The Hell With This

Chad is back - just in time to take a swim in the pool of weird, man.  This week the boys check out the 2018 film "Mandy", starring Nicolas Cage from a director that both Mark and Chad agree is one to keep an eye on in the coming years (Panos Cosmatos). Performers of note: Nicolas Cage, Andrea Riseborough, Linus Roache, Ned Dennehy, Bill Duke, Panos Cosmatos Check out  www. DragonWagonShop.com  fo...

Podcasting guru Jake Lloyd (aka our corporate overlord) sits in with our only useful co-host (aka Mark Alan Heiliger - not to be confused with Mark Alan Highlander).  The two of them combine their efforts to pull this week's movie out of a hat (actually).  That movie just so happened to be 2016's fart epic "Swiss Army Man", which Jake loves and Mark hadn't seen yet.  If you're afraid to watch this...

Mark and first-time guest Chris Tonick wax on about their past days of working together, their combined love of "The House with a Clock in Its Walls" (the book and the movie, respectively) and their enjoyment of this week's insane film: "Master of the Flying Guillotine".  Chad, on the other hand, is still on hiatus... because work. Performers of note: Yu Wang, Kang Chin, Chun-Erh Lung, Chia Lung L...

We're EXCITED AF to release a new episode.  We're slightly less excited that it's our LONGEST EPISODE EVER, but maybe you just want to spend more time with us.  This week Mark sits down with guest Ryan Wick to discuss the inner workings of David Lynch's "Lost Highway" - one of Lynch's less than adored and oft misunderstood films.  Chad is currently on a hiatus for the next few weeks as he wraps a...

Everyone has a Japanese anime/manga phase, right?  Maybe?  No?  Fine, whatever, but we did - at some point -  we , as in, Mr. Mark Alan Heiliger, Chad Philip Peter and guest Matt "Lank" Hingstman.  The fellas check out a live action film adaptation of one of Chad's favorite Japanese comic books, "BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL"! Here's a hint: the movie isn't as exciting as the title - but our conversation...

Guest Matt "Lank" Hingstman brings an old favorite of his, "*batteries not included" (sic), and forces Mark and Chad to watch it while at gunpoint.  A small scuffle promptly followed, the dust settled, and Jessica Tandy was all that remained.  Or not.  Maybe none of this happened.  Maybe you don't exist.  Maybe, just maybe. Performers of note: Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Frank McRae, Elizabeth Pen...

Today the guys tackle a... children's film?  Or is this a movie for parents?  We can't decide.  The movie is 2008's "Phoebe In Wonderland", starring Elle Fanning in one of the more incredible child actor performances possibly ever.  Mark and Chad also talk "SOLO"... if you're into that sort of thing. Performers of note: Elle Fanning, Felicity Huffman, Patricia Clarkson, Bill Pullman, Campbell Scot...

Kirk Douglas will live forever.  No, seriously, he's 101 and still putting on one-man shows in Los Angeles.  But 67 years ago he was busy starring in "Ace In The Hole", a noir(ish) morality tale from director Billy Wilder.  Mark claims this is one of his top films "of all time", and naturally Chad's never seen the movie.  Typical. Performers of note: Kirk Douglas, Jan Sterling, Richard Benedict. T...

Chad and Mark are back!  The guys discuss work-life balance, wondering what it is, and what it means to be a creative person with no time to be creative.  They also flip the script with Chad bringing a movie he's never seen - yet Mark had.  This week's film is a 2016 micro-budget indie called "The Void". Performers of note: Aaron Poole, Kenneth Welsh, Daniel Fathers, Kathleen Munroe, Ellen Wong, J...

Woof - Mark and Chad have been BUSY with work, but they managed to carve out a little time for some movie lovin'.  Which movie exactly?  Chad has no clue.  It's Mark's pick this week, and with him he brings the 1973 murder mystery, "The Last Of Sheila". Performers of note: Richard Benjamin, Dyan Cannon, James Coburn, Joan Hackett, James Mason, Ian McShane, Raquel Welch and Herbert Ross. The Hell W...

It took us 53 episodes to finally tackle a documentary!  53!!!  So join Mark and Chad as they take a gander at a mostly forgotten documentary from 2008, "American Teen".  They guys discuss general ethics surrounding what it means to be a documentarian - how much should a crew get involved with its subjects, etc.  One might say they enjoyed their time with this one. Performers of note: Nanette Burs...

Mark's movie pick for the week comes from the disturbed mind of Clive Barker.  "Lord of Illusions" is a movie that seemingly never left obscurity - so of course we're here to dig it up!  Chad's never seen it, so the guys sit for a minute to watch what, apparently, is the Director's Cut of the film (according to Mark). Performers of note: Scott Bakula, Famke Janssen, Kevin J. O'Connor, Daniel von B...

Sweet Jesus, this week's movie might be the smallest, most unheard-of indie film you've absolutely never heard of.  Made with cardboard set pieces and definitely shot on an iPhone, Mark and guest Brian Finifter try to make sense of 1995's indie darling: APOLLO 13. Performers of note: Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton (aww), Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris, Kathleen Quinlan. The Hell With This is part of...

It's a crowded house for our 50th episode.  Steve Phelan joins Mark and Chad to review 2012's cult hit(?) "Dredd" (originally titled "Dredd 3D", but that's a dumb title).  There's not much to discuss - Chad and Mark love this movie.  Steve hasn't seen it. Performers of note: Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey, and Domhnall Gleeson (in a thankless role). The Hell With This is part of the Drago...

Not to be confused with the extremely popular TV show of the same name, 2008's "Outlander" film came and went with a whimper.  Vikings vs. space aliens?  Uhh, sure - we'll be your guinea pigs!  Mark and Chad take a chance on the film, in the hopes that it is as good as some people hint. Performers of note: Jim Caviezel, Sophia Myles, Jack Huston, John Hurt, Ron Perlman, Cliff Saunders, Howard McCa...

Suddenly rocking a sweet new "The Hell With This" theme song by the amazing Zen Zenith, Chad and Mark are back with some early 80's Halloween fare.  It's Mark's choice this week, but neither of the guys have seen "Halloween III - Season of the Witch".  The guys also chat about cars, marriage and Star Wars, because why not?

Steve Phelan sits in for an absent Chad on a deep dive back to 1973's "Scarecrow", starring Gene Hackman (aww, we miss him) and Al Pacino.  The boys also go on a huge tangent about Star Wars, which seems to be a theme lately.

Dreams do come true.  Eventually.  We welcome ourselves back from an impromptu holiday vacation, which we don't even refer to in the show, because this episode was recorded before Christmas 2017 (as is the next episode as well). Ahem.  Where do we begin with this week's exploration into 1987's  Wings of Desire ?  Well, for one, it's an awesome film.  Arty, stylish, slow, but cool.  So cool that it...

Hey, unless you're living under a rock, you might have heard it's Star Wars week.  To celebrate the coming-of-age of The Last Jedi's director, Rian Johnson, Mark and Chad are here to celebrate the earliest work of the man, 2005's acclaimed indie Brick. Performers of note: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Nora Zehetner, Lukas Haas, Noah Fleiss, Matt O'Leary,

Falling in line with the Zucker Brothers' history of slapstick comedy, "Top Secret!" is no exception to the rule.  It's a movie that eluded Chad for the duration of its existence… Yet, somehow, it's one of Mark's treasured favorites (he gives it a 9 out of 10 star rating).  The boys sit back, relax and try to figure out if there's an actual story to this thing, or if it's only a ploy for sight gag...

The guys deep dive back into the world of European art-house cinema, again looking back to the works of director Krzysztof Kieslowski (we first tackled his "The Double Life of Veronique" in the 4th episode of this podcast!)).  "Three Colors: Red" falls within Chad's top-10 favorite films OF ALL TIME, for reasons mostly unknown to even him, but it remains largely unknown from the populist world at...

This is as good a week as any to talk about 2004's rendition of "The Punisher", considering Netflix just released their own version of "The Punisher" TV series last week.  This week, Mark presents the movie to Chad, whom has never seen ANY of the Punisher installments over the years.  The two of them dive deep into the state of comic book movies, and make an effort to introduce everyone to our sli...

Mark and guest Ashley Long (sans Chad, was out of town) take a look at Ridley Scott's much maligned fantasy epic, "Legend" (The Director's Cut, specifically).  Ashley stews of fond memories of the film, while Mark doesn't quite feel it was "directed by a human being". Performers of note: Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry, David Bennent, Alice Playten, Billy Barty, Robert Picardo

Mark finally gets his Halloween wish – he and Chad tackle a movie that at least falls into the horror film genre this time.  "One Dark Night" seems to have disappeared from public view since it's release in 1982.  How we stumbled across it, only Chad knows (he totally judged the blu-ray by its awesome cover, and bought it without having seen it). Performers of note: Meg Tilly, Melissa Newman, Robi...

Happy Halloween!  Mark wanted to do a movie that actually fit the mold of Halloween for the holiday, but Chad was a grump and they stuck with the original plan.  This time we're trying something a little new (for us) – we're doing a podcast for a movie that's still in theaters!  Yes, we (mostly) loved it that much.  If you hated the new Blade Runner installment… well… go straight to hell and don't...