The Stacks

Episode 152 - Vital + Haze & more

On The Stacks this week, in part one (0:00-1:42:08), we return to the Solid Metal Nightmares box set with the next two Shinya Tsukamoto movies, 2004's Vital and 2005's digital video short feature Haze, in addition to "Charlie X" (the third episode of Star Trek TOS). In part two (1:42:09-3:02:14) we discuss six additional pictures in shorter form - James Gunn's 2014 MCU blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy, the weird, dark, franchise-expansion of Ted Post's 1970 film Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Lin Pin's quasi-documentary 1975 Brucesploitation simulacrum Goodbye Bruce Lee: His Last Game of Death, the ultra-self-aware 2015 mumblecore omphalos-infinity of Todd Rohal and Joe Swanberg's Uncle Kent 2, the third Surf Reality Movie of the Month (Robert Prichard's Thrill Kill Video Club) and finally, Todd Reynold's loving 1996 SOV drone tribute to Romero and Lynch, Living a Zombie Dream.

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

Episode 151 - Divine Emanuelle and more!

Kicking off year three of The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:48:14) we return to the Black Emanuelle series with a piece of strange apocrypha, discussing Christian Anders' 1981 film Divine Emanuelle (as well as its alternate director's cut Fanataco... When the Goddess Calls) in addition to beginning coverage of Star Trek (The Original Series) with its first episode, "The Man Trap." In part two (1:48:15-2:56:10) we talk more briefly on the great 2023 Jeff Rowe animated feature Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Weston Razooli's retro-70s dungeon synth children's fantasy Riddle of Fire (also from 2023), Hajime Sato's bizarro 1966 tokusatsu manga adaptation The Golden Bat, and the very silly Troma-distributed exploitation flick They Call Me Macho Woman! (as well as talking about the special features from Canadian International Pictures' Animation Night in Canada vol.1). As usual, we continue in part three with discussion of 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 150 - Ultra Q + Matrix Resurrections + Kamikaze 89 + TMNT Out of the Shadows + Tristan + Nuts! + The Hot Spot

This week, Shana and j. celebrate completing three full years of the podcast with our annual Stacks Awards! In part one (0:00-1:30:47) we break programming a bit to finish off our coverage of the 1966 Ultra Q TV series with its final three episodes. In part two (1:30:48-3:10:09) we go in-depth on Lana Wachowski's fascinating 2021 legasequel The Matrix Resurrections, in addition to talking about Wolf Gremm's 1982 dystopian satire Kamikaze '89, Dave Green's surprisingly enjoyable 2016 live-action sequel Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, Michael J. Murphy's third and final stab at his favourite chivalric legend, 1999's Tristan, Penny Lane's idiosyncratic quasi-animated documentary on old-school huckster John R. Brinkley in Nuts!, and finally Dennis Hopper's 1990 overheated sleazy neo-noir The Hot Spot. In part three, in addition to our usual discussion of what we've watched since last time and our picks for next, we go very extended with the 3rd Stacks Awards, ranking the best and worst from the 200 or so movies we've covered in the past year.

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

Episode 149 - Proxy War + Animation Night in Canada + Watari the Ninja Boy + Beverly Hills Cop II + Criminally Insane + Manic a Go-Go

On The Stacks this week, part one continues our coverage of the Yakuza Papers / Battles Without Honor and Humanity collection from Arrow with Kinji Fukasaku's 1973 film Proxy War (running to 1:10:09). In part two (1:10:10-2:22:34), we have a roundup of a broad swath of additional features - the Canadian International Pictures collection Animation Night in Canada Vol. 1, the deranged 1966 Sadao Funatoko tokusatsu film Watari the Ninja Boy, Tony Scott's hyper-aesthetic 1987 buddy-cop sequel Beverly Hills Cop II, Nick Millard's notorious 1975 regional lo-fi proto-slasher Criminally Insane, and Bennett Thiessen's 1992 shot-in-a-day Surf Reality Movie of the Month, Manic a Go-Go. As usual, part three consists of discussion of everything else we've watched on physical media since last time and our picks for next week's episode.

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

A summer message

Regrettably, Shana was ill and unable to record this week but we will be back next week. With love from The Stacks <3

Episode 148 - Shiver of the Vampires + The Animatrix + TMNT (2014) + Hercules + Clones of Bruce Lee + Midnight Run + Lifeline

On The Stacks this week, in part one (0:00-1:26:03) Shana and j. go in-depth on Jean Rollin's 1973 feature Shiver of the Vampires, as well as episode 25 - "The Devil Child" - of the Ultra Q TV series. Part two (1:26:04-3:14:36) we go extra long, featuring discussion of 2003's anthology film The Animatrix, the 2014 Jonathan Liebesman reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Luigi Cozzi's magical and bizarre 1983 reboot of Hercules, Joseph Kong's 1980 Brucesploitation joint The Clones of Bruce Lee, Martin Brest's 80s buddy-comedy masterpiece Midnight Run, and finally Johnnie To's borderline-absurdist 1997 Hong Kong action fire-fighter flick, Lifeline. As usual in part three, we talk about all the other physical media we've watched since last time and decide what we're going to cover next week.

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

Episode 147 - The Big Boss + Walk Hard + Dune + Beverly Hills Cop + Game of Pleasure

On this week's episode, Shana and j. begin with discussion of the first Bruce Lee kung fu picture, The Big Boss (1971, directed by Lo Wei), in addition to episode 24 of Ultra Q, "The Statue of Goga" in part one (running to 1:13:38). In part two, we go in depth on the extended version of the devastatingly good musical biopic satire Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007, directed by Jake Kasdan), in addition to two films from 1984 - David Lynch's take on Dune and the breakthrough Eddie Murphy vehicle Beverly Hills Cop (directed by Martin Brest) - and finally, a 1998 shot-on-video VR erotic thriller by Dale E. Frantz, Game of Pleasure (all running 1:13:39-2:52:08). As usual, in part three, we continue on with discussion of 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 146 - Fistful of Dynamite + The Instructor + Enter the Clones of Bruce + Bubble Bath + Man on the Brink + Unstoppable

On The Stacks this week, Shana and j. continue coverage of the films of Sergio Leone with his angry and funky final western, Fistful of Dynamite (1971, aka Duck You Sucker) in addition to the 23rd episode of Ultra Q, "Fury of the South Seas" in part one (running to 1:26:54). Part two (1:26:55-2:30:42) features five additional films, mostly action-packed, including the regional Akron, Ohio martial arts picture The Instructor (1981, directed by Don Bendell), the new Severin documentary Enter the Clones of Bruce (2023, directed by David Gregory) kicking off their Brucesploitation box, the experimental Hungarian animated feature Bubble Bath (1980, directed by György Kovásznai), the early Hong Kong New Wave / triad film Man on the Brink (directed by Alex Cheung) and finally, the based-on-a-true-story runaway train film Unstoppable (2010, directed by Tony Scott). As always, we conclude in part three with discussion of all the other physical media 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 145 - The Forbidden Room + Planet of the Apes + TMNT + Matrix Revolutions + Prince of Space

On The Stacks this week, Shana is introduced to the work of Guy Maddin with his 2016 tribute to lost and unfinished films in collaboration with the NFB, The Forbidden Room,  paired with episode 22 of Ultra Q, "Metamorphosis" in part one (running to 1:36:54), while in part two (1:36:55-2:48:03) we talk about four additional films: the iconic 1968 sci-fi Planet of the Apes (directed by Franklin J. Schaffner), the 2007 Kevin Munroe animated feature TMNT, The Wachowskis' 2003 conclusion to the trilogy, The Matrix Revolutions, and the 1959 tokusatsu feature Prince of Space (directed by Eijiro Wakabayashi). As always, in part three, we conclude with some capsule discussion of all the other stuff we've watched on physical media since last time, feeding into our choices for next week's episode.

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

Episode 144 - If + Door II + Count Dracula + The Scavengers + Toxic Avenger II + Druids Druids Everywhere

Apologies for some initial audio issues (these clear up around 15-20 minutes in, was not aware of the problem during the recording). This week, Shana and j. discuss the classic queer counter-culture film If.... (1968, directed by Lindsay Anderson) in addition to Ultra Q episode 21 ("Space Directive M774") in part one (running to 1:30:06). Then in part two (continuing to 2:43:22), we discuss five additional films: 1991's Door II: Tokyo Diary, a thematic sequel by Banmei Takahashi to his original film; the 1970 Jess Franco Hammer take on Count Dracula; Lee Frost's greasy 1969 exploitation western The Scavengers; Lloyd Kaufman & Michael Herz's second entry in Troma's flagship Toxic Avenger series; and finally the shot-in-2003 but released in 2020 Motern comedy Druids Druids Everywhere (directed by Charles Roxburgh). As usual, part three features discussion of all the other physical media we've watched in the interim since last episode and our decision-making on what to cover next week.

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