Dork&Beans

Dragon Age; Beanquisition

Elliot — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 15:09:38 +0000

Good tidings to you!

So I've clocked around 100 hours of "Dragon Age; Inquisition" on the PS4, and that's coming at it with no background knowledge. Never played the previous games, read the books, know the memes, etc. Just jumping into a big 'ol fantasy world. I had a great time though and wanted to give my very poorly articulated history of the world, as well as some insights about my play-through.

Possibly more of this game coming soon, I hear there's cheap DLC available. Hope everyone is keeping safe, healthy and alive out there. Masks on people!

Cheers

A Series of Serious Pods, To Go!

Elliot — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 15:01:36 +0000

We're living in an uncomfortable time. The global pandemic is only compounded by the fact that there's no movies/sports, an economic depression is looming, murder hornets are on the way and now we're on the brink of a race war. That's an exaggeration but it's still not great. I've been grappling with what's been transpiring as much as the next person, and in a series of recordings over the past week I've tried to make some sense of things. We're of course learning new things everyday and moving forward which is great. But the momentum, the right momentum, needs to continue to prevent an easy slip back into the pitfalls of the past.

A Shortened Bean Podito

Elliot — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 14:50:09 +0000

Hey hey. So I can`'t even remember what``'s in this episode, it's been that kind of a month. Anyway, I'm back with another episode, for whatever that's worth! (?)

Back in Beans

Elliot — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 00:38:47 +0000

This is post time-skip, so to speak.

Coming back to the game after a few month hiatus. Raising a human and working a job, but also starting my own business on the side has left a narrow margin of time for fun things. And somehow Fallout 4 has been getting a lot of it. I think content will be a little edgier moving forward, and maybe expect it every few weeks to start. I'll get faster I promise. Thanks for listening.

Boats and Joes

Elliot — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 00:34:18 +0000

Like everyone else in the universe, I had an opinion on Joker. I liked it, listen to hear the specifics I guess. Cheers!

Error, Podcast Not Found

Elliot — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 00:29:01 +0000

I can't remember when I made it, or even what it contains. Such is often the nature of this podcast so I'm rolling with it. Expect a few episodes to be published all at once soon, and then more to trickle in. Thanks for tuning in and your patience.

Once Upon a Siesta, with a lil' Halo 3 sprinkled in

Elliot — Tue, 13 Aug 2019 17:36:15 +0000

A good day to you all.

This was another exploratory episode, where we all get the pleasure of listening to the wide-wide world outside. My mic picks up it all, so enjoy the ambiance of a gentle breeze, trees rustling and of course some cars. I took a bit of a siesta this time, and decided to make the most of some free time and record. I still happen to be foaming at the mouth about how good Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is, so this is the episode to talk about it. What a movie, what a cast, and what a time in both Hollywood and world history. Since Inglorious Bastards is already on my all-time favorite movie list, I knew this one would follow suit. And like we get into; I adore historical revisionist films. Any writer that puts in the effort to create a new, alternative telling of accepted historical situations/truths is alright in my books. Heavy recommendation of this movie if you've not caught it yet.

Halo 3 is GOAT of couch shooters, hands down. I had Goldeneye, Unreal Tournament and nearly every other title that people tote as a contender to H3. But they all fall flat in comparison to the scope Halo, not to mention the fun to be had. The detailed, huge and open world maps created a genuine stage for combat of all kinds. An assortment of land and air vehicles kept the pace quick and invited the ever-challenging dynamic of either monopolizing vehicles, contending with them or most commonly simply blowing a vehicle up lest it fall into enemy hands. My friends and I put hundreds pf hours into uncountable matches, tournaments and skirmishes. I'm sure everyone has an eternal fondness for the game, maybe one day it'll crawl over to a PlayStation remastered edition. Tune in next time for the plot and backstory to the ridiculous and ambitious "machinema" project that we spent way too much time on.

As usual most of my spare time is spent with podcasts coursing through my head. SinCast is always the Cadillac of pods, and I thought it worth thinking those dudes again. I had my first therapist appointment after getting motivated to do so after the SC Mental Health Week. I know it's a long road ahead, but I already feel some of the benefits of talking to someone and couldn't recommend it more to everyone out there. Healing is neat.

All the best to all ya'll. Expect another episode soon, just waiting to shake off this cold. Who the fuck gets a cold in the Summer? Honestly.

SDCC is here, so let's get opinionated!

Elliot — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 18:23:15 +0000

That's right, it was nerd Mecca last weekend, and as per usual that means we got teased with the upcoming docket of shows and movies. Just like with everything else, Disney was there to outdo everyone and unzip/flop out their schedule onto the table. I'd felt a bit of a different reaction than in previous years, mostly because I feel disinterested in a substantial majority of things coming out. Now, I'm not an asshole. Neither am I a bigot, fascist or anything else you can be called for disagreeing with the status quo. But the fact is we've got to talk about the Disney+ lineup, and these Subscription Wars as a whole (which are coming fast). I don't care for a lot of the I.P.'s they're basing the content on, and I'll go as far as to say some of the casting similarly isn't great. But I do love Marvel, so I give them a grain of salt and a fair shake. Hopefully I'm way off base with my predictions on this upcoming season, but who knows.

I've also been having big developments in the world of fathering. As Arthur gets cuter, he gets comparably smarter too, making entertaining him more of a hands-on task. Also, he had a full "throw-up" (not just some weak ass "spit up") and it was straight out of the Exorcism. Like a fountain from the mouth. Good times.

Lastly we're (again) approaching the end of a Fortnite season. So if you've been slacking on your dailies, weeklies or Fortbytes, now is the time! Truthfully, the latter wasn't really worth all that trouble. I'm sitting at a 97% completion, and don't even care enough about the 100% reward costume to continue. But the games' always fun, and they're still packing in new weapons and game modes daily right up until the end. Between facing the summer heat, and staying in for a nice, cool glass of Fortnite...what would you choose?

Thanks for tuning in guys, see you next week. Links below, one for twitter in case you want to leave feedback/suggestions, and the other for the Kyoto crowd support page (try to donate if you can guys, anything can help):

https://twitter.com/DorkAndBeansPod

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-kyoani-heal

Literally Far From Home

Elliot — Tue, 16 Jul 2019 18:21:20 +0000

This is another wandering episode, so it looks like I happen to be "far from home". But yes, obviously I just saw the movie, and that's what's going on today guys.

I'll cut right to it and say Spiderman was amazing, and super entertaining. The movies' lighthearted innocence of high-school life and romance is just as good as the superhero quest which surprised me. The same way Ant-Man and the Wasp had a tough act to follow, Far From Home takes place after the biggest movie in the MCU. They offer some explanations and perspective on the "The Blip" (formerly "The Snap") and actually does a pretty neat job of tying it all together.

This was the first movie I've seen solo as an adult, and it was a good time. I had a half day from work, invited a few friends but to no avail. So I plopped down and saw it, and yeah pleasant experience overall. I found that not having someone talking to you during the movie is cool, but occasionally you'd like to say something yourself to your neighbor, and that's the only things that's not really an option.

One thing about the movie (spoilers I guess)... Mysterio is a villain in the comics. So it's not really a surprise that he winds up being a villain in the film too. And I get that most people don't read the source material, but the amount of *gasps out loud* I heard at his reveal was kinda shocking.

Besides that, I guess business as usual. My son is good (and adorable), Fortnite is almost done its 14 Days of Summer (so get those rewards while you still can) and it's still gross and swampy out. So thanks for listening guys, catch you next time.

P.S. Count me in on the raid, I wanna see them aliens

Pirates of the Caribbean 6; Oceans Apart

Elliot — Fri, 28 Jun 2019 16:13:59 +0000

Ahoy! I couldn't keep my swashes buckled, so we're going to go into another PotC episode. I was working on somethings in a state of baby-induced insomnia and thought I created a winner for the plot/theme of the next Pirates adventure. We're going to take it to another part of the world again, and explore a sea-faring culture that would mesh really well with the current world and lore.

Oceans Apart sees the familiar crew return to grapple with new threats. After being cast around in a magic storm (or something) they wind up in Maori territory, making friends and enemies out of the local pirates and traders. The Rock will obviously be the integral Maori protagonist (or antagonist, not sure) but it'll be a solid dynamic between him and Johnny Depp. Plus the Rock is box office gold, and this series needs something to stay afloat. Expect island mysticism, deities from the local heritage and just a real good time overall.

I tested recording outside, combining multiple audio tracks and a few other techniques in this pod. So please do excuse any audio issues or inconsistencies.

Enjoy the pitch, enjoy the summer weather and thanks for listening!

Noodles at Noon, let's talk about Shanghai

Elliot — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 14:54:32 +0000

The film series, not the Chinese city. But both are great, shout-out to your thicc noods Shanghai (best noodles in all of China in this humble, non-Chinese guy's opinion).

I started to record this episode with the hope that I was going to spin together a worthwhile fan-fiction on one of my absolute favorite comedies. But, as much as I did some Wikipedia show prep notes, in the end it got offtrack because of how much I like the series. It's easy to just get ranting. One day I'll post a link to the story being fleshed out, regarding "The House of Obannon" and the eternal presence they had in the West.

As a kid, Jackie Chan was a hero of mine. One of the most skilled martial artist in film, he could take any fight and make it jaw-dropping and dangerous, whilst also being able to play for laughs with those punches. They had lightning in a bottle with the odd couple/buddy cop mixture of Jackie with a wise cracking partner. Rush Hour is great (I'd say 2 was the best) but both Shanghai movies are an absolute delight. Watch them immediately if you haven't seen them. I walk through a bit of the movie as a recap, and sprinkle in some historical accuracy that make me smile, nostalgic comments and contributions.

Yes I was not making it up, there is still scheduled to be a 3rd and final chapter in this legacy franchise. Shanghai Dawn had a confirmed existence back in 2017, and through twitter and some tabloids, the widely held belief currently is that it's still very much alive. Fingers crossed guys, that movie is going to be everything. Jackie and Owen are both due for a comeback anyway, so bring it on. As gets said in the pod, the setting of movie 3 is supposed to be China, showing it off like the Old West from Shanghai Noon. Could be great, I'm on board, though I would have considered a brand new setting altogether. Knights leaves us in England, so most of the world is in reach. If not another European country, perhaps they find themselves headed to Russia before they make it into China. Or perhaps they went south, winding up with British citizenry heading to Africa. Lots of possibilities, better make this into 4 more movies with a 2-part finale movie.

Please let me know if you're aware of a definitively better Chinese noodle than the Shanghai noodle. I'm always here to discuss that. Thanks.

Until next time, cheers!

Sun, Moon, Son, Suit

Elliot — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 14:00:04 +0000

Dr. Seuss eat your heart out.

It's podcast time guys, and today is half and half for nerd shit vs. real-life content. I was at a wedding, the official BM of the ceremony if you will. Having been married last year I can safely say attending a wedding is probably more fun than hosting one. Yes, not as special as your own wedding, and it's not for you, but daaamn I had very little to do at this wedding besides have fun. Whereas at my own wedding (and I'm sure at lots of yours) a lot of time was spent running the show, dealing with drama/family, kissing your spouse in front a thirsty crowd banging the table and chanting, etc. Anyway it was a nice time, Mazels to two very special peeps in my life. Besides that just expect more wadding into the dad pool. Lil' Art is every bit as cute as ever, but has become nocturnal and avoids sleeping at night at all costs. So that's fun. Complaints are limited though, as wifey definitely is getting the worse end of the stick.

Let's talk about Pokemon Sun and Moon. I actually hated this show for a while. I caught the first few eps. when it came out, just couldn't get into it. Smoother (some will say "less detailed") animation styles replaced the more line-heavy anime flavor of its predecessors. The unfamiliarity of another cadre of young protagonists did literally nothing to interest me, and I flaked out. But after binge watching it (because it was on in the background, the baby was sleeping, and no one wanted to move) it grew on me. Now this isn't a Stockholm Syndrome type thing. I just came to the realization that there's weird merits to the show. It's much more self-aware than other previous seasons, allowing for a handful of meta jokes and self referential humor that obviously pays a bit of homage to older viewers. More than that though, the region they are in (Hawaii- I mean "Alola") is totally different from what we've seen. Not just because of the cool island breezes, but this is by far the most dangerous place to be. The humans and Pokemon live much more closely than in the traditionally painted cannon. For example, a gen 1 farm would have pigs/cows/chickens and maybe a Growlithe for protection. In Alola, the farm is Miltanks and any other livestock style creature. Mostly this is fine, but people keep getting attacked by Pokemon. And that's gonna straight up kill someone. It's also a lot of why I watch the show. Most Pokemon irrespective of their type or size, can easily kill a human being with their 4 abilities. Trying to catch a Weedle near you house? Ahh poison sting, guess you're dead. Trying to hike with the family on a local rocky trail? Geodude uses Self Destruct, 16 dead in the area. It's dicey out there.

Anyway, Pokemon is neat. Hopefully I'll be able to catch Detective Pikachu soon, but thanks for listening guys and enjoy the groovy June weather while it lasts.

Cheers!

Fortnite on film. And Jaqen H'ghar was the white horse.

Elliot — Fri, 24 May 2019 16:51:55 +0000

Welcome to the post-Thrones world. Season 8 has come to an end, and as literally anyone on the internet will tell you; it sucked. Combining the disappointments of tons of abandoned character arcs, complete departure from good writing and some stupid deaths, the show that captured the world's attention will conclude as anticlimactically as possible. You'll hear me rant enough in the podcast, but as per the title here's my theory; obviously we know Jaqen h'ghar can go anywhere and be anyone. So why not an animal like a horse? Perhaps another faceless man is working the bottom half of the "horse costume". Also, that horse belonged to Harry Strickland who led the Golden Company's attempted defense of Kings Landing. So it's very within the realm of possibility that Jaqen could have infiltrated the Golden Company somewhere in Essos. But the most important Easter egg? The reason the white horse remained white, un-burned (mostly) and clean throughout the flames of King's Landing? Because Strickland anything is always clean, efficient and way better than anything Thatherton could make! (King of the Hill fandom runs deep)

Besides all that, I had some ideas for a Fortnite movie. We're going to get one, maybe this year, or next. Ideally while the hype lasts, but studios have never been great at cashing in on-time in that area. I'm pitching ya'll a fast paced, comedic spin on it that will stay very true to the source material, but explore intense and hilarious combat situations that playing 8 seasons has shown me exist. There's bubble vehicles, all kinds of costumes, Blue Juice, treasure seeking, shadow forms, boogie grenades, tons of guns and a hell of a lot more stuff that would turn a regular shoot-em-up movie into something beyond that. A task I believe only Edgar Wright could get right. Also, climb aboard China, I've been imagining the movie takes place in a somewhat futuristic China, so why not get everybody in on this. Gotta get that yen.

Oh and I'm a father now, officially. A padre, if you will. My son is wonderful, adorable and a delight. But also an insomniac poop machine. So I get into some of the new thrills and chills of being a dad, with a lot more of that kind of content coming soon.

Thanks for listening guys, keep on trucking (as if you'd ever stop trucking).

Avengers Endgame, world's greatest movie and emotional roller-coaster

Elliot — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 18:30:10 +0000

We've reached the end of the game. Welcome back everyone, and if it's not clear; there's going to spoilers galore today. You were warned.

The Avengers brings to a conclusion the Infinity Saga, effectively the greatest and largest cinematic undertaking of all time. The action was thrilling and absolutely unforgettable. I would say literally "jaw dropping". The characters were all given a time to shine and growth to be demonstrated. Questions were finally answered and interconnections were strengthened retroactively across all of the MCU. I am not ashamed to say I cried several times, and have been struggling with what to do now that I've seen the world's greatest movie. In this pod I delve deep into what I loved the most in Avengers, and if you too were salivating through the parts where Cap wielded Mjolnir, I feel you. There's nothing I've ever experienced like the collective, heightened excitement of that theater full of people. All gasping, crying and laughing the way through a full 3 hour film. I already can't wait to see it again, I can't recommend it enough, and I implore the human race to all go out and catch Endgame whilst we can.

Game of Thrones was no slouch either, and Sunday night's Battle for Winterfel was the height of television fantasy battles. Much like with Endgame, the stakes were high, the body count piled up, and we shed tears for a Stark. If you like zombies, fantasy, castles, human extinction, ice landscapes and dirty/bleeding people, you should check out the episode. If you're someone who is already a Thrones fan, you'll love it. Also like Endgame, GoT wastes no time throwing us into the action from the start. The episode is close to an hour and a half, and it's honestly without any wasted moments. It's brutal, terrifying and really everything we want and expect from Thrones by now. Check it out!

Also, FortniteXAvengers is still really fun. Definitely the After Eight Mint to the meal that is watching Endgame in theaters.

This is it, a weekend for nerds like no other

Elliot — Fri, 26 Apr 2019 18:14:07 +0000

Oh you know what's going on this weekend.

Unless you live under an Amish roof, you'll probably realize that Endgame is finally here. All that wait, buildup and suspense is finally going to be paid off. I get a bit sentimental thinking about how Infinity War made such an impression on me, it pushed me into finally making my podcast. And here we are now for the second part of the dream. Anyway, as you'll hear me rant on about, there's no need to treat this as a review, recommend or warn. "Go see it". Even if you're "not a superhero movie fan" (fucking casuals). There's not been a movie event like this in our lifetime, and I hope everyone gets to experience the hype. My ticket has been burning a hole in my pocket for weeks, so I can't wait for tomorrow. I'll be filling my time well after the movie, because I'm going to take some time for a long, deep dive into the return of *drum roll*... the Avengers x Fortnite crossovers! Oh man, this is/was my jam. I mean, statistically those are the two topics that come up the most on my channel, maybe neck and neck with Batman. Anyway, last time they had the Infinity Gauntlet, and turning into Thanos was delightful. I can't wait to see what's in this LTM, and it's probably the only game mode they could have chosen to replace airplanes in terms of fun. I hope I can land in Tilted and find cool Avengers items, like Colson's bloody trading cards. You know the good stuff. It makes me genuinely happy that these crossovers are a product of the Russo Bros (and several cast members) all actually being huge fans of the game. It's a fun game.

Also, Shazam is such a treat. You'll hear me rave about it in the pod, but just know that it's a fun, exciting movie that's actually a unique take on the superhero tale. Which is hard in this world of content saturation. Spending equal amounts of time between likable new characters and a great villain really set it up to be a fantastic watch. As a Torontonian I delighted in seeing the landmarks, key sights and transit system in film. Especially because through my work I'm starting to work with Toronto location scouting for film and tv, so it's really inspiring. The big red cheese finally made it to the big screen! Also, Mark Strong is fantastic. Someone get him more villain roles.

Lastly let's talk GoT; The Night King cometh, so good luck Winterfell. I can only imagine how awesome this episode is going to be, and it'll probably be a non stop ride until the end of the show. I'll bet you $5 we see a blue-eyed Hodor.

Have an awesome weekend, take it all in, and most importantly AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!

The hopes and anxiousness of impending Fatherhood

Elliot — Tue, 23 Apr 2019 18:18:35 +0000

Hola. I'll keep it brief today, because this episode is a bit of a departure from the nerd hash I'm usually slinging. I've got about 2 weeks left before my wife is expecting to give birth to our son Arthur (very stoked). And it's also a little under a week before Endgame comes out. I'd say there's sufficient enough stuff going on that it was time to get real. So I'm sharing with ya'll some of my fears, hopes and feels that are coming with Fatherhood.

The bar has been really low for me Dad-wise, and I'll have to go into that in more detail as the days go on. The father you have growing up is a huge impact on your parenting decisions, for better or worse. So I've been escaping to my usual preferred fantasy realms, made easier with Game of Thrones season 8 (FINALLY) arriving. We've got episode 3 coming out this Sunday, and the battle against the Night King has come. It's been hyped to a peak for years now, so let's hope it's glorious. Who am I kidding, it will be. It's pretty much "the convergence" this weekend if you're a Nerd of any caliber or variety.

More lighthearted stuff to come soon, especially because in my darkest hour, an ALL AIRPLANE game mode landed in Fortnite. I'll gush about it in great detail soon, but it's been everything I do when I get home from work. I don't like to toot my "Fortnite skillz" horn, but this is the one game mode that's been an exception. I literally have never lost. Out of about 22 games I've played so far; 17 of those were Air Royals (victories), 4 were 2nd place and the remaining game was a 3rd place. In racing, "placing" is gold, silver or bronze, so I go by that. Get out there and fly some planes my dudes.

Thanks for listening guys, we're literally in the end game now.

Full Leaked Review of Endgame

Elliot — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 18:47:36 +0000

Nah, I'm April foolin'!

Sorry for that deception (or was it click-bait?) but yes, it is April Fools today. I'm going to talk a little bit about how annoying this day makes people, but there'll be legitimate content in there too. Plus I guarantee you didn't know it was Susan Boyle's birthday! I'll even share from my own sordid past of botched (but well meant) pranks.

At the 24:00 minute mark the podcasts talks about CinemaSins and the awesome content they put out. I'd post their links, but I'm pretty confident in you listeners being able to Google it. They have a great YouTube channel, Podcast, Patreon and pretty much anything else you could have. I love their brand to bits, and they form a sort of Triforce of movie understanding, reviewing and critiquing when those 3 gentlemen get together.

And if you were living under a rock again this week, take note; Endgame tickets are on sale. And it's utter madness out there. I got up at 4AM to buy me and my group's tickets. I had set a google search notification for keywords like "Endgame + tickets + Toronto" etc. I scanned the news and was a diligent (and obsessed) fan who wanted to watch the movie when it first released. And it breaks my heart to see that there's so many people unable to get tickets because of website crashes, shutdowns etc. But, don't start blaming theaters, the Russo Brothers, or anyone else if you waited until a few days later to get your tickets. Of course they'll be sold out. I mentioned to someone at work I had my tickets, and the annoying response of "oh that's lucky, I couldn't get mine" makes my eye twitch. It's not "lucky" fam, I put the hours and effort in to be ahead of the curve. Gotsta see my Cap, yo.

Anyway guys, in a perfect world I'd snap my Gauntlet fingers and double the amount of showings and seats available. But unfortunately it is the way it is. And overall this whole exercise has showed me just how much movies are changing. Gone are the days when you can casually show up and expect tickets. You can't even line up 10 hours early to be the first in and grab good seats (as I did for the original Avengers release). It's all online, and it's all becoming a busy nightmare.

Again thanks for listening guys. I'll probably put another episode out in a few days. In the meantime, let's keep fingers crossed for warmer weather. It's April, and I'm not exaggerating that it's still snowing in Toronto!

Cheers.

The SICKEST episode ever. Age of Sickmar runs deep.

Elliot — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 14:45:33 +0000

Get ready for an ill episode....

I'll stop with the dad jokes now, but in case you missed the point, I'm not feeling too good. I don't usually get sick (one of "those people", I know) but after a brutal Winter, it's inevitable. Also doesn't help when your partner is sick, and you do literally everything together. No blaming though. I have a pretty bad cold, and I made the choice to come to work. I'm not that much of an ass, I'm ensuring minimal germ spread at every chance I get. Including recording in the isolated Turbine Room. I also Purell like a BEAST. But gotta work my dudes. Anyway, expect a stranger voice, some sniffles and pretty sure I cough too. Yeah, enjoy. I hope it's not too bad.

Age of Sigmar (get that title joke now?) is the new brand of Fantasy Warhammer. Smaller, more diverse war-bands have taken the place of the larger, regimental army styles of earlier editions. What's been so interesting is the diversity it affords you in assembling the army. As I get into, my team is a pretty dynamic team up. But will purposefully and respectfully be devoid of Orcs, Wood Elves and Dwarves. I guess you'll have to listen to find out more. I'm a mess today, so this all wound up going to weird places. I only bring up AoS specifically this week because my units arrived, and I can't wait to start building!

Nonetheless, thanks for listening guys. You're all super. If you're near a Cheesecake Factory, check it out. Not only is the food good, but the titular food is exceptional. I had a s'mores cheesecake, my wife had an awesome one, and even though the menu is overwhelming it's a delicious conundrum.

Happy Thorsday, see you next time.

You can dislike Captain Marvel without being an @$!hole about it.

Elliot — Fri, 15 Mar 2019 14:50:35 +0000

It's true! And by the way guys, enjoy the sweet sounds of nothing in this recording as I've moved out of the turbine, and into a space for the requested peace/quiet.

So a very happy Friday to ya'll because this has just felt like the longest week, glad that's over. Just as I started the pod out with; happy St. Patrick's Day! Shout out to my Irish friend Patrick, whom I always think of on the day. This year the weekend will be less "painting the town red" and more painting the kitchen white. True story, new coat. I always had a good time, you get the emerald beer and go ape with the lads. But once you've worked a restaurant, pub, club, etc. you know the gross, unmasked side of the debauchery. Not that it's less fun per say, but definitely puts it into perspective. Try seeing a guy get stabbed at 3AM on your way outta work closing the bar on St. Patty's, puts a dent in stuff. I feel markedly aged considering how slow this years pace will be, though I wasn't really too much of a party boy over the years. I dabbled, but this is nice.

Last week's episode was a wee bit of a mess, the first part being lost in file corruption and I'm still trying to recover it. But this week, and here specifically I wanted to say some stuff in light of Int. Women's Day. It goes way beyond saying that women deserve absolute equality in every aspect of life and society. I'm absolutely a strong advocate for that, and believe that any first world society should include fairness across the whole spectrum of citizens, irrespective of any denominations. I think women drive our world forward, and should be recognized for achievements thusly, and should always be treated with the same level of respect as their male counterparts. Now, all of that is true. And additionally, let me say that I think Brie Larson is a very talented actress, and I think she plays a very likable character who can fit into the MCU... BUT I didn't like Captain Marvel.

I'm sorry. And as the title suggests, I really don't want to be lumped into the category of people who "hate the movie because _____ woman". That is to say, there's a toxic amount of hate out for this movie, and for Brie (actress not the cheese) for ridiculous sexist, uninformed and bigoted opinions people formulate about it. I don't know why people have a hard time with her, there's tons of girls in the MCU already. And she did a solid job. But look, I'm not in that camp. I'm coming from the place of an OG fan of the MCU, lifetime cinephile and avid comic reader. For a lot of those reasons I found the movie lacking. The story is boring, and feels like it draws way to much from Top Gun/Green Lantern. The pacing often leaves the viewer bored, and it takes a very long time to get to interesting action. Unfortunately the conclusion is lack luster and pretty much only succeeds in the task of introducing Skrulls (crucial for continuing the plot the comics have laid down) into the wider cinematic world. Also, nothing but respect for both the Stan Lee cameo and opening credits. I shed a goddamn single manly tear in that intro. Besides that the movie just gives handjobs to as many "B" and "C" level MCU characters as they can to keep them relevant. But hey, that's what Ronan looked like 6 years ago...neat. Also that cat eh, $20 says he eats the Gauntlet at the end of it all, problem solved. Or he's got like a god-killing laser cannon in his tum tum somewhere.

Thanks for listening guys, let me know what you thought of the movie and enjoy the weekend.
Wear green, or else....

Alita 2: Blood Angel

Elliot — Thu, 14 Mar 2019 16:01:21 +0000

Praise the Throne, it's podcast time!

And throw on your Mechanicus robes because Alita 2 is going full Warhammer 40K. "Blood Angel" as in the Space Marine Chapter, though I'm just using it as a title pun since those guys blow. I obviously have the complete leaked script for Alita 2 (oh yes) and the story definitely confirms that it takes place on an Imperial non-complaint world out there in the expanse. Man, it sure would be something if any of that was true. Alita is adorable, but it's also the first realized look of what a Warhammer movie could be like. As the horse I'll beat to death will tell you, I can't unsee how seamless it would be, not just because of how much common ground the worlds share. There's too many parallels to type up (hence why I record a podcast) but trust me, between the bionic limbs/enhancements, power swords, office of assassins, dirty super city and tech cult of mars, there's certainly enough sources to draw from. But as great as the "Ready Player One" style of animation is, bring me Neill Blomkamp for a Warhammer perspective. The man owns "gritty sci-fi" and there's literally no other way you can portray the grim-dark warscape of the year 40,000.

I made this as an unofficial "part 2" to the previous episode. I had recorded one in the morning as the more general review of Alita among other things, but the 40K segment was going to be too long on its own, so I did it in two. But because I didn't anoint my device, and clearly the Machine Spirit was unruly, my part 1 is corrupted. Literally. "File corrupted, cannot open". So that's great. I'll still be trying to get it to work, but either way expect a new, better episode soon! I'm getting mixed reviews on the background white-noises in my recording area, so I'll try a newer (more silent) room for the next taping.

I'll be seeing Captain Marvel with the best friend and the wife today, so expect it on the menu for coming content. Speaking of, yesterday I was talking to my wife about the podcast and she drops this gem; "maybe I'll check some more episodes out, how many are there like 7?" Thanks babe, I say whilst posting episode 45.

Spring is around the corner dudes, keep on trucking and it'll be Endgame before we know it.

2019 Oscar season, 2019 Fortnite season

Elliot — Mon, 04 Mar 2019 19:39:45 +0000

Greetings and salutations. Today's episode is about 3 or 4 things, but I thought that title had a nice ring to it. Through a patchwork of streaming, snap stories and reading micro articles afterwards, I managed to get a picture of the Oscars. Really nothing special this year, and after following up the next day breezing through as many articles as I could get my hands on, I'm even more convinced it was a remarkably unremarkable year. There's been the constant low-laying buzz around pretty much every award category or nominee. Just click-bait, fake news type content asking baseless questions and trying to turn things up on the spicy meter. But there was no spice this year, the spice, like the host, was absent. Oh well, I guess we can have a bad year. But this has been a pattern of decline after several bad years. It's really a shame, to see what might be the beginnings of an end for the most iconic night in Hollywood. People just don't appreciate film as we used to. I mean, just look at theater etiquette, that can bring a person to murder (see the Aquaman episode).

On a more positive note, Season 8 looks amazing. Fortnite is knee deep in the cycle of having to one-up themselves every 3 months with the coming of a new season. This time, there was nothing so grand or exciting to crank up the interest. There's just been a much needed overhaul to the North Eastern corner of the map, balanced weapons, better map indicators which are visible to teammates, and a ton more stuff. Giving love to the fundamentals. But of course the real fun is in exploring it over the season, finding secrets, and for once; fighting around, on and inside an active volcano. I mentioned in the pod that this is my first time wielding the Battle Pass. I earned it though blood, sweat, and a long weekend during the Overtime event. I'll happily be reporting to you guys what life on the fancier side is like, but I'll already say it's tight butthole. Ya'll know I love pirates, specifically Blackbeard. So Blackheart the pirate? Yes please Epic, ya done right by me.

That's it for now mateys, see you on the field!

Space Wolves barking at your door

Elliot — Mon, 04 Mar 2019 19:17:31 +0000

Boof. That's my preferred dog noise, it rings like a St. Bernard vocalizing at you. Anyway, hello everyone. Thanks for coming back. Today we're doing a semi deep-dive into the world of Warhammer 40K. I could go on all day about this (and I have before) but Warhammer is sick. I love fantasy, 40K, Inquisimunda, Mordhiem, LoTR Tabletop, all that Games Workshop goodness. As you'll hear in the pod, I arrived at the Sons of Russ many editions ago, and I paint a picture of why they're great, the game's great and why I'm definitely not biased. I played many Fantasy armies, but only ever the Wolves in 40K. I explore the lore, talk the army and keep it accessible for Blood Claws and Long Fangs alike.

Besides that, you know, just more of the usual. Fortnite because you know we do. And whatever else is packed in there for lunch. Thanks for listening guys, I'll be back with another pod soon.

Zoltan!

2 cooks in the kitchen; a Bubbies in Suits collaboration

Elliot — Mon, 04 Mar 2019 19:02:00 +0000

Oh hello there. Today is the first time you're going to hear someone that's not me in the podcast, so there you go. We're going to be tinkering with the Bubbies in Suits channel David and I produce, so we just had the usual WoW session and recorded it. As per usual let us know any comments, suggestions, etc. We're obviously still figuring out the technological scope of the channel, so if there's a preference for it to stay a podcast, versus become a YouTube style video channel we'd like to know. Personally, I'd take the path of most lazy.

Thank you folks, and keep on trucking.

P.S. check out "Bubbies in Suits" on Podcasts.com and iTunes.

A racist drag-queen brunch, and Glass shattering the mold

Elliot — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 16:58:41 +0000

Welcome, and if you didn't expect a Glass pun in the title then it's probably your first time here.

Today's episode is (as they all are) a bit of everything, but I wanted to go into some detail on the two larger features. I went with my wife and some friends to a "Drag Queen Brunch", which is hosted by a very old and trendy Toronto bookstore and LGBT culture spot. The Glad Day Bookstore for any of those curious and Toronto-side. We heard it's a good time, and good food, so we went. Maaaan both of those statements aren't true. The sound sucked and was blaring, the acts were so so, and the food (after taking an hour and 15 minutes for my grilled cheese) was lukewarm and bad. Now I could have just gone to a sane person restaurant if I wanted great food, granted. But where I drew the line was the racist comedy routine done by one of the queens. I get it; White people are easy to make fun of. God knows I do it a lot. But racism is weak comedy. It's low hanging fruit. And further, this person was more just using it as a chance to make actual racist comments. Anyway, I go into it more in the pod, but you can make jokes better. And being progressive means we all treat each other with respect, not "we've been victimized, so now it's our turn to make others the victims". That's a bullshit mentality that only continues the cycle of intolerance. The scene has a lot of potential to be a blast, but get a real sound system, keep out the hate speech, and grill your cheeses faster.

Thankfully the evening went way better. I was at a Mandarin to get the taste out of my mouth (literally and figuratively) from brunch. That place is such a gem, the staff and mangers are always friendly, you can eat until you die, and I can get my favorite Chinese cuisine for dinner and then Nanaimo bars with Coolwhip for dessert. If that kind of cultural collaborating doesn't bring a tear to your eye then you're a monster. But the feast was only the beginning, because I finally got to see Glass following. This movie though, damn. He didn't fuck it up. M. Night really kept it together, and pulled off a trilogy of (basically) superhero movies that are all fantastic, and technically all even function as stand alone movies. I really go into why and what I loved about the movie in the pod, but I wanted to expand on something here. The single most rewarding lesson and takeaway from Glass (spoilers ahead) is; that you can believe in yourself, you can believe in something greater and you are justified in being mistrustful of the government. I'm not trying to advocate for general conspiracy theories to run rampant. And I certainly don't want to encourage suspicion of anything one way or another. But I thought there was something so powerful about Mr. Glass being right, despite the villainy. He believed in himself and his own superhuman abilities, as well as David's. He also helped the Horde see theirs, and ultimately allowed the world to unmask the "clover" organization. Don't let the world, the government, the media or anyone tell you what you can accomplish. We can do amazing things, and are sometimes only limited by fragile walls others put up around us. In the words of the Sphinx "I believe in my powers, and in the powers of my teammates".

Stay super guys.

A sorrowful farewell to Batfleck

Elliot — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 16:20:15 +0000

Greetings friends.

It's been back and forth, up and down, but when the dust settled this week we got confirmation that Ben Affleck is stepping away from DC, and as Batman. I don't really care what anyone else thinks about this one, I salute the performance we got. We were lucky. He took inspiration from a ton of sources and blended them with taste. His Batman was terrifying, but not without fear. He was a calculated tactician, but also an aloof Bruce Wayne. We got vicious hand-to-hand combat unseen outside of a video game, and a fleet of Bat vehicles. Ben Affleck did an amazing job, and created a dynasty as the caped crusader that brought together the Justice League. I feel deeply let down that we won't get to see more of the Trinity, or even the League that we now have finally standing together. This departure, as well as that of Henry Cavill (who will be just as missed!) means the putting away of B and S as we know it for a long time. Now will come the Supergirl movie to replace Superman, The Birds of Prey movie to take over Gotham (hopefully with a Red Hood movie in there too). I feel the definitive shift in the wind, and it's scary. This marks a recasting, at the very least, for both characters, not to mention the grim prospect of some more arduous origin stories. I thought we had the formula right, these two guys brought it and it was amazing. It's a shame the candle burned so bright, but I understand why it only lasts so long. Wherever you go Ben, I hope you come back when you're older and grizzlier to do it again. You squeeze into the suit, you punch the Mutants leader into the mud, and by god you better fight a reappearing Cavill Superman too!

We can all strap ourselves in for the next year of chatter and speculation RE: the next Batman casting. I'm not even going to think I know what they're gonna do with this one. The way I see it, as I say in vid, you got 2 choices: bring in a big Hollywood gun and pour them into the Batsuit, but Marvel is gobbling them all up pretty fast (see Gosling as Mysterio). OR you can go with someone completely new. Personally, as much as I'd run from the prospect of a brand new face donning my beloved cowl, I think it's the way to go. Bring in someone that has the chops to be the Bat, and let them have a bunch of years in it. We need a RDJ type flagship, someone that we can build a consistent image and universe of Batman with. He's gotta look the part, he has to do scary vigilante and charming socialite. Most importantly, he has to bring something new and worthwhile. Lets see what you've got world, pleasantly surprise me. And the bloke I mentioned in episode that I couldn't remember the name of was Tim Rozon, and yeah I could see it.

Also I've noticed the videos getting like a hell of a lot more ASMR lately, mostly because I've been recording early and it's/I'm quieter then.

Anyway guys, thanks for listening. Let me know what's new and disappointing in your lives.

Venom is sticky, but does it stick?

Elliot — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 17:36:57 +0000

I know, the name is dumb. But honestly one of the more satisfying parts of the movie was watching the Symbiote blobs be so viscous, gross and well, sticky. The whole thing kinda reminds me of those sticky hands that you get at a carnival or dollar store. You swing it at smooth surfaces, people, etc. Until one day it's darkened and covered in layers of dirt and fur, and then it's no use to anyone. That's all probably some kind of analogy for the movie. But look, I didn't hate the movie (sorry Dave), I even thought some of it actually had franchise potential. But there were 2 big problems for me; firstly the pacing was terrible, meaning that you watch the entire first hour of the movie not giving a shit about the failing, overacted, "everyday life" that Eddie "the handsome hobo" Brock leads. Relationship jargon, career obstacles and a bunch of other things fail to interest the viewer, leaving me asking myself "when is he going to start Venom-ing?!". Once the action builds, the problem becomes more centered on your terrible, predictable villain and unsure footing on the nature of the film. Is this a comedy? I don't know. You don't know. In the ep. I go into the unique marketing challenges they faced domestically and abroad for Venom, but its just been a mess. My wife, with no exposure to Venom in the comics, was actually surprised to find out after he's a Marvel bad guy (or at least was for the longest time, pre modern story arcs).

Let's talk about something better. After getting into (and being transformed by) the vignettes in Ballad of Buster Scruggs, I was on a Western bender. So that meant dusting off Red Dead Redemption 2, and putting it back on top of the "to play" pile. I've well exhausted the amount of ways to praise that game, but I will say I'm still finding new ways to have fun. After hoofing it out to the wilderness for an adventure, I found my first alligator. And then another, and so on. Long story short, I spent most of Sunday shooting, exploding and dying with the swamp's deadliest creature (save for Swampthing and Swamp Benders maybe). It's a good time, just don't drop your gun in the water!

In real life news, I have a son that's in development. My wife's rounding the 23 week mark in her pregnancy and we're getting pretty pumped. I actually felt the first little boop from our player 3, and it was awesome. The question remains; can we name him Arthur without everyone thinking it's Aquaman based? I have witnesses, it's not because of Arthur Curry, jeez. Or even Arthur Morgan. And probably not other Arthur's of renown either. But oh well, wait until you hear his middle name.

Anyway, that'll probably be my whole wrap on Venom and such. Take a listen and let me know what you guys think. And as always, feel free to hit me up with suggestions or comments on twitter.

https://twitter.com/dorkandbeanspod

Start the new year right, just wait to buy Fallout 76

Elliot — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 17:01:17 +0000

Happy new year! Although chances are more people will catch this episode long after New Years Day, but whatever. Welcome back folks, today we're cutting through a few solid pieces of culture. I've got some games, some movies and some other stuff on the menu. I guess it's worth warning you of spoilers, but I always feel the kind of people listening to this have probably gotten caught up on the source material first anyway.

Yes, there is a background noise. I'm sorry. I wanted to test filming in this huge, industrial turbine space at my work. Fear not, no work was sacrificed in the process of making the episode (unless that is your sort of thing, then yeah totally). I tried to keep it to a minimal dull roar, but hopefully it isn't a distraction or unpleasant for ya'll.

Well I go right into Fallout 76 finally, and it's really not pretty. That's not to say that the game is an out-rite disaster; I specifically say in the title you should "wait to buy" the game. The reason is that it's not done. At least, it feels like it's not. It feels like my copy of Fallout 4 was patched to include malicious, dick-headed NPCs and 0 glitchy combat encounters. But you'll hear me go into it more. The real victim here, and what's been the most upsetting is the loss of story in the game. Fallout 3, New Vegas and 4 all had AMAZING stories. Real, emotional and plot driven adventures were set as the standard for the gaming experience, and when you realize that Fallout 76's campaign is a shadow of the former game potential, it's already too late. My wasteland experiences have mostly just been MMO style wandering, with little to no care or attention to the world around. My hope will be for DLC, patches and fixes (and they better be free *shakes fist*) so that there can be a remedy for the game. It's got tons of potential, but is also full of tons of shit.

Movie wise, Aquaman is still fantastic. It's still climbing its way up to the 1 Billion box office mark, so godspeed little fish. I loved the movie, and really understood that when in the face of the worst movie going experience in years (see previous episode), I still had such a positive time watching it. And Marvel had a home run of their own though, with Into the Spiderverse web-swinging into everyone's hearts. I liked it. It wasn't "the rebirth of Spiderman as we know it" or any other hyperbole I've heard. But it's good. Between playing Spiderman on the PS4 and this new movie, I'm all in with the web-slingers. My only concern has been that we've pretty much nailed the formula with Tom Holland as Peter Parker. So I think we just showed how great of a character Miles Morales can be, but I hope it's not a replacement for Peter. I also want to say what a time it is to be alive, that we had Nicholas Cage play Superman and Spiderman Noir in the same year. And no one loves that more than me (well except him, and probably his son Kal-El).

Lastly; Ready Player One. This was a gut punch for me, because I had such high expectations for the movie. Hailed as "the most ambitious pop-culture movie to date" it literally collapsed under the weight of its own references. Now I don't go too negative on this show, I mean you really have to deserve it for me to start making beans on how bad something is. But this one got me. The absolute bukkake of cultural references, Easter Eggs and cringey audience fulfillment was downright hard to watch. As I said, I still have to get through the second half of the movie. I'm not gonna judge it unfairly. But man oh man, I'm going back in with low expectations. I really thought after Wreck It Ralph studios would understand how to make a tasteful video-game/culture tribute movie, but oh well. Also too much of the movie is animated. That really takes a lot away from it, and did it feel misleading to anyone else in the trailers? I don't member thinking "I'm going to watch pretty much a whole animated movie", hell even Tron was way more live action.

Ahh well, it's good to be back guys and I hope you like the episode.

Let me know any comments or suggestions on the channel twitter account: https://twitter.com/dorkandbeanspod

Let's get fucking soaked with Aquaman

Elliot — Fri, 28 Dec 2018 19:35:26 +0000

This episode existed somewhere between a lengthy work marathon, an Aquaman showing and was 3 fueled by coffee and Reese's Pieces.

Splish splash, it's Aquaman time. Which is the kind of catchphrase that kept him from getting cool all those years. I can't say how much of a relief it is for this movie to not have sucked. I mean, I loved it, but that was probably going to happen anyway. I'm just glad critically (and not just in China) it's being loved. Aquaman gives us the Geoff Johns New 52 run but with some really great additions. It takes characters seriously that could have been jokey, and it has surprisingly tight fight scenes right off the bat

AquaDrago is back in full force, and despite playing the same character as always, Jason makes it work. Set aside your worries that he'll be "woohoo-ing" out of airplanes the whole film. Momoa's Aquaman is a fine mix of lighthearted jokes and swagger (so, the Thor recipe pretty much). The cast of the movie are fantastic, the art style and effects are great and super pleasing. And the big one for me actually was the spatial awareness the movie gave the audience. Despite being underwater and often capturing huge moments of battle or wonder, the movie never allows the viewer to be lost in the chaos, and always seems to provide grounding shots to give context to where action is happening and the scale of it. Also check out the shared universe that the DCU and the Conjuring now exist in. I'd like to think that John Constantine will be showing up in later Conjuring movies to teach the Warrens how to banish daemons and such.

Everything else is in there folks, give it a listen and let me know what you think!

Breakfast Rants; quick goodbye to the Infinity Blade, Shadow of Rome and who needs sleep.

Elliot — Wed, 19 Dec 2018 16:21:26 +0000

*rooster noises* Good morning guys. Another early edition of the show, but thankfully later than 5AM.

I've had a hankering for an old PS2 gem that I put hundreds of childhood days into, but I'm still trying to dig up the 'ol console to play it. I figured I'd cut you guys in on that, because the game is an all time favorite. As I mentioned, I was always more of a fan of the the Greek histories and philosophers (thanks Age of Mythology/Disney's Hercules) but I do love the "history porn" parts of the Roman Empire. I love Hannibal and the Punic wars, I love Roman building innovations, and I love the story of Julius Caesar's assassination. That's exactly where this takes place, and through the stealth investigation missions of Octavianus and the brutal gladiatorial battles of Agrippa, you really get a taste of ancient Rome. Plus there's fucking chariot racing, and you don't even need to win the race to come in first, you can just kill the other riders. Need I even say more? We'll be back to this game soon. And I will deliver on the promised "Japanese history episode" soon.

But really, who needs sleep? I thought I did, but you just get to a point wherein you're tired and sore as the default state for your existence. My sleep schedule has been on sliding decline, going from 8AM wake ups, to 7, to 6, and now we're often in the 5 area. One time even a 4AM! But I guess that's growing up. Eventually your character learns new skills, so instead of taking a proper long rest, you just consume enough items constantly to recharge and not die. Obviously the impending fatherhood level that I'm up against will mean I'll "never sleep again" according to everybody. So that's cool.

It wouldn't be a D&B episode without Fortnite talk, but it's pointedly short today. And that's because the sword that we're morning was also short lived. The Infinity Blade was an awesome addition to Fortnite, and very reminiscent of Thanos's Infinity Gauntlet game mode. I mention that I got one good adventure out of the blade, but I've been hearing tons of community uproar against the way-too-soon pulling of the sword from all modes. Was it a trademark issue, game bug, patch, conspiracy or nothing at all, who knows? (honestly I don't, so feel free to share) Stay tuned for next time when I'll know why, and be happy to share.

Again Merry Christmas and happy holidays guys. You do the season your way, just enjoy, stay warm and stay alive.

Out in the cold with Avengers Endgame

Elliot — Tue, 11 Dec 2018 18:32:42 +0000

Okay I wasn't in the cold BECAUSE of Endgame, but that title sounded nice. Today I took things to nature to do another outdoor recording, so apologies for any noises/audio quality because of that. I can definitely see why relaxing in a park is more enjoyable in the breezy Summer weather than the frozen winds of Winter, but it's always nice to take a minute to sit down and enjoy the world around you. Cold as it is.

Considering my last episode didn't actually contain any of my Avengers opinions in the recording, I figured I should dedicate a bit of talking to it this time. As I have/will mention a lot; this movie is going to be my everything. So when I speak about it, never think it's not from a place of love. That being said, the trailer comes off a little wonky for me. Predictability in the title was worrisome, and though the lack of content was creative, it also is a cause for some concern. I go into this all in full detail, but it's a tough job for Marvel to follow its own stellar acts and one-up itself. I hope they can do it, and am certainly excited to see them try!

Annihilation! That was the name of the movie, confirmed. Although I was (and now am out of obligation) going to still see Extinction. But yeah guys Annihilation was great surprisingly. Natalie Portman does an amazing job, as per usual, but the movie offers you some pretty unforgettable visuals. It's the right mix of creepy, scary, and kinda thought provoking. Give it a taste and let me know what you think.

You know the rest; stay warm out there guys!

World War 2, but with Wizardry

Elliot — Tue, 11 Dec 2018 18:14:16 +0000

Here's one I only narrowly decided not to delete. A few months ago I was really sick with a cold/flu situation. So after overdosing on preventive drugs, I decided to shoot the shit with myself for a bit via recording, and this one was one of note.

Even sober I stand by this idea though. I love revisionist history type stories and I can't think of anything I would want to see more than a brutal, historically accurate (where possible) movie exploring the supernatural, magic and occult aspects of humanities biggest war. A tale based around the Nazi's search for mystic relics and power can work on so many levels. The field is also completely open for pretty much any races, creatures or phenomena from high fantasy settings everywhere.

As per usual guys, just putting my opinion out there. If you think of something cool to add into the pitch, I'm always interested.

Cheers!

Breakfast Special: Avengers 4 Trailer and Fortnite Season 7

Elliot — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 20:48:20 +0000

Good morning folks! This is the earliest recording time I've done (we're talking 6AM) so enjoy it, and yes, that's why I'm calling it a breakfast special. The crack of dawn aside, today we're getting into it with some huge news.

THE TRAILER FOR AVENGERS 4 IS HERE! There, so if you haven't seen it yet please go to the internet and do that. After watching it, it's not an exaggeration to say I was frothing at the mouth in anticipation for the release. To see the familiar faces of the Big 3 that started it all was surreal, especially after we've all just been in limbo after Infinity War, yearning for answers after The Snap. I'll be honest, as a commercial for a movie...it's a little lacking. None of the reveals shock, and most of what you see is stuff we all could have guessed would be in the next Avengers movie. I mean, even I called Clint donning the Ronin outfit for A4 way back, but that doesn't mean it wasn't still awesome to see. This was just a taste, I get it, so I'm not too fussed. Plus I'm sure the next trailer will give away too much, but it'll be nice to see a glimpse of what's to come In the end, it's Marvel, so I'm literally hard with anticipation for this movie, regardless of what's going on. So don't worry, I'll talk about this one at length for the next while. But I filmed this episode before seeing the trailer, so it'll have to be the next D&B episode that's got my rant on the viewing. I guess sit tight until then.

As per usual, Fortnite will also share the spotlight as with any given episode. This time though, the appreciation and attention is well deserved. We just kicked off season 7 yesterday, and it's already proved to be the most fun time I've had in the game. Gone is the overarching story, and attempts at a plot driven season (though I'm sure that stuff is still there somewhere), season seven is cool as hell, finally expanding a winter landscape across 1/3 of the island. This makes for refreshing and rewarding firefights, as mountainous and winter terrain creates a whole host of advantages and disadvantages to exploit. As a Canadian, I love the snow, and porting in a winter wonderland in time for Christmas is just a stroke of guaranteed genius for Epic Games. As with all seasons, this one rolled out with some awesome outfits, pick axes and a plethora of other new content. But as I do, I've saved the best for last; this season introduced airplanes! Finally. The X-4 Storming as it's known (I think). Well as an avid fan of vehicular combat in games, dogfights and aerial battles are the Cadillac of a videogame experience for me. These planes are flying fortresses, able to dish out machine gun fire and boost into a ramming maneuver at will. But despite all that, they're fairly graceful and actually allow for some pretty fancy flying. I've been racking up some of the most fun and wild battles I've had in all the seven seasons I've played the game today, sometimes from simply trying to survive the mad dash everyone's making for the airfields. Anyway guys, get out there and enjoy, because this is closest to Battlefield that Fortnite has ever been.

I mentioned in video, but wanted to reiterate that everyone should be checking out MovieFights by Screen Junkies on YouTube. Ya'll know I'm a fan, but the past few bouts have been so entertaining and sharp, I definitely recommend everyone check them out again. There's actually a title match waiting to happen too, so the stakes have never been higher (or should I say "deeper" #Sharknation).

Thanks for listening guys, I'm already looking forward to the next few episodes, and the renewed Marvel hysteria that's taking root everywhere. Plus I saw Annihilation, and am happy to compliment anything by the always skilled Natalie Portman next time too.

The one where he finds out he's a dad

Elliot — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 14:59:57 +0000

Well the title says it all. To be honest, I've known for a little while but figured I'd sync it up to when we announced to the masses. So yeah, mazels to me. The wife is I think 4 months along, so expect that as time goes on there's gonna be some nerd dad type episodes. It'll be good, don't worry. We did "best movie mom" once, so lets talk "best movie dad" in the next episode.

Mostly this was just a chance to talk about/muse on the news. I definitely have the inclusion of some game stuff, because hey that's what we do. Enjoy guys, I'm aiming to see Wreck It 2 soon so please let's all just pray that it's not as disappointing as Crimes of Grindelwald.

Also if you were interested, the Podcast I mentioned in episode that I do with my colleague is "Bubbies in Suits" on podcasts.com and iTunes podcasts.

Cheers guys, stay warm out there.

A mixed platter, caution; contains mild politics

Elliot — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 14:45:02 +0000

Hey hey guys. Today was in response to me being stuck watching the news for most of my day. Not my first choice of activity. I like to keep aware of whats going on, mostly just with fast facts from trusted sources. But I do not consider myself a particularly politically active dude. Always very open for a discussion and a pow-wow to discuss ideas. But talkin' politics gets hard yo. People get mad. So we're keeping it civil today, and just covering a bunch of topics.

Thanks and as always enjoy, let me know what kinda flavours you guys want more (or less) of.

Seconds of Red Dead the Second. Also talking about the TV Gotham

Elliot — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 20:27:30 +0000

G'day ya'll. As that'll suggest, this episode WILL have more Red Dead Redemption in it. I can't cover how much fun I'm having, and I guess you'll get a sense of that in the vid. Tons of crazy shit's out there for you to do, though I have a fondness for bounty hunting and train robbing.

Also Gotham is a spicy number. Admittedly the show's first season is a little rough, but man does it get better. By the time you're caught up, you've gotten to see some of your favourite DC (Bat-centric) characters grow and come into their own. It's a great show and you wind up having some pretty unlikely favourites.

You'll see another Red Dead video coming up I'm sure, but I'll leave it there for now. Adios partners.

Good god Red Dead is good!

Elliot — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 20:05:51 +0000

Howdy partners. I obviously opened with that because I'm hardcore into this game right now. Red Dead Redemption 2 is fantastic and lets you go on an cowboy epic that's immersive as hell (as I'll mention a lot in the video).

Gameplay is as open as you'd want, with the detail and freedom to pretty much do anything you can think of. The horses are fun to stylize and saddles can be kitted out to. There's hella minigames and gambling chances, and of course so much stuff to hunt (and skin). Of course customizing your gun, hat and duds is mandatory and when you're walking around in a cowboy you've designed is a satisfying experience.

If I could find one thing a challenge, its the consequences for cutting loose. Not to sound like a murderer, but it's really fun to have an old school saloon shoot out and waste a bunch of fools. Though the $300 bounty following is an annoying thing to contend with though, no matter how fun the slaughter. The game is perfect though, this just makes you reflect on yourself.

I'm sure there's other stuff in there, but see ya'll on the trail.

Oh snap, it's Spiderman time. And let me complain about Hereditary for a sec.

Elliot — Wed, 24 Oct 2018 15:18:23 +0000

What's up true believers. Going hard Marvel today, which I guess is a welcome break from the DC love-fest that this podcast is. I finally picked up Spooderman for PS4, holy shit is it fun. Grab the game as soon as you can, its such a good time.

Spiderman doesn't get the respect he deserves. Guy fights hard, street level and planetary level, and I've always loved that. I have a theory that everyone actually loves/loved Spiderman at a certain age (usually as kids). He's fun, colourful, a good dude, etc. I remember web-shooting as a kid, and I think we all do. Somewhere along the lines we fall away from the Spider, but this game definitely rewarms appreciation for Peter and his webbed quips.

Lastly, what the fuck was wrong with Hereditary? Really, I don't know. I didn't like it, and I don't know why. But that does still mean it was disappointing, and that hurt after all the hype of how its the new uberfilm. Ah well. Maybe the family can sell off her model dioramas as Warhammer terrain somewhere.

Cheers guys, enjoy whats left of October. I'll definitely do a Halloween episode, possibly of my D&D groups Halloween themed mission, because that's obviously cool.

A Tasting of Trailers

Elliot — Wed, 24 Oct 2018 15:04:43 +0000

How about that Autumn? Anyway, just a short pod today since it's mostly just reactions and speculations to trailers. It maybe a little late on some of them, but i think that makes it funnier. Porbaly not though.

Cheers!

A short-film pitch for DC, plus sampling the indie comic market

Elliot — Sun, 23 Sep 2018 13:40:38 +0000

Hey hey. Just another episode for you guys to check out. I've been a little busy to cook these up fast enough, but I'm trying.

As I said a few podcasts back, here is my short film idea I've been sitting on for a bit. Could use some work, and I'd love to hear suggestions. But I think this property has been totally under-serviced by films, and I feel there's some actual darkness to work with in the character (instead of differing from the source material to just be Snyder Dark). What a twist!

Speaking of comics, Black Hammer and Lazarus are both fantastic titles. You aways know it's good when you're hooked from Vol. 1

Probably some other stuff in there too, enjoy. And with the arrival of Autumn weather, I can finally go back to saying "Winter is Coming".

TeenTitans, Rich Asians and Tomato Temple

Elliot — Fri, 24 Aug 2018 19:59:46 +0000

Hello again people. As I mentioned in the cast, I'm bogged down by some kind of cold like affliction, so audio and volume are what they are. Sniffles included. I went to a "double feature screening" with my wife over the weekend, and we took in two very different movies. Both had ups and downs, but you'll hear me get into it.

Also, yeah more Fortnite stuff. Pretty substantial new map additions, skins and others neat distractions. It's the updates that really make the game worthwhile, so check them out before they're replaced by far worse things. And make yourself that tea.

I've been sitting on a script for an indie DC movie about a pretty unappreciated (screen wise) character. Definitely going to go into that in the next cast or so.

Highland opinions, boardgames and something spooky on Netflix

Elliot — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 00:24:31 +0000

Aye, "Highland" as in Scottish. This episode's got a few things, from a surprisingly original Netflix horror movie, to a calm-but-fun board-game recommendation. Though it may confuse my D&D group (since this accent is most of their NPCs) I channel my Scottish roots to go on about some famous, noteworthy or under-appreciated scotch swiggin' film characters. But as per usual, immediately after recording I realized how many crucial ones I forgot. So please forgive me Mike Myers, the MacKenzie parents in So I Married an Axe Murderer are definitely top tier.

And the worst part of a horror movie about a monster that can disappear when you turn the lights on, is how bullshit you feel going to sleep in your dark house afterwards, knowing you can't do fuck all to the ghost. Although the movie did have some pretty shoddy plot holes at the end, seems like anyone with a blacklight could have killed Dianna, but that's none of my business I guess.

Well enjoy folks, and even more culture and the appropriating of it coming soon! Cheers.

Finally seeing AntMan, and the sad topic of replacing Batfleck

Elliot — Sun, 12 Aug 2018 23:53:51 +0000

Good day to you all. I finally got the opportunity to go to the theatre, and to drag my wife to another summer blockbuster. AntMan and the Wasp was really worthwhile, I'd highly recommend checking it out. It's so nice to be able to laugh (and not sweat and grip my seat) in a Marvel movie, since watching Infinity War was emotionally exhaustive (the first time anyway). Okay, every time.

It's also come to light that Ben Affleck is increasingly displeased with his involvement as Batman, and now we all have to go back to worrying about if they're going to replace him, and if it'll be a lateral move. I'm a huge fan of Batfleck, so this was troubling to hear for sure. But I've been looking into it and discussing the matter with some folks, and there's some worthwhile theories and speculations cropping up. Hopefully he doesn't go too far from the project, it was nice having an actual fan of the characters filling in the role. Fingers crossed for the future guys.

More good stuff coming soon, though summer bike riding has been a hinderance to this process (which is probably a good thing). Take it easy out there people, only a few weeks of this 2018 summer left.

Oh, and hi mom.

Beans gets spooky horror picks, plus the good Avatar

Elliot — Mon, 30 Jul 2018 20:25:10 +0000

Ahoy hoy! So I do need to catch up on my spook content levels, so I'm going to lay down two of my all time favourite "horror" films. I think my choices here deviate a little outside of the Friday the 13th contenders that make everyone's shortlist. What We Do In The Shadows is an absolute delight, a dark and twisted interview with vampires. But the gentle touch from Taika Waititi makes it funny as hell if that's your cup of tea. Cabin in the Woods is fantastic as well, the most horror tropes and cliches in one film, but man does it work. This love letter to the genre is tight, and hits all the marks with humour, gore, jump-scares, b grade horror nudity, horror monsters and more.

I recently got through to my wife to sit down and watch Avatar the Last Air Bender, and obviously she loves it. But this is my umpteenth watch through, so I'm looking at it a little more closely. Fuck do I love this show, and it ages like George Clooney, animation still looking sharp now. The story goes from lighthearted adventuring to looming battles, genocides and subtle subtexts throughout. It's always great, check it out, and absolutely as always R.I.P. Mako

See ya next time

Sadness again in Toronto, and some ASMR speculation

Elliot — Mon, 30 Jul 2018 19:36:14 +0000

Hello again. So today I wanted to make a video in response to another tragic event in Toronto. One of the fist videos I made (and some of the motivation to make) was from the terrorist van attack in Toronto many months ago. Now, again, there's an attack that so far ISIS has claimed responsibility for, and it's resulted in the deaths of two young innocent people and many more injured. It obviously sucks and is awful for the families. Below is a link to the news explaining the event, and then another to the charity page aimed at helping victims.

1) https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/toronto/article-mass-shooting-on-torontos-danforth-avenue-what-we-know-so-far/
2) https://ca.gofundme.com/danforth-shooting-victims-fund

And yes, there was an annoying amount of breathing that showed up in the video, I'm sorry, I'm working on that.

So I've been hearing a lot about ASMR lately. I've been a longtime fan, and occasional evening user as a sleep aid. But lately its become really mainstream, which (Hipsters aside) is great news. Means tons more content, and if you haven't checked it out, you should. Think of it like getting relaxed from watching people getting relaxed, if that makes sense. I've also heard from some people that ASMR might be a good fit for my tone and sound, so let me know what your thoughts on that are.

Justice not vengeance guys.

Watch the Watchmen!

Elliot — Mon, 30 Jul 2018 19:14:55 +0000

Come on, this one speaks for itself. Both one of the "best movies" and one of the best "comic book movies" ever. A beautiful snapshot of the Cold War and a grim picture of realistic superheroes in our world. I loved this movie so much it was foundational to a book I had published in University; Superheroes & the Cold War. So that is to say, extremely dorky, but also this movie offers up a lot. And honestly, the score alone is a stand out, some of the best jams from across a few decades. There's not a lot else out there as good as this.

Enjoy amigos

The outside world! Taking the show on a road.

Elliot — Mon, 30 Jul 2018 18:47:54 +0000

Hey guys. Usually I record at my place, in front of a screen of some kind, so today I decided to unplug it a bit. I headed to the outdoors of a local Provincial park, and just threw around some ideas on route. Kinda a mixed bag, I'm sure I'll do something similar soon, but yeah that is the wind you can hear some time, so I apologize for that.

It also gets pretty American at the end there, I'm a big fan of American history and things, so it's nice to get into those stars and stripes sometime.

An incomplete Fallout wandering and rambling

Elliot — Mon, 30 Jul 2018 18:41:25 +0000

Hey my dudes. In this episode I wanted to talk about how much I love Fallout 4, like the amount of love was enough to Platinum the game (my first and only) so that's a thing. For some reason I had recorded this episode, but then ran into an assload of problems. First the original recording cut out halfway through, so it was missing its other half. Then, I rerecorded the episode, only for it to save in two parts...which the first was apparently deleted. Whatever man. Here it is, a feast of Fallout, and I'll definitely give it another fully detailed spotlight eventually.

And do check out the Dunwich Borers if you haven't, collecting that weapon reward is one of the best items you can hoard and use. I'm sure everyone's mad proud of their own Sanctuary Hills, but mine has a quite elegance. Shit's fancy yo, definitely more on that later.

D&D and RPG usual suspects, and perhaps other stuff

Elliot — Wed, 04 Jul 2018 16:50:43 +0000

What can I do for ya?! Getting into it this episode on some RPG creative elements. I was talking shop with another DM (guess GM is more inclusive) and we were trading notes on our stable of old reliable characters. The kind of archetypal, almost intuitive NPC's that you can whip up a moments notice, or even put to paper way in advance of a mission. The group I run with now has a penchant for over-asking about NPCs, and over engaging with them. That takes an encounter like "a passing merchant offers you a ride on his cart" to one wherein they've interrogated this newly named, fleshed out wool merchant about his political leanings and extensive family history. You always gotta be ready to throw shit back in the groups face, and no GM wants to blank and not have a character ready to go.

I always record my episodes here in one sitting, and use zero editing software (since I don't have any...) so these were characters that just snap to mind (which is part of this whole exercise). Always make sure you can whip up a world for your players, even if it's completely the opposite direction or expectation from what you had planned. Also, for real, no offence to anyone with accents, linguistics are straight up fascinating.

Take a look at some very thrown together NPC frame examples. Feel free to change names to suit your 'verse (Arabia is the Mid-East in the Warhammer world, etc.):

-Angus: Great Scot! This is my catchall character voice for many a fantasy NPCs. The accent suits dwarves so perfectly, I almost always pair the two up. But it's still versatile and you can be a guttural barbarian lord, drunken town innkeeper, staunchly trained blacksmith or anything in between.

-Farouk: The quick to anger, "generically Arabian" Shuk merchant, or an experienced dessert mercenary who's quick to draw his blade.

-Pei Ling: The hasty Chinese servant/chef/business owner who's unmatched in the arts of the bargain. Or perhaps he's a town guard captain with no patience for new strangers in town and their nonsense.

-Lord Cuthbert: The villain. I'll go into this one at length in the podcast, but British accents (especially the high accents) have an unparalleled gift for sounding villainous. That's not to say evil, as I argue the German accent comes off as way more suspiciously evil automatically (stay tuned for my Klaus characters in a coming Ep.) But the British drawl has a way of sounding calculated, intelligent and dangerous most of the time. You can play this up or down from a devious and scheming Baron/Lord, to a shrewd and clever member of the aristocracy.

-Duke Renoir, Conquistador Compella and Baron Vigioni: European romantic accents give such a wide range of applications, for most walks of life characters. Definitely expect to see more on these later, for Euro-type fantasy settings, these are your knights, holy men, royalty, court, merchants and etc.

-Shlomo the Wise: I always love throwing in a good old Jewish character in the mix, the blend of humour, wiseness and a dash of stereotype always makes for a good time. Passing Bards, merchants or (of course) goldsmiths make for great bases to ground these guys in.

-The funny ones: Some accents are hard to bring to life without the characters coming across as silly, but I still say that gritty, urban Yuan-ti with the fast talking fierceness of a Mexican accent can play.

-Pirates: I can't believe I neglected to throw this one down. I love pirates, accent included, and it makes up for probably 30% of the NPC voices my party runs into. Who doesn't like the old "yarr" now and again? I'll swashbuckle up a Pirate Captain or adventuring smuggler character here very soon.

Well that's about it, I encourage you to listen in and tell me what you think of the roster. I'll be going into more RP stuff in the future, so stay tuned.

Jurassic World 2 thoughts, and finally winding down on GoW

Elliot — Wed, 04 Jul 2018 15:38:26 +0000

Oh, didn't see you there. This episode is pretty straightforward, just felt like going on about Jurassic Fallen Kingdom as soon as it ended. I liked it, make no mistake. But at the same time, Jurassic franchise contenders all get bogged down in some areas that I'll talk on. I've also got some "outlandish" hopes and visions for where the franchise should go from here. So take all that with a grain of something.

Also, did the laser/sonic raptor targeting/aiming system really work? I mean, as a plot device. Not really, not just for the feasibility, but also because they introduce it and never use it in a way organic to the plot. Also, why wasn't there more Chris Pratt snuggling Blue as a baby/adolescent/kawaii raptor? It was great.

I finally finished enough of God of Four that I can safely put the controller down. That is to say, the main storyline course is done and now theres just delicious sliders of side quests. I think I forgot to mention it in the video, but fuck Valkyries. Not the beautiful maidens of Aesir mythology that take the fallen souls of warriors to Valhalla after a glorious death... no, not them. The fuck ugly, bird looking assholes that I have to now defeat across the world. They are, no joke, harder than any in game boss encountered thus far. Which is, admittedly a really cool game feature for replay-ability. But also Hela (see what I did there) frustrating. I'm grinding mad side quests for the Dwarves to up my gear to flatten these fucks, so wish me luck. I beat the game without extending my health-bar at all though, so that's probably a thing too.

Keep an eye out for those flashing red attacks guys, cheers.

A dark DCU pitch to get Red Hood involved. Plus some random fry-ups

Elliot — Wed, 27 Jun 2018 17:50:44 +0000

Hey guys. This is one of those ideas that you formulate because you want to see your favourite character in something, and not necessarily because it seems like a good plan. I really want to see Jason Todd (not original but best Red Hood) in the DC cinematic universe. I think the world is gritty enough to support the origins of the character, his robust and angsty nature, and the possibility of killing him off. We've already been blessed by a pretty great adaptation of the Under The Red Hood comic, so this movie will have to be original, and depart from the classic telling. Similarly, if you modernize it too much, you risk treading on the Arkham Knight portrayal which is fantastic, but not what I see being integrated in the film 'verse.

Jason Todd will still be the reckless, orphan boy who is discovered whilst trying to pry the tires off the Batmobile, but we will see a depth to his origin, a desire to help others, and also the skewed sense of justice and violence that we come to expect from him in his later years. It's after his death, at the hands of the Joker and Harley Quinn, that we discover a fraction in the League of Assassins. Talia Al Ghul and her loyalist members (like Bronze Tiger, Lady Shiva, etc.) fracture away from Ra's Al Ghul after witnessing his reliance on the Joker for his latest scheme. They feel his direction is off, and the time for his daughter to lead the empire is now. Talia convinces her followers that the revival and utilization of the dead Robin is a top priority, and he will be a crucial general in their eventual plans and battles. But in truth, she wants to bring him back for love of her "Detective" and hopes that reviving his lost son will curry her favour with Bruce.

As Jason is smuggled into a hidden (and some said tainted) Lazarus Pit, his body and the cave are prepared for a ritual. I won't go too much more into it, but the waters revive Jason and bestow upon him unique powers and armour unseen before. Somewhere between shimmering glassine alien materials, and a daemonic energy and presence, The Red Hood is born again formidable and thankfully new enough that we haven't seen this dog and pony show before. Yes his reflective helmet will stay, but will look unique enough to suggest that perhaps he is a creature from the beyond, and not just a man under the mask.

I've got a feeling none of this will end up in the DC world, no matter the medium, but hey. Enjoy the ramblings none the less.

Also God of Four continues to be awesome. I have a soft spot for games that reflect cosmetically the upgrades you give your armour and stuff. So every additional dwarven detail or gold border to the Leviathan Axe makes me drool that little bit more.

Stay alive out there guys, let me know what you like/hate this week.

Cheers

God of War feeds your Aesir fix. Also, you can skip Mother! for any other movie.

Elliot — Wed, 27 Jun 2018 16:17:48 +0000

Hey guys. Today I'm coming in with a whole dwarven minecart of love for the new God of War, which I've taken to just calling God of Four for lack of an identifying name. This game is everything, it's not only a kickass game, and artistically stunning mini movie, but also just a great way to experience and immerse yourself in the wide world of Norse mythology. As I mention, I'm a fan (amateur scholar) of mythology, and this guy is no slouch when it comes to bringing homework to the table. GoW is well researched, well constructed, and as much fun as ever. The GoW flavour, and scale of fighting beasts that simply dwarf Kratos is back in full effect. Working up from trolls and giants, when you do (spoiler) finally encounter and slay a dragon, it's understandably epic. The beast itself is such an original interpretation, it goes to show what you're dealing with in game, and why God of Four is fresh as hell yo.

But speaking of what's not fresh as hell; Mother! Look, I get it, it's a well made movie. There's lots of bible stuff, lots of artistic choices....lots of stuff. But it was overly confusing, fatiguing, and felt poorly paced with a supremely unsatisfying ending. Go see REC or something.

Until next time.

Avengers aging like a wine, and the off-brand Counter Strike

Elliot — Thu, 21 Jun 2018 17:28:35 +0000

Hey guys. Do you ever "ration" shows or movies? Like, even though you love it, you try to limit the amount of times you binge it because (like with the records of old,) it diminishes ever so slightly with every rewatch? I do that. Well some movies I just enjoy so much that there's no such thing as diminishing returns, and they're perpetually amazing (The Dark Knight, Shanghai Noon, etc.). But often even the best stuff can become a bit stale. Avengers is one of those movies for me, it's such a great film but I try to keep it fresh. Unfortunately every rewatch makes me realize more and more how slow the first act is, and how badly handled Hawkeye was. But I love it, and I share a bit on how special for me personally and at large the release of the OG Avengers was.

Enter a Cap Rant:
As a real Cap fan, Avengers always struck me as a step down from the level of significance that Captain America should wield on the team. At the time I felt a little short changed by how Joss handled Steve Rogers and his role in the Avengers. But what I have to pay respect to is Captain America truly evolves into the most developed team member (though subtly), and earns the place on the team that we all expected coming from the comics. By Winter Soldier we see a much darker and grittier Cap, definitely being effected by his experiences and the modern world. And Avengers 2 finally shows us Captain America as the acting captain of the Avengers, calling the shots and leading from the front. The Marvel universe's heroes look to Cap, for direction and guidance. And though he's not as widely known in the MCU as in the comics, they definitely do that element of C.A. justice. From then on he only gets better, but by the time we reach Infinity War he seems ready to cross the Nomad arc off of his to do list too.

Also, Black Squad: a lot of fast, easy fun. And oh yeah, it's free! That's always the best right. This game feels like the Walmart brand Counter Strike, but that's not totally a bad thing. It's tight gameplay, good weapons and a fun free to play shooter with friends.

Thanks for listening folks.

Board Games, Ford Games, and almost a Fortnite Movie

Elliot — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 22:35:13 +0000

Hey guys. Today is a bunch of different stuff, and I assure you the title isn't click bait. If you want a movie that is a gritty, dark, and sci style Fortnite, then there is a film for you; Predators. No, not that one, the one with Adrian Brody. I love it, but more to the point it's got strong parallels to what a Fortnite movie would look like (and let's face it, we'll get one eventually).

Besides that, just serving up more beans. I got to dabble into my board game collection and finally learned a great game I've been meaning to decipher and understand. Turned out to be way easy and super fun (the best combo). I try not to get too political, but there was a local election that's got some global eyes one it, so it had me thinking. I do usually lean NDP or Liberal (a quick Google search can answer your questions) and this election saw them both beaten by a famous name. Electing someone because they're part of a dynasty seems like a poor choice, especially when the dynasty was a bigoted, crack smoking legacy of poor choices. Either way, hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

Enjoy the listen, and good luck out there everyone.

Attack of the Clones, here's why you're wrong for hating it.

Elliot — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 21:40:56 +0000

Sorry Jeff.

I saw Solo and it was pretty bad. I'll get into it, but low stakes, unnecessary and a smidge forgettable. It begged the question what's the best and worst Star Wars films, and what kind of ranking are we looking at here. I maintain that there's a bunch of reasons why Attack of the Clones is a contender for the best movie in the franchise. Not as a "film" but specifically as a "Star Wars film". It bolsters the number of characters, galactic entities and conflicts. It establishes the major players in the events that essentially shape all of the SW lore to follow (yes I know you met Anakin before, but boy Anakin is not the same character as pre-Vader Bananakin). Plus it was the new height of possible CGI saturation that George could (and has always wanted to) cram in there anyway.

Take a listen, let me know your thoughts. And as per usual, there will undoubtedly be random and deviated topics as well. So enjoy.

Cuban food is a lot like the movie Solo, and other things.

Elliot — Thu, 31 May 2018 15:53:06 +0000

Hey guys.

And the (title) reason is because both of them look great, come with high (but not too high) expectations, and try their best to pay homage to their original creative roots. Both of them flop, however, in most ways. Cuba is a lovely country but the food is an attempt to make dishes familiar North Americans, but with lacking ingredients and familiar brand flavours. Much of it is great, but much is just a bowl of butter (story in podcast). Solo was a "Star War's flavoured movie", not an original magical, fresh I.P. from Lucasfilms, but the Walmart off brand version of it that calls them Laser Swords. Not a bad watch, but bottom of the Star Wars totem pole.

The movies were a mixed-bag, as Deadpool 2 was delicious and a ton of fun. I'll get into some random stuff and catch you guys up, but let me know what you like and or didn't, and such.

Cheers!

Malcom in the Middle, Earth 277's Robins. And Avengers 4; Thantastic speculation.

Elliot — Thu, 17 May 2018 18:36:19 +0000

Ahoy hoy. A lot of different meats in this chilli today. Reflecting on Marvel's top tier Hawkeye run under Matt Fraction. Plus my big revelation that the Malcom and the Middle sons are direct parallels of the Bat sons was something I enjoyed pondering. Plus, Villains on the side of the law for Avengers 4; Thantastic. Catch a listen why don't you.

Serving up a lengthy talk on Warhammer. And Marvel cast gatherings, so priceless.

Elliot — Fri, 11 May 2018 16:29:42 +0000

Hey guys. Was really enjoying seeing the Infinity War cast come together to do so many skits. The Star Tours, Family Feud, it's been hilarious. These guys seem pretty cool, and it's even better when (if you're like) you just picture them as their super alter egos anyway. So yeah Warhammer is great and I'll rant a little bit about how I got playing, and the armies I collected. Well enjoy, let me know your thoughts.

Comics, new and old. And a smidge of net freedom stuff.

Elliot — Thu, 10 May 2018 15:30:51 +0000

Hey guys. Just more of those comic talks. Our 'ol pal Batman's new Rebirth title is getting some traction now; a welcome change from the "meh" of vol. 1. Also, that classic gem House of M was kinda underrated, and the movies have pretty much buried it. What are your thoughts? And what's that X-Men comic I was talking about, the one with #magnetojesus

And yeah, check out the battle for the net below (totally sounds like a ReBoot episode):
Info: https://www.cnet.com/news/red-alert-how-the-internet-is-supporting-net-neutrality-today/
Take Action: https://www.battleforthenet.com/

Cheers!

Thanos, welcome to Tilted. Plus, moms in film.

Elliot — Tue, 08 May 2018 17:33:37 +0000

Hey guys. Compared to a game like PokemonGo, Fortnite puts it out. They hit you with updates, store inventory, game modes and new goods constantly. And if you thought that it's quantity over quality, you wrong son. The new Infinity Gauntlet game mode is awesome, and brings a crazy refreshing (and balls out) dynamic to this awesome survival experience.

Also, in light of the fast approaching Mother's Day; who's the best movie mom?

Cheers!

I was right, it was number 5. World of Pirates, appreciated

Elliot — Tue, 08 May 2018 17:25:10 +0000

Hey guys. I was rewatching the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise recently and it made me remember how much lore there is there not being explored. Great characters, myths and movie potential. Check it out, there might be other stuff in there too.

The MovieFights super episode, crossover, event-thing in support of Women in Film came and went, and it was awesome. Everything and everyone you'd want to see are there, and it's great. Especially finally seeing Mike Carlson go toe to toe with puppets (Felt Americans) in the ring.

A Fortnite of fun, and some MovieFights love

Elliot — Thu, 03 May 2018 23:50:45 +0000

Hey folks! This is just a short episode, felt like sharing some of the things that have been taking up all of my time lately. Fortnite is a great, refreshingly unique game experience and I totally think it's worth you guys checking out (oh, it's free, so there's that too).

Also I'm gonna shout out to a channel who needs absolutely no introduction. Screen Junkies puts out some of the best content online if you like movies or culture (and who doesn't). But it's their MovieFights series that absolutely kills it. If you wanted to hear nerds and movie buffs argue for a wrestling belt, you better believe that's the show for you. Great guests, amazing dialogue and definitely original ideas #botanicus

Got more content coming soon, so feel free to let me know what you like, hate and any suggestions ya'll might have!

Cheers

Injustice serves up justice

Elliot — Thu, 03 May 2018 23:39:55 +0000

Hey folks! This one starts off a little heavy because I wanted to take a minute to shed light on the tragedy in my hometown of Toronto. It was beyond tragic what happened, and anything you guys can help always goes a long way ( https://torontofoundation.ca/torontostrong/ ).

Besides that, this episode is full to the brim with other dorkish pursuits. I'm talking some D&D and character ideas for it. And speaking of characters, the awesome creations from Brian K Vaughn's Saga series. Which is just so damn good. All of that leading into some talks about what I'm considering DC's best sleeper hit of the past 5 years; Injustice. From game, to mind-blowing comic, to now slightly less good comic, Injustice is a tour de force and I would urge people to go and read it asap, though it's in like 11 volumes so maybe pace yourself.

Infinity War, 10 years of buildup well spent

Elliot — Thu, 03 May 2018 23:27:46 +0000

Hey folks. Just a chance to finally put some words down about how amazing Infinity War is. I assure you I will have much more to say on it as I continue to visit the theatre as much as possible. Go see it if you have not already. And if you havn't, ask yourself what you're even doing with yourself. It's just so groovy.

My mic quality was an issue a bit in this ep, but has been fixed since. I know, nobody likes that noise.

Cheers!

First is the worst

Elliot — Thu, 03 May 2018 21:36:02 +0000

Everything starts somewhere, so here we go! This one's brief, so if you like what you hear, this is the place for you. Consider it more of a meet and greet, but there's lots more on the way.Â