Mismatched Texts

Wherein Justice and Andy run screaming from the theater to produce this review of the newest entry in the Aliens franchise,  Alien: Romulus . Fede Alvarez daringly returns to the original films' timeline and style, setting it between the first and second films. What do we see in this new entry that distinguishes it from the others? Where does this film hit, and where does it miss? What did you thi...

Wherein Andy and Justice slice into the question of whether or not  Deadpool & Wolverine  and  Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes can or have revitalized their respective franchises. TLDL: No. But seriously, both movies are worthwhile and  Deadpool & Wolverine  borders on excellence. Fight us. While Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes made some questionable narrative decisions and  Deadpool & Wolveri...

Wherein Justice and Andy burn down the final season and really the entire series  Star Trek: Discovery . What once sounded promising turned into a catastrophe. From initially placing it just before the original series time and then spore-driving it nearly a millenium into the future where the Federation no longer existed, this show has made an unprecedented series of mistakes in the franchise: foc...

Wherein Andy and Justice run the guantlet of Supergiant's  Hades  franchise of games. While this episode mostly looks at The Hugo Award winning first game, we also talk about  Hades 2 which is currently in early access. What makes these games so compelling, even for newcomers to the rougelike genre? For starters, its engagement with Greek mythology makes it attractive to those who encountered thos...

Wherein Justice and Andy dust themselves off after a trip through the wasteland in the new Amazon Prime series Fallout. How does the franchise adapt itself to this new medium? What is familiar from the games and what is original to the show? Where do we see this series going? And who keeps hiring Kyle MacLachlan?

Wherein Andy and Justice welcome Tony Hoffmann, the man responsible for forcing us to watch Zack Snyder's  Rebel Moon  (2023) from beginning to end. Together we complain about Snyder's professional cannibalization of  Star Wars, Dune, The Lord of the Rings,  and so many more superior texts into the cinematic casserole that is  Rebel Moon . By way of comparison, we also look at Dan Simmons' novel H...

Wherein Justice and Andy lament the news of Larian Studios decision to not pursue a sequel to  Baldur's Gate 3. And futher, that they have decided to leave the Dungeons & Dragons setting entirely. Is this a good business decision for the studio? Why leave when you've perfected the formula for a D&D rpg? We're sure their next project will meet the same standard of quality, but why don't they love u...

Wherein Andy and Justice memorialize Akira Toriyama, best known as the creator of the Dragonball franchise. One of his other masterworks is the video game Chrono Trigger, the SNES RPG from 1995. We also mention the recently deceased musical genius Neil Peart, drummer and lyricist from Rush and accomplished author. We look back with some nostalgia on their works and what their deaths mean for their...

Wherein Justice and Andy draft a roster of monsters to pit against one another. The rules: Only two titans and the human-sized-ish monsters must have a semi-Earth origin. Crystal clear. We each pick five and debate their battles. Come and see who wins!

Wherein Andy and Justice bite into the drama surrounding the cancellation of the Dark Universe franchise and the monstrous success of the Monsterverse franchise. What makes Godzilla and King Kong compelling both individually and together? At the same time, what makes Dracula compelling by himself but not when paired with the wolf man, Frankenstein's monster, or other Victorian/Romantic horrors? Wh...

Wherein Justice and Andy get turned around in their attempts to define what distinguishes a spinoff from a reboot and whether or not such things are worth the risk to the original work. As ubiquitous as spinoffs have been, how many can compare to the source material? And why do we think of spinoffs mostly in terms of television and not other textual forms? After Mash? Who greenlit that?

Wherein Andy and Justice aim their sights on the right-wing talking point that the upcoming GTA 6 game from Rockstar has "gone woke." That was an excruciating sentence for the two of us to write because the very idea of it is ridiculous. What does the GTA franchise seek to accomplish beyond making money? What do its many entries say about the American story? And wouldn't gendered and racial divers...

Wherein Justice and Andy endure the agony of the  Very Short Treks series on YouTube. Why do these exist? What niche are they trying to fill? Clearly they shouldn't exist and aren't filling any niche. I mean, these are just an embarassment to the Star Trek franchise, and a slap in the face to all True Trek fans. Actors from previous and current shows are participating in this travesty. How could t...

Wherein Andy and Justice embark on a discussion of worldbuilding across the genres of written and nonwritten texts. What is the difference between a top-down and bottom-up approach to worldbuilding and what makes each world feel alive and complete? Is it the landscape? Is it the history? Is it the characters? Who is the player or the audience in the world? Topics range from J. R. R. Tolkien to Chi...

Wherein Justice and Andy sneak into the scuttlebut about the end of the Mission Impossible franchise. Is it in fact coming to an end? The lead actor and the studio seem to have different plans in mind. What do you think about a secret agent who can almost collect social security? Does the agency supplement Medicare... or provide supplements? But seriously, what do we think about Tom Cruise as an a...

Wherein Andy and Justice harmonize in opposition to the Strange New Worlds  episode "Subspace Rhapsody." The first Star Trek episode in history to be framed as a musical, fans around the world were devastated by its departure from fifty-eight years of their expectations. Why was this done? Why such a marked departure from a proven formula? And can we expect more episodes that abandon a serious exp...

Wherein Justice and Andy stroll into the recent controversy in country music with the release of Jason Aldean's "Try That In a Small Town." Pulled from circulation on CMT, it has ignited a veritable molotov cocktail of protest. What is this song about, really? Do political messages deserve to be treated politically? And does the small town that he imagines in the song really exist?

Wherein Andy and Justice call into question the wisdom and timeliness of continuing the seemingly unending Avatar  franchise. Given that there was 14 years between the first and second film, we were hoping that it was finished. Why does there need to be more when the first film told a complete story? And will the next three entries be as predictable as the second film was? Yes they will be. Please...

Wherein Justice and Andy drill into the anthropocene by way of 2003's  The Core and the 1993 episode "Forces of Nature" from Star Trek: The Next Generation.  Given that we're confronted with the awesome problem of the climate crisis, we've decided to rewind the clock to look at two early versions of impending ecological disaster. Despite the radically different solutions in each of these stories,...

Wherein Andy and Justice navigate the uneven chracter arc of  Star Trek: The Next Generation 's Wesley Crusher. From a whining beneficiary of nepotism to a valuable member of the bridge crew to an interdimensional cosmic entity and winding up as Wil Wheaton playing himself, we chart the many successes and failures of this character. If the enire bridge crew can endlessly play themselves in the fra...

Wherein Justice and Andy shuffle into the disappointing realization that there is no history of or cultural references to zombies in the universe of The Walking Dead.  And why have the creators of the franchise chosen to do this? For the least interesting reason possible. With centuries of zombie and other undead stories woven into human culture and history and religion, are we supposed to believe...

Wherein Andy and Justice stomp into the world of Nintendo's Mario. The success of the recent film got us thinking about Mario's character arc, such as it is. Why is he popularly understood to be a plumber when he has never plumbed anything in any game? Isn't he rather an exterminator of various pests and populations? Topics range from the Mario films to the recent open world entries to Hernán Cort...

Wherein Justice and Andy mosey down the trail of the western genre in film and television. We look at Taylor Sheridan's Yellowstone franchise alongside the 1963 John Wayne film  McLintock!  How has the westen genre evolved in the last sixty years and why have we seen a sudden resurgence of it in popular television? Given that Yellowstone  has taken the screen by storm, it seems appropriate to disc...

Wherein Andy and Justice turn back the clock to 2014's  Edge of Tomorrow  and 1993's  Groundhog Day . Why do we keep watching timeloop movies over and over again? What is compelling about the opportunity - or the curse - to relive the same day for years, decades, or centuries? How long could you do it before losing your mind, or is there something to be learned from the journey? Topics range from...

Wherein Justice and Andy creep into the conversation of the antihero in popular culture. What do you think accounts for the recent explosion of the antihero in film and television? Why are we drawn to characters of evil and violence? Does it reflect our own anxieties of morality, or is the depravity real? Subjects range from The Joker to Superman to Deadpool and Wolverine, and of course The Boys .