geek challenge

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 416 – “Geek Challenge: Zorro, the Gay Blade vs. The Double Life of Veronique”

Top: George Hamilton in Peter Medak’s ‘Zorro, the Gay Blade’ (1981).
Bottom: Irène Jacob in Krzysztof Kieslowski’s ‘The Double Life of Veronique’ (1991).

Gobbledygeek episode 416, “Geek Challenge: Zorro, the Gay Blade vs. The Double Life of Veronique,” is available for listening or download right here and on Apple Podcasts here.

If you’re seeing double–do not adjust your set. Paul and Arlo, podcasting’s own dynamic duo, have done a Geek Challenge involving dos doppelganger dramas. Well, drama might be a strong word for such a picture as Peter Medak’s 1981 spoof Zorro, the Gay Blade, starring George Hamilton as Don Diego Vega and his brother Ramon Vega, who are charged with taking up their father’s mantle of El Zorro. That’s Paul’s challenge to Arlo, of course–and Paul’s challenge to himself (listen and find out!) is Krzysztof Kieslowski’s 1991 film The Double Life of Veronique, a mysterious and possibly supernatural film featuring Irène Jacob as Polish singer Weronika and French music teacher Veronique, who share an indefinable connection. Get ready to swash some buckles and contemplate some existences!

NEXT: after a week off, it’s that time again. Leaves are on the ground and blood is on the screen. It’s time for Gobbledyween. Greg Sahadachny joins us to discuss The Autopsy of Jane Doe.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:32  –  Intro / Guest
  • 00:07:20  –  Zorro, The Gay Blade
  • 00:57:25  –  The Double Life of Veronique
  • 01:58:41  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

MUSIC

  • “It Takes Two” by Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock, It Takes Two (1988)
  • “I Think I’m a Clone Now” by Weird Al Yankovic, Even Worse (1988)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 410 – “Geek Challenge: Puppet Master vs. Seed of Chucky”

Top: ‘Puppet Master’ (1989), directed by David Schmoeller
Bottom: Jennifer Tilly in ‘Seed of Chucky’ (2004), directed by Don Mancini

Gobbledygeek episode 410, “Geek Challenge: Puppet Master vs. Seed of Chucky,” is available for listening or download right here and on Apple Podcasts here.

They’ll tear you a new puppet hole, bitch! The worlds of Charles Band and Don Mancini collide in a pre-Gobbledyween Geek Challenge. Paul sends Arlo a psychic alert letting him know to watch 1989’s Puppet Master, the first of producer Band’s direct-to-VHS Full Moon Features and the source of approximately one trillion sequels. In turn, Arlo goes meta and has a doll voiced by him call Paul while the real Arlo is tied to a bed behind him, commanding Paul to watch 2004’s Seed of Chucky. Paul recounts the joy of watching Full Moon Features in his 20s, Arlo launches a full-throated defense of Mancini’s vision, and they are both just completely miserable. Plus, the boys have nothing but nice things to say about Taylor Swift’s Folklore.

Next: we’re off, then we’re not.

THE BREAKDOWN

Total Run Time: 01:49:34

  • 00:00:25  –  Intro / Banter
  • 00:16:56  –  Puppet Master
  • 01:03:15  –  Seed of Chucky
  • 01:45:00  –  Outro / Next

THE MUSIC

  • “Master of Puppets” by Metallica, Master of Puppets (1986)
  • “Doll Parts” by Hole, Live Through This (1994)

THE LINKS

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 364 – “Bedknobs and Broomsticks / Chicago: We Both Reached for the Broom”

Gobbledygeek episode 364, “Bedknobs and Broomsticks / Chicago: We Both Reached for the Broom,” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

This week finds Paul and Arlo being a coupla ding-dong daddies as another musical Geek Challenge is summoned from a mail-order spellbook. First, Paul challenges Arlo to Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Robert Stevenson’s 1971 follow-up to Mary Poppins. Then, Arlo forces Paul to endure Rob Marshall’s 2002 Best Picture winner Chicago. Witchcraft and murder…this one’s got it all. The boys discuss Bedknobs and Broomsticks’ unlikely connection to The Island of Dr. Moreau, whether or not Chicago deserves its reputation as one of the weakest Best Picture champs, and why Paul refuses to pay Rent.

Next: after a week off, we’re back for our second Four-Color Flashback of 2019, discussing March by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell.

(Show notes for “Bedknobs and Broomsticks / Chicago: We Both Reached for the Broom.”)

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Listen to ‘Gobbledygeek’ Episode 346, “Mary Poppins / The Lure: Cartoon Penguins Eat Polish Mermaids, Don’t They?”

Gobbledygeek episode 346, “Mary Poppins / The Lure: Cartoon Penguins Eat Polish Mermaids, Don’t They?”, is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

Even with a spoonful of sugar, Paul finds this week’s Geek Challenge hard to stomach. You see, he has invited Arlo to watch Robert Stevenson’s delightful 1964 classic Mary Poppins, in which a magical Julie Andrews and an accented Dick Van Dyke dance their hearts out while unlocking the joy hidden within a stuffy banker. In return, Arlo has forced Paul to endure Agnieszka Smoczynska’s 2015 goth music video The Lure, in which there is little magic but plenty of pain, blood, and desperation as two virginal maneating mermaids come of age. They’re both musicals, they’re both about women, and…that’s about where the similarities end. Some men just like to watch the world burn, and Arlo appears to be one of them. Plus, lots of great trailers; Sense8, Legion, and Westworld broaden sci-fi TV’s horizons; Brian Michael Bendis’ time with Spider-Man comes to an end; and Arlo finally watched Guillermo del Toro’s debut feature Cronos.

Next: after 14 years, The Incredibles 2.

(Show notes for “Cartoon Penguins Eat Polish Mermaids, Don’t They?”)

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Listen to ‘Gobbledygeek’ Episode 336, “The Young Girls of Rochefort / The Pirate Movie: Killer Booboos and Cartoon Octopi”

Gobbledygeek episode 336, “The Young Girls of Rochefort / The Pirate Movie: Killer Booboos and Cartoon Octopi,” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

Ahoy and salut! Kicking off a series of occasional musical episodes–as in episodes about musicals; nobody wants to hear our boys sing–inspired by Paul’s love of The Greatest Showman, he and Arlo gear up for a tuneful Geek Challenge. They are both intensely on brand: Arlo challenges Paul to Jacques Demy’s deceptively candy-colored 1967 classic The Young Girls of Rochefort, while Paul forces Arlo to endure Ken Annakin’s inexplicable 1982 swashbuckler The Pirate Movie. They’re surprised to discover that these incredibly different films, besides both being musicals, have some connective tissue: the use of fantasy to escape cruel reality, metatextual references to themselves and other movies, and…well, okay, after that, they’re almost completely different, but come on! Wouldn’t it be cool if Catherine Deneuve danced with a cartoon octopus? Plus, Paul has thoughts on the Star Wars Rebels finale and Arlo has been taking a trip through classic Disney.

Next: Kronos must have forgotten to fold his sheets, because there is now A Wrinkle in Time. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.

(Show notes for “Killer Booboos and Cartoon Octopi.”)

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Listen to ‘Gobbledygeek’ Episode 326, “The Rocketeer / Pleasantville: Flying Colors”

Gobbledygeek episode 326, “The Rocketeer / Pleasantville: Flying Colors,” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

That venerated institution, the Geek Challenge, takes to the bright blue sky with a pair of retro ‘90s flicks. First up, Paul challenges Arlo to Joe Johnston’s 1991 Billy Campbell-starring adventure The Rocketeer, a proto-First Avenger that mixes pulp fiction with ‘30s Hollywood. Then, Arlo challenges Paul to Gary Ross’ 1998 directorial debut Pleasantville, which finds Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon zapped inside the black-and-white world of a hunky dory ‘50s sitcom. These films look backward to say something about the present, and while one admittedly has a lot more on its mind than the other, the boys find both to be unsettlingly timely. From populist demagoguery to villains that no longer feel like an historical artifact, Paul and Arlo mine a lot from these goofy, decades-old movies. Plus, Arlo remembers that comics exist.

Next: after a week off, the boys return to discuss experimental arthouse feature Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, which will be of interest to only the most devout cineaste.

(Show notes for “Flying Colors.”)

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Listen to ‘Gobbledygeek’ Episode 304, “Oh Hi, Superman”

Gobbledygeek episode 304, “Oh Hi, Superman,” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

If only these walls could talk, the secrets they could tell. Among them: murder, betrayal, lies, infidelity, and how in the hell Tommy Wiseau made a movie. It’s time for another Geek Challenge, and Arlo has seized the opportunity to finally force Paul into watching Wiseau’s 2003 cult classic The Room. In turn, Paul has challenged Arlo to Sidney Lumet’s much more dignified 1982 crime comedy Deathtrap. The boys discuss the advantages of stage over screen, and vice versa; questionable acting, be it Dyan Cannon or Greg Sestero; homoerotic subtext (or maybe it’s just text); and, yet again, Arlo’s fascination with epically bad filmmaking. Plus, Paul got his ears blown out by the Alabama Symphony’s Led Zeppelin performance.

Next: Kenn Edwards joins Paul and Arlo for the next installment of their year-long Four-Color Flashback discussion of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s Y: The Last Man. This time, the gang will talk Vol. 3: One Small Step.

(Show notes for “Oh Hi, Superman.”)

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Listen to ‘Gobbledygeek’ Episode 281, “The Glow of Vengeance”

lastsnowblood

Gobbledygeek episode 281, “The Glow of Vengeance,” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

One is born of Harlem; one is born of vengeance. One hopes to attain the Glow; one hopes to slake the bloodthirst of the mother she never met. For the latest Geek Challenge, Paul challenges Arlo to 1985’s Motown martial arts picture The Last Dragon, while Arlo challenges Paul to 1973’s Japanese exploitation classic Lady Snowblood. (The two films are obviously very similar.) As always, the boys learn more about each other and the differences in how they perceive the cinematic world. Arlo loves hilariously bad “anti-great” movies, so why does The Last Dragon leave him bored? Paul digs tales of otherworldly revenge, so what is it about Lady Snowblood that doesn’t quite click for him? Plus, before the usual disagreement, the boys concur in a brief, spoiler-free discussion of Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Lobster.

Next: the truth? Still out there. Continuing our sporadic discussion of Chris Carter’s seminal sci-fi series The X-Files, everybody’s favorite Brit Wesley “Wezzo” Mead stops by to chat season 2.

(Show notes for “The Glow of Vengeance.”)

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Listen to ‘Gobbledygeek’ Episode 255, “Political Paranoia and Yellowface (feat. Greg Sahadachny)”

threesome

Gobbledygeek episode 255, “Political Paranoia and Yellowface (feat. Greg Sahadachny),” is available for listening or download right here, and on iTunes here.

This week, Paul and AJ enter into their very first three-way with none other than Greg Sahadachny of The Debatable Podcast and All the Pieces Matter. That’s right, it’s a veritable ménage à geek, as the gang undergoes a tri-part Geek Challenge featuring as much paranoia as they could cram into one podcast. In reverse chronological order, we’ve got Guy Hamilton’s 1985 cult movie (does this thing have a cult?) Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, wherein Fred Ward and a regrettably racist Joel Grey try to take out a secret government weapon; 1977’s Black Sunday, a John Frankenheimer would-be blockbuster wherein Robert Shaw’s Mossad agent tries to stop Bruce Dern before he kills 80,000 Americans at the Super Bowl; and lastly, Alan J. Pakula’s 1974 conspiracy thriller classic The Parallax View, which features Warren Beatty uncovering a cynical government plot. Lots of distrust, misdirection, and bloodshed here. Or as we like to call it, just another episode of Gobbledygeek.

Next: Greg Sahadachny is back for the penultimate installment in our Four-Color Flashback series on Jeff Smith’s Bone. This time, the boys tackle Vol. VIII: Treasure Hunters.

(Show notes for “Political Paranoia and Yellowface.”)

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Listen to ‘Gobbledygeek’ Episode 247, “Just Sort of Rotting”

deadcomet

Gobbledygeek episode 247, “Just Sort of Rotting,” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

Gobbledyween comes early with the one-two zombie punch (right through some poor lady’s skull) of Peter Jackson’s 1992 gorefest Dead Alive AKA Braindead, one of several gonzo films which made the New Zealander perhaps the least likely contender to ever helm The Lord of the Rings; and 1984’s cult classic Night of the Comet, wherein the world ends and the burden of society is placed upon two teen sisters and their new pal Hector. In true Geek Challenge fashion, Paul and AJ find themselves baffled by these selections. Paul swims through Dead Alive‘s rivers of fake blood, while AJ finds himself stranded in Night of the Comet‘s nearly zombie-free desert. Will our heroes find common ground and come to understand one another? Never.

Next: death is but a door. Time is but a window. We’ll be back.

(Show notes for “Just Sort of Rotting.”)