Nights of the Underground Table

It's that time of year when we look back and celebrate the best (and worst) that 2022 had to offer. Join us at the table as we discuss our favorite episodes, 2022 releases, and older films we just discovered. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Tonight at the table, we're discussing how film pulls from other art forms. We break down adaptations of books, plays, video games, board games, and even other movies. What makes a good adaptation? What makes a bad one? Should we be remaking bad movies instead of good ones? All these questions and more will be answered once and for all. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

The 3rd episode in our 2022 Christmas-adjacent series takes The Table Crew on an odd dystopian journey into the world of Brazil (the movie, not the country). Why is it called Brazil? What is the cautionary tale at the core? Is it Terry Gilliam's finest work? Most of these questions will be discussed, and some will be answered, so pull up a seat and fill out a "Letter of Intent to Listen" form --pursuant to Article 35A Stroke 9-- while we talk about this bleak, yet comedic, take on bureaucratic dystopia. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Join the table crew for their 2nd "Christmas Adjacent" feature, the comedic neo-noir Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), written and directed by Shane Black. It's John's first time seeing this and Dixon and Ryan haven't seen it in a long time, so join them as they make their way through the fog of this quirky, self-aware meta-noir. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

It's the holiday season, and we're discussing Christmas-adjacent movies. Join us at the table as we unwrap the most violent Toy Story movie ever made. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

We're taking a brief dip into the Noir-vember festivities as we cap the month off with a discussion around Double Indemnity (1944) the noir classic some hail as the most noir noir to ever noir. Pull up a seat and join us as we flap our gums about these morally ambiguous characters and the machinations they're caught up in. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

We have John's brother Mark Garcia on the podcast this week for an Off the Table discussion of his favorite film: Park Chan-wook's 2003 wild, disturbing revenge thriller OLDBOY. It's the perfect movie to share with your blood relatives over a plate of live octopus. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Join the Table Crew as they talk about science fiction double features, sweet transvestites from Transexual Transylvania, and how to make a man in 7 days with this episode about the film adaptation of Richard O'Brien's Rocky Horror Picture Show. It was a first time viewing for all parties involved, so tune in and listen as we try to describe exactly what we just saw. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

This week we've moved our table to the back of a Winnebago as we shun the corporate rat race and traverse the continental United States in a desperate attempt to find ourselves. We're talking about Albert Brooks' 1985 comedy LOST IN AMERICA. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

We're rounding out spooky season with a stone cold horror classic. Join us at the table as we point fingers and accuse each other of being John Carpenter's THE THING. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Join us at the dinner table for a tense family discussion that will make your head spin. We're talking about Ari Aster's 2018 horror masterpiece HEREDITARY. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Before you watch that new Hellraiser on Hulu, join us at the table as we discuss the original 1987 gore-fest that launched the 11-film franchise that, like its iconic monster Pinhead, just refuses to fucking die. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

The NOTUT podcast is 50 episodes old! Celebrate with us at the table as we discuss the atmospheric 2021 horror film CENSOR about the video nasty era of 1980s England. We dive into free speech, movie ratings, and how it's bullshit that big tech wants to censor our [redacted]. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Join us at the table as we delve into the psyche of John Malkovich and discover what it's like to live in someone else's skin. We're discussing Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman's 1999 breakthrough comedy mindfuck BEING JOHN MALKOVICH. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Provocatively dancing its way to your headphones is our latest discussion centered around Dirty Dancing (1987) with special guest Darla, Ryan's wonderful dance + everything else partner. Will the core table crew love it, hate it, or maybe even... date it? We don't know what that means, but if you're still reading this, why? Press play and follow our lead. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Here we go, here goes Speed Racer (2008), it's a torment on reels... at least that's what folks say, but is it really all that bad? Join Dixon, Ryan, and John at the table as they process visual trauma in a discussion seeking the meaning behind Speed and Racing. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Come join us at the table for a delightful discussion about the fascinating 1996 film Haru, an intimate exploration of online relationships in the early days of the internet. Shoutout to our loyal listener Mathew who recommended this movie. You can watch Haru for free on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58kJITV4uhQ Check out Mathew's podcast DJ Ginohino's Untitled Radio Project here: https://open.spotify.com/show/1qmwMPph67qOGdcfsTpELA?si=jXDNYb3pTkulw26ptk-Z6A --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Are you talking to us? If you are, we can't hear you. We're too busy talking about Taxi Driver (1976). It's the first Scorsese film to be discussed on the podcast, and it's only a matter of time before Dixon starts bringing more to the table. For now, let's dissect Travis Bickle's descent into radical delusions and vigilantism. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Come join us at the table for the conclusion of our Coen Brothers spotlight as we discuss the wild 1987 comedy Raising Arizona starring Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, John Goodman, and Francis McDormand. It's gonna be a crazy ride. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

What's going on?! That's what you might be thinking when you wander into the middle of any movie, but one of this episode's main characters asks that question from the beginning to end of this episode's film. Uncertainty is ever present in our lives and in the stories we tell each other, so how can any of us know what's going on? Well, we're not really here to provide a definitive answer that question, but we can tell you about the Goy's Teeth --among other things. Join John, Ryan, and Dixon at the table as they discuss A Serious Man (2009) in the 2nd of 3 episodes exploring a selection of tonally different films written & directed by The Coen Brothers. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

We begin our series on the Coen brothers by going back to their first, and possibly best, film, 1984's Blood Simple. This movie is dripping with style. The cinematography is stunning, Frances McDormand is incredible, and Carter Burwell's score is hypnotic. Join us at the table as we geek out on this seminal work of two of the defining filmmakers of our time. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

We're back (from outer space), just walked right into find you here with that sad look upon your face! Well turn that frown upside down. The table crew has got good news for you, we're talking about High Anxiety! No, not the feeling of intense nervousness, High Anxiety (1977) directed by Mel Brooks. Join Dixon, Ryan, and John at the table as they breakdown the funny, dive deep into a discussion on what makes a good spoof, and even offer their own alternate High Anxiety gags with the power of their 20/20 hindsight. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Join us at the table as we unpack the secrets within the criminally underrated 1987 legal thriller SUSPECT, starring Cher, Dennis Quaid, and Liam Neeson. Who killed a Supreme Court clerk and dumped her in the Potomac? Was it Liam Neeson, was it AMERICA, or was it you the listener? You'll never see the twist coming. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

In this episode the table crew discusses the multi-generational family crisis unfolding in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Tokyo Sonata (2008). It's a film John saw in college, and he's bringing it to the table for Ryan and Dixon to help him process what he didn't have the words for all those years ago. Join us as we sift through the tragedy, comedy, and drama in search of what it all means (much as the characters do). Disclaimer: We are not experts on Japan or Japanese culture. The anecdotes told in this episode are relayed with as much respect as possible, and represent a mere sliver of experience/exposure to the complex topic of an entire history and culture of a people. Please keep that in mind when listening along, and if anything strikes you as incorrect or ill represented, please feel free to contact us with a correction or clarification. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Journey with us through the shimmer as we discuss Alex Garland's underappreciated masterpiece ANNIHILATION. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

What is Akira? We at the Underground Table genuinely don't know, which is why we're asking. Ryan recently suggested we watch the influential anime Akira (1988), and now we're left wondering what it's all about. Join us as we discuss our way to an interpretation and take a few asides to highlight our favorite details. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Have you worked behind the counter at store? If you said yes, then you know exactly how much it can suck to work as a clerk. The table crew knows the same pain, and we're here to talk about it AND to talk about Clerks (1994), Kevin Smith's directorial debut. Join John, Ryan, and Dixon as they talk through the order of events that transpire in Clerks, their respective times working behind the counter, and Kevin Smith's filmmaking legacy. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Our resident comic book nerd Ryan King finally watched THE Batman, which inspired us to sit down and talk through all the Batman movies and how they stack up. What's your favorite Batman movie? Leave us a voicemail through the link below and tell us why it's Batman Begins. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Follow John, Ryan, and Dixon through The Zone and into The Room to realize your deepest subconscious desire: an in-depth discussion of Andrei Tarkovsky's sci-fi masterpiece STALKER. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Ladies, Gentlemen, and all other dignified listeners who don't identify with those terms. WELCOME TO VIOLENCE. By violence, we mean ANALYSIS. The word and the act. While analysis cloaks itself in a plethora of disguises, its favorite mantle still remains: a roundtable discussion. Analysis doesn't only destroy, it dissects and prospects as well. Let's examine closely, then, this act. It can come in any form at any time. It could be your barber chatting your ear off about sports. It could be your grocer discussing the merits of paper v. plastic. It could even be a group of guys named John, Dixon, and Ryan sitting at a PODCASTING TABLE talking about the cult classic Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Hey prospective listener, sorry to bother you, it's the crew of the Underground Table here just wanted to let you know we're having some real discussions you might want in on, primarily around the surreal comedy Sorry To Bother You (2018) and all the criticism it packs into a wildly poignant package. Join John, Dixon, and Ryan as they peel back the layers of this worry free discussion, and take some time to savor the satire of Boots Riley's directorial debut. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

With nuclear annihilation becoming more likely every day, we decided to watch the greatest satire ever made: Stanley Kubrick's hilarious 1964 masterpiece DR. STRANGELOVE: OR HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB. Grab a glass of pure grain alcohol, some distilled water, and the biggest cigar you can find and join us at the table to discuss this singular film and its relevance to the world today. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Ryan's finally done it. He's made us watch a wrestling movie. Join us at the table as we discuss Darren Aronofsky's intimate 2008 character piece The Wrestler. Mickey Rourke gives the performance of his career as an aging wrestler struggling to give up the sport and move on with his life. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

We know what you're thinking: "What the hell kind of movie title is that?" That's exactly what Sony Pictures Classics thought when they about-faced on carrying this to theaters. Join John, Dixon, and Ryan as they peel back the layers of Albert Brooks's satire Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World (2005), a seemingly divisive satirical deconstruction of comedy and culture made during the turbulent times at the start of the Iraq War. Is it ruthlessly genius? Is it smartly prudent? We aim to talk through the quagmire and hopefully come out with some better sense of the situation, and we've saved you a seat (and a 4~500 page report on comedy) at the table. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Ryan's off this week, so John, Dixon, and special guest Alea get together to talk about the movie named after him. Join us as we discuss one of the best films of the year and how it spoke to us on a personal level as we navigate adulthood and try to figure out what the hell we're doing with our lives. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

We're back and ready to talk about Gaslight (1940)! Or was it... Gaslight (1944)? What's the difference? You'll have to listen in to find out, unless you already watched both... then you can commiserate with John and Ryan. Either way, pull up a seat and join us at the table! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Satoshi Kon takes the Underground Table crew through a surreal retrospective of a fictional actress's life in this turn-of-the-century celebration of film and film fanatics. Join Dixon, Ryan, and John as they discuss the motifs and mind-bending stylistic choices of the late, great director's 2001 film Millennium Actress. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

We've crossed over into the 3rd year of 2020, and with that comes a moment of reflection on who we were and what we did during 2020-2 (i.e. 2021, not to be confused with 2022). The Nights of the Underground Table podcast was established this past year, and it's been a fun experience that kept its patrons in good spirits and hopefully helped anyone listening think differently about the media they engage with. Join us for an end of year retrospective where John, Dixon, and Ryan discuss top categories and picks from their previous year with movies (and some tv shows). If you have any 2021 picks to share, feel free to call into our anchor.fm hotline or shoot us an email at nightsoftheundergroundtable@gmail.com. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

The Underground Table is expanding its discussions beyond the cinema! Join us for the first episode where we discuss a tv show, specifically Joe Pera Talks With You. It's a show that's hard to explain without using the words charming, wholesome, and quirky, but there's so much more to it than those adjectives. Join us as we engage with our first series and dissect what makes Season 1 so special. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas from the Underground Table crew to you and your family, your friends, your acquaintances and more (pretty much everyone except your foes). We've got one final gift for you before Christmas is over. It's not a 1940s tongue-in-cheek screwball comedy, it's a discussion on the 1940s tongue-in-cheek screwball comedy. Join the holiday crew of Dixon the Grinch, Ryan the Elf, and John as they discuss Preston Sturges' Christmas in July (1940). --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

What's black & white and sappy all over? It's Frank Capra's holiday classic: It's a Wonderful Life (1946), and the Underground Table Crew has been summoned by Dixon to discuss this ubiquitous piece of cinematic history. Have you been avoiding this film because your relative keeps pressing you to watch it every Winter? Have you seen it 1000 times and this year makes 1001? Regardless of either end of the viewer spectrum, this discussion has something for everyone. Tune in, enjoy, and happy holidays from the Underground Table Crew. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Dixon Bot has received a tune-up and is operating at almost 100% Human Dixon capacity. If you don't know what any of that means, don't worry about it, just know that the Underground Table crew is effectively back in full force. This episode we set our oscillating overdrive to full power and travel back to 1984 through the podcast dimension as we look at The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984). It's a cult movie with some familiar faces and some unfamiliar plot points, Ryan's seen it, but Dixon Bot and John are first timers. Join us as we talk through this offbeat, oddball, theatrical composition of inside jokes and scenery chewing. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Spooky Season concludes just in time for Holiday Season! Dixon isn't back yet, still no clue where he is, but the rest of the table crew wishes him the best and will just have to soldier on into the next film as the duo of Ryan and John discuss the horror film Antlers (2021). Did our table patrons enjoy all the satisfying scares and well placed metaphors of a dense horror experience? Or did it completely miss the point(s) and buck any sense of clever or thought provoking essences in favor of a jump scare-a-thon? Tune in to find out. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Did you see Dune? Did you ever wanna sit at a table and listen to a Dune film discussion that includes nitpicking, fine-tuning, high quality dune-ing? What's dune-ing? Doesn't matter. Join John, Ryan, and... wait... where's Dixon? Uh. Okay, this is unexpected. Join... John, Ryan, and not Dixon for a discussion on Dune (2021)! Where the hell is Dixon? Will the crew attempt to replace him? More importantly, will there be references to Dune (1984) or Dune (Book)? All these questions and more will be discussed (no answers promised) in the 3rd installment of our Off The Table series. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Holy Celestials, Batman! What? The wrong comic distributor? Psh. We don't care, the more surprising fact is that Dixon picked a Marvel movie for the Underground Table to watch. He must be in the pocket of big Disney, right? Or maybe he's just a glutton for punishment (and here we thought John was the only one suffering with Schlocktober and all). Regardless the motivation, here we are and we want you to join us. Join Dixon, John, and Ryan at the table as we discuss Marvel's Eternals. Is it the first Marvel movies to move Dixon to profound introspective self-actualization? Or is it more fuel for his feud with Disney? What about how it fits into Ryan or John's take on the MCU? Tune in to find out! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Join the Underground Table crew as they wade into the waters of Giallo with Tenebrae (1982), a giallo film to end all giallo films. It's got twists, turns, suspense, and absurd murders. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Spooky Season continues with The Underground Table's next atmospheric, multi-interpretive horror film: The Empty Man (2020). Join Dixon, Ryan, and John as they talk their way to the noosphere and around the In-Between One's domain. If you plan on listening to this episode, please fill out this form of absurdly cult-ish primer questions by checking true or false to the prompts: [X] True | [ ] False [ ] Life itself is a kind of disease [ ] An infection is a blessed event [ ] The brain can itch [ ] The entire universe is an erogenous zone [ ] The scientific method is a tool of oppression [ ] If science says the sky is blue, it is more likely red [ ] There is no such thing as objectivity… [ ] Rational thought is deadly [ ] Emotion is truer than thought [ ] Not all shadows are cast from something [ ] An individual mind is a single cell in a larger consciousness [ ] The only crime is offending prevailing social constructs [ ] Everything is permissible --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

The first movie in our Spooky Season series is a classic piece of horror cinema, directed by the Stanley Kubrick (is there another?). Join Dixon, John, and Ryan at the table with a g-g-g-g-host?!?! *ahem* as they dissect what makes Kubrick's adaptation of the Stephen King novel such a gripping and unsettling experience. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

A small announcement to prime our table patrons for the upcoming spooky-sodes (that's industry speak for Spooky Episodes). --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

You're trudging through a seemingly endless desert, the Sun's scorching rays beating down upon your brow. Yet another appropriate time to posit the question "How did I end up here?" but before you can utter the apostrophe to your surroundings, you spot a dark figure on the the crest of a nearby dune. Mustering the strength your legs have left, you climb the slant of packed grains, reaching out for the figure. It appears to be a man on horseback, but he suddenly splits into three men. You don't need to ask who they are, because you already know somehow. The mounted steed begins to turn and the silhouetted trio unifies back into a singular visage, trotting slowly out of sight onto the other side of the sands. Just as you reach the crest's top, you lose your balance and roll to the bottom of the other side. Covered in specs of uncomfortable granularity, you lift your head to see the image of an oasis before you. A small pond with vegetation growing all around, and a single tree shading what appears to be a table with three men sitting at it. The same trio? Yes. It's Ryan, Dixon, and John. They beckon you to come into the shade of the tree with them. As you approach, Ryan begins to dig into the surface under his chair and produces a sand weathered copy of Alejandro Jodorowsky's El Topo (1970) and hands it to you with minimal dialogue. You might not know how you ended up here, but now you know the why. Join us at the table for a discussion of the Metaphysical Acid Western that convinced John Lennon to help fund more of Jodorowsky's surreal cinematic contributions. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message

Well here you are again in South America. You're not driving some kind of death mobile like The Sorcerer (thankfully), you're just running taxi cab fares from A to B in Argentina. Why did you ever let so-and-so talk you into flying all the way here just to be stuck running a grind that you were never looking to run? Sounds like kind of a toxic venture, but I guess there's not time to reflect on it now. Your next fare is coming up, three guys on the street are flagging you down. It's John, Dixon, and Ryan. As they pile into the cab they all sing Happy Together by The Turtles (off-key of course). "Where to?" you ask. "To The Underground!" one of them exclaims. As you drive, your cab fills with the chatter of a movie discussion. Sounds like an interesting film, time to take the scenic route and see where all this discussion ends up. Join the crew of the Underground Table as they discuss Wong Kar-Wai's romantic drama Happy Together (1997), his notable auteur elements, and the relationships of old that the film brings some of them to reflect upon. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/undergroundtablepodcast/message