Any way you slice it, 200 episodes is a milestone. And while other, more cowardly podcasts might insist on regulating and planning every second of such an achievement, we left it all to chance and invited Lady Luck to choose our movies for us! Last week’s AFI Roulette spins yielded two paragons of pure, unadulterated entertainment. One is a dumb, c…

As we approach episode 200, Matt has decided to bring us back to where it all started. Claire Denis’ vampire-adjacent Trouble Every Day (2001), is a slow and sensual mood piece that’s sparse on dialogue but brimming with ambiguity. While the movie does contain two challengingly violent scenes, the lush camerawork from Agnès Goddard, sumptuous music…

Pull up your pleated corduroys and throw on Bossanova because we’re taking a nostalgia trip back to the 1990’s. While Kicking and Screaming (1995), Noah Baumbach’s debut feature, definitely captures the look and feel of the mid 90’s, it also epitomizes the directionless ennui some liberal arts graduates *ahem* feel upon entering the “real world.” A…

It’s a true testament to how great Gremlins is that practically everyone came back to work on Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990). And the fact that studio execs held out until Joe Dante was willing to make it with complete creative control, proves that whatever unique blend of horror and comedy that this movie achieves, is unrepeatable. Bigger and wa…

Evillene would be pleased because this week, we’ve got good news; we’re talking about The Wiz (1978)! Starring an age-inappropriate Diana Ross, a peanut-butter-cup-wrapper-sporting Michael Jackson, and directed by a put-the-camera-in-the-nosebleeds Sidney Lumet, this one-of-a-kind flick reimagines The Wizard of Oz with an all-black cast singing fam…

It seems that for those of us who grew up in the 80’s, The Secret of NIMH (1982) either conjures fond memories of a magical adventure or summons terrifying traumas of non-stop peril. The Exes and their newly minted #1 guest Travis Vogt, are solidly in the former category. Helmed by Don Bluth and completed by a team of Disney expats, this masterpiec…

It’s been a while since we visited the strange, idiosyncratic world of Guy Maddin, but Brand Upon the Brain (2006) reminds us that we should definitely check in with it more often. Deploying frequent rapid cuts, melodramatic music, and cinematography reminiscent of film’s silent era, Maddin has concocted a feverish delirium of gender obfuscation, O…

Drugs drugs drugs drugs drugs! In honor of 4/20, today’s episode is all about drugs, man. Based on the Philip K. Dick novel and directed by Richard Linklater, A Scanner Darkly (2006) weaves a trippy, paranoid tale of an undercover narcotics officer who may be in over his head. Done in mesmerizing rotoscope-esqe animation and featuring an amazing ca…

If you feel a bit disoriented seeing this week’s movie title instead of Sicario, don’t fear! You’re not having a break with reality! Ryan pulled a switcheroo behind the scenes and forced Matt to talk about Repulsion (1965) instead. Directed by Roman Polanski, this slow burn fever dream stars Catherine Deneuve (in her first role) as another Carol su…

It’s spring break y’all! Time to slap on a bikini bottom and polish up your grill because we’re covering Harmony Korine’s impressive tale of youth gone wild, Spring Breakers (2012). Filled with mesmerizing slo-mo montages and provocative juxtapositions, this neon-hued joyride defies expectations as it follows four young women in search of hedonism,…

While obscure German arthouse cinema might not scream “party time” to most, here at Ex Rated Movies, it’s a downright jubilee! Throughout the 70’s and into the early 80’s, Ranier Werner Fassbinder (not to be confused with Michael Fassbender) was a talented and innovative voice in cinema. Though problematic (and sometimes hard to watch), his films c…

Happy Birth (2004) Day! This episode has been a long time coming so we’re giving ourselves a congratulatory pat on the back as we tackle this icky squicky drama about a woman whose decade-long dead husband is seemingly reincarnated in the body of a 10 year old boy. Directed by the gifted Jonathan Glazer and starring Nicole Kidman in what may be her…

On paper, Notes on a Scandal (2006) has our names written all over it. A sapphic British psychosexual thriller starring Judy Dench and Cate Blanchett? Yes please! However in practice, the movie doesn’t quite live up to its promise. Despite its rich subject matter, stellar performances, and competent production, the film relies heavily on tired voic…

We’ve hinted about doing Dangerous Liaisons (1987) for ages and today, my dear listener, is the day. Based on the late 18th century epistolary novel by Choderlos De Laclos, and directed by Stephen Frears: The King of Middlebrow Cinema™, this wicked little gem dares to paint the French aristocracy as snipey manipulators bent on vindictive sexual con…

It’s Valentine’s Day season and Matt is reviving an old tradition we have here at the podcast of celebrating a day devoted to romance with a movie that doesn’t have a hint of romance in it. Possession (1981) is a movie that defies categorization. Part relationship drama, part sci-fi horror, part Cold War allegory (maybe?), Andrzej Żuławski’s emotio…

January 2021, a month that will surely only be remembered for Bean Dad and Game Stop stock, is now behind us. That means we’re back to our regularly scheduled programming with the only Hollywood film noir directed by a woman, The Hitch-Hiker (1953). Based on the real-life cross-country killing spree of Billy Cook, certified “cool lady” Ida Lupino t…

After more than six hours and four bottles of wine, we’ve reached the end of our journey. And while we neglect to mention the episode’s title, we did remember to look up the production designer! Heaven, I’m in Heaven closes out Angels in America on a supremely satisfying note. Unfortunately, the play’s dismal analysis of conservative American polit…

Part five, Beyond Nelly, left us dirty, tangled, and torn. It also confirmed Ryan’s bi-ness. This installment finds Hannah calling Prior “Batman”, Belize describing a fabulous version of heaven to Roy, and Harper learning about change from a bitter lady of the plains. Things are getting heavy as the grindy gears of justice slowly spin towards their…

Perestroika begins with Stop Moving!, a slower chapter that takes its time establishing the new places and situations our characters find themselves in. Louis and Joe are shacking up and talking about smells. Prior is home and having wet dreams about an angel with eight vaginas. And Belize is reluctantly taking care of Roy who is now slowly deterio…

Part three of Millennium Approaches, The Messenger, serves as a nice tonic to the emotionally difficult previous chapter. It starts with Michael Gambon and Simon Callow looking like they’ve been dredged in flour and it ends with Meryl Streep dressed as Ethel Rosenberg gleefully commenting on the melodious sounds of a touchtone phone. We’re halfway …

Second acts tend to be downers. And since In Vitro is the second act of Millennium Approaches (the first play of the gay fantasia Angels in America), it’s a bit of a downer. Everyone is either breaking up with their SO’s in bad faith, or getting all intestinal with their AIDS infections, or both! At least this chapter introduces Belize, who enters …

2020? We’ve had plenty! 2021? We’ve had none! Well, we’ve had a little bit. It’s January and that means bonus content time here at Ex Rated Movies. This year we’re tackling the sprawling HBO miniseries, Angels in America (2003). Directed by Mike Nichols and starring Meryl Streep and Al Pacino (among others) this bold and clear-eyed work wrestles wi…

Christmas may be over, but we still have one last Christmas in December episode up our stocking! We’re closing out the celebration (and the year!) with a movie that is so inside our wheelhouse, it may as well be the damn wheelhouse. Tim Burton’s Batman Returns (1992) is an incredible confluence of a thoughtful script, Hollywood money, artful direct…

Happy Winter Solstice everybody! For those of us in the northern hemisphere, it’s the darkest day of the year, which makes this week’s Christmas flick all the more appropriate. Superstar friend of the pod Jessica Baxter joins us to discuss Martin McDonagh’s feature length debut, In Bruges (2008). Set against the backdrop of a freakin’ medieval fair…

They’re vicious. They’re gluttonous. They’re gross. They’re Gremlins (1984)! And they happen to be the subject of our second Christmas in December movie! While somewhat unfocused, Joe Dante’s holiday horror comedy is an undoubtedly wild ride of fully committed entertainment. Boasting some glorious practical effects, a catchy score (courtesy of Jerr…

It’s finally the final month of 2020, and every episode from now until New Year’s is going to be bursting with holiday goodness. We’re kicking off what we’re calling our Christmas in December Celebration with Sean Baker’s feel-good dark comedy, Tangerine (2015). Shot on iPhones 5 and starring two trans people of color, this simple, joyful romp migh…

Considering the lack of movies that revolve around audio engineers (which happens to be this week’s theme), it’s remarkable how incredible our selections for this double feature are! First up: Franny For Co’s slender goddess,The Conversation (1974). It’s an engrossing, paranoid mood-piece starring Gene Hackman as a surveillance expert grappling wit…

While we might not choose many screwball romantic comedies on this podcast, the ones we do choose definitely tend to have a dark, suicide-y angle to them. Unfaithfully Yours (1948) for example, Preston Sturges’s unique take on the jealous lover imagining revenge trope, features a long scenario set to Rossini’s overture to Semiramide, wherein our ma…

At its core, the gay romantic drama God’s Own Country (2017), is a quiet, tender film about personal growth and the power of perspective. It just also happens to have a lamb-skinning scene, and an elbow-deep, bovine rectal reproductive examination. While similar to Brokeback Mountain, this movie eschews pathos by giving its characters the power of …

When it comes to Oliver Stone’s Nixon (2005), it’s a testament to the sheer volume of its possible talking points, that we yammered on for over 100 minutes and didn’t even so much as mention that Madeline Kahn is in this movie! A biopic as only Stone could make it, this film examines the life of oat boy beta cuck, Richard Nixon. Starting with his h…

Beginning with one incredible set piece in the first five minutes, and followed by 90 minutes of big-budget weak sauce, Ghost Ship (2002) isn’t exactly the Schlocktoberfest bon voyage we were hoping for. It does however provide a narrative about boat salvagers (of which the world could certainly use more), an excuse to talk about ghost ships en gen…

Toot toot! All aboard for the eerie Canadian fright fest, otherwise known as Terror Train (1980). Born of the simple idea of setting a slasher on a train, this handsome flick features be-costumed college kids celebrating New Year’s Eve on a locomotive barreling through the frigid north. The revelers are unaware, however that a killer is riding amon…

This week we’re mashing up our love of bad musicals with schlocky horror to bring you a god-forsaken goth, sci-fi, horror Frankenstein that fits perfectly into Schlocktoberfest. Sporting an incredible cast and a rich, promising premise, Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008) is a cacophony of dirge-y nü rock and soap level dramatics that Matt describes as …

Now that October has unfurled her macabre pall of spine-tingling delights, we can begin out annual Schlocktoberfest! Matt’s kicking off this year’s celebration with Francis Ford Coppola’s feature length debut, Dementia 13 (1963). Produced by the one and only Roger Corman, this drive-in double feature B-side is 75 minutes of incoherent terror. Imagi…

We’ve got another francophone thriller for you this week! This time it’s the neon-tinged, giallo-esque slasher set in a 1970’s Parisian gay porn studio, Knife + Heart (2018). Nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes, this stylish treat stars Vanessa Paradis as a lovesick lesbian porn producer, whose film company is plagued by a masked serial killer w…

Season 18 is upon us and we’re taking a trip to the Mediterranean with the fiendishly clever thriller, Purple Noon (1960). Loosely based on The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith and starring the oh-so-dreamy Alain Delon, this tense, imposter story is a riveting spectacle of compelling oners, difficult maritime footage, and hot mirror make o…

Helen Mirren is a bit of a Mirren-cle. Her meaty acting chops, naturalist sensibilities, personal stance on reproduction, and fabulous style make her a prime candidate for one of our patented actress-loving double features. Our mini Mirren-thon includes The Queen (2006): a low stakes, multi-award-nabbing, peak behind the royal curtains. And The Coo…

It’s our 169th episode, so we’re sporting bottle fingers and coming out to play with Walter Hill’s cult classic, The Warriors (1979). This stylish drama follows a gang of be-vested toughs as they make a treacherous journey from The Bronx to Coney Island after being accused of a murder they didn’t commit. With thoughtful montages, a killer opening c…

Kathryn Bigelow is a director with vision and her second film, the dusty, moody Near Dark (1987), proves it. Set in Oklahoma and featuring three cast members from Aliens, this thriller reimagines vampires as dirty drifters constantly on the run from the law as they slink around a dismal, forsaken landscape in search of their next kill. And while th…

If you were a gay kid in the 90’s, you probably watched Death Becomes Her (1992) multiple times. This macabre dark comedy (our third (and likely final) from director Robert Zemekis) boasts the fabulous cast of Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, Bruce Willis, and Isabella Rossellini; all of whom deliver brilliant camp-tastic performances. Add to that a terr…

For connoisseurs of the 80’s slasher genre, Sleepaway Camp (1982) is a rare treat. This movie features a cast of potty-mouthed, age-appropriate adolescents who find themselves trapped at a crummy summer camp with a serial killer on the loose. And while the premise might sound achingly familiar, the movie’s final twist obliterates all expectations a…

After the success of the Matrix trilogy, the Wachowskis veered hard in the opposite direction and created the family-friendly, candy-colored, sports movie, Speed Racer (2008). Based on the 1960’s anime of the same name, this wrongfully maligned dazzler manages to pack emotional weight, astonishing visuals, and a truth-to-power message into a light-…

It’s important to note that this week’s movie, Private Parts (1972), is NOT the Howard Stern biopic from 1997. It’s the Paul Bartel directed psychosexual horror/thriller with fetishized sex doll blood play and the narrator from Welcome to Pooh Corner! The movie follows Cheryl (pronounced Chair-el) as she explores her aunt’s peculiar hotel where she…

While it may be called The Apple (1980), this movie is bananas. Set in a dubiously futuristic 1994 and packed with frenzied disco rock songs, this onslaught on the senses batters the viewer with unresolved contradictions, religious imagery, and sexy bodies sloppily hurtling themselves through humongous set pieces. And while the movie would probably…

Something about the title of A Perfect Getaway (2009) had Ryan worried that it wasn’t actually going to be one. It turns out, he was right! And the double entendre title is just the beginning when it comes to this movie’s embrace of fun writerly tropes. Featuring a spirited cast and set in lush Kauai, this flick delivers plenty of cheap thrills wit…

Hey kids! Wanna watch a glacial, German, arthouse drama about a manipulative lesbian and her ultimate downfall at the hands of her own desire? Well, you’re in luck because we’re kicking of our 17th season with Ranier Werner Fassbinder’s The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1974)! Artfully filmed in a single room and busting at the seams with suggest…

Surprise! One year ago we reviewed the under-appreciated Ex Rated favorite, Socket. Today we're bringing you an interview with the star of that film. Derek Long was kind enough to sit down and chat with us about his experience on Socket, his forays into voice acting, and his attitude about sticking it to conservatives on this extra special intervie…

While last week’s Wheel Within a Wheel may have been a logistical nightmare, it did result in the fortuitous, yet statistically unlikely combination of The Piano (1993) and The Ice Storm (1997). One is a haunting, hole-filled period polarizer with a brilliant score. The other is a frigid cast-tastic snapshot of WASPy, 70’s Connecticut. What do thes…

Because this is a movie podcast hosted by two gay men, we are contractually obligated to cover Brokeback Mountain (2005) at some point. So, here it is! Directed by the superb Ang Lee and starring a cadre of hungry, talented youths, this sensual yet melancholy odyssey depicts a homosexual romance during a time and place where physical and emotional …

Nacho Vigolando’s Timecrimes (2007) is a well-crafted, tightly-scripted, independent treasure. The whole thing plays out like a time travel version of Rashomon as we follow our protagonist through three iterations of the same hour of one day. Sparse yet stylish, its tense, twisty plot is littered with little rewards while the urgent pacing keeps yo…