Baconsale: Hickory-smoked Pop Culture

Gooooooooood morning, listener! There are many war movies out there. So many. Too many to choose from, in fact, so we’ve strategically narrowed down the field a bit. On this episode of Baconsale, Kent and Joel are each selecting four war films that don’t deal with the World Wars to put on their personal monument, following which we’ll decide which ones we’d carve in stone to create a public monument. From the Persian invasion of Greece to modern-day Afghanistan (but skipping over the years 1914 through 1945), we’re discussing some of the best battles the silver screen has to offer. Are you not entertained? Wait, you’re not? Well, then, press play.

Kent hoped. Kent dreamed. Kent retweeted. And finally, this DC fanboy’s dream has come true, because Zack Snyder’s Justice League is coming to the small screen! HBO Max is releasing the Snyder Cut next year, 2021, and Kent could not be happier. Well, he would have been a little happier if Henry Cavill had announced Man of Steel 2, but he’s still pretty thrilled, and he wants to spread his warm fuzzy feelings to you, the listener. Press play to hear Kent squee with geeky delight!

Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, select, start. There. Now you have 30 lives to listen to this episode of Baconsale! Today we’re taking things back to our childhood, when we would spend hours playing video games on the original Nintendo Entertainment System on our big 22-inch screen TVs. We’ve picked a dozen categories such as Doesn’t Hold Up, Deserves a Reboot, Best Box Art, and Most Frustrating Boss, and Kent & Joel are ready to choose their NES answers for each one. It's dangerous to go alone! Press play to take this episode.

We’re not quite sure how Kent talked us into doing this, but for this BaconBit we’re reviewing the 2020 remake of a 1997 PlayStation game that was the seventh installment in the series. Kent was very passionate about Final Fantasy 7 back then, and he seems to share the same passion now—even though the new remake changes some things that fans of the franchise may not be happy with. Join us as we do our best to not make Kent cry, because he did back in ’97 when he played FF7. Oh, and just in case you were worried, we’re not spoiling anything for the first part of this review, so go ahead and press play.

Have you ever enjoyed a movie that you never wanted to watch again? Kent, Joel, and Zack have! Whether it be because they were too long, too dark, too experimental, or too perfect, we’re talking about films that we’re glad we saw, but don’t have a desire to revisit. We’ll do our best to keep things light and fluffy, despite the grim subject matter we encounter along the way. Listen as Kent fears for Joel's hipster soul, while Zack makes some picks that are sure to be controversial for both children & adults. Press play to decide how many times you’d like to listen to this episode of Baconsale.

Imagine Kent and Joel are on a school field, with a bunch of bad animated feature films standing in front of them. They must choose their team, one by one, and then present their final list to Zack, who has to decide which group of movies he’ll be watching for the rest of his life. That’s the premise of this episode. Watch as we try to defend mediocre-to-terrible children’s cartoons that you, the listener, gave to us. It ain’t pretty, but it’s Baconsale. Don’t get left on the bench, press play!

Now that Chris Hemsworth is taking a break from being Thor (and taking a break from arm day, according to Zack), Baconsale is here to give our review of his latest movie, Extraction. But is this straight-to-Netflix action flick as good as the ones they release in theaters? We’ll let you know. And don’t worry about the overly complicated plot, we’re ready to help walk you through it once we leave the spoiler-free part of this BaconBit. Press play to hear some amazing Australian-like accents!

Are you ready for a life-changing experience that will change your life forever? Four years ago, Baconsale presented a list of people, places, and things that we felt were overrated. Everyone in the world agreed it was the best show we’d ever done…UNTIL NOW! Buckle your brain belts, because once again, we’re talking about overhyped stuff. Our range of random topics includes overpraised breakfast foods, Olympic sports, Pixar movies, sitcom characters, smartphone features, condiments (a surprisingly touchy subject), and so much more! Press play to have your mind blown by the new most greatest episode of Baconsale!

You can be a winner at the game of life by listening to this episode of Baconsale! Today we’re ranking some of the most popular tabletop games in history, including Monopoly, Scrabble, Twister (can you play that on a table?), Yahtzee, Connect Four, and The Settlers of Catan. You think playing Risk makes people angry? Just wait until Kent, Joel, or Zack give one of your family favorites a low tier. Get ready for fun facts, random histories, and the confessions of a board flipper. And just in case you were wondering who we want to press the play button, it’s you, in your home, with the candlestick.

The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is a wonderful resource for any movie-lover, but some of the user-submitted content on that site is a little strange. Therefore, on this episode of Baconsale, we’re introducing a new game (that’s going to sweep the nation!) where Kent, Joel, and Zack try to identify movies based solely on descriptions from the IMDb Parents Guide. We invite you to play along, as well, and see if you can beat our scores. Also, you should know that while this episode discusses potentially offensive material in films, we still try to keep things as family friendly as possible. Press play to hear why 1 out of 1 listener found this podcast interesting!

Just because something is awful doesn’t mean we hate it. Today Baconsale is scraping the bottom of the barrel to search for movies we enjoy among the lowest-rated flicks on Rotten Tomatoes. Kent has to defend one of his all-time favorite films, Joel is apparently obsessed with Dana Carvey, and our good friend Zack, who is stepping in for Jacob today, almost gets kicked off the show multiple times. Press play to get critical with Baconsale!

Hey, all you cool cats and kittens! Hollywood may have stopped releasing feature films in theaters, but Netflix is bigger than ever with their latest seven-episode documentary, Tiger King. And in case you’ve been wondering what all the memes are about, Baconsale is here to review it. Kent, Joel, and Zack each watched it and are still trying to process everything they saw. If you haven’t seen it yet, don’t worry, the first half of this BaconBit is spoiler free. Don’t believe Carole Baskin’s lies about us! Press play to hear all about murder, mayhem and madness.

If you’ve got some time to kill—and many of us seem to have that problem these days—this is the episode for you! Today on Baconsale we’re talking about television shows that will help pass the hours, days, and even weeks, if necessary. These are shows that are available to stream online right now, so you can start enjoying our recommendations immediately. However, we must warn you that Kent embraces the dark, Joel gets in touch with his feminine side, and Jacob…well, Jacob has something important to tell you. Press play to hear the record for most Star Trek references on a single episode of Baconsale! (The previous record was one.)

Hold On to your cargo pants, listener! Baconsale is in The Middle of a 2000s alternative rock bracket, and we’re One Step Closer to crowning a Hero. The band matchups are now more Complicated, and we must keep going despite the Madness. Joel’s emotions are brought to Such Great Heights, Kent has a difficult time being Mr. Brightside, and Heads Will Roll as Jacob disagrees with some of the picks. It Ends Tonight, so press play, because we wouldn’t be Here Without You. Print your own advanced Baconsale 2000s Alt-Rock bracket at Baconsale.com

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a trio of men in possession of a good idea, must be in want of a podcast episode. Therefore, Kent, Joel, and Jacob are ready to talk, without pride or prejudice, about film adaptations of books. Joining us on this episode is Drew, an avid reader and patron of Baconsale. We’re discussing which pieces of literature lend themselves well to the silver screen, as well as which novels would have best been left on the shelf. Press play to hear the audiobook version of this episode...before the movie comes out.

Somebody Told Me that you have been Sitting, Waiting, Wishing for another Baconsale music tournament, and we have The Remedy! It’s Been Awhile since the 2000s, but we’re looking back to see who is, Hands Down, the best alternative rock band from that era. We won’t go In Too Deep this episode, only through the first round of match-ups—The Reason is because we don’t want this episode to be 100 Years long. But Someday we’ll finish the bracket and pick Only One band that deserves A Praise Chorus.   That’s What You Get when you press play!   Print your own 2000s alt-rock bracket at Baconsale.com to play along at home!

Buckle up, listener, it’s time for Baconsale to talk about driving etiquette. We’re declaring which rules other drivers should follow, discussing proper protocol when riding in someone else’s car, and we’re giving road trip tips. Along the way, we’ll take a few pit stops to tell personal stories about learning to drive, getting into accidents, and evading the police (wait, what?). We’re also sharing road rules you submitted to us, and deciding which ones get the green light. Check your mirrors. Use your blinker. Press play.

Kent saw The Invisible Man, and he’s ready to get transparent about how he feels about it. Could this movie be the second beginning of Universal Picture’s Dark Universe? Kent’s not sure, but he does resist the urge to get into spoilers, despite Joel’s persistent questions. He also talks about the underlying themes in the film as well as how believable the visual effects are and how scary this thriller is overall. Press play to see what we’re talking about.

Are you looking for the Baconsale episode where we rank Pepsi products? Well, then, you got the right one, baby! Today we’re discussing 27 popular soft drinks, such as Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper, 7 Up, Hawaiian Punch, and A&W Root Beer. Each soda pop will get a tier 1, tier 2, or tier 3 ranking. Additionally, we’ll discuss perceived health benefits, Russian conspiracies, corporate sabotage, failed experiments, and weird jingles & slogans—including the song that inspires Kent to go “girlwatching.” I’m a listener! He’s a listener! She’s a listener! Wouldn’t you like to be a listener, too? Press play.

My, my, how the tables have turned. Joel took his kids to see Sonic the Hedgehog last weekend (which explains why it did so well at the box office), while Jacob went with some vague family members, and Kent is the one who hasn’t seen the movie yet. Joel and Jacob do their best to keep their reviews spoiler-free for the first part, then we race through the entire plot of this video game adaptation. Join us as we discuss character redesigns, product placement, and Jim Carrey’s performance as Doctor Robotnik. Hold down, repeatedly press A, then press play!