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THANK YOU, YOU BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE! 

In the last two months since ing Letterboxd in earnest, The Broken VCR has been having an absolute blast meeting all of you and building a chill community of film lovers and cinephiles. 

It’s been cool as fuck to talk with all of you and share our love for movies, while getting a shit ton of recommendations we’d never even heard of. 

We hope you stay with us and we hope more than anything that you become a regular listener to our podcast. It’s a labor of love and having you there is a helluva lot better than shouting into the wind. 

If you’ve been checking out the pod, we love you! 

If you haven’t, you better do it before we find you. 

Alright, that’s our love letter to you.

See you in the comments.

Heavy lesson in speaking truth to power in lands where unlimited power goes unchecked. Dark, fascinating, and gutsy.

— Chad

3 episodes take you from 9/11 to the Seal Team Six raid on Bin Laden. Told by most of the major players behind the scenes in the intelligence community who gave their careers to hunting down the world’s most wanted terrorist. I was in high school on 9/11 and Obama announcing the killing of Bin Laden making this a particularly compelling trip down historical memory lane. I enjoyed it.

— Chad

IT’S PODCAST DAY!

This week on The Broken VCR, we shoot the shit about Dennis Hopper's 1980 haunting portrait of juvenile delinquency, OUT OF THE BLUE. 

us as we talk Dennis Hopper taking over directing duties, a knock out performance from Linda Manz, the film's against-the-grain spiral into darkness, and more! We also pick our top seven Dennis Hopper films in this week’s Silver Screen 7!

Come hang with the fellas wherever you get your podcasts. And as always, let us know we’re wrong in the comments.

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE
BVCR #179 | OUT OF THE BLUE (1980)

Black Bag is a good little movie with good performances and a good script. Black Bag is also a bad movie in that it has a production budget of 60 million dollars for what is essentially a stage play.

Blockbuster franchise rehashes is a major factor as to why we get fewer and fewer original films with this pedigree. But equally so is Hollywood’s current inability to make a good little movie at a reasonable budget. 

If we want original films to make a comeback, everyone needs to start taking a pay cut, especially the talent. They are more than welcome to put on the tights for the big paycheck, but they have to that was historically only done so they could wave their rate and roll the dice on smaller films and give them a chance to succeed. 

BCVR is therefore calling for a moratorium on all country houses and boat purchases until we get this shit figured the hell out.

Tucked quietly away in the recesses of 70s Grindhouse cinema is this race-ploitation home invasion revenge flick. You might have to dust the cobwebs off this one, cause it is rarely grabbed from the shelf for a re-watch. It’ll have you spitting mad and yearning for some blood-thirsty comeuppance. William Sanderson of Deadwood fame plays a vile, yet memorable, racist piece of shit. And Robert Judd has you begging for him to hammer the nail in Sanderson’s coffin. Wanna get mad? Watch it. Exploitation refused to pull punches. I appreciate the guts and bravado.

— Chad

Desperate to manufacture emotion. Desperate to be funny. Desperate to build a clever new world. Above all, desperate to create a franchise. 

Also, never heard anyone say ever, sure would like to see that new cartoon with Richard Jenkins and George Clooney and Sam Rockwell and Bradley Cooper and Matt Damon. Maybe stop hiring every expensive actor to voice your characters and maybe the budgets wouldn’t be so damn bloated and impossible to recoup.

By 1972 the golden age of the genre was long gone but a few ok times, gems and classics would still roll through. Old man Lancaster is always a pleasure to watch.

High ok time

Hoch

I know John Wayne is the quintessential western leading man but the more Jimmy Stewart westerns I watch it has me rethinking if it’s true.

Low gem

Hoch

Zombies… Slasher films… Alien invasion pictures… the dude who gave us The Monster Squad and contributed to the story creation of films like House, Ricochet, and Robocop 3 brings us a genuine 80s celebration of the B-movies he grew up on. Add in genre king Tom Atkins and you have a super fun time at the movies. This movie bombed at the box office, but rightfully became a cult classic with time. Wait for the sun to go down, pop some popcorn, turn your brain off, get lifted (if that’s your thing), and settle in for a good ass time.

— Chad

Killer cast. Killer soundtrack. Comfort food. Perfect movie

Masterpiece

Hoch

IT’S PODCAST DAY!

This week on The Broken VCR, we shoot the shit about our second Rick Alverson film, the 2015 anti-road trip dark comedy, ENTERTAINMENT.

us as we nerd out over the influence of 70s cinema, the enigmatic Gregg Turkington, Alverson's style, and more. We also pick our top seven movies starring stand-up comics in this week’s Silver Screen 7!

Turn on, tune in, and drop out with the fellas wherever you get your podcasts. And as always, let us know we’re wrong in the comments.

Five bags of popcorn.

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE
BCVR #178 | ENTERTAINMENT (2015)

Look, I despise remakes as much as the next guy, and George A. Romero is a godfather of the genre whose name is spoken with hushed tones here at The Broken VCR… But… This 1990 colorized remake helmed by Special FX wizard Tom Savini is a diamond in the rough when digging through the scrap heap of ruff remakes. 

I caught this one night, well after midnight, on cable TV in the days when your parents were just starting to trust you alone without a babysitter while they were out on the town. I must’ve been 11 or 12 years old. It was kindling to a growing fire of imagination in my mind.

Bill Mosely repeating the iconic, “They’re coming to get you, Barbara” isn’t blasphemous. Bill honors it, and has proven his devotion to the genre many times over to earn the right in hindsight.

I really really really love this remake.

— Chad

Simple folks looking for a quick pay day in a dance party duped into an endurance contest by shadowy figures profiting off the pain and anguish of the very folks who are earning their profits they never intend to share. 

They can tap out anytime they’d like, but the thought of greener pastures keeps them locked in until the reality of death creeps up. 

Is the film the ultimate metaphor for life or the darkest tale of redemption? Sidney Pollack lets you decide for yourself.

Jane Fonda is a babe.

Classic  

Hoch

CHECK THE EPISODE IN OUR BACK CATALOG
BCVR #22

IT’S PODCAST DAY!

This week on The Broken VCR, we shoot the shit about Rick Alverson’s 2012 mumble-core murdering non-drama, THE COMEDY, with special guest E. DEINES of American indie record label Jagjaguwar!

us as we dig into Deines’s association with the film, the twenty page shooting script, and if The Comedy is just one big inside joke from Tim Heidecker. We also pick our top seven movies of 2012 in this week’s Silver Screen 7!

Tune in and hang with the fellas wherever you get your podcasts. And as always, let us know we’re wrong in the comments. 

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE
BCVR #177 | THE COMEDY (2012)

What in the cornball fuck was that

IT’S A BONUS EPISODE!

Today on The Broken VCR, we commit the ultimate sin of not loving Ryan Coogler’s 2025 hit SINNERS!

Also, we nerd out over The Continuing Adventures of Cliff Booth! 

Tune in and hang with the fellas wherever you get your podcasts. And as always, let us know we’re wrong in the comments. 

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE 
BCVR #176 | SINNERS (2025)

To properly state the feeling this film gives me, I’ll pull an image directly from the film… scissors delicately moving over a woman’s pregnant belly. Visceral, horrifying, and tense as all hell. This isn’t like any home invasion film you’ve ever seen. When the woman’s face emerges from the shadows behind our heroine… True terror. Put your big boy pants on for this hell ride. It’s not a whimsical, fun time, but goddamn is it effectively  traumatizing.

— Chad

IT’S PODCAST DAY!

This week on The Broken VCR, we shoot the shit about E. Max Frye's 1993 race-based buddy comedy, AMOS & ANDREW! 

us as we talk race in comedy, early Sam Jackson, and ponder if Nicolas Cage is the greatest actor of all-time. We also pick our top 7 Dabney Coleman movies in this week’s Silver Screen 7! 

Tune in and hang with the fellas wherever you get your podcasts. And as always, let Hoch know he’s wrong in the comments. 

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE
BCVR #175 | AMOS & ANDREW (1993)

The new Mission Impossible trailer has me longing for the bright eyed bushy tailed Tom Cruise of the mid 80s, long before he’d relegate himself to an aging action star clinging to relevance.

Risky Business is listed as a comedy/crime film on IMDB. It’s much more than that. It’s not just a coming of age for a boy but of the American collective. A generation seeking the excessive pleasures of sex drugs and rock n roll in any dark corner they could find it. Packaged nicely in a palatable package that made it appealing to all alive in that time and place. 

And now that same generation has fried their brain cells and diminished their sexual drive to where the only kicks to be found is the adrenaline from extreme free falls. It’s a sad reality for those of us that get our kicks on the ground. 

When the cradle to grave biography of Tom Cruise is finally written, the cover should be an American flag. The front inside flap, a still shot of Cruise dancing in his underwear. The back flap his brain splattered on the rock that will eventually kill him when his chute doesn’t open.

Classic

Hoch

CHECK OUT THE EPISODE IN OUR BACK CATALOG:
BCVR #139

Tornado season is upon us. The ticker at the bottom of my tv screen tells me I should seek shelter. I’m heading to the basement to project this classic on my brick wall as the storm destroys my whole county. If I have to die this way then take me out with Bill Paxton chasing these apocalyptic storms. One of the great if not the last great original summer blockbusters. 

Revisit this classic with us in our back catalogue.

High Classic

Hoch

CHECK OUT THE ARCHIVED EPISODE BELOW
BVCR #124

Spring has sprung so I’ll revisit my warm weather favorites.

Sideways has grown into a top 10 film of all time for me. I am Paul Giamatti’s Miles. There isn’t a single character in the history of cinema that sums me up better. A bitter, cynical lovable loser who has the tools to lift himself up but chooses to wallow in a state of self pity and light despair who thinks escaping to his happy place will set the world right. 

A perfect film set in the beautiful backdrop of wine country in central Cali. One of my many happy places. Revisit this film with a bottle of Pinot Noir, but don’t you dare touch any fucking Merlot.

Masterpiece 

Hoch

CHECK OUT THE ARCHIVED EPISODE BELOW!
BVCR #60

The Broken VCR in congratulating co-host Hoch for making his final student loan payment today!

He was granted no student loan forgiveness or government subsidy, but still worked his ass off to escape the jaws of financial ruin and pay back $101,000 from one of the many predatory film schools fleecing the dreamers who just wanted to grow up to make movies and were too young to know film school is a grift. 

He will get no thank you from Sallie Mae, but he can finally begin to save so he doesn’t retire destitute. 

Let’s all give Hoch a big congrats! The only sucker in America to ever pay back his student loan!

IT’S PODCAST DAY!

This week on The Broken VCR, we shoot the shit about Paul Flaherty's 1994 twisted oddball comedy, CLIFFORD! 

us as we nerd out over Martin Short's Oscar-worthy performance, Nic Cage’s love for all things “Clifford”, and get to the bottom of the psychotic undertones lurking beneath this PG rating. Does this film have one of the funniest comedy scenes in movie history? Quite possibly. 

And in honor of the late, great master of the screen, we pick our Top 7 Val Kilmer movies in this week's Silver Screen 7!

Tune in and hang with the fellas wherever you get your podcasts. And as always, let Hoch know he’s wrong in the comments. 

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE
BVCR #174 | Clifford (1994)

I never hear a soul talk about this movie, but I love it. Had the VHS tape as a kid and I burned this motherfucker up with rewatches. Danny DeVito moves his two sons to California after his wife’s death and becomes a TV horror movie host. Innocence is lost and whatnot. Kids come of age. Gary Sinise plays a neo-Nazi neighbor. Reese Witherspoon plays the pretty girl next door. Julia Louis-Dreyfus shows up. It’s a sleeper. You should watch DeVito in this forgotten leading role. 

— Chad

Let the hunger games begin…

This film should be better than it is. The punchy Elmore Leonard dialogue that inspired Tarantino’s work is present and the film feels like it exists in the same universe as Jackie Brown but it just falls flat to me. Too many good actors to not have one memorable performance. Though I did enjoy Hackman as it’s a bit out of the box for him.

Ok time

Hoch

One of my earliest theatre memories. A hell of a film to lay on a five year old. It still holds up and serves as a great comfort. A dark comedy throw back to Hitchcock. Billy Crystal is underrated. 

High gem

Hoch

Young knucklehead gets an alien laser blaster and starts wrecking shit. Sick 70s stop-animation and laser FX make this the best one-and-a-half star movie to roll a doob to and chuckle at the piss poor acting. Sometimes the filet mignon of “technically sound” cinema pales in comparison to B-Movie junk food. Dip your Doritos in this shit.

— Chad

IT’S PODCAST DAY!

This week on The Broken VCR, we shoot the shit about Thom Eberhardt's 1992 Caribbean comedy adventure, CAPTAIN RON. 

us as we vibe over the great Kurt Russell, oddly placed nudity, and revisit the drunken night when Kurt & Martin Short switched roles. We also pick our top seven “ocean films” in this week's Silver Screen 7!

Tune in and hang with the fellas wherever you get your podcasts. And as always, let Hoch know he’s wrong in the comments. 

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE
BVCR #173 | Captain Ron (1992)

All the 90s action sheen one could ask for coupled along with the Bruckheimer music cues that pound into your soul. 

I think this was a “you had to be there film” and I wasn’t there. This was my first viewing as I continue along in my Hackman voyage.

It’s no Das Boot.

Ok time

Hoch

The saddest movie I’ve ever seen. An hour and half reminder of my own mortality. 

Absolute dogshit

Hoch

RIP TED KOTCHEFF

With 172 episodes under our belt covering 172 different films, the filmmaker we’ve covered most has been Ted Kotcheff. Sure, it wasn’t planned, it was simply a happy accident, but it speaks to Kotcheff’s eclectic body of work, and his ability to adapt to genre, and deliver straight-up compelling cinematic stories. Godspeed, Ted Kotcheff!

Mourn Mr. Kotcheff with us by revisiting an early entry in his filmography, WAKE IN FRIGHT. One of the hottest, sweatiest, beer-soaked films set during the Christmas Season.

Listen to us discuss WAKE IN FRIGHT:
BVCR #95

RIP TED KOTCHEFF

With 172 episodes under our belt covering 172 different films, the filmmaker we’ve covered most has been Ted Kotcheff. Sure, it wasn’t planned, it was simply a happy accident, but it speaks to Kotcheff’s eclectic body of work, and his ability to adapt to genre, and deliver straight-up compelling cinematic stories. Godspeed, Ted Kotcheff!

A peek into the football locker room before that was an en vogue Hollywood trope. Machismo, crude humor, and Nick Nolte building a reputation not yet earned. Kotcheff checks off his “sports film” here.

Listen to us discuss NORTH DALLAS FORTY:
BVCR #153

RIP TED KOTCHEFF

With 172 episodes under our belt covering 172 different films, the filmmaker we’ve covered most has been Ted Kotcheff. Sure, it wasn’t planned, it was simply a happy accident, but it speaks to Kotcheff’s eclectic body of work, and his ability to adapt to genre, and deliver straight-up compelling cinematic stories. Godspeed, Ted Kotcheff!

This isn’t just a “Rambo movie”. This is a bonafide masterpiece of 1980s suspense filmmaking. Absolutely gripping from start to finish. Kotcheff’s 2nd entry in 1982.

Listen to us discuss FIRST BLOOD:
BVCR #138

RIP TED KOTCHEFF

With 172 episodes under our belt covering 172 different films, the filmmaker we’ve covered most has been Ted Kotcheff. Sure, it wasn’t planned, it was simply a happy accident, but it speaks to Kotcheff’s eclectic body of work, and his ability to adapt to genre, and deliver straight-up compelling cinematic stories. Godspeed, Ted Kotcheff!

James Wood & Brian Dennehy bring the fire in this film about breaking a son out of a cult led by Peter Fonda. This was one of two films Kotcheff released in 1982.

Listen to us discuss SPLIT-IMAGE:
BVCR #113

Despite a downtrodden lack of “entertainment” in the title character’s chronic-pain demeanor, by virtue of the plot being told, this film has absolute jaw-dropping instances of authenticity to the lower-income culture of the American South. There’s truly cinematic set pieces, laugh-out-loud moments, and things that make you blurt out, “That’s badass.” The musical bit on the porch intercut with the fist-fight between Joe and Snake is god-tier Southern Gothic stuff. Any film that claims Billy Bob, Walton Goggins, and Harry Dean Stanton amongst its cast is worth your time. Ray McKinnon did a bang up job behind the pen and camera. Pop a top and do it.

— Chad

Back on the Gene Hackman (RIP) train, picking up where I left off. One of the last of the 90s westerns, a genre that was sort of rebirthed in the decade. Leo’s still a kid. Russell hadn’t broke through yet and we’d already seen Sharon Stone flash her bush a few years earlier. 

Had this one on VHS as a kid. Holds up.

Gem

Hoch

It’s a shame a film like this disappeared into the abyss that is digital streaming back in 2017. It’s a mean and gritty prison flick pumping with testosterone that rarely happens in films post-1979. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau steps out of the shadow of “Jaime Lannister” and delivers as a believable three-piece square turned ruthless don. Jon Bernthal, Holt McCallany, and Benjamin Bratt add some fun color to the jailhouse ride, but Jeffrey Donovan really rocks it as the psychopathic white supremacist shot caller, “Bottles”. This flick needs more love. Pop it in.

— Chad

What little the movie has going for it — what’s in the box?! — is blown to hell the moment we find out it’s no more than an army of undead “groots”.