It took us over 400 episodes, but we're finally paying tribute to the longest-running American science fiction franchise, one that has millions of loyal followers all over the globe! That's right, it's time to talk about Star Trek! For our first film in the pairing, we're looking at what most Trekkers consider the best film to come out of Trek Lore…

“Gaze! Gaze on the fiery cross and return to the darkness of your cold tombs.” That’ll never work. They don’t have ears! Join your faithful Grue Crew – Doc Rotten, […]Doc Rotten and The Black Saint

“Only Angels Have Wings” 1939 takes place in the fictional South American town of Barranca. There is danger, romance, and drama surrounding Barranca Airways a struggling business with fatalistic pilots, money worries, unpredictable weather, few planes, and difficult human relationships. Director Howard Hawks creates excitement much as he did with “…

The second film in our look at 80s horror anthologies has a tragedy at its heart. In 1983's "Twilight Zone: The Movie," directors Joe Dante, John Landis, and George Miller serve up four different stories, written by John Landis, George Clayton Johnson, and Richard and Melissa Matheson. The wrap-around story stars Dan Aykroyd. In the prologue, he an…

We're focusing on horror anthologies for this pairing, with two notable examples from the 1980s! First up, the only collaboration between horror masters Stephen King and George Romero resulted in one of the best horror anthologies ever made. In 1982's "Creepshow," with Romero directing a screenplay written by King, the film begins with its wrap-aro…

“I’d like you to tell the public that this whole abomination is hurting business. It’s ruining my plans for a housing project. Nobody wants to buy land with an ugly […]Doc Rotten and The Black Saint

The second film in our pairing examining the work of director William Friedkin takes place on the other coast from our first. In 1985's "To Live and Die in L.A.," Secret Service agent Richard Chance (William Petersen) loses his long-time partner Jimmy Hart (Michael Greene) after he is killed trying to track down notorious counterfeiter Eric Masters…

This pairing focuses on renowned Hollywood director William Friedkin who passed away in August of 2023. Best known as the director of "The Exorcist," he directed over 40 projects in his life, including the two films discussed here. First up, in 1971, with only two projects to his credit, he was given the task of leading the cinematic adaptation of …

“Devil Woman! Devil! Devil!” With evil on her mind? Join your faithful Grue Crew – Doc Rotten, Bill Mulligan, and Jeff Mohr along with guest host Gregory Crosby – as […]Doc Rotten and The Black Saint

For the second film in our tribute to Carl Weathers, we move to 1987 and Weathers teaming up with another superstar: Arnold Schwarzenegger! In 1987's "Predator," directed by John McTiernan, Weathers plays Staff Sergeant George Dillon, a former comrade now turned CIA operative, who needs a group of commandos to invade a South American jungle to save…

“Bicycle Thieves” also known as “Bicycle Thief” 1948 is an Italian drama that presents a Rome family struggling with unemployment, poverty, and the aftermath of World War II. Director Vittorio De Sica captures this subsistence life with exceptional use of black and white cinematography, melancholy music, on location street scenes, untrained actors,…

Veteran actor Carl Weathers passed away on February 2nd, 2024, from atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. He was 76 years old, and left us a long history of entertaining and engaging characters and performances. This pairing is a tribute to his career, starting with his best performance in a series that is beloved across the world. In "Rocky III,…

“Meat is meat.” Where have you heard that before? Join your faithful Grue Crew – Doc Rotten, Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, and Jeff Mohr – as they relish the chance […]Doc Rotten and The Black Saint

The second film in our pairing focusing on men dressing as women became a classic the moment it was released! Directed by Chris Columbus, 1993's "Mrs. Doubtfire" demonstrated the lengths a father will go to in order to be near his kids! Daniel Hillard (Robin Williams) is a voice-over actor whose inner sense of right and wrong results in some diffic…

Our 400th consecutive episode... who'd have ever believed it! And to celebrate, we're turning to movies that continue a tradition that dates back to Shakespearean times - Men dressing as women! First up, directed by Sydney Pollack (who also plays a role in the film... more on that in the episode) comes the story of Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman), …

“It would be nice just to see one little spurt at the moment of slashing.” A little spurt, you say? Can do. Join your faithful Grue Crew – Doc Rotten, […]Doc Rotten and The Black Saint

The second film in our pairing of stories which were inspired by, and affected, race relations of the era, we turn to one of the most consistent voices speaking through the medium, writer/director Spike Lee. His 1989 film, "Do the Right Thing," follows a day in the life of neighborhood resident Mookie (Lee) as he navigates his various responsibilit…

For the last pairing of the three-hundreds, we turn to films that have an indelible place in U.S. race-relations, in two separate decades. First up, from 1967, a film whose production during a time when mixed-race marriages were still illegal in over a dozen U.S. states. Directed by Stanley Kramer, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" put the issue front…

“Smells like cheese, looks like ham… [takes a bite of sandwich] Oh, no problem. It’s chicken.” Rest assured, Grue Believers. Nothing about this movie resembles chicken. Join your faithful Grue […]Doc Rotten and The Black Saint

For our second episode spotlighting the work of actor Kevin Kline, we turn to his dramatic work in a film that will tug at your heart in a way few others have! Directed by Irwin Winkler, 2001's "Life As A House" follows George Monroe, an architectural model-builder whose usefulness is ending thanks to computer modeling. He is divorced and his ex-wi…

This episode begins our pairing saluting the incredible work of actor Kevin Kline! Drama, comedy, thriller, musical, there's not a genre he can't master and turn in an incredible performance time and time again. And so, we're focusing on two extremes for these two episodes. First up: Comedy! Directed by Frank Oz, 1997's "In and Out" tells the tory …

“Mircalla?” “Marcilla?” “But that girl is a guest in my house. Her name is Carmilla. And my daughter is dying!” Looks like “Anagrams ‘R’ Us” is at it again. Join […]Doc Rotten and The Black Saint

The second film in our fantasy pairing comes from acclaimed director Ridley Scott, and also features the first appearance of an actor we've all come to know and love! In 1985's "Legend," a beautiful young maiden named Lily (Mia Sara in her first cinematic role) is in love with Jack (Tom Cruise), a young man living in the wilds of the forest. He, to…

For our first full pairing of the new year, we're going to take a turn to the fantastic... literally! Two epic fantasy films from the 1980s are our focus this time around, starting with the debut cinematic performance of Peter MacNicol in director Matthew Robbins' take on a favorite fantasy beast in 1981's "Dragonslayer!" Master sorcerer Ulrich (Ra…

“You have the manners of an alley cat.” On the other hand, alley cats would be an improvement, right? Join your faithful Grue Crew – Doc Rotten, Chad Hunt, Bill […]Doc Rotten and The Black Saint

Our second film celebrating the holidays is a new take on a classic tale - Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol!" This time around, however, it's made up of a whole lot of muppets! Directed by Brian Henson, Jim Henson's son, "The Muppet Christmas Carol" was the first film produced by Henson studios after Jim's death. Starring Sir Michael Caine as Eb…

It's our annual holiday pairing here on the podcast, and this year we stumbled on two that we were surprised we'd missed until now! First up, a John Hughes classic that tells the tale of harried parents of a large family who head off to Paris, France for a vacation! Unfortunately, they forgot something rather important back at their house... and th…

“How do you go about killing a machine? It’s too heavy to hang and it’s too big to put in the gas chamber.” Firing squad? Ole Sparky? Join your faithful […]Doc Rotten and The Black Saint

The second film in our pairing of musical versions of the story of Jesus Christ came out only three months after "Godspell," but tells the story in a very different way. Presented as a rock opera, with only sung lines throughout, director Normal Jewison's "Jesus Christ Superstar" is also set in modern times, but seems to shift back and forth, with …

As we cruise into the holiday season, it felt like an appropriate time to look at movie musicals about the life of Jesus Christ as told in the bible. We begin this pairing with a unique telling of the gospels, set in (at the time) modern New York City. Directed by David Greene, "Godspell" begins with John the Baptist (David Haskell) calling togethe…

“She who is buried here shall henceforth have no name, shall cease to exist in the minds of man as she has ceased to exist in life.” Well, she has […]Doc Rotten and The Black Saint

Our second film moves ahead 12 years, and we're making an exception to our "10 years old" rule to bring you one of the most successful R-rated superhero film in history! Directed by Tim Miller, 2016's "Deadpool" introduced the world to smart-mouthed mercenary Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds, who also served as co-producer). Wade spends his time in a mer…

It's back to the world of superheroes for this pairing, but superheroes unlike the ones most people think of when they hear the term. We're focusing on the outliers, the scorned, the anti-heroes, and looking at two heroes that stretch the definition of the term. First off, genius director Guilllermo del Toro brings us the story of an creature accid…

“They’ll come back. They cannot die.” Sounds like vampires… or zombies. Is it vampires or zombies? Join your faithful Grue Crew – Doc Rotten, Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, Jeff Mohr […]Doc Rotten and The Black Saint

The second film in our pairing of thrillers from master director David Fincher comes only two years after his acclaimed debut with "Se7en." This time, it's a reality-twisting mind-bender of an experience as we watch someone come unstuck from his personal reality in 1997's "The Game." The story follows Nicholas Van Orton (Michael Douglas), a success…

For the next two weeks, we're diving head-first into the Thriller genre, with two films from one of the recognized masters of the type, David Fincher! First up, it's a story of serial killing and sin in a very specific way, as a killer finds people guilty of committing the seven deadly sins: Pride, Envy, Sloth, Gluttony, Lust, Wrath, and Greed. Vet…

Our podcast covers time travel movies. “Time After Time” 1979 from Director Nicholas Meyer transports us to H.G. Wells and his search for Doctor John Leslie Stevenson known as Jack-the-Ripper. Malcolm McDowell is H.G. Wells, Mary Steenburgen plays Amy Robbins who assists Wells, with Jack-the-Ripper played by David Warner. “Somewhere in Time” 1980 b…

“I’ve had fifty-six lovers and haven’t killed even one of them.” Good to know … for future reference. Join your faithful Grue Crew – Doc Rotten, Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, […]Doc Rotten and The Black Saint

Our second horror film that spawned a franchise comes to us from 1984. Directed by (now) horror master Wes Craven, "A Nightmare on Elm Street" spins the tale of a vengeful spirit returned to take his revenge on the children of the people who killed him. Fred Kreuger (Robert Englund) was a serial killer of children who got off on a technicality, whi…

“Sextette” 1978 is Mae West’s last film and showcases her talents and one liners. The movie is a wedding day mash-up of oddball characters, funny situations, antics of ex-husbands, an international peace conference, musical numbers, and a potpourri of stars. Director Ken Hughes created this big budget smorgasbord that sank at the box office. Mae We…

We incorrectly said Robert Wise never directed a western. Mr. Wise directed these westerns - “Two Flags West” 1950, “Tribute to a Bad Man” 1956, and “Blood on the Moon” 1948. We apologize for our oversight. The creativity of Mr. Wise is seen throughout “Blood on the Moon”. Robert Mitchum as Jim Garry rides into a conflict involving Robert Preston a…

“The Lion” 1962 is a family/adventure film set on an animal preserve in Kenya. Director Jack Cardiff relies on excellent movie making skills to fill the screen with beautiful scenes of Africa and wildlife. Mr. Cardiff‘s experience includes Cinematographer for films such as “Black Narcissus” 1947 (Episode 98) and “The African Queen” 1951. William Ho…

“Mogambo” 1953 is a romance-adventure film set in Africa. Thank you to Patreon listener Arthur who recommended we include the movie in a podcast. Director John Ford built the film around African locations and music from African tribes. The film has many elements found in the 1932 movie “Red Dust”. Clark Gable is Victor Marswell the experienced guid…

For our yearly Halloween pairing, this time we're looking at two films that started very long-lived horror franchises! First up, from the mind of John Carpenter, who directed, co-write, and scored this independent film, it's the debut cinematic performance from Jamie Lee Curtis, 1978's "Halloween!" Co-written with Carpenter's then-girlfriend Debra …

“What an excellent day for an exorcism.” You don’t have to say that twice. Join your faithful Grue Crew – Doc Rotten, Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, Jeff Mohr, and guest […]Doc Rotten and The Black Saint

The second film in our salute to the late Alan Arkin is the one that netted Arkin an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (it also took the award for Best Original Screenplay)! Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valarie Faris, 2006's "Little Miss Sunshine" chronicles a road-trip from New Mexico to California with what is, perhaps, the most dysfunct…

This pairing salutes actor Alan Arkin, who passed away on June 29th of 2023. We begin with the film based on a Joseph Heller novel that now sits on several banned book lists. Directed by Mike Nichols and adapted for the screen by Buck Henry, 1970's "Catch-22" examines the absurdity of war in a truly satirical fashion. The film stars Arkin as Captai…

“Megalon! Megalon! Wake up, Megalon! Come on, rise up now, to the Earth’s surface! Destroy the Earth! Destroy our enemies! Rise up! Go on! MEGALON!” That’s quite the cheering section […]Doc Rotten and The Black Saint

Part two of our look at how the social upheavals of the 1950s influenced Hollywood cinema, we move ahead to 1956 and a film that plumbs the depths of that society's xenophobia! Directed by Don Siegel, "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" tells the story of Dr. Miles J. Bennell (Kevin McCarthy), a physician who returns from a medical convention to his s…

The 1950s, as a decade, was tumultuous in its own way, and that never appeared in cinema more strongly than in the science fiction and horror films of that time! With that in mind, we offer, for your listening pleasure, a pairing of films from those years which are more than they seem! First up, from 1951, a film that speaks to American's concern a…