It's the thrilling conclusion to the Jack Wild trilogy! Except it's not about Jack Wild anymore! And doesn't appear to have any connection to the first two films! Or does it?...
Ryan thinks so. Cassie isn't so sure. In this third Crackerjack adventure, Jack is now an old man (played by Bo Svenson!) who runs a department in the CIA. After retiring he's roped back into the action by his analyst, Kelly (played by former WWE Diva Amy Weber) to stop some terrorists from detonating a neutron bomb at the G7 Summit. To get the job done he enlists the help of some old Cold War buddies and things get...well they get kinda torture-y.
Which opens up lots of rousing discussions about the CIA's "enhanced interrogation" program here on the podcast. It also kicks off theories about how this third entry IS in fact about the same Jack, as a further glimpse into his subconscious, which has been rattled by the trauma of his wife's death. How do the experimental films of Stan Brackhage come into play? What does this all have to do with the novel House of Leaves? Why is there so much circus music in the soundtrack? And could there be a deeper symbolism behind all the garden gnomes? We (try to) answer all these questions and more on this new, thrilling episode!
Crackerjack 3
Directed by Lloyd A. Simandl
2000, Canada
Incredibly Strange Video is produced and edited by Ryan Quinn and Cassie Kay. Follow us on Bluesky @isvpodcast.bsky.social for updates on the newest episodes!
Theme music:
The End by EVA
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0
All excerpts from the films discussed are used for educational and critical purposes only.
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