Medium Literate

Masters of the Universe

Neither Monika nor Emily had any relationship to the He-Man character going into this one, and yet we've been genuinely charmed by the Masters of the Universe movie. This week they get into why a campy, slightly homoerotic, two and a half hour fantasy epic about a blonde himbo in a leather harness and his many friends somehow... worked? We know! We're surprised too. We cover a lot in this one, like the surprisingly great fight sequences, Jared Leto being hidden behind a skeleton face (best case Leto scenario really), Alison Brie's witch with a razor sharp bob, the three post credit scenes of a cinematic universe that may never be, and a lot of charming tangents you will definitely all love! Theme music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/christian-larssen/happy-street [https://track.pstmrk.it/3s/uppbeat.io%2Ft%2Fchristian-larssen%2Fhappy-street/vZub/g4nDAQ/AQ/ced5efd8-591b-4462-9b07-103d26ec307d/4/QNuFxIlpxF] License code: B9EXR1D9EIBQLKXT

Backrooms

The highly anticipated youtube-phenomenon-turned-multiple-Oscar-nominee-starring-A24-movie BACKROOMS from 20 year old director Kane Parsons is finally out this week, and we're talking all about it, the good and the bad. Monika and Emily once again have very different opinions on a horror movie (classic us), but one thing everyone can agree on? Baby Grogu.

I Love Boosters

Filmmaker (And dare we say...Auteur) Boots Riley is back with I Love Boosters, a candy colored surrealist crime caper starring Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Demi Moore, LaKeith Stanfield and Don Cheadle. This movie was a damn blast but also left both of us with a lot to chew on. Enjoy our full spoiler conversation where the two of us try to figure out how to talk about Marxist theory, teleportation devices, soul sucking demons, and Boots Riley's vision of a Bay Area Looney Toons movie.

Obsession

Director/writer Curry Barker's first feature film Obsession really split the podcast right down the middle: Monika hated it, and Emily loved it so much she saw it twice. We discuss our very different takeaways from this horror movie about a wish gone wrong, while also discovering some things we actually agree on. **This is a Full Spoiler Conversation**

The Sheep Detectives and Hokum

This week we did an extremely normal double feature!! First up is Hokum, a dark Irish folklore horror written and directed by Damian McCarthy and starring Adam Scott. Hokum is part witch story and part "uh oh, the real villain is MAN." They spend the first twenty minutes here before moving on to the main event... (25:09) The Sheep Detectives is a live action talking animal cozy mystery from Amazon MGM, written by Craig Mazin (you know, the Chernobyl and The Last of Us guy?) and directed by Kyle Balda the director of the Minions movies! The Sheep Detectives has an all star cast including Hugh Jackman, Bryan Cranston, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Nicholas Braun, Regina Hall, Brett Goldstein, Rhys Darby, Chris O'Dowd and Bella Ramsey. A gentle vegetarian shepherd is murdered and his sheep decide to solve the crime. It is also, somehow, an incredibly moving meditation on grief. Monika does not like children's media...Monika cried?