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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

05:04

Hollywood Avalon, Episode 14 - Morgane et ses...

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/06/01

Young lovers Anna and Françoise, freshly graduated from college, find themselves in a mysterious forest, where they fall prey to Morgan le Fay, the fairy queen of Avalon who rules her magic island as a savage, Sapphic nightmare. For a sleazy erotic horror film, it's much better than it deserves to be--surprisingly atmospheric, with authentic elements of fairy lore, folk horror, and medieval literary tropes amidst the soft-core action. Starring Dominique Delpierre, Mireille Saunin, Michèle Perello,

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01:03:23

Episode 146 - Pennies from Heaven (1981)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/05/31

A sheet-music salesman's life spirals out of control during the Great Depression, but that doesn't stop him from daydreaming about a better life through song. A film noir plot dressed up as a big, Busby Berkeley-style musical comedy, this remake of a British tv series was a massive box-office bomb, but has become a cult favorite. Starring Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Jessica Harper, and Christopher Walken. Written by Dennis Potter. Directed by Herbert Ross.

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45:10

Episode 145 - Footloose (1984)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/05/17

In a world where dancing is banned, only one boy has the courage to stand up to the religious fanatics denying his magical feet. Or something. I guess. Starring Kevin Bacon, John Lithgow, Lori Singer, Diane Weist, and Christ Penn. Written by Dean Pitchford. Directed by Herbert Ross.

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01:11:26

Episode 144 - Over the Edge (1979)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/05/10

Bored suburban kids get into trouble, hassled by the cops until it turns deadly, and ending in an orgy of destruction--a pretty familiar American story. Sitting somewhere between low-budget exploitation films and more thoughtful, nervy fair, this cult movie pulls off having its cake and eating it, exploring the root causes of juvenile delinquency while having some awesome explosions. Starring Michael Kramer, Matt Dillon, Pamela Ludwig, Vincent Spano, and Harry Northup. Written by Charles S. Haas

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01:16:50

Episode 143 - Stranger Than Paradise (1984)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/05/03

A gambler's cousin shows up from Hungary and suddenly turns his dirtbag life upsidedown, sending them on a roadtrip around America. Starring John Lurie, Eszter Balint, and Richard Edson. Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch.

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09:19

Hollywood Avalon 13 - Camelot, Part II

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/05/01

We return to Camelot with a look at the 1967 film production of the Lerner & Loewe musical, again starring Richard Harris as King Arthur. At three hours, it's an overly-long production that loses steam in its third hour, but the first two are lush and often inspired, and possibly the best-looking movie we've covered for the show. Starring Richard Harris, Vanessa Redgrave, Franco Nero, David Hemmings, and Lionel Jeffries. Written by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. Directed by Joshua Logan. This

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40:49

Episode 142 - Eating Raoul (1982)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/04/26

A black comedy about a sexually-repressed couple who fund their dream of opening a restaurant by posing as sex workers and robbing and murdering Los Angeles swingers. When a local thief worms his way into the scheme, everything goes haywire, jeopardizing their chance at the American Dream. Starring Paul Bartel, Mary Waronov, Robert Beltran, Susan Saiger, Buck Henry, Ed Begley Jr., John Paragon, and Edie McClurg. Written by Paul Bartel and Richard Blackburn. Directed by Paul Bartel.

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41:00

Episode 141 - D.A.R.Y.L. (1985)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/04/19

A mysterous boy is adopted by a couple and soon shows himself to be unnervingly perfect. Is he really a robot? Maybe even a secret military project? Yeah, of course he is, this is the 1980s. It's not great. Starring Barret Oliver, Michael McKean, and Mary Beth Hurt. Written by David Ambrose, Allan Scott, and Jeffrey Ellis. Directed by John Heyman

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01:02:53

Episode 140 - Dream a Little Dream (1989)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/04/12

We welcome back Alana Phelan to the show to talk about a Corey Feldman-Corey Haim fantasy with weirdo philosopher Jason Robards inhabiting Feldman's body as he tries to romance Meredith Salinger. It's a very weird movie loved by this weeks' guest. Starring Corey Feldman, Corey Haim, Meredith Salinger, Jason Robards, Piper Laurie, and Harry Dean Stanton. Written by Marc Rocco, Daniel Jay Franklin, and D.E. Eisenberg. Directed by Marc Rocco.

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41:29

Episode 139 - Dragnet (1987)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/04/05

Dan Ackroyd's misguided take on the copaganda classic Dragnet was a huge disappointment when Dennis saw it in theaters back in 1987. Does his opinion hold up? Or is the film even worse than he remembers? Should he have talked Mary out of covering this at all? But at least we finally get to cover a Tom Hanks movie for the show, right? Starring Dan Ackroyd, Tom Hanks, Christopher Plummer, Dabney Coleman, Alexandra Paul, and Harry Morgan. Written by Dan Ackroyd, Alan Zweibel, and Tom Mankiewicz

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04:37

Hollywood Avalon, episode 12 - Camelot, Part I...

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/04/03

We start the first of a two-part series examining the musical Camelot, the Broadway hit based on T.H. White’s The Once and Future King, which I recently re-read in preparation. For part one, we look at both the original cast recording from 1960, as well as two clips from the Ed Sullivan show, featuring Richard Burton as King Arthur and Julie Andrews as Guenevere. Unfortunately, this is all we could find of that particular version of the show. We were, however, able to find a 1981 stage revival

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42:41

Episode 138 - Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare (1987)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/03/29

We finish "Dennis versus the movies" with a very silly Canadian hair metal horror movie wherein Jon Mikl Thor battles a rubbery devil. It's the kind of goofy trash they used to show at 3 a.m. when we were a proper country. Starring Jon Mikl Thor. Written by Jon Mikl Thor. Directed by John Fasano.

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01:10:55

Episode 137 - The Last Unicorn (1982)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/03/21

The Rankin-Bass adaptation of Peter S. Beagle's fairy tale about the last unicorn in the world and the small band of humans who help her is a melancholy story gorgeously animated by the Japanese studio Topcraft. This was a favorite movie of Mary's as a kid, but completely unknown to Dennis. This month, we fix that. Starring Mia Farrow, Alan Arkin, Tammy Grimes, Jeff Bridges, Christopher Lee, Keenan Wynn, Rene Auberjonois, and Angela Lansbury. Written by Peter S. Beagle. Driected by Jules Bass and

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01:03:17

Episode 136 - After Hours (1985)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/03/15

"Dennis vs. the Movies" continues with a look at Martin Scorsese's black comedy about a yuppie who meets the wrong woman, is stranded overnight in Soho, and hunted by an angry mob. It's a comedic take on the country's feelings about New York, expressed in other film of the period--a terrifying, lawless place, Escape from New York, The Warriors, "the Bronx is burning" and all that--and stands it on its head. Forty years later, it's hard not to feel nostalgic for a world where artists could squat in

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01:20:56

Episode 135 - The Great Muppet Caper (1981) with...

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/03/08

We kick off "Dennis versus the movies" month with a viewing of the second Muppet movie, The Great Muppet Caper, in which the Muppets go to England and get tangled up with Charles Grodin and a jewel heist. Joining us is our special guest, Zach Woliner, a puppeteer and children's entertainer. Starring Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Charles Grodin, Diana Rigg, John Cleese, Robert Morley, Peter Ustinov, Jack Warden, and of course Peter Falk. Written by Tom Patchett, Jay

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47:10

Episode 134 - Wild At Heart (1990)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/03/01

David Lynch's violent romantic drama plays like William Faulkner had written The Wizard of Oz starring Elvis Presley--a strange, campy, Southern Gothic road trip through America that Lynch described as "a love story in Hell". Starring Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, Willem Dafoe, Diane Ladd, Harry Dean Stanton, and Isabella Rossellini.

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44:27

Episode 133 - Mona Lisa (1986)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/02/23

Neil Jordan's neo-noir romance about a jailbird driver, a high-priced escort, and the mob boss running everything is a bleak, sometimes-funny look at duplicity, delusion, and the seedy side of London. Starring Bob Hoskins, Cathy Tyson, Michael Caine, Robbie Coltrane, and Clarke Peters. Written by Neil Jordan and David Leland, and directed by Neil Jordan.

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05:29

Hollywood Avalon, Episode 11 - Unidentified Flying...

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/02/20

From the nadir of Disney filmmaking comes yet another spin on Mark Twain's Connecticut Yankee, this time featuring Dennis Dugan as a NASA engineer accidentally sent back in time with his android twin Hermes. It's not the worst movie we've covered for the show--the supporting cast of English comedians as Arthur's court are fine--but it's not exactly Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Starring Dennis Dugan, Sheila White, Kenneth Moore, Ron Moody, and Jim Dale. Written by Don Tait and directed by Russ Mayberry

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41:55

Episode 132 - My Beautiful Launderette (1985)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/02/16

Omar, a young Brit from a Pakistani family, and his boyfriend Johnny, a former skinhead, attempt to open the nicest laundromat in London while tackling issues of family, race, class, sex, crime, and Thatcher-era austerity. Starring Saeed Jaffrey, Roshan Seth, Daniel Day-Lewis, Gordon Warnecke, and Shirley Anne Field. Written by Hanif Kureishi and directed by Stephen Frears

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50:13

Episode 131 -A Room With a View (1985)

Mary Versus the Movies ·

2024/02/09

Merchant-Ivory's lush adaptation of E.M. Forster's novel of romantic struggle against Edwardian repression is the best possible version of those PBS dramas your mom likes to watch--better, even, because this one has full frontal male nudity. Starring Helena Bonham Carter, Julian Sands, Maggie Smith, Denholm Elliott, Daniel Day-Lewis, Judi Dench, and Simon Callow. Written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, and directed by James Ivory.

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242 results

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