Pop Culture with Fanboy and Know-It-All

Jake Roberson

Two nerds — a professional movie reviewer, Paul Asay (of Plugged In), who actually loves movies and an unqualified geek, Jake Roberson, who knows just enough to be dangerous — take on a crazy world saturated in movies, television, and myriad pop culture tropes.

  1. Dune (2021), His House (2020), and the End of Season One

    10/20/2021

    Dune (2021), His House (2020), and the End of Season One

    What's the best way to make a horror movie less scary? Know-It-All shares one of his favorite pro tips of all-time in this regard in the context of Fanboy forcing yet another horror movie on him since it's October and, y'know, "Halloween season" or some garbage like that. This time around the flick in question is a BBC film called HIS HOUSE (available on Netflix) that brings a fresh take to the haunted house segment of the horror movie genre by also tackling pressing issues of social commentary like the cultural assimilation of refugees. Who knew Halloween could provide such an opportunity for thoughtfulness and nuance? Elsewhere, the intrepid duo of Fanboy and Know-It-All dig into their review of director Denis Villeneuve's rendition of DUNE -- a classic 1965 science fiction epic written by Frank Herbert. Sporting incredible new visuals and an ensemble cast to die for, was the new DUNE film able to succeed where the original cinematic version of DUNE (1984) directed by David Lynch could not? You know Fanboy and Know-It-All have thoughts on that and more that they are more than willing to share and overshare with you. ("April Showers" by ProleteR is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives [aka Music Sharing] 3.0 International License.)

    1h 9m
  2. The Best Propaganda Films Ever, Ranked, and "Reefer Madness"

    09/15/2021

    The Best Propaganda Films Ever, Ranked, and "Reefer Madness"

    What is the best propaganda film of all time and why is it not actually REEFER MADNESS? Know-It-All and a special guest host filling in for Fanboy (friend of the show and CURRENT GEN podcast co-host Tim Nester) have the answer for you as well as their Top 10 Great Propaganda Movies of All Time ranked list in this here episode. It's what the kids call a "dooby." Errr, "doozy." ("April Showers" by ProleteR is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives [aka Music Sharing] 3.0 International License.)

    1h 44m
  3. Marvel's SHANG CHI and the Top 10 Best Martial Arts Scenes in Movies Ever, Ranked

    09/01/2021

    Marvel's SHANG CHI and the Top 10 Best Martial Arts Scenes in Movies Ever, Ranked

    What is the best martial arts scene that you've ever seen? The world of cinema is chock full of fantastic martial arts sequences. Whether martial arts scenes take place inside of martial arts films or superhero flicks, it is easy to see why the diverse fighting styles of myriad martial arts disciplines have long been so popular amongst movie goers. That is one of the reasons Fanboy and Know-It-All knew it was high time that they ranked their favorite martial arts scenes in movies. That and the fact that Marvel's SHANG CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS is dropping in movie theaters everywhere. Fanboy and Know-It-All, in a return to their classic "Riding in Cars with Boys" segment, bring you their very own special deep dive into the Marvel Cinematic Universe's explosive martial arts-centric movie, SHANG CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS, which stars Simu Liu and Awkwafina. ("April Showers" by ProleteR is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives [aka Music Sharing] 3.0 International License.)

    1h 15m
  4. Free Guy and the Top 10 Movies that Should Be Video Games, Ranked

    08/18/2021

    Free Guy and the Top 10 Movies that Should Be Video Games, Ranked

    What movie desperately needs to become a video game? If you ask one of us, you might hear the answer "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" come out of one of our mouths... That's right. Movies based on video games are generally terrible. But what about video games based on movies... ? Yeah, they can be pretty terrible as well. But not always. In the hands of the right video game studio, video games based on preexisting movie IP can be pretty great (we're looking at you, Shadow of Mordor). That's why, to celebrate the release of a pretty decent movie (Free Guy) about a video game that doesn't exist (Free City), Fanboy and Know-It-All decided to do a ranking of the Top Ten Movies That Should Be Video Games. Oh, yeah, we also break down the new Shawn Levy/Ryan Reynold's film: "Free Guy." ("April Showers" by ProleteR is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives [aka Music Sharing] 3.0 International License.)

    1h 13m
  5. Ted Lasso and the Most Strangely Compelling Olympic Events, Ranked

    08/05/2021

    Ted Lasso and the Most Strangely Compelling Olympic Events, Ranked

    What Olympic event are you drawn to in ways that make no sense? We all know about the sports and athletic competitions that draw all the eye and earballs during the Olympic Games, but what about the ones that keep you up at night? Not because you're terrified, but because you can't stand to miss a solitary, strange moment of the action? Fanboy and Know-It-All tackle the best and most compelling Olympic Events currently in the Olympic Games in order to help you find your new obsession. Also, is Ted Lasso the most likeable television character of all time? We sort of discuss it, but mostly just dig into the show. As one does. ("April Showers" by ProleteR is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives [aka Music Sharing] 3.0 International License.)

    1h 8m
  6. The Best TV Show Casts of All Time, Ranked (and The Tomorrow War)

    07/15/2021

    The Best TV Show Casts of All Time, Ranked (and The Tomorrow War)

    What TV show is the most perfectly cast? That question, posed to us by friend of the show Wes Coburn (@CoburnWesley), animates a passionate debate between Fanboy and Know-It-All as they each bring their respective Top Five Most Perfectly Cast TV Shows of All Time lists to the table. You might be able to guess a few of them that cracked our collective Top 10 Best TV Show Casts Ever rankings, but we're willing to wager there will be a few that surprise -- and maybe even anger -- you as well. Elsewhere, to do Know-It-All's buddy Chris Pratt a favor, Fanboy and Know-It-All dissect Amazon's "The Tomorrow War" and even swap roles with one another for a robust argument over whether or not this new summer sci-fi blockbuster has a message to sell. ("April Showers" by ProleteR is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives [aka Music Sharing] 3.0 International License.)

    1h 8m
  7. YouthMin: A Mockumentary (An Interview with the Cast and Crew [Plus 1972s "The Night of the Lepus"])

    06/30/2021

    YouthMin: A Mockumentary (An Interview with the Cast and Crew [Plus 1972s "The Night of the Lepus"])

    What if Michael Scott was a youth pastor? Steve Carell's classic turn as an inept middle manager in NBC's "The Office" may or may not have been on the minds of Jeff Ryan, Arielle Cimino, and Christopher O'Connell when they set out to create their mockumentary feature film called "YouthMin," but no one needs to squint to see why one review of the movie quips that it feels akin to what might have happened if "The Office went to Christian summer camp." Interestingly enough, "YouthMin" is not a "Christian movie" but it was put together as a way for its creators to laugh about the good, the bad, and the weird that they (and many, many, many others) have experienced in Christian youth ministries over the years (especially those who came of age around the turn of the 21st century). "YouthMin" manages to operate, in some respects, as a knowing send-up of Christian camp culture's quirks while also being an homage to the loads of truly good times that were to be had in those settings as well. Fanboy and Know-It-All had the privilege of sitting down with YouthMin co-director and star Jeff Ryan and the film's lead writer, Christopher O'Connell, to talk about the film, what they got into watching during 2020, their own experiences with Christian youth ministry, the surprises and lessons learned from making a mockumentary, and much more. Elsewhere, in a return to Hurts So Good, Fanboy and Know-It-All yuk it up over a terribly good bad movie they watched together that came out in 1972 and starred Jamie Lee Curtis' mom (Janet Leigh): "The Night of the Lepus." ("April Showers" by ProleteR is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives [aka Music Sharing] 3.0 International License.)

    1h 11m
  8. Marvel's Loki plus Netflix's The Mitchells vs the Machines

    06/16/2021

    Marvel's Loki plus Netflix's The Mitchells vs the Machines

    Sure, Thanos said there'd be no resurrections this time. But he didn't say nothing about no prequels involving time travel and multiverses (multiversi?), so now we have Marvel's LOKI on Disney+. Fanboy and Know-It-All struggle to resist the superhero genre, but they give in to take on LOKI. (Who are we kidding? We don't resist it at all.) Also, SLEEPER ALERT: we watched Netflix's "The Mitchells vs the Machines" and we have thoughts. ("April Showers" by ProleteR is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives [aka Music Sharing] 3.0 International License.)

    1h 14m
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4.9
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

Two nerds — a professional movie reviewer, Paul Asay (of Plugged In), who actually loves movies and an unqualified geek, Jake Roberson, who knows just enough to be dangerous — take on a crazy world saturated in movies, television, and myriad pop culture tropes.

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