Optimism Vaccine

THIS WEEK: Mother's Day (1980), Mommie Dearest (1981), Grand Jeté (2022) Some cowards only celebrate moms once a year. Here, we're dedicated to eschewing that silly Hallmark holiday and respecting mothers a week later when no one is expecting it. We're absolutely not late on this one I promise. So why not celebrate moms the best way we know how: With three of the finest and most upstanding mothers...

THIS WEEK: Lake Michigan Monster (2018) and Hundreds of Beavers (2022) From the Milwaukee shoreline to the snowbanks of the Wisconsin north woods, Mike Cheslik and Ryland Brickson Cole Tews have risen to 'Sconnie cinema royalty status alongside other greats like Bill Rebane and Mark Borchardt. Join us as we dig into their unique brand of indie filmmaking and catch the beaver fever, baby! Donate to...

THIS WEEK: The Aftermath (1982) and Empire of the Dark (1990) In the late 1970s a man named Steve Barkett with nothing but a mustache and a dream set out to make a post-apocalyptic sci-fi action epic without a budget, studio, or feature filmmaking experience. The result was not just one, but TWO films and the lifelong respect and friendship of B-movie royalty like Fred Olen Ray and Jim Wynorski. S...

THIS WEEK: Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe (1990), No Exit (1995), The Viking Sagas (1995) Hunk Month, AKA the quest to explore every muscleman-turned-actor in Arnold Schwarzenegger's orbit, continues with a look at some of the major roles played by bodybuilder/powerlifter/natural villain/danish dynamo, Sven-Ole Thorsen. That also means you get TWO Damnia Lee films, a Eurovision star, and all th...

THIS WEEK: Beretta's Island (1991), Danger in Paradise A.K.A. Taken Alive (1994), Doublecross on Costa's Island (1997), Ancient Warriors (2003) Oh, you thought Arnold Schwarzenegger was the only big Hollywood star to come out of Pumping Iron? Maybe you've forgotten all about the illustrious career of Arnie's best friend: Former bodybuilder turned writer/director/producer/action star, Franco Columb...

THIS WEEK: Pumping Iron (1977), Pumping Iron II: The Women (1985) We don't agree on much at Optimism Vaccine, but one universal truth around here is our mutual admiration for hunky beefcakes. And when it comes to beefcakes, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bev Francis stand head and shoulders above the competition. Join us as we take a magnifying glass to two of George Butler and Charles Gaines' most inf...

THIS WEEK: Road House (1989), Road House 2: Last Call (2006), Road House (2024), Road House (1948) How do you follow up the Rowdy Herrington helmed, Patrick Swayze starring, down-and-dirty shit-kicker fest that is the original Road House? You don't. You just don't touch it. And if you do touch it, don't cast Jake Busey like you're making an extended episode of Shasta McNasty. While you're at it, d...

THIS WEEK: Santo vs. Infernal Men (1961), Santo vs. the Evil Brain (1961), Santo and Blue Demon vs. the Monsters (1970), Santo vs. Doctor Death (1973) With a lucha libre wrestling career spanning 50 years and 50+ films under his belt, El Santo achieved god-like status in Mexico without ever taking his mask off in public. Join us as we survey his storied career and see if his star power can elevate...

THIS WEEK: Cobweb (2023) and the other Cobweb (2023) Last year we were blessed with not one but TWO underappreciated films named COBWEB. One is a wild Halloween-set horror flick buried at your local multiplex in the midst of Barbenheimer fever and the directorial debut of Samuel Bodin. The other is a classic film-about-a-film farce helmed by acclaimed Korean auteur Kim Jee-woon and ignored by the...

THIS WEEK: The Prophecy (1995), The Prophecy II (1998), The Prophecy III (2000) Angels walk among us and it turns out they're just white guys with beautiful hair who wear school shooter trenchcoats. Wild! Join us as we explore the world of pre-9/11 heavenly deities and the films that made them famous* *Syndicated on the SyFy channel and collecting dust on your local video store's shelves. That Vin...

THIS WEEK: Scoundrels (1982), All American Girls (1982), Irresistible (1982), Night Hunger (1983), Nothing to Hide (1981) It's that time of year again! The big award show! The hottest night in Hollywood! Step out on the red carpet with us and celebrate the stars of the silver screen! Donate to Palestinian Medical Aid Support Optimism Vaccine on Patreon

THIS WEEK: House of Wax (2005), Pledge This! (2006), The Hottie & The Nottie (2008), Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008) Paris Hilton is a global cultural icon whose titles include, entrepreneur, reality tv show star, DJ, recording artist, model, designer, sex tape haver and New York Times bestselling author. But what about ACTRESS? Yes, that too. Optimism Vaccine investigates. Donate to Palestinia...

THIS WEEK: Visitor Q (2001), A Lonely Cow Weeps At Dawn (2003), The Cow Who Sang a Song Into The Future (2022) People often accuse us of not "listening" to our "audience" so we're finally rolling out the long-awaited fetish content meets arthouse cinema episode you've been begging for. That's right! You can get your Takashi Miike shot-on-video fix while also appreciating an underrated indie film A...

THIS WEEK: Urban Legend (1998), Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000), and Urban Legends: Bloody Mary (2005) Nothing gets the 90s nostalgia juices flowing like watching Jared Leto with a terrible haircut pal around with Joshua Jackson and Tara Reid. Join us as we reflect on the only film franchise that dared to ask "What if Scream was dumb? No, like, REALLY dumb" before branching out into the realm of s...

THIS WEEK: Hanging Heart (1989), Moonstalker (1989), and Dead Girls (1990) We dive back into Vinegar Syndrome's Homegrown Horrors. What awaits within? A slasher without any gore, a hard rocking horror without any music, and a homoerotic legal thriller. The fun never ends here on Optimism Vaccine. Donate to Palestinian Medical Aid Support Optimism Vaccine on Patreon

THIS WEEK: Long Arm of the Law (1984), Long Arm of the Law: Part 2 (1987), Long Arm of the Law: Part 3 (1989), Long Arm of the Law: Part 4 (1990) Before John Woo's stylish action flicks dominated the Hong Kong box office, Johnny Mak Tong-hung gave us his only feature film: Long Arm of the Law . And, like any classic Hong Kong action movie, three totally unrelated sequels were made (by Johnny's bro...

THIS WEEK: Wild Things (1998), Wild Things 2 (2004), Wild Things: Diamonds in the Rough (2005), Wild Things: Foursome (2010) Every red blooded film fanatic knows the original Wild Things is a pulpy sleazy neo-noir classic. BUT did you know that we were also blessed with not one, not two but THREE sequels? Even more puzzling is the fact that they're all basically identical to the original but witho...

THIS WEEK: Saltburn (2023) and Chick Flick (2023) In 2023 we were blessed with a film from one of contemporary cinema's most extraordinary new voices. Oh, and Emerald Fennell made a movie about Barry Keoghan trying to impregnate a pile of dirt. Anyway, it's time to see if either of these bourgeoise girl bosses knocked it out of the park with their sophomore efforts so we can determine once and for...

THIS WEEK: The Boogey Man (1980), Boogeyman (2005), The Boogeyman (2023) A boogeyman (or bogeyman if you're a little freak who can't spell) is a placeholder term for every faceless generic monster living under a bed or in a child's closet. It's only appropriate that when a boogeyman film is made it serves as a catch-all for whatever the hot horror trends of the moment are. Join us as we explore ci...

THIS WEEK: Hard Boiled (1992), Just Heroes AKA Hard Boiled 2 (1989), and The Last Blood AKA Hard Boiled 2 AKA Hard Boiled 3 (1991) If you make the greatest action film of all time before leaving Hong Kong for Hollywood, there's a good chance someone will try to make a quick buck with an in-name-only sequel. If you're really lucky, they'll just slap a new title on an old movie. Maybe even one of yo...

THIS WEEK: New Year's Evil (1980), Bloody New Year (1987) We're true cinephiles around here so our New Year's resolution is to watch more late career Norman J. Warren flicks while simultaneously becoming the most POWERFUL podcast in the universe. Please tune in so we can finish the year strong and force Spotify to pay up. Donate to Palestinian Medical Aid Support Optimism Vaccine on Patreon

THIS WEEK: Christmas Evil (1980) and Blood Beat (1983) We tried our best to find some things you could watch with the whole family this holiday season. Gather 'round the Yule log and enjoy the classic combination of a glowing Christmas samurai and Santa Claus Travis Bickle. Your mom is going to love this. Donate to Palestinian Medical Aid Support Optimism Vaccine on Patreon

THIS WEEK: The Bloody Exorcism of Coffin Joe (1974), The Strange Hostel of Naked Pleasures (1976), Embodiment of Evil (2008) We wrap up our coverage of the incomparable Zé do Caixão with the final Coffin Joe films of the 1970s and Jose Mojica Marins' late career resurrection of the character in 2008. Donate to Palestinian Medical Aid Support Optimism Vaccine on Patreon

THIS WEEK: Awakening of the Beast (1970), The End of Man (1971), When the Gods Fall Asleep (1972) Our Coffin Joe retrospective takes a wild swerve into LSD fueled meta-fiction freakouts and we take a look at Jose Mojica Marins other reoccurring role as Finis Hominis. Donate to Palestinian Medical Aid Support Optimism Vaccine on Patreon

THIS WEEK: At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul (1964), The Strange World of Coffin Joe (1968), This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse (1967) In 1964, Brazillian filmmaker José Mojica Marins introduced the world to an iconic undertaker with disgusting fingernails, a love of sadistic murder and a deep appreciation for children: COFFIN JOE. Donate to Palestinian Medical Aid Support Optimism Vaccine on Patre...