Verbal Diorama

So, Infinity War finished, Thanos won. He snapped away half the universe's population and what was left? Less people, a cleaner environment and more resources to go around? Sure. Thanos was right on that point, but there was also international grief, overwhelming loss and an inability to move on for some. Five years later while Tony Stark retired to a cabin in the woods with his now-wife Pepper an...

Remember when Joss Whedon's The Avengers was the ultimate in superhero team ups? A mere six years later, brothers Joe and Anthony Russo, fresh off Captain America: Civil War , upped the ante and delivered the ultimate ultimate superhero team up - with more action! More characters! More bad guys! More of everything! And then, the Avengers lost. Thanos not only collected all the Infinity Stones, he...

I'd wager that if you ask anyone at random what their favourite Avengers movie, Age of Ultron would rarely be the first choice. The middle child of the franchise, this was the one that had the most riding on it, and it suffered for its great ambitions. Because Age of Ultron , retrospectively, isn't a bad movie. It's trying to tell a horror story, in the vein of Frankenstein, and the themes of crea...

I am Em of Verbal Diorama, and I am burdened with glorious purpose. Because really, aren't we all here for Loki, God of Mischief, the wonderful Tom Hiddleston just chewing every inch of CG scenery? But he's not the only highlight of this movie, because pretty much everything about The Avengers (or Avengers Assemble as it was marketed here in the UK, don't worry though, it's still The Avengers to m...

In 1987, Fred Dekker made a little movie that did so badly it was pulled from US theatres after just two weeks.... Like all cult classics though, The Monster Squad showed it had nards, and only grew in audiences estimations through VHS and TV screenings, through to DVD and Blu-ray, and to sold-out fan screenings and events. While attempts have been made to reboot The Monster Squad, and in the shad...

"We're men. We're men in tights. We roam around the forest looking for fights. We're men. We're men in tiiiiiights. We rob from the rich and give to the poor, that's right!" Robin Hood: Men in Tights isn't here to be fine art, this is no Criterion Collection inductee. It's the simple story you know of the outlaw who robs the rich to feed the poor, except unlike some other Robin Hoods', he can spea...

All you need to do to summon him is say his name three times.... Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! For many, this is one of Tim Burton's greatest moments as a director. The sharp, macabre, funny story of Adam and Barbara Maitland, a recently deceased couple who find the living are haunting their house. They struggle to get rid of Charles and Delia Deetz through normal means, and so enlist the...

Raiders of the Lost Ark is a true phenomenon, in all senses of the word. To coin a phrase from its sequel, it found the Holy Grail of filmmaking for being not only a commercial smash hit, but also became a critical darling and received multiple awards recognition. With the juggernaut pairing of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg at the helm, you'd think Raiders of the Lost Ark would have had it eas...

Children of Men, a prescient dystopian science-fiction drama asks a simple question. If human beings couldn't reproduce, what would happen to the world? Director Alfonso Cuarón made, what I consider his masterpiece, in 2006 and yet it's never felt more resonant, or prescient, than it does today. This is a movie that hasn't aged a day, and probably never will. It's a bleak, grim look at a dystopian...

On the surface, a fan-favourite coming-of-age movie told through the eyes of young, innocent, naïve Baby Houseman as she has the time of her life meeting sexy, "bad boy" dance instructor Johnny Castle on her family holiday to the Catskill Mountains in the summer of 1963. She learns to dance, he learns to love. It's all very romantic. It's a feeling, a heartbeat. But, underneath it's more than that...

The Devil Wears Prada is often referred to as a "chick flick", which I'd argue is not only inaccurate, but also a little insulting to such a fantastic exploration of feminine status, class and power. It allows its female characters to have agency, ambition and respect, despite them not being the archetypal “female character”. Meryl Streep brings complexity, nuance and vulnerability to Runway edito...

Hook Hook, show us the Hook! Verbal Diorama is a podcast known for its very good form, and was given three days to learn to fly, fight and crow and become The Pan. I like to think I'm more of a Rufio (Rufio, Ru-Fi-Ohhhhhhh!) actually. Hook is one of my childhood favourites. It's my favourite Peter Pan movie by far, and honestly it pains me that most people don't like it, let alone love it. Yes, it...

Why don't we appreciate Samantha Caine and Charly Baltimore the same way we appreciate Sarah Connor and Ellen Ripley? Why do we choose Die Hard at Christmas instead of The Long Kiss Goodnight? What is explosions, if not Renny Harlin persevering? I have so many questions about why we, as a movie-going public, don't appreciate The Long Kiss Goodnight enough. Geena Davis is an absolute standout, play...

Hello, I'm Em. And yes, I'm a podcast host. No, I said cappuccino. I'm here to talk to you about something very important. And no, it's not about me or my podcast. I'm here to talk about subliminal messages in rock and roll music. Or as it's simply known in some cultures, 'rock music'. You see, for years the government has been wisely coercing teenagers to buy products they normally wouldn't want,...

If you love the idea of Lord of the Rings meets Arthurian legend meets Star Wars meets Dungeons and Dragons, then Krull is right up your alley.... While it's a movie with recognisable flaws, that doesn't mean my love for it is lessened in any way. Prince Colwyn's quest to save his Princess Lyssa from the evil Beast in the Black Fortress will always hold a very special place in my heart, despite th...

In the first of March's look into cult movie classics, Big Trouble in Little China nowadays looks like a movie that should have been destined for success. It had the capable charismatic hero, and Kurt Russell playing the guy who thinks he's the hero. Throw in the damsels in distress, creepy villain, ancient sorcery, high-action martial arts choreography and Chinese mythology and mysticism, and it...

Roald Dahl quite famously hated most of the film adaptations of his famous books, but I think he'd quite like this one. Wes Anderson takes his keen idiosyncratic eye and took Fantastic Mr. Fox and made it, well, fantastic! From the juddery stop-motion animation, to the anachronistic American sounding heroes, these anthropomorphic animals have hearts, minds and relatable insecurities. It's quote-un...

To celebrate Verbal Diorama's second birthday, here's a Bronze Age joy. Oo-de-lally! This fox is a FOX! It might borrow from other Disney movies, but that doesn't make it any less of a fan favourite. Robin Hood Thanks for your continued support! More fun to come in Year Three! This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podscribe - https://podscribe.com/privacy OP3 - https:/...

To celebrate Verbal Diorama's second birthday, here's a Silver Age delight The last movie Walt Disney worked on before his death, and based on Rudyard Kipling's stories about the man-cub Mowgli. With a jungle this fun, why would any of us want to go to the man-village? The Jungle Book Thanks for your continued support! More fun to come in Year Three! This podcast uses the following third-party ser...

To celebrate Verbal Diorama's second birthday, here's a Golden Age treat. It may be 84 years old, but it's still as timeless, elegant and truly awe-inspiring as ever.... Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Here's a link to one of the missing songs by the dwarfs - Music in Your Soup Thanks for your continued support! More fun to come in Year Three! This podcast uses the following third-party services f...

The Matrix, Westworld, Metal Gear Solid, Cyberpunk 2077, AI: Artificial Intelligence.... all have been inspired by the legendary Ghost in the Shell. Ghost in the Shell is a ground-breaking landmark of animation; a cyberpunk dystopian masterpiece, with beautiful cityscapes, engaging characters led by Major Motoko Kusanagi and a story about humanity's reliance on being connected. If Cher from Cluele...

Once upon a time, there was a brave knight, who went to the tallest tower of the scariest castle on his noble steed, to vanquish the dragon and save the beautiful princess held captive within. The knight and the princess fall in love, but she was destined to marry another. The knight stops the wedding as they admit their love. They live happily ever after. The end. Peel back those onion layers for...

What came first? The chicken or the egg? It's a question as old as time, and one pondered by all the great philosophers, scientists, scholars and farmers. In the field of Aardman's big screen successes, Chicken Run comes first. It's still the highest grossing stop-motion animated movie ever made, and Aardman's literal and figurative fingerprints are all over these English chicks. (I'm sorry for al...

How can I write about Your Name? Is it possible to convey the jaw dropping beauty and breath-taking majesty of Your Name with words? I'm not really sure it is, but I take a stab at it in Episode 77 anyway, because Your Name is truly something magical and resplendent to witness. A simple boy meets girl love story, with an added element of celestial forces; Your Name takes a simple story and elevate...

The Secret of NIMH is the epitome of a simple tale, beautifully told with the sort of stunning hand-drawn animation that Walt Disney Animation was known for during the Golden Age of Disney.  Coincidentally, Don Bluth used to work at Disney, so he knew the tricks of the trade and went ahead with his own animation studio and a dark adaptation of Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, itself based on...