Pop Culture Talk That's Out Of This World
Episodes
Wednesday Feb 22, 2023
Wednesday Feb 22, 2023
Today on GeekFest Rants, Carlos reviews the Disney+ documentary Light & Magic. This could very well be the best doc about Lucasfilm's ground breaking special effect company Industrial Light & Magic.
Here we learn from the founders and craftsmen of ILM such as George Lucas, Dennis Muren, Phil Tippett, Ken Ralston, Joe Johnston, Richard Edlund, John Dykstra, Lorne Peterson, and many many more.
For all hard core Star Wars fans, consider this a Master Class on the history of ILM.
Thursday Dec 15, 2022
Thursday Dec 15, 2022
Today on GeekFest Rants we are going to need a bigger boat. Join Carlos as he dives into two iconic movie posters: Jaws and Saturday Night Fever.
Hear the stories of how the art from the Jaws bestselling book easily transitioned to the movie poster by Roger Kastel. Plus, how Saturday Night Fever's PG re-release generated a new poster.
Then we move on to review some new action figures like Ziro the Hutt, The Thing, Stormtrooper George Lucas, Eddie Munson, and many more.
Thursday Oct 20, 2022
Thursday Oct 20, 2022
Today on GeekFest Rants, Carlos dives into the recent Vice documentary-series Icon Unearthed: Star Wars. This time around this particular documentary is able to share the perspectives of such Star Wars contributors as Producer, Howard Kazanjian and Editor, Marcia Lucas.
This being the first time George Lucas' ex-wife participates with an on camera interview talking about her involvement with Lucas' early film career, all the way to their post Return of the Jedi divorce.
Friday Jul 22, 2022
Friday Jul 22, 2022
Today at GeekFest Rants we begin to catch up with this spring/summer's crop of genre films.
Join Carlos as he delves into The Northman, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and The Batman.
If this is just the beginning of the spring/summer film season, we are in for a great ride.
Friday Jun 17, 2022
Friday Jun 17, 2022
A Perfect Storm: a critical or disastrous situation created by a powerful concurrence of factors. Today on GeekFest Rants Carlos will examine three unrelated pieces of art, the film Office Space, the TV show Severance, and the musical special Bo Burham: Inside.
What do all these have in common?
Well, if you are a fan of this show you might figure it out. Or at least, you get our review of these fantastic selections.
Friday Jun 03, 2022
Friday Jun 03, 2022
Almost three years in the making, The Bantha has arrived. Join Carlos today at GeekFest Rants as he reviews the fan made creature to compliment our Kenner Star Wars action figure collection.
We'll go over the behind the scenes drama between rival companies The Fans Strike Back and Stan Solo Creations.
Plus we will also compare both companies version of Slave Leia, and what this could potentially tell us about the results of other preorders and the future of these type of fan made companies.
Friday May 13, 2022
Friday May 13, 2022
It's time for posters of the month. Join Carlos today at GeekFest Rants as he delves into two fantastic international genre posters, Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Empire Strikes Back.
With Raiders we get Drew Struzan's vision for that classic film. For Empire we explore a different style with Noriyoshi Ohrai's rendition of possibly the best sequel ever made.
Thursday Apr 21, 2022
Thursday Apr 21, 2022
We are back! After a slight pause. So let's talk about Star Wars Coffee Table books. Join Carlos today at GeekFest Rants as he attempts to lift some of these massive literary creations.
These books are huge and heavy, most of them are Star Wars related but we have a few bonus ones from Cameron and Kubrick. So sit back, relax.......wait, don't sit back, sit forward, with these books on a sturdy table and enjoy.
Tuesday Mar 08, 2022
Tuesday Mar 08, 2022
Today on GeekFest Rants we take another look at Star Wars action figures. This time around join Carlos as we focus on figures from the original trilogy based on deleted scenes.
Star Wars and Return of the Jedi seem to have them mostly but we also see how The Book of Boba Fett brought back a old deleted scene location and it's characters into full blown cannon status.
Just when you thought you could not go back to Tosche Station to pick up some power converters, Tosche Station is still there.
Thursday Feb 10, 2022
Thursday Feb 10, 2022
Today on GeekFest Rants we look at another "Making-of" sci-fi/horror classic: Alien. Join Carlos as he pours over J.W. Rinzler's Making of Alien book. This is another must have publication for genre fans.
These books are not only a commitment in the amount of time you will entrench yourself in the subject matter but an outright education in filmmaking.
Then we hop over to Posters of the Month with the US one sheet for, appropriately enough, Alien and Conan. One being an agency poster and the other a Frank Franzetta 1965 original, repurposed to promote the 1982 Conan the Barbarian film.
Friday Jan 14, 2022
Friday Jan 14, 2022
When collecting action figures you have to set some rules or else you'll run out of room and/or go broke very fast. One of my rules for Star Wars figures is figures based on "behind the scenes" individuals or "behind the mask" actors.
Join Carlos today on GeekFest Rants as he talks about his collection of Star Wars figures that are based on cameos by franchise contributors. These will include George Lucas, Richard Marquand, Jeremy Bulloch, Anthony Daniels, Ahmed Best, Joe Johnston, Dave Filoni, and Ralph McQuarrie.
Can you guess who has had the most different figures made of himself? No cheating by looking at the show art.
Thursday Dec 30, 2021
Thursday Dec 30, 2021
Today on GeekFest Rants, Carlos will toast the end of 2021 with Posters of the Month and some Genre Wines. Up first we have the Return of the Jedi One Sheet Style A poster.
This is the one we saw back in 1983 as we lined up to see Return of the Jedi. A somewhat simple poster compared to the Style B.
Then we look at the Midnight Mass poster. A vintage style looking poster for the best limited series of 2021.
Finally, we raise our wine glass to Genre Wines. From the expanding Star Trek Wines collection to Skywalker Vineyards to even some John Carpenter's The Thing whiskey. What on earth will Carlos collect next?
Friday Dec 10, 2021
Friday Dec 10, 2021
So the story goes, James Cameron got the idea for The Terminator while suffering from a fever dream in Rome during the port production of Piranha 2: The Spawning, his first film. However, sci-fi writer Harlan Ellison might disagree a little bit. Join Carlos at GeekFest Rants as he dives into this behind the scenes potential lawsuit the pitted Harlan Ellison versus The Terminator, but really James Cameron.
Then we take a look at Star Trek's development of the iconic U.S.S. Excelsior. The ship that was suppose to replace The Enterprise, which was later commanded by Captain Sulu, and which class later became The Enterprise-B.
We will also look at some Eaglemoss creations depicting the concept versions of this ship.
Wednesday Nov 24, 2021
Wednesday Nov 24, 2021
If you walk without rhythm you won't attract the worm. This is more than just a song lyric from a Fatboy Slim/Christopher Walker music video. This is a reference to the movie and literary sci-fi classics Dune.
Join Carlos today at GeekFest Rants as he reviews the latest version of this story and dips into the 1984 Lynch film plus the Sci-Fi Channel Mini Series.
Have we finally seen the best version of this story on the silver screen? Or is this a book that cannot be turned into a movie?
Saturday Nov 06, 2021
Saturday Nov 06, 2021
It's time for posters of the month. Join Carlos today at GeekFest Rants as he tackles two new posters: Star Trek the Motion Picture (Rainbow Poster) and Procter & Gamble's free with purchase Empire Luke poster.
Then we continue with our dual franchise theme by visiting the little known battle between Revenge and Vengeance....that is Revenge of the Jedi versus The Vengeance of Khan. Who lost the war and ended up changing their name? Spoiler alert! They both did.
Thursday Oct 21, 2021
Thursday Oct 21, 2021
It looks like Netflix did it again with two new great shows to add to their credits. Join Carlos today at GeekFest Rants as he reviews the multi layer horror of Midnight Mass. From director/writer Mike Flanagan and starring the fantastic Hamish Linklater.
Then we look at the South Korean import Squid Game. If you liked The Hunger Games and Battle Royale, you will not be disappointed.
Friday Oct 01, 2021
Friday Oct 01, 2021
Were you at the first official Star Wars convention? Not Celebration 1 back in 1999. We are talking about Starlog and Creation Salute Star Wars 10th Anniversary Convention in 1987.
Join Carlos today on GeekFest Rants as he recalls his trip to Los Angeles back when he was 17 years old to attend his first convention.
Some of the guests included Irvin Kershner, Anthony Daniels, Billy Dee Williams, and the creator of Star Wars, George Lucas. Along the way he visits some Hollywood studios and gets a tour of the Star Trek Next Generation set.
Thursday Sep 09, 2021
Thursday Sep 09, 2021
What is the history of space travel according to Star Trek? Join Carlos today at GeekFest Rants and find out. Star Trek can be a little vague about current and near future space history but thanks to some Eaglemoss collector ships we have an insight into this fictitious narrative.
From the Botany Bay, to the Phoenix, to the Warp Delta, to many more.
Then we take a look at a moon landing sci-fi film that seems to have flown under our radar for 53 years called Countdown, starring James Caan and Robert Duvall. What did Hollywood think the moon landing was going to be like one or two years before it happened for real? Listen today and find out.
Friday Aug 27, 2021
Friday Aug 27, 2021
Have you ever been looking forward to your favorite director's next film and then when you see it, it completely disappoints you? Well, so have we. Join Carlos today at GeekFest Rants as he looks at his favorite directors and pinpoints the time when they have disappointed him.
Do directors only have a number of great films in them? Is there a predictable trajectory to the quality of their films? Or are our fanboy expectation too high?
Plus, we'll also throw a few superstar actors to see if they suffered a similar fate.
Tuesday Aug 10, 2021
Tuesday Aug 10, 2021
Today on GeekFest Rants Carlos will highlight two new posters. First up is the Star Trek: The Motion Picture teaser poster by John Berkey.
Then we have a Star Wars Proctor & Gamble point of purchase poster by Ken Glodammer.
Finally we'll cover the sad news of the passing of writer J. W. Rinzler. We'll look back at his days at Lucasfilm publishing to his most recent making-of film books.
Friday Jul 30, 2021
Friday Jul 30, 2021
Are you an adult that still collects action figures and graphic t-shirts? Well, we are too. Join Carlos today at GeekFest Rants as he focuses on his latest acquisitions in the world of action figures and graphic t-shirts.
This will include properties like Star Trek, Escape from New York, G.I. Joe, The Thing, Star Wars, Mad Max, Halloween, and Annabelle. So the question is, are we an opener or a mint on card collector? Tune in and find out.
Thursday Jul 15, 2021
Thursday Jul 15, 2021
We are back from a short break and this time we are going to look at some crime thriller mysteries on TV. We begin with The Head, a murder who-done-it with some The Thing vibes.
Then, The Fall with Gillian Anderson in another fantastic performance. Yes this is the same Gillian Anderson from The X-Files.
Then we move on to Mare of Easttown with Kate Winslet. A good surprise from this ex-Titanic star.
And finally we get Clarice. The latest incarnation of the ongoing Silence of the Lambs universe.
Friday Jun 18, 2021
Friday Jun 18, 2021
One day in the distant future, when everyone will get around in flying cars, movies will be watched with LASERS. Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. We might not have flying cars but the home video industry runs on Lasers. Actually it has been for almost 40 years. And it all started with Laserdiscs.
Join Carlos today at GeekFest Rans as he covers his personal experience with the easily forgotten video format of Laserdiscs. Was it a failed niche format for movie snobs or the beginning of a new technology that continues to this day? Actually it was all of the above.
Thursday Jun 10, 2021
Thursday Jun 10, 2021
It's time for Posters of the Month: Today at GeekFest Rants, Carlos will profile three new genre posters. The first Star Wars Fan Club exclusive McQuarrie poster, the Star Wars children immunization poster, and the 2001: A Space Odyssey bathroom instructions poster.
Then we take a look at two of the biggest rivals of the Star Wars Kenner figure line, Mattel's Masters of the Universe and Kenner's G.I Joe.
We purchased two figures to represent those lines from the newly recreated vintage style assortment.
Sunday May 23, 2021
Sunday May 23, 2021
Once in a while Hollywood gets it right. Sometimes you hit the prefect storm of script, director, cast, crew, location, cinematography, music, and sound.
Join Carlos today on GeekFest Rants as he takes a trip from rediscovering the Oliver Stone film Platoon, to reading the movie tie-in by Dale Dye and then researching the evolving script that makes up this cinematic masterpiece.