129: SFFCH – Charley Varrick

We decided long ago that one of Spoiler Filled’s collective favourite directors, Quentin Tarantino, was not suitable for the general mediocrity/obscurity we deal with here on SFFCH. So how do we find a way to sneakily talk about his work? Well, we look to his 70’s influences of course with this week’s choice of Charley Varrick from 1973. Directed by legendary 70’s crime filmmaker Don Siegel, the film stars scamp-y curmudgeon Walter Matthau in a dramatic action role, something a few of us here are not used to. Will Ant, Abi and Rich be won over by Matthau’s darker side? Come listen to us ramble to find out about this and also: Matthau’s surprising attractiveness to the ladies in this film, having an older leading man in a action-crime-thriller, convoluted stunt-plane antics and  underground ping-pong dens.

 

[Ep. 129, Rec. May 2016]

128: SFFCH – Wildcats

Another sports movie?! What is going on with the Spoiler Filled crew?! Extreme sitting and extensive reviewing is usually the only kind of sport we all engage in. So let’s see, we’ve done soccer, wrestling and even touched upon basketball. This time it’s the turn of high-school American football to be scrutinized in Abi’s choice of Wildcats from 1986. Goldie Hawn has been somewhat absent from cinema in the last decade or so, but she was everywhere in the 70s and 80s. Here she plays a girl’s track teacher with aspirations of coaching high-school football. When she finally gets her chance at a tough, inner-city school, she has to fend off the boisterousness of her team, the chauvinism of a rival coach and the whiny interfering of her ex-husband.
In this show we enjoy the diversity, the characters, little kids aggressively swearing and we are appalled by probably the worst rap song ever made.

[Ep. 128, Rec Apr 2016]

127: SFFCH – Cruising

So… We reviewed a film about a cop looking for a serial killer in the New York gay S&M scene in 1980 (that’s bondage, naughty cosplay and toilet fun for those unfamiliar with their acronyms). Alongside our usual colourful language, there are sexual references and a lot of innuendo for you enjoy. It’s also oddly restrained for one of ours so sit down, kick off your leather boots and listen to Rich, Anthony and Jamie as they tiptoe around and wade through the topics of homosexuality, fetishism, ambiguity and so much more.

 

[Ep. 127, Rec. Apr. 2016]

126: SFFCH – Pee Wee’s Big Adventure

Ah! Tim Burton! We all recognise his quirky, dark and colouful style, but will his presence shine through in his feature debut ‘Pee Wee’s Big Adventure’ from 1985? It’s Jamie’s choice this time and Ant and He seems to be in the know about Paul Reubens’ comedy creation of Pee Wee Herman, but Rich and Abi are left baffled. Needless to say there’s some division about this road movie/wild goose chase about a stolen bike, but maybe we all converge on our opinions of the titular Pee Wee. (Spoiler Alert: it ain’t pretty) Topics discussed include: Paul Reubens’ dubious past, nightmarish clown-doctors, Pee Wee’s redemption(?) for saving a pet store and Tequila!

 

[Ep. 126, Rec. Apr. 2016]

125: SFFCH – The Last Unicorn

Way before it was cool for celebs to put their voice talents to animation, a whole bunch of them got together to make a film about a unicorn. ‘Sounds cool, right? Now stir it up with some ugly animation, some atrocious singing, lots of melancholy and numerous references to a popular energy drink and you get ‘The Last Unicorn’ from 1982, a weird, mysterious beast all of its own. The whole gang of Ant, Rich, Abi and Jamie have rolled out for this one, but maybe only some can perceive the little magic this movie possesses. There are so many oddities this time around, but pay special attention to: a drugged-up singing butterfly, an alcoholic skeleton, an enigmatic pirate cat and the movie’s obsession with attaching large breasts to things that you really shouldn’t.

 

[Rec. Mar 2016, Ep. 125]