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Mike talks to director Paul King about how he brought his vision to life with Wonka. Paul talks about why he wanted Timothée Chalamet to play Wonka, what he loved about the original that he didn’t get to include in his version and how he feels about people being surprised to learn the film is a musical.  Mike then talks to Calah Lane who plays Noodle in Wonka. She talks about what it was like seeing herself on the big screen for the first time, her process of learning lines and what she learned from her co-star Timothée Chalamet. In the Movie Review, Mike talks about Drive-Away Dolls. He talks about Margaret Qualley's standout performance, the film's hard R-rating and what it did right and what it lacked in its 1 hour and 20 minute runtime. In the Trailer Park, Mike talks about Twisters, the sequel to one of his favorite movies of all-time. The question is does he hate it or love it now that the first look has arrived? 

 

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, and welcome back to movie Mike's movie podcast. I
am your host Movie Mike, Big episode for you Today,
we're talking to the director of Wonka, Paul King.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
We're talking to Kayla Lene, who played Noodle in the movie.

Speaker 1 (00:10):
The original one is obviously one of my favorite movies
of all time, and I also was a big fan
of the version with Timothy shallow May so I can't
wait to dive into these interviews. In the movie review,
we'll be talking about Drive Away Dolls, which is a
new comedy thriller. I'll give you my thoughts on that
if you go see it in theaters or wait for streaming.
And in the trailer park, we're talking about another new
chapter of one of my favorite movies of all time, Twisters.

(00:33):
I've been inching to talk about it since a debuted
back during the Super Bowl, so it looks like the
theme of today's episode, at least in the interviews and
in the trailer park, we're looking at new chapters to
two of my favorite movies of all time that easily
land in my top ten. So thank you for being here,
thank you for being subscribed, thank you for telling your friend.
Shout out to the Monday Morning Movie Crew. He now,
let's talk.

Speaker 3 (00:54):
Movies in a world where everyone and their mother has
a podcast. One man stay to infiltrate the ears of
listeners like never before in a movie podcast. A man
with so much movie knowledge, he's basically like a walking
IMTB with glasses. From the Nashville Podcast Network, this is

(01:15):
Movie Mike's Movie Podcast.

Speaker 1 (01:18):
About to get into my interview with director Paul King.
He is the director of Wonka, which is available now
on digital so you can watch it head home. It's
also gonna be available on four KUHD on February twenty seventh,
So if you're listening to this episode on release day,
that's tomorrow. If you're listening any other day after February
twenty seventh, it's available now. I highly recommend this movie

(01:39):
if you are a fan of the original movie, because
that is one of my top ten favorite movies of
all time. So going into this film, which is a
companion piece, not a remake, not a reboot, It is
a prequel to that original story of Willie Wonka.

Speaker 2 (01:55):
Way before he gets to the chocolate factory.

Speaker 1 (01:58):
It is a young Wonka try to open his own
candy shop, goes to a new City has no money,
and then realizes that it's going to be really tough
to do because there are people in this city who
already run and have a lock on the candy and
chocolate department, and they don't want him to succeed.

Speaker 2 (02:14):
But Willie Wonka.

Speaker 1 (02:16):
Knows where there's a will, there is a way, so
he teams up with some people who see his vision,
see his big plan, and help him accomplish his dream.
This movie has fantastic visuals and fantastic music, which I
really feel like compliments the first movie, which the reason
that movie is one of my favorites of all time
is because it has everything inside of it that I

(02:38):
look for in a movie. It's so theatrical, The musical
numbers are very big and memorable. They have incredible set design,
incredible wardrobe. But at the core of it, it is
such a great story about Charlie Buckett, a kid who.

Speaker 2 (02:52):
Comes from nothing poor.

Speaker 1 (02:53):
He is hungry, and all he wants to do is
really be able to provide for his family and give
them something to eat, and really just try to find
a way to feel like a normal kid, because since
he doesn't have a normal life, he doesn't get to experience,
those little things like having a part of chocolate seems
so out of reach for him. So I think as

(03:14):
a kid, I truly just identified with that. And I
feel like this movie spans generations because I was born
in ninety one. The movie came out twenty years before
I was even born, but it still feels like my childhood.
And I've gone back to this movie so many times
because i just want to feel that again. And I
think because this movie was done with so much practical effects,

(03:36):
and because Jane Wilder is so amazing, it is really
a timeless movie. Particularly That's probably why I didn't love
the Johnny Depp version, which was directed by Tim Burton,
because it had so much more cgi the oplumpas were
played by one person that was duplicated throughout the film.
It just didn't really have that same feel to it.

(03:56):
But with Paul King's version, it does a really great
job at honoring that first one but also giving it
a modern feel even though it's a prequel, with all
of the special effects being a lot more expensive looking
and elaborate, and obviously using that to heighten the story,
but without it feeling so overproduced and looking completely unrecognizable.

(04:18):
There is still so much life to this movie with
all of the fantastic elements, but at the core of it,
like the original, it is just a great story about
a young Willy Wonka trying to make his name known,
gives him a really great backstory, and also presents some
really new, great characters like Noodle, who we'll hear from
Kayla Lane later about what she loved about playing that character.

(04:39):
So I really feel like this movie has something for everybody.
So again, you can own Wonka now on digital and
on four k UHD on February twenty seventh. Let's get
into these interviews. First, we're talking to director Paul King,
who also directed Paddington I and Paddington two. He is
the first director I've talked to they can say he
has a movie with a ninety nine percent Ron Tomatoes score,

(05:00):
and that is well deserved for Paddington too. So let's
talk to Paul now about why he wanted Timothy shallow
May to play Wonka, what he loved about the original
that he didn't get to include in his version, and
how he felt about people who had no idea going
into this movie that it was a musical.

Speaker 4 (05:16):
Carry you, Paul I'm really good.

Speaker 5 (05:17):
Thank you.

Speaker 6 (05:18):
How are you?

Speaker 2 (05:18):
I am great good to get to talk to you.

Speaker 1 (05:20):
The original Willie Wonka is one of my top ten
favorite movies of all time, so I hold it very
precious and after seeing Wonka, I completely loved it, and
I'd have to imagine it was such a hard thing
to do. And the thing I want to start with
first is I love the way Timothy shallow May portrayed Wonka.
Did you have that vision first before he was cast?
Or was he cast and then that vision happened and

(05:43):
it came to life.

Speaker 5 (05:44):
Well, that's a really good question. First of all, thank you.

Speaker 6 (05:47):
That means a huge amounts to me because the original
Willi Wonka is is right up there for me too,
and it's a daunting experience to kind of walk in
those footsteps. I think when I started working on the movie,
i'd been fortunate enough to meet Timothy in that kind
of year where he did call me by your name,
and Lady Burden knew what a wonderful actor he was,

(06:09):
and I really wanted to write something for him, and
so pretty much from the second David Haymees suggested a
young Willy Wonka film to me, I was like, well,
that could be Timothy Shallo.

Speaker 2 (06:19):
Mate.

Speaker 6 (06:20):
So there's obviously never a guarantee that you're going to
get the actor that you want, but in my head
I sort of went, well, him or someone like him,
I don't know who there is like him would be
absolutely wonderful in this world because he feels so sort
of mercurial, but he's also emotionally grounded and slightly unknowable,
and he has that whole sort of range. And I

(06:41):
felt that he could feel like a younger Willy Wonk
or you know, Geene Marder twenty years before the events
of that movie. Like it felt like there's a sort
of kinship there somehow, but without doing an impression. And
you know, once we've written the script and sort of
sent it to him, it's a nerve wracking moment because
you sort of go, if it's not you, I really.

Speaker 5 (07:00):
Don't know who it could have been. And I thank
my lucky stars.

Speaker 1 (07:03):
He said, yes, you mentioned Gen wilderlier And I got
to imagine when you're you know, had this vision of
this movie in your head, there's all these things you
want to pull from the original.

Speaker 2 (07:12):
Was there anything that you.

Speaker 1 (07:13):
Didn't get to put into this movie that you wanted
you from the original.

Speaker 2 (07:17):
Either it was too expensive, or it just didn't work,
or it just didn't make sense.

Speaker 6 (07:21):
There was one bit we tried to do the forward
role and the pop up thing, and it felt it
just felt a little shoehorned into the moment. It was
felt like kind of an Easter egg for the sake
of an Easter egg. And and we didn't do it
in the end because it felt like it was it
was there for fans rather than because it didn't serve
the story.

Speaker 5 (07:38):
So I think.

Speaker 6 (07:39):
But what was so funny was how much kind of
went in and some of it where it went in,
and I'd kind of forgotten where it had come from.
But you know, obviously I sort of imbibed the original
so much that it was sort of like would come
out and you sort of go just little bits of
choreography and little gestures, and we always kind of were
aware of it on set, where you go, oh, you
could do the cane thing, and you could do the
step thing, and and this is the coin and the

(08:01):
storm draining, and I think some of the kind of
building blocks. It was kind of really looking at that
movie and the original book and go here's the kind
of this is like the playground you're in.

Speaker 5 (08:11):
Now, go play with the toys.

Speaker 1 (08:12):
I think my favorite shot out of the entire movie,
Like I'm just a stickler for cinematography, and when I
see a great shot, I just make a note of it.
The one shot I made a note of it's whenever
there's that great silhou were to Timothy Shell, May you
really just see like the shadows on his face and
the outline of the hair, how much time goes into
just getting there one shot?

Speaker 6 (08:31):
Probably too much for that shot that was. I mean,
I love that shot so much, but it was it
was It was actually a find on the quite near
like on the day, I think that we had the
shot of him from behind with the behind the doors,
like when he opens the door and walks out, and
that was going to be our hero shot. And we
were setting it and went, oh, there's a lovely there's

(08:53):
a found that there was this lovely profile and chunking
Chung like incredible cinematographer. We then went, this is a
lovely angle. But we kind of wanted to get both
and we were sort of trying to get it and
then we were Okay, we're gonna have to stop everything
and get this silhouette perfect because it could be the
shots of the movie. And I do remember we filmed
it and it was like we sortaly did one where

(09:15):
he goes here we go Mama, and I was like,
that's definitely how the Treasure's going to start, and then
there it is.

Speaker 1 (09:22):
The thing about this movie is that it feels oddly
nostalgic for me. And I was born in the nineties,
so even the original came out was before my time.
But there are so many different generations of Willie Wanka fan.
Do you have the people who discovered it maybe in
the two thousands, the people who love the original, and
then it's a family movie at the same time, How
do you want that line of making a movie that's
appealing to kids but also appealing to the adults who

(09:45):
are just lifelong fans.

Speaker 6 (09:46):
Yeah, it's it's funny how that it is interesting, because
it's definitely I think most kind of like known characters
and known through one iteration, you know, like you sort
of go iron Man, say you go. Most people will
have come to it through the Robert Downey Junior, I
am man, you.

Speaker 5 (10:04):
Know, or you sort of gore.

Speaker 6 (10:05):
There will be some comic book fans, but you sort
of go, there's one kind of hero iteration.

Speaker 5 (10:09):
Willi Wanka really.

Speaker 6 (10:10):
Isn't like that, as you say, because there's the book,
which has an army of fans around the world, is
one of the best selling children's book of full time.
You got two absolutely beloved movies, and it's it's really
tricky to kind of to to sort of walk that line.
And I guess what I realized early on was you
sort of have to pick your hero references. And for me,

(10:30):
it was like the book first and foremost because that's
the kind of the mothership, and I didn't want to
do anything that wouldn't kind of sit comfortably with that.

Speaker 5 (10:38):
And then the g Moordel movies.

Speaker 6 (10:40):
So in my DNA, I mean, I was born in
the seventies, but I really grew up with that movie
as my Willy Wonka, so and there were so many
iconic choices they made that I kind of wanted to
honor in terms of like balancing kids and grown ups.
I sort of, for me my favorite family movies and
my favorite movies probably in general, movies that can can

(11:02):
appeal to everyone.

Speaker 5 (11:03):
And I never really.

Speaker 6 (11:04):
Try and go, here's a bit for the kids, and
here's a bit for the grown ups. Just try and
make something that's this exciting and fun for everyone, you know,
it's kind of I think my co writers Simon and I,
we're trying to make each other laugh and find things
that we find emotional or funny or silly or eccentric
or you know, touching, and if it works, pray that

(11:25):
there are enough people out there with our sense of
humor and sentiment.

Speaker 1 (11:29):
Well, I think it's such a great job and appealing
to everybody. The thing I was surprised about is a
lot of people somehow did it realize they were going
into a musical. Well, it's such a big part of
the first one. It's such a big a part of
the second one. The music is like the foundation of
the movie, Like it's a musical. Were you surprised about
that and people saying, ah, I had no idea as
a musical.

Speaker 5 (11:49):
Yeah, Well, I think it was. It's tricky because it's
sort of.

Speaker 6 (11:54):
A lot of the promotional materials didn't really have any
singing in them, or that you know, there would be
a shot. But it's a and I know there's a
sort of larger conversation about how musicals are sold, which
is is a really tricky thing to do because.

Speaker 1 (12:07):
It's almost like a bad word to say it's a musical,
like somebody's not gonna go watch it.

Speaker 2 (12:11):
That's what it feels like to me.

Speaker 5 (12:12):
I think I think that is true, and I think
some some people.

Speaker 6 (12:15):
The thing is some people will immediately just go, I
don't like a musical, and and that's the end of
their conversation. But I always kind of go, really, when
I meet somebody says they don't like musicals, and you go,
you don't like singing in the rain, and they're like,
the rain You what about sounding music? Well, obviously sound
of music's good.

Speaker 5 (12:31):
What you don't like? You I like all of those.

Speaker 6 (12:36):
Yeah, yeah, I think it's I think it's more that
so yeah, hopefully, hopefully. And I think what's difficult with
a musical with original songs like we have is that
you sort of go They're hard to get into promotional
materials because people don't know them, and you sort of go,
it's hard to kind of so it was easier for
the to lean on something like your imagination, where you go,
people know that one, they know the ump lumpus tune

(12:58):
and and and it's kind of there's a sort of recognition,
but hopefully people have enjoyed the songs when they got
to them eventually.

Speaker 1 (13:05):
I mean I had a song steck in my head.
I was leaving the theater singing scrub scrub.

Speaker 5 (13:09):
Yeah, me too.

Speaker 1 (13:11):
So you've succeeded at telling which I loved that this
was a companion piece and not a roommake, not a sequel.
You've succeeded at the young Willie Wanger story. I feel
like there's another story there because you really showed Wanco
and he was like bright eyed and bushy tail before
he had any level of cynicism which we saw in
the nineteen seventy one version. You think there's a story

(13:31):
there where he kind of starts to turn his perspective
a little bit, becomes a little bit more jaded.

Speaker 6 (13:36):
Yes, I do, Yes, I think there's absolutely a story there.
Think it's I think it's a real challenge with the
story where you feel he becomes more cynical and jaded
to sort of find an ending that is satisfactory. And
I think one of the things that liberated us for
this movie was to go, We're not going to try
and take him all the Way to the Chocolate Factory,

(13:56):
because he seems quite a sort of damaged soul at
the beginning of the Chocolate Batu. You know, he's rittly
reclusive and he's retreat it by the walls. So I
think there could absolutely be other Willing Wonk stories that
could work, and I would love to find one, but
they're hard to find. And in a way, the closer
you get to the beginning of Charlie that the harder
it gets, you know, to find a.

Speaker 5 (14:16):
Movie that works as a story. But we'll certainly give
it a go.

Speaker 2 (14:20):
Well, I'm in a prayer to my tickets already. I'm
already in for it. If you make it gay great,
Thank you, I appreciate it. Paul's great. Good to talk
to you.

Speaker 5 (14:27):
It's toy to you too, Thanks so much.

Speaker 1 (14:30):
Now let's talk to Kayla Laine, who played Noodle in
the movie.

Speaker 2 (14:33):
She is a young star on the rise.

Speaker 1 (14:35):
Her TV credits include Firebuds, Family Reunion, and This is
Us on NBC. She was also in Ryan Murphy's Hollywood
and Showtime's Kidding, starring Jim Carrey. She was only twelve
years old when she filmed this movie. She's fourteen now,
and to think that she was born the year I
graduated high school made me feel oddly old. So I
wanted to dive into the mind of a teenager who

(14:58):
just had their breakout role and it's starting to make
their name known in the world. I love her character
in this movie. I also love the energy she brought
in this interview. So now let's talk to Kayla Lane.
How are you?

Speaker 2 (15:08):
Kayla, Hi, good, how are you?

Speaker 1 (15:10):
I'm doing great, And I just want to say I
know you grew up in Fort Worth. I am from Waksahatchie,
so it's just amazing to see another fellow north text
and crushing it right now.

Speaker 4 (15:19):
Yep, me too. Wow, that's cool.

Speaker 1 (15:22):
So I imagine, like, what was it like the first
time you saw yourself on the big screen?

Speaker 4 (15:28):
I mean, like, I can't even lie. I was like
I was. I was like so nervous to see myself
on screen. I mean, I've seen myself on screen, but
to a movie that is this big. I was so
nervous to see myself on screen. I didn't know what
I looked like. I didn't know how when I first
saw myself on screen, I hadn't seen the movie at all.
I mean I've seen little clips and stuff, but I

(15:50):
hadn't seen anything, so I was just like, I was
like very nervous. But once I saw myself on screen
and I was like wow, it was just like it
took me. Like I was just literally crying. It was crazy.
I loved it.

Speaker 2 (16:04):
How supportive has your mom been through all this?

Speaker 4 (16:06):
I know she's, oh, yeah, very supportive. I couldn't. I
could not have done anything without my mom. I mean,
like she's helped me literally do everything. I mean she
helped me set up this this camera, like and she's
helped me everything, and yeah, like she's yeah, she's just
the best mom.

Speaker 2 (16:22):
Does she help you with your lines when you're to
des trying to figure out everything?

Speaker 4 (16:25):
Definitely? I mean I sometimes I would have like coaches,
but my mom was definitely my coach. She's my mamajer.
She helps me with everything. She helps me with She
also set up the camera, she helps with self taped,
she helps me learn my scripts. I mean like she's
she does everything.

Speaker 1 (16:40):
What is your process of learning your lines and how
long does it take you?

Speaker 4 (16:44):
Well, I've been learning lines since I was probably like
seven or eight. But it's very easy. Actually, it's very
easy to me, And well, I know, I've I've done
a lot of lines now, so it's kind of I
mean I should be it should be easier, but like
it's like super easy. All I have to do is
like read a couple of times over and I what
I actually do is I put it under my pillow,

(17:06):
so I kind of like sleep on it and in
the morning when I wake up, it feels like I
feel like I just have it in my brain. Like
that's just kind of like my technique of learning my lines.

Speaker 1 (17:15):
And how soon after filming and you're rapped with everything,
do you forget everything or could you, like right now
go back into a Noodle line.

Speaker 4 (17:21):
I could definitely go back into a Noodle line. Yes.

Speaker 1 (17:26):
The thing I loved about the character I think it's
such a great example for young girls or just young people.

Speaker 2 (17:33):
What is your favorite aspect of Noodle that you love.

Speaker 4 (17:36):
That's a good question. I love how much she commits
to things. She really she really has her dreams, and
she knows what she wants, and she has everything laid
out and she knows what she she plans to have
in the future. But she the only thing is she
doesn't she doesn't like think it's gonna happen. But she

(17:57):
has it all there, but she's like, I don't know,
I don't know, this probably isn't gonna happen, because you know,
I this is happening, and this is happening. But she's
very she's very timid with Willy at first because she
knows that she knows that people could become like enemies
at any time in her life, and so she doesn't
like to become friends with a lot of people. But
she knows exactly what she wants. She knows that she

(18:18):
wants she wants to see her mom again and all
those type of things. And I think that's like one
thing that I really like about her.

Speaker 1 (18:23):
Is how she Yeah, I heard that Timothy shallow May
has an interesting way of how he gets a new character.
You're working right alongside of him, did you see how
he gets into the Wonka character.

Speaker 4 (18:34):
Oh yeah, he kind of Just one thing that he
does that I like about him is that he likes
to walk around and set with his cane. He kind
of walks around with his cane and he kind of
swings it around and it kind of just gets into
that like Willy Wonka mindset. I've never seen him like
practice his lines or anything like that. But I have
seen him like he stays in character. Definitely. He definitely

(18:55):
stays in character all the time on set because he's
always goofing around and having fun. Yeah, he's definitely, he's
all the He's Willy Wonk all the time.

Speaker 2 (19:04):
So what was like the one thing you learned from
watching him?

Speaker 4 (19:07):
Ooh, one thing that I learned from watching him. I
definitely learned how to how to get into character because
he liked to like he like to kind of step
off and kind of like get into his character. I
would see him sometimes standing on to the side and
nobody's around him. He's just kind of getting into his character.
And I really, I really do admire that about him
because he just takes the time and like, Okay, you're

(19:29):
Willi Wanka. You get into that mindset and like I
I don't really do that. I I don't. I don't
do that at all. So to see him like stand
on the side and kind of put all that that
Willy Wonka energy inside of him was really cool.

Speaker 1 (19:42):
I appreciate the time, Kayla. Great talking to you, thank you.
Great talking to Paul Keane. Great talking to Kaylaleen, we'll
come back and talk about Drive Away Dolls, and then
in the trailer park we'll talk about what I think
about the new Twister movie. Let's get into it now.
Boiler Free movie review of Drive Away Dolls. This movie

(20:03):
was the palate cleanser that I needed. And we're in
a weird time for movies right now. January February, we're
still in the dumb months. We're about to get into
March with Dune coming out. But this is kind of
the movie I needed right now. A movie I didn't
really need to think a whole lot about, a movie
that was under ninety it was only an hour and
sixteen minutes from start to finish, at least up until

(20:25):
the credits, and a movie I didn't have to think
a whole lot about a movie that was very self
aware and on the joke. So all those things combined together,
and also that I didn't really know entirely what I
was getting into before going in to see this, I
think that led me to really enjoy this movie. I
will say right at the top, this movie is not
for everybody. Drive Away Dolls is a very hard arm movie.

(20:51):
A lot of graphic scenes, obviously a lot of language
and violence, but I think at the core of this
movie it has a lot of heart, It has some
good intention. So even myself, I don't think I was
a primary demographic for this movie, and looking at the
people in the theater when we went to go watch this,
I just found it interesting how everybody took in this movie,

(21:13):
which I'll get into more, but what the movie is about.
You have two girls who go on a last minute
trip to Tallahassee.

Speaker 2 (21:20):
Margaret Quailey plays.

Speaker 1 (21:21):
A girl named Jamie who is this really free spirit
from Texas. She talks with the Southern accent, and me
being from Texas, I always find it funny how somebody
chooses to take on a Texas accent, because they always
turn it up to attend. But I think in the
case of this movie, it actually played into it really well.
You also have her friend in the movie is named Marion,
who is this very up type person who is trying

(21:44):
to find somebody just to hook up with. And that
is really the entire plotline of this film. It kind
of has that classic dynamic of the odd couple. One
being very uptight and serious, likes to read, likes to
go home and go to sleep on time, and the
other one being the more wild person who can just
go into a bar, meet somebody and take them home.

(22:05):
Where the action takes place is on their trip to Tallahassee.
They are taking a drive away car, which is a
car you take from one location to another, and although
the movie never really says when it takes place, it
has a feeling of like the late seventies early eighties,
where something like this was a little bit more common.
So they go to rent a car to drive it

(22:25):
to Tallahassee, and at the same time, there are these
criminals who have contacted the same place and said, hey,
we're going to send a person to pick up a
car to take it to Tallahassee because it has to
be there tonight. And these criminals have placed something inside
the car that they.

Speaker 2 (22:41):
Don't really say what it is, but it's.

Speaker 1 (22:43):
Very incriminating and very important that it gets to Tallahassee
on time. The girls show up right after that guy
gets that phone call, so he thinks, oh, this has
to be the people they sent, so a classic mix
up case, and the movie is very wacky like this.
It kind of reminds me of the plotline in blame
check wherever they're gonna send somebody to pick up the
million dollar check. Preston Waters happens to go in because

(23:06):
he was given a blank check. He decides to write
it in for a million dollars. He shows up at
the right time and they're like, uh, they send a
kid to cash the million dollar check. They give him
the money, and then the criminals shows up right after
him and they're like, we just gave the money to
the kid. So nothing novel here in the premise, but
in the storytelling here it works because it's very animated storytelling.

(23:29):
It kind of reminded me a little bit of Scott
Pilgrim mixed with like road trip mixed with a little
bit of female dumb and dumber. They kind of have
that dynamic, even though neither of them are dumb. I
think just the fact that it's a road trip movie,
one of them is a little bit more reckless and
one of them is a little bit more by The
book also kind of reminded me of Jeff Daniels in

(23:49):
Something Wild. I just love road trip movies, and this
one really reminded me of a movie that probably would
have come out in the late nineties and early two thousands,
and this would have been a movie that would have
had so much success then because it had that kind
of feeling to me of this is a movie that
I would have loved to have discovered when I was younger,

(24:10):
probably like thirteen fourteen, where I probably should not have
been watching R rated movies, but at that time I did.

Speaker 2 (24:17):
I think we.

Speaker 1 (24:17):
Probably all did. And this film has that feeling of
if it were on a VHS tape, it would be
the movie passed around among friends. It kind of has
that cult classic vibe of like a Super Trooper that
nobody saw it in theaters really, but everybody saw it
on a VHS tape that just got passed around and
passed around. Nobody ever bought a copy. But somehow we

(24:39):
all watch these types of movies. So that makes me
excited knowing that movies like this are being made, even
though the financial ramifications of this movie aren't great, probably
cost about twenty million dollars to make and opening weekend
only made two point five million dollars. Again, it is
a weird time for movies right now, not a whole
lot of people motivated to get into the theaters. But

(25:03):
I think if it came out at a different time,
or even if it went straight to streaming, probably more
people would have seen it. And the movie has a
great director, Ethan Cohen, who he normally does movies with
his brother. You're probably familiar with the Coen brothers. They've
done movies like Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski, Burn After
reading My favorite, No Country for Old Men, And this

(25:23):
is the first movie that Ethan has done without his brother.
And the movie's not the biggest departure from the types
of films that they do. It still has that comedic
element to it, but it's a little bit more experimental
in some of the storytelling aspects. It is very cartoonish,
but on purpose very campy, and I think going into it,
I was expecting something a little bit different, a little

(25:45):
bit more grounded, but the movie really doesn't take place
in our reality. I don't necessarily love movies that are
just fun for the sake of being fun. That is
all fine if I'm watching a movie for free, but
if it's a movie that I'm going to the theater to
watch and pay money for, I don't really just want
to watch something ridiculously fun and leave, like h that

(26:07):
was a fun old time But in this case, the
things that helped it were the fact that Margaret Quaelely
was really good. Her character was very well written, and
she also showed how much of a rain she has
because she is an actress that I really loved and
made which is much more of a dramatic role.

Speaker 2 (26:25):
She's also been in movies like.

Speaker 1 (26:26):
Poor Things, and it was cool to see her in
a leading role and really show how much comedic timing
she had. But this movie allowed me to see a
different side of her, and I was really impressed by
that her and Geraldinevissenathwin had amazing chemistry and that is
really what was the driving force in this movie. You
also had Beanie Feldstein who was a supporting actor in
this and she played a cop and I already know

(26:47):
her work from Book Smart in her other films how
much great comedic timing she has. I won't say she
stole the show from the other actors, but without her
the movie would have had a little bit of a lull.
But she was definitely that something extra that the movie
needed to carry it along. Which is interesting because, like
I said, the movie is under an hour in twenty minutes,
so there's really just NonStop action, but in moments it

(27:10):
felt like they ran out of footage because they did
these little sequences in between that were almost like that
seventies show transition things where they have all the characters
spinning around in the little groovy kind of visual effects,
and some of those went on a little bit too long.
That's where they play some other actor cameos in between.

(27:31):
It almost felt like they were trying to stretch it
out a little bit, and that's what kind of made
me feel like they almost didn't have enough story or
maybe ran out of money to make the movie they
wanted to make, which leads me to my biggest criticism
with this movie. And again, I still found the movie entertaining.

Speaker 2 (27:50):
It was fun.

Speaker 1 (27:50):
I was in and out of there, so I never
really had time to not enjoy the movie. As a
matter of fact, at one point I had to use
the pressroom and I didn't leave because I didn't want
to miss anything. After all was said and done, I
thought to myself, what was the purpose of this movie?

Speaker 2 (28:05):
I just needed one.

Speaker 1 (28:06):
Thing to be the takeaway from the film, whether it
be just a comment on friendship, some kind of storyline
that went along that made me think, oh, this is
why I should tell people to go check out this movie.
But the entire story was really just set up to
make one joke. But the problem with that if you
end up not finding that joke funny, you really will

(28:27):
have a hard time enjoying this movie. And I can
tell it was kind of going for a modern day
Thelma and Louise with a heavy hand on the R
rating and the raunchiness. Even though I know I'm not
the key demographic for this movie, I still found myself
laughing out loud at times. But there's almost a point
in the movie where it makes you feel, as the

(28:48):
viewer that the joke is on you. You decided to
go see this movie, and now we're gonna shove cake
in your face. But overall, for Driveaway Dolls, I give
it three point five out of five road trips.

Speaker 2 (29:03):
It's time to head down to movie Mike.

Speaker 1 (29:06):
Trailer Paul, I have never been so nervous for a
trailer to drop.

Speaker 2 (29:13):
Came out back during the Super Bowl.

Speaker 1 (29:15):
Twister is one of my favorite movies of all time,
and I think is the movie that I've seen the most,
probably over fifty times. The reason I love the first
one so much is because growing up in a trailer park,
my biggest fear was tornadoes. There was nowhere to go
if a tornado hit our trailer park. So watching this
movie was kind of like how Batman would associate himself

(29:38):
with the thing he was scared about. Bats I thought
along those same lines, if I watched a movie about tornadoes,
I would become less intimidated by them. I wouldn't be
scared every time we got a threat of severe weather.
And it kind of helped, But what it really did
was make me develop a love for disaster movies, which

(29:59):
I feel is the genre that gets kind of ridiculed,
gets overlooked a little bit, gets reduced to nothing because yes,
maybe they are not the best films on paper, but
there is something about a disaster film that warms my
heart that It's kind of like how some people are
really into true crime. They'll eat up any podcasts or

(30:20):
any Netflix series. That is how I feel about disaster movies.
It could be the worst disaster movie of all time,
and there's still something that I grasp onto just because
I like the formula of it. And Twister has always
been the goat in my mind when it comes to
these movies. I also love the enselable cast of the
original movie with phillips seymore Hoffman, Helen Hunt, and Bill Paxton.

(30:42):
And how I wish that Bill Paxton and phillips seymore
Hoffman were still alive to be a part of this one.
And we'll talk about how really nobody from the original
one is returning to this movie.

Speaker 2 (30:52):
But this is the movie that I could quote line
for a line and also one that.

Speaker 1 (30:57):
I feel still holds up given the special effects, given
the technology at that time, not just that goes into
the movie, but the computers they're using and everything throughout
that would feel like, oh, this is completely a nineties movie.
So going into a new chapter, which is what Twisters is,
it's not a remake of the original. It's also not

(31:18):
a direct sequel. They are calling it a chapter in
the story. So in my mind that original one is
kind of erasing my memory as I go into this one.
And given the look at the first trailer, my initial
reaction is.

Speaker 2 (31:33):
I love it.

Speaker 1 (31:35):
So I'll get into more specifics, but the movie is
coming out this summer on July nineteenth. Before I get
into that, here is just a little bit of the
Twisters trailer. You thought you'd could destroyed a tornad, though
you never had a chance.

Speaker 2 (31:50):
Do you want one?

Speaker 3 (31:58):
You don't face your fears?

Speaker 2 (32:05):
You're right them.

Speaker 6 (32:09):
Dance.

Speaker 1 (32:13):
So even that just little line right there, it kind
of sounds like that we got Cayle's line from the
original movie. But they also have twin Twisters in the
original movie. But it's not just a direct ripoff line.
It still feels kind of like, Okay, we're going for
something different. We're gonna give nods to the original movie
to remind all the fans, hey, we see you, but

(32:35):
this is gonna be its own thing. I even see
it with the truck driven by Glenn Powell's character, which
is a nod to Bill Paxton's red ram truck that
he had in the original movie. I was kind of
hoping for the yellow truck that Helen Hunt drove, but
maybe that would be a little too on the nose.
But again, we're going for subtle references here that I
think will be the key to making this feel like

(32:55):
it's inside of that Twister world as to not confuse
people that this is some kind of a remake or
a sequel.

Speaker 2 (33:02):
So in this cast, we have Daisy.

Speaker 1 (33:04):
Edgar Jones, who I really loved and where the Crawdads Sing.
She plays Kate Cooper, and I originally thought that she
was going to be the daughter of Joe played by
Helen Hunt in the original one. It doesn't look like
they have any connection whatsoever, but still kind of going
for that same type of role, having that same kind
of character essence to her. We have Glenn Powell as

(33:25):
Tyler Owens and Anthony Ramos as Hobby, So those are
our three leads in this movie. So what is the
story about? Centers around Kate Cooper played by Daisy Edgar Jones.
She is a former stormchaser haunted by a devastating encounter
with the tornado during her college years, who is now
studying storm patterns.

Speaker 2 (33:43):
In New York City.

Speaker 1 (33:45):
And then she is lured back into the open planes
by your friend Hobby played by Anthony Jamos, and together
they are going to test a groundbreaking new tracking system.
So similar vibes and storylines to the original movie where
they are trying to get Dorothy in the air so
they could have all these sensors go into the tornado
and send them back information. Really the goal in the

(34:07):
original movie was they were trying to make tornado alerts faster,
therefore saving lives, So probably something similar here that they're
going to try and do. But then their characters cross
pass with Tyler Owens played by Glenn Powell, who has
described as a charming and reckless social media superstar who
thrives on posting his stormchasing content adventures online, so he

(34:29):
is really in it for the danger. So it looks
like Glenn Powell and Daisy Edgar Jones team up and
then they go against a competing storm chaser team, much
like they also did in the original movie. So a
lot of parallels here, and I think the action in
this trailer looks great. I really love how they are
showcasing the destruction of the tornado, which looks like a

(34:50):
lot more chaos. We see our main characters in some
really dangerous looking situations throughout this trailer, and what I
can't get over is how how much I think that
these scenes demand the big screen. Not only the visuals,
but the sound design in this trailer is fantastic. I
am waiting for that feeling of sitting in the theater

(35:11):
and hearing that rumble of all the storm sounds, the
wind and the rumble of the tornado. That is what
I'm looking forward to. That is what I want in
a big summer blockbuster of this caliber.

Speaker 2 (35:23):
The only thing that threw me.

Speaker 1 (35:25):
Off from the trailer just a little bit, but I
think it could be justified. I don't love the look
inside of the truck with the GoPro camera. I think
that dates it a little bit. And yes, the one
thing that stands out from watching the original is seeing
them on really big block computers, them not having cell phones,
which I think would be a lot different to make.

Speaker 2 (35:45):
That movie now.

Speaker 1 (35:47):
And obviously they have to update some of those things
a little bit by making Glenn Powell's character a social
media star. I just hope that doesn't come across as
being like, oh, now we're in twenty twenty four, or
we have to do all these things that the young
people are doing now. I get that that probably makes sense,
but that is what makes the original one feel timeless

(36:08):
to me.

Speaker 2 (36:08):
So you have all these great visuals.

Speaker 1 (36:10):
And then a kind of more low definition go pro
shot that a little bit takes me out of it.
But hopefully the reason they have it in there is
to give it kind of a gritty feeling to make
you feel like you are right there with them. Hopefully
that'll come across on the big screen as well. I
just don't love that shot right now. I think the
thing I'm looking forward to the most is finding out

(36:31):
how much chemistry Daisy Edgar Jones and Glenn Powell have together,
which is really what made the original work so well.
Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton together, that sexual tension they had,
and just all of their chemistry throughout the chase scenes
and the will they won't they and the comedic timing
of both of them, that is what makes that movie

(36:52):
so great, paired with a really great ensemble cast. So
hopefully all of these new actors have that same kind
of mesh that the original cast had, because aside from
the chemistry of Bill Paxton Helen Hunt, what made it
great was how much they bonded as a team and
how well defined all the characters were, the funny names

(37:13):
that all of them had, and you really got a
sense of not only did they have chemistry on screen,
but there were a lot of things going on behind
the scenes that they all got along together. And I
think when people are having fun while making a movie,
it really makes the entire thing show on screen, and
I want to kind of know that these actors bonded

(37:35):
a little bit, that they really form this team, and
that will make me more invested in their characters. Once
this movie is all said and done, and it's really
going to be the defining factor of is this going
to be a movie that comes out in twenty twenty
four and we forget about in a year, or is
this going to be a new staple, a new real

(37:56):
chapter in this story and solidify itself history.

Speaker 2 (38:00):
That is what I wanted to be.

Speaker 1 (38:01):
Those are the standards I have because the original one
has done that. It has stood the test of time
so much that thirty years later, they are making another
installment because the demand is there, And I think that
is the true test of is a movie worthy of that?
Are we gonna care about this movie after we leave
the theater or are we just getting baited into seeing

(38:22):
Glenn Powell in a tight white T shirt and a
cowboy hat. I mean, it looks great in it, but
I need a little bit more than that. So again,
the movie is coming out in theaters this summer. On
July nineteenth. We got a new chapter and we got Cows.

Speaker 3 (38:36):
And that was this week's edition of Movie.

Speaker 1 (38:38):
Line Framer Bar and that is going to do it
for another episode here of the podcast. But before I go,
I gotta give my listeners shout out of the week
This week, I'm going over to my Instagram dms and
the listener shout out of the week is the Patty
Foss who Patty sent me a question and said, as
much as I'd like to listen to all the podcasts,
I cannot. So my question is, is there a way

(39:00):
to search your reviews for a certain movie. I was
considering a movie today, which is rare, so I wanted
to know what your thoughts were on the movie. So, Patty,
thank you for that message. I think it's a question
a lot of people have. I would obviously encourage you
to listen to all the episodes, be subscribed, download every
single episode, but if.

Speaker 2 (39:20):
You can't do that, there are a couple of ways
you could do this.

Speaker 1 (39:23):
You could just google movie Mike's Movie podcasts and the
movie you were looking for that should bring up that
episode that I did the review on. So just look
in the title movie review and the title of the
movie you are looking for should be in the episode there.
You don't want to do that. I do have a
YouTube channel, so I have an entire library on there,
probably the last year and a half to two years

(39:44):
of just the movie reviews, so you can watch them there.
So also be sure to subscribe to that channel while
you were there. So thank you Patty for that question.
And since we had an interview on this week's episode,
I always give a secret emoji so you can get
next week's listener shout out. The secret emoji this week
is the chocolate bar. So comment with the chocolate bar

(40:05):
on the video I post with director Paul King on Instagram, Facebook,
and TikTok. I'll take one of those comments and make
it next week's Listener shout out of the week. Let
me know what you thought about that interview and let
me know your thoughts on Wonka. And until next time,
go out and watch good movies and I will talk
to you later
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Mike D

Mike D

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