Redshirt Cinema Club

For you, the day our episode on Street Fighter graced your village was the most important day in your life. But for us? It was Monday.Welcome back to our continuing series on video game movies, where this week we have reached the garish, often nonsensical, somehow still wonderfully entertaining Street Fighter from 1994. Several pillars of the game have been turned upside down - Guile is the main character, Ken and Ryu are low-level conmen, and Blanka wasn't even raised by eels - but thankfully Raoul Julia's M Bison is staggeringly good fun, and we have our FIRST EVER podcast guest in the shape of frequent anecdote-featurer and childhood Street Fighter enthusiast, Matt Elliott. Let us know what you think of this episode by emailing us at [email protected] and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/redshirtcinemaclub for access to two bonus episodes per month as well as our newsletter, The Civilian Observer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kicking off our season on videogame adaptation we've got the notoriously awful Super Mario Bros. movie from 1993. Yes, the one that doesn't look anything like the Mario games and instead feels like if Blade Runner had dinosaurs and was directed by an idiot (or two idiots as it turns out).It does star Bob Hoskins and Dennis Hopper though, and despite the critical and commercial failure is still a film remembered fondly by many. How will it fare in the Redshirt opinion cauldron? Listen on to find out!Here's how our schedule is shaping up for the next month:- Super Mario Bros. (1993) - Monday 27th April- Tron (1982) PATREON EXCLUSIVE - Wedesday 29th April - Street Fighter (1994) - Monday 4th May- Pokémon: The First Movie (1998) - Monday 11th May- Captain's Choice (Patreon vote) - Wednesday 13th May- Tomb Raider (2001) - Monday 18th May- Resident Evil (2002) - Monday 25th May Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we’re delving into our mailbag to mark the end of our series on 80s fantasy movies (you can tell because people only “delve” in fantasy settings) and to share your nostalgia, nit-picks, and at least one bit of trivia - about David Bowie in Labyrinth - that blew our tiny goblin minds. If you've been listening along to our journey through this decade's unique haul of fantasy films - Time Bandits, Highlander, Labyrinth, The Neverending Story, The Princess Bride, Willow - then listen in as we sort through your comments and criticisms. There's also some talk about what we'll be watching next, as we begin to formulate our Grand Videogame Adaptation Plan. Let us know what you think of this episode by emailing us at [email protected] and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/redshirtcinemaclub for access to two bonus episodes per month as well as our newsletter, The Civilian Observer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week - we’re falling through holes in the universe and landing in Time Bandits, Terry Gilliam’s visually cacophonous 1981 adventure about a small boy careening through time with a band of thieves pursued by God and evil itself. There’s… a lot going on. It's possible that Time Bandits features the best backstory to a heist ever conceived (a band of God's minor manufacturers are sent to the repairs department for creating a very unusual tree, and use the map of all the holes in the universe ("it was a rush job, seven days...") to steal things instead of fixing the fabric of... everything. It's for absolute certain that it's another slightly-too-scary-for-kids-but-actually-great-as-an-adult adventure, and another glimpse into what Sean Connery was up to after that whole Bond deal. Did we like it? Join us to find out…Let us know what you think of this episode by emailing us at [email protected] and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/redshirtcinemaclub for access to two bonus episodes per month as well as our newsletter, The Civilian Observer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A curious phenomenon emerges this week as we watch 1984's The Neverending Story.It's a favourite from Dave's childhood which Nath and Rob were convinced they'd never seen. The evidence in fact points to them both having watched the film previously and entirely forgotten what happens, which is unfortunately also true of this latest rewatch (something to do with a sad horse and a flying dog, the details are lost to us).Which is all to say that The Neverending Story has a strange energy - a tinge of Euro-weirdness, the half-logic of children elected heroes in the face of magical annihilation, and an episodic structure full of grotesque puppets and special effects. We love it! We've forgotten it. It makes us sad.Let us know what you think of this episode by emailing us at [email protected] and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/redshirtcinemaclub for access to two bonus episodes per month as well as our newsletter, The Civilian Observer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we’re losing ourselves again in the delightful maze of 80s fantasy, with Jim Henson’s extraordinary Labyrinth (which, like our very own Rob, turns 40 this year...)Think of it less like a museum of childhood traumas, and more like a fun adventure with cool puppets and a brilliant - nay, magical - dance number. Now if we only figure out how to get inside…Let us know what you think of this episode by emailing us at [email protected] and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/redshirtcinemaclub for access to two bonus episodes per month as well as our newsletter, The Civilian Observer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back! Sort of. After a week's hiatus we're crawling out from the darkness of our plague cave with this impromptu mailbag episode - which we've decided is a good thing as there were LOTS of wonderful emails to get through. Thanks for your continuing correspondence - please keep the messages coming.Thanks for bearing with us while we've been ill - normal service will be resumed next week once we're back to full strength. Updated schedule for our 80s fantasy series below if you fancy watching along!- Labyrinth (1986) - 30th March- Highlander (1986) - 1st April (Captain and Commander bonus episode)- The NeverEnding Story (1985) - 6th April- Time Bandits (1981) - 13th April- Captain's Choice Bonus Episode - 15th April Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new season begins, and we transition from our favourite genre (sci-fi) into our other favourite genre (fantasy) quicker than turning the corner in Waterstones' basement. Moving from Star Wars into 1988's Willow felt like the most natural step - it's directed by Ron Howard (of Solo fame), stars Warwick Davies (Wicket the ewok) and has a story dreamed up by George Lucas himself. There are other parallels, most notably the roguishly handsome Han Solo-esque swordsman Madmartigan (Val Kilmer) and wonderfully crafted stop-motion monsters, but really who needs an excuse to sit through a bunch of classic 80s fantasy movies for the next few weeks? If you fancy watching along with us, here is our schedule for the next month. Consider joining our brand new 'Captain' tier on Patreon if you want to vote for what we watch on 1st April. - Willow (1988) - 9th March - Labyrinth (1986) - 16th March - Highlander (1986) - 18th March (Captain and Commander bonus episode) - The NeverEnding Story (1985) - 23rd March - Time Bandits (1981) - 30th March - Captains Choice Bonus Episode - 1st April Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

...of course it did.We've completed Star Wars (shut up, Ewok movies) and that can only mean one thing - an episode dedicated to listener thoughts about the series, the discussions we've had about it, and tangents that have their own root system of subtangents.Also ALSO the three of us give our personal rankings of all 11 Star Wars movies watched on the pod. Are there some surprises in there? Rob has made sure that there are.Join us!Become a member of Redshirt Cinema Club! Support us at patreon.com/redshirtcinemaclub to receive two bonus episodes every month as well as our newsletter, The Civilian Observer.You can also follow us at x.com/redshirtcinema, and get in touch at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We conclude our Star Wars season with 2019's The Rise of Skywalker, J.J. Abrams' second stab at the franchise having kicked off the sequel trilogy with The Force Awakens 4 years prior.Where the latter was an exercise in replaying familiar hits, Episode IX was all about course correction after the split fan reaction to The Last Jedi. Kylo Ren has his mask back, force ghost Luke likes his light sabre again and Palpatine is back. Somehow.But is the magic back? Contrary to Luke's declaration in The Last Jedi, I'm afraid this one is going to go the way you think.Join the Redshirt Cinema Club! Support us at patreon.com/redshirtcinemaclub to receive two bonus episodes every month as well as our newsletter, The Civilian Observer.You can also follow us at x.com/redshirtcinema, and get in touch at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.