Legends Podcast

Author Tom Clancy ruled the ‘80s and ‘90s with his military espionage thrillers, starting with 1984’s The Hunt for Red October, producing seventeen bestsellers and selling over 100 million copies in his lifetime, and spawning multiple motion pictures. His most famous character, CIA analyst Jack Ryan, has been played by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, and Chris Pine. Most recently, John Krasinski has stepped into the role for Amazon’s original TV series, Jack Ryan. Clancy’s character John Clark, a darker, more action-oriented counterpoint to Jack Ryan, is another long-running fan favorite, more notably through the Rainbow Six novels and video game series. Paramount was set to launch Clark’s origin story onto the big screen before the pandemic deep-sixed plans for a theatrical release. Amazon saw an opportunity for a bit of brand synergy and snapped up the release rights for the action movie starring Michael B. Jordan. We’re checking out the latest blockbuster forced to go directly to streaming, and w

Danish director Thomas Vinterberg, perhap best known for co-founding the Dogme 95 filmmaking movement with fellow director Lars von Trier, is also famous for his intensely intimate character studies within ensemble casts. His latest film follows that trend, with Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Magnus Millang, and Lars Ranthe starring as four high school teachers who decide to get perpetually buzzed during their daily lives… for science! Called “Druk” - slang for “binge drinking” - in Danish, the film received global critical praise, winning the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film and earning Vinterberg a nomination for Best Director. This week, we’re heading to the bar and ordering up Another Round!   For more geeky podcasts visit GonnaGeek.com   You can find us on iTunes under ''Legends Podcast''. Please subscribe and give us a positive review. You can also follow us on Twitter @LegendsPodcast or even better, send us an e-mail: LegendsPodcastS@gmail.com You can find all our contact informati

This player-versus-player video game hit arcades almost thirty years ago, and it quickly became infamous for its graphic violence, including bloody signature kill moves called Fatalities. While it’s gotten the big screen treatment before, most notably in Paul W.S. Anderson’s 1995 film, it’s never earned the R-rating that the franchise deserves. The new film, released last month in theaters and on HBO Max, chooses that destiny with gory Fatalities galore - but does it live up to the expectations of our three hosts? We test our might with... Mortal Kombat!    For more geeky podcasts visit GonnaGeek.com   You can find us on iTunes under ''Legends Podcast''. Please subscribe and give us a positive review. You can also follow us on Twitter @LegendsPodcast or even better, send us an e-mail: LegendsPodcastS@gmail.com   You can find all our contact information here on the Network page of GonnaGeek.com Our complete archive is always available at www.legendspodcast.com, www.legendspodcast.libsyn.com

Playwright Mart Crowley’s The Boys in the Band opened in 1968 as an Off-Broadway production with a limited engagement - just five curtain calls. However, the show’s popularity led to a change in venue to a larger theater where it ran for 1,001 performances from April of ‘68 to 1970. In 1970, William Friedkin directed the original cast in a film version from a script by Crowley, which made waves as the first mainstream film to use the “C” Word. In 2018, a Tony Award-winning Broadway revival opened for the play’s 50th anniversary, with Jim Parsons, Matt Bomer and Zachary Quinto leading a cast of all out  gay actors. In 2020, Netflix released the Ryan Murphy-produced film version of the revived play with that cast - which won the 2021 GLAAD Media Award for Limited Release Film. Legends Podcast is spending the whole month exploring gay and lesbian cinema in what we’re calling Gaypril, and we’re wrapping up the month with The Boys in the Band!   For more geeky podcasts visit GonnaGeek.com   You can find us on iTun

Director Jamie Babbit made her feature debut in 1999 after she found success at Sundance with her short film Sleeping Beauties. Starring Natasha Lyonne as a high school cheerleader sent to conversion therapy camp, the film also features Clea DuVall and Melanie Lynskey as her fellow lesbian campers, along with Cathy Moriarty and RuPaul as the staff in the pink and blue John Waters-esque dreamscape of the True Directions camp. The film earned an initial rating of NC-17 from the MPAA, as did American Pie, the other 1999 sex comedy that featured Lyonne. But while the film where a guy has sexual relations with his dessert went on to spawn multiple sequels, this subversive yet sweet take-down of homophobic sterotypes remains relatively obscure. Legends Podcast is spending the whole month exploring gay and lesbian cinema in what we’re calling Gaypril. We’re all podcasters here - But I’m a Cheerleader - is the name of the movie!   For more geeky podcasts visit GonnaGeek.com   You can find us on iTunes under ''Legends

Director Ang Lee had already achieved international success when he took the helm of an adaptation of Annie Proulx’s short story that was co-written by Lonesome Dove author Larry McMurty. Starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as two cowboys who carry on a decades-long love affair that began on the titular mountain in 1963, the film was a critical and commercial success, winning multiple awards including top honors at the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs. At the Academy Awards, it famously lost the Best Picture Oscar to Crash in one of the most controversial upsets in recent years. Legends Podcast is spending the whole month exploring gay and lesbian cinema in what we’re calling Gaypril - and this week we’re gathering around the campfire for Brokeback Mountain!   For more geeky podcasts visit GonnaGeek.com   You can find us on iTunes under ''Legends Podcast''. Please subscribe and give us a positive review. You can also follow us on Twitter @LegendsPodcast or even better, send us an e-mail: LegendsPodcastS@gma

Director Peter Jackson rose to prominence directing horror-comedies, but it was his 1994 film Heavenly Creatures that earned him international recognition and his first Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay with his partner, Fran Walsh. Retelling the infamous Parker-Hulme murder case in Christchurch, New Zealand, forty years prior, the film introduced Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey to the screen and featured immeresive fantasy elements that foreshadow Jackson’s work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Legends Podcast is spending the whole month exploring gay and lesbian cinema in what we’re calling Gaypril - and we’re starting out with strangest tourism ad in New Zealand’s history! For more geeky podcasts visit GonnaGeek.com   You can find us on iTunes under ''Legends Podcast''. Please subscribe and give us a positive review. You can also follow us on Twitter @LegendsPodcast or even better, send us an e-mail: LegendsPodcastS@gmail.com   You can find all our contact information here on the Network page

Four years after its original release, the fifth film of the DCEU is back on screens courtesy of HBO Max. Zack Snyder’s Justice League, however, presents an almost entirely different vision from Joss Whedon’s theatrical version, and is the direct result of the unholy alliance between a troubled production, a rabid fanbase, and a streaming service hungry for buzz-worthy content. Adding $70 million to the original film’s $300 million budget for all-new visual effects and new footage - as well as the restoration of Henry Cavill’s upper lip - and clocking in at over four hours, the “Snyder Cut'’ is certainly more… but is it better?   For more geeky podcasts visit GonnaGeek.com   You can find us on iTunes under ''Legends Podcast''. Please subscribe and give us a positive review. You can also follow us on Twitter @LegendsPodcast or even better, send us an e-mail: LegendsPodcastS@gmail.com   You can find all our contact information here on the Network page of GonnaGeek.com Our complete archive is always available at

The career of action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger is full of hits, but 1993 handed him his first major flop. Following his career-defining performance in Terminator 2: Judgement Day, the John McTiernan-directed spoof Last Action Hero saw Arnie play a fictional movie character from an action sequel starring… Arnold Schwarzeneggar. Opening in June of 1993, Last Action Hero was billed as "the next great summer action movie," but bad word-of-mouth from a disastrous test screening destroyed any chance the film had of standing up to the competition. The fact that the competition was Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, which came out the weekend before Last Action Hero and would go on to become the highest-grossing film of all time at that point... Well, it almost made Arnold’s action career extinct. But twenty-eight years later, Last Action Hero seems ahead of its time, and it may just be one of the best comedies Arnold ever made.   For more geeky podcasts visit GonnaGeek.com   You can find us on iTunes under ''Legends

After facing a career downturn and seeing his personal life turn to tabloid fodder, Ben Affleck solidified his status as an actor-director with his sophomore outing, 2010’s The Town. Starring Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, and Pete Postelwaite in his final film role, The Town followed up the first pic Affleck helmed, 2007’s Gone Baby Gone, as another Boston-based crime drama. The Town received overwhelmingly positive reviews and a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nom for Renner, and Affleck’s next film, Argo, would win him the Oscar for Best Picture. This year, to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day, we’re painting the town green!   For more geeky podcasts visit GonnaGeek.com   You can find us on iTunes under ''Legends Podcast''. Please subscribe and give us a positive review. You can also follow us on Twitter @LegendsPodcast or even better, send us an e-mail: LegendsPodcastS@gmail.com   You can find all our contact information here on the Network page of GonnaGeek.com Our complete archive is always availab

In 2012, the French sci-fi action film Lockout asked the question: what if Luc Besson ripped off John Carpenter’s Escape from New York? When a convicted ex-soldier is asked to infiltrate a floating maximum-security prison to rescue a member of the First Family in order to receive a pardon, hijinks ensue. Starring Guy Pearce as Snake - er, um, “Snow,” - Lockout was panned by critics as “Escape from N.Y./L.A. in space” and barely made back its $20 million dollar budget. Carpenter then sued for plagiarism, and a French court ruled that Besson’s company EuropaCorp had to pay $502,000 in damages. But after a year of lockdown, does Lockout’s punishment still fit the crime? For more geeky podcasts visit GonnaGeek.com   You can find us on iTunes under ''Legends Podcast''. Please subscribe and give us a positive review. You can also follow us on Twitter @LegendsPodcast or even better, send us an e-mail: LegendsPodcastS@gmail.com   You can find all our contact information here on the Network page of GonnaGeek.com Our c

In 1997, the Canadian sci-fi horror film Cube asked the question: what if six strangers were trapped in a maze filled with traps and the only way for them to escape was by using... math? Okay, so on paper Cube is a movie that should not work. It was made for just $350K, in one room, with a bunch of unknown actors. There are a few special effects, but blink and you’ll miss them. There are no answers given as to why anything is happening. The movie is just all cube. Yet Cube is a cult classic, with two follow-ups and a Japanese remake under its belt, and a remake reportedly in development. And after a year in isolation, with every day the same as the last, Cube might just be the most relatable movie of our era.   For more geeky podcasts visit GonnaGeek.com   You can find us on iTunes under ''Legends Podcast''. Please subscribe and give us a positive review. You can also follow us on Twitter @LegendsPodcast or even better, send us an e-mail: LegendsPodcastS@gmail.com You can find all our contact information her

The global box office shut down has led many theatrical releases to seek other avenues for distribution - including films seeking award recognition. Earlier this year, Amazon Prime released One Night in Miami…, which is the first film directed by Regina King and was written by Kemp Powers, based on his 2013 play. While it received showings at multiple film festivals - including the first movie by a Black female director to be selected for the Venice Film Festival - and a limited release prior to its streaming debut, Amazon Prime is betting that strong word of mouth on streaming will boost the pic’s Oscar hopes. Within the last few weeks ago, One Night in Miami… scored three Golden Globe noms and five Critics Choice Award nods. Now Legends Podcast is checking in to the Hampton House to hang out with four legendary men.   For more geeky podcasts visit GonnaGeek.com   You can find us on iTunes under ''Legends Podcast''. Please subscribe and give us a positive review. You can also follow us on Twitter @LegendsPod

The global box office shut down has led many theatrical releases to seek other avenues for distribution. Earlier this month, Netflix released Space Sweepers, the first-ever South Korean space blockbuster, which had originally been aimed at cinemas. After multiple delays due to the pandemic, the film’s studio sold the movie’s exclusive rights to Netflix in hopes that it would be well-received and could jump-start a franchise. Upon release, Space Sweepers topped Netflix’s own Top 10 list in several countries around the globe, including South Korea. Now we’re checking in with the crew of the Spaceship Victory to see if this international action movie is trash or treasure.    For more geeky podcasts visit GonnaGeek.com   You can find us on iTunes under ''Legends Podcast''. Please subscribe and give us a positive review. You can also follow us on Twitter @LegendsPodcast or even better, send us an e-mail: LegendsPodcastS@gmail.com You can find all our contact information here on the Network page of GonnaGeek.com O

This episode includes a discussion of suicide. If you are in crisis, you should call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or text the Crisis Text Line (text HELLO to 741741). Both services are free and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.   Last year brought a plethora of new original films to streaming services. In September, Netflix released I’m Thinking of Ending Things, based on the novel by Iain Reid, and adapted and directed by Charlie Kaufman. Starring Fargo’s Jessie Buckley, Fargo’s Jesse Plemons, Fargo’s David Thewlis, and Knives Out’s Toni Collette, this mind-mending movie was well-received by critics. With awards season looming, we’re putting on the snow chains and heading to Tulsey Town.   For more geeky podcasts visit GonnaGeek.com   You can find us on iTunes under ''Legends Podcast''. Please subscribe and give us a positive review. You can also follow us on Twitter @LegendsPodcast or even better, send us an e-mail: LegendsPodcastS@gmail.com You can find all

Last year brought a bumper crop of new original films to streaming services. In July, Netflix released The Old Guard, based on the Image Comics series by Greg Rucka. Starring Mad Max: Fury Road’s Charlize Theron as the leader of a group of immortal mercenaries, this globe-trotting action movie reportedly drew 78 million viewers in the first month of release. With a sequel reportedly in development, we’re pressing play to see Imperator Furiosa do her best Wolverine impression.   For more geeky podcasts visit GonnaGeek.com   You can find us on iTunes under ''Legends Podcast''. Please subscribe and give us a positive review. You can also follow us on Twitter @LegendsPodcast or even better, send us an e-mail: LegendsPodcastS@gmail.com You can find all our contact information here on the Network page of GonnaGeek.com Our complete archive is always available at www.legendspodcast.com, www.legendspodcast.libsyn.com

From the 1988 film My Neighbor Totoro, best known to American audiences from the 2006 English-dub version released by Disney, the titular Totoro has become a brand icon for Studio Ghibli - a silent, imposing counterpart to Mickey Mouse. Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and based on his own childhood, My Neighbor Totoro has become a worldwide cult classic. As we wrap up our Japanuary arc, we climb aboard the Catbus for a magical journey through the fields and forests of rural ‘50s Japan.   For more geeky podcasts visit GonnaGeek.com   You can find us on iTunes under ''Legends Podcast''. Please subscribe and give us a positive review. You can also follow us on Twitter @LegendsPodcast or even better, send us an e-mail: LegendsPodcastS@gmail.com You can find all our contact information here on the Network page of GonnaGeek.com Our complete archive is always available at www.legendspodcast.com, www.legendspodcast.libsyn.com

We’re wrapping up our Kurosawa trilogy with 1958’s The Hidden Fortress. Cited often as one of George Lucas’s direct inspirations for Star Wars, The Hidden Fortress features two bumbling fools, a fugitive princess, a badass swordsman, and a scarred bad guy who carries a grudge but is ultimately redeemed by his good heart! Toshiro Mifune shows up again for the third time this month in this epic from a long time ago and somewhere far, far away - feudal Japan!    For more geeky podcasts visit GonnaGeek.com   You can find us on iTunes under ''Legends Podcast''. Please subscribe and give us a positive review. You can also follow us on Twitter @LegendsPodcast or even better, send us an e-mail: LegendsPodcastS@gmail.com You can find all our contact information here on the Network page of GonnaGeek.com Our complete archive is always available at www.legendspodcast.com, www.legendspodcast.libsyn.com

We’re continuing the month with Kurosawa’s 1954 film Seven Samurai. Released by Toho Studios the same year as the first Godzilla, Seven Samurai actually cost more than the monster flick and took three times as long to shoot, and though both would be remembered as two of the greatest films ever made, Seven Samurai remains one of the most heavily referenced, remade, or reworked, films of all time. Coming in at a whopping three-and-a-half hours (with intermission!) Seven Samurai is hailed as the first modern action movie. This is episode Five Hundred and Seven of Legends Podcast!    For more geeky podcasts visit GonnaGeek.com   You can find us on iTunes under ''Legends Podcast''. Please subscribe and give us a positive review. You can also follow us on Twitter @LegendsPodcast or even better, send us an e-mail: LegendsPodcastS@gmail.com You can find all our contact information here on the Network page of GonnaGeek.com Our complete archive is always available at www.legendspodcast.com, www.legendspodcast.libsyn.c

We’re kicking Japanese classics month off with Akira Kurosawa’s 1950 film Rashomon. Notable for its use of conflicting points-of-view on the same event, Rashomon has become synonymous for storytelling by unreliable narrators or differing takes on a simultaneous scene. Rashomon is considered one of the greatest movies ever made, but does it stand up to our Legendary scrutiny? We try to get our stories straight and start the year in style!   For more geeky podcasts visit GonnaGeek.com   You can find us on iTunes under ''Legends Podcast''. Please subscribe and give us a positive review. You can also follow us on Twitter @LegendsPodcast or even better, send us an e-mail: LegendsPodcastS@gmail.com   You can find all our contact information here on the Network page of GonnaGeek.com Our complete archive is always available at www.legendspodcast.com, www.legendspodcast.libsyn.com