Stephen Talks

This is the first installment of my "Movie Recommendations" feature. I won't be reviewing movies or criticizing them, just telling you whether or not I recommend seeing them.

A lot of people have a cynical attitude about Disney remaking their older animated movies in live-action. It's really just part of the larger cynical attitude against remakes in general. I give my thoughts about them in this episode.

A lot of people care a lot about movies and TV shows. Do they care too much, though? When do you cross the line between "fan" and "fanatic"? I mention an article about spoilers in this podcast. You can read it here: http://nerdbastards.com/2019/04/29/nerdom-and-the-bizarre-culture-around-being-spoiler-free/

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is over 20 movies long with a dozen TV shows and miniseries to its name. It's about to finish its third "phase" and move into a new one. But Phase One still is and probably will remain my favorite phase.

We got our first official teaser trailer for "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" last week. In this podcast, I'm going to talk about why I'm the least-interested I've ever been in seeing a new Star Wars movie.

Characters are the most important part of any story, and the origin story is the most important part of any character.

There are a lot of reasons to be concerned about Disney's recent acquisition of 20th Century Fox. But, there are reasons to be hopeful, as well. My website: http://stephens.website/My ebooks: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/stephenmonteith

Movies based on DC Comics have always had trouble finding their own identity; figuring out what movies to make and with whom. Here are my ideas for the franchise.

An adult is merely a kid who has reached a certain age, and a kid is merely an adult who hasn't reached that age. I've always liked cartoons and comics and even dressing up as characters from them. The fact that I'm about to turn 38 doesn't change that at all. No adult should feel bad about enjoying things that are "meant for kids". (In this podcast, I referenced a Twitter thread from author Catherynne Valente. You can find it here: https://twitter.com/catvalente/status/1089293175360028674 )

Just a brief explanation of what I've been up to the last few months and what I'll be doing the next few months.

This week's podcast is live from DragonCon 2018 in Atlanta, GA, right before the annual parade. Look for parade pics on my Instagram @stephenmarkmonteith, and visit my website http://stephens.website/

There is, in each of us, a limit to the amount and type of violence we'll accept in our entertainment. Where do we draw the line? And why? I also share my thoughts about Ben Affleck's current situation, Kelly Marie Tran's article in the New York Times, and more.

Nostalgia can be a great thing, helping us remember the things we grew up with, the things that comforted us and helped make us the people we are. Nobody likes it when someone messes with our favorite franchises. But we need to be willing to let new versions of them grow so new generations can form their own sources of nostalgia.

This wasn't the podcast I was planning to do, and it's one of the hardest I've had to record, but I feel it's important.

For the last decade, people have been saying DC should make movies the way Marvel makes them. But shouldn't DC do things their own way, the way that's worked for them for almost 80 years?

Wonder Woman is a phenomenal character who was created to be the equal of other superheroes, and time has proven that she is.

"Suicide Squad" is generally considered to be the weakest film in the DCEU continuity, mostly because of its unorthodox style of storytelling. But could that "weakness" actually be a strength?

A lot of people say Jesse Eisenberg's performance as Lex Luthor is one of the worst comic book movie performances ever. A lot of *other* people disagree, saying it's a layered, nuanced portrayal of one of comic book's greatest villains.

There are so many elements from "Man Of Steel", from the worldbuilding to the background stories, that are just waiting to be used in a sequel. This is how they could fit into "Superman: Birthright".

Although Henry Cavill has portrayed Superman in three films over the last five years, many people think there should be a "proper" sequel to the movie that started the DCEU. Here's a way they could do it that may just make everyone happy, fans and haters alike.