The Review Show

Episode 294. We chow down on the first two volumes of Chew, the 2009 comic from John Layman and Rob Guillory. Whenever Tony Chu eats something, he gets a psychic impression of its history. He can see where produce was grown or how meat was slaughtered, or if he bites a dead body, he can see that person's last moments. He uses this power as an agent for the FDA, solving bizarre food-related crimes in a world where where chicken has been outlawed and is now treated as an illicit substance. We discuss the nonstop antics, scribbled-in background jokes, the narrative's slow release of info on the deadly bird flu that led to the chicken ban, and character designs modeled after actors from Lost.

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Episode 293. We run from a bi-plane right into a discussion on Alfred Hitchcock's 1959 thriller North by Northwest! Roger Thornhill is caught up in a web of espionage and danger after he's mistaken for a secret agent, and this humdrum advertising exec has to play the action hero to get out of this conspiracy alive. We share our experiences going to the Fathom Events theatrical screening for this movie's 65th anniversary, its influence on spy stories, the surprising amount of humor, unconvincing makeout scenes, and Kyle's galaxy brain theory about how the main characters are dead at the end of the movie.

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Episode 292. In preparation for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, we caught up on the trilogy of Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017). These films act as a prequel to the original 1968 movie, showing how apes gained human intelligence and eventually drove humans out of their civilization. We discuss the sub-genres in each movie, from prison break to political thriller, the impressive mo-cap performances and thoughtful world-building, if a gorilla could really ride a horse, and the "Old Spice" aesthetic of epicness from the late 2000s.

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Episode 291. We conclude Apple April by watching season one of the Apple TV+ espionage drama, Slow Horses. MI5 agents who have notorious failures but who aren't incompetent enough to be fired are demoted to Slough House, an outpost where they do menial tasks under the command of the misanthropic Jackson Lamb. This team of misfits has a chance to prove themselves when they stumble upon a kidnapping conspiracy that may have been orchestrated by one of their own M15 bosses. We discuss how the show builds on its ensemble cast and knows exactly when to give you more time with a supporting character, the balance of dumb mistakes with genuine clever spycraft, and a scene where Gary Oldman farts that will make all dads stand up and clap.

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Episode 290. It's Apple April, where we're exploring content from Apple TV+. This week is the first season of Hello Tomorrow!, a 2023 workplace dramedy set in a retro-futuristic world. Jack Billings left his family behind to become a traveling salesman for Brightside, a timeshare development on the moon. When his son unknowingly attends one of his sales seminars, he decides to take the boy under his wing as a new employee, waiting until the right moment to reveal that he's his long-absent father. This isn't Jack's only secret, and the moon might not be the ideal destination he promises. We discuss the show's themes of hard truths vs. gentle lies, what it means to believe in a dream and fake it until you make it, the impressive production design, and robot hands.

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Episode 289. We're discussing Jordan Peele's 2019 horror film Us, about a family whose beach house is invaded by horrifying dopplegangers of themselves, after the mother survived an encounter with one of them when she was younger. We discuss the puzzling origin of these doubles and the unnerving abruptness of the movie's ending, dream logic, liminal spaces, and buff nerds.

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Episode 288. Friend of the show and master of electricity Ignacio Rojas joins us to talk about Weathering With You, a 2019 anime movie from director Makoto Shinkai. 15-year-old Hodaka runs away from home to start a new life in Tokyo, where he meets Hina, another teenager working to support herself and her kid brother. Hina is secretly a "sunshine girl" who can summon the sun and banish clouds, which the two use to earn money during an intensely rainy season, but the power could cost Hina her life. We discuss how this compares to Shinkai's earlier film Your Name, the accurate Tokyo settings down to a real McDonald's, themes of finding your own happiness on an alternate path in life, and your "senpai" being a 10-year-old with two girlfriends.

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Episode 287. We read the 12-issue DC limited series The Human Target, from writer Tom King and artist Greg Smallwood. Christopher Chance is the Human Target, a secret operative you can hire to masquerade as you and take the hits from your enemies. He drinks a poison meant for Lex Luthor and has only 12 days left to live. He's determined to use this time to solve who is behind this assassination attempt, and all signs point to a member of the Justice League International. We discuss how much DC knowledge you need before reading this story, the juxtaposition of classic noir tropes with a bright mid-century art style, and comparisons to the prolific poisoning-based story The Emperor's New Groove.

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Episode 286. We watched the 1985 detective show Moonlighting, an early "dramedy" and legend in will-they-won't-they romance. After a crooked accountant steals her money, former supermodel Maddie Hayes bets everything on her one remaining business asset, a small detective agency. She teams up with the goofy but effective PI David Addison, and the two bicker and flirt while solving a variety of odd crimes. We discuss the jarring shifts from poignant drama to screwball comedy, the receptionist who answers every phone call in rhyme, David bringing Chester Cheetah energy, romantic soft focus lenses, and a standout Christmas episode.

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Episode 285. We watched season one of the Netflix animated series Blue Eye Samurai. At the time when baby Mizu was born with blue eyes, all outsiders were banned from Japan and the only white men known to be in the country were heinous criminals. After growing up an outcast, Mizu is now an adult trained in the sword, determined to find and kill those men. We discuss the impressive fight choreography, the surprising amount of blood and sex, horny poetry, and characters with speech impediments.

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