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/

Episode 180 - Reptilicus + Star Trek I-VI + Mutant Hunt + ET + Duel

This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:32:11) Shana and j. discuss the 1961 Danish kaiju movie Reptilicus (in both its Danish and American versions), as well as the 23rd episode of Star Trek (TOS), "A Taste of Armageddon." In part two (1:32:12-2:36:28), we discuss in short form all six Star Trek movies starring the original series' cast (The Motion Picture, Wrath of Khan, Search for Spock, Voyage Home, Final Frontier, and The Undiscovered Country), as well as Tim Kincaid's 1987 ultra-low-budget sci-fi horror Mutant Hunt, and two early Spielbergs - the 1982 megahit E.T.: The Extraterrestrial and the theatrical version of his 1971 TV movie debut Duel. As usual, part three consists of briefer capsule discussion of everything else we've watched since last time, and our choices for next week.

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

Episode 179 - Yakuza Graveyard + Spiderman Far From Home + Francis Joins the WACs + ZK3 + Vampires Night Orgy + Witch From Nepal + Heat + Quatermass Xperiment + Raiders of the Lost Ark

This week on The Stacks, part one (0:00-1:42:16), begins with Yakuza Graveyard, a 1976 yakuza film from Kinji Fukasaku, in addition to "Star Seed" - the very famous 22nd episode of Star Trek (TOS). In part two (1:42:17-2:59:10), we talk in briefer format about eight additional features: the 2019 Jon Watts MCU franchise entry Spiderman: Far From Home, Arthur Lubin's fifth entry in the Francis the Talking Mule series, 1954's Francis Joins the WACs, the highly self-aware 2013 Michael J. Murphy digital video feature ZK3 (or Zombie Knights 3), the 1972 Leon Klimovsky Spanish horror film The Vampires' Night Orgy, the 1986 Tony Ching HK romance/wuxia/horror Witch From Nepal, the 1995 Michael Mann masterpiece Heat, the highly influential 1955 Val Guest British sci-fi horror The Quatermass Xperiment, and Steven Spielberg's 1981 action/adventure classic Raiders of the Lost Ark. As usual, part three consists of brief capsule discussion of everything else we've watched since last time, and our picks for next week.

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

Episode 178 - Mission Impossible 2 + Morbius + Terrornauts + The Midnight Man + Avengers Endgame + Way Bad Stone + Boiling Point + Virtuosity

On The Stacks this week, part one (0:00-1:58:54) we discuss the ultra-Y2K megahit Mission Impossible 2, directed by John Woo, in addition to "The Return of the Archons" - the 21st episode of Star Trek (TOS). In part two (1:58:55-3:10:51), we have shorter-form discussion of seven additional features: the disastrous 2022 Daniel Espinosa superhero picture Morbius, the 1966 British low budget Montgomery Tully sci-fi The Terrornauts, the oddly proto-Twin Peaks 1974 crime drama The Midnight Man, directed by Roland Kibbee (and co-directed by Burt Lancaster), Anthony & Joe Russo's massive 2019 MCU phase-capper Avengers: Endgame, the 1991 Archie Waugh SOV LARP spectacular Way Bad Stone, the hilarious 1990 Takeshi Kitano black comedy / yakuza film Boiling Point, and the overlooked 1994 Brett Leonard cyber-thriller Virtuosity. As usual, part three consists of brief capsule discussion of everything else we've watched since last time, and our picks for next week.

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

Episode 177 - Giant Claw + Close Encounters + Satan War + Robotrix + Capt Marvel + Seventh Curse + Francis Covers the Big Town + Iced + Last of the Mohicans

On The Stacks this week, part one (0:00-1:23:41) features a more detailed re-do of a favourite movie we covered way back in the early rougher episodes, the 1957 Fred F. Sears / Sam Katzman silly turkey-that-threatened-the-world movie The Giant Claw, in addition to "Court Martial" - the 20th episode of Star Trek (TOS). In part two (1:23:42-2:45:58), we talk in shorter form about eight additional features: Steven Spielberg's 1977 first contact blockbuster Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Bart LaRue's bizarre lo-fi 1979 Satanic Panic anthology film Satan War, Jamie Luk's totally unhinged 1991 category III wuxia Robocop knockoff Robotrix, the 2019 MCU 90s flashback origin story Captain Marvel (directed by Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck), the 1986 Lam Nai-choi splatter-adventure wuxia Indiana Jones riff The Seventh Curse, Arthur Lubin's 1953 talking animal picture Francis Covers the Big Town, Jeff Kwitny's 1988 video shop ski slasher classic Iced, and Michael Mann's 1992 quasi-historical epic Last of the Mohicans. As always, in part three, we briefly go over everything else we watched on physical media in the past week and make our choices for next time.

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

Episode 176 - New York Stories + Ant-Man & the Wasp + MK: Annihilation + Violent Cop + Ride a Wild Stud + Fritz the Cat + Prescription: Murder + Inugami + Phantom of the Monastery

On The Stacks this week, part one (0:00-1:33:31) features detailed discussion of triptych film New York Stories (consisting of segments directed by Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, and Woody Allen) in addition to "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" (the 19th episode of Star Trek TOS). In part two (1:33:32-2:34:25), we discuss in briefer format eight additional films: the 2019 MCU entry Ant-Man and the Wasp, directed by Peyton Reed, John R. Leonetti's infamous 1997 video game movie trash-fire Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Takeshi Kitano's abstract 1989 crime film debut Violent Cop, Oliver Drake's 1969 minimalist sexploitation / rape western Ride a Wild Stud, Ralph Bakshi's 1972 adaptation of underground comix Fritz the Cat (the first x-rated animated feature), the 1968 Richard Irving TV movie Prescription: Murder (which introduces Peter Falk as Columbo), Masato Harada's deranged 2001 Japanese folk horror Inugami, and the 1934 Fernando de Fuentes Mexican gothic horror Phantom of the Monastery. As usual, part three consists of yet briefer talk on everything else we've watched on physical media since last time, and our choices for next week's episode.

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

Episode 175 - Fisher King + Avengers Infinity War + Wild Guitar + Cannibal! The Musical + Skare + Sky High + Shatter + Maybe It's Love

First up this week is Terry Gilliam's 1991 social drama The Fisher King, in addition to episode 18 of Star Trek (TOS), "Arena" (featuring The Gorn!) in part one (0:00-1:58:13). In part two (1:58:14-3:24:23), we discuss eight additional discs in briefer form: Anthony & Joe Russo's 2018 MCU mega-blockbuster Avengers: Infinity War, Ray Dennis Steckler's 1962 debut feature / Arch Hall Jr vehicle Wild Guitar, Trey Parker's 1993 debut feature Cannibal! The Musical, Michael J. Murphy's 2007 SOV cannibal joint Skare, the animated films of John Schnall included in the Death Laughs Among Us collection, the 1986 Nico Mastorakis action-comedy Sky High, the 1974 Hammer / Shaw Brothers collab Shatter (directed by Michael Carreras and partially by Monte Hellman), Angela Chan's 1984 coming-of-age erotic thriller Maybe It's Love, and a brief revisit of Michael Mann's 1986 hyper-aesthetic police procedural Manhunter. Part three, as usual, features briefer discussion of everything else we've watched since last time and our picks for next week.

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

Episode 174 - The Trouble With Harry + Sugarland Express + A New Leaf + The Keep + Red Light Bandit + Out There Halloween Megatape + Gore Gore Girls + A Woman From a Hot Country + Mortal Kombat

Apologies for slightly rough sound on this episode, there was an issue with the recording. This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:11:57) we discuss the 1955 Alfred Hitchcock black comedy The Trouble With Harry, in addition to Star Trek (TOS) episode 17, "The Squire of Gothos" bringing us yet another god-being. In part two (1:11:57-2:43:16), we talk in shorter form about nine additional features - beginning with the Steven Spielberg-directed first episode of the Columbo TV series, "Murder by the Book" as well as his first proper film, 1974's Sugarland Express, the brilliant Elaine May 1971 black comedy A New Leaf, Michael Mann's 1983 synthwave Nazi horror The Keep, Rogério Sganzerla's 1968 Brazilian polemic montage Red Light Bandit, Chris LaMartina's 2022 horror-comedy retro-VHS simulacrum Out There Halloween Mega Tape, Herschell Gordon Lewis' 1972 extreme gore feature The Gore Gore Girls, Jose Maria Forque's apocryphal 1978 entry in the Emanuelle series, A Woman From a Hot Country (also known as Fury), and finally Paul W.S. Anderson's dopey 1995 video game adaptation Mortal Kombat. As usual in part three, we discuss everything else we've 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/

Episode 173 - Sex & Zen + Thief + Side Roads + Who Killed Teddy Bear + Christmas Evil + SNDN5 + Adam Green's Aladdin + Cracking Up + Isola

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/

Service interruption New Year 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.