Episode 57, ‘Three twists in a row’, on The Prestige Vs. The Illusionist
This week, after a brief holiday, Dave and Steve do yet another installment of their popular “Versus” series (see episode 21’s Jessica Jones vs. Daredevil), pitting The Prestige against The Illusionist and asking themselves “Which film is the better exploration of magic as a theatrical art?”. Well, given that we know which of the hosts is a magician and which learns one quarter of a trick before he “gives up, but could do it if he wanted to”, we can assume that Dave asks the question, but at least they both answer.
The only note that Dave and Steve appear to have left for The Editor this week was “Edward Norton is a boss”. Which, as true as that may be guys, isn’t the most helpful piece of guidance to offer the person who has to turn your words into something coherent.
Regrets? Steve has a few.
As he does with fatherhood, Dave flaunts his magicianhood.
Steve spoils the end of the podcast.
Edward Norton has always been “pretty hot”, Dave.
Dave talks about something called a “video store”.
Dave makes up a film called “The Ice Princess” and Steve goes along with it.
Is a “mind blower” a leaf blower for brains?
Steve defends M. Night Shyamalan, forcing The Editor to learn how to spell his name.
Dave and Steve do a great job listening to each other.
This episode brought to you in part by Dr. Pepper. The 23rd ingredient is lies.
Dave’s least favorite magic movie is Braveheart.
Dave has the gall to call Steve “a layman”.
Steve has the gall to call himself “a layperson”.
Hey Steve, the shownotes aren’t your personal monkey. You can’t just tell us to do something and count on it being done. Google it yourself, you slacker.
On a completely unrelated note: here’s a tweet by Neil deGrasse Tyson.
Dave speaks, at length, on behalf of slighted magicians.
Are there any films where Paul Giamatti is not a delight?
Dave spoils magic for everyone.
Steve gives Christopher Nolan an awful lot of credit. Dave sits there quietly.
This episode would have been vastly improved by more of Dave doing his Michael Caine impression.
Episode 56, ‘Children of the Prequels’, on Rogue One
Let’s just admit it. The Style Guide exists solely as an excuse for Dave and Steve to talk about Star Wars, and all the episodes in between them are just filler while they wait for the next opportunity to talk about Star Wars — and that opportunity is finally here. Because there hasn’t been enough ink spilled on discussions of Rogue One, Dave and Steve are taking a crack at it. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll be disappointed that people treat Hulk Crit Film as gospel. Follow along because this week is a rebellion, and Dave and Steve rebel.
Dave and Steve appear to make a really subtle Beetlejuice reference.
Dave’s five dollar word for the episode is “iconoclastic”. Stay tuned for his definition.
While it might seem like Dave and Steve are directly attacking the same Hot Takes as the subjects of this piece, they’re probably focused on the absurdity of this.
Steve defends the prequels.
Is anyone concerned at how subdued Steve sounds throughout the episode? For someone who claims to love Star Wars, his tone seems more suited to YouTube reviews of the eleventh season of Murder, She Wrote rather than the latest installment of his childhood.
Eight minutes in, Dave asks permission to start the podcast.
Forest Whitaker would make a great ghostbuster.
It turns out that Dave accidentally saw Othello instead of Rogue One.
CSIS probably isn’t listening to the podcast, Steve.
Episode 55, ‘Nice move, Tim Burton’, on Christmas stories
In a move that will ensure that nobody can listen to this episode at an appropriate time, Dave and Steve release their Christmas-themed episode on Boxing Day, and they use it as an excuse to talk about the things that they love and hate about the holiday season. Surprise, surprise, for Dave it’s about his childhood and for Steve it’s some strange complaint about the state of… actually, it’s not entirely clear what he’s talking about.
Dave has the sniffles and Steve has the construction in his backyard.
Steve successfully changes up the intro. Barely.
Dave claims that Boxing Day is a statutory holiday. Given that there is no way to verify this, we will all just have to trust him.
Steve comes out hard against mothers.
The episode opens with a thrilling discussion of “X-Mas” versus “Christmas”. You won’t want to miss it.
Dave suggests that Charles Dickens was the real Father (of) Christmas.
Shoutout to friend of the show, Nicholas Cage.
Dave lies, but because it is so out of character, Steve believes him.
Does anyone actually track the box office returns for the nativity play?
As one would expect from a Christmas episode, Dave and Steve talk about Michael Caine.
Elf is so old that it can almost buy booze for Dave and Steve’s kids.
Other potential Christmas puns that one could make a film around: Deck the Halls, about a down on her luck card shark who finds herself playing a poker against Saint Nick and wins the keys to Santa’s sleigh, only to find out that she’s gotten a lot more than she bargained for; and Deck the Halls, about a down on his luck cough syrup executive who stumbles upon one of Santa’s elves and tricks it into using magic to create a brand new cough drop that will help save his career, only to find out that he’s gotten a lot more than he bargained for.
It sounds like Steve makes a habit of hate-watching Christmas films.
Dave says something bad about Love Actually, because he wants to alienate the shows base.
First rule of Christmas romantic comedy club: you don’t talk about Christmas romantic comedy club. The second rule is that The Family Man doesn’t count.
This week, Dave and Steve take the time to celebrate the genius of Canadian superstar Keanu Reeves. That’s right, the actor that has been requested (by Steve) more times than any other is finally getting The Style Guide Treatment. See what our dynamic duo has to say about obscure films like The Matrix or John Wick and place your bets as to how long into the episode we get before they mention Jodie Foster or Anne Hathaway. Keep your hands and legs inside the phone booth at all times, folks, because strange things are afoot at the Circle-K.
The editor is of the opinion that Steve wanted to bring up this episode of Movies with Mikey, but couldn’t find a way to smoothly jam it in.
Right off the top it feels like Dave isn’t going to take Keanu seriously and Steve is going to take him far too seriously. This, faithful listeners, is what we call foreshadowing. It’s goin’ down for real.
Dave and Steve appear to have a bias towards actors born in North America.
Is it accurate to refer to Ted “Theodore” Logan as “surfer dude”?
Steve calls himself an idiot. This, faithful listeners, is what we call the opposite of foreshadowing.
Steve seems to have a lot of unresolved anger towards great MTV VJ Pauly Shore despite the fact that Bio-Dome might be the single greatest movie of the 1990s.
Episode 53, ‘About A Robot’, Part III of Robots, Cyborgs, and Artificial Intelligence
This week, Dave and Steve conclude their conversation about thinking machines by looking at robotic heroes, good guys, and protagonists. Was Her really a game-changer in in the robo-film movement? What was the cultural significance of 2005’s Robots and how has it influence human-cyborg relations? How does Robot Chicken fit into all this? These questions (and more) go unanswered in this episode.
Intro Clip: One of the Transformers movies, but the editor can’t be bothered to figure out which one.
Dave doesn’t care about Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s Geordi La Forge.
Robots aren’t aliens, Steve. They’re robots.
How easily we forget the trials and tribulations of Spike Witwicky.
“P-tags”, guys? Really?
Having watched Short Circuit, the editor feels like the film is closer to a bad improv show than a blockbuster movie.
Steve appears to have no idea how to pronounce “Neill Blomkamp”.
Is it strange to anyone else that Dave insists on using Data’s rank of Lieutenant commander every time he talks about him?
Dave calls WALL-E an “it”.
Steve and Dave have an absolutely essential conversation about the naming scheme of the Terminator franchise.
Dave says he’ll take Steve’s word on something and then immediately looks it up.
Seriously guys, just start a podcast about taking care of babies.
Dave tricks Steve into being poetic.
Remember back in the day when Dave and Steve cared if they were spoiling movies for you? Pepperidge Farm Remembers.
One host goes to great lengths not to say “my dick phase”.
Oh the casual droid racism of Han Solo.
Star Trek’s Data is really an example of machina ex machina.
Really, Steven? It doesn’t matter that Luke has his hand cut off and it is replaced with a cybernetic component so that, as Vader further tempts Luke to embrace the Dark Side of the Force, Luke has already physically lost some of his humanity only to have to replaced in a way that mirrors and draws our attention to the more drastic artificial replacements that Vader received after he joined the Dark Side so many years ago, serving as a painful reminder to Luke (and, by extension, the audience) that he cannot escape being his father’s son and that the struggle to simultaneously resist our nature and remain committed to the Light Side of the Force comes at a cost to one’s very humanity even if your mentors who brought you to the Light Side in the first place failed altogether to warn you about those costs — and, in some interpretations, lied to you about them altogether — despite the fact that those mentors knew full well the consequences of resolve when faced with the seduction of the Dark Side and, rather than facing them, they secluded themselves from the galaxy that they had sworn, as members of the Jedi Order, to protect? That doesn’t matter, Steven?!
And, no, Steven. You are not redeemed by pointing out that a blaster, while it may operate under similar principles as laser weapons, is not itself a laser.
Inspector Gadget really forces us to grapple with the fundamental questions of our time.
Steven really wants to talk about Robocop more.
Dave’s suggestion that a lightsaber represents “control of lasers” is somewhat forgivable, given that Young Anakin calls it a “laser sword” in The Phantom Menace — although it should be stated that Anakin is absolutely incorrect in his description.
Because all the cool kids are talking about it, Steven brings up Westworld.
Dave and Steven continue their trend of talking about Doctor Who without having seen any of it.
Episode 52, ‘We’re people too’, Part II of Robots, Cyborgs, and Artificial Intelligence
This week, Dave and Steve continue their exploration of machines in fiction by delving into their use as villains and antagonists. Listen in as the duo comes down pretty hard on the human race in a futile attempt to be spared when the singularity occurs. At least Skynet will feel guilty when they find out that Dave and Steve tried to argue their case. You know, if Skynet felt guilt.
Episode 51, ‘What’s wrong with a robotic nose?’, Part I of Robots, Cyborgs, and Artificial Intelligence
This week, Dave and Steve shake things up with their first multi-part episode. For the next three weeks they’ll be talking about the rise of machines in fiction. This week is all about how to tell you’re dealing with a robot — and then the more important questions: What’s the difference between the Terminator and (the?) Robocop?; What are the barriers to sentience and artificial life?; and Why does a Roobma cost $300? Note: at no point do your intrepid hosts talk about the 1983 hit WarGames, the 1986 flop Maximum Overdrive, and 2014’s entirely forgettable Transcendence. If that’s a problem for you, they sincerely apologize.
In a rare move, the editor has included a brief clip of outtakes. While the editor recognizes the absurdity of linking you to an audio clip when you’re listening to a podcast, he thinks the opportunity to make fun of Steve and Dave is worth it. So, enjoy.
Steve talks about parenting skills a lot for someone who sometimes forgets to wear pants.
This episode probably owes a lot to the absolutely fantastic (bite-sized) podcast Robot or Not? — and the occasional side-episodes Sandwich or Not, such as episode 78 “Hot Dogs”.
Bite-sized wasn’t a pun, but maybe Dave and Steve should start an offshoot podcast about food.
Steve quotes from a term paper he wrote back in 2010.
Dave decides to cut off his hand and sews a camera in its place.
Steve makes a ridiculous mistake: he says “adamantine”, which is indestructible metal of the Gods with magic and psychic properties that was bonded with Earth-12025 James Howlett’s bones prior to his adventures with Hercules. He clearly meant “adamantium”, which is a mostly indestructible metal alloy with no magic or psychic properties that was bonded with Earth-616 James Howlett’s bones prior to his adventures with the X-Men. Two completely different things.
Dave and Steve are not racist against Steampunk Robots.
Dave defines a term by using the term.
Turns out Steve has this whole “I’m quoting from the dictionary” voice.
It should be noted that the entire discussion about animal intelligence is coloured by the fact that Dave is a vegan and Steve hangs out with vegans sometimes.
There is a brief discussion in which Dave uses the word “breeding” and we all feel just a little bit uncomfortable.
For whatever record there is, Steve is right: there is a working Cylon detector.
Dave humours Steve’s question about Toy Story.
Because they apparently didn’t settle the topic the first time they brought it up, Dave and Steve again talk about the differences between Toy Story, Toy Soldiers, and Small Soldiers.
Episode 50, ‘This Meta Episode’, on The Style Guide
This week, Dave and Steve decide that they need to go deeper and do an entire episode on themselves. That’s right folks, episode 50 is dedicated to exploring the prior 49 episodes of The Style Guide. Follow along as they tell you all about how the (tofu) sausage is made. Listen to just how Dave and Steve prepare. Find out well kept secrets like “who edits the podcast?” and “what genius writes the shownotes?”.
We promise, it isn’t as boring as it sounds. Or your money back.
Episode 49, ‘RoboCop is a great film’, on Starship Troopers
This week, following both the American election and Remembrance Day, Dave and Steve stumble into a topic that is oddly fitting: the novel and film Starship Troopers. Come for the discussion of a classic sci-fi book, stay for Steve’s attempt to defend a bad movie.
Which is the better adaptation of Starship Troopers: Ridley Scott’s Aliens or Hasbro’s Power Rangers?
Steve thinks Starship Troopers comes from a long line of satirical films with an important message; Dave thinks Starship Troopers comes from a long line of bad movies.
Steve is not the only person to think this. See: Scott Tobias for A.V. Club; or John Perich for Overthinking It. Just because he’s cribbing from smart people doesn’t mean he’s right though.
Dave and Steve really dig into Denise Richards and Casper Van Dien. Guess we won’t be seeing an actor profile about either of them.
Dave describes the premise of RoboCop and it sounds ridiculous.
Episode 48, ‘Look at me. I exist.’, on Political Advertising
This week, Dave and Steve say farewell — and good riddance — to the American presidential election by talking about the last couple years of political advertising. Spoiler alert: there are no spoilers in this episode. Expect maybe existential spoilers.
Depending on when you start counting — and including today — the American election campaign has been going for 614 days. That is when the first candidate formally announced his candidacy to run for the presidential nomination. No, nobody knows who Mark Everson is. Not even Steve, even if he pretends that he does.
Dave and Steve insist that they’re going to focus on the form and style of campaign ads — and not about politics. Guess how well that goes?
Steve struggles to name a brand of truck.
Steve says “watch the game” as if he understands anything at all about sports.
This entire episode should probably be understood in relation to the fact that Dave and Steve have clearly never seen Mad Men. That being said, Dave is such a Miranda.
As we’ve all come to expect, Dave goes on an extended rant about the death of truth.
Steve makes up an ad where Barack Obama plays basketball. It’s unclear why.
Shoutout to Patrick Baynham, best known for his roles in Elf and White Chicks.
Steve struggles to name a brand of alcohol.
Much to the chagrin of third-party candidates, Dave and Steve talk about American elections as being a two-sided debate.
Steve feels bad for Kentucky celebrity physician, Rand Paul.
Dave spoils who he’s going to vote for in the American election.
Dave lays a trap, but Steve spent too many years playing Pitfall! to fall for it.
Bill Burr is not “just a comedian”, Dave. He’s a national treasure.
Dave’s favorite political ad of the season is a joke; and Steve’s favorite ad involves football.
Steve mistakenly suggests that Marco Rubio is a human being when he is, in fact, a robot.
