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.
Before I get into the heart of this article, let me say this right off the bat. I do NOT watch UFC. In fact, I have not watched one UFC match since 2007, when an ex girlfriend of mine was obsessed with the sport and we would order them monthly. So I have never seen one of Ronda Rousey’s matches, and for a full on analytical view of what this loss means for the sport and Rousey’s career, keep checking in with the site, because I’m sure Luke Norris is going to address it on his Binge Sports show.
What I am going to say here is strictly from an outsider’s point of view of what I have seen going on. I do not know Rousey personally. But I have had contact with her, as I was THIS CLOSE to nabbing her for an interview on the Aftertaste a few months ago. Unfortunately, her hectic schedule would not allow her time to come on the air, and I respect that. Most athletes in her position would not even address the other party. But she let me know that it just was not going to work out. Also, don’t come at me with comments like, ‘she got cocky,’ ‘she didn’t take the fight seriously,’ ‘she was thinking about Hollywood.’ Because in reality, ALL of those things are what I am going to address here.
Facebook is a lot of things. It is a tool to keep in contact with long lost loved ones. It is a business enhancement. It is a way to keep your toxic way of thinking in tact. But it is also a pulse taker on what is ‘in’ in today’s society. And a mere two months ago, even going back less than a month ago, I saw NOTHING but positive posts about Rousey. How the woman is a flag bearer for modern day feminism. How she respected the late Roddy Piper so much she went to him and asked permission for his nickname. How she was a champion who could not be stopped. About how good a role model she is for girls growing up. About how hot she is for being such a physically and mentally strong woman. There were even pushes by people within geeky film circles to try and get her to be Ms Marvel.
However, something happened which in some ways is sickening and others gratifying. In the immediate aftermath of Holly Holm’s second round KO of Rousey, the internet turned full circle. Stills of Rousey being held down by the Lion King’s Simba surfaced. People were clamoring to jump on the fact she took the fight lightly. Most people, mind you almost ALL of the same people who praised Rousey so highly merely a month ago, were doing their best to kick her while she was down. It was such an odd display that I almost felt sorry for the woman. As someone who has not seen one fight with her, I was witnessing the social media world aching to push down a woman, one who won a bronze medal in the Olympics and spent a few years on top of the world, even further than Holm had.
In witnessing this bizarre occurrence, I decided to compare it to Iron Mike Tyson’s similar fall back in 1990. On the surface, their uprisings are very similar. They both came from broken down living arrangements and worked their asses off to get as high as they got. In 1990, Tyson was coming off a half decade of dominance. He had video games named after him. He was making one talk show appearance after another. Quite similar to Rousey, Tyson had made his once looked down upon sport a household name. But there is a huge difference here. In 1990, Tyson was already looked at as a nuisance to society. He was coming off a tumultuous marriage with Robin Givens, and rumors were surfacing that he was being investigated for rape. Rumors that were eventually proven true, as when all was said and done in court, he ended up spending five years in prison.
In looking at Rousey’s rise to prominence, I see nothing of the sort. The girl could have gone the route of easy money, and made a sex tape to be even more in the limelight. But outside the ring, she always carries herself with dignity. Of course, I will say it again. I have not seen her fights and have heard many outcries against the fact she would not shake hands before a fight, and that her cockiness and believing of her own hype got to her. But I am just going to put this out there. If you rose through a female portion of a sport that was given no real exposure until your image surfaced, and you made that sport a household name just with your image, wouldn’t you get cocky too? Especially coming off working with Sylvestor Stallone, and all amid rumors abound that you were going to take the mantle of an iconic female Marvel superhero? I defy you to not get a tad full of yourself, and root for that circumstance to come your way someday so you can find out for yourself.
In my eyes and brief dealings with her, I have found Rousey to be a sportsman and phenomenal role model. Though I will say right now. I applaud Holm’s ability to take Rousey down a peg with a sheer ass kicking. I do not want to overlook that fact. Is Rousey overrated? Does she know how to strike just as well as grapple? Will Dana White stand by Rousey’s side as she attempts a comeback? I have no idea of the answers to these questions. I am just an outsider looking in. And as such, I think the public should really look at who they laugh at in the face of adversity. Because that pie is not so far from their face.
School has begun as my ability to binge read has suddenly disappeared. However, I’m still managing a little time here and there to take a peek through some books. This week it wasn’t necessarily anything I was looking forward to reading, but I did find some hidden gems in my pile. First up was the second volume of Marvel NOW!’s Hulk series, to which the first book was pretty decent but nothing to write home about. What the first volume did essentially, was set up this volume which sets up the series for something entirely different than we’re used to. Introducing, Doctor Green. Hulk is shot in the brain which basically kills Bruce Banner, but Tony Stark injects him with Extremis to fill out the brain and heal it fully. What happens next is unexpected, as Hulk becomes as intelligent as he is strong. Now, the new Hulk is on a mission to cure all those who are cursed with the same gamma radiation as him, except that he will not and cannot cure himself. Thus the name, Doctor Green. Doctor Green is as interesting as you normally see a Hulk book get, other than classics like Planet Hulk. I was definitely intrigued with this story, but as it fleshed out it lost its footing all within the same volume. I really would like to see how this ends up going in the next volume or more, because after the introduction to Doctor Green we don’t get much else here to enjoy. Keep an eye on Gerry Duggan’s Hulk, as we could be heading to some uncharted waters for the Hulkster, and that is greatness. Keep in mind that Duggan is fresh off of Deadpool now and left his humorous counterpart behind. Hulk is definitely a title to keep an eye on, as is the character Doctor Green.
The other book I got to this week was by longtime writer Ed Brubaker, who has done his fair share of Batman which is likely where I most recognize him from. The Fade Out reads like an old school, Black Dahlia Hollywood mystery. For what it was, I enjoyed it. There wasn’t a lot of any one thing that made this book that special, but it was a good read. Something about the atmosphere of the book really works well with the writing and it just presents a very easily readable story. Adult in nature, The Fade Out shows the darker side of an old Hollywood that we all have experienced stories in. Brubaker again shows why he is a mainstay in the comics industry with this title, and the art is on point as well. I’ll be interested to see where this series is headed, as it could get wilder if anyone starts to get froggy. But for now, it’s a standard murder mystery set in a swingin’ Hollywood of old. If you are into noir-like stories, this one is definitely for you. I can’t imagine that there are too many other noir type books out there that are as good as this one was. Unfortunately I can’t say much about the story without ruining things, so there’s not much here to go off of, but I definitely recommend it for fans of noir and reality-based comics.
2015 marks a solid nine years of absolute movie fandom for me. On a cold and rainy January evening, a Friday to be specific, I popped in the DVD for Pulp Fiction and my entire perspective changed forever. While I knew of Star Wars and Back to the Future, Fiction blew the proverbial doors off of what I thought movies were, and more importantly what I thought they could be. This, of course, led to joining online forums and movie websites to, what else, find more movies to watch. For a time, this was and, in some ways, continues to be the absolute best resource for finding films the world over. Hell, that search led me down a path that eventually brought me here, delivering high-quality expletive-laden blogs and podcasts about a whole lotta nothing week-in and week-out, and I have a great time doing that. For a guy who spent some time going to college for film studies only to discover it wasn’t really in him, this stuff is the best way to stay involved with the movie world. Writing for you guys and keeping up with the daily goings on of Hollywoodland and its surrounding areas is my all-time favorite thing to do, which is why I’m getting so fucking annoyed with movie websites nowadays.
The above photo would seem pretty innocuous to the average person. You have a picture of a movie theater playing Tyrone Powers’ The Mark of Zorro, with the medieval epic Excalibur coming soon. You can see some construction equipment, orange cones and a fucking Honda, but other than that there’s nothing to see here. That is, until, you see this in a certain context. This, as you might have guessed, is no ordinary photo. This is a shoddily taken photo from the set of Batman V Superman that was released close to six months ago. Go ahead, fanboys, put it together.
Everybody got it now?
For those of you that are lost, this is a clear indication that the new Batman V Superman is going to retread the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne in crime alley. One could deduce this if one were a Batman fan, but seeing as all the news outlets had taglines such as “Set Photos Reveal Murder of The Waynes in Batman V Superman“, we simply cannot avoid this. Look, I have enough issues with the next Batman movie, the least of which is seeing this fucking bullshit AGAIN, but when some of the most popular sites on the net are putting this shit out there as newsworthy they’re not only ruining the surprise but they’re spoiling the entire idea of fandom. I wish this was the only example, but unfortunately…
…even Joss Whedon is guilty. I understand Disney needs to market their shit a certain way. I get it. It’s a business, you need to sell your fucking toys, yes and yes, gotta pay dem bills…whatever. What I’m saying is this; how amazing would it be to walk into Age of Ultron and just be fucking SURPRISED by a fight with Hulk in this suit?!?! How much more would you enjoy the scene? I’m guessing it would be a pleasant surprise and certainly something the fans would appreciate. But no, we need to cram the entire film into the trailer for almost no good reason. You see, I don’t need to see a million trailers for Age of Ultron, I’m already fucking in. The first teaser was enough and I’m an adult, I want to enjoy the movie, not know what’s going to happen from scene to scene. I saw JUST TODAY some news outlets have released a fight scene in this suit. What the fuck is going on here? Why can’t we all just calm down and let the shit happen when it happens?
Another case in which the shit has gone too far, this Terminator Genisys bullshit is not fucking cool. Granted, this movie didn’t look like it was heading in a good direction as soon as the initial teaser dropped, but honestly revealing that John Connor is the bad guy right in the fucking trailer is just lazy and the equivelant of a hail mary. Does the studio behind this really believe this is the best way to get asses in seats? Shameful shit, catering to this culture of “I Want It Now” all too easily.
Finally, you have Ant-Man, another real mystery project from Marvel. Will it work? I hope so, because why the fuck would I ever want movies to be bad. Recently it was confirmed that a villain named Yellow Jacket is in the film. OK. Cool. Can I ask a quick question? Who the fuck is Yellow Jacket? Did anyone need to know that information prior to the film coming out? Was it such a fucking stretch to think that an audience can not only be introduced to but understand the motivations of a villain without taking extra baggage into the theater with them or past experiences or stories involving said villain? What the fuck is going on?!?!
Maybe it’s me but I just see this trend evolving way past what we’re seeing now. Hell, I’m no Agents of Shield fan, but I’ve had a ton of shit on that show spoiled for me and I haven’t even seen a single episode. How was it spoiled? Unrelated articles tag stories involving said show and you inadvertently have things revealed that you don’t need to know. It’s as if being a part of the movie fan culture is actually spoiling 70% of what we get to see nowadays. Say what you will about Christopher Nolan but the man understands how to maintain some secrecy and integrity in his work. While Interstellar may have rubbed some the wrong way, we didn’t know what the fuck it was until it came out, and to me that is the key to what makes movies special. While this rant was fueled mostly by current movie news, I can’t help but be frustrated by the downward trend I’m seeing and, speaking very honestly, I hope it ends soon, because if it doesn’t I fear the mystery of going to the movies will be lost forever.
Well, Binge readers, sometimes shit gets real and today it was most certainly as real as it gets. Stay tuned this week for some Gamer Cast, Thrones Cast, possibly some more Better Call Saul cast recaps and maybe some other surprises this week, and as always, Binge On!
This week we’re going to use the new Binge Cast for our points of discussion. Haven’t listened yet? What are you waiting for?
King of Hollywood
Law and Ammon posed a great question on this week’s Binge Cast. If you were made the King of Hollywood and could get ANYTHING made after giving your inauguration speech what would it be? They both had great answers and if you want to know what they were go listen. My answer, however, is probably going to bring a WTF? from everyone. The movie I would have made would be Masters of The Universe 2, or whatever other clever title they would come up with. Now I’m okay with an ending being left open but this is just bullshit. It’s been almost 30 years since we saw Skeletor’s face appear after the credits of one of my favorite movies as a kid. We all know this means a sequel would be coming, or at least it should have. Unfortunately it never did and I can’t imagine why. The only person I would pick would be the director. My director would be Peter Jackson and I would leave everything else up to him. Well not everything. The only way he would have complete control would be with the understanding that if he brings back Gwildor I will carve him up like a thanksgiving turkey. Even my mom was wondering where Orko was when we saw it. Don’t lie, you know you want this too.
Fuck New Television
Okay not entirely, but mostly. In the event another show puts together a cast like True Detective did with Harrelson and McConaughey I will be there on day one, or day two if I don’t have that channel. Otherwise I’ll see you when you’re over. I’ve missed a lot of great television over the years and instead of risking getting burned again by something new I’m gonna binge on stuff that’s done. Here’s where I need your help. Below is a list of shows I’m putting on my docket and would love some more suggestions. There are a few I’m still iffy about (Lost) just because of the whole 24 episode hour long network show can get pretty ridiculous in length if it goes past 4-5 seasons, but we’ll see.
Luther
Lost
Firefly
Twin Peaks
Mad Men
6 Feet Under
SoA
I just finished episode 2 and am really excited for the rest of this season. There still hasn’t been that HOLY SHIT ending yet but it’s early. I’m enjoying the development and wonder if Sutter is going to try and save most, if not all, of those moments for the last 2-3 episodes. Can it be done absolutely, will it be done and done well? Probably not. Regardless it’ll be a fun ride.
Fantasy Hockey League
Finally, one last reminder about our Fantasy Hockey League. I’m closing registration on Monday so if you’ve been meaning to sign up now’s the time. Also if we end up with an odd number of team’s the last one to sign up will be dropped so if you’re gonna sign up you might want to bring a friend. As I write this we still have 4 spots open. We are hoping to live draft Wednesday the 24th otherwise auto draft will take place on Saturday the 27th.
That’ll do it for this week. As always any comments, questions, or concerns can be left below. You can always follow me on twitter @jekupka and until next week I leave you with this…