The STACKS

Hello friends, and welcome to MARCH NIGHT SHYAMALAN! That's right, during the month of March we're talking all things M. Night here on the STACKS. We're talking the good, the bad, and the uh, Stuart Little? On this first episode, we talk about the cult classic(?) THE HAPPENING, starring Marky Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, and John Leguizamo!  When a deadly airborne virus threatens to wipe o...

As we round out Kung February, Jack takes Stephen on a journey into the weird and wonderful world of BRUCE LEE rip-offs. We discuss three different cornerstones of this exploitation genre - THE DRAGON LIVES AGAIN, SOUL BROTHERS OF KUNG FU, and BRUCE AND THE IRON FINGER.  Bruceploitation is a strange corner of genre filmmaking, the likes of which society at large may never see ever again! We t...

1972 saw Bruce Lee take the world by storm with ENTER THE DRAGON, but on the other side of the Golden Harvest lot, another movie was being filmed... that movie.. was Hapkido !  Three graduated Hapkido students return to China from Japanese-occupied Korea in order to set up their own school. However, problems start to arise when a local Japanese martial arts school tries to run the new school...

Stephen and Jack sit down and talk about one of the most popular kung fu movies ever made, Lau Kar-leung's The 36th Chamber of Shaolin!   A man studies kung fu at the Shaolin Temple to fight back against the oppressive Manchu government. We talk about Gordon Liu, the restraint of the narrative at play, the Shaw Brothers, and which of the chambers Stephen could manage.  For more great pod...

This month, Stephen wants to explore the wild and engaging world of Kung Fu cinema. So, it's up to Jack to compile a good starter list for those interested in diving into what can often seem like an impenetrable corner of genre cinema.  If you liked this episode, you can jump over to our Patreon feed where Jack drops another 10 movies he thinks you should check out if you're in the mood for s...

Welcome back to Ki-no Thanks! A series we do on THE STACKS about some of the worst-rated motion pictures on Letterboxd.com. How do we find the perfect STACKS movie? It needs to have something Stephen loves, and something Jack loves. How about a... video game movie... with martial arts??? What could possibly go wrong?? The STACKS boys are joined by Stephen's old school friend Faith to talk about th...

Stephen and Jack are joined by Emma to talk about the Academy Awards! We pick our winners for many of the prestigious categories, with a classic twist - who will be crowned the champion of Oscar predictions? Jack? Emma? STEPHEN? Who knows? Only Mr. Oscar knows.  Everything Jack does Everything Stephen does Stay STACKING xxx

Welcome back to our 'A Note From The Author' series, where Stephen talks to his favourite writers, critics, and filmmakers. Stephen sits down with J Taylor-Jones , a filmmaker based in the UK to discuss their process of working on their debut feature ' One Summer On Earth ', as well as the projects that followed.  We appreciate any and all feedback on this podcast series, and our wider podcas...

Stephen and Jack recently published their top 10 films as part of The Twin Geeks' TG10 lists . You can read Stephen's here and Jack's here , but over the Christmas break, Stephen was asked by a friend for his top 10 HOLLYWOOD PICTURES . None of this European arthouse, none of these microbudget oddities, give me spectacle, provide me with tinsel town magic!  So, here we are. Stephen lists of s...

The boys are STACK in town, boys are STACK in town!  Welcome back to Office Hours, our semi-regular roundup of all the things we've watched, read, played, listened to, and sometimes enjoyed!  00:00 - It Begins 6:12 - Books! Both old and new 12:40 - Television! The Big Fat Quiz of The Year and White Lotus   19:00 - Movie catchup! Smile, Avatar, Tár, and more! 38:00 - Japanuary 2023!&...

What are video games but movies that you control? Yeah, you're right, that IS a lazy way to introduce today's podcast, but Jack is no gamer. Stephen, on the other hand, has a list of TEN video games he played and enjoyed this year, and we're here to run through them! This is a blend of console and mobile games, there's something for everyone on this list (EVEN JACK!)  THE STACKS PATREON Every...

Father Christmas has been! And he's brought gifts! Gifts in the form of movie recommendations!  It's a blend of festive arthouse and yuletide trash - the cornerstones of every seasonal cinematic diet.  If you like this episode, run , don't walk, over to our Patreon page for ten MORE Christmas/Holiday recs! THE STACKS PATREON Everything Jack does Everything Stephen does Stay STACKING xxx

Ho ho ho! Welcome to the STACKS Office Hours Christmas Party! Put on your novelty reindeer jumper, pour yourself some eggnog and hang out! The boys are back in the office for an hour, drinking port, swapping recommendations, shooting the breeze, living life to the fullest.  00:00 It Begins  00:50 Stephen's FIRST announcement  02:04 2022 Movies - Fire And Love, Glass Onion - A Knives...

Ho-ho-ho! Tis the season for Christmas mayhem, so grab a hot chocolate, sit by the warm fire, and open up your delightful Christmas STACKing as Stephen & Jack attempt to discuss Arnold Schwarzenegger's directorial debut - the 1992 made for TV movie... a remake of Christmas In Connecticut !  It.. isn't great!  If you haven't already, there are episodes and commentary tracks for a ton...

We're closing out our Arnold Schwarzenegger mini-series here on The STACKS , with a quick rundown of what we've seen over the past few weeks that star the man, the myth, the governor of California. We hope you've watched some Arnie to celebrate this holiday season, and we hope you've had some fun with the episodes we've put out!  If you haven't already, there are episodes and commentary track...

Sometimes, a podcast can only be as good as its gimmick. Jack rewatched Total Recall during this STACKS Arnie-geddon month (the month of Arnold Schwarzenegger), Stephen did NOT rewatch Total Recall, but will attempt to recall the plot, and have an analytic conversation about the movie. It's a silly episode with two silly friends, so get your ass to Mars and enjoy! For more great podcasts and cinem...

Welcome back to Ki-no Thanks! A series we do on THE STACKS about some of the worst rated motion pictures on Letterboxd.com. Our Arnie months rolls on, as we discuss this strange Ivan Reitman movie from 1994 starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito, Emma Thompson, and Pamela Reed. It's interesting to look back on this very 1990s approach to a story about pregnancy and parenthood, and Stephen an...

The office is open, and we've got lots of cultural goodies to discuss! We dip into the wild world of contemporary television, book releases, Ghibli Short Films, and the game that is taking the WORLD by storm.... Marvel Snap.  00:00 - It begins 01:30 - Jack's quick Wakanda Forever take  10:08 - Zen... Grogu and Dust Bunnies 14:24 - A comedy nerd's reality show - DOCUMENTAL   21:...

Here is the opening sequence of our Patreon episode on James Cameron's THE TERMINATOR . Here at STACKS HQ we're enjoying Arnie month , and are dedicating some time to discussing some of Arnie's most important filmic roles. It wouldn't be an Arnie season without Mr Terminator, and we're gratefuil to friend of the show and loyal STACKS Patron Ben for the suggestion!  For the full episode you ca...

Welcome to Arnie month! On this episode of KI-NO THANKS ! we talk about Hercules In New York, Arnie's first feature film! Is it good? Nope! We talk about this cheap portrait of New York, the art of the bad dub, how to do a 'fish out of water story' correctly, and the lasting legacy of everyone's favourite production company - RAF INDUSTRIES. After the discussion, Stephen and Jack lay out a wallopi...

Awooooooo (werewolf sounds) Mwahahahha (evil scientist laugh) Squeesqueessqueeeee (its really hard to type out the sounds of bats flying)  Horror recs! Halloweeny recs! Stephen and Jack have ten films to celebrate the spooky season!  Stephen brings his snooty picks, Jack brings a blend of trash and cinema™! If you like this episode, run over to our Patreon page for ten MORE Halloweeny re...

Ayyooo we're back for another update! This time Jack has some horror movies he *needs* you to check out, Stephen has seen some recent releases he didn't care for, but has three games to discuss! And of course, our gentle listeners have sent in some wonderful emails and suggestions, one of which leads us to committing crimes against cinema and.. crimes against the law.. I guess.  00:00 - It be...

This girl... she's so TALL! Welcome back to KI-NO THANKS! Our series dedicated to the worst films on Letterboxd. On this episode we talk girls, specifically tall ones, with our VERY special guest Emma.  Jack watched both entries in the Tall Girl Cinematic Universe and almost broke his brain, tune in to listen to us attempt to analyse Tall Girl 2, Netflix's business model, and one of Stephen's...

On this episode of Office Hours, Stephen and Jack talk about the legacy Jean-Luc Godard leaves behind, Jack's new album 'Last Nightclub On Earth', the Godzilla bracket that is taking Twitter by storm, and a few 2022 movie releases!  00:00 Godard 16:50 - Godzilla movie bracket 27:00 - 10secondbeats' 'Last Nightclub On Earth' 41:30 - Movie roundup As always you can follow Jack and Stephen on a...

Oooh a taster episode! Welcome to our first Patreon podcast series, Let's Try That Again. In this series, Stephen and Jack will be revisiting films they didn't particularly care for, and giving them another chance. On some episodes, Jack will bring a film he remembers fondly, that maybe Stephen didn't care for, or Stephen will bring one of his favourite films that Jack seemingly rated FAR TOO LOW....