The Stacks

Episode 190 - Twin Peaks Return pt 2 + Hawkeye + The Conqueror + Atomic Cafe + Nekros + Police Academy + Purge Election Year + Louder Than You Think + Sexy Night Report 2

This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:24:43), Shana and j. continue to discuss the 2017 third season of Twin Peaks with the third and fourth episodes, in addition to "Conduit" - the fourth episode of X-Files' first season. In part two (1:24:43-2:21:47), we talk in shorter form about the 2021 MCU miniseries Hawkeye, the notorious 1956 sword and sandal Dick Powell / John Wayne camp debacle The Conqueror, Jayne Loader, Kevin and Pierce Rafferty's 1982 excellent, chilling cold war documentary Atomic Cafe, Michael J. Murphy's 2015 SOV Greek pantheon slasher Nekros, Hugh Wilson's 1984 introduction of the Police Academy franchise, James DeMonaco's 2016 wokesploitation horror The Purge: Election Year, Jed I. Rosenberg's warm and loving 2023 documentary on Gary Young and Pavement Louder Than You Think, and Joe D'Amato's 1978 quasi-Emanuelle film Porno Nights of the World No. 2 (aka Sexy Night Report 2). In part three, as usual, we talk in brief about the other stuff we've watched since last time and make our picks for next week's episode.

The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

Episode 189 - Twin Peaks: The Return pt 1 + Spring Break Roundup Pt 3

This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:41:05), we begin our in-depth coverage of Twin Peaks: The Return, covering the first two episodes of David Lynch's concluding masterpiece, as well as discussing the third episode of The X-Files, the iconic "Squeeze" monster of the week. In part two (1:41:06-2:49:24), we conclude a high-volume roundup of nine additional features - continuing MCU with Sam Raimi's 2022 film Dr Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, H.B. Halicki's original 1974 Guinness award-winning car chase picture Gone in 60 Seconds, the great 1999 Dean Parisot sci-fi satire Galaxy Quest, the 1975 Tano Cimarosa giallo Reflections in Black, Henrik Möller's 2014 lo-fi cosmic horror Feed the Light, the dumb 2005 Rob Cohen war on terror action flick Stealth, Stephen Sayadian's 1982 post-apocalyptic sci-fi quasi-porno Cafe Flesh, James Cameron's legendary 1986 action sci-fi blockbuster Aliens, and Georges Franju's 1961 mystery Spotlight on a Murderer. In part three, as usual, we talk in brief about the other stuff we've watched since last time and make our picks for next week's episode.

The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

Episode 188 - Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me + Spring Break Roundup pt 2

This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-2:03:10), Shana and j. begin a deep-dive into Twin Peaks with David Lynch's 1992 series prequel / post-mortem Fire Walk With Me, as well as continuing coverage of The X-Files with "Deep Throat" (s1e02). In part two (2:03:10-3:11:00), Shana was on vacation so we cover 10 additional features: George Lucas' 2005 Star Wars prequel Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith, Jon Watts' 2021 MCU entry Spider-Man: No Way Home, Guido Zurli's 1976 fake Emanuelle movie Black Deep Throat, the 2002 trees of life web-collective anime Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space, the 1987 Nico Mastorakis boner comedy Blow Up riff Terminal Exposure, James Cameron's landmark cyberpunk sophomore 1984 film The Terminator, the 1973 Key West fishing documentary Tarpon, Steven Spielberg's 1993 and 1997 films Jurassic Park and its sequel Lost World, and the 2015 Josh Trank comic book movie trainwreck Fantastic Four. In part three, we talk about everything else we've watched in the past week on physical media and discuss our plans for the coming weeks.

The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

Episode 187 - Stray Cat Rock: Machine Animal + Spring Break Roundup pt 1

This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:26:20), Shana and j. are discussing the fourth Stray Cat Rock film, Yasuharu Hasebe's breezy 1970 entry Machine Animal, in addition to the Pilot episode of The X-Files as we begin our coverage of the first season. Shana is on holidays so we go extra deep in part two (1:26:21-2:35:58) with nine features - Chloe Zhao's 2021 MCU ancient aliens film Eternals, Ivan Reitman's 1973 Canuxploitation debut Cannibal Girls, James Cameron's 1982 Canuxploitation debut Piranha II: The Spawning, the 1996 Joe Pytka IP slush Space Jam, Allan Arkush's notorious 1981 sci-fi romantic comedy flop (starring Andy Kaufman!) Heartbeeps, Stuart Baird's terrible 2002 mess of a Star Trek: Nemesis, the 1988 Lam Nai-choi HK rape/revenge flick Her Vengeance, Lexi Alexander's underappreciated 2008 satirical comic book movie Punisher War Zone, and Michael Mann's blissfully incoherent 2006 crime film Miami Vice. In part three, we do a brief roundup on Twin Peaks in preparation for an upcoming deep dive, as well as talking about the other stuff we've watched on physical media and making picks for next week.

The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

Episode 186 - The Man Who Knew Too Much + Falcon & The Winter Soldier + Attack of the Clones + Cannibal Orgy + Black Magic Rites + Gutwrencher + Tiger Claws II + Mansion of Madness

This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:19:32) Shana and j. talk about Alfred Hitchcock's 1956 remake of his own earlier film, The Man Who Knew Too Much, as well as concluding our coverage of the first season of Star Trek (TOS) with "Operation: Annihilate!" - the 29th and final episode, then choose a new show to cover. In part two (1:19:33-2:13:07), we discuss in brief form the 2021 MCU TV series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (all episodes directed by Kari Skoglund) and six additional features: George Lucas' terrible 2002 sequel prequel Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, JT IV's 1995 psychedelic DTV gorefest Cannibal Orgy, Renato Polselli's wild 1971 sex gothic Black Magic Rites, Bill Reeves' 1997 SOV sleep study The Gutwrencher, J. Stephen Maunder's 1996 Canuxploitation kung-fu sequel Tiger Claws II, and Juan Lopez Moctezuma's peculiar 1973 psychological horror The Mansion of Madness. As usual, in part three, we talk in capsule form on all the other stuff we've been watching on physical media in the past week and make our picks for next time.

The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

Episode 185 - Incubus + Collateral + Shang-Chi + Star Trek Insurrection + 38 Especial + Devil Fetus + Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade + Her Body

This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:13:56), Shana and j. discuss the 1966 pre-Trek Shatner starring vehicle Incubus, shot in Esperanto by director Leslie Stevens, in addition to the most celebrated episode of Star Trek (TOS), "The City on the Edge of Forever" written by Harlan Ellison and directed by Joseph Pevney. In part two (1:13:56-2:11:13), we discuss seven additional films in shorter form: Michael Mann's 2004 neo-noir crime thriller Collateral, Destin Daniel Cretton's 2021 MCU wuxia Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Jonathan Frakes' second entry in the Star Trek franchise with 1998's Insurrection, the 1992 Angel Sancho Mexican DTV crime thriller 38 Especial, the 1983 Lau Hung-Chuen Cat III supernatural horror Devil Fetus, the 1989 Steven Spielberg adventure blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and Natálie Císařovská's 2023 biopic Her Body. As usual, in part three, we discuss everything else we've watched on physical media since last time and make our picks for next week.

The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

Episode 184 - Black Sunday + WandaVision + Macumba Sexual + Ironmaster + Elegant Beast + The Cat + Tiger Claws + Quatermass and the Pit

This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:34:52) Shana and j. talk in detail about the 1977 John Frankenheimer action extravaganza Black Sunday, as well as "The Alternative Factor" - the 27th episode of Star Trek (TOS). In part two (1:34:53-2:36:07), we discuss in shorter form the 2021 MCU WandaVision TV series (all nine episodes directed by Matt Shakman), in addition to six movies: Jess Franco's 1980ish weird sex nightmare Macumba Sexual, the 1983 Umberto Lenzi caveman movie Ironmaster, the 1962 Yuzo Kawashima scamily drama Elegant Beast (aka Graceful Brute), Dominik Graf's 1988 bank heist film The Cat, Kelly Makin's 1991 Canadian DTV martial arts picture Tiger Claws, and the conclusion of the original Hammer Quatermass trilogy, Roy Ward Baker's 1967 entry Quatermass and the Pit. As we typically do, in part three we talk more briefly on all the other stuff we've watched on physical media in the past week and make our picks for next week.

The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

Episode 183 - Death Curse of Tartu + Loki S1 + Star Trek First Contact + Francis in the Haunted House + Extreme Prejudice + Slap the Monster on Page One + White Cannibal Queen

This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:16:56) Shana and j. are chatting about the 1966 William Grefé Florida mummy flick Death Curse of Tartu, in addition to "Errand of Mercy" - the 26th episode of Star Trek (TOS). In part two (1:16:56-2:25:44), we talk in briefer format about five additional features as well as a TV series - starting out with the 2021 MCU series Loki, all six episodes directed by Kate Herron, and continuing with Jonathan Frakes' 1996 Star Trek franchise entry First Contact, the 1956 concluding entry in the Francis the Talking Mule series, Francis in the Haunted House, directed by Charles Lamont, the 1987 Walter Hill secret ops vs cartel Peak Action movie Extreme Prejudice, the prescient 1972 Marco Bellochio newspaper drama / crime procedural Slap the Monster on Page One, and the super-cheap 1980 Jess Franco cannibal boom picture White Cannibal Queen (aka Mondo Cannibale). As always, in part three we briefly talk about everything else we've watched on physical media since last time, and make our picks for next week.

The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

Episode 182 - The Longest Yard + Keanu & Co + Phantom Menace + Temple of Doom + Bat Pussy + Shreck + Autoerotic + The Mummy + Face/Off

This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:40:13) Shana and j. talk about the classic 1974 Burt Reynolds prison/war/sports film The Longest Yard (directed by Robert Aldrich), in addition to "The Devil in the Dark" - the 25th episode of Star Trek (TOS). Part two (running 1:40:14-3:19:05) features briefer discussion of a number of additional discs, including the Canadian International Pictures collection Keanu & Co. featuring the films of the NFB Family Crisis Series, George Lucas' 1999 revival of the Star Wars franchise with Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, Steven Spielberg's 1984 follow-up to Raiders, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the 197? anonymous 'porno' Bat Pussy, the 'Carl Denham' psuedonymous SOV slasher Shreck, the 2011 Joe Swanberg & Adam Wingard anthology film about masturbation Autoerotic, the 1999 Stephen Sommers action-horror The Mummy, and the 1997 John Woo ludicrous action film Face/Off. As usual, in part three we talk in brief capsule format about everything else we've watched on physical media since last time, and make our picks for next week.

The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

Episode 181 - Fitzcarraldo + Black Widow + Francis in the Navy + Star Trek Generations + The Carpenter + Quatermass 2 + Lethal Weapon 4 + Dream Team + The Insider

This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:15:12) Shana and j. cover Werner Herzog's 1979 masterpiece Fitzcarraldo, in addition to "This Side of Paradise" - the 24th episode of Star Trek (TOS). In part two (1:15:13-2:30:45), we discuss eight features in shorter form: the 2021 Cate Shortland MCU entry Black Widow, Arthur Lubin's final entry in the Francis the Talking Mule series, 1955's Francis in the Navy, David Carson's 1994 launch of the TNG movies Star Trek: Generations, David Wellington's 1988 Canadian slasher The Carpenter, Val Guest's highly influential 1957 sci-fi horror sequel Quatermass II, Richard Donner's 1998 action / buddy cop sequel Lethal Weapon 4, the 2024 Whitney Horn & Lev Kalman pastiche of 90s horny crime shows Dream Team, and Michael Mann's 1999 true story about tobacco industry whistleblowers The Insider (apologies for considerable yardwork noise at the beginning of part two). As usual, in part three we talk in brief capsule format about everything else we've watched on physical media since last time, and make our picks for next week.

The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/