The Nextlander crew branches out into media that doesn't require a controller to enjoy! Join Alex, Brad, and Vinny as they watch the movies, shows, and anime th...
We round out our month of weird dystopian cities with the darkest dystopian city of them all: the one literally called Dark City. Join us as we try to find the way to Shell Beach, and along the way finally answer the question of what makes a man: his memory, or his power level.
CHAPTERS:
(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 130: Dark City (1998)
(00:00:25) - Intro.
(00:01:10) - Getting into our histories (or non-histories) with our movie this week: Dark City!
(00:07:54) - What is a man? What is real? Is this The Matrix?
(00:11:52) - Talking about the city design and its mishmash of eras and architectures.
(00:15:00) - How this movie got made, and how it differs structurally between the theatrical and director's cuts.
(00:27:30) - Kicking off the movie with Kiefer's Capital A Acting.
(00:33:34) - John Murdoch has no idea what's going on.
(00:40:40) - The Strangers.
(00:48:30) - Emma, you may not have a future in lounge singing.
(00:54:15) - Break!
(00:55:02) - We're back, and we're taking a trip to the Automat.
(00:59:39) - Meeting Inspector Bumstead.
(01:04:26) - The Strangers first make contact with Murdoch.
(01:12:58) - A brief divergence into Star Trek lore.
(01:15:04) - John and Emma meet (for the first time?)
(01:18:30) - Mr. Hand reveals his, er, hand.
(01:23:23) - Spiral man's crazy apartment, and The Tuning begins.
(01:35:22) - Mr. Hand takes the mind juice, and John (briefly) meets a kindred spirit.
(01:40:07) - Mr. Hand accosts Emma.
(01:44:20) - Visiting Uncle Karl.
(01:48:09) - Bumstead's accordian.
(01:53:23) - A building sandwich, and John is...under arrest?
(02:00:09) - Schreber's big dumps, and what's on the other side of that wall.
(02:10:36) - John is dragged to the subsurface city, and Dragon Ball Z happens.
(02:18:53) - A terrific epilogue.
(02:25:54) - Final thoughts.
(02:32:55) - Some foward looking talk for the Watchcast.
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2:42:26
129: The City of Lost Children (1995)
Ahhh, the French cinema! It's known for its excellence, and on this week's Watchcast that proves undeniably true as we check out Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro's science fantasy classic, The City of Lost Children.
CHAPTERS:
(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 129: The City of Lost Children (1995)
(00:00:39) - Intro.
(00:02:44) - We head to France for our film this week, The City of Lost Children!
(00:06:35) - Alex shouts out the person who first showed him this movie, and some scattered production notes.
(00:15:33) - A brief note on the Psygnosis adventure game.
(00:16:32) - Onto the film, and its many crying children.
(00:21:48) - They're putting brains in fishtanks. They're taking the dreams of your children.
(00:24:31) - A strongman named One, and a cyborg cult.
(00:33:09) - Miette's gang of orphan thieves.
(00:35:30) - Happy birthday brain guy.
(00:40:48) - Break!
(00:41:09) - We're back, and it's time to meet The Octopus.
(00:48:42) - One and Miette bond.
(00:51:08) - Day to day life on the oil rig of evil science.
(00:57:43) - The cathedral of the Cyclopes.
(01:04:22) - Christmas for the Kranks, and a snack for the fishes.
(01:13:09) - The Diver arrives, and One gets wasted.
(01:21:04) - A nightmare infects the city, and Krank dines with Denree.
(01:24:59) - The Octopus orders Marcello's death, and One and Miette find a tattoo.
(01:27:48) - One gets the bug juice, and the demise of The Octopus.
(01:34:04) - To the oil rig!
(01:38:37) - The final dream, and the escape.
(01:45:29) - Final thoughts, and some additional Ron Perlman musings.
(01:55:10) - Our movie for next week: Dark City!
(01:57:41) - Outro.
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1:58:18
128: The Warriors (1979)
It's time to take a trip back in time to the crime-scorched hellscape of NYC circa 1979 in Walter Hill's The Warriors! Join us as we bop from the Bronx to Coney Island, taking on the many gangs of clowns and theater kids that run these New York City streets.
CHAPTERS:
(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 128: The Warriors (1979)
(00:00:55) - Intro.
(00:04:08) - Trying to dial into the tone of this movie, and how it compares to the source material.
(00:09:39) - Digging into the nature of the various gangs.
(00:13:28) - Talking production history.
(00:21:39) - On the subject of Fox.
(00:26:30) - The troubles of the theatrical run, and the movie's long cultural shadow.
(00:31:45) - Our cast of Warriors, and the killer opening credits intro.
(00:41:22) - The Bronx conclave.
(00:52:15) - Break!
(00:52:43) - We're back, and the chase is on.
(01:01:14) - The first test.
(01:04:52) - The Orphans.
(01:14:29) - These actors look like real-ass people, and how average people respond to these characters.
(01:17:34) - Fox gets got, and the gang splits.
(01:22:08) - Goodbye Ajax.
(01:24:48) - The Lizzies, and Swan and Mercy have it out.
(01:31:28) - Onto Union Square, the Punks, and a gnarly bathroom fight.
(01:35:51) - Making a less than triumphant return to Coney.
(01:41:39) - Luther and the Rogues come clankin'.
(01:49:50) - Final thoughts.
(01:56:24) - On next week's movie (and Vinny's Warriors ranking).
(02:00:57) - Outro.
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2:01:34
127: Brazil (1985)
We're kicking off our month of Weird-Ass Dystopian Cities with Terry Gilliam's classic satirical nightmare, Brazil! Join us as we pick apart this strange world of failing systems and bureaucratic ass-covering that holds absolutely no similarity to the real world in which we live. Heh. Heh.
CHAPTERS:
(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 127: Brazil (1985)
(00:00:11) - Intro.
(00:01:47) - Our movie this week: Terry Gilliam's Brazil! But which version?!?
(00:06:11) - A cinematic Rosetta Stone.
(00:17:26) - Our respective attachments to various Gilliam and Monty Python things.
(00:21:35) - Was this movie successful? Also, digging into the production.
(00:28:04) - Our star-studded cast.
(00:37:40) - An intro of exploding televisions and ruinous clerical errors.
(00:43:40) - The dreams of Sam Lowry.
(00:47:31) - Untangling the web of responsibility for the Buttle/Tuttle affair.
(00:52:01) - Break!
(00:52:28) - We're back, and it's time to stretch some flesh.
(00:58:24) - HVAC anarchy.
(01:03:46) - Sam decides to make a house call.
(01:10:14) - Central Services gets revenge.
(01:16:17) - A Christmas party full of demons.
(01:19:26) - Welcome to Information Retrieval.
(01:22:49) - The Lint reveal.
(01:27:07) - Sam can't stop running into his dream woman.
(01:35:06) - Sam has had enough.
(01:41:50) - A post-coital SWAT raid.
(01:50:05) - A jailbreak in the cooling tower, and things go off the rails.
(01:55:27) - The funeral of the seeping woman, and all is not as it seems.
(01:59:59) - Final thoughts.
(02:06:26) - Our film for next week: Walter Hill's The Warriors!
(02:09:48) - Outro.
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2:10:20
126: Parasite (2019)
We're closing out February with our second Best Picture winner in a row, this time jetting off to South Korea for Bong Joon-ho's Parasite. How does it hold up a few years removed from its hype? Very well, it turns out!
CHAPTERS:
(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 126: Parasite (2019)
(00:00:24) - Intro.
(00:01:28) - Our film this week is Bong Joon-ho's Parasite!
(00:10:12) - A brief note about the (probably) lower number of clips in this episode.
(00:11:22) - Getting into the production history.
(00:22:04) - Let's get into the movie proper, and talk about our cast.
(00:34:37) - A window into the lives of the Kims.
(00:38:35) - The Parks, and the importance of keeping up appearances.
(00:43:15) - Break!
(00:43:40) - We're back, and the scam begins in earnest.
(00:49:55) - The dad arrives, and a little about actor Lee Sun-kyun (content warning for suicide discussion).
(00:57:14) - Extracting the housekeeper.
(01:05:55) - Everything's coming up Kim.
(01:13:02) - Ding dong.
(01:25:58) - It's a ram-donnybrook!
(01:30:40) - That's no ghost.
(01:33:08) - Trapped under the world's widest coffee table.
(01:37:34) - The effects of monsoon season are not applied equally.
(01:41:15) - Barreling toward disaster.
(01:50:37) - People start dying very quickly.
(01:54:15) - The extended epilogue.
(O2:04:39) - Final thoughts.
(02:07:32) - Our plans for next month and beyond.
(02:12:41) - Outro.
The Nextlander crew branches out into media that doesn't require a controller to enjoy! Join Alex, Brad, and Vinny as they watch the movies, shows, and anime they've either missed out on up to this point in their lives, or just want to revisit again.