Episode 20: X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men VS. Avengers, Top 5 Fixing the Future Movies

Artwork by Ben Whitesell.

"I don't want your future!" We geek out about our most anticipated movie of the summer - X-Men: Days of Future Past! Did the film live up to the beloved original comic? How does it handle the franchise's continuity? What's next for the X-Men? We throw Marvel's greatest superhero teams, Avengers and X-Men, into the INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER to debate who has the greatest film franchise. Things get heavy as we countdown our top 5 fixing the future time travel movies.

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Show Notes

• 0:00 – 39:04: X-Men: Days of Future Past

• 39:05 – 56:10:  INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER: X-Men VS. Avengers

• 56:11 – 1:23:06: Top 5 fixing the future movies.

Links

• X-Men: The Animated Series: "Days of Future Past"
• X-Men: The Animated Series Helped Set the Template for Today’s Comic-Book Movies
• This Is The First X-Men Movie To Be A Great Film In Its Own Right
• Days of Future Past Celebrates the Psychology of X-Men
• 'X-Men: Days of Future Past': Oh God, let's talk about that ending
• Five Big Continuity Issues in ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’
• Why There Are No Continuity Problems In The X-MEN Films
• Why The Best X-Men Are X-Women
• Every Wolverine Claw! SNIKT! Supercut
• X-Men: Apocalypse - What We Know So Far
• X-Men Vs. Avengers: Who Really Wins?
• Quicksilver, An X-Men: Days of Future Past Standout, Puts Pressure on Avengers: Age of Ultron
• Watch James McAvoy threaten to hand the Avengers their asses
• The First Real Competition To Disney's Avengers Has Arrived

Top 5 Fixing the Future Movies

Conrad: 

1. Back to the Future
2. Donnie Darko
3. Run Lola Run
4. Star Trek: First Contact
5. Terminator 2: Judgement Day

Ali:

1. Back to the Future
2. Star Trek: First Contact
3. Looper
4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
5. Source Code

Honorable Mentions:

• Groundhog Day 
• Happy Accidents
• Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
• Somewhere in Time
• Timecop
• The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
• Safety Not Guaranteed

Episode 19: Godzilla, King Kong VS. Godzilla, Top 5 Monster Movies

"Let them fight!" We discuss everyone's favorite kaiju, Godzilla! Why has this franchise thrived for more than 30 films and does the new big budget reboot do justice to this legendary character? It's a monster mash in the INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER as we debate who's the better monster - King Kong or Godzilla. We share our top 5 monster movies.

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Show Notes

• 0:00 – 40:30: Godzilla

• 40:31– 57:06:  INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER: King Kong VS. Godzilla

• 57:07 – 1:29:20: Top 5 monster movies.

Links

• Hanna-Barbera's Godzilla cartoon
• The history of Godzilla
• Godzilla's epic trailer
• How to pronounce Godzilla
• Blood, bones, and biology: Godzilla meets science
• Awesome Kaiju size comparison chart
• Godzilla wins the MTV Lifetime Achievement Award
• Too Bad About the Boring Humans in this Awesome Godzilla Movie
• Godzilla: History, Biology and Behavior of Hyper-Evolved Theropod Kaiju (Nerd Nite talk)
• Gareth Edwards Explains The Most Important Thing Godzilla MUST Have
• King Kong Vs Godzilla: The Movie

Top 5 Monster Movies

Conrad: 

1. An American Werewolf in London
2. 28 Days Later
3. Nosferatu
4. Ginger Snaps
5. Splice

Ali:

1. Alien
2. The Fly
3. Pan’s Labyrinth
4. Predator
5. Monsters, Inc.

Honorable Mentions:

• A Nightmare on Elm Street
• Hellboy
• Pitch Black
• It
• Cloverfield 

Episode 18: Mental Health

“Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.” Join us for a conversation about mental health and geek culture. We discuss the healing power of the geek community, why nerds stand up for each other, and how geek culture can challenge the stigma of mental illness. We share our top 5 mental health stories. Special guest, geek therapist Josué Cardona.

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Show Notes

• 0:00 – 51:33: Mental health and geek culture.
• 51:34 – 1:59:21: Top 5 mental health stories.

Links

• Growing Up Trekkie - How Star Trek Made Me Fall in Love with Psychology
• The Parallel Universe Where My Brother Lives
• The Healing Power of Stories
• ADHD, Anxiety, Depression, and Conventions
• Geek Therapy Podcast - Nerd Rage
• ‘Star Wars Kid’ goes on a media blitz 10 years later
• Geek Therapy Podcast - PAX East 2014
• Stephen Fry: My battle with mental illness
• What Battlestar Galactica Can Teach Us About Suicide Prevention
• Emma Stone: I Have a History of Panic Attacks
• Carrie Fisher’s “Bipolar Incident” Shows Progress in Fighting Stigma
• Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe Admits To Having An OCD 
• Depression Lies - Wil Wheaton 
• Trichotillomania: What Is The Disorder That Makes Olivia Munn Rip Out Her Eyelashes?
• Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight by Travis Langley
• The Arkham Sessions Podcast
• What is post-traumatic growth?
• Resilience and ordinary magic
• The Rise of Superhero Therapy: Comic Books as Psychological Treatment
• The Psychology of Spock: Past, Present, and Future

Top 5 Mental Health Stories

Josué: 

1. Depression Quest
2. Papo & Yo
3. I Kill Giants
4. Incorruptible Vol. 1
5. Spider-Man's spider-sense

Conrad: 

1. Harry Potter
2. Marbles
3. Hyperbole and a Half: Adventures in Depression & Depression Part Two
4. Sherlock (BBC)
5. Batman

Ali:

1. Marbles
2. Next to Normal
3. Before Midnight
4. Hyperbole and a Half: Adventures in Depression & Depression Part Two
5. Spock (2009's Star Trek, Star Trek Ongoing, Star Trek Into Darkness)

Honorable Mentions:

• What Dreams May Come (novel) 
• Vincent and the Doctor (Doctor Who)
• In Treatment
• The Sopranos
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
• Perks of Being a Wallflower (film)
• Something Terrible by Dean Trippe
• Years of the Elephant by Willy Linthout

Episode 17: The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Peter Parker VS. Hank McCoy, Top 5 Everyday Heroism Films

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 IMAX poster by Matt Taylor 

“Spidey sense tingling!” We dive into the good, bad, and ugly of The Amazing Spider-Man 2! In the In the INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER, who better leverages their super strength and nerdy intellect - Peter Parker (Spider-Man) or Hank McCoy (Beast)? We discuss our top 5 films about everyday heroism. 

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Show Notes

• 0:00 – 42:05: The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

• 42:06 – 52:05:  INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER: Peter Parker (Spider-Man) VS. Hank McCoy (Beast)

• 52:06 – 1:18:50: Top 5 films about everyday heroes.

Links

• The Amazing Spider-Man 2 suffers from an excess of plot, villains, everything
• The Amazing Spider-Man 2: The Amazing Spoiler-FAQ
• The Real-Life Inspiration for a Spider-Man Character Reacts to Being Turned Evil...and into a Man
• Every Easter Egg, Nod, And Wink You May Have Missed In Spider-Man 2
• Is Spider-Man a Hero? Revisiting Raimi’s Trilogy
• No, McDonald’s Did Not Do A Good Job With Its Spider-Man Toys “For Girls”
• X-Men: Days of Future Past Spider-Man credits scene

Top 5 Films About Everyday Heroes

Conrad: 

1. Erin Brockovich
2. The Hunger Games
3. Milk
4. To Kill a Mockingbird
5. Silkwood

Ali:

1. United 93
2. Hotel Rwanda
3. Milk
4. Hurt Locker
5. The Insider

Honorable Mentions:

• Alien 
• The Terminator
• Shawn of the Dead
• Chronicle
• Kick-Ass
• Rocky  

Episode 16: Reboots, X-Men: First Class VS. The Amazing Spider-Man, Top 5 Reboots

“We can rebuilt it!” We debate TV and film reboots, relaunches, and revisits. Why does Hollywood keep rebooting franchises, what makes a reboot good, and why do so many fail? In the INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER, X-Men: First Class and The Amazing Spider-Man battle for superhero supremacy! We share our top 5 favorite reboots.

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Show Notes

• 0:00 – 42:46 Reboots.

• 42:47 – 53:35  INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER: X-Men: First Class VS. The Amazing Spider-Man.

• 53:36 – 1:16:25: Top 5 Reboots.

Links

• 8 Reasons Movie Reboots Fail
• 10 Major Franchises That Have Never Been Rebooted
• The Psychology of Fan Outrage
• Should Disney reboot the Indiana Jones series?
• How The 'Fantastic Four' Reboot Might Be Changing Canon, And Why That's A Good Thing
• The NEW 52 Two Years Later: The WORST of the DC Reboot
• Comixology Submit! Indie Comics
• Alive in Joburg (District 9's inspiration)
• Joss Whedon will make new movie available immediately online
• Patrick Stewart Ian McKellen New York Twitter Pics

Top 5 Reboots

Conrad: 

1. The Dark Knight Trilogy 

2. Sherlock

3. Battlestar Galactica

4. COSMOS: A Spacetime Odyssey 

5. 10 Things I Hate About You

Ali:

1. Battlestar Galactica (2004)
2. Star Trek (2009)
3. Batman: Year One
4. Apple Computer circa 1997
5. Tomb Raider (2013)

Honorable Mentions:

• Radiohead
• The Office (NBC)