Reel Deep Dive

Following the disappointing reception of X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) and X-Men Origins Wolverine (2009), Fox decided that a soft reboot of their superhero franchise was in order. Set in the 1960's, X-Men: First Class juxtaposes the formation of the team alongside the Cuban Missile Crisis and the usual metaphors regarding civil rights. A profitable film interpreted as a badly-needed course correction, X-Men: First Class resulted in three direct sequels and is still frequently cited as one of the better entries in the franchise.

Gigantic X-nerd Ryan is joined by Sylvan, Sarah, and Nicole for a discussion about this sleek, polished, nostalgic, and interesting film. Talking points include assimilationism, respectability politics, Kennedy-era optimism, and whether it's appropriate to use the Holocaust as a plot point in a superhero movie.

Largely greenlit because The Beatles felt that an animated feature would settle their three picture deal with United Artists without requiring much effort on their part, the cast and crew of Yellow Submarine were given a shoestring budget and a mere 11 months to crank out a completed movie. Somehow, the team supervised by director George Dunning and character designer Heinz Edelmann overcame these hurdles, delivering a cheeky, fantastical, and imaginatively surreal fairy tale that was quickly embraced by both Beatles fanatics and animation nerds.

Ryan is joined by Rachel for a conversation about this psychedelic work of pop art fancy. Discussion topics include the ever-shifting aesthetics of the film, the influence that Yellow Submarine had on later works, and the shadow that the Fab Four cast on the wider landscape.

Aside from Gone With The Wind, Meet Me in St. Louis is the most popular film released by MGM during the Golden Age of Hollywood. A lush, sentimental, and deeply nostalgic musical centered on a middle class family going through personal changes during the 1904 World's Fair, this film charmed critics, wowed audiences, got a heap of Oscar nods, established Vincente Minnelli as a director, and furthered Judy Garland's status as a romantic lead.

Ryan is joined by Sylvan for a closer inspection of this seasonal perennial. The behind-the-scenes drama of the film gets a fair bit of attention, but time is also taken to examine Meet Me in St. Louis as a holiday staple, a work of auteur filmmaking, and as a paean to a glorious past that never quite existed.

Originally written as a vehicle for Bill Murray, The Santa Claus was rebuilt around the comedic persona of sitcom actor Tim Allen and thrust into theaters shortly before the onset of the 1994 holiday season. While greeted with lukewarm reviews that damned it with faint praise, The Santa Claus was still a sizable hit that (briefly) established Allen as a movie star. This film also had legs; after several periods of dormancy, The Santa Claus was spun off into an enduring franchise.

Ryan is joined by Cheryl and Sarah for a closer look at this yuletide snapshot of 90's pop culture. Talking points include the film's approach to psychoanalysis, the shifting cultural attitudes towards divorce, auteur theory, and how Allen's brusquely "masculine" style of comedy plays into hegemony, the cult of tradition, and male insecurity

Due to their penchant for solving problems by punching things, superheroes aren't inherently conducive to Christmas stories. They can, however, function as handy counterprogramming in the same way as semi-ironic seasonal fare like Die Hard, Gremlins, or Silent Night, Deadly Night. As such, most popular superheroes have been featured in yuletide-themed fare over the years.

Ryan, Cheryl, and Jacinta are all dorky millennials, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that they feel that the pinnacle of superhero Christmas can be found in the DC Animated Universe, a series of cartoon programs beginning in 1992 with Batman: The Animated Series. For this recording, the three of them examine two holiday episodes of Batman in addition to an episode of the Justice League show that followed it.

In addition to elucidating upon the talents of producer Bruce Timm, writer Paul Dini, and the multitude of animators, directors, and voice actors who made these cartoons special, Ryan, Cheryl, and Jacinta delve into the evolution of the DCAU's art direction, how network censorship affected DCAU content, and what makes for a good TV Christmas special overall.

One of the most noteworthy slashers of its period, Candyman centers upon a Chicago semiotics student (Virginia Madsen) who blunders into the wrath of a supernatural folklore spirit (Tony Todd). Based on a Clive Barker short story that uses ghosts to symbolize income inequality in Liverpool, writer/director Bernard Rose moved the setting to Chicago and gave the narrative a subtext that comments on American racism.

Ryan is joined by Rachel for a lengthy discussion about this atmospheric, moody, and complicated film. While citing a handful of the extensive academic commentary done on Candyman, Ryan and Rachel remark upon how Candyman was made, the contemporary reactions to the film, and how its storytelling reflects America's relationship with urban decay, affordable housing, policing, superstition, symbolism, segregation, stereotype, and the white savior trope.

Loosely adapted from the metafictional children's novel written by Michael Ende, The Neverending Story centers upon a young boy (Barret Oliver) who gets immersed into a fantasy book whose plot seems to be magically affected by how it is read. The most expensive film produced outside of America or the Soviet Union at the time, The Neverending Story failed to catch on in an especially competitive 1984 film market in the United States. It did, however, sell lots of tickets overseas and, thanks to TV broadcasts and home video, attract a significant cult audience of fantasy nerds all over the world.

Ryan is joined by Cheryl, Toby, Pete, Sarah, and Jacinta for an intimate chat about this colorful and layered touchstone of 1980's pop culture. Discussion points include fatalism, post-modernism, and how the audience is the final collaborator in all works of art.

Centered upon the vivid imaginations of a family of anthropomorphic blue heelers, Bluey is an animated children's television show that has taken the world by storm thanks to its endearing characters, playful sense of humor, and emphasis on gentle parenting and unstructured play. In many ways, Bluey has captivated parents more than its target demo of toddlers; Sylvan is a big fan and their choice of Bluey as a podcast subject was pretty much inevitable.

Ryan and Cheryl are also present for a discussion centering on Bluey episodes featuring Muffin, a fan favorite character. Talking points include childhood development, friction between siblings, what it means for a kid to be "special", the reasons why millennials in particular connect with Bluey, and how Ben Shapiro's Bluey knockoff fails to understand the appeal of Bandit,

Derived from Erica Schmidt's musical retelling of Edmond Rostand's oft-staged play, Cyrano stars Peter Dinklage as the titular protagonist. Caught in romantic intrigue alongside him is Haley Bennett as Roxanne and Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Christian. The basic plot of this version isn't too different from most of the traditional renditions, but several key alterations are present in both the text and the subtext of Cyrano; this is apparent both in the dialogue and in the songs composed by Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National.

Ryan is joined by Sylvan and Cheryl for a discussion about this striking (if uneven) film. Talking points naturally include unrequited love, the pitfalls of escalating lies, and Sylvan's pet peeve about casting Hollywood musicals with actors who don't have professional singing ability.

Released when the Pokémon multimedia franchise was at the zenith of its initial mania, Pokémon: The First Movie received critical scorn but easily became an unqualified smash due to its passionate international fanbase of 6-11 year olds. Very much in this demographic is Latisha, who joins Ryan for an in depth talk about this interesting time capsule of late-90's pop culture.

Ryan and Latisha do go into Pokémon's origins in gaming and how it was quickly spun off into manga, anime, trading cards, and lots of other mediums, but much of the thematic conversation touches upon the film's commentary about animal cruelty, the then-recent advent of cloning, and existentialist philosophy. There's also discussion about what the central appeal of Pokémon could be, why it endured past its fledgling years as a fad, and what its influence on the wider world may be.