Artificial Entertainment: Recent Episodes
Artificial Entertainment
We're talkin' film bruh. We're talkin' that sweet sweet celluloid, classic film, weird film, new film - whatever we want, honky. Listen, we're here for our enjoyment, not yours. If you dig it, that's tight. If not, step off bruh...
... I don't know, we're three best friends who met in film school and now we talk about moves we love, but we also sometimes talk about films we hate.
If adventure has a name, it's Artificial Entertainment.
Welcome to Artificial Entertainment's Summer of Love, a 3-month-long celebration of not just one film that is near and dear to our hearts, but entire subjects, entire franchises, and entire controversies.
First up, and to celebrate the release of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, we delve into the Indiana Jones franchise; and spend some time ruminating on why Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was such a formative film for our host, Josh Laukaitis. We also discuss one of the hottest films in theaters at the time of recording, Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse. It's an episode full of action, mysticism, history, and best of all: punching Nazis in their stupid friggin' faces.
Cover Art By Josh Laukaitis
Editing by Tyler Yahne
At last, the moment you've all been waiting for! After a 2 month hiatus, Artificial Entertainment is back at the 11th hour to close out the month of May with a rousing episode covering the 1997 film "Mouse Hunt", a movie forgotten by some and utterly ignored by others. Is more than meets the eye in this dark comedy? Did audiences give it a fair shake? You are about to find out. Also, we talk about the cinema landscape of early May something that, if you look at the release date of this episode, you'll realize is almost useless now. It's an episode of uncertainty, sadistic humor, Quibblers (whatever those are), Guardians, and of course good old-fashioned fun. Jump in and check it out!
Cover Art by Josh Laukaitis
Editing by Tyler Yahne
This is the tale of Mason, Unofficial CEO, and Cohost of Artificial Entertainment. Fabulous powers were revealed to him the day he held aloft a magical VHS copy of 1987's "Masters of the Universe" at a New Jersey Blockbuster and said, "Let's bring this home for Movie Night!" With that, he became He-Fan, the most annoying fan in the universe. Only two others share this secret: his friends 'Stache-At-Arms and Twyldor. Together they defend the Legacy of Cannon films from the evil forces of Bad Business Practices and Pop Culture Erasure!
Cover Art by Josh Laukaitis
Editing By Tyler Yahne
This month we're talking about -- GREMLINS! More specifically, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, a film beloved by our cohost Tyler Yahne. But me? I can't stand Gremlins. The worst thing that ever happened to me was because of Gremlins. Oh, God. It was so horrible. It was movie night. I was 9 years old. Me and Mom were getting the snacks ready, waiting for Dad to come home from work... I can still see his bloody body in the Gizmo costume. How could we have known? We thought it was a bear... Anyway, we'll take a deep dive into the franchise and examine all of its strange and exciting connections to film history at large, from Spielberg to iconic effects artists, to Bugs Bunny, and even to Batman!Say, speaking of Batman, we also dive into the brave and bold new vision for the DC film universe with James Gunn at the helm. Will it work? Will it fail? Will they keep Ezra Miller as the Flash? Who's to say? Also, Mason and Tyler have a cataclysmic blowout over whether or not Top Gun: Maverick is worthy of its Best Picture nomination at this year's Oscars. It's the showdown of the century and it's waiting for YOU!Cover Art by Josh Laukaitis Editing by Mason Betterly
New year, new you, new me, NEW EPISODE!
Tyler, Josh, and Mason reconvene to discuss Steven Speilberg's timeless classic about a clever adventurer in the 1940s who uncovers an ancient secret in a globe-trekking romp... "The Adventures of Tintin". But what secrets does this relatively forgotten mocap film of the early 2010s hold? You are about to find out. For we'll brave a strange world of incredible setpieces, Chaplinesque side characters, and some of the best pirate action put to the screen since 2003, and dive deep into the muddy history of motion capture technology to find what makes this film the hidden gem it really is.
We'll also talk about two of the best animated films to come out of 2022, "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" and Guillermo Del Toro's "Pinocchio", and quite randomly, the future of The Simpsons in the Theme Park Industry. Will it be a better episode than Lupin? Will boys be able to keep the show on track? Will "Two of Us Have Seen It and the Other One Hasn’t" become a recurring show segment? There's only one way to know for sure, so keep your arms and feet inside at all times and strap in for one roller coaster of an episode!
Cover Art by Josh Laukaitis
Editing by Mason Betterly
'Twas just days before Christmasand into your ears, Josh, Tyler, and Mason bring holiday cheers! And not just of Klaus, and its artistic glory,But of Rankin & Bassthe new Christmas Story,And trailers, and jokesabout Niagra FallsSo hit play and jump in!Merry Christmas to all!
Summer is over... and most of autumn too. Tyler, Josh and Mason are finally back from hiatus this week taking on 1986's "True Stories" directed by David Byrne of the Talking Heads. It's a tale that takes us deep into the heart of Texas and the wholesome daily lives of the people of Virgil as they prepare for the "Celebration of Specialness" and in a way I suppose you could say this episode is our own kind of celebration. Birth, death, and rebirth all in one. Mason overshares too, but this time it was on doctors orders, so I don't know what to tell you. Anyways, grab a cowboy hat, swing your steering wheel around and jump on in!
This month, we're flying deep into the Danger Zone to talk about new releases like Top Gun: Maverick, Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers, and the Bob's Burgers Movie. We also discuss the finer intricacies of the Santa Clause franchise and uncover shocking revelations about every one's favorite Christmas film: Jack Frost! Also we talk about our main film this month, Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro which is... it's nice.
It's an episode full of twists, turns, shame, and actors who portrayed Batman in the 1990's! How do they all fit into this? Jump in and find out!
This episode, Artificial Entertainment starts with a 'Z'! At least that's what Mason keeps saying, adding to the growing pile of evidence that he is in fact illiterate. We're talking about 1998's The Mask of Zorro and asking the hard questions, like how could you bring back a property like this today? How come this film succeeded and The Lone Ranger failed? Did Antonio Banderas and Sir Anthony Hopkins have a passionate tango scene that was cut from the final film? We also delve into Hollywood's recent obsession with Multiverses, namely in the form of films Everything, Everywhere, All At Once, and of course, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
There might be a universe where you don't listen to this episode, but trust me, it's a better universe if you do.
YAHNE EPISODE! In this action-packed episode, we discuss the Muppets, Hulk Hogan, Tye Sheridan, Lips, Showgirls, the finer intricacies of Toys "R" Us, The Batman... And apparently Robocop? It's an ADHD-fueled episode of Artificial Entertainment and it's gonna be a blast!
It's 2022 and boy oh boy how times have changed! There's one thing that hasn't changed though, the boys' love for film!
Join Josh, Tyler, and Mason as they reconvene on their revamped show to talk about the much-beloved "Who framed Roger Rabbit" and cover the rich history surrounding the film and a dozen other random topics... The Entertainment may be Artificial, but the fun sure won't be.
Jump back in NOW!
Originally Aired... idk, I was on hiatus looking for a job at this point so they brought in our friend Dylan as a guest. He's a really smart guy, he's got a lot of neat takes, idk man, we were always very cordial with one another in film school but I never got to know him super well, and I kinda regret that to be honest. Maybe we could have been tight, maybe he thought I was weird and didn't want to hang out anyways. I remember a friend at the time saying he didn't like me, but I don't know if that was true. Anyways... they talk about bad movies. They actually recorded another episode after this but they totally lost the entire audio file. Wild stuff man. So enjoy, what was at the time, the final episode of Artificial Entertainment.
Don't worry, we came back.
Originally Aired - May 3, 2018 - Yes, it's finally time.
Sure you haven't been waiting 10 years for this, maybe you weren't ever waiting for this, but regardless HERE IT IS!!!
... The boys talk about their thoughts on Avengers: Infinity War! And that's it, that's the whole episode...
Orginally Aired - May 3, 2018 - We're in the Endgame Now... Just in time for Infinity War, the boys are taking on Marvel movies from those bygone days before the MCU. Things go a little awry though then complications from a prior episode rear their Canadian head again... How bout that?! Continuity! See? We can do it too Marvel!
Also this week, the boys talk Venom, The Secret Life of Pets 2, and more "live-action" Disney movies... yay.
Originally Aired - April 24, 2018 - The Least Listened to Podcast is back... to the 80's trash! This time, the boys take a look at the strange and odd world of kids programming including 'Welcome to Pooh Corner', 'Rubik the Amazing Cube', and 'Small Wonder'. So old. So bad. Will the boys be able to overcome all the awfulness? Will they get their flux capacitor back up and running? Find out!
Also, the boys talk about some of their favorite shows from their youth. Is it our worst episode yet? Probably. Are you still reading this? Probably Not. But hey, let us know if you found this easter egg!
Originally Aired - April 5, 2018 - A question for the ages: What was the last great comedy? Also, why haven't we had any comedies seemingly stick around as of late? We'll all these questions and more* will be looked at on this episode of Artificial Entertainment!
Legally we have to say "looked at" because we don't actually* answer any questions...
Also in this episode: Tyler's mini-review of Ready Player One, the potential recasting of Princess Leia, and all the while, Mason waits desperately for the right moment to bring up a fact about the Golden Girls.
Originally Aired - March 13, 2018 - It's a Mason episode and he's making everyone watch bad Disney movies based on their park attractions. Whether it's Steve Guttenberg trying to find the story of the Tower of Terror, Beary Barrington trying to get The Country Bears back together, or Eddie Murphy trying to sell the Haunted Mansion... it's a miserable experience all around. Mason seems happy though so, you know, let the kid be happy.
Also, the boys talk about the Oscars, the history of the park attractions themselves, and someone stealing someone else's wallet.
Originally Aired - February 27, 2018 - IT'S A YAHNE EPISODE!!! This episode is all about one of Tyler's favorite animated masterpieces: The Thief and The Cobbler The Recobbled Cut. And of course, we can't talk about that without first discussing the terrible Miramax cut of the "same" film.
Along the way the boys talk about Black Panther, Joss Whedon leaving Batgirl, and we finally answer a listener question!
If you're interested in the documentary Tyler is intent on buying that includes the '92 work cut of The Thief & The Cobbler: https://goo.gl/sKUSGE
Originally Aired - February 6, 2018 - They did it! The boys recorded an episode about the 60’s Peter Cushing Dr. Who movies AND they didn’t lose any audio! It’s like they're a real podcast or something. But boy, do they hate those movies. So strap in for an adventure in space and time that should definitely be lost to time…
Also, Mason and Tyler briefly touch on The Shape of Water and talk about their likes and dislikes, while Josh briefly mentions The Post so as to feel like he has something to say.
The Shape of Water Spoilers: 00:08:05 – 00:12:38 (If you care now?)
They also talk about the Super Bowl, the lack of a Han Solo solo Solo film trailer (at the point they recorded), and somehow get sidetracked with a conversation about Back To The Future.
Originally Aired - January 23, 2018 - Due to some recording issues this week, the boys have decided to let you in on their earliest attempt at making a podcast. In this pilot episode, the boys take on 80's trash. From Sylvester Stallion learning to be a cowboy in Rhinestone, to Bill Cosby trying to stop a bunch of vegetarians, ending at literally no one you've ever heard of in The Toxic Avenger. They also talk about some old outdated news and the Ewok movies.
Originally Aired - January 8, 2018 - At the beginning of the new year, the boys look back at 2017 and talk about the movies they've seen - the good, the bad, or eh.
Originally Aired - December 22, 2017 - It’s the most wonderful time of the year, Star Wars Month! The boys are going back and watching the trilogy that makes Samuel L. Jackson look like he’s not an actor, The Prequels. Also, they spend some time discussing The Last Jedi, the pros, the cons, and whether or not Rian Johnson ruined Star Wars.
Originally Aired - December 7, 2017 - It’s the Holiday Season, and we’re cramming the worst Christmas movies we can find down your chimney. Also, Mason and Josh debate which was the better movie, Thor Ragnarok or Justice League! Who will win? (2022 Edit: Who regrets his choices in this debate to this day?)
Also, the boys talk Daphne and Velma and their favorite Christmas Specials.
Originally Aired - November 20, 2017 - "Prequels" is this week's theme. Do the boys do a good job talking about their films this week? No, not really. They just laugh a lot and then Tyler’s mic falls over. And yet this is somehow the best episode they’ve done so far...? Also in this episode, the boys talk about the new Super Mario Bros. movie, the possibility of Disney buying 20th Century Fox, and their favorite superhero movies.
Originally Aired - November 11, 2017 - In this episode, the boys get in touch with their wild sides (I hate myself) and watch the worst movies they can find with some connection to the animal kingdom. They also talk about their favorite Guilty Pleasure films, as well as touching on Stranger Things Season 2, Thor Ragnarok, and Kevin Spacey.
Originally Aired - October 23, 2017 - This Episode, the boys get into the Halloween spirit, and send each other the scariest movies they can think of! ...Not scary as in "scary" scary, more like scary bad.
Originally Aired - October 10, 2017 - It's the first episode and the boys are already struggling to figure out how their microphones work. Join them as they share with eachother the first movie they ever saw that made them realize movies can be bad.