Tie Me Up Tie Me Down + The Witch Who Came From the Sea

Posted on July 15, 2021 by Alice Thirteen
Tie Me Up Tie Me Down + The Witch Who Came From the Sea

Find two movies fucked up enough for each other. An interdisciplinary approach to subverting the issues of equality? Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! or Pedro Almodóvar’s ¡Átame! Representing the world as it is vs as we wish it was. Almodóvar’s observations on the nature of machismo. The storyteller’s lack of moral obligation in observing the world as it is. A mental patient representing himself as pretty normal but also sometimes having a fake mustache. A conversation about the importance of tone vs narrative via The Witch Who Came From the Sea. A cursed film. The very strange ways people come to the film and the eerie sense of mystery it ads. What (still) lurks on channel X? Lowercase double features have returned to the physical world! What difference does watching a beaten 35mm print actually make on the viewing experience?

Marihuana + Criminal Lovers

Posted on July 8, 2021 by Alice Thirteen
Marihuana + Criminal Lovers

American Exploitation and The New French Extremity. Want a better understanding of these movements? Start here! Take a deep dive on the entirety of two misunderstood subgeners in this multi-part series, beginning now with Marihuana and Criminal Lovers. The complete who, what, where, when, why of exploitation. Feigned outrage as a cover to enjoy smut. Exploitation films seek to ride a wavelength of some conversation already in the public. They’re looking to hitch themselves to the zeitgeist. Whether they deliver or not, they will become a mile marker on the evolutionary path of various tropes and stories. Future writers will see them in their younger influential years or even just walk by the posters and they’ll become part of the mixture that makes up mainstream tellings of similar stories. Also by being an early form of independent cinema Continue reading →

Jupiter Ascending + Alita Battle Angel

Posted on July 1, 2021 by Alice Thirteen
Jupiter Ascending + Alita Battle Angel

Failure to launch. Welcome to Double Feature! Giving love to two battle-weathered films with epic ambitions. What is a logline? How can you use loglines to get more out of films you loved? And actually, films you really didn’t? Jupiter Ascending as an underground misfit of multimillion dollar proportions. Chicago gets a moment in the sun. Lazy jokes about cleaning toilets. The (not so) hidden trans themes in Alita: Battle Angel. The possibly unintentional themes of Robert Rodriguez films. Engineering and world building. Why anime so often dabbles in trans motifs where other YA material does not. Continue reading →

Double Feature Year 13 Finale

Posted on June 24, 2021 by Alice Thirteen
Double Feature Year 13 Finale

Get access to ALL previous episodes at Patreon.com/DoubleFeature – starting fresh? This is a great first episode to listen to! A full reset of Double Feature begins next episode. For now, here’s a spoiler-free retrospective of the entire last year. Each year of Double Feature is a self-contained series. The podcast looks at two movies every week in a quest to determine what’s notable about them. First up, a whole year of loglines. What is a logline, why is it important to film discover, and will this type of analysis continue? Throughout the year, additional themes, motifs, and advertising spins are considered. At the end of the year, the finale episode (this very episode) takes a look back at the entire run. Journeys, marathons, triple features, and more all get one last conclusion before the show takes a fresh start. Continue reading →

Tammy and the T-Rex + Behind the Curve

Posted on June 20, 2021 by Alice Thirteen
Tammy and the T-Rex + Behind the Curve

Good and evil nonsense. A new release honors the late John Carl Buechler’s original gore effects as the Tammy and the T-Rex Vinegar Syndrome restoration blurs the line between 1994 release and 2019 release. Freshening up an old Double Feature gag. Who will admit that Tammy and the T-Rex actually happened (also, did it?) Denise Richards rides off on a dinosaur. Why do the restoration? Behind the Curve is a flat-earthers documentary, and it’s fun, and is that ok? Why people believe weird things. The power of community, even when the word “community” mostly just means an intangible thing in a sad person’s mind. What’s the harm? Remembering the work of James Randi. Continue reading →

Oh, God! + Yes, God, Yes

Posted on June 17, 2021 by Alice Thirteen
Oh, God! + Yes, God, Yes

For the last episode of Double Feature, the show declares victory in the war on religion. Mission Accomplished! With religion completely eradicated in the United States, Americans can focus on what really matters: self-pleasure! Double Feature takes a look at god in cinema. Once a prominent figure, god is now such a fringe part of modern life that films almost need to explain what it is. The absurdity of telling an audience what god is supposed to be isn’t much worse than telling them what the true meaning of anything is. Religion poisons everything. Masturbation as a sub-set of masturbation. Double Feature plans a look back. Continue reading →

Porco Rosso + My Life as a Zucchini

Posted on June 3, 2021 by Alice Thirteen
Porco Rosso + My Life as a Zucchini

The final stop in the Studio Ghibli stop motion adventure. The journey comes to and end as year finale questions are flirted with. What Porco Rosso means to someone who has just watched a string of Studio Ghibli films. A single adventure in a larger world. There are symbolic Studio Ghibli war movies and then there are Studio Ghibli movies wherein the war occurred or is even portrayed. Hayao Miyazaki antagonists. My Life as a Zucchini is called Ma vie de Courgette in French, which sometimes leads to the English version being called My Life as a Courgette. Especially if you’re quite British. A defense of G-rated film for fans of ugly subject matter films. The utility of motifs for visual and meditative storytellers. Various motifs in My Life as a Zucchini. Continue reading →

Deerskin + Get Duked!

Posted on May 27, 2021 by Alice Thirteen
Deerskin + Get Duked!

Country side gets fucked in to grounded movies that spin into surreal wtf nightmares. Deerskin, also known as Le daim, also known as this weird fucking Quentin Depieux film. One cannot prepare for Depieux weird. What the jacket really wants. The unlikely stars who show up for this bizarre time. Coat-wearing dysmorphia. A horror film for some, a great fantasy about filmmaking for others. Get Duked! as a Danny Brown v Run the Jewels hip-hop megacut. The music videos of Ninian Doff. The D of E! The plot of Get Duked is based on a real, no kidding Duke of Edinburgh award which is a very real thing that very real british kids can all go do. How a fast paced film can go beyond the machine for empathy and become an audiovisual adrenaline shot. Continue reading →

Lost in Translation + He Died with a Felafel in His Hand

Posted on May 20, 2021 by Alice Thirteen
Lost in Translation + He Died with a Felafel in His Hand

Adrift in the world. Two Americans get Lost in Translation. The midlife crisis is a redux of the 20 something finding their place in the world. 2003, Focus Features, and the rise of the existential indie into the mainstream. It’s ok to be a rude fuck if no one can understand you anyways. It would be nice if Americans learned something about the immigrant experience from Lost In Translation but that’s probably too much to ask. Double Feature takes a trip back to magic time in their lives with He Died with a Felafel in His Hand. Missing out on the present. Alice recalls the most obvious thing he didn’t even think to film during The Birthday Massacre 2006 Bootleg. Continue reading →

Sound of Metal + Jacob’s Ladder

Posted on May 13, 2021 by Alice Thirteen
Sound of Metal + Jacob’s Ladder

Addiction to normalcy. Moving demanding conversation: the style of the Sound of Metal debut could mark the return of the film festival style release (even if there was no festival). An entire way of life is threatened, and with it goes the sense of normalcy. The denial phase. How drug addition is the unspoken experience looming over Sound of Metal. Avant-garde music is the perfect choice for the film. The pain of audio in a visual-heavy medium. Manipulating language to keep the audience alienated. The notable consciousness-threatening first hour of Jacob’s Ladder. Michael believes the audience’s entire relationship with the film’s madness can be pinpointed to a single critical scene. What was happening in horror when Jacob’s Ladder came out and how it may have secretly helped pay the way for the new tone of the 90s. Continue reading →