Wake Up Heavy

Finally... Cleo and I have reached the end of Twin Peaks. On this episode we talk about the final three episodes of Twin Peaks: The Return (2017); Coop's return, Audrey's Dance, Freddie's glove, and Richard and Linda. Did we understand it all? Nope. Did we like it? Yup. Enjoy and thanks for going on this journey with us.

Cleo and I are here with our penultimate episode on the world of Twin Peaks! You can feel things being wrapped up and winding down in episodes 13,14, and 15 of Twin Peaks: The Return (2017). We got some suprises regarding Diane and Janey-E, Nadine and Big Ed, and what finally triggers Coop to wake up. And Audrey and Sleepy Charlie have YET to leave their house!

Cleo and I are back in the world of Twin Peaks! We explore the middle-third of Twin Peaks: The Return (2017) which has some of our favorite episodes. Going forward we will be tackling only three episodes at a time, so expect two more releases from us. Who the heck is Billy?

On this episode Cleo and I leave the world of Twin Peaks and take a side-trip up Mullholland Dr. (2001). Betty/Diane, Rita/Camilla, Adam Kesher, The Cowboy, who's the guy in the wheelchair(?), Winkie's Man, etc. This. Is. The. Girl.

Cleo and I are back in the world of Twin Peaks. On this episode we jump around the first six episodes of Twin Peaks: The Return (2017) which we both absolutely loved. We are team Dougie Jones all the way. Stay tuned as we hope to finish out the series by the end of summer.

Cleo and I are starting a series about the series Twin Peaks (1990)! This first episode is on our thoughts of the original two season run of the show AND the film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992).We will be following this up with three episodes about Twin Peaks: The Return (2017). And you won't have to wait long for the first of those as we are already working on it!

Cleo and I are back at it; talking about a bunch of movies we've seen since September 2025!! Some Oscar© winners, horror films, horror films that were Oscar© winners, Talking Heads, The Beatles, Peter Strickland, PTA, etc.Mark's OTHER Wake Up Heavy: 

The Kid and I watched Weapons (2025) and we LIKED it! Plus a bunch of other cool stuff we watched. Apologies for all the Magnolia clips, I just love that movie!!

We knew it would happen and here it is! Mike, Mark, and Chris discuss the 2025 reboot of The Naked Gun franchise with... The Naked Gun! The film stars Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr. and Paul Walter Hauser as Ed Hocken Jr., with Pamela Anderson along as the love interest, Beth Davenport—an author of true crime novels based on fictional stories that she makes up.The film reunites the powerhouse trio behind Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022)—Dan Gregor, Doug Mand, and Akiva Schaffer—who do a great job channeling the ZAZ flavor of comedy.Revisit the entire run of From the Files of Police Squad (In Color) at http://www.policesquadincolor.com

Cleo the Kid and I are back at it with our usual round up of Recently (and not-so-recently) Watched movies. Franchises, trilogies, and series abound. Join us won't you?

Cleo and I watched a handful of good movies during her Spring Break and then we talked about them. With particular attention paid to Strange Darling with Kyle Gallner and Willa Fitzgerald and The Monkey by our boy Oz Perkins based on a short story by Stephen King.

Here's a little follow up about my accident and my progress since the last episode. Also, Cleo the Kid has joined me to talk about some fun horror flicks we've watched since the first of the year. Give it a listen, won't ya?

A look back at the crappy year that was 2024 and some news about the double crappy start to 2025. Plus my movie watches of last year, the highs and lows and things in between. I'm such a lucky boy.Me on TPB talking about Radio On (1979): https://www.projectionboothpodcast.com/2024/08/episode-702-radio-on-1979.html

Please join me for the Third Course of my, "Cannibal Trilogy," started almost exactly one year ago. To round things out I take a stab at the 1982 German film Der Fan, starring Desiree Nosbusch and Bodo Steiger as a young fan and her Pop Star obsession, respectively. 

In memory of my dad, Jack Begley 6/29/34-8/12/24.

Cleo's back and we are joined by a very special first-time guest of the show! We chat about a decades in the making quadrilogy, a new classic horror film, and other bits and bobs throughout. Give it a listen, won't you?

WUH is happy to offer the premiere episode of the Chasing Chevy Chase Podcast. Head over to Weirding Way Media or wherever you listen to podcasts to subscribe. "Welcome to the 1980s and the wild world of Chevy Chase. On our official first episode we're discussing Joe Camp and his Benji Empire which includes the film Oh! Heavenly Dog in which Chevy plays a private dick whose killed on a case and gets sent back to Earth not as Warren Beatty but Benji the dog. He tries to solve the case of his own murder and continue wooing Jane Seymour."Our Foul Play episode: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/s7e2-she-was-one-tough-old-mama-foul-play-1978--57411265

Cleo and I talk about Sleepaway Camp (1983) and The Blues Brothers (1980), and a few other movies we've watched. But mostly The Blues Brothers. 

Weirding Way Media honcho Chris Stachiw is back again, this time we chat about Bob Balaban's pitch-black-cannibal-comedy Parents (1989). The film stars Randy Quaid (Nick Laemle) and Mary Beth Hurt (Lily Laemle) as the parents of Brian Madorsky (Michael) who may or may not be force-feeding him human flesh. Balaban uses the backdrop of Mid-Century Americana to weave a nightmarish tale of childhood dependency.

Fellow Weirding Way Media podcasters Chris Stachiw and Mike White are back on the show to discuss Foul Play (1978). Written and directed by Colin Higgins (Harold and Maude, 9 to 5) the film stars Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase in their first box office smash! Hawn plays Gloria Mundy who becomes embroiled in a Hitchcokian conspiracy plot to assassinate the Pope. Chase stars as Lt. Tony Carlson who is tasked with trying to protect her and track down the band of assassins: Whitey Jackson, Scarface, The Turk, and Rupert Stiltskin aka The Dwarf. The film also stars Dudley Moore, Burgess Meredith, and Brian Dennehy.

"It takes all kinds of critters to make Farmer Vincent's fritters." And you really don't want to know what kind of critters they are! This is a strange film for me to be doing a WDIRT episode on, but hey, I like strange things. Plus, it just kept popping into my head over the last few months and I felt like I needed to watch it and exorcize it out of my brain. That lead me to think it would make a slightly odd episode of the show since I don't particularly care for the film. So grab some smoked meats and give it a listen!

Back to the MM/YY episodes with movie watching/recs plus news and notes.

SPOILER ALERT: Both of these films are spoiled in this discussion.Mr. Kulturecast, Chris Stachiw, is back and we're talking about not one but TWO recent horror movies! First up is Samuel Bodin's Cobweb, starring Lizzy Caplan and Woody Norman. And then we talk about the not dissimilar The Boogeyman by Rob Savage. The Boogeyman is based on an early Stephen King short story and features Chris Messina and Sophie Thatcher. Check out our discussion on two other Night Shift adaptations here.

Chris has kindly shared a couple of Kulturecast episodes I guested on in 2022 that relate to a new episode we just recorded. Next up is our discussion about two Stephen King adapations based on stories from his Night Shift collection (Children of the Corn and Maximum Overdrive).

Chris has kindly shared a couple of Kulturecast episodes I guested on in 2022 that relate to a new episode we just recorded. First up is our discussion about the "Cloverfield Trilogy" such as it is.

I'd almost forgotten about the only interview I've done, but since I'm cleaning up old episodes this popped back into my head. This was for Pick Up a Podcast which seems to have stopped producing new episodes back in 2020. This dates back to early 2019 so it might be kind of fun to see how things have or have not changed since then.

Yes, I have done an episode on Black Christmas (1974) before, but when you get a chance to be on The Projection Booth you take it. This was part of a crossover event from back in 2021 when Mike White co-hosted several episodes of WUH on the horror films of Bob Clark and Alan Ormsby. This culminated with TPB's episode on Black Christmas that ended up being just shy of FOUR HOURS LONG. I hadn't been able to import the episode until now, so here it finally is. There are a TON (29!!) of ads in this episode, so head over to my Patreon to listen ad-free if'n you want.

Been making some changes, and updating some old episodes. Find out about that and how many times I've watched The Beatles: Get Back over the last week. :)

Cleo is headed back to school, but we were able to squeeze in one last episode before then. Since last we spoke we've watched a bunch of my modern horror faves, some raunchy comedies, a Coen Bros. classic, Black Mirror, and other bits and bobs. Enjoy and thanks for listening!The wonderful Green Room poster was designed by Oliver Barrett.

Cleo is finally back and we've got a hefty round of movie watches and recs. From an undersung Stephen King adaptation to a modern comedy classic to a sun-drenched folk tale we dive into a few faves of the last few months.

Wherein I talk about what's been going on since November 2022 and why I've been taking it easy on episodes and movie watching. Plus some movie recs from 2022 and so far in 2023, some interesting movie watching stats, and a few programming alerts. p.s. Megan and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish are both streaming on Peacock, and Flux Gourmet is on Shudder and Hulu (not Tubi). ;)Check out From the Files of Police Squad.And the Top Secret episode over on the Projection Booth.Give some love to Cambridge & Wishon. And listen to this episode from a year ago for more Poison for the Fairies love.

The Begley household is all in (well, except for Lady in the Water) when it comes to Mr. M. Knight Shyamalan, so we were excited to watch his latest film, Knock at the Cabin (2023). Friend of the show, Chris Stachiw, who wasn't as excited, joins me to chat about this pre-Apocalyptic film. Based on the book The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay, the film stars Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Dave Bautista, Kristen Cui, and Rupert Grint. What happens when four strangers take a family hostage and task them with making an unthinkable sacrifice to save the world? Listen and find out. SPOILER WARNING: Both the film and the book it is based on are spoiled in the episode.

We're knee deep in spoof territory over here at Weirding Way Media so why not keep the trend going? Mike White and Chris Stachiw join me to talk about an old favorite of mine, Murder by Death (1976). Written by Neil Simon and directed by Robert Moore, Murder by Death is a send-up of whodunits with some of our more well-known detectives getting the parody treatment. The film stars James Coco, Peter Falk, Elsa Lanchester, David Niven, Peter Sellers, and Maggie Smith as some suspiciously familiar faces. Eileen Brennan, Truman Capote, Alec Guinness, Richard Narita, Nancy Walker, and Estelle Winwood round out the cast in this murderous farce. Of course we discuss the problematic portrayal of an Asian character by Peter Sellers, so be warned!

A podcast by two weird guys about the weird things they like. Featuring Ronald Dzerigian (Skele Vader) and Mark Begley (Wake Up Heavy).

Sadly, no Cleo for this watch list rundown, but hopefully she'll be back soon! Along with my movie viewing activity there's some big news about my new shows in this one, so give it a listen!

You know how this goes already. My watches + Cleo's and my watches! Only Halloweekend saved this from being a low-watch movie month.

The Mickey Rourke love continues with this episode on Barbet Schroeder's 1987 film Barfly. Scripted by author Charles Bukowski Barfly follows drunk poet Henry Chinaski (Rourke) as he traverses the bars, alleys, and roominghouses of L.A.'s Skid Row. Along the way he meets kindred spirit Wanda (Faye Dunaway) and they love and fight their way through life's ups and downs. Barfly is a surprisingly warm and humorous tale about those living on the outskirts of society.Heather Drain and Anthony King join me to discuss the film, Bukowski's writing, problematic artists, and the beauty of art.

Chris and I, inspired by our Jordan Peele discussion, tackle M. Night Shyamalan's first three twisty turny films: THE SIXTH SENSE (1999), UNBREAKABLE (2000), and SIGNS (2002).

Cleo's back talkin' 'bout movies! Get an earful of our watches as a family, and my solo watches, including my most anticipated movie of the year.

Chris has kindly shared our recent discussion on the films of Jordan Peele: Get Out (2017), Us (2019), and Nope (2022). Starring everyone from Daniel Kaluuya to Bradley Whitford, Keke Palmer to Lupita Nyong'o, along with Tim Heidecker, Keith David, and Allison Williams, the three films tackle race, aliens, and identity politics through the mind of one of horror's hottest directors.LISTEN AD FREE HERE: https://www.patreon.com/wakeupheavy

It's been a long time coming (two and a half years, if anyone's counting) but the Mickey Rourke Love-Fest is finally here. 1987 was a big year for Rourke with three films hitting the big screen between April and October. Two of which happen to be HUGE favorites of mine, including this one.On this episode I am joined by Mike White and Cullen Gallagher to discuss Alan Parker's adaptation of the 1978 novel Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg. A combination of horror and noir Angel Heart follows Harry Angel (Rourke) as he tries to track down the one-time famous crooner Johnny Favorite. Angel's client Louis Cyphre (Robert DeNiro) means to make good on the "contract" he made with Johnny before he was drafted and ended up wounded and shell-shocked. The film also stars Lisa Bonet as Epiphany Proudfoot, Charlotte Rampling as Margaret Krusemark, Dann Florek as Herman Winesap, Michael Higgins as Dr, Fowler, and Pruitt Taylor Vince as Det. Deimos.Show info: https://www.wakeupheavy.com/2022/10/s6e3-i-got-thing-about-chickens-angel.html

[To avoid Orphan: First Skill spoilers at 11:51 jump to 12:31 and you should be good.]It's the (very) unofficial end of summer (115 degrees feels like summer to me!) and Cleo is back in school. I was able to squeeze one more episode out of her, though, so enjoy our August watches. For those keeping score I watched nine new movies out of 32 total during the month of August.

A big change is a comin' to WUH. Find out what it is inside this episode!

Come and celebrate the four year anniversary of Wake Up Heavy with this Very Special Episode on a film in my Top Ten of All Time. Chris Stachiw (The Kulturecast) and Mike White (The Projection Booth Podcast) join me to discuss Jonathan Demme's 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs. Written by Ted Tally and based on the novel by Thomas Harris, Silence stars Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling, an FBI trainee, Scott Glenn as Special Agent Jack Crawford, Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Hannibal Lecter, and Ted Levine as Jame Gumb, aka Jamie Gumb, aka John Grant, aka Jack Gordon, aka Buffalo Bill. The film follows Starling as she matches wits with Lecter in an attempt to track down a notorious serial killer before he can kill and skin his next victim. The film was a huge financial and critical success and went on to win “The Big Five” categories at the 1992 Academy Awards.

Cleo is back, possibly for the last time this Summer, to talk about our film watching adventures. Should a 14 year old be watching Kill Bill? Maybe not.

KULTURECAST SHARING IS CARING MOVIE NO. 4"In this episode, we talk about Alex Garland's latest entry into his growing filmography of genre-bending fare, MEN (2022). Jessie Buckley plays a woman attempting to cope with the loss of her husband who stumbles into a town like no other. To say any more would be to give too much away; go in knowing as little as possible! Wake Up Heavy's Mark Begley joins Chris to talk about the film, Garland's other films, and toxic masculinity."

KULTURECAST SHARING IS CARING MOVIE NO. 2"In this episode, we venture back to Derry, Maine to take a look at every adaptation of Stephen King's magnum opus, It. We cover all three films, along with a light dive into the book. Did you know they're doing a prequel TV show? Yikes. Wake Up Heavy's Mark Begley joins Chris to talk about the films, the Pennywise performances, and King's works."

KULTURECAST SHARING IS CARING MOVIE NO. 3"In this bonus episode, we take a look at David Cronenberg's latest film that's a possible return to the body horror aficionado, CRIMES OF THE FUTURE (2022). Starring Viggo Mortensen and Kristen Stewart, the film follows Mortensen as a performance artist who has vestigial organs removed on stage in a dystopian future. Kristen Stewart plays a perfect weirdo obsessed with his art and his evolutionary advances. It's a wild film that deserves multiple rewatches, to say the least. Wake Up Heavy's Mark Begley and critic Yashar Pirasteh joins Chris to talk about the film, Cronenberg's films, and organ removal."

KULTURECAST SHARING IS CARING MOVIE NO. 1"In this episode, we take a look at one of Tobe Hooper's other films that isn't Poltergeist, THE FUNHOUSE (1981). Written by Larry Block, it takes place over one night at a carnival where a killer funhouse keeps attracting willing victims. It also features one of the most insane creature designs this side of Kothoga in Relic. Wake Up Heavy's Mark Begley joins Chris to talk about the film, Hooper's other works, and that hilarious mask."

The One Where Cleo Gets Traumatized By Multiple Rory Kinnears Giving Birth To More Rory Kinnears. Cleo joins me once again to talk about our movie watches for the month of June.