Remainders

On this episode of Remainders we watch the 2008 movie The Wrestler. Part of our Mickey Rourke double-feature, The Wrestler represents the apex of Rourke’s career. Possibly too well cast as a man struggling with his past demons, The Wrestler is a perfect example of how tragedy can be comforting. We’ll see how it compares to Rourke’s performance in Barfly and where it stands in his filmography. Othe...

On this episode of Remainders we watch the 1987 movie Barfly. Written by Charles Bukowski, Barfly tries to capture the outsider drunk persona of Henry Chiaski, Bukowski’s alter-ego, as he lives in L.A. asking the eternal question: who am I? As part of a Mickey Rourke double-feature, we’ll check out how Rourke evolved (or devolved) in Hollywood and whether Bukowski romanticizes self-destruction. Ot...

On this episode of Remainders we talk the 1989 skateboard detective movie Gleaming the Cube. Featuring a young Christian Slater, along with Tony Hawk, Gleaming the Cube goes beyond skateboard culture into a shaggy dog detective movie that captures early 90s youth culture with glorious vibes. We see if this is purely nostalgia or if it becomes a timeless piece of extreme sports in the movies. Other...

On this episode we talk about the 2017 prison thriller Brawl In Cell Block 99. S. Craig Zahler (Bone Tomahawk, Dragged Across Concrete) directs this brutal movie featuring one of Vince Vaughn’s best role, a man forced into assassinate an inmate located in the depths of a nightmare prison cell. We talk about Zahler’s career as a novelist and filmmaker who does what he wants, and how his films are u...

On this episode we cover the 2005 horror remake House of Wax. Made in the height of the remake era, this one leans in hard to the tropes of the decade, complete with nu metal, torture porn vibes, and Paris Hilton. We’ll see where this lands in the decade of horror, and also talk the original films that led up to it, including Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) and House of Wax (1953). Light a candle...

On this episode we talk about the 90s indie film Habit. Directed by indie legend Larry Fessenden, Habit tells the story of Sam, a 30-ish alcoholic living in New York grieving after the loss of his father. Sam falls into a seductive relationship with Anna, a mysterious woman who may be a vampire. As his obsession with Anna continues, and his alcoholism, grief, and loneliness get worse, Sam’s realit...

On this episode of Remainders we talk about 1987’s Near Dark as part of our Degenerate Vampire double-feature. A blend of horror and western genres, one of Kathryn Bigelow’s first movies has gained appreciation in the years since it’s release. With a haunting score by Tangerine Dream and a collection of James Cameron character actor staples, Near Dark remains one of the dirtiest vampire movies eve...

On this episode we talk the Travolta and Cage masterpiece Face/Off. A pivotal movie in maximalist and bonkers cinema, John Woo’s crowning achievement still remains getting the two most charismatic actors of a generation to go all out playing each other. A ballet of bullets, an influence on John Wick, and two defining performances from Travolta and Cage all have worked in its favor as an undeniable...

On this episode of Remainders we watch the 1996 film Trees Lounge. Steve Buscemi’s directorial debut, Trees follows Tommy, an alcoholic who spends his days at a mostly empty bar with mostly empty relationships. As he grasps harder to a better life, he just continues to sink lower. Cementing Buscemi as an indie film staple in the 90s, we also discuss the pivotal role this film had influencing The S...

On this episode of Remainders we watch the 1993 Brian De Palma film Carlito’s Way. Viewed as a late stage masterpiece by De Palma, it’s a first time watch on the podcast for this crime thriller reuniting Pacino with De Palma 10 years after Scarface. Pacino plays a retired criminal attempting to lead a normal life, but can’t quite shake the demons from his past, which includes an all-time great per...

On this episode of Remainders we begin our French New Wave double feature with Richard Linklater’s film Nouvelle Vague. A love letter to the new wave movement, Linklater shows us the importance of the film era while also expressing how it influenced his own art and his unique style of realism and hangout vibes. Featuring both an endless supply of cigarettes and quotes on the importance of art in l...

On this episode of Remainders we finish our Kong Marathon with Peter Jackson’s 2005 King Kong. Released immediately after the Lord of the Rings trilogy, we check out how much of an influence that trilogy had on Peter Jackson’s love for the original movie. We offer our rankings for the marathon and see where this blockbuster holds up in Hollywood history. Other topics include Peter Jackson’s horror...

On this episode of Remainders we watch the 1976 King Kong. Part 2 of our King Kong marathon, the ’76 Kong is a beautifully oversized slice of disaster film madness, with plenty of spectacle and oily innuendo. With lots of camp and sincerity, we see where this stands in the marathon so far of the Hollywood icon. Other topics include the 70s film movement, Tarantino hot takes, the shifting culture o...

On this episode of Remainders we watch the 1933 classic King Kong. We begin our King Kong Marathon with the horror movie that started it all – everything from Godzilla, Jurassic Park, and every special effect in Hollywood all goes back to the Eighth Wonder of the World. We talk about the innovative stop motion, the role of Beauty and the Beast in cinema, how pre-code Hollywood affected the movies,...

On this episode of Remainders, we watch the 1950 noir classic In A Lonely Place. Starring legends Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame, it secured it’s place in Hollywood history as one of the best noirs of the era. Seemingly a murder mystery, Lonely Place is at heart the existential love story between two broken souls guaranteed to fall. A bleak Hollywood movie ahead of its time. Other topics inclu...

On this episode of Remainders we watch the 1988 creature feature The Blob. Part Three of our 80s Horror Remakes Marathon, we close with the updated version of the 50s classic. Increased gore, practical effects, and big government paranoia, The Blob is a quintessential remake that maintains it’s B-movie style. Other topics include how the original 50s version holds up, other horror movies we’re wat...

On this episode of Remainders we watch the 1986 horror classic The Fly. The second installment in our 80s Horror Remake Marathon, The Fly updates the 50s B-movie with far more devastation, tragedy, and Academy Award winning special effects, making it a staple in 80s horror practical effects. Jeff Goldblum plays Seth Brundle, an awkward scientist and inventor of a teleportation device. When he tran...

On this episode of Remainders we watch the classic John Carpenter film, The Thing. To start our 80s Horror Remake marathon, we begin with John Carpenter’s remake about a group of researchers facing off against an alien lifeform capable of imitating any life form. A classic study of paranoia, The Thing has gone from box-office bomb to all-time classic. We get into the practical effects, horror them...

On this episode of Remainders we watch the 1994 comedy The Stoned Age. Two stoner buddies, Joe and Hubbs, cruise suburban Los Angeles in search of beer, chicks, and a good time. Certainly a product of its time, with comically obvious influence from Bill & Ted, Wayne's World, and Dazed and Confused, this forgotten 90s gem is ripe for potential cult status. Other topics include 90s teen sex...

On this episode of Remainders we watched Spike Lee’s 25th Hour, the Edward Norton drama about a drug dealer’s final night of freedom before heading to prison. Shot in New York right after 9/11, the movie feels right in the moment, with grief, uncertainty, and the sense that there’s no tomorrow. We talk about the ideas like mortality, facing consequences, and what accountability really looks like w...

On this episode of Remainders, we watch the 90s cult classic Joe Versus the Volcano. An often overlooked movie in Tom Hanks early career, Joe Versus the Volcano is a classic Hollywood screwball comedy that rightfully has gained a cult following since its release. With themes of death, mortality, and the meaning of life, the heady vibes will continue to garner new fans for years. Other topics inclu...

Rip some throats and lube up the celery, because on this very special episode of Remainders we watch the 2010 cult classic MacGruber. We dive deep into the very last, and possibly best, SNL movie. Insanely confident as a comedy playing it straight as an 80s action movie, we check out why this absurdist masterpiece works so well. Crude, chaotic, and classic MacGruber. Other topics include the caree...

On this episode of Remainders we watch the 2001 movie Bully. Based on a true story about a Florida murder, Bully is directed by Larry Clark of Kids fame. Capturing that same sense of aimless and amoral young people, Bully is a brutal and terrifying account of a group of kids planning to murder the monstrous Bobby, played by Nick Stahl. Bobby is the source of abuse and anguish for Marty, played by...

On this episode of Remainders we watch the 2005 film A History of Violence. David Cronenberg adapts the graphic novel by John Wagner about a small town family man who becomes a local hero after killing two men during an armed robbery. This gets the attention of a mob boss who believes Tom is a man with a violent past. Beast mode performances by Viggo Mortenson, Ed Harris, and William Hurt elevate...

On this episode of Remainders we watch the 2000 film The Beach. Leo’s first major role to come after the star making success of Titanic, time has been kind to this movie about disaffection and discovery in a pre-9/11 world with emerging technology. Directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland, the film’s roster has also led to a decades later reappraisal. If anything, The Beach is an incred...