Capturing Truth: The Art of Storytelling in Warfare and The Correspondent

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
First on film and entertainment, and we have got a
cavalcade of champions with us, Sandy Kay, Peter Krause, Gregory King. Fabulous.
It has taken us forever. I've got to say that
technology and people who collectively, I reckon we must be
getting to two hundred and fifty years. It's kind of

(00:20):
like an old tree. It needs a lot of watering.
Is it me or is it the technology? Gregory King?
What do you reckon?

Speaker 2 (00:28):
I think it's a combination of both.

Speaker 1 (00:30):
Yeah, fair enough, And Peter Krause, I tell you what
I have. I've pleaded with you and things have never
gone right over the last four weeks when we've used
this new technology. What is it? Is it you or
is it I? Yes? Good and Sandy you're a spring
chicken compared to the rest of us, of course, and

(00:51):
you've got it straight away. I had no idea why.

Speaker 3 (00:55):
I'm technology savvy, Alex.

Speaker 1 (00:57):
That's what it is. Well, you've got your own highly
successful World of Clayton program. So did you have did
you have a problem when you had to sort of
set all of that up or was that just sort
of straightforward or did somebody else do it for you?

Speaker 4 (01:10):
That's what I had scuse. Somebody else has to teach you.
You always need a bit of a guru in your life,
don't you.

Speaker 1 (01:15):
I reckon you need more than the guru. I think
that that's that's the case. I have no idea why
this is the way it is, but it is so.
Now the difficulty is my computer is also frozen. Can
you believe that? But that's just that's just typical. I
can't actually access any of my folders. Now, that is
just magnificent. It just keeps on getting better, just when,

(01:38):
just when you think it couldn't get possibly get any worse.
I wanted to start, by the way, talking about a
great movie, a movie that really surprised me. And by
the way, I think there's a misnomer Alex Garland Pleader.
You'd know this. People mistakenly believe that he's Australian. He's English,
isn't he? Yes, he is English, that's right. So why

(02:00):
do we get the impression? Because if you look up
google Alex garlandy it starts by saying he's not Australian.
So why did people think he was? Do you have
any understanding of that?

Speaker 5 (02:12):
It might have lived in Australia or been making a
few films in Australia for a few years.

Speaker 6 (02:17):
I don't know, Well, I'm not getting confused with that
documentary Australian Alex Gibney.

Speaker 5 (02:22):
It's perhaps yeah, maybe they got him, Maybe they got
him confused with that well known Australian Alex.

Speaker 1 (02:29):
First, thank you very much. Indeed, now there is going
to be another twenty eight days later, isn't there? There's
sort of it's a Alex Garland follow up as well.
Let's been here, come out twenty eight yay later, Thank
you very much, x mcina. He did Civil War, which
was a terrific movie anyway. Warfare firstly, huge plaudits because

(02:50):
it's ninety five minutes Sandy. Now that that's got to
immediately get a green tick correct and absolutely then we've
got to say that I've been I'm traumatized having seen
this movie. It is intense, it's authentic. It's an MA
rated movie with good reason, and it continues the co

(03:10):
writer and co director Garland's positive trajectory. I mean, he's
just making some excellent movies. Now. It's based upon memories
of an incident that occurred, and it occurred in two
thousand and six on the nineteenth of November, and that's
when a platoon of American Navy Seals was on a
surveillance mission in insurgent territory. It was controlled by al Qaeda,

(03:34):
and it was in Ramadi in Iraq. The goal of
the seals. A couple of Iraqi scouts was with them,
and or were with them, and then a couple of
Marines as well. Their goal was to slip into and
to keep a close eye on an urban residential area,
and they were to do so under the covert of darkness.
They were sent there to ensure the safe passage of

(03:58):
ground forces in the area, which was going to happen
the following day. So this team of seals was divided
into three groups. The first operation was embedded on the
second floor of an apartment building and amongst their number
there was a medic and a sniper. Elliott Miller was
his name, played by Cosmo Jarvis, who we saw recently

(04:19):
in another movie, and leading petty officer Joe Hildebrand who
I don't understand why, but he was renamed Sam in
the movie, played by Joseph Quinn. Perhaps there was a
Perhaps he's still an active soldier or something. I'm not sure,
but the communications officer is called Ray Mendoza played by
de Pharaoh woun Ai Tie and the officer in charge

(04:43):
of the op is an excellent actor who keeps on
keeping on. His name's Will Poulter, and he plays a
guy called Eric. So what was meant to be a
dangerous but straightforward operation for the Navy seals became anything
but so. Almost two decades after this incident in Ramadi, right,

(05:03):
I said two thousand and six, Mendoza, who was one
of the characters I spoke about. The communications officer, by
then retired from the Navy, was working as a Hollywood
stunt man. He was specializing in choreographing gunfight sequences through
a stunt coordinator. He met Alex Garland and he became

(05:25):
a consultant on Civil War. He specifically designed battle scenes
and that included the assault at the end of the
movie on the White House. These two collaborators, and I'm
talking about Garland and Mendoza became friends. Halfway through filming
Civil War, Mendoza shared the Remadi story with Garland. Subsequently,

(05:49):
Mendoza became the co writer and co director of this
movie Warfare so the pair set rules for themselves not
to embellish or dramatize events just for effect, to basically
keep it as real as they possibly could. So it
was anything but to glorify war. So incredibly tense is

(06:09):
warfare from the get go. We are embedded with the soldiers,
we being the audience. We're watching. We're waiting for something
to happen, and the minutes really do tick by, and
from the sites of a long necked machine gun positioned
behind a hole in an outside wall, we see the
comings and goings in the building opposite. Now in an

(06:31):
adjacent room where members of the platoon have set up,
there's a video surveillance happening and communication via walkie talkies.
So they're talking to the other I said. It's divided
into three groups of Navy seals. They're talking to the others.
So the American troops are in full battle dress. I
should also add also in the house where they are embedded,

(06:53):
they've chosen as their base. Obviously this home they didn't know,
but there's a family they surprised while they are asleep
in the middle of the night, and this family's now
huddled together under guard. They're told to keep quiet, keep
their hands where they can be seen. So what a
realistic approach to this subject matter doesn't pull any punches.

(07:14):
It's in your face for its entirety. So there's this
sort of boots on the ground story. It's visceral, takes
you the heart of combat in a way that I
can't say I've seen before, and I've seen a lot
of war movies. It's shocking, it's terrifying. It's about young
men doing a job, caught in the crosshairs, and as difficult,
as painful, as disturbing as it is to watch, I

(07:36):
really admire its conceit. It's like we're they're alongside the
soldiers in the heat of battle. The filmmakers, they're intent
on showing us what it was like to be surrounded
and trapped under fire. So the sights and sounds that
we see, the discipline, the frustration, the fear, the screams,
they are long going to remain with me. Remarkable picture.

(07:58):
It really is brilliantly conceived and executed, featuring a litany
of outstanding performances. You do need a strong constitution to
sit through it. I actually felt like crying out for
a few times. Enough already because my discomfort was so palpable.
But it's got a ring of truth in its DNA,
and that adds enormous gravitas, does it not, Sandy?

Speaker 4 (08:19):
I loved this film, and I really don't like war movies.
When the invitation came to us and it was like,
you know, get in the battle with all of these guys,
I thought, nah, I'm bother going to see that. I'm
not one for war action type stuff. And I dare
say there are a lot of people of my gender
who would probably feel the same. I can't tell you

(08:42):
how pleased I was that I went. I absolutely loved it.
You sit on the edge of your seat from the
minute that it starts, and it builds really quietly. It's
about thirty minutes before you get any action. Yes, And
the opening scene where this group of well I didn't
even know they were Navy seals at the time. The

(09:02):
GI's are mucking around and leering at women's bodies on
a screen. It just paints this picture of the camaraderie
between this platoon and they and that's exactly what they were.
They were really all great friends. And it goes for
about thirty minutes before any action happens, and I kind
of sat there and thought to myself, well, what's going

(09:23):
on here? Where's the war? But my goodness, once it starts,
it just doesn't let up. There's absolutely no respite. One
sequence on the street is so immersive that I found
myself ducking to avoid a bullet spray.

Speaker 1 (09:38):
I mean, it's quite insane.

Speaker 4 (09:40):
It's like one of those three D movies where you
just impregnated into the.

Speaker 1 (09:45):
Action and it's it's like virtual reality, the equivalent of
I agree, it's interesting that you talk about the thirty minutes.
I was really conscious. I snuck a look at my
watch or my phone as it was, and it was
twenty nine and it's in sandy, and like you were
gripping your seat because you knew something was going to happen,

(10:06):
but you did you know when. And yet that's part
of the beauty of the filmmaking here. I mean, I
don't know, have you seen many action war films or not?

Speaker 4 (10:16):
Well, I mean I have you know, like in the
old days, you saw some those sort of classic ones.

Speaker 1 (10:22):
I remember seeing, none of which I could actually name. Now,
did you see Saving Private Ryan?

Speaker 4 (10:26):
Yeah, that's exactly the one I was thinking oh, thank
you for that.

Speaker 1 (10:29):
Yeah, but I mean that didn't I.

Speaker 3 (10:33):
Mean that was eminently forgettable.

Speaker 4 (10:34):
I mean, yeah, it was a good film and well
done and you know, well acted and all of that.
Warfare is something that I am never going to forget.
And I've got a really bad memory. I see that
many films you could ask me about one I saw
a week.

Speaker 1 (10:47):
Ago and I wouldn't remember about it anymore.

Speaker 4 (10:50):
Warfare will stick with me always. It really is an
incredible portrait of pain and horror. You know, you see
close ups of the dry, cracked lips, the faces caked
in dust and debris, the sheer terror in these guys eyes.
But what was most amazing I think about it is
because it's so loud. That sound, as you mentioned, Alex,

(11:11):
is such a key here. You know, there's pounding gunshots
and ground shaking explosions, the ear splitting roar of the
fighter jets, and of course those agonizing screams of the soldiers.

Speaker 3 (11:22):
And there's also no there's no massive script here.

Speaker 4 (11:26):
It's really lean mean storytelling everybody. You know, there's no score,
and there's no dialogue that really carries it forward. It's
just the action, the looks on their faces that shows
you everything. I think that this is a film that's
not going to convince anybody to sign up to the

(11:47):
military in a hurry, but it really is a tribute.

Speaker 3 (11:50):
To those who do. As I said, totally.

Speaker 4 (11:53):
Unforgettable and whether you're of my gender, persuasion or not,
and you know most men would go so yeah, I mean,
I really want to see this, and you're right you
do have to have a bit of fortitude to sit
through it all because at times it's quite uncomfortable. But
you know, ladies, go with your partners. It's an experience
you're not likely to have again.

Speaker 1 (12:14):
Less is more is the way that this is played,
because there is a lot of waiting for something to happen,
and that is what makes this movie so special. I
must admit that I thought like Saving Private Ryan was
a remarkable movie, so I still do remember that, but
this is at a different level. So what about you,

(12:36):
Greg King? Did you get as much out of this
movie as Sandy and I did?

Speaker 6 (12:41):
Well, this is another example and what I call combat
porn that chakes you Rynnie at the heart of battles.
You mentioned you o being seen of Private Ryan. There's
been a lot of other films like that one in
Benghazi that chakes from the heat of the combat as well,
but this one is apparently unfold in real time, so
you know, Chase places all that action Chase Place. I've able,
of course, for about forty minutes there. But you mentioned

(13:04):
the sound design. The soundscape and sound design is particularly
effective here. You know, the sound of the guns, the
screen that the soldiers wounded, the bombs, the plane flying
over that scene there is tremendous. And also most of
the fact that most of the casts are not really
well that known, allows you to go into it without

(13:24):
those sort of heroics you get from having big name
actors in the lead roles. There as claustrophobic, as intense,
as fisceral, but it also shows what it's like under
fire and immerses us in the heat of battle here,
and you sort of can't get away from it as
unvarnished and realized. You said, the pain is almost palpable there.

(13:46):
We're immersing this situation and yeah, it's hard to look away.
So yeah, it's an interest intriguing little film.

Speaker 1 (13:55):
I reckon if this was in the Oscars for this year,
it would have received Oscar nominations. It's that worthy.

Speaker 6 (14:04):
Old with you, probably worth while as the way it
goes in a lot of handheld camera work. Obviously there
has follow the soldiers and changes inside.

Speaker 2 (14:13):
What's happening?

Speaker 1 (14:14):
Well, Peter, we've got three for three. Surely this is
going to be up there for you as well.

Speaker 5 (14:20):
Oh look, I very much founded a very strong film
and it's certainly classified as a docu drama, so it
recreates a particular event and does it very well, indeed
in a very visceral.

Speaker 1 (14:34):
Sort of way.

Speaker 5 (14:35):
However, I have seen a number of other films from
other countries Korea, China, et cetera, which go immerse the
viewer into a wartime situation. I remember the hurt Locker,
which was very strong, I mean Three Kings, which also
dealt with somewhat similar So I've seen similar sorts of films,

(15:00):
so it didn't hold out for me anything special or unique.
But it was very good, very well made, and is
a good visceral experience as a docu drama.

Speaker 1 (15:12):
I must admit that whilst I'd seen those as well,
and they were most impactful, I didn't get the same
jolt from the others as I did from this. Peter.
You obviously did. I didn't get the same fold.

Speaker 2 (15:28):
No.

Speaker 5 (15:30):
I thought it was okay. It was well made, it
was convincing, but I didn't find it especially impactful.

Speaker 1 (15:37):
Wow, I agree.

Speaker 6 (15:38):
I was flashing back to some of those other films
which seen it have been really intense combat scenes Loan
survivor that one about the soldiers in ment Ghazi fighting
for sixteen hours, and all those other films as well.
Remind me I saw a lot of those elements in
this film as well, and especially the open DJ landing
secret in saving Private Ryan, which was unforgetable in and

(16:00):
It's gooky and this all approach.

Speaker 1 (16:02):
To war it was certainly that. So all right, well, Sandy,
you and I are going to have high marks on this.
I'm not convinced now about the others. So let's start
with you, Peter, as the I think you'll be a
lower mark. What are you going to give warfare which
is rated M and runs for ninety five minutes.

Speaker 5 (16:21):
Oh look, I was still very impressed by the film,
and Alex Garland is such a good filmmaker, so I
still gave it eight out of ten.

Speaker 1 (16:28):
Okay, which is a very good mark. And let's go
for you Greg seven to seven and a half, right,
so you're the low one, all right, Sandy.

Speaker 4 (16:37):
Oh, I'm going a nine.

Speaker 1 (16:39):
I'm going a nine too, So there you go, folks,
it's really up there. It's since the Oscars this has
more had more impact than any other movie I've seen.
You probably would agree with that, Sandy. Yeah. Absolutely, Now
because my computer's not working, Sandy, what was the second
movie that you want to talk about today? We could

(17:01):
talk about Drop if you like. That's I reckon, Well,
now I reckon. We should definitely talk about Drop because
this is MA rated. It runs also for ninety five minutes,
so exactly the same as we've just spoken about, but
it is totally different. It's an entertaining psychological thriller and
it involves some seriously bad I'm talking life threatening trolling

(17:25):
in the most unlikely of circumstances. So you've got a
widow who's also a psychologist, whose name is Violet played
by Megan Faye. And that's Megan spelt Megha double n.
I've never seen Megan spelt with a double n. But
there you go. So Violet is a mother, she's got

(17:46):
a five year old son called Toby played by Jacob Robinson.
She is still traumatized by the domestic violence that she experienced,
and Toby was younger obviously, but was privy to this
domestic violence. Now, since her husband died, she has not
been on a date, but over the past three months

(18:08):
she's been speaking to this guy, a photographer, and now
they've agreed to meet. She is clearly nervous, as you
would be, so violet sister Jen played by Violet Bean
comes over to babysid Toby. So it is that Violet
heads off to this They're in Chicago, to a Swiss

(18:30):
high rise fine dining establishment which has killer views. That's
where she meets this photographer that she's been talking with.
He's thirty two years of age. His name's Henry played
by Brandon Skealner, and he has actually been the mayor's
photographer for the past five years and he does seem

(18:51):
like a pretty good guy. Henry he arrives a few
minutes late, so while waiting at the bar, Violet receives
a rather mysterious and creepy text message from someone she
doesn't know. So once Henry arrives, they sit down at
their table, which is by the window, and she gets
bombarded by more messages, and these messages are known as drops,

(19:15):
hence the title of the movie Drop. They include one
threatening the life of her son if she does not
adhere to the Texter's demands. At first, Violet shows her
date that she's receiving unwanted online attention. He dismiss it,
dismisses it as a prank. But once the Texter tells

(19:37):
her to keep her mouth shut or else, she tries
to navigate this date while doing what the Texter wants
her to do. He appears to be tracking her every move,
listening to everything that she's saying. It's quickly established that
the drops she's receiving are coming from within the confines
of this high class, high up restaurant, and she can't

(20:00):
put a finger on who the perpetrator is. The Texter
doesn't just have an extra grind with Violet, but with
Henry too. That's why he doesn't want her to leave
the restaurant. So there's desperation, there's tension. The situation goes
from bad to worse. So who's the Texter? What's he?

(20:21):
She theay after? Why? That becomes clear as the plot develops.
So it's a high stakes game. It's a cat and
mouse game, really, with all those in that restaurant, the
patrons and the staff under suspicion, and among them is
an older man on a blind date named Richard played
by Reed Diamond, who Violet meets at the bar. There's

(20:44):
also a charming bar worker called Kara Gabrielle. Ryan Matt
Jeffrey Selth is an awkward oversharing waiter on his first
day on the job. Lindy Sarah McCormack is his boss.
The host at the restaurant, Phil ed Weeks is not
backward in coming forward. He's the piano player. And Connor

(21:06):
played by Travis Nelson, is a fellow diner that Violet
reportedly or rather repeatedly keeps bumping into. These texts accompanying
the drops help ratchet up the intrigue, and they're writ large,
literally writ large on the screen. The contention for the

(21:26):
movie inspired by real life. If you can believe that
one of the producers and his friend fell victim to
a series of drops while they were holidaying with family overseas,
and their experience translated into a script from Jillian Jacobs
and Christopher Roach. I like the high stakes guessing game
they created due to the inherent danger. It's kind of

(21:50):
edge of is said stuff. But like with many films
of this ILK, it does push the envelope, and to
fully enjoy it, you'd be well served to suspend belief
a speed as drop reaches its conclusion. And talking of
that in terms of the action, that final scene in
the restaurant, it's not the final scene in the movie,
but the final restaurant scene certainly memorable. The director's Christopher Landon,

(22:13):
does a good job working with the incendury material at
his disposal. He's the one ultimately responsible course for tightening
the strings. The whole idea is that Violet seems destined
to run into a dead end every time she tries
to find a way out of her invidious predicament. I
really thought the gorgeous restaurant setting with a sparkling nighttime

(22:33):
views that at was the perfect backdrop to it all.
It added something. And then we've got the acting talent
Megan Faywell. Really like what she has to offer. She
plays vulnerable and on edge well. Brandon Skelner calm voice
of reason as Henry taken on a bit of a
roller coaster ride by a woman that he likes but

(22:53):
becomes unsure about Violet Bean Will gives a spirited performance
as the sister Chen, and there's warmth about Gabrielle Ryan
as the bar worker. Jeffrey selves deliberately over the top
showing as the gay waiter impossible to ignore, and each
of the other actors also make their mark. I actually
thought over all the casting choices were strong and drops

(23:16):
a wild, playful, nerve racking and a deadly ride. Is
it not, Sandy, Yeah, it really is.

Speaker 4 (23:23):
You said the words yourself that I'd describe it as,
and that's it's a rollercoaster ride. It's really good fun
that Megan Fay we saw her in White LOADUS. I
don't know if you ever saw her as the TV. Yeah,
she lights up the screen. She is just absolutely beautiful.
And this whole concept of digi drops, I was questioning,

(23:44):
is it a real theme? Can you actually or is
it just a fake construct that as you can you know,
what's it called when you send messages to one another
on very sharing plod there Yeah, no, on the phone
when you can bluetooth it messages anyway, I don't I

(24:06):
still don't know if a digit drop is a real thing.
And I guess if it isn't, it soon will be.

Speaker 1 (24:11):
But it was.

Speaker 4 (24:13):
It was really, it was really fun. There is a
lot of holes in the script, as you know, but
it's playful and it gets dark really quickly and you
can't take your eyes off her.

Speaker 1 (24:27):
I thought she was just fabulous.

Speaker 4 (24:29):
It's a bit like a game of Cluto.

Speaker 1 (24:30):
It draws the audience right in and going who was it?
Who is this?

Speaker 4 (24:33):
Sending the messages? What's this all about? So you're hanging
off who done it?

Speaker 1 (24:38):
For a long long time. I liked it. It's fun, Well,
it's fun. It's interesting. When I googled digit drops while
I was listening to what you just said, said, there's
an Instagram provider called DIGGI drop, but it's not exactly
what you were talking about. What about you, Greg, did
you enjoy it or not? Yeah?

Speaker 2 (24:55):
This was an entertaining shriller.

Speaker 6 (24:57):
I made a good use of the claustrophobic sitting there
and that restaurant books fantastic.

Speaker 2 (25:02):
Yes, a great production design there.

Speaker 6 (25:04):
This is a start off like a romantic movie, a
first date between these people. But because the film's produced
by Blumhouse are a bit known for their horror films,
we know that this is gonna be something different than
a MIXU rom com, and it certainly.

Speaker 2 (25:19):
Turns out that way.

Speaker 6 (25:21):
I thought director Christoph Landen, who's better known for some
of the paranormal Activity movies, she did a good job
of ractioning up the suspense there. You've had a number
of possible suspects, including all those characters who've identified who
could be the guilty one there. And I like the
way that the phone messages were actually portrayed on the
screen there. It worked out well, it holds your attention,

(25:43):
as you said, ed you deceit stuff.

Speaker 2 (25:45):
I thought it lost a bit in the final atgo.

Speaker 6 (25:47):
Which is saided in the cliche. But apart from that,
I quite enjoyed this one.

Speaker 1 (25:51):
Yes, what's that board game? Is it? Cludo?

Speaker 4 (25:54):
Is it?

Speaker 2 (25:56):
There's a lot of poor teams.

Speaker 7 (25:58):
Yeah, and then sorry, yeah there are greg thank you,
some a bit more boring and others well, well, well
mister Green in the whatever whatever, well Pludo with Professor
Plumber in the study with a pipe wrinch or whatever
it was.

Speaker 1 (26:13):
Yeah, exactly. So it's kind of it's kind of a
bit like that, isn't it.

Speaker 2 (26:17):
You actually turned Pludo into a film, you know.

Speaker 1 (26:19):
Did they Yes, I don't. I don't saw that.

Speaker 2 (26:23):
Okay, you would know, you would have seen it, Peter.

Speaker 1 (26:26):
Have you have you seen the Gluto movie?

Speaker 5 (26:28):
Yes, there is a Cludo movie, yep, and you've seen it? Yes,
oh years ago?

Speaker 4 (26:34):
Yes, of course you must have seen one of the
cast in it.

Speaker 1 (26:37):
You must have seen something in it was Bekistan that
was made in the nineteen thirties as well.

Speaker 5 (26:43):
Beto, Well, I was playing Cludo when they were still
inventing electricity.

Speaker 1 (26:47):
So you're read well, well, you know when when you're
a relic, you're a relic. Let's be honest.

Speaker 2 (26:52):
Is the handleholder? Oh yeah?

Speaker 1 (26:56):
Okay, So did you drop to your knees having seen
this one?

Speaker 5 (27:01):
I didn't drop to my knees, but I must admit
I was quite impressed by the clever construction of the screenplay.
Who done it quality? That's already been mentioned, the twists
and turns in the storyline. I didn't mind the way concluded,
but I won't say any more about that. Look, it
was a good example of a mystery type thriller where

(27:24):
you have to guess over a period of time about
who is responsible for this situation, about whether any romance
can come out of this situation and also just understanding.
I suppose what can happen in a short period of
time when you have to think fast to make decisions.

(27:46):
And I thought that was very cleverly done. Yes, Greg,
I agree with you about the set. They built a
very clever set for the restaurant, which is where the
film is largely set, although we do get to see
another venue.

Speaker 1 (28:02):
And I was for.

Speaker 5 (28:05):
Please the latest film. I didn't think I was going
to like it.

Speaker 6 (28:09):
Just remind a little bit of those other films in result,
like phone Booths and Origins. What you know, one person
being through it minutes in a confined location.

Speaker 1 (28:18):
Yeah, it's greatly I really love that claustrophobia. I think
it works extremely well. I don't know as personally, but yeah,
it does. All right, So look, let's get let's get
some scores for this movie, which is m I rated
ninety five minutes. It's called Drop. So in terms of
I'm just going to try and who's going to give
the lowest mark here, let's go with you, Greg.

Speaker 2 (28:41):
Well, first of them, Okay, I'll give it seven.

Speaker 1 (28:44):
Sandy, Yeah, seven, Peter?

Speaker 5 (28:50):
What how what a coincidence?

Speaker 1 (28:51):
I also gave it seven and I gave it eight,
so there you go. I agree. I think you know
at the very end, once you leave the restaurant that
it loses a bit. And yeah, I suppose I didn't
really when giving it an eight, I didn't give it.
Perhaps it would would have come down by half a peg.
But it's around that mark. So that's a good fun film. Absolutely.

Speaker 2 (29:12):
There was a problem with those other films.

Speaker 6 (29:13):
I mentioned Phone Booth and Locked when they moved away
from that initial construction setting and tended to lose something.

Speaker 1 (29:21):
What was the There was another one that didn't. I
think it won an Oscar for a female actor and
Room Room well done, Greg, I thought Room was extraordinary.
Did you see Room, Sandy, Sandy, you're with us, she's
disappeared still here. I loved Room absolutely. I think Room

(29:44):
was a complete package. Peter, Yes, Room was very good.

Speaker 5 (29:48):
Buried is another one.

Speaker 1 (29:49):
But Buried was scary as it. Did you see Buried, Sandy?
I don't know about that. I don't think I did.
Oh my golly, right, turn the lights out and see Buried.
Oh it's an amazing film and extraordinary. The Yeah, the

(30:10):
other one, what was that? This wasn't well, it was callustrophobic.
Of sorts. That German movie Peter or Greg that was
made into an American movie where people come and attack
people in their own home in games of funny games,
funny games. Oh my golly, oh, the Michael Henneker film,

(30:31):
Michael Hanneker film. You saying he no for that, you
haven't seen it?

Speaker 4 (30:35):
No, no, I'm writing these down.

Speaker 1 (30:37):
Those you've got? Really these two? Yeah, you really see
it with your partner, both of them. I mean, they
are amazing. Those two films are phenomenal. So you know,
great funny games. But see the German version. I reckon,
what do you think even.

Speaker 5 (30:58):
Though the same director get the American version, it loses
something in the cultural translation.

Speaker 1 (31:04):
The dilemma is I've got no idea. Okay, Like in
a situation like this, if somebody says I want to
see a movie, and I know you can get all
these streaming services, but is there any sort of I
don't know, comprehensive something on the internet that you can
put in a movie and sort of see where where
you can see it. I don't know that I've never
tried it or any of you aware of it, because

(31:24):
you know how certain things are out of print. I
mean if you don't if you put in Funny Games
German version, do you? Maybe AI these days will tell
you where you can get it, because otherwise.

Speaker 5 (31:36):
Well I can tell you that that film and others
are screening in Melbourne as part of a season of
Michael Hanneker films.

Speaker 1 (31:43):
Right as we speak. Yes, wow, Sandy, there you go.
You got the Now I worried, but thank you looked.
You've looked it up already, you've looked it up. Yeah, no, I'll.

Speaker 3 (31:59):
Wait for another opportunity.

Speaker 4 (32:01):
Can we talk about the Correspondent, because that's what I
did see and I think everyone should go.

Speaker 1 (32:06):
To Yeah, okay, well to it? Well, I mean most people,
I reckon I would remember the story about Peter Grestor
the the ex ABC Journal and actually is he still working?
I don't know where he's working? Now, do you know? Gap?
Does anybody happen to know where where he's working? Peter Grestor?

Speaker 5 (32:26):
No?

Speaker 1 (32:27):
Did you? Did you know how to find out? Yeah?
Did you? Did you know about the Peter Grestor story
Peter before you saw the movie? Yes? I did? And Greg?

Speaker 5 (32:38):
Yes?

Speaker 1 (32:39):
Okay, so all de child behind you? Well, that's the
that's the thing to story. Well, I wonder about that, Greg,
when you see a movie made really I mean within
earshot of I mean it happened a long time ago,
but you think you know it. Do you believe there

(33:00):
needs to be more distance before making a movie or
do you think that making a movie even sooner than
than when this one was made is a good idea
because it's got people's sort of you don't have to
spark too much memory in people's Well, you're.

Speaker 2 (33:16):
Asking how soon or too soon for a film?

Speaker 1 (33:19):
Yeah, I am, I am. It's a bad way of
saying it, but yes, what do you think? What's the answers?

Speaker 5 (33:25):
No answer, But Peter wanted the film to be made.
He wrote the book of his story, yes, and then
was heavily involved in making sure there was a film
made of it. And I suppose the other aspect is
the prescient nature of people being detained in other countries,
which needs to be highlighted in a story like this,

(33:47):
and the.

Speaker 2 (33:48):
Day it's facing journalists now just for doing their job.

Speaker 1 (33:52):
That's right, and unfortunately it's happening a lot. So this
is a two hour movie, one hundred and nineteen minutes
to be exact, m raised and it concerns the journo.
The Aussie journo arrested by Egyptian authorities in Cairo on
the twenty ninth of December two thousand and thirteen. In fact,
I found it hard to believe it's been that long.

(34:14):
You know, we're talking more than eleven years now. He
was working for Al Jazeera at the time, and he
was on a two to three week cover over Christmas
for another journo who was presumably on leave. So it
was taken into custody alongside two other Al Jazeera reporters,
one called Muhammad Fami and the other Bahir Muhammad. This

(34:37):
has been written by Peter Duncan and it's based on,
as Peter said, the twenty seventeen memoir, which was named
the First Casualty, and it's an account of what happened.
So Gresta was detained on trumped up charges including fabricating
the truth and smearing the name of Egypt. He was

(34:58):
sentenced to seven years jail. His colleagues that I have referenced,
Mohammed Fami and Bahir Muhammad received seven and ten years respectively.
So it shows them being moved around the Egyptian prison system,
reveals how on occasions they turned on one another. It
champions the family support that Gresta received. Peter's brother Andrew

(35:21):
was a great source of comfort in Egypt. His parents
also flew over there. The film captures what Resta was
subjected to, how he coped, and what he thought about
while in captivity. Notable throughout is the fate of a
fellow war correspondent, a brit called Kate Peyton. The pair
was working for the BBC in Mogadishu in two thousand

(35:44):
and five, eight years before Peter Grestor was arrested in Egypt.
That's in two thousand and five when a bullet struck Peyton,
and those memories loom large for grest Without doubt, there's
extra clout associated with a real life story, and we
talked about that earlier on the film Warfare. So it

(36:09):
is with the correspondent, and what the film does go
into detail about is the fine attention to detail here
that you may not have known about, as Greg referenced earlier.
We become invested in what happens in the injustice of
what's been perpetrated and continues to unfold. One of the
benefits of this movie is you've got an excellent actor

(36:32):
in Richard Roxborough really well cast as this sort of
cool operator that grest was, and he comes across as
intelligent and disciplined and basically showing to keep his wits
about him throughout his ordeal. The tension in the relationship
between he and Muhammad Fami is a really important subplot,
and Julian Maroon wears his heart on his sleeve as

(36:54):
the highly opinionated Fami more sympatico between grest and Baha
behind Muhammad. The pair gels over backgammon, which they play
regularly just to pass the time. Rahel rom Mahan is
measured as Bahir Muhammad while initially sorry rather when initially imprisoned.

(37:16):
Gresta forms a relationship with a young activist called Allah
Abd al Fattah. His advice is Sage Mageean Aria presents
Allah Abd al al Futa al Fattah as decent and
wise beyond his years, despite the invidious situation in which
he finds himself. Kate Potent, by the way, shows himself

(37:39):
as being in the same mold as Gresta, dedicated to
uncovering the harsh truth of war torn regions, and as
Peyton your al Stone comes across as a valued confidante
and friend. Peter Grest's path hardly straightforward, and the director
kriv Stenders pays attention to the twists and turns. We

(38:00):
witnessed the mental toll, and I left admiring just how
Gresta worked his way through what turned out to be
four hundred days of captivity to come out the other
end intact and still sane. So it's a film worth
scene The Correspondent. Do you agree with that, Sandy?

Speaker 3 (38:18):
Yeah, I really liked the Correspondent.

Speaker 4 (38:20):
I mean, I think partly because we lived through it,
and also because being a working journalist during that time,
it was so important and so heavy what was happening
to him, and nobody could do anything.

Speaker 8 (38:38):
I think the acting here, Richard Roxbury was really good
at it. And then I was shocked when the credits
roll at the end to find out how many journalists
are still incarcerated in today's world.

Speaker 1 (38:52):
It just blew me away completely.

Speaker 3 (38:54):
Yeah, it's a good story.

Speaker 4 (38:56):
It's told well with a lot of fine acting right throughout,
and I think it's a story that's important that everybody
knows really that these things keep happening.

Speaker 3 (39:09):
But you know, moral of the story is, don't take
anybody's Christmas shift, do.

Speaker 1 (39:13):
Your own thing, Do your own thing. But I mean,
beyond that, I think what you spoke about just before
is important. I was aware of how many journals had
been in prison for doing their jobs, detained and so forth.
I mean it's a dangerous profession, it is there, and
especially dangerous when you're covering civil war and when you're

(39:36):
covering dissent and speaking out. I mean, you can be
in so many places in the world and they don't
want anybody to have an opinion that's other than the
party line. And that's again very much about this movie.
And yet, to be a journalist, I mean you need whistleblowers,
you need, you want, you do want nicely manufactured pr releases.

(40:01):
You get down and you get dirty, and you get
people revealing the truth, and that's what gets journos into trouble.

Speaker 3 (40:08):
So well, Urno may be a thing of the past,
the way America is going.

Speaker 1 (40:12):
Right, Well, yeah, I mean it's also interesting. And again
I'm not trying to have a go specifically at one
side or another, but you know, when you've got certain
people invited to news conferences not others, right, Traditionally, the
idea of a news conference was that jurno's that are
legitimate journos are invited to a news conference. But now

(40:33):
they seem to pick and choose exactly who can and
who can't go, which which is you know, it's not
the way that it should work in terms of giving
people freedom of the media. Greg, well, sorry, Peter, we
haven't had you long.

Speaker 3 (40:49):
You go to Peter Alex and I'm going to love
you and leave you.

Speaker 1 (40:52):
And give me a said, won't give me a score
out of Tank corresponded, great at end, I'll give you
correspond an eight, and I'm going to give it an
eight as well. So what about you, Peter. I was very.

Speaker 2 (41:04):
Impressed by this film.

Speaker 5 (41:06):
We told a story so well about Peter Grest and
about his incarceration and about his accusations that he was
a terrorist because he was working for a news organization
that was getting the other side of the conflict that
was going on in Egypt at the time. So there

(41:26):
are a lot of aspects to the story. There's the
issue of the journalists who journalists who are treated quite
badly because no matter what their involvement is, they'll be
accused of being one sided one way or the other.
I also was impressed by the handheld camera and the
way that crib Senders directed the film, especially because he

(41:51):
also did such a good job with the recent film
on the Vietnam War Danger Close, another excellent film by Kriv.
The screenplay by Peter D. Duncan, who wrote Children of
the Revolution et C. Was a very close collaboration with
Peter Greste and Peter was on set most of the
time to be part of the filmmaking process to make

(42:13):
sure that everything was done exactly as it happened, and
Richard Roxburgh was a terrific choice as Peter to play
that role. I was very impressed by this film. It
is a powerful Australian film and we should be making
more of it and not dismissing it.

Speaker 1 (42:33):
Oh, it's just.

Speaker 5 (42:34):
Another Australian film, and people tend to dismiss Australian films somewhat,
which is a great shame because this is an excellent
film and deserves much more recognition.

Speaker 1 (42:45):
We spent a lot of money on more esoteric material, Peter,
and I think that's one of the problems that not
us as film reviewers have, but that the public has
getting access to movies that This feels much more mainstream
to me, and I think it deserves to do well
as a result. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with

(43:07):
doing off center films. I don't know. Have you seen
The Surfer yet, which we'll talk about in weeks to come. No,
and don't forget.

Speaker 5 (43:16):
Canada makes lots of off center films and they are
very successful.

Speaker 2 (43:21):
It's realin Yes.

Speaker 1 (43:23):
That's true, they do. We don't seem to tolerate as much.
Have you seen The Surfer yet? Greek? Okay, this is
the new Nick Cage movie.

Speaker 2 (43:32):
Yes, I know what it is on waving to see it?

Speaker 1 (43:35):
Yeah, thank you very much. Yes, so, Peter, because we've
already got Sandy score and my score as eight out
of ten. What are you going to give this one?
I was very impressed by the film. It deserves a
lot more recognition. Nine out of ten. Oh my golly, wow.
I didn't. I thought it was good, but I wouldn't

(43:56):
go that far obviously. What about you, Greg?

Speaker 2 (43:59):
Well, that's all I just want to say.

Speaker 6 (44:01):
How time that is at the moment as a reminder
of the constant threats to freedom of the press that
we're seeing at the moment and journalistic intevity which is
under threat at the moment too, and there's scenes seem
even more urgent and relevant today. It's a fairly grim
film at time, so not quite as grim as Midnight Express,
but it takes your inside the prison routine and there.

Speaker 2 (44:23):
I thought Richard Roxby did a good job.

Speaker 6 (44:25):
There of conveying both his attitude. He's despair in the
prison there. It remains me it was shot in Sydney. Actually,
it looked so real that he thought it was stunning.
Must be us in Cairo, and the injugation of archive
will foot you through the riots on the seat, which
is quite seemless. He's done, so I was surprised when

(44:47):
I read there was actually shot on location a couple
of disused prison outside Sydney there. But yeah, it's a really.

Speaker 2 (44:53):
Impressive story there.

Speaker 6 (44:55):
The trial sequences had a bit of tension to the film,
even though it's a sort of kafkaesque nightmare what he
went through there looking at the corrupt in just system
of Egypt there.

Speaker 2 (45:09):
Yeah, the performance is really good.

Speaker 6 (45:11):
I like the Julian Maroon as Muhammad and Rahel romnand
there as Bahir. These two colleagues who are also arrested
in charge alongside him.

Speaker 2 (45:21):
The film caught this sort.

Speaker 6 (45:23):
Of daily routine, the grind, the routine, the tedium of
prison life quite effectively. I thought, so, yeah, it's a
good film, and no flashback sequences to his timing.

Speaker 2 (45:36):
Mog issue with Kate Bayton, had a bit of contexture
the guilt and frustration he feels there.

Speaker 6 (45:41):
And I thought, Jeffrey haul did a good job at
the cinema job with you there, handel camera is working
in close up, all that kind of thing.

Speaker 2 (45:48):
And yeah, so good film.

Speaker 1 (45:51):
Out of ten, seven to seven and a half. Okay,
so we're all recommending it, which is terrific. Now you're
on j eighty eight FM. Please join up by all means.
Fifty four bucks gets you membership for the year, and
it helps sustain the radio station, which is obviously our
desire to entertain you for twenty four hours a day
with lots of interesting news views and also music. Let's

(46:16):
talk about a program, a movie called Sinners So Evil Pervades.
It's the fifth collaboration between the writer and director Ryan
Coogler and Michael B. Jordan Black Panther, fruit Vale Station,
Creed and there's a sequel to Black Panther as well,
So this one's.

Speaker 2 (46:34):
Quite long that you, Jordan, you're even Creed too.

Speaker 1 (46:37):
I'm thinking Creed to there you go, very good, so
thank you for the correction. This is M rated Sinners
and it's one hundred and thirty seven minutes. So we're
in Mississippi in nineteen thirty two, which is where identical
twin brothers. They said they're cousins, but they're twins, aren't they.
They're known as Smokestack, Smoke and Stack like the names,

(46:58):
both played by Jordan return after seven years away, and
they were part of the Chicago gangland scene. I think
they work for our component at one point, helping in
the water.

Speaker 2 (47:10):
At the moment in Hollywood act just playing.

Speaker 1 (47:12):
Model roles you Robert Yeah in.

Speaker 2 (47:15):
Midey seventeen and Robert de Nuo in The Alto Nights.

Speaker 1 (47:19):
I don't think there's ever been a period where three
do it in such close succession. I agree, three films,
but they were also in the trenches in Germany in
World War One, so they're very very close to these
brothers and now wearing fancy threads, pockets full of cash,
and they've got a truckloaded liquor. They buy a disused

(47:40):
mill that they want to turn into a duke joint,
and they renew acquaintances with former love interests and folks
they knew that with the right incentive will help them
out in terms of setting up the duke joint for
a bit of fun and fun and games and people
dancing and so on and so forth. See in terms

(48:01):
of the love interest. For Smoke, the love interest is
a hoodoo conjurer and a healer called Annie played by
Wooden Meet Masaku, And for Stack it's the now married
Mary Hailey Steinfeld, whom he left high and right. So
with them is their cousin, the young sharecropper called Sammy

(48:22):
Moore played by Miles Kayton, who is the son of
a preacher and he's known as well logically Preacher Boy.
He is a gifted blues musician and he's also a singer,
so Smoke and Stack are going to headline him alongside
a local blues legend called Delta Slim. Delta Slim played
by Delroy Lindo, who can't say no to a drink,

(48:46):
that being his choice of poison. To help out with
the hospitality is Grace Lejiun Lee and her husband Bao
Cho played by Yoo, and they run a couple of
local grocery stores, and also in the picture a hefty
sharecropper called corn Bread Lad by Omar Miller who's been
engaged to serve as dorman at this dute joint. For

(49:09):
his part, Sammy, this is the cousin the young sharecropper.
His head is turned by a good looking young lady
called Perline played by Jamie Lawson, a woman in a
repressed marriage with a taste for the blues, so obviously
the fact that he can sing and he can play
is attractive to her. The Duke Joint is up and

(49:31):
happening very very quickly, and a good time's being had
by all until the appearance of a very charismatic white
missionary Remick played by Jack O'Connell and is too offside
as a preaching and singing about peace and love. And
they're looking for entry to the Duke, but Smoke and
Stack are wary. They block them, and as it turns out,

(49:55):
with good reason, because their true purpose is far more sinister.
This is a blood sport. Sinners is a movie with
two distinct parts, and perhaps we'll call them before and
after it swings wildly, and the before is the lead
up to the opening of the joint and it's immediate
acceptance by the patrons crying out to let their hair down.

(50:17):
The latter it's the mayhem created by the arrival of
Remick and others. This is a horror with a uniquely
Southern Gothic lens. I was intrigued. I was involved. Had
a lot to do with the look and feel of
the movie quite atmospheric, like the attention to period detail,
the sets, the costuming, the prosthetics created for the soul

(50:39):
possessed characters, and also the music. I like Michael B. Jordan,
I really do like him most of the time. Excels
in the dual lead roles, brim full of confidence of
smoke and snake, each keeping the other in check. The
pair is stronger together. They know which ways up. They
balance each other out. Miles Caton brings youthful exuberance to
Sammy Moore. His eyes wide open, He's looking to absorb

(51:02):
as much as he can as he begins living his
dream being a musician. There's a world weariness to Delroy
Lindo's representation of Delta Slim get the impression that it
has lived through a great deal. Hailey Steinfeld brings a
yearning to Mary would me Wusaku as spiritual as Annie
lind ju Lynn will lead you. Linn is nothing if

(51:23):
not pragmatic as Grace and Jack O'Connell's Remick is a
wolf in sheep's clothing. So smoke and stack, live on,
Live out the adage, which is also a line that's
dropped in the film, if you can't keep dancing, If
you keep dancing with the evil, one day, he's going
to follow you home. I like Ryan Kugler's direction. He's
at his creative best. Lots of surprises and shocks, and

(51:45):
among the many highlights is Sammy singing an original lumber.
I lied to you to the receptive crowd at the
juke choint. And lest you walk out when the final
credits start rolling, you stand and miss part of the
narrow thread. You've got to stay at the end. When
we saw the media screening, it was quite extraordinary that

(52:06):
ninety six is ninety seven percent of the audience had
left and there were still things happening on the screen.
So please do not do that. Peter, What did you think, Peter,
he's fallen asleep. I experienced it.

Speaker 5 (52:26):
Yes, I'm still here.

Speaker 1 (52:28):
Well we can't. We couldn't hear you, So now we
can go.

Speaker 5 (52:30):
Now you can, oh, okay. I was very impressed by
this very distinctive film. This is such a multi layered
story set in nineteen thirty two and then it flashes forward,
but we won't explain a bit more about that. It
deals with so many issues related to the Black experience,
to the Ku Klux Klan, and I have to mention

(52:53):
it because it's a significant part of the film. The
way encroaching evil in terms of vampires, part of the narrative.

Speaker 1 (53:02):
It's amazing, it's amazing. It's amazing. Now we've only got
very little time, Peter, so I'll ask you to sum
it up very quickly with a score out of ten.

Speaker 5 (53:10):
And all right, very quickly. But it's really well directed.
The two post credit sequences. Yes, when I saw it
last night, people had walked out. Everyone missed it. But
it was a terrific, unique, distinctive film which was very impressive.

Speaker 1 (53:28):
And you Greg.

Speaker 6 (53:29):
Yeah, I like the way that the two model the
Jordan characters interacted here. They were so similessly. Don't you'd
almost were there given actors there. I also thought Miles
Caton was defined there as the young, pretty siable.

Speaker 1 (53:43):
It doesn't, yeah it was, I agree, but and in
fact that this.

Speaker 6 (53:49):
Is African American vampire film as a far cry from
those black piltation films like Blackular and that from the
seventies Cruise.

Speaker 2 (53:57):
This one does as predio missions.

Speaker 6 (53:59):
Going into all that sort of generational trauma of African
Americans with the slavery, the ku klutz kan and all
that sort of stuff as well. That touches on that
when the violence does come, the vampires getting into the picture,
it does turn bloody and nasty quite quickly, but a
little bit of a slow build up there, but that's
part of the character building and the setting of the scene.

(54:19):
Quite good, Quite a good little film and a bit
of an unusual take on the.

Speaker 1 (54:23):
Vampire or excellent and score out of ten Greg again
another seven only is only seven and a half, okay, Peter,
I gave it nine out of ten. Greeg oh my golly,
and I gave it an eight out of ten. Folks.
We are out of time again and I wish you
well in your cinema going, Greg King, thank you so much,

(54:45):
and Peter Kraus likewise and Sandy, who had to leave
unfortunately early, appreciate her contribution. Till next time. Over and out.
First on Film and Entertainment,

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