Author page: Doug Tilley

Cinema Smorgasbord – JodoWOWsky – Documentary Trio (Midnight Movies (2005), Moebius Redux (2007), My Life Directed By Nicolas Winding Refn (2014))

After a lengthy break we’re celebrating the holiday season with some fresh-from-the-oven JODOWOWSKY featuring now only a SLEW of new Alejandro Jodorowsky news (including a surprising celebrity admirer), but also a TRIO of documentaries featuring Jodo’s always-memorable talking head! We start with the 2005 doc MIDNIGHT MOVIES: FROM THE MARGINS TO THE MAINSTREAM (2005) which documents the origins of midnight cult cinema starting with – of course – EL TOPO, and then moving onto PINK FLAMINGOS, THE HARDER THEY COME, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW and more! Featuring interviews with John Waters, David Lynch, George Romero and (of course) Alejandro Jodorowsky. Next up is the 2007 documentary MOEBIUS REDUX: A LIFE IN PICTURES tracing the career of Jean “Moebius” Giraud, and featuring an impressive collection of his collaborators and admirers. Then we finish up with the unique, revealing documentary MY LIFE DIRECTED BY NICOLAS WINDING REFN from 2014 which follows director (and Jodorowsky acolyte) Nicolas Winding Refn as he goes through a depressive episode while making hi film ONLY GOD FORGIVES. Fun! All this and SO much more. Let’s listen right now!

Cinema Smorgasbord – The Cinema Smorgasbord Holiday Special – Round and Round (2023) & Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point (2024)

DASHING THROUGH THE SNOW here comes the Cinema Smorgasbord HOLIDAY SPECIAL! And this time it really IS a holiday special, because we’re talking about the 2023 time loop Hallmark Hanukkah film ROUND AND ROUND (featuring Dropout comedy sensation Vic Michaelis) before getting cozy with the 2024 nostalgia-tinged comedy-drama CHRISTMAS EVE IN MILLER’S POINT. All that and some thoughts about Christmas-themed music because WHY NOT? Enjoy!

Cinema Smorgasbord – Praising Kane – Scrooged (1988) (and Carol & Joy (2025)

Ding dong merrily on high! PRAISING KANE returns again.. and much quicker than usual because we just happened to have the Holiday classic SCROOGED next up in our chronological look at the life and work of Carol Kane! You know SCROOGED, right? Bill Murray, Richard Donner, modern adaptation of A Christmas Carol.. You get it. What’s our take on it? LISTEN and FIND OUT. But that’s not all! We also discuss the long-awaited documentary (recently made available on The Criterion Channel) CAROL & JOY from director Nathan Silver about Carol’s relationship with her 98-year-old mother Joy (who she cares for in her piano-filled New York apartment). It’s two for one! A holiday miracle! ENJOY!

Cinema Smorgasbord – Cinema Smorgasbord Sells Out – Train Dreams (2025)

All aboard! We choo-choo-choose you on this episode of CINEMA SMORGASBORD SELLS OUT and we’re checking out the 2025 drama TRAIN DREAMS starring Joel Edgerton, with Felicity Jones, Kerry Condon, and William H. Macy! Based on the beloved novella Denis Johnson, we follow 80 years of the life of Robert Grainier, a logger (and later hermit) who faces love, loss, triumph and tragedy at the turn of the 20th century. BUT IS IT ANY GOOD? I guess we’ll talk about it until we reach a conclusion.

Cinema Smorgasbord – Praising Kane – License to Drive (1988)

On the latest PRAISING KANE we’re diving into the fraught history of the two Coreys (Haim and Feldman) with the 1988 teen comedy classic(?) LICENSE TO DRIVE, featuring car chases, a hip drive-in restaurant, scary driving tests (/w James Avery), Richard Masur, Billy Ocean’s “Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car” and OF COURSE the wonderful Carol Kane. We also chat about the upcoming short documentary CAROL & JOY which should be available to watch RIGHT NOW on the Criterion Channel. Enjoy!

Cinema Smorgasbord – Wild in the Streets – Weapons of Death (1977)

We’re getting WILD IN THE STREETS with Henry Silva (/w some other guy’s voice) in Mario Caiano’s WEAPONS OF DEATH from 1977. Trying desperately to seem like a sequel to the previous year’s VIOLENT NAPLES, this one has Leonard Mann as Commissioner Belli, a cop on the edge trying to track down rogue mob boss Santoro (Henry Silva) while also helping out a precocious/annoying kid named Gennarino. Thankfully this one has a trick up its sleeve: EXTREME VIOLENCE (thanks to Fulci makeup favorite Gino De Rossi), and a few solid action scenes (car chases! Pool hall fights! Piano wire decapitation!) to keep things moving. It’s not bad, but is it.. good? Listen and find out!

Cinema Smorgasbord – We Do Our Own Stunts – Twinkle Twinkle, Lucky Stars (1985)

It’s the 300th(!!!!) episode of Cinema Smorgasbord! Now, normally we would do a big, special celebratory episode, but.. uh.. I forgot it was coming up so instead we’re back with those pervy Lucky Stars goofballs as they travel to Thailand for some trademark misadventures/sexual harassment. Thankfully these sequences are intercut with some of the most incredible action sequences of the era featuring (naturally) Jackie Chan and Yuen Biao (and also Andy Lau, Richard Norton, Lau Kar-wing, Dick Wei, Philip Ko, and Yasuaki Kurata!). Michelle Yeoh even pops up briefly. It’s a tale of two movies in 1985’s TWINKLE TWINKLE, LUCKY STARS. Enjoy!

Cinema Smorgasbord – How Do You Do, Fellow Kids? – Parting Glances (1986)

On a returning HOW DO YOU DO, FELLOW KIDS? (the world’s finest Steve Buscemi-themed podcast) we’re heading back to the past with Bill Sherwood’s gay romantic drama PARTING GLANCES from 1986, featuring Steve Buscemi’s breakout performance as Nick, an HIV-positive rock musician. Two straight dudes talking about a pioneering queer work? It happened! Now you can hear it and all the latest Steve Buscemi news. Enjoy!

Cinema Smorgasbord – Halloween Horror Special – Working Class Goes to Hell (2023) & Black Eyed Susan (2024)

It’s the 2025 Cinema Smorgasbord HALLOWEEN HORROR SPECIAL and as usual we’re taking a look at two underloved horror (or, in this case, horror adjacent) films that deserve a little more attention. We start with the Serbian 2023 socio-political satire WORKING CLASS GOES TO HELL from LIFE AND DEATH OF A PORNO GANG director Mladen Djordjević about a group of exploited workers who turn to Satan for some help battling corrupt businessmen and political leaders. We follow that up with Scooter McCrae’s BLACK EYED SUSAN, which features Yvonne Emilie Thälker as a sex doll designed for punishment, and tackles some iffy moral questions about the future of artificial intelligence and.. Hey! This isn’t very spooky at all! Oops!

Cinema Smorgasbord – George Kennedy is My Copilot – The Delta Force (1986) (and Murder on Location – Part 2)

On the last stirring episode of GEORGE KENNEDY IS MY COPILOT we covered the first half of the George Kennedy-penned mystery novel MURDER ON LOCATION and on this episode.. WE REACH THE END! Who is the killer? What is their motivation? Does George Kennedy get an Oscar? All will be revealed! And then we talk about the odd disaster movie/jingoistic action movie hybrid THE DELTA FORCE from 1986 starring Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin (and also George Kennedy). ENJOY!