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Episode 037.2 - News Update for 17 July 2024
21 Plays3 months ago
We talk about the Mubi Festival in Manchester, Mark Kermode Live at the BFI Imax, recent viewing and the sad passing of Shelley Duvall.
Closing music: https://pixabay.com/music/id-11176/
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Transcript
Introduction to Movie Fest and Horror Film Highlights
00:00:00
Speaker
Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt our program of dance music to bring you a special bulletin from the Intercontinental Radio News. um to the me so you can see um This week, we're going to be looking at the Movie Fest and Mark Kermode Live, the BFI IMAX, as well as some of our recent viewings and musings. and All right. What do you have as your standouts this week? Well, the the weather's been exceptionally hot for this area recently, so there's a lot of sitting inside. So that means I'm watching more stuff. I used to to catch on a couple catch up on a couple more successfully. commercially successful horror films from the last, within the last year anyway, between Smile and then No One Will Save You. What did you think to Smile? I liked it. I thought it was not as ah strong as something like It Follows or where there's that malevolence, that presence that is passed on sort of thing, you know, that idea. I also thought there was a lot more potential that it didn't really get into with the main characters unresolved, the death of her mother and the then the demon taken on or, you know, whatever it is, taken on the persona of her mother. I thought, you
In-depth Look at 'No One Will Save You'
00:01:11
Speaker
know, there was ah a thing there for that and then a demon that feeds on trauma. right
00:01:15
Speaker
And there was a lot of potential there. They really kind of exploited. But overall, it was fine. you know and But i that's why I kind of like the end. I'm like, oh, OK, that's what you're going. I'm like, you want to see a better version of this? Watch, talk to me. Or or it follows, or something like that. that's It's much more consistent, much more. But again, I didn't think it was bad. I just thought it just was like, OK, they picked an ending. And then you know they didn't they didn't blow it at the end. I thought that was pretty well done, especially the effects at the end. And again, this is another one that I think is very okay. So I think this is kind of the same ballpark as Longlegs for me, where i I think about the classics. Like you said, Ed, like it follows where where some of these ideas are just sort of brought to life that much better, but not to say that they're bad.
00:01:58
Speaker
No, and um I did like, ah no one will save you. Again, it was an interesting choice for an ending. I don't know if you've seen that one yet, but yeah the effects are great and it's mostly silent. You know what? I enjoyed that one. Yeah. yeah The ending I thought was an interesting choice. I'm like, oh, okay, this is what... ah It was just kind of an interesting twist on it, I thought. But yeah, overall, I got a kick out of it. But but those two had been like, you know, again, kind of overhyped. So I was a little worried going into them that they would write, deliver, but they were all right. I mean, no one will save you horror movies that always scores big with me if there are actual points at which it is scary. And I thought no one will save you had those moments, especially early on. Yes.
Exploring 'Dog Man' and Caleb Landry Jones' Performance
00:02:39
Speaker
And plus bonus points for the classic alien design. Right.
00:02:44
Speaker
But, yeah, other than that, the other one that I would call out is Luke Besson's latest called Dog Man. Oh, yeah, yeah, you've mentioned that. I've not seen that, which you should. It's actually not bad. Based on the trailer, you think it's going to be more action-y than it is? Mm-hmm. And there's some action in it, especially at the end, but it kind of plays with time a little bit, goes back and forth. So, it's not quite that. It's much more about the main character and how he comes to be. But Caleb Landry Jones, if it wasn't him in the role, I don't know that a movie would have been nearly as entertaining or watch it. I mean, he sings in this movie. It's just this abused, disabled, cross-dressing, intro, you know well, not introvert, and sort of shut in. yeah That just has a almost telepathic relation with a huge pack, a varied pack of dogs, of strays, so and uses that for his own criminal enterprises sort of thing. so
00:03:41
Speaker
it's a Yeah, it's an interesting spin. and Again, if it wasn't for him, I don't know if it'd be as strong. Also, I know they've already cast, you know, Riley Keough as the joker and for the new for the new Batman stuff that's going out there. But if anybody makes a case, For it, it's him in this movie. I mean, he would be note perfect to play a joke. Certainly better than Joaquin Phoenix, about those those bullshit movies. right this one is but This one is a good, this one is like an origin, he wouldn't need an origin story. You could introduce his character like he comes up at the beginning and you'd be like, wow. But they give him, you know, you get.
00:04:16
Speaker
to understand why he's there. It's like, okay, no, that makes sense. That's good.
Meeting the Ross Brothers and 'Gasoline Rainbow'
00:04:19
Speaker
That's, you know, it lays it out. Well, it it's like, it's kind of surprising, surprisingly downplayed or, or reserved. Maybe because Besson's getting older, he doesn't have the youthful energy or something like that. But, well, that sounds interesting. Cause yeah, some of his early work is a bit. Yeah. So it's, it's a pretty entertaining though. I would say I would, I would recommend it. Oh, fantastic. Cool. Well, so this last Saturday, I went to Manchester. So, MUBI have their kind of international festival sort of dotted at various cities around the world. The first one was in Manchester this last weekend. and I suppose the high point of that was getting to meet the Ross brothers.
00:04:56
Speaker
who've recently released Gasoline Rainbow, which we've talked about before, and because I had so much time with them. and you know we have a you well You've got a friend who is in the film, Clayton. yes so That gave me a point of discussion with them, which was fun. so The way that they met is there was a massive bridge. When he started going to Portland in the middle of the bridge, they kept seeing the houseboats underneath the bridge. And it took them ages to figure out how to get access through those housebos and get permission to go to those houseboats and And there was a woman who was going to let the film in the house. and I can't remember for some reason they that they couldn't. And they were at her house and Clayton was like, Yeah, dance, film over here. That sounds about right. You know, one thing kind of led to another. They also mentioned Clayton when they were talking about the organic way that gasoline rainbow was created. You know, a lot of it, you know, they they had particular sort of ideas around how to structure the movie. But But all the best bits came from improvisation and from the participants in the movie. And I'll call them participants because a ah a lot of it wasn't scripted. It was was actual heartfelt things that were being being said in the movie. And Clayton woke them up early one morning and said, you know, I'm thinking I'd make them breakfast and I play music from the shire in the morning. So that whole bit is from Clayton and they've
00:06:39
Speaker
giving him credit in the discussions around that. So that was fun. And in the Q and&A session, and and look away now, there's a mild spoiler here. So they're at at one point in the movie, I believe it's Nicole is having a discussion with a woman in a bar. And she mentions how her father has been deported to Mexico. right right and And that was all real. they didn't they They were not expecting that to happen. And later, a little bit later, Natalie and Nicole decide that they at some point will go down to Mexico and you know they'll find her dad and all of this. And so when we came to the Q and&A section, I asked, did they?
00:07:32
Speaker
ever go to Mexico after this movie. and Interestingly, they said, yes, they went separately, but Nicole was reunited with her dad as a result of the movie. so That's kind of a nice epilogue there for people who've watched the movie. And i I shared that with Mark Kermode last night. And he
Mark Kermode Live and Horror Film Insights
00:07:54
Speaker
happy cried. Aww, I'm hearing that. Because that's a bit in the movie that really kind of sticks with you. But yeah, that was pretty cool. That was pretty cool. And then, yeah, like I was saying, last night went to Mark Kermode Live at the BFI IMAX. And there was
00:08:11
Speaker
So many high points, but one of the high points was he was talking about, you know, horror and how the nicest people make horror movies, right? He's come across and he pointed out that Gunnar Hansen, who plays Leatherface, is probably one of the nicest people he's ever met. He would have no problem leaving his kids with Gunnar Hansen, but he would not leave his kids with certain Disney execs that he's met. which I thought was great. Fantastic. you know I'd rather leave my kids with leather face than you. you know nice slide yeah So at the IMAX, well, we had Morphed Clark. and Louise Briely was there as well. And alongside Samantha Morton, I find them some of the most attractive actors going at the moment. I'm sure my stare was disconcerting while we were there. We had Chavital Ejiofor was there talking about his new movie, Rob Peace, which he's directed. It's based on a book called The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace by Jeff Hobbs, which is based on a true story. It's got J Will, Mary J Blige, Ejiofor is in it as well. That looks really good. So I think they're they're currently kind of trying to find a distributor for that. That should be released at some point in the autumn. And for each of the guests as well, Mark asks them to cite a movie that's important to them or is a guilty pleasure. And Chivitel chose Kenji Mizuguchi's Ugetsu, which, you know, Japanese horror.
00:09:49
Speaker
So we got to see the clip where they're on the river and a great big IMAX screen, which I was far too close to, but that was pretty cool. I thought that was a that great choice from him because he was talking about the atmosphere that sort of created in the movie and how the entire river scene didn't need to be done because basically they go out in the river and they come across this boat where, you know, they're like, oh, you know, pirates and the guy dies. And then they go back to shore again, whereas in a lot of other movies, they wouldn't even bother doing that. They just all explained that unsure, right? But yeah, I thought that was an interesting choice from him. And then Morphed Clark. So Morphed Clark, you'll recall, was in Saint Maud in the past past couple of years. She's got Starve Aker coming out, which is a British folk horror with Matt Smith. So in Rings of Power.
00:10:41
Speaker
Yeah. And she's been in the rings of power. The second season is coming out soon as well. So, I mean, BFI are doing an entire season in the autumn of films that inspired the director, Daniel Kokotijelow in Making Star Baker. Right. And Mark Kermode was just saying, it's really good. It is very creepy. It does not go the way that you expect it to. It has all the hallmarks of classic British folk horror. So I'm really excited about that one. I can't wait to see that. Yeah, it does look good. It does look good. I am at the end of August going to Q and A session at the BFI, which I'm hoping is going to have Matt Smith. It's going to have the director, Kogja Chilo and Morford Clark, I believe is going to be there as well. So that'll be cool. really excited about that one. Then we had
Frank Cottrell Boyce and Cinematic Storytelling
00:11:30
Speaker
Frank Cottrell Boyce, who people probably know more as a writer, but he's worked on tons of films. He's worked on the screenplay for the upcoming Konsuke's Kingdom, which is based on a book by Michael Pergo, it's an animated film, and basically Mark Kermode described it as being similar to 2016's The Red Turtle from Studio Ghibli, which is an almost wordless movie. And apparently, Kanzuki's Kingdom has no dialogue for the for the first half of the movie. He's got a great trailer, starts with a boat wreck where the kid is stuck on an island. and looks looks really good. Frank Cottrell Boyce did have a bit of a rant because he we was talking about at you know how great it is, these stories where people get trapped in an island because they can be like a microcosm for the world. Then he was like, the one thing that he hates is the way that the Lord of the Flies was has been taught in school, which is, You know, this shows what humanity is like, right? And he's like, no, no, no, no, no, humanity is inherently good. What you're saying here in Lord of the Flies is that public school boys have no morals and they will kill each other. It's a kind of class thing. He accepts that, but it's not kind of a general thing. He's kind of a humanist optimist in terms of the way that he approaches things.
00:12:52
Speaker
And the movie that he picked was Hitchcock's Notorious as an example of visual storytelling, which was which was a nice choice. And then we had Janice Pugh, director of Chuck Chuck Baby, which is an independent movie, looks It's pretty great. Apparently, it's been doing really well in the States. It's got Louise Briely, who I know best as Molly Hooper in Steven Moffat's Sherlock television series, and as Hazel in 2022's Brian and Charles. Her choice movie was Flash Gordon as a guilty pleasure.
00:13:28
Speaker
and that That was a lot of fun. We bonded over the fact that I recently met Gordon's alive. So that was a lot of fun. And yeah, so so so all kinds of stuff going on. I'm always just surprised at going to these things, how open people are. And
Tribute to Shelley Duvall's Career and Legacy
00:13:48
Speaker
you know, I think if you show kind of modicum of understanding of their work or have a good question. In fact, I've even thought about making a video on making questions for these things because that's the most painful thing is when people ask questions that, you know, just think, ah, no. Like during the kinds of kindness, everybody was like,
00:14:10
Speaker
What did your movie mean? man No director is ever going to answer that. but they're not going to give you They're not going to give the same answer. No. And then the other thing, I mean, this week has been a bit nuts because we had the whole Trump ear thing as well. And that got me thinking about all the movies with the ears in it, like Blue Velvet. Opens with the ear in the grass. I think Blade Runner has ears, too. I've rescued War Dogs. Anyhow, funny, funny, the connections that you make when you've seen a lot of stuff. Be a good Two Oceans post, not necessarily. All the ears, yeah. Oh, I would call out the sadness and passing of Shelley Duvall. That's a good shout, most recently. She was Always enjoyable. Every, every time she was in something, you know, even, even, you know, little, the tiny bit is basically the same character through time and time bandits. Yeah. She was great. You know, Patsy, I need fruit. That's the problem. But yeah. And then her, her fairy tale show was great too. And, uh, yeah, she did movies as well. She's really good at And she's a sex symbol in those, which, you know, since I was late to the game, I wasn't even aware of that because I think the first time I'd seen her was Popeye, right? It was olive oil. Right. Yeah. And it was an interesting picture too. I saw somebody put up a couple of pictures of young, young Shelly Duvall next to pictures of Mia Goth and it was like how similar. Right. Right. I've seen that as well. Yeah. Yeah, I was like, oh, this is an interesting side to tie these sessions here together. But yeah, just to say, I guess she had she been on what was it diabetes complications from diabetes, I believe it was. Yeah, I think I'd seen something like that. And she pretty much died either on or the day after her birthday. something like that. Yeah. Cause I got really confused. I was like, Oh, why does it have an end date on it? Right. And between that and, you know, but she was also somebody that we seem to definitely chart her own path. She didn't seem to be have to, uh,
00:16:09
Speaker
go the sellout route or or do things she didn't like. It seems like she would just show up where where she wanted to and that was good enough. Or or not taking yourself too seriously as well because this was back in the day, you know, doing doing any kind of horror was not the done thing, especially when she'd already established herself with like Robert Altman doing well-respected traumas. seriously is drama. Yeah. Or or are getting mixed up with the, you know, you mentioned time bandits, but then you also have the stuff she did with the Muppets as well. You know, she was game for anything, you know, she she was not pretentious in that way. And just, and then again, for the, you know, what she, what she had to go through, the trauma she had to go through at the hands of Stanley Kubrick and Jack Nicholson. The Shining, not just the movie, the set up.
00:16:56
Speaker
yeah And, you know, here's a note also to Wendy's cigarette ash. you know that's what i Think about it in that, you know, it's like not her running scared, but that cigarette and that ash on there and just like, you're just like totally enthralled by that. A lot of people have been kind of posting up stills from the epilogue of The Shining as well that was cut ah where she's she's actually in the hospital bed. The hospital in the and the hotel manager comes and visits. Right. Yeah. Yeah, because it ends on the nickels on there, but yeah, and you know, and they never tell you, you know, at least discussions about screenqueens. I never mentioned her, you know, you know, it's just the one horror movie she was in, maybe that does it or something. That is a big one, big one that she's part of. She was a big, big influence on a lot of female actors, I know, too. Her name gets brought up a lot and just in terms of that. Again, doing her own, kind of doing her own thing. yeah So
Concluding Reflections on Films and Events
00:17:45
Speaker
that's yeah that's a sad loss. and Hollywood's lesser for her absence, but even if even if she had not done anything in a while and wasn't really interested in her rendition of the song from Popeye being in Punch-Drunk Love as well.
00:17:59
Speaker
emma Well, great stuff. Well, let's say the first of our random, not at regular intervals catch up, but yeah, it seemed to work. Okay. That was kind of fun. Yeah. yeah We haven't done in a while though. So it was good to digest. what we've consumed indeed cool cool well you stay cool not heat i'm having a hard time staying dry or warm over here it's terrible it's uh yeah it looks like apathy
00:18:50
Speaker
no And all at once I knew, I knew at once I knew he needed me two oceans