The 602 Club: A Geekery Speakeasy

Doctor Strange. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has given us many types of heroes. There are men in super suits, a boy bitten by a radioactive spider, a man irradiated by gamma rays, a being brought to life by an infinity stone, a norse god, a former Soviet super spy and a guy that's really good with a bow, plus a girl that's been made, in-human. Yet in all of this there has been something missing,...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1. In 2007, Harry Potter fans read the last story in J.K. Rowling's epic tale, but luckily still had the rest of the films to look forward to, but with one surprise they were not expecting, the last film would not be just one movie, but two! In this episode of The 602 Club host Matthew Rushing is joined by fellow wizard on the run Andrea Coffman to talk a...

You Only Live Twice. As the James Bond franchise moved into it's fifth film there was a lot of upheaval as to which story to make next as well as the bombshell that this would be Sean Connery's last film as the iconic character. How would this effect the final product? In this episode of The 602 Club host Matthew Rushing is once again joined by agent John Champion to talk about You Only Live Twice...

Ahsoka. In 2008 Star Wars fans were introduced to a brand new character that no one expected, Anakin Skywalker's padawan, Ahsoka. She immediately polarized the fan community and it took years for some people to warm up to her. Fast forward to March 7th, 2014 where she walked away from the Jedi order in the last broadcast episode of The Clone Wars, breaking fans hearts but also relieving them as th...

The Two Towers. The Fellowship of the Ring was a runaway success at the box office in the winter of 2001 with people repeatedly returning to the theater to experience the three hour epic which meant that by the very next year, the audience was on the edge of their seat with anticipation for the trilogy to continue. In this episode of The 602 Club host Matthew Rushing is joined by fellow hobbit Meg...

Luke Cage. In last year's Jessica Jones, Marvel fans got their first taste of Luke Cage and it turned out to be the perfect way to set the stage for the latest show in the Netflix Marvel series. In this supplemental episode of The 602 Club host Matthew Rushing is joined by Bruce Gibson and Michael Morris to talk about Luke Cage. We discuss manhood, villains, why superheroes are so dumb, narratives...

The Dark Knight Rises. When The Dark Knight was released in 2008 it was heralded as the crowning achievement in superhero cinema and would go on to have Heath Ledger win an Oscar posthumously for his portrayal of the Joker. All of the success and accolades meant that the finale for the trilogy had a lot of pressure on it to be the Batman film fans deserved. In this episode of The 602 Club host Mat...

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. In the fall of 2009, Harry Potter fans had devoured the last book of the series two years previously and all they had left to look forward to were the last three films since the last book was to be broken into two movies. In this episode of The 602 Club host Matthew Rushing is joined by fellow Auror Megan Calcote to talk about Harry Potter and the Half-Blood...

The Dark Knight. Christopher Nolan's redefinition of comic book movies did not stop with Batman Begins, so when the studio asked him to continue the series, he, David Goyer and Jonathan Nolan began mining Batman comics such as The Long Halloween and The Killing Joke for inspiration and continue to elevate the genre. In this 100th episode of The 602 Club host Matthew Rushing welcomes John Mills and...

Star Wars Rebels: Season 3 Premiere. The season two finale of Star Wars Rebels completely changed the landscape of the show, as Ahsoka finally confronted Vader and viewers were left with the mystery of exactly what when down at the Sith temple. Plus Kanan was blinded by Maul and Ezra came into possession of a Sith holocron. In this episode of The 602 Club host Matthew Rushing is joined by Bruce Gi...

Thunderball. In 1958 author Ian Fleming becomes enamored with the idea of a Bond film and though the connection of his friend Ivar Bryce, meets Kevin McClory who along with script writer Jack Whittingham work on a story. Fleming becomes bored with the process and writes Thunderball, based in part on the script leading to a legal suit that keeps Thunderball from becoming the first Bond movie and in...

The Fellowship of the Ring. It can be argued that the one of the most popular and important books of the last century was Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. Bringing such a book to the screen was a monumental feat that fell into the hands of someone many thought at the time as most unlikely, a man by the name of Peter Jackson. In this episode of The 602 Club host Matthew Rushing is joined by shi...

Batman Begins. Batman is one of the most iconic characters in all of comics and has endured for over 75 years spawning merchandise, cartoons, television shows and films, so in early 2003 as Christopher Nolan and David Goyer began working on a new iteration, the stakes were high. In this episode of The 602 Club host Matthew Rushing is joined by John Mills and Tristan Riddell to talk about Batman Be...

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. As the fifth year of Harry Potter's education begins at Hogwarts, the world has changed. Voldemort has returned and yet the rest of the wizarding world is actively denying the truth and calling Harry a liar. On top of all this, he's not heard from his friends all summer or his strongest ally Dumbledore which has left him feeling utterly alone. In this epi...

Goldfinger. In 1964 Bond producers Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman want capitalize on the success of From Russia With Love and decide that the next Bond adventure needs to be bigger and better than before. So they invest three million dollars into the next movie, marketing heavily before it's even finished filming and their gamble creates a phenomenon that launchs James Bond into the pop culture...

Star Wars: Life Debt. In the fall of 2015, Star Wars fans eagerly awaited the next film in the legendary saga and to satiate their appetite, they were given a toy and book release known as Force Friday. Among the books released, one had fans chomping at the bit to devour, Aftermath, yet sadly, the book did not live up to many people's expectations, leaving them hoping that book two in the planned...

Suicide Squad. With the DC Comic movie universe being started in Man of Steel and then continued in Batman v Superman, the third film would be something a bit different as it would not focus on heroes but the villains and finally bring to the screen some of the worst heroes ever. In this episode of The 602 Club host Matthew Rushing is joined by the villainous Tristan Riddell to talk about Suicide...

Jason Bourne. In 2002, Doug Liman and Matt Damon brought Robert Ludlum's spy thriller, The Bourne Identity to the silver screen and every few years after that, a successive story in Ludlum's trilogy would find it's way to theaters. Starting in 2012, the movie team ran out of Ludlum's books and have been crafting new stories ever since. In this episode of The 602 Club host Matthew Rushing is joined...

The Avengers. When Marvel released Iron Man in 2008 it started on an epic experiment of bringing a comic book universe to life, in which each film would build on a common story but also tell it's own story culminating in a conclusion film for the different phases of the storyline. In this episode of The 602 Club host Matthew Rushing is joined by S.H.I.E.L.D Agents Alice Baker and Daniel Proulx to...

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. In the summer of 2000 J.K. Rowling delighted her fans by releasing the longest book in the Harry Potter series to date, which meant as the films reached the fourth installment, a lot of choices had to be made as to what they could leave out and still tell the story well. In this episode of The 602 Club host Matthew Rushing is joined by fellow Muggle Megan Calco...

Superman. There are very few things that remain popular for 75 years, that are able to worm their way into the zeitgeist of the entire world so that no matter where you are there will be two things someone there will know, the symbol of the cross and the shield of the House of El. In this episode of The 602 Club host Matthew Rushing is joined by John Mills to talk about the first superhero, Superm...

The Last Starfighter. The 1980s saw a boom in films that would go on to become cult classics with The Princess Bride, Highlander, Spaceballs and so many others capturing hearts when they came out, but more importantly finding an audience in the new home release market. In this episode of The 602 Club host Matthew Rushing is joined by fellow Starfighter Norman Lao to talk about cult classic The Las...

Independence Day: Resurgence. Following the massive success of the original Independence Day many people assumed that a sequel would be forthcoming quickly. The filmmakers worked for years trying to make the story work but could not find the right way to continue, leaving the film languishing in development hell for years, until Emmerich came upon a thought that lead him to beginning planning two...

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Ultimate Edition. Very few movies have been as polarizing as Batman v Superman with the fans and the critics, in fact as it came out in theaters, word reached the internet that there would be an extended cut of the film released on blu ray and digital, which Zack Snyder had really wanted as the theatrical cut, but was forced to trim. In this supplemental episode...

Independence Day. Every so often a movie comes out that takes the world by surprise at just how big it becomes. Star Wars did this in 1977 and recently and recently it happened with Jurassic World, but in the summer of 1996 it happened again with a movie no one could have predicted. In this episode of The 602 Club host Matthew Rushing is joined by Michael Schindler and Richard Marquez to talk abou...