Agitator 84/85
I said I’d keep up with posting these here, huh? Got some listens last time that translated into a few new patrons (subscribe for more Agitator here), so it seems worth it. People are saying Agitator Z is even better than the free show, but I dunno, we just show up each week and do the thing. Feel free to throw down $5 and find out if the critics are correct. My current fiction experiment, the weekly serialized Samurai Jesus, is also being written over there, along with JDO’s Ronin Trash, so if you’re here ‘cause of Broken River shit and not the podcast, there’s still plenty to get hyped for on the Patreon.
I’ve got announcements to drop soon, regarding new audiobook releases and other Broken River news, so stay tuned. Meanwhile:
84 - Versus/Stranglehold
On this episode, we talk DIY filmmaking in the woods, with a backing soundtrack of a YouTube playthrough of Stranglehold, the video game sequel to Hard Boiled.
Topics covered:
Ain’t It Cool News hype, the Blade 2 wave, Matrix homage, Midnight Meat Train, philosophy puts me to sleep, wolves turning into anuses, 666 portals, punched-through faces, who’s the bad guy in this movie?, censoring Ichi the Killer, the importance of good sound in movies, reading the Versus wiki, Japanese actors, not liking movies when you’re young, John Woo’s Stranglehold, how babies see the world, DMT apples, movies on a $10k budget, David’s storage unit gets destroyed by a tornado, Kelby’s Pepe LePew get rich quick scheme, male feminists, the importance of iconic posters, and a rant about people who don’t like our kids making noise.
85 - Nightmare Detective: Can Auteurs Make Films with Mass Appeal?
This week, we’re pitting two Tsukamoto films against each other: Nightmare Detective and Nightmare Detective 2. What was the GOAT going for here, and did he pull it off? Which attempt was better and why? Can auteurs succeed in the mainstream, or do pop sensibilities not compute in the mind of the experimental artist?
On the free half of the episode:
Apology tours, David Lynch presents Race Debates at Jiffy Lube, our new court show idea, how to properly raise rich kids, the meritocracy factor of cancellation, Ant Power supplements, Rare Candy, what goes wrong when an auteur attempts a mainstream project, adopting pop sensibilities, did Tsukamoto go color blind?, how to watch the best cut of Nightmare Detective, the beginning of late stage Tsukamoto, our rankings of Tsukamoto's films, why this is the no-guest season of the show, being ride or die, doing the show covered in vomit, major bag alert, and weathering the storm.