 Ethan, RJ, and Jon step into the ring to discuss the Rocky/Creed franchise. During their time spent going the distance, they discuss how this series truly is for everyone, as well as discussing Ethan’s first time viewing the series. They also give truly terrible Stallone impressions, heap praise onto the Creed films, and discuss why certain people on this website/podcast from the Philly area should definitely watch it cough Dan cough.   They also spend time revealing RJ’s family’s connection to the original Rocky, which 80s action star would be a good opponent for Stallone in the ring, and visit an alternate timeline where 7 year old Apollo Creed killed 7 year old Rocky’s dad.   So catch those chickens, get your baby oil ready, and  lift your arms up in victory, it’s time for the Eye of the Tiger. Be sure to check out our review of Creed III which is the best sports anime film of all time. 

The Gang Talks Rocky and Creed

A podcast dedicated to kicking open the door to your next favorite thing. Our mission, our creed, our code is this... to make all things more approachable and accessible to EVERYONE. We want you to find a universe that you’ll fall in love with.

TV & Film

Comedy

Adapt Deez, a brand new season of GateCrashers, is dedicated to appreciating media adaptations in all their many forms! From the classic book-to-movie adaptations to the many iterations associated and in-between, episodes of Adapt Deez will focus on a specific property and its (officially licensed) adaptations. Not simply a recounting of the differences and similarities between each adaptation, Adapt Deez aims to highlight the ways in which each iteration shines and how its individual media-specific properties—such as film scores, casting, and packaging—elevate the material and affect the way each work is received.  In today’s episode, Amanda and Jon discuss the many iterations of The Lightning Thief, the first book in the Percy Jackon & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. Originally published in 2005, The Lightning Thief has gone on to receive critical acclaim and has since spawned numerous adaptations and launched the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles, a media franchise consisting of various mediums, including three additional book series, several standalone novels, graphic novel adaptations, short story collections, films, a television series, a musical, a video game, and more. The Lightning Thief follows 12-year-old Percy Jackson, who lives with ADHD and dyslexia. When on a school field trip, he encounters a Fury, a goddess of vengeance sent to eliminate him. Though he survives the encounter, nothing about Percy’s life will ever be the same, especially when he learns that his best friend Grover is actually a satyr assigned to protect him and his favorite teacher turns out to be a centaur named Chiron. Things continue to spiral until Percy arrives at Camp Half-Blood—a protective stronghold for demigods, or children of Greek gods—and is informed that Zeus believes Percy has stolen his master lightning bolt, sending Percy on a dangerous quest to retrieve it or risk further peril. Focusing on the first book, Amanda and Jon dive into both the 2010 film adaptation Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief—directed by Chris Columbus and starring “white boy of the century” Logan Lerman as the titular Percy Jackson—and the recently released Disney+ series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians (with a special shout out to the Off-Broadway musical of the same name).  

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson & the Olympians)

Adapt Deez, a brand new season of GateCrashers, is dedicated to appreciating media adaptations in all their many forms! From the classic book-to-movie adaptations to the many iterations associated and in-between, episodes of Adapt Deez will focus on a specific property and its (officially licensed) adaptations. Not simply a recounting of the differences and similarities between each adaptation, Adapt Deez aims to highlight the ways in which each iteration shines and how its individual media-specific properties—such as film scores, casting, and packaging—elevate the material and affect the way each work is received.  In today’s episode, Amanda, Amir, and Jon discuss the Academy Award-winning movie The Social Network. The film—which received eight nominations at the 83rd Academy Awards, including for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for leading man Jesse Eisenberg, and won for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Film Editing—released in 2010 from Sony Pictures, and was directed by David Fincher. The screenplay was written by Aaron Sorkin, and was adapted from The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal, a work of narrative nonfiction by Ben Mezrich that was published in 2009 by Doubleday. The Social Network tells the story of the founding of social media service Facebook in 2004 by Harvard college students Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes, and Andrew McCollum. Focusing primarily on the relationship—and fall out—between Zuckerberg, played by Eisenberg, and Saverin, portrayed by Andrew Garfield in what would become his international breakthrough role, The Social Network spans several years from Facebook’s inception to the depositions between Zuckerberg and Saverin, and Zuckerberg and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (Armie Hammer/Josh Pence), twins and fellow Harvard students. If you think that sounds dry, just wait until you witness Amanda, Amir, and Jon’s dramatic reenactments of iconic scenes—we guarantee you’ll be just as riveted by this biographical drama as we were more than a decade ago.  

The Social Network

Adapt Deez, a brand new season of GateCrashers, is dedicated to appreciating media adaptations in all their many forms! From the classic book-to-movie adaptations to the many iterations associated and in between, episodes of Adapt Deez will focus on a specific property and its (officially licensed) adaptations. Not simply a recounting of the differences and similarities between each adaptation, Adapt Deez aims to highlight the ways in which each iteration shines and how its individual media-specific properties—such as film scores, casting, and packaging—elevate the material and affect the way each work is received.  In the first episode of the season, Amanda, Patrick, and Jon discuss the book Holes by Louis Sachar, which was published in 1998. The Newbery Medal-winning novel follows 14-year-old Stanley Yelnats who, following a false criminal accusation, is sentenced to 18 months at Camp Green Lake, a juvenile correctional boot camp in Texas. Stanley imagines a picturesque, lakeside facility, at which he’ll participate in classic character-building activities. But when he arrives, he learns that Camp Green Lake is located in the middle of a dried-up lake bed; it hasn’t rained there in over 100 years; and instead of swimming and hiking, Stanley must dig a hole while baking away in the unforgiving desert sun. Holes was adapted into a feature film of the same name by Walt Disney Pictures in 2003. Directed by Andrew Davis—with a script written by the author himself—the movie stars film industry greats such as Sigourney Weaver, Patricia Arquette, Jon Voight, Dulé Hill, Henry Winkler, and Tim Blake Nelson. It was also the motion picture debut of Shia LaBeouf, who played Stanley. The novel is still taught in middle school classrooms and the movie’s end credit song—”Dig It” by the D-Tent Boys—remains just as iconic today as it was when we first heard it on the Disney Channel more than 20 years ago.  

Holes

It’s the season finale of Capes ‘N Cowards, and we saved the best for last. Today we’re talking about  Minor Threats, the delightfully diabolical comic from Patton Oswalt, Jordan Blum, and Scott Hepburn that ignited an all-new universe. The series follows five D-list supervillains who try to stop a rampaging superhero called the Insomniac from tearing their city apart. After the Insomniac's sidekick, Kid Dusk, was killed by his nemesis, the Stickman, the Insomniac was thrust into the pursuit of vengeance, and the only way for our heroes- I mean, villains- to put an end to it is to kill the Stickman themselves. The story features an imaginative twist on the familiar archetypes and tropes of comic books, all from the perspective of the kinds of characters usually stuck at the bottom of the food chain. Can’t get enough caped capers? Good, because this episode has an all-new audio drama from the world of Minor Threats. Hear the triumphant ascension of two misfit nobodies, B.A.C. and Parvus Canus, who use their respective masteries over whiskey (as well as other fluids) and dogs (under forty pounds) to seize a new future together. It’s truly a beautiful tale.

Minor Threats

 We are back with another adventure in our Capes 'N Cowards season! Last week we brought you the adventures of The Venture Bros. but this week we return fully to the worlds of superheroes. On today's episode, we are covering one of the weirder superhero films, we are talking about Mystery Men.   Mystery Men is a film loosely based on Bob Burden's Flaming Carrot Comics. It follows a group of misfits, weirdos, and outcasts from the superhero world of Champion City. The team is "lead" by Mr. Furious and features the Shoveler and the Blue Raja. As the world turns quickly turmoil, this group of weirdos has to find more like them to make a team to save the world. These aren't the cream of the crop but more like the heroes you call when everyone else is busy but they've got the heart to save the world.   The film has one of the most impressive cast lists including Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, William H. Macy, Greg Kinnear, Claire Forlani, Kel Mitchell, Paul Reubens, Janeane Garofalo, Wes Studi, Geoffrey Rush, Lena Olin, Suzy Izzard, and Tom Waits. The cast is stacked with absolutely incredible talent and features a handful of cameos that still blow me away. Who decided Michael Bay would play a frat boy supervillain? I just want to shake their hands.   Cid and Dan talk about the film at length. Cid gives their thoughts on what the film is trying to capture. They also get into how the film has aged but more so how it was ahead of it's time.   As the superhero film craze gets closer and closer to bursting, it's the best time to take a look back at Mystery Men which satirized these films before they even existed. If there was any film that was released before its time, it is Mystery Men. It sits in a place before the superhero craze changed film forever.   Make sure to check out our past episodes including the first episode of the season which covers The Boys which you can see a lot of inspiration from this film in. 

The Gang Talks Rocky and Creed

Download our free app to listen on your phone