Cinema Shock

We’re kicking off our new series, David Lynch: Between Two Worlds, where we explore the dream logic, fractured identities, and spiritual mysteries of Lynch’s later career — beginning with his polarizing Twin Peaks prequel, FIRE WALK WITH ME. In this first of our two-part deep dive, we explore how Lynch returned to Twin Peaks after its cancellation — and how his original vision for a Twin Peaks mov...

Originally released in 2023, we’re re-publishing this episode to celebrate the 50th anniversary of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW — the longest-running continuous theatrical release of all time and one of the most iconic cult films in cinema history. What began as a fringe stage production in a tiny experimental theater space in London evolved into a global phenomenon — complete with costumes, call...

“Memories are meant to fade. They're designed that way for a reason.” In the second half of our STRANGE DAYS deep dive, we pick up with the music—both on screen and behind the scenes—that gives the film its pulse. We explore how a soundtrack packed with industrial rock helps build the film’s atmosphere, and how composer Graeme Revell stepped in at the eleventh hour to pull it all together. Then we...

“This is your life. Right here. Right now.” Before it became one of the most underrated sci-fi films of the 1990s, STRANGE DAYS was just a few scribbles in a notebook. In Part 1 of our deep dive, we trace the film’s journey from James Cameron’s original 1985 concept through its years in development and the real-world chaos that helped inspire Kathryn Bigelow’s vision of a crumbling millennium. We...

They did it again! The boys saw Fantastic Four this weekend and they're giving their Spoiler Free thoughts! (There will be spoilers at the end, but we'll give you a heads up).  Do you like us reviewing new films? Let us know!  We can do this more often if the demand is there. Want to support the show? Subscribers of CinemaShock+ can enjoy an extended version of this episode, which includes bonus s...

In the second half of our deep dive into Mamoru Oshii’s GHOST IN THE SHELL, we pick up with the film’s release and the surprising reception that followed. Despite high expectations, GHOST IN THE SHELL underperformed at the box office, but quickly found a second life on home video, where it became a breakout hit in the West and helped bring anime into the cultural mainstream. We share our own thoug...

For the next film in our Virtual Insanity series, we’re headed to the land of the rising sun to uncover the story behind one of the most iconic animes ever made: Mamoru Oshii’s GHOST IN THE SHELL. In this episode, we trace the origins of the cyberpunk classic, starting with Masamune Shirow’s original manga and following the career of visionary director Mamoru Oshii up through his groundbreaking wo...

We finally did it. The gang got together, including some of YOU, the subscribers, and we saw James Gunn's SUPERMAN! Join us as Justin, Todd and Gary break down their thoughts on this new movie and where we think the DCEU can go from here.  If you like us reviewing new films? Let us know! We're here for you! We can do this more often if the demand is there. Want to support the show? Subscribers of...

"You could sit at home, and do like absolutely nothing, and your name goes through like 17 computers a day. 1984? Yeah right, man. That's a typo. Orwell is here now. He's livin' large. We have no names, man. No names. We are nameless!" HACKERS hit theaters in 1995—and mostly flatlined. But before it became a cult phenomenon, it was a risky production that blended cutting-edge visual effects, rave...

"This is our world now. The world of the electron and the switch; the beauty of the baud. We exist without nationality, skin color, or religious bias. You wage wars, murder, cheat, lie to us and try to make us believe it's for our own good, yet we're the criminals. Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity. I am a hacker, and this is my manifesto." Before HACKERS became a neon-drenched c...

"That's reality for you. No saving, no resetting." For the next entry in our Virtual Insanity series, we’re diving headfirst into the world of early virtual reality—and the filmmaker who helped bring it to the big screen. This week, we're going behind the scenes on VIRTUOSITY, the 1995 cyber thriller starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. In our last episode, we explored how THE LAWNMOWER M...

"I'm a fifty terrabyte, self-evolving, neural network, double backflip off the high platform. I'm not a swan dive." For the next entry in our Virtual Insanity series, we’re diving headfirst into the world of early virtual reality—and the filmmaker who helped bring it to the big screen. This week, we're going behind the scenes on VIRTUOSITY, the 1995 cyber thriller starring Denzel Washington and Ru...

"I can carry nearly eighty gigs of data in my head." For our Cinema Shock summer series, we wanted to take a look back at a few movies that were celebrating significant anniversaries this year. When we began browsing films released in 1995, we noticed an interesting trend: There was a glut of cyber thrillers released that year. And more specifically, cyber thrillers that dealt with the concept of...

"I want to get online... I need a computer!" For our Cinema Shock summer series, we wanted to take a look back at a few movies that were celebrating significant anniversaries this year. When we began browsing films released in 1995, we noticed an interesting trend: There was a glut of cyber thrillers released that year. And more specifically, cyber thrillers that dealt with the concept of virtual...

“Please watch out for each other and love and forgive everybody. It's a good life, enjoy it.” Over the course of this series, we've come to not only love Jim Henson's work even more than we already did, but we've come to love and appreciate the person that Jim Henson was. In a cynical world, Henson was a beacon of hope and optimism and he spent his entire career — his entire life — trying to share...

"Everything I've done, I've done for you. I move the stars for no one.” After the release of THE DARK CRYSTAL — and its critical and commercial failure — Jim Henson and his collaborator on that project, illustrator Brian Froud, went back to the drawing board for their next ambitious fantasy project. Utilizing the lessons that they’d learned on that film, they looked to craft another story with the...

This episode was originally released in May 2022. In this Cinema Shock Rewind episode, we're revisiting our episode on Frank Oz's LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. Oz got his start as Jim Henson's closest collaborator, working with Jim during the Muppets' early years, and serving as a key piece of the Muppets' creative framework through the years of The Muppet Show and the subsequent feature films. In fact,...

"Hey, I tell you what is. Big city, hmm? Live, work, huh? But not city only. Only peoples. Peoples is peoples. No is buildings. Is tomatoes, huh? Is peoples, is dancing, is music, is potatoes. So, peoples is peoples. Okay?" With his dream project THE DARK CRYSTAL taking so much of his time and energy, Jim Henson was content to slim down his role on the next Muppet project and allow his right hand...

"Another world, another time, in the age of wonder. A thousand years ago, this land was green and good - until the Crystal cracked." After the completion of THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER, Jim Henson focused on a project that had been in the works for years — its earliest seeds were planted well before even The Muppet Show had begun production — an ambitious fantasy film made in collaboration with renowne...

"There'll be mystery and catastrophe! But it's all in fun, you paid the money - wait and see! Hey! A movie! Starring everybody! And me!" After the success of THE MUPPET MOVIE, Jim Henson had hoped to get funding for a fantasy film that had become a sort of dream project of his. But that film — which would not feature the beloved and recognizable Muppets — would be a sizeable risk, so his producer...

“Life's like a movie. Write your own ending. Keep believing. Keep pretending.” With The Muppet Show, Jim Henson had reached the goal that he’d set for himself many years before: He’d managed to get his beloved Muppets their own weekly television series. Not only that, but it was an enormous success, quickly becoming one of the most watched television shows in the entire world. The Muppets were as...

Happy TWIN PEAKS Day everyone!  To celebrate the day that FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper first entered the town of Twin Peaks, we wanted to offer our listeners a Free Preview of the first members-only episode of our Twin Peaks watch-along podcast FIRE SHOCK WITH ME! We did a deep dive into the creation of the TWIN PEAKS pilot episode as part of our series David Lynch: Absurd Encounters a while back...

By the mid-1970s, Jim Henson and the Muppets were as big as they'd ever been. They'd helped turn Sesame Street into a household name and continued to be a hot commodity on the variety show circuit. But Jim had yet to do the one thing he'd been trying to accomplish since the early 1960s: Create a prime time television show starring the Muppets, and one that wasn't solely aimed at a preschool audien...

“As children, we all live in a world of imagination, of fantasy, and for some of us that world of make-believe continues into adulthood.” Despite spending years fighting against the notion that puppets were nothing more than “children’s entertainment,” Jim Henson found his greatest success thus far working on a television show aimed at toddlers: the groundbreaking educational series SESAME STREET....

It’s time to start a brand new series here on Cinema Shock! For the next few weeks, we’ll be telling the story of Jim Henson. To truly tell the story of Henson’s life and career, we have to go all the way back to the beginning: In this inaugural episode, we’ll explore Jim’s early years, through the creation of his first TV show, SAM & FRIENDS (where Kermit the Frog made his first appearance),...