We talked with Jenny Stiven about the recent rise in the past 5 years or more of female lead roles in comics and film adaptations of superheroes. The podcast welcomes Austin Burke to the hosting role, and we break down our top 10 list of female superheroes.
Also, rumors have been circulating for years surrounding the rise of a female leader role on BBC's Doctor Who. With the reboot of Marvel and DC comics recently, we're also seeing a rise in heroines owning the superhero role.
What are your thoughts on seeing more and more female superheroes step up to the leading roles? Leave your comments below, or call into to our POPX hotline at 850-417-POPX (7679).
We talk with Michael French from RetroBlasting about their awesome retro restoration of vintage 1980's toys and games. Michael shares his passion for finding and restoring many of the old toys from his childhood and beyond. Be sure to visit www.retroblasting.com for more details.
RetroBlasting researches and analyzes all things retro, from old school to reboots, always with a sense of humor. They put everything from Atari to Transformers under the microscope with the goal of deconstructing the properties and letting you see them in a new light. They pride themselves on being an independent and honest voice that doesn’t pull punches when reviewing toys, cartoons, movies, comics, and geek culture.
Joe and Dan go on a journey to the historic roots of comic books in pop culture. From the Great Depression, to the anti-hero mob bosses of the days, America was demanding a hero who stood for truth and justice. They found those heroes in pulp comics of the time.
We discuss our own influences from our first memories with comics, and reflect on how those moments shaped our lives today. Also, POPX now has a Spotify Playlist that you can listen to with some of our favorite songs from our pre-show.
On tonight's episode, we break down high and low points of Batman V Superman : Dawn of Justice. We dissect what worked in the film, and what didn't, as well as discuss some of our favorite moments from Zack Snyder's film. We wrap up the POPX contest, and listen to this week's "Fan of the Week: Red5mom."
Right out of the gate, we knew going in Zack Snyder had a monumental task of setting the ground work for what will become the definitive DC anchor saga of "Justice League." There is a wealth of comics, story arcs and graphic novels that Snyder pulled from in the creation of this film, and let's not forget the centerpiece of this movie, Frank Miller's epic "The Dark Knight Returns" saga from 1986. Most of which was inspired by the creation of "Batman V Superman."
Prior to going into the theater, I actually did take a quick peek at Rotten Tomatoes reviews to kind of see what others are saying about the film. Much to my surprise, as of Thursday night, I found a 33% review of the film, which has since declined to a 29% overall critic score. So I cleared my head of jargon, and proceeded into the cinema with an optimistic mind.
I just have to say for the record, this film was delightfully crafted, and we just can't begin to fathom where and why the critics are giving this film such harsh negative reviews. Perhaps, the critics have never opened a Frank Miller graphic novel, or read the "Death of Superman" with the introduction of Doomsday? It's no secret from the trailers that Doomsday is the super villain of the film, that's not a spoiler, rather common knowledge and directly in line with comic book lore. Perhaps, the weight and heaviness of the story line set in motion was just too much for the critics. They couldn't understand a film crafted with depth, rather than the typical Disney/Marvel movies. Or, and this is just my own two cents, people in the film critic review industry were paid off to write mundane reviews to trash the whole team at DC and Snyder for creating what will become the initial setup of the Justice League franchise.
Sure, there are a couple parts of the film that seemed a little out of context. For instance the casting Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor seemed like a waste of a role. Unsure of what Synder's intent for Lex Luthor is in future films, this adaptation has Jesse Eisenberg roaming around more like a psychotic lunatic who is clearly on the mental playing field of the Joker rather than CEO of LexCorp. This just didn't seem to work for me, but it can easily be overshadowed by the amazing acting of Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck. Batfleck is here to stay, and I feel much like Ryan Reynolds has been officially redeemed with Deadpool, Ben Affleck has found a home in his new defining role as The Dark Knight. He's edgy, cunning and the suit is just totally awesome in fight scenes and closeups. Hands down, one of my favorite Batman costumes since Tim Burton's Batman series in 1989.
The film score worked seamlessly as well. Hans Zimmer returns to score the new film, alongside Junkie XL. The tones and melodies from Man of Steel are prominent in the new film, and the theme music echoes in each scene in some way. I'm sure this Man of Steel score will live on in the future JLA movies as well. Hans Zimmer is one of my favorite composers, and he delivers again with a film score that matches the chaos of the film, as well as it's tender and climactic moments. Don't listen to the Rotten Tomatoes critics when they say the film score is loud, overpowers the dialog and is misplaced. This is all anything further from the truth.
Overall, the film's plot was easy to follow, and this made it much more enjoyable to watch the cinematic glory of the epic battle between Superman and Batman. The setup for Justice League is now in forward motion, and we have a clear concise image of what we can expect in a couple years when the new film hits the silver screen. This film has a couple weak spots, like the casting role of Lex Luthor and one more small detail I can't mention without spoiling the film. But, it really doesn't matter because overall, the film stands as a stand alone film that simply introduces characters, sets up the foundations for future projects and gives us something to finally be proud of from DC Comics.
It's mindless bits like this clip circulating social media that are steering people who have yet to see the film for themselves, in totally the wrong direction. Do yourself a favor, stay off social media pertaining to the film until you have seen it for yourself, and can make your own analysis of the film. Some of these critics and parody clips attack and poke fun at the film, which in all actuality is really good.
So I leave you with this. Batman V Superman succeeded greatly in establishing the future franchise. Was it the best superhero ever? No.Was it the best movie ever? No.Did it surpass some of the more lackluster comic book movies in the past few years? Most certainly!Was there a fun factor to the movie? Oh heck yes! I honestly don't understand the critic hate going on right now towards this film. I think critics need their own critics, and need to dive deeper into comic books from DC Comics from the past 25 years to truly understand what is going on in this movie. I got it. I get it. I applaud Zack Snyder's valiant effort. Will I see it again? You better believe it!
We talk with Marvel Comics, DC Comics and Disney Animation Studios illustrator Russ Braun, whose projects working on DC's "Legends of the Dark Knight : Venom" series, along with Marvel's "Where Monsters Dwell" have left fans wanting more. Russ' versatile style to draw any creature, any animal, any object with precision and detail makes him a much sought after artist in the comic book industry today.
We give the historical timeline of the video game industry, and how it evolved from the early 1970's, to the consoles of the giants of modern day. From the Magnavox Odyssey, the Atari 2600 and modern Sony PlayStation and Microsoft's Xbox One. We also discuss the future of gaming with introduction into VR - Virtual Reality.
