Subculture Radio Show Ep #111

David Griffiths, Harley Woods and Kyle McGrath are back with a new episode of the Subculture Radio Show.

This time around they review Went Up The Hill, Good Boy, Red Sonja and Weapons

They also interview Bernth, Charles Bourthard, Leila, film director David Anthony Ngo and Take It Or Leave It.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:21):
Hello and welcome to another episode of Subculture Meets the
Popcorn Conspiracy. I'm Dave g and joining me right now
is Harley. Welcome mate.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
Thanks Dave, and hello again everyone. Thanks for coming back
to join our show. Or if there's any first time listeners, welcome.
We hope you enjoy. Give him a taste of what's
on today's show, Dave.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
Yeah, Well, we're right in the middle of the Melbourne
International Film Festival at the moment and all three of
us have been attending stuff, so we're going to kick
off today. It's an episode with some of the Myth stuff. Actually,
we're going to be taking a look at the brand
new Australian New Zealand film Went Up the Hill, which
was at Myth the other night. Kyle was also going

(01:02):
to take a look at a brand new horror movie
shot from the point of view of a dog that
was also shown showing at Myth, called Good Dog, so
he's going to take a look at that as well.
We're also going to chat to Yeah guitar and bass

(01:23):
maestros Bernth and Charles Batard, who were teaming up together
for an Escape the Internet tour which is coming to Australia,
so we're going to chat to them a little bit
later on about how two guys that kind of started
off as internet enemies are now playing music together, so
that'll be really interesting. We're also going to chat to

(01:44):
Ossie country artist Layla about her brand new single called
do Without Sticking to the to the Myth kind of stuff.
We're also going to chat to director David no about
his film Never Get Busted, which is screening as part
of Myth this year as well. Harley, you're going to

(02:06):
join me to check out Red Sonya, the epic comic
book movie that is out at the moment as well.
And we're also going to chat to a band out
of the US called Take It or Leave It? Who
are Harley. They've done one of your favorite things. They've
recorded a cover for our show today.

Speaker 2 (02:27):
Oh tasty. That's very good. For those who don't know,
we do a podcast subculture after Dark, full of heavy music,
heavy rock, that sort of thing, and you know, just
for a bit of amusement, I said it would be
really cool if some of these heavy bands recorded unusual covers,

(02:48):
like you know, doing Barbie Girl or something. And ever
since then, we had so many bands ending in covers
and they were brilliant. So you know, if you're an
up and coming band or you just want it gets
promotion out there for a gig or an album and
you've got an interesting song like a cover or even
just an original number, we want to hear from you, guys,

(03:09):
So don't be shy check out subcultural Entertainment dot com,
especially if you're interested in Melbourne International Film Festival, because
all this stuff will go up there.

Speaker 1 (03:18):
First, right, Yeah, definitely, so yeah, just back to take
it or leave it. They are an alternative kind of
grunge band out of the US and they've recorded a
cover of Hey Jealousy by the Gin Blossoms for us,
So there we go. We're going to take a listen
to that later on, and Kyle's also going to join
me later to review a new horror supernatural thriller called

(03:40):
Weapons as well. So we've got a little bit of
everything on today's show. But one of the big announcements
this week was the lineup for the Good Things Festival,
which has kind of become the replacement, I guess for
sound Wave and Big Day Out. The first lot of
bands has been in now for this year's festival which

(04:02):
is going to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, and the three
big bands headlining are Tool, Garbage and Weezer. So we're
going to take a listen to a little triple player
right now of Tool Garbage and Weezerto.

Speaker 3 (05:00):
You got the game wen on line, show.

Speaker 4 (05:04):
Me ry down the hill, playing around.

Speaker 5 (05:06):
Together, three children around and hur.

Speaker 3 (05:26):
No shame any moments.

Speaker 6 (05:28):
And the pleasure went out where one be well a way.

Speaker 7 (05:36):
They didn't know me they went they will not want
make many other way.

Speaker 8 (05:46):
No fun, no no fine, I got a fight.

Speaker 9 (05:53):
I got to.

Speaker 8 (05:57):
Know about the line.

Speaker 4 (06:02):
No thing.

Speaker 3 (06:03):
So something Stoway.

Speaker 8 (07:44):
Too in the leg.

Speaker 9 (07:46):
So so.

Speaker 3 (07:53):
Conness you mean anything you.

Speaker 4 (07:55):
Made something.

Speaker 10 (08:23):
Showing turn me and the way you canna show him
mind But send your hide, but send your ford, but

(09:09):
send your athing, just to be asord what you need,
just what you did.

Speaker 8 (09:37):
You can't used to.

Speaker 11 (09:48):
Your real estate.

Speaker 1 (09:52):
Oh yeah, have a real estate.

Speaker 12 (10:12):
Will drive you home, You drive you mad. A million
lies to sell yourself.

Speaker 9 (10:24):
That's all you ever.

Speaker 7 (10:26):
Had done.

Speaker 8 (10:32):
To believe. You can't way, you can't come. It's too bad, come.

Speaker 11 (10:52):
Fair, bodn't believe that.

Speaker 13 (11:32):
Don't believe, don't believe the pain.

Speaker 4 (11:40):
Don't believe.

Speaker 14 (11:45):
That.

Speaker 15 (11:45):
You can't say.

Speaker 11 (11:49):
Step had the place.

Speaker 8 (12:02):
It stupid, stupid, kill the name pakeets, n.

Speaker 4 (12:17):
The name, take.

Speaker 7 (12:18):
Cats, a stupid car, a stupid clay.

Speaker 11 (12:32):
Kill me say cats.

Speaker 16 (12:51):
St Where I come from is in all that great.
My automobile is a piece of crap.

Speaker 17 (13:09):
My passion senses a little whacking Morenza just as scream
as me as in gold Bully.

Speaker 18 (13:17):
In schools up.

Speaker 16 (13:18):
The girls now be looked at me?

Speaker 4 (13:20):
Why should they?

Speaker 19 (13:22):
Nobody got nothing in my pocket?

Speaker 4 (13:25):
Bat money. That's where I want bad.

Speaker 17 (13:35):
Every Look at all those movie stars there are so feutive,
full lankle. When the house meets from the floors, they

(13:56):
get the spaces sweet.

Speaker 3 (13:59):
I want to love like that.

Speaker 16 (14:02):
I want to be just like a cane. Take my
picture by the pool because I'm the next big.

Speaker 14 (14:12):
That robot che The truth.

Speaker 16 (14:54):
Is, I don't stand a chance.

Speaker 18 (14:58):
It's something that you're born in and I just don't belong.

Speaker 16 (15:03):
No, I don't.

Speaker 17 (15:04):
I'm just a no classic down food and I will
always be that way.

Speaker 16 (15:09):
I'm not as well.

Speaker 3 (15:11):
Enjoying my life.

Speaker 16 (15:12):
Then watch the stars.

Speaker 4 (15:18):
Where I want.

Speaker 20 (15:24):
Bab babo then and babe cows.

Speaker 1 (15:59):
Well, listen, that's I want to take a look at
a new movie that is screening as part of the
Melbourne International Film Festival in Melbourne at the moment. But
if you're listening anywhere else, don't tune out, because Went's
Up the Hill is actually going to be getting a
cinema release in a few months anyway, so don't worry.
If you can't see it at myth you will be
able to see it in cinemas later. So Went's Up

(16:20):
the Hill is actually the brand new film from director
Samuel Van Grinsvan. Now he might remember a few years
ago I raved about Samuel's last film, Sequent in a
Blue Room when it came out. In fact, it made
my top ten list of movies coming out that year.
So I was pretty excited going into Went Up the Hill.

(16:41):
Now that's something that you probably should be careful of,
because this is a very very difficult film to go
into with expectations, because, to be honest, you don't know
where this movie is going to go at any stage.
Having said that, though it is still a very very
good film, I didn't mean that to be dis respectful.
I just said that meant that going into it, it's

(17:04):
going to be very very different to what you expect
I can absolutely guarantee that Now. The film itself, it
centers around Jack played by Dak Green Montgomery, who receives
a phone call one day to say that his long
lost mother has passed away. Now, the phone call he
believes has come from his mother's wife, Jill played by

(17:28):
Vicky Kreeps. However, when he turns up to the funeral
slash wake, he finds that he's not really wanted. His
auntie Helen played by Sarah Pierce, pretty much tells him
to leave, but Jill sticks up for him, which is

(17:48):
surprising because when he starts telling people that she is
the person that phoned him, she denies that and she
has absolutely no memory at all of making that phone call.
So Jack decides to stay with Jill in the house
that Jill and his mother shared. I guess in a

(18:10):
sense he wants to try and learn a little bit
about his mother and to perhaps find out why she
was separated from him at a very very early age.
It's then that this film takes a turn, because it
turns out that his mother's ghost has the ability to

(18:31):
both inhabit his body and Jill's body, which at first
seems like it's going to be a kind of lovey
dovey affair in that it's the mother's way of getting
penance between the two, but that quickly takes a very
very different turn. Now I'm being careful because I really

(18:54):
don't want to give away too much with this film,
because this is one of those films I think that
you get so much more out of if you go
into the film not knowing all that much about it.
This is a film that delves into some very very
deep topics. I guess spousal abuse, abuse of children, somebody

(19:22):
trying to find out answers about their life that they've
never been able to discover. And I guess if you're
someone who has been separated from a parent, you're going
to see this movie on a whole different level as well.
But having said that, this is one of those movies
that for me, it kind of had two halves.

Speaker 21 (19:44):
And.

Speaker 1 (19:46):
The first half of the first half, I know that
sounds very weird. It drew me in, and then it
lost me just a little bit with the with the
scenes with the when the ghost first starts to inhabit
the characters, I guess I kind of found it like,

(20:08):
I don't know, I was kind of thinking, is it's
going to be like a movie like Beaches, where it's
just going to become a movie about apologizing and penance
and stuff like that. But when the film took its
dark turn, that's when it really really won me back.
Like there's there's so much going on in this film,
Like even like if you think of the title, you've
got characters Jack and Jill and went up the hill. Well,

(20:30):
went up the hill is what happens in this film
to get to the house and stuff like that. So
there's a there's a lot of underlying things there as well.
But I think the power of this film comes from
a number of things. First of all, I want to
reference the cinematographer Tyson Perkins, who does an absolutely amazing

(20:51):
job here of making this house in the the New
Zealand Highlands seem like it's almost purgatory or hell on Earth.
It kind of starts off as purgatory and then becomes
Hell on Earth, but the icy landscapes and stuff like
that just really take this movie to a whole new level.

(21:16):
Then you've got the amazing screenplay by a Jury Anest
and Samuel Van Grinsvin as well that it works even
though I said before that there's a little bit of
a lull patch. Without that loull patch, the second half
of this movie is not going to be as shocking
and it is not going to draw in an audience
the way that it does, So it kind of needs

(21:40):
that lull Like it's almost like the calm before the storm.
You need that calm before the storm can really hit,
and that's what happens with this film. The third part
of this film working so well are the performances of
Dakar Montgomery and Vicky Creeps. This is pretty much a
two hander. There are other characters that we see throughout,

(22:03):
but for a long periods of time, this film is
a two hander, and those two are put through some
pretty heavy scenes and they deliver. This is probably one
of the most demanding on an actor films that I've
seen so far this year, and these two deliver it

(22:28):
with just sheer brilliance.

Speaker 9 (22:32):
We really really.

Speaker 1 (22:33):
See Montgomery as this amazing actor. Of course, we've seen
him as Billy and stranger things, and this takes him
to a whole new level, Like this is the kind
of thing that starts making you think that this guy

(22:54):
could easily be working with people like Gus Van Sant
and people like that and be and be the toast
of Hollywood because he is such does such a great
performance in this The same with Vicky Kreeps. She is
amazing in this film, and together the two just put
in these harrowing, deep scenes that are gonna stay with

(23:17):
me for a long long time. But I think that's
also the way to sum up this movie as well.
There's so much in this film that I think's gonna
stay with me and I'm going to talk about for
such a long time. And I guess that it is
the same as what I was like with Samuel's first
film as well. That was a film I wanted to
tell people about. I've been wanting to tell people about
this film from the moment I saw it. It's not

(23:40):
always going to be an easy watch, but it is
a rewarding watch if you stick with it, like this
film ends up becoming something kind of brilliant, I guess
is the way to put it. So look, I'm gonna
give Wins Up the Hill four out of five. I
think it is an absolutely fantastic film. I hope it
finds a life outside the festival circuit because I think

(24:03):
this film is a film that's a special Like I said,
it's a special kind of brilliant. It's just something about
this movie that will stay with you a long time afterwards.
And we talk about horror these days not being haunting.
This is a haunting film and it is brilliant. I've
got to say so. I'm giving it four out of five.

(24:24):
If you get a chance to go along and see
when up the Hill at myth If not, go and
see it when it opens in cinemas.

Speaker 13 (25:00):
I'm a little scared those stands.

Speaker 9 (25:05):
And I'm.

Speaker 4 (25:12):
Thanking God past.

Speaker 22 (25:16):
The body door babs break down to the street.

Speaker 8 (25:35):
It's f start year, bildad.

Speaker 23 (25:45):
Be pall.

Speaker 8 (25:49):
Clost.

Speaker 13 (25:59):
I'm latus.

Speaker 19 (26:09):
Are your five dollar class.

Speaker 4 (26:14):
A year?

Speaker 3 (26:15):
Stand ship.

Speaker 8 (26:18):
Shop shop.

Speaker 19 (26:30):
Shop pass.

Speaker 8 (26:52):
Are stand ship.

Speaker 1 (26:56):
Shot Well, listeners, There's a very very special recipe that

(28:28):
I want to introduce you to today. Take two guitar virtuoso's,
mix them together with one of the world's most interesting
alternative acts and what you get is an amazing tour
that is coming to Australia very very soon. What I'm
talking about is birth and Charles coming to Australia to
also join up with the Omnific and we thought today

(28:50):
we would get both Berth and Charles on the phone
to chat a little bit about this amazing tour. So, guys,
welcome to the show.

Speaker 9 (28:58):
Yeah, thanks having us.

Speaker 1 (29:00):
So I'll start off Charles, how are you feeling about
this tour? You guys have just worked together in Europe.
How are you feeling now about the Australian length of
this tour.

Speaker 9 (29:12):
I'm feeling very good about it. Yeah. The tour in
Europe went very well.

Speaker 24 (29:17):
We had some sold out shows and we had some
really really cool shows with amazing audiences who were giving
us a lot back, which is always nice. There was
even one show in Paris where they all figured out
the bass is the superior instrument, which is kind of
one of the themes of the tours. We're trying to

(29:41):
figure out whether guitar is better than bass, but in
Paris they all knew the bass is better. So that
was my personal favorite, my personal highlight of the tour.
I'm sure the you know, Australians are very.

Speaker 9 (30:00):
The people.

Speaker 24 (30:01):
I'm sure they will also come to the conclusion that
base is the superior instrument.

Speaker 1 (30:06):
And how about for you, bern how did you find
for the European tour and are you looking forward to
hitting Australia as well.

Speaker 9 (30:14):
Yeah, definitely.

Speaker 25 (30:14):
I mean, as Child said, we were really blown away
by the audience because it's the first time that.

Speaker 9 (30:23):
Were that we did our real tour together.

Speaker 25 (30:25):
We did like one of events and shows before, but
this was our first time going on tour and it
was except for the Joe in Paris, the tour was amazing. No,
the show in Paris was also great, of course. So
we have this ongoing thing about guitar and bass which
is pretty fun that we will also bring to Australia.

Speaker 9 (30:47):
And I've personally never been there.

Speaker 25 (30:50):
A lot of people think I've been there quite a
lot because I'm from Austria. And of course there's the
very common confusion where I live now in the United
States about Austria and Australia. So I can't go into
finally visit for real.

Speaker 1 (31:06):
Charles, I've got to ask guys said there. You guys
have got together for one off events before. Tell us
a little bit about that. How did you guys first
start working together? Because I reckon there would be a
lot of people out there that would have the misconception
that you guys would be kind of enemies competing against
each other for likes online. How did you guys end

(31:27):
up working together for the first time?

Speaker 24 (31:33):
Yeah, well, the first time I ever interacted with Burnt,
I saw a video called something like My Problem with
Charles Bear two or something like that. It was on YouTube,
and he was challenging me to a battle, and I
was wondering, God, what on earth is this all about.

(31:53):
Someone's challenging me to a battle on YouTube? And it
turns out is because he made a video where he
was played his guitar with like a pitch shift to
plug in because a secretly Burnt wants to be a bassist,
and so he made it sound like a bass and
everyone in the comments said, you've got to do something
with Charles. So we did a battle which went well.

(32:16):
People enjoyed it, you know, we enjoyed it. And then
we decided to actually do some collapse as well, not
always just spit each other, and we did collabse and
then finally we decided to actually do it in real life,
and we got invited to Reunion Island, which I actually didn't.

Speaker 9 (32:35):
Know existed at first.

Speaker 24 (32:38):
When I first heard about this, I thought it might
be a scam, like fire festival, to be honest, and
I looked up Reunion Island and it turned out to
be a real place. It's a French island by Madagascar
and it's actually a really, really nice tropical island. So
that was a really great way to have our first
ever show together, and the shows went well, and then

(33:03):
we decided to make a full tour of it after that.

Speaker 1 (33:07):
So Berth tell us a little bit about the next
part of that, the Omnifick. Why were they the perfect
group for you guys to team up with for these tours?

Speaker 9 (33:19):
That actually came from the gals.

Speaker 25 (33:21):
I think you guys did not a full show together,
but you played one on with them, correct.

Speaker 9 (33:28):
Yeah. They were playing in.

Speaker 24 (33:29):
Boston, which is where I live now, and they asked
if I wanted to just go and do a guest
solo with them, and I've been listening to the music
a lot already, so I agreed instantly, and from there
we started. I did another collab online with them, and
then when I found out we were playing in Australia,
I just they were immediately the first band that came

(33:51):
to my head, and I asked them and you know,
this style fits well with us too.

Speaker 9 (33:55):
It's not just that I'm friends with them.

Speaker 24 (33:59):
We've got a lot of songs that are more metal influenced,
and obviously the Omnifica got a lot of metal influence too,
and some progue so and then they've figured out that
two basis and a drummer is the perfect lineup.

Speaker 1 (34:14):
So.

Speaker 9 (34:16):
That it was a natural fit. Yeah.

Speaker 25 (34:19):
And the fun thing is, like right now, before we
started this interview, I just finished an arrangement for a
collapse song together, because that's one thing we thought about
that makes each iteration of the Escaped Internet took pretty cool.
When we went on the European tour together with All England,
we had a three way collapse song released, and we

(34:42):
also wanted to do the same with the omnific and
potentially with everyone that we do an Escaped Internet tour with.
So I hope in the next weeks, because we don't
have that much more time until the tour starts, we
can finally release that one. And the basic arrangement is
done today, So looking forward to hearing what they come
up with, because there are pretty amazing musicians, so I

(35:04):
think it's going to be great.

Speaker 1 (35:05):
Yeah, But I have to ask because you said that
you've just done a collab there. How difficult is it
for you all to practice for a tool like this
when you're all located in different places, different countries, different cities.
Does that make it difficult to rehearse to get ready
for the tour?

Speaker 25 (35:23):
It would be very difficult if you're dealing with like
quote unquote the stereotypical musician that doesn't really practice that
much at home.

Speaker 9 (35:34):
But we're.

Speaker 25 (35:37):
Very deep into what we're doing and super nerds when
it comes to all this, So we prepare as much
as we can at home and work on especially when
we work on new stuff, we just tends back and
forth quick WhatsApp videos or just demos, and after we
practiced everything pretty much to perfection, like as good as

(35:58):
we can get it. Right before the tour, we usually
book a rehearsal space for a couple of days, and
that's not really the like the time frame where we
start practicing the stuff. So since we come in very prepared,
that usually works out very well. Even like with the

(36:19):
last tour, we had a drama, phenomenal drama that we
never played before. Literally just I think two days or
maybe three days before the tour, we played together for
the first time, and since we were all extremely prepared,
it just right from the first song it started working.
But I had the experience of this being very, very

(36:39):
difficult when you work with people that don't take it
very seriously because you don't really know how well they
are preparing. But for us, since we don't want to
be those kind of people that put on perfect YouTube
videos and then you come to the show and you're like,
this doesn't really sound like what I've seen on the internet.

(37:00):
We don't practice quite a lot on our own before
we meet, and practicing we live for a couple of days.

Speaker 1 (37:07):
Awesome, So Charles tell us a little bit about putting
together a set list for a special tool like this.
How does that come about? What kind of things can
we expect on the set list for Australia.

Speaker 24 (37:21):
You can expect definitely some of the biggest songs from
both Burnt and Me, So you know, I've got a
few songs that have got quite a few streams, like
Elevated and slap Apocalypse, and then Burnscot some really big
songs like Farewell, Horizons, Waterworks, stuff like that, So we'll

(37:42):
definitely be playing some of those, some of the sort
of crowd favorites. But one thing that makes this show
really different from just listening to us on Spotify or
watching us on YouTube is that we've got a lot
going on in between the songs too, Like there's challenges
we do, like the bass versus guitar thing I was
just talking about, or who can play better with a pick.

Speaker 9 (38:09):
So there's a lot.

Speaker 24 (38:10):
It's definitely a show and not just playing all of
our songs one after the other.

Speaker 9 (38:16):
There's a lot.

Speaker 24 (38:17):
There's a whole visual led wall show as well, So
we really try and make sure that people come to
this and feel like they have a whole different experience.

Speaker 9 (38:27):
That's more. There's a lot more to it than what
you might find just on the internet.

Speaker 1 (38:36):
Definitely, and also part of this is a master class
as well for some very lucky people. How do you
two feel about sitting down and doing master classes? Is
that something that you both enjoy doing.

Speaker 25 (38:50):
It's honestly a lot of fun because we're still very
deep into practicing.

Speaker 9 (38:57):
And the thing is, the better you kind of get.

Speaker 25 (38:59):
Into, more time you put into an instrument, the more
you know what you don't know and what you should
work on more. But it's kind of a never ending
journey and you're forever the student of your instrument. You're
never really done with it at one point. So it's
pretty cool too. It doesn't really feel like teaching at all,
like standing in a classroom and you're like, this is

(39:20):
the C major scale, this is the A minor scale.
It feels like an exchange with people who are equally
passionate about guitar or bass. And it's pretty fun to
answer the questions because sometimes you get a question like
phraised in a way that you haven't really thought about

(39:41):
that much. Sometimes I have people who've watched almost all
of my videos and they're like, hey, when you performed
this very specific technique, I've observed, like with your pinky.

Speaker 9 (39:50):
Finger, you're doing this, and then I have to play
and I have to look at my hands.

Speaker 25 (39:55):
I'm like, oh, okay, that's pretty good observation actually, and
that's true dig more into that.

Speaker 9 (40:01):
So it feels like not really like your typical.

Speaker 25 (40:06):
Masterclass or teaching experience where you just listen to us
talk about super advanced music theory. It's more of a
really cool exchange, and people are often a bit frustrated
that they can't really ask personal questions on YouTube because
a lot of the videos have quite a lot of
comments and it wouldn't be possible anymore for both of

(40:28):
us to reply to every single comment anymore. So that's
pretty much the only chance in real life to get
questions answered. And it's a really great and some time.
So where was planning to come to these shows? And
it's also quite passionate about music? Or are maybe base

(40:49):
they should definitely consider coming to master classes as well?

Speaker 1 (40:54):
Definitely, Now, guys, I know we've onbably got one minute left,
so I guess a quick answer from both of you
was that with you child, what would you like to
say to people out there who are heading along to
these shows in Australia.

Speaker 24 (41:08):
This is one of my favorite things to do. I
absolutely love connecting with fans in real life rather than
just online. So I can't wait to see you all there.

Speaker 1 (41:19):
Awesome and Bern, what would you like to say to everybody?

Speaker 25 (41:24):
I'm also can't wait because it's my first time in Australia.
I already know it's going to be really really special,
not just the shows, but also meeting all the fans
over there. So I'm truly excited for this and grateful
for everyone who picks up the ticket, So thanks so
much for the support as well.

Speaker 15 (42:00):
They give me, they give me, no, they give me.

Speaker 1 (44:46):
Well, listen, there's the new music keeps on coming. Today.
Country based country pop artist Leila has a brand new
single out called do Without, and we thought today we
would actually get Laila on the phone not only to
chat about the brand new single, but also it's a
fine I know a little bit more about her as
an artist as well. So welcome to the program, Laila. Hi,
Thanks so much for having me on No Worries Now. Leila,

(45:09):
we are very excited that we're going to play do
Without on our show in just a few moments for
the very first time. So I was wondering if you
could start off by telling us a little bit about
this single. What kind of things were inspiring you when
you wrote it, and how did it come into being.

Speaker 21 (45:25):
Yeah.

Speaker 26 (45:25):
Absolutely, So the song was kind of inspired by just
self discovery when I was going through a bit of
an uncertain time, as you do through your young teens
and as you do through your twenties. Actually, yeah, and
this song kind of came about where everything started to
fall into place at a time. So it was just

(45:46):
one of those little realizations and yeah, that's when I
read the song. It's kind of just about you know,
self discovery, healing, like the journey of discovering yourself.

Speaker 1 (45:56):
Do you think it's a track that a lot of
people out there will be able to listen to and
relate tom from times in their life where they've been
in a symboler position.

Speaker 9 (46:06):
Yeah.

Speaker 26 (46:06):
Absolutely, Like I mean, to be honest, I still feel
those uncertain feelings now. I mean, obviously the track was inspired,
you know by some of those really teenage years where
is discovering yourself. You figure out, you know what you're
going to do and who you want to be, and
it's a real discovering time. But yeah, I think anyone

(46:28):
can really relate to the track at any point in
their lifetime.

Speaker 1 (46:32):
You know, definitely. So we wanted to get to know
you a little bit more as an artist as well.
Tell us a little bit about your journey, because one
of the things that really hits home when we listen
to your music is that you've got such a unique
voice and you've got such a unique style that you've
brought to your music. Tell us a little bit about
that journey, how you arrived as a musician, But also

(46:53):
how you've worked on that uniqueness over the years as well.

Speaker 9 (46:58):
Yeah, thank you so much.

Speaker 26 (47:00):
I guess in terms of, you know, just coming into
music at a young age. So I always loved music
growing up, always had it playing around the house. Was
just always obsessed and started guitar at age eight, and
then just started from their kind of just started the
journey of writing stories and songs and then and then performing.

(47:24):
So yeah, I've always just been so obsessed with it.
And as for the uniqueness, like, I don't really know
how that came into play. I guess it's just maybe
just the stuff I listened to growing up, I'm guessing.

Speaker 1 (47:39):
But yeah, And how have you felt that you've learned
from doing shows as well? Like you said, you've done
a lot of live shows, and I know these days
it feels like a lot of young musicians out there
kind of want to stick to the studio rather than
going out and cutting their teeth on live shows. But
how do you feel that that's helped you mature as

(47:59):
an artist as well?

Speaker 26 (48:02):
Yeah, I think like learning to read a crowd and
learning to be in front of a crowd is such
an important journey. I think being in the studio and
recording a song is one thing, but then taking those
songs out and singing them live is a completely different thing.
So I think over the years, I've really matured in

(48:22):
terms of performing, and you kind of just like learn
as you go, you learn.

Speaker 9 (48:27):
From different people.

Speaker 26 (48:28):
So yeah, I think being an artist, I think performing
is like a key part of being an artist.

Speaker 1 (48:34):
Definitely. Now, of course, you've also been named as a
finalist in the mother Tone Gimpy Music Muster talent search.
Tell us a little bit about that and what that's
been like to be part of.

Speaker 26 (48:45):
Yeah, so the Gimpy mother Tone Music Talent Search is
in August, so late this month, and yeah, it's I'm
so honored to be named a five not less. I
kind of just applied like I do everything else, and
then got the email to say that I was a finalist,

(49:06):
so I was, yeah, really on it and really looking
forward to traveling. Obviously I'm from Canberra, so looking forward
to getting out of the call and I'm traveling to
Gimbi and just like meeting other musicians, other creators, collaborating
and just performing for crowds up there and hopefully getting
some nice exposure up there.

Speaker 1 (49:26):
And is there any way that our listeners can help
you with that, Like is there a voting process or
anything like that, or can the support you by heading
to GIMPI and being there in the audience?

Speaker 26 (49:37):
Absolutely, so, I don't think there's a voting process.

Speaker 27 (49:40):
I think there's a.

Speaker 26 (49:41):
Lineup of judges that judge the competition. However, Yeah, support
would be amazing, Like, not just for me, but you know,
it's exciting because it's the new wave of emerging talent.
So if you're in the area, I definitely pop on
by and yeah, check out the new wave of emerging

(50:01):
talent for sure.

Speaker 1 (50:03):
And you mentioned there as well about being able to
head up there and network a little bit and meet
other people. What kind of things do you like to
do in those situations, Like do you like to listen
to people who have been in the industry for a
lot of years and have a lot of experience and
learn from them or how do you find those experiences?

Speaker 9 (50:24):
Yeah?

Speaker 26 (50:24):
Absolutely, I think the music industry can be so tough,
you know, and talking to people who have more experience
and are able to able and willing to offer their
guidance is always such a gift. So I think, yeah,
getting that experience is amazing. The canber scene is amazing,
but it's quite small, so I find yeah, going to

(50:47):
other scenes and mixing with other people and just seeing
how other scenes work as well and what they do
is really inspiring and really helpful to my own journey.

Speaker 1 (50:56):
Now, that was what I wanted to ask you next
as well, aside from GIMPI, what else are you working
on at the moment for the rest of this year
and heading into summer? Are you working on new music?
Are you hoping to get out there and do more shows.
What's the plans for the rest of this year and summer?

Speaker 26 (51:13):
Yeah, so, I, as we were talking about before, I've
just released first my first single of this year, sorry
Do Without, and I have two more singles coming up
this year before the year closes. I can't reveal release
dates just yet, but as tell people to stay very
very tuned. So yeah, I have two more singles coming

(51:35):
out before the year closes. I'm going to the studio
later this year. As I'm writing new music at the moment,
I'm wanting to get that into the studio for next year,
and I have a run of shows coming up shortly.

Speaker 9 (51:46):
But again I can't release too.

Speaker 26 (51:49):
Much of that information, but stay tuned for that because
there may be some interstate shows as well.

Speaker 1 (51:56):
Definitely, and you're part of the subculture playlist now, so
we will definitely put any news up that comes through
as well about those shows up on our groups, up
on our website, and we'll also direct people to your
socials as well. So I guess Layla to finished off,
what would you like to say to people out there
before they listen to do without for the first time?

Speaker 9 (52:16):
Yeah? Absolutely so.

Speaker 26 (52:19):
Yeah, if you're looking for a country pop artist, an
emerging country pop artists, do what that is your song.
If you've ever felt the feelings of uncertainty, apprehension, or
just discovering who you are, then this song's for you.

Speaker 9 (52:34):
I hope you enjoy. And yet if you want to find.

Speaker 26 (52:37):
Out more about me, you can visit Lela Music on
all socials and Leila on Spotify and wherever you listen
to your music.

Speaker 23 (52:48):
Someone one's told mespect them, expect the Nadina. But damn man,
now they said, livey lives normalalks.

Speaker 4 (53:03):
You don't know what's.

Speaker 13 (53:05):
Around the bend.

Speaker 19 (53:07):
I don't know what I would do with that.

Speaker 23 (53:13):
I appreciate the little things while they don't knowas look
for the next best thing.

Speaker 13 (53:26):
I always wanted.

Speaker 28 (53:27):
To grow, had a key dreamt of a fence, char
and dog, big girls said an episode what he's had
would behind and now now I don't know if I can,

(53:48):
if I can, if I can deal with.

Speaker 23 (54:00):
CORNA funly behind tea mags boys were a topic of
conversation amongst thot of the things I always wondered when
nothing in a relationship that it was finally all things gone.

(54:26):
Then expect that even appreciate the little things wild, they
don't always look for the next best thing.

Speaker 13 (54:42):
I always wanted to grow.

Speaker 23 (54:45):
When I was kid, treat of a fancy shower and
all the big all things I.

Speaker 4 (54:55):
Never thought of his happening.

Speaker 19 (54:58):
Would behappen Now now I don't.

Speaker 9 (55:02):
Know if I can.

Speaker 19 (55:04):
The fucking fucking de.

Speaker 13 (55:19):
Father I always wanted to go.

Speaker 23 (55:36):
And I was key to dreamt of a fancy car
and all the big girl things.

Speaker 13 (55:46):
I never thought, what is happening.

Speaker 23 (55:50):
Be happening now now I don't know if I can
if fucking fucking with.

Speaker 1 (56:02):
Well, listen as we continue our look now at the
Melbourne International Film Festival by having a look at one
of the best documentaries I think I've seen over the
last few years. It's called Never Get Busted, and it's
from director David go And we were actually very very
proud to have David on the phone right now to
chat all about this amazing new documentary. Welcome to the program, David, Hi,

(56:25):
thanks for having me. No worries now, David, this is
an absolutely amazing documentary. It's one of those documentaries. When
I sat down to watch it, I was like, how
have I never heard of Barry Cooper before? Because this
is such an amazing story. So let's start with the
journey for you. When did you first hear about Barry
and when did you decide that this would be a
great topic for a documentary.

Speaker 24 (56:47):
So the co creator and I, Aaron Williams, we saw
like a short interview with Barry Cooper and he told
like a very bridge version of his story and we
just couldn't believe Matthew mc connor, Hay or Woody Harrelson
hadn't played him in a movie of some sorts. So
we started diving in and Arran did this enormous amount

(57:08):
of research into his story, and then we reached out
to him and as we kept diving into it, we
realized the story was just so crazy that if you
did it in a narrative form, nobody would believe it.
And the other part of it was that Barry was
just so incredibly charismatic and is the sort of talent

(57:29):
that you really look for in a documentary that can
present themselves really well on screen and know how to
talk and you know, entertain and take you on this journey.
So with all those things, plus the three hundred plus
hours of archive personal archive he had, it just screamed
to be a documentary.

Speaker 1 (57:47):
What was his reaction when you first reached out to him, Because,
to be honest, it could have gone either way. He
could have been someone who said, look, my I don't
want to tell my story again. It's already kind of
destroyed my family. Or it could have been someone that said,
I want to keep on fighting. What was he like
when you first reached out to him.

Speaker 24 (58:05):
Well, they've been like various forms of his story in
terms of like, you know, he'd been on podcasts, and
he'd been on Fox News and CNN and things like that,
but nobody had ever done like a full complete version
of his story that really covered his journey from Texas,
Naco to renegade on the run, and so when we
first spoke to him, his actual response was, I've been

(58:27):
waiting my whole life for a film to be made
about me.

Speaker 1 (58:31):
He seems, like you said, he's very charismatic but also
very emotional as well. What was those initial meetings like
for you with him when you first sat down to
flesh out what the documentary would look like.

Speaker 24 (58:44):
I mean, we like in terms of like how you
work with people about their stories, Like, you know, we
have to approach it as being like very objective observers
to the story, and effectively we see Barry in a
sense as a subject or a character. You know, obviously
he's a person, and we deal with a lot of
real people because it is documentary, but in the creation of,

(59:07):
you know, crafting that into a story, you sort of
need to see them in terms of like the mechanisms
of how this is going to be told. So for Barry,
it was more a process of you know, we spoke
to him like many many times before we started filming
with him, and because Aaron had done this enormous amount
of research, in a weird way, we knew more of

(59:29):
his life story than he probably knows himself. And then
it was about just getting him in the chair and
really just letting him go because he's such a natural
storyteller that he is able to give you all of
those great what we sometimes call sound bites, but also
take you on this journey. But even doing that, I

(59:51):
think he caught himself a few times off guard where
he'd forgotten certain parts of what had happened to him.

Speaker 9 (59:59):
And as this was such a long process we filmed
him for five days.

Speaker 24 (01:00:03):
Initially he really got into some of the darker, deeper
parts of his life that he'd probably blocked out, and
so there was like, yeah, there was some genuine surprises
and emotional moments and also a lot of just very
very funny things that he had to say in funny
stories that had occurred to him over the years.

Speaker 1 (01:00:24):
Talking of genuine surprises, what was it like going through
that three hundred hours of archival footage? Like that must
have been a pretty tedious project, but also you would
have learned a lot and you also probably had a
few surprises. What was that experience?

Speaker 9 (01:00:39):
Like, I mean Aeron, that was like a big part
of what Eron did on the show.

Speaker 24 (01:00:47):
And you know, so she has seen that three hundred
hours of footage, probably three or four times over, and
there really is everything in there, you know, anything from
his police dash cam takes him arresting people, you know,
to the police retaliating on him raiding his house, tormenting
his family. But also we saw his marriage proposals, his breakups,

(01:01:11):
his you know, kids getting into trouble in school.

Speaker 9 (01:01:15):
Like, he really covered the gamut of it.

Speaker 24 (01:01:17):
But I remember really specifically the first day that he
arrived on set for the interview, and we had dressed
the set as if it was his space that he
you know, as if his office. So we actually had
his archival tapes and addressed them into the shot, and
as he went through and looked at it, he pointed
out the tape and he smiled at me. He said, Oh,

(01:01:39):
are you going to want to watch that one? It
was a sex tape. He's quite a character.

Speaker 1 (01:01:50):
Yeah, So how did you work out what to include
in the documentary and what not to When you've got
so much archival footage there?

Speaker 9 (01:01:58):
It becomes really really difficult.

Speaker 24 (01:02:00):
Like the editorial process of documentary is just so so huge,
and it's really where you write and create the story
because on top of the three hundred hours of his archive.
We also had over one hundred hours of sit down
interviews with you know, the various other people involved in
the story, and so we have a general thread and

(01:02:21):
idea of what the story is, but it's not until
you get into the real nitty gritty nuts and bolts
of how you tell that scene to scene, sequence to sequence,
act to act, and sort of how.

Speaker 9 (01:02:31):
The story turns and evolves.

Speaker 24 (01:02:33):
Because Barry's life in reality is quite chaotic and he's
doing multiple things at multiple times. But when you turn
that into a story, you want to really make that
really clear and highlight the most important parts of every
aspect of his life. And so there was a lot
of things that we just you know, in the feature version,
because there's a TV series version and there's a feature

(01:02:54):
version of the story as well, and in the feature version,
you really don't get that time to dive into some
of the other bizarre things that you know, Barry got into.
He was also a Ufcity promoter. You know, he also
ran a he was you know, while he was a preacher.
You know, he ran the R rated church, which is

(01:03:15):
in the documentary, but there's also other aspects of that church.
We don't get time to go into so there's just
like a million little side stories and in the end
you have to streamline it into what is the overall arc.
And if you really think about that, it's a story
of breaking bad. It's a cop that you know, realizes

(01:03:36):
the injustices of the War on drugs and flips the
other way and becomes one of the most unique activists
of all time.

Speaker 1 (01:03:42):
Yeah, you mentioned the television version there as well. Can
you shed any light on that? When might we see
that or when's that going to come to light? Because
it was funny because I actually said in my review
for the documentary that this if this was a television show,
it would be the next Tiger King, Like it's got
that kind of feel to it.

Speaker 9 (01:04:01):
So it totally does.

Speaker 24 (01:04:04):
So there's you know, there's kind of two versions of
it that you know, we're screening the feature length version,
which is you know, what will be screening in the
various festivals as a sort of tours around and does that.
And then you know, as is the way of film
and TV, you just don't know where it's going to
go or where it's going to end up, and you know,
in different territories it might be presented as a feature film,

(01:04:25):
and other territories it might be presented as a TV series,
and that is starting to become more and more common,
you know, globally, as different territories and their audience expectations vary.

Speaker 1 (01:04:39):
So, going back to the archival footage, that question kind
of popped up because of what you said there. But
with the archival footage, what was the biggest surprise that
you and Aaron found outside of a sex tape?

Speaker 24 (01:04:52):
Outside of it, I guess you know, when you meet Barry,
you meet him in a particular point in his life,
and so going back and seeing you know him when
he was younger and just he's a completely different person.
I've just never met anyone that has really lived ten lifetimes,

(01:05:13):
you know, in one. And so going back to sort
of like his like childhood videos and photos as well
as his time as a police officer, like he was
a very straight laced, you know, Texas, good old boy cop,
and then you see him by the time he gets
to Mexico, he's got like, you know, three foot long

(01:05:34):
peroxide dreads, is covered in tattoos from top to bottom,
and you know he is doing every drug under the sun.
So like that full gamut was represented throughout the archives,
so we would find like these little details as well
within it, particularly in the police dash cam footage, Like
just in terms of how police in Texas in particular,

(01:05:56):
how they operate and deal with citizens is very different,
I would say, than it is in Australia in a
lot of ways. But there's also this certain sinister kind
of hunting of people on the street that Barry was
involved in. So watching those tapes you start to see

(01:06:17):
real patterns in the way that these police are effectively
revenue raising through some very dubious tactics of their own citizens.

Speaker 1 (01:06:29):
Definitely, David, you mentioned before about taking the film to
festivals as well, and of course it's coming to the
Melbourne International Film Festival. What's that journey been like going
to the different festivals and how have you found the
film's been received at the various festivals have been too
so far.

Speaker 24 (01:06:46):
I mean it plays like a rock show in the
cinema for sure, you know, that's like a big part
of it. You know, there's just this incredible score that
Simon Wolbrook created that very much feels like, you know,
a rock concert, and that was always a big, big,
part of it from the early stages. You know, we
built a soundtrack that Aaron and I would add to

(01:07:10):
as we traveled around Texas and Mexico filming these interviews
that sort of formed the overall tone of the film.

Speaker 9 (01:07:17):
And so then when we.

Speaker 24 (01:07:18):
Got to actually cutting it together, we have some needle
drop soundtrack moments, but also we've got this enormous amount
of composition, and we really wanted that to feel both
like Texas but also have this sort of raw energy
to it. And what Simon did kind of putting together
a bit of a super band to make that play

(01:07:39):
like that. He had the bass guitarist from wolf Mother
on it, and I remember hearing that slappy bass when
he first played his kind of sample track, and I
was like, that is the sound of Never Get Busted.

Speaker 9 (01:07:52):
It just felt so right immediately, And.

Speaker 24 (01:07:55):
Of course there's a lot of work between there and
actually completing the film, but we were really off to
the races quite quickly. So playing it with an audience
in a cinema at a festival, that first screening in
Sundance in particular was like just an absolute rollercoaster, and

(01:08:16):
there was like an enormous amount of people from the
comedy world in the audience as well, like a lot
of comedy actors and writers and directors and people were
just howling, just laughing so much, And I haven't really
had that experience before, and it was pretty addictive because
a lot of the work that we'd done, you know,

(01:08:38):
between in particular like Aaron myself and the editor Julian
Hard who done Tinder, Swindler and Drive to Survive, was
really making like the comedy and the absurdity of some
of these things really shine. We didn't want to make
like a serious war on drugs documentary. We want to
really kind of emphasize some of the absurdities within the story.
But you don't know if that's actually going to land

(01:09:00):
because you haven't really screened it with people before, and
you forget.

Speaker 9 (01:09:03):
That it's funny.

Speaker 24 (01:09:04):
So when we screened it in the audience, I remember
hearing the first last come in, and then from that
point on it was just like everybody was screaming and
howling and laughing for a good part of the film.
Obviously not on some of the serious moments, but for
a good part of the film.

Speaker 1 (01:09:19):
So, David, how do you feel now that it's about
to be presented to an Australian audience at MYTH. How
do you feel about that?

Speaker 24 (01:09:30):
I mean, Myth's been like kind of, you know, a
second home to me, I would say, over the years,
like I've been a you know, Myth Premiere Fund producer.

Speaker 9 (01:09:40):
With my last film.

Speaker 24 (01:09:42):
Rabbit, I won the top Producer prise there in the
thirty seven South Market, my first the first short film
that I wrote as well screen there. So Myth has
always felt like, you know, kind of home base in
a way. So it's going to feel like bit of
a homecoming, I feel. And I have a lot of

(01:10:02):
sort of friends and family there at the screening as well,
so I'm really really excited to see how you know,
Australian audience and particularly you know, Melbourne International Film Festival
audiences react to this you know, very bizarre, unique fun ride.

Speaker 1 (01:10:18):
Definitely, so mate, I guess to finish off, what would
you like to say to people out there who are
about to go along and see it in the cinema
at MYTH.

Speaker 24 (01:10:28):
I think just go in expect the unexpected, and I
think just you know, you know, keep an open mind
to some of the absurdities of the story as they
play out. I think it's a really really fun film
and you know, it's something to be enjoyed as well
as you know, hopefully some people take away a little

(01:10:50):
bit more than that as well.

Speaker 4 (01:11:03):
I want to see if I want to be you
want to I want to be No, my God. I

(01:11:25):
want to be want. I want to be No my God.

Speaker 3 (01:11:36):
I want again.

Speaker 19 (01:11:37):
I want to again. I want again, No, I want again, But.

Speaker 4 (01:11:44):
I want to don't. I want to be No, my God.
I want to be the cat my God.

Speaker 29 (01:13:57):
Hello, welcome back to the show, and you host Kyle
and well, I'm gonna be talking about my first movie
of the Melbourne International Film Festival twenty twenty five. It
is good Boy and just a personal story. Whenever my dog,
a Collie, is getting his monthly beauty treatment by the

(01:14:19):
regular Jim's Dog Grooming franchise, he does something peculiar. He
stares out the back of the trailer, just into the darkness,
and it seems to be just at a fixed point.
Now I can't see what he's staring at the groom.
I can't see it either, but we've dubbed this invisible

(01:14:40):
target of my dog that my dog's ghost. Now it
seems like all dogs have some sort of ghost which
only they can see, but for a dog named Indy,
who in this movie plays himself. He's a retriever and
his ghost is more literal. With Indy's owner, Todd played

(01:15:03):
by Shane Jensen, having a breakdown over growing health concerns,
serious health concerns, he decides it best to get away
from it all, against the wishes of his sister Vera
Ariel Friedman, Todd and Indy relocate far from the big
city and also any nearby hospitals, to this abandoned cabin

(01:15:27):
once belonging to their late grandpa, who in this movie
is played by Larry Fessenden. Now something is waiting for
them there, or maybe it came with them. Grandpa died
in this cabin and the family have considered it cursed
ever since. Immediately on arrival, Indy can sense something is wrong.

(01:15:48):
He can hear things which Todd doesn't, and he can
see things which Todd can't, and he senses a malevolent
force lurking in the shadows. As Todd's health deta de auriorates,
history may be repeating itself because many of Grandpa's dogs
abandoned him and fled that creepy place over the years.

(01:16:11):
But this won't happened to Indy because he's a good boy.

Speaker 9 (01:16:16):
Now.

Speaker 29 (01:16:16):
This is a horror film with a familiar style. It's
got a familiar tone, and it's got familiar scares. However
it's got It's still one of the most interesting films
of twenty twenty five's Melbourne International Film Festival because it
has a major difference, which is that Good Boy is
told almost entirely from the perspective of Indy the Dog.

(01:16:39):
It's directed by Ben Leonberg, who is Indy's in real
life owner and along with his producer slash wife Carrie Fisher,
not that one. They shot this film for an epic
four hundred days over the course of three years. And
they say that he should never work with children or

(01:17:01):
animals in Hollywood, And I think this is why the
film's leading boy Indy. He's a born four legged star.
It opens with home footage of his adoption as a
puppy and growing up and showing love for his master.

(01:17:22):
We immediately fall in love with him in return. And
I don't think I've ever heard so many ohs from
the ladies in a cinema audience before, as when I
was watching Good Boy. Just a picture of this photogenic
poocha alone is enough to tell you why you just
immediately fall in love with him. He's just that good

(01:17:44):
looking of a dog, only second to my own dog,
of course. Now, the lengthy shooting process of Good Boy, however,
it pays off well, with Indy's performance in the film
being particularly believable and kind of disturbing at times. I
have no idea how Leonberg directed in the but his

(01:18:06):
emotions and his confusion and his fear and his panic
and his anger, it all feels convincing. And I know
that it's possible to train a dog to act scared,
so like, nobody should call animal rescue quite yet. But still,
the commitment to Indy's perspective and the role of protagonist

(01:18:30):
makes these moments much more raw and hard hitting than
any traditional horror flick. So like the simple idea of
following a dog around trying to confront a supernatural horror
is kind of terrifying in its own right. The musical
score by Sam boss Miller heightens attention and the eeriness
of this cabin, as do these increasingly unhinged home videos

(01:18:55):
that we get to see of Grandpa and it's videos
at top is watching because he has nothing else to
keep him entertained. But when locked up, Indie can't go
anywhere and he can't tell his owner it's time to GTFO,
and his loyalty dictates that he must protect this weakened

(01:19:18):
demand that he calls master. It's a different kind of
helplessness that we're not used to seeing any standard cabin
in the Woods ghost movie. While I paint the film
as an unexceptional spooky movie, it's not entirely fair. There

(01:19:38):
isn't much of a story here, and the film is
only seventy two minutes in length, but what it does
explore is the commitment between a dog and their owner.
The horror aspect itself is more interesting than most as
a metaphorical for this growing pain, anger, and despair which
is growing within Todd. It can be hard to like

(01:20:02):
Todd at times, as we're not exactly seeing him at
his best, but he's a man who is suffering from
a serious illness, and one which makes him lash out
or behave in appropriately to those around him, his family
and his own pet. But family stick together, and that's
why dogs are called man's best friend. Indy is there
for Todd even when Todd wants to be completely alone.

(01:20:25):
So it's a fascinating watch, especially it's such a short
run time, the gimmick doesn't overstay its welcome, with the
movie only being what seventy seventy odd minutes seventy two minutes,
it's really short. Good Boy turns the conventional haunted house

(01:20:46):
blueprint on its head by entering through the doggy door,
and you'll have your tail between your legs and care
for Indy more than you will for any scream queen
in history. And it might have make you dog lovers
out there hug your furry friends just a little bit
tighter that night as you're going to sleep. So I'm

(01:21:07):
going to give this four out of five. Like I said,
the story wasn't that amazing. It wasn't that they didn't
have a lot of plot to it, but it was
quite effective for what it was aiming at doing, and
just the fact that it focused so much on a
K nine protagonist, and I would say that, yeah, they

(01:21:29):
really did put a lot of work into into realizing
that vision. So I thought it was quite an interesting film.
I believe there's one more screening of it at a
Melbourne International Film Festival, so you might be looking and
I believe it's already the ticket's already sold out for
that one. But yeah, if you get a chance to

(01:21:52):
check this one out maybe in the future, I'd definitely
recommend it.

Speaker 30 (01:22:02):
Doctor Doctor, Doctor, character, Doctor, about chactor, doctor.

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Att editors.

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Product at.

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The comproduct at cost product us as doctor the computactor.

Speaker 4 (01:23:10):
I want to wow, well.

Speaker 21 (01:23:20):
Small flat, I want to miss somebody.

Speaker 4 (01:23:27):
Oh, you can get along.

Speaker 18 (01:23:36):
You don't want to scratching.

Speaker 21 (01:23:40):
It's cause so love, giving the love and getting fat.

Speaker 4 (01:23:56):
You can get caps now.

Speaker 18 (01:24:04):
Putt I want says walking when step start, stop.

Speaker 32 (01:25:08):
Stopt touch, touch, start.

Speaker 4 (01:25:23):
The bunch, touch.

Speaker 18 (01:25:27):
Bottotput I want to.

Speaker 4 (01:26:19):
Wow.

Speaker 1 (01:26:55):
After almost twelve billion streams on social networks and numerous
number one hits under their belt, Five Finger Death Punch
are celebrating their twentieth anniversary with the release of a
brand new album called Best Of Volume One, a collection
of re recorded versions of the band's most iconic chart
topping hits available everywhere right now. The move to re

(01:27:19):
record these tracks came in response to the recent sale
of the band's original master recordings by their former label,
an action made without their knowledge or the opportunity to
reclaim their work. Not to be defeated, the band decided
that they were going to re record their most iconic
tracks and give it to you the public with their
Best Of Volume one. It'll be available right across all

(01:27:42):
the streaming platforms and will also be released worldwide in
physic with physical CDs and vinyl formats. There are also
a whole bunch of merch copies as well going out there,
so make sure you check Five Finger Death Punch's website
for more information on how to grab a copy of
Best Of Volume one. Well, listeners. Now on the show,

(01:28:03):
Harley and I want to take a look at the
brand new Red Sonya film directed by m J. Bassett,
which is in cinemas right now, and ironically it's almost
forty years to the day since the last Red Sonya
feature film came out as well, so that's a little
bit of trivia for all of you Read Sonya fans

(01:28:24):
out there, of course, who are fans of the comic
book series. Now this brand new banda film. It is
an origin story. It basically tells the story of Sonya
played by Matilda Lutz and shows what happened to her
tribe and in particular, her mother Ashira played by Veronica Ferez.

(01:28:47):
Of course, those events lead Sonya to wandering across this
forest which most people believe that you can't survive. In
years later, she's still searching for her tribe and her family,
and she suddenly finds herself pitted up against Emperor Dragon
the Magnificent played by Robert Shean and his dark wife

(01:29:09):
and Nicia played by Wallace Day. Now, in order to
be able to defeat them, she has to try and
bring together a ragtag group of bandits and warriors. But
she's got to try and get them all together because
they are completely at a low thinking that there is
no way that they can ever defeat Dragon. So she

(01:29:31):
has to bring together highbreds, half animal, half human highbreds
and things like that. And yeah, it's your basic kind
of sword and sorceryation movie, but it has such the
folklore of the comics captured in there as well. Now, Harley,
I know that you were so eagerly anticipating the arrival

(01:29:52):
of Red Sonia, So tell us a little bit about
how you feel about the film.

Speaker 2 (01:29:58):
Yeah, it was one of those things. It was they're
going to be really great or really disappointing, I think,
And it's it's such a shame it's not getting that
bigger release for just people to generally go and see,
because I think it is quite accessible considering it's kind

(01:30:20):
of like barbarian action whatever, it's actually not so hard
to watch for people who don't like the violence and
the blood and whatever. It's actually a lot more story
and character based, but there's still heaps of action in it,
So I think it would please a lot of audiences,

(01:30:41):
and I feel like it's just a shame that a
lot of people won't get to see it in the cinema.
But yeah, maybe a little background for some people don't know.
The original Red Sonia that this is kind of lightly
sort of based on, but not really was created by

(01:31:04):
Robert E. Howard was read Sonya with a y and
that was set, you know, muchs later in time, and
she was like a poly Ukrainian character with this fiery
red hair in a short story that he wrote. And
now he's the creator of the Conan stories, so a
lot of his characters go all throughout fiction. So when

(01:31:28):
Marvel Comics was doing all the Conan comic books in
the seventies. They kind of got inspired by her character,
but they wanted someone who was in Conan's time, so
they created red Sonya with a j and she took
off on her own right. But then when all the

(01:31:48):
the Conan characters left Marvel, so did red Sonya. I mean,
at one stage they even said that the Spider Man's girlfriend,
Mary Jane was a later descended of hers, So there's
a bit of history in there. But when it went
over to Dynamite Publishing where it is now, there's you know,
a whole lot of retellings. They changed her origin a

(01:32:13):
couple of times over. Actually, they've done a whole multiverse
of red Sonias, So if anyone is kind of inspired
by this movie, there's a lot you can go and
read about her after this. But yeah, getting a little
bit sidetracked the film itself, I actually really loved it.

Speaker 23 (01:32:34):
Yeah, I.

Speaker 2 (01:32:36):
Was worried, especially with the fact that it was not
getting the big release weird Or wanted it to. But
there's a huge fan base out there who would have
supported it. But yeah, I had, I have to say,
following her on her origin, I loved the setting of it.

(01:32:57):
Robert Sheen was a bit of a surprise for me.
I used to watching him in Misfits, Like when was that,
like fifteen years ago? I think it was on TV.
That was a great series, And so I did wonder
for a bit, like I loved his character and then thought,
is this going to get a bit much after a while.

(01:33:17):
But just when I thought it would get a bit much,
you start to get his backstory and how everything ties together.
I thought that was quite well done, like this inciting incident,
and it's kind of prepared to build on a much
larger world. And they even hinted at the fact later
in the movie that you know, Sonya might like to

(01:33:40):
go traveling around the world and even see this Barbarian
king in Samaria as she's heard of, which hint hint
Conan the Barbarian a film that's in production. So I
don't know if they're linked or what, but that could
be interesting.

Speaker 1 (01:33:57):
Well, this was actually supposed to be for a link
to the last Conan film, but then that got slated.
I was reading about the whole history of it. It
was supposed to be. It was supposed to be a
sequel to the Conan film that came out I think
about ten years ago, but because it did so badly
they didn't end up doing it. But yeah, I'll go
into a little bit more.

Speaker 2 (01:34:17):
About it, like Rose McGowan or was it or someone, Yeah,
was injured and yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:34:25):
Yeah, So Rose McGowan was originally supposed to place Sonya,
Brian Singer was supposed to direct. Well, Simon West was
supposed to direct at the start, but it got held
up for so long that he couldn't do it. Then
Amber Heard was cast as Red Sonya, but then of
course all this stuff happened with her and she was

(01:34:46):
taken away. Brian Singer was supposed to direct when Amber
Heard was attached, and then of course the allegations were
made against him, so that kind of wrecked that as well.
So this movie, from what I can from what I've read,
as I've basically been, was written in two thousand and
nine and has been sitting on this off waiting for

(01:35:07):
people to pick it up. But you've watched various actors
and various directors come and go off the project because
of stuff that's been happening.

Speaker 2 (01:35:17):
Yeah, I have to say, like all in all, I'm
not like it's a shame it got so delayed, but
I think it might be for the better. Like I
actually loved Matilda Lotts as Sonya. She held this quite well.
There's something about her.

Speaker 33 (01:35:36):
You know.

Speaker 9 (01:35:36):
I was.

Speaker 2 (01:35:38):
With you on the weekend and we watched A Million
Dollar Baby, and there was a few times where it's like, oh,
she does that expression like Hilary Swank does when she's
like in the mood. It kind of reminded me of that.
She has this sort of great presence and it's I
feel she makes you know a lot of these things.

(01:36:01):
It's just all of a sudden, someone can you know,
fight perfectly or not. It's like she's not a perfect
fight unless she's survived in this forest where like you said,
no one believes people could survive. She's just relied on
her own skills. She's become nimble, she can get around places.

(01:36:23):
She's a scrapper and a survivor and you see that,
but she's not really weapon skilled. It's not until she
becomes like a slave for the arena that she kind
of picks up the use of the weapons more. And
so it kind of makes sense. But you see how
kind of savvy and intelligent she is, and then how

(01:36:45):
her story unfolds and how things link to her backstory.
I think a great world is being created here.

Speaker 1 (01:36:52):
Yeah, definitely, I was gonna say that to me. When
I was watching this, I was getting feelings of the
Witcher and of Zena. And it looks so crisp as well,
Like when I was watching it last night, I was
able to watch it on like a fairly decent TV
and it looks so crisp, but looks at parts like

(01:37:13):
and I don't say this in a negative way, I'm
saying it in a positive It looks like a heavy
metal video clip like throughout the entire film, and but
that to me actually works, Like there's the early scenes
where you've got Sonya wandering through the forest. It reminded
me of one of the el Vite video clips, because

(01:37:35):
of course their new singer is a redhead, so it
kind of like reminded me I was waiting for, like
the folk metal musicians to wander out of the forest
and start playing the soundtrack alongside it.

Speaker 2 (01:37:50):
But it actually, like you're saying, like, the look of
it is amazing, and even the creatures that are brought
into it, it's like you have a mix of you know,
special effects, but then sometimes practical effects. Where she's sort
of laying on the belly of a creature that's sort

(01:38:10):
of been hunted and hurt. It kind of reminded me
of you know, the first Jurassic Park. You see a
bit like that, and they looked so good. I thought, oh,
I can't immediately pick this apart most films, I can
kind of be like, I mean, it's good, it's impressive.
But something about this it was just like I was

(01:38:33):
so caught in the environment and in the moment. It
just I loved what they did and they didn't overuse it.
It was all a lot more practical. And I have
to say her horse was like a starring character in
this movie. I love that horse.

Speaker 9 (01:38:48):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:38:49):
Well, the other interesting part about that too is like,
because they've ended up having to use such a low
budget on this film, Like I I'm not gonna name names,
but I just saw another a big kind of blockbuster film,
which ironically was directed by a director that was attached
to this and that had money, and the special effects

(01:39:09):
looked so bad, whereas this film didn't have much money
to actually work with. But they've ended up making it
look like The look of the film, like with the
creatures and everything reminded me a lot of John Carter
and how that came together as well, and it works

(01:39:29):
like there was no time when I looked at this
film did I think, oh, that's not a half animal
half human highbred. Like it draws you in and makes
you believe that these characters are real because they look real.

Speaker 2 (01:39:43):
Yeah, I think it was superbly achieved.

Speaker 33 (01:39:47):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:39:48):
I think it benefited from not having too much money
to just throw at and be lazy with. That is
a real downfall they I think they really tried hard
to achieve something. I think they were all quite passionate
about this. I mean, major props to MD Bassett for
this work. I love it.

Speaker 1 (01:40:10):
Yeah, and also like I think as well, not being
not trying to discredit actresses or actors or anything like that,
but the fact that they were able to go with
a lesser name meant that they were able to take
more money out of what would normally have been spent
on the big name and put it into the actual
production of the film. Like there's things such as I

(01:40:31):
believe it was shot in Greece, so they kind of
went away from from the big Hollywood studios and went
and filmed it somewhere where it was going to cost less,
and I think that's the danger of this.

Speaker 2 (01:40:43):
Yeah, they started filming in Bulgaria, I think yeah, was
at the start I.

Speaker 1 (01:40:47):
Was gonna say, Yeah, that's where I think it's kind
of getting dangerous with this. With this tax that Donald
Trump wants to bring in about putting on any film
that's that's not filmed in America that could have been
filmed in America, it's going to kill off films like this,
because if you can go to Croatia or Bulgaria or

(01:41:08):
Greece or somewhere like that and film for a quarter
of the budget that you can film in America, you're
going to do it. And I know, like over recent years,
I've spoken to a lot of directors that have done
action movies or have done horrors and thrillers that have
needed special effects, and they've gone to Bulgaria or they've
gone to Croatia or somewhere like that to film so

(01:41:31):
that they can use that extra money then to go
into the special effects so that people like us aren't
sitting here going that animal look like a green screen
Like it's yeah, you're kind of damaging movies like this
by bringing in a stupid rule about oh, it has
to be filmed in America.

Speaker 2 (01:41:53):
Yeah, No, there's a lot of danger. I think America's
in for a real downfall in the next few years.

Speaker 1 (01:42:02):
So we've talked a lot. We've talked a little bit
about Matilda Latsa Sonya, and we've talked a little bit
about about Robert she and as well. What about Wallace
Day and also Luca Pascolo because they also play very
very important parts in this film as well.

Speaker 2 (01:42:22):
Yeah, well as Day's character, and she played Ana. Yeah,
really interesting, and I kind of got what the twist
was going to be with her a little way through,
and I'm just like, yeah, I can see what's happening here.

(01:42:43):
Interesting that you she's almost like this witch character you
think at the start, and then it's like, oh, she's not.
But there's something unbalanced about her. She's hearing these voices.
And then you find out that she used to be
a sleeve as well as dre Gun himself. He rose
from slavery to kill his enslavers and now fancies himself

(01:43:08):
an emperor, which is you know, in his own bathtub,
I suppose, and then you know an this year is
you kind of learn later on like she was there
beside him as a slave as well, and they've kind
of been raised together, and that's why she's so loyal
to him. She thinks she's going to become his empress,

(01:43:31):
but it seems pretty clear that he's humoring her and
probably doesn't have any you know, any intention of actually
doing that making her empress. But she is useful and
probably dangerous if not in his control as well. So

(01:43:54):
and that's what I think he sees in red Sonya.
When he captures it's like, oh, she's fascinating. She's probably
like a yea used to be when she was fighting
in the arena, and so he sees this is something.
You know, this character captivates me. She could be, you know,

(01:44:17):
really useful, but she's also really dangerous, so I'll keep
her where she is. And you see, he's he's working
on this ancient magics and technology and things like that
to try and rule the world, creating a new army
of you know, monsters and people he can enslave through
this sort of magic technology and stuff. So yeah, as

(01:44:40):
you see in this year developed, she's she's so with
him the whole time, and then her whole personality is
based around you know, becoming his empress, being so loyal
to him, and then when that kind of breaks when
there's reason to doubt, you know, it kind of breaks

(01:45:03):
her as well. So it's an interesting character. I would
have liked to have seen a bit more of something
in there, just to like unpeel it a bit more
before the big reveal. But she made a really good
kind of antagonist for red Sonya, kind of like this
is the level you have to get up to if

(01:45:24):
you want to, you know, defeat the enemy and save
the day, because she's the trained fighter, whereas red Sonia
is just kind of using natural survival skills and she
doesn't have the training and skills that Initia does. So
it's kind of raising her up and you needed that

(01:45:44):
character to do that. Who else did we have? Oh yeah, yeah,
Ersly Untouched, which is just like a funny joke that
goes through that film.

Speaker 13 (01:46:00):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:46:01):
I feel like he's someone who will develop more if
we get a follow on film. You know, it's one
of those characters that's kind of like, Okay, he's that character,
you know, the flirtatious sort of one thinks all the
girls want him, blah blah blah blah blah yeah, kind of.

(01:46:22):
You know, for me, it was like, Okay, I don't
really need to know any more about him. He doesn't
interest me. But then he he steps up, it makes
him more interesting. He's he's one of the survivors who
you know, manages to escape with red Sonia for this
sort of uprising, and you know, he becomes an important character.

(01:46:46):
But then he kind of splits from them. He's like, well,
I actually am a prince. I want to go back
to my homeland, you know, rebuild it, and you know,
I'll rejoin you by building an army. And it's just like, well,
either we're never going to see him again in this movie,
or he's going to be you know, Eleventh Hour Save.
Can you guess which it was?

Speaker 1 (01:47:06):
But about his character, like because you could understand why,
Like I know, some people might watch it and go, oh, well,
he kind of abandoned them, but he didn't, like he said, he.

Speaker 2 (01:47:17):
Didn't purpose Yeah, and I like that kind of brought
him out more. It gave him some substance where the
first time you meet him you think he has no
substance at all. So I like that kind of slow
unpeeling of him that worked out. I would like to
see more. I want to see where it goes.

Speaker 1 (01:47:37):
Yeah, definitely, And I think that's it had me. This
film had me like from at the end where I
was kind of like almost wishing it was the pilot
of a television show and that I was going to
see the next episode next week, because it really did.
Absolutely it was like The Witcher in that element. I've

(01:47:58):
become totally obsessed with The Witch, a television series where
I know in the early days some people were kind
of turned off by the magic element of it. They
wanted it to be another Game of Thrones, but I
found that element of it really really works, Like you've
got these witches and sorceresses and wizards and stuff, and

(01:48:18):
that drew me in. But this was like that, whereas
with The Witcher it was like I need to see
the next episode. In the end, I had to train
myself to not watch it until the entire season was
released because I used to get so, oh, I need
to see the next episode because it would always end
on a cliffhanger. And this to me, this movie, even

(01:48:38):
though it does have an ending, like you're not going
to walk away from this film feeling like you haven't
come to a conclusion. It does have a cliffhanger in
the credits, so it's like, oh, I want that straight away.
It's like, I want I want that next week. I
want to see what the next mission that Sonya is

(01:48:59):
going on is going to be. So I have to
say that the film works because to have that kind
of I've seen a couple of movies recently where halfway
through the movie I don't care how it ends like
it's been that bad. So to see a movie like
this where I'm actually walking away from it going, oh,
I need to know what happens next. I want to

(01:49:20):
see that next adventure is proof in the pudding to
me that this film works.

Speaker 9 (01:49:27):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:49:27):
Absolutely, And I you know, just sort of thinking back,
there were a lot of the kind of barbarian movies
in the eighties and that time, and you know, sometimes
they do a female lead and you know you think, oh,
this sounds really cool, but maybe the actress they found
didn't really have the strength to hold the movie and yeah,

(01:49:50):
didn't have the range to bring out the different parts
of the character. Not the case for Red Sonya. I
believe in her the whole way she kept me in there.
The world was created beautifully so yeah, like you, I'm
just like, can we get that next movie now?

Speaker 9 (01:50:08):
Is that?

Speaker 1 (01:50:09):
I've got no doubt that Matilda Lutz is going to
become an absolute star off the back of this movie
and this film because of the fact that it is
getting a limited cinema release and then going to streaming.
I really feel that this film's going to become a
cult classic. This is going to be the kind of
movie where in five or six years time, you'll be
at OZ Comic Con or super and Nova and people

(01:50:32):
will be like, did you see the Red Sonia film
that came out a few years ago? How good was that?
The same as what the three of us do when
we sit down and talk about John Carter or The
Green Latin, where it's a film that kind of, I
guess with John Carter more so than Green Lantin, it
kind of came out, not a lot of people went
to see it, but at the same time, it's become

(01:50:53):
this film that everybody who I know who loves comics
loves that film and has always been like that was
so unfair that they didn't do a sequel. So hopefully
they do do a sequel to Red Sonia so that
we can be talking about this and hopefully a lot
of people out there who who kind of like Game
of Thrones or like witch Are and stuff like that

(01:51:15):
will give this a chance. It might be a little
bit difficult with the cinema release in Australia if you
don't live near one of those cinemas, but give it
a try when it goes to streaming, because I think
this is where this film is going to take off.

Speaker 2 (01:51:29):
Yeah, I really hope it does. It deserves a lot
more fanfare and credit than it's kind of been given
just for not having a large American distributor behind it,
which has been the big hold up for a couple
of years. So yeah, seriously check it out. If you're
just even mildly curious, check it out. I think it'll

(01:51:51):
be quite well rewarded for the watch.

Speaker 1 (01:51:54):
So Hallie, what are you going to give this one
out of five?

Speaker 9 (01:51:57):
And why.

Speaker 2 (01:52:01):
I keep wanting to say five? And I'm like, hey,
can I be more critical? See everything about it like
got me maybe? Look, the only thing that kind of
gave me pause for thought was kind of the the

(01:52:22):
kind of technology that entered the story, and I'm like, oh,
is this right for a Barbarian age, but it makes
sense in the context as things get revealed. But that
might be the one thing that kind of held me back.
But otherwise, you know, contextually it made sense. Performances were brilliant.

(01:52:43):
I just feel sad that, like, you know, there are
a couple of characters here and there that it's like, oh,
I thought you were going to go on as like
a main kind of you know, one of the main roles,
but no, you got killed off. It was like, oh, okay,
the horse survives. That made me happy.

Speaker 1 (01:53:03):
It's not the never ending story.

Speaker 2 (01:53:06):
Exactly. God, it's either a four and a half or
a five for me. I did enjoy it that much.
I am definitely watching it again. Yeah, I just is
there anything that stops me from saying five? Not really?

(01:53:28):
The only the only disappointing thing is that we're not
getting enough you know, access to see it. It should
be lorded a bit more. So, I guess it actually
is a five for me.

Speaker 1 (01:53:43):
Yeah, I'm going to give it four out of five
and and just on that. So for the people out
there who are listening, No, it has got a cinema
release opening today in Australia, so make sure you go
out and support this film. It has got limited release,
so make sure you check an app like like flicks

(01:54:04):
or something like that to see what cinema is actually
showing at NI. But it does get a wider distribution
on September third, when you will be able to rent
or purchase it off digital platform, so hopefully it does
get another life there. But look, I'm giving this four
out of five. This movie really did.

Speaker 9 (01:54:23):
I know.

Speaker 1 (01:54:23):
I'm a little bit of a hard marker. I don't
give out fives very often, but this this is one
of those movies that I want to go and watch again.
I got to watch it off as screener and I
can't wait to actually go and see it in the
cinema as well. So I think that is probably the
best way to sum it up. It's not very often

(01:54:44):
that there are movies out there that I want to
go back and watch after I've seen them for reviewing purposes.
But I do actually want to go back and watch
this with some popcorn and a big drink and be
able to sit down and totally enjoy it by just
watching it and loving it. And like I've been telling
friends this morning, I've been telling a bunch of friends

(01:55:05):
this morning that you need to go and see this
movie like let let let's all like go and see
it at reading or somewhere like that to to really
go and enjoy it in a cinema. So so Harley
is giving this one five out of five, I'm giving
it four out of five. Go along and support red
Sonya because this is a really, really good film that

(01:55:26):
we hope has a sequel. One Day.

Speaker 19 (01:55:50):
On the Ground, the legend to words on the stool ride.

Speaker 8 (01:56:07):
In song so good take it.

Speaker 16 (01:56:11):
To just Coming down.

Speaker 8 (01:56:17):
Now O brut no thanks?

Speaker 19 (01:56:33):
What can see her move across the stage? One single
emotion turns into a gravy. She holds a power that November.

Speaker 22 (01:56:46):
Now shows got a new care line in life to
song So good take it.

Speaker 4 (01:56:56):
To Just Coming.

Speaker 8 (01:57:02):
Not a free nice now a breen, not a bread,

(01:57:29):
not of bread.

Speaker 13 (01:58:56):
She don't like banda ros, don't crown.

Speaker 19 (01:59:00):
She takes you on the spotless sound.

Speaker 14 (01:59:05):
She makes a blow.

Speaker 9 (01:59:07):
I go er.

Speaker 34 (01:59:12):
Got to r.

Speaker 8 (01:59:17):
Song something to get to this guy?

Speaker 1 (01:59:26):
No, no, no, no, Well listeners, as you know, we

(02:00:07):
love to discover new music on this show, and recently
I discovered a brand new band called Take It or
Leave It. And this is an absolutely amazing band that
I know that you're going to fall in love with,
and we thought today to find out a little bit
more about the band, we would actually get Mario and
Craig from the band on the phone to chat a
little bit about it. So welcome to the program, guys,

(02:00:30):
thank you're having us dive. No worries. Now, you guys
are from New York, so tell us a little bit
about the band. This is the first time that our
listeners will be able to hear your music, So tell
us a little bit about the band. How you guys
got together, your style of music and things like that.

Speaker 33 (02:00:48):
Yeah, so simply put where it's just a punk rock
band from the suburbs of New York, just about outside
of New.

Speaker 9 (02:00:55):
York City, maybe forty five minutes.

Speaker 33 (02:00:58):
Craig and I were introduced from a mutual friend who
I used to work with, who ended up being our
drummer in the early days. And we had such a
blast in our early jamming that we were like, we're
onto something.

Speaker 9 (02:01:09):
So we we big committed.

Speaker 33 (02:01:12):
And now this was that was twenty twenty one, and
you know, we're hustling along ever since.

Speaker 1 (02:01:18):
So Craig, tell us a little bit about that for
you What was that like, the moment that you first
met Mario? And then what was it like for you
when you first started jamming?

Speaker 9 (02:01:27):
That was it was?

Speaker 34 (02:01:28):
It was awesome. We we started writing immediately. We came
out with our song crack Ribs first. It was actually
a Spike song a little bit, and I mean we've
been going ever since. Mario is the backbone, the leader
of the band. I just write those the.

Speaker 9 (02:01:48):
Lyrics and.

Speaker 34 (02:01:51):
Sing the songs and being very modest, he doesn't just
do that. Yeah, I mean we practiced at my house,
so it's a it's you know, I'll just make sure
we have beer, pizza and air conditioning.

Speaker 1 (02:02:09):
So the third member of the band as well, who
copied with us today is is Devin and Mario. I
believe you guys actually played together previously before Take It
or Leave It? Tell us a little bit about bringing
Devon into the band.

Speaker 9 (02:02:23):
Yeah, So Devin came in early.

Speaker 33 (02:02:25):
Like I said, we were introduced me and Craig through
our old mutual friend who was our drummer to start,
but that didn't work out. He had to leave for
personal reasons. So we needed a drummer and I just
I knew the guy. I knew who we needed.

Speaker 9 (02:02:39):
And I had played with him.

Speaker 33 (02:02:41):
About oh Man probably about fifteen years ago now, and
he couldn't be a full time member of my band
at the time. He was in another band, but we
just like we just clicked. The chemistry was right there.

Speaker 9 (02:02:53):
So I just knew when we were looking for a drummer,
like he was the right guy.

Speaker 33 (02:02:57):
I needed somebody who was versatile in their parts, you know,
who can write their own stuff, but also kind of
spin off of what was already written. And I felt
like he was just like a perfect mesh in what
we already had going and what we wanted for the future.
So that was kind of I don't know, maybe mid
twenty twenty two when we brought Devin in, so it
was pretty early in the process. It was a perfect

(02:03:19):
addition to what we needed, bringing the love and the
you know, he's just a very good guy. Yeah, and
complained you also have a new member, Yes, so it's
it's we are a four piece band. Our newest member
joined us this summer. Nick He is our lead slash
second guitars depending on how we look at our songs,

(02:03:39):
you know, in the future. But he came in a
little bit unexpectedly because another member left for personal reasons
and he just hit the ground sprinting. He learned all
the songs in like two weeks, came right out the
gate for a show, and then.

Speaker 9 (02:03:53):
Went away on vacation.

Speaker 33 (02:03:54):
So I know that it was stressful for him, but
he was so excited for it, so we couldn't we
couldn't resist not having him.

Speaker 1 (02:04:00):
Yeah, So how have you guys found breaking into the
New York scene as well? If you found that to
be something that's been relatively easy, has it been difficult?
How have you found that experience.

Speaker 33 (02:04:12):
I don't know if you want to take this one
a little bit because you've been playing a little bit
more in the scene recently.

Speaker 34 (02:04:17):
Yeah, honestly, New York scene is kind of just cover bands.
We do the suburbs, you know, we're more we're more
based in Jersey, New Jersey, Yeah, where it's more original
music and you know, there's a lot of people out there.
We make a lot of band friends. You know, we're
always playing, We're always getting asked to play, and we.

Speaker 9 (02:04:38):
Just do our best not to say no.

Speaker 33 (02:04:41):
And yeah, it's one of our rules is that unless
we actually can't do the show, it's never say no.
To a show because you never know who you might meet,
what the kind of opportunity it is, and honestly, it's
good practice. Like I think one of the most important
things is actually getting out and doing it. Yeah, you know,
it's if you're playing in your basement all the time,
you don't actually know how these songs perform because you're

(02:05:01):
only playing to yourself. So it's really good to get
that crowd interaction. Even if it's not the best show
in the world or super populated in the venue, doesn't matter.
I'll play to one person because if they're not in
their head, it was successful.

Speaker 1 (02:05:13):
So tell us a little bit about Tunnel Vision, of course,
the big release there, and that's what we're going to
be playing some tracks off today on the show. Tell
us a little bit about how that EP came together
and what that EP means to you guys.

Speaker 33 (02:05:28):
Yeah, So, like Craig said, we started writing immediately and
we're an original band at heart, but that doesn't necessarily
mean that we're afraid of covers. So on the EP
we also put one cover song. We covered Hey Jealousy
by the Jim Blossoms. We wanted to pick something that
was kind of sort of near our genre, but just
far enough away that we can, like punk a fy
it and really give it our own twist and our

(02:05:49):
own sound.

Speaker 9 (02:05:50):
But the five original songs.

Speaker 33 (02:05:51):
That are on there, we're all different feelings in different
vibes that we had been kind of just going through
the motions of figuring out what we want to be
in the future. So there's kind of a little bit
of divergence from each track as you kind of go
through it. But for the most part, they were all
written very early on in the process, but refined over
time from playing shows. So a few tweaks since our

(02:06:15):
initial debut of those songs versus the actual studio recordings.

Speaker 1 (02:06:20):
So, Craig, how did you find that recording experience. Did
you find that that all came together pretty well for
you as well?

Speaker 9 (02:06:27):
The recording itself was a little more rough.

Speaker 34 (02:06:29):
Took us a long time, however, writing everything and and
getting everything finalized, that was it took us. I think
when it came down to we got the bare bones
of everything in about two months.

Speaker 9 (02:06:42):
It was fast. Yeah, it was, yeah, it was, And
I mean, of course there's other influences to each.

Speaker 1 (02:06:48):
Song, you know, so yeah, yeah, go ahead, I was
saying like, if.

Speaker 34 (02:06:55):
You listen to our song run, it doesn't sound like it,
but it's heavily influenced by Hungry like the Wolf by
Duran Duran Yep. Trying to think what else, Well, I
think like a based on a no like it would
be like a no effects on it.

Speaker 9 (02:07:12):
It was like.

Speaker 34 (02:07:14):
To me, it would have You know, we're influencer and
I think nothing is more important than giving credit where
credits due, and you know, just just being blownly honest
about what influenced each thing.

Speaker 27 (02:07:27):
You know.

Speaker 1 (02:07:28):
Yeah, So where are you guys at now with new music?
If you've been working on a lot of new music recently,
and if so, can we expect another EP or an
album and they're not too distant future.

Speaker 9 (02:07:41):
We're open for.

Speaker 33 (02:07:42):
Another release in ideally early twenty twenty six, but I
don't want to get ahead of my skis just yet.
We've written on new song already and we've actually been
performing it live. Similar to what I was saying with
the early days of Tunnel Vision, we've really liked to
beta test our songs in front of an audience.

Speaker 9 (02:07:58):
It really helps us figure out like what.

Speaker 33 (02:08:00):
Works, what doesn't work, where it goes in the set
list because that might help us figure out where it
belongs on the album. So that song is called Therapy,
and we actually have a version of it released on
our YouTube from when we played porch Fest in May.
That was as a three piece band, So hopefully we'll
have a new version soon with our fourth member, Nick,
But for the time being, we were just kind of

(02:08:22):
showcasing it and putting the feelers out there. But we
have a few other songs that were I would say
we're writing at the moment. We're not quite in the
writing to record stage, but you know, it's a process.
So some days it feels like we write a whole
new part, and some days it feels like, you know,
we're full and Harris trying to find the next new thing.

Speaker 1 (02:08:42):
Having that fourth member come in, how does that change
things for you guys? Does that mean that you can
kind of work on more complex songs and things like that.
What's the big change for you guys having that fourth
member coming in.

Speaker 9 (02:08:58):
So I knew Nick for a while.

Speaker 33 (02:09:00):
Actually I met him right before this band formed, so
he had kind of already been privy to our music
from just me talking about it to him and whether
it's showing him examples of the demos early on or
the final product. He's been kind of part of our process.
He's been in an ear for me to use to
figure out what's good and what's bad. So walking into it,

(02:09:24):
he kind of he was very familiar with the music
and it felt like he was already there during some
of that process. So I feel like now we we
kind of don't need to figure out the foundational pieces
of adding a new member. We already have that foundation
and now we're just building off of it. And it
was very sudden, but it feels very natural. So I

(02:09:46):
don't want to speak for the rest of the band,
but I'm excited and it feels like there's excitement in
the air.

Speaker 1 (02:09:50):
So definitely, so pray. Yeah, Craig, tell us a little
bit about the future for you guys. As you said,
you guys have been growing in popularity. You've been playing
a lot of shows, and a lot of people out
there have been hearing your music. Where to next for
the band?

Speaker 9 (02:10:08):
Now, Wow, that's a that's a rough question.

Speaker 34 (02:10:15):
I mean, we're gonna probably try to play bigger shows,
you know, you know where we go. I would like
to I would like.

Speaker 9 (02:10:23):
To go on tours.

Speaker 34 (02:10:24):
Uh, probably book a northeastern tour around the States, you know,
if we could expand outward more than that, that's our dream.
I'd love to see, uh, I'd love to see the
world from behind the bass, you know, I'd like to see.

Speaker 9 (02:10:39):
You know, go everywhere. You know.

Speaker 33 (02:10:41):
Yeah, I really like that quote, Craig, Like you want
to see the world from behind the base, like it's
being on stage is a very different experience every stage
you go to. So I couldn't agree more like, I
would love to be able to play every single stage
there is in the world, and that's just not gonna happen.
So I'll just be realistic and we'll our local, will
slowly build our circle to a Northeast tour, maybe to

(02:11:04):
a national tour, maybe to an international tour.

Speaker 9 (02:11:06):
Maybe that's nine twenty twenty six, but hey man, we could.

Speaker 1 (02:11:09):
Dream, definitely, Maray, I wanted to go back to I'm
realized before I left the question out that I was
going to ask, I read that when you were younger,
video game soundtracks had a lot of influence on you
as well. Is that something that you guys would like
to do in the future, like maybe work on a
video game soundtrack or something like that, and what are

(02:11:32):
your inspirations today? What kind of things do you find
yourself writing about life in general, things that's going on
around you. Tell us a little bit about that.

Speaker 33 (02:11:42):
Yeah, so we're all gamers in some way, shape or form.
It's actually one of the ways that Devin and I
got a lot closer. We worked at Game Stop together
for somewhere in the ballparker five to seven years. Math
is hazy, but video games, though, were such a heavy
influence on my life. I know for the rest of
the band because we talk about it all the time.
Twisted Metal is like a great example of a game

(02:12:05):
with an amazing soundtrack, Tony Hawk's soundtrack, like Goldfingers, how
I found out about Superman. You know, like there's so
many that I can list off and rattle off. But ideally,
if we could work on a video game soundtrack, that
would be just unbelievable.

Speaker 34 (02:12:20):
Like so, I don't know if I'd be into like
a phishing simulation game, Like I don't think we'd fit.

Speaker 9 (02:12:28):
You'd be surprised.

Speaker 23 (02:12:29):
Man.

Speaker 33 (02:12:29):
I've heard some people like I used to have a
summer house on the lake and everybody plays every kind
of music, So you never know, like we might not
seem like the fishing type of vibe, but there's somebody
out there who wants us.

Speaker 1 (02:12:43):
So yeah, and it's funny.

Speaker 34 (02:12:46):
Subject matter of the song that you were asking, Like,
we are Americans, but we're also very humble about being
an American and we are not very happy in our
climate right now, and so I'm trying my best. It's
just that everything changes every day, you know what I mean.
So in the news, in our in our political environment, Uh, it.

Speaker 9 (02:13:08):
Changes daily, and it's despicable. And that's kind of it's
just changing so much.

Speaker 34 (02:13:16):
By the time I write a lyric, it almost becomes
irrelevant the next day or the next week, and it's like, oh,
how do I make it?

Speaker 9 (02:13:23):
You know.

Speaker 34 (02:13:25):
It's it's just tough because I want to write more
about I would say more anti political statements, you know,
especially with what's going on in the world right now,
and it's just hard because it's changing. I don't know
what's gonna happen, and it's it's it's a scary world

(02:13:46):
we live in.

Speaker 9 (02:13:47):
Ye want to read people who can who can relate,
you know.

Speaker 1 (02:13:51):
Yeah, it's such a weird time. I was talking about
this to another musician the other day, and we were
saying about like we're seeing what's happening in America at
the moment and we're feeling for you guys. And then
here in Australia, we've got what most people would describe
as a as a fairly decent prime minister. He's doing
his best to try and make life good for Australians,

(02:14:13):
but you've got people that are opposing him because he's
not this and he's not that, and it's like, it's
such a weird time. I don't think we've ever seen
a time like this before politically in Australia, especially compared
to what you guys are going through. Does that make
it tough as a musician as well of like wanting

(02:14:36):
to be seen to almost take a side because the
other side are so vocal when someone seems to do that.

Speaker 9 (02:14:44):
I think at this.

Speaker 34 (02:14:44):
Point the general population is smart enough to realize that
we've royally screwed up. And I've never had a qualm.
I've never had a problem admitting I was wrong or
you know, admitting you know you know. But there there
is a problem here where there's there's a pride, a

(02:15:06):
sense of pride with some people that are so nationalistic
and it's scary that these people can't see the world
from outside of their own shoes.

Speaker 9 (02:15:17):
Like, like, one of the biggest things I had with.

Speaker 34 (02:15:19):
Our current administration is the world is like the world
looks at us, you know, like like like we were
the center of the world New York.

Speaker 9 (02:15:29):
We live in New York. People, why like travel here,
you know, the dream city.

Speaker 34 (02:15:35):
Yeah, and and and it's it's a huge embarrassment for
you know, like looking from the outside end. If I
if I looked out from from Mexico or Canada at
the US, I'd laugh. It's it's despicable. But you know,
it is what it is, and it's just it's We're

(02:15:56):
it's a punk rocker by heart. This is this is
why I exist, you know what I mean, Like this
is my That is the time. But it's so overwhelming
because there's so much happening. It's the time, and it's
finding the worst to put to that subject. Yeah, I
could write about love. I could write about love or

(02:16:17):
you know, like I you know, I could write about
all different shallow stuff. I could write Soon's about tacos,
you know, like, but it's hard to write about our
political environment.

Speaker 9 (02:16:31):
Yeah, you know, we just want you want to write
something with the meaning, and that's I think the metaphor.

Speaker 34 (02:16:39):
U you know the reality of it, because if you're
going to reality, like fifty years.

Speaker 9 (02:16:45):
Down the line, somebody's gonna be like, don't know what
he's saying about there?

Speaker 1 (02:16:48):
Yeah, I think you there as well. You said that
New York has always been a destination city, Like it's
always been my dream to come to New York. And
outside of this show, I work as a film journal
list and it's always been my dream to come to
the New York Film Festival. I actually couldn't do that
at the moment with your current administration because I also

(02:17:10):
work for a newspaper in Thailand. So the moment that
I write on my on my visa paperwork that I
work for an Asian newspaper, I would be denied access
to your country. It's such a weird time. There's only
two countries in the world that I'd be denied access
at the moment, and that's the USA and China. It's wow, It's.

Speaker 9 (02:17:36):
Why why are we? Why do we?

Speaker 34 (02:17:38):
Why are we living by the same standards as a
as a as a as a country like China. It's weird.

Speaker 1 (02:17:45):
Yeah, so as being it back, Yeah, I was going
to say I didn't want to put it down of it.
I was going to say, you were talking about video
games before. And it's really funny because a lot of
Australian kids introduction to punk music was from a game.
And I don't know if you remember this game called
Crazy Taxi.

Speaker 9 (02:18:02):
Oh my god, Crazy Taxi, Let's go. But that wasn't
you guys have Silverchair, silverchair Man.

Speaker 1 (02:18:10):
Yeah, but back in like Silverchair was kind of grunge.
If you go back to when they first brought out
Frog Stomp, they were kind of grunge, and here in
Australia you kind of grow up with you. For my generation,
we grew up listening to our dad's music. So I
was lucky that my dad was into heavy metal and
hard rock. But for a lot of my friends, it
was like Crazy Taxi came out and the Tony Hawk

(02:18:34):
games and they were like, what is this music? This
music is cool? And then there was like that kind
of people started to discover No Effects, they started to
discover melancholin.

Speaker 9 (02:18:45):
The Distillers came out.

Speaker 1 (02:18:49):
Yeah, yeah, it was huge.

Speaker 34 (02:18:51):
I mean even all right, so I have a I
have a six year old and we watched Blue Yep
and what's the name the band that banded?

Speaker 9 (02:19:00):
Well, what's that? It's it's so to see. It's man,
it's a Custer Custer. Yes, they're great. Yeah, A punk Yeah,
it's cool. I think I I I think Australia.

Speaker 34 (02:19:14):
I mean you got ac DC and that's that's before that,
pre punk punk, if you ask me.

Speaker 1 (02:19:18):
Yeah, So, guys, I guess to finish off, what would
you like to say to our listeners out there before
they sit down and listen to your music for the
very first time?

Speaker 9 (02:19:28):
On our side, I think the main.

Speaker 33 (02:19:32):
Thing that I want you guys to take away as
a listener is that we're here and we're going to
keep doing it whether you like the music or not,
because that's kind of our ethos of take it or
leave it. We love doing this and we're passionate about
it and we're having a great time doing it, and
if it's not for you, that's okay. You know, maybe
our next song will be or maybe this song after that.
So at the end of the day, like, we're having

(02:19:55):
a blast up here and we want you to have
a blast with us, So come along for the ride.

Speaker 1 (02:19:59):
I prank do you have a message as well.

Speaker 9 (02:20:03):
I don't. I really don't.

Speaker 33 (02:20:06):
I don't.

Speaker 9 (02:20:06):
I don't know what to say, all right, as the
spokesman for the band.

Speaker 6 (02:20:24):
Tell me you, Picky, be all right by could just
scratch your hair tonight.

Speaker 19 (02:20:29):
Ye see, I know shit fo job anyway, I got
no place to go.

Speaker 6 (02:20:35):
And you know, it might not be that you'rere the
best I ever had by the whole teen years.

Speaker 9 (02:20:43):
Ago, I might not be tomorrow.

Speaker 6 (02:20:46):
We could drive around miss the copses, around the fastest coming.

Speaker 8 (02:20:52):
Something might be by the take it race lay ye see.

Speaker 35 (02:21:02):
Chelsea, Hey, Chelsea, you could trust me not to think
man not to sleep brown. If you don't expect too
much from me, you might not feed that down.

Speaker 6 (02:21:19):
So I really wants to be with you because it
that got it matter to the finding of them.

Speaker 3 (02:21:25):
Woe years ago.

Speaker 9 (02:21:28):
I might be here with you tomorrow.

Speaker 6 (02:21:30):
We can drive around this sound and then they got
shee surround the fastest goting.

Speaker 36 (02:21:36):
Something might be found to take it. Bree Ah, Chelsea,

(02:22:04):
try around this sound and let the.

Speaker 19 (02:22:06):
Cow chase us around the passes covered.

Speaker 3 (02:22:09):
Something might be found.

Speaker 8 (02:22:11):
To take it.

Speaker 37 (02:22:13):
Okay, Chelsea, Kurt Chelsey, Chelsea, kat Chelsea, or tell me.

Speaker 3 (02:22:25):
You think you be all right? Fine?

Speaker 14 (02:22:28):
Could choice crash here and that you would see?

Speaker 19 (02:22:31):
I have no shame b driving anyway.

Speaker 14 (02:22:34):
I've got no place to go.

Speaker 8 (02:22:36):
And you know it might not be that bad.

Speaker 34 (02:22:39):
You're the best I ever had.

Speaker 36 (02:22:41):
The fighting about the whole feen.

Speaker 9 (02:22:43):
Years ago, or might not be tomorrow.

Speaker 6 (02:22:47):
If we can drive around this sound and let the
cup chase is around the fastest.

Speaker 9 (02:22:53):
Cover, something might be found to take it for it.

Speaker 3 (02:22:58):
Chelsea, and she took there's one side.

Speaker 1 (02:23:28):
Well, listeners, Now I want to take a look at
the latest film from screenwriter director Zach Kreger, who of
course made a name for himself with his last film Barbarian.
Now he's back with Weapons, which is a very very
different film. Now, in this film, you do meet a
lot of different characters, but the first character you meet
is Justine played by Julia Ganer, who's a teacher who

(02:23:52):
on one faithful night suddenly has seventeen of her students disappear. Now,
of course a lot of people are blaming her. How
could they not. It's her classroom and only one child
is left, Alex played by Carrie Christopher. But it feels
like police, including her own lover Paul played by Alden Einrich,

(02:24:15):
and also her boss Marcus played by Benedict Wong don't
suspect her. They think something else is at hand. Then
there are parents like Archer played by Josh Brolin, who
wants answers himself. He first of all questions Justine, but
after finding out nothing from her, starts to launch his
own investigation into what happened and starts to uncover some

(02:24:40):
pretty interesting stuff. And then you have James played by
Austin Abrams, a homeless man who might be seeing more
than what he wants to find as well, and might
provide some of the puzzle pieces to try and solve
this jigsaw puzzle of what happened to these kids. Now, Kyle,

(02:25:01):
this is a very very different film to Barbarian. Like
I said, what did you think of Weapons?

Speaker 27 (02:25:05):
Yeah, as you said, it's a very different film to Barbarian.
I was a huge fan of Barbarian and Weapons when
it was gonna when they were advertising it, I tried
to avoid as much talk about it as possible because
I think that that kind of spoilt even just the

(02:25:26):
most basic stuff about Barbarian, just the most even just
who what actors were in it, like the three main
cast members, I think kind of took away some of
the surprises of the film, but weapons kind of expands
on some of the things that Craigor did with Barbarian,

(02:25:48):
such as the differing perspectives of.

Speaker 9 (02:25:53):
The case.

Speaker 27 (02:25:53):
It's taught like all the numerous characters that you just
listed there in the in the opening, the film pretty
much tells the story a part of the story from
every single one of those characters perspectives.

Speaker 29 (02:26:06):
And it's like it's it.

Speaker 27 (02:26:09):
I think it was likened to the Paul Thomas Anderson
movie Magnolia, where it's like a kind of a mystery
somewhat supernatural Magnolia where you don't know what exactly is
going on, and every character in the film has just
this little extra slice of the pie, and just putting

(02:26:32):
it all together, it kind of it finally makes sense.
It's a film that I think was really interesting to watch,
and it was a really as say, it was a
very kind of interesting, intriguing film. But I do think
it's getting a little bit overrated, and I think that

(02:26:56):
it has a few more like loose threads than Barbarian had.
I think Barbarian being a simpler story there was less
that you could put kind of yank on that the
entire story would unravel if you kind of kind of
pulled at some of the plot holes in the film.
I think that this has a few more things in
it that don't really make a lot of sense. And
so while it's an interesting film to watch, and it's

(02:27:19):
an interesting film just to have the whole mystery kind
of unveil to you, it's one that you don't really
want to think about too hard or else. Yeah, the
entire thing will fall apart. What did you think of it, David?

Speaker 1 (02:27:32):
Yeah, Look, I went into this film with high expectations
because some other reviewers that I known had seen it
before me, and they were saying about how great it
was and that as a fan of Stephen King, I
would love this because they all know that I love
my Stephen King films. But I didn't love it. I've
got to say. I found there to be so many

(02:27:55):
holes in this storyline, like we were just talking off air,
and even little things like this is seventeen kids that
have gone missing. There is no way the FBI are
going to be leaving that up too local cops in
a country town or like a small town like this,

(02:28:16):
there's gonna be some Molder and Scully stuff going on here.
But to me, that wasn't fully looked at. Like I mean,
there's part of this movie that's set a month afterwards,
and it feels like the FBI has wrapped that up
and just gone in a too hard basket, can't find
these kids. And then you have Archer, the Josh Brolin character.

(02:28:37):
He spends a couple of hours looking into it and goes, oh,
I found something that nobody else has found, Like it's
just a little bit too convenient, but also just little
things like there is no way that Justine the Julian
Garner character would be allowed anywhere near the school while
she was a suspect in this and because no bodies
have been found and the kids haven't been found, it's

(02:28:59):
still very much an open case, Like she wouldn't be
allowed anywhere near the school, let alone returning back to
the school to teach, Like it just it doesn't make
any sense. But then I've got to be so careful
how I say this, But this movie preempts itself in
a really bad way. Like I was when I was

(02:29:21):
watching it. I was comparing it to a film that
I Love I Love Prisoners, the movie with Hugh Jackman,
and you have a character in that film where it's like,
for most of the film as an audience, you sit
there thinking, no, it's far too obvious that it's that guy.
And then the two the dad and the cop that's

(02:29:42):
investigating it, realized it is that guy, but they can't
find any evidence. But they also don't want to arrest
him because if they arrest him and they can't find
the kid, then the kid's going to die. So there's
a reason for that, and like, yeah, it does preempt
it with yeah, this guy is freaky, he's the killer.
Plays up to that by kind of like saying, well, yeah,

(02:30:02):
they know he's the killer too, but they can't do anything,
whereas this does something and I can't say it that's
that's annoying me, But yeah, it preempts what's actually happened
by putting that suspicion on another character. But it's done
in a really clumsy and I feel a bad way,

(02:30:24):
Like there's so many different things that could have happened
in this film, and really what you should be thinking
for a majority of this film is is it supernatural?
Is it a serial killer? Like for a while, I
was wondering whether it was cult related, like because I've
watched so many cult movies. It's like, is it like

(02:30:44):
about child's sacrifice, like did something happen? Had to happen,
And then of course being a stranger things found, I'm thinking, oh,
is there a parallel universe kind of thing attached to it?
And so for them to to kind of go, it's
this and then have it revealing Oh, it was that,
but someone else to me just kind of was a little.

Speaker 27 (02:31:05):
Bit lazy ruined the surprising.

Speaker 9 (02:31:07):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (02:31:08):
So, and I think it just became too unbelievable in
the end, Like I don't mind a supernatural storyline coming
into a film like this, but when it starts to
get to the point where it's like really unbelievable and
you're thinking, well, hang on a minute. Like the there's
a time here where the school principle played by Benedict

(02:31:29):
Wong it is talking with another character who suddenly appears
on the scene and he's got no questions about that.
He just believes everything that they say and doesn't really
like question anything about that. That's not what a school
principal would do, especially not a school principal that's just
had seventeen of his students disappeared. His first paul would

(02:31:53):
be to law enforcement saying, hey, there's something weird going
on here. But all of that stuff kind of just
gets pushed in. Some one said to me also today,
which I hadn't thought about as well. So much of
the stuff in this happens in broad daylight, but nobody
questions anything. I mean, you have a character running in
a weird way and attacking a woman and the person

(02:32:14):
in the shop doesn't even want to know about it,
Like it's it just doesn't make sense, like the cops
would have been told about that, like for sure. And yeah,
to me, there's just too many holes to make this
film plausible, even though it is a supernatural So yeah.

Speaker 27 (02:32:31):
Like because that's the thing, Like I know, I think
I in my review I did give it and I'll
have to I'll have to eat my score here. I'll
have to give it the skin score later because it
was an interesting I think this is why people are
giving it such high praise, because it is kind of
an interesting film to watch, and the individual stories like

(02:32:56):
you see you see all the different characters stories like
archers story and and Alex's story and Justin Gandhi the
teacher like her story, Like all their individual stories are
so interesting to watch play out, and you actually kind

(02:33:17):
of when you're watching them, and the stories about addiction
and infidelity and police brutality. There's all these different things
going on in the movie, and you're so engaged in
that that you actually completely forget about the seventeen chilren
children thing, like I did several times because I was

(02:33:37):
just focused on their individual stories. I think that was
really interesting me too, Yeah, And I think that's why
that's why people really find the film, are really giving
it an overall praise. But I think once it actually
tries to tie it all together, it's it's done in
a very loose way, I think.

Speaker 1 (02:33:58):
And I think it's just the ending that kind of
ruins that. Like there's a there's an element to this
of of the Ryan Philippe movie Crash, and also like
because I love that style, like Go is one of
my favorite movies at all time. I love that style
when they write it from different people's point of view,
and I think this film was working when it was
Justine's point of view, when it was Archer's point of view,

(02:34:21):
when it was Paul's point of view, even like right
through to James. I think even his point of view worked, just.

Speaker 27 (02:34:29):
The story of this junkie.

Speaker 1 (02:34:31):
Yeah yeah, and like there's there's almost he's almost the
perfect foil there as well, because who's going to listen
to him? Like he's the town loser who lives in
the woods and seems to have a name for himself
with the cops that want to get rid of him
out of town. He's the perfect foil in this story,
Like if the real killer wanted to make it look

(02:34:53):
like him, and even if he sees some of the
supernatural stuff, no one's going to believe him anyway. They're
just going to think that he's on. It's funny because
it feels like Craiger has set up all of that
stuff to work like so well, like this is almost
an episode of The X Files without Molder and Scully,

(02:35:14):
but just that ending, like I said to you before,
to me, it felt like an A twenty four ending,
where for me, with A twenty four movies, they either
really work or they really don't work. And the ones
for me that don't work is when they suddenly do
this kind of oh gotcha to the audience and like, oh,
you didn't realize that that character was really a bird.

Speaker 9 (02:35:35):
Hate.

Speaker 1 (02:35:36):
That kind of stuff, to me is just lazy writing.
And maybe that's because when I studied film at film school,
we were always taught the two most important parts to
your film script are the opening and the ending, and
when we were doing those classes, we used to sit
down and really really work on our endings, like it

(02:35:56):
does everything tie up? Is it plausible? Whereas these days
it feels like a lot of screenwriters get a get
out of jail free card by just going, oh, well,
you didn't know that this character had this super strength.
I've never revealed it before, but now I reveal it
to wrap up the film. Yeah, and it really feels
like it's it's really lazy writing. And I almost got
that with this one as well, where it's like you

(02:36:19):
couldn't have at least had that character appear earlier, like
in another like I don't know, it's difficult, but yeah,
like I said, with Prisoners, it's like the character is
there have the whole time, and as an audience, you
know that that's the killer, and they know it's the killer,
but they can't prove it. I think that works better
than what we have here.

Speaker 27 (02:36:38):
Yeah, Like it really is, because all these individual stories
that you're watching throughout the movie, they're all really they're intense,
it's interesting, but the actual mystery of what's going on
to these seventeen kids is really pushed to the side
because they're also the only one that's really really focusing
on the mystery of the kids is is Josh Prolin's character. Yeah,

(02:37:02):
and the whole thing, like what actually happened to them
and where they went, Like that's kind of really pushed
the side until the very last story and then suddenly
they try to rush more or less the supernatural kind
of thingy bingie, Yeah, that we can't really go into,
we can't talk about just how little sense it all makes. Yeah, yeah,
it really is kind of like, uh, and that's that's

(02:37:24):
why I think the problem with with the movie is
that it's a really interesting movie to watch on fold unfold,
and it kind of amboozles you a little bit because
it's it is still like a really satisfying the actual finale,
like the very very finale I thought was quite unsatisfying,
but it's it's satisfying to to watch the whole thing,

(02:37:46):
But then but yeah, just the actual the actual wrap
up of it. I think the character, the actors were
all great, and it's still another It's still like another
really interesting film from Kreger. I would like to see
him do something other than horror for his next movie.

Speaker 1 (02:38:05):
Yeah, but yeah, I.

Speaker 27 (02:38:07):
Guess, Yeah, an interesting film with a I think because
it doesn't take itself too seriously as well, Like there
is a lot of comedy, a lot of gags in it. Yeah,
not silly silly humor, but there's a lot of stuff
that you are okay, it's okay.

Speaker 1 (02:38:23):
Liam Neeson's not cracking yea, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 27 (02:38:26):
It's not naked gun comedy. Yeah, it's still it's stuff
where there will be people laughing in the audience watching
this movie because there are parts in it that you
just can't help but laugh at.

Speaker 9 (02:38:36):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (02:38:36):
I mean, because there is a way also to do
a supernatural movie like this and make it work. There's
a film from a few years ago, and I know
I'm probably mentioning films that people have never heard of,
but there was a movie a few years ago called
Antlers that came out with Carrie Russell and Jesse Plemmons,
and it's weird because it's a very similar story, whereas
it's a folk horror and Carrie Russell plays the teacher

(02:38:59):
where some students start to go missing. But that film
plays it up from the very start, like it shows
the supernatural horror that it's an Amerindian it's using Amerindian
mythology from Native American tribes in the film, but that's
set up from the very start that yeah, you've got
this dark, mysterious kind of town where everybody kind of

(02:39:23):
seems depressed to be there, and weird stuff happens. But
you kind of see it from the start, like with
the dream catches and everything like all around the town
and stuff like that, And it's like, I think that
actually helps the film, like in a sense, you know
that something supernatural is happening, but you're not sure what.

(02:39:44):
I'm sure if you're someone that is an expert in
American Indian mythology, then you would probably have a fair
idea what the creature is. But it just works from
the start knowing that, yeah, this creepy town has folk
horror background to it kind of thing. So whereas this

(02:40:04):
one doesn't. It kind of just goes all of a sudden, Yeah,
it suddenly blurts into the supernatural. So and we will
give you a get out of jail. If you want
to change your scar, you can change your score.

Speaker 27 (02:40:18):
I say that because, like when I wrote my review,
it was like really straight off to watching the movie.
I'd say, on your retrospect, i'd probably give this a
three and a half out of five. I gave it
a four in my written review because, like I said,
it is a it is a very satisfying to watch movie.
It is very interesting to watch movie. It's just one
that I don't think stands up to much second guessing.

Speaker 1 (02:40:41):
Yeah, look, I'm going to give it three out of five.
One of the bits I did like about this movie
was it had the the best possessed child rampage two
D in the movie that came out a few years ago.
So look, I'm going to give it three out of five.
It did have some of its merit, which I did
like some of the uh the early story in here.

(02:41:02):
I just think that it got a little bit lazy
once to introduce the supernatural thing, and there was far
too many implausible plot holes in this film as well.
So three out of five from me, three and a
half out of five from Kyle. That is weapons. It's
in cinemas now, so check your local guide cinema guide

(02:41:22):
to see where it's showing near you.

Speaker 29 (02:41:46):
It's like Sayer.

Speaker 36 (02:41:48):
It's like Sayer.

Speaker 3 (02:41:51):
Starts by.

Speaker 4 (02:41:54):
Man as Amy.

Speaker 14 (02:42:00):
High photage. Been with touch Ben, which is.

Speaker 37 (02:42:05):
Dangles Danja, my call Tess, when we cuts light, we
kiss right with touch danger danger.

Speaker 4 (02:42:16):
My phot is.

Speaker 19 (02:42:17):
Plan with us when wich is danger danger My potage
O Ben with touch.

Speaker 36 (02:42:26):
Light we kiss, been with us light We cha.

Speaker 3 (02:43:00):
No, it can't not in fi us.

Speaker 19 (02:43:04):
It's my desire.

Speaker 4 (02:43:06):
It's my desire. Don't you want to know.

Speaker 14 (02:43:08):
Why want you to start to fire us?

Speaker 3 (02:43:12):
It's my desire.

Speaker 4 (02:43:14):
It's my desire of.

Speaker 38 (02:43:15):
Changers danger, high footage. When we touched, when wich is
dangers change up. It's high voltage where it us, where.

Speaker 14 (02:43:29):
We kiss, where it does from danger danger, high.

Speaker 36 (02:43:34):
Voltage when with us, then with your sas danger danger
high voltage, when we us where we just when it
does where we just love.

Speaker 14 (02:44:02):
Fire, the disco fire, the disco fire in the stack.

Speaker 9 (02:44:08):
A mill.

Speaker 38 (02:44:10):
Fire, the disco fire, the disco fire in mard Jason mill.

Speaker 8 (02:44:20):
O day to help, Days to hell, Day to.

Speaker 16 (02:44:23):
Help bad laide.

Speaker 39 (02:45:16):
I'm playing far from the United States of la dropping
in from ouder space.

Speaker 9 (02:45:23):
It takes a day.

Speaker 39 (02:45:24):
Now I see the bug inside the motor race period
of the cavern.

Speaker 22 (02:45:31):
Or Brash and burn wouldever no deliberately square.

Speaker 39 (02:45:38):
There's bad beer in Addlae.

Speaker 14 (02:45:44):
Charlie Spence Scorte.

Speaker 18 (02:45:46):
Someone's like my ribs the rest of history.

Speaker 4 (02:45:50):
Now I am a fish from.

Speaker 22 (02:46:01):
Now it's spaning Side's learning that there is no.

Speaker 9 (02:46:08):
Repos for.

Speaker 4 (02:46:11):
Land.

Speaker 39 (02:46:43):
It's raining and.

Speaker 19 (02:46:47):
Faces waiting at a window.

Speaker 7 (02:46:51):
Boy said why.

Speaker 3 (02:46:54):
You could live anywhere?

Speaker 16 (02:46:57):
And I say, because of what?

Speaker 4 (02:47:03):
Because of what?

Speaker 8 (02:47:07):
Really?

Speaker 4 (02:47:07):
Really what?

Speaker 7 (02:47:24):
Therash And.

Speaker 1 (02:47:48):
That's it for this episode of Subculture meets the Popcorn Conspiracy.
Closing out there with Electric six and of course Ben
Folds as well because they've also announced tours in the
last week, so Harley, there is a lot of tours
going on at the moment. There's also a lot of
film related stuff happening in Australia as well.

Speaker 2 (02:48:09):
That's good to know because we were sort of struggling
for a while about you know, live shows and tours
coming out here. So having announcements is good good news.

Speaker 1 (02:48:22):
Definitely, and always jump onto Subcultuurre Entertainment dot com as well,
because as soon as those tour announcements come out, we've
got them up online, we get the press releases about them,
and they go online straight away. So if you'd been
on our site earlier this week, you would have seen
the Good Things Festival lineup announcement happen one minute after
they announced it. So yeah, definitely jump onto subculture Entertainment

(02:48:45):
dot com, and especially at the moment because Harley, you,
me and Kyle were all out and about at the
Melbourne International Film Festival and everything goes up onto the
website and our socials first, doesn't.

Speaker 2 (02:48:57):
It It does. Indeed, like we we'll see the movies
and do our reviews right away, get them up asap
so that you can go and check out what's at
the festival as well. Hopefully there's more seats at one
of the showings you can go and get to see.
I know that I was trying to add more to
my list of films, but two of the films I

(02:49:18):
wanted were already at capacity, so I'll keep checking back
just in case the spot opens up.

Speaker 1 (02:49:24):
Yeah, it's a bit like that this year. I've been
to a few screenings already and I've got to say
They've been absolutely packed. One of the screenings I even
went to was like in the middle of the afternoon
on a Sunday and that was packed. So yeah, it's
a very very popular festival this year. But we will
keep bringing you interviews and reviews from the festival, and

(02:49:44):
of course everything goes up online. But our socials, Harley,
what socials can people follow as well?

Speaker 2 (02:49:52):
Yeah, make sure to check out Subculture Entertainment on Facebook, Discord, Twitter,
or x and TikTok, also blue Sky or look for
a subculture Dave on Instagram and threads. And actually Kyle's
got a an Instagram as well. What's his.

Speaker 9 (02:50:12):
He is?

Speaker 1 (02:50:16):
Popcorn Conspiracy Kyle.

Speaker 2 (02:50:18):
That's right, Yes, that's the one. Yeah, they always get
it wrong. I'll try and put posts up of what
I've been to as well, but mine's going to be
a difficult one. I'll have to spell it out r
H O R n U D, but I'll link it
to to Dave and he'll put it up on the
on the subculture ones. So it makes more sense for

(02:50:41):
you guys.

Speaker 1 (02:50:41):
To find definitely and jump on Discord as well, because
we've been having some great chats on there recently. In fact,
some our listeners on there have actually put together some
lists for us to to play on the show once
we get Myth out of the way, we're going to
play some of those. We've got one where somebody put
together a list of the iconic song sort of turning
twenty this year, so songs that came out in two

(02:51:03):
thousand and five. And also the other day, when we
were messing around with the Burnt and Charles Boodhard interview,
someone put up a list of who they thought was
the greatest guitarists of all time. So yeah, we might
try and get some of those lists on air once
Myth is over as well.

Speaker 2 (02:51:23):
Yeah, that'd be good because we did reach out a
few episodes back to say, you know what, what do
you guys want to hear more of, Like, what list,
what discussion topics? So it's good that we're hearing back
from everyone.

Speaker 1 (02:51:36):
Yeah, definitely, So you and I might have to weigh
in on that one as well too, Harley the greatest
guitarists of all time, So that might.

Speaker 2 (02:51:42):
Be absolutely This is going to be another one where
where we spend the time thinking, oh, there are so
many great guitarists, and we try to mention some stuff
and then as soon as it's over, we realize, oh,
we've got this person and this person. I'm still remembering
things from our seventies an eighties episode, and it's driving
me nuts that I didn't mention all these bands and songs.

(02:52:06):
And I know from the eighties, Melan, Kim, Melon and
Kim were like the biggest thing until one of them
died of cancus suddenly and exactly Respectable I bought I
found their album on vinyl on my most recent trip
to Sydney, and I'm just so glad that I've got
this album. And I'm like, Respectable should have been on

(02:52:26):
that show, Like what the hell.

Speaker 1 (02:52:30):
I left out? One of my favorite it's one of
my favorite songs of all time is down in the
Park by Gary Newman, and I completely forgot it when
I was putting that this together.

Speaker 2 (02:52:37):
So yeah, and I can't and I just remember, like
Tina Turner, like all the great Tina Turner songs, What's
Love got to do with the Private Dancer? All that stuff, Like,
oh my god, all these things keep popping up in
my field of vision now I was like, oh, that
should have gone on the show.

Speaker 16 (02:52:53):
Damn it.

Speaker 1 (02:52:55):
Now I'm having flashbacks to back when I used to
play footy, because I'm pretty sure I might have done
a private dancer cover at one of the Stepford things
that we used to do for our footy team.

Speaker 2 (02:53:06):
So yeahs dressing days.

Speaker 1 (02:53:11):
Hey, look, it's not a footy night if there's not
cross dressing involved.

Speaker 2 (02:53:15):
Exactly.

Speaker 1 (02:53:16):
I may have been ginger spice at another one of those,
So yeah, we better get out of here right now
because we've got to get off to the Melbourne International
Film Festival. So I guess for now, I've been Dave.

Speaker 2 (02:53:29):
G and I've been Harley. Join us again this time
next week and check us out wherever you find your
podcast