Xanadu Cinema Pleasure Dome

Hello, dear listeners! This week, Windy and Melissa talk about ROCK MUSICALS! Because, clearly, we don’t talk about musicals enough! If you’d like to drink along this week, well, you’ll need to BYOB, because we were drinking nothing but glorious water. We’d already killed a bottle of wine before the episode, and we were sleep … Continue reading The post Episode 36: Metal as F*ck appeared first on Xanadu Cinema Pleasure Dome.

This week, dear listeners, we get down and dirty with the Birdchick (aka world-renowned birdwatcher and author Sharon Stiteler) for an episode all about film director Douglas Sirk! Now, don’t worry if you don’t know anything about Mr. Sirk’s films, because we do our very best to drunk-describe the awesome, plump melodramas that make up Mr. … Continue reading The post Episode 35: Emotional Turgidity appeared first on Xanadu Cinema Pleasure Dome.

This week, dear listeners, we are joined by professional puppeteer Gordon Smuder for an episode all about PUPPET MOVIES! And, because we like a challenge, we have decided to discuss only non-Henson puppets, so no Muppets allowed! (Don’t worry, we still love Muppets — it’s just that everyone knows about Muppets already, right?) So bring … Continue reading The post Episode 34: Flatitudes, Y’all appeared first on Xanadu Cinema Pleasure Dome.

This week, we get our monster love on with an episode about Guillermo del Toro! To make this episode even better, we are joined in the Pleasure Dome by Matt Kessen, the very tall mad genius behind Reverend Matt’s Monster Science! If Reverend Matt’s resonant voice makes you want to join in our drinking rites, … Continue reading The post Episode 33: Pure Ejaculation of Awesome appeared first on Xanadu Cinema Pleasure Dome.

In this week’s extra-boozy episode, we talk about heist movies! Because, seriously, don’t we all want to be part of a heist at some part of our lives? It’s even a great word. HEIST. Roll that around in your mouth for a while. HEISSSSST. Anyway, if you would like to drink along, we found a … Continue reading The post Episode 32: Ooh, Ruffians! appeared first on Xanadu Cinema Pleasure Dome.

This week, we share our love of REMAKES! Okay, we only love good remakes, but there are plenty of good remakes to talk about, right? We certainly thought so! We also thought this week’s wine selection was excellent: Castello di Volpaia Indue, which was given to us by one of our fine Brians, Mr. Donohue. … Continue reading The post Episode 31: A Lovely Forge to Hammer Upon appeared first on Xanadu Cinema Pleasure Dome.

This week, we celebrate our 30th episode with our second Off Topic extravaganza! If you missed our first Off Topic episode, here’s what’s going on: while we edit our regular episodes, many things get clipped out. Usually, the stuff that winds up on the cutting room floor is just long silences or drunken ramblings, but … Continue reading The post Episode 30: I Expect Jazz Hands appeared first on Xanadu Cinema Pleasure Dome.

Good tidings, dear listeners! This week, we are joined by Jennifer Menken of the Bell Museum of Natural History for an episode all about movie critters! That’s right, we’re bringing SCIENCE to creature features! SCIENCE also brought us the tasty Protocolo 2011 Tempranillo that we drank while recording this episode. Please feel free to sip along! Now, … Continue reading The post Episode 29: Kilt Weasels and Other Charismatic Macrofauna appeared first on Xanadu Cinema Pleasure Dome.

This week, we have part two of our discussion with screenwriter, author, and film critic C. Robert Cargill, which we recorded a few days after our live podcast at CONvergence 2014. That’s right: if you were at our CONvergence panel, there is still more podcast to enjoy! Once again, we apologize for the sound quality of this … Continue reading The post Episode 28: Sexism, Screenwriting, and Scotch: Part 2 appeared first on Xanadu Cinema Pleasure Dome.

This week, we have a very special thing for our fine listeners: our first two-part episode! In Part 1, you will hear us with screenwriter, author, and film critic C. Robert Cargill, in a discussion we recorded in front of a real live studio audience at CONvergence 2014. In this episode, we tackle the issues … Continue reading The post Episode 27: Sexism, Screenwriting, and Scotch: Part 1 appeared first on Xanadu Cinema Pleasure Dome.

In this week’s episode, special guest Kelvin Hatle, comedian and erudite thought-leader, returns to the Pleasure Dome to profess his love of so-bad-it’s-good filmmaking. Did Vikings wear bath mats? Does furniture crave fried chicken? Where can you find Patrick Swayze doing a sexy belt dance on roller skates? Find out in this episode! If you would … Continue reading The post Episode 26: Zen Master Tai Chi Roadhousey-Fu appeared first on Xanadu Cinema Pleasure Dome.

This week, we have DC Comics artist Christopher “Danger” Jones, Esq. back one more time, and we FINALLY ask him about the media thing he cares about most: the Batman. This bat-episode is filled with bat-ness! If you need a bat-drink while you enjoy our bat-chat, we suggest an Angry Orchard Apple Ginger Hard Cider. … Continue reading The post Episode 25: Friends, Romans, Countrymen… WHERE’S THE JOKER? appeared first on Xanadu Cinema Pleasure Dome.

This week, we talk to Fes Works from the Webcast Beacon Network! Our topic du jour is musicals… or, rather, how Windy loves musicals and how Fes… has issues with musicals. Our choice of alcohol this week was Ravenswood Wines Chardonnay Vinter’s Blend 2012. And Fox Barrel Pacific Pear Cider. And New Glarus Moon Man beer. And … Continue reading The post Episode 24: Musical PTSD appeared first on Xanadu Cinema Pleasure Dome.

This week, we talk to Meghan Murphy of Kawaii Not and Murphypop fame! She’s a big horror movie fan, so the three of us finally get down to professing our love of monsters, terror, and gore. We unfortunately had some technical difficulties in recording this episode (translation: in a moment of desperation, we recorded it with … Continue reading The post Episode 23: Screaming Keeps the Face Supple appeared first on Xanadu Cinema Pleasure Dome.

This week, Windy and Melissa make use of listener Ryan Alexander’s suggestion and talk about BOOZE MOVIES! (“Because meta,” writes Ryan.) We, of course, did not do this episode sober. We found a bottle of wine with a sheep on it (Le Grand Noir Malbec) and enjoyed it very, very thoroughly. Show notes behind the cut! Movies mentioned: … Continue reading The post Episode 22: Dysfunctional Is Still Functional appeared first on Xanadu Cinema Pleasure Dome.

  This week, we are joined by erudite comedian Kelvin Hatle as we unravel our feelings about “probematic media”: movies and shows that are great except for that ooooooone super offensive part. We go a little long on this one and hit upon some not-very-nice subjects, so buckle up with a bottle of Penascal Temperanillo or The Gaucho Club … Continue reading The post Episode 21: A Bucket Full of Wrong appeared first on Xanadu Cinema Pleasure Dome.

This week, DC Comics artist Christopher “Danger” Jones, Esq. returns to discuss “family friendly” movies, and all the problems audiences seem to have with them. And if you thought talking about family fare would prevent us from drinking, well, pop open that bottle of Castello Banfi Centine Toscana and drink along with us! Show notes … Continue reading The post Episode 20: Morality Is Our Weakness appeared first on Xanadu Cinema Pleasure Dome.

This week, we are joined by comedian Molly Glover, of Geeks Without God and Fearless Comedy fame! Our subject du jour is one near and dear to our hearts: portrayals of mental illness in film. We go big with the dark comedy in this one! Our wine pairing for this week is Barone Fini Merlot, which … Continue reading The post Episode 19: Manic Pixie Dream Nuts appeared first on Xanadu Cinema Pleasure Dome.

This week, Superman enters our Pleasure Dome! (Wait, that didn’t sound quite right…) Tune in to listen to hear us wax nostalgic about Christopher Reeve and argue about everything else with Man of Opinions, Romeo Azar! Also, you can listen carefully for our fantastic studio audience, Courtney Azar! Our wine pairing for this week is Rosenblum … Continue reading The post Episode 18: It’s Like a Treadmill for My Liver appeared first on Xanadu Cinema Pleasure Dome.

This week, we talk about NAKED PEOPLE! Well, we talk about naked people in the movies. Because nudity is so interesting in an audio format. Our wine pairing for this week is Louis Jadot Beaujolais Villages, which was partly selected because it’s fun to pronounce “boujolais”. Tasty AND fun! Show notes behind the cut! Movies mentioned: Some Like … Continue reading The post Episode 17: Our Hand Gestures Are Extraordinary appeared first on Xanadu Cinema Pleasure Dome.