Ep. 02-14: The War of the Worlds (1953)

The residents of a small California town are excited and curious when a flaming meteor shoots from the sky and lands in the hills. But upon investigation, their joy quickly turns to despair when they discover that the meteor has passengers who are not very friendly and intend to destroy the world city by city with seemingly indestructible force. Will humanity survive?

Despite its age, 1953’s The War of the Worlds is an immensely entertaining movie. From its lavish technicolor production and academy-award winning special effects to its universally appealing story, beginning in a small town and swelling to a sweeping world-wide saga. Join us as we discuss how this story perseveres from its publication by H.G Wells (1897), to the infamous radio-drama (1938) by Orson Welles, to multiple cinematic productions including this 1953 classic and Spielberg’s 2005 version. Listen, as Johnny Has the Keys observes the catastrophic worldwide destruction of a Martian invasion, and how overcoming dire circumstances sometimes requires more than just the power of the human spirit.

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Ep. 02-06: Independence Day (1996)

Episode 02-05 “Independence Day”

Gigantic spaceships invade Earth and hover over major cities. Soon, our sense of wonder turns to terror as these extraterrestrials use powerful weapons to obliterate Earth. The President of the United States and his team must determine their weakness and combat these intruders before our planet is reduced to a cinder. Is mankind’s will to survive and the power of the human spirit enough to persevere and triumph these overwhelming odds?

Independence Day was a phenomenal success, touting the power of the human (re: American) spirit to overcome insurmountable odds. It was the beginning of writing/directing team Dean Devlin and Rolan Emmerich’s quest to destroy Earth in as many special effects extravaganzas as humanly possible. Join us as we discuss why this film was such a sentimental success. Listen as Johnny Has the Keys travels back pre-9/11 when Earth is terrorized by an intergalactic menace and a group of rag-tag Americans are our only hope.

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Ep. 01-21: Arrival (2016)

Episode 21 – “The Arrival”

In Arrival (2016), a linguistics professor, Louise Banks (Amy Adams), leads a team of investigators when gigantic spacecraft touch-down in locations around the world. As nations near conflict, Banks and her crew race against time, attempting to communicate with the extraterrestrial visitors. Though her choice, in the end, may threaten her life, ultimately it could save all of mankind.

The mistake most people make is that science fiction is not really about cool gadgets, aliens, and space travel… it’s about us (hint, hint–all genres are). Join David and Tim as they discuss this concept as well as an abundance of key elements that this marvelous film was inspired by. Make no mistake, there are spaceships and extraterrestrials… but this film goes a little deeper exploring what makes us human. Listen… as Johnny Has the Keys journies into their first foray of cerebral science fiction.

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