Talkin' TV

We get a little different, a little weird and a little experimental today. But it's for a Jordan Peele movie, so it's to be expected. Dom the Movie Nerd is joined by his friend from college Takeena Strachan to discuss the third feature film from Jordan Peele. At one point a staple of Comedy Central with his sketch show Key & Peele, Jordan Peele has evolved into one of the most daring and experimental young filmmakers, who's bold and experimental takes on tried and true ideas really sets him out alongside the Christopher Nolan's of the world as someone who's every film turns into an event. This time, he takes to the deserts of the American West to make a film that's one part western, one part extraterrestrial thriller and one part homage to cinema. The film stars Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer & Steven Yeun in a film that sees what happens when an alien craft starts sucking up all the life and causing havoc around an isolated western area. Dom & Takeena talk about Peele's intent with the film, what he was attempting to say here, how this compares to his previous two films and what this ultimately means in the current cinematic landscape. All of that and more on today's episode of the #talkintvpodcast

We've made it to another one, and we've also reached an important milestone. The season 6 finale, "The Winds of Winter" still to this day remains one of the biggest and most important episodes of the entire show. It sets the course for the final two seasons, wraps up all the ancellary storylines, proved that the show had officially become the biggest show on the air at the time, and in particular this episode kicks off with one of the biggest moments of the entire show, with Cersei carrying out her grand plan of using Aerys Targaryen's hidden stash of wildfire to blow up the entire sept, wiping out all her enemies in one fell swoop. The fallout from this episode causes a myriad of different events, as the event is entirely too much for Tommen to bear, as well as finally giving Cersei the full power that she's been seeking this entire time. This is also a momentus episode for Jon & Daenerys as well, with Jon being crowned King in the North after his victory against Ramsay at the Battle of the Bastards, and Daenerys finally setting her sights on Westeros after years of being in Essos. But the minutia still continues to seep in, as Arya carries out her long dormant revenge against the Freys for the Red Wedding, Jaime realizes exactly what side he's on, Bran learns the truth of Jon's parentage, Sam arrives at the Citadel for Maester training & Olenna & the Sand Snakes choose new allies. It's one of the biggest episodes of the entire show, and it's all covered right here on #talkinthrones

Dom is joined by Joe of Guy at the Movies and Brandon Fallat to discuss the very long, but worthwhile wrap up for Season 4 of Stranger Things, arguably the biggest and most expansive season of the show yet. The show has come a long way since its inception back in 2016, and a lot has changed. The characters are a lot older, the stakes are higher than they ever have been before, and the biggest example? The episodes are LONG. The season finale clocks it at a whopping 92 minutes long, a full half an hour longer than last week's Thor: Love & Thunder. Dom, Joe & Brandon talk about and break down everything they liked and didn't like about the season; the shift from Season 3 to Season 4 and how things changed because of the course of the pandemic; the series retcons that have happened, and where this season spells things out for the upcoming fifth and final season. It's another awesome, action packed episode, only on the #talkintvpodcast

We've made it to another gangbusters episode. Arguably one of the two biggest episodes of the entire show, not to mention that this is probably the only season of the show where the penultimate and final episodes are of equal caliber in terms of how awesome they are. "Battle of the Bastards" still remains arguably the most technically proficient episodes of the entire show, with Miguel Sapochnik & DP Fabian Wagner returning to show that their work with last season's "Hardhome" was not a fluke. The episode famously covers Jon's battle against Ramsay Bolton to reclaim Winterfell as well as Daenerys returning to Meereen and finally using the dragons to their full extent. It's an action packed episode filled with suspence and amazing payoffs, but obviously the star of the episode is the full spectacle that's on display, with Sapochnik brilliantly demonstrating the literal pressure felt by Jon as he's almost killed at least 3 different times throughout the course of the battle. It's another action packed episode of Talkin' Thrones, and we wrap up Season 6 next week! Keep tuning in as we get closer and closer to the end of #talkinthrones

After we took off for our Fourth of July Festivities, we're back with another Marvel movie! It's the middle of the summer, and Dom & Chris are joined once again by Matt of Basic Entertainment & Joe of Guy at the Movies to discuss the fourth film in the Thor series and the 29th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor: Love & Thunder! Taika Waititi returns to the directing chair and Chris Hemsworth returns in his 9th outing as the titular character. The film finds Thor in a strange spot, post the events of Avengers: Endgame, where he's teamed up with the Guardians of the Galaxy going on random space adventures, not quite sure what his purpose is anymore. He's alerted to the prescence of a new enemy, in the form of Gorr the God Butcher, portrayed by Christian Bale, who's using a weapon called the Necrosword to hunt down and kill all the gods across the universe, and forms an alliance with his old allies Korg & Valkyrie, only to discover that his old flame, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) has returned, and is able to wield Mjolnir as the Mighty Thor! With one sad twist: she's dying of cancer. It's a fun, crazy, neon, color and joke filled extravaganza, and the four of them are here to break down everything about the movie in the latest episode of the #talkintvpodcast

And the one that no one's been looking forward to, see what I did there? This episode is infamous as another 8th episode that feels like a penultimate to the penultimate, wrapping up a lot of the ancellary storylines before we move on to the explosive climax that is Battle of the Bastards & Winds of Winter. The only problem? This is the episode where it really feels like D&D gave up. While not every storyline in this episode misses, a large chunk of this feels like filler, leading up to an ending action set piece that feels more at home in a Mortal Kombat video game than Game of Thrones. The Hound carries out his revenge against the men who wiped out his friends, leading him back to the Brotherhood without Banners, who have a new mission. Cersei shows the Sparrows that she is not listening to them anymore, but when Tommen bans trials by combat, she seems doomed, at least until Qyburn gives her a valuable bit of information. In the Riverlands, Brienne arrives and offers Jaime a deal to allow her to lead the Blackfish and his forces north to assist Jon & Sansa, allowing him to take the castle back peacefully, but when this fails, Jaime is forced to use Edmure as a bargaining chip. It all ends in Braavos, with a storyline resolution that gets more and more confusing as the years go on. After being rescued and treated by Lady Crane, Arya is attacked once again by the Waif, who kills Lady Crane in a manner that still is confusing 6 years later, before chasing Arya through the streets in one of the most obvious and non-secretive parkour action scenes before Arya lures her to her little hiding spot, and rather than letting us see the payoff for all those training sessions, we're instead treated to...darkness. Its confusing, its out of place, it makes no sense, and it becomes more and more apparent as the years go on that Benioff & Weiss just wanted to be done with Braavos. At least we get Battle of the Bastards next week, only on #talkinthrones

The sideplots continue with Season 6, Episode 7, "The Broken Man." This episode is special for a variety of different reasons, but namely, because it features the return of a fan favorite character who was previously thought dead by many, Sandor "The Hound" Clegane. The episode chronicles his stay with a small commune of Riverland civilians led by the charismatic Brother Ray, portrayed in a guest spot by Deadwood's Ian McShane, and shows the Hound returning to the fold by refusing to remain broken and helpless as the forces that be continue to terrorize the innocents of the realm. In the North, Jon & Sansa continue their recruitment of their allies to take back Winterfell, but find more opposed to them than previously thought, forcing Sansa to make a desperate move. In King's Landing, Margaery begs Olenna to remove herself from harm's way, while Cersei attempts to make amends, only for Olenna to throw it back at her face. Jaime arrives at Riverrun to treat with the Blackfish, but finds him to be not at all hospitable. Theon & Yara stop off for a quick drink and a pep talk. Arya struts her way down the docks of Braavos, throwing gold ay any sailor willing to take her home, and then seems surprised when the Waif pops out of nowhere and stabs her, but the grace of the Many Faced God allows her to magically survive. It's all here on another action packed episode of Talkin' Thrones only on the #talkintvpodcast

We return with another episode of Talkin' Thrones, the second of two parts covering all the subplots that weren't covered in last week's episode, very similar to how it played out last season. What's so interesting about Season 6 is that despite it being the most critically appealing, arguably the most commercially successful and probably the most mainstream the show had been up to that point, people seem to forget that the second half is primarily subplots that set up for later things down the line. Jaime finally carries out the plan to root the sparrows out of the city with help from the Tyrell army, but they are thwarted at the last second by Tommen unexpectedly being converted to the Sparrow's side, before Jaime is carted off to Riverrun to deal with the Blackfish having unexpectedly taken the castle back from the Freys. Sam & Gilly continue their journey south and arrive at Horn Hill, where they are confronted by Sam's father who still refuses to see that his son has grown since he first went to the Wall. Arya makes her decision regarding whether she will continue to play the Faceless Men's games. Bran & Meera narrowly manage to escape the Wights north of the Wall with help from an unexpected ally. Oh yeah, and Daenerys reminds the Dothraki why they're following her. Because we needed a cool scene with the dragons. All of that and more, every Friday on #talkinthrones

Join Dom, Chris, Nathaniel & Brandon as we break down the brand new Elvis Presley biopic from Baz Luhrmann! Announced in 2014, the project was not officially announced until March 2019. Butler was cast in the title role that July, beating out several other actors, including Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller and Harry Styles for the part. Then we break down Obi-Wan Kenobi in it's entirety, what it signifies for the future of Star Wars, and whether it was worth any of our time. All of that on the #officialtalkintvpodcast

We've made it to yet another midpoint, and boy is this one a doozy. Building off the last couple episodes, this is where the tension and the action really takes off, with the episode ending with a shocking, out of nowhere battle as we witness the end of the Three Eyed Raven & the Children of the Forest, the beginning of Bran's ascent to the new position of Three Eyed Raven, the death of another Direwolf, and beloved Hodor. Oh Hodor. While it does raise a few logistical questions as this episode famously introduces time travel, the way it provides a perfect open and shut case of Hodor's condition as a result of Bran's meddling plays out poetically. Elsewhere, Sansa receives news from Littlefinger and her & Jon set out on their expedition to bring the fight to Ramsay's door. Daenerys says goodbye to Jorah, but orders him to find a cure to the greyscale, in a touching tribute to their time spent together. On the Iron Islands, the long awaited Kingsmoot takes place, with Yara losing rather easily to Euron, forcing her & Theon to go on the run. In Meereen, Tyrion enlists the help of a Red Priestess to start spreading the good word of Daenerys across the city, much to Varys' chagrin. In Braavos, Arya is given her first assignment since getting her eyesight back: to kill an actress named Lady Crane who's participating in a play satirizing the War of the 5 Kings. It's another action packed episode on this week's installment of Talkin' Thrones, available every Friday on the #talkintvpodcast