As another successful Star Wars Day fades into the distance, we’ll start today’s show off with a fun new way to watch everybody’s favorite space saga. It’s Machete Order with a twist, and we think it just might be the absolute best way to watch the story of Luke Skywalker and Co. unfold.
Speaking of space sagas, what we’re most excited about is the latest Marvel adventure, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. Have you seen this, have you heard about this thing? We did, and we’re here to give you a spoiler-free endorsement of one of the funnest films you’ll see all year.
After walking the elaborate tightrope in the first film between comedy and sci-fi adventure, sappiness and emotional gravitas, CGI overload and practical effects, how is it possible writer/director James Gunn and his crew could do it all again? To be honest, we’re really not sure, but it’s a feat of brilliant filmmaking. A fun, colorful rainbow of a comedy, wrapped up in all the trappings of sci-fi/action spectacle, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 is another brilliantly inventive tangent in the ever-sprawling Marvel universe, and a striking success to pin on the entire team’s mantle.
But that’s just a taste of what we’ll have in store on today’s show. We got some much anticipated sneak peeks at some huge entertainment properties this week, including our first look at the will-they-ever-really-make-it film we’ve all been curiously watching from afar, The Dark Tower movie. Starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey, the new film has its work cut out for it to bring audiences new and old into the tattered labyrinth of Stephen King’s sprawling literary saga (saga must be the word of the day). We’re still not sure if this is going to work out, but we’ll talk a bit about what we all saw in the trailer, and what we can expect on the big screen.
We also got our first look at The Defenders this week, Netflix and Marvel’s long-percolating hero team that includes the likes of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and that pretty boy with a powerful punch (who no one seems to like), Iron Fist. The new series will have plenty to work with after four different series have led to this moment, with a rich cast of colorful characters good and bad to explore throughout its 13 episodes. On the show, we talk about what we saw in the first trailer, and what we expect to see in the forthcoming series.
And how about the first “watercooler” series ever from Hulu (yes, Hulu), The Handmaid’s Tale? Anyone who has seen this show will know what we mean when we say this may be the most shocking, poignant, timely, and fascinating thing on TV. And it’s not just us — critics are raving. It’s sitting at 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, with a crazy-high 9.1 average score. Yes, it is that good, and we’ll tell you why you need to see it.
There’s so much more, though! We’ve got the new season of House of Cards on the way, a new Amazon comedy in the works with Jeff Goldblum and Danny DeVito, news about the Gears of War film (oy), and much more.
