Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Episode 83 - The Greatest American Hero (1981)

Oh, we are just DONE with all those lesser American heroes out there, folks. Time to skip right to the top and talk about the GREATEST American Hero, or a least what was passing for one in 1981.

Why does this self-described comedy drama TV series have the most terrifying opening in the history of this podcast? Who would win in a fight between GAH's Thin Diesels and I-Man's Blazers with Lasers? Why aren't women allowed to drive their own cars?

Is that Neon Rider reference the new champion for NT4H Most Obscure Reference Ever, or just the most Canadian? Wait, does that make Ainsley THE GREATEST CANADIAN HERO? *Believe it or not SHE'S got great health care, I never thought it could all be free-ee-EEEE!* Wait, what was I talking about?

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Episode 82 - Wonder Woman (2017)

It's the movie that saved the DCCU!

We couldn't wait, and just dropped everything to go see Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman in theatres! SPOILER! isn't in this, she's in the Bat-family. But Spoilers anyway.

Why/how/wherefore shoehorn the Greek Pantheon into a mismatched Judaeo-Christian monotheistic box?  How much should the political views of an actor or artist affect your experience of their work? Will we ever have more heavy-hitting female action protagonists than you can count on one hand? Is it possible to do a superhero/war movie in a war with no good guys or bad guys?

Are you going to find another stupid movie podcast that compares and contrasts Liberation Feminism with Equality feminism? No, you're not.

All this and Ainsley drops some knowledge bombs of Greek history and the mythology surrounding Amazons, while Anthony and Andrew weep at the prospect of eventually having to probably watch Batman v. Superman!


Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Episode 81 - X2: X-Men United (2003)

There's Something About Wolverine!

We visit what Wizard Magazine called the "Best Superhero Movie of All Time" and figure out if we can find one mistake in that venerable publication's sterling history with X2: X-Men United!

Is everyone okay with this "I can kill the world with my brain" machine Xavier is just using as an overclocked peeping tom machine? Does this movie feature the first trans-character in a superhero film? Is the destructive power of world-ending supercomputer an apt metaphor for the breaking down of an imperfect society to better allow for marginalized minorities?  How horrible a history teacher would Wolverine have really made?

We actually love Wizard Magazine guys, so don't write us letters. We also love superpowered fiction as metaphorical social commentary, and this one might do it better than any of them! Tune in to listen to two cis-hetero-white guys talk about race, sex, and gender relations and discrimination has to do with X2!

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Episode 80 - Hercules in New York (1970)

Far in the dim past... when showbiz and bodybuilding merged into shoddybuilding... we got to have a Schwarzenegger love-fest with his first "major" movie in which he's learning English and playing one of the world's first superheroes, or certainly most prominent capital "H" heroes, with the 1970 bizarreness Hercules in New York.

How easy is it for a seasoned merchant crew to hand an OS rating to a random castaway? Is Arnold Stang just what you get if you took Woody Allen and removed the raw animal magnetism? Has there ever been a better wrestler than Biffer Benson? Why is Zeus totally negging Herc?

Come with us in restoring this movie to the Olympus that is the Schwarzenegger film canon!