#461 Carver's STAND BY ME (1986)
A Quality Interruption
EPISODE #461-- We dive back into the world of Stephen King with the stone-cold summer classic STAND BY ME (1986, dir. Rob Reiner). All the stars are here. You got the Joker's younger brother. You got the slightly less tragic Corey. You got Wesley Crusher, everyone's least favorite Star Trek character. You got the Sliders guy. Nothing but heroes in this pantheon. OTHER LINKS: Join the cause at . Follow the us on on Bluesky at kislingconnection and cruzflores, on Instagram and on Tiktok . You can watch Cruz and show favorite Alexis Simpson on You Tube in "They Live Together." Thanks...
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#460 Beckett's HANA-BI (1998)
A Quality Interruption
EPISODE #460-- We continue to valiantly plow through our backlog with the indie yakuza/heist/hangout film, HANA-BI (1998), written, directed, and staring Takeshi Kitano (AKA Beat Takeshi). It's a short one. Give it a listen! TIME STAMPS: 3:20-- First mention of TAKESHI'S CASTLE 5:55-- We talk about PRINCESS MONONOKE (1998) and its score. 23:00-- Lem is mentioned. You know Lem. 24:30-- OUTRAGE and OUTRAGE 2 are mentioned. 31:30-- James talks classic JDM. 33:00-- BROTHER (2000) is mentioned. 43:30-- HANNAH is mentioned. 37:05-- Cruz recommends PSYCHONUATS 2. 30:04-- James recommends CLOUD...
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#459 Bradbury's THE RUNNING MAN (1987)
A Quality Interruption
EPISODE #459-- Overcoming the grad school blues, we finally have a new (old) episode for you. This week we tackle the classic/hoary Schwarzenegger sci-fi thriller, THE RUNNING MAN (1987, dir. Paul Michael Glaser). We also talk about a lot of other stuff. Star Wars and the like. You know how it is. TIME STAMPS: 1:15-- We talk about "clankers" as a concept 4:45-- "Tenet" and the "Tenet Rap" by Travis Scott is mentioned. 9:23-- Richard Bachman mentioned. 11:40-- Rollerball Versus Robocop 17:25-- We literally mention 1984 18:29-- 1970's conspiracy theories 26:30-- More Paul Verhoven chat (this...
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#458 Fleming's MR. ARKADIN (1954)
A Quality Interruption
EPISODE #458-- Today we talk about the (rightfully) maligned, but still intersting international thriller, MR. ARKADIAN (1954) AKA CONFIDENTIAL REPORT from none other than Orson Wells. TIME STAMPS: 1:10: We mention THE PHOENECIAN SCHEME (2025). 6:05: We talk about Hiroo Onoda. 9:05: James talks about the Jackie Gleason film GIGOT (1963) for some reason, as well as THE GRAND ILLUSION (1937). 15:30: We compare Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN and Carol Reed's THE THIRD MAN (1949). 17:30: We also talk TOUCH OF EVIL (1958). 24:15: We talk about the intersection...
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#457 Welles' MIRACLE MILE (1988)
A Quality Interruption
EPISODE #457-- After another delay, we are back. This time we're talking about the LA-based pot-boiler/paranoia thriller, MIRACLE MILE (1988), directed by Steve de Jarnatt, staring Anthony Edwards, Mare Winningham, and Brian Thompson (you know, the guy with the face from The Terminator). We also talk about Orson Welles' THE TRIAL (1962), Danny Boyle's 28 YEAR LATER (2025), Doc and Publick's THE VENTURE BROS (2004 -2022), and MICKEY 17 (2025). A nice mix of good little movies. OTHER LINKS-- Join the cause at . Follow the us on on Bluesky at kislingconnection and cruzflores, on Instagram...
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#456 Fujimoto's MECHANICAL VIOLATOR HAKAIDER (1995)
A Quality Interruption
EPISODE #456-- We're back! Not that we ever left. Today we talk about the Japanese suit move MECHANICAL VIOLATOR HAKAIDER from 1995. We also talk about Adult Swim's THE VENTURE BROS (2004 - 2022), the sequel 28 DAYS LATER (2002), and Apple TV's THE MURDERBOT CHRONICLES (2025). And some other stuff, probably. OTHER LINKS: Join the cause at . Follow the us on on Bluesky at kislingconnection and cruzflores, on Instagram and on Tiktok . You can watch Cruz and show favorite Alexis Simpson on You Tube in "They Live Together." Thanks to our artists Julius Tanag () and Sef Joosten (). The...
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#455 Morrison's TANK GIRL (1995)
A Quality Interruption
EPISODE #455-- Alexis Simpson returns to talk to us about the feminist/kinda-problematic cult classic TANK GIRL (1995) directed by Rachel Talalay. It's a good one. Both the movie and the show. Worth your time. We also talk general nonsense about the 90's, the failures of third-wave feminism, and how racist and weird some of the alt-rock scene used to be. We also talk WATTSTAX (1973), DIE HARD (1985), PEEWEE HERMAN AS HIMSELF (2025), THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME (2025), and MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 8 (2025). Sorry for not time stamping these. It was a long edit. Sorry. I'm trying to go to grad school here,...
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#454 Grass' DOWNFALL (2004)
A Quality Interruption
EPISODE #454-- We do some post-Andor manifesting by taking on the end-of-WWII drama DOWNFALL (2004). It's not just a meme, it's actually a pretty solid movie about Hitler blowing his brains out (and other things). TIME STAMPS: 3:49: We talk about the magic of Bruno Ganz (RIP) 5:05: We lament the current state of streaming 8:35: STAR WARS MENTIONED 27:00: We talk briefly about Wagner 23:00: ANDOR MENTIONED (again) 54:45: Cruz mentions the documentary BLIND SPOT (2002), on which much of this film is based, which is not to be confused with the other documentary BLINDSPOT (2024), which seems to...
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#453 Steakley's FROM DUSK TILL DAWN (1996)
A Quality Interruption
EPISODE #453-- We get back into the QT-verse with the Robert Rodriguez-directed gorefest FROM DUSK TILL DAWN (1996). It's not very good and we talk about why. You should probably go see SINNERS (2025) instead or even TALES FROM THE CRYPT: DEMON KNIGHT (1995). Not VAMPIRES (1998), though. TIME STAMPS: 10:00: We talk about the difference betwen THE THREE CABALLEROS and THE THREE AMIGOS. 41:00: Does Narcotics Anonymous accept draculas? 43:15: DEMON KNIGHT (1995) mentioned. 46:00: FROM DUSK TILL DAWN 3 (1999) mentioned. 48:00: VAMPIRE$ (1998) mentioned. 52:00: We talk about ANDOR (2025) and ROUGE...
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#452 Lem's ANDOR, Season 2 (2025)
A Quality Interruption
EPISODE #452-- Lo and behold, we're talking about Star Wars again. Even stranger, though, we're talking about good Star Wars. That's right. We're rapping about season two of ANDOR (2025), from Tony Gilroy, et al. It's a good one. It's a long one. TIME STAMPS (approximately): 4:30: We talk about the production of the show, as well as SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY (2018) and ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY (2016). 5:30: The Mon Mothma wedding song is called "Brasso." You're welcome. 32:30: We chat about the Prequel Trilogy 43:00: VENTURE BROS (2003 - )mentioned. 49:00: In defense of Dave Filoni, a man...
info_outlineEPISODE #448-- We return to the wild world of 1990's indie cinema with the sit-around-and-chat-based movie SMOKE (1995), staring Harvey Kietel, Forest Whitaker, and, like, ten other 1990's guys. It's a real who's-who of That Guys.
We also chat about the documentary SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D'ETAT (2024), David Lean's LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962), DEN OF THIEVES 2: PANTERA (2025), Netflix's THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT (2020), and David Mamet's HOUSE OF GAMES (1987). A solid little episode with some solid little movies.
Join the cause at Patreon.com/Quality. Follow the us on on Bluesky at kislingconnection and cruzflores, on Instagram @kislingwhatsit, and on Tiktok @kislingkino. You can watch Cruz and show favorite Alexis Simpson on You Tube in "They Live Together." Thanks to our artists Julius Tanag (http://www.juliustanag.com) and Sef Joosten (http://spexdoodles.tumblr.com). The theme music is "Eine Kleine Sheissemusik" by Drew Alexander. Also, I've got a newsletter, so maybe go check that one out, too.
Listen to DRACULA: A RADIO PLAY on Apple Podcasts, at dracularadio.podbean.com, and at the Long Beach Playhouse at https://lbplayhouse.org/show/dracula
And, as always, Support your local unions! UAW, SAG-AFTRA, and WGA strong and please leave us a review on iTunes or whatever podcatcher you listened to us on!