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SPECIAL NOTE: SEASON 15 OF THE GOOD, THE POD AND THE UGLY CELEBRATES THE USE OF THE PRACTICAL AND DIGITAL EFFECT KNOWN AS THE SQUIB. IRL GUN VIOLENCE IS INTOLERABLE AND RENOUNCED BUT... CINEMATIC VIOLENCE WILL BE CELEBRATED IN A WAY WHICH WILL DISTURB SOME LISTENERS.

TGTPTU returns to its regularly scheduled Squib Games (S15) with the earlier of its latest temporal pincer movement pairing, TO LIVE AND DIE IN LA (1985).

Directed by William Friedkin, this is another Big Willie movie but not a Wyler: the second William has the credited surname of Peterson and this is his first film. William Peterson was so new to film acting that he called his fellow Chicagoan thespian buddy John Malkovich to see what he should quote as his asking price to play the lead character of Richard Chance, a thrill-seeking Secret Service agent who’ll lose his partner only days from retirement (red-shirted partner’s, not Chance’s) and will get a new partner in John Pankow’s Agent John Vukovich to pervert in his (Chance’s) vengeful pursuit of a counterfeiter played by Willem Dafoe. (Next year Peterson would play another officer of the law in Manhunter as covered during TGTPTU’s Mann Aged Season {S5,E5}; as an EPISODE CORRECTION Pankow did not portray Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Miloš Forman’s film Amadeus but had done so at the Broadhurst Theatre, replacing Tim Curry.)

Because it’s a Friedkin flick, there’s an epic car chase meant to top The French Connection; because it’s shot from a Friedkin script (adapted from a novel by former Secret Service agent Gerald Petievich, who receives a cowriting credit), there was a lot of improvisation on set driven by the actors, with both the ending and opening scenes re/written during shooting. Mentioning actors, the film is stacked with supporting roles by Dean Stockwell, John Turturro (who’ll get more mention later in Season 15), and the Michael Mann-created film noir for television Crime Story’s very own Darlanne Fluegel (listen back to S5,E6 for insights on this TV series).

TGTPTU hosts become split on the merits of the film. Thomas describes the movie as The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) on neon cocaine, but—no spoilers—you’ll have to listen to the ep for whether he believes this is a good thing. Also, Jack lets out the three-legged dog and Ryan, while finding it impossible to resist singing the title, has issue with William Pederson. Ken convinces everyone to Wang Chung tonight.

THEME SONG BY: WEIRD A.I.
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Ken: Ken Koral
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TWO HUNDRED EPISODES AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS 200TH EPISODE

The Good, the Pod, and the Ugly boys take a break from their ongoing Squib Season to commemorate the pod’s 200th episode. With over 400 movies covered across 14.5 seasons, this also marks a great entry point for new listeners as hosts Ken, Thomas, and Ryan reveal the three films they consider as the most influential to their cineast lives.

Exclusive to this episode: Chapter breaks to conveniently skip or relisten to your favorite host’s/s’ divulgences.

Bo-Bo-Bonus: The three hosts (two of which are put on the spot) throw in three influential musical artists and writers.

Extra bonus material: Ken reveals previous host Jack’s top three.

Another fun episode to skip unless you’re a former prime minister of Britian enjoying her time in hell, the creepreditor (portmanteau of “creep + creator+ director”) of 20th Century Fox’s X-Men movie franchise, the listener from the end of time, or any of the pod’s legend and bits mentioned throughout this bicentennial ep. In that case, mbe listen.

Cut from this celebratory episode are the hosts’ selection of their three horniest movies (i)“Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!” (ii)“Beyond the Valley of the Dolls,” & (iii)“Hillbilly Elegy”; (i)“Cats”; (ii)“The Dark Crystal,” ¶ “Chicken Little”; and (i)“Incredible Shrinking Woman,” (ii)“9 to 5” & (iii)“The Late Show,” attribution not needed.

THEME SONG BY: WEIRD A.I.
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Ryan: Ryan Tobias

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This week’s moving picture was selected by guest host (and Season 15’s Squib Games curator/raison d'être) Jack, canonically a Ted Kaczynski stan, as confirmed by his pick CLEARCUT (1991).

And so the pod returns to Canada (a.k.a. America’s sombrero) and Canadian lore with another émigré director’s first North America feature-length film (see Hard Targét ep from two weeks ago for our prior), this time with a story originally told in the Canadian novelist M. T. Kelly’s A Dream Like Mine about Canadian First Nations people fighting to maintain the sanctity of their land against industry and classified in the movie’s hard media BluRay release as “folk horror” by Sevrin in its 15-disc All the Haunts Be Ours collection. Cold War Polish-famous director Ryszard Bugajski was chosen for his political provocateur Polish pictures (after a stint directing Canadian TV) and modifies the 1987 novel, moving it from mercury poisoning and mining to the timber industry after the recent Oka standoff (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oka_Crisis) and hence finding a title, which at least one host this ep finds oxymoronic. Bugajski also credits himself with cutting a lot of the dialogue from the screenplay to let the film visually provide exposition.

The film stars Graham Greene--which is why host Ryan’s grandfather saw the limited release film that by the 2000’s had only two extant prints (one copy was about to be disposed and why the transfer on the BluRay and streaming has 35mm film’s cue marks, a.k.a. cigarette burns)--as a trickster spirit or actual human person (depending on whether lead actor or director was asked) who challenges the film’s White protagonist and lawyer played by Ron Lea who’s failed to protect the land against mill owner Bud Rickets played by Battlestar Galactica’s (the newer, good one) own Michael Hogan (not to be confused with Jack Nance who concurrently white haired and sporting a moustache by a river was at this time portraying Pete in Twin Peaks, you know, “Wrapped in plastic.” and “There was a fish in the perculator.”). Greene’s Arthur (no last name like Cher or Prince) as either/both/neither water spirit or direct-action First Nations radical coerces the lawyer to kidnap the mill owner, which leads to a few deaths and some skin peeled off Rickets’ leg. The film is lensed by François Protat, who’d shot Weekend and Bernie’s two years prior for First Blood director (and Canadian for sneeze sound effect) Ted Kotcheff. The entire folk horror or eco terror or supernatural revenge or suspense film resolves with an expected but undelivered whip pan to Rod Serling smoking a cigarette whilst giving an enigmatic, summative moral of events witnessed.

This ep goes big on host Tall Ken trivia as he finds his notepad; reveals his chainsaw approach to episode editing; sees in Greene’s jeans and sneakers attire the spirit of Jerry Seinfeld (contemporaneous character, rather than actor or comedian or present-day Netflix movie director); and explains how he identifies people and sizes them up. Additionally, Ryan, Thomas, and Jack have sane things to say.

THEME SONG BY: WEIRD A.I.
Email: thegoodthepodandtheugly@gmail.com
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/TGTPTU
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Letterboxd (follow us!):

Podcast: goodpodugly
Ken: Ken Koral
Ryan: Ryan Tobias