william shakespeare

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 428 – “FCF: Prince of Cats”

Art and dialogue from Prince of Cats (2012) by Ronald Wimberly

Gobbledygeek episode 428, “FCF: Prince of Cats,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

Two hosts, unalike in dignity, in fair Gobbledygeek, where we set our podcast. For this month’s Four-Color Flashback, Paul and Arlo pull out a boombox blasting Romeo and Juliet side B. In Prince of Cats, Ronald Wimberly passes the mic to Juliet’s cousin Tybalt, a sideways entry point into the events that lead to and inform the soapy classic. Oh, and did we mention this version stars a Black cast living in an ‘80s NYC where everybody participates in an underground samurai swordfighting ring? The boys discuss Wimberly’s ingenious distortion of Shakespearean language; his manga-influenced art; how the book enriches (perhaps even improves upon?) the play; and what it means to tell this story from a race-conscious perspective.

NEXT: oh hey, it’s that Christopher Plummer Geek Challenge we promised. Mike Nichols’ Wolf and Michael Mann’s The Insider go head-to-head.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:48  –  Intro / Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet
  • 00:23:00  –  Prince of Cats
  • 01:03:45  –  (Interlude: Paul reads NSFW Shakespearean dialogue from Prince of Cats)
  • 01:55:08  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

MUSIC

  • “Step Off” by Grandmaster Melle-Mel & The Furious Five (1984)
  • “Sucker M.C.’s” by Run-DMC, Run-DMC (1983)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 402 – “West Side Story”

‘West Side Story’ (1961) directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise

Gobbledygeek episode 402, “West Side Story,” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

When you’re a geek, you’re a geek til ya die, from the stupid reviews to the heaviest sighs. And so, tonight, tonight, the geeks are out tonight–we’re talkin’ finger-snappin’, toe-tappin’ street gangs, daddy-o! Out of seemingly nowhere, Arlo pressures Paul into watching Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins’ 1961 adaptation of the 1957 Broadway show West Side Story by Arthur Laurents, Stephen Sondheim, and Leonard Bernstein. You might have heard of it! Somehow, though both of them love musicals–as documented extensively on this podcast–neither Arlo nor Paul had ever seen one of the most famous, and the most Oscar-adorned, musicals ever made. And so the boys discuss how, in true Romeo and Juliet fashion, Tony and Maria are kind of boring; George Chakiris and Rita Moreno being the film’s true stars; Robbins’ dynamic dance choreography; how you’ve just got to stay loose, boy, and accept the movie’s campy, colorful world; and more. Plus, a quarantine update and an exciting new behind-the-scenes development.

Next: T-B-muthafuckin’-D.

THE BREAKDOWN

Total Run Time: 01:48:58

  • 00:00:25  –  Intro
  • 00:17:20  –  Main Topic
  • 01:46:45  –  Outro / Next

THE MUSIC

  • “Cool” by Tucker Smith, West Side Story (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1961)
  • “America” by Rita Moreno, West Side Story (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1961)

THE LINKS

 

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Listen to ‘Gobbledygeek’ Episode 284, “Motorcycle Ninjas on the Forbidden Planet”

forbiddenconnection

Gobbledygeek episode 284, “Motorcycle Ninjas on the Forbidden Planet,” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

The Geek Challenge. It’s a time-honored tradition: Paul makes Arlo watch some silly ’80s cheesefest, Arlo subjects Paul to a stuffy revered classic. Everyone loses. In the interest of restoring some spontaneity to this well-worn custom, this time Arlo forces upon Paul perhaps the cheesiest movie of the ’80s, Y.K. Kim’s 1987 cult “classic” Miami Connection, in which a group of power balladeers do battle with cocaine ninjas; while Paul finally makes Arlo watch 1956’s Forbidden Planet, a retro-futuristic take on Shakespeare’s The Tempest and a legitimate classic of the sci-fi genre. Once again, the boys try to get at what makes the other tick and just what makes a great movie anyway. Also, you’ll never guess the very tenuous connection between the two films. No, really. You won’t.

Next: there’s somethin’ strange in your neighborhood, and it’s Paul Feig’s distaff Ghostbusters reboot.

(Show notes for “Motorcycle Ninjas on the Forbidden Planet.”)

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Paul & AJ’s Top 10 Films of 2013

Let the top 10-a-palooza commence! Over the next couple weeks, Paul and I will be looking back at our favorite things of 2013. First up, films; next week, TV series; and finally, comics. As always, these lists are imperfect and incomplete, reflecting only on what we’ve seen and love at the moment. Or as Paul writes:

I intentionally refer to the films on this list as favorites, not best. I rank films based on how much I enjoyed them, for whatever ephemeral or esoteric reasons unique to me, not on some system of objective filmmaking truths. These are the ten films I liked the most. YMMV.

Regarding omissions, neither of us have been able to see Inside Llewyn Davis, which makes me want to die, but oh well. I also haven’t seen The Great Beauty, Cutie and the Boxer, or The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, among others. Meanwhile, Paul hasn’t gotten around to Her, The Act of Killing, Stories We Tell, Short Term 12, or Blue Jasmine, to name a few.

Here we go!

– AJ

PAUL: 10. WARM BODIES (dir. Jonathan Levine)

warmbodies

The zombie genre is by this point a bloated undead thing feasting on its own rotting flesh. But director Jonathan Levine (50/50) makes this adaptation of Isaac Marion’s novel fresh, fun, and full of life. Yes it’s a (very) thinly veiled Romeo and Juliet pastiche, but the two leads, neo-nerdhunk Nicholas Hoult and Australian beauty Teresa Palmer, are both engaging and committed. Hoult in particular gets praise for being monstrous and vulnerable, and for selling the cheesy-but-hilarious voiceover with nothing more than his eyes. Also, Rob Corddry as a zombie lamenting, “Bitches, man,” is the best comedic line delivery of the year.

AJ: 10. GIMME THE LOOT (dir. Adam Leon)

gimmetheloot

You walk out of Gimme the Loot immediately wanting to know what first-time writer-director Adam Leon is going to do next. His voice is sharp and fresh, chronicling a day in the life of two teenaged petty criminals in a way that feels authentic but never gritty. His Bronx streets are unvarnished, rife with economic and class divisions, but there’s so much damn heart. Newcomers Tashiana Washington and Ty Hickson give performances devoid of pomp or flash; they simply find the souls of these two aimless kids. They’re one of the most affecting screen duos in recent memory, in one of the biggest surprises of the year.

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Listen to Episode 146, “We Are the Only Love-Gods”

muchado

Gobbledygeek episode 146, “We Are the Only Love-Gods,” is available for listening or download right here, and on iTunes here.

This week, Paul and AJ discover that silence is perfectest herald of joy; if they were but little happy, they could say how much. You’re kidding yourself, though, if you thought that meant they would shut up. Nope, there’s plenty of talk about Joss Whedon’s delightful Shakespeare adaptation Much Ado About Nothing, as the boys gush about the cast (Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof together again!), delight in the embellishments and grace notes Whedon has added to the text, and discuss how successfully the film blends Old English with 21st century trappings. Much ado, indeed.

Next: we’re making up for not taking the Fourth of July off by taking next week off, but when we return, we shall be discussing Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim.

(Show notes for “We Are the Only Love-Gods.”)

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Four-Color Flashback: ‘Preacher: Vol. 7 – Salvation’

Welcome to week 7 of 9 in our discussion of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s Preacher. For more, read weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Paul: So this volume, Salvation, is kind of an intermission in the main story. We get to see what kind of man Jesse is removed from the quest and his group of friends. And as it turns out he’s just as much the Big Damn Hero in this smaller setting as when he’s hunting down God and facing off with saints and lunatics.

How did you feel about this step back from the bigger picture?

AJ: I loved it. It’s impressive how much I enjoyed Jesse’s exploits away from Cassidy, Tulip, Herr Starr, etc. It took me a second to realize that we weren’t going to see most of our old friends (excepting Jesse’s vision quest near the end), but once I adjusted to that, I found Salvation to be one of the most satisfying volumes yet.

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Joss Whedon Has Made Another Movie, Apparently

You may have heard of The Avengers, the massive superhero blockbuster that Joss Whedon and his team of magicians have been feverishly working on for a year or two. However, like myself, you may not have known that when one is writing and directing one of the most anticipated comic book films ever made, one also has time to write and direct a totally unrelated film starring about half the people one has ever worked with. Because that’s just what Whedon has done.

The film, entitled Much Ado About Nothing and presumably an adaptation of the Shakespeare play, has completed principal photography without anyone having noticed. For years now, Whedonfolk have spoken of the man’s private Shakespeare readings in hushed tones, and it appears he has wrangled many of them into the movie: Alexis Denisof, Amy Acker, Nathan Fillion, Tom Lenk, Fran Kranz, Reed Diamond, and Clark Gregg have all worked with Whedon before. There’s no word on how the film will be distributed, be it conventionally or, like Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, as another Web venture.

Speaking of Dr. Horrible, this announcement reminds me of how it felt when we were all made aware of that Whedon project: like a beautiful, unexpected present had fallen from the heavens onto our collective doorstep. If you can’t tell, I am excited.