Low Key

"Avengers: Endgame" sets a new standard for franchise films and universe-building. But is that a good thing?On the latest "Low Key," we talk about why the massive success of "Endgame" -- not just in terms of box office, but also in terms of fan service -- is likely to inspire lots of imitators. We talk about what lesson other universes -- "Star Wars" and DC come to mind -- can learn from the MCU.But we also wonder if big, IP-driven films will drive out smaller, more personal films -- we hope not.And we nerd out on a few big questions, like whether Thor is to blame for a very sad thing that happened in "Avengers: Endgame." Many, many spoilers are contained within, but you don't care since you've already seen "Endgame" two or three times. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What happens in "Avengers: Endgame"? We have no idea. But in this episode, we talk about our hopes, predictions and fears for the culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe stories we've followed for more than a decade.To be 100 percent clear: We have not, as of this writing, seen "Endgame," or heard any spoilers. We've carefully avoided leaked scenes, and covered our ears whenever friends tried to drop hints.So this episode of "Low Key" is based only on our opinions -- and our fandom of the 21 films in the MCU so far. We don't claim to know everything -- anyone else have trouble keeping track of all the Infinity Stones? -- but we do love the movies and the comics that inspired them. We also talk this episode about what DC could learn from Marvel's films.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino) lures us to the beautiful, fictional "Guava Island" for his new Amazon film of the same name, and we're delighted to be there.On this week's episode of the Low Key Podcast, we talk about the politics of Guava Island -- the place and the film -- as well as our thoughts about Glover's work overall, especially FX's "Atlanta." We also talk about how we wish Glover's "Guava Island" co-star, Rihanna, had a little more to do, and why Red (Nonso Anozie) is such a good villain."Guava Island" is the story of a singer who dreams of putting on a festival to bring joy to the people he loves. It reminds us a little of Bob Marley's 1976 "Smile Jamaica" concert -- which almost got Bob Marley killed. Two days before the performance, would-be killers shot Bob Marley in the chest and his wife Rita Marley in the head. They also shot his manager, Don Taylor, and band employee Louis Griffiths. Miraculously, everyone survived, and Marley put on a legendary concert that began with the song "War."

This episode of "Low Key" is about the dark side of comedy. We all know laughter eases pain, but we don't talk so much about the acute pain of failing to make people laugh.The first episode of Jordan Peele's revived "The Twilight Zone," starring Kumail Nanjiani as a standup comic who will do anything to succeed, perfectly captures the agony of speaking into a mic to a crowd of people who refuse to laugh.And the new teaser for Todd Phillips' "The Joker" drives home how depressing it is to try to be funny. It stars Joaquin Phoenix as a clown by day and comedian by night who isn't doing well in either job.We also talk about whether "The Twilight Zone" lost something when CBS All Access doubled its half-hour, 1950s running time to an hour for Peele's revival. And whether the Joker loses some of his menacing mystery when we learn his his life story.Also: Aaron wonders why white people keep approaching dangerous animals at the zoo. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

"Get Out" was a horror classic, so Jordan Peele's "Us," his follow-up, had big, scary shoes to fill. In the latest "Low Key" podcast, we talk about whether the latest addition to the Peeleverse lives up to our very high expectations. "Us" is a movie made for people who fixate on small details, like why Adelaide Wilson (Lupita Nyong'o) is offbeat when she snaps her fingers, and why her son Jason's lighter doesn't seem to have any fuel in it. It's a smorgasbord of low-key delights. But the subtleties add up powerfully: The more you think about "Us," the better it is. "Us" works as a family slasher movie (and is probably the only film of the family slasher genre?), but also offers deeper meaning for anyone who cares to look. Peele also uses creepy, subtle symbols like rabbits, scissors and a Michael Jackson T-shirt to make a statement about social hierarchy. It isn't hard to tunnel down a rabbit hole as you try to make sense of the world that "Us" inhabits... and wonder if it's our world, too.If you like th

Efforts by a few fragile fanboys to sabotage "Captain Marvel" completely failed -- but they did succeed in sparking a few fights that aren't worth having. Before "Captain Marvel" even opened, trolls targeted it on Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb and YouTube, spurring all three to make changes designed to screen out attacks from people who hadn't actually seen the film."Captain Marvel" beat the trolls handily, opening to $153 million domestically and $455 million worldwide. It is certain to be one of the fastest films to gross $1 billion at the box office.Why were some men so threatened by a superhero movie?Trolls cause lots of problems. But one of the less-obvious ones is the way they drive people to take extreme positions that divide us all. In the case of "Captain Marvel," they treated a female-fronted superhero movie as an existential threat to men. That led other fans to celebrate "Captain Marvel" more vigorously than they otherwise might have. And that, in turn, made the film a more attractive

Had a rough week? The cheerfully silly, R-rated weirdness of "Doom Patrol" might be just what you need. The DC Universe show is a little bit "X-Men," a little bit 1950s monster movie, and a lot of lesson-free fun. "Doom Patrol" follows Brendan Fraser as a lumbering robot man named, uh, "Robot Man," who joins a grimly goofy team of super zeroes who live together in Doom Manor under the guardianship of their "Chief," played by Timothy Dalton. The cast includes Diane Guerrero as Crazy Jane, April Bowlby as Elasti-Girl, Matt Bomer as Negative Man, Joivan Wade as Cyborg, and Alan Tudyk as their arch-nemesis, Mr. Nobody."Doom Patrol" has drawn many "X-Men" comparisons because Chief, like Professor X, uses a wheelchair, lives in a secluded mountain and leads a team of outcasts. But the first "Doom Patrol" comic actually beat the first issue of "X-Men" by three months, back in 1963.So turn off your brain and enjoy "Doom Patrol." You'll just laugh, wince, and watch a puff of green smoke emerge from a donkey'

Stephen Soderbergh's "High Flying Bird" imagines black pro athletes bypassing mostly white team owners to finally reap the profits of their own athleticism. Is it just a dream, or could Colin Kaepernick's fight with the NFL be the start of something like the nascent revolt in the film? The film imagines what would happen if the mostly black athletes in the NBA discovered a way to profit from their own hard work without white team owners taking a massive cut of the profits. Super agent Andre Holland plays Ray Burke, who uses social media to circumvent the league and TV networks, and gives his rookie client Erick (Melvin Gregg) a potential map toward a future in which athletes, not owners, control their destinies.Our talk soon turns to Colin Kaepernick's fight with another league, the NFL, and whether it... made any sense. Finally, we discuss "The Revolt of the Black Athlete," the book Zazie Beetz's character starts reading at the end of "High Flying Bird." We also talk about Muhammad Ali, O.J. Simpso

Liam Neeson admits that for a time, he walked the streets looking for an excuse to kill a random black man because of his anger over a friend's rape. On this episode, we talk about the deep history of insidious and deadly lies that fed his mindset, and what we can all learn from his admission.We go from Neeson to Trayvon Martin to Jussie Smollet to why growing up on an island that's 96 percent white might make you susceptible to some backward views on race. And we also talk about some of the ways the media coverage of Neeson's admission could have been better.Just when we're about to sign off, we instead go into a deep dive about the long, long history of white people using accusations of aggression by one black man to justify horrific behavior against large numbers of African-Americans. If this subject interests you, we'd recommend reading up on Rosewood, Florida and the Scotsboro case, to start. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We love "Black Panther," but we're kind of stunned it has an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.We want to believe Ryan Coogler's film was nominated just by being great, but as Keith puts it: "Don't give us handouts, Oscars."Are Oscar voters making up for past snubs of superhero films, like "Dark Knight"? Or past snubs of African-American films? Could it be that Oscar voters simply love "Black Panther" as much as we do?With nearly a year of hindsight, we also talk the true meaning of "Black Panther." The key figure may not be Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), but rather his antagonist, Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan). Does Killmonger symbolize radical revolutionaries, as it might appear at first glance? Or is "Black Panther" really a film about survivor's remorse?If you like this, please share it with someone else who loves Black Panther. And review us on iTunes to tell us what you think about the Oscar nomination. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Barry Jenkins' "If Beale Street Could Talk," based on the book by James Baldwin, uses an almost deliriously beautiful love story to show how the criminal justice system unjustly targets black men. This week, Aaron Lanton and Keith Dennie talk about how much the film hit home (and not just because they both grew up in Memphis, the home of Beale Street.) One scene in particular -- when our hero, Fonny (Stephan James), realizes how easily he could be framed for a crime he didn't commit -- reminded Keith of a horror movie. He says a speech from Bryan Tyree Henry's character, who has just returned from prison, recalled moments in a horror story when someone tells a ghost story that foreshadows something terrible will happen to the lead character. Aaron adds: "You realize... I keep having this conversation, too."You should probably see the movie before listening to this episode. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Was "Black Mirror: Bandersnatch" more like a fun "Goosebumps" book? Or a way for a massive corporation to gain insights into your private viewing habits?This episode, we wonder if "Bandersnatch" will open the door to a future in which entertainment companies will be able to tell not just whether we prefer Frosties or Sugar Puffs, but also our attention spans and tolerance for violence. Just imagine how "choose your own adventure" technology will evolve in an age of sex robots and "Blade Runner 2049"-style hologram boyfriends and girlfriends. Everyone's weirdest secrets will be carefully tracked.Also, here's a great story about how anyone can track your movements for $300: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/nepxbz/i-gave-a-bounty-hunter-300-dollars-located-phone-microbilt-zumigo-tmobile See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

"Into the Spider-Verse" is a masterpiece, but it's especially special for black and Latino audiences who've been underrepresented in super hero movies. This episode, we talk about why certain lines and moments in the film may resonate more with Spider-fans of color. As Ava DuVernay tweeted over the weekend, "You’re the best of us, Miles. You’re on your way. Just keep going.”If you like us, throw us some stars on iTunes, okay? And happy holidays. We love you. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The critically acclaimed Netflix hit "The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" has been a hit in more ways than one - the streaming giant recently settled in a lawsuit brought by the The Satanic Temple for $150 million for an alleged depiction of the Baphomet statue. We were shocked that the lawsuit held so much merit which caused us to think about the use of Satanic imagery allusions in other American pop culture and its depiction of women as the great threat to male purity.It sounds haughty but it's a hilarious conversation. Come join us! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We were pretty skeptical of DC's "Titans" at first. That promo where Robin says "f--- Batman" didn't exactly win us over. But now that the show is live on DCUniverse.com, we think it's actually worth watching, even for a few bucks a month."Titans" had a lot to overcome in our minds: a lot of superhero shows feel cheap, and we're kind of tired of the de facto gritty feel of so many comic book projects. But this one somehow works, and on this episode of "Low Key," we talk about why.Happy Thanksgiving! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week on "Low Key," Aaron, Keith and Tim discuss "The Conners," the Roseanne-free version of "Roseanne." We talk about how bad Roseanne Barr's "Planet of the Apes" tweet was and whether it should have gotten her kicked off her show. And how realistically "The Conners" handle problems like the opioid crisis. And who is the better "The Conners" character: DJ, or the couch.Also: Why there can never, ever be a "Sonic the Hedgehog" movie without the great Jaleel White.If you like it, put five stars on it. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The day before Megan Kelly's defense of blackface at Halloween, we this episode about some rules for white people at Halloween. Little did we suspect he would have to again remind people: NO BLACKFACE.On this episode of "Low Key," we discuss the racial rules of Halloween, and why a black child playing Spider-Man for Halloween doesn't include as many potential pitfalls as a white kid playing Black Panther.Rule No. 1: No blackface. Rule No. 2: Don't do voices.For the other rules, listen to the episode.We also talk about which superheroes' whiteness or blackness is essential to who they are. Is Batman's super power white privilege? Maybe. But there's no arguing that T'Challa's African heritage is essential to his strength. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

New CBS sitcom "The Neighborhood" about a white family moving into a black neighborhood - a bold choice that has mixed results. Critics and audiences have panned the show after just two episodes have aired, but is it worth giving a shot for the long haul?Keith, Tim, and Aaron give a review of the first two episodes (what worked, what didn't, where it is likely to go), and learn a lot about each other's cultural differences (did you guys know white people don't use wash cloths in the shower?!?!) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How did the Xbox get the black vote?Why does YouTube's ("unbias") algorithm recommend recommendations for alt-right conspiracies if you look up negative criticism of "Star Wars: The Last Jedi?"Does the increase in divorce rate mean we are becoming less moral?Keith, Tim, and Aaron cover this and much more in the most fun episode yet.Oh, and that Supreme Court stuff is mentioned for about 20 seconds. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Louis C.K. is attempting a comeback on his own timeline after admitted masturbatory misdeeds.Asia Argento is denying sexual assault allegations from a male (at the time) minor.Like many high profile accused folk, neither of them is likely to face criminal charges. Tim, Keith and Aaron are crazy enough to wonder aloud:Why sexual crimes have so few consequences even when they are proven to have happened?Would people treat the Asia Argento situation more seriously if the genders were reversed?Who should serve as head of our made-up Comedy HR? (*spoiler* we nominated Sarah Silverman and Anthony Jeselnik)It's the craziest episode yet and we're happy to bring it you! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.