Join me as I join Extended Edition podcast in discussing the heartbreaking story of a military officer rebelling against his mother government and the valiant military industrialist who tries to stop him. Also: a spider-boy and his AILF.
On YouTube: Tysto and Extended Edition commentary for Captain America: Civil War
Pop in your copy of this all-American (and some British) classic while Jimmy and I gush over just about every aspect of it. We compare it to Citizen Kane and Fellini’s 8 1/2 and Bicycle Thieves (not in so many words, but basically) and all other great films as well as several other things. It’s a road movie, a coming-of-age movie, a hero’s-journey movie, and a falling-in-love-with-a -pig movie. I forget to mention Italian commedia dell’arte, but it’s that too. It’s all things to all people.
We keep it clean and cordial. I do the world’s greatest impression of Kermit the Frog. We evaluate Doc Hopper’s business case. We reveal the shocking origin of Telly Monster. We have a falling out over mixing Sesame Street with Muppet Show characters and whether it’s okay to fall in love with a chicken. But it’s okay; we makes up over our shared hatred of Elmo. And we answer the musical question “why are there so many songs about rainbows?” (and you may not like the answer).
We’re watching the Blu-ray and stay in sync. Start at on the countdown.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
After many complaints about broken downloads, I’ve finally fulfilled my promise to switch to another MP3 player/downloader plugin, Blubrry PowerPress. I thought it was going to be a hassle but turned out to consist of confirming some settings and disabling the old plugin, so now I feel like an ass for not doing it sooner.
Hopefully that solves the problem and all will be well in Tystoland.* Please let me know if you encounter any problems.
This success has encouraged me to make a couple of other changes, namely adding a Twitter feed for the joint Tysto-Zarban twitter account, and changing the picture in the upper right.
* Tystoland is a wholly-owned subsidiary of TystoZarban Productions Incorporated, a division of Halliburton.
Join me along with Olly (last name unknown, possibly Fronkensteen) as we peer into the dark depths of taboo science and cinema with Mel Brooks’ and Gene Wilder’s wonderful Young Frankenstein.
We compare it to other Frankenstein movies, other Mel Brooks movies, other Gene Wilder movies, and Brief Encounter. Olly explains how Brooks and Wilder were both crazy in different ways. We insult Gene Wilder’s hair. We discuss back-door pilots and how this movie should not be set in Transylvania and why a mad scientist would dress his monster in a suit.
We discuss the Dr Frankenstein/Frankenstein’s Monster mixup and try to name the monster. We wish Gene Wilder had “gone the Bill Murray route”. And I try to get Olly to say “Blucher“.
We’re watching it at NTSC (American) speed. Start right after the 20th Century Fox logo on the countdown.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Olly is back after a long absence to drink cocktails and discuss the intricacies of the Myrna Loy and William Powell classic The Thin Man. Olly compares it to the book and to the TV show.
We analyze the relationship between Nick and Nora and compare it to other movie and TV couples. We compare the plot to other films in the series and other films of other sorts and to Agatha Christie. I mistakenly say Alan Ladd’s The Glass Key was first person point of view when it was Robert Montgomery’s The Lady in the Lake. Olly confesses to only having seen one Kevin Bacon movie, which I like to imagine was White Water Summer but probably wasn’t. So I explain Wild Things to him, which may make your head hurt.
We discuss Hitchcock’s use of leading men and humor and how it compares. We discuss how Asta is virtually useless and how Nick is not really all that insightful of a detective. And we plan on remaking it in 3D. Also, I badmouth Alan Ladd repeatedly and explain how everyone in The Maltese Falcon was gay.
We’re watching it at NTSC (American) speed. Start right after the MGM logo on the countdown.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
SMEAR YOUR FOREHEAD WITH GREASE! SPRAY YOUR FACE WITH CHROME! DRINK GUZZLEINE IN VALHALLA WITH DONALD TRUMP’S GRANDSON IMMORTAN JOE TRUMP! IT’S MAD MAX: FURY ROAD! WITH JIMMY B! AND ENGINE NOISES! AND ELECTRIC GUITAR! AND a Skype dropout at 1:17:05 but we fix it and everything and HEAD BACK TO GET US SOME WATER!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
If EON can take another run at Blofeld, so can I! Join me as I join Extended Edition’s Martin and Owen for another perspective on SPECTRE.
Join me as I take on the worst terrorist organization in history, SPECTRE. I compare the film to other Daniel Craig Bonds, other Bonds of other sorts, other action movies, Inglourious Basterds, Jaws, and corporate projects I’ve worked on. I accuse it of being a really expensive fan film. And I mis-remember which Blofeld had the scar (Donald Pleasence, not Telly Savalas).
I praise the acting and the set pieces and the gun butler; I complain about the office and hotel scenes where nothing happens and the action scenes where stuff does happen; and I do the world’s best imitation of Christoph Waltz. I fail to recognize clinic barman Victor Schefé, star of Bewegte Männer. I obsess over the secret room in the Hotel L’Americain and make up a whole back story about it. I put forth a seven point argument for Hinx being based on Jaws and not Red Grant (take that, Wikipedia!). I disbelieve Blofeld’s whole operation. I apologize to international assassins (again). And I try to figure out how many helicopters Bond has stashed in his garage.
Bonus: Listen to the end for my pick for the next Bond!
I’m watching the Blu-ray. Start right after the MGM logo, before the Columbia logo, on the countdown.
Now on Youtube: Spectre fan commentary – Tysto Commentaries
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
I put the latest commentary (The Force Awakens) out on YouTube as a way of generating a bit more exposure and seeing what happens. I’ll continue putting out new and old content there.
I’ll try to dress up the Tysto YouTube channel with the usual banners and glitter and unicorn stickers.
After a long absence, and now much older and wiser, Drew returns to set us straight about Star Wars. And I wreck things and generally act childish.
We lament the familiarity of the plot and some character choices. We debate weather Daisy Ridley is actually Keira Knightly (me: yes; Drew: probably not), and whether the stormtroopers are “thick” and/or “phat”.
We volley back and forth with our deep, deep knowledge of the Star Wars Extended Universe, most of which is made up. We ponder the reason why Kylo Ren is there, why Finn instantly goes from Conscientious Objector to Hollywood Hero, how maps work, who is making robots that feel bad, and why any of this happens.
Bonus: I clear my throat 11,000 times!
We’re watching the Blu-ray. Start right after the logo on the countdown.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download