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School of Schlock

A podcast for B-movie discussion. A new film is discussed on the 1st and 15th of every month.
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School of Schlock
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Now displaying: Category: sci-fi
Feb 15, 2024

It's time for a 1970s sci-fi feature that tackles racism, bodily autonomy, and the best way to crash 10+ police cars. A doctor tries to save his own life by having his head attached to another man's body. What could go wrong? Join Tom and Ryan as they talk about Get Out, Blues Brothers, and why needlepoint is for everyone. It's our review of The Thing with Two Heads!

 

Time stamps:

0:05:55 - Background

0:30:35 - Summary

0:43:25 - Notable Scenes

0:50:45 - The Good

0:54:25 - The Bad

1:02:25 - The Ugly

Feb 1, 2024

We're reviewing a kids' movie that is making us rethink our entire childhoods! Evil dinosaurs, giant ships, siblings that become one person, what isn't there to love? Join Tom and Ryan as they talk children's media, Mass Effect, dinosaur species, and suitmation. It's our review of Attack of the Super Monsters!

 

Time stamps:

0:04:00 - Background

0:19:35 - Summary

0:30:05 - Notable Scenes

0:32:40 - The Good

0:35:30 - The Bad

0:45:00 - The Ugly

Dec 1, 2023

There's an absolute Earthsaster happening as the entire world gets sucked through a wormhole! Can this problem be solved, or are we headed for an Earthpocalypse? Join Tom and Ryan as they talk about modern film effects, comparisons to Lost and Terminator 2, and bloviating IMDB biographies. It's our review of Earthtastrophe!

 

Time stamps:

0:05:45 - Background

0:23:15 - Summary

0:38:50 - Notable Scenes

0:47:30 - The Good

0:53:20 - The Bad

1:11:15 - The Ugly

Nov 19, 2023

There's an war going on right under our feet, and nobody but the top brass know about it! Why did we waste all our time going to space when we should have gone...beneath the Earth? Join Tom and Ryan as they talk about racist depictions, running from a nuclear blast, and small-scale large-scale warfare. It's our review of Battle Beneath the Earth!

 

Time stamps:

0:04:25 - Background

0:16:50 - Summary

0:29:35 - Notable Scenes

0:38:20 - The Good

0:44:50 - The Bad

1:01:40 - The Ugly

Sep 1, 2023

A wicked woman is visiting from another planet, and she has destruction on her mind. But is this film about a Devil Girl actually a kitschy sci-fi romp, or is it something else entirely? Join Tom and Ryan as they talk one-room plays, the Twilight Zone, and love at first sight. It's our review of Devil Girl from Mars!

 

Time stamps:

0:05:40 - Background

0:25:30 - Summary

0:39:00 - Notable Scenes

0:45:40 - The Good

0:52:30 - The Bad

1:02:10 - The Ugly

Jan 15, 2023

Foreign sci-fi films are our bread and butter, so how could we resist watching a late 60s Italian film about brave atronauts meeting troubled aliens? Join Tom and Ryan as they discuss Mombasa, Level 4 specimens, and the most successful sci-fi book series ever made. It's our review of Mission Stardust!

 

Time stamps:

0:04:15 - Background

0:16:25 - Back-of-the-Box Summary

0:29:30 - Notable Scenes

0:34:15 - The Good

0:39:00 - The Bad

0:51:55 - The Ugly

May 1, 2022

We've already seen plenty of Star Wars knock-offs, but this one takes the cake! Specifically the rancid, molding, decades-old fruit cake. Join Tom and Ryan as they review another awful Italian sci-fi flick by the same director who brought us War of the Robots. We also discuss carnival music, robot sex, and hookah! It's our review of Star Odyssey! (CW: References to suicide and infertility.)

 

Time stamps:

0:03:45 - Background

0:13:40 - Back-of-the-Box Summary

0:29:25 - Notable Scenes

0:36:15 - The Good

0:39:05 - The Bad

0:54:45 - The Ugly

Jan 15, 2022

Mad Max may have shown us that in the post-apocalypse we drive gas-guzzling modified death machines everywhere...but what if cars aren't available? How will we navigate the violence-torn streets? This movie has the answer: rollerblades! Join Tom and Ryan as they talk about hate groups, non-threatening modes of transport, and bad slow-mo. It's our review of Prayer of the Rollerboys!

 

Time stamps:

0:03:45 - Background

0:29:00 - Back-of-the-Box Summary

0:43:50 - Notable Scenes

0:51:00 - The Good

1:01:40 - The Bad

1:12:55 - The Ugly

Sep 1, 2021

Everyone remembers Twilight, the romance novels featuring vampires and werewolves and babies and other imaginary creatures. Well now, from the writer a Twilight, we have a teen romance sci-fi adventure that's all about bodies and minds! Join Tom and Ryan as they talk about a film with a stacked cast and crew, as well as important topics like the geometry of co-synchronous points, giant spider invasions, and the importance of library science and the tagging and archiving of data. Thrilling! It's our review of The Host (2013)!

 

Time stamps:

0:04:55 - Background

0:20:20 - Back-of-the-Box Summary

0:35:30 - Notable Scenes

0:52:00 - The Good

0:57:10 - The Bad

1:22:55 - The Ugly

Jul 15, 2021

What are you gonna do when you've got seven years in the slammer for a murder you didn't commit? Who will be there to help spring you from the joint? And what if that joint just so happens to be on a spaceship? These questions can only be answered by an exploitative 80s action film! Join Tom and Ryan as they mull these quandaries, as well as discussing underground metal bands, goofs on game shows, and Warhammer 40K! It's our intergalactic planetary discussion of Star Slammer!

 

Time stamps:

0:04:00 - Background

0:24:00 - Back-of-the-Box Summary

0:37:05 - Notable Scenes

0:46:15 - The Good

0:52:10 - The Bad

1:12:55 - The Ugly

Jun 15, 2021

Everyone loves a good meeting! And whether it's Abbott and Costello Meet the Wolfman or the The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones, cinematic meetings also carry all the oomph and pizzazz of a work-related get-together. Join Tom and Ryan as they review and discuss one such meeting, as well as talking about putting capital over workers, bad line reads, and a hero who cries when someone disrespects the flag. All that and more can be found in our review of Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster!

 

Time stamps:

0:03:55 - Background

0:17:50 - Back-of-the-Box Summary

0:27:35 - Notable Scenes

0:39:00 - The Good

0:42:50 - The Bad

0:59:50 - The Ugly

Jun 1, 2021

Yub nub! Star Wars may conjur up images of epic battles, flying starships, and incredible Force powers, but it also brings to mind a group of cute, cuddly creatures: the Ewoks! Join Tom, Ryan, and special guest (and Star Wars expert) Greg to discuss one of the two Ewok-centered Star Wars movies. We also touch on related topics, like the Viet Cong, Lost, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer! So put down your skin gliders and listen in to our review of Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure!

 

Time stamps:

0:04:20 - Background

0:40:25 - Back-of-the-Box Summary

0:45:10 - Notable Scenes

1:02:15 - The Good

1:12:35 - The Bad

1:29:50 - The Ugly

Feb 15, 2021

UFOs and aliens! Time travel and a nuclear apocalypse! Sound exciting? Well don't get your hopes too high, as we struggle to comprehend the plot of this particular 60s Italian film. Join Tom and Ryan as they discuss such important topics as Italian dialects, Pep Boys, women's magazines, and pinball machines! Tune in for our review of Star Pilot!

 

Time stamps:

0:04:05 - Background

0:14:45 - Back-of-the-Box Summary

0:23:10 - Notable Scenes

0:31:50 - The Good

0:37:20 - The Bad

0:48:10 - The Ugly

Nov 1, 2020

Sci-fi films aren't always focused on alien invasions or robotic uprisings. Sometimes the best sci-fi conflicts can be found in unlikely places: for example, Senate subcommittees! Join Tom and Ryan as they watch a film that dares to ask about the practicality of funding an earth-orbiting space station. Along the way, they'll talk about shaky cameras, scientific jargon, and Aaron Sorkin. So tune in for our review of Destination Space!

 

Time stamps:

0:03:00 - Background

0:20:10 - Back-of-the-Box Summary

0:26:00 - Notable Scenes

0:41:30 - The Good

0:49:10 - The Bad

1:00:30 - The Ugly

Aug 16, 2020

ONE HUNDRED EPISODES! We had to celebrate somehow, and so we've brought in guests from episodes past to discuss one of the most infamous bad movies of the past twenty years, the Scientology-and-Travolta vehicle Battlefield Earth! We also talk about related things like wrestling names, tarps, Goodbye Earl, and trying to figure out if one of our guests is secretly a Scientologist. Happy anniversary to us!

 

Time stamps:

0:05:35 - Background

0:32:38 - Back-of-the-Box Summary

0:47:55 - Guest Introductions

0:52:05 - Notable Scenes

1:15:35 - The Good

1:25:00 - The Bad

1:50:40 - The Ugly

Aug 2, 2020

It's time once again to delve into an infamous, bottom-of-the-barrel, all time worst B movie. This time a family tries to survive the post-apocalypse while being hunted by a robot gorilla. Join Tom and Ryan as they talk Hollywood blacklists, famous composers, and a dinosaur-based Ragnarok. Fire up your calcinator ray and listen in to our review of Robot Monster!

 

Time stamps:

0:04:22 - Background

0:25:40 - Back-of-the-Box Summary

0:30:45 - Notable Scenes

0:42:55 - The Good

0:49:25 - The Bad

1:01:15 - The Ugly

Jul 15, 2020

Space may be the final frontier, but it's also the last place you want to be stuck fighting off angry fire aliens and gravity plates. Join Tom and Ryan as they discuss this early 60's sci-fi drudgery, and also talk about the value of work, more poor use of women characters, and of course the properties of oxygen. It's our review of The Phantom Planet!

 

Time stamps:

0:05:20 - Background

0:15:02 - Back-of-the-Box Summary

0:19:30 - Notable Scenes

0:28:10 - The Good

0:34:05 - The Bad

0:53:12 - The Ugly

Jun 15, 2020

Action movies of the late 80s and early 90s were great vehicles for bodybuilders and professional wrestlers. And boy are there a LOT of films from this time that made use of meatheads! Join Tom and Ryan as they take in a film about intergalactic cops duking it out over the fate of a kid. They also discuss governing Minnesota, wanting POWERRRR, and related film The 13th Warrior. It's our review of Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe!

 

Time Stamps:

0:03:25 - Background

0:20:32 - Back-of-the-box Summary

0:26:53 - Notable Scenes

0:38:55 - The Good

0:43:02 - The Bad

0:59:45 - The Ugly

May 1, 2020

Big-budget Korean cinema has never been bigger or budgetier! A cast of D-list Americans are up against a mighty monster that seeks to destroy humanity at the behest of its alien masters! Join Tom and Ryan as they discuss this 90s kaiju flick and also talk about Independence Day, Godzilla 1998, early CGI, and endless horrible quips! So tune in, because we'd like you to meet our little friend, Reptile 2001 (AKA 2001 Yonggary)!

 

Time Stamps:

0:04:30 - Background

0:17:50 - Back-of-the-box Summary

0:23:05 - Notable Scenes

0:37:00 - The Good

0:45:15 - The Bad

1:03:45 - The Ugly

Nov 1, 2019

A giant man is stomping around the desert, and his only weakness...is bread. Join Tom, Ryan, and special guest Aran for an enormously entertaining episode, with high-level discussion of Bert I. Gordon films, and a gargantuan amount of wordplay and puns. We also chat about 60-foot Force ghosts, methamphetamine, grade-school height differences, and raccoons and disguise! It's our discussion of War of the Colossal Beast!

Episode Time Stamps:

0:06:45 - Back-of-the-box Summary

0:11:50 - Background

0:24:17 - Notable Scenes

0:37:32 - The Good

0:51:40 - The Bad

1:14:27 - The Ugly

Sep 15, 2019

Was every science fiction space film after 1977 a derivative of Star Wars? Clearly not, because this film is derivative of both Star Wars and Star Trek! Join Tom and Ryan as they slog through this sci-fi drudgery and discuss such important topics as hack directors, Young Frankenstein references, and plot holes the size of black holes! Also they sing part of the Isley Brothers' classic song "Shout." It's our review of War of the Robots!

 

Time stamps:

0:02:55 - Background

0:18:25 - Film Summary

0:41:07 - The Good

0:45:25 - The Bad

0:59:20 - The Ugly

1:13:22 - Improvements

Aug 15, 2019

More 1950's aliens are here to try their hand (claw?) at conquering the world. This time we watch as a giant pickle with a grumpy face turns off all energy and sends tortilla bats to take over people's minds! Along the way we talk about the human embodiment of The Bad, strong character choices for women, and overthrowing the government by starting in suburban California. Turn on your favorite Venutian radio and listen to our review of It Conquered the World!

 

Time stamps:

0:03:45 - Background

0:24:20 - Film Summary

0:44:40 - The Good

0:53:20 - The Bad

1:09:20 - The Ugly

1:19:35 - Improvements

Jul 1, 2019

A group of scientists have been gathered in a secret laboratory to research atomic energy...but to what end? Fans of Mystery Science Theater may recall the sci-fi film used for MST3K: The Movie, and Tom and Ryan prove that they sure know their MST quotes! Join us as we discuss good 50's special effects vs. bad 50's special effects, ear-piercing sounds, and the worst kinds of philosophical responses you can give. It's our review of This Island Earth!

 

Time stamps:

0:05:05 - Background

0:21:24 - Film Summary

0:50:33 - The Good

0:59:56 - The Bad

1:09:58 - The Ugly

1:20:02 - Improvements

Jun 1, 2019

Everyone and loves Godzilla, but what about his hard-shelled cousin, Gamera? This giant turtle is the savior of Japan and a friend to all children! Tom and Ryan watch as he fights a giant knife-headed monster; along the way there is discussion about kaiju gymnastics, the Church of Gamera, and exactly how much monster fighting should be a move about monsters fighting. The Gamera Theme will live on in your heart when you listen to our review of Gamera vs. Guiron!

 

Time stamps:

0:03:22 - Background

0:20:52 - Film Summary

0:44:43 - The Good

0:49:10 - The Bad

0:54:48 - The Ugly

1:06:00 - Improvements

May 3, 2019

What would happen if you remade the film Independence Day, but left out all of the action and made the aliens look like goofy bug-eyed humans? Obviously you would get this movie, as Tom and Ryan quickly discover! Join them as they talk about oversized wildlife, the influence of Biography, and the sin of omission. Prepare yourself to be abducted by the Killers from Space!

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