The Secret Cinema

Paolo and Carrie are joined by two guests - Justin & Sarah Benson - to discuss Peter Chelsom's 2001 slapstick dram-edy Town & Country. Topics include: Warren Beatty as audience surrogate, similarities to Black Sheep, and architect fetishists.

Paolo and Carrie are joined by RJ Hanson for a discussion of Higuchinsky's 2000 bizarro-horror film Uzumaki. Topics include: great scenes that aren't in the film, set up that doesn't set anything up, and the girl with celluloid hair. (This episode "brought" to you by ladylonghorn.bandcamp.com!)

Paolo and Carrie are joined again by Emily Neil to discuss Andrew Dominik's 2012 political crime drama Killing Them Softly. Topics include: the function of James Gandolfini's subplot, artistic depictions of being on heroin, and none of us remembering the specifics of the 2008 financial crisis.

Paolo and Carrie are joined again by director/actress & Paolo's sister Alex Carone to discuss Stuart Gordon's 2005 seedy existential drama Edmond. Topics include: comparisons between the film and the original play, various theories about the protagonist's psychology, and an explanation of the film's tarot symbolism. Bonus: our discussion was recorded at Alex's house in Adrian, Michigan, and we somehow completely forgot to mention it during the episode!

Paolo and Carrie are joined by Gabby Abrego to discuss Arie Posin's 2005 ensemble indie drama The Chumscrubber. Topics include: what the title means, Ralph Fiennes' dolphin-centric story arc, and an unexpected reference to Un Chien Andalou.

Paolo and Carrie are joined again by Josh Benson for a discussion of David E. Durston's 1970 lsd-sploitation thriller I Drink Your Blood. Topics include: the conspicuous lack of blood drinking, getting gangbanged at a murder scene, and inaccurate depictions of hydrophobia.

Paolo and Carrie are joined again by Emily Neil to discuss Hampton Fancher's 1999 existential mystery The Minus Man. Topics include: what the hell this movie is about, literally flirting with death, and one of the greatest trailers in film history.

Paolo and Carrie go it alone for a special Halloween-adjacent discussion of Takashi Miike's horrific 2006 short film Imprint. Topics include: a traumatically brutal torture scene, the pregnancy horror sub-genre, and a whole new way of looking at pinwheels.

Paolo and Carrie are rejoined by Emily Neil to discuss Jim McBride's 1989 campy & creepy Jerry Lee Lewis biopic Great Balls of Fire! Topics include: the film's Solondzian tone, a refresher on the Bermuda Smile, and the dark secrets of Jerry Lee's love life.

Paolo and Carrie are rejoined by Will Ackland to discuss Nacho Vigalondo's 2014 techno-thriller Open Windows, as well as his musical short film 7:35 de la Mañana. Topics include: general themes and trends of Vigalondo's career, Sasha Grey's acting, and our confusion over the implications & details of the ending.

Paolo and Carrie are rejoined by Emily Neil to discuss Brian Yuzna's 1989 gruesome horror-satire Society. Topics include: goofy sound effects, totally sexy boobs, and the word "shunt" gaining a whole new meaning.

Paolo and Carrie are joined again by Josh Benson to discuss Barry Levinson's 1998 underwater sci-fi thriller Sphere. Topics include: redundant intertitles, the continuing adventures of Barry Levinson's bad directing, and varieties of scary meat.

Paolo and Carrie are alone again for a very subjective discussion of Amir Bar-Lev's 2007 art world documentary My Kid Could Paint That and two bonus shorts: Chris Marker's 1990 film Cat Listening to Music, and Cory Arcangel's 2009 film Arnold Schoenberg Opus 11 - 1 - Cute Kittens. Topics include: everyone in the art world being crazy, having control of your narrative, and whether or not Marla's dad helping her really matters.

Paolo and Carrie are joined by filmmaker & contributor to Chicago film guide Cine-File, John Dickson, to discuss Walter Hill's 1981 bayou thriller Southern Comfort. Topics include: broad similarities between this and Aliens, real animal corpses, and what the film argues about the United States.

Paolo and Carrie go it alone again (naturally) for a discussion of Tony Maylam's 1981 summer camp slasher The Burning. Topics include: blatant continuity errors, spatially impossible murders, and one of the slasher genre's greatest kill scenes.

Paolo and Carrie go it alone for a discussion of "Stephen Greene" and his 2015 political screwball comedy, Accidental Love. Topics include: Stephen Greene's origin story, television-style comedy writing, and one weird trick for enjoying Accidental Love and Alien: Covenant.

Paolo and Carrie are joined by two guests - beloved composer Ricardo Ortiz and friend of the podcast Courtney - to discuss James Foley's 1996 thriller Fear. Topics include: Mark Wahlberg messing with clocks, what constitutes a great fingering scene, and Paolo's adventures through James Foley's more recent work.

Carrie and Paolo are joined again by the third member of The Secret Cinema, beloved composer Ricardo Ortiz, to discuss Wes Craven's 1988 voodoo horror film The Serpent and the Rainbow. Topics include: various insane tales from behind the scenes, scrotum stabbing, and Carrie and Paolo getting various facts wrong.

Paolo and Carrie are joined by their friend Courtney to discuss Bryan Singer's 1998 horror-drama Apt Pupil. Topics include: key differences between the film and Stephen King's original novella, the uncomfortable blend of Holocaust imagery and sexual imagery, and whether or not baseball is really Todd's sport.

Paolo and Carrie are joined by Josh Benson to discuss William Klein's 1968 anti-American comedy Mr. Freedom. Topics include: whether or not this is the most anti-American film ever made, the hilarious costume design, and Paolo mistakenly believing that he coined the term "political sledgehammer."