Best In Show

Co-host Jeffery Heatherly was such a fan of A Mighty Wind that he requested we watch another Christopher Guest mockumentary - and thus was born the Month of Guest. This week we discuss Best In Show (2000), a film about dogs and the (slightly insane) people who love them. As usual, the conversation touches on not just the film but a variety of only vaguely related cultural references. We would also again like to stress that Jeff does not hate dogs.

A Mighty Wind

Co-host Jeffery Heatherly and I discuss Christopher Guest's 2003 mockumentary A Mighty Wind, a comedy with surprising emotional depth. I sing "Ave Maria" à la Michael Hitchcock and dispel any rumors about band camp that might have been started by American Pie. Jeff offers his opinion of folk music and laments how talented comedians are shortchanged in film and television. It's an episode you'll love to hear even if it's not autumn.

Tron

Co-host Jeffery Heatherly and I discuss Tron, Steven Lisberger's 1982 epic of light bikes and deadly discs. In our wide-ranging conversation we talk about the lack of real logic in the plot, the techniques that went into creating this special effects milestone, consider the Tron franchise as a whole and beatbox our way into film music history.

The 2010 Oscarsode

In this collaborative episode, Original Unoriginal Podcast host Jeffery Heatherly and I take a break from reviewing movies to reflect on the 82nd Academy Awards, held March 7, 2010. We discuss virtually every Oscar-related topic under the sun: the hosts, who won (and who shouldn't have), technical difficulties and memorable moments. We also look, fairly in-depth, at several nominated films. Hooray for Hollywood!

Shutter Island

Co-host Jeffery Heatherly and I discuss Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island (2010). Our topics include performances, music, marketing, some terrible ADR and the film's connection to a cancelled Batman spinoff. We also manage to go nearly 35 minutes without spoiling the ending!

Day Of The Dead

We wrap up our month-long tribute to George A. Romero with the final film of the original Dead Trilogy, Day Of The Dead (1985). Dismissed by many as too talky and heavy-handed, co-host Jeffery Heatherly and I, through our discussion, come to the conclusion that this is unfair. We reflect on Tom Savini's unbelievable gore effects, the film's depiction of the military, a very '80s soundtrack and performances that include a truly hammy mad scientist and the most soulful zombie in history.

Dawn Of The Dead

Our month-long tribute to George A. Romero continues as co-host G. Warlock Vance and I discuss Dawn Of The Dead (1978), considered by many the best film of the original Dead Trilogy. The conversation takes some surprisingly intellectual turns as we discuss the inability of mankind to band together, a possible reason for our culture's current obsession with zombies and a realistic imagining of a zombie outbreak. Less philosophical topics include bad horror soundtracks, how Tom Savini created the impressive gore effects and the history of the zombie film.