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Of Truth and Nonsense: Matthew Rankin's The Twentieth Century Review
Matthew Rankin’s The Twentieth Century is like if Guy Madden and Ken Russell discovered a portal to the 1920s while playing playing laser tag against Monty Python’s animations. You know, your run of the mill biopic on a moderate Canadian politician.
Forget Die Hard & Gremlins: Alternative Christmas Movies To Watch in 2020
Put down that copy of Die Hard, toss aside that Gremlins tape… here’s a list of some alternatively festive (or creepy or funny or somewhere in-between) Christmas picks for you to watch this year.
Hoser Horror: The Pink Chiquitas (1987) & Wicked World (1991 / 2009)
This time on Hoser Horror, Dan and Carlo are joined by Meghann of Ghouls Only Press and the Ghouls Only Cast to discuss two Canadian horror movies of varying quality.
Post Anime Club: Carmen Comes Home & Carmen's Innocent Love
In search of color and jaunty angles, Carlo & Jenna throw it back to two early collaborations between Hideko Takamine and Keisuke Kinoshita: Carmen Comes Home (1951) and Carmen’s Innocent Love (1952). They get what they’re after, alright. Perhaps too much…
Hoser Horror: Deathdream (1974) & Seizure (1974)
Carlo and Dan welcome Back Row's own Jenna to discuss two more Canadian horror movies about fantastical murderers–Bob Clark’s anti-war classic Deathdream and Oliver Stone’s home invasion Seizure.
All of Them Witches: Female Anxiety in the Supernatural
Witch movies making a comeback speaks to a larger trend of people wanting more control over how they’re seen. With all of the discussion right now about who has power, who gets power, and what power means to society in general, it’s a natural fit for the Female Anxiety genre.
Synchronic Review: The Trouble with Time Travel & Appreciating the Now
Horror sci-fi Synchronic focuses on drug addiction, sudden death, the harsh realities of the past, and unintentional time travel. While you wish it scratched past the surface a bit more than it does, it’s still one of the better sci-fi offerings we’ve had in the last few years.
The Crushing Weight of Love & Insecurity in Cooper Raiff's Shithouse
Finally a college movie for the rest of us! I’m talking about those of us who spent their so-called “best years” mostly talking on the phone with their parents, eating take-out in their rooms and crying in the shower. Perhaps if I had had Shithouse I wouldn’t have felt so alone.
Franchise Frenzy: Children of the Corn Series (Part One: I - IV)
Today is the first Franchise Frenzy episode (of potentially many?!) where Dan and Carlo discuss all of the Stephen King's Children of the Corn adaptations and sequels.
Hoser Horror: Blood Clan (1990) & Evil Judgment (1984)
This week on a very special episode of Hoser Horror, Dan and Carlo decide to dive into two more spooktastic horror flicks as is customary around this time of year. Or so they thought!
Back Row Book Club: The Poignant & Grotesquely Funny Cinema of Ettore Scola
The Cinema of Ettore Scola is an essential addition for the shelves of those who have wondered what contextual nuances they might have been missing out on, or anyone who has wanted to dip their toes into the wonderful world of Italian political satire.
I Watched It So You Don't Have To: The House That Jack Built
Ruthlessly bloody, indulgent and like watching Lars Von Trier primp in the mirror for two-and-a-half hours, The House That Jack Built is surprisingly watchable. A little insufferable, big time pretentious, but darkly funny and strangely digestible.
Hoser Horror: Invasion of the Mindbenders (1987) & Possession (1987)
We're back with another episode of Hoser Horror, two "horror" movies from 1987 and an extra-special returning guest: Matt from Compañeros Radio Network!
15 Movies For Your Halloween Horror Watchlist
Dan’s back at it again this year, this time with 15 horror movies ready for adding to your Halloween watchlist. The only question is: which will you watch first?
Hoser Horror: Rituals (1977) & Trapped (1982)
Dan and Carlo go back to the backwoods and deal with the dangers lurking within, featuring Rituals (1977) and Trapped (aka Baker County, U.S.A., 1982)
Post-Anime Club: Tokyo Idols & Perfect Blue
Capitalism, loneliness and purity is the name of the japanese idol game–especially as told through Tokyo Idols and Perfect Blue. Carlo and Jenna discuss these themes in depth as they attempt to navigate the darker aspects of a society they otherwise tend to admire.
Happily Ever After Without All the Fairy Tale Crap: Spinster Starring Chelsea Peretti
Between women still being inundated with toxic ideals and Chelsea Peretti’s trademark style of acting, Spinster becomes a lovely and funny movie about how much better we can be when we stop trying to be better for others.
Michael Almereyda’s Tesla Shines a New Light on the Mad Genius Myth
Tesla de-claws the myth of the angry male genius who is simultaneously punished and celebrated by society as a superior being. Almereyda’s Tesla is instead portrayed as a bundle of neuroses whose naive utopian ideals are as much the key to his downfall as they are to his genius.
Hoser Horror: Slashers & The Mangler 2
This time on Notes from the Back Row, Carlo and Dan are back in the Great White North talking about two movies from the 2000s.
Amy Seimetz's She Dies Tomorrow Explores the Terror of Anticipation
The brilliance of She Dies Tomorrow is in how it weaponizes the anxiety of anticipation. The finality of death, in comparison, feels far less terrifying than having to live in fear of its inevitability.

