This episode we have a chat about Lightyear: the controversy and culture war nonsense, and the quiet existentialism of Buzz's mission to return home. 

The dinos are back - but so are the old crew. 

And everyone looks just so tired! 

Stevie and Emmet have thoughts! 

Also - Emmet has a comic story with Jeferson Sadzinski, Cardinal Rae and Marcela Corrêa Müller titled How To Win A Raid in the second volume of The BeBop from Bird's Eye Comics. The anthology is now being Kickstarted, so please share and support. 

During their conversation, Cohen raises his feelings about the use of CGI effects in horror cinema, how his themes have allowed a new generation of film-fans to rediscover his films, as well as shout outs to Bruce Campbell, Quentin Tarantino, and The Big Lebowski. 

Also for no apparent reason Emmet decides to shit on Sydney as a filming location!? 

In this episode Stevie and Emmet discuss how this sequel restages whole sequences from the original movie, the clash of styles between the two Reitmans, and how Ghostbusters is yet another franchise graverobbing its stars using CGI à la Star Wars. 

Safe to say, not a recommendation, and spoilers abound! 

We were a little slow getting back in the groove for 2022 - so here's a madcap rush to give you some capsule reviews of things we liked so far this year (and some things....we didn't like)!

• Dexter New Blood
• The Matrix Resurrections
• And Just Like That
• The Legend of Vox Machina
• Inventing Anna

With quick mentions of Peacemaker, Archive 81, Arcane and Emily in Paris - we'll get back to those at a later date. 

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:

• Pharma Bro
• LuLaRich
• Generation Wealth
• The Way Down
• Weiner
• Repeat Attenders
• The Sparks Brothers

That last one is the exception that proves the rule. 

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. 

• Listen to Kumar's appearance on Deconstructing Comics reviewing the Marvel adaptation of Lynch's movie.

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.

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. 

'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. 

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. 

"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

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:

• Stevie's piece Strangeberries as featured in Polly Borland's Wundergym exhibition
• Emmet recommends listening to Tear Them Apart, with Paul M Yellovich and co-host Beasts of Burden/Blackwood creator Evan Dorkin, and their recent whistle-stop tour of the Friday the 13th franchise
• Emmet and Tim Molloy have an 'ecological horror story' featured in The Hierograph, which has a Kickstarter campaign
• Scream, Queen! is available to view on Shudder and on DVD from Umbrella Entertainment in Australia. 

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. 

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:

• Predator
• Predator 2
• Alien Versus Predator
• Aliens Versus Predator: Requiem

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:

• Walt Williams's Significant Zero
• Dirty Money on Netflix
• coronavirus and capitalism
• Watts River Brewery (buy local kids!)
• Aliens: Dead Orbit by James Stokoe
• Aliens: Labyrinth by Jim Woodring and Kilian Plunkett

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:

• those annoying Zach Braff podcast promos
• Finna by Nino Cipri
• Ghil Dirthalen, a Dragon Age Youtube channel's review of Blue Wraith (and a nod to Emmet's interview with Christina Weir/Nunzio DeFilipis)
• making a Dolly Varden cake
• Tiny Tim's The Ice Caps Are Melting
• the origins of Alien Versus Predator

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

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:

• Soda and Telecast's Anthony Pollack interviews Emmet 
• Emmet interviews Dr Brian Cremins on Shazam!
• And the What's in my Bag Flea ep.

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:

• The popularity of The Castle
• Priscilla Queen of the Desert
• Australian film and cultural cringe
• The Dish
• Romper Stomper
• Hugh Sullivan's The Infinite Man
• Shirley Temple's The Blue Bird
• Trading Places
• Wayne's World
• Hackers
• Scully from the X-Files as a role model
• Morgan Freeman in Seven
• Tea With The Dames
• Pontypool
• The Godfather
• Raging Bull
• David Harbour
• Maggie Gyllenhaal
• Luc Besson's Lockout
• Jurassic Park
• Arnold Schwarzenegger movies - The Last Action Hero, Kindergarten Cop, Terminator: Dark Fate and Maggie

Phew!