Nostalgium Arcanum

Steve Martin revolutionized comedy, not with vitriol, but with a seemingly impossible blend of banjos, balloon animals, dad jokes, tapdancing, and philosophy. From stand-up, to movies, to TV, and more, few performers have challenged and delighted audiences with such hilarious precision. We're joined by comedian Rich Baker ( www.daretofailimprov.com ) for a retrospective on Steve Martin's lifetime...

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, specifically in 1977, audiences flocked to a blockbuster that would become the largest IP in history. While George Lucas' brainchild has become a sprawling multimedia franchise, the original film still stands as a testament to adventure and craftsmanship. We're joined by guest filmmaker Alex Sosin ("The Canyon") to celebrate why the Force of this film sti...

A rumination on fairy tales that firmly embraces the "grim" in Grimm, Guillermo Del Toro's haunting masterpiece "El Laberinto Del Fauno" (or as it is known in the English-speaking world "Pan's Labyrinth") confronts us with horrors real and fantastical, the ones that force us to grow up all too soon. We're joined by guests Jala Prendes (host of Jala-Chan' Place, and co-host of Monster, Dear Monster...

By 1997 SquareSoft had honed its turn-based JRPG engine and operatic story to a fine point. Although Final Fantasy VII followed on its exquisite predecessor, no one could have predicted what a groundbreaking phenomenon the series' first 3D entry would be. The fusion of cyberpunk and medieval motifs, its melancholy but striving world, emotional soundtrack, and unforgettable characters have stood th...

While the year 2001 has passed, Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece set in that year looms as large as its imposing monolith, and casts as long a shadow. A spectacular artistic achievement, the film is about nothing less than the entirety of the human experience, the exultation and terror of first contact, evolution, and Lovecraftian ideas of unfathomable cosmic power and insignificance. Few films have...

For Easter we look on the bright side of life with Monty Python's satirical masterpiece, "Life of Brian". Controversial and hilarious, the film uses Python's trademark silliness as a scalpel to slice open dogma and the perils of fame. We're joined by improviser Rich Baker, podcaster and magician Ned Record, and Reverend Sarah Heath (the "RevCovery" podcast, @revsarahheath) to worship at the Church...

There are few films as powerfully inspirational as "Rocky". For 50 years the Italian Stallion's tale of yearning, striving, and going the distance has truly made us feel that it is always sunny in Philadelphia. We're joined by podcasters Dave Jackson ("Tales From The Backlog") and Alan Nichols ("A Top 3 Podcast") to celebrate a film that truly punches above its weight class. You can support Dave a...

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. So begins Jane Austen's beloved novel about marriage, manners, and stifling social mores. This episode we're joined by Josh Sarnecky and Amanda Rivas of the Anime Pop podcast to take high tea with the exceptional 2005 adaptation of this immortal classic. Anchored by incandescent pe...

You've seen the ad. You've seen the movie. Now listen to the podcast! Few films can boast the comedic batting average of Leslie Neilsen, and the Zucker/Abrams/Zucker team. With jokes flying so fast and furious you'd likely not catch them all on your fifth or sixth viewing, "The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!" still delivers belly laughs simultaneously smart and stupid. Guest podcaster...

One of most successful television events of all time, 1997's version of Rogers & Hammerstein's "Cinderella" put a glass slipper on Brandy with an assist from Fairy Godmother Whitney Houston, and a cast of Broadway veterans including Jason Alexander, Victor Garber, Bernadette Peters, and Oscar-winner Whoopi Goldberg. We're joined by Kate Hunter of the No Small Games podcast ( https://nosmallgam...

Firmly in the epicenter of classic rock, 1971 featured thundering rock from bands like Led Zeppelin and The Who, but equally poignant softer songs from John Denver, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, and more. We're joined by our co-hosts from the Playing By Ear podcast, Ami Lief and Kyle Lieberman, as well as comedian Rich Baker, to list our favorite songs from one of the most stacked years in music his...

He's here to save the nation, so stay tuned to this station. Freakazoid! was unlike any cartoon before or since. Superficially a superhero parody, Paul Rugg and company used their cache and platform to create this satirical fever dream populated with outdated impressions, inexplicable bits, unforgettable characters, and writing wholly untethered to reailty and the rules of comedy. Guest super-dude...

Quid pro quo. For 35 years The Silence of the Lambs has been a profoundly troubling (and controversial) film. Like its singularly memorable antagonist Hannibal Lecter, the film forces us to stare down the horrors that haunt us, both external violent threats, and more importantly, internal traumatic scars we'd rather not revisit. Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster's Academy Award winning career-best...

He will never eat. He will never sleep. He will never stop. We unearth the unrelentingly fun 1999 iteration of "The Mummy". Whatever faults may lay in the script or its charmingly outdated CGI are sanded down like a magic Saharan whirlwind by spectacularly charming performances by future Oscar winners Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. Jacob Price of the Pre-Order Bonus podcast joins our expedition...

Well its Groundhog Day... again... Part comedy, part horror, part romcom, part existential crisis, and part philosophical religious experience, Harold Ramis and Bill Murray deliver a monumental filmmaking achievement in the form of weatherman Phil Connors' unexplained incarceration on February 2. This inventive and influential film casts a shadow worthy of its prognosticating namesake rodent. We'r...

Ridley Scott's seminal sci-fi horror masterpiece remains a "perfect organism". Alien is equal parts atmospheric, paranoid, and just plain disgusting. With a career-making performance from Sigourney Weaver and unparalleled visuals from the deep recesses of H. R. Giger's psyche, the film latches on and implants itself, not unlike its extraterrestrial antagonist. Guest podcaster and lucky star Case A...

No light without darkness. Legend is a film about duality and yet, the story of the dual cuts of the film is just as captivating as Ridley Scott's spectacular visuals, performances from a young Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, and a make-up consumed Tim Curry. Indeed, this is truly a unicorn as the theatrical and director's cut versions of the film are radically different movies, with different tones, themes...

3... 2... 1... Go!!! By 1992 Mario had conquered koopas, rescued the princess (again and again), played tennis, practiced medicine, and more, but that year launched a new venture, Super Mario Kart. Buoyed by the Mode 7 chip, a new racing genre was born as beloved Nintendo characters zipped around tracks, blasting each other with shells, lightning bolts and more. Guest comedian Rich Baker (@richbak...

Deeply personal, darkly profound, the late Rob Reiner's masterpiece "Stand By Me" is the film he said he most wanted to be remembered for. The film lays bare the pain in growing pains in the seemingly simple tale of four children trudging to see a dead body, but which explores the complex emotions on the precipice of adulthood, the traumas that shape us, in perhaps the finest coming-of-age film ev...

It wouldn't be Christmas without Yuletide stealing, so we've got one more episode that's very revealing. The kids drop by the pod, to discuss who's Who, and give How The Grinch Stole Christmas a proper review. Be sure to also check out our monthy musical podcast, "Playing By Ear" ( https://playingbyear.fireside.fm ) and our limited-run Jim Henson Series, "Still Muppeting" (patreon.com/stillloading...

God bless us, every one! It's a special cross-over podcast as we bring an episode of Still Muppetting to Nostalgium Arcanum. Co-host Josh Covel (Still Loading) and comedian Eileen Mayse (@i_lean) revisit Muppets past and Michael Caine's turn breaking good as Ebeneezer Scrooge in "The Muppet Christmas Carol". And it was always said of them, that they knew how to keep Muppets well, if anyone alive p...

Our holiday coverage continues as we recall the most famous reindeer of all. Rankin-Bass' stop-motion retelling of Rudolph's super-mutant origins remains the most beloved version of the holiday mainstay. Guest podcaster and misfit toy Case Aiken (Another Pass, Men of Steel) joins us to sing the praises (and carols) of this Christmas classic. You can support Case and his network, CertainPOV, at pat...

On this episode you'll shoot your eye out as we join Ralphie, his family, and the world's sexiest lamp to revisit A Christmas Story. We drink our ovaltine with our friends from from the Media / Lit Podcast, Kris Ingersoll and Randy Allain and use our tongues for discussing a holiday classic instead of sticking them to frozen poles. Be sure to also check out our monthy musical podcast, "Playing By...

It's time to pass the torch, knowwhatImean? We're returning to the weird world of Ernest P. Worrell as Jim Varney's blue-collar rubber face works a double shift to ensure the magic of Christmas is passed to a new generation. Guest comedian Rich Baker (@richbakeractor) and filmmaker Tarik Davis (@tarikrdavis, tarikrdavis.com) join us to celebrate a comedy that knows when to step on the gas and when...

We're glad to be with you, here at the end of all things. Frodovember closes with our look back at Peter Jackson's incredible capstone to his adaptation of The Lord of The Rings, which collected a record-tying 11 coveted gold Oscar statuettes in exchange for the destruction of one pesky gold ring. Jacob Price of the Pre-Order Bonus podcast joins us to celebrate a film that can only be described as...