Hollywood Avalon, ep. 30 - "Merlin: The Last Dragonlord"
Release Date: 12/02/2025
Episode 231 - The Unbelievable Truth (1989) - with Stephen Cooke
Mary Versus the Movies
We welcome Canadian film critic and journalist Stephen Cooke to the show to talk about indie director Hal Hartley's debute film, the story of a misanthropic girl who falls in love with a mysterious ex-con in the lower-middle-class suburbs of Long Island. Starring Adrienne Shelly, Robert Burke, Christopher Cooke, and Edie Falco. Written and directed by Hal Hartley.
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Episode 230 - Manhunter (1986)
Mary Versus the Movies
An FBI criminal profiler is on the trail of a serial killer, and enlists the help of a dangerous psychopath to track him down. No, it's not Silence of the Lambs, it's Michael Mann's thriller based on the Thomas Harris book The Red Dragon, the first work to introduce us to the infamous Hannibal "the Cannibal" Lector. Starring William Petersen, Tom Noonan, Joan Allen, Brian Cox, and Dennis Farina. Written and directed by Michael Mann.
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Episode 229 - Local Hero (1983)
Mary Versus the Movies
An American oil company offers to buy a Scottish village, but things don't go as planned in this comedic fairy tale about lonlieness, community, and the wonders of the natural world. Starring Peter Riegert, Denis Lawson, Peter Capaldi, Fulton Mackay, and Burt Lancaster. Written and directed by Bill Forsyth.
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Episode 228 - All That Jazz (1979) - with Julie Klausner
Mary Versus the Movies
Grab the Visine and Dexedrine, folks, it's showtime! We welcome writer, actress, and comedian Julie Klausner to the show to discuss Bob Fosse's autobiographical exploration of death, sex, and creative obsession. We talk about musicals, the art of editing, and how charisma lets you get away with murder. Starring Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange, Ann Reinking, Leland Palmer, Cliff Gorman, and Ben Vereen. Written by Robert Alan Aurthur and Bob Fosse. Directed by Bob Fosse.
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Hollywood Avalon, ep. 34 - Apocalypse Now (1979)
Mary Versus the Movies
Francis Ford Coppola's epic about the Vietnam War draws as much from J.G. Frazer's The Golden Bough and Jessie Weston's landmark Arthurian study From Ritual to Romance as it does from Joseph Conrad's novel of African colonialism Heart of Darkness. It's a grail quest with no grail, a pilgrimage with no relief. It's the end of kings, and the end of the world. Starring Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Laurence Fishburn, and Dennis Hopper. Written by John Milius. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola. This is a preview of the latest episode of our series Hollywood Avalon. To hear the entire...
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Episode 227 - Network (1976)
Mary Versus the Movies
Never mess with the money. Newscaster Howard Beale has been fired from television, but not before he has a mental breakdown live on-air. What could be better for ratings? One of the great satires of the 1970s is a film that meant a lot to our host Mary, but co-host Dennis has never seen before, so what better to cover for Dennis Versus the Movies month? Starring: William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Peter Finch, Robert Duvall, Ned Beatty, and Beatrice Straight. Written by Paddy Chayefsky. Directed by Sidney Lumet.
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Episode 226 - The NeverEnding Story (1984)
Mary Versus the Movies
A bullied boy finds a magic book, bringing him into a fantastical world under threat of annihilation. Dennis Vs the Movies month continues with the movie that scarred millions of millennials. Starring Barret Oliver, Noah Hathaway, Tami Stronach, and Alan Oppenheimer. Written by Wolfgang Petersen and Herman Weigel. Directed by Wolfgang Petersen.
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Episode 225 - An American Tail (1986)
Mary Versus the Movies
The story of a young Russian-Jewish mouse who emigrates to America, is separated from his family, and has to find his way in 1880s New York City is a lushly-animated, sometimes grim story about assimilation, discimination, and the promises the United States makes to the world and consistenty violates. Starring Cathianne Blore, Dom DeLuise, John Finnegan, Phillip Glasser, Amy Green, Madeline Kahn, Pat Musick, Nehemiah Persoff, and Christopher Plummer. Written by Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss. Directed by Don Bluth.
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Episode 224 - Mannequin (1987)
Mary Versus the Movies
Dennis Versus the Movies month kicks off with a favorite from Mary's childhood, the Philadelphia-set romantic comedy about a department-store window-dresser and the five-thousand-year-old Egyptian mummy spends her days as mannequin and nights as Kim Cattrall. Forget the haters, it's Pygmalion on the Schuykill. Starring Andrew McCarthy, Kim Cattrall, James Spader, Meshach Taylor, G. W. Baily, and Estelle Getty. Written by Edward Rugoff and Michael Gottlieb. Directed by Michael Gottlieb.
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Episode 223 - The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Mary Versus the Movies
We're back watching James Bond, this time teaming up with a sexy Russian spy to take down a deranged Swedish shipping magnate who wants to blow up the world so that he can live under the sea. Also, we get the first appearance of the henchman Jaws. Honestly, it's pretty fun, and half the movie was filmed in Egypt. Starring Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, Curt Jurgens, and Richard Kiel. Written by Christopher Wood, Richard Maibaum, and Tom Manciewicz. DIrected by Lewis Gilbert.
info_outlineWe revisit the BBC fantasy show Merlin, hoping to enjoy it more than the pilot--and while the dynamic between Merlin and Arthur is certainly better than before, the rest of the show leaves us frustrated, not just with ignoring wide swathes of Arthurian elements, but for indulging in one of the worst sins of 21st century storytelling: the hidden emotional trauma of the nerd and his absentee father.
That's right, we're cranky, and you're all gonna be mad at us again.
Merlin, season 2, episode 13: "The Last Dragonlord".
Starring Colin Morgan, Bradley James, John Hurt, Richard Wilson, and John Lynch. Written by Julian Jones. Directed by Jeremy Webb.
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/