Exploding Helicopter

“When paradise became a battleground, she led the fight for survival.”On this show Exploding Helicopter looks at the at the frankly bonkers jungle adventure romp Sheena (1984), a film which features the strangest and possibly greatest chopper fireball of all time. Guesting on this show are Dec and Em from Two Takes. Amongst the topics of discussion: the Eighties craze for ‘white people in the colonies’ movies, whether this is the most ‘adult’ PG film ever made, and the cinematic joy of monkeys throwing grenades. Episode #30.

“Are we shooting people or what?”On this show Will and Dara take a look at Three Kings (1999) and try to work out if it’s a comedy, a drama or a war movie.They also examine a rare exploding helicopter featuring an unexpectedly combustible American football. Episode 29.

“Vengeance never dies. It only changes target.”When Robert Rodriguez made a fake trailer for part of the Grindhouse project with Quentin Tarantino, no-one could have guessed it would become a real-life film franchise.So, on this show Will and Nick Rehak from French Toast Sunday take a look at the Mex-sploitation action flick Machete Kills (2013).Among the topics of discuss who would make Hollywood’s most unlikely action star, the enduring appeal of Moonraker, and of course an epic exploding helicopter of gonzoid inventive genius. Episode #28.

"Pervert."On this show Will and Joe take a look at one of the classics of the 1970s wave of conspiracy thrillers: Capricorn One (1978). Or do they?What real evidence is there that they watched the film? Can you trust their opinions? And where's the proof it's even their voices on this recording?There is though one thing that you can believe in: that this film features an exploding helicopter.Episode #27.

“One ping only.”On this episode of Exploding Submarine we take a look at one of the big sea beasts of the genre: The Hunt For Red October (1990). Will is joined in the conning tower by Nick Rehak from French Toast Sunday. We discuss the appeal of the submarine genre, Sean Connery’s hairpiece, and the optimum number of sonar pings in an underwater film.We also talk about one of the classic exploding submarine scenes ever committed to celluloid.Episode #26.

“Terror goes into overtime.”After Die Hard rewrote the rules of the action movie, Hollywood started churning out thinly disguised knocks offs that replicated its plot in increasingly bizarre locations.So on this show Will and Dara take a look Jean Claude Van Damme’s Sudden Death (1995), which took the Die Hard concept and moved the action into the unlikely environs of an ice rink. Among the topics of discussion: the wondrous villainy of Powers Boothe, improvised weapon making, and the never before seen sight of the Muscles from Brussels fighting a 7ft female penguin. They also look at one of the most operatic exploding helicopters ever committed to celluloid. Episode #25.

“I married Rambo.”Exploding Helicopter takes a look at the action classic True Lies (1994), which features one of the all-time great helicopter explosions (in case you’ve forgotten: a chopper is destroyed by a missile-propelled terrorist). Along the way, Will and Dara go all chin-stroking intellectual to discuss the film’s strange gender politics and equally weird geopolitics. But they quickly revert to type to discuss Jamie Lee Curtis’ striptease and the bits where stuff blows up.Episode #24.

“Something cool.”Will and Dara, the maverick podcasters who play by their own rules, are back. This time they’ve only 24 hours to review the buddy cop movie comedy 22 Jump Street (2014) otherwise it’s their ass. They also take a look at the chopper fireball action and debate whether this film includes the greatest exploding helicopter kiss-off line ever uttered on screen. And our heroes also take a look at a rare animated helicopter explosion.Episode 23.

"Is that all you got? A trick and a cheesy one-liner."Exploding Helicopter is joined by Ben Dadds from Top Film Tip to take a look at Iron Man 3 (2013), a film where we get to see a helicopter destroyed by a grand piano. Well, almost. Among the other topics of discussion: is Tony Stark the most unlikeable superhero, movie red herrings, and why it is impossible to make a conspiracy thriller in Britain. Episode 22.

“I’ll bring the wine. You bring the scarred psyche.”Exploding Helicopter and Troy Allen from Action Ago Ago squeeze into luridly coloured lycra, strap on their utility belts, and adopt ridiculously husky voices to take a look at 1995’s Batman Forever.Among the topics of discussion, the strange career of Joel Schumacher, whether helicopters can have steering locks, and why on Earth the Statue of Liberty is in Gotham. Episode 21.

“Science is never wrong.”On this episode we take at the low budget disaster movie Absolute Zero (2005), where the only people who can save the world from a new ice age are Jeff Fahey and Erika Eleniak. (Probably best not to make too many plans for next week).On this show Exploding Helicopter is joined by Jason and Nolahn from Your Face and the Liar of the Unwanted. Among the topics of discussions, the demise of Jeff Fahey’s career, some highly questionable “science”, and how exactly you pronounce Erika Eleniak. Episode 20.

“The things we do for frequent flyer mileage.” After disappearing from cinema screens for 6 years, GoldenEye (1995) sought to relaunch the career of the world’s most famous spy. But how did they make James Bond – a sexist, misogynistic dinosaur and relic of the Cold War – relevant to the Nineties?To look at this question, Exploding Helicopter is joined by Tim Postins from Bride Of Crapula to discuss the feasibility of helicopter ejector seats, terrible one-liners, and two memorable helicopter explosions. Episode 19.

“What a relief. The symbologist is here.”Exploding Helicopter takes a look at Angels & Demons (2009), a film which features one of the most ridiculous exploding helicopter sequences we’ve ever encountered. Well, it’s not every day you get to see the Pope blow up a helicopter with an anti-matter bomb is it?Episode 18.

“You want the last of the baklava?”Steven Spielberg may be the greatest living director, he may have won every cinematic award known to man, but it wasn’t until his 24th feature film that the bearded boy wonder finally blew up a helicopter. So on this show Will is joined by Lindsay Street from French Toast Sunday to discuss MUNICH (2005) and one of the most extraordinary exploding helicopters we’ve ever seen. Episode 17.

“One of you is a werewolf!”Exploding Helicopter is joined by Jim Moon from the Hypnobobs podcast to talk about The Beast Must Die (1974) one of the oddest werewolf movies ever made.We sink our oversized canines into subjects including the history of Old Dark House films, whether you can ever make a German Shepherd dog look like a blood crazed lycanthrope, not to mention the “werewolf break” – the film’s notoriously bizarre marketing gimmick.We also discuss the most “bling” helicopter explosion in history.Episode 16.

“Who’s the alpha? You’re looking at him kid.”On this show we’re looking at Jurassic World (2015) the latest entry in the ‘dinosaur eating people’ franchise. Will is joined by his film quiz teammate Kobi Omenaka to tackle questions including whether animatronics are better than CGI, what the plot of a sequel could be, and where this films ranks in the series.They also attempt to answer an age old narrative question: if you see a helicopter in the first act does it have to explode by the third act. Episode 15.

“Oh my god, bees bees, millions of bees.”Arm yourself with bug spray and a fly swatter because the bees are coming! That’s right, we’re looking at one of the classics of ‘bad cinema’, infamous seventies disaster movie The Swarm (1978).On this episode Exploding Helicopter is joined by Booze from the Sweet Feathery Jesus podcast. Amongst the topics of discussion: the bizarre outbreaks of Northern Soul dancing, septuagenarian love triangle, and whether this film isn’t just a little bit *whisper it* racist.Episode 14.

“I’m gonna hit you with so many rights you’ll be begging for a left.”Pull on your denim jeans and shirt, strap on your Uzis and prepare for war, because we’re looking at the Chuck Norris action classic Invasion USA (1985).On this show, Will is joined by Todd Liebenow from Forgotten Films to discuss ‘Cold War cinema’, whether Chuck Norris is the ultimate American male, and whether it’s ethical to blow-up a defenceless helicopter. Episode 13.

“Ain't nothin' in the world get Black Dynamite more mad than some jive ass sucka dealin' smack to the kids!”Pour yourself a large glass of Anaconda Malt Liquor, and relax with Exploding Helicopter’s review of blaxsploitation send-up Black Dynamite (2009). On this show Will is joined by DJ Valentine from Simplistic Reviews to chew the fat about the state of genre parodies, the kung-fu skills of US Presidents, and whether this film features the greatest White House exploding helicopter scene ever. Episode 12.

“Would you consider the cinema of the Ukraine?”On this show Will is once again joined by Dara to discuss Mission Impossible (1996) and one of cinema’s greatest exploding helicopter scenes.Among the points of discussion: Tom Cruise as an action star, whatever happened to Emilio Estevez, and whether the film suffers from the “Big Momma’s House” syndrome. Episode 11.