Mary Versus the Movies

It's the end of the world as we know it, and the living envy the dead. The threads of civilization are destroyed in a nuclear war, and Britain is thrust into a new dark age. And we don't even get to have any of the fun stuff like barbarians on motorcycles. Starring Karen Meagher, Reece Dinsdale, Steve Halliwell, and Jane Hazelgrove. Written by Barry Hines. Directed by Mick Jackson.

A manicurist from The Valley dumps her cheating doctor fiance for a trio of hairy aliens in this campy sci-fi musical comedy that's better than its reputation. Starring Geena Davis, Julie Brown, Jeff Goldblum, Damon Wayans, Jim Carrey, and Charles Rocket. Written by Julie Brown, Charley Coffey, and Terrence E. McNally. Directed by Julien Temple.

Newsboys of the streets unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains. We welcome back Anne Jones to talk about one of her favorite movies, Newsies, the story of the 1899 New York City newsboys strike, which Mary didn't know was a Disney musical. Life is full of surprises. Starring Christian Bale, Bill Pullman, Robert Duval, and Ann Margaret.  Written by Bob Tzudiker and Noni White. Directed by Kenny Ortega. Music by Alan Menkin, lyrics by J. A. C. Redford. Support the Philadelphia Avengers: https://www.instagram.com/phillyavengers/  

Steve Martin is a lawyer. Lily Thomlin is dead. Can two souls inhabit one body without driving each other crazy? We go back to the Steve Martin/Carl Reiner well for this screwball comedy about living your best life, and have a great time doing it. Starring Steve Martin, Lily Thomlin, Victoria Tennant, Richard Libertini, and Dana Elcar. Written by Phil Alden Robinson. Directed by Carl Reiner.

We delve into some prime late 20th century nonsense when we watch a two-part episode of MacGyver, wherein our mulleted hero is conked on the head and wakes up in Camelot, uncovers an assassination plot against King Arthur, trades tips with Merlin, rescue a fair maiden, and does battle against Queen Morganna. Starring Richard Dean Anderson, Dana Elcar, Time Winters, Christopher Collet, Christopher Neame, Robin Strasser, and Colm Meany. Written by John Considine. Directed by Michael Vejar. This is a preview of the latest episode of our series Hollywood Avalon. To hear the entire episode, join the Mary Versus the Movies patreon for $3/month to hear this and the entire series Hollywood Avalon: https://www.patreon.com/maryvsmovies. 

Opera-loving director wants to make a movie about an opera-loving rubber baron who hauls a boat over a mountain in order to bring music to the jungle, and so he hauls an actual boat over a mountain. The lines between life and art, work and exploitation, madness and determination blur together in this documentary about the making of Fitzcarraldo. Starring Werner Herzog, Klaus Kinski, Jason Robards. Directed by Les Blank. Narrated by Michael Goodwin.

An American rock star gets caught up in intrigue in Cold War East Germany. Or is it World War II? Nazis, Communists, whatever, right guys? Anyway, from the guys who made Airplane, it's "what if Elvis made a spy movie", and it's pretty good. Starring Val Kilmer, Lucy Gutteridge, Omar Sharif, Michael Gough, Jeremy Kemp, and one very odd cameo from Peter Cushing. Written by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, and Martyn Burke. Directed by Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker.

A pig-headed pilot takes on air pirates and fascists while regaining his humanity in this adventure from Hayao Miyazaki. Set in 1929, it's a story of love, honor, pacifism, and resistance. For this, we watched the English dub from 2005; I know, I know, subs over dubs, but so it goes. Starring (in the dub) Michael Keaton, Cary Elwes, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Susan Egan, David Ogden Stiers, and Brad Garrett. Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki.

Look, I know it sounds crazy, but Star Wars has all kinds of Arthurian elements: an orphan boy with a secret destiny; a magic sword; a crazy magician; a princess who needs rescuing; and a big bad guy. Obviously the original film was influenced by all sorts of things (The Hidden Fortress; Lawrence of Arabia; Dune; even Lord of the Rings) but it's no surprise that the stories of King Arthur are a pretty prominent influence on the original movie about a farm boy who wants to be a hero, takes up with a space-wizard and a pirate, and helps bring down an evil empire. Starring Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Alec Guinness, Peter Cushing, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, David Prowse, and James Earl Jones. Written and directed by George Lucas.   This is a preview of the latest episode of our series Hollywood Avalon. To hear the entire episode, join the Mary Versus the Movies patreon for $3/month to hear this and the entire series Hollywood Avalon: https://www.patreon.com/maryvsmovies. 

Toys come to life and encounter a hallucinating camel, a sentient taffy pit that eats itself, and a paranoid king who only grows big when torturing and humiliating other people. You know, a kids movie. "Dennis Versus the Movies" month comes to an end with a really, really strange movie that Mary was obsessed with as a kid. Starring Didi Conn, Mark Baker, Claire Williams, George S. Irving, Fred Stuthman, and Joe Silver. Written by Patricia Thackray and Mark Wilk. Directed by Richard Williams. Music by Joe Raposo.

"Dennis versus the Movies" continues as we welcome back to the show puppeteer and children's entertainer Zach Woliner to talk about the third Muppets movie, an homage to the Broadway musical films of the 1930s. The Muppets head to Manhattan with stars in their eyes and a dream of Broadway stardom, only to break apart, Kermit to get amnesia, and Miss Piggy to face down a New York full of muggers, cruel bosses, and sexual harrassment. It's a family film. Starring Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Richard Hunt, Jerry Nelson, Juliana Donald, Lonny Price, Louis Zorich, Dabney Coleman, and Art Carney. Written by Tom Patchett and Jay Tarses. Directed by Frank Oz

An ex-firefighter stuck in a dead-end job is offered a chance to live it up for a week if he jumps in a volcano and dies so a rich man can steal some natural resources from a tropical island. Well, who wouldn't say yes to that? Dennis Vs the Movies month continues, featuring an interview with Mary's mom! Starring Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Lloyd Bridges, Abe Vigoda, Robert Stack, Ossie Davis, Dan Hedaya, Amanda Plummer, and Nathan Lane. Written and directed by John Patrick Shanley.

Ray just wants a peaceful staycation--why do his neighbors have to be so weird? We kick off Dennis Vs. the Movies Month with one of Mary's favorite movies from her childhood. Starring: Tom Hanks, Henry Gibson, Bruce Dern, Rick Ducommun, Corey Feldman, Brother Theodore, Wendy Schaal, and Carrie Fischer. Written by Dana Olsen. Directed by Joe Dante.

Robot security guards go rogue and start killing people at the mall. Don't worry, it's 2025, all our malls are dead already, and I'm sure our robot security guards will treat us well. Starring Kelli Maroney, Tony O'Dell, John Terlesky, Russell Todd, and Barbara Crampton. Written by Jim Wynorski and Steve Mitchell. Directed by Jim Wynorski

A young woman coming of age in a seaside town challenges the stuffy sexual mores and hypocrisy of post-war Britain in this dramedy from the writer of Mona Lisa.  Starring Emily Lloyd, Tom Bell, Geoffrey Hutchings, and Pat Heywood. Written and directed by David Leland.

A standard college melodrama makes a hard-right turn into an anti-abortion screed in a move that's almost as bizarre as Kirk Cameron's horrible Southern accent. We welcome back Alana Phelan to the show with a movie she really loved as a kid, but viewing it as an adult, a few things suddenly stand out. Starring Kirk Cameron, Jamie Gertz, Roy Scheider, and Tim Quill. Written and directed by Douglass Day Stewart.   Content warning: this episode discusses rape, abortion, and general sexual topics.   The Indiegogo link to Alana and Kevin's book: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/for-hire-the-price-of-fame/#/

A Russian tank unit is lost during the Soviet-Afghan war, leading to a breakdown in order, attempted mutiny, and dessertion to the Mujahideen. Part Moby Dick, part Lawrence of Arabia, and a little bit Rambo, it's a meditation on war, revenge, and mercy. Starring George Dzundza, Jason Patric, Steven Bauer, Stephen Baldwin, Erick Avari, and Don Harvey. Written by William Mastrosimone. Directed by Kevin Reynolds

We took a look at a British tv series from the 1950s, dramatising the Arthurian story in a high-romance fashion. Believe it or not, it's pretty good! Starring William Russell–who later played “Ian” on Doctor Who–it's a fairly faithful rendering of the story, with Lancelot as an outsider who comes to Arthur's court, Gawain as his rival, a belligerent Kay, and a Merlin who is part magician, part con-man. Lancelot isn't just the best of knights here, he's also a champion of underdogs, defying the more hierarchical standards of Camelot–it's no surprise to find out that several of the writers for the show were Americans who were blacklisted during the Red Scare. Once again, the Arthurian world is used as a playground for utopian politics, not unlike Twain's Connecticut Yankee and T.H. White's Once and Future King. Starring William Russell, Cyril Smith, Ronald Leigh-Hunt, Robert Scroggins, and Jane Hylton. With various writers and directors depending on the episode. This is a preview of the latest episode of our series Hollywood Avalon. To hear the entire episode, join the Mary Versus the Movies patreon for $3/month to hear this and the entire series Hollywood Avalon: https://www.patreon.com/maryvsmovies.   

James Bond goes up against Hugo Drax, a billionaire with a private space rocket company who's secretly a eugenicist, plotting to kill everyone on earth and replace them with his idea of a master race who lives in space. I don't know why this sounds so familiar. Also, Jaws the Henchman shows up and goes through so many near-deaths, you'd think he was fighting Bugs Bunny. Starring Roger Moore, Michael Lonsdale, Richard Kiel, Lois Chiles, and Corrine Clery. Written by Christopher Wood from Ian Fleming's novel. Directed by Lewish Gilbert.

David Lynch's first film is an exploration of the fear of fatherhood, set against a grim industrial backdrop, featuring surreal, nightmarish imagry that would reoccur throughout his career. An influential, landmark American film of the midnight movie scene, and ultimately, one hell of a bad trip. Starring Jack Nance, Charlotte Stewart, Jeanne Bates, Judith Anna Roberts, and Robert Fisk. Written and directed by David Lynch.

Nazis hiding in South America have been cloning Hitler, and one researcher is crossing the globe, trying to stop their plans to resurrect the Third Reich. A thriller from the writer of Rosemary's Baby and The Stepford Wives that culimates in two very old men slapfighting over the future. Starring Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier, James Mason, Lilli Palmer, Steve Guttenberg, Uta Hagen, and Jeremy Black. Written by Ira Levin and Heywood Gould. Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner.

Nebbish Seymour Krelborn finds an extraterrestrial plant that offers him everything he wants—fame, money, the love of his coworker Audrey—in return for fresh human blood. What started as a 1960 Roger Corman schlockfest is turned into a campy musical from the guys who brought us… The Little Mermaid? Wait, really? Starring Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Vincent Gardenia, Steve Martin, and Bill Murray. Written by Howard Ashman. Music by Alan Menkin. Directed by Frank Oz

Here it is, John Boorman's epic retelling of King Arthur's conception, Camelot, the Holy Grail, and his final betrayal by his own son. It's mostly Thomas Malory's 15th century romance Le Morte Darthur, mashed up with bits of Jessie Weston's 1920 book, the Grail study "From Ritual to Romance" and with a heavy dollop of 1960s Neopaganism. It has plenty of sex, violence, swords, and sorcery to grab the attention of any young teen watching HBO in the 1980s, and enough Before They Were Stars for the rest of us. Starring Nigel Terry, Helen Mirren, Nichol Williamson, Nicholas Clay, Cherie Lunghi, Gabriel Byrne, Patrick Stewart, Paul Geoffrey, Robert Addie, and Liam Neeson. Written and directed by John Boorman. This is a preview of the latest episode of our series Hollywood Avalon. To hear the entire episode, join the Mary Versus the Movies patreon for $3/month to hear this and the entire series Hollywood Avalon: https://www.patreon.com/maryvsmovies. 

It's the musical version of A Christmas Carol, featuring one of the more surprising diss tracks in all musical cinema. Join us as we dissect Dickens' classic one more time. Starring Albert Finney, Alec Guinness, Edith Evans, Kenneth Moore, and Laurence Naismith. Directed by Ronald Neame. Written and with music by Leslie Bricusse.

The gangs of New York come together for a conclave, only for the charismatic leader Cyrus to be assassinated, and Coney Island's Warriors to be falsely accused. Can they make it home before the rest of the city tries to kill them?  Joining us is a special guest, the writer and cartoonist Michael Kupperman, creator of Snake 'n' Bacon and author of All the Answers. Starring Michael Beck, James Remar, David Patrick Kelly, and Deborah Van Valkenburgh. Directed by Walter Hill. Written by Walter Hill and David Shaber, from Sol Yurick's novel.

The ultimate himbo pursues his dancing dreams during one of the worst periods of New York City's history, and ends up a cultural icon—off-screen, of course. Starring John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney, Barry Miller, Paul Pape, Donna Pescow, and Martin Shakar. Written by Norman Wexler. Directed by John Badham.

This month, we are joined with a special guest, Tim Ryan, the King of Janitors, for a watch of Michael Bay's Arthurian epic, Transformers: The Last Knight, in which Mark Wahlberg teams up with a hot Oxford don who is apparently the last descendent of Merlin, and a selection of Autobots, to take on a corrupted Optimus Prime, using Excalibur. No, I'm not making this up. It's a complete nonsense movie. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Josh Duhamel, Anthony Hopkins, Stanley Tucci, Laura Haddock, Isabela Moner, Jerrod Carmichael, Tony Hale, Mitch Pileggi, Peter Cullen, Frank Welker, Gemma Chan, John Goodman, and Omar Sy. This is a preview of the latest episode of our series Hollywood Avalon. To hear the entire episode, join the Mary Versus the Movies patreon for $3/month to hear this and the entire series Hollywood Avalon: https://www.patreon.com/maryvsmovies.   

A Sicilan boy in post-war Italy is taken under the wing of the local projectionist, and begins a life-long love of the movies, while watching how the world changes around him. Winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, this is a funny, moving film about love, art, and community. Starring Philippe Noiret, Salvatore Cascio, Jacques Perrin, Antonella Attili, and Agnese Nano. Written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore.

An evil Irish toymaker is plotting a mass child sacrifice using his Halloween masks, and it's up to one alcoholic doctor to stop him. There's no Michael Myers, but there is a pretty baroque and silly plot here under a lot of early 1980s grime.  Starring Tom Atkins, Stacy Nelkin, and Dan O'Herlihy. Written and directed by Tommy Lee Wallace.

The evil grimoire the Necronomicon sends Ash Williams—chainsaw hand all—back to the Dark Ages where he helps King Arthur battle the forces of the Undead. Starring Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert, and Ian Ambercrombie. Written by Sam Raimi and Ivan Raimi. Directed by Sam Raimi. This is a preview of the latest episode of our series Hollywood Avalon. To hear the entire episode, join the Mary Versus the Movies patreon for $3/month to hear this and the entire series Hollywood Avalon: https://www.patreon.com/maryvsmovies. 

A sexy gerontologist falls in with an Egyptian/French vampire and her thin white duke in this gothic--and we do mean gothic--erotic horror set in New York City.  Starring Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, Susan Sarandon, and Cliff De Young. Written by Ian Davis and Michael Thomas from Whitley Strieber's novel. Directed by Tony Scott.

Our friend Jen has brought us a semi-forgotten Rankin-Bass Halloween movie that features racially-tinged zombies, sexual harrassment, and a bad Jimmy Stewart impression. Maybe there's a reason this doesn't often show up on TV.  Starring Boris Karloff, Phyllis Diller, Allen Swift, and Gale Garnette. Written by Arthur Rankin Jr., Len Korobkin and Harvey Kurtzman. Directed by Jules Bass.

Rick Springfield is a vampire detective in Los Angeles hunting a serial killer. What more do you need? This failed tv pilot went on to become the cable series Forever Knight, which is shockingly not another D.C. Batman series. We welcome back Alana Phelan to the show, having brought us this wonderful little paranormal piece of junk. Check out Alana's work at https://polyamorouslibrarian.wordpress.com Starring Rick Springfield, John Kapelos, Laura Johnson, Robert Harper, and Michael Nader. Written by Barney Cohen and James D. Parriott. Directed by Farhad Mann.

An L.A. private eye investigating the murder of a local businessman uncovers a corrupt world of sex, money, and violence. Also, every major American cartoon character from the 20th century shows up at some point. Heavily influenced by films like Chinatown and The Big Sleep and featuring special effects that fully realize the potential of earlier films like Anchors Away and Mary Poppins that mix live acting and animation, this might be the greatest film of the 1980s. (This episode is a little bit of a cheat--we've both seen this film many, many times, but we needed a fill-in episode, and as this was playing in a theater near us this summer, we jumped at the chance to cover it.) Starring Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloydd, Charles Fleischer, Kathleen Turner, Joanna Cassidy, and Stubby Kaye. Directed by Robet Zemeckis. Written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman.

This month, we check out the pilot for the British tv show Merlin from 2008, which rewrites the Arthurian story in some pretty significant ways, some of which really rub us the wrong way. Why is Merlin so young? Why is Arthur living with Uther? And why does the dragon look so terrible? Starring Colin Morgan, Bradley James, Angel Coulby, Anthony Head, Richard Wilson, and John Hurt. Written by Julian Jones. Directed by James Hawes. This is a preview of the latest episode of our series Hollywood Avalon. To hear the entire episode, join the Mary Versus the Movies patreon for $3/month to hear this and the entire series Hollywood Avalon: https://www.patreon.com/maryvsmovies. 

A biker gang kidnapps an ex-soldier's rock star girlfriend, and he gets revenge through the power of Jim Steinman power ballads and giant hammers in a very silly "Rock 'n' Roll Fable" from the guy who gave us The Warriors. Starring Michael Pare, Diane Lane, Willem Dafoe, Rick Moranis, and Amy Madigan. Written by Walter Hill and Larry Gross. Directed by Walter Hill. Music by Jim Steinman, Ry Cooder, and others.

Mary and Dennis go to the Space Melt Power Hour in Philadelphia, and talk a little about the Philly movie scene. Thanks to Bruce Bohri and the people at Space 1026 for hosting the movie night.

Sophmoric, misogynistic, violent, and incredibly influential, this Canadian animated feature based on the science fiction magazine and featuring comedians from SCTV is equal parts terrible and awesome, and really brings out our inner teenage dirtbags. Also, we look at Richard Corben's original animated short Neverwhere, the basis for the comic book character Den and his segment of the film. Starring John Candy, Rodger Bumpass, Jackie Burroughs, Joe Flaherty, Don Francks, Eugene Levy, Alice Playten, Harold Ramis, and more. Written by Daniel Goldberg and Len Blum. Directed by Gerald Potterton. Based on original stories by Richard Corben, Angus McKie, Dan O'Bannon, and a really unimpressed and uncredited Jean "Moebius" Giraud.

We were hoping for some gaudy Satanic Panic nonsense, and instead we get The Paper Chase with a nerdy Tom Hanks in the middle of a very boring psychotic break. Meant to warn against role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, it's mostly a really dull, rote drama, with nary a demon to be found. Starring Tom Hanks, Christ Makepiece, Wendy Crewson, David Wysocki, and Murray Hamilton. Written by Tom Lazarus from a novel by Rona Jaffe. Directed by Steven Hilliard Stern.

We take on the notorious Caligula, the story of the third Roman emperor who murdered his way to the throne and married his sister, in two forms--the original Bob Guccione cut with its hardore sex scenes, and the restored Gore Vidal/Tinto Brass version with its more measured editing, and find in the restoration a surprisingly decent film--the original theatrical version, however, lives up to its reputation. Starring Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mrren, Teresa Ann Savoy, Peter O'Toole, John Gielgud, John Steiner, and Guido Manarri. Written by Gore Vidal. Directed by Tinto Brass.

Special guest Sarah Sahim joins us to discuss Richard E. Grant's autobiographical film Wah Wah, about the dissolution of his parents marriage and his father's alcoholism, agains the backdrop of the end of British colonial rule in Swaziland. What does this have to do with King Arthur? Well, as a goodbye gift to the visiting Princess Margaret, the British colonial community puts on a production of Camelot with a black Lancelot. A frustrating and frequently incurious film all around that squanders any opportunity to really grapple with the meaning of the end of an empire. Starring Gabriel Byrne, Nicholas Hoult, Emily Watson, and Miranda Richardson. Written and directed by Richard E. Grant.   To hear the entire episode, join the Mary Versus the Movies patreon for $3/month to hear this and the entire series Hollywood Avalon: https://www.patreon.com/maryvsmovies.  

An Atlantic City oyster-schucker and an aging gangster are on the run after her ex-husband rips off a Philly drug-running operation. Filmed as the Jersey Shore opened up to gambling, it captures a city under the wrecking ball of an uncertain future. Starring Burt Lancaster, Susan Sarandon, Kate Reid, and Robert Joy. Written by John Guare. Directed by Louis Malle.

A Malibu dirtbag is recruited by three older men to teach them how to pick up chicks, and a parade of topless women ensues. A world of sex, female bodybuilding, and hair metal opens up for our trio of losers, until one of them takes it too far, and our young dirtbag suddenly has to grow up and grow a pair. Starring Grant Cramer, Courtney Gains, Roberta Collins, Gary Wood. Written by Eric Alter, Steve Greene, and Mark Griffiths. Directed by Mark Griffiths.

A young Amish boy witnesses a murder by corrupt Philadelphia cops, leaving a rogue detective to protect the boy and his family from their wrath while hiding in the Pennsylvania countryside. A dreamlike mix of brutal noir, romantic longing, and pastoral comedy, it's one of the rare films that let Ford stretch out as an actor during his action heyday. Starring Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Lukas Haas, and Danny Glover. Written by Earl W. Wallace and William Kelley. Directed by Peter Weir.

Just in time for the 2024 Paris Olympics, we visit the 1924 Paris Olympics and the true story of two runners who overcome discrimination--antisemitism, class differences, and religious devotion--to become a team and win the gold. With its iconic Oscar-winning synth score by Vangelis, it also won Best Picture, Screenplay, and Costumes. Starring Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Nigel Havers, Alice Krige, Ian Holme, and John Guilgud. Directed by Hugh Hudson. Written by Colin Welland.

John Candy just wants to take his family to the lake for a summer vacation, the last thing he needs is Dan Ackroyd tagging along, humiliating him, and stealing his money. But that's family for you. This feels like an unused National Lampoon's Vacation script, and it turns out, thats exactly what it is. Starring John Candy, Dan Ackroyd, Stephanie Faracy, and Annette Benning. Written by John Hughes. Directed by Howard Deutch.

A computer programmer gets sucked into the mainframe of his former employer and does battle with a malevolent artificial intelligence in a futuristic world right out of a black-light poster. One of Walt Disney Pictures' better forays into science fiction brings us a visually-dazzling world, but that doesn't quite make up for a story that's both nonsensical and a bit of a slog. Starring Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner, Cindy Morgan, and Barnard Hughes. Written by Steven Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird. Directed by Steven Lisberger. Music by Wendy Carlos.  

An arrogant New York shock-jock's fall from grace is tempered by the debt he owes to an eccentric unhoused man, the woman he loves, and a search for the Holy Grail in Terry Gilliam's magical-realist tale of redemption. Starring Jeff Bridges, Robin Williams, Mercedes Ruehl, Amanda Plummer, and Michael Jeter. Written by Richard LaGravanese. Directed by Terry Gilliam. To hear the entire episode, join the Mary Versus the Movies patreon for $3/month to hear this and the entire series Hollywood Avalon: https://www.patreon.com/maryvsmovies.  

A washed-up, alcoholic ex-ballplayer is recruited to coach the worst team in little league, and sets off to pull them together into a real team, where the star pitcher is a girl and the best player is a dirtbike-riding juvenile delinquent. It's a classic 1970s snobs-versus-slobs story of rooting for the losers, the bums, the misfits. Starring Walter Matthau, Tatum O'Neill, Vic Morrow, Jackie Earl Haley, and Joyce Van Patten. Written by Bill Lancaster. Directed by Michael Ritchie.

A book editor witnesses a murder during a cross-country trip, and is plunged into a Hitchcockian world of murder and intrigue. Eventually Richard Pryor shows up, and we get some unfortunate blackface. What can I say, it's the 1970s. Starring Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor, Jill Clayburgh, Patrick McGoohan, Ned Beatty, Ray Walston, Scatman Crothers, and Richard Kiel. Written by Colin Higgins. Directed by Arthur Hiller.

A Miami Vice-influenced cross between neo-Noir and over-the-top action, it's the story of two cops—one an alcoholic detective, the other an undercover cop playing hitman—taking down some Hong Kong gangsters. It has gung-fu, babies in peril, and the boxiest, beigest computers the 1990s could deliver.  Starring Chow Yun-fat, Tony Leung, Theresa Mo, Philip Chan, and Anthony Wong. Written by Gordon Chan and Barry Wong. Directed by John Woo.   Apologies to any listeners for the sound, this was recorded while Mary had a bad cold.