205 Newsletter

Happy holidays, everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your time with your families. If you didn't have a chance to listen to the episodes yet, don't worry, there's no spoilers held within this newsletter. However, you will want to watch this week's movies before next week's Aftershow (if you've added it into your rotation), because we'll be doing a spotlight on one of the films and talking way more in depth about the history of the film.

Before we get into the movies of the week, I have an exciting announcement to make for everyone in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The Texas Theater will be screening Killing Zoe on February 27th, 2025 and The Rules of Attraction on February 28th, 2025. Both of these screenings will have a live Q&A with Roger (and I'll be moderating). Tickets are on sale now, and a portion of the proceeds benefit Roger and my favorite charity Project AVARY, so if you're in the area make sure to come and see the movies!

So a little bit of backstory about this episode. As you guys know we don't typically do themed episodes, and honestly, this wasn't meant to be one! We sat down to record a regular 3 movie episode. The other two movies we were planning on covering were Who Killed Mary Whats'ername? and Broadway Bill.

As we discussed The Christmas Tree, we were swept up in the emotions of it all ... as you heard on the episode, my grandfather has had a series of mini strokes -- and that was actually my first time learning about it.

Thankfully he's still kicking it! Since then my dad and I both spent time with him in Colorado before he headed off to Brasil for the last time in his life. You've probably heard us talk about my grandpa and my dad's time growing up in Mexico/Brasil on the show before -- "Roy Cameron Jensen" -- in conversations like Demonoid and Mister Scarface, amongst others.

Anyhow, this just proves the importance of loving one another and telling people who matter to you just how much they mean ... so if you have a friend or family member you haven't talked to in a while, drop them a line!

Back to the Archives (sorry for the detour!). Just like I got swept up up there, we got swept up in the discussion of The Christmas Tree -- so much so that when we were done with the episode we considered making it a single movie episode ... but when we realized that Christmas was right around the corner, and we had an episode coming out on Christmas Eve, we decided to find a little something extra to pair it with. During lunch Quentin went through his collection and pulled out a laserdisc, of all things! Thus, our Christmas special was born.

Now, for the boxes. Quentin's copy of The Christmas Tree is under the alternate title: When Wolves Cry.

I really love the artwork on the box. It features the greatest action moment of the movie (the wolves and the horses), along with a brooding father and a melancholy (but accepting of his fate) son. There is strength behind those eyes.

You all know I'm not a fan of cut boxes (especially when the words on the box are cut, making it impossible for Roger to read!) -- but I really like the design of this box overall. Placing the eye of the boy and the eye of the wolf side by side gives you a feeling of what you're getting into, and this back of the box holds no punches: "Every parent's nightmare becomes real."

We talked a lot about Rage in this episode, so if you haven't heard that conversation yet, make sure to go ahead and listen to it here.

Now, this may be our very first laserdisc of the show ... but it isn't the first laserdisc we've talked about! ;-) No spoilers, but there's an episode coming out soon where we feature another of Roger's favorite format.

Some of you caught me in my clue and questioned if this was a feature film ... well, to me, when I was a kid, 51 minutes definitely felt like a feature! But you're right, it's a little short to be considered a feature.

I don't know about you guys, but I have really good memories of Rankin / Bass cartoons. Which one is your favorite? Mine is definitely Mad Monster Party, but a close second may be The Last of the Unicorns (talk about a turgid tearjerker).

If you're looking for more movies to watch, every week Mike Kenny puts together a list of all of the movies mentioned in each episode. Here's this week's list. How many have you seen? Me, I'm at 45%.

If you've made it this far, I have to remind you that today is the last full day for our holiday sale. You can get 25% off your first month on Patreon with the code XMAS25, and you can get 25% off of 25$ or more on our merch store.

As you all voted over in the community chat, the Patreon exclusive episode will drop tomorrow (the 25th). This episode is available to all paying tiers. For those of you that don't usually listen to the Aftershows, this may give you a taste of what those episodes are like.

See you guys in the next newsletter, and happy holidays to you all, no matter which ones you celebrate.

xoxo gala