The Good Robot Andys (mp3)

Andy C reviews the amazing career of Rob Reiner for Andy B, who was amazed at the list of films made by him. Andy B really loves This is Spinal Tap. Listen in to hear which Rob Reiner film Andy C would save from a fire, if he could pick just one.

Andy C tells clueless Andy B about a cracking horror movie called Heretic. It’s all about religion, featuring an atheist who won’t shut up, but really it’s just scary and features excellent set design and photography. The Andys briefly skirt around whether it’s sexist or calling out sexism and draw no useful conclusions.

The Andys go through the best and most influential horror movies of the 21st century (so far). Two absolute crackers this time: Cloverfield, Let the Right One In. As usual, there are some uninformed TV recommendations, and some very uninformed Ozzy Osborne chat.

The Andys go through the best and most influential horror movies of the 21st century (so far). A bumper crop this time: 28 Weeks Later, I Am Legend, The Orphanage, Paranormal Activity, Rec. There’s also lots of gossip, including some vague James Bond stuff.

Movies expert Andy C recommends Love & Mercy to clueless Andy B, who hasn’t seen it. Andy C describes a movies that picks two periods from Brian Wilson’s life and presents them in an opinionated way, which is really gripping and moving. Andy B is not into biopics but tries to be polite.

Movies expert Andy C recommends Longlegs to clueless Andy B, who has opinions with very little information. It’s another horror film Andy C watched so you don’t have to, and it is apparently “crack-a-lacking”.

Movies expert Andy C recommends Late Night with the Devil to clueless Andy B, who would otherwise find out about movies by walking past the sign outside the cinema. Apparently it’s a horror in documentary style that is very creepy and lovingly crafted.

The Andys go through the best and most influential horror movies of the 21st century (so far). This time: The Host, Requiem, The Wicker Man (no, not the good one) and Pan’s Labyrinth. There’s also a tribute to Gene Hackman and some Oscars gossip.

The Andys go through the best and most influential horror movies of the 21st century (so far). This time: The Descent, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Land of the Dead. Andy B thinks Land of the Dead was “surprisingly alright” but Andy C has more intelligent things to say about it.

The Andys remember David Lynch and go through the best and most influential horror movies of the 21st century (so far). This time: Dawn of the Dead, Shaun of the Dead and The Village. You should really watch Shaun of the Dead, but if you don’t like gore, we can tell you what you’re missing out on.

The Andys go through the best and most influential horror movies of the 21st century (so far). This time: 28 Days Later, Dark Water, Dog Soldiers and Blade II. Get all the goss and some TV recommendations directly into your ears without having to actually watch anything at all!

The Andys go through the best and most influential horror movies of the 21st century (so far). This time: Mulholland Drive, The Others and The Devil’s Backbone. Find out what you should say about these films at a dinner party without ever having to actually watch them!

Discussion (with spoilers) of Abigail. Andy B hasn’t seen it, but it sounds right up his street: Andy C explains it’s a fairly gruey horror comedy that is properly scary and a joy to watch.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Priscilla. Andy B genuinely thinks it’s a Disney movie, but Andy C encourages him to overcome his aversion to biopics to watch this highly engaging movie about the alarmingly young girl who was plucked from her home by Elvis and eventually married him.

Discussion (with spoilers) of The Iron Claw. Andy B thinks it’s a sequel to The Iron Giant, and is less than enthusiastic when Andy C explains it’s ANOTHER wrestling film, this time Professional Wrestling. Andy C attempts to explain its appeal as an intense and ultimately uplifting story about someone who manages to escape an oppressive and abusive relationship, but there is devastating damage along the way. Content warning: the plot involves multiple suicides.

Discussion (with spoilers) of The First Omen. Andy B might be tempted to think it’s not worthy of the prestigious Omen name, but Andy C says it’s surprisingly good, with a great performance from the lead actor and some very memorable gruey scenes.

Discussion (with spoilers) of The Holdovers. Andy B thinks it’s National Lampoons for the 2020s, and he’s not 100% wrong, just maybe 98%: Andy C explains it’s a comedy drama that surprisingly won an Oscar for its old-fashioned story of someone learning to move on from bitterness to life by being forced to be in close proximity with humans.

Discussion (with spoilers) of The Artful Dodger. AndyB falls asleep when he hears it’s a costume drama, but wakes up a little as AndyC explain it’s a genuine rollicking Disney adventure!

AndyB is extremely excited to introduce AndyC to Karen Sandler from the Software Freedom Conservancy.

Links:

AndyC asks AndyB “What is a programming language?” AndyB rambles on about some stuff, with heckling from AndyC, before they conclude that it’s really a community of people or something.

That Alien: Romulus trailer is at youtube.com/watch?v=GTNMt84KT0k.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Fleishman Is in Trouble. AndyB has unexpectedly seen this, meaning the two AndyC has a co-enthuser. Both Andys loved this empathy-expanding series that starts out looking like a typical male-point-of-view wish fulfilment exercise and ends up teaching us a little empathy.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Dune: Part 2. The Andys are together in person and are joined by Harry and Ben to discuss just how blown away they are by the second part of the Dune series, which they just watched on the big old screen at the IMAX.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Video Game High School. This time AndyB takes the chair to enthuse about this hidden gem of in Internet series, which is funny, wholesome and tightly plotted. AndyC wants to know what it’s all about, and AndyB thinks it’s an antidote to the toxicity that sometimes characterises video game culture.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Nyad. Andy B is fairly sceptical about a “sports” movie but Andy C attempts to persuade him that he would enjoy this intense, thrilling story about how someone completed her dream in the face of overwhelming odds. Also some chat about gentle, well-written Australian comedy Fisk and a few other things.

Discussion (with spoilers) of The Boogeyman. Andy B is certain it’s an independent, antipodean, low-budget horror, but Andy C explains that it’s not. It’s actually an adaptation of a Stephen King short story that is surprisingly creepy in a way that really presses Andy C’s buttons.

So-called AI is constantly in the news, but Andy C wants to know whether we should stop researching it because of the risk of a Terminator-style army of killer robots. Andy B explains his belief that real intelligence is very very far away, but there is plenty to worry about in the meantime, from a overwhelming flood of spam, loss of customer service jobs, hallucinations, copyright violations all the way to the very real prospect of ordinary, non-sentient killer robots.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Evil Dead Rise. Andy B fails to get through the intro without falling apart, but Andy C rescues him to explain that this episode of the Evil Dead series captures the unhinged comedy/fear of the original The Evil Dead movie, and brings lots of fresh fun with different characters and setting.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Knock at the Cabin. Andy B thinks it’s an indie horror starring Angelina Jolie, but Andy C explains it’s one of the better M. Night Shyamalan movies in which four apocalyptic figures try to get a family to save the world by making an unbearable sacrifice.

Discussion (with spoilers) of M3gan. Andy B forgets how to do the podcast completely, so doesn’t make any guess based on the title what it is, but Andy C explains it’s a fun sci-fi horror comedy about the dangers of AI and tech bros.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Living. Andy B thinks it might be a clean, New York rom-com, but it’s really a moving and brilliantly-played poignant drama featuring Bill Nighy on top form.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Bodies Bodies Bodies. Andy B thinks it might be a lost 80s dance classic, but Andy C educates him: it’s a black comedy horror about some nasty people meeting nasty ends.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Barbarian. Andy B thinks it’s a conversion of the classic DOS game, which is a bit like Rambo, but Andy C explains it’s a truly unnerving horror movie with themes of sexual abuse.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Avatar: The Way of Water. The Andys are together in person again, having just returned from the IMAX cinema. They quite enjoyed it, despite it fulfilling their expectations. What they didn’t expect were the clunky switches between different shots. (They discovered later that this may have been caused by changes in frame rate.)

Discussion (with spoilers) of The Walking Dead, season 11 tranche 3 – the final tranche. They still love it, but Andy B felt a little disappointed with the anti-climactic ending. Andy C is largely OK with it.

A tech episode where Andy C questions Andy B about what Mastodon is, why you might want to go there instead of Twitter, and how to get started with choosing a server and finding people to follow.

Follow us on @goodrobotandys@mastodon.social!

Discussion (with spoilers) of Elvis. Andy B is not really interested in Elvis but Andy C manages to persuade him that this intense biopic with amazingly charismatic musical sequences is worth putting on his list.

A tech takeover this week with special guest Fran Buontempo talking about Cellular Automata – a cool techie toy for exploring the links between computation, complexity and life, or at the very least a sort-of interesting way of generating some moving patterns.

Those promised links:

Discussion (with spoilers) of Sorry to Bother You. Andy B thinks it’s a 50’s comedy with Buster Keaton, but Andy C explains it’s a surreal, political, funny sci-fi that goes straight onto Andy B’s must-watch list.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Last Night in Soho. Andy B thinks it’s an arty film with glass and candles or something, but Andy C explains it’s a surprisingly grown-up psychological horror from Edgar Wright.

Discussion of the films of Paul Thomas Anderson. If you’re new to them, Andy C recommends starting with Boogie Nights, and recommends that Andy B should watch Punch-Drunk Love.

Those promised links:

Discussion (with spoilers) of Licorice Pizza. Andy B pretty much nails his prediction that it’s a cooky period coming-of-age comedy, but then what else does Andy C watch these days anyway?

Discussion (with spoilers) of The Walking Dead Season 11 “tranche 2” (episodes 9-16). Andy B mostly rants about things he didn’t like but Andy C convinces him it was still pretty pretty good, and better than tranche 1.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Malignant. Andy B resisted the temptation to suggest it was a rollicking Disney movie, and went for a creepy horror with insects. Actually, Andy C explains, it is a relatively big film for us, which is an increasingly unhinged horror film about someone who has visions of scary things happening, which then turn out to have happened in real life.

Content warning: discussion of a film featuring domestic abuse, miscarriage and mental illness. Please make sure you are with people who can look after you if those topics are going to cause you...

Discussion (with spoilers) of Promising Young Woman. Andy B was convinced it was a costume drama but Andy C explains it’s a really (really) dark comedy revenge thriller.

Content warning: discussion of rape and suicide. Please make sure you are with people who can look after you if those themes are going to cause you trouble, or feel free to just skip this episode. Look after yourself; you are worth looking after.

Discussion (with spoilers) of First Cow. Andy B yet again guesses it’s a rollicking Disney adventure, but Andy C explains it’s a pleasurable Slow Cinema ride through an authentic-feeling historical Oregon.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Censor. Andy B thinks it’s an adult animation about two losers who go viral, but Andy C explains it’s a British psychological horror that starts off in the real world of the BBFC offices, and ends up in a weird fantasy/exploitation movie scenario.

Discussion (with spoilers) of In the Earth. Andy B thinks it’s a mockumentary about worms that turns supernatural, but Andy C explains it’s an excellent folk horror/psychedelic horror with foot grue and amazing sound design. And maybe it says something about our fearful and combative relationship with nature.

Discussion (with spoilers) of The Matrix Resurrections. It’s hard to over-state how important The Matrix was to AndyB at an influential age – how will this episode hold up? Were there enough exploding helicopters to keep AndyC happy?

Discussion (with spoilers) of Midnight Mass. Andy B thinks it’s a sequel to Calvary but Andy C explains it’s the Stephen King book Stephen King never wrote, about a supernatural evil done to parishioners by abuse of religious power.

That Christmas-present-perfect art by Danni Cockerill is at CockerillArt on Society 6.

Those podcasts Andy B mentioned are:

Discussion (with spoilers) of The Walking Dead season 11. They still love it, but it does seem a little tired. Nice to see the tension between Maggie and Negan though.

Non-spoilery discussion of Dune. For the first time in ages, Andy B and Andy C are in the same place, making their discussion more natural, and their sound quality lower. They have a wandering, non-spoilery discussion just a couple of hours after watching Dune, meaning they are flushed with emotion and have mainly unsophisticated opinions.

Joined by our very special guest Hannah Dunleavy off that Standard Issue podcast, we discuss, with many spoilers, season 4 of The Handmaid’s Tale. We cover all the important topics such as:

Don’t worry – conclusions are drawn.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Possessor, a gruey, scary, creepy horror film about taking over other people’s bodies for evil purposes. Or is it really about how difficult it is to live a double life? Andy B starts off thinking it is somehow related to house repossessions, but Andy C sets him a little closer to the right path.

Discussion (with spoilers) of The Walking Dead season 10. Both Andys are huge fans of TWD: was season 10 more goodness, or a disappointment? How about the extra episodes filmed during lockdown? Listen for a detailed walkthrough of how the Andys felt about each episode.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Army of the Dead. Andy B suggests it might be a Manga zombie war movie, but Andy C explains it’s an amazing-looking zombie/heist combination movie that is funny, with some excellent characters.

That game Andy B wrote is Rightwaves.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Nomadland. Andy B thinks it’s an Idris Elba chipmunk train adventure, but Andy C explains it’s a window into the world of a woman living life and grief her way, with no beginning, middle or end, which he found uplifting despite how bleak it sounds.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Sound of Metal, as well as quite a lot of cobblers about the Oscars.

Discussion (with spoilers) of News of the World. Andy B thinks it’s a fall-off-the-cliff-of-despair genre moves that starts out like a rom-com about a young journalist navigating newsrooms, but Andy C explains it’s a Western about a former confederate soldier who rescues a lost girl.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Blinded by the Light. Andy B thinks it’s a far-right religious revelation film ending in the destruction of everyone in the world except the pious few, but Andy C explains it’s a joyous tear-inducing coming-of-age film about an Asian British teenager coping with racism and turbulent family relations through his love of the music of Bruce Springsteen.

Those programming videos by Andy B are: Interesting Characters – about Unicode and character sets, and how surprisingly fun and interesting they are, and What Does the Linker Actually Do for Us? – about the C and C++...

Content warning for discussion of a film featuring severe mental health problems and suicide.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Saint Maud. Andy B thinks it’s an Emma Thompson movie about a boarding school but Andy C puts him straight: it’s a heightened drama horror about a woman who believes she is acting on God’s orders and descends into terrible destruction.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Relic. Andy B thinks it’s a rollicking Disney adventure about some mice who can breathe under water, which is an interesting commentary on religion, but Andy C explains it’s a subtle horror that explores generational trauma and the pain of caring for someone with dementia.

Discussion of what that little padlock symbol next to a web address means, and some vague suggestions as to how it works. Andy C questions Andy B, who fails to understand and effectively communicates that failure.

For further reading, check out these Wikipedia links:

Discussion (with spoilers) of Host. Andy B basically thinks it’s The Haunting, but it’s not at all: Andy C explains it’s a lockdown-created Lockdown Zoom Horror, British-made and independent.

[Content warning: a couple of brief mentions of suicide.]

That games site Andy B is working on is smolpxl.artificialworlds.net.

Andy and Andy share some of their favourite scenes from some of their favourite movies.

That podcast by our friends that we think you’ll like is The Disc Dump Podcast. Give it a try!

That games site Andy B is working on is smolpxl.artificialworlds.net.

Those software recommendations were:

Discussion (with spoilers) of The Visit. Andy B thinks it’s a sophisticated thriller starring Michelle Pfeifer, but Andy C explains it’s a fun, short creepy horror from good old M. Night Shyamalan.

That podcast by our friends that we think you’ll like is The Disc Dump Podcast. Give it a try!

That games site Andy B is working on is smolpxl.artificialworlds.net.

Everybody Now – Climate Emergency and Sacred Duty

The Good Robot Andys are proud to share with you:

We’ve caused a turning point in the Earth’s natural history. Everybody Now is a podcast about what it means to be human on the threshold of a global climate emergency, in a time of systemic injustice and runaway pandemics. Scientists, activists, farmers, poets, and theologians talk bravely and frankly about how our biosphere is changing, about grief and hope in an age of social collapse and mass extinction, and about taking action against all the od...

Discussion (with spoilers) of Snowpiercer. Andy B thinks it might be a live-action ear-piercing-as-a-metaphor-for-emotional-growth movie set in the Frozen universe, but Andy C patiently explains that it’s a Sci Fi where the last remnants of humanity live on a socially-divided train.

The book of lockdown poems Andy B mentioned is Breathing Space.

That games site Andy B is working on is smolpxl.artificialworlds.net.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Proxima, which is a story about an astronaut overcoming personal circumstances to train for a mission to Mars. Andy B speculates that it features a robot who eats human flesh, but Andy C puts him right: it’s highly recommended because the story is engaging and the performances are excellent.

That games site Andy B is working on is smolpxl.artificialworlds.net.

Discussion (with spoilers) of A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, which is a story without any nasty surprises about the nice man being horrible, but instead a chance to watch an angry man helped by being shown some kindness and empathy. Apparently it’s not as bad as it sounds.

Discussion (with spoilers) of The Invisible Man. We love Elisabeth Moss (and, it turns out later, Elisabeth Banks) and this stars her (Banks, that is) as a woman terrorised and gaslighted by a controlling husband who just happens to have invented an invisibility suit. Andy C says it’s good and Andy B seems satisified that it handles the inherent creepiness in a reasonable way.

Discussion (with spoilers) of The Lighthouse. From the title, Andy B thinks it’s a Finnish water-painted animation, with splashes of colour in the mist, but Andy C explains it’s a tense horror film with a couple of mermaids, but mainly two men stuck in a scary place, losing it.

Discussion (with spoilers) of the films of Denis Villeneuve, notably Prisoners, Enemy, Sicario, Arrival, and Blade Runner 2049. He seems to make dreamy and thoughtful films that are also visually interesting and action-filled enough to be popular.

Check out Andy B’s “other podcast”: Justice Worriers, slogan “Continually worrying about Justice, sometimes from a Christian perspective”.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Jacob’s Ladder and Angel Heart, two films that nearly made it into our series: best horror movies of the 20th century, but Andy C explains the flaws that kept them out.

If you were at all interested in Andy B’s new TODO list program, you can sign up at listsync.artificialworlds.net/ui/signup, or you can help code it at gitlab.com/listsync.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Leave No Trace. Andy B correctly guesses it involves woods, but is otherwise wrong. Andy C explains it’s a story of a father and daughter trying to operate as what they need in their lives begins to diverge. In the woods.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Bait. Andy B thinks it’s a mockumentary with a romantic comedy storyline running through it, an idea that Andy C find inexplicably difficult to understand. Finally, Andy C explains it’s a story of gentrification in Cornwall, created using venerable cinema techniques.

You can watch Bait on Amazon Video, Apple, Curzon or the BFI Player.

Discussion of the highly-stylised films of Wes Anderson:

Here is a summary of the places you can watch these movies (green=available, red=unavailable):

All of them are also available on DVD from online retailers.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Doctor Sleep. Andy B fails to summon the energy to even say something silly at the beginning, but things warm up after Andy C explains this is a classic Stephen King horror that is a clever sequel to The Shining.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Jojo Rabbit. Andy B declares it features the worst performance by Emma Thompson in her career, but Andy C suggests that if he had seen the film he might understand that she is not in it, and that it is an audacious comedy about a member of the Hitler Youth and his Jewish friend.

Discussion, tapping again into the wisdom of Frances Buontempo and inspired by Johan Norberg‘s book Progress about whether we can be hopeful about the future, or whether we are doomed. Also, if we are doomed will it be hatred, disease or climate blindness that kills us? But really, it’s about how much good stuff so many of us have, and how it’s worth fighting for a good life for everyone. Or something.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Booksmart. Andy B hilariously thinks it’s a CGI animation about some books with personalities that ends in hopeless tragedy, but Andy C reveals he is getting nostalgic for teenagerhood because it’s another coming-of-age movie. This one is full of fun, as well as (obviously) being poignant, and it has a uniting message that people in other “tribes” are not as different from us as we might think.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Lady Bird. Andy B finally takes a punt on it being a rollicking Disney adventure, but it turns out it’s an authentic-feeling story of a really troubled mother-daughter relationship with amazing performances by several cast members.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Midsommar. Andy B is quite close to the mark about what type of film it is, but wildly predicts it stars Zammo, which it does not. In fact, it is folk horror with a great deal of uncanny, and a gripping story of a relationship falling apart.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Mid90s. Andy B suggests it’s a romantic comedy, but Andy C talks us through a comedy drama which has lightness, depth and texture, as well as nostalgia.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Ad Astra. Andy B suggests it’s a Studio Ghibli animation about a lost Roman boy, but Andy C painstakingly explains the plot of this Sci-Fi road movie with Brad Pitt being as good as ever.

Special guest Fran Buontempo, expert in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, talks to us about everything from body/soul duality to how to train artificial birds to fly out of a paper bag. Andy B asks stupid questions and Andy C looks things up on the Internet, and a wonderful time is had by all.

Some links for Fran’s work:

Discussion (with spoilers) of Upgrade. Andy B suggests it’s a sequel to Source Code, but Andy C explains it’s a fun sci-fi body horror somewhat in the tradition of Robocop.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Us. Andy B suggests it’s a rollicking Disney adventure, but Andy C clarifies that it’s a proper scary horror movie from Jordan Peele, who also directed the amazing Get Out.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Mandy. Andy B it’s the latest Richard Curtis, but Andy C explains it’s Nicolas Cage at full throttle in a psychedelic revenge horror.

Discussion (with spoilers) of Glass. Andy B thinks it appears to be a light-hearted rom-com that descends into mother!-like chaos and distress as the main character falls apart catastrophically, but Andy C explains that it’s an unusual superhero movie with great performances from all three leading actors.

Discussion (with spoilers, but not too bad ones) of You Were Never Really Here, which is a beautifully-made gripping thriller about a man tortured by trauma, followed by a great deal of rambling waffling about various TV series and films.

Discussion (with lots of spoilers) of Overlord. Andy B suggests it’s Game of Thrones-styled hack-n-slash with comedy, but Andy C explains it’s a gruey WWII horror with injections of Nazi-serum-fuelled super-soldiers.

Discussion (with lots of spoilers) of The Babadook. Andy B thinks it’s an Australian daytime kids’ TV programme featuring a brown spherical hand-puppet from your nightmares, but Andy C explains that it’s a terrifying ghost horror that explores finding a way to survive grief and survivor’s guilt.

Discussion (with lots of spoilers) of the TV series Russian Doll. Andy B thinks it doesn’t sound like a funny show from the title, and Andy C explains it starts off like Groundhog Day and takes a different path from there.

Facebook and other social media companies have been shown to be irresponsible with politics, with private information and with their social responsibilities. If we’re not the customer, maybe we’re the product. Andy B explains how powerful these companies have become, and what influence they can have on our behaviour, our politics and our society. Concludes with suggestions of ways we can give them less power, and switch to other platforms designed to prevent the kind of behaviour manipulation we might not prefer.

Links:

Discussion of the best horror of the 20th century: what should not have been included, and what was difficult to miss out.

Andy B’s personal top ten:

Alternative list: Timeout’s best horror films list.

Also mentioned: Simon Brand’s top 30 horror films of the 20th century.

Number 1 of the 30 best horror films of the 20th century! The film is … The Exorcist.

A quick announcement to say we are live streaming on Monday 28th January 2019 at 8pm UK time, 20:00 UTC.

To join in, just go to this page: artificialworlds.net/goodrobotandys/live – there will be a live chat room and a button to click to hear us speaking live. See you there?

Number 2 of the 30 best horror films of the 20th century. The film is Alien.

Numbers 4 and 3 of the 30 best horror films of the 20th century. The films are The Thing and The Shining.

Numbers 6 and 5 of the 30 best horror films of the 20th century. The films are Night of the Living Dead and A Nightmare on Elm Street.