Movie Meltdown

Movie Meltdown - Episode 409 This week we welcome our special guests - director Harris Doran and actress Catherine Curtin (Orange is the New Black) to discuss the making of their film Beauty Mark. Plus we reminisce about a recent visit to Hollywood Forever Cemetary and remember a few films that have been shot in our neighborhood over the years. And while we address the ups and downs of shooting in a "regular" town, we also discuss... Anastasia, being an astronaut, the Stephen King shuffle, having acted having thought having written, pumpkin shaped Peeps, 28 Days Later, Charlie Chaplin Studios, Elizabethtown, my mom needed a place to put me in the afternoons, heading toward Halloween, so much of the world of... art is this extended family, you can rebuild again, The Shining, when I went into acting it was a job choice, view of the Hollywood sign, Harry Potter, diving into the belly of the beast, Charlie number three, Rose Red, The Goonies, iconic morning shot, the next Baryshnikov, Pennywise, and they left wi

Movie Meltdown - Episode 408 (For our Patreon supporters.) This week we continue with our Super Series exclusively for our Meltdown Club members, as we discuss Logan - the grim finale to the Wolverine story arc. And with such a radically different approach to comic book movies, we look at how this film affects all the previous movies featuring Wolverine? And in general... are we ok with heroes that kill? Plus we examine our thoughts on The Defenders and our first impressions of the new version of The Tick. And as we all realize we're falling apart, we also we also discuss... stabbing guys in the head, Daredevil, that complexity of morality, Sigourney Weaver, I have to be a grown-up, how many episodes, Dumbledore, Netflix shows, Las Vegas, show up and die in one movie, being a sociopath, she never showed her power, Stranger Things Season 2, Jessica Jones, Shane, there's no hope, Thanos, combat he feels comfortable with - socializing...that's a challenge, Deadpool, normcore, some analytical version, Legion, bi

Movie Meltdown - Episode 407 This week we are coming to you "live" from Fandomfest as we sit down with our special guest... Sean Gunn! These days he's playing Kraglin, as well as the on-set Rocket Raccoon, in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, but we also discuss growing up in his family full of (what turned out to be) writers and performers. We delve into his early film roles working in the Troma Entertainment world and address possibly his most recognizable role as Kirk from Gilmore Girls. And we pin down the specifics involved in his role as Rocket. And as we decide whether or not we want to go up in the St. Louis arch, we also bring up... Tromeo and Juliet, Guns 'n' Roses, dangerous ambition, the wax museum, the arborators of what was cool, California Split, Baby Driver, PG Porn, under an overpass, Taxi driver, I don't know why the wet bandits weren't at the crucifixion, The Clash, being afraid has no value to you, The Godfather, doing it on a different scale, sex, drugs and punctuality, a mad scientist

Movie Meltdown - Episode 406 This week we welcome special guest - director Tyler MacIntyre to talk to us about his latest feature Tragedy Girls. Plus we discuss his first film Patchwork, the finer points of being an editor in addition to being a director... and just what draws fans to the horror genre. And along the way, we also discuss this week's Sofa Theater feature: Memoirs of an Invisible Man the sometimes forgotten film directed by John Carpenter. And while we reminisce about some of our favorite old mom and pop video stores, we also discuss... tax incentives, CG effects, getting toxic waste spilled on you and getting telekinetic powers, The Howling, Sam Raimi, They Live, in the back of a hot tub place, half a building, the audience is going in with a certain set of expectations, it's a very level playing field, serious and emotional and primal, Stripes, Martin Pensa, Dead Alive, Fletch, sophisticated horror films, a high-concept horror shell, Sam Neill, VHS hits that I watched as a kid, and then when

Movie Meltdown - Episode 405 This week we return to the Flyover Film Fest for their Taste of Flyover festivities. Plus we sit down with Ana Asensio the writer, director and star of Most Beautiful Island (winner of Grand Jury Award at South by Southwest this year). We also recap the night where we ate food from Chef Edward Lee's recipes as well as saw Peter Byck's One Hundred Thousand Beating Hearts and Fermented directed by Jonathan Cianfrani. Plus our thoughts on recent viewings of War for the Planet of the Apes and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. And while we watch movies while eating chicken and waffles, we also we also discuss... John Cassavetes, Dekalog, Kimchi on a deviled egg, truthful filmmaking, it's anthropological is what it is, meatloaf balls, living the life he wants to live, Krzysztof Kieslowski, telling interesting stories along the way, studying films that I love, Noah Greenberg, edamame, Matt Reeves, cheese and bacteria, there were mistakes being done, Luc Besson, doing kickflip

Movie Meltdown - Episode 404 This week we kick-off our coverage of the Flyover Film Festival as we sit out on the veranda and talk with director Vincent Grashaw. Vincent's latest feature And Then I Go just made its worldwide premiere at the 2017 Los Angeles Film Festival before coming to Flyover. We discuss the challenges of getting his latest drama made and the way he tries to approach its sensitive subject matter. We also address his early films as well as his previous feature Coldwater and about his crazy experiences working on and producing the indie hit Bellflower. And while we come to terms with the fact that some of us never grow out of that awkward stage, we also bring up... Film Festivals, Arman Darbo and Sawyer Barth, the power of friendship, Get Out, shooting on-location, nothing to do with the industry, The Beguiled, back to school sales, I like to read other people's stuff and fall in love with it, someone stole my pencil, The Thin Red Line, Sunday night uneasiness, It Comes at Night, a very sub

Attack of the Killer Soundtrack - Episode 45 This week we are coming to you "live" from Forecastle music festival. Where we hang out and build a soundtrack from the great line-up of bands on hand. Plus we sit down with our special guests *repeat repeat. They are an amazing band from Nashville who deliver spooky, surf-tinged pop with undeniable punk rock roots. We discuss not just their musical origins, but also what movies they loved growing up as well as some of their favorite songs featured on a soundtrack. And while we load up on dirty mac 'n' cheese, we also mention... The Last Unicorn, Return to Oz, Back to the Future 2, Big Fish, Tom Everett Scott, Cage the Elephant, Lana Del Rey, Baby Driver, amazingly... geniusly... different, Dick Dale, scientific weird kind of thing, our Walk the Line moment, Idiocracy, Micheal J. Fox is so cool, every kid alive at that point wanted that, it kind of started the spooky, The Pixies, crazy part where I'm screaming into the mic, Lil' Leslie Mann, hanging off the back o

Movie Meltdown - Episode 403 This week we are coming to you "live" from Indy PopCon... where we experience lots of different aspects of our geek pop culture. But most importantly, we make a date... to sit down and talk with Phil Lamarr. You probably know Phil from his ill-fated appearance in Pulp Fiction, or his years of working on MadTV, or his numerous characters on shows like Futurama, Justice League, Samurai Jack, Static Shock, Star Wars: The Clone Wars and so many others. Join us as we talk with Phil about growing up in L.A., about working with Quentin Tarantino, about getting into the voice-over industry, about saving Spider-Man from falling off a train, about crazy movie theories... plus his thoughts on the somewhat recent popularity of super hero movies. And while we hang out with our new found dragonfly friend, we also discuss... a yo yo festival, The Girl with All the Gifts, Before I Fall, Doctor Strange, Rick and Morty, enamel pins, Sam Raimi, he is dancing like nobody is watching, I was totally a

Movie Meltdown - Episode 402 (For our Patreon supporters.) This week the Meltdown Gang gathers together for another installment in the Super Series as we discuss the latest Marvel movie... Spider-Man: Homecoming. And we talk smack about the people in the suits, we also bring up... The Founder, the Iron Spider, sad-boy and old, The Gifted, Snowpiercer, M. Night Shyamalan, being a good dad, legit just got trolled, things affect you in different ways, film noir Batman, The Inhumans, stick the landing... fist pump, The Fantastic Four, beautiful artwork, Joss Whedon, have fun with your universe, Legion, Breaking Bad, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, a really modern f'd-up Clockwork Orange, Unbreakable, tone is so different, an Alfred Hitchcock detective movie, he probably did something bananas, Jennifer Connelly, that's just good storytelling, amateur Photoshop jobs on movie posters, turn down the team, Airplane, I hope it has the spider legs in the worst way, doing whatever it takes and a block of web. Spoiler Alert: Lo

Movie Meltdown - Episode 401 This week we continue our coverage from WonderFest as we sit down and talk with artist Mark Maddox. Mark is a multiple "Artist of the Year" Rondo Award winner, and his artwork has been featured on the covers of The Art of Doctor Who Special, Screem Magazine (including the Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Universal Monsters, Mystery Science Theater 3000 and American Horror Story covers), HorrorHound Magazine, Moonstone Comics (including Kolchak: The Night Stalker Files), Little Shoppe Of Horrors, Undying Monsters, Mad Scientist Magazine, Airship27 Books, Hemlock Books, Thrilling Tales, Don Glut’s Frankenstein series for Pulp 2.0 Press and many more. We discuss just which movies and pop culture inspired him as a child, and how it came full circle to become the focus of his artistic career.  And as we are making audio cassette recording from the TV, we also mention... Dark Shadows, The Herculoids, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, a pop culture family, a giant gorilla with wings, applied a d

Movie Meltdown - Episode 400 This week we continue our coverage from WonderFest as we sit down with Kim Smith and John Goodson. Both are technical masters who spent years working at LucasFilm's Industrial Light and Magic, and they have logged in many years building physical models as well as transitioning into digital effects as the industry began to change around them. And while we try to make sense of this vortex of time and mysterious things, we also discuss... Assassin's Creed, Riverdale, fantastic carpet, sculpting, The Rocketeer, finding the hook, a 33-foot Zeppelin, a stormy night shot, if you wanna eat... you better learn something different to do, making farm equipment, painting, Star Wars: Episode III, Michael Fassbender, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, very spooky sets, organically very technical, successful artist, whoa... no apple for you, sneak him on out of being dead, Scar's pretty awesome, I like his big sharky-grin, they want world peace but at the price of free will, an optical

Movie Meltdown - Episode 399 This week we are coming to you "live" from WonderFest where we are joined by this week's special guest... actor Brian Howe. One of the hardest working and most impressive actors in the business, Brian's been featured in Westworld, Catch Me If You Can, The Pursuit of Happyness, American Horror Story, Gran Torino, Annabelle, K-PAX, The Majestic, Déjà Vu, Evan Almighty, Lie to Me, Criminal Minds, Masters of Sex, House of Lies, The Newsroom, Nikita, Justified - and of course, he's one of the cast of regulars in the Larry Blamire films (The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra, Dark and Stormy Night, Trail of the Screaming Forehead, The Lost Skeleton Returns Again). And in between our bouts of clowning around and being a dork, we also bring up... Spielberg's shooting style, that was paramount to me, one of them practically Xeroxed her rolodex, anything I could do - I did, Tony Scott, laying the groundwork, a cast of small town lunatics, Larry Moss, Summer stock theater in the Poconos, Fay Masterso

Movie Meltdown - Episode 398 This week we kick-off our coverage of WonderFest with the return of a certain cast member who has tales of an epic road trip. Plus we sit down and talk with our special guest... William Stout. Renowned as a master illustrator & paleo-artist, he has also spent a good portion of his life working in the film industry. As production designer for movies like "Return of the Living Dead" and "Masters of the Universe" to designing movie posters, drawing storyboards and creating character designs for a multitude of films. And while we try to keep our monster in the closet at bay, we also mention... working with Dan O'Bannon, 28 years of conventions, Doc Hudson, Roger Corman, R.L. Stine, Disney... and drawing... and cartoons, John McTiernan, Colorado Springs, Edith Head, the Nine Old Men, John Milius, neon cowboy dude, the murder capital of the world, Drew Struzan, a tiny frail little alien, let the problem dictate the solution, why would Dorthy want to go back, epic adventures, Evel Pi

Movie Meltdown - Episode 397 (For our Patreon supporters.) This week the gang breaks new ground in our Super Series as we discuss Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman. And while we restore our faith in humanity, we also address... Zack Snyder, the 36th chamber, full-on into DC multi-verse now, Chris Evans, the old school cut-away, Fast and Furious, being hard and being soft, Joss Whedon, Birds of Prey, fighting things from other worlds, Watchmen with the Justice League, a great three days, going out into no man's land, Tony Stark, going into hiding, Captain America, too slow and relatable, have permeated pop culture, Black Panther, mom lied, you guys think that the audience wants that, created by Zeus, chicks with scars, Svengali, what's right, everyone wants to like stuff, fountain of youth, the Godkiller, oh she is crazy, Ben Affleck, Gotham is the new Smallville, diversity in superheroes, who put you in power, Spawn-ish and kicking someone's ass and then talking about love and understanding. Spoiler Alert: Full s

Attack of the Killer Soundtrack - Episode 44 This week the Meltdown Gang gets together for a listening party of songs from semi-recent movies. And while we examine anatomical specimens from a long time ago, we also discuss... going to Eastern Europe, The Creeper, the bone church, The Elephant Man, the soundtrack birth of a new sub-genre of music, drift into death with Wonder Woman, crazy eyes, girls in jeans and a T-shirt, it's a very strange thing she's got going on there, cloth hall, Chelsea Woods, Rondo Hatton, super pretty, I'm really good at dying, going to the salt mines, playing Big Bertha, dusting off this weird old obscure song, zip-lining the mega cavern of Romania, the other Franco, missing all her limbs, Polskibus, I think a lot of their movies are too alienating for regular people, creepy tombs, always sick, Vltavou Castle, get lost exploring a town, a stack of skulls, Rosario Dawson, the moose out front should have told you and stop licking the chandelier. "I can't imagine what hipsters would

Movie Meltdown - Episode 396 This week the Meltdown Gang gets together to have a large scale discussion about Ridley Scott's Alien: Covenant. How it works as an individual movie as well as how it fits into and essentially changes the entire franchise. And as we break down this lovely parallel for the futility of life, we also mention... Noomi Rapace, the susceptibility of humans and pugs, big wheat, the lost episode of Heavy Metal, an overwhelming sense of mystery, Michael Fassbender, kind of timeless, planet designers, hinges on insanity, you knew that was coming because the movie kept going, less-predictable twists, the bastion of humility, masking frustration, this... means something, Don Knotts in every movie ever, what's the point of all this, faith-based leader, as the years go on... these do become our myths, science fiction my ass, person gets into a situation... then it's non-stop action 'til the end of the movie, replacing cloud with butt, it's mouth has a mouth, that stuff does other stuff, a land

Movie Meltdown - Episode 395 This week the Meltdown Gang decides to go see Guy Ritchie's new movie King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. Was that a good decision? Well... let's talk about it. And while we search the listings for more German opera at the movies, we also bring up... the problems with network television shows, I'd be happy to get the fruit salad, Fargo, talk about towers, things are now... vehicles for the items that are attached to it, stab the eyes of the editor, A Knight's Tale, it's fantasy... and then grit, Prometheus was Excalibur set in space, out of the people you know... who would you cast as Jaws, you... who are a caricature of a nerd, growing up on the streetz, and it was all Reservoir Dogs, it's like they made a twenty hour movie, if they had bothered to explain that, those aren't turkey legs, watching idiots talk into a microphone, disjointed, Gods of Egypt, face down in the mud, cannibalism is fine as long as it's deep-fried, a demographic hole, I don't even know what I watched, Footl

Movie Meltdown - Episode 394 This week we return to our running series for another Marvel Super Special! We kick things off with a little response to Iron Fist on Netflix, then we share some thoughts on the trailer for Thor: Ragnarok. All before launching into our full discussion of this week's movie: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. And of course along the way, we find a way for the conversation to spill over into the Star Wars universe. And as we all concurrently get our Wormtongue on, we happen to mention... the Foot or The Hand, Zoe Saldana, losing your muscle, the essences of things, millennials and their music, Doritos, needs to be the Robin, regurgitated scripts, Dave Bautista, trespassing and breaking into the building, dragging their feet, Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Yondu, Luuuke, James Gunn, relationships, Jessica Jones, please stop having your Splinter moments, swerving Mandarin, this is a geek dreaming, Daredevil, Chris Pratt, ten years in it's so dependent now on it

Movie Meltdown - Episode 393  This week we bust out a new game or maybe more of just a mechanism designed to trigger amazing ideas. Join us as we discuss properties that should be remade... or maybe shouldn't? As we try to decide what's the best new direction we could take the story... and the worst? And what's the most interesting new casting for classic roles... and what's potentially the most ridiculous casting choices ever? And while we set up our apple boxes and perspective shots, we also mention... Murder on the Orient Express, Aidan Gillen, a tracheostomy in the middle of the buffet, Brian De Palma, must love kung fu, Roger Moore... not dead, artisanal, small batch, what's a fax machine, we have... a Canon Films Studio... in this kitchen, Ocean's Eight, those must have been good because you saw it thousands of times, Grimm, Shelley Duvall, knock on his dead wood, Timothy Dalton vs. Pierce Brosnan, red Swingline, shoes on a submarine sandwich, we've written so many better movies then what comes out, t

Movie Meltdown - Episode 392  This week we try to tackle the notorious modern "classic" - Birdemic: Shock and Terror. At first we start to crack from the initial "shock", but as we make our way through the so-called "terror", we eventually come around to a pretty amazing resolution. And while we revel in a land of lawlessness and sweet bird justice, we also bring up... spider monkeys, robotin', more Indiana Jones, time-lapse filmmaking, just as smarmy but with guns, Samurai Cop, the rotary hot dog maker, beloved 8-bit graphics, the first selfie, a sheet with a hole in it, driving around with birds, you're taking a risk... you are taking a chance, you have to be the fool, a lady alien, Jake from State Farm, cut him a check Yoko, you can't make a cult film, Transformers, Nagel artwork, the Al Gore spiel, winter is coming, you're mission is accomplished, did we break our Hammerhead Corvette, it looks like you went to the mall... in 1984, a mountain lion with water wings, the way that it's told is kind of the w