Media Ghouls

August is the month of Super Mario this year at Media Ghouls! Ian and Justin kick things off this week by running down their personal lists of the plumber's top 5 games. Opinions clash a lot more than the Ghouls expected here as the Nintendo icon's 2D, 3D, and RPG games are discussed and remembered. Justin educates today's youth on the now extinct K-Mart and Ian recounts the very sad weekend he chose to rent "Mario's Time Machine." Stay tuned for more Mario next week!

On this month's Disney episode, the gang discusses the oft-forgotten ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE. Listen in as they discuss Disney's 2001 attempt at an action adventure film. The gang also explores early internet flash games, Miyazaki films, and forgotten princesses. Also, Disney shows an astonishing ability to bring racism into a film about a fictional culture.

After many months of anticipation, the Media Ghouls event of the summer is here! Ian, Justin, Nando, and Phil bring you their review of the classic role playing game, Final Fantasy IX. In this comprehensive retrospective, the Ghouls go over the production, story, gameplay, music, and legacy of this beloved title. While the others get caught up in their nostalgia for a bygone era, Phil recounts his first time experience with the game for this episode. We hope you enjoy this labor of love as we try our best to express why this one means so very much to us.

The Ghouls take a look at one of the more recent and politically relevant horror franchises this week with their review of The Purge. Ian is pretty lukewarm on this recommendation of Justin's, but does acknowledge that the film opens itself to a lot of discussion regarding it's unique premise. Literal class warfare and social class issues are discussed here with what little integrity the guys have. It's a classic Media Ghouls script doctoring session as Ian tries to explain how to improve this initial entry in the now massive Purge franchise!

This week Justin relives his nineties teen angst as the Ghouls take a look at the indie comic book film, Ghost World. Transported to the days of their youth by two teenage girls, Ian and Justin can't help but be nostalgic for the era this movie portrays. However, both of the guys connect to the middle-aged record collector Seymour more than they expected. Surprisingly, the film approaches some fairly heavy topics and they do their best to interpret what the director and original creator were trying to say with their choices here. That or it's all just a bunch of dated and offensive jokes?

The Ghouls are back after the Cretaceous disaster with their review of The Emperor's New Groove! Justin, Ian, Emelynn, and Heather discuss this Disney animated comedy and its fantastic cast of villains. While the all out comedy approach helps the film in a lot of ways, Ian can't help but feel that his culture is done a disservice. That means it's time for another conversation about Disney and their history of cultural appropriation. That's not all though as we try to make sense of the film's long and troubled production history and how Disney burned a bridge with a rock and roll superstar...Sting.

This week the boys take a look at the best 4th of July movie inside and outside of the water, Jaws! Steven Spielberg blended horror, suspense, and action to create the first modern blockbuster film two years before his friend George would take us to a galaxy far, far away. 45 years later, this is still one of the greatest movies ever made. However, it's fabled disastrous production made its success anything but a sure thing. Join Ian and Justin as they explore the history, the story, and the impact of the greatest shark movie ever made! We also make sure to include Bruce's multiple theme park appearances!

This week, Justin and Ian jump in the time capsule to take a look at what has become an all but extinct entity in the gaming world, the movie licensed video game. The Ghouls choose their top 5 best and worst games from this buried genre of video gaming history. Justin reveals some of his N64 shame and Ian rants about the Spielberg curse. After a deep dive into the many versions of Jurassic Park and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the guys discuss why they don't really make these anymore and how Arkham Asylum changed everything in the world of licensed games.

Amidst the many cancelations of 2020, one has left the video game world feeling a little more empty. The cancelation of the Electronics Entertainment Expo, E3, has left the various video game publishers scrambling to figure out how to announce their newest slate of games as well as Microsoft and Sony's new consoles. While many questions are still unanswered, Sony has recently unveiled the Playstation 5 and the first two dozen or so games for it. Ian and Justin give you their play by play of these announcements and which games they are most excited for. Returning franchises and intriguing new IPs are discussed, and the immediacy of memes is explored.

It's time to put the fear back into the podcast this week as we take a look at Candyman. Ian and Justin review this modern horror classic from 1992 before seeing it's 2020 "true" sequel. Tony Todd's performance as the titular boogeyman haunts the film both while he's on and off screen. Much discussion is had over how the film portrays the residents of Cabrini-Green and the real life murder that took place there along with the systemic racism that led to the decline we see in the movie. Whether or not this is portrayed fairly or relies on stereotypes is discussed, but we would like to hear what our listeners think. As a horror film, this one succeeds on many fronts, but the social commentary is something that needs a closer lens.