Episodes
Sunday Feb 20, 2022
Sordid Cinema Podcast #611: Is Nobody the Next John Wick?
Sunday Feb 20, 2022
Sunday Feb 20, 2022
Nobody Movie Review
Nobody doesn’t break new ground for the action genre, but director Ilya Naishuller’s fight sequences and stunt choreography are so good— and Bob Odenkirk’s performance is so great— it’s essential viewing for any fan of action cinema. This week on the Sordid Cinema Podcast we review the bloody, crowd-pleasing, brutal, and never dull film, and debate if we would want to see a sequel or not. All this and more!
Links:
LinkTree
Amazon
Spotify
iTunes
Podbean
YouTube
Listen Note
iHeartRadio
Pandora
Twitter
Facebook
Saturday Jan 08, 2022
Sordid Cinema Podcast #608: With Malignant, A New Horror Icon is Born!
Saturday Jan 08, 2022
Saturday Jan 08, 2022
James Wan’s impact on contemporary horror is undeniable. The Malaysian-born Australian filmmaker is not only the co-creator of the Saw and Insidious franchises but he’s also the creator of The Conjuring Universe, the second highest-grossing horror franchise of all time.
Marking his return to horror after a detour into family-friendly blockbuster filmmaking, James Wan’s Malignant once again proves that the producer/director still knows a thing or two about making good horror films. Malignant is a fine patchwork quilt of ’70s and ‘80s horror films and best described as a modern-day Sci-fi, supernatural Giallo with an outlandish plot that feels lifted from the best and worst Dario Argento films.
This week on the Sordid Cinema Podcast, we’ll tell you why Malignant is one of our ten favourite horror films of 2021 and why we had such a fun time watching it!
Tuesday Dec 07, 2021
Tuesday Dec 07, 2021
One False Move Spoiler Review
This week on the Sordid Cinema Podcast, we explain why we agree with Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel that Carl Franklin’s low-budget crime pic One False Move, is one of the best films of 1992. Scripted by Thom Epperson and Billy Bob Thornton, the neo-noir is hard-hitting, skillfully performed, well shot, and perfectly paced. And while the film might not be a masterpiece, it sure is better than your average thriller and also features a breakthrough performance by the late, great, Bill Paxton. Sadly, the film was neglected and forgotten over the years, but we’re here to hopefully change that.
Links:
LinkTree
Amazon
Spotify
iTunes
Podbean
YouTube
Listen Note
iHeartRadio
Pandora
Twitter
Facebook
Tuesday Nov 09, 2021
Sordid Cinema Podcast #596: A Detailed Analysis of Squid Game
Tuesday Nov 09, 2021
Tuesday Nov 09, 2021
Squid Game Podcast Review
You might think we’re late with our review of Squid Game, but we swear, it was all by design. Now that the hype has whittled down, we decided to sit back and discuss the Netflix phenomenon and why we think Squid Game— despite its many flaws— is one of the best shows of 2021.
Squid Game has all the characteristics we love about Korean dramas including unexpected plot twists, over-the-top characters, and a story that grapples with economic anxieties and class struggles. It’s part horror and part dark comedy and boasts a catchy soundtrack and impeccable set design featuring candy-colored, high-concept dystopian sets that reflect how brutal South Korean society is toward the people at the bottom.
If you’re familiar with manga like Liar Game, Gambling Apocalypse: Kaiji, and Battle Royale, you know what to expect. Squid Game is all that and more!
Links:
LinkTree
Amazon
Spotify
iTunes
Podbean
YouTube
Listen Note
iHeartRadio
Pandora
Twitter
Facebook
Tuesday Oct 19, 2021
Sordid Cinema Podcast Rewind: Why Mulholland Drive is a Masterpiece
Tuesday Oct 19, 2021
Tuesday Oct 19, 2021
David Lynch Special Part 1: Mulholland Drive Review
In what turned out to be one of the most epic conversations in our podcast’s history, Ricky, Simon, and Edgar Chaput were joined by David Lynch superfan and friend of the show Kate Rennebohm for a two-part dissection of David Lynch’s films: 2001’s Mulholland Drive and 2006’s Inland Empire. Discussed: rabbits, the Lincoln assassination, the significance of doorknobs, yelling at Laura Dern, and many, many more odd tangents. Here is the first half of the special. Enjoy!
Listen on LinkTree | Amazon | Spotify | iTunes | Podbean | YouTube | Listen Note | iHeartRadio | Pandora
Follow Sordid Cinema on Twitter
Follow Sordid Cinema on Facebook
Thursday Sep 09, 2021
Sordid Cinema Podcast #594: Don’t Snooze On The Big Sleep
Thursday Sep 09, 2021
Thursday Sep 09, 2021
The Big Sleep (1946) Podcast Review
Sex, drugs, gambling, pornography, murder — not the topics one normally thinks of when picturing a Humphrey Bogart movie, but they’re just the tip of the iceberg of dirty dealings in Howard Hawks’ adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep. Sure, detective Philip Marlowe finds plenty of down time to chat up with every coquette and femme fatale that crosses his path, but that’s only in between uncovering blackmail rackets, staring down the barrels of multiple guns, getting worked over by burly goons, and trading bullets with slimy assassins.
This week, the Sordid Cinema Podcast sinks into the seedy underworld and tries to understand exactly what the hell is going on with all the duplicity and backstabbing. Who is after what now, and why? Or maybe we’ll just give up and drink in the juicy banter between Bogey and Bacall. Regardless, there’s plenty to appreciate in The Big Sleep, including some artful dodging of Hays code-era restrictions. But does this Howard Hawks movie pass the Howard Hawks test? For all this and more, have a listen!
Listen on LinkTree | Amazon | Spotify | iTunes | Podbean | YouTube | Listen Note | iHeartRadio | Pandora
Follow Sordid Cinema on Twitter
Follow Sordid Cinema on Facebook
Thursday Jul 01, 2021
Sordid Cinema Podcast #584: Pull the Wool From Your Eyes to See The Parallax View
Thursday Jul 01, 2021
Thursday Jul 01, 2021
Powerful organizations shrouded in secrecy, pulling strings from the shadows, snuffing out all who would dare expose the truth to an unsuspecting populace… It’s hard not to love conspiracy thrillers, and 1970s movie theaters were chock full of them. This week, the Sordid Cinema crew is taking a look at one of the best, the second in director Alan Pakula’s ‘Paranoia’ trilogy, The Parallax View. Clearly taking inspiration from real-life political assassinations, the story features an intrepid reporter investigating a shadowy corporation that appears to be recruiting and training deadly operatives to ‘remove’ political obstacles. But don’t worry about getting bogged down in plot details — there are too many car chases, bar fights, bomb threats, and boat explosions to distract from what’s really happening.
Join Rick, Simon, and Patrick as they explain just what makes The Parallax View such a solid thriller, including the masterful cinematography, excellent staging, and overall likability of star Warren Beatty (even if someone thinks he should have been replaced). But can you trust a film that doesn’t answer all the questions? We may never know exactly what’s goin on, but there’s a lot of fun in trying to figure it out. For all this and more, have a listen!
Listen on LinkTree | Amazon | Spotify | iTunes | Podbean | YouTube | Listen Note | iHeartRadio | Pandora
Follow Sordid Cinema on Twitter
Saturday May 22, 2021
Saturday May 22, 2021
Hard Boiled Review
This week on Sordid Cinema, we travel back to 1992, and for the first time ever on the podcast, we sit down to review a John Woo film. And not just any John Woo film, but arguably one of the single greatest action movies of all time. It’s one of Woo’s masterpieces and along with A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Bullet in the Head, it helped revolutionize Hong Kong action cinema! That’s right folks, we finally get around to discussing the effortlessly cool Hard Boiled.
It’s safe to say, Hard Boiled is a masterpiece of action filmmaking and the ultimate expression of everything Woo became famous for. It’s perhaps the granddaddy of a genre once known as Heroic Bloodshed (a term invented by Rick Baker) and it boasts one of the greatest set-pieces ever put to celluloid— a legendary explosion of gunfire and pyrotechnics that takes up the film’s final hour.
In this episode, we break down all three major action set-pieces, from the opening tea house sequence which features two iconic shots of Chow Yun Fat to the warehouse raid where Johnny Wong seizes control of the Triad gangs, and to the climactic siege on a hospital involving hundreds of extras including a dozen or so newborns trying to escape while the building around them goes up in flames.
Expect to hear us gush over Woo’s direction, the movie’s famous unbroken three-minute tracking shot, Michael Gibbs soundtrack, and of course, the stellar performances from Tony Leung, Chow Yun Fat, and Philip Kwok as the eyepatch-wearing maniac Mad Dog, who’s acting and stunt work, often is overshadowed by his co-stars.
Sit back, relax and get ready for a wild ride. This might be the most action-packed episode of the Sordid Cinema Podcast yet!
Listen on LinkTree | Amazon | Spotify | iTunes | Podbean | YouTube | Listen Note | iHeartRadio | Pandora
Follow Sordid Cinema on Twitter
Sunday May 16, 2021
Sunday May 16, 2021
Point Blank (1967) Review
Way back on episode 126 of the Sordid Cinema Podcast, we reviewed John Boorman’s gritty, raw crime drama Point Blank, featuring superb performances by Lee Marvin and Angie Dickinson.
The 1967 thriller combines elements of film noir with stylistic touches of the European nouvelle vague and features a fractured timeline (similar to the novel’s non-linear structure), disconcerting narrative rhythms, and a carefully calculated use of film space.
Discussing the film is Ricky D, Simon Howell and former co-host, Ali McKinnon.
Saturday May 15, 2021
Sordid Cinema Podcast #579: Black Coal, Thin Ice
Saturday May 15, 2021
Saturday May 15, 2021
Black Coal, Thin Ice Review
For our first non-English feature in a minute, we take a trip to Heilongjiang Province to dissect Black Coal, Thin Ice, Diao Yinan’s grim 2014 neo-noir. (Its successor, the more widely-seen The Wild Goose Lake, may, or may not be the subject of a future Sordid episode.) We get a little lost in the film’s dense and troubling plot, neon cityscapes, and many acts of cruelty and malice. But hey, at least there are fireworks!
Listen on LinkTree | Amazon | Spotify | iTunes | Podbean | YouTube | Listen Note | iHeartRadio | Pandora
Follow Sordid Cinema on Twitter