With apologies to the guests Emmet invited to join him - here is a belated pilot episode for a dedicated podcast on every issue of Jeff Smith's Bone.
For a conversation about issues #1 and #2 of the comic, Emmet speaks to author, journalist and comic creator Anthony Castle https://anthonyncastle.com/.
The Queen's Gambit, based on Walter Tevis's novel, is the latest hit from Netflix.
Starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Marielle Heller and Moses Ingram, the miniseries explores themes of addiction and isolation through the experience of chess prodigy Beth Harmon.
Stevie and Emmet discuss the show, its treatment of addiction and the subsequent criticism of it within the press, and why Emmet is reluctantly going to watch The New Mutants.
First off, we open the episode with the ambition of reviewing The Queen's Gambit. That did not happen. We had too much to say about Lovecraft Country. So check back in with us next episode for that!
Instead Stevie and Emmet get stuck into a discussion of Misha Green's Lovecraft Country. Jonathan Majors, Jurnee Smollett, Wunmi Mosaku and Michael K. Williams are among the excellent cast-members of this horror series that centres the genre legacy of Lovecraft against the lived experience of Black Americans.
Also mentioned:
Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street is a horror film documentary with a lot to say.
Focusing on the experience of actor Mark Patton, who starred as Jesse in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, it explores the impact on the actor of the gay panic response to the homoerotic themes and imagery of the film.
Patton's candid and pained reflections on homophobia in Hollywood, and the wider world, in the era of AIDS and religious lobbyists targeting gay rights, form the spine of this emotional film.
Directors Roman Chimienti and Tyler Jensen also features the contrast of 'Freddy fans' who mock the perceived gay content of the film with advocates reclaiming both Freddy's Revenge, and Mark Patton, as an icon for queer cinema.
Stevie and Emmet discuss the film and the emotional highs and lows of this sensitive subject matter.
Also:
So as it becoming custom, we open this episode with an apology for the delay in posting!
2020 has been...eventful. And we are now living in country Victoria after escaping Melbourne's COVID-lockdown.
In a funk of post-move fatigue, we binged five Fast & Furious movies.
Turns out we have a lot to say about these films, from Vin Diesel's self-insert fantasy of an indomitable and virile hero-figure, to Lucas Black aging ten years in a scene, James Wan's prominence in Australian cinema and that bloody plane runway in Fast & Furious 6.
In our Emmy Awards round-up episode we mentioned the Hugh Jackman vehicle Bad Education. Here we go into the story of Frank Tassone – and shout-out to Laci Mosley's excellent show Scam Goddess which brought the Roslyn school district scandal to our attention.
But like everyone in Melbourne, we are still in lockdown, so instead of risking our lives to go see Tenet, we binged seasons 1 & 2 of Battlestar Galactica.
(Seriously don't risk your life to see a movie, it's not worth it).
Does the show live up to our memories of it? How about the controversial ending to the show, or how it handles politics, religion and paranoia as a genre show in a time before Game of Thrones mainstream plaudits?
Also:
Next month on Monday 21 September 2020, the 72nd Emmys will be held.
We haven't really discussed the Emmys before but this year has a cohort of nominees that caught our eyes.
From Succession, to Schitt's Creek, Watchmen to The Mandalorian, we give a quick accounting of our picks from the bunch.
This episode is a real sink and swim effort for any listener who hasn't played the Dragon Age video game series. Emmet reached out to Aimee Hart from Gayming Magazine after reading her article Here's Why You Should Play Dragon Age 2, Like, Right Now.
Following up on Aimee's piece, which identifies a number of ambitious themes featured in the writing for this much maligned game, this episode also touches on the gameplay, choosing the personality for main character Hawke, criticisms of Dragon Age 2, and how it sits with other entries in the franchise Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age: Inquisition.
On and Dragon Age 2 came out 9 years ago, so there are spoilers aplenty in this discussion.
And for fans of the series, here's Emmet's interview with Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir the writing team behind Dragon Age: Blue Wraith, over on Deconstructing Comics.
Eurovision, a heady brew of camp and pop music, has finally landed in the consciousness of American pop culture zeitgeist thanks to this Netflix film starring Will Ferrell, Rachel McAdams and Dan Stevens.
Stevie and Emmet discuss the film, their connections to Eurovision, and throw in a nod to John C. Reilly flick Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.
Emmet interviews Craig Cormick and Harold Ludwick on their book On A Barbarous Coast. A reimagining of the HMB Endeavour's arrival - it sinks - Cormick and Ludwick discuss how this fork in the accounting of Australia's history allowed them to reflect on how indigenous Australians have been excluded from the colonial record.
The authors also discuss:
Nick Hornby's High Fidelity was adapted to film in 2000, and now Ugly Betty's Sarah Kucserka and Veronica West have brought it to Hulu as a vehicle for Zoe Kravitz.
Stevie and Emmet talk about the television series, comparing it to the Stephen Frears/John Cusack flick from 2000 and the original novel. The gender-swap conceit is addressed, as well as the ensemble cast (Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Jake Lacy, David H. Holmes, Kingsley Ben-Adir and Rainbow Sun Francks) and how the show fails to properly update material to the times leaning on nostalgia.
Thinking to put their money where their mouths are, Stevie and Emmet then share top five lists for one another.
To listen, check out this playlist on Spotify.
Also, here is a list of album cover art by Elaine 'Sgraffito' Nic Cuana.
Oh and this was our 100th episode! Thanks for listening folks.
Alejandro Landes's film Monos has screened to rave reviews around the world. Our roving reviewer Neevon Mohtaji attended a screening back in March. In this episode, Emmet challenges Neevon to try and remember a film he saw two months ago, in the before-COVID-19 times!
For digital release details, Australian listeners should check Madman for updates. Stay safe folks!
Oh why oh why did we agree to this!
In the last episode Emmet joked about watching the sequence of films that led to Alien Versus Predator in 2004 - and a listener thought that was a great idea. Apparently this was more a geas than a simple request, so Stevie and Emmet watched:
Phew!
The credit due to Randy Stradley, Phil Norwood, Chris Warner, as well as Mark Verheiden's comics work in setting this franchise in motion, published by Dark Horse, is also discussed.
Also discussed:
Handily collected on Netflix, the Jurassic Park franchise has been a blockbuster staple for almost thirty years.
Stevie and Emmet discuss the first, third and most recent 'Jurassic' flicks, the underrated Jurassic Park III, the overall theme of capitalism and science being turned to deadly or humanist ends - and just how creepy was Jeff Goldblum's Dr Ian Malcolm?
Also in this episode:
We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often being in art, and very often in our art, the art of words.
Ursula K. Le Guin
First thanks as always for listening folks. In this episode Emmet and Stevie relate a personal bereavement and how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted them. The eulogy for Gerard Cooney can be found here https://www.emmetocuana.com/news/2020/3/20/rip-gerard-cooney-1942-2020
In the meantime, now that we're all shut-ins following social distancing protocols, some recommendations:
Shout-outs also to Jason Franks and Neevon Mohtaji for....well helping us with groceries from our quarantine.
Jason Franks https://jasonfranks.com/
Neevon Mohtaji https://player.vimeo.com/video/240460026
Belatedly we catch up with the critical furore around Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of one Harley Quinn (...now rebranded as Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey).
After wading through all of ...that... we cover Queen & Slim, out in Australia this week.
Written by Lena Waithe and directed by Melina Matsoukas, this film takes head on the themes of 'black lives matter' and police violence head on. Emmet argues Waithe's screenply juxtaposes the figures of Slim (Daniel Kaluuya) and Queen (Jodie Turner-Smith), with the idea of the outlaw so precious to American folklore. Full of sudden bursts of violence and artfully staged sequences that point to Matsoukas' history as a music video director, Queen & Slim is a provocative and rich picture for our times.
Also mentioned:
Stevie attended the premiere for Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears and interviewed stars Essie Davis and Nathan Page, as well as author Kerry Greenwood.
This cinematic outing for Miss Fisher, out in Australian cinemas this week, follows a successful crowdfunding campaign, a testament to passionate fans of the television series. Stevie got to meet some of them in person at the 1920s costume themed event at the (appropriately art deco) Rivoli cinema in Camberwell.
In part two of Stevie and Emmet's chat about films they relate to in particular - and it's a long 'un - you can hear discussed:
Phew!
Tip of the hat to Brett Goldstein's Films to be Buried With. We borrowed his structure of an interview on film based around the premise that the subject has died and is looking back on their favourite flicks.
We in turn asked one another a series of questions about the films that make us who we are.
So join us on this trip at times nostalgic, sometimes regretful, and listen as we learn a bit more about one another.
Part one of two episodes.
Making a welcome appeal to kindness and care for others, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood follows on from last year's documentary on Fred Rogers Won't You Be My Neighbor.
Impressively this fictionalised account of a journalist (Matthew Rhys) encountering Rogers when his life is at a low-point manages to combine the needs of narrative and a genuine impression of the television entertainer's life.
As a complement to Heller's film, we also discuss John Mulaney And The Sack Lunch Bunch. (available on Netflix) While the approach is not the same as Mr Rogers, the sincere interest in what children are thinking allows for the comparison.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is out in Australia from January 23.