thriller

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 507 – “That Was Then: The Taking of Pelham One Two Three”

Walter Matthau in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974), directed by Joseph Sargent

Gobbledygeek episode 507, “That Was Then: The Taking of Pelham One Two Three,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

We’re speeding away at breakneck speed with another installment of our That Was Then series. This time Paul and Arlo are witnesses to The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, a 1974 subway heist thriller that is exactly what it says on the tin. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! But our boys do struggle to find much to say, choosing to highlight David Shire’s jazz-funk score and Owen Roizman’s gritty cinematography while mostly being puzzled by the script’s wasted potential. It’s a fun Noo Yawk movie, and that’s okay, folks! 

NEXT: NO FUCKING MERLOT! That’s right, it’s another That Was Then, this time focusing on Alexander Payne’s 2004 buddy dramedy Sideways.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:30  –  Intro / The Year That Was 1974
  • 00:21:38  –  The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
  • 01:20:30  –  Outro / Next

MUSIC

  • “Sure Shot” by Beastie Boys, Ill Communication (1994)
  • “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne, Blizzard of Ozz (1980)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 502 – Blue Eye Samurai

Mizu (voiced by Maya Erskine) in Blue Eye Samurai (2023), created by Michael Green and Amber Noizumi

Gobbledygeek episode 502, “Blue Eye Samurai,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

What is there for a young, mixed-race woman to do in feudal Japan? Reject all traces of her femininity, assume the masculine identity of a ronin, and seek revenge on any of the four white men in the whole country who could potentially be her father. Is Mizu a demonic half-breed, an enlightened warrior, or something else altogether? Created by Michael Green and Amber Noizumi, Blue Eye Samurai charts Mizu’s journey of self-discovery and bloodlust, and Paul and Arlo are along for the ride. The boys discuss the show’s brilliant fight choreography, each character’s attempt to break free of their constraints, the tremendous voice performances of Maya Erskine and Brenda Song, and that Metallica cover. Plus, Arlo pays homage to big bald daddy Godzilla.

NEXT: ho ho no! It’s a Bob Clark double feature on the finale of our truncated season 14, as Twisted Christmas rears its festive face once more. Black Christmas and A Christmas Story are basically the same movie, right?

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:55  –  Intro / Guest
  • 00:30:10  –  Blue Eye Samurai
  • 02:00:12  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

MUSIC

  • “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Emi Meyer, Blue Eye Samurai (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series) (2023)
  • “Pale Blue Eyes” by The Velvet Underground, The Velvet Underground (1969)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 499 – “Geek Challenge: Xanadu vs. Mulholland Drive”

Top: Olivia Newton-John in Xanadu (1980), directed by Robert Greenwald / Bottom: Naomi Watts and Laura Haring in Mulholland Drive (2001), directed by David Lynch

Gobbledygeek episode 499, “Geek Challenge: Xanadu vs. Mulholland Drive,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

You have to believe Gobbledygeek is magic. Or at the very least, that Paul and Arlo will revel in cinematic magic on the latest Geek Challenge. Robert Greenwald’s infamous 1980 flop Xanadu is paired with David Lynch’s acclaimed 2001 masterpiece Mulholland Drive for a fantastical discussion of filmic fantasy. The boys argue that Xanadu should not be seen as a failure, interpret Mulholland Drive‘s many cryptic symbols, bask in the radiance of Olivia Newton-John, and laud Naomi Watts’ raw emotion. Plus, our bodies continue to deteriorate.

NEXT: five hundo.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:39  –  Intro
  • 00:15:49  –  Xanadu
  • 01:04:15  –  Mulholland Drive
  • 01:57:26  –  Outro / Next

MUSIC

  • “Magic” by Olivia Newton-John, Xanadu (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1980)
  • “Llorando” by Rebekah Del Rio, All My Life – Toda Me Vida (2003)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 489 – “Geek Challenge: White Christmas vs. Eyes Wide Shut”

Top: Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye, Bing Crosby, Vera-Ellen, and many more in White Christmas (1954), directed by Michael Curtiz / Bottom: Tom Cruise and many, many more in Eyes Wide Shut (1999), directed by Stanley Kubrick

Gobbledygeek episode 489, “Geek Challenge: White Christmas vs. Eyes Wide Shut,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

Hang your stockings by the chimney, roast some chestnuts on that open fire, and prepare yourself for a very special Twisted Christmas installment. Our annual yuletide derangement has morphed into a Geek Challenge, featuring two obviously similar films: Paul has challenged Arlo to Michael Curtiz’s holly jolly classic White Christmas (1954), and in turn Arlo has thrust upon Paul Stanley Kubrick’s festive psychosexual nightmare Eyes Wide Shut (1999). Paul has some harsh words for Kubrick’s orgy, Arlo cringes at old-timey patriotism, and both of our boys come away filled with a little less Christmas cheer. Oh, and who is Danny Kaye again?

NEXT: for our season finale, we become real boys for Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:52  –  Intro / Paul and Arlo’s Holiday Spirit
  • 00:11:15  –  Eyes Wide Shut
  • 01:12:40  –  White Christmas
  • 02:02:00  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

MUSIC

  • “Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing” by Chris Isaak, Forever Blue (1995)
  • “Masked Ball (1999 Extended Mix)” by Jocelyn Pook, Flood (1999)
  • “Musica ricercata, II (Mesto, rigido e cerimoniale)” by Dominic Harlan, Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
  • “The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing” by Danny Kaye, Selections from Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” (1954)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 469 – “FCF: The Many Deaths of Laila Starr”

Art from The Many Deaths of Laila Starr (2021) by Filipe Andrade & Inês Amaro

Gobbledygeek episode 469, “FCF: The Many Deaths of Laila Starr,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

What happens when a child is born who will invent immortality? According to Ram V and Filipe Andrade’s The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, Death is fired from her job, is cast into a mortal body, and attempts to find and murder this child. Oh, she also dies a lot. On this month’s Four-Color Flashback, Paul & Arlo discuss the book’s unique approach to Indian mythology, Andrade’s beautifully distorted figures, V’s ability to be self-serious without being pretentious, and more. Plus, Paul gets into Severance, the boys aren’t feeling This Is Us‘ final season, and Arlo reads more Superman.

NEXT: it’s an MCU catch-up session. The boys will discuss the trifecta of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals, and Spider-Man: No Way Home.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:34  –  Intro / Banter
  • 00:27:39  –  The Many Deaths of Laila Starr
  • 01:32:20  –  Selecting the next FCF
  • 01:36:03  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

MUSIC

  • “(I Just) Died in Your Arms Tonight” by Cutting Crew, Broadcast (1986)
  • “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” by Blue Oyster Cult, Agents of Fortune (1976)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 449 – “The Americans: Season 3 (feat. Wesley Mead)”

Matthew Rhys, Holly Taylor, and Keri Russell in The Americans season 3 (2015)

Gobbledygeek episode 449, “The Americans: Season 3 (feat. Wesley Mead),” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

To paraphrase Philip and Elizabeth Jennings’ new/old handler Gabriel, “Podcasting and timeliness in many ways are antithetical.” After a series of delays, Paul and Arlo are back with guest of honor Wesley “Wezzo” Mead to continue their discussion of Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields’ modern classic spy drama The Americans. This time, they’re taking a look at season 3, a masterclass in thematic cohesion. Everything, more or less, comes back to the challenge of parenthood: on a micro level, how the Jennings plan on guiding Paige into the world of spycraft; on a macro level, how they can act as individuals under the forceful hand of the Centre. The gang talks self-actualization, bone-crunching, necklacing, and Frank motherfucking Langella. Plus, a detour into the “wholesomeness discourse” raging around Ted Lasso.

NEXT: John Cusack and Paul Dano take on John C. Reilly and Jenna Fischer in a Geek Challenge. It’s the very real music biopic Love & Mercy versus the parody music biopic Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:44  –  Intro / Guest
  • 00:05:37  –  Some words about Ted Lasso
  • 00:25:48  –  The Americans: Season 3
  • 02:22:37  –  Outro / Next

MUSIC

  • “Only You” by Yaz, Upstairs at Eric’s (1982)
  • “Vienna” by Ultravox, Vienna (1980)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 445 – “Black Widow (feat. Tanya Cochran)”

Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh in Black Widow (2021), directed by Cate Shortland

Gobbledygeek episode 445, “Black Widow (feat. Tanya Cochran),” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

After a two-year absence–thanks, global pandemic!–the Marvel Cinematic Universe makes its return to the big screen with the long-awaited Black Widow. And we do mean long-awaited: it’s been 11 years since Scarlett Johansson made her debut as Natasha Romanoff, and only now, after we’ve seen Nat die in Avengers: Endgame, does Black Widow get a solo movie. Paul and Arlo are joined by pop culture fan and academic Tanya Cochran to discuss whether or not Cate Shortland’s film was worth the wait. There’s talk of trauma, family dramedy, falling debris, and how much Arlo absolutely loves David Harbour as Red Guardian.

NEXT: Sweet Tooth returns, again, in Sweet Tooth: The Return for our next Four-Color Flashback.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:50  –  Intro / Guest
  • 00:05:50  –  Black Widow
  • 00:26:48  –  SPOILERS
  • 02:04:47  –  Outro / Next

MUSIC

  • “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Think Up Anger (feat. Malia J) (2015)
  • “American Pie” by Don McLean, American Pie (1971)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 436 – “The Americans: Season 1 (feat. Wesley Mead)”

Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys in The Americans 1×1, “Pilot” (2013)

Gobbledygeek episode 436, “The Americans: Season 1 (feat. Wesley Mead),” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

Deception is as American as apple pie. Elizabeth and Philip Jennings are well aware of this–they’re Russian spies under deep cover as a suburban couple in the U.S., after all. Their new next door neighbor, FBI Agent Stan Beeman, threatens to throw a wrench into their long con. Over the course of The Americans season 1, there are plenty of twists, turns, betrayals, and confessions. Wesley “Wezzo” Mead has infiltrated the podcast to join Paul and Arlo as they begin a retrospective on Joe Weisberg’s critically acclaimed but criminally underseen FX series. The gang discusses the tremendous work by leads Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys; how the show is a little pulpier and faster moving than they remembered; the characters’ vacillating beliefs in each other and the systems they move within; and, of course, all those wigs.

NEXT: Hollywood post-production supervisor Michael Holland flies in for a look at The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Take note, Jennings–Soviet agents can be reformed!

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:51  –  Intro / Guest
  • 00:03:45  –  Main Topic
  • 01:50:05  –  Outro / Next

MUSIC

  • “Tusk” by Fleetwood Mac, Tusk (1979)
  • “Games Without Frontiers” by Peter Gabriel, Peter Gabriel (1980)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 430 – “FCF: American Vampire”

Art from American Vampire: Vol. 1 (2010) by Rafael Albuquerque and Dave McCaig

Gobbledygeek episode 429, “Geek Challenge: Wolf vs. The Insider,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

What’s more American than ruthless bastards sucking dry the poor, hardworking souls that make this country what it is–all in the name of progress? We’re not just talking about capitalism here, we’re also talking about the bloodthirsty monsters at the heart of Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque’s American Vampire. For this month’s Four-Color Flashback, Paul and Arlo sink their fangs into the first two volumes of Snyder and Albuquerque’s (with an assist from Stephen King) decades-spanning Vertigo series. The boys discuss how Snyder charts the path of American history through three distinct time periods; the seriously cool vampire taxonomy; Albuquerque’s ghastly, gorgeous art; the way King cusses; and, yes, what the book says about capitalist conquest. Plus, Paul chills with three very different Netflix projects: Moxie, Ginny & Georgia, and Behind Her Eyes.

NEXT: Michael Holland, post-production supervisor on American Horror Story and ABC’s For Life, joins us to discuss Disney+’s first MCU series, WandaVision.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:50  –  Intro
  • 00:07:14  –  American Vampire
  • 01:34:36  –  Outro / Next

MUSIC

  • “American Girl” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1977)
  • “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves, Walking on Sunshine (1985) 

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 429 – “Geek Challenge: Wolf vs. The Insider”

Left: Christopher Plummer in Wolf (1994), directed by Mike Nichols / Right: Christopher Plummer in The Insider (1999), directed by Michael Mann

Gobbledygeek episode 429, “Geek Challenge: Wolf vs. The Insider,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

In honor of the late Christopher Plummer, Paul and Arlo host a Geek Challenge with two films featuring one of Canada’s greatest. First, Paul has Arlo watch Mike Nichols’ 1994 horror (?) film Wolf, starring Jack Nicholson as a middle-aged book editor who finds the beast inside courtesy of a wolf bite (with a five-minute cameo from a scenery-chewing Plummer). Then, Arlo makes Paul watch Michael Mann’s 1999 ripped-from-the-headlines thriller The Insider, with Russell Crowe as a scientist taking on Big Tobacco, Al Pacino as the journalist trying to tell his story, and Plummer doing one hell of a job as Mike Wallace. Plus, Paul tries to get Arlo to watch Craig McCracken’s new animated series Kid Cosmic.

NEXT: the boys sharpen their fangs on a Four-Color Flashback discussion of the first two volumes of Scott Snyder, Stephen King, and Rafael Albuquerque’s American Vampire.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:55  –  Intro / Kid Cosmic
  • 00:10:29  –  Wolf
  • 00:55:45  –  The Insider
  • 01:49:45  –  Pointless tangent about the term “bucket list” (We’re sorry.)
  • 01:52:54  –  Outro / Next

MUSIC

  • “Wolf Like Me” by TV On The Radio, Return to Cookie Mountain (2006)
  • “Iguazu” by Gustavo Santoalalla, Ronroco (1998)

GOBBLEDYCARES