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Empty Seats is a weekly podcast where we talk professional basketball and review shows and movies. 

Lovecraft Country Ep 2 and 3 review (30 Minutes - spoilers)

Empty Seats is a show that talks NBA basketball, reviews movies and shows, and talks video games. 



Lovecraft Country

Created by Misha Greene, and produced by JJ Abrams, and Jordan Peele production

Today we will discuss the first episode titled, Sundown.

(15:10 spoilers)

Lovecraft Country

2020 HBO Drama-Horror series adapted from a 2016 novel of the same name by author Matt Ruff. The story is about a young African American who travels across the U.S. in the 1950’s in search of his missing father

Starring

Jonathan Majors- Atticus Freeman

Jurnee Smollett- Letita ‘Leti’ Lewis

Courtney B. Vance- Uncle George Freeman

Michael Kenneth WIlliams- Montrose Freeman

First episode was a pretty solid opener. It did a good job of establishing the tone of 1950's America before going to H.P. Lovecraft on us. I really felt like this pilot episode was meant to be a LOTR Fellowship of the Ring type episode where Jonathan is Frodo and he leaves the safety of the shire, Chicago, to embark on a dangerous quest to fulfill his destiny. The beauty of this episode is that it transplants trolls, goblins, and Balrog’s for Jim Crow segregation and racism. Our heroes have to be quick, smart, and lucky in order to escape and make it to the safety of Lothlorien (Ardham, or that big mansion at the end of the episode). Really though I enjoyed the beginning because it becomes so crazy so quickly with War of the Worlds type dreams while fighting in the Korean War. Also, his conversation with the woman on the road about the Princess from Mars AKA JOhn Carter, is basically him.

Empty Seats is a weekly podcast that normally talks movies and TV show; however, this week with the start of the NBA season looming we discuss our greatest NBA players of all time

Empty Seats is a weekly podcast where we review TV shows, movies, video games, comic books, and talk sports

Watchman TV series HBO

Directors: Nicole Kassell 3 episodes

Stephen Williams 2 episodes

Step Green 1 ep

Adrij Parekh 1 ep

David Semel 1

Frederick E.O. Toye 1ep

Writers:

Cord Jefferson

Jeff Jensen

Claire Kiechel

Damon Lindelof (Lost) - creator

Alan Moore (wrote the original comic book but distanced himself from this project)

Stacy Osei-Kuffour

Nick Cuse

Actors:

Regina King as Angela Abar/sister night

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Cal Abar and MM

Tom Mison/ Mr. Phillips/ Game Warden

Sara Vickers as Ms. Crookshanks

Jeremy Irons as Adrian Veidt

Andrew Howard as Red Scare

Louis Gossett Jr. as Will Reeves

Jean Smart as Lauri Blake

Tim Blake Nelson as Wade Tillman/Looking Glass

James Wolk as Joe Keene

Hon Chau as Lady Trieu

Don Johnson as Judd Crawford

This is a show that tries to be complex in its portrayal of systemic racism and interpersonal violence against people of color. However, at times it doesn’t know if it wants to simply reenact racism by leaning into stereotypes and fears held in American society for decades or expose the false beliefs the behaviors reveal. Optically, it presses the shame button multiple places in the story, white man versus black man, white woman versus black woman (competing affections for the same black man - hits the “why did this fine and blessed black man pick a white woman and the competition that ensues). God as a black man. Etc. Ultimately, It didn’t strike an empathic cord, it was visually explicit, but the story narrative lacked the edginess of the visual effects. At one point I wondered if I was watching a porn video. Regina King and Hon Chau save the story with their portrayal of believable and amazing female characters. I’m not sure that even their heroics save this story from being an exploitive, manipulative, mess.

Watchman TV series is about systemic racism in that it depicts white supremacists and racists in different era’s committing racist acts on multiple levels.

Empty Seats is a weekly podcast where we discuss science fiction and fantasy shows and movies, as well as, video game, comic books, and sports. 



Hello everyone! Today we wanted to change up our usual format and take a break from dedicating a whole episode or series of episodes to one show or movie. Instead, we are starting our new segment, “Quarantine Watch”. A simple premise where Tom and I reveal what movies or shows we have been watching in order to stave off our descent into an isolation induced depression and psychosis.

Eric’s topics

Underwater- Janurary 10th, 2020


Director- William Eubank,

Starring- Kristin Stewart, Vincent Cassel (Serac), TJ Miller, and John Gallagher Jr. (Liam Dempsey)


The Dead Don’t Die- June 14th, 2019


Director- Jim Jarmusch

Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tom Waits, Chloe Sevigny, Steve Buscemi, Danny Glover, Tilda Swinton, Selena Gomez, Caleb Landry Jones, and a bunch more.


Rick and Morty: Season 4, 2nd half

Creator: Dan Harmon

After Life - Nefflix Original; Ricky Gervias. Its a British comedy that follows a man after the death of his wife of 20 years due to cancer.

Homecoming - Amazon Prime. Julia Roberts, etc.

War - DC animated movie prompts the question: why can’t the live action movies be this good?

Empty Seats is a weekly podcast where we talk about the shows we love to watch. Most weeks those shows involve fantasy, science fiction, or horror topics. However, this week we talk about the ESPN documentary Last Dance. 

The Last Dance

Direct by: Jason Hehir

A 10-part Docuseries covering the Chicago Bulls last championship season and the career of Michael Jordan, widely accepted as the best NBA (if not all of sports) player of all time. AKA the G.O.A.T.

What makes a good documentary?

First lets discuss how we feel about the documentary as a documentary. Did we like it, was it informative, and was it paced well.


Did you like the jumping back and forth between timelines, or how each episode would focus on one of Jordan’s teammates.

Is this a Bulls dynasty doc? Or a Michael Jordan Doc? Is there a difference?

What was the goal of this Doc? Did it accomplish this goal?

Why did they wait so long? Does this change how we would have viewed this if it came out say, 10 years ago.

What about how it was from Jordan’s perspective?


Now on to the actual content.

Set the stage: when were you when..the Bulls won their first title? Jordan Came back 1996..and came back..2001 (standing ovation at the United Center when he played his first game as a Wizard)


Was there a favorite part for you in the Documentary? (Tom: the reminder of what the GOAT looks like; first championships, behind the scenes humanizing, seeing basketball again)

How about is insanely competitive drive? Do we think that shaped..(yes, is separates him from other great players imo)

Was Scottie Shafted? Was it intentional?

How many players did Isaiah Thomas hate, for real. Or is it the other way around?

Jerry Krause had a nice run - looking at the players he brought in. How did you feel about the way he was portrayed?

Finally, Jordan or Lebron? Or does Lebron not belong in this conversation yet.

John Michael Wozniak- Curly haired security guard that beat Michael. And security guards forming his entourage.