The Nextlander Watchcast

The Watchcast is back for its final slate of movies in 2025, and this month we're picking whatever strikes our fancy. First up is Alex's pick, a palate cleanser for all the Escape from New York also-rans we've seen this year in the form of actual, honest-to-Snake Escape from New York! Join us as we dive deep into the movie that spawned an iconic character, dozens of rip-offs, and pretty much Hideo Kojima's whole deal. CHAPTERS: (00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 161: Escape from New York (1981) (00:00:15) - Intro. (00:08:18) - How did John Carpenter realize his vision of crime-scorched hellscape New York (00:26:23) - The insane cultural shadow that this movie cast. (00:33:51) - Crime has risen 400%, so New York is a prison now. You don't need to know anything else. (00:41:55) - The President is crashing out. (00:46:40) - Break! (00:47:00) - We're back, and it's time for a quick failed rescue. (00:49:44) - Our first introduction to Snake Plissken. (00:59:55) - Gliding into the Big Apple. (01:03:28) - No matter how bad things get in New York, people will still make time for the theater. (01:07:47) - We've got C.H.U.D.S, and also Kurt Russell's (then) wife. (01:15:36) - Maggie and the Brain. (01:19:09) - Here comes The Duke of New York. (01:23:34) - This is a sneaking mission. (01:27:35) - The Duke wants his damn map, and Brain figures out where the glider is. (01:32:04) - That's Ox Baker's music! (01:39:37) - The mad dash to the World Trade Center, then to the bridge. (01:46:20) - An even madder dash over the wall. (01:48:25) - Snake ain't letting this slide. (01:54:28) - Final thoughts. (01:59:44) - Our remaining films for the month. (02:04:19) - Outro.

Turkey Month is nearly at an end, but before we head out for the holiday break, we've got one more fully barbecued turkey for all of you in the bombasically stupid Action Jackson! Join us as we marvel at Carl Weathers' glistening physique, Craig T. Nelson's inexplicable martial arts prowess, and the cavalcade of delightfully awful one-liners issued before someone explodes. CHAPTERS: (00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 160: Action Jackson (1988) (00:00:17) - Intro. (00:05:31) - Action Jackson's blaxploitation inspirations, and how this thing got made. (00:13:44) - Cast chat. (00:23:31) - Five minutes until flaming defenestration. (00:29:08) - The introduction of Jericho "Action" Jackson. (00:33:54) - Some of the other assorted cops, and our first meeting with Dellaplane. (00:41:33) - Break! (00:41:47) - We're back, and it's time to assassinate some more union leaders. (00:48:25) - Sydney Ash: medium talent. (00:53:30) - Interrupting lunch, and Coach knows karate. (01:01:35) - Yeah, sure. Action Jackson can outrun a car. We'll roll with that. (01:06:34) - Sharon Stone dies, so now Vanity gets to be in the movie for a while. (01:17:03) - Carl Weathers unveils the pecs, and the utterly bizarre pool hall fight. (01:23:36) - Sweet Dee. (01:25:48) - Billy, you son of a bitch. (01:29:03) - From one industrial space to another. (01:39:15) - Off to the fancy party for a frame job, and then let's just drive a damn car into a bedroom. (01:46:56) - Final thoughts, and list placements. (01:52:57) - Next month: It's a Watchcast free-for-all. (01:58:21) - Outro.

Our Turkey month continues unabated! And this week we're visited by several of 125 possible Jet Lis in the profoundly silly 2001 action flick The One! Join us as we talk about Jet Li's various wigs, the finer points of nu-metal, and the tragedy of Jason Statham's American accent. CHAPTERS: (00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 159: The One (2001) (00:00:13) - Intro. (00:03:14) - Now that our nu-metal jokes are mostly out of the way, let's talk about this week's movie: The One! (00:14:11) - A little bit about the production. (00:17:20) - Establishing the multiverses as quickly as we can. (00:25:26) - The first kill (that we see, anyway). (00:30:39) - Here comes Delroy Lindo and Jason Statham's American accent. (00:39:28) - Break! (00:39:47) - We're back, and we're in cop universe now. (00:46:10) - There's only one Jet Li left to kill, and wouldn't you know it he's a nice guy. (00:51:36) - This excruciatingly long MRI bit. (01:00:24) - A great cameo with a considerably less-great joke attached to it. (01:03:03) - Syncing egg timers and splitting the party. (01:11:15) - All these cops milling around, can't find one guy hiding in an attic.  (01:13:41) - TK dies, and then it's just a quick stop at the gas station before the final battle. (01:18:38) - Let's have a fight in a sparks factory. (01:24:58) - Back to cop universe, but we have to do one more mistaken identity bit before we go. (01:27:24) - Welcome to bright colors universe, where everybody's happy and your wife isn't dead. (01:29:23) - Meanwhile, let's check in on Yulaw. (01:32:47) - Final thoughts.Final thoughts, and list placements. (01:37:52) - Our movie for next week: Action Jackson! (01:40:33) - Outro.

It's Doomsday Day on the Watchcast, a day that our own Vinny Caravella has hoped and prayed for ever since we launched this podcast. So join us as we go through Vinny's all-time favorite movie, trying to make sense of its frenetic editing and nonsensical plot, or at least as much sense as it deserves. CHAPTERS: (00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 158: Doomsday (2008) (00:00:14) - Intro. (00:07:54) - How Vinny came to this movie. (00:11:15) - Neil Marshall, and how he went from The Descent to this. (00:19:39) - Some last production notes, and cast chat. (00:32:23) - Getting some questions out up top, and the opening salvo of pandemic horror. (00:41:43) - Break! (00:42:07) - We're back, and it's time to rocket into the terrifying future of 2035. (00:51:05) - An impossible mission and a forgettable team tasked with carrying it out. (00:55:55) - Let's just go ahead and dispatch most of this team as quickly as we can. (01:04:18) - We meet the Prodigy gang. (01:10:04) - Dinner and a show. (01:19:13) - A mad dash to a surprisingly well-preserved train, and a conspicuous apocalypse bunker. (01:27:46) - Welcome to Medieval Times. (01:32:40) - Reaper Madness has hit London. (01:35:57) - A quick gladiator battle before we're scurrying off the way we came. (01:40:59) - Mad Max: Beyond Shame. (01:44:12) - Eden gets...revenge? Or something like it? (01:54:36) - Final thoughts, and list placements. (02:01:04) - Housekeeping for next week's movie: Jet Li in The One! (02:04:05) - Outro.

We're kicking off our third annual Turkey Month with a very bad sci-fi action movie by a person who usually makes pretty enjoyable sci-fi action movies, John Carpenter! Ghosts of Mars is the first movie on this month's roster of dumbass action flicks, and boy howdy, is this one both dumb and ass. CHAPTERS: (00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 157: Ghosts of Mars (2001) (00:00:14) - Intro. (00:01:32) - Kicking off our annual turkey month with John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars! (00:08:52) - How the heck did this movie end up like this? (00:12:06) - An all-star cast, mostly wasted on this. (00:19:57) - Love these cheap models. Love these matte paintings. The rest? Eh... (00:28:00) - Ballard has quite the story, and we meet the team. (00:33:46) - Break! (00:34:09) - We're back, and it's time to meet Desolation (and some other randos). (00:39:25) - Flashbacks on flashbacks on flashbacks. (00:46:43) - Heads on pikes. Heads on pikes! (00:50:22) - Uno, Dos, and Tres. (01:00:43) - The first big shootout. (01:07:42) - Oh good, another flashback! (01:11:56) - A psychedelic alien freakout. (01:15:32) - Big Daddy has a battering ram, and it's time to take off! Or...not? (01:25:32) - A bad train fight, wrapping up the flashbacks, and a TERRIBLE note to end on. (01:32:19) - Final thoughts. (01:36:22) - Housekeeping for next week, and list placements for Ghosts of Mars. (01:42:53) - Outro.