The Book's Better

This week we're discussing Maurice Sendak's timeless children's book Where the Wild Things Are, and the 2009 film adaption directed by Spike Jonez. We did have a deep and insightful conversation about childhood, growing up, and what it means to become an adult, but then Orlando's computer melted from the heat and we lost the original recording. In this version, we mostly talk about the Jackass movies and the art of slapstick comedy. Stick around till the end to hear a scene reading from a lost manuscript that Dan managed to dig up from the dark corners of the internet.

This week we're discussing Ridley Scott's new historical drama The Last Duel, based on Eric Jager's 2004 novel that accounts the very real story of the last judicial duel fought in medieval France. What's that, you didn't see this movie? Don't worry, no one did! Just have a quick read of that Wikipedia plot summary, sit back, and listen to us slowly talk ourselves into hating the whole thing.

We're back! After a bit of a hiatus we've decided to look back at the year 2021 and reminisce about the highlights, the lowlights, and everything in between. At least that was the plan, but this is mostly just us talking about how much we hate Tim Burton and love Timothée Chalamet, you know, the usual. Enjoy and expect more episodes soon!

This week Dan and Orlando are off to see the wizard, but not before puzzling over the word 'humbug' and its exact connotations in terms of bad-man level. Eventually we do get talking about the 1900 novel and the very extremely famous 1939 film adaption that remains a staple for children's movies even today and gave baby Dan nightmares 40 years after it came out. (We still have the finale of MONTH OF CHALAMET to come, but we're waiting until Dune gets a wider theatrical release before we put that episode out. Stay tuned!)

It's week three of Month of Chalamet and it's finally time for Orlando and Dan to pay their respects to THE BARD. The 2019 Netflix movie The King is based on a series of Shakespeare plays known as Henriad, namely Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part 2 and Henry V. After a very short lived attempt to actually read the plays, the boys instead opted to watch some choice performances of them online which was more their speed (barely). So what's the verdict? Does THE BARD live up to the hype? The answer will SHOCK and AWE you.

It's week two of Month of Chalamet and we're taking a dive into the American classics, it's Little Women! This coming of age story has been adapted so many times that modern versions are forced to get weird and meta, although Greta Gerwig's 2019 film adaption also tries to stay true to the heart of the story. What works? What doesn't work? Listen in to our musings and find out! Also we do a quiz at the end of course.

Note: We had an issue with the audio for this episode but we really liked the recording otherwise so we've tried to salvage it as much as possible, apologies for the lower quality. WELCOME TO MONTH OF CHALAMET. This month we're celebrating the ICONIC roles of Timothée Chalamet in preparation for the upcoming release of the sci-fi epic Dune. This week we're starting off with Call Me by Your Name, the much lauded 2017 adaption of André Aciman's 2007 novel. Fair warning, this is by far the horniest book we've covered on the show thus far and it's likely to hold that title for some time to come. Listen as we attempt to have a measured conversation about the important subjects and themes in this coming of age tale, keeping the jokes about masturbating with a peach to a bare minimum of one every five minutes.

We've got a very special episode this week! After much anticipation we've finally managed to tackle the Netlfix sensation The Kissing Booth, however after struggling through the somehow massive book we realised we needed some help with the movie. So we stupidly decided to watch it together and drink whenever, among other things, the titular kissing booth is mentioned. Needless to say we both suffered immensely, and whatever usable audio we managed to salvage is now presented to you, enjoy!

This week we have another fantastic title from our 'things you've never heard of' series, with H.P. Lovecraft's The Colour out of Space and its 2019 film adaption Color out of Space starring the one and only Nic Cage. And yes, Nic Cage does indeed go full Nic Cage in this movie, summoning his own sort of Lovecraftian-horror acting ability, and that's more terrifying than any eldritch beast I can think of!

This week the boys are talking Alien invasions, comparing H.G. Wells' timeless novel War of the Worlds with Steven Spielberg's completely forgettable 2005 film adaption starring Tom Cruise. As per usual the slightest mention of Tom Cruise on the podcast sends us meandering off out of control, trying to figure out whether he is in fact a Martian himself sent to Earth to slowly brainwash us with endless Mission Impossible movies. Don't worry, there's plenty of relevant discussion too!

In an accidentally topical turn of events this week the boys are covering Argo, based somewhat on a 2007 article from Wired titled "The Great Escape: How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran" but mostly just a dramatic retelling of events that occurred during the 1979 Iranian Hostage Crisis. It may not really be a book that's being adapted but we manage to get into the weeds anyhow, mostly on the subject of whether the movie would have still been exciting if it was at all accurate. (NOTE: contrary to any claims made in this episode we know VERY LITTLE about Middle Eastern politics.)

Neil Gaiman fans be warned, we may have been a little underwhelmed by his novel that served as the basis for Henry Selick's 2009 film adaption Coraline. While we figure out why, Orlando gets caught up in the animation process of the movie (including an interesting physics problem) and Dan becomes obsessed with a cut scene featuring a swarm of hornets. In retrospect, it might have gone off the rails a bit.

The name's Dan... Dan and Orlando. That's right it's James Bond time! Casino Royale is actually the first novel in Ian Fleming's quintessential spy series and provides the basis for the first of Daniel Craig's Bond movies, which is the adaption we decided to focus on for this episode. We end up uncovering a few bombshells in this episode leading us to believe that maybe James isn't the ultra suave superchad you thought he was. Is he actually good at poker or just lucky? Is he actually a playboy or is he more of a SADboy? And you'll NEVER guess what he canonically wears to bed! All this and more inside!

Day in, day out, Orlando and Dan keep on that thankless podcast hustle, their anger and resentment slowly building up inside... Until this week we've had to go primal, and watch Fight Club. You might not know it but the movie is actually based on a book and it's suprisingly similar. Listen to find out why we think this is one of the best adaptions we've seen yet.

This is one of the big ones folks, we're discussing one of Steven King's most famous novels and one of the most iconic films ever made, The Shining. At first glance Stanley Kubrick's adaption seems pretty straightforward but ultimately it differs greatly in both intent and execution, becoming a distinctive classic in its own right.

That's it folks, this week Orlando and Dan have finally had it up to here with Tim Burton's antics and they've decided that it's high time he was taken down a notch or two. That's why we're discussing his 2010 adaption of C.S. Lewis' Alice in Wonderland, comparing it with the 1951 Disney adaption and just generally wondering why anyone thought it was a good idea to make that movie.

Mystery is afoot this week as the boys are on the hunt for treasure! Long time Tintin lover Dan drags salty skeptic Orlando along as they both try to unravel the mystery of Spielberg's 2011 adaption of Hergé's comic series The Adventures of TinTin. What makes this movie so enjoyable yet so simultaneously mundane? Is it the plot? The characters? IS IT SNOWY THE DOG???? Find out inside!

Join us for our second dive into the madness of Stanley Kubrick with his 1971 adaption of Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange. Somewhere either side of us delving into the morality of violence in the media we do manage to actually discuss the film and the novel, including trying to wrap our heads around the very confusing English-Russian hybrid that most of the novel is written in.

This week Orlando and Dan have Tom Cruise fever! After a pretty solid derailment discussing the king of Scientology himself, we finally get to the 2002 movie adaption of Phillip K. Dick's short story Minority Report. Stay tuned till the end for a chance to find out what Tom Cruise vehicle we are, BuzzFeed quiz style!

This week Orlando and Dan are going after Zack Snyder for his 2009 adaption of the graphic novel Watchmen, discussing what was lost and what (if anything) was improved. Weird costumes, ridiculous superhero voices, bad CG, this one really has it all folks, make sure to listen to the end for the explosive hosni rating!

This week Orlando and Dan discuss the weird and wonderfully convoluted adventures of bounty hunter Rick Deckard in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and its film counterpart Blade Runner. Originally we imagined this as an example of a movie greatly improving on its source material but the book slowly grows on us until we're forced to admit at the end that it's kind of epic.

Time to wrap up our series on Harry Potter with one last mega episode on the final two movie installments! We leave no stone unturned, discussing everything from Bellatrix's knife throwing skills to the very thematic core of Harry Potter as a story. Buckle in fools!

This week Orlando and Dan make their first foray into the 'classics' with Jane Austen's Emma and the recent (2020) film adaption. Listen as Dan tries desperately to defend it from Orlando's relentless insistence that none of the characters are interesting or relatable. Also, Clueless.

On the first of what will probably be many episodes on Steven King, Orlando and Dan discuss the one movie adaption where King apparently prefers some of the changes they made to his novel. But twist! Orlando and Dan hate them and think they're super dumb! Find out why...

We're here with another Roald Dahl classic this week, talking about Fantastic Mr. Fox and Wes Anderson's stop-motion and star-studded adaption. After realising how well the movie seamlessly adds human drama to a simple kid's story, the boys try it out themselves with a live reading of Dan's own feature film adaption of 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar'.

Once again it's time for more Harry Potter and we've got no time to lose! Orlando and Dan discuss all their favorite cut scenes, their preference for magical whimsy vs. neon CGI-fest, and the ongoing problem of the movies having almost no time to explain any of the minor plot points.

What happens when you take a gothic horror novel from the 20s and try to turn it into a bombastic 80s comedy? You get Re-Animator! Orlando and Dan are here to take you through this weird love-child of a movie and it even gets them thinking of their own idea for a wacky college adventure featuring none other than Lord Dracula himself!

This week we're discussing last year's hit Netflix series The Queen's Gambit, a show that somehow managed to make chess cool. And now we're here to make it lame again by talking about the book. This episode somehow contains some of our most in depth discussion on the conventions of adapting a novel and possibly the most inane nonsense we've ever spouted, enjoy!

We're back to hard sci-fi this week with the classic 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was almost as hard to watch as it was to read. We may not be able to make much sense of the ending but we certainly enjoy waxing on the longevity of the HAL scenes and doing annoying impressions of him being shut down.

This week we're discussing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the original book and both the old and new movie! That's three times we had to sit through the same joke about Veruca Salt falling into the incinerator. Make sure to stick around till the end where we use a Buzzfeed quiz to figure out which of the golden ticket children Orlando is (Spoiler: It's not Mike Teavee).

This week we're back to Harry Potter with the third and fourth installments. From creepy werewolf Lupin to hours and hours of cut house elf content there's a lot to discuss. I just hope you're not a fan of The Goblet of Fire because we sure aren't!

Whether you loved the movie version of American Psycho or you absolutely hated it, Orlando and Dan are here to warn you about the book! Listen to us as we desperately struggle to make sense of all the horrifically detailed violence and complete lack of linear storytelling. Never Again!!!

Mars is in the news this week and right on que we're discussing modern sci-fi hit The Martian. Listen as we desperately struggle to remember the technical details of a book we read six months ago. Orlando gives us a lesson in practical effects, Dan talks about Wil Wheaton a bunch for some reason, hilarity ensues!

This week Dan and Orlando talk about a personal favorite of theirs, Edgar Wright's Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and its graphic novel source material. Listen as Dan ruthlessly criticizes a movie he claims to really like, and Orlando is almost tricked into saying something questionable about a 23 year-old dating a 17 year-old. Boy do we have fun here!

For our very first episode we're diving right in with the quintessential book and movie combo. That's right, it's Harry Potter! To start with we're talking about The Philosopher's Stone and The Chamber of Secrets and their cinematic adaptions. Make sure to listen till the end for Dan's Harry Potter quiz that will test your knowledge on the differences between the books and movies. Enjoy!