Mad Max Minute - Fist of the North Star (1986)

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When it comes to saving children from kidnappers there are no two finer agents of the Rescue Aid Society than Bernard and Bianca, and now it’s time for them to venture across the ocean to Australia to help a small boy who’s been taken by a ruthless poacher. Cody is an adventurous boy who has befriended the majestic golden eagle, Marahute, and now finds himself in the clutches of the nefarious poacher, McLeach, and his ravenous monitor lizard, Joanna. It’s up to Cody to keep McLeach from succeeding in his goal to capture and sell Harahute, but can Bernard and Bianca save Cody before it’s too late?

When the Federal Narcotics Bureau has a Chinese national in their custody, it’s time to call in an expert. Forget the Man from U.N.C.L.E., they need the Man from Hong Kong, Special Branch Investigator Fang Sing Leng. But after an assassin kills his suspect, it’s up to Fang to take down the infamous drug and gun runner Jack Wilton, played by George Lazenby. With Roger Ward and Hugh Keays-Byrne in tow as his Australian counterparts, it’s up to Fang to chase down every lead and use every resource at his disposal to tear down Wilton’s criminal enterprise and destroy everyone that stands in his way.

Nicholas Hoult lived, he died, and now he lives again, not as a Warboy, but as prolific fantasy author J.R.R. Tolkien. Watch as young Tolkien navigates English society at the turn of the twentieth century, losing his mother to illness, living with a wealthy benefactor, and enrolling in a boarding school. He finds fellowship with a group of boys who share his appreciation for art and falls in love with Edith, played by Lily Collins. Their courtship is interrupted by Tolkien’s enrollment at Oxford, but once there he’s able to expand his love of language and storytelling. With World War One tearing the world apart, how will Tolkien make it there and back again?

In the wasteland, Charlize Theron portrayed the fearsome and courageous Imperator Furiosa, but this time around she trades the mechanical arm and war rig for the political power and ambition of Charlotte Field, Secretary of State. Charlotte is on her way to the presidency of the United States of America and hires childhood acquaintance Fred Flarsky, played by Seth Rogen, to punch up her speeches. Will she be able to rally enough international support for her environmental initiatives while outmaneuvering political rivals? In the realm of Politics, everything hurts, so pick up what you can and run.

My life fades, the vision dims. All that remains are memories. I remember a time of chaos, ruined dreams, this wasted land. But most of all, I remember the Fist of the North Star: the man we called Kenshiro. This time around we honor a listener request from one of our $5/month Patrons and sit down to watch one of the seminal works of post-apocalyptic animated media. Toyoo Ashida’s vision of Buronson and Tetsuo Hara’s story of a man gifted with fabulous cosmic power and the violent forces that swirl around him. It’s our first foray into the world of anime, will we come out unscathed or are we already dead?

With the dust settling from the whirlwind of Mad Max Fury Road, we take a trip back to London in the 1960’s where The Kray Twins are poised to take control of the city’s underworld. You’re not seeing double, Tom Hardy stars as both Reggie and Ron Kray, one charming and calculating and the other a lit fuse ready to blow. As they battle rival gangs and make deals with the American Mafia, the brothers must balance their personal relationships with the demands of running a criminal organization and staying one step ahead of the law. Do they have what it takes to become legends?

We’ve run out of Mad Max Fury Road to talk about, so in this ultimate episode of the podcast, we take some time to talk about what it’s been like producing this project. We also discuss our final rankings for the series, the hopes we have for the future of the series, and also some fun observations about the podcast as a whole. Most importantly, THANK YOU to everyone who has listened.

Three years, four movies, and several months of emails all come down to this: Rick sits down for a video call with academy award-winning director, writer, and producer, George Miller. We talk about applying music theory to film making, treating lore like an iceberg, and how a pig and penguin helped shape the world of Mad Max: Fury Road. This episode would not have been possible without the help of George’s executive assistant, Rachael who generously gave us a window of time in George’s busy schedule.