CHILL FACTOR with Matt Strohl!
It’s Die Hard on an ice cream truck!
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! This week on DIE HARD ON A BLANK, we’re trying to keep our collective cool as we discuss the 1999 buddy-comedy/action-misfire CHILL FACTOR! Joining us on our adventure is none other than special guest Matthew Strohl, a professor at the University of Montana and author of the books Hard to Watch and Why It’s Ok To Love Bad Movies!
When an experimental military chemical weapon nicknamed "Elvis" accidentally falls into civilian hands, a hapless ice cream truck driver (Cuba Gooding Jr.) and down-on-his-luck diner cook (Skeet Ulrich) team up to keep it away from the ruthless mercenaries who are trying to steal it. The catch is that if "Elvis" heats above 50 degrees, it will detonate with catastrophic consequences – forcing the unlikely duo to outrun the bad guys and keep the temperature under that threshold, all while attempting to safely deliver the precarious device to a military facility!
We start by analyzing the film’s DNA, which includes genetic links to a myriad of movies including DIE HARD, SPEED, THE ROCK, THELMA & LOUISE, and most surprisingly, A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT. Backed by Matt’s spirited defense case, we try to give this much maligned (and largely forgotten) motion picture its day in court, applying the thesis espoused in his excellent books to the film. Against the odds, this approach leads to a passionate (and unexpectedly deep) discussion about how we choose to engage with art…as CHILL FACTOR becomes a living example of “why it’s okay to love to bad movies”! But the fun doesn’t stop there...because as always we wrap things up with the DIE HARD OSCARS and the DOUBLE JEOPARDY trivia quiz!
CHILL FACTOR trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYNiikB4wvI
At the time of release, CHILL FACTOR is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV/iTunes, YouTube, Fandango and all the usual platforms, as well as on physical media. It is also available in its entirety on YouTube at the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7ede9OJ6pw
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Die Hard On A Blank
Welcome to the party, pals! This is DIE HARD ON A BLANK, the podcast that explores the influence of DIE HARD on action cinema -- one action movie at a time. In each episode of DIE HARD ON A BLANK, hosts Philip Gawthorne and Liam Billingham discuss one major mainstream action movie that was released after DIE HARD. Phil and Liam break down the story, heroes, villains, action, humor and the 'DIE HARD DNA' that infuse each film, including common cast and crew members. They rate each film and hand out DIE HARD-themed awards. For casual fans and action movie die hards, DIE HARD ON A BLANK is a fun movie discussion podcast that treats the action genre with real respect and love. DIE HARD ON A BLANK is produced by Liam Billingham and Philip Gawthorne. Mike Mayer and Michael Sugar are the executive producers. Tyson Hubley makes our artwork and videos. You can follow Die Hard On A Blank on Twitter and Instagram here. Follow @liamgbillingham and @philipgawthorne on twitter. You can e-mail us with questions at [email protected]Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- No. of episodes: 76
- Latest episode: 2025-06-04
- TV & Film Film History Film Reviews
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