Episode Transcript
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Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cr (00:05):
Hey, I'm Richard Ponder, the Real
Critic and this is The RealCritics Network.
I am here with my co-host KathiaWoods, and I have so much to ask
you about, but first I'll justsay Welcome.
How you doing?
Good, good.
How are you?
A little tired, but good.
How are you?
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cri (00:21):
I'm doing good.
So the first thing is I was inPhiladelphia.
I.
I went to the Nike store.
I looked around the Nike store,and I did not see or find
anybody that looked like you atthe store.
So I'm very upset.
It's okay.
(00:42):
She, I think she left before yougot there that day.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Crit (00:48):
My daughter said, daddy, you are
going to go look for a younglady that you have never met
before and say hi.
I said, yes, I am.
I'm gonna go say hi to Katya'sdaughter.
She said, that's so weird that,
Kathia Woods (01:01):
and Ka would've taken great care of you.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cri (01:03):
She said, that's so weird, dad I
don't know.
I don't know if we should bedoing that.
So she did not feel a hundredpercent comfortable.
It was are you really gonna dothat?
I said yes.
If she, if we're in the samebuilding, I'm gonna Yeah,
Kathia Woods (01:17):
you literally go down.
You went for the screening, youwent for a screening, you go
down the escalator and you walkover.
Yeah,
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Criti (01:23):
I was definitely going to go over
there and say hi.
So anyway, I missed her.
Sorry.
Sorry that I missed her.
My next thing is that based onyour recommendation, I had to
choose what movie to go see.
Okay, it was either 28 dayslater or Elio, and based on what
(01:47):
you told me,'cause you know thatI'm a scary cat, I think you got
a wound on your leg from thelast time we were in a scary
movie.
After I scratched you andeverything, I went to see Lio.
That's all I'm gonna say, andwe'll talk about that a little
later, but I did not go see 28days later.
That's been my I did.
(02:07):
I was in New Jersey for mynephew's graduation from high
school.
William graduated and heactually had a speaking role, so
it was so great to go and hangout with family and see him.
He is gonna be going to Howard,so.
I'm already spending days in dcThis is just gonna make me spend
(02:30):
more days in DC to go see howhe's doing and watch all the
Howard people, the real, I guessthat's the real u
Well, and the Hampton people saythat they're the real you, so
they got that back and forth.
You know what, I don't have adog in a race.
I'm like, if you love it, I loveit.
For you.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel C (02:49):
It's, it is really funny because our
goddaughters are front.
Hampton, so this whole, whichone is the real age?
U is a real issue in our family,so
Kathia Woods (03:01):
Oh, wow.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel (03:03):
That's what we, oh, I know
Kathia Woods (03:04):
it.
It's easier to get to Howardthan it is to Hampton.
It takes a minute to get toHampton.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel C (03:09):
Yeah.
It is easier to get to Howardfor sure.
Here are the things I want totalk to you about.
The first one is someone had abirthday.
I need to know what happened.
Where was the, where the partyat?
What'd they say?
Where the party at?
I need to know what happened onthe birthday.
So I had a birthday.
(03:31):
Your girl is double Nichols.
I'm 55.
Kathia Woods (03:34):
I was in New York for F1, so I had a day off.
I used that day off to go to seeGypsy.
Sadly, Audra was not performingin the matinee, but it was okay.
A lot of people left, but Istayed.
The understudy did a great job.
I still came to see Joy Woods,you know, everybody in the cast
(03:58):
was fantastic.
I got to move up.
81, 80$1 ticket grew into$150ticket because I said, if you
wanna move up, you can move up.
And I said, say less.
And I had myself a fabuloustime, like absolutely fabulous
time.
The show is great, althoughthere were some people, I guess
(04:18):
they've never seen Gypsy thatcouldn't understand.
Why the girl was singing in theway that she was singing The
Young Girl June, why she wassinging.
I'm like, hello?
Did you miss the premise of theshow?
And why she kept having her inthat horrible wig and kept
telling everybody she was ninewhen she really was like 13, 14.
(04:41):
Also, why June was such a stagemom.
And then, later on, when sheand.
The other daughter fall apart.
So, you know, she does that songand she's sounding very
anguished, because she justfeels like she keeps pouring to
everybody and nobody everappreciates her.
(05:04):
You know what I mean?
When in reality she, theproblem, she's not the victim.
And her daughter was like, well,since you used me.
To still have your time and showbusiness, I'm gonna do me.
You know what I mean?
So basically, but it's a greatshow and I highly recommend
people go see it.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Criti (05:25):
I had a great time at it as well
of, we were fortunate to seeAudra and she was phenomenal.
Woo.
She put in the work and the playwas great.
I will tell you that my kneeswere killing me in the.
In this theater.
The theater is one of thosetight kind of theaters, so my
(05:47):
knees were killing me.
Kevin wouldn't have liked it.
He would've been like, oh mygoodness, my legs are hurting.
I can't even stretch my legs alittle bit.
But I had, it's an
Kathia Woods (05:56):
intimate theater.
It is an intimate theater.
But you know what I think myoriginal seat was at the end,
like you have all the way on topand then that, and then you
have.
The top of, I guess what youwould call orchestra.
I was in that last row in thelast seat that was my original
seat before I upgraded myself.
(06:18):
But, so I still was good.
So I was like on the end to,let's say, even if it was
packed, I could've went a littlebit to let my legs out.
But I had good, I'm short thanyou, but I had a good.
I get had good enough space'cause I also didn't have
anybody next to me on my oneside.
So
Reggie Ponder, The Reel (06:34):
that's excellent.
We, Donna and I had a fantastictime at the play and it was
fabulous.
We actually saw three plays.
We saw lights out, Nat KingCole.
How was that?
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cr (06:49):
That was great.
That was Doula Hill and.
He was phenomenal singing,dancing, acting.
That's
off Broadway, right?
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Crit (06:59):
It was off Broadway.
It was at the New York TheaterWorkshop down there on Second
and Bowery, and it wasfantastic.
Very, very good.
I totally would recommend it.
Then we went to see Gypsy thenext day, and then that same day
we went to see Purpose.
Okay.
(07:19):
How was purpose?
Reggie Ponder, The Reel C (07:21):
Loved it.
Loved it.
It started here in Chicago, sowe saw it when it was on script
and Okay.
And many, most of the actorsexcept two were here in Chicago
and we saw it in New York and itwas really good.
(07:42):
I got a chance to interview GlenDavis.
(08:12):
Are you there?
Or you had to come back?
I,
okay.
We had a, alright, so you weresaying you saw it here in
Chicago.
You got a chance to interview?
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cr (08:25):
Yes.
I got a chance to interview GlenDavis, the co-artistic director
for Steppenwolf.
Nice.
And,
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cri (08:32):
and he is in the play as well.
It was really good.
They.
It totally worth everything.
And it won two Tony's and won aPulitzer Prize this year.
Won the New York critic circle.
It swept so many awards and itwas worth watching.
So we saw three plays while wewere in New York, but back to
(08:53):
the birthday.
So you saw Gypsy, you had a goodtime, your seat got upgraded.
Where did you eat?
What you have come on, talk.
Tell me something.
Kathia Woods (09:02):
I I.
Stayed at the Park Lane Hotel.
So I had a nice Bron zini withfingerling potatoes and a nice
glass of Sauvignon Blanc.
The hotel was kind enough tosend carrot cake to my room, so
when I got to my room, there wasa slice of carrot cake and and a
little bubbly to go with it, youknow, so.
(09:25):
We had a nice time.
Now, the following day I wentacross the street at one hotel
where my friend friends Valerieand Romney Day, who are both
black women and blackjournalists.
Valerie used to work.
At Deadline and around the dayis the TV writer at Variety.
Both are really amazing writersand journalists, but most
(09:49):
importantly fun women.
And we had a good Kiki.
We had some drinks and some,we're right there for happy
hour.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cri (09:56):
Oh, excellent, excellent.
So you had a good birthday andthen you went to see F1.
Let's not talk about the movieper, per se, but let's just talk
about the experience.
What.
Obviously you interviewed somepeople.
You, you got to be probably on,on five red carpets.
Tell me something.
Kathia Woods (10:13):
The screening was a lot of fun.
The movie's a lot of fun.
I anticipated it to be fun.
I got to spend some time withDeon Idris, who is just lovely.
He just is lovely, lovely.
But overall we had a really,really good time.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cri (10:27):
And you saw that film on what day?
I.
Kathia Woods (10:30):
I saw it, I got there on Saturday and I saw it
on Saturday.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cri (10:36):
Oh, you saw the film on Saturday.
Okay.
Kathia Woods (10:37):
Yeah, I saw it on Saturday.
I saw Gypsy on Sunday.
But yes, I was me and a coupleother media people and New York
Media, we all saw it on Fridayand then, no Saturday and then
some people did interviews onSunday and I did mine on Monday.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cri (10:58):
How wonderful.
Well, excellent.
We were in New York during thattime, as you know.
'cause you sent me a textmessage saying, I am here in New
York.
And I think that was Saturday.
So we.
Missed each other on Saturdaybecause you were really working.
But we had a good time.
Great.
I am glad you had a good timefor your birthday.
(11:20):
That means that you were closeto your stomping ground,
Philadelphia.
I know people don't understandthat New York is close.
You can get to Philadelphiapretty quickly.
So I know you were pretty close,so excellent, excellent.
Let's get to the first segment,which is what's on my mind and.
The first thing that's on mymind, and I really want you to
(11:43):
talk about this, is Ironheart,and the reason I want you to
talk about it, I did not knowuntil my daughter told me,
Bobby, that there was a lot ofbacklash with it being a black
superhero and the black younglady.
I I didn't know too much aboutthis.
(12:05):
Have you heard about this?
I.
Kathia Woods (12:07):
Oh yeah, there is a, I'll give you specifics'cause
we like to speak it.
There is a YouTube channel bythe name of hold on.
What is their name?
Neurotic.
Daily.
They bombed reviewed this beforeepisodes even dropped or before.
(12:29):
Screeners were sent out.
Screeners were sent out on six16 for this.
And making all types of racistremark that, that they knew it
was going to be black'cause ithad hip hop music.
They knew it was going to beblack because Riri had a
stepfather.
They knew it was going to beblack.
(12:50):
'cause the south side ofChicago.
And the her best friend Natalie,why didn't they just call her
Joanna man?
And this.
Particular YouTube channel hasconsistently made racist remarks
when there's been characters ofcolor that had racist remarks.
When it comes to YouTube, excuseme, blue beetle, that is DC that
(13:12):
had Nora had racist remarks forWakanda forever.
It is anytime anything iscentering women.
And people of color do they geton there and it's, I believe in
free speech, but I also feelthat it's accountability and I
hope that Marvel is looking atthat u, these YouTubers and
(13:33):
never invites them to anything.
I hope that Disney looks at thatand never invites them.
Also, there were reviews,audience reviews on excuse me,
rotten Tomatoes.
That had it at 32 percent.
And I'm like, how can you reviewsomething when the episodes
didn't drop until 9:00 PM onDisney Plus?
(13:57):
So Rotten Tomatoes had to go inthere and scrub it.
And I've said it before and I'msaying it again.
You need to absolutely have yourpicture posted.
I feel like as critics yourpicture should be up there.
Stand on business if you aregonna trash something.
And we've had fellow criticsthat made racist reviews, right?
Stand on business.
(14:17):
Let everybody see what you looklike.
Don't hide behind an avatar orbehind anonymous.
And same thing on the audience.
If you are going to saysomething racist, Josh from
Connecticut or whoever, right?
Your face needs to be up there.
And it ties in also with anothersituation that I know you heard
about the picture for theDiamondbacks.
(14:40):
What happened in, at the WhiteSox game, there is a fine line.
We're being passionate and beinga fan and crossing it and people
like neurotic and people likethat.
Gentleman that said, and I'musing gentlemen Lucid'cause
we're keeping a family on thischannel.
Talking about the pictures deadmother, like you are free to say
(15:04):
anything and I will fight onthat to the death.
But you are not free ofconsequences and when media
platforms give platforms andwhen YouTube does not put a
disclosure and say that we donot agree.
This is not the community we'rebuilding here on YouTube.
He's free to make these videosand be racist with these other
men.
(15:24):
There is something about the MCUand DC comic book space that
thinks that only belongs towhite people and to men, and
this is true.
We gotta call them out on it.
And it's, you don't, okay.
It's different if you watchsomething, Reggie.
Again, I say this as blackcritics.
We are not required to likeeverything that is made by black
(15:46):
people, but if we're gonnacritique it, let's critique the
work of art.
Let's critique.
Hey, I didn't like this episode.
I think the pacing was too slow.
I think the story could havebeen better developed.
I didn't totally believe thisactor.
'cause they're saying they'resupposed to play a villain.
I don't feel like they'vetotally committed.
So you have all of theseconversations that is about the
(16:07):
piece of work.
I'm not getting into AnthonyRam's personal life, right?
That's none of my business.
I'm not getting into DominiqueThorne and trying to ascertain
whether she's smart in reallife.
That's none of my business.
That has nothing to do with theprogram at hand.
These six episodes, we'regetting these people and they
wanna rile everything up.
(16:29):
And this is why when I say topeople, it's, there's no coming
together with that.
And they take pride in that andthey and they will tell you.
Well, I'm not racist, it's justjokes.
We have a right to feel that asmen we're being erased, right?
Everything is fun and games, andunfortunately we live in a time
where we've got a lot of peoplethat don't know the fine line
(16:52):
between sarcasm, humor, critiqueand taking it one over
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cri (16:59):
And I just would say, I would say
this though.
I think that there's not a fineline.
I think that there is a realdemarcation.
These people know where thatline is and they are
intentionally crossing.
It's not a fine line.
I think that when, if we aretalking about maybe a comedian,
maybe sometimes comedians ridethat line between being funny
(17:24):
and maybe being offensive.
So I can see that these folksare not doing that.
They are.
If you are reviewing a piece ofwork before you're able to
review the piece of work, that'snot a fine line.
You just say, I'm gonna crossthe line.
I'm gonna jump on over here andjust go all in.
(17:46):
So I, I can't, I Goodconscience.
Give these people the benefit ofthe doubt, because you haven't
even seen the word.
You heard something.
What you heard was, wow, whatyou just read.
Oh, we knew it was gonna beblack, that it was on the south
(18:08):
side of Chicago.
We knew it was gonna bl be blackbecause he had, she had a
stepdad.
We knew it was gonna be blackbecause there was qua.
Wow.
That's not a fine line.
That's not bordering on anythingthat's actually putting up the
flag and saying, I am.
Bias, racist, and I'm not afraidto show it as long as you don't
(18:31):
see my face.
That's what I, it's
Kathia Woods (18:35):
it's like, and other thing too is and I'm not
one to advocate for violence,but we are at this stage bring
back, having to force people tosay things in person.
Ace is my other thing, right?
We're both Gen Xers.
We're from the generation.
If you can't say it.
(18:56):
In person.
If you can't stand on businesswith the same type of vitriol in
person that you do online, go ina room full of people and say
that ish.
Go to Comic-Con, have a paneland go up there and be full
flesh racist.
Go stand all the way.
Say it with your chest, as theyused to say, right?
Yeah.
Stand and be that way.
(19:16):
So in case you do get punched inthe head, and I'm not advocating
for anybody to conduct violence.
Then maybe if you squabble withsomebody.
'cause some people need to learnthe hard way.
And I'm positive them dudesdon't know how to fight.
That's why they're on theinternet live from the basement,
right?
These guys never have the sametype of energy.
I'm like staying on business.
(19:37):
Be the same person in personthat you are on the internet,
because if you can't say that infront of a room full of people.
That that somebody might bummerrush you and be like, I'm gonna
come see you after thesituation, then you are a
coward.
You are a coward.
I say, if you're gonna beracist, right?
(19:58):
Don't just be cute racist.
Be racist in every facet of yourlife.
Let your neighbors know thatyou're racist.
Pump let your kids.
Your kids know that you're aracist punk.
So when their, your kids wannaplay with someone else's kids,
they say, no, Timmy can't cometo our house'cause his dad is
racist.
Let you feel all of the brunt ofyour racism because that's the
(20:21):
part I can't respect you.
It's easy to be in these squareswhen we're sitting in our homes,
when there's somebody that,that, that will, that's why I'm
saying one thing aboutcomedians, at least.
They're standing in front of anaudience saying these things,
and yes, do I like what everycomedian says, but at least I
respect the audacity and thecourage to be like, I'm a stand
on business.
(20:42):
That's how I feel.
These are the type of jokes I'mgonna play.
Say, you don't gotta buy aticket, you don't gotta agree.
That's why I didn't think it'shella corny when people hecka
people, if you feel like it'sgoing to south, get up and walk
out.
You don't have to engage thecomedian, you don't have to do
anything.
Walk out.
If you feel like you want yourmoney back, then take that up
with the people that run thesituation.
(21:03):
But we are living in a spacewhere we've got a lot of people
that have no courage, liking torun at the mouth.
And when they do run intosomebody that pushes back.
They don't, then they wanna playvictim.
It's only me and he's so muchbigger and he's so much
stronger.
Well, don't write a check withyour mouth that your, you know
(21:28):
what can cash.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Criti (21:29):
I love that.
I love that.
Talking about the cash, let'stalk a little bit about movies.
Let's move into.
Some films.
There is a film out there that Iwanted to see that I have not
seen, and that first film thatwe're gonna talk about is Heads
of State.
There was a movie called Head ofState.
Hmm.
Who was in that?
Oh, Chris Rock.
(21:51):
But this is not that.
This is a different film, so Ididn't get to see it.
You got to see it.
Tell us.
I Idris Elvis's in it.
John Sinners in it.
Who else?
Kathia Woods (22:04):
Hold on.
It's Nick Jonas's wife and Iwanna say this correctly, right?
Hold on.
And'cause I always say her namewrong, but I'll tell you the
movie is John Sna.
Is.
It kind of like imitates life,he is a former action star who
ran, as like the people's champand became a became president of
(22:27):
the United States, right?
Okay.
Idris Alba is the PrimeMinister, and he is pull
yourself up by the bootstrap.
He was in the military specialservices, and he's the Prime
Minister of Britain.
They're supposed to be going toG seven.
And they're working and they'reit just thinks that John
Seaman's character Will, is awhole clown show because he's a
(22:50):
guy that treats the office beingpresident, like being a movie
star.
And John Cena thinks of IdrisSBOs character Sam Clark,
privacy, Sam Clark as being toostuffy.
And he doesn't, he's not a manof the people.
The other person's doing isPriyanka Chopra.
That's who Nick Jonas's wife andKaino.
And it's basically it's, I thinkit's perfect for streaming.
(23:13):
It's coming to Prime video onJuly the second.
It's about these two people thathave opposing views.
They, are on, air Force One andAir Force one gets taken over
and they have to work toge.
They survive the crash.
They have to work together tostop the threat at the G seven
meeting.
And it's a lot of, you know,it's a buddy movie.
(23:33):
It's a lot of back and forth andI think it's a good Kiki over
4th of July weekend, you'repaying for your prime video.
Might as well hit play.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel C (23:43):
Might as well hit play.
Kathia Woods (23:45):
Yeah.
You're paying for it.
You might as well get yourmoney's worth.
And again, it's a buddy actionfunny movie.
It's not very deep.
It's not trying to change theworld.
It's just a bunch of jokes withtwo really handsome movie stars.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Crit (23:58):
So instead of being the defiant
ones, meaning that they'rechained together, but they're
still kind of chained together.
Kathia Woods (24:08):
Basically,
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cr (24:09):
yes.
Kathia Woods (24:10):
Mm-hmm.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Criti (24:12):
I know people talk with all that,
Kathia Woods (24:13):
But again, I think, I love, I think John Cena
is, we talk about we all havecringed at these former
wrestlers of people like JakePaul, who, thinks he's on the
level of boxing skills as MikeTyson, right?
Especially young.
Mike Tyson, not current, MikeTyson.
And and they just wanna betaken, like they, I'm such a
(24:35):
world class athlete.
And you're like, sit down.
You're like a total joke.
But, john Cena is somebody whohas leaned into his wrestling
persona.
I think he does these type ofslaps that comedy's really,
really well.
He doesn't take himself tooseriously, and it's like an
inside joke, because a lot ofpeople made fun of him.
Oh, he is a wrestling star andhe thinks he's gonna be an actor
(24:55):
now and everything, right?
Whereas we saw that when hepresented best costume at the
Academy Award, right?
He was in the, it looked like hewas nude, but he wasn't nude,
but he leaned into it and we alllaughed, right?
So I think I love what he's donewith his career and his
transitioning and it's also niceto see Idris not be super, super
(25:17):
serious.
A lot of stuff that we've seenand has been very buttoned up,
on a side note, he's not gonnabe in the next James Bond'cause
Abra is 50 plus and you knowwhat that is.
But I do think that it's a funKiki at the house.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Crit (25:30):
My question is, you said that if
you're already a member, youshould pay.
You don't have to pay.
You should just go ahead andwatch it.
It's great to hit click.
Here's my question.
Some of these movies make peoplewant to purchase.
That particular streamingservice.
(25:50):
Okay.
Is this one of those movies thatyou would say, yes, purchase the
streaming service because youcannot miss this?
Kathia Woods (26:00):
Not for this, because I think there is there,
there's a lot of great contenton Prime Video.
I think Prime Video gets a badrap.
It gets lost between Hulu andNetflix, but there is a lot of
good content if it's bundled inwith your Amazon Prime.
Absolutely.
We, I think we are a little bittoo addicted to Amazon Prime.
We like that next day deliveryand all that, but I still think
(26:22):
this is a fun movie.
Like people I think a lot of menwill like it.
The women will get the eye candyand Idris and John.
In that way there's a lot to tolook at here.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel C (26:33):
Okay.
All right.
I will talk a little bit aboutthe movie, Elio.
You said, Reggie, you are ascary cat.
Kathia Woods (26:44):
Yes.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Crit (26:45):
So you should not go see 28 years
later.
Kathia Woods (26:51):
Yes, because I know you, because you would've
been in there and you would'vebeen like, man, I could've gone
see Elio instead of being inhere and being my nerves being
shot and all of this and ugh, Idon't need that in my life.
So I said, Frank, go seesomething fun.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Criti (27:06):
I followed your advice and I'm not
particularly happy that Ifollowed your advice.
This was it scary?
No.
Okay.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cr (27:18):
Yes.
Yes.
It was scary.
Let me tell you why it wasscary.
Tell me, friend.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Crit (27:23):
It was scary because of the age of
kids in this theater.
They were running amuck.
Oh, and when I say runningamuck, they were running amuck.
There were kids hanging on thelittle bars.
They're supposed to separateseats from each other.
I could not watch the movie forthe fact that the kids were
(27:44):
disturbing me.
They were all, half of them werenot even watching the movie, but
the movie is made for them.
What is this one about?
Elio, who is a space fanatic, heis out there believing
wholeheartedly that there isextra terrestrial life out.
(28:08):
And he's doing things like goingto the beach and drawing out in
words, please take me aliens.
I'm right here.
Come get me.
And eventually they actually dotake him.
They take him, he learns abouttheir world.
It's very intelligent.
(28:28):
They only take the top of thetop.
And he has presented himself asa head of state.
And they think that he's thehead of the United States of
United States, and they invitehim into their cohort.
This journey for LEO ends upwhere.
(28:53):
They find out that he lied, butat the same time there's a foe
that he can help them defeat andkeep their world, and keep the
world as it is.
The end question is not the endquestion.
The big question for this filmfor people is, do I belong?
Where do I belong?
(29:14):
How do I belong?
And it's really about belonging,and I think it's a sweet.
Film for young people, and ifadults are dragged to this film,
this is not one of those filmswhere the animators said, and
writers said to themselves,okay, what we're gonna do is
we're gonna make sure thatthere's something here for
(29:34):
adults.
This is not one of those, thisis not one of those.
This is a young kid's film, andif you are a young, a parent of
a young kid, you just gonna haveto grin and bear it.
It is not like it's a terriblefilm, but I'm just saying, you
know how sometimes there arejokes that the.
That they put in there that thekids won't get, but the adults
will.
(29:54):
And you know that the writersare thinking, okay, parents and
adults will be here too, solet's put something in there for
them.
This is not that film.
This is a young, young kidsfilm.
And if you don't have to go asan adult, I will say, please
don't, because you will notenjoy not the film.
You will not enjoy all thosekids.
(30:16):
It is running rampant with kidsin there.
I was so glad, I forgot how longthis film is.
Oh, it's an hour and 38 minutes.
It felt like two hours and 40minutes.
I couldn't wait to get outtathere.
And again, nothing to do withthe movie as much as to do with
the clientele.
(30:36):
It just wasn't my, my, myclientele and no thank you.
Kathia Woods (30:42):
So it's for little people.
It's not for big people, andyour job as a big person is to
bring the little person andprovide the snacks
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cri (30:51):
and provide the snacks.
One of the things I do likeabout films that are a hour and
a half is that they do take intoaccount that when you're talking
about little kids, that the.
Time, an hour and a half mightsave you from going to the
(31:13):
bathroom.
There were still parents walkingpast me like, okay, it is time
to go to the bathroom, but don'tmake a two hour movie for these
little, little kids.
No.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Crit (31:24):
So yeah, it is it's a little kid
movie.
It's well done.
All of that.
Only go if you're a little kidor you got little kids that you
have to take.
So it's okay for
Kathia Woods (31:37):
the younger people.
It's hot, it's been very hotoutside.
All across the country.
You need somewhere cool otherthan the pool to take him.
Then this is the movie.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cr (31:48):
This will be the movie and this it is
so great that you set thatbecause this is that time of the
year, the when you, because Iam.
Rotten.
We are Rotten Tomato certified.
When we go to Rotten Tomatoesand we look at what the critics
rated this movie, the criticshave rated this 83% and the
(32:08):
audience has rated it 91%.
So I suspect the parents thatwent and took their kids, they
had a good enough time and theyknew that their kids had a great
time.
So this would absolutely be afilm to take your kid to over
the week, over the weekend.
Now moving on to a movie that weboth saw and you already started
(32:33):
talking about it.
I'm going to go first and thereason I'm gonna go first is
because you already seenpredisposed to loving this film,
and I'm gonna give you what Iliked and I'm gonna tell you
what I didn't like.
What is this one about?
Sonny is Sonny Hayes, played byBrad Pitt.
(32:53):
Is this a former Formula one topprospect?
He's a phenom, but he had hiscareer ended in a tragic
accident many, many years later.
He is coaxed by Formula OneOwner Ruben Cervantes, played by
Javier by them to come back tothe track to save a franchise.
(33:15):
Mentor, a young driver, andJoshua Pierce, played by Damson
Idris, and possibly repairSonny's image.
But you know, Sonny doesn'treally care about all that.
He just likes the thrill of theride, and he likes doing the
things the way he does it.
We got Brad Pitt, Demson, IdrisCarrie Condon, Tobias Menes, Kim
(33:35):
Bina, and Harvey Bardi.
What did I like about this?
I think Brad Pitt did a goodjob.
I think he plays this guy Sonny,who's interesting, but not a
likable character.
He's cocky, but he's a bitjarring and weirdly appealing.
You actually say, okay.
All that stuff that he bringshere.
Yeah.
(33:55):
I kinda I'm a little bit intothis guy, but this guy who
appears to care about not muchreveals, he does care about one
thing and that's racing andmaybe not winning.
I don't know how you like thatpart because you like to win,
but you like the fact that hedidn't care about winning.
You talk about that later, butsurely he likes the thrill of
being behind the wheel.
(34:16):
And this film really takes youthe audience behind the wheel.
You're behind the wheel, you'rebeside the wheel.
You get to see the pit crews,the.
Driving the mistakes, all thestuff that if you are into
Formula One, you're gonna love.
And if you don't know much aboutFormula One, you are gonna that
as well.
You might say yourself, wow Imight want to wanna do that.
(34:38):
I think the interaction betweenSonny and Joshua's combative, so
that sets the, a really nicestage.
They're supposed to beteammates, but they're not
really teammates until theyreally try to become teammates.
That's fun.
All that stuff is happeningthere.
There's also a love relationshipthat happens, which I wish
didn't happen in this film, andI'll tell you why in a second.
And I also think that they had anumber of sub stories.
(35:02):
That was the love story.
They had a woman pit crew persontrying to approve herself.
They had Harvey about themtrying to save his franchise.
So they had a whole lot of otherthings happening, but they
didn't make it.
So overwhelming that it tookover the story about the Three
Men, which is Sonny Joshua, andReuben Cervantes.
So I, overall, I think it works,but there are two things that
(35:25):
bother me.
The first is that the writerspresent Sonny as an enigma, and
they sell and it, and theycelebrate a bravado that is
frequently reserved for whom,Hmm, white males.
I know that guy.
I saw that guy, and maybe thisbravado is needed to be in the
sport, but in a way, it reallydid speak to privilege and
(35:47):
opportunity because I was askingmyself, I like this film, but I
was asking myself, how is thisguy who is a danger to his
teammates and his competitors,how does he keep getting second
chances, third chances, fourthchance, fifth chances, sixth
chances, seven chances.
How at some point his ability tofail up.
(36:08):
Wore thin for me at some point.
I'm like, man, he keeps doingthe wrong thing, but he keeps
getting the right outcome.
It was something about hisrecklessness that had me feeling
that he should have been kickedoff the team.
He should have been kicked outthe league.
He should have been penalized.
Something should have happened,and that would've made a lot of
sense, but I don't rememberseeing that.
(36:31):
Then, as I mentioned a littleearlier or a preview, I didn't
want them to have this loverelationship.
And the reason is that Kate wasthe first technical director for
one of these big Formula Oneracing teams, and I didn't want
her to be seduced to serveSonny's ego and kind of tarnish
(36:53):
her credibility her.
Her job so to speak.
I do think that the writers gaveher enough agency that she was
able to enter and navigate thatrelationship with respect and
dignity.
So I appreciate that, but Iwould've liked her to be able to
show that she could do her thingand just kick it with all that.
(37:16):
I think you got.
Turbocharged characters.
You got some high octanerelationships and driving that
truly hugs the road.
I think F1 is fast fun and I'mnot gonna say furious and has a
formula that is one to watch.
That's what I got my friend.
Kathia Woods (37:33):
Oh, you know, I didn't think you, okay.
Well, Brad Pitt's ca okay, thisstory, let's just get that out
of the way.
It's a little whimsical,especially Brad Pitt's
character.
He washed out of F1, which isthe top racing circuit in the
world.
And he's just been pretty much agun for hire.
(37:53):
And so they allow him to, hisfriend is like, sure, come from
the Chitlin circuit and nowdrive F1.
Absolutely preposterous.
However I don't know who needsto hear this, but we didn't come
for any of that.
And I agree with you, the lovestory between Brad's character
and Care's character.
We didn't need it.
This is a racing movie and itjust seems super cliche-ish too,
(38:16):
however.
I loved all the racing stuff.
If you've ever watched F1 beento F1 race, it's the most fun.
It, I'm sorry.
I know that people try tocompare it to indie.
It's not the same.
It just isn't.
It's just, it just isn't.
You know what I mean?
And this is no shade to anybody,but it's not the same.
I love the fact that Damson Inreis in this movie as the second
(38:40):
biggest name.
The movie opens as Brad, it'sDamon's name, and I'm like,
let's freaking Goop.
His name showed up beforeJavier's name showed up.
And Javier is a whole Oscar.
I love the fact that he wasn'tseen as the party guy.
I'm glad they did not give himthe Caucasian girlfriend.
Yeah, I said, what I said isthey had him be all the
(39:00):
stereotypes as a guy that likesto drink and party and just be
reckless.
No, he's a new breed of, and Ithink he was cloned after Louis
Hamilton, who's one of theexecutive producer, the seven
time World champion, who alsomakes an appearance in this
movie.
I think that's cool.
They got the drivers to appearin the movie.
They filmed it at real F1 raceshere in the United States.
(39:23):
They filmed it in Vegas at thatF1 race, which is really cool,
right?
I love the fact that these guysdid two years worth of training
before, to look like race cardrivers.
And I also loved the at damsonsstoryline.
You know what I mean?
He's a kid that came from acouncil home.
He lost his father.
He's very close to his mother.
(39:43):
Also, pause.
We did.
We see who, who played his mom,Sarah Niles.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cr (39:49):
Yay.
Kathia Woods (39:53):
And she.
She not Brad.
No.
Don't play with me.
Don't play.
She don't play about her son.
And I love also the relationshipthat Dempson had with his
manager, right?
Because his man, his manager,wanted him to live that life.
That's his
Reggie Ponder, The Reel (40:07):
cousin.
That was his cousin.
That's his cousin.
Cousin.
And I love that fact that theywere doing a family business.
Yeah.
It was cousin, mom and driver.
Yeah.
I love that.
I love that.
Kathia Woods (40:20):
Me Damson talked about that.
We all got that friend, thatfamily member we love.
But he'd just be doing a littlebit too much.
And cousin was doing a littlebit too much, cousin Cashman and
he needs to know when to put iton and when to take it off,
right?
And the social media.
And I said, I love therelationship that the the mother
and son have, where he is rootedin that and also him telling
(40:43):
Brad Pitt Hey.
I'm not some spoiled bra.
I had to work 10 times harder toget here.
I don't get, did you think that,our tables were reversed.
I would be able to come fromlike the chicken circuit to now
drive F1.
You don't understand the battlesI had to overcome.
To be there.
And I'm glad that they did havea scene like that.
'cause Brad just, Brad'scharacter, sunny, just thought
(41:05):
of him as a spoiled brat thatjust walked in there and he's if
this team doesn't work, I don'tget another chance to drive for
another team.
My career is done.
This is my only shot to make it,and you are ruining it.
So I do think that part of themovie works, but the part that
we came to see is the drivingthe cinematography.
(41:26):
Fantastic.
The up close, the inner, likeyou felt like you were in the
race car.
You were really like, you haveto forget that you wanted these
people to place, you wantedthese people to win because you
felt like you became a far apart of the Apex team.
Even though the team don'texist, you want a old girl,
Carey, like girl, build the car.
We got nothing to lose.
(41:47):
We are ready in last, likewhat's the worst thing that
could happen?
We might actually place andJavier Barden who, who's trying
to do it the right way, and he'strying to he's not dropping the
kit.
The two things, there are twopivotal moments in the film, but
I was like, nah, if they, theblack guys world gets cut, we
gonna have problems.
And I'm glad they didn't go thatroute.
(42:07):
'cause I know you were thinkingit too.
Now.
Come on now.
No, no doubt your is here.
No doubt your friend is here andthen play with us.
And I do like that in the end,even though the story is a
little fluky, Sonny is theproblem.
And it's the fact that otherpeople had to be like, Hey, like
for us, there is no tomorrow.
(42:29):
This is our big shot.
We, this is it.
Like we don't, we can't becavalier about it because
Carrie's character.
Damsons character, themechanics, even Harvey and
Ruben.
As Ruben, there is no tomorrow.
This is their one and only shotbecause if this doesn't work,
they're done with racing.
Whereas Sonny can go back andgo, drive a push cart for all he
(42:52):
cares.
So I think there's a lesson tobe learned that understanding
that when you're a woman.
When you're Latino, when you areblack, that your point of entry
is different and that you needto not be so cavalier about it.
You need to respect that.
Absolutely.
But again, I think the racing, Ithink the location they caught
(43:13):
the glamor.
I.
Off F1, which is very glamorlike they F1 racism, Monaco,
that is not like, you know, it'snot, but light and dab bobs,
it's gowns and, designer andeverything.
So I do think that they caughtthat.
And again I thought it was shutout to cinematographer.
Again, a shout out to themusical director, and again, I'm
(43:35):
glad that Louis Hamilton was oneof the producers, executive
producers to help.
Say, like this is not authentic.
Like, no, you're gonna getdragged for this.
This is part of it.
You know, explaining a littlebit because I think some of the
stuff was like, why are theydoing it?
Explaining the rules so that thelame person who doesn't watch
F1.
So I did a lot of, overall, Ireally enjoyed this film.
(43:57):
If you love summer movies, thisis a summer blockbuster movie.
You've got your big movie stars,you've got your big action
sequences, you got a greatsoundtrack.
All of that is working for it.
Yeah, the story a little hokey,but if you can sit through Fast
and Furious 1000, this is Oscarmaterial compared to that, so
(44:19):
again, I, if you love bigcinematic movies, you wanna sit
there with popcorn and you wannago on a joyous ride and escape
for two hours and some change.
Thank God it's less than threehours.
This is the movie for you.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Criti (44:32):
I will say a couple things.
I think that this is.
Surely one to watch, I would goand check it out.
I do think that when you walkaway from it, you might not feel
like that you love thecharacters, so to speak, even
(44:53):
though some kind way the writersand producers got you to care
about them.
And I think that's all you needis to care about the characters.
'cause to your point.
We were hoping that this teamwould place, please let them
place.
And then you speak about l LewisHamilton.
(45:15):
He was pivotal to making thiswork for me because the
filmmakers seem to be making astrong appeal to marginalized
groups who might not support.
Formula One, and they do thatwith a very diverse cast as well
as putting them in pivotalroles.
(45:35):
So you have owner Jer Bardi,then you have a car driver,
Damson Idris.
Then you have the women inracing.
There was Carrie Conden, andthen there was Kaylee Cook, who
was the pit crew for the tires.
Having all of that.
Was very, very important and Ican't help but think that Louis
(45:58):
Hamilton had a lot to do withthat, saying that we need to
make sure that we show somerepresentation.
This film is a commercial inmany ways, a commercial for
people who love F1 and an appealto people who don't know much
about F1.
And you spoke about this, theytold, they, they explained the
(46:18):
rules.
They put you in the driver'sseat, so to speak.
I think they did a good job.
I gave this one three out offour reels for me, so I, it's
one that I would recommendpeople see.
I had a good time.
I liked it all that the storydoes bring it down more than a
little bit of a notch, and it'sprobably because of the bravado
(46:41):
and swagger that Brad Pitt.
Displays in this, and I think hedoes a good job doing it, but
I'm like, oh, come on, youhere's white boy.
Once again, failing up.
So I liked it.
I liked it.
Kathia Woods (46:55):
I did too.
I really enjoyed it.
I think we all, we were all likecheering at the end and
everything that shows you theemotional, how they pulled you
in.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel C (47:05):
Well, good.
That's it for our movies.
We can go into our last segment,which is Rent and Rave, and you
know, I always want to talk alittle bit, just a bit about the
box office.
We don't have to be there long,but I was surprised at the
number one film at the boxoffice.
(47:26):
I thought that it would be.
28 years later.
And the reason I did is becauseit was breaking all kind of pre
ticket sales records and I justthought it would be number one
at the box office.
But not so fast.
Reggie, do you know what wasnumber one at the box office
last week?
What was number
(47:47):
one?
Reggie Ponder, The Reel (47:47):
Reggie, how to train your dragon?
It was number one at the boxoffice in its second week.
I was a little bit surprised.
Now it fell almost 57%, so itdid 36, 30 7 million, but 28
years later, because it is kindof a niche film, it only did 30
(48:11):
million.
So it came in at number two.
What came in at number three.
Elio, I expected that.
I actually thought Elio might doa little bit better.
It only did 21 million at thebox office.
So interesting.
And then there were two otherthings that were interested,
interesting to me in with thebox office, and that was, I'm
(48:32):
looking at Mission Impossible'snumbers and it has not cracked
200 million in the UnitedStates.
This film absolutely made mostof its money abroad.
Currently it's at 458 millionand it's only made 181 million
(48:53):
in the U.
In the us I'm a little bitsurprised, just a little, that
it didn't do a somewhat betterin the United States.
Then the other movie, which youknow, we are always tracking, I
want to see where and how sin isdoing.
(49:15):
And it's still out there in, inthe market It currently is at
278 million domestically withonly 87 million internationally.
Again, I'm surprised at thatnumber.
I just would feel that with allof the buzz and how other people
(49:35):
are talking about this film asan original, that it would
probably.
Translate a little bit more orbetter overseas be just because
of the discussion and word ofmouth.
It's currently at 264 millionand I mean 364 million, and I
(49:56):
thought it had to make at least300 million for it to make its
money back, and it has.
So kudos to that movie as well.
So those are the movies that,that I talk about.
In the box office and I'll say'em again.
It was How to Train Your Dragon28 years later, LEO Mission
Impossible and then centers.
(50:18):
Any thoughts on box office?
Kathia Woods (50:20):
No, I'm not surprised because kids are outta
school right now, including upnorth, and the temperatures have
been insanely hot.
And so they want, movies a greatway to go.
If you don't have access to apool or anything like that.
Yes.
So it's a great way to bringkids.
And it's also, it's also themost affordable thing that you
(50:43):
can go to.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Criti (50:44):
A lot of people don't think so.
They always are talking abouthow expensive the movies are,
but it's still more affordablethan any other option.
If you're trying to take afamily of four to a baseball
game.
It is really expensive to go toa baseball game these days.
That's why families now aregoing to.
(51:06):
That league that's underneaththe underneath major league, I,
I forgot.
The mi the minor league.
The
Kathia Woods (51:12):
minor leagues.
The minor leagues,
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cri (51:13):
The minor league teams, they put on
a good show and the tickets arecheap, so you can go have some
popcorn and have a little fun.
But going to these major leaguegames are, it's expensive.
So again, movies are one ofthose less expensive things that
you can go and enjoy.
We're at the end of our show andat the end of our show I always
(51:36):
ask the question, what articleyou have coming out now?
Where can people check?
You out overall.
I know you have two or threeplaces, so we need to know that.
Come on, let's get the people tocheck you out.
Kathia Woods (51:51):
Well, today's Friday edition at the
Philadelphia Tribune, which youcan also read online.
You can read my interview withDemson interest as well as my
review of F1.
What about you, Reggie?
What can they find you?
Reggie Ponder, The Re (52:04):
Currently my review of F1 is out at
Indigo.
That's NIN.
DIGO, excuse me, dot com.
You can also check out next weekmy interview with Glen Davis of
the Play Purpose, and today Ijust did an interview with RT
(52:31):
Thorn for the movie 40 Acres.
I'm not sure when that'll comeout yet, but I am out there
doing it I think I have oneother and you can check out my
review on the Garfield Lawndalevoice.
There we go.
Absolutely.
That's it.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel (52:51):
That's our show.
We will see you guys next time.
See you next time.
Hey, I'm Richard Ponder, the Real
Critic and this is The RealCritics Network.
I am here with my co-host KathiaWoods, and I have so much to ask
you about, but first I'll justsay Welcome.
How you doing?
Good, good.
How are you?
A little tired, but good.
How are you?
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cri (00:21):
I'm doing good.
So the first thing is I was inPhiladelphia.
I.
I went to the Nike store.
I looked around the Nike store,and I did not see or find
anybody that looked like you atthe store.
So I'm very upset.
It's okay.
(00:42):
She, I think she left before yougot there that day.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Crit (00:48):
My daughter said, daddy, you are
going to go look for a younglady that you have never met
before and say hi.
I said, yes, I am.
I'm gonna go say hi to Katya'sdaughter.
She said, that's so weird that,
Kathia Woods (01:01):
and Ka would've taken great care of you.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cri (01:03):
She said, that's so weird, dad I
don't know.
I don't know if we should bedoing that.
So she did not feel a hundredpercent comfortable.
It was are you really gonna dothat?
I said yes.
If she, if we're in the samebuilding, I'm gonna Yeah,
Kathia Woods (01:17):
you literally go down.
You went for the screening, youwent for a screening, you go
down the escalator and you walkover.
Yeah,
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Criti (01:23):
I was definitely going to go over
there and say hi.
So anyway, I missed her.
Sorry.
Sorry that I missed her.
My next thing is that based onyour recommendation, I had to
choose what movie to go see.
Okay, it was either 28 dayslater or Elio, and based on what
(01:47):
you told me,'cause you know thatI'm a scary cat, I think you got
a wound on your leg from thelast time we were in a scary
movie.
After I scratched you andeverything, I went to see Lio.
That's all I'm gonna say, andwe'll talk about that a little
later, but I did not go see 28days later.
That's been my I did.
(02:07):
I was in New Jersey for mynephew's graduation from high
school.
William graduated and heactually had a speaking role, so
it was so great to go and hangout with family and see him.
He is gonna be going to Howard,so.
I'm already spending days in dcThis is just gonna make me spend
(02:30):
more days in DC to go see howhe's doing and watch all the
Howard people, the real, I guessthat's the real u
Well, and the Hampton people saythat they're the real you, so
they got that back and forth.
You know what, I don't have adog in a race.
I'm like, if you love it, I loveit.
For you.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel C (02:49):
It's, it is really funny because our
goddaughters are front.
Hampton, so this whole, whichone is the real age?
U is a real issue in our family,so
Kathia Woods (03:01):
Oh, wow.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel (03:03):
That's what we, oh, I know
Kathia Woods (03:04):
it.
It's easier to get to Howardthan it is to Hampton.
It takes a minute to get toHampton.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel C (03:09):
Yeah.
It is easier to get to Howardfor sure.
Here are the things I want totalk to you about.
The first one is someone had abirthday.
I need to know what happened.
Where was the, where the partyat?
What'd they say?
Where the party at?
I need to know what happened onthe birthday.
So I had a birthday.
(03:31):
Your girl is double Nichols.
I'm 55.
Kathia Woods (03:34):
I was in New York for F1, so I had a day off.
I used that day off to go to seeGypsy.
Sadly, Audra was not performingin the matinee, but it was okay.
A lot of people left, but Istayed.
The understudy did a great job.
I still came to see Joy Woods,you know, everybody in the cast
(03:58):
was fantastic.
I got to move up.
81, 80$1 ticket grew into$150ticket because I said, if you
wanna move up, you can move up.
And I said, say less.
And I had myself a fabuloustime, like absolutely fabulous
time.
The show is great, althoughthere were some people, I guess
(04:18):
they've never seen Gypsy thatcouldn't understand.
Why the girl was singing in theway that she was singing The
Young Girl June, why she wassinging.
I'm like, hello?
Did you miss the premise of theshow?
And why she kept having her inthat horrible wig and kept
telling everybody she was ninewhen she really was like 13, 14.
(04:41):
Also, why June was such a stagemom.
And then, later on, when sheand.
The other daughter fall apart.
So, you know, she does that songand she's sounding very
anguished, because she justfeels like she keeps pouring to
everybody and nobody everappreciates her.
(05:04):
You know what I mean?
When in reality she, theproblem, she's not the victim.
And her daughter was like, well,since you used me.
To still have your time and showbusiness, I'm gonna do me.
You know what I mean?
So basically, but it's a greatshow and I highly recommend
people go see it.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Criti (05:25):
I had a great time at it as well
of, we were fortunate to seeAudra and she was phenomenal.
Woo.
She put in the work and the playwas great.
I will tell you that my kneeswere killing me in the.
In this theater.
The theater is one of thosetight kind of theaters, so my
(05:47):
knees were killing me.
Kevin wouldn't have liked it.
He would've been like, oh mygoodness, my legs are hurting.
I can't even stretch my legs alittle bit.
But I had, it's an
Kathia Woods (05:56):
intimate theater.
It is an intimate theater.
But you know what I think myoriginal seat was at the end,
like you have all the way on topand then that, and then you
have.
The top of, I guess what youwould call orchestra.
I was in that last row in thelast seat that was my original
seat before I upgraded myself.
(06:18):
But, so I still was good.
So I was like on the end to,let's say, even if it was
packed, I could've went a littlebit to let my legs out.
But I had good, I'm short thanyou, but I had a good.
I get had good enough space'cause I also didn't have
anybody next to me on my oneside.
So
Reggie Ponder, The Reel (06:34):
that's excellent.
We, Donna and I had a fantastictime at the play and it was
fabulous.
We actually saw three plays.
We saw lights out, Nat KingCole.
How was that?
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cr (06:49):
That was great.
That was Doula Hill and.
He was phenomenal singing,dancing, acting.
That's
off Broadway, right?
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Crit (06:59):
It was off Broadway.
It was at the New York TheaterWorkshop down there on Second
and Bowery, and it wasfantastic.
Very, very good.
I totally would recommend it.
Then we went to see Gypsy thenext day, and then that same day
we went to see Purpose.
Okay.
(07:19):
How was purpose?
Reggie Ponder, The Reel C (07:21):
Loved it.
Loved it.
It started here in Chicago, sowe saw it when it was on script
and Okay.
And many, most of the actorsexcept two were here in Chicago
and we saw it in New York and itwas really good.
(07:42):
I got a chance to interview GlenDavis.
(08:12):
Are you there?
Or you had to come back?
I,
okay.
We had a, alright, so you weresaying you saw it here in
Chicago.
You got a chance to interview?
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cr (08:25):
Yes.
I got a chance to interview GlenDavis, the co-artistic director
for Steppenwolf.
Nice.
And,
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cri (08:32):
and he is in the play as well.
It was really good.
They.
It totally worth everything.
And it won two Tony's and won aPulitzer Prize this year.
Won the New York critic circle.
It swept so many awards and itwas worth watching.
So we saw three plays while wewere in New York, but back to
(08:53):
the birthday.
So you saw Gypsy, you had a goodtime, your seat got upgraded.
Where did you eat?
What you have come on, talk.
Tell me something.
Kathia Woods (09:02):
I I.
Stayed at the Park Lane Hotel.
So I had a nice Bron zini withfingerling potatoes and a nice
glass of Sauvignon Blanc.
The hotel was kind enough tosend carrot cake to my room, so
when I got to my room, there wasa slice of carrot cake and and a
little bubbly to go with it, youknow, so.
(09:25):
We had a nice time.
Now, the following day I wentacross the street at one hotel
where my friend friends Valerieand Romney Day, who are both
black women and blackjournalists.
Valerie used to work.
At Deadline and around the dayis the TV writer at Variety.
Both are really amazing writersand journalists, but most
(09:49):
importantly fun women.
And we had a good Kiki.
We had some drinks and some,we're right there for happy
hour.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cri (09:56):
Oh, excellent, excellent.
So you had a good birthday andthen you went to see F1.
Let's not talk about the movieper, per se, but let's just talk
about the experience.
What.
Obviously you interviewed somepeople.
You, you got to be probably on,on five red carpets.
Tell me something.
Kathia Woods (10:13):
The screening was a lot of fun.
The movie's a lot of fun.
I anticipated it to be fun.
I got to spend some time withDeon Idris, who is just lovely.
He just is lovely, lovely.
But overall we had a really,really good time.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cri (10:27):
And you saw that film on what day?
I.
Kathia Woods (10:30):
I saw it, I got there on Saturday and I saw it
on Saturday.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cri (10:36):
Oh, you saw the film on Saturday.
Okay.
Kathia Woods (10:37):
Yeah, I saw it on Saturday.
I saw Gypsy on Sunday.
But yes, I was me and a coupleother media people and New York
Media, we all saw it on Fridayand then, no Saturday and then
some people did interviews onSunday and I did mine on Monday.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cri (10:58):
How wonderful.
Well, excellent.
We were in New York during thattime, as you know.
'cause you sent me a textmessage saying, I am here in New
York.
And I think that was Saturday.
So we.
Missed each other on Saturdaybecause you were really working.
But we had a good time.
Great.
I am glad you had a good timefor your birthday.
(11:20):
That means that you were closeto your stomping ground,
Philadelphia.
I know people don't understandthat New York is close.
You can get to Philadelphiapretty quickly.
So I know you were pretty close,so excellent, excellent.
Let's get to the first segment,which is what's on my mind and.
The first thing that's on mymind, and I really want you to
(11:43):
talk about this, is Ironheart,and the reason I want you to
talk about it, I did not knowuntil my daughter told me,
Bobby, that there was a lot ofbacklash with it being a black
superhero and the black younglady.
I I didn't know too much aboutthis.
(12:05):
Have you heard about this?
I.
Kathia Woods (12:07):
Oh yeah, there is a, I'll give you specifics'cause
we like to speak it.
There is a YouTube channel bythe name of hold on.
What is their name?
Neurotic.
Daily.
They bombed reviewed this beforeepisodes even dropped or before.
(12:29):
Screeners were sent out.
Screeners were sent out on six16 for this.
And making all types of racistremark that, that they knew it
was going to be black'cause ithad hip hop music.
They knew it was going to beblack because Riri had a
stepfather.
They knew it was going to beblack.
(12:50):
'cause the south side ofChicago.
And the her best friend Natalie,why didn't they just call her
Joanna man?
And this.
Particular YouTube channel hasconsistently made racist remarks
when there's been characters ofcolor that had racist remarks.
When it comes to YouTube, excuseme, blue beetle, that is DC that
(13:12):
had Nora had racist remarks forWakanda forever.
It is anytime anything iscentering women.
And people of color do they geton there and it's, I believe in
free speech, but I also feelthat it's accountability and I
hope that Marvel is looking atthat u, these YouTubers and
(13:33):
never invites them to anything.
I hope that Disney looks at thatand never invites them.
Also, there were reviews,audience reviews on excuse me,
rotten Tomatoes.
That had it at 32 percent.
And I'm like, how can you reviewsomething when the episodes
didn't drop until 9:00 PM onDisney Plus?
(13:57):
So Rotten Tomatoes had to go inthere and scrub it.
And I've said it before and I'msaying it again.
You need to absolutely have yourpicture posted.
I feel like as critics yourpicture should be up there.
Stand on business if you aregonna trash something.
And we've had fellow criticsthat made racist reviews, right?
Stand on business.
(14:17):
Let everybody see what you looklike.
Don't hide behind an avatar orbehind anonymous.
And same thing on the audience.
If you are going to saysomething racist, Josh from
Connecticut or whoever, right?
Your face needs to be up there.
And it ties in also with anothersituation that I know you heard
about the picture for theDiamondbacks.
(14:40):
What happened in, at the WhiteSox game, there is a fine line.
We're being passionate and beinga fan and crossing it and people
like neurotic and people likethat.
Gentleman that said, and I'musing gentlemen Lucid'cause
we're keeping a family on thischannel.
Talking about the pictures deadmother, like you are free to say
(15:04):
anything and I will fight onthat to the death.
But you are not free ofconsequences and when media
platforms give platforms andwhen YouTube does not put a
disclosure and say that we donot agree.
This is not the community we'rebuilding here on YouTube.
He's free to make these videosand be racist with these other
men.
(15:24):
There is something about the MCUand DC comic book space that
thinks that only belongs towhite people and to men, and
this is true.
We gotta call them out on it.
And it's, you don't, okay.
It's different if you watchsomething, Reggie.
Again, I say this as blackcritics.
We are not required to likeeverything that is made by black
(15:46):
people, but if we're gonnacritique it, let's critique the
work of art.
Let's critique.
Hey, I didn't like this episode.
I think the pacing was too slow.
I think the story could havebeen better developed.
I didn't totally believe thisactor.
'cause they're saying they'resupposed to play a villain.
I don't feel like they'vetotally committed.
So you have all of theseconversations that is about the
(16:07):
piece of work.
I'm not getting into AnthonyRam's personal life, right?
That's none of my business.
I'm not getting into DominiqueThorne and trying to ascertain
whether she's smart in reallife.
That's none of my business.
That has nothing to do with theprogram at hand.
These six episodes, we'regetting these people and they
wanna rile everything up.
(16:29):
And this is why when I say topeople, it's, there's no coming
together with that.
And they take pride in that andthey and they will tell you.
Well, I'm not racist, it's justjokes.
We have a right to feel that asmen we're being erased, right?
Everything is fun and games, andunfortunately we live in a time
where we've got a lot of peoplethat don't know the fine line
(16:52):
between sarcasm, humor, critiqueand taking it one over
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cri (16:59):
And I just would say, I would say
this though.
I think that there's not a fineline.
I think that there is a realdemarcation.
These people know where thatline is and they are
intentionally crossing.
It's not a fine line.
I think that when, if we aretalking about maybe a comedian,
maybe sometimes comedians ridethat line between being funny
(17:24):
and maybe being offensive.
So I can see that these folksare not doing that.
They are.
If you are reviewing a piece ofwork before you're able to
review the piece of work, that'snot a fine line.
You just say, I'm gonna crossthe line.
I'm gonna jump on over here andjust go all in.
(17:46):
So I, I can't, I Goodconscience.
Give these people the benefit ofthe doubt, because you haven't
even seen the word.
You heard something.
What you heard was, wow, whatyou just read.
Oh, we knew it was gonna beblack, that it was on the south
(18:08):
side of Chicago.
We knew it was gonna bl be blackbecause he had, she had a
stepdad.
We knew it was gonna be blackbecause there was qua.
Wow.
That's not a fine line.
That's not bordering on anythingthat's actually putting up the
flag and saying, I am.
Bias, racist, and I'm not afraidto show it as long as you don't
(18:31):
see my face.
That's what I, it's
Kathia Woods (18:35):
it's like, and other thing too is and I'm not
one to advocate for violence,but we are at this stage bring
back, having to force people tosay things in person.
Ace is my other thing, right?
We're both Gen Xers.
We're from the generation.
If you can't say it.
(18:56):
In person.
If you can't stand on businesswith the same type of vitriol in
person that you do online, go ina room full of people and say
that ish.
Go to Comic-Con, have a paneland go up there and be full
flesh racist.
Go stand all the way.
Say it with your chest, as theyused to say, right?
Yeah.
Stand and be that way.
(19:16):
So in case you do get punched inthe head, and I'm not advocating
for anybody to conduct violence.
Then maybe if you squabble withsomebody.
'cause some people need to learnthe hard way.
And I'm positive them dudesdon't know how to fight.
That's why they're on theinternet live from the basement,
right?
These guys never have the sametype of energy.
I'm like staying on business.
(19:37):
Be the same person in personthat you are on the internet,
because if you can't say that infront of a room full of people.
That that somebody might bummerrush you and be like, I'm gonna
come see you after thesituation, then you are a
coward.
You are a coward.
I say, if you're gonna beracist, right?
(19:58):
Don't just be cute racist.
Be racist in every facet of yourlife.
Let your neighbors know thatyou're racist.
Pump let your kids.
Your kids know that you're aracist punk.
So when their, your kids wannaplay with someone else's kids,
they say, no, Timmy can't cometo our house'cause his dad is
racist.
Let you feel all of the brunt ofyour racism because that's the
(20:21):
part I can't respect you.
It's easy to be in these squareswhen we're sitting in our homes,
when there's somebody that,that, that will, that's why I'm
saying one thing aboutcomedians, at least.
They're standing in front of anaudience saying these things,
and yes, do I like what everycomedian says, but at least I
respect the audacity and thecourage to be like, I'm a stand
on business.
(20:42):
That's how I feel.
These are the type of jokes I'mgonna play.
Say, you don't gotta buy aticket, you don't gotta agree.
That's why I didn't think it'shella corny when people hecka
people, if you feel like it'sgoing to south, get up and walk
out.
You don't have to engage thecomedian, you don't have to do
anything.
Walk out.
If you feel like you want yourmoney back, then take that up
with the people that run thesituation.
(21:03):
But we are living in a spacewhere we've got a lot of people
that have no courage, liking torun at the mouth.
And when they do run intosomebody that pushes back.
They don't, then they wanna playvictim.
It's only me and he's so muchbigger and he's so much
stronger.
Well, don't write a check withyour mouth that your, you know
(21:28):
what can cash.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Criti (21:29):
I love that.
I love that.
Talking about the cash, let'stalk a little bit about movies.
Let's move into.
Some films.
There is a film out there that Iwanted to see that I have not
seen, and that first film thatwe're gonna talk about is Heads
of State.
There was a movie called Head ofState.
Hmm.
Who was in that?
Oh, Chris Rock.
(21:51):
But this is not that.
This is a different film, so Ididn't get to see it.
You got to see it.
Tell us.
I Idris Elvis's in it.
John Sinners in it.
Who else?
Kathia Woods (22:04):
Hold on.
It's Nick Jonas's wife and Iwanna say this correctly, right?
Hold on.
And'cause I always say her namewrong, but I'll tell you the
movie is John Sna.
Is.
It kind of like imitates life,he is a former action star who
ran, as like the people's champand became a became president of
(22:27):
the United States, right?
Okay.
Idris Alba is the PrimeMinister, and he is pull
yourself up by the bootstrap.
He was in the military specialservices, and he's the Prime
Minister of Britain.
They're supposed to be going toG seven.
And they're working and they'reit just thinks that John
Seaman's character Will, is awhole clown show because he's a
(22:50):
guy that treats the office beingpresident, like being a movie
star.
And John Cena thinks of IdrisSBOs character Sam Clark,
privacy, Sam Clark as being toostuffy.
And he doesn't, he's not a manof the people.
The other person's doing isPriyanka Chopra.
That's who Nick Jonas's wife andKaino.
And it's basically it's, I thinkit's perfect for streaming.
(23:13):
It's coming to Prime video onJuly the second.
It's about these two people thathave opposing views.
They, are on, air Force One andAir Force one gets taken over
and they have to work toge.
They survive the crash.
They have to work together tostop the threat at the G seven
meeting.
And it's a lot of, you know,it's a buddy movie.
(23:33):
It's a lot of back and forth andI think it's a good Kiki over
4th of July weekend, you'repaying for your prime video.
Might as well hit play.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel C (23:43):
Might as well hit play.
Kathia Woods (23:45):
Yeah.
You're paying for it.
You might as well get yourmoney's worth.
And again, it's a buddy actionfunny movie.
It's not very deep.
It's not trying to change theworld.
It's just a bunch of jokes withtwo really handsome movie stars.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Crit (23:58):
So instead of being the defiant
ones, meaning that they'rechained together, but they're
still kind of chained together.
Kathia Woods (24:08):
Basically,
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cr (24:09):
yes.
Kathia Woods (24:10):
Mm-hmm.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Criti (24:12):
I know people talk with all that,
Kathia Woods (24:13):
But again, I think, I love, I think John Cena
is, we talk about we all havecringed at these former
wrestlers of people like JakePaul, who, thinks he's on the
level of boxing skills as MikeTyson, right?
Especially young.
Mike Tyson, not current, MikeTyson.
And and they just wanna betaken, like they, I'm such a
(24:35):
world class athlete.
And you're like, sit down.
You're like a total joke.
But, john Cena is somebody whohas leaned into his wrestling
persona.
I think he does these type ofslaps that comedy's really,
really well.
He doesn't take himself tooseriously, and it's like an
inside joke, because a lot ofpeople made fun of him.
Oh, he is a wrestling star andhe thinks he's gonna be an actor
(24:55):
now and everything, right?
Whereas we saw that when hepresented best costume at the
Academy Award, right?
He was in the, it looked like hewas nude, but he wasn't nude,
but he leaned into it and we alllaughed, right?
So I think I love what he's donewith his career and his
transitioning and it's also niceto see Idris not be super, super
(25:17):
serious.
A lot of stuff that we've seenand has been very buttoned up,
on a side note, he's not gonnabe in the next James Bond'cause
Abra is 50 plus and you knowwhat that is.
But I do think that it's a funKiki at the house.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Crit (25:30):
My question is, you said that if
you're already a member, youshould pay.
You don't have to pay.
You should just go ahead andwatch it.
It's great to hit click.
Here's my question.
Some of these movies make peoplewant to purchase.
That particular streamingservice.
(25:50):
Okay.
Is this one of those movies thatyou would say, yes, purchase the
streaming service because youcannot miss this?
Kathia Woods (26:00):
Not for this, because I think there is there,
there's a lot of great contenton Prime Video.
I think Prime Video gets a badrap.
It gets lost between Hulu andNetflix, but there is a lot of
good content if it's bundled inwith your Amazon Prime.
Absolutely.
We, I think we are a little bittoo addicted to Amazon Prime.
We like that next day deliveryand all that, but I still think
(26:22):
this is a fun movie.
Like people I think a lot of menwill like it.
The women will get the eye candyand Idris and John.
In that way there's a lot to tolook at here.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel C (26:33):
Okay.
All right.
I will talk a little bit aboutthe movie, Elio.
You said, Reggie, you are ascary cat.
Kathia Woods (26:44):
Yes.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Crit (26:45):
So you should not go see 28 years
later.
Kathia Woods (26:51):
Yes, because I know you, because you would've
been in there and you would'vebeen like, man, I could've gone
see Elio instead of being inhere and being my nerves being
shot and all of this and ugh, Idon't need that in my life.
So I said, Frank, go seesomething fun.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Criti (27:06):
I followed your advice and I'm not
particularly happy that Ifollowed your advice.
This was it scary?
No.
Okay.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cr (27:18):
Yes.
Yes.
It was scary.
Let me tell you why it wasscary.
Tell me, friend.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Crit (27:23):
It was scary because of the age of
kids in this theater.
They were running amuck.
Oh, and when I say runningamuck, they were running amuck.
There were kids hanging on thelittle bars.
They're supposed to separateseats from each other.
I could not watch the movie forthe fact that the kids were
(27:44):
disturbing me.
They were all, half of them werenot even watching the movie, but
the movie is made for them.
What is this one about?
Elio, who is a space fanatic, heis out there believing
wholeheartedly that there isextra terrestrial life out.
(28:08):
And he's doing things like goingto the beach and drawing out in
words, please take me aliens.
I'm right here.
Come get me.
And eventually they actually dotake him.
They take him, he learns abouttheir world.
It's very intelligent.
(28:28):
They only take the top of thetop.
And he has presented himself asa head of state.
And they think that he's thehead of the United States of
United States, and they invitehim into their cohort.
This journey for LEO ends upwhere.
(28:53):
They find out that he lied, butat the same time there's a foe
that he can help them defeat andkeep their world, and keep the
world as it is.
The end question is not the endquestion.
The big question for this filmfor people is, do I belong?
Where do I belong?
(29:14):
How do I belong?
And it's really about belonging,and I think it's a sweet.
Film for young people, and ifadults are dragged to this film,
this is not one of those filmswhere the animators said, and
writers said to themselves,okay, what we're gonna do is
we're gonna make sure thatthere's something here for
(29:34):
adults.
This is not one of those, thisis not one of those.
This is a young kid's film, andif you are a young, a parent of
a young kid, you just gonna haveto grin and bear it.
It is not like it's a terriblefilm, but I'm just saying, you
know how sometimes there arejokes that the.
That they put in there that thekids won't get, but the adults
will.
(29:54):
And you know that the writersare thinking, okay, parents and
adults will be here too, solet's put something in there for
them.
This is not that film.
This is a young, young kidsfilm.
And if you don't have to go asan adult, I will say, please
don't, because you will notenjoy not the film.
You will not enjoy all thosekids.
(30:16):
It is running rampant with kidsin there.
I was so glad, I forgot how longthis film is.
Oh, it's an hour and 38 minutes.
It felt like two hours and 40minutes.
I couldn't wait to get outtathere.
And again, nothing to do withthe movie as much as to do with
the clientele.
(30:36):
It just wasn't my, my, myclientele and no thank you.
Kathia Woods (30:42):
So it's for little people.
It's not for big people, andyour job as a big person is to
bring the little person andprovide the snacks
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cri (30:51):
and provide the snacks.
One of the things I do likeabout films that are a hour and
a half is that they do take intoaccount that when you're talking
about little kids, that the.
Time, an hour and a half mightsave you from going to the
(31:13):
bathroom.
There were still parents walkingpast me like, okay, it is time
to go to the bathroom, but don'tmake a two hour movie for these
little, little kids.
No.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Crit (31:24):
So yeah, it is it's a little kid
movie.
It's well done.
All of that.
Only go if you're a little kidor you got little kids that you
have to take.
So it's okay for
Kathia Woods (31:37):
the younger people.
It's hot, it's been very hotoutside.
All across the country.
You need somewhere cool otherthan the pool to take him.
Then this is the movie.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cr (31:48):
This will be the movie and this it is
so great that you set thatbecause this is that time of the
year, the when you, because Iam.
Rotten.
We are Rotten Tomato certified.
When we go to Rotten Tomatoesand we look at what the critics
rated this movie, the criticshave rated this 83% and the
(32:08):
audience has rated it 91%.
So I suspect the parents thatwent and took their kids, they
had a good enough time and theyknew that their kids had a great
time.
So this would absolutely be afilm to take your kid to over
the week, over the weekend.
Now moving on to a movie that weboth saw and you already started
(32:33):
talking about it.
I'm going to go first and thereason I'm gonna go first is
because you already seenpredisposed to loving this film,
and I'm gonna give you what Iliked and I'm gonna tell you
what I didn't like.
What is this one about?
Sonny is Sonny Hayes, played byBrad Pitt.
(32:53):
Is this a former Formula one topprospect?
He's a phenom, but he had hiscareer ended in a tragic
accident many, many years later.
He is coaxed by Formula OneOwner Ruben Cervantes, played by
Javier by them to come back tothe track to save a franchise.
(33:15):
Mentor, a young driver, andJoshua Pierce, played by Damson
Idris, and possibly repairSonny's image.
But you know, Sonny doesn'treally care about all that.
He just likes the thrill of theride, and he likes doing the
things the way he does it.
We got Brad Pitt, Demson, IdrisCarrie Condon, Tobias Menes, Kim
(33:35):
Bina, and Harvey Bardi.
What did I like about this?
I think Brad Pitt did a goodjob.
I think he plays this guy Sonny,who's interesting, but not a
likable character.
He's cocky, but he's a bitjarring and weirdly appealing.
You actually say, okay.
All that stuff that he bringshere.
Yeah.
(33:55):
I kinda I'm a little bit intothis guy, but this guy who
appears to care about not muchreveals, he does care about one
thing and that's racing andmaybe not winning.
I don't know how you like thatpart because you like to win,
but you like the fact that hedidn't care about winning.
You talk about that later, butsurely he likes the thrill of
being behind the wheel.
(34:16):
And this film really takes youthe audience behind the wheel.
You're behind the wheel, you'rebeside the wheel.
You get to see the pit crews,the.
Driving the mistakes, all thestuff that if you are into
Formula One, you're gonna love.
And if you don't know much aboutFormula One, you are gonna that
as well.
You might say yourself, wow Imight want to wanna do that.
(34:38):
I think the interaction betweenSonny and Joshua's combative, so
that sets the, a really nicestage.
They're supposed to beteammates, but they're not
really teammates until theyreally try to become teammates.
That's fun.
All that stuff is happeningthere.
There's also a love relationshipthat happens, which I wish
didn't happen in this film, andI'll tell you why in a second.
And I also think that they had anumber of sub stories.
(35:02):
That was the love story.
They had a woman pit crew persontrying to approve herself.
They had Harvey about themtrying to save his franchise.
So they had a whole lot of otherthings happening, but they
didn't make it.
So overwhelming that it tookover the story about the Three
Men, which is Sonny Joshua, andReuben Cervantes.
So I, overall, I think it works,but there are two things that
(35:25):
bother me.
The first is that the writerspresent Sonny as an enigma, and
they sell and it, and theycelebrate a bravado that is
frequently reserved for whom,Hmm, white males.
I know that guy.
I saw that guy, and maybe thisbravado is needed to be in the
sport, but in a way, it reallydid speak to privilege and
(35:47):
opportunity because I was askingmyself, I like this film, but I
was asking myself, how is thisguy who is a danger to his
teammates and his competitors,how does he keep getting second
chances, third chances, fourthchance, fifth chances, sixth
chances, seven chances.
How at some point his ability tofail up.
(36:08):
Wore thin for me at some point.
I'm like, man, he keeps doingthe wrong thing, but he keeps
getting the right outcome.
It was something about hisrecklessness that had me feeling
that he should have been kickedoff the team.
He should have been kicked outthe league.
He should have been penalized.
Something should have happened,and that would've made a lot of
sense, but I don't rememberseeing that.
(36:31):
Then, as I mentioned a littleearlier or a preview, I didn't
want them to have this loverelationship.
And the reason is that Kate wasthe first technical director for
one of these big Formula Oneracing teams, and I didn't want
her to be seduced to serveSonny's ego and kind of tarnish
(36:53):
her credibility her.
Her job so to speak.
I do think that the writers gaveher enough agency that she was
able to enter and navigate thatrelationship with respect and
dignity.
So I appreciate that, but Iwould've liked her to be able to
show that she could do her thingand just kick it with all that.
(37:16):
I think you got.
Turbocharged characters.
You got some high octanerelationships and driving that
truly hugs the road.
I think F1 is fast fun and I'mnot gonna say furious and has a
formula that is one to watch.
That's what I got my friend.
Kathia Woods (37:33):
Oh, you know, I didn't think you, okay.
Well, Brad Pitt's ca okay, thisstory, let's just get that out
of the way.
It's a little whimsical,especially Brad Pitt's
character.
He washed out of F1, which isthe top racing circuit in the
world.
And he's just been pretty much agun for hire.
(37:53):
And so they allow him to, hisfriend is like, sure, come from
the Chitlin circuit and nowdrive F1.
Absolutely preposterous.
However I don't know who needsto hear this, but we didn't come
for any of that.
And I agree with you, the lovestory between Brad's character
and Care's character.
We didn't need it.
This is a racing movie and itjust seems super cliche-ish too,
(38:16):
however.
I loved all the racing stuff.
If you've ever watched F1 beento F1 race, it's the most fun.
It, I'm sorry.
I know that people try tocompare it to indie.
It's not the same.
It just isn't.
It's just, it just isn't.
You know what I mean?
And this is no shade to anybody,but it's not the same.
I love the fact that Damson Inreis in this movie as the second
(38:40):
biggest name.
The movie opens as Brad, it'sDamon's name, and I'm like,
let's freaking Goop.
His name showed up beforeJavier's name showed up.
And Javier is a whole Oscar.
I love the fact that he wasn'tseen as the party guy.
I'm glad they did not give himthe Caucasian girlfriend.
Yeah, I said, what I said isthey had him be all the
(39:00):
stereotypes as a guy that likesto drink and party and just be
reckless.
No, he's a new breed of, and Ithink he was cloned after Louis
Hamilton, who's one of theexecutive producer, the seven
time World champion, who alsomakes an appearance in this
movie.
I think that's cool.
They got the drivers to appearin the movie.
They filmed it at real F1 raceshere in the United States.
(39:23):
They filmed it in Vegas at thatF1 race, which is really cool,
right?
I love the fact that these guysdid two years worth of training
before, to look like race cardrivers.
And I also loved the at damsonsstoryline.
You know what I mean?
He's a kid that came from acouncil home.
He lost his father.
He's very close to his mother.
(39:43):
Also, pause.
We did.
We see who, who played his mom,Sarah Niles.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cr (39:49):
Yay.
Kathia Woods (39:53):
And she.
She not Brad.
No.
Don't play with me.
Don't play.
She don't play about her son.
And I love also the relationshipthat Dempson had with his
manager, right?
Because his man, his manager,wanted him to live that life.
That's his
Reggie Ponder, The Reel (40:07):
cousin.
That was his cousin.
That's his cousin.
Cousin.
And I love that fact that theywere doing a family business.
Yeah.
It was cousin, mom and driver.
Yeah.
I love that.
I love that.
Kathia Woods (40:20):
Me Damson talked about that.
We all got that friend, thatfamily member we love.
But he'd just be doing a littlebit too much.
And cousin was doing a littlebit too much, cousin Cashman and
he needs to know when to put iton and when to take it off,
right?
And the social media.
And I said, I love therelationship that the the mother
and son have, where he is rootedin that and also him telling
(40:43):
Brad Pitt Hey.
I'm not some spoiled bra.
I had to work 10 times harder toget here.
I don't get, did you think that,our tables were reversed.
I would be able to come fromlike the chicken circuit to now
drive F1.
You don't understand the battlesI had to overcome.
To be there.
And I'm glad that they did havea scene like that.
'cause Brad just, Brad'scharacter, sunny, just thought
(41:05):
of him as a spoiled brat thatjust walked in there and he's if
this team doesn't work, I don'tget another chance to drive for
another team.
My career is done.
This is my only shot to make it,and you are ruining it.
So I do think that part of themovie works, but the part that
we came to see is the drivingthe cinematography.
(41:26):
Fantastic.
The up close, the inner, likeyou felt like you were in the
race car.
You were really like, you haveto forget that you wanted these
people to place, you wantedthese people to win because you
felt like you became a far apart of the Apex team.
Even though the team don'texist, you want a old girl,
Carey, like girl, build the car.
We got nothing to lose.
(41:47):
We are ready in last, likewhat's the worst thing that
could happen?
We might actually place andJavier Barden who, who's trying
to do it the right way, and he'strying to he's not dropping the
kit.
The two things, there are twopivotal moments in the film, but
I was like, nah, if they, theblack guys world gets cut, we
gonna have problems.
And I'm glad they didn't go thatroute.
(42:07):
'cause I know you were thinkingit too.
Now.
Come on now.
No, no doubt your is here.
No doubt your friend is here andthen play with us.
And I do like that in the end,even though the story is a
little fluky, Sonny is theproblem.
And it's the fact that otherpeople had to be like, Hey, like
for us, there is no tomorrow.
(42:29):
This is our big shot.
We, this is it.
Like we don't, we can't becavalier about it because
Carrie's character.
Damsons character, themechanics, even Harvey and
Ruben.
As Ruben, there is no tomorrow.
This is their one and only shotbecause if this doesn't work,
they're done with racing.
Whereas Sonny can go back andgo, drive a push cart for all he
(42:52):
cares.
So I think there's a lesson tobe learned that understanding
that when you're a woman.
When you're Latino, when you areblack, that your point of entry
is different and that you needto not be so cavalier about it.
You need to respect that.
Absolutely.
But again, I think the racing, Ithink the location they caught
(43:13):
the glamor.
I.
Off F1, which is very glamorlike they F1 racism, Monaco,
that is not like, you know, it'snot, but light and dab bobs,
it's gowns and, designer andeverything.
So I do think that they caughtthat.
And again I thought it was shutout to cinematographer.
Again, a shout out to themusical director, and again, I'm
(43:35):
glad that Louis Hamilton was oneof the producers, executive
producers to help.
Say, like this is not authentic.
Like, no, you're gonna getdragged for this.
This is part of it.
You know, explaining a littlebit because I think some of the
stuff was like, why are theydoing it?
Explaining the rules so that thelame person who doesn't watch
F1.
So I did a lot of, overall, Ireally enjoyed this film.
(43:57):
If you love summer movies, thisis a summer blockbuster movie.
You've got your big movie stars,you've got your big action
sequences, you got a greatsoundtrack.
All of that is working for it.
Yeah, the story a little hokey,but if you can sit through Fast
and Furious 1000, this is Oscarmaterial compared to that, so
(44:19):
again, I, if you love bigcinematic movies, you wanna sit
there with popcorn and you wannago on a joyous ride and escape
for two hours and some change.
Thank God it's less than threehours.
This is the movie for you.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Criti (44:32):
I will say a couple things.
I think that this is.
Surely one to watch, I would goand check it out.
I do think that when you walkaway from it, you might not feel
like that you love thecharacters, so to speak, even
(44:53):
though some kind way the writersand producers got you to care
about them.
And I think that's all you needis to care about the characters.
'cause to your point.
We were hoping that this teamwould place, please let them
place.
And then you speak about l LewisHamilton.
(45:15):
He was pivotal to making thiswork for me because the
filmmakers seem to be making astrong appeal to marginalized
groups who might not support.
Formula One, and they do thatwith a very diverse cast as well
as putting them in pivotalroles.
(45:35):
So you have owner Jer Bardi,then you have a car driver,
Damson Idris.
Then you have the women inracing.
There was Carrie Conden, andthen there was Kaylee Cook, who
was the pit crew for the tires.
Having all of that.
Was very, very important and Ican't help but think that Louis
(45:58):
Hamilton had a lot to do withthat, saying that we need to
make sure that we show somerepresentation.
This film is a commercial inmany ways, a commercial for
people who love F1 and an appealto people who don't know much
about F1.
And you spoke about this, theytold, they, they explained the
(46:18):
rules.
They put you in the driver'sseat, so to speak.
I think they did a good job.
I gave this one three out offour reels for me, so I, it's
one that I would recommendpeople see.
I had a good time.
I liked it all that the storydoes bring it down more than a
little bit of a notch, and it'sprobably because of the bravado
(46:41):
and swagger that Brad Pitt.
Displays in this, and I think hedoes a good job doing it, but
I'm like, oh, come on, youhere's white boy.
Once again, failing up.
So I liked it.
I liked it.
Kathia Woods (46:55):
I did too.
I really enjoyed it.
I think we all, we were all likecheering at the end and
everything that shows you theemotional, how they pulled you
in.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel C (47:05):
Well, good.
That's it for our movies.
We can go into our last segment,which is Rent and Rave, and you
know, I always want to talk alittle bit, just a bit about the
box office.
We don't have to be there long,but I was surprised at the
number one film at the boxoffice.
(47:26):
I thought that it would be.
28 years later.
And the reason I did is becauseit was breaking all kind of pre
ticket sales records and I justthought it would be number one
at the box office.
But not so fast.
Reggie, do you know what wasnumber one at the box office
last week?
What was number
(47:47):
one?
Reggie Ponder, The Reel (47:47):
Reggie, how to train your dragon?
It was number one at the boxoffice in its second week.
I was a little bit surprised.
Now it fell almost 57%, so itdid 36, 30 7 million, but 28
years later, because it is kindof a niche film, it only did 30
(48:11):
million.
So it came in at number two.
What came in at number three.
Elio, I expected that.
I actually thought Elio might doa little bit better.
It only did 21 million at thebox office.
So interesting.
And then there were two otherthings that were interested,
interesting to me in with thebox office, and that was, I'm
(48:32):
looking at Mission Impossible'snumbers and it has not cracked
200 million in the UnitedStates.
This film absolutely made mostof its money abroad.
Currently it's at 458 millionand it's only made 181 million
(48:53):
in the U.
In the us I'm a little bitsurprised, just a little, that
it didn't do a somewhat betterin the United States.
Then the other movie, which youknow, we are always tracking, I
want to see where and how sin isdoing.
(49:15):
And it's still out there in, inthe market It currently is at
278 million domestically withonly 87 million internationally.
Again, I'm surprised at thatnumber.
I just would feel that with allof the buzz and how other people
(49:35):
are talking about this film asan original, that it would
probably.
Translate a little bit more orbetter overseas be just because
of the discussion and word ofmouth.
It's currently at 264 millionand I mean 364 million, and I
(49:56):
thought it had to make at least300 million for it to make its
money back, and it has.
So kudos to that movie as well.
So those are the movies that,that I talk about.
In the box office and I'll say'em again.
It was How to Train Your Dragon28 years later, LEO Mission
Impossible and then centers.
(50:18):
Any thoughts on box office?
Kathia Woods (50:20):
No, I'm not surprised because kids are outta
school right now, including upnorth, and the temperatures have
been insanely hot.
And so they want, movies a greatway to go.
If you don't have access to apool or anything like that.
Yes.
So it's a great way to bringkids.
And it's also, it's also themost affordable thing that you
(50:43):
can go to.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Criti (50:44):
A lot of people don't think so.
They always are talking abouthow expensive the movies are,
but it's still more affordablethan any other option.
If you're trying to take afamily of four to a baseball
game.
It is really expensive to go toa baseball game these days.
That's why families now aregoing to.
(51:06):
That league that's underneaththe underneath major league, I,
I forgot.
The mi the minor league.
The
Kathia Woods (51:12):
minor leagues.
The minor leagues,
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Cri (51:13):
The minor league teams, they put on
a good show and the tickets arecheap, so you can go have some
popcorn and have a little fun.
But going to these major leaguegames are, it's expensive.
So again, movies are one ofthose less expensive things that
you can go and enjoy.
We're at the end of our show andat the end of our show I always
(51:36):
ask the question, what articleyou have coming out now?
Where can people check?
You out overall.
I know you have two or threeplaces, so we need to know that.
Come on, let's get the people tocheck you out.
Kathia Woods (51:51):
Well, today's Friday edition at the
Philadelphia Tribune, which youcan also read online.
You can read my interview withDemson interest as well as my
review of F1.
What about you, Reggie?
What can they find you?
Reggie Ponder, The Re (52:04):
Currently my review of F1 is out at
Indigo.
That's NIN.
DIGO, excuse me, dot com.
You can also check out next weekmy interview with Glen Davis of
the Play Purpose, and today Ijust did an interview with RT
(52:31):
Thorn for the movie 40 Acres.
I'm not sure when that'll comeout yet, but I am out there
doing it I think I have oneother and you can check out my
review on the Garfield Lawndalevoice.
There we go.
Absolutely.
That's it.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel (52:51):
That's our show.
We will see you guys next time.
See you next time.
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