Optimism Vaccine

We're in the middle of a national eviction crisis during a global pandemic and filthy rich landlords are getting wealthier exploiting working-class folks like you. So what can cinema teach us about the power of tenant solidarity? Quite a bit, actually. There's a lot you can learn from 90s Wes Craven and a 70s exploitation kung fu flick rescued from obscurity by Vinegar Syndrome. Turns out all you...

We decided to celebrate the 4th of July like true red-blooded Americans by watching three films that embody the spirit of the United States (or possibly just have USA in the title and involve blowing shit up). Jack, an Irishman, AKA what every American wants to be, even put together a fun American citizenship test to see who has earned the right to continue to live in this country. Please salute t...

Who needs James Bond when you've got a hunk like James Coburn? This week, For Your Ears Only checks out the original Bond parody franchise and looks at how the zany Derek Flint films stack up to their more serious 007 counterparts. THIS WEEK: Our Man Flint (1966) and In Like Flint (1967) Rate and Review Optimism Vaccine on iTunes: https://bit.ly/OptimismVaccine Support Optimism Vaccine on Patreon:...

A lesser podcast might do a special Father's Day episode by curating a selection of DAD DAY FAVS and reminiscing about bygone moments with pops. Fuck that. We take Father's Day very seriously and very literally. We'll remember to call up dear old dad this year (doubtful) and do an episode where we watch any film with the title Father's Day . That means we'll be checking out the 1997 Ivan Reitman j...

Charles Grodin was one of the greatest comedic minds of the 20th century and the king of deadpan humor. This week, we're honoring the life and times of the almighty GRODES by revisiting some of his best cinematic moments. Join us as we break down three of his most iconic roles, ponder Grodin's level of support for a free Palestine, question The Ultimate Warrior's level of cocaine consumption, and...

We're wrapping up the To-down with four films that cover the full spectrum of Johnnie To cinema, from a classic Hong Kong crime thriller to an anti-capitalist musical. THIS WEEK: Running Out of Time (1999), Turn Left, Turn Right (2003), Mad Detective (2007), The Office (2015) Rate and Review Optimism Vaccine on iTunes: https://bit.ly/OptimismVaccine Support Optimism Vaccine on Patreon: https://www...

The OV Johnnie To-down continues with four of the Hong Kong director's most acclaimed crime films. THIS WEEK: PTU (2003), Breaking News (2004), Election (2005), Drug War (2012) Rate and Review Optimism Vaccine on iTunes: https://bit.ly/OptimismVaccine Support Optimism Vaccine on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/optimismvaccine

This week, we're joined by Ryan Swen (The Film Stage, Reverse Shot, Catalyst and Witness ) and taking a detour away from Johnnie To action flicks to look at how To's style translates to comedy, romance, and non-traditional genre films. Prepare to get deeply emotionally invested in a frog and have a man in a rubber muscle suit bring you tears. J. To isn't fuckin' around. THIS WEEK: Running on Karma...

Johnnie To is one of the most prolific filmmakers in the world. For four decades he's written, produced and directed everything from lighthearted romantic comedies to bleak and bloody action, creating a peerless filmography. Despite critical acclaim and success in his native Hong Kong, the majority of To's films remain overlooked and underappreciated in the West. This week, we're kicking off a mul...

Promising Young Woman just took home the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and critics can't stop telling us how IMPORTANT it is. But is Emerald Fennell's brand of sanitized lily-white feminism truly what we need to navigate our neoliberal hellscape? More importantly, why would you bother watching it in the first place when a deranged auteur-driven Day-Glo nightmare like Me, You, Madness exists?...

Kan you believe it's been over 25 years since the first Mortal Kombat film hit your lokal multiplex? Since then, we've had more games, kartoons, live aktion series, and films than any reasonable person kould ever hope to keep trakk of. If you're into komplex lore derived from the game that yells "toasty" while you spam upperkuts, well, I bet you're thrilled that the franchise has once again been r...

The glitz! The glamor! The discourse! That's right, it's Oscar season, and we're contractually obligated to discuss all of the bland prestige films that you'll completely forget about in another week. This year, we're broadcasting LIVE from your favorite left-of-the-dial AM radio station for a comprehensive breakdown of the 58th Annual Academy Awards with international film correspondent, Alistair...

There's plenty of knockoff James Bond films, but how many have a filipino agent 007 under three feet tall? Join us as we take another detour from the mainline Bond series and dip our toes into the world of Weng Weng; an unheralded cinematic superstar in the Philippines and arguably one of the greatest unofficial Bonds of all time. Rate and Review Optimism Vaccine on iTunes: https://bit.ly/Optimism...

Nothing brings us more joy than watching a big monkey and his lizard pal beat the shit out of some weird bugs, a dinosaur bird and maybe a robot. Plus, as true believers in the Hollow Earth Theory, it's nice to finally have a cinematic universe that represents people who know there's a whole jungle world to explore underneath the dumb dirt beneath our feet. So how did we end up with a Monsterverse...

For two long years, the Snyhard masses cried out to Warner Bros. for justice, and, against all odds, the impossibly dumb has become improbably real: #ReleaseTheSnyderCut has delivered us Zack Snyder's J ustice League. Now we can finally answer pressing questions like "Can doubling a bad film's runtime make it good?" This week we're diving into The Snyder Cut, comparing it to Joss Whedon's 2017 Jus...

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...