Bonus Episode #2

It's our long awaited bonus episode! This one's for the fans (and friends) who've managed to get it together to listen to our inanity for four years running! A free-from mix of topical tangential nonsense and our morning coffee house ramblings. There's a good 2.5 hrs dosage here. Binge away. We'll be back for another 100 episodes of cult film reviews in a couple of weeks. And if you're longing for more, hit our back episodes by following the links on our blog at cultfilmreview.blogspot.com or head over to iTunes and search The Cult of Matt and Mark Archive01..

Download: Bonus Episode #2

200 Mulholland Drive

We made it! This week Matt and Mark celebrate our 200th Podcast with Lynch's masterpiece Mulholland Drive. A dream film with a reality coda, Lynch creates an evocative experience that never loses sight of its character study. This is a film about the jagged hard edge of Hollywood's ego trip and its menace to the dreamers who dare give it a go. Diane/Betty's downward spiral of mediocrity and failure is nothing new, but Lynch teases out a world that is like a Grimm fairy tale, a mix of innocent intentions and nightmare.

Download:  200 Mulholland Drive

199 Planet of the Apes

This week Matt and Mark go ape shit over Planet of the Apes. A straightforward piece of beautiful science fiction, PotA does the classic turn of reversing the world we take for granted. While assuming the position of a middle-ages clergymen, Dr. Zias is oddly perhaps the most sympathetic character of the film (at least he's not a miserable nihilist like that asshole Taylor). Is there such thing as a benign charlatan? While absolute truth my serve the individual, its role in culture may be something more complicated.

Download: 199 Planet of the Apes

198 Behind the Green Door

Can anyone ever make a truly "good" porn film? Most of the time the subject matter's visceral mechanics deny any higher humanization of performers, and no one ever seems to have time for back story, plot, or character development. But 1972's Behind the Green door attempts to rise above its stag film pedigree.... and kind of fails. Matt and Mark agree that, while interesting in a historical sense, its not a good film, neither as a 'film' or pornographically. Swept under the rug of VHS tapes and Youporn, it's time has past but its psychedelic money shots remain in our collective consciousness.

Download: 198 Behind the Green Door    

197 C.H.U.D.

It's hard not to discuss the nature of Trump supporters without bringing up the seminal 80's schlock fest C.H.U.D. Despite the nuclear sized plot-holes and inadequate monster origins story, C.H.U.D. manages a little bit of charm by utilizing the acting talents of its strong second tier cast to the fullest. If anything, it harvests the zeitgeists of 80's era nuclear waste trains and rogue sewer alligator urban-myths, welcoming us back to this bygone Reagan era.

Download: 197 C.H.U.D.

196 Paths of Glory

And we're back! Sorry for the delay, but after almost 200 episodes, life occasionally gets in the way of getting the podcasts out. This week we review an early Kubrick masterpiece Paths of Glory as part of our ultra-mini WWI movie marathon to commemorate the 100th anniversary. Mark boldly states this is one of the finest films he's ever seen and Matt can't really find anything wrong with such a pronouncement, as PoG manages to defy his nihilistic and cynical tendencies without contradicting them. From a film that exclusively depicts men at war, it's hallmark denouement, featuring the film's only female actor (Kubrick's future wife), is a cinematic landmark that resonates and transcends its subject material.

Download: 196 Paths of Glory

The Shining (Archive01)

Once again, a cold has seized Matt's vocal chords and is holding them hostage. It appears 12 hours in an airplane over two days will guarantee a winter virus. In lieu of our Paths of Glory podcast, we serve up one from The Cult of Matt and Mark Archive01, our most downloaded podcast ever actually, The Shining!

Download: The Shining (Archive01)