Bonus Episode 2: How Much Is Too Much?

"We’ve been charged with telling new stories for a younger generation because they deserve what we all had — a mythology to call their own." Disney's announcement of new Star Wars films, theme parks, TV shows, and other goodies have us wondering — how much is too much? Do we need a new Spider-Man, a Fantastic Four reboot, more Star Trek, and another Avengers film? Where do artistic endeavors end and commercial franchises begin? Why do these stories keep repeating, despite our fatigue, and how do we keep them relevant? Special guest, geeky photographer and host of the On Taking Pictures podcast Bill Wadman.

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Show Notes

• 0:00 - 59:39: How much is too much?

Links

• Star Wars: Rogue One - The Mission Has Begun
• Colin Trevorrow to Direct Star Wars: Episode IX
• Official Poster For Star Wars: The Force Awakens
• The President Of Lucasfilm Eases Our Worries About Han Solo Movie
• Star Wars Themed Lands Coming to Disney Parks
• The Problem with Supersizing Star Wars
• To Boldly Go - The Future of Star Trek
• Ant-Man, Age of Ultron, and The Problem With Marvel
• Enough, already, with the superhero movies
• Hollywood Should Make More, Not Fewer, Superhero Films
• Jurassic World Is A Huge Mega-Hit, And That’s Terrible News For Movies
• The Good, Bad and Meh: Lessons From Mad Max, Terminator, and Jurassic
• Psychology of Comic Con (THE PSYCH SHOW with Dr. Ali Mattu)

Episode 45: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, Katniss Everdeen vs. Sarah Connor, Top 5 Things to Watch on Thanksgiving

“Fire Is Catching!” We review The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1! Can Suzanne Collins’s slim novel be adapted into two films? What’s Mockingjay saying about reality TV and war propaganda? Looking back, what's The Hunger Games's contribution to the scifi genre? In the INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER, who’s the better instigator of rebellion — Katniss Everdeen or Terminator's Sarah Connor? We gobble down our top 5 things to watch on Thanksgiving.

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Show Notes

• 0:00 – 43:32: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1.
• 43:33 – 58:16: INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER: Katniss Everdeen vs. Sarah Connor.
• 58:17 – 1:29:18: Top 5 Things to Watch on Thanksgiving. 

Links

• 'Mockingjay' Can't Catch 'Fire'
• Bangkok Won't Show Mockingjay After Protestors Use Katniss' Salute
• As its clunky title suggests, Mockingjay—Part 1 is half a Hunger Games film
• The Real Science in the HUNGER GAMES (Because Science w/ Kyle Hill)
• Science Fiction and the Search for Gratitude on Thanksgiving
• Ali's Upcoming NYC Nerd Nite Talk: Why Nerds Rage!

Top 5 Things to Watch on Thanksgiving

Conrad: 

1. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
2. Pleasantville
3. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
4. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
5. 28 Days Later

Ali:

1. Star Trek The Next Generation — "Family"
2. The Twilight Zone — "Time Enough at Last"
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
4. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
5. Home Alone

Honorable Mentions:

• Star Wars
• Harry Potter
• Doctor Who
• Raiders of the Lost Ark
• Any Thanksgiving day episode of Friends

Episode 2: Her, Samantha VS. HAL 9000, Top 5 Artificial Intelligence Films

Come with us if you want to live! We discuss Her, Spike Jonze's new film, breakdown its social commentary, and debate the film's depiction of the technological singularity. It's a computerized battle royal in the INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER with Her's Samantha against 2001: A Space Odyssey's HAL 9000. We wrap up with our top 5 favorite AI films.

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Show Notes

• 0:00 - 23:35: Her.
• 23:36 - 33:28: INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER - Samantha VS. HAL 9000.
• 33:29 - 1:02:35: Top 5 AI films.

Links

• The New Yorker's Richard Brody Her film review 
• Radiolab - Talking to Machines
• What is the uncanny valley?
• Does the uncanny valley still exist?
• The psychology of Her's online relationships (scroll down for Lowen's comment)
• The long-term future of AI (and what we can do about it) TED talk by Daniel Dewey
• Saturday Night Live's parody of Her

Top 5 AI Films

Conrad:

1. Blade Runner
2. The Terminator + Terminator 2: Judgement Day
3. The Iron Giant
4. The Matrix 
5. Metropolis 

Ali: 

1. Terminator 2: Judgement Day
2. Ghost in the Shell 
3. The Matrix
4. The Iron Giant
5. A.I.

Honorable Mentions:

• Edward Scissorhands
• TRON
• Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
• D.A.R.Y.L.
• Hellboy 2
• Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
• Alien
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture
• Battlestar Galactica
• Star Trek: The Next Generation
• Short Circuit 
• Space Camp
• Isaac Asimov: The Complete Stories
• Transformers (maybe)