Mary Versus the Movies

Episode 247 - Legend (1985)

A princess, her forest-dwelling boyfriend, and an assortment of fairies battle the devil after she accidentally leads a unicorn into an ambush by goblins. It's an uneven

Hollywood Avalon, ep. 39 - The Once and Future King: Paganism and Arthurian Cinema (full episode)

We're doing something a little different this month; instead of covering a film or tv show, we're releasing a lecture given earlier this month. Also, we're releasing this

Episode 246 - The Hunt for Red October (1990)

A rogue Soviet submarine commander wants to defect to America, but first he's got to outlive being hunted by both the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., and only one man can help him

Episode 245 - Thief (1981)

A jewel thief tries to build the perfect life for himself, only to find he's in hock to more powerful gangsters in this stylish Neo-noir film that has one foot in 1970s A

Episode 244 - The Commitments (1991)

A young Dubliner puts together a band of working class musicians to play American soul music in this shaggy film based on Roddy Doyle's novel. We talk about music, what

Episode 243 - Back to the Beach (1987)

Beach Month ends with the loving parody of the genre, where Frankie and Annette rekindle their marriage, their son falls in with punks, and their daughter falls in love w

Hollywood Avalon, ep. 38 - The Mists of Avalon (2001)

The classic Arthurian story is given a Pagan spin, where the adherents of the Goddess of the Old Religion--lead by Vivian, the Lady of the Lake, and her chosen successor

Episode 242 - The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966)

Beach Month continues with no beach, no Frankie, and no Annette, but we do get a corpse in a creepy house who has to perform one last good deed in order to get into heave

Episode 241 - Beach Blanket Bingo (1965)

Beach Month continues with one of the weirdest of the Frankie & Annette beach party movies: skydiving, scheming managers, bikers, murderous pool sharks, a silent film sta

Episode 240 - Gidget (1959)

We kick off a brief series on beach movies with a viewing of the original, the story of a tomboy who takes up surfing thanks to the help of the king of the beach bums, th

Episode 239 - The Sandlot (1993)

It's the 4th of July, which means it's time for baseball, mom, and apple pie. We bring back Mary's sister to talk about one of her favorite movies (that Mary somehow avoi

Hollywood Avalon, ep. 37 - Garoyles, "A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time" (1995)

The newly-discovered Scrolls of Merlin have been stolen by a time-traveling MacBeth, so it's up to the Gargoyles to retrieve them. That's right, we check out the Disney f

Episode 238 - Married to the Mob (1988)

A mobster's widow is romantically pursued by both the FBI agent trailing her and the don who killed her husband. Oh, and the don's wife wants her dead. What's a girl to d

Episode 237 - Ishtar (1987) - with Jon Solomon

Surprise guest Jon Solomon is here to talk about Elaine May's unfairly-maligned buddy comedy about two bumbling songwriters who end up at the center of a revolution in th

Bonus 13 - Masters of the Universe (2026)

We went to see Masters of the Universe, the latest toy-turned-into-a-movie, and honestly had a good time, better than we expected. We briefly compare it to the 1987 film

Episode 236 - Mr. Mom (1983)

An engineer is laid off and becomes a stay-at-home dad, and hijinks--and gender--ensue. Not quite as off-putting as it could have been thanks to some very funny performan

Hollywood Avalon ep. 36 - The Silver Chalice (1954)

A Greek artisan is commissioned by St. Luke and Joseph of Arimathea to make the Holy Grail, while fending off the the evil Simon Magus and the Emperor Nero. It's a very u

Episode 235 - Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984/2005): with Scott Johnson

In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, the pacifist princess with mystical powers fends off an evil empire in while trying to discover the way to return health to the land. W

Episode 234 - New York Stories (1989)

Three short films about New Yorkers: the relationship of an artist and his assistant falls apart; a very young rich girl has adventures; a lawyer's relationship falls apa

Episode 233 - L.A. Story (1990)

An eccentric weatherman falls for a British journalist in the magical city of Los Angeles, where the people are beautiful, the muggers are polite, and the sun is always s