podcast 3

I broke this one into two sections since we cover many topics quickly. In part 1 we talk a bit about 300 and compare it to Sword and Sorcerer movies from the 80’s such as Dragonslayer (dir. M. Robbins, 1981) We talk about how dragons should look mean and not like Icarus from DBZ. And how the Go-Bots theme is the best 80’s action cartoon theme. Then we debate the merits of John Hughes’ The Breakfast Club (1985).
bump music: Nine Inch Nails: Appendage
Mogwai: Acid Food

podcast 3 pt. 2

In part 2 we continue to discuss 80’s teen movies and talk about our mutual dislike for Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) even though it’s got this guy.

Then we talk about Ricky Gervais‘ Extras and the brilliance of the scene with him and David Bowie. We talk about Kevin Smith being the next potential John Hughes. We close by discussing literacy as it relates to Mike Judge’s Idiocracy (2006) and meta-narratives such as Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves.
Bump music: Boards of Canada: Heard from Telegraph Lines
Depeche Mode: Dressed in Black
Squarepusher: Papalon

This is a short podcast about:

Podcast 1

We lost our first one (probably a good thing as you’re supposed to be ashamed of being an amateur). edit: I screwed the show notes up (great first start) this one is the one where we discuss what makes a movie good. Oscar best pictures and what makes a director a good/exciting director to watch.
The theme is an original piece composed by me (Ian) and performed by Six With the Knee. There is not bump music for this one.

Just 10 minutes ago a truck pulled up the long driveway where I live in the darkness of this immense Redwood forest. It must have been a black truck because it did not set off the motion sensor light. I noticed this truck’s lights from the window of the above garage apartment where I live. I wasn’t so much scared as pissed. Having just seen Tombstone I was feeling braver than I suppose was smart. I proceeded to go outside turning on a few lights in the house doing my best to make it apparent to this mystery truck that I would not go easily. But I wasn’t thinking. Sure better to die on your feet if it comes to that. Perhaps that is something akin to courage but I doubt it. For me it is a hint about my character. I am a fighter and not a lover. I would rather tackle a problem and attempt through hardship and frustration a victory. Perhaps there is no peace for me. I thought as the truck pulled away honking it’s horn two times as if to let me know that it knew exactly what I did. If the people in that truck had wanted to kill me and my family they could have. OR maybe I’m just paranoid since I’ve heard a mountain lion was sited near my house. Sleep will not come easily for me tonight … I think I have Nihilophobia (it’s what Pres. Roosevelt spoke about after Pearl Harbour) which ironically has almost no listings on Google.

Samurai Jack returns in a feature that Genndy Tartakovsky will write (storyboard?) and direct.

We’ve actually recorded quite a few episodes so in the first few we are talking about 300 and stuff like it is new. I guess the slant is going to be towards comparing things from the 80’s to more modern things within a given genre. Currently we discuss such topics as: What makes a director good? What are some of the best Sword and Sorcerer 80’s movies? And more recently some stuff about comics. I guess the show hasn’t really found it’s niche but covering a variety of topics and trying to tie them together might just be what I’m all about. So I’ll start posting them as soon as I’ve got them edited and cut up to a proper size I figure our ramblings should be broken into no more than 50 mins. But I’m new to this so bear with me.

I was reading an article on early 20th Centurty artist Edward Hopper (1882-1967) in the Winter 2006 issue of American Artist Drawing. Hopper’s paintings make up some of the most iconic American images. The article talked about this painting saying: “In this image there appears to be no joy in either physical bliss or intellectual pursuits.” (Parks, 71)

I read about this on FilmJunk, apparently Entertainment Weekly made this list of the best sci-fi movies made in the last 25 years. It has a few good ones and a few bad ones.

Frankly comparing a television show with a movie doesn’t work for me; as one develops over a longer period of time. A quick look at this list shows the variety of overriding genres that have sci-fi elements. Futurama is a comedy, Quantum Leap was a drama (very little sci-fi). Clone Wars (which is awesome!) is an action cartoon. I don’t know about The Matrix being the best sci-fi in the last 25 years (I’ve added my opinions in parentheses). I myself am partial to Bladerunner which deals with much of the same issues with AI, etc. but does so with a fantastic neo–noir complexity that trumps the freshmen level philosophy and visual effects of The Matrix. It should be noted that Edward James Olmos plays a critical role in both the number 2 and number 3 picks on the list, once again proving that EJO is freakin‘ awesome!

25. V: The Mini-series (in the 80’s there were great shows like V but then there was also crap like V, staring the Beastmaster himself Mark Singer)
24. Galaxy Quest (meh)
23. Doctor Who
22. Quantum Leap
21. Futurama
20. Star Wars: Clone Wars
19. Starship Troopers (whaaaa? the book was alright)
18. Heroes (we’ll see)
17. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
16. Total Recall
15. Firefly/Serenity
14. Children of Men (very good)
13. The Terminator/Terminator 2 (meh)
12. Back To The Future
11. Lost
10. The Thing
9. Aliens (game over man but I think Alien is a better movie)
8. Star Trek: TNG (Christ this show was boring DS9 had a freakin‘ war that’s drama and action, this show was all rehash of the first series and boring diplomatic intrigue)
7. E.T.
6. Brazil (gotta love the natural blending of Kafkaesque and Pythonesque)
5. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (James Horner’s score rules)
4. The X-Files (it was great until it went on too long and got lame around season 7)
3. Blade Runner
2. Battlestar Galactica (this show is the only good thing Sci-fi Channel has done since they aired Akira and Robot Carnival in the early 90’s this list also lacks anime like Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell)
1. The Matrix