Reserved Recommendations

15/03/2024

In the wake of JK Rowling's general personal awfulness, it's become fashionable to say that no part of the Harry Potter franchise ecosystem was ever good. But does any piece of genuinely unmitigated garbage get as big as Harry Potter did, and stay that big for as long? I read the books as they came out, and my assessment at the time was that the worst of them was "fine".

This episode I talk to Catherine McNamara, a much deeper Potterhead than I ever was, to talk about the books, the fandom, the movies, and the challenges of reckoning with art made by a person who just keeps on getting worse and worse in real time.

Listen direct here: https://bit.ly/reserved_recommendations-catherine_harry_potter, via Manawatu People's Radio at www.mpr.nz/show/reserved, or find the show wherever you get your podcasts.

Check out these links for Catherine's recommendations:
https://mugglecast.com/
https://alohomorapodcast.com/
https://www.potterlesspodcast.com/
https://outontheshelves.insideout.org.nz/book-lists/
https://growmyowngarb.wordpress.com/

08/03/2024

In the grim darkness of the future, there is only war....

I have had a passing familiarity with Warhammer 40,000 (generally known as 40K) since I used to share gaming spaces with its fans as a teenage World of Darkness fan. On tonight's episode, however, we go deep! I talk to Mira (.bsky.social) about the deep and convoluted lore of the 40K setting, as well as the challenges of a hobby (or as Mira calls it, 5 hobbies in a trenchcoat) that appeals quite so much to literal unironic N***s.

Listen direct here: https://bit.ly/reserved_recommendations-mira_wh40k, find the backlog of podcasts via Manawatu People's Radio at www.mpr.nz/show/reserved, or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Find Mira's games at: https://omnicide101.itch.io/

16/02/2024

On tonight's episode I talk to John Cecil (Zombie Beach) about The Misfits!

We chat about the music, their outsize influence on pretty much every subsequent band that likes dark imagery, and the ongoing artistic career of frontman Glen Danzig (amongst other things!)

Minor CW on this one for passing discussion of lyrics about sexual violence.

Listen direct here: https://bit.ly/res_rec-the_misfits, find the backlog of shows via Manawatu People's Radio, or subscribe on your favourite podcast app.

09/02/2024

We're back for Season 4? 5? How long have I been doing this? W̴̥̣̓ẖ̷̖̍ḁ̸̢̚t̷̼̟̍ ̴̙̎í̶̫̊ṡ̷̛͉͎ ̵̢͐̈t̵̠̘̎i̵̝͒m̴̫̬̑e̸͇̙͗?̴̯̆̅ H̴̛̫̮͕̺͔͛̒̽o̴̲̺̺̰̭͕̊̔̐̀ͅw̸̥͎̥̜̞͒͝ ̷̥́͂̂͌̄̈́̕d̴̨̺̰̫̠̫̤̏̒͆͜͠͝o̷̥̝̙̫̞͋͌̾̅̇̀̕ ̶̡̨̛̬͍̪̬̝̑̐̏̚̚b̸̺͎͖̯͗͠ͅï̷̟͉̲͚̋̚̕͝r̴̪͓̮̳͗̈́͐̋͆ḑ̶̧̧͙̘̭̬̈́̅s̶͔̫͍͛͂̀̏̑̕͝?̴̬̙̲͇̼̝́̐

This episode I talk to my brother Angus about the controversial (at the time) 2012 game Spec Ops: The Line, which used a franchise reboot of an existing tactical shooter series to attempt a series of powerful critiques of the modern military shooter genre, player culpability in videogame violence, and war in general. Did it succeed? That's complicated...

CW on this one for discussions of graphic videogame violence, and total spoilers. While spoilers aren't usually a thing I care about (especially for older media), there are a couple of twists in this game that are pretty effective, and if you want to form your own opinion of it you should really play it before listening to this episode - you have been warned.

Listen direct here: https://bit.ly/res_rec-spec_ops, find the backlog of episodes at www.mpr.nz/show/reserved or on Youtube, or subscribe to the show wherever fine pods are cast.

01/02/2024

Tonight on what (I hope) will be the last of the holiday repeat season, I'll play what was probably one of my favourite episodes of the year - certainly one of the biggest milestones. The original inspiration for the podcast was a video by Shannon Strucci about a webcomic series called "Feast For A King" (CW for basically everything if you go and check that one out by the way) and on this show I chat with Shannon in her capacity as one of the internet's foremost Lupinologists about the weird dark and deranged "Mystery of Mamo".
https://youtu.be/FwcCYVnkUhA?si=81UjnUL4Qs2UYIxM

26/01/2024

Tonight we continue on the comfort movie repeat season, and the sad truth is that sometimes your comfort movies simply do not actually measure up. Listen to me and my brother attempt to unpack what was going on with 1993's "The Punk", a riff on "Romeo and Juliet" which was briefly ubiquitous before sinking without a trace (for reasons we speculate on at length).

https://youtu.be/9g56bUesyC4?si=inEl9fB4mJq8i-r-

19/01/2024

Tonight's comfort movie recommendation is an odd one - Dark Star is not strictly a *good* movie, but it is a really interesting one (especially if you know the context of it being in some ways a practice run at Alien).

Also my guest Ross watched it with his dad as a kid, and watched it with his kid for the show - so that's pretty heartwarming.

Reserved Recommendations is a podcast series about problematic faves, great trash, and difficult relationships with art and culture. This is the fifty third ...

12/01/2024

This week my comfort movie recommendation is a bit broader, I talk to Derrick Sims about the entire oeuvre of Jacques Tati.

Reserved Recommendations is a podcast series about problematic faves, great trash, and difficult relationships with art and culture. This is the thirty eight...

05/01/2024

Continuing with comfort movie episodes, allow me John and Ross to try and convince you of the many merits of Dune (1984).

Reserved Recommendations is a podcast series about problematic faves, great trash, and difficult relationships with art and culture. This is the thirty seven...

29/12/2023

Continuing our series of shows about nice movies to watch during the holidays, tonight we feature Jay Dragon talking about Jupiter Ascending.

Reserved Recommendations is a podcast series about problematic faves, great trash, and difficult relationships with art and culture. This is the thirty secon...

22/12/2023

Everything is shut for Christmas and the world is full of Circumstances, so I'm going to be running some episodes over the break that double as cosy-adjacent viewing recommendations (of a sort). Tonight we'll start with Dylan Horrocks on old movies...

Reserved Recommendations is a podcast series about problematic faves, great trash, and difficult relationships with art and culture. This is the nineteenth e...

08/12/2023

Way back when I talked to Stuart Drake (The Fatalities) about Sonic the Hedgehog, he said to get in touch if I ever wanted to talk Blink 182, and sure enough there is a new Blink 182 album out - so now seemed like the time. We chat about the band, their history as a (kind of fractious) group, their role in popularising pop punk as a genre, and the surprising level of vulnerability they bring to their songwriting.

Listen direct at https://bit.ly/resrec_stuart_blink-182, find the backlog at www.mpr.nz/show/reserved, or subscribe in your favourite podcast app!

Find The Fatalities on Bandcamp at https://thefatalities.bandcamp.com/

03/11/2023

Artificial intelligence (the global tech fad, not the 2001 movie - maybe another time...) is currently a major source of Discourse in a whole lot of spaces. People have cited it as the thing that will save/doom us all, a pointless waste of time, and a means of committing fraud and plagiarism with much greater speed and efficiency than ever before.

Which of these assessments are true? Kind of all and none of them. Matthew Jenkin (who actually knows things about computers) joins the pod this week to discuss the whole field.

Listen direct here: https://bit.ly/rr_artificial_intelligence, find the backlog of episodes at www.mpr.nz/show/reserved, or find the show wherever you get your podcasts.

15/09/2023

Most kiwis who know Lupin III probably encountered him through the Miyazaki Hayao-directed "Castle of Cagliostro". It's good! But it presents a gentler and more wistful version of the master thief than most entries in his extensive filmography (to say nothing of the madcap depravity and lechery of the original manga).

"The Mystery of Mamo" is the previous Lupin film and it is, in short, a much wilder ride. This Lupin is an awful feral goblin man, pitted against a seemingly omnipotent mastermind. The animation is looser and more grotesque, the world is meaner and darker, and there's a surprise Hi**er cameo(!)

Shannon Strucci - internet commentator, podcaster, amateur Lupinologist (and the spiritual inspiration for this podcast) joins me to discuss the weird highs and grimy depths of "Mamo" and the weird wider world of Lupin III.

Listen direct at https://bit.ly/resrec-mystery_of_mamo, find the backlog via Manawatu People's Radio at www.mpr.nz/show/reserved, or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

30/06/2023

Over the last couple of episodes I've ended up circling back to "it was the 90's" as an explanation for weird or offensive elements in TTRPGs.

I felt like this was a thread worth pulling on, so I called on Jay Brandstetter and Winslow Dumaine of the podcast "I'm From The Internet" (https://shows.acast.com/im-from-the-internet-a-podcast-about-somethingawfulcom) to help me unpack the edgy internet (and general nerd-culture) style of the 90's and 00's, and explore its ongoing impact on our culture.

Listen direct at https://bit.ly/ifti_90s_edge, find the backlog of podcasts at wwww.mpr.nz/show/reserved, or subscribe on your favourite podcast app.

23/06/2023

For reasons which will (hopefully!) become clear next week, tonight's broadcast episode is a repeat of my conversation with my brother Angus about the World of Darkness.

Listen to the Youtube-ified version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsrLtQH1hyo and enjoy this ancient picture of me on my way to becoming Vampire Prince of Dunedin circa 2009 or so....

16/06/2023

The last of my KiwiRPG Kēmu Whakatau O Aotearoa Week miniseries (www.kiwirpg.com for more on that!) this time I talk to Sean Murphy (www.smurphy-games.itch.io) about "Violence", a satirical 1999 roleplaying game by Greg Costikyan (www.costik.com) under the pseudonym "Designer X".

Violence is part of a wave of critiques of the state of the roleplaying scene that emerged through the mid-late 90s, and in particular attempted to skewer mainstream gaming's relationships with both wanton violence and consumerism. How successful is the satire? We'll get into that...

CW on this one for discussions of violence and general 90s edginess.

Listen direct at https://bit.ly/smurphy_violence, find the backlog via Manawatu People's Radio at www.mpr.nz/show/reserved, or subscribe to Reserved Recommendations on the podcast platform of your choice to stay up to date.

15/06/2023

This album has a couple of my favourite tunes by the Dead!

You can hear the ep I did talking about the band here: https://youtu.be/yhwrRj1etv8 if you want...

Today is the 53rd anniversary of the Dead's fourth studio album, 'Workingman's Dead.' Released on June 14, 1970, this album marked a departure from psychedelic experimentation, showcasing more of the Americana-inspired songcraft of Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter.

09/06/2023

Kia ora Aotearoa! KiwiRPG week officially kicks off today, and with it a bunch of cool stuff bought to you by Kiwi Creators! READ THIS POST THERES TOO MUCH KIWI GOODNESS BELOW!

Craving some BRAND NEW CONTENT? Lost Koz Pod - a brand new D&D podcast from Spells & Dragons drops today! Be the first fan to this soon-to-be epic at https://shows.acast.com/lost-koz-a-dd-podcast-from-aotearoanz

Are you messing for something a little more FAMILAIR? D&D actual play series Kiwis & Dragons is releasing an episode a day all week! Find the series at youtube.com/

Interested in playing some NZ-developed RPG games? Get TWENTY titles for just $US25 at itch.io! https://itch.io/b/1884/kiwirpg-week-bundle-2023

Or perhaps you are seeking something daring! The legendary D&D Fundraising show "Yes And" Charity Stream is hosting their story prequel to August's 24 hour show tonight at 7pm at twitch.tv/yesandcharity !

Need something sooner? Like say this very morning? D12go has got you! Watch out for ZOMBIES in this livestreamed game of Brad Zimmerman’s simple ready-to-roll game d12GO! Hosted by Samsara Dusty on twitch! Watch live at 10 at twitch.tv/SamsaraDusty!

From us, to you! All of this, and SO! MUCH! MORE! Don't miss it New Zealand, KiwiRPG week explodes out the gate with a BANG! Come to https://www.kiwirpg.com/info/ to stay updated on our calendar and our daily releases!

09/06/2023

In the next part of my mini-series with NZ RPG people for KiwiRPG Kēmu Whakatau O Aotearoa week (www.kiwirpg.com for more on that) I talk to Tim Denee of Old Dog Games (www.olddog.games) about the game we used to play together in high school: .

Deadlands is a "weird west" (think "cowboys + mad science + magic") roleplaying game, and is a fascinating snapshot of the good, the bad, and the outright deranged in 90s RPG design,

Listen direct here: https://bit.ly/tim-odg-deadlands, find the backlog of episodes at www.mpr.nz/show/reserved, or subscribe to Reserved Recommendations on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your podcast app of choice.

07/06/2023

02/06/2023

Kiwi RPG week starts on the 10th of June, and so I'm talking to some Kiwi RPG people in the leadup to that event! This week it's Mike Sands (Monster of the Week) talking about unique and unusual TTRPGs.

We cover a lot of ground but specifically talk about Wanderhome, Sunderwald, Yazeba's B&B, and Maskwitches of Forgotten Doggerland.

Listen direct here: bit.ly/3oGYYhQ, find the backlog of episodes via Manawatu People's Radio at www.mpr.nz/show/reserved or subscribe to "Reserved Recommendations" on your podcasting platform of choice.

Monster of the Week is here: https://evilhat.com/product/monster-of-the-week/
Kiwi RPG is here: https://www.kiwirpg.com/

14/05/2023

Hey! I tried to listen to this episode and realised I'd uploaded it in stereo by accident thus doubling the mp3 compression and making it sound like g a r b a g e.

If you, like me, were put off by this, I've now reuploaded it in mono so it should sound good if you try again.

Cloud Atlas is probably the most divisive of the Wachowskis' movies. Both contemporary critics and current audiences tend to either love or hate it. Whichever camp you call into, it is undeniably an incredibly ambitious movie - one which swings big and is unafraid to miss.

Derrick Sims joins me to discuss his love for this long, complex, and painfully sincere film and to dig into some of the reasons audiences might have had a hard time connecting with it.

Listen direct here: https://bit.ly/41pfa4J, find the backlog at www.mpr.nz/show/reserved, or subscribe to Reserved Recommendations on your favourite podcasting app.

12/05/2023

Cloud Atlas is probably the most divisive of the Wachowskis' movies. Both contemporary critics and current audiences tend to either love or hate it. Whichever camp you call into, it is undeniably an incredibly ambitious movie - one which swings big and is unafraid to miss.

Derrick Sims joins me to discuss his love for this long, complex, and painfully sincere film and to dig into some of the reasons audiences might have had a hard time connecting with it.

Listen direct here: https://bit.ly/41pfa4J, find the backlog at www.mpr.nz/show/reserved, or subscribe to Reserved Recommendations on your favourite podcasting app.

21/04/2023

ANZAC Day is coming up, and that always makes me kind of twitchy because of the way that contemporary propaganda about "freedom and sacrifice" gets recycled uncritically to prevent honest discussion about the actual aims and outcomes of WWI in particular.

On this episode I'm joined by researcher, author, and essayist Scott Hamilton ( on Twitter) to discuss some forgotten elements of ANZAC history which complicate the heroic myth.

CW for (not especially detailed) discussion of violence.

The image is of Australian and NZ troops at the village of Surafend (also known as Sarafand) in Palestine, where they committed a massacre in the aftermath of WWI in revenge for the murder of a NZ soldier.

Listen to tonight's episode direct here: https://bit.ly/3H2R08y, find the backlog at www.mpr.nz/show/reserved, or subscribe to "Reserved Recommendations" on your podcast app of choice.

27/03/2023

Last week, tables were turned as we were guests and not hosts! We went to Reserved Recommendation, a show by from to talk about one of the timeless movies of all time, Cinema Paradiso (1988). We discussed what makes this movie so special, and our impression of it. Find Reserved Recommendation podcast and look for Episode 54 on Spotify and Apple Podcast. Spotify link:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7gutGxpnWCtU07v6Q2jyld?si=6WI04GIQTqqnD_-LljX4ew&utm_source=copy-link

CW: This show is rated R18. Mention of adult themes, and some colorful language.

24/03/2023

On tonight's show we have one of our less-reserved recommendation episodes as I talk to Arka and Caleb from the Life, Love, & Lenses project about Giuseppe Tornatore's beautiful 1988 movie Cinema Paradiso.

We discuss the film's complicated relationship with nostalgia, and its themes of love, craft, and creativity.

Tune in via Manawatu People's Radio on 999AM in the Manawatu, or listen on demand at https://bit.ly/3lu12Iv.

Find the backlog of episodes at www.mpr.nz/show/reserved or search for "Reserved Recommendations" on your favourite podcast app to subscribe!

03/03/2023

No new ep tonight sorry folks, I've got a couple of interviews to chase up and meanwhile Events are Occurring.

I'll be replaying last week's on the radio, so maybe catch up on that one if you missed it?

Here's some stuffing about as an enticement....

Mike Sarne's 1993 movie "The Punk" has several scenes of the characters fu***ng about, entirely incidental to anything happening in the story. Here are a cou...

24/02/2023

The Punk (1993) is a movie that's fascinated me since I first saw it around 1996 or so. It hit me and my teenage friend group with enough memetic impact to permanently warp our speech patterns and was briefly ubiquitous enough to be in any video store with an "art" or "festival" section, as well as popping up on late-night TV, before disappearing more or less without a trace.

While they both have ongoing acting careers, stars Charlie Creed-Miles and Vanessa Haddaway almost never had such prominent movie roles after this film, and the movie itself is only findable in ultra-low resolution (apparently taped from TV) on sites devoted to highly obscure international cinema. What happened?

This week, my brother Angus rejoins the 'cast to talk about The Punk, and how it stands up almost 30 years later. We also do a bit of speculating about what might have led to this movie's spectacular obscurity in the age of "everything that ever was, available forever".

Find the episode at https://bit.ly/3SnleHQ, via Manawatu People's Radio at www.mpr.nz/show/reserved, or subscribe to "Reserved Recommendations" on your podcast app of choice!

Also, we talk a bit on this episode about how much of this movie's charm lies in "incidental fu***ng about". I put together a mini highlight reel of a couple of the best examples, and you can find that here: https://youtu.be/2CSELpXFPYo

17/02/2023

Star (1974) is a cult classic sci-fi movie mostly notable as the first project of both Dan O'Bannon (wrote Alien, did some SFX for an obscure late 70's movie called Star Wars) and Director John Carpenter (no introduction needed!)

Originally made as a student film and expanded to a full feature later, it follows the misadventures of the titular ship's crew, and did an enormous amount to set the tone of sci fi that looks at space as a sh*tty blue collar job - a vibe that permeates properties as diverse as Star Wars, Cowboy Bebop, The Expanse, and Red Dwarf. This is a movie that threads its way between bleak dark comedy, out and out slapstick, and occasional existential horror - and *mostly* sticks the landing.

Returning champ Ross Palethorpe (https://ross-palethorpe.pagexl.com) joins the pod to discuss the movie, its influence, and his affection for it.

Listen direct here: https://bit.ly/3XrrXl1 or get the podcast via Manawatu People's Radio at www.mpr.nz/show/reserved, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you get podcasts these days.