In this week's episode, Tyler and Ben discuss Marcus Nispel's 2011 film, Conan the Barbarian.

Introduction

Character Name Game Intro - 1:35

Media Consumed

Tyler

Doraleous and Associates - 2:30
Raw 1000 - 5:46
70's comics for "Conan the Barbarian" - 9:45

Ben

The Help - 12:00
The Captains - 13:59
Under the Boardwalk: The Monopoly Story - 17:30

Review

Conan The Barbarian (2011) - 21:50

Wrap-Up

Next Time: Kazaam and Steel  - 54:50

Listener E-mail/Voicemail/Twitter - 56:30
Character Name Game - 1:04:50

Where You Can Find Us - 1:05:48

Articles Mentioned: 12 Great Directorial Debuts (That I've Seen)

"Every search for a hero must begin with something every hero requires: a villain." - Mission Impossible II

(Vague spoilers throughout.)

Christopher Nolan's conclusion to his Batman trilogy is an emotional and compelling look at the redemption of a hero. It's got terrific performances from many of the cast, great action beats, glorious IMAX visuals, and an impressive sense of scope that we haven't yet seen in one of his Batman movies. It's a long film, though, and I'd be lying if I said it didn't drag a bit as it approached the climax, but the ending is so fantastic that it nearly makes up for the film's problems along the way. The Dark Knight Rises is a worthy but flawed follow-up to the best movie of the series, and a fitting culmination to Nolan's interpretation of one of the world's most iconic characters.

The Dark Knight Rises
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt

In this week's episode, Ben and Tyler discuss Luc Besson's 1997 film, The Fifth Element.

Introduction

Character Name Game Intro - 2:13

Media Consumed

Tyler

Ted - 2:56
Faster - 6:40

Ben

Dredd - 9:25
Comic-Con 2012 talk - 16:11

Review

The Fifth Element - 23:47

Wrap-Up

Next Time: Conan The Barbarian (2011)  - 52:15

Listener E-mail/Voicemail/Twitter - 53:26
Character Name Game - 1:08:04

Where You Can Find Us - 1:08:58

The latest among the current trend of Hollywood comic book adaptations (and reboots, too), Dredd is a new take on the franchise after Sylvester Stallone gave it a shot back in 1995. Karl Urban dons the mask this time, with Juno star Olivia Thirlby alongside him as a rookie with psychic abilities. The duo heads into a 200-story apartment complex to investigate a triple homicide and become trapped when the drug dealer who runs the joint (Lena Headey) calls on her thugs to kill them on sight. While this film definitely has some awesome moments, it unfortunately commits the cardinal sin of an action film: the pacing is far too slow.

Dredd
Director: Pete Travis
Starring: Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey

In this week's episode, Tyler and Ben discuss Fred Cavaye's 2010 film, Point Blank.

Introduction

Character Name Game Intro - 2:22

Media Consumed

Tyler

Extract - 2:50

Ben

L.A. Noire - 6:37
Moonrise Kingdom - 9:25
Batman Begins - 11:45

Review

Point Blank - 16:35

Wrap-Up

Next Time: The Fifth Element  - 36:50

Listener E-mail/Voicemail/Twitter - 38:03
Character Name Game - 41:07

Where You Can Find Us - 43:05

I was hoping that Savages would be a pleasant surprise this summer, something free of webs and capes with a decidedly adult slant to it from one of America's legendary filmmakers. (Say what you will about the films of Oliver Stone, but the dude is pretty legendary.) Unfortunately, Savages is just a simple drug drama with very little action and zero complex characters, leaving me disconnected and apathetic about every character's fate. This is not a good movie.

Savages
Director: Oliver Stone
Starring: Blake Lively, Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Johnson, Salma Hayek, Benicio del Toro, John Travolta

In the past few years, American audiences have seen only a few Swedish films cross the pond and get a stateside release. The vampire drama Let The Right One In was remade into Matt Reeves' Let Me In, and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was given the American treatment by director David Fincher. Safe House director Daniel Espinosa earned critical acclaim with Snabba Cash back in 2010 (retitled Easy Money for the English-speaking crowd), and like these other films from his homeland, a remake is on the way, this time with Zac Efron attached as the lead. But legendary film director/scholar/preservationist/champion Martin Scorsese has taken an interest in Snabba Cash and is presenting it to a wider audience for a brief run this summer, so we have a chance to see what all the hype is about before Hollywood gets rolling on the remake.

Snabba Cash (aka Easy Money)
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Starring: Joel Kinnaman, Matias Varela, Dragomir Mrsic

In this week's episode, Tyler and Ben discuss Peter Bogdanovich's 1973 film, Paper Moon.

Introduction

Character Name Game Intro - 2:55

Media Consumed

Tyler

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist - 3:38
Masters of the Universe - 8:18
Journey: Raised on Radio - 11:14

Ben

X-Games 2012 Big Air Competition - 16:17
Six Seasons and a Movie - 'Community' Art Show - 19:05
Jeff, Who Lives at Home - 20:40

Review

Paper Moon - 24:50

Wrap-Up

Next Time: Point Blank  - 51:24

Listener E-mail/Voicemail/Twitter - 52:26
Character Name Game - 1:01:01

Where You Can Find Us - 1:04:06