Cosmic Circus Podcasts

Latest Episodes:

Tatami - A Gripping High Stakes Sports/Political Drama | Cosmic Circus Reviews Aug 20, 2024

Show notes

Tatami is an Iranian-Israeli production based loosely on the real life story of exiled #judoka Saeid Mollaei. The film stars Arienne Mandi and Zar Amir Ebrahimi, and is directed by Ebrahimi and Guy Nattiv. Part sports tournament and part political drama, Tatami is one of the most harrowing and heroic experiences of the year.

Find the full video review on YouTube @TheCosmicCircus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS0N2Bg0-N8

Timestamps for this review of Tatami 00:10 - Intro 02:00 - Tatami is a high stakes sports drama mixed with a harrowing political drama and powerful performances 04:00 - Time flies by, deeply invested in the characters and harrowing story 05:45 - Cinematography and music 06:55 - Narration in English from sports casters adds a lot to it 07:25 - Emotionally gripping story 08:00 - Sets and stunts 09:45 - Highly recommended film if you like strong women, sports drama, political drama

For more nerdy pop culture coverage, including movie and TV news, reviews, and interviews by The Cosmic Circus contributors, visit https://www.thecosmiccircus.com

Alien: Romulus | Cosmic Circus Reviews Aug 17, 2024

Show notes

Here's John and Vin's deep dive into the latest film in the Alien franchise, Alien: Romulus, directed by Fede Álvarez and written by Álvarez & Rodo Sayagues. It stars Cailee Spaeny as Rain, David Jonsson as Andy, and Isabela Merced as Kay.

Find the full video review on YouTube @TheCosmicCircus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPpUhd1RUQ0

Alien: Romulus review timestamps 00:10 - Intro 01:00 - Initial reaction and spoiler free thoughts for Alien: Romulus. Is this The Force Awakens for Alien 10:00 - Other parallels with Star Wars. 12:15 - Watching Prometheus may add to the experience and explain some things 14:09 - Alien: Romulus in IMAX 15:30 - The quality of sets, props and cinematography 17:50 - Actor performances in the film 19:30 - New additions to android lore and theories 20:45 - Beginning of spoiler discussion for Alien: Romulus. Issues with new rules for alien development and hybrid alien growth. 34:45 - Mixing all of the previous films in one, Easter eggs, and call backs 41:19 - Ridley Scott's first film, and the lack of philosophical questions in Romulus. 47:00 - Ripley vs Rain as our main hero 49:30 - Feeling less connected with the new group of characters than some previous films 50:23 - A need for a woman to direct or write something in the Alien franchise finally 53:20 - Ranking the Alien films 55:00 - Talking about the upcoming Alien TV series 56:00 - Outro

John's early reaction to Romulus https://youtu.be/fiqL6Lz55b4?si=O5wqY9lms9EdIAdv

John and Vin's retrospective review of the Alien films https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7PtoNooZTA

For more nerdy pop culture coverage, including movie and TV news, reviews, and interviews by The Cosmic Circus contributors, visit https://www.thecosmiccircus.com

Alien Movies Retrospective | Cosmic Circus Reviews Aug 15, 2024

Show notes

John & Vin reminisce over their first encounter with Alien and share their thoughts on the Alien film franchise ahead of the release of Alien: Romulus.

For the full video of this review go to YouTube @TheCosmicCircus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7PtoNooZTA

Timestamps

00:10 - Intros (SPOILERS) 01:10 - Introduction to the Alien franchise 04:58 - James Cameron and Aliens 08:30 - Alien 3 Assembly Cut vs Theatrical cut, Aliens Special Edition vs theatrical cut 13:20 - Aliens, Terminator 2, Avatar & James Cameron. Parallels between films 18:15 - first Alien film and Romulus 19:00 - more on Alien 3 and Aliens 28:55 - Alien Resurrection 36:30 - Expectations for Alien: Romulus 40:44 - Would we want to see a new trilogy from Alien coming out of this, or something else such as a remake of Alien vs Predator? 43:35 - Alien cameo in Spaceballs 45:30 - Ridley Scott's Alien and that brilliant first reveal of the monster, Jaws in space 46:50 - Outros

For John's early reaction to Alien: Romulus go to https://youtu.be/fiqL6Lz55b4?si=imb4_CA6z5uaQQ9R

For more nerdy pop culture coverage, including movie and TV news, reviews, and interviews by The Cosmic Circus contributors, visit https://www.thecosmiccircus.com

The Count of Monte Cristo (2024) | Cosmic Circus Reviews Aug 14, 2024

Show notes

Vin reviews the 2024 French film The Count of Monte Cristo from directors Alexandre de La Patellière and Matthieu Delaporte. Let us know below in the comments if you want to check out this movie when it hits theaters near you!

Find the full video review at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC0InqJz1eE

Timestamps 00:10 - Intro 00:35 - The story of The Count of Monte Cristo 01:30 - Cinematography and score of this new film 02:27 - Adapting the story from the famous book 03:55 - is a 3 hour movie too long or not enough time to tell this story? 04:45 - The Count of Monte Cristo as an inspiration for superhero and masked vigilantes seeking justice in films and a classic archetype. 05:55 - The Three Musketeers - Part I: D'Artagnan and The Three Musketeers - Part II: Milady, 2023 films from the same filmmakers. 06:36 - Outros

For more nerdy pop culture coverage, including movie and TV news, reviews, and interviews by The Cosmic Circus contributors, visit https://www.thecosmiccircus.com

Trap Starring Josh Hartnett, Directed by M. Night Shyamalan | Cosmic Circus Reviews Aug 07, 2024

Show notes

John and Vin talk about the new M. Night Shyamalan film Trap starring Josh Hartnett.

For the full video review go to YouTube @TheCosmicCircus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jgz4cRUJndA

Timestamps 00:10 - Intro 00:49 - Initial thoughts on and expectations about Trap before seeing the film 03:00 - Expectations vs reality seeing Trap 05:15 - absurd moments in the movie 05:55 - John Hartnett and his character in Trap 08:00 - Rashomon effect, multiple stories could have been told from several different character perspectives. 10:13 - Compared to our recently reviewed movie Twisters 11:16 - Saleka Shyamalan as Lady Raven in the film 12:00 - Compaints 14:56 - SPOILER discussion about Trap 27:20 - Comparing Trap to the rest of M. Night Shyamalan's filmography. 30:00 - Concert portion of the film, comparing the film to some of Ryan Johnson's work such as the Knives Out films, and Looper. 31:49 - Why he can't seem to recapture what he had in Sixth Sense 34:36 - Outros

For more nerdy pop culture coverage, including movie and TV news, reviews, and interviews by The Cosmic Circus contributors, visit https://www.thecosmiccircus.com

Twisters 4DX Experience | Cosmic Circus Reviews Aug 05, 2024

Show notes

John and Vin talk about the Twisters movie 4DX experience! Find out if this is a must see or if it's too much of a good thing!

Timestamps 00:15 - Intro 00:40 - Did Vin survive the Twisters 4DX experience? 03:50 - Talking about older and shorter 4DX experiences. 06:30 - How is the immersive experience with 4DX Twisters? 07:57 - Would Vin do it again? 08:15 - Outro

Find the video review on YouTube @theCosmicCircus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWMx448WIbk

Vin and John's review of Twisters: https://youtu.be/bMvSpoQ8tEU?si=yrPw-NzUpzWzn_z9

Brian's ScreenX experience for Twisters: https://thecosmiccircus.com/review-twisters-screenx-experience/

John's written review of Twisters: https://thecosmiccircus.com/twisters-review-universal/

Deadpool & Wolverine Discussion with John and Vin! | Cosmic Circus Reviews Jul 30, 2024

Show notes

John and Vin talk about the newest Marvel Studios film, Deadpool & Wolverine, starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.

Timestamps 00:12 - Intros 00:54 - General thoughts on Deadpool & Wolverine, comparisons to Toy Story 3 06:55 - Discussing the gratuitous use of cameos, and what was the purpose of these characters appearing or the movie itself 09:05 - SPOILER WARNING and more talk about the various cameos in Deadpool & Wolverine. 14:25 - Comparing this film to Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness 16:27 - What worked in Deadpool 3 19:00 - This film and how it compared to the Fox Universe of Marvel films. X-Men Fox movies talk. 22:15 - Vin's Deadpool comics reading guides are mentioned and he says, "the best Deadpool stories are the ones where he suffers the most." They discuss how the stakes should have felt higher than they did in Deadpool & Wolverine 24:00 - The confusing elements of the plot with the Multiverse, the TVA and Cassandra Nova. 25:50 - Strong feelings about Wolverine's yellow suit 27:25 - The end of Toy Story 3 being compared to Deadpool & Wolverine 28:54 - How we feel about Marvel's Multiverse Saga so far 30:15 - James Gunn's DC universe... does Marvel's issues help DC Studios? 32:20 - Deadpool 1 & 2 had real emotions and a good story, whereas Deadpool & Wolverine lacks. 33:55 - Outros

For the full video of this review go to YouTube @thecosmiccircus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZJUMYwucuM

Links referred to in this video...

Uday's movie review of Deadpool & Wolverine: https://thecosmiccircus.com/deadpool-wolverine-review-marvel-studios/

Vin's Deadpool Comics Guide: https://thecosmiccircus.com/deadpool-reading-guide/

Vin's Wolverine Comics Guide: https://thecosmiccircus.com/wolverine-reading-guide/

The Cosmic Circle Podcast Discussion of Deadpool & Wolverine with Brian Kitson, Anthony Flagg & Alex Perez: https://thecosmiccircus.com/deadpool-wolverine-discussion-cosmic-circle-ep-60/

Marvel Studios Hall H Panel at SDCC 2024 with Alex Perez! | The Cosmic Circle Jul 30, 2024

Show notes

San Diego Comic-Con is one of the most significant pop culture events of the year, and this year's celebration was especially hot if you are a Marvel fan! It feels like forever since the last Hall H presentation from the studio back in 2022, so it was electric to have Marvel front and center once again. Marvel's Hall H panel this year focused mainly on three of their upcoming projects: Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, and Fantastic Four: First Steps and also had some big reveals for Avengers 5 and 6. In episode 61 of The Cosmic Circle, podcast host Brian Kitson with fellow writers Anthony Flagg and Alex Perez discuss reveals from the panel. Insider Alex Perez also shares some of what he knows about the future of the MCU and how the Multiverse Saga will come to a close, so beware of spoilers in this podcast!

Podcast credits and show notes Contributors/Writers

Brian Kitson
Anthony Flagg
Alex Perez

Executive Producer/Editor

Lizzie Hill

Find the companion article to this podcast at https://thecosmiccircus.com

Deadpool & Wolverine Movie and Beyond Talk with Brian, Alex, and Anthony! | The Cosmic Circle Jul 29, 2024

Show notes

Deadpool and Wolverine has finally arrived, and we're beyond excited about this film. Not only does it have the responsibility of furthering the story of the MCU, but it also serves as a closing chapter of the 20th Century Fox universe of Marvel characters. So naturally, we had to have a podcast about it! (Spoiler warning!)

Join host and head writer Brian Kitson and fellow writers Anthony Flagg and Alex Perez as they discuss every exciting detail of this newest Marvel Studios offering. Did they think Deadpool and Wolverine was a good movie? What were some of their favorite parts? And just where do they think we'll see these two mutants again in the MCU? This is definitely not a podcast you want to miss, as Alex Perez shares some juicy details about what's next for our favorite merch with the mouth and his newfound family. Enjoy!

Podcast credits and show notes Contributors/Writers

Brian Kitson
Anthony Flagg
Alex Perez

Executive Producer/Editor

Lizzie Hill

Recorded on 7/28/2024

Find the companion article to this podcast at https://thecosmiccircus.com

Twisters Movie Review with John and Vin! | Cosmic Circus Reviews Jul 22, 2024

Show notes

Twisters starring Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones and directed by Lee Isaac Chung! Check out Vin and John's thoughts on the sequel film, what worked and what didn't, and comparisons to the original Twister film (1996).

Timestamps 00:10 - Intros 01:00 - Talking about John's history with the first Twisters movie from 1996 06:00 - Thoughts from a first-time viewer (Vin) of Twister & and Twisters. Comparing the films and general thoughts with no spoilers. 09:45 - Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones in Twisters 11:40 - John's written review on TheCosmicCircus.com and more on comparing the new film with the original 14:30 - SPOILERS for Twisters discussed from this point on 23:30 - Talking about the soundtrack 24:40 - The legacy of Twister and connections (or lack thereof) between the films. 29:00 - On creating a sequel vs a remake 32:08 - Rodeo scene discussed 34:45 - Outros

Find the video review on YouTube @theCosmicCircus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMvSpoQ8tEU

For John's review of Twisters: https://thecosmiccircus.com/twisters-review-universal/

Brian's review of Twisters and his ScreenX experience: https://thecosmiccircus.com/review-twisters-screenx-experience/

Vin's review of the Twisters 4DX experience https://youtu.be/ZWMx448WIbk?si=hE2nI4THQ1lJ6B_I

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