Discerning Geeks Portal

This week, our 2nd time having used the season 2 "Wheel of Insanity" feature to pick our movie randomly, we review the 1997 sci-fi film, "Gattaca."  This is a film about a future (or maybe an alternate reality) in which status, opportunity, and personal value, are measured solely by DNA, not by experience or determination, with fetuses being genetically enhanced & optimized in the womb. T...

This week we delve into a broader geeky topic...Science Fiction Technology.  We discuss some of our favorite ships, weapons, machines, and other applied sciences from some of our favorite movies, TV shows, books, games, and other franchises. Throughout this episode we cover a wide array of technologies including the following.  - Artificial Intelligence  - Battlemechs  - Blink...

This week, we return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the franchise's 2nd installment, the under-rated and sometimes overlooked, "The Incredible Hulk." We discuss the movie's various homages to the 1978 TV series starring Bill Bixby & Lou Ferrigno, the differences between Edward Norton and Mark Ruffalo in their portrayals of Bruce Banner, and the movie's overall quality as an under-rated...

Welcome, discerning listeners, to our Season 2 Premiere!  :)  Thank you for stepping through the portal with us, not just for another episode but a whole new season.  We hope our next 50 episodes are even better than our first 50, and we're off to a great start.  This week, we are reviewing the timeless and beloved 1987 classic fantasy-romance fairy tale..."The Princess Bride."...

Welcome, Discerning Listeners, to our 50th episode — our Season 1 Finale (Note:  There will be a 2-week hiatus between seasons).  For this landmark episode, we’re reviewing both the book *and* movie of the sci-fi classic…”Ender’s Game.”  This is a story that has captivated three of us since high school, and now we’ve introduced it to Andruw as well. Join as we discuss the strategy,...

Just one week away from our season 1 finale, we give you another "Whatcha' Doin'?" episode.  Including our lightning round, this episode is packed full with over two dozen topics in bite-size chunks. Our primary topics this week are...  - Falcon and the Winter Soldier  (Disney+)  - Wonder Woman 1984  - Star Wars: The Bad Batch  (Disney+)  - Star Wars: Biomes &nbs...

This week, we review the 1979 sci-fi horror classic, "Alien."  This is the movie that started the franchise and introduced us to one of the most iconic female science fiction movie characters of all time, Ellen Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver. We discuss the production quality, pacing, the use of silence instead of music during creepy scenes, performances, and the gradual progression of ch...

This week, we review the 1990s period piece, "Captain Marvel."  It is the 21st movie released in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but the 2nd one chronologically in terms of story, since it takes place in 1995.  It is the MCU's first female superhero solo movie and the 2nd MCU movie overall to have a heroine in the title ("Ant-Man & the Wasp" being the first). We discuss this movie’s ba...

This week, we have a full house with the welcome return of Dave, as we review "Stardust," the 2007 fantasy romance film about a teenage boy on a quest to retrieve a fallen star from a magical land...or to find the mother he never knew...or maybe both.  The motivations end up…kind of overlapping a little bit. Anyway, the boy jumps over a magic wall, you see, and then...stuff happens, more than...

This week we conclude our topic of TV series finales with the...downside of the discussion.  We cover the series finales that left us disappointed or annoyed in some way. Which TV series finales ended on a bad moment, which ones were frustrating all throughout, and which ones forever affected our feelings about the series overall?  Which TV series finales were the lackluster ends to lack...

This week we dive so deep into a TV topic that we had to split it into two episodes...TV series finales.  :) Here in Part 1, we discuss our most favorite TV series finales.  Next week, in Part 2, we cover our least favorite TV series finales and a special topic suggested by Andruw, TV shows that need a series finale soon/now/already (or needed one sooner than it happened if it was a show...

In our latest "Whatcha' Doin'?" episode, we discuss a wide variety of movies & TV shows we've watched recently.  We cover...  - The 4-hour movie, "Zack Snyder's Justice League"  (HBO Max) - The series premiere of "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier"  (Disney+)  - The 2004 Denzel Washington thriller, "The Manchurian Candidate"  (Hulu)  - The 2004 Nicole Kidman...

This week, we review the last three episodes of WandaVision.  We discuss the advantages of the MCU venturing more into television, the weekly episodic format of the show, the hype & discussion generated by the show, the reveal of the show's "big bad," the explanation about Pietro, the question of whether Wanda redeemed herself, the episode titles, the outstanding performances, memorable &...

This week we review the Marvel-but-not-MCU(yet?), not-a-superhero movie, self-proclaimed-love-story...Deadpool.  We discuss the movie's wit, style of humor, creativity, non-linear storytelling, meta-references, and mature content.  (That's a lot of hyphens there, Francis.) Is this a comic book movie or a love story (or both)?  Did the amount of profanity & violence hit the bulls...

Well…it had to happen eventually… Our most contentious, surprising, and explosive review yet was not about a book, a divisive Star Wars installment, or even a superhero movie but…“The Space Between Us.”  It is a semi-recent, semi-low-budget sci-fi teen romance film about a 16-year-old boy born on Mars and visiting Earth for the first time to seek out a girl he communicates with online and to...

After a brief detour into the world of WandaVision last week, we now conclude our discussion of Favorite Sci-Fi TV Characters with Part 2.  Our 2nd installment picks up with a segment on Babylon 5 characters, and then we dive into two Top 5 lists and an expanded array of honorable mentions. Between our top picks and further honorable mentions, this episode alone contains discussion (or at lea...

This week, we catch up on reviewing the new entertainment phenomenon, WandaVision, the first Marvel Cinematic Universe TV series to debut exclusively on Disney+.  We're a little late to the game compared to some reviewers, so we unpack the first six episodes of WandaVision in one giant-sized episode of Discerning Geeks Portal.  We discuss the format, the production quality, the pacing, t...

Finally...  A topic one of our co-hosts has been itching to talk about and hopefully you've been itching for it too (insert ointment joke here).  We have an open discussion about our all-time Favorite Science Fiction TV Characters.  :) :) :) Between Parts 1 & 2 of this discussion (this episode is Part 1), we rave about almost 50 amazing, likable, and sometimes important characte...

Our holiday heroes conclude their Dungeons & Dragons one-shot adventure, facing off against undead evil and helping to put right what once with wrong and teaching a misguided soul that maybe he really can change his stars (ooh, a "Quantum Leap" reference and an "A Knight's Tale" reference in the same totally unrelated intro; this really is the place for geeks). Listen to Anical Ural, the Eladr...

Our D&D One-Shot continues with Part 2...  Anical Ural (the Eladrin Elf Paladin), Dwelvrik Grünmaulkyn (the Forest Gnome Druid), and Ray Myriad (the Kender Arcane Trickster Rogue) face off against shadows from an otherworldly darkness as they continue in their quest to aid benevolent spirits in the redemption of a lost soul. One summons the forces of good & magic, one wild shapes whil...

And, this week...a little something different.  Welcome to the Discerning Geeks Portal's first Dungeons & Dragons one-shot episode.  This is part 1 of a 2 (or maybe 3) part adventure that sees three heroes in a wintery dreamscape, tasked with helping otherworldly spirits change the destiny of a darkened heart (see "Note" below for context on our ongoing campaign and when this one-sho...

"Greetings, Starfighter.  You have been recruited by the Star League to defend the frontier against Xur and the Ko-Dan Armada." This week, we review the 1984 sci-fi classic, The Last Starfighter.  We discuss the movie's use of computer generated special effects, which were groundbreaking at the time, and how much they hold up today.  We also discuss great character moments, a differ...

Happy New Year!  :)  Thank you for joining us for our first brand new review of 2021.  :) This week, we review the 2006 intellectual romantic fantasy film, "The Lake House".  Sandra Bullock plays a doctor named Kate in the year 2006, and Keanu Reeves plays an architect named Alex in the year 2004.  At different points in time, they live at the same glass lake house, but th...

Happy New Year!  :)  Due to a combination of Christmas celebrations and unexpected issues at work for one of our co-hosts, we're...a little behind on recording.  But, never fear!  We have a special bonus episode that we already said was on the way sometime anyway... This episode is a portion of episode #023 -- our review of the movie "The Adjustment Bureau" (a good movie and a...

We conclude our episode reviews of The Mandalorian season 2 with "Chapter 16: The Rescue."  We discuss the plan of action, the greater display of force by the Dark Troopers, the dilemma of the Darksaber, the machinations of Moff Gideon (and possibly Grand Admiral Thrawn pulling strings behind the scenes), the gradual reveal of who answers Grogu's call, the added treat of a 2nd classic charact...