The Kulturecast

Last year's Superman was a genuine suprise, especially for those amongst us who had soured heavily on the previous attempt at a unified DC Universe with Snyder's Darkseriousverse. The hope was real that James Gunn at would be enough to point the ship in a new, more interesting direction. Unfortunately, Supergirl is not that and barely lives up to even the smaller successes of Superman while attemp...

Jackass has been a part of pop culture since the show first aired on MTV back in the pastoral years of the year 2000; 26 years later, the Jackass boys are a bit older but still up to, for the most part, their old tricks. While the group has shrunk (and grown) over the last two decades, the rambunctious stunts and pranks still remain, even if Jackass: Best and Last is effectively a glorified clipsh...

Sci-fi has taken many forms as a genre, and since it happens to be a genre that both Dr. Perlmutter and Chris have an affinity for, why not cover one of the true classics. While those who saw Forbidden Planet in theaters may not have realized that it was merely an amuse bouche for the more pop culture pliable Star Trek, the film is definitely one worth talking about and reappraising from a modern-...

Zombie films are a dime a dozen these days, for both good and for bad. For every Shaun of the Dead there's a hundred Walking Deads, everyone's favorite show to hate watch. With Train to Busan, however, there's no hate watching as it's one of the finest examples of how you can innovate the zombie genre even after all of the ground has been tread. Texas Tech's Dr. David D. Perlmutter and K-Drama ant...

At this point in his career, a Spielberg film should be an event worth heading to the local multiplex to check out; should being the key phrase. Couple that with a return to the subject matter of aliens that seems like an equation for cinematic success...right? The Projection Booth's Mike White joins the episode to talk all about Spielberg's latest extraterrestrial film entry and whether it holds...

While I may not be a Gen-Zer, I can most definitely get down with their brand of horror, especially if Backrooms is any indication of the quality and concept of their take on the genre. Contrast that with a "horror"-comedy franchise that's returned from a long justified and much needed absence in Scary Movie, and that makes for a hell of a double feature or at least two very apropo weekends at the...

We're running it back with some films we've already watched with a Robert Eggers film that has become a modern day classic: The VVitch. Starring Anya-Taylor Joy as Thomasin, she along with her family live in 1630s New England which may or may not be under the sway of a witch in the woods. Thomasin and her family are doomed to find out whether or not the witch is real or not. Dr. David. D. Perlmutt...

We take a break from Mike White May to talk about the latest entry into the forever franchise that has become Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu. Featuring Pedro Pascal, from time to time as the Mandalorian, and Grogu, the space western opera follows the further exploits of the two as they attempt to free the son of Jabba Hutt while working for the Rebels. Become a supporter of this podcast: htt...

Mike White May is all Sean Connery all month long, but now it must come to an end, and it comes to an end with a monk murder mystery with The Name of the Rose. Starring Connery as a thin facsimilie of Sherlock Holmes and Christian Bale as a young stand-in for Watson as they investigate an abbey in the north of Italy where strange murders have been taking place. Richard Hatem's Paranormal Bookshelf...

Mike White May continues with more Sean Connery, except this time it's fake news and he's the one selling it in Wrong is Right. Starring Connery as Patrick Hale, a globetrotting news muckraker who gets involved with all the US letter agencies in a game of intrigue and murder. It's less fun than it sounds which is a real shame given the Connery of it all. Become a supporter of this podcast: https:/...

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-kulturecast--2883470/support .

We take another break from Mike White May to travel back to Netherrealm, Outworld, and everywhere in between (looking at your Orderrealm) with the sequel to 2021's COVID classic Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II. With the first tournament in the books, the latest film shifts focus to Johnny Cage (played by Karl Urban) as he is thrown right into the mix of the latest struggle of wills between Raiden,...

We take a break from Mike White May to go to college, specifically Harvard Law circa 1970s with The Paper Chase. Starring future presidential look-a-like contest winner Timothy Bottoms, he plays a Midwestern first year law school student enrolled at Harvard Law who runs into one of the true titans of cinematic academia, Professor Kingsfield. Professor David Perlmutter and Mark Stachiw, Esq. join t...

Mike White May continues with more Sean Connery yet this time with an edgy, more facial-hair forward demeanor in yet another Sidney Lumet joint The Offence. Starring Connery as Sergeant Johnson, a cop in the UK who's had one bad day too many, and takes it out on a suspected child molester with catastrophic results. Professor Spencer Parsons joins to talk Connery, noir, and influences on '90s crime...

Mike White May continues with yet another Connery/Lumet joint, this time being an adaptation of the Lawrence Sanders book of the same name. Connery plays the titular Anderson, a burglar who is being inadvertantly surveilled by the a whole host of letter agencies, who decides to rob the building of latest squeeze right after he gets out of prison. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spr...

It's Mike White May here at the Kulturecast and we're talking Sean Connery all month long! We kick off the month with a look at one of the many pairings of Sidney Lumet and Connery with the 1965 film The Hill. Featuring an ensemble cast including Ozzie Davis, it focuses on a group of military prisoners being held in a North African "glass house" where men are broken just for fun.  Become a support...

We begin our mini-look at Taylor Sheridan's cinematic works with one of his more Western-facing screenplays  Hell or High Water . It's an interesting look at violence, poverty, and what one will do for their family in the face of both. Texas Tech's professor of media and communications Dr. David Perlmutter joins the show to talk all about West Texas, the cowboys and Indians of it all, so much more...

While it may not have won Best Picture or Best Actress at the most recent Academy Awards, Bugonia was not only one of the best films of the last year but also one of the most thought-provoking. Featuring Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons, the film is a character study as well as being a musing on the state of the world and the way humans have left it. Professor of Media and Communications Dr. David Per...

Sometimes even we don't know why we do the things we do, but this time around, it's because we have to do our due diligence as film critics and take a bullet for you, the listener. Instead of watching  Vice or  W , we decided to subject ourselves to to Melania , a film that totally wasn't a bribe from Amazon to the Trump family. Because, if it was, that would essentially be light propaganda right?...

Big unga bunga energy abound on this episode of the Kulturecast, Chris is joined by Dr. David Perlmutter and Richard Hatem of Richard Hatem's Paranormal Bookshelf to talk all about Otzi the Iceman and a story told in a dead language all about him: Iceman (2017). If you're not a fan of dialogue and cavemen, this is the film for you. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podca...

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Have you ever experienced deja vu? Have you ever experienced deja vu? On this episode of the Kulturecast, Chris is joined by Dr. David Perlmutter to talk about a Tony Scott film that doesn't make nearly as many cuts as one would think it would: Deja Vu. It's all about time travel, surveillance, and the convergence of the two. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the...

The Dyatlov Pass Incident is one of the most enduring mysteries of mountaineering and the theories about what happened are seemingly endless. On this episode of the Kulturecast, Chris is joined by physicist Dr. Katharine Mullen and Dr. David Perlmutter to talk all about An Unknown Compelling Force, the documentary all about the theories and possible explanation surrounding the incident. Become a s...

If you thought it was just going to be serious, introspective chats about films, worry not dear listener, French comedies are still a thing that exist! The Projection Booth's Mike White joins the show to talk all about The Visitors trilogy and the English-language remake Just Visiting. Somehow, you might be surprised what we suggest you check out from this four film episode... Become a supporter o...

To quote the immortal Bo Burnham "is it gonna end?" and I continue to wonder that myself; the last two months have been, yet again, another nightmare. But hey, let's get back to cinema with a look at The Life of Chuck, a film who's meaning and purpose seem unqiuely suited for this very special return episode, featuring Antenna Releasing's Ryan Verrill! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://w...