Optimism Vaccine

Some might call it confusing meta-fiction, others a smart cash-in. Either way, Neil Connery did what any of us would have done in his situation. Ignore the fact that you're shorter, less handsome, and less charismatic than your famous sibling and play a spy in a James Bond knockoff film. You're Sean Connery's brother, dammit, and that should be enough to land you a leading man role in Hollywood......

Tim Thomerson is one of the finest character actors to ever live and a "guys who look like sexy stepdads" hall of famer. No one this side of Tom Atkins can convincingly romance a young Helen Hunt the way Thomerson does. Best of all, he does it with an Old Crow and Marlboro Lights aesthetic that has made him look 47 years old his entire life. Join us as we celebrate Tim Thomserson's action hero act...

We're going on a journey to find your inner brooding teen. Close your eyes and think back to when you believed girls would talk to you because you watched Donnie Darko a dozen times and had THINGS to say about it. Maybe it's been a few years since you spent time with the films of Richard Kelly. Maybe it's about time you discovered if Southland Tales is better than you remember. Maybe you should fi...

Throughout the 80s and 90s, David and Peter Paul, The Barbarian Brothers, were the ultimate Hollywood triple threat; acting, singing and flexing their way through the world of film and television. Sadly, the beefiest boys to ever grace the silver screen never reached superstar status. Max Nestorowich ( Good Brews Bad Views ) and Claire Higginbottom join us as we dig deep into Barbarian Brothers lo...

It's hard out there for an obscenely rich lady with unchecked power and limitless resources. Sometimes you just need to make an utterly tone-deaf film and call it Music . Sometimes you make your main character autistic. Sometimes you research the role by passively watching I Am Sam while you refresh your Twitter feed and consulting a hate group. Normal stuff. Wouldn't you know it, people got pisse...

When Albert Pyun's Cyborg was ripped away from him by the studio he did what any self-respecting auteur would do: Re-cut the original film and make his own unofficial sequels. Sure, they're all bogged down by small budgets that can't support Albert's big ideas, but c'mon! Pyun gave us a robot cowboy wuxia and an Eastern European riff on Yojimbo . What more could you ask for? THIS WEEK: Slinger (20...

The occasionally great, always ambitious, frequently derided films of Albert Pyun have been a mainstay of late-night premium cable and dusty video store shelves for decades. But who is the man behind the only good sequel to Kickboxer and the best Captain America movie? Justin Decloux, author of Radioactive Dreams: The Cinema of Albert Pyun, joins us as we explore Pyun's wild filmography and one-of...

We're officially squashing all rumors that we antagonize our listeners and never listen to feedback by doing a very special request episode. That's right, we're men of the people. And what do the people want? CROCODILE DUNDEE! Join us on a journey of self-discovery as we learn about America's obsession with Australia, Paul Hogan's Oscar nomination, Mick Dundee's weird sexual hang-ups, and how we e...

We watched the entire Cyborg trilogy and it's definitely better than any franchise without a villain named after a guitar and a Kato Kaelin cameo. You also get a big dollop of brooding Jean-Claude Van Damme AND Jack Palance's mouth. Impossible to go wrong here. You would think watching a film franchise called CYBORG would lead to a few more cyborgs on screen though. Cyborg Week is officially cance...

Fantasy isn't just your favorite mid-90s Mariah Carey song. It's the place where D&D nerd storytelling collides head-on with oiled-up beefcakes. For this episode, we're digging into the gorgeous new 4K release of Don Coscarelli's Beastmaster from Vinegar Syndrome. We're also getting way too deep into He-Man lore and proving once and for all that Lucio Fulci can do anything if you give him a bu...

Our odyssey into the bizarre corners of pseudo-pornography comes to a close with one of the best (and one of the worst) films we've watched yet. Is a horned up version of The Muppets Take Manhatten enough to finally break the will of Adam Miros? Will a dozen naked French men in the woods drive Jack's wife to smother him with a pillow in his sleep? Possibly! THIS WEEK: Let My Puppets Come (1976), L...

What could possibly be better than starting off 2021 with a big juicy batch of porn flicks? More importantly, why are the OV wives saying "you can't hang out with Steve anymore"? Join us as we do a very serious investigation of the concept of smut without smut and destroy the fabric of reality by watching the blooper reel from Final Flesh . Stuff your underpants full of pasta, grab a toilet muffin...

What's the best way to gain insight into the soul of America? By watching a pair of revered genre classics from Cannon Films, of course. Special guest Colin Tanner joins us as we end the year breaking down cinema's ultimate conservative power fantasies and attempt to pin down the source of Charles Bronson's sexy grandpa energy (Pall Malls and Kessler?). THIS WEEK: Joe (1970) and Death Wish 3 (1985...

We're getting into the holiday spirit with our old yuletide pals: unbathed Mel Gibson and Kirk Cameron the irredeemable sewer chud! Plus, we check out an underappreciated French genre gem that begs the question "What if Home Alone had an R rating?" Crank up the Bonnie Tyler record, baby. Christmas has never been more festive. THIS WEEK: Saving Christmas (2014), Fatman (2020), and Deadly Games: Dia...

Not every great movie in 2020 can star a bloated Russell Crowe but we did find a dozen or so other films that were pretty decent. Kristy Strouse, editor-in-chief of Film Inquiry, joins us to help pick out the best-of-best from this year. THIS WEEK: City Hall, Undine, Fourteen, Tommaso, Siberia, Da 5 Bloods, On the Rocks, Days, Bacurau, The Assistant, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, First Cow Rate a...

Is Twins a top-tier 80s comedy? Of course not. It's probably not even a top-tier Arnold Schwarzenegger comedy or Ivan Reitman movie if we're being honest. Maybe it's the funniest eugenics comedy. At least we can all agree that there's something special about Arnie belting out "Yakety Yak" on an airplane. Anyway, we paired this with a Frank Henenlotter grindhouse classic and some vintage Brian De P...

You'd think after doing this for six years we'd run out of gimmicks for episodes, but then our genius brains come up with stuff like "films with single word titles released in 2020." After that, we remember " Jiu Jitsu " is two words but being idiots is still on brand, so who cares? Anyway, we're covering the latest, greatest DTV movies in the year of CINEMA DEATH. Cool! THIS WEEK: Run (2020), Alo...

What's that? You're isolated from everyone you love during a holiday centered on comradery and familial gathering? Your life has been ravaged by unfettered capitalism, leaving you at the mercy of a federal government unwilling to offer even the slightest bit of relief as they they twist the boot pressed against your neck? Join us as we suffer in solidarity this Thanksgiving the only way we know ho...

Jake and Jack finally tackle the latest (and longest) James Bond film, Spectre, with special guest, Alistair Ryder. Rate and Review Optimism Vaccine on iTunes: https://bit.ly/OptimismVaccine Support Optimism Vaccine on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/optimismvaccine

We're pumping the brakes on our usual film-centric content for a very special episode. Stephen Kohlmann and Steve Cuff return to Discourse From The Big Chair after a three year hiatus to discuss the recently released 4xCD/Blu-ray box set of Tears For Fears' 1989 album, The Seeds of Love . The guys talk alternate versions, B-sides, weird backstage tour gangs, and recording studio opulence. And hey,...

A respectable podcast would dedicate an episode to just watching the 2020 action/thriller, Unhinged . Lucky for you, we're a bunch of masochistic idiots and decided to watch EVERY movie titled Unhinged . Come for the bloated, sweaty stepdad energy of Russell Crowe, stay for the in-depth discussion of a forgotten video nasty and a few other films that should probably be forgotten. THIS WEEK: Unhing...

Another year, another batch of Blumhouse horror films unceremoniously dropped on a streaming service in October. Join us as we revel in movie mediocrity and give ourselves a big, juicy, Halloween content enema. THIS WEEK: The Lie (2018), Evil Eye (2020), Black Box (2020), and Nocturne (2020) Rate and Review Optimism Vaccine on iTunes: https://bit.ly/OptimismVaccine Support Optimism Vaccine on Patr...

We're dragging Shawn down into the Lovecraftian depths of mid-to-late period Stuart Gordon where we discover the many uses for Charles Band's castle, how to properly court a tentacle legged priestess, and the only ethically sound way to deal with a hit and run. THIS WEEK: Castle Freak (1995), Dagon (2001) and Stuck (2007) Rate and Review Optimism Vaccine on iTunes: https://bit.ly/OptimismVaccine S...

We're continuing our annual October horror slate by jumping from Italian giallo to Lovecraftian splatter and dystopian weirdness from the good old USA. Join us as we stimulate Shawn Glinis' pineal gland and introduce him to Stuart Gordon's world of grotesque interdimensional monsters and living corpses. THIS WEEK: Re-Animator (1985), From Beyond (1986), and Fortress (1992) Rate and Review Opt...

Eddie Averill of the Extended Clip podcast stops by to lend some credibility to our exploration of Sergio Martino's works. Unfortunately, he's quickly alienated by a fumbling guest host and pointless quibbling about the minutiae of genre designation. THIS WEEK: Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972) and Torso (1973) Rate and Review Optimism Vaccine on iTunes: https://bit.ly/Opti...