The Last Video Store

On the 25th anniversary of their classic debut album REFLECTOR, rockstar siblings Ella Hooper and Jesse Hooper join Alexei in the LAST VIDEO STORE to pick up some of their favourite films. From the all-timer classic space odyssey from a galaxy far far away to turn of the millennium zombie nightmares, Ella and Jesse are true video store connoisseurs with a rich history of loving cinema. PLUS they talk about having songs on the iconic LOOKING FOR ALIBRANDI and SPIDER-MAN 2 soundtracks.  Catch them on tour with 25 YEARS OF REFLECTOR right now! BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in CANBERRA, SYDNEY ENCORE and MELBOURNE ENCORE in JULY Follow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists.  GUEST PICKS: 28 DAYS LATER (horror), STAR WARS (adventure), CITY OF LOST CHILDREN (cult), MEET THE FEEBLES (cult) STAFF PICKS: ATTACK THE BLOCK (action)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From Eurovision to collaborating with THE David Byrne from Talking Heads (and the movie masterpiece TRUE STORIES), Montaigne is a truly creative artist with a distinct style… and yes that is very apparent in their picks on the Last Video Store. Montaigne stacks their favourite movie picks on the counter and chats about loving mucked-up absurdist world-building.  Montaigne’s new album “it's hard to be a fish” is out right now! And check out the music videos on YouTube.  BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in CANBERRA, SYDNEY ENCORE and MELBOURNE ENCORE in JULY Follow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists.  GUEST PICKS: MICKEY 17 (sci-fi), SWISS ARMY MAN (comedy), SPEED RACER (cult)STAFF PICKS: TOMORROW I’LL WAKE UP AND SCALD MYSELF WITH TEA (cult)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on The Last Video Store, Alexei Toliopoulos dusts off a well-worn VHS and welcomes a true icon of Australian music into the store: Robert Forster, co-founder of The Go-Betweens, acclaimed solo artist with the new album STRAWBERRIES.Together, they rummage through Robert’s cinematic memories. From the art-house films that shaped his songwriting with creative collaborator Grant McLennan, to the immersive recreations of Bob Dylan’s early electric days as performed by Timothée Chalamet. BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in CANBERRA, SYDNEY ENCORE and MELBOURNE ENCORE in JULY Follow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists. GUEST PICKS: A COMPLETE UNKNOWN (music), BELL BOOK & CANDLE (comedy), SUNSET BOULEVARD (crime)STAFF PICKS: TOO LATE (crime)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Perusing the shelves this week is Calum Hood, best known as the bassist of 5 Seconds of Summer, he’s about to release debut solo album “ORDER chaos ORDER”. A very funny episode that sees Calum and Alexei chat through childhood oddities like ANTZ and forgotten Aussie dog movie Napoleon. BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in CANBERRA, SYDNEY ENCORE and MELBOURNE ENCORE in JULY Follow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists. GUEST PICKS: HELL OF A SUMMER (Comedy), TRAINSPOTTING (cult), MOULIN ROUGE (music)STAFF PICKS: HUMAN TRAFFIC (cult)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Twin brothers Danny and Michael Philippou are the most excited voices in Australian genre cinema since the release of their horror hit TALK TO ME. Their latest film, BRING HER BACK is another emotionally resonant horror exploration of grief and loss that, in many ways, surpasses their remarkable debut. Starring Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins (THE SHAPE OF WATER), Billy Barrat (RESPONSIBLE CHILD), Jonah Wren Phillips (HOW TO MAKE GRAVY) and newcomer Sora Wong, BRING HER BACK is poised to be the horror event of 2025. It’s more than a pleasure to have RackaRacka peruse the shelves of the Last Video Store and pick out some of the films that influenced them.  BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in CANBERRA, SYDNEY ENCORE and MELBOURNE ENCORE in JULY Follow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists. Here’s the RackaRacka pick-up list.  GUEST PICKS: BRING HER BACK (HORROR), WHATEVER HAPPEND TO BABY JANE (THRILLER), BRAINDEAD (aka DEADALIVE) (CULT)STAFF PICKS: SINGAPORE SLING (CULT), HIRUKO THE GOBLIN (HORROR)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the MISH & ZACH podcast, comedian Mish Wittrup wanders into the Last Video Store, and the desk is manned by both Alexei Toliopoulos & Zachary Ruane. A passionate and opinionated movie buff and film lover Mish appropriately picks out the 2 best films that prominently feature video stores. BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in CANBERRA and SYDNEY ENCORE show in JULY Follow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists. Here’s Mish’s list and here’s her actual letterboxd profile. GUEST PICKS: MURIEL’S WEDDING (Comedy), SCREAM (Horror), EARTH GIRL’S ARE EASY (Comedy)STAFF PICKS: CELIA (Horror), Shirley Valentine (Comedy)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Danielle Walker is one of the funniest people in the country, and brings an eclectic mix of films to The Last Video Store. The comedian and winner of Taskmaster loves everything from the instant cult classic Pearl to the family friendly shenanigans of Andre (The Seal, not My Dinner With). Danielle is touring her show 'Mundane' at the Sydney Comedy Festival now so make sure you check it out! BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in CANBERRA and SYDNEY ENCORE show in JULY. Follow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australian pop music royalty and star of teen comedy classic THE RAGE IN PLACID LAKE, Ben Lee roams through the Last Video Store. Ben is a true cinephile whose tastes range from the surreal to the whacky. Ben’s seminal album “Awake Is the New Sleep” is celebrating its 20th anniversary (stay tuned for cool stuff around that, I’m sure) and you can listen to him and Ione Skye every week on their excellent podcast WEIRDER TOGETHER. BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in CANBERRA and SYDNEY ENCORE show in JULY Follow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists. Here’s Ben’s list. GUEST PICKS: Psychomagic: A Healing Art (Documentary), Adam Green’s Aladdin (Art house), Defending Your Life (Comedy)STAFF PICKS: Local Legends (cult)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kristo, Sammy and Tom are three besties who you might know better as Mates Rates, who not only create hilarious sketches online and a podcast, but also created their own short(ish) film! It's called Mates Rates' Corporate Retreat, and it's a documentary about a road trip across NSW where they travelled in a crappy car, eating canned food, getting up to shenanigans. Our first trio on the pod brings an eclectic mix of films, including an (dis)honourable mention in the form of Drillbit Taylor. BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in SYDNEY, PERTH and BRISBANEFollow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists. GUEST PICKS: Sideways (Comedy), In Bruges (Crime), Minions: Rise Of Gru (Children)STAFF PICKS: Klown (Comedy)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Writer, Director, Stuntman. Nobody’s doing it like Nash Edgerton. He kicked of his feature directing career with the dark Aussie noir THE SQUARE (a film Alexei actually jigged school to go see in cinemas) and he also directed all 3 seasons of what might very well be the very best Australian television series MR INBETWEEN. A pleasure to get Nash in to peruse the shelves of the Last Video Store with Alexei. BOOK TICKETS for Alexei’s comedy fest show REFUSED CLASSIFICATION with Zach Ruane in SYDNEY, PERTH and BRISBANE Follow ALEXEI TOLIOPOULOS on Letterboxd for all the rental combo lists. Here is Nash's list, and here is Producer Em's Letterboxd! GUEST PICKS: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (Comedy), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Adventure), Straight Time (Crime)STAFF PICKS: Bellman and True (Crime)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.