Episode 544 - Avengers Doomsday, The Odyssey & Every Movie We're Losing Our Minds Over Right Now

Justin has one free movie pass left before the month ends and needs to use it tonight, so Doug helps him choose between Supergirl, Disclosure Day, and Masters of the Universe. This somehow turns into a 45-minute deep dive on everything happening in Hollywood right now, and honestly, it's one of the best movie conversations they've had in a while.

First: the online hate for Supergirl is examined, dissected, and found to be exactly what everyone already knows it is. Same goes for the discourse around casting in The Odyssey, the Little Mermaid live action, and Dune. The pattern is not subtle and Doug has words.

Then things get genuinely interesting. Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is coming and Doug is all the way in — Greek mythology, massive ensemble cast (Matt Damon, Zendaya, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, Elliott Page), and the first narrative film ever shot entirely on IMAX cameras. The IMAX conversation goes somewhere unexpected.

Spider-Man Brand New Day gets the full breakdown: the Punisher's role, what the One Last Kill special means for his arc, and why having Frank Castle in a PG-13 Spider-Man movie is either brilliant or insane depending on how you look at it. Then: Avengers Doomsday. Are Doug and Justin cautiously optimistic or quietly terrified? Both. RDJ as Doctor Doom, the Jonathan Majors pivot, what the comics actually did with colliding dimensions, and why the Magneto limited series is the template they should be following. Plus, Marvel forgot Shang-Chi exists. It has been four years. Someone needs to answer for this.

Also: Jared Leto — what happened? A genuine conversation about acting as a craft, why celebrity corrupts the thing that made people good at it, and how a handcrafted maple dresser at a consignment store connects to all of it somehow.

Then: Doug and Justin review Backrooms (A24). Justin gives it three stars. Doug is closer to three and a half. They agree the production design is stunning, the acting is strong, the jump scares land, and the story leaves too many character motivations unresolved. A making-of documentary is urgently needed.

Also also: Million Dollar Nannies on Hulu is a show that exists. Beth found it. They did not make it past the intro. And a brief, uncomfortable look at Love Island, reality TV, and why some people unwind by watching train wrecks.

Movie audio clip guessing game: Justin goes three for three on Hook, Elvis (Baz Luhrmann), and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective — including a line from Ace Ventura that lands very differently as an adult than it did at age ten.

This week's recommendations:
Justin — Backrooms (A24). Not perfect, but worth seeing. The environment alone justifies the ticket price.

Doug — Mecha Chameleon on Steam. Six dollars. Prop hunt where you paint yourself to blend into the scenery. Alpaca wants a professional digital artist league. We're here for it.

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