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PODCAST

Mary Versus the Movies

Sure, the 1980s were a great decade for film. But have you seen all of them? No, neither has Mary. In fact, some pretty big films passed her by, what with being in kindergarten at the time: A Nightmare on Elm Street, Moonstruck, My Neighbor Totoro... So it"s time to fix that. Artwork, opening and closing themes by Dennis Lingg Produced and edited by Mary Jones

tv & film film reviews

All Episodes

49:10

Episode 177 - The 'Burbs (1989)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2025/03/07

Ray just wants a peaceful staycation--why do his neighbors have to be so weird? We kick off Dennis Vs. the Movies Month with one of Mary's favorite movies from her childhood. Starring: Tom Hanks, Henry Gibson, Bruce Dern, Rick Ducommun, Corey Feldman, Brother Theodore, Wendy Schaal, and Carrie Fischer. Written by Dana Olsen. Directed by Joe Dante.

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41:35

Episode 176 - Chopping Mall (1986)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2025/02/27

Robot security guards go rogue and start killing people at the mall. Don't worry, it's 2025, all our malls are dead already, and I'm sure our robot security guards will treat us well. Starring Kelli Maroney, Tony O'Dell, John Terlesky, Russell Todd, and Barbara Crampton. Written by Jim Wynorski and Steve Mitchell. Directed by Jim Wynorski

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44:19

Episode 175 - Wish You Were Here (1987)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2025/02/21

A young woman coming of age in a seaside town challenges the stuffy sexual mores and hypocrisy of post-war Britain in this dramedy from the writer of Mona Lisa. Starring Emily Lloyd, Tom Bell, Geoffrey Hutchings, and Pat Heywood. Written and directed by David Leland.

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01:46:21

Episode 174 - Listen To Me (1989)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2025/02/14

A standard college melodrama makes a hard-right turn into an anti-abortion screed in a move that's almost as bizarre as Kirk Cameron's horrible Southern accent. We welcome back Alana Phelan to the show with a movie she really loved as a kid, but viewing it as an adult, a few things suddenly stand out. Starring Kirk Cameron, Jamie Gertz, Roy Scheider, and Tim Quill. Written and directed by Douglass Day Stewart. Content warning: this episode discusses rape, abortion, and general sexual topics. The

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45:03

Episode 173 - The Beast / Beast of War (1988)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2025/02/07

A Russian tank unit is lost during the Soviet-Afghan war, leading to a breakdown in order, attempted mutiny, and dessertion to the Mujahideen. Part Moby Dick, part Lawrence of Arabia, and a little bit Rambo, it's a meditation on war, revenge, and mercy. Starring George Dzundza, Jason Patric, Steven Bauer, Stephen Baldwin, Erick Avari, and Don Harvey. Written by William Mastrosimone. Directed by Kevin Reynolds

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05:18

Hollywood Avalon, ep 21 - The Adventures of Sir...

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2025/02/04

We took a look at a British tv series from the 1950s, dramatising the Arthurian story in a high-romance fashion. Believe it or not, it’s pretty good! Starring William Russell–who later played “Ian” on Doctor Who–it’s a fairly faithful rendering of the story, with Lancelot as an outsider who comes to Arthur’s court, Gawain as his rival, a belligerent Kay, and a Merlin who is part magician, part con-man. Lancelot isn’t just the best of knights here, he’s also a champion of underdogs, defying the more

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58:16

Episode 172 - Moonraker (1979)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2025/01/31

James Bond goes up against Hugo Drax, a billionaire with a private space rocket company who's secretly a eugenicist, plotting to kill everyone on earth and replace them with his idea of a master race who lives in space. I don't know why this sounds so familiar. Also, Jaws the Henchman shows up and goes through so many near-deaths, you'd think he was fighting Bugs Bunny. Starring Roger Moore, Michael Lonsdale, Richard Kiel, Lois Chiles, and Corrine Clery. Written by Christopher Wood from Ian

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01:08:03

Episode 171 - Eraserhead (1977)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2025/01/24

David Lynch's first film is an exploration of the fear of fatherhood, set against a grim industrial backdrop, featuring surreal, nightmarish imagry that would reoccur throughout his career. An influential, landmark American film of the midnight movie scene, and ultimately, one hell of a bad trip. Starring Jack Nance, Charlotte Stewart, Jeanne Bates, Judith Anna Roberts, and Robert Fisk. Written and directed by David Lynch.

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01:20:53

Episode 170 - The Boys From Brazil (1978)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2025/01/17

Nazis hiding in South America have been cloning Hitler, and one researcher is crossing the globe, trying to stop their plans to resurrect the Third Reich. A thriller from the writer of Rosemary's Baby and The Stepford Wives that culimates in two very old men slapfighting over the future. Starring Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier, James Mason, Lilli Palmer, Steve Guttenberg, Uta Hagen, and Jeremy Black. Written by Ira Levin and Heywood Gould. Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner.

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49:34

Episode 169 - Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2025/01/10

Nebbish Seymour Krelborn finds an extraterrestrial plant that offers him everything he wants—fame, money, the love of his coworker Audrey—in return for fresh human blood. What started as a 1960 Roger Corman schlockfest is turned into a campy musical from the guys who brought us… The Little Mermaid? Wait, really? Starring Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Vincent Gardenia, Steve Martin, and Bill Murray. Written by Howard Ashman. Music by Alan Menkin. Directed by Frank Oz

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20:45

Hollywood Avalon, ep. 20 - Excalibur (1981)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/12/31

Here it is, John Boorman's epic retelling of King Arthur's conception, Camelot, the Holy Grail, and his final betrayal by his own son. It's mostly Thomas Malory's 15th century romance Le Morte Darthur, mashed up with bits of Jessie Weston's 1920 book, the Grail study "From Ritual to Romance" and with a heavy dollop of 1960s Neopaganism. It has plenty of sex, violence, swords, and sorcery to grab the attention of any young teen watching HBO in the 1980s, and enough Before They Were Stars for the rest

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52:17

Episode 168 - Scrooge (1970)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/12/20

It's the musical version of A Christmas Carol, featuring one of the more surprising diss tracks in all musical cinema. Join us as we dissect Dickens' classic one more time. Starring Albert Finney, Alec Guinness, Edith Evans, Kenneth Moore, and Laurence Naismith. Directed by Ronald Neame. Written and with music by Leslie Bricusse.

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01:44:06

Episode 167 - The Warriors (1979)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/12/13

The gangs of New York come together for a conclave, only for the charismatic leader Cyrus to be assassinated, and Coney Island's Warriors to be falsely accused. Can they make it home before the rest of the city tries to kill them? Joining us is a special guest, the writer and cartoonist Michael Kupperman, creator of Snake 'n' Bacon and author of All the Answers. Starring Michael Beck, James Remar, David Patrick Kelly, and Deborah Van Valkenburgh. Directed by Walter Hill. Written by Walter Hill and

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01:16:40

Episode 166 - Saturday Night Fever (1977)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/12/05

The ultimate himbo pursues his dancing dreams during one of the worst periods of New York City’s history, and ends up a cultural icon—off-screen, of course. Starring John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney, Barry Miller, Paul Pape, Donna Pescow, and Martin Shakar. Written by Norman Wexler. Directed by John Badham.

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09:23

Hollywood Avalon ep. 19 - Transformers: the Last...

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/11/29

This month, we are joined with a special guest, Tim Ryan, the King of Janitors, for a watch of Michael Bay's Arthurian epic, Transformers: The Last Knight, in which Mark Wahlberg teams up with a hot Oxford don who is apparently the last descendent of Merlin, and a selection of Autobots, to take on a corrupted Optimus Prime, using Excalibur. No, I'm not making this up. It's a complete nonsense movie. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Josh Duhamel, Anthony Hopkins, Stanley Tucci, Laura Haddock, Isabela Moner,

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01:09:58

Episode 165 - Cinema Paradiso (1988)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/11/29

A Sicilan boy in post-war Italy is taken under the wing of the local projectionist, and begins a life-long love of the movies, while watching how the world changes around him. Winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, this is a funny, moving film about love, art, and community. Starring Philippe Noiret, Salvatore Cascio, Jacques Perrin, Antonella Attili, and Agnese Nano. Written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore.

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49:06

Episode 164 - Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/10/31

An evil Irish toymaker is plotting a mass child sacrifice using his Halloween masks, and it's up to one alcoholic doctor to stop him. There's no Michael Myers, but there is a pretty baroque and silly plot here under a lot of early 1980s grime. Starring Tom Atkins, Stacy Nelkin, and Dan O'Herlihy. Written and directed by Tommy Lee Wallace.

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03:13

Hollywood Avalon ep. 18 - Army of Darkness (1992)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/10/31

The evil grimoire the Necronomicon sends Ash Williams—chainsaw hand all—back to the Dark Ages where he helps King Arthur battle the forces of the Undead. Starring Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert, and Ian Ambercrombie. Written by Sam Raimi and Ivan Raimi. Directed by Sam Raimi. This is a preview of the latest episode of our series Hollywood Avalon. To hear the entire episode, join the Mary Versus the Movies patreon for $3/month to hear this and the entire series Hollywood

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59:31

Episode 163 - The Hunger (1983)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/10/25

A sexy gerontologist falls in with an Egyptian/French vampire and her thin white duke in this gothic--and we do mean gothic--erotic horror set in New York City. Starring Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, Susan Sarandon, and Cliff De Young. Written by Ian Davis and Michael Thomas from Whitley Strieber's novel. Directed by Tony Scott.

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01:03:12

Episode 162 - Mad Monster Party? (1967)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/10/18

Our friend Jen has brought us a semi-forgotten Rankin-Bass Halloween movie that features racially-tinged zombies, sexual harrassment, and a bad Jimmy Stewart impression. Maybe there's a reason this doesn't often show up on TV. Starring Boris Karloff, Phyllis Diller, Allen Swift, and Gale Garnette. Written by Arthur Rankin Jr., Len Korobkin and Harvey Kurtzman. Directed by Jules Bass.

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