Monthly Archives: May 2014

Godzilla, Kaiju, & Giant Monsters

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This week, resident expert Van Ching smashes through the podcast to talk about Godzilla, kaiju, and giant monsters! We discuss the latest film, some of its recurring themes and issues, Gareth Edwards, and other monster movies. We also end up talking about Ultraman, the Destroy All Monsters Melee video game, the new merchandise, and why we think Godzilla 2000 has the silliest ending in the franchise.

Guests:
Van Ching – “A little Godzilla in all of us”

Supplementary Notes:
Monsters – Trailer
Godzilla Destroy All Monsters Melee – Video Game
Godzilla 2000 Ending

Audio notes: (1hr. 3min. runtime)
04:05 – Thoughts on film, getting schooled on Godzilla lore, being a force of nature, and Fukushima
13:20 – Perspective, the cast, Monarch, Jurassic Park & Spielberg, building tension, and Godzilla’s new look
26:25 – Disaster porn, “Marvels”, the military, technology v. nature, and doors opening/closing
38:45 – Cloverfield, Pacific Rim, archetypal characters, Monsters, creature behaviours, and powerlessness
50:35 – Destroy All Monsters, War of the Monsters, kaiju video games, merchandise, and Godzilla 2000

Theme: Coconut Robot2 (James Pants) / CC BY 3.0
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The Black Keys, Turn Blue, & Rock Bands

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This week we get the band back together to talk about The Black Keys and their latest album, Turn Blue! Tony and Brent discuss their discography, Danger Mouse, and make warranted (but also unwarranted) comparisons to other contemporary bands. We also start a new hashtag trend, connect the band to Linkin Park, and pick on Brent, who redefines the meaning of turning blue.

Guests:
Tony Gao – “#fuckdangermouse”
Brent Peckham – “Completely listenable”

Audio notes: (55min. runtime)
04:25 – Album thoughts, “the Danger Mouse effect”, and EDM
15:10 – Favourite releases, album lengths, and how often we listen to the Black Keys
20:55 – Favourite songs, being a live act, Danger Mouse pt.2, and influences from older bands
29:45 – Arctic Monkeys, Tame Impala, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Damon Albarn, and Gorillaz
45:55 – The White Stripes, similar trajectories, returning to roots, and incorporating new sounds

Theme: Coconut Robot2 (James Pants) / CC BY 3.0
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Star Wars, Canon, Remakes, & Retcons

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This week, Shawn Lotte and Spencer Sterritt return to tackle the recent news on the Star Wars Expanded Universe being non-canon and discuss continuity, remakes, and retcons! We also delve into Star Trek’s reboot films, the Evil Dead, X-Men, Shadow of the Colossus, and Better Call Saul. And somehow, they establish Mortal Kombat as the benchmark of storytelling.

Guests:
Shawn Lotte – “And then I move on”
Spencer Sterritt – Editor-in-chief for We Eat Films

Supplementary notes:
Shadow of the Colossus: Connections to Ico
Dark Souls II Lore and Speculation
Zelda Timeline

Audio notes: (1hr. 1min. runtime)
01:35 – Star Wars, the Expanded Universe, and defining what is canon
08:35 – Star Trek, time travel, Enterprise, and returning to Star Wars
13:50 – Superman, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Predator, Living Dead, and Evil Dead series
28:00 – X-Men, shoehorning all the films, Sentinels, and Wolverine
34:10 – Mortal Kombat, branching storylines, Bioshock series, and canonizing Bioshock 2
46:30 – Shadow of the Colossus & Ico, Dark Souls series, and sorting out Legend of Zelda
54:40 – Remaking films to shows: Bates Motel, Hannibal, Fargo, From Dusk til Dawn, and Better Call Saul

Theme: Coconut Robot2 (James Pants) / CC BY 3.0
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The Web of The Amazing Spider-Man

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Today, Shawn Lotte swings by to talk about your friendly neighborhood Spider-man! We discuss the latest film on the webhead, Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield, our spec scripts for the third film, and how it feels most like a comic-book movie. We also dive into the characters’ cartoons, games, and comics, like the recent run of Superior Spider-man. And somehow, we get into a tangent on Power Rangers and Animorphs. (Movie spoilers till 45min. mark)

Guests:
Shawn Lotte – “Made by a committee”

Supplementary notes:
Collateral aka Electro’s Origin Story
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends

Audio notes: (1hr. 20min. runtime)
0:01:40 – Thoughts on film, Emma Stone, Harry Osborn, by-the-numbers filmmaking, and Spidey
0:16:30 – Villains, sound mixing, Max from Collateral 10 years later, and webswinging
0:31:35 – Music, comic-book movies, rehiring actors, Aunt May, and final thoughts
0:44:45 – Getting into Spider-man, videogames, and cartoons
0:56:35 – Ultimate Spider-man, Miles Morales, and reimagining film reboot
1:08:20 – Superior Spider-man, Doc Ock, Brand New Day, symbiotes, Power Rangers, and Animorphs

Theme: Coconut Robot2 (James Pants) / CC BY 3.0
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Archer, Community, & Revamping TV Shows

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On today’s episode, we talk about Archer and Community! Andrew Lawrence returns to talk about both series and the idea of revamping TV shows in the middle of its run, like It’s Always Sunny, Parks and Rec, and even Friday Night Lights. We also discuss introducing new shows to people with out-of-order episodes. And somehow we manage to tie in Juno, Back to the Future, and LA Noire to the discussion. (Light spoilers for the shows, tagged in the recording.)

Guests:
Andrew Lawrence – “Phrasing”

Audio notes: (56min. runtime)
0:01:00 – Archer Vice, retreading old territory, and character dynamics
0:13:40 – Community’s fifth season, improving the show, and being weird
0:26:15 – Arrested Development, It’s Always Sunny, and making terrible people worse
0:39:25 – Parks & Recreation, Friday Night Lights, and changing gears half-way

Theme: Coconut Robot2 (James Pants) / CC BY 3.0
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