This week’s BingeCast is full of Star Wars: The Last Jedi talk, Christmas tree talk and mother! talk. Exactly. mother!, a movie that came out 4 years ago, gets as much talk as a new SW movie. There’s a bit of Spoiler Talk so go fuck yourself.
The kids call it SW.
Google Voice calls us out for being BULLSHIT.
TV Round Up has us reviewing The Punisher (again), Dark and tapping out of TV shows all together.
Films we watched this week? Scrooged, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Bushwick, The Disaster Artist, The Meyerowitz Stories, Flatliners and other shit.
Fuck you guys.
0:00:00-Sleigh balls.
0:04:04-AlyxMoreno and Jack Valley. Shout out to PeteMC for being awesome at sounders and everything else. Full on spoiler review of The Last Jedi is on its way. This film is pretty divisive and that’s weird but it’s a thing. Who will be on the spoiler cast? When’s it dropping? Is there another movie series that is super spoilery? Or just particular movies in general? Ammon’s late. Of fucking course. #whereisjimlaw? Alyx lends insight. There’s Google Voice and TV Round Up of course, but TV round up is kind of lacking. And there’s so many goddamn shows!
0:32:29-GOOGLE VOICE Ammon shows up during the proceedings.
1:18:45-QUOTE WHORES. Christmas tree discussion follows the game. Tree decorating movie?
2:02:45-TV ROUND UP. Alyx talks The Punisher, Godless, and other shows that he just gave up on. Ammon discusses Dark. Jack checked out Peaky Blinders. Golden Globe nominations.
2:31:32-WHAT DID YOU WATCH? Alyx starts off with his love of Scrooged, Moana, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected), Bushwick, Flatliners (which Ammon also saw), and Mother! Jack has a ton-The Disaster Artist, Hired Gun, The Devil in Daniel Johnston, and The Killing of a Sacred Dear. He and Ammon both rewatched The Force Awakens and they team up for The Last Jedi. #diehardisachristmasmovie. What makes a Christmas movie a Christmas movie?
It’s been a week since most of us have gone to see the new episode of the Star Wars saga, and if you’re anything like me you’re really feeling a galaxy sized gap in your heart. It feels as if nothing can fill the void that is left behind after walking out of the theater, other than another viewing of The Force Awakens. I have to say, I was probably the most satisfied by Episode VII, than I have been by another movie in a long time. This movie had a way of cutting to the core of your heart of nerdiness, and just giving you an amazing time at the theaters. Sure, it had a few things to nitpick at, but really overall I can’t find myself wanting to watch another movie any more than I want to watch this one. I loved Kylo Ren, and BB-8 was the absolute boss. Finn was an excellent new addition, and Rey looks to be a very important new character. Poe was the fighter of a lifetime, and his bromance with Finn was applause-worthy. There were so many other great moments in the movie to make it one of the best of the year, and I’m finding it difficult to have a drink or vice that can please me greater than this film. However, I did finish up the rest of the Star Wars canon-worthy comic books that I had ready to read, and boy did I save the best for last. So if you’re looking to get your Star Wars fix and maybe can’t make it to the movies, try to get your hands on these excellent Star Wars comics in the meantime. We can only hope that the Blu-ray release for this film comes sooner rather than later… Before we delve in, I hope everyone has a Merry Bingemas, Christmas, and a Happy Holiday this week/weekend!!!
First up this week was Star Wars: Darth Vader, which seems to be a series that will follow Darth Vader’s quest for knowledge. It ended up connecting with the main title, which I will review here shortly. This first volume opened up with Vader having a visit and small chat with Jabba the Hutt. Jabba unfortunately believes himself more powerful than he really is, and it opened the book with a ton of suspense. Vader and Jabba have a war of words, albeit in disguise as pleasantry, other than Vader’s matter-of-fact statements about Jabba’s stupidity to believe he can best the Sith lord. The book opening like this put me right in the mood to read the rest, and it really sets the tone for the book. It’s a dark, suspenseful, brooding type of book that obviously follows our favorite Sith master Darth Vader and his evil exploits. Watching the battle of wits between the two in the beginning was a lot of fun, and it only gets better from there. As Vader is on the search for the man who attacks the Empire from underneath them, he eventually comes to find out the name of his attacker. Much to his surprise, it is a familiar name that literally causes the glass around him to fracture and show just how tormented Vader is about to be by his past. Those of us who are familiar with the films obviously know about all of this lore, but the book really helps to solidify some of what is in the movies, and gives us some behind the scenes of what Vader was up to in between. I really enjoyed this book, and I’ve recommended it to all Star Wars fans. This book does tie into the main Marvel title in the last scene I mentioned here, and honestly the next book was even better.
Marvel’s Star Wars title has been around for awhile. There were already Star Wars comics in the past under the Marvel banner, and I’ve tried to read them. The ones I read that were any good to me were some of the newer ones with newer characters, but unfortunately those are now no longer canon. I’m not sure about the state of the original Marvel Comics series, but I would imagine that they have to be some sort of canon considering their owner and also their content. They started as adaptations of the original trilogy of films, and some of those issues are contained within the new canon hardcovers so I guess we will see in due time. Skywalker Strikes is the first volume of the new Marvel series, and it was a seriously good book. It opens with Han making his way into an Empire base as a smuggler, and somehow no one questions his company. As the book continues to open, we see that Han, Leia, Luke, and R2 have decided to try and attack the Empire at its heart. Luke ends up splitting from the rest as things go haywire and Vader arrives on the base. As Luke continues to learn the powers of the Force, he is assisted by his former master and tries to get revenge on Vader. All the while, C-3PO is stuck in a tough predicament with the Millenium Falcon off site, where he was supposed to come from to rescue the crew. This all evolves into another small story in the back half of the book, and we have some surprising new canonical revelations about some of our most familiar characters. This book was outstanding, and the art was awesome. I seriously cannot wait for more of Marvel’s Star Wars.
Last but not least was the comic book that was part of the Journey to the Force Awakens movement, Shattered Empire. This book chronicles the time after the Emperor’s death, where we see Luke and company tackling the remaining sects of the Empire. I’m not sure if the first two books spoiled me a bit, but this one was a little less entertaining. You learn a little bit about some future characters, but we also get some hints at what is going on in The Force Awakens. I have two big theories that spun out of the new film, and I’m not going to spoil them here. However, one of my theories receives some evidence in this book and I’m really glad to see it, because it proves that I’m not crazy for thinking what I have been about a certain new character. I would welcome those who are curious to ask below and maybe we can have a small discussion about the revelations, but holy crap is it awesome. Also present is a mirage of Darth Maul, which I find very suspicious and wonder how he’s going to tie into future stories as he’s obviously still around and haunting the Force. We return to Naboo, and a lot of story follows Leia as well as she ties up some of her responsibilities as royalty. The art was the main thing that I found unpleasing to the eye here, because some of the time the characters have a very manga-esque appearance and I’m not too crazy about that for these characters. One full page in particular had Luke with some very funky looking eyes, but otherwise again the art is beautiful. Also, much like all of the other books listed above and before, the covers are outstanding and the alternates are even better. If you’re looking for your next Star Wars fix like me, and maybe don’t like to read the book hefty books, these three comic books here will provide plenty of new story, characters, and joy to your galaxy.
As you may have noticed, it’s been Star Wars central around BingeMedia.net. Garrett has been going through each Star Wars installment in his Binge Aftertaste retrospectives and also revisiting each one in written form. But the biggest undertaking has been recording a commentary for each episode. When we initially flirted with the commentary idea, it seemed like a huge task but almost everyone in the BingeMedia offices wanted to participate in at least one, making the scheduling and execution of it that much easier.
And that’s the power of love.
Sorry wrong movie.
Thanks to everyone who participated in the commentaries, that listened to each one and shared it like crazy. And of course Sneak Juan Carlos for all of the sweet ass poster. We love you all. Here are links to each commentary.
Here’s our final commentary for Return of the Jedi! This time Law and I invite one half of the Sounder Twins, PeteMC, to tackle the fun and gloriousness of Episode VI. Listen as our disappointment increases at what a sissy Han Solo becomes; laugh with us as R2D2 forgets that he can fly; marvel at the fact that Pete might’ve drank his own piss.
What happens when you get four drunk Bingers (Bingers?), three of them are Supka’d, one of them is ACTUALLY Supka and throw on Empire Strikes Back? Another BingeCast commentary of course!
In this installment, the boys try to figure out what Cloud City actually is, why Lando is smooth, if Luke actually sped up Yoda’s dying process and more.
Welcome to the April 19th edition of Working the Weekend with Luke. I’ve got a nice little mix of things today. I’ll start with some talk on Louie, get into the trailer frenzy that nearly broke the internet over the past few days, and finish up with some info on a great little country duo I’ve been following. I’ve had a busy week with Binge Sports with the NHL and NBA Playoffs both getting underway, and you can still vote on Round 1 for both (NHL HERE andNBA HERE). The all-new Binge Sportscast will also get underway later this week, so stay tuned for that. But for now, let’s talk a little TV, a little film, and a little music.
LOUIE
I’ve been fan of Louis C.K. and his stand-up specials for a long time, but I’ll be honest with you that up until last week, I hadn’t sat down and watched one full episode of Louie. It’s not that I didn’t have any interest in it, but I really just don’t watch a ton of live television outside of sports. I usually wait until I can binge-watch something and then I get after it. Such was the case last week when I watched the first four seasons of this amazing show.
When the show debuted, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. As I said, I’d been a fan of his stand-up for a while, and with the show being on FX, I knew it wouldn’t be anything like Seinfeld, but I sure didn’t think it was going to be this.
I knew there would be laughs, but I had no idea that there would be this much heart. At some point, I expected to cry from laughter, but I NEVER expected that it would bring the other kind. During so many episodes, I found myself getting extremely emotional, basically due to the connection I feel with the main character.
Without giving spoilers or getting into too much of my own life, I’m a divorced father with two little girls. The episodes that have his daughters in them are extremely personal to me, and I really made a connection with the feelings he’s trying to get across to the audience. I’m going to stop before I get into too much and write 5000 words, but seriously, if you haven’t watched Louie yet, get on it.
STAR WARS/BATMAN v SUPERMAN
Have you heard that there’s a new Star Wars trailer out? Of course you have, and so has the rest of the world. As someone who grew up during the height of this storied franchise, I will admit to getting a little excited for last Thursday’s release. After the disappointment of the prequels (minus the last 45 minutes of Revenge of the Sith), this franchise needed a kick in the ass, and it looks like we’re getting it. Hearing the voice of Luke Skywalker and some of the images from that trailer actually has me believing that The Force Awakens has a chance to right the wrongs from the previous three films. And yes, I’m a Skywalker guy, but the Han/Chewbacca sighting at the end was pretty solid.
I’ve not seen one person over the last few days make a bad comment about the trailer above, but the trailer below is another story. The first real trailer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice arrived this past week as well. Some people are excited. Some people are disappointed. If you don’t know me, then let me fill you in. I’m a big Superman guy, a BIG Superman guy, so consider me on the excited side. I actually watched Man of Steel again a few nights ago, and it keeps getting better with each viewing. Is is perfect? No, it’s not. I think Russell Crowe was completely wrong for Jor-El, and part of the movie suffered for that. The opening was too long, or maybe I just think that because of the Russell Crowe factor. But I thought that Henry Cavill did an excellent job (certainly better than the rubbish I had to sit through with Brandon Routh). As I am with a lot of topics, I could go on and on about this, but as for the trailer itself, I’m pleased with what I see so far. This movie is going to be dark and that’s exactly what it should be. The end of Man of Steel was very controversial to some, but I think it was building to this. I think that Lex Luthor (nice to hear Jesse Eisenberg’s quote) is going to get in the ear of Bruce Wayne and that will lead to the conflict. Ultimately, we know where things are going to go, but I think this movie has a chance to be very solid, as long as Snyder reels it in a little bit.
And if you haven’t seen Pete Holmes’ take on this whole thing, do yourself a favor and spend a few minutes watching this.
Told you it would be worth it.
WHISKEY ROSE
I know that this isn’t the biggest forum for country music, but I’m a guy who listens to just about everything. I’ll say it…I like country music. I’m a lyrics guy and I like for songs to tell me a story. So if you’ve followed this column from the start, you know that last summer, I met a young indie duo that goes by Whiskey Rose. They were here in my hometown for a three day festival with the likes of Brad Paisley and Hank Williams Jr. I was working at a TV station at the time and was able to meet Kristen Kuiper and Skye Claire at a VIP event and again when they came into a taping at the station. These ladies couldn’t be sweeter and they’ve been working hard over the past year to try and make a real name for themselves. So it’s nice to bring you the news that last week, Whiskey Rose released their first EP, “Don’t Slow Me Down”. I’ve been saying since I met them that the time is coming for these two, so it’s really great to see things start to happen for them. Good for you, girls. Congratulations. I’ll look forward to catching up with you this summer.
To download “Don’t Slow Me Down” and catch up with Whiskey Rose, go to their website, www.whiskeyrosemusic.com
Thoughts? Comments? Leave them below or follow me on Twitter @THElukenorris. And once again, stay tuned for the all-new Binge Sportscast, debuting later this week right here at Binge Media. Until next time.
Welcome to the October 12th edition of “Working the Weekend with Luke”. I’ve got a little bit of everything this week. I read a book. I actually went to the movies this week. Yes, it was the movie version of the book I read. Bet you can guess what it was without looking at the title of this week’s column. I went to a concert last night, and of course, I’ve got the next entry in the trilogy countdown. So let’s get to it.
GONE GIRL-THE NOVEL
I haven’t read anything this good (I mean, besides all the great weekly columns here at Binge Media) since The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series. The way Gillian Flynn constructs this bizarre series of events is done to absolute perfection. I’m not big on spoilers so I won’t give anything away, but there is so much to this book that I wasn’t expecting. First, you find yourself laughing more than you think you would, but in the best way possible. But the best part is that for the first half of the book, you develop a mindset about how the novel will progress and then just get completely blindsided. I couldn’t put it down. I started it on Wednesday night, getting through 112 pages before I went to sleep, and I read the remaining 300 pages on Thursday, the last ten in a passenger seat on the way to the 9:50 showing of…….
GONE GIRL-THE FILM
He may have already been, but if he wasn’t before, David Fincher has become my favorite director. He’s directed so many of my favorites anyway, from Seven to Fight Club to The Social Network, and he’s got another winner in Gone Girl. It’s rare when a movie can really stay true to the novel, but it was done here. I really dig that Gillian Flynn wrote the screenplay as well, as I’ve always believed this should be done more, as nobody can write the characters better than the person who created them. Her words added to Fincher’s brilliance and the chilling score of Reznor and Ross makes for one hell of a movie. David Fincher is the closest thing my generation gets to Alfred Hitchcock. That’s right, you heard me. Again, I’m not big on spoilers, so it’s difficult to write too much. What I can tell you is that the directing, the writing, and the casting are just about perfect.
A NIGHT WITH WHISKEY ROSE
About three months ago, I wrote a piece on a new country duo, Whiskey Rose. If you missed that, go ahead and click HERE to introduce yourself or just to revisit my own introduction to these lovely ladies. I met them a few months back when they were here for the Country Life Music Festival and this weekend, Skye and Kristen were back in town for an even better cause, to raise money for St. Jude. What I really enjoy about seeing Whiskey Rose is the simplicity. Two girls, two guitars, and two microphones. No lights, no lasers, just great music that even those who don’t particularly listen to country will enjoy, as evidenced by my buddies that came along who never listen to country and had a blast. The girls played for around three hours, a nice combination of a few covers that they put their own spin on and their own original songs, which they write together. One of their newest songs, “I’m Too Pretty To Go To Jail”, was a big hit last night, so much so that they played it twice. I said hello right before they went on and they were nice enough to come and join my table during one of the set breaks and they were just as sweet, personable, and humble as I remembered them to be. If you haven’t heard of Whiskey Rose, believe me, you will. Nice to see you again last night, ladies. I look forward to catching up with you again down the road. For more info on this dynamic duo, head over to whiskeyrosemusic.com.
TRILOGY COUNTDOWN
#10-THE INFERNAL AFFAIRS TRILOGY-IF YOU MISSED IT, CLICK HERE
#9-THE NAKED GUN TRILOGY-IF YOU MISSED IT, CLICK HERE
#8-THE LECTER TRILOGY-IF YOU MISSED IT, CLICK HERE
#7-THE MAN WITH NO NAME TRILOGY-IF YOU MISSED IT, CLICK HERE
#6-THE KARATE KID TRILOGY-IF YOU MISSED IT, CLICK HERE
#5-THE BACK TO THE FUTURE TRILOGY-IF YOU MISSED IT, CLICK HERE
#4-THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY-IF YOU MISSED IT, CLICK HERE
#3-THE TOY STORY TRILOGY-IF YOU MISSED IT, CLICK HERE
#2-THE ORIGINAL STAR WARS TRILOGY
STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, RETURN OF THE JEDI
Is there really anything that I could go into detail about that you don’t already know. It’s Star Wars for crying out loud. So for the #2 entry in the trilogy countdown, instead of listing all of the awesomeness that is this trilogy (that would take way too long), here’s a few pics from the only real Star Wars trilogy. Seriously, don’t even pretend that you liked the prequels, outside of maybe the last half hour of Episode III and Samuel L. Jackson’s purple lightsaber and the small hope that he might say “May the force be with you, muthafucka.”
A NEW HOPE
I’ve always loved this scene. Obi-Wan proves that he was always the teacher, even if at that moment, Vader doesn’t quite realize it.
Okay, let’s just get this out of the way. A kiss for luck. Gross. That’s either George Lucas not thinking ahead or being a really perverted individual.
I really don’t have a witty comment for this. It’s just to let you know that I was done talking about the first movie.
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
If only we all had a mean little green man to guide us through life.
“What do you mean you drank all of my Colt 45?” Maybe that’s why Lando can’t think straight and is forever changing his mind, and maybe Boba is always too drunk to actually do his job. Seriously, if you really think about it, he’s the worst bounty hunter ever.
“I love you.”
“I know.”
BADASS!
Arguably the biggest “oh damn” moment in movie history.
The same look I get when any stranger I ever meet tells me that they’re my father. And seriously people, if you’re going to be unoriginal, at least get the line right. Vader never says “Luke, I am your father.” Google it.
RETURN OF THE JEDI
The scene that sped up the sexual awakening for so many young boys. No, I’m talking about Leia in the bikini. Take your fat guy fetish somewhere else sickies.
Until Jar Jar Binks came along, the most annoying characters in the Star Wars universe. But at least they were helpful.
Nothing funny to say here. This is just the best scene of the entire trilogy. The final showdown between father and son is done perfectly. The camera angles are fantastic, but what really makes this scene is the musical score. It honestly gives me goosebumps every single time I watch it.
Dad doing the right thing. “If I can’t kill my son, then there’s no way that I’m going to let you.”
Come on, admit it. You still know it doesn’t look right when Luke takes the helmet off and his dad isn’t black.
“But I saw you kiss Luke on numerous occasions. Like, really kiss him.”
Just so you can put back into your brain that Hayden Christiansen does NOT belong in this shot.
I know I made a few jokes, but in all sincerity, the original trilogy is simply fantastic. The originality and the great storytelling makes for a great cinematic experience and these movies will continue to be discussed forever. Are you a Luke guy or a Han guy? Are you a C-3PO guy or an R2-D2 guy? Who shot first? And on and on and on. I lived for these movies as a kid, as did millions of other kids. They tried so hard to ruin the legacy with the prequels and who the hell knows what we’re in for with the next trilogy, but standing on its own, it’s hard to get better than the original Star Wars trilogy.
Okay, I know that was a lot to deal with this week, but I hope you enjoyed it. Come back next week for the final entry in the trilogy countdown. Think you can guess what it is? Take a shot below or follow me and tweet @THElukenorris.
And as always, here’s your Beverly Hills, 90210 clip of the week. I choose…..
Every once in a while I come across something that just subconsciously ends up in my hands. Before I know it I’m at the register being handed a receipt. While all of this is going on I am just staring at what I have. It doesn’t matter how much it is. It doesn’t matter if my children need clothes. It must be mine. It WILL be mine.
This was the exact scenario for the STAR WARS 16-Month Oversized Calendar. The second I laid eyes on it I knew Daddy was getting himself something special for Christmas. The artwork is incredible, though uncredited. Seriously, not one mention of any artist(s) anywhere on the actual calendar. Some quick internet searches came back with nothing as well. I usually wouldn’t care about who does the art on a mass-produced calendar but this there are more than a few pages of this thing that will be hanging on my wall in frames when the year is over.
That leads to another great thing about these pics, the “calendar” section of the pages is perforated so they’re easy to tear off. You’re left with the artwork, ready for display. All the sheets are individual also so there’s no choosing which side of the page you want framed.
The concept of the pictures is pretty awesome. Each shot has a close-up on one character from the STAR WARS universe and the memorable moment they’re involved with reflecting through their eyes, visor, helmet, or entire face (for the C-3P0 pic). This leads to some great images of lesser promoted characters and their involvement with iconic scenes. Almost all of them are pulled from the original trilogy too, which is always a plus for my taste.
Making STAR WARS feel fresh and unique any more is a tough task. This thing does it 12 times in a row and makes you remember some classic events in a whole new way.
Rating: 10/10
I included some shots of my favorite months below.