The Weekly Stuff Podcast #139 - Jonathan & Sean vs. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Awfulness

It’s time for another episode of The Weekly Stuff Podcast with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman, a weekly audio show that explores the worlds of film, television, and video games. You can subscribe for free in iTunes by following this link.

After years of waiting and/or dreading, this weekend, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice finally arrived in theatres…and it is worse than any of us could have possibly imagined. I gave a spoiler-free take on the movie in my written review, but today’s podcast is all about diving into the film in deep, spoiler-y detail, as we pick apart every awful, offensive, boring, baffling, and oftentimes downright disgusting thing about this slow-motion trainwreck of a movie – a film both Sean and I argue is the worst superhero movie ever created.

Strap in, folks. This is a long one.

Enjoy…  

Download and Stream 'The Weekly Stuff' Episode #139 as an MP3

Subscribe for free to 'The Weekly Stuff' in iTunes!

Follow ‘The Weekly Stuff’ on Tumblr!

If you have questions, comments, or concerns about The Weekly Stuff, or would like to write in to the podcast to have your questions read on the show, please e-mail dinochow@jonathanlack.com.

The Weekly Stuff with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman is a weekly audio podcast, and if you subscribe in iTunes, episodes will be delivered automatically and for free as soon as they are released. If you visit www.jonathanlack.com, we also have streaming and downloadable versions of new and archival episodes for your listening pleasure.

Review: "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" - These are not the heroes you're looking for

The eponymous fight in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is the most unpleasant sequence I have suffered through in quite some time. Utterly one-sided, unrelentingly bleak, and violent for the sake of being violent, it is sickening to watch as one iconic American hero is distilled to the most toxic version of his id and made to pound unceasingly on another cultural icon, one who has, for the purposes of this moment, been reduced to the most paper-thin version of himself. There is no meaningful narrative drive towards this moment. There are no stakes that actually matter. There are no motives on display, by Batman or by Superman, that lend any of these actions gravitas or narrative worth. There is only the violence, only the pain, only the misery of watching one supposed hero get beat into righteous submission by another alleged do-gooder. Frank Miller himself would look at this moment and tell the filmmakers to take it down a notch, to imbue these characters with something resembling humanity. Me? I just sat in stunned silence, queasy at the sheer grotesqueness of this moment. Nobody else in the half-full opening-night IMAX auditorium made a sound either. Many had arrived excited, in Batman and Superman t-shirts and apparel. By this point, nobody was reacting to anything on the screen, audibly or otherwise.

By the time that sequence arrives, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has long since started to burst apart at the seams, the unwieldiness of its title reflected in the scattershot, back-and-forth nature of its storytelling. There are good things and bad things on display, inspired creative choices and baffling ones, and as the film moves in aimless circles failing to ever cohere, the offensive outcome of all its narrative dithering can be seen on the horizon well before the movie ever gets there.

Continue reading after the jump...

The Weekly Stuff Podcast #138 - The Batman & Superman Cinematic Countdown Retrospective Spectacular!

It’s time for another episode of The Weekly Stuff Podcast with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman, a weekly audio show that explores the worlds of film, television, and video games. You can subscribe for free in iTunes by following this link.

In the second of our two podcasts this week, we prepare for tomorrow’s release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in one of our biggest episodes ever. First and foremost, we reflect on the entire long, storied history of Batman and Superman on film by counting down, from best to worst, every single theatrical film to star one of the two characters – all 17 of them. From low points like Batman & Robin to high points like Superman The Motion Picture, this countdown is a veritable gamut reflecting the entire history of superhero cinema, and there may be no better way to prepare for Batman v Superman…

…Or maybe there is, as after the countdown finishes, we play one of our favorite Weekly Stuff games, where Sean and I gather all the information we have on this movie from trailers and other marketing, and try to piece together the plot of Batman v Superman, scene by scene, to see if we can make any sense of what has been a horrendously muddled marketing campaign. How close are we to the actual story? We think we’re pretty damn close, but only time will tell, and we can’t wait to see you all back here next week to finally review a movie we’ve been covering for well over 100 episodes now.

Enjoy!  

  

Download and Stream 'The Weekly Stuff' Episode #138 as an MP3

Subscribe for free to 'The Weekly Stuff' in iTunes!

Follow ‘The Weekly Stuff’ on Tumblr!

If you have questions, comments, or concerns about The Weekly Stuff, or would like to write in to the podcast to have your questions read on the show, please e-mail dinochow@jonathanlack.com.

The Weekly Stuff with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman is a weekly audio podcast, and if you subscribe in iTunes, episodes will be delivered automatically and for free as soon as they are released. If you visit www.jonathanlack.com, we also have streaming and downloadable versions of new and archival episodes for your listening pleasure.

The Weekly Stuff Episode #137 - Grab Bag! Game Stories, Civil War Trailer, Indiana Jones 5, PS4.5 Rumors, & much more!

It’s time for another episode of The Weekly Stuff Podcast with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman, a weekly audio show that explores the worlds of film, television, and video games. You can subscribe for free in iTunes by following this link.

To make up for our absence this week, we have two – count ‘em, two – full-length podcasts coming your way this week, with Episode #137 today, and Episode #138 on Wednesday. In this first episode, we dip into a giant grab bag of news and stories, as Jonathan recounts his adventures catching up on Uncharted 2, his first experiences with Pokken Tournament on the Wii U, his love for the Bravely Second demo on 3DS, and a decade-in-the-making mea culpa for Nintendo after an unfortunate accident with a Wiimote. Sean continues to talk about Digimon Story Cybersleuth, and after discussing some recent movies and TV shows, we both move on to dissecting the new trailer for Captain America: Civil War, the announcement of Indiana Jones 5, and the can of worms opened by the reports that Sony is developing an upgraded version of the PlayStation 4, unofficially named the PS4.5.

Enjoy, and join us on Wednesday when we prepare for the release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in a big episode where we count down every single theatrical Batman and Superman, and then try to predict the plot, scene by scene, of the new movie. It’s a fun one.

TIME CHART:

Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:03:37

Jonathan’s Game Stories: 0:03:37 – 0:26:20

Sean’s Game Stories: 0:26:20 – 0:41:29

TV Chat (Supergirl and Daredevil): 0:41:29 – 0:52:11

Movie Chat (The Witch, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Zootopia): 0:52:11 – 1:13:12

Civil War Trailer & Superhero Chat: 1:13:12 – 1:34:22

Indiana Jones 5 Announcement: 1:34:22 – 1:44:00

PS VR & PS4.5 Reports: 1:44:00 – 2:09:05

Download and Stream 'The Weekly Stuff' Episode #137 as an MP3

Subscribe for free to 'The Weekly Stuff' in iTunes!

Follow ‘The Weekly Stuff’ on Tumblr!

If you have questions, comments, or concerns about The Weekly Stuff, or would like to write in to the podcast to have your questions read on the show, please e-mail dinochow@jonathanlack.com.

The Weekly Stuff with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman is a weekly audio podcast, and if you subscribe in iTunes, episodes will be delivered automatically and for free as soon as they are released. If you visit www.jonathanlack.com, we also have streaming and downloadable versions of new and archival episodes for your listening pleasure.