The Guest Room Podcast

This week Dr. Jess and Larry review the Star Trek: Discovery episodes "Lethe," "Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad," "Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum," and "Into the Forest I Go." 

Dr. Jess and Larry attended the Regina Spektor concert at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg, PA and are here to talk to you about it! Before they attend the show they discuss Jess' great love for this unique artist and then, after a so-so performance of "On the Radio" by Larry, they discuss the show itself. Other topics include long forgotten commerce, indoor axe throwing, and what happens when exh...

Dr. Jess and Larry break down the Star Trek: Discovery episodes "The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry" and "Choose Your Pain." 

Spud makes his long awaited return to the podcast as he and Larry break down the latest lp from Foo Fighters, Concrete and Gold. But before they do that they list their top 10 favorite music acts. A performance of Run is included. 

Greg O. and Tom G. joined Larry for a screening of the new sci-fi sequel Blade Runner 2049. They get into all the details including design, cinematography, visual effects, music, Ryan Gosling's stone face, Robin Wright's legs, and popcorn butter. 

In honor of the 30th Anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Larry runs off his list of favorite episodes! There may be some surprises as to which ones he likes...and doesn't. 

Larry and Dr. Jess provide rapid-fire reaction to premiere night of Star Trek: Discovery!

Larry is joined by his nephew Anthony for a 70MM screening of Christopher Nolan's WWII thriller Dunkirk. The pair preview by discussing war movies they've seen and liked (and didn't like-looking at you, Pearl Harbor). Then they review the film, talking about the intensity, cinematography, characters, you name it. Afterwards Larry ranks Nolan's ten feature films. He then closes the show with some m...

Larry is joined by Cadwell and Elliot as they discuss War for the Planet of the Apes. They get into the craft, CGI, the greatness of Andy Serkis, how this movie ranks among the others in the reboot trilogy, and how said trilogy stands up against some of the all time greats, including Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. They also get into some tangential thoughts on Spider-Man: Homecoming and Wonder W...

This week Larry offers a review of Spider-Man: Homecoming, the reboot of the reboot which is also a sequel to a Captain America movie that is kind of an Avengers movie. Regardless, Larry gets into the nuts and bolts of this installment and then ranks the live-action Spider-Man movies in order from worst to first. 

After a brief eulogy for Oscar winning director John G. Avildsen, director of Rocky and The Karate Kid, he is joined by Dr. Jess and Ashley for a discussion about the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which Ashley hadn't seen and wanted to discuss. The trio get into the details, including their favorite characters, the actors, the music, the greatness of Sean Astin, and the mediocrity of the Hobbit prequ...

This week there's another Doctor in The Guest Room! Larry, Dr. Jess, and Ashley are joined by Guest Room rookie and Wonder Woman fanatic Dr. April to review the iconic superhero's big screen, um, wonder. After acknowledging the passing of the great Adam West, they get into all the details, the performances, visuals, and whether or not there needed to be a romance. When Chris Pine is involved, how...

Larry begins this episode with a tribute to his recently departed Aunt Patty, who was integral in his life growing up, particularly in his appreciation of movies. He then pays tribute to our first fallen James Bond, Sir Roger Moore. After that things get a little less serious as he's joined by Greg O. for an epic Star Wars rant. Don't worry, kids. Dr. Jess is there to offer resistance, which is fu...

Larry and Greg O. got to see Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 a week late. And then Larry took an extra week editing their discussion. The pair had a lot of fun with this movie, both in viewing and in discussion. Dr. Jess also offers some occasional off-mic two-cents. Afterwards Larry and Dr. Jess offer some brief thoughts on the trailer for Star Trek: Discovery, which dropped in the week Larry was...

This week we give you part two of our 2017 Movie Preview featuring Paul from  McSoss ! He and your host Larry get into the nuts, bolts, washers, and everything else regarding Transformers: The Last Night, Spider-Man: Homecoming, War for the Planet of the Apes, Dunkirk, The Dark Tower, It, Blade Runner 2049, Thor: Ragnarok, Justice League, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Be warned: if you happen to b...

This week Larry is joined by Paul from  McSoss  to preview some of the summer movie slate (the rest of summer and fall/winter will be previewed next week). Before that, Paul offers a mini review of Power Rangers and the pair give some credit to underrated actors Ving Rhames, Kevin Pollak, and Anthony LaPaglia, and lament the career slide of Mike Myers. Then, using the patented Paul-o-nomics gradin...

This week Larry and Dr. Jess celebrate the 100th episode of The Guest Room Podcast! They solicited messages from past guests of the show as well as a few other friends and play and/or read them throughout this episode. It's a fun retrospective and a great insight into what makes any project like this work: the support of great friends! 

Larry kicks things off with a tribute to the highly influential, heavily sampled, and grossly under-compensated drummer Clyde Stubblefield, known for his time as James Brown's "Funky Drummer." After that he is joined by Dr. Jess and Autumn who get into the nuts and bolts of the BBC's newest take on the classic Arthur Conan Doyle character, Sherlock Holmes. Beware, here be SPOILERS! Visit gofundme....

After yet another hiatus Larry and Dr. Jess are back to discuss a variety of things they've been watching and (in one case) listening to. Topics covered include Emeli Sande's new album, Arrival, Hell or High Water, NCIS (and its spin-offs), Criminal Minds (and its spin-offs), Timeless, Lethal Weapon, Conviction, Frequency, The Big Bang Theory, New Girl, and Westworld. 

This week Larry, Dr. Jess, Ashley, and Therese went to see the award season juggernaut La La Land to see what all the fuss is about. They get into what they love (which is quite a bit), their experience watching musicals, director Damien Chazelle's previous film Whiplash, the state of jazz and whether or not rock and roll is going in that direction, tradition vs. innovation, and much more! There's...

Larry finally got around to seeing Jason Bourne, the fourth film in the Bourne franchise (since we pretend The Bourne Legacy doesn't exist). He was supposed to see it in August, and there is a recap of previous Bourne films recorded then that's attached to this episode. But for the Jason Bourne review Larry is joined by Dr. Jess and Therese. Enjoy the brief performance of With You I'm Born Again b...

Larry, Dr. Jess, and Anthony went to see the new Star Wars spin-off, Rogue One. After a brief discussion about Constitutional Amendments, the trio get into the nuts and bolts of this film. Is it worth it to see this story who's ending is pretty much known to the audience? Will it restore Larry's faith in the franchise after his lukewarm reaction to The Force Awakens? Listen and find out!

This week (after a long absence) Larry welcomes new guest Tom Grandinetti to The Guest Room. Larry and Tom connected over their love of music, the fact that they are both drummers, and the band Rush, so they went to see the new documentary Rush: Time Stand Still, which chronicles the band's final tour. The pair also get into some other music related topics including Tom's playing experience, other...

Larry and Dr. Jess talk about Ron Howard's new documentary, The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years. They discuss the arc of the film, the band's art as well as its personality, and their own feelings about The Beatles, which leads to a great coda about the nature of memory and how, even though their both too young, Larry and Dr. Jess can have vibrant memories of John Lennon, who died w...

Larry and Dr. Jess start things off with some dog talk because they love their dogs. After that they discuss Star Trek's 50th Anniversary, including mini-reviews of the episodes they watched during BBC America's marathon. And finally they review the new documentary, For the Love of Spock, directed by Leonard Nimoy's son Adam. Expect all kinds of feels.