Fri, 16 March 2018
Time, she has been wrinkled. Tesser on over as Paul and Arlo discuss Ava DuVernay’s big screen adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s beloved fantasy classic A Wrinkle in Time. The boys discuss how the film differs from the novel, for both better and worse; what a strong find Storm Reid is in the lead role; how the film is admirable for willing to be absolutely ridiculous; why it’s so important DuVernay is in the director’s chair; and whether or not the film actually manages to be as inspiring as it wants to be. Plus, the boys pay tribute to Stephen Hawking and discuss the current state of Stan Lee; Paul reads comics; and Arlo continues his Disney journey. Next: it’s that time again. Wesley “Wezzo” Mead stops by to once again discuss Chris Carter’s seminal sci-fi series The X-Files. This time, the gang will discuss season 8, the last pre-revival season to feature David Duchovny as a (semi-)regular.
THE BREAKDOWN
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Thu, 8 March 2018
Ahoy and salut! Kicking off a series of occasional musical episodes--as in episodes about musicals; nobody wants to hear our boys sing--inspired by Paul’s love of This Is Me, he and Arlo gear up for a tuneful Geek Challenge. They are both intensely on brand: Arlo challenges Paul to Jacques Demy’s deceptively candy-colored 1967 classic The Young Girls of Rochefort, while Paul forces Arlo to endure Ken Annakin’s inexplicable 1982 swashbuckler The Pirate Movie. They’re surprised to discover that these incredibly different films, besides both being musicals, have some connective tissue: the use of fantasy to escape cruel reality, metatextual references to themselves and other movies, and...well, okay, after that, they’re almost completely different, but come on! Wouldn’t it be cool if Catherine Deneuve danced with a cartoon octopus? Plus, Paul has thoughts on the Star Wars Rebels finale and Arlo has been taking a trip through classic Disney. Next: Kronos must have forgotten to fold his sheets, because there is now A Wrinkle in Time. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.
THE BREAKDOWN
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Thu, 1 March 2018
Self-destruction. Division. Separation. Annihilation. These are the frivolous, lighthearted concerns of Alex Garland’s latest film, a mind-expanding sci-fi trip that finds Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson, Gina Rodriguez, and Tuva Novotny exploring “Area X,” a mutated piece of land encompassed by the full-on-double-rainbow-all-the-way that is the Shimmer. What’s going on here? What’s causing it? Does an answer even matter? Paul and Arlo dig into Annihilation’s writhing, metastasizing guts to discuss the beautiful, macabre work of production designer Matt Digby; the organic/electronic discomfit of Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury’s score; how Garland’s approach intentionally places the viewer at a distance; and that goddamn bear. Plus, Paul watched something called the Olympics; Arlo wants to help The Breadwinner make some dough; and Paul gives Arlo shit, what else is new. Next: the episode we teased last week! For a musical Geek Challenge, Arlo must watch Kenn Anakin’s 1982 “classic” The Pirate Movie and Paul must endure Jacques Demy’s 1967 classic (no quotation marks necessary) The Young Girls of Rochefort.
THE BREAKDOWN
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