Red Rose Film Club

Hal & Craig watched John Sayles 1987 film Matewan. The film, starring Chris Cooper and James Earl Jones, tells the true story of the fight between West Virginia coal miners and union busters whose tactics grow increasingly more violent. Discussions also include: Aaron Bushnell and his remarkable protest against Palestinian genocide; Hal's new obsession THE FLOOR, the Rob Lowe hosted game show; Our...

Hal and Craig discuss high-risk activism and the 2022 thriller How to Blow Up a Pipeline (dir. Daniel Goldhaber). We also discuss: The end of the Vince McMahon era of professional wrestling; The Insane Clown Posse (WHOOP! WHOOP!) and their fight against the FBI; The misogyny of the police, as seen in Netflix's AMERICAN NIGHTMARE; Jonathan Glazer's new film THE ZONE OF INTEREST; and The effects of...

In this episode, Hal and Craig discuss Steven Soderbergh's Traffic and its perspective on the War on Drugs, as well as our favorite Soderbergh films. Discussion also includes: The new king of hip-hop: Ben Shapiro; Craig accidentally watched a Christian horror movie; Steven Soderbergh at the forefront of new cinematic techniques; Movies with large ensemble casts and multiple plot lines; Our recent...

We wrap up our series on the films of S. Craig Zahler with perhaps is least palatable film DRAGGED ACROSS CONCRETE. In the 2018 crime thriller, Zahler focuses his increasingly fascistic lense on the issue of........police brutality (oof!). Starring Mel Gibson (double-oof!) and Vince Vaughn, Zahler's brand of gritty celluloid violence goes full-mask off and asks the big questions like: Why can't co...

On this week's episode, we're switching up the format and doing a 2023 Review Show! Hal and Craig list their favorite films and performances of 2023. As well as discussions about their favorite first time watches (of non-2023 films) and favorite non-film media of 2023. And we discuss the not-so-good of 2023 and break down some of our least favorite movies of the year.

In this episode, Hal and Craig discuss colonialism by way of Gillo Pontecorvo's 1966 THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS, an innovative film that delves into Algeria's National Liberation Front and their bloody battles against French colonizers in the 1950s. Discussions also include: New movie roundup: MAY DECEMBER, SATAN WANTS YOU, and EILEEN; How French colonization depicted in Battle of Algiers is an eerie p...

We continue our series examining the films of S. Craig Zahler and their increasingly bizarre depiction of a violent, conservative "uptopia/dystopia". This week we watched BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99, Zahler's attempt at a prison exploitation flick starring Vince Vaughn, Don Johnson, and Udo Kier. Also: We celebrate the death of Henry Kissinger, one of history's greatest villains. Upcoming movies we're...

We're talking labor unions! Hal and Craig watched Barbara Kopple's HARLAN COUNTY, USA, the ground-breaking 1976 documentary chronicling the struggles of coal mine workers in Harlan County, Kentucky as they fight against coal barons, police, and scabs in an effort to join the United Mine Workers of America. Discussions also include: Abortion rights winning at the ballot; Weaponizing the Civil Right...

We celebrate our 1 year pod-iversary by beginning a new series of conservative films, specifically the violent fantasies of S. Craig Zahler. We begin with Zahler's directorial debut Bone Tomahawk, a western-horror starring Kurt Russell, Richard Jenkins, Matthew Fox, and Patrick Wilson. Zahler has a stylish eye and works well in genre conventions, but what lies beneath this horror western is a lot...

Hal & Craig discuss Bill Gunn's 1973 film Ganja & Hess and how its the perfect allegory for the nightmarish world wrought by post-colonialism. In addition, we discuss how the film was nearly lost to the sands of time and Sam Waymon's (who also stars in the film) incredible, haunting score. Also: Craig watched some bad Frankenstein adaptations; Hal's undying love for Suspiria (2018); Ben Shapiro an...

Spooky season continues with Bernard Rose's 1992 film Candyman. There's a lot to discuss! Hal and Craig break down how Candyman inverts the racist trope of the "savage brute". In addition, we look at Candyman's deft analysis of Chicago's Cabrini Green housing projects and how Candyman himself is a creation of White America whose pain tends to reverberate mostly in black communities. Discussions al...

In this episode, Hal and Craig discuss the sequel to Wes Craven's seminal horror classic. Hal takes Craig to school, dissecting this often-overlooked (and underrated) horror sequel and how it has become a classic in queer cinema for its often obvious (but sometimes quite subtle) metaphors to queer identity and escaping the closet in 1980s America. Discussion also includes: The merits of the more g...

In this episode, Hal & Craig discuss Michael Bay's 2013 film Pain & Gain and its interpretation of how Reagan's American Exceptionalism of the 1980s led to rampant consumerism. This tangent-heavy episode also includes discussions of:  The passing of WWE Superstar Bray Wyatt; The escalating violence and hostility towards the Cop City protestors in Atlanta (R.I.P. Tortuguita); Craig's simultaneous r...

In this episode, Hal and Craig welcome guest David Bax, of the long-running film podcast Battleship Pretension ( www.battleshippretension.com ), to discuss Agnès Varda's 1977 film exploring explicit and implicit themes of Marxist feminism. Discussions also include: Craig got sick and watched the TWISTED METAL show; The recent military coup in Niger; Frederick Engels' and the Marxist take on family...

We finish off our triptych of latter-year Clint Eastwood films with THE MULE about an old man who gets mixed up with the Cartel, but in a cool old man way. Discussion also includes: Prano Bailey-Bond's 2021 film CENSOR; Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America by Josie Riesman; The documentary TAKE CARE OF MAYA; and Again we discuss which of Clint Eastwood's children he dislikes the m...

In this episode, Hal and Craig discuss the 2006 film BAMAKO, wherein the people of Bamako, Mali hold a trial to convict the IMF and World Bank of holding Africa hostage under the false promises of neo-liberalism and structural adjustment. Discussions also include: Catching up on the movies and TV we've been watching, including All Quiet on the Western Front, The Power of the Dog, Twin Peaks, Warri...

Hal and Craig return to watching some latter-career Clint Eastwood films, this time it's Clint's 2008 film GRAN TORINO, a movie made for old white people to feel okay about being racist! Fun? Discussion also includes: The new season of Black Mirror; Clive Barker's Faustian novel THE DAMNATION GAME; The best airplane movies; An update on the Tampa 5, the five people arrested in Tampa for protesting...

Hal and Craig are flipping up the formula a bit for this one! Instead of looking at just one movie in this episode, we are looking at writer/director Adam McKay's informal "Liberal Savior" Trilogy: 2015's The Big Short , 2018's Vice , and 2021's Don't Look Up . Hal and Craig discuss McKay's evolution from slapstick absurdity to political satirist and ask two important questions:  Do these films wo...

In this episode, the first of a three-episode series examining the later career films of Clint Eastwood, Hal and Craig invite Thomas Greene to discuss Eastwood's 2014 jingoistic war film AMERICAN SNIPER. Discussions also include: Clint Eastwood's best performance ever: screaming at a chair at the 2012 RNC; Elon Musk going full mask-off; Craig conquers some personal demons regarding how he rates fi...

Hal and Craig welcome guest Kevin Cole aka The Primal Root—owner and proprietor of the oft-mentioned Cap City Video Lounge—to discuss John Carpenter's 1988 anti-capitalism, sci-fi masterpiece THEY LIVE. Discussions also include: The petition to put access to safe abortions on the ballot in Florida; Our new(ly indicted) king: George Santos; What we've been watching lately, including EVIL DEAD RISE,...

In this episode, Hal and Craig discuss Oliver Stone's 1986 Vietnam film PLATOON. Discussions also include: The colonial history of Vietnam; Steven Crowder's very bad 2023; The brutality of SCREAM VI; and Ari Aster's much anticipated new film BEAU IS AFRAID.

Hal and Craig reconvene to discuss TERROR ON THE PRAIRIE, the third and (so far) final narrative film produced by conservative darling and full-time adult man Ben Shapiro and his merry gang of bigots over at the Daily Wire. Discussions also include: Harlan Crow, Clarence Thomas' political sugar daddy with a weird Hitler obsession; The shootings of Ralph Yarl and Kaylin Gillis; MLB Baseball and the...

In this episode, Hal and Craig discuss Sidney Lumet's 1975 crime caper DOG DAY AFTERNOON starring Al Pacino. Discussions also include: The cruelty of Ron DeSantis and his time overseeing Guantanamo Bay MLB superstar Randy Arozarena Our favorite John Cazale performances

In this episode, Hal and Craig discuss Luis Bunuel's 1962 The Exetermingating Angel, a biting satire of the wealthy elite. In addition, Hal and Craig discuss: Ron DeSantis' growing war on public education; How awesome the WWE is; Terry Gilliam's surrealist masterpiece Brazil; Daniel Day Lewis' son turned rapper (who is about to Gabe Day Lose It); And Armond White's catholic fascism.   Sources:  Sl...

Hal and Craig discuss Robin Campillo's BPM, an unflinching look at grassroots activism during the height of the AIDS epidemic, following members of Act Up Paris in the early 1990s as they plan direct action against the pharmaceutical companies and politicians who exacerbated the crisis. Other topics of conversation include: Our Top 5 Movies of 2022 Craig is exasperated at why none of the character...