Super Cinema

Nikki and Ben just got out of the theater for Spider-Man Far From Home and they are thrilled to be able to talk about their favorite web-head for the fourth time this year. We talk about the unnecessary complexities of spoiler culture, the role of comedy and drama, why Spider-Man discourse is bad and boring to them as life long Spider-Man readers, and most importantly: how to bring Kraven The Hunter into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Hear about Ben’s favorite villains! Admire the complexities of Peter Parker! Revel in Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance! It’s theories, illusions, menaces and more on this spectacular episode of Super Cinema.

Your dynamic duo, Nikki and Ben return to talk about one of their favorite movies of 2019 so far: SHAZAM! A charming tale of found family, parentage and straight up Dungeons and Dragons wizards. And that means Nikki and Ben are all over it. Hear us talk about the makings of a good film villain, why Sivanna is fashion goals, and NIkki’s upcoming cosplay plans for Rose City this year. The true meaning of Christmas is SHAZAM!

Thanks to the generous and genuine support of our patrons we’re able to start our monthly comic book specials! Nikki and Ben love comic book movies but they love comic books that much more, so tune in and listen to them talk about their favorite titles once a month. In this inaugural special, Nikki talks about Scorpio by John B. Robinson IV and Saladin Ahmed’s new Miles Morales Spider-Man book, and Ben talks about Christopher Sebela and Ro Stein’s Crowded and the new Jeff Lemire Moon Knight series! Plus hear a special announcement about Nikki’s new tabletop streaming show - Legends of Laia. Join us back in one month for more exciting comic book reviews that will absolutely include Venom discussions. Surprise.

Sorry folks! Nikki and Ben had to take a break to sort out some life stuff and work on some other projects. But Super Cinema is back! Kind of! We’ve gotten a bit overwhelmed by the raw amount of comic books movies and media circulating around these days, so we’re only going to do Super Cinema occasionally for movies we really, truly enjoyed! But fear not, dear listener! There’s more Nikki and Ben content incoming! We passed our first funding goal over at our patreon and that means once a month Nikki and Ben (and some guests) will sit down to talk about comic books in a monthly Super Comics special! We’re planning the first one out now! AND Ben and Nikki are pivoting over to a true passion of theirs: tabletop. Nikki’s launching her own live-play Dungeons and Dragons campaign on our Twitch with Ben, Andrew and Johnny of Speak of the Devil and Matty of Sneople At The Movies. And now, without further to do, a spectacular episode full of maximum carnage: It’s time to talk about Venom, the Sinister Six, vampires and so, so much more.

We've been avoiding talking about Iron Man 3 long enough. Nikki and Ben spend an unhealthy amount writing alternate endings for Infinity War - a movie we had not seen when this was recorded. What's that? There's a Deadpool movie on the horizon. Time for a loving critique of the recent X-Men movies. What happens when we finally get to talking about our feature film? WELL, things get a little bit explosive! Get it? Cause Extremis made people combust? Don't forget to leave a 5 star review.

Nikki moved to Argentina! Thanks to the magic of worldwide internet communication, Ben and Nikki are still able to do this show and be friends! Those probably should have been in the opposite order, but we know what you're here for. In preparation for Black Panther and Infinity War, we're knocking out the tentpoles of the Marvel Cinematic Universe starting with Iron Man. While we love Tony Stark and Obadiah Stane, we use the first Iron Man movie as an excuse to talk about the grand experiment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and what makes a good villain.

In light of Patreon's new fee changes, we're making this exclusive bonus content now available to the general public. We're pulling back the curtain on what we think is going to happen in Infinity War. Which of our favorite characters will survive, what's going to happen to Vision and how will Thanos come to his grim end. Tune in, but beware. Potential spoilers are ahead.

In nearly forty episodes of Super Cinema, Ben Hamlin and NIkki Boylan are sitting down to review their first animated feature. For the inaugural animated episode, we're covering the Bruce Timm style illustrated Justice Leagues Gods and Monsters. What if Superman was a jerk? What if Batman was a literal vampire? What if Diana was more awesome than before? New Gods, Metal Men, The Atom, Alternate Universes and Darkseid. We cover all this AND the new Infinity War trailer in this Super Cinema.

Nikki and Ben are back to talk about the film they've spent all year hyperventilating about. It's time to talk about Thor Ragnarok. From Jeff Goldblum's bizarre interpretation of the Grandmaster to Our Favorite Actress as a creepy cheshire cat Goddess of Death, we pick apart every performance and what we loved about the doom of the gods. Stay tuned for further discussion about Asgardian immortality, Marvel's weird tonal dissonance problems and the wonders of Taika Watiti.

In one hour's time, you have finished this episode of Super Cinema. In an hour and ten minutes, you are making sure to subscribe and tell your friends. Before the day is over, you will have survived nuclear war. The picture is falling to the ground now. Coming out of their Rose City Comic Con stupor, Nikki Boylan (still dressed as Wonder Woman), Ben Hamlin (without his cyclops glasses) and Katie Hughes (dressed as a store brand Pussycat), talk about Zack Snyder's Watchmen. Is the film adaption too faithful to the original? Is it too indulgent in its own violence? Yes. But hear us talk at length about the factors that hold Watchmen back.

SPEAKING OF HOMECOMING, Nikki is back from camp for more Super Cinemas! Now that she's back in the co-host seat, Nikki Boylan and Ben Hamlin sit down to talk about her favorite webhead, The Spider-Man. We dig into writing millennials, enhancing well worn teenage tropes with superheroism and the great responsibility that comes with great power. We also talk Infinity Gauntlet comics, Thor: Ragnarok and fourteen minutes of Sinister Six talk waiting for you on our Patreon.

Super Cinema is back from its summer hiatus! This time, frequent guest Kevin Veldman talks with Ben Hamlin about the 2008 Incredible Hulk movie. Weirdly, Ben's never seen the grandfather of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We talk Hulk character depth, Justice League trailers and Infinity Guantlet in this intellectual episode about character and smashing.

Host Ben Hamlin and special guest Bethany Leuthold sit down to talk about revolution, fascism and anarchy in a very intellectual comparison of panel to the screen. This episode might be the closest analysis we've ever done between a book and a movie. V for Vendetta is a very streamlined movie, but does it cut the author out of the work in the process? Listen to this week's Super Cinema to find out! Ben Hamlin and Bethany Leuthold are both hard at work making Cursed Seas - A Roll With It Anthology will release in late July and Bethany just finished the first prologue chapter of Nest of Paragon! Check out their work on Infinitybreak.net

Ben Hamlin and Kevin Veldman join each other's shows to talk briefly about Spider-Man Homecoming. This is a spoiler intensive show so exercise caution if you haven't seen it yet! We can't go into more details here, but trust us, this is a good episode about a good movie! Check out ComicNoobs over at The Geek Worldwide Network.

Holy Film Criticism, Batman! We talk about Adam West, bad puns, and Batman 66 in our tribute episode to our number one favorite comic book movie of all time. Ben and Nikki discuss memorable villain performances, what it was like growing up with this Batman as the default, and most importantly, they spend twenty minutes repeating their favorite lines back at each other. We also talk about the new Black Panther trailer, world building and comics, comics and more comics. Nikki is departing Super Cinema for the summer in order to work at a summer camp, but we'll have a long box full of guest hosts for the summer including past guests Kevin Veldman and Darryl Mansel, Nest of Paragon artist Bethany Leuthold and Cursed Seas cast member Kat Wendt. If you want more Ben and Nikki, consider donating to our patreon at the $1 level

Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman. Now the world is ready for you, and the wonders you can do. Make a hawk a dove, Stop a war with love, Make a liar tell the truth. Wonder Woman! It's a sensational episode of Super Cinema as Nikki and Ben talk about the latest blockbuster to grace the big screens. She's beauty, she's grace, she'll punch you square in the face: It's Wonder Woman. We talk about the mixed metaphors of Diana's journey, her character and the way Wonder Woman establishes a bigger, brighter universe for the DC movies. With bonus content on modern musical scores and plenty of comics talk about SURPRISE Spider-Man, you know you're in for a Super Cinema treat!

It's a very merry Marvel episode of Super Cinema. Nikki Boylan and Ben Hamlin tackle the latest Marvel blockbuster, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. We talk about its blatant racism, it's negative character development and how it still managed to awe us with its visuals and make us cry over a raccoon. All of this after a lengthy discussion about too many Spider-Man trailers. In our comics section, we talk about Deadpool and the Tom King Vision run, which Ben finished - FINALLY.

Just how well done can a movie about a talking tree, a raccoon and alien death gods be? Well, it turns out that we're "Hooked on a Feeling" about Guardians of the Galaxy. Groaaan, I know. Nikki and Ben talk cosmic world building, male immaturity in comedy, and the smashing soundtrack that drew fans to a movie filled with absurd galactic concepts. We follow this up with the Cloak and Dagger's new trailer and the latest Wonder Woman spot. Plus Ben starts re-reading a childhood classic: Scott McCloud's Zot.

It's a very apocalyptic episode of Super Cinema as our movie vigilantes tackle both Fantastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer and the new Thor trailer. Between Ragnarok and the Coming of Galactus, we're a little scared of what's to come, but we can tell you for a fact that Silver Surfer is actually an alright movie. But does it stand up to Nikki's bold statement that it's better than the first Fantastic Four movie? That and so much more in this action packed end of the world Super Cinema Special.

This week on Super Cinema, co-hosts Nikki and Ben cover the 2005 Fantastic Four movie. Here's the thing, while Ben absolutely adores Marvel's first family, this film is not.. very.. good. So we spend most of our time talking Doctor Doom, the Thing and trailers for other, better movies. We talk Justice League, Spider-Man Homecoming, and all about the comics we've read this week while avoiding conversations about how boring this version's Doctor Doom is.

Spider-Man, Spider-Man, nobody can dance like Spider-Man! Nikki Boylan returns to finish up the Super Cinema Spider-Man trilogy. Host Ben Hamlin and his guest debate the intricacies of Sandman, Venom and Green Goblin, the illusion of character growth, and why the movie doesn't quite match up with its prequels. We also announce a brand new show: Reading Into It with Nikki Boylan. Our resident webhead is going to be on the Infinity Break channels a lot more often now. Stay tuned for more information.

It's a rare episode for Super Cinema. We go back to the first movie we ever did for this show and revisit Spider-Man 2. This time host Ben Hamlin is joined by Spider-Man fanatic Nikki Boylan for a deeper look at the film that was so formative to them both. They talk Wonder Woman, Fables, Dragon Ball Z and so much more in this spectacular spider themed episode.

Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can! Ben Hamlin is joined by friend of the show Nikki Boylan who is a fan of all things Spider-Man. Live from Studio 23 and The Spider-Web, Nikki and Ben dive deep into their origins with comic books, their experiences with Spider-Man as one of their first movies and their anticipation for Spider-Man Homecoming. It's truly a spider-centric episode with a tangled web of anecdotes, bad jokes and JK Simmons impersonations.

Super Cinema takes a break from more action packed releases to take a retro rad look back at friend of the show, Katie's favorite comic book adaption, Josie and the Pussycats. We're stuck in a capitalist dystopia, Katie sings and we all want a Big Mac. We talk Riverdale, Pussycats and Deadpool in this comedic and highly musical episode of Super Cinema.

It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's our own resident Supergirl, Katie Hughes here to talk about the Woman of Steel. Ben Hamlin sits down with longtime Super Cinema guest to talk goofy world building, fun crossovers and female supervillains. It's a fun episode full of comics, capes and Kara Danvers!

In distant future, crime is rampant and plaguing our metropolis. Podcast hosts roam through the great acting as the last line of defense against the cruel, cruel world. Ben Hamlin, Ian Butcher and Joshua Valentine act as judge, Jury and EXECUTIONER against DREDD (2012). We weigh in on the movies super cinematography, shorthand story-telling techniques and the future of the Dredd franchise. In the comics segment, Josh cusses Ben out for making him read Saga and Ben waxes about God Loves; Man Kills, a very 2016 relevant X-Men book.

Three weeks after the Dark Knight, Super Cinema has gone into hiding and is operating out of the shadows protecting Gotham. Now, a new ally, Darryl Mansel emerges on the scene and professional cat burglar Ian Butcher helps Batman.. this metaphor is getting out of hand. This is a long way of saying that this episode is late. Our bad. We talk about Luke Cage, The Dark Knight Rises, Doctor Strange, character motivations, Batman's legacy and more in this episode of Super Cinema!

Fresh off the heels of their Batman Begins episode, Donald Orr and Ben Hamlin dive right into the murky Gotham underground with returning guest Kevin Veldman, to dissect The Dark Knight. Often considered the central masterpiece of comic book movies, we talk about the inspired performances of Harvey Dent and Joker, the brilliant use of tension in the story and Christian Bale's weird acrobatic mouth movements. Comic books, Harley Quinn, Ghost Rider and a whole lot more on this milestone episode of Super Cinema that you don't want to miss. ​And here.. we.. go!

After traveling the globe learning the art of recording and media criticism, Ben Hamlin and Donald Orr decided to become a podcast, a symbol to defend their city from injustice. The Super Cinema team is joined by Bubbawheat to review the Bat-classic, Batman Begins. We talk fear gas, burlap masks and guys named Flass as well as the central themes and story-telling techniques unique to this film of super proportions.

Fresh off the heels of San Diego Comic-Con, Ben Hamlin and Donald Orr sit down to discuss the new wave of DC movies, Wonder Woman and Justice League, and the teasers for Marvel's TV lineup: Legion, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Defenders. Both hosts are intrigued by Legion, Donald's looking forward to Justice League and Ben's a little a sour on Iron Fist. We talk legacy characters, Doctor Doom, use of color in films and editing to the beat in this super Super Cinema Trailer Special. Tune in! Check out the brand new Infinity Break show The Loud Librarian, a weekly show where Josh Valentine talks about important literary topics and theory.

Donald and Ben are back long enough to talk comics! Seconds, Vision, DC Rebirth, webcomics and more, Donald and Ben go back and forth talking about the titles they've been reading.

Live from Studio 23, Ben and Donald give their fond farewells to their favorite special guests - Ian Butcher and Katie Hughes, who are both heading off to greener pastures in different cities. There's much talk of Star Wars, Parks and Rec, a few sing-alongs, and of course, comics!

The heroes of Civil War may be split right down the middle, but the crew of Super Cinema couldn't agree more that they all loved Marvel's latest entry into their cinematic universe. Ben Hamlin and Donald are joined by Katie Hughes and Ian Butcher for a round table frenzy on Captain America. Comics: Black Panther #1, Moon Knight #1, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1

Warning: Immediate X-Men spoilers. Ben Hamlin, Donald Orr and Ian Butcher return for a thorough part two to their Marvel Cinema Universe special. We cover every movie in the Phase 3 lineup and offer their advice, hopes and dreams for all the spectacular years to come.

While Donald is still in the theater, Ben Hamlin and guest Ian Butcher talk Civil War shop in a mostly spoiler free Super Cinema.

Civil War fast approaches, so Ben, Donald and guest Ian Butcher dissect and discuss the past, present and future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We talk about what works within the narrative, what doesn't work and where the story can go from here all in preparation for the upcoming blockbuster. We'll be back for our stellar part two.

Dark Knight. Super fight. Kryptonite. We cover Batman vs. Superman with special guest Katie Hughes. We talk about the Wonder Woman photos, the DC Rebirth lineup, and the comics we've been reading. Donald is super excited for what DC comics has to offer and Ben is furious over what DC is doing in their films. Comics discussed: Sex Criminals, Ms. Marvel (2014), Superior Foes of Spider-Man You can find Ben, Donald and Katie at @benchamlin, @notdonald and @katieslynnh on twitter.

Straight out of the theater, Donald and Ben break down what they like and don't like about Batman v. Superman

Nearing their one year anniversary on the show, Donald and Ben go head to head in the long anticipated Man of Steel showdown. This is the one movie that the dynamic duo have disagreed over in their years as friends and so they've brought in all the help they can get! Katie Hughes joins us as our third chair and we solicit help from the ComicNoobs Show, Something Something Cast, EpicFilmGuys and He Says, She Says to decide once and for all: was Man of Steel a good movie? We talk X-Men, comics, Civil War, comics and more comics in our Man of Steel Super Cinema Super Special.

Tonight on Super Cinema, you'll believe a man can fly. In preparation for Batman vs. Superman, Ben and Donald break down a timeless classic, the 1978 Superman movie starring Christopher Reeves. We absolutely love it and fully dive into the old school 70s film style. We also talk about the TV show of the century, Daredevil's second season! Donald's recommendations: All Star Superman Ben's recommendations: Gotham Central This week's question: "What's the one DC hero that you want to see in a live action adaption?"

Deep in the sewers beneath Manhatten, Donald Orr and Ben Hamlin stumble across The Comic Noobs, an elusive group of underground ninja podcasters. By their powers combined, can they break apart the 1990s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie? Probably! Can they do it without getting sidetracked? Of course not! The Super Cinema / The Comic Noobs crossover that nobody wanted is underway right now! Comic Recommendations: Power Rangers, Ms. Marvel, Batman/TMNT, The Ultimates, The Vision, Doctor Strange and so, so many more. This week's question: Which Marvel super hero do you want to see on screen that hasn't appeared yet? You can reach our hosts on twitter @benchamlin and @notdonald. And tune into @infnitybreak23. Check out the Comic Noobs show at @comicnoobsshow and listen to their show on SoundCloud.

Gifted with special podcasting particles that allow them to shrink down onto the film reel, Donald Orr and Ben Hamlin dig deep into the new Ant Man movie with special guest Aidan Clarke. We absolutely loved it (Donald saw it five times in theaters) so it great for some in depth analysis and some hilarious ANTics! We also delve into the X-universe with our breakdowns and predictions of the new X-Men Apocalypse and Deadpool trailers! Ben's recommendations: All New X-Men (2012) by Bendis. Donald's recommendations: Ant-Man (2015) by Nick Spence This week's question: Which DC super villain do you want to see on screen that hasn't appeared yet? You can reach our hosts on twitter @benchamlin and @notdonald. And tune into @infnitybreak23