While last week took the pace down a notch Saul is back in business with episode 5. Listen to Valley and Batch give their take on the week’s proceedings and try to figure out where they think the show should end. Download today.
Yup, fart sound boards are still funny. New Moreno drop is even funnier. Ammon has eye AIDS. Jack graduated pre-school. Law doesn’t know how to pronounce subsequent. I think that’s it. Hey TimeStamp Guy, what else did I miss?
0:00:00-Listen the fuck up.
0:01:55-Law and Falvey are on the scene. Things need to be sped up because reasons. Smash has graduated from elementary school or something. Woo-hoo! Laser and fart wars were phenomenal. Jack’s loyalty to Binge Media is tested. Jesus Christ. Drunk Dream Movie Casting to make its first appearance on this show. Get fucking ready. New Moreno drop.
0:36:17-GOOGLE VOICE
1:12:17-TV ROUND UP. Better Call Saul gets highlight first. Ammon shows up and makes a shit ton of noise. Fargo. Ammon caught up on the The Leftovers. Law fifes over The Handmaid’s Tale. Veep and Silicon Valley. Smash and Law team up (ew) on American Gods. Ammon details his eye AIDS. Jack watch The Trip and The Trip to Italy thanks to Nate P. talking about The Trip to Spain last week. Law yells at everyone because he’s the only cocksucker watching Brockmire.
2:07:07- MOVIE HOMEWORK: Slither
2:33:47-WHAT DID YOU WATCH? We’re off to a smashing start as Johnny Cakes revisited Lost Souls: The Island of Dr. Moreau Documentary and In the Loop. Ammon checked out Rings, Sing, and L.A. 92. Jack and Law bring out the big guns with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Argument about half ratings. That happens.
Episode IV (natch) is a bit of a drag, but don’t let that stop you from tuning into our continuing coverage of Season 3 of Better Saul Call. Download now.
Nate P, laser wars, fart sounds, and an early GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 review. If that doesn’t sound like the greatest BingeCast of all time I got nothing for you here.
Come inside to hear Nate’s long lost first call to the show, his thoughts on the greatest British movies and television shows, and the exclusive first appearance of his daughter on a podcast.
Also, Law and Moreno have a laser war that goes on for way too long and somehow evolves into fart sounds that make Law giggle uncontrollably in the background for the last hour of the show.
We also review a dozen movies, lots of television, and get drunk on some brilliant Google Voice.
Where Timestamp Guy with all the details I forgot?
0:04:20-Law, Moreno, and that Kurt Russell hater across the pond, Nate P. Ammon is off pitching a tent. Not sexual. Literal as it can be. How did Nathaniel discover Binge Media? There’s also the origin story of Nate’s initial GV, but was it his actual first call? Whaaaaa? Law and Moreno track down the Lohhhst (lost) voicemail like Indiana fucking Jones. Nate is asked about British movies and the telly. Peterson can’t wait to try some of that deep duhish pizza in Chicago. Babadish.
0:48:28-TV ROUND UP. Nate just finished that Leah Remini Scientology show, along with The Trip to Spain (what the fuck?) and Happy Valley. Moreno and Law talk Better Call Saul and Fargo. Law brings up Brockmire, Silicon Valley (which Nate jumps in for), Veep, and the Roseanne revival (it’s a thing). Laugh tracks and shit. Team Stephen Merchant or Team Ricky Gervais?
2:00:52-GOOGLE VOICE. Nate imitates Ammon, starts it off right. LASERS HOLY SHIT.
2:30:53-I love this new sounder. Lawlapalooza stuff. More sound effects.
2:41:14-MOVIE HOMEWORK: Joe vs. the Volcano. More lasers.
3:07:00-WHAT DID YOU WATCH? Moreno watched some Alien movies. He also saw Get Out. Law trucks through Avatar, Apollo 13, Fish Tank, American Honey, Colossal, The Fate of the Furious, Life, and Edge of Seventeen. Nate brings his A game and reviews Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
We’re three weeks in and only two episodes in, but that just gives us more to catch up on. Jimmy’s wearing Trump makeup, Kim has aged by half a decade and Chuck is a supreme douche. Top it all off with some more montages, some Mike scheming and Gus going full Hermanos and you get a solid episode of Better Saul Call. Join us for each and every episode as we go through this third season of what Jim Law describes as “filler”.
Where’s Ammon? We wait. Ammon shows up. We’re drunk. This is our Saturday night. We’ve come to accept this as a thing. You’re a thing.
TV is starting to heat up which brings new life to TV Round-Up. Most of the movies we review this week are horrible. Logan reviews of Logan save the day. Speaking of Logan, where dat timestamp at, son. Boom.
0:00:00- Hey.
0:01:57-Law and Moreno. Soundboard Ammon. That’s good enough. New Waiting for Ammon is hitting Patreon shortly. Or it’s already there. It probably is. Patreon has a ton of exclusive shit that you probably want to get in on. Independence Day 2 commentary maybe? Will Bill Pullman suck his own dick in that movie?
Come on Bill, do it for the world!! Battleship Mushroom trip revisited. Alien Retrospectives (Podcast Round Up) are going to be the shit. Indy is done. How does AlyMore feel about the Alien flicks without letting out too much? Why doesn’t that Mexican asshole get hard for movie releases anymore?
0:38:29- GOOGLE VOICE. New Law drop within. 25 hours to get Ammon online. Jesus fuck.
1:12:52-TV ROUND UP. Ammon and Moreno yell at Law for his “filler” opinion. Speaking of which, Better Call Saul is up first, followed by Fargo. Law began The Leftovers Season 3. Veep has returned. Moreno is keeping tabs on John Oliver. Survivor has to be discussed, I guess. But some big shit did go down. Law watched a Casey Anthony documentary.
2:08:03-MOVIE HOMEWORK: Dirty Work
2:33:30-WHAT DID YOU WATCH? Ammon begins the segment with The Bye Bye Man and The Great Wall. Then, prepare your earholes for a Logan review of Logan, YA FUCKING DICKS!! R Rated superhero movies should be a thing. Moreno watched Alien and Aliens.
THAT’S IT YOU FUCKING COCKSUCKERS! I’M GOING TO HAVE A FUCKING REDD’S. GODDAMNIT.
We didn’t watch much last week but that doesn’t mean we have nothing to talk about. Ammon visits Hollywood, Law and Moreno discuss the possibility of becoming gamers in the future, and Jack Valley calls in while Google Voice thinks he’s racist as shit.
We get listener reviews of THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS, TRAINSPOTTING 2, and SANDY WEXLER. We all watch Better Call Saul, while Moreno tries to finish Iron Fist and Ammon discovers that America’s Funniest Home Videos is still on.
Law checks out DISGRACED and Ammon gets in half of FASTER.
0:00:00-You know what time it is.
0:01:48-Bingecast. Law. Alyx….or Moreno. This name thing is getting stupid. Ammon is late. Big surprise. Ammon talking to himself via sounders should be a thing. Smooth shows? Nah. Last week proved that’s not fucking happening anymore. Movie Homework…sort of. The rest of the Indy retrospective is coming at your face soon. Gross. Better Call Saul commentaries are back. Fargo commentaries will return. Leftover commentaries….maybe? Butt stuff. Video game stuff.
0:26:31-GOGGLE VOICE.
0:55:51-TRAILER ROUND UP: The Last Jedi and Thor: Ragnarok. Moreno talks about the Alien Aftertaste.
1:04:10-GOOGLE VOICE CONTINUED
1:27:42-Ammon’s Hollywood Adventure
1:54:51-TV ROUND UP. Better call Saul. Moreno gives his thoughts on Iron Fist. Who is the Aquaman of a (given) franchise? Veep and The Leftovers are back. Fargo is returning soon.
2:16:00-MOVIE HOMEWORK: Faster
2:19:00-WHAT DID YOU WATCH? Law checked out Disgraced.
The boys are back in town…and talking some Better Call Saul, one of our favorite shows on TV these days. Moreno and Valley go over the finer points of the show with keen eyes discussing the cinematography and story of our favorite not-Breaking Bad characters. Hear how some of us hate our brothers, and how Mike would be great as a computer help desk employee, by downloading now.
You didn’t think you were getting off without me, did you? Wait, what? Okay, let me try that again. Welcome to another edition of Highlights of 2016: The Luke Norris Edition. That doesn’t go against my third-person count, does it?
In any event, I figured that since I used to write the weekend column at this here site, I’d wait until today to get my list of things for 2016 out there. I’ll get to some movies and TV here in a bit, but seeing as I’m the sports guy I’ll go ahead and start there. It just so happens that my favorite thing of 2016 came from the sports world anyway and I don’t think anybody will be surprised by it.
The Cubs Win The World Series
Moreno said it earlier in the week and he was absolutely right. Just saying that the Chicago Cubs won the World Series is still a very strange thing to say and probably will be for a while but that doesn’t mean that I won’t keep doing it. For those that know me, you know how much the Cubs mean to me and to say that watching them win that epic Game 7 was a very special moment for me. I’m trying to keep these short today so I won’t go into as much detail as I did in my “What The Cubs Winning The World Series Means To Me” piece I wrote over at The Luke Norris Experience (shameless plug and I don’t feel bad about it) but it was something that I will never forget and was easily one of the biggest and best stories of the year in any form of entertainment.
The End Of An Era In The NBA
There’s a lot of people out there that simply don’t like the NBA anymore, or just don’t like the NBA at all, but it’s always been something that I’ve followed closely and 2016 marked the true end of an era as three of the all-time greats in Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett all retired, making this current season the first since Bill Clinton’s first term not to have at least one of these three in the league. While Kobe Bryant embarked on a farewell tour, including his 60-point closing game, Tim Duncan stayed true to form and just quietly walked away. I think KG really wanted to play another season but after 21 years of intensity, his body just couldn’t take anymore and he joined his fellow future Hall of Famers as spectators. In the end, these three played a combined 40 seasons, scored 86,210 points, won four MVP awards (how that total isn’t higher is beyond me), played in 48 All-Star Games and won 11 titles. Incredible.
The Dallas Cowboys
Outside of the Los Angeles Lakers, my sports teams have had a pretty good 2016. The Cubs did what they did. Michigan football, while losing their last two games, put themselves in title contention and look to be headed back towards what they used to be and the Dallas Cowboys have surpassed every expectation coming into this NFL season and no matter what happens tomorrow against the Eagles will go into the playoffs with the best record in the NFC. And while I knew that Ezekiel Elliott would do well, especially behind that amazing offensive line, Dak Prescott has shocked everyone with his poise and control as the field leader of this offense. When Tony Romo went down in the preseason, I don’t think anybody could have expected what’s happened since. Obviously, I’ll have to wait until 2017 to see how all of this plays out but the Dallas Cowboys in the Super Bowl could be an early contender for one of my favorite moments of the new year.
The Passing Of Icons
We all know that 2016 has seen a lot of celebrity deaths and the sports world wasn’t immune as a few of the biggest icons in sports history were lost this year. One of the best hockey players in history, Gordie Howe, died on June 10 and it really didn’t get the coverage that it deserved, but that was mainly due to the fact that Muhammad Ali passed only seven days before. And trust me, I could sit here and write for hours on Ali’s legacy but there’s plenty of documentaries and films out there if you’re not as familiar as you’d like to be about him. And yes, they’re all worth watching. And I know I don’t have a big audience for it here, but the death of Arnold Palmer in late September was a big deal to those of us that follow golf and a true loss for the sports world.
Okay, I’ll stop with the sports stuff for a minute and get to some TV. I’ve mentioned before on a few podcasts that I’m a very impatient person when it comes to television and I miss out on a lot of conversations because of it. It’s why I don’t watch a lot of new TV, even with all of the amazing shows that are out there right now. I’ll often wait until a series is completely over until I even start an episode because I don’t like waiting nine or ten months before it returns. But I did make a few exceptions this year, and will likely make a few more in the upcoming year, and I’ll start with another obvious entry.
Better Call Saul
It’s no secret that I’m a big Breaking Bad guy and I could write and talk for hours upon hours about that show. And yes, I’ll go ahead and take the blame for falling behind on those podcasts that we were doing. We had some scheduling conflicts and I had some computer issues and we just got away from it. Sorry. But I love everything about that universe and although I was scared in the beginning that Better Call Saul wouldn’t be able to live up to the hype, I’m okay with being wrong on this one. While the first season was very solid, the second was exceptional and I can’t even imagine what the third has in store for us. Bob Odenkirk and Jonathan Banks have both been brilliant and the supporting players are carrying their own weight and then some. There isn’t a scene that I don’t look forward to and while we may question them in real time, every one ends up having a purpose in the overall story. And then you add Gus Fring to the mix coming up. Damn.
The Path
And since we’re on Breaking Bad a little bit, I have to mention how much I enjoyed The Path. I’ve made no secret of the fact that Jesse Pinkman was my favorite character on the show and I hoped that Aaron Paul wouldn’t fall off the map after the show ended. After a role like that, it’s easy for an actor to only be looked at as that one character and I’m extremely happy that both Paul and Bryan Cranston have found success beyond Breaking Bad. Paul’s role as a husband and father on this show is obviously very different than what he did before and he’s doing it well. I won’t get into the plot points or anything here for those who haven’t seen it, but I highly recommend watching the first season before the second gets going here in a few weeks. Very nice surprise.
Stranger Things
Honestly, I really had no plans to watch Stranger Things right away. But after everyone and their mother started talking and posting about how much they enjoyed it, Shawshank and I sat down one night and started it, figuring we’d watch an episode to get the feel of it and go from there. Nope. I think we stayed up until about 2 or 3 in the morning watching five or six episodes that night and I’m pretty sure we finished it the next day. That kind of show normally isn’t my thing but throw in all of the 80s goodness, Winona Ryder, Matthew Modine and I’m in. Another fun surprise.
O.J.: Made in America
I don’t know if they’re classifying this as TV or a movie but I really don’t care. O.J.: Made in America was absolutely phenomenal. I watched these events unfold in the mid-90s as a teenager and I was captivated by it then. As a sports fan (and a Naked Gun fan as well), I knew who O.J. Simpson was but as his football career was before my time, I really didn’t know a ton about him except that he was one of the all-time greats. I knew he was an actor and a celebrity and that everyone seemed to like him, which is obviously what made those murders the big deal that they became. And this documentary captured all of it. From his time in college to his pro career to his acting days and his personal relationships, every single aspect of this man’s life was covered. Mix all of that with the controversial history of the LAPD and the trial coverage and you’ve got one of the best documentaries of the year. It took me back to my high school days when I couldn’t get enough of the coverage and I learned so much more. Outstanding.
Yeah, I know once I get rolling that these things get a little long but I just want to mention a few flicks and I’ll let you out of here. Now, there’s a couple of the awards season contenders that I haven’t gotten to yet and while I will mention a couple of those below, I first want to quickly talk about a couple of movies that will obviously not be a part of that conversation.
I’m always looking for fun, stupid movies. Movies that you can hit up on a Sunday afternoon when you’re hungover and don’t want to have to think about anything. And I found a couple of those year.
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
I love the Lonely Island and their brilliance is on full display here. Following all of their albums and music videos and such, it was only a matter of time before they tried it out on the big screen and I’m so happy that they did. Outside of the guys themselves, this flick is full of outstanding cameos (I think Seal might be my favorite…”Fucking wolves”) and crazy awesome tracks that I’ve got no problem admitting I listened to repeatedly just so I could get all of the lyrics down. Don’t judge me.
Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates
I really had no idea what to expect from this one but I sat down and gave it a chance one day and I’m glad that I did. Again, there’s not much substance here but I’m okay with that. You’ve got Aubrey Plaza and Anna Kendrick playing crazy chicks who like to drink (I’m sold right there) and a very funny dude in Adam DeVine. And then you’ve got Zac Efron. Now, I don’t know who exactly it was that decided he was going to start being in all of these comedies, but I want to shake that person’s hand. He’s the only thing that’s good about the Neighbors movies and he upped his game even more in this one. And you’ve got Aubrey Plaza and Anna Kendrick playing crazy chicks who like to drink. Wait, did I say that already?
The Magnificent Seven
Was this remake necessary? Certainly not. But did I enjoy the hell out of it? Absolutely. I’ve always been a big Denzel fan and watching him in this role only proved that this guy can do it all. He’ll likely get an Oscar nomination for Fences, which will be well-deserved I’m sure, but he was cool as hell here. And I did mark out a little bit seeing him and Ethan Hawke back onscreen together as I’m a big fan of Training Day. Throw in Chris Pratt in the Steve McQueen role and you’ve got gold. Really fun flick. And watch Seven Samurai already, will ya?
The Birth of a Nation
Just getting this film made was a difficult task for writer/producer/director Nate Parker, but the end result was amazing, even if it became a disappointment at the box office. There were always going to be people out there that wouldn’t like it for a variety of reasons, including the controversy surrounding Parker himself, but strictly from the perspective of a moviegoer, I was captivated from start to finish. To me, it was everything that 12 Years A Slave wasn’t. And yes, I’m aware that the latter took home numerous Best Picture awards but I could never get into it. Although the source material was great, I was never connected to the characters and it always felt very flat to me. It was the complete opposite for me here. The story of the relationship between Parker’s Nat Turner and Samuel, played brilliantly by Armie Hammer, was told very well and the supporting players were excellent. I may be in the minority here but I really dug this flick.
Hell or High Water
As I mentioned earlier, there’s still a few movies from this year that I’ve yet to get around to but this is my favorite film of 2016. It’s got a very No Country for Old Men feeling to it without being No Country for Old Men. Jeff Bridges is always going to do his thing but underappreciated actors Ben Foster and Chris Pine absolutely slay it in this film. It’s unfortunate that so many people will only ever see Pine as Captain Kirk because he’s got so much more versatility than he’s given credit for. I dug him next to Denzel in the underrated Unstoppable and he showed he’s got some comedic chops as well in last year’s Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp. I’m hoping the attention this movie’s going to get during awards season wakes people up a bit. And Ben Foster was phenomenal in this flick. I remember seeing him in a couple of episodes of Boston Public when he was a youngster years and years ago and he’s been killing it ever since. This is another one I could go on and on about…the direction, the acting, the cinematography…everything was superb here.
Okay, I think I’ve held you up long enough. Happy New Year to everyone in our little slice of paradise here at Binge Media.