Mary Versus the Movies

19/12/2025

A young Brooklyn artist juggles her multiple relationships in this romantic comedy, Spike Lee’s first feature film, giving s*x the Rashomon treatment. A groundbreaking independent film, painting Brooklyn as a city of sophisticated black artists and professionals navigating love, s*x, and romance, presented through a young director’s excitement to show his love of the language of cinema.

CW: rape/s*xual assault is discussed

Starring Tracy Camilla Johns, Tommy Redmond Hicks, John Canada Terrell, Spike Lee, Raye Dowell. Written and directed by Spike Lee

Episode 214 - She’s Gotta Have It (1986)
https://sites.libsyn.com/398906/episode-214-shes-gotta-have-it-1986

12/12/2025

A woman framed for murder, a yuppie lawyer with a socialite fiance, and a mountain lion loose in Manhattan cause havoc in a screwball comedy that maybe needed a couple of rewrites, but ultimately is some pretty mindless fun.

Starring Madonn and Griffin Dunne. Written by Andrew Smith and Ken Finkleman. Directed by James Foley.

Episode 213 - Who’s That Girl
https://sites.libsyn.com/398906/episode-213-whos-that-girl-1987

05/12/2025

No episode this week, but I’m editing our next episode on Who’s That Girl, so no worries.

03/12/2025

If you see reposted versions of The Outsiders and The Last Waltz pop up in your feed, that’s because they were blocked on YouTube, so I re-edited them without any music. You can otherwise ignore these versions.

26/11/2025

Let’s celebrate Thanksgiving 1970s-style, by watching Martin Scorsese’s concert documentary of the last performance by The Band (or at least the Band with Robbie Robertson still part of it). It’s not just a concert, of course—it’s a meditation on the end of the 1960s counterculture, bookending Scorsese’s earlier work in Woodstock.

We also have an interview with Mary’s mother about cinematography, editing, and keeping up with music when you age out of youth culture.

Starring Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, Robbie Robertson, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, The Staples, Dr. John, Muddy Waters, Paul Butterfield, Ronnie Hawkins, Ringo Starr, Ron Wood. Directed by Martin Scorsese.

Episode 212 - The Last Waltz

Let's celebrate Thanksgiving 1970s-style, by watching Martin Scorsese's concert documentary of the last performance by The Band (or at least the Band with Robbie Robertson still part of it). It's not just a concert, of course--it's a meditation on the end of the 1960s counterculture, bookending Scor...

21/11/2025

It’s 1960s Tulsa, Oklahoma, it’s Greasers versus Soches, it’s poor versus rich, it’s murder and poetry, and it’s a ton of future stars.

We welcome back my sister Anne Jones to talk about her favorite movie.

Starring C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Diane Lane, Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise, and Leif Garrett. Written by Kathleen Rowell from S.E. Hinton’s novel. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

Episode 211 - The Outsiders
https://sites.libsyn.com/398906/episode-211-the-outsiders-1983

07/11/2025

Florida seniors discover the fountain of youth—an abandoned pool full of alien cocoons from Atlantis. Naturally, they drain the aliens of their life force in order to save money on Vi**ra. Hey, sometimes humans are the real monsters.

Starring Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, Hume Cronyn, Brian Dennehy, Jack Gilford, Steve Guttenberg, Maureen Stapleton, Jessica Tandy, Gwen Verdon, Herta Ware, and Tahnee Welch. Written by Tom Benedek. Directed by Ron Howard.

Episode 209 - Cocoon
https://sites.libsyn.com/398906/episode-209-cocoon-1985

04/11/2025

At first glance, the sequel to the zombie movie 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later is not an obvious pick for a podcast about Arthurian movies. However, after watching a few minutes, it’s fairly evident that the movie isn’t just a commentary on post-Brexit Britain, the weaponization of nostalgia, and the dangers of Little Englanders, it’s playing with all of British history, from the end of its place as part of the Roman Empire—an end that leads to the creation of the Arthurian legend—to the Viking incursions, to the Henry V, the rise and fall of the British Empire, World War II, and the decrepit ruling class that protected monsters like Jimmy Savile and Prince Andrew. Beyond that, it’s a meditation on death and compassion, one which asks us to, as the Latin phrase goes, memento mori.

Starring Alfie Williams, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, Ralph Fiennes, Edvin Rydig, Jack O’Connell, and Chi Lewis-Parry. Written by Alex Garland. Directed by Danny Boyle.

Episode 29 - 28 Years Later
https://sites.libsyn.com/398906/hollywood-avalon-ep-29-28-years-later-2025



This is a preview of the latest episode of our series Hollywood Avalon. To hear the entire episode, join the Mary Versus the Movies patreon for $3/month to hear this and the entire series Hollywood Avalon: https://www.patreon.com/maryvsmovies.

31/10/2025

Mary and Dennis are tied up with their dayjobs this week, so as a Halloween treat, friend and fellow podcaster Josh Seybert asked his Uncle Morty to step into the breach with a review of Cecelia Condit’s horror musical short Possibly In Michigan.

Starring Jill Sands, Bill Blume, and Karen Skladany. Written and directed by Cecelia Condit.

Check out Josh’s many projects at https://screamingatclouds.libsyn.com and his show with Andy Mascola, Empathy at the Apocalypse: https://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/8fee42d4-fe5b-4500-9db1-767a4e25b9f8

Episode 208 - Possibly in Michigan
https://sites.libsyn.com/398906/episode-208-possibly-in-michigan-1983-with-special-guest-uncle-morty

24/10/2025

A carnival blows into a sleepy town, promising to fulfill everyone’s desires—but wishes always come with a catch. Can young Will and Jack resist temptation? Can Will’s father save them before it’s too late? And will the town be free of Mr. Dark and his carnival before the storms come and wipe everything away? Ray Bradbury’s dark fantasy of Americana is a little let down in the directing, but Robards and Price’s performances ground the battle between good and evil.

Starring Jason Robards, Jonathan Price, Dianne Ladd, Pam Grier, Vidal Peterson, and Shawn Carson. Written by Ray Bradbury. Directed by Jack Clayton.

Episode 207 - Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)
https://sites.libsyn.com/398906/episode-207-something-wicked-this-way-comes-1983

17/10/2025

The only survivor of a su***de cult wakes up in a mental institution after fifteen years in a coma, only to be haunted by the ghost of her former leader, urging her to finish the deed. Is this real? Or is she being manipulated by the hospital?

Writer and relationships expert Alana Phelan is back with us to talk about a movie she was terrified by as a kid. Is it as scary as she remembers? Or is it all kind of silly nonsense?

Starring Jennifer Rubin, Bruce Abbott, E.G. Daily, Dean Cameron, Harris Yulin, and Richard Lynch. Written by Andrew Fleming and Steven E. de Souza. Directed by Andrew Fleming.

In the extended cut on Patreon, we also talk about mental health issues, Steve from Blues Clues, Who Framed Roger Rabbit (yes, again), and Ray Bradbury.

Website: http://www.maryvsmovies.com

Episode 206 - Bad Dreams
https://sites.libsyn.com/398906/episode-206-bad-dreams-1988