Modern Technology Watches

Modern Technology Watches

"Modern Technology Watches" is a film podcast following Rob Vincent and Gila Drazen, a married couple of film geeks with very different tastes and a shared video library, as they introduce one another to the great and not-so-great films rattling around in their collection.

Episodes

July 20, 2023 88 mins
Rob shows Gila the 2016 monster movie "Colossal," an independent film about a troubled woman struggling through life, a giant creature from South Korea, and the mysterious link between them.

Will Gila appreciate a truly unique entry in the kaiju genre, or will movie night implode like a smashed helicopter?

Wikipedia link for the film: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossal_(film)

Please note the film being discussed contains adult con...
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Gila and Rob go to the theater to see 2023's "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret," the long-awaited film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Judy Blume about which Rob knows nothing but which means a great deal to Gila.

Will the adaptation pass muster for Gila, will Rob be put off by the "girl stuff," or will there be enlightenment all around?

Wikipedia link for the film: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Are_You_There_God%3F_I...
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May 5, 2023 102 mins
Gila takes Rob out dancing with 1985's "A Chorus Line," the film adaptation of the iconic Broadway show about the lives, hopes, and dreams of an often-overlooked class of performers.

Will this film make the final cut, or will Rob send it packing its leotards?

Wikipedia link for the film: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Chorus_Line_(film)
Wikipedia link for the original show: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Chorus_Line

Please note the f...
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Rob shows Gila the 1986 scifi adventure "Flight of the Navigator" in which a kid finds himself stranded out of time and away from the world he knows, with his only hope of assistance coming from a mysterious robot-controlled spaceship.

Will Gila enjoy the ride? It may not take a NASA-style brain scan to find the answer.

Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_of_the_Navigator

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? We'd love to...
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October 14, 2022 69 mins
Gila introduces Rob to "Bernie," Richard Linklater's 2011 black comedy dramatization of the events surrounding a murder in East Texas, as Modern Technology makes a triumphant return to podcasting after an extended break.

Will Rob tolerate the twisted Texan tale, or will it load him with microaggressions until he snaps?

Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_%282011_film%29

Experience Dick Pope's Oscar nomination announce...
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June 25, 2022 90 mins
Prompted by current events, Gila and Rob use the 1996 film "Citizen Ruth" as a starting point to talk about the current state of bodily autonomy and reproductive rights in the United States.

This is not a standard fun episode of "Modern Technology Watches," but it's the episode we needed to make this particular week. We appreciate your understanding.

Content warnings: US politics, reproductive health and decisions, religious fanatici...
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March 7, 2022 88 mins
Rob continues Gila's hacker-movie education with the 1992 film "Sneakers," a techno-classic in which an all-star cast engages in text-mode and heist-mode battles over a magic box of HAX.

Will this be more fun for Gila than her previous forays into cyberpunk standards, or will it prove as incomprehensible as a pile of random Scrabble tiles?

Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sneakers_%281992_film%29
Stephen Tobolowsky's memo...
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January 31, 2022 96 mins
Gila christens the third season of "Modern Technology Watches" by showing Rob "Keeping the Faith," a quirky 2000 romantic comedy about a rabbi, a priest, and the woman they love.

Will the joined forces of Ben Stiller, Edward Norton, and Jenna Elfman count Rob as a new believer? How well does the experience of watching Abrahamic clergy fight over Dharma hold up for Gila?

Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keeping_the_Faith

Q...
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May 2, 2021 119 mins
Hack the planet! For the second-season finale of "Modern Technology Watches" Rob finally shows Gila 1995's "Hackers," a film with a firmly argued-about place in the history of the real-life hacker community as well as a firewall-protected place in Rob's hacker head.

Will the movie win Gila's heart through cyberspace hijinks, or will she send it to the pool on the roof?

Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackers_%28film%29

V...
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February 21, 2021 79 mins
High school is a real-life game show as Gila shows Rob 2000's "Cheaters," a made-for-cable dramatization of the 1995 Steinmetz academic-decathlon cheating scandal.

Will Rob accept the results and award medals accordingly, or will Gila get caught reading the answers to the podcast off her shoe?

Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheaters_%282000_film%29

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? We'd love to hear from you!
Contact us ...
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January 30, 2021 104 mins
In the mood for a quiet night in, Rob introduces Gila to Fritz Lang's 1927 silent scifi drama "Metropolis."

How will Gila take to such a large dose of iconic German expressionism from between the World Wars? How much delicate explaining will Rob have to do? What's with all that floppy hair? Listen along as we break some new ground of our own.

Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolis_%281927_film%29

Questions? Comments?...
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December 15, 2020 72 mins
Gila takes Rob on a trip down the dark side of high-school fake politics with the 1999 Alexander Payne dark-comedy "Election."

Will this movie get Rob's vote, or will he rebel against it and get expelled from the audience?

Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Election_%281999_film%29

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? We'd love to hear from you!
Contact us via email or voice:
https://modern.technology/contact/
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Major "Doctor Who" fan Rob shows not-very-fannish Gila the 2013 TV docudrama "An Adventure in Space and Time," a celebratory look at the creation and early years of "Doctor Who" and the people involved.

Will Gila dig the looks at 1960s TV production and creative-human drama to be found among the scifi-flavored fanservice, or will Rob need anti-radiation gloves to protect him from the fallout? Join us in the control room as we find o...
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October 30, 2020 87 mins
Gila shows Rob the 1995 TV-movie version of the musical "Bye Bye Birdie."

Catchy songs! Intense choreography! Sanitized nostalgia! Tyne Daly! No Paul Lynde! Listen along as we find out how it all comes together.

Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bye_Bye_Birdie_(1995_film)

Questions? Comments?
Contact us via email or voice:
https://modern.technology/contact/
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Rob shows Gila the 1975 spoof "The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother."

How does writer/director/star Gene Wilder and his band of Mel Brooks irregulars fare without Mel Brooks? Does this fit within Sherlockian canon? What's with the Kangaroo Hop? Listen and find out!

Wikipedia link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventure_of_Sherlock_Holmes%27_Smarter_Brother

As mentioned in this episode, check out MAD artist Sergio Arag...
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We double back to the imaginary town of Hill Valley for the final time as Rob shows Gila 1990's "Back to the Future Part III." Special guests Jen Sujin Yoon and Gabe Williams from The Dork Web join us once again as we all meet some cowboys and face some demons together.

Is an old-West adventure what this series needed? What will Gila take away from this chapter, and the trilogy as a whole? Join us and find out!

Wikipedia link: https:...
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Gila shows Rob the 1999 queer-culture classic "But I'm a Cheerleader."

Will this movie make Rob wave his pompoms and cheer, or will he just not like it in that way?

Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/But_I%27m_a_Cheerleader

(This movie is particularly centered around adult content, and so is our episode about it. Listener discretion advised.)
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August 6, 2020 66 mins
We take a spin in a broken sportscar back to 1971 as Rob shows Gila the cult Elaine May/Walter Matthau dark comedy romance "A New Leaf."

Will Gila be forever fond of it like a frond from a fern, or will she find it ultimately poor?

Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_New_Leaf_(film)
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The future is now (a.k.a. five years ago) as Rob shows Gila 1989's "Back to the Future Part II." Special guests Jen and Gabe from The Dork Web return as we all skew into some tangents together.

Will Gila enjoy the ride without roads, or will this sequel leave her hanging on a porch swing? Join us and find out!

Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_to_the_Future_Part_II

Find more from The Dork Web:
https://www.instagram.com...
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April 9, 2020 57 mins
April 8 is Rex Manning Day!

Gila celebrates the day 1995's "Empire Records" takes place by, oddly enough, selecting 1995's "Empire Records" for her April 8 "Modern Technology Watches" pick.

How will Rob react to this particular combination of twangy 1990s music and angsty 1990s dialogue? Pop this episode into your CD changer and find out!

Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_Records
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