Total Reboot With Cameron James & Alexei Toliopoulos

Australia is known for it's horror movies, but for every Wolf Creek and The Babadook there are dozens of freaky films that you might not be on your radar yet. This week, Alexei is joined by horror direction Kane Senes (Sissy, For Now) to trawl through the horror section and uncover some lesser known Aussie gems, from the 1970s to the 2000s…right up to the New Wave of Australian horror cinema BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in CANBERRA, SYDNEY ENCORE and MELBOURNE ENCORE in JULY Follow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists. Here are Kane and Alexei's picks from this episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While touring his comedy show, DEMI ADEJUYIGBE IS GOING TO DO ONE (1) BACKFLIP, Demi Adejuyigbe stopped by the Last Video Store to pick up some of his favourite films from little Alexei Toliopoulos. Genuinely one of the most exciting comedians in the fricking world right now, you might know Demi from GAME CHANGER, writing for THE GOOD PLACE or even as one of the best Letterboxd users. Demi could not be a more perfect guest to slide into the Last Video Store to talk MOVIESSSSS, DUDE! BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in CANBERRA, SYDNEY ENCORE and MELBOURNE ENCORE in JULY Follow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists. GUEST PICKS: SINNERS (horror), LADY BIRD (drama), WHAT’S UP DOC? (comedy)STAFF PICKS: LOOKING FOR ALIBRANDI (comedy)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the 25th anniversary of their classic debut album REFLECTOR, rockstar siblings Ella Hooper and Jesse Hooper join Alexei in the LAST VIDEO STORE to pick up some of their favourite films. From the all-timer classic space odyssey from a galaxy far far away to turn of the millennium zombie nightmares, Ella and Jesse are true video store connoisseurs with a rich history of loving cinema. PLUS they talk about having songs on the iconic LOOKING FOR ALIBRANDI and SPIDER-MAN 2 soundtracks.  Catch them on tour with 25 YEARS OF REFLECTOR right now! BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in CANBERRA, SYDNEY ENCORE and MELBOURNE ENCORE in JULY Follow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists.  GUEST PICKS: 28 DAYS LATER (horror), STAR WARS (adventure), CITY OF LOST CHILDREN (cult), MEET THE FEEBLES (cult) STAFF PICKS: ATTACK THE BLOCK (action)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From Eurovision to collaborating with THE David Byrne from Talking Heads (and the movie masterpiece TRUE STORIES), Montaigne is a truly creative artist with a distinct style… and yes that is very apparent in their picks on the Last Video Store. Montaigne stacks their favourite movie picks on the counter and chats about loving mucked-up absurdist world-building.  Montaigne’s new album “it's hard to be a fish” is out right now! And check out the music videos on YouTube.  BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in CANBERRA, SYDNEY ENCORE and MELBOURNE ENCORE in JULY Follow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists.  GUEST PICKS: MICKEY 17 (sci-fi), SWISS ARMY MAN (comedy), SPEED RACER (cult)STAFF PICKS: TOMORROW I’LL WAKE UP AND SCALD MYSELF WITH TEA (cult)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on The Last Video Store, Alexei Toliopoulos dusts off a well-worn VHS and welcomes a true icon of Australian music into the store: Robert Forster, co-founder of The Go-Betweens, acclaimed solo artist with the new album STRAWBERRIES.Together, they rummage through Robert’s cinematic memories. From the art-house films that shaped his songwriting with creative collaborator Grant McLennan, to the immersive recreations of Bob Dylan’s early electric days as performed by Timothée Chalamet. BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in CANBERRA, SYDNEY ENCORE and MELBOURNE ENCORE in JULY Follow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists. GUEST PICKS: A COMPLETE UNKNOWN (music), BELL BOOK & CANDLE (comedy), SUNSET BOULEVARD (crime)STAFF PICKS: TOO LATE (crime)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Perusing the shelves this week is Calum Hood, best known as the bassist of 5 Seconds of Summer, he’s about to release debut solo album “ORDER chaos ORDER”. A very funny episode that sees Calum and Alexei chat through childhood oddities like ANTZ and forgotten Aussie dog movie Napoleon. BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in CANBERRA, SYDNEY ENCORE and MELBOURNE ENCORE in JULY Follow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists. GUEST PICKS: HELL OF A SUMMER (Comedy), TRAINSPOTTING (cult), MOULIN ROUGE (music)STAFF PICKS: HUMAN TRAFFIC (cult)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Twin brothers Danny and Michael Philippou are the most excited voices in Australian genre cinema since the release of their horror hit TALK TO ME. Their latest film, BRING HER BACK is another emotionally resonant horror exploration of grief and loss that, in many ways, surpasses their remarkable debut. Starring Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins (THE SHAPE OF WATER), Billy Barrat (RESPONSIBLE CHILD), Jonah Wren Phillips (HOW TO MAKE GRAVY) and newcomer Sora Wong, BRING HER BACK is poised to be the horror event of 2025. It’s more than a pleasure to have RackaRacka peruse the shelves of the Last Video Store and pick out some of the films that influenced them.  BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in CANBERRA, SYDNEY ENCORE and MELBOURNE ENCORE in JULY Follow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists. Here’s the RackaRacka pick-up list.  GUEST PICKS: BRING HER BACK (HORROR), WHATEVER HAPPEND TO BABY JANE (THRILLER), BRAI

From the MISH & ZACH podcast, comedian Mish Wittrup wanders into the Last Video Store, and the desk is manned by both Alexei Toliopoulos & Zachary Ruane. A passionate and opinionated movie buff and film lover Mish appropriately picks out the 2 best films that prominently feature video stores. BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in CANBERRA and SYDNEY ENCORE show in JULY Follow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists. Here’s Mish’s list and here’s her actual letterboxd profile. GUEST PICKS: MURIEL’S WEDDING (Comedy), SCREAM (Horror), EARTH GIRL’S ARE EASY (Comedy)STAFF PICKS: CELIA (Horror), Shirley Valentine (Comedy)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Danielle Walker is one of the funniest people in the country, and brings an eclectic mix of films to The Last Video Store. The comedian and winner of Taskmaster loves everything from the instant cult classic Pearl to the family friendly shenanigans of Andre (The Seal, not My Dinner With). Danielle is touring her show 'Mundane' at the Sydney Comedy Festival now so make sure you check it out! BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in CANBERRA and SYDNEY ENCORE show in JULY. Follow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australian pop music royalty and star of teen comedy classic THE RAGE IN PLACID LAKE, Ben Lee roams through the Last Video Store. Ben is a true cinephile whose tastes range from the surreal to the whacky. Ben’s seminal album “Awake Is the New Sleep” is celebrating its 20th anniversary (stay tuned for cool stuff around that, I’m sure) and you can listen to him and Ione Skye every week on their excellent podcast WEIRDER TOGETHER. BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in CANBERRA and SYDNEY ENCORE show in JULY Follow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists. Here’s Ben’s list. GUEST PICKS: Psychomagic: A Healing Art (Documentary), Adam Green’s Aladdin (Art house), Defending Your Life (Comedy)STAFF PICKS: Local Legends (cult)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kristo, Sammy and Tom are three besties who you might know better as Mates Rates, who not only create hilarious sketches online and a podcast, but also created their own short(ish) film! It's called Mates Rates' Corporate Retreat, and it's a documentary about a road trip across NSW where they travelled in a crappy car, eating canned food, getting up to shenanigans. Our first trio on the pod brings an eclectic mix of films, including an (dis)honourable mention in the form of Drillbit Taylor. BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in SYDNEY, PERTH and BRISBANEFollow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists. GUEST PICKS: Sideways (Comedy), In Bruges (Crime), Minions: Rise Of Gru (Children)STAFF PICKS: Klown (Comedy)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Writer, Director, Stuntman. Nobody’s doing it like Nash Edgerton. He kicked of his feature directing career with the dark Aussie noir THE SQUARE (a film Alexei actually jigged school to go see in cinemas) and he also directed all 3 seasons of what might very well be the very best Australian television series MR INBETWEEN. A pleasure to get Nash in to peruse the shelves of the Last Video Store with Alexei. BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in SYDNEY, PERTH and BRISBANE Follow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists. Here is Nash's list, and here is Producer Em's Letterboxd! GUEST PICKS: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (Comedy), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Adventure), Straight Time (Crime)STAFF PICKS: Bellman and True (Crime)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Director and producer Kriv Stenders is a true Australian film legend, and has directed films like Red Dog and his new one, political thriller The Correspondent. He's also a The Last Video Store fan, so it's only natural he finally graced the halls of our fine establishment! Kriv lives and breathes film, especially Australian cinema, and has picked out some absolute classics to mull over with Alexei. His film The Correspondent is in cinemas now! BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in MELBOURNE, SYDNEY, PERTH and BRISBANE Follow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists. Follow Kriv on Letterboxd. GUEST PICKS: The Correspondent (Drama), Dogs In Space (Cult), Love Serenade (Cult)STAFF PICKS: Out Of The Blue (Cult)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Comedian and self-professed horror-head Will Gibb joins Alexei in The Last Video Store to chat about three of his favourite spooky films. Will is well-known for his hilarious skits on TikTok and Instagram, but he's also a bonafide cinephile, and his picks include Aussie cult classics and underground creepy Korean films. He's also touring his stand up show 'Why Am I Like This?' now so click the link below to check it out! WILL’s comedy festival show link BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in MELBOURNE, SYDNEY, PERTH and BRISBANE Follow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists. Follow Will on Letterboxd. GUEST PICKS: Red Rooms (Horror), The Wailing (Horror), Lake Mungo (Horror)STAFF PICKS: Noroi The Curse (Horror)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Weaving between narrative and documentary features OTTO BY OTTO, SERIOUSLY RED and extensive work directing some of the best television (including DEADLOCH and HEARTBREAK HIGH), Gracie Otto is one of the most skilled and in-demand filmmakers in Australia. With great stories around Wong Kar-wai and David Lynch, Gracie’s visit to the Last Video Store is one of the greats. BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in MELBOURNE, SYDNEY, PERTH and BRISBANE Follow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists. Here’s Gracie’s list. GUEST PICKS: OTTO BY OTTO (documentary), MULHOLLAND DRIVE (cult), CHUNGKING EXPRESS (cult)STAFF PICKS: HIPPO (cult)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Just before he lands at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Julio Torres joins Alexei Toliopoulos to explore the Last Video Store. Julio Torres is one of the great modern masters of surrealist comedy. Julio made his bones writing now classic sketches at Saturday Night Live (including PAPYRUS starring Ryan Gosling), he’s also the creative force on tv series LOS ESPOOKYS & FANTASMAS. Now Julio has directed his feature film debut, the brilliant comedy PROBLEMISTA, starring Tilda Swinton. JULIO’s comedy festival show link PROBLEMISTA screening with Julio & Alexei BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in MELBOURNE, SYDNEY, PERTH and BRISBANEFollow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists. Here’s Julio’s list. GUEST PICKS: PROBLEMISTA (Comedy), WHERE IS THE FRIEND’S HOUSE (Art House), BIRTH (Cult)STAFF PICKS: T BLOCKERS (Horror), LOVE SERENADE (Cult)See omnystudio

When comedian and podcast host Michael 'Hingers' Hing was 19 and in his 2nd year of uni, he wrote a list of what are, in his opinion, the best 50 movies of all time. And for the first time ever, he's sharing that list exclusively on The Last Video Store podcast. From Pulp Fiction to Finding Nemo, Michael and Alexei go through every movie on that list in this very special episode which will have you saying "Are you talkin' to me?" or something equally annoying. See Michael at your local comedy festival in Australia BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in MELBOURNE, SYDNEY, ADELAIDE, PERTH and BRISBANE Follow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A short and sharp visit to the Last Video Store from one of the greats of Australian cinema, David Wenham. His new film SPIT sees Wenham return to perhaps his most iconic role of ex-junkie Johnny Spitieri from GETTIN SQUARE. SPIT is out now in cinemas.  BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in MELBOURNE, SYDNEY, PERTH and BRISBANE Follow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Celebrating a year into the pod with our original first customer and best mate… it’s the return of Cameron James! Cam has just released his new half hour special on Grouse House (the home of Finding Yeezus).  See Cam at your local comedy festival in Australia  BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in MELBOURNE, SYDNEY, ADELAIDE, PERTH and BRISBANEFollow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists. Here’s Cam’s list.  GUEST PICKS: ONE FLASE MOVE (crime), SUNSET BOULEVARD (crime) STAFF PICKS: TWILIGHT (crime), CUTTER’S WAY (crime), ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS (crime)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Their film THE LAST JOURNEY just became the highest grossing Swedish documentary ever and was selected as the Swedish entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards. The duo Filip och Fredrik are responsible for some of Sweden’s best-loved comedic journalistic innovations, THE LAST JOURNEY is no exception. A touching and hilarious comedy documentary road movie as they take Hammar’s retired father on a nostalgic trip to France to help him get back his joie de vivre! BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in MELBOURNE, SYDNEY, ADELAIDE, PERTH and BRISBANE Follow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists. Here’s Filip & Fredrik’s list. GUEST PICKS: THE LAST JOURNEY (Documentary), THE ACT OF KILLING (Documentary), SIDEWAYS (Comedy)ALEXEI’S STAFF PICK: HANDS ON A HARD BODY (Documentary), OTTO BY OTTO (Documentary)See omnystudio.com/listener for privac