Episode 1822 Talkback: Something Old and Something New, Buckaroo Bonzai and Shang-Chi Too!
i_am_scifi
Posts: 784
There's a Retro Movie Review in my new release review. There's a new release review in my Retro Movie Review! To start us off, Chris, Shane, Murd and Ian review the 1984 sci-fi cult classic, and favorite of Shane, "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension." But is it truly retro if three out of four are watching it for the first time? You be the judge. The cast (sans Shane) then transition into an in-depth and spoiler-filled discussion on Marvel's latest cinematic entry in Phase Four of the MCU, "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings." And as if that wasn't enough, we also attempt to Muddle the Murd! (1:43:12)
Listen here or watch us on YouTube:
Comments
That was a fun episode. I like Shane just learned about the deleted scene time for YouTube
Great episode. Have not seen Shang Chi yet, but loved the coverage of Buckaroo Banzai (a favorite of mine).
This is a movie that I end up quoting frequently. Favorites include:
"No, no, no, don't tug on that. You never know what it might be attached to."
"Laugh while you can, monkeyboy".
"Home... home is where you wear your hat... I feel so breakup, I wanna go home."
A few fun cameos that you didn't mention were Billy Vera (of "At This Moment" Billy Vera and the Beaters) as Blue Blazers Regular Pinky Caruthers and Yacov Smirnoff as the National Security Advisor (especially funny to me given the still in the cold war setting that they would cast a Russian in this role).
I actually asked a Stump the Rios that included the Buckaroo Banza comic adaptation years ago. My recollection was that there was stumpage and a little on air complaint that adaptations didn't count.
I like the Kim's Convenience reference where Shang Chi says "I'm not Korean"
I didn't see Buckaroo Banzai until I was in college, probably around 1990, ’91 (yes, I first saw it on VHS). Most of my friends at the comic shop had already seen it and talked it up quite a bit, so I had pretty high expectations going into it. Believe me, I understand the criticisms. I came out of my first viewing feeling disappointed in many ways. It steamrolls through, or just flat-out ignores, many of the “rules” that typically make for good movie-making and storytelling. But it's the way in which it does that that makes the movie so fun, so charming, and so cool. You're just thrown into this world with little explanation or context, but you're given so much world building through background props and quick asides in the dialogue — much like in Star Wars (think Boba Fett), just more densely; or like in Harry Potter, but with less detail — and I love that kind of approach. The world feels lived in. It's a place I'd want to visit and learn more about.
So, yeah, technically speaking, it's a pretty average film, but the cast, the subtle and not-so-subtle world building, and the gobs of ideas it contains elevate the movie considerably for me. I give it four frekkin’ sweers.
Oh, and I should mention that there are already a handful of one-shots and miniseries written by Rauch and published by Moonstone through most of the 2000s. I haven't read any of them, just skimmed through a couple, so I can't attest to their quality other than that the artwork is not great, but serviceable. Also, the Marvel adaptation was penciled by Texiera and inked by Gil (who was a darn good inker, as well as a penciler).