Podcasts! | the m0vie blog

New Podcast! Enterprising Individuals – “The Immunity Syndrome”

Posted on February 18, 2021 by Darren

I am always thrilled to get a chance to talk about Star Trek with other fans, so I was thrilled at the invitation to join the wonderful Aaron Coker on Enterprising Individuals to talk about The Immunity Syndrome.

The reason that I picked The Immunity Syndrome is because I think it’s somewhat under-appreciated in the grand Star Trek canon. It represents the culmination of a number of themes running through the original Star Trek that are often overlooked in assessing the history of the show and the franchise: the way in which Star Trek was anchored in sixties counter-culture, the recurring themes of existential dread and chaos underpinning the original show, and the series’ recurring fascination with consciousness expansion.

You can listen to the episode here, back episodes of the podcast here, click the link below or even listen directly.

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Filed under: Podcasts!, The Original Series | Tagged: 1960, aaron coker, counterculture, enterprising individuals, podcast, psychedelia, sixties, star trek, the immunity syndrome | Leave a comment »

222. Fa yeung nin wah (In the Mood for Love) – Chinese New Year/Valentine’s Day 2020 (#239)

Posted on February 13, 2021 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guests Stacy Grouden and Luke Dunne, The 250 is a fortnightly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users.

This time, a Valentine’s and Chinese New Year treat. Wong Kar-Wai’s In the Mood for Love.

Sixties Hong Kong is in a state of transition. Lives overlap in the densely populated city, as the Chan and Chow families move into the same building. Over time, Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow come to suspect that their spouses are having an illicit affair. This act of betrayal draws the two strangers closer to one another, even if neither seems entirely sure where this intersection will take them.

At time of recording, it was ranked the 239th best movie of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: Movies, The 250 | Tagged: chaste, China, Hong Kong, in the mood for love, longing, love, luke dunne, pandemic, podcast, romance, sex, stacy grouden, The 250, time, wong kar-wai | 1 Comment »

221. Star Trek VI – The Undiscovered Country (#—)

Posted on February 12, 2021 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, The 250 is a weekly journey through the list of the 250 best movies of all-time, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. And sometimes, because we can, a movie not on the list.

This week, to mark the passing Christopher Plummer, a special midweek bonus episode covering Nicholas Meyer’s Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

An explosion on the Klingon moon of Praxis sends the Klingon Empire into disarray, and forces the warrior race to consider an unlikely alliance with their old enemies in the Federation. The Enterprise is sent to meet the Klingon Chancellor, under the command of Captain James Tiberius Kirk. However, things do not go to plan.

At time of recording, it was not ranked the list of best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250, The Original Series | Tagged: Chang, christopher plummer, Cold War, death, hamlet, kirk, klingons, McCoy, metaphor, Nicholas Meyer, praxis, racism, Russia, Soviet Union, spock, star trek, star trek vi: the undiscovered, the future, the undiscovered country | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Video! “Wanda-Full Tonight”…

Posted on February 9, 2021 by Darren

With a slew of Marvel Studios productions coming to Disney+ over the next six months, The Escapist has launched a weekly show discussing these series. I’ll be joining the wonderful Jack Packard and the fantastic KC Nwosu to break down WandaVision, Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Loki as they come out.

This week, we take a look at the fifth episode of WandaVision, including the tropes and conventions of eighties sitcoms, the Full House allusions, who the real bad guy is, and – of course – that universe-cracking closing cameo.

Filed under: Podcasts!, Television | Tagged: a marvellous escape, cameo, conspiracy, continuity, marvel, mcu, Quicksilver, Sword, wanda maximoff, wandavision | Leave a comment »

New Podcast! The Escapist Movie Podcast – “A Deep Dive on Spider-Man 3”

Posted on February 9, 2021 by Darren

The Escapist have launched a movie podcast, and I was thrilled to join Jack Packard and Will Cruz for the fifth episode of the year. We talked a little bit about how disappointingly conventional this year’s awards season looks to be, but the real meat of the podcast was a discussion of Sam Raimi’s much (and perhaps deservedly) maligned Spider-Man 3.

You can listen to back episodes of the podcast here, click the link below or even listen directly.

Filed under: Podcasts! | Tagged: awards season, escapist, jack packard, movie podcast, spider-man 3, the escapist, the escapist movie podcast | Leave a comment »

New Podcast! The Time is Now – Season 3, Episode 13 (“Antipas”)

Posted on February 8, 2021 by Darren

Last year, I was thrilled to spend a lot of time on The Time is Now discussing the second season of Millennium. Since the podcast has moved on to the third season, I have taken something of a step back as a guest. That said, I was flattered to get an invitation to discuss Antipas with guest host Tony Black.

Antipas is an interesting piece of television. It’s effectively a grabbag of the familiar horror movie tropes and clichés that writers Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz love: it’s The Omen, Don’t Look Now, The Shining and a few others. It’s effectively a gigantic homage to the huge influences on Carter’s work with both Millennium and The X-Files, even if it doesn’t exactly cohere as a story in its own right.

As ever, you can listen directly to the episode here, subscribe to the podcast here, or click the link below.

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Filed under: Millennium, Podcasts! | Tagged: antipas, don't look now, lucy butler, millennium, podcast, the omen, the shining, the time is now, the x-files, tony black | Leave a comment »

220. Pulp Fiction (#8)

Posted on February 6, 2021 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney and with special guest Scott Mendelson, The 250 is a weekly journey through the list of the 250 best movies of all-time, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users.

This time, Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction.

Three stories unfold across Los Angeles over the course of three days, featuring an interlocking set of criminal characters who find their lives on an unexpected collision course. Is there any rhyme or reason to the course that these characters chart, or is it all arbitrary chaos? That’s ultimately up to the viewer to determine for themselves.

At time of recording, it was ranked the 8th best movie of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: belief, blockbuster, bruce willis, fate, independent cinema, indie, john travolta, morality, nihilism, pulp fiction, religion, scott mendelson, The 250, uma thurman | 1 Comment »

New Podcast! The Escapist Movie Podcast – “If You’re Not Watching The Expanse, You’re Missing Out”

Posted on February 1, 2021 by Darren

The Escapist have launched a movie podcast, and I was thrilled to join Jack Packard for the fourth episode of the year. We talked about the upcoming Spy Kids reboot, the planned release of Raya and the Last Dragon, and we expounded on The Expanse.

You can listen to the episode directly here, back episodes of the podcast here, click the link below or even listen directly.

Filed under: Podcasts! | Tagged: jack packard, raya and the last dragon, spy kids, the escapist movie podcast, the expanse | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Video! Diving Deep on “WandaVision” with “A Marvelous Escape”…

Posted on January 31, 2021 by Darren

This week, we take a look at the fourth episode of WandaVision, particularly the pointed metatext, the question of “checkbox” storytelling and the question of how best to pace a story being told like this.

Filed under: Podcasts!, Television | Tagged: a marvelous escape, darcy lewis, jack packard, jimmy wu, kc nwosu, metatext, sitcoms, wandavision | Leave a comment »

219. Dom za vešanje (Time of the Gypsies) – This Just In (#220)

Posted on January 30, 2021 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney and with special guests Jason Coyle and Ronan Doyle, This Just In is a subset of The 250 podcast, looking at notable new arrivals on the list of the 250 best movies of all-time, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users.

This time, Emir Kusturica’s Dom za vešanje.

Perhan lives a simple life in a gypsy community outside of Skopje. He dreams of marrying Azra, but his social standing is not high enough. Events conspire to take Perhan away from his community, embarking on a trip to Italy with local legend Ahmed and with the promise of a new and prosperous life waiting for him. Inevitably, Perhan discovers that this life is not what was promised, and faces the possibility that he might also be something different than he expected himself to be.

At time of recording, it was ranked the 220th best movie of all time on the Internet Movie Database.