S04E01: A Real Pain: Cousins, Heritage, and the Weight of History

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
First on Film and Entertainment Alex First with You, joined
by Peter Krause the part two of the Boxing Day releases,
also looking ahead to what has just been released on
New Year's Day. Happy New Year to you, Peter, and
to you and you're going to be your racal sitident.
I can't even get the word out your obstrepper's.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
Self all jays.

Speaker 3 (00:24):
That's why the New Year's resolution.

Speaker 1 (00:26):
I would not want it any other way, my friend,
which you and your family well in twenty twenty five
and beyond. So always appreciate your contributions, and especially when
you and I differ, which seems to be reasonably frequently.
And in fact, I think we'll start there because there's
a movie that opened the Jewish International Film Festival which

(00:49):
has now been lauded as some film that could potentially
tackle the oscars. As far as I'm concerned, it's called
a Real Pain. I could actually call it something else.
I think a Real Pain is actually appropriate as an aim,
but for different reasons than you, Peter.

Speaker 2 (01:06):
Is that correct?

Speaker 3 (01:08):
That is correct?

Speaker 2 (01:09):
M all right, well, Jesse Eisenberg.

Speaker 1 (01:12):
I mean this is one of the releases from There
were seven major releases on Boxing Day, and this was
one that obviously, when you've got a film festival, often
the English is a good example of that, but German
as well and Italian. When a movie you first get
to see at a festival and then it gets a
general release.

Speaker 2 (01:31):
In this case, I'm presuming is a real pain.

Speaker 1 (01:35):
Has Eddie to me, been the one that's brought this
in or is it a different studio arrangement?

Speaker 2 (01:41):
I'm not sure. Do you have any idea?

Speaker 3 (01:43):
Well, no, he got permission to screen it at the
opening night of Jeff Yes.

Speaker 2 (01:48):
Got it, So in other words, it's a studio film
that right, got it? Okay?

Speaker 1 (01:53):
Well, Jesse Eisenberg has used his Jewish family's roots to
craft what is a fictitious story about cousins making a
pilgrimage to their late grandmother's.

Speaker 2 (02:03):
Childhood home in Poland.

Speaker 1 (02:06):
And Eisenberg, as he's prone to do, he plays an
anxious New Yorker. He's a married father of one and
happens to be a digital ad salesman and his name
in this movie is David Kaplan and his traveling companion
on this week long trip to Poland is Benji Kaplan
played by Kieran Culkin, and he's This larger than life

(02:29):
character lurches from personable to accusatory, and the two of
them are very close in age. In fact, they were
born three weeks apart, and Benji was particularly close to
their grandmother, who only recently passed away, and Benji Kaplan
acknowledges that he's been in a funk since he died.

(02:50):
The pair both he and David were left money in
their grandmother's will to take a heritage tour with a
small number of fellow Jews. And they've got a mighty
respectful British guide called James played by Will Sharp, who
explains the sight seeing will incorporate the country's painful past,

(03:10):
and that of course includes a visit to a concentration camp.
And although the pair of them care for one another,
they're like chalk and cheese. They have a love hate relationship.
Benji well, he can be charming, he can light up
a room, and he appears to revel in being the
life of the party, but then at a moment's notice,
he can turn on those that he's just embraced. He's

(03:32):
sort of the man who wears his heart on his
sleeve his point one moment, and then he's melancholic the
next and he suffers a major meltdown after they bought
a train and they head straight to the first class
carriage that they've actually paid for, given the Jews were
transported to their deaths in overcrowded trains. Benji finds it

(03:52):
totally inappropriate that that's the case that they head to
first class, and he says so forcefully, even though so
they've actually paid for it now on more than the
odd occasion, David, this is the Jesse Eisenberg character who
pops pills to calm himself. Is embarrassed, actually ashamed of
his cousin's behavior. So their adventure is going to be

(04:15):
filled with a series of highs and lows, as Benji's
odd temperament becomes a talking point amongst the group.

Speaker 2 (04:23):
So, okay, that's what it's all about.

Speaker 1 (04:26):
Given the subject matter, I've found a real pain well
surprisingly dull Peter. Not enough happens to make it a
compelling film, and we're only talking about ninety minutes. It
was a struggle to make it to ninety minutes. It
actually struggles to fight any real traction beyond the fact
that it showcases a pair of mismatched cousins and a
few sites and sounds that of Poland and it's war

(04:48):
torn bars. I was looking at my watch constantly, and
that's a really bad sign, Okay, Kieran Culkin, clearly the
star of the show is embracing manic representation of benj
No problems. Eisenberg, who also wrote and directed this film,
plays along respectively as second fiddle, so he picks up

(05:08):
the pieces when it's necessary to do so. And around
them are four other travelers whose character development, especially the
older couple, I found somewhat patchy. The most interesting of
those is an African born Jewish convert called Alongay played
by Kurt Egiawan, who embraces goodwill and his newfound religion.

(05:30):
So as the Oxford history scholar guide Will Sharp comes
across as a decent bloke trying to make the most
of the traveler's Polish experience. He's not Jewish in this
particular representation, but he's obviously empathetic towards what Poland has
gone through. Musically, the movie leans heavily on a strong

(05:50):
classical piano score, and again I felt that at times
that was kind of overwhelming, so I did want to
like it. I really did want to like a real pain,
but I thought it needed more leavers to pull more
script development, and I really did find it underwhelming. So
I can't understand why it's been lauded as much as
it has been better.

Speaker 3 (06:12):
I think it's being lauded. It's a film that really
impressed me because it deals with a current generation trying
to deal with the Holocaust, with what happened in Poland,
with the Nazi era, etc. And it's personified by these
two cousins who each have their own psychological dimensions trying

(06:35):
to deal with it. Kieran Kulcan is superb as the
cousin who has some real issues that have not been
properly dealt with, and Jesse Eisenberg, who always likes to
deal with characters that are somewhat confused or concerned or

(06:57):
unhappy about circumstances, but through somehow. This is the second
film that Eisenberg has written and directed. His first words
when you finally, when you finish saving the world, and
he is such a good actor, and he's now transferred

(07:17):
his acting experiences in a number of good films into
this film that he's written and directed, and it's I
think it's very finely tuned and psychologically very appropriate. I
really liked it. I liked the two characters. I liked
the rest of the cast. I like to see Jennifer
Gray as one of the tour members. Of course, Jennifer

(07:40):
Gray is probably best known for dirty dancing, and here
she is as an older woman also trying to make
sense of what is going on in regards to being
Jewish and coping with modern day acceptance or not of
a Jewish life. I really liked the film. I think

(08:05):
it was well developed, well observed, and in fact, I
would have liked it to have been a bit longer
to see what happened to Kieran Culkin's character. We're left
with a question mark and with Jesse Eisenberg and his
relationship with his cousin and his family. A finally observed film.

(08:26):
I really enjoyed it.

Speaker 1 (08:28):
Okay, so let me ask you a few questions. Firstly,
they go and visit the grandmother's home. Now they don't
actually go into the home. They don't knock on the
door because the person probably well I think they may
have actually and then the person isn't home. And then
they lay a stone on the outside, which is obviously,

(08:48):
what one does you know when you visit a grave.
But I kind of thought is that it there's nothing
more to be done there. That to me still left
question and I thought they could have been developed further
and it could have been more compelling. The other element
here is that really in terms of Holocaust representation and whatever.

(09:12):
I understand that was only one part of it, but
that was the whole point that looking at the historic
nature of Poland, et cetera. I thought that could have
been handled. They could have given it more.

Speaker 2 (09:22):
Coverage, they could have done it in a better way.

Speaker 1 (09:25):
I mean it, don't get me wrong, it was respectful,
but I didn't think that was developed as much. And
I kind of I thought the other characters, I mean, okay,
Jennifer Gray was fine, and the Elongai character as well.
What was the older couple doing? What did they actually
add to the apart from being members of the group.
So there's three questions I'd love you to answer.

Speaker 3 (09:49):
All right, I'll try and answer those. The elderly couple,
I'll start with them. They are probably representative of current
Jews who who want to forget, who don't want to
rake over the colds, and are just there to satisfy
their own interest in what happened in the past, but

(10:12):
not to do much about it. They want to move on,
to forget, and to move on. So that's a perfectly
understandable representation. I think the visiting the grandmother's house, of
course there's new people living there. That was circumvented when
they left the stone outside by the neighbors, who said
that leaving a stone there is potentially dangerous. You can

(10:35):
trip over it, and I think that sort of ended
their possible sentimentalizing of that visit, and I think quite
rightly they internalized it and moved on. So I think
that worked pretty well. And just trying and remember what
the third point.

Speaker 2 (10:56):
Was I remember as well.

Speaker 3 (10:58):
Okay, so there was the Holocaust representation, Yes, exactly. Overall,
I think the film or Eisenberg is very clever in
not overstating the actual Holocaust representation. I think it could
well have gone down that path, but he is interested
more in the contemporary representation by people of what they

(11:23):
think of it, what their memories might be, or what
their families might have been involved with, and I think
it becomes a somewhat more distant sort of area which
they don't want to rake over the coals on and
I think that works because contemporary Jews in many respects

(11:44):
don't want to be hit over the head by that
Holocaust representation anymore. They just want to understand and move on.
So I think psychologically it works well.

Speaker 1 (11:57):
But it's interesting because given since October seven there's been
the anti Semitism has risen markedly, And I would have thought,
I think this was shot before October seven, wasn't it.

Speaker 2 (12:09):
It was, Yes, it was.

Speaker 1 (12:11):
Yeah, But because it is more relevant than ever quite frankly,
and you know, I'd hate to think that future generations
won't give it the necessary weight that I certainly believe
it belongs. I mean, it's not a Holocaust film. It's
not like The Pianist, not not movies like that. I

(12:31):
get that, but it was still that was the theme.
The Jewish theme was very strong here. Look, I think
we just agree to disagree because I honestly, I spoke
to well over a dozen people who'd seen it at
the Jewish International Film Festival, and there was only one
who found it tolerable. The rest of us thought it

(12:52):
was an inappropriate movie to have as the opening night
festival film, and by the way.

Speaker 2 (12:58):
It's rated m A and it runs for ninety minutes,
a real pain.

Speaker 1 (13:03):
As mentioned, I'm giving it a six out of ten,
and I'm struggling to give it a six to be honest,
what about you.

Speaker 3 (13:10):
Look, I really liked the film. I think it's received
a lot of accolades for Kwan Kulkin, who's going to
win probably the Golden Globe tomorrow, and possibly we'll get
a Oscar nomination as well. I think because it is
so well observed. I gave it an eight out of ten.

Speaker 1 (13:29):
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(13:49):
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Speaker 2 (13:55):
Now.

Speaker 1 (13:55):
Another film that has received many plaudits is All We
Imagine as Light that also came out on Boxing Day.
It's an emirated film that runs for just under two hours,
and it's set in Mumbai and also in an Indian
seaside village. So it's an empathetic slice of life movie
that focuses on the fate of three women and amongst them.

Speaker 2 (14:20):
Foremost amongst them is.

Speaker 1 (14:21):
Prava played by Karne Kuzruti, and she's a dedicated, highly
regarded nurse at a Mumbai hospital, largely introspective, and she's
in an arranged marriage.

Speaker 2 (14:32):
Her husband works in Germany.

Speaker 1 (14:35):
She actually has not heard from him for over a
year and to be candid, highly unlikely she'll ever hear
from him again, although there is a gift that comes
into focus during the course of this movie. Nevertheless, she
politely and respectfully declines overtures from a doctor called doctor
Minoje played by Aziz Nedu Mangad, who has worked at

(14:58):
the hospital where Braba works for a few months. Arnu
played by Divia Praba iziongnurs. She lives and works with Braba,
as I say, lives and works with Braba, and she's
got a secret Muslim boyfriend called sheaz A redou Harun
whom she's desperate to find some alone time with so

(15:20):
the pair can be intimate she doesn't want to go
down the same route as Prava, and yet Arnu's parents,
who would not countenance she iss, are sending her photos
of eligible men right in terms of trying to arrange
a wedding for her. And then there's Parvati played by

(15:40):
Chaya Kadam, who also works.

Speaker 2 (15:42):
At the hospital.

Speaker 1 (15:43):
She's been turfed out of the apartment where she's lived
for twenty two years. Her husband died and didn't give
her the documentation that would have seen her retain ownership
of the property. Instead, developers are moving her on and
she's left with no choice other and to return to
her home village by the sea, and Prava and Anau

(16:04):
help her with her belongings. So there's quite a lyrical
poetic quality that the writer and director Payl Kapadia has
imbued into All we imagine is light. She really is
a rich and redolent storyteller and the story is told
from a female perspective. It's a feminist work and the
impression one gains is that tradition and the patriarchy are

(16:27):
still very much well, They still very.

Speaker 2 (16:29):
Much hold the upper hand here.

Speaker 1 (16:31):
She's composed the picture to ensure that we care about
each of the characters and what the very best for them.
I gotta say Mumbai is another pivotal persona in the movie.
It is in effect a persona. Really evocative cinematography by
Rabia DAAs well captures the hustle and bustle excitement of

(16:53):
the city that never sleeps, and as somebody who's visited Mumbai,
I can account for that, I can attest for that
to that because it is a boisterous city and people
gravitate towards it. But however long they remain there, the
question is can they ever call it home? Within this
context of the movie, or we can imagine is light.
Performance is quite naturalistic, particularly that of Canni Khuzruti as Prava,

(17:16):
about whom there's an intensity disappointment and a sadness and
her eyes speak volumes more of a rebellious streak. In Anu,
who wants to turn tail on the old ways of
thinking and her desire to do her own thing very
well captured by Divia Prava. Frustration is the key ingredient
that Chaya Kadam brings to Parvati, who falls foul of

(17:39):
the system. Not for nought did all we imagine is
light which captures the essence of city and village life.
When the Grand Prix at the twenty twenty four Cahnes
Film Festival, So I thought this was a solid independent movie,
something that again it's not mainstream in its proclivities, but

(18:00):
it's well done.

Speaker 2 (18:01):
What did you think about. All we imagine is like Peter.

Speaker 3 (18:05):
I was very impressed by this film. And it's interesting
to note that it's the second film from this director,
so which is, by coincidence, similar to Eisenberg's second film
as director. Anyway, this is such a well observed film
about the role of women in contemporary Indian society. This
doesn't go the Bollywood path that so many Indian films

(18:30):
tend to go, or the romantic sort of aspect. This
is almost like a documentary, although of course it's not.
It's a fictional film, and it's just so well observed
by these two women who are nurses trying to live
their lives, trying to understand the different cultures that are

(18:50):
impacting on them and how they can navigate that. Knowing
that India, of course is still a patriarchal society, but
it is gradually changed, and we're seeing that through the
eyes of these two women in particular and through the
medical nursing side of things that they focus on. Really

(19:11):
loved this film. Beautifully shot in Mumbai, and it gives
you that impression of not just light because that light
is part of the title, but also of the changes
that are happening in contemporary Indian urban society. Lovely film

(19:32):
Beautifully Observed has received lots of nominations in different categories
at different awards presentations, and I'm not surprised. This is
really a superb film.

Speaker 1 (19:44):
Well, it's interesting inasmuch as I think, as a filmmaker,
you've got somebody that we are going to be paying
a lot of attention to because of her observation of
the human condition. I'm really like you suitably impressed by her.
She's not what I would call a conventional movie maker

(20:04):
because she takes she as she has done. She takes
a feminine look at something, and I thought it was
a really it was kind a pointed commentary on the
way of the world, and I found that extremely compelling.

Speaker 3 (20:20):
Peter, did you do absolutely very compelling. It's interesting when
you say it takes a feminine view of the world.
I mean more, more filmmakers should be being more even
handed in terms of looking at male and female representation
in film, and I think this film does it so well.

Speaker 1 (20:40):
Yeah, I mean, I think we are seeing more of that,
and we're certainly seeing a lot more inclusivity in movies,
which is a terrific thing. I kind of also, you're
long for points of difference, and I was trying to
draw a parallel between this and other movies that we've seen,
and I quite frankly couldn't think of another one that
had the same sort of z to it.

Speaker 2 (21:00):
Can you think of a parallel film off the top
or not?

Speaker 3 (21:05):
What about the one? My Old Ass is probably along
those lines?

Speaker 1 (21:13):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, potentially a little bit like it, although
a little bit more mainstream. I would have thought my
Old Ass is it ass? Or rs? I would have
thought as But I mean again, it's got an intro
that's the one where they look back at the life

(21:34):
of an older an older woman, isn't it? And yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
I think this is a bit more.

Speaker 2 (21:43):
Sensitive.

Speaker 1 (21:44):
Dare I say, yeah, I think this one is It
stands alone in my eyes. So well, let's give it
a score out of ten. It runs it for one
hundred and eighteen minutes rated m all we imagine as light.

Speaker 2 (21:57):
I'm giving it an eight out of ten.

Speaker 3 (21:59):
Peter, I was suitably impressed by the film. I give
it nine out of ten.

Speaker 1 (22:04):
Oh okay, So we moved from there to an animation
and as a franchise, this has done particularly well, and
there's going to be more of them because it's done
well and the studio is sort.

Speaker 2 (22:16):
Of counting the money.

Speaker 1 (22:19):
So Sonic the Hedgehog three lots of color, lots of movement,
lots of high jinks, and it's quite a complicated story.
When it takes a while, you know what's happening. It's
moving from one thing to another. That's the first thing
that struck me about this. And you know something, Peter,
I went back a second time because it was so
I found it. If you sort of switched off for

(22:42):
a few moments, it went on to something else. That's
how I found it. But I'm pleased I went along.
I enjoyed it the second time just as much as
the first. I thought it was actually very well done.
It's the latest installment of the video game spin off
and Sonic played by Ben Schwartz or the voice there
and his pells Tails Colline O'Shaughnessy and Knuckles Idris Elba.

(23:05):
They've settled into domestic bliss in a place called Green Hills,
and that's after their decisive victory over the evil doctor
Robotnik as played by Jim Carey. I mean it's his
movie in Sonic The Hedgehog two that came out in
twenty twenty two. And suddenly, while on a camping trip
with their foster parents, Tom and Maddie Woshowski played by

(23:26):
James Marsden and Tik Sumpter, they received an urgent request
and it comes from Guardian Units of Nations GUN, which
is a secretive international security in military force. And after
being held in suspended animation for fifty years, Shadow the
Hedgehog as voiced by Keanu Reeves has broken free of

(23:49):
captivity and he's hell bent on revenge after these five decades.
The reason for his vitriol is the untimely death decades
earlier of his only free the girl named Maria played
by Aliah Brown. So Teams Sonic is dispatched to Japan
to try to stop Shadow from continuing to run a mark,

(24:12):
and they end up on a wild chase through the
streets of Tokyo and London and eventually in outer space.
Also returning is doctor Robotnik, who, as the story begins,
has hit rock bottom, and he's joined by his ruthless
one hundred and ten year old look alike grandfather Gerald,

(24:32):
who is very much on Shadow's side. The director, Jeff
Fowler is back at the Helm, as are all the
writers of Sonic too, Pat Casey, Josh Miller, and John Whittington,
so you can be assured of the continuation of the
zaniness that characterized the earlier two films in this franchise.
The story well, it takes many a twist, and has

(24:53):
mentioned it requires some concentration to follow. It's another great
vehicle for carry This time he plays op is It himself,
filling the roles of both doctor Robotnic and Doctor Robotnic's grandfather.
The deliberately ridiculous, exaggerated handlebar mustaches on both set the
scene very, very nicely, and while Doctor Robotnik is at

(25:16):
first delighted to a founder family connection, Gerald is well
hardly the warm, sharing, caring type, and as Sonic does
a double take when he initially confront Shadow, you know,
and he does, Sonic sort of thinks what because Shadow
looks just like him, only in different colors. And then

(25:36):
as events unfold, Sonic's forced to face his own demons,
dealing with loss and morality. They've got a big part
to play in the outcome of this movie. And I've
got to say, I want you to stay on until
the last frame because through the credits and then again
at the very end, the picture points to developments in
the next installment. That's Sonic the Hedgehog three. Did you

(25:59):
enjoy it?

Speaker 2 (26:00):
Be?

Speaker 3 (26:01):
Not particularly? The first one was not bad. It sort
of was a frenetic film based on the original game
or video game, and did its best to fashion a
story and Jim Carrey, of course, to to eat the scenery. Well,
now there's two of him in this third version, and

(26:24):
not only does he eat the scenery, I thought he
ate half the audience. The film is just ludicrously stupid,
and I must say the storyline was just tacked on
so that they can have for anetic animation. Kids I
think might like the color and movement, but not appreciate

(26:44):
some of the throwaway lines and gags that might.

Speaker 2 (26:48):
Work, wasn't it? It was complicated because it moved to
another no question.

Speaker 3 (26:54):
Yes, exactly exactly, and it's but it's the usual plot
about seeking revel, about making the world whole again and
about and it's just so dumb and pointless in many respects.
I just felt disappointed by the whole franchise. I know
there's going to be a Sonic four, because I know

(27:17):
it's already in the works, but Jim Carrey's character is
just ridiculously over the top and over developed and.

Speaker 2 (27:25):
Very That's what he's noted for.

Speaker 1 (27:27):
And I think fans of Jim Carrey going to say
he's back doing what he does, you know, that's the
whole point.

Speaker 3 (27:33):
Yeah, But I found it tiresome. I found it. It
was just not doing much for me. And I've seen
so many other animations that are so much better in
terms of script, in terms of storyline. I mean obviously
Inside Out Too is just superb. World Robot Memoirs of
a Snail. I mean, there are so many other better animations.

(27:56):
This one is just a throwaway for me, and so
I was not impressed.

Speaker 1 (27:59):
At Well, let's score it. It's PG rateed runs one
hundred and ten minutes. I'm giving a seven Sony to
Hedgehog three.

Speaker 3 (28:07):
You look, I am afraid I can't pass it. I
can only give it full out of ten.

Speaker 2 (28:13):
My golly, gee, that's harsh.

Speaker 1 (28:16):
Let's I want to talk about a movie that I
caught up with which I wanted to see at the time,
and there was a clash. Black Dog now this is
Redemption Again is at the heart of a Chinese drama
set on the edge of the Gobi Desert just before
the two thousand and eight Olympic Games in Beijing. A
former stunt motorcyclist called Lang played by Eddie Ping, is

(28:39):
a loner, just been paroled after being imprisoned for manslaughter,
and he returns to his hometown, which has undergone quite
a metamorphosis. In fact, it's been systematically dismantled to make
room for new development. Many residents have already left and
the place looks like a ghost town. There's a large
population of stray dogs that roams the street and the desert.

(29:03):
One of those is a black dog, hence the title,
thought to have rabies and is causing all sorts of havoc,
biting people. And there's the bounty, a bounty that's been
put on this dog's head, which Lang initially goes for,
but when he comes into contact with the animal, his
view changes and the pair bonds. Meanwhile, city officials have

(29:26):
launched a drive to rid the streets of strays which
Lang is roped into, and he faces all sorts of issues,
including the fact that snake farmer Butcher Hugh or Butcher
who is out to avenge his nephew's death a decade ago,
for which he holds Lang responsible and presumably that's the
reason that Lang went to prison. Now Lang's father has

(29:50):
moved to what's left of the run down zoo in town.
He's a heavy drinker and his health is fast deteriorating.
The one new constant in Lang's life is that black dog, who,
like Lang, faces all sorts of scrapes, but keeps finding
a way through against an uneasy and challenging backdrop. The
co writer and director Guan Hu has crafted a reflective

(30:13):
piece about the changing face of China. There's a harsh
grittiness to what unfolds here. Survival is far from assured.
Who's not afraid to introduce a series of surprises as
the narrative develops, including the arrival of a traveling circus,
a member of which takes a shine to Lang. The landscapeable,

(30:36):
it's barren, its challenging. The cinematograph Waizu Kiao has done
a fine job in setting the scene, letting us know
it's a place that's fallen on hard times, and an
air of mystery surrounds Edny Ping in the lead as
Lang is a man of few words, his stoic. He
is resilient with his own code of morality. His past

(30:57):
comes back to haunt him, yet he must find a
way to deal with it before he can actually move on.
And there's something heroic I reckon in Peng's representation of
Lang the dog itself, like Lang has an untamed spirit
which dictates proceedings.

Speaker 2 (31:11):
And both will not be tamed.

Speaker 1 (31:14):
So it's quite an intriguing portrait of a man and
a city at the crossroads. And I haven't seen many
Chinese movies, as mentioned, but I think this one's a
really good one.

Speaker 2 (31:25):
Black Dog Peter.

Speaker 3 (31:27):
Yes, I like this film. I think it had a
fair bit to say about the contemporary China and how
people on the outer dogs on the outer are being
treated and what happens to them if they don't quite conform.
So I found there was a strong political subtext that

(31:48):
was running through this film certainly about being able to
survive and being able to stay and resisting being killed
or been removed because you don't quite fit into the
political paradigm. So yes, I like the film a lot.

(32:09):
I think it's very well shot. I just felt it
was a little bit predictable insofar as we knew that
there was going to be some sort of reconciliation or
some sort of happiness that was going to come into
the storyline. Otherwise, Chinese authorities that would have looked at

(32:30):
this film might have felt that the film was too
political for their liking. But yes, it's a good film.
It's well directed, well presented, and it certainly has received
attention at various film festivals around the world quite deservedly. Yes,
a good film.

Speaker 1 (32:51):
Yeah, very good film. Well look, I'm going to give
it an eight out of ten. It is called black
Dog rated M and runs for one hundred and ten minutes.
You'd better I gave it seven out of ten, seven
out of ten. Okay, which would you consider that to
be your average score or a little bit above your
average score?

Speaker 3 (33:09):
A little bit above average? I think by my average
is usually about six.

Speaker 1 (33:14):
Okay, Well, let's go to the movies that were released
on the first of January, the New Year's Day. One
of those, which again has done very well as a
franchise is Paddington and it's Paddington in Peru. In this case,
runs for one hundred and six minutes and is rated
PG and Paddington, voiced by Ben Wishaw, as it has

(33:34):
been previously, gets back to his roots in what's a
rather roll king adventure with a Brown family. The rather
intelligent Bear remains living comfortably with the Klan, although the
Brown family I'm talking about, although there's now little connection
between the parents and their two children. Judy played by

(33:55):
Madeline Harris, is applying for university entrance and her mum,
Mary Emily Mortimer, is sad to be quote unquote losing
her because in America they usually go to another state
or whatever to go to university, and they sort of
move into the premises. Jonathan Samuel Jocelyn stays hold up
in his room, playing video games and chilling Dad. Henry

(34:18):
Hugh Bonneville has a new American boss at the insurance
firm where he works, and she takes a decidedly different
approach to what he's used to her mantres to quote
embrace the risk and that challenges him. Mary's taken up painting,
but longs to return to a happier time when they
are all sharing the couch together. And then suddenly Paddington

(34:41):
gets word from the reverend mother at the Home for
Retired Bears played by Livia Coleman, that's where his beloved
aunt Lucy, the voice of Emelda's Staunton lives. Apparently all
isn't right. She's missing him terribly, so off to Peru.
The family trots with the ever resourceful living house case
keeper missus Byrd played by Julie Walters Ininte. When they arrive,

(35:05):
the situation is actually worse than they expected. Aunt Lucy
is missing. Thereafter being begins this dangerous trip to the
Amazon rainforest in search of her, as well as the
lost treasure of El Dorado. The guide is a boat
captain called Hunter. Antonio Banderas plays Hunter, and there is
skullduggery afoot. So Paddington in Peru. It's fun, it's creative,

(35:30):
it's colorful. In fact, it's a delightful family film that
features sight gags and mischief making. I like the distinct
personalities that continue to inhabit the franchise. Paddington maintains his
charm and his composure for the most part, and obviously
at times he gets into all sorts of precarious positions.

(35:51):
Now as Henry Hugh Bonneville must find his wild side,
while as Mary Emily Mortimer gets what she's after with
a family. Julie Walters brings a suspicious streak to missus Bird.
Antonio Banderas has greed coursing through his veins as Captain Hunter.
And then there's the super nice or is she mother

(36:13):
Superior as played by the cheery Olivia Coleman. Setting action
in Peru brings with a peril and pursuit, giving this
movie a nice edge. I will say greatly appreciated the
focus on heritage, as well as the unexpected ending which
I am not about to spoil.

Speaker 3 (36:32):
So that is Paddington in Peru. Peter, Yes, I really
like the first two Paddington films. They were well written,
cleverly crafted, nicely observed family and bare sort of stories,
with a very good animation CGI on top of the

(36:54):
live action etc. That worked really well for me. The
second one just had some very clever ideas and some
good writing which appealed to both young and old. This one,
I thought, diverged somewhat from the first two films, and
I think became somewhat sentimentalized and introduced characters that were

(37:18):
not particularly interesting. I mean Antonio Banderas's characters, the ship's
captain with his daughter that turned into an adventure sort
of situation. I don't think that worked for me at all.
I think that was just too over the top and
silly and took the focus away from Paddington's character and

(37:40):
having adventures that are a bit more oriented towards him
and finding Lucy and so on, and plus Olivia Coleman
as the singing None. I thought, No, this ain't no
sound of music. I thought, I don't know. I wasn't
about the character and about what relevant it had and

(38:04):
what it was trying to do, because I mean, really
the film had a sort of a nasty sort of
subtext about thieving and robbery and misrepresentation and all that
sort of thing. I thought, I don't know, I'm not
sure if it's true to the Paddington character and Paddington

(38:24):
having to be an adventure hero as well. I thought, No,
I would have liked a bit better writing and a
bit better story development than that.

Speaker 2 (38:36):
Even though Peru.

Speaker 1 (38:37):
The connection with the bears, I thought that was actually
strong when it got to that point.

Speaker 3 (38:43):
Yeah, to some extent, yes, Peru serves as a nice location,
although I don't think it was actually shot in Peru.
But anyway, that's another story. I thought, No, it doesn't
quite work at all for me, and the adventures that
happened in the second half of the film just seemed
a bit silly, bit over the top. I wanted better writing.

Speaker 2 (39:05):
Whereas I Kinite liked this, I did.

Speaker 1 (39:07):
I quite like Betting too. So it's P two, rated
one hundred and six minutes. I'm giving it a seven
out of ten.

Speaker 3 (39:14):
Okay, I give it a because I like the Paddington
character and I like the special appearance later in the film.
I thought six out of ten.

Speaker 2 (39:24):
Okay.

Speaker 1 (39:25):
Well. The other one that was released on Year's Day
was Nosferatu, and this is a long film, one hundred
and thirty three minutes, rated A. It's atmospheric, and dare
I say it puts the bite on an impressionable youngster.
Does it not beat up who carries the commitment to
Dracula into her marriage with terrifying consequences. The writer and

(39:49):
director is Robert Eggers, who did The Lighthouse that was
the black and white movie, very much an independent film.
He's at the helm of what is a supernatural horror
and he was in inspired by Bram Stoker's novel Dracula
that came out in eighteen ninety seven, and by the
screenplay for nos Ferra to a Symphony of Horror that

(40:10):
was released in nineteen twenty two that was by Henry Galen.
Anna Anna Harding played by Emma Corn, effectively makes a
pact with the vampire when she is but a teenager,
and thereafter she's plagued by nightmarriagh visions, which carry on
when she falls in love and marries Friedrich played by

(40:34):
Aaron Tayler Johnson. When Friedrich's given the opportunity for a
leg up in the real estate business in which he
works by securing a client's signature in no lesser place
than Transylvania, she is concerned. Anna has a premonition about
what's about to happen, and she implores Friedrich not to go,

(40:56):
but her husband dismisses her apprehension. Little does he knows
that the client is none other than the notorious nos
Ferratu aka Count Orlock, played by Bill Skarsgard, who local
gypsies recognizes evil personified. In no time, he has Friedrich
terrified before he hitches a ride in a crate on

(41:17):
a ship back to the Baltic German down in which
Friedrich and Anna live in the eighteen thirties. Nos Ferrato
means nos Feratu means to eliminate Friedrich and reclaim Anna,
who by now he's experiencing seizures still and is having
a hard time convincing her best friend Ellen Hutter Lilly

(41:40):
Rose Depth Johnny Depp's daughter, and her husband Thomas Nicholas
Holt that her fears are real. Soon after, that changes
when nos Ferratu gets a taste of blood. On Anna's
side is a knowledgeable university professor played by Willem Dafoe
who recognizes just what a threat Count or Locke poses.

(42:02):
With alternating sequences in black and white in color, a
portent of doom hangs over Nosferatu. There's a loud and
potent score that underpins the dread. Now fine as that
he is given the subject matter, I found the storyline disjointed, convoluted,
and unnecessarily drawn out well.

Speaker 2 (42:23):
In short, the film labored, and there's.

Speaker 1 (42:25):
No way this movie justifies her to our plus running time.
Emma Corn has a bit of a thankless task. At
one point, she remarkably transforms from being off with the
Pixies to normal without so much as a big pardon.
I wasn't sold, nor was I of many of the
other transitions that constitute this film. Bill Scarsgard mumbles his
way through his role as the Devil Incarnate in a

(42:48):
foreign accent. Willem Dafoe really unconvincing as the August Professor,
and like much of the picture, what he does feels
affected with a capital A. I simply didn't buy what
he or the other characters were selling. In many instances,
the dialogue sounded disingenuous, the acting appeared forced, and I
just couldn't countenance nosferato nos farato, which became a very,

(43:11):
very long sit and it goes down as the earliest
of contenders for the worst film of this year.

Speaker 2 (43:17):
BETA.

Speaker 3 (43:19):
Oh my goodness, that is a pretty tough commentary on
a film that I think Eggers has done a pretty
good job in revisiting the original silent film. We should
also mention that there were two other Nosferatu films that
were made. So this, I think is the fourth version

(43:39):
of nos Ferratu. The original film was originally called Dracula
and was made in nineteen twenty two by F. W.
Myrnow in a very expressionistic sort of style, only ran
for about seventy minutes or so, and the Count was
actually meant to be Dracula, but when the film was released,

(44:02):
Bram Stoker did not give permission for them to call
the film Dracula and to use the term Dracula, and
so hence the name changed to nos Ferratu. However, the
original silent film is I think the template in which
all the other films had have to meet. Max Shrek

(44:25):
played the Dracula like character and did such a brilliant job,
especially in the muted black and white that the film
was shot in, that any other version of that film,
even if it's shot in color or muted color, would
never live up to the original, which was just so superb.

(44:45):
So this new version, this fourth version of nos Ferrato,
I think, does a reasonable job. It gets into the
psychological horror of the Count or Dracula if we use
that in verted commas, and of the power that he
has over people, in particular women, and also of the

(45:09):
notion of the rats that are symbolic of the invasion
of the town and of the nastiness that can happen
when things go or right. I like the film. I
think it was well developed. Yes, it is long, but
it also introduced some other characters, some other perspectives in

(45:32):
addition to obviously what was in the original Silent film,
and I think because of that, it did it quite well.
I like Iger style. I like the way he uses
close up. I like the way he uses blood and
gore in a particular way and keeps it on hold
for most part of the film. So yeah, I thought

(45:56):
it was a pretty good attempt at revisiting the original film.

Speaker 1 (46:01):
It made my skin crawl, and I was looking at
my watch a lot, and I'm afraid that I cannot
really fathom why they've done it this way. Nos Ferrato,
nas Ferrato, I kept saying, oh, nos Feratu rated m
A two hours, thirteen minutes.

Speaker 2 (46:19):
They fail four out of ten.

Speaker 3 (46:23):
Okay, I quite liked it, and I think it has
some elements that really worked, so I give it seven
out of ten.

Speaker 2 (46:32):
All right, So you've failed one. I've failed one. What
doesn't fail is.

Speaker 1 (46:36):
A musical that I saw, which you would have seen
in cinematic form, School of Rock, the musical I saw that.
I went to Frankston and I went there on New
Year's Eve because that was the opening night. And it's lively,
it's cheery, it up ends political correctness. In fact, it is.
They are really the perfect holiday treat. And it features
the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Glenn Slater,

(46:59):
book by Julian Fellows, And it's based on the two
thousand and three film that you saw, Peter.

Speaker 3 (47:05):
Yep.

Speaker 1 (47:05):
A real hip for Jack Black, wasn't it. In fact,
it was a perfect vehicle for Jack Black. I think
the recalcitrant teacher, the racalcil trant, Peter.

Speaker 2 (47:14):
It works well, doesn't it, Peter.

Speaker 3 (47:16):
What's the story of my life?

Speaker 2 (47:18):
It is? It is?

Speaker 1 (47:20):
You could have You could have played the character very much. So, right,
how's your singing voice, Peter? I've never heard it?

Speaker 3 (47:28):
Dreadful. I need to be dubbed.

Speaker 2 (47:32):
Is there a Are you a shower singer, Peter or not?
We don't sing at all.

Speaker 3 (47:36):
I don't sing at all.

Speaker 2 (47:37):
You spare the world, Peter, very good.

Speaker 1 (47:40):
Well, okay, so Jack Black, of course played the most
unlikely of teachers. Well, hang on, you're the analogy keeps
on going.

Speaker 2 (47:49):
But in another life, you were a teacher, weren't you?

Speaker 3 (47:52):
Correct?

Speaker 2 (47:53):
Yes? Right, were you were? You drummed out a school
like the character here.

Speaker 3 (47:58):
With a real drum. Nah no, no, no, I never
taught music.

Speaker 2 (48:05):
With very good reason, I get a if you're tone deaf,
it's very good, Thank goodness for that. You've spared the world.
Very good.

Speaker 1 (48:13):
Well, okay, this as a musical at Deboot on Broadway
in December twenty fifteen, and now plus PLS Musical Productions
brings us all the color and the hijinks at Frankston
Art Center.

Speaker 2 (48:26):
So that's in Melbourne, Southeast.

Speaker 1 (48:28):
If you happen to be watching, listening, or doing other
things from interstate or overseas.

Speaker 2 (48:33):
Dewey Finn cannot take a trick. He's struggling.

Speaker 1 (48:36):
He's an out of work rock singer and guitarist, just
being kicked out of his band as well as being
fired from his job at a record store because he's
totally unliable. He's unable to pay his rent, which is
lent upon to make good on by his friend ned
Schneeby's dominier and girlfriend, Patty Demaco. And that's when opportunity knocks.

(48:58):
Let me be more accurate, Dewey take advantage of an
opportunity that wasn't meant for him. Rosalie Mullens, who's the
principal of this hoitty twitty school, calls to offer Schneebly
a well paid substitute teacher's position. Because he is a
substitute teacher. This is the friend of Dewey anyway, Jeweyish

(49:21):
assumes Schnebley's persona. He takes the job at Horace Green School,
where he will be teaching fifth graders, and, in keeping
with his reckless ways, he arrives for the first day late,
totally unprepared and hungover. Now that was just the next day.
The teacher said you can start immediately, but he still

(49:43):
decided to tie one on. Now, the seemingly straight laced,
uptight by the book principle doesn't know what's hit her,
and neither do the children. Dewey abandons the set curriculum,
gives over his classes to form a band, complete with
backups and Rody's. He wants them to compete in the

(50:04):
Battle of the Band's competition where his former band No
Vacancy will feature and twenty thousand dollars prize money is
on offer. But that's hardly what the parents paid massive
tuition fees for. For fifty thousand dollars a year at grade?
What was that with the age of fifth graders, certainly
not what fellow teaches nor the principal were ready to countenance.

(50:29):
So it's only a matter of time before the proverbial
dam all bursts. So in what is a talent laden show,
Clint Wood leads from the fronts Dewey Finn, strong projection
and charisma to burn and he quickly wins us over
as the anti hero, imbued with a spirit of rock.
Is unquestionably the one that ignites this musical, which I've

(50:52):
seen the second time.

Speaker 2 (50:53):
I might say I went back for second night.

Speaker 1 (50:55):
Emily Wilkinson is the complete packages Principal mullins. Her strut
sets the tone, but it's her vocalization that marks her
as a star. I mean that, whether it's operatic or pop,
she delivers magnificently. As ned Ryan Perdy has subjugation down
Pat and Sarah Cossi Glaubert doesn't hold back as his

(51:16):
domineering girlfriend Patty, but Tilda Doughty brings attitude to her
representation as miss Goody two shoes turned band manager Summer
and then their surprise packet, The Surprise Packet Summer Bush,
who readily transitions to Mika from shy to potent as
the latter finds her voice.

Speaker 2 (51:37):
There's actually thirteen young cast members.

Speaker 1 (51:39):
They excel as Dewey's students turn bandmates, and they are
on song when they harmonize. Some of them have got
better voices than others, but as a harmony they do
a really good job. They're backed by an enthusiastic adult
ensemble who play the parents and the teachers, and let
me not forget the musical strains of the pit band,
some of whom as the band no Vacancy. Fine direction

(52:03):
from Brad Fisher, musical direction Bev Woodford, choreography by Jessica
Pratt and Talie A Sweatman. This School of Rock is
a winner. Brett Wingfield's costume design from downbeat to classroom
to rock chick hits the mark set changes.

Speaker 2 (52:19):
There lots of them. Plentiful. They're smooth by way of props.

Speaker 1 (52:22):
I couldn't take my eyes off the slide in slide
out desk and chair accommodation, or the single bed propped
up by green plastic milk crates, green and a few
other colors. The big fan of those, and I like
Daniel Jow's colorful lighting and Marcello Rico's boy sound design.
So plus's School of Rock the Musical is rousing and

(52:43):
its rebedias des even Fleetwood Macs Stevie Nicks, she's.

Speaker 2 (52:47):
A favorite by the way of Principal Mullins.

Speaker 1 (52:50):
Stevie Nicks would be proud of what's dished up here
because it really does, pardon the pun, strike a chord.

Speaker 2 (52:56):
It's on at frank.

Speaker 1 (52:57):
Smart Center until the eleventh of January, so you've still
got what six days to see it.

Speaker 2 (53:03):
Go along. Just get into Art Center of Frankston, VICTV.

Speaker 1 (53:07):
Dot Au, go onto the Watson section and you can
book tickets to School of Rock the Musical. It is
a fine, worthy production, Peter, even you might enjoy this one.

Speaker 3 (53:21):
I've seen the film.

Speaker 2 (53:23):
Did you like the film?

Speaker 1 (53:24):
Yes, Well that's a starting point, Peter. You know, so
you can imagine with live human beings in front of you,
not that they were dead when they were filming. But nevertheless,
you know that that extra dimension, the X factor, it works,
it works beautifully. So anyway, I commend it to you.
And there's not much on, although there is starting at

(53:50):
where we're talking about the Botanic Gardens.

Speaker 2 (53:53):
There are a couple of things. There's the Shakespearean production.

Speaker 1 (53:58):
Which is actually quite it's one of the shakespeare In
productions that you don't hear a lot about. But the
Merry Wives of Windsor is on there, The Wind in
the Willows is on there. So you can check out
what's on at the Botanic Gardens as we speak.

Speaker 2 (54:12):
Peter, thanks very much for your contribution.

Speaker 3 (54:14):
And I should mention the Golden Globe Awards will be
on television tomorrow from twelve noon on Channel ten, which
is terrific.

Speaker 1 (54:23):
And there's a in fact, I think that replayed at
seven point thirty Chris, good stuff, beat be well, catch
up with you, have a good new year and keep
on being Beto.

Speaker 3 (54:33):
Okay, all the best, Alex.

Speaker 1 (54:35):
Thanks here is now you've been listening to First on
Film and Entertainment,

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