March 21, 2025 • 8 mins
Firebrand
In Tudor England, Katherine Parr reluctantly agrees to become the sixth wife of the tyrannical King Henry VIII. Her consent to marry him carries great personal risk, given her predecessors are either vanquished, beheaded or dead. Perceived as a threat by Henry's courtiers, they start to cast doubts about her fidelity and turn the increasingly paranoid king against her.
The Electric State
An orphaned teen hits the road with a mysterious robot to find her long-lost brother, teaming up with a smuggler and his wisecracking sidekick.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame podcast
from News Talks at be.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Time to catch up with Francisca Radken, our film reviewer,
with her PEX for this week in morning.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Okay, we've got a bit of a period drama to
begin with things this morning, So day to have a
listen to Firebrand.
Speaker 4 (00:26):
There once was a queen by the name of Catherine Parr.
She was the sixth wife of the vengeful king Henry
the Eighth. The five wives who came before her all
met untimely ends, but Catherine's fate was to change the
kingdom forever.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
It sounds like it's been a while since we've been
able to sort of get our teeth into a really
good period drama.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
I was really excited about this film. You may have
caught it when it screened at the New Zealand and
Gentle Bilisi of last year. It has now come back
for general release and Firebrand has it all. It's got
the gorgeous costumes, the fabulous locations, sort of the lush
art direction, the manipulation and desire for power and survival.
(01:17):
It's got a bloated and oozing quite literally Jude Law
as King Henry the Eighth. He's not doing so well
at this point when we meet him. Of course, he's
got these terrible infections in his legs and things. Alyssia
the Canada she stars as Catherine Parr, his final queen
who survived him, and she is absolutely fantastic and nuanced
(01:40):
as a woman who is well aware of her place
within the court and that her husband could chop her
head off at any moment, but still also has her
own ambitions and religious beliefs that she tries to nurture
and develop. This film takes history and it gives it
a feminist in fictional edge. So you'll watch it and
(02:02):
you'll go, oh, Okay, this is fantastic. I know this story,
and then it just has these lovely little twists to it.
And I love it when filmmakers do this. It's a
little bit like that wonderful TV show for All Mankind
about NASA. You know, you just started off thinking you
were going to watch something historical and it just turns
on it HEAs And it's wonderful because it just adds
a bit of unpredictability to a period drama. It is
(02:26):
very clever. I think it could have even pushed things
a little bit further. Jude Law, however, is absolutely fabulous.
He steals every scene he is in. He is not
holding back in this role as this very difficult man,
and he embraces him physically, kind of emotionally everything. And
(02:48):
Elizabeth Kanda, as I mentioned, does this excellent job of
balancing the dutiful wife with her and ambitions. Look, there's
plenty of political swagger and royal pandering Henry's courts. You know,
everybody is kept on their toes. They're aware of that
they're at the moon see of the king's whims. It's wonderful.
(03:10):
I think if you like period dramas, you like immersing
yourselves in a different time, but you don't mind a
little bit of a twist, and that's a factual film.
I think you'll really enjoy this.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
It's great anytime you can describe an actor as bloated
and oozing, I'm into it. Yeah, I think that's yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
Here's so, here's what they did. Just here's a little tip.
When they were shooting the scenes and there were all
these people in his parlor and they have to unwrap
his legs to look at the injuries and put more
maggots on and things. Apparently the filmmaker has got someone
to create a smell that replicas decaying fleas and they
put in the room. I heard, and they put that
(03:55):
in the room when they were shooting the scenes. And
actually everybody does react so brilliantly to it. But yeah,
so there we go filmmaking for you.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Yeah, fantastic. Okay, that's firebrand. Yeah, no, wonder you do
with that? Next up, the film screening on Netflix at
the moment. This is the Electric State to bar Rebellion.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
It was ugly when the robots deviated from their assigned tash.
We banished them.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
To the Electric State.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Babam Chris Pratt and Millie Bobby Brown tell us about
the Electric spas.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
And Stanley Tucci and Woody Harrelson and Brian Cox and
Holly Hunter and Jason Alexander, just a few names to
throw out there. Look, what I heard about this film
is that it has this incredible cast, which it does,
and it's possibly one of the most expensive movies ever made.
So the rumor is they spend three hundred and twenty
million US on this film. This is this is Netflix,
(04:50):
This is Netflix. Right. They won't confirm the figure. But
if it is true, it is definitely the most expensive
stream streaming film ever made. And you know what turned
in twenty million uths. O it's good light escapism.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
That's not great.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
Yeah, it starts off with a hussin raw and I
thought this is going to be fantastic. There's kind of
the film sort of sets us up as you heard there.
It sort of sets the story, sets up that we're
in the nineteen nineties, there's a war with robots, robots
are outlawed, and there's a lot of really clever use
(05:28):
of historical footage, some very funny moments, and I was going,
this is going to be such a great action comedy.
They've got the balance right. And then as the film
kind of progresses, it sloths and it becomes a little
bit plotty, and the stalogue isn't maybe as sharp as
it should be, and then it packs up again at
the end for a lovely kind of epic ending. So
I did feel that they had something here, but it
(05:49):
sort of just drifted into a little bit of a
predictable sci fi film. So Melli Bubby Brown, she plays
this character. She believes the consciousness of her presumed dead
brother is in a robot that comes to find her,
and she goes off in search of her brother, and
she ends up in this place called the Exclusion Zone,
and she's helped by this scavenger outlaw Chris Pratt, who
actually just acts like he has warped out of Galians
(06:09):
of the Galaxy and onto the set. Apparently got twenty
million for that, so good on her. It's made by
Anthony and Joe Russo, who responsible for films like in
Phillypy Wore an Endgame, they did four Avengers films. They
know what they're doing. And the robots are fantastic. Look
the they're impressive. The action and the visuals are really
(06:30):
really good. And as I say, it sort of starts
well and ends well, it just sort of it was
a bit of a lull middle. It's a shame.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Yeah, okay, yeah it's fair enough. But yeah, I'm stunned
that Netflix is even spending that much on films at
the moment.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
Well, here's the thing, right, here's the thing. Everyone just
sits and watches streaming, so it's really easy to capture
your audience. You don't need to make the go to
a cinema and pay for it. So that I don't
think they really they're not. I think they want to
make their money bag, but they're not hugely fuss. They
know that people will watch it, and apparently it is
already sitting at number one and there.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Yeah, okay, well that's the Electric State streaming on Netflix.
The and Francesca's first film, the one that is showing
in cinemas is Firebrand. Will put all of the details
for those films up on the news talks. He'd be
website now after ten o'clock we're going to tell you
about this other film. It is the first time that
Lucy Lawless has switched roles in making something from actor
(07:23):
to director. She's made this amazing new documentary about Kiwi
camera woman Margaret Moth. Now that name may or may
not be familiar to you, it's familiar to me. We
learned all about her when I was studying to become
a journalist, because she's kind of a bona fide legend
in the New Zealand news business. But Margaret Moth was
a camera woman in the nineties, started in New Zealand,
(07:45):
went to the US, was working in the US, and
ended up getting a job as a camera woman for
CNN working in war zones around the world, but when
she was in Bosnia shooting and filming in Sarajevo during
the war, Margaret Moth had been there for a couple
of weeks when she was shot in the face by
a sniper. Now, it was pretty touch and go after
(08:06):
she was shot. Remarkably though she managed to survive. She
was evacuated from suday Ovo. She went through all sorts
of surgeries as she tried to recover, and she had
this incredible line once she was able to speak again,
in that she said she wanted to return to Sadayovo,
she wanted to work again as a camera woman, and
she had to return to Bosnia so she could collect
(08:26):
her teeth. I think that one little instant tells you
a lot about the woman. But she was a complex
woman and Lucy Lawless has told her story in an
incredible way. So Lucy Lawless with us right after the
ten o'clock news this morning. Make sure you stick around
for that.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, Listen live
to News Talk sed B from nine am Saturday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame podcast
from News Talks at be.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Time to catch up with Francisca Radken, our film reviewer,
with her PEX for this week in morning.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Okay, we've got a bit of a period drama to
begin with things this morning, So day to have a
listen to Firebrand.
Speaker 4 (00:26):
There once was a queen by the name of Catherine Parr.
She was the sixth wife of the vengeful king Henry
the Eighth. The five wives who came before her all
met untimely ends, but Catherine's fate was to change the
kingdom forever.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
It sounds like it's been a while since we've been
able to sort of get our teeth into a really
good period drama.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
I was really excited about this film. You may have
caught it when it screened at the New Zealand and
Gentle Bilisi of last year. It has now come back
for general release and Firebrand has it all. It's got
the gorgeous costumes, the fabulous locations, sort of the lush
art direction, the manipulation and desire for power and survival.
(01:17):
It's got a bloated and oozing quite literally Jude Law
as King Henry the Eighth. He's not doing so well
at this point when we meet him. Of course, he's
got these terrible infections in his legs and things. Alyssia
the Canada she stars as Catherine Parr, his final queen
who survived him, and she is absolutely fantastic and nuanced
(01:40):
as a woman who is well aware of her place
within the court and that her husband could chop her
head off at any moment, but still also has her
own ambitions and religious beliefs that she tries to nurture
and develop. This film takes history and it gives it
a feminist in fictional edge. So you'll watch it and
(02:02):
you'll go, oh, Okay, this is fantastic. I know this story,
and then it just has these lovely little twists to it.
And I love it when filmmakers do this. It's a
little bit like that wonderful TV show for All Mankind
about NASA. You know, you just started off thinking you
were going to watch something historical and it just turns
on it HEAs And it's wonderful because it just adds
a bit of unpredictability to a period drama. It is
(02:26):
very clever. I think it could have even pushed things
a little bit further. Jude Law, however, is absolutely fabulous.
He steals every scene he is in. He is not
holding back in this role as this very difficult man,
and he embraces him physically, kind of emotionally everything. And
(02:48):
Elizabeth Kanda, as I mentioned, does this excellent job of
balancing the dutiful wife with her and ambitions. Look, there's
plenty of political swagger and royal pandering Henry's courts. You know,
everybody is kept on their toes. They're aware of that
they're at the moon see of the king's whims. It's wonderful.
(03:10):
I think if you like period dramas, you like immersing
yourselves in a different time, but you don't mind a
little bit of a twist, and that's a factual film.
I think you'll really enjoy this.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
It's great anytime you can describe an actor as bloated
and oozing, I'm into it. Yeah, I think that's yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
Here's so, here's what they did. Just here's a little tip.
When they were shooting the scenes and there were all
these people in his parlor and they have to unwrap
his legs to look at the injuries and put more
maggots on and things. Apparently the filmmaker has got someone
to create a smell that replicas decaying fleas and they
put in the room. I heard, and they put that
(03:55):
in the room when they were shooting the scenes. And
actually everybody does react so brilliantly to it. But yeah,
so there we go filmmaking for you.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Yeah, fantastic. Okay, that's firebrand. Yeah, no, wonder you do
with that? Next up, the film screening on Netflix at
the moment. This is the Electric State to bar Rebellion.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
It was ugly when the robots deviated from their assigned tash.
We banished them.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
To the Electric State.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Babam Chris Pratt and Millie Bobby Brown tell us about
the Electric spas.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
And Stanley Tucci and Woody Harrelson and Brian Cox and
Holly Hunter and Jason Alexander, just a few names to
throw out there. Look, what I heard about this film
is that it has this incredible cast, which it does,
and it's possibly one of the most expensive movies ever made.
So the rumor is they spend three hundred and twenty
million US on this film. This is this is Netflix,
(04:50):
This is Netflix. Right. They won't confirm the figure. But
if it is true, it is definitely the most expensive
stream streaming film ever made. And you know what turned
in twenty million uths. O it's good light escapism.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
That's not great.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
Yeah, it starts off with a hussin raw and I
thought this is going to be fantastic. There's kind of
the film sort of sets us up as you heard there.
It sort of sets the story, sets up that we're
in the nineteen nineties, there's a war with robots, robots
are outlawed, and there's a lot of really clever use
(05:28):
of historical footage, some very funny moments, and I was going,
this is going to be such a great action comedy.
They've got the balance right. And then as the film
kind of progresses, it sloths and it becomes a little
bit plotty, and the stalogue isn't maybe as sharp as
it should be, and then it packs up again at
the end for a lovely kind of epic ending. So
I did feel that they had something here, but it
(05:49):
sort of just drifted into a little bit of a
predictable sci fi film. So Melli Bubby Brown, she plays
this character. She believes the consciousness of her presumed dead
brother is in a robot that comes to find her,
and she goes off in search of her brother, and
she ends up in this place called the Exclusion Zone,
and she's helped by this scavenger outlaw Chris Pratt, who
actually just acts like he has warped out of Galians
(06:09):
of the Galaxy and onto the set. Apparently got twenty
million for that, so good on her. It's made by
Anthony and Joe Russo, who responsible for films like in
Phillypy Wore an Endgame, they did four Avengers films. They
know what they're doing. And the robots are fantastic. Look
the they're impressive. The action and the visuals are really
(06:30):
really good. And as I say, it sort of starts
well and ends well, it just sort of it was
a bit of a lull middle. It's a shame.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Yeah, okay, yeah it's fair enough. But yeah, I'm stunned
that Netflix is even spending that much on films at
the moment.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
Well, here's the thing, right, here's the thing. Everyone just
sits and watches streaming, so it's really easy to capture
your audience. You don't need to make the go to
a cinema and pay for it. So that I don't
think they really they're not. I think they want to
make their money bag, but they're not hugely fuss. They
know that people will watch it, and apparently it is
already sitting at number one and there.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Yeah, okay, well that's the Electric State streaming on Netflix.
The and Francesca's first film, the one that is showing
in cinemas is Firebrand. Will put all of the details
for those films up on the news talks. He'd be
website now after ten o'clock we're going to tell you
about this other film. It is the first time that
Lucy Lawless has switched roles in making something from actor
(07:23):
to director. She's made this amazing new documentary about Kiwi
camera woman Margaret Moth. Now that name may or may
not be familiar to you, it's familiar to me. We
learned all about her when I was studying to become
a journalist, because she's kind of a bona fide legend
in the New Zealand news business. But Margaret Moth was
a camera woman in the nineties, started in New Zealand,
(07:45):
went to the US, was working in the US, and
ended up getting a job as a camera woman for
CNN working in war zones around the world, but when
she was in Bosnia shooting and filming in Sarajevo during
the war, Margaret Moth had been there for a couple
of weeks when she was shot in the face by
a sniper. Now, it was pretty touch and go after
(08:06):
she was shot. Remarkably though she managed to survive. She
was evacuated from suday Ovo. She went through all sorts
of surgeries as she tried to recover, and she had
this incredible line once she was able to speak again,
in that she said she wanted to return to Sadayovo,
she wanted to work again as a camera woman, and
she had to return to Bosnia so she could collect
(08:26):
her teeth. I think that one little instant tells you
a lot about the woman. But she was a complex
woman and Lucy Lawless has told her story in an
incredible way. So Lucy Lawless with us right after the
ten o'clock news this morning. Make sure you stick around
for that.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, Listen live
to News Talk sed B from nine am Saturday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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