Category: cult
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Awesome Garbage: Cool as Ice
At one point in the history of America -specifically the beautiful, stupid early 1990s – there was an awkward transition in pop culture when rap music was on the verge of being a mainstream genre and something entertainers aped to seem hip without actually working too hard at making their rap good or authentic. While…
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Perfect Movies: American Psycho
“You like Huey Lewis & The News?” I sure do, and Patrick Bateman makes a great argument for the strengths of their 1983 breakthrough album, Sports. It would be a great moment in any retro film for the main character to espouse his love of mainstream contemporary music, but becoming a counterpoint to the action…
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Cult Classics: Fateful Findings
Why do we like terrible movies? Not just bad or mediocre movies – those are depressingly common and a distressing amount are released each year from major and independent studios alike. Those are then shuffled off into the catacombs of daytime airings on Showtime and the dregs of streaming services, never reaching over two stars…
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Great TV: Mr. Show
Alternative comedy—a vague label affixed to any comedic material that seems unusual, iconoclastic, or transgressive—has gained incredible cultural cachet in the past 30+ years. While there have always been alternative comedy figures and material in American post-war pop culture (Ernie Kovacs, National Lampoon, Andy Kaufman, SCTV and Saturday Night Live, Bill Hicks, Second City and…
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Awesome Garbage: Mac and Me
True story: I saw Mac and Me in theaters when I was 6 years old. I was visiting my grandparents in Virginia Beach and spending the day with my grandma, mom, and sisters, and since everything else out in the theater was definitely not kid-friendly (the weekend it opened, August 12, 1988, here were the…
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Cult Classics: Better Off Dead
Lane Meyer wishes he were dead. He tries over and over – self-immolation, carbon monoxide poisoning, jumping from a bridge, even hanging. But like most things in his life, it never quite goes his way. Did I mention this is a major plot point in an 80’s teen comedy? Better Off Dead isn’t just another…
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Cult Classics: UHF
Who doesn’t love Weird Al? I know I do: the first record I ever independently bought was In 3-D in 1988 from a flea market when I was 6. I’ve lost a lot of great vinyl albums over the years due to either lending them out or as break-up casualties, but there is no vinyl…
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Perfect Directors: Robert Altman
I am an American. That is to say, I was born in, and have spent my entire life, in the United States of America. Everything I know about the world–if not reality itself–is filtered through my experiences and understanding from the sliver of time I’ve been alive from the late 20th to early 21st century…
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Horror Movie Recaps
Wherein an over-educated pop culture nerd deals with a crumbling relationship by watching horror movies and recapping them live, with some entertaining results.
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10 Great Weird Cult Films To Watch
Weird, bizarre, or just plain odd: many films have been made in history that push the boundaries of normalcy and present an utterly unique vision to audiences seeking outre cinema. But for every acclaimed Eraserhead or El Topo, there are dozens of films that slip through the cracks and fall into the often difficult-to-find realm…
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Cult Classics: The History of Future Folk
People with passion tend to come across as a little, well, odd to the normies of the world. You know what I mean: the devout Star Trek fan or dedicated KISS fan that attends every convention and concert and happening tangentially related to their fervent focus may come across to most people as strange or…