Media Montage 34: 2013 Year in Review

In this episode Bruce and Larry reflect on 2013 movies, TV, Comics and life and we look ahead to 2014. What were your favorites from this year? Share in the comments below, or let us know on Twitter.

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Media Montage 33: Fandom 2 - The Fans Take Over

In this episode Bruce and Larry expand and continue their discussion on Fandom from Media Montage Podcast 31. The fans have taken over! In many cases fans have become the creators of the characters they’ve grown up with. We talk about the implications, positive and negative, of this. We also take a look at fan fiction, fan films, and fan art, as extension of our media, and as inspiration for making our own.

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Here is the remarkable Spanish Arkham Asylum fan film Larry discussed:

Media Montage 32: Rock 'N Roll Conspiracies

In this episode Bruce and Larry take a look at a few crazy conspiracy theories that surround the already weird world of Rock 'N Roll. Faked Deaths, mind controlled CIA agents, and the global Satanic underground. Play this podcast backward for hidden instructions!

Media Montage 31: Fandom

In this episode Bruce and Larry talk about Fandom as a subculture. We look at the positive and negative aspects of rabid followers of popular culture, and try to put it all in perspective.

Media Montage 30: Man of Steel (2013)

Man of Steel is now available on home video and Bruce and Larry take another look at the most recent Superman film. Larry feels one way, Bruce feels another. We discuss what we like, and what we don't and one of us comes around to a different read on the film right as we run out of time...

Media Montage 29: The Day of the Doctor

Today Larry and Bruce discuss the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who, and the Special Episode The Day of the Doctor. Did it live up to the hype? Did it pay proper tribute to the past? Was it any good? Were there any surprises?

JFK and Songs About the Assassination

Yesterday's podcast about the JFK assassination had me recalling several songs about the event.

 British metal band Saxon from 1981's Strong Arm of the Law doing Dallas 1 P.M.:



And here is Bullet, from punk outfit the Misfits with a much grimmer take on the event:

 

and from 1988's Key Lime Pie, here is Camper Van Beethoven doing Jack Ruby:

 

What other songs detail or reflect on this paradigm shifting event? Let us know in the comments!

Media Montage 28: The JFK Hit - November 22, 1963

The 50th Anniversary of the John F. Kennedy Assassination is this week. Larry and Bruce look at the assassination as the mother of modern conspiracy theory, the gateway to many other conspiracy theories, and some the myriad of tendrils that spring from it.

Here's an interesting composite and stabilized version of the Zapruder Film:

Media Montage 27: Is This Tomorrow? - America Under Communism

Bruce and Larry take a look at a wonderful piece of anti-communist propaganda: Is This Tomorrow? - America Under Communism.  The Cold War was just ramping up in 1947, when this fascinating comic book was released by the Catechetical Guild Educational Society.

Read IS THIS TOMORROW?

Media Montage 26: The Wraith

An angel of retribution drives a really cool car, and seeks revenge against the criminal gang that killed him. Bruce and Larry look at The Wraith from 1986, starring Charlie Sheen, Sherilyn Fenn, Nick Cassavetes, and Randy Quaid as Sheriff Loomis. Here's the trailer:


 


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Media Montage 25: Cryptids

Have you ever seen a Bigfoot, Yeti, Loch ness monster, Chupacabra, Jersey Devil, Jackalope, or Lizard Man? In this episode Larry and Bruce discuss cryptids, those mysterious creatures that defy discovery, yet seem to wander the hidden corners of bogs, forests and mountains all over the world.

Media Montage 24: The 1996 Generation X Movie

The X-Men celebrate their 50th anniversary this month! In honor of this milestone, Bruce and Larry take a look at the first live action X-Men adaptations. It's Fox's 1996, made for TV adaptation of Marvel Comic's Generation X with Matt Frewer and Finolaa Hughes! It's Mutantastic! It's Freweriffic! It's a Spandexapalooza!

Media Montage 23: Free Comics at Comixology

Bruce and Larry look at some free comics available at comixology.com


Rebel Angels #1
Saga #1
Retrowood #1 
Manhattan Projects #1

Check them out and let us know what you think!

Media Montage 22: Wes Craven's Shocker!

Bruce and Larry take a closer look at Agent Skinner himself, Mitch Pileggi, as an electrically charged serial killer in Wes Craven's 'Shocker', from 1989. Yikes!

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You can watch Shocker on Hulu for FREE!

Coming Soon: Shocker!

Just in time for Halloween, the Media Montage Podcast will take a horrifying look at SHOCKER!


 

Media Montage 21: Conspiratainment

In this episode Larry and Bruce discuss the concept of 'conspiratainment', or conspiracy as entertainment. Is it all just crazy, nutbar rambling or do conspiracy theories have value in and of themselves? We try to figure it out while traveling down the rabbit-hole.

Here are some gateways down the rabbit hole. Reader BEWARE!

Rumor Mill News
Rense
Infowars
David Icke

Media Montage 20: Superheroes - A Never Ending Battle

Larry and Bruce discuss the much lauded PBS documentary Superheroes: A Never Ending Battle. What did we like, what didn't we like? Find out our take on their take of the history of superheroes!

Media Montage 19: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Bruce and Larry discuss Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the spin-off television series for Marvel's Cinematic Universe. Do we love it? Hate it? Is Agent Coulson the Original Human Torch? Do we even talk about Skye?

Media Montage 18: Maximum Overdrive

Bruce and Larry discuss Stephen King's directorial debut from 1986, the sci-fi/horror schlockfest Maximum Overdrive. It asks the musical question, 'Who made who?' when machines come to life and attack humanity!
Watch AC/DC's video for Who Made Who. Here is the original trailer for Maximum Overdrive with Stephen King:

Media Montage 17: Dick Briefer's Frankenstein

Bruce and Larry discuss Dick Briefer's Golden Age Frankenstein comics. Humor and horror mix and merge in wonderful, fantastical, hilarious short comics tales featuring vampires, mummies, mutants and more!

 You can read FRANKENSTEIN HERE!

Media Montage 16: Simulation Theory

Do we live in the Matrix, or a video game, or some elaborate version of the Sims? Larry and Bruce discuss the weird implications of Simulation Theory, the notion that the world we experience is a large scale computer simulation. Nick Bostrom's Essay that popularized the recent explorations of Simulation Theory.

Media Montage 15: The Outer Limits - OBIT

This week Bruce and Larry discuss OBIT, the Outer Limits episode that originally aired 11/4/63, but seems ripped from today's headlines. Somebody is watching you!

Watch OBIT via Hulu:

Media Montage 14: From Beyond

Bruce and Larry revisit the 1986 Cult Horror Classic, From Beyond based on an HP Lovecraft story. Jeffrey Combs and the lovely Barbara Crampton face off against horrible things from another dimension with sexy, and gory results! ...and yes, the conceptual artist from the credits is indeed THAT Neal Adams!

Trailer:

Media Montage 13: Some Digital Comics

This week Larry and Bruce discuss digitally delivered comics. Web Comics, Digital Readers, and how digital delivery affects storytelling, pacing and presentation.

Comic Rocket, a good way to explore web comics.

Comixology, for reading and buying digital comics for reading on all your devices.

The Digital Comics Museum for awesome Public Domain Golden Age Comics.

Media Montage 12: Disclosure

This Week is another trip down the rabbit hole as Bruce and Larry discuss the concept of Disclosure, the idea that governments, in conjunction with Hollywood, are slowly revealing the existence of extraterrestrial contact to the general populace with the ultimate goal of official acknowledgement of alien contact.

The Official website of the Disclosure Project.

The Brookings Report on the implications of ET contact.

Famous people who've seen UFOs.

Ronald Reagan on the implications of contact:

Media Montage 11: Wrasslin'

Larry and Bruce discuss the wild world of Professional Wrestling, the crazy characters, zany stories and the darker side of the industry too.

Whatcha gonna do, when Mediamontagemania runs wild on you!?!

Media Montage 10: Remake Remarks

This week Larry and Bruce tackle remake madness. Is the current crop of remakes and adaptations the bane of the film world? Or has the tendency remake, re-do, and adapt been there from the beginning?

Media Montage Podcast 9: Some Weird Comics

This week Larry and Bruce talk comics...Weird Ones! Some strange books from our collections, The Eye, The Purple Claw, The Anomalies, and of course Stardust the Super Wizard. They also discuss the Digital Comics Museum where you can read some of these wonderfully weird books.

Read the Purple Claw #1 HERE!
Read a great collection of Stardust the Super Wizard HERE!
The Digital Comics Museum posts thousands of public domain comics available for download. I use Comical, a simple reader for .CBR and .CBZ files found at the DCM.

Predictive Programming: New X-Men

Larry here: Kicking off my hay day of comic collecting was Grant Morrison's run on X-Men dubbed New X-Men. The first issue of his run, #114 came out in July 2001, featuring Cassandra Nova, Professor Charles Xavier's evil twin sister who launches a Sentinel attack on Genosha city in issue #115 marked August 2001. 

 (Below)Magneto viewing the Sentinel attack first hand as it hits his tower in a scene all too familiar, and subsequent aftermath upon Genosha City.

 More after the jump...

Media Montage Podcast 8: Predictive Programming

This week Larry and Bruce discuss the conspiracy theory concept of predictive programming in media. Is it happening or is it just coincidence? Does the illuminati 'reveal the method' before unleashing their sinister plots? Or do artists just explore so many possible eventualities in TV, Film and comics that some of them are bound to come true? Join us as we try to figure it out.

 Here is an fascinating article about GI Joe and predictive programming.

Blog post I did from 2011 about predictive programming and the Twin Towers/Mega Powers.

 Here is an e-book featuring TONS of pre 9/11 media imagery and synchronicities called Imagining 9/11:

Imagining 9/11 by whatdidyousee

Media Montage Podcast 7: Burning Arrows

Bruce and Larry visit action adventure TV shows this week in the form of Arrow and Burn Notice. Arrow, a show that is just ramping up for its second season, and Burn Notice a show quickly coming up on its series finale.

Media Montage 6: Never Too Young To Die

Bruce and Larry discuss Never Too Young to Die (1986), a trash action flick starring John Stamos, Gene Simmons and Vanity. A movie so unbelievably bad, you have a great time hating it!


Here is an Entertainment Tonight piece promoting Never Too Young To Die!

 

 The full movie has been posted to YouTube, so you can hate it with us!

Supplemental: Happy Birthday Jack Kirby!

Today would have been Jack Kirby's 96th birthday, so to acknowledge the King of Comics influence here are some interviews both in text, and video. Enjoy!

Also, there is a compiled series of interviews that lasted a few years that covered Jack's life during WW2 which is a really interesting aspect of the man. Never know he cussed that much. The interview can be read HERE.

Long live the King!

Media Montage 5: Happy Birthday Jack!

Jack Kirby's Birthday!

Bruce and Larry discuss comics legend Jack 'the King' Kirby on the eve of his 96th birthday.

Larry and I did some tribute art in honor of Jack's birthday and all the great inspiration he's given us:

Larry's Big Barda

Larry's OMAC

Larry's Orion

Larry's The Silver Surfer

Bruce's Devil Dinosaur and Moon Boy

  

And another Devil Dinosaur and Moon Boy with a strange visitor from another Universe:

Our Exposure to Conspiracy

As discussed in Ep. 4: Conspiracy

The classic Leonard Nimoy show "In Search Of"

The music really reminds me The Warriors composer Barry DeVorzon. Not such a bad thing. 

From entertainment, the one season NBC show "Dark Skies".

UPDATE from Bruce: For some reason when History Channel reaired "In Search Of...: they recut the open/closing credits. Here is the original, groovy, ultra 70s credits:

 

Media Montage Ep. 4: Conspiracy

This week Bruce and Larry take a trip down the rabbit hole into conspiracy theories. They discussed their introduction the weird wild world of assassinations, UFOs, JFK and the New World Order.  In Search Of..., The X-Files and more!

Movies of Our Youth

From what we covered on our latest Podcast(Formative Years Part 3: Movies)

From JAWS(1975)

"GO JAWS GO! Aw man, the human got away..." - Three Year Old Bruce

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES(1990)

It ain't "Cadillac Man" but what is? 

The Media Montage Ep. 3: Our Formative Years Part 3 - Movies

This week Bruce and Larry discuss their early movie watching experiences. They talk about the first movies they saw in theaters, and the horror, action and Sci-Fi flicks watched on cable.

The TV Of Our Youth

A follow up to our latest Podcast(Formative Years Part 2: TV).

So here we go!

V: The Final Battle Part 1(Skip to 0:45:00 for Beastmaster himself Marc Singer on his White Horse)

From X-Files Season 2, Episode 25 "Anasazi"

The Media Montage Podcast Ep. 2: Our Formative Years Part Two - TV

This week Larry and Bruce discuss their early TV experiences, and the television they grew up with and how TV grew up with them. Syndication, afternoon cartoons, and prime time adventures.

Coming Soon "The New American Hero... John Stamos"

Straight from VHS oblivion of the 80's comes...

"NEVER TOO YOUNG TO DIE"(1986)
Starring John Stamos, Vanity, Gene Simmons, Robert Englund, and George Lazenby.

Could it be so bad it's good? Or just so bad you'd wish Uncle Jesse and "the Demon" ended up flattened in the '89 Frisco quake? Check out the trailer for yourself.

Our First Comics

In our first Podcast we discussed some of the earliest comic books we read, the books that made us catch the bug. Here are Larry's:

...and mine:

I'll leave it up to you to guess which one of us is the old guy.

The Media Montage Podcast Episode 1: Our Formative Years Part One - Comics

In this debut podcast Bruce and Larry discuss their formative years as comics fans and find out how that relates to Burma Shave and boudoir photography.