Talkin' TV

It's the battle of the B's as we kick off October. With only 3 months left in 2022, Dom is joined once again by his good friend Joe of Guy at the Movies to talk about two of the movies that dropped this weekend, that being Bros from Nicholas Stoller, Billy Eichner & Judd Apatow; and Blonde from Andrew Dominik. Bros is directed by Nicholas Stoller and stars Billy Eichner. It is the fourth LGBTQ+ film from a major film studio, and is probably the most up close and personal that mainstream film has ever been with a movie about the LGBTQ+ community. It's also hella fun, hilarious, intimate and just a fun, feel good movie to watch. The movie goes out of its way to poke fun at how the the mainstream culture seems to need to be coddled when it comes to accepting movies about the community, but this film unabashedly goes out of its way to be as forward and out there as possible, and it works every single step of the way. Truly one of the most enjoyable movies of the whole year. Then we come to Blonde, a movie that has seemed doomed from the minute it was announced. Based of the novel by Joyce Carol Oakes, which tells a fictionalized version of Marilyn Monroe's life, the film is a 3 hour long, alternating between color and black and white extravaganza of a movie that sees Ana de Armas take on the role as the cultural icon, and basically goes out of its way to be as unpleasant a viewing experience as can possibly be. Critics seem divided on it as to whether the film is attempting to convey something within the tragedy of her life as opposed to being gratuitous, but the consensus across the board is that Netflix very much regretted greenlighting this movie. It's the first NC-17 film they've ever released, and people seem to be scratching their heads as to whether we really needed this movie or if anyone asked for it. It's all covered here on the #talkintvpodcast oh and of course, #sixseasonsandamovie

Well we survived the Long Night (somehow), and are now onto the final three episodes of the show? Wait, I thought the dead were the end all, be all? There's more? Is the thought process that everyone had when the living were victorious at Winterfell in only the third episode of what was already the shortest season of the show. It's safe to say that if people weren't already aware the show was in trouble, they were with this episode, the Last of the Starks, which has the impossible task of leap frogging through hoops of logic, more than any previous episode in the show's past and rapidly inventing character arcs out of nowhere to push the characters where they need to go for the final two episodes. The surviving heroes at Winterfell bid goodbye to their friends, celebrate in a massive victory feast, before Daenerys turns her forces south to finish with Cersei, but not before begging Jon to keep his true identity a secret. Jon, who's an idiot now, doesn't listen and tells his siblings, which leads Sansa to tell Tyrion, who tells Varys, and the rest is pretty explanatory. Jaime sleeps with Brienne, and then leaves her to save Cersei from inevitable death. The Hound & Arya ride south to settle unfinished business. When Daenerys' forces arrive back at Dragonstone, they are surprised by Euron, who (somehow) shoots and kills Rhaegal with a scorpion. When they had proved to be almost entirely ineffective in the past against the dragons. Gotta love that plot armor. This also leads to Cersei making the single stupidest decision of her entire time as the character, wherein rather than peacefully surrendering to Daenerys, she instead executes Missandei in front of her (still confused as to how Euron got her), pretty much ensuring the destruction of King's Landing in the following episode. It's a series of mind-numbing storytelling decisions that make it very clear how little Benioff & Weiss really cared about the last three episodes and ending the show, and Dom & Pat are here to break it all down in the third to last ever episode of #talkinthrones

It's finally here. The most anticipated behind the scenes mess of a movie since...probably the Alec Baldwin thing? Don't Worry, Darling is the second feature film from Olivia Wilde from a script by her writing partner Katie Silberman, based off a script by Dick Van Dyke's grandchildren. The film features an all star cast including Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Wilde, Nick Kroll, Gemma Chan, Kiki Layne & Chris Pine, amongst many others. It features around Pugh & Styles' married couple, who live in a seemingly idyllic 50's esque town in the middle of the desert where all the males work for Chris Pine's mysterious Victory Project. However, a tragic event causes Pugh's character Alice to start to discover the web of lies that their life is built on, leading her down a path to a frightening revelation about where they actually are. The film has been steeped in controversy recently starting with its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, as Shia LaBeauf, who was previously attached to the film in the Harry Styles part but later let go from the film, leaked a bunch of compromising information about Wilde & Styles' affair which goes against Wilde's previous reasoning for firing him. On top of that, you've also got the apparent major feud between Wilde & Pugh, as well as Styles allegedly having spit on Chris Pine at the premiere. All of this is very disappointing because it takes away from the actual film itself when it becomes all about the behind the scenes drama. Dom & Luk break down everything about the movie, the behind the scenes drama and more, only on the #talkintvpodcast

We're reached it people. The point where things really started to go wrong. Dom & Pat break down the long awaited episode "The Long Night," the eponymous fight that pits all of our heroes up to this point fighting with the Night King's army of the dead at Winterfell. Directed by Miguel Sapochnik in his first episode since the season 6 finale, this episode was interestingly received when it was first released, not for any of the major story developments that it took, but mostly that people had a hard time seeing the action, which is ironically the one thing that has nothing to do with the show itself, as TV's at the time simply did not have the features at the time to display the action correctly, in its entirety. The episode is primarily one big action set piece, and the longest one the show had yet, with the episode clocking in at a whopping 82 minutes, the longest in the show's entire run. Despite all the amazing action set pieces, Dom & Pat come to the conclusion that the thing that ruined this episode was too many characters to keep track of, which really ruins the chances that they were all going to have satisfying arcs across the episode, along with the still confusing decision to resolve the threat of the Army of the Dead here rather than have them be the final boss of the show. It's all covered here in the latest episode of #talkinthrones be sure to stay tuned for the last 3 episodes leading up to the finale!

Dom is joined by his "Euphoria" co-podcaster Josh Markland to break down the return of the final season of FX's critically acclaimed show "Atlanta." Created by, executive produced and starring Donald Glover, the show follows Glover's Earn, a Princeton dropout, as he manages his cousin Al aka Paper Boi's (Brian Tyree Henry) up and coming rap career in Atlanta, Georgia, along with Al's friend and resident stoner Darius (LaKeith Stanfield) and Earn's baby mom Van (Zazie Beetz). The show has had a critically acclaimed tenure, winning Glover an Emmy for best actor for the first season and earning many other accolades along the way. This year saw the return of both the season's 3rd and fourth seasons, with the third season airing back in the spring and taking place primarily in Europe, while this new season returns the characters to Atlanta. The show manages a rather interesting tone, bouncing back and forth between too real and surreal, with all the different scenarios and characters that Earn and the gang interact with providing an interesting reflection into African American relations in this country, without really having a direct point or message that it's trying to say. Dom & Josh break down all of this and more on today's episode of the #talkintvpodcast

We're coming down to the wire with Season 8, Episode 2, "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms." Often cited as a lot of people's favorite episode of this season, it acts as a calm before the storm in a few senses. This is the last episode of the series written by Bryan Cogman, the only other writer besides Benioff & Weiss to write episodes for all 8 seasons. Jaime has arrived at Winterfell and is allowed to help participate in the fight, and is pardoned by Bran, much to his surprise. Daenerys is rightfully furious at Tyrion for failing her yet again, but at Jorah's suggestion, attempts to make peace with Sansa, only to be rejected. It's all for naught however, as Tormund & the Night's Watch's arrival signifies the imminent arrival of the Army of the Dead, forcing them to prepare. Jaime knights Brienne, while Jon reveals the truth of his parentage to Daenerys right as the Army of the Dead arrives. Keep tuning in to see our thoughts as we wrap up this show once ad for all, only on #talkinthrones

Chris is back! After a long period, Chris the TV Nerd makes his return to the show to discuss the latest season of a Talkin' TV favorite, Cobra Kai! What started out as a Youtube Original (and a joke on How I Met your Mother) turned into one of Netflix's biggest acquisitions and hits when they acquired the rights in 2020. We're now on Season 5. Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffin) who made his return last season has taken over Cobra Kai and is intent on franchising it across the entire valley. Daniel LaRusso brings in his old friend Chozen to help stop Silver before he corrupts more youth, while Johnny & Robbie track Miguel to Mexico, where he has found his father. Dom & Chris discuss how the show seems to be hitting that point where it needs to start winding down, before pivoting to some other shows that are on the air right now. New episodes of Talkin' TV are released every Monday on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

We've reached it people. What we set out to do all those moons ago, we've finally done. We've made it to...the final season. Dreaded and critically maligned in the three years since its aired, Dom & Pat are aghast to discover that...it's not as bad as people may remember it. Now that's not to say that it doesn't have its fair share of flaws. The main concern seems to come down to Benioff & Weiss' decision to eliminate the Night King and the Army of the Dead at the halfway point rather than have the series conclude around them. This premiere episode sees Jon & Daenerys' combined armies arriving in Winterfell, meant to evoke how Robert Baratheon arrived in the series premiere, only for them to immediately be thrown into action when Bran warns them that the Army of the Dead has broken through the Wall. In King's Landing, Cersei greets the Golden Company and solidifies her alliance with Euron, while Theon rescues Yara before departing for Winterfell. It's a surprisingly solid premiere, and we cannot wait to break down the rest of this season for the final 6 episodes of #talkinthrones

Dom is joined once again by resident Tolkien expert Eli Holicky to break down everything going on in the premiere of Amazon's already maligned prequel series for Lord of the Rings, subtitled the Rings of Power. Amazon bought the television rights for The Lord of the Rings for US$250 million in November 2017, making a five-season production commitment worth at least US$1 billion. This would make it the most expensive television series ever made. Showrunners J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay were hired in July 2018. The series is primarily based on the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, which include discussion of the Second Age, during which Sauron infiltrates and corrupts the elves and men in order to craft the rings of power. Per the requirements of Amazon's deal with the Tolkien Estate, it is not a continuation of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit film trilogies. Despite this, the production intended to evoke the films using similar production design, younger versions of characters from the films, and a main theme by Howard Shore who composed the music for both trilogies. Dom & Eli break down everything the show has going for it, the changes they've made to the original source material, and really where the motivation for most fandoms comes from nowadays, as Lord of the Rings seems to be the latest in a long line to be taken away from us the fans. All of that and more on new episodes of the #talkintvpodcast

We've reached it. One of the biggest moments of the show. The season 7 finale is an episode that has gone down in infamy as one that is both largely important and yet does absolutely nothing for the trajectory of the show. The Dragon & the Wolf alludes to the final alliance between Stark & Targaryen that is announced at the pivotal meeting taking place in the eponymous dragonpit in King's Landing. All the major players have arrived to negotiate, and while things seem to be going well at first, with Cersei & Euron being rightfully spooked by the undead soldier, it all falls apart when Cersei's attempt to get Jon to remain neutral fails with Jon revealing his official allegiance to Daenerys. Tyrion attempts to negotiate with her and supposedly succeeds, only for her to later reveal to Jaime that she has no intention of assisting in the Northern war in any way, a decision Jaime advises against, causing him to eventually leave her and head north, as the snows descend on the city. In Winterfell, Sansa & Arya are finally able to put their differences aside once they realize Littlefinger is the true enemy, while Sam's arrival allows him to compare notes with Bran, as they both realize that Jon is the true heir over Daenerys, setting up what should be a nice little conflict for the final season. It all ends with one of the greatest ending shots/scenes of any finale of this entire show, with the Night King riding the undead Viseryon and burning down the Wall, allowing the Army of the Dead to finally cross over into the land of the living. As we wind down, we're reminded of all the amazing moments we've shared over the years as we head into the very controversial final season and wrap up our run of #talkinthrones only on the #talkintvpodcast