On this week’s episode of Unclear and Present Danger, we watched the 1997 action thriller Conspiracy Theory, directed by Richard Donner (which explains a lot) and starring Mel Gibson, Julia Roberts and Patrick Stewart.In Conspiracy Theory, Gibson plays Jerry Fletcher, a cab driver who is consumed with all manner of conspiracies, using his captive audiences to share his ideas and delusions. He is fixated on Alice Sutton, played by Roberts, a Justice Department lawyer who tolerates him because he once saved her from a mugging. When Gibson is kidnapped by secretive government agents — led by the mysterious Dr. Jonas, played by Patrick Stewart — both he and Sutton become embroiled in a genuine conspiracy that centers on Fletcher’s mysterious past and raises difficult questions about the circumstances behind the murder of Sutton’s father.Conspiracy Theory was a hit, grossing a total of $137 million and displacing Air Force One at the box office. The critical response was mixed but not altogether negative, with most reviewers criticizing its script and plotting but ultimately holding it up as a serviceable thriller. The taglines for Conspiracy Theory were: “They knew too much.”“What you know could kill you.”“What if your most paranoid nightmares had just come true?”“Jerry Fletcher sees conspiracies everywhere. One has turned out to be true. Now his enemies want him dead. And she's the only one he can trust.”You can find Conspiracy Theory to rent or purchase on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.Episodes of the main feed come out every two weeks, and so we’ll see you then with Enemy of the State, the 1998 conspiracy thriller starring Will Smith and Gene Hackman.And don’t forget about our Patreon! You can sign up at patreon.com/unclearpod. For just $5/month, you get two episodes on the films of the Cold War. As always, our producer is Connor Lynch and our artwork is by Rachel Eck.

On this week’s episode of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle and John are joined by Max Read — of the Max Read Substack — to talk Air Force One, the 1997 action thriller directed by Wolfgang Petersen and starring none other than Harrison Ford as The President. Air Force One also stars Gary Oldman, Glenn Close, Wendy Crewson, Paul Guilfoyle, William H. Macy, Liesel Matthews and Dean Stockwell.In Air Force One, as I’m sure you know, the president’s aircraft is hijacked by a group of terrorists who demand the release of their country’s imprisoned dictator. Rather than flee for safety, President James Marshall decides to take things into his own hands, confronting the terrorists one by one in an attempt to retake his plane. You can find Air Force One to buy or rent on Amazon Prime and Apple TV. The tagline for Air Force One is “Harrison Ford is the President of the United States.”For our next episode, we will cover Richard Donner’s Conspiracy Theory, starring Mel Gibson, Julia Roberts and Patrick Stewart.Be sure to sign up for our Patreon, where we watch the films of the Cold War and try to unpack them as political and historical documents! For $5 a month, you get two bonus episodes every month as well as access to the entire back catalog — we’re almost two years deep at this point. Sign up at patreon.com/unclearpod. 

On this week’s episode of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle and John watched Contact, the 1997 science-fiction drama directed by Robert Zemeckis. Based on the book by Carl Sagan, Contact stars Jodie Foster as Dr. Ellie Arroway, a SETI scientist who discovers extraterrestrial life and is eventually chosen to make first contact with the alien life. Foster is joined by a stacked cast of character actors, including Matthew McConaughey, James Woods, Tom Skerritt, William Fichtner, John Hunt, Rob Lowe and Angela Bassett. In their conversation, Jamelle and John discuss the distinctly neoliberal politics of the film as well as the extent to which Contact is a prominent example of the “end of history” utopianism that marked political and cultural life as the 1990s came to a close.You can find Contact to rent or purchase on Amazon or Apple TV.For the next episode of the podcast, Jamelle and John will watch Air Force One, directed by Wolfgang Petersen and starring Harrison Ford as the president who punches. And don’t forget the Patreon, where they watch the political and military thrillers of the Cold War and talk about the politics of those decades! On the most recent episode of the Patreon, Jamelle and John watched the 1970 political drama WUSA. You can listen to that and more at patreon.com/unclearpod.Our producer is Connor Lynch and our artwork is by Rachel Eck.

On this week’s episode of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle and John watched Men in Black, the 1997 sci-fi action comedy directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and starring Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D’Onofrio and Rip Torn.Men in Black was written by Ed Soloman and shot by the late Donald Peterman — whose credits include Flashdance, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Point Break — with a score by Danny Elfman.In Men in Black, Smith plays James Darrell Edwards III, a New York City police officer who finds himself in chase through the city with a unnaturally fast and agile criminal, who later commits suicide. He soon learns that this criminal was an alien from another planet, and that New York is host to a secret government agency tasked with tracking alien lifeforms on Earth. He is recruited into the Men in Black by Agent K, and is deemed Agent J.Agents K and J are soon on the hunt for a Bug, an extra-terrestial cockroach who seeks “the galaxy,” a precious energy source that has been left on Earth. As the Bug, donning the skin of a human farmer, rampages through New York, K and J try to mitigate the damage and protect the galaxy, and the Earth itself, from the Bug.The tagline for Men in Black was “Protecting the Earth from the Sum of the Universe.”You can find Men in Black to stream on demand on Amazon Prime or for rent or purchase on Amazon and Apple TV.Be sure to sign up for our Patreon, where we watch the films of the Cold War and try to unpack them as political and historical documents! For $5 a month, you get two bonus episodes every month as well as access to the entire back catalog — we’re almost two years deep at this point. Sign up at patreon.com/unclearpod. The latest episode of our Patreon podcast is on Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver.Connor Lynch produced this episode. Artwork by Rachel Eck.

Dive into a thrilling mix of espionage and romance as Simon Templar, a master thief, navigates a complex web of political intrigue and personal relationships. The narrative uncovers the dark intentions of a billionaire oligarch while exploring themes of identity and power struggles. Beyond the film's plot, the discussion interweaves historical and contemporary political analyses, reflecting on how societal narratives shape perceptions. From the housing crisis to the influence of evangelicalism in politics, this dialogue offers profound insights into the intertwining of media and real-world events.

On this week’s episode of Unclear and Present Danger, we watched the The Second Civil War, a 1997 satirical film directed by Joe Dante for HBO. Starring James Earl Jones, Elizabeth Peña, Denis Leary, Beau Bridges, Phil Hartman and James Coburn, The Second Civil War takes place in a future where rapid, unlimited immigration has produced a balkinized society of ethnic enclaves. California is essentially been re-absorbed into Mexico and Rhode Island is home to millions of Chinese migrants. When an international relief organization makes plans to bring Pakistani refugees into Idaho, the state’s governor, played by Beau Bridges, orders the its national guard to close the borders, sparking a stand-off with the federal government. As both sides escalate, Americans start to choose sides, with other western states joining Idaho in its pushback against Washington.Eventually, the war of words becomes an actual war, as shooting starts between the U.S. Army and the various national guards now allied with Idaho.As viewers, we see all of this unfold through the eyes of a news network, whose anchors and reporters are on the scene, covering developments as they occur.The tagline for The Second Civil War was “A Very Uncivil Comedy.”You can find The Second Civil War streaming for free on YouTube.Our next episode will be on The Saint, the 1997 thriller adapted from the television show of the same name, directed by Phillip Noyce and starring Val Kilmer and Elizabeth Shue.And don’t forget our Patreon, where we watch the films of the Cold War and try to unpack them as political and historical documents! For $5 a month, you get two bonus episodes every month as well as access to the entire back catalog — we’re almost two years deep at this point. Sign up at patreon.com/unclearpod. The latest episode of our Patreon podcast is on the 1979 thriller Hardcore.Connor Lynch produced this episode. Artwork by Rachel Eck.

On this week’s episode of Unclear and Present Danger, we watched the 1997 thriller The Devil’s Own, directed by Alan J. Pakula and starring Brad Pitt and Harrison Ford.In The Devil’s Own, Pitt plays Frankie McGuire, an IRA soldier who travels to the United States to obtain advanced weapons for the fight in Ireland. He is put up in the home of NYPD Sergeant Tom O’Meara, played by Ford, who does not know McGuire’s mission. The two develop an easy rapport and McGuire becomes a part of O’Meara’s family, of sorts. When McGuire’s mission begins to intrude on the O’Mearas, however, the relationship — along with the family’s safety — is threatened.The tagline for The Devil’s Own was “One man trapped by destiny, and another bound by duty. They're about to discover what they're willing to fight, and to die for.”You can find The Devil’s Own available to rent or purchase on Amazon and Apple TV.For the next episode, we will watch “The Second Civil War,” 1997 HBO film starring Phil Hartman. You can find it on YouTube.And don’t forget our Patreon, where we watch the films of the Cold War and try to unpack them as political and historical documents! For $5 a month, you get two bonus episodes every month as well as access to the entire back catalog — we’re almost two years deep at this point. Sign up at patreon.com/unclearpod. The latest episode of our Patreon podcast is on the 1974 exploitation film Death Wish.Connor Lynch produced this episode. Artwork by Rachel Eck.

In this week's episode of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle and John watched Absolute Power, the 1997 conspiracy thriller directed by Clint Eastwood from a screenplay by William Goldman and based off of a David Baldacci novel of the same name. In addition to Eastwood, Absolute Power stars Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Laura Linney, Judy Davis, Scott Glenn and Dennis Haysbert. In Absolute Power, Eastwood plays Luther Whitney, a master thief who makes the fateful decision to rob billionaire Walter Sullivan, a close friend and ally of the president of the United States. During the burglary, Whitney sees President Alan Richmond assault Sullivan's wife, Christy, with whom he is having an affair. When she fights back, the president's security detail kills her. Sullivan, who witnesses the altercation, escapes with evidence of the killing. When he becomes prime suspect in an investigation led by local police, Whitney devotes himself to exposing the president's misdeed while evading Sullivan's hired assassin — who believes Whitney is responsible — as well as a secret service agent who wants to silence the only witness. The tagline for Absolute Power was "Corrupts Absolutely."You can find Absolute Power to rent or purchase on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.For the next episode of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle and John will watch the 1997 thriller The Devil's Own, directed by Alan J. Pakula and starring Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt. It's available to stream on Netflix or for rent or purchase from Amazon or Apple TV.

Dive into the world of the 1997 political thriller featuring Charlie Sheen as a young aide uncovering a presidential assassination plot. The hosts dissect the film's lack of originality and its reflection of 90s anti-political sentiments. Critiques focus on its box office flop and budget woes, alongside the complexities of capitalism and political ideologies. Additionally, they explore political conspiracy cinema's clichés and the societal impact of conspiracy theories. Expect thought-provoking insights and a glimpse into future discussions on political thrillers!

On this week’s episode of the podcast, we watched Tim Burton’s 1996 sci-fi comedy Mars Attacks!, starring Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J. Fox, Martin Short Pam Grier, Rod Steiger, Jim Brown, Lukas Haas, Danny DeVito and Natalie Portman.Mars Attacks! was based off of the 1960s-era trading card series by Topps. In the series, Earth is invaded by cruel, hideous Martians who hope to colonize the planet and enslave its population. In the movie, Earth is invaded by cruel hideous Martians. But they don’t seem to want to colonize the planet as much as engage in wanton destruction for its own sake. To the extent that the film has a plot, it follows several groups of people. There is President James Dale, played by Nicholson, his wife and daughter. There is a young donut shop employee and his family in Nevada. There is an aging boxer turned casino employee, his ex-wife and their children. And there are a pair of talk show hosts.The film shows first contact followed by the Martian war on Earth. Most of the characters are either weak and incompetent, like President Dale and the American military, vain and oblivious, like the various members of the media, or outright rubes, like some of the more ordinary people in the film. The Martians rampage across the country, killing everyone they see including the president and the first lady. They are eventually stopped when two characters, the young donut shop employee and his grandmother, discover that the yodeling on Slim Whitman’s “Indian Love Call” is enough to cause their heads to explode. They defeat the Martian invasion and are awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for their exploits.The taglines for Mars Attacks were “Nice planet. We’ll take it!” and “Yikes! They’ve landed!”Mars Attacks is available for rent or purchase either Amazon or Apple TV.Episodes come out every two weeks so we’ll see you then with an episode on Shadow Conspiracy, a 1997 conspiracy thriller directed by George P. Cosmatos and starring Charlie Sheen, Linda Hamilton, Stephen Lang and the great (and much-missed) Donald Sutherland.You can find Shadow Conspiracy on Amazon Prime and Apple TV for rent or purchase.And don’t forget our Patreon, where we watch the films of the Cold War and try to unpack them as political and historical documents! For $5 a month, you get two bonus episodes every month as well as access to the entire back catalog — we’re almost two years deep at this point. Sign up at patreon.com/unclearpod. The latest episode of our Patreon podcast is on Rambo, the 2008 sequel written and directed by Sylvester Stallone.Connor Lynch produced this episode. Artwork by Rachel Eck.Contact us!