Cinema Oblivia

After Brian Bosworth's NFL much ballyhooed NFL career went bust, The Boz turned to acting with this over-the-top, insane, masterpiece of excess, Stone Cold. Is it good? Eh, not really. But is it amazing?!?! Hell yeah. Anthony Abatte joins me to talk bikers, explosions, mullets, explosions, and then more explosions. This movie has a lot of explosions.

Christopher Lambert travels to Japan, meets a beautiful woman, gets involved with modern day ninjas, lots of people die, but not much happens in The Hunted, another entry in the "stupid foreigner finds himself over his head with Japanese ninjas and/or samurai" sub-genre. Diamond Feit, a fellow American living in Japan (who I assume has never run afoul of ancient ninja cults) joins me to discuss this very odd movie. Where the star/hero barely does a damn thing while ninja descend from the skies to murder everyone around him. Sadly, it's not as good as it sounds.

Joe Don Baker is framed (duh) for a crime he didn't commit, so he commits several violent crimes to find out who set him up and why in this sleazy, sweaty, brutal southern-fried exploitation classic that features some of the most violent fights and craziest stunts you've ever seen. Anthony Abatte joins me to talk about this underseen gem, and we also go over our recent obsessions with James Bond and Dirty Harry movies. Content Warning for sexual assault discussion: One of the people who wrote Framed did some extremely unpleasant things, and we discuss that.

Hammer Films have been releasing a ton of stuff in 4K recently, so much that it's actually a little bit overwhelming. In today's episode, I go over all their 4K releases to date (that I know of) and recommend some lesser-known titles, as well as the obvious classics. I also point out the few that are so bad you should avoid them like the zombies in Plague of the Zombies (which is not yet available in 4K, sadly).

Today we're tying something different! Diamond Feit joins me once more and they help me decide what we feel are the best, worst, and "most" Arnold films (as well as the most underrated). This is an idea I've been kicking around for a while, and I thought I'd give it a try this month, as I've been too sick to properly do my deep dive research on an obscure film. Let me know what you think! I also use this episode to go over my health issues, for those who are worried, and that's covered at the end of the episode (spoiler: none of it is terminal, as far as I know).

LARRY COHEN WAS A MADMAN and Madeleine Koestner is here to talk about one of his most unhinged films, 1990's The Ambulance. Eric Roberts! James Earl Jones! An ambulance that hands out in a nightclub! You've never seen anything like this one. We also complain about Geese. The band, not the animal - although too be honest I'm not a fan of either.

Shane Bettenhausen returns to Cinema Oblivia to talk about Candy Snatchers, one of the gnarliest, nastiest, grimiest, most hateful movies of the grindhouse era. Seriously, this one has all the ick. You've been warned! Also, some talk about the future of this podcast, or lack thereof! Content Warning: Seriously, Candy Snatchers is a messed up film with graphic portrayals of sexual assault, allusions to child abuse, and some unflattering portrayals of children with autism. You've been really warned.

Vampires! Spies! David Byrne! Gangsters! Beavers upon Beavers! Japanese bankrobbers! Chainsaw Man! Joan Crawford! Cher looking more amazing than anyone else who ever lived! Anthony Abatte and I run down some of the best, worst, weirdest, and craziest movies that we saw this year. I hope you finish this episode with 20 or so movies you want to see next year!

While Warlords of Atlantis might look like just another silly late-70s adventure film that was instantly dated the second it came out thanks to Star Wars, there's actually a lot going on with this crazy movie. And it happens to star ONE OF THE BIGGEST BOX-OFFICE STARS OF ALL-TIME (really!) It also has Doug McClure. You might remember him. Anthony Abatte returns to the podcast to talk about this, man. It goes places.

In the past I used to write about forgotten music on my blog, and now I talk about forgotten and obscure movies, but I rarely talk about the forgotten obscurities of TV. But recently, I watched Michael Darling's amazing YouTube videos covering sitcoms and dramas that primetime forgot, and I felt compelled to bring him on the show to cover how he made these amazing feature-length TV mixtapes. And since I'm no TV expert, I also asked Gayest Episode Ever's Drew Mackie to join me as well!

When people thing big pop stars of the 1980s, they think Michael Jackson, Madonna and Prince. And they should. BUT THEY SHOULD ALSO THINK OF PHIL COLLINS. Phil Collins was so huge in the 1980s that, just like those other pop stars, he got his own movie - Buster, a true-crime caper/romantic drama/period piece that came and went in five minutes, but not before starting some serious controversy in the UK. The internet's number one Phil Collins fan, Jeremy Parish and fellow prog aficionado Elliot Long join me to talk about the film, the odd controversy around it, and how you all should fear and respect the power of Phil Collins.

Anthony Abatte returns for my 100th episode! To celebrate this momentous occasion, we discuss a women in prison film from the mid-80s. But not just any women in prison film, we're here to talk about The Naked Cage, perhaps one of the sleaziest, trashiest, nastiest films Cannon ever released (and that's saying something)! Content warning: This is a women in prison film, so expect discussions about scenes that feature sexual assault, unflattering LGBTQ stereotypes, violence against women, and so on. Also, some iffy racial politics and racial slurs.

Anyone who listens to this podcast knows that I love me some Peter Cushing, so I thought I would take some time to rattle off 20 or so Peter Cushing films that I feel are absolute must-sees, and three that you should avoid like a zombie plague.

Heavenly Bodies is blatant low-budget Canadian rip-off of Flashdance that completely bombed when it came out. It's gone on to have a dedicated cult following because it is, quite frankly, one of the lightest, happiest, most energetic and delightful films ever made. And it has a banger of a soundtrack that almost never stops. Anthony Abatte and I talk about this charming as hell movie, and do a deep dive on every single song and musical artist that appear in the film. (That's why this episode is over two hours long.)

Madeleine Koestner returns to Cinema Oblivia to talk about American Gothic, a supremely gnarly late-80s hidden gem of a slasher about a seriously dysfunctional family and the idiots yuppies they decide to slay. Content Warning: We discuss fictional depictions of graphic sexual assault, and considering the tone of this film, our tone is certainly not serious when doing so.

The Challenge, directed by John Frankenheimer and starring Scott Glenn, is not the greatest film in the world. It was certainly not the greatest film to come out in 1982, but it's about a giant white dipshit living in Japan and making an ass of himself. And as a giant white dipshit who lives in Japan who routinely makes an ass of himself, I felt seen. Although I've killed far less people than Scott Glenn does in this movie (at least, so far). Fellow American in Japan Diamond Feit joins me to talk about this very silly film.

Last month it was Ant with Anthony Abatte. This month it's Bees...with Anthony Abatte...because I don't know anyone whose name is Bee. You've never seen a killer bees movie like The Bees. Believe you me. In a time of great strife and war, the themes of unity and togetherness that are touched upon in The Bees should inspire us all to make the world a better place. And John Saxon. John Saxon is great (and oddly attractive).

ANThony Abatte joins me once more to discuss this ANTagonistic film about killer ants. It's real great bad movie, even if the ending is really ANTiclmatic. Sorry. (No I'm not).

Ever wish that every other person on the planet would vanish in a puff of smoke? Feeling that way more than usual lately? So have I! And so has Scott Sharkey, who wanders in from the wastelands to talk about The Quiet Earth, the hugely influential New Zealand classic about what it would be like to be the literal last man on Earth (and then suddenly not be).

We're closing out this year at Cinema Oblivia by offering a virtual smorgasbord of lesser-known film recommendations. Diamond Feit joins me once ore as we browse the absolute depths of Letterboxd to find the weirdest, most out-there, and criminally under-seen films we've watched, as well as our picks for the best movies we've seen this year!