Is This Still Good?

Goodness me, Mark is back! We wrap up our 5 year love affair with the mortal Kombat franchise by doing a deep critical analysis of the philosophy and creative intent of 1997's Mortal Kombat Annihilation, which poses the existential question "what the hell is happening?"How many cast members survived from the first movie? How many crew members survived the second movie? and, What really happens when you teleport?Episode 100 is next week! if you have feedback or a question for us about the podcast, write it in to [email protected] for a chance to have it answered on this summer's Q & A episode

Writer/Director Chelsea Christer lets out her superfreak and finally joins for a Sundance-heavy talk about writing for your budget. Was this movie supposed to be set in Florida and shot in Canada? Did the studios really not want Steve Carrell? Is Paul Dano the most overrated actor? Check out her short film (which Gavin shot) wherever you can, as soon as you can. Gavin still hasn't given me a link.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NZ81HQJ9Ic

Cinematographer Nick Mahar (Welcome to Wrexham, Didi) stops by for a shockingly uplifting episode about how travel changes us and how we can all be special. You contain multitudes, isn't that wonderful? Gavin has settled into a comfortable life as a negative asset manager for Life magazine, content to daydream. Bad news Nick, because Sage is restructuring the company and your only chance to save your job is to go on a life-altering adventure to find a missing photo from famed photojournalist Nick Mahar. Also Kristen Wiig is there? I dont know, this one got away from me. Check out our 3 ninjas episode with his producing partner Scott Wickman, our city of God episode for more talk about film, and any other episode you are curious about because we remastered them all. And for the love of god go see Didi.

The boys rank the best art of 2025 and give out some very questionable awards. Sage makes the case for Grace in movies. Gavin learns who Jay Kelly is. Adam puts a curse on Akiva Goldsmith. Do you have feedback or an idea for an episode? DM us at @stillgoodpod (or write an email at [email protected], and check out our collection of remastered older episodes at stillgoodpod.com or wherever fine pods are casted.

Dad History Month continues! Sage's dad joins to discuss Alaskan representation in film, how you stole movies in the 60s, and if its okay to be mean to fat people (hint: not really!). Plus: Was Sage's Grandpa the greatest Bow Hunter who ever lived? Ted Nugent seems to think so.

Dadcast is back! Gavin's father returns to explain about how hard it was to avoid being in a cult in the 1970s San Francisco. Plus: do the plants f*ck?

Our heroes venture back to the Bone temple to check in on England's male loneliness epidemic. Spoilers for Bone Temple begin at 40:30. Would Gavin survive an apocalypse? How long would it take to make a Bone Temple, anyway? And was the real treasure the cults we made along the way? Plus: Dacosta doing business! We're approaching our 100th main episode! Send us some feedback or just say hi at [email protected], and keep an eye out for Adam's film Uphill

Our heroes check in with what Weyland Yutani was up to in 2025, and predict if Disney is going to mess with a good thing

Sage's work-wife Maggie Whitaker stops by to show a costume designer's perspective on 1988's Working Girl, which they are shocked to learn is NOT about sex workers.

A podcast recording was found deep in the woods. From what we've discovered on the tapes it appears filmmaker Jeremy De Forge talked podcast co-hosts Sage and Gavin into investigating an independent film and box office juggernaut that came out of nowhere and left the media landscape forever changed. It's unclear if they were successful in there search, as all we've found is this podcast which is presented in it's full form. The filmmaker and podcasters have not been heard from since. Plus: Sean ranks all the V/H/S movies!

Our resident Weyland-Yutani expert comes back to talk about the time Danny Glover played an unkillable maniac. Do Jamaicans practice Voodoo? Should this movie just take Place in New York?And what is up with Danny Glover's pants? Plus: When would YOU set a Predator movie? After you see Predator: Badlands, check out Fairyland, which is available on all* digital platforms. Check out Benji's livestreams of Warped Dimension, including this overlong Predator 2 feature https://vimeo.com/716288120/da3722fc69?share=copy

The laziest among us gets their hand possessed. Fairyland is OUT in theaters! Find out if you're lucky enough to have it play in a nearby city, https://willa.org/film/fairyland/

Deanna brought a whole dish of soap to share. We all remember Soapdish, right? Is this Chinatown for theater kids? Does the Elizabeth Shue fit? Would Gavin make out with Kevin Kline? Plus: do we trust Paul? Support Sage by watching Fairyland in Theaters now! (if you're in NY or LA, or soon if you're not). Also keep an eye out for Out For Delivery, a short film that Gavin shot starring Martin Starr and Deanna Rooney, at whatever festival you stumble into.

Wait, have we not done a batman yet? The boys invite comic Scribe Scott Calvert to discuss the first graphic novel on the show, Frank Miller's 1986 'The Dark Knight Returns'. “I want you to remember, Clark. In all the years to come, in your most private moments, I want you to remember, my hand, at your throat, I want you to remember, to like and subscribe to Still Good and leave a nice review" -Frank Miller Look out for Scott's comic HIERATH, THE UNTIMELY ADVENTURES OF BEVEL AND LOGAN, the first book available at https://boxfortcomics.bigcartel.com/product/hiraeth-issue-001 and of course, check out Fairyland in Theaters October!

The boys crank it up to 11 in anticipation of a Spinal Tap sequel. Rock and Roll never dies. Both Steve Flavin and Nigel Wrathbone stop by to discuss the creative process and faustian bargains. Is Rob Reiner a better actor or director? Can Steve pull off a British accent? Does Sage resist the pull of turning this into a Popstar episode? Only your ears can tell you.

Jawsome! We found and cleaned up our lost recording of Street Sharks from 2019! Come along and see how the podcast has evolved, what a Street Sharks movie should be like today, and how much therapy they would need.

Are you stoked for Alien: Earth? Obviously we are, which is why we've remastered and repackaged all of our Alien episodes together for your listening pleasure. And you know, benji is still here. We were going to cover the Alien franchise in Alphabetical order, but we accidentally started with R.

I feel the need. The need for a podcast about Top Gun! Navy vet and fellow Production Sound Mixer Eric Ballew joins us to talk about Top Gun's influence on his own enlistment, as well as the honor of mixing parts of Top Gun: Maverick. Is Top Gun just a ski school for adrenaline junkies? What does it take to capture sound in a moving plane? And, why does the Navy fly planes, anyway? Find out on a all-new hypersonic Is This Still Good?!

We've come full circle! In anticipation of a NEW #D Donkey Kong (soon on Switch 2), Campbell is back to talk about Nintendo's OTHER 3D platformer for the 64. Did it work? well, no, but WHY is worth exploring. Plus: Why is there a switch 2, anyways? Check out our original, restored Donkey Kong Country Episode (still among our best) at the top of the feed. Do not check out the donkey Kong TV show

Yvan is back to talk about famous street dogs, triptychs, and a real loser of a hitman. No dogs were harmed in the making of this podcast.

Sage and Gavin wake up naked in a hospital. Something feels off. Lonely. Rabid. Worst of all, they're in London. What is the appropriate speed for a zombie? Did this movie really need to be shot on digital? How many of these are they going to make, anyway?

Sage and Gavin aren't strangers to the underbelly of screenwriting, but when their old buddy Rian johnson goes missing they need to start kicking trees and see what falls out. First up is Professor Julian Hoxter, who seem almost too willing to talk... ...About Rian johnson's directorial debut, 2005's Brick! (starring Joseph Gordon Levitt) What makes good storytelling? What makes a good character? Is the answer to both...shoes? Dig deeper into the mystery by looking at Julian Hoxter's numerous books including "Write what you don't know" wherever fine books are sold.

On a very existential episode of is This Still Good, Paula returns to talk about the 2009 TMNT crossover that everyone forgot about, living in Arnold Schwarzenegger's house, and how no one would even notice the turtles in NYC. Plus: is free Will an illusion?

Elijah Wood month continues! Adam Boyer swings by the podcast again to talk Robert Rodriguez's 1998 "The Faculty"! But... to level with you... he's not quite acting himself. He keeps refusing to do our homemade drugs we stash in ball point pens. We're pretty sure he's either an Alien or an undercover cop.

Some brits drop by Gavin's apartment to ask the question on everyone's mind: is Gavin a f*ckin Journo?

Sage and Gavin decide to enlist the help of gentleman thief Seamus Calder for one of this summer's greatest capers, stealing the declaration of independence. Wait that's the wrong movie... This time we're talking Miyazaki's feature debut The Castle of Cagliostro. Before Ghibli, after Nemo, there was Monkey Punch's Lupin III! If you want to see this movie catch it on the internet archives at: https://archive.org/details/lupin-iii-castle-of-cagliostro-redub The dub Gavin wanted everyone to watch!

Lord of the Rings. Chronicles of Narnia. Gladiator. Princess Mononoke. What do all these movies have in common? They're all shamelessly ripped off in 2012's extremely cynical Snow White & The Huntsman. How important is a script, anyway. Is there a haircut that says "I might f*ck my sister?" Plus: what's the Huntsman's name, anyway?

Sage makes Gavin watch a perfect movie.

Journey back with us to a cleaner time in the MCU where Kevin Feige pretended they were doing unique takes on genres. How many days does it take to track down a Condor? Is Frank Grillo underappreciated? Are we excited for Cap 4? All this, plus: War Horse! Keep an eye out for Adam's directorial debut Uphill, crawling across festivals.

What happens when you take dinosaurs, feed 'em brain boosting cereal, and drop 'em into 90's NYC? Well we're pretty sure you get a special musical crossover episode of Is this Still Good? featuring none other than the hosts of Make that Song Now! This is the also the official start of season 3 (ignore what itunes says), a series where we force each other to watch things we consider gaps in their knowledge, so get ready for an eclectic collection of films in 2025.

Boy, they sure did remake a lot of our movies this year huh? Still Good Pod All stars Benji Carver and Adam Boyer join us to talk about the year that was. Movies covered and spoiled include Twisters, Saturday night, The Crow, Alien: Romulus, The Substance, Wicked, and Gladiator 2! Plus: Adam reports on "Here"! Check out Another Hole in the Head festival and go support Benji over at the Warped Zone patreon, and ask Adam where you can see his directorial debut Uphill!

It's nearly Christmas, the most vampiric holiday of the year. So before you go watch Nosferatu, check out the last big Dracula epic. Alternately, before you watch Megalopolis, check out the last time Coppola funneled way too much money into a bunch of questionable choices. In this Dracula retrospective, The extended Still Good family looks at the legacy of Dracula (the historical figure, novel, and movies) while getting a lot of historical dates wrong.

Trevor finally drops by the pod to talk about Gladiators, Director's Cuts, and all things Ridley Scott.

Bay area director AJ Juncker stops by to discuss a bizarre 1985 Wizard of Oz spinoff that could be more worth watching than Wicked. How can someone both picture and sound edit a movie? Is Sage secretly an Oz-head? Does Gavin hate fantasy children? Find out on a egg-dropping new Is This Still Good? Check out AJ's latest short "Gorilla Wants Banana" at https://vimeo.com/690352278/ef6b0d85aa

Robert Zemeckis' Here is, uh, here- a movie told from Told via a single static camera angle. In celebration, Sage grabs his old film history professor Dr. Porter to discuss a similar Swedish film he shows in film school. Join us on our film school bullshit for a look at the philosophy behind Deep focus, why on earth anyone would devote their life to telling stories this way, and how sometimes your house is a train. Plus: the difference between Nordic and American Andersons! Sure, we could have revisited a more obvious, popular movie like Forrest Gump or even Cast away, but its too late now and we didn't. Dr. Porter is a film history professor at Eastern Washington University and a programmer at Spokane International Film Festival (SPIFF)

Chilean-American Filmmaker Yvan Iturriaga stops by to talk about the difficulty and logistics of filming in South America, why international stories matter, and the literal chemical magic of film. Sage takes you on a tour of a favela and mispronounces a lot of Portuguese names along the way. Gavin is just stoked to be here. Check out the podcast Yvan produces "Friday Night Semites" on youtube and wherever fine pods are casted and check out his webseries that Sage worked on The North Pole about the intersection of climate change and social inequity in North Oakland. It has Rosario Dawson and a Polar Bear. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTL_XyeFtPIaUGN1aR9YD0Q

Live, from Los Angeles, it's Saturday Night! Jason Reitman's Saturday Night is out in theaters (depending on your location), which chronicles the tumultuous night leading up to the premiere of Saturday night Live in 1975. Steve Morrow (the sound mixer of the film) sits down with to give us a peak ahead at the film and to look back at the first film to spin out of SNL, 1980's Blues Brothers! Join us on a tour through the history of production sound, ballooning budgets, and why no one can replace John Belushi. They can't stop us, we're on a mission from God. Steve has an incredible and accoladed career in film sound including, Little Miss Sunshine, A star is Born, La La Land, Babylon, and Crank! (We talk more about Crank than you would expect). His films Saturday Night and Joker 2, and Juror are all in theaters.

The Crow Reboot is finally coming out! Our heroes revisit the Original and try not to get too sad at the legacy of Brandon Lee. Plus, Sage takes us down the Crow Hole! By which we mean he gives a history lesson on the many terrible sequels and aborted reboot attempts between 1994 and 2024. It's a completely unrelated Brandon Lee by the way. Check out his trippy music video for Jenni Rudolph's "Water and Oil" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuyMv_AcKeg

Our heroes look at the weirdest Alien movie to date, and pitch a few of our own. Did we have Clone Fever in 1997? Is Alien: Romulus going to be any good? How exactly does one fuck a robot? There's literally only way to find out you coward.

The Boys are cashing in on that Tornado movie right around the corner by revisiting the Jan de Bont movie that isn't Speed. What is the Suck Zone? What would Arnold Schwarzenegger sound like as an Australian? Should we have gotten a guest? There's literally only one way to find out!

Our Kurosawa mini series concludes with Star Wars vs. The Hidden Fortress! Seamus returns to talk about Samurais and Space wizards, things that he takes much more seriously than Sage

It's another round of Is This Still Dad! In the second episode of our Kurosawa miniseries we examine two adaptations of Shakespeare's foggiest play, Macbeth. Kurosawa's Throne of Blood, and Billy Morrissette's Scotland, PA.

It's a Kurasawa miniseries! Seamus joins us to poke at the differences between Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo and and Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars, a remake he absolutely did not pay the rights for.

On this episode we talk Godzillas! We got OG Godzilla, Shin Godzilla, and Minus One godzilla. Back from the Vague Zone, Thomas Churchill joins us as we talk some of Godzilla's solo outings, his origins, and just how googly we want the eyes on our ideal Godzilla. What do you want from a Godzilla movie? What makes the big green guy's appeal so everlasting? Is 'Zilla misunderstood?

Part two: The Return of Chen Zhen! Pete Lee returns to talk more about this fictional hero, and those who've stepped into his shoes.

This time we're talking Chen Zhen movies, with a focus on Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury and Jet Li's Fist of Legend. Along for the ride is the better spoken *and* informed Pete Lee! . Who is Chen Zhen? What was myspace like for Donnie Yen? Who's fist had the most fury?

On a very special holiday episode of Is this Still Good? Two men enter. Both men leave. As friends. It's the greatest Thanksgiving franchise ever! This week we discuss underdog epic, Rocky! What's a steadicam? Is jazz dancing martial arts? Why doesn't anyone get thanks-killed in these movies? Find out on this super sized, All-American punchtacular episode.

Sage takes Gavin on a journey through the world of It. Topics include: Living Inside, Following, Coming at night, How to properly Jump Scare, and...Shakespeare? We'll see you in a few weeks.

Alrik claims to have invented teleportation, or "Disintegration - Reintegration" as he calls it. He also claims it's going to be the biggest thing in health since Tae Bo! What's the deal with practical effects? Was Mel Brooks into horror? Can Jeff Goldblum make mutating sexy? Alrik Bursell from "Making Movies Is Hard" joins us to discuss David Cronenberg's "The Fly (1958)" and measure it against the Vincent Price original (1958).

On this Spooky episode of Is This Still Good? Adam found a weird looking book in his basement, so Sage and Gavin have agreed to read it out loud on the podcast. Hope nothing bad happens. Is Sam Raimi a madman? How do you make love the Bruce Campbell way? Just how prestigious is the 5 timers club? On This episode we discuss Evil Dead and Evil Dead II.