338, “Ready Player One - Break a Few Easter Eggs”

Nostalgia, some say, means pain from an old wound. This week, Paul is nursing pain from a fresh wound: his immense disappointment at the way Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One has turned out. Spielberg’s big-screen reworking of the tale of a young boy immersed in a virtual reality game called the OASIS, using pop culture as currency to find freedom, is loud and overwhelming. For someone like Paul, that doesn’t sit well; Arlo, on the other hand, finds himself in the unusual position of defending one of these big dumb movies. The boys discuss crucial changes the film makes that change the story’s intention; whether or not Spielberg’s CG rendering of the OASIS is impressive; the ethical and metatextual implications of certain scenes; and why the book is unfairly derided. Plus, Arlo continues his journey through Disney animation. Next: it’s that time again. Wesley “Wezzo” Mead stops by to once again discuss Chris Carter’s seminal sci-fi series The X-Files. This time, the gang will discuss season 8, the last pre-revival season to feature David Duchovny as a (semi-)regular.   THE BREAKDOWN Intro / Banter (00:00 - 25:57) Ready Player One NON-SPOILER (25:57 - 1:09:08) Ready Player One SPOILERS (1:09:08 - 2:02:05) Outro / Next Week (2:02:05 - 2:05:14)