Redshirt Cinema Club

Hello and welcome to Redshirt Cinema Club, a podcast about fandom and watching movies with friends.

With the MCU Phase One now behind us it’s time to delve into the hilariously named ‘Mjolbag’ and enjoy your excellent correspondence on all things Marvel.

We’ll also be revealing our personal rankings for all six phase one movies, please feel free to agree with us in the patreon chat.

Controversial hot takes, assemble!

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Hello and welcome to Redshirt Cinema Club, a podcast about fandom and watching movies with friends.

So when you’ve just finished watching a massive series of superhero movies, and it’s nearly Halloween, and one of your three hosts hasn’t seen a particular beloved 80s classic, who you gonna call?

The cadence of that was all wrong but, yes, we watched Ghostbusters this week, the 1984 smash hit comedy starring Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd and Sigourney Weaver. Can it make a new fan out of me? Let’s find out!

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We've arrived! But where?

At the muster station for wayward Marvel superheroes, also known as (genuinely) the biggest thing to happen to cinema since Star Wars. The Avengers is the culmination of an ever-evolving plan for the comic book publisher to make it's own movies, to control its own stable of characters, to give Stan Lee as many screen credits as possible, and to make gigantic stacks of money. It just happens to be really, really good as well.

Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, and arrows guy better watch out, because there's an alien army waiting in the middle of space for a magic gate to open to they can invade Earth. And the aliens better watch out, because Earth has been learning self defence.

Join the Redshirt Cinema Club! Support us at patreon.com/redshirtcinemaclub to receive two bonus episodes every month as well as our newsletter, The Civilian Observer.

You can also follow us at x.com/redshirtcinema and get in touch at redshirtcinemaclub@gmail.com.

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Hello and welcome to Redshirt Cinema Club, a podcast about fandom and watching movies with friends.

Now the film we’re watching this week is called Captain America: The First Avenger, despite the fact he’s actually the last one to be introduced before Marvel’s superhero superteam assemble.

Chris Evans stars as the titular Cap, breaking free of his Fantastic Four shackles and establishing himself as a true leading man. Can he win over the Redshirts? Let’s find out!

Join the Redshirt Cinema Club! Support us at patreon.com/redshirtcinemaclub to receive two bonus episodes every month as well as our newsletter, The Civilian Observer.

You can also follow us at x.com/redshirtcinema and get in touch at redshirtcinemaclub@gmail.com.

Here's the schedule for our MCU season...

Iron Man (2008) -14/9/26

BONUS (Resident Evil) - 16/9/26

The Incredible Hulk (2008) - 21/9/26

Iron Man 2 (2010) - 28/9/26

BONUS - 30/9/26

Thor (2011) - 5/10/26

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) - 12/10/26

BONUS - 14/10/26

The Avengers - 19/10/26

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Film number four in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is Thor, and we've come a long way from Tony Stark's cave in Afghanistan.

All the way to Asgard, in fact, as the bounds of the MCU expand even at this early stage to embrace other worlds, mythical beings, and stuff happening somewhere in the gap between endless space and affordable CG.

THERE IS A LOT GOING ON. The MCU gets its first supervillain, Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddlestone launch mega careers, a blue box turns up, and Marvel seems to prove once and for all that you can keep making films that are only OK so long as there's another film that might be better just around the corner...

Join the Redshirt Cinema Club! Support us at patreon.com/redshirtcinemaclub to receive two bonus episodes every month as well as our newsletter, The Civilian Observer.

You can also follow us at x.com/redshirtcinema and get in touch at redshirtcinemaclub@gmail.com.

Here's the schedule for our MCU season...

Iron Man (2008) -14/9/26

BONUS (Resident Evil) - 16/9/26

The Incredible Hulk (2008) - 21/9/26

Iron Man 2 (2010) - 28/9/26

BONUS - 30/9/26

Thor (2011) - 5/10/26

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) - 12/10/26

BONUS - 14/10/26

The Avengers - 19/10/26

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Three episodes into our MCU series and we’ve already got our first sequel - 2010’s Iron Man 2 - which Marvel couldn’t resist making after the success of the original. Robert Downey Jr returns as Tony Stark, facing off against both Mickey Rourke’s Whiplash and the age-old conundrum of what do you do with a superhero after their origin story? You talk about them on a podcast, that’s what. Let’s go!

Join the Redshirt Cinema Club! Support us at https://patreon.com/redshirtcinemaclub to receive two bonus episodes every month as well as our newsletter, The Civilian Observer.

You can also follow us at x.com/redshirtcinema and get in touch at redshirtcinemaclub@gmail.com.

Here's the schedule for our MCU season...

Iron Man (2008) -14/9/26

BONUS - 16/9/26

The Incredible Hulk (2008) - 21/9/26

Iron Man 2 (2010) - 28/9/26

BONUS - 30/9/26

Thor (2011) - 5/10/26

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) - 12/10/26

BONUS - 14/10/26

The Avengers - 19/10/26

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Hello and welcome to Redshirt Cinema Club, a podcast about fandom and watching movies with friends. We’re doing it! We’re getting through Phase One of the MCU, and today that means our opinion lens is focused on 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, a complicated entry in that it came out mere months after Iron Man, features a star in Edward Norton who never returns to the franchise, and is a sort of sequel but not really to 2003’s Hulk directed by Ang Lee. What do we make of it? Let’s find out!

Join the Redshirt Cinema Club! Support us at https://patreon.com/redshirtcinemaclub to receive two bonus episodes every month as well as our newsletter, The Civilian Observer.

You can also follow us at x.com/redshirtcinema and get in touch at redshirtcinemaclub@gmail.com.

Here's the schedule for our MCU season...

Iron Man (2008) -14/9/26

BONUS - 16/9/26

The Incredible Hulk (2008) - 21/9/26

Iron Man 2 (2010) - 28/9/26

BONUS - 30/9/26

Thor (2011) - 5/10/26

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) - 12/10/26

BONUS - 14/10/26

The Avengers - 19/10/26

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The truth is, we are watching Iron Man...

Listeners, it's time for a reboot. For Edward Norton to become Mark Ruffalo. For Andrew Garfield to become Tom Holland. For us to have a vision, a quest for the podcast once again.

It's time for Redshirt versus the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In what we're enigmatically calling Phase Three of the podcast, we’ll be rewatching the biggest movie phenomenon of all time from its inception to the Avengers’ first Assembling. Get ready for tons of cultural context, egregious Stan-Splaining, lots of realising we’re older than we used to be, and a weekly check-in on just how full our Marvel fandom Infinity Gauntlets are getting. Let’s get started with, Iron Man.

Join the Redshirt Cinema Club! Support us at patreon.com/redshirtcinemaclub to receive two bonus episodes every month as well as our newsletter, The Civilian Observer.

You can also follow us at x.com/redshirtcinema and get in touch at redshirtcinemaclub@gmail.com.

Here's the schedule for our MCU season...

Iron Man (2008) -14/9/26

BONUS - 16/9/26

The Incredible Hulk (2008) - 21/9/26

Iron Man 2 (2010) - 28/9/26

BONUS - 30/9/26

Thor (2011) - 5/10/26

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) - 12/10/26

BONUS - 14/10/26

The Avengers - 19/10/26

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Welcome Redshirt team, to the final pre-MCU comic book episode before we dive into the world of The Avengers, singularly and collectively.

This week, it's Dave's pick, and he has chosen Constantine - although it proves to be more of a case of Constantin-terruptions as Nath and Rob lead us astray (or should that be ashtray?).

Don't hold your breath for this one (though weirdly, we do. Really).

Join the Redshirt Cinema Club! Support us at patreon.com/redshirtcinemaclub to receive two bonus episodes every month as well as our newsletter, The Civilian Observer.

You can also follow us at x.com/redshirtcinema and get in touch at redshirtcinemaclub@gmail.com.

Here's the schedule for our superhero season, leading to the first phase of the MCU...

Iron Man (2008) -14/9/26

BONUS - 16/9/26

The Incredible Hulk (2008) - 21/9/26

Iron Man 2 (2010) - 28/9/26

BONUS - 30/9/26

Thor (2011) - 5/10/26

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) - 12/10/26

BONUS - 14/10/26

The Avengers - 19/10/26

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Hello and welcome to Redshirt Cinema Club, a weekly podcast Bat-transmitting from the Batcave.

That’s right, a few short episodes after our trip to Christopher Nolan’s Gotham City, we’re back with the Dark Knight thanks to Rob’s choice for pre-MCU superhero viewing. Which is… Tim Burton’s Batman Returns, featuring a rogue’s gallery of Catwoman, The Penguin, and some guy making a reverse power station? How dare they?

Join the Redshirt Cinema Club! Support us at patreon.com/redshirtcinemaclub to receive two bonus episodes every month as well as our newsletter, The Civilian Observer.

You can also follow us at x.com/redshirtcinema and get in touch at redshirtcinemaclub@gmail.com.

Here's the schedule for our superhero season, leading to the first phase of the MCU...

Superman (1978) - 24/8/26

Batman Returns (1992) - 31/8/26

BONUS - Pre-MCU Superhero Captains choice - 2/9/26

Constantine (2005) - 7/9/26

Iron Man (2008) -14/9/26

BONUS - 16/9/26

The Incredible Hulk (2008) - 21/9/26

Iron Man 2 (2010) - 28/9/26

BONUS - 30/9/26

Thor (2011) - 5/10/26

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) - 12/10/26

BONUS - 14/10/26

The Avengers - 19/10/26

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Hello and welcome to Redshirt Cinema Club, a podcast about fandom and watching movies with friends. We’re about to tackle the big one - the MCU.

The biggest movies, the most fervent fandoms, opinions so divisive they could probably splint a continent in half and sink the entire West coast of America. Which, coincidentally, is Lex Luthor’s plan in Superman: The Movie - the film we’re watching today to kick off our three-part mini series of pre-MCU superhero flicks before we take on the main event.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a podcast.

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Hello and welcome to Redshirt Cinema Club, a podcast about fandom and watching movies with friends. We’ve done it! We’ve watched ALL the Christopher Nolan films apartfromTheFollowing, and now we’re going full white guy podcast by RANKING THEM ALL. Will you agree with us? We don’t even agree with ourselves! Before we get to that however, it’s time to read out YOUR excellent opinions in our end of season mailbag special. Enjoy!

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Hello and welcome to Redshirt Cinema Club, a podcast about fandom and watching movies with friends. Today, it’s Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan’s multi-award-winning 2023 biopic of the man who made the bomb. Best Picture. Best actor for Cillian Murphy, Best Director for Nolan himself. But can it win the less-prestigious but harder-to-obtain award for entertaining all three of the Redshirt Cinema Club hosts? Let’s find out!

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The end of our Nolan series approaches, as you can tell by the fact we've reached a film that doesn't care about beginnings, or endings, or - more than one of us might argue - what happens in the middle, either.

This week we're watching/have watched/will have been about to be watching Tenet, which is like a time-based counterpart to the globe-spanning, dream-plumbing action of Inception. Not content with simply folding Paris back upon itself, Tenet goes one further and folds all of reality, with a war of annihilation moving back along the timeline from the future and about to engulf the present.

What does this mean? On the one hand, we sincerely have no idea. On the other, it means bullets that fire backwards, fight scenes between opponents moving in contrary directions through time, car chases where both cars pursue each other at the same time(s), and a final assault that's finished before it begins.

Obviously, Bill and Ted would have had this wrapped up in 90 minutes. But what else do we make of Tenet? Join us to find out!

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We’re nearing the end of our Nolan run now, and we’re heading for the stars - or at least a handful of uninhabitable planets and a wormhole or two - with 2014’s Interstellar. A movie less about space and rockets than it is about love, regret, parenthood and just how much of a dick Matt Damon can be if the script is right. Does it get the Redshirt seal of approval? Time to find out!

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Check out our Nolan-esque use of non-linear plotting as we interrupt our chronological journey through the films of Christopher N to take in the director's newly released epic, The Odyssey.

Praise Zeus, we did it! We got Rob to the cinema, and he stayed there until the film was over. But what did he - and Nath, and Dave - make of this take on Homer's epic tale?

Even more crucially, how did Dave - a man who runs a social media agency specialising in the entertainment industry - manage to watch this extensively marketed film without even knowing who was in the cast? How does it compare to Nolan's other epic big screen adventures? And can it possibly compete with the Ducktales version of the story from the episode 'Home Sweet Homer,' which features duck sirens?

Find out by simply listening to this podcast - or risk the wrath of Podseidon!

Nolan mailbag is coming - join in and email your thoughts, questions and opinions to redshirtcinemaclub@gmail.com

Meanwhile the rest of the schedule for RSCC's Nolan summer looks like this:

• Dunkirk (Patreon-exclusive) - 22nd July
• Tenet - 27th July
• Oppenheimer - 3rd August
• Captain's Choice - 5th August (Patreon-exclusive)
• Batmail Begin

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Inception is the next film under the Redshirt Cinema Club spotlight, the cerebral 2010 sci-fi action movie Christopher Nolan somehow made in-between The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. It’s generated memes and hot takes galore since then, with audiences loving to hate it as much as they love to… love it. On which side of the fence do we fall? It’s time to find out!

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Most people would probably have a break between making two blockbusting superhero movies, especially when they're as brilliant and ambitious as Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008).

Not Christopher Nolan. Instead he teamed up with Christian Bale and knocked out The Prestige (2006), a cerebral character drama following two feuding magicians and their shared obsession with outdoing the other. Stylistically it's an outlier when looked at in the context of his wider catalogue, but there's a reason Nolan connoisseurs often cite this as their favourite.

What will we make of it however? Let's find out!

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Hello and welcome to Redshirt Cinema Club, a podcast about - finally - BATMAN movies. Well it is for today anyway, as we tackle Christopher Nolan’s 2005 comic book blockbuster Batman Begins, the film that arguably made both him and lead-actor Christian Bale household names and kickstarted a superhero trilogy still regarded by many as the greatest ever. How does it hold up 21 years later? It’s time to find out. Podcast Begin.

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Today we continue our journey through the movies of Christopher Nolan with 2002's Insomnia, the comparatively little-known film he made between Memento (cult favourite, liking it makes you sound clever) and Batman Begins (the first chapter of everyone's favourite superhero trilogy).

The cast is stacked with A-list talent - Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank will get your movie noticed - and yet Insomnia rarely gets talked about with the same fervour as Nolan's other work. We'll explore why in this episode, alongside chat about how smoking and telephones are cool and Matt Damon isn't. Enjoy!

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