PODCAST

The Stacks

j. the curator

Mellow, spoiler-heavy discussions exploring an absurd physical media collection

tv & film film reviews

All Episodes

03:36:44

Episode 135 - The Rite of Spring + It's Not Good for...

The Stacks ·

2024/04/01

This week on The Stacks, Shana and j. discuss Michael J. Murphy's 1995 direct-to-video folk horror The Rite of Spring and episode 11 of Ultra Q, "Balloonga" in part one (0:00-1:33:48), while part two (1:33:49-2:50:05) features three 70s film picks - Pedro Olea's 1973 Spanish exploitation drama It's Not Good for a Man to Be Alone, a 1978 entry in the long-running Black Emanuelle series, Joe D'Amato's Emanuelle and the White Slave Trade, as well as the 1976 John Guillermin King Kong remake. As usual,

03:22:53

Episode 134 - Half Way to Hell + Five Bloody Graves +...

The Stacks ·

2024/03/25

This week on The Stacks, Shana and j. return to the films of Al Adamson, with part one (0:00-1:15:56) discussing his 1960 directorial and acting debut, Half Way to Hell, as well as his 1969 psychotronic western Five Bloody Graves. In part two (1:15:57-2:42:47) we talk about three additional features - the 2000 Coen Brothers megahit O Brother Where Art Thou?, Enzo G. Castellari's brisk 1974 poliziotteschi Street Law, and Jon Moritsugu's candy-colored PBS sitcom satire Terminal USA. As usual, part

03:56:20

Episode 133 - Woyzeck + Hunt for Red October +Sister...

The Stacks ·

2024/03/19

This week on The Stacks, Shana and j. return to the films of Werner Herzog in part 1 (0:00-1:30:45) with 1977's Klaus Kinski character study Woyzeck, in addition to our ongoing coverage of Ultra Q with the tenth episode, "The Underground Super Express Goes West." In part 2 (1:30:46-3:08:03), we talk about three additional features - John McTiernan's classic 1990 cold war action-drama The Hunt for Red October, Giuseppi Vari's wild swerve into surreal nunsploitation for 1977's Sister Emanuelle from

03:50:21

Episode 132 - Wizard of Gore + Die Hard + Redneck...

The Stacks ·

2024/03/11

On The Stacks this week, Shana and j. bookend our February gore month with another Herschell Gordon Lewis feature, 1970's surrealist horror The Wizard of Gore, in addition to episode 9 of Ultra Q, "Baron Spider" to conclude part one (0:00-1:24:23). In part two (1:24:24-3:10:23), we cover three additional films - John McTiernan's peak action blockbuster Die Hard (1988), Pericles Lewnes' wild SOV Troma gore comedy Redneck Zombies (1989), and Brian Trenchard-Smith's first of two entries in the

03:28:22

Episode 131 - Oasis of the Zombies + Blood for...

The Stacks ·

2024/03/05

On The Stacks this week, Shana and j. conclude our bloody February with four films and one television episode. In part 1 (0:00-1:36:49), we cover Jess Franco's notorious lo-fi 1981 video nasty Oasis of the Zombies as well as "Terror of the Sweet Honey" - the 8th episode of Ultra Q. In part 2 (1:36:50-2:49:59), we discuss three additional films - Paul Morrissey's classic Marxist vampire satire Blood for Dracula, the very heightened and ridiculous sequel Black Cat 2 (like the first, directed by

03:07:24

Episode 130 - Videodrome + Hell High + Santet 2 + Cat...

The Stacks ·

2024/02/27

This week in The Stacks, our impromptu February gore month continues! In part one (0:00-1:09:42), we discuss David Cronenberg's 1983 body horror / media satire Videodrome, while part three (1:09:43-2:25:36) features three additional bloody films: Douglas Grossman's late-80s teen slasher Hell High, the Indonesian black magic / comedy sequel Santet 2 (as with the first, directed by Sisworo Guatama Putra), and Lucio Fulci's career-retrospective 1990 black comedy / horror Cat in the Brain. As usual, we

03:42:20

Episode 129 - Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals + The...

The Stacks ·

2024/02/20

Our bloody February continues this week - in part 1 (0:00-1:22:47) we discuss the sixth(ish) entry in the Black Emanuelle series, Joe D'Amato's 1977 sexploitation gore feature Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals, as well as the 7th episode in the Ultra Q series, "S.O.S. Mount Fuji." In part 2 (1:22:48-2:59:59) we have three additional features: Pasquale Squitieri's 1977 historical drama / poliziotteschi The Iron Prefect (aka I Am the Law), Stephen Shin's 1991 Vancouver-shot HK action feature Black Cat,

03:24:19

Episode 128 - Blood Feast + At Midnight I'll Take...

The Stacks ·

2024/02/13

This week, we begin a bloody February in The Stacks, beginning with Herschell Gordon Lewis' 1963 landmark gore feature Blood Feast, joined in part 1 (0:00-1:24:35) with the weird, off-model sixth episode of Ultra Q, "Grow Up! Little Turtle!" In part 2 (1:24:36-2:32:53), we have two additional gory features - the first in José Mojica Marins' classic Coffin Joe series, 1964's At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul, in addition to Sisworo Gautama Putra's 1988 black magic horror comedy Santet. As usual, part 3

03:32:14

Episode 127 - Dog Day + Varda by Agnes + Prospect

The Stacks ·

2024/02/05

This week on The Stacks, in part 1 (0:00-1:46:22) Shana and j. continue to dig into the work of legendary actor Lee Marvin with the 1984 French black comedy / crime satire Dog Day (aka Canicule, directed by Yves Boisset), as well as continuing to go through the classic 1966 Ultra Q TV series with its fifth episode, "Peguila Is Here!" In part 2 (1:46:22-2:55:03) we have two additional features, the career-spanning 2019 autobiographical documentary Varda by Agnes, and the Zeek Earl & Chris

03:36:40

Episode 126 - Point Blank + Bandh Darwaza + The...

The Stacks ·

2024/01/30

This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:38:13) Shana and j. continue exploring the films of Lee Marvin with John Boorman's 1967 neo-noir masterpiece Point Blank as well as continuing our ongoing coverage of the Ultra Q TV series, with episode 4, "The Mammoth Flower." Then in part two (1:38:14-2:56:31), we have two additional features, the 1990 Tulsi & Shyam Ramsey Bollywood horror banger Bandh Darwaza, and the 1981 Czech steampunk comedy The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians. As usual,

02:56:41

Episode 125 - Dark Star + Cutter's Way + Charlie...

The Stacks ·

2024/01/23

This week on The Stacks, in part 1 (0:00-1:12:46) we discuss John Carpenter's debut, the USC student film expanded to feature length of Dark Star (1974), an absurdist sci-fi satire about blue collar workers blowing up planets, in addition to continuing coverage of the Ultra Q TV series with its third episode ("The Gift From Space"). In part 2 (1:12:47-2:21:36) we discuss three additional films - Ivan Passer's 1981 neo-noir Cutter's Way, the experimental theatre / air disaster documentary Charlie

04:08:57

Episode 124 - Last Year at Marienbad + Prime Cut +...

The Stacks ·

2024/01/16

This week, continuing our New Years Resolutions month, we kick off in part one (0:00-1:47:56) with Alain Resnais' labyrinthine 1961 art film Last Year at Marienbad, followed in part two (1:47:57-3:06:08) by two 70s crime features - Michael Ritchie's 1972 New Hollywood meat and sex trafficking picture Prime Cut, and Enzo G. Castellari's 1976 ultra-violent high-octane poliziotteschi The Big Racket. As usual, we conclude with The Watched Stacks, with some capsule reviews of all the other physical media

03:43:20

Episode 123 - Savage Beach + Hudson River Massacre +...

The Stacks ·

2024/01/09

For the first entry in The Stacks recorded in 2024, we continue our ongoing coverage of Andy Sidaris' Malibu Bay Films with 1989's Savage Beach, as well as episode 2 of Ultra Q ("Goro and Goro" from 1966, directed by Hajime Tsuburaya) in part 1 (0:00-1:27:31), while in part 2 (1:27:32-3:02:58) we talk about the odd Amando de Ossorio Spaghetti Northern, 1965's oddly-named Hudson River Massacre, in addition to Bob Clark's 1983 modern holiday classic A Christmas Story. As usual, we conclude with

03:10:23

Episode 122 - Funeral in Berlin + Psycho II + Karate...

The Stacks ·

2024/01/03

This week on The Stacks, we close out 2023 with four features - in part 1 (0:00-1:07:35) we're discussing the second Harry Palmer film, Guy Hamilton's 1966 entry Funeral in Berlin, which remains satirical but hews closer to existing spy cinema, and in part 2 (1:07:35-2:37:05) we have a triple feature, discussing Richard Franklin's surprisingly good 1983 slasher legacy sequel Psycho II, the violent and silly 1976 Sonny Chiba picture Karate Warriors (directed by Kazuhiko Yamaguchi), and the totally

03:36:15

Episode 121 - Yakuza Wolf + Ormonds pt III +...

The Stacks ·

2023/12/25

This week on The Stacks, Shana and j. talk Sonny Chiba, with the 1972 Ryuichi Takamori exploitation film Yakuza Wolf (0:00-54:01), followed by an extended part two (54:01-2:53:25) featuring a roundup of the last six pictures in the Indicator collection From Hollywood to Heaven: The Lost and Saved Films of the Ormond Family, concluding our discussion of the set, as well as some counter-programming with the deranged 1989 Umberto Lenzi spring break slasher Nightmare Beach. As usual, we conclude in part

03:45:27

Episode 120 - Brazil + 13 Steps of Maki + What...

The Stacks ·

2023/12/19

This week on The Stacks, Shana and j. discuss Terry Gilliam's 1985 dystopian Christmas classic Brazil (0:00-1:54:30), followed in part two (1:54:30-2:56:49) by Makoto Naito's deranged 1975 yakuza exploitation film The 13 Steps of Maki as well as Luca Balser's 2023 New York anthology picture What Doesn't Float. Then we conclude as usual with discussion of all the other physical media we've watched since last week, leading into next week's picks.The live list of The Stacks is online at

03:15:39

Episode 119 - Outlaw Gangster VIP 2 + La casa que...

The Stacks ·

2023/12/12

This week on The Stacks, Shana and j. finally return to the Outlaw Gangster VIP series with its second entry, from 1968, directed by Keiichi Ozawa, featuring the continuing adventures of emotional swordsman Goro, quiet-quitting his yakuza position (0:00-1:09:18), followed by discussion of both Rene Cardona Jr.'s wild exploitation potboiler La casa que arde de noche (or The House That Burns in the Night, 1985) and the intense 1986 Czech stop-motion version of the classic Pied Piper folktale, directed

03:18:52

Episode 118 - Rodan + Ga-Ga: Glory to the Heroes +...

The Stacks ·

2023/12/05

This week on The Stacks, Shana and j. talk about a classic Toho Ishiro Honda kaiju picture, 1956's Rodan, as well as the first episode of influential kaiju TV series Ultra Q ("Defeat Gomess!" from 1966) in part one (0:00-1:00:42), followed in our second part (1:00:43-2:21:08) with discussion of Piotr Szulkin's 1986 dystopian sci-fi black comedy Ga-Ga: Glory to the Heroes and Michael J. Murphy's DIY 1990 erotic thriller Torment, concluding as always with discussion of all the other movies we've

03:21:08

Episode 117 - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly + Under...

The Stacks ·

2023/11/28

This week, Shana and j. finally return to our regular Stacks after our accidental hiatus and Halloween celebration. First up, we conclude our coverage of Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy with the 1966 all-time classic Italian western The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (0:00-1:19:26), followed with discussion of two deranged 80s action exploitation flicks, Rene Cardona Jr.'s 1980 heist / thriller grab-bag Under Siege (aka Hostages, aka Traficantes del Panico, or Panic Makers) and Gordon Hessler's

03:04:23

Episode 116 - McBain + O-Bi O-Ba: The End of...

The Stacks ·

2023/11/21

This week, we move back toward our regularly scheduled programming after Halloween. First up is the 1991 Christopher Walken peak action war on drugs film McBain (directed by James Glickenhaus, running to 1:10:43), then we head over to Eastern Europe for a double bill of Piotr Szulkin's dystopian sci-fi O-Bi O-Ba: The End of Civilization (1985) and Karel Zeman's whimsical children's adventure Journey to the Beginning of Time (1955), continuing on to 2:13:15. This is followed by our regular discussion

217 results

The Stacks

All Episodes

Similar Podcasts

BEHIND THE VELVET ROPE

David Yontef

Nerd Culture - A Gamekings Podcast

Blammo Media

UPodcast

UPodcast

The Writers Hangout

Sandy Adomaitis

The Sarah Fraser Show

Sarah Fraser