Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Episode 73 - The Amazing Spider-Man (2013)

This summer we're getting a brand new rebooted Spider-Man, so we decided to all the way back to the beginning and visit the first time we got a brand new rebooted Spider-Man with 2013's The Amazing Spider-Man!

Does this movie have a more streamlined, dare we say, BETTER origin story than the original? Were Peter Parker's Mom and Dad open about being closet kinksters? Why was Anthony's high school constantly being 21 Jump Streeted by narcs?

How insecure does a movie have to be to tell you that it is amazing before you've even seen it? Still, it was nice to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Sam Raimi Spider-Man by making more Spider-Men. Classy.

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Episode 72 - The Toxic Avenger (1984)

We take a dip in bubbling, poisonous, mutating, burning 80s hot tubs and come out the other side changed into a shambling mockery of a podcast that decides to watch 1984's The Toxic Avenger!

Why is this horrific movie shot so well? Is it really a car chase if the guy chasing is on top of the car? Would you quit a movie if they made you point a shotgun at a baby?

What other extremely inappropriate movies could be made into cartoons? Saw and Pals? The Texas Chainsaw U.S.Acres? How about Eyes Wide Shut as a really explicit Care Bears? 5-4-3-2-1 FIDELIO!

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Episode 71 - Beowulf (1999)

We're back to heroes of myth and legend with the epochal cornerstone of western literature, the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf! But this ain't your daddy's Beowulf, oh no! It's a bizarre techno-feudalist medieval gas-powered low budget direct-to-VHS tour de force staring everyone's favorite Highlander, Christopher Lambert!

Who would win in a fight between Beowulf and Siegfried? Should Mortal Kombat be the template for further adaptations of classic literature? Why are we wasting the presence of Mac from Night Court? Was that Beowulf v Siegfried joke the most obscure reference we've done on the show?

Grendel's mom has got it going on, but she's no match for the power of techno-feudal natural gas! But really, who is?

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Episode 70 - Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)

Since we're gluttons for punishment, GLUTTONS I say, we dive back into the franchise for which we've received the most hate mail with Hellboy II: The Golden Army!

Did we really need a sexy shower scene with just Hellboy in? Why hasn't Luke Goss become a bigger name actor? How weirded out were you by Andrew's bizarre fascination with the sound of fake teeth? What is the very real, deadly, increasing, and persistent danger of bees?

Feel free to head over to the Facebook page to tell us what you think about our Hellboy episodes. Or to defend us from people doing that!

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Episode 69 - Batman Forever (1995)


It's an all-new, all-different Batman when Joel Schumacher takes the reins for 1995's Batman Forever!

Is it redundant to have boiling acid as a trap,rather than just acid? What kind of paperwork do you have to go through to adopt a 40-year-old man? Does the frenetic neon-pop style of this movie mask a really nuanced take on childhood trauma?

Get ready for the big reveal of Andrew's secret Jim Carrey obsession, Anthony's appreciation of Robin's sweet threads, and Ainsley vanishing completely to go do something meaningful with her time and not have to watch Batman Forever!

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Episode 68 - Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law (2000)

Anthony is dancing the deathy dance of deadly lifey death and also sick, so it's down to just Andrew and Ainsley to tackle the early 2000s Adult Swim series, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law!

Can we tell jokes about race without being racist? What does making a superhero a lawyer say about forcing mature themes into kids stories for an aging audience? Did you get that thing I sencha?

Where the heck is Michael Keaton in this? Whatever. Get ready to have jokes mercilessly ruined as we pick them apart to try and piece together the descent of the modern superhero from mighty adventurer to workaday schlub! 

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Episode 67 - Hero (2002)

We (finally) get to Ainsley's Christmas wish with the gorgeous, epic masterpiece of wuxia cinema 2002's Hero, from director Zhang Yimou.

How different are cultural definitions of heroism (and superheroism) between the US and China?Has any superhero movie in the last two decades come close to this in a subtle exploration of what it means to be a hero? How much does this movie's ideas about heroism blatantly rip off Spock?

This episode includes shoutouts to the music of Rasa, Matthew Polly's American Shaolin, and the short film Deadhearts, so your media needs for the next week are basically filled.