Nobody doesn’t break new ground for the action genre, but director Ilya Naishuller’s fight sequences and stunt choreography are so good— and Bob Odenkirk’s performance is so great— it’s essential viewing for any fan of action cinema. This week on the Sordid Cinema Podcast we review the bloody, crowd-pleasing, brutal, and never dull film, and debate if we would want to see a sequel or not. All this and more!

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This week on After Dark, Marc Kariloff of The Nintendo NEXpress Podcast joined to talk about The Book of Boba Fett.

With a lot of sand and a bit of pathos, Star Wars is finally telling the story of Boba Fett’s days after falling in the Sarlacc pit… at least for the first few episodes of Disney+’s The Book of Boba Fett. Created by Jon Favreau and featuring episodes directed by Robert Rodriguez and Bryce Dallas Howard, The Book of Boba Fett is an identity crisis running at hyper speed, splitting its focus between Boba Fett and The Mandalorian – and noticeably tipping its hand to which iconic bounty hunter Dave Filoni, Favreau and company are more interested in. Rancours, Darksabers, and Frank Oz jokes – The Book of Boba Fett has it all, and provides an entry into a wide-ranging discussion on the series itself, and the current state of Star Wars canon. (Also, Randy and Ricky should really watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars?)

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After an 11-year gap, Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson’s megabuck meta-slasher Scream franchise came back with the fourth installment in 2011, and to mark the occasion, Ricky D, Justine Smith and Simon Howell went back and dissect the original trilogy (in complete and spoiler-filled detail) before tackling Scream 4, which was reviewed in both non-spoiler and very, very spoiler-y format. This recording comes from episode 268 of the Sordid Cinema Podcast (formerly known as Sound On Sight).

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Following up from our epic Lord of the Rings ‘cast, Ricky D and Simon Howell had to find a way to keep the ante high to discuss The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. They could think of nothing better than to rope in one of their very favorite critics – and first-time guest – Nick Schager (Slant Magazine, Time Out NY, The Village Voice) to dissect the movie and its attendant technological advances in detail. Discussed: dwarf psychology, videogame aesthetics, 48 frames per second, and Dead Alive.

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With The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey looming, we faced a problem: how do we tackle Peter Jackson’s epic, 11-hour (if we go by Extended Editions) Lord of the Rings saga without going insane? Ricky D and Simon Howell decided the best course of action was to double down. In this episode, they’re joined by Tolkien fiend Kate Fulzick of the Televerse podcast and Steve Prokopy a.k.a. Capone of Ain’t It Cool News to consider the entire trilogy as a unified entity, as well as weighing the films’ lasting impact on movie and geek culture. This segment was recorded for episode 343 of the Sordid Cinema Podcast (formerly titled, Sound On Sight).

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This week on After Dark, we invited Mariko McDonald of the Talk AEW Podcast to discuss Heels!

You don’t have to be a professional wrestling fan to fall head over heels in love with the new STARZ series starring Stephen Amell. Created by Michael Waldron (Loki) with Mike O’Malley serving as showrunner, Heels centers on a family-owned wrestling promotion (the Duffy Wrestling League) and follows brothers Jack (Amell) and Ace (Alexander Ludwig) Spade as they navigate their way through the world of independent professional wrestling in their small, fictional Georgia hometown of Duffy. And much like sports entertainment, the most compelling storylines are often the ones that develop outside of the squared circle as the brothers wrestle to keep the family business alive while navigating family life in the wake of their father’s death.

Following eight stoic years as Oliver Queen, Amell is perfectly cast here given his long-time love affair with wrestling. In addition, his multiple appearances in several real-life wrestling promotions including the WWE and Ring of Honor, help bring far more nuance to his role. And speaking of the cast, Heels is also blessed with a star-studded supporting cast including Allen Maldonaldo, character actor treasure Chris Bauer and even the ‘Best in the World,’ CM Punk who is unforgettable in his brief appearance as local wrestling legend Ricky Rabies.

By now, you’ve most likely heard someone compare Heels to Friday Night Lights. Well, that’s not a bad comparison since Heels does a superb job in keeping viewers interested even if they are not familiar with the world of professional wrestling, not unlike how Friday Night Lights reached a wide audience including those with no interest in football. And like FNL, Heels is first and foremost a family drama— it just so happens to use professional wrestling as the framing device. Ultimately, Heels is funny, dramatic, often moving, and a well-written love letter to independent wrestling.

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Welcome to Sordid Cinema After Dark, a series of bonus episodes in which we break down our favourite shows, past and present. Join Randy Dankievitch, Ricky D, and rotating guests as they discuss the current state of television and why they love the shows they love!

In our inaugural episode, we review the first season of Yellowjackets, the new series from Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson that became the sleeper hit of 2021. For the unfamiliar, Yellowjackets tells the story of a high-school soccer team who survive a plane crash deep in the Ontario wilderness and how the traumatic events continue to haunt the survivors, twenty-five years later. Think, Lord of the Flies meets Lost meets Pretty Little Liars meets The Craft. Yellowjackets is many things, including our favorite new mystery drama of the year.

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