Hard N.O.C. Life

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152. Reflections on Disney's Live Action Remakes Jul 12, 2019

Show notes

This week, Dominic and Keith bring honor to us all by breaking down all of the developments in Nerd Pop -- specifically, Disney's live action remake phenomenon.

Before diving into the Disney movies, Dominic and Keith share their thoughts after finally seeing Spider-Man: Far From Home. Has Dominic come around to the John Hughes-nostalgia-filled MCU Spider-Man movies? Speaking of nostalgia, Keith also does a quick review of Stranger Things season 3 on Netflix and the limits of relying on the '80s aesthetic. The back half of the podcast focuses on Disney's slate of live action remakes -- including, Aladdin, The Lion King, Mulan, and The Little Mermaid. What's the appeal of remaking animated films in live action anyway? They also dig into the racism behind the casting "controversy" of Halle Bailey as Ariel and dig into the Mulan trailer and what that movie means for Asian representation.

No episode next week because both Dom and Keith will be at San Diego Comic-Con, rallying for Rose!

All this and more on Hard NOC Life! Watch it on your screen, hit "play," and check this. Subscribe to all of the podcasts in the Hard NOC Media family on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, NPR One, Spotify, and now on Stitcher Radio! Support us on Patreon!

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops.

151. A Spectacular Spider-Man Podcast Jul 05, 2019

Show notes

With Spider-Man: Far From Home in theaters everywhere, Dominic and Keith look at what works -- and what doesn't -- about the Spider-Man mythos.

Full disclosure: This episode was recorded before either host had a chance to watch Far From Home. That said, both Dominic and Keith reveal their favorite and not-so-favorite aspects of the MCU Spider-Man -- including the John Hughes allusions, the meta subtext in the casting, and what the future of Sony and Marvel's partnership will look like going forward. They also spend some time speculating about Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and which heroes will replace Iron Man and Captain America as the leaders of the Avengers.

What's #NerdPoppin this week (58:00): Rereading Dune in preparation for the upcoming movie -- and the phenomenon of seeing nerd franchise actors crossing over in different movies a la Love Actually. Also, Nerdist mashing up all of the cinematic Spider-Men and DC TV Podcasts raising money for the charity, Magic Wheelchair.

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops.

150. Do Summer Blockbusters Matter Anymore? Jun 28, 2019

Show notes

This week, Dominic and Keith break down the midpoint of the 2019 summer movie blockbuster season.

While Avengers: Endgame broke box office records before summer even started, the rest of the field has failed to live up to the hype. According to Box Office Mojo, the total domestic box office is lagging behind 2018 by nearly 10%. So what accounts for this drop-off? Dominic and Keith cycle through the movies released so far and try to see if there are any bright spots on the horizon. Looking at you, Lion King.

Plus -- the return of What's #NerdPoppin this week (54:00): Neon Genesis Evangelion on Netflix, and new Batman and Michael Jordan action figures from Japanese toy company, MAFEX.

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops.

149. 'Jessica Jones' and the End of Marvel Netflix Jun 21, 2019

Show notes

Guest co-host -- and The Defenders greatest, uh, defender -- Dominic Mah joins Keith to look back at Jessica Jones season 3 and the end of the Marvel Netflix era.

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops.

148. Across the DC Universe Jun 14, 2019

Show notes

Dominic Mah returns to guest co-host Hard NOC Life as he and Keith speculate about the future of DC Entertainment!

They kick-off the discussion by lamenting Warner Bros. Pictures' decision to skip their annual Hall H presentation at Comic-Con, despite having an intriguing slate of DC movies -- like Wonder Woman 1984, Birds of Prey, The Joker, and New Gods -- to promote. A Hall H appearance isn't the only thing DC canceled last week. After a lot of fanfare, and a highly praised debut episode, DC announced it was canceling Swamp Thing from its streaming service. What does this portend for the DC Universe app? Will it be subsumed into Warner's upcoming streaming platform in order to compete with Disney+? Speaking of canceled streaming superhero shows, the third season of Jessica Jones is still making its way to Netflix despite the death of all of its sibling shows. Finally, they break down that Square-Enix Avengers trailer and try to figure out what fans actually want from superhero video games.

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops.

147. 'Detective Pikachu' Writer Dan Hernandez Jun 07, 2019

Show notes

This week on Hard NOC Life, Keith is joined by Dan Hernandez, one-half of the screenwriting duo behind Pokémon: Detective Pikachu.

Keith and Dan have a wide-ranging conversation about the tricky process behind adapting a video game franchise like Pokémon into a well-received live action film. They also discuss creating Netflix's Latinx reboot of the classic Norman Lear sitcom One Day at a Time, being a nerd of color in Hollywood, the pros and cons of nostalgia and fandom, and why people will never fully grasp the beauty and wonder that was 1600 Penn.

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops.

146. King & Queen of the 'New Gods' May 31, 2019

Show notes

Shawn Taylor returns to the podcast to talk about the week comic book writer Tom King just had!

If you follow King's career as closely as the hosts of this podcast do, it was a hell of a week for the award-winning comic scribe. From announcing the premature end of his iconic run on DC Comics' flagship Batman book to wrapping up the controversial mini-series Heroes in Crisis and finally being named screenwriter for Ava DuVernay's upcoming New Gods movie, it was a hell of a week to be Tom King! Shawn and Keith share their hopes for the movie and the future of DC films, including speculation over the direction of Matt Reeves' The Batman, officially starring Robert Pattinson.

Shawn also gives some updates on what he's been doing recently -- like this Frank Talk on fandom he gave in Florida.

What's #NerdPoppin this week (33:30): Shawn formed a brand new company, Drum and Gourd Wonder Lab, launching in 2020 to create cultural artifacts and play spaces for the African diaspora. And Keith promotes the NOC podcasts The Middle Geeks and Southern Fried Asian featuring author Soman Chainani.

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops.

145. Zack Stentz at the 'Rim of the World' May 24, 2019

Show notes

With the premiere of the new Netflix original movie Rim of the World debuting this Memorial Day weekend, the film's screenwriter Zack Stentz joins Hard NOC Life to talk about its origins and the current state of pop culture fandom.

Zack and Keith discuss why Rim of the World is simultaneously a throwback to the kinds of kids adventure movies of the '80s and a contemporary reflection of the reality of today's world -- albeit against the backdrop of an alien invasion! They also talk about the nature of fandom in the age of the internet, the tension between art and criticism, and how Eminem and Stephen King presaged our current stan culture. Finally, Zack looks back at the last decade of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and X-Men film franchises and his role in their evolution.

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops.

144. A Whole New Podcast May 17, 2019

Show notes

With Disney's live action remake of Aladdin about to hit theaters worldwide, Keith is joined by Swara Salih and Mae Abdulbaki to discuss the film's issues with representation and announce The Middle Geeks their new podcast on the Hard NOC Media network!

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops.

143. 'Spider-Man' Into the Multiverse May 10, 2019

Show notes

This week on Hard NOC Life, Dominic Mah returns as guest co-host to join Keith for additional spoilery Endgame thoughts. This time with more Spider-Man: Far From Home!

The release of the new Far From Home trailer prompted Keith and Dominic to discuss their favorite incarnations of live action Spider-Man (spoiler: it isn't Tobey) and explore the possibilities of a multiverse for the MCU. They also break down the time travel logic in Avengers: Endgame some more and lament the ending of Into the Badlands on AMC before Dom plugs the upcoming staged reading of his play, Waiting For Gal Gadot.

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops.

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