Podcast Reaction: Villains Edition

This week the podcast came out a day early, but I got a new Kindle Fire and don’t know yet how to download the show before going to work to listen during my lunch break.  And no, downloading at work isn’t an option.  Because reasons.  There are some, but I won’t go into them.  Anyway, here’s the podcast reaction.

I don’t really have anything else to add to the discussion of The Martian.  It’s a great book, and I gave a SPOILER-FREE review for it elsewhere.  Like right here.

Instead, let’s talk about how to make a good villain.

Going Through The DCAU Part Four

Continuing Jimmy and Tom’s rewatch of the DCAU.

Sequels Better Than The Originals

 

Age of Ultron came out last week.  Like many geeks and fans of the Marvel movies, I saw it that weekend.

And, to be completely spoiler free, I was also a little disappointed.  I won’t really go into why here.  The problem for many sequels, and Age of Ultron was no exception, is that its hard to meet expectations.  The Matrix sequels were highly anticipated, and were a major letdown.  Big budget action sequels often do stuff like go back to what came before and seemed to work, and then doing more and more of that.  Meanwhile, the novelty has somewhat worn off.  Take, as an example, the big fight in the middle of Anchorman:  The Legend of Ron Burgundy.  No one really saw it coming, and it was full of amusing cameos from recognizable actors.  Naturally, when the sequel was made (a movie I mostly enjoyed, truth be told), the fight was expanded and made even crazier, as befits a sequel.  Was it better?  Not really.

But every so often, a movie comes out that is a sequel that is just plain better than the original.  It doesn’t happen often, but below the cut are some of my picks for sequels better than the originals.

Does Your Favorite Superhero Movie Pass The Bechdel Test?

With Superhero movies becoming more and more popular and prevalent these days, it’s time to discuss the gender balance (or lack there of) we tend to see in such movies. We are familiar with the popularity of Batman, Superman, Spider-man, Ironman, Aquaman(? – if only to Watson), etc. But where do the female superheros fit in this male dominated franchise? With kick-ass characters like Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Blackwidow, and more…how have we failed to properly tip the scales so that movie goers are seeing equal representation on screen?