Author Archives: Earl

The LEGO Movie

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Today we’re talking about The LEGO Movie! Andrew returns to chat with Earl about the animated film, dish out their impressions, and talk about their own experiences with the long-running toy franchise. They also bring up terrible LEGO sets, collecting, the “believing in yourself” epidemic, and seeing knock-off brands’ commercials before the screening. (Some noted spoilers.)

Guests:
Andrew Lawrence – “Everything is Lawesome”

Supplementary notes:
Clone High Opening
‘Lego Movie’ Production B Roll
You Can Do Anything: Must Every Kids’ Movie Reinforce the Cult of Self-Esteem?
The LEGO® Story
​The 16 Most Awful Lego Sets Ever Assembled

Audio notes: (1hr. 1min. runtime)
0:00:50 – Initial thoughts, experiences with LEGO, and the movie
0:15:15 – Animation, orange chainsaw & laser pieces, “believing in yourself”, and licensing
0:27:00 – (Spoilers here.) Differing views on LEGO building, custom sets, and being creative
0:35:50 – Attention to detail, The LEGO Story, and classifying it as a kids’ movie
0:47:05 – General LEGO talk, Modulars, awful LEGO sets, knock-offs, and disappointments

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

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This week we’re talking about the Final Fantasy series! With FFXIV in full swing, and Lightning Returns now released, Earl brings in Brent and Tony to talk about the long-running game series, with Stephen jumping on-board a little later. They talk about Tony’s involvement with the Official Strategy Guide, Brent’s impression of the updated MMO, among a ton of other things. They also end up talking about the ridiculous names for titles, and offer Square-Enix some spin-off game ideas. (Very light spoilers, or some so old they don’t matter anymore.)

Guests:
Brent Peckham – “Brently Default”
Tony Gao – “Unredacted: Gao’s Fortune”
Stephen Hanek – “The Late of Us”

Supplementary notes:
Lightning Returns: Complete Official Strategy Guide
Unsong Story – Kickstarter

Audio notes: (1hr. 10min. runtime)
0:00:55 – The FFXIII-3 strategy guide, what’s interesting about the series, and FFXIV
0:08:45 – FFXIII’s story, lead designers & ideologies, Stephen appears, and FF’s problems
0:20:35 – Battle system, FFXV & Kingdom Hearts, and nomenclature
0:27:50 – Unsung Story, Bravely Default, spin-offs, and solving franchise issues
0:36:10 – FFXIII, how Tony worked on the guide, and story vs. gameplay
0:44:10 – Mystic Quest, completionists, FFT, Fire Emblem, and Valkyria Chronicles
0:54:25 – FF13 trilogy, time travel, Crazy Chocobo, FF10, and villains
0:59:35 – Franchise’s future, lack of identity, and going mobile
1:02:40 – Series’ successors, MMOs, F2Ps, RPG issues, and money

Theme: Coconut Robot2 (James Pants) / CC BY 3.0
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Netflix – House of Cards

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Today we’re jumping into House of Cards and the online network, Netflix! Earl chats with Leo Panasyuk about the series, David Fincher, anti-heroes, and the network’s future. They also discuss avoiding spoilers, and whether or not we need a statute of limitations on divulging spoilers. Plus a moment of remembrance for Philip Seymour Hoffman. (Very minor spoilers overall, with one segment tagged with a spoiler warning.)

Guests:
Leo Panasyuk – Film critic for We Eat Films

Audio notes: (48min. runtime)
0:00:00 – Intro and Philip Seymour Hoffman
0:05:15 – Impressions of House of Cards, critical acclaim, and general thoughts
0:12:30 – David Fincher, writers & directors, and cinematic style in television
0:18:00 – (Spoilers in this segment.) Beau Willimon, politics, and anti-heroes vs. villains
0:25:50 – Longform narrative, spoilers, and dealing with spoilers
0:36:55 – Netflix, binge-watching, exclusivity, and competing with streaming networks

Theme: Coconut Robot2 (James Pants) / CC BY 3.0
Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes!
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Sherlock / Elementary

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This week, we’re talking about the Brit hit Sherlock, and its American counterpart, Elementary! Earl brings in Spencer Sterritt from We Eat Films to discuss the mystery shows, serialization in procedurals, and build a fantasy roster of Doctor Who writers. They also end up on a tangent about spoilers when Spencer explains that he hasn’t watched the latest season of Sherlock. What a twist! (Spoilers for all of Sherlock, and season one of Elementary.)

Guests:
Spencer Sterritt – Editor-in-chief for We Eat Films

Audio notes: (46min. runtime)
0:00:35 – Impressions on Sherlock, spoilers & avoiding viewings, and main villains
0:08:30 – Adapting Sherlock’s “death”, sleuthing vs. hanging out, and building tension
0:13:15 – Season gaps, series longevity, book adaptation, Moffat’s writing, Doctor who writers, and burnout
0:24:00 – Impressions on Elementary, comparing with Sherlock, and Lucy Liu as Watson
0:33:50 – Creating a distinction between the series, procedurals, serialization, and mythology
0:36:00 – Modernizing Sherlock, and Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century
0:40:00 – Future of Sherlock, speculation, and expectation

Theme: Coconut Robot2 (James Pants) / CC BY 3.0
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Spike Jonze – Her

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We’re back from winter hibernation with a new episode, this time on Spike Jonze’s Her! We welcome back Patrick Barfoot to the roundtable, along with newcomer Daniel Ura to discuss the film and look back on the rest of Spike Jonze’s filmography. We also speculate on whether those crazy-high waist-pants will take off in the future. (Spoilers on the whole film, so watch it first, yeah?)

Guests:
Patrick Barfoot (@patrickbarfoot) – Editor and Director, patrickbarfoot.com
Daniel Ura – Film critic for We Eat Films

Supplementary notes:
“Her” – Jonze With Another Winner
‘Her,’ In Translation
Why Her Will Dominate UI Design Even More Than Minority Report
Her is believable not because of love or technology, but high-waisted pants
I’m Here – Short Film
Her by Opening Ceremony

Audio notes: (50min. runtime)
01:15 – Overall impressions, sci-fi tropes, messages & themes, the ending, and film length
11:50 – Lars and the Real Girl, physical contact, the date scene, technology, and the future
19:20 – Her & Lost in Translation as companion pieces, Theo’s perspective, urbanization, and social detachment
27:55 – Spike Jonze’s filmography, and subverting expectations
33:05 – Creative control, executing concepts, music videos, and Spike Jonze’s defining traits
42:30 – Original score, cinematography & design, waist-pants, Joaquin Phoenix, and Scarlett Johansson

Theme: Coconut Robot2 (James Pants) / CC BY 3.0
Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes!
Follow us (@AKOPPodcast) or email us at akop@phillerworks.com!

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