Tag Archives: film

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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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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Captain America, Agents of SHIELD, & Shared Universes

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On this week’s episode, we suit up to discuss Captain America, Agents of SHIELD, and shared film universes! Earl brings in Alex Bowman from We Eat Films to talk about The Winter Soldier and the TV series, how they’re connected, and their thoughts on the studios all building their multi-franchises. They also recommend some interesting webcomics on superheroes, analyze some of Joss Whedon’s recurring themes in TV, and somehow go off on a tangent about Ben Affleck. (Spoilers past the 16min. mark for the film and TV show.)

Guests:
Alex Bowman – Reviewer for We Eat Films

Supplementary notes:
Steve Rogers’ American Captain – A Diary Comic
JL8 – Webcomic
Mystery Men – Trailer

Audio notes: (1hr. 16min. runtime)
0:01:45 – Thoughts on The Winter Soldier, Captain America’s character, and superhero webcomics
0:10:25 – Comparing Thor and Cap films, superhero spy thriller, fight choreography, and disaster porn
0:22:45 – Contemporary issues in film, and Marvel films working as standalone and serialized parts of a whole
0:32:55 – Thoughts on Agents of SHIELD, connecting TV with film, and expanding the Cinematic Universe
0:46:20 – SHIELD’s status, outcasts vs. the system, and not being beholden to the original material
0:54:15 – Comparing Marvel to DC films, grimdark Nolan Batman, and Ben Affleck
1:05:45 – Comparing Marvel properties, Amazing Spider-man, and X-Men: Days of Future Past

Theme: Coconut Robot2 (James Pants) / CC BY 3.0
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Orphan Black & Cloning in Fiction

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This week we talk about Orphan Black! Earl and Brent discuss this underrated Canadian sci-fi thriller series, and its star Tatiana Maslany, as well as the prospect of cloning and all its ramifications. They also bring up cloning in other fiction like in Star Wars, Clone High, and Multiplicity. And somehow they veer off from Jurassic Park to Power Rangers and Human Centipede. (Spoilers for season 1 of the show.)

Guests:
Brent Peckham – “The C-Word”

Supplementary notes:
Orphan Black – Series Trailer
VFX Reel / Extended Version (Note: Spoiler-heavy reel.)
Russian scientists: We have a “high chance” of cloning a wooly mammoth

Audio notes: (1hr. runtime)
0:01:20 – Intro to Orphan Black, Tatiana Maslany, VFX effects, and fave clone
0:16:50 – Supporting characters, being unlikeable but sympathetic, and the season villain
0:22:55 – Season 1, Kira, cloning & ownership, and science in real world vs. show
0:33:55 – BBC America, Canadian shows, and the state of Canadian television
0:38:30 – Other takes on cloning like Multiplicity, Clone High, and Star Wars
0:45:45 – Jurassic Park & cloning in real world, and other favourite cloning fiction
0:55:20 – Season 2 expectations, and Brent slaughters the podcast outro

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