Episode 312. We read the first two volumes of the Love Everlasting, from Tom King and Elsa Charretier. This is a psychological horror comic about a woman who finds herself trapped in a series of stereotypical romance stories, never sure when she's really falling in love and when she's just going through the motions trying to get out of this story and escape. We discuss the variety of vintage romance comic tropes, the mysterious cowboy who enforces the rules of this world, finding true love at the end of your life, and comparisons to The Prisoner. Click here to watch a video of this episode. (00:00) - Intro (00:04) - Welcome and banter (04:01) - Non-spoiler thoughts on Love Everlasting vol. 1-2 (15:13) - Housekeeping (21:18) - Spoilers for Love Everlasting vol. 1-2 (01:16:49) - Review Show Bingo (01:19:19) - Recommendations (01:33:31) - What we are discussing next episode (01:37:21) - Outro Follow us and join the conversation on Bluesky ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★…

Episode 311. We catch up to the current season of For All Mankind, as the show reaches the 1990s and begins the race for Mars, with a private company launching its own voyage alongside the USA and Russia. We discuss how the show has proven itself adept enough at drama in the early seasons to earn a few wild comedic moments now, having one specific human villain, and spending too much time on setup when we're ready to be introduced to a situation in media res. Kyle demands a sovereign colony on Mars. Melissa just wants Margo and Sergei to kiss again. We get very excited about homages to Lost. Click here to watch a video of this episode. (00:00) - Intro (00:04) - Welcome and banter (05:25) - Non-spoiler thoughts on For All Mankind s3-4 (16:30) - Housekeeping (20:40) - Spoilers for For All Mankind s3-4 (01:53:10) - Review Show Bingo (02:00:25) - Recommendations (02:07:02) - What we are discussing next episode (02:08:48) - Outro ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★…

Episode 310. We watched the first two seasons of For All Mankind, an Apple TV+ drama that looks at an alternate world history where the space race never ended, with each season jumping forward years to see a new era of exploration. We discuss the balance of tense space missions with equally tense interpersonal drama at home, how the show feels sprawling but also limited in only showing us the American or Russian side, breaking narrative rules, surprisingly nuanced supporting characters, and one of the best season finale cliffhangers in TV history. Click here to watch a video of this episode. (00:00) - Intro (00:04) - Welcome and banter (02:44) - Non-spoiler thoughts on For All Mankind s1-2 (18:13) - Housekeeping (23:42) - Spoilers for For All Mankind s1-2 (01:38:31) - Review Show Bingo (01:48:52) - Recommendations (02:00:30) - What we are discussing next episode (02:01:13) - Outro ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★…

Episode 309. We're talking on Sunshine, and don't it feel good! We watched the sci-fi thriller from director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland, about a space mission to launch a nuclear bomb that will revive the dying Sun and save Earth from death by ice age. The mission is thrown into chaos when the crew hears a distress signal from the first ship who attempted this mission and failed under mysterious circumstances. We discuss the cast of breakout stars and how the movie feels like it could be a hit new release this year and not a box office flop from 2007, strange stylistic choices, cosmic horror, a troubling haircut, and just what the 20th Century Fox logo is supposed to be. Is that a building? Can you go inside?? Click here to watch a video of this episode. (00:00) - Intro (00:04) - Welcome and banter (02:28) - Non-spoiler thoughts on Sunshine (16:29) - Housekeeping (20:42) - Spoilers for Sunshine (01:08:12) - Review Show Bingo (01:11:20) - Recommendations (01:22:40) - What we are discussing next episode (01:25:20) - Outro ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★…

Episode 308. It's an explosive start to 2025 as we watch all of the Bourne franchise: the trilogy of The Bourne Identity, Supremacy, and Ultimatum, the not-really-a-reboot The Bourne Legacy, and the attempted return to form with Jason Bourne. These movies follow an amnesiac secret agent as he attempts to uncover the corrupt government program that took his memories in exchange for deadly skills. We discuss the context of action cinema in 2002 and how the series adapted to industry changes like cinematic universes, the Matt Damon screen persona, the unique values of the oft-maligned Bourne Legacy, DVD bonus features, the Bourne Stuntacular at Universal Studios Orlando, and how these movies all have the same end credits sequence. Click here to watch a video of this episode. (00:00) - Intro (00:04) - Welcome and banter (02:02) - Non-spoiler thoughts on the Bourne franchise (20:28) - Housekeeping (26:16) - Spoilers for the Bourne movies (01:40:38) - Review Show Bingo (01:49:42) - Recommendations (01:56:55) - What we are discussing next episode (01:58:49) - Outro ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★…

Kyle and Melissa are here for a chill end-of-year celebration, looking back on our year in podcasting and looking ahead to our 2025 goals. We give out our Review Show awards, play a game of "What the Hell Were We Talking About?", run through our recent cinema experiences, talk about fancy cocktails and fancy mansions, and finally share our thoughts on the weird twist in the otherwise conventional neo-noir show Sugar. Click here to watch a video of this episode. (00:00) - Intro (00:03) - Welcome (02:17) - Cheers to nine years of The Whatnauts (04:59) - Melissa's holiday parties (09:04) - Have we done anything else for nine years? (13:02) - Break number 1 (13:04) - Kyle's got his pizza (17:36) - Alcoholic slushies and other drinks (27:03) - The mansion tour (37:07) - The Review Show awards (01:21:43) - Break number 2 (01:21:45) - Kyle's got his Old Fashioned (01:24:08) - What the hell were we talking about? (01:42:25) - A quick check in on our fantasy movie draft (01:47:53) - The Cinema Corner (01:55:54) - Spoilers for Sugar (01:57:46) - The Cinema Corner round 2 (02:07:42) - Out of Alcatraz (02:13:41) - Outro ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★…

Episode 307. In our final Review Show of the year, we rewatched Severance before season two premieres in January! Employees at a shadowy mega-corporation can choose to undergo a "severance" procedure, where their brain is divided between work memories and personal memories. A group of severed employees who know nothing outside of their office start to wonder what the purpose of their work actually is, what their outside lives are like, and what it'll take for them to escape. We discuss the myriad mysteries of the show and how the character motivations are the most compelling secrets of all, Ricken's attempts at philosophy, the seemingly empty company town, new departments we want to see in season two, and Cobel's "Hey Arnold" shrine. Click here to watch a video of this episode. (00:00) - Intro (00:04) - Welcome and banter (02:36) - Non-spoiler thoughts on Severance (17:39) - Housekeeping (22:23) - Spoilers for Severance (01:50:01) - Review Show Bingo (01:54:20) - Recommendations (02:14:49) - What we are discussing next episode (02:19:02) - Outro ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★…

Episode 306. We watched the 2018 limited series Escape at Dannemora, from director Ben Stiller. In this drama based on true events, two inmates start affairs with a civilian prison employee, and manipulate her to get them the tools they need to break out. We discuss how everything falls apart after the escape, the diegetic soundtrack of 2015 radio pop hits, tiny doll pants, and how a reference to Happy Gilmore has actual thematic resonance to the story. Click here to watch a video of this episode. (00:00) - Intro (00:04) - Welcome and banter (02:08) - Non-spoiler thoughts on Escape at Dannemora (16:42) - Housekeeping (22:41) - Spoilers for Escape at Dannemora (01:18:15) - Review Show Bingo (01:21:28) - Recommendations (01:30:59) - What we are discussing next episode (01:32:23) - Outro ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★…

Episode 305. They should've sent a poet... instead they got podcasters. We connect with Contact, the 1997 sci-fi drama from director Robert Zemekis, based on a novel from Carl Sagan. Dr. Ellie Arroway has spent her life listening to the stars, and the stars finally have a message for her. Humanity scrambles to decode an alien transmission and determine what to do with this new knowledge, and what it means for their very concept of facts vs. faith. We discuss the story's approachable and universal take on "lowercase f" faith, the eccentric billionaire who lives in a plane, that legendary mirror shot, and the rare sci-fi story that's comforting more than it is cautionary. Click here to watch a video of this episode. (00:00) - Intro (00:04) - Welcome and banter (03:18) - Non-spoiler thoughts on Contact (20:45) - Housekeeping (26:18) - Spoilers for Contact (01:12:32) - Review Show Bingo (01:17:37) - Recommendations (01:31:13) - What we are discussing next episode (01:35:44) - Outro ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★…

Episode 304. We watched Ti West's horror trilogy of X, Pearl, and Maxxxine. These movies take us from a 1970s adult film shoot turned deadly to a farmgirl's suffocating small town life in 1918 to the neon sleeze of 1980s LA. We discuss the sense of history in each of the films, repeated patterns of aging and feeling trapped and becoming the person you swore you wouldn't become, dual roles and special effects makeup, if character actor Toby Huss has become too well known to just be used for a couple minutes, and screaming at a scarecrow. Click here to watch a video of this episode. (00:00) - Intro (00:04) - Welcome and banter (04:46) - Non-spoiler thoughts on The X trilogy (19:32) - Housekeeping (24:25) - Spoilers for The X trilogy (01:18:53) - Review Show Bingo (01:20:34) - Recommendations (01:29:49) - What we are discussing next episode (01:32:00) - Outro ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★…

Episode 303. We kick off October with a look into DC Comics' dark magic side, reading Paul Dini's run on Zatanna. Our heroine is both a working stage magician and one of the most powerful magical beings in the universe, as she juggles solving supernatural crimes with maintaining her performance schedule. We discuss how Zatanna is more iconic than any actual real world female magicians, the story's sense of place in San Francisco, killer puppets, Brother Night, and the "please, just let me sleep" genre of heroes. Watch the video version of this episode. (00:00) - Intro (00:04) - Welcome and banter (03:13) - Non-spoiler thoughts on Zatanna (18:52) - Housekeeping (24:00) - Spoilers for Zatanna (01:15:56) - Review Show Bingo (01:19:49) - Recommendations (01:32:13) - What we are discussing next episode (01:34:59) - Outro ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★…

Episode 302. How has Kyle never seen Zodiac? That's the real mystery. Shametember corrects this error as we discuss David Fincher's 2007 true crime thriller. This movie follows the investigation into the Zodiac killer across decades through the perspective of detectives, journalists, and the few survivors of his attacks, all based on real accounts. We discuss the unnerving atmosphere and bizarre side-stories that are just as haunting as the main mystery, the atypical plot structure and pacing, Jake Gyllenhaal looking like a human Muppet, and how we see Fincher continue these themes in his show Mindhunter. Click here to watch a video of this episode. (00:00) - Intro (00:04) - Welcome and banter (05:14) - Non-spoiler thoughts on Zodiac (26:14) - Housekeeping (31:18) - Spoilers for Zodiac (01:30:16) - Review Show Bingo (01:35:48) - Recommendations (01:46:20) - What we are discussing next episode (01:49:03) - Outro ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★…

Episode 301. Shametember kicks off this year with a movie that Melissa has somehow never seen -- 2003's Looney Tunes: Back in Action, from Joe Dante, the director of the Gremlins films. In this live-action and animation hybrid, Bugs and Daffy join a globe-trotting adventure with an aspiring stuntman who needs to save his action star father from the villainous chairman of Acme. We discuss the frantic plot and non-stop visual gags, celebrity cameos, product placement, Steve Martin's confounding performance, and our desire for a new version of Looney Tunes that's a surreal psychological drama starring Jesse Plemons as Porky Pig. (00:00) - Intro (00:04) - Welcome and banter (05:22) - Non-spoiler thoughts on Looney Tunes: Back In Action (16:24) - Housekeeping (21:08) - Spoilers for Looney Tunes: Back In Action (01:15:38) - Review Show Bingo (01:21:07) - Recommendations (01:37:23) - What we are discussing next episode (01:39:36) - Outro ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★…

Episode 300! To celebrate our 300th episode, we're breaking our usual episode format to imagine a theme park based on the movies, shows, comics, and audio fiction we've covered in the past 299 episodes. Ideas include: High School Land, a Speed Racer roller coaster, a Mission:Impossible stunt spectacular, a carnival booth that will tell you if you're going to hell or not, a secret chicken restaurant that you can only find if you bribe a newsie, a town of endless parades, and a walkaround Michael Clayton breaking up fights between other characters (00:00) - Intro (00:04) - Let the party begin! (47:58) - Housekeeping (52:10) - Back to building our park (01:37:57) - What we are discussing next episode (01:40:47) - Outro ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★…

Episode 299. We are not numbers! We are free podcasters!! Our topic this episode is the 1967 British sci-fi mystery show The Prisoner. After suddenly resigning from his intelligence bureau, a spy known only as Number 6 is kidnapped and imprisoned in the eerily idyllic Village, where he's challenged with bizarre mind games until he gives up whatever terrible secret made him resign. We discuss the rotating cast of actors playing the Village's leader Number 2, the killer bubble, the mod coastal fashion aesthetic, a truly strange series finale for the ages, the show's place in TV history and its continuing influence, and who we would want to see in the oft-rumored Christopher Nolan adaptation. (00:00) - Intro (00:04) - Welcome and banter (05:22) - Non-spoiler thoughts on The Prisoner (17:51) - Housekeeping (23:38) - Spoilers!! The Prisoner (01:42:06) - Review Show Bingo (01:48:10) - Recommendations (01:55:16) - What we are discussing next episode (01:59:57) - Outro ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★…