Films at First Sight

This week we find ourselves in the jungles of Columbia thanks to the action/adventure film Let's Get Harry as our journey into the filmography of Alan Smithee marches on. Will the star-studded cast be enough to convince us to join this ragtag band of wannabe mercenaries or will things fall apart before the action even gets going?

We have a brand new theme for the month and are kicking things off with a bang! Our dive into the filmography of the ever-notorious Alan Smithee starts at the very beginning with the Richard Widmark led western, Death of a Gunfighter. Will this tense and dusty standoff mark the beginning of a new era or will it serve as a warning to all who see the name Smithee etched across the screen?

We are wrapping up our month of power and control with Boots Riley's feature debut, Sorry to Bother You, a wildly imaginative comedy about telemarketing, labor rights, and finding one's place in the world. Will the maximalist satire woo us with its wicked sense of humor or will it all just fall on deaf horses' ears?

In this episode of Short Ends, we chat about Nancy Savoca's student film, "Bad Timing", a story of two adolescents with dreams of bigger and better lives, that learn some tough lessons while trying to make it on their own. Tune in to find out if Graham and Joe buy into their Hollywood aspirations or if it was all a bust from the start!

The sounds of power and control are still being broadcast to the masses as we dive into the world of exploitative dance marathons with Sydney Pollack's They Shoot Horses, Don't They?. Will Joe & Graham have enough stamina to make it to the final round or will they collapse under the weight of stiff competition that has nothing to lose?

Join Joe and Anya in the real back room where they talk about the grief & kink symposium that is J-P Valkeapää's Dogs Don't Wear Pants. Will the Finnish black comedy stand up on its own two feet in the corridors of power & control or will it all just be a kinky facade?

This week we are joined by director, David Dylan Thomas to discuss Maya Annik Bedward's new documentary Black Zombie, a formative look at how Haitian Vodou as well as the Haitian Revolution helped create one of the most iconic monsters in cinema history, the zombie. So, tune in as we discuss the documentary at large, the importance of understanding and recontextualizing the past, and we check in on David's work-in-progress feature film, White Meat.

Joe is joined by Steve and new guest to the show, Sarah Beck from the West Chester Film Festival, to kick off a series of four films intertwined in various themes of power & control. First up is Elio Petri's masterful blend of suspense and black comedy, Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion. Will the gang fall under the spell of Gian Maria Volonté's self-assured police inspector, or will the rampant corruption just hit too close to home?

Joe is joined by Steve to go on one last journey in our trek through post-apocalyptic cinema with La Jetée, a French experimental short film that tells the tale of a man sent back through time to help find a solution to the end of mankind as we know it, all through a singularly narrated series of still-frame images. Will the fellas survive the experimental exploration of time?

Joe is joined by Rachel and Tillie from the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network to discuss the explicit joy that is the slapstick comedy of the year, Lady Champagne. It's a night of big hair and bigger euphemisms with the latest adventures of Champagne Horowitz Jones Dickerson White (It's none of your f***ing business!). Will the silly onslaught be too much for the gang or will they live on see what other disasters await San Francisco's most fabulous exotic dancer?

It may not be the end of the world as we know it, but it is the end of our monthlong look at post-apocalyptic cinema. Wit from Another '80s Podcast joins us to chat about Ranald MacDougall's The World, the Flesh and the Devil. Will this late '50s sci-fi flick hit all the right notes or will the crew wish it were still trapped in a small mine in Pennsylvania?

Deke from Sidetrackd16 enters the post-apocalyptic fray as we discuss a film that is an audacious blend of Mad Max, Escape from New York, and Planet of the Apes. That's right! It's Sergio Martino's 2019: After the Fall of New York from 1983. So, grab a seat as we dive into the singular thing that is Italian Cinema, pay a small tribute to the legend that is George Eastman, and try to get out with our minds and bodies intact.

What's a film festival without friends and off-beat cinema? Find out as we recap this year's Chattanooga Film Festival with a gaggle of some of the most excellent folks that we know! Podcast pals Rachel (Bloody Good Horror and the More Deadly podcast), Allison (Who's There?), and Jody & Mando (Dads from the Crypt) join Joe to breakdown all of their highlights, surprising lowlights, "Red Eyes", and short films from the best damn genre festival out there.

The fellas are heading to another planet in a far-off galaxy as they continue to explore post-apocalyptic cinema. Luckily, they have proper representation as they are joined by Space Lawyer Adam while they discuss the Soviet dystopian sci-fi comedy Kin-dza-dza!. Will the gang make it back home and regale the world with far-out stories or will the entire experience make them wanna Pluke?

Levi from the Well-Adjusted Horror Podcast, joins us to kick off a new theme for the month as we dive into the speculative world of post-apocalyptic cinema. First up is the French/Canadian sci-fi romance/drama The Beast AKA La Bête from 2023. Will the fellas fall head over heels for Léa Seydoux's Gabrielle, or will they wish the twisted journey could be scrubbed from their DNA?

We are wrapping up our "Star Search" month with a woman responsible for one of the most intense stares in cinema history, Meiko Kaji. Thanks to Graham, we are talking Teruo Ishii's ballad of erotic violence, Blind Woman's Curse. Will the fellas survive this feline onslaught of revenge, or will this early piece of Japanese cinema miss its mark?

Our "Star Search" is still shining bright as we dive into Graham's star selection, Harry Dean Stanton. Unfortunately for him, Joe is at the reins and is taking them into the Deep South with Monte Hellman's Cockfighter AKA Born to Kill. Will their journey into the violent sporting world of cockfighting tear the show apart?

It's summertime and that must mean one thing, we are headed down South to visit that special "Summer Camp for Cinephiles" that sits along a bend of the Tennessee River, the Chattanooga Film Festival!! Joe and Rachel kick things off with a special look at Anthony Cousins's Frogman Returns. That's right, the green guy is back! And so is Dallas, Amy, the Children of Frogman, and some new unfortunate souls that are set to witness the horrors that lie in wait. Will the crew survive another journey to Loveland, OH or will they wish they turned around when they stopped for gas at Frog-ee's?

Caitlin from the Plug It Up! podcast joins us to chat about Julianne Moore and Todd Haynes' historical melodrama, Far from Heaven. Will the crew be swept away by the lush technicolor musings on life in America circa the 1950's or will the dive into the interstitial space of gender, race, class, and sexuality be too much?

Jody and Mando from the Dads from the Crypt podcast join Joe to talk about Sam Fox's funny and colorful short film, "The Blue Diamond". Throw on your best ski goggles and see if this farcical funeral will indoctrinate the fellas or will the slopes be a bit too slippery for their taste?