The Kulturecast

With Stanley Kubrick Month in the rearview mirror, it's time to talk horny summer campers, sadistic slashers, and a ton of nudity with Jess Byard June. To kick off the aforementioned month, we'll be taking a look at one of the few summer camp slasher flicks that were hard to find in its uncut form until recently The Burning. The film features a veritable cavalcade of then up, and coming talent who...

The Kulturecast wraps up Stanley Kubrick Month with a film that many have derided as the auteur's most indulgent and meandering: Barry Lyndon. The film follows the roguish titular character, played sleepily by Ryan O'Neal, as he wanders through 18th century England getting involved in a series of adventures and misadventures. It's not regarded as one of Kubrick's finest films but it is widely appr...

The Kulturecast continues Stanley Kubrick Month with a look at not only his last film but also his most controversial film: Eyes Wide Shut. The film stars real-life couple at the time Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman as an on-screen couple whose relationship is tested when Cruise enters the bizarre underworld of a sex cult. Derided by many at the time as Kubrick's weakest film, Eyes Wide Shut has aged...

The Kulturecast kicks off Stanley Kubrick Month with a look at the famed auteur's freshman film The Killing. The film stars Sterling Hayden and a veritable cast of characters that are caught up in Hayden's plot to rip off a horse racing track for millions of dollars. While the attempt goes sideways, the film is one of Kubrick's finest and one that still stands up as a prime example of the director...

The Kulturecast takes a slight break from Stanley Kubrick Month to take a look at the upcoming Scary Stories: A Documentary. The film, directed by Cody Meirick, focuses on the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series of children's books from the '80s and '90s that caused massive waves in and out of schools. The documentary features interviews with Alvin Schwartz's family, famed horror writers RL S...

It's finally here! The most anticipated film of 2019 and the sequel to 2018's Avengers: Infinity War along with being the final film in a 10+ year storyline, Avengers: Endgame. The film picks back up only weeks after the events of Infinity War with the remaining Avengers attempting to find a way to undo the Snap heard round the Universe. It's the culmination of 22 films worth of story and characte...

Long live Mike White March! As opposed to ending the month with a bang, it ends with a whimper, that whimper being Bruce Beresford's Money Movers. The film is a mediocre take on a crime/heist drama that ends up dragging more than being an interesting entry into the genre. It does feature Bryan Brown of FX fame, however, which is always a plus. The Projection Booth's Mike White joins Chris for one...

As we near the end of Mike White March, we come upon the curious case of Mad Dog Morgan, a film that benefits having prior knowledge about the insane behind the scenes machinations due to the powerhouse of acting that was Dennis Hopper. Starring the Hopper mentioned above, the film follows the exploits of the infamous bushranger and all around ne'er-do-well Dan "Mad Dog" Morgan as he caused troubl...

It's finally here, the long-awaited sophomore film from Academy Award-winning writer/director of Get Out Jordan Peele: Us. While touching on similar topics to Get Out including racial tension, socio-economic divide, and class warfare, the film follows a family who is plagued while on vacation by a group of doppelgangers who hold a sinister secret. With standout performances from Lupita Nyong'o and...

Continuing Mike White March, we come to The Man from Hong Kong, a unique kung-fu film that lacks a charismatic lead but has all the trappings of a truly standout Ozploitation film. Directed by Ozploitation legend Brian Trenchard-Smith, the film stars Jimmy Wang Yu as the previously mentioned stale lead who is surrounded by some of Australia's finest exploitation actors including one-time James Bon...

We're taking a quick break from Mike White March to catch up with the final Marvel Cinematic Universe film before the hotly anticipated Avengers: Endgame, that film being Captain Marvel. Centering around the eponymous character and her struggle to reclaim her place in the world all the while protecting Earth from the warring factions of the Kree and Skrull, it's an exciting diversion backward into...

It's that time of the year again where we turn over the reigns of programming to The Projection Booth's Mike White for the second annual Mike White March. This year's films are all Ozploitation, focusing on the best exploitation films Australia has to offer, and this month is kicked off with Stone. A biker film that was a precursor to the more popular stateside Mad Max, the film follows the eponym...

Thanks to our latest Patreon patron, we were tasked with taking a look at one of the most baffling films of the early '00s, Tiptoes. Not only does the film star a veritable whos who of know famous and award-winning actors the likes of Matthew McConaughey, Gary Oldman, Peter Dinklage, and Patricia Arquette, but it also attempts to tackle a serious topic: dwarfism. McConaughey stars as Steve, a norm...

It's finally here! The yearly Kulturecast wrap-up where we talk our favorite films, least favorite, and everything in between for the year in film that was 2018. With superlatives like "the Super Mario Bros. Tribute Award" and the "Jordan Peele Breakout Award," this year's wrap-up has a little something for everyone. Along with in-theater releases, streaming films and movies are given their catego...

Drunken Master II or The Legend of the Drunken Master, as it was released stateside, is one of Jackie Chan's finest films and an example of what happens when kung-fu, comedy, and a well-written story are combined into something truly magical. The film follows Jackie as Wong Fei-hung who must stop a group of foreigners who are hell-bent on stealing precious antiques from the Chinese countryside. Th...

Armour of God is the first film in Jackie Chan's Armour of God trilogy, despite what the hacks over Miramax would have you believe in their release of the film. The film follows the exploits of Jackie as well, Jackie a.k.a. Asian Hawk, as he must help his former bandmate Alan procure the pieces of the Armour of God for a cult that has kidnapped his girlfriend. It's a mash-up between James Bond and...

Police Story is the first film in the acclaimed Police Story franchise that saw Jackie Chan not only as the lead in front of the camera but also behind the camera as well. Jackie stars as a Hong Kong cop tasked with taking down a corrupt crime boss and clearing his name after being framed for murder. It's not only one of Jackie's best films but also features one of the best opening scenes in all o...

Dragons Forever is the final film starring the illustrious "Three Brothers," the trio of Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao. The film follows Jackie Chan as a Hong Kong lawyer who is hired by a sleazy chemical company to try and discredit a lawsuit brought against them by a fishery for polluting the water. Jackie must figure out what the company is actually up to with the help of his two frien...

Suspiria (2018) is the hotly anticipated remake of the Dario Argento Giallo classic, and it takes the story and tone of the original film and does something wholly unique and innovative with it. Operating within the loosely defined confines of the original plot, the film follows Susie Bannion played by Dakota Johnson as she becomes the newest member of the Markos School of Dance only to find herse...

The WNUF Halloween Special is not only the final found footage film of Horrortober but also a film that transcends time and reality it would seem to showcase a seemingly lost Halloween night broadcast from local channel WNUF. Directed and written by Chris LaMartina, it's a love letter not only to anyone who watched TV in the '80s but also to horror fans looking for something truly unique. Chris is...

Ghostwatch takes the found footage genre and not only flips it on its head completely but also creates one of the most unique and shocking television experiences of the last thirty years. Written by Stephen Volk and directed by Lesley Manning, the TV film features an ensemble cast of well-known BBC news personalities who look to determine if a house in rural London is truly haunted or if it's just...

Halloween (2018) returns the franchise to its roots with the first true sequel to the original film that looks to rewrite the worst parts of the franchise while creating a new canonical storyline. Focusing on the struggle between a wisened Laurie Strode and a grizzled Michael Myers, Halloween (2018) tries to have its cake and eat it too by offering the original characters a worthy ending while att...

The Taking of Deborah Logan is another entry into the found footage genre that falls into every trap that the subgenre has to offer including being outright boring while also attempting to shock the audience. Written and directed by Adam Robitel, the film presents some interesting ideas about possession and disease but it ultimately falls short of being both a successful horror film or a worthy en...

The Conspiracy is the directorial debut from writer/director Christopher MacBride and it sets itself apart from the found-footage/reality horror subgenre by focusing on real-world events along with crafting a believable narrative. It's a unique twist on the found-footage subgenre that works outside of the normal confines of the typical horror film to craft something wholly original, convincing, an...

Venom is the first film in Sony's burgeoning Spider-man Villian Connected Universe and seemingly a direct sequel in tone and style to the Raimi Spider-Man films of the early '00s. The film stars Tom Hardy as the titular man fused with symbiote who must stop an evil Mark Zuckerberg stand-in from dominating the world by bringing down more of the goopy symbiotes. Chris and Eric are joined by Canadian...