Nerd Lunch

Carlin Trammel returns to the podcast feed for a special interview with David Heringer, organizer of the Infinity Con entertainment convention. They talk about the history of the show, why events like it are necessary, and the next one coming to Tallahassee, Florida on July 6 and 7.

Michael, Rob, and Pax begin a new series of episodes covering the Fast and Furious movies, starting of course with the introduction of Brian, Dom, Mia, and Letty (and alright, Vince) in Rob Cohen's The Fast and the Furious. And because it's just the way we are, we also talk a little about John Ireland and Edward Sampson's 1954 film of the same name that also stars Ireland and Dorothy Malone.

Michael and Jess investigate a couple of movies on Mike Mignola's 20 Horror Movies I Can’t Live Without. A lot of the movies on Mignola's list have common themes - vampires, witches, ghosts, etc. - but The Thing (1982) and Jacob's Ladder (1990) were outliers, so we decided to start with them. 

Michael, Rob, and Karen welcome Timothy Dalton to the James Bond films in The Living Daylights. After the mostly over-the-top Roger Moore era, the series gets back to basics with Dalton's realistic, angry, but also charming take on 007.

In this rerun from the old Filthy Horrors podcast, Michael, Jess, and Darla eat at a haunted restaurant and then talk about three of their favorite ghost movies: Poltergeist (1982), The Orphanage (2007), and The Woman in Black (2012). 

Michael, Pax, and Becky wrap up this month's Lounge talking about whether adapters of things need to be fans of the original material, X-Men movies, giant monster movies, John Hughes movies, Challengers and other sports movies, Monkey Man, Boy Kills World, The Fall Guy, Bridgerton, and more.

With Rob out of the country, Becky Tyler joins Michael and Pax in the lounge to talk about LiveJournal, The Phantom Menace, Gold Diggers of 1933, Lisa Frankenstein, Abigail, The First Omen, Late Night with the Devil, Immaculate, old Nerd Lunch episodes, the Fast and Furious movies, Jed MacKay’s Moon Knight, Remo Williams, God of Fire by Helen Steadman, The Princess Bride by William Goldman, PG Wodehouse's Jeeves stories, and more.

The After Lunch Planet of the Apes movie panel joins the After Lunch Planet of the Apes TV panel to talk about the all-new Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes! Michael, Rob, Pax, and Jacob Bean-Watson welcome the new trilogy of Planet of the Apes films with this first entry directed by Wes Ball and starring Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Peter Macon, and Kevin Durand.

After four episodes determining our favorite villains from literature, comics, TV, and movies, Michael and Rob welcome Joanna from Bloody Popcorn and Pax to help decide the ultimate villain from all media types. Rather than nominate candidates, the panel works together to seed the Final Fours from each of the previous match-ups (episodes 132, 209, 263, and 275, if you like) into brackets. And then, as usual, we vote on them until we reach the ultimate champion.

Michael, Rob, and Karen dance into the fire and board the iceberg submarine to talk about Roger Moore's final performance as James Bond in A View to a Kill. Also starring Grace Jones, Christopher Walken, Tanya Roberts, and Patrick Macnee.

After discussing the horrors of car repair and the new Omen prequel, The First Omen, Michael and Jess finally wrap up their exploration of the Universal monster movies. They talk about the last two mummy movies (both from 1944): The Mummy's Ghost and The Mummy's Curse.

Michael, Rob, and Pax discuss the wrap up to the Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy.

Michael, Rob, and Pax talk about more Harry Palmer, Matt Helm, and Mannix, The Marvels and the state of the MCU, lots of podcasts, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, the Mr and Mrs Smith TV series, Doctor Strange comics, John Byrne’s Superman, the Sherlock Holmes Expanded Universe, Predator Vs Wolverine, Jason Copland's Full Tilt, and ever so much more.

Michael, Rob, and Pax are back in the Lounge to talk about generational differences, local pro wrestling events, Darth Vader, the Godzilla x Kong novelization, Van Halen, Cinderella (2015), Bottoms (2023), the '70s Amazing Spider-Man TV series, MacGruber, Renegade Nell, Wilkie Collins, Road House (2024), Silo, Argylle (2024), and real estate.

Michael and Rob catch up with kaiju fans writer Corinna Bechko (currently of The Space Between) and David May about the new entry in Legendary's MonsterVerse series, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. Godzilla vs. Kong's Adam Wingard returns to direct and brings along his The Guest star Dan Stevens to join returning MonsterVerse actors Kaylee Hottle, Rebecca Hall, and Brian Tyree Henry.

Michael and Rob welcome Shawn Robare and Jacob Bean-Watson to nominate 16 legendary movie villains, then match them against each other in a tournament to determine the greatest movie villain of all time. 

Michael, Rob, and Pax discuss director Matt Reeves' arrival on the Planet of the Apes with Dawn. The second movie in the reboot trilogy is set 10 years after Rise and stars Andy Serkis, Toby Kebbell, Jason Clarke, Keri Russell, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Gary Oldman.

Michael and Jess finish Universal's Invisible Man series with Invisible Agent (1942), The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944), and Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951). And Jess discusses the merits of Butterfly Kisses (2018).

Michael, Rob, and Karen talk about the Johnny English prequel that also happens to feature Sean Connery's last performance as James Bond. It's Irvin Kershner's alternate reality 007 film, Never Say Never Again, also starring Kim Basinger, Barbara Carrera, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Bernie Casey, and Max von Sydow.

Michael, Rob, and Pax wrap up this month's Lounge talking about Bodyguard, The Brothers Sun, Poker Face, The Bear, Michael Caine's Harry Palmer movies, Mannix, Red Hood comics, the Disney Villains books by Serena Valentino, brand loyalty, Drive-Away Dolls, Death and Other Details, and 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.