Ep. 035 – ‘Ready Player One’ Movie Review, Part 2
This is part 2 of our review of Steven Spielberg’s nostalgia-porn movie Ready Player One. In it we lament the lack of any real danger or even drama in the film, as well as laugh at its lack of knowledge of the actual nature of online gaming, and discuss how the changing nature of copyright and IP management these days has made this film easier to make. All this, and much more in the last of our two-parter on Ready Player One. Plus, it’s dangerous to go alone, so take this warning along with you as you listen to this episode: we take a deep dive into the movie and explore many plot points, so be pepared for MANY SPOILERS!
Here’s a handy link to Part 1 of our Ready Player One review:
Show Notes:
02:50 – The myth of Parzival.
06:14 – The terrible acting of Mark Rylance.
11:34 – Put the f’ing key in the f’ing lock!
12:38 – The ghost in the machine.
16:02 – Is the movie saying video games should be revelled in or regulated?
17:24 – i-R0k!
18:37 – In the future, everyone lives in Columbus, OH.
19:24 – RP1 is an amazing technological breakthrough in drama-less movies!
20:17 – A funny joke in the movie: the Alien bit.
33:24 – Everybody loves to queue in a video game.
38:06 – How copyright has changed in the Internet era.
42:18 – Our final verdict.
Thanks for listening!
Video featuring the real-life Infinadeck VR treadmill featured in Ready Player One:
If you have the stomach for it, here is a video with over 300 Easter eggs from the movie, the vast majority of which are not actually Easter eggs (protip: Easter eggs are hidden): https://youtu.be/PfeVH2bbzlw
A video review of Ready Player One, by the jerks over at RedLetterMedia:
A reporter from CNET tries out a RealDoll sexbot (in conversation, not what you were thinking, sicko!):
Connect With Your Nerdstalkers:
Bill Hunter – writer, and creator of video game history website The Dot Eaters
Chadwick Gendron – writer, musician and creator of the Canadian Culture Thing
Our Website: http://nerdstalking.com/
Social Media Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NerdstalkingPod
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nerdstalking/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nerdstalking/
Ep. 032 – Lead-Up to ‘Ready Player One’ Movie Release
What happens if you take TRON, mix it with The Last Starfighter, and throw in a pinch of references to every SF movie and video game of the last 30 years or so? You get Steven Spielberg’s latest flick Ready Player One, based on Ernest Cline’s love-letter-to-videogames novel of the same name. We anticipate the release of the film with all the giddy glee of kids waiting in line for Back to the Future in 1985. Plus we celebrate Sam Rockwell’s 2018 Oscar win with a retrospective of his career, and take a look at Steven Soderbergh’s guerilla feature filmmaking iPhone experiment Unsane.
Show Notes:
01:01 – We start in on Ready Player One.
01:33 – E.T.‘s scrotum sack.
03:47 – Ready Player One compared to Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
07:38 – The nostagia train has left the station.
09:43 – Again with the Inception city-folding SFX.
11:58 – Ready Player One as TRON sequel.
15:13 – Where have you gone, Clint Eastwood of our youth?
17:26 – Sam Rockwell: real actor.
30:34 – Is Steven Soderbergh Unsane?
34:40 – Chad’s dangerous obsession with Downton Abbey.
Thanks for listening!
Pure Imagination, from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory –
The electronica version of Pure Imagination as used in the Ready Player One trailer –
Trailer for Who Framed Roger Rabbit? –
Bill’s article on the history of the movie TRON, at The Dot Eaters –
Bill’s article on the history of The Last Starfighter, at The Dot Eaters –
Connect With Your Nerdstalkers:
Bill Hunter – writer, and creator of video game history website The Dot Eaters
Chadwick Gendron – writer, musician and creator of the Canadian Culture Thing
Our Website: http://nerdstalking.com/
Social Media Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NerdstalkingPod
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nerdstalking/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nerdstalking/
Creepy Effin Halloween Moments – Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
John Lithgow is one of those actors where, no matter how mediocre the film, he’s always interesting to watch. His segment in the film version of The Twilight Zone, based on the original series entry Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, was anything but medicore. It takes a real actor to out-hysteric William Shatner, but Lithgow somehow manages it as a harried aviophobic who keeps seeing a gremlin on the wing of the airplane he is flying in.
While the scene featured here occurs before the fireworks really get started, its weirdness serves to put both Lithgow’s character, and the audience, ill at ease.
1967 Spider-Man TV Music Incorporated Into “Homecoming” Theme
We’ve gone through 18 different 60’s Spidey themes over the last 18 days, and as a bonus to celebrate today’s premiere of Spider-Man: Homecoming, here is a video showing how Michael Giacchino, music composer of the latest Spidey film, has actually incorporated the 60’s theme into the movie’s music. I think it’s a fitting tribute to one of the most endearing and enduring parts of Spider-Man history:
Theme (from “Spider Man”) [Original Television Series] by Michael Giacchino on VEVO.
Here is the final list of the 18 1967 Spider-Man themes:
Swinging in on Day 1 was: Michael Bublé
Swinging in on Day 2 was: The Ramones
Swinging in on Day 3 was: Aerosmith
Swinging in on Day 4 was: Moxy Früvous
Swinging in on Day 5 was: Fuego Indio
Swinging in on Day 6 was: Stikky
Swinging in on Day 7 was: Bomberman 64
Swinging in on Day 8 was: The Warp Zone
Swinging in on Day 9 was: Jeff Lareau
Swinging in on Day 10 was: The Flaming Lips
Swinging in on Day 11 was: MyNewSoundtrack
Swinging in on Day 12 was: Amazing Gamer
Swinging in on Day 13 was: Volume
Swinging in on Day 14 was: Yuki Hide
Swinging in on Day 15 was: Temu
Swinging in on Day 16 was: Studio Bombshell
Swinging in on Day 17 was: Triforce Films
Swinging in on Day 18 was: Chad Gendron
Nerdstalking Podcast Ep. 020
Bill had a lot of problems with the 2017 ‘Wonder Woman’ film; Chad, not so much. We don our satin tights and fight for our rights to complain in the Nerdstalking review of this important DC film. There’s no ‘Nerdly News’ segment this episode; we smash right through the window and tackle the movie without delay.
Nerdstalking Podcast Ep. 015
Where we celebrate (and vilify) the highs (and lows) of 2016. We update previous Nerdstalking topics such as 'Batman v Superman', 'The Twilight Zone' and...
Nerdstalking Podcast Ep. 014
Where we review the many dimensions of Marvel's latest superhero flick, featuring the Master of the Mystic Arts. We start off though talking about America's...
‘Alien’: The Nostromo Crew
Here is your crew of the USCSS Nostromo, tasked with hauling valuable ore from the outer colonies to Earth. Just a group of people trying...
Podcast Research – ‘Alien’ Design: The Ore Refinery
It seems an oxymoron to describe a crew on a craft in deep space as 'grounded', but that's exactly what the Nostromo personnel in Alien feel...
Podcast Research – ‘Alien’ Design: The Spacesuits
Design aspects of Alien were divided among various artists, and French illustrator Jean Girard aka Moebius was tasked with designing the outfits for the film, worn...
Alien Design: The Terrible Beauty of H.R. Giger
You can't have a discussion about the Alien films without talking about the beautifully horrible works of Swiss surrealist H.R. Giger. Creating the creature, its environment,...
‘Aliens’: Images of James Remar as the original Hicks
It's easy to see why James Cameron originally cast actor James Remar as Cpl. Hicks in Aliens. Remar looked good in the armour, exuded a commanding...
‘Aliens’: They’re In the Room!
Cpl. Hicks takes a peek at the subject of our October episode. Will you dare? [caption id="attachment_673" align="alignnone" width="620"] Space invaders![/caption]
Siskel and Ebert Review ‘Aliens’ in 1986
The fat guy and the other one give a pretty brain-dead review of Aliens in 1986.
Plunderin’ Jeebus
This "movie" featured one of Chad's youthful crushes. [caption id="attachment_805" align="alignnone" width="640"] Yarrr! There be booty in that sack![/caption]
