Bizzlecast Podcast By The Bizzle

Let’s get to the big news first: BizzleCast three-timer Aaron is officially a BizzleCast Co-Contributor! A hearty congrats, and A-A-Ron BRINGS IT to the commentary for one of our favorite movies, THE DARK KNIGHT (2008). So much to say about this movie, I’ll let our commentary do the talking. And remember: I’M NOT WEARING HOCKEY PADS. Sign up for BizzleCast on iTunes (keyword: BizzleCast) or use the RSS feed on any podcast app: http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:35604552/sounds.rss

People are digging STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, so the BizzleCast Party is here. Gabriel and Matt join The Bizzle to talk about all the things they loved about the film, and a few things not as much. Rey, Finn, Kylo, Poe, and of course BB-8 - the dialogue and relationships of the new characters truly made this a great movie-watching experience. It’s an excellent start to a franchise reboot, but the shockingly high critic and user reviews for it belie a flawed if very fun narrative. We dissect - and celebrate! Sign up for BizzleCast on iTunes (keyword: BizzleCast) or use the RSS feed on any podcast app: http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:35604552/sounds.rss

Forget “STAR WARS” (which was a lot of fun). “CREED” is the movie of the year because of its honesty, its humanism, and its heart. Michael B. Jordan embraces the underdog current of Philadelphia and never lets go. Sly Stallone puts in an Academy Award-worthy turn as the Yoda of boxing. A soundtrack for the ages; a filmmaking landmark for 2015 - Visuals and sound never worked so well together as we battle our greatest enemy: Ourselves. “I fight. You fight.” -MBJ. And this is some deep “ROCKY” history you won’t get anywhere else! This is BizzleCast at its best. Sign up for BizzleCast on iTunes (keyword: BizzleCast) or use the RSS feed on any podcast app: http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:35604552/sounds.rss

Bizzle on Star Wars in less than 15 minutes - and you thought this was a usual BizzleCast! NO spoilers here. I really liked this film but didn’t fall in love… yet. Don’t worry- just general impressions, thoughts, and feelings here from the most anticipated film experience in history. J.J. Abrams is very capable, the cast kills it (especially Boyega and most of all Ridley), and it’s beautiful to look at. Ridley is the major revelation, to say the least. And on a related note, I end my short podcast talking about my feelings on the criminally under-appreciated Carrie Fisher.

A brilliant and wholly original A.I. film that split audiences, Aaron and I believe HER (2013) is not only a classic A.I. film but an excellent movie in its own right. A perfect tonic for all the dystopic A.I. films in the past decades — Blade Runner, Terminator, The Matrix, Ex Machina, etc. — HER nevertheless has some disturbing overtones in both the performances and the implications. But it's the human-human and human-AI relationships that make this movie so wonderful. Enjoy our commentary. Sign up for BizzleCast on iTunes (keyword: BizzleCast) or use the RSS feed on any podcast app: http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:35604552/sounds.rss

"There's no higher compliment to pay this steadily riveting, quietly devastating take on investigative journalism than to say Spotlight gets it right. So did the Spotlight team on The Boston Globe when, in 2002, it published nearly 600 articles on child sex-abuse allegations against Catholic priests and the church cover-ups that followed. The team won a Pulitzer for its scalding exposé. And right now the film is the predictive favorite to win the Best Picture Oscar.” Peter Travers on “Spotlight” -Here’s the BizzleCast for it… Please sign up for BizzleCast on iTunes (keyword: BizzleCast) or use the RSS feed on any podcast app: http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:35604552/sounds.rss

Yes, you read correctly. No, The Bizzle hasn't lost his mind. Full Prequel film commentaries? Why, you ask?? Well, with THE FORCE AWAKENS coming very soon, Bizzle wants to talk about “When Keeping It (un)Real Goes Wrong: Star Wars Edition.” I had a blast with these Prequel commentaries - and it'll give you a way to have fun rewatching movies that you might not otherwise. Let the Bizzle be your guide as he uses his Force powers of Film Deconstruction. Sign up for BizzleCast on iTunes (keyword: BizzleCast) or use the RSS feed on any podcast app: http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:35604552/sounds.rss

We made it to 30!!!! The Bizzle is thrilled to celebrate this landmark by sitting down with fellow Wesleyan alum and current professional sports reporter Matt Goisman ’05 to discuss 'Star Trek,' its relationship to 'Star Wars,’ and the cultural relevance of their unique visions of the future (past?). But as so often happens when two masters of nerdiness have a chat, the conversation quickly morphed into a discussion of just about every scifi/fantasy occurrence from Asimov to the Avengers. Currently a sports reporter in New England, Matt Goisman wrote an extremely interesting thesis at Wesleyan where he looked at the characteristics of traditional Jewish heroes, specifically Moses, Jacob, the Talmudic rabbis and Hershel of Ostropol. Matt’s thesis looked at whether or not the Golem and modern superheroes could be described as traditional Jewish heroes or represented a redefinition of Jewish heroism more appropriate to a setting that had shifted from Eastern Europe to 20th century America. Sign up for BizzleCa

Gabriel and Dietz join the Bizzle to rap on the trailers and excitement for “Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.” This is a non-spoiler podcast, although we do put forth some theories based purely on the trailers and what we hope to see. We discuss the importance of casting a young woman (Daisy Ridley) and young black man (John Bodega) as the lead characters of Star Wars in 2015, and how far we’ve come (mostly) as a society when it comes to gender and race in Hollywood (still have a long way to go). Other questions we address include: Where the hell is Luke? Are Finn (Boyega) and Rey (Ridley) strong in the Force? Are either related by blood or otherwise to the Skywalker clan? Where does Kylo Ren’s (Adam Driver) amazing Broad-Saber come from? Is he a Dark Sith fan boy? And lots more… Sign up for BizzleCast on iTunes (keyword: BizzleCast) or use the RSS feed on any podcast app: http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:35604552/sounds.rss

Everything’s shiny on SERENITY (2005)! As part of my lead-up to Star Wars, I'm releasing film commentaries for my favorite space opera movies. My Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014) and Star Trek (2009) commentaries have been big hits, but I now bring you the best film of them all: SERENITY (2005) - Joss Whedon's magnum opus finale to the cult hit FIREFLY series and my favorite space "opera" (comedy) since the original Trilogy. With characters/actors who had a season of TV to develop all time great chemistry, SERENITY feels like coming home, a band of lovable pirates who form a very strong family while making you fall over laughing with classic Whedon-esque A+ humor. Nathan Fillion kills the comedy as Captain Malcolm Reynolds, but Summer Glau steals the movie as the psychic/assassin/adorable River Tam. And I can’t neglect Chiwitel Ejiofor as one of the greatest and most charismatic psychotic villains ever. Enjoy, humans. Sign up for BizzleCast on iTunes (keyword: BizzleCast) or use the RSS feed on any podcast app

Ladies and Gentleman, I give you PAPA BIZZLE! A.k.a. my Dad, I finally got him on the BizzleCast after constantly referencing him and seeing all these movies I love with him. But we absolutely loved “THE MARTIAN” even more than we were expecting, and as Papa B. puts it, “the humanism of this movie just oozes out of its pores.” Laughing out loud through the entirety — funnier than every other Ridley Scott movie combined, even though we generally love his works — the drama, suspense, and of course “science-ing the shit” out of everything really blew us away. And against all odds, “THE MARTIAN” is a super-hero movie that’s actually a super-hero movie, gloriously bringing to life a near-future scientific utopia of global cooperation and single-minded devotion towards the preservation of human life and the uplift of all humanity. Please sign up for BizzleCast on iTunes (keyword: BizzleCast) or use the RSS feed on any podcast app: http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:35604552/sounds.rss

The Bizzle and Yarehk take on one of the biggest and most difficult issues of our time: Race. What is "Race"? Yarehk and Biz discuss the historical, etymological, and performative roots of "race" and "racism." Is it real or imagined? Is academia helping or hurting our desire to move beyond race? Starting in Spain, where proto-racism developed through the persecution of the Moriscos and Conversos (converted Muslims and Jews) by the Church but was carried into New World imperialism, informing racialist notions as applied to indigenous Americans as well as the African slaves who were forcibly brought there. It’s a touchy subject but we deal with it as objectively as possible. The debate includes questions about the etymological basis of “race” and whether we can apply modern notions of identity formation to historical cultures and societies. You can reach Yarehk on Twitter @yarehk Please sign up for BizzleCast on iTunes (keyword: BizzleCast) or use the RSS feed on any podcast app: http://feeds.soundcloud.com

Get “Hooked On A Feeling” again with The Bizzle as your guide to GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY! Humans, Kree, Laskavarians, cybernetic raccoons, giant talking trees, and smoking hot Rajak chicks are all welcome. A hilariously brilliant and surprisingly touching Marvel space opera in the best tradition of epic scifi, GUARDIANS hits on so many fronts that the occasional awkward line or CGI bump are quickly forgotten, with phenomenal performances by Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, and the voice of Bradley Cooper, and amazing all-time great cameos by John C. Reilly and Benicio Del Toro. I still can’t believe this incredibly obscure comic book property got made, but even more shocking is that it earned almost $800 million at the box office, beating both Captain America and X-Men in 2014. Who saw that coming?!? So much heart in this movie, you just can’t help but grin ear-to-ear. BEHOLD! “Guardians Of The F**KING Galaxy…” Please sign up for BizzleCast on iTunes (keyword: BizzleCast) or use the RSS feed on any podcast ap

Gender stereotypes, sexuality, sadism, emotional manipulation, playing God — Alex Garland’s “EX MACHINA” (2015) joins Spike Jonze’s “HER” (2013) as the greatest films about artificial intelligence (A.I.) in a number of years. “EX MACHINA" is a dark and highly compelling parable about trying to make perfect replicants of our imperfect selves, starring Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson, and the spectacularly brilliant (and psychotic) Oscar Isaac. While drawing from 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, BLADE RUNNER, THE MATRIX, TERMINATOR and other classic A.I. films, EX MACHINA carves out its own slice of near-future sci-fi voyeurism. Join A-A-ron and The Bizzle in this highly thought-provoking and disturbing film. Please sign up for BizzleCast on iTunes (keyword: BizzleCast) or use the RSS feed on any podcast app: http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:35604552/sounds.rss

AVENGERS AGE OF ULTRON: The ultimate Nerdgasm from beginning to end. Yes, it is completely unrestrained and over the top, but for me the sum of the parts overwhelm the whole with their awesomeness The most epic and brilliantly executed Earth-based action/comic/scifi film ever realized on the big screen, this movie is on the Mt. Rushmore of genre films: a mind-boggling number of superheroes and superpowers, machine-gun delivery of hilarious one-liners (which usually hit), a ridiculous amount of CGI that looks almost flawless throughout. Director/writer Joss Whedon and the whole cast kill it as usual — especially the new additions of the [mutant] Twins (Elizabeth Olsen & Aaron-Taylor-Johnson) and the spectacular introduction of The Vision (Paul Bethany). Definitely the most fun I’ve had doing any commentary, so get your Digital HD copy now and nerd out with me on two hours of glorious comic book action, drama, and comedic genius! Please sign up for BizzleCast on iTunes (keyword: BizzleCast) or use the RSS fee

What was maybe the greatest superhero movie ever was hardly a superhero movie. Yes you’ve got Cap — and the shield, and it is glorious -- with Chris Evans channeling both UFC and Edward Snowden in his ongoing rebellion against slavery masked as freedom. Scarlett Johansson steals the screen regularly as per usual. Anthony Mackie is the perfect best friend for Cap — cocky, loyal, and lovable. But this is the Bourne movie that Bourne WISHED it was. Best action since The Matrix. An R-rated movie that somehow got a PG-13 (Disney dollars, anyone?). The deepest of the Marvel movies has the smallest cast but arguably the highest stakes. Political spy drama action thriller - oh, and it’s got Captain America. Please sign up for BizzleCast on iTunes (keyword: BizzleCast) or use the RSS feed on any podcast app: http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:35604552/sounds.rss

Dietz and Biz debate best Zeppelin, Radiohead, and grunge albums; discuss songwriting; critique the somewhat (?) pretentious cultural scene in San Francisco; and of course, rip on "Game Of Thrones" as needlessly pornographic and just plain boring. We do praise the virtuosity of "Breaking Bad” and “Birdman” - but was "True Detective" plagiarized?! AND you get a sneak peak of his latest song, “Lady Dupree,” coming out on his third album that’s about to drop! And I FINALLY get to unveil my Four Album Theory about the greatest rock bands ever. About Adam: Whether it's "work" or not work, Dietz loves engaging with his community and connecting folks with other folks, sharing art, sharing food, sharing space. And appreciating what we can share and enjoy with one another. Check him out here: http://bonesyard.org http://blog.rifftime.com/2015/08/adam-dietz-and-his-lady-dupree/ https://www.facebook.com/AdamDietzMusic Please sign up for BizzleCast on iTunes (keyword: BizzleCast) or use the RSS feed on any podcast ap

Forget everything you thought you knew about Star Trek. J.J.’s masterpiece to date, this one is at least as much Star Wars as Trek: swashbuckling adventure, fantastic humor, breakneck pace, unbelievably colorful and gorgeously filmed. Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) loves the alien ladies and gets his ass kicked on a regular and highly entertaining basis. But the incredibly sweet, understated, and believable love story between Spock (Zachary Quinto) and Uhura (Zoe Saldana) is what launches this film beyond the final frontier. To quote a friend, this is the best Star Wars movie since Return Of The Jedi. J.J.’s virtuosic direction here almost guarantees that Star Wars Episode VII will be at worst highly entertaining and brilliantly executed. But STAR TREK is the Trek movie for non-Trekkies and yet continues to be one of my faves of all time despite my own Trekkie background. If you like great and exciting films, I guarantee you will enjoy this one. If you want to get straight to the commentary and skip the intro,

In arguably the greatest year of film ever (1999), THE MATRIX stood above the rest. Master Adam Tuck narrates and comments on the greatest parts of the classic first film while Master Bizzle adds philosophical commentary, talks about the other films, and pontificates on his crackpot theories about The Matrix universe. Please sign up for BizzleCast on iTunes (keyword: BizzleCast) or use the RSS feed on any podcast app: http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:35604552/sounds.rss

Winner of Best Picture in 1995, BRAVEHEART (now on Netflix!) changed epic historical filmmaking forever, and remains a near-perfect and highly rewatchable work of art. Despite Mel Gibson’s fall from grace, this is an all-time great performance from him as well as from Brendan Gleeson, Sophie Marceau, Catherine McCormack, and so many others. I wasn’t sure it would hold up after many years of not seeing it but goddamn this movie is freaking amazing. Can Bizzle nail the commentary? “WE CAN... AND WE WILL!” If you want to get straight to the commentary and skip the intro, fast forward to 00:03:35 Please sign up for BizzleCast on iTunes (keyword: BizzleCast) or use the RSS feed on any podcast app: http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:35604552/sounds.rss Music by James Horner