The Stacks

Episode 58 - The Hudsucker Proxy + Ambulance

This week, Shana and j. talk about the 1994 Coen Brothers' Preston Sturges tribute film, The Hudsucker Proxy (discussion running to 1:13:47) and dive into some full-scale Bayhem with the 2022 Michael Bay flick Ambulance (discussion continuing to 2:48:50), of course followed by brief capsule reviews of some additional movies we've watched in the previous week and decisions on what to cover next week.

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

Episode 57 - I Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death + The Exterminating Angel

This week on The Stacks, Shana and j. are talking some metaphorical deadly angels. First up is the Italian western I Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death, the second in the Sartana series (1969, directed by Giuliano Carnimeo, discussion continuing to 1:23:26). After that, we have such a delightful conversation about Luis Buñuel's surrealist satire The Exterminating Angel (1962) that we simply can't stop talking until 3:07:12. As always, we conclude with some discussion of other movies we've watched in the previous week and decide what to cover next week.

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

Episode 56 - Black Test Car + Stingray

It's car week on The Stacks, as Shana and j. discuss the 1962 Yasuzo Masumura corporate noir Black Test Car, about bitter competition in the postwar Japanese auto manufacturing business (discussion running to 1:10:33), followed by the 1978 goofy car chase action comedy Stingray, directed by Richard Taylor (discussion continuing to 2:27:26), and then some talk about The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent and decisions on what to cover next week.

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

Episode 55 - Hiruko the Goblin + Videophobia

This week, Shana and j. fill in a gap in our discussion of the films of Shinya Tsukamoto with 1990's oddball suburban 80s-American-horror-styled Hiruko the Goblin (discussion going to 1:14:00), followed by Daisuke Miyazaki's 2019 film of intense urban alienation, Videophobia (discussion continuing to 2:29:22), and then of course discussion of additional movies watched in the previous week and deciding on what we'll cover next.

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

Episode 54 - Jailhouse 41 + The Stone Killer

This week, Shana and j. are talking about two very different early 70s crime pictures, returning to the Female Prisoner Scorpion series with the fabulous, surreal second entry Jailhouse 41 (directed by Shunya Ito, 1972, discussion running to 1:11:50), followed by the twisty, oddly satirical Charles Bronson mafia conspiracy thriller The Stone Killer (directed by Michael Winner, 1973, discussion running to 2:32:44). As usual, this is followed by discussion of other movies we've watched since last time and decisions on what to cover next week.

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

Minisode 1 - Wild Boys

Due to an unexpected schedule change, the regularly scheduled episode is postponed for one week. In the meantime, this week Shana and j. are discussing the genderfluid surrealist coming-of-age film Les Garçons Sauvages (The Wild Boys, 2017, directed by Bertrand Mandico).

The live list of The Stacks as always can be found online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

Episode 53 - Saboteur + Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway

This week in The Stacks, Shana and j. discuss Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1942 wartime espionage classic, Saboteur (going to 1:18:18), followed by Miguel Llansó's wild 2019 Afro-futurist romp Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway (continuing to 2:23:32), then on to our moves and picks for next time.

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

Episode 52 - Come Drink With Me + Inspector Ike

This week, Shana and j. talk about the influential 1966 Shaw Brothers / King Hu wuxia Come Drink With Me (discussion running to 1:14:41) and Graham Mason's affectionate 2020 pastiche of 70s TV mystery drama, Inspector Ike (discussion continuing to 2:30:37), followed as always by discussion of a bunch of other movies j. watched this week and decisions on what to cover next.

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

Episode 51 - Backlash + Sting of Death

This week, Shana and j. discuss the classic revenge western, Backlash (1956, directed by John Sturges, discussion going to 1:16:46) and the loopy creature feature Sting of Death (1966, directed by William Grefe, discussion going to 2:30:52), followed as always by our also watched this week, and picks for next week.

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

Episode 50 - Hard Ticket to Hawaii + Across 110th Street + The Stacks Year in Review

For the 50th episode / 1 year anniversary extravaganza, Shana and j. discuss Andy Sidaris' best-known and best-loved picture, 1987's Hard Ticket to Hawaii (discussion running to 1:35:48) and the classic 1972 Barry Shear action/crime drama Across 110th Street (running to 2:37:05). In part 3 after choosing next week's films, we present our various awards for the 101 movies we've watched in our first year.

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