As the world continues to grapple with soaring temperatures while morally complicit politicians look the other way, it might be a good idea to seek respite from the heat in the shade of indie podcasting. Therefore, let’s have a look at all that we have been up to over at the Uncut Gems Podcast and its Patreon bonus stream this last June.
The Spring of Comedy quarter of our grand 80s project has officially come to a close with a month devoted to comedies from the decade directed by John Landis. We chose this director specifically, and perhaps against our better judgment, because he both holds some nostalgic reverence among audiences who were young at the time these movies were new and his film IQ combined with a penchant for on-set bravado (seen in most of the movies we discussed) unfortunately led to a tragic accident that’s impossible to omit in any conversation about his movies. However, we did our best to stay the course and discuss the movies and their cultural underpinnings while only occasionally devoting some time to these controversial topics. We talked about Blues Brothers, Trading Places, Spies Like Us and Three Amigos on the main show, which is a mix of outright successes, cult classics, underrated bombs and alleged misfires, all containing some controversial elements to them. Landis’s biggest hit of the decade, Coming to America, ended up discussed as a Patreon-exclusive tie-in.
Episode 280 (Blues Brothers)
Episode 281 (Trading Places)
Episode 282 (Spies Like Us)
Episode 283 (Three Amigos)
Bonus Tie-in 61 (Coming to America) (full episode on Patreon)
In this month’s instalment of our 80s Icons Series, which is a veiled attempt at adding more 80s classics to our roster without having to invent a theme around them half the time, we once more returned to John Hughes as we talked about The Breakfast Club.
80s Icons 06 (The Breakfast Club) (full episode on Patreon)
Last but not least, the Mike Nichols Marathon we have been on for the last year and a half has officially entered its final stages. We talked about the director’s antepenultimate (third from the end, for those who wonder) piece, the 6-episode HBO miniseries Angels in America that Nichols held as one of the most important things he directed.
Flasz On Film 
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