Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This production is brought to you by the Recess Bell
and Oli is Arvin from Arren and the chip Match
And you're listening to the film Rea, whoa Alvin?
Speaker 2 (00:17):
No way, I can't believe we got Alvin from Alvin
and the Chipmunks to introduced the first episode of twenty
twenty five of the film Reel. On today's episode, we're
gonna be going over the best movies of twenty twenty four.
What should you be watching? That's what I'm gonna let
you know. So I got my top five movies of
the year. But before we get to that, I got
some honorable mentions. So some of these movies actually might
(00:40):
have come out in twenty twenty three, but these are
movies that I saw in theaters in twenty twenty four.
In fact, I saw one hundred and one movies in
theaters for twenty twenty four. Starting off the honorable mentions
is American Fiction. I thought this was a brilliant movie
about a black author who's very intelligent, and he realizes
(01:00):
he's too smart for his audiences, so he starts writing
very dumb down versions of black centric stories and he
becomes really famous for it. But he has this dilemma
that should he sell out and you know, it's a
really really good movie with a really good ending. Lisa
Frankenstein I thought was super fun. This is you know,
a lot of these movies I saw at the beginning
(01:21):
of the year, but I remember really enjoying Lisa Frankenstein,
a really fun, dark comedy that is a good introduction,
I think to horror.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Because it's not an r ridden movie.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
I think if you're twelve to seventeen, I think this
is a real good introduction to the genre of horror.
And I love the woman in it, Catherine Newton, I
think is one of my favorite young actresses going today.
Ordinary Angels is a really heartwarming story. It's based on
a true story about a family that's sort of down
in the dumpson one big tragedy happens after another, and
(01:53):
through the help of a woman in the town and
the support of a community, they're able to overcome a
real troubling time of their life. And it's definitely one
of the few times that I cried in theaters this year. Now,
Sidney Sweeney had a rough year for me. She was
in two of my least favorite movies of the year,
but I really enjoyed her in Immaculate. I didn't think
(02:14):
she was the strong point in that movie. But this
is a sick, twisted film about the church and nunneries
and the devil, and it had one.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
Of my favorite endings of the year.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
It pulled no punches, and I love that, particularly when
it comes to horror movies. I want sick and twisted
and it doesn't have to be a happy ending when
it comes to a horror movie. In this movie, the
final scenes in this movie are just batshit crazy, So
definitely recommend the film Immaculate. The First Omen is another movie,
similar sort of story with a woman who wants to
(02:48):
become a nun and a baby is being born, and
it's fucked up as well. It has very similar notes.
I definitely enjoyed the ending more so Tour to Immaculate,
but both movies were fantastic and really well shot, well
directed movies, good acting in both of them. It was
a good year for horror. Abigail was another movie that
(03:10):
I would love to show. The movie Abigail, and I'm
not going to even spoil what it's about because maybe
you didn't see the previous but this is a movie
that starts out as one thing and then thirty minutes
into the movie it becomes a completely different thing, and
I wish trailers didn't spoil this sort of twist that
happens in the movie.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
It's like the film from Dust Till Dawn.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
It starts off as you know, these robbers kidnapping people,
but then it becomes a vampire, you know, deadly sort
of movie. And that's the same vein of Abigail, where
it starts off as something and then just becomes something
completely different. A real fun time at the movies was
had when watching Abigail. Civil War was a great film,
and I thought it was gonna be a little more
(03:53):
political from watching the trailers. Essentially, it's a civil war
happening in modern times and it really didn't lean towards
any agenda.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Which I thought was great.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
It was about a couple of journalists covering the Civil
War that was happening and they need to go visit
the current president of the United States and just shit
hits the fan. You know, them trying to travel from
state to state, they encounter people from both sides.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
There's war going on, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
I wish more people went to go see that movie.
Thelma was another movie based on a true story. It's
about a woman who gets scammed from you know, you know,
old people get phone calls, and she got scammed out
of her money, her life savings, and she goes on
this adventure to get revenge on the person that took
her money. And it's another one that's based on the
(04:42):
true story that.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
I really enjoyed it.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
It just goes to show you old people could still
get out there, they could still kick ass if need be.
Probably the most controversial movie of the year was the
documentary m I Racist.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
I thought this movie was fantastic, and I think.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
A lot of people aren't even gonna give this movie
the light of because the director is controversial. He has
said a bunch of controversial things. But I do think
this movie should be seen by everybody, particularly because there's
these anti racism workshops that these scammers essentially run, and
they'll have these dinners and charge people tens of thousands
(05:18):
of dollars to basically tell you how to not be racist.
But it just comes across insincere and they're just grifters.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
They're trying to take your money.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
I mean if you really felt this way and you're
so passionate about, you know, stopping racism, why would you
charge all this ridiculous.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Amount of money to teach you, you know, your learning.
So I think it should be seen.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
I can understand why people wouldn't want to see it
because the guy is controversial, but it's a well made
documentary for sure, and it definitely should have been nominated
for an Academy Award or Golden Globe, and it's not
going to because the guy's just too controversial. Blink Twice
was great. Channing Tatum a really phenomenal performance.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
This is sort of poking.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Light at I guess Epstein, Jeffrey Epstein. His character in
the movie, Channing Tatum is a famous person that does
something horrific and then he gets an island and sort
of just has retreats there and unwinds and tries to
change his past, but in reality he's just a piece
of crap. This has a very satisfying ending. It's an
(06:21):
fed up movie for sure, but definitely one of my favorites.
And Channing Tatum has proven he has some acting chops.
I thought he was fantastic in this one. So those
are some of my honorable mentions just missing the top
five would be Anora.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
I love the film, but.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
I mentioned a few times endings to movies and how
important that is to me. The ending of the movie
Anorra just didn't hit, but everything else was so good.
It's probably one of the funnier movies of the year.
It's a sick, twisted, dark comedy, and the lead actress
was beautiful.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
She was brilliant.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
And the basic story is this is a Cinderella type
of story where a woman who's a stripper. It's this
Russian billionaire who essentially just pays.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Her to be.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
A sex worker, and then eventually he proposes to her,
but it turns out he's just some bratty, you know,
young kid that doesn't really even have a backbone, and
hilarity ensues and there's a chase going on and criminals
and it's definitely it just missed the top five.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
It is a fantastic movie.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
I just wasn't fully satisfied with the ending of Anora.
So those are my honorable mentions. Let's get to the
top five movies.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Of twenty twenty four.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Number five is a film called My Penguin Friend.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Why is a penguin in our home. It needs o help.
Look at this oil on you. I'll move. I always
get you clean.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
It's penguin.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
His name should be moving. This is such a sweet movie.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
It's based on a true story. A lot of the
movies I've mentioned are based on true stories, and this
tells the story of a man who goes through a
tragedy in his life. And I'm not gonna say exactly
what happens because I want you guys.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
To all see all of these movies.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
He has a tragedy in his life and then a
couple of years later, years go by. He's an older
man and he happens to come across a penguin, but
he lives in Brazil. This penguin should not be here,
and the penguin's all aftop it has, you know, an
oil spill accident, and he has to rehabilitate this penguin
and he forms this bond with this penguin, and then
(08:42):
eventually he sends him off on his way so we
could go, you know, to a colder environment. But the
penguin returns the next year. And this happens for a
year after year after year, and it's it's just really heartwarming,
and there's trouble that happens. The penguin doesn't come back
one year and then and he goes on this rescue mission.
It's It's a movie that I would definitely recommend for everybody.
(09:05):
I think older people will enjoy this, younger kids would
enjoy this. It's heartwarming and it's just a smaller type
of movie. I wish more movies like this were made,
so definitely check it out. It's My Penguin Friend. Coming
in at number four on my list for best movies
of twenty twenty four is super Man The Christopher Reeves Story.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Mister Greeve currently has no movement for spontaneous respiration. Superman crazy.
Just that simple little thing over the horse. I'd ruined
my life and everybody else's. I won't fay able to
ski sale, throw them all the will won't be able
to make love to Dana. Maybe we should let me go.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
What a heartbreaking story this was, and at the same
time it was also uplifting. This is a movie that
for people I don't know.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Who Christopher Reeve is. He's the guy who played.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Superman in the seventies eighties, and he had a horrific
accident on a horse in the nineties and became paralyzed.
And yeah, it sounds sad, and it definitely is, but
it also I think is an inspiring movie for sure,
because this guy who is a quadriplegic and seemingly just
(10:19):
gave up on life. You know, he didn't want to
live after finding out.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
The news of this tragedy. By the way, this is.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
A documentary for people who are wondering. And I don't know,
movies like this, they always make me feel like I
should never give up. And I think that's important because
I haven't dealt with anything that Christopher Reeve has dealt with,
but I've had my issues here and there, and every
now and then you just feel like, damn, I don't
know if I could go on anymore. But seeing this
(10:48):
guy who was once Superman and then was just you know,
a quadriplegic, and he said, you know what, I'm I'm
not going to give up. I am going to fight this.
I'm going to walk again one day and you know,
I'm not gonna say what happens, but it's just it's
one of those movies where you look at your life
(11:10):
and you think if this guy can fight. We all
can fight, and it's an interesting story just his his
life even before this accident was very interesting because he
was Superman and then he wasn't really able to break
away from that role. He was typecast in the sense,
you know, as Superman, so to go from that story
which was already interesting, to his post life of you know,
(11:33):
being in a wheelchair and fighting and raising money and
awareness and there's controversies with stem cell research. He was
one of the big advocates for stem cell research. So
really great documentary. I'm hoping it wins the Oscar this
year for Best Documentary. And it is my number four
favorite movie of twenty twenty four. So for this list,
(11:53):
before we get to number three, I really just talked
about movies I saw in theaters, but I did want
to give a quick shout out to two of documentaries
that I did watch at home, and I guess I'd
say they're just as good as the Superman documentary, This
Christopher Reeve documentary, and one is Jim Henson idm Man,
which is on Disney Plus all about the life of
(12:14):
Jim Henson, who I think is an absolute genius. The
only issue I had with it. It should have been longer.
This should have been a multiple part documentary. It's only
just under two hours. It could have easily been a
multiple part, you know, eight hour documentary because there's a
lot of stuff they didn't touch upon. And then I
also love the John Williams documentary also on Disney Plus,
(12:36):
music by John Williams. After watching this, I'll say he's
the greatest film composer of all time. You know, I
love him, but I always loved James Horner a little
bit more, but after this documentary, he's such a genius
John Williams.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
So definitely check out those two if you do.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Have Disney Plus. Let's move on to the number three
best movie of twenty twenty four, and.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
It is The Wild Robot. Sometimes to survive, we must
become more than we were programmed to be.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
I knew i'd love this movie right from the trailer.
It was actually one of my more anticipated, if not
my most anticipated movie of twenty twenty four, and it
did not disappoint at all.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
The story of a robot that is.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Malfunctioned of sorts and sent off to a land where
it's not supposed to be in the forest with a
bunch of animals and all these animals are terrified of
this robot, but it has this heart of gold and
learns to become a mother of sorts to a young
goose who doesn't have a mother, And like my penguin friend,
it also has deeper meaning towards it. And it's a
(13:49):
movie that again, kids will enjoy, but I think parents
will also enjoy this movie. I know several parents that
took their kids to this movie that told me that
they were crying while while the movie. Particularly mothers, I
think we'll find this movie really heartwarming and emotional, especially
even if if you've had a like a miscarriage.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
I know that sounds like sick and twisted.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
How could this, you know, animated movie Wild Robot be
about something so dark, But if you've gone through, you know,
a childbirth that didn't work out, or if you know
somebody that was adopted, and I think that movie, this
movie will hit home really well. And it's animated beautifully,
voice cast thing is perfection, and it's just a really heartwarming,
(14:34):
engaging sort of story about a robot raising a goose
and trying to teach this goose how to fly and
how to migrate and I love movies like this. I
love the idea of this, this robot not being accepted
by the forest animals, but then eventually forming this bond
(14:55):
with all of them and fighting for their survival. And
it is heartwarming and it's heartbreaking and and it's perfect.
It's a fantastic movie. And that's why it is number
three on my list of best movies of twenty twenty four.
Let's move on to number two, Late Night with the Devil,
Well Night Owls. We've got a heck of a show
in store for you tonight, and I'm very excited for
(15:16):
you to.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
See it all unfold before your very eyes. I really
hope you love it. God, I hope you love it.
Love it, you love it.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
You don't really get too many movies set in the seventies,
and I love the history of television, especially those late
night shows from back then. You're Dick Cavitz and you're
Johnny Carson. So this plays into something that I'm already
interested in, mixing it in with the horror elements. It's
something that was catered perfectly for Justin Greenberg. And the
(15:45):
story is about a late night talk show host who
is failing. He doesn't have the numbers that he once had,
and he's had tragedy in his life. And it's Halloween
night and he wants to get a ratings boost, and
he decides to have some interesting guests on his show.
And the main thing I really love about this movie
is the way that it looks, because it's shot like
(16:07):
a seventies talk show, and I thought that was such
a unique sort of way to go about making a movie.
So this talk show host invites a girl who claims
to be possessed by the devil. On the show, there's
somebody on the show that is a skeptic for you know,
what's actually happening, And I don't want to get into
too much of what actually happens, but that's the basic plot.
(16:30):
And the acting is great. Like I said, the visuals
are fantastic. I know there was a minor controversial thing
because they used AI For like a split second, I
didn't see that this was anything that would be controversial
at all, if I'm gonna be honest with you. But
it's definitely a movie I think, out of all the
movies that I've mentioned so far, it's the movie I
want to watch again. And I'm gonna eventually watch all
(16:53):
these movies again, but this is the one I want
to watch, like right now, because it's been a while.
I think it came out February or so, and it's
really really good, and I bet you there's things that
I missed.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
I don't know if all these movies are for everybody.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
That's another thing. These are my personal movies. I think
something like this people would enjoy, but I think there
are elements of it that they wouldn't enjoy, where something
like My Penguin Friend I think would be acceptable for everybody.
I think if you watch the Christopher Reeve documentary and
you didn't like it, I think something's actually mentally wrong
with you. If you watch Late Night with the Devil
(17:29):
and didn't like it, I could understand that. I could,
because it does get a little.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
Bit weird at the end, But weird is good. I
like weird.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Like I said at the beginning, this is a movie
that I think was catered particularly for people that like
the type of movies that I like. And that's why
I have Late Night with the Devil at number two.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
But what is number one?
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Let's find out my number one movie of twenty twenty
four is the Substance?
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Have you ever dreamt of a better version of yourself? Younger,
more beautiful, more perfect.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
We talked about The Substance a few weeks ago on
the show with my buddy Antonio, and we both loved
this movie and thinking about it even more so as
the months have gone on since I've actually seen the movie.
It had to be number one. It just had to be.
Everything about it is again catered towards me. It's sick,
(18:26):
it's twisted, it's funny, it's a dark comedy for people
that don't know the basic plot of the Substance is
there's this down on her luck actress.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
And that's actually interesting that.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
I've talked about that, you know, Christopher Reeve being a
down on his luck, you know, sort of actor and
not being able to get work the Late Night with
the Devil host being you know, a host that was
once more famous than he once was. And that's sort of,
you know, similar with The Substance, because there's this actress
who was really famous in the eighties and she's become
this sort of workout guru, I guess Richard Simmons type
(18:59):
of you know, a character that presents workout videos and
she's lost her fame. She was once youing on top
of the world. Now she's bottom of the barrel. And
she's older, and in Hollywood, the older you are, particularly
if you're a woman, you lose out on jobs. So
there's a lot of allegories for this movie pointing out
(19:20):
some of the hypocrisies in Hollywood and some of the
body issues that I guess some actresses go through and
actors as well. So this woman she sees that she's
being phased out, and she finds out about this breakthrough
treatment called the substance, which makes another version of her
pop out of her back. I know that sounds super
(19:43):
weird and it might not make sense, but another version
of her gets to live their own life. But they
are one that has to be. You know, said that
they are the same person. But it's so confusing when
speaking it, but if you're watching it, you'll understand exactly
what's going on. Again, I think this could also represent
(20:06):
something like a maybe like an addiction, because when when
you're taking medication and you're or addicted to a medication
or addicted to pills or drugs or booze, you become
someone else, but you are the same person. I could
definitely see the writer and director thinking that there are
symbolisms and allegories as I mentioned for other things.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
But basically, you know what, I'm gonna go to the Wikipedia.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
Maybe they'll have a better explanation as the exactly you know,
the rules of what's going on in the substance. So
the two bodies must switch consciousness every seven days without exception,
with the inactive body remaining unconscious and fed intravenously with
a weekly food supply. Daily injections of a stabilizer fluid
(20:53):
extracted from the original body are necessary to prevent yourself
from deteriorating. But like I said, this is just a
movie that touches upon getting older and the length that
you will go to to stay young. So for women
in Hollywood getting plastic surgery, taking experimental drugs, euro zen Fix,
(21:15):
all these sort of things that have come out in
recent years, this is, you know, shedding light on that
in a weird, twisted body horror sort of way. And
then the final act of this movie is just batshit
crazy and it's everything I love.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
I love these types.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Of crazy body horror eighties types films. You know, your
movies like the Thing and the Fly. If you like
movies like that, you'll definitely love the last act of
this movie. But the acting is fantastic. The music is
my favorite. It's my favorite score of the year. Visually,
it's an amazing looking movie. I got vibes of the
Shining for sure. There's a lot of hallway scenes that
(21:53):
got me feeling like the shining and the colors and
the music and the women are beautiful, and it's everything
I loved about the movie, particularly when everything just fucking
gets crazy at the end.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
It's one of those movies that.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
I personally can't wait to watch again and again and again,
and that is why it is my number one favorite
movie of twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
Check out all these movies.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
I don't know if the substance is for everybody, but
if you like fucked up shit, you'll definitely enjoy that movie. Now,
I'm gonna tell you next week what movies to avoid,
because I'm gonna have my top five worst movies of
twenty twenty four. And maybe we can have another Chipmunk,
perhaps introduce the show.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
I don't know. I heard Theodore is a big fan
of the film Reel. Thank you all for listening so long,