Marvelous! Or, the Death of Cinema

We're eating good again on the pod this week with Jordan Peele's spectacular, horrifying, and impeccably made third film, Nope, a modern masterpiece in its own right and (in)arguably one of the best blockbusters of the last twenty years. It's about bad miracles, filmmaking spectacle, the legacy and erasure of the black cowboy, aliens, UFOs, Travis the Chimp, how much Jordan Peele loves anime, and...

A sample from our discussion of Mamoru Oshii's (Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor) surreal first live action film , and the first entry in the multimedia alternate-history 'Kerberos' series.  If you like what you hear, subscribe to our Patreon for exclusive episodes, commentary tracks and Discord community events at patreon.com/marvelousdeath.  

Finally, some fucking mid. Even late-period Sam Raimi (more the guy who made Oz the Great and Powerful than Evil Dead or Spider-Man 2) manages to pick the bar up from the depths of hell to make something we can at least trip and stumble on. We literally remember nothing about the first Doctor Strange, so this is a marked improvement even if it's marred by another bad screenplay from one of Dan Har...

Not even ten minutes into our Raimi Spider-Man (maybe we'll do the third one eventually I don't know) double feature episode and Cole goes old head about sixties cartoons and an X-Men reference in a Wings song. If you like what you hear, subscribe to our Patreon for exclusive episodes, commentary tracks and Discord community events at patreon.com/marvelousdeath.  

It's finally here.  A special bat-thanks to our $10 Executive Producers: Isaac, Porridge Fist, Walt Lewellyn of The Black Casebook , Tropical Doves, Jim, jprestonpoole, Sam, Lohik, bernventers, Owen2, and Ronnie Gardocki. If you can, please lend some support to these organizations: PCRF (Palestinian Children's Relief Fund) MAP (Medical Aid for Palestinians) National Networks of Abortion Funds Urge...

Today we tackle yet another incipient cinematic universe that never made it past one movie because half the character rights went to another studio before release and then had its opening weekend just as every theater in America was closing due to COVID. It's Bloodshot starring Vin Diesel (who's terrible in it by the way), the first and last entry in the Valiant Cinematic Universe and a movie that...

Thanks to Patron raffle winner Glenn Shook, the gang enjoys an opportunity to talk about the 2004 Michael Mann thriller 'Collateral'. Would you like the chance to select an episode?  If you want to hear more, or get a chance to select an episode, subscribe at patreon.com/marvelousdeath ! Active patrons are automatically entered for each raffle, which is drawn quarterly.

Hell holds no surprises for us. A special thanks to our $10 Executive Producers: Isaac, Porridge Fist, Walt Lewellyn of  The Black Casebook , Tropical Doves, Jim, jprestonpoole, Sam, Lohik, bernventers, Owen2, and Ronnie Gardocki. If you can, please lend some support to these organizations: Fundraisers related to Los Angeles 2025 fires PCRF (Palestinian Children's Relief Fund) MAP (Medical Aid for...

With Nicole away, Cole and Stu indulge themselves with a two and a half hour conversation about The Pitt , a popular new medical drama. It's just good TV. Would you like to hear more? Subscribe at patreon.com/marvelousdeath !

It's the movie that finally got people back into the theaters after a global pandemic, a billion-dollar hype machine/feat of emotional manipulation that successfully weaponized our collective nostalgia by retrofitting two previous iterations of Marvel's flagship character into a snake sucking its own dick. Everything you once loved and found heart-wrenching pathos in will be reduced to fan service...

This is a preview of our double feature episode on two films that help revitalize the action genre in the 2010s, The Raid and John Wick. Would you like to hear more? Subscribe at patreon.com/marvelousdeath !

Divergent opinions on this episode as friend of the show Violet (@paradeofviolets) joins us to discuss this peculiar and belated fourth outing in the iconic turn of the millennium action sci-fi series. Whether or not you think it's good, it's certainly interesting and marks an artistically sincere change of pace from the usual franchise and 'legacy sequel' faire. Discussions include: Making art un...

While Stu and Cole were talking about Star Trek Nicole was hanging out in a dive bar watching metalheads mosh to music medieval bards played. Anyways we're talking about  Cecil B. Demented  and John Waters. If you like what you hear, subscribe to our Patreon for exclusive episodes, commentary tracks and Discord community events at patreon.com/marvelousdeath.  

Nicole is still on vacation so enjoy a groundbreaking 'Marvelous!' first time event: A Stu and Cole solo episode. Free to hate-it up we talk about the enigma that is James Gunn, his Guardians rehash plot, the concept of 'rubber edge', bad casting, revisiting gen xcellence, the abuse and misuse of quality source material and classic silver age monsters. Bonus: Extended digressions about some new ho...

Hey there, do you remember the 80s? We don't. We weren't even alive then. But somebody does, and they want to make sure you remember it to, remember it the way they did, as babies. In this episode we pick apart the falsely imagined perpetual childhood of the GenX Movie Guy, trace the counters of the crassly commercial 'Legacy Sequel', ponder the pitfalls of nostalgia, ponder Jason Reitman's daddy...

A preview of our latest Patreon exclusive episode on the 2016 'romantic' 'science fiction' dud Passengers . If you like what you hear, subscribe to our Patreon for exclusive episodes, commentary tracks and Discord community events at patreon.com/marvelousdeath.  

In which Marvel Studios proves they can one-up DC in the ponderous epics department by releasing a two hour and twenty minute movie that feels longer than the seven thousand year timespan of its vacuous, shambling plot. They thought they where going to win an Oscar for this? The gangs all here to discuss all your favorite memorable characters like... uh, 'kingo', and... droog? Also: Male body dysm...

A preview of the first several minutes of our supporter exclusive Patron Raffle episode on James Wan's Malignant , selected by supporter It's Brunhilda! If you like what you hear, subscribe to our Patreon for exclusive episodes, commentary tracks and Discord community events at patreon.com/marvelousdeath.  

Stu returns from exile in the desert of the real. Cole gets hype. Nicole is easily amused. Finally, a movie we like: Hints of oedipus, the corrupting nature of power, the difficulties of adaptation, flying above the storm and threading the needle, midcentury freakboys, representation and engaging with art, outer thoughtworlds, women in space, when 'realism' works, when the cgi doesn't suck, and oh...

[Extreme Gordon Cole voice] I'M NOT GONNA TALK ABOUT DUNE! IN FACT, WE'RE NOT GONNA TALK ABOUT DUNE AT ALL! If you like what you hear, subscribe to our Patreon for exclusive episodes, commentary tracks and Discord community events at patreon.com/marvelousdeath.  

They did it. They made this shit gayer. This week on Marvelous!, Nicole and Cole are joined by returning guests Andy ( @Ex_AnarchoAnon ) of TGOFV  and Esther ( @capybaroness ) of Get Cynical / The Lost Broadcast  to discuss Venom: Let There Be Carnage, an amazing film about gay couple Tom Hardy and the goop monster that lives in his ass fighting off against a San Francisco polycule comprised of Wo...

Still have no idea what else Cole expected from the rest of WandaVision  other than boredom, crushing disappointment, and Paul Bettany's cock outline apparently. If you like what you hear, subscribe to our Patreon for exclusive episodes, commentary tracks and Discord community events at patreon.com/marvelousdeath.  

Your three incredibly busy but dedicated hosts are finally taking the TV plunge with the only MCU miniseries we're going to cover until further notice. It's WandaVision, the critically acclaimed "change of pace" from the Marvel mines about two characters whose relationship we've never cared about getting some spotlight in a sitcom pastiche people with brain damage compare to David Lynch (RIP). Is...

The gang discusses Clive Barker's deeply flawed yet striking sophomore horror-fantasy film Nightbreed . If you'd like to here more, please subscribe to our Patreon!

This week on the pod we're diving into the elusive and booming Chinese film industry to see how they make their blockbusters. Funded in part by the CCP (i.e. definitionally propaganda), The Battle at Lake Changjin is the highest grossing movie ever made in China and spends a significant amount of its nearly 3 hour runtime on the PLA killing American imperialist pigs. Sounds sick right? Well... Tha...