Mary Versus the Movies

An American rock star gets caught up in intrigue in Cold War East Germany. Or is it World War II? Nazis, Communists, whatever, right guys? Anyway, from the guys who made Airplane, it's "what if Elvis made a spy movie", and it's pretty good. Starring Val Kilmer, Lucy Gutteridge, Omar Sharif, Michael Gough, Jeremy Kemp, and one very odd cameo from Peter Cushing. Written by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker...

A pig-headed pilot takes on air pirates and fascists while regaining his humanity in this adventure from Hayao Miyazaki. Set in 1929, it's a story of love, honor, pacifism, and resistance. For this, we watched the English dub from 2005; I know, I know, subs over dubs, but so it goes. Starring (in the dub) Michael Keaton, Cary Elwes, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Susan Egan, David Ogden Stiers, and Br...

Look, I know it sounds crazy, but Star Wars has all kinds of Arthurian elements: an orphan boy with a secret destiny; a magic sword; a crazy magician; a princess who needs rescuing; and a big bad guy. Obviously the original film was influenced by all sorts of things ( The Hidden Fortress ; Lawrence of Arabia ; Dune ; even Lord of the Rings ) but it's no surprise that the stories of King Arthur are...

Toys come to life and encounter a hallucinating camel, a sentient taffy pit that eats itself, and a paranoid king who only grows big when torturing and humiliating other people. You know, a kids movie. "Dennis Versus the Movies" month comes to an end with a really, really strange movie that Mary was obsessed with as a kid. Starring Didi Conn, Mark Baker, Claire Williams, George S. Irving, Fred Stu...

"Dennis versus the Movies" continues as we welcome back to the show puppeteer and children's entertainer Zach Woliner to talk about the third Muppets movie, an homage to the Broadway musical films of the 1930s. The Muppets head to Manhattan with stars in their eyes and a dream of Broadway stardom, only to break apart, Kermit to get amnesia, and Miss Piggy to face down a New York full of muggers, c...

An ex-firefighter stuck in a dead-end job is offered a chance to live it up for a week if he jumps in a volcano and dies so a rich man can steal some natural resources from a tropical island. Well, who wouldn't say yes to that? Dennis Vs the Movies month continues, featuring an interview with Mary's mom! Starring Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Lloyd Bridges, Abe Vigoda, Robert Stack, Ossie Davis, Dan Hedaya...

Ray just wants a peaceful staycation--why do his neighbors have to be so weird? We kick off Dennis Vs. the Movies Month with one of Mary's favorite movies from her childhood. Starring: Tom Hanks, Henry Gibson, Bruce Dern, Rick Ducommun, Corey Feldman, Brother Theodore, Wendy Schaal, and Carrie Fischer. Written by Dana Olsen. Directed by Joe Dante.

Robot security guards go rogue and start killing people at the mall. Don't worry, it's 2025, all our malls are dead already, and I'm sure our robot security guards will treat us well. Starring Kelli Maroney, Tony O'Dell, John Terlesky, Russell Todd, and Barbara Crampton. Written by Jim Wynorski and Steve Mitchell. Directed by Jim Wynorski

A young woman coming of age in a seaside town challenges the stuffy sexual mores and hypocrisy of post-war Britain in this dramedy from the writer of  Mona Lisa .  Starring Emily Lloyd, Tom Bell, Geoffrey Hutchings, and Pat Heywood. Written and directed by David Leland.

A standard college melodrama makes a hard-right turn into an anti-abortion screed in a move that's almost as bizarre as Kirk Cameron's horrible Southern accent. We welcome back Alana Phelan to the show with a movie she really loved as a kid, but viewing it as an adult, a few things suddenly stand out. Starring Kirk Cameron, Jamie Gertz, Roy Scheider, and Tim Quill. Written and directed by Douglass...

A Russian tank unit is lost during the Soviet-Afghan war, leading to a breakdown in order, attempted mutiny, and dessertion to the Mujahideen. Part  Moby Dick , part Lawrence of Arabia , and a little bit Rambo , it's a meditation on war, revenge, and mercy. Starring George Dzundza, Jason Patric, Steven Bauer, Stephen Baldwin, Erick Avari, and Don Harvey. Written by William Mastrosimone. Directed b...

We took a look at a British tv series from the 1950s, dramatising the Arthurian story in a high-romance fashion. Believe it or not, it's pretty good! Starring William Russell–who later played "Ian" on Doctor Who–it's a fairly faithful rendering of the story, with Lancelot as an outsider who comes to Arthur's court, Gawain as his rival, a belligerent Kay, and a Merlin who is part magician, part con...

James Bond goes up against Hugo Drax, a billionaire with a private space rocket company who's secretly a eugenicist, plotting to kill everyone on earth and replace them with his idea of a master race who lives in space. I don't know why this sounds so familiar. Also, Jaws the Henchman shows up and goes through so many near-deaths, you'd think he was fighting Bugs Bunny. Starring Roger Moore, Micha...

David Lynch's first film is an exploration of the fear of fatherhood, set against a grim industrial backdrop, featuring surreal, nightmarish imagry that would reoccur throughout his career. An influential, landmark American film of the midnight movie scene, and ultimately, one hell of a bad trip. Starring Jack Nance, Charlotte Stewart, Jeanne Bates, Judith Anna Roberts, and Robert Fisk. Written an...

Nazis hiding in South America have been cloning Hitler, and one researcher is crossing the globe, trying to stop their plans to resurrect the Third Reich. A thriller from the writer of  Rosemary's Baby and  The Stepford Wives that culimates in two very old men slapfighting over the future. Starring Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier, James Mason, Lilli Palmer, Steve Guttenberg, Uta Hagen, and Jeremy B...

Nebbish Seymour Krelborn finds an extraterrestrial plant that offers him everything he wants—fame, money, the love of his coworker Audrey—in return for fresh human blood. What started as a 1960 Roger Corman schlockfest is turned into a campy musical from the guys who brought us… The Little Mermaid ? Wait, really? Starring Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Vincent Gardenia, Steve Martin, and Bill Murray....

Here it is, John Boorman's epic retelling of King Arthur's conception, Camelot, the Holy Grail, and his final betrayal by his own son. It's mostly Thomas Malory's 15th century romance Le Morte Darthur, mashed up with bits of Jessie Weston's 1920 book, the Grail study " From Ritual to Romance" and with a heavy dollop of 1960s Neopaganism. It has plenty of sex, violence, swords, and sorcery to grab...

It's the musical version of  A Christmas Carol , featuring one of the more surprising diss tracks in all musical cinema. Join us as we dissect Dickens' classic one more time. Starring Albert Finney, Alec Guinness, Edith Evans, Kenneth Moore, and Laurence Naismith. Directed by Ronald Neame. Written and with music by Leslie Bricusse.

The gangs of New York come together for a conclave, only for the charismatic leader Cyrus to be assassinated, and Coney Island's Warriors to be falsely accused. Can they make it home before the rest of the city tries to kill them?  Joining us is a special guest, the writer and cartoonist Michael Kupperman, creator of  Snake 'n' Bacon and author of  All the Answers . Starring Michael Beck, James Re...

The ultimate himbo pursues his dancing dreams during one of the worst periods of New York City's history, and ends up a cultural icon—off-screen, of course. Starring John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney, Barry Miller, Paul Pape, Donna Pescow, and Martin Shakar. Written by Norman Wexler. Directed by John Badham.

This month, we are joined with a special guest, Tim Ryan, the King of Janitors, for a watch of Michael Bay's Arthurian epic, Transformers: The Last Knight , in which Mark Wahlberg teams up with a hot Oxford don who is apparently the last descendent of Merlin, and a selection of Autobots, to take on a corrupted Optimus Prime, using Excalibur. No, I'm not making this up. It's a complete nonsense mov...

A Sicilan boy in post-war Italy is taken under the wing of the local projectionist, and begins a life-long love of the movies, while watching how the world changes around him. Winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, this is a funny, moving film about love, art, and community. Starring Philippe Noiret, Salvatore Cascio, Jacques Perrin, Antonella Attili, and Agnese Nano. Written and dire...

An evil Irish toymaker is plotting a mass child sacrifice using his Halloween masks, and it's up to one alcoholic doctor to stop him. There's no Michael Myers, but there is a pretty baroque and silly plot here under a lot of early 1980s grime.  Starring Tom Atkins, Stacy Nelkin, and Dan O'Herlihy. Written and directed by Tommy Lee Wallace.

The evil grimoire the Necronomicon sends Ash Williams—chainsaw hand all—back to the Dark Ages where he helps King Arthur battle the forces of the Undead. Starring Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert, and Ian Ambercrombie. Written by Sam Raimi and Ivan Raimi. Directed by Sam Raimi. This is a preview of the latest episode of our series Hollywood Avalon. To hear the entire episode, join th...

A sexy gerontologist falls in with an Egyptian/French vampire and her thin white duke in this gothic--and we do mean gothic--erotic horror set in New York City.  Starring Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, Susan Sarandon, and Cliff De Young. Written by Ian Davis and Michael Thomas from Whitley Strieber's novel. Directed by Tony Scott.