Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Ken and Robin Consume Media: A Mexican Machen Adaptation, French JFK Paranoia, and Dean Martin in a Flying Saucer
April 2nd, 2024 | 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
American Fiction (Film, US, Cord Jefferson, 2023) As a scathing joke, a dyspeptic literary author (Jeffrey Wright) whose mom needs expensive care writes a novel packed with demeaning cliches of Black life, only to find an enthusiastic market for it in the white publishing world. Family drama lends emotional weight to a pointed takedown of representation’s cringey side. Witty dialogue is on a downswing in film at the moment so it’s nice to see it revived here.—RDL
I… for Icarus (Film, France, Henri Verneuil, 1979) In an alternate France, a patrician attorney general (Yves Montand) dissents from the whitewashing conclusions of a commission into a Presidential assassination, granting him the right to launch his own investigation. The medium is the conspiracy in this odd, oddly compelling McLuhanesque reconfiguration of the JFK assassination, complete with a detailed recreation of the Milgram Experiment.—RDL
The Skeleton of Mrs. Morales (Film, Mexico, Rogelio A. González, 1960) The neurotic browbeating of his pious, conniving wife (Amparo Rivelles) drives a bibulous taxidermist (Arturo de Córdova) to a desperate act. Satirical, expressionistic Grand Guignol based on Arthur Machen’s The Islington Mystery.—RDL
The Worst Ones (Film, France, Lise Akoka & Romane Gueret, 2022) Teens from a tough working class neighborhood win roles in a social issue film helmed by a middle-aged first time auteur (Johan Heldenbergh) whose grasp of boundaries isn’t as secure as he wants to think. Neorealist drama featuring intense performances from its young cast questions the ethics of its genre tradition.—RDL
Good
The Ambushers (Film, US, Henry Levin, 1967) Counter-spy Matt Helm (Dean Martin) escorts US saucer pilot Sheila Sommers (Janice Rule) into Mexico to recover her hijacked saucer and ID the hijacker. The Matt Helm movies are best enjoyed as period pieces by those who consider the Roger Moore Bond to be too grim and gritty, but Sheila has genuine agency and competence, a standout amongst the beer fights and brassiere guns. The UFO adds another nicely surreal touch to the sight of Dean Martin lounging through alleged action scenes.—KH
The Big Shot (Film, US, Lewis Seiler, 1942) Betrayed by the fancy lawyer who married his girl (Irene Manning), an ex-con with a secret conscience (Humphrey Bogart) returns to prison for an armored car heist he decided not to go through with. Bogie and Seiler give their best to a routine script.—RDL
Okay
Risen (Film, US/Spain, Kevin Reynolds, 2016) In occupied Judea, Pontius Pilate (Peter Firth) orders Roman tribune Clavius (Joseph Fiennes) to recover the body of a crucified Nazarene radical, which has vanished from its tomb. The first half of the movie is a taut, intriguing “Zero (A.D.) Dark Thirty” War on Terror parable with a touch of X-Files; the second half is Clavius’ internalizing his new faith in the (spoiler) risen Christ (Cliff Curtis), basically bringing the narrative to a dead halt. This could have been great if it were all the first half, though at the cost of many fewer copies of the Blu-Ray sold to church media rooms.—KH
Episode 587: Someone’s Gonna Wear the Skin
February 23rd, 2024 | Robin
Beloved Patreon backer Mark Kenney inspires us to wear our classiest outfits in the Gaming Hut as we seek ways to bring the vocabulary of clothing and fashion to tabletop narration.
The Food Hut examines an old school staple dessert ingredient and the man who popularized it in North America, with the story of Walter Tennyson Swingle and the journey of the date.
We grab a long hook and protect draw a protective circle around the Mythology Hut for a look at stories where the devil comes to claim a dead person’s skin.
Finally we give a wide berth to all fava beans and contemplate the properties of the triangle as Consulting Occultist gives us a 101 on the Pythagoreans.
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.
Experience the world of Gloom in a new, immersive way with Unhappy Birthday at Castle Slogar. With an integrated hint and solution website, drenched in the beloved Gloom aesthetic by artist J. Scott Reeves, this puzzling gamebook kicks off Atlas’ new Enigma line. Sign up for the Kickstarter announcement!
Reality horror just got realer with three new support products for The Yellow King Roleplaying Game: Black Star Magic, Legions of Carcosa: The Yellow King Bestiary, and Robin’s latest novel, Fifth Imperative.
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!
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Ken and Robin Consume Media: Godzilla Minus One, Poker Face, The Bear
December 12th, 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
The Bear Season 1 (Television, US, FX, Christopher Storer & Joanna Calo, 2022) Acclaimed young chef (Jeremy Allen White) attempts to salvage the chaotic local joint willed to him by his addict brother, clashing with a bumptious long term employee slash honorary cousin (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and acting as uneasy mentor to an up and coming new hire (Ayo Edibiri.) With the constantly clock ticking and random culinary disasters raining down, this intense, Chicago-besotted drama establishes a new sub-genre of suspense: the food thriller.—RDL
Chavela (Film, Mexico/Spain, Catherine Gund, & Daresha Kyi, 2017) Biographical arts documentary profiles Chavela Vargas, the hard-living singer who brought operatic passion to the ranchera genre and became a ladykilling icon to Mexico’s lesbian community. If you don’t know the name you may have heard her music in the films of Pedro Almodovar, who championed her late career comeback and appears here in both archival and interview sequences.—RDL
Godzilla Minus One (Film, Japan, Takashi Yamazaki, 2023) Failed kamikaze pilot Koichi (Rynosuke Kamiki) seeks to expiate his cowardice when Godzilla attacks Japan in 1947. Yamazaki grounds the human action in social integration and stifled emotion, producing a film ironically much more like a mainstream 1954 American (or Japanese) film than the nihilist cosmic-horror Pinnacle he’s homaging. The kaiju action, meanwhile, is unimpeachably excellent. —KH
The Horror Tarot (Tarot deck, Todd Alcott, 2023) Rather than the bricolage treatment of his Pulp Tarot, Alcott homages specific traditions of horror art in the suits and trumps of this full 78-card tarot. Horror film posters (Major Arcana), Famous Monsters of Filmland (Wands), EC Comics (Swords), horror paperback covers (Cups), and pulp magazine covers (Pentacles) provide the inspiration for Alcott’s lovingly uncanny designs. —KH
Moss Rose (Film, US, Gregory Ratoff, 1947) Seeing a brooding heir (Victor Mature) leaving a murder scene, a social climbing chorus girl (Peggy Cummins) offers her silence in exchange for an extended invitation to his family’s country estate. Victorian gothic suffused with a proto-Lynchian sensibility, which regards the bizarre decisions of its characters as sympathetic and normal.—RDL
Only Murders in the Building Season 3 (Television, US, Hulu, Steve Martin & John Hoffman, 2023) When the asshole star (Paul Rudd) of Oliver’s (Martin Stone) Broadway comeback gets murdered, Mabel (Selena Gomez) investigates as Oliver re-imagines the show as a musical and Charles’ (Steve Martin) life falls back apart.. Normally a season of mostly premise rejection and backsliding would annoy me, but watching Martin Short center a “backstage panic” show is almost as good as a murder mystery any day. This mystery, by the way, improves considerably on Season 2. —KH
The Perfect Game (Film, Japan, Toshio Masuda, 1958) College ne’er do wells take a darker than anticipated turn when they take advantage of a communications delay between cycling track and bookie parlor to place a fraudulent bet. Sharp-cornered noir about characters on a greased chute to moral bankruptcy.—RDL
Poker Face Season 1 (Television, US, Peacock, Rian Johnson, 2023) Casino employee with an unfailing ear for lies Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) flees a vengeful pursuer but solves murders along the way. Good-natured combination of The Fugitive and Columbo leans into its old-school TV virtues such as good lighting and concise character portraits, occasionally playing up cheap humor but at its best devising tight but meaty micro-dramas with a murderous hook. All this and a master class in “why Bullshit Detector doesn’t ruin mysteries in GUMSHOE,” too.—KH
Resurrection (Film, US, Andrew Semans, 2022) Tightly wound biotech manager (Rebecca Hall) whose stifled daughter (Grace Kaufman) is about to leave for college fears the return of a menacing figure (Tim Roth) from her past. Hall turns in a harrowing tour de force performance in a profoundly unsettling work of psychological reality horror.—RDL
Stronger Than Love (Film, Cuba/Mexico, Tuli Demicheli, 1955) Haughty young woman (Miroslava) returns from Europe, where she falls into torrid love-hate with the blunt self-made man (Jorge Mistral) who, unbeknownst to her, has saved her upper crust family from ruin. Racy, sardonic melodrama is glossy, commercial entertainment from pre-revolutionary Cuba. Check out the hot and heavy santeria-inspired nightclub dance routine.—RDL
Good
High Tension (Film, US, Allan Dwan, 1936) The brashness that makes deep sea diver Steve Reardon the best man for any telegraph cable laying job causes him to wrongfoot his relationship with the fiery pulp writer (Glenda Farrell) who fictionalizes his adventures. Eccentric blend of romcom and 30s dangerous labor movie kept aloft by charm and zippy pacing.—RDL
Ken and Robin Consume Media: High School Fight Club, Twisted Apparitions, and the Plot Against Hitler
December 6th, 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
Bottoms (Film, US, Emma Seligmann, 2023) Anarchy reigns when gay but nonetheless unpopular high school besties (Rachel Sennott, Ayo Edebiri) looking for a pretext to talk to their crushes set up a self defense club. Outrageous teen comedy escalates to a truly bonkers conclusion. I hope someone is writing more comedies around Edebiri‘s brilliant minor key comic timing.—RDL
Finders Keepers: A Tale of Archaeological Plunder and Obsession (Nonfiction, Craig Childs, 2010) Profiling archaeologists, curators, collectors, dealers and plunderers, Childs considers the surprisingly complex question of where artifacts belong, who ought to possess them, and whether they should be left in the ground. A compelling voice gives narrative direction to a topic that in most other hands would be as dusty as a roadside pot sherd.—RDL
Hôtel du Nord (Film, France, Marcel Carné, 1938) Passionate young woman (Renée) checks into a modest hotel to complete a suicide pact with her boyfriend (Jean-Pierre Aumont) but is then drawn into the community of its residents and staff. Lyrical ensemble drama pits romantic fatalism against the joys of living.—RDL
Huesera: the Bone Woman (Film, Mexico, Michelle Garza Cervera, 2023) Pregnant furniture maker with a wild past (Natalia Solián) spirals into despair when she is plagued by apparitions of horrifically twisted female bodies. Unnerving character-driven horror draws on the fear of motherhood.—RDL
The Pez Outlaw (Film, US, Amy and Brian Storkel, 2022) Documentary retells the story of Steve Glew, who in the 90s became a thorn in the side to the American branch of the Pez candy dispenser empire with gray market imports of back-doored product from Eastern European factories. Wry caper elements float over darker hints of the mental health implications of obsessive collector culture.—RDL
The Possessed (Film, Italy, Luigi Bazzoni & Franco Rossellini, 1965) Novelist checking into an off-season hotel discovers that the maid he yearns for died under mysterious circumstances. Dreams and imaginings stand in for clues in this austere, arty mystery.—RDL
Valkyrie (Film, US/Germany, Bryan Singer, 2008) Col. Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) joins a plot against Hitler and takes it over by force of personality. By emphasizing the larger conspiracy around the bomb plot, Singer turns the story into a high-tension political thriller while uncomfortably highlighting the need for ruthlessness even for the best of ends. Terence Stamp and Bill Nighy superbly play Generals Beck and Olbricht as model and foil to Cruise, respectively. —KH
Ken and Robin Consume Media: Alien Invaders, Outback Noir, and a Curse-Breaking Conspiracy
October 17th, 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
Full Circle (Television, US, HBO Max, Ed Solomon & Steven Soderbergh, 2023) To undo a family curse, a Guyanese crime boss (CCH Pounder) orders the kidnapping of a rich couple’s (Claire Danes, Timothy Olyphant) son, enmeshing a rogue postal inspector (Zazie Beetz) and many others in a series of dangerous errors and surprising revelations. Chaos theory ensemble crime drama shot by Soderbergh with a subtly destabilizing immediacy.—RDL
Limbo (Film, Australia, Ivan Sen, 2023) Police investigator Travis Hurley (Simon Baker) arrives at the titular opal-mining outback town to investigate the 20-year-old cold case of an Aboriginal girl’s abduction. Baker’s superb performance and the stark black-and-white cinematography (also by Sen) knit together this elliptical bricolage of noir, Western, policier, and social comment film genres into a powerful whole that does the job of cinema better than virtually anything you will see this year.—KH
No One Will Save You (Film, US, Brian Duffield, 2023) Lonely Etsy seller (Kaitlyn Dever) fights back when sinister gray UFO occupants invade her rural home. Nearly dialogue-free exercise in pure cinema cleverly weaves together disparate alien terror tropes.—RDL
Reptile (Film, US, Grant Singer, 2023) Homicide detective (Benicio del Toro) uncovers a conspiracy while investigating the murder of a callow realtor’s (Justin Timberlake) fiancee. Del Toro steps into a welcome leading role as a pitiless roving camera and ominous soundtrack lend neo-gothic dread to a small town policier.—RDL
Good
Evil Dead Rise (Film, US, Lee Cronin, 2023) In a largely deserted apartment building, a guitar tech (Lily Sullivan) defends her nieces and nephew from their demonically possessed mother (Alyssa Sutherland.) Earns points for moving the franchise to a new urban locale and for exploring deeper characterization, though the horror remits too often in the middle, and the fear of motherhood theme doesn’t really integrate with the gothic teleology of the Evil Dead universe.—RDL
Okay
Foremost by Night (Film, Spain/Portugal/France, Victor Iriarte, 2023) Court reporter Vera (Lola Dueñas) penetrates a baby-snatching conspiracy to find her stolen son Egoz (Manuel Egozkue) and his adoptive mother Cora (Ana Torrent). This film could be Exhibit A in McKee’s “no voiceovers” thesis. Three or four very promising premises founder on the complete absence of conflict, leaving what little drama remains for the actors to emote. That game acting and some intriguingly oblique symbology keep this inert exercise barely at Okay. —KH
Thirteen Women (Film, US, George Archainbaud, 1932) Young widowed socialite (Irene Dunne) and her former finishing school classmates receive messages of doom from an astrologer, which come true thanks to the hypnotic powers of their embittered nemesis (Myrna Loy.) Somewhat perfunctory thriller novel adaptation offers the chance to see Loy in one of her early villain roles. CW: Orientalism.
Episode 553: They Get a Really Great Poem Out of It
June 23rd, 2023 | Robin
Beloved Patreon backer Ryan McClelland ventures into our seedy, low rent Gaming Hut to ask how Sam Spade’s monkeywrenching style of investigation fits in GUMSHOE.
In Ken and/or Robin Talk to Somebody Else, Ken talks to Improv for Gamers author Karen Twelves.
The Cinema Hut Science Fiction Cinema Essentials series makes the turn from the 80s into the 90s, starting with a duo of cool dudes who know their way around a time machine.
Speaking of chrono-conveyances, Ken’s Time Machine heads back to the 980s to see what our hero can do about a series of devastating Vikings raids.
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.
The skies above New Olympus are patrolled by caped crusaders, but these superior beings are far from heroes. They wield their powers with reckless disregard, serving the interests of corporate overseers, and silencing those who oppose their will. You are Klara Koenig, investigative journalist for The Pedestrian newspaper, and you intend to prove the privileged superhuman elite do not yet hold a monopoly on justice. Welcome to Alteregomania: the newest setting for the GUMSHOE One-2-One system.
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!
![](https://www.kenandrobintalkaboutstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Thunderbird_blue_border.png")
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: Obi-Wan, Doctor Strange, Rothaniel, and the First Shin Honkaku Novel
June 28th, 2022 | 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
Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel (Stand-Up, US, HBO, Bo Burnham, 2022) At the Blue Note in New York, Carmichael reveals a tangle of family secrets and his gay identity. Astoundingly gutsy set cedes partial control to an increasingly participatory audience, landing in the intersection of comedy and high-wire confessional performance art.—RDL
Recommended
Den of Thieves (Film, US, Christian Gudegast, 2018) Sleazy major crimes cop (Gerard Butler) zeroes in on an ex-military robbery crew leader (Pablo Schreiber) as he cases L.A.’s branch of the Federal Reserve Bank. Crackling crime drama throws in clever heist twists as it genuflects before the altar of Heat,—RDL
Fire Island (Film, US, Andrew Ahn, 2022) Commitment-shy New Yorker (Joel Kim Booster) ducks his own intimacy issues during his gang’s annual group vacation in a gay resort time with an unsolicited promise to wingman his less confident bestie (Bowen Yang.) Borrows Judd Apatow’s mix of relaxed pacing, arrested maturity sincerity and raunch as a framework for the gay rom-com.—RDL
The Tokyo Zodiac Murders (Fiction, Japan, Soji Shimada, 1981) Forty years after the fact, astrologer Kitoshi Mitarai and his faithful (and self-described) Watson investigate a storied 1936 serial murder apparently planned by a mad alchemical artist – who was killed in a locked room before the murders began. Shimada’s first novel kicked off the shin honkaku subgenre with its verve, ironic joy, and critical success. The bizarre setup keeps the immense up-front exposition dump interesting, and the ensuing detection delightfully combines the eccentric and the humane. –KH
Good
Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (Film, US, Sam Raimi, 2022) Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) protects a young woman who can jump between alternate realities (Xochitl Gomez) from the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), now corrupted by an evil tome. Raimi livens up the thankless assignment of paying off story debts incurred in previous MCU entries by deploying as many of his signature flourishes as they’ll let him sneak in.—RDL
The Helm of Hades (Fiction, Paul Halter, 2019) French mystery author Halter has been called the “true heir of John Dickson Carr,” which on the evidence of this collection remains a bit of a stretch. This short story collection comprises nine “impossible” crimes and one Christie-esque timetable mystery, of uneven quality, the best being “The Ladder of Jacob” (a man is found dead from a fall with no heights around). One of the better ones, “The Yellow Book,” incorporates The King in Yellow for extra points. –KH
Okay
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Television, US, Disney+, Deborah Chow, 2022) Middle-aged Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) comes out of hiding when 10-year old Leia is kidnapped by Sith lackeys trying to lure him into the clutches of Darth Vader (Hayden Christiansen/James Earl Jones.) A competently executed continuation of the prequel project shows how misconceived it has always been, as the Jedi mythology and events briefly alluded to in the original films does not withstand the scrutiny that occurs when a former backstory becomes main narrative.—RDL
Ken and Robin Consume Media: Dr. Strange, Men, and a Demon-Possessed Skull
May 24th, 2022 | 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
Feels Good Man (Film, US, Arthur Jones, 2020) Sweet-natured cartoonist Matt Furie reacts with confusion, dismay and finally resolve when his creation, Pepe the Frog, long a staple of Internet meme culture, metastasizes into a symbol of far-right hate. Documentary of our Esoterror times fills in the many intermediate stages of Pepe’s disjunctive semiotic journey.—RDL
Good Time (Film, US, Benny Safdie & Josh Safdie, 2017) After dragging his developmentally challenged brother (Benny Safdie) into a bank robbery that gets him locked up, a manipulative screw-up (Robert Pattinson) initiates a cascade of terrible decisions in his bid to free him. Crackling entry in the nightlong doom spiral sub-genre informed by Abel Ferrara and the Dardennes Brothers.—RDL
A Hero of Our Time (Fiction, Mikhail Lermontov, 1840) An observer’s reminiscences and the protagonist’s diary entries recount the romantic havoc wrought by a fickle young Russian officer stationed in the Caucasus. Ironic character study steadily chips away at the outward charms of its inwardly empty subject.—RDL
The Skull (Film, UK, Freddie Francis, 1965) Occult expert Maitland (Peter Cushing) obtains the demon-possessed skull of the Marquis de Sade from sweaty fixer Marco (Patrick Wymark) and badness happens. Acting tour de force by Cushing makes the most from the delicious high concept (originally a Robert Bloch story). A Modernist score by Elisabeth Luytens, fetish-laden set design, and a fine supporting turn by Christopher Lee as a rival occultist top off one of Hammer/Amicus stalwart Francis’ best films. –KH
Good
The Blue Panther (Film, France, Claude Chabrol, 1965) Rich young woman (Marie Laforêt) on vacation at a Swiss ski resort relies on her wits and her judo training when she becomes the caretaker of a jewel sought by assorted international assassins. Chabrol’s tribute to the espionage side of the Hitchcock filmography is pretty and charming but a touch too insouciant about fulfilling genre requirements.—RDL
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (Film, US, Sam Raimi, 2022) Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) tries to protect universe-jumper America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) from the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). Think of this as MCU vanilla swirled with Raimi ripple; while the story lurches along we at least get plenty of spooky stuff and wild camera flips to entertain us. Olsen is the real standout acting-wise, mostly thanks to a clunky script that offers little for Cumberbatch or Gomez to do except handwave CGI nonsense. –KH
Men (Film, UK, Alex Garland, 2022) Widowed Harper (Jessie Buckley) rents a manor in a remote English countryside from Geoffrey (Rory Kinnear) to seek closure but gets toxic masculinity with a side of folk horror. A feast of sound and lushly filmed nature, a Green Man, and weird repeating Rory Kinnear only take you so far: a Cronenbergian spectacle at the end doesn’t stick the landing at all, although it certainly squicks it. Harper’s empty passivity wastes Buckley and vitiates what point remains. –KH
Okay
Three Resurrected Drunkards (Film, Japan, Nagisa Oshima, 1968) A trio of students lose their IDs to Korean infiltrators and must resort to metafictional awareness to save their skins. Oshima’s answer to Help! plunks the pop group Folk Crusaders into an eccentric mix of formal experimentation, gross-out humor, and Vietnam War protest.—RDL
Ken and Robin Consume Media: Hawkeye, Finch, Eternals, and The Velvet Underground
January 25th, 2022 | 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
Eyes of Fire (Film, US, Avery Crounse, 1983) On the Ohio frontier in 1750, Shawnee pursue an exiled adulterous preacher (Dennis Lipscomb) and a band of exiles including the daughter of a witch (Karlene Crockett) into a haunted valley. Surprisingly layered script, some really good manitou-ish creepiness, and an original story more than make up for the primitive special effects and slightly flat ending in this folk-horror Western. Also, getting to legitimately describe a movie as a “folk-horror Western” is pretty great. –KH
Five Little Pigs (Fiction, Agatha Christie, 1942) When the daughter of convicted murderess Caroline Crale tasks Hercule Poirot with finding the real killer after 15 years, his little grey cells get their greatest workout. Christie’s use of five narrative voices in flashback adds the layers to character and incident she usually neglects, and the puzzle is up there with her best misdirections. Finally, a Poirot novel I can Recommend. –KH
Hawkeye Season 1 (Television, US, Disney+, Jonathan Igla & Kevin Feige, 2021) Spoiled Hawkeye fangirl Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) crosses paths with the beat-up, world-weary Avenger (Jeremy Renner) while incurring the wrath of the tracksuit mafia. Good casting and chemistry, better-than-average fights, and a relatively tight series length keep the remarkably dumb story afloat. Any show that gets me to root for Jeremy Renner must be doing something right. –KH
Hercules in the Haunted World (Film, Italy, Mario Bava, 1961) To break the hold of vampire king Lico (Chrisopher Lee) over his beloved Deianira (Leonora Ruffo), brawny demigod Hercules (Reg Park) and his lothario hero pal Theseus (George Ardisson) brave the dangers of Hades. Peplum meets gothic horror as the ongoing series gets the full Bava treatment, from psychedelic color palette to scary imagery that must have blown the terrified minds of kiddie matinee attendees during its original release.—RDL
Ted Lasso Season 2 (Television, US, Apple+, Bill Lawrence, 2021) As AFC Richmond struggles to regain its spot in the Premier League, Ted (Jason Sudeikis) bumps heads with the new team psychologist (Sarah Niles) and Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) flirts with a mysterious dating app paramour. With the main cast satisfyingly united at the end of the previous season, this outing strains a bit for dramatic tension, settling from fresh new wonder status to comforting hangout show.—RDL
The Velvet Underground (Film, US, Todd Haynes, 2021) Rock band biodoc is in perfect hands with Haynes, who adopts avant garde visual techniques of Warhol and his circle to lay out the narrative of the seminal pre-punk art band, reclaiming Lou Reed’s gay icon status along the way.—RDL
Okay
Eternals (Film, US, Chloe Zhao, 2021) When their ancient enemy monsters return, an immortal alien, superbeing (Gemma Chan) reunites her scattered team of covert social engineers to fight them. Admirably ambitious, mostly stunning-looking shot at departing from established MCU formulas fails to find an efficient path into its complicated mythology and twisting narrative.—RDL
Finch (Film, US, Miguel Sapochnik, 2021) Determined survivor of a solar flare catastrophe (Tom Hanks) builds a humanoid robot (Caleb Landry-Jones) to guard his dog and accompany him on a cross-country journey. Sapochnik makes fine use of Hanks’ proven ability to carry a film as the only visible human onscreen, but draws the horror of his post-apocalypse so thoroughly that it fights the intended sentimentality of the father-son dramatic arc.—RDL
Episode 475: Romance or Blasphemy
December 10th, 2021 | Robin
Hey look it’s another all-request episode!
Beloved Patreon backer Kieron Gillen opens the Gaming Hut, which we hope isn’t a portal into a hellish otherrealm, to ask how designers screen out their skill as GMs during in-house playtests.
Erudite backer Bruce Miller infiltrates the Book Hut to ask about Richard Marsh’s The Beetle, a horror novel that for twenty years out-sold Dracula.
In Ask Ken and Robin, estimable backer Martin Rundkvist asks how Robin, and by extension Ken, goes about choosing projects.
Finally sagacious backer Paul Douglas poses a question that can only fit in the paranoid space that is the Conspiracy Corner: was Lenin a mushroom?
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.
Human problems are out of hand, so thank goodness, and Atlas Games, for Magical Kitties Save the Day, a fresh, fun roleplaying game for players of all ages, and for GMs from age 6 and up!
Score a blood-drenched special bonus from Pelgrane Press when you order the print edition Night’s Black Agents Dracula Dossier Director’s Handbook or any of its associated bundles. A new 50-page Cuttings PDF of deleted scenes and horrors that didn’t fit is now available for a limited time with the voucher code VAMP2021.
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!
Delta Green: Black Sites collects terrifying Delta Green operations previously published only in PDF or in standalone paperback modules. They lock bystanders and Agents alike in unlit rooms with the cosmic terrors of the unnatural. A 208 page hardback by masters of top secret mythos horror Dennis Detwiller, Adam Scott Glancy, Shane Ivey, and Caleb Stokes.
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