guardians of the galaxy

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Listen to ‘Gobbledygeek’ Episode 343, “Avengers: Infinity War – Oh Snap!”

Gobbledygeek episode 343, “Avengers: Infinity War – Oh Snap!,” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

A feat even more miraculous than Paul and Arlo agreeing on the same movie? Successfully juggling a cast of dozens in an interplanetary epic that shakes up the world’s most popular film series. That’s exactly what Joe & Anthony Russo have done with Avengers: Infinity War, a daring space opera that acts as a culmination of a decade’s worth of superheroic blockbusters while taking the Marvel Cinematic Universe in new directions. The boys discuss how (nearly) each character gets their due, why Josh Brolin’s Thanos more than lives up to the hype, and where the MCU goes from here. Plus, Arlo binges the Disney Renaissance and MoviePass takes an unsurprising heel turn.

Next: this year’s Four-Color Flashback continues as Heather Wiley joins Paul and Arlo to discuss Wonder Woman by George Perez: Vol. 1.

(Show notes for “Oh Snap!”)

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Listen to ‘Gobbledygeek’ Episode 335, “Annihilation: For Those That Follow”

Gobbledygeek episode 335, “Annihilation: For Those That Follow,” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

Self-destruction. Division. Separation. Annihilation. These are the frivolous, lighthearted concerns of Alex Garland’s latest film, a mind-expanding sci-fi trip that finds Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson, Gina Rodriguez, and Tuva Novotny exploring “Area X,” a mutated piece of land encompassed by the full-on-double-rainbow-all-the-way that is the Shimmer. What’s going on here? What’s causing it? Does an answer even matter? Paul and Arlo dig into Annihilation’s writhing, metastasizing guts to discuss the beautiful, macabre work of production designer Matt Digby; the organic/electronic discomfit of Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury’s score; how Garland’s approach intentionally places the viewer at a distance; and that goddamn bear. Plus, Paul watched something called the Olympics; Arlo wants to help The Breadwinner make some dough; and Paul gives Arlo shit, what else is new.

Next: the episode we teased last week! For a musical Geek Challenge, Arlo must watch Kenn Anakin’s 1982 “classic” The Pirate Movie and Paul must endure Jacques Demy’s 1967 classic (no quotation marks necessary) The Young Girls of Rochefort.

(Show notes for “For Those That Follow.”)

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Listen to ‘Gobbledygeek’ Episode 311, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Those Who Dance, and Those Who Do Not”

Gobbledygeek episode 311, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Those Who Dance, and Those Who Do Not,” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

Family is family, no matter how much they might piss you off. It’s fitting that while the ragtag band of losers at the heart of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 learn this lesson, Paul and Arlo are relearning it. That’s right, kids, the boys’ miraculous and unprecedented string of agreements is over: Paul is tail over paws in love with Vol. 2, while Arlo rides the good ship Kelly McGillis into a sea of disappointment. Are the film’s various character pairings emotionally satisfying? Does Vol. 2 merely rehash everything you loved about the first? Is Michael Rooker a goddamn gift to humanity/Centauriankind? Plus, Paul mind-melds with Sense8 season 2, and Arlo wants to believe with The Leftovers season 3.

Next: after a week off, Ensley F. Guffey will join the boys for the next installment in their (woefully unappreciated) Four-Color Flashback exploring Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s Y: The Last Man. This time, they’ll slip on the Ring of Truth for Y: The Last Man – Vol. 5.

(Show notes for “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Those Who Dance, and Those Who Do Not.”)

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Paul & AJ’s Top 10 Films of 2014

The new year is less than two days old, so once again, it’s time to look back to our favorites of last year. As always, lists are imperfect, incomplete, and totally subject to change upon reflection and the passage of time.

We’ll start with Paul; he remains skeptical of this whole top 10 business, so this year, his contributions to our lists (including comics, albums, and TV shows) will be presented without comment.

(Mine, of course, will probably say too much.)

~ AJ

PAUL’S FAVORITE (NOT BEST) FILMS OF 2014
10. Boyhood (dir. Richard Linklater)
9. Interstellar (dir. Christopher Nolan)
8. Maleficent (dir. Robert Stromberg)
7. Only Lovers Left Alive (dir. Jim Jarmusch)
6. The LEGO Movie (dirs. Phil Lord & Christopher Miller)
5. Guardians of the Galaxy (dir. James Gunn)
4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (dirs. Joe & Anthony Russo)
3. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (dir. Matt Reeves)
2. Big Hero 6 (dirs. Don Hall & Chris Williams)
1. How to Train Your Dragon 2 (dir. Dean DeBlois)

HONORABLE MENTIONS
Snowpiercer (dir. Bong Joon-ho)
Edge of Tomorrow (dir. Doug Liman)
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (dir. Francis Lawrence)
X-Men: Days of Future Past (dir. Bryan Singer)
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (dir. Marc Webb)

DIDN’T SEE
Birdman (dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu)
Force Majeure (dir. Ruben Ostlund)
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (dir. Peter Jackson)

AJ’S TOP 10 FILMS OF 2014

10. BIRDMAN (dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu)

Film Review Birdman

“A thing is a thing, not what is said of that thing,” reads the quote (sometimes attributed to Susan Sontag) stuck to Riggan Thomson’s mirror. One imagines the former superhero actor, played by a back-and-swinging-for-the-fences Michael Keaton, clings to that mantra as he negotiates a shot at artistic integrity with his paranoid need to be loved. It also serves as a warning to anyone trying to dissect the film or Iñárritu’s intentions. After making a career out of overwhelmingly somber dramas, Iñárritu has made a frenzied comedy propelled by a furious drum score from Antonio Sanchez. He also peppers the film with flights of insanity, in which Riggan has telekinetic powers or takes to the skies just like his old alter ego. How much of this is real? What does the film’s beautiful final shot mean? There’s a lot to be said, but you can also take Birdman for the absurd, chaotic, hilarious thing it is.

Continue reading →

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Listen to Episode 194, “Groot Suit Riot (feat. Kenn Edwards)”

gotg

Gobbledygeek episode 194, “Groot Suit Riot (feat. Kenn Edwards),” is available for listening or download right here. and on iTunes here.

Come and get your love, boys and girls: the Guardians of the Galaxy have arrived. Paul and AJ abduct the young, impressionable Kenn Edwards (So Let’s Get to the Pointhost/Smoke Gets in Your Ears co-host), leading him on a whirlwind tour of the universe, discussing the finer points of James Gunn’s sci-fi blockbuster. Among those points: whether or not, ten movies in, the film marks progress for Marvel Studios; the unlikely (or perhaps the most likely) breakout characters; and that bitchin’ soundtrack. Plus, AJ goes in for a sleep test and gets back up on his Spider-Ham soapbox.

Next: Joseph Lewis returns for another gathering of the Turtle…uh, Tribe? Is that a thing? Anyway, this time the gang’s discussing the new Michael Bay-produced Ninja Turtles movie.

(Show notes for “Groot Suit Riot.”)