Verbal Diorama

Are we ready to talk about Keanu's best role in cinema?

Ok, so it might not be exactly that, but I have a LOT of love for Francis Ford Coppola's lavish, sublime and gorgeous adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula. So much so that I don't even mind Keanu's stilted performance - it's no way as bad as many say it is, although that might be my bias shining through.

It's a visual treat for the eyes, with stunning costume design by first-time costume designer Eiko Ishioka and incredibly practical in-camera special effects, headed by first-time visual effects director Roman Coppola (son of Francis Ford Coppola), as well as an unforgettable lead performance by the one and only Gary Oldman as Count Dracula; an icon of literature, TV and cinema for almost 100 years.

This movie showed us that love, lust, sexual desire and terror are not mutually exclusive, and Coppola's vision would not only give us the only Academy Award-winning adaptation of the Dracula story, but also shape the way vampires (and the legendary Count himself) are portrayed in modern cinema.

I love you too much to condemn you.

I would love to hear your thoughts on Bram Stoker's Dracula!

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Thank you to all the patrons Simon E, Sade, Jardiel, Claudia, Simon B, Laurel, Derek, Jason, Kristin, Cat, Andy, Mike, Griff, Luke, Emily, Michael, Scott, Mark, Brendan, Ian, Lisa, Sam, Will and Jack.

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EPISODE THANKS TO....

Most excellent patrons:

Andy from Geek Salad for his Patron thoughts. You can find him @geeksaladradio on Twitter

Derek and Laurel from The Midnight Myth for their Patron thoughts. You can find them @TheMidnightMyth on Twitter

Subscribe, follow and listen to Geek Salad and The Midnight Myth in your podcast app of choice!

And also to Patron Claudia for her thoughts!

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Theme Music: Verbal Diorama Theme Song

Music by Chloe Enticott - Compositions by Chloe

Lyrics by Chloe Enticott (and me!)

Production by Ellis Powell-Bevan of Ewenique Studio

James Gunn is mostly known nowadays for his work with Marvel Studios for the Guardians of the Galaxy duology (and his famous firing and re-hiring from said company), and his most recent DC release The Suicide Squad which he made during his Marvel hiatus (similarities between this movie and the character of Starro not withstanding!)

Before Marvel took a chance on him, he was a reasonably well known writer, having worked on the two Scooby-Doo live action movies, as well as writing Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead remake. After his work on Dawn of the Dead he started writing Slither, a tribute and homage to the horror B-movies he loved.

With obvious homages to Shivers, The Blob, The Thing and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (but not Night of the Creeps, despite popular opinion that it is!), Slither is a gruesome, grotesque, imaginative take on an alien creature's plans to dominate the Earth, featuring excellent practical creature effects and imagery that you won't forget for a long time.

And what does the sex toy industry have to do with the production of Slither? Find out in this episode!

I would love to hear your thoughts on Slither!

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SUPPORT VERBAL DIORAMA....

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Thank you to all the patrons Simon E, Sade, Jardiel, Claudia, Simon B, Laurel, Derek, Jason, Kristin, Cat, Andy, Mike, Griff, Luke, Emily, Michael, Scott, Mark, Brendan, Ian, Lisa, Dan, Sam and brand-new patrons Will and Jack!

Buy Merch! https://verbaldiorama.com/merch

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EPISODE THANKS TO....

Most excellent patrons:

Sam from Movie Reviews in 20 Q's for his Patron thoughts. You can find him @MovieReviewsIn on Twitter

Subscribe, follow and listen to Movie Reviews in 20 Q's in your podcast app of choice!

And also to Patron Dan for his thoughts!

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Theme Music: Verbal Diorama Theme Song

Music by Chloe Enticott - Compositions by Chloe

Lyrics by Chloe Enticott (and me!)

Production by Ellis Powell-Bevan of Ewenique Studios.

The final episode of Sequeltember, Gremlins 2: The New Batch is, in many ways a total anomaly. It's likely many a millennial's first foray into the Gremlins universe (Gremlinverse?) due to it's focus on the cartoonish humour, rather than the horror aspects of the 1984 original. Plus it’s not often a director gets to make a sequel that the studio is so desperate for that they will relinquish creative control.

This is a movie that knows it’s a cash grab sequel, but makes a mockery of it. It successfully manages to lampoon everything about its own world and mythology, even down to the ridiculous rules of Mogwai ownership.

There’s no denying that Gremlins (1984) is a classic, and yet Gremlins 2 somehow manages to elevate itself because it knows the premise of the first movie is ridiculous. It doesn’t just stop at self-referencing and satirising itself though, it takes the Hollywood system of sequels and just throws shot after shot, while also upping the ante of its own production by making more diverse; literally a new batch of Gremlins.

Gremlins 2: The New Batch is a completely self-aware, insane commentary on '80s excess, commercialism and greed, as well as being hilariously and fourth-wall-breakingly funny. That alone makes it one of the best sequels ever made, and the perfect end to this Sequeltember season.

I would love to hear your thoughts on Gremlins 2: The New Batch! The previous episode on Gremlins can be found at https://www.verbaldiorama.com/episode/gremlins

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SUPPORT VERBAL DIORAMA....

Leave a 5-star rating/review: Apple Podcasts or Podchaser

Join the Patreon: https://verbaldiorama.com/patreon

Thank you to all the patrons Simon E, Sade, Jardiel, Claudia, Simon B, Laurel, Derek, Jason, Kristin, Cat, Andy, Mike, Griff, Luke, Emily, Michael, Scott, Mark, Brendan, Ian, Lisa, Dan and Sam!

Buy Merch! https://verbaldiorama.com/merch

Tees, mugs, hoodies and totes are available!

EPISODE THANKS TO....

Most excellent patrons:

Andy from Geek Salad for his Patron thoughts. You can find him @geeksaladradio on Twitter

Derek from The Midnight Myth for his Patron thoughts. You can find him @TheMidnightMyth on Twitter

And Brendan for his Patron thoughts, too!

Subscribe, follow and listen to Geek Salad and The Midnight Myth in your podcast app of choice!

Twitter peeps

• @BrickedPit
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Theme Music: Verbal Diorama Theme Song

Music by Chloe Enticott - Compositions by Chloe

Lyrics by Chloe Enticott (and me!)

Production by Ellis Powell-Bevan of Ewenique Studios.

Welcome to the first Nanorama episode - episodes slightly shorter, but focusing on interesting titbits of information.

For this inaugural Nanorama, I'm continuing with the Alien franchise by talking a little about the multiple screenplay attempts for Alien 3 and the differences between David Fincher's experiences working with 20th Century Fox to Jean-Pierre Jeunet's on Alien Resurrection.

Alien 3 reportedly had several attempts at a screenplay, most of which didn't even include Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley, but some remnants of plot did end up in the final film, including how we ended up on a prison ship for David Fincher's directorial debut, which he has since disowned.

Alien Resurrection also started without Ripley, as a smaller budget spin off focused on a clone of Newt, until Joss Whedon got involved with the script. Sigourney Weaver was adamant she was not going to return to the franchise for Alien Resurrection, but then she got offered a huge salary, an executive producer credit and the previously deceased Ripley got cloned...

Special thanks to friends and excellent human beings over at The Rewind Movie Podcast @rewindmoviecast, for allowing use of their specially made cover art for Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection for this episode of Verbal Diorama.

Art is by Devlin https://devlindoesdrawing.com.

Listen to The Rewind Movie Podcast's entire Alien Quadrilogy series.

In the pantheon of great sequels, nothing comes close to James Cameron's Aliens. It takes everything great about Ridley Scott's Alien and builds on it. It gives us more backstory for Ripley, more human characters for Ripley (and the audience) to form relationships with, and more importantly (especially as it's in the name), more aliens!

The Alien Queen is both antithetic and comparable to Ripley. They're both mothers, both fiercely protective of their young, but unlike the alien queen's selfish motherhood, Ripley is selfless, and will die to protect young orphan Newt (which is even more poignant in the Director's Cut after finding out about the death of Ripley's own daughter)

Unlike Alien's H.R. Giger designs, these xenomorphs are from the mind of James Cameron and the legendary Stan Winston studio, providing practical puppets that are still awe-inspiring and terrifying 35 years later.

Everything about this movie is perfect, except maybe the situation surrounding Vazquez. I just don't believe that muscular Latina actresses didn't exist in 1986....

Special thanks to friends and excellent human beings over at The Rewind Movie Podcast @rewindmoviecast, for allowing use of their specially made cover art for Aliens for this episode of Verbal Diorama.

Art is by Devlin https://devlindoesdrawing.com.

Listen to The Rewind Movie Podcast's Aliens episode, and their entire Alien Quadrilogy series.

I would love to hear your thoughts on Aliens! The previous episode on Alien can be found at https://www.verbaldiorama.com/episode/alien

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SUPPORT VERBAL DIORAMA....

Leave a 5-star rating/review: Apple Podcasts or Podchaser

Join the Patreon: https://verbaldiorama.com/patreon

Thank you to all the patrons Simon E, Sade, Jardiel, Claudia, Simon B, Laurel, Derek, Jason, Kristin, Cat, Andy, Mike, Griff, Luke, Emily, Michael, Scott, Mark, Brendan, Ian, Lisa, Dan and Sam!

Buy Merch! https://verbaldiorama.com/merch

Tees, mugs, hoodies and totes are available!

EPISODE THANKS TO....

Most excellent patrons:

Andy from Geek Salad for his Patron thoughts. You can find him @geeksaladradio on Twitter

Scott from Monkey See Monkey Review for his Patron thoughts. You can find him @MSMRpod on Twitter

Derek from The Midnight Myth for his Patron thoughts. You can find him @TheMidnightMyth on Twitter

And Brendan for his Patron thoughts, too!

Subscribe, follow and listen to Geek Salad, Monkey See Monkey Review and The Midnight Myth in your podcast app of choice!

Twitter peeps

• @chancewhitmore5
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Theme Music: Verbal Diorama Theme Song

Music by Chloe Enticott - Compositions by Chloe

Lyrics by Chloe Enticott (and me!)

Production by Ellis Powell-Bevan of Ewenique Studios.

100 episodes ago, I covered The Mummy (1999). It's still the greatest movie ever made. The Mummy Returns, the 2001 sequel to The Mummy, was always going to struggle to live up to the fun, charismatic original (especially in my eyes)

Nowadays, The Mummy is revered as a modern classic that reinvigorated pulp action adventure movies, but The Mummy Returns languishes in the sand dunes of Hamunaptra for its visual effects; which are often labelled on the internet as "the worst VFX shot(s) ever".

But The Mummy Returns was always planned to be bigger in scale and scope, and that included visually. Writer/director Stephen Sommers wanted to eclipse the original with more monsters. In many ways, The Mummy Returns achieves that desired upgrade, in others it doesn't. It has grand ambitions, even though it doesn't quite meet them.

20-year-old visual effects are never going to look great against modern standards, especially when the visual effects team were struggling with time and budget constraints. Maybe it's about time we cut The Mummy Returns some slack, and appreciate what it does do well? It may not reach the high heights of its predecessor, but it's a fun sequel that deserves your appreciation.

Corridor Crew's fix for the "worst VFX shot ever" is available to watch here.

I would love to hear your thoughts on The Mummy Returns! The previous episode on The Mummy can be found at https://www.verbaldiorama.com/episode/the-mummy-1999

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SUPPORT VERBAL DIORAMA....

Leave a 5-star rating/review: Apple Podcasts or Podchaser

Join the Patreon: https://verbaldiorama.com/patreon

Thank you to all the patrons Simon E, Sade, Jardiel, Claudia, Simon B, Laurel, Derek, Jason, Kristin, Cat, Andy, Mike, Griff, Luke, Emily, Michael, Scott, Mark, Brendan, Ian, Lisa, Dan and Sam!

Buy Merch! https://verbaldiorama.com/merch

Tees, mugs, hoodies and totes are available!

EPISODE THANKS TO....

Most excellent patrons:

Andy from Geek Salad for his Patron thoughts. You can find Geek Salad @geeksaladradio on Twitter

Griff from The Paul and Griff Show for his Patron thoughts. You can find The Paul and Griff Show @paulngriffshow on Twitter

And Brendan for his Patron thoughts, too!

Subscribe, follow and listen to Geek Salad in your podcast app of choice!

Twitter peeps

• @DWLundberg
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Theme Music: Verbal Diorama Theme Song

Music by Chloe Enticott - Compositions by Chloe

Lyrics by Chloe Enticott (and me!)

Production by Ellis Powell-Bevan of Ewenique Studios.

Sweet mother of Abraham Lincoln! Toy Story 2 has a story to tell!

Yes, it's the first Pixar sequel, momentous in its own right, but it started off as a Disney direct-to-video sequel, with a character called Senorita Cactus and a talking Bullseye, voiced by Martin Short....

Then it became a theatrical release!

Then it got deleted accidentally!

Then it got deleted on purpose!

Then it got remade in nine months!

Just one of these facts would be a miracle. Toy Story 2 has four. Pixar went above and beyond to ensure Toy Story 2 didn't just match Toy Story; that it surpassed it visually and emotionally, and introduced new characters without sacrificing the arcs of existing characters. Truly, Jessie and Bullseye feel like they've always been in Andy's room.

Toy Story 2 could have easily been just a direct-to-video cash grab, but making it a theatrical release was the thing that brought in the big buck-buck-bucks, and cemented it as Pixar's greatest franchise.

The article on the Pixar blooper reels can be found here

I would love to hear your thoughts on Toy Story 2! The previous episode on Toy Story can be found at https://www.verbaldiorama.com/episode/toy-story

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SUPPORT VERBAL DIORAMA....

Leave a 5-star rating/review: Apple Podcasts or Podchaser

Join the Patreon: https://verbaldiorama.com/patreon

Thank you to all the patrons Simon E, Sade, Jardiel, Claudia, Simon B, Laurel, Derek, Jason, Kristin, Cat, Andy, Mike, Griff, Luke, Emily, Michael, Scott, Mark, Brendan, Ian, Lisa, Dan and Sam!

Buy Merch! https://verbaldiorama.com/merch

Tees, mugs, hoodies and totes are available!

EPISODE THANKS TO....

Most excellent patrons:

Andy from Geek Salad for his Patron thoughts. You can find Geek Salad @geeksaladradio on Twitter

And Dan & Brendan for their Patron thoughts, too!

Subscribe, follow and listen to Geek Salad in your podcast app of choice!

Twitter peeps

• @PandaShaun
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Theme Music: Verbal Diorama Theme Song

Music by Chloe Enticott - Compositions by Chloe

Lyrics by Chloe Enticott (and me!)

Production by Ellis Powell-Bevan of Ewenique Studios.

Mutants. Since the discovery of their existence, they have been regarded with fear, suspicion, often hatred. Across the planet debate rages. Are mutants the next link in the evolutionary chain? Or simply a new species of humanity, fighting for their share of the world? Either way, it is an historical fact that sharing the world has never been humanity's defining attribute.

X-Men 2 took the mould made by its 2000 predecessor, and made it bigger, bolder and better. For the first movie in Sequeltember, I take a look into its guaranteed greenlighting after the first movie's success, the comic book storyline behind the plot, and the introduction of one of the greatest comic book characters put to film; Alan Cumming's Nightcrawler - a blue-skinned demon with a kind heart and strong faith that also happens to feature in one of the greatest cold opens of any superhero movie.

Honestly, it's just such a shame that this movie, as well as its predecessor, is so blighted by association to Bryan Singer. His behaviour on the set of this movie actually got a major cast member injured and yet the guy still kept getting hired....

X-Men 2 is widely seen as one of the best X-Men movies, and started the evolution of superhero cinema. Well mutation is the key to our evolution....

I would love to hear your thoughts on X-Men 2! The previous episode on X-Men can be found at https://www.verbaldiorama.com/episode/x-men

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SUPPORT VERBAL DIORAMA....

Leave a 5-star rating/review: Apple Podcasts or Podchaser

Join the Patreon: https://verbaldiorama.com/patreon

Thank you to all the patrons Simon E, Sade, Jardiel, Claudia, Simon B, Laurel, Derek, Jason, Kristin, Cat, Andy, Mike, Griff, Luke, Emily, Michael, Scott, Mark, Brendan, Ian, Lisa, Dan and Sam!

Buy Merch! https://verbaldiorama.com/merch

Tees, mugs, hoodies and totes are available!

EPISODE THANKS TO....

Most excellent patrons:

Andy & Mike from Geek Salad for his Patron thoughts. You can find Geek Salad @geeksaladradio on Twitter

Derek from The Midnight Myth for his Patron thoughts. You can find The Midnight Myth @TheMidnightMyth on Twitter

Sam from Movie Reviews in 20 Q's for his Patron thoughts. You can find Movie Reviews in 20 Q's @MovieReviewsIn on Twitter

Subscribe, follow and listen to Geek Salad, The Midnight Myth and Movie Reviews in 20 Q's in your podcast app of choice!

Twitter peeps

• @FilmEffectPod
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• @friendlysparpod

Facebook chums

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Theme Music: Verbal Diorama Theme Song

Music by Chloe Enticott - Compositions by Chloe

Lyrics by Chloe Enticott (and me!)

Production by Ellis Powell-Bevan of Ewenique Studios.

Through dangers untold, and hardships unnumbered, It's my birthday and because I ask for so little. Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave, I've brought you a gift! Here's the third annual birthday episode - a special episode based on one of the defining movies of my life.

You've had The Iron Giant and Jurassic Park, and now.... I have reordered time, I have turned the world upside down, and I have done it all for you.

Jim Henson's Labyrinth, starring David Bowie & Jennifer Connelly is still magic to me. The puppet work is some of the best put to screen, and yet it was such a financial disappointment it devastated Jim Henson, making it the last movie he directed. It really is a phenomenal achievement though. It also introduced me to one of my first on-screen crushes: the legendary David Bowie. How you turn my world, you precious thing.

I move the stars for no one, except my listeners.

How are you enjoying my labyrinth? And don't forget to Dance, Magic Dance!

Most of us grew up on adaptations of fairy tales; on stories of princesses, animal companions, and ultimately a happily ever after ending.

Guillermo del Toro successfully interprets and deconstructs the fairy tale in his 2006 masterpiece Pan's Labyrinth, by blending a nightmarish fantasy world of fauns, fairies and quests, with a similarly nightmarish real world of war, fascist regimes and evil stepparents with beautiful practical effects and make-up.

Disobedience is often seen as "wrong", but in this story, disobedience is framed as the right thing to do. Ofelia disobeys and follows her own gut and suffers the consequences. Mercedes and Doctor Ferriero disobey Captain Vidal to help the rebel fighters. Ofelia's disobedience and choices shape the morals of this story - that evil is bad, innocence is good and that faun's are never completely trustworthy.

Everything about this beautiful, dark, twisted fairy-tale is perfectly realised on screen. I truly believe this is del Toro's magnum opus, and a movie everyone needs on their to-watch list.

I would love to hear your thoughts on Pan's Labyrinth!

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SUPPORT VERBAL DIORAMA....

Leave a 5-star rating/review: Apple Podcasts or Podchaser

Join the Patreon: https://verbaldiorama.com/patreon

Thank you to all the patrons Simon E, Sade, Jardiel, Claudia, Simon B, Laurel, Derek, Jason, Kristin, Cat, Andy, Mike, Griff, Luke, Emily, Michael, Scott, Mark, Brendan, Ian, Lisa, Dan and Sam!

Buy Merch! https://verbaldiorama.com/merch

Tees, mugs, hoodies and totes are available!

EPISODE THANKS TO....

Most excellent patrons:

Andy from Geek Salad for his Patron thoughts. You can find Geek Salad @geeksaladradio on Twitter

Derek and Laurel from The Midnight Myth for his Patron thoughts. You can find The Midnight Myth @TheMidnightMyth on Twitter and their Pan's Labyrinth episode is here

Sam from Movie Reviews in 20 Q's for his Patron thoughts. You can find Movie Reviews in 20 Q's @MovieReviewsIn on Twitter

And to Ian and Brendan for their Patron thoughts as well!

Subscribe, follow and listen to Geek Salad, The Midnight Myth and Movie Reviews in 20 Q's in your podcast app of choice!

Twitter peeps

• @bestfilmeverpod
• @ThiefCGT
• @wafflesthemagic

Instagram folk

• None this time

Facebook chums

• None this time

Theme Music: Verbal Diorama Theme Song

Music by Chloe Enticott - Compositions by Chloe

Lyrics by Chloe Enticott (and me!)

Production by Ellis Powell-Bevan of Ewenique Studios.