Close Up

Justin, Joe, and special guest star Ryan Walker review The Legend of Vox Machina S4. 00:00 Expectations 03:02 Cliffhanger Finale 05:00 Animation 08:14 Fractured Team Spirit 14:18 Lack of Communication 20:09 The Whispered One 23:18 Taryon Darrington 28:01 Pike 32:51 The Power of Faith 35:40 Great Character Moments 40:30 Matt Mercer 41:35 The Bard's Lament 48:11 Long-term Setup 49:37 Other Character...

Justin and Joe review Spider-Noir. 00:00 Sony Has a Win 02:17 Colour Choices 05:37 Filmmaking Craft 08:53 VFX 17:39 Characters 21:28 An Original But Classic Spidey Story 28:38 The Spider 33:31 Supporting Cast 37:42 Stray Thoughts 44:05 Final Rankings WEBSITE: thoughtplane.ca JUSTIN'S SOCIAL MEDIA https://www.instagram.com/jchurchtpm/ Recorded by Joseph Morin and Justin Church Edited by Joseph Mori...

Justin and Joe review Maul: Shadow Lord. 00:00 Introduction 02:10 Technically Exceptional 06:14 Action 13:52 Score 14:47 What Era Is This? 17:06 Joe Being Petty 24:25 Characterizations 28:28 Moral Grays + The Final Fight 33:41 Sith Are Emotional 35:12 Working Around Canon 41:39 Pacing and Energy 48:23 Recycled Concepts 53:40 Final Thoughts WEBSITE: thoughtplane.ca JUSTIN'S SOCIAL MEDIA https://www...

Justin and Joe review Invincible S4. 00:00 Introduction 02:31 Diminished Returns 07:06 Repeated Sins 09:24 Burden of Responsibility 12:39 Guardians of the Globe 16:41 Zoe 20:06 General Writing 25:58 The Action 28:56 Thragg 32:55 Speculation for S5 36:07 Ethical Dilemmas 37:47 Redemption 42:56 More Speculation 46:54 Unbelievable Plots 52:29 Animation 56:12 The Show's Popularity 59:10 Comparison Gam...

Justin and Joe review The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. 00:00 Introduction 01:26 Nintendo Cinematic Universe 06:06 Animation 07:51 Bad Writing 16:12 Early Final Rankings 19:51 Stray Thoughts 22:24 Themes 26:18 Ratings, For Real WEBSITE: thoughtplane.ca JUSTIN'S SOCIAL MEDIA https://www.instagram.com/jchurchtpm/ Recorded by Joseph Morin and Justin Church Edited by Joseph Morin Close Up cover art by Jus...

Justin and Joe review Project Hail Mary. 00:00 Introduction 01:06 The VFX 06:14 Visual Style 10:10 Hard Sci-Fi 14:51 Adaptation 17:36 Character Development 20:07 Rocket Fuel 22:16 Music and Sound 23:38 Length and Pacing 27:38 Broad Appeal 34:35 Some Stray Thoughts 39:09 Final Thoughts WEBSITE: thoughtplane.ca JUSTIN'S SOCIAL MEDIA https://www.instagram.com/jchurchtpm/ Recorded by Joseph Morin and...

Justin and Joe review Beastars Season 3 Part 2 00:00 Our Backgrounds on Beastars 02:52 The Ending Sucked 09:23 The Black Market 11:20 More That Bugged Us 15:44 Technical Issues 18:28 Why the Lower Quality? 21:03 Some Positives 26:59 Stray Thoughts 34:12 The Animation Style 39:27 Final Rankings WEBSITE: thoughtplane.ca JUSTIN'S SOCIAL MEDIA https://www.instagram.com/jchurchtpm/ Recorded by Joseph M...

Ryan and Joe review A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms S1. 00:00 Intro 03:18 George R.R Martin 06:07 Egg 12:25 Writing and Tone 18:04 A Knight Who Remembered His Vows 24:36 World Politics 31:05 Ser Arlan of Pennytree 34:13 Baelor Targaryen 39:26 Supporting Characters 44:31 The Ending 47:58 Is Dunk a Knight? 52:12 Colouring 55:40 Production Design 59:32 Trial of Seven 01:04:47 Perspective of a Real Squ...

Justin and Joe count down the top character introductions in the Star Wars Franchise (Movies/ TV)! 00:00 Honourable Mentions 05:57 Cassian Andor 08:38 Anakin Skywalker/ Darth Vader 12:44 Darth Sidious 14:57 Asajj Ventress 17:42 Fives and Echo 20:28 Yoda 23:48 General Grievous 27:03 Han Solo 30:30 Luke Skywalker 38:56 Obi-Wan Kenobi 41:55 George Lucas vs Disney WEBSITE: thoughtplane.ca JUSTIN'S SOC...

Justin and Joe review Fallout Season 2. 00:00 Our Backgrounds on Fallout 01:41 Overview + Thaddeus 05:32 Supermutants and Lore 08:03 The Enclave 12:29 House 13:52 Pacing Issues 16:26 Maximus 20:02 Season 3 Setup 21:26 The NCR 24:41 Some of the Writing and Arcs 29:27 Production Design 34:45 Talking Technical 37:52 The Canadian Parts 41:51 Rankings and Wrap-up WEBSITE: thoughtplane.ca JUSTIN'S SOCIA...

Justin, Joe, and special guest star Ryan Walker review The Mighty Nein Season 1. 00:00 Introduction 02:06 Preconceived Notions 05:15 Keeping Old and New Fans Invested 07:29 Voice Acting 10:16 vs Vox Machina 16:33 Into the Characters 24:19 Animation 28:13 The Villains 35:44 Fjord 41:05 Beau and Nott 47:59 Re-writing Yasha 51:21 The Cliffhanger 01:03:41 Stray Thoughts 01:17:37 Wrap-up WEBSITE: thoug...

Justin and Joe review Stranger Things 5. 00:00 Overview on the Series 04:01 Bloated Cast 10:00 Pacing Issues 13:31 New Lore 15:53 Parents Trusting Children 18:56 Will Byers 28:19 Inconsistent Writing 33:31 Technical Aspects 37:37 The Mind Flayer Twist 38:58 Character Arcs 42:24 The Military 47:46 The Finale 52:08 Wrap-up WEBSITE: thoughtplane.ca JUSTIN'S SOCIAL MEDIA https://www.instagram.com/jchu...

Justin and Joe review 52 holiday films (which they've never seen), then use them to discover the meaning of Christmas. 00:00 Intro 01:27 Reviews 01:03:04 Rom Com Lessons 01:05:18 Communication and Vulnerability 01:07:57 Family and Community 01:11:47 Save Relationship With Your Father 01:14:41 Christmas Protagonists are Jerks 01:17:52 Pushing Away Negativity 01:21:40 Family is Better than Money 01:...

Breaking into internet artistry is next to impossible, thanks to a series of decisions and trends which de-incentivized creativity. 00:00 Our General Dissatisfaction 02:05 Greed Swallowed Internet Individualism 05:35 Clickbait Equals Revenue 08:15 Shilling For Ads 13:56 Maximizing Ad Revenue 17:15 Influencers 22:57 The Rise of AI Content 28:58 AI Makes Creative Careers Harder 34:38 AI Ruined Tradi...

Every fan of every fandom eventually comes across the concept of "Head Canon", whether or not they realize. Is it a useful coping mechanism or a pathetic fantasy? 00:00 Protects the Good Vibes 04:36 It's Silly 05:59 Honour the Creator's Intentions 10:45 Ignoring Hard Emotions 16:03 Sometimes Good Things Exist Within Bad 18:37 Fandoms Are Nightmares 28:38 What's Considered Definitive 34:42 Wrap-up...

Justin and Joe review Zootopia 2. 00:00 Surprising Adult Appeal 02:48 Side Characters 05:54 Nick and Judy 10:03 Follow the Snake 12:49 Animation 15:58 Presentation and Writing 21:57 Score 22:50 Action 25:25 Wrap-up WEBSITE: thoughtplane.ca JUSTIN'S SOCIAL MEDIA https://www.instagram.com/jchurchtpm/ Recorded by Joseph Morin and Justin Church Edited by Joseph Morin Close Up cover art by Justin Churc...

Justin and Joe celebrate their "Friendaversary" by going over their favourite friendships from some of their favourite entertainment! 00:00 Intro 01:20 Commander Sheppard and Garrus Vakarian 02:07 Woody and Buzz Lightyear 04:18 Chuck Bartowski and Morgan Grimes 06:17 Oliver Queen and John Diggle 08:20 Doctor/ Donna 11:09 Will Smith and Carlton Banks 14:27 Liz Lemmon and Jack Donaghy 16:48 Spongebo...

Justin and Joe review The Witcher S4. 00:00 Overview 03:41 Comparisons to S3 05:42 Themes 09:26 Villains 17:10 Ciri and The Rats 22:27 The Action 27:42 Lower Production Values 34:24 Stunt Performers 36:19 Some of the Writing 41:00 Liam Hemsworth 44:52 Wrap-up WEBSITE: thoughtplane.ca JUSTIN'S SOCIAL MEDIA https://www.instagram.com/jchurchtpm/ Recorded by Joseph Morin and Justin Church Edited by Jo...

Justin and Joe review the first few episodes of The Witcher S4, and complain about Netflix's marketing strategies. 00:00 Hemsworth vs Cavill 06:34 Improved Writing 12:32 Action 13:57 No Marketing 21:58 Decline of Fantasy TV 26:45 The Rats 31:13 The Streaming Wars 35:55 Wrap-up WEBSITE: thoughtplane.ca JUSTIN'S SOCIAL MEDIA https://www.instagram.com/jchurchtpm/ Recorded by Joseph Morin and Justin C...

Justin and Joe review Tron: Ares! 00:00 Overview 04:12 Jared Leto 07:24 The Action 17:55 Production Design 19:46 Where Is Tron 24:16 Box Office Woes 25:46 Some Subtle Details 27:08 NIN Soundtrack 28:48 The Screenplay 42:56 The 3-D 47:26 Wrap-up WEBSITE: thoughtplane.ca JUSTIN'S SOCIAL MEDIA https://www.instagram.com/jchurchtpm/ Recorded by Joseph Morin and Justin Church Edited by Joseph Morin Clos...

Joe watches his first ever Studio Ghibli film! 00:00 Pacing and Length 05:07 Anime in Our Childhoods 08:00 Excellent Animation Craft 12:28 Dark Themes and Horror 18:32 Character Development 21:28 Colour Theory 25:51 Stray Thoughts 32:46 Wrap-up WEBSITE: thoughtplane.ca JUSTIN'S SOCIAL MEDIA https://www.instagram.com/jchurchtpm/ Recorded by Joseph Morin and Justin Church Edited by Joseph Morin Clos...

Justin explains the basics of Neon Genesis: Evangelion to Joe! 00:00 Controversies + Overview 08:06 Emotional Grounding 12:46 What is the Titular Neon Genesis 15:26 The Rebuild Movies 25:00 The Meta Narrative 31:03 The Average Instalment 33:56 Other Themes 39:53 Wrap-up WEBSITE: thoughtplane.ca JUSTIN'S SOCIAL MEDIA https://www.instagram.com/jchurchtpm/ Recorded by Joseph Morin and Justin Church E...

Joe watched his first anime! Frieren was an exceptional experience, with fine artistic crafting in all regards. 00:00 Introduction 02:40 Animation 07:49 Frieren's Memories 12:47 Themes 24:16 Frieren's Flaws 27:41 Tone and Storytelling 33:16 Speculation on the Future 34:12 The Score 37:29 Wrap-up WEBSITE: thoughtplane.ca JUSTIN'S SOCIAL MEDIA https://www.instagram.com/jchurchtpm/ Recorded by Joseph...

Justin explains Demon Slayer to somebody who doesn't watch anime! 00:00 Introduction 01:51 Overall Concept 06:38 The Complex Demons 09:08 Demon Slaying 11:14 Movies 17:45 The Road To Its Ending 20:27 The Demon Slayer Corps 22:19 Writing and Action 26:56 Supporting Cast 30:43 Allegories 35:37 Animation 37:50 Infinity Castle Movie Review 52:37 Wrap-up WEBSITE: thoughtplane.ca JUSTIN'S SOCIAL MEDIA h...

Justin kicks off "Anime October" with his review of "The Summer Hikaru Died", while Joe picks his brain with questions. 00:00 Introduction 01:31 Overall Story Thoughts 10:11 Themes and Storytelling 18:05 Ending and Payoff 20:50 Pacing 22:16 Lore 26:44 Emotional Maturity 29:09 Animation 31:46 Violence 33:14 Voice Acting 35:58 Wrap-up WEBSITE: thoughtplane.ca JUSTIN'S SOCIAL MEDIA https://www.instag...