Show #88 - Ender's Game

If on the off-chance you've already made it out to theaters this past weekend to see 'Ender's Game', you need to get into this spoiler-tastic podcast right away. If you happen to not care about 'Ender's Game' but just like to listen to the 'Lith and the Trap opine about movies generally, then yeah, push play. No harm, no foul. BUT! If you have not yet seen the new Gavin Hood adaptation of Orson Scott Card's classic novel 'Ender's Game' but plan to, it would be a good idea to do four things in the order listed. One, do not listen to this podcast. Two, high-five yourself because you're about to see 'Ender's Game'. Three, go see 'Ender's Game'. Four, you go on ahead and listen to this 'Ender's Game'-centric episode of A Little Snack. I think we're all sorted. Enjoy, friend!

Show #88

Show #89 - Big Budget Movies About Flying Dudes in Red Capes

In this episode of A Little Snack, Monolith takes in screenings of 'Man of Steel' and 'Thor 2: The Dark World', and speaks with a certain Mr. Bear Trap about their various flaws and strengths. A proper show. Discussed: spoiler-free discussion of the Metropolis-smashing ending of 'Man of Steel', a spoiler-heavy discussion of the tornado scene in 'Man of Steel', a fresh appraisal of Zach Snyder's filmography as a director, how a headlock can stop a man with laser eyes from, say, looking to the right, why Natalie Portman does not fit in the Marvel universe and why, conversely, Scarlett Johansonn fits in quite well, the scene in Thor 2 that made the film briefly exciting for Monolith, a cool scene in a very special 'Captain America 2' trailer, and a 3-part Word of the Week that may or may not be gibberish. Please enjoy this one.

Show #89

Show #87 - Sandra In Utero: An Analysis of the Themes in 'Gravity'

In this episode of A Little Snack, a cloud of space debris wreaks havoc on cogent thought and complete sentences, resulting in poorly articulated points and not a little tedious nitpicking. You'll be lucky to escape without losing a few IQ points. Discussed: The new Alfonso Cuaron film "Gravity" and the relative enjoyment experienced by both podcasters while watching said film, whether Sandra Bullock is "cute" anymore, tether protocol, the handling of sound in 'Gravity', the most emotional moment in the film for both podcasters, how the film's artistic success can be summed up by a comparison to a certain early twentieth century author's fiction, the necessity of Sandra's backstory, and a WoW clarification from the last episode, a WoW pop quiz with past WoWs, and then a WoW that happens to describe some topical current events quite well. Also, regarding that title: no themes are analyzed in this podcast. The title's willfully misleading. Enjoy, folks!

Show #87

Show #86 - Jeb Wheedon

On this episode of A Little Snack, Monolith talks about how, while flying, he endured the obscenity that is 'Star Trek: Into Darkness' and Bear Trap reminisces about the dearly departed author of techno-thriller airport fiction, Tom Clancy. And at the END of the podcast, (like good podcasters do), the meth-heads talk about the end of AMC's 'Breaking Bad'. Surprisingly, they manage to hold back the tears. Discussed: the best and worst Star Trek movies, at what point 'Into Darkness' stops being good and starts being the worst thing to happen to the franchise, Tom Clancy's lasting contribution to culture, his unusual connection to 9/11, Key and Peele's return and when to look for the return of Mousecop, a Word of the Week that isn't exactly what you would call fully baked, a Monolith moment that puts Bear Trap on the spot, what the podcasters understand about ABC's new show 'Agents of SHIELD' without either of them actually having seen it, thoughts on a few moments Monolith saw of one episode of the new NBC actioner 'Blacklist', and then spoiler-iffic 'Breaking Bad' talk in which the Trap and the 'Lith talk about the final 75-minute episode and the entire series as a whole and where one might reasonably rank it among all TV shows. It's good and you will enjoy it.

Show #86

Show #85 - How Breaking Bad is like The Princess Bride

Discussed: The imminent arrival of the sequel to 'The Shining', Monolith has an idea on how to torture himself and his podcasting colleague with bad movies, the 'How Did This Get Made' podcast gets a mention, Monolith flips the script on the Word of the Week, a dramatic reading of the Shelley poem 'Ozymandias' by none other than Monolith, and then a whole lot of 'Breaking Bad' talk about the gut-kick of an episode that was 'Ozymandias'. Enjoy this one because next week it's all iOS7 talk!

Show #85

Show #84 - Xenia Onatopp

While the US stands ready to punish Syria for crimes against humanity, the Little Snack manages to perpetrate a crime against humanity just about every other week with nary a glance from Uncle Sam. Hmm. Maybe the NSA spying programs aren't really all that. Program note: No mentions of the NSA or Syria are made In this week's episode of a Little Snack. They keep the show focused on the superficial and irrelevant. You know, like usual. Discussed: Skyfall, James Bond movies, Samsung news, Apple news, a cool new app that doubles as great tool for terrorists, wearable tech, a Word of the Week that's kind of Abby Normal, a Monolith Moment that picks up where 'Lith left off last week, and some thoughts on the latest episode of 'Breaking Bad'. Enjoy, friends. Enjoy.

Show #84

Show #83 - The Broken Umbrella

Stop whatever you're doing and listen to this episode right now. Why, you ask? Because you have some feelings of self-loathing and a need to punish yourself, yes, but also! to experience a momentous Little Snack first: the 'Lith and the Trap hear -- and then immediately react to -- shocking Batman movie news ...DURING THE CAST! Exciting, I know! And they talk about a bunch of other stuff, too. Hope you enjoy this one at a little over an hour. Discussed: how the St. Louis Arch is kind of like Monolith's nemesis, a new comic book series is suggested to Monolith that depicts his greatest fear and in response Monolith implies that Bear Trap is an overgrown child, a promising Little Snack topic is researched and found wanting, the most hoity-toity Word of the Week to date is revealed, the success of John Oliver's run on 'The Daily Show', some guesses are made as to why 'The Jeselnik Offensive' is one of the funniest shows on TV, thoughts on the final season of 'Futurama', live, breaking and highly consequential movie news  (sorry, you didn't get out of this one with no Batman), the one redeeming quality of 'True Blood's recent season finale as well as interesting news regarding just who exactly watched this season... by himself, the quality-status of 'Dexter' in its final season, the truth (if there is any) behind a list of peculiar (and often borderline criminal) sex acts a la 'the Rusty Trombone', a new entry is added to the list, and then to close the show some thoughts on the first two episodes of 'Breaking Bad's final run of eight. Enjoy it.

Show #83

Show #82 - Stubble Rub, Snowballs, and Sleep-Talking

Technical difficulties very nearly forced your intrepid podcasters to throw in the towel and post just half a podcast today. Imagine the horror: only one hour of new Snack this week. But they were undaunted by these technical snafus and found a new way to record their jibber jabber giving you a nearly two-hour episode (they think it's about 2 hours -- with all the different recordings that need to be cobbled together they won't know for sure until it's all done but it feels like 2-ish)! All the half-formed thoughts, uninformed opinions, dumb jokes and meandering monologues you've come to expect are here. So while your finger hovers over the mouse deciding whether to click 'Play', let's see what these dopes talked about, shall we? Discussed: a Word of the Week that sounds a bit like a sign of the Zodiac if you mumble it, Sanjay Gupta's ganja flip-flop, a Monolith Moment remembers one of Hollywood's recently departed, a flurry of opinions on trailers as 'The Counselor', 'Her', and 'Monuments Men''s trailers are critiqued, Bear Trap goes on and on about e-books again, the Snack's listeners are implored to watch a recent episode of 'Colbert Report', an update on Apple's new iOS, a word about how things just got a little worse for death row inmates in Texas, and an important reminder about Sunday night's historic TV event. Hope you enjoy.

Show #82

Show #81 - If It Ain't Bendin'

I tried to stop them, but it was no use. They did another one. Here it is. 
Discussed: Monolith shocks the world when he reveals whether 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' is a good or a bad movie, Channing Tatum's screen-time in the film, Jimmy Kimmel's mildly amusing music video about Channing's name, whether the movie was fun the way playing with GIJoes was fun back in the day, a brief word on the Rock, 'Oblivion', what the trailer gives away and what it only appears to give away, the promise of suckage that is the 'Paranoia' trailer, Liam Hemsworth's prospects for a career as a leading man, because you demanded it Monolith weighs in on the first fifteen minutes of 'Tower Heist', the most recent Brett Rattner imbroglio is summarized, the 'Walter Mitty' trailer, why Bear Trap finds Sean Penn to be a bit off-putting, a bright but ephemeral Word of the Week, Bear Trap has a bit more to say about 'The Wolverine' and the importance of casting, the teaser trailer for season five of 'Breaking Bad', an Ask Me Anything (AMA) on Reddit done by Giancarlo Esposito (Gus Fring) reveals some important facts regarding the writing of the show, and Bear Trap is frustrated in his search for the life-like Walter White mask Cranston wore to Comic-con. At just a little over an hour, this one should go down easy. Well, quickly. Enjoy!

Show #81

Show #80 - DC's Not Doing it Right

Welcome to another installment of A Little Snack! Better late than never, right? Because these two Carlos Dangers care so very much about their listeners, they've authorized me to relay a warning about this podcast: this episode does feature excessive Batman talk and even some straight-up comic-book talk. What it does not feature is anything related to George Zimmerman's acquittal, Republican intransigence, or Anthony Weiner's penis. See? Caped Crusader chat doesn't sound so bad now, does it? Enjoy it, friends. 

Discussed: A bit on Monolith's long-awaited reading of 'Game of Thrones', Apple's part in the price-fixing case, a live investigation of e-book pricing, what classic science-fiction novel would make a good kid's book, another non-body part Word of the Week, 'World War Z' the novel and the film, how 'World War Z' is like 'Casino Royale', the unlikely success of 'World War Z', speculation on what the sequels might look like, the Comic-con announcement of the new Superman/Batman movie, the differences between Marvel's approach to cinematic universe-building and Warner Bros's, Bear Trap's fanboy wish for a unified Marvel universe, a Monolith Moment concerning a certain audio equipment company (it rhymes with hose), and finally, having watched all available episodes, Bear Trap makes sweet sweet love to 'Breaking Bad' and explains where he thinks it fits into the pantheon of Best TV Shows of All Time and why it deserves its spot, and Monolith slowly backs away from the raving lunatic. Get into it.

Show #80

Show #79 - A Kind of Fluid

On the day before the Fourth of July, two men discuss the cultural effluvia of the moment. That discussion is chronicled here, in its entirety, in this episode of A Little Snack. Discussed: Anticipation (or the lack thereof) for 'Pacific Rim', the new 'Arrested Development' now that Bear Trap has seen episode one, thoughts from the Trap on a recent screening of 'The Lone Ranger', a word of the week that's, well, a bit much, a Monolith Moment that will shock you with its familiarity, conflicting feelings on the public shaming of Paula Deen, thoughts on James Gandolfini, 'Death Becomes Her', the return of CNN's 'Crossfire', the "soft" coup in Egypt, the found footage space exploration film 'Europa Report' and Monolith's thoughts on it, and a beep-box dance remix of the 'Eyes Wide Shut' theme. Enjoy this, you fine fine people.

Show #79

Show #78 - Doin' it Right

After another brief hiatus the talkin' dudes are back to wrap up season three of Game of Thrones (but in a way that doesn't make the NSA suspicious). Discussed: the NSA wiretapping scandal, why Monolith isn't bothered by the revelations and Bear Trap is alarmed, worst-case scenarios made possible by PRISM are described and then shot down, what kind of man Snowden is, a word of the week Truman Capote would appreciate, the new iOS7 has been loaded onto Monolith's iPhone 5 and its look and feel are described, the podcasters current state of anticipation for 'Man of Steel', and finally, a look back at Game of Thrones and the season that was: which stories make the down and dirty dealing in Westeros seem like child's play, how Martin's unspoken through-line in GoT was diluted in the penultimate episode, and a little talk about Daft Punk's new album, 'Random Access Memories'. Enjoy yourselves, guys.

Show #78

Show #77 - Gayest Episode Ever

If you like listening to two straight dudes stammering through a discussion about gay people and gay culture, you're in for a treat with this episode of a Little Snack. NOTE: Because of some frank talk about certain places/activities Liberace (as played by Michael Douglas) visits/engages in, parental guidance is suggested. Discussed: new fountain pens, the banality of blue ink, excellent news regarding the brilliant new NBC show 'Hannibal', the ways in which 'Jack Reacher' succeeds and the numerous ways in which it fails, what fresh-faced newcomer Rosamund Pike brings to the movie, Christopher McQuarrie's former occupation, car chases and what about them filmmakers find alluring, what makes Reacher (the literary character) interesting, what may be Steven Soderburgh's last film before retirement 'Behind the Candelabra', the public's understanding of homosexuality in the pre-AIDS era, Liberace's "urges", PT Anderson's 'The Master', how Joaquin's performance in that film and a newborn baby are alike, how 'Candelabra' and 'Master' are alike, the Word of the Week, a Monolith moment, and an abrupt close. No GoT talk this week. Better luck next week. Enjoy!

Show #77

Show #76 - Four Girls, One Cast

Shortly after the dopes recorded last year's Asheville Fantasticast, the three women who'd consigned themselves to marriage with said dopes recorded their own podcast. The result: podcast brilliance. The Twilight movies were examined, weird celebrity crushes were revealed, and a different kind of apple news was discussed. Well, the ladies have done it again (with the addition of the lovely KM) and laid down an hour of conversational luminescence. If you like high-pitched renditions of the Little Snack theme song and boob talk from the ladies' perspective, then you're going to love this episode of A Little Snack. Discussed: a point/counterpoint on the HBO show 'Girls', live reactions to a reading of the cast list from the new Lee Daniels film, 'The Butler', 'Jack Reacher' the film, boobies, what makes movies timeless, and then two of the girls make out. It's a good one. Again.

Show #76

Show #75 - Blair Witch Clean Up in Theater 4

The mark of a long-lived podcast is that it features a second annual anything. Well, prepare yourself for the second annual Little Snack Asheville MegaCast featuring not only the two mumblemouth dopes you've resigned yourselves to, but ALSO two previous guest-hosts at the same time! That's right, Babyhands and Barnum are live and on the air to talk some sense to the 'Lith and the Trap. Discussed: timelessness in movies and what makes movies timeless, good and troubling trends in the movie industry, a new Word of the Week and, just in time, the casters' top ten movies of 2012. Enjoy!

Show #75

Show #74 - Pepper Gets the Business

Shane Black's Iron Man 3 is a dead horse and your two favorite podcast dopes beat it for an hour or more! [Many spoilers!] Also: poor theater experiences, the Word of the Week, a video game featuring a certain pointy-eared comic-book character, and a short discussion of episode six, season three of Game of Thrones!

Show #74

Show #73 - Rigs!

Even though Disney is marketing the hell out of "Iron Man 3" (its ads are everywhere, its stars are popping up all over the world promoting the movie), the manufactured excitement generated by the Disney/Marvel Marketing Machine somehow seems more manufactured than usual this time out. Even the very charming Robert Downey Jr. could only muster about ten percent of his usual wattage in his Daily Show appearance after having been shipped to and then displayed in seemingly every Asian country for a cavalcade of premieres. Though it may be that there is enthusiasm for the official start of the summer movie season because, at last, there's something at the multiplex worth seeing, there doesn't seem to be any actual excitement about this movie. Why is that? That question is not discussed, but other questions are, on this episode of A Little Snack! Discussed: Inside Amy Schumer, The Jeselnik Offensive, a live cat ejection, who kills it at the Comedy Central roasts, pens and what's good about them (to listen to Bear Trap talk about them, you'll be convinced the answer is 'nothing'), the release of a certain summer blockbuster, a new Word of the Week (and a quasi-bonus Word), a Roger Murtaugh impression, a new Danish judging show the 'Lith and the Trap disagree on, a Monolith Moment, a little about Shane Black, and finally some talk about episode FIVE of Game of Thrones, which is agreed to be a fairly ass-heavy episode. At just one hour, this one will fit into your schedule quite neatly. Enjoy, friends.

Show #73

Show #72 - The Late Genghis Khan

After two and a half weeks with no new Snack, your two favorite dummies have quite a lot to say about light bulbs, Star Trek, air-conditioning and Batman. Enjoy it guys! (Just kidding, out of those we only mention Batman once, and it’s really hardly anything at all). Discussed: The media’s coverage of the Boston bombing, the rightness or wrongness of the decision to shut down Boston for a day to aid the police in their manhunt, who the podcasters believed were the culprits in the first hours after the bombing, unavoidably poor segues, the new ‘Man of Steel’ trailer, the new ‘Thor: The Dark World’ teaser, exciting news for fans of Daredevil, why Daredevil didn’t entice the podcasters when they were wee comic collectors, “superhero movie fatigue” and the unlikely possibility of attaining this state of being, an exciting Word of the Week, a brief note on a revisiting of the film ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy’, a new Monolith Moment (which turns out to be violent and, oddly, masochistic), a possible title for the podcast is suggested and a lurid scenario resulting from this title is imagined aloud, Seth McFarlane’s Oscar performance is redeemed (sort of), and Game of Thrones episodes 2 and 3 are torn open and their entrails examined on this edition of A Little Snack.

Show #72