YouTube link here. I think there was an Ezzie appearance?
Again, I forgot to process this until days after the recording, so I’m not sure. I know Tony talks about some TV shows and a movies, and we actually have an email, which sparks some very strange conversation. It’s really good content, though, I’m sure. Enjoy!
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I think William’s genre identity is probably American Regionalism (a writer like Sherwood Anderson, for example). I thought Tony’s description of his own was pretty accurate. It does seem like there is a genre type in which there is a kind of constant reinvention of self, usually with some element of fantasy thrown in (actually the last episode of Loki kinda fits that genre). Speaking of which, I was a bit surprised by the number of people I saw online talking about the satisfying closure of that story. I mean, I could see what they were pointing to as far as the “satisfying” part (whether one agrees or not), but the abilities he develops in the last episode kind of undercuts any notion of closure (that’s as good a description as I can give without spoilers).
John Wick 4 – I also didn’t think it was very good but it’s been a while since I saw it and I can’t remember the particular criticisms I had. All I can say is that they were not about verisimilitude. That seems an odd measuring stick for these stories to me.
I do really appreciate a lot of the actors–Donnie Yen and Hiroyuki Sanada in particular. Sanada is one of my absolutely favorite actors. And there were some cool action pieces. I also like the way they connected the genre of the action to the place the action was taking place.
My favorite John Wick was the 3rd one because there was something meta about that one. It seemed to be making a comment about the effect of action narratives in our culture generally.
The resolution for me in Loki was less “there’s nowhere they could go from here,” and more “there’s no particular loose ends, and this particular arc seems to be over.” While it IS true that Loki (the character) could go SOOO many ways from this point, I suspect this is how we get Hiddles out of the MCU, so I find it unlikely to happen any time soon. 😉
John Wick 3? Really? Oh, Jas, no! 😛
William, there is a word that seems to fit what you were describing: saga.
I also agree, American Regionalism.
Saga is a good one! I kept thinking “epic,” but I think saga is better.