Stereoactive Presents

J. McVay and Charles Hinshaw discuss the latest – and, most likely, final – installment in the Indiana Jones series. Directed by James Mangold, ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ stars Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, John Rhys-Davies, Toby Jones, Boyd Holbrook, Ethann Isidore, and Mads Mikkelsen. It’s now available to watch on Disney+.

Back in 2005, J. McVay went to a midnight screening of ‘Raider of the Lost Ark’ at the Paris Theater in New York City. Karen Allen was there and talked about a fourth Indiana Jones movie was finally about to happen and she'd heard that Natalie Portman was in talks to play the daughter of Indy and Marion. 

A few years later, the movie she seemed to describe was out, but with Shia as their son, instead of anyone as their daughter. And now we have a fifth movie in which Indy has a daughter figure. Perhaps this was a course correction to whatever developments Karen Allen spoke of… or perhaps not. Who knows?

‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ is more than capably directed by James Mangold. That said, Spielberg’s absence is somehow felt throughout. After all, it seems a bit odd that a film that almost certainly will be the last in the series due to its star’s age doesn’t doesn’t just… have the same director as the four that came before it.

Harrison Ford is reasonably believable as an octogenarian action star, and the film does embrace his aging, but it’s all an odd choice for a character that, River Phoenix and Young Indy aside, seemed in some ways ageless. In the end, it’s hard to see this as a necessary installment in the franchise. 

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Episode Credits:

Producer/Host: J. McVay

Guests: Charles Hinshaw

Music: Hansdale Hsu

Produced by Stereoactive Media

How does one reconcile great achievement with a resultant aftermath that includes a massive death toll and perhaps the eventual death of the world? Can anything with those actual results and possible further outcomes even be considered a success at all? And how should we either celebrate or punish the people responsible for such things? These questions, along with plenty of others, are at the heart of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, a film with a relentlessly intense pace and swirling collection of talents flexing almost ridiculous levels of craftsmanship. 

At the center of the swirl is Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer. Murphy's portrayal of a complicated genius who sees the world and its constituent parts in ways others don't or can’t, and who seems to feel he deserves both praise and punishment for what he's accomplished, is in the mold of Peter O'Toole's turn in Lawrence of Arabia. 

Playing the counterweight, as Lewis Strauss, Robert Downey Jr. gives what is certainly one of his best performances of recent years, and quite possibly also of his career. Each actor holds the screen in transfixing ways, while together providing something of a balancing act across the film. On one side we have the rare person whose thoughts can change the world in irreversible ways, while on the other we have the epitome of a bureaucrat. Friction was inevitable.

The multi-layered, non-linear narrative and stylized cinematic theatrics are, in their way, surprisingly reminiscent of Oliver Stone’s work, especially ‘JFK.’ That said, the themes of the story and the styles employed in its telling are at once very much in line with Nolan’s previous work, even while representing a major leap of maturity. His interest in playing with time and chronology has never worked so well and his exploration of the often blurred lines between heroic and villainous figures has never been put to such perfect use. The ultimate result is one of the best movies of recent years.

J. McVay and Charles Hinshaw discuss the latest film written and directed by Christopher Nolan. 

Oppenheimer stars Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical theorist who led the team that created the first atomic bombs during WWII. Also in the film are Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., and plenty of others.

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Mentioned in the episode:

Stereoactive Movie Club Ep 21 // Hiroshima Mon Amour

https://www.stereoactivemedia.com/ep-21-hiroshima-mon-amour/

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Episode Credits:

Producer/Host: J. McVay

Guests: Charles Hinshaw

Music: Hansdale Hsu

Produced by Stereoactive Media

J. McVay and Charles Hinshaw discuss ‘'Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One' – directed by Christopher McQuarrie and starring Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, and Pom Klementieff.

They also discuss the current strikes by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA, the unions representing writers and actors who work in film and television – including Charles’ perspective as a member of SAG-AFTRA.

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Episode Credits:

Producer/Host: J. McVay

Guests: Charles Hinshaw

Music: Hansdale Hsu

Produced by Stereoactive Media

J. McVay chats with Mr. Scotty Walker about his career in music and education. Mr. Walker is/was a high school band director for three decades at Lafayette High School, in Lafayette, Louisiana. During his time there, he built a music program that grew to be recognized across the state, the region, and the nation. Not only did the band perform on important stages and fields in Louisiana, but it traveled several times to New York City to play at Carnegie Hall and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade – and just recently, toward the end of what was his final school year as director, the band traveled to Hawaii to perform at Pearl Harbor. As a result of his long tenure and dedication, he’s come into contact with hundreds and hundreds – probably thousands – of students. On Saturday June 3rd, there will be a retirement banquet to celebrate his time as an educator and the impact he’s had on so many people, and through them, not only the community of Lafayette, but really any community his students have moved to, joined, or built up around themselves as they’ve gone out into the world. That banquet will be at the Atchafalaya Ballroom at the Student Union on the University of Louisiana campus in Lafayette.

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Episode Credits:

Producer/Host: J. McVay

Guest: Scotty Walker

Music: Hansdale Hsu

Produced by Stereoactive Media

J. McVay chats with Beat Radio’s Brian Sendrowitz and Totally Real Records’ Bryan Bruchman about the release of Beat Radio’s most recent album, Real Love. With the album out for just over 6 months now, the goal of the discussion is to bring further attention to the release outside of the normal window of promotion and to also explore how that window/model itself affects the life of an album and an artist.

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Music included in the episode:

“Protection Spells”

“Dissociation Blues” 

“Family Name”

“Weightless” 

“Lowlands”

“We Rise From Fire

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Episode Credits:

Producer/Host: J. McVay

Guests: Brian Sendrowitz, Bryan Bruchman

Music: Hansdale Hsu

Produced by Stereoactive Media

J. McVay, Jacqueline Soller, and Charles Hinshaw discuss their favorite movies of 2022 and the Oscar nominations in the major categories ahead of the Academy Awards ceremony this weekend. Also, since they haven’t been on mic together since August 2021, when thee old podcast they used to do ended, they catch up on some other movies release since then – and the state of movies/moviegoing in general. 

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Episode Credits:

Producer/Host: J. McVay

Guests: Jacqueline Soller & Charles Hinshaw

Music: Hansdale Hsu

Produced by Stereoactive Media