Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023) audio commentary

 Sam has finally posted the audio commentary for the final film in the DCEU.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/jluniverse/episodes/2026-05-20T12_26_51-07_00 

Here is the full set of commentaries: https://comicandscreen.blogspot.com/p/dceu-audio-commentaries.html 

SUPERMAN (2025) Reaction

 Here are some thoughts that I sent in to Ray at The Flitecast podcast:

 

Overall, I enjoyed SUPERMAN and I'd say that it did lots of things really well, but I don't think it did anything superbly well. More on that in a moment, but I also want to start off by saying that I am truly happy about its success and the positive reception it's getting in society. It's good to garner more Superman fans, to keep the superhero movies going, and to give WB executives the confidence to let DC Studios continue without creative interruption. Plus, my wife and kids really liked it, which has been fun for me since I already have lots of Superman content that I enjoy, and now they are joining in. (And to be fair, my kids also like My Adventures with Superman (HBO Max).)

And I did enjoy this new SUPERMAN movie, too. I would probably give it a 7.5 out of 10 at this point. Solid, but not quite up to the heights of BvS, MAN OF STEEL, WONDER WOMAN, or THE DARK KNIGHT. 

Some positives were the general likeability of David Corenswet, the Lois and Clark dynamics and the brave choice to give them some relationship tensions, everything about Mister Terrific, the fact that the side characters were interesting but did not detract from Superman's central story, and some nice moments of heart.

The tone and pacing were also well drawn, so that did make it an enjoyable experience just as a typical movie viewer. I think these are some of the reasons that it is getting a generally positive reception.

But there are some things in my subjective view that were good but not great.

Wonder Woman 1984 audio commentary

 Sam and Rebecca talk through the whole movie -- Wonder Woman 1984, directed by Patty Jenkins.

https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/jluniverse/episodes/2024-03-02T07_01_32-08_00

JLU Scene-by-Scene: Zack Snyder's Justice League, Part 1 Episode 4

This episode of the Justice League Universe podcast focuses on Steppenwolf's arrival to Themyscira in Part 1 of Zack Snyder's Justice League.

• Themyscira
• The motherbox's timing
• Steppenwolf's design
• Battle in the temple
• Hippolyta and her warriors
• Horseback action
• Hippolyta and Menalippe discuss the ancient warning fire

 <Transcript below>

JLU Scene-by-Scene: Zack Snyder's Justice League Part 1 Episode 3

This episode of the Justice League Universe podcast focuses on Wonder Woman's London rescue at the Old Bailey in Part 1 of Zack Snyder's Justice League.

• Terrorists on Tower Bridge
• Diana and the Statute of Justice
• The Lasso of Truth
• Old Bailey Fight Scene
• Explosion and Children's Rescue
• "Anything you want to be"
  

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<Transcript below>

JLU Scene-by-Scene: Zack Snyder's Justice League Part 1 Episode 2

This episode of the Justice League Universe podcast focuses on Part 1 of Zack Snyder's Justice League, with Martha leaving the farm in Smallville, Bruce and Alfred reuniting on the airstrip, and Lois visiting Heroes Park with coffees in hand.

• Martha at the cemetery
• Some other Kent graves
  
• Bruce and Alfred between the helicopter and plane
• Lois and her daily visit to Heroes Park

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<Transcript below>

JLU Scene-by-Scene: Zack Snyder's Justice Leage Part 1 Episode 1

 This episode of the Justice League Universe podcast focuses on the end of the prologue and the first sequence in Part 1: Don't Count On It, Batman (Bruce's trip to Iceland, meeting Arthur Curry).

• Superman's impact continues to spread
• Bruce in the mountains
• Icelandic village and symbols
• Bruce and the mayor
• Bruce and Arthur
• "Strongest alone"
• Poem by Rósa Guðmundsdóttir

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<Transcript below>

JLU Scene-by-Scene: Man of Steel Scene 15

This episode of the Justice League Universe podcast focuses on Scene 15 ("maybe") of Man of Steel, directed by Zack Snyder.

• The Kent's Midwest Farm
• Choice and Acts of God
• Wanting to help but learning about complexities
• Connections to Superman issue #1
• "Maybe" and its controversies
• Zack Snyder and the power of unconditional love

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Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/JLUPodcast

 

<Transcript below>

JLU Scene-by-Scene: Zack Snyder's Justice League Prologue Ep 1

This episode of the Justice League Universe podcast focuses on the opening sequence (death of Superman) in the prologue of Zack Snyder's Justice League.

• Company Logos
• Lightning and connections to BvS
• Character's emotional reactions
• Super vocals
• The start of Victor Stone's character arc
• Lex's communion and continuity questions
• The death scream in Atlantis with Mera
• The death scream in Themyscira with Philippus
• Tom Holkenborg's music

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Support the show at https://www.patreon.com/JLUpodcast

GoFundMe #RestoreTheSnyderVerse https://www.gofundme.com/f/restorethesnyderverse-mobile-billboard-afsp

https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Sound_Manipulation

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/amp/features/ray-fisher-opens-up-about-justice-league-joss-whedon-and-warners-i-dont-believe-some-of-these-people-are-fit-for-leadership

<Transcript below>

Themes and Character Arcs in Zack Snyder's Justice League

In this episode of the Justice League Universe podcast we discuss our initial interpretations of the themes and character arcs in Zack Snyder's Justice League on HBO Max.

• Themes - stronger together, free will, second chances, and more (0:01:32)
• Introduction to character analysis (0:28:30)
• Bruce Wayne / Batman (0:29:13)
• Diana Prince / Wonder Woman (0:33:00)
• Victor Stone / Cyborg (0:38:16)
• Steppenwolf and Darkseid (0:46:29)
• Arthur Curry / Aquaman (0:50:38)
• Barry Allen / The Flash (0:54:52)
• Clark Kent / Superman (0:58:21)
• Lois Lane and Martha Kent (1:08:02)
• Comments on the Dawn of Justice Trilogy (1:11:30)
• Ending Remarks (1:18:40)

Written by Sam Otten, Alessandro Maniscalco, and Rebecca Johnson

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https://play.hbomax.com/

Ray Fisher second chances - https://twitter.com/ray8fisher/status/1373741233571500034?s=20

Interview with Zack Snyder - https://geekvibesnation.com/interview-zack-deborah-snyder-talk-about-zack-snyders-justice-league-finally-coming-together/

MarVeVi on Black representation - https://twitter.com/marvevi_/status/1372941329555197953?s=20

Joe Morton - https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/why-justice-league-star-joe-morton-thinks-fans-should-have-more-of-a-say 

JLU Podcast on the Superman/Snyder parallels - https://twitter.com/JLUPodcast/status/1372988361816739840?s=20 

<Transcript Below>

JLU Scene-by-Scene: Man of Steel Scenes 13-14

 In this episode of the Justice League Universe podcast we focus on Scenes 13 and 14 (Clark coming out of the water and the school bus flashback) of Man of Steel, directed by Zack Snyder.

• "Seasons" by Chris Cornell
• Clark stealing the clothes
• Flashback to the school bus
• Lana and Pete
• Young Clark saving the bus and the bully
• Listener Angelo Mugisa - Christian Connections

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Bonus content at https://www.patreon.com/JLUpodcast 

Sam's children's book MISSING LETTERS: https://www.MissingLettersBook.com 

<Transcript below>

JLU Scene-by-Scene: Man of Steel Scene 12

 This episode of the Justice League Universe podcast focuses on Scene 12 (flashback to school) of Man of Steel, directed by Zack Snyder.

• Clark adrift
• Clark's powers begin to manifest
• "Swim toward it" [the island]
•  What's wrong with Clark?

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Bonus content at https://www.patreon.com/JLUpodcast

Sam's children's book http://www.MissingLettersBook.com

<Transcript below>

DC and Marvel Comic Book Movies: Personal Ratings

Inspired by the Flitecast's full rundown of his opinions on the Marvel Cinematic Universe (in short, he is a fan of nearly all the MCU movies, but he gets frustrated by the segments of Marvel fandom that are "sore winners," and I agree with him), and given that I finally watched Avengers: Endgame a couple months ago, I thought it was a good time to revisit my personal ratings of the Marvel and DC comic book films.

The last time I did this personal ratings rundown, I was attempting to show that, although I prefer DC, I still like most of the MCU films. I use a 10-point rating scale, and for me a 6+ means that I liked the film, and back in 2016 my MCU average was 6.6. So yes, I did at the time like the MCU in general. For DC, my average was 8.1 so my tastes clearly align with that brand more.

Here is my updated graph of personal ratings, from 2008 when the MCU started until 2021 with Wonder Woman 1984. I focus on the DCEU films but in order to even up the numbers a little bit I also included the DC Films from 2008-2012 which were The Dark Knight, Jonah Hex, Green Lantern, and The Dark Knight Rises. Note that I am not adding these films to pad my DC numbers; in fact, my average rating for those 4 films is 7.6, so it is actually pulling down my DC average.

My personal ratings on a 10-point scale of Marvel and DC movies from 2008-2021.

JLU Scene-by-Scene: Man of Steel Scene 11

 This episode of the Justice League Universe podcast focuses on Scene 11 (oil rig rescue at seat) of Man of Steel, directed by Zack Snyder.

• Deepwater Horizon
• The Human Perspective of a Superhero
• Clark's Screams
• Helicopters/Helipads
• Forging a Hero

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Bonus content at https://www.patreon.com/JLUpodcast

Sam's new children's book http://www.MissingLettersBook.com

<Transcript below>

JLU Scene-by-Scene: Man of Steel Scene 10

This episode of the JLU Podcast focuses on Scene 10 (Greenhorn on the Debbie Sue) of Man of Steel, directed by Zack Snyder.

• Snyder's commentary on the Krypton prologue
• Escape pod into the Debbie Sue ship at sea
• Greenhorn
• Clark roaming like Superman: Earth One
• Can you push Superman down?
• Clark's natural instinct to help

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https://www.patreon.com/JLUPodcast

<Transcript below>

Snyder Cut Round Tables - Episode 9 - RTSnyderCut

Back in June, right after the glorious announcement that Zack Snyder's Justice League would be coming to HBO Max, Sam and Alessandro co-hosted a roundtable for the @RTSnyderCut YouTube channel. They were joined by Omesh and Hamad to discuss the aspects of Batman v Superman that they think will be continued into the director's version of Justice League.

Sam: https://jluniverse.podomatic.com https://twitter.com/ottensam
Alessandro: https://twitter.com/raveryn
Omesh: https://twitter.com/PrimeEarthMook
Hamad: https://vero.co/hamadalmansouri

Discussion of DC FanDome Trailer for JUSTICE LEAGUE: The Snyder Cut

In this episode of the Justice League Universe podcast, Sam and Alessandro discuss the amazing trailer that Zack Snyder premiered at DC FanDome.

They share their general reactions, the new connections to Batman v Superman, the upgrade in villains, the emotional elements of the film, and various other tidbits (including parallels to the Leonard Cohen lyrics).

See also Rebecca Johnson's analysis of the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHOB8eUMwN4

Discussion of additional DC Films at https://www.patreon.com/JLUpodcast

Follow @JLUPodcast on Twitter

JLU Scene-by-Scene: Man of Steel Scene 9

This episode of the Justice League Universe podcast focuses on Scene 9 (Lara's goodbye) of Man of Steel, directed by Zack Snyder.

• Symbol of hope
• Krypton's destruction and columns of fire
• Lara's poise and call for a better world
• Music and destruction juxtaposition
• Armor

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Support the show and get bonus content at www.patreon.com/JLUPodcast

<Transcript below>

JLU Scene-by-Scene: Man of Steel Scene 8

This episode of the Justice League Universe podcast focuses on Scene 8 (the trial of General Zod) of Man of Steel, directed by Zack Snyder.

• Light and sunset
• Homage to Superman: The Movie and Superman II
• Zod's outburst and personal vendetta against the Els
• Black Zero and the Phantom Zone

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Support the show and get bonus content at https://www.patreon.com/JLUPodcast. 

<Transcript below>

Birds of Prey Commentary

Sam and Rebecca provide audio commentary Birds of Prey, directed by Cathy Yan.


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https://www.patreon.com/JLUPodcast