Category: All Posts

Smug Film Podcast Episode #87 – Carl Garcia / Star Trek Beyond / Justice League / Wonder Woman (7/25/16)

Episode 8756:06 | View on iTunes | Download Mp3

On this episode, Cody Clarke is joined live via Skype by Carl Garcia for a rousing discussion about Star Trek Beyond, the new Justice League and Wonder Woman trailers, and much more! Plus, Carl Garcia has a bone to pick with John D’Amico! And of course, a brand new Robot Reenactment!

If you have a question or comment that you’d like answered/played on the show, call our voicemail box at 718-395-9711, and be sure to leave your name as well!

And, if you haven’t already, head on over to our Patreon, where we’ve got a bunch of great rewards for listeners who donate to the show. Donating one dollar a month gets you a bonus mini-episode of the show in your inbox every Monday! These special episodes will never be available on iTunes or SmugFilm.com or anywhere else. The only way to hear them is by donating. And we’ve got a bunch of other great rewards too on there too, so check it out today!
Continue reading Smug Film Podcast Episode #87 – Carl Garcia / Star Trek Beyond / Justice League / Wonder Woman (7/25/16)

Cody Clarke v ‘Batman v Superman’

batsuptop

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Directed by Zack Snyder
Written by Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer
182 min. (‘Ultimate Edition’)
151 min. (Theatrical)

Very mild spoilers ahead.

I had no interest in this movie until the bad reviews started rolling in, and rolling in hard. My favorite Batman movie has an 11% on Rotten Tomatoes, so a new one sitting comfortably at 27% with critics seemed like it could be way up my alley.

But then, audiences started digging it. (To date, it currently sits at 65% with them.) And that didn’t bode well. ‘Divisive’ is not what I look for in a superhero movie—‘universally-panned’ is. This formula doesn’t always work out—Catwoman really is that bad—but it has lead me to some gems, such as the modern body horror masterpiece Fantastic Four from last year; Shaquille O’Neal’s charming, homegrown-vibed Steel; and of course, the afore-alluded to Batman & Robin, which I loved when I saw as a kid, then instantly hated on after I left the theater because everyone else was hating on it, then finally re-watched a year ago and realized that my initial assessment of it as great was spot-on and I never should’ve kowtowed to something as philistinic as popular opinion.

Continue reading Cody Clarke v ‘Batman v Superman’

Smug Film Podcast Episode #86 – Penelope Tayne / Carl Garcia / Hausu / Bill & Ted (7/18/16)

Episode 8651:31 | View on iTunes | Download Mp3

On this episode, Cody Clarke is joined live via Skype by Carl Garcia and Penelope Tayne for a rousing discussion about Hausu, Bill & Ted, and much more! Plus, a brand new Robot Reenactment!

If you have a question or comment that you’d like answered/played on the show, call our voicemail box at 718-395-9711, and be sure to leave your name as well!

And, if you haven’t already, head on over to our Patreon, where we’ve got a bunch of great rewards for listeners who donate to the show. Donating one dollar a month gets you a bonus mini-episode of the show in your inbox every Monday! These special episodes will never be available on iTunes or SmugFilm.com or anywhere else. The only way to hear them is by donating. And we’ve got a bunch of other great rewards too on there too, so check it out today!
Continue reading Smug Film Podcast Episode #86 – Penelope Tayne / Carl Garcia / Hausu / Bill & Ted (7/18/16)

Understanding the Feminism of ‘Hausu’

hausu1

Hausu (1977)
Directed by Obayashi Nobuhiko
Written by Katsura Chiho
Story by Obayashi Chigumi

“Any old cat can open a door. Only a witch cat can close a door.”

“Kiss me like thumping, as blood clots on my lips
Hold me, as my ribs are breaking
I love love love you so much
I love love love you so much
I love love love you so much
Say you love me or I’ll kill you!”
Togawa Jun – ‘Suki Suki Daisuki’

Spoilers ahead.

Hausu practically needs no introduction in 2016. Seemingly everyone, from the most basic dilettante of foreign horror to the most extreme Criterion nerd, has seen it or is planning to see it at some point. Moreover, it has become a cinematic belle of the ball, a center of attention as everyone tries to offer an interpretation or explanation as to what exactly it is, and what the plot is about. No less a source than Criterion offers wildly disparate explanations for what occurs on screen, comparing it to a “ghost story”, a “bedtime story”, and an episode of “Scooby-Doo”. Unfortunately, all of Criterion’s provided comparisons and analyses are wrong. Hausu is a film originating in the fevered imagination of an eight-year-old Japanese girl, who provided concepts for the scenarios and the fears that would be on display. Somehow as a result of her unfiltered impressions—and an iconoclastic director’s free rein from his studio to create something truly outlandish—a film about the role women are forced into if they wish to survive late Showa society is born.

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Smug Film Podcast Episode #85 – Carl Garcia / Escaping with Movies / Theater Rituals / Dirty Grandpa / Black Panties (7/11/16)

Episode 8551:13 | View on iTunes | Download Mp3

On this episode, Cody Clarke and Carl Garcia discuss movies that are good for escaping from thinking about all the craziness going on in the news. Plus, a voicemail from Paul, and a brand new Robot Reenactment!

If you have a question or comment that you’d like answered/played on the show, call our voicemail box at 718-395-9711, and be sure to leave your name as well!

And, if you haven’t already, head on over to our Patreon, where we’ve got a bunch of great rewards for listeners who donate to the show. Donating one dollar a month gets you a bonus mini-episode of the show in your inbox every Monday! These special episodes will never be available on iTunes or SmugFilm.com or anywhere else. The only way to hear them is by donating. And we’ve got a bunch of other great rewards too on there too, so check it out today!
Continue reading Smug Film Podcast Episode #85 – Carl Garcia / Escaping with Movies / Theater Rituals / Dirty Grandpa / Black Panties (7/11/16)