Our second feature in our pairing of Cohen Brothers movies was their follow-up to last week's film! In 2000's "O Brother, Where Art Thou," the brothers took the classic Greek myth of "The Odyssey" and set it during the US's great depression in the 1930s! Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney), along with fellow convicts Pete (John Turturro) and Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson) have escaped from a chain gang and are on the run from the law, headed for Everett's family cabin to retrieve a million dollars in stolen money that's supposedly buried there. After bring freed from their shackles by Pete's cousin, the three are later turned in by that same relative. After a daring escape, they meet up with a young black man named Tommy Johnson (Chris Thomas King) who tells them he's just sold his soul to the Devil in order to be able to play his guitar like a master. The four end up visiting a small, independent recording studio run by a radio station man (Stephen Root), and they record a version of "Man of Constant Sorrow" as the "Soggy Bottom Boys." The end up falling in with George "I'm not Babyface!" Nelson (Michael Badalucco) for his third consecutive bank heist and miraculously manage to get away! Meanwhile, their recording of "Man of Constant Sorrow" has become a huge hit, and music industry folk are also trying to track them down... to offer them a contract! From there, the story just gets deeper and more complicated, but in the end Everett, Pete, and Delmar get almost everything want. Almost. Also starring John Goodman, Holly Hunter, Wayne Duvall, and Daniel von Bargen! Plus, the trio reveal which two classic cautionary tales about the perils of drinking will make up the next pairing!
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BONUS: From the Balcony - Our 9th Anniversary!
Our talk show, "From the Balcony," is usually for our Patreon supporters, but we wanted to share this one with everyone as a big "THANK YOU!" to everyone who listens to our show! Were it not for you, we wouldn't still be going 9 years after we started! This is the story of how this podcast began as an idea from a comic and sci-fi convention, and what it means to the three of us that you're listening and have been for all these years!
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The Big Lebowski (1998)
This pairing celebrate the work of writer and director brothers Joel and Ethan Cohen! First up, made in 1998 but set at the beginning of the 90s, "The Big Lebowski" follows the misadventures of a man named Jeffrey Lebowski (Jeff Bridges), although he prefers to be known as "The Dude." He's at home, when two men break into his home, threat him with bodily harm if he doesn't cough up the money to pay his wife's debts, and then they urinate on his rug. Unfortunately, the Dude isn't married, and the men clearly have the wrong guy. Later, at a bowling alley, his friends Donny (Steve Buscemi) and Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) hear the Dude's tale of woe and Walter convinces the Dude to visit the "other" Jeffrey Leboswki and seek restitution for his ruined rug! The next day, the Dude meets the "big" Lebowski (David Huddleston) and his aide Brandt (Philip Seymour Hoffman). The "big" Lebowski flat out refuses to make the Dude whole, but on his way out, he lies to Brandt and ends up taking a rug from the mansion home with him. Unfortunately, this is just beginning of what becomes a comedy of errors when the "big" Lebowski's wife, Bunny (Tara Reid), gets kidnapped, and he and Brandt hire the Dude to deliver the ransom money and get her back! But, due to Walter's interference, things don't go as planned and the story just continues to spin out of control from there. Also starring Julianne Moore, Peter Stormare, Flea, and John Turturro!
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The Karate Kid (2010)
The second film in our pairing was originally conceived as a re-make of the 1984 version, but was reconned into a sequel to make way for "Karate Kid: Legends" which would combine the two stories. The 2010 version of "The Karate Kid," directed by Harald Zwart, finds Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) and his mother Sherry (Taraji P. Henson) moving from Detroit, Michigan to Beijing, China for Sherry's work. There, Dre meets the building handyman, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) when he goes to request a repair for their new apartment. He then heads to a nearby park, where he meets Meiying (Wenwen Han) and sparks fly! Unfortuntely for Dre, the leader of a group of young Kung Fu students, Cheng (Zhenwei Wang), takes exception to Meiying showing affection toward a foreigner and ends up beating up Dre. Again, similar to the original story, Dre finds a way to get back at the bullies and is attacked by five of them and hurt, but Mr. Han arrives and saves him. They travel together the next day to try to make peace, but the Master of the bully's dojo, Sensei Li (Rongguang Yu), demands that either Dre or Mr. Han fight to settle the matter of honor. Mr. Han instead offers to have Dre settle the issue at the upcoming Kung Fu tournament, and Sensei Li agrees. The film follows the storyline from the first movie, but with enough differences (Kung Fu vs. Karate for example) to keep it entertaining and to have you cheering Dre along his journey! Plus, the gents reveal which two Cohen Brothers films will be the first reviewed on the podcast!
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The Karate Kid (1984)
In honor of the joining of two great movies in "Karate Kid: Legends," which came out on May 30th, 2025, we're looking at the two films that gave us the new film! First up, directed by John G. Avildsen, 1984's "The Karate Kid" introduced audiences to the story that would become an enduring franchise. Fifteen-year-old Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and his mother, Lucille (Randee Heller) have left their home in New Jersey and moved across the country to Los Angeles. After getting invited to a beach party by another teen who lives in the same apartment, Daniel meets Ali Millis (Elisabeth Shue) and the attraction is immediate. Unfortunately, her ex-boyfriend Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) arrives and takes exception to Daniel's interest in Ali and beats him up. Meanwhile, back at his apartment, Daniel meets the handyman Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita), who sees the young man struggling and teaches him the art of Bonsai. After Daniel exacts some minor revenge on Johnny and his pack, they beat Daniel unconscious, but Mr. Miyagi intervenes and sends the bullies packing. The next day, after attempting to forge peace with the sensei of the Cobra Kai dojo, John Kreese (Martin Kove), Mr. Miyagi agrees that Daniel and the bullies will settle their differences in the upcoming karate tournament. But will Daniel be ready to face the forces of Cobra Kai in time for the competition?
South Africa