Our staff picks comes in like a lion and leaves like a bunch of pop culture media.
Jason Soto (Host Whatever with Jason Soto, That’s Da Bomb, Yo!, The TV Transmissions; Co-Host Between The Scares, CineGamer, Musically Ignorant, The FBI’s Most Unwanted: An X-Files Podcast & Sporadicast):
Deadgirl (2008)
The less you know about this movie going into it, the better. Just watch it. And thank me later.
Lisa Leaheey (Co-host Whatever with Jason Soto, Between The Scares, The SibList, Pictures and Conversations, & Sporadicast):
The Belko Experiment (2017)
On St. Patrick’s Day in 2017, crowds flooded to movie theaters to see Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast starring Emma Watson. It currently holds the record for biggest opening weekend for a movie released in March – not The Hunger Games, not The Batman… B & B. But I’m not here to talk about that movie. I haven’t even seen that movie. On that St. Paddy’s Day, I went to see a different B movie – The Belko Experiment. Take the tension of aggravating co-workers from Office Space, a fantastic cast of character actors (John Gallagher, Jr., Michael Rooker, Rusty Schwimmer, John McGinley), and spice it all up with a dash of Battle Royale, and you get Belko, a romp of a brutal, vengeful experiment in which the last man standing gets…something. (spoiler alert: It’s certainly not the raise these workers deserve.) I still don’t know why this film isn’t more popular – it’s tense, it’s funny, and it fits neatly in with a number of films that play the “Imma get you before you get me” note to a perfect pitch. If you’re looking for a great thriller and don’t mind some bloody messes, this is a great choice for your weekend watch! (And bonus!! It’s on Tubi and Pluto TV for FREE!)
Rob Branch (Co-host CineGamer, Top 5 A Thru Z, Whatever with Jason Soto, Lyrical Innuendo, & Sporadicast):
Absolutely Anything (2015)
What if you could have anything you wanted, with the fick of your wrist? Go anywhere, see anything, own anything. Hey how about those student loans? Woosh, gone. Nice, it would be very nice. Wouldn’t it? Right? Well of course it would be. Except for the fact that your literal wish comes true and your power was given to you by a Court of Intergalactic Council of Superior Species (also known as four jackass aliens with women’s names) who give 10 Earth days to prove humanity is worth saving. Use your powers for good and Earth is brought into the council. Use your powers for evil and well you’ve just vaporized the planet. Way to go! Freaking jag. This 2015 film was written and directed by Terry Jones (also written by Gavin Scott) and based off of a Douglas Adams story. Simon Pegg, Kate Beckinsale, Rob Riggle, Eddie Izzard, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle and the late Robin Williams lead an international ensemble that will make you laugh, cry and finally make you wonder who the *$@# gave you these powers and why the *$@# should we survive?
Pete Rangel, Jr (Co-host Top Five A Thru Z & Sporadicast):
Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
I literally just got in from seeing Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and I thought it was pretty good. If anyone knows comics well, the Quantum realm is as you know from the trailers a hidden microbial universe in the Marvel Universe which the movie is mostly set in this time around. A variant of Kang the Conqueror and M.O.D.O.K. are the main antagonists in the film. It’s a fun film like previous Ant-Man movies with a more sci-fi tone and sets up what’s to come in the multiverse saga. Recommend it.
Lackey (Co-Host Musically Ignorant & Sporadicast):
Sorcerer (1977)
My staff pick this month is the William Friedkin film Sorcerer. Roy Scheider leads an international cast as a mob driver forced to flee the country to South America. He gets a job offer — drive an explosive cargo through the jungle. Despite Friedkin’s pedigree as director of The French Connection and The Exorcist, Sorcerer flopped upon its release in 1977 — it had the misfortune to be released the week after a little film called Star Wars. That’s a shame, because Sorcerer is genuinely one of the tensest films I’ve ever seen. There’s always a sense that things could explode at any moment. Features an amazing score by German electronic pioneers Tangerine Dream. The 1958 French film The Wages of Fear, which is based on the same source material as Sorcerer, is also highly recommended.
Bubbawheat (Co-host Lyrical Innuendo & Sporadicast):
We Have a Ghost (2023)
For quite a while I was going to recommend Lockwood and Co (which is an excellent series on Netflix and you should check it out) but literally on the last day of February we decided to give this movie on Netflix a watch. The trailer looked pretty funny and it starred David Harbour as a ghost with a combover. What the movie ended up being was kind of a coming of age movie with a little family drama and a murder mystery tucked in at the end. The movie takes you on quite a journey starting out with a funny rise to social media fame with a ghost doing ghost-y things with a brief scene with Jennifer Coolidge as a TV personality Ghost Whisperer type. All of the characters feel like pretty real people and it’s anchored by Jahi Di’Allo Winston as the mostly withdrawn Kevin and Isabella Russo as his neighbor turned partner in crime. It’s hilarious, it has its tense moments, and it ends unexpectedly touching. A nice surprise, or possibly the latest movie that Netflix is pushing on everyone. But I definitely enjoyed it.
Ryan Luis Rodriguez (Co-host Tales From The RR & Sporadicast):
NewsRadio(TV-1995)
I’ve been bingeing television shows as a way to combat insomnia, and I recently landed upon NewsRadio for the first time in years. It’s probably the most underrated sitcom of the ‘90s, with an outstanding ensemble including Kid in the Hall Dave Foley, Vicki Lewis, Maura Tierney, and the late great Phil Hartman. If you’re looking for four exemplary seasons of absurdist brilliance and one compromised season (in which Jon Lovitz takes over for the recently deceased Hartman), the entire series is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
Heather Baxendale-Walsh (Co-Host Word of (Hell)Mouth & Sporadicast):
Pronto by Elmore Leonard
Picking up an Elmore Leonard book after being an absentee fan for over a decade was like coming home. This is the first book in the Raylan Givens series (there are four), the series on which the show Justified was based. Leonard is a master of writing crime dramas, always with a bit of off-center comedy to balance out the dark worlds we meander with him. Even as a huge fan of his writing and the show Justified, but I’d never read the series that inspired it – it’s actually the third book in the series Fire in the Hole that is responsible for the series – this book takes place a bit before that, but features Tommy Buck. This story begins with Harry Arno, a bookmaker set on retirement. He’s worked for “Jimmy Cap” for twenty-five years or so and has been skimming money. He’s all set for retirement when things go haywire, and Jimmy sets Tommy Buck “The Zip” to kill Harry. Harry escapes his Marshal babysitter Raylan Givens, and the hunt is on the find the bookie. I was enamored by the characters, the distinct writing, and the language that brings you into the world more than the description of where they’re at. It’s all bravado, dialogue, and style. The story moves fast with complex characters that easily escalate violence, and somehow it all feels light. I’ve always been partial to characters that live in the gray, and Elmore Leonard doesn’t write stories where heroes exist. It’s all in the gray. I had so much fun reading this and plan on finishing the series ASAP. Highly recommend.
The Vern (Co-Host Tales From The RR & Sporadicast):
Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005)
A woman is just released from prison for serving a long term for a crime she did not commit and seeks revenge. She was accused of kidnapping a small boy and killing him in a ghastly ways. She admitted to doing the crime because the real killer has kidnapped her daughter and he said she will kill her if she doesn’t confess to the murder This is the 2nd feature in Park Chan-Wook’s Vengeance Trilogy with Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance in the first part and Oldboy as the third one. I along with many others have seen Oldboy and yes even that odd remake from Spike Lee and it is a cinematic classic(not the remake, f__ that one) and yet I have never seen the other ones which is a shame because Lady Vengenge is quite good and may be the best feature from Park Chan-Wook after The Handmaiden. The woman(Played by Lee Young-Ae) who was falsely accused tracks down the real killer (played by Choi Min-Sik who readers will recognize in the lead roles in Oldboy and I Saw The Devil) and gets the help of the parents of the children he murdered to get their revenge. Sympathy for Lady Vengaence is beautifuly shot and features gorgeous cinematography. While it may not have as much action as Oldboy did. I found it to have something that one did not and that is a happy ending. As much as I love the Kill Bill movies and think those are incrdible pieces of film. Sympathy for Lady Vengaenge may be a tad better for me.
Nick Jobe (Host: Roll For Podcast; Co-host: Sporaticast):
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
I tend to feel most MCU stuff probably shouldn’t need a recommendation. However, Quantumania is sitting at 48%, which is only 1% higher than the lowest rates film (Eternals), and I have some words. This is not one of Marvel’s worst movies. This isn’t even one of Marvel’s worst movies in the last 365 days. This is a fun sci-fi adventure movie with a few issues, but to rank it this low is absurd. MCU critics and toxic fans alike need to get their collective heads out their collective butts. I guarantee this will be one of those that people will look back on more fondly by the end of this saga. I’m honestly perplexed by the low rating. Not saying it’s great or groundbreaking, but it is NOT as bad as people are making it out to be. It is solidly mid-tier Marvel (which, I might add, is still REALLY SOLID compared to regular blockbusters). That’s not even a mediocre movie. Check it out. Have fun. It’s good, and I’ll fight you on that.
Brenda (Co-Host: The FBI’s Most Unwanted: An X-Files Podcast; Co-host: Sporaticast):
Black Sabbath Vol 4 (Album-1974)
I’ve been jamming to this classic while I work, when I run, and during my 9 minute commute. This album is top notch from beginning to end. Mayhaps it’s Ozzy at his finest!
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