We're selling out ONCE AGAIN with Ari Aster's controversial neo-western thriller black comedy EDDINGTON, starring Joaquin Phoenix as sheriff Joe Cross, who runs for mayor against Pedro Pascal's Ted Garcia in a small New Mexico town during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. It's sometimes uncomfortable, occasionally hilarious, and has some real bite - though some audiences didn't know what to make of it. On this episode we go through some recent watches, discuss the Ari Aster films we've seen so far, and then have the DEFINITIVE conversation about EDDINGTON (with some warning before any spoiler talk). Enjoy!

The post Episode 288 – Cinema Smorgasbord Sells Out – Eddington (2025) first appeared on Cinema Smorgasbord.

For the final time (until his real breakthrough a decade later), Golden Harvest is trying to make Jackie Chan a star in the U.S. and they've signed up U.S. exploitation film director James Glickenhaus to transform Chan into a high kicking Charles Bronson in 1985's THE PROTECTOR. Playing a hard-nosed New York City cop teamed with Danny Aiello, Chan swears and shoots through a blood revenge film, but then - thoroughly displeased with the experience - he went and added a bunch of new scenes for the Hong Kong release. On this episode of WE DO OUR OWN STUNTS we look at Jackie Chan's frustrations, the good (and bad) of each release and WHICH REIGNS SUPREME. Enjoy!

The post Episode 278 – We Do Our Own Stunts – The Protector (1985) first appeared on Cinema Smorgasbord.

It's the PREMIERE episode of our new limited series SERPENT'S TAIL: THE FILMS OF KIYOSHI KUROSAWA and on this episode we discuss why we chose the filmmaker as our subject, our (limited) experience with his work, a bit about his background and dive into his first two features: 1983's KANDAGAWA PERVERT WARS and 1985's BUMPKIN SOUP (aka THE EXCITEMENT OF THE DO-RE-MI-FA GIRL). Both films have a unique mix of eroticism and surrealism, and are a world away from the films we most closely associated with Kurosawa. Enjoy!

The post Episode 286 – Serpent’s Tail: The Films of Kiyoshi Kurosawa – Kandagawa Pervert Wars (1983) & Bumpkin Soup (1985) first appeared on Cinema Smorgasbord.

On this long-awaited episode of YOU DON'T KNOW DICK we're joined by film critic extraordinaire Alan Cerny to discuss the life and career of actor Dick Miller, starting with a cut sequence (directed by Joe Dante) from the film AMAZON WOMEN ON THE MOON featuring Dick as a beleagured ventriloquist, and finishing up with a lengthy look at the 1957 Roger Corman classic ROCK ALL NIGHT! We discuss its soundtrack (featuring The Platters and The Blockbusters), the attempted remake by Quentin Tarantino and Dick Miller's incredible performance as guy with the biggest chip on his shoulder imaginable. Check it out!

The post Episode 285 – You Don’t Know Dick – Rock All Night (1957) (/w Alan Cerny) first appeared on Cinema Smorgasbord.

You will believe a pod can cast on a brand new episode of CINEMA SMORGASBORD SELLS OUT where our mild-mannered hosts go deep on Superman lore, our favorite Superman comics and films and - of course - having a nice chat about James Gunn's new SUPERMAN film, and the launching of the new DC cinematic universe. There's lots to get angry about, so look up to the sky.. it's a bird, it's a plane, it's time to LISTEN!

The post Episode 284 – Cinema Smorgasbord Sells Out – Superman (2025) first appeared on Cinema Smorgasbord.

On an ACTION PACKED episode of Praising Kane we're DOUBLING UP: first with the 1988 satirical TV special from Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau RAP MASTER RONNIE: A REPORT CARD, featuring - you guessed it - Ronald Reagan kicking it old school (along with appearances from The Smothers Brothers, Jon Cryer and - of course Carol Kane), and finishing up with the Valerie Harper-starring TV movie DROP-OUT MOTHER (aka GOODBYE SUPERMOM) which finds a harried public relations professional "dropping out" of her corporate life to become a devoted wife and mother.. WITH "HILARIOUS" CONSEQUENCES! All this and the latest Carol Kane news, so start LISTENING!

The post Episode 283 – Praising Kane – Drop-out Mother (1988) & Rap Master Ronnie: A Report Card (1988) first appeared on Cinema Smorgasbord.

Luc Merenda plays Inspector Giorgio Solmi, a renegade cop investigating a string of suspicious military deaths in Sergio Martino's poliziottesco SILENT ACTION, also featuring Mel Ferrer, Delia Boccardo and the always welcome Tomas Milian as the suspiciously uptight Captain Mario Sperli. Featuring a tremendous car chase and a grenade-filled helicopter attack sequence near the end, it's a mix of action, intrigue and - unsurprisingly - political commentary, and you're going to hear about ALL OF IT. EVERY LAST BIT. ENJOY!

The post Episode 282 – Wild in the Streets – Silent Action (1975) first appeared on Cinema Smorgasbord.

We're lost in the stacks in this long-awaited episode of JodoWOWsky, not only covering half a year of Alejandro Jodorowsky news but tackling two of his most beloved - and complex - comics works, starting with his masterwork collaboration with the legendary Georges Bess THE WHITE LAMA and finishing with the lush, grotesque historical narrative THE BORGIAS, created with the equally legendary Milo Manara. There's plenty of wild, obscene, confusing and bizarre material to chat about, so let's get started!

The post Episode 281 – JodoWOWsky Part 17 – The White Lama (1988 – 1993) & The Borgias (2004 – 2010) first appeared on Cinema Smorgasbord.