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Summer of Soul (Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
Summer of Soul, the directorial debut from Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, takes us back to Harlem in 1969 for a series of concerts that included a who's who of brilliant Black artists, from Stevie Wonder to Nina Simone to Sly and the Family Stone to Mahalia Jackson, among many, many more.
Tim, Aaron and Keith had pretty different reactions to the film, which almost never came to be: For more than 50 years, the footage languished, rejected by white executives who didn't think there would be a wide audience for a film about "the Black Woodstock."
We also talk about the unrest in 1969 compared to the racial dynamics in America today, and why the George Floyd murder captured people's attention — at least for a time — when so many others didn't.
Also: Tim wrote this about why Jimi Hendrix couldn't play the Harlem Cultural Festival, and Keith is sick of so many movies taking place in New York and L.A.
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3 Body Talk
51:15This episode, your pod pals Keith, Aaron and Tim talk about Netflix's the Three Body Problem, how the Game of Thrones guys love killing everyone you love, and how weird it is when supermodels are cast as cops and EMTs. We like the Three Body Problem, based on the novel by Liu Cixin that Tim is not sophisticated enough to understand.
X-Men 97 Can Save Us All
53:40In this episode we talk about our love of the brilliant X-Men 97, dream re-cast the 2000 X-Men movie, and pitch the greatest comic-book story that will never, ever be made. We also imagine a solution to the Logan-Scott-Jean love triangle, talk about past great animated shows, and envision a plan for world peace inspired by Magneto.Come to me, my X-Men (fans).P.S. Tim was wrong about X-Men #168 being the first issue he ever bought. It was #185.
Netflix's Damsel Models Itself After Grendel
38:48Netflix's Damsel flips the typical woman captured by beast narrative on its head, and lets the women take the lead but is it successful? Aaron and Keith talk about Millie Bobby Brown's performance as a fantasy heroine, why Damsel might have the best dragon CGI ever, and the oddness of so many reviewers focusing on gender while completely missing the impactful Grendel parallels for the main antagonist.
Dune 2: The First 2024 Blockbuster
42:33Is the Dune 2 worth the hype, or does the adaptation fail to build on the original film's strengths? Aaron, Keith and Tim talk through the challenges of watching science fiction epics, why the Dune series is flipping the typical hero formula, and how Dune 2 is likely to influence future Hollywood projects.
Is Griselda Goofy?
46:33This episode we talk about Griselda, the story of a woman who can sell drugs and kill people as well as any man.Tim loves it, Keith has some reservations, Aaron finds some things goofy.Also, since we recorded this conversation, the lawsuit filed by Griselda's son has been settled. Hooray!
True Detective: Night Country Works Even If You've Never Heard of the Yellow King
24:58Writer-director Issa Lopez enlists The Greatest Actress Ever, Jodie Foster, and rising star Kali Reis to reinvent HBO's gloriously gloomy crime series.Also: Check out Sonya Alexander's terrific interview with Issa Lopez for Moviemaker Magazine right here.
What If Season 2 Review
16:59
Going Cold Into Fargo
29:47This is a true story. We discuss the first four episodes of the magnificent Fargo Season 5.Also here's the deal with the nipple rings.