Den of Cin

Devin & James are back in the DEN to conclude their discussion about one of the greatest American actors ever to hit the screen, GENE HACKMAN! This time around, we reach into some slightly more obscure territory. We get into his early Western work, in THE HUNTING PARTY and BITE THE BULLET. We also discuss two films he made with a frequent collaborator, Arthur Penn: the underappreciated TARGET and the stone-cold neo-noir masterpiece, NIGHT MOVES. Actress Joanna Cassidy shows up as a match for Hackman in THE PACKAGE and UNDER FIRE. We also discuss a couple of misfires that may fall short of greatness (or even goodness, in some opinions). Still, we make the case that Hackman makes them interesting watches anyway: LOOSE CANNONS (with Dan Aykroyd and an insane Hitler sex tape plot) and LUCKY LADY (which puts him in a literal throuple with Liza Minnelli and Burt Reynolds!!!!). All this, plus many more films to add to your list. We could have honestly gone into a third episode with Hackman as the headline topic, and we hope you join us to celebrate his unique presence in cinema. Gene Hackman was truly one of a kind.

Devin & James are back in the Den, and it's full of bats! In this episode, we are covering a very specific type of vampire... OFF-BRAND DRACULAS! These vampires may have castles in Transylvania, look hot in a cape, or have an unnatural interest in foreign real estate, but they all owe their cinematic existence to the literary existence of Bram Stoker's Dracula. We start with NOSFERATU, covering Murnau's 1922 silent classic, through Herzog in 1979, and to Eggers in 2024. We then move on to a couple of Bela Lugosi films, where he plays a bloodsucker who is "definitely NOT Dracula" (legally speaking) with 1935's MARK OF THE VAMPIRE and 1943's THE RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE. We then head to AIP in the groovy 70's, when they redefined the old legend with 1970's COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE, featuring the underrated Robert Quarry as the titular count with a mouthful of fangs, as well as 1972's BLACULA, featuring a dignified performance by William Marshall that deserves much more credit than it's punny title suggests.

Devin & James are back in the Den with their penultimate visit to Italy! This time we shift from focusing on one genre to examining a type of film that is not uniquely Italian, but they sure put their own style on: THE KNOCK-OFF. Low-budget films ripping off box office hits has always been a popular way for Producers to make a buck. Still, the filmmakers themselves can sometimes bring their own spin to a popular trope or trend and create works that rise above being called simply imitations. And then... there are the imitations. We make the case that there is plenty to enjoy about all the approaches, as long as you know what you're getting into. We start with the sharksploitation film that Universal Studios successfully took off the market for lifting the plot of Jaws in 1981, Enzo G. Castellari's THE LAST SHARK (with a bonus look at CRUEL JAWS). If imitation is flattery, then Bruno Mattei must be one of the most complimentary filmmakers ever to play the game, and we dive into his back-to-back sci-fi knocks-offs from 1989, ROBOWAR (Predator featuring a Robocop) and SHOCKING DARK (Aliens featuring a Terminator). We finish up with a couple of films that are inspired by the head-spinning, pea soup-spitting world of The Exorcist, but that build their unique plots and bizarre twists to create works that stand on their own, Alberto De Martino's THE ANTICHRIST, and Ovidio G Assonitis and Roberto D'Ettorre's BEYOND THE DOOR, both from 1974. Grab a can of Campbell's Pea Soup and a straw, and buckle in.

Devin & James are back, and we've brought fun size candy! We're taking a short detour from our Tour of Italy to celebrate Halloween, and what better way than by running a movie marathon? We take on one of the most unique series in film history: All four of the INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS films! The pod people first invade in 1956, then make an even more gruesome return in 1978, creating two undisputably beloved and influential Sci-Fi Horror classics. Then things stray from the storyline with 1993's BODY SNATCHERS, a lost classic worth another look (or a first look, for most people), and 2007's THE INVASION, which is... almost good? But fun to discuss. With both Halloween and Election Day near, it feels like we are ready for the Pods to appear on our silver screens again. They're here! You're next!!

Devin & James are back in the saddle for another roundup of Italian flicks. A sampling of the cultiest of all cult genres, the SPAGHETTI WESTERNS! When Clint Eastwood rode through Spain and called it Mexico in 1964's Fistful of Dollars, it started a legit European phenomenon that would produce over 600 titles in barely over ten years! Whereas the American Westerns often whitewashed and mythologized its own westward history, the idea of the good guys always wearing white was losing steam by the 1960s, and the Italians had no sentimentality toward the Earp or James clans as historical figures. The Italian Western hero was the epitome of the anti-hero. Not so much straddling the line between good and bad, but rather stomping on it with their spurred boots. The settings may have been North American, but the politics were purely Italian. We start our discussion with the G.O.A.T., the transformative masterpiece that is Sergio Leone's ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST. We then move on to the sub-sub-genre of the Zapata Westerns (set within the Mexican Revolution) with Damiano Damiani's criminally underappreciated A BULLET FOR THE GENERAL. Then we lighten the mood a bit with a couple of Westerns that border on comedies while still being bloody and wild. The master Sergio Corbucci (so much more than "The Other Sergio") takes us on a wild ride across the border and back in COMPANEROS, and we finish up with the first film in Gianfranco Parolini's super-stylized hero-in-black series, SABATA! We've wrangled all your favorite Spaghetti West heroes: Nero, Milian, Van Cleef, Bronson, Fonda, Volonte, Kinski, and so many more. But when you hear the harmonica or banjo begin playing, you better run!

Devin & James are back in the Den, and this time they brought their leather vests and switchblade boots cause they're ready for the Italian POST-APOCALYPSE. The post-atomic wasteland became all the rage globally after the success of films like Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior and Escape from New York, and clever (and not-so-clever) copycats began to pop up everywhere. But, as usual, the Italian filmmakers did take the proverbial yellowcake. In this episode we focus on Enzo Castellari's 1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS, Joe D'Amato's ENDGAME, Lucio Fulci's WARRIORS OF THE YEAR 2072, and finally, Sergio Martino's HANDS OF STEEL. Don't forget your spiked wristbands!

Devin & James are back in the Den with a new topic! We are taking a TOUR OF ITALY, an 8-episode long series, each featuring a different sub-genre created or perfected by Italian filmmakers. We begin with a journey through the shadowy dream territory of GIALLO films. These films are highly stylized murder mysteries, most with a heaping helping of gore. We offer up a sample of some great specimens, and specifically some of the great directors, in this uniquely Italian movement, with a focus on Mario Bava's BLOOD & BLACK LACE, Lucio Fulci's DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING, Sergio Martino's TORSO, and of course, Dario Argento's DEEP RED. We also go over a few other titles, as well as define the tropes that make a Giallo easy to spot, even if it's not so easy to spot that gloved killer sneaking up from behind!