PhillipMedoc

Howard asking Kulap if her sister is single, jeez. That man. I love that Mary Elizabeth didn't know who Lorde was, and then was like "I don't shop at those kind of grocery stores". Also, it took me a couple of weeks to figure out, but Kulap is going for a Kremer kind of inflection during the sponsor ads, correct? The whole drawing out syllables and raising pitch at the end of words thing. It's cute. I hope April Richardson makes a return appearance as a guest host. I've become a big fan of her podcast since she filled in on that live VPN Whooch a while back. I felt like she kind of got a bum rap for that; filling in for Kulap is one thing, but doing it live on Youtube must be a bit more strenuous. In any case, it's always fun to hear other people attempt to navigate Howard's particular brand of logic.

I am really enjoying these interview/retrospective episodes. This show really needs to be on Comedy Central or something like Funny or Die at the least. Seriously. I'll give Chris Hardwick a handjob if need be. Sledgehammer! I've never met anyone else who watched the show; it wasn't on for very long (two seasons?) and I never saw it in syndication. I was maybe around 9 years old when it aired and my dad wouldn't let us watch it; he was a cop with no sense of humor, and thought the show was making fun of police (duh). Having recently seen the dvds, it's amazing how well it holds up. The writing is really good and the lead actor pulls that role off like no one's business. Good satire is incredibly rare on tv, especially in the 1980s on the networks. And that bit about Marty Feldman was really sweet. Hat's off to you, Jake.

...says the guy complaining about a free podcast. [insert eyeroll gif here] Come on, man. The so-called "talking over each other" has really been part of the show since the beginning. The more bonkers the movie is, the more active the discussion is. One of the best episodes is Sleepaway Camp, with everyone trying to figure out what the hell is going on in the beginning of the film. The collective "WHAT IS HAPPENING" just wouldn't happen with a moderator or whatever it is you're suggesting. This isn't Doug Loves Movies. I'm glad you feel comfortable sharing your opinion here, but I believe you're in the minority with that. Keep listening and enjoying the show, though.

Black Dynamite is the best parody and homage to Blaxploitation films that one could ever hope for. It's a fantastic movie. It wasn't made to be bad/good at all, it's just poking fun at tropes and cliches -- quite successfully. And it manages to stand on its own as a hilarious picture, even if you're not familiar with the genre it's riffing on. There is nothing bad about it at all. Even if you don't find the jokes funny, that's the problem with comedy, it's subjective. I think Paul mentioned a long time ago that they were going to stay away from comedies for the most part, because there's just not much to discuss other than "this wasn't funny".

So does anyone want to talk No Holds Barred briefly? I watched it over the weekend. It's crazy how it's barely even a movie, the story is so threadbare. Basically Ripp is an awesome dude who wrestles for unspecified children's charities, but he's also an total perv who can't stop creeping on the female love interest. She has no personality and only exists to get slapped around and almost raped. A good half of the film is just Zeus yelling and grimacing. Other observations: This was an era where "evil television executive" was still a totally legit movie villian. The bar where they find Zeus is straight out of Roadhouse. Zeus' eyebrows, er, monobrow. Interesting choice. "Battle Of The Tough Guys" is possibly the least badass name for a fighting competition ever. Zeus should actually be in jail for multiple accounts of assault and attempted manslaughter. Weird hotel scene where you're supposed to think Ripp is masturbating in bed (right?) The actual wrestling in the finale is pretty fucking boring and way too drawn out. Evil network guy is so upset during the Ripp/Zeus fight that he starts ruining studio equipment. He does it in the most completely half-assed manner, just sort of unplugging stuff and hitting monitors. Ripp apparently kills Zeus. The evil tv guy is electrocuted to death. AND THE CROWD ERUPTS INTO APPLAUSE. This was a doozy.

I'm not super into wrestling (except for mid-to-late 80s, early Wrestlemania era) so I haven't listened to it, but Nerdist does have the Wrestling Compadres Slamcast. Andy Sidaris movies are a guilty pleasure of mine. He was the 1990s answer to Russ Meyers (although Meyers could actually work a camera and write entertaining dialogue). It's kind of fun when a filmmaker understands what kind of movie they're making without any pretense -- "This needs guns. More guns. And explosions. Boobs. Some more boobs. And that's all."

In other Dan Harmon-related media, Zardoz made an appearance in this week's episode of Rick & Morty (which is a great little show, incidentally).

"The second one" is cute, but the tagline should really be "CHOMPA CHOMPA CHOMPA".

I don't know if it was intentional or not, but when discussing June's absence for Winter's Tale, Paul said they had a baby coming and they didn't want to subject him to the movie. Is the baby a boy? Either way, the name is going to be Angela, right? (I can't remember who originally said that on the forum, but props to you.) Like people above have said, I'm just happy that HDTGM was able to keep such a consistent schedule for so long -- a truly impressive feat given everyone's outside commitments that actually pay them real money. I like Paul's idea of getting the gang together to just shoot the shit and talk movies or whatever; maybe just watch trailers and review them? Record a handful at a time, once a month, release them weekly? It's really great to see people at Earwolf growing more successful. Between Comedy Big Bang Theory on IFC, Andy Daly's new show on Comedy Central, Paul F Tompkins getting a pilot, Paul and June on NSTF:SD:SUV::, The League, Kroll Show, etc etc. We're in a new golden age of comedy. I just read it somewhere else yesterday, can't remember, but someone compared the state of comedy today to what punk/alternative/etc music was like in the early 1990s -- just a ton of exciting things happening everywhere, and anyone can start something if they want to.

The whining and pleading on the Analyze Phish forum was amusing and at times irritating, but I feel like U2 just doesn't have that kind of fan base. Not that they don't have passionate listeners (as evidenced by this very podcast) but Phish is more of a lifestyle choice than anything else. That's why their followers feel the need to defend the music, it's an intrinsic part of their person. Now this is quality graphic design.

What the hell is up with Jeff Bridges? He's a hell of an actor given the right script and direction (see: True Grit, better than the original, PROVE ME WRONG). Did he lose all his money from Bernie Madoff like Al Pacino did?

I have to say, as a bono bona fide U2 haterade drinker since ACHTUNG! Baby, this episode really made me reconsider my stance. It's been so long since I've heard the high quality rock & roll back catalog of the Liverpool Lads that I honestly had forgotten it ever existed. Bono's voice is still anathema to me, all moaning and caterwauling (which was an apt comparison to Siouxsie & The Banshees, really), but musically a lot of the songs played on this episode were pretty good. If I could get the vocals out of the mix, they'd go great on a playlist with Wire, Gang of Four, or lots of other decent early 1980s "post-punk". I have just skimmed the thread, but I'd like to ask if anyone else here is familiar with The Virgin Prunes? The Edge's brother was actually the guitarist for that band, and they're supposedly the ones who bestowed the Bono de plume upon a young Paul Hewson. The Prunes' music is darker and more theatrical (one could say "goth", perhaps), like mid-period Tuxedomoon or maybe Bauhaus. Worth checking out.

I didn't watch the Oscars, but I'm assuming he began his acceptance speech with "alright alright alright"?

It's a bit of a long con, you have to commit to the conceit of it. I think the energy level is what perhaps throws some listeners off? It's very measured. NEXT LEVEL TROLLING.

Yeah, I think we got sidetracked in one of the Southland Tales threads and it was mentioned in passing. But for sure, Southland Tales is still top of the list for me.