Commando Prompt

*FULL STORY SPOILERS THROUGHOUT* Choo, choo! It's the podcast train barreling into the station to tell you that this is a very special episode! Today we are so lucky to have with us our #1 fan, Nobel prize winner, 4 time Olympic gold medal winner, holder of 5 doctorate degrees, Emi Freakin' Laufer, baby! She's here today to provide thoughtful insight on the hottest track stars, why beet juice is good (I guess?), and, of course, to talk about ARRIVAL. Make sure you get good seats on the podcast train because once we start goin', there's no lookin' back. Intro Song: "The Welcoming" by 2 Mello off Atmospheric Horror Music, Vol 2 (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check it out here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) Quick correction: we say in the podcast that the opening song in the movie is done by Jóhann Jóhannsson, but the song is actually Max Richter's "On the Nature of Daylight". Sorry about that!

*FULL STORY SPOILERS THROUGHOUT* Bob Nanna (Braid, Hey Mercedes, The City on Film, Lifted Bells) joins Andy and Ethan today to talk Tony Scott's extremely stylized and incredibly phosphorescent Man on Fire. We got to ask Bob all about his writing process, what it was like for Braid to come off hiatus in 2011, and how Best Friends Fest will be the greatest music festival of all time. Also, let us set the record straight once and for all: Bob Nanna, born and raised in Chicago, doesn't have hard opinions on deep dish or regular pizza. In his own words, he "just likes pizza". Inflammatory, we know, but we are here to report the facts. Intro Song: "The Welcoming" by 2 Mello off Atmospheric Horror Music, Vol 2 (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check it out here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)

*FULL STORY SPOILERS THROUGHOUT* Evan Lescallette (sp?) joins the Commando Prompt crew to talk about the Marietta days, whether or not there will be a Marietta tour footage documentary one day, and to just generally keep the podcast on track. Evan also is here to shake things up by *spoiler alert* not enjoying the movie we forced him to watch! We don't know about you, but we didn't invite him on the pod to DISSENT. Enjoy the show! Intro Song: "The Welcoming" by 2 Mello off Atmospheric Horror Music, Vol 2 (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check it out here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)

*FULL STORY SPOILERS THROUGHOUT* I feel like I've started the intro to these descriptions the same way for the last 4 episodes, but here we go again -- hooooooooooooooo weeeeeeeeeeeee! Boy freakin' howdy is this episode a packed one. We have the wonderful Adrian Selkowitz on the pod today, and gosh, what a pleasure. Adrian is a cinematographer, producer, and director who has worked on a ton of cool stuff, including 2023's Hummingbirds, and it was such a joy to learn more about his career and the industry. And then we spend nearly two more hours talking about the perfect (I stand by it) Michael Clayton. Strap in. Check out Adrian's production company, ⁠Cowboy, Bear, Ninja! Intro Song: "The Welcoming" by 2 Mello off Atmospheric Horror Music, Vol 2 (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check it out here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)

*FULL STORY SPOILERS THROUGHOUT* Welcome to the Bruce Willis zone, a safe space where all of us do our very best Bruce Willis impressions. Listen, if you think about it hard enough, aren't we all just trying to emulate Bruce Willis? That's what our good boy, Joseph Gordon Levitt, is doing in 2012's Looper. This movie has some really cool sci-fi visuals and an extremely loose grasp on time travel. Author Megan E. O'Keefe joins us to talk about her books, this movie, and to answer the classic question: are we all Bruce Willis? Follow Megan: - Website - Twitter - Instagram Intro Song: "The Welcoming" by 2 Mello off Atmospheric Horror Music, Vol 2 (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check it out here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)

*FULL SPOILERS THROUGHOUT* Hooooooooooooooooooooo, boy, do we have another banger for you! Not only are we talking about the incredible Edge of Tomorrow, but we have author J.S. Dewes to help us talk through it (pronounced "Dew-ess", not "Dews" like how I pronounced it on the show and then couldn't figure out how to record over my mistake.... don't be like me. Jenny, if you're reading this, I'm sorry). Andy and I got to ask her a ton of questions all about her books, writing process, what it's like writing for video games, and so much more! Follow Jenny: - ⁠Website⁠ - ⁠Twitter⁠ - ⁠Instagram⁠ Intro Song: "The Welcoming" by 2 Mello off Atmospheric Horror Music, Vol 2 (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check it out here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)

*FULL STORY SPOILERS THROUGHOUT* The prodigal podcasting boy returns! We are so happy to have with us Johnny Gainer on this here podcast, and what a great episode for him to come on. Ad Astra is an extremely underrated movie that more people should watch, and it's a terrific movie to close down our A JOURNEY THROUGH SPACE month. Buckle up! Intro Song: "The Welcoming" by 2 Mello off Atmospheric Horror Music, Vol 2 (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check it out here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)

*FULL STORY SPOILERS THROUGHOUT* Hoooooo, baby, if this isn't another spectacular episode of Commando Prompt. This episode is even better because we have author Justin Lee Anderson with us to talk all about his fantastic Eidyn series and the wonderful Serenity. Strap in for a conversation about politics, Scottish lore, imposter syndrome, and why it's a god damn crime that *redacted* dies in this movie. Strap in! Follow Justin: - Website: https://justinleeanderson.com/ - Twitter: @authorjla - Instagram: @justinleeandersonauthor - Facebook: Justin Lee Anderson Intro Song: "The Welcoming" by 2 Mello off Atmospheric Horror Music, Vol 2 (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check it out here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)

I am not gonna even go through the effort of pointing out where spoilers are for this episode but I think it's at the 30 minute mark. It's 10 o'clock, I'm getting over COVID, just watch this incredible film. We are wrapping up our MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX month strong with perhaps the finest film we've ever talked about on this show, The Thin Red Line. We do our best to string together big words and big thoughts to fully describe how special and moving this movie is, but if you really want to understand, and you haven't watch it, then just watch it. Intro Song: "The Welcoming" by 2 Mello off Atmospheric Horror Music, Vol 2 (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check it out here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)

*Full story spoilers start around the 31:00 mark* WE'RE UNDER ATTACK IT'S THE BUGS I SWEAR TO GOD IT'S THE BUGS THE BUGS ARE BACK PLEASE HELP ME JOHNNY RICO EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE THE INFERIOR SOLDIER TO DIZZY. Welcome to 2024, or, as Andy likes to call it, the Year of the Bug. We got an infestation, folks, and there's only one way to fix it -- blind faith in the military and DOING YOUR PART. Join us as we discuss Starship Troopers, a very funny and, at times, very uncomfortable movie that completely kicks ass... mostly. Intro Song: "The Welcoming" by 2 Mello off Atmospheric Horror Music, Vol 2 (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check it out here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)

IT'S THE ANNUAL STOCKHOLDER MEETING, AIN'T NO MOVIE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THIS TIME AROUND. WE'RE PRETTY LOSE ON THIS ONE AND HAVE A BUNCH OF GUESTS AND THE AUDIO ISN'T GREAT TOWARDS THE END BUT IT'S CHRISTMAS SO WHO CARES. PLEASE LISTEN TO IT NOW. Intro Song: "The Welcoming" by 2 Mello off Atmospheric Horror Music, Vol 2 (⁠⁠⁠⁠check it out here!⁠⁠⁠⁠)

I honestly don't know when story spoilers start in this episode because if you haven't seen Die Hard, I don't know how to help you. FINALLY December is here! Santa's birthday is upon us, and we as loyal subjects are here to spread the ever important word of CHRISTMAS and DIE HARD. Join us as Andy and I talk through this classic and, more importantly, decide who we'd want to see casted if Die Hard ever gets the reboot treatment. Let's be real folks, it's only a matter of time. Intro Song: "The Welcoming" by 2 Mello off Atmospheric Horror Music, Vol 2 (⁠⁠⁠check it out here!⁠⁠⁠)

*Full story spoilers around the 34:00 mark* Rik Shellhammer is back, baby, and she is here to help us get through Kill Bill Vol. 2 and close out our REVENGE month! What a strange movie! I (Santa) am happy we are moving past Hollywood's most beloved edgelord, Quentin Tarantino, but hey, at least good discussion was had. Join us! Also, FREE PALASTINE! Intro Song: "The Welcoming" by 2 Mello off Atmospheric Horror Music, Vol 2 (⁠⁠check it out here!⁠⁠)

*Full story spoilers begin around the 1:11:18 mark* We are starting our revenge month out strong with 2003's, Kill Bill Vol. 1, or as Quentin Tarantino likes to refer to it, his fourth movie. Grievances we have with Tarantino aside (which we get into heavily), this is a solid action movie. And what makes it even better is that Rik Shellhammer joins us to talk all about it! If you miss this episode then I am going to throw you in jail! Intro Song: "The Welcoming" by 2 Mello off Atmospheric Horror Music, Vol 2 (⁠⁠check it out here!⁠⁠)

*Full story spoilers begin around the 1:17:00 mark* Hoo, daddy! Yes indeed! Today's episode is a regular hog fire, and not just because we are talkin' The Blair Witch Project, but because we have our very first guest! Andrew Weigel joins us today to talk about the new documentary he worked on, Kelce, why he loves James Gandolfini, and, maybe most importantly, refuse to apologize to me, Ethan, for making my job as podcast editor a living hell. What a guy! Intro Song: "The Welcoming" by 2 Mello off Atmospheric Horror Music, Vol 2 (⁠check it out here!⁠)

*STORY SPOILERS BEGIN AT 52:20* Content warning: brief mention of sexual assault/rape at 1:52:10 - 1:52:30 It's officially Halloween month, y'all, and Andy and I are THRIVING. Well, Andy is more than me right now because, surprise -- I'm sick! Strap in and enjoy this episode on 2007's propulsive, Rec, an absolute banger of a movie. If you haven't seen this movie, definitely watch it before listening to this because it's something that is so much fun going into without knowing what it's about. And then come back and listen to the rest of this episode! Intro Song: "The Welcoming" by 2 Mello off Atmospheric Horror Music, Vol 2 (check it out here!)

*FULL STORY SPOILERS THROUGHOUT* Well, here we are. We did it? Hoo boy. This one nearly broke us. I am happy it didn't, because our next theme is so good, but boy howdy -- this is a tough movie! It's fun (?) and interesting (??), but it sure has a lot of problems! Figure them out with us!

*FULL STORY SPOILERS THROUGHOUT* Unlike my GI tract, Commando Prompt is back on a regular schedule, baby (sorry about that joke)! Today we are talking 2016's 10 Cloverfield Lane, the not-quite-a-sequel-but-exists-in-the-same-universe to 2008's Cloverfield, or as Ethan likes to call it, Cloverfield Prime. Please make this universe make sense, JJ Abrams! We don't get it! Regardless, this movie is really good with three superb performances. Strap in and enjoy!

*FULL STORY SPOILERS THROUGHOUT* We're back, baby! Did you miss us? Please give a warm welcome to my new co-host, Andy Hollinger! To make our return special, we decided to make our first theme the Cloververse, J.J. Abrams' weird ass shared universe that doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but makes nerds like Andy and I salivate. We are starting off, of course, with 2008's Cloverfield. Strap in, and thanks for listening!

Ah, Armageddon. What is there to say about this classic 1998 film about a big rock spiraling towards Earth? Well, apparently a lot! We take a deep dive into this unhinged film to see what all Bruce Willis and the gang have to do to save the world. Whether it is the writing and dialogue of the fine oil workers turned astronauts, or, the odd father-daughter relationship development, Michael Bay surely does it again!