Mary Versus the Movies

We kick off a brief series on beach movies with a viewing of the original, the story of a tomboy who takes up surfing thanks to the help of the king of the beach bums, the Big Kahuna, while falling in love with his sidekick Moondoggie.  Starring Sandra Dee, Cliff Robertson, and James Darren. Written by Gabrielle Union. Directed by Paul Wendkos.

It's the 4th of July, which means it's time for baseball, mom, and apple pie. We bring back Mary's sister to talk about one of her favorite movies (that Mary somehow avoided), a story about a bunch of boys playing neighborhood baseball in the summer of 1962. It's all rose-tinted glasses and lemonade, an exercise in nostalgia, and it's a pretty good movie. Starring Tom Guiry, Mike Vitar, Patrick Re...

The newly-discovered Scrolls of Merlin have been stolen by a time-traveling MacBeth, so it's up to the Gargoyles to retrieve them. That's right, we check out the Disney fantasy series from the 1990s that combined Shakespeare, fairies, Celtic magic, evil billionaires, and cyberpunk aesthetics. Gargoyles, season 2, episode 4: "A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time" Starring Keith David, Ed Asner, Bill Fag...

A mobster's widow is romantically pursued by both the FBI agent trailing her and the don who killed her husband. Oh, and the don's wife wants her dead. What's a girl to do? Starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Modine, Dean Stockwell, Alec Baldwin, and Mercedes Ruehl. Written by Barry Strugatz and Mark R. Burns. Directed by Jonathan Demme.

Surprise guest Jon Solomon is here to talk about Elaine May's unfairly-maligned buddy comedy about two bumbling songwriters who end up at the center of a revolution in the fictional country of Ishtar. A bomb when it was released, it's now a well-liked cult film whose reputation has grown, and one of the funniest movies we've covered for the show. Starring Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, Isabella Ad...

We went to see Masters of the Universe , the latest toy-turned-into-a-movie, and honestly had a good time, better than we expected. We briefly compare it to the 1987 film (see episode 79), as well as Flash Gordon , Arthurian romance, and more. Starring Nicholas Galitzine, Jared Leto, Camila Mendes, Idris Elba, and Alison Brie. Directed by Travis Knight.

An engineer is laid off and becomes a stay-at-home dad, and hijinks--and gender--ensue. Not quite as off-putting as it could have been thanks to some very funny performances from Michael Keaton and Teri Garr, but it's still a hackneyed, reactionary premise. Starring Michael Keaton, Teri Garr, Martin Mull, Ann Jillian. Written by John Hughes. Directed by Stan Dragoti.

A Greek artisan is commissioned by St. Luke and Joseph of Arimathea to make the Holy Grail, while fending off the the evil Simon Magus and the Emperor Nero. It's a very uneven film, sometimes boring, sometimes visually fascinating, and at least Jack Palance seems to be having fun. These days, it's best known as the movie Paul Newman apologized for making--which is a heck of a thing when it's your...

In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, the pacifist princess with mystical powers fends off an evil empire in while trying to discover the way to return health to the land. We bring on Scott Johnson to talk about one of his favorite films, as well as the deep well of influences on Miyazaki's ecological fantasy. Starring (in the 2005 Disney re-dubbing) Alison Lohman, Patrick Stewart, Shia LaBeouf, Uma Th...

Three short films about New Yorkers: the relationship of an artist and his assistant falls apart; a very young rich girl has adventures; a lawyer's relationship falls apart when his mother disappears during a magic show. It's an uneven collection, as anthology films often are: Scorsese's "Life Lessons" is a savage look at exploitation, Coppola's "Life Without Zoe" is a middling children's film, an...

An eccentric weatherman falls for a British journalist in the magical city of Los Angeles, where the people are beautiful, the muggers are polite, and the sun is always shining. Starring Steve Martin, Victoria Tennant, Richard E. Grant, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Marliu Henner. Written by Steve Martin. Directed by Mick Jackson.

Pittsburgh's basketball team is the worst in the league, so their 14-year-old towel-boy goes to an astrologer and convinces the team to only have players who are Pisces, while twin brothers battle over the fate of the team.  Starring Julius "Dr. J." Irving, James Bond III, Jonathan Winters, Meadowlark Lemon, Stockard Channing, Jack Kehoe, and Harry Shearer. Written by Jaison Starkes and Edmond Ste...

We return to the 1950s tv series The Adventures of Sir Lancelot with two episodes: Episode 3, "The Queen's Knight", which takes some inspiration from Chretien de Troyes' Lancelot, le Chevalier de la charrette as well as Malory's Le Morte Darthur , with Guinevere abducted by Mordred and Lancelot disguising himself as a peasant driving a cart in order to rescue her. Episode 20, "Maid of Somerset", w...

We welcome Canadian film critic and journalist Stephen Cooke to the show to talk about indie director Hal Hartley's debute film, the story of a misanthropic girl who falls in love with a mysterious ex-con in the lower-middle-class suburbs of Long Island. Starring Adrienne Shelly, Robert Burke, Christopher Cooke, and Edie Falco. Written and directed by Hal Hartley.

An FBI criminal profiler is on the trail of a serial killer, and enlists the help of a dangerous psychopath to track him down. No, it's not Silence of the Lambs , it's Michael Mann's thriller based on the Thomas Harris book The Red Dragon , the first work to introduce us to the infamous Hannibal "the Cannibal" Lector.  Starring William Petersen, Tom Noonan, Joan Allen, Brian Cox, and Dennis Farina...

An American oil company offers to buy a Scottish village, but things don't go as planned in this comedic fairy tale about lonlieness, community, and the wonders of the natural world. Starring Peter Riegert, Denis Lawson, Peter Capaldi, Fulton Mackay, and Burt Lancaster. Written and directed by Bill Forsyth.

Grab the Visine and Dexedrine, folks, it's showtime! We welcome writer, actress, and comedian Julie Klausner to the show to discuss Bob Fosse's autobiographical exploration of death, sex, and creative obsession. We talk about musicals, the art of editing, and how charisma lets you get away with murder. Starring Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange, Ann Reinking, Leland Palmer, Cliff Gorman, and Ben Vereen....

Francis Ford Coppola's epic about the Vietnam War draws as much from J.G. Frazer's The Golden Bough and Jessie Weston's landmark Arthurian study From Ritual to Romance as it does from Joseph Conrad's novel of African colonialism Heart of Darkness . It's a grail quest with no grail, a pilgrimage with no relief. It's the end of kings, and the end of the world. Starring Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, R...

Never mess with the money.  Newscaster Howard Beale has been fired from television, but not before he has a mental breakdown live on-air. What could be better for ratings? One of the great satires of the 1970s is a film that meant a lot to our host Mary, but co-host Dennis has never seen before, so what better to cover for Dennis Versus the Movies month? Starring: William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Pet...

A bullied boy finds a magic book, bringing him into a fantastical world under threat of annihilation.   Dennis Vs the Movies month continues with the movie that scarred millions of millennials. Starring Barret Oliver, Noah Hathaway, Tami Stronach, and Alan Oppenheimer. Written by Wolfgang Petersen and Herman Weigel. Directed by Wolfgang Petersen.

The story of a young Russian-Jewish mouse who emigrates to America, is separated from his family, and has to find his way in 1880s New York City is a lushly-animated, sometimes grim story about assimilation, discimination, and the promises the United States makes to the world and consistenty violates.  Starring Cathianne Blore, Dom DeLuise, John Finnegan, Phillip Glasser, Amy Green, Madeline Kahn,...

Dennis Versus the Movies month kicks off with a favorite from Mary's childhood, the Philadelphia-set romantic comedy about a department-store window-dresser and the five-thousand-year-old Egyptian mummy spends her days as mannequin and nights as Kim Cattrall. Forget the haters, it's Pygmalion on the Schuykill . Starring Andrew McCarthy, Kim Cattrall, James Spader, Meshach Taylor, G. W. Baily, and...

We're back watching James Bond, this time teaming up with a sexy Russian spy to take down a deranged Swedish shipping magnate who wants to blow up the world so that he can live under the sea. Also, we get the first appearance of the henchman Jaws. Honestly, it's pretty fun, and half the movie was filmed in Egypt. Starring Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, Curt Jurgens, and Richard Kiel. Written by Christ...

The story of the Jamaican bobslead team is a family-friendly comedy that hits all the hoary old sports movie underdog beats. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, though it means they have to completely fictionalize an historical event. Thankfully, it also has John Candy. Starring Leon, Doug E. Doug, Rawle D. Lewis, Malik Youba, and John Candy. Written by Lynn Siefert, Tommy Swerdlow, and Michael G...

It's sports! It's animals! It's animation! It's celebrity voices! It's... a weird riff on Lost Horizon and I guess Saturday Night Fever with an alligator? It's Animalypics ! From the creator of Tron ! And hosted by a turtle who sounds like Henry Kissinger! And music from 10cc! I'm sure it made sense in 1980. Starring Michael Fremer, Gilda Radner, Billy Crystal, and Harry Shearer. Written by Steven...