Cube Critics

Cube Critics Jacob Aloi and Lukas Levin discuss their differing opinions about the Disney+ series “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.”The following is a transcription of the audio heard using the player above, lightly edited for clarity.MPR Producer Lukas Levin: The main difference between this and Harry Potter is that Harry Potter maintains a lot of whimsy.MPR Arts Reporter Jacob Aloi: So, Lukas, this week we both watched “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” which is an adaptation of the popular book series by Rick Riordan, which tells a story of a boy named Percy who steals Zeus’s lightning bolt, and then over the course of the series has to prove that he did not steal that lightning bolt, at least this first season. I really enjoyed it. I thought it actually captured quite well the whimsy and the fun of the books that I grew up reading. I also think that it was it encapsulated how middle schoolers actually talk to themselves and actually act. The thing I had to keep reminding myself is that I’m a 20-something-

Cube Critics Jacob Aloi and Max Sparber discuss “Echo” and “Wild At Heart.” Plus a Cube Critics extra: An interview with the Chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Gary Batton.The following is a transcription of the audio heard using the player above, lightly edited for clarity.MPR News Arts Editor Max Sparber: Howdy Howdy.MPR News Arts Reporter Jacob Aloi: I don’t know what we should do for our little — Oh! Oscars! We should talk about the Oscars. So you know, the Oscars nominations just came out.Sparber: I do know that they came out.Aloi: And we’re not going to talk about any of that.Sparber: Nope. Aloi: So Max Sparber. This week, I watched “Echo.” It is the new Marvel mini-series that’s on Disney Plus about Maya Lopez, who’s a Choctaw superhero. And she’s working to take down criminal kingpin Wilson Fisk while trying to repair some familial ties that have been fractured. And she’s also dealing with the echoes of her past her ancestors that are giving her her supernatural powers. Sparber: Ah yes, “echo.”

Cube Critic Alex V. Cipolle discusses the new season of “True Detective”; guest critic Regina Medina discusses “Slow Horses.”The following is a transcription of the audio heard using the player above, lightly edited for clarity.MPR News Senior Arts Reporter and Critic Alex V. Cipolle: You can basically smell him through the screen. MPR News Correspondent Regina Medina: Yes. Cipolle: Not the best hygiene.Medina: No, he doesn't like to shower.Cipolle: So, Regina, we both watched detective shows this week. Medina: Yes. I love detective shows.Cipolle: Me too. I watched the fourth season of “True Detective,” which just started on Sunday on HBO. And it is a return to form of season one. Nobody really talks about the other seasons, they’re not that good. Season one — amazing. And it’s this kind-of like gritty noir detective series. This time instead of being based in the south, it’s based in Alaska. There’s also a new director, Issa López, and it’s a much more women-led cast as well, with Jodie Foster and kind-o

The following is a transcription of the audio heard using the player above.MPR News producer Matt Alvarez enters. MPR News arts reporter Jacob Aloi: Matt Alvarez. Now take your time. MPR News arts editor Max Sparber: No hurry. Aloi: We’re just kind of chillin’.Sparber: Chillaxing.Aloi: I want to be so clear: Never say that again.So, Max Sparber, this week I saw “American Fiction” starring Jeffrey Wright. It’s actually based on a novel, which I did not know. It’s a meta-novel called “Erasure.” And it tells the story of a writer named Monk. He’s also a professor of mythology and writing. And basically, Monk cannot get published.He has had a career publishing retellings of Greek stories, but he hasn’t been published in the last couple of years. And the reason why is because he feels like he’s being pigeonholed as a Black writer. He feels like he’s being pushed to write stories about a very particular kind of experience in the Black community when he’s from an affluent Bostonian family. Right? He feels like he’s

Cube Critics Alex V. Cipolle and Nina Moini look at documentaries about cults: “Escaping Twin Flames,” “Desperately Seeking Soulmate” and “Love Has Won.”

MPR News Cube Critics Jacob Aloi and Kyra Miles review “Anyone But You” and “The Color Purple.”

Cube Critics Max Sparber and Aron Woldeslassie discuss season five of “Fargo” and the film “Maestro”

Cube Critics Jacob Aloi and Max Sparber review "The Boy and the Heron" and "Godzilla Minus One."

Cube Critics Jacob Aloi and Aron Woldeslassie review “Scott Pilgrim Takes Off” and “Scavengers Reign.”

Cube Critics Jacob Aloi and Max Sparber review Thanksgiving horror films "Thanksgiving" and "Blood Rage," plus a bonus podcast review of "Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes"

Arts reporter Jacob Aloi and original Cube Critic Stephanie Curtis review "The Marvels" and "Saltburn."

Cube Critics Alex V. Cipolle and Max Sparber discuss “Fingernails” and “Priscilla.”

Cube Critics Jacob Aloi and Aron Woldeslassie discuss “Five Nights at Freddy’s” and “I Am Not for Everybody.”

Cube Critics Jacob Aloi and Max Sparber discuss “The Burial” and “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

Cube Critics Alex V. Cipolle and Max Sparber attend two haunted houses: Onionhead’s Revenge at the Mall of America and Nowhere Haunted House in Inver Grove Heights, Minn.

Cube Critics Alex V. Cipolle and Aron Woldeslassie discuss “The Exorcist: Believer” and “Lessons in Chemistry.”

Cube Critics Jacob Aloi and Max Sparber discuss “The Creator” and “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.”

Cube Critics Jacob Aloi, Alex V. Cipolle and Max Sparber discuss “One Piece,” ”Krapopolis” and “Cassandro”

Cube Critics Jacob Aloi, Alex V. Cipolle and Aron Woldeslassie discuss 'Dumb Money,' 'El Conde' and 'Red, White & Royal Blue'

Cube Critics Samantha Matsumoto and Aron Woldeslassie discuss "Reality" and "Ultimatum: Queer Love"