Optimism Vaccine

Our odyssey into the bizarre corners of pseudo-pornography comes to a close with one of the best (and one of the worst) films we've watched yet. Is a horned up version of The Muppets Take Manhatten enough to finally break the will of Adam Miros? Will a dozen naked French men in the woods drive Jack's wife to smother him with a pillow in his sleep? Possibly! THIS WEEK: Let My Puppets Come (1976), L...

What could possibly be better than starting off 2021 with a big juicy batch of porn flicks? More importantly, why are the OV wives saying "you can't hang out with Steve anymore"? Join us as we do a very serious investigation of the concept of smut without smut and destroy the fabric of reality by watching the blooper reel from Final Flesh . Stuff your underpants full of pasta, grab a toilet muffin...

What's the best way to gain insight into the soul of America? By watching a pair of revered genre classics from Cannon Films, of course. Special guest Colin Tanner joins us as we end the year breaking down cinema's ultimate conservative power fantasies and attempt to pin down the source of Charles Bronson's sexy grandpa energy (Pall Malls and Kessler?). THIS WEEK: Joe (1970) and Death Wish 3 (1985...

We're getting into the holiday spirit with our old yuletide pals: unbathed Mel Gibson and Kirk Cameron the irredeemable sewer chud! Plus, we check out an underappreciated French genre gem that begs the question "What if Home Alone had an R rating?" Crank up the Bonnie Tyler record, baby. Christmas has never been more festive. THIS WEEK: Saving Christmas (2014), Fatman (2020), and Deadly Games: Dia...

Not every great movie in 2020 can star a bloated Russell Crowe but we did find a dozen or so other films that were pretty decent. Kristy Strouse, editor-in-chief of Film Inquiry, joins us to help pick out the best-of-best from this year. THIS WEEK: City Hall, Undine, Fourteen, Tommaso, Siberia, Da 5 Bloods, On the Rocks, Days, Bacurau, The Assistant, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, First Cow Rate a...

Is Twins a top-tier 80s comedy? Of course not. It's probably not even a top-tier Arnold Schwarzenegger comedy or Ivan Reitman movie if we're being honest. Maybe it's the funniest eugenics comedy. At least we can all agree that there's something special about Arnie belting out "Yakety Yak" on an airplane. Anyway, we paired this with a Frank Henenlotter grindhouse classic and some vintage Brian De P...

You'd think after doing this for six years we'd run out of gimmicks for episodes, but then our genius brains come up with stuff like "films with single word titles released in 2020." After that, we remember " Jiu Jitsu " is two words but being idiots is still on brand, so who cares? Anyway, we're covering the latest, greatest DTV movies in the year of CINEMA DEATH. Cool! THIS WEEK: Run (2020), Alo...

What's that? You're isolated from everyone you love during a holiday centered on comradery and familial gathering? Your life has been ravaged by unfettered capitalism, leaving you at the mercy of a federal government unwilling to offer even the slightest bit of relief as they they twist the boot pressed against your neck? Join us as we suffer in solidarity this Thanksgiving the only way we know ho...

Jake and Jack finally tackle the latest (and longest) James Bond film, Spectre, with special guest, Alistair Ryder. Rate and Review Optimism Vaccine on iTunes: https://bit.ly/OptimismVaccine Support Optimism Vaccine on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/optimismvaccine

We're pumping the brakes on our usual film-centric content for a very special episode. Stephen Kohlmann and Steve Cuff return to Discourse From The Big Chair after a three year hiatus to discuss the recently released 4xCD/Blu-ray box set of Tears For Fears' 1989 album, The Seeds of Love . The guys talk alternate versions, B-sides, weird backstage tour gangs, and recording studio opulence. And hey,...

A respectable podcast would dedicate an episode to just watching the 2020 action/thriller, Unhinged . Lucky for you, we're a bunch of masochistic idiots and decided to watch EVERY movie titled Unhinged . Come for the bloated, sweaty stepdad energy of Russell Crowe, stay for the in-depth discussion of a forgotten video nasty and a few other films that should probably be forgotten. THIS WEEK: Unhing...

Another year, another batch of Blumhouse horror films unceremoniously dropped on a streaming service in October. Join us as we revel in movie mediocrity and give ourselves a big, juicy, Halloween content enema. THIS WEEK: The Lie (2018), Evil Eye (2020), Black Box (2020), and Nocturne (2020) Rate and Review Optimism Vaccine on iTunes: https://bit.ly/OptimismVaccine Support Optimism Vaccine on Patr...

We're dragging Shawn down into the Lovecraftian depths of mid-to-late period Stuart Gordon where we discover the many uses for Charles Band's castle, how to properly court a tentacle legged priestess, and the only ethically sound way to deal with a hit and run. THIS WEEK: Castle Freak (1995), Dagon (2001) and Stuck (2007) Rate and Review Optimism Vaccine on iTunes: https://bit.ly/OptimismVaccine S...

We're continuing our annual October horror slate by jumping from Italian giallo to Lovecraftian splatter and dystopian weirdness from the good old USA. Join us as we stimulate Shawn Glinis' pineal gland and introduce him to Stuart Gordon's world of grotesque interdimensional monsters and living corpses. THIS WEEK: Re-Animator (1985), From Beyond (1986), and Fortress (1992) Rate and Review Opt...

Eddie Averill of the Extended Clip podcast stops by to lend some credibility to our exploration of Sergio Martino's works. Unfortunately, he's quickly alienated by a fumbling guest host and pointless quibbling about the minutiae of genre designation. THIS WEEK: Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972) and Torso (1973) Rate and Review Optimism Vaccine on iTunes: https://bit.ly/Opti...