The Good Robot Andys (ogg)

The Andys go through the best and most influential horror movies of the 21st century (so far). A bumper crop this time: 28 Weeks Later, I Am Legend, The Orphanage, Paranormal Activity, Rec. There’s also lots of gossip, including some vague James Bond stuff.

Movies expert Andy C recommends Love & Mercy to clueless Andy B, who hasn’t seen it. Andy C describes a movies that picks two periods from Brian Wilson’s life and presents them in an opinionated way, which is really gripping and moving. Andy B is not into biopics but tries to be polite.

Movies expert Andy C recommends Longlegs to clueless Andy B, who has opinions with very little information. It’s another horror film Andy C watched so you don’t have to, and it is apparently “crack-a-lacking”.

Movies expert Andy C recommends Late Night with the Devil to clueless Andy B, who would otherwise find out about movies by walking past the sign outside the cinema. Apparently it’s a horror in documentary style that is very creepy and lovingly crafted.

The Andys go through the best and most influential horror movies of the 21st century (so far). This time: The Host, Requiem, The Wicker Man (no, not the good one) and Pan’s Labyrinth. There’s also a tribute to Gene Hackman and some Oscars gossip.

The Andys go through the best and most influential horror movies of the 21st century (so far). This time: The Descent, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Land of the Dead. Andy B thinks Land of the Dead was “surprisingly alright” but Andy C has more intelligent things to say about it.

The Andys remember David Lynch and go through the best and most influential horror movies of the 21st century (so far). This time: Dawn of the Dead, Shaun of the Dead and The Village. You should really watch Shaun of the Dead, but if you don’t like gore, we can tell you what you’re missing out on.

The Andys go through the best and most influential horror movies of the 21st century (so far). This time: 28 Days Later, Dark Water, Dog Soldiers and Blade II. Get all the goss and some TV recommendations directly into your ears without having to actually watch anything at all!

The Andys go through the best and most influential horror movies of the 21st century (so far). This time: Mulholland Drive, The Others and The Devil’s Backbone. Find out what you should say about these films at a dinner party without ever having to actually watch them!

Discussion (with spoilers) of Abigail. Andy B hasn’t seen it, but it sounds right up his street: Andy C explains it’s a fairly gruey horror comedy that is properly scary and a joy to watch.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Priscilla. Andy B genuinely thinks it’s a Disney movie, but Andy C encourages him to overcome his aversion to biopics to watch this highly engaging movie about the alarmingly young girl who was plucked from her home by Elvis and eventually married him.

Discussion (with spoilers) of The Iron Claw. Andy B thinks it’s a sequel to The Iron Giant, and is less than enthusiastic when Andy C explains it’s ANOTHER wrestling film, this time Professional Wrestling. Andy C attempts to explain its appeal as an intense and ultimately uplifting story about someone who manages to escape an oppressive and abusive relationship, but there is devastating damage along the way. Content warning: the plot involves multiple suicides.

Discussion (with spoilers) of The First Omen. Andy B might be tempted to think it’s not worthy of the prestigious Omen name, but Andy C says it’s surprisingly good, with a great performance from the lead actor and some very memorable gruey scenes.

Discussion (with spoilers) of The Holdovers. Andy B thinks it’s National Lampoons for the 2020s, and he’s not 100% wrong, just maybe 98%: Andy C explains it’s a comedy drama that surprisingly won an Oscar for its old-fashioned story of someone learning to move on from bitterness to life by being forced to be in close proximity with humans.

Discussion (with spoilers) of The Artful Dodger. AndyB falls asleep when he hears it’s a costume drama, but wakes up a little as AndyC explain it’s a genuine rollicking Disney adventure!

AndyB is extremely excited to introduce AndyC to Karen Sandler from the Software Freedom Conservancy.

Links:

AndyC asks AndyB “What is a programming language?” AndyB rambles on about some stuff, with heckling from AndyC, before they conclude that it’s really a community of people or something.

That Alien: Romulus trailer is at youtube.com/watch?v=GTNMt84KT0k.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Fleishman Is in Trouble. AndyB has unexpectedly seen this, meaning the two AndyC has a co-enthuser. Both Andys loved this empathy-expanding series that starts out looking like a typical male-point-of-view wish fulfilment exercise and ends up teaching us a little empathy.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Dune: Part 2. The Andys are together in person and are joined by Harry and Ben to discuss just how blown away they are by the second part of the Dune series, which they just watched on the big old screen at the IMAX.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Video Game High School. This time AndyB takes the chair to enthuse about this hidden gem of in Internet series, which is funny, wholesome and tightly plotted. AndyC wants to know what it’s all about, and AndyB thinks it’s an antidote to the toxicity that sometimes characterises video game culture.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Nyad. Andy B is fairly sceptical about a “sports” movie but Andy C attempts to persuade him that he would enjoy this intense, thrilling story about how someone completed her dream in the face of overwhelming odds. Also some chat about gentle, well-written Australian comedy Fisk and a few other things.

Discussion (with spoilers) of The Boogeyman. Andy B is certain it’s an independent, antipodean, low-budget horror, but Andy C explains that it’s not. It’s actually an adaptation of a Stephen King short story that is surprisingly creepy in a way that really presses Andy C’s buttons.

So-called AI is constantly in the news, but Andy C wants to know whether we should stop researching it because of the risk of a Terminator-style army of killer robots. Andy B explains his belief that real intelligence is very very far away, but there is plenty to worry about in the meantime, from a overwhelming flood of spam, loss of customer service jobs, hallucinations, copyright violations all the way to the very real prospect of ordinary, non-sentient killer robots.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Evil Dead Rise. Andy B fails to get through the intro without falling apart, but Andy C rescues him to explain that this episode of the Evil Dead series captures the unhinged comedy/fear of the original The Evil Dead movie, and brings lots of fresh fun with different characters and setting.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Knock at the Cabin. Andy B thinks it’s an indie horror starring Angelina Jolie, but Andy C explains it’s one of the better M. Night Shyamalan movies in which four apocalyptic figures try to get a family to save the world by making an unbearable sacrifice.

Discussion (with spoilers) of M3gan. Andy B forgets how to do the podcast completely, so doesn’t make any guess based on the title what it is, but Andy C explains it’s a fun sci-fi horror comedy about the dangers of AI and tech bros.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Living. Andy B thinks it might be a clean, New York rom-com, but it’s really a moving and brilliantly-played poignant drama featuring Bill Nighy on top form.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Bodies Bodies Bodies. Andy B thinks it might be a lost 80s dance classic, but Andy C educates him: it’s a black comedy horror about some nasty people meeting nasty ends.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Barbarian. Andy B thinks it’s a conversion of the classic DOS game, which is a bit like Rambo, but Andy C explains it’s a truly unnerving horror movie with themes of sexual abuse.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Avatar: The Way of Water. The Andys are together in person again, having just returned from the IMAX cinema. They quite enjoyed it, despite it fulfilling their expectations. What they didn’t expect were the clunky switches between different shots. (They discovered later that this may have been caused by changes in frame rate.)

Discussion (with spoilers) of The Walking Dead, season 11 tranche 3 – the final tranche. They still love it, but Andy B felt a little disappointed with the anti-climactic ending. Andy C is largely OK with it.

A tech episode where Andy C questions Andy B about what Mastodon is, why you might want to go there instead of Twitter, and how to get started with choosing a server and finding people to follow.

Follow us on @goodrobotandys@mastodon.social!

Discussion (with spoilers) of Elvis. Andy B is not really interested in Elvis but Andy C manages to persuade him that this intense biopic with amazingly charismatic musical sequences is worth putting on his list.

A tech takeover this week with special guest Fran Buontempo talking about Cellular Automata – a cool techie toy for exploring the links between computation, complexity and life, or at the very least a sort-of interesting way of generating some moving patterns.

Those promised links:

Discussion (with spoilers) of Sorry to Bother You. Andy B thinks it’s a 50’s comedy with Buster Keaton, but Andy C explains it’s a surreal, political, funny sci-fi that goes straight onto Andy B’s must-watch list.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Last Night in Soho. Andy B thinks it’s an arty film with glass and candles or something, but Andy C explains it’s a surprisingly grown-up psychological horror from Edgar Wright.

Discussion of the films of Paul Thomas Anderson. If you’re new to them, Andy C recommends starting with Boogie Nights, and recommends that Andy B should watch Punch-Drunk Love.

Those promised links:

Discussion (with spoilers) of Licorice Pizza. Andy B pretty much nails his prediction that it’s a cooky period coming-of-age comedy, but then what else does Andy C watch these days anyway?

Discussion (with spoilers) of The Walking Dead Season 11 “tranche 2” (episodes 9-16). Andy B mostly rants about things he didn’t like but Andy C convinces him it was still pretty pretty good, and better than tranche 1.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Malignant. Andy B resisted the temptation to suggest it was a rollicking Disney movie, and went for a creepy horror with insects. Actually, Andy C explains, it is a relatively big film for us, which is an increasingly unhinged horror film about someone who has visions of scary things happening, which then turn out to have happened in real life.

Content warning: discussion of a film featuring domestic abuse, miscarriage and mental illness. Please make sure you are with people who can look after you if those topics are going to cause you...