Christmas and happy holidays from the folks at Alcohollywood! For the holiday season, we’re tackling yet another unconventional Christmas film – the 1985 dystopian cult classic Brazil, directed by Terry Gilliam! In this 1984-on-crack world of  steampunk Britain, mild-mannered accountant Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) tries to track down the… Continue reading The post CHRISTMAS SPECIAL: Brazil (1985) appeared first on Alcohollywood.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays from the folks at Alcohollywood! For the holiday season, we're tackling yet another unconventional Christmas film - the 1985 dystopian cult classic Brazil, directed by Terry Gilliam! In this 1984-on-crack world of  steampunk Britain, mild-mannered accountant Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) tries to track down the girl of his dreams while stymied by stunted bureaucracy, terrorist attacks and intrusive family and friends. The result is a wonderfully realized, dreamlike and endlessly entertaining flick that is evocative of the best science fiction and Expressionist films in film history. Luckily, we've got the perfect cocktail and rules to accompany you on this adventure - just be sure to bring the right paperwork!

It’s the end of the world, and we feel tipsy – this week on Alcohollywood, we watch the Roland Emmerich disaster flick 2012 and figure out just how worried we should be about the coming Mayan apocalypse (Hint: not at all). Follow John Cusack and a bloated ensemble cast of… Continue reading The post 2012 (2009) appeared first on Alcohollywood.

It's the end of the world, and we feel tipsy - this week on Alcohollywood, we watch the Roland Emmerich disaster flick 2012 and figure out just how worried we should be about the coming Mayan apocalypse (Hint: not at all). Follow John Cusack and a bloated ensemble cast of international actors, all slumming it for cash, as they alternately engage in philosophical hand-wringing about the end of the world and evade one CGI sequence after another. Despite some engaging disaster porn, it's still pretty overlong, and you can see entire characters and plot progressions lifted wholesale from Emmerich's previous disaster flicks (Independence Day, Godzilla, and The Day After Tomorrow). At the same time, we've got a custom cocktail and drinking rules to get you through to the other side!

Harry Connickuh everybody! In celebration of that, we check in with Little Man Tate, the 1991 kid dramedy starring (and directed by) Jodie Foster. Foster plays Dede, a working class mom in New York who struggles to raise her little man, Fred Tate, a young genius, and the pressures of… Continue reading The post Little Man Tate (1991) appeared first on Alcohollywood.