Episode 90 - THE FIFTH ELEMENT

The story of The Fifth Element's journey from bemusing sci-fi oddity to beloved cult film hinges on its exoticness. Luc Besson's passion project looks, sounds, and feels like nothing else among the late-90s mainstream. Hyper-obsessed with action, sex, and every other sensory pleasure, it's simultaneously a portrait of its time and ahead of its time.

Jack Stovold of Reopening the Wormhole joins us to unpack this lascivious European cousin of the high-concept American blockbuster, so grab your multipass and get ready to revisit this outrageous space opera.

The Fifth Element (1997)
Directed by Luc Besson
Produced by Patrice Ledoux
Written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen
Starring Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Brion James, Tiny Lister, and Chris Tucker

Episode 89 - PLANET OF THE APES (2001)

Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes remake is the orphan of the erstwhile sci-fi franchise, a film made with great expense and expectations that failed to re-ignite the public's interest in simian social allegories. Yet it is also a triumph of technical craft, and pays homage to its predecessors in its total commitment to immersing the viewer in a primeval, primate-dominated world.

Sam Stovold joins us for an analysis of this much-debated Apes installment, helping us praise its performances, question its themes, and attempt to explain its idiosyncratic approach to time travel.

Planet of the Apes (2001)
Directed by Tim Burton
Produced by Richard D. Zanuck
Written by William Broyles, Jr. & Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal
Based on Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle
Starring Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan, Paul Giamatti, Estella Warren, Kris Kristofferson, and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa