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In a tip of the hat to Fred Armisen and Bill Hader's Documentary Now!, Stevie and Emmet look back at some recent documentaries exploring the darker sides of human nature.
How about something with a bet more pep, hurm? But then with the rise of the true crime podcast and - in a post-Tiger King world - there's clearly a demand for the kinds of documentaries that just leave a bitter aftertaste.
So what's that all about.
Included in this episode:
That last one is the exception that proves the rule.
Recorded hours away from the Hawkeye finale on Disney+, Stevie and Emmet weigh in on Hawkeye, the Renner of it all, and of course why Florence Pugh is the best.
Stevie returns for this chat about all things Dune.
We review the latest film, compare it to Jodorowsky's unfinished weird project and David Lynch's finished - and also pretty weird - 1984 production.
And Emmet's short review of Rafe Judkins's adaptation of The Wheel of Time is also featured at the end of the episode.
This Halloween, director David Weiner and CreatorVC are hosting a crowdfunding campaign to support the release of In Search of Darkness III. The concluding chapter in Weiner's exhaustive 80s horror documentary series, this campaign is offering fans the opportunity to curate what films will be discussed in this entry.
Emmet picks Weiner's brains on his approach to the In Search of Darkness series, his approach as a 'nostalgia curator', how cool Barbara Crampton is - and the discussion exorcises a video store trauma of Emmet's from the 1990s!
Mentioned in the discussion:
- https://80shorrordoc.com/
- Barbara Crampton's appearance on The Flop House
- Umbrella's release of Razorback with awesome Simon Sherry cover art.
After an impassioned text exchange with guest Tan, Emmet agreed to watch Midnight Mass on Netflix.
This episode is the result of that text message! This is a spoilerific conversations folks, so if you haven't yet seen Mike Flanagan's offering, we recommend checking it out first.
This episode we talk about shows and movies that use violence for comic and satirical effect.
Firstly a very impressive Korean drama just released on Netflix called Squid Game. Then we compare the show's approach to using violence - be it extreme and upsetting, or comical - to the likes of James Gunn's Troma-esque The Suicide Squad and Eric Kripke's adaptation of comic The Boys.
(And if you make it to the end, Emmet delivers his rant about HBO's Watchmen!)
Remember Black Widow? The movie that inspired its own Marvel's Civil War between the star and studio?
Well we talk about it here!
(Mainly because Stevie watched it for a second time and has thoughts!).
And Emmet bites his tongue to not blurt out his Taskmaster nerd rant - but here's his favourite comic panel featuring the character:
Director David Freyne's follow-up to Irish zombie drama The Cured is this heartfelt coming out drama set in Co. Kildare.
Fionn O'Shea and Lola Petticrew star as Eddie and Amber, two gay teens just trying to survive school. Spotting that Eddie is equally estranged from their classmates, Amber proposes a solution - they pretend to date until they can finish school!
Shenanigans ensue. This is a sincere and heartfelt film, and the semi-autobiographical touches stir up memories of surviving the 90s for Stevie and Emmet also!
(and before the trip down memory lane, Emmet briefly touches on Kevin Smith's Masters of the Universe for Netflix and the apparent 'controversy').
"Cruella De Vil
Cruella De Vil
If she doesn't scare you
No evil thing will
To see her is to
Take a sudden chill
Cruella, Cruella De Vil"
Stevie and Emmet review Craig Gillespie's Cruella.
Is it a harmless camp foray into Disney villainy with a sidelong glance at the style innovations of Vivienne Westwood, or a heartless corporate product aimed squarely at merchandising aisles?
In other news, Emmet was recently interviewed by Zoran Ilievski for his podcast Graphic Nature, where he discusses coming to comics, a weird coincidence involving a lost script from the early 2000s and The Beating of Wings.
How does Emmet draw a long bow connecting Wild Mountain Thyme and Army of the Dead?
He finds a way.
In happier news we also discuss the Matt "Ireland's favourite uncle" Le Blanc meme and if that brown bread ice cream took your fancy, here's where you can get it.
Stevie and Emmet take a drive to Major Tom's in Kyneton to buy burgers.
More episodes soon.
...barring further incidents with our kangaroo neighbours.
In this episode:
- Emmet mentions his upcoming interview with Zander Cannon (Top Ten, Smax, Kaijumax) for Deconstructing Comics
- Catherine Flynn's upcoming Ulysses anniversary edition (and podcast)
- Upstart Crow
- Girls5eva
- The Mitchells vs The Machines
'The Snyder Cut', officially known as Zack Snyder's Justice League, dropped this week on HBO's streaming platform.
The three year campaign by fans to restore director Zack Snyder's version of Justice League, which we reviewed in episode 42 with Dr Matt Finch, was endorsed by the film-maker and eventually the cast. Additional footage was shot late last year, in combination with original footage and special effects sequences.
If I could turn back time...Ezra Miller as The Flash.
So what did Tan and Emmet make of it?
Also you are strongly advised to check out Leslie Jones's delightful live tweet of Zack Snyder's Justice League here.
Well we cracked. We got Disney+ – after welcoming a wee kitten named Wanda into our house – and watched Wandavision.
We've got plenty to say about this latest show from Marvel Entertainment. In fact Emmet has a bee in his bonnet about whatever folks are saying about this weekly show that inspired intense speculation.
But there is a enough going on in this show, with stars Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany and Kathryn Hahn succeeding to make some magical moments.
(And Emmet spruiks his comic The Beating of Wings, now printed and available at Ownaindi).
Save Yourselves! is an alien invasion dramedy with touches of horror starring Sunita Mani (from Glow, much-missed in this parish) and John Reynolds (Search Party) as a couple who escape to the country just as society starts to fall apart.
And they've just cut themselves off from the internet so for a number of days the couple remain blissfully unaware of their impending doom.
Emmet and Stevie discuss Save Yourselves as an unlikely response to COVID-pandemic and quarantine boredom, and its indie-feature budget inventiveness.
Also:
- Emmet delivers some bad news to Stevie.
- The Eileen Jones article on John Carpenter can be found here.
Just to note as well, this episode was pre-recorded before the latest lockdown in Victoria.
Shhh. This podcast has a kitten now - don't wake her.
Anyway, dozing cats aside, this episode Stevie and Emmet discuss the revamped Saved by the Bell, with returning stars Elizabeth Berkley, Mario Lopez, Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Tiffani Thiessen alongside a new cast of students returning to Bayside High.
And you know what? We loved it. Courtesy of writer/producer Tracey Wigfield and a game cast of actors, this is less a nostalgia-fest, and more an attempt to repair and restore a property with plenty of problematic elements that was simultaneously innocuous - and question why that was.
It's smart and fun stuff people, and pretty underrated as a show.
"Die Hard is a Xmas movie? You don't say!"
Insert Willy Wonka meme here.
Stevie and Emmet missed the boat on their planned 'unexpected Xmas movie run-down', but no matter! They're going to talk about Die Hard anyway. Because, as Stevie says, it's a good film anyway.
Also she has thoughts about Batman Returns she wants to share.
Emmet also raises examples of Die Hard-likes, such as Dwayne Johnson's Skyscraper (which we reviewed here) and the bloody good fun of Steven Yeun and Samara Weaving going on an office-workplace rampage in Mayhem.
Also mentioned:
- 2020 highlights, Heavn by Jamila Woods and in books, Francesca Wade's excellent history Square Haunting: Five Women, Freedom and London Between the Wars
- Emmet's new comic The Beating of Wings, with Jeferson Sadzinski, Thomas Mauer, Tim Molloy, Laura Renfrew, Aisling King-Macklin and Sarah Winifred Searle is available from Comixology now