Only took twenty-four podcasts, but Nick and Alastair are finally in the same room for this bonus year-in-review episode! They attempt to talk down 2016 as a year in film and television, starting with a general chat about movies lately (1:19) before moving on to each listing their top five films covered in 2016 and negotiating them into a unified MFV top 3 without coming to blows (12:48).
And if that wasn't enough, they do the same for TV - a little broad discussion (27:07), followed by chart listings (39:05).
Finally, needing a little mutual back-slapping after all that controversy, they each give their favourites of the other's 2016's recommendations (59:55). All that and the first ever live incident of the Moderate Fantasy Violence drinking game!
Twenty-three podcasts, just in time for the twenty-fifth of December! It's nearly Christmas, and to celebrate, Nick and Alastair have seen An Inspector Calls and the Supergirl/Flash/Arrow/Legends of Tomorrow crossover. Neither of which are particularly festive. Oh well.
But we have at least got a review of new mega-film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (5:42). Can this latest spin-off justify its own existence, or is it a Star War too far?
Next up, a rare MFV complete disagreement as both our heroes have seen Amazon's Philip K. Dick adaptation The Man In The High Castle (22:48), but only one of them likes it much. Which host is the Nazi sympathiser? You'll have to listen to find out. We're also taking a look at Nate Parker's new film The Birth Of A Nation (42:04), chronicling the 1831 slave rebellion of Nat Turner.
Then we reach a seasonal feature at last, as Nick finally watches Die Hard (53:10). Some say it's the best Christmas movie ever. Does he agree? Is it even a Christmas movie at all? Rest assured, this will be discussed.
Twenty-two episodes of our podcast and somehow 2016 is still going! This fortnight, both of us went on London outings, Nick to the SMASH comics-chat event run by the London Graphic Novel Network and Alastair to the BFI's Black Star season. (We also both recommend the Kraken podcast, if you like podcasts.)
Moving on, in an MFV first, we talk about a whole novel! Specifically: The Hanging Tree (5:41), the latest Rivers of London book by Ben Aaronovitch, bringing Peter Grant back for another magical mystery. We also watch the first three episodes of The Grand Tour (21:05), a new motoring/banter hybrid from Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May on Amazon Prime.
Next, because we love Doctor Who and related media, we revisit teen-focused spin-off Class (37:18) now the first series is over, to see how it ended up. And yes, to justify covering it a second time, we'll need to include some extreme spoilers. Also Nick complaining a lot about the Shadow Kin.
Finally, Alastair recommends Taxi Driver (54:59) directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro, a classic of modern cinema that Nick, unsurprisingly, has never seen.