BFG Podcast #115: ’Blue Beetle,’ ’Strays,’ and MovieTok

The dog days of August content are here, and we're featuring a movie about talking dogs, among other topics. Host Neal Pollack brings all the podcast fun as usual. Here's what we offer:• Pablo Gallaga stops by our professional podcasting studios to discuss 'Blue Beetle.' As a certified Latino, Pablo appreciates the DC superhero film's Mexican-culture deep cuts, including Maria del Barrio, El Chapulin Colorado, and George Lopez's crazy tio energy. Both he and Neal agree that the Blue Beetle is a bit of a formulaic origin story, and the action and CGI could have been better. But lead Xolo Maridueña gives a star-making turn, and the movie's warm embrace of Mexican family dynamics distinguishes it a bit from the mid-superhero movie pack.•Rachel Llewellyn has a surprise rave for 'Strays,' the talking-dog movie from the guys who brought you all the other movies. Beneath the excessive scatology is a semi-deep warning about the dangers of pet abuse. Neal found some of the non-poop-related dog humor funny, and both he and Rachel agree that Strays might be a little underrated. It's definitely not for kids, though. If you took the kids to this, we're calling Parent Control on you.•Chris Lambert is back to rage against the rise of MovieTok. A recent New York Times article about the MovieTok phenomenon drove Chris to TikTok, and he did not like what he saw: Paid shills with a raft of extremely uninteresting opinions. They may think they're younger and cooler than "computer"-based old-school critics, but they're not. They have very little to say, and much of what they do have to say is wrong. Neal does take some schadenfreude in watching millennials, the worst generation of all time, suffering at the thought that they are slowly becoming obsolescent with a younger generation replacing them. But it serves them right!No matter your age, though, you're definitely listening to our cast this week. Thanks for checking it out.