Discerning Geeks Portal

We're back with a review of a classic movie, "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory." Sure, it's gotten another adaptation and a prequel, but this is the original 1971 version starring Gene Wilder.

- Is Willy Wonka benevolent & eccentric or a psychotic child-murderer? Do the Geeks have an answer to the question, or is the movie successfully ambivalent on the matter?

- What extreme impression did one of t...

The wait is over. It's time to reveal our top 8 picks! Preston & Todd complete the Favorite Female TV Characters countdown, highlighting standout women from space opera, fantasy, gritty dramas, comedies, animation, and more.

The female characters in this episode include...

- 3 military officers from sci-fi shows

- 2 business owners from two very different kinds of shows

- 2 housewives from two very different kinds of sho...

From brilliant scientists and fearless leaders to quirky oddballs and animated icons, television has given us some unforgettable female characters. In this episode, Preston & Todd kick off a two-part countdown of their all-time Favorite Female TV Characters, revealing ranks 20 through 09.

Way back in episodes #037 & #039, the Geeks listed their Favorite Sci-Fi TV Characters.  Many of our favorite shows are dominated by m...

Continuing with the 2024 Year In Review, the Geeks list and rate their favorite TV seasons of 2024. There's also a little bit about music, wrestling, and books.

The TV shows covered in this episode include:

ABC / Hulu

 - 9-1-1  (seasons 7 & 8)

 - High Potential  (season 1)

 - The Rookie  (season 6)

Amazon Prime

 - Batman: Caped Crusader  (season 1)

 - Fallout  (season 1)

 - Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power  (season 2 of 5 - really?!?!?...

Welcome to 2025, and thanks for returning to the Discerning Geeks Portal. In PART 1 of our two-part 2024 Year-In-Review, we take a look back at movies we've seen & even some movies we were only tempted to see & a few we were glad we did not see.

Throughout the discussion, the following movies get at least a mention, if not a deeper dive...

- Alien: Romulus

- Atlas

- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

- Borderlands

- Chal...

Finishing off the holiday season, we review the Christmas episodes of the TV show "Grimm": 3.08 "Twelve Days of Krampus" and 4.07 "The Grimm That Stole Christmas." Technically, we also briefly mention 1.07 "Let Your Hair Down," but that episode would barely be about Christmas at all if not for one single scene.

- This episode starts with a tangent about the TV show "Farscape." What did the Geeks think about that show?

- And, eve...

The movie doesn't have a sequel, but now the review does. We revisit the holiday classic, "The Muppet Christmas Carol." This time, Todd re-evaluates the movie with Preston, who wasn't with us the first time around, in episode #028 (check out that episode for the first version).

- What examples did the Geeks have of Muppets being comforting, diplomatic, the theme of the best ride at Disney World, great music video makers, and bein...

Merry Christmas! Next up in our Christmas movie reviews is "The Nightmare Before Christmas."

- If the various holidays (each represented by a tree in this movie) each got their own movie and eventually crossed over to form the "Nightmare Before Holiday" Cinematic Universe, which holiday (or maybe day of the week) would be the antagonist?

- Does this movie contain any deeper meanings, and what could those be?

- How well develope...

Merry Christmas, and welcome to the last minute marathon of Christmas-related movie reviews for 2024. First up, we review "Iron Man 3." We reviewed "Iron Man" and "Iron Man 2" in episodes #011 & #099. This makes the 3rd trilogy that we've completed, having reviewed the "Back to the Future" trilogy in episodes #058, #065, and #088, and "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy in a two-parter, episodes #066 & #067.

- Are the Geeks c...

We return to "The Simpsons," one of Preston's favorite shows, to review the "Treehouse of Horror" specials 05 to 08. Check out episodes #168 & #169 of our podcast for our two-part review of "Treehouse of Horror" 01 to 04. In this batch

The stories, spoofs, and themes covered in these four episodes include:  "The Shining," time travel, cannibalism, giants, "Nightmare on Elm Street," "The Thing," microscopic societies, alien bo...

Just in time for listening while standing in line at the polls on Election Day, Todd & Preston discuss movies & TV shows of a political theme.

Political-Themed TV Shows Discussed

• The West Wing
• Veep
• Madam Secretary
• The Simpsons episode 6.05 "Sideshow Bob Roberts"
• Commander-In-Chief
• House of Cards
• The Newsroom
• The Good Fight
• South Park episode 20.05 "Douche and a Danish"
• Babylon 5

Political-Them...

Welcome to the Halloween 2024 Edition of Todd & Preston's Drive-Time Chats. This episode starts with Preston's review of "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice."

Preston then continues with reviews of the following streaming movies:

- A recent remake of "Salem's Lot"

- "VHS Beyond"

- "I Watched the TV Glow"

Todd then talks about movies he's recently seen in abridged form, via reaction videos on YouTube:

- "Alien vs. Predator"

- "Alien...

This week, we take a deep dive into the importance we place on entertainment, whether we're being too picky about movies & TV shows, why some of them fail, and how much writing is responsible for successes or failures.

Note: Please excuse this brief description when first being published. I had an extensive description all typed out, and when I clicked one link on the screen, Spotify blanked out my summary!?!?! Check back late...

This week, we review the sci-fi film, "Valerian and the city of a Thousand Planets," a passion project of "The Fifth Element" director Luc Besson.

- What record does this movie hold among independent films and European films?

- What did the Geeks think about the story structure and pacing? Did the movie flow well, or were there too many distracting tangents along the way?

- With Luc Besson directing both visually vivid movies, ...

We continue with Part 2 of our Drive-Time Chat #07, covering the following topics...

- "Late Night With The Devil" movie

- "Arcadian" movie

- "Deadpool & Wolverine" trailers (recorded before the movie itself came out)

- The "X-Men" franchise, in general

- "Batman: Caped Crusader" TV show

- "Agatha All Along" trailer

- "Spider-Man" comics

List...

Tune in to our Drive-Time Discussion #07 as Todd & Preston cover: X-Men '97, The Ark, House of the Dragon, The Acolyte, The Bear, Jules

- Preston is finally caught up on "X-Men '97," so we're finally able to talk about it, including some spoilers. What did the Geeks think about it?

- What reasons did the Geeks have for bringing up Surge energy drink, Putt-Putt Golf & Games, love triangles, and s...

It's another new member of the $1 billion club. We review the superhero blockbuster, "Deadpool & Wolverine."

- Plain & simple, which Geek is the grump this episode and how badly?

- What were the Geeks' opinions about performances in the movie?

- Which of the Geek(s) felt like one or more of the fights in the movie were a little over-the-top? Did they mean that in a good way or bad way?

- How good ...

May the odds be ever in your favor...for enjoying this week's review of "The Hunger Games," the first movie in the young adult political action-thriller franchise.

- Which Geek has read the Hunger Games book trilogy, which Geek didn't see any of the Hunger Games until now, which Geek is the only one to see all five movies including the prequel, and are any of these the same Geek?

- Which narrative & vis...

In Part 2 of our discerning look into "The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror 01 to 04," we start with the two literary parodies and then delve into broader discussion about the general appeal of "The Simpsons."

- One of these stories makes a reference to the political primaries of 1992 that included Ross Perot. Don't the days of Ross Perot seem quaint now, in a good way? Could we get that kind of political...