December 30, 2024 • 51 mins
As we bid farewell to 2024, join us for a cinematic celebration of the year that was! In this special year-end episode, we reflect on the best films we watched, from standout older titles on our DVD shelf to the very best of 2024.
You’ll hear the inaugural Shelfies—our awards for screenplay, director, supporting performances, and lead actor/actress—before we reveal Stephen's Top 5 films of the year. Along the way, we’ll revisit some hilarious bloopers, take a sneak peek at the films we’re most excited for in 2025, and, of course, dish out a few final jabs at Christmas Vacation 2.
It’s a jam-packed episode of reflections, laughs, and unapologetic indulgence. Don’t miss this fitting close to an incredible year in film!
Have your own Top 5 or a Shelfie-worthy favorite? Drop us a line at stephen@shelfcriticism.com or on social media @ShelfCriticism. And be sure to like, subscribe, and share to keep the conversation going into 2025!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Okay, are we ready?
(00:02):
Ready.
Alright, in three, two...
Welcome to a special edition of Shelf Criticism Shelf Indulgence 2024 in Review.
(00:25):
Join your host Stephen as he takes a look back at the cinematic year that was...
celebrating unexpected triumphs, cringing at epic disappointments
and revisiting favourite moments from the past 12 months of film.
From hidden gems to blockbuster blunders and a countdown of his top five films of the year,
this is your all-access pass to a year of cinematic highs, lows and everything in between.
(00:49):
So sit back, relax and let the year in film roll by one last time.
Welcome to the final Owls of Palace production of 2024, the year of our inception.
Looking back, it's hard to believe how it all came together.
On a balmy April day, Mackenzie, Reagan and Stephen...
(01:13):
Amelia, I got this, okay? Stick to intros and outros, please. Thank you.
Oh, boss, I like to tell that story. No, it's fine. I'll just wait for my turn.
Manji Blyter.
Thinks he's so smart with all his fancy analysis and theory and what not.
(01:36):
You do realise your mic is still on.
Oops, I'm just going to go. Gollix.
Okay, where was I? Oh, yes, our origin story.
Mackenzie was working on her master's thesis, but she kept telling me as soon as she finished
and had some spare time, she wanted to do a podcast with me.
(01:58):
I don't know how that bug bit her, but apparently it did, and I'm glad it did.
I knew nothing about podcasting and honestly, still know very little, I'm afraid, is sometimes evident.
But I started looking into it. Our university has a podcast studio in the library that students and faculty can book.
That and a few Google searches and tutorials later, and all we were waiting for was a successful defense of her thesis and an idea.
(02:21):
Of course, she defended successfully. Now the podcast studio is literally in my office, all set up with microphone recording stuff.
Got a little carried away there, didn't we?
And the idea, both of us being literary scholars and me also dipping my toes into the realm of film studies, real lit was born.
Taking on the amazing Reagan into the fold as our producer.
On June 19th, we walked out of the studio with the rough beginnings of a podcast.
(02:45):
Our first episode was a deep dive, pun intended, into Jaws.
It's a natural choice since Mackenzie and I both had co-taught the book before.
The amount of work that goes into real lit is quite a bit, though, as we not only have to read the novel,
but also dream up scholarly close reads of each book or film, in my case.
We've kept it to a monthly rotation, and that's also partially because Mackenzie has a life.
(03:07):
I don't, though. So as I was going through my DVDs looking for zombie strippers, our third episode,
yes, it is very loosely based on a play and a film that we're actually going to talk about in a minute,
I realized I had a billion DVDs. Okay, 500 actually, but still, many of which I would love to talk about in public.
Thus, while waiting on those monthly episodes of real lit, I found a way to spend my time,
ripping into both tasteful and likely more abundantly tasteless titles on my DVD shelves on a show called Shelf Criticism.
(03:35):
As this holiday of New Year's always sparks reflection, shelf reflection, sorry, you know me in puns,
it seemed only fitting that I sit down one last time in 2024 and have a look back at the year that was,
mostly in cinema, but also perched alongside the Isles of Pallas.
As we settle in for this year-end episode, I'll guide you through the highs and lows of 2024 in cinema,
(03:58):
from the stunning brilliance of the year's best films to the regrettable missteps.
I will also take a stroll down my DVD shelf, revisiting the gems and the outright stinkers I've tackled on Shelf Criticism.
Whether I'm celebrating a masterpiece or lamenting a colossal flop, simply marveling at the sheer variety of stories this year has offered,
there's plenty to look back on. So let's retread the road of the year that was,
(04:19):
with all its cinematic triumphs and travesties.
I'm just going to go through several categories, beginning with my best discovery of the year, and a bit of a qualifier here.
Most of these are going to be from 2024, but there are some that I watched that were not 2024s.
We'll talk about those as well, specifically for the podcasts, but not so much with this one.
The best discovery of the year, I'm basically saying it wasn't put out in 2024 and I'd never seen it before.
(04:43):
What was the best film that I watched? That just doesn't have the same ring as best discovery of the year, of course.
This one is going to a little gem of a British film called Polite Society, which was just a year off, 2023, when it was released in the United States.
The way I stumbled on this film is a story in and of itself.
So each year our university hosts a traveling theater troupe called the Actors from the London Stage,
an organization, by the way, founded by none other than the great Sir Patrick Stewart.
(05:07):
Not only do these actors put on a Shakespeare production, they also come to our classrooms, you know, they go to the theater classes, acting classes, but also literature like mine,
and they do workshops or in my case talk about the Bard and how to read and understand him.
It's one of my favorite events of the year, mostly because as one of my official duties as outreach liaison for the department, I get to hang out with them, show them around, etc.
I never pass up an opportunity to spend time with interesting and talented people, and these are classically trained actors.
(05:32):
Most of them have a few credits on either British television or films.
Matter of fact, Mackenzie and I joked on our episode covering Stardust that everyone who's ever come to our university from this organization has been on Coronation Street at some point.
Because they have these lengthy acting credits sometimes and stuff that I may have seen, I do always look them up when I get the names just to see what their credits are.
Surprisingly, by the way, this year we had no Coronation Street alums. I think that's the first time that ever happened.
(05:54):
Sarah Finnegan did have a small part in 28 Weeks Later, which I thought was pretty cool.
And then the actress who was coming to my class, Shona Babayemi, had a pretty significant role in the aforementioned Polite Society, and I noticed it was streaming on Peacock,
so I thought, well, what the hey, let's just hit play and look at a couple of minutes of it.
Ninety minutes later, I was watching the credits roll with a grin on my face, just awestruck by how creative and visually stunning this film was I just watched.
(06:18):
It's written and directed by Nida Manzoor, who my listeners across the pond will probably recognize from her TV series We Are Lady Parts.
This film is a kaleidoscope of genres swirled together.
In an interview with Vulture, Manzoor described it as, quote, a joyful kung fu Bollywood epic.
And that's about as accurate as you can get.
The colors pop, the camera work is peak, and the laughs and action scenes alike come at a breakneck pace.
(06:41):
In this film, Ria dreams of becoming a stuntwoman for films, though her parents and teachers all push her to become a doctor instead.
Her older sister Lena has already been allowed to pursue her dream, but wound up dropping out of art school, and now she's kind of become rudderless.
When Lena is introduced to the handsome, wealthy, socially connected Saleem, she falls fast, and the wedding is being planned.
Ria is convinced there's something more sinister afoot here, particularly untrusting of Saleem's mother Raheela.
(07:05):
What ensues involves espionage, martial arts battles, and even a Bollywood musical number.
The only critique I can make about this film is while there are definitely some parts of the plot that are head spinning with twists, there are also some parts that are slightly predictable.
And this is just simply because we know the formula, the structure, you know, we know the language of genre in film.
And because this film straddles so many different genres, then of course we're going to see a few familiar patterns.
(07:28):
To me that almost makes the film more endearing, honestly.
Had this been released in the US in 2024 instead, it would be on my forthcoming top five list, there's no doubt about it.
The least I can do, however, is to sing its praises here, because I am downright evangelical about this film.
Sadly, the film is no longer on Peacock, but it is currently playing and streaming on Starz for those who subscribe.
And also you can purchase or rent it on Amazon, and yes, I totally did.
(07:51):
However you manage to see this film though, make sure you do it.
If it ever does get a DVD release in this region, I'm ordering it, and yes, it will be on an episode, I promise.
And yes, it'll be on a very high shelf, I can guarantee you that as well.
Speaking of that podcast, best films I watched for shelf criticism.
The three I'll mention here I've already seen, but I was still just reminded how good they were.
They're also kind of from the earlier episodes.
(08:13):
I realized I started out really strong, had a spate of good films.
And then somewhere along the way I wound up with Zebra Lounge.
If you remember that one, it's a made-for-Canadian TV erotic thriller starring Stephen Baldwin and Christy Swanson.
Seriously, you should go listen to that episode though, I don't recommend watching the film.
Come to think of it, with the notable exception recently of Gremlins, I don't know that I've had that many winners.
But nonetheless, like I said, I started out strong.
(08:35):
My second episode was Mulholland Drive, and motoring down that famed strip, looking into the spectacle that can only be David Lynch.
There's a common assumption that this is one of Lynch's more puzzling films,
with even the Ebert review we looked at on the episode assuming the film wasn't supposed to make sense.
Oddly enough, I've always found it pretty simple from the first watch on.
Okay, simple is probably the wrong word, but I got the gist.
(08:59):
Either way, it's a master class in filmmaking.
The visuals and the emotions evoked are so moving and powerful.
And speaking of classes, Naomi Watts takes us all to acting school.
It's one of the most powerful performances I have ever witnessed.
Mulholland Drive found itself on the top shelf, and to this date, it's the only film sitting there.
Maybe season two will bring it some company. We'll see.
Then I wanted to mention Bridesmaids. I think that was my fourth episode.
(09:21):
While Pineapple Express was my first episode, and it wasn't as hilarious as I remembered.
And yes, before you ask, each time I've seen that film, I have been of sound mind.
I do not partake of the product that saw petals in that film.
But Bridesmaids, penned by star Kristen Wiig and Annie Momolo, was funnier than I recalled, and I already held it in high regard.
The screenplay earned the duo a Best Screenplay nod from the Oscars, and it's filled with non-stop polarity.
(09:44):
At the height of the frat-pack Judd Apatow craze, this female-led comedy proved that women could act just as badly, be just as funny, and carry an R-rated comedy.
I called it feminism in that episode, and while I was joking, there's something to be said for that.
The film landed on my second shelf, which is a truly remarkable feat. It doesn't have much company either.
Bridesmaids is currently streaming on Netflix if you want to relive Lillian's bumpy path to her nuptials as Annie and Helen try to one-up each other.
(10:11):
Next comes The Wicker Man. Don't confuse this with whatever that Nicolas Cage remake was.
Oh no! Not the bees! Not the bees!
Aaaaaaah! I don't love my eyes! My eyes! Aaaaaaah! Aaaaaaah!
No, this film from 1973 is a genre-defining achievement.
One of the earliest examples of folk horror, as well as a solid entry into the genre of daytime horror.
(10:36):
Also, it's a musical, sort of. It at least gave me the opportunity to talk about diegetic and extra-diegetic music, which made me sound a lot smarter than I actually am.
So for that alone, I've got to give it some kudos.
As Lord Summer Isle, Christopher Lee delivers an understated performance, a suave, calm, calculating, and frankly rather likable villain.
Conversely, our protagonist, played by Edward Woodard, is a pearl-clutching prude, the type of fellow who today would make us say, you must be fun at parties.
(11:03):
And Britt Eklund...actually, don't get me started on Britt Eklund. I gushed over her enough in that episode.
This one also took second-shelf honors. If you've not seen this film, can you really call yourself a horror movie buff?
Sorry, that was gatekeeping, but still. If you loved Midsommar, you should be legally obliged to see this film.
I'm not saying Ari Aster ripped off Wicker Man. I honestly am not.
(11:26):
But he has certainly leaned heavily on some of the, not just the tropes, but straight-up plot points.
The film is streaming on Amazon Prime, so perhaps it's time to keep your appointment with the Wicker Man.
Well, they weren't all winners. Matter of fact, most of them weren't winners. Let's talk about the worst films I saw.
I did get plenty of mid-shelfers, and they brought me countless hours of enjoyment.
Matter of fact, some of the fourth-shelfers I tended to have fun with. Of course, we all know I like bad films, right? To a degree.
(11:53):
There were definitely some that were awful. The rock gut, as I call them.
Interestingly enough, the worst of the worst that I'm listing here were almost all films I've never seen before.
And the one film that I had turned out to have seen before was worse than I remembered.
Also, a couple of these selections were on my other podcast, meaning I made Mackenzie and Reagan suffer through a couple of these stinkers, too. Sorry, guys.
We'll start with the worst of the worst. Christmas Vacation 2, Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure.
(12:16):
You knew it was coming, right? The last episode I did, I took aim at this made-for-TV sequel, thinking it couldn't be as bad as it seemed on paper.
And I was sort of right. It's worse. I recorded that episode last week, and I'm still trying to think of a film that's worse.
I haven't come up with one. Legitimately, I think it may be the worst film I ever made.
There's zero budget, zero characters anyone cares about, zero funny moments. There's not a single redeeming quality about this film.
(12:40):
It is currently available to rent or buy on Amazon. But why? Why would you want to do that to yourself?
If hell ever decided there were worse centers than Judas, Brutus, and Cassius and needed a tenth circle for worse centers, they could just have a television playing this on endless loop.
And then we'll move to Zyzek Road. There's an interesting story behind this one.
It's the lowest grossing domestic box office of all time, making a whopping $30. I'm just gonna let that sink in.
(13:07):
That was a fact so unbelievable, especially for a film that starred Catherine Heigl and Tom Sizemore, that the Owls of Palace convened for a special edition, which we called Parliament After Dark.
Reagan, Mackenzie and I discussed it on that episode, which you can find on either Shelf Criticism or Reel It's Feed under the bonus episodes.
The setup isn't the worst ever, and Heigl does a particularly good job of acting, but the execution is otherwise as desolate and empty as the desert surrounding the eponymous road, which, little bit of trivia by the way, isn't even spelled correctly on the film.
(13:36):
It's ZZYZX, for those of you keeping score, not ZYZZYX. That, however, is the least of the film's issues.
I will say that it did lend us another award to hand out today. The best Zinger of 2024, which interestingly enough goes to Reagan.
That's right. She produced every episode of Reel It, but she only spoke on this one episode, and she stole the show with this.
(13:59):
For a fun fact of the day, ZYZZX is the last word in the English dictionary, though just had to be best for last, I guess.
And this was the last time I will ever see this movie.
And I'm supposed to be the snarky one. Good on you, Reagan. You can watch ZYZZX Road on Plex, or, yet another funny story about this film, you can purchase the newly released 4K 2Disc Collectors edition.
(14:23):
We didn't plan it that way, but in the happiest of coincidences, that edition released the day after we recorded our podcast that covered it.
It's also the most downloaded of any of the Alza Palace produced podcasts thus far, probably for that reason.
From lowest grossing to most listened to Alza Palace episode, you're moving up in the world, ZYZZX Road.
While not going too much further up alphabetically, there's Zombie Strippers.
(14:44):
I've already mentioned this film, a very, very, very loose adaptation of Eugene Ionesco's Rhinoceros, a 1950s theater of the absurd play.
It seemed off the wall enough to warrant a spot on Real It, and it did give me an excuse to finally read that play.
Ionesco's absurdism is brilliant. I tackled the bald soprano in the chairs back in my obligatory college existentialist phase.
(15:06):
Seriously, why is it that every college student has to become an existentialist for at least a week or two?
Watching the film for the first time, I caught all the nods.
Sartre, Kansas, or what they call it, Sartree, but it's Jean Paul Sartre.
A character named Major Camus, Robert Englund as the strip club owner, named Ian Escoe. Get it?
At the time, I thought those existential Easter eggs added depth to what was otherwise a low budget, poorly acted film.
(15:30):
Upon rewatch? No.
The filmmakers clearly just skimmed a Philosophy 101 textbook.
Worse, the film leans heavily into its strippers premise far more than I recalled.
It was the first, but certainly not the last time, I apologized on air to Mackenzie for forcing her to endure a film.
Zombie Strippers isn't streaming anywhere, but it can be purchased on Amazon or Fandango at home.
(15:51):
But take my advice and leave this one buried.
Now let's get to the most controversial take I probably had the entire year.
I'm putting Elf on here.
Yes, I'm putting Elf as one of the worst films I saw this year.
I know that's controversial. I feel compelled once more to stress, if you love this film, good on you.
I'm glad it makes you happy and fills you with holiday cheer.
(16:12):
I do have a hypothesis.
Somehow I miraculously managed to avoid this flick until this year.
As a 47 year old crotchety blackguard, I hated it.
It wasn't funny, it was childish, and it was so earnest and wholesome that it gave me a sugar high.
I have a sneaking suspicion that those who loved this flick saw it in their younger years,
when they were less discerning and when belching for a solid minute after guzzling a two liter of Coca-Cola actually seemed funny.
(16:36):
Now when you see it, you get the nostalgia feels.
You can't see it shortcoming for that reason.
It's simply not a good film.
That awful Zebra Lounge flick I mentioned earlier, it's a better film overall.
Will Ferrell's hit or miss with me, semi-pro Blades of Glory and that ilk can remain far away.
But sometimes when he plays a giant man-child, say old school, Anchorman, Talladega Knights, certainly Step Brothers, he's comedic gold.
(16:58):
In Elf, he just lacks that edge.
I will say that episode allowed me to get into comparisons of Buddy with other similar characters, notably Josh Baskin in Big and Candide in, well, Candide.
I've always said Reel It was semi-academic, where shelf criticism is quasi instead.
I did feel like I was on analytical fire with my take there.
So for that, I thank you, Elf.
(17:19):
For everything else, I'm just going to play the contrarian.
Elf is currently streaming on Hulu and Max, which I need tell no one I assume because you probably already watched it in your holiday tradition.
I'm the only one who's dead inside.
Next category I want to do is the best film y'all have never seen.
And we're getting into the films that came out in 2024 now.
Each year, my university hosts the George Lindsay, you and a film festival, which also just happens to be, by the way, the longest running film festival in the state of Alabama.
(17:43):
Take that sidewalk.
Sidewalks very good.
But I am also a little proud of that tidbit.
And I'm also proud to be a part of the Lindsay Film Fest, not only because I appreciate the way it spotlights so many up and coming filmmakers, both student and professional.
But also because it gives our community a chance to see so many independent films and hidden gems that would otherwise never play in this corner of the world.
And each year I'm involved in this festival from planning the hospitality.
(18:07):
I mean, I am the outreach liaison after all, to doing Q&A sessions.
I've gotten to meet so many talented actors, writers, directors, and that includes Benjamin Stark and Jeremy Burgess.
I've seen many of their films.
They tend to come to the festival every year.
But this year's Don't Die has been my favorite thus far.
Full disclosures, I think you figured out.
I do know Ben and Jeremy.
(18:28):
I also know Virginia Newcomb, who is one of the stars.
Still, if I didn't, I would still appreciate this thriller, no doubt about it.
So in this film, a guy named Jink, played by Theodos Crane, is driven to crime simply to get a medication he needs but can't afford.
As he's robbing a pharmacy, he winds up wounding Julia, played by Virginia Newcomb, who is also, interestingly enough, robbing a pharmacy.
(18:51):
But Jink's is a nice fellow at his core.
He's only driven to steal because he has to.
So he goes out of his way to save Julia.
But in doing so, he gets involved in a scheme that goes way deeper than he could imagine.
What ensues is white-knuckle suspense.
We enter into a world populated by characters who are so ambiguously aligned that you have no idea who to root for.
At its core, this film is a stark, no pun intended, Benjamin, a stark critique of the American for-profit health care system and the many people it leaves behind,
(19:19):
the ones who suffer daily for lack of care or affordable medication due to our broken system.
You folks in Canada and listeners in the UK, you'll never understand.
And that's good. I'm glad you can't.
However, all that, by the way, is subtext.
And the film doesn't proselytize.
It never allows preaching to get in the way of storytelling.
Even the ambiguity the character's moral compasses is subtly reinforced, as the film's Chiara Skuro pays homage to the likes of the Prince of Darkness himself, cinematographer Gordon Willis, with its lighting.
(19:46):
By the way, last episode with Mackenzie, I said I thought his name was Melvin Gordon.
I don't know where I got that. It's Gordon Willis.
Sorry, Brenna. I know Brenna loves him.
I'm sure she was shaking her head and screaming, Gordon Willis.
Don't Die isn't currently available anywhere, unfortunately, which it's a shame.
It was once available for purchase on Prime.
And if it is ever back anywhere for your viewing pleasure, I will let you know.
(20:09):
And in turn, you should go check it out immediately.
The film in 2024 I was most pleasantly surprised by is Werewolves.
Yeah, you heard that right.
When the world shut down for COVID, I got in the habit of not going to the theater, in large part because we couldn't.
And then once the world reopened, I guess I'd just already been in the habit of lazily flipping through streaming services at home.
I'd gone a few times, but not like I used to.
(20:30):
So something clicked this year for me.
I needed to get out there more.
I mean, y'all know I love my DVDs, but films used to be made with the assumption they'd be seen on the big screen.
Movie going is by its nature a social event.
At least it was until fart knockers started answering their phone calls while the film was playing.
Regardless, I decided to finally start putting my money back into theaters, seeing stuff out in public.
(20:51):
I didn't even know that Werewolves existed, but I just happened to be eating at a Mexican restaurant.
And I looked up for my fish taco to see an ad playing on a TV over the corner.
Now the television was muted, so I heard nothing, but I saw Frank Guerrillo and some furry lupines.
I took out my phone and started browsing showtimes.
I knew it was going to be terrible, but I didn't care.
It is ironic that I just talked about the social part of movie going,
(21:13):
because I went to that film on a Thursday matinee and I had a quote unquote private screening.
I was all alone in that theater.
Was it a good film? No, no, not even close.
The premise was unbearably stupid.
The first act dragged almost painfully.
But once the action got going, it wasn't half bad.
The film knows what it is, and it doesn't try to be more.
It's a callback to the midnight movies of the 80s.
(21:34):
Everything from the dark, cool tone color grading to the dark synthwave music accompanying it.
Just it brought back memories.
The effects are mostly practical, including animatronics and puppets.
I like that part.
It was one of those films where the feeling, the tone, the vibe it gave off was more important than the plot.
And that alone endeared the film to me far more than it should have.
Conversely, the film I was most disappointed by.
(21:56):
That would have to be Gladiator 2.
I can't say it's a bad film.
I don't know if I'd go as far as to call it good, but it's minimally watchable.
My first thought when the credits rolled at the end of this film was unnecessary.
I certainly didn't expect that masterpiece that was the first film, but I expected something serious and thoughtful.
And what I got was ridiculous spectacle.
Rhinos and sharks in the Coliseum.
All right, well, okay, the sharks are actually cool, I gotta admit it.
(22:19):
But that's some over-the-top B-movie stuff, not a follow-up to a beloved Oscar-nominated film.
And I won't even get into how much that stretched verisimilitude.
Yes, the Romans actually did flood the Coliseum on occasion to reenact naval battles.
But sharks?
Also, those were great white sharks.
I mean, CGI, but they were great whites, there was no doubt.
There's not a lot of those swimming around the Mediterranean.
(22:41):
There's an absolutely zero.
And even if there were, to this day, a white has never survived in captivity.
I could forgive that.
What I can't forgive is everything else.
There was perhaps the most threadbare of plots, but not much of one.
Mostly the entire film was a series of callbacks and allusions to the original.
It was straight up nostalgia porn.
It was a cash grab and nothing more.
(23:02):
Moving into the next segment.
One of the real perks of podcasting is the editing software.
While I may sound clever and resolute in my delivery,
that's only because you don't hear my stumbles or my butchered sentences
or moments where I completely lose my train of thought.
Through editing, I've learned both mine and Mackenzie's verbal tics.
I say, um, every third word, while Mackenzie has this habit of popping her peas right before making a solid point.
(23:26):
You, the listener, are spared all that.
Though let's be honest, Mackenzie's pea popping is kind of endearing, unlike my relentless ums.
But some mess ups are so funny, I can't bring myself to delete them entirely.
Instead, I save them in a blooper folder.
And what better time to share those gems than in a year-end show.
So kick back. It's time to laugh at our expense.
Crows read?
(23:48):
Crows?
You're crows read!
It's your crows read!
Pun intended. That's gotta go up for real.
Um, I do love Chavin as an author of the mysteries of Pissburg.
Pissburg?
That's not good.
Deeper into her isolated world, where despair lingers like an infection.
Good, how did I write that?
(24:09):
That's good. That's a good sentence.
Oh, you like it? Okay. I'll keep it.
I do.
Okay, I got it.
I'm supposed to correct you, that's the joke.
Oh! Ha! Look at me being...
What? Blah blah blah. Sorry.
Sometimes you just gotta blah.
Yeah.
(24:30):
You can email us at reallittpodcast at reallitt...
****
You can email us at reallitt at reallittpodcast...
****
Today on Real Lit, we'll be fishing 2,611 pages of Grady Tripp's book out of the...
I don't know how to say that.
(24:52):
Monongahela.
Monongahela.
Monongahela.
Monongahela.
Today on Real Lit, we'll be fishing 2,611 pages of Grady Tripp's book out of the mona...
I don't know if I'm gonna be able to say it.
Monongahela.
Monongahela.
Should I start the sentence over?
Yeah, see if you can do it.
(25:13):
Monongahela.
Yep.
Today on Real Lit, we'll be fishing 2,611 pages of Grady Tripp's book out of the monongahela...
because we're analyzing the 1995 Michael Chabon novel and 2000 Curtis Hansen film Wonder Boys.
It's Chabin.
Chabin.
I've been teaching too long this week.
(25:36):
Oh, I've just nickel fritz.
I've been talking for like five hours.
I can turn that down later.
Let's just screw it.
Let it be loud and I'll tune it down.
Alright.
I do think it would make for an interesting...
But I do think it could make for an interesting...
(25:57):
Why can I not say the word interesting?
Do you want to just do it all over?
Chabin.
Chabin.
Monongahela.
Chabin.
Chabin.
Of course I had to give you the answer.
I need to get my brain on straight.
Yeah, I really do.
I think that's all.
Oh, that was fun.
(26:18):
My favorite performance of the year.
Mikey Madison had better walk away the Academy Awards with a little gold statue.
Period.
In a year of several impressive performances, Demi Moore in Substance, Nicole Kidman in Baby Girl, Angelina Jolie in Maria, not too bad.
Immediately come to mind.
But what Madison does in Enora is one of the best performances I've seen in maybe a decade.
(26:40):
The only role I'd ever seen her in was Scream, the fifth one, where she was very good.
But I never expected the acting chops on display in this film.
For starters, she's from LA, but she nails the New York accent and the attitude both.
Trust me, I dated a woman from Queens for a few months and it brought back memories.
The glide insertion that's adding a W in words like talk to make it t'wock.
Turning the O into an O like a cup of coffee anyone.
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And the glottalization, how a word like bottle becomes ball.
I'm not sure how long Madison worked with a vocal coach, but it paid off.
Even more impressive, she has to play a person who is a tough, rugged exterior, but who can show subtle vulnerabilities.
She's more than rough around the edges, downright annoying at points.
She's a gold digger.
Yet she's also likeable.
In the end, we end up unequivocally rooting for her.
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And I don't want to spoil anything because this film has one of the best endings I've seen in a long time.
And the entire impact hinges on Madison's performance, which she pulls off adroitly.
Hands down, best performance I've seen this year and probably the year before.
Who knows? The last time I saw a performance this good.
I also have to mention Denzel Washington in Gladiator 2.
He is the sole bright spot of that film, aside from the friggin' sharks in the coliseum, of course.
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I know, it was stupid, but sharks, man.
I love Washington.
I mean, his Othello, his portrayal of Alonzo Harris in Training Day is dastardly, but you can't say it isn't also an acting clinic.
It seems like Washington may be at his best when he's playing someone who at least has a questionable moral compass.
He's most compelling, then.
And McCriner certainly falls into that category.
He's not necessarily corrupt, certainly loyal to no one but himself.
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He's there to play the odds and do what he can, side with the most powerful in order to get ahead.
And if that means pulling a few strings behind the scenes, he has no compunction about orchestrating another's downfall.
Yet there's something of a certain code of honor deep within him.
And you can tell he has at least a grudging respect for Lucius, our protagonist.
Like Madison, it's all about the nuance, and Washington lives in that gray area in this film.
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I'm only surprised to see him get a supporting actor nod from the Academy.
Maybe it was just that Gladiator 2 was so disappointing that I was scraping for every positive I could, and Washington's always a positive.
But either way, I think he deserves some more love.
I'm also inclined to place the entire cast of A Complete Unknown in this category.
Timothee Chalamet becomes Bob Dylan, and Monica Barbaro sold me as Joan Baez.
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However, Edward Norton as Pete Seeger was a revelation.
As a bit of a Seeger fan myself, I've listened to many of his live recordings.
And from the between-song banter he does with the audience, I've noticed he has a particular way of speaking, his deliberate and unique cadence.
And Norton clearly spent plenty of time listening to that as well. Does a great job.
Let's get to my unapologetic indulgence of the year.
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Most of you would call this a guilty pleasure, and I've said this on a dozen podcasts, but it bears repeating.
I hate that term. Why guilty? Did it bring you joy? Own it.
Even if you know it's not exactly high quality.
I mean, I love Shakira for crying out loud.
So I'm going to do some linguistic gymnastics and just call this next segment unapologetic indulgence of the year.
I sometimes really enjoy films that aren't good, and I make no attempt to say they are.
(29:37):
Still, I like them and I don't apologize.
I've already mentioned Werewolves, which I liked way more than I should.
But there was another film that took this crown this year, Bad Boys Ride or Die.
I know I often talk about how awful most Jerry Bruckheimer-produced films are, and I'm not wrong.
Still, The Rock, Con Air, I can't help but enjoy those.
When the first Bad Boys came out, I felt the same way.
Since they have, as sequels are wont to do, declined in quality.
(30:01):
Not that the first was all that great to begin with.
Ride or Die is the fourth installment, and it's just simply not a good film.
As usual, the stakes always have to get bigger, the action sequence is more absurd,
the characters who might have some complexity in the first couple of films become caricatures of themselves.
New characters are added, often superfluously, to bring in a younger audience.
Looking at you, Miss High School Musical Vanessa Hudgens.
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2020's Bad Boy for Life was already unnecessary, but another?
So of course, I loved every second of it.
It was pure nostalgia bait too.
Shameless sequel and cash grab.
Some of the same reasons actually I criticized Gladiator 2.
But I felt like it worked here.
Probably because I hold this franchise to a far lower standard overall.
Also, I guess I'm just a bit of a hypocrite. That's fair.
And by the way, Vanessa Hudgens' Kelly is fast becoming one of my favorite of the franchise.
(30:45):
So tell me, when's the fifth installment coming out, folks?
I'm there.
Best scene or sequence?
There's so many I could mention here.
I'd originally chosen the scene when Anais and Emily dance to Bette Davis' Eyes and Anais in Love.
But then I went and talked about it at length in the last episode.
You can listen to it there if you want to.
Still, I contend, it is the most sensual scene on camera in nearly half a decade.
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And it's not even a love scene, it's just dancing.
Such an emotionally charged piece.
Speaking of sensual, or subversively not so much,
the opening sequence of Baby Girl does a lovely job of setting the tone and themes while also dazzling the audience.
But its subject matter is rather adult.
And y'all know I don't shy away from academic and detached discussion of any topic.
I mean, I teach the Miller's Tale for Pete's sake.
(31:29):
But I'd rather not get into that on a lighthearted year in review.
There are at least a dozen scenes in Nosferatu that are a feast for the eyes,
but I'm still not sure how I feel about that film.
It certainly needs to be seen, but I'm still formulating my thoughts.
Suffice to say, spoiler, it isn't making my top five.
Though I guess if I'd done a top ten, it would probably make an appearance.
Instead, I think I'm going to choose a scene from a complete unknown.
(31:50):
And I will warn you, it involves the most minor of spoilers.
And it's actually already historically known if you know much about Bob Dylan's bio to begin with.
But you've been warned.
After Dylan and Baez's relationship goes downhill,
manifesting itself at a live performance,
the duo find themselves back on stage together, this time at the Newport Folk Festival.
She says to him, away from the mic, that she has the most fitting song for the two of them to play together.
(32:13):
And then she proceeds to strum the first few chords of Johnny Cash's great anthem, It Ain't Me, Babe.
Unlike the last time they were on stage, the performers don't let their tensions spill out.
Instead, performing the song with enthusiasm, they harmonize and play off of one another's
like Dylan and Baez were so good at doing in real life.
It's only in those close-ups, the stolen glances they flash at each other as they sing the song,
(32:34):
where we, as the film's audience, see the subtle facial tick and expressions
that the audience at the folk festival cannot.
And that's when we understand their meaning every word they sing to each other.
And then you've got a couple in the fact that we're also cutting to Sylvia watching this offstage,
who is also having a similar realization about Dylan,
and her tears well and then start to spill as she turns and exits.
The director, writer, and actors all trust the audience to pick up on the unspoken,
(32:58):
creating a moment that endures way after the credits roll.
We are getting towards the end. I want to introduce a segment I'm just going to call Shelfies,
because I have no creativity.
We are going to get to my top five of the year, but I wanted to hand out some more honors.
And as we're all getting ever closer to the Academy announcing its finalists,
I decided to give a far more prestigious honor by mentioning my own picks in those categories.
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And yes, that was sarcasm. I'm pretty shelf-confident, but I'm not that much.
I should also toss out the caveat that while I've seen most of the films expected to be an Oscar contention,
I've not been able to see them all. I do live in a relatively small city in Alabama,
so any limited releases are no-go. It's not New York or LA.
And we seldom get any foreign language or arthouse films.
Even some of the buzzworthy ones aren't playing, which surprises me.
(33:43):
But hey, when you keep multiple theaters open to screen true works of art like Sonic 3,
there's not always room.
In particular, I haven't seen The Brutalist, The Nickel Boys, or Sing Sing.
You may notice I didn't mention the buzzy Conclave.
I have in fact seen it, and while mostly well-acted, that's as far as I can go.
Otherwise, it's the most overhyped film I've seen in quite some time.
Think like Titanic, which I know most people like, but I don't.
(34:06):
American Beauty, The Help, you know, those.
That said, knowing I've been unable to be fair to all contenders,
but have done my best, I'll dole out my official picks.
Best Adapted Screenplay
Again, while I have a sneaking suspicion The Nickel Boys will win this, had I seen it,
I love the Colson Whitehead novel.
From what I have seen, we'll give it to Richard Linklater and Glenn Powell for Hitman,
(34:28):
which is actually a decent flick that I have said nothing at all about thus far.
For the Best Original Screenplay, hands down goes to Sean Baker for Enora.
Best Director? Surprise, surprise, Sean Baker for Enora.
Best Supporting Actor? Already talked about it, Edward Norton, a complete unknown.
Best Supporting Actress? I'm going here with Margaret Qualley for The Substance,
(34:50):
another film I've said nothing about, but it's at least worth watching.
Also, fun fact, Qualley is the daughter of Andy McDowell, and once you see it, you can't unsee it.
Best Actor? Gotta go to Timothée Chalamet, complete unknown, amazing.
It was almost like looking at Bob Dylan from that time.
And Best Actress? I've already talked at length about this one as well, and Best Performance?
(35:11):
It's Mikey Madison, Enora, by far, hands down.
And with that, why don't we move on to the main events?
My Top 5 of 2024. So we'll just start with number 5 and work our way to the top.
Number 5. Do not expect too much from the end of the world.
A quick caveat. When I chose these films, I was looking for the best artistic achievement in this year of cinema.
(35:33):
That does sometimes, more often than not actually, mean they're enjoyable.
I'm not saying I didn't enjoy this film, but I'm saying it's not one I would recommend to anyone who isn't a film scholar or a serious cinephile.
The lengthy title is a translation of the Romanian title that I won't even try to pronounce.
Yeah, it's a foreign language film, by the way. You'll have to read.
It revolves around a young woman named Angela who is an overworked producer's assistant,
(35:55):
as she drives around town doing all the dirty work on a film production.
That film, by the way, is a corporate safety film from an Austrian company.
She's actually looking to find actual people injured on the job at their plant to speak, to serve as a cautionary tale,
and also completely ignore the firm's own culpability.
Intercut with all this are Zoom meetings, raunchy, satirical TikTok videos she uploads with a disturbing filter,
(36:17):
and, incongruously, scenes from a 1981 communist propaganda film about a taxi driver.
This is before the completely off-the-rails final 40 minutes.
Also, there's a two-hour 43-minute runtime. So you see what I mean? It's not for everyone.
It is, however, a postmodern masterclass in this contemporary moment of our world,
especially for a former Eastern Bloc nation.
It ridicules and satirizes late-stage capitalism, but it also takes jabs at the communism of a generation earlier.
(36:43):
We, the viewer, are bombarded with images and memes and honking horns,
and we're overwhelmed in the same way that we are in this fast-paced world.
And, like our world, all that overstimulation just leads to a listless banality.
Good film. See it if you dare.
Number four. I'm going with Baby Girl.
A few episodes of season one, Shelf Criticism looked into the erotic thriller,
and I noted it was a genre that seemed to be disappearing, for better or worse.
(37:07):
Lately, however, there's been at least a modest resurgence, though not really anything well done, I think.
Deep Water comes to mind, if you saw that one on Netflix.
It's essentially Ben Affleck playing with snails while his wife, played by Ana de Armas, snogs a bunch of other guys in front of him.
To call Baby Girl an erotic thriller is a misnomer.
It's not fatal attraction, and all rabbits are safe.
(37:28):
What with the 2002 film Unfaithful, it's a movie about cheating, and yeah, it's erotic.
The thrills come not from violent repercussions of the affair, though, but from the act of cheating itself.
It's more a character study of how Romy, Nicole Kidman's character,
a little less so of Samuel, played by Harris Dickinson, and even less, but still slightly, the scorned husband, Jacob Antonio Banderas.
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As a CEO of a large tech firm, Romy knows just how ill-advised it is to engage in an affair with an intern, but she does so anyway.
In fact, in her twisted desire, it is actually the danger.
It's the potential for throwing away not just her marriage, but her career, her reputation, her livelihood.
That's what draws her. That's what's keeping her going here.
Kidman is a fine actor, and she's at least as good here as she was in her Oscar-winning performance in The Hours.
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She carries the movie alongside director Helena Regin's understated approach.
Make no mistake, it's a steamy film, but it's very tastefully done.
Don't come to it expecting basic instinct.
However, the subtlety makes your heart pound even more.
Trust me, you'll look at a tall glass of milk very differently after seeing this one.
At number three, I'm going to put Challengers here.
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It took me a while to get around to this one, actually, despite my belief that Zendaya is a generational talent.
She was the only reason I finally sat down to watch it, by the way.
I know the basics of tennis. You hit the ball and hope your opponent doesn't.
But the scoring system makes about as much sense to me as a Derrida lecture.
Love? Why not just call it zero? And how do you go from 15 to 30 to 40?
(38:56):
Still, this sizzling drama, helmed by Luca Guadagnino, who you may know from films such as Call Me By Your Name and Queer,
demonstrates an unparalleled skill in visual storytelling.
His use of extreme close-ups suggests trust and intimacy,
while wide shots with characters on opposite extremes remind us of the emotional distance they keep.
Despite years of shared history, these characters are holding parts of themselves back,
(39:19):
which create these unspoken gulfs that are visualized.
The story unfolds non-chronologically, framed by a high-stakes tennis match between Tashi,
that's Zendaya's husband, Art, played by Mike Feist.
Feist-face? I'm not sure.
And her ex-boyfriend, Art's former best friend, Patrick, played by Josh O'Connor.
And that's all the setup you need.
The film is a whirlwind of passion, ambition, and fractured relationships,
(39:43):
as the trio navigates their personal and professional lives in the competitive tennis world.
The final sequence is a bit too drawn out, stretches the suspense a touch too far, almost comical, but that's a minor critique.
What stands out is how the film subverts sports movie tropes.
There's no cheesy win-one-for-the-gipper triumph here.
And there's no clear hero or villain, so challengers might, in that case, frustrate casual viewers.
(40:07):
But it's precisely that moral complexity that I love. I think y'all should know that about me by now, right?
So it's not a typical sports film. It's not a straightforward romance.
It defies categorization and invites you instead to just serve the ball and watch the volleys of ambition, desire, and betrayal go...
back and forth.
No, that was not a Mackenzie Peapop.
Number two, A Complete Unknown. Just made my list. I just saw it last night.
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And here it is at number two. Music biopics are notoriously hard to get right.
I mean, am I the only one disappointed in Rocketman and Bohemian Rhapsody? Maybe I am. I didn't like them.
But forcing this film, the only one I truly enjoyed was Walk the Line.
And lucky for us, James Mangold, the director of that film, takes the helm to offer us this glimpse into Bob Dylan's life.
As I mentioned earlier, the acting in this film is phenomenal.
(40:54):
Timothy Chalamet, Edward Norton, Monica Barbaro, they all disappear into their role.
Boyd Holbrook's Johnny Cash isn't quite as transformative, but he still sold me.
The story focuses on a pivotal period in Dylan's life.
It begins with him hitchhiking to New York City to visit Woody Guthrie, who's been hospitalized with Huntington's disease.
And it ends with his infamous electric performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.
(41:15):
The film ignores his origins and his later career and chooses just to hone in on his relentless drive to reinvent himself.
And that's actually epitomized in a very interesting scene.
Early on, Joan Baez sees through Dylan's tall tale and is telling everybody he works at a carnival, talking about those days.
She calls him out on it and it sets the stage for this narrative about myth-making and transformation.
(41:36):
I don't remember the exact quote, but he basically says something like,
I don't want to think about my past. I just want to come and reinvent myself here.
The film runs two hours and 21 minutes, so you might think it would feel stretched then if it only covers a few years of Dylan's life.
And it is true, much of the runtime is devoted to musical performances.
A lot of times you hear the entire song being played.
But far from filler, I think these moments are integral.
(41:58):
To understand Dylan, you have to understand his music, which is almost as if not more essential than the experiences that shaped him.
Honestly, the film actually qualifies as a musical and by far the best musical of 2024.
And yes, I'm aware of the buzz around that other one, you know, the one about witches and Oz.
Sorry, Reagan. I know you love that one.
And it's a good film, but A Complete Unknown is on another level.
(42:19):
I'll admit I didn't expect this film to be as extraordinary as it was.
I mean, I was absolutely blown away when the credits rolled.
I was watching this on my colleague, Katie, and she turned and asked me what I thought.
And for a moment, I was just speechless. And then all I could say was this is why movies are made.
So, yeah, that's why two days before New Year's, my top five got shaken up.
The number one movie has remained, though. I think you'll figure this one out.
(42:41):
Number one is a Nora. Yeah, if possible, this had all the suspense of the first round of this year's college football playoffs.
Which is to say none. As a matter of fact, for those who follow on Instagram, I had already posted a photo hailing this as my top pick.
There are very few films I get this excited about.
I mean, this year, really, aside from a Nora, it was just a complete unknown and polite society.
(43:02):
As I said on my Shelfless Endeavors review of this film, I knew almost nothing going into it.
I knew Mikey Madison played an exotic dancer who marries the son of a Russian oligarch.
And naturally, the powerful family is not happy about it.
And I also knew those who had gotten an advance screening were raving about Madison's performance.
And that's actually all I'm going to say here as well.
I'd not even seen a trailer when I bought it on streaming. And if you have not either, don't. Don't watch a trailer.
(43:26):
Just go into it not knowing anything. I didn't know what genre it was, what to expect, what I was getting into.
And I loved it. The first act is a visual feast for the eyes.
And it is mostly just Annie, which a Nora prefers to be called, by the way, and said oligarch son, Ivan, Mark Edelstein, I guess.
Mark Edelstein. Partying and living it up. You'll hate him. As you're supposed to. He's a spoiled, entitled brat.
(43:51):
Annie, to be fair, is quite the gold digger. So you may not like her either. I think I've already established.
These are my kind of films where there's not a good guy. If they're not yours, still stick with the film.
Once the parents in Russia find out about their son's marriage, the proverbial poo hits the proverbial fan.
And even if you don't like a single character, you're going to love where this thing goes.
And trust me, you will at least grow to like Annie. There's a reason Madison is getting so much attention for this role.
(44:16):
She's paradoxically both histrionic and understated, calloused, but also vulnerable. She's street smart, but she's also naive.
I don't know. I'm sure I've seen performances this nuanced and layered before, but I can't tell you the last time I did.
I was awestruck by what Madison had to offer. And that performance alone could carry a film.
At least make it go beyond decent to pretty darn good. But throw in a solid supporting cast, a tight, clever script,
(44:44):
masterful direction, perfect lighting, a carefully catered score. I could go on. Just suffice to say this film checks all the boxes.
I will simply say this. I already have an alert set for when this film will be available to preorder on Blu-ray slash 4K.
When it does, I'm going to purchase it. When it arrives, I'm going to prepare an episode of Shelf Criticism.
Thus, I don't want to say too much about it for that reason either, because what will I say when I put this beauty on a shelf?
(45:09):
Instead, let's just award the completely intangible metaphorical golden shelfie to Enora and let Sean Baker place it on his imaginary shelf.
Well, there we go. We've run through it all. This time of year always makes me reflective.
My friend and musician, Freedomingas, has a lyric that always stuck with me. We got to ride this piece of dirt around the sun.
Well, that piece of dirt hasn't gone around in one more loop, and every time it does, I tend to get a little philosophical.
(45:33):
You know, I've lamented on podcasts about the state of cinema. I were stuck in this cycle of sequels and reboots and remakes.
But looking back on my list, only three sequels made the cut. Gladiator 2 is a disappointment.
Christmas Vacation 2 is literally the worst film ever made, and I will die on that hill.
And Bad Boys Ride or Die appealed to me, but my tasteless side. It's not a good film.
(45:54):
Everything else, though, originals. Granted, the films I've gushed over aren't all topping the box office charts.
You have to go all the way down to number 15 this year to find a non-IP film.
It ends with us, which I won't weigh in on here. We all know the controversy there.
And yes, that was a book before, but certainly not something from the MCU or sequel or reboot.
Enora sits at 85 right now on the box office for the year, which kind of puts us in perspective.
(46:18):
But still, there are creative visions that are out there, and those movies are getting made.
While this year's box office totals were affected by the writer's strike and a slow first quarter,
I'm really cautiously optimistic about what's ahead.
So to close our year in review, let's take a moment to look at some films that I'm most excited about for 2025.
First of all is Hard Truth. This is a British black comedy.
(46:40):
It's already playing in the UK, but it won't make its way to our shores until next month.
I know a couple of people who worked on this, and from what I hear, it's going to be a potential indie darling.
It's already Dazzle the Baftas, and Marianne Jean-Baptiste is getting some best actress talk already.
Also, I can't wait for Black Bag.
Steven Soderbergh only needs to say four words to have me hooked. I'm making a film.
(47:02):
Add a fifth word. I'm making a spy film? Ho ho ho ho ho.
And then we've got Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender.
Call me Renee Zellweger because you had me at hello.
Sinners. Oh, sinners.
If there are three things I love, it's Michael B. Jordan as an actor, a film directed by Ryan Coogler,
and doubly so when it also features Michael B. Jordan, and a horror flix.
(47:25):
Put all three of those together.
Another one I'll just toss out here, Heat 2.
I'm borderline obsessed with Michael Mann as it is. His direction is peerless in my book,
and Heat is another one of those films that just shaped my love of cinema and made me who I am today.
I know the hypocrisy of what I just said about sequels and existing IPs,
but if anyone gets a pass, it's Michael Mann. Besides, this is a prequel, not a sequel.
(47:47):
And with that, I guess we close the book on a 2024.
Year of triumphs, surprises, a few cinematic disasters, sure.
But the beauty of film is there's always something new to discover, right?
For instance, getting back to business as usual on Shelf Criticism.
No more Christmas films or New Year's specials, just good old-fashioned trash cinema.
Next week, I am letting an animal attack feature surface from beneath the murky swamp water.
(48:11):
We'll be looking at the 1976 film, Eaten Alive, which features Robert Englund in one of his earliest roles.
And it's directed by a fellow you may have heard of who was fresh off directing a film you may have heard of,
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Guy with the name of Tobe Hooper. Yep.
Psycho swamp folk and crocodiles. You know you don't want to miss that.
And so you don't, be sure to hit that like and subscribe button for us, would you? Please? Pretty please?
(48:32):
While you're at it, tell me what your favorite Tobe Hooper film is, or what your top five of 2024 are.
Or just curse my name because I dissed the film you loved. I can take it.
You can email me at steven at ShelfCriticism.com. That's S-T-E-P-H-E-N.
You can also keep up with the latest news either at our website, ShelfCriticism.com, or on social media, at ShelfCriticism.
(48:53):
Don't forget about my other podcast, Real It, where I am joined by the unexampled Mackenzie.
Our first foray into a book film adaptation for 2024 will be Jean Reiss's Wide Sargasso Sea
and both the 1993 and 2006 adaptations thereof.
Yeah, we're getting a little more literary. Not that Zombie Strippers isn't the utmost for discerning viewers.
What books and adaptations would you like to hear us whack semi-academic about?
(49:16):
Shoot us an email at realit at realitpodcast.com.
Visit our site at realitpodcast.com.
And follow us on social media at realitpodcast.
And remember that's R-E-E-L, like a film reel.
Thank you for listening. Thank you for listening to this episode and for all of them.
And if you don't listen to all of them, I'm still going to say thank you.
But go listen to all of them.
Happy New Year's to you all.
(49:38):
I hope it brings you all nothing but joy, prosperity, and all top shelf films.
Or at the very least, no bottom shelf rotgut.
Until next time, my fellow cinephiles, remember to treat yourself to a little shelf indulgence of your own.
Amelia, sing us home.
(50:05):
This has been an Alza Palace production.
The executive producer of this special episode is Reagan Babb, who somehow keeps this ship from sinking
while we navigate the choppy waters of bad cinema and bloopers alike.
Our funky theme music for all bonus episodes is Cat on the Porch by Nick Payne,
adding a touch of class to our trash cinema antics.
(50:27):
Special thanks to Alana Jordan for I've Got an Idea, which you heard during the blooper reel
and which perfectly encapsulates how we sound before Stephen edits us.
We hope you enjoyed this year-end special as much as we enjoyed making it.
Remember, no DVDs were harmed in the making of this podcast.
And if you find yourself tempted to rent Christmas Vacation 2, please consult your nearest film critic first.
(50:53):
From all of us at Alza Palace, happy movie watching and see you in 2025.
(51:22):
Criticism is an Alza Palace prediction. Oops. Per-duction.
Umbollux, do I get to be in the blooper reel, boss?
Okay, are we ready?
(00:02):
Ready.
Alright, in three, two...
Welcome to a special edition of Shelf Criticism Shelf Indulgence 2024 in Review.
(00:25):
Join your host Stephen as he takes a look back at the cinematic year that was...
celebrating unexpected triumphs, cringing at epic disappointments
and revisiting favourite moments from the past 12 months of film.
From hidden gems to blockbuster blunders and a countdown of his top five films of the year,
this is your all-access pass to a year of cinematic highs, lows and everything in between.
(00:49):
So sit back, relax and let the year in film roll by one last time.
Welcome to the final Owls of Palace production of 2024, the year of our inception.
Looking back, it's hard to believe how it all came together.
On a balmy April day, Mackenzie, Reagan and Stephen...
(01:13):
Amelia, I got this, okay? Stick to intros and outros, please. Thank you.
Oh, boss, I like to tell that story. No, it's fine. I'll just wait for my turn.
Manji Blyter.
Thinks he's so smart with all his fancy analysis and theory and what not.
(01:36):
You do realise your mic is still on.
Oops, I'm just going to go. Gollix.
Okay, where was I? Oh, yes, our origin story.
Mackenzie was working on her master's thesis, but she kept telling me as soon as she finished
and had some spare time, she wanted to do a podcast with me.
(01:58):
I don't know how that bug bit her, but apparently it did, and I'm glad it did.
I knew nothing about podcasting and honestly, still know very little, I'm afraid, is sometimes evident.
But I started looking into it. Our university has a podcast studio in the library that students and faculty can book.
That and a few Google searches and tutorials later, and all we were waiting for was a successful defense of her thesis and an idea.
(02:21):
Of course, she defended successfully. Now the podcast studio is literally in my office, all set up with microphone recording stuff.
Got a little carried away there, didn't we?
And the idea, both of us being literary scholars and me also dipping my toes into the realm of film studies, real lit was born.
Taking on the amazing Reagan into the fold as our producer.
On June 19th, we walked out of the studio with the rough beginnings of a podcast.
(02:45):
Our first episode was a deep dive, pun intended, into Jaws.
It's a natural choice since Mackenzie and I both had co-taught the book before.
The amount of work that goes into real lit is quite a bit, though, as we not only have to read the novel,
but also dream up scholarly close reads of each book or film, in my case.
We've kept it to a monthly rotation, and that's also partially because Mackenzie has a life.
(03:07):
I don't, though. So as I was going through my DVDs looking for zombie strippers, our third episode,
yes, it is very loosely based on a play and a film that we're actually going to talk about in a minute,
I realized I had a billion DVDs. Okay, 500 actually, but still, many of which I would love to talk about in public.
Thus, while waiting on those monthly episodes of real lit, I found a way to spend my time,
ripping into both tasteful and likely more abundantly tasteless titles on my DVD shelves on a show called Shelf Criticism.
(03:35):
As this holiday of New Year's always sparks reflection, shelf reflection, sorry, you know me in puns,
it seemed only fitting that I sit down one last time in 2024 and have a look back at the year that was,
mostly in cinema, but also perched alongside the Isles of Pallas.
As we settle in for this year-end episode, I'll guide you through the highs and lows of 2024 in cinema,
(03:58):
from the stunning brilliance of the year's best films to the regrettable missteps.
I will also take a stroll down my DVD shelf, revisiting the gems and the outright stinkers I've tackled on Shelf Criticism.
Whether I'm celebrating a masterpiece or lamenting a colossal flop, simply marveling at the sheer variety of stories this year has offered,
there's plenty to look back on. So let's retread the road of the year that was,
(04:19):
with all its cinematic triumphs and travesties.
I'm just going to go through several categories, beginning with my best discovery of the year, and a bit of a qualifier here.
Most of these are going to be from 2024, but there are some that I watched that were not 2024s.
We'll talk about those as well, specifically for the podcasts, but not so much with this one.
The best discovery of the year, I'm basically saying it wasn't put out in 2024 and I'd never seen it before.
(04:43):
What was the best film that I watched? That just doesn't have the same ring as best discovery of the year, of course.
This one is going to a little gem of a British film called Polite Society, which was just a year off, 2023, when it was released in the United States.
The way I stumbled on this film is a story in and of itself.
So each year our university hosts a traveling theater troupe called the Actors from the London Stage,
an organization, by the way, founded by none other than the great Sir Patrick Stewart.
(05:07):
Not only do these actors put on a Shakespeare production, they also come to our classrooms, you know, they go to the theater classes, acting classes, but also literature like mine,
and they do workshops or in my case talk about the Bard and how to read and understand him.
It's one of my favorite events of the year, mostly because as one of my official duties as outreach liaison for the department, I get to hang out with them, show them around, etc.
I never pass up an opportunity to spend time with interesting and talented people, and these are classically trained actors.
(05:32):
Most of them have a few credits on either British television or films.
Matter of fact, Mackenzie and I joked on our episode covering Stardust that everyone who's ever come to our university from this organization has been on Coronation Street at some point.
Because they have these lengthy acting credits sometimes and stuff that I may have seen, I do always look them up when I get the names just to see what their credits are.
Surprisingly, by the way, this year we had no Coronation Street alums. I think that's the first time that ever happened.
(05:54):
Sarah Finnegan did have a small part in 28 Weeks Later, which I thought was pretty cool.
And then the actress who was coming to my class, Shona Babayemi, had a pretty significant role in the aforementioned Polite Society, and I noticed it was streaming on Peacock,
so I thought, well, what the hey, let's just hit play and look at a couple of minutes of it.
Ninety minutes later, I was watching the credits roll with a grin on my face, just awestruck by how creative and visually stunning this film was I just watched.
(06:18):
It's written and directed by Nida Manzoor, who my listeners across the pond will probably recognize from her TV series We Are Lady Parts.
This film is a kaleidoscope of genres swirled together.
In an interview with Vulture, Manzoor described it as, quote, a joyful kung fu Bollywood epic.
And that's about as accurate as you can get.
The colors pop, the camera work is peak, and the laughs and action scenes alike come at a breakneck pace.
(06:41):
In this film, Ria dreams of becoming a stuntwoman for films, though her parents and teachers all push her to become a doctor instead.
Her older sister Lena has already been allowed to pursue her dream, but wound up dropping out of art school, and now she's kind of become rudderless.
When Lena is introduced to the handsome, wealthy, socially connected Saleem, she falls fast, and the wedding is being planned.
Ria is convinced there's something more sinister afoot here, particularly untrusting of Saleem's mother Raheela.
(07:05):
What ensues involves espionage, martial arts battles, and even a Bollywood musical number.
The only critique I can make about this film is while there are definitely some parts of the plot that are head spinning with twists, there are also some parts that are slightly predictable.
And this is just simply because we know the formula, the structure, you know, we know the language of genre in film.
And because this film straddles so many different genres, then of course we're going to see a few familiar patterns.
(07:28):
To me that almost makes the film more endearing, honestly.
Had this been released in the US in 2024 instead, it would be on my forthcoming top five list, there's no doubt about it.
The least I can do, however, is to sing its praises here, because I am downright evangelical about this film.
Sadly, the film is no longer on Peacock, but it is currently playing and streaming on Starz for those who subscribe.
And also you can purchase or rent it on Amazon, and yes, I totally did.
(07:51):
However you manage to see this film though, make sure you do it.
If it ever does get a DVD release in this region, I'm ordering it, and yes, it will be on an episode, I promise.
And yes, it'll be on a very high shelf, I can guarantee you that as well.
Speaking of that podcast, best films I watched for shelf criticism.
The three I'll mention here I've already seen, but I was still just reminded how good they were.
They're also kind of from the earlier episodes.
(08:13):
I realized I started out really strong, had a spate of good films.
And then somewhere along the way I wound up with Zebra Lounge.
If you remember that one, it's a made-for-Canadian TV erotic thriller starring Stephen Baldwin and Christy Swanson.
Seriously, you should go listen to that episode though, I don't recommend watching the film.
Come to think of it, with the notable exception recently of Gremlins, I don't know that I've had that many winners.
But nonetheless, like I said, I started out strong.
(08:35):
My second episode was Mulholland Drive, and motoring down that famed strip, looking into the spectacle that can only be David Lynch.
There's a common assumption that this is one of Lynch's more puzzling films,
with even the Ebert review we looked at on the episode assuming the film wasn't supposed to make sense.
Oddly enough, I've always found it pretty simple from the first watch on.
Okay, simple is probably the wrong word, but I got the gist.
(08:59):
Either way, it's a master class in filmmaking.
The visuals and the emotions evoked are so moving and powerful.
And speaking of classes, Naomi Watts takes us all to acting school.
It's one of the most powerful performances I have ever witnessed.
Mulholland Drive found itself on the top shelf, and to this date, it's the only film sitting there.
Maybe season two will bring it some company. We'll see.
Then I wanted to mention Bridesmaids. I think that was my fourth episode.
(09:21):
While Pineapple Express was my first episode, and it wasn't as hilarious as I remembered.
And yes, before you ask, each time I've seen that film, I have been of sound mind.
I do not partake of the product that saw petals in that film.
But Bridesmaids, penned by star Kristen Wiig and Annie Momolo, was funnier than I recalled, and I already held it in high regard.
The screenplay earned the duo a Best Screenplay nod from the Oscars, and it's filled with non-stop polarity.
(09:44):
At the height of the frat-pack Judd Apatow craze, this female-led comedy proved that women could act just as badly, be just as funny, and carry an R-rated comedy.
I called it feminism in that episode, and while I was joking, there's something to be said for that.
The film landed on my second shelf, which is a truly remarkable feat. It doesn't have much company either.
Bridesmaids is currently streaming on Netflix if you want to relive Lillian's bumpy path to her nuptials as Annie and Helen try to one-up each other.
(10:11):
Next comes The Wicker Man. Don't confuse this with whatever that Nicolas Cage remake was.
Oh no! Not the bees! Not the bees!
Aaaaaaah! I don't love my eyes! My eyes! Aaaaaaah! Aaaaaaah!
No, this film from 1973 is a genre-defining achievement.
One of the earliest examples of folk horror, as well as a solid entry into the genre of daytime horror.
(10:36):
Also, it's a musical, sort of. It at least gave me the opportunity to talk about diegetic and extra-diegetic music, which made me sound a lot smarter than I actually am.
So for that alone, I've got to give it some kudos.
As Lord Summer Isle, Christopher Lee delivers an understated performance, a suave, calm, calculating, and frankly rather likable villain.
Conversely, our protagonist, played by Edward Woodard, is a pearl-clutching prude, the type of fellow who today would make us say, you must be fun at parties.
(11:03):
And Britt Eklund...actually, don't get me started on Britt Eklund. I gushed over her enough in that episode.
This one also took second-shelf honors. If you've not seen this film, can you really call yourself a horror movie buff?
Sorry, that was gatekeeping, but still. If you loved Midsommar, you should be legally obliged to see this film.
I'm not saying Ari Aster ripped off Wicker Man. I honestly am not.
(11:26):
But he has certainly leaned heavily on some of the, not just the tropes, but straight-up plot points.
The film is streaming on Amazon Prime, so perhaps it's time to keep your appointment with the Wicker Man.
Well, they weren't all winners. Matter of fact, most of them weren't winners. Let's talk about the worst films I saw.
I did get plenty of mid-shelfers, and they brought me countless hours of enjoyment.
Matter of fact, some of the fourth-shelfers I tended to have fun with. Of course, we all know I like bad films, right? To a degree.
(11:53):
There were definitely some that were awful. The rock gut, as I call them.
Interestingly enough, the worst of the worst that I'm listing here were almost all films I've never seen before.
And the one film that I had turned out to have seen before was worse than I remembered.
Also, a couple of these selections were on my other podcast, meaning I made Mackenzie and Reagan suffer through a couple of these stinkers, too. Sorry, guys.
We'll start with the worst of the worst. Christmas Vacation 2, Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure.
(12:16):
You knew it was coming, right? The last episode I did, I took aim at this made-for-TV sequel, thinking it couldn't be as bad as it seemed on paper.
And I was sort of right. It's worse. I recorded that episode last week, and I'm still trying to think of a film that's worse.
I haven't come up with one. Legitimately, I think it may be the worst film I ever made.
There's zero budget, zero characters anyone cares about, zero funny moments. There's not a single redeeming quality about this film.
(12:40):
It is currently available to rent or buy on Amazon. But why? Why would you want to do that to yourself?
If hell ever decided there were worse centers than Judas, Brutus, and Cassius and needed a tenth circle for worse centers, they could just have a television playing this on endless loop.
And then we'll move to Zyzek Road. There's an interesting story behind this one.
It's the lowest grossing domestic box office of all time, making a whopping $30. I'm just gonna let that sink in.
(13:07):
That was a fact so unbelievable, especially for a film that starred Catherine Heigl and Tom Sizemore, that the Owls of Palace convened for a special edition, which we called Parliament After Dark.
Reagan, Mackenzie and I discussed it on that episode, which you can find on either Shelf Criticism or Reel It's Feed under the bonus episodes.
The setup isn't the worst ever, and Heigl does a particularly good job of acting, but the execution is otherwise as desolate and empty as the desert surrounding the eponymous road, which, little bit of trivia by the way, isn't even spelled correctly on the film.
(13:36):
It's ZZYZX, for those of you keeping score, not ZYZZYX. That, however, is the least of the film's issues.
I will say that it did lend us another award to hand out today. The best Zinger of 2024, which interestingly enough goes to Reagan.
That's right. She produced every episode of Reel It, but she only spoke on this one episode, and she stole the show with this.
(13:59):
For a fun fact of the day, ZYZZX is the last word in the English dictionary, though just had to be best for last, I guess.
And this was the last time I will ever see this movie.
And I'm supposed to be the snarky one. Good on you, Reagan. You can watch ZYZZX Road on Plex, or, yet another funny story about this film, you can purchase the newly released 4K 2Disc Collectors edition.
(14:23):
We didn't plan it that way, but in the happiest of coincidences, that edition released the day after we recorded our podcast that covered it.
It's also the most downloaded of any of the Alza Palace produced podcasts thus far, probably for that reason.
From lowest grossing to most listened to Alza Palace episode, you're moving up in the world, ZYZZX Road.
While not going too much further up alphabetically, there's Zombie Strippers.
(14:44):
I've already mentioned this film, a very, very, very loose adaptation of Eugene Ionesco's Rhinoceros, a 1950s theater of the absurd play.
It seemed off the wall enough to warrant a spot on Real It, and it did give me an excuse to finally read that play.
Ionesco's absurdism is brilliant. I tackled the bald soprano in the chairs back in my obligatory college existentialist phase.
(15:06):
Seriously, why is it that every college student has to become an existentialist for at least a week or two?
Watching the film for the first time, I caught all the nods.
Sartre, Kansas, or what they call it, Sartree, but it's Jean Paul Sartre.
A character named Major Camus, Robert Englund as the strip club owner, named Ian Escoe. Get it?
At the time, I thought those existential Easter eggs added depth to what was otherwise a low budget, poorly acted film.
(15:30):
Upon rewatch? No.
The filmmakers clearly just skimmed a Philosophy 101 textbook.
Worse, the film leans heavily into its strippers premise far more than I recalled.
It was the first, but certainly not the last time, I apologized on air to Mackenzie for forcing her to endure a film.
Zombie Strippers isn't streaming anywhere, but it can be purchased on Amazon or Fandango at home.
(15:51):
But take my advice and leave this one buried.
Now let's get to the most controversial take I probably had the entire year.
I'm putting Elf on here.
Yes, I'm putting Elf as one of the worst films I saw this year.
I know that's controversial. I feel compelled once more to stress, if you love this film, good on you.
I'm glad it makes you happy and fills you with holiday cheer.
(16:12):
I do have a hypothesis.
Somehow I miraculously managed to avoid this flick until this year.
As a 47 year old crotchety blackguard, I hated it.
It wasn't funny, it was childish, and it was so earnest and wholesome that it gave me a sugar high.
I have a sneaking suspicion that those who loved this flick saw it in their younger years,
when they were less discerning and when belching for a solid minute after guzzling a two liter of Coca-Cola actually seemed funny.
(16:36):
Now when you see it, you get the nostalgia feels.
You can't see it shortcoming for that reason.
It's simply not a good film.
That awful Zebra Lounge flick I mentioned earlier, it's a better film overall.
Will Ferrell's hit or miss with me, semi-pro Blades of Glory and that ilk can remain far away.
But sometimes when he plays a giant man-child, say old school, Anchorman, Talladega Knights, certainly Step Brothers, he's comedic gold.
(16:58):
In Elf, he just lacks that edge.
I will say that episode allowed me to get into comparisons of Buddy with other similar characters, notably Josh Baskin in Big and Candide in, well, Candide.
I've always said Reel It was semi-academic, where shelf criticism is quasi instead.
I did feel like I was on analytical fire with my take there.
So for that, I thank you, Elf.
(17:19):
For everything else, I'm just going to play the contrarian.
Elf is currently streaming on Hulu and Max, which I need tell no one I assume because you probably already watched it in your holiday tradition.
I'm the only one who's dead inside.
Next category I want to do is the best film y'all have never seen.
And we're getting into the films that came out in 2024 now.
Each year, my university hosts the George Lindsay, you and a film festival, which also just happens to be, by the way, the longest running film festival in the state of Alabama.
(17:43):
Take that sidewalk.
Sidewalks very good.
But I am also a little proud of that tidbit.
And I'm also proud to be a part of the Lindsay Film Fest, not only because I appreciate the way it spotlights so many up and coming filmmakers, both student and professional.
But also because it gives our community a chance to see so many independent films and hidden gems that would otherwise never play in this corner of the world.
And each year I'm involved in this festival from planning the hospitality.
(18:07):
I mean, I am the outreach liaison after all, to doing Q&A sessions.
I've gotten to meet so many talented actors, writers, directors, and that includes Benjamin Stark and Jeremy Burgess.
I've seen many of their films.
They tend to come to the festival every year.
But this year's Don't Die has been my favorite thus far.
Full disclosures, I think you figured out.
I do know Ben and Jeremy.
(18:28):
I also know Virginia Newcomb, who is one of the stars.
Still, if I didn't, I would still appreciate this thriller, no doubt about it.
So in this film, a guy named Jink, played by Theodos Crane, is driven to crime simply to get a medication he needs but can't afford.
As he's robbing a pharmacy, he winds up wounding Julia, played by Virginia Newcomb, who is also, interestingly enough, robbing a pharmacy.
(18:51):
But Jink's is a nice fellow at his core.
He's only driven to steal because he has to.
So he goes out of his way to save Julia.
But in doing so, he gets involved in a scheme that goes way deeper than he could imagine.
What ensues is white-knuckle suspense.
We enter into a world populated by characters who are so ambiguously aligned that you have no idea who to root for.
At its core, this film is a stark, no pun intended, Benjamin, a stark critique of the American for-profit health care system and the many people it leaves behind,
(19:19):
the ones who suffer daily for lack of care or affordable medication due to our broken system.
You folks in Canada and listeners in the UK, you'll never understand.
And that's good. I'm glad you can't.
However, all that, by the way, is subtext.
And the film doesn't proselytize.
It never allows preaching to get in the way of storytelling.
Even the ambiguity the character's moral compasses is subtly reinforced, as the film's Chiara Skuro pays homage to the likes of the Prince of Darkness himself, cinematographer Gordon Willis, with its lighting.
(19:46):
By the way, last episode with Mackenzie, I said I thought his name was Melvin Gordon.
I don't know where I got that. It's Gordon Willis.
Sorry, Brenna. I know Brenna loves him.
I'm sure she was shaking her head and screaming, Gordon Willis.
Don't Die isn't currently available anywhere, unfortunately, which it's a shame.
It was once available for purchase on Prime.
And if it is ever back anywhere for your viewing pleasure, I will let you know.
(20:09):
And in turn, you should go check it out immediately.
The film in 2024 I was most pleasantly surprised by is Werewolves.
Yeah, you heard that right.
When the world shut down for COVID, I got in the habit of not going to the theater, in large part because we couldn't.
And then once the world reopened, I guess I'd just already been in the habit of lazily flipping through streaming services at home.
I'd gone a few times, but not like I used to.
(20:30):
So something clicked this year for me.
I needed to get out there more.
I mean, y'all know I love my DVDs, but films used to be made with the assumption they'd be seen on the big screen.
Movie going is by its nature a social event.
At least it was until fart knockers started answering their phone calls while the film was playing.
Regardless, I decided to finally start putting my money back into theaters, seeing stuff out in public.
(20:51):
I didn't even know that Werewolves existed, but I just happened to be eating at a Mexican restaurant.
And I looked up for my fish taco to see an ad playing on a TV over the corner.
Now the television was muted, so I heard nothing, but I saw Frank Guerrillo and some furry lupines.
I took out my phone and started browsing showtimes.
I knew it was going to be terrible, but I didn't care.
It is ironic that I just talked about the social part of movie going,
(21:13):
because I went to that film on a Thursday matinee and I had a quote unquote private screening.
I was all alone in that theater.
Was it a good film? No, no, not even close.
The premise was unbearably stupid.
The first act dragged almost painfully.
But once the action got going, it wasn't half bad.
The film knows what it is, and it doesn't try to be more.
It's a callback to the midnight movies of the 80s.
(21:34):
Everything from the dark, cool tone color grading to the dark synthwave music accompanying it.
Just it brought back memories.
The effects are mostly practical, including animatronics and puppets.
I like that part.
It was one of those films where the feeling, the tone, the vibe it gave off was more important than the plot.
And that alone endeared the film to me far more than it should have.
Conversely, the film I was most disappointed by.
(21:56):
That would have to be Gladiator 2.
I can't say it's a bad film.
I don't know if I'd go as far as to call it good, but it's minimally watchable.
My first thought when the credits rolled at the end of this film was unnecessary.
I certainly didn't expect that masterpiece that was the first film, but I expected something serious and thoughtful.
And what I got was ridiculous spectacle.
Rhinos and sharks in the Coliseum.
All right, well, okay, the sharks are actually cool, I gotta admit it.
(22:19):
But that's some over-the-top B-movie stuff, not a follow-up to a beloved Oscar-nominated film.
And I won't even get into how much that stretched verisimilitude.
Yes, the Romans actually did flood the Coliseum on occasion to reenact naval battles.
But sharks?
Also, those were great white sharks.
I mean, CGI, but they were great whites, there was no doubt.
There's not a lot of those swimming around the Mediterranean.
(22:41):
There's an absolutely zero.
And even if there were, to this day, a white has never survived in captivity.
I could forgive that.
What I can't forgive is everything else.
There was perhaps the most threadbare of plots, but not much of one.
Mostly the entire film was a series of callbacks and allusions to the original.
It was straight up nostalgia porn.
It was a cash grab and nothing more.
(23:02):
Moving into the next segment.
One of the real perks of podcasting is the editing software.
While I may sound clever and resolute in my delivery,
that's only because you don't hear my stumbles or my butchered sentences
or moments where I completely lose my train of thought.
Through editing, I've learned both mine and Mackenzie's verbal tics.
I say, um, every third word, while Mackenzie has this habit of popping her peas right before making a solid point.
(23:26):
You, the listener, are spared all that.
Though let's be honest, Mackenzie's pea popping is kind of endearing, unlike my relentless ums.
But some mess ups are so funny, I can't bring myself to delete them entirely.
Instead, I save them in a blooper folder.
And what better time to share those gems than in a year-end show.
So kick back. It's time to laugh at our expense.
Crows read?
(23:48):
Crows?
You're crows read!
It's your crows read!
Pun intended. That's gotta go up for real.
Um, I do love Chavin as an author of the mysteries of Pissburg.
Pissburg?
That's not good.
Deeper into her isolated world, where despair lingers like an infection.
Good, how did I write that?
(24:09):
That's good. That's a good sentence.
Oh, you like it? Okay. I'll keep it.
I do.
Okay, I got it.
I'm supposed to correct you, that's the joke.
Oh! Ha! Look at me being...
What? Blah blah blah. Sorry.
Sometimes you just gotta blah.
Yeah.
(24:30):
You can email us at reallittpodcast at reallitt...
****
You can email us at reallitt at reallittpodcast...
****
Today on Real Lit, we'll be fishing 2,611 pages of Grady Tripp's book out of the...
I don't know how to say that.
(24:52):
Monongahela.
Monongahela.
Monongahela.
Monongahela.
Today on Real Lit, we'll be fishing 2,611 pages of Grady Tripp's book out of the mona...
I don't know if I'm gonna be able to say it.
Monongahela.
Monongahela.
Should I start the sentence over?
Yeah, see if you can do it.
(25:13):
Monongahela.
Yep.
Today on Real Lit, we'll be fishing 2,611 pages of Grady Tripp's book out of the monongahela...
because we're analyzing the 1995 Michael Chabon novel and 2000 Curtis Hansen film Wonder Boys.
It's Chabin.
Chabin.
I've been teaching too long this week.
(25:36):
Oh, I've just nickel fritz.
I've been talking for like five hours.
I can turn that down later.
Let's just screw it.
Let it be loud and I'll tune it down.
Alright.
I do think it would make for an interesting...
But I do think it could make for an interesting...
(25:57):
Why can I not say the word interesting?
Do you want to just do it all over?
Chabin.
Chabin.
Monongahela.
Chabin.
Chabin.
Of course I had to give you the answer.
I need to get my brain on straight.
Yeah, I really do.
I think that's all.
Oh, that was fun.
(26:18):
My favorite performance of the year.
Mikey Madison had better walk away the Academy Awards with a little gold statue.
Period.
In a year of several impressive performances, Demi Moore in Substance, Nicole Kidman in Baby Girl, Angelina Jolie in Maria, not too bad.
Immediately come to mind.
But what Madison does in Enora is one of the best performances I've seen in maybe a decade.
(26:40):
The only role I'd ever seen her in was Scream, the fifth one, where she was very good.
But I never expected the acting chops on display in this film.
For starters, she's from LA, but she nails the New York accent and the attitude both.
Trust me, I dated a woman from Queens for a few months and it brought back memories.
The glide insertion that's adding a W in words like talk to make it t'wock.
Turning the O into an O like a cup of coffee anyone.
(27:03):
And the glottalization, how a word like bottle becomes ball.
I'm not sure how long Madison worked with a vocal coach, but it paid off.
Even more impressive, she has to play a person who is a tough, rugged exterior, but who can show subtle vulnerabilities.
She's more than rough around the edges, downright annoying at points.
She's a gold digger.
Yet she's also likeable.
In the end, we end up unequivocally rooting for her.
(27:25):
And I don't want to spoil anything because this film has one of the best endings I've seen in a long time.
And the entire impact hinges on Madison's performance, which she pulls off adroitly.
Hands down, best performance I've seen this year and probably the year before.
Who knows? The last time I saw a performance this good.
I also have to mention Denzel Washington in Gladiator 2.
He is the sole bright spot of that film, aside from the friggin' sharks in the coliseum, of course.
(27:47):
I know, it was stupid, but sharks, man.
I love Washington.
I mean, his Othello, his portrayal of Alonzo Harris in Training Day is dastardly, but you can't say it isn't also an acting clinic.
It seems like Washington may be at his best when he's playing someone who at least has a questionable moral compass.
He's most compelling, then.
And McCriner certainly falls into that category.
He's not necessarily corrupt, certainly loyal to no one but himself.
(28:11):
He's there to play the odds and do what he can, side with the most powerful in order to get ahead.
And if that means pulling a few strings behind the scenes, he has no compunction about orchestrating another's downfall.
Yet there's something of a certain code of honor deep within him.
And you can tell he has at least a grudging respect for Lucius, our protagonist.
Like Madison, it's all about the nuance, and Washington lives in that gray area in this film.
(28:32):
I'm only surprised to see him get a supporting actor nod from the Academy.
Maybe it was just that Gladiator 2 was so disappointing that I was scraping for every positive I could, and Washington's always a positive.
But either way, I think he deserves some more love.
I'm also inclined to place the entire cast of A Complete Unknown in this category.
Timothee Chalamet becomes Bob Dylan, and Monica Barbaro sold me as Joan Baez.
(28:53):
However, Edward Norton as Pete Seeger was a revelation.
As a bit of a Seeger fan myself, I've listened to many of his live recordings.
And from the between-song banter he does with the audience, I've noticed he has a particular way of speaking, his deliberate and unique cadence.
And Norton clearly spent plenty of time listening to that as well. Does a great job.
Let's get to my unapologetic indulgence of the year.
(29:14):
Most of you would call this a guilty pleasure, and I've said this on a dozen podcasts, but it bears repeating.
I hate that term. Why guilty? Did it bring you joy? Own it.
Even if you know it's not exactly high quality.
I mean, I love Shakira for crying out loud.
So I'm going to do some linguistic gymnastics and just call this next segment unapologetic indulgence of the year.
I sometimes really enjoy films that aren't good, and I make no attempt to say they are.
(29:37):
Still, I like them and I don't apologize.
I've already mentioned Werewolves, which I liked way more than I should.
But there was another film that took this crown this year, Bad Boys Ride or Die.
I know I often talk about how awful most Jerry Bruckheimer-produced films are, and I'm not wrong.
Still, The Rock, Con Air, I can't help but enjoy those.
When the first Bad Boys came out, I felt the same way.
Since they have, as sequels are wont to do, declined in quality.
(30:01):
Not that the first was all that great to begin with.
Ride or Die is the fourth installment, and it's just simply not a good film.
As usual, the stakes always have to get bigger, the action sequence is more absurd,
the characters who might have some complexity in the first couple of films become caricatures of themselves.
New characters are added, often superfluously, to bring in a younger audience.
Looking at you, Miss High School Musical Vanessa Hudgens.
(30:22):
2020's Bad Boy for Life was already unnecessary, but another?
So of course, I loved every second of it.
It was pure nostalgia bait too.
Shameless sequel and cash grab.
Some of the same reasons actually I criticized Gladiator 2.
But I felt like it worked here.
Probably because I hold this franchise to a far lower standard overall.
Also, I guess I'm just a bit of a hypocrite. That's fair.
And by the way, Vanessa Hudgens' Kelly is fast becoming one of my favorite of the franchise.
(30:45):
So tell me, when's the fifth installment coming out, folks?
I'm there.
Best scene or sequence?
There's so many I could mention here.
I'd originally chosen the scene when Anais and Emily dance to Bette Davis' Eyes and Anais in Love.
But then I went and talked about it at length in the last episode.
You can listen to it there if you want to.
Still, I contend, it is the most sensual scene on camera in nearly half a decade.
(31:07):
And it's not even a love scene, it's just dancing.
Such an emotionally charged piece.
Speaking of sensual, or subversively not so much,
the opening sequence of Baby Girl does a lovely job of setting the tone and themes while also dazzling the audience.
But its subject matter is rather adult.
And y'all know I don't shy away from academic and detached discussion of any topic.
I mean, I teach the Miller's Tale for Pete's sake.
(31:29):
But I'd rather not get into that on a lighthearted year in review.
There are at least a dozen scenes in Nosferatu that are a feast for the eyes,
but I'm still not sure how I feel about that film.
It certainly needs to be seen, but I'm still formulating my thoughts.
Suffice to say, spoiler, it isn't making my top five.
Though I guess if I'd done a top ten, it would probably make an appearance.
Instead, I think I'm going to choose a scene from a complete unknown.
(31:50):
And I will warn you, it involves the most minor of spoilers.
And it's actually already historically known if you know much about Bob Dylan's bio to begin with.
But you've been warned.
After Dylan and Baez's relationship goes downhill,
manifesting itself at a live performance,
the duo find themselves back on stage together, this time at the Newport Folk Festival.
She says to him, away from the mic, that she has the most fitting song for the two of them to play together.
(32:13):
And then she proceeds to strum the first few chords of Johnny Cash's great anthem, It Ain't Me, Babe.
Unlike the last time they were on stage, the performers don't let their tensions spill out.
Instead, performing the song with enthusiasm, they harmonize and play off of one another's
like Dylan and Baez were so good at doing in real life.
It's only in those close-ups, the stolen glances they flash at each other as they sing the song,
(32:34):
where we, as the film's audience, see the subtle facial tick and expressions
that the audience at the folk festival cannot.
And that's when we understand their meaning every word they sing to each other.
And then you've got a couple in the fact that we're also cutting to Sylvia watching this offstage,
who is also having a similar realization about Dylan,
and her tears well and then start to spill as she turns and exits.
The director, writer, and actors all trust the audience to pick up on the unspoken,
(32:58):
creating a moment that endures way after the credits roll.
We are getting towards the end. I want to introduce a segment I'm just going to call Shelfies,
because I have no creativity.
We are going to get to my top five of the year, but I wanted to hand out some more honors.
And as we're all getting ever closer to the Academy announcing its finalists,
I decided to give a far more prestigious honor by mentioning my own picks in those categories.
(33:19):
And yes, that was sarcasm. I'm pretty shelf-confident, but I'm not that much.
I should also toss out the caveat that while I've seen most of the films expected to be an Oscar contention,
I've not been able to see them all. I do live in a relatively small city in Alabama,
so any limited releases are no-go. It's not New York or LA.
And we seldom get any foreign language or arthouse films.
Even some of the buzzworthy ones aren't playing, which surprises me.
(33:43):
But hey, when you keep multiple theaters open to screen true works of art like Sonic 3,
there's not always room.
In particular, I haven't seen The Brutalist, The Nickel Boys, or Sing Sing.
You may notice I didn't mention the buzzy Conclave.
I have in fact seen it, and while mostly well-acted, that's as far as I can go.
Otherwise, it's the most overhyped film I've seen in quite some time.
Think like Titanic, which I know most people like, but I don't.
(34:06):
American Beauty, The Help, you know, those.
That said, knowing I've been unable to be fair to all contenders,
but have done my best, I'll dole out my official picks.
Best Adapted Screenplay
Again, while I have a sneaking suspicion The Nickel Boys will win this, had I seen it,
I love the Colson Whitehead novel.
From what I have seen, we'll give it to Richard Linklater and Glenn Powell for Hitman,
(34:28):
which is actually a decent flick that I have said nothing at all about thus far.
For the Best Original Screenplay, hands down goes to Sean Baker for Enora.
Best Director? Surprise, surprise, Sean Baker for Enora.
Best Supporting Actor? Already talked about it, Edward Norton, a complete unknown.
Best Supporting Actress? I'm going here with Margaret Qualley for The Substance,
(34:50):
another film I've said nothing about, but it's at least worth watching.
Also, fun fact, Qualley is the daughter of Andy McDowell, and once you see it, you can't unsee it.
Best Actor? Gotta go to Timothée Chalamet, complete unknown, amazing.
It was almost like looking at Bob Dylan from that time.
And Best Actress? I've already talked at length about this one as well, and Best Performance?
(35:11):
It's Mikey Madison, Enora, by far, hands down.
And with that, why don't we move on to the main events?
My Top 5 of 2024. So we'll just start with number 5 and work our way to the top.
Number 5. Do not expect too much from the end of the world.
A quick caveat. When I chose these films, I was looking for the best artistic achievement in this year of cinema.
(35:33):
That does sometimes, more often than not actually, mean they're enjoyable.
I'm not saying I didn't enjoy this film, but I'm saying it's not one I would recommend to anyone who isn't a film scholar or a serious cinephile.
The lengthy title is a translation of the Romanian title that I won't even try to pronounce.
Yeah, it's a foreign language film, by the way. You'll have to read.
It revolves around a young woman named Angela who is an overworked producer's assistant,
(35:55):
as she drives around town doing all the dirty work on a film production.
That film, by the way, is a corporate safety film from an Austrian company.
She's actually looking to find actual people injured on the job at their plant to speak, to serve as a cautionary tale,
and also completely ignore the firm's own culpability.
Intercut with all this are Zoom meetings, raunchy, satirical TikTok videos she uploads with a disturbing filter,
(36:17):
and, incongruously, scenes from a 1981 communist propaganda film about a taxi driver.
This is before the completely off-the-rails final 40 minutes.
Also, there's a two-hour 43-minute runtime. So you see what I mean? It's not for everyone.
It is, however, a postmodern masterclass in this contemporary moment of our world,
especially for a former Eastern Bloc nation.
It ridicules and satirizes late-stage capitalism, but it also takes jabs at the communism of a generation earlier.
(36:43):
We, the viewer, are bombarded with images and memes and honking horns,
and we're overwhelmed in the same way that we are in this fast-paced world.
And, like our world, all that overstimulation just leads to a listless banality.
Good film. See it if you dare.
Number four. I'm going with Baby Girl.
A few episodes of season one, Shelf Criticism looked into the erotic thriller,
and I noted it was a genre that seemed to be disappearing, for better or worse.
(37:07):
Lately, however, there's been at least a modest resurgence, though not really anything well done, I think.
Deep Water comes to mind, if you saw that one on Netflix.
It's essentially Ben Affleck playing with snails while his wife, played by Ana de Armas, snogs a bunch of other guys in front of him.
To call Baby Girl an erotic thriller is a misnomer.
It's not fatal attraction, and all rabbits are safe.
(37:28):
What with the 2002 film Unfaithful, it's a movie about cheating, and yeah, it's erotic.
The thrills come not from violent repercussions of the affair, though, but from the act of cheating itself.
It's more a character study of how Romy, Nicole Kidman's character,
a little less so of Samuel, played by Harris Dickinson, and even less, but still slightly, the scorned husband, Jacob Antonio Banderas.
(37:49):
As a CEO of a large tech firm, Romy knows just how ill-advised it is to engage in an affair with an intern, but she does so anyway.
In fact, in her twisted desire, it is actually the danger.
It's the potential for throwing away not just her marriage, but her career, her reputation, her livelihood.
That's what draws her. That's what's keeping her going here.
Kidman is a fine actor, and she's at least as good here as she was in her Oscar-winning performance in The Hours.
(38:12):
She carries the movie alongside director Helena Regin's understated approach.
Make no mistake, it's a steamy film, but it's very tastefully done.
Don't come to it expecting basic instinct.
However, the subtlety makes your heart pound even more.
Trust me, you'll look at a tall glass of milk very differently after seeing this one.
At number three, I'm going to put Challengers here.
(38:34):
It took me a while to get around to this one, actually, despite my belief that Zendaya is a generational talent.
She was the only reason I finally sat down to watch it, by the way.
I know the basics of tennis. You hit the ball and hope your opponent doesn't.
But the scoring system makes about as much sense to me as a Derrida lecture.
Love? Why not just call it zero? And how do you go from 15 to 30 to 40?
(38:56):
Still, this sizzling drama, helmed by Luca Guadagnino, who you may know from films such as Call Me By Your Name and Queer,
demonstrates an unparalleled skill in visual storytelling.
His use of extreme close-ups suggests trust and intimacy,
while wide shots with characters on opposite extremes remind us of the emotional distance they keep.
Despite years of shared history, these characters are holding parts of themselves back,
(39:19):
which create these unspoken gulfs that are visualized.
The story unfolds non-chronologically, framed by a high-stakes tennis match between Tashi,
that's Zendaya's husband, Art, played by Mike Feist.
Feist-face? I'm not sure.
And her ex-boyfriend, Art's former best friend, Patrick, played by Josh O'Connor.
And that's all the setup you need.
The film is a whirlwind of passion, ambition, and fractured relationships,
(39:43):
as the trio navigates their personal and professional lives in the competitive tennis world.
The final sequence is a bit too drawn out, stretches the suspense a touch too far, almost comical, but that's a minor critique.
What stands out is how the film subverts sports movie tropes.
There's no cheesy win-one-for-the-gipper triumph here.
And there's no clear hero or villain, so challengers might, in that case, frustrate casual viewers.
(40:07):
But it's precisely that moral complexity that I love. I think y'all should know that about me by now, right?
So it's not a typical sports film. It's not a straightforward romance.
It defies categorization and invites you instead to just serve the ball and watch the volleys of ambition, desire, and betrayal go...
back and forth.
No, that was not a Mackenzie Peapop.
Number two, A Complete Unknown. Just made my list. I just saw it last night.
(40:32):
And here it is at number two. Music biopics are notoriously hard to get right.
I mean, am I the only one disappointed in Rocketman and Bohemian Rhapsody? Maybe I am. I didn't like them.
But forcing this film, the only one I truly enjoyed was Walk the Line.
And lucky for us, James Mangold, the director of that film, takes the helm to offer us this glimpse into Bob Dylan's life.
As I mentioned earlier, the acting in this film is phenomenal.
(40:54):
Timothy Chalamet, Edward Norton, Monica Barbaro, they all disappear into their role.
Boyd Holbrook's Johnny Cash isn't quite as transformative, but he still sold me.
The story focuses on a pivotal period in Dylan's life.
It begins with him hitchhiking to New York City to visit Woody Guthrie, who's been hospitalized with Huntington's disease.
And it ends with his infamous electric performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.
(41:15):
The film ignores his origins and his later career and chooses just to hone in on his relentless drive to reinvent himself.
And that's actually epitomized in a very interesting scene.
Early on, Joan Baez sees through Dylan's tall tale and is telling everybody he works at a carnival, talking about those days.
She calls him out on it and it sets the stage for this narrative about myth-making and transformation.
(41:36):
I don't remember the exact quote, but he basically says something like,
I don't want to think about my past. I just want to come and reinvent myself here.
The film runs two hours and 21 minutes, so you might think it would feel stretched then if it only covers a few years of Dylan's life.
And it is true, much of the runtime is devoted to musical performances.
A lot of times you hear the entire song being played.
But far from filler, I think these moments are integral.
(41:58):
To understand Dylan, you have to understand his music, which is almost as if not more essential than the experiences that shaped him.
Honestly, the film actually qualifies as a musical and by far the best musical of 2024.
And yes, I'm aware of the buzz around that other one, you know, the one about witches and Oz.
Sorry, Reagan. I know you love that one.
And it's a good film, but A Complete Unknown is on another level.
(42:19):
I'll admit I didn't expect this film to be as extraordinary as it was.
I mean, I was absolutely blown away when the credits rolled.
I was watching this on my colleague, Katie, and she turned and asked me what I thought.
And for a moment, I was just speechless. And then all I could say was this is why movies are made.
So, yeah, that's why two days before New Year's, my top five got shaken up.
The number one movie has remained, though. I think you'll figure this one out.
(42:41):
Number one is a Nora. Yeah, if possible, this had all the suspense of the first round of this year's college football playoffs.
Which is to say none. As a matter of fact, for those who follow on Instagram, I had already posted a photo hailing this as my top pick.
There are very few films I get this excited about.
I mean, this year, really, aside from a Nora, it was just a complete unknown and polite society.
(43:02):
As I said on my Shelfless Endeavors review of this film, I knew almost nothing going into it.
I knew Mikey Madison played an exotic dancer who marries the son of a Russian oligarch.
And naturally, the powerful family is not happy about it.
And I also knew those who had gotten an advance screening were raving about Madison's performance.
And that's actually all I'm going to say here as well.
I'd not even seen a trailer when I bought it on streaming. And if you have not either, don't. Don't watch a trailer.
(43:26):
Just go into it not knowing anything. I didn't know what genre it was, what to expect, what I was getting into.
And I loved it. The first act is a visual feast for the eyes.
And it is mostly just Annie, which a Nora prefers to be called, by the way, and said oligarch son, Ivan, Mark Edelstein, I guess.
Mark Edelstein. Partying and living it up. You'll hate him. As you're supposed to. He's a spoiled, entitled brat.
(43:51):
Annie, to be fair, is quite the gold digger. So you may not like her either. I think I've already established.
These are my kind of films where there's not a good guy. If they're not yours, still stick with the film.
Once the parents in Russia find out about their son's marriage, the proverbial poo hits the proverbial fan.
And even if you don't like a single character, you're going to love where this thing goes.
And trust me, you will at least grow to like Annie. There's a reason Madison is getting so much attention for this role.
(44:16):
She's paradoxically both histrionic and understated, calloused, but also vulnerable. She's street smart, but she's also naive.
I don't know. I'm sure I've seen performances this nuanced and layered before, but I can't tell you the last time I did.
I was awestruck by what Madison had to offer. And that performance alone could carry a film.
At least make it go beyond decent to pretty darn good. But throw in a solid supporting cast, a tight, clever script,
(44:44):
masterful direction, perfect lighting, a carefully catered score. I could go on. Just suffice to say this film checks all the boxes.
I will simply say this. I already have an alert set for when this film will be available to preorder on Blu-ray slash 4K.
When it does, I'm going to purchase it. When it arrives, I'm going to prepare an episode of Shelf Criticism.
Thus, I don't want to say too much about it for that reason either, because what will I say when I put this beauty on a shelf?
(45:09):
Instead, let's just award the completely intangible metaphorical golden shelfie to Enora and let Sean Baker place it on his imaginary shelf.
Well, there we go. We've run through it all. This time of year always makes me reflective.
My friend and musician, Freedomingas, has a lyric that always stuck with me. We got to ride this piece of dirt around the sun.
Well, that piece of dirt hasn't gone around in one more loop, and every time it does, I tend to get a little philosophical.
(45:33):
You know, I've lamented on podcasts about the state of cinema. I were stuck in this cycle of sequels and reboots and remakes.
But looking back on my list, only three sequels made the cut. Gladiator 2 is a disappointment.
Christmas Vacation 2 is literally the worst film ever made, and I will die on that hill.
And Bad Boys Ride or Die appealed to me, but my tasteless side. It's not a good film.
(45:54):
Everything else, though, originals. Granted, the films I've gushed over aren't all topping the box office charts.
You have to go all the way down to number 15 this year to find a non-IP film.
It ends with us, which I won't weigh in on here. We all know the controversy there.
And yes, that was a book before, but certainly not something from the MCU or sequel or reboot.
Enora sits at 85 right now on the box office for the year, which kind of puts us in perspective.
(46:18):
But still, there are creative visions that are out there, and those movies are getting made.
While this year's box office totals were affected by the writer's strike and a slow first quarter,
I'm really cautiously optimistic about what's ahead.
So to close our year in review, let's take a moment to look at some films that I'm most excited about for 2025.
First of all is Hard Truth. This is a British black comedy.
(46:40):
It's already playing in the UK, but it won't make its way to our shores until next month.
I know a couple of people who worked on this, and from what I hear, it's going to be a potential indie darling.
It's already Dazzle the Baftas, and Marianne Jean-Baptiste is getting some best actress talk already.
Also, I can't wait for Black Bag.
Steven Soderbergh only needs to say four words to have me hooked. I'm making a film.
(47:02):
Add a fifth word. I'm making a spy film? Ho ho ho ho ho.
And then we've got Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender.
Call me Renee Zellweger because you had me at hello.
Sinners. Oh, sinners.
If there are three things I love, it's Michael B. Jordan as an actor, a film directed by Ryan Coogler,
and doubly so when it also features Michael B. Jordan, and a horror flix.
(47:25):
Put all three of those together.
Another one I'll just toss out here, Heat 2.
I'm borderline obsessed with Michael Mann as it is. His direction is peerless in my book,
and Heat is another one of those films that just shaped my love of cinema and made me who I am today.
I know the hypocrisy of what I just said about sequels and existing IPs,
but if anyone gets a pass, it's Michael Mann. Besides, this is a prequel, not a sequel.
(47:47):
And with that, I guess we close the book on a 2024.
Year of triumphs, surprises, a few cinematic disasters, sure.
But the beauty of film is there's always something new to discover, right?
For instance, getting back to business as usual on Shelf Criticism.
No more Christmas films or New Year's specials, just good old-fashioned trash cinema.
Next week, I am letting an animal attack feature surface from beneath the murky swamp water.
(48:11):
We'll be looking at the 1976 film, Eaten Alive, which features Robert Englund in one of his earliest roles.
And it's directed by a fellow you may have heard of who was fresh off directing a film you may have heard of,
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Guy with the name of Tobe Hooper. Yep.
Psycho swamp folk and crocodiles. You know you don't want to miss that.
And so you don't, be sure to hit that like and subscribe button for us, would you? Please? Pretty please?
(48:32):
While you're at it, tell me what your favorite Tobe Hooper film is, or what your top five of 2024 are.
Or just curse my name because I dissed the film you loved. I can take it.
You can email me at steven at ShelfCriticism.com. That's S-T-E-P-H-E-N.
You can also keep up with the latest news either at our website, ShelfCriticism.com, or on social media, at ShelfCriticism.
(48:53):
Don't forget about my other podcast, Real It, where I am joined by the unexampled Mackenzie.
Our first foray into a book film adaptation for 2024 will be Jean Reiss's Wide Sargasso Sea
and both the 1993 and 2006 adaptations thereof.
Yeah, we're getting a little more literary. Not that Zombie Strippers isn't the utmost for discerning viewers.
What books and adaptations would you like to hear us whack semi-academic about?
(49:16):
Shoot us an email at realit at realitpodcast.com.
Visit our site at realitpodcast.com.
And follow us on social media at realitpodcast.
And remember that's R-E-E-L, like a film reel.
Thank you for listening. Thank you for listening to this episode and for all of them.
And if you don't listen to all of them, I'm still going to say thank you.
But go listen to all of them.
Happy New Year's to you all.
(49:38):
I hope it brings you all nothing but joy, prosperity, and all top shelf films.
Or at the very least, no bottom shelf rotgut.
Until next time, my fellow cinephiles, remember to treat yourself to a little shelf indulgence of your own.
Amelia, sing us home.
(50:05):
This has been an Alza Palace production.
The executive producer of this special episode is Reagan Babb, who somehow keeps this ship from sinking
while we navigate the choppy waters of bad cinema and bloopers alike.
Our funky theme music for all bonus episodes is Cat on the Porch by Nick Payne,
adding a touch of class to our trash cinema antics.
(50:27):
Special thanks to Alana Jordan for I've Got an Idea, which you heard during the blooper reel
and which perfectly encapsulates how we sound before Stephen edits us.
We hope you enjoyed this year-end special as much as we enjoyed making it.
Remember, no DVDs were harmed in the making of this podcast.
And if you find yourself tempted to rent Christmas Vacation 2, please consult your nearest film critic first.
(50:53):
From all of us at Alza Palace, happy movie watching and see you in 2025.
(51:22):
Criticism is an Alza Palace prediction. Oops. Per-duction.
Umbollux, do I get to be in the blooper reel, boss?
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