Everyone Is Wrong

Happy Across the Spider-Verse Day! To celebrate, here's the second installment of Jason Baxter and I taking turns taking shots at cinematic Spider-Man trilogies. This time Jason traps the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Spider-Man films in his web and sucks their blood dry. We discuss the lack of ties to Spidey's comic origins, why the character works as an underdog and how Tony Stark undermines that, the movies' visual stylings (or lack there of), justified villans, the suspension of Mysterio disbelief, Peter becoming dumb in the third film, the clear comedic sensibility, and if Garfield (the cat, not Andrew) should join the Spider-Verse.

Your friendly neighborhood podcast swings in to talk about Spider-Man before the release of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. But we're being villainous. Over the next two episodes, Jason Baxter and I will take turns taking shots at the beloved Spider-Man film franchises. First up, I lay out my problems with the Sam Raimi-directed 2000s trilogy. I dive into Tobey Maguire's charisma void, Peter Parker's unlikeability, the lack of a comedic sensibility, and the trainwreck that is Spider-Man 3. We also discuss Star Wars prequel parallels, A+ side character casting, the NYPD being a cockblock, and demand justice for Ursala!

This podcast is not a goof! Alyson McManus returns to the pod to smite those who spoke hearsay against David Wain's 2007 star-studded but little-seen 10 Commandments anthology comedy film, The Ten. We dive into the over-the-top absurdity, in-joke quotes, Winona Ryder lusting after a literal dummy, Arnold Schwarzenegger impressions, the true meaning of family, and more.

Holy live pod episode, Batman! Kurtis from Skating Polly emerges from the Batcave to defend the loathed 1997 Joel Schumacher superhero blockbuster Batman & Robin. In this condensed episode recorded in front of an actual audience at Treefort Fest, we dive into the film's pricey production design, Batsuits with nipples, how many ice puns a human can tolerate, sexy gorilla suit stripping, Arnold Schwarzenegger being extremely over-the-top, Danger: Diabolik, Uma Thurman being a sweet little eco-terrorist, X Games influence, Robin's general unlikability, the glut of fundraisers in Gotham, and an attempt to bribe the crowd with donuts. (Bonus: Count how many times I say "umm" and "uhh" because I'm nervous in front of a crowd and know I can't edit out my flubs!)

Before we both head to Treefort Festival, Naomi from Itchy Kitty comes in through my bathroom window to defend the honor of Julie Taymor's 2007 romantic '60s Beatles jukebox musical Across the Universe. We dive deeper than a Yellow Submarine into the movie's controversial variations on Beatles songs, how damn hot most of the cast is, ambitious visual choices, Bono's weird mustache, the way the film condenses the decade, easter eggs for Beatlemaniacs, the level of nudity and drug use that can be shown in a PG-13 movie, and how the movie inspired Naomi to start singing.

With the first season of HBO's The Last of Us coming to a close, I decided to turn my attention to the source material - the universally acclaimed 2013 PlayStation 3 video game. While this may get me torn apart quicker than a Clicker - I make the counterintuitive case that it's not actually a great game. The Last of Us lover James Battaglia returns to the show to counterbalance my infected rage as we discuss walking simulators, narrative innovation vs engaging gameplay, the importance of teaching kids how to swim, zombie Spidey-Sense, intentional vs unintentional difficulty, and other 2013 Game of the Year contenders. (We also talk about the game's fascinating ending, so maybe wait a few days to listen if you're geared up to watch the HBO show's S1 finale.)

Watch out for that pod! Since it's Oscar week and Brendan Fraser looks poised to potentially take home Best Actor for The Whale, Kevin Parker has decided to swing on in to defend a different Fraser vehicle: 1997's family-friendly comedy George of the Jungle. We get into the sincere idiot charm of '90s Fraser, the expert-level meta jokes the narrator provides, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, modern comedy insistence to be snarky and cool, Top Gun Maverick's script, and more jungle escapades.

*IF YOU'RE READING THIS YOU MAY ALREADY BE HACKED*

From the top rope, Kate Meizner and Mike Falcone of wrestling rock band Jobber look to infiltrate our firewalls in order to defend the 1995 teen cyber crime thriller, Hackers. We dive deep into the source code to talk about the style-forward cyberpunk chic, Angelina Jolie's manic hacker dream girl charisma (total nepo baby tho), ways to make typing look cool, electronica, how to visualize the early internet, The Matrix templating, and, of course, Penn Jillette's glasses.

Take a trip to the seedy world of the drug trade on the US/Mexican border... and then talk... and talk... and talk... That's what The Counselor, the 2013 star-studded Ridley Scott narco drama written by acclaimed novelist Cormac McCarthy does... and people hated it for that. Will Baker is not one of those people. Mirroring the film itself, we talk for a looooooooong time about the film's use of dialogue, its nihilistic outlook, its refusal to explain plot, McCarthy's prose, Scott's costuming choices, and being intimate with automobiles. Here's an entirely real list of tangent topics we dive down over the course of 2+ hours: Moby Dick, Emo Nites, My Dinner with Andre, Grand Theft Auto, crypto shills, Top Gun, Inception, Titane, and, of course, Carly Rae Jepsen vs. Taylor Swift. You know... The Counselor.

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Why? Because you can now appropriately watch Will Vinton's A Claymation Christmas Celebration! Nic Sommerfeld comes a-wassailing onto the show the make the case that this forgotten '80s Christmas special is actually the GOAT Christmas special with its intelligent all-ages humor, dinosaur hosts, stunning visuals, and (most importantly?) penguins.