One a very special REMOTE episode of WILD IN THE STREETS, Doug calls in from Newfoundland to discuss the mixed up crime comedy MEAN FRANK AND CRAZY TONY from 1973. Featuring Lee Van Cleef as a tight-lipped mobster and Tony Lo Bianco as the wannabe wise-guy who worships him, the two get into all sorts of trouble, including an impressive car chase ("Mon dieu!"), a factory shootout and more power drill mayhem than you can throw an apple core at. There's plenty of action, Edwige Fenech and Jean Roch...
May 12, 2025•1 hr
On this episode of HOW DO YOU DO, FELLOW KIDS? (the world's finest Steve Buscemi-themed podcast), we're looking at TRANSFORMERS ONE, the all-CG origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, with a heavyweight voice cast bringing them to life - including Steve Buscemi as legendary rabble-rouser STARSCREAM. Is it more than meets the eye, or.. uh.. bad? Guess we'll talk it over right after we dig into the latest Buscemi news. It’s time to roll out! The post Episode 272 – How Do You Do, Fellow Kids? –...
May 05, 2025•48 min
Our name is Praising Kane (the world's greatest chronological Carol Kane podcast), you killed our fathers.. prepare to die! We're finally moving into some iconic films in Carol's oeuvre, and they don't get much bigger than the 1987 fantasy-comedy-romance THE PRINCESS BRIDE, adapted from the beloved William Goldman book of the same name. Everyone loves it.. but did WE? Listen and find out. But before that we have a chat about the very first episode of the short-lived 1986 sitcom ALL IS FORGIVEN, ...
Apr 28, 2025•1 hr 11 min
Jackie Chan is back in Hollywood (against his better judgment) and is joining a cavalcade of stars including Burt Reynolds, Dom Deluise, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Marilu Henner, Shirley MaClaine and MANY MORE - including ol' blue eyes himself Frank Sinatra - in the cross-country race (?) comedy (?) CANNONBALL RUN II which brings back all the things you know and love(?) about the first film, and.. well, that's just about it. It's pretty much the same thing. Except there's an orangutan this ti...
Apr 21, 2025•1 hr 1 min
I've got the OSCAR fever, hope you got it too! On a returning ERIC ROBERTS is the MAN we're joined by guest - and ON CINEMA, AT THE CINEMA expert Zach Weiss - to discuss Eric Roberts' recent appearance on the 12th Annual Oscar Special. We go deep on the history of the bizarre franchise created by Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington, as well as its various spin-offs, and try to explain just why the heck people would spend hours of their time watching this stuff (a questions we're VERY familiar wit...
Apr 14, 2025•1 hr 32 min
We can feel ourselves rotting on a brand new episode of Cinema Smorgasbord Sells Out covering Cronenberg's latest - and perhaps most personal - work THE SHROUDS from 2024. Vincent Cassel stars as Karsh, a businessman who has developed a technology called a shroud, which allows people to view the corpses of their loved ones after they have been buried. After a targeted attack of his graveyard (including the grave of his late wife), Karsh - with the help of his late wife's sister and her ex-husban...
Apr 07, 2025•1 hr 1 min
It's the long-awaited return of YOU DON'T KNOW DICK and we've got a barn burner of an episode featuring cinematic podcast royalty Mike White (from The Projection Booth) joining us to chat about the raucous 1980 comedy USED CARS /w Kurt Russell, Jack Warden, Deborah Harmon, Frank McRae and Gerrit Graham! But before that we go deep on what the heck happened to Robert Zemeckis, and how USED CARS came about - and how it was turned into a mid-80s TV show (briefly). All this and, of course, a close lo...
Apr 01, 2025•1 hr 18 min
In a jam-packed episode of WILD IN THE STREETS we're getting classy with Elio Petri's Cannes jury-prize winning darkly humorous satirical drama INVESTIGATION OF A CITIZEN ABOVE SUSPICION with a dynamite lead performance from Gian Maria Volonté as the "Il Dottore", a police inspector who murders a woman just to prove that he is - as the title suggests - above suspicion. We pair this with a brief conversation about the late Gene Hackman and - uh oh - more talk about politics and if it's possible t...
Mar 24, 2025
How do you solve a problem like ANORA, the recent Best Picture Oscar winner directed by problematic(?) fav Sean Baker? It seems like everyone has an opinion on the film (about a young sex worker who marries the son of a Russian oligarch), so why not add OURS into the mix? We get down and dirty with some of the controversies surrounding the film, but mostly just talk about what we liked and didn't like about the film like good little critics. ENJOY! The post Episode 265 – Cinema Smorgasbord Sells...
Mar 17, 2025•1 hr 1 min
PRAISING KANE returns with the notorious Elaine May-directed, Dustin Hoffman & Warren Beatty-starring bomb ISHTAR from 1986! Featuring those two as hapless songwriters who end up wrapped up in international intrigue in the middle east, it had a famously messy production but is it as bad as its reputation? Or as good as its revised reputation? Also, did you know Carol Kane is in it? SHE IS! But first we have to chat about the 1986 Cinemax comedy sketch special from Bob Goldthwait called DON'T WAT...
Mar 10, 2025•1 hr 7 min
On this episode of the world's greatest Steve Buscemi-themed podcast, we're taking a look at the odd coming-of-age nightmare comedy YOUTH IN REVOLT from 2009 where Michael Cera creates a sociopathic version of himself in order to impress a young woman he meets at a trailer park. Stuffed with great character actors (Jean Smart, Justin Long, Fred Willard, Mary Kay Place, M. Emmett Walsh), its episodic format takes some getting used to, but it's much more interesting - and stranger - than the marke...
Mar 03, 2025•1 hr 2 min
Yuen Biao, Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan are headed to Barcelona, Spain in the 1984 action-comedy spectacular WHEELS ON MEALS, featuring Jackie and Yuen as food truck operators and Sammo as a hapless detective. Of course, we also get a pickpocket damsel in distress (Lola Forner), shenanigans in a mental hospital, car chases, foot chases and one of the best martial arts fights EVER between Jackie and kickboxer Benny "The Jet" Urquidez. We dive into the background and even spend some time chatting ab...
Feb 24, 2025•1 hr 15 min
On this long-awaited return of GEORGE KENNEDY IS MY CO-PILOT the gang are joining Alex Cord, Clu Gulager and - of course - George Kennedy on a beautiful sea voyage only partially spoiled by the presence of a genetically modified cat that spits up a weird gremlin thing that is killing everyone. Uh oh! There's murder, mystery, insanity-due-to-hunger, ankle-biting, finger munching and a bevy of horny teens because, heck, why not? All this and a look at George's time as a pitchman for Schaefer Beer!...
Feb 17, 2025•1 hr 8 min
We knew this day was coming, but it's the FINAL EPISODE of WHATEVER HAPPENED TO VIC DIAZ?, our glorious deep-dive into the film career of "the Filipino Peter Lorre" Vic Diaz which was one of our first ever podcasts under the Cinema Smorgasbord banner. It's been a fine few years, and what better way to round things out than with an all-timer exploitation classic starring Pam Grier and Margaret Markov as two women chained together and making their way through a peril-filled "South American" jungle...
Feb 10, 2025•1 hr 6 min
The Pope is DEAD and someone needs to replace him in Edward Berger's unique political thriller/mystery CONCLAVE from 2024, featuring Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Lawrence, who is leading the replacement process, as well as Stanley Tucci, Lucian Msamati, John Lithgow, and Sergio Castellitto as potential new popes (if they can get the votes). It's fascinating stuff, with a controversial element that we'll get into during our spoiler section (don't worry, we'll warn you!). We also chat about the recen...
Feb 03, 2025•1 hr 7 min
CANADA! DIVORCE! Are there any two sweeter words in the English language? I can think of one: CRONENBERG! On this episode of FURTHER REEDING we're getting personal with the 1979 David Cronenberg-directed horror classic THE BROOD starring Art Hindle, Samantha Eggar and - of course - OLIVER REED! It's a film full of complexity, autobiographical elements, (possible) misogyny and killer mutant kids so you know it's right up our alley. Listen and hear some THOUGHTS! The post Episode 258 – Further Ree...
Jan 27, 2025•1 hr 16 min
On this episode of WILD IN THE STREETS, Maurizio Merli is (former) Inspector Leonardo Tanzi, a retired cop constantly disciplined for his unusual (brutal) methods, which in this case involves faking his own death so he can take down the psychopathic Luigi 'The Chinaman' Maietto (Tomas Milian) and master criminal Frank Di Maggio (John Saxon) in Umberto Lenzi's THE CYNIC, THE RAT AND THE FIST. Full of two-fisted action, and a "laser" wall you have to see to believe, there's plenty to like - and be...
Jan 20, 2025•1 hr 3 min
What better time to watch a computer animated feature about monsters than.. uh.. January? Well, we're doing it anyway! On this episode of HOW DO YOU DO, FELLOW KIDS? we're watching the Sandlerverse-adjacent animated comedy HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA and it's.. actually not too bad. Featuring the vocal talents of Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez, Andy Samberg, Kevin James, and - of course - Steve Buscemi, it's about a bunch of monsters in a hotel or something. I don't know. Just listen to the thing. Thanks! Th...
Jan 13, 2025•1 hr 1 min
It's the first episode of 2024 and PRAISING KANE is packed with wild Carol Kane content, starting with the hour long episode of Shelley Duvall's TALL TALES & LEGENDS adapting the famous poem "Casey at the Bat".. sort of! With Elliott Gould, Howard Cosell, Bob Uecker, Bill Macy and CAROL KANE! It's plenty odd. Then we look at an episode of the 80s comedy crime series CRAZY LIKE A FOX /w Jack Warden and John Rubinstein, featuring Carol Kane guesting as a beleaguered secretary. Then it's time for t...
Jan 06, 2025•1 hr 13 min
Happy (almost) new year! We're ending 2024 with an all-timer episode of YOU DON'T KNOW DICK (the world's finest Dick Miller podcast) featuring guest Oscar Goff joining us to not only chat about a Season 6 episode of WHO'S THE BOSS (featuring Dick Miller as a suspicious hotel manager), but also a lengthy discussion on Alan Arkush's beloved 1979 comedy ROCK 'N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL featuring P.J. Soles, The Ramones, Paul Bartel & Mary Woronov and - of course - Dick Miller! Learn about PUNK MUSIC from ...
Dec 30, 2024•1 hr 14 min
It's the Cinema Smorgasbord HOLIDAY SPECIAL and as usual we're heading (virtually) to the Weihnachtsfilmfestival in Berlin, Germany to check out TWO films that played at their 2023 edition. We start with the sweet Korean fantasy comedy SWITCH from 2023, about a superstar actor who learns a few lessons in love and humility after having his life switched with that of his lowly assistant. Then we finish off with the devastating Romanian drama R.M.N., about the xenophobic fallout when some Sri Lanka...
Dec 23, 2024•1 hr 31 min
BARTEL ME SOMETHING GOOD returns with two films co-written by the man himself! We start with a rare oddity, the Paul Bartel-starring sex comedy(?) UTTERLY WITHOUT REDEEMING SOCIAL VALUE from 1969, also featuring Don Calfa and a guy who makes robotic art. FUN! Then we're finishing up with the totally bizarre, totally tasteless Police Academy.. uh.. spoof? from 1988 MORTUARY ACADEMY, which reunited Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov! How do we feel about it? It's complex! Listen! The post Episode 252 – ...
Dec 16, 2024•56 min
A seismic shift in Hong Kong filmmaking occurs on this episode of WE DO OUR OWN STUNTS with the release of the legendary action-comedy PROJECT A in 1983. Directed by (and - of course - starring) Jackie Chan, alongside his Peking Opera classmates Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao, it's a raucous, often hilarious and stunt filled thrill ride packed with pirates, pratfalls and one infamous fall from a clock tower that has to be seen to be believed. It changed filmmaking forever and sent Jackie's already asc...
Dec 09, 2024•1 hr 17 min
It's episode 250(!!) of Cinema Smorgasbord, and what better way to celebrate than a brand new episode of ERIC ROBERTS IS THE MAN covering Eric Roberts' recently released autobiography Runaway Train: or, The Story of My Life So Far, as well as the slew of media Eric has been doing around it - including appearing on Dancing With the Stars! For such a monumental episode we needed a monumental guest, so joining us will be fellow Eric Roberts enthusiast (and co-host of The Important Cinema Club and M...
Dec 02, 2024•1 hr 55 min
On this bloodthirsty episode of CINEMA SMORGASBORD SELLS OUT we're sitting down with Timo Tjahjanto's epic, gore-filled action film THE SHADOW STRAYS, currently streaming on Netflix! Starring actress/model Aurora Ribero as "13", a 17-year-old assassin who gets suspended after a botched mission and befriends 11-year-old Monji. But when Monji gets kidnapped 13 gets some very, very, very blood revenge on his kidnappers while getting on the wrong side of her assassin group. UH OH! We also chat about...
Nov 25, 2024•1 hr 6 min
A trio consisting of fun-loving Tony (Harry Baer), the more serious minded Ric (Al Cliver) and the bombastic Napoli (Vittorio Caprioli) take on the vicious Mazari (Jack Palance) in the 1976 Italian action film RULERS OF THE CITY (aka MISTER SCARFACE), another poliziotteschi classic from genre master Fernando Di Leo which includes a surprising amount of comedy amongst the usual array of car (and foot!) chases, motorcycle stunts and gunfights. Tony years for a relaxing life in Brazil but gets on t...
Nov 18, 2024•59 min
On this episode of WHATEVER HAPPENED TO VIC DIAZ? we're with two American lunkheads (played by Jock Gaynor and Larry Ward) exploring shipwrecks in the Philippines when one of them happens upon the skeleton of an ancient Moro princess.. UH OH! Soon we've got possession, murder, cock fighting, nude underwater photography and a whole lot more (including Vic Diaz)! It even has a fun twist thrown in for good measure. All that and a conversation about sexploitation films and how they make us feel (the...
Nov 11, 2024•53 min
COMICS! WE LOVE 'EM! And so does Alejandro Jodorowsky, and on this episode of the world's finest Jodorowsky-themed podcast JodoWOWsky we're going deep on three of Jodo's most impressive comic works of the 90s and 2000s. We start by checking out his post-Incal collaboration with the legendary Jean "Moebius" Giraud: the mind-bending satire MADWOMAN OF THE SACRED HEART! Next up are two collaborations with the ALSO legendary François Boucq, starting with his epic violent western BOUNCER, and finishi...
Nov 04, 2024•2 hr 2 min
We were working in the lab, late one night.. recording a brand new HALLOWEEN HORROR PODCAST SPECIAL featuring two recent horror(ish) features to put HEAD TO HEAD! We start with a conversation about some of our recent favorite (and least favorite) horror films before moving onto a discussion on the twisty crime horror STRANGE DARLING from 2023 and ending with the moody British horror DADDY'S HEAD from 2024! CHECK IT OUT! The post Episode 245 – Halloween Horror Special – Strange Darling (2023) & D...
Oct 28, 2024•1 hr 12 min
It's the SPOOOoooOOOkiest month, so why not check out the surprisingly un-spooky (and, honestly, pretty unfunny) TRANSYLVANIA 6-5000 on the world's finest chronological Carol Kane podcast PRAISING KANE? Starring Jeff Goldblum and Ed Begley Jr. as two hapless tabloid reporters forced to go to Transylvania to work on a story about monster sightings, the film has supporting performances from Joseph Bologna, John Byner, Michael Richards, Jeffrey Jones (ugh), an extremely underutilized Geena Davis an...
Oct 21, 2024•47 min
