Monthly Archives: August 2016

Mad About The Internet, with Werner Herzog (Frotcast 305)

comedy, movies

With Werner Herzog’s new internet documentary, Lo And Behold: Reveries Of The Connected World expanding this week, the Frotcast is all about the internet. We discuss the actual documentary as well tangents from it. The internet is one the most scalable technologies ever created, but did our humanity scale with it? In Don’t Woke Daddy, we discuss “the satire paradox,” and Malcolm Gladwell’s recent critique of SNL’s Sarah Palin sketches and Steven Colbert. Are we actually trying to change anyone’s mind or just make people laugh? After that, Crystal Corner. Apparently “mysticore” is the new normcore. Hooray for CHAOS MAGICK. Comedian Jane Harrison guests, with Irregular Regular Matt Lieb joining Vince, Bret, and Brendan via Skype. 

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Frotcast 304: Ryan Lochte and French Connection

comedy

This week on the Frotcast, Matt Lieb, Bret, and Brendan are all back in the studio for a discussion of William Friedkin’s The French Connection (1971). Are the cops supposed to be heroic? Is this the best car chase in cinema? What is about a hyper-focused narrative that’s so compelling? All that and more, but first, we talk about Ryan Lochte and his Brazilian robbery (“hobbery”) story and Matt’s in-character appearance (as “LA Matt”) on North Carolina local news. We’ve also got Matt Lieb Improvises Lyrics To Royalty-Free Songs (aka “Royalty Freestyle”), Tales From NPR, Crystal Corner, and a second week in a row where I spend five minutes trying to explain to one of my co-hosts who Miles Teller is. Enjoy. 

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Frotcast 303: Suicide Squad And Development Hell, With Justin Halpern

comedy

We all saw David Ayer’s Suicide Squad this week, which wasn’t great, but is strangely fun to dissect. We discuss the strange development of Suicide Squad, then Justin Halpern comes on to tell us his own strange development stories, from Sh-t My Dad Says to present, along with a great story about John Slattery from Mad Men. We finish things off with Crystal Corner, and “Fill My Hole,” in which we name things to watch, read, and listen to, to fill the emptiness inside. Enjoy! 

6:15 – My defense of my mild positive Suicide Squad review
15:00 – How Suicide Squad is bad, and yet the typical nerd criticisms of it are all wrong.
19:35 – Talking Jared Leto’s performance, the explanation of the Joker’s dumb grill, and how happy Jared Leto makes us. 
22:40 – Movies that are Suicide Squad but better
25:00 – The list of Jared Leto’s favorite books
34:00 – Justin Halpern comes on, interrupting our musical segment
43:00 – Arguing over who has the weirder mouth, Michael Phelps or Andrew Luck
46:30 – The idea of having to sell a creative project after you’ve stopped believing in it.
48:00 – Justin’s wonderful John Slattery story. 
52:15 – The insane development story behind Nine Lives
1:18:00 – Crystal Corner

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Frotcast: The Reboot Episode (302)

comedy, movies

It’s the reboot episode, where The Frotcast becomes simply “Frotcast.” Clean, rad, powerful. Hey, remember your childhood? It’s back! This week on Frotcast, we’re talking all about nostalgia — reboots, prequels, gender swaps, and homages — starting with Stranger Things. Is it even an homage or is it just a fun show? Then, Sympathy For The Drivel, where we name our favorite prequels and try to decide what other thing could use a prequel. Regulars Vince Mancini, Bret, and Brendan are in the Frotquarters this week, with Irregular Regular Matt Lieb joining via phone (LA Matt, #Squib). Old favorite Laremy Legel even drops by with a list, and Millennial Correspondent Joey Avery pops in to explain why Millennials aren’t having the sex anymore. 

6:25 – Stranger Things (no spoilers!)
16:44 – Matt Lieb’s tragic story about being left out of the “suck and blow” game in seventh grade
18:30 – Does a bland or simple narrative help world building/execution
21:12 – The Night Of (again, no real spoilers)
30:00 – Sympathy For The Drivel
37:30 – Jared Leto corner
48:00 – “Okay, Shut Up,” with Brendan’s choice, The Naked Gun
54:22 – The new bumper for Matt Lieb Improvises Lyrics To Royalty-Free Songs (followed by him actually doing a song)
1:02:00 – Email question: What music did you listen to as a youth that you still do, and what did you grow to love?
1:13:13 – Laremy Legel joins us with a brand new list

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