Author: Ian Casselberry

Amusement Park Podcast 025: Avengers Goes Dark, Hanna Grabs Our Attention, We Catch Up with GoT – and bonus thoughts

/ Ian Casselberry / Leave a comment

hanna_sbad

We’ve reached the 25-episode mark on The Amusement Park Podcast! (Actually, we’ve done 26 episodes, including a Special Edition. We haven’t done any of those since, probably because it’s not always easy to find time to record, and I’m not sure we’ll do so again.)

This time around, we talk about the Avengers: Endgame and Toy Story 4 Super Bowl teasers, in addition to a couple of other commercials. We also review Amazon’s Hanna pilot, which was available for 24 hours after The Big Game, and look back at Game of Thrones Season 1, trying to refresh ourselves on everything before Season 8 premieres in April. And we do some quick hits on a variety of topics, something we may do regularly on future podcasts.

https://soundcloud.com/casselberry/avengers-goes-dark-hanna-grabs-our-attention-and-we-catch-up-with-got-plus-so-much-more

One thing I didn’t mention during our discussion of Hanna was how much I enjoyed the soundtrack for the original 2011 movie. The music by The Chemical Brothers was a vital part of the film, setting the visuals to a beat that fit the story’s quick pace. Or in the case of “Hanna’s Theme,” the soundtrack was a play on the coming-of-age aspect of the main character’s story.

Also worth mentioning was how much of a departure this movie was for director Joe Wright, whose filmography is largely filled with dramas like Pride & Prejudice, Atonement and Darkest Hour. But there wasn’t really a place for that during the conversation.

Please leave a review on iTunes for us and a like on our Facebook page to help boost our signal. You can subscribe to the Amusement Park Podcast everywhere you find podcasts:

You can also give us feedback at amusementparkpod@gmail.com and find us on Twitter and Instagram. We’d love to hear from you! Thanks for listening!

Overzealous Recycling 004: That’s up to the gods

/ Ian Casselberry / 2 Comments

belichick_reading

Maybe this is a hedge, but I’m more of a New England Patriots admirer than a fan. I’ve read a few books on Bill Belichick during the past few years because I’m intrigued by how he’s been able to maintain such success in a NFL that turns over so frequently. And Tom Brady is a Michigan man who was never appreciated as much in Ann Arbor as he should’ve been.

— I snuck out the last Overzealous Recycling with no promotion, but you can read it here — 

Also, a good friend of mine recently moved to New England and is saturated with Red Sox and Patriots talk, as you might imagine. I tend to follow the sports teams wherever she lives, if for no other reason than feeding her watercooler conversation topics.

So I suppose I’m rooting for the Patriots in Sunday’s Super Bowl LIII. I’d have no problem with the Rams winning, and it would sort of be revenge for the Pats beating the then-St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI (2002). But I’ve always liked to see excellence rewarded, even if it doesn’t make for the most compelling sports story or rooting interest.

During one of my local radio appearances on WISE Sports Radio here in Asheville, I said on the air that the Patriots would win, 31-20. (And I’ll be sitting in as a co-host this Friday for the second consecutive week.) So I should stick to that. But I do have this feeling that the Rams’ fearsome defensive tackles, Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh, could disrupt Tom Brady. It might be closer than I predicted.

Continue reading →

Amusement Park Podcast 024: The Batman, Reign of the Supermen, The Punisher – and bonus thoughts

/ Ian Casselberry / Leave a comment

reign_supermen

On the latest Amusement Park Podcast, we react to news of the next Batman movie being set for a Summer 2021 release and a younger Bruce Wayne meaning Ben Affleck will no longer play the role. We also review the entire Season 2 of The Punisher after delving into the first six episodes last week. And we review the latest DC animated movie, Reign of the Supermen.

https://soundcloud.com/casselberry/the-batman-reign-of-the-supermen-plus-a-punisher-recap

Previously, I’ve just posted the same blurb and link to the podcast that you can find at the Amusement Park Podcast website. But I’d like to try and offer a bit more here at The Casselbloggy, especially for those who take the time to click over and read. I think it could be a good opportunity to discuss topics that didn’t make the cut or stuff that I intended to include but forgot to mention while we were recording.

That’s where I’d like to go this week because it’s bugging me that I forgot to talk about Punisher star Jon Bernthal and his voice for Frank Castle. I’ve seen Bernthal in several other movies and TV shows like The Walking Dead, Sicario, Show Me a Hero and The Ghost Writer, but had forgotten what his actual speaking voice sounds like. So when I watched some talk show clips of him, it was jolting to me how different he sounded from Frank Castle.

I know; it’s called acting! But it’s still impressive to me (and far more effective than, say, Christian Bale’s Batman voice) and a reminder of how deeply Bernthal lost himself in that role. It’s a damn shame that he probably won’t play The Punisher anymore.

Please leave a review on iTunes for us and a like on our Facebook page to help boost our signal. You can subscribe to the Amusement Park Podcast everywhere you find podcasts:

You can also give us feedback at amusementparkpod@gmail.com and find us on Twitter and Instagram. We’d love to hear from you! Thanks for listening!

Steven Soderbergh talking with Bill Simmons is a fascinating conversation

/ Ian Casselberry / 1 Comment

soderbergh_camera

Tastes may vary when it comes to Bill Simmons and his podcast, but I don’t think he gets enough credit as an interviewer. Even if you don’t like his sports opinions, Simmons shows great taste in who he brings on his show, particularly with writers and directors.

The most recent example of this is his chat with director Steven Soderbergh, who was at the Sundance Film Festival to promote his new movie, High Flying Bird, and was probably the best guy Simmons could’ve talked to about the current state of filmmaking and how that content can find an audience.

But the interview is also an opportunity to talk about Soderbergh’s 30 years of filmmaking — which began with Sex, Lies and Videotape showing at Sundance — and everything he’s learned about the industry during that span. The conversation begins at the 28:45 mark:

Continue reading →

Amusement Park Podcast 023: The Punisher, the Oscars, and Glass Misses the Mark

/ Ian Casselberry / Leave a comment

punisher_s2

On the latest Amusement Park Podcast, we respond to the first half (six episodes) of The Punisher and the Oscar nominations, which include a Best Picture nod for Black Panther and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse being nominated for Best Animated Film. (How many Oscar nominees do you get a chance to see where you live?)

We also dig into what Netflix joining the MPAA means, briefly review Glass, and share what we’re enjoying this week.

https://soundcloud.com/casselberry/the-punisher-the-oscars-and-glass-misses-the-mark

— Show notes for Ep. 23 are available at The Amusement Park Podcast website — 

Please leave us review on iTunes! One listener broke the seal, so hopefully you’ll join in with your own comments.

You can subscribe to the Amusement Park Podcast everywhere you find podcasts:

Thank you for listening! Please give us a like on our Facebook page to help boost our signal. You can also give us feedback at amusementparkpod@gmail.com and find us on Twitter and Instagram. We’d love to hear from you!