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Archive for August, 2023

Ken and Robin Consume Media: Noir City 2023 and an Aubrey Plaza Double Bill

August 29th, 2023 | Robin

Ken and Robin Consume Media is brought to you by the discriminating and good-looking backers of the Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff Patreon. Each week we provide capsule reviews of the books, movies, TV seasons and more we cram into our hyper-analytical sensoriums. Join the Patreon to help pick the items we’ll talk about in greater depth on a little podcast segment we like to call Tell Me More.

Recommended

Call Northside 777 (Film, US, Henry Hathaway, 1948) Crusading reporter P.J. McNeal (Jimmy Stewart) re-investigates the case of Frank Wiecek (Richard Conte), convicted cop killer. Propulsive true-crime thriller full of real-life Chicago locations ignites thanks to Stewart’s patented slow-burning outrage. Not actually noir, but shot like one by Joseph MacDonald. –KH

Emily the Criminal (Film, US, John Patton Ford, 2022) Beleaguered food service worker (Aubrey Plaza) accesses her repressed dark side after she becomes a runner for a credit fraud gang. Socially aware, character-driven crime drama with Plaza’s intense, layered performance as its centerpiece.—RDL

Force of Evil (Film, US, Abraham Polonsky, 1948) Numbers-racket lawyer Joe Morse (John Garfield) sticks his neck out for his small-time brother Leo (Thomas Gomez) as the mob and big business forcibly consolidate the numbers rackets in New York City. A superb noir in which the transgression is (selfish) brotherly love against a soulless capitalist system, it manages both a crime-insider and romantic tone without breaking stride. –KH

He Walked By Night (Film, US, Alfred L. Werker, 1948) Electronics nut Roy Morgan (Richard Basehart) graduates from burglary to murder and armed robbery in L.A. while staying one step ahead of the cops (Roy Roberts and Scott Brady). Basehart’s feral charm and John Alton’s noir lensing keeps you watching this (actual) proto-Dragnet as the twists and turns of the case accelerate. When an uncredited Anthony Mann shot the climactic storm-sewer chase, I bet he thought “This is going to be the best noir sewer chase filmed in 1948.”  Based on the real-life case of Erwin “Death Ray” Walker and featuring the dawn of the Identikit. –KH

The Last Duel (Film, US, Ridley Scott, 2021) The events surrounding a rape accusation resolved through trial by combat in late 14th century France are retold from the varying perspectives of the impetuous, self-concerned husband (Matt Damon), the sleazy, well-connected perpetrator (Adam Driver) and the outraged, determined victim (Jodie Comer.) Historical drama varies the Rashomon structure by depicting revealing but relatively subtle differences in understanding between the focus characters.—RDL

Unfaithfully Yours (Film, US, Preston Sturges, 1948) Convinced of his wife’s (Linda Darnell) adultery, conductor Sir Alfred de Carter (Rex Harrison) plans her murder. A weird but very funny slapstick domestic comedy perhaps best understood as a parody of noir, its high point is musical director Alfred Newman’s synchronization of the diegetic classical score (both thematically and rhythmically) with de Carter’s fantastic thoughts of revenge, and the return of those scores as farce in the final act. –KH

The Velvet Touch (Film, US, John Gage, 1948) Broadway actress Valerie Stanton (Rosalind Russell) murders her grasping producer Gordon Dunning (Leon Ames) and watches her unhappy rival Marian (Claire Trevor) take the fall. As great as the murder triangle is, the real highlight of this Broadway noir is Sydney Greenstreet as a proto-Columbo (and the least New York NYPD cop in history). Leo Rosten’s script often achieves proper wit and bite, disguising a fairly straightforward story. –KH

Good

Burst City (Film, Japan, Gakuryū Ishii, 1982) In the proto-apocalyptic outer slums of Tokyo, rival punk bands do battle as yakuza press quasi-mutants into forced labor on a construction project. Frenetic, assaultive extreme cinema piece documents the vibe of the original Japanese punk scene.—RDL

Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (Film, Guy Ritchie, 2023) Ultra-competent operative (Jason Statham) trades barbs with his luxury-loving handler (Cary Elwes) and glamorous techie (Aubrey Plaza) as they pursue a high-tech macguffin about to be sold off by a roguish arms dealer (Hugh Grant.) Sleek, breezy celebration of its performers’ charisma.—RDL

Road House (Film, US, Jean Negulesco, 1948) Spoiled sociopath Jefty (Richard Widmark at his Widmarkiest) hires new flame Lily (Ida Lupino) to sing at his nightclub/bowling alley, to the consternation of his friend and enabler Pete (Cornel Wilde). The architecturally insane road house set is a visual gift that keeps on giving, Celeste Holm is charmingly snappish as good girl Susie, and Ida Lupino lovers should definitely bounce this up to Recommended. –KH

Incomplete

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Film, US, Joaquim Dos Santos & Kemp Powers & Justin K. Thompson, 2023) Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) reunites with Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld) and discovers that he’s been left out of the interdimensional spider-hero league as a dread mythic development barrels his way. On one hand, features many engagingly animated spider persons; on the other, is 15% longer than Citizen Kane and consists entirely of set-up for another movie, without even the courtesy of a decent cliffhanger.—RDL

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Episode 562: Never Refer to Peoples’ Necks

August 25th, 2023 | Robin

In the Gaming Hut, we propose ways to respond to the characters’ failures of stealth without killing story momentum.

In Ken and/or Robin Talk to Someone Else, both of us chat with author Howard Andrew Jones about the state of sword and sorcery and his new novel, Lord of a Shattered Land.

In Ask Ken and Robin, beloved Patreon backer Snivgrits requests that we riff a police procedural featuring Wendy Darling from Peter Pan.

Finally the Consulting Occultist looks at the alchemical side of pioneering scientist and mathematician Isaac Newton.

Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon!

Our Patreon-backed Letterboxd list of all films mentioned on the show is now up and running.

Also check out the Goodreads list of books mentioned on the show.

Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic.

Waggle your tiny clawed arms in delight! The 5E edition of Planegea, Atlas Games’ setting of primordial fantasy wonder, has arrived. Whether you’re a saurian or shimmering, dreamwalking elf, you’ll want to grab the campaign setting book, as well as accessories like the GM screen, adventures, soundtrack, and deluxe boxed edition while that meteor remains safely in the sky above.

Even Death Can Die, the breathlessly-awaited scenario book for Cthulhu Confidential, is now in print at an eldritch game store near you, or in the Pelgrane web store. Thrill to three hardboiled Lovecraftian adventures apiece from stalwart investigators Langston Wright, Vivian Sinclair, and Dex Raymond, all for one player and one GM.

The treasures of Askfageln can be found at DriveThruRPG. Get all issues of FENIX since 2013 available in special English editions. Score metric oodles of Ken Hite gaming goodness, along with equally stellar pieces by Graeme Davis and Pete Nash. Warning: in English, not in Swedish. In English, not Swedish. While you’re at it, grab DICE and Freeway Warrior!

Put on your flannels, grab your duffel bag of hardware and assemble your fake passports. Alert your retailer to the contents of their favorite unmarked warehouse. Delta Green: The Conspiracy, the revised, updated and declassified edition of the iconic 1990s sourcebook has escaped from Arc Dream Publishing.

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Ken and Robin Consume Media: Star Trek, Yellowjackets, and Ma Dong Seok Slapping Yet More Dudes

August 22nd, 2023 | Robin

Ken and Robin Consume Media is brought to you by the discriminating and good-looking backers of the Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff Patreon. Each week we provide capsule reviews of the books, movies, TV seasons and more we cram into our hyper-analytical sensoriums. Join the Patreon to help pick the items we’ll talk about in greater depth on a little podcast segment we like to call Tell Me More.

Recommended

Accident Man (Film, UK, Jesse V. Johnson, 2018) Cold-hearted hitman (Scott Adkins) traces the death of his pregnant ex to his own colorful assassination gang. Skillfully choreographed and staged martial arts flick takes its time to establish its characters and their relationships.—RDL

The Round Up (South Korea, Sang-yong Lee, 2022) Burly police lieutenant Ma Seok-do (Ma Dong Seok aka Don Lee) is back, this time on the trail of an expat kidnapper who has been killing his fellow Korean nationals in Vietnam. Like many sequels, this leans into self-aware comedy, but does so without sacrificing smart police procedural plotting and the crunching ass-beatings we’ve signed on for.—RDL

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 (Television, US, Paramount+, Akiva Goldsman & Henry Alonso Myers, 2023) The shadows of wars past and future hang over Pike and the Enterprise crew as they continue their interstellar exploration mission. Though thrown off-balance by three comic change-of-pace episodes in a ten episode season, the show keeps its focus on procedural problem-solving and navigates clear of a sophomore slump.—RDL

Yellowjackets Season 1 (Television, US, Showtime, Ashley Lyle & Bart Nickerson & Jonathan Lisco, 2021-2022) A blackmail scheme and a likely murder provoke unwanted recollections for a group of women (Melanie Lynskey, Juliette Lewis, Christina Ricci, Tawny Cypress) who as members of a high school soccer team were stranded after a plane crash and did some terrible things. It’s a testament to our era of siloed culture that this tense, funny double ensemble piece, which is popular and much-talked about, could so clearly establish itself as folk horror from episode one yet gain comparatively little mindshare among genre nerds.—RDL

Good

Anonymous Club (Film, Australia, Danny Cohen, 2019) Impressionistic documentary depicts singer songwriter Courtney Barnett as she struggles with self-doubt and depression on the road and at home. You’ll learn more about the subject from her songs than in this diffuse portrayal, but it does portray the outwardly uninteresting life of a prolific artist and closes on a profound bit at the end.—RDL

Okay

Extraction 2 (Film, US, Sam Hargrave, 2023) Not actually dead after the first film, self-loathing commando Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) returns to bust his sister-in-law (Tinatin Dalikashvili) out of a Georgian prison. Golshifteh Farahani has a little bit more to do this time out as Rake’s handler, and the pseudo-single-take prison break is almost too lavishly violent, but the rest of the film grinds into messy predictability, losing the tension and tang that made the first one mostly kind of work. –KH

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Episode 561: If Sauron Was an Eye of Love

August 18th, 2023 | Robin

For the first time since the Great Unpleasantness, not only Ken but also Robin made it to Gen Con. Picking up a tradition where it left off, we devote the episode to recapping our experience there. From the new stuff at the Pelgrane booth, from the flow of the show to the state of the industry, with maybe a note or two about Indianapolis food, we are here to report.

Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon!

Our Patreon-backed Letterboxd list of all films mentioned on the show is now up and running.

Also check out the Goodreads list of books mentioned on the show.

Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic.

Waggle your tiny clawed arms in delight! The 5E edition of Planegea, Atlas Games’ setting of primordial fantasy wonder, has arrived. Whether you’re a saurian or shimmering, dreamwalking elf, you’ll want to grab the campaign setting book, as well as accessories like the GM screen, adventures, soundtrack, and deluxe boxed edition while that meteor remains safely in the sky above.

Even Death Can Die, the breathlessly-awaited scenario book for Cthulhu Confidential, is now in print at an eldritch game store near you, or in the Pelgrane web store. Thrill to three hardboiled Lovecraftian adventures apiece from stalwart investigators Langston Wright, Vivian Sinclair, and Dex Raymond, all for one player and one GM.

The treasures of Askfageln can be found at DriveThruRPG. Get all issues of FENIX since 2013 available in special English editions. Score metric oodles of Ken Hite gaming goodness, along with equally stellar pieces by Graeme Davis and Pete Nash. Warning: in English, not in Swedish. In English, not Swedish. While you’re at it, grab DICE and Freeway Warrior!

Put on your flannels, grab your duffel bag of hardware and assemble your fake passports. Alert your retailer to the contents of their favorite unmarked warehouse. Delta Green: The Conspiracy, the revised, updated and declassified edition of the iconic 1990s sourcebook has escaped from Arc Dream Publishing.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Titles Announced for Second Annual Robin and Valerie International Film Festival

August 17th, 2023 | Robin

The 2nd annual Robin and Valerie International Film Festival announces its 2023 line-up.

You may be wondering what the heck I’m talking about.

Two years ago at the end of the Toronto International Film Festival Valerie and I decided that distribution for foreign, art house and cult titles had reached a stage where we could have a better experience watching titles programmed at home. For a more detailed explanation of our switch from the rigors of an official fest to the affordable, stress-free homemade one, see last year’s announcement.

Once again I have selected from streaming subscription platforms and video on demand titles to assemble a list resembling the TIFFs of yore, hopefully with fewer duds and definitely with easier bathroom breaks and more pauses for naps.

I have favored newer titles wherever possible, in some case reaching back a few years to catch a film we missed from a TIFF fave auteur, or to fill in a particular category, like the doc about movies that ideally starts any fest.

This year I have reached way back into the old modus operandi of our once-favorite fest to program an Open Vault title—a restored and rediscovered film, in this case an American indie from 1961.

France really pulled ahead in the rankings this year, thanks in part to double headers from Claire Denis and François Ozon. I have programmed more films from Japan and South Korea than TIFF would in any given year, because now I am the boss.

Some of you may want to play along at home. Unbelievably, two of you ordered the shirts last year!

As you read the descriptive blurbs below, remember that I haven’t yet seen any of these films and am paraphrasing the promo text. Last year in a couple of cases I discovered that I had badly garbed some of the taglines. I’ve probably done it again; use at your own risk.

Availability will vary by territory; check your local version of JustWatch to see what might be playing on a service near you. I’m in Canada and have chosen titles from Crave, Criterion, Kanopy, Mubi, Prime, and Netflix. I’ll be renting from Amazon, Google, and Apple.

We’ll be mimicking the dates for TIFF, hitting the play button on Thursday, September 7th and wrapping up on Sunday September 20th.

As a sensible person, you may want to wait until I see them and review them before deciding which of them to check out. I’ll be posting capsule reviews and then collecting them in order of preference when RVIFF is done. I’ll also talk about the highlights on the podcast with Ken, focusing on the geek-forward items.

Hal [US, Amy Scott, 2018] Documentary profile of director Hal Ashby.

I Like Movies [Canada, Chandler Levack, 2022] Insufferable teen nurtures his filmmaking dreams.

The Novelist’s Film [South Korea, Hong Sang-soo, 2022] After being brushed off by an auteur director, a novelist decides to make a film.

Alcarràs [Spain, Carla Simón, 2022] A loving, chaotic family of peach farmers faces eviction.

Return to Seoul [France, Davy Chou, 2022] A French woman travels to Korea seeking her birth parents.

Outrage Coda [Japan, Takeshi Kitano, 2017] Gangster rivalries foment deadpan carnage.

Arab Blues [France/Tunisia, Manele Labidi, 2019] A therapist returns to her ancestral Tunisia and acquires a new clientele.

The Kings of the World [Colombia, Laura Mora Ortega, 2022] Medellin street kids undertake a journey.

The Five Devils [France, Léa Mysius, 2022] A bullied kid reveals uncanny powers when the release of her aunt from a psychiatric facility upsets her beloved mom.

By the Grace of God [France, François Ozon, 2019] Three men confront the priest who abused them as children, and the system that covered it up.

The Good Boss [Spain, Fernando León de Aranoa, 2021] Workplace satire with Javier Bardem.

Flux Gourmet [UK, Peter Strickland, 2022] Horror descends on a culinary institute.

The Balcony Movie [Poland, Pawel Lozinski, 2021] Documentary about people who come by the director’s window to chat.

Broker [South Korea, Hirokazu Koreeda, 2022] A baby theft spirals out of control. With Song Kang-Ho.

Stars at Noon [France, Claire Denis, 2022] Desperate love intertwines with political intrigue in Nicaragua. With Margaret Qualley and Joe Alwyn.

Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes [Japan, Junta Yamaguchi, 2020] Cafe owner discovers that his television broadcasts from two minutes in the future.

The Real Thing [Japan, Kôji Fukada, 2020] Epic misadventures ensue when a hapless toy salesman rescues a young woman whose car has stalled on railroad tracks.

How to Blow Up a Pipeline [US, Daniel Goldhaber, 2023] Ecoterrorists take on the oil industry.

Hatching [Finland, Hanna Bergholm, 2022] A young girl discovers a mysterious egg.

Girlfriends and Girlfriends [Spain, Zaida Carmona, 2022] Lesbian couples form and rearrange themselves.

You Won’t Be Alone [Australia/UK/Serbia, Goran Stolevski, 2022] An ancient witch possesses a girl in order to understand humanity. With Noomi Rapace.

Swan Song [US, Todd Stephens, 2021] Former hairdresser (Udo Kier) departs his care facility for one last mission.

Tori and Lokita [France, Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne, 2022] A pair of African kids roams Belgium alone.

Once Upon a Time In Ukraine [Ukraine, Roman Perfilyev, 2020] A serf and a samurai team up in a mythic reimagining of 19th Ukrainian history.

The Exiles [US, Kent Mackenzie, 1961] A native American family gets by in Los Angeles’ Bunker Hill neighborhood.

Master Gardener [US, Paul Schrader, 2022] A lone man is torn between redemption and violence. With Joel Edgerton and Sigourney Weaver.

Cairo Conspiracy [Sweden/France/Finland/Denmark, Tarik Saleh, 2022] An Egyptian student is drawn into political intrigue when his student advisor, an influential imam, dies.

Piggy [Spain, Carlota Pereda, 2022] Fat girl conceals what she’s seen when the classmates who torment her are taken by a serial killer.

Bliss [Germany, Henrika Kull, 2021] Brothel workers fall in love.

Both Sides of the Blade [France, Claire Denis, 2022] Love triangle drama with Juliet Binoche, Vincent Lindon, and Grégoire Colin.

The Eternal Daughter [UK, Joanna Hogg, 2022]  Filmmaker (Tilda Swinton) takes her mother (Tilda Swinton) to an inn hoping her recollections of the place will trigger material for a screenplay.

Thunivu [India, H. Vinoth, 2023] Heisters planning a bank job discover that another mastermind has designs on the same target.

Hit the Road [Iran, Panah Panahi, 2021] Chaotic family goes on road trip.

The Artifice Girl [US, Franklin Ritch, 2022] Chatbot designed to lure sexual predators gets ideas of its own.

Mascarade [France, Nicolas Bedos, 2022] Injured dancer falls for a woman who lives by the scam.

Project Wolf Hunting [South Korea, Hongsun Kim, 2022] Inmates take control of a prison ship only to discover another much worse presence lurks within.

The Gasoline Thieves [Mexico, Edgar Nito, 2019] Young man is drawn into a gas theft ring.

The Braves [France, Anaïs Volpé, 2021] Two actresses live a ride-or-die friendship.

The Crime Is Mine [France, François Ozon, 2023] Homage to 40s film noir with Isabelle Huppert.

Marry My Dead Body [Taiwan, Wei-Hao Cheng, 2023] Detective saddled with a ghost husband enlists him in her current case.

Inspector Ike [US, Graham Mason, 2020] Murder mystery spoof about an understudy who knocks off the lead to get the part, and the dogged detective who pursues the case.

Leonor Will Never Die [Philippines, Martika Ramirez Escobar, 2022] Comatose screenwriter must write her way back to consciousness.

Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday [UK, George Kirby & Harry Kirby, 2022] Guilt-ridden hit man (Scott Adkins) reluctantly takes up the gun again.

Monster Seafood Wars [Japan, Minoru Kawasaki, 2020] Kaiju arise from seafood market.

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Ken and Robin Consume Media: Burt Lancaster on the Lam, A Vampire Invite, and Ma Dong-Seok Slapping Down Punks

August 15th, 2023 | Robin

Ken and Robin Consume Media is brought to you by the discriminating and good-looking backers of the Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff Patreon. Each week we provide capsule reviews of the books, movies, TV seasons and more we cram into our hyper-analytical sensoriums. Join the Patreon to help pick the items we’ll talk about in greater depth on a little podcast segment we like to call Tell Me More.

Recommended

Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (Film, US, Norman Foster, 1948) Merchant marine deserter on the lam for a bar fight killing (Burt Lancaster) strikes up an unlikely connection with straight-laced nursing assistant (Joan Fontaine.) Lean film noir of rage and its price evokes its London setting with elaborate, expressionistic sets built on a Hollywood backlot.—RDL

The Outlaws (Film, South Korea, Yunsung Kang, 2017) Rule-smudging but dedicated big bruiser cop (Ma Dong Seok aka Don Lee) marshals his bulk and brains to take down a destabilizing gang of ax-happy Chinese Korean gangsters intent on muscling out established rivals. The ideal Ma Dong Seok vehicle builds the audience toward a situation where they can revel in seeing him thoroughly demolish a smaller but oh so deserving opponent, and this, the beginning of a series, does that and wraps it in a gripping police pursuit thriller.—RDL

Good

The Invitation (Film, US, Jessica M. Thompson, 2022) Revealed by a chance DNA test to be the scion of the wealthy Alexander family, Evie Jackson (Nathalie Emmanuel) accepts an invitation to a wedding at the mansion of the Alexanders’ patron, Walter DeVille (Thomas Doherty). Pleasant key change from fairy tale to gothic horror never terrifies, but Emmanuel remains engaging throughout. –KH

Mad Fate (Film, HK, Soi Cheang, 2023) After a brush with a serial killer brings them together, an unstable fortune teller (Ka-Tung Lam) attempts to divert a young man with homicidal ideation (Lok Man Yeung) from his destiny as a murderer. Unsettling juxtaposition of giallo-tinged psychological horror and underdog buddy drama establishes an eccentric orbit around its philosophical ideas.—RDL

Okay

Third Finger, Left Hand (Film, US, Robert Z. Leonard, 1940) Smalltown painter (Melvyn Douglas) struck by vexing love for a self-sufficient magazine editor (Myrna Loy) gets back at her by introducing himself to her family as the husband she invented to protect her career. Light on actual jokes, this screwball comedy coasts on the charm of its stars.—RDL

Viking Wolf (Film, Norway, Stig Svendsen, 2022) Transplanted cop Liv (Liv Mjönes) and her sullen teen daughter Thale (Elli Rhiannon Müller Osborne) get tangled in a werewolf murder case. Nothing in this draggy, slack film brings anything much to the werewolf film mythos or canon despite a vague nod to the devil and also DNA or something. Norway is pretty, though. –KH

Not Recommended

Heart of Stone (Film, US, Tom Harper, 2023) Embedded within MI6 as a mild-mannered hacker, superspy Rachel Stone (Gal Gadot) finds black hat hacker Keya (Alia Bhatt) plotting to bring down Stone’s true patrons, the goo-goo multinational Charter. When I cannot in good conscience recommend a Greg Rucka-written spy flick pitting Gal Gadot against Alia Bhatt, you know it must be derivative, talky, over-CGI’d mush indeed. It even squanders a dirigible! –KH

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Episode 560: A Total Gef Move

August 11th, 2023 | Robin

The episode we record together in Indianapolis before Gen Con is back, starting with a Gaming Hut look at using the vagaries of attendance to guide your plot developments.

In the Food Hut we look at new additions to our list of techniques, grocery lists, and home bars.

Our Cinema Hut Science Fiction Essential Series reaches the Riff Interregnum, otherwise known as the present day, when this podcast was already in production.

Finally the Eliptony Hut lets you well actually an upcoming film by giving you the real fake story of Gef the Mongoose.

Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon!

Our Patreon-backed Letterboxd list of all films mentioned on the show is now up and running.

Also check out the Goodreads list of books mentioned on the show.

Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic.

Waggle your tiny clawed arms in delight! The 5E edition of Planegea, Atlas Games’ setting of primordial fantasy wonder, has arrived. Whether you’re a saurian or shimmering, dreamwalking elf, you’ll want to grab the campaign setting book, as well as accessories like the GM screen, adventures, soundtrack, and deluxe boxed edition while that meteor remains safely in the sky above.

Even Death Can Die, the breathlessly-awaited scenario book for Cthulhu Confidential, is now in print at an eldritch game store near you, or in the Pelgrane web store. Thrill to three hardboiled Lovecraftian adventures apiece from stalwart investigators Langston Wright, Vivian Sinclair, and Dex Raymond, all for one player and one GM.

The treasures of Askfageln can be found at DriveThruRPG. Get all issues of FENIX since 2013 available in special English editions. Score metric oodles of Ken Hite gaming goodness, along with equally stellar pieces by Graeme Davis and Pete Nash. Warning: in English, not in Swedish. In English, not Swedish. While you’re at it, grab DICE and Freeway Warrior!

Put on your flannels, grab your duffel bag of hardware and assemble your fake passports. Alert your retailer to the contents of their favorite unmarked warehouse. Delta Green: The Conspiracy, the revised, updated and declassified edition of the iconic 1990s sourcebook has escaped from Arc Dream Publishing.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Ken and Robin Consume Media: Oppenheimer, Barbie, Secret Invasion

August 8th, 2023 | Robin

Ken and Robin Consume Media is brought to you by the discriminating and good-looking backers of the Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff Patreon. Each week we provide capsule reviews of the books, movies, TV seasons and more we cram into our hyper-analytical sensoriums. Join the Patreon to help pick the items we’ll talk about in greater depth on a little podcast segment we like to call Tell Me More.

The Pinnacle

Oppenheimer (Film, US, Christopher Nolan, 2023) Physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) runs the atomic bomb program and makes enemies, including rising politico Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey, Jr.). A double murderers’ row of actors superbly convey Nolan’s theme that human beings are their own chain reaction, as we follow two storylines focused on Oppenheimer and Strauss, intercut like a cooled-down version of JFK. Jennifer Lame’s precision edits and Ludwig Göransson’s modernist score are the absolute standouts in a nearly flawless film. —KH

Recommended

Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud (Nonfiction, Ben McKenzie with Jacob Silverman, 2023) His acting career sidelined by the pandemic, TV’s Lt. Jim Gordon teams up with a seasoned journalist to investigate their strong hunch that something that walks like a Ponzi and quacks like a Ponzi is in fact history’s biggest Ponzi. McKenzie deploys his storytelling chops to wrap deliberately opaque financial details in a procedural investigation structure. For the first time I understand blockchain, up until the point where it’s not supposed to make sense.—RDL

Mixed by Erry (Film, Italy, Sydney Sibilia, 2023) Aided by his business-minded brother and his violence-ready brother, a meek would-be DJ builds his mixtape fandom into a music piracy empire that eclipses Italy’s legit record business. Layers sprightly light observational comedy onto the Scorsesean rise-and-fall crime docudrama structure.—RDL

Good

Barbie (Film, US, Greta Gerwig, 2023) Mysterious angst grips Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie), sending her out of Barbieland and into the real world. Alternately didactic and too on-the-nose, the dialogue kneecaps this ostensible comedy, stopping it dead more than once. Madly brilliant design, generally excellent cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto, and flashes of serene absurdism show what could have gone right, and Ryan Gosling once again shows his great comedic strengths, making more than the best of his role as Beach Ken. —KH

The Black Phone (Film, US, Scott Derrickson, 2022) Kidnapped middle schooler (Mason Thames) receives aid from his psychic sister and the ghosts of previous victims in his attempt to escape the basement of a masked serial killer (Ethan Hawke.) Muted 70s colors, creepy mask design and Hawke’s layered freak characterization stand out in a piece pitched to a scare level your non-horror fan friends and family can withstand.—RDL

Not Recommended

Flaxy Martin (Film, US, Richard L. Bare, 1949) When his double-crossing singer girlfriend (Virginia Mayo) is suspected of murder, a self-righteous mob attorney (Zachary Scott) confesses, thinking he can beat the rap. Great noir cast brings intensity to a thoroughly ridiculous script.—RDL

Secret Invasion (Television, US, Disney+, Ali Selim, 2023) Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) returns to Earth to battle a terrorist insurrection led by a skrull ex-protege (Kingsley Ben-Adir.) Dour, dispiriting slog through a long-foreshadowed plotline devalues our sympathy for Fury and emphasizes the jarring disjunctions that spring from attempts to overlay MCU continuity onto real world geopolitics.—RDL

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Episode 559: It’s Not a Two Demon Bag

August 4th, 2023 | Robin

In the Gaming Hut beloved Patreon backer Lauberfen asks for tips on achieving balance with F20 magic items. How do GMs find the sweet spot between a boring +1 sword and a full MacGuffin?

The Book Hut looks at the career of SF, fantasy and crime writer Avram Davidson, in the centenary of his birth.

The Cinema Hut Science Fiction Essentials series grows ever closer to our recognizable present day as we head from the twenty-oughts into the twenty-tens.

Finally Ken’s Time Machine hurtles toward some deep CanCon as intrepid backer Laurel Halbany puts our chronohero on the case of the dollar coin that almost was.

Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon!

Our Patreon-backed Letterboxd list of all films mentioned on the show is now up and running.

Also check out the Goodreads list of books mentioned on the show.

Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic.

Waggle your tiny clawed arms in delight! The 5E edition of Planegea, Atlas Games’ setting of primordial fantasy wonder, has arrived. Whether you’re a saurian or shimmering, dreamwalking elf, you’ll want to grab the campaign setting book, as well as accessories like the GM screen, adventures, soundtrack, and deluxe boxed edition while that meteor remains safely in the sky above.

Even Death Can Die, the breathlessly-awaited scenario book for Cthulhu Confidential, is now in print at an eldritch game store near you, or in the Pelgrane web store. Thrill to three hardboiled Lovecraftian adventures apiece from stalwart investigators Langston Wright, Vivian Sinclair, and Dex Raymond, all for one player and one GM.

The treasures of Askfageln can be found at DriveThruRPG. Get all issues of FENIX since 2013 available in special English editions. Score metric oodles of Ken Hite gaming goodness, along with equally stellar pieces by Graeme Davis and Pete Nash. Warning: in English, not in Swedish. In English, not Swedish. While you’re at it, grab DICE and Freeway Warrior!

Put on your flannels, grab your duffel bag of hardware and assemble your fake passports. Alert your retailer to the contents of their favorite unmarked warehouse. Delta Green: The Conspiracy, the revised, updated and declassified edition of the iconic 1990s sourcebook has escaped from Arc Dream Publishing.

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