Talking Pondo

Clifton Campbell, Marty Ketola
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From summer blockbusters to indie darlings, Talking Pondo celebrates the joy of watching, questioning, and occasionally roasting the movies that shape our lives. Every week, hosts Clif Campbell and Marty Ketola sit down to swap movies and swap opinions. Each of them brings a film to the table and together they dig into what makes it work (or not). Sometimes, there's a guest!Whether you’re a casual moviegoer or a die-hard cinephile, there’s always room for more movie talk. And yes, there will be spoilers! Making Pondo is a discussion with Clif, Marty and a guest from one of their many productions.

  1. Talking Pondo: Running Time and Sinners

    5D AGO

    Talking Pondo: Running Time and Sinners

    Send a text  In this episode, Marty gives Clif the movie Running Time to watch and Clif gives Marty the movie Sinners to watch. Includes a season recap! First up is Running Time, the black-and-white, real-time heist thriller directed by Josh Becker and starring Bruce Campbell. Shot to appear as a single take, the film leans into guerrilla film making energy and cult sensibilities. Marty and Clif break down the strengths of its momentum and ambition, and whether the experiment fully pays off. Then it’s on to Sinners, a contemporary genre film packed with symbolism, social commentary, and big thematic swings. The conversation turns toward modern film making, allegory versus overt messaging, and how we judge movies in the moment versus years later.  #TalkingPondo #RunningTime #Sinners #FilmPodcast #IndieFilm #ModernCinema #MovieDiscussion  Support the show Find our films here: The Love Song of William H Shaw Revenge of Zoe Writing Fren-Zee Making Pondo on Facebook X (formerly Twitter): @MakingPondo Instagram Making Pondo on Letterboxd: Season One Season Two Season Three Season Four Theme Song "The Rain" by Russ Pace Photos by Geoffrey Notkin

    1h 49m
  2. Talking Pondo: Blue Thunder and Vision Quest with Ben Cheknis

    MAR 2

    Talking Pondo: Blue Thunder and Vision Quest with Ben Cheknis

    Send a text  In this episode, first time guest Ben Cheknis joins the podcast. He brings along the movie Blue Thunder. Marty and Clif give Ben the movie Vision Quest to watch.  First up is Vision Quest, the coming-of-age wrestling drama starring Matthew Modine. Marty, Clif and guest Ben Cheknis ("The Two Vague Podcast") explore it's themes of obsession, identity, masculinity, and the quiet intensity of high school isolation. From its iconic soundtrack (hello “Lunatic Fringe”) to its grounded performances (including an early appearance by Forest Whitaker) the conversation explores why this 80s sports drama still resonates decades later. Then it’s up in the air with Blue Thunder, the Roy Scheider-led action thriller about police militarization and surveillance technology. What starts as pure helicopter spectacle quickly turns into a discussion about institutional power, civil liberties, and how eerily prophetic this 1983 action film feels today. The crew digs into its strange dialogue (courtesy of Dan O'Bannon), practical stunt work, and the gritty 80s paranoia that defined the era.  #TalkingPondo #VisionQuest #BlueThunder #FilmPodcast #80sMovies #CultCinema #MovieDiscussion  Support the show Find our films here: The Love Song of William H Shaw Revenge of Zoe Writing Fren-Zee Making Pondo on Facebook X (formerly Twitter): @MakingPondo Instagram Making Pondo on Letterboxd: Season One Season Two Season Three Season Four Theme Song "The Rain" by Russ Pace Photos by Geoffrey Notkin

    1h 30m
  3. Talking Pondo: Dragonheart and Rollerball (1975) with Derek Schlender

    FEB 23

    Talking Pondo: Dragonheart and Rollerball (1975) with Derek Schlender

    Send a text  In this episode, first time guest Derek Schlender ("Schlender 5 Productions") joins the podcast. He brings along the movie Dragonheart. Marty and Clif give Derek the movie Rollerball to watch. Season 4 kicks off with a guest, and a double feature that couldn’t be more different. Marty and Clif are joined by Derek Schlender to break down two films connected by spectacle, ambition, and wildly different results: Dragonheart (1996) and Rollerball (1975). First up is Dragonheart. Rob Cohen’s mid-’90s fantasy epic starring Dennis Quaid and featuring Sean Connery as the voice of Draco, the last dragon. The crew digs into peak-’90s CGI, bad medieval wigs and whether nostalgia is the only thing keeping this cult fantasy afloat. Is it a charming kid’s adventure? A tonal mess? A necessary stepping stone between Jurassic Park and Lord of the Rings? All of the above? Then it’s on to Norman Jewison’s Rollerball (1975), a dystopian sports thriller about corporate control, violent spectacle, and individualism crushed under the system. What starts as futuristic world-building turns into a surprisingly talky meditation on power, celebrity, and manufactured entertainment.  #TalkingPondo #Dragonheart #Rollerball #FilmPodcast #90sMovies #CultCinema #FantasyFilm #DystopianFilm  Support the show Find our films here: The Love Song of William H Shaw Revenge of Zoe Writing Fren-Zee Making Pondo on Facebook X (formerly Twitter): @MakingPondo Instagram Making Pondo on Letterboxd: Season One Season Two Season Three Season Four Theme Song "The Rain" by Russ Pace Photos by Geoffrey Notkin

    1h 17m
  4. Talking Pondo: Withnail and I and The Commitments

    FEB 16

    Talking Pondo: Withnail and I and The Commitments

    Send a text  In this episode, Marty gives Clif the movie Withnail and I to watch and Clif gives Marty the movie The Commitments to watch.  Season 3 wraps with a British/Irish cult double feature. First up is Withnail and I (1987) - Bruce Robinson’s chaotic, quotable portrait of two struggling actors at the tail end of the ’60s. Marty and Clif explore its “British Fear and Loathing” energy, cult status, and surprising influence on American indie cinema. Then it’s The Commitments (1991) - Alan Parker’s story of working-class Dubliners forming a soul band with big dreams and fragile egos. What starts as a scrappy music underdog story becomes something sharper: a brutally honest look at ambition, creative tension, and why great bands fall apart. Along the way, they talk British cult film, music realism, indie influence, creative partnerships, and closing out a season that covered 72 films in nine months. Season 4 starts next week. #TalkingPondo #WithnailAndI #TheCommitments #SeasonFinale #FilmPodcast #CultCinema #BritishFilm #IrishCinema #IndieFilm #AlanParker  Support the show Find our films here: The Love Song of William H Shaw Revenge of Zoe Writing Fren-Zee Making Pondo on Facebook X (formerly Twitter): @MakingPondo Instagram Making Pondo on Letterboxd: Season One Season Two Season Three Season Four Theme Song "The Rain" by Russ Pace Photos by Geoffrey Notkin

    1h 19m
  5. Talking Nicholson: The Border and The Last Detail

    FEB 9

    Talking Nicholson: The Border and The Last Detail

    Send a text  In this episode, Marty gives Clif the movie The Border to watch and Clif gives Marty the movie The Last Detail to watch.  This week on Talking Pondo, Marty and Clif stumble into a theme they didn’t plan but couldn’t ignore: Talking Nicholson. The connective tissue between this double feature is Jack Nicholson, starring in two very different films from two very different eras: Hal Ashby’s The Last Detail (1973) and Tony Richardson’s The Border (1982): both centered on authority, systems, and men trapped inside them. They start with The Last Detail, a funny, deeply melancholy road movie that finds Nicholson escorting a young sailor to an eight-year prison sentence for a petty crime. They dig into Ashby’s “fried-out” ’70s tone, lived-in performances, stark realism, and why the film’s matter-of-fact ending lingers long after the credits roll. Then they move to The Border, an early-’80s studio film that feels both rougher and conflicted with itself. Nicholson’s morally compromised border agent drifts through corruption, half-hearted redemption, and a system designed to chew people up. Marty and Clif explore the film’s uneven tone, British director perspective, TV-movie aesthetics and the way Nicholson and Harvey Keitel elevate material that never quite comes together. Support the show Find our films here: The Love Song of William H Shaw Revenge of Zoe Writing Fren-Zee Making Pondo on Facebook X (formerly Twitter): @MakingPondo Instagram Making Pondo on Letterboxd: Season One Season Two Season Three Season Four Theme Song "The Rain" by Russ Pace Photos by Geoffrey Notkin

    1h 6m
  6. Talking Pondo: Clerks and Say Anything with Ben Apuan

    FEB 2

    Talking Pondo: Clerks and Say Anything with Ben Apuan

    Send a text  In this episode, first time guest Ben Apuan joins the podcast. He brings along the movie Clerks. Marty and Clif give Ben the movie Say Anything to watch. This week on Talking Pondo, Marty and Clif are joined by Ben from Chasing the Whimsy for a deep dive into two landmark films that helped define independent cinema: Cameron Crowe’s Say Anything (1989) and Kevin Smith’s Clerks (1994). On the surface, these movies couldn’t be more different. One is a heartfelt, romantic coming-of-age story, the other a black-and-white, foul-mouthed retail comedy. But together, they capture the shifting cultural moment between the late ’80s and early ’90s, when indie filmmakers proved you didn’t need studio polish to say something real. The conversation digs into Clerks as a once-in-a-lifetime debut: it's handmade feel, sharp dialogue, budget-driven creativity, and the birth of the View Askewniverse. From newspaper machines and 37 infamous confessions to Jay & Silent Bob’s unlikely legacy, the crew explores why Kevin Smith’s $33,000 gamble still resonates decades later. They also connect the dots between both films through music, tone, first-time directors, and a shared DNA of alternative cinema that celebrate authenticity over perfection. Support the show Find our films here: The Love Song of William H Shaw Revenge of Zoe Writing Fren-Zee Making Pondo on Facebook X (formerly Twitter): @MakingPondo Instagram Making Pondo on Letterboxd: Season One Season Two Season Three Season Four Theme Song "The Rain" by Russ Pace Photos by Geoffrey Notkin

    1h 19m
  7. Talking Pondo: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Wind River

    JAN 26

    Talking Pondo: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Wind River

    Send a text  In this episode, Marty gives Clif the movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to watch and Clif gives Marty the movie Wind River to watch.  This week on Talking Pondo, Clif Campbell and Marty Ketola celebrate the show’s two-year anniversary with a wildly mismatched double feature. First up is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), the surprise hit comic book movie that also happens to be the first film Clif and Marty ever reviewed together. They revisit its surprisingly dark tone, Jim Henson creature work, early appearances by future stars, and why this PG-rated movie still feels more adult than anyone remembers. Then things turn sharply with Wind River (2017), the haunting conclusion to Taylor Sheridan’s unofficial frontier trilogy. The conversation digs into its themes of violence, justice, isolation, and why this powerful trilogy feels frustratingly unfinished. Along the way: listener mail, Pondo origin stories, movie nostalgia, and reflections on how 1990 impacted film.  #TalkingPondo #TMNT1990 #WindRiver #MoviePodcast #FilmDiscussion #ComicBookMovies #90sMovies #TaylorSheridan  Support the show Find our films here: The Love Song of William H Shaw Revenge of Zoe Writing Fren-Zee Making Pondo on Facebook X (formerly Twitter): @MakingPondo Instagram Making Pondo on Letterboxd: Season One Season Two Season Three Season Four Theme Song "The Rain" by Russ Pace Photos by Geoffrey Notkin

    1h 10m
  8. Talking Pondo: The Party Animal and Bad Day At Black Rock

    JAN 19

    Talking Pondo: The Party Animal and Bad Day At Black Rock

    Send a text  In this episode, Marty gives Clif the movie The Party Animal to watch and Clif gives Marty the movie Bad Day At Black Rock to watch.  This week on Talking Pondo, Marty and Clif take on two films that couldn’t be more different, yet somehow define everything about the show. First up is Bad Day at Black Rock (1955), a tight, 82-minute neo-western starring Spencer Tracy. The conversation digs into its post-WWII paranoia, small-town hostility, and why the film’s restraint and structure still feel refreshing nearly 70 years later. Then it’s time for the main event: The Party Animal (1984), the movie that quite literally gave birth to Pondo. Marty and Clif break down the cult college comedy that shaped their sense of humor, introduced them to punk music, and inspired the name Pondo’s Children Productions. From its skit-based structure and mock-documentary style to its outrageous gags, bizarre musical numbers, and infamous dream sequence, The Party Animal is examined both lovingly and mercilessly. #FilmPodcast #MovieDiscussion #CultClassic #80sMovies #ClassicFilm #TalkingPondo #ThePartyAnimal #BadDayAtBlackRock #CultMovies Support the show Find our films here: The Love Song of William H Shaw Revenge of Zoe Writing Fren-Zee Making Pondo on Facebook X (formerly Twitter): @MakingPondo Instagram Making Pondo on Letterboxd: Season One Season Two Season Three Season Four Theme Song "The Rain" by Russ Pace Photos by Geoffrey Notkin

    1h 42m
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

From summer blockbusters to indie darlings, Talking Pondo celebrates the joy of watching, questioning, and occasionally roasting the movies that shape our lives. Every week, hosts Clif Campbell and Marty Ketola sit down to swap movies and swap opinions. Each of them brings a film to the table and together they dig into what makes it work (or not). Sometimes, there's a guest!Whether you’re a casual moviegoer or a die-hard cinephile, there’s always room for more movie talk. And yes, there will be spoilers! Making Pondo is a discussion with Clif, Marty and a guest from one of their many productions.

Information

  • Creator
    Clifton Campbell, Marty Ketola
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    111
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Talking Pondo
  • Show Website
    Talking Pondo