Just The Thing

Joel and Chris continue their Kurt Russell season by putting the creature from John Carpenter's The Thing into the 1993 western, Tombstone! Is this a revisionist or reconstructionist Western? Why does it have such an amazing cast list? Who has the only fake moustache in the movie? Two of those questions will be answered!  Joel tries to grow a moustache live on air, Chris suffers from Billy Za...

Joel and Chris have brought the brilliant Andrea Regan back to discuss the other film that Kurt Russell said every boat owner has on VHS: Overboard! And put The Thing into it. Cult misstep? Weird classic? Problematic flop? We throw this film into the water of discussion and see if it ends up with amnesia and will look after our kids. Joel loves Dr Norman Korman. Chris never believes fake movie pho...

Joel and Chris are back and it's time to talk about one of the two films that Kurt Russell said every boat owner has on VHS: Captain Ron! And put The Thing into it. Cult classic? Weird misstep? Secret early version of Fight Club? We dive deep into the film and maybe don't come back up for air. Joel has a new name for the Horror genre you're going to love. Chris finds the first 5 min...

Joel and Chris invite regular guests Alex and Matt to their 2023 Christmas special, and because it's Kurt Russell season they're all going to watch The Christmas Chronicles and put The Thing in there! Joel realises Die Hard and Home Alone are the same, Chris reveals what heartwarming Christmas musical gave him nightmares, Alex has kindly done some actual research, and Matt is astonished...

Joel and Chris are joined by Quentin Tarantino buffs Alex and Katy to discuss how to put The Thing into Death Proof, Tarantino's grimily ironic grindhouse tribute.  Joel pitches his UK version of Grindhouse, 'National Film Theatre'.  Chris discusses his uncertainty about the film's foot footage. Alex likes Kurt Russell's unlikeability.  And Katy reveals a secret about Stun...

 Joel and Chris are joined by author Peter Regan to discuss Big Trouble in Little China! ...and put The Thing into it. For our 25th episode we look at the third part of the Russell/Carpenter collaboration pentagon. Is this film now underrated, overrated or correctly rated? What is its connection to The Golden Child?  And do you really need to know Jack Burton's backstory? Chris and Peter also...

Joel and Chris are thrilled to be joined by Dan from the brilliant movie podcast Shoot the Hostage to discuss Dark Blue, an underseen, possibly underrated corrupt cop drama starring Kurt Russell. Then they put The Thing into it. Obviously! With a script by James Ellroy and David Ayer and directed by Ron Shelton,  will this film be LA Confidential meets Training Day, or Suicide Squad meets Hollywoo...

Joel and Chris are joined by Matt O'Dwyer as they try to understand the ridiculous intensity of 1989's Tango & Cash! And then put The Thing into it.  Kurt Russell and Sylvester Stallone wisecrack their way through the ultimate distillation of 1980s Buddy Cop nonsense. Parody? Sincere? Genuinely gritty cop drama? Probably not the last one. Chris drops one of the few names he has to dr...

How has it taken Chris and Joel this long to tackle a Steven Seagal film?  Of course, 1996's Executive Decision is really more of a Kurt Russell film, but there's plenty of Seagal talk to be had in this episode, just before they add The Thing to it in the best way possible! Seriously, how many podcasts cover Executive Decision? Give this a listen! Joel finds the not-so-secret connection...

Joel and Chris examine the first John Carpenter/Kurt Russell collaboration: the 1979 Elvis biopic! We discuss the controversies and ask the big questions: Did Elvis fake the moon landing? Did his mum die from being given a novelty Christmas decoration? And did Elvis get magical singing powers from his twin? Also we put the Thing in it.  This episode also features our weirdest, and yet best quiz so...

Chris and Joel start Season 3's Kurt Russell odyssey by discussing Escape From New York! And then putting The Thing into it. A cult classic, and the first non-Thing John Carpenter film they've covered, featuring Russell's star-making performance as Snake Plissken,  not to forget Van Cleef, Borgnine, Pleasence, and Mr. Harry Dean Stanton! Joel goes highbrow with some Greek mythology,...

Joel and Chris discuss Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One! SPOILER WARNING as in this bonus episode before the next season we do our own stunts, and by stunts we mean talking about this surprisingly strange film.  Want to see how it connects to spaghetti westerns, John Wick, Grant Morrison, JJ Abrams ... and The Thing? Then listen! Joel explains why he thinks Ant-Man 3 was written by Da...

Joel and Chris celebrate their one-year podcast anniversary with a discussion on all they've learned from the movies of 1982! Do we deliver an incisive definitive answer as to why The Thing flopped in that year? Maybe? Do we take a look at the 1982 films we watched and also somehow end up talking about the 2001 film Swordfish? Yes!  Chris remembers the time he was living in a horror film, Joe...

Joel and Chris discuss Steven Lisberger's ground-breaking sci-fi epic Tron, and then try to put the creature from John Carpenter's The Thing into it. Cult masterpiece or weird experiment? Or both? And did they cast Dan Shor because he was easy to lift?  Joel confesses his lamest prank ever,  Chris reveals their surprising Tron connection, and they plan 'Dogville: Tron Version'....

Get ready for a Just The Thing like you've never heard before, as Joel and Chris discuss Wayne Wang's documentary-style indie detective film Chan is Missing, and then try to put John Carpenter's The Thing into it! Joel and Chris get very personal about their own experiences together at university  making guerilla films! They discuss Chris' Dad's obsessive videotaping!  The...

Joel and Chris are joined by film analysts Alex Jessep and Matt O'Dwyer to discuss 1982's Blade Runner and put a Thing in there! The Thing. John Carpenter's The Thing. Alex and Matt are two of Joel's oldest friends, so who better to discuss Blade Runner, the ultimate film about friendship?  Chris loves Harrison Ford's goofy persona, Joel realises it's not the ultimate...

Joel and Chris are joined by filmmaker and podcaster Ross Boyask to discuss 48 Hrs and put The Thing into it! We not only tackle Eddie Murphy's star-making action comedy but get Ross' insight into previous episodes and get ever closer to understanding why The Thing might flop in 1982! Joel controversially comes out against Director's Cuts and then almost immediately recants, Chris r...

1982 season continues as Joel and Chris put John Carpenter's The Thing into First Blood!  It's the second part of our Stallone mini-mini-series as we look at the surprisingly low-key first Rambo film and ask the question: masculinity? Chris is terrified by Australia, Joel does much less Stallone impressions than last time, and we start to put together our pitch for a 'The Thing&apos...

It's the Just The Thing 2022 Christmas Special! Joel Jessup and Chris Regan are joined by Andrea Regan to discuss Santa Claus: The Movie, and put The Thing into it! Andrea's such a big fan of the film that she married Chris many years ago, just so she could get on this podcast.  Joel absolutely roasts Dudley Moore,  Chris reveals his anti-wooden toy agenda, Andrea explains how she's...

1982 Season continues as Joel and Chris discuss Rocky III! They've never seen any of the other films, and they don't know anything about boxing! Can they turn their relative ignorance into a pile-driving knockout blow of insight? Joel falls in love with the limpid eyes of the young Stallone, Chris ponders the very existence of Mr T, and they both engage in possibly their most shambolic a...

1982 season continues as Joel and Chris are joined by author (and part-time Chris' brother) Peter Regan to discuss Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and put The Thing into its plot, somehow! Our first ever guest means a super-sized episode! Joel realises he can't pronounce oeuvre, Peter tries to steal Joel's vocal tic, and Chris discusses his chronic wig-blindness. Music by Karl Casey...

In this special Halloween episode, Chris and Joel discuss 1982's Poltergeist. Was this the film that held The Thing's hands behind its back while E.T. beat it up?  Joel gives such a spooky opening that the audio quality drops horrifyingly! (It gets better.) Chris is most horrified by all the beer being wasted in the opening sequence. And we have a special Halloween quiz that is somehow t...

Joel and Chris discuss what would happen if The Thing was in Conan and ask all the important Conan-related questions, like did right-wing politics used to be more palatable? And what exactly is a snake cult? This episode also includes a rare deep dive into the actual plot of the film so if you haven't seen Conan the Barbarian you would be well-advised to rectify this before listening. Music -...

1982 Season begins as Chris and Joel reimagine E.T. with John Carpenter's The Thing.  That's right, it's a film most of you will have seen! Chris recalls how he spent his school years haunted by frogs, Joel does an amazing impression of E.T. being hit by a flamethrower,  and would becoming a pod person be such a bad thing, really? Music - Solitude by Karl Casey https://karlcasey.ban...

In this episode Chris and Joel enter the futuristic world of the year 2021 as they discuss perhaps the one, true cyberpunk movie, Johnny Mnemonic. There is so much to talk about with this movie, including the William Gibson source material, the short-lived career of Robert Longo and the eclectic cast that includes Japanese cult film star Takeshi Kitano and Dolph Lundgren as a cybernetic priest. In...