The Incomparable

Take the red pill and enter “The Matrix,” 1999’s influential sci-fi/action classic. Why does Morpheus talk like a fortune cookie? Is Keanu’s woodenness an asset or detriment? Was skeuomorphism the fall of man? And if we accept that living things can be used as batteries, why wouldn’t the machines just use cows? Grad students, we are about to blow your minds. Whoa.

We conclude the second Incomparable Film Festival with 21 more films we think are worth seeing, in fantasy draft format. Don’t miss the exciting Lightning Round, and stay tuned when it’s all over for our expert post-draft analysis! (Part 2 of 2.)

It’s time for the second Incomparable Film Festival! We pick 35 films that we think are worth seeing, in fantasy draft format. From horror to comedy to drama to sci-fi to kung-fu, we’ve got just about every genre covered. (Part 1 of 2.)

An entire comic book about Hawkeye, the lesser Marvel superhero with a bow and arrow? Okay… this looks bad. But seriously, bro, this is one of the very best comics being published today. We cover the first two trade-paperback editions of Fraction and Aja’s series, including Lucky the Pizza Dog, 50 Shades of Purple, and how hooking up a laserdisc player is similar to defusing a bomb. Hop on board and join us—we’re great at boats.

Special guest star Philip Michaels gives us an old-movie education with two caper movies from the 1950s, “The Lavender Hill Mob” and “The Killing.” One’s funny, one’s not, but both teach us that crime doesn’t pay! Plus young Stanley Kubrick, funnyman Alec Guinness, the second-greatest fight scene Steve has ever seen, and a guest appearance by General Eisenhower.

A boy with no name travels to the end of the lane and discovers how a pond can be an ocean in Neil Gaiman’s brief and wonderful novel “The Ocean at the End of the Lane.” Also Dan explains Jason’s perfect vacation, there’s lots of talk about cats, why David has issues with Old Yeller, and we talk about other Neil Gaiman works that we like.

Do you like stories, love, and life? Then even if you’re not a regular comic book reader, you should read “Saga,” by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples. (Unless naked robot sex disturbs you, in which case you shouldn’t.) We cover the horns and the wings, bad connections on the interstellar cellphone network, seahorse agents, super space high school, a frog with a banjo, the wisdom of hiring a ghost as your babysitter, and much more.

Load your shotgun, put on your clear plastic suit, and climb into that suspiciously humming box! We’re here to talk about three very different time-travel movies: “12 Monkeys,” “Looper,” and “Primer.” Is “Crazy Brad Pitt” a thing? If you met a younger version of yourself, would you fight or cuddle? Why is the apocalypse like Philadelphia? Also something about a Weeble in a time machine, we didn’t really understand that part.

Live! From San Diego County! It’s a podcast where Jason Snell, Steve Lutz, and Greg Knauss drink beer and talk about Comic-Con, a glut of too much good media, the pros and cons of wearing costumes, Adventure Time, Glenn’s health scare, and much more. It’s slightly tipsy and more than slightly rambling, but we hope you’ll crack a beverage of your own and join us for this cocktail party.

Put on your red shirt, renew your blogging license, and swallow some alien bacteria! It’s time for our annual read of the five Hugo Award nominees for best novel. We liked some of them, we hated some of them, but we talked about all of them! But beware: The diabolical eyes of the Centers for Disease Control are watching us all.

It’s our 150th episode! Since we don’t normally answer listener questions and read comments on the show, we’re devoting this episode to that very topic. We read your emails, your iTunes reviews, and your tweets, and announce a contest that will let one lucky listener choose the topic of a future episode. Are we too critical or not critical enough? Do we disagree too much or not enough? Plus: Why we’re not kidnapping Stephen Fry, a new magazine for apes, light eatage, and some Glenning.

The Incomparable’s Superhero Draft is now in session, and justice is on the clock! Hear our collection of panelists assemble several excellent super-teams. Who will inhabit the Hall of Justice? And why are Superman and Batman looking on forlornly? Are they just not team players? Take your Sharknado to the Evil Museum and ponder just why Iron Man might not be the hero you think he is.

Jason’s on vacation this week, so instead of a conventional episode, here’s an edited third installment of our Dungeons and Dragons campaign. Hot on the heels of the death of Eglath, our heroes step into the maelstrom and discover the secret of the stone temple on the other side. Also, is that a lobster? And who is that guy wearing a hat?

Though we were tempted to release this episode in eight 10-minute installments, we refrained. Our Book Club reconvenes to discuss John Scalzi’s novel “The Human Division,” which was initially released as a serial and later as a single-volume novel. Does the serialized format help or hurt? Is Scalzi’s return to his “Old Man’s War” universe a triumph? PLUS! We discuss all the short fiction nominated for the Hugo Award this year.

Quick! Before the planet is destroyed! Climb on your Kryptonian dragonfly-horse thing and join us to discuss “Man of Steel,” the first in a new cycle of Superman movies. We debate the talents of director Zack Snyder, question the movie artistically and as a calculated act of commerce, praise a lot of very good things about the movie, and complain a whole lot about gleeful destruction and the accompanying property damage.

Winter is coming! Any day now. No, really… Wait for it… Hmm. In the meantime, here’s our review of this year’s “Game of Thrones” season, recorded with all of us in the same room! Haven’t seen it? Skip ahead an hour and listen to us talk about other TV shows we watched during the 2012-2013 TV season, including the finale of “Fringe.”

“My Neighbor Totoro” is an animated classic in which nothing much happens, but we love it anyway. We discuss how the movie is all about children’s fears of change, ponder the differences between subtitled and dubbed versions, and contemplate corn as a cure for tuberculosis. CREEPY!

Press down on the warp lever and hide away your out-of-date continuity reference materials. It’s time for us to discuss J.J. Abrams’ reimagined Star Trek, with an emphasis on the new film “Star Trek Into Darkness.” Among our topics: The great casting in both movies, the merits of a Spock-to-Spock Skype call, McCoy’s Tribble-based scientific method, and the themes of self-sacrifice in the new movie. Plus we reference every single classic Star Trek movie along the way! And yes, there are spoilers. Lots and lots of spoilers.

From aliens in the wi-fi to a brain leech under a hat, from some bad nannying to a trio of idiots with a really big space magnet, it’s been an odd half-season for our favorite Time Lord. Here’s our recap of the second half of series 7 of “Doctor Who.” Plus: The Spoiler Horn makes it safe for everyone who wanted to learn the Doctor’s real name.

Put on your high-tech suit of armor and join us for our discussion of “Iron Man 3.” We talk about Tony’s post-traumatic stress, his problematic relationship with technology, and his questionable choice to use remote armor to give a present to his girlfriend. We also discuss the pros and cons of the first two Iron Man movies, analyze how this film fits in as a post-“Avengers” story, and appreciate Tony’s MacGyver moment.