Episode 49: The Mummy (1932, 1999)

Ok, look, I swear we didn’t do this on purpose.  We wanted to do a series where we compare classic films and their remakes in this “Then and Now” or “What, This Again?” series.  We did NOT intentionally set out to make the last three episodes in the series, and thus almost half the series, about famous movie monsters.  Seriously! That’s a series unto itself! It just worked out that way! It ain’t our fault! We was framed! We fell in with the wrong crowd, see? We didn’t mean nothin’ by it, honest!
So, yes, we close out “Then and Now” with another of the Universal monsters, The Mummy.  Hey, at least we didn’t include the Wolfman.  Yet.  So here we deal with the King of Wrap, the Bandaged Bandit, the Crypt-in Egyptian . . . the Mummy (or Imhotep, if you’re a stickler for detail).  We start off with the original 1932 version with Boris “Lugosi’s Bane” Karloff and end with the version with Brendan Fraser.  Sure, why not? Hey, be grateful we didn’t subject you to the *shudder* Tom Cruise version.  Grab your scarab beetle repellent and give a listen!

Episode 48: Dracula (1931, 1979, 1992)

Good eeeevening, children of the night! What sweet music you make! Seriously, you over there on the accordion? First rate stuff! This week on “Then and Now,” we bring you a special treat: a three-fur! Yes, we’re dealing with a cinematic character who can’t be contained to a mere two movies: Count Vlad Irving Dracula! (not many people know about his middle name).  Yes, he needs one! Two! Three! Three movies! Ah ah ah! {insert thunderclap sound effect} We’ve got Bela Lugosi (spooky Dracula), Frank Langella (sexy Dracula) and Gary Oldman (what-the-flippin’-heck-is-this-crap Dracula).  Give a little listen and see how we rate and rank these three interpretations of the classic character . . . if you dare! Oooo! Very scary!

Episode 47: Godzilla (1956, 1998)

Welcome to another in our “What, This Again?” series, where we compare originals with their remakes.  Now, we may not be talking great movies this week, but the guy we’re talking about, he’s a true classic, am I right? You know him, you love him, you flee from him in terror, let’s bring him up here, folks: Godzilla! Let him hear you in the back! . . . Aaaand he’s crushed the dais and all our special guests.  Well, that’s our Godzilla! Yes, we’re discussing the original “Godzilla, King of Monsters,” one of the generative kaiju movies, and the 1998 American . . . remake? Tribute? Knockoff? Starring that king of terror, Matthew Broderick.  Say what you will, the man is no Raymond Burr.  You know the story (big lizard stomps all over major city, people object and try to stop him), but how does the telling vary? Come pick up what we’re laying down, man!

Episode 46: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956, 1978)

Hello, fellow normal average earth humans.  This week, on this very normal human podcast made by humans for other humans to listen to, we are continuing with our very normal, in no way unusual, series which we have entitled “Then and Now” or “What This Again.”  Ha ha.  Our secondary title is quite whimsical in a way that all of our fellow earth-dwelling humans will find amusing.  This week, we will discuss two versions of the very nonsensical and utterly impossible story “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” So silly, these movies are.  They both suggest an invasion of the miserable delightful planet Earth by a clearly superior plant-based species that can almost perfectly duplicate human beings.  How entertainingly laughable.  You cannot tell because this is written text, typed by human fingers, but I, the normal human author, am shaking with laughter at this very moment at the idea of such an invasion.  So please, sit back on your human-made couches and listen to your human- in-every-way hosts discuss these absurdist fantastical movies that are in no way meant to be a warning of anything at all.  To ensure your comfort, please feel free to recline on the special green plant-motif couch cushions we have provided you.  Check behind your couch.  You will find them.  Sit back, rest, and let our podcast lull you into a peaceful, safe sleep that will in no way cause your neural patterns to be duplicated in a nearby pod. I mean couch cushion.