If you’ve been on Facebook over the past couple weeks, you’ve probably noticed the arrival of one Sass Quatch. I’ve noticed, and I’m having none of it. Check out the inaugural episode of Making a Sass Quatch, titled “The Rock and the Hard Place”. Moreno joins me, Episode IV, in explaining myself while trying to exonerate himself.
Yep, this, unlike the Mini-Binge, is totally a thing.
For leads, inquiries or general information, leave us a voicemail at 708-406-9546, or contact us via Facebook. Thank you, and happy hunting.
P.S. – If you think I’m overreacting, and Sass Quatch is merely a harmless woodland creature, I direct your attention to the article sourced below, and I ask you, do you want a piece of Sass Quatch Babadiiick?
With everything happening these days and my schedule getting more and more busy, I regret to inform you that this will be my last post with Binge Media ever. Time has become too much of a constraint and as much as I want to keep this thing going, it seems that life is going to intervene. Rather than drone on about this being the last post, I’ve compiled some of the really great moments I’ve had here on the site as a little road map of my time here at Binge Media.
Firstly, I have to start by thanking Law and Moreno for taking me on in the first place. I remember writing my first Why This Sucks article for the site just to help these guys start building the brand. I, like all of you, started off as a fan of the site and wanted the party to keep on raging. I saw a need for some additional articles and submitted an article detailing all the problems I had with Star Trek Into Darkness. A couple of years and many articles/podcasts/commentaries later and I find myself getting stale. Part of keeping your cool is knowing when to leave the party, and I think that time, for me, is now.
Secondly, there are innumerable people that I have come in contact with on my Binge journey that I want to thank. Denny Luis, Ammon, Supka, Batch, Luke, Nick, 4/10, Nate P, Logan, Eric King, that fake motherfucker Will Tremendous, “We’re Losing Her” Lance and so many others that I’ve been able to interact with. Your feedback and conversation has been invaluable and I have to thank all of you immensely, even if I didn’t mention you by name.
Last but not least I want to thank all of you for taking the time to read or listen to me. It’s really quite odd to hear yourself for the first time on a podcast that you are a fan of, but it’s been a really rewarding and eye-opening experience across the board. From doing commentaries for The Strain to the recent Batman Retrospective, there has been a lot of good and bad, but I’ve enjoyed all of it.
This is it. The curtain call. The final bow. I leave you all with a favorite scene of mine and encourage you all to Binge On!
After almost a month of site build-up and a lifetime of anticipation, the time is finally here. Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice has taken the country by storm, earning nearly $190 million in its opening weekend. But, after spending hours picking apart the two principle characters of this franchise in their respective individual appearances, will Luke, Jack, and even I be satisfied?
Will our most dire fears of Zack Snyder laying his hands on this fight be realized? Or will he surprise all of us with a masterpiece of superheroic proportions? Hit that download button to find out!
PS: An EXTRA special thanks to that Sneaky bastard Juan Carlos for not only his AMAZING Binge Fantasy League logos, but also each picture that has accompanied this retrospective. You sir, are the man!
WARNING: Unless you have seen the movie or don’t give a shit about ever seeing it, we appreciate your click, but DO NOT download this podcast until AFTER you do so. There are spoilers galore here.
It finally happened. One of the geekiest meet-ups in geek history, Batman V Superman, is here, and with it a whole lot of stylistic choices that we need to reconcile. Some like the flick, most kind of hate it, but there’s been a real groundswell of love for Affleck and his iteration of both Bruce Wayne and Batman despite the problems many have with the script, myself included. I, personally, loved Affleck in the role and would not have changed anything about the performance. There seems to be one detail that the fanboys and fangirls are up in arms over, and that is Batman’s alleged vigilantism crossing the line of him breaking his moral code of not killing people. While I absolutely, 100% agree that making Batman into a murderer breaks the essence of this character, I honestly don’t understand what people are complaining about. This isn’t the first time these types of kills have happened in a Batman film or comic. Furthermore, I did the legwork for you and present three distinct examples of Batman directly killing the bad guys. You believe this? Me, Jack Valley, defending Zack Snyder? Miracles do happen people. On with the article.
Batman
If we are going to nitpick Batman to death we have to start here. Tim Burton, for all the good he did, admittedly had little interest in the comic book iteration of the Bat. With several direct allusions to Batman being an actual BAT-man, Burton brought a lot of style and darkness to the universe. There are staples of the character that were brilliant here, such as the Anton Furst Batmobile and choosing to not tell the origin story. Michael Gough’s Alfred is still the guy that comes to mind when I hear that name anywhere. For all the good things in this film, there are some bad, and that has been detailed on this site before. Most of all, though, what is likely one of the biggest problems in this film, Batman kills indiscriminately, and in, I would argue, a much more brutal fashion than Affleck ever does. Not only does the Bat drop grenades next to a handful of henchmen at the chemical plant, he throws another guy off of the bell tower at the climax of the film to his death. Furthermore, he brings Joker to his demise as well. While a lot of people like to forget these details, I do not.
Batman Returns
In the admittedly very dark sequel, the Caped Crusader may actually be a more deranged psychopath than the previous film makes him out to be. While one could argue that Batman had no choice in taking out Joker in the last movie’s climax, here Batman is killing fools with style. For instance, he gives a fire-breather a taste of his own medicine by using the Batmobile’s jet-engine to light that fool up. There are at least a dozen ways he could have easily avoided burning the guy alive, especially when you consider all the “wonderful toys” that must be outfitted in the Batmobile. Within that same sequence, the Bat straps a ticking time bomb to one of the circus performers, making his death an absolute certainty. Also, although again this may be more of a crime of inaction, he allows the Penguin to just fall to his death at the end of the film. These are all hardly the type of vigilante justice we believe we are entitled to when it comes to Batman lore.
Batman Begins
Christopher Nolan’s first entry in the series was and, I would maintain, still is a game-changer. Nolan found a way to keep the subject material light while also maintaining a bit of that comic book levity to keep us both grounded in reality and in awe of the spectacle on screen. Of the more clever ideas in the film, the way Nolan uses Ra’s Al Ghul as a title rather than an individual’s name is truly inspired. The death of the first Ra’s Al Ghul, however, is problematic, because not only does it show Bruce Wayne as willing to kill, it makes for a really confusing situation. The entire reason Bruce lights Ra’s temple on fire is because he disagrees with their methodology. While everyone focuses on how Bruce saves Ducard, we forget that the petty thief and, most likely, others like him probably burned alive in the temple. Say what you will about the League of Shadows and whether or not they deserved what was coming to them, this is a morally grey area that the movie does a great job misdirecting the audience from. Make no mistake, however, because Batman probably killed a bunch of people in this scene. Deal with it.
P.S. Depending on how you look at it, he probably should be brought up on a charge of manslaughter for letting Ra’s bite it on the tram.
All this and I didn’t even mention the one truck driver that gets DESTROYED by the Batmobile in The Dark Knight…
So there you have it. Say what you will about the problems with Batman V Superman (of which there are PLENTY) but this repetitive argument that Batman is an indiscriminate killer now is baffling to me. That whole “have to break some eggs to make an omelette” adage applies here. Collateral damage has ALWAYS happened and will ALWAYS happen in comic book films. Granted, the Darkseid-nightmare sequence has Bats using a handgun, but that was a dream sequence. That may be his ultimate dream, to be able to just gun down the bad guys, but the fact that he struggles with this idea is part of what makes him a phenomenal character. Also, that one scene where (SPOILER) he blows up the KGBeast’s flamethrower? That’s taken DIRECTLY FROM THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, so let us all take a step back and question what the hell we are complaining about. With the twenty-four-hour news cycle being what it is, this whole idea became a “thing” over the weekend and I think any real Batman fan would fully appreciate and understand the choices they make with Batfleck. This one little detail seems to be deterring some from even giving this iteration of the character a fair shake, and that is Why This Sucks!
Another episode in the can as Batch and the Freak pick up the Supka’d one’s slack as he fucks off for another episode. That’s ok though, as Episode IV dishes on the Draft Order for each division of our inaugural season of the Binge Media Fantasy Movie League. Before that, however, we stream some more Division where Batch gets his ass handed to him while Jack Valley does the heavy lifting. Typical. Talk of Stardew Valley, Just Cause 3, The Witcher and WWE 2K(New Version). Were we drunk? Maybe.
As promised, here are the draft orders for each division (in descending order, Snake Draft style).
Here we are again, Bingers. Time to tackle a franchise for your listening pleasure. Though this time, we will be tackling two at a time. Sort of.
Let me explain where I’m coming from here. For our special lead in to Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, I decided to look at the two characters surrounding it by asking two other guys from the site, who also happen to be huge fans of their respected characters, to come on the Aftertaste and discuss them both at length.
First up, Batman. And doing the honors of dissecting this character with me is the New England Patriots loving, Pulp Fiction addict (cue echo) JACK VALLEY. Listen in as Jackie Boy and I go over each portion of Bats in his media conquering pedestal.
Some of the questions we go over here:
How did Jack become such a big fan of the character?
Just how big WAS Nicholson’s contract to appear in Batman, and why was he paid for movies he wasn’t even in?
How much does the Halle Berry starring Catwoman fit into the DC universe, if at all?
What does Batman ’66 have in common with Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises?
What is Jack’s LEAST favorite characterization of Bruce Wayne?
What is the biggest missed opportunity of Tim Burton’s two directed Batman films?
Who else was paid to NOT be in Batman Returns?
What does Batman & Robin have in common with The Dark Knight Rises?
Is the relationship between Wayne and Gordon in the Nolan films similar to how it was in the comics?
How’s Nolan’s characterization of Scarecrow?
What is the’George Bush Theory’ that surrounds The Dark Knight?
How do we feel Batman Vs Superman Dawn of Justice looks?
So click that little download button on the bottom of this page and get ready for a bat of a good time. Gross.
We live in a fantastic age. Despite the endless parade of bullshit prevalent everywhere you look, we are able to view this bullshit through a magic square that lives in our pocket 80% of the time. As movie fans, we have access to any film we want at our fingertips, almost anywhere on the planet, 24/7. That’s an amazing thing. As such, that creates a void for content. When you have that 24/7 access to information, someone out there needs to create content for you to consume. It’s the general nature of the universe. At some point people needed to eat and didn’t want to have to make food themselves, hence the formation of a restaurant. People want to work out without making a huge monetary investment in gym equipment, hence communal gym memberships.
The news media preys on this concept, constantly generating content during a non-stop news cycle that now exists on social media as well as on TV. In the geek world, websites like Binge Media and several others participate in this system by delivering you content. Regardless of your opinion of a certain film, TV show or video game, you can’t really argue that we pander to the lowest common denominator. My friend and co-staffer Garrett Collins is the living embodiment of this idea. I, personally, take pride in the fact that we do our thing without groveling to what may be popular or easy. It has come to my attention, however, that a certain site has started doing this by trying to explain to the reader why widely loved movies are successful. It’s been going on for a while but, frankly, I couldn’t keep quiet any longer and would like to take a point-by-point look at why this is a stupid endeavor that translates to truly masturbatory column writing.
Why I Care – The Godfather is an amazing film. Labyrinth is an innovative and endearing family film. You all know how I feel about The Dark Knight. These are very high-quality film classics that, despite how you may feel about them, are difficult to argue against. They’re important films, and we all know this. Writing an article detailing the “how’s and the why’s” of why they are great films is pedestrian. You’re talking down to your audience if you think they need their hand held when you say “The Godfather is a great movie”. The reason this is a problem for me is because it diminishes what we all do. By turning a forum for movie lovers to learn new things about the cinematic landscape into a gigantic circle-jerk of widely-accepted approval is the blogging version of handing everyone a participation medal. There’s nothing valid being added to the ether if you take the incredibly simple path of saying that movies that most cinephiles have seen are amazing.
Why It’s Unsatisfying – We live in a generation full of people who were handheld through a lot of aspects of their lives. There is this fear of failure and propensity of acceptance that damages critical consensus and leaves us all worse of for it. If we spend time trying to explain why The Empire Strikes Back is a great film we’re wasting time. We all know Empire is a great film, we don’t need to read 500 words about something we’re already innately aware of. This is unsatisfying on a very deep and ideological level because you, again, are doing nothing outside of promoting an idea that doesn’t need promoting. Now, if you were going to come out and make an argument that Attack of the Clones is a great film, there you have something that’s worth reading because it may illuminate some ideas and perspectives that you had not realized before, rather than circling back to the “safe” perspective.
Why It’s Infuriating – Take, for example, your kid’s soccer match. Let’s say you are watching the match and you know, unquestionably, that they could have done a better job. There’s nothing wrong with telling your kid that if they put some extra effort in that they can achieve great things, rather than coddle them and just say “great job”. In the kid’s mind, this devalues the compliment of doing a “great job”, and in effect makes whatever you tell them meaningless over time. The same could be said about explaining what makes a great film “Work”. Rather than give the kid some constructive criticism so that it can grow as a person, you’re essentially stunting their growth and doing nothing to help them in any way. All the kid will hear over time is white noise. In a similar way, we already know that a great film works because, well, it’s widely considered to be a great film. Breaking down the elements that make it great does nothing constructive because if a film is great we already know it in our heart and soul. You can’t take a ticky-tack approach to explaining the pieces of what make a movie great because the best movies have an intangible kind of magic to them. Yeah, Pulp Fiction has some great writing and innovative story structure, but you remember the moments in the great movies before you compliment the technical pieces of it. That, and a whole lot of other reasons, are why circle-jerk movie columns suck!
2016 has gotten off to a great start for me in terms of movies. I’m on a three-week streak of solid 8’s with Hail Caesar, Deadpool and The Witch all delivering solid movies to me. Thankful as I am for all three, they are linked by another, less than attractive trait. I am not sure if it has been some phenomenal bad luck or just poor planning but somehow I have been in some of the worst audiences I’ve ever experienced. While Hail Caesar was an expected older, more behaved crowd, Deadpool and The Witch were full of children who, frankly, should not have been there. As such, I present unto you five ways in which you can not be a dick when going to the movies.
Step 1: Snack Consideration
I am not now, nor have I ever been, a movie-snack guy. I like popcorn and candy just fine but when I go to see a film, whether it’s Children of Men or Captain America, I’m there to see the movie. I don’t like being distracted, fumbling around for my soda in the middle of critical moments, and I also think that for some films it is not how they were meant to be seen in the first place. There is nothing worse than an audience member foraging through a box of fucking Milk Duds in the middle of Tarantino dialogue. All I’m saying is this. If you are into movie snacks, then good on you, but be a little considerate of the other people in the theater who planned on watching a movie and not listening to you navigate a bag of popcorn.
Step 2: Turn Your Cell Phone On Airplane Mode
This is something I think a lot of people do already. However, there are some who do not and they need to calm it down. First of all, you paid to see this movie. So now you’re going to double your cost by also consuming electricity on your mobile device and, in essence, ignoring the movie you’re watching? To quote Louis CK, “You non-contributing-product-sponge-cunt”. Anyone still answering texts during a movie should be kicked out of the theater, no questions asked.
Step 3: Don’t Utilize Waiters During a Film
The newest trend at the movies seems to be waiters serving you as the movie is being played. Responsible adults, please drink up, but don’t keep calling the waiters back to pound seven beers during the flick. The people walking in front of the screen are distracting, you ordering your shit is distracting and, frankly, when you have to get up to take a piss because you have no self control, guess what, that’s also distracting. Stop it.
Step 4: Know The Movie You’re Going To See
So many people go to the theater at whatever time they want and ask the person at the kiosk “What’s good?”. What kind of person are you that you just happen upon a movie theater with no prior knowledge of anything out and just decide to see whatever this person you’ve never spoken to in your life recommends? Aren’t you just setting yourself up to be disappointed? Granted, some people are easily amused, and I get that, but more often than not I have seen people walk out of a theater and demand a refund due to dissatisfaction. Usually, those people are pretty shitty about the ordeal for little-to-no-reason. In the case of Deadpool, I had to deal with eight little Morenos sitting behind me detailing each and every FUCKING scene from the movie for the entire runtime. Not only were they not even legally able to attend a PG-13 film, they had no business being in the theater. I don’t give a fuck about a movie being vulgar, but it is on a parent to get a handle on that shit.
Step 5: Stop Seeing Shitty Movies
This one goes without saying. Are you sick of movies like Transformers going on until the end of time? Stop going to see them. It’s as simple as that. Aggrivated that Gary Marshall now has a Mother’s Day film coming out? Maybe you should have aided his previous holiday movies in turning a profit. People want to complain about how good/great movies get ignored but no one wants to admit that they are aiding the problem by sending their money to projects that don’t deserve it. Horace and Pete, Louis CK’s series distributed through his website, is pretty revolutionary in that he decided to just release it as he makes it and charge different amounts of money for the product. Regardless of the quality of the final product (which admittedly is high) I will buy every episode because I support someone trying to do something unique and different. I’m putting my money where my mouth is and supporting the artist. The next time you go to see a movie, make sure you’re doing the same if you want to see more good stuff.
There’s a lot of hatred in this week’s article, and honestly I feel like I’m preaching to the choir here at Binge Media, but these are things that more people need to realize when they go to see a movie. Stop being so self-centered and wake up! That’s it for this week, Binge On!
If there is one thing more annoying than the onslaught of Hollywood blockbusters right now it is the BARRAGE of “Oscar-bait” films. As movie fans, it is our job to keep up with new releases, know who directed what-when and be able to rattle off numerous top-10 lists. No matter what we do it seems like every year there is a slew of films made for the studios to increase their profit share through award nominations. This year there’s been a lot of talk about who was, or more importantly was NOT, nominated for an award, and it got me thinking about the awards in general. Mainly, I’m trying to find a reason why we care so much about something that has no effect on whether or not we enjoy a thing, whether it be a film or a tv show. What, pray tell, is all the fuss about?
Ricky Gervais may catch some flack for hosting the Golden Globes and causing a ruckus with the celebs but, honestly, his viewpoint (act) is the one shining example of how we should regard these overlong, pretentious and obnoxious award shows. We all get into a tizzy about what will or will not be nominated but I have a question for you. Are any of your favorite films award winners? Has that ever been a factor for you in whether or not you enjoy a movie? If you answered yes to either of the previous questions, then congratulations on being a hipster douche.
I love The Dark Knight with a passion. I know it has some issues but, much like The Force Awakens, it hit the right notes in such a right way that I don’t care. The way Nolan reinvigorated Batman and The Joker is the stuff of legend, and I will always love Ledger for his performance here. That being said, this is one of the few examples of a favorite film of mine being successful at the Academies, earning the aforementioned Heath Ledger a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Yet, the nomination and win have no bearing on how I feel about the movie. In fact, I couldn’t give a rats ass. “Honoring the legacy” of the actor means absolutely nothing to me. I honor his legacy by enjoying his performance in the movie, as it should be.
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Goodfellas, Jaws, The Big Lebowski, etc. etc. etc… There are hundreds, nigh THOUSANDS of films that never won an award and yet are part of the fabric of cinema. Look at guys like Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick. Neither won an Oscar for direction throughout their career, yet their legacies are some of films’ most important. Lawrence of Arabia, and epic predicated on the performance of its lead was unjustly denied Best Actor for Peter O’Toole, yet his performance is absolutely legendary. My point is that plenty of films and performances have been slighted over the years. It is nothing new, and it will continue as long as these awards shows are made out to be so incredibly important. It is not isolated to people of color or minorities, it simply happens when you have higher quality films.
This year there has been an insane amount of attention and effort put into painting the Oscars in a negative and, unfortunately, overtly racist light. It is easy to look at the nominations and not notice “people of color” being recognized. Alarming as that may be, like all serious issues, it needs to be analyzed further. Chi-Raq was a polarizing film that touched some (Kupka) and disappointed others (Law). Not having seen the film yet I can’t comment too strongly one way or another, but the general consensus seems to be that a stylized musical about gun violence in Chicago just didn’t connect with the majority of people. Straight Outta Compton, an adequate movie about NWA, is not that great of a film. Biopics are largely by the numbers and generic, typically catering to their fanbase, and I felt Compton did that. That brings us to the biggest snub, Beasts of no Nation. I said it before that the film was unjustly ignored this year, but I think that has more to do with the studios’ fear of Netflix beginning to take a foothold over the film industry than a racist slight against black people.
Awards are won based on merit. Have we all forgotten that 12 Years A Slave was Best Picture two years ago? This conversation seems to be propagated by the media and a few key celebrities, probably for Twitter hits. The culture seems to continue trending towards this climate of acceptance and complacency, but has anyone stopped to ask whether or not the films that were not nominated simply were not all that great? Creed was entertaining but an easy film to make since it was a cherry-picked reworking of all the elements that made the previous six Rocky films work (sorry Luke and Garrett). People need to get over this whole racist angle. In this past season of Project Greenlight, Effie is a cheerleader for diversity, seen in the very first episode where she insists on trying to hire someone of color/diversity. Matt Damon, in my opinion, very eloquently shoots down what Effie is trying to get at by saying that the contest should be decided for the filmmaking and the merit of the applicant. Isn’t that how awards are supposed to work as well? Black, white, red, yellow, brown, orange or green, the quality of your work should be the deciding factor in whether or not you get nominated, plain and simple.
After all of that, what to do? I say wave your middle finger to Hollywood and ignore nominations and wins. Who cares? For those of you who loved Mad Max Fury Road, do you love it more because it was nominated for Best Picture? Pretty sure either way that movie has a guy with a flaming guitar in it, so in my book it will always be on my action movie rotation. That’s what matters, how you feel about the film, not how everyone else is telling you to feel about the film. Personally, I was underwhelmed severely by The Revenant, but I’m not going to make concessions about it based on everyone else’s thoughts. Think for yourself and say “fuck off” to these ridiculous, self-serving awards shows.