Episode 60. Samurai Swordplay: Lady Snowblood & Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance

For our diamond jubilee episode (60!!) we had to go big with a double dose of lady assassin action: Lady Snowblood and Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance. But before we get into this love song of an episode, we had to talk about what we watched this week. And as per usual, Dre outdoes the competition (i.e., Goodman).

Dre watched for the 2nd time the Brian De Palma neo-noir classic, Blow Out, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary; Branded to Kill, the Japanese film about a rice-sniffing hitman that influenced Jim Jarmusch's Ghost Dog; the new Guy Ritchie-Jason Statham armored car/heist collabo Wrath of Man; and the 4th film in the storied Lone Wolf and Cub franchise, which Goodman also watched: Baby Cart in Peril—long live Ogami Itto!

Then it was time for Goodman to unveil the first two episodes of HBO Max's latest series, The White Lotus, created, directed and written by Mike White (of Chuck and Buck and School of Rock fame) and featuring a top-notch cast, including Connie Britton, Steve Zahn, Jennifer Coolidge, Alexandra Daddario, Jake Lacy from Obvious Child, Natasha Rothwell from Insecure, Murray Bartlett, and more! And Goodman also reveals a fun little tidbit about his connection to Hollywood and this show (amazingly there is one).

Then we go all snow and blood, with Lady Snowblood, another movie franchise based on a Kazuo Koike manga, directed by Toshiya Fujita and starring Meiko Kaji as the incomparable, titular Lady Snowblood. We discuss the film's beautiful artistry, the bodies severed in half and the many ways that it has influenced Quentin Tarantino. Then we follow up with the sequel, which brings back the same writer, director and actor trio.

Hey gang, we're taking a short break, so join us in ni  (2) weeks to close out our samurai swordplay series with a double animation feature of Ninja Scroll and Sword of the Stranger.

SONG CREDITS:
Theme music: "70s Funk" by Frank Cogliano
Closing music: "This is My Jam" by Will Van De Crommert

Chapters

• 2:53 What we watched this week: Blow Out
• 8:18 What we watched this week: Branded to Kill
• 13:21 What we watched this week: Wrath of Man
• 18:33 What we watched this week: Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril
• 33:55 What we watched this week: The White Lotus (Episodes 1 & 2)
• 38:23 Samurai Swordplay: Lady Snowblood
• 58:11 Samurai Swordplay: Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance
• 1:05:38 Scheduling announcement: Next episode