Happy Halloween! Last year, we celebrated the spookiest day of the year by talking about John Carpenter’s original HALLOWEEN from 1978, and this year we’re jumping ahead 30 years to talk about the remake directed by Rob Zombie in 2007, and its sequel from 2009. These films have a mixed reputation, but they’re worth revisiting and taking seriously. The 2007 remake is trying to be two movies at once and never really coheres, but the 2009 sequel – especially in its Unrated Director’s Cut – may just be a genuine masterpiece, a truly powerful depiction of PTSD and the way trauma can swallow a person whole. Zombie is a real auteur, a singular filmmaker with a compelling voice, and these films are worth engaging with on that level alone. We also talk about Sean’s recent experiences catching up on Doctor Who and Jonathan’s October adventures binging all 10 Saw movies (and ranking them over on JonathanLack.Com). 

Enjoy! 

Time Chart:

Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:04:30

Doctor Who: 0:04:30 – 0:25:07

Saw: 0:25:07 – 0:40:16

Rob Zombie’s Halloween: 0:40:16 – 1:29:29

Rob Zombie’s Halloween II: 1:29:29 – 2:46:13

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Read the book 200 Reviews by Jonathan R. Lack in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our sister series about the wide, wacky world of anime: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Explore our archives and subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcasting platforms:

https://weeklystuffpodcast.com

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content! 

https://weeklystuff.substack.com

Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com

Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to our YouTube channels! 

Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

Two of the most anticipated video games of 2023 launched this week, with Sony and Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2 for the PS5 and Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. Wonder for the Nintendo Switch. We’ve been extremely excited for both, and so far, they haven’t disappointed. We give initial spoiler-free impressions of both games on today’s show, discussing how Mario Wonder delivers a deliriously fun re-invention of 2D Mario platformers and Spider-Man 2 serves as both a compulsively playable superhero game and the PS5’s best tech demo to date. Sean also talks about finally diving into Baldur’s Gate 3, and we remind everyone to listen to Japanimation Station’s Kyoto Vacation,the amazing new season of our anime podcast that just launched last week! 

Enjoy! 

Time Chart:

Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:06:13

Baldur’s Gate 3: 0:06:13 – 0:24:43

Super Mario Bros. Wonder: 0:24:43 – 0:48:58

Spider-Man 2: 0:48:58 – 1:21:00

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Read the book 200 Reviews by Jonathan R. Lack in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our sister series about the wide, wacky world of anime: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Explore our archives and subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcasting platforms:

https://weeklystuffpodcast.com

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content! 

https://weeklystuff.substack.com

Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com

Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to our YouTube channels! 

Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

The fourth season of our sister series, Japanimation Station, begins today with the premiere of Japanimation Station’s Kyoto Vacation, our biggest podcasting adventure yet! We are taking a journey through the works of Kyoto Animation, one of the most respected and beloved anime studios in Japan, reviewing shows like Clannad, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, K-On!, Nichijou, Sound! Euphonium, Violet Evergarden, and much more. But before we talk about any specific works, we take a step back and discuss the history of Kyoto Animation itself, because it’s a fascinating story stretching back to the earliest days of anime, and one that explains a lot about how the studio came to have the style and structure it is known and respected for. Even if you’ve never watched one of these shows before, this is a story you’ll definitely want to hear, and a great way to kick off our Kyoto Vacation. 

Enjoy, and be sure to subscribe to Japanimation Station to continue following the season as it continues for many weeks to come! 

Time Chart:

Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:02:56

Theme Song: 0:02:56 – 0:04:25

Intro and Preview to Season: 0:04:25 – 0:40:31

Eyecatch Break: 0:40:31 – 0:41:07

The History of Kyoto Animation: 0:41:07 – 1:57:08

End Theme: 1:57:08 – 1:58:11

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Read the book 200 Reviews by Jonathan R. Lack in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our sister series about the wide, wacky world of anime: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Explore our archives and subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcasting platforms:

https://weeklystuffpodcast.com

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content! 

https://weeklystuff.substack.com

Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com

Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to our YouTube channels! 

Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

Today’s episode is all about 200 Reviews, the new book by co-host Jonathan Lack, which contains, well, 200 reviews, mostly of movies, but also some TV and video games, some that have been seen before, and many that haven’t. You can buy the book now in paperback, for Amazon Kindle, and as a digital bundle with PDF and EPUB versions. We tell you all about it on today’s episode, with Sean interviewing Jonathan about the book’s contents, and Jonathan reading eight excerpts from the book, including reviews for The Lord of the Rings, Spider-Man 2, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, and more! We also take a look at Jonathan’s earliest-ever reviews, from when he was just ten years old, in one of the funnier segments we’ve ever recorded.

Enjoy! 

Time Chart:

Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:00:30

Discussing 200 Reviews: 0:00:30 – 1:12:36

Barbie: 1:12:36 – 1:21:34

Cats: 1:21:34 – 1:38:13

A Christmas Carol: 1:38:13 – 1:45:20

The Grand Budapest Hotel: 1:45:20 – 1:55:40

The Lord of the Rings: 1:55:40 – 2:03:34

Spider-Man 2: 2:03:34 – 2:09:24

Star Trek Into Darkness: 2:09:24 – 2:27:19

Star Wars Episode III: 2:27:19 – 2:41:01

Outro: 2:41:01 – 2:41:41

Buy 200 Reviews in Paperback on Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKMPX2CK

Buy 200 Reviews for Kindle on Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CK68K3WG

Buy 200 Reviews as an EPUB/PDF bundle at Ko-fi – https://ko-fi.com/s/07bc1a2b39

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our sister series about the wide, wacky world of anime: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Explore our archives and subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcasting platforms:

https://weeklystuffpodcast.com

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content! 

https://weeklystuff.substack.com

Ending music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com

Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to our YouTube channels! 

Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

It’s a big week with lots of news here at the Weekly Stuff, including Jonathan’s announcement of his new book, 200 Reviews, which releases this Sunday! He tells you a little bit about it on today’s show (and you can pre-order it on Amazon now for Kindle, with a paperback version coming soon!), and we’ll discuss it more next week. On today’s show, we discuss the triumphant end of the writer’s strike, lots of Xbox news courtesy of a historic document leak, and review Capcom’s Resident Evil 4 DLC, Separate Ways, an outstanding extension of a wonderful game that leaves us wanting more from Ada Wong and her awesome grappling hook. 

Enjoy! 

Time Chart:

Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:01:07

Jonathan’s Book, 200 Reviews: 0:01:07 – 0:11:25

Stuff: 0:11:25 – 0:28:53

News: 0:28:53 – 1:36:25

Separate Ways: 1:36:25 – 1:56:15

Pre-order 200 Reviews by Jonathan Lack https://a.co/d/efTM4zp  

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our sister series about the wide, wacky world of anime: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Explore our archives and subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcasting platforms:

https://weeklystuffpodcast.com

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content! 

https://weeklystuff.substack.com

Ending music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com

Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to our YouTube channels! 

Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

It’s an exciting grab-bag of topics this weeks as we discuss some recent video game news from Sony and Nintendo, dive into a big ol’ bag of listener mail, and talk more about two of our favorite games of the year with Baldur’s Gate 3 and Armored Core VI. A surprise Nintendo Direct and Sony State of Play give us plenty of video game announcements and trailers to talk about, including our best look yet at Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and an absolute avalanche of Mario games from Nintendo, including the long-requested remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. Then we answer some questions sent in by listeners, including thoughts on what movies/shows/games our opinions have most changed on over the years, the state of superhero movies and DC in particular, our favorite live music experiences, and much, much more.

Enjoy! 

Time Chart:

Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:01:21

Armored Core VI: 0:01:21 – 0:06:13 

Baldur’s Gate 3: 0:06:13 – 0:30:48

Video Game News: 0:30:48 – 1:27:53

Listener Mail: 1:27:53 – 2:47:13 

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our sister series about the wide, wacky world of anime: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Explore our archives and subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcasting platforms:

https://weeklystuffpodcast.com

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content! 

https://weeklystuff.substack.com

Ending music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com

Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to our YouTube channels! 

Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

It’s a double-header on today’s podcast as we review two very different things from this summer that we both love passionately: FX’s Justified: City Primeval, the sequel miniseries to the modern neo-western classic starring Timothy Olyphant, and Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XVI, the latest and among-the-greatest entry in the venerable JRPG series. Justified is one of our favorite TV series, and the return absolutely did not disappoint, putting Raylan Givens in a new setting and telling a new kind of story with him, while continuing his character development in really smart, thoughtful ways. Final Fantasy XVI is one of the year’s best games, but also perhaps one of its most misunderstood, and in this discussion, we mainly break down the story and themes and why so much of what it’s doing has been dismissed in Western reviews and thinkpieces. 

Enjoy! 

Time Chart:

Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:02:25

Armored Core VI: 0:02:25 – 0:17:47

Baldur’s Gate 3: 0:17:47 – 0:23:56

Justified City Primeval: 0:23:56 – 1:46:05

Final Fantasy XVI: 1:46:05 – 3:05:56

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our sister series about the wide, wacky world of anime: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Explore our archives and subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcasting platforms:

https://weeklystuffpodcast.com

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content! 

https://weeklystuff.substack.com

Ending music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com

Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to our YouTube channels! 

Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

We’re back after a month away with a “How I Spent My Summer Vacation” catch-up episode, and it’s quite the grab bag! Sean gives impressions of some recent video games including Armored Core VI and the 4.0 Fontaine update of Genshin Impact, while Jonathan tells us about unexpectedly becoming a fan of Sword Art Online while researching his dissertation, and walks us through the giant stack of movies he watched over the last week of summer, from a few Michael Mann classics on 4K Blu-ray to the re-release of Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy in theaters. More discussion of Final Fantasy XVI and a discussion of the great Arleen Sorkin, originator of Harley Quinn who passed away over the weekend, round out the episode. 

Enjoy! 

Time Chart:

Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:06:20

Arleen Sorkin: 0:06:20 – 0:11:30

Final Fantasy XVI: 0:11:30 – 0:20:57 

Jonathan’s Sword Art Online Adventures: 0:20:57 – 0:52:56

Genshin Impact 4.0: 0:52:56 – 1:09:01

Jonathan’s Movie Madness: 1:09:01 – 1:35:51

Armored Core VI: 1:35:51 – 1:55:22 

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our sister series about the wide, wacky world of anime: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Explore our archives and subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcasting platforms:

https://weeklystuffpodcast.com

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content! 

https://weeklystuff.substack.com

Ending music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com

Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to our YouTube channels! 

Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

Seven years after Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi lit the world on fire with Shin Godzilla – which we very vocally went crazy for! – the duo’s follow-up, Shin Ultraman, is finally available for home viewing in the United States! Sean’s been gradually watching through the Ultraman TV shows over the past few years, while Jonathan has only seen a few stray episodes, but we’re both in love with this passionate re-imagining of the tokusatsu classic. It’s a striking piece of filmmaking with amazing special effects, creative and disorienting camera work, a great cast, and terrific music, giving us plenty to sink our teeth into. Jonathan also talks about his experiences seeing and reviewing both halves of the Barbenheimer phenomenon this weekend (Barbie and Oppenheimer, both reviewed at the new www.jonathanlack.com), and we discuss our continued adventures in Final Fantasy XVI. 

Enjoy, and come back next week for our review of the other Hideaki Anno tokusatsu film released in the US this week, Shin Kamen Rider! 

Time Chart:

Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:06:35 

Barbenheimer: 0:06:35 – 0:28:17

Final Fantasy: 0:28:17 – 0:54:43

Shin Ultraman: 0:54:43 – 2:47:57 

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our sister series about the wide, wacky world of anime: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Explore our archives and subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcasting platforms:

https://weeklystuffpodcast.com

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content! 

https://weeklystuff.substack.com

Ending music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com

Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to our YouTube channels! 

Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

Today’s podcast, should you choose to listen to it, is all about one of the finest films of the summer, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. Jonathan reviewed the film in non-spoilery details at the new JonathanLack.Com last week, but on today’s show, he and Sean dive deep with the story, characters, action sequences, and much more, and while there are a few disagreements, overall we’re very much fans of what Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie continue to achieve with this series. Before the big review, though, we also talk a little more Final Fantasy XVI and discuss SAG-AFTRA joining the WGA in striking Hollywood’s abhorrent treatment of its workers, in a segment that becomes a larger conversation about what a raging dumpster fire the non-Mission: Impossible parts of this industry have become.  

Enjoy! 

Time Chart:

Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:08:13 

Final Fantasy XVI: 0:08:13 – 0:23:37

SAG-AFTRA Strike: 0:23:37 – 0:49:21

Godzilla News: 0:49:21 – 0:56:23 

Mission Impossible Review: 0:56:23 – 2:44:41

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our sister series about the wide, wacky world of anime: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Explore our archives and subscribe to The Weekly Stuff Podcast on all podcasting platforms:

https://weeklystuffpodcast.com

Follow The Weekly Stuff Wordcast newsletter for regular updates and extra content! 

https://weeklystuff.substack.com

Ending music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com

Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to our YouTube channels! 

Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation  

Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman