Quasar Sniffer

I wholeheartedly endorse Mr. Hamm's Philly hate. Philadelphia fans (this includes Eagles fans) are pretty much the worst, rivaled only by the irredeemable grossness of Raiders fans. As an Orioles fan, I know the pain of a one-sided rivalry. Up until this year, every time Baltimore played the Yankees or the Red Sox, we RAGED and hoped to defeat our hated "rivals," but those two teams probably couldn't give a shit. The O's haven't had a winning record since Montgomery Burns was young and virile, a timespan that has allowed for multiple World Series wins for other AL East teams. Finally, getting Jon Hamm to endorse Stamps.com better get some extra cash for the Sklarbros. An epic, and entertaining, "get" for both internet endorsements and podcasting. In any case, a great episode!

All the fascist fantasies of 'Dirty Harry,' all the filmmaking skills of the people behind 'Tiptoes.' Ok, maybe it's not that awful, but as much as I love Sly and cheesy 80s action, this movie is totes garbage. HDTGM-worthy indeed.

I was gonna post about this, but yes, I enjoyed it a ton. The trademark Sklar chemistry and humor was really allowed to come through, which was great, and the content was pretty interesting as well. None of that Monsterquest/Ancient Aliens crap that the History Channel has been airing for the past couple years. You know, it had reality in there, which was great. PLUS FUNNIES!

I became aware of this movie because of the glorious Adam and Joe podcast: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/adamandjoe Talented Brits (Joe Cornish wrote and directed 'Attack the Block' and is a frequent collaborator of Edgar Wright) make jokes about subway etiquette and music and bad movies. Infinite love.

*late reply is late* I've actually thought about 'Alien' in that context a lot. I mean, I'm young enough to have seen 'Spaceballs' on video before I saw 'Alien.' Now, while I obviously saw Star Wars before the Mel Brooks parody, there's still that scene where they parody the chestburster from 'Alien.' So for me, when I did see 'Alien' for the first time, it was impossible to recreate the visceral and emotional impact of so much of the movie for people who saw it in theaters. I mean, even the visual designs by HR Giger were familiar to me since they were so much a part of pop culture, while to people who saw them in theaters, they were new and fascinating and disgustingly beautiful. I have yet to see 'The TIngler,' but giving my affection for schlock and my UNDYING LOVE for Vincent Price, I've been meaning to for some time.

Oh man, I totally missed your personal message. Thank you.

Any news on this? I still can't access the video

That is rather serendipitous! I only watched it for the first time a few months ago, and yes, I did get a kick out of seeing Mr. Englund in a non-Freddy role, especially one so different from the one he is known for. I find it interesting how you found it years ago on Betamax, which contrasts with my viewing experience. So many of these word-of-mouth type movies are seen by film fans at different stages of their lives/fandom and I'm always curious as to how different ages view a certain movie. Certainly I'd view Alien differently now if I were seeing it for the first time. A lot of second-tier (and lower) horror/sci-fi movies have to take major cues from bigger or more successful films just to get financing, let alone seen. 'Galaxy of Terror' is an example, I think, of Roger Corman bringing his expertise to bear to create (or at least shepherd) something that stands on its own despite blatantly ripping off something else. It looks way better than its budget, has great performances, and is ridiculous enough to be enjoyable. It's no 'The Shining,' but I'm also a fan of stuff like Hammer films and cheesy 80s actioners, so this, and apparently 'Leviathan,' is right up my alley. Thanks for the recommendation.

I looked this up on Netflix and Hector Elizondo AND Daniel Stern are also in it. Holy 80s and 90s character actor parade! I will have to see this. Have you seen Roger Corman's 'Galaxy of Terror'? It's another 'Alien' ripoff, but made earlier in the 80s and falls precisely at the meeting place between "delightfully cheesy" and "horrible alien rape." It also has Sid Haig and Ray "My Favorite Martian" Walston in it. In short, I love it. It's also notable as one of James "Batshit Insane Egomaniac" Cameron's early films, where he served as a production designer and second unit director.

I think mocking animated films like Delgo (pure pap, made with the cynicism of two dozen studio executives imitating what they thought made films like Shrek successful and failing) is a different beast from mocking anime. You could skewer the hell out of successful franchises like Naruto or genre classics like Akira simply because of how outlandish they are, but you could also find the most disgusting, sexually deviant examples of anime merely to make the podcasters uncomfortable. There's just such different standards of what constitutes a logical narrative and a quality movie between anime and an American live-action film that you're just begging to start flame wars merely by choosing one. It would almost be like lampooning a comic book or something; it just wouldn't fit this particular podcast.

There actually hasn't been much of that special pure-product-of-its-time insanity that led to films like this on HDTGM, at least from the 60s and 70s. I endorse this being examined.

This movie is like Hobo With a Shotgun in that it embraces what it is and goes balls-to-the-walls NUTS with it.* Sooo... it's great. I think that it might be divisive, what with all the child endangerment and old man nudity (around children), so it could make a good episode. I love it though. *(Those two testicle metaphors in a row were totally necessary).

MOAR: The phrase "it's always pleasurable with Tim Gunn" is a phrase I live by. Oh my, there's a man! And in all seriousness, a Tim Gunn remote/report from Coachella would be amazing. I know it's too late for that this year, but maybe he could make a triumphant return to Burning Man this summer? Also, are the new shirts up on the Earwolf site somewhere? I am curious to see the Calming Shores expressed in the form of haute couture.

Sooo.... I bought the audio and video and tried the links. The audio downloads just fine, but the video link just leads to nothing, not even a 404 error-type page. It does this on both Google Chrome and Internet Explorer. Any advice?

I wonder how much of Gilbert Arenas' gun-toting, shark-owning, poo-slinging shenanigans comes from the inner rage he must posses having grown up with the name "Gilbert." I mean, look at Gilbert Gottfried. I bet he would be playing more poop pranks if he were a 6'4" African American millionaire. Maybe pranks with shark poop?

This movie is awesome in every conceivable way. Sure, sometimes I question how something so good is contained in celluloid, so I could literally pose this question "How Did This Get Made?" However, this movie slays all non-believers and Rowdy Roddy Piper happens to be a totally swell guy in real life, so I don't think it's HDTGM material.

THIS is Comedy Bang Bang!

Never has a movie with seemingly noble intentions (treating little people as humans) sunk so low. So. Fucking. Low. I think it's actually interesting, academically at least. It seems like this came out at a time when Gary Oldman, Matthew McConaughey, and Kate Beckinsale were maybe afraid of being typecast (as Crazy Guy/Villain, Handsome Idiot, and Period Drama/Hot Chick respectively). In this "movie," the three leads are cast against type, which is why they may have agreed to this crapfest in the first place. But at best, this is an academically interesting freak show; not because it features dwarfs, but because people worked on this, tried to make something good, and thought it was decent enough to release to the public. Ugggghhhh.

Colin Hay was a great addition to the podcast. I'd be eager to listen any future appearances he might make on Sklarbro Country. The Jim Gaffigan interview was excellent as well; with the family and security vs. stand-up and passion discussion being especially interesting. One digression: there were a couple oblique references to Men at Work's "Down Under," and I got the feeling it's probably a song that Colin Hay is sick to death of. While that is certainly an understandable sentiment, considering it's a 30 year old song that still (for better or for worse, deserved or not) defines the band's career, it's a fucking great song. It's something that puts a smile on my face every time I hear it, and how many people can say that? How many people have created something that has continued to make people happy for decades? Sure, it must be frustrating to have one thing be other people's reference point for a body of work you've spent a lifetime adding to, but it's nothing to shy away from. I'm not saying Colin Hay does shy away from it, as I don't know him like the Sklars do, I'm just talking in generalities, I guess.

I don't know why these videos don't have more views, but I think they're great. If you like the podcast, you will like them too. Take it from me, a Guy on the Internet: I Guarantee You Will Love Them! Really, it's like they're doing bits from the podcast (or maybe their standup), but strictly about sport-related matters. It's also a great reversal and commentary on the CONSTANT YELLING you see and hear on sports talk shows. Latest Episode: http://www.jockular....all-opening-day

Only ONE of you? What a poor cross-section of Sklarbro Country citizenry.

I think the meta-impressions of Gumbel-as-Van Morrison is one of my favorite bits Gumbel has imparted on us. I am greedy. I want more! Maybe James Taylor could do his best Notorious B.I.G., back from the dead? Perhaps Bruce Jenner could attempt to impersonate someone with testicles?

Besides 'JCVD' itself, this is probably the best Van Damme movie out there... but it's still HDTGM worthy. Though if we really want to plunge into the depths, how about 'Double Impact,' in which he plays twins or, better yet, 'Double Team,' in which he is assisted by none other than noted thespian Dennis Rodman!

Those movies might all be a combination of unfortunate to watch and poor/horrendous flops, but he he got a laugh from me every time he... well, did anything in 'Take Me Home Tonight.' And, to be fair, if Ang Lee offers an actor/comedian a lead roll in a movie, it's not like that performer is likely to turn it down. There are reasons beyond Demetri Martin for the failure of Taking Woodstock, or any of these movies.

This movie is the result of unfortunate meddling and holdover from the studio, but the cast is good enough that I don't think it ever descends into HDTGM territory. However, if one of the castmembers is willing to come on the podcast and talk about it honestly, then I'd love for that to happen. Although, it would almost be better to call that episode "How Did This NOT Get Made."