Geeky a Go Go
Geeky a Go Go
Our Alien: Romulus Review, and More This Week on Whatcha' Watchin'!
This week we take deep dive into "Alien Romulus," directed by Fede Alvarez and produced by Ridley Scott. We get into the nitty-gritty of the plot, standout performances, and the film's ties to the broader Alien universe. Our analysis doesn't stop there; we also discuss the nostalgic nods to the franchise and the effective use of jump scares that literally made Eric leap from his seat.
Wrapping up the episode, we chat about Disney's latest box office giants and our thoughts on the final seasons of "The Umbrella Academy" and "Snowpiercer” and the horror film “Tarot”. Whether you're here for the humor, the hot takes, or the stories, this episode has something for every geeky soul.
What’s on your queue this week? Send us a note at mailbag@geekyagogo.com for a chance to have your recommendations shared on the show!
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Hey, what did the alien say to the cat? What, take me to your litter. What do you call a comet wrapped in bacon? What A meat-ior. A meat-ior.
Speaker 2:It's not funnier the second time.
Speaker 1:Oh, oh, oh, second time. Oh, oh, oh, oh. How did the space teddy bear cross the road? How he walked? He walked, ah.
Speaker 2:AP gets his fortune read with Taro, eric rides a choo-choo with Season 4 of Snowpiercer, I hang out with the Hargreaves in Season 4 of the Umbrella Academy, and we all find out if anyone can hear you scream in space with alien Romulus. On this week's episode of Whatcha Watchin', welcome to Whatcha Watchin', presented by Geeky A Go-Go, a show where we dive into what's currently on our screens. Big screens or little screens. Size matters not here, just the quality, or lack thereof, of our cues. Gentlemen, we didn't all hang out this week, weird right? No, because you flat left us, that's right Without warning.
Speaker 1:It's like bye.
Speaker 2:See ya.
Speaker 1:See ya. Sorry guys, sorry, I know, and I felt my Friday was very odd too, because I mean every Friday, for I feel like the last 10 years has been lunch at one of our establishments with you guys.
Speaker 2:I don't know what happened on Friday but I, I messed up, I messed up the whole vibe with with my little trip.
Speaker 1:You and your trip, you and your trip. Well, well is is, is your trip, your highlight and your low light. What happened?
Speaker 2:Yes, my trip is my highlight and my low light. Oh, no, and yes, my trip is my highlight and my low light. Oh, no, okay, tell us about it. Uh, we went up to legoland in new york uh, I think it's goshen, new york. Uh, just across the border, um, from new jersey, and it is the first time. No, not the first time, we first time. We've been there quite a few times.
Speaker 2:But they're doing what I predicted. Right, when they first opened, everything was pristine, like everything was super nice. But also, things were very spread apart. Right, it took a while from go to one land to another, to another, to another. It was just a lot of emptiness. And I said guaranteed, guaranteed, they're going to start filling in this, the blanks right over time, and like charging more for premium things and blah, blah, blah, blah, and that's exactly what they're doing. Um, I mean, it doesn't take a rocket surgeon to figure that out.
Speaker 2:It, it's the, the, I don't know. I just it seems like a chore going there now because it's like we, we, we enjoyed going, we were, we're kids, were younger kids, still love it, uh, but like the food qualities dropped off a little bit, um, like you could tell they're taking shortcuts with things. Um, they're charging for more experiences. It's one of those things where, like you like you pay a premium to go there or something and you expect a little bit better service.
Speaker 2:Like I guess I'm spoiled a little bit with with other amusement parks and you don't get it. Like you don't get the premium experience at all. You know, the big draw is like oh, you get to go to Lego store and they have like exclusive things, and it's not. It's just it's like a more money. You're shelling out more money for more stuff. Um, so I mean, we had a decent enough time. There was a rain out at some point where I think they have 20 rides total and only three were open oh really yeah, um, I mean, I could understand safety, thunderstorms, lightning in the area.
Speaker 2:Um, you know you don't want people walking around outside next to big heavy pieces of metal. Um, I get that right, but it's like and their rain policy is fantastic, I found out. It's literally like just come back. Within a year. Your tickets are valid that's cool right, like you don't have to go to get services, like they have the date marked down as a rain day and you just come back, show your tickets and they'll just give you new tickets. So that's pretty good Right. And then we stayed at the hotel Again, same thing.
Speaker 3:Oh, you stayed out there.
Speaker 2:We stayed that just the night. Um, the, the, the premium experiences, um, yeah. So we stayed at the hotel. The room was nice, you know, set up for the kids, you know had a little bunk bed area and all that stuff. Uh, they had a little treasure hunt inside the room just specifically for the kids, where they had to like open a safe by finding the numbers and stuff like that.
Speaker 2:Um, and that's pretty basically it. You know two food areas that were literally right next to each other um, a little store, um, maybe a crafting area, a little play area, a pool, but then you had to like walk a solid five minutes or something like that to get to the park. It wasn't like you had a special access because you were in the hotel, it was like none of that. It was like, you know, they built everything together. It wasn't like the hotel was an afterthought, it was like hotel and amusement park and I'm like, well, if you're paying this premium to stay on site, you should have something special, like a trolley, something that goes. Nope, you got to walk all the way around to the parking lot and then from the parking lot walk into the main entrance, go through security with everybody else. And again, I just expected a more premium experience for paying the premium prices staying on site. I don't know.
Speaker 3:So should I send Jesse's sister's kids there, because you know this was on their list?
Speaker 2:I mean for the day. Absolutely Just, I don't know if they should stay there. I don't know They'll definitely have fun.
Speaker 3:Should we keep them there? Okay, so don't keep them there.
Speaker 2:But again, it's one of those things is like, how hardcore lego fans are, they a falls kids, whatever? Like, uh, they, they, it's all, it's all dependent, right? It's like, do they have this where they live? No, let's experience this. Okay, let's do it right. I, I like I said we only live like an hour to 10 15 away, depending on traffic. We it's it's a quick just shoot up there and, you know, go there for a couple of hours and then, once you've done it once or twice, you're like I could literally zoom through this park within like two hours, right, you don't need to do the rides over and over again. Um, so yeah, um, I don't know.
Speaker 1:Like I said, highlight and low light, yeah all right, that's a good highlight and low light. Definitely want to check it out, uh, but I probably won't spend the night. I'll do a day trip to your point.
Speaker 2:It's only an hour away, so yeah we like look for the look, look for the discounts and stuff. It's like buy one, get your kids free you know kind of situation. They have those deals all the time. So look for something like that, if you go good good, good tip, good tip.
Speaker 1:What about you, eric? What were your highlights and lowlights?
Speaker 3:um, I was in mexico. Mexico I went to, I went to and I think we talked about this before I went to this year's 501st Legion Training Day in Mexico, which is, for those who don't know, started as a recruiting play. Really, it's a parade of just Star Wars to show off our costumes. We have them in Mexico, we have them in Spain and I think the one in Germany starting out this year. Pretty exciting stuff Got to hang out with a lot of our especially Latin American 501st Troopers. There were a bunch of Americans that came down. It was a whole lot of fun. I think there were close to 300 troopers who marched in the parade. I think there were 30,000 people at the parade. That's cool, big numbers.
Speaker 1:And is this parade specific to the 504th or is it part of something else?
Speaker 3:It's just a 504th parade, which is what makes this unique. I think that typically, parades that we do around the world are part of something right, so like saint patrick's day, whatever kind of situation, this is literally like local news, uh, on, all that stuff talks about how there's a day of like a parade of galaxies, right, and then, um, uh, it's not just five. First I think a rebel was also invited, uh, but anyway, it's pretty much the same thing. It's the same group of people, um, and that's it like people will legit come out uh to do this and then, like I said every year, I I love seeing people selling like knockoff star wars merch on the side of the road as we're doing this.
Speaker 3:I was like we are big enough where it justifies for that to happen, which is kind of crazy. It's a bit of a grueling parade this year around compared to last year, I think, because of the sun, like the sun was in our face and all that kind of stuff, but it was a whole lot of fun to get to hang out with people. The town that we're in is a town called Leon, which is what a lot of leather goods uh are made uh in mexico, um, and you can get, like crazy, leather goods for cheap, and I saw a bunch of boots that I wanted to get.
Speaker 3:Animal activists, please turn away but, there were some pretty insane boots that I was eyeing. I just didn't find a good design that I liked it. Um, you know, there are typical boots like crocodile boots, like ostrich boots um, I saw elephant boots when I was down there. Okay, I, I saw um ostrich leg boots. So ostrich uh boots you can usually tell by like the leather, like it plucks leather kind of situation. So there's like little bumps on them. Ostrich leg boots have like the the pattern of the leg on it, which is kind of cool, okay. And then there were fish, like some crazy big fish down in brazil that their whose skin like enough for them to make it into boots, which I also go. Holy crap, that's crazy Interesting. That was pretty fun.
Speaker 3:But next year it's going to be like I mentioned. This is every year and in Mexico they rotate it by states. Next year it's going to be in the Yucatans. So you know, near Cancun. Well, when I say near, it's going to be in the yucatans. So you know near cancun? Uh, well, when I say near three hours, uh, west of cancun, it's a town called merida which is their capital. Um, I think it's going to be somewhere in the fall. They never really know until when it gets closer, because you got to get permits and all that kind of stuff which, by the way, like when we talk about parade, like local governments get involved, like there's permits, like police gets called out to block off the street, for us, like the whole shit bangs. So it's not just a bunch of dudes like walking on the street, it's uh, it's like a whole production, uh, and so that is happening.
Speaker 1:They're waiting for the permits for that to come down and we don't do this in the united states, do we?
Speaker 3:no, no, why not? And we've talked like Remind me, A lot of us have talked about it. I think Primiting cost hosting folks right, I think a lot of it is a lot more affordable and easily doable in places like Mexico. Honestly I know they're also doing Spain. I mean, honestly, I think it's just a lot of work and you got to find people who are willing to step up and do this. So we're cheap and lazy up here in the United States.
Speaker 1:That's what you're saying Okay, I gotcha, I gotcha.
Speaker 3:And then there are things that we never thought about before until you started talking to folks, because there were talks around but what if we do something like near the border of mexico? Maybe we can attract folks to kind of come up? Uh, so less of a travel. And then someone was like, oh, but a lot of these people here won't be able to get visas, and I go, oh, I forgot about that and I, you know, I started thinking how unfair it is that American can just drop in and just go like here you go, I'm here in Mexico, but a lot of Mexicans cannot. They got to get visas to kind of come back and come visit the United States, which you know there are complications like that to consider. Yeah, I mean, maybe they can do it at the border, in mexico, at the border I think that doesn't sound very safe.
Speaker 2:I think the the bureaucratic red tape that exists in the united states, it's like you basically have to find a place that doesn't really care for any of that, which is probably few and far between, and then you know if, if that is the case, then it probably won't be able to support 300 people descending onto a town, like a tiny town in america, um, to be like, you know, near the whole, like the parade route is near the hotel or the hotel blocks, you know plural kind of thing like I could only think about.
Speaker 2:Like oh well, you, if we did something in Jersey City, for example, here in New Jersey, you know you have to pay the cops overtime, you know kind of thing. Like I'm pretty sure, like those things are all like checked off where, maybe in Mexico, it's like they're most socialistic, so they're like no, we're going to embrace this, this is really good, it brings tourism, and we're going to like you know, we're going to embrace this, this is really good, it brings tourism, and we're going to help everyone out and help them with the permitting and this and that and the other thing. And here it's like no, no, no, we don't want to deal with that, because we have to pay the street sweepers and the cleaners and this and that and the other thing. So one thing America does really good is bureaucracy. So yeah, I would love for it to happen in the United States. I think that's the biggest hang up, not so much the laziness I'm sure we have tons of troopers that are like let's get this done.
Speaker 3:To Chris's point you know I'm looking at, I think, the Spain one. Like the government and their tourism boards are all involved, right, so they're all excited about this happening and they go like, oh like, let us know when so we can contribute whatever resources we want. They're going to bring this to life. And so, you know, I think this is kind of difficult for that to kind of happen here.
Speaker 3:Anyway, so that's what I was up to, looking forward to next year possibly, or I might try to go across the pond to Europe to try to check out some of their training days.
Speaker 2:So that's what's happening by the way, Chris, did you get a haircut? Yeah, every so often I get a haircut.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I just noticed, just right now, I noticed.
Speaker 2:When we hung out it was dark in the movie theater, so I don't blame you. Okay, cool.
Speaker 3:Anthony, what were you up to? All right so.
Speaker 1:I know we're way over time on this, but what was I doing? So my low light. I was in Savannah this week and it was so hot and it was a work trip and it was like one of those work trips where it's like 18 hours of work and then like zero free time to explore. And so I would love to get back to Savannah. It's a beautiful city, rich history, fantastic food, but I just did not get a chance to explore any of it. So that was kind of the low light. It's always a bummer when you go out of town and you're just your schedule is just so jam packed that you can't do any exploring.
Speaker 1:Um, highlights uh well, I've got my decking delivered, so I'm going to be working on that today to finally finish my deck project in the backyard, and I'm like one thing away from finishing my pinhead model, and then I can edit the video and finally get a made by AP video up after like five months of being on hiatus. And then the last thing which I'm torn on is I have my last. I have I've been taking acting classes. I take acting classes every so often just to kind of stay in it, and my last class is tomorrow, and it's bittersweet because it's been a fun journey, but at the same time, I'm looking forward to getting my Monday evenings back so I can work on other things. So those were my highlights and lowlights of the week, alright well, shall we get into our review of Romulus.
Speaker 2:Yeah, let's start with Romulus. We've all watched Romulus, although separately. Again together, but separate.
Speaker 1:Together but separate, and I finally saw it the week it came out. I actually saw it Thursdayursday night, so it was the yeah, yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.
Speaker 2:Your badge of honor is negated by your lack of friendship communication I look it was a game time decision.
Speaker 1:My family's home and they're all jet lagged and so at six o'clock they started started going to bed and I'm like okay well, I have an opening. And I looked and there was like one ticket in the back row of the XD Theater at Cinemark. I was like honey, can I go to this? Yes, I'm going.
Speaker 2:All right, okay, you and your excuses, yeah.
Speaker 3:You know you could have taken like the three seconds to send a text.
Speaker 1:I am such a jerk. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.
Speaker 2:Anyway, please go ahead with your introduction of this week's feature topic.
Speaker 1:Alright. So, directed by Fede Alvarez and produced by the man himself, Mr Ridley Scott, romulus is set 20 years after the events of Alien and tells the story of Rain, her adopted android brother, andy, and a band of friends who attempt to escape the oppressive, indentured mining colony of Jackson Star by hijacking a decommissioned space station that is conveniently right above this wary band of miners' heads. Now, as you can imagine, as the runaways board the ghost station, things go incredibly wrong, incredibly fast, From a massive colony of highly animated and somewhat explicit facehuggers to the eventual appearance and chase fest of a xenomorph. This film has everything to help it stand on its own as a pretty damn good sci-fi thriller to also tying nicely in with the canon. Some highlights for me sitting in that theater watching an Alien movie on the big screen for the first time in a while. Now take a step back.
Speaker 1:I love the Alien original Alien, 1979 Alien and Aliens. I think they're beautiful films they are. The production design of those films is some of the most outstanding production design, and then just the how Alien originally was constructed as a film. It's a lot of quiet, you know the tagline is in space, no one can hear you scream, right, and so they kind of carry that feeling throughout the original Alien film. I think this movie did a pretty good job of capturing the essence of that. The visual effects were spectacular the parade of facehuggers. If you're an arachnophobe, this is not the film for you on a big screen, because it is like arachnophobia in space. I don't think I've've have we seen that many face huggers in one grouping before, like there must have been a hundred of them but uh, we didn't see that in.
Speaker 3:No, I think this is the most because I'm thinking back to even to like the prometheus and covenant kind of stuff. I don't't think we saw a huge army, no, yeah, this was a huge, huge army of them.
Speaker 1:But just how they were animated and the visual effects I don't know if they were practical or digital effects, but I think they just did a fantastic job with bringing those to life en masse. And then also obviously the Xenomorph herself or himself, gender neutral theirself. I like how it also tied into the canon really nicely and you got these nods to the original but also nods to not the original, if that makes any sense. So, like I said, this takes place 20 years after the fact and in the storyline, big Chap, who is the original xenomorph, is picked up and brought to this space station. That's kind of over Jackson Star and they mine the alien for the black goo that we learn about in I think it was not Co and I think it was not covenant.
Speaker 2:I think it was Prometheus right, yeah, prometheus yeah.
Speaker 1:And they're trying to harvest this black goo. Because this black goo, in essence, if we from Prometheus, is the creation of life, right, Uh, or or, or the end and or. Creation of life, and uh. And so it's tying the new content from Prometheus and Covenant into the storyline, which is really cool. And then I also liked the character of Rain, who was played by Kaylee Spaney. Where do I know her? From Civil War? I didn't see Civil War yet.
Speaker 2:Have you watched it? No, I haven't seen it yet.
Speaker 1:Oh, she was in Priscilla, she was good. Unlimited World. Firstly, I haven't oh Mare of Easttown. That's probably where I know her from. She plays, I think, the daughter of the woman from Titanic whose name is escaping me right now.
Speaker 2:Anyway, Rose, rose, rose. What was Rose? Who's the actor?
Speaker 3:What's her name Kate.
Speaker 1:Winslet, thank you, thank you, and she was also in Pacific Rim Uprising. Anyway, she was wonderful. Wait, what was she in Pacific Rim Uprising? She was Amara Namani. Pacific Rim Uprising is another film I have not seen yet, but she was in it and she's a credited character.
Speaker 3:And the first Pacific Rim was better than the second Pacific.
Speaker 1:Rim. I mean, I didn't see either one of them, but she's in it and she plays Rain, who is the main protagonist, and this she is Ripley, like there's no bones about it, you know. But unlike Force Awakens, where it was a play-by A New Hope, like this was not a play by play of Alien but the character of Rain. I mean, you could line up Rain and Ripley next to each other and and it is a even to the last scene where she's in her underwear escaping the xenomorph, is exactly the same scene at the end of Alien, with Sigourney Weaver in her underwear, you know, escaping the xenomorph. So like there were those types of of of nuggets. But those were the some of the things that I I liked about it. Some of the, the low lights, and these are spoiler alerts. This comes out the Monday after the opening and remind me we're good to do spoilers. Okay, spoiler alerts. If you don't want spoiler alerts, jump ahead, maybe five or ten minutes. Um, baby alien, what the hell was that?
Speaker 2:that was weird and I so good oh, no, no look design, wise, beautiful design I thought you love horror films. I do.
Speaker 1:That was awesome, I do and design-wise it was a beautiful creature, beautiful creature. But it made no sense to me. I understand how it happened, but I just don't understand why it happened.
Speaker 3:I mean, this is not new in this franchise. This whole idea of hybrids is kind of showing up.
Speaker 1:Wasn't that what was in Prometheus the beast in the, or not the beast? But yeah, I don't know, For some reason it stood out more to me in this than it did in Prometheus and it just kind of I was like what?
Speaker 3:I think it's because the nature of birth was much more natural. Yeah, probably that's what it was.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that definitely threw me off. The other spoiler alert is and it was a nice tie in, it was a nice nod, but it was also so Ian home plays the Android doctor Ash in alien, who RIP, rip both Ash and Ian home. Uh, and his no, I thought it was Rook Well, ash is the Well he was Ash in Alien.
Speaker 1:Oh okay, rook is a copy of Ash. And so to your point, like A, I guess Ash blew up in the Nostromos or something like that, but I don't know. I was like why you could have used somebody else. You could have used somebody new, I think, or something like that. Um, but I don't know, I was like why, why you could use somebody else, you could have used somebody new, I think you know. But but they did that in.
Speaker 3:They did that prometheus like in in prometheus. Uh, what's the second one covenant? Yeah, let's fast bender right, fast bender came back again, but it's a different fast bender model.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the whole point, they're android I know I know I I felt it was a little too on the nose for the nostalgia train, like Fassbender's in the present. So there's no nostalgia drug that you're trying to tap into and I just I hate it when movies have to do the whole nostalgia stuff. And bringing back Ian Holm as a copy of Ash is you trying to push the nostalgia drug Versus Fass fast bender who? I mean? It was only three years apart and it's less than 10 years ago since those movies have come out. So there's no nostalgia attached to that.
Speaker 3:I'm just saying timeline wise, it makes sense, cause this movie in the alien kind of chronology this is like this is in between alien aliens. So enjoy technology wise. David's model has already been in space for a bit yeah and so the next version is ash's version.
Speaker 3:And yeah, to throw your bone, they also toss you a new android. They do, yes, yes, they do, yeah. Yeah, she was new andrew. They do, yes, this time around. Yes, they do, yeah. Yeah, who I loved. I don't know that who the actor is, but I I was a huge fan of uh of him.
Speaker 1:Uh, that was david johnson, is that right? Uh, david johnson, yeah, and he is from. He was on industry, uh, deep state endeavor. Uh, was on industry, uh, deep state endeavor. Uh, I've not, I don't know many of these, uh, these shows, but yeah, he was. He was wonderful, uh and uh, and kind of his transformation from one version, one android operating system to another android operating system was pretty fun to watch too. Uh, but what do you guys think? Oh, my god, he's 30, he's, he's 31. Do you think he? I thought he, I thought these guys were all kids. No, they're never just kids. Most of the half the cast of clueless was like 25 to 35 and they're playing high schoolers.
Speaker 3:They're never kids, oh my oh my goodness, I thought they were all like early 20s late so. So what did you guys think?
Speaker 1:eric what thoughts on the film?
Speaker 3:I loved it. I um you know the. The last time we saw we were in the alien world was it. Was it the prometheus movies, or was there another alien movie in between? I thought covenant came after prometheus right, but like uh, that's like a continuation of prometheus, but was there something else in between?
Speaker 2:I think it was covenant so yeah, I'm pretty sure covenant was the last thing we saw yeah, because you know in between there was predator, but you know that's whole something else.
Speaker 3:But, um, I like the return to this really cramped ship action. Like you know, prometheus and covenant gave us like the worlds right. Like you know, you, you got there. This feel like more like the original Aliens. You know where things are happening on a ship. I do like the parallels that are between this and the other Alien movies. I liked how you can go into this movie blind, honestly, without having seen other Alien movies, to really enjoy it. Chris was next to me. There are a few jump scares where I go oh, that was good stuff.
Speaker 3:Um and uh, I I did not recognize, by the way, most of the cast uh, that was in this movie, which I love when that happens in a major movie like this. Um, and generally enjoy the story and I really like the subtle tiebacks to some of the, the, the quote unquote canon of this whole alien universe. Right, like you heard about the reference to, like the, you heard about references to um, you know, like the goo you, you see all these kind of things and uh, like the birth of that baby alien I was was like oh, so good, so good, it was so good.
Speaker 1:That's the second gratuitous, demonic slash alien birthing scene I've seen this year. What is going on? Well, you go looking for them, we don't go looking for them.
Speaker 3:My search history is out of control um, and I, I, uh, I wonder, because this actually is a setup. Uh, I think you can set this up for another set of movies, right, which is which is fantastic. Uh, I had no bones to pick with Ian Holm coming back, but it was.
Speaker 3:There was a bit of an uncanny valley thing that happened to me when it first, when he first showed up on screen, I was like this looks like a weird Bilbo puppet, and then but then after a while, like you, you get like it's insane, like after maybe, like within the I want to say like a few minutes, like I was used to the character and it is crazy to see that happen and love the creature work, love the FX work on this movie. Anyway, I generally very much enjoyed it, which makes me want to go back and re-watch the alien.
Speaker 1:What the four aliens that are out there, more than that Three, four, I think there's more, oh, the originals, because there's Aliens 1 through 4, then there's Covenant Prometheus, right. I was thinking about just the aliens?
Speaker 3:Though Prometheus is one of my favorite movies I know some people hate, hate it, but it's one of my favorites because I just I think I love fast bender in that movie and I think everything else just kind of came with it. Yeah, anyway, thoroughly enjoy this movie. I will reserve my balls for when everyone else want to give their nitro.
Speaker 1:What are your thoughts?
Speaker 2:I mean, for me it was hilarious sitting next to Eric with all the jump scares, Aww.
Speaker 1:I like how Eric kind of downplayed it and then, chris, you just kind of threw him right under the bus. It was good stuff.
Speaker 2:I was like oh.
Speaker 3:And I do the turn around and go. Did you see that?
Speaker 2:I mean I liked it a lot. I think it was fun. For me, what I liked the most was the practical effects. Right, they brought you back into was it the late 70s?
Speaker 1:Yeah, 79.
Speaker 2:79. So they brought you back to the area with, like, the CRT monitors and all the buttons and the toggles and this and that, and I'm like whoa, they really did their homework here. I don't know if they went to a salvage yard or whatever, or, like they just recreated all those things manually or digitally or whatever the case may be, but they like recreated the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon, so to speak, like they actually did it. So, yeah, the digital effects and whatever like was very gritty and things like that Like it's in-universe right. You felt like you were on the mining colony. So that's what I really really loved about the film.
Speaker 2:Uh, acting was great. All they all, all the quote-unquote kids did a great job. Yeah, um, they all have a bunch of acting uh stuff under their belts, so you know they're experienced actors, so to speak. Uh, although albeit new to the American audiences somewhat, I think they did great the Ian Holm thing. I forgot what was the other guy's name, bishop Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2:So yeah, the whole synth, bad special effects, but on purpose, because he's damaged, that's. That's what I likened it to. So yet, yes, it's uncanny valley, but I'm like, but I'm remembering back when, like, they were doing practical effects to recreate the scenes, um, like showing the, the half written, half ripped apart, synths, um, and think it looked really cool, right. I think it evoked that feeling right, because I think they could have done away with that entirely, like they could have completely cgi'd that out and made it really realistic, but I think they brought it back to like no, we're going to use late 70s, early 80s technology and make them look like we're doing a practical effect using digital effects. So I was like, okay, that that makes sense. You know, it wasn't like a half torso, like sitting under a table kind of situation. Yeah, um, they actually use robots that are like robotics, quote-unquote, um, use the term very loosely um, I, yeah, I liked it a lot, um, so, yeah, I don't know how much else I could talk about it oh yeah, you guys.
Speaker 2:You guys hit the nail on the head like all these, all these things, baby alien, it was nightmare fuel, that's all it really was.
Speaker 3:So so good, it was so good, you knew that was going to happen. When it started popping out, I go oh, this is a real birth right here I mean just the form, the baby, alien form.
Speaker 2:I was like what is that? Like, just you know, I can't Like there's so many things that are coming to mind and I'm like it's an amalgamation of all these like horror nightmare fuel movies and stuff like that On the tongue oh yeah, Come on.
Speaker 3:When the baby came out, I will say Pizzuto was one of the first person I thought of. I was like I wonder what Anthony thought about this.
Speaker 1:I love me some good horror, don't get me wrong, and on its own. I mean, that's like you said. What did you say? Nightmare fuel? Yeah, it's nightmare fuel. For sure Love that stuff. I just felt it was a little strange within this universe. But maybe I have to go back and rewatch Prometheus and covenant, uh and, and kind of see how it that ties into it I mean.
Speaker 2:But if you, even if you fast forward to the later films where you have I mean with prometheus, I think, specifically where you have that human alien hybrid, where it was like face and but also skull and so it's like, and then we have like dog aliens, at some point we're introduced to them, so it's it's like the mushing of jeans gives you weird things, so it's like I think they had the freedom to do this stuff. So the real alien part of this, other than being this tall, slender man-looking thing, was the back right.
Speaker 2:As the space jockey, right, yeah, so all of that stuff altogether I think they did a great job. I mean, eric got scared, it worked.
Speaker 1:That's all that matters. That's all that matters. Oh, man, now I have to find out where we are so I can bleep that out. Thank you 46.35,. Okay, all right, so disco balls. What are we giving it? Oh, thank you 46.35. Okay, all right, so disco balls.
Speaker 2:What are we giving it for disco balls? I'll give it four disco balls.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'll do four and a half. This is good stuff.
Speaker 1:Whoa, four and a half, all right, I'll go at four as well. It was a fun watch. Really enjoyed watching it on the big screen. Um, really nice in the, uh, the alien universe great practical effects, great visual effects, uh, fun, fun story to watch. So yeah, I'm with you on four sweet nice, cool.
Speaker 2:Uh, I'm glad we all enjoyed it, you know, because it's it's one of those. It's hard thing to people to carry a legacy. You know what I mean? And and and make sure they do right by it. Um, so, yeah, I'm okay. I'm curious. What is uh audience score? Rotten tomatoes imdb what are we? What are we talking about there?
Speaker 1:81. Fresh on uh. Rotten tomatoes 86 audience score now Rotten Tomatoes IMDb. What are we talking about there? 81% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes 86% audience score. Now it is the first weekend and I don't know when these numbers get updated, so I'd be curious to see if they change on Monday after we get through the first full weekend, box office wise. So the only dailies that are available right now are for Friday. Monday we'll get the full weekend, but on Friday it won. Friday at 18 million. Deadpool and Wolverine came in second at 8.1 million. It ends with us. I still don't understand why people are seeing this movie. 7.7 million.
Speaker 3:Borderlands is nowhere to be found in the top five for Friday, and then I might just go watch it, because I heard you guys talk about it last week.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, it was terrible. It was terrible and it's actually funny. So just looking at last weekend's numbers, august 9th through the 11th, deadpool obviously owned the weekend at $53 million. It Ends With us came in at 50 million 50 million dollars again. It is a romance movie, a romance movie. Whatever they're doing to market this film, it's working. I just I don't get it.
Speaker 3:Mr. Mr Blake Lively is really good at marketing shit, no he really is.
Speaker 1:Uh, twisters came in third last weekend at $15 million Borderlands, borderlands, so I think Borderlands got $8 million on Friday. Borderlands for the entire weekend came in at $8.6 million. So it peaked on Friday and then barely touched the surface the rest of the weekend. And I was talking with a pal who has an in with Lionsgate and he's like, yeah, they, they knew this was going to be a bomb. It was filmed, it should just written it off. I don't know why they just write it off.
Speaker 1:Well, or send it just right to, um, right to streaming, I mean, and this is going to hit streaming pretty darn fast. So, and this is going to hit streaming pretty darn fast.
Speaker 3:I will wait, yeah, wait.
Speaker 1:Don't spend your money. It was just a disappointment. And folks who are new to our show, if you want to hear what we're talking about, check out our episode 39. Oh, wow guys. Last episode, Last episode, episode 39, where we talk about Borderlands.
Speaker 3:Which, by the way, is. Can we talk about how Disney is just dominating with their movies? Because I'm pretty sure, because this is 20th century, right? So this movie was a Disney movie. Deadpool is a Disney movie.
Speaker 1:Inside Out 2.
Speaker 3:Was a Disney movie, they're crushing it Worldwide in 2024.
Speaker 1:Right now, Inside Out is at $1.6 billion. Deadpool and Wolverine is is at 1.1 billion. Despicable me 4. That's sony right that's not, that's.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's not there, yeah um or uh.
Speaker 1:Dreamworks, I think is uh despicable, me uh. 811.9 million. Dune part 2 I still haven't seen it 711 million. And then godzilla x-Con is at $567 million. That's worldwide for 2024. So far, those are the top five films, highest grossing films of 2024.
Speaker 3:And then Disney's year is going to continue because they have is it? Moana 2 coming out this year also.
Speaker 1:Is that this year? I don't know what the time frame is on that? Yeah, and I think like Mufasa two coming out this year also. Is that this year?
Speaker 3:I don't know what the time is, and I and I think like a Mufasa is coming out.
Speaker 1:Mufasa, but that'll be December, so it's it's going to have a very short 2024 tail. It'll probably have a much bigger impact on their 2025 numbers.
Speaker 3:I mean it's still crazy, like Disney after all their bombs. I think this year is going to be a good year for them and they needed it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, 2023 was just a hot mess for Disney and the strike didn't. The strikes didn't help at all, but in general, they had an awful 2023. All right, shall we continue on with round two?
Speaker 2:absolutely well, I'll start off. So what you're watching, chris. All right, shall we continue on with round two? Absolutely Well, I'll start off. So what you're watching, chris. This week I finished out the Umbrella Academy. It was the final season, season four of a show that I actually loved very, very much when it started. It kind of faltered a little bit last season, I think, but I think they finished strong right for being a final season.
Speaker 2:So the Umbrella Academy is based on a comic book that was a limited series. It only ran for two years, I think in the mid-2000s, and then they kind of brought it back a little bit in the late teens, created by one of the guys from my Chemical Romance, which is cool, you know, branching out, doing music, doing art, you, you know stuff like that. Um, and it's, it's, it's for whoever, for the uninitiated. The umbrella academy is basically, uh, based on a dysfunctional family of superheroes, right? Um, something happens where all these people were born at the exact same moment and they all were born with these magical powers or superhero powers and stuff like that. And the protagonist, sir Reginald Hargreaves he's not a protagonist, he's one of the characters. The kids are the protagonists of the movie, of the show. They basically fight crime, you know, through his training and stuff like that. So think of, like X-Men, but indentured servitude X-Men, because this father figure, quote unquote he's very matter of fact, he's willing, you know, to cut off the arm if it's like not, uh, doing what it's supposed to be doing, kind of kind of person, very regimented and wants to make sure that everything falls in line according to plan and stuff like that. So, um, yeah, uh, just very dysfunctional family and, uh, this season kind of wrapped things up, got everything together and put a bow at the end.
Speaker 2:Spoiler it's been over for a little while now, a couple weeks I think. But spoiler they come to the conclusion that in order to save the world because that's what they've been doing this entire time they jump through timelines and they jump through history and the future and the past and things like that. So they come to the conclusion, in order to fix or save the world from being destroyed over and over and over again because that's what they've been doing constantly is they realize that they have to end themselves right, they are the reason why the world keeps getting destroyed. So, basically, they were imbued with this matter and because this matter was created, there was an antimatter created and the two are just trying to constantly negate each other and in doing so, it constantly causes the world to end. So they said, well, in order to bring to bring balance is like we have to end ourselves.
Speaker 2:Um, it's, it sounds morbid, but it's not what you think it is. They. They literally just fuse with this antimatter and then they cease to exist. Um, and then everything is, and then they cease to exist, and then everything is all sunshine and roses and stuff like that at the end, and that's how the season basically ends. It's just that they literally are negated, they don't exist anymore and everybody else kind of like comes back, who they've affected throughout their lives, and that's all. It just literally ends. I was like, oh, okay, that kind of makes sense. I never read the comics, um, but I think they did a good job. I like the characters, I like the um, the dysfunctional part of the entire thing and how they all got tied together and how they realized they how much they needed each other, needed each other to get through life as kids going into becoming adults. I think they did a great job. So, yeah, I think it was a great show. I don't know if you guys watched it at all. Yeah, I'm a few episodes away.
Speaker 3:I lost steam on the show. I think last season it just it got. I was like ah, I'm not really following it anymore. I mean, I think I I finished it. But if you ask me what season three is about, you can't, like I can't begin to tell you like I need to go back and maybe watch all those like recaps, but maybe that's what they're ending at season four, the, the, the.
Speaker 2:I said, I said it in house of the. When we're talking about house of the dragon, the, the recap is playing for season three of the Umbrella Academy. Now, right, the same thing happened to me with House of the Dragon the recap is playing for season 3 and I'm like when did that happen?
Speaker 2:like I have zero what is all this stuff happening? So, like I said, it faltered a little bit in season 3. I, eric, I suggest finishing it up. You know just, I know you like to make sure you watch everything, even how terribly bad things are. I will finish it, um, and and, anthony, just definitely go ahead, watch the whole thing, yeah I'm about four episodes in um and I love, I love the umbrella academy.
Speaker 1:I yeah it gets a little wacky. I mean same with doom patrol. I mean that gets a little off the rails too. But but I just adore the characters. I think they're they're just wonderfully performed, they're wonderfully written there, they have great storylines and this season I love the genes. Nick, played by Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally, married for the past 21 years. They've also appeared together in Parks and Rec and a bunch of other things, and just seeing them together in this kind of capacity is hysterical. But no, I'm really enjoying season four. I'm bummed that it ends the way it does now that I know this, but looking forward to seeing how they wrap it up for myself, but uh, yeah and there's, there is a little bit of a knot.
Speaker 2:I didn't completely spoil it for you, but there's a little bit of something at the end that's like, oh, maybe something oh, okay, all right so I'll leave that. I'll leave it at that. Uh, my summation, like I said, I'll give it because the series is over and it's all done overarching. I'll give it a three and a half, okay, yeah.
Speaker 3:For the entire show, or just this season, the entire show Right the dip.
Speaker 2:There was season three. I think it would have gotten a solid four if it wasn't for the end of season three that I completely forgot because I was like what is going on here? It was weird. Yeah, Eric, what are you watching?
Speaker 3:Snowpiercer, season four and the final season. So there's some parallel that we're seeing here today. Uh is airing, uh, this is kind of like umbrella academy. This is that I forgot what season three was all about, because it's being so long, because I'm pretty sure the show was gonna be got canceled. It was on tnt, it was the home, uh, and it got picked back up, by amc, I believe, and so you know there was a bit of a delay there. You know, kind of restarted and for those who don't know, this is a show I've been watching it started as the movie Snowpiercer well, the Korean movie and then it turned into an American movie and now there's a whole TV show down to season four. It's not done yet. We're it's week by week, right. So I think we're on episode fives, uh, right now. Uh, so I've been just kind of catching all the way up, um, so no judgment yet, but it has made.
Speaker 3:I do remember there's a bit of a law in the last season as well and I think, being in the final season, they're picking it back up. So the idea was, you know, I think this train goes around the world, uh, to try to. You know, this is the only humanity that stays alive. And then you find out in later seasons that, oh wow, like there actually might be pockets of people who are still alive. And then last uh season ended with them decoupling one of their trains to go live permanently in this like nice, incredible place that they found. Well, season four comes around, uh, and then, um, they've realized there might be more survivors than they expected. They introduced clark greg as a major I think at this point, antagonist in this movie, so like the big bad, and I'm a huge fan of clark rake, and so, seeing him here he plays like this, like uh military dude who showed up out of nowhere to start, uh, who leads like a world like peacekeeping force and started taking over like the like uh, taking over the characters trained, all these kind of things for the greater good of humanity kind of situation. Um, and just uh, a joy to watch it back on the screen. He hasn't been on the screen a lot and so it was a surprise for me to see him pop back on and I look forward to keep on watching him and seeing how that ends. No balls yet, this is not done yet, but it has gotten me a little bit more excited about the show and then I hope they go out with a bang.
Speaker 3:Speaking of Clark Gregg, by the way, back in the early 2010s I saw a movie that he, I think, wrote and directed. It was like a small indie movie. What's it called? Hold on, I have Clark Gregg's Wikipedia turned on. It's a show called Trust Me. It's a movie called trust me and basically he's like a, he's like a agent in hollywood and he helps like child actors and all that kind of stuff. Anyway, what was really funny about the way that and no one's ever gonna see this, but the way that this movie ended was the whole movie felt very just, uh, grounded, you know, just like a small indie movie. But at the end of the movie there I think, he died, I remember, and, um, he flew away on angel wings like very impressive looking angel wings in the q?
Speaker 3:a so it just didn't feel like part of the movie, just feel like, felt like wow, all the production value, did it go to this shot right here? And then in the Q&A someone was like, oh, that was a crazy set of props you got there. It's like, yeah, marvel owe me a few things, so they made these things for me. That's amazing. Anyway, love the guy, like the show, love seeing him in this show and I will let you guys know once I finish.
Speaker 2:All right, Reserving your balls. Awesome AP, take us on out.
Speaker 1:All right, what you watching? So I'm watching Tarot, which is on Netflix right now, and it came to Netflix very quickly. It was just in the theaters, but it came from Sony, and Sony and Netflix have a deal where Sony's content is being ported out of the theaters into the Netflix platform pretty quickly. But Tarot is pretty much what you think it is. It's about a group of kids who uncover a kind of deck, a tarot deck, and there's this golden rule of tarot that I didn't know until I watched this movie, where you're not supposed to use other people's tarot decks, otherwise it's bad luck. Well, as you can imagine, it was somebody else's deck. And the kids? Well, they weren't so lucky they this woman gives a reading to all of the kids at this party that they're at and each one of the kids starts dying.
Speaker 1:It's your classic 70s, 80s, monster slasher, horror scare fest Lots of jump scares, lots of good lore attached to it their cursed, ancient tarot deck that's been traveling through the ages and killing people for hundreds of years. It was just a lot, a lot of fun. One of the I didn't recognize a lot of the performers from it, but the main star is Harriet Slater and she was in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. She was in Pennyworth and so she has some kind of cred to her. But the one standout that I immediately recognize is Jacob Badalan from Spider-Man. He plays Ned in Spider-Man and he is just as fun and effervescent and the comedic relief that every horror movie formula has he is it in that If you're looking for a fun horror film, if you don't mind a little blood and gore, if you like some good mythology, this is a fun horror movie to watch. Tarot streaming on Netflix, I'll give it. Horror movies are tough with me in the disco balls. I'm going to give it three and a half disco balls.
Speaker 1:That's better than I expected. Yeah really Okay.
Speaker 3:Alright, I feel like, especially when you just preface it by saying that horror movies are dumb.
Speaker 1:Well, they're really hard because and I know, one day we're going to do the horror movie episode. But the bar for horror for me is if it elicits a physical and mental reaction, then that's a really good horror movie. This was just a fun, scary watch. This is akin to you know, you grab your friends and it's sleep overnight and you pop on Friday, the 13th, part three, you know, and you just have a good old time. A popcorn horror. This is what that was like for me. So yeah, three and a half.
Speaker 3:I don't do that, I don't just pop on horror movies for fun. So there you have it. That is much better than I thought you were going to give the balls.
Speaker 1:So what were you thinking? I was going to give the balls?
Speaker 3:Well, again, you prefaced it by saying that well, you know this is going to be tough, and then you gave it a three and a half.
Speaker 2:I think it's decent Nice, I mean. Having watched Alien Out, eric, I have a newfound understanding of how much of a chicken Eric is. So here's the thing I enjoy very much sci-fi scares.
Speaker 3:I think sci-fi scares I'm excited about. I think I like sci-fi, fantasy, scary stuff, like when you're talking about, like you know, ghosting, a house kind of situation or like you know, like a clown or some stuff. I was like I don't want to put myself in that situation. I have put myself in that situation. I have I I in college I had a friend who when we go watch horror movies together she was the kind that everyone else is around screaming she's laughing at the screen and she's one of those people I go like, oh my god, what's it gonna take to scare you? Because she's just like. She like I think she's the scariest lady ever.
Speaker 1:Well, one of these days we're going to drag you to an actual horror movie Not a sci-fi horror movie, but like an actual supernatural, and I'm going to sit on one side, chris is going to sit on the other side.
Speaker 3:We're just going to film you. This is what you guys don't understand. So I up, I grew up, in the world of japanese horror. Oh yeah, that's screwed up stuff. Whoo yeah, because because, um, like and this is what what japanese horror is super scary um, a lot of them are set in like schools, right, uh, like all these kind of things. My school growing up look exactly like those schools, right. And then you hear about like things like oh, don't count the steps at night leaving the school, because if you're missing a step, like some some, like something's bad's gonna happen to you, don't go to the toilet because you know all these kind of things. So, like all those things where I'm like oh no, I was scarred at a very young age, so no, thank you.
Speaker 2:I mean I get that you grew up in a culture with lots of superstitions, lots and lots of superstitions yeah, I'm not supposed to go swimming this month, so just throwing that out there in the in the lunar month of july, which is where we are in right now.
Speaker 3:Okay, uh, the, the gate to the underworld has opened, oh, and so all the spirits are out, hanging out and, uh, you know, even though I'm not offending any of them, uh, you should avoid the water because they can drag you in there to bring you back down oh, I love it into the underworld yeah, that's my jam.
Speaker 1:All right, love it. Yeah, is it?
Speaker 2:night swimming, or just swimming, swimming in general, oh, that sucks.
Speaker 3:So you'll notice that a lot of Asian people well caveat, taiwanese people do not like to go swimming in the month of, maybe around late July, early August, right.
Speaker 1:Okay, well, now everybody knows. Thank you, eric Nice.
Speaker 2:Yeah, odd. I mean, eric is the type of guy that's like I. I saw this video youtube on youtube recently, where it was like three guys walked into someone's house and then, like the guy played a prank on them and all the like, alexa, you know, the lights turned red and the one guy literally he'd be two guys walked in. They started taking their shoes off. The one guy literally two guys walked in, they started taking their shoes off the one guy he's just like nope and just 180.
Speaker 3:That's Eric. That is Eric. It's like you watch. Only there was a commercial. There was a commercial that was like actually no, it's not a commercial, it's one of those like at the beginning of the movie, tell you to turn off your cell phone, kind of situation. And then I remember it's one of those things where it's like, oh yeah, well, we're running away from a serial killer. Of course we run toward like a shed that looks like where the serial killer's gonna hide. Why would you go there?
Speaker 1:Go anywhere else the rules of horror. The rules of horror.
Speaker 3:Just keep running. What's wrong with you people?
Speaker 2:Nice, okay, I mean, we'll save more content for the horror episode. That's never gonna happen. I can't Take us home, nitro. Take us home, thank you. Do you want more Geeky A Go Go? Well, make sure you're following us on all the socials at Geeky A Go Go and share with us what you're watching, want cool stuff, want to connect with us on a higher level, like on our discord channel? Head on over to patreoncom slash geeky a go go and support the show. You'll get awesome swag and other perks. If you haven't done so already, make sure you're following the show on your favorite podcast platform and leave us a review. Thanks so much for listening. Peace out everybody. Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye.
