Taking a look at Quentin Tarantino's 2009 modern classic INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

When CIA operative Felix Leiter is left for dead by vicious drug kingpin, Sanchez, James Bond makes it his personal vendetta to take him down… going so far as becoming a rogue agent. Links: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@adolfojacosta/ Substack: https://adolfoacosta.substack.com Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@adolfojacosta Facebook: https://www…

We're back! After an unplanned hiatus, we are back on your podcast app of choice. On this week's adventure Adolfo and Mark discuss John Ford's THE GRAPES OF WRATH. On Today's Show: Mark’s Hollywood Journey Mark wins an Oscar! Walt Disney Archives How to properly hold an Oscar The glory days of VHS “A Very Special Epsidoe” The heaviness of The Grape…

Are you the podcast whose coming was foretold to me? On today's podcast adventure, Adolfo and Mark play Podcast Hosts of Christmas Past as they look at the long history of screen adaptations of Charles Dickens' immortal classic A CHRISTMAS CAROL! Movies discussed include: A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1938), SCROOGE (1951), SCROOGE (1970), SCROOGED (1988), TH…

On today's podcast adventure, Adolfo and Mark discuss the wonderful weirdness of BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935)

On today's podcast adventure, Adolfo and Mark return to discuss the 1953 Academy Award winning FROM HERE TO ETERNITY!

Better late than never! On today's podcast adventure, our long-delayed Christmas episode is out, as we review THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER. We also spend some time discussing the careers of the late Peter Bogdonavich and Ivan Reitman.

Life finds a way... On today’s prehistoric adventure, join us as we discuss the 1993 blockbuster JURASSIC PARK!

Happy Halloween! On today’s terrifying adventure, no one can hear us scream as we discuss the 1979 Ridley Scott classic ALIEN (1979)! Films Referenced: A PLACE IN THE SUN (1951) TO CATCH A THIEF (1955) NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968) BANANAS (1971) PHANTASM (1979) POSSESSION (1981) CANNIBAL FEROX (1981) POLTERGEIST (1982) FLASHDANCE (1983) GHOSTBUS…

We're walkin' here!!! On today's podcast adventure, Adolfo and Mark examine the 1969 Academy Award Best Picture winner: MIDNIGHT COWBOY.

Happy Halloween! Midnight Cowboy has been delayed, so please enjoy this special episode: 31 Essential Films to watch this Halloween! From PSYCHO to THE WITCH and all monsters in between, this episode will give you a wicked watchlist for the spookiest time of year. YOUTUBE: youtube.com/adolfojacosta SOCIAL MEDIA TWITTER: @EssentialFilms, @FPMoviePod…

On today’s adventure, we celebrate the life and career of Richard Donner. Films Discussed: X-15 (1961) THE TWILIGHT ZONE: “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” (TV Episode, 1963) THE OMEN (1976) SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE (1978) SUPERMAN II (1981) THE GOONIES (1985) THE GOONIES ARE GOOD ENOUGH (Music Video, 1985) LADYHAWKE (1985) LETHAL WEAPON (1987) THE LOST BOYS (…

On today’s adventure, Adolfo & Mark will take "No Prisoners!" as they discuss the David Lean Academy Award-winning LAWRENCE OF ARABIA!

Never you mind honey. On today’s Podcast adventure, Adolfo and Mark head to Anarene, Texas to look into the lives and loves of its local citizens in Peter Bogdonavich’s coming of age classic, THE LAST PICTURE SHOW. Plus: Adolfo and Mark discuss the recent AMC stock bonanza. Films Referenced: RED RIVER (1948) THE SANDS OF IWO JIMA (1949) FATHER OF T…

On this Bonus Features episode, we go further into Mark’s adventures into exploitation films. NOTE: Bonus Features episodes are raw and unedited, with little production. Films Referenced: THE BIG GUNDOWN (1966) THE UNDERTAKER AND HIS PALS (1966) MANOS: THE HANDS OF FATE (1966) NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968) THE WIZARD OF GORE (1970) THE CAT O’NINE…

On this Bonus Features episode, we discuss how HBO MAX and Warner Media are radically changing the industry by releasing the entire 2021 slate on HBO MAX as well as theaters. Is this the future of movies? Plus Mark discusses his adventures into exploitation films in the month of December. And some Criterion and blu-ray talk to top it off. NOTE: Bon…

MERRY CHRISTMAS! On today’s adventure, we celebrate Christmas with Dudley, Henry and Julia as we discuss the 1947 holiday classic, THE BISHOP’S WIFE! We go into the original cast of the film, who was originally supposed to play the angel, the initial box office failure (and how the studios sought to fix that), guaranteed Christmas royalties, Hallma…

On today's adventure, Adolfo & Mark discuss the 1974 noir thriller, CHINATOWN.

On today’s adventure, we celebrate the life and career of Sir Sean Connery. (There are some audio issues in this episode. We apologize) Films Discussed The JAMES BOND Films (1962-1971) INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (1989) THE UNTOUCHABLES (1987) THE ROCK (1996) THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER (1990) HIGHLANDER (1986) MARNIE (1964) DRAGONHEART (1996) …

HEEEEERE'S ADOLFO AND MARK! Join Adolfo and Mark on today’s spooky adventure: Stanley Kubrick's THE SHINING (1980) On this week’s show: Trick or Treating in times COVID Misguided contemporary reviews How Kubrick decided to do a horror movie Other actors considered for Jack Torrance The constant script changes Shelly Duval’s torture The impossible w…

Join Adolfo and Mark on today’s adventure: Steven Spielberg’s SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998) On this week’s show: Orange Fanta Criterion Collection discussions Organizing physical media TCM Wine Club Colorized newsreels The true story that inspired Saving Private Ryan The actors boot camp Late 90s young Hollywood The epic Omaha Beach sequence Helmets a…

We ARE big! It's the podcasts that got small. Today we delve into the Hollywood nightmare of Billy Wilder's SUNSET BLVD. (1950) On this week’s show: Our weird movie year COVID adventures RIP Chadwick Boseman Joe the Gigolo Skirting the production code How Gloria Stuart built Paramount Why Montgomery Clift turned down the film RIP Olivia De Haviland…

Fasten your seatbelts as Adolfo and Mark take you on a bumpy podcast! On today’s adventure: ALL ABOUT EVE (1950) On this week’s show: • Quarantine movie woes • Mark’s sleazy movie tastes • How we first experienced the film • Unmatched dialogue • Adolfo owns the film in multiple formats • Barbara Stanwyck, Claudette Colbert and Joan Crawford were al…

Yo, Adrian! Take your mind off what’s going on in the world and join Adolfo and Mark on today’s adventure: John G Avildsen’s ROCKY (1976) On this week’s show: How the current pandemic has affected the movie industry. How people’s first impression of Rocky is often wrong Thunderlips: The Ultimate Male Stallone is a carny Stallone’s story of the maki…

Merry Christmas! Happy Holiday! On today's podcast adventure, Adolfo goes solo as he dives into the 1942 Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire Christmas classic, HOLIDAY INN! We go deep into the origins of the film, what song was SUPPOSED to be the big single, the legacy of the "White Christmas" song and the controversy of the "Abraham" number. Just in time…

Happy Thanksgiving! Let's celebrate those rare movies that celebrate annual autumn holiday that gives us pause to say thanks. So, to thank YOU for listening to the Essential Films Podcast, here's a bonus episode.

It's Alive! On today’s adventure, Adolfo and Mark know what it feels like to be God as they discuss James Whale's FRANKENSTEIN (1931) On this week’s show: How we first discovered the classic monster film Featuring ? as the Monster Feeling sympathy for the Creature Book Fairs and Famous Movie Monsters Mr. Willie’s Represent How Universal came to be …

Magic Mirror, on the wall, what is the greatest movie podcast of them all?... On today’s adventure, Adolfo and Mark sit down to discuss SNOW WHITE AND THE DWARFS (137) On this week’s show: The voice casting process The differences between the film and the Brothers Grimm story Deafy, Jumpy, Baldy, Tubby, Hickey, Dizzy and Burpy? Rotoscoping The mult…

Join Adolfo and Mark on this bonus episode as they discuss Mark’s Alamo Adventures, CREEPSHOW (1982), MIDSOMMAR (2019), VERTIGO (1958), READY OR NOT (2019), THE GOONIES (1985), Cyndi Lauper, APOCALYPSE NOW: THE FINAL CUT, HOT SHOTS PART DEUX (1993), THE GODFATHER: THE COMPLETE EPIC, THE GODFATHER PART III (1990) and The GODZILLA Criterion Collectio…

Hello Darkness, my old friend... On today’s adventure, Adolfo and Mark sit down to discuss THE GRADUATE (1967) On this week’s show: Adolfo goes into detail as to why he doesn’t like the film, but thinks everyone should watch it Netflix Disc Rentals Criterion Flash Sales Trying to impress girls with your wokeness Interesting names considered for Mrs…

On today's podcast odyssey, Adolfo and Mark journey into the unknown across time and space as they take a deep dive into Stanley Kubrick's enigmatic 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968). Listen as they discuss the origins of the film, how it was co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, the ahead-of-their time visual effects, the meaning of that head-scr…

In this Bonus Features episode, recorded before our Silence of the Lambs episode, Adolfo and Mark discuss the glory that is Jeff Goldblum. From EARTH GIRLS ARE EASY to THE FLY to THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK to... VIBES?

On today’s adventure, Adolfo and Mark sit down with some fava beans and a nice chianti as they discuss Jonathan Demme’s horror classic THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991) On this week’s show: The Polar Vortex Mark’s mother subjects him to the horrors of Hannibal Lecter Brian Cox: always a bad guy Gene Hackman… director? RIP Jonathan Demme Original cast…

MERRY CHRISTMAS! On today’s holiday podcast adventure, Adolfo and Mark discuss: 45 minutes all to myself Holiday shopping Holiday favorites Rosemary Clooney’s phenomenal performance of “Love You Didn’t Do Right By Me” Fred Astaire was the original choice to play Phil Davis. VistaVision and the beautiful colors that pop off the screen. George Chakir…

On today’s adventure, Adolfo and Mark unsheath their swords and grab some sandals as they discuss William Wyler’s 1959 cinematic epic, BEN-HUR! On this week’s show: •Sauce or gravy? •Thanksgiving Movie Traditions •William Wyler’s work on the original BEN-HUR •“It took a Jew to make a good movie about Jesus.” •The genre of Christian Epics •Not showi…

On today’s adventure, Adolfo and Mark go a little mad for Alfred Hitchcock’s PSYCHO (1960) On this week’s show: • Discovering Hitchcock • One of the earliest “slasher” films • The Bernard Herrmann score and Mark’s uh… impression(?) of it. • Hitchcock’s A-list B-Movie • “No Bail for the Judge” • How Hitchcock convinced Paramount to distribute the fi…

NOTE: Watch Adolfo Acosta on Turner Classic Movies, introducing CITY LIGHTS with Ben Manciewicz, this Sunday, October 14 at 11 AM CT/12 PM ET On today’s adventure, Adolfo and Mark go back to the silent era for Charles Chaplin’s CITY LIGHTS (1931)! The film that got Adolfo a fan programmer spot on TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES(!) On this week’s show: Discov…

BONUS FEATURES Warning: The following is unedited raw audio with NSFW language. In this episode: Mark’s buried treasure Vinegar Syndrome Cult Movies Mark’s film canister unboxing Mark’s penchant for trash cinema Does Cinemax exist? Boutique Labels Shedding some DVD weight Films Referenced: ORGY OF THE DEAD (1965) THIS,THAT AND THE OTHER! (1970) I D…

What is thy bidding, our masters? On today’s adventure, Adolfo and Mark learn about the ways of the force and resist the Dark Side as they discuss the 1980 STAR WARS epic: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK! On this week’s show: The lack of hype for SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY How we first experienced EMPIRE The 1995 THX Remastered VHS tapes The film’s most famou…

BONUS EPISODE! Raw unproduced audio of Adolfo and Mark shooting the breeze. On today’s adventure: Mark’s Alamo Drafthouse Adventures SEVEN (1995) 70 MM of HOWARD THE DUCK (1986) BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA (1986) THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998) “This is what happens when you French a stranger in the Alps!” THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940) VERTIGO (1958) GREAS…

We’re back from the Phantom Zone!On today’s adventure, Adolfo and Mark fight for Truth, Justice and the American way when they discuss the 1978 superhero movie pioneer SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE! On this week’s show: Clamshell VHS Tapes One of the first superhero films Christopher Reeves: Adolfo’s childhood hero Henry Cavill’s mustache Brandon Routh’s Chr…

In today's Short Subjects episode, Adolfo goes down the entire list of Academy Award nominees, announced on January 24th. From Best Picture to Best Visual Effects; From Get Out to Dunkirk he covers his thoughts, his predictions and why he thinks Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri is overrated.

Join Adolfo on this solo adventure as he discusses some of the cherished Holiday Hollywood classics such as: A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1938) HOLIDAY INN (1942) THE BISHOP'S WIFE (1947) SCROOGE (1951) WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954) A CHRISTMAS STORY (1983) and more!

It's cold outside. A man's gotta do something to keep warm. On today's podcast adventure: Adolfo and Mark deck the halls and jingle them bells as they celebrate the holidays with MIRACLE ON 34th STREET (1947). The duo are plastered...err--- feeling gay as they discuss the charming wonderfulness of this holiday classic as well as: Kris does NOT take…

There’s no place like home. On today’s Thanksgiving podcast adventure, Adolfo and Mark discuss the 1939 MGM classic: THE WIZARD OF OZ! On this week’s show: More Alamo Drafthouse! Watching CASABLANCA on the big screen It’s not an isosceles triangle! What human being on this planet hasn’t seen Wizard of Oz? A Thanksgiving tradition The troubled produ…

What an excellent day for an exorcism. On today’s Halloween podcast adventure, Adolfo and Mark discuss the 1973 William Friedkin classic: THE EXORCIST! On this week’s show: Alamo Drafthouse adventures Has Edgar Wright ever made a bad film? Halloween season movies When did we first experience THE EXORCIST? Terrifying even for a lapsed Catholic The e…

We’ll...be….right….HERE. On today’s podcast adventure, Adolfo and Mark discuss the 1982 Steven Spielberg classic: E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL! On this week’s show: More Alamo Drafthouse adventures from Mark Unoriginal cosplayers Our thoughts on the passings of Jerry Lewis, Harry Dean Stanton and Tobe Hooper The infamous unreleased Jerry Lewis film T…

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away. On today’s podcast adventure, Adolfo and Mark discuss the 1977 George Lucas classic: STAR WARS! On this week’s show: Growing up Catholic as a Star Wars fan More Alamo Drafthouse discussions Christopher Nolan’s distaste for CGI What’s the perfect date movie of 2017? The Star Wars/San Diego Comic-Con connect…

On today’s podcast adventure, Adolfo and Mark discuss the 1957 David Lean classic: THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI! On this week’s show: Mark takes another EPIC trip to Alamo Drafthouse Mark’s retweet from an 80’s icon Jelly donuts Toy guns Korean exercise videos 2017 Summer Movies Adolfo is done with Minions Adolfo butchers Japanese and French The be…

On today’s podcast adventure, Adolfo and Mark discuss the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock classic: REAR WINDOW! On this week’s show: An in-depth discussion of Disney World Parks Jedis are gender neutral Adolfo’s favorite Hitchcock film Thelma Ritter: The MVP The inevitable “Simpsons” discussion How sound plays such an important role in the film Hitchcock’s g…