Secret Handshake

Secret Handshake

by Jacob Knight, Marten Carlson & Cody Bouchard

Film History Film Reviews

Season 7

DuoVision #5 - Back to School (1986) + Old School (2003)

We'd be great teachers...of what we have no idea. Two old guys go back to college to kick off a DuoVision mini-series with a couple of movies...about old guys going back to college. We paired the classic Rodney Dangerfield vehicle BACK TO SCHOOL (a professed Jacob Knight Classic) with the movie that basically gave us Will Ferrell, OLD SCHOOL (a certified Jacob Knight Hate Fest). So come out to the quad 'cause WE'RE GOING STREAKING!

Spine #90 - Brothers Till We Die

Ciao boys! Marten's Eurocinema education continues, as fellas dive into the Italian underworld once again, exploring the trashy crime team ups between Umberto Lenzi and Tomas Milian. Scotch, machine guns and multiple car chases await!

Bonus Episode - Disclosure Day

Keep your eyes to the skies. The boys dive into the sci-fi driven portion of a young, up-and-coming filmmaker by the name of Steven Spielberg. Ever heard of him? In celebration of his late style masterwork, DISCLOSURE DAY, it's a dissection of all things alien, dinosaur, and robot. Dig in.

DuoVision #4 - The Brave One (2007) + Panic Room (2002)

Someone (or something) has gotta keep us safe at night. Wrapping up this first round of DuoVision double features is a pair of aughts Jodie Foster thrillers from major auteurs: David Fincher's PANIC ROOM (2002) and THE BRAVE ONE (2007). Who knew the little girl from Scorsese's TAXI DRIVER would grow up to get her own vigilante blood bath? Not us.

DuoVision #3 - Pacific Heights (1990) + Desperate Measures (1998)

We're back boys! Even when he's not donning cape + cowl as Batman, Michael Keaton is one of the weirdest and most interesting movie stars to emerge from the '80s, For their third installment of DuoVision, the fellas find themselves taking in the eccentric Pittsburgh actor's '90s thrillers: PACIFIC HEIGHTS and DESPERATE MEASURES.

DuoVision #2 - Breathless (1983) + Internal Affairs (1990)

Hellooooo baby! DuoVision returns with two Richard Gere thrillers (well, one's definitely a thriller and the other is...something else entirely. It's BREATHLESS and INTERNAL AFFAIRS, showing us the flipsides of one of Hollywood's most beautiful leading men. Jump in the car, we're getting all sweaty and nekkid with this one!

DuoVision #1 - Breakdown (1997) + Unlawful Entry (1992)

Welcome to DuoVision - a new, regular feature here at Secret Handshake where the boys pick a themed double feature and vibe out for an hour or so. Kicking the series off is a pair of "Kurt Russell gets cucked" '90s thrillers: 1997's BREAKDOWN and 1992's UNLAWFUL ENTRY! Will Kurt rescue his wife from an evil, truck-driving JT Walsh? And will his other spouse be seduced by slimy, scary boy in blue, Ray Liotta? Find out now!

Spine #89 - All the Colors of the Dark

Ciao Secret Handshake listeners! Marten's Italian genre cinema education continues with a crash course in gialli, courtesy of the undersung maestro of the genre, Sergio Martino. It's an episode filled with nothing but black gloves, razor blades, and beautiful ladies. Grab your bottle of J&B, it's gonna get very sleazy up in here.

Spine #88 - Excalibur

"Look into the eyes of the Dragon...and DESPAIR!" An episode long in the making, the boys dive into the wild filmography of John Boorman, as they watch the new documentary BOORMAN & THE DEVIL, travel to Chicago for Beyond Fest and see THE HERETIC on the big screen (via a beautiful 35mm print!), and finally devour his psychedelic King Arthur retelling on Arrow's terrific new 4K Blu. Fill up your pipe for this one, folks. We're getting super stoned.

Bonus Episode - The Strangers Rebootquel Trilogy

Nobody knows anything about The Strangers, and that's what makes them scary. Nor does anyone know why you would reboot The Strangers into a min-requel trilogy of films that have been, to put it mildly, disliked by all (which makes the proposition of watching them terrifying). Still, despite the bad reviews, the boys dive into both this new iteration of the slasher franchise, as well as the wild career of its director, genre bad boy Renny Harlin.

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