Melissa Kaercher

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Episode 31: A Lovely Forge to Hammer Upon

Xanadu Sq LogoThis week, we share our love of REMAKES! Okay, we only love good remakes, but there are plenty of good remakes to talk about, right? We certainly thought so!

We also thought this week’s wine selection was excellent: Castello di Volpaia Indue, which was given to us by one of our fine Brians, Mr. Donohue. We learned that “Indue” is Italian for “Two Together”, which made it extra special. Brian can select our beverages any day! Thank you!

Show notes and links behind the cut!

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This Week’s Underappreciated Movies

Every Monday, each of us will suggest a film that we feel too few people have seen.

a-band-called-death

Melissa’s Pick of the Week: A Band Called Death

I’m a sucker for a good documentary, and this is a good one that just recently hit the streaming services. Back in 1973, a trio of young black men from Detroit formed a proto-punk band called Death. Influenced by hard rockers like The Who and Alice Cooper, they worked hard to gain virtuosity with their instruments and break new ground in music, but were stymied by the music industry, racism, and one brother’s unwillingness to compromise his vision. This film examines the brief life of the band and the fascinating 40 years that followed.

Escape-to-Witch-Mountain

Windy’s Pick of the Week: Escape to Witch Mountain (1975)

Back in the heyday of making spooky science fiction movies for family entertainment (see also The Watcher in the Woods), this 1975 charmer is mysterious, tense, and exciting – whether you’re under 10 years old or over 40. Starring screen legends Eddie Albert and Ray Milland, with a very weaselly Donald Pleasance oozing all over the place, this film is anchored by surprisingly strong performances by the two child stars, as well as a very haunting film score. One of my favorite movies from childhood that holds up fantastically.

Episode 30: I Expect Jazz Hands

Xanadu Sq LogoThis week, we celebrate our 30th episode with our second Off Topic extravaganza! If you missed our first Off Topic episode, here’s what’s going on: while we edit our regular episodes, many things get clipped out. Usually, the stuff that winds up on the cutting room floor is just long silences or drunken ramblings, but sometimes those edits are worth saving for another time.

THE TIME IS NOW.

The audio clips in this episode were recorded between April and August of 2014. The audio quality, subject matter, and level of sobriety will vary widely. You will also randomly hear the voices of:

Romeo Azar
Courtney Azar
Molly Glover
Kelvin Hatle
Christopher Jones
Jennifer Menken
Meghan Murphy
Fes Works
Windy’s Mom

Please enjoy the randomness of our second Off Topic episode! Show notes behind the cut.

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This Week’s Underappreciated Movies

Every Monday, each of us will suggest a film that we feel too few people have seen.

footloose

Windy’s Pick of the Week: Footloose (2011)

I am – naturally, OBVIOUSLY – a huge fan of the original film.  But this remake has several things working in its favor.  First, director Craig Brewer (Hustle and Flow, Black Snake Moan).  Second, a Ren who can actually dance – not much of an actor, but his dancing is top notch and he’s pretty likeable.  Third, and best of all for my personal prejudices – NO LORI SINGER.  Instead, you get the charismatic and talented Julianne Hough.  Also, Dennis Quaid is an excellent Reverend 2.0 and the tweaks they make to the storyline are interesting and believable.  I’m happy that now Footloose can be a double-feature in my house!

BlackOut

Melissa’s Pick of the Week: Black Out

This Dutch crime film is a hoot. It starts when a retired criminal wakes up next to a dead body on the day before his wedding day. He has no idea how he got there or what happened, but he has to plunge back into the world of crime to find out before his bride-to-be is put in danger. For as dark as that sounds, the film is a lovely mix of crime film and black comedy. It’s a little derivative of Tarantino’s work, but there are some truly creative moments here and there. Bonus points for how the film passes the Bechdel Test.

Episode 29: Kilt Weasels and Other Charismatic Macrofauna

, with special guest:
Windy's chest is also a creature.

Windy’s chest is also a creature.

Good tidings, dear listeners! This week, we are joined by Jennifer Menken of the Bell Museum of Natural History for an episode all about movie critters! That’s right, we’re bringing SCIENCE to creature features!

SCIENCE also brought us the tasty Protocolo 2011 Tempranillo that we drank while recording this episode. Please feel free to sip along!

Now, before we go to the show notes, we have a couple of corrections for this episode:

  • Melissa was mistaken in how she pronounced H. R. Giger. It’s actually “GEE-ger,” as heard in videos where the man pronounces his own name. Melissa knows this, but she had some wine and old habits kicked in.
  • Melissa is also fully aware in her current sobriety that Peter Capaldi’s kilt was full of mongoose, not weasel. While mongeese look like weasels, they are in suborder Feliforma (like cats and hyenas), not Caniformia (like dogs and weasels). We deeply apologize to any weasels to whom we gave false hopes about inhabiting Peter Capaldi’s kilt.

Show notes and links behind the cut!

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