Optimism Vaccine The Optimism Vaccine Network

THIS WEEK: Assassin (1986), Lady Terminator (1989), Solo (1996)
WELCOME TO KNOCKOFF MONTH
Whether it's a TV movie of the week, a bizarre transmission from the shores of Indonesia, or just a pile of Mario Van Peebles trash, you can't go wrong with a classic Terminator knockoff. Or maybe these are Robocop knockoffs? Or Universal Soldier knockoffs? Well, regardless, they've got robots with guns and no one with a fraction of Arnold Schwarzenegger's charisma. What more could you ask for?
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THIS WEEK: Straight-Jacket (1964), Berserk (1967), Trog (1970)
After a career resurgence with the hagsploitation classic, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, Joan Crawford spent the final decade of her career in kitschy William Castle films, a Circus whodunit, and a murderous monkey man pseudo-horror flick. Sure, it ain't Mildred Pierce, but how do Mommie Dearest's final films stack up to the exploitation fair of the era? And, more importantly, can the first "Queen of the Movies" from Hollywood's golden era elevate ho-hum schlock into something special?

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THIS WEEK: The Intruder, aka I Hate Your Guts (1962), X: The Man With The X-Ray Eyes (1963), Frankenstein Unbound (1990)
The god of independent filmmaking. The mentor who helped jumpstart the careers of Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme, Peter Bogdanovich, Joe Dante, and Francis Ford Coppola. The cheap asshole who claims he never lost a dime making movies.
Roger Corman was a titan who left an indelible mark on cinema.
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THIS WEEK: Mother's Day (1980), Mommie Dearest (1981), Grand Jeté (2022)
Some cowards only celebrate moms once a year. Here, we're dedicated to eschewing that silly Hallmark holiday and respecting mothers a week later when no one is expecting it. We're absolutely not late on this one I promise. So why not celebrate moms the best way we know how: With three of the finest and most upstanding mothers in cinematic history. No Wire hangers this week. Just a juicy slab of hicksploitation, a notorious flop, and some arthouse slop.
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THIS WEEK: Lake Michigan Monster (2018) and Hundreds of Beavers (2022)
From the Milwaukee shoreline to the snowbanks of the Wisconsin north woods, Mike Cheslik and Ryland Brickson Cole Tews have risen to 'Sconnie cinema royalty status alongside other greats like Bill Rebane and Mark Borchardt. Join us as we dig into their unique brand of indie filmmaking and catch the beaver fever, baby!
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THIS WEEK: The Aftermath (1982) and Empire of the Dark (1990)
In the late 1970s a man named Steve Barkett with nothing but a mustache and a dream set out to make a post-apocalyptic sci-fi action epic without a budget, studio, or feature filmmaking experience. The result was not just one, but TWO films and the lifelong respect and friendship of B-movie royalty like Fred Olen Ray and Jim Wynorski. Sometimes in the world of amateur egosploitation, you can write/star/produce/direct and defy the odds by making something that doesn't suck!
Or maybe it's still just shit if you ask one of the other guys on this episode. Oh well.
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