Episode 52 - WILD WILD WEST

In this episode we go way, way back--not just back to an alternate-history version of the American West, but also back to the retrograde masculinity and offensive sophomoric humor of pop culture in...well, in almost any time, sadly.

An unholy alliance of ego-stroking and trend-chasing can explain much of Wild Wild West, the film that finally gave Jon Peters the giant spider he always wanted. But is the movie the right kind of dumb juvenile fun?

We peel back the layers of Wild Wild West's steampunk aesthetic and latent homoeroticism in a scintillating debate, including a bonus discussion of the music video for Will Smith's iconic contribution to the film's soundtrack. So swallow your pride, don't let your lip react, and enjoy this wild, wild What Were We Watching!

Wild Wild West (1999)
Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
Produced by Jon Peters and Barry Sonnenfeld
Written by S.S. Wilson & Brent Maddock and Jeffrey Price & Peter S. Seaman
Based on "The Wild Wild West" created by Michael Garrison
Starring Will Smith, Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, Salma Hayek, M. Emmet Walsh, Bai Ling, and Ted Levine

Episode 51 - GALAXY QUEST

On Christmas Day in 1999, at the height of anxiety over the "Y2K Problem" in which technology might finally have been our undoing, Galaxy Quest was released in theaters to remind audiences of a more optimistic vision of the future worthy of Gene Roddenberry. Not only did the film parody Star Trek the franchise, but Star Trek the phenomenon, lovingly sending up every element from the real-life drama between cast members to the culture of fandom the series helped create.

Trekspert Charles Benimoff returns to the podcast to lend us some context and to argue why Galaxy Quest deserves to be an honorary part of the Star Trek canon, if only to keep that pesky even-odd curse firmly intact... By Grabthar's hammer, what an episode!

Galaxy Quest (1999)
Directed by Dean Parisot
Produced by Mark Johnson and Charles Newirth
Written by David Howard and Robert Gordon
Starring Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Daryl Mitchell, Enrico Colantoni, Missi Pyle, and Justin Long

Episode 50 - BATMAN

Perched at the precipice of the '90s, Tim Burton's Batman was one of the first modern blockbusters to emerge from the commercial chrysalis nurtured, perhaps unwittingly, by directors like Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Both a familiar crowd-pleasing delight and a novel, eccentric re-imagining of the superhero archetype, Batman helped establish a new excitement around pre-existing properties--especially comics--while becoming one of the rare franchise tentpoles to successfully balance its agendas as a financial commodity and as a distinctive work of art.

Special guest (and number one guy) Gensho Tasaka also joins the podcast for some stellar Caped Crusader chat.  Holy 50th episode, Batman!

Batman (1989)
Directed by Tim Burton
Produced by Jon Peters and Peter Guber
Written by Sam Hamm and Warren Skaaren
Based on characters created by Bob Kane and DC Comics
Starring Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Pat Hingle, Billy Dee Williams, Michael Gough, and Jack Palance

Check out all current episodes in our Batman series:
Batman
Batman Returns
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Batman Forever
Batman & Robin

Episode 49 - POCAHONTAS

One of the more melancholy entries in the Disney animated canon, Pocahontas had the thankless task of continuing the steady crescendo of hits in the studio's so-called renaissance of the late '80s/early '90s. But apart from the Alan Menken-penned score that contained a massive pop hit, the film deviates from its predecessors in style and mood, uniting American mythology, historical fact, and spiritual yearning on a heavily blue-and-green palette. More than two decades later, we find out if the wacky and wistful Pocahontas actually paints with all the colors of the wind.

Pocahontas (1995)
Directed by Mike Gabriel and Eric Goldberg
Produced by James Pentecost
Written by Carl Binder, Susannah Grant, and Philip LaZebnik
Starring Irene Bedard, Mel Gibson, David Ogden Stiers, Russell Means, Christian Bale, Billy Connolly, and Linda Hunt

Episode 48 - The 2nd Annual Dubbie Awards!

Last year, we introduced a new award to the heap of golden trinkets that accumulate like so many unwanted mugs in the proverbial kitchen cabinet of Hollywood: the Dubbies!

We present the 2nd Annual Dubbie Awards, looking into the recent past to name our favorite films and performances of 2015, and hand out some special nostalgia-tinted honors including:

• Best Comeback
• Most Unnecessary Throwback
• Future WWWW Candidate
• Most Nostalgic Moment

Straighten your bow tie and make sure your hair is camera-ready - it's time for the Dubbies!

Episode 47 - CRUEL INTENTIONS

Frothy literary adaptations for teen audiences were all the rage in the '90s (Clueless, She's All That, 10 Things I Hate About You), but the venomous Cruel Intentions operates on a different, nastier level. Transporting the sensual decadence and moral decay of 18th-century French aristocracy to the bourgeoisie of late 20th-century Manhattan, the film is refreshingly frank in its casual deception of seductive mind games and sexual expectations.

But is there any redeeming quality in the sleazy subject matter, or is titillation the only goal? We'll find out as we celebrate Valentine's Day with a tale of malice and manipulation in the name of love.

Cruel Intentions (1999)
Written and directed by Roger Kumble
Produced by Neal H. Moritz
Based on the novel Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
Starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, Selma Blair, Sean Patrick Thomas, Joshua Jackson, Swoozie Kurtz, and Christine Baranski

Episode 46 - STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS

We're finally comfortable admitting it: we are a little obsessed with Star Wars. The seventh chapter in the saga is a hit with critics and paying audiences, honoring the spirit of George Lucas' creation while starting to re-sculpt the franchise in the mold of modern movie "universes" and their ambitious ten-year plans.

It's time for some instant nostalgia as we team up with Text Before Calling co-hosts Eric Wheeler and Sean Fau-Burnitz, as well as previous podcast guests Brian Rudloff and Daren Sprawls, for an all-star panel discussion of The Force Awakens featuring our joys, sorrows, hopes, and fears for this brave new world of infinite Star Wars.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
Directed by J. J. Abrams
Produced by J. J. Abrams, Bryan Burk, and Kathleen Kennedy
Written by Lawrence Kasdan & J. J. Abrams and Michael Arndt
Based on characters created by George Lucas
Starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson, Andy Serkis, and Max von Sydow

Check out the rest of our series on the Star Wars saga:
Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Episode IV: A New Hope
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Episode VII: The Force Awakens
Episode VIII: The Last Jedi

Solo: A Star Wars Story
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Star Wars: Clone Wars
Star Wars Holiday Special
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure