The Kulturecast

It's Mike White March once again, and this year, it's all Chow Yun-Fat films! To kick the month off, we take a look at a film that's a little bit Indiana Jones, a little bit martial arts, and a whole lot of high strangeness: The Seventh Curse. Starring Chow Yun-Fat, he plays Wisely, a sidekick to Dr. Yuen, an ass-kicking doctor tasked with breaking an ancient blood curse. Their adventure pits them...

We finish Begleyuary with a Paul Schrader film where he confronts his religious belief along with the changing times: Hardcore. Starring George C. Scott as a Calvinist father who goes to LA to find his lost daughter, he finds that she has fallen into the world of pornography. He then attempts to find her, and bring her home, all the while keeping his sanity and faith. Wake Up Heavy's Mark Begley a...

We take one more break from Begley on Begley with a reappraisal of the oft-maligned fourth sequel in the Indiana Jones franchise: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Directed by Spielberg and starring Harrison Ford, Indiana Jones must battle Russians, giant ants, and double agents on his quest to discover the mystery of the crystal skull. It's a mouthful just summarizing it; imagin...

We continue Begleyuary with another film that looks at a subculture that doesn't get enough cinematic love: Citizens Band. The film is directed by Jonathan Demme and stars an ensemble cast of characters who live and breathe CB radios in their small Nebraska town. Imagine "Cockfighter" but with radios instead of chickens, and you kind of get the idea. Wake Up Heavy's Mark Begley, The Projection Boo...

We continue Begleyuary with a film as controversial as it is entertaining primarily due to the titular bloodsport: Cockfighter. Directed by Monte Hellman and starring Warren Oates, it follows Frank, a fighter of cocks, who takes a vow of silence until he wins the Cockfighter of the Year award. Shades of "The Odyssey" and other road movies, along with a mesmerizing performance from Oates, make it a...

We take another break from Begleyuary with a look at a remake of a 1947 film based on a book: Nightmare Alley. Directed by Guillermo Del Toro, the film stars Bradley Cooper as Stanton Carlisle, a down on his luck carny, who takes his mentalism act a step too far in 1940's New York. Former Kulture Shocked writer Yashar Pirasteh joins Chris to talk about the film, Bradley Cooper, and Guillermo Del T...

We take a break from Begleyuary with a look at an Eric Bana thriller set in the Australian outback: The Dry. Bana plays Aaron Falk, a federal agent, who returns to his hometown to attend the funeral of his childhood friend who murdered his family and then killed himself. Once home, he realizes there may be more to not only his friend's murder but also a cold case he was directly involved in. Forme...

We kick off Begleyuary with a film that features Kurt Russell as Dexter Riley, a wiz-kid scientist, who accidentally invents invisibility in Now You See Him Now You Don't. Also starring Ed Begley Jr. (not for very long), Dexter and his friends have to outsmart a scheming businessman who is hellbent on turning their college into a horse-racing track. Wake Up Heavy's Mark Begley and The Projection B...

We conclude Comedy Mafia Month with a film featuring a semi-dramatic turn from Marvel's tree daddy himself, Vin Diesel, in Sidney Lumet's Find Me Guilty. Diesel plays Jackie DiNorscio, a mobster, who decides to represent himself in the longest trial in American history where he and several other mafia defendants were charged with RICO. Dark Destination's Father Malone joins Chris to talk about the...

We continue Comedy Mafia Month the final parody film from Jim Abraham, director of Airplane!, but this time the sights are turned on gangsters in Jane Austen's Mafia!. Starring Jay Mohr as a Michael Corleone-type, it apes the plots of the first two Godfather films with Scorsese's Casino for good measure. Sight gags and lunacy ensue! The Projection Booth's Mike White joins Chris to talk about the f...

We take a break from Comedy Mafia Month with one of the most anticipated films of 2021, the true third canonical sequel in the Ghostbusters franchise, Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Starring McKenna Grace and a host of others, it follows the estranged family of Egon Spengler as they take over his estate and uncover a world-threatening mystery. On Seagal's Trevor Gumbel and Dark Destination's Father Malo...

We kick off Comedy Mafia Month with a gangster-inspired retelling of the Robin Hood story featuring musical numbers, Robin and the 7 Hoods. Starring Frank Sinatra and other members of the Rat Pack, it follows Sinatra's Robbo as he attempts to make his fortune and clear his name in a murder case. Pulp Serenade's Cullen Gallager joins Chris to talk about the film, the musical numbers, and Sinatra's...

We end Dolin December with a look at three stop-motion shorts from Aardman Studios that helped popularize them, Wallace and Gromit. Starring the lovable duo, the three shorts (A Grand Day Out, The Wrong Trousers, A Close Shave) spotlight not only their comedy stylings but also genuinely spectacular stop-motion work. Artist Maggie the Odd and Pulp-Serenade's Cullen Gallager join Chris to talk about...

We take a break from Dolin December with a reboot sequel that honestly has no right to exist or be as good as it is: The Matrix Resurrections. Starring Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, the film explores the original film's mythology while introducing a new, more powerful Matrix program. It's a soft reboot sequel that succeeds where almost all the others have failed; yes, we're serious. The Proje...

We continue Dolin December with a look at one of the most technically impressive films ever covered on the Kulturecast: The Wizard of Speed and Time. Directed and starring special effects maven Mike Jittlov, it follows him as he attempts to get his special effects-laden film done inside the cutthroat Hollywood system. It's reminiscent of early live-action Disney films mixed with a heavy helping of...

We kick off Dolin December with a look at an animated special from 1971 that features three different narrators and music by Harry Nilsson: The Point. Narrated by Ringo Starr, Dustin Hoffman, and Alan Thicke, the story follows Oblio, a pointless boy, who is exiled to the Pointless Forest and his dog Arrow. It's reminiscent of Rankin and Bass and after-school specials but also features fantastic so...

We finish Zombie Movie Month with a film that features one zombie that comes back from the dead for a dance at the prom: My Boyfriend's Back. Directed by Bob Balaban, the film follows Johnny Dingle, a high school teenager killed by accident only to come back as a zombie. Once a zombie, he must figure out why he's undead and what he can do to undo it, all the while taking the prettiest girl in scho...

We kick off Zombie Movie Month with a look at a film focused on what happens when two friends have to deal with becoming zombies: The Revenant. Starring Chris Wylde and David Anders, the two friends have to deal with becoming zombies, then using their zombie powers for "good." It's a unique indie film that features the undead in a truly unique way. The Projection Booth's Mike White joins Chris to...

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We end Horrortober with a horror anthology that features one of the true icons of the genre: Black Sabbath. Starring Boris Karloff as the host, it tells three stories about murder, mayhem, and terror, all including Karloff's wraparound. It's a worthy entry into the horror anthology subgenre. Dark Destination's Father Malone joins Chris to talk about the film, Karloff's performance, and other antho...

We near the end of Horrortober with a film that has as many titles as it does murders: A Bay of Blood. Starring Claudine Auger as Renata Donati, a woman who will do anything to collect her inheritance, a massive piece of land on an Italian bay. However, this land is home to murderers along with attracting would-be murderers. The film's influence is felt today. On Seagal's Trevor Gumbel and Wake Up...

We near the end of Horrortober with a Bruce Campbell horror film that we've not only covered once before, but that also isn't named Evil Dead: Bubba Ho-tep. Starring the aforementioned Bruce Campbell as aged "Elvis," he must team up with black JFK to take down a soul-hungry mummy tormenting their east Texas convalescence home. If the premise sounds insane to you, that's because it is, and you need...

We continue Horrortober with a trip back to the time before slasher films and even modern horror all together with a true Val Lewton classic: The 7th Victim. Starring Jean Brooks as Jacqueline, a woman with nothing to live for, it follows her sister as she attempts to find Jacqueline in gothic New York. It is a precursor to Psycho and many 70s horror films including Rosemary's Baby. Pulp Serenade'...

We take a break from Horrortober to take a look at another HBOMax release and a hotly anticipated one at that: Dune. Starring an all-star cast, the film focuses on the upbringing of Paul Atreides, a young man whose future is tied to Dune, the desert planet, and source of the universe's power. It's a CGI epic that offers little else in the way of character development or entertaining story beats. T...

We continue Horrortober with another crossover with the Wake Up Heavy podcast and a film that doesn't seem to know what horror franchise it belongs to: Halloween Kills. Once again starring Jamie Lee Curtis, it is the immediate follow-up to the 2018 film featuring Laurie and the townspeople taking the fight against Michael. It's a tonal mess that isn't sure what it wants to be, but a Halloween film...