Join Rick and Julia as they comb through the post-apocalyptic wasteland in George Miller's Mad Max.
More than 20 years after directing Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, George Miller returns to the director’s chair again for the animated children’s movie: Happy Feet. Elijah Wood is Mumble, an emperor penguin born with the curse of a terrible singing voice, something unheard of in a colony that relies on singing songs in order to find a mate. Despite his vocal shortcomings Mumble has the secret power of dance and uses it to strut, shuffle, and kick-ball-change his way into the hearts and minds of his fellow penguins. Surprisingly, there is a lot more to this movie than that: fish shortages, penguin religion, fearsome seals and whales, and of course the mystery of alien abduction.
It’s back to the wasteland of the post-apocalypse as we join Rutger Hauer and Joan Chen in the Australian love child of ‘Mad Max’ and ‘Hoosiers’ as a Team of Juggers struggle to make a living playing the only game they know. Whether you know this movie by its original title or the American recut: ‘The Blood of Heroes’, it’s a story of a young woman’s dream of claiming glory, and an old man’s quest to reclaim his honor. Along the way we meet colorful characters, strange, yet familiar, locations, and learn that, at the end of the day, mastery is its own reward. A huge Thank You to Joe Devitt-Rix for helping us find a copy of the international version.
Joanne Samuel is back in a film that Bleeding Skull’s Joseph A. Ziemba called, “a decent rip-off that moves slow and never crosses the line.” When young Alison Findlay and her friends decide to play with an Ouija board their fun in interrupted by an ominous spirit warning our heroine to stay away from “them” on her nineteenth birthday. Flash forward a few years and despite the otherworldly warning, Alison is heading home to spend her nineteenth birthday with her Aunt and Uncle. Before she’s aware of what is going on, Alison is trapped in the clutches of a demon-worshipping cult and it’s up to her boyfriend, Peter, to rescue her before it’s too late.
It’s time to watch the film that was lauded as the precursor to Mad Max, the familiar tale of a cop and a gang of bikies who work together and gradually come to mutually respect each other as a shadowy assassin seeks to kill members of the gang. Okay, so it may not be the same story, but the elements are there: Motorcycles, high-speed chases, awkward ear-piercing, and a cast so full of actors that will later appear in Mad Max that it’ll make your head spin. Before you listen, please be aware that the version of the movie we saw on YouTube had an abnormally long run time, so there are some ultimately inaccurate statements about how long this movie actually takes to watch.
This week it’s the nearly 3-hour-epic that tells the story of Mel Gibson losing his wife and exacting his bloody revenge on the men who took her from him (this should sound familiar). As William Wallace, Gibson leads a colorful cast of Scotsman on a bloody campaign to oppose King Edward “Longshanks” of England, in the First War of Scottish Independence. A long movie warrants a long podcast, so buckle in with us as we praise Gibson’s improved acting ability, rage against prima nocta, and end up talking more about court intrigue than battle. Did we like Braveheart? Should you spend 3-hours on a Scottish war epic directed by an American raised in Australia? Listen and find out.
Our Hiatus between Mad Max and The Road Warrior kicks off with 1971’s Vanishing Point, the story of a man, his car, and the authorities that want to stop him. Anyone worried about spoilers should watch the movie before listening to us talk about the movie because we go through everything that happens. There’s a blind radio DJ, inept police officers, a naked woman on a motorcycle, and even some faith healers on the long road from Colorado to California. We also talk about what we liked, what we didn’t, and whether we would recommend this film. (This episode may sound strange, we changed recording spaces and microphone settings)
This is it, the final chunk of credits featuring the props and mechanical department, stunt team, post-production team, and special thanks. The discussion questions focus on our villains: 1) How was Toecutter as an antagonist for Max? Could he be considered a rival? 2) Does Johnny the Boy have a character arc? Could he also be considered a main character in this movie? Last of all, we outline how we’ll handle hiatus material and give our final thoughts on Mad Max. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
It’s another day of end credits, that covers the second half of the cast credits and gets into the crew listings. Special note is given to the TV newsreader, most of the directing staff, and some of the special effects people. Discussion questions for this episode: 1) Was Jessie a fully realized character? Should she have been featured more or less? 2) What role did Jim Goose play in Max’s story? How does he compare to Jessie as a companion to Max? Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Max drives away from the wrecked ute as a fiery explosion erupts behind him. With his vengeance complete Max drives along an empty road and the movie fades to black. We talk about Max leaving Johnny the Boy behind, Max having nothing left to live for, and the excellent choice of music for the end credits. We also discuss the following question: 1) Who is Max? What kind of person was he at the beginning of the movie? At the end? Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Our last full week of minutes ends with Johnny the Boy pleading for mercy as Max collects a hacksaw and informs Johnny that if he wants to survive, he will need to free himself. With that, Max turns and walks away, leaving a crazed and desperate Johnny to his fate. There’s a lot of consideration for the pros and cons of Max’s contraption design, and the conversation turns to what we would do if we found ourselves in Johnny’s situation. We are joined by special guest Alex Robinson from www.starwarsminute.com. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
With Johnny at his mercy, Max drags the bikey to the overturned ute and cuffs him to the undercarriage. Deaf to Johnny’s shouting and pleading, Max takes the lighter from Johnny’s neck and begins putting together a contraption using the bits and pieces scattered around the wreckage. We are joined by special guest Alex Robinson from www.starwarsminute.com. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Skid marks and a broken guard rail lead Max to a familiar looking motorcycle. Meanwhile, Johnny the Boy is hard at work trying to get himself a new pair of boots until Max arrives with a shotgun to Johnny’s head. Johnny tries to talk his way out of the situation, but Max is unwavering and commands Johnny to attach a handcuff to his own ankle. No animals were harmed in the making of this episode. We are joined by special guest Alex Robinson from www.starwarsminute.com. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
With Toecutter disposed of, Max turns his sight back to Johnny the Boy, the last remaining crim on his hit list. As Max drives into the prohibited zone once again the sun goes down and though his eyes are heavy, Max refuses to succumb to sleep and the next morning finds something that may lead him to the man he’s after. Along the way we wonder how much time has really passed, call attention to a deleted scene, and propose an alternate storyline wherein Max would find redemption. We are joined by special guest Alex Robinson from www.starwarsminute.com. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Back behind the wheel of the Black on black, Max is pulling out all of the stops to catch up to Toecutter. The two engage in a high-speed game of cat and mouse before an unexpected third party appears and catches Toecutter off guard, resulting in arguably the most iconic crash in the movie. We are joined by special guest Alex Robinson from www.starwarsminute.com. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
As Johnny the Boy follows Toecutter’s lead and beats a hasty retreat we are left watching Max hop and shuffle his way back to his waiting Interceptor. It’s a brutal minute that sees Max falling down, picking himself back up again, and finally getting back in the driver’s seat before speeding off to catch Toecutter. We talk about tight pants, the tricky task of identifying Australian birds of prey, and do a bit of math concerning speed and distance. Also, The Mad Max Minute does not advocate vigilante justice. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Toecutter and Bubba Zanetti have caught Max in a trap, but as Bubba takes another pass at the injured Bronze, he is suddenly gunned down as Max retrieves his shotgun. Seeing the tables start to turn Toecutter retreats leaving Max to his long painful walk back to the parked Black on black. We bid farewell to the best second-in-command Toecutter could ask for, even as we blur the line of who exactly we’re rooting for to win, and talk about Toecutter running away instead of staying to fight. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Freed from the awful prison of slow motorists, Max ventures into the prohibited zone and soon comes across a downed motorcycle on the side of the road. Stopping to investigate, Max is on his guard but notices far too late that he has been caught in Toecutter’s trap. Bubba Zanetti adds injury to insult by running over Max’s outstretched arm as he grasps for his shotgun. We hear the return of the Code 3, talk about exploding knees, and explore the ways that Max is and isn’t like a Jedi. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Max is in pursuit of Toecutter and Bubba Zanetti but suddenly finds himself trapped on a narrow road behind a large truck pulling construction equipment. It’s an exercise in futility as Max tries to get around the massive, slow-moving obstruction, but eventually, the road widens out and Max is able to resume his chase. Rick has some rather strong feelings about this minute, mostly stemming from his own feelings about being stuck in slow traffic, whereas Julia is much more understanding. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Week 17 makes quite a splash as four of Toecutter’s lieutenants find themselves off their bikes and plum out of luck. Elsewhere, Johnny finds a highway call box and alerts Toecutter of the Bronze that is now hunting them. Before long Toecutter and Bubba Zanetti are back on the road, with a familiar face shadowing them. We address the infamous stuntman rumor, talk about some rather illegal traffic wrangling, and spend a fair amount of time wondering how Max was able to plant photographs in Toecutter’s helmet. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
It’s a bad day to be in a biker gang as Max catches up to Mudguts and the other lieutenants, unleashing the full fury of the Black on black to bait them into a showdown that ends on a narrow bridge. Suffice it to say that it does not end well for the gang. Rick talks about how he likes watching people do things, Julia wins the mannequin argument, and we spend several minutes talking about Clunk. In related news, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior released in US theaters 35 years ago (May 21, 1982). Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Mudguts leads his fellow Acolytes in a daring stunt to acquire gasoline to fuel their motorcycles. The Heist goes off without a hitch, but the bikies are unaware that an MFP Interceptor is hot on their heels. We talk about the difficulty of pole vaulting onto a moving truck, the different methods for siphoning, and the roads where this minute was filmed. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Pulling his unwilling informant from under a car, Max continues his interrogation as the Grease Rat struggles to catch his breath. In pain, he can only nod his head and wheeze out answers as Max begins listing the names of the men he plans to kill. Elsewhere, Toecutter’s lieutenants are leaving a watering hole as they head out to get some gas. Along the way, we speculate about the hierarchy of Toecutter’s gang and later on give some free advertising to a Bed & Breakfast. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Max retrieves the iconic Black on black V8 Interceptor from the MFP Garage, and heads to the one place he knows he can get information. Later at the Grease Rat’s Mechanic Shop, Max has little patience for insults and stalling which leads him to unorthodox methods of squeezing information out of his host. Along the way, we talk about marsupials, suggest a few apocalypse-proof jobs, and finally talk about the tattoo that all of the Acolytes share. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Week 16 kicks off with Max sitting outside of Jessie’s hospital room as he listens to the doctors talking inside. Later we find him sitting on the beach, once again trying to make sense of it all until something arises in Max and he gears up to go hunting bikers. Julia brings up her frustration with the doctors, Rick brings up the trope of stuffing characters in a fridge, and we talk about Max going over the edge from Lawman to Vigilante. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Max finally catches up to the van but realizes he’s too late and runs to his family as they lie in the street. An ambulance is called to take Jessie and Sprog to the hospital, but it’s not looking good as Jessie has extensive, life-threatening injuries. We talk about Max’s heartbreaking reaction, a scene deleted before filming, and go down the grocery list of Jessie’s injuries. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
With the van broken down Jessie takes off running as May stays behind to try to slow down the pursuing bikers. Like so many plans, it all goes to waste as Toecutter and his Acolytes quickly overtake Jessie and run her down. We take a close look at May’s plan and wonder how things could have happened differently. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
As May locks the Acolytes in her shed, Jessie gets Sprog in the van and the three of them head out on the open road to find safety. Unfortunately, May’s shed is no match for several grown men and the gang is soon in hot pursuit. We discuss our evaluations of how the door held up against the bikers, question the wisdom of fleeing the farm without Max and Benno, and highlight how Mad Max manages to pass the test for female representation. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
May Swaisey arrives on the scene armed with her old shotgun and confronts the Gang head on, managing to herd them into a small shed. All the while we see more amazing interactions with Toecutter and his lieutenants, May’s questionable marksman skills, and Sprog’s uncanny skill as a ventriloquist. The lactose intolerant should be warned, Rick spends several minutes talking about cheese. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Jessie finds herself face to face with several threatening individuals with sprog held hostage in the middle of it all. This minute features some remarkable blocking and scene setting that makes the most of the dynamic characteristics of Toecutter’s lieutenants. This scene also features some excellent accent work from Hugh Keays-Byrne (the jury is still out on Rick’s accents). It’s a great start to a week that does not end well. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
May goes to make a phone call as Jessie sits on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, and catches her breath, but there’s no time to rest as Jessie remembers that no one is looking after Sprog and springs back into action. We start this Friday episode talking about May Swaisey name dropping herself like a boss. The conversation then turns to Max and Jessie leaving sprog unattended. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Max heads into the woods with Benno to take care of their hoon trouble as May leads Jessie into the house so they can calm down and have a nice cup of tea. We talk about Max’s foolhardy plan to take Benno into the woods and take on an entire motorcycle gang, May’s caring nature, and what we call legacy buildings and their charms. If you are annoyed by historical inaccuracy, be warned, you’re going to hear some assumptions. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Jessie isn’t out of the woods yet, but she soon will be as she passes what’s left of the dog and runs headlong into Benno before finally getting back to the perceived safety of the farm yard. We take some time to ask if Toby was a necessary part of the story, Rick reiterates his distrust of toddlers, and we uncover a secret character that was cut from the movie back in the scripting phase. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Things are real creepy as Jessie begins making her way back to the farm yard, but caution turns to panic as she runs for her life to safety. We raise the question of whether the bikies are actually in the woods at all, is it possible that all of these shots where we see men in the forest are a figment of Jessie’s imagination? We also talk about over-the-top pratfalls and pigeons that materialize out of nowhere. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Commander Cody, the time has come. Execute Minute 66. Jessie walks out of the ocean and takes a moment to dry on the beach, meanwhile, Toby hears a noise and runs off leaving Jessie behind to return to the farm alone. We talk about sexy people walking out of the ocean, the strategic use of animal noises, and try our best to fill an entire episode using a minute where someone takes a nap. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Week 13 wraps up with Jessie heading out to the little beach by the trees that May told her about, with the dog in tow. Rick talks about ecoregions as a way to make up for the fact that he thought Australia was just a big desert, we take a stand and give the Rockatansky dog a name, and Julia brings up Jurassic Park and Friends in reference to staying still to avoid detection. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Jessie’s invitation to the beach is shot down because the van is broken, so she heads off to the beach solo, passing by May Swaisey on the way. Rick does his best impression of Sprog, Julia has questions about Prisoner: Cell Block H, and we wonder why May wasn’t more helpful with her warning about Jessie not letting Benno bother her. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Jesse crosses the yard to check in on Max’s progress with the van, only to take the opportunity to tease him. Max retaliates by threatening to touch her with his grease covered hands and the whole situation spins into them kissing and being a cute couple. We crack wise about Jessie’s teasing, groan about their displays of affection, and Rick brings up all of the research he didn’t want to do about UGG boots. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Max and Jessie hand over the severed appendage they found to the local Sheriff who doesn’t seem that phased by a disembodied hand in a bag. We disagree about how far-reaching the MFP Headquarters’ influence and jurisdiction extends but agree that Ziggy holding onto a hand for someone to pick up later is a ridiculous idea. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Toecutter plays “got your nose” with the Grease Rat as Jessie and Max escape to a quiet spot by a river. We take a moment to wonder how Jessie described her experience Max and whether he fully grasps how serious it was. Speaking of grasps, Jessie discovers Cundalini’s severed hand dangling from a chain held by a crew member. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Happy Friday! Jessie speeds back to the Mechanic’s shop and collects Max before speeding off again, leaving a bewildered and frustrated Grease Rat to face the scrutiny of the Toecutter. We complain about the Grease Rat’s lousy customer service, try to uncover why Max is so slow to pick up on Jessie’s distress and discuss the common practice of talking to one’s self. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
The Acolytes close in around Jessie as she tries to get back to the Mechanic’s shop, a task made more difficult by Toecutter’s insistence on placing himself in her path. By staying calm, Jessie is able to catch Toecutter off guard and evade her pursuers, for the time being. It’s a tense minute which prompts us to dive into the subject of street harassment and suppose how much worse things could have been. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
As Jessie disappears into the distance in a cloud of dust, the Grease Rat tries to initiate small talk with an impatient Max. Meanwhile, Jessie visits a quaint seaside village where a shady group of ne’er-do-wells happen to be hanging out. The madcap geography of Mad Max’s version of Australia rears it’s ugly head once more, Julia reminds Rick about his awful car, and we try to understand just what Toecutter is doing. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
The Grease Rat shows himself to be a pushy salesman as Jessie decides to leave Max at the Garage and venture off in search of ice cream. We have some fun with etymology today as Rick digs up the roots of words like “Donk” and “Toodle-pip.” There’s also discussion about the idea of upselling and we ask important questions like: “Why did Jessie leave Max Behind?” and: “Is Max lactose intolerant?” Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Max picks up where he left off last week struggling to tell Jessie how he feels, and ultimately gets stuck before Jessie bails him out with a kiss. From this scene, we transition over to the mechanic shop where we meet the Grease Rat who turns out to have a pretty interesting IMDB profile. We continue talking about love languages and the importance of verbally communicating with your partner. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Week 11 wraps up with Max and Jessie together on the riverbank as Max reminisces about walking with his father as a way to illustrate how He has trouble expressing his emotions. Julia brings up the concept of the 5 love languages, and we determine how Max and Jessie show their love for each other. Rick also continues to make sweeping generalizations about the continent of Australia. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Max and Jessie head out on the road for a much-needed break from the stress of daily life. Along the way, they drive down the middle of the road, buy a dog, and drop by a riverbank for a dip. Noticeably absent from all of this is Sprog, who we assume is somewhere during all of this. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Max concludes his explanation of why he wants to leave the MFP which prompts Fifi to give Max several weeks of vacation time (not a bad deal when you think about it). Max brings up his worry that he's going to turn into just another crazy person on the road and that prompts us to examine if the officers are really headed down that path. We also discuss the differences and similarities between Fifi and Toecutter's management style. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Fifi keeps switching tactics as he tries to convince max to stay on the force, but all Max wants to do is leave. We talk a bit about manipulation tactics, interesting filming angles, and the way music is used in this scene. There's also a tangent where we talk about the importance of having heroes versus having a heroic populace in a society, Batman is mentioned on several occasions. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Monday kicks off with Max reassuring Jessie that he'll sort things out before we see him pay Fifi a visit with resignation-letter-in-hand. We get to see Captain Macaffee in his most comfortable state and hear him take on a harder tone than we've heard before. We bring up Fifi's plant collection, how Goose would have preferred to die and suppose how many times Max has tried to quit in the past. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Jessie wanders out into the dunes looking for Max and finds him half-heartedly eating a sandwich and grieving over Goose's passing. Week 10 wraps up with us discussing ways to help those that are grieving the loss of a loved one, the amazing combination of peanut butter and honey, and what is arguably Mel Gibson's best scene so far. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
Max storms out of the hospital after seeing what remains of his best friend, later that night Max is plagued by nightmares which result in Jessie waking up alone in bed the next morning. Roop gets rare praise this minute, we discuss the five stages of grief, and point fingers at who is to blame for Max's bad dreams. Visit us at our Website: www.madmaxminute.com
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