58481774cef1014c0b5e4992

Tag: independent film

HomeAll PostsTag: independent film

Cinema Smorgasbord – Cinema Smorgasbord Sells Out – Blue Heron (2025)

Cinema Smorgasbord, Podcasts on May 26, 2026 0Comments 0Likes

OH CANADA! On this episode of Cinema Smorgasbord Sells Out, our hosts have a chat about Canadian cinema having a moment, what the country can do to become a bigger player internationally (and at home) and some of our favorite Canadian films before taking a look at Sophy Romvari’s tremendous semi-autobiographical drama BLUE HERON from 2025. It’s a quietly experimental film about a family becoming increasingly fractured by a child’s erratic behavior, and it’s worth going out of your way to see. And hear us talk about!

Cinema Smorgasbord – Serpent’s Path: The Films of Kiyoshi Kurosawa – Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself: The Heist (1995) & Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself: The Escape (1995)

Cinema Smorgasbord, Podcasts on April 27, 2026 0Comments 0Likes

After starting his V-Cinema adventure with MEN OF RAGE and YAKUZA TAXI (both covered on our last episode) Kiyoshi Kurosawa began his most ambitious project yet: a series of SIX films featuring two bumbling, but loveable, gangsters played by Shô Aikawa and Kôyô Maeda who continually find themselves in unlikely, comical scenarios (with – naturally – bursts of sex and violence). Kurosawa would shoot two of the films at a time, and on this episode of Serpent’s Path we’re checking out the first two entries. In 1995’s Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself: The Heist our pair end up falling for the same woman, only to be forced to help her raise money for a sick relative once she gets involved with (wait for it!) the yakuza. Then, in Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself: The Escape (also from 1995) the two are hired by a Yakuza boss to spy on his daughter and her boyfriend, only for them to get wrapped up in a tale of love, betrayal and AUSTRALIA. All that and plenty of context, so ENJOY!

Cinema Smorgasbord – Praising Kane – The Lemon Sisters (1989)

Cinepunx, Podcasts on March 30, 2026 0Comments 0Likes

We like to have fun here on PRAISING KANE, the world’s finest chronological Carol Kane-themed podcast, but occasionally – rarely – even Carol Kane’s charms are not enough to lift up a film, and that’s certainly the case with Joyce Chopra’s misguided misfire THE LEMON SISTERS from 1989 (though held back from release until 1990). Despite a dynamite supporting cast (including Elliott Gould, Aidan Quinn, a young Nathan Lane, and Ruben Blades) and the talented trio of Diane Keaton, Kathryn Grody and Kane herself as the titular Lemon Sister (friends who grew up together on the Atlantic City boardwalk who sing standards in a nightclub.. sorta), it’s just a disaster. Bad music, incomprehensible plot elements, and a lack of chemistry just dooms the whole thing. But is there ANYTHING to recommend it? Listen and find out!

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

Cinema Smorgasbord, Podcasts on December 29, 2025 0Comments 1Like

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 – Praising Kane – Sticky Fingers (1988)

Cinema Smorgasbord, Podcasts on September 29, 2025 0Comments 0Likes

2025 is the YEAR OF CAROL KANE! From Star Trek to It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia to a documentary about her relationship with her mother (CAROL &JOY, coming soon!), to appearing in the latest Darren Aronofsky movie, it’s a busy time in the world of PRAISING KANE and we’re loving it. We break down all the latest news on this episode, followed by a look at the strange Caitlin Adams-directed crime-comedy STICKY FINGERS starring Helen Slater and Melanie Mayron as two down-on-their-luck street musicians who are saddled with a bag containing almost a million dollars! With supporting turns from Christopher Guest, Eileen Brennan, Stephen McHattie and – of course – CAROL KANE! Enjoy!

Cinema Smorgasbord – Cinema Smorgasbord Sells Out – Anora (2024)

Cinema Smorgasbord, Podcasts on March 18, 2025 0Comments 0Likes

How do you solve a problem like ANORA, the recent Best Picture Oscar winner directed by problematic(?) fav Sean Baker? It seems like everyone has an opinion on the film (about a young sex worker who marries the son of a Russian oligarch), so why not add OURS into the mix? We get down and dirty with some of the controversies surrounding the film, but mostly just talk about what we liked and didn’t like about the film like good little critics. ENJOY!

Cinema Smorgasbord – Bartel Me Something Good – Utterly Without Redeeming Social Value (1969) & Mortuary Academy (1988)

Cinema Smorgasbord, Podcasts on December 16, 2024 0Comments 0Likes

A seismic shift in Hong Kong filmmaking occurs on this episode of WE DO OUR OWN STUNTS with the release of the legendary action-comedy PROJECT A in 1983. Directed by (and – of course – starring) Jackie Chan, alongside his Peking Opera classmates Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao, it’s a raucous, often hilarious and stunt filled thrill ride packed with pirates, pratfalls and one infamous fall from a clock tower that has to be seen to be believed. It changed filmmaking forever and sent Jackie’s already ascending star into the stratosphere. But does it hold up? Let’s check it out!