The Review Show

Episode 323. We read the first two volumes of The Terrifics, a DC story featuring fan-favorite characters from James Gunn's Superman, in a format that feels more like Marvel's Fantastic Four. The best of both worlds! Mr. Terrific, Metamorpho, Plastic Man, and Phantom Girl find themselves literally stuck together -- if they're more than a mile apart from each other, they'll all explode -- and have to turn themselves into a real working team to solve a multiversal crisis. We discuss Plastic Man's ability to be truly, mind-bogglingly ANYTHING, classic Jeff Lemire sadness, "science" adventures, and if Alan Moore has ever once in his life jumped.

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Episode 322. We watched the first two seasons of Poker Face, the mystery comedy show created by Rian Johnson for Peacock. Charlie Cale is a cocktail waitress on the run from her casino's mob goons because of her uncanny ability to tell when someone is lying. She travels across the country trying to keep a low profile as she takes odd jobs and stumbles into mysteries. We discuss the feast of character actors and extremely niche settings in these murder-of-the-week episodes, the escalation from small town petty crime to regional mafia empires to a serial killer nemesis, what the "Good Buddy" plotline could turn into, and we demand an episode of ONLY smokey-voiced character actresses.

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Episode 321. For our annual Nicolas Cage weekend, we watch our earliest Cage yet in 1987's Raising Arizona. In this Coen Brothers caper, an infertile couple kidnaps a baby from a family of quintuplets, intending to raise him on their own, until criminals and manhunters get in their way. We discuss the movie's sincerity, the iconic chase scene, the tattoo mystery, John Goodman screaming, and how every small town movie just takes us back to Napoleon Dynamite.

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Episode 320. We bring our racecar nonsense to The Review Show by watching the 1971 movie Le Mans, set in the real 24-hour motorsports endurance race through the French countryside. We discuss the film slowly building anticipation before the race actually starts, Steve McQueen's movie star identity intertwining with cars and motorcycles, waxing philosophic on the roar of the engine, and watch sponsorships.

Link to Patrick H. Willems' video essay on Grand Prix: https://youtu.be/JPnTm8C_OfY?si=iQKOwlgnMz2rSZVH 

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Episode 319. We quick-change into our capes for an episode on Richard Donner's 1978 Superman: The Movie. This has all the classic Superman iconography you know and love, plus a complicated real estate scheme where Lex Luthor wants to sink the California coastline to make a new one. We discuss the strange pacing that makes you wait nearly an hour to see Superman in action, the surprisingly sincere romance (and horniness), Jor-El being a busy dad with two jobs, Midwestern wheat fields, how we expect James Gunn's Superman to emulate this or step away from it, and if we'll ever see a big-screen Superman with a mullet like that one comic from the 1990s.

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Episode 318. We return to the world of Valiant comics to read the first three volumes of Faith, from writer Jody Houser. Faith has always worked with a superhero team, but now she's setting out on her own to live in sunny Los Angeles and fight crime her own way, while keeping up a day job as a pop culture blogger. We discuss Faith's important role as a plus-size superhero and how the story doesn't need to call attention to how unusual that is, the endless barrage of nerdy references, mid-2010s time capsule moments, befriending your clone, and tips for going to your first comic con.

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Episode 317. We want to believe in this week's episode, a look back at the The X-Files movie from 1998. This movie, sometimes known under the subtitle Fight the Future, was released in theaters between seasons 5 and 6 of the TV show but tells a standalone story. Mulder and Scully are fighting for their careers, their lives, and their connection to each other as they're embroiled in a plot to release an ancient alien virus into the world. We talk about how this movie goes big while staying close to the roots of the show, textbook moves for writing an investigative partnership will-they-won't-they romance, the bees, the grandson with the broken leg, and how this is unique in the history of TV shows being turned into movies.

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Episode 316. It's a Review Show first as we try to dissect a sketch comedy show with no traditional narrative, I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson. This show premiered on Netflix in 2019 and made a mark with its focus on absurd escalations to everyday awkward interactions. We discuss how the show reflects a post-pandemic lockdown hyper-awareness of social interaction, the lack of recurring characters, the buff boy contest, Dan Flash shirts, and how Karl Havoc plays better if you know the story of Jim Carrey undergoing CIA torture resistance techniques just to put on his Grinch makeup.

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Episode 315. We watched the 2016 comedy I Was a Teenage Wereskunk, an homage to 1950s B-movies made on a shoestring budget. A teenage boy is sprayed by a magical skunk while he's trying to look at boobs and now he turns into a murderous skunk monster whenever he gets horny. We discuss how the movie is a deft parody of a variety of genres, the tiny house, the sexy pancakes, our new favorite character Deputy Gary, and trying to understand mid-century cultural tropes like beatniks and the Lover's Lane.

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Episode 314. We pay tribute to the late director David Lynch by watching his 2001 film Mulholland Drive. An aspiring actress finds a mysterious amnesiac woman hiding in her new Hollywood apartment, sparking a close bond between the two women, and a search for truth and identity. We ask whether it's possible to spoil the ending of this inscrutable movie and discuss its origins as a failed TV pilot, clues that don't lead you anywhere, selves within selves, the symbology of the jewelry box, and how many times Patrick Fischler was cast in other movies as an homage to the Winkie's scene.

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