Hey there, it’s time for a brand new episode of the occasional series The Flickcast. That’s right, we’re excited too.

On this week’s episode Chris and Joe discuss a bunch of stuff including Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Alien: Covenant, Wonder Woman, Blade Runner: 2049, American Gods and angry men on the internet. Plus, the usual even more. 

No beer selections again this week (it’s early in the AM0. But if you do drink, try to buy local. Picks this week include Chris’ pick of the movie Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and Joe’s pick of both the movie and the soundtrack. Yes, both.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship, or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook, Google+ or shoot us an email.

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Guardians of the Galaxy is the summer blockbuster I’ve been waiting for for longer than I can remember.

The usual adjectives of effusive praise are appropriate: funny, clever, touching, and, of course, fun. While Marvel Studios has certainly found the formula for successful films, they’ve been progressively more and more serious and, worse, self-important. Guardians has the good sense to mock itself and its concept, which is likely due in large part to its star, Parks & Recreation‘s Chris Pratt, and writer/director James Gunn (Slither), and perhaps almost as large a part being that it’s relatively free of the Marvel Universe around which every other film it’s made snugly revolves. I doubt we’d see even Tony Stark using a space-rat as a make-believe microphone, especially in the first two minutes.

So Gunn and Pratt bring a delightfully refreshing sense of self deprecation to their film, Pratt playing the somewhat well-known Peter Quill, a.k.a. Star-Lord, intergalactic swashbuckler. The promotional writeups describe him as a mix of Han Solo and Marty McFly, but I think Indiana Jones may be more appropriate, since they’re both adept at getting into and out of particularly sticky situations.

This time Star-Lord has snatched an orb of potentially unimaginable power, which puts him in the sights of nearly everyone across the galaxy, from assassin Gamora (Zoe Saldana) to planetary ravager Ronan (Lee Pace) to Yondu (Michael Rooker), Star-Lord’s kind-of adopted father, to genetically modified raccoon Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and his Ent-ian-ish pal Groot (Vin Diesel). After a three-way battle on the universal capital planet, the four are imprisoned and…blah, blah, blah. They team up, everyone tries to kill them, and so on.

In 1977, at the age of 8, I sat in a theater and experienced the awe and wonder that was Star Wars. At the time, no one had any idea what kind of cultural significance it would have or what it would mean for cinema in general and science-fiction films in particular. Though there have been many books, essays and college theses that have attempted to quantify and examine those impacts over the years, at age 8 I didn’t really care about such things.

If I’m being completely honest I should admit that I still don’t, I just remember sitting in the darkened theater being completely pulled into a new and completely realized new universe of awe and wonder and being completely captivated and immeasurably entertained by it. Thanks to James Gunn and Guardians of the Galaxy, that feeling has returned 37 years later.

It’s 2014 and Chris and Joe kick things off correct with a brand new episode of The Flickcast. Yes, even though the holiday hangovers are still in full effect, the boys found time to get together, find a barn (or something) and have a show.

Topics this week include holiday movies, upcoming TV shows for 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy, Man of Steel 2, Lex Luthor casting, beer, flying cars, jetpacks, erectile disfunction and a whole lot more.

Did we mention all the more! Well, there’s a lot of it, as usual. This is a long one.

This week’s picks include Chris’ pick of the novel Wired by Douglas E. Richards and Joe’s pick of the book The Naked Brewer, by Christina Perozzi and Hallie Beaune (aka The Beer Chicks).

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship, or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook, Google+ or via email.

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | TuneIn | Spotify | RSS

Rick tells Daryl and Merle about the deal on the table to trade Michonne to The Governor in return for peace. Rick had decided to do it, but Merle knows he doesn’t have the guts. Rick tells him they have until noon to make the trade.

Carol asks Merle is he is with them or not. He says that he is with his brother. Carol reminds him that his brother is with them. Merle comments on Carol’s new attitude, and how she isn’t afraid anymore. He calls her a late bloomer, and Carol suggests that maybe Merle is a late bloomer himself.

Merle tells Daryl that he is in, but he knows Rick will back out. Merle thinks that he needs to be kept around to be the bad guy, doing the dirty work that no one else could live with themselves for doing. He says that Daryl and Rick are no better than him if they are going to trade Michonne to save the rest.