Podcasts
Marveling at the Movie Magic in ‘Twister’ [Horror Queers Podcast]
Cowtastrophe.
After kicking off July with discussions on the badass babes of Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror (listen) and the queer undertones of Stanley Kubrick’s final film Eyes Wide Shut (listen), we’re taking a vacation from heavy analysis and having fun with Jan de Bont‘s 1996 special effects extravaganza Twister!
In the film, a series of intense storms sweeping through Oklahoma leads meteorologist Jo Harding (Helen Hunt) and her team of storm chasers to test out Dorothy, a ground-breaking tornado data-gathering device conceived by Jo’s estranged husband, Bill (Bill Paxton). When Bill shows up in town with his new fiancée (Jami Gertz) in tow, it becomes a race against the clock as the whole crew try to get Dorothy to work before their rival Jonas Miller (Cary Elwes) gets there first.
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Episode 291: Twister (1996)
Watch out for that cow and get ready for “intense depiction of very bad weather” because we’re discussing Jan de Bont‘s 1996 effects extravaganza Twister! Tagging in for the conversation is Edison Skinner, the co-host of the Talk Movie to Me podcast!
Join us as we do a deep dive into this film’s very troubled production history before marveling at the sheer movie magic on display. From the computer-generated twisters (which still hold up!) to extensive practical effects, it’s a true marvel of a film.
Plus: Pepsi product placement, a chode of an F-5 tornado, and plenty of love for Jami Gertz‘s Dr. Melissa Reeves.
Cross out Twister!
Coming up on Wednesday: We’re continuing our Jan de Bont double feature with a look at his 1999 remake of The Haunting!
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After kicking off July with discussions of Joe Dante’s seminal werewolf film The Howling (listen) and Ken Russell’s controversial erotic thriller Crimes of Passion (listen), we’re heading to Maine to dissect one of Stephen King‘s most misguided adaptations in Lawrence Kasdan‘s 2003 misfire Dreamcatcher!
Dreamcatcher sees friends Henry (Thomas Jane), Jonesy (Damian Lewis), Pete (Timothy Olyphant) and Beaver (Jason Lee) reunite for their annual hunting trip in Maine. Their reunion is cut short when they find themselves caught in the middle of a war between a hostile race of farty-farty aliens and an elite US military unit led by Colonel Abraham Curtis (Morgan Freeman), who has been driven mad after spending decades tracking the extraterrestrials. When Jonesy is possessed by one of the aliens, the remaining friends seek out their disabled childhood friend Duddits (Donnie Wahlberg), who they believe has powers that can save Jonesy…and the world.
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday. You can subscribe on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartRadio, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Amazon Music, and RSS.
Episode 396: Dreamcatcher (2003)
Watch out for “ister gay” (oof), take some Gas-X and bite our bags because we’re talking Lawrence Kasdan’s baffling 2003 adaptation of Stephen King’s equally baffling novel Dreamcatcher.
Join us as we go all in on the farty-farty aliens populating this hilarious misfire that often feels like a bad Kevin Smith script. It’s a film filled with characters who get a single defining trait (if they’re lucky), played by respectable actors who are here for the paycheck (looking at you, Morgan Freeman).
Plus: blown-out assholes, using guns as telephones, pitying poor Donnie Wahlberg, and wondering why the hell this movie is called Dreamcatcher.
Cross out Dreamcatcher!
Coming Up Next: We’re going to be lounging around a posh Greenwich Village apartment as we check in on Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954).
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for over 513 hours of Patreon content including this month’s new episodes on Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Forbidden Fruits, Saccharine, Evil Dead Burn, an audio commentary on Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf (aka Howling II: Stirba – Werewolf Bitch), and the conclusion of our coverage of AMC’s The Vampire Lestat on the Requel Tier.