Gareth’s Picks

The Enzo Castellari Science Fiction trilogy

1990: The Bronx Warriors (1982)

Escape from the Bronx (1983)

The New Barbarians ((1983)

If you want to explore the bizzaro b-film world of Italian Post-Apocalypse science fiction, there is no better place to start than this trilogy of movies.  The first two are cheap knock offs of Escape from New York and The Warriors and they were actually filmed there and capture the zeitgeist fear of the Bronx and the crime/gangs that did exist but are transformed into gonzo Italian genre trash, but in a good way.  The third is a knock off of The Mad Max films, and is ridiculous and hilarious in the costumes and over-acting.  Speaking of acting, several great genre actors pick up a check for these films including Fred Williamson, Vic Morrow, and Henry Silva.  Of course, the acting of lead Mark Gregory is worth the price of admission (free on TUBI!) and your time.  He was “discovered” working out in a gym and his “style” of acting is sublime.  The perfect films to watch during this horrific heat wave.

Craig’s Picks

Brittany Runs a Marathon (2019)

Jillian Bell stars in this one about a young 20-something in NYC trying to get her life in order using running the NY Marathon as a goal. It was made by Tobie McGuire’s production company and is a true independent film…that was picked up by Amazon.

Watch on Amazon Prime

Hearts Beat Loud (2018)

American treasure Nick Offerman and Kiersey Clemons star in this indie film about a single dad sending his daughter off to college while closing his record shop and they inadvertently become an internet music sensation. No, it’s not wish fulfillment on my part, it’s just a good movie. It’s stacked with heavy hitters in supporting roles like Ted Danson, Blythe Danner and Toni Collette.