Live from Hackensack, New Jersey (no extra missile here, Luthor, take that!) comes the Wages of Cinema!! 

LOOK! Up in the sky: it's a bird, it's a plane, no it's... discourse!! 

Jack and Korey watch the first five Superman movies!  Yep, even Supergirl.  (We start off for about the first ten to fifteen minutes talking about what led up to us doing this gigantic episode- and why Superman Returns is decidedly *not* part of the discussion).  SPOILERS are more powerful than a locomotive, but we got em here anyway, so be warned! Hope you are all as charmed by our discussion as we all were by Christopher Reeve (Mark Pillow as Nuclear Man... not so much).  

Also a major shout out is given at the jump to Guest Star Matt Catania (of https://mattthecatania.wordpress.com) who inspired this episode in part.  And apologies in advance for some background noise, but it's hotter than that Krypton-Energizer sun out there so we needed the AC. 

Dun Dun-dun-dun-dun, DUNDUNDUN!  

Movies discussed:

SUPERMAN (1978) (Richard Donner)
SUPERMAN II (1980) (Richard Lester and Richard Donner)
SUPERMAN III (1983) (Richard Lester)
SUPERGIRL (1984) (Jeannot Swarzc)
SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE (1987)

email is wagesofcinema@gmail.com

Episode 163: The SUPERMAN Franchise (1978 - 1987)

The Purge has to come to an end... but did it have to be like this?

Jack and Korey saw the fifth movie in the Purge franchise from Jason Blum, James DeMonaco and Michael Bay, full of violence and grimness and failed immigration policies...  How did it go?  Listen to find out (spoilers 40 minutes in fyi).  

Episode 164: THE FOREVER PURGE (2021)

spoilers begin 25 minutes in 

How does Marvel do a gigantic Wuxia influenced adaptation of a series that origibly was inspired by Bruce Lee?  Well, let's just say Marvel is gonna Marvel, but if you got the star of nearly all of Wong Kar Wai's films (he was in Hero too we neglected to mention in the eoisode), how can you go wrong?

Jack, Korey and Guest Star Matt saw Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings 

visit Matt at https://mattthecatania.wordpress.com

Episode 167: Marvel's SHANG-CHI & THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS

whoa. sandworms. you hate em, right?  well, here at the Wages of Cinema we just got back from riding a mean mother sandworm and boy are our arms and joints and hips tired and we're here to tell you all about it!  Oh, wait, ok  ::holds heads:: we had too much spice or something.  I (Jack) meant we recorded our thoughts in Denis Villeneuve's DUNE - part one (and fingers crossed they make part two) - and SPICY SPOILERS begin 38 minutes in.  Join us, also Andrew from House Birchenough and Korey from House Trash Panda, as we dive deep into all things from costumes to black tar baths to the value of Stellan Skargard. and yes, David Lynch and Star Wars come up (maybe at one point in the same sentence!)  

wagesofcinema@gmail.com

Episode 168: DUNE (part 1) (2021)

Organic and/or Mechanical Web-shooter SPOILERS will be springing out this way and that from many parts of the body you don't even know you had at 23:30 minutes in.  Good?  Cool!  Friendly Neighborhood Podcasting continues! 

So, how to make sense of a world where characters from the multi-verse(s) of Spider-Man films come into play in one big blow-out Reunion special like No Way Home?  Is there any sense to be made, or should we all just come in and coast on the vibes that come with Alfred Molina and Willem Dafoe going to their fullest acting selves(and yes Jamie Foxx and Rhys Ifans and Thomas Hayden Church apparently too, though the latter two may not even notice till much later in the film WOOPS is that a spoiler let's move right along SWING TO NEXT POINT)?  How about we just recognize that Jack, Trash-Panda Korey, Andrew, and Guest Star Matt of the Matt the Catania blog (link below) have been through a lot of these bad-boy movies and know what they're talking about.... especially Jack who is the only one who knows what Electro was all about in Amazing Spider-Man 2?  but lets stop digressing and get to this big brand spanking new review!  

Visit Matt at https://mattthecatania.wordpress.com
visit us at https://twitter.com/wagesofcinema 
and email is wagesofcinema@gmail.com

Episode 171: Marvel's SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME

Mr. Anderson..... (cough cough) ok we've done the impression long enough.  So, what's it like to get plugged back in to a franchise?  What kind of a series have the Wachowskis given us up to this point, and is this fourth time around (with sister Lana, minus Lily) the one that brings it back to the greatness of the original?  What does going back to the well even mean?  And why does Jack bring up Free Guy AND Gremlins 2 in a review that really calls to mind (for Korey) Seed of Chucky?  oh no, Kansas isn't going bye bye for us yet, folks!  We have a lot to say in this chock a block SPOILER FILLED episode (seriously we go into it right away), and you can relax as the Smith impression goes away after the start.... or does it??  We also read a fan's tweet that happened to come as we recorded - so make sure if you have any thoughts visit us @ wagesofcinema on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.  

Episode 172: THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS (and the Matrix Franchise)

It's here!  At last!  Were you.... even asking for it?  Well, it comes but once a year, at any rate (though in this case it's an Oscar/awards season that technically takes films from March 2021 to December of 2021, so no Judas and the Black Messiah even though that was 2021 February oh hell go listen to our last year podcast for that one, episode... you can figure it out pretty easy, we think).  We, Jack and Korey, dissect and look at the films that got nominated for Best Picture of the year - and, as sometimes is the case, Jack saw more than Korey did (not that our beloved Trash Panda doesn't have some strong opinions, whether she finished the movies or not!) - but we are only (only?) talking about SEVEN of the films(!)  We will go more in depth about films that we loved, including our picks for best of the year (some overlap to these films, some not) in part two.

For some help, here is a breakdown of what we discussed here if you'd like to jump ahead (with some clips scattered about here and there, and SPOILERS we are sure throughout):
1 - DON'T LOOK UP (6:00)
2 - CODA (19:50)
3 - KING RICHARD - (38:16)
4 - NIGHTMARE ALLEY  - (50:18)
5 - THE POWER OF THE DOG - (1:07:00)
6 - BELFAST - (1:22:26)
7 - DUNE (1:35:00 - please check out Episode 168 for a full review of that film)
wagesofcinema@gmail.com

Episode 173: 2022 Academy Award Nominations and Best of the Year (Part 1)

MAMBO!  LISTO!  GO! 
As Poe Dameron might say... *Somehow*, the Wages of Cinema ranking of the best of the year/Oscar nominations talk... has returned(!)  
Jack and Korey knew this would be one of the longer episodes, but certainly THIS long?  Where's the eggplant emoji when you need it?  But when you have such a wonderful crop of films, from all across the world and over so many genres, from Japanese contemplative Chekhov character drama to epic Spielberg-Kushner musical to Nicolas Cage making us (i.e. Korey) cry, to everything Bradley Cooper and Tom Waits did in Licorice Pizza, when looking at the best of the best of 2021 it was quite a year!  So, strap in, make sure your speakers are loud (or if you're going to sleep, pretty soft cause sometimes we can get loud without any help from volume adjusting, woops), and settle in for a discussion of the rest (re: other 3) best picture nominees and Jack and Korey's top 10 films of the year ranking!
here's timecodes if you want to skip: 
1) DRIVE MY CAR (1:00)
2) PARALLEL MOTHERS (14:00)
3) THE SOUVENIR PART 2 (15:18)
4) SPENCER (19:54)
5) SHIVA BABY (31:21)
6) THE LAST DUEL (with a cameo from HOUSE OF GUCCI) (35:00) 
7) RED ROCKET (44:40)
8) THE GREEN KNIGHT (53:13)
9) PIG (58:10)
10) THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD (1:12:05)
11) LICORICE PIZZA (1:25:01)
12) WEST SIDE STORY 2021 (1:42:50)
wagesofcinema@gmail.com

Episode 173.5: 2022 Academy Award Nominations and Best of the Year (Part 2)

Riddle us this, listeners: What is a thing that flies around and never comes down?  It's.... ah, screw it, we were never good at riddles anyway.  But what we are pretty good at at the Wages of Cinema is breaking down a franchise that has been retrofitting and reformatting and re-suiting (and re-taping as it turns out) a story and characters and world that's been going since 1939!  What does Bob Kane have to say about how deeply dankly dark his creation has become?  Or.... nah, screw that, too, how about Bill Finger?  He may be the one seeking vengeance in the afterlife!  But we digress....

This is the first episode in a while that is just Jack and Andrew going on, at length, about a new movie (someone may be hiding in the shadows here, or is he/she THE shadows? mwahaha).  SPOILERS be at 33 minutes in, featuring a little clip from a classic animated series between Ed and Bats.  Also, Jack reads a recently discovered review left for us on Apple Podcasts (thanks so much!) and you should, too, if you'd care to!  You can even mail us a note as long as it's not in a bunch of indecipherable code.  We have only so many butlers who can do that stuff.  
wagesofcinema@gmail.com

Episode 174: THE BATMAN

You see a group of Podcasters, but I see a story.... of recording a podcast.  But maybe in another universe we are playing Bridge or in another one we are all fighting on a hockey rink or our very own Guest Star Matt has become Emperor and makes decrees with his Cat Advisor, or maybe there's another where Jack and Korey are.... I don't even want to go there!  

Anyway, Everything, Everywhere All At Once is a spectacle, a science fiction mind-(bleep), a story keeping a relationship together and understanding (for a mother) what having a daughter can truly mean sometimes, and the Daniels show once again they make films like no one else.  join Jack, Trash Panda Korey, Andrew and Matt (is he a Guest Star in this particular universe) as we dissect what it is about this movie that makes it...so MUCH of a movie.  (spoilers come 28 minutes in)

(visit Matt on his blog at https://mattthecatania.wordpress.com) 

Episode 175: EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE, ALL AT ONCE

Is it Animal, Mineral or Vegetable?  Is it a Sam Raimi film or a Marvel production?  As it is in this universe or another universe or the other one where the fingers typing this are actually sentient poodles, it's a combination of the two.  The question of course comes as this: does Marvel Studios, the most successful company currently working within the Hollywood studio system, let a filmmaker who previously made a rival (but sort of friendly rival) studio so successful with their own franchise of Spider-Man movies and kicking into gear the Blockbuster era we still reckon with today?  Does a commercial artist who when let loose can make ferociously entertaining phantasmagorias get to play here?  And what about when [REDACTED] did that to [MAJORLY REDACTED]?  Maybe we just want a passably good time at the movies.... or maybe (swishes hands around) it can be more?!?! 

We - Jack, Andrew, Guest-Star Matt and Trash-Panda Korey - saw Sam Raimi/Kevin Feige/Michael Waldron/Danny Elfman/Cumberbatch's DOCTOR STRANGE TOO.  There are MILD SPOILERS FROM THE BEGINNING (or rather Jack let something slip that is arguably a spoiler), while MAJOR SPOILERS Begin 35 minutes in.  Visit Matt Catania at https://www.mattthecatania.wordpress.com - also visit us at Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram et al.
Wagesofcinema@gmail.com

Episode 176: DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS

Because we at the esteemed Wages of Cinema podcast are all about having the most timely and topical of uh topics, we just watched the new FIRESTARTER (cue up Prodigy song maybe you remember if you're under 30- but not older than 54), the new movie that is burning up the box office charts!  And by burning up, we mean that they burned up their entire budget worth of money because they're not making that back!  

Now, you may have some questions, like, firstly, 'Jack, why are you making me read this, I have better things to do like water my grass or tend to my wallpaper,' and I get that.  You may be wondering why or how or when there was even a *new* Firestarter movie.  Say what, now?  Wasn't there already the 1984 adaptation of Stephen King's best-seller starring Drew Barrymore, Martin Sheen and Academy Award Winner (TM) George C. Scott as a Native American man named John Rainbird?  And wait, what?  And what about the Firestarter sequel?  Rest assured, we didn't get to that one in this episode.  

So, here it is almost a week after it's initial release, a look/autopsy of the burnt corpse that is the new FIRESTARTER currently in theaters as well as a comparison with the 84 film, with hosts Jack and Trash-Panda Korey (spoilers abound, but most important.... Jack only read 30 pages of the book.  Will he act like he knows more than he's talking about?  We don't sic the Rainbird on the case to find out, but.... okay here it is).
wagesofcinema@gmail.com

Episode 177: FIRESTARTER (1984) vs FIRESTARTER (2022)

Is Elvis the King of Rock and Roll?  He disputed that (maybe, probably, when he was sober) himself I suppose.  He was also so many things to so many people - and in the case of the two movies we have to talk about here in this new VERSUS episode of the Wages of Cinema, where we watch the slightly obscure John Carpenter (!) directed ELVIS starring Kurt Russell and Season Hubley (as Priscilla) and the new Baz Lurhmann directed biopic of the same name starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks (as Colonel Tom Parker, who was neither a Colonel nor a Tom nor a Parker), it still may be unsettled.  What isn't unsettled for us is the lack of the Fool's Gold Sandwich!  And apparently Elvis had a pet monkey named Scatter??  We didn't even get to that in the episode!  Maybe The real Fool's Gold are the friends we met along the way....  Oh, and did you know Elvis played a character as an actor once called.... John Carpenter?  Wild world...

Anyway, here is the review, spoilers abound for both films so don't listen if you don't want to know what happened to Elvis, oh, wait... But seriously, watch the movies first.  Maybe, if you want. Movies are good, thank you, very much (Jack does the Elvis lip, which he could do since he was a tiny child, but we digress). 
wagesofcinema@gmail.com

Episode 178: ELVIS (2022) vs ELVIS (1979)

(spoilers 12 minutes in)

(Korg): Gather around, kids. Once upon a time, there were four industrious, thoughtful, not unwell or poorly fragrant people who had thoughts on movies, and they shared them in forceful but polite conversation with one another on a strange, easy-to-use application called a (checks notes) Podcast!  The four were Jack, a big, gentle man with a loud laugh, cinema knowledge and (sometimes) bad jokes and puns (notice how he tries to make a reference to Dr Jane Foster and the hammer here to a now retired CW show and you'll get the idea); Andrew, who can break down a plot and why it does or doesn't work better than anyone on the planet; Trash-Panda Korey (hey, that moniker sounds like someone I met and had adventures with a few times, but anyway), who will tell you in no uncertain terms what she thought of a movie up front (good night, everybody!); and, in this case, Miljonir Guest Star Matt (of https://mattthecatania.wordpress.com) who knows practically all there is about the source material of the comics.  Together, they make quite the team, and here, for this Thor Love and Thunder review, they uh... wait, I lost my train of thought.  Oh, right, they take it apart and see what does (and doesn't) work about this *29th* Marvel Cinematic Universe movie film!  Now, forgive me if I rambled, I am still just a head... 

Episode 179: Marvel's THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER

I know what you're thinking: How do those Wages fellers put out so many of those podcast episodes?  You must be looking at us like that thumbnail of M'Baku you see on here just puzzled as to how we can record and put out so many.... Okay okay we get it, you've missed us!  Or... maybe you didn't realize we went away.  We get that, too.  Maybe more so.  Where the hell was I... Oh yeah, podcasting, how does that work?  

We have been away for a spell, but we are happy to be back and talking - and the 'We' here isn't in reference to that other dingbat Marvel character (Venom, remember him?  Oh, right, he's Sony only, I digress), it's to the fact that all four primary Wages co-hosts and guests (Jack, Trash-Panda Korey, Andrew and Guest Star Matt) are assembled to discuss this 392th Marvel Cinematic Universe product, once again co-written and directed by returning champ Ryan Coogler, and... wait, who died in the past two years?  Wow, how will they deal with that?  Funny you ask, Sportsfans, and yes, we do touch on the *New* Black Panther (in the SPOILER section of course, 22 minutes in to the episode if you want to know where to stop or jump to).  

You can visit Matt at https://mattthecatania.wordpress.com - you can find us... wherever they still put out Podcasts (Soundcloud, Spotify, Apple Pod, maybe Amazon Music, how about the old Ham Radio?)  Sit back and listen as we unpack 162 minutes of Feather Serpent goodness (or is it good?  Let's listen....)
(email us at wagesofcinema@gmail.com)

Episode 180: Marvel's BLACK PANTHER - WAKANDA FOREVER

There was a time, if you'll gather round our podcast fire, when you had movie studios looking for anything with Vampires, and as for comic books... well, I guess Men in Black was an exception (we forgot to mention that in the episode so I'm mentioning it here, correction huzzah), but that's actually a good example of what we mean when saying comic books were neither hated or a priority for studios.  They were... there, and easy to ignore.  Why adapt a comic book when there were (gasp) original properties that could be pitched to executives for possible pick up!  Maybe someone would find the next Tarantino, or even the next Usual Suspects!  shrug.  The point is, Vampires were a big deal in the late 90s, on the heels of Bram Stoker's Dracula, Interview with the Vampire and (on TV) Buffy.  

Luckily for us all, or maybe for some of us, David S Goyer stepped up to the plate and made a pitch from a comic character (via Marvel who around that time were verging on bankruptcy and only one property, Howard the Duck, was released by a major studio to that time) who fought and killed Vampires with special ass kicking skills. From what we've read, originally the comic character was white in the 70s.  For the film, action star Wesley Snipes was hired and his take was to be stoic... very very very stoic.  So, that could work, right?  

Jack and Trash-Panda Korey take on not one, or two, but *three* movies with Snipes as the titular BLADE from 1998 to 2004.  Did we like them?  Mostly!  to varying extents!  

films discussed:
BLADE (Directed by Stephen Norrington) (1998)
BLADE II (Directed by Guillermo del Toro) (2002)
BLADE: TRINITY (Directed by David s Goyer) (2004)

oh and SPOILERS THROUGHOUT

Episode 181: The BLADE Trilogy

Whoa!  This past year went by pretty fast, eh?  Seems like it went the speed of a Lydia Tar musical concerto - or a Pete Mitchell flight (who's he?  Look it up, it's easy to do)- or an Elvis wiggle - or an Evelyn dildo hot-dog finger fight!  Or... okay, we didn't go with the obvious of women talking so fast (which they don't really don't do, that's not our problem with that movie, or do we have one...)  Point is, we finally come to look at the nominees for Best Picture of the year for the upcoming 95th Academy Awards!  This is part 1 where we break down the various nominated actors, writers, producers, and why RRR didn't get a nomination in foreign film (nooootu!)  You can also hear Jack and Korey break down WOMEN TALKING and Jack just got back from ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT 2022 (and boy are his arms... okay we can't even make a joke about amputation, can we?) 

---Stay tuned for part 2 where we break down our top 10 films of the last year 2022!  wagesofcinema@gmail.com
(this episode contains mild spoilers for some of the films, and there's clips from the trailer of Women Talking, music cues from All Quiet, a clip of Austin Butler's speech from Elvis, and a clip from the Riz Ahmed and Allison Williams live reading of the nominees - plus the public domain Duke Ellington "Jubilee Stomp" musical bumper for our show)

Episode 182: 2023 Oscar Nominees & our top 10 of the Year (part 1)

And now for the.... well, you gotta listen to hear one of Jack's all time major blunders (which he kept in the final recording, for the record!)  Here are the top 10 films of the year for Jack and Korey (featuring time-stamps if you'd like to jump to a particular part of the talk); there ARE SPOILERS FOR SALE!  SPOILERS FOR SALE!  Okay we'll stop now.... 

JACK: 
10) FIRE OF LOVE (6 mins in)
9) THE NORTHMAN (10:10)
8) Guillermo del Toro's PINOCCHIO 
7) GLASS ONION (1 min 12 seconds in, first film discussed)
6) MARCELL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON (36:36)
5) THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN (1:34:02, last film discussed)
4) TAR (51:56)
3) ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODHSED (1:11:19)
2) THE FABELMANS (1:21:01)
1) EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE (1:17:03, also check out our full review, episode 175)

KOREY:
10) GLASS ONION 
9) THE NORTHMAN 
8) PEARL (19:20)
7) THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING (29:30)
6) ARMAGEDDON TIME (43:05)
5) MARCELL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON 
4) THE FABELMANS
3) RRR (1:02:01)
2) EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
1) THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN

----let us know your top 10!  wagesofcinema@gmail.com; instagram, facebook, twitter....

Episode 182.5: 2023 Oscar Nominees & our top 10 of the Year (part 2)

What is this.... A CENTER FOR PODCASTS!?!  

Jack, Trash-Panda Korey, Andrew and Matt the Conqueror saw the thirty... third!  Or is it thirty-first?  Who keeps count?  In another multiverse, there are 3 movies!  Or 333!  Anyway, we saw the latest movie from those worker ants at Marvel (The Queen is always Michelle Pfeiffer, sorry Kevin Feige), which finds Scott Lang, his daughter Cassie, the Van Dynes and Pyms getting sucked into a realm where they meet all kinds of strange creatures, Bill Murray, and the 2nd appearance by Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror.  He seems like a nice guy, just look at.... those scars designed like tear drops... uh oh.  

Visit us at wagesofcinema@gmail.com and visit Matt at https://mattthecatania.wordpress.com for more thoughts on the movie and other pop culture Matt-er-ephemera!

Episode 183: Marvel's ANT-MAN & THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA

SUSPIRIAAA-AAAA-AAAAA.... And some of you are saying "wait, didn't you guys *do* a Suspiria episode?"  And by some of you, yes, we mean you, Timmy.  But really, that was so long ago (our "Cinema Immersion Tank" series, which we will link below in the description), some of you weren't born yet!  Okay, some of you were, but did you know what it meant then to be under the spell of a coven of witches out to make their dastardly plans come true through... a Dance studio and major Dance department putting on a show with elaborate avant-garde choreography all to entice an admiring but unsuspecting member into the podcast fold?  Maybe we've said too much.... ::INSERT LOUD ITALIAN GOBLIN AND/OR THOM YORKE MUSIC HERE::

"Bagel" Jack and Trash-Panda Korey talk about both the Dario Argento and Luca Guadagnino directed features from 1977 and 2018 respectively, what works and doesn't work about both, and why Jack thought of both Texas Chain Saw Massacre and American Horror Story in both cases.  SPOILERS ABOUND so be warned ahead of time.  The only thing scarier than the final 12 minutes of this podcast, are the previous uh... uh... math is hard, help! ---------------
Andrew's review: https://soundcloud.com/wagesofcinema/episode-642-cinema-immersion-tank-20-suspiria?in=wagesofcinema/sets/cinema-immersion-tank&si=c963de0a435b491cbda232b844c363cf&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing  -------- visit us at Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, email is wagesofcinema@gmail.com - trailers used for fair use.

Episode 184: SUSPIRIA (1977) VS SUSPIRIA (2018)

Have we been gone a *long* time?  Sometimes it feels that way.  As long as the Guardians?  They were in a.... couple of things last year, apparently!  Were we?  We'd....  have to double check our files for that.  Point is, the Guardians of the Galaxy, those lovable rapscallions Star Lord, Gamora, Rocket, Drax, Mantis, that guy with the arrow, and the Partridge in the Pear Tree, they're all here!  And James Gunn is back at it again with his spectacular direction, Marvel Studios's knack for special effects, Animal Torture!  Wait.... yeah, we read that correctly (SPOILERS BEGIN 15:30 IN BUT REALLY ARE THROUGHOUT, DON'T LISTEN IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILER RACCOONS BITING OFF YOUR FACE!  ... perhaps we went too extreme, but did James Gunn?  Listen to the podcast to find out).  We are joined by Andrew and Death Star Matt, who you can find at https://mattthecatania.wordpress.com - Hope you enjoy, this was fun to talk about and to dive in on everything Guardians-related (did Jack also make a needless On the Border comparison?  What can you say, On the Border is great... we digress).

Episode 185: Marvel's GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 3

(SPIDERSPOILERS 12 MINS IN)

How about those Canon Events, huh?  Time to dig in to another chapter in the saga of that kid from Brooklyn who is the one and only Spider-Man, Miles Morales... in his Spider-Verse.  But what about that Gwen Stacy, what's she been up to?  I don't mean how some of you think of Gwen Stacy, I mean the Verse where she's Spider-Gwen.... Or, wait, what about the verse where there's Miguel OHara (aka "Spider-Man 2099"), who has the controls to what makes the whole Spider-Verse tic? (Minor Spoiler, he thinks that name, and what he actually calls it, are both stupid)... as for Peter Parker and his son, uh oh...  This is continuing on the momentum of Into the Spider-Verse, one of the more innovative films of the last two decades of any medium or genre, so do Lord and Miller and the trio of directors (including Kemp Powers) bring the goods again?  Is it animated like you're wandering into four of five museums?  Will you see a Spider-Horse?  listen to Spider-Jack, Trash Panda Korey, and Spider Guest Matt expound on all things Spider!  (and visit Matt at his blog https://mattthecatania.wordpress.com)  


Episode 186: SPIDER-MAN - ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (2023)

::WHOOSH THERE ARE SPOILERS 38 MINUTES IN (and a bit of Kevin Smith telling a Superman story) SO GOTTA GO NOW!!  WHOOSH!  Heard me go WHOOSH, that's my speeding-past sound!  WHOOSH AGAIN!:: 

Jack, Andrew and Matt saw The Flash.  Did we see it so you don't have to?  Or, in this timeline, did we have fun?  Are there now two Jacks, one who praises the film and one who criticizes it with a morose boredom?  Or are there now two Andrews, one who is Andrew, and one who is still.... Andrew!  Ahh!  And then there's Matt... Matt already contains multitudes (and even Mattitudes), so we don't have to bifurcate or trifurcate or any-cate him here, he's the Guest Star and has many insights per usual!  (Did you wonder about Reverse Flash, for example... yeah, we had to be educated on him a bit).  Point is, the new FLASH is out, with Ezra Miller (do they bring, uh, 'it' or are they obnoxious - or sincere!  or both!  We're in a Schrodinger's Bat-Cave looking at this stuff, you know), and Michael Keaton returning after over thirty years (and a Birdman) to put on the cape and cowl.  Did we mention also the FAN SERVICE!  It's there, if you know where to look for it... ::Chortle:: 

Ok, enough jokes, time for us to get into the proper timeline for our review!  And visit Matt at https://mattthecatania.wordpress.com for more Guest Star Blog Thoughts!  

(Also featuring clips from the 1967 Flash Cartoon, and the 2023 trailer, Fair Use)

Episode 187: THE FLASH (2023)

TITLE FIGHT!  Wait, no, that's another weekend... Or, is it?  To be fair and sure, the hype around this supposed "double" feature, which is kind of cracked given that one (albeit PG-13) Family comedy-fantasy is something that is for everyone, while the other is a... made for grown-ups, highly cerebral, politically provocative and visually and intellectually audacious spectacle... but isn't that also what's at heart with Ken and his Patriarchy of Horses?  Hmm?     

Seriously, Jack and Korey did go to see these two films, not so you don't have to but so you can go right away and see them!  Matter of fact, it may be best if you see Greta Gerwig's BARBIE starring Margot Robie, Ryan Gosling and Alan (he's just Alan, okay, he's Michael Cera), and Christopher Nolan's OPPENHEIMER Starring Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr, and the most eye-popping way Nola could work in "I am become death, destroyer of worlds" (un)imaginable before listening to this episode if possible as we go into SPOILERS right away.  But if you want to listen to just one or the other discussion in large part, we've included some time-stamps.  Digressions include: the time Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies were a double feature; what it means to be "Muppety," and Korey explains Neo-Realism in politics (which is *fascinating*)

Is the Wages of Cinema Kenough?  Let's see....

PREAMBLE TALK: 1 Minute to 12:10 in
BARBIE: 12:17
OPPENHEIMER: 43:46

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(Song is Ryan Gosling's performance of "Push" used for Fair Use as an example of his.... Kennness)

Episode 188: "BARBENHEIMER" - Greta Gerwig's BARBIE and Christopher Nolan's OPPENHEIMER (2023)

So, another Marvel movie, by Marvel, called The Marvels! like a turkey we go Marvel-Marvel all over your eardrums!  We went to the latest Ip collision of Captain Marvel, characters from Wandavision and Ms Marvel, and... other things.  There are things to like about it... we think(?)  Point is, you got to tap your bracelets together and transport yourself into Jack, Trash-Panda Korey and Guest Star Matt to talk all about this latest film with actors and CGI and sets sometimes!  We get into Spoilers at about 8 minutes or so in so be warned and stuff!  

and last but not least, visit Matt for more of his in depth super Comic-booky thoughts at https://mattthecatania.wordpress.com 

Episode 189: Marvel's THE MARVELS (2023)

What do Hitchcock, Kung-fu Panda, Revenge of the Sith, Tarkovsky and They Live all have in common?  Nothing.  Except, maybe, that the power of artistic expression influences a bearded guy who looks and sounds like he's done possibly some drugs... by that we mean the drugs of KNOWLEDGE.  And analysis.  And ideologies.  And Coca-Cola.  

Join us for a discussion of Slavoj Zizek, and the two films directed by Sophie Fiennes that feature him most prominently: THE PERVERTS GUIDE TO CINEMA and THE PERVERT'S GUIDE TO IDEOLOGY.

Episode 23.3: SLAVOJ ZIZEK - Cinema & Ideology

And now let's talk MOVIES!  Jack kind of dominates this one - Andrew talks about Grand Hotel, though he's seen a couple other films Jack has so he chimes in - and it's the wide variety we like to bring to Wages of Cinema, from Japanese monster movie to resistance war movie to broad parody to Patrick Swayze kicking everyone's ass and the latest from Tim Burton, Mark Wahlberg, and that guy who stirred up that little dust over at Sundance about that movie named after that other movie but it's not a remake, gee what was it called....

1) GODZILLA VS MEGALON (1973)
2) THE BEATLES: EIGHT DAYS A WEEK - TOURING YEARS (2016)
3) GRAND HOTEL (1937)
4) TRAIN TO BUSAN (2016)
5) THE AGE OF SHADOWS (2016)
6) YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974)
7) DEEPWATER HORIZON (2016)
8) ROADHOUSE (1989)
9) THE BIRTH OF A NATION (2016)
10) MRS. PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN (2016)
11) HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT

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Clips:
Duke Ellington's "Jubilee Stomp" (public domain)
Train to Busan trailer excerpt (for fair use)

Episode 64.1: THE BEATLES - GRAND HOTEL - TRAIN TO BUSAN - ROADHOUSE - THE BIRTH OF A NATION

"What does it have to do with 'Nam?!  What does anything have to do with NAM?!"! - The Dude (Jeff Lebowski) to Walter in The Big Lebowski

What indeed....

Jack, Andrew, and that lovable supplementary scamp Guest Star Matt (Matthew Catania) went over to see the second installment in the new Warner Brothers/Legendary MonstersVerse franchise (first the 2014 Godzilla, now this, guess what comes next?)  How does it work to put 1973 Vietnam-era action and mayhem and US militarism in the midst of THE most monsterrific island in the world?  Well... how do you think it turns out?  John C. Reilly pops up of course and knows all!  

We reviewed Kong: Skull Island, and if you listen closely you can hear some 'Nam era tracks in the background (specifically CCR, Black Sabbath, The Hollies and David Bowie), plus a clip from the film and a segment from an infamous Nostalgia Critic episode at the 35:45 minute mark, which is meant to signal SPOILERS! 

wagesofcinema@gmail.com
https://mattthecatania.wordpress.com

Episode 79: KONG: SKULL ISLAND

First, in this end-of-May episode 3 part blow-out, Andrew and Jack read some messages from some listeners (one of whom you may know as a certain Guest Star who's name rhymes with 'Hat').  A lot of this concerns the Alien movies, most especially Covenant which we reviewed episode 85.  This ends at 21:55

Then, Jack and Andrew talk MORE Comic book movies that are NOT adapted from DC or Marvel comics - remember, there are more comic book movies out there that aren't the big two (we previously talked about this in episode 48.3 last year).  We go from talking sources that were comic strips, underground comics, and a Manga.  Andrew's choices are wholesome.  Jack's are too.  Sometimes.  

Thanks for listening, and send any messages to wagesofcinema@gmail.com; https://facebook.com/wagesofcinema or https://www.twitter.com/wagesofcinema

1) MEN IN BLACK (1 and 3; 1997 and 2012)
2) THE PEANUTS MOVIE (2015)
3) THE ADDAMS FAMILY movies (1991/1993)
4)DICK TRACY (1990)
5) TANK GIRL (1995)
6) PRINCE VALIANT (1954)
7) FRITZ THE CAT (1972)
8) THE PHANTOM (1996)
9) ICHI THE KILLER (2001)

Episode 86.1: More non DC/MARVEL COMIC BOOK MOVIES - MEN IN BLACK - DICK TRACY - THE PHANTOM

You're goddamn right two grown men in their 30's saw the newly released MY LITTLE PONY movie via Hasbro's production company ALLSPARK!  You have no idea how much Jack was chomping at the bit to go see this and fall in love all over again with... oh, wait, sorry, read the notes wrong, that's Andrew, yes, Andrew was the one going for this one, and... Well, how is it?

You'll just have to listen to two grown men who saw this movie on a weeknight at the local cineplex with no one else in the theater to find out.. and no, it's not dirty quite like that (though if you stay till the end of the episode, there's a bit we've included to explain what the term "Clopper" means, via the now late Spill.com site).  So join us, won't you, for our dissection into the art that goes into Twilight Sparkle and Applejack and all those other fruffru names and... yeah, My Little Pony.  We made it to episode 99! 

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Clip from Spill excerpt taken from YouTube, as is the trailer for the film, and the 1980's commercial at the 41 minute SPOILER mark!

Episode 99: MY LITTLE PONY - THE MOVIE (2017)

Episode 150: Josephine Decker's SHIRLEY & Spike Lee's DA 5 BLOODS

A podcast that is practically all about MOVIES!  Cinema, films, celluloid, digital, whatever you want to call it.  Jack and Andrew are the hosts, and we talk about new movies, classics, cult work, things we've seen and have never seen, special segments about directors and styles and trends, and 'Required Reading' which is about movie books.  And the "Local Vocal" series gives you in-depth interviews with NYC/NJ based filmmakers, actors, artists and musicians.  
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