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Sell Me... Swiss Army Man (2016)
39 Plays7 months ago
Hunter and Ashlee will be doing another mini-episode with Hunter selling you... Swiss Army Man (2016)!
As always, please reach out and let us know your thoughts at: @hazardousopinionspod or hazardousopinionspod@gmail.com and chat with us on Discord! If you love movies, add us on Letterboxd! Andy - Eric - Hunter - Ashlee.
Please send us your movie recommendations or suggestions for discussion topics. For our next episode, Ashlee will be selling you... Upgrade (2018)! Watch ahead and then tune in to hear our thoughts. Stay safe, we love y'all!
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Transcript
00:00:19
Speaker
everyone, welcome back to Hazardless Opinions. Today we have another mini episode for you guys. Before we get to that, a few programming reminders. Andy is off on his adventure until the beginning of next year. So now Ashley and I will be working together to make sure everything goes smoothly and getting content out there for you guys.
00:00:42
Speaker
September will be more organized and back to our regular schedule. To hold you guys over though, I'll be selling a movie today to end out the month of August. And then we will have a mini episode coming from Ashley to start off September schedule for us and get back to our regular programming.
00:01:01
Speaker
So yeah, ah now that I got all that out of the way. Lastly, make sure to follow us on socials, including Instagram and join us on our Discord. Talk to us anything about movies, anything conversation wise, we are always open to. And we do have all of our links in the description for the episode. So if you guys just want to go there,
00:01:26
Speaker
We do have all of our individual letterbox accounts. If you guys want to check those out and see what we're watching, we want to see what you guys are watching, anything like that. So yeah, with that, thank you guys so much and let's get into it.
00:01:42
Speaker
Today, I will sell you guys Swiss Army Man. This was released in 2016. It was written and directed by Daniels. And this consists of the directing duo of Daniel Sheinert and Daniel Kwan. This film stars Paul Dano as Hank Thompson, the man stranded on the island. Daniel Radcliffe as Manny, the dead body Hank discovers while he's on the island.
00:02:13
Speaker
and Mary Elizabeth Winstead that plays Sarah. And I won't get too much into her character because she does play a little bit into the plot and I don't want to give her part away. So I'll leave it at that. But for those of you that love A24 films, yes, this was distributed by A24.
00:02:32
Speaker
So there you go. it It was one of their first when A24 was kind of getting off the ground. So it was really interesting to see what they were selecting and choosing to show us while they were kind of getting off the ground and forming. So it was really nice to see that like this movie. It was so different in tone from anything I'd seen before when I watched it.
00:02:59
Speaker
that I'm really glad A24 did pick that out of the bunch to show to the public and kind of get their name established, I guess you could say. But yeah, I just wanted to mention it was distributed by A24. I know that's very important to some people.
00:03:17
Speaker
and So for these mini episodes and selling you the movie, there will be three different sections usually and I'll start with why you should watch, what it reminds me of, and where you can watch. So just those three simple points there for you guys to follow with, but I'll get started on the why you should watch.
00:03:44
Speaker
This is a comedy drama adventure film and Swiss Army Man really pushes you off the high dive right away. It starts quickly, it sets the tone for the adventure you embark on that is this film. And to sum up the plot, a man that is stranded on a deserted island about to take his own life discovers and befriends an unusual corpse that aids him in his survival.
00:04:11
Speaker
Honestly guys, do I have you hooked yet? yeah That's kind of all I needed to hook me, but, um, I kind of forgot to mention too, guys, uh, Ashley might be dipping in a couple of times, like with things she wants to say, but yeah, I'm your host Hunter and I have my co-host Ashley with me. Sorry, we're getting used to the introductions and what to say at the beginning of the pods, but.
00:04:38
Speaker
Yeah, I just want to add that in there. With Swiss Army Man, I first watched it last year in August during my wedding month.
00:04:49
Speaker
And it quickly became a centerpiece in my heart because of all these large emotions I was feeling. This movie did feel like a little bit like therapy to me and helped me work through some of these strong emotions and anxieties I was having before getting married. Cause marriage is, it's, it's a big life thing. You know, it really, this film gives you that warm feeling of what life really is about.
00:05:19
Speaker
And it gives you insight into how important human connection really is, which really made me reflect on how human connections in my life are so essential to who I am and what I am, especially my wife.
00:05:35
Speaker
And it's it's on the it's one of the best to indescribable feelings that stays with me after a film and that's why this one is super important to me and why I chose this to be one of my first many episodes.
00:05:50
Speaker
You do get the sense of childhood wonderment throughout the adventures we go on with Hank and Manny. You know, whenever you were a kid and you built forts and whatever trees, woods you could find or anything like in the in a backyard or whatever, this will hit that nerve for you.
00:06:12
Speaker
And I remember when I was at my grandparents one time, well, actually a couple of times, and there was a pretty expansive group of trees in the backyard when we were kids. And we called those coolies where we're from. And we'd build forts back there and play pretend and yeah, just ah kind of be whatever characters we wanted to be, build our fort however we wanted it. And watching this movie that all came flooding back To me, and like when you watch the two main characters, Manny and Hank, they're away from modern civilization and have to get creative with the different scenarios that they play out in scenes from life. So of course you're going to relate to that. Like I did when you were a kid, you know, whatever you had to do with whatever you could find.
00:07:04
Speaker
A morbid concept is honestly transformed into a heartfelt journey of self discovery and friendship. Basically, like, I would use that sentence to kind of sum this movie up. And it's refreshing to be reminded of what makes life meaningful.
00:07:23
Speaker
even the awkward and weird parts too, like, like farting. I mean, yeah. Like you feel like a kid because once you hear that word, you just kind of like wanna, you want to let out a little laugh, but like it comes up so many times in this movie that it just feels so normal because it is normal. We should treat it as as normal. Like we're just quite a few of us are, you know, kind of immature and that's okay. You hold onto that childhood feeling, you know,
00:07:53
Speaker
Basically guys, it is the little things. it's That thing is so cheesy to say, but it is really true and you really feel it when you're watching this movie. And you're also transported to late night conversations many times with these characters. You feel involved. If you really look inward, what would you actually do when stranded on an island?
00:08:19
Speaker
behavior in all your your choices and how how you would act, you know, what what would it be that much different? This film really doesn't take itself seriously at all. And that's what I love about it. It's really absurd. But it's also very emotional. And how can that possibly be a combination? I don't know. That's why this film is very unique to me. And that's that's why I'm putting it out there for you guys if you haven't seen it. It's just so unique and special.
00:08:54
Speaker
You're gonna find it pretty difficult to predict the story. The engagement is there because of the different routes that the story takes. But that's that's all thanks to a well-crafted story that is unique and hard to come by that the Daniels wrote.
00:09:11
Speaker
Honestly, if those guys didn't have their touch on the script, I don't know how this movie would be really. I think it would maybe be a mid tier survival movie or something like that, but they just have their own unique taste and touch and you like feel it throughout this whole film.
00:09:32
Speaker
Didn't they direct, um, everything everywhere all at once? They did. Yeah. Yeah, actually. Yep. This, this is their first feature film okay together. Yep. And everything everywhere all at once is the second. And isn't that just crazy for filmmakers to have like these two films be there.
00:09:52
Speaker
Yeah, they just, they really take their time and care and energy into all their films. And that's, that's why I'm super excited for all the rest of the stuff that they do from now on. Like I, yeah, I just want more Daniel's stories and filmmaking in my life.
00:10:09
Speaker
I am here today to tell you guys, yes, Daniel Radcliffe can stand apart from Harry Potter and here's exactly the evidence in Swiss Army Man. The chemistry between Radcliffe and Daniel is just something special and when you watch the Harry Potter movies,
00:10:30
Speaker
He is really a very different character from what he plays in this movie. So like you you can just um you can sense Daniel Radcliffe's range in this movie and finally see what other people are seeing in him. You know, it's it's really nice for him to kind of break from that mold. Yes, this is a survival story, but you're not thinking this is dragging on or nothing's happening.
00:10:58
Speaker
you have this factor of the main character's companion being with a dead body with an arc of its own, which you usually don't get. Like if it was a straightforward story, the dead body would be a dead body. That's it. And the main character, we would just be following and that's it. But yeah, we we get this ah very interesting dynamic with this um mysticism added in um or, you know, not not really magic, but ah Fantasy, fantasy feel added into the story a little bit with the dead body reanimating. In giving Daniel Radcliffe's dead character a journey throughout the film and having to learn about life through Paul Dano's character, Hank, you then get the inspiring journey of Dano's character. He's a hopeless man that learns about hope by teaching it to somebody else.
00:11:54
Speaker
a dead body rediscovering life basically and it's a very earned lesson that adds depth to the survival I feel. You really see the beneficial aspects of helping others on both ends and it's heartwarming to see take place.
00:12:14
Speaker
I'm not gonna give it away, but for movie and nostalgia lovers, you're gonna get a famous movie theme running throughout the interactions between the two main characters. It's hummed by them a couple times, and it fits the whole feel and the look of the movie for me. I love it, and hopefully it fits for you too. I'm not gonna give away the movie theme, but the movie was in the 80s.
00:12:42
Speaker
And it's an action adventure movie. that That's all I'm going to give away. I can't i can't give away anything else. But it's very nice. It transports you to being young again. For people that love escaping from the real world, especially with movies, they'll identify with the imagination and creativity of what transpires between Manny and Hank.
00:13:08
Speaker
The way they benefit each other is heartwarming and the way Hank is teaching Manny with sets and items and story is really incredible to be a part of. The performances and scenarios for romantic connections and human interaction is something I've never seen before and it's very special.
00:13:34
Speaker
You get so wrapped up in these scenes and think this is what it's all about, honestly. The Daniels are an exciting and talented duo of directors that have just come onto the scene with this and everything ever all at once, just like you mentioned earlier, Ashley. And the impressive part about the story of Swiss Army Man is the scope.
00:13:58
Speaker
It's got huge topics, feelings and ideas touched on here. And this movie manages to make you feel contained with Hank and Manny, just those two. It feels so small, but big at the same time. And it's admirable how they capture this feeling with dealing with larger than life things.
00:14:22
Speaker
Ultimately, I'll leave you with saying this is a small story with such a grand impact. So if you wouldn't mind the blank theme song accompanying you in your mind for a while, enjoy silly comedy, pondering life and what it entails, take a liking to plots that involve stranded people.
00:14:45
Speaker
and treasure the little things, then this is the film for you. That's why I think you guys should watch Swiss Army Man. Ultimately, I'll now move on to my second part. And it is reminds me of this film reminds me of everything everywhere all at once, obviously, because it is the second film from the Daniels as a pair of directors and writers and it just has it has their personality just infused in it in their comedy the comedy really matches up with Swiss Army Man if you If you died at everything everywhere all at once you are gonna take a liking to the comedy of Swiss Army Man There's there's no way you don't because yeah, it's it's it's them written all over the movie so
00:15:36
Speaker
I'd say that and that it it does have a little bit of mythical stuff in it, fantasy. That's why I'd say I really relate it to everything everywhere all at once. The second movie I thought it reminded me of was Jungle. Ashley, you ever seen that?
00:15:55
Speaker
I think I recommended that one to you also with the Daniel Radcliffe. Yeah, yeah. So yeah, it just like ah kind of even when you look at the color of jungle, it's just that greenish vibe to it of of a jungle, a tropical jungle. And this island that they're on for most of the movie in Swiss Army Man is just so green and vibrant to like a jungle. So I just figured It just really fits with Daniel Radcliffe going through some trees and shit. And Jungle's also a survival movie. Exactly. so Yeah, yeah. So the you know these two these two characters in this movie are also surviving in and kind of a different way, to different circumstances. But it's yeah, yeah you know it really reminded me of Jungle.
00:16:46
Speaker
The third movie I thought it reminded me of was The Nice Guys with Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe. And I would say it reminds me of that movie only because that's a dark comedy and a buddy comedy. This, even though it's not a buddy cop movie,
00:17:05
Speaker
You can kind of Feel those elements in there of a buddy cop thing Just just a buddy thing, you know, just two two guys Being guys throughout the whole movie but um, yeah, that's what that's why I thought it reminded me of the nice guys and That it wasn't afraid to shy away from some things and some ideas, you know the third part of selling you this movie is where to watch. This movie is available to rent on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV Plus, and wherever else you can rent your movies. I really apologize, honestly, when I do this did my movie Monday on this. It was on a streamer, so it's easier. But yeah, I had to rent it this time, but don't worry guys, totally worth the rent for a weekend. So it don't don't worry about that at all.
00:18:02
Speaker
I was just thinking that ah this was one of the first movies I showed Ryan. Really? And it was one of his first A24 movies as well. Really? Yeah. Because, you know, he didn't really watch too much stuff before we got together. You're more of a movie person. yeah He's a busy guy too, but yeah. Yeah. Showed him it and he really liked it. Okay. Good. And from When we watched it, that's what made him like just fall in love with Paul Dano. So now. Oh my God, I love Paul. Yeah. And he doesn't take to too many like people that he's like, no matter who or, Oh my God, I can't talk. You're good. Whatever what they're in. He'll watch it because of them. And after he watched the sorry man, now anything with Paul Dano, he like, we'll watch it. And like, I will follow this man to the end of her. Oh my God. That's awesome. And it was like his introduction as well to eight 24 and like the weirdness of it. So that's kind of like what kind of started like, he has like a connection to that movie too. And it's like, we watch more movies together as well.
00:19:03
Speaker
Awesome. Yeah. Kind of a, a movie that's really not recognizable. if If you're a regular movie watcher, you cannot pick out a movie that feels exactly like this one. Yeah, no. And even me with watching so many movies, I know, I think this is very unique. It's so unique. It's so unique. And that's why I love it. And that's why it's a, you know, special sitting in my heart. And yeah, I'm really glad Ryan has that connection to it too. That's awesome.
00:19:33
Speaker
Paul Dano, oh man, he needs to be in more stuff. I'll tell you what. But yeah, I hope all you guys enjoy it and thank you so much for listening to these mini episodes that we're trying out for you guys and Ashley and I are doing our very best. So we will, we'll try and get everything organized for you guys and get the content out there for you. And our plan with these mini episodes is going to be to release them weekly so that you guys do have something every week, even if it's, you know, 30 minutes or