Ep. 330: The Running Man / Now You See Me: Now You Don’t

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome Friendsis Come Podcast Podcasting time show Jacky again. Byeah,
they're talking to Welcome to Movie Film. It's episode three thirty,
brought to you by Mister Boy Productions. I'm Zachi is
sat I'm here with Brian Hall. Hey.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
How's it going, Zachi?

Speaker 1 (00:24):
Hey man? How are you? You know? I'm I'm I'm
ready for Thanksgiving?

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Yeah, you know, I'll say. It's uh, you know, middle
of November and we've had a lot of rain here
in Los Angeles and it's been kind of nice. So
I noticed on social media a lot of people were
in this weekend, and I saw a lot of people
posting that they put up their trees, their Christmas trees.

Speaker 1 (00:47):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
You know, everybody was like, you know what, let's lean
into this rain thing and make it cozy and enjoy
being inside. And I definitely did so. It was kind
of nice, kind of nice.

Speaker 1 (00:57):
Uh. No, no worries about mud slide down there, No, yes, worries.

Speaker 2 (01:05):
I mean not in my area, but I have read about,
you know, warnings, and of course anytime there's a lot
of rain out here. It's funny because you know, coming
from the Midwest, when you move out here and they're
like there's going to be a rainstorm and it's just, oh,
that's just like rain, you know, but it it. And
this is also a trope or a cliche out here,

(01:26):
but people always bring up the infrastructure. We don't have
the infrastructure for Midwest rain. So even when it just
normal rains out here, it creates flooding and like you said, mudslides.
So I haven't heard a whole lot about that, thankfully,
and it seems to have passed for now, so.

Speaker 1 (01:45):
Well fingers crossed. Yeah, I think you guys probably got
the same rainstorm that we had up here a couple
of days ago. And yeah, to your point, you know it,
it certainly feels like in California when it starts raining,
people forget how to drive. That is true. That is true. Also, Yeah,
I had to go from one school to another in

(02:07):
the middle of the day and normally it's like a
fifteen minute drive and it took thirty two minutes because
the stretch of the two eighty was like a slip
and slide and people were just you know, you ever
see in movies occasionally when they show somebody driving a
car and their hands on the steering wheel are moving, Yes, moving, way.

Speaker 2 (02:26):
Too much, right, yes, yes, more than the car is
moving in on screen.

Speaker 1 (02:31):
Yeah. Well probably for the first time in my life
I was driving like that.

Speaker 2 (02:35):
Oh wait why because of people, people and and rain.

Speaker 1 (02:41):
Wow? Yeah, yeah it was. It was, you know, quite
quite a situation. But the important thing is we're here.
It's good to have rain. We need rain. I just
prefer we not get it all at once. Yes, you know,
let's maybe parcel it out a little bit. I agree
with that.

Speaker 2 (02:56):
I love the rain because it's a change of pace.
But yeah, no, exactly, it's just when it dumps rained.
I thought I read somewhere that it said the rain
that just happened this past weekend was going to account
for twenty five percent of our rainfall this year.

Speaker 1 (03:12):
Oh geez, okay, that's pretty wild. Well, the good thing
about rainstorms occasionally get lightning, which which can which can
jolt dead bodies back to life.

Speaker 2 (03:21):
Yes, yes, hey, well it's funny you bring that up, Zachy.

Speaker 1 (03:24):
What are the odds? Yeah, yeah, I.

Speaker 2 (03:27):
Watched a documentary about Eddie Murphy on Netflix. Just kidch
I did, actually, but Frankenstein, yes, one of the most
famous people to be struck by lightning and brought to life.
Notwithstanding Jason vorhees.

Speaker 1 (03:41):
That is true.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
But yes, Frankenstein, I had been looking forward to this
because I read Frankenstein for the first time this year.

Speaker 1 (03:48):
You just read it recently.

Speaker 2 (03:49):
Read it recently one of those things that had been
on my list for a long long time. Read it,
really enjoyed it, and I had heard that Germo del
Toro was going to make a version faithful to the book,
so I was like, bring it on. This is perfect timing. Gotcha,
And I will say I'm very sad that I did

(04:09):
not get to see this in theaters. It did have
a limited run. I think they do that so they can,
you know, qualify for oscars, that's right, and also maybe
appease certain filmmakers that they need to appease. I think
I heard Zach Craiger, you know who did weapons. Yeah,
he was developing something over there, and I think it

(04:30):
fell apart because they wouldn't commit to a robust theatrical Okay,
really gotcha anyway, But Frankenstein, it's pretty good.

Speaker 1 (04:41):
You have you seen it? I haven't yet. I was
I was planning to next week, you know, when I
have a little bit of time off. But the reactions
I have heard have been so polarized, and that's sort
of fascinating to me, you know.

Speaker 2 (04:52):
Yeah, when I say pretty good, that's kind of what
I mean. Like I really would have loved to have
loved it, but I was like, that was pretty.

Speaker 1 (04:59):
Good, you know.

Speaker 2 (05:00):
And and it's an interesting movie, I mean, just getting
it out of the way, I mean comparing it to
the book, like the broad beats are there, which was
really fun for me. They do tweak several things, including
some characters. They add some characters, and they make some
major changes to characters and their relationships to one another.

(05:22):
But for the most part, I think I understood why.
And in the book, Frankenstein's monster is a little more
gray than black or white. You know.

Speaker 1 (05:34):
He can get a little.

Speaker 2 (05:34):
Aggressive and hurt people out of spite. Yeah, and in
this version, Jacob Elordi, who plays them, who does a
really good job. He's a little bit more of like
an Edward Scissorhands kind of you know, benevolent, sweet, innocent
kind of being who eventually gets a little violent, but

(05:56):
it's just because he's defending himself, you know, kind of
a thing.

Speaker 1 (06:00):
So would you say that this is interesting because the
book paints both the Monster and Victor, you know, the
Doctor as complicated figures who are neither black nor white.

Speaker 2 (06:15):
Yes, they go harder, I think a little bit on.
I mean, well, Victor always kind of sucks in the book,
just because he does.

Speaker 1 (06:21):
But he's but he's you know, he's not he's not
like I'm going to conquer the world. He's a prisoner
of his own ego.

Speaker 2 (06:29):
Yeah, yeah, and kind of careless, you know, like creates
this thing and doesn't understand it, so he abandons it.
And this one, yes, he's a little more maniacal.

Speaker 1 (06:38):
Okay, that that was my question in this one.

Speaker 2 (06:41):
Oscar Isaac plays Victor Frankenstein.

Speaker 1 (06:43):
But you know so, but I was able to just like, okay,
I enjoyed.

Speaker 2 (06:47):
Comparing them, but I was able to see it as
its own thing. But uh, it does feel a little slick, maybe,
like a little like a glosses over things or through
things and just kind of hurries along, and so it
doesn't get like super deep. You know, some of the

(07:10):
themes are are very you know, on the nose and
I but at the same time, I didn't hate it either,
Like I wouldn't have minded something that felt slightly more textured.
Character wise, and you know, there's some things that happened
between the character Elizabeth played by Mia Goth and Frankenstein's
Monster that feel a little like something that you could
tell del Toro wanted to happen. But I'm not sure

(07:32):
I bought it getting there so quickly gotcha.

Speaker 1 (07:36):
But I enjoyed it.

Speaker 2 (07:38):
You know, it's it's as long as it probably like
two twenty something like that to ours twenty minutes, I
will say it's it kind of bothers me. It's such
a gorgeous film, like the production design, the details. I mean,
it's just spectacular, but it does kind of suffer from
that streaming move. Look, okay, you know where like everything

(08:03):
just looks kind of flat, like there's no dimensionality to
things or shadows, and you know, like, what.

Speaker 1 (08:09):
What is it with that? Dude?

Speaker 2 (08:11):
I don't know. And we're going to talk about a
trailer later where I was going to bring this up also,
but I watched a video essay this weekend called why
Movies Just Don't Feel Real Anymore?

Speaker 1 (08:23):
So I think you and I have like the same
algorithm at this point. Oh, you've seen it. Does the
does the thumbnail have like Roy Scheider from Jaws. Yes,
Scarjom from the New Jurassic Yeah, that's it. Did you
watch it? I hit play on it and then I
was going to get back to it.

Speaker 2 (08:40):
It's it's very good. It's a little long, but I
do think he hits it something pretty apt, which is
it's you know, I think earlier on I might have
complained about digital cameras and being you know, I would
have said.

Speaker 1 (08:54):
It's got to be filming.

Speaker 2 (08:55):
And I still do think there's something like magical about film,
like there's just very dust on it. But he makes
a really great case where it's not just that it's
like digital filmmaking, it's the way it's It's weird that
I'm gonna say this about Geramou Deltorro because I actually
feel the opposite. But it's like a lack of intentionality
in the way things are captured. And as an example,

(09:18):
he shows a moment from Wicked, and his point is
most of the backgrounds, like just literally everything aren't there.
And oh he actually even better example, he shows a
moment from the twenty sixteen Paul Figue Ghostbusters, and you
see the women walking down this like New York Street,

(09:40):
and then you see what it really is is literally nothing.
It's just green screen. They're not even on a street,
and that's that's okay. But the problem with that is
you you they may change their mind about what's in
the background, you know what I mean, Like this hap

(10:00):
a lot with Marvel Films. It's like, oh, yeah, this
scene originally took place, you know, in a building, but
then they decided they needed to tweak all these lines
and add all this different stuff, and so they just
change it to a cave because you know, they just
keep rewriting and rewriting and rewriting and editing as they
go along, right, And so the essayist's point is, how
do you like that if you don't know where they're
going to be, you don't you just shoot something very

(10:24):
flat that will be tweaked later digitally. You will add
the shadow, you will add more color, you will take
away color, you will add you know what I mean? Right,
And so really the whole freaking image is manipulated.

Speaker 1 (10:37):
And so the actors are basically like color forms, you
know from that old exactly.

Speaker 2 (10:44):
They are just like plug and play to anything that
they may that they may not even be fully sure
what they're going to drop in the background later, right,
And so there's a moment where, actually.

Speaker 1 (10:54):
You see I think it might be in this essay
where you.

Speaker 2 (10:56):
See Victor Frankenstein walking up to this large man where
he's that he's gonna make his laboratory. And I was like,
I have no idea if that's real or not. And
if it's real, what a shame because I can't tell.
And so I think it's just too much manipulation after

(11:17):
the fact and just too many things dropped in that
don't have a real sort of texture to them. And
so anyway, having said all that, it saddens me to
say that I feel like Frankenstein suffers from that. And
I really I brought up Edwards hissor Hands. I mean, gosh,
I can feel that movie, like when you see him in.

Speaker 1 (11:37):
His creator's laboratory and you know.

Speaker 2 (11:42):
Like all those machines and the cobwebs on them, and
the shadow and the dust in front of the windows
and the light, and it's just like, it's such a
shame that we we don't get that as much anymore,
and I do. Maybe some people don't care or clock it,
but it's just something that like when you just see
a movie that does look so beautiful. You wish it

(12:04):
didn't suffer from that sort of flatness thing that I
feel like is plaguing a lot of stuff these days. Yeah,
but yeah, I would give it like like A I mean,
i'd give it like a B plus.

Speaker 1 (12:17):
That's not nothing.

Speaker 2 (12:18):
Yeah, yeah, I mean I Yeah. So I'll be very
curious to talk about it with you when you see it.

Speaker 1 (12:24):
Yeah, I'm gonna be interesting no matter what, because because A,
it's Garamadel Toro, D it's Frankenstein, you know. And I
don't think we've ever gotten an adaptation that's fully true
to the book, you know, I don't. I can't speak
for this one, but I mean I remember being a
kid and looking forward to the Kenneth Brannah movie and

(12:47):
being sort of horrified at whatever that was. You know,
it was just so overwrought and really it's unpleasant. I
don't know if you've seen that movie.

Speaker 2 (12:58):
No, but I'm kind of curious now.

Speaker 1 (13:00):
It's a weird one, you know, like because it's probably
by by default it's closer to the book than most,
you know, because the old James wille Bors Karlof one
is very far afield, you know. Sure, although I recommend
I don't know. If you've ever had a chance to
watch Brida Frankenstin, you shall watch it. No, I'd really
like to.

Speaker 2 (13:18):
They were playing it at my theater for October.

Speaker 1 (13:21):
Oh you had mentioned that I missed it, but check
it out even if it's at home. I think you'd
enjoy it. Yeah. Yeah, but you know, I know that
del Toro like this is one of those movies he's
wanted to make forever, you know, Oh yeah, sure, right,
And so part of me is like, well, that's cool,
but part of me is also I always I subjected
to the Peter Jackson King Kong test, where I'm like, well,

(13:45):
that was a movie he had wanted to make forever,
and and you know, maybe maybe you should have got
somebody who didn't want to make it that bad, you.

Speaker 2 (13:52):
Know, yeah, yeah, kind of. Well I don't know if
it's monkey pop for them, but like, yeah, which I
could talk spoilers, but yeah, they make some pretty big changes,
and I can I can see why. I can see
the story that he wants to tell. Yeah, you know,
like I said, where Frankenstein's Monster is a little bit

(14:13):
more sympathetic, but yeah, no, I still enjoyed it. His
his look is very unique. Also, I'll be curious when
you watch it, we can talk more about it.

Speaker 1 (14:23):
It's it's a sexy Frankenstein Monster.

Speaker 2 (14:25):
Yeah, well yes, I mean I don't know, not to me,
but like.

Speaker 1 (14:29):
I don't know, based on the conversation and in many
of my film classes with many of my studios, really,
oh yeah, that's been that's been a very specific through line. Fascinating.

Speaker 2 (14:42):
I mean, I think Jacob Elordi is a handsome guy,
but like he's he's under all this makeup and got
this long, scraggly hair and.

Speaker 1 (14:48):
But to me, to me, the sexiest Frankenstein Monster will
always be Fred Gwynn as Herman Monster. How that man
could fill out those suit, those giant shoes, and that
that top and that he put them in Monster.

Speaker 2 (15:07):
No, I think it is. I think it's because he's
like a sensitive soul.

Speaker 1 (15:11):
Are we talking about Herman Monster? Now? I don't know, but.

Speaker 2 (15:19):
Yeah, but anyway, I do. I think if anyone's interested,
I do recommend it.

Speaker 1 (15:24):
I don't know. I just based on the trailers. I
look at that monster, Brian, I think I could change him.
I could, you know what I think that is?

Speaker 2 (15:33):
That's what it is. I think he's someone that you
feel like, you know, you could tame, you know, I see,
I could actually talk about his move for thirty minutes.
But I'll keep going because I know we got a
lot to cover today. I have two more things I
definitely want.

Speaker 1 (15:48):
To hit though. Okay, So I went to go see
a movie with.

Speaker 2 (15:52):
My friend Chad and he goes, Brian, there's just so
many TV shows like, I don't even I don't even
know what they are anymore. I can't even keep up
with these Did you know this is a show called
Pluribus coming out?

Speaker 1 (16:06):
And I was like, at that point, your eyes light up, well,
you know what's funny and you float. I wish I had,
but I was like, no, I don't. Oh I thought
this was like you you having already discovered it. No.

Speaker 2 (16:20):
I knew that there was, you know, forthcoming Vince Gilligan
new show. Oh, ok, he of you know, Breaking Bad
and Better call Saul of Fame. But I didn't know
the title. So I was like, oh, I've never heard
of them. Right, So anyway, I go home and I
look it up and I'm like, holy crap, So I
wrote them. I'm like, dude, this is the show I'm
looking forward to most Okay, I was like, I just

(16:40):
didn't know what it was called like, and it almost
felt like I was playing a gag on him because
it was like the one he used as an example
that none of us knew.

Speaker 1 (16:47):
What it was. But I'm like, no, I'm serious, I'm
really really key forward to this.

Speaker 2 (16:49):
And then I watched it and texted him the next
day and I was like, dude, you gotta watch Pluribus.

Speaker 1 (16:53):
It's amazing.

Speaker 2 (16:55):
So I just it was like I just kept coming
back with like, no, your example, it's it's sorry, but
it's it's incredible. But I understood what he was saying,
by the way, but Pluribus the new show from Vince
Giligan starring Rayy Horn, who was you know, amazing and
better call Saul.

Speaker 1 (17:16):
And this is his return to kind of the sci
fi arena. Yes, because he used to write for X
files for the.

Speaker 2 (17:21):
X Files that I had no idea what this show
is about. It's on Apple TV Plus and they did
a really good job of with withholding what it was.

Speaker 1 (17:32):
Well, I want you to continue withholding absolutely, and yeah, that's.

Speaker 2 (17:35):
Why it's going to be really really difficult to talk about.
I actually wrote down some notes, so I.

Speaker 1 (17:40):
Wouldn't say too much.

Speaker 2 (17:44):
Basically, you know, Rayy Horn plays an author and she's
I don't call her a grumpy person, but she's not
an overtly happy person or cheery person, right, And this
event happened okay, and it makes her feel isolated, and
there's a huge mystery to this event where she there's

(18:07):
a lot that she needs to figure out what's going on.
And I'll just say the pilot from the first minute
had its hooks in me. I mean it begins at
what do you call it? Like the SETI satellites?

Speaker 1 (18:20):
Is that what they're called?

Speaker 2 (18:21):
You know, like from evoked in my mind, like contact.
There's so much I really loved, which is for people
who don't know these big satellites pointed at the sky
hoping to hear messages from anyone who may be out there,
and something unusual happens, and so then it just it
never stops, like it's all about just stuff happens. It's

(18:43):
really good. I really loved it. I was kind I
was like hovering in my couch. I was enjoying it
so much, and also like getting nervous, like don't please
keep being good, Please keep doing good. And then when
the when the pilot ended. I'm not going to overhype this.
I'm not saying that, but I read people saying it's
one of the best pilots ever, and I'm inclined to

(19:07):
appreciate where they're coming from. So I hate when people
do this. I don't want to do this or overhype something.

Speaker 1 (19:14):
It's very, very good.

Speaker 2 (19:16):
And I was so nervous to start episode two because
I was like, there's no way, you know, where do
they go from here? And not let me down. But
now I'm three episodes in, I'm really enjoying it. I
you know, it's it. It just pulls you along, things unfold,
You're just continuing to make discoveries as it goes along,
and I just this is so up my alley, and

(19:40):
I really think you should check it out. And I
was trying, like I texted Chad, I texted I think
it texted you. I texted a couple of people. I
was like, maybe check out purbis. It's like pretty good,
like just trying to like hold it back a little bit.
But thankfully my friend Alex she did check it out.

Speaker 1 (19:59):
It was like, holy crap, yeah right.

Speaker 2 (20:01):
But anyway, well you heard it here, folks.

Speaker 1 (20:05):
Brian says it has the best pilot episode he's ever seen,
So I will say you're disappointed. Emails to Brian hall
Care of the Movie Film Podcast.

Speaker 2 (20:17):
Being honest, I don't know how you even begin to
measure something like that, But is it one of the
pilots I have most enjoyed? Yeah? Like it just it
introduces you to this character and puts her in this
really fascinating scenario where you don't entirely understand what's happening,
but you, minute by minute are leaning forward because you

(20:37):
want to know what happens next. And I am I mean, yeah,
how often does that happen?

Speaker 1 (20:43):
Pilots are tough, very rarely a lot.

Speaker 2 (20:46):
To introduce, and sometimes that can feel stilted. But anyway,
I recommend for people to check out Pluribus on Apple.

Speaker 1 (20:54):
And this is on Apple TV. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (20:57):
Last thing I'll talk about is another movie that's gonna
be very difficult to talk about without getting into spoilers,
but it's your ghost Lanthemos' is Begonia.

Speaker 1 (21:08):
Yeah. I've been sitting on these movies for like two
weeks now.

Speaker 2 (21:11):
I've been so excited to like recommend them I'll read
the IMDb summary just to like try to keep it,
you know whatever. Two conspiracy obsessed young men kidnapped the
high powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she
is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth. So you

(21:32):
have Jesse Plemmons and his brother Unfortunately I don't have
the brother's name in front of.

Speaker 1 (21:39):
Me, the actor.

Speaker 2 (21:39):
But they kidnap Emma Stone, excuse me, because they're like
convinced she's an alien who's going to try to take
over Earth, and so they lock her in their basement
and they like interrogate her. And this movie.

Speaker 1 (21:57):
I really enjoyed this movie.

Speaker 2 (21:58):
It has really great performances. It's very compelling because you're like,
what is going on? What is going to happen next?
It's very compelling to watch Emma Stone's character try to
figure out how to keep her her captors calm and

(22:19):
like maybe she can, Like what method, what in the
way that she responds is going to work on them?
Is it like I totally understand like why you might
feel that way. Let's talk about this, or is it
like let me out of here right now? Do you
know who I am? Like there's so many different things
she could try, you know, to get out of there,
and it's kind of fascinating watching her try many of

(22:40):
those things. I will caution this is a your Ghost
Lanthemos movie, so there are some upsetting moments.

Speaker 1 (22:48):
Okay, interesting, Okay, you know, like.

Speaker 2 (22:52):
This isn't a movie that you just sort of take
a chance on on a Friday night, like know what
you're getting into. It's you know what I'm saying, Like
it's strange and it is dark, but it's also funny,
and it had its hooks in me the entire time.
And you know, these are people squaring off in a
basement and at some point it has to end right
And I will say I really loved how it all

(23:13):
played out. When it was over, I was now, I
should say this is a remake of an older Korean film,
but I wasn't familiar with it. So watching this film,
my friends and I came out and were like, how
cool to watch a movie where you have no idea
where it's going and it's fresh and the performances are
great and it's really interesting and you're so curious what's

(23:34):
going to happen next? And so again dark, strange, also
like weirdly fun Pigonia. So if you are familiar with
Lanthemos and his brand and you're comfortable with it, I
recommend it.

Speaker 1 (23:53):
I'm again this is like I have a screener for
actually just by chance it arrived like earlier today and
I was like, well, I know, I know what I'm
watching this weekend.

Speaker 2 (24:05):
Yeah, oh, I cannot wait. I would maybe we can
even do like a bonus episode or something where we
do Yeah, i'd be Now you and I talked to
Frankenstein and Bogonier or something.

Speaker 1 (24:13):
I'd I'd definitely be down for that. Yeah yeah, yeah,
all right, Well that about you. What have you been? Wow,
I have not watched anything, Brian. I've just been I've
been living my life. Yeah. Yeah, it's it's well, it's
it's been. It's been a hectic a couple of weeks.
Usually I'm in the kind of wrap up phase of
the semester now, so just you know, busy with all
all the all the stuff that's going on. Yeah, sure,

(24:35):
but I did. I did catch Now you see me
Now you don't a second time? Uh? Yes?

Speaker 2 (24:42):
Which is the third film, the new one in the series.
Because it feels like I know a lot of people
thought that should be the name of the second one.
I know, but we got we've been now you three me,
now you see look at.

Speaker 1 (24:55):
This, you see what they're doing.

Speaker 2 (24:58):
But but yeah, so I do we at this. You
saw you you reviewed it.

Speaker 1 (25:02):
I reviewed it, So I didn't talk about it in
our last episode. I just said I had seen it, okay, okay,
And because the embargo is not but between me watching
the press screening and then the movie being released, you know,
I went back to watch the previous films just to
reacquait myself, and my daughter got like super into them. Hmm.
So she's like, we gotta go, we gotta go opening weekend,

(25:22):
you know. So I took her and we'll talk about
that later this episode because I know, I'm sure you
have some thoughts on that one as well. So yeah, yeah,
we'll hold off on that. But but it was number
one at the box officoe it's opening weekend, yeah.

Speaker 2 (25:37):
You know, And and when the first one came out,
which I'm sure most people know by now, but I
worked on that movie and the editorial offices for like
over a year and it was a big part of
my life and it was a really fun time in
my life too. Working with those people and so I,
you know, I'm very emotionally connected to that movie. And
we were set to open against a Will Smith movie

(25:58):
called After Earth and we were like, oh, man, like
we have to you know, like no, this wasn't an
established ip at that time, and it was like, how
are we going to fare against, you know, going head
tohead with Will Smith? And nice see me was number one?

Speaker 1 (26:15):
And it was it was I don't think it was
number one, it was it was number two. But it
beat after Earth. Oh, beat after Earth? That's right.

Speaker 2 (26:20):
Well regardless, yes, we beat that was the one we
were afraid of, and so we were like, wow, how
about that? And so it's just I was very happy
to see it continue to be very popular with audiences
and seeing that it was number one this weekend, well.

Speaker 1 (26:35):
That's that has has been interesting. And actually, by the way, folks,
listening just as a time capsule, if you go back
into the archives, and it's not something I generally recommend,
but listen to our show's circa early part of twenty
thirteen to about about the middle of the summer thereabouts.
You when Brian pops in, you'll you'll be able to

(26:56):
track him going slowly insane because because of I mean
just the the sheer man hours he was putting in
working on this movie. And then and then, like the
soldier that he is, he would pop up and do
the podcast and half conscious, uh drooling probably, but like
a soldier, and he put in his time. So so

(27:18):
you can track that little time capsule and Brian, you
have you you can relive that era of your life
anytime you want. But I just yeah, it would actually
be kind of fascinating from twelve years ago. But but
the films have retained an audience and they and that
has been largely because of streaming. You know that people
have enjoyed going going to see them. And this is

(27:39):
something I've I've sort of just leaned from from talking
to my students, you know, watch them all the time,
which I thought was really interesting. Yeah, you know, so
that's a conversation we'll we'll come back to. But but
you know, in a broader sense, it does get to
to me. I connect these dots between what you were
saying about Chad being like, you know, there's a show Purbius,
you know, and you know, this is how streaming has

(28:02):
really ft society in a lot of ways, because it's
just it's fractured us in in in so many different
directions that we're all living in our own silos. And
the loss of the monoculture is something that I already regret,
but I feel like we're gonna come to regret even

(28:23):
more as time goes by, right right, you know, And
it's just these things, these shared they shared markers. You know,
I was watching a video that came up on YouTube
about the history of TV theme songs.

Speaker 2 (28:38):
Hm.

Speaker 1 (28:40):
And you know, this is something I talk about all
the time. We remember, you know, there was a time
when shows had theme songs. We were we were, we
were people then, Brian, they had songs you could sing
and you could hum. And now it's just a you
know it is yeah, actually that's being generous. That was
lost twenty years ago. Aw.

Speaker 2 (29:02):
Now it's just you know, it's funny because back then
you couldn't pause television. Yeah, so if the show is starting,
there was a real hurry up, hurry up, it's starting,
and it kind of gave you like a little bit
of a buffer, yeah, you know, to like grab your
drinks and popcorn or whatever and then hurry over to
the couch or whatever.

Speaker 1 (29:21):
But now you just pause it. So it's it's a
shame because I feel like something as simple as a
theme song is like cultural cartilage. Mmmm. Those are things
that connect us, sure, and now they're just things we
hit skip on, So like why bother? That's right, Yeah,

(29:43):
you can just you know what I mean. And it's
like like it doesn't matter whether you watched Cheers you
knew the Cheers song, yeah, or you know the theme
from mash or whatever. You know, like these these were
these these markers that that that connected generations.

Speaker 3 (30:00):
You know.

Speaker 2 (30:01):
Now I'm thinking of the Simpsons theme song and that
it like calibrates you. Like you're listening to this kooky
Danny Elfman, you know manic. So like whatever you were
doing before, now you have been. You are now connected
to the energy of the show a little bit. Like
they you know what I mean, They've set you up

(30:22):
so now you can start the episode where they want you, right.

Speaker 1 (30:26):
Yeah, and so you know, all of this stuff like
it's just you know, it's it's the you know, this
is like the word of the year in shitification. Uh
that's a real word. You know, It's become a thing.
It's I've never heard that. I like yeah, look it up.
It's fascinating. It's it's basically the idea of like these
uh you know, whether it's technologies or services or whatever

(30:49):
that have an established audience or you know, customer base.
But it's like, we got to find ways of making
more money, and so the only way to do that
is to just make the service worse, right, right, And
so to me, the loss of theme songs, that's part
of the in shitivocation of society because we got to

(31:09):
squeeze some more ad revenue out of this thing, right, Yeah,
that's true, you know, and it's I don't know's it's
it's like a broader conversation, but that's the stuff I
think about.

Speaker 2 (31:19):
You know, it's funny you say that because and when
I said that's true, what I was thinking was, I
remember when I worked at Bob's Burgers. You know, we
would edit that thing within like fractions of seconds to
try to make it fit for how long it needed
to be for television, and having that opening, yeah, you know,
that was like forty seconds that I'm sure you know,

(31:43):
they would have liked to have had real estate, they
would have liked to have used first story. Yeah, and
that's why sometimes you in those older shows Simpsons specifically,
there are the long intros and there are the short intros,
and that's kind of has to do with how much
how long.

Speaker 1 (31:56):
The actual episode is.

Speaker 2 (31:57):
But you're right, I know on syndication, they you know,
will take like Seinfeld Friends whatever, they cut chunks of
story out so they can have more time for advertisements.

Speaker 1 (32:11):
Actually, speaking of speaking of Simpsons, I was meant to
mention this to you. I'm listening to this audiobook right now,
which you will absolutely love. It's called Stupid TV Be
More Funny. Okay, I'm ready, and it's by Alan Siegel,
and it's how the Golden Era of the Simpsons changed
television and America forever.

Speaker 2 (32:29):
Sorry, I can't hear you. I'm already reading it right.

Speaker 1 (32:35):
I've been listening to it over the last couple of days,
and boy, this is this is like our sweet spot
right here, you know, Oh yeah, really fascinating. Certainly if
you have a lot of it. I suspect you'll know
at least a little bit of but definitely getting this
overview of of that of the formative influences during that
specific era, you know, you know, and this is anybody

(32:58):
listening to this show at this point already knows. But
I mean, like the Simpsons, the Golden Air in particular,
that's our, that's our, the wet cement that that you
and I were formed in.

Speaker 2 (33:11):
You know, how did he write his name in cement?
Who was this part?

Speaker 1 (33:18):
Yes? Very much? You know. So. So this book just
came out a couple of months ago, and like I said,
I mean, as soon as as soon as it came
across my recommendations, I'm like, boom, oh, yeah, purchase.

Speaker 2 (33:29):
I like, I've read a lot of great Simpsons books,
and one, I mean we should mention Springfield Confidential by
Mike Reese, who was a writer in the Golden Era
and remains I think a creative.

Speaker 1 (33:40):
Yeah, he remains involved, he continues to assist.

Speaker 2 (33:43):
But you, you and I had a whole episode interviewing him.

Speaker 1 (33:47):
Man or I should say you.

Speaker 2 (33:50):
You had an opportunity to interview him, and you were like,
how can I do this without Brian, which I can't
even tell you it was. I was never meant to
be involved with that, but you brought me in because
you knew how much it would it mean to.

Speaker 1 (34:03):
Well, you were you were destined to be involved. There
was no version of that story that didn't end with
you on the show.

Speaker 2 (34:10):
You but I don't mean to get on Munchie, but
you even you just saying that speaks to you that
that's who you are and that's really not everybody's like that.

Speaker 1 (34:19):
It was really special. No, that's it. No, I mean
that was that was one of those things. That was
one of those times when I'm like, we got done
and I don't even know if we said it, but
we certainly if we didn't say it out loud, we
beamed the thought where we're just like, can you believe
we get to do this? Ship?

Speaker 2 (34:33):
I dude, I was on cloud nine. And he could
not have been cooler and nicer. Yeah, very sweet, very
interested in both of us. Yeah, that was a really
special thing.

Speaker 1 (34:45):
My memory that is because I got on the call
and and I was waiting, we were waiting for you
to get on, and I said to him, we're going
to be joined by my colleague Brian, he's also a
TV writer. And then and then you hop on and
he goes, Hi, Brian, what show do you write for? Yeah? Yeah, right, yep,
And it is so genuine, you know, yeah, yeah, And
I remember a few months later, so we're going off

(35:07):
on this tangent. But a few months later, ign they
asked me to interview Al Jean and you know, and
Al Jeane and Mike Grease they're like the tag team
that was really important. They were like the you know,
after the initial start of the Simpsons, they were the
guys who really made it what it was, you know,
after the first couple. And so I'm talking to Al
Jane and I said, you know, I interviewed Mike Reese

(35:29):
a couple months ago, and I feel like, now that
I'm talking to you, I have the two pieces of
a magic amulet. And he busted out laughing.

Speaker 2 (35:37):
That's really funny, amazing.

Speaker 1 (35:43):
You know, sometimes we get to do some cool stuff,
you know, to.

Speaker 2 (35:45):
Say, I thinking back on it, you know, it's it's
easy to forget. But we've really been able to interact
with a lot of people that mean a lot to us.

Speaker 1 (35:53):
That's a really cool thing. It's a good moments, good moments. Uh.
Speaking of good moments, Hey, we got some listener letters
here who I believe you have been after for me,
eighteen thousands all addressed. You've got mail, so as always,

(36:20):
we receive all kinds of letters and many of these
we get at MOVIEFILM podcast at gmail dot com. So
thank you very much everybody who has written in. And
here is a note we got from Lisa Sanchello. She is,
of course the host of the amazing I Love That
Movie podcast, which I've been very fortunate to be on

(36:41):
a couple of times, and this was in regards to
if you remember, in our last episode, Brian, you mentioned
having revisited Back to the Future, and you know your
long standing love affair with that film. Dare I say
a perfect film? I would agree. Yeah. Actually, speaking of audiobooks,
have you checked out the Michael J. Fox's a book

(37:01):
about about the making of that movie?

Speaker 2 (37:03):
Not yet, not yet it is I just just cossed
a book and yeah, I think that will be soon
future boy.

Speaker 1 (37:12):
The book is called Yeah.

Speaker 2 (37:13):
Have you or you the audiobook?

Speaker 1 (37:15):
Right? I have the audiobook? Yeah, it is actually read
by Michael J. Fox, And I'm grateful for that. You know,
it's so great that that he continues to have just
a genuine affinity for the film, and I think he really,
you know this, many decades out, recognizes how much that
movie means to people, and it continues to mean to people.
You know. Yeah, yeah, and a lot of this I

(37:38):
suspect kind of you know, people like us a lot
of it. We will know obviously, sure, sure, just by
virtue of having soaked in a lot of the stuff
over the over the decades. But I h there are
new insights, and plus we're getting it from from Michael J.
Fox's perspective, which I think is it's just I mean, God,
give me more, you know, I hope he does more.

(37:59):
This is really just about the first one.

Speaker 2 (38:02):
Oh yeah, that's a great You're right, Yeah, he could
do two more.

Speaker 1 (38:06):
Yeah, that's what I would like, you know.

Speaker 2 (38:07):
Yeah, Oh, well good, I want to check that out.
I'm glad you're enjoying it.

Speaker 1 (38:12):
So here's what Lisa says is at twelve, my dad
showed me back to the future and I fell head
over heels. I wanted so badly for Doc to show
up and take me with him on time traveling adventures
in his Dolorean. Decades later, I danced with Nick at
an Enchantment under the Sea themed dance. Here I am
another almost decade later, watching the fortieth Anniversary with my dad,

(38:33):
Sarah and Nick for my birthday. I know it's corny,
but Towards the end, when Doc is about to head
to the future, Marty tells Doc that in the future
he will be forty seven. I felt a little emotional
realizing I'm turning forty two and this movie has been
a part of my life for so long. We all
look a little different from when I first saw this movie.
Life is precious and so is time. That's lovely, en amazing. Yeah,

(38:57):
I think any movie that can make you think in
those terms is doing something. And part of it is
that the movies that age with us, you know.

Speaker 2 (39:06):
I mean, that's that's the thing with that movie being
forty years old. And I saw it when I was five,
one of the first movies I ever saw, you know, really,
and so I have a memory of it at five.
I have memories of taping it off TV and watching it.
When I'm ten, I have memories of, you know, like
enjoying it when the DVDs first came out and I
can see them, you know, widescreen for the first time.

(39:29):
In college, I remember that. I remember going to you know,
revival theaters and watching that and then seeing his fortieth anniversary.
So yeah, it's this thing that's been with me throughout
my entire life.

Speaker 1 (39:39):
It's pretty cool. A lot of memories associated with it.
And what Lisa is like, you know, life is precious
and so is time, and certainly you realize that more
and more, you know. I mean, I'm just thinking about
and I'm sure you saw it too, you know, Jimmy
Kimmel's monologue last week after his band leader and lifelong

(40:00):
friend passed away. Yeah, first, I mean got it. It
was it was heartbreaking watching that, you know. But what
he says at the end, right, cherish your friends. You know,
we don't get to be here very long. It's something
you know, Yeah, I mean you see stuff like that.
I mean, for those of you who don't know, his

(40:20):
name is Clito Escabato, and they had been friends since
Jimmy Kimmel was ten years old. I didn't know that. Yeah,
And so when the show, when his talk show started,
he's like, well, my friend who plays the sacks, I
want him to be my band leader. So he had
been so they had been lifelong friends. And then he

(40:40):
he he he has him on as a band leader.
And he's been on since that show started in two
thousand and three. You know, wow, And and I mean again,
this is this is one of those things where you
just like you're you're able, you're you're able to have
these shared moments of humanity, you know. And I think

(41:04):
whether you agree or disagree with the kind of jokes
Jimmy Kimmel makes, you can look at that and say, look,
I can imagine myself in that position. I can imagine
myself having to say goodbye to a friend of that
many years, and I know I wouldn't like that. You know,
it is too short.

Speaker 2 (41:20):
Yeah, yeah, I.

Speaker 1 (41:24):
Appreciate Lisa sharing those moments. Yeah, thank you Lisa.

Speaker 2 (41:27):
All the ways that the movie has bounced through her
life and the people that it's a bounced she's bounced
with with it. I think that's really lovely.

Speaker 1 (41:36):
Well, speaking of people bouncing with here's a note we
got from one. I think it's Sean Coil what former
once in former movie film host. Yeah, forever in our hearts,
speaking to us from the great beyond. And by the
great beyond, I mean real life, not the podcast. He's

(41:58):
still here, Yeah, he says, dearest movie film chums, it's
been a while I was enjoying your Holy crap. Three
hundred and twenty eighth episode Spectacular and quickly reminded why
I love you Fellas and your show. Thanks, he says.
From Zaki's correlating Halloween to Hiding from the Raptors to

(42:20):
his bizarre but unsurprising Nerd recall and pulling easy rollins
out of nowhere, that was amazing.

Speaker 2 (42:28):
That blew my mind.

Speaker 1 (42:30):
It made me want to rewatch that movie. Great movie.
Yeah that want blue Dress to the birth of Vladimir Schmidzmir,
which I don't. I don't remember that, to be honest,
I don't either. That weird. This is the problem. We
put stuff out there and then it just it's out
there and it becomes it becomes something to somebody. Yeah,
I wish I did to Brian borderline complimenting Jared leto Brian,

(42:57):
And of course I mean my God use systems. That's
the difference.

Speaker 2 (43:04):
He says.

Speaker 1 (43:04):
If life were a five disc changer, my wife and
kids would be disc one, friends would be disc two,
my faith on disc three, A good cheeseburger on disc four,
and the movie film podcast in the disc five slot.
I love that. Wow, I love that. Hi, Braise, he says,
question for you, which maybe leads to one of your
trademark tangents. First, let me tee it up for you.

(43:25):
I have movies that I consider my absolute favorites, Last Crusade, Twister,
True Lives, Ferris Bueller, to name a few, but all
too often when I pop in a movie for company
or background noise or whatever, I find that I don't
turn to my favorites, but instead of random comedy I've
seen a million times, like if I'm working on the
computer and don't want to listen to music, I'll pop
in something like Spies like Us, The Urbs, Funny Farm,

(43:46):
Clue Weekend at Bernie's and basically just have it play
as background accompaniment. Or sometimes if I need something easy
to watch before bed, I'll pop in an episode of
an old sitcom. So my question is what are some
of your random turn two movies or shows where you
wonder if you're the only one who watches them so often?
That's it? Keep up the awesome work, peace, love and
bro tickles your palsion. Well yeah, uh, what do you got, Brian?

Speaker 2 (44:15):
You know, I know people do this. I have a
hard time doing this because I even if it's like
Simpson's stuff that I've seen hundreds, probably literally hundreds of times,
I have to watch interest. I can't have it just
going in the background. I kind of have to pay
attention to it or listen to it. But I will

(44:36):
say this is actually recent. I can't believe he asked
this just now. But the other night I wasn't really
in the mood to watch something, and I was kind
of zoning out and like I didn't know what to
put on, and I was like.

Speaker 1 (44:49):
I'm just gonna put on Star Wars.

Speaker 2 (44:52):
And so I you know how now, sometimes in like
a Roku or an Apple TV thing, it shows you
the things that you're in the middle of so you
can return to them. So I have like a bunch
of Star Wars films where it's just like, you know,
one evening, it was like eleven at night and I
just started Empire Strikes Back, just you know, something that

(45:12):
I wasn't going I knew I wasn't gonna finish. I
wasn't gonna pay super close attention to. But it's just
kind of comfort food in the background. So I would
say recently, for me, it's been the original trilogy Star
Wars movies.

Speaker 1 (45:22):
That that definitely is comfort food. Yeah. Yeah, it's pretty
hard to go wrong with that, you know. I was
actually thinking about this. I think if there's something that
I'll just put on in the background, it probably is
Simpson's honestly, mm hmm. It's specifically like somewhere between seasons
five and twelve, Like that's the stuff I can just
or like between three and twelve, you know, right, family guy.

(45:44):
I do that a lot with also because that's not
as show I feel the need to really pay attention to.

Speaker 2 (45:50):
Well, we're both the cord cutters, right, yes, at this point.
So like when it was when I had YouTube TV
that was something at like tenant and if I was
flipping because it's on so many channels like TDS and
I don't even know Comedy Central or something, that is
when I would stop on frequently because it doesn't matter
what's going on, that's right, you know, it's just like

(46:12):
a joke machine, and so it was easy to just
kind of sit there and jump in. And they throw
so much stuff at the wall, some of it's bound
to make you laugh. Like it works well that way, I.

Speaker 1 (46:21):
Think, Yeah, see, definitely for me like my because so
much of my day is centered around watching movies and
screening movies that like at night, I make an active
effort to not. I like to read before I go
to bed, so that and by read like comics, I mean,
let's be honest, I'm not I'm not trying to make

(46:42):
myself sound like some more intelligent than I am person.
But regardless, I like to have that routine where I
just something that I'm reading and that actually works out
because that night usually that's when a'mina's watching her you know,
like whatever cult documentary happens to that's that's her entire
Netflix algorithm at this point. Cults.

Speaker 2 (47:01):
So not like true crime.

Speaker 1 (47:03):
No, no, it's the cult cult stuff.

Speaker 2 (47:06):
Interesting.

Speaker 1 (47:07):
It turns out cults are scary.

Speaker 2 (47:08):
Oh yeah, very.

Speaker 1 (47:10):
Yeah, a lot of that. So so her Netflix algorithm
has got her good so that you know, that's that'll
be whatever random thing she's watching. So you know, I
leave her to that while I'm while I'm reading a thing.
You know. I like that. I like that. You know.

Speaker 2 (47:24):
I go through I've talked about this, but I go
through phases where it's like, okay, I'm gonna I'm like
in a movie phase, so I just watch movies each night,
or I'll be like, oh, I've got this new video game,
like the Indiana Jones in the Great Circle recently, where
that's I'm not interested in anything else. That's what I'm
doing this week. Like when I have my time in
the evening, I'm going to play this game, and then

(47:47):
sometimes it'll be a book. I get really excited about
a book, and that's what my evenings are dedicated to.

Speaker 1 (47:51):
So I sort of like rotate. I guess, you know. Well,
speaking of games, you know, the kids just this weekend,
they all, they all, they all pitched together to buy
a VR headset. Oh it's like a meta VR headset. Okay,
They're like. I was like, how are you affording this?
It's like, oh, hums us pitching in and make this pitch.
I'm like, hey, listen, I've seen this Simpsons episode, so

(48:15):
let me ask in advance. What about Saturday? You know? Yeah, right,
but you know, I was like I don't know about this,
and then and then you know, uh, it was like,
don't know I need it. I was like, yeah, you
need oxygen and food, you know, I don't know if
you need this. And then and then they got it.
I tried it on and I'm like, no, I think
you do need this. I think really it's pretty freaking sweet.

Speaker 2 (48:38):
So what what sort of things do they have on it?

Speaker 1 (48:42):
So they the game that I played is like Batman
Arkham something or other. Okay, uh, and it's just you're
you're yeah, you know, you're doing Batman stuff. It's very
like I I mean, it's a cool experience, but it's
really freaking crazy because you feel a little bit like
you're in the matrix or something, you know what I mean,

(49:02):
like because you're doing all this stuff in the VR thing,
but you're just in your place. And I'm like, this
is you know, I don't know, No, devil is a liar.

Speaker 2 (49:14):
My brother I can't remember which one he has, but
he has a VR thing and I played the Darth
Vader one.

Speaker 1 (49:20):
Yeah, they have that, like very cool.

Speaker 2 (49:23):
And he also has this football one which is amazing
because you like, yeah, we talk about feeling like you're
in the matrix. I mean you go from your living
room to all of a sudden feeling like you're in
an arena. Okay, like the sound design, the echo, the
air whatever, it is like they make you feel like
you're in this enormous open area, which you aren't, you know,

(49:45):
And then you get on the field and you're the
quarterback and then when the play's over, the players rush
up to you for the huddle, and you feel like
these real, you know, six foot tall dudes are running
up to you and looking at you for the next play.
It's like very weird, but it's awesome.

Speaker 1 (50:01):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (50:03):
Well, so it's working so far with all those be
like it, they can share it, Okay.

Speaker 1 (50:07):
I'm well, thus far, it's been about thirty six hours,
so you know, the night is young. Okay, okay, But
I'm looking forward to the educational opportunities because I think
you can put it on and you can meet Yengis
Khan and go where he goes, defile who he defiles,
eat who heat?

Speaker 3 (50:24):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (50:29):
Yeah, well, thank you for that, Sean. Here's one last
note we got. This is from Tommy Olsen, who says, hey, fellas,
I'm a long time listening to the show, but I
don't remember if you guys have ever covered the show
Stranger Things. I recently just rewatched the series to get
ready for the final season coming out next month. Are
you guys fans of the show. I'd love to hear

(50:49):
more of your thoughts about it. Are you throwing to me?
Have you seen it? I don't even I have seen it. Yea.
I wrote an article about the last Batchup episodes whenever
that was like three years ago, three slash thirty years ago,
whenever the hell that was Wow, Yeah, that's well. Yes.

Speaker 2 (51:13):
I remember when this was first announced and I literally
thought this was going to be some niche thing that
just appealed to me because it was sort of like
eighties kids on bikes solve the mysteries, you know, kind
of a thing, fantasy horror whatever. I was like, oh,
come on, this is like, yeah, who peeked into my brain?
Then of course it becomes you know, the phenomenon on Netflix.

Speaker 1 (51:33):
But yeah, I've really enjoyed it.

Speaker 2 (51:35):
I do feel like I have a strange relationship to
it though, because the first season was great. I think
the kids are cast so well. That's the thing, you know,
when you look at the Goonies, and Goonies is still
like the gold standard because the casting is so good,
and a lot of times when they try to make
movies about groups of kids, they hire these like Hollywood

(51:55):
kids instead of kids that look and act like real kids,
you know, and Stranger Things.

Speaker 1 (52:00):
Just nailed it.

Speaker 2 (52:01):
These just felt like real kids, and they're goofy and silly.
And fun and clearly liked each other.

Speaker 1 (52:06):
Yeah, and the.

Speaker 2 (52:07):
Mystery was really fun and it was it was a
perfect pestiche.

Speaker 1 (52:13):
You know.

Speaker 2 (52:13):
I think maybe at some point you could start being like, Okay,
maybe now they're starting to just kind of riff. But
like I thought, at least season one was like a
perfect pestiche and felt like its own thing. But the
problem is when it comes out, all the episodes come
out at once, right, So I watched it in like
one day in like twenty fifteen, you know, and I I,

(52:35):
you know, I remember things from it. Then like season
two comes out, I watched it for like one day
in twenty seventeen, and that you know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (52:43):
Like it's yeah, it's kind of yeah. I think I
think you're describing most people's relationship with the show, to
be honest.

Speaker 2 (52:49):
Yeah, So, which is to say, I do enjoy it,
and I remember enjoying those experiences, but I can't say
it's like I remember everything about it. And some times
I even find the like the whole upside down concept
and the demo Gorgan and all that like like a
little muddy. Yeah, I feel like the last season, I

(53:11):
want to say that's four. Season four I thought that
was one of their strongest seasons because I felt like
everything was very clear. I thought the villain was clear.
I thought the stakes and the threats and the how
we you know, the upside down and the new characters,
you know, Chrissy and the metal kid like I was
like Justice Quinn, Yeah, Joseph Quinn. I thought that was
one of their strongest seasons.

Speaker 1 (53:33):
Gave new life to that Kate Bush song That's Right,
which feels like so long ago.

Speaker 2 (53:39):
So yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm definitely looking forward to season five.

Speaker 1 (53:43):
See I think, I'm I'm definitely looking forward to wrapping
it up and and I actually, as it happens, i'm
reviewing for the papers. Actually just got the screeners today,
so i'll be I'll be starting it today. But I
think the prob the what you just described sums up.
I think the inherent problem with this format of bing

(54:06):
binge and release. You know, where you you you drop
your season or your batch of episodes all at once,
and then you just hunker down and wait literally years
for the next batch.

Speaker 2 (54:21):
If it was a year, that would be one thing.
But yeah, you're right literally, I mean, in Stranger Things case, years, Yes.

Speaker 1 (54:30):
You you are, you are stealing your own momentum. Yeah,
And that's kind of the problem because because this this
final batch that's coming, I don't sense a lot of excitement.
I sense a lot of Okay, well it's finally almost done. Yeah,
and we made it this far. And and the question
I have is, how will the show play in now

(54:54):
that it's all a finished thing in the future when
you have these massive you know, a each jumps between seasons. Yeah, yeah,
and at least some of those seasons that the time
gap is not is not baked into the story, right right, right,
that's a little weird. I don't know. I don't, I don't.
I don't understand that thinking. And this just get Look,

(55:15):
I'm I'm on the record as saying that that straight
to streaming series have really done a ton of damage
to TV production. And yeah, and part of it is
this this production model, which is which is not sustainable
in the long term. I was literally I was literally
just this afternoon talking about this with my students because

(55:36):
somebody was like, what about Stranger Things? I was like,
how many stranger things are there? Like stranger Things just
happened to hit the zeitgeist dead center? How many other
shows are there that can that can pull this off
where oh, here's three years in between and suddenly everybody's
excited for the next match. It's a short list, I
would say, it's a list of one and that Stranger Things.

Speaker 2 (55:57):
Yeah, you know, I mean it makes me think this year,
you know some shows I enjoyed. Well, it's it's it's
a double edged sword because I like that streaming can
offer shows that may not have been picked up or
made on network or you know whatever. So it's cool
that there's like a wider range of the types of
things out there. But yeah, like this year, you know,

(56:18):
the Seth Rogan shows alone, I mean the Tonic, which
I really enjoyed, and the Studio, which I really really enjoyed.
And then when it ends and they're you know, six
episodes or something, and then it ends, and I'm like, well,
I guess, you know, I'll see it in two years maybe,
you know exactly, which is kind of a bummer.

Speaker 1 (56:37):
It is a bummer, you know. So I'm looking forward
and I and I really I want to be clear,
I hope Stranger Things sticks the landings. I hope it
becomes something that that just becomes an annuity and people
just revisit it again and again. I hope that's what happens,
you know. Yeah, I could see being good. Sorry, I
don't I don't know how how Netflix will continue to

(56:58):
build out this universe, because that's what they've committed to doing.
You know.

Speaker 2 (57:02):
Yeah, I'm curious. I know there's like a stage production
that exists.

Speaker 1 (57:07):
Interesting, I am curious.

Speaker 2 (57:08):
Yeah, if they do spin offs or we'll see.

Speaker 1 (57:11):
Yeah, you got some headlines, Brian, so hey, we got
some new trailers that have been making the rounds over
the last few weeks, in the last few days. Yes, yes, yes, yes,
So the trailer for Michael just dropped recently. This is,

(57:33):
of course, the reboot of the John Travolta as an
Angel movie. I was so wondering where you're going with
that though.

Speaker 2 (57:41):
Yeah, that's good.

Speaker 1 (57:42):
That's very excited about that. Remember there was that minute.
It's truly it's like a cinematic minute where John Travolta
as the above the title star was enough to put
butts in seats.

Speaker 2 (57:57):
Oh yeah, I mean post pulp fiction, right.

Speaker 1 (57:59):
Post pulp and you know, pre General's Daughter.

Speaker 2 (58:05):
I'm gonna say mav Yeah, I mean it was you
know phenomenon. Yeah, which is funny because I mean, what
were we like fourteen or something when that came out,
and I remember being like, well, I gotta see John
Travolta phenomenon, you know. And then Michael he was like
kind of a rascally angel.

Speaker 1 (58:23):
Yeah. Yeah, he smokes cigarettes. That's so funny. Well, of
course we're talking about a different Michael. We're talking about
Michael of the Jackson variety.

Speaker 2 (58:33):
Hmm, I'm not familiar with him.

Speaker 1 (58:36):
Well, he was once crowned the King of pop Oh
oh that yeah, that Michael Jackson. We're definitely reaching that
point where, you know, in my class, I sometimes refer
to the day that Michael Jackson died. And I don't
know if you remember this, but but that morning, so
Michael Jackson died in the afternoon, but that morning another

(58:58):
celebrity died. Do you remember who was?

Speaker 2 (59:01):
No, it was wait, wait wit I heard you, but
I knew it.

Speaker 1 (59:05):
Fara Fawcett. Yeah, it was Farah Fawcet. That morning, everybody's like,
oh my gosh, it's so said. And then a few
hours later Michael Jackson dies, which you know, first I
would say, if your a celebrity, probably would rather not
die prematurely. But also you don't even get a deity yourself,
you know, I know, I know, like that that kind
of stuff, and somebody who was so much more iconic.

(59:27):
You know, it's just the conversation gets completely taken up,
you know. Yep, yep. I remember that day by because
everybody's talking about Farah Fawcett in the morning, and then
Michael Jackson in the afternoon, and then and then my
brother in law he posted on social media. He's like
he's like, first fair Fawcet, then Michael Jackson. Now Jeff
Golblum has died. I was like, huh, Jeff Colblum, and

(59:49):
I I was in a panic, and I was like googling.
I was trying to find something about Jeff Goldblum. You know.
It's like, Jeff Goldblum says he doesn't like roller coasters.
Good did he don a roller coaster? You know nothing?
You know. So I pinged my brother La. I'm like,
who would you get this? And he sends me some
like random dude on Twitter. I'm like, bro, come on, man,
don't do that. My heart can't take this.

Speaker 2 (01:00:08):
I feel like it's been a while since I've seen
one of those, yeah, where like a fake celebrity death.

Speaker 1 (01:00:15):
People have gotten a little smarter about it, right, like, yeah,
maybe that's it before before spreading that stuff. And I
always say this, you know, the first outlet to report
Michael Jackson's death TMZ. I'm assuming it was TMZ. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:00:30):
It was funny because they were always kind of like grimy,
you know what I mean, Like they would be following
celebrities to their cars and provoking them and just ruining
everyone's day. And you know, like celebrities would crash their
cars because these people would just get in their way
and put all their flashbulbs in their faces. And at
the same time they have an incredible track record with

(01:00:51):
this sort of thing.

Speaker 1 (01:00:52):
That's sort of like I think at this point we
have to say, like, well, it seems like TMZ has
has earned the right to be treated as a credible
source because yeah, Michael Jackson, you know, Paul Walker, they
were the first on that Bob Saggett when he died,
Kobe when Kobe died, Oh TMZ, huh TMZ Yeah. So

(01:01:12):
but yes, obviously the death of Michael Jackson was a
very seismic thing, and I think I think the measure
of his continued impact is visible in the fact that
the new biopic, directed by Antoine Fuquah, has has garnered,
at least, as of a couple of weeks ago, one
hundred and sixteen million views just in the first twenty

(01:01:34):
four hours. Wow. So I'll be honest. When they announced
this movie, I had that thought. I was like, I
don't know, is there is there an audience for this?
And not to I mean, there is an audience, but
I was like, you know, how how much sustained impact
does he continue to have this many years after his death?
And I guess the answer is one hundred and sixteen

(01:01:55):
million and twenty four hours worth of impact?

Speaker 2 (01:01:57):
Yeah, like a Marvel film?

Speaker 1 (01:02:00):
Right now? Is this? Is this like a part one
of two situation?

Speaker 2 (01:02:06):
I want to say, don't quote me. This is me
repeating things that I have been reported over the past
several months, and they keep getting changed and updated and whatever.
My understanding was. It was one film and in their
third act they get into the later part of Michael
Jackson's life where he was accused of.

Speaker 1 (01:02:29):
You know, I don't even know how to he was
accused of misconduct.

Speaker 2 (01:02:35):
Misconduct, Yes, a sexual misconduct. And what I feel like
I remember reading was they there's some sort of clause
that had been struck many moons ago, okay, where anything
that Michael Jackson creates moving forward cannot mention the people

(01:02:57):
who were involved in those cases. And so they had
to basically chuck the third act.

Speaker 1 (01:03:06):
Of their movie okay.

Speaker 2 (01:03:08):
And so then they're like, Okay, we need to do
re reshoots, and they did like massive reshoots to like
add an ending okay, And so then people were asking, well,
are you gonnah? And then all I think also Fuqua
said that it was like a really really long director's
cut that he had, So people were like, are there
gonna be two movies? Are you gonna split this movie

(01:03:28):
in half? Now that you've added all this extra stuff?
And according to the chairman at Lionsgate, he said, we're
not ready to confirm plans for a second movie. I
can tell you that the creative team is hard at
work making sure that we're in a position to deliver
more Michael soon after we released the first film.

Speaker 1 (01:03:46):
So okay, so that's like just say yes.

Speaker 2 (01:03:51):
Exactly exactly doing I mean hedging a little bit because
maybe they don't even have a script at this point,
and also when you look at this trailer, it focuses.

Speaker 1 (01:04:00):
On the Michael I want to.

Speaker 2 (01:04:01):
Remember, sure, sure, right, do we need to go past this?

Speaker 1 (01:04:05):
You know what I mean?

Speaker 2 (01:04:06):
Like I do, especially if it's an entire film. Yeah,
you know, And I say that by the way, I
mean this is a much bigger conversation. People listening may
have very complicated feelings about Michael Jackson sure in general,
so they may not even want to see this movie.
I have a complicated relationship with him. Obviously, as a
child of the eighties nineties, I grew up, you know,

(01:04:27):
really connected with him and his music, and I love him.
I'm still weirdly endeared to him. But I also, you know,
at the very least he did a lot of inappropriate things,
and we don't.

Speaker 1 (01:04:41):
Know or is at least accused of that.

Speaker 2 (01:04:43):
Well, I mean, even he's he's admitted to like sleeping
in bed, with having sleepovers with children, and that's not
that's not appropriate, And I don't know, you agree, and
so I and possibly worse right, so we don't so
at the very least strange person, and so it's fair
for people to have.

Speaker 1 (01:05:02):
All that opinions. Yeah, and to your point, I mean
that quote unquote strangeness became much more of a focus
in the early to mid nineties on Yes, and if
we want to talk about sort of his peak, I mean,
you could, you know, sort of like go from you know,
post immediately post Jackson five to like black or white

(01:05:25):
and there's your there's your arc, you know. I mean,
if you want to fade out on a high note,
is what I'm saying. That's exactly so to me, that
makes the most sense.

Speaker 2 (01:05:35):
I mean, it does feel weird because a lot of
times at the end of biopics or movies that are
true stories, you do put like text up at the end.

Speaker 1 (01:05:42):
So it almost feels like what text would you put?

Speaker 2 (01:05:45):
I mean, I guess you could put his statistics or something,
you know, like yeah he sold this many albums blah
blah blah blah, and that's it, you know. But yeah,
so it seems I'm curious where this movie ends now,
And if you make a second movie, I don't I
don't know, I don't know how you don't touch things
that would probably just sour the whole enterprise.

Speaker 1 (01:06:08):
See well, what I'm wondering is again like like I
and this is just I'm sort of admitting my own
lack of awareness of like what kind of centrality does
Michael Jackson occupy in the cultural conversation? Now? I don't know,

(01:06:28):
you know, I don't know what kids think of Michael Jackson.
I've there, you know, like are they do they think
of him solely in terms of those accusations or do
they think of him solely in terms of his music?

Speaker 2 (01:06:41):
Yeah, that's a really good point.

Speaker 1 (01:06:43):
I don't right, Like, like, if you were to ask
an eighteen year old if they have any thoughts about
Bill Cosby, I can assure you they're not going to
talk about the Cosby Show, right right, Yeah, right, So
that's what I mean.

Speaker 2 (01:06:55):
You know, I think again, a lot of this stuff
with Michael is like allegedly right, and so because of that,
I feel like, you know, even post that HBO documentary.

Speaker 1 (01:07:09):
I don't remember it was called something never.

Speaker 2 (01:07:11):
Land Leaving Neverland, which haunted me. Yeah, And but even
post that, you still.

Speaker 1 (01:07:24):
And I should and we should say, by the way,
that the accusations in that documentary have since the years since,
at the very least been called into question. Yeah, that's
that's worth acknowledging that.

Speaker 2 (01:07:37):
We will never really know the full extent of everything.
But like there's just a lot of weirdness around this.
But having said that, it's kind of amazing how he
has endured because you still here, you know, beat it
at the grocery store, you know what I mean. Like
it's not like he his stuff got pulled, like like

(01:08:00):
we don't see reruns of the Cosby Show, you know
what I mean. So he he I don't know the
estate or his people or management or whatever it is.
They've kind of found a way to like zig and
zag and whatever and kind of push past that and
still allow him. You know, this movie is almost kind
of brilliant because if it did end in nineteen ninety

(01:08:21):
two or something like that, this is then probably what
a new generation would identify with him, you know, like
the the Glove and the Moonwalk and all that.

Speaker 1 (01:08:31):
Yeah, well, so we're not gonna bother playing end of
the audio obviously because it's we would just be demonetized
because it's just his music.

Speaker 2 (01:08:40):
Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 1 (01:08:41):
But having watched the trailer for I Have I Am
kind of music bio picked out unless you do something
kind of something format breaking, you know that that's what
interests me. So if this is just a just oh,
here's when he was a kid and now here he
is a young man. Like that's I'm just reflexively, I'm

(01:09:03):
not interested in that.

Speaker 2 (01:09:05):
You know, It's funny. I was not very interested in
the Bruce Spruce Springsteen biopic that just came out with
Jeremy Allen White because I don't really know a lot
about Bruce Springsteen, and the trailer itself wasn't doing anything
like compelling me to want to check out that story.
But I got admit I last night when I saw

(01:09:26):
the trailer for Michae in the theater, my shoulders were shimmying.

Speaker 1 (01:09:30):
Like, well, yeah, so that's that's kind of the point,
is I see the trailer and exactly I'm like, well,
suddenly I feel like listening to some Michael Jackson songs,
you know, and and so if nothing else, look, I
think the movie is going to clean up, just buess.
Based on the trailer reviews and the time of year
it's coming. I was coming out late April of next year.
I think I think it's it's got you know, I

(01:09:50):
would be shocked if this flopped. But perhaps more importantly
to the state, they're going to be selling a ton
of soundtrack albums. Oh Man, yeah, you know, I think
it's going to be like Bohemian Rhapsody all over again.

Speaker 2 (01:10:03):
I was literally that's what I was gonna say. In
that movie made a billion dollars, and I mean, Queen
is Queen. They're huge, but like Michael Jackson is Michael Jackson,
and and that movie came out pre pandemic in a
different box office world. But I mean, that's astounding that
that movie made a billion dollars. So I mean this
around the world. But again to your point, like it's

(01:10:23):
it's almost hard to explain how huge he was for
people who weren't.

Speaker 1 (01:10:30):
There, you know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (01:10:31):
It makes me think of maybe like Elvis. You know,
people tell me Elvis was huge. I'm like, no, I
believe you, you know, but I'm sure if I was there,
I'd be like, no, no, you don't understand. Like he kind
of took over the culture, you know.

Speaker 1 (01:10:42):
I will say this though. They showed the trailer in
front of Now You See Me especially and you know
I had I had an eye with me and she goes, oh,
Michael Jackson, there you go, and like, how do you
know Michael Jackson. I don't.

Speaker 2 (01:10:56):
I'm curious.

Speaker 1 (01:10:57):
Actually I have no idea, but she knew Michael Jackson,
you know, so I'm like, okay, well, you know, yeah, but.

Speaker 2 (01:11:03):
But where I was going was around the world, like
he was as big anywhere in the world. Yeah, as
he was anywhere else. So it's it's I just feel like, yeah,
this is going to be if I could invest in
stock in this movie.

Speaker 1 (01:11:20):
Yeah, he well, he embodied a kind of star, a
kind of stardom that doesn't exist anymore. No, it just
full stop does not exist. No, So so definitely there
is that. You know. I was in my class a
couple of weeks ago and we were just talking about
movies coming up, and I was like, are any of
y'all interested in these Beatles you know, Beatles Assemble movies

(01:11:45):
that they have coming up? You know, yeah, you know
the BCU. Yeah, And most of these students are like, yeah,
I can't wait.

Speaker 2 (01:11:56):
Oh that is not what I expected.

Speaker 1 (01:11:58):
That surprised the shit out of me. So, you know,
I don't know, I don't know nothing. That's what I'm
saying now.

Speaker 2 (01:12:03):
Talk about a gamble. I mean, it's enough to make
one Beatles movie, Yeah, it's enough to make two and
split it in two. They're making four Beatles movies that
I think are coming out relatively close to one another.

Speaker 1 (01:12:17):
Yeah, like like a month apart something like that.

Speaker 2 (01:12:21):
Yeah, and it kind of makes me think of Kevin
Costner's Horizon movie, you know, where they were just like, well,
everyone of course is going to show up to the
first one, and then we already had the second one
booked a month later, and you don't know, you don't know.
So I mean that's like they're really quadrupling down on that.

Speaker 1 (01:12:39):
I you know what, I I appreciate the swing, and
I want more swings like this. I appreciated the swing
of Horizon and American Story, and it, yeah, irks me
that we're probably never going to get the rest of.

Speaker 2 (01:12:52):
It, even though two is in the can yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:12:56):
Somewhere, yeah, yeah, you know, and it still don't end.
As far as I know, the lead carearacters still haven't
met all of it, all of each other. Yeah, right right.
You know, I just hope, for Ringo Star's sake, that
the earlier ones do well enough so that you know,
by the time we get to the Ringo movie, it
can it can be released. I feel bad, you know.

Speaker 2 (01:13:15):
See, That's what I'm very curious about the what each
the structure of these films are you know what I mean, like,
is it truly I can't imagine it's the Paul bio,
it's the John bio. You know, is it gonna, you know,
be from Paul's I think the similar things that happen
like Raschamon almost like from their different points.

Speaker 1 (01:13:34):
I was thinking that. I was thinking that, Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:13:36):
I mean, that could be interesting. I don't know, ye
who knows. But wait, Michael, are you excited about Michael?

Speaker 1 (01:13:42):
I not not in the sense like oh, I can't
wait to watch it, but more like, well, that might
not be the worst thing to watch when I'm inevitably
watching it, you know. Sure, Yeah, I'm not scratching off
days on my calendar or anything. You know.

Speaker 2 (01:14:02):
Yeah, yeah, I gotta say I'm actually pretty excited. Okay, yeah,
I mean then Tyler was doing it for me, seeing
all those eras and seeing Thriller we.

Speaker 1 (01:14:09):
Should say, I mean Jeffarr Jackson, who is Michael's nephew,
I mean, good goodness, the resemblance is uncanny. But that said,
we see him, we see him to and then he's like, hey,
play the song or whatever, and I'm like Okay, that's
kind of funny. Like I mean, it's I don't know
if that's what he actually sounds like. But doing the
Michael Jackson falsetto, I'm picturing Leon Komplowski from The Simpsons,

(01:14:32):
you know.

Speaker 2 (01:14:32):
Yeah, right, right, right?

Speaker 1 (01:14:34):
No, he that's the thing, right.

Speaker 2 (01:14:36):
I mean again, when you do biopics, finding someone like
Austin Butler playing Elvis, you're like, well, he doesn't exactly
look like Elvis.

Speaker 1 (01:14:43):
But like.

Speaker 2 (01:14:45):
He's he's going for it, so you buy in. Yeah,
but yeah, I think Jaffar Jackson says, I think he
I don't know that you're gonna get any better than this, Yeah,
for someone who had such a distinct look, you know.

Speaker 1 (01:14:59):
So that's right. I think they nailed it. Should Well,
we'll be back talking about that movie sometime, you know,
late April of next year. I expect.

Speaker 2 (01:15:08):
Sounds good.

Speaker 1 (01:15:10):
Here's another movie coming out, and this one is Mowana,
which is, of course a remake of the Angel movie
starring John Travolta. No, it's it's the Way Too Soon
remake of the Disney animated movie, which came out like
I want to say, like eight months ago or something.
I mean, when did the first Majana come out, I

(01:15:31):
mean less than ten years ago, recent enough that this
my sense. And again this is just me reading tea
leaves from talking to my students. They're like actively irked
by how soon this remake has been made.

Speaker 2 (01:15:45):
That's fascinating. Okay, it looked it up. It's twenty sixteen.

Speaker 1 (01:15:48):
Okay, so by the time it comes out of the
ten years still too soon.

Speaker 2 (01:15:54):
Yeah. See, that's funny because they're younger, obviously, but this
is happening so quickly that they're like, no, this just
happened in my childhood. And you know, usually for us,
it's like, you know, twenty years later and we're like, oh,
I'm annoyed, but I guess it's been a little while.
But for them, it's like, no, this just happened, and
I still love that thing. And they're already making a

(01:16:15):
new version.

Speaker 1 (01:16:15):
Of Yeah, they're they're they're voicing disdain at the presumptuousness
of like, y'all, y'all gonna show up anyway, you know.
And here's the thing, because because they just dropped the teaser,
I gotta be honest, this is probably one of the
worst trailers I've ever seen in terms of like, it
looks completely phony. Yeah, it looks it looks like A

(01:16:40):
Like if you told me SOA made this, I would believe.

Speaker 2 (01:16:43):
You one hundred percent. I'm looking at the image of
her right now singing on her boat, and.

Speaker 1 (01:16:50):
That's literally what it looks like. AI.

Speaker 2 (01:16:52):
Yeah, and it goes back to that thing that I
was talking about earlier, where when they don't quite know
what the backgrounds is going to be, they just shoot
a person surrounded by nothing and they like them kind
of plainly, and they touch the entire thing up later
and then it.

Speaker 1 (01:17:08):
Just looks all of it looks false, right.

Speaker 2 (01:17:12):
You know, none of it. It looks like you know
when you go to Universal Studios and they show you
how visual effects work and they're like, here, stand in
front of this green screen and we're gonna put you in,
you know, a Minion's movie, you know, and then you're
standing there like, oh, look at me, I'm in the
Minions movie.

Speaker 1 (01:17:26):
That's literally what she looks like in this shot. Yeah,
it's strange. It's very odd. And the thought I had
is that, you know, this one, they obviously have a
new actress playing Mowana, Catherine Laga Aya. I hope I'm
pronouncing that right. But perhaps more importantly, you have Dwayne
Johnson again playing Maui, right, this time in live action.

(01:17:48):
And my thought was maybe the Disney folks were kind
of looking at this in terms of if we do
a live action Mowana, who could possibly play Maui but
Dwayne Johnson, right, And so maybe they're like, we got
like the clock is ticking on that because he's like
mid fifties right now, right, so do we want mid
sixties Dwayne Johnson playing Maui? Right? So maybe maybe it's

(01:18:12):
as simple as that.

Speaker 2 (01:18:14):
That makes a lot of sense to me, you know, yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:18:18):
And I mean I'm pretty sure Dwaye Johnson, you know,
he's let me look at it. Yep. See, he's a
producer there you go. So you know, I'm sure he
was pushing for it too. But I don't know, he's
he's had a rough couple of years.

Speaker 2 (01:18:31):
It feels like, yeah, I mean, he was on top
of the world for a really long time and then
his stuff just stopped hitting like he used to as
as black at it like a big black eye for him.

Speaker 1 (01:18:42):
Black Adam. That's a big one. Yeah. He reset the
balance of power, yes, I mean just not in the
way he would have liked.

Speaker 2 (01:18:52):
I say that, especially because he was talking such a
big game and almost seemed like he was going rogue,
yeah from this studio and being like, no, no, I'll
tell you what's gonna happen, Black Adam, Superman, watch for it.
It's happening. And I think he thought there was going
to be this enormous response to it and then the
studio would have to follow suit and support his vision
of the the DC you know, movie universe.

Speaker 1 (01:19:15):
And that didn't happen, and it humbled them a little bit.
I think, wompwomp. And then I just saw, actually they
I just saw the first picture of the new Jumanji.
They're doing another Jumanji movie. Yeah, right, so you know,
for for for the rock's sake, I hope that one
performs right right well.

Speaker 2 (01:19:35):
And then, you know, a lot of people were comparing
him to Dave Bautista, you know, also a wrestler became
an actor, but he was taking smaller roles but in
more interesting films, and then he was popping in them
and people were going, wow, Dave Boutista is like a
really good actor, Like there's a credibility to Dave Bautista. Yeah,
and it's sort of like, why isn't the Rock, Why

(01:19:57):
isn't the Rock do that? Why does he keep making
this sort of you assembly line stuff? And it feels
like he took that to heart a little bit and
that's why he did the Smashing Machine, which also didn't hit.

Speaker 1 (01:20:09):
I know, and that's you know, you do you do
a Safty movie. You're thinking, okay, it's it's a twenty
It was a twenty four, I think, right, yeap, like, oh,
this is it's all the it's all the cred. You know,
that was going to be his uh king Richard or something.

Speaker 2 (01:20:21):
You know, totally totally and I haven't seen it, by
the way, and I would like to see it, so
I mean, I can't speak to if it's good or not,
but yeah, you could. It was a little transparent the
play that he was making. At least it feels that way.
It's easy to assume, let's put it that way, that
that that was kind of the thinking.

Speaker 1 (01:20:39):
And it didn't work well. I mean, you know, it
got like a standing oh at at cann or whatever, right,
and you know, all the you know, I mean, it
was his Oscar play. He was ready, he was he
was measuring his tucks. He was getting ready to smack
the shit out of Chris rock on Oscar. He was
ready to go.

Speaker 2 (01:20:56):
Well, you know he he was also in all the
interviews he was wearing glasses and I was like, oh,
he's like he's ready to go.

Speaker 1 (01:21:06):
When they would answer it, ask him a question, he
would lean forward and steeple his fingers. Exactly, that's a
good question. Okay, Well, so so Momana, this one comes
out July of.

Speaker 2 (01:21:17):
Next year, and it is going to destroy.

Speaker 1 (01:21:20):
I honestly, I will be very surprised if this one
like blows up. I've got to say.

Speaker 2 (01:21:30):
I mean, I think it looks hideous the visually, but even.

Speaker 1 (01:21:34):
Step up from now, I just don't think there's a
demand for it right now.

Speaker 2 (01:21:38):
That's well, that's interesting. I was gonna say, though. What's
weird about it though, is it is a movie with
a lot of fantastical elements. Sure, so obviously there's going
to be a crapload of you know, visual effects and
things going on in this. So maybe that was part
of the calculus, like, well, the world doesn't have to
look we're not going to actually go to Hawaii, right,
you know, and get stung by mosquitoes and whatever like

(01:21:59):
this is this is a heightened this is a heightened Hawaii,
And so maybe that's the thinking that's but I just
I don't know, Like.

Speaker 1 (01:22:06):
Wouldn't you rather see something that's slightly more realistic looking
than just a cgi fantasia?

Speaker 2 (01:22:12):
I yes, the short answer is yes, or I wouldn't
mind if they dialed it up a couple degrees. Sure, fantastically,
but yeah, I would like to see her running on
actual sand.

Speaker 1 (01:22:24):
Yeah, you know, I think or even here.

Speaker 2 (01:22:26):
I mean, like clearly that's not a real sky. It's
not like nothing's real except her and the rope she's holding,
and to my eyes, it just like it's like nails
on a chalkboard or something. But you know what, I'm
sure a lot of people don't care.

Speaker 1 (01:22:41):
So well, I mean, we can talk about it, but yeah,
well I was curious, just like you know, did did
Mowana too even perform? And then I just pulled that
up and that made one h point oh five to
nine billion against one hundred and fifty million dollar budget.
So I am completely wrong. So there is an audience
for Wan, but I still I will contend I don't

(01:23:02):
think there's an audience for this live action remake. But hey,
if I'm wrong, then I'll come back and I will
eat Crow. Now I'm really curious.

Speaker 2 (01:23:09):
I mean, you have your finger on the pulse a
little bit more than I do with the young the young'ins.

Speaker 1 (01:23:15):
Well, but I think about it. The people I talked
to are the ones who probably grew up with the original.
So what about the younger the you know, the under
ten set. They're not gonna What about your daughter? I
don't think she knows about this, so I'd be curious
what she thinks wants. Yeah, I don't even know if
she saw the second one, to be honest. Anyway, Hey
we got we got some new releases to talk about, Brian.

(01:23:36):
Oh yeah, and now we're pleased to bring our features.
All right, wait, we got we got a couple couple
options this week to discuss. How do I this? Do
we want to do this? Like silver? Then gold?

Speaker 2 (01:23:58):
Sure?

Speaker 1 (01:24:00):
So The Running Man opened this weekend, and it was
it was expected to win the weekend a few weeks
out from release, but in something of a stunner, it
came in. Actually not even a stunner. It just feels
like the story lately. It came in several million, shy
of its projections, and it opened in second place. This is,

(01:24:23):
of course, the film directed by Edgar Wright, starring Glenn Powell,
and it is a remake of the Stephen King novel,
now credited to Stephen King.

Speaker 2 (01:24:32):
Yeah, I thought I saw that at the beginning, did
Richard Bachman.

Speaker 1 (01:24:38):
Richard Bachman, which is Stephen King's pseudonym in the eighties
when the book was published. So it seems like it's
gonna have a tough time making back its budget. Yeah,
I don't know. I feel like we're in a good
position to talk about this. Having just revisited the eighty
seven Arnold Schwarzenegger version, I was.

Speaker 2 (01:24:59):
Really glad we had. It was nice having that in
my head and kind of seeing, you know, I've not
read the book, and my understanding is this is more
faithful to the book. So it was interesting seeing certain
elements and be like, oh, okay, well, I can see
then why they decided to merge these two characters into
one character in the Schwarzenegger movie, or you know, or

(01:25:23):
our character who only appears in the third act of
this new one becomes like a sidekick for the entire movie.
In the first one. You know, it was interesting seeing
all the decisions that both movies made.

Speaker 1 (01:25:34):
Yeah, yeah, Well you and I briefly discussed this, and
my thought was was, between between the two versions, you've
got one decent Running Man movie. Yeah, yeah, because I
feel like where the other one works and this one stumbles,

(01:25:54):
the other one stumbles and this one works, and you know,
two flawed films, and it flawed in different ways. But
I will say the movie ended and I felt I
I I had enjoyed the experience of having watched it,
but I I didn't. I didn't really get anything out

(01:26:16):
of it beyond just the two hours of oh, you know,
it's a you know, the engrossing chase picture. M hmm.
I think I was hoping for more. I was hoping
for a little bit more social commentary. It's weird. It
just felt soft to me, you know.

Speaker 2 (01:26:37):
I I literally agree with everything you just said. Like
when it ended, I was like, ah, that was all right,
And the people I was with were like really like
they didn't like it as much, and I was like, well, look,
I I don't think it came together. Yeah, but I
didn't mind my two hours with it.

Speaker 1 (01:26:58):
That right, It's not a movie I see myself watching again.

Speaker 2 (01:27:02):
No, no, unfortunately, Like and as we were walking out,
I was telling, you know, we can go over it
in a minute. But like I was like, I don't
know why they did this. This kind of didn't make sense.
I wish that it all come together a little better.
I mean, we can get I didn't. I didn't necessarily
love the ending, but I was, you know, captivated while

(01:27:24):
I was watching it, you know, yeah, despite having nitpicks
adding up, so you know what I mean. Like it's
it's not a bad two hours at the movies, but
it's not all it could have been. And that's a
bit of a bummer.

Speaker 1 (01:27:38):
Yeah, you know. I have a quote here from Steven E. Desusa,
who wrote the original version, and he has an interview
talking about the new one. He says he hadn't seen it,
but he read the script, and he says, I read
it and felt that on paper they got the ending working.
Even the reviews that love it say it stumbles at
the end. It seems to me that this time around,
something went wrong between the page and stage again, so

(01:28:04):
I'm assuming the ending in the script he read was
was different. Then I really want to comment on that yeah,
I wouldn't be surprised. I mean, the movie shirt gives
off that vibe, doesn't it.

Speaker 2 (01:28:15):
When we were walking out, I was like that that
ending had to.

Speaker 1 (01:28:18):
Be like a last minute yeah, like change.

Speaker 2 (01:28:22):
Yeah, it just felt very abrupt and kind of hastily executed,
and I was like, oh, okay, And I also wasn't
I don't know.

Speaker 1 (01:28:32):
I just didn't find it very satisfying. But the ending,
the ending, Yeah, sorry, But it's interesting.

Speaker 2 (01:28:39):
Because the Schwarzenegger movie has it all taking place the
games in these arenas underground one location, right, and here
this character could literally travel wherever he wants. He just
has to not be caught. So you get this much
more episodic feeling m where he goes to this town

(01:29:03):
and he's in a hotel, but and he encounters this person.
But then he goes here into the middle of nowhere,
and he encounters that person, and then he meets someone
who's very different than him, and they have this understanding
about one another, you know what I mean, versus it
just being one thing in one location that they have
to endure. And I think that introduced some interesting things,

(01:29:28):
some cool things, but it also some of the piece
segments work better for me than others.

Speaker 1 (01:29:35):
Yeah, I think that I was mostly on board with
the first act as far as setting up our character,
setting up the world. I think Glenn Powell, I'm a
fan of his. I like him, and I think he's
good in this movie. He's good with what he's given

(01:29:56):
to do. However, the problem I had is that the movie,
and this is in the trailers. It it shows us
that he's got like a like a short temper, but
it feels very arbitrary to me, like it that temper
doesn't feel motivated in terms of why. Is like it

(01:30:16):
just feels like he flies off the handle.

Speaker 2 (01:30:20):
He's like Marty McFly being called chicken, Right, they just
need to give him a hook.

Speaker 1 (01:30:24):
So it's that's sort of yeah, thats what it felt
like to me, interesting and right, and and I just
thought that was odd because I think, I think, I
don't know, there's I just feel like there would have
been more interesting ways of incorporating how frustrated he is
to live in this society that's just stacked against him, right,
I mean, I think I think there's something very compelling

(01:30:45):
about that and making him an every man, which is
truer to the book as opposed to you know, in
the the Schwarzenegger one where he's like a he's an
operative of the state who's being punished, you know. So
I this version is truer and and all that stuff
I was on board with. But but again, just this
kind of like he just randomly flies off the handle,

(01:31:06):
and I found it really distracting. That's maybe that's just me.

Speaker 2 (01:31:09):
No, I'm with you, I'm with you. I really liked
the first act I thought they did a good job
introducing his situation. Yea, how dire everything is, you know,
with you know, begging for his job back, and his
daughter who's sick, and that that little actress is so
cute his daughter, and like his wife, she she doesn't
have very much screen time, but she made an impact

(01:31:31):
for me. Like, I really bought them as a unit,
and I understood why he would do this, and I
thought they did a good job of making me understand
also that this isn't completely crazy for someone to try
out for this kind of game, Like there's lines like
this is all people have available to them, you know,

(01:31:52):
certain people, and so got I to try to play
those crazy games. Maybe it's the only way I can
get money. From My Sick Kid. You know, yeah, I
thought that was all great. Yeah, so yeah, I bought
his h his frustrations at the beginning, but I agree
like it would sort of crop up when necessary, I
guess throughout the movie, or if they wanted some sort

(01:32:13):
of reaction out of him.

Speaker 1 (01:32:16):
Yeah, and and and so it it felt or arbitrary,
It felt artificial. And then and then you know, you
just have characters believing excuse me, behaving in ways that
are that are not believable to me. Like the Martin
Hurley hate character. I'm like, are you e fin kidding me?

Speaker 2 (01:32:31):
You know, I love the idea of that character, kind
of a sympathetic person who's involved in the games, who
is way in over their head. And Glenn Powell will
obviously sympathize with that person and we will too.

Speaker 1 (01:32:42):
And you have to have you could have done that
with the glasses guy in the first movie, right the
way something in that vein.

Speaker 2 (01:32:49):
Yeah, Well, the problem was is he did feel like
one of his characters from SNL. Yes, in his level
of stupe stupid.

Speaker 1 (01:32:59):
It felt like, could please don't destroy sketch?

Speaker 2 (01:33:01):
It did, Yes, like what if what if they were
like what if one of those guys was in the
Hunk or The Running Man. Yeah, and uh, but like
I'm saying, I like the idea.

Speaker 1 (01:33:11):
I like that actor.

Speaker 2 (01:33:12):
I mean, I think he's fun, and I like the
idea of someone that Palell is like.

Speaker 1 (01:33:16):
No, no, don't do that.

Speaker 2 (01:33:17):
Yeah, you know, like I thought they did a good
job of being like when they break down the game,
they're like, there's all these different types, right, there's the
person who doesn't know what the heck they're doing. There's
the person who enjoys it too much, you know, and
then there's the person who's going to go the distance.
But no, anyway, I'm what you're saying is very simple
and agree.

Speaker 1 (01:33:35):
Like it was just too silly. It didn't feel like
it belongs. It broke the reality of the world. And
the thing is, like we had we have these moments
that seem to hint towards kind of a RoboCop social satire. Yes, right,
you know, you have this whole this Kardashian esque show
that's kind of a runner, but it doesn't really amount

(01:33:55):
to anything from what I could see, Like, it didn't right.

Speaker 2 (01:33:59):
No, I well, it seemed like something that he was
going to scoff at and then eventually enjoy right, like
because he's he's he is, you know, turning his nose
up at it first, but then it shows him watching
it again. So I wonder if that's something that was cut.

Speaker 1 (01:34:13):
Something that it sure felt like it was meant to
lead into something, right, Yeah, yeah, so you know, but
that and even like just the the commercials and everything,
it very very robo cut, like eighty seven robo cup
in totally. And so that was my problem. I'm like, oh, man,
maybe this is something in that bin. He said, you
get Edgar right in there, and and so it got

(01:34:34):
my hopes up for something in that vane and then
it so it really it did kind of just peter
out to me by the time, you know, by the
time things are are winding towards their conclusion, it just
felt very generic. Yeah, whild I would like to do
a little spoiler wall. Yeah we should, we should. Yeah
we'll say yeah, yeah, sorry, real quick, two things on

(01:34:56):
two points. I wanted to make Number one. I thought
Coleman Domingo was so much fun to watch me too.

Speaker 2 (01:35:03):
He doesn't have like a ton of screen time, but no,
it's a big impact, big mark.

Speaker 1 (01:35:07):
Yeah. I was like, give me more of him. He's interesting,
you know, and he kind of like blew Brolin off
the stage a little bit. You know.

Speaker 2 (01:35:15):
That's what I was sort of saying earlier, is like
I now understand the decision to morph those characters into
one like they did in the first one with Richard Dawson.

Speaker 1 (01:35:23):
Yeah. The other thought I had is, you know, the
movie did underperform, and I wonder part of that is
like people are just kind of like it's a little
too much like right now, a little bit right. And
I wonder about that because I was thinking about how
back in twenty what was it, twenty seventeen when War
for the planetar the Apes came out, and that one

(01:35:45):
did all right, but it didn't do as well as
like they would have hoped, and it was like, you know,
things are like, do we feel like escaping from real
life into just like a shitty dystopia? And I feel
like there was some of that going on with The
Running Man, because because I mean, it's about a world
where you don't know how you're gonna get healthcare and

(01:36:06):
the elites are just doing whatever the hell they want,
and and I don't know, I'm sure there's a lot
of folks who are like, you know, I'm good. That's
that's like, that's my that's my Monday through Friday nine
to five. You know, I.

Speaker 2 (01:36:16):
Honestly think you're right. I mean, look at what turned
out to be number one. Now You See Me, which
is a very frothy, silly, you know, fun caper that
almost feels fantastical, and it's escapism.

Speaker 1 (01:36:29):
Well, and I mean ironically both films are kind of
about sticking it to the man.

Speaker 2 (01:36:33):
That's true, Yeah, but it's all about how you get
fun and Now You See Me. But the one thing
I wanted to say before spoilers is I had heard
that Edgar Wright read this book when he was a
teenager and he's loved it ever since, and this has
been his dream project. And so yeah, I mean that

(01:36:53):
bumps out. Yeah, but I also wonder if this is
I mean, think of Peter Jackson and King this is.

Speaker 1 (01:37:00):
Just what we were talking about, is this is Ghermo
del Toro Frankenstein.

Speaker 2 (01:37:04):
Exactly like maybe he's had it. He has a lot
of things that he really wants to do from the book,
and then he also has his own kind of thing
that he wants to bring to it. But there's also
the realities of making a movie with a studio, and
there's and I wonder if this just wound up being you.

Speaker 1 (01:37:18):
Know, unwieldy. Yeah, in a way, and.

Speaker 2 (01:37:22):
For all those reasons. You know, sometimes that can come together,
and sometimes that can make things a little bit more
difficult to congeal.

Speaker 1 (01:37:29):
You know. Occasionally you get your Denny Villeneuve doune. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
you know, but I feel I mean, I genuinely I
feel bad because I don't I want Edgar Wright to
continue to succeed. Yeah, and I feel bad because I
want Glenn Powell to continue to succeed. So it bums
me out, honestly that this movie a it didn't perform
the way they would have liked, but also that I

(01:37:49):
didn't like it as much as I would have hoped to.

Speaker 2 (01:37:52):
You know, yeah, yeah, it's not a bad time at
the movies, but it's not a particularly memorable yeah memorable
on either.

Speaker 1 (01:38:01):
Uh the the the female character at the end, who
uh the the you know, the Maria Cncito Alonso equivalent. Yes, yes,
I forget the actor's name. She's she's on that show
task with the Mark Ruffalo. Oh okay, gosh, darn it,
I forget her name. Anyway, Uh, it felt like her

(01:38:23):
her introduction at that stage of the plot was very
awkward to me.

Speaker 2 (01:38:29):
It feels like, from that point on, it felt like
I was watching a TV series and this was a
new episode, you know what I mean, which is not
exactly what you want in a movie.

Speaker 1 (01:38:39):
And maybe this would have worked better as like a
season long story.

Speaker 2 (01:38:44):
Maybe maybe. But but again, like I was saying, I
can now see the decision in the first of the
Schwarzenegger movie to be like, you know what, it's nice
when he can you know, this one comes from this world,
he comes from that world. They get thrown in the
thing together, and let's see how they, you know, bounce
off of all this, and let's just make let's introduce

(01:39:05):
her at the beginning. Let's just have her through the
whole thing with him. That was a good decision, it seems,
you know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (01:39:14):
I did like that.

Speaker 2 (01:39:14):
I like that when he was in there talking about
her scarf and she, you know, well, and then she
obviously doesn't believe him, and why would she because of
everything she's seeing on TV about him, all the lies
and the you know, manipulating the footage of the things
that he's done and said, and then when she sees
her situation getting manipulated on TV and waking up to that.
I like all that, but I agree with you, it

(01:39:36):
just felt very awkward at the end of the film,
like it was just kind of shoehorned in there in
a weird place when we were already like I was
kind of ready.

Speaker 1 (01:39:45):
To wind down the movie. So it's it's Amelia Jones
is the actor, and her character is Amelia Williams. One
other thought is is the the Lee Pace character?

Speaker 2 (01:40:00):
Okay, so should we do spoilers?

Speaker 1 (01:40:02):
Well, I was gonna try to like finesse my way
around this, Okay. I feel like Lee Pace is great.
He's just a great actor. Yeah, great presence. There's a
reveal involving his character that would have meant more if
they had seated it in some.

Speaker 2 (01:40:19):
Way one hundred percent right.

Speaker 1 (01:40:24):
So that again, this makes me wonder if stuff just
like got cut out because I'm not particularly smart, so
I don't believe I'm the only guy who had that thought.

Speaker 2 (01:40:34):
Yeah, I don't know. I don't know if.

Speaker 1 (01:40:38):
I mean, like, it's there's a turn that's meant to
mean something, Yes, And it means nothing.

Speaker 2 (01:40:45):
Because yes, like you said, it hasn't been properly seated,
you know. And there's two I think they call him
a Hunters in this movie, right, Yeah, that's right.

Speaker 1 (01:40:54):
There's like two.

Speaker 2 (01:40:55):
Hunters that I thought should have been morphed into the
Lee Pace character, like he kind of his lead blonde guy. Yeah,
and then you have I don't know, sorry if I'm
like spoiling, but like it just feels like it should
have been one character should have been seated a little
bit better at the beginning, and then there would have
been an impact and also something for Glenn Powell's character

(01:41:16):
to have to kind of confront himself.

Speaker 1 (01:41:19):
Yeah, it would have meant a little bit, That's exactly it.

Speaker 2 (01:41:21):
Yeah, I agree, Yeah, so you know, but again I
was telling my brother, I'm like, look, man, if this
is you know, out one Friday night and you're looking
for something for two hours, yeah, like queue it up,
you know. But like it's just too bad, especially coming
from Edgar Wright. Like you said, we like Glenn Powell,

(01:41:43):
we have an interest in the source material. It's just
too bad it didn't come together and become the thing
we feel like it could have been.

Speaker 1 (01:41:49):
Yeah, by the way.

Speaker 2 (01:41:51):
Did you see Glenn Powell on SNL.

Speaker 1 (01:41:54):
Oh? Yeah, he was great.

Speaker 2 (01:41:55):
He I think that was one of the best ones
of the season.

Speaker 1 (01:41:57):
So he was going for it. Man.

Speaker 2 (01:42:00):
Yeah, someone texted me and they were like, he's stronger
than some of the people on the cast.

Speaker 1 (01:42:04):
That's well, all the sketches, notwithstanding just the fact that
during his monologue, he's like, four years ago, I was
supposed to do this and because of COVID, I couldn't
and I was at the moment I found out I
was a ups guy was delivering me. He got all excited,
took a selfie, and I don't want him to think
I'm a liar, so I flew him out here four

(01:42:25):
years later to watch me on SNL.

Speaker 2 (01:42:28):
That's the thing, right, because people keep saying, like, is
Glenn Powell a movie star? Do we like him? And
I feel like every time I'm confronted with him, I'm like, yes,
I like him.

Speaker 1 (01:42:36):
He seems just like a good dude.

Speaker 2 (01:42:38):
Well, yeah, like you know, everybody wants some top gun Twisters.
I think was the best showcase he's had so far,
really played to his strengths. I really liked him and
his character in that movie. And then yeah, the SNL thing.
When I saw the monologue and he brought that UPS
guy on the stage, and the UPS guy came out
for the you know, good nights, goody and the end,

(01:42:58):
I was just like, how can you not like this guy?

Speaker 1 (01:43:02):
This is so cool? One thing I will say during
his monologue he goes, you know, and I flew him out.
I flew him coach, because I don't know how running
Man is gonna do. Unconsciously, I was like, oh, because
I heard, because I already knew it wasn't performing, right,
did you the sketch with Ashley Padilla and the haircut haircut? Yeah,

(01:43:25):
Holy Molly, I was My stomach was hurting. I was
laughing so hard. I like it. Yeah, I was. You know,
in class this week, I was talking about, you know,
persuasion motivation. I was talking about the sunk cost fallacy
where you know what, you you put your emotional or
financial weight behind something and then you you're you don't

(01:43:46):
want to admit it's bad. So I ended up showing
that sketch. Oh that's funny.

Speaker 2 (01:43:51):
Did they laugh?

Speaker 1 (01:43:52):
Yeah? They were cranking up.

Speaker 2 (01:43:55):
I thought one that didn't like land super well, but
I still thought it was a funny idea was the
Haken sketch.

Speaker 1 (01:44:01):
Yeah, yeah, I don't know.

Speaker 2 (01:44:03):
Something felt like they like tripped a little bit at
the beginning or something was off with the timing, but
like the concept and like even the jokes themselves, even
though the audience wasn't reacting, I was like, this is
a very funny idea.

Speaker 1 (01:44:13):
Well, so that was like the second version of a
similar thing that they've done. It's always Andrew dys Muke's
as the second husband.

Speaker 2 (01:44:21):
Oh oh okay, Oh I didn't remember that.

Speaker 1 (01:44:23):
Yeah, because they did win a couple of years ago
with Jason Momoa as the husband who or the boyfriend
who was like lost at sea and then he's come
back and he looks like Jason Momoa. Oh that's funny
and Andrew dys Musk because Andrew Andrew us Muke. So
I was like, oh, okay, they're doing they're making it
like a like a series, you know, right right right
right anyway, So those are our thoughts. On Saturday Night

(01:44:46):
Live hosted by.

Speaker 2 (01:44:49):
Oh and the Ai thing was speaking of Ai from
earlier that was really funny, Yes, showing the grandma of
the pictures and they're like, hey, we're gonna use AI
to make them come to life, but AI turns out
into like are like smoking hot dogs like cigarettes.

Speaker 1 (01:45:02):
It don't make sense, which is basically where we are.

Speaker 2 (01:45:04):
You know, you know, I almost sent you something last night.
I saw this thing where it was like, here's a
baby seal and it shows this hand with basically like
a paper cup and this little baby seals inside and
they're dumping it into a tank.

Speaker 1 (01:45:17):
And I was like, are baby seals ever? That's small?
That's crazy, and I was just like I bought it.

Speaker 2 (01:45:24):
And then I looked in the comments and someone was like,
look how many fingers that hand has holding the cup?

Speaker 1 (01:45:28):
And it had like six fingers.

Speaker 2 (01:45:30):
I was like, holy crap, Like it was just so innocuous,
you know, you look at a baby seal, but it
wasn't real.

Speaker 1 (01:45:38):
And I fell for it.

Speaker 2 (01:45:39):
And it's like, man, you really got to have.

Speaker 1 (01:45:40):
Your guard up. Yeah, we're in trouble. We're in trouble.
We're in trouble kids. Okay, so do we want to
do spoilers or do we cover it?

Speaker 2 (01:45:47):
Uh?

Speaker 1 (01:45:50):
Yeah, I feel good.

Speaker 2 (01:45:51):
I'm just yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll just say the ending
it did feel like kind of cobbled together, and even
like the last sort of image I felt I found
kind of on satisfying.

Speaker 1 (01:46:01):
Yeah, I didn't know what the movie wanted me to
feel it's very end yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:46:05):
Yeah, or even what the outcome was necessarily for.

Speaker 1 (01:46:10):
People, yeah, being vague. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:46:15):
All right, well there we go.

Speaker 1 (01:46:17):
All right, Uh, moving on, let's talk about let's talk
about the movie that did end up surprising many folks
by by winning the box office this past week, and
we're talking about Now You See Me, Now You Don't,
which is the first film in the series to open
at number one. However, its opening weekend is still lower

(01:46:37):
than the opening weekends of the previous two movies. M
that's just how how the the movie going economy has changed.
Right now. I will say that a few a few
months ago, when when we talked about the trailer, I
was I was jokingly saying, like, who's I don't know?
Is the way the trailer was putting it. It's like, hey,
you know who's back. It's this guy? And you know

(01:46:59):
who else that guy? Oh, and don't think we forgot
this guy, you know, right right? And I was curious
if audiences would have any appetite for it, And obviously
I was, in fact wrong because not only did people
turn up, people were excited for this. And I don't
think I realized is how much of an afterlife these
movies have had on streaming. That all being said, I

(01:47:21):
I was was utterly charmed by this film. I found
it just it was it was just just a good time.
I've seen it twice now because to me, it is
a movie that that you can go see it again.
Because I had fun the first time, I can go
see it again. And I was glad to see the
Horsemen back. I enjoyed their new adventure. And and by golly,
they've already said they're doing a fourth one, and I'm like,

(01:47:42):
give me, give me four, five and six. I want
I want this to be. This is gonna be my
fast and Furious family, right right? I am. I am
all about that.

Speaker 2 (01:47:53):
I part of me is like, who is this that's
on the other end of the mic here, because I yeah,
you being like like, oh yeah, we're all looking forward
to seeing Mary McKinney back, you know, and like nobody
knows who that is. And then you're just now like
I was so happy to see the Horsemen back in action.

Speaker 1 (01:48:12):
It's true they won you over. Yeah, Well, because because
I had watched them the other ones when they came out,
and I enjoyed them. But watching this after a significant
gap the very first scene, which which is, you know,
a magic show, but the horsemen have been gone for
a while, and then and I was I literally I
was like, man, I'm glad to see these guys. Like

(01:48:33):
it felt good. And they're all, you know, like, I'm
Mary McKinney, and then you know, I'm Jack Wilder. I
was like, this is great. May we're back, This is great,
you know, yep, it felt good. I honestly, I think
this hit all the bases that I would want from
a movie like this, and I think it built on

(01:48:55):
the sort of whatever affinity people have for the previous
films in terms of the aracter interactions and stuff, and it's,
you know, it's it's telling a story that is certainly
superhero adjacent in terms of the Shenanigans, but it's it's
blissfully you know, blue Skybeam free right, and it's really

(01:49:15):
it's to me, it's like put Mission Impossible, fast and
furious and Ocean's eleven and a blender you have now
you see me? Yeah? Yeah, you know.

Speaker 2 (01:49:24):
I I enjoyed it too. I'm gonna say my honest
reaction to it. Like I I've already mentioned this episode.
I worked on the first movie for a very long time.
I've probably seen that movie at least twenty times, you
know what I mean, Like, I've seen it a lot. Yeah,
and so and I've seen part two and I don't

(01:49:46):
remember it as well, but my memory and what I
think this one is like. Also, the first movie is
super fun, and you know, these magicians are doing these,
you know, elevated sorts of tricks and things to pull
and over on bad guys. But that movie has a
little a little bit more grit to it the first one.
The first one, Yeah, you know, just the filmmaking and

(01:50:11):
the degrees of the action and things that are happening.
And it's like car chases and you know whatever, people
like throwing stuff at people, like flash paper, things that exist,
and you know whatever.

Speaker 1 (01:50:25):
And and I really like it.

Speaker 2 (01:50:27):
Then I remember in two it I remember there's a
moment where they're passing a card around a room and
it kind of it kind of acts like a magic boomerang,
you know what I mean. It's obviously an animated card.
And I was like, oh, this is a little they're
they're pushing it a little bit more into the fantastical realm.

(01:50:49):
And this one, I think much like the Fast and
Furious franchise, Like if now you see me one is
the Fast and the Furious. This feels kind of like
Fast nine, you know what I mean, where they're like no, no, no, no,
we are all in like the villain like she is
like evil.

Speaker 1 (01:51:07):
Yeah, great, though it's great. You're like, oh man, I
want to see her brought down.

Speaker 2 (01:51:11):
And that's what I mean, like for the first act,
because I've only like I said, I've only seen the
second one once. I've seen the first one many many times.
I was actually a little jarred by how much more
heightened everything felt like the characters and the the the
magic itself is very crazy. Yeah, And so so then

(01:51:32):
I was like, oh, okay, this is where we have gotten,
Like this is what this is now. These are like
what you described. They're like Marvel meets Oceans eleven meets
you know whatever. Yeah, and I think it's a fun
place for it to settle. And it doesn't like we
were saying, it makes sense to me that this is
number one, because this is just it goes down easy
and it's a bop. Yeah, you know what I mean,

(01:51:54):
Like it's just a fun time. So I will admit
like it. I was a little thrown at the beginning
by the tone felt a little different to me than
the one that I was used to the first one,
but I settled in and then I was like, all right, hey,
we're gonna steal enough one car, Like.

Speaker 1 (01:52:08):
All right, you know, well, the very the opening sequence
involves a douchey crypto bro having his digital wallet emptied out,
and so right away the movies letting you know what
world it exists within, you know, and I'm like, yeah,
I'm I'm in the mood for that. Totally more of
this please, you know. Yeah. I think there's one sequence

(01:52:33):
in the middle that that just delighted me, and it's
it's the all the you know, the various horsemen, originals
and new, and they're in this old mansion and it's
just a it's a it's a one take walk through
all of them doing various tricks, and obviously it involves
digital trickery. But you know, there's sort of like one

(01:52:56):
critique I hear it's like these movies are too much
cgi it's not real magic, And I'm like, yeah, because
it's a movie, guys. I mean, you know, sure, sure,
Like yeah, I don't I don't expect Jesse Eisenberg to
do to be doing David Blaine type shit. He's an actor,
you know, right, But but I'm like, that's movie magic.
That's the fun of it, you know, right. And And
so I think, in in comparison with or in contrast

(01:53:19):
with the scene you described from part two, uh, I
think I liked, you know this this won er because
you're sort of you're looking for the seams, you're looking
for the digital seams and it and it does a
really good job of just keeping you, keeping you guessing,
you know. I Uh, I like that aspect. I like
the new characters. I think, you know, they have a

(01:53:40):
fun dynamic.

Speaker 2 (01:53:42):
You know, that's like a risk, right when you do
a sequel and you bring back the characters that everybody
knows and likes. But then you're also like, all right,
now you got to love these people too, these new people.
And sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. And when
I saw the trailer, I was a little like, oh man,
this movie feels a little packed.

Speaker 1 (01:53:59):
But no, I thought there was a good balance I thought, yeah, yeah,
the the you know, the the third act, which without
without spoiling anything, but I mean these movies all end
up with with the big one, last revealed type thing.
It was interesting because because the first time I watched it,

(01:54:22):
I was trying to track it, track it back, you know,
and then the second time I was watching it knowing
the twist, and so it like held up better for
me and it and it kind of had the same
experience with the first one, where you know, when the
first time I watched it, I had trouble with the
reveal of Ruffalo right as you know, he's the FBI

(01:54:43):
agent who's tracking them, and it turns out he's been
part of the part of the hestor He's he's been
behind it the whole time. And the first time I
watched it, I was like, come on. And then the
second time, knowing that knowing the twist made it easier
because you're sort of you were able to impute motives
and things like that.

Speaker 2 (01:55:02):
You know.

Speaker 1 (01:55:03):
I had something similar with this one.

Speaker 2 (01:55:06):
Okay, yeah, so it would be fun to watch that again.
I mean without spoiling what it is, but yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:55:12):
It's just like it bombed me a little bit the
first time.

Speaker 2 (01:55:15):
Yeah, well, I was like, are they telling the truth
or not?

Speaker 1 (01:55:19):
Sure? Sure are they? Oh that's a good point. Yeah,
but I like the twist. I think it's a good
I think it was it's a good way to tie
the story together. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:55:29):
No, I agree, And I like, without saying whatever, like
I like the way.

Speaker 1 (01:55:33):
That the actors played it. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:55:36):
Yeah, there was like a genuine sympathy from one of
them that I found very truthful.

Speaker 1 (01:55:41):
Almost moving. Yeah, but yeah, no, I uh just just
I'm sort of repeating myself.

Speaker 2 (01:55:50):
But yeah, with the first one, I'm just trying to
be clear, Like it took me a minute to catch
up to where this movie was because in the first one,
they actually had magician consultants and they were.

Speaker 1 (01:56:02):
Like, this is how you would do this.

Speaker 2 (01:56:04):
And yes, the movie does use you know, visual effects
to pull some of the stuff off with the actors
and stuff, but most of the things in that movie
were like, this is how this would work out. So
this is possible, you know, even if you know, just
through movie making, certain things were assisted. But now yeah,
we're in like a level where things are just like

(01:56:25):
really big and heightened and whatever. And it watching it
last night, it took me a second because I was
kind of like, oh wow, this is like it just
felt different in tone. But once I caught up to it,
I was able to just let go and enjoy it
for the the bop that it is. And so I'm
only reiterating this because I feel like if that sounds

(01:56:48):
like it'll irritate you, it might, you know what I mean.
But if you're in for this, it's just it just
wants to have fun.

Speaker 1 (01:57:00):
Yeah, you know, so, yeah, I think that's I think
for me, I think a big part of the enjoyment
was seeing the characters play off each other again. It's
just it's like, do we like the horsemen? I do,
so I like seeing them back. Yeah, you know that helps,

(01:57:20):
you know, I mean certainly, like even the you know,
when I watched the movies when they came out, right,
it was always like, well, the actors are clearly having
a lot of fun, you know, and you know, it
seems like it's not like they had to come back
and do this, so clearly they had some desire to
work together again, you know, I mean ironically, you know,

(01:57:41):
not ironically oddly. I think the most unbelievable magic because
everything that I see. For the most I can find
a way around, like to make it work in the
real world, but I don't know how to make Merit's
power work as anything other than just a straight up power.
That's true, That's right. Yeah, Like in the first one,

(01:58:03):
remember the very first scene where he's introduced, right, and
he does the thing with the guy who's cheating on
his wife, you know, and I'm like, well, how like
that can't be a thing?

Speaker 2 (01:58:13):
You know, Well, you know, it's funny that one. I
remember he's he's sort of like leading the person and
reading facial tics and things.

Speaker 1 (01:58:22):
But not that but the fact that like the wife
is not able to talk, because.

Speaker 2 (01:58:26):
Well, that's that's what I was going to say, Like
that stuff I can buy. He does it in this
movie too, where he's reading Rosamund Pike's face. Yes, and
you know, I think psychics and those sorts of people
are really good at that, right, like reading people and
body language and things, the things that you respond to
that you don't realize you're responding to. But yeah, he'll
do this kind of thing where he just kind of

(01:58:47):
pound someone's chest and they're like suddenly under his spell,
right right, which yes, feels kind of like a.

Speaker 1 (01:58:52):
Power the thing with the you know where he gets
them playing the you know music, Yeah here bullshit, Like
you know, it's that's like we're like hitting, we're nudging
X men territory. Yes, yes, you know what I mean. Yeah,
but I mean, you know, you talk about memorable set pieces,
you know, the set piece when you have Atlas working

(01:59:14):
with the new crew and their plot to get the diamond.
I love the man that's like something out of a
mention impossible, you know, that was really fun. Yeah, and
the whole photographer thing and yeah, yeah all that. So
I'm kind of like with these movies, just give me,
give me some memorable heist stuff and give me the
character interaction, and you know that that's enough for me.
I mean, I think based on what we see here

(01:59:36):
and I you know, I have no reason to think
it won't continue to perform. Okay, you know they've already
said they're doing a fourth one. I'm like, yeah, man,
bring it.

Speaker 2 (01:59:43):
Yeah, you know yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:59:45):
Ruben Fleischer, who directed this, by the way, he'd also
he did the previous He previously worked with Jesse Eisenberg
and Woody Harrelson on the Zombie Land movies.

Speaker 2 (01:59:54):
Which I like those are fun.

Speaker 1 (01:59:56):
Those are fun. And so he's already talking about doing
another Zombie Land. Oh wow, and he wants to shoot
for twenty twenty nine, which would be ten years after
the last one and twenty years after the first one.
So it's like a thirty year saga. You know, it's
amazing crazy right yeah, but yeah, now you see me,

(02:00:20):
Now you don't, I'm you know what, Give me more,
Give me more, Brian, make it happen.

Speaker 2 (02:00:24):
It's soda pop, It's soda pop cinema.

Speaker 1 (02:00:26):
Sometimes you're just in the mood for a fizzy treat yep,
and this will cure what ails you.

Speaker 2 (02:00:32):
Yeah, I don't think we need to do spoilers, right,
I don't think so, except I mean I think we
mentioned her about Rosamond Pike.

Speaker 1 (02:00:40):
I love her. You know what's funny about Rosamund Pike
is I remember, obviously, you know, the first time she
hit most people's radar was in Die Another Day, Uh
huh yeah yeah, And you know, and at that time,
I remember she was the first bond woman who was
like my age.

Speaker 2 (02:00:58):
Oh sure, yeah, yeah right, And you know it's.

Speaker 1 (02:01:01):
Not like being a bond woman is a guaranteed road
to any kind of career longevity. You know, it's a
coin toss. So when we now here, we are twenty
three years later, and she's she's like you see her
on talk shows and she's so like she's she's got
like a Helen Mirren, mean, you know, and I'm like,
what a journey she's been on. Good for her, you know?

Speaker 2 (02:01:23):
Yeah, yeah, and I mean she just always lands, i mean,
like gone, girl, She's amazing in Yeah, I really liked
I Care a lot, which was I think on Netflix.
She's just really ruthless, you know, person scamming the elderly.

Speaker 1 (02:01:37):
But it's just it's a really good movie.

Speaker 2 (02:01:38):
Yeah, And I thought she was great in this, playing
like I said, I mean, you know, like a cartoonishly
evil person, but like in the most delightful and interesting way.

Speaker 1 (02:01:49):
Yeah. Well, it's it's kind of just like The Mission
Impossibles or The Fast and Furious is you have to
set up your baddy early as somebody you want to
see get their up ands exactly. And so you know,
her introduction scene involves her explaining how a diamond could
slice up somebody's insides.

Speaker 2 (02:02:08):
Yeah, that did feel like out of a Bond movie,
didn't it right, stick out your tongue.

Speaker 1 (02:02:14):
And I was like, all right, cool, okay, we're bringing
you down lady. Right, that's that's a coming, you know. Yeah.
Uh yeah, so so, you know, a very pleasant surprise.
I will say I went into the theater. I was
expecting I would enjoy it at at least the same
level of the previous two. And I would say I did,
but I was I don't think I was expecting how

(02:02:37):
much I was ready to enjoy a movie at that level.
Oh that's great, you know. Yeah, so uh and hey,
we you know, we got we got more stuff to
talk about in the coming weeks. We got more more
movies coming out, so you know, so there, so let
it be written. So it is written, so it will

(02:02:58):
be done. We'll be back next week with a commentary track.
I'm not gonna say what it is though. Let people
find out, subscribe and then and then it'll show up
in your feed and you will hopefully have a delighted
smile across your face when you see it and say,
oh it's funny.

Speaker 2 (02:03:18):
I was about to like be cheeky and sort of
say it, you know, slyly, but I was like, no, no,
Zaki's committed to this.

Speaker 1 (02:03:25):
I'm I'm I'm staring into the bit. Okay, perfect, But hey,
let us know your thoughts on either The Running Man
or Now You see Me Now you don't. You can
email us at Movie Film Podcasts at gmail dot comic
you know, sayhit like on our Facebook page Facebook dot
com slash Movie Film Podcasts and message us there. As always,
please go to Apple Podcasts and leave a review, leave
star rating. If you're listening to this show on YouTube,

(02:03:45):
please hit subscribe and hit like on our videos always
and leave comments because we always respond to those. We
also happen to have a Patreon page, Brian, that's right.

Speaker 2 (02:03:54):
If you head over to patreon dot com slash Movie
Film podcast hit subscribe for only five dollars a month,
you'll find every commentary we've ever done in every episode moving.

Speaker 1 (02:04:04):
Forward, absolutely ad free.

Speaker 2 (02:04:07):
Our free feed will always be available, but this is
our way of providing what we believe is the most
satisfying way to enjoy the show, no random ads or interruptions,
butting into the conversation. Plus, your subscription goes a long
way in helping to support us and helping to sustain.

Speaker 1 (02:04:21):
Producing this show.

Speaker 2 (02:04:22):
So if you're interested in able please head over to
patreon dot com Slash Movie Film Podcast and hit subscribe.

Speaker 1 (02:04:29):
We'd be very grateful. There you go, And if you're
looking for me online, front me on social media at
Zakie's corner. That's the Akis Corner. You can also find
my reviews at the San Francisco Chronicle and also at
IGN and The REPP. You can read my review of
Now you see mean Now you don't at the San
Francisco Chronicle, so please do check that out.

Speaker 2 (02:04:45):
And you can see quotes from that review in the
advertisements for ye how about that?

Speaker 1 (02:04:52):
Huh?

Speaker 2 (02:04:52):
Yeah, Zaki is featured in the ads his wow quote
from his review very very.

Speaker 1 (02:04:57):
Surreal, very cool. Look my review of Zootopia two in
the coming week as well. That'll also be the Chronicle.
What about you, Brian? Where you at?

Speaker 2 (02:05:06):
You can find episodes I've written of Puppy Dog Pals
and Young Jedi Adventures streaming on Disney Plus.

Speaker 1 (02:05:12):
There you go, and with that on behalf of my
partner Brian Home. My name is Zaki Hassan. This has
been Movie Film three point thirty. We'll catch you next time.
Thanks everybody, Welcome friends. Podcast podcasting don John.

Speaker 2 (02:05:28):
Jackie again Bryan.

Speaker 1 (02:05:30):
They're talking dot brub Moming Now podcast on

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Ep. 330: The Running Man / Now You See Me: Now You Don’t

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Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

Crime Junkie

All Episodes

Ep. 330: The Running Man / Now You See Me: Now You Don’t

Stuff You Should Know