Digital Gonzo

This is the first of eleven shows reviewing the many many movies that have been made about The Batman, starting way back with Adam West and culminating with The Dark Knight Rises, coming to cinemas this July.

My guests this week are Joshua Garrity of Cane and Rinse, Neil Taylor of GameBurst and KDS 2.0 and Jerome McIntosh and Paul Gibson of Gonzo Planet. On the chopping block we have an extremely divisive depiction. Some will find it irritating, shallow, pointless and boring, others consider it a masterclass of camp humour. Will we manage a balanced view?

For those wishing to catch up on everything we'll be reviewing, here is a handy checklist.

1. Batman The Movie (1966)
2. Batman (1989)
3. Batman Returns (1992)
4. Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
5. Batman Forever (1995)
6. Batman & Robin (1997)
7. Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000) [Only iTunes in the UK]
8. Under the Red Hood (2010) [No Blu-Ray in the UK]
9. Year One (2011) [Only iTunes in the UK]
10. Arkham Asylum (2009) [360/PS3/PC]
11. Arkham City (2011) [360/PS3/PC]
12. Batman Begins (2005)
13. The Dark Knight (2008)
14. The Dark Knight Rises (2012) [Coming Christmas 2012]

Next week; Tim Burton's Batman [1989]

This is the first of seven reviews covering the entire ALIEN Saga from the 1979 original all the way through to Prometheus.

In this first and arguably best outing, directed by Ridley Scott, we take a look at a haunted house story set in space. A B-Movie creature feature lent integrity from its serious tone, sparing and masterful handling of tension and significant influence on several genres.

This was the film that made British-born Scott a key player in Hollywood, introduced the world to Sigourney Weaver, created one of the most iconic females in cinema history and one of the most terrifying monsters.

I am joined at the helm of the Nostromo by Leah Haydu of GamerDork Versio 4.0, Joshua Garrity of Cane and Rinse, Sharon Shaw of Gonzo Planet, Matt Ramsey of DorkTunes and James Perkins of Geek Wad. My crew and I try our level best to maintain a serious and bolted down tone throughout but inadvertently drummed up some of the funniest moments on Digital Gonzo yet. Maybe even a few Gonzo meme's already exist within the darkened corridors of this episode. Stay tuned to the very end for that reason.

Next week: ALIENS

This is the second volume of the Gonzo Planet Audio Magazine compiling the continually growing library of audio articles. It also starts off with a very important announcement about the Gonzo Planetary Expo 2012.

The time-codes after each article here are for where they stop so if you want to skip to the end of a piece you'll know where to land.

    1. [James Batchelor: GameBurst] The Nintendo Difference #2 - The 3DS 05.00
    2. [Alex Shaw: Digital Gonzo] The Internet News - Fire 19.30
    3. [Michael Fox: Little Metal Dog] Michael Gets Creative 22.50
    4. [James Perkins: Geek Wad] The Darkest Hour 3D - Review 27.00
    5. [Alex Shaw: Digital Gonzo] The 41-Year Old Virgin Who etc... Non-Review 32.20
    6. [Neil Taylor: KDS 2.0] The Dresden Files - Storm Front - Review 37.35
    7. [James Batchelor: GameBurst] The Nintendo Difference #3 - Resolutions 41.15
    8. [Michael Fox: Little Metal Dog] Michael Talks About Kickstarters 56.50
    9. [Alex Shaw & James Perkins] Wrecked: Revenge Revisited - Review 1-01.15
    10. [Alex Shaw: Digital Gonzo] Alex Reads The Gruffalo 1-09.45

Next week... ALIEN

This is the sixth and final of the official MARVEL superhero movie reviews for now. In the future we will be returning to Marvel with reviews of the Spider-Man and X-Men film series’, and maybe a few of the others like Daredevil, 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Ang Lee’s Hulk. We will also be covering any subsequent movies from the Marvel cinematic universe including Iron Man 3, Thor 2, Captain America 2 and the inevitable follow-up to The Avengers. But right now we’re focusing on this culmination of years of setup and expectation as The Avengers Assemble.

This is actually the first ever Gonzo show I've recorded where myself, my guests and the rest of the world have only just seen the film in question for the first time. in fact it launches in the USA tonight. This makes for a slightly different discussion, not least because this is also the culmination of four years of waiting, longer if you're a Marvel fan. It is also a new beginning for comic book movies and my theory is that in twenty years this will be seen as one of the first truly successful crossovers.

Joining me once again are Neil Taylor of GameBurst and KDS 2.0, Josh Garrity of Cane and Rinse and Jerome McIntosh and Paul Gibson of Gonzo Planet. Some of the things we didn't mention on the show that need mentioning...

1. The Helicarrier was awe-inspiring.
2. Black Widow did her fighting without high-heeled shoes again and in fact pointedly picked them up afterwards.
3. It would appear that the Americans get a brief post-credits Easter-Egg so stick around until the very end. That goes for this spoiler-packed podcast as well.

In the next few days, the second Gonzo Planet Audio Magazine show, along with a very important announcement about the Gonzo Planetary Expo 2012. Then next week a whole new long-running film series gets reviewed.

This is the fifth of six reviews of the MARVEL cinematic universe. This show covers the not the first but certainly the finest cinematic outing for the star-spangled man with the shield..

This was another tough movie to make happen considering America’s relationship with war over the past decade. If they had gone too patriotic the rest of the world would have hated it, too down on America and the domestic box-office would suffer greatly. In the end the smartest thing to do was to put Steve Rogers in the context to which his character was created. The simpler times of the 1940s where heroes were lantern-jawed and villains were hideous and motivated only by hate. It could have been disastrous. It wasn’t. Find out more inside, true believers!

Joining me once again are Neil Taylor of GameBurst and KDS 2.0, Josh Garrity of Cane and Rinse and Jerome McIntosh and Paul Gibson of Gonzo Planet. To finish off we also talk about some of the best and worst MARVEL video games out there as well as some wild speculation on what might happen in The Avengers that will seem dated within hours once people start seeing it.

Neil and I also place a bet.

We will be back next week, champing at the bit to talk about The Avengers.

This is the fourth of six reviews of the MARVEL cinematic universe. This show covers the 2011 first cinematic outing of the God of Thunder.

This was a tough one for MARVEL. DC spent years developing the similarly magic-based superhero movie; Wonder Woman and ultimately stalled, ironically letting go the director of The Avengers. The rest of the established Marvels have their background in science, albeit fantastical science from the mind of dreamers. Thor has his basis in actual Norse mythology, given a space-age refreshing by Jack Kirby. The challenge was to sell modern cinema audiences this shining hero for the first time and make him every bit as believable as Iron Man.

Joining me once again are Neil Taylor of GameBurst and KDS 2.0, Josh Garrity of Cane and Rinse and Jerome McIntosh and Paul Gibson of Gonzo Planet. We will be back next week with Captain America: The First Avenger.

Here are some books that I heartily recommend you guys pick up for essential Avengers reading.

The Ultimates Volume 1 - Superhuman
The Ultimates Volume 2 - Homeland Security
The Ultimates 2 Volume 1 - Gods and Monsters
The Ultimates 2 Volume 2 - Grand Theft America
The Avengers Volume 1 - Breakout
Iron Man - Extremis

This is the third of six reviews of the MARVEL cinematic universe. This show covers the 2010 sequel to Iron Man.

The first film was a huge success, but with The Dark Knight, expectations were driven far higher, both in terms of box office and critical success. This led to a hell of a lot of people being incredibly disappointed with iron Man 2. In this show, we defend the most maligned of the five MARVEL's  whilst clearly defining its lazier, sloppier moments. We highlight it's strengths and the intelligence and heart at the core.

And of course there is the matter of Scarlett Johansson.

Joining me once again are Neil Taylor of GameBurst and KDS 2.0, Josh Garrity of Cane and Rinse and Jerome McIntosh and Paul Gibson of Gonzo Planet. We will be back in just a few days time with Thor.

This is the second of six reviews of the MARVEL cinematic universe. This show covers the 2008 Requel (a portmanteau of both Sequel and Reboot) of The Incredible Hulk. This is a character who has been rendered onscreen many many times and unlike Iron Man, was not only fully formed in the minds of the public but had received a theatrical outing already.

Marvel's job with this film was to deliver something more fun than 2003's HULK, directed by Ang Lee (now officially a parallel universe one-shot, what-if origin story), as well as setting up an ongoing character that would tie into The Avengers and future films.

Joining me once again are Neil Taylor of GameBurst and KDS 2.0 and Jerome McIntosh and Paul Gibson of Gonzo Planet. We will be back in just a few days time with Iron Man 2.

This is the first of six reviews of the MARVEL cinematic universe. Each one will cover a different movie in the run-up to The UK theatrical release of The Avengers, which will be the sixth and final part for the time being.

1. Iron Man (2008)
2. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
3. Iron Man 2 (2010)
4. Thor (2011)
5. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
6. The Avengers (2012)

This first show covers Iron Man, arguably the best of the released movies so far. A critical and box-office high for Robert Downey Junior and director John Favreau and the beginning of a new renaissance of Marvel comic book adaptations.

Joining me on the S.H.I.E.L.D Helicarrier to cast a critical eye over proceedings are Neil Taylor of GameBurst and KDS 2.0, Joshua Garrity of Cane and Rinse and Jerome McIntosh and Paul Gibson of Gonzo Planet.

This is the second part of our Game of Thrones podcast series. It is a spoiler-filled discussion of the entire first season. We don't go beyond that, however and every subsequent episode released in the next... decade? ... will cover only that specific series.

This all ties in nicely with the season 2 premier. Once again if you've not had the pleasure, go listen to the first installment which is a spoiler-free introduction to the world, then read the first book and or watch the first series and return here for deconstructions of major talking points on the following...

* Snow on the Wall
* Tour of Westeros
* The King's Handiwork
* Sibling rivalry
* War games
* The Dragon wakes

It's a lot less pretentious than I've made it sound folks, seriously this is earthy fantasy steeped in fire and blood that will take your breath away.

Once again my fantastic, well-researched and ever-loquacious guests are Tara and Sassy; The Most Popular Girls on the Internet (an exceedingly clever nickname), Josh Garrity of Cane and Rinse and Sharon Shaw of Gonzo Planet.

Episode three will follow once season two of Game of Thrones finishes.