The Cult of Matt and Mark show

The Cult of Matt and Mark

Summary: A discussion of cult films by two guys located in a basement somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. Matt holds a B.S. and M.S. in Physics, and works as an aerospace engineer. Mark holds a B.S. in biochemistry and works as a research technician... both are graduates of Snohomish High School Class of 91/92 respectiviely, none of which qualifies them to discuss film in any meaningful way... so... "caveat emptor" and all that.

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Podcasts:

 245 Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: Unknown

After a three week hiatus, Matt and Mark are back with an epic review of Twin Peaks Fire Walk with Me. A discussion which comprises the entirety of the Twin Peaks mythos (including TP: The Return), we set the stage and dig deep into the cinematic debut of the ultimate cult television drama. Matt confesses that FWWM was his introduction to Laura Palmer's world, which despite the obvious spoilers, had little effect on its appreciation. Filmed on location and Matt and Mark's actual high school (Go SHS Panthers!) and adjacent neighborhoods, the film is particularly evocative and fun. A definitive cult film, head into the Black Lodge and enjoy. Download: 245 Twin Peaks Fire Walk with Me

 244 Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: Unknown

Shot Mark and Ivy Matt finish out our docu-athon this week with the dispassionate Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie, narrated by William Shatner. Its lack of emotion coupled with a minimalist straight forward narrative is argued to be its drawback, while Matt argues the opposite. As an engineering project, Trinity and Beyond takes the viewer through the lab bench proving grounds of the Pacific and Nevada as the United States hones the weaponry which re-defined geopolitics. As a hardware nerd, the film offers quite a bit (or at least as much as it can in 90 minutes), however as a passionate member of the human race, there's little to glom onto . Download: 244 Trinity and Beyond

 243 Crumb | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: Unknown

Continuing with the docs this week, Matt and Mark review the cult documentary Crumb from 1994. Less a film about the man and his art, its fulcrum is Robert Crumb's dysfunctional upbringing and its creative aftermath. What Robert Crumb channels is the artistic byproduct of his autobiographical torture, accented by interviews with his neurotic/psychotic brothers. While funny and witty, Crumb in the end fits the asshole artist stereotype, going to prove that turmoil and resentment often offers the best muse. Download: 243 Crumb

 242 Exit Through The Gift Shop | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: Unknown

The week(s) Matt and Mark are still in full doc mode and review the Banksy film Exit Through The Gift Shop. A meta-documentary of sorts, Bansky deconstructs the art hype machine with the human graffiti equivalent Thierry Guetta, an OCD film maker turned street artist. A film so deftly wrought, the ability of the viewer to discover the edge of the hoax and the beginning of reality is seamless. Banksy sets fire to the trash heap of post-modern philosophical mental masturbation and lights his cigarette with it. Download: 242 Exit Through the Gift Shop

 241 Grizzly Man | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: Unknown

This week Matt and Mark discuss the indifference of survival and nature's cruelty when we discuss both United Airlines contract of carriage and the definitive Herzong documentary Grizzly Man. Tim Treadwell created an anthropamorphized fantasy world in the Alaskan Tundra where he spent 13 summers with Earth's most fearsome carnivores, the North American Grizzly. Passions exceeded pragmatism and in the end, Tim paid the price inhabiting his self-created world. An interesting character sketch the likes of which we rarely see on film. Download: 241 Grizzly Man

 240 Waltz with Bashir | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: Unknown

Matt and Mark continue to review documentaries this week with the 2008 Lebanon War animated film Waltz with Bashir. Not so much a reconstruction of events leading up to the infamous Sabra and Shatila Massacre, as it is the personal exploration of an Israeli soldier who 20 years on finally comes to terms with his complicity in the atrocity. Such horror is endemic to human history it seems, and in away, no human being is truly innocent of crimes done in their name, despite the paper thin facade of nationalism. An amazing movie and one of kind, Waltz with Bashir is an important film. Download: 240 Waltz with Bashir

 239 Pumping Iron | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: Unknown

Time to Ahneld it up once again with the movie that made Schwarzenegger Schwarzenegger, the semi-scripted documentary Pumping Iron. Despite its contrived situations and its cursory treatment of the body building's "Je Ne sais quoi", it does give us insight into Mr. Schwarzenegger's persona and his charisma. Besides the subject matter, the film unknowingly gave birth to the the ripped bodies of the modern action stars. Prior to Arnold, a trim Sean Connery circa Dr. No used to be cinematic gold, but now we require comic book hero caliber physiques. A boon to Hollywood dietitians and trainers, no doubt. Download: 239 Pumping Iron

 238 The Running Man | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: Unknown

"I'll be back (again)..." This week we review the classic Schwarzenegger mid-80's camp action film The Running Man. A movie that works on many levels, its shining stars are a supporting cast who manage to play themselves spectacularly, including game show host Killian played by a venerable Dawson and the retired stalker/wrestler Captain Freedom played by the one and only Jesse Ventura. While attempting to predict 2017, this 1987 film gets many things right, including the nefarious ubiquity of staged reality television and the conmen/entertainers who profit from their fake narratives. Download: 238 The Running Man

 237 Edge of Tomorrow | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: Unknown

Despite Matt's cold-rattled voice, we review the recent sci-fi hit Edge of Tomorrow. A Groundhog's Day for the Warhammer 40k fanboys, we get to see space marines crash the beaches of Normandy. Despite its working gimmick, EoT's mimicry (pun-intended) of the Sisyphian exercise of video game save points/respawns lacks a true human element. Cage (Cruise) is nothing more than an avatar for the "player"/viewer, but, hey.... were we really asking for anything more? Download: 237 Edge of Tomorrow

 236 Memento | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: Unknown

This week Matt and Mark review the Christopher Nolan timeline reversal Memento. While gimmicky, the regressive timeline synthesized the amnesiac Leneord's sense of disorientation, all the while keeping the reveal until the end/beginning. Skirting the ragged line of plausibility, Memento attempts to question the mnemonic landscape which helps us stitch our lives together. Have you ever walked into a room of your house and not know why? What's the bare essentials of your brain's memory operating system? Maybe there's a little Leonard in all of us. Download: 236 Memento  

 235 Face/Off | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: Unknown

This week we review the stateside John Woo effort Face/Off. Mark appreciates the "switcheroo" action take of typical comedy tropes while Matt laments the overwrought over-length action sequences and melodrama. Besides the plausibility elements, Cage and Travolta's effort to impersonate their stylings was notable, but without a true immersion, the illusion isn't fully complete. At 2 hours and 20 minutes, Face/Off is possibly a harbinger of Michael Bay's to come. Too much action with too little substance. Download: 235 Face/Off

 234 Dr. Strangelove | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: Unknown

This week Matt and Mark review the holy grail of black comedies, Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove... A biting satire about the very realistic possibility of a nuclear holocaust. It's impressive not only for its subject matter, but also for its timing: in the middle of paranoid ravaged 60's America. Peter Sellers' performances coupled with G.C.Scott's Turgidson, Slim Picken's Kong, and Hayden's Ripper are some of the greatest comedic and satirical performances put to film. So, as Morrissey says let the bomb bring us together. Download: 234 Dr. Strangelove

 233 Roadhouse | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: Unknown

Matt and Mark review Roadhouse this week, an 80's classic starring Mr. Swayze in his physical and acting prime. Basically a modern day Western, Roadhouse fallows the plot mechanics and tropes to a 'T'. Cinematic westerns were always steeped in a lawless era that never was, and when recast into the Aquanet Monster Truck Reagan era, the fantasy becomes even more implausible. But armed with a proper suspension of disbelief, Roadhouse is a worthy watch. Download: 233 Roadhouse

 232 Last Tango in Paris | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: Unknown

Ending our somewhat informal "May/December" movie half-marathon, we review the classic Bertolucci film "Last Tango in Paris." Matt and Mark agree that LTIP is a difficult watch because the main character is so unlikeable. Watching a wild animal act out its crude sexual id as a coping method for grief is what's on display here, portrayed by an off-the-rails Brando. There's a few questions regarding "who is anybody?" framed in a seemingly improbable collision of strangers, but for the most part it's the Brando Show, complete with ad-lib monologues involving a lot of pig talks. Download: 232 Last Tango in Paris

 231 Max Mon Amour | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: Unknown

Mark defies the "May/December" movie marathon theme by going bestial with the odd-ball Max Mon Amour, a bizarre film that's less about monkey love and more about normalcy in the face of predicament. As a podcast listener, if the movie doesn't inspire you to give this one a go, Matt and Mark's "Show News" goes radioactive as we take a Facebook argument live with more political nonsense. Get it while it's hot, we may put a moratorium on such Trumpian digressions soon. Download: 231 Max Mon Amour

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