Episodes

  • 743: Doritos and Tequila

    743: Doritos and Tequila
    Nov 22 2024
    In honor of Thanksgiving, we review the 1987 classic “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” featuring Steve Martin and John Candy as trapped-together travelers just trying to get home, if there’s even a home to get back to. Jason comes to the realization that this is the Odyssey in the Midwest. Ben Stein has a special sign just to troll pained travelers. And that’s what Thanksgiving is all about, Charlie Brown.

    Jason Snell with Shelly Brisbin, Brian Hamilton, Brian Warren and Andy Ihnatko.
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    1 hr and 11 mins
  • 742: Hi, Anxiety

    742: Hi, Anxiety
    Nov 15 2024
    Several panelists consider Pixar’s “Inside Out” one of their favorite films. Now it’s time to process “Inside Out 2.” Some struggle with the sequel more than others. But at least Bing Bong makes a tiny cameo.

    Lex Friedman with Brian Hamilton, David J. Loehr and Kelly Guimont.
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    1 hr and 16 mins
  • 741: Evil Giant Cicadas

    741: Evil Giant Cicadas
    Nov 8 2024
    Vin Diesel, Radha Mitchell, Keith David, and a lack of bozos… It can only be 2000’s “Pitch Black,” one of the finer entries in the always-popular “Alien” homage movie genre. We enthuse about elevated filmmaking, great decisions, and low-budget effects.

    Antony Johnston with Erika Ensign, Tony Sindelar and Todd Vaziri.
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    1 hr and 26 mins
  • 740: The Coffin Test

    740: The Coffin Test
    Oct 28 2024
    Just in time for Halloween week, Old Spooky Club returns for 1985’s “Fright Night.” It’s an entirely ’80s comedy-horror movie with zero cynicism and only a single layer of meta. Chris Sarandon is the perfect vampire, even when he’s villanously chowin’ down on a topless lady as he exchanges intense stares with the neighbor kid. If you’ve never experienced it, you don’t know what you’re missing.

    Jason Snell with Steve Lutz, Annette Wierstra, Erika Ensign and Kelly Guimont.
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    1 hr and 31 mins
  • 739: Above the Zeppo Level

    739: Above the Zeppo Level
    Oct 25 2024
    Do you like gladiator movies, Joey? It’s 1980’s “Airplane!”—the comedy version of “Zero Hour!”—with serious actors playing ridiculous parts more or less straight. How does the comedy hold up? What’s unique about the approach? Why was it such a huge hit? We put the ZAZ boys under the microscope. Surely we’ll all have a good time! (Don’t call us Shirley.)

    Jason Snell with Shelly Brisbin, Philip Michaels, Dr. Drang and Steve Lutz.
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    1 hr and 7 mins
  • 738: Condor to the Neck

    738: Condor to the Neck
    Oct 18 2024
    Don’t order the fish! Old Movie Club celebrates Aviatober with 1939’s “Only Angels Have Wings” and 1957’s “Zero Hour!” One bears a striking resemblance to forgettable 1980s TV series “Tales of the Gold Monkey,” and the other is undeniably the inspiration for the more notable 1980 movie “Airplane!” (That’s foreshadowing.)

    Jason Snell with Shelly Brisbin, Philip Michaels, Monty Ashley, David J. Loehr and Micheline Maynard.
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    1 hr and 35 mins
  • 737: The Bolthole of My Own Self-Referentiality

    737: The Bolthole of My Own Self-Referentiality
    Oct 11 2024
    It was the late ’80s and comic writer Grant Morrison was fast becoming Grant Morrison. Come back with us to look at his run on Animal Man, issues 1-26, in which a has-been/never-was superhero becomes an outspoken animal rights activist, witnesses the near-undoing of the Crisis on Infinite Earths, and meets his own maker—who looks strangely like Grant Morrison. Before Deadpool and She-Hulk broke the fourth wall, this was Peak Meta.

    Chip Sudderth with Lisa Schmeiser and Tony Sindelar.
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    1 hr and 26 mins
  • 736: I Have Planets for That

    736: I Have Planets for That
    Oct 4 2024
    Dan Moren’s “The Armageddon Protocol” is now on sale. He joins Jason to discuss how to wrap up a long-running series (while leaving doors open for future adventures), juggling an increasingly complex home life with a two-book contract, the broader publishing options available to fiction writers, and (of course) sandwiches.

    Jason Snell with Dan Moren.
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    1 hr and 7 mins