The Kulturecast

Chris and Sean are joined once again by Mike White of the Projection Booth podcast as they continue June-Jitsu with a look at the Steven Seagal cooking classic Under Siege. They also speak with Damian Chapa who played Tackman about working with Seagal and the film industry. The film features the stoic Aikido master as he justs wants to live out his life as a retired Navy SEAL/ship's cook only to h...

Chris and Sean are joined by wrestling critic Marc Hall, Zach Nowack, and Wovoka as they test their June-Jitsu might with the '90s video game classic Mortal Kombat. The film focuses on Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, and Sonya Blade as they are tasked with saving Earth from Shang Tsung through the tournament known as Mortal Kombat. It's the ultimate video game movie with one of the most bitching soundtrack...

Chris and Sean are joined by Mike White of the Projection Booth podcast as they continue June-Jitsu with a look at Ip-Man, the true story of Bruce Lee's Wing Chun master Yip Man. The film stars Donnie Yen as the titular character as he attempts to feed his family and survive in war-torn China. It's a character drama with martial arts thrown in for good measure along with a charismatic performance...

Chris is joined by author Russ Linton to kick off June-Jitsu with a look at legend Bruce Lee's unfinished final film Game of Death. The film follows Lee, for small portions of the film, as Billy Lo who must fight off the mob's increasing attacks on him. The film was unfinished due to Lee's untimely demise which resulted in the film being finished without him in gloriously bad fashion. As always, y...

Chris and Sean are joined by film critics Ash Suri and John Lein to take a break between the Werner Herzog retrospective and June-Jitsu to talk the newest X-Men film X-Men Apocalypse. The film picks up where Days of Future Past ended with the introduction of Apocalypse, played by Oscar Isaacs, as a genocidal mutant bent on destroying the human race. The X-Men must defeat the Ivan Ooze-looking vill...

Chris is joined by the host of the Projection Booth podcast Mike White to close out the Werner Herzog retrospective with an absolute classic Aguirre: The Wrath of God. The film is the first collaboration between Klaus Kinski and Werner Herzog, one of five. It follows Kinski as Lope de Aguirre as he schemes to take over Pizarro's legendary expedition to find the legendary city of El Dorado but inst...

Chris and Sean near the end of the Werner Herzog retrospective with another feature length film from the director Stroszek. The film follows the exploits of B. Stroszek as he travels with a prostitute and his elderly neighbor from Berlin to the Wisconsin. It's a dour but humorous look at the American dream and being an immigrant as only Herzog can do. As always, you can follow Chris Stachiw on Twi...

Chris and Sean are joined by film critic and former co-host of the Kulturecast John Lein as they near the end of their Werner Herzog retrospective with a look at Herzog's acclaimed documentary Grizzly Man. The film follows the life and death of grizzly bear activist Timothy Treadwell through interviews with those who knew him and his own footage of his time in Alaska among the bears. As always, yo...

Chris and Sean take a break from their Werner Herzog retrospective to talk Captain America: Civil War with director Matt Campagna and film critics Ben Hanig and Ash Suri. The film focuses on the conflict between Captain America and Iron Man as they fight due to ideological differences stemming from political inference. It's the beginning Marvel's Phase 3 of the cinematic universe and also the bigg...

Chris and Sean are joined by film critic Oscar Moreno as they continue their Werner Herzog retrospective with a look at another Herzog/Kinski collaboration: Fitzcarraldo. The film stars Kinski as the eponymous Fitzcarraldo as he attempts to build an opera house in the middle of the Amazon jungle. To do so, he gets the help of native people to drag a steamship over a mountain, which Herzog actually...

Chris and Sean continue their Werner Herzog retrospective with a look at Herzog's documentary on capital punishment: Into the Abyss. The film focuses on two death row inmates, Michael Perry and Jason Burkett, as one awaits execution along with speaking with victim's families and those surrounding them. It's an interesting, hands-off look at capital punishment in America and how the system affects...

Chris and Sean kick off May and their Werner Herzog retrospective with a look at his final collaboration with master actor Klaus Kinski, Cobra Verde. The film stars Kinski as the eponymous Cobra Verde as he is tasked with revitalizing the slave trade between Brazil and Ghana. It's a fantastically Herzogian look at the human soul and the downfall of man that is slavery. As always, you can follow Ch...

Chris and Sean are joined by wrestling critic Marc Hall to talk the final film of Suplexing the Silver Screen month: No Holds Barred. The film follows Hulk Hogan as he plays a fictional version of himself Rip Thomas who is forced to take on a force of nature known as Zeus in a No Holds Barred match. It's the quintessential wrestling film and features cameos from a number of wrestlers from the late...

Chris is sans Sean but is joined by Zach Nowack and critic Ash Suri to talk one of the last two films of Suplexing the Silver Screen month: The Tooth Fairy. The film follows Dwayne ‘The Rock' Johnson as a minor-league hockey player who kills children's dreams of the tooth fairy only to be punished to serve as one for a week. It's as formulaic as it gets but hey, the Rock is funny right? As always,...

Chris and Sean return from a very long hiatus to kick off Suplexing the Silver Screen month with the acting powerhouse that is Hulk Hogan in Mr. Nanny. The film follows Hogan as bodyguard Shaun Armstrong who is tasked with protecting two homicidal children who want to murder him all the while protecting them from a chrome-domed psychopath. It's as nuts as it sounds and it features a very young Mad...

Chris and Sean wrap up Mockumentary March with a visit from frequent guest Quinn Fleming to talk Sacha Baron Cohen's gay Austrian fashionista in the spiritual sequel to Borat, Bruno. The film follows the eponymous character as he attempts to regain his fame in America after falling from grace. It's a offensive look at the gay culture of America, and how we approach it. As always, you can follow Ch...

Chris and Sean take a break from Mockumentary March to check out the massively divisive start to the DC Cinematic Universe: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The film follows Ben Affleck as the Caped Crusader as he takes on Superman due to the fallout of Man of Steel. Wonder Woman, Lex Luthor, Doomsday, and a bunch of other characters come along for the ride in the film that has critics and fans...

Chris and Sean near the end of Mockumentary March with a look at Joaquin Phoenix and his break from acting to pursue a career in rapping in a review of I'm Still Here. The film focuses on Phoenix's retirement in 2008 from acting to pursue a career in hip-hop. It's an interesting look at how celebrity effects actors and the relationship between fame and the media. As always, you can follow Chris St...

Chris and Sean continue Mockumentary March with a look at the fictional assassination of George W. Bush in Death of a President. The film follows the lead-up to, the assassination, and the fallout of what would happen if George W. Bush were to be assassinated in 2007. It's an interesting look at the political ramifications of an assassination and also echoes current events in a chilling way. As al...

Chris and Sean continue Mockumentary March with a look at a mockumentary film-within-a-film-within-a-film featuring Werner Herzog: Incident at Loch Ness. The film follows Werner Herzog as he is being filmed for Herzog in Wonderland all the while preparing to film his film Enigma at Loch Ness along with Zak Penn. It's written and directed by Zak Penn who also spoke with us about the film, working w...

Chris and Sean continue Mockumentary March with a look at the fictional band Spinal Tap in their mockumentary: This is Spinal Tap. The film follows the eponymous band on a tour that would change the band forever.  It stars Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer as the three clueless members of the band as they perform ridiculous songs and dial it up to 11. As always, you can follow C...

Chris and Sean continue Mockumentary March with a look at what might have happened if the Confederacy had won the American Civil War with C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America. The film is presented as a British documentary played on the Confederate network television complete with commercials from the alternate history. It's an at times humorous, at times upsetting look at American history an...

Chris and Sean begin Mockumentary March with a look at one of the progenitors of the Bigfoot phenomenon: The Legend of Boggy Creek. The film follows the townsfolk of Fouke, Arkansas as they deal with the possibility that a monster may live in the swamps around their small town. It's done in a mockumentary style and influenced films such as The Blair Witch Project. Check out the list of Bigfoot sig...

Chris and Sean end Oscar Month with a film that was criminally overlooked by the Academy: Creed. Directed by Ryan Coogler, the film follows Michael B. Jordan as the son of Apollo Creed who goes to his father's friend Rocky Balboa, played by Sylvester Stallone, to train as a boxer. It's a fantastic film whose sole nomination is for Stallone's fantastic return as Rocky yet deserved much more nominat...

Chris and Sean continue Oscar Month with our sixth Best Picture nominee: Mad Max: Fury Road. Directed by George Miller, the film follows Tom Hardy as the title character as he is thrust into the middle of a war between Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) and Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne). It's an over the top car chase that begins in the first reel and doesn't let up until the finale of the film...