Ozone Nightmare

This week we're talking about The Long Earth, Wallender, Alien: Earth, N[eon], At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul and Witch From Nepal. Show music by HeartBeatHero and OGRE. Support the show!

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Today on the 5: The latest spin of the movie wheel landed on Witch From Nepal, an early Chow Yun-Fat vehicle that is loaded with magic, mysticism, and some questionable morality. While the movie has some good moments and is generally enjoyable, it has the bad luck of following the far superior The Boxer's Omen in our viewing history. 

Today on the 5: This week Lando and I watched a pair of shgortr films fore one ofd ourc eommntary videos. We followed 1988's Dragon's Heaven with something much more dreamy and atmospheric, 2002's N[eon]. A short movie from illustrator Dave McKean, this one leaves a lot for you decide on once it ends.

Today on the 5: This week Lando and I did something a little different. Instead of a commentary on one film, we did one on a pair of short films! First up, 1988's Dragon's Heaven, a wonderful animated film that blends giant mechs with Mœbius in a story that gets straight to the point.

Tonight I'm joined again by professor and musician Doug Bielmeier for another Late Night Series Review! In this episode, we're continuing our analysis of the incredible 2020 limited series DEVS by Alex Garland. In this video, we're talking about parts 5 and 6!

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Show music by OGRE. Support the show!

This week we're talking about Jhostynxon Garcia, Superman, The Clones, Mystere, and Dead Or Alive Final. Show music by HeartBeatHero and OGRE. Support the show!

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Today on the 5: In the last few days there has been a lot of attention news and discussion over an "experiment" YouTube has been running on their Shorts segment of the platform. When this alteration to user videos started getting a lot of response, an explanation was issued. I think it might have made things worse.

Today on the 5: While talking to Lando about my experience watching Superman (2025), he questioned whether I have an inherent bias against things that are popular. I thought about that for a while, and in the end I don't think it's simple popularity that makes me wary.

Today on the 5: I've been looking forward to watching the newest iteration of Superman from James Gunn, 2025's Superman. After the depressing and fundamentally flawed version of the character that Zack Snyder delivered, the concept of a hopeful superhero was exactly what I needed. It's a shame I couldn't make it more than 30 minutes into the movie.  

Today on the 5: For one of our communal movie selections this week, Lando and I watched 1973's The Clones. The film has a lot of elements and themes that are highly tied to the time it was made, but it also functions in a way that keeps you interested despite the flaws. 

This week we're talking about Wednesday, Death Stranding 2, Ex Machina, Class Of 1999, Iron Angels, and Demons. Show music by HeartBeatHero and OGRE. Support the show!

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Today on the 5: Recently one of the former execs for Playstation made some comments about video game pricing that got some predictably angry responses. Read the article yourself, but the general opinion of this person was that prices have been too low for too long because of how expensive games are to make. Let's examine that argument shall we?

Today on the 5: If you've heard me talk about Gradius before, you probably knew I was punching the "Buy" button for Gradius Origins hard enough to break my controller. I've been playing the games since the collection released, and if you've been considering picking this title up, you should!

Today on the 5: You may have heard that OpenAI rolled out their new ChaptGPT 5 product in a weirdly creepy "fireside chat". During the announcement, they featureed a cancer survivor talkimng abnout hwo the tool hlped her deal with a cryptic diahnosis. 

Today on the 5: Lando is not generally much of a horror fan, so it was a bit of a risk picking 1985's Demons for our communal film series. I had a hunch it was going to be on the less horrific end of things as a mid 80s Italian film, and luckily I was right AND it pleansantly surprised both of us!

This week we're talking about Space-Mullet, Jurassic World: Rebirth, This Is How You Lose The Time War, and Action U.S.A.. Show music by HeartBeatHero and OGRE. Support the show!

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Today on the 5: Lando and I talked about our time playing FBC Firebreak, a game we were both looking forward to but ended up burning out on pretty quickly. Turns out we weren't alone, but I actually agree with the publisher that despite the problems the core game is worth trying to save.

Today on the 5: A debate came up at work earlier in the week that eventually wandered into one of my favorite pet peeves, use of the word "free". Welcome back gang! Let's once again review why that word is basically meaningless!

Today on the 5: If you follow Digital Foundry, you likely know that they recently went fully independent. As a long time supporter of the group, I can't wait to see what they do now that they can truly steer their own ship! 

Today on the 5: As part of the book club that TWiT.tv does for Club members, I just read This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. The book started off as one thing and ends up as something very different, which can be narratively risky and technically difficult. When a book does it as well as this one does, through, you end up with something really entertaining andf memorable.

This week we're talking about Distance, Verotika, Samurai Cop, and The Boxer's Omen. Show music by HeartBeatHero and OGRE. Support the show!

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Today on the 5: As you listen to the endless and inevitable discussions about AI, you will likely hear about the "next frontier" of AGI. It seems like everyone in the sector is chasing that breakthrough, but when it comes to the morality of what that might mean the conversations seem to dodge an important question.

Today on the 5: I've heard good things about 1983's The Boxer's Omen for a long time now, and I figured why not make my first viewing a shared experience with Lando! It was pretty clear early on that we were going to have a good time with this one, but we were completely unprepared by how far this movie goes into surreal and sometimes disgusting places. 

Today on the 5: If you look at almost any "so bad it's good" movie list, you'll likely see 1991's Samurai Cop on it. This movie was famously made by a foreign director who was clearly a fan of cop movies like Lethal Weapon, but had no real idea how to rip it off properly. The result is a often comically inept series of action movie tropes hat occur without logic of continuity.

Tonight I'm joined again by professor and musician Doug Bielmeier for another Late Night Series Review! In this episode, we're continuing our analysis of the incredible 2020 limited series DEVS by Alex Garland. In this video, we're talking about parts 3 and 4!

YouTube Censored Version

Join our Patreon to watch the uncut version!

Show music by OGRE. Support the show!

This week we're talking about Murderbot, Murder By Phone, and Frankenhooker. Show music by HeartBeatHero and OGRE. Support the show!

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Today on the 5: I was completely blindsided by the announcement that there is a new Hellrasier game coming. Once I finished the red band trailer for the game, I was genuinely amazed someone hadn't tried this type of game before now.

Today on the 5: Last week I heard a discussion on a technology podcast that eventually covered using AI to teach students about great works by individuals like William Shakespeare. The future these folks were outling made me viscerally angry as it would essentially annihilate the value of art is service to convenience. 

Today on the 5: The old adage "Don't judge a book by the cover" has persisted over time because it's so often true. That bit of wisdom should absolutely apply to 1990's Frankenhooker, a movie that works far better than the title and synopsis would suggest!

Today on the 5: I came across a movie that was generally regarded as a well made thriller that has been all but forgotten, 1982's Murder By Phone. Sadly, there isn't a pristine HD version of this anywhere, but it's still good enough that you should try to watch it in whatever form you can!

This week we're talking about Judge Dredd, How To Train Your Dragon (2025), Beyond The Door III, and Hack-O-Lantern. Show music by HeartBeatHero and OGRE. Support the show!

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Today on the 5: I saw a pop-up the other day and then came across a news post from DuckDuckGo about their decision to allow users of the their browser to filter out AI images from search results. I think this is a fantastic move from a company that is not inherently anti-AI but also seems to be trying to respect user choice.

Today on the 5: For our communal movie review this week, Lando and I watched a movie B movie fans will likely have heard of, 1988's Hack-O-Lantern. The movie often gets lumped into "laugh at how bad it is" territory, but the most remarkable thing about it is how lame it makes Satanism look!

Today on the 5: For years I've seen lists with Beyond The Door III as a must-see film of the horror boom of the '80s, so I knew eventually I'd watch it. I finally did this weekend, and it went far past any expectations I might have had. This is truly a WILD movie!

Today on the 5: One thing that people who are skeptical about AI often point to is the lack of genuinely beneficial applications of the technology. The marketing and hype often centers on the least worthwhile aspects of what these tools can do. You can imagine my shock at seeing it put to a truly GOOD use recently!

This week we're talking about Twisted Metal, Superman, Iron Angels III, and Frankenstein '80. Show music by HeartBeatHero and OGRE. Support the show!

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Today on the 5: You may have seen a report about a business analyst suggesting that maybe it's time for Tim Cook to step down as CEO of Apple. This follows a recent string of criticism over the struggles the company has run into trying to create a competitve AI product. The suggestion this analysis led to might be the dumbest thing I've read in a while.

Today on the 5: The latest movie in our "Communal Cinema" series ended up being 1972's Frankenstein '80, an attempt at a new interpretation of the classic Frankenstein story via an early 70s Italian horror lens. If you're familiar with Italian movies of that era, you might think you know how that would go. Interestingly, it both follows the formula of the time and also tries to diverge from it!

Today on the 5: As promised, I went ahead and watch the final film in the Iron Angels trilogy, 1989's Iron Angels III. I wasn't sure if the third film would be able to match the energy and entertainment the first two movies delivered, but I'm thrilled to report it's every bit as good as trhe previous entries. All in all, grabbing this box set was a fantastic move!

Today on the 5: I'm sure most of you saw some type of coverage of Prime Day this year. Even websites that don't typically cover product reviews created some variation of a "best of Prime Day" list. In the earlier years of Prime Day, this type of coverage made some kind of sense, but as Prime Day has become junkier and junkier, I'm not sure what the point is in covering it anymore.