Ugly Pulp Odyssey

We tackle the hugely divisive Netflix release starring Leo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Timothee Chalamet, Chris Evans and Mark Rylance. Also I'm Smarticus gets a fancy new theme tune. 

Yo homie, listen to us discuss Michael Mann's ultra-slick neo-noir thriller Collateral, starring Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx and Jada Pinkett-Smith. Get in touch with us with your thoughts and suggestions at uglypulpodyssey@gmail.com

The sh*tshow is back! 1997's Batman & Robin is a film we've referenced several times, but never quite plucked up the courage to cover (or watch again) UNTIL NOW. Find out whether it's Sh*tically Acclaimed, or Just Sh*t.  

Wes Craven's iconic genre-bending sensation Scream has been on the to-do list for quite some time - so here it is! There's more fun at Martin's expense plus the return of the award-winning game show "Im Smarticus!" 

Part 2. We discuss the two sequels, Reloaded and Revolutions, as well as the new trailer for The Matrix: Resurrections. 

WE'RE BACK. We finally found a time to get together and record, and with the recent release of the trailer for The Matrix Resurrections, we thought it would be as good a time as any to take on the trilogy. This one went on a bit (mainly thanks to the destructive force of Martin being  10 beers deep on an empty stomach) so I decided to cut it in two and put the other half out next week, where we'll cover Reloaded, Revolutions, and the new trailer.

As always, thanks for listening and please GET IN TOUCH with any thoughts, opinions, or hatemail on UGLYPULPODYSSEY@GMAIL.COM

The release of Tarantino's most recent offering on Netflix prompted us to revisit this modern classic, shaking it down to its very core and deciding whether it lives up to the hype. What did you think? Send your feedback/hate mail to uglypulpodyssey@gmail.com to be featured on the next episode. 

The song was better than the film, but even that had more to do with Stevie Wonder than Will Smith. We find out whether 1999's Wild Wild West, starring Will Smith, Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh and Salma Hayek is "Just Sh*t" or "Sh*tically Acclaimed." No prizes for guessing!

You asked, we delivered. By listener request we gladly discuss and dissect John McTiernan's 1987 classic Predator - arguably the manliest film ever made. You won't be shocked to learn that we all love it - the only question is how much? 

We finally found a way to spend a whole episode talking about The Simpsons! Our favourite yellow family made their first (and to-date, only) venture onto the big screen in 2007 to massive commercial success, and surprising critical acclaim. Find out what we think about The Simpsons movie, and enjoy some musical interludes from Barry as he treats us to some of our favourite musical numbers from The Simpsons songbook. 

DING DING DING.... things get heated as we take a look at 2018's A Quiet Place starring John Krasinski and Emily Blunt. There are more horrendous impressions (mainly from Martin), plus Pure Quality/Pure Sh*te, and we are overjoyed to find out that at least 3 people listen to the podcast as we read out some more listener mail. 

We did it! Covid restrictions have been eased and we are back together live in the room for the first time since episode 2. What better way to celebrate this glorious reunion than cracking open some cold beers and talking about a real cult classic - it's safe to say the original (and best) Highlander divides opinion, and that certainly holds true for this week's episode. We also read some long-awaited fan mail, proving that at least one person actually listens to this podcast, which is exciting. Expect Sean Connery impressions, the return of I'm Smarticus, and some well-timed sound effects. THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE.

John Woo (Uzi sound) becomes the first director in UPO history to feature in both a regular episode and a Sh*tshow. We first covered the seminal Face/Off in Ep. 4, and now we turn our attention to 2003's Paycheck - a film that proves you can't always bank on a smart idea and a star-studded cast. 

One of the biggest films of 2017, Get Out was Jordan Peele's directorial debut and was a colossal commercial success. Ross and Martin had both been singing its praises for sometime, so Barry decided to catch up and see what all the fuss was about. This one gets deep!

Frank Darabont's 1994 screen adaptation of a Stephen King short story is oft-cited as a "favourite" movie, but how will this modern classic starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman stack up on our leaderboard?

Send questions, suggestions and hate mail to uglypulpodyssey@gmail.com 

"We haven't done a heist film yet." We continue our 2001 binge with the slick, star-studded Soderbergh flick which spawned a run of successful sequels, and arguably defined the heist movie as we know it today. 

Well, we made it to 20 episodes. If that isn't a justifiable cause for celebration I don't know what is - so we thought we'd commemorate this milestone by taking a look back to 20 years ago - the year 2001 - and the sh*t that resides within. We have each selected a particularly sh*tty movie from that year and will, in time-honoured fashion, dissect and discuss each before delivering our verdict of "just plain sh*t" or "sh*tically acclaimed." 

Rossco's pick is Tim Burton's "re-imagining" of the sci-fi classic Planet of The Apes, starring Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth and Helena Bonham-Carter,  Baz goes for the outlandish cyber-action thriller Swordfish, starring John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry and Don Cheadle, and Marty opts for Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, starring Angelina Jolie, Jon Voight and Daniel Craig.

 

This week we enlist our good friend and musician/composer/conductor extraordinaire Paul Devlin to discuss the 2014 music-based drama Whiplash, starring J.K Simmons and Miles Teller. Paul lends his real-life experience of the musical world we see in the film, we laugh at the endless stream of vicious insults from Simmons' character, and there's a bit of a barney between Baz and Marty throughout. How will it stack up on the ratings table? 

1997's Event Horizon, directed by Paul Anderson and starring Sam Neill and Laurence Fishburne, is somewhat of an anomaly. Widely shunned by critics (to this day) and a commercial flop, it has nonetheless built an impressive cult following and remains a favourite for many avid sci-fi fans. We get stuck in, discussing our favourite and least favourite parts of the movie in an imaginatively titled new segment, and recommend 3 sci-fi films EACH for you to check out if you haven't already - that's 9 in total! Don't say we're not good to you.

This week we welcome our first guest! A good friend of the show, Mark Coffield is one of the hosts of the highly entertaining Carbon Copy Covid Curer podcast, coincidentally another podcast started by a bunch of mates (who happen to be in a wedding band together) looking for something to do during the never-ending coronavirus lockdown. We discuss his joint favourite movies - Goodfellas (1990) and Fight Club (1999), as well as putting him in the hot seat with some quick-fire movie questions. 

What's happening? Why is this happening? These are all question you will ask yourself whilst watching The Happening - a film so densely layered with sh*t you'll have to open all the windows just to put it on. Mark Wahlberg aka Marky Mark, Zooey Deschanel and John Leguizamo somehow turn in performances so comically absurd you might actually wonder if it's all being done on purpose - a grand, intricate illusion straight from the cunning mind of M. Night Shyamalan. It's not though. 

The second part of our Terminator double bill, this time looking at one of the greatest sequels of all time - T2 Judgement Day. Will history be written on the UPO leaderboard? In short, yes. We love this film and will make no apologies for our gratuitous fanboying. This week we learn about a weird summer job Barry had in a tent factory, the legend of Rab Pat, and try to name as many call backs to the first film as possible. It's a long one, so strap in and enjoy the usual dose of ill-informed beer-soaked profanity. 

The first of a two-episode special on The Terminator, and T2: Judgement Day. Barry drinks some very strong Belgian ale, and is still able to form sentences by the end of the episode. Is he the beer equivalent of a Terminator? Ross enlightens us with some surprising films which had higher budgets than The Terminator, and Martin lets us hear what it would be like if Sylvester Stallone got the part instead of Arnie. Full disclaimer, this episode is basically just us talking about how much we love this film. No apologies.   

Look! They're doing a comedy! There's no denying how badly Me, Myself and Irene's handling of mental illness has aged, but equally undeniable is the powerhouse comedic performance delivered by Jim Carrey as Charlie Baileygates, the downtrodden Rhode Island police officer who develops a second personality - Hank Evans, as a way of coping with years of repressed emotions. It really doesn't take much for us to talk about this one as we practically know it line for line, so please, be prepared for some TERRIBLE impressions.    

Welcome back to The Sh*tshow. Picture the scene - It's 1994, and Van Damme and Kylie Minogue are picked to star in a film adaptation of a computer game - what could possibly go wrong?

Where you 90's kids at? This year is the 25th anniversary of SPACE JAM, the iconic 90's animated blockbuster. People of a certain generation will always remember how huge this film was, from its larger-than-life cast and animations, to the wider commercial phenomenon it spawned by combining the pulling power of the biggest sports star on Earth - Michael Jordan -  with the most iconic Cartoon characters from our TV screens - The Looney Tunes led by none other than Bugs Bunny himself. Let's find out if it still holds up after a quarter of a century.  

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Well, 2020 was a complete sh*tshow, so we decided to kick off 2021 with some trademark Pixar feel-good vibes. Their latest release "Soul" - starring Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey and some other familiar voices - is a truly beautiful movie which is sure to lift your spirit (or soul?) during these difficult times. Given this is the first current movie that we have discussed I feel the need to remind you that THERE ARE SPOILERS, so maybe go check this one out first eh? Cheers!

Is there any better way to get into the Christmas spirit than to listen to Barry assess the weight and quality difference between US and UK house bricks? I don't think so. So strap in for yet another bumper seasonal special, this time focusing on everyone's favourite home-invasion based family comedies Home Alone 1 and 2. The others do no exist.    

Welcome to the first in a new series - THE SH*TSHOW. In this series we focus only on SH*T - tearing apart films which are generally considered to be the bottom of the cinema barrel. Are they "Sh*tically Acclaimed" (so bad they're good), or "just plain sh*t"? Either way, if you think our normal episodes are crass then you'll love this. The first installment features the 1997 hot mess that is ANACONDA, starring Jennifer Lopez, Jon Voigt, Ice Cube and Owen Wilson. Enjoy!

Spray tan? Check. Shiny trunks? Check. Hair grease? Check. We lay the smack down on Darren Aronofsky's 2008 drama following the life of a washed up former wrestling superstar. Marty serves up his own quiz, and Ross treats us to another installment of I'm Smarticus!

We take a bite out of one of the most talked about films in recent years - 2019's Joker, directed by Todd Phillips and starring the peerless Joaquin Phoenix. Ross debuts a new segment entitled "I'm Smarticus!", and we discuss our favourite Jokers. Also expect to learn about some Scottish fighting words, "old man patter" and car park footballer encounters.   

John Woo. Uzis. Explosions. Slow-mo. Speedboat chases. What more do you need? How about Nicholas Cage and John Travolta at their wackiest, in arguably their most magnetic and absurd roles. We delve into the phenomenon that is the 1997 blockbuster Face/Off. 

BOO! A bumper special edition revolving around the original Slasher - John Carpenter's seminal 1978 film Halloween, as well as the 2018 sequel of the same name. In this longer-than-expected episode we go in depth on both films, and rank our top 5 Jump Scare moments. Of course, a load of other nonsense too.   

We talk about Ari Aster's debut film Hereditary, and count down our top 5 most disturbing movie moments.  

Welcome! In our first episode we pre-load on Chinese food, drink 49 beers and discuss our all-time number one favourite films. You can figure them out from the name.