The Nextlander Watchcast

This week's Watchcast takes us on a trip down to Harlan County, U.S.A. as we tackle Barbara Kopple's gripping (and Academy Award winning) documentary about the 1973 miners' strike against Duke Power.
CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 179: Harlan County, U.S.A. (1976)
(00:00:57) - Intro.
(00:07:38) - Geography lessons with the Nextlander gang.
(00:12:53) - On Bloody Harlan, and some discussion of the movie's structure.
(00:20:41) - How this movie came to be.
(00:37:02) - Break!
(00:37:24) - We're back, and it's time to venture down to Kentucky.
(00:42:01) - Our first glimpses at the life of the strikers.
(00:51:34) - A personal retelling of Bloody Harlan, and the first encounter with the gun thugs.
(00:58:05) - The women of the community become more directly involved.
(01:05:24) - Open conflicts begin to errupt, and people are taken to jail.
(01:10:37) - Heading to New York.
(01:17:22) - The Farmington accident, and discussion of black lung.
(01:23:26) - The Boyle/Yablonski affair.
(01:32:02) - Tensions are boiling in Harlan.
(01:41:13) - The road blockade and the warrant for Basil Collins.
(01:46:58) - The killing of Lawrence Jones.
(01:51:18) - The fight is never over.
(02:01:24) - Final thoughts.
(02:07:00) - Housekeeping for next week's doc: Apollo 11!
(02:11:45) - Outro.

We're filling out May's Watchcast schedule with a trio of documentaries that have been on our respective lists for a while now, and first up is Vinny's pick, Class Action Park! Join us as we recount our own memories of weirdo theme parks of yore, marvel at the brazen lawlessness of this whole operation, and wonder aloud if we aren't just living in Action Park all the time now.
CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 178: Class Action Park (2020)
(00:00:43) - Intro.
(00:04:00) - Class Action Park is Vinny's pick this month, and here's why.
(00:10:37) - How this podcast is going to go, generally, and our own personal experiences with local theme parks.
(00:20:57) - How the hell was this allowed to go on for so long?
(00:27:04) - Break!
(00:27:32) - We're back, and it's time to talk about who made this movie, and who some of the folks speaking in it are.
(00:32:11) - Kicking things off with who Gene Mulvihill was. and how he came to own this place. 
(00:36:26) - The Action Park complex, and the rides that didn't work out.
(00:46:42) - Some of the rides that lasted the duration, and the Lord of the Flies situation going on here.
(00:56:02) - The deadliest kayak experience this side of the Colorado.
(00:57:31) - The wave pool deaths.
(01:05:49) - Motorworld, and George Larsson's death on the Alpine Slide.
(01:14:52) - How Gene Mulvihill dodged consequences.
(01:24:05) - What became of Action Park, and what, if anything, is there to be learned from all this?
(01:46:12) - Final thoughts.
(01:53:26) - Our film for next week: Harlan County, USA!
(01:56:18) - Outro.

We close out our slate of Coens comedies with their 2008 spy thriller farce, Burn After Reading! And joining the crew as we unravel this sordid tale of idiot spycraft is none other than our friend and yours, Austin Walker!
CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 177: Burn After Reading (2008)
(00:00:16) - Intro.
(00:01:02) - Our guest this week is Austin Walker, and our movie is Burn After Reading!
(00:05:36) - On the movie's overall tone, it's cynicism, and how it treats its characters.
(00:21:14) - How this movie came into the world.
(00:29:03) - Break!
(00:29:24) - We're back, and it's time to handle the most important political issue of our time: HR violations at the CIA.
(00:36:38) - Katie, and the Pfarrers.
(00:44:52) - Osborne's explosive memoirs (and exploding marriage).
(00:51:32) - Linda arrives, and she wants some work done.
(01:00:49) - The discovery of top secret shit.
(01:07:22) - The master plan begins.
(01:15:56) - We gotta get these two crazy kids together.
(01:18:34) - The drop, and the Russians become involved.
(01:24:40) - No one ever expects the adult novelty chair, and the fall of Osborne Cox.
(01:31:36) - Things escalate, to say the least.
(01:36:07) - JK Simmons is here to say what we're all thinking.
(01:41:16) - Everyone and everything becomes unwound.
(01:57:55) - What did we learn?
(02:03:58) - Final thoughts.
(02:09:21) - Housekeeping for the remaining May movies.
(02:13:01) - Outro.

The third film in our Coens Comedy Classics lineup is an all-time favorite of Alex's, and a genuine screwball hall-of-famer if you don't mind such bold proclamations. We are, of course, talking about Raising Arizona, a movie chock full of yuks that still has a genuine heart that cannot be denied.
CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 176: Raising Arizona (1987)
(00:00:22) - Intro.
(00:08:19) - Some initial impressions, and how Raising Arizona got made.
(00:21:09) - On the subject of Randall "Tex" Cobb.
(00:25:43) - A brief bit on Trey Wilson.
(00:27:05) - On the movie's success and reception (and also a lengthy Siskel and Ebert bit).
(00:33:11) - Break!
(00:33:31) - We're back, and it's time for Hi and Ed's whirlwind romance.
(00:43:32) - Taking your pick of the Arizona Quints.
(00:52:42) - Our new nuclear family, and the Snoats brothers come calling.
(01:01:47) - The demon biker first appears, and Nathan Jr. is discovered missing.
(01:07:57) - The true horror of the nuclear family is revealed.
(01:15:09) - One of the all-time great failed hold-ups in cinema.
(01:18:04) - The bank robbery is pitched, and Junior's origins are discovered by unsavory types.
(01:29:59) - Hi and Ed are nearly done, and the bank robbery pops off.
(01:33:10) - All forces converge on Nathan Jr.
(01:36:47) - Hi and Ed make things right, and a (potential) vision of the future.
(01:44:05) - Final thoughts, and various other Cage musings.
(01:53:42) - Our final Coens movie for this lineup: Burn After Reading!
(01:55:47) - Outro.

Our journey through some of the wackier Coen Brothers capers continues this week as we take on The Hudsucker Proxy, a star-studded, over-the-top affair that is equal parts His Girl Friday and Roadrunner cartoon, and is every bit as ungainly as that description makes it sound.
CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 175: The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)
(00:00:20) - Intro.
(00:01:28) - Our movie this week: The Hudsucker Proxy!
(00:10:49) - How this movie got made, and discussion of its ill box office fortunes.
(00:25:03) - Break!
(00:25:26) - We're back, and it's time to tell the tale of Norville Barnes.
(00:35:04) - Everything's going great at Hudsucker Industries, until it isn't.
(00:40:04) - Let's hatch a stock scam.
(00:44:22) - Mailroom mayhem, and the introduction of the Blue Letter.
(00:57:17) - A perfect patsy is born, but one ace reporter smells a bunko scam.
(01:05:20) - A fabricated meet-cute at the diner, and Amy becomes a Muncie gal.
(01:10:20) - Taking a letter, and the fancy dress ball.
(01:21:02) - The dawn of the extruded plastic dingus.
(01:28:29) - The stock scam is in shambles, and Norville is tripping on his own dingus.
(01:32:20) - Norville's dancing dreams, and the downfall.
(01:42:25) - Long way down (one more thing).
(01:54:14) - The epilogue, and our final thoughts.
(02:02:13) - Our film for next week is a killer one: Raising Arizona!
(02:03:48) - Outro.