MRAC Film Club

Episode 125 - Pack your bags, and make sure to pack some bootlegged whiskey, because we are headed to prohibition times Chicago to wrap up DePalma month. This week we watch and discuss The Untouchables (1987) which is one of DePalma's more well know films, stars Kevin Costner, Sean Connery and Robert DeNiro. Based on the story of Elliot Ness vs Al Capone and the the war on illegal booze in the 20's, Deniro once again tackles the ganster subgenre. Speaking of which, we dive into Carlito's Way as the supplemental. Not only that, Brian reveals next month's theme....

Episode 124 - Pack your bags because we are headed to Los Angeles CA, a departure for DePalma and his East Coast set thrillers. This week we are watching and discussing Body Double (1984), which is about a struggling actor who is looking for an apartment and ends up stumbling into quite the situation when he witnesses an eyeful from the window of the home he is house sitting for in the Hollywood hills. This is a wild discussion and the opinions of some of us may surprise you. We are also joined by our old friend Chris Bartoli who is...

Episode 123 - It's week 3 of DePalma Month, and we are bringing out the big guns for this one. We welcome DePalma fan and horror podcasting legend, the southern gentleman himself Gregamorits from the Land of the Creeps podcast. Greg helps us break down the conspiracy thriller Blow Out (1981), as well as some discussion of the supplemental Snake Eyes (1998). We had a lot of fun with this one and really broke it down. Blow Out is the story of a film sound engineer )played by John Travolta) who saves a woman (played by Nancy Allen) from drowning and as a...

Episode 122 - Welcome back to DePalma month. This week we are joined by one of our old friends OOTim. If you enjoyed OOTim's analytical breakdown of Blade Runner, then you are sure to enjoy his breakdown of a less analyzed film; The Fury (1977). The Fury is DePalma's lesser known psychic supernatural thriller film that came out in the mid-1970's. The more well-known version of this would be Carrie (1976). We do have a supplemental style discussion of Carrie towards the end of this one, but do tune in for our explosive discussion of The Fury.And tune...

Episode 121 - Pack your bags! We're headed to Staten Island via New Jersey and NYC, because it's Brian DePalma month and we are watching and discussing Sisters (1972). Brian DePalma has an enormous resume spanning decades through various genres from cult classics to blockbuster hits. For this month we are focusing on the genre he is most know for, thrillers, and starting at the beginning with Sisters (1972), with some supplemental talk at the end with Obsession (1976). Each week will focus on a different sub-genre, and this first week looks at his early Hitchcock inspired suspense thrillers. We at MRAC highly...

Episode 120 - This is the time of the year we look forward to most of all. It's a time for us to reflect on all of the films we watched this year on MRAC and give out our annual awards. We have 26 awards to give out, plus additional awards we may have added or forgotten. Plus QQ may do her thing and add an award, and we might get an appearance from another feline. Anything can happen on the awards ceremony. It has been our longest episode to date, so it must have been something. It's all fun and...

Episode 119 - We are wrapping up French Romance Month this week as we watch and discuss The Science of Sleep (2006). This is a quirky film by the great Michel Gondry which features his signature stop motion animation and dreamlike imagery through the story of Stephane, who comes to France from Mexico for a job opportunity, and meets Stephanie. The story blends dream and reality as Stephane confuses dreams with his waking life. It was a pleasant finish to French Romance month. And pack your bags because we are heading back state side to cover the thriller/ suspense...

Episode 118 - This week we are still in France covering another unconventional romance film. This week we watch and discuss The Man Who Loved Women (1977) directed by Francois Truffaut. In this film the man, named Bertrand, really loves women. The film begins with his funeral and then through a series of flashbacks we witness his escapades and his love of women. One of us did not like this film and really went on about it. We will let you guess who that is, then tune in to find out.And tune in next time for the conclusion...

Episode 117 - Pack your bags, and don't forget to pack an umbrella. We are in France still for week 2 of French Romance Month. We are watching and discussing Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964). Pete surprised us with this one as we watch our first musical, and we get right into it by debating whether or not this is actually a musical. But in the end our opinions may surprise even ourselves . Tune in for this one. And tune in next time as we watch and discuss The Man Who Loved Women (1977)email us at mracfilmclub@gmail.com

Episode 116 - Pack you bags! We are headed back to France, so that means it must be a Pete month. This week we are looking at a few unconventional French romance films. First up is Lost in Paris (2016) a comedy about a Canadian woman named Fiona who travels to Paris to track down her Aunt Martha after receiving a strange letter in the mail. Some wacky antics ensue, especially after Fiona crosses paths with a homeless man named Dom. It's a Pete month. Embrace it.Tune in soon for the next episode; The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)<...

Episode 115 - Happy 2026! The first episode of the new year is our last Bergman discussion. This week we watch and discussed The Seventh Seal (1957) Arguably Bergman's most well-known film, the Seventh Seal follows a knight, his squire, a rag tag group of performers and others during the time of the black plague in Sweden. Those of you familiar with the film Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey might recognize the plot device of death playing a game for the life of the main character. Who borrowed from who? Tune in to find out. And tune in soon as...

Episode 114 - It is week 3 of Ignmar Bergman month here on MRAC, and for this week we watched and discussed To Joy (1950), a film that follows an orchestral musician couple through their turbulent relationship. It's a bit of a gut punch, so grab some tums and strap yourself in. QQ could not join us for this one but we got to meet Caifu, the newest member of the family. Tune in this week, and stay tuned for our final Bergman episode when we will be watching and discussing The Seventh Seal (1957). Pete will also be revealing next month's theme.<...

Episode 113 - Is Ingmar Berman's 1957 film Wild Strawberries a Christmas Carol story? Hold on tight because this along with a lot of other questions are raised during our two hour long double feature discussion of Wild Strawberries (1957) and Summer Interlude (1951). Both films feature main characters reflecting on the past, one an aging professor looking back on his life, and the other a less aging women looking back on a summer relationship. Join us for this off the walls discussion. And join us next week for To Joy (1950)And email us at mracfilmclub@gmail.com

Episode 112 - Pack your bags because we are headed to 1940's-50's Sweden to cover the early films of Ignmar Bergman. Bergman is considered one of the most important directors in the history of cinema so clearly we are not qualified to comment, but we are doing it anyway. You will get our initial reactions to Bergman through the first film he wrote and directed; Prison (1949), as well as some supplemental talk about Thirst (1949). Both films comment on marriage, faith and human nature... which we in turn comment on.Join us for the... fun?and...

Episode 111 - Pack your bags, and make sure you pack lightly because you are going to be paddling over 20 miles from an island in the southern pacific to the nearest airport. But of course, you aren' t Arnold in the 80's, and you aren't trying to get to Los Angeles to be reunited with your biological twin from whom you were separated at birth, and this twin just happens to be Danny Devito. Of course with this ridiculous synopsis, we are talking the Ivan Reitman 80's classic Twins (1988). Strap yourself in for a fun ride, and then fasten your...

Episode 110 - Pack your bags, and don't forget to pack your gatling gun because we are heading to the jungle to face the ultimate predator. And speaking of hunting, Happy Thanksgiving! This episode is being released on Thanksgiving back to back with our Running Man episode, much like how Arnold had two movies come out in 1987. So enjoy our discussion of Predator (1987) while you are digesting your Thanksgiving feast.And tune in next week for our final Arnold in the 80's discussion with Twins (1988)email us at mracfilmclub@gmail.com

Episode 109 - Pack your bags, and if you forget to pack any one liners, don't worry because this movie has plenty to go around. We are traveling to the dystopian future year of 2019 to discuss The Running Man (1987), which stars Arnold alongside Richard Dawson of the Family Fued and Match Game. In this one, Dawson is the host of a game show called the Running Man, which pits convicted felons against killer professional wrestlers. When Arnold is wrongfully accused of a crime he has to go toe to toe with these wrestlers. Who will come out on top? Definitely...

Episode 108: Pack your bags, and don't forget to pack a kettlebell, because we are headed back to the 80's to track the early career of an icon of cinema and America in general; Arnold Schwarzenegger. This is our second week of 1980's Arnold where we watch and discuss Commando (1985). And if you are wondering what happened to the missing epsode where we cover a notable Arnold film from 1984, don't go looking because it dissent exist. Why did we skip that one? Tune in t find out. And tune in to listen to us gush over Commando because it was...

Episode 107 - We have been talking about it for years, and we finally answer the question; Is it possible to do an Arnold month? This month Brian is up to the challenge and taking 5 weeks to cover the evolution of Arnold Schwarzenegger as an actor in the 1980's. And while there may be one film in particular that is missing for the month, we are starting off week one strong with Conan the Barbarian (1982) as well as some supplemental talk about Conan the Destroyer (1984). In these early films we see Arnold getting his first real acting start and speaking...

Episode 106 - We conclude our October coverage of Horror Remakes with Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) with special guest Chris Bartoli. Chris is a big horror fan and hosted Carpenter month with us earlier this year and it was great to have him back. To wrap up this month we watched the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) as a compare and contrast. At the end we picked which version we preferred. Tune in to find out which version prevailed. We also find out next months theme; Arnold in the 80's. Tune in next time for Conan...