Mellow, spoiler-heavy discussions exploring an absurd physical media collection
Episodes
Tuesday Jan 14, 2025
Tuesday Jan 14, 2025
On The Stacks this week, part one (0:00-1:16:31) we cover first the Michael Mak category III Golden Harvest erotic comedy Sex and Zen, in addition to "The Galileo Seven" (the 16th episode of Star Trek (TOS). In part two (1:16:31-2:48:41), we talk about 8 additional films - Michael Mann's beautifully aesthetic 1981 debut crime film Thief, Bill Bordy's super-obscure 1988 no-fi crime picture Side Roads, Joseph Cates' 1965 grim crime drama Who Killed Teddy Bear?, the 1980 Lewis Jackson Santa slasher Christmas Evil, Martin Kitrosser's ridiculous 1991 Christmas-based slasher Silent Night Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker, Adam Green's 2016 papier-mâché and drugs version of Aladdin, Matt Mitler's 1994 Surf Reality thesis film Cracking Up, and the 2000 Toshiyuki Mizutani J-horror / melodrama Isola: Multiple Personality Girl. An extended part three features capsule discussion of everything else we watched since the last episode two weeks ago, and our picks for next week.
The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/
Tuesday Jan 07, 2025
Tuesday Jan 07, 2025
A brief message - apologies, we are off this week, as Shana had the flu, but we will be back on track next week!
<3
-j.
Tuesday Dec 31, 2024
Tuesday Dec 31, 2024
On The Stacks this week, part one (0:00-1:45:17) consists of detailed discussion of Robert Altman's 1971 revisionist western masterpiece McCabe & Mrs. Miller, as well as "Shore Leave" - the fun 15th episode of Star Trek (TOS). Part two (1:45:18-3:05:46) we have briefer discussion of a lot more movies, beginning with AGFA's Blood-a-Rama Triple Frightmare II (consisting of Love Goddesses of Blood Island, Follow That Skirt, and The Undertaker and His Pals, 1964-66), the 2024 Mike Cheslik video game and silent film inspired comedy Hundreds of Beavers, Frank Marshall's goofy, campy 1995 Michael Crichton adaptation Congo, Richard Donner's 1989 sillied-up franchise entry Lethal Weapon 2, Joe Dante's 1984 yuletide classic Gremlins, Michael Mann's 1979 TV movie debut The Jericho Mile, David Lai and Cory Yuen's 1993 ACAB/AMAB Hong Kong exploitation action flick Women on the Run, and finally the numbingly stupid Nicholas Webster cult 1964 Christmas film Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. Finally, as usual in part three, we talk about everything else we've seen since last episode, and make our picks for the next one.
The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/
Tuesday Dec 24, 2024
Tuesday Dec 24, 2024
On The Stacks this week, part one (0:00-1:26:13) consists of in-depth discussion on Toshiya Fujita's classic 1973 chambara Lady Snowblood, in addition to "The Balance of Terror" - the 14th episode of Star Trek (TOS), which introduces the Romulans. Part two (1:26:13-2:48:55) features shorter discussion of eight additional films: Bert I. Gordon's 1973 crime thriller The Mad Bomber (aka The Police Connection), Lamberto Bava's 1987 high-fashion giallo Delirium (aka Photo of Gioia), Joseph Zito's 1985 Chuck Norris saves Christmas action extravaganza Invasion USA, 2019's infamous Tom Hooper musical debacle Cats, Michael J. Murphy's trashy 2005 SOV melodrama Roxi, the 1999 Shunichi Nagasaki J-horror Shikoku, the 1987 cheap tech-noir Alien Private Eye (directed by Viktor), and the 1988 Gary L. Keady post-apocalyptic musical Sons of Steel. Finally, as usual in part three, we talk about all the other physical media we've watched since last episode, and make our picks for the next one.
The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/
Tuesday Dec 17, 2024
Tuesday Dec 17, 2024
On The Stacks this week, in part one (0:00-1:31:30) Shana and j. discuss the Enzo G. Castellari 1973 poliziotteschi classic High Crime, in addition to our continuing coverage of Star Trek (TOS), with episode 13, "The Conscience of the King" (directed by Gerd Oswald). In part two (1:31:31-3:12:42), we talk about eight additional features - 1968's wildly influential George A. Romero zombie feature, The Night of the Living Dead, the proper start to the James Bond franchise with 1962's Dr No, directed by Terence Young, Ferdinando De Leo's 1972 poliziotteschi The Italian Connection, John Pasquin's 1994 seasonal Tim Allen picture The Santa Clause, Richard Donner's legendary 1987 buddy cop comedy Lethal Weapon, Monte Hellman's bizarre 1989 oddly David Lynch-adjacent franchise entry Silent Night Deadly Night III: Better Watch Out, John S. Rad's incredibly strange years-in-the-making 2005-released vanity project Dangerous Men, and Nico Mastorakis' 1990 Andy Sidaris-lite mercenary action thriller Hired to Kill. As usual, part three consists of shorter, capsule discussion of everything else we've watched on physical media since last time, and making our decisions for next week.
The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/
Tuesday Dec 10, 2024
Tuesday Dec 10, 2024
On The Stacks this week, in part one (0:00-1:32:07) Shana and j. discuss the 1989 new wave meets German Expressionism Stephen Sayadian remake Dr. Caligari, in addition to episode 12 of Star Trek (TOS), "The Menagerie" part 2. In our own part two (1:32:07-3:07:08), we have eight additional features: Leonard Nimoy's delightfully silly 1986 Save the Whales adventure Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, the landmark 1939 Hollywood classic The Wizard of Oz, directed by Victor Fleming, Robert Clouse's 1974 SoCal kung fu / blaxploitation classic Black Belt Jones, David Lynch's difficult, abstract / surrealist 2006 picture Inland Empire, Robert Harmon's hi-test 1986 action-horror hybrid The Hitcher, the 1993 Surf Reality feature-length Shakespeare parody, Macbeth King of Scoutland, directed by Matt Mitler, David Worth's hilarious 2002 DTV sharksploitation Shark Attack 3: Megalodon, and H. Tjut Djalil's crazy 1986 Indonesian exploitation feature Lady Terminator. In part three, as we typically do, we discuss all the other physical media stuff 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/
Tuesday Dec 03, 2024
Tuesday Dec 03, 2024
On The Stacks this week, in part one (0:00-1:31:59) Shana and j. discuss the 1976 Jean Rollin moody vampire picture Levres de Sang (Lips of Blood), in addition to the 11th episode of Star Trek (TOS), part one of their first two-parter "The Menagerie" (reusing the rejected pilot episode "The Cage"). In part two (1:32:00-3:16:55) we discuss 5 additional features: David Lynch's 2001 surrealist neo-noir masterpiece Mulholland Drive, The Wachowskis' glorious 2008 hyper-color anime adaptation Speed Racer, Ridley Scott's 2000 revival sword and sandal epic Gladiator, Juan Piquer Simón's bizarre 1983 ET / Alien knockoff Extraterrestrial Visitors, and Stephen Norrington's very 1994 absurdist dystopian sci-fi thriller Death Machine, as well as talking about the Cult of AGFA Trailer Show. As usual, in part three we talk about everything else we watched this week on physical media and make our picks for next week.
The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/
Tuesday Nov 26, 2024
Tuesday Nov 26, 2024
This week on The Stacks we begin in part one (0:00-1:08:39) with a discussion of Charlie Chaplin's 1940 anti-fascist classic The Great Dictator, in addition to "The Corbomite Maneuver" - the 10th episode of the original 1966 Star Trek series. In part two (1:08:40-2:35:56), we have nine additional films we're talking about, beginning with the Qatsi Trilogy, directed by Godfrey Reggio, as well as Curtis Hanson's 1997 neo-noir LA Confidential, Norman Jewison's landmark adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's classic rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, Jon Watts' 2017 MCU entry Spider-Man: Homecoming, Robert Stevenson's 1968 Disney ditch film Blackbeard's Ghost, the notorious cheap 1981 video nasty Zombie Lake (inherited by Jean Rollin from Jess Franco), and Kinji Fukasaku's pulpy American-style 1968 sci-fi horror The Green Slime. As usual, in part three we talk about everything else watched 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/
Tuesday Nov 19, 2024
Tuesday Nov 19, 2024
On our return to the normal Stacks after the extended Spooky Stacks season, in part one (0:00-1:05:38) we talk in depth about the 1966 Yasuzo Masumura jidaigeki Irezumi, as well as the first episode of Ultraman - "Ultra Operation No. 1" (also from 1966). In part two (1:05:39-2:36:23) we have a large batch, discussing David Lynch's heartwarming 1999 Disney true-life drama The Straight Story, the 1979 Hanna-Barbera Don Chaffey slapstick comedy C.H.O.M.P.S., the 1970 Harald Reinl adaptation of Erich von Daniken's ancient aliens book Chariots of the Gods, the 2023 John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein D&D deep lore adventure Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, the 1973 Jacinto Molina / Paul Naschy entry in the Count Waldemar Daninsky saga, The Fury of the Wolfman, David "The Rock" Nelson's 'Adventures of Janet' shorts, the 1985 entry in the Jaka Sembung series, The Warrior & The Ninja (directed by H. Tjut Dalil), Laura Gemser's film debut in Pier Ludovico Pavoni's 1974 sexploitation Amore Libero (Free Love), and the difficult 1972 Jane Arden experimental picture The Other Side of the Underneath. As usual, in part three, we talk about all the other physical media we've watched since last week 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/
Tuesday Nov 12, 2024
Tuesday Nov 12, 2024
On the held-over SPOOKY STACKS, part one (0:00-1:22:14) we discuss the 1987 Jim Muro splatter/melt movie epic Street Trash, in addition to "The Galaxy Being" - first episode of the original 60s Outer Limits TV series. Part two (1:22:15-3:03:25) is another deep grab bag of horror as we conclude the run-off from October, featuring chatter about Bernard Launois' 1985 bizarro French horse / mummy / Nazi freak horror Devil Story, the 1987 Cullen Blaine Robocop / Terminator knockoff ROTOR, the 1981(ish) Frank Roach-directed Renee Harmon-starring abstract ice zombie video nasty Frozen Scream, going way back to 1920 for Robert Wiene's landmark German Expressionist silent picture The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, the zany 1994 Jennifer Prichard SOV midnight-movie parody Alien Sex Phone Psycho, the also 1994 Pierre David Scanners spinoff / loose sequel Scanner Cop, the 1986 Sisworo Gautama Putra / Suzzanna Indonesian black magic movie The Hungry Snake Woman, the 1981 Gwai Chi-Hung Shaw Brothers necrophile giallo Corpse Mania, and finally both the 1986 John Carl Buechler Troll film and its notorious 1990 Claudio Fragasso sequel, Troll 2. As we generally do, in part three we talk about everything else we've watched since last time and make our picks for next week.
The live list of The Spooky Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-spooky-stacks-1/