Gobbledygeek

Shall we begin like David Copperfield? "I am born…I grew up?" Or shall we begin about 120 years after Anne Rice's novel Interview with the Vampire took place, with AMC's brilliant TV adaptation shifting the story from Louis de Pointe du Lac as a wealthy white plantation owner in the 1790s to one where Louis is a Black man in the 1910s working the red light district to keep his family fed? That's o...

It is time once more to enter the gates of VAL-halla , our retrospective series on the late Hollywood icon Val Kilmer. Paul, Arlo, and Eric set their sights on what are possibly Kilmer's two best performances. First, in Oliver Stone's psychedelic biopic The Doors , Val embodies the Lizard King himself, Mr. Mojo Rising, Jim Morrison; and then, in George P.  Cosmatos'--or is that Kurt Russell's?--gl...

Look up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's James Gunn's Superman , here to launch the writer-director-studio-head's brand new (?) DC Universe. It moves faster than a speeding bullet despite having more plot than the last five Marvel movies put together–and some of those plot points hold up better to the green-K gaze of our hosts than others. Paul, Arlo, and Eric break down everything abou...

Well they can't all be winners, folks. I'm not talking about the movie. The Fantastic Four: First Steps was actually pretty great. It's the second MCU film in a row that we here at Gobbledygeek HQ agree on almost entirely, and you'll hear us say lots of nice things about it. No, the non-winner I'm referring to is this episode, because you'll actually only hear SOME nice things about it. We were pl...

Our second trip to VAL-halla finds Paul, Arlo, and Eric contemplating two very different experiences of Val Kilmer's '80s career: Tony Scott's 1986 pro-war classic Top Gun and the 1988 Tolkien rip Willow , helmed by–of all people–Ron Howard. The twist is that the mega-popular Top Gun is a terrible, empty film that survives on aesthetics alone and the notorious flop Willow is a fun little high fant...

For the first time in a long time, Gobbledygeek dips its beak back into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They've done so for a very special film: Jake Schreier's Thunderbolts*, a return to the MCU's past glories with a tale of outcasts looking for something to believe in. Yelena Belova, the Winter Soldier, U.S. Agent, Red Guardian, Ghost, and Taskmaster come together to form a new kind of Avengers t...

The rich tradition of Southern-fried vampires continues with Ryan Coogler's Sinners , a masterful mash-up of Delta blues, Irish folk, and the horrors of cultural appropriation. Paul, Arlo, and Eric rave about Michael B. Jordan's dual performance as twin gangsters Smoke and Stack, Ludwig Göransson's eclectic score, the frankness with which it explores America's long history of racism, and Coogler's...

Would you like us to tell you the little story of Arlo and Paul? A-R-L-O! It was with this pretentious film buff that a That Was Then episode on Charles Laughton's sole directorial feature, 1955's The Night of the Hunter , was chosen. P-A-U-L! Do you think he's apt to enjoy a cinephile fave? Now listen, and we'll tell you the story of Gobbledygeek . Those co-hosts, dear hearts, is always a-disagre...

We're going back…to That Was Then ! Paul, Arlo, and Eric return to their series of vintage movie discussions to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Robert Zemeckis' 1985 sci-fi comedy blockbuster Back to the Future . It's a classic beloved by many folks of different generations, but we're here to answer that most pressing question: Why? The gang unravels every last nonsensical thread of BTTF , findi...

For this month's (not that we're on any kind of schedule anymore, hehe) Four-Color Flashback , Paul, Arlo, and Eric are scurrying over to the first three volumes of David Petersen's Mouse Guard . Published from 2006-13 by BOOM! Studios, Petersen's medieval epic takes place in a world devoid of humans, where a civilization of mice attempt to survive harsh weather, even harsher predators, and each o...

We lost one of our legendary screen stars earlier this year, so now we're passing through the gates of VAL-halla to celebrate some of his most notable films. That's right, this is the first in an occasional series of double features focused on the work of none other than the elusive, enigmatic Val Kilmer. To kick things off, Paul, Arlo, and Eric are going back to the very beginning. Kilmer got his...

Dear telefriends! Get ready to transcend this earthly plane, as Paul, Arlo, and Eric encounter a universe of concrete birds, homeo-whores, and techno-techno equipment for the latest Four-Color Flashback . The gang gets high (some of them too high) on Alejandro Jodorowsky and Mœbius' sci-fantasy The Incal , a far-out trip to a new state of being. What starts as a noir riff quickly becomes a galaxy-...

Something passed between them: the faintest hint of a common destiny. Does this describe Paul and Arlo's first meeting, or the first time Farmer Hoggett sets eyes on the piglet known as Babe? What's the difference? For a new That Was Then , the boys are joined by perennial guest Eric Sipple to discuss Chris Noonan's 1995 film Babe . Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, the unlikely Best Pic...

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, it's time for another nautical That Was Then . Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year is none other than Steven Spielberg's Jaws , a landmark moment in American film that permanently changed the shape of the industry, for better or for worse. It can be tough to view such a classic as a piece of craft unto its own, but Paul, Arlo, and s...

Pop open a can of spinach and set sail for the far-off year of 1980, when noted auteur Robert Altman had his crew build an entire functioning town so they could shoot a Popeye movie. This unassuming comic strip adaptation represents the collision of the New Hollywood movement and the old studio system, both in their waning days; neither would survive "Stalag Altman," as star Robin Williams coined...

Here we go, here we go, here we go again: another Spider-Man adaptation? Don't get your webs in a tizzy, True Believers, because this one is really worth it. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man , the new animated series created by Jeff Trammell, imagines a branch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe where Peter Parker was never supposed to be bitten by that genetically altered spider–until he was. C...

It's a reunion at the end of the world as Eric Sipple joins Paul and Arlo for the latest Four-Color Flashback. Paul has invited everyone to The Nice House on the Lake, James Tynion IV and Álvaro Martínez Bueno's 2021-22 DC Black Label series about a group of old friends who have been sequestered from the apocalypse by their alien BFF. The gang discusses the way Tynion captures the feeling of being...

We're seeing triple on a new Geek Challenge featuring a duet of trios: first we've got John Landis' notorious flop Three Amigos from 1986, then Robert Altman's dreamy art film 3 Women from 1977. Paul and Arlo debate whether or not Three Amigos deserves its reputation, puzzle over the inscrutability of 3 Women , and compare the two films' respective turns into surrealism. Plus, Arlo's back in the C...

With How to Train Your Dragon , Chris Sanders taught us about human-dragon friendship. And now, with The Wild Robot , he shows us what happens when technology becomes stranded in the wilderness: a robot named Rozz learns to have a mother's love for a gosling named Brightbill. Paul, Arlo, and forever-guest Eric Sipple discuss how the film merges its natural and sci-fi elements, Sanders' evolution a...

Does a bear kill in the woods? That's the question Patrick Horvath sets out to answer in his "Richard Scarry meets Dexter" opus Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, the subject of this year's very first Four-Color Flashback. The 2024 IDW series takes place in an idyllic world of anthropomorphic animals where not all is as it seems–the local hardware store owner, Samantha Strong, has a nasty habit...

And we're back. Just like that, in the blink of an eye–or, depending on your perspective, what felt like several eternities–six months have passed since the last episode of Gobbledygeek . What happened? Where were we? Paul, Arlo, and third Gobbler Eric Sipple attempt to answer these questions on our season 16 premiere. Along the way, we eulogize master filmmaker David Lynch, discussing what made h...

In an age where Deadpool & Wolverine is set to smash box office records, it can be hard to remember what things were like in the first wave of superhero blockbusters. Costumes were primarily made of black leather, nu-metal montages were all the rage, and yet–there was a willingness and desire to be experimental that is often lacking today. That's the scene The Incredibles burst onto in 2004, with...

Hail and well met! This week, Paul and Arlo raise their overpriced goblets to Lance Oppenheim's HBO docuseries Ren Faire . The three-episode series concerns the nation's largest Renaissance faire, the Texas Renaissance Festival, and the power-hungry Oompa Loompas looking to take over the chocolate factory from their perverted Willy Wonka. The boys are in awe (derogatory) of TRF owner George Coulam...

The stork just made a special delivery, and it's a new episode of Gobbledygeek! Bat-Turkey also welcomes a new addition to the family: Alexandra Jade Wiley, who came into this world on April 28, 2024. Arlo's second daughter has arrived at a pivotal time, a time in which Paul has become consumed by Taylor Swift's life-altering new album The Tortured Poets Department. Besides raving about the ladies...

For the first time this season, Paul and Arlo have lost the plot. That's right, the beloved Gobbledygeek freestyle episode has returned, new and improved for 2024, including such scintillating subjects as: Back pain! Stomach bugs! Car crashes! Country mouse Arlo took a trip to New York City, taking a bite out of the Big Apple for the very first time; Paul is planning a secluded getaway just to lis...