Author: Rob

Modern Technology Watches – Episode 308 – Colossal (2016)

In this episode of Modern Technology Watches Rob shows Gila the 2016 monster movie Colossal, an independent dark comedy/drama about a troubled woman struggling through life, a giant creature from South Korea, and the mysterious link between them.

Will Gila appreciate a truly unique entry in the kaiju genre, or will movie night implode like a smashed helicopter?

Please note the film being discussed contains adult content including frank references to adult relationships, addiction, alcoholism, bullying, abuse, and other very dark subjects and we do not shy away from those subjects in our discussion.

Modern Technology Watches – Episode 307 – Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (2023)

Modern Technology Watches takes a trip to the local movie theater to check out Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, the long-awaited film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Judy Blume about which Rob knows nothing but which means a great deal to Gila.

Will the adaptation pass muster for Gila, will Rob be put off by the “girl stuff,” or will there be enlightenment all around?

Please note the film and novel being discussed contain frank references to puberty, religion, and all those things related to both which make cowards ban books. We are fully against such bans, and we do not shy away from any of those subjects in our discussion.

Modern Technology Watches – Episode 306 – A Chorus Line (1985)

Modern Technology Watches makes its long-awaited return as Gila takes Rob out dancing with 1985’s A Chorus Line, the film adaptation of the iconic Broadway musical about the lives, hopes, and dreams of an often-overlooked class of performers.

Will this film make the final cut, or will Rob send it packing its leotards?

Please note: the film being discussed in this episode contains adult material and some brief but frank references to drug use, child abuse, sexual objectification, and sexual assault, and those plot points form part of our discussion.

Modern Technology Watches – Episode 305 – Flight of the Navigator (1986)

On this episode of Modern Technology Watches Rob shows Gila the 1986 scifi adventure Flight of the Navigator in which a young boy finds himself stranded out of his time and away from the world he knows, with his only hope coming from a mysterious robot spaceship.

Will Gila enjoy the ride? It may not take a brain scan at NASA to find the answer.

Modern Technology Watches – Episode 304 – Bernie (2011)

Modern Technology Watches makes a triumphant return as Gila introduces Rob to Bernie, Richard Linklater’s 2011 black comedy dramatization of the events surrounding a murder in East Texas.

Will Rob tolerate the twisted Texan tale, or will it load him with microaggressions until he snaps?

Modern Technology Watches – Episode 303 – Citizen Ruth (1996)

Prompted by current events, Gila and Rob use the 1996 film Citizen Ruth as a starting point to talk about the current state of bodily autonomy and reproductive rights in the United States.

This is not a standard fun episode of Modern Technology Watches, but it’s the episode we needed to make this particular week. We appreciate your understanding.

Content warnings: US politics, reproductive health and decisions, religious fanaticism and oppression, addiction

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Modern Technology Watches – Episode 302 – Sneakers (1992)

Rob continues Gila’s Modern Technology Watches hacker-movie education with the 1992 film Sneakers, a techno-classic in which an all-star cast engages in text-mode and heist-mode battles over a magic box of HAX.

Will this be more fun for Gila than her previous forays into cyberpunk standards, or will it prove as incomprehensible as a pile of random Scrabble tiles?

Modern Technology Watches – Episode 301 – Keeping the Faith (2000)

Gila christens the third season of Modern Technology Watches by showing Rob Keeping the Faith, a quirky romantic comedy from 2000 about a rabbi, a priest, and the woman they love.

Will the joined forces of Ben Stiller, Edward Norton, and Jenna Elfman count Rob as a new believer? How well does the experience of watching Abrahamic clergy fight over Dharma hold up for Gila?

Modern Technology Watches – Episode 213 – Hackers (1995)

Hack the planet! For the second-season finale of Modern Technology Watches Rob finally shows Gila 1995’s Hackers, a film with a firmly argued-about place in the history of the real-life hacker community as well as a firewall-protected place in Rob’s hacker head.

Will the movie win Gila’s heart through cyberspace hijinks, or will she send it to the pool on the roof? Listen along as we cap off a fun second season, and look forward to the next!

Modern Technology Watches – Episode 212 – Cheaters (2000)

On this testy edition of Modern Technology Watches high school is a real-life game show as Gila shows Rob 2000’s Cheaters, a made-for-cable dramatization of the 1995 Steinmetz Academic Decathlon cheating scandal.

Will Rob accept the results and award medals accordingly, or will Gila get caught reading the answers to the podcast off her shoe? Listen along as they face moral quandaries, 1990s flashbacks, and TV-movie gloom.

Modern Technology Watches – Episode 211 – Metropolis (1927)

In the mood for a quiet night in, Rob introduces Gila to Fritz Lang’s 1927 silent scifi drama Metropolis for this episode of Modern Technology Watches.

How will Gila take to such a large dose of iconic German expressionism from between the World Wars? How much delicate explaining will Rob have to do? What’s with all that floppy hair? Listen along as we break some new ground of our own.

Modern Technology Watches – Episode 210 – Election (1999)

On this politically-charged episode of Modern Technology Watches Gila takes Rob on a trip down the dark side of high-school fake politics with the 1999 Alexander Payne dark-comedy Election.

Will this movie get Rob’s vote, or will he rebel against it and get expelled from the audience? Listen and tabulate!