The Desert of the Reel: A Movie Podcast

The completion of the epic saga discussing the adventures of Female Luke and Mini-Darth Vader! R2-D2-2 makes a brief appearance in this episode, as we discuss the Empire 2 blowing things up with Death Star 3, whose actual name is Starkiller Base (I'm not making this up!).

In this episode, we discuss logical absurdities of such goodies as Female Luke being able to perform advanced evasive maneuvers in the Millenium Falcon despite never having flown before, defeat a trained light saber user despite never having touched the weapon before, and other illogical goodies.

Enjoy the thrilling conclusion of our discussion of The Force Awakens. Despite excellent arguments to the contrary, Ryan remains a fan of this film by the end.

Please let us know your opinion of Star Wars: The Force Awakens! Email us at [email protected]

The exciting Original Trilogy has been condensed and reshot! It's new name is The Force Awakens!

In the first half of this two part episode, Jason and Ryan disagree about just about everything in this film. Ryan the Apologist loves this movie, insisting it is simply a mirroring or a remixing of the original trilogy. On the other hand, Jason the Bitterman expresses outrage over the complete lack of creativity in the writing of this film. There are a few things they argree on, though. Like the fact that the film has opening scenes, and that the movie ends.

This film features an e-mail from a former guest host Martin Harris!

Please let us know your opinion of Star Wars: The Force Awakens! Email us at [email protected]

Before we show Jason the sequel trilogy for the first time, he wanted to watch 2003's Matchstick Men!

We talk about our thoughts and disagreements on the surprising 3rd act, we talk about what makes someone a bad person, how our children are a reflection on environment and parents, criminals and "othering," and argue about Nic Cage's filmography from the last 10 years! (among other things).

What are your thoughts on the ending? Thoughts on Nic Cage? Any overall thoughts on the upcoming sequel trilogy? Let us know!

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Sure love ya!

This episode delves deeply into the philosophical roots of Star Wars' Force. Largely a filibuster by Jason, with insightful questions and comments from Ryan, we cover the Force as a whole using Taoism; explore the specific underpinnings of its Yin and Yang, the Light Side and the Dark Side; Han Solo's skepticism; and the union of both sides into a perfect ethical system.

Beware all ye that enter here! We're bravely going where no DOTR episode has gone before!

Next week, we are watching Matchstick Men (2003).

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The exciting Original Trilogy conclusion of Star Wars Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi!

For some reason, we argue a lot about Ewoks. But maybe they are supposed to teach us about creative problem-solving.

We dive into the importance of titles, Jason argues about "Death bed conversations," how to find universal truths, and how whatever you focus on about yourself, you'll be right.

We have a special guest, Eric Philips.

Next week we are going to have a special episode all about the philosophy of the force!

And then we are watching Matchstick Men (2003).

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Ryan's gushing continues regarding The Empire Strikes Back, but Jason digs into the logical flaws on Hoth, the pacing problems on Dagobah, and Han's unethical relationship skills. We conclude arguing about whether or not Empire is a sequel.

We could call this episode Logic Strikes Back.

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We have finally made it to the original trilogy. It all started here withStar Wars: A New Hope. So much has been said about this movie, that it feels daunting to even attempt to add to the conversation.

However, we spend a lot of time gushing over how incredible this movie is, from the special effects, music, and well it sticks in our minds.

We also discuss the importance of the hero's journey. It IS important in our lives! Jason has a lot of philosophy for the entire trilogy but is only dropping hints of other things to come. But we talk about "sophistry" and the meta-ethics regarding the ethics of using the Jedi mind trick.

It is a good time.

Send us your thoughts and reviews of Star Wars to [email protected]

Perhaps the most ethically rich film we've looked at on the podcast so far, 2018's Calibre is a carefully plotted, beautifully filmed look at the impact of uncritical choices. Besides talking about multiple philosophical, ethical, and film literacy aspects of this film, our discussion shows how this film helps us dig deeply into what our choices mean in terms of shaping who we become and how much free will we allow ourselves.

Yet another in a long line of magnificent movies Jason recommends that you probably haven't see!

Email us your thoughts, opinions, ideas, and anything else at [email protected]

Jason watches Rogue One for the first time. Will he like it better than Solo? We talk about all the elements we enjoyed but are there too many callbacks to the original movies? Does it rely too much on "member-berries? Is the Vader hallway scene just there to trick us into liking the movie more than we would have?

We also talk about the idea of how our own perspectives create our reality. Is our reality dependent on our perspective of it?

We also ask if and when we should sacrifice for the greater good? When are we ethically responsible for the world around us?

Next week is Calibre (2018).

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Surprisingly enough, Jason really likes Solo (you never can tell)! Your hosts debate the merits of this prequel with a special focus on how well it works as an origin story, the ethics of gambling, and the excellence of the mise-en-scene.

What do you think of Solo? Email us your thoughts at [email protected]