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/
‘Deadpool 2’ Official Trailer
Is it Deadpool’s non-stop stream of hilarious quips? Is it the copious ass-kicking? Is it the chutzpah of Deadpool ripping off the plot of Logan (must protect a mutant kid)? No, it’s the fact that they stole Chad’s joke from our podcast, where he said filmmakers always lose their way with the third movie in a series. Anyhoo, enjoy the vision of restraint and good taste that is the official Deadpool 2 trailer:
Ep. 032 – ‘WarGames’ Reboot, ‘Black Lightning’ TV Show and More
This episode looks at the classic cold-war computer hacker film WarGames, and the new interactive reboot based on the property. We also shine some light on the other black superhero, DC’s Black Lightning, found on Netflix. Lastly, Chad latches onto the inexplicable Venom teaser trailer and tries to make some Spidey sense of it.
Show Notes:
00:56 – We start with WarGames.
04:43 – A description of the reboot, and a look at the original movie.
06:53 – Chad starts in with Short Circuit.
08:22 – Dabney Coleman is a dick.
10:36 – Again with Short Circuit?
24:56 – Start of Black Lightning discussion.
29:03 – The unbearable deadness of James Remar.
37:31 – Chad breaks down the Venom teaser trailer.
Thanks for listening!
WarGames trailer – https://youtu.be/hbqMuvnx5MU
WarGames web series trailer – https://youtu.be/ZfObVggo5QE
#WarGames interactive series website (also available on Steam and iOS) – https://helloeko.com/wargames/episode-one-chasing-bryce/?autoplay=true&utm_source=verge&utm_medium=affiliate
Bill’s article on the history of the movie WarGames, at The Dot Eaters: http://thedoteaters.com/?bitstory=games-on-film-iii-wargames
Black Lightning series trailer – https://youtu.be/uoUlGwYa4QE
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/
Avengers: Infinity War Official Trailer
The latest trailer for Avengers: Infinity War has dropped, and it’s only slightly amazingly awesome. Come see Doctor Strange get an acupuncture treatment, and Thanos and Cap arm wrestle:
Ep. 030 – The ‘USS Callister’ Episode of ‘Black Mirror’
We focus our tri-corders on USS Callister, an episode of the great Netflix anthology SF series Black Mirror that deftly parodies Star Trek while presenting the usual futuretech dystopia that is the hallmark of the series. We also hold up DTube, a video sharing site that is being hailed as a YouTube killer, as proof that there is no redeeming features of mankind whatsoever. Enjoy!
Show Notes:
00:42 – We start off with our analysis of USS Callister.
01:39 – A detour into The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, starring Ben Stiller.
18:25 – Chad questions what’s wrong with baby-killing.
27:06 – We start talking about the dumpster fire that is DTube.
31:23 – Some choice morons on the DTube short bus.
34:46 – The mechanics of DTube.
42:21 – How to win friends and influence idiots.
44:31 -Deutsche Tube
Thanks for listening!
USS Callister Trailer – https://youtu.be/qgTtyfgzGc0
The Nerdstalking DTube channel – https://d.tube/#!/c/nerdstalking
Jack and Jill trailer- https://youtu.be/oJVv3PBoPMc
I realize this presentation is an assault on the visual senses, but this is the full version of the TV play of Bertolt Brecht’s Baal, by David Bowie. My recommendation to you is to zoom in to the window on the bottom left that contains the video, so you don’t see any of the effects that are designed to throw off the content ID algorithyms of Google. As far as I can see, this is the only post of the TV show in its entirety. And the immense creative power of Bowie is not diminished by reducing the image. No Earthly confinement could ever do that – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_l6jBYsQ60
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 029 Solo=Meh Deadpool=Yay
Bill and Chad can’t conceal that they have a bad feeling about Solo following the first trailers for the next Star Wars story, then Chad hooks us up with a breakdown of the much-anticipated character Cable, soon to light up screens in the upcoming Deadpool 2. Tune in, turn on and drop everything and listen!
Show Notes:
00:08 – Premiering the new Nerdstalking theme!
02:06 – The start of our Solo talk.
19:38 – We talk about the hilarious Deadpool 2 trailers.
22:25 – The start of our discussion of Cable. Who is this Cable guy?
32:30 – The powers of Cable.
37:12 – How will Cable fit into Deadpool 2?
40:11 – Demollition Man: A Retrospective.
Thanks for listening!
Solo: A Star Wars Story Trailer – https://youtu.be/K9PkToULL1c
Deadpool 2 Teaser Trailer – https://youtu.be/I4tFNfROlqk
Moss buys some women’s slacks on The IT Crowd: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujGCGZqwaSc
Deadpool 2 “Wet on Wet” Trailer – https://youtu.be/8-Cjsnq8kVU
Demolition Man Trailer – https://youtu.be/0B5v6QZ5R3g
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 028 We Declaw Black Panther
We declaw the Black Panther movie.
At the expense of causing fur to fly, Bill and Chad smell something pretty bad in the kitty litter as they do an extensive break-down of the 2018 Black Panther movie from Marvel. Try not to get scratched as you listen! As usual, we examine lots of details of the movie to cover all the bases with our assessment of it, so THERE BE SPOILERS!
Show Notes:
3:00 – We confront the white colonizer elephant in the room.
6:25 – Shortchanging Wakanda
10:55 – Missing impressive set-pieces
16:53 – No buttons at the end of any scene.
22:40 – Talk of not-so-special effects.
26:52 – Female empowerment.
30:45 – The Boko Haram scene.
33:21 – White boys.
38:35 – Weak motivations.
42:23 – Summing up.
Thanks for listening!
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
Ep 027 Wakanda is Wack in the Black Panther trailer
Chad and Bill examine the trailer for Marvel’s Black Panther, and find it wanting. Bill also ponders the Amazonian (or not) nature of Wonder Woman Gal Gadot, we dwell on next year’s Captain Marvel, and other pressing topics.
Show Notes:
00:00 – Intro, and we go right into our breakdown of the Black Panther trailer.
15:25 – The beginning of our thoughts on leaked set pictures of Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, as well as Chad sets up some comic book context for the character.
16:02 – Is Gal Gadot tall enough to be Wonder Woman?
23:40 – Chad gives a run-down on Fox’s post-apocolyptic sit-com The Last Man on Earth.
26:10 – More Captain Marvel talk.
30:30 – We ponder what terrible thing Mark Hamill must have done to Rian Johnson to make the director force him to milk a sea cow in Star Wars: The Last Jedi
33:46 – What in the Hell is cryptocurrency?
36:55 – After what Donald Trump would no doubt describe as a “fake sign-off”, we really do sign off.
Thanks for listening!
Funny Dubbed Milking Scene in The Last Jedi
Say what you might about Star Wars: The Last Jedi, (and Nerdstalking does say, a lot, in our review of it here: http://bit.ly/2BefOJK), but at least it has the singularly strangest scene of any big-budget movie of at least the last ten years, if not further back. Heroine Rey has tracked down reclusive Jedi Luke Skywalker, who summarily refuses to train her in her Force powers. After following Skywalker around his desolate island to determine what is keeping him so busy that he can’t help her out, she make a harrowing discovery of just what a fallen Jedi does to get some protein in his diet.
Solo: A Star Wars Story Teaser Trailer, Now With More Millennium Falcon
Alden Ehrenreich doesn’t really seem much like Han Solo, but at least Disney plays to their strengths in this trailer: lots and lots of the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy.
Ep. 026 No need to get petty about Last Jedi
Bill and Chad serve up roasted Porgs and fresh lounging sea creature milk with their in-depth breakdown of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Does Episode VIII add momentum to the sequel trilogy and tee fans up for Ep. IX? Listen and find out!
We start out, though, giving our thoughts on the Netflix original TV series The Punisher. Frank Castle in the hizz-ouse!
Avengers: Infinity War Trailer Drops
I guess they’ve been making these little independent films about a group of friends that always gather together when a crisis affects them. There’s a rich guy, this old-timer who’s from the 50’s or something, one guy who keeps losing his temper, a woman with a dark background she never talks about, the pretty boy, and a guy who’s a straight-arrow. You know, an ensemble piece. So the trailer for their latest movie was just released, so I’ll post it here for anyone who wants to take their date to a romcom or something.
Nerdlog, Supplemental: George Pal Animation
In episode 25 of our podcast, Chad described his discovery of the amazing works of George Pal, who made such SF masterworks as When Worlds Collide and War of the Worlds, to name just a couple. Beyond film epics, Chad also mentioned that he started out as an accomplished animator, although we couldn’t remember at the time what his stop-motion animation technique was named. Well, they were called Puppetoons, and here is a great example of his work. It’s a 1948 theatrical ad for Mounds chocolate bars:
Click to watch videoEp. 025 Dissing the DC Bleakaverse!
Sure, DC movies have had some hard knocks over recent years, but at least they warned us that Kevin Spacey is, in fact, a real diabolical menace! The two Nerdstalking evil geniuseses Bill and Chad take a journey into Zack Snyder/Joss Whedon’s darkened treatise on super friendship, Justice League, and lo and behold they find that there’s light at the end of the DC tunnel after all! Plus some talk on the first series of TV’s Star Trek: Discovery, and Chad relates his wondrous discovery of the films of SF movie extravaganza pioneer George Pal.
