Episodes

Monday Jan 08, 2024
Episode 123 - Savage Beach + Hudson River Massacre + A Christmas Story
Monday Jan 08, 2024
Monday Jan 08, 2024
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 discussion of all the other movies we've watched on physical media in the past week and decide what to cover in next week's episode.
The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

Tuesday Jan 02, 2024
Episode 122 - Funeral in Berlin + Psycho II + Karate Warriors + Kakabakaba ka ba
Tuesday Jan 02, 2024
Tuesday Jan 02, 2024
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 unique Filipino musical / comedy / yakuza conspiracy Kakabakaba ka ba? (or Will Your Heart Beat Faster, 1980, directed by Mike De Leon). We conclude as usual with discussion of all other stuff we've watched on physical media since last time and make our picks for the first episode of 2024.
The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

Sunday Dec 24, 2023
Episode 121 - Yakuza Wolf + Ormonds pt III + Nightmare Beach
Sunday Dec 24, 2023
Sunday Dec 24, 2023
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 three with discussion of all the other physical media we've watched since last week and make our picks for next week.
The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

Monday Dec 18, 2023
Episode 120 - Brazil + 13 Steps of Maki + What Doesn’t Float
Monday Dec 18, 2023
Monday Dec 18, 2023
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 https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

Monday Dec 11, 2023
Monday Dec 11, 2023
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 by Jiří Barta (these run 1:09:19-2:14:36). We conclude as usual with discussion of the other physical media we've been watching this week, leading into our choices for next week's episode.
The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

Monday Dec 04, 2023
Episode 118 - Rodan + Ga-Ga: Glory to the Heroes + Torment
Monday Dec 04, 2023
Monday Dec 04, 2023
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 watched since last episode, leading into our selections for next week.
The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

Monday Nov 27, 2023
Episode 117 - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly + Under Siege + Pray for Death
Monday Nov 27, 2023
Monday Nov 27, 2023
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 hyper-violent 1985 Sho Kosugi ninja vehicle Pray for Death (1:19:26-2:29:37). As always, we conclude with discussion of everything else we've watched in between to lead into our selections of next week's features.
The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

Monday Nov 20, 2023
Monday Nov 20, 2023
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 of all the other movies we've watched in between episodes, leading into next week's picks.
The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

Monday Nov 13, 2023
Monday Nov 13, 2023
This week, Shana and j. conclude our bonus week of rigorous exploration of The Spooky Stacks, concluding with another quadruple bill. First up is PG: Psycho Goreman, a 2020 Canadian horror-comedy directed by Stephen Kostanski, with the second part (1:02:37-2:31:03) comprising discussion of George Romero's shelved 1975 elder abuse PSA The Amusement Park, James Bryan's 1981 first wave slasher / video nasty Don't Go in the Woods, and from directors Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, the eerie 1973 art-horror slow-burn Messiah of Evil. Then, we have an extended part three going over (and selecting next week's picks from) all the movies we watched during our recent technical difficulties hiatus in late August and through September.
The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

Monday Nov 06, 2023
Episode 114 - Psycho + Dracula + Frankenstein
Monday Nov 06, 2023
Monday Nov 06, 2023
This week, Shana and j. close out this year's spooky season with three all-time classics of the horror genre - Alfred Hitchcock's landmark 1960 crime drama / OG slasher Psycho (0:00-1:13:01), followed by the first two Universal Horror pictures, Tod Browning's Dracula and James Whale's Frankenstein (both from 1931, discussion continuing 1:13:01-2:26:45), and concluding as always with capsule discussion of all the other movies watched during this week, feeding into our decisions for next week's picks.
The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/