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IGN Digigods Podcast Episode 376
44 Plays9 years ago
This week, the Gods are not impressed with the latest from Michael Mann and Spike Lee. Plus, Orange is the New Black and and Mark reads Chuck Norris Facts!
Digigods Podcast, 05/26/15 (MP3)
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In this episode, the Gods discuss:
- Amira & Sam (Blu-ray)
- Blackhat (Blu-ray/DVD)
- Butterflies of Bill Baker (DVD)
- The Confession (Blu-ray)
- Da Sweet Blood of Jesus (Blu-ray)
- Dancing on the Edge (Blu-ray)
- Days of Grace (DVD)
- Days of Grace (Blu-ray)
- Escape From East Berlin (DVD-R)
- Every Little Crook and Nanny (DVD-R)
- Extremities (Blu-ray)
- Flawless (Blu-ray)
- Foyle's War Set 8 (Blu-ray)
- Gene Autry: Movie Collection 10 (DVD)
- Girlhood (Blu-ray)
- Hello Ladies (DVD)
- Hoovey (DVD)
- Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (Blu-ray/DVD)
- It! The Terror From Beyond Space (Blu-ray)
- Jamaica Inn (Blu-ray)
- Jamaica Inn (BBC) (DVD)
- Kid Glove Killer (DVD-R)
- Ladyhawke (Blu-ray)
- Leviathan (Blu-ray)
- The Loft (Blu-ray/DVD)
- The Magic Mirror in American Sign Language (Once Upon a Sign) (DVD)
- Major Crimes: The Complete Third Season (DVD)
- Masterpiece Mystery!: Grantchester (Blu-ray)
- Masterpiece: Mr. Selfridge Season 3 (Blu-ray)
- Maya the Bee Movie (DVD)
- Maya the Bee Movie (Blu-ray 3D/DVD)
- The Merchant of Four Seasons (Blu-ray)
- The Mystery of Lord Lucan (DVD)
- Orange is the New Black: Season Two (Blu-ray)
- Peter Benchley's Creature (Blu-ray)
- Seventh Son (Blu-ray)
- Sol Madrid (DVD-R)
- State of Siege (Blu-ray)
- Two Men in Town (Blu-ray)
- Viva Villa! (DVD-R)
- Walker Texas Ranger: The Complete Series (DVD)
- Wolf Hall (Blu-ray)
- The Wonder Years: The Complete Third Season (DVD)
Please also visit CineGods.com.
Recommended
Transcript
Humorous Introductions & Lance Taylor Mockery
00:00:06
Speaker
From underneath Dolly Parton's mattress at the chicken ranch, it's the IGN Digigods. Now, please give a hand to a couple of Stroker Aces, then again, maybe you shouldn't, Wade Major and Mark Kaiser. Stroker Aces reference. Corey, who is so astute? That was courtesy of Lance Taylor.
00:00:33
Speaker
His name is Lance and his other name is Taylor. Never misses a chance to make fun of Lance's name. Thank you, Lance.
Mad Max and the Pomdor Award
00:00:42
Speaker
Yes, Wade. Big news day and whatnot. For starters, I saw Mad Max and I know you want to talk about who won the Pomdor.
John Ash's Tragic Accident & Legacy
00:00:51
Speaker
Yes. Well, we also need to talk about the tragic loss, the freak loss in that New York taxi accident.
00:00:57
Speaker
I know of a mathematician. Well we should start with that. John Ash. John Ash. That's just bizarre. And his wife.
00:01:04
Speaker
I mean that's just... What kills me about stories like that is that you live so long and you go through so much and yet you die like that. Yeah. Sitting in the back of a higher car. Basically the real life guy and his wife played by Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connolly in A Beautiful Mind, best picture of 2001 which I can't believe it's been...
00:01:28
Speaker
14 years, but yeah, tragic freak New York taxi accident. Weren't wearing their seat belts, taxi swerved or something.
00:01:37
Speaker
Okay, honestly, who wears, again, he's 86, I think she was 84, something like that. But still, who wears their seatbelt in a taxi cab? Nobody. Nobody. Nobody does that. Although when you're that old, you maybe should because, but then again, it's like, you know, you've taken taxis for decades. Why today would you get into an accident? Strange. Speaking of which, by the way, I have to say, that is sad. I went to a funeral the other day. Yes.
00:01:58
Speaker
And I have to give a shout out to someone who's very important to me in my career, John Axleson. John Axleson was my number two on The Man Show. And John Axleson was one of those classic cigar chomping, ball busting, brick wall guys who didn't take crap from anybody, was incredibly brutally honest, and was very loyal and always had your back, was also very honest.
00:02:24
Speaker
Remember, the funny thing going to this memorial service was a bunch of people from The Man Show were there to pay their respects. Even though The Man Show had been canceled over 12 years ago, that's how much of an impact John had on their careers and their lives. And you get to hear these stories.
00:02:40
Speaker
about John that I had no idea because I'm too busy executive producing the show that I don't know what goes on from moment to moment. You hear these stories. I mean, there was this one guy who told this funny story. He says to me that this is at the funeral yesterday. He says, so Mark, I just want to tell you a story. So about three weeks before the show was going to wrap, I had quit smoking.
00:03:03
Speaker
And because I had quit smoking, I was becoming, like many people who had just quit smoking, a little edgy, a little ornery, a little short tempered, a little tough to be around. So basically at the job, I was a jerk and unpleasant to work with because I just quit smoking. So John calls me in his office.
00:03:24
Speaker
and sis me down says look man I love you I'm so happy that you quit smoking because it's good for your health but I'm telling you we only have three weeks left and you're becoming a pain in the ass and nobody wants to work with you anymore so here's what I need you to do I need you to keep smoking for another three weeks just start smoking again for another three weeks and then after the show is over you can stop smoking
00:03:48
Speaker
And so he did. This guy said, that makes sense. So he started smoking again for three more weeks. And then when the show was over, he stopped smoking forever. But John was the type of guy who would literally get you to do something that might kill you because that was how forceful and persuasive he could be.
00:04:05
Speaker
That's pretty great. So John Axleson, the most important hire of my entire career, I could not have gotten through that show without him. So I have to give a shout out to John Axleson and my condolences to his friends and family. And that's John Axleson. He was the best. Well, that's- So two pieces of bad news to
Mad Max Fury Road: Visuals and Market Performance
00:04:22
Speaker
start the show. Two pieces of bad news. But you saw Mad Max Fury wrote. Oh, yeah.
00:04:26
Speaker
You know, it's just sheer pandemonium. It's incredible. And we were talking about this before. You were just saying the same thing to me, which I said on NPR on Film Week when I was on with Tim, which is that it restores the how did they do that factor, because we've gotten away from that. You watch The Avengers or Iron Man and you go,
00:04:47
Speaker
Yeah, but I know how they did that. It's like a bunch of nerds sitting in front of a computer and then just doing CGI. I know how that's done. It's not real. Here, you're like, that is a truck and a bunch of cars and they're going 60 miles and 80 miles an hour across the Namibian desert and there's flames and there's a guitar and explosions and actors who are hanging over. I have no idea how they did that. There's guys on poles dropping onto the – I'm clueless. I have no idea how you did that.
00:05:15
Speaker
And that's wonderful to have that, to feel that again. I'd forgotten, I was numb, right? I'm like, the elf CGI. I always wonder whether, if you're 22 years old and you're watching this film, whether you, do you respond to it in a way that, oh my God, this is different for me? I don't know. Or do you just go, well,
00:05:33
Speaker
It wasn't as good as Fast and Furious, because in Fast and Furious, they went over a cliff. Fast and Furious, that's pointed correctly. Thank you. Fast and Furious, it's not even about the wow factor, it's about the bow-hunk factor and the cool, it's a style thing. Because Fury Road is kind of underperforming. Now, how do you want me to hold this? Point the microphone at your mouth, not your chest. I need to point my mouth at the microphone. That would help too. It's rated R.
00:06:03
Speaker
Yes. So that limits it? It does. To some extent. Yes. Excuse me. Also, did you hear that? I know. Also, it's getting outperformed by Pitch Perfect 2, which I understand, to a certain extent, because if you, first of all, Pitch Perfect 2 was like the Sex and the City movie where all the women will go and gaggles to go see Pitch Perfect 2. Yeah.
00:06:23
Speaker
If you're a woman, you will drag your boyfriend to go see Pitch Perfect 2. He'll hate it, but he knows he'll get oral sex later, so he'll be fine, right? But there is no guy in the world who will drag his girlfriend to go see Mad Max. It's not gonna happen. Well, even though it's got a real, you know, Power Girl theme to it. It does. Which was pretty crafty on George Miller's part.
00:06:44
Speaker
Uh, and, uh, you know, pitch perfect too. It's, it's all right. We'll cover that when that comes out on Blu-ray. Um, yeah, but, uh, Mad Max, man. Oh, it's out of control. Those, the, the, those pole cats.
00:06:56
Speaker
I mean, you see the polecats. Tell me, and yeah, the polecats just, that's insane. And by the way, I sent you a link to 16 minutes of behind the scenes footage. It's pretty cool. And there's no wire removal on those polecats. They're doing that. Yeah, they are. They're acrobats. They hired like, they went to Cirque du Soleil and said, do you know anybody who could do this and be crazy enough to actually do it?
00:07:16
Speaker
And they're acrobats. And by the way, not to fawn too much. There's plenty of CGI in the movie. Oh, there is. It's just where was it deployed? Yes. The moments that make you go, oh, wow, are not CGI moments.
00:07:33
Speaker
They aren't. I mean, that sandstorm lasts about a minute and a half, and then there's like a tire that goes flying at the screen. I mean, it's a little accents, but the rest of the stuff is real. It's just unbelievable. It's just a convoy of trucks, cars, and motorcycles driving cars. And tell me, I mean, this is what I also said on the show. I said, here's the audacity of this film. It begins with what is, in that moment, the greatest chase scene in movie history. And then it one-ups itself at the end.
00:08:02
Speaker
Like the two greatest chase scenes in movie history bookend this movie. It's incredible. I would have to say it's probably the best, practical, barely CGI enhanced chase scene in movie history. It's amazing. It's great. It's amazing. Anyway. And actually what's funny is I actually found Tom Hardy the least interesting part of the movie. He kind of is. He almost took a back seat in his own movie. To Charlize Theron. To Charlize Theron.
Cannes Film Festival Highlights
00:08:29
Speaker
Well, also, on another subject, as we are recording this, the Cannes Film Festival has just handed out all of its awards. Are we talking about Blu-rays today? We are, yeah. But we should say, there's a lot of surprises here. Rooney Mara and Emmanuel Berco share the best actress prize, Rooney Mara in the film Carol, which is coming out at the end of the year, a lesbian love story between Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett based on a Patricia Highsmith novel.
00:08:55
Speaker
So you can bet that that's gonna be an odds-on Oscar contender at this point. And Vinson Linden, just one best actor for Measure of a Man, basically is a guy trying to cope with being out of work forever, which is fascinating because just a few days ago, literally six days ago, Tim and I, right after we did our little film with Spill, we sat down and we did a trio of audio commentaries for Cohen.
00:09:21
Speaker
for a bunch of three forthcoming films, which I will not make mention of, but one of them has Vincent Linden in it. And I'm looking back, and our commentary halfway through, we're like, we got to stop picking on Vincent Linden, because his character is dumb. He's not dumb. His character is just sort of self-absorbed. And we were kind of being a little bit snarky about it, but now I'm thinking,
00:09:44
Speaker
Damn, why didn't we, why didn't we do this tomorrow? Because we could have mentioned his palm door win. Ooh, that's true. Well, it's just, it's a timing. David. Who knew? Who knew? Your commentary is David. But what's interesting is, is Son of Saul, the first, the Holocaust film, by that first time, her first time Hungarian filmmaker, was expected to be a contender, as was The Assassin by Hu Xiaoxian, the legendary Taiwanese filmmaker who, you know, it's like, well, either it's going to be, you know, the newcomer or the veteran, right? And neither of them got it.
00:10:11
Speaker
Huzha Shen got director, Son of Saul got the grand prize, the runner-up award, and Jacques Odiard won this completely unexpected Palme d'Or with his film Deepan, which is about a Sri Lankan refugee immigrant family in Paris. Well, you could tell for some reason that Collins, they just wanted to spread the wealth. Everybody kind of got something.
00:10:29
Speaker
Well, which is funny for, for the guys who, when they won their Palmdor, they literally got everything. They resulted in a rules change that said, okay, juries can no longer give best director and Palmdor to the same film. And you can't give more than two awards to the same film because Barton Fink won Palmdor director, uh, like screenplay and actor it. Like they gave it all, like they gave it everything. There was no spreading of the wealth that year. And, uh, and everybody was kind of angry about it.
00:10:55
Speaker
There were a lot of good films in the competition and Barton Fink walked away with everything because Polanski apparently went bananas for it and muscled the jury into voting everything. So anyway, the Coens obviously are trying to atone for that I guess in some sense. So yeah, everybody got a little something.
TV Series Releases & Chuck Norris Jokes
00:11:14
Speaker
Yeah, so good stuff. So some of that stuff you'll be seeing at the end of the year for awards considerations and hopefully they'll come to your small town if you're any small town.
00:11:23
Speaker
Well, we have, uh, we've got some listener mail today and we have a VoxBox. No, no, no, no. Okay. So we'll be getting to that a little bit later, but we should start off. Um.
00:11:35
Speaker
Let's see what we should start off with, Mark. It's your choice. Let's knock out some television first. Starting with, oh my word, this gigantic massive box that I have in my hands here. A lot of complete series sets are coming out now from Paramount. And this one is Walker Texas Ranger, The Complete Collection.
00:11:58
Speaker
For those of you who feel like there's just not enough Chuck Norris in your life, this is huge. This thing ran forever. Just absolutely forever. Can I tell you something? Yes. Do you realize that when Alexander Bell invented the telephone, he had three missed calls from Chuck Norris? He did. That's how cool Chuck Norris was. You realize that Chuck Norris died 20 years ago, but death just hasn't built up the courage to go tell him. So you realize that some magicians can walk on water, Chuck Norris can swim through land.
00:12:30
Speaker
They never get old. They're just so great. You realize that Chuck Norris can cut through a hot knife with butter. Chuck Norris is the reason why Waldo is hiding. Death once had a near Chuck Norris experience.
00:12:51
Speaker
Taurus can slam a revolving door. Oh, it's the best. It's too funny. They never get unfunny. But there's no end to them. They just will never end. Oh, they're the best. Anyway. And you know what? In The Expendables... If Taurus doesn't wear a watch, he decides what time it is.
00:13:19
Speaker
Go ahead, one more. I can read these all day. Chuck Norris doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants. It's too good. Anyway, he was the best thing about Expendables 2. When he shows up for all of 16 seconds in the middle of the thing and then again at the end, he's hardly in it, but he's the best thing about it.
00:13:45
Speaker
Anyway, so here we are, all eight seasons of this, and for some reason, even though that's a long time, doesn't it feel like this show was on the air for 20 or 30 years? Oh yeah, well they also had like TV movies and they extended its life that way. Well here it is, this thing weighs about 18 tons, it's the size of like four adobe bricks, and basically you get two very, very large keep cases. I didn't even know they made keep cases that thick, there are two huge ones in here.
00:14:09
Speaker
that have three seasons apiece, one through three on one keep case, four through seven on the other, and then there's a smaller keep case that has season eight. But Mark, look how thick those keep cases are. Did you even know they made them that thick? That's impressive. They're like four inches thick. It's pretty much the final word on Walker, Texas Rain. Final word, 198 episodes.
00:14:28
Speaker
a popping eight seasons and i did this is not a good show by the way it's just not it isn't uh... kono brian used to make fun of the show all the time with clips that you know once they uh... once they have the merger uh...
00:14:43
Speaker
Whichever merger it was it was it was it universal is that how that was universal well? It's a paramount DVD, but I didn't universal Produce the show or something like that I can't remember I can't remember it aired on CBS right that's why it's on Paramount DVD and
00:15:01
Speaker
Anyway, at a certain point Conan O'Brien, because of the merger, the Universal Comcast merger, somehow that enabled him to have the right to start showing Walker Texas Ranger clips every single night. So that was enormously amusing. Anyway, so here it is. I mean, what do you want? It's Walker Texas Ranger. It's a huge brick of a show.
00:15:27
Speaker
I grew up with Chuck Norris. I went and saw Good Guys Wear Black with my mother because I couldn't get in alone because it was rated R. I never liked those movies. I thought they were just lame and bemoviation silly. Whatever. There's a show called Major Crimes, which for some reason keeps going on TNT. I don't understand why. There's actually a new season that is just starting up. The only reason why I even remotely even scanned this show
Critique and Praise of Various Films
00:15:50
Speaker
is because it gave Mary McDonald work. And that's a good thing. Because Mary McDonald was in Dances with Wolves.
00:15:55
Speaker
I love Mary Macdonald. I really do. She hasn't had the right, the best career. I know. Yeah, she had a lot of bad... Sneakers, and then a couple other things, and then she just kind of went away. I like sneakers. Sneakers is fun. It's okay. Anyway, this is about it. It's about the LA Police Department and their major crimes division, which, of course, in real life does not exist. But major crimes, third season, you know, it's just another one of those shows. What can I say? There's all sorts of crazy cases, and there's murders, and there's a bunch of crap. I mean, I think there's...
00:16:25
Speaker
shows like The Closer I think are better than this and certainly the various law and orders as formulaic as they are are better than major crimes this is just sort of like another one of the bunch a little generic but people seem to like it yeah also we have season two of Orange is the New Black Orange is the New Black of course uh allow me for a bunch of bunch of Emmys bunch of Golden Globes people love this show it is um
00:16:49
Speaker
It's very edgy and crazy and out there and weird and dramatic and just a little bit funny. Yeah, so I'm totally on board with this show. Laverne Cox is great in it. And what's her name? Taylor Kinney. It's a really well shot show, too. I mean, it transitions to Blu-ray very nicely. Bright oranges and deep blacks.
00:17:10
Speaker
There's four feature episodes. It's very orange and black. There's audio commentaries on, and I have to say, the best part about it is how convincing the Russian accent is on Kate Mulgrew. That's true, isn't it? Kate Mulgrew, a former captain of the Enterprise, or whatever, Voyager, does have a great Russian accent.
00:17:27
Speaker
uh... small t.v. and then i'll make mention of a of some new t.v. that's old already gene autry collection ten fully restored uh... you know i i i'm gene autry was never of all the singing cowboys uh... he was always the one that bored me the most but you know he went on to own the angels and did a hell of a job so good for him uh... anyway here this is uh... this isn't sort of technically television but most people grew up with this stuff as t.v. so
00:17:53
Speaker
the singing vagabond oh susanna root and toot and rhythm western jamboree these things were constantly on television when i was growing up and uh...
00:18:02
Speaker
They're all kind of the same. Gene Autry's very unconvincing, regardless of what he does. But he's just a pleasurable guise, you know? So these are, you know, it is what it is. The Wonder Years has been out now in the complete edition, the full series, but they're releasing them individually now. So season three is out, and the show's definitely kicking by season three. That's one of the more popular seasons. It sort of has the format is all established.
00:18:32
Speaker
And then lastly, I hit the mic. We have this thing called Hello Ladies. That's it. Which was a very, very short-lived HBO series. And this is kind of a sad thing because it was one of the producers of The Office who was involved in getting this going. Not obviously any of the key personnel like Ricky Gervais or anybody.
00:19:01
Speaker
But, um, it, it, it, it means to be an interesting fish out of water thing with this guy from England who, uh, you know, comes to Los Angeles and he's, you know, he's a web designer. And so you have this nerd factor and you have the fish out of water factor and the web factor. And it's, it screams, I'm trying way too hard to be hip and integrated. And, uh, and the, the, like the story of the moment, the comedy of the moment that's hip and connected to everything. And it just, it didn't, it, that was it.
00:19:29
Speaker
It sort of died on the vine. And you got about six hours of this thing, which is the complete series and the movie, and that's it. And I don't know, it's a curiosity. It's gonna quickly go away. This thing I suspect will be out of print before we know it. So if you have any affinity for it, pick one up now, because it probably won't be around very long. The only reason I remember the show is because when I downloaded the Onion app,
00:19:57
Speaker
the Onion iPad app, it would come up with a pop-up ad for Hello Ladies, and it would sit there for like a minute, two minutes, three minutes, and then I realized that the Onion app doesn't work, so I had to uninstall it, so really the only thing I remember about the Onion app is Hello Ladies. Wait, what happened to Michael Mann?
00:20:18
Speaker
Wow. You know what? Michael Mann, that guy was just a street level badass guy, just urban warfare. I'll tell you what's wrong with him. He's trying to be relevant. When filmmakers try to be relevant, when they try to keep up with the zeitgeist, when they're older directors and they try to show how
00:20:36
Speaker
connected they are to the stuff and the hipness and the kids and the thing and whatever people are talking about and social media and blah, blah, blah. That's when they lose their way. Michael Mann should just be saying, I'm going to make a Michael Mann movie. And if the rest of you are on board, good. If you're not too bad, you miss out. If you can get money for that, if you can get funding for that.
00:20:51
Speaker
Well, that's the thing. I don't think he's willing to do what... There's only one reason why this movie got made. Okay. Chris Hemsworth. That's right. We're talking about Black Hat. Black Hat. You know, the problem... But Chris, is there a hacker any... Tell your mic to your mouth. Get an angle. Get an angle on it. There you go. How about that? That works. Thank you. Is there a hacker anywhere in the world that looks like Chris Hemsworth? Seriously?
00:21:15
Speaker
Suck. Like, like, Hacker Thor? Well, whatever. Come on. Who cares? Doesn't matter. Ultimately, it's a cyber crime. Do you remember when, when Sandra Bullock starred in The Net? Oh gosh, that was dreadful. You were like, that's just like just grasping at topical straws. It is. As you know, oh gee, it's going to tap into the zeitgeist and kids would love it. No, it's the worst ever. And this is just, it's really just depressing. I just was, I felt so bad for Michael Mann that he's reduced to making this. This might be the only type of movie he can get made.
00:21:41
Speaker
if he's got an international star like Chris Hemsworth in it. But normally I would say he was coasting. I just think that this is all he can get made. I just think there's nothing out there for him that he can get. But Wade's right. I would love to see Michael Mann make a Michael Mann film.
00:21:57
Speaker
Ultimately, I don't know that either, maybe he's too old now and has lost the fire. There's another insider to be made. Maybe, but it's almost like Ridley Scott, where Ridley Scott is kind of coasting a little bit. They're all coasting. Why can't Ridley Scott make a badass Ridley Scott film? I don't know. Wish I knew. Anyway, that's Black Cat. Although it does look nice on Blu-ray. But who cares, because the movie sucks.
00:22:21
Speaker
Alright, and we also have a faith-based film here called Whovii. The faith-based films are very hit-and-miss. Obviously they are made primarily for the evangelical audience, but every once in a while they break out a little bit in a way that makes them interesting to somebody else, and Whovii is kind of one of those. This is from the people who made Soul Surfer.
00:22:42
Speaker
the uh... the same uh... production team including uh... director sean mcnamara and soul surfers a good film it really is it's not it's it's a good crossover film obviously a lot there for the faith audience but it's a it's a great story you know it's that girl in the
00:22:54
Speaker
You know, the shark and the whole thing. I mean, that made headlines. Whovie is less well known, but it's a true story and deals with this family and this kid who I won't share what the story is exactly, but it's centered around basketball.
00:23:14
Speaker
and it's very similar in some respects to Soul Surfer. It's a similar struggle, a similar family story, and equally well done. Kind of got a much smaller theatrical release, but I think it'll do okay on DVD because it's got a great cast.
00:23:30
Speaker
especially Patrick Warburton and Lauren Hawley, who are real actors. And when they put real actors in these movies, they somehow take on a different veneer. They don't feel quite so preachy and strictly religious. So, Hoovey, if you like basketball, if you like good family dramas, you don't even have to be particularly religious. Hoovey's a pretty good story. Wade, speaking of what happened to, here's another director, what happened to Spike Lee.
00:23:55
Speaker
Yeah, but see what he's doing is, he's like, if you're not going to fund movies I want to make, then I'll make them myself. I'll make them with a bunch of film school kids. I'll bring my kids, and anybody pays them. He doesn't expect his students to actually work free. He pays them. All that's fine. I just don't know that I like it when it results in movies like The Sweet Blood of Jesus. It's not a very good film. It's almost like... But at least it's the film he wanted to make.
00:24:17
Speaker
And you know what, I guess that's true. Would you rather see a filmmaker like Spike Lee, would you rather see him fail on his own terms or succeed on a studio's terms?
00:24:29
Speaker
Uh, fail on his own terms. If you see, but here's the thing. If you see him succeed on a studio's terms, you get inside man, which I like a lot. True. So really there's pros and cons to both, but you know, someone like Spike Lee, you want to see him. Yeah. Yeah. Look, the, the movie was funded partly through Kickstarter. Right. As you say, he pays his crew, even though they're all these film student kids. So it's basically, um, it's kind of like, um, Spike Lee is like his vampire film. Yeah.
00:24:56
Speaker
It's about this African artifact and, you know, this doctor gets cursed with it and what happens after that. So, you know, I really think, the promise by Lee is that he really blew it with old boy. Yeah, he did. He really blew it. He did. That was his chance to kind of get back in the saddle and to get back in good graces and start getting projects offered to him, but he didn't. That should have been it. And frankly, I don't know if that could have worked in anyone's hands, but he certainly should have done a better job with it than he did.
00:25:22
Speaker
uh... let's see all make uh... let's talk about uh... the loft which has a which should be a better from some of that film should be better though given the cast uh... i mean when you get the t is shown it's first of all my favorite actors in the world i like that just gets better and better
00:25:36
Speaker
But he has shown it along with Wentworth Miller, James Marsden, and Carl Urban, who keeps reinventing himself in curious and interesting ways. It should be a better movie, but it winds up being kind of a generic modern thriller noir, a lot of tough guys.
00:25:54
Speaker
a you know who have who've created this place called the loft which is you know a penthouse where they do naughty things and Then suddenly there's a dead body and nobody knows and how the body got there and everything and then suddenly there's a lot of clues pointing at different people and yada yada yada so you get into this what should be a really kind of an interesting thriller except it's
00:26:24
Speaker
as most thrillers are, the setup is more interesting than the payoff. When you're doing kind of quasi-modern noir, you've got to have a payoff that really, really just nails people. Anyway, it's okay. It should be better. The cast should be better, but if you like the actors, you'll probably enjoy the film nonetheless. I also got a thing here called Butterflies of Bill Baker.
00:26:49
Speaker
Which is another one of these little indies that really kind of is surprisingly very, very good. These movies that are made for next to no money by people who are just going out there and gritting their teeth and throwing it together. This is from Running Bear Media. And the idea here is, this is actually just a really, really sweet film about this guy, Bill Baker, who has a passion for butterflies of all things.
00:27:17
Speaker
And the problem is he suffers from a disorder which is called Pavorno Nocturnas. Wow, I can't believe I actually said that at the right time. You know what it is? It sounds like one of those things that like a teenager utters in like some 1980s, like low budget film, that they say that then the monsters will come to life and attack them.
00:27:41
Speaker
It's a weird kind of, it's an actual thing. It's a disorder where you do, it's like with night terrors. You get violent at night and you do violent things. It's apparently a real thing. It's rare, but it's apparently a real thing. So anyway, this is about his struggle and how this really amazing 10 year old girl sort of changes his entire life and his marriage, his broken marriage and all this stuff.
00:28:09
Speaker
I mean, it's an unusual story with unusual elements, really well acted and really surprisingly nicely put together despite a really limited budget. So that is called Butterflies of Bill Baker.
00:28:22
Speaker
Wait, there's a movie with a good cast that vaguely wastes them. It's called Two Men in Town. This is with Forrest Whitaker, Harvey Keitel. I actually did a featurette for this that was on the cable. What? Are you on this? No. It was strictly for cable. It was a cable thing. I didn't watch the featurettes. It was a cable thing.
00:28:39
Speaker
uh... it's it's okay you know look there's there's huge gaps in logic in it uh... it's beautifully shot by the way by the guy did holy motors your favorite film yeah also what material which you do like you hate holy motors but you like what material correct i i i love holy motors and i love what yeah well whatever
00:28:59
Speaker
Anyway, Forrest Whitaker plays a, um, he's this guy, ex-con, trying to go straight, kill the man at the beginning of the film, winds up in prison for, you know, almost 20 years, and Brendan Blethen plays, uh, the, um, uh, parole officer, and of course, you know, the bad guys and good guys, well, converging on him.
00:29:16
Speaker
you know, to kind of make his life more difficult. So, you know, I would have been okay with this film if nothing else based on the cast and the cinematography, but I just felt like... I think Forrest Whitaker is quite good in this. I mean, his character, you know, he's a... it's a really interesting guy. And it's a remake of a movie that probably nobody has actually seen, but it changes a lot of things in the remake. It was originally a French film. And with Alain Delant and...
00:29:45
Speaker
shaggy green and uh... uh... no the other that character no said it uh... uh... what we gave him we give the career achievement award i'm told you're on a bike fresh new wave palm fresh new wave or you had uh... bomb on the bomb on a thank you alone on the list so that was the original one no one's ever seen it no one seen it here it's a it's a rare film uh... so anyway that's the uh... this is the uh... netflix that right now i bet they have
00:30:09
Speaker
do it. I'll bet you they don't.
00:30:20
Speaker
they want to do a film in new mexico basically they want to do a french film a remake of a french film in new mexico and uh... it just uh... it's i mean it's fine it works on some level but uh... i wish that i do i wish it was a little bit better to uh... we've got a thing here called maya the b movie uh... which is one of these straight to video cgi animated films that uh... isn't quite you know it's not nearly like pixar level it's not nearly uh...
00:30:50
Speaker
uh... dreamworks animation level but it's not bad uh... it's the animation that they were getting now for these straight to video things straight home video things are pretty good they're they they just keep improving which raises the bar for everybody and i guess that's a good thing so this is uh... this is a uh... g-rated three d blu-ray release uh... that kind of she gets a nice little companion to it sort of if if you if you're gonna show movies like ants the bugs life to your your for your five-year-old uh... this skews much younger
00:31:19
Speaker
Like, I wouldn't be afraid to show this to my daughter, who's now a little bit over two. You know what? You know what she's really into now, by the way? She's really into Mickey and Minnie Mouse. And we didn't introduce her to Disney. It's not like we're not like those parents who are like, oh, here, let's just like drown her in Disney. And next thing she'll be just, you know, begging for everything, princesses and Mickey Mouse. You don't know how Disney works. They're insidious.
00:31:41
Speaker
But the second that she saw on her little toothbrush, right, this is what you talk about in Sidious, the second she saw Minnie Mouse on her toothbrush, couldn't take her eyes off it. She's like, oh. We're like, that's Minnie Mouse, Minnie Mouse. And then suddenly we're just breathing. She sees Mickey's Clubhouse, that horrible CGI animated thing. She just loves it.
00:32:02
Speaker
watch a more Mickey Minnie Mouse. It's like, oh no, are you kidding me? You want to watch that show? I hate that show. So Peppa Pig's over. No, she's still into Peppa. I'm still Daddy Pig and, you know, Christy's still Mommy Pig. Aw. Well, you are a pig. I am a pig. And you know, there's a Peppa Pig theme park, actually, in England. Did you know this? I did not know that. It's actually not far from where our friend Andrew lives. It's about an hour away by car.
00:32:25
Speaker
Yes! Somerset, here we come. So anyway, Maya the Bee Movie. It's sweet, excuse, excuse, much younger, but it, and I guess there's a series that goes with this as well. So, you know, we'll be covering that soon enough. Wade's 7th Son. I'll tell you a story about 7th Son. Man, that thing tanked, didn't it?
Film Trailers & Promotional Quirks
00:32:44
Speaker
You know what? I gotta say, I feel bad for Jeff Bridges. They moved the release date on that a few times.
00:32:52
Speaker
Well, uh, yes. What? I think I'm getting some interference for some reason. Just say, don't stop recording, just tell me. You want me to turn, you want me to silent my, uh, airplane mode my phone? Yeah, let's do that.
00:33:04
Speaker
You know, I feel bad for Jeff Bridges. The guy wins an Oscar for the Scott Cooper film. Speaking of the Scott Cooper film, when I saw Mad Max, I saw the trailer for Black Mass. Yeah. How good does that look? It looks good, except I'm done with Depp. I mean, it's like he's doing the best job he can, but I'm still watching it going. That's Johnny Depp, and he's doing shtick. I know.
00:33:28
Speaker
By the way, that guy, what's his name? No, the guy that it's about. Oh, Whitey Bulger. Whitey Bulger. You know, a friend of mine who's a screenwriter in Santa Monica, you know, veteran Kung Fu, you know, he was like head writer on Kung Fu for many years. He lived in that building. He used to see Whitey every day in the elevator. They lived on the, like four doors apart in the same building.
00:33:56
Speaker
And he didn't know he was Whitey. Not a clue. Suddenly he's watching TV and Whitey Bulger arrested, and it was like Whitey Bulger was arrested in your building, that guy four doors down that you never recognized, he couldn't believe it. Now did he ever put two and two together? Oh yeah, maybe that's why he came home late or... No, no, they were just, they were nice but never talkative. That was it. Yeah.
00:34:17
Speaker
Anyway seven son with Jeff Bridges this thing was supposed to open a year before wound up at the opening And that really tells you something right there. It's got it's just very tired the special effects are not that great even Jeff Bridges, you know Jeff Bridges loves doing that whole Zen thing where he like he's like the mentor the master and You know, I just beat look
00:34:43
Speaker
between this and 47 Ronin there is just something to be said about these sorts of movies especially when they're directed by Russians. I don't know what it is about Russians. They just can't direct. Anyway this movie just it's just it's just not great. I would pass on this totally although I will say it's got a great cast obviously Julianne Morrison and obviously as we said. It's got an alternate ending. It looks good. The only thing is that the effects aren't that great.
00:35:09
Speaker
Movies that have alternate endings as extras, really, we've never talked about this before on the show, but that is such a warning. If you're looking at a movie and one of the extras is an alternate ending, that doesn't mean, oh, they thought it would be really cool to go and shoot an alternate ending.
00:35:24
Speaker
What that means is the original ending didn't test well and we had to shoot something else. So here's the movie with the crap ending that was decided by committee along with the original ending that really probably works better. That's what that means. So when you see that on a film, that is a red flag that this movie was completely distorted after some bad test screenings. Although look,
00:35:48
Speaker
It doesn't necessarily mean the film is doomed. If you look at like the most famous, changed and detailed attraction. The original ending is better though, but not as commercial, not as popular. That is true. Anyway, so I would pass on Seven Son. Murky plot. Special effects aren't that great. And yeah, I'd pass on this.
00:36:06
Speaker
Yeah. So, um, we also have hot tub time machine to a hotter and wetter unrated cut. I hated the first one. This one's just even worse. I, you know what? I wanted to like the first one cause the whole idea of a hot tub time machine is obviously ridiculous and it's fine. This is a Blu-ray DVD set. Uh, you know, it's more of the same. It's just ridiculous Chevy chase shows on here for some God forsaken reason.
00:36:30
Speaker
Uh, and it's, uh, this is the un, you know, this is the unrated cut and blah, blah. It's got a commentary with the director and the writer and the making of and lots of stuff that just is pointless unless you just love this movie to begin with. But Mark, this is also what they sent to us. Can you believe this? This is what they sent us.
00:36:53
Speaker
It's a thing from the movie. This is insane. Here we go. The 12 inch dick pad is our thickest one yet and is capable of handling any job it's given. It comes loaded with advanced technologies including our patented soft touch ID sensor so you'll never have to worry about someone else handling your dick pad. It's a joke.
00:37:17
Speaker
But what is it? But it's not self-explanatory. I don't know why. No, because you have to. You have to have seen the movie. You have to have seen the movie. Yeah. Okay. But why would they send that to us? Not only that, why did they make 10,000 of these or how many they made? Exactly. To give them... I'm just mystified. It's the strangest swag that we have ever gotten with the...
00:37:37
Speaker
It's the strangest swag. Because if you haven't seen the movie, you're going to look at that and you're going to go, is this real? Is this a joke? Why are you sending me this? Well, it's definitely real and it's definitely a joke. Yeah. But it's a lot of money spent. I mean, just send me like a pen with the logo of the movie on it. Exactly. That I can use. You know, that actually has, I can put that on the desk. I'll sign checks with it. I'll make notes with it. You know, write down, you know, doodles while I'm talking to people who bore me. Whatever. But honestly. I'm going to write, I'm going to do a search on dick pad. Yeah, do that.
00:38:07
Speaker
And while you're doing that, I'm going to go through some BBC and British stuff. Jeremy Piven and Mr. Selfridge, Season 3, the other department store set British television series, which is kind of somewhat peripherally connected to Downton Abbey.
00:38:25
Speaker
Jeremy Piven, man, this guy, what a charmed career. He walks from Entourage, which is sort of like his defining television moment, and he walks right into this defining television British show as Mr. Selfridge, the famous American who founded the British television department store, Selfridge's. The thing with him is that I never take him seriously as an actor. I don't know that he takes him so seriously. He's so good on this. He's so good on this, and it gets better and better. I mean, there's nothing here that actually happened.
00:38:52
Speaker
They're just using an actual guy as kind of the foundation for the show, but the whole milieu of it is really compelling. We also have Steven Poliakoff's Dancing on the Edge, which is also from PBS on Blu-ray. Wonderful cast, especially Matthew Good, who I just think is one of the great British actors right now.
00:39:12
Speaker
Terrific cast also includes Jacqueline Bissette, who just seems to age at the slowest rates since, like, TAR. Joanna Lejiafor, Joanna Vanderham, and John Goodman, all of them in this, all of them wonderful in this. John Goodman's wearing a lot of tuxedos lately. He's kind of trying to forge a new career as that older gentleman, that patrician gentleman in, you know, American and British period films.
00:39:38
Speaker
This is set in London in the 1930s during the jazz era and Stephen Poliakoff, who is a really terrific writer and not a bad director. This is a really cool period, you know, mystery drama that is just beautifully, beautifully done. High caliber all around.
00:39:58
Speaker
We also have from Acorn on DVD, The Mystery of Lord Lucan, which is a couple of really, really cool dramas based on unsolved crimes, and that makes it interesting in and of itself. Anything that's unsolved is much more interesting than stuff that's solved, in case you didn't know that. Foyles' War set 8 on Blu-ray with the wonderful Michael Kitchen, just first-rate actor always. I don't know why he never had a big feature career.
00:40:26
Speaker
Because he has a silly name. Masterpiece Mystery has a new star, and that is Grantchester on PBS, which is also a really, really sharp show. Great mystery, deviates a little bit from what we normally expect with British mystery, but it does so in a really, really cool way. This is village mystery stuff. So you're dealing with this guy set in 1950s, this little town called Grantchester, and the
00:40:54
Speaker
the priest who, you know, it's his congregation and it's all the things that go on, it's small town nastiness. And then we also have Jamaica Inn for television, which is going to connect to the other Jamaica Inn we're going to talk about in a second, the original Hitchcock film. This is the same story done British television style with the wonderful Jessica Brown Findley, who was one of the daughters on
00:41:21
Speaker
Downton Abbey until she died while in childbirth based on the Daphne du Maurier novel, which is always really, really good. Joanne Wally and Matthew McNulty also show up in this. I don't think it's better than the Hitchcock film, but it's certainly less dated and it's longer and more faithful. This is like three hours long, has a certain epic feel to it. It's a great story if you've never read it.
00:41:45
Speaker
And then lastly, Wolf Hall, which is getting a little bit of traction. I can't say that I'm all that hugely fond of Wolf Hall. I'm not familiar with the novels, which are written by Hilary Mantel. I do like Mark Rylance, who is the only recognizable figure in this, but I'm willing to give it a chance.
00:42:06
Speaker
Basically the relationship of Thomas Cromwell, not to be confused with Oliver Cromwell, and his relationship with King Henry III, who here is played by Damian Lewis in a pretty good performance. And all of that stuff is kind of similar to another movie we're going to be talking about next week, I believe.
00:42:30
Speaker
Yes, probably next week. It's on the stack for this week, but I think we're not going to get to it, which is, of course, A Man For All Seasons, which includes the figure of Cromwell, includes Henry VIII, and that's a big deal in that movie as well. So Wolf Hall and A Man For All Seasons, which was best picture of 1966, a little bit of connectivity there too. Speaking of which, Wade, why or have we not gotten to the Vox box yet?
00:42:52
Speaker
We will. Right now. No, we will. Right now. Okay. I don't want you to forget. Okay. No, we're going to do it. So, all right, Mark. Yes. Give us, give us, give us the lead. Really? Do it now. Do it now. Yes. Don't get bad at your iPod. It's way too funny. We want you to stop now. Hello, Mark and Wade. This is Jason Levy.
00:43:22
Speaker
In episode 375, Wade, you stated that Ninja Scroll was one of the top 10 best anime films of all time. I was wondering, Wade, what are the other nine films you believe as being the best anime films ever made? Thanks.
00:43:38
Speaker
Alright, thank you Jason for putting me on the spot for something that was a slip of the tongue in a way. No, there are, you know, there are, I said top ten because I didn't want to have to say the best or one of the five best. I wanted to give it a little more latitude. Look, I think, you know, great anime. When I think of great anime without sort of going through the entire history of anime, I think of Spirited Away.
00:44:00
Speaker
I think of Grave of the Fireflies, definitely Metropolis, which I think is fantastic. Oh, yeah. Akira. Akira for sure, definitely Akira. So I mean, I wouldn't want to actually have to rank any of those. I do like Blood the Last Vampire. I think that's completely unique and totally original. That's a really, really cool film.
00:44:25
Speaker
Uh, you know, there are others that I, uh, the wind rises just a couple of years ago. I thought that was a beautiful film. I would probably put that in the, in the, uh, in the top 10. Top 10 anime films. Oh sure. Yeah. Of all time. Um, you know, then there's stuff like, uh, you know, millennium actress and Porco Rosso and those things. I don't know if they're, they're kind of in the mix, you know, depending on my mood. But grave of the fireflies to me is, is the top animated
00:44:52
Speaker
anime film of all time. That's just the best. Now are you pro or con cowboy bebop? No, not a fan. How about Evangelion? You know what? No, not so much. I mean it's okay. They have to be sort of more humanistic actually. Akira and Metropolis are the ones that are more traditional tech dystopian future cyberpunk anime where I'm able to get past all of that stuff.
00:45:20
Speaker
So, you know, and then of course Space Cruiser Yamato, that is pretty awesome. I don't know, I don't know if it's right to sort of put that at the very, very top, but you know, I like it. I like it a lot. So yeah, why not? There you go. So that's not nine, but there's a, there's a bunch in there. So they're all, those are all sort of in the mix. That's, that's my mix. I'm not a huge fan of Princess Mononoke, except maybe the Japanese version. Well, you, you, you can't make all of your choices. Yeah, I know.
00:45:49
Speaker
They should be though, right? Too bad there wasn't. There needed to be a Speed Racer animated movie. Not the thing that the Wachowskis did. I disagree. That Wachowski film was great. Bloch. Blork. Blork. All right. You know what? Real quickly too, before we get into the final. Actually, you know what? Let's do some foreign stuff real quickly.
00:46:15
Speaker
because we've got some really good criterions in here, and so let's blow through some foreign stuff. I'm not going to call this a foreign language, but this needs to be made mention of.
American Sign Language DVDs & Arabic Cinema
00:46:25
Speaker
We've got a really interesting new line here, which is sign language, American Sign Language DVDs, which I'm kind of amazed that they haven't released this before. This is from a company called Dawn Sign Press.
00:46:36
Speaker
And they're going to be releasing a lot of these. They're called Once Upon a Sign. That's the line. It's inexpensively made, but I think it's a great idea to release things for people who are deaf and can enjoy these stories told with American Sign Language. I think that's an unbelievably underserved audience. It's amazing to me that nobody else has thought of this. This is about 24 minutes long.
00:47:01
Speaker
also has voiceover and uh... the story here is the magic mirror and it's uh... it's you know again inexpensively done but it's very nicely told and uh... especially if you talk about kids deaf kids who are learning sign language uh... this is just a wonderful wonderful thing so uh... bravo to them and we'll talk about more of their titles as they release them uh... you know this is it's really really wonderful that they're doing this
00:47:27
Speaker
And then we also have a film from Drafthouse on Blu-ray. This is a Blu-ray and digital HD combo set called Amira and Sam, which probably should be better than it is. This is an Arabic language film, which I always celebrate anything that sort of tries to enrich the
00:47:48
Speaker
enrich our understanding of the world of Arabic language cinema, which is not heavily well represented around the world. It's a little bit, in some respects, like those before movies with Richard Linklater and Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, you know, Before Sunrise, After the Moon, whatever they're all called. I always get that.
00:48:07
Speaker
I always get the titles mixed up. It's a little bit like that. It certainly gives you a completely different perspective on romance and social interaction between the genders in the Arab world. It's completely not what people are accustomed to seeing when all we see is, you know, burkas and
00:48:25
Speaker
and he job and on the news reports all the time it's all afghanistan and isis and what not so uh... this gives you a much more modern uh... a modern look at it and uh... it's not that amira and sam good acting from the stars martin starred dina shahabi and paul westley and uh... you know it's uh... the new york backdrop doesn't have doesn't hurt either
00:48:50
Speaker
We have three criterions this week, very exciting. Two from Costa Gavras, the first is State of Siege. Now, with Costa Gavras, he always deals with political corruption in Latin America, or in Greece, or in Czechoslovakia. This one... I did an audio commentary with him. He's a wonderful man. Don't. Okay, go on. Wait, what's that noise? Is that you dropping a name? Yeah. Okay.
00:49:14
Speaker
this one is more kind of american because it kind of even though it's 1972 it is it's almost prescient or prescient you can say prescient yes because it puts under a microscope u.s involvement in latin america yep and so even montano of course is a hardly american but still he he plays as u.s official and he gets abducted and so he becomes a bargaining chip to release some political prisoners and so this is really good stuff is just really really turns the screws on this it's a great critique of uh...
00:49:43
Speaker
of the American government and how we meddle in foreign governments and foreign dictatorships. So State of Siege is definitely cool. I prefer the confession.
00:49:54
Speaker
If this thing really turns the screws, this thing is great. It's about Yves Montan again. He plays this government official in Europe and he's imprisoned by his government, you know, communist bosses. He's not told why he's been arrested.
Gripping Storylines and Thematic Depth
00:50:09
Speaker
They, you know, tortured him psychologically. And he discovers why he's been kidnapped and why he's been tortured. And I won't tell you why, because it is totally cool. It's almost Twilight Zone. It's so cool. But this is great, even though
00:50:22
Speaker
It's all about the Czechoslovakian government and communism and blah blah blah. Don't worry about it. You don't have to necessarily know Czechoslovakian government ins and outs in the early 70s to really groove on this film. It's just a really cool paranoid thrill at the confession. And the criterion, of course, as usual, knocks that out of the park. They have an onset documentary, which is cool. Of course, the usual essay.
00:50:45
Speaker
I like The Confession a lot, State of Siege, I liked a lot too, but a little bit less. Also, we have The Merchant of Four Seasons. Now, The Merchant of Four Seasons is an early film from Fosbender, and this one is interesting. It's kind of like, it's kind of funny. I think that Fosbender wasn't as funny later in his career, I think you can probably say. Well, he's definitely, he's been making comedies, I mean, films that are, you know, relatively comedies. I mean, they're not, ha ha ha, but they're, oh, that's amusing. So he's been doing that more lately.
00:51:15
Speaker
Right, but merchant of four seasons to me is him working out his style. It was early in his career.
00:51:22
Speaker
It's about this policeman who, you know, he's not a policeman anymore, he served in the war, and now he's trying to make ends meet as a fruit vendor. And so it's really cool stuff. I would recommend this highly. It's a new 4K digital restoration. Again, this is from 1971, so 4K is great, although the film will never look fantastic. There's an audio commentary featuring Boon vendors, which of course is great. Another, you know, cinematic icon from Germany.
00:51:48
Speaker
Uh, new interviews, uh, with some of the actors, and, uh, it's good, good stuff. Merchant of Four Seasons, good, not as good as The Confession, uh, and a little bit, uh, and, uh, also State of Siege. Bravo. Uh, on Blu-ray and on DVD, not together, but separately,
00:52:08
Speaker
uh... from our good friends over at cinema libre is days of grace and the us the grass yeah which uh... is just another really intense unbelievably cool mexican film uh... something just happen in the last you know didn't fifteen twenty years with mexican cinema and there is this this ongoing onslaught of really interesting mexican directors not all of whom i particularly like but i confess they're all interesting and they're getting films in their uh...
00:52:33
Speaker
in festivals, and they're really making an impact. This film is all about the obvious crime issues right now in Mexico. This is from director Everardo Gutt, really a talented guy. The whole thing takes place over the course of three different World Cup
00:52:58
Speaker
and it feels a little bit like Amoros Perros in some respects. It feels like it's kind of trying to tread some of the similar territory, but it doesn't in a really original way. A lot of high style, very violent. It doesn't make you exactly want to go to Mexico. I'll tell you, it's not a tourist film, but it's done really, really well. It's very stylish and even Scarlett Johansson shows up in here.
00:53:21
Speaker
So that's pretty slick stuff. Days of Grace, Dias de Gracia. Check that out on Blu-ray in particular, especially with the stylish visuals. And then we have a French film from Celine Chiamma, who previously has done Water Lilies and Tomboy, usually deals with films that are primarily oriented towards coming of age, basically young lesbian women or women who have gender identity issues.
00:53:51
Speaker
And, uh, girlhood is a little bit of a change. It's still a coming of age thing. It's not necessarily, um, uh, sexually oriented. This is more about a young girl who, uh, and it's entirely takes place in, you know, the, uh, sort of the, uh, the next generation African immigrant community in France.
00:54:11
Speaker
You've got this young black girl who just doesn't have a great upbringing and finds solace in a group of girls that kind of take her in a different direction, maybe the wrong direction, maybe a better direction, but it's how she sort of encounters all of these hurdles that are just a part of her socioeconomic circumstance and how she copes with them. It is a tough but
00:54:35
Speaker
It's ultimately an inspiring film and really a step up for Celine Xiamo. That's on Blu-ray. It's called Girlhood. And it was a big deal at Sundance and at Cannes last year. Definitely worth checking out. So that one is out there from the good people at Strand. On Blu-ray, Strand does not often do Blu-rays, but this one they clearly knew they had something special. By the way, we rap out, don't we Wade?
00:54:57
Speaker
uh... wrap-out uh... this the show of the show now i got a few that i got a few other things real quickly uh... gold-glow winner for best foreign film leviathan this also academy award nominee a lot of people had in their oscar pool including me and uh... this is a uh... terrific film this is it's kind of a loose retelling of of the book of joe and it's about this guy who lives in a small fishing town in uh... in russia northwest russia and it's all about this guy who
00:55:28
Speaker
What goes on underneath the surface of this small town is a bit of a microcosm as to what's going on in greater Russia today, because he talks about religion and politics and guns. So you get this guy who lives in this little riverside, little house, and one day the government seizes his land.
00:55:48
Speaker
So he decides to enlist a friend of his who's an attorney and they decide to contest the town mayor's claim of eminent domain. And that's where it all falls apart. I thought for sure this thing was, I really, I thought this was going to win the foreign language Oscar. I did. This was, I thought this was going to upset. Just, just, that was just my gut feeling and it didn't, you know, everybody went with the obvious favorite, but that's, it's still a great film and one screenplay it can deservedly. It's a, it's a smart film from a really interesting director.
00:56:17
Speaker
That's right, deleted scenes, Toronto Film Festival Q&A with the director, commentary with the director, and making a featurette, a terrific film, definitely a rental Leviathan, which of course there's no actual Leviathan in the film, it's a metaphorical Leviathan. And we are going to wrap out with one from Cohen and then some from Warner Archive and Olive.
00:56:40
Speaker
Uh, getting back to the Hitchcock, Jamaica Inn. This is now out on a Blu-ray from Cohen, beautifully restored. This is the, can you believe it, the 75th anniversary of this film. 75 years since Jamaica Inn. Oh, what? Oh, Jamaica Inn. Jamaica Inn, with the unbelievable casting of Charles Lawton and Maureen O'Hara. Alfred Hitchcock didn't really make a lot of period films. Uh, he, you know, he did, uh, Beyond Capricorn and, uh, Jamaica Inn. Capricorn 1 with O.G. Simmons? No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
00:57:09
Speaker
But Capricorn and Jamaica Ann are the two sort of period period films that he did
00:57:14
Speaker
And they're both good. Jamaica Inn is not a sort of classic Hitchcock film. He's very much kind of a hired hand on this. But it's a great cast and this 4K restoration is just superb. I mean, it is gorgeous looking. Full-length audio commentary with an essay, a video essay by Donald Spotto. This is just a super cool film and a great cast.
00:57:39
Speaker
Again, not as faithful as the more recent British television version, which is three hours in length. This thing is a hundred minutes. It just blows through. But you know what? From the the amazing year of 1939, which gave us so many amazing films from Gone with the Wind to
00:57:56
Speaker
Gunga Den, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, to Wizard of Oz, I mean on and on and on. It's an amazing year and this is another one, Jamaica Inn from that legendary year of 39 from Cohen on Blu-ray. Beautifully, beautifully done.
00:58:14
Speaker
And then a quick batch here from Olive before I wrap out with Warner Archive. Olive has given us another set of interesting catalog titles. All of these are from the MGM and 20th libraries. We start off with Farrah Fawcett in Extremities, which goes along with The Burning Bed as two of her riskiest but best performances. Robert M. Young, a guy that never really kind of hit his stride, but gave us a lot of good movies, not a lot of great movies from 1986.
00:58:46
Speaker
That's all there is about this. Alfred Woodard and James Russo co-star, but it's really all about Farrah Fawcett just going raw and taking abuse and showing us that she can actually act. Peter Benchley's Creature is a truly silly movie from 1998.
00:59:04
Speaker
You know, it just reaffirms that Peter Benchley really was a one note guy. Jaws was all he had in him. Everything else is just ridiculous. But this thing has kind of a following because as a creature feature, it's just embarrassingly stupid and kind of enjoyable in a way. And you have people, really good actors here who try to be a little bit serious about it, including Giancarlo Esposito, who does his level best along with everybody else.
00:59:27
Speaker
to make this thing feel authentic. Craig Nelson, kind of miscast. Kim Cattrall is always funny. And then we have It the Terror from Beyond Space. Speaking of creature features, this thing is just all out silly B-movie wonderfulness. This was originally made in 1958 right in that sweet spot when we were starting to get a lot of really great silly B-movies and the red scare was just going completely unhinged.
00:59:55
Speaker
Marshall Thompson is about the best you get in this as far as cast, but this thing is thoroughly entertaining. And then lastly, a movie that's kind of forgotten, but remember Robert De Niro and Philip Seymour Hoffman in Flawless? Sure. What a terrific movie this was. One of those Joel Schumacher movies that's just done on a small scale but just feels earnest and authentic.
01:00:13
Speaker
Philip Seymour Hoffman in drag, totally great performance, unbelievably compelling. And Robert De Niro just kind of along for the ride to sort of let Philip, to just give Philip Seymour Hoffman some great supporting strength. It's a really interesting film and a fascinating relationship and friendship between these two great actors in this movie. So that's one of the better Joel Schumacher movies of the last, I don't know, 10, 12, 13 years.
01:00:39
Speaker
Well, Schumacher's kind of done now, right? I think he's due for a resurgence. If he wants it, he'll get it. Oh, he's got to be in his 70s. Yeah, but so what? He's George Schumacher. Hey, George Miller went into the Namibian desert for a year and a half or something. That's right. And then from Warner Archive, here's what we got this week in Warner Archive. Man, God bless those people at Warner Archive. They just keep giving us great stuff. Their infrequent releases of Blu-rays completely hit the stratosphere this week. Lady Hawk on Blu-ray. Lady. Oh, Mark, you remember Lady Hawk?
01:01:10
Speaker
Michelle Pfeiffer. Michelle Pfeiffer, Richard Donner, Rutger Hauer, Matthew Broderick. One of the best Richard Donner movies because he's not trying to do the Lethal Weapon of the Superman. He's not trying to be like that big blockbuster guy. He just has a really interesting story and it's a nice little kind of Arthurian legend. It was during the time when he had a lot of movies like that. What was one with Tom Cruise? Not Tom Cruise.
01:01:40
Speaker
Richard Donner film? No, not Richard Donner, like Lady Hawk. It was like kind of fantasy. Yeah, no, there was a fantasy. There was a bunch of them at the time. It was a light fantasy moment. Legend or Excalibur or whatever. Yeah, there was a light fantasy moment. Anyway, and Vittorio Storaro shot this and he does a beautiful job. It's a gorgeous Blu-ray. They did a really wonderful job.
01:02:00
Speaker
This was back when Starara was, you know, he was the man in this moment. It was right on the heels of him doing things like Apocalypse Now and kind of just before The Last Emperor, you know, he was in his prime. It was really sweet. So, Lady Hawk on Blu-ray.
01:02:15
Speaker
And then lastly, tying us out with all of their great new DVDs, Warner Archive has a bunch of really cool stuff. Escape from East Berlin is such a good movie. Don Murray has never given a better performance than he gives in this movie. Don Murray was always sort of like an also ran guy. This is directed by the legendary noir King Robert Sayadmak, one of the many directors who just specialized in noir and tough films at the time.
01:02:41
Speaker
And basically, the story of Kurt Schroeder trying to figure out how to get out of East Berlin, that's it. It's an escape movie, but it's really, really well done. Then Stella Stevens, Telly Savalas, David McCallum, and Rip Torn in Soul Madrid, which is one of those pre-Godfather mafia films that aren't really authentic, but they have kind of a cool
01:03:09
Speaker
Sixties seventies vibe to them and they're a little bit funky and they you know, it feels dated but dated in kind of a good way Really not quite a classic mafia film as we understand it Ricardo Montalban also shows up in this Wallace Barry in the David O'Sellsnick film viva via which is
01:03:30
Speaker
It's kind of, it's okay. This is the story of Pancho Villa. I don't know that Wallace Berry is the right casting for Pancho Villa, but if you're a Wallace Berry fan, and it's got the David O'Celznick stamp of style and scale on it, and Wallace Berry makes a good try. It's sort of amusing in a way.
01:03:52
Speaker
Uh, and then Kid Glove Killer. Um, you know, this is sort of a, kind of a, kind of a programmer in a way, but because it was directed by Fred Zinneman, um, you know, you, you can sort of see this amazing legendary filmmaker kind of emerging. This was his first film that he made. So it's, uh, it's interesting from a historical perspective that you get this, this icon, this giant of, uh,
01:04:18
Speaker
of the Hollywood Golden Era who's sort of putting his pieces together here. So in that sense, it is historically significant. And then lastly, this I find to be a really fascinating film. I had never even heard of this movie before. This is a totally unusual film. One of those things that just kind of gets lost between the cracks because nobody really knows what to make of it. This is a crazy, weird, funky comedy. And I guess Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World birthed a lot of these at the time.
01:04:46
Speaker
Uh, this is one of these crazy all-star comedies, these zany farces, called Every Little Crook and Nanny. Every little crook and nanny. You get it Mark? It's not nook and cranny, it's crook and nanny.
01:05:01
Speaker
I don't get it. You don't get it. Okay. Well, never mind. Lynn Redgrave, Victor Mature, Paul Sand, Dom DeLuise, John Astin. It's a good cast. Dom DeLuise especially. You know, you just put Dom DeLuise in anything and you laugh, don't you? No one knows who Dom DeLuise is anymore. It's so sad.
01:05:19
Speaker
Gosh, Don DeLuis was the best. Anyway, it's a strange little story about a guy who wants to turn a charm school into a bookie joint. That's basically the idea. But it just gets zany and crazy and wacky, and it's somewhere between Mad, Mad, Mad Red World and an eeling comedy, I guess. But it's a strange little forgotten gem, and it's worth rediscovering. So that's every little crook and nanny.
01:05:49
Speaker
And with that, we are done, my friend. Yes. I'm going to take my dip pad and do what we need to do. We didn't get to Lister Mail. We have a couple of Lister Mail things, so we'll hang on to those and we'll top the show next week with them. We'll see you next week.
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Speaker
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Speaker
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