Popzara Podcast

Article: Be Quiet! SHADOW BASE 800 FX PC Case

If you’ve been on Amazon or Newegg then you've probably come across a brand called Be Quiet!, a German manufactrer that makes PC components made for efficiency and low noise before ostentatiousness. Their SHADOW BASE 800 FX PC Case is one of their flagships that’s dedicated to maximum airflow, and it has plenty of space for almost anything you can think of.

Article: The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes (2022)

After watching so much action and comedy anime, it’s good to cleanse the palate every now and then with something different, such as slice-of-life titles and the like. Our friends at Sentai were kind enough to send over a screener for their latest theatrical release titled The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes.

Article: Turtle Beach React-R Wired Controller (2023 Edition)

When I first reviewed Turtle Beach’s Recon wired controller back in 2021, I immediately fell in love it as it felt just right in my hands which are fairly large, and all of the sweet bells and whistles it featured just made it even better. Leave it to them to design another controller even better with the Turtle Beach React-R Wired Controller last year that streamlined the Recon while still being a joy to use.

Article: Hellboy: Web of Wyrd

While I haven’t gone through a lot of the famed Mike Mignola comics, I’ve come to love Hellboy as most people have, from Ron Perlman’s take on the character from the awesome mid-2000s films and later animated movies (while I did like some parts of it, we don’t talk about the recent David Harbour one).  Fans have been craving a decent video game of the demon hero for some time now, and thankfully we got Hellboy: Web of Wyrd.

Article: The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (2023)

William Friedkin’s final film, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, feels just a little thin. Despite what we know is in his bag of directing tricks from his previous films, this one lacked a dramatic vision and alienates the audience with its desire to be completely objective.

The State of Gaming October 2023: Spider-Man 2, Mario Wonder, AC Mirage, Alan Wake 2, Detective Pikachu, Sonic Superstars, Five Nights at Freddy’s, PS5 Slim, and Circana

It’s The State of Gaming Podcast, Popzara’s in-depth look at what’s shaking up the gaming landscape delivered on a monthly basis. Our hosts Cory Galliher and Nate Evans guide you through the best, worst, and everything else making headlines and headway in the world of interactive entertainment.

The biggest games of the month include: Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Alan Wake 2, Lords of the Fallen, Detective Pikachu Returns, Forza Motorsport, Sonic Superstars, and Ghostrunner 2.

Other notables include: Cities: Skylines II, Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Volume 1, Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged, Wizard With a Gun, Gargoyles Remastered, and Resident Evil Village (iOS).

Circana remains the gaming industry’s best snapshot of what’s moving and shaking up both physical and digital retail shelves across the country. All estimates are for entertainment purposes only. Total sales of new gaming hardware and software topped $4.4 billion, a sizable ten percent rise over last year.

It was a month of debuts on the Top Twenty software charts Microsoft scored a winner with Starfield in first, with Warner Bros’ arcade fighting reboot (?) Mortal Kombat 1 high in second. EA’s newly-renamed EA Sports FC 24 (formally Fifa) came in third. Plaion’s Payday 3 was in fifth, Take 2 Interactive’s NBA 2K24 in sixth, and Ubisoft’s The Crew: Motorfest in seventh. The rest of the charts was a healthy mix of old and new heavy-hitters, showcasing the strength of having great software that consumers actually want to buy.

But there’s more! Sony makes their long-awaited, trimmed back PlayStation 5 Slim official! It’s smaller, sleeker, but not cheaper (but Blu-ray is now optional). The Five Nights At Freddy’s Movie is breaking nearly every box-office record out there! And finally, just in time for the month of all-things-spooky, you can snag your own bespoke “Halloween Fatality” for Mortal Kombat 1 for $10, because the only thing scarier than pumpkin kills are microtransactions!

Article: The Exchange: After The Firm (2023)

1993 was a big year for the movies with blockbusters like Jurassic Park, The Fugitive, Sleepless in Seattle, and Mrs. Doubtfire among many others now considered stone cold classics.

Movie Time! Halloween Schlocktober (2023): Troll, Street Trash, Leprechaun 4, and Eric’s Revenge

It’s Popzara’s Movie Time! Podcast Halloween Schlocktober!, our yearly dose of creepy movie mayhem! Our harrowing hosts Ethan “Bloodlust” Brehm and Nate “Entrails” Evans are your personal guides for this shocking smorgasbord of four shlocky horrors scraped direct from cinema’s bottom-barrel that prove you don’t need blockbuster budgets to have a good time. Also: listen for a special intro from none other than horror legend Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead and one of the films listed below). Happy Halloween!

The Movies: Shlock Til You Drop

First up is 1986’s Troll (the original and not the “best worst movie”), directed by effects guru John Carl Buechler (Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College) that epitomizes the “high-concept / low-budget” genre of horror/comedy that ruled the 1980s home video circuit. Next is 1987’s Street Trash, directed by Steadicam master J. Michael Muro (a favorite of James Cameron) and one of the most celebrated of all “melt movie” classics.

Third is 1996’s Leprechaun 4: In Space, directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith (one of Quentin Tarantino’s favorites, apparently). It’s not just the best of the Warwick Davis-starring franchise but among the most bat$h!t crazy concepts ever stitched together. Last is 1989’s Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge, a reworking of the Phantom mythos directed by Richard Friedman where the real star is the mall itself (RIP) and not an early appearance by Pauly Shore.

Article: Super Mario Bros. Wonder

It's-a me, Mario! I tried announcing that on the street one day, but mostly had garbage and tomatoes thrown at me, and I think I also got mugged. I guess not everyone has the panache and flair to pull off being the world's most famous plumber, especially now that he's become a major movie star.

Article: Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can! I guess the song's referring to the cool things spiders can do, like crawling on walls and biting people, not, y'know, getting crushed by a wad of toilet paper and flushed when they show up in the bathroom. There's no variant in the Spider-Verse where even the most fanatical fan wants that to happen - and it certainly wouldn't make a great comic book or movie.

Article: Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

In the ever-evolving landscape of cinema, where careers often burn brightly but briefly, few directors can lay claim to one spanning five decades, and even fewer can match the enduring brilliance of Martin Scorsese. With a filmography that includes classics like "Taxi Driver", "Goodfellas", and "The Departed" he has been, and still remains, a master storyteller with a keen eye for detail and deep understanding of human nature.

Article: Mimi’s Tales of Terror (2023)

Just in time for Halloween comes Mimi's Tales of Terror, nine frightful tales illustrated by the manga maestro himself, Junji Ito, and adapted from the original Japanese urban tales collected by Hirokatsu Kihara and Ichiro Nakayama's Shin Mimibukuro (New Earmuffs), a book that’s impossible for Japanese fans to find, let alone English readers. A version of Ito’s adaptation was originally published back in 2002 as Mimi no Kaidan Kanzenban (Mimi’s Ghost Stories), though like Kihara and Nakayama’s original, good luck finding a copy these days.

Article: You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah (2023)

This generation’s teen movie trend, which started out as a niche indie subgenre circa 2018, has slowly been shifting towards the mainstream in the past couple of years. In a way, these films harken back to the ‘90s when the focus was on younger, more pre-pubescent leads, as opposed to the older high school or college subjects of the ‘80s and ‘00s.

Article: Elon Musk (2023)

No stranger to crafting biographies about creative people many consider among the world’s most innovative and influential, Walter Issacson (Benjamin Franklin, Leonardo Da Vinci) now turns his attention to Elon Musk, a man many feel is both admirable and deplorable, a Gen Xer more likely to find inspiration from Mel Brooks and Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy than the Great Books of the Western World. Whether you consider Elon Musk (the man) a hero or villain could depend largely on your personal politics, or your appetite for hero worship.

The State of Gaming September 2023: Starfield, Mortal Kombat 1, Lies of P, Disgaea 7, Cocoon, Netflix Gaming Anime, iPhone 15 Gaming, Chris Kohler Talks Karateka, and Circana

It’s The State of Gaming Podcast, Popzara’s in-depth look at what’s shaking up the gaming landscape delivered on a monthly basis. Our hosts Cory Galliher and Nate Evans guide you through the best, worst, and everything else making headlines and headway in the world of interactive entertainment.

The biggest games of the month include: Starfield, Mortal Kombat 1, Chants of Sennaar, Lies of P, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, Payday 3, and Disgaea 7.

On the software charts Madden NFL 24 touchdowns in first, Namco Bandai’s Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon debuts high in second, Gearbox Publishing’s Remnant II stays strong in third,  and Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom stays solid in sixth. Further down show the PlayStation 5 effect as Sony’s God of War: Ragnarok turns in sixteenth, Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XVI is right behind in seventeenth, Gran Turismo 7 returns in eighteenth, and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales in nineteenth.

But there’s more! Did you know Elon Musk was such a hardcore gamer? Read Walter Issacson’s Musk book and you will! It’s probably best to avoid the Switch version of Mortal Kombat 1 for now, possibly forever. Immortals of Aveum developer Ascendant Studios laid off nearly half their staff.

Netflix is into gaming! But not as much as they’re into gaming anime! Castlevania: Nocturne is here, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft (starring Hayley Atwell) is coming soon! So is Devil May Cry! Your pricey new iPhone 15 Pro will play the Resident Evil 4 Remake – and it’ll probably get super hot doing it!

Want to learn the history of Karateka and the future of interactive documentaries? Listen to our chat with games historian Chris Kohler (when you’re done listening to this episode, naturally).