listenwhilewewatch

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We weren't kidding about the end of summer on the last episode, it's like an abandoned desert out there in terms of quality stuff. So why not take a look back at our favorites over the summer, many of which are actually coming back to theatres for a limited run.

Mad Max, Trainwreck, Inside Out and many more as we discuss our favorites and a few stinkers as well. Enjoy!

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Summer season has officially ended and with that comes a dearth of quality new films to discuss. So we're only going to discuss one film this episode, but it's a good one, STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON. The film is notable for a lot of reasons that we discuss, but with it comes a lot of baggage that the film can't seem to shake. It's fair to say we liked it but with reservations.

Let us know if we're totally off base or if we have no earthly idea what we're talking about. Next week we'll do a summer round-up and decide the winners and losers so far.

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It had to happen eventually, only one of us ended up watching films over the week. Matt kept up with most of the new releases, both big and small while Nick was occupied elsewhere. No worries though, as this episode has Matt giving the basic rundown of each film and Nick acting as a soundboard/interviewer/whathaveyou throughout.

We try to determine what exactly went wrong with the new F4, whether or not THE GIFT works and the merits of small films like COP CAR and TANGERINE

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Welcome to our latest episode of Listen While We Watch! Nick and Matt take a break from talking about the big films of the summer to discuss the ones that people don't usually like to talk about. Those "important" films and documentaries that everyone says you should see but no one ever really does.

Matt makes a plea as for why these films should be given a chance and Nick offers up his feelings on how to approach and digest those hard-to-watch films. Let us know which films have made an impact on you or which ones you can't bear to sit down and watch all the way through. Hope you enjoy this one.

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Our first guest joined us for our 7th (We realize it says 8th but we recorded out of order, whoopsie!) episode, our good friend Mark Wanner. Mark and Matt watched a marathon of the Mission: Impossible films up to the fourth one in anticipation for the fifth installment in the series. We decided it would be fun to have him join us for a discussion and a ranking of all the films so far.

Nick and Matt seem to be in agreement on which one they prefer but Mark definitely has some ideas of his own. Chime in with your thoughts if you agree or disagree with us at all. Enjoy!

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Episode 6! This time we talk about the two newcomers to the summer season, Paul Rudd the Superhero and Amy Schumer the new Queen of Comedy.

Nick and I both agree for the most part on Ant-Man but we get into a surprisingly in-depth discussion about relationships and arguments in Trainwreck.

Pick a side and let us know who is in the right!

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Episode 5! Round-up of film this time, including Me, Earl, Mike and the Rest. After our last Pixar-centric episode, this time we're covering a big ol' bunch of films including:

ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL, MAGIC MIKE XXL, LOVE & MERCY, THE OVERNIGHT, THE DEVILS, and TERMINATOR: GENYSIS

Our opinions range wildly from raves to loathing here, and y'all might be surprised to find out which ones are which. Enjoy the cluster!

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Episode 4! In-Depth into Pixar's Filmography

Nick and I were such big fans of INSIDE OUT that we felt instead of just talking about that one film, we should use it as a way to talk about all of the Pixar films and how they are so good at those emotions that they just brought to life.

We both mention our favorite films, but feel free to let us know which ones are yours!

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Additional thoughts on FURY ROAD & EX MACHINA - By Matt

*After our podcast, I couldn't stop thinking about all the similarities and differences between the films so I sat down and wrote a whole frickin' essay about it. Here goes...

This has been percolating in my head for a while and I thought I need to write it down sooner than later. With summer season in full swing, and with it all the big blockbusters and tentpoles, I found I already have two favorites this year. I’ve seen them both multiple times, one in IMAX 3D naturally, and it was after seeing them again back-to-back that I realized there may be a reason while I liked these two so much. For me, both MAD MAX: FURY ROAD and EX MACHINA tell extremely similar stories of oppressed women rebelling against their male creators in search of a better world.

              Now in style and execution, yes the two films couldn’t be more different. EX MACHINA is from prolific sci-fi screenwriter Alex Garland, his first time at directing, and he creates a claustrophobic game of cat and mouse between three crafty individuals who are all willing to play each other for their wants inside a remote house. He uses glossy high tech surfaces of the future to reflect faces or images onto one another to enhance the already pressing feeling of control and paranoia. FURY ROAD meanwhile is George Miller’s triumphant return to his insane apocalypse where everything has become even more outlandish and destructive. He places a new, but recognizable Max in a tale of female mutiny under a powerful warlord in a chase back and forth across the wasteland. The closer you look though, the more each film seems to coming from the same place.

              As you come into both films, there is a distinct ruler over each universe. For EX MACHINA, Nathan controls nearly everything you see in the film. He owns the company Bluebook that Caleb works for, issues the “contest” that gets him to his remote estate, and has created his own A.I. that he has put into a collection of female robots. Immortan Joe rules over his Citadel in FURY ROAD, having capitalized on a wellspring to assert his power the starving populace below him. He controls his Warboys who operate all his elaborate machines and vehicles and he has even created a supply of Mother’s Milk for himself and his offspring. His prized possessions are his “Breeders”, the beautiful women he keeps in his tower for his enjoyment and for procreation of his army. Nathan and Immortan Joe both possess enormous power over everyone around them. In fact, each are both considered Gods by their subjects. Joe goes out onto his stage to make speeches to his adoring subjects, while using language like, “I am your redeemer. It is by my hand you will rise from the ashes of this world!” Not very subtle but it works. He’s created a religion around destruction and subjugation and his Warboys worship V8 powered death machines and chrome. Death is all they know and understand, “I Live! I Die! I Live Again!” When Nathan introduces Ava to Caleb for the first time, Caleb makes the observation that in creating Ava this is now, “the realm of Gods.” Nathan immediately takes to this, joking later that Caleb called him a God correctly. Caleb tries to refute this but the message is already clear. He views Nathan as having intellect and powers way beyond normal people and Nathan’s uber-macho behavior shows he believes it as well.

Now with each of these men possessing so much power and control, what do they do with it? Each could be helping the world in huge ways, Joe obviously by sharing all that water and milk and Nathan by sharing the incredible technology and knowledge he has amassed. Not surprisingly, Joe keeps everything for himself as he has more power by withholding resources. It is in his best interest to not share. Selfish and cruel but there’s twisted logic behind it. Joe keeping his harem of women locked up though makes less sense as we see by the brief look in their cell, these women are well-read, and intelligent. By letting them be free, he could have a better rounded crew and use their skills. Instead, he reduces them to only producing babies. Nathan is a bit more complex but he still could be doing something much better. He has seemingly limitless wealth, land too as seen by the hours long flight it takes to get there, and now amazing technology. He uses this all to create the first ever truly functioning A.I. and then goes right and turns them into female servants and glorified pleasure-bots. That’s it? Really? Joe at least has the excuse that he could be attacked by rival warlords and that he needs healthy children, but Nathan has none. He says, “Sexuality is fun” which is certainly true for himself, but it totally ignores who is on the receiving end of all that “fun”. For these men to have done what they have, there is a certain mindset and way of looking at the world that they must possess.

This particular way is that they view themselves as inherently superior to those around them. This perspective drives each of the films but is also proven wrong over the course of each film as well. Both men approach their world as though it naturally belongs to them. They think that since they amassed so much power and wealth, of course they should be in charge of everything. Joe only has his power because of a massive spring that he got in charge of before anyone else. If someone else had taken control of it, they would probably be in his position instead. Luck and timing. He himself is barely able to breath without a respirator and has sores all over his body. He covers it all up with elaborate designs and symbols so that to his Warboys, his modern source of strength, he is still imposing. Nathan is said to have come up with Bluebook at a very young age, presumably making him rich from then on. He has probably felt on top of the world since then, even though they has to be actual people running his company while he creates A.I. in remote mountain ranges. He thinks is a lone genius, especially when it comes to his A.I., even though he got help from literally all over the world. He says that he developed his facial software by hacking into phones from all over and stealing from all the major cell companies, as well as making the brain A.I. by reversing search engine queries. So then, it is only when the entire population contributes, whether they know it or not, is Nathan able to create life. Nathan keeps superiority in his house through keys and locks but that fails him whenever he gets drunk and loses his key. He also constantly deflects any concerns or questions raised by Caleb by belittling, ignoring, or intimidating him. He constantly acts surprised whenever Caleb makes an intelligent remark and when Caleb starts asking questions he starts an impromptu dance party. For both Joe and Nathan, misdirection is key. If others knew how fragile their empire is it would crumble, which is why when Furiousa and Ava, two of their creations, take action they suffer the consequences.

              Now onto these women the men have helped created. At the start of both films, Ava and Furiousa both hate the men who have put them in their current positions. With Ava, this isn’t explicitly stated until late in the film but if you watch closely and consider her position it becomes clear. Ava starts out having been contained in one room for as long as she’s been alive. Her only contact with anyone has been Nathan. We don’t know the exact relationship they had but the videos shown to Caleb in the film of Nathan’s previous interactions with older A.I.s suggest a one-sided and aggressively sexual one. So from Ava’s POV she has only known one man, who regularly uses her and doesn’t care for her wants. Add to this that he was her creator, and then you have to wonder how you would feel if you knew the person who made you did so just for their own enjoyment. Not hard to see why she wouldn’t care for him. Furiousa’s backstory isn’t explained in detail but you are given enough hints as to what may have happened. She states that her reason for doing her whole prison break is for “Redemption” and that she was taken away from her home as young girl. From there you could assume Joe or someone like him took her from her family and that she’s been working for him for a while now. I’d also like to think that her arm is a result of punishment for trying to stage an escape earlier in life but that’s all speculation. Also, the prosthetic she has does look like it came from the same factory his fleet was made from. Point is, Furiousa has had enough of seeing women like her being taken and used against their will. Joe represents all that she is trying to break away from in search of her home. He’s made her into a ball of fury, with a mechanized arm and War Rig to boot.

              What happens when you’ve made someone loathe you and the world you created? They take away everything you have. Their lives included yes, but I think more importantly, their property. Furiousa and Ava don’t just go on the run on their own. They use the other women kept prisoners to help them and hurt the men further. They do so in different ways and with very different results though. Furiousa is very clearly trying to help Joe’s “Breeders” escape from their lives with him. It is her cause, and her safety comes second to their freedom. She sees them as a start for a fresh future in her “Green Place” away from all the violence and tyranny. It doesn’t matter if she makes it, as long as they do. For Ava, the other models Nathan has designed are glimpses into her own possible future. Kyoko was Nathan’s last model and she’s become his unwilling butler/dance partner. The others hang in his closets, disembodied and nearly forgotten. Kyoko provides the final help to get Ava out and suffers the consequences when Nathan retaliates. Once Ava is out of her room she goes to the closets of the past models and looks them over. She then uses their skin to complete her transition. Kyoko and all the other women sacrifice parts of themselves so that Ava can be complete and free. She is their future and theirs has already been written. So whereas one woman is willing to sacrifice herself so that others may start a future, another accepts sacrifices of her predecessors to start her own future.

              Of course, helps comes not just from the other women but also an outside party. The last big connection between the films is that an outside man is brought into the situation and decides to act in the women’s favor. But here is where the biggest distinction also factors in. They both decide to help at first because it is in their best interests, but then one makes a selfless act and the other remains thinking of his own self-interest. Bet you can guess which right? Max is the one who changes his perspective. He says at the beginning, “My instinct is survival” which is definitely accurate for his behavior. Acting like a wild dog, completes with grunts and erratic movements, he only joins the War Rig to get away from Joe and the army of Warboys. He helps out along the way but once they get to the land of the Vulvanies he is free to go where he chooses on a bike. He decides then to give the women a better, though much more difficult option, for them to consider if they want. Not doing it out of a romantic love or to get a bargaining chip, but merely to help those who helped him. Caleb makes no such reversals in character. Now to be fair, he does not do anything evil or bad per se. He just remains as naïve and ignorant as he was in the beginning. Caleb is played by both Nathan and Ava for the entire course of the film. He just is. Nathan says he brings him there to test Ava’s A.I. but as Caleb says, “Her A.I. is unquestionable”. It is obvious Ava is sentient, everybody can see that. What Nathan really wanted to test was if Caleb feels the same way about her as he has with all his other models. If he could fall for her or want to be with her. And Caleb does, definitely. Caleb, when confronted with the whole master plan of what Nathan has been doing, and how he has been treating his past models, only seems concerned for Ava. He doesn’t want to see Ava treated the same way. Because he wants her to be with him. Ava knows all of this. She reads him like a book in all of their sessions together and she see exactly what Nathan saw. A lonely, single young man who wants to prove himself and do something he thinks is good. She knows he will become attached to her, like Nathan has, and want to be with her. So she doles out hints to him during power outages, makes herself look presentable to him, answers his questions in ways he wants to hear. All to make sure he is able to release her. Once free, she tells him to wait inside. He hasn’t taken into account her priorities at all, because if he had he would’ve realized he is her only barrier to freedom. She was imprisoned by one man and it could happen with him for all she knows. He blindly trusts her, she doesn’t trust anyone. So she leaves him. Her future is jeopardized by him and only him.

              In the end, Furiousa and Ava are seen standing tall with nothing holding them down. Furiousa in fact stands on top of Joe’s car with his dead carcass as a trophy to cement her new status. The Warboys see a new leader has arisen and the “Milkers”(lack of a better word) let loose the water for all down below. Furiousa and her crew have taken the death and destruction and replaced it with life and hope. Max recognizes this is no longer a place for him. He is not a destroyer, but death and destruction do follow him where he goes. “My world is full of fire and pain” so he says. Hope has a better chance without him, so the last we see is him slinking through the crowd while Furiousa rises to her new place. Ava, once out of her prison and in the real world, is finally able to see with her own eyes what is out there. She is no longer looked at or looked upon through cameras or glass. She has broken free from all that. In fact, the last shot of the film is of Ava in a store glass window. One look she’s there, the next she’s gone. No longer a mere reflection in the eyes of men, she is a real living being.

              Now after having said all this, I don’t mean to say that this is the end-all point of either film. They both have lots going on in other areas that I haven’t even touched upon. But for me, the emotional centers of each film resonated in each other. The ways in which they were similar as well as their differences and the meanings behind them. Together, they articulate a full message about how women may go about creating new worlds, out from underneath near total male-control. Pretty hopeful, considering all the people that had to die. May Ava and Furiousa live on, shiny and chrome.

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Listen While We Watch #3: FURY ROAD + EX MACHINA + SPOILERS!

Hello! Here is the third episode of ‘Listen While We Watch!’ Like the first episode, this one consists of an introduction segment as well as our actual discussion. I have included both as an embedded playlist (2 tracks).

*I once again apologize for my too-close-to-the-mic sinus-affected breathing. I tried to make edits to the file but had some technical difficulties. Too behind the scenes? I just wanted to clarify that I am not a river monster. The breathing will not be an issue going forward. Press conference over.

Matt and I enjoyed both of these films quite a bit. Our discussion centers on Furiosa (MAD MAX: FURY ROAD) and Ava (EX MACHINA) and how female characters are portrayed/perceived by audiences in these stories. This was actually the first discussion Matt and I recorded when we set out to produce this podcast. We hope you enjoy it! -N

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Episode 2!! You could call this our first negative episode as Nick and I both tear into JURASSIC WORLD. From the bland characters to the terrible script choices, we were left underwhelmed by this mammoth blockbuster.

We also throw in some thoughts on THE COBBLER, a recent addition to Netflix's Instant Watch. You'll have to listen to believe what hath Adam Sandler wrot upon us.

Thanks for listening!

-M

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Listen While We Watch: Episode #1 (Spy + Pitch Perfect 2 + SPOILERS!)

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Hello!

Here is an introduction to our first episode. (We say second, but we didn't realize this would be posted first-M) We’ll probably include one of these with each discussion we post. This particular one isn’t merged with the episode itself because Matt and I live very hectic, complicated lives.

Not really. I’m just in the process of figuring out how to make these more polished and produced.

We’re excited to get our format down and post more content! Please comment, email us, and generally let us know your (hopefully non-confrontational) thoughts! Collaborators are always welcome.

I apologize if any of my sinusy breathing comes through in the first few episodes. I am clearly not worthy of the microphones we’re using - which are great - and I have adjusted my podcasting etiquette accordingly. I’m also taking some excellent allergy medication and summer is a cruel monster.

Matt, on the other hand, is a pro. I’m excited that we’ll be posting more of these chats. Like I said, this is an intro, and the post immediately following this one will be the episode itself. 

Thank you for listening! 

-Nick

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Hey! Welcome to our tumblr, we'll have our first episode up soon.

-M