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TSP Ep 134 Part 2: Oscars 2025 - SPOILERS!!!
18 Plays19 days ago
In second half, Tom and Steve finish their discussion on the 2025 Oscars, criticize an article from The New Yorker by Namwali Serpell on "The New Literalism Plaguing Today's Biggest Movies", the death of movie theatres.
So come along with us and shit on the best movies of the year!
If you would like to see the article you can find it here: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/critics-notebook/the-new-literalism-plaguing-todays-biggest-movies
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Transcript
Should Oscars be limited to American films?
00:00:00
Speaker
So I'm still here. Yeah. So that did win an international best picture. And I feel like that's always the, ah you know, that, that, I mean, a lot of people say the Oscar should only be for American movies. And well, one, it is i an American movie.
00:00:16
Speaker
I'll just let you all know.
Film Comparison: 'I'm Still Here' vs 'Drive My Car'
00:00:18
Speaker
It's filmed in the American continent. But also i kind of hate that. You know, I think the Oscar should award the best film on the fucking planet.
00:00:29
Speaker
In my opinion. The Oscars should be the greatest films on the planet made that year. And ah probably a lot of Hollywood films probably wouldn't nominated.
Narrative Techniques and Engagement in Films
00:00:39
Speaker
I'm Still Here dominated a Drive My Car?
00:00:43
Speaker
Or was Drive My Car way better?
00:00:46
Speaker
Damn, that's interesting. um
00:00:51
Speaker
I don't know. I think maybe Drive My Car is better. Because that movie was good. Yeah. like It's probably better. Although I'm still here way more fun and engaging and interesting. in
00:01:06
Speaker
And easier to get through because, i mean, Drive My Car drove me to sleep. You know, but I'm still here. Like, I was invested. I mean, like I said, her character is really well written and then all that they go through and and the way they set things up was pretty damn good, dude. Like, that first two-thirds was just phenomenal. And then it really tapered off at the end.
00:01:29
Speaker
um
Cinematography Critiques and Personal Preferences
00:01:31
Speaker
But of these films, well, are there any any other films that you wanted to point out in particular for the
Literary References in Cinema: Dostoevsky and More
00:01:41
Speaker
Best Picture? Find...
00:01:43
Speaker
I closed it. Oh, because I was looking at fucking City of God. um I have the list right here.
00:01:52
Speaker
You i want me to mention some of them? Okay. Oh, wait. I don't. I have your notes. No, you don't.
00:02:03
Speaker
They're warriors in a prison cell? That's the article. Oh. If we're going to talk about that. Yeah. Um... Hey, cheers with the Glimm Finish, oh man. I'm free at last. Cheers. Free at last. You got some
Cinematic Techniques: Wide Shots and Formats
00:02:20
Speaker
catching up to do, my friend.
00:02:22
Speaker
Not that I'm saying you need to chug or anything, you little bitch. hu Dude, that tastes like apple juice. My God. So I would say, since we're not going to talk about it too much other than cinematography, which it won the brutalist.
00:02:37
Speaker
um You know, I wasn't a big fan of the cinematography. I liked it. awesome I'm a sucker for the big format wide shots. I only made it an hour and a half.
00:02:50
Speaker
I watched the whole thing. i i So I don't know if it gets better. But where it was at, I don't think it was better than Dune.
00:03:00
Speaker
It's better than Dune. Did you make it to the quarry?
00:03:05
Speaker
That's kind of where I had to stop because we had a party or something to go to. So we were kind of getting ready. So a little bit, a little bit. Yeah, because that scene, I was just like, God, dude, the scale of all this. It was beautiful with the white and the fog.
00:03:21
Speaker
The white. What was that? Clay? Dirt? What is it? Rock?
Classical vs Modern Film Narratives
00:03:26
Speaker
Stone? Marble. That was marble? It was a marble quarry, a real one. Wow. Yeah, that that was very pretty.
00:03:32
Speaker
Yeah. That was very pretty. But even like – They're just gorgeous shots. It's just – you know, it it was like – Dune has such luscious shots.
00:03:43
Speaker
Like when you see that little sand digger, sand crab kicking all the dirt. The cinematography of the Brutalist was like Terrence Malick, beautiful naturalism.
00:03:54
Speaker
Just hold on the big fucking wide and let things happen in the frame. just Let's just let the actors play. and i didn't see it, man. and ah I it didn't see it. and i didn't see it But I thought... You didn't see Guy Pearce, my friend? you Look, that movie should have been like... It's like right up your alley. Guy Pearce. Adrian Brody.
00:04:20
Speaker
I know. It was shot on 70mm, right? Yeah. Which is phenomenal. And people are criticizing like, why should I have 70 millimeter? Who gives a fuck? Because it looks great. It looks so good. Why would you want to go with the go with the biggest negative you fucking can? How is how's that a criticism?
00:04:38
Speaker
Stupid. Yeah. But have you ever seen Magnolia? That movie should not be shot on 70 millimeter, but it's beautiful because of it. Yes. I mean, why wouldn't you? If you can, do it. But I can't watch you because Karen wants to watch it with me.
00:04:54
Speaker
so And we never get a chance to watch anything together. oh Welcome to my life, buddy. But you know what I did see by
Philosophical Themes: Tarkovsky and Existentialism
00:05:00
Speaker
myself? Solaris. Oh, you saw it? Yes, by Tarkovsky.
00:05:05
Speaker
You saw your first Tarkovsky. was my first. And you saw the Burning House one, right? No, I have never seen it. Tarkovsky. I thought you saw the one with the Burning House. Nope, I've only seen clips. You've seen this whole scene, though?
00:05:16
Speaker
Yeah. Okay. Yeah, the mirror. Dang it. Yeah, that's the mirror one? Wow, and it was powerful just seeing that one clip. Mm-hmm. Holy shit. ah Yeah, Tarkovsky's way smarter than me, I'll say that.
00:05:29
Speaker
Those Russians, man, they're real smart. I've been reading Dostoevsky, too. Oh, I've read Brothers Karamazov. Oh, is it good? Or listened. was it Is it good? Yeah. It's good, but it's like, yeah.
00:05:44
Speaker
Can I go back to listening to the a man hit the man with the stone? Can I go back to Bukowski? Yeah, give me Bukowski any day. like That shit's like, start for 45 days. Andre.
00:05:58
Speaker
a andre Andre! I'm so sorry. It's like Jesus Christ. dan Yeah. I've been reading Sophia Crime and Punishment. um That sounds like a punishment.
00:06:09
Speaker
ah For when I put her down in her nap. Because I've been crip training
Oscar Nominations and Industry Implications
00:06:13
Speaker
her. So I'll read to her while she's getting ready to sleep. Ooh. That nicotine is sitting hard. And um so I've been reading it. But it's so hard to read, man. Russian names… I cannot pronounce them.
00:06:25
Speaker
So I'm just stuck like Ab-A-B-A-N-O-V. Ab-A-N-O-V. Ab-A-N-O-V. Yeah, just shorten it. Abby. ah so So that keeps tripping me up. um But yeah, man.
00:06:37
Speaker
Solaris. It's like an 80-hour audiobook too. Solaris? No. ah Brother, Karl Marzoff. That book. It's like... the shit's to I remember... It's a long book?
00:06:47
Speaker
Yeah. Oh, I thought it was a novella. No, it's like 10,000 pages or something. Holy shit, because Crime and Punishment is super long. I think that's like 12,000. The Russians, dude, it's like, we have no food. I guess we'll read.
00:07:03
Speaker
Yeah, I just figure, you know, I'll read it i'll read a little like a few pages her every day and get to the end eventually. Yeah, I always i always try to like listen to the like like ah ah Albert Camus. Oh, yeah. Well, The Stranger's ah an easy read.
00:07:19
Speaker
um I listen to The Plague one. ah is that good? I mean, of course it's good, but I'm just like, Jesus Christ, dude. Like...
00:07:30
Speaker
that's ah That's a long one, huh? want Bublowski. Yeah. and We are Bubba. I mean, i ah i appreciate intellectualism about as much as I appreciate like... Bublowski? Nothing.
00:07:47
Speaker
It's like... i Yes, it's good, of course. Of course it's good, right? Of course it's smart and intricate and intelligent and heartfelt and the characters are real and interesting. But like, you know, at the of the day, I want i had more... i got more enjoyment listening to the Conan books.
00:08:12
Speaker
Well, I mean, there' there's something to it to, like, just fun, you know? Like, I don't think people...
Storytelling: Showing vs Telling
00:08:18
Speaker
take fun into the equation enough like with Solaris because I was thinking about that compared to 2001 and they're just so radically different just the approach of space and how we're going to capture a spaceship and all that well I guess I don't even know if this is a spaceship or a station on another planet I'm not quite sure but um there's there's one shot that I know you would love. It's just a water and it's so beautiful.
00:08:46
Speaker
And then it gets real deep and there's all these elements. And I was talking to my mentor, Romano. I was like, what does this mean to you? Because he's smarter and he knows philosophy. So he always tells me like the deeper elements.
00:08:59
Speaker
But great movie. Great. I was like, damn, i see i see I see Tarkovsky. Yeah, he's pretty damn good. He's pretty damn good. But... um back to it. ah Yeah.
00:09:13
Speaker
Are there any other best pictures that stood out to you that you did want to discuss? Because um Dune, I think it got shafted on cinematography. It wasn't up for it was up for best picture. Maybe...
00:09:26
Speaker
maybe No. ah But Anora, like, see, the problem with Anora too Anora is like, if we're going to talk about the Oscars, we have talk about Anora, which we haven't talked about yet. And we both finally have seen it.
00:09:40
Speaker
But the problem for Anora for me when I saw it was i watched half of it. And then we had to watch the other half another day because I think the kids woke up. Mm-hmm. And then we watched it when Karen's family was visiting.
00:09:51
Speaker
So, you know, Nora's not the best movie to watch when family family with a little kid is sleeping next door. So we had it very low. Like, we really couldn't hear anything.
00:10:04
Speaker
We just had the subtitles and we we're just kind of going off the subtitles. So I think that was a detriment to it. um You know what? because Because it is like two different films, I feel like, from the first half and the second half. Oh,
00:10:18
Speaker
I love the second half. I was gonna say, and the second half is so good. The first half is kind eh, but it's all set up. The first half… i don't want to say it sucks, but the first half, isn't it's ne it's like a necessary evil. Yeah, it's the setup.
00:10:31
Speaker
It's the setup. It's the setup to the payoff. And then the payoff is that second half where- And then the payoff is so- Where mom and dad come home. Good. Right, essentially. The payoff is so good. Yeah. it's so And then that ending.
00:10:43
Speaker
Because- It was such- I mean, that ending really caught- Oh my God. It's the fucking- That ending, I'm like, Sean Baker, you fuck- I love where he cut at that. And i was just like, cause you know, that second half. And it means so much without a fucking word. And it's like, whenever, you know, we we always harp, we harp so hard on show. Don't tell show. Don't tell.
00:11:09
Speaker
You want the perfect example of show, don't tell? The end of a Nora. Just watch a Nora.
Film Festival Submissions and Editing Challenges
00:11:14
Speaker
Just watch a Nora. Yeah. You know, because because it's kind of built, I was thinking of like a 80s rom-com because I saw this movie called Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down.
00:11:25
Speaker
Oh, it's always on Max. I always want to, I'm always like, is this, what this? Well, I've been watching tons of Max. Yeah. And, um... always I always see it on Macs. I saw it on like films you should watch. You know it's next to Wings of Desire, Solaris. Okay well if it's on the list and you know I like the cover of it.
00:11:42
Speaker
Oh, the cover. Yeah. was like, that's why I'm always like. So I was like, oh, let me check it out. So I watched it. I'm like, single white female? And it's just, it's so bizarre. It's just such a bizarre movie within the context of what's happening.
00:11:55
Speaker
Like, it's it's just so fucking weird. But it's kind of a rom-com. And, you know, Anora is like a rom-com. And so I was thinking like, oh, 80s rom-com. And it kind of has those elements of 80s rom-com.
00:12:08
Speaker
You know, where they're kind of, if you think about it a little more deeply, like they're ahre kind of disturbing. They never, you know, a lot of those 80s films never really went too deep. They always kind of floated on the surface. They're like um risky business, right? Yeah. That's kind of a deep movie. I mean, you're talking about a very young woman who's into prostitution and she's,
00:12:28
Speaker
um um ah what do you but you call it? she's She's essentially kind of like a child rapist, right? Because… He's not of age. 16. Yeah.
00:12:38
Speaker
yeah And it in all his buddies. And so, is you know, there's a... this yeah And yeah, you know what? Yeah, right. Yeah. There's a really disgusting element there. Yeah. The same thing with... um She bangs all his friends and she's like, yeah, they're not good at sex.
00:12:53
Speaker
But it's like... But but another movie to... It's parallel to... But one thing I will say... Pretty Woman. I will give Risky Business its due is that...
00:13:04
Speaker
it doesn't shy away from this. If anything, it just is like, no, this is just the reality of things. but it but it's Which is what Anora does really well. But it's not critical where Anora...
00:13:18
Speaker
then becomes critical of that, right? because Because that ending, yeah, because of the ending and her emotional outburst there. I mean, it's filled with so much because of not just what she went through, but the way she's just treated and possibly Yuri just for the first time making love to her.
00:13:38
Speaker
Yeah. It's not even, they're not even having sex. And like she kind of realizes that. Right, because... To juxtapose everything that she's gone through within this past week. Yeah, and it's just like... know that and And it's kind of... It's ugly and it's heartbreaking.
00:13:54
Speaker
It's ugly and it's it is... It's so heartbreaking. That whole movie is... It's sadness. It's just so sad. And it's because it's like...
00:14:06
Speaker
fuck, she was so close to like breaking free of this life. Well, living her Cinderella story, right? Exactly. And like people might be critical of that. and they're like and and And the article that we're going to be talking about was critical of that. I think they acknowledge the Cinderella aspect of it. And it's like, no, it's... Do you know how fucking hard it is out there?
00:14:30
Speaker
And like this kid... has everything he wants. Yeah. Everything. and And also the grossness of that, right? Which they show in the first half. Exactly. the excess.
00:14:41
Speaker
And it's like, and that's why the first half is a little hard yeah to watch because it's like- Well, you're just seeing this excess. Like, just fuck that guy. Like- he's not He's never worked for anything in his whole life. yeah And he's like, oh, I might have to go work with my dad or work for my dad's company. and it's like, you know, he's not going he ain't going to be cleaning the toilets.
00:15:06
Speaker
He's going to be sitting in a meeting, sleeping, drooling. But Honora was... it was just Honestly, what what really... It's just so good. It's so funny. it has like moments that are so fucking hilarious. but But not to break away into other moments, just real quick.
00:15:25
Speaker
I think for me, that's what put the feather in the cap was that ending. The end is so good. it It was just like the perfect last sentence. And it was like, oh, you just tied it all back around. Kind of like um The Substance.
00:15:40
Speaker
Well, that's one to talk about. um Because I love the ending. Because yeah they just went completely off the rails. It was like, okay, i now i'm now okay I'm just going with you on it now. this ride.
00:15:51
Speaker
end of The Substance is magnificent. It's... I love that it...
00:16:01
Speaker
We talk about this quite a bit where a lot of films are afraid to actually just like commit, fully commit. And you got to respect it when a filmmaker fully commits.
00:16:13
Speaker
Anora commits. Yeah. Substance commits. and even and And even both of them kind of go beyond, right? Because then it it just takes you for this this twist, this final twist. It's like being on that roller coaster and and there's a surprise loop that you got to go on. Exactly. Because there's like...
00:16:32
Speaker
The end of the substance with essentially what is just left of her face. Yeah. Like covering the Hollywood star. And it's like, you know, I kind of made it in a sense.
00:16:47
Speaker
Like, you know, I'm. But at what cost? You know, she literally becomes the star. i don't fucking know. And you have to think it's like. But the glitz and glamour and the bullshit that all these, like, right? It's like, oh, yeah I got my star on the hall. It's like, that cost like it costs money. There's like this big yeah ceremony and people come out and talk and speak.
00:17:13
Speaker
And it's like, it's so, it's such bullshit. Like, here you've walked you walk oh Hollywood. And it's like, dude, it's like just trash everywhere. Like,
00:17:26
Speaker
poor people everywhere. Sunset Boulevard is so garbage. monarch Santa Monica Boulevard is so trashy.
Current Filmmaking Practices: Cultural and Industry Critiques
00:17:34
Speaker
Hollywood is so trashy. It's so fucking gross. Every time I have to go down there, like we have a job site down there. Uh,
00:17:42
Speaker
Doing the Tesla diner on Santa Monica Boulevard. And I'm just like, I'm like, oh God. Yeah. I mean, LA is so bad right now. so It's bad. I'm like, it's real bad out there. Jesus Christ.
00:17:55
Speaker
But yeah, I mean, but yeah Sean Baker, um one of, one of my issues and people have been praising it was the editing and people have been praising it because he did edit it.
00:18:06
Speaker
Yeah. And it was like, eh, I think you could have used an editor and editor and worked with them. To just tighten it up in certain aspects. And also there was a lot of weird kind of cuts that weren't… I wasn't a fan of the editing. I don't… That kind of took me out, you know. um i guess the continuity of those cuts kind of… And maybe that's not noticeable, but I don't know. It just… The editing felt a little off.
00:18:32
Speaker
For a Nora. that That felt a little weak. And I think it was even up for editing. It won. It won for editing. I was like what the fuck. who Who should have won for editing. um Out of everything that was nominated.
00:18:45
Speaker
But I know there was one film that was up for editing. It was like how could this film not win. Like. um Let me I don't remember. me see. you I know there was a much stronger contender on that list that I felt. Yeah.
00:19:00
Speaker
i So editing, I wasn't the biggest fan of. But overall, you know, a film's not just the editing. And Enora, man, it was just a really good film.
00:19:11
Speaker
And it's one of those films that I could see myself watching again. Editing. ah We got Amelia Perez. Nope. Never. Wicked. Conclave, Boodleist, and Enora.
00:19:24
Speaker
Oh, Conclave. I think should have got editing. Yes. I think because- That film was- But see- That film was tighter than a nun's ass, I'll tell you that. um But see, the problem problem with ah Conclave, it's just not- flashy enough the editing you know the editing is just it's one of those movies where you don't notice the editing because the editing is so good and that's when you that's when editing is out and that's a yeah that's a sign of really goddamn good editing um
00:19:55
Speaker
like I don't mind that Enora won for editing. I just... i did I wasn't a fan of it. I thought... I noticed cuts, which is never good. That's what I'm saying. like I noticed these cuts. i and then i and i you know And that just might be us.
00:20:11
Speaker
That's what I'm saying, maybe... Because we've been we've been in the trenches. We've been editing our own film. And I notice editing more than I notice most other aspects of film when I watch nowadays. Mm-hmm.
00:20:24
Speaker
And I'm just like, Stephen wouldn't let me do that. He wouldn't let me get away with that. That's for sure. And I always think about that when I watch movies and I'm just like, oh, fuck. like is this and But then I always think like normal films have like deadlines. and yeah right It's like they don't get to look at every set every frame.
00:20:47
Speaker
They don't get to be like us. That's true. But they also get people with... you know decades worth of experience who have done these films and who can do what takes us a year, they can do it like in a month.
00:21:01
Speaker
Well, they have to, you know, they do it. And instinctually, they know what they're doing, you know, like,
00:21:08
Speaker
All of a sudden, two years later, yeah you know, this just feels weird now. i don't know why Let's just change it up. And even still, like i happens watching Dickhead, there's still something like, oh man, what if we do this it's instead?
00:21:20
Speaker
But it's like, no, no, we can't. We're past that point. No, we're past it. I mean, I always think about that too. And that's why I haven't watched the movie in a while. Because I kind of want that separation.
00:21:32
Speaker
I don't think I've watched it since we've logged in a while. It's been a while since I've watched it in full. I'm kind of waiting for the music. But I'm still seeing pockets. The last time I've seen it like from start to finish was when we submitted for ah South by Southwest.
00:21:50
Speaker
And that was 2024.
00:21:53
Speaker
Yeah.
00:21:55
Speaker
Yeah, some point. Like no no November? Something like that. October? Yes, because I remember we were just i remember I was like panicking because we had the if if we had gotten in, we had to finish the film in February. No, no, no, for Sundance.
00:22:10
Speaker
Sundance, I'm thinking of that. I'm thinking for... Where we didn't make it. Yeah, for South by Southwest, I was like, that was the last time i watched it in full. And I remember panicking because if we had gotten in, we had to have the film completed by February 28th or something. And remember what I told you?
00:22:26
Speaker
Don't worry, buddy. Don't panic. And now we're like, well, we'll be done by 2026. We're still on the good timeline, man.
00:22:35
Speaker
And I just remember thinking like, there's no way, dude. There ain't nothing. There's no way we would have the movie done by the time so ah South by Southwest wanted this to be done. That already came and went. suns ah South by Southwest finished.
00:22:48
Speaker
Yeah. I i mean, i don't know how we would realistically. I mean, we would have figured out something. We would have just involved a lot of debt. Yeah. We would have just loaned ourselves out to, you know, all hell.
00:23:00
Speaker
So let's start going through the. Oh, wait. The Brutalist. Best Picture. Yeah. so Because that was the that was like really the big – it was really between Enora and the Brutalist, right? I mean there were some dark horses like – Conclave. Conclave's the substance. I'm still here. But
Individual Performances and Industry Standards
00:23:18
Speaker
I'm still here. Got Best International, which is if the movie that's up for Best Picture all also gets better. understood It ain't getting both.
00:23:26
Speaker
You know I'm saying? It's like... Well, like, Amelia Perez was nominated for International, which was like, what the fuck? I will say the one good thing about Amelia Perez is that um when we were watching it, I didn't feel the length, the ah runtime.
00:23:43
Speaker
And that was probably the only movie I didn't feel that. And it's one of the few movies in a long time where I didn't feel it. Because I i paused it at one point. I was like, oh, shit. there's only 20 minutes left. How's this shit going to end? You know, because it's when she's in the trunk.
00:23:57
Speaker
yeah I was like, oh, wait, this movie's going to end? Like, holy shit. how are How's this going to happen? I noticed the runtime. Like, the runtime felt way shorter. When there's like, when the song started getting a little longer. Yeah. ah Like, when she started, when Amelia Perez gets like her lesbian lover and then they're like digging up the bodies and like reburying them, i was just like, okay, let's let's let's move along.
00:24:21
Speaker
But yeah, um so we'll just, i ah there's a lot of categories to go through. so Well, let's just pick the ones you want to talk about. I listed all of them.
00:24:31
Speaker
So, yeah well, you talked about editing, but how about Adrian Brody for actor? Oh yeah, man. I'm an Adrian Brody fanboy. So anytime he wins. And you know what pissed me off was after the Oscars, I went on so on Reddit and so many people were talking shit on his speech, like being too long.
00:24:48
Speaker
And I'm just like, and just criticizing every aspect. I'm like, dude, you guys want these actors to be fucking politicians now? Like how perfect do these people already have to be? They can't say anything wrong. They can't be on our podcast because of how we are.
00:25:03
Speaker
Like think about that. There's, if we ever make it big and this podcast makes it big, We're not getting Adrian – well, maybe him. But, you know, like there's a lot of people who are going turn us down because of the stupid shit we say.
00:25:16
Speaker
Yeah. Which is stupid shit. I mean, we joke around a lot. where We're not sincere about our jokes, okay? Like we say a lot of stupid shit. Yeah, we hope – I mean, that's the whole point is like we're not serious.
00:25:31
Speaker
um Yeah. You know, everything we say is not – It's in jest. I mean, fucking, we made Dickhead. Yeah, yeah we made a movie called Dickhead, okay? It was a fucking- We joke.
00:25:43
Speaker
So it's like, how perfect do you want these people to be i And it's like he's on stage. He's on the biggest stage there is as the actor to be the individual.
00:25:56
Speaker
Let him have his 10 minutes if he wants to speak that long. Fuck it. Why not? Yeah. And why are you criticizing? You're watching the Oscars. Like, why are you going to criticize the Oscars as a whole if you're watching it? Like, to say the Oscars is bullshit, it sucks. It's me. Then why are you watching it? Why pay attention to it?
00:26:11
Speaker
Why even? Why shit on it? Like, you know what it is. You know, it's it's like going to McDonald's and it's like choosing to go to McDonald's and then complaining about McDonald's food. Yeah.
00:26:24
Speaker
You know? Well, that burger didn't make me feel great. It's like, motherfucker, you went to McDonald's. went to McDonald's. What were you expecting? Come on. um But I love Adrian Brody. ah When me and Karen saw it, she was saying the best part of the film was Adrian Brody.
00:26:40
Speaker
And she was just talking about I will criticize him in this respect where he just seemed to outshine everyone. I think the only one who could really like be toe to toe with him was Guy Pearce.
00:26:54
Speaker
Well, did you watch the whole movie? No, I didn't. So did you know, you know that Guy Pearce rapes him, right? No, I don't, but I do now. Yeah. So you're not going to watch it. ah But yeah, Guy Pearce fucking rapes him in the ass.
00:27:08
Speaker
Well, where else would you rape him? And his wife, ah is like the end of the movie is his wife, like she takes heroin and it restores her legs.
00:27:20
Speaker
Damn, give me some. Heroin is good. All right. It cures her of her, right? because she's in a Well, they have heroin at hospitals, don't they? Of course. Heroin is morphine.
00:27:33
Speaker
Morphine and heroin are exactly the same. it's just What's the difference? Do you know? Yeah, heroin is made on the streets and morphine is made, you know, like it's theyre the same opiate. Are you for real? Yes, absolutely.
00:27:45
Speaker
Wow. um So she right she's like, oh, I'm in pain. I'm in pain. And he like shoots her up. And it kind of restores her walking.
00:27:58
Speaker
And she walks into the house and she's like, your father's a fucking rapist. He fucked my husband in the ass. And then she walks out of the house. And that's how the movie ends.
00:28:10
Speaker
Okay. Wow. and well And that's not how the movie ends. Cut to black. that he She has it in front of everybody. They're having dinner guests.
00:28:23
Speaker
It's very formal. And she's like, you're... you know How did did it feel when you were fucking my husband? In his butthole. When you raped my husband, you fucking rapist. She pretty much has that.
00:28:36
Speaker
And then she leaves. And then the guy Pierce goes missing. And no one can no one can find him. And they're searching throughout the structure that he built. And they never find him.
00:28:47
Speaker
And then the movie ends. Oh, I thought you going to say he was raping sheep or something. And then it cut cuts to like 80 50 years in the future. Of him winning owe an award for all his architectural things. Oh, uh-huh. And his niece.
00:29:05
Speaker
It wasn't
Historical Contexts: Religion in Films
00:29:06
Speaker
based on a real person, right? No. Okay. And his niece is speaking for him. And yeah, that's how the movie ends. But yeah. Yeah, well. Adrian Brody knocked it out of the Well, yeah, that's what was to say. Like, he made... Like, he in that movie, you see the levels of acting.
00:29:24
Speaker
Yeah. And... And Adrian Brody, he's just such a great actor. it's crazy the film It's crazy his filmography, and he kind of touched on it in his speech. like He's like, man, my career, and my revival of my career too, right? I think he said.
00:29:40
Speaker
And it's like, yeah, man, he he's gone through some shit. with it Because he's such a great actor. He's phenomenal. Yeah. um He's done some like straight Redbox movies. like I remember he that movie, The Cleaner.
00:29:52
Speaker
I think that's the one he directed. Did he direct one? I don't think so. No? But I don't know. I know I saw one where he directed. And it's like, he's like a retired hitman in Chicago or something. Yeah, I've seen that one.
00:30:02
Speaker
It's not bad. But it's like, damn Adrian, bro. It ain't good either. like to pee in this, it'd be more. But it's like, that you just gotta play skinny Holocaust survivors and you'll be fine. But honestly, it's good. I mean, I'm happy to see him win as a fan and And I'm happy that he's a two-time best actor.
00:30:25
Speaker
Oscar winner like that's a pretty elite club I would have given it I would have given it to to Rafe yeah yeah and a lot of people think he's won it before and he hasn't you were telling me uh for Schindler's List yeah and he didn't win and it was like well he wasn't even up for best actor he was up for best supporting and he didn't win which he should have won he was I mean I don't know I don't know who was nominated that year but he was amazing in that and he's an amazing actor um Let's look.
00:30:55
Speaker
Let's see who he lost it to. So that that's that's a tough one. um Because I'm also a ah It's Rafe? Not Ralph? Yeah, it's Rafe. Those fucking actors.
00:31:07
Speaker
i'm ah I'm a fucking Rafe fan. Rafe Fiennes fan. I always love him when he's in a movie. i always He's one of those actors where if I see his name on on a film, I'm going to check it out.
00:31:20
Speaker
And he's always phenomenal. He's a phenomenal actor. So it is disappointing to see him not get it. But I could see why in the sense that with the Conclave, it's just so subdued, right?
00:31:36
Speaker
What the fuck? I did not know. Okay, so... nineteen ninety threes Best Supporting Actors. The nominees are Leonardo DiCaprio, What's Eating Gilbert Grape. he was great in that, though.
00:31:51
Speaker
John Malkovich in The Line of Fire, which is a pretty good movie. And John Malkovich is great. ah Pete Postawait in The Name of the Father.
00:32:03
Speaker
and don't know what that is. ah Rafe Fiennes, Schindler's List, and The Winner. Tommy Lee Jones, The Fugitive.
00:32:14
Speaker
ah Well, he's pretty great in The Fugitive. He's good, but what? The Fugitive? Yeah. That beat Jindler's List? What the fuck? It was a different time. What the fuck?
00:32:26
Speaker
I mean. I'm drunk, but Jesus Christ, dude. But Tommy Lee's great, though. he's a the fugitive that ain't that movie's that movie's good but it's not Schindler's fucking list Schindler's list like killed killed Kubrick
00:32:45
Speaker
Jesus and Ray Fiennes is so good in that film he's so damn good man cause you kinda he's magnanimous you know yeah you love him and you hate him at the same time you know cause he's just he's so brutal ah wow He lost to Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive, the movie where the guy with the prosthetic... Well, at least he lost to Tommy Lee. I mean, he's a great actor.
00:33:10
Speaker
He is a great actor. um Yeah. But, you know, I think the problem with the conclave, he was just too... It was just too subtle of a role. It was more like... was so... We're not going to show what he's thinking. That's what was good. We're just going to show him.
00:33:26
Speaker
I loved how... It was like one of the first times I've seen the
00:33:33
Speaker
reluctancy of power done really well. but you know what has But you know what I was thinking when I was watching that movie? I was like, is he just manipulating everyone?
00:33:46
Speaker
Like and very intelligently? And that's how brilliant his performance is because no, he's not. but He's so sincere. He's like, I just want to be- so sincere it feels fake, right? Yeah.
00:33:58
Speaker
I always think about it. You know how if people are always telling- us ah The Daily Show, Jon Stewart to run for president. Yeah. And he's like, I don't want to be president. it's like, well, that's what makes you perfect for being president, Jon Stewart. Like, you fight for the right things, the right causes, right? like Everyone would vote for fucking Jon Stewart.
00:34:16
Speaker
You'd have to be fucking retarded not vote for Jon Stewart. I'd vote for Jon Stewart. I would. And I don't mean to say retarded in a derogatory sense. I mean, literally, you would have to be like the most redneck, corn-fed, fucking Nebraskan dumbass ever.
00:34:30
Speaker
To like not vote for Jon Stewart. Nebraska went dark, buddy. It's been dark. Trust me
00:34:40
Speaker
me. We ain't got a lot of hits in Nebraska. Good old Lincoln. um Yeah, dude. You know, when you really think about it's like i His performance in Conclave was so it was so good. It was so subtle. Yeah. um Maybe that was Conclave's problem. It was just too subtle.
00:34:59
Speaker
And I kind of, I loved it because, and that's why like concretelat because I i'm not always like the most like religiously forward kind of guy. Yeah.
00:35:11
Speaker
But I got behind the fact, I got behind his character. It made you respect the church. It made me respect his ideal of the church because yeah yeah they made it so obvious that he was like, i like we're not politicians.
00:35:28
Speaker
We're clergymen. We serve God. We don't serve ourselves. We serve God. yeah And it's like, I can get behind that. Yeah. yeah You know, like, when I think, the reason why I'm, like, so anti-religion is because of movies like Conclave, right?
00:35:44
Speaker
It's because time immemorial, the church has used its power to further liah people's hope own goals. Over and over. Right? It used to be like, well, we don't want the parenting press because we don't want people to read the Bible and actually, like, figure this shit out.
00:36:01
Speaker
Like, we don't, like you know, like, if you give me... Was that a criticism? Oh, yeah, dude. Of... Really? That was an obstacle to the printing press? Yeah. Was to repress suppress them the people reading the Bible? Yeah.
00:36:13
Speaker
Really? Yes. Wow. Absolutely. The church was so fucking against it. And it's like, they just didn't want people to figure this shit out. And it's like, know. Because then if you have the Bible, what do you need the church for? You know, you give me nine pieces of gold and you get to heaven.
00:36:29
Speaker
Wow. That kind of shit. You know, that's the history of the church. Yeah, yeah. Well, you're you're highlighting one of the better parts of the history of the church. I mean, i mean where you talking mean I'm religious, but. We didn't talk the Inquisition.
Controversies in Film Awards and Critic Expectations
00:36:42
Speaker
We didn't talk the fucking Crusades.
00:36:45
Speaker
You know, it's ah it's ah it's a bloody past. um Speaking of bloody, ah Karen Culkin, supporting actor. Did you see that movie? No.
00:36:56
Speaker
Me neither. and um And I don't like Karen Culkin necessarily as an actor. so A Real Pain. What was it called? I don't know. But I've heard everyone say he's amazing in it.
00:37:07
Speaker
So maybe maybe that's worth watching just for him. Do you like the Jesse Eisenberg? Not really. Because he's a director and the main lead.
00:37:18
Speaker
ah He basically is the unfun Michael Cera is how I see him. Yeah, like autistic in the bad way. Yeah, I see him like a—and he thinks he's—I mean, he he probably is like super smart, but he thinks he's super smart.
00:37:33
Speaker
And I just don't like people like that. Yeah. um They're the kind of guys, you know, and ah so I watch— He definitely thinks he's the smartest person in the room. I watch a lot of those like, what's your four favorite movies?
00:37:45
Speaker
Letterboxd does this thing where they ask people in their premieres or in the red carpets, what's your four favorite movies? And like a lot of people... like Every girl says a Woman in Trouble, which is like a John Cassavetes film okay with Gina Rallens. And I've never seen And I'm like, well, now I kind Oh, John Cassavetes. Now I kind of have to watch it.
00:38:03
Speaker
The only thing I know John Cassavetes... I've seen... I've never seen a John Cassavetes direct. I never finished a John Cassavetes directed film. He made a movie called The Killing of a Chinese Bookie. And I tried to watch it, but I couldn't finish it. I heard that was good.
00:38:17
Speaker
It's not. Okay. I tried to watch it. I tried it its so hard because I was like, it's John Cassavetes. He's like the guy. in this I don't think I've seen a ah movie of his, but I know the You've seen him.
00:38:28
Speaker
He's in Rosemary's Baby. He's the husband. Oh, really?
00:38:36
Speaker
He's Rosemary's husband. No shit. So he's an actor too. Yeah. Wow. He's talented. Yeah. So I've seen, i tried to watch that and I never, but that a lot of people pick a women under the influence for like Jesse Eisenberg was on there and he picked like, uh, like movies like no one's ever heard of. And it's like, come on, dude.
00:38:58
Speaker
And then he was, it was like, uh, I should look it up. I don't remember. The one one was Jurassic Park and I was like, you suck. All right. All right. Well, here i actually I don't think we should necessarily go through every single one.
00:39:12
Speaker
Just the ones that appeal to us. But it kind of did pop up. Supporting actress, Zoe Saldana won. One, how do you feel about that? And two… um Makes no sense to me. I don't understand how that happened. Isabella Rossellini because she was up for it. And um from the brutalist… What's her name? Felicity Jones. Felicity Jones. And they were criticizing that because I guess, well, Isabella Rosalina really has no lines.
00:39:40
Speaker
And she's only in it for like 15 minutes, I think, total. yeah And then Felicity Jones is in it for a very short amount of time, I guess, in The Brutalist. Yeah, for like a 15-hour movie, she's in it for eight minutes.
00:39:51
Speaker
Yeah, so... and She was really good. She was really good. Felicity Jones. But when Isabella Rossellini had her moment, I mean, it was so well-written, so well-acted. then she was wearing blue velvet.
00:40:06
Speaker
Oh, yeah. i don't I don't understand how Zoe won. I don't think anyone was very good in that movie, like acting-wise. Um...
00:40:20
Speaker
I guess we had to give it to somebody and they didn't want to give it to the person who deserved it. Who deserved it? Felicity Jones, I think. Yeah. For Brutalist.
00:40:30
Speaker
Okay. um Better than Isabella Rosalini, huh? She has a couple scenes where it's just like, I, it was so good. Like when she's just like, I've wanted to fuck for like while. I'm so fucking hardy.
Animated Films: Themes and Emotional Impact
00:40:45
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah.
00:40:46
Speaker
I don't want to hurt you, baby. yeah and She's like, no, I want you to hurt me. You know, like none of the Nazis even paid attention to me.
00:40:59
Speaker
You're terrible. You're going to hell.
00:41:04
Speaker
But no, like, she was good. Like, I was, like, fucking, like, everything she did in that movie was, like, good. It was impactful, right? Yes. And she was, ah fli I'm like, Felicity Jones?
00:41:16
Speaker
The fucking bitch that was in Rogue One? I liked her in Rogue One. She was great. I mean, she's never really bad. and I thought, wow, this is her chance. Like, this is this is it for her. Yeah.
00:41:29
Speaker
she She ain't got nothing left. Well, also for Isabella Rossellini, what else is she going to get? What else is she getting, really? She was good, but... I thought she was great.
00:41:43
Speaker
ah They should have... She was essentially the female version of Ralph Fiennes' character. Right? If not more so. She was the definition of... If she could have been Pope, she would have been the perfect Pope. Yes.
00:41:59
Speaker
She was the definition of what a clergyman should subscribe to be. Yeah. And just unfortunately... just like with the Catholic religion she was pushed aside and which was kind of like a subtle point to it and she had she just didn't have enough she just didn't have enough to do um in the role either She gets her big moment, but that's it.
00:42:28
Speaker
What do you think about ah Margaret Qualley? Qualley as her substance. Not being up for best supporting. I'm fine with that. I don't think she deserved it. thought she was really good. Over Zoe's Haldana, though? She was very good.
00:42:41
Speaker
She was great, but where the fuck were the actual like good actresses for supporting? Like, well, i think the fucking bitch in the five Civil War.
00:42:56
Speaker
oh no, dude. No. Although, you know, who got nominated? Kirsten Dunst might have been overlooked for a Civil War, huh?
00:43:07
Speaker
Who got nominated for Best Actress, you think? For a nod? Oh, yeah dude, fuck yes. Right? Civil War got shafted. That movie was the best time.
00:43:19
Speaker
Who else got nominated?
00:43:22
Speaker
Oh, A Complete Unknown? Fuck off. That movie sucked. You didn't like Joan Baez? Fuck no! Why are you so angry? That movie sucked. She sucked. Oh, no, Ariana Grande was supposed to win. Yeah. Are you fucking serious? That was like, it was.
00:43:40
Speaker
Oh, yeah. How do you feel about that then? It was fucking. I remember I picked her. yeah Because we were doing the the ah marking. i was like, how the fuck did fucking Sawyer's Altana?
00:43:51
Speaker
Like, who did she sell her soul to to get this? Like, Ariana Grande, there is not a better role for horror than for her than this film. Yeah. Yeah. She played that to a T. Yeah, she was really good. was so good.
00:44:05
Speaker
She made that movie. she even sang beautiful. Come on, she sang in it. That's double- mean- Well, guess Zoe Saldana did too I don't know what she's got going on with her health. Like, if she just shoots, like, Ozempic right into her butthole or what. Like, she'd kind of be looking more like Skeletor these days. Yeah, she's a little too skinny there. That's worrying.
00:44:23
Speaker
It's worrying, yes, but it's like- damn, that bitch can. substance. ge She can act. ah One film to talk about that I finally saw and my daughter loves it.
00:44:37
Speaker
And honestly, thinking about it more, I think it should have gotten a Best Picture nod. Flo? Was Flo who won for Best Animated. Yeah. I think it honestly probably should have got a nod for Best Picture. It probably could have get rid of the Nickel Boys.
00:44:53
Speaker
And i don't know if that movie specifically, but that probably could have replaced it. Flo was really good. Yeah. And it's, it's sad. And I've been wanting to kind of watch reviews on it. Cause the ending with the whale and whatever that means.
00:45:08
Speaker
um I, I kind of, I think that should have been up for, for best picture as well. Flo. It's probably the one that ah evoked the most emotion.
00:45:20
Speaker
um That movie was like pitch perfect. um from pacing to editing and the fact that it's storytelling.
00:45:32
Speaker
remember at first I thought like, oh, this animation. like You know what? That's why I didn't want to watch it because the enemy it was like, I'm watching a video game. And then I watched it. This looks like a video game. And I kept going and I was like,
00:45:44
Speaker
fucking love this yeah once you get past that it's just like oh like this is oh great and i kept thinking like wow this film's like building tension and suspense with no dialogue fucking cat is in the water swimming yeah the fucking whale's gonna eat it and then the whale's like a friendly force yeah the force of good and you're like what the fuck And then the dogs are these assholes and it's like... It was this like band of brothers. Because even the dogs are like friends. They're just like, ah but we want to chase rabbits.
00:46:18
Speaker
But they're still kind of friendly because they do try to help with the boat. and And they're sad when Flo, I guess that's a cat's name, we'll call it Cat Flo. um Well, Flo, I imagine Flo was the flow of water, the flow of life, the flow. Yeah, but I like calling the Cat Flo. But she kind of like ditches him and the dogs are like...
00:46:35
Speaker
Hey, are you going, bro? like Come back. And they're like... for fur for Like all the band of dogs. And then I just love how all these... but The animals come together like this family.
00:46:46
Speaker
And then the whale is... A part of that family, right? Because it constantly is there helping them yeah as well. the that the The whale and the bird. Yeah.
00:46:58
Speaker
And it's like the bird... I like that the ending kind of symbolized like... Yeah, what did it mean to you? To me, it felt like... Like with the bird and and the whale and even the deer?
00:47:10
Speaker
it was like... Life is like a series of tests. And all you have to go through these excruciating challenges to essentially like get to a point where you can accept that life is what it is.
00:47:32
Speaker
And the bird had gone through some shit. But also, what about like... And that's why the bird essentially ascended to heaven or the next life. But also... the cat wasn't ready. also, it reduced the water, right? So, was it like a Sodom and Gomorrah or Noah's Ark type? i thought that I felt like that was just like...
00:47:54
Speaker
humanity is like this destructive force. But there's no humanity. but Because we're all dead in the movie. and like and Is that what happened to people? That's what I'm
Directorial Styles and Narrative Authenticity
00:48:05
Speaker
guessing.
00:48:05
Speaker
Because you know the beds look pretty fresh for humanity being gone for a while. It looked like people just vanished. Yeah, could the rapture. Maybe there's some biblical elements because, you know, like the great flood and then the ascension.
00:48:20
Speaker
But there's also Buddhist elements, I feel like, with but the mountaintops. Yeah. But then then then then there's a dead whale, but then there's Jonah and the whale. So that, I was like— There's a dead whale, but there's a post-credits scene.
00:48:33
Speaker
There is? Yeah, you didn't see it? No, I've never seen the post-credits scene. Yeah, at the very end of the credits, ah the water's completely filled and the whale's back. ah Like, the whale, there are more whales.
00:48:44
Speaker
The whale didn't die? No, I think that whale died, but there are more whales, if that makes sense. And it's just like, you know, it's just- Wait, so the it flooded again? Yeah.
00:48:56
Speaker
So it's just this cycle. Yeah. and Oh, well, that's even- i This movie's depressing, man. It was depressing, but it was also just like- The cycle of life. You have to like- I've been trying to reduce legs. like a lot.
00:49:11
Speaker
I cut it. i was still I've been doing good, but then now I've i've devolved again. So I'll get back to it. The film was this interesting aspect, had this interesting aspect to me of you have to earn or you remember that movie with Robin Williams, What Dreams May Come? Yeah.
00:49:32
Speaker
Where when you die, you kind of go where you believe you're going to go. Like if you commit suicide, you like live in your own hell because you- You're just stuck there. You put yourself there and people don't escape out of that because they can't get out of their own shit.
00:49:48
Speaker
Yeah. And Rob Williams goes down to save his wife because she killed herself because the kids died in a car accident. And him. And him. And then like, you know, eventually it's like... That's a good movie.
00:50:02
Speaker
it's an interesting ask it's ah It's an interesting way to look at what an afterlife could be. And the religious aspect as well. Yeah. Because it's like, well, life doesn't just...
00:50:14
Speaker
Like you you carry your baggage with you. Yeah, which is like, oh shit. I'm so fucked. Yeah, it's like Tartarus is... Keep a seat.
00:50:30
Speaker
I'm waiting. You're waiting for me. ah But, you know, I felt like that's what a flow was. It was like... The cat couldn't ascend with the bird even though he wanted to be with the bird because he wasn't ready yet. He had his family that he had to bring up the top of the mountain with him. You think that's what that represents? And the bird was like, look, I got you here.
00:50:49
Speaker
Bro, I flew here. Come on. Come with me. Yeah, I could have flown here any day of the week, but I fucking got you guys here. yeah And you know the bird was like, I went through some shit. you know like All the other birds are fucking assholes. Maybe the bird was like Jesus, man.
00:51:04
Speaker
Yeah, the bird was kind of like Jesus. Because the other birds turn on the one bird and then the bird sacrifices itself for everyone else. Yeah. All the non-birds. Yeah, and then the cat's like, oh, I get it.
00:51:17
Speaker
It's not just about me. It's about everybody. And it comes down and saves them. And it brings a family back together. It brings a family back together. And it's like, yeah we're going to climb up the mountain and then we'll all ascend together kind of thing. That's how i kind of pictured it.
00:51:31
Speaker
And then the death of the whale... Or the whale dying or ah the whale didn't be able not being able to make it is like the sacrifice that we have to make as a part of just the circle of life. Well, that's fucked up because because then the whale can never ascend.
00:51:49
Speaker
No.
00:51:52
Speaker
some shit right it can't go with those steps but yeah flow was great flow was great um cinematography we talked about the brutalist um you said yes I say no yeah uh directing yes Sean Baker amazing um yeah honestly he might be the best director right now well you hated Red Rocket right yeah but in a good way I hated Red Rocket because of the character because he was just so well done. And was like, oh, God, I can't stand this guy.
00:52:22
Speaker
And the best, I mean that as a compliment, not as an insult. Yeah. um And his casting was so good for him. The acting and all that. like I haven't seen, hit i think he has a couple of films before Tangerine, but i've never seen Tangerine. Yeah, I haven't seen Tangerine. But Florida Project is great.
00:52:42
Speaker
yeah that's red rocket is good and anora is great yeah i'm just like this guy just honestly he can he hasn't hit he hasn't missed yet honestly for him it was just a matter of time really once people stop to appreciate what he what he's doing he is an interesting filmmaker in that there ain't he doesn't he doesn't have a lot of uh
00:53:10
Speaker
um How I phrase this?
00:53:16
Speaker
sorry He doesn't have a lot of like
00:53:21
Speaker
frills. i it's just He's like, this is what life is like.
00:53:30
Speaker
He's so down to earth. He's so like grounded. it's... and it's His films are close to documentaries almost. Yeah. They feel so authentic.
00:53:42
Speaker
Yes. In a way that it's like, yeah, of course you can be annoyed by a Nora. She's a fucking sex worker. She's a stripper. ever met a stripper that's like, I remember that time we were all hanging out and Eddie brought that stripper over. Oh, were you there? Yeah. Oh my God. Wasn't that so weird and bad?
00:54:01
Speaker
And she's talking, remember because we were doing like karaoke. Yeah. And she liked Tenacious D and I knew a lot. tenac I know Tenacious D. And I was just like, ah it's like, you know, strippers are people.
00:54:17
Speaker
Yeah. But they're a different type of people. Like they deal with the worst of humanity every day. It's like- yeah You know because it's like, or like not the worst of humanity. The scummy.
00:54:32
Speaker
Scummiest. Scummiest. Like, you know, strippers aren't bad. But the people that like need strippers aren't always the greatest.
Unique Storytelling Methods and Industry Impact
00:54:40
Speaker
Like, right? She talks about like people like trying to finger her unless he's on stage. Oh, she was saying that? Yeah. Because you weren't, were you like blacked out or something? No, she was very annoying. So I really tuned her out big time.
00:54:54
Speaker
had I was having some interesting conversations with her, but I can't remember her name. i Diamond. I just remember that she was a stripper. Eddie brought her over and that was and I was pretty drunk.
00:55:06
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, I was just like, Eddie brings over the... He's lived an interesting life. He hangs out with very interesting people. He's like Flo.
00:55:17
Speaker
yeah he Yeah, he has a ah ah ah gang ah of people. and But the talk was like, yes, like right? Anor is not a genius.
00:55:31
Speaker
Anor is not like this like highly educated... smart individual. Yeah. She's just resourceful and street shabby. Yeah.
00:55:43
Speaker
And she's like, she's an everyday person. I'm going to get what I want. And I don't give a fuck. Yeah. I don't care how you threaten me. Like, life sucks.
00:55:54
Speaker
Like, the best part of my day is when I get a big tip from a guy that is, like, yeah gross and uninteresting. And then she starts catching feelings for Yuri. And it's like, you know, Sean Baker, he just does this thing where it feels so natural. It's like,
00:56:12
Speaker
The movie's not this weird romantic comedy where Yuri's supposed to fall in love with her. Yeah. Like, he he probably has a super fucked up past.
00:56:25
Speaker
Yeah. Where he's done some horrible shit. Like, he's probably beaten some skulls in day. Yeah, Yuri's too much of a badass to be innocent. Right. He's not an innocent dude. Yeah.
00:56:36
Speaker
He's a scary dude, actually. Yeah. Right? He's like, oh, this is the motherfucker that's going to kill me. This guy right here, he's the killer. Yeah. he He's probably... Right? like in the He's the one who kills the people, that cuts them up, and disposes of the body. That's who Yuri is. probably a bit Yeah. yeah If not Yuri, right? it's just like It's just kind of played kind of playfully because...
00:56:59
Speaker
also you don't know. But also the dynamic has changed in the society of what like these Russian oligarchs are. like They're not like this hardcore Russian mob anymore, right? They're a little more legitimate because they have the money to be. Yeah.
00:57:15
Speaker
And they're babysitters now when like 20 years ago, they were like probably like ex-KGB agents. Yeah, they that werell they'll make you disappear or you're going trip out of a window. Right. Yeah, exactly. Like but they know where to find the radiation umbrellas or whatever that fuck.
00:57:31
Speaker
but What was it? You know what i'm talking about? what? There was like this, ah some guy was ah assassinated. With like, it was like plutonium or iridium or something in an umbrella. And like when he touched the umbrella, like irradiated him and murdered him.
00:57:45
Speaker
Holy shit. He was some Russian guy. terrible. Yeah. Fuck. I ain't fucking with Russia, man. Putin, you cool. No, I'm kidding. Putin, you're not. Let me see. Russian umbrella assassination.
00:57:59
Speaker
Yeah, Grigori Markov was murdered that way. Shit, man. That's... He was assassinated on a London street via a micro-engineered pellet that might have contained ricin.
00:58:12
Speaker
Contemporary newspapers accounts recorded. He was stabbed in the leg with an umbrella delivering a poisoned pellet wielded by someone associated with the Bulgarian Secret Service.
00:58:25
Speaker
Governments are scary, dude. So yeah, that was Yuri. Sorry. were talking about… I'm still a here. Governments are scary. um So we talked about editing. International film, we talked about. Best picture.
00:58:37
Speaker
Sound, obviously. Dune. Visual effects, Dune. um Writing adapted and writing original. Conclave for adapted. Original for Anora. Yeah. Yeah.
00:58:48
Speaker
All fair. I felt like there weren't that many surprises. of The biggest surprise, honestly, was always Saldana winning. Yeah, I mean, it I think it was either Isabella Rossellini or are Ariana Grande. And I i was i was really rooting for both of them.
00:59:05
Speaker
It was kind of tough because it was like Blue Velvet or Ariana. Career-wise, Isabella Rossellini, because it's like, how many more years does she have left of doing roles? Yeah.
00:59:20
Speaker
Yeah. um Not that she's old. She's not old. But it's Hollywood. And it's Hollywood. Exactly. like ain't... The substance. It's the substance, right? Yeah. like And you know Demi Moore was... That one stung because I really wanted her...
00:59:36
Speaker
it I wouldn't have felt bad if she was on that stage getting the Oscar, you know. Anora What's that saying? Art imitating life, imitating art or whatever. Mm-hmm.
00:59:50
Speaker
It's such a, like... this This tiny little movie yeah comes in and just sweeps everything. Yeah, and this young problem like this young hot girl beats the... But the problem was, is she was so good, everyone fell in love with her.
01:00:04
Speaker
How can you watch that movie and not fall in love with Mikey? Oh, I hated her throughout. Hated her? I was like, oh my God, this is Red Rocket 2. I hated her. But the ending...
01:00:16
Speaker
I loved her. The ending showed that vulnerability and the humanity to her character. think just have a soft spot for prostitutes. Well, she's not a prostitute. That's the thing, too. Well, she kind of is. She's like a... Yes. I mean, it's like... She ain't working a corner, but if you give her enough money...
01:00:36
Speaker
Everyone's got a price. She'll touch your weenie. So she's like semi-prostitute. Yeah. she's She's a stripper. The stripper prostitute.
01:00:47
Speaker
All right. Well, I got a pee. Okay. So that was or our comments, our opinions on the past Oscars. We do it every year and we enjoy it We get together. We watch it.
01:01:04
Speaker
We vote on the winners we think and then normally the winner gets a prize. ah This year i don't think Tom had money because of dickheads they got a chili dog.
01:01:15
Speaker
But hey, if you're out there and you're listening, next year we'll do it. We've streamed it in the past. The only problem is sometimes Tom gets too drunk and then dies during the Oscars because it's so long.
01:01:27
Speaker
But maybe next year we'll do a live broadcast broadcast a live stream of the Oscars and you can join us. And then maybe you also can participate in selecting but will win. And we'll give you a prize.
01:01:41
Speaker
We'll give you a prize. We'll give you a Twin Shadows podcast t-shirt that doesn't exist. Yeah. We'll reward you for your endeavors and your your your loyalty to our podcast if you exist.
Critique of Literalism in Films and Oscar Views
01:01:56
Speaker
But we are going to go on to couple side topics. um The New Yorker had an article, and it was critical of the best pictures.
01:02:11
Speaker
And… I think the title is The New Literalism Plaguing Today's Biggest Movies. And we have a a link where you can get non-paywall version of the article.
01:02:27
Speaker
So that'll be in the description of the podcast if you want to check it out. It's from The New Yorker. So it's it's always, you know, The New Yorker is one of the best magazines, if not the best magazine out there. Yeah.
01:02:40
Speaker
i I respect it highly, and I always enjoy reading their articles. um They always provide a lot of insight and depth, and this article was not lacking in any of that.
01:02:57
Speaker
However, i would say I do disagree with the article and we're we're going to get into it. ah Tom, do you know, do you have the name of the the author of the article there? Ah, shit.
01:03:10
Speaker
can you go Can you get me their name? I know it was a female writer. I don't know if she's film critic. wonder it sucked. I'm kidding, of course.
01:03:23
Speaker
um We kid, we kid. ah literal stuff
01:03:31
Speaker
You have the link in your show notes.
01:03:36
Speaker
Yeah, but if you type in literalism and film, it pops up. and Namwali Serpell. Who the fuck is that? A writer for The New Yorker. Namwali Serpell wrote this article about what is plaguing Modern film.
01:03:57
Speaker
Now, I disagree wholeheartedly. Hold on. I'm glad you did too. let me Let me start off with this because, you know, the New Yorker, its it's demographic is the kind that we are not.
01:04:13
Speaker
And um there were a lot of words in there that were really big. There were a lot of big words in that article, and I'm not sure I fully understand it understood it. So could you break down the article and kind of you know give a little synopsis of what they were getting at?
01:04:29
Speaker
Yeah, so there was this post on Reddit that I shared with Steven, and and it was kind of like it was nice because it touched on all the best pictures. Yeah.
01:04:40
Speaker
While... um kind of trying to have a point, although foolishly in my mind. And it has to do with
01:04:54
Speaker
The literalism in film, and to quote the article, it says, and this is a quote, when I say literalism, I don't mean realistic or plainly literate.
01:05:07
Speaker
I mean literalist as when already loss say something is on the nose or heavily handed that it hammers away at us, eats a dead horse.
01:05:19
Speaker
As these phrases imply, to restate the screamingly obvious does a kind of violence to art. A point is still point. Yeah, I mean, I agree with that. I think a lot of films are just too on the nose. And it feel it feels like a lot of films have to clarify their entire argument within a film so that the audience can follow along. I i do think a lot of films do that.
01:05:48
Speaker
um Not to say any of the films on the best ah picture list did that. i I'm a little buzzed now. And just thinking offhand, I can't really pinpoint.
01:06:02
Speaker
Maybe ah complete unknown did that quite a bit. But in general, films do that. you know um Watch any of your Marvel films. I'm sure it's going to be a little bit on the nose on on what its message is going to be.
01:06:16
Speaker
Like the Captain America movie. I'm sure there's a few scenes where ah Captain America is going to be criticizing the US government and and America's history.
01:06:30
Speaker
I'm sure that pops up. And i I do agree in that context. And within the article, they they list a lot of the best pictures. Nora's on there, right? They bring up the Cinderella aspect.
01:06:44
Speaker
They say literally it's a Cinderella story. who
01:06:49
Speaker
I don't think that is us I think that's reading a little too much into Anora's line of dialogue there. And then they give other ones that were critical and and maybe deservedly so.
01:07:06
Speaker
but then But then they go on to express how good the Conclave is. And it's like, what the fuck? You're criticizing all of these films, all of these best pictures of 2024, and then you're going to praise Conclave so highly. And they're like going on and on about the Conclave. And I was like, dude, if you're going to stand behind that stance, you don't praise any of the films for 2024.
01:07:34
Speaker
Because none of them deserve the praise And they really only deserve the criticism at that point.
01:07:45
Speaker
Because 2001 Odyssey exists. Solaris exists. ah Chungking Express exists. ah ah Come and see. Come and see exists. you know there's There's levels to masterpiece films.
01:08:03
Speaker
And most of the time, the Oscars... Most of the time in a year, a film isn't a masterpiece. In my opinion, the last masterpiece that has been made is Parasite.
01:08:15
Speaker
And I don't know how many years ago that was. 2019. And we're probably not going to see something of that caliber for another five to ten years. Well, the thing is, like who knows? You don't know. No, exactly. But you know when you when you look back on a decade to see that decade's films and you're going to watch the best films, you're only watching like a handful of films. you know And they're scattered throughout that entire decade.
01:08:40
Speaker
you know You're really only seeing a few films. And even within that, there's maybe only one that really stands the test of time, like Wizard of Oz, right? We mentioned earlier, like that's a masterpiece film.
01:08:54
Speaker
so So to go on and and shit on these films and then praise that, it's like, ah, you're you're you're losing the mark a little bit. But I think overall, the article... was accurate with its criticisms. You know, there's a lot of criticism towards film being made this in general.
01:09:13
Speaker
And then there's a lot of criticism to be had to for films of any given year for the Oscars. But also at the same at the same point, you know... Did you watch Megalopolis?
01:09:27
Speaker
I watched some of it. I watched some of it and I kind of loved it. But it's a movie to get high. You watch it. And you just enjoy. This article me to watch it. You just enjoy the train wreck. This article when he talks about his dick being a wreck, right? Yeah.
01:09:44
Speaker
That's amazing. I love it. And then he shoots her with a bowed arrow. I have no idea. Pretending to be his dick.
01:09:53
Speaker
first You know?
Debating Film Literalism and Uniqueness
01:09:55
Speaker
You Wall Street slut, this is your closing bell? Like, this is a line in a movie? I know, that sounds great, right? Sorry, you're on your your beautiful rant there. And I'm just reading the article like, oh, God, I can't believe this is real. I remember I've read i've read this like three times, but I'm just like, every time I read that line.
01:10:12
Speaker
but But that was my biggest criticism of the article is like, yes, I agree with what you're saying to an extent. I mean, when you when you shit on Onora and Sean Baker, like,
01:10:23
Speaker
Because I respect Sean Baker very highly, i take a little bit of a pause with that. um But if you're going to go down that road, which I don't think you're necessarily wrong, um then then stand by that shit. Because the Conclave, it ain't the praise that you gave it.
01:10:43
Speaker
I'll say this. At that point. and At this point where you've gone, it ain't the praise you're you're giving it. I feel like this article is interesting because I feel like there's a specific type of person that has this line of view.
01:11:00
Speaker
And it's... Tell me, daddy, tell me. So
01:11:07
Speaker
the article itself and the idea of this film literalism... It's too reductionist. I'm sorry. i know it's weird to say, but it is. What is reductionist? You can reduce a film down to its basic elements and make it seem like any other film.
01:11:23
Speaker
Yeah. Right? ah Yeah, there you go. It's too reductionist. That's what I was trying to say in a long-winded, but I didn't know the word. So the thing that kind of stuck out to me was there's this line in the article.
01:11:39
Speaker
We can still enjoy the good old art, perhaps even more so. And there's a great New York too. My favorite films of last year, Chimera, I have no idea what that is. Challengers and Furiosa.
01:11:51
Speaker
Furiosa? You invalidated your entire article. like I don't give a shit. To me, there it's like... Okay, I've said it like ah a while. A lot.
01:12:02
Speaker
I apologize. Stop the like. i'm gonna We should have a tip jar every time you say like. I wanted to get like dog cancers. Every time I say, you know, are I want to get like tasers so we can start tasing each other. Like every time. Just ah just so like yeah Schrodinger's, or not Schrodinger's cat. ah No, ah Pavlov. yeah just say Every time I say like it.
01:12:30
Speaker
that's But it's so like.
Film Review: 'Furiosa' in the Mad Max Series
01:12:37
Speaker
Fuck, dude. Lady, miss. I don't know who wrote this. like Oh, so you only like these female-driven roles, but you didn't like I'm Still Here? you didn't like Enora?
01:12:52
Speaker
You liked Furiosa? You liked Furiosa. Furiosa sucked. It was so bad. it was so bad. i don't understand how anyone could like that movie.
01:13:04
Speaker
I get that. I just watched Mad Max 2 today. Today. in i was laying down take a nap, and I was like, I'm going to put on a movie. With the... I put on Road Warrior. The guy with the big leather and the hockey mask, right? Yeah.
01:13:21
Speaker
What was his name? Gungongus? No, his name is Lord Humongus. Humongus? And he's so mad when his boyfriend dies. He's like, I will kill you now.
01:13:32
Speaker
I'm just thinking here, like this exists the same universe as Furiosa. Furiosa is everything that's wrong with movies today. yeah it's like the It's like, you should be in writing about that.
01:13:48
Speaker
has nothing to do with Mad Max. That movie is like... It's the ga definition of everything she says is wrong with this film literalism.
01:14:00
Speaker
Yeah. It's like, the fuck are you talking about? How can you say it's original? Furiosa is not original. Well, Furiosa, I think, was original in the delivery of um the Australian guy. What's his name?
01:14:17
Speaker
Oh, Thor? Thor. his His villainous character was pretty original because he was just like this loser fuck-up who had you know ah delusions of grandeur, and he just constantly failed.
01:14:31
Speaker
So that was kind of interesting to see that as a villain. like It was almost like she he was like the worst lackey, right? Because then you had... um Eagleman Potts or what's his name?
01:14:45
Speaker
Emogen Joe. Oh, and Morton Joe. And Morton Joe, right? And he's like the cool leader, like the real badass. But then you had um Chris Pine, whatever his fucking name is.
01:14:56
Speaker
Hemsworth. Chris Hemsworth. and And his character was really interesting, right? I did think that was an interesting villain um because he just didn't fit into the parameters of what you would normally put a villain, especially in a female versus male kind of dynamic there.
01:15:16
Speaker
you know he Yeah, he was dark he was misogynistic to his degree, I guess. But... yeah it's so, it's so clearly, um insulted him throughout the entire thing.
01:15:32
Speaker
Uh, so that was, that was, that movie lost me pretty hard with the Amazonian green place, warrior women that are so bad-ass yet. They suck. Well, it lost me with just the amounts of exposition and was kind just fucking boring. It was like every five seconds, oh, we got to slap some lore in here. Yeah, it was just so lore heavy like a John Wick film.
01:15:56
Speaker
Yes, to a bad degree. Yes, to a terrible degree. It's like, motherfucker, give me a break. yeah This shit sucks. I don't care about Mad Max lore because also in Mad Max 1, it didn't seem that bad society. It was obviously dystopian and chaos was kind of taking over. I mean, you go from Mad Max 1 to Mad Max 2.
01:16:24
Speaker
radically different. Oh, I always think of Mad Max one but ah because it's weird because there's like a ice cream salesman. Yeah. And he like buys ice cream because he's going to go bring ice cream back before his family's murdered.
01:16:37
Speaker
Yeah. And it, It's like, what? There are cops and there's like some kind of like police force and he's a cop. It's just to this future dystopia because of nuclear holocaust. and But it's never brought up. But the society is not necessarily crumbling. you know It's just a bit chaotic.
01:16:55
Speaker
Yeah. And then Mad Max 2, it just... but movie it's It's the apocalypse. I love that movie because it just starts. And it doesn't stop until the end movie ends. And... then I love you know for. ah
01:17:11
Speaker
Yeah, sure. Why not? Just a little bit. That's good. And for dickhead, that was something that we had kind of kept in mind. two is.
01:17:25
Speaker
Man, you both get zaps. the kids Oh, man. he Just shrink another inch. I got that many going back. I don't got enough inches to give.
01:17:38
Speaker
But when you really think about it, at this point, I might as well run for Pope. It's like... Oh. The Conclave. He had a Conclave in his coochie. um Yeah, Mad Max. Films that just don't that don't like let up on the throttle.
01:17:56
Speaker
ah yeah man Yeah. Yeah, right. that That metaphorical throttle. like A lot of Mad Max films just... Especially... ah The one with Tom Hardy. What was that one called? Mad Max. Fury Road.
01:18:07
Speaker
you That movie just does not fucking let up. Yeah. It is just like once you get started, boom, you are just going. And like every little moment of quiet is is there for you to just like catch your breath. It's relief.
01:18:24
Speaker
It's like, okay, I can catch my breath for a minute. like da like go get And Furiosa was the complete opposite of that. Furiosa is Furiosa pushing the car because it ran out of gas back to camp. Furiosa is like the classic Mitch Hedberg joke.
01:18:42
Speaker
Every time I get a rental car, I always drive with the emergency brake on. You know, the problem with that is it doesn't say a lot for the emergency brake.
01:18:57
Speaker
It's like, you know, it's like, you know, it's like you drive with the emergency brake on, you get a weird smell. The car is not really operating that well, but you're still driving. So it's not a very good brake. And it's like, damn, you're right. It's just like, it's like driving with this resistance. Yeah. It's like, we have to keep explaining things. And it's like, there's like a map, right? Furiosa, it's like about this map.
01:19:21
Speaker
And then the map ends up not mattering. Yeah, because she has a map. Well, the Amazonians have the map to the green place, right? Yeah. Tattooed on them or something. Which is always talked about in Mad Max, right? That green place to go to, that the Shangri-La for them. Yeah.
01:19:36
Speaker
You know, it sucked too because when Furiosa... I don't think I saw it in theaters. No. I know I didn't. But... I did a Mad Max marathon because I had never seen the first one, which was pretty fucking good, dude. i really liked the first one. loved the first one.
01:19:53
Speaker
And then I saw the second one, and you know it completely goes off the rails with the world building. But I loved it because... I'm humongous.
01:20:04
Speaker
And then, of course, Thunderdome. Thunderdome's like this political kind of drama with the the top dwellers versus the underworld people, right? Vying for control of Thunderdome.
01:20:18
Speaker
And it's awesome. It's so fucking cool. And then, of course, you have Fury Road, which a lot of people say, you know, that's like one of the best action films ever. And then I saw Furiosa.
01:20:30
Speaker
I was like, oh, fuckosa. Fuckosa. Shit. Yeah, it was it was such a letdown. Especially with how long it took to get made. And you know you have at Anya Taylor-Joy. I'm a Chris Hemsworth fan. I like him a lot.
01:20:49
Speaker
um I like when… i he He picks good roles, I think, you know, outside of Marvel. But even within Marvel, he's a great Thor. um But I liked him in that hotel one.
01:21:01
Speaker
You know which one I'm talking about? Yeah. Where he plays like a...
Modern Films and Reductionism
01:21:05
Speaker
Battle Royale? Yeah. No. ah Battle Royale is the Japanese one. not Battle Royale. Good Times at the Battle Royale? Yeah, Good Times at the Battle Royale. Is that what it's called? Yeah, it is.
01:21:15
Speaker
And he plays like a... He's a cult leader. Yeah, he's a very charming Charles Manson. I liked him in it. I i did. I did. liked it. Bad times at the El Royale.
01:21:27
Speaker
Bad times at the El Royale. I liked him in it. the The good Royale. and And I did like him. Battle Royale is better than every movie we've talked about. I liked him in Furiosa. I liked what he did.
01:21:40
Speaker
um But all that exposition and it was just boring. It was just a boring movie. And and I guess that's the worst offense you could do for a Mad Max film. It's just not have gas.
01:21:51
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. And you brought up John Wick and I always harp on this. It's like unnecessary lore, unnecessary world building.
01:22:04
Speaker
You know what I didn't need to know about any of this shit?
01:22:08
Speaker
I just want to It's like, you know what the cool thing about Mad Max is? He's just a dude. Yeah. He's just the vehicle into this insanity. He's just a road warrior. Yes. right He's just literally just driving through the outback.
01:22:24
Speaker
Yeah. He's just a road warrior. That's it. That's his character. And that's all you need. Yeah. It was just so unnecessary. And I know there are nerds that like get off on that shit, but I'm not that nerd, I guess.
01:22:39
Speaker
So literalism. Do you think that's an issue? No. You don't think films are too literal? No. Really? I think... That's surprising. I think...
01:22:52
Speaker
I think you agree with that statement. I just don't think you agree with the examples of films that are better done, which I do think does diminish the argument that But if the statement as stands- There are films- I think that's correct. Yes, there are films that do go into this.
01:23:13
Speaker
I would say every dis all the new Disney, Marvel- I mean, look at Wicked, right? Star Wars movies. They hammer over your head their preachiness.
01:23:25
Speaker
i mean Yeah, look at Star Wars, right? it was like, okay, they're Nazis. I get it. Yeah. The Stormtroopers wasn't clear enough- yeah Stormtroopers wasn't a clear enough title for the troopers.
01:23:38
Speaker
Yeah. Show me them in their SS leather trench coats. Yeah. It's like we, you know, we get it. That's when it's a problem. The problem is, is when we already get it and you're like, it's when they, it's when they, it's, it's less the literalism of the film and more the disrespect it's giving its audience and,
01:24:02
Speaker
in the stupefaction of the storytelling and plot. Isn't that the argument of the article? It is, but the article's picking on, like, the wrong movies. Yeah. Like, give me some examples where it's really egregious.
01:24:15
Speaker
like I get it. ah You know, it talks about Gladiator 2, the point of a sword. You know, like ah point is a point. I don't care if it's a wooden sword, it's still sharp.
01:24:27
Speaker
yeah And it's like, you still can die from splitters. Like, that wasn't the problem with Gladiator 2. That was not the problem with Gladiator 2. Of all the problems with Gladiator 2, that was the weakest issue with a Gladiator 2. You know, most of the time, it's like they're shoving these ah ideas and our down our throat because they're the what's popular in the zeitgeist at the time. that how the gorge was then with the corporatism? A little bit, but it was just so much like you were so close at like being this like cool thing.
01:25:04
Speaker
You were so close. Yeah. And then we... it That film nosedives so hard. Well, kind of like Sinister, right? Yeah. Because Bazooko-Go-Go.
01:25:17
Speaker
It was really great until he really showed up. And then it was going Yeah, and then like there's like ghost kids like every around every corner. And you're just like, you've lost. I'm not afraid anymore. It doesn't matter.
01:25:29
Speaker
like we know where this is going. But like in The Gorge... The Gorge is actually, would have been a great example for this article. It's a shame that this bitch didn't watch it.
01:25:40
Speaker
Sorry, bitch. Jesus. That's the other word you say a lot. Bitch? Yeah. I love it. Bitch is such a good word. ah Because it pisses so many people off. I remember, was it?
01:25:52
Speaker
someone Someone was like, you can't say that. Is that your house? Amelia, maybe? No, I think I might know who because she told me, she's like, if you ever call me bitch, I'm never talking to you again. i was like, well, you are a bitch. That's the bitch's bitch statement I've ever heard. You literally are. of and Not because of what of that statement, but because of other examples.
01:26:17
Speaker
Yeah. But… But after that, I was like, okay, well, maybe I won't say that as much. I remember because of that, I did try to stop saying it, but it's like, it's so fun. It's a fun word. I'm not trying to be overly cruel. as long as you really don't mean it.
01:26:31
Speaker
It's like, give me a break. i'm just try to i'm just trying to I'm just trying to use like retard, right? There's sensationalism and and shock value, you know? Yes. And bitch, cunt is a good one.
01:26:43
Speaker
Yeah. You're just not thinking European enough.
01:26:50
Speaker
you're so You're so stuck in your Anglo-Saxon Western American ideals. You need to get out of that. You need broaden your horizon and watch movies with French people.
01:27:01
Speaker
um
01:27:04
Speaker
But yeah, that would it's actually... The Gorge is a great example of this. Of this article. ah Because... Right? These people are... Taylor-Joy's character and Miles Teller, like they're nobodies.
01:27:19
Speaker
Literally, they're nobodies. And it's like, well, we should do something. We should stand up against this corporate fascism, blah, blah, blah, blah. And you're like, there are like multi-faced zombies running around.
01:27:36
Speaker
what
01:27:40
Speaker
you know when a hell rises in front of doom guy he don't go well fuck the mars corporation or whatever that sent me here he goes where's my shotgun i'm gonna blow these fuckers to hell ah that's true yeah resident evil if you want to hit up shit on corporations resident evil is a great one because yeah umbrella is pretty evil yeah umbrella is evil right And it's established throughout, right?
01:28:04
Speaker
Yeah, and this movie, it just it falls so flat. And then it doesn't make any sense. That's really disappointing. It is. It's so disappointing. honestly, we we watched the trailer for it, and I was like, yeah, no.
01:28:18
Speaker
But when you were saying like this Lovecraftian Silent Hill thing, I was like, oh. Yeah. That sounds cool. And it goes there. Yeah. like There's a scene where...
01:28:30
Speaker
It's like due to some weird radiation. It's like the radiation is like the cause of all the weirdness. And there's like a network of like fungus people.
01:28:44
Speaker
oh so they were tapping into that Last of Us meal ticket there. Kinda. And it's like there's like all these faces just moaning and screaming. that sounds scary. And they're like...
01:28:56
Speaker
don't wake Don't wake them up. Yeah, that sounds pretty good. Right? And they're like trying to tiptoe to get like across like this like... nuclear facility facility thing. And they're like, okay, gotta sneak across. like And then, of course, they wake them up. and they That has to happen. and And it's like, they sent a battalion of soldiers down here and the soldiers morph into fungi monster people. Well, yeah, radiation, man. Just don't send the soldiers to the radiation area. You don't beat radiation. Yeah.
01:29:31
Speaker
But yeah, and then it's like, oh... um um some bio testing we have magic drones that go down and collect samples to make super soldiers and it's like oh no and they're super soldiers yeah of course I didn't even see the film but of course and then but now they're gonna take the system down and then it's like oh there's the nuke down there we gotta set the nuke off and they set the nuke off
01:30:05
Speaker
And then it's like, Miles Teller's too slow. He doesn't make it out. Oh, no. But then he makes it out. Well, he is a super soldier. And they're both fine.
01:30:15
Speaker
And it's like... Did they hide in a fridge to escape the blast? No. Well, least they didn't do that. No, there's just... It's actually kind of cute. Yeah? Because like... There's this thing where... this actually kind I kind of want to see this film. It's good.
01:30:30
Speaker
It's actually pretty good. It's just like I said. It just nosedies. Yeah. it's like There's like this... It just nosedies. kind of cute because it's like... i They're snipers, right?
01:30:43
Speaker
And they're across the gorge and they're like s seeing each other and she's just like, oh, yeah, shoot the ball off my head, you know, William Tell, blah, blah, blah. And at the end, it's like, you know you're you know they you know, she's like, oh, someone made this amazing shot. It's like 3.9 kilometers kilometers or something. The lethal weapon trope.
01:31:04
Speaker
And they have to run away. They escape the blast of the nuke. Yeah. And they run just far enough where it's like a world record shot to like shoot the like explosive device.
01:31:17
Speaker
She's like, you just had to break my record. And it's like, ya what can I do? You know you you said you're hot shit, but I'm hotter shit. And it's like, because this whole thing was he wants to make like the greatest shot ever. That's his goal. Yeah, Miles Teller. Yeah.
01:31:34
Speaker
Yeah, it's one of those films where it just kind of nosedives at the end and it leaves that nasty taste in your mouth for the rest of the film, huh? Yeah. Yeah, that's kind of how I'm Still Here is. Yeah, it's like just tighten it up.
01:31:45
Speaker
Just tighten it Tighten it up. We didn't need this shit. Like I know you i know you felt like you had to do it, but you didn't. We didn't need it. yeah Tighten it up. Yeah. But yeah, this article was
Market Forces and Artistic Expression
01:31:57
Speaker
bullshit.
01:31:57
Speaker
It was pretty dumb. ah You're right. This person like jerks off Conclave. like It's like the next coming of Jesus Christ yeah with a vagina. Yeah, it's like of all the films. like Conclave is not bad.
01:32:14
Speaker
No, no, no. It's not bad. But if you're going to sh if you're go to shit on all of these other films, then you can't include the Conclave. Yeah. Just go go further than that. It's like, you can shit on... talk And then talk about ah Sunrise.
01:32:28
Speaker
A Song of Two Humans. A Song of Two Humans, you know. Talk about Tokyo Story. Talk about Tokyo Story.
01:32:38
Speaker
and Talk about fucking Godzilla, man. You don't even have to go... You could go more mainstream. Yeah, so the article has this interesting line here that I'll read that will wrap it up.
01:32:50
Speaker
Rather than aiming for the unique, which might pierce our haze of distraction, art has succumbed to marketable generalities. Stock music on Spotify.
01:33:04
Speaker
and don't know.
01:33:07
Speaker
Soporific. See? Big words. Yeah, I've never heard that my life. Soporific streams. I like, shit, I need a dictionary. Of Netflix content. Fashion capitalizes on a long tail of generic looks.
01:33:18
Speaker
We all wear Doc Martens. i' have never I don't even know what a Doc Martin is. But no one is actually goth. What does that even mean?
01:33:29
Speaker
like you What? Why? gotta be goth to wear Doc Martens? What is a Doc Martin? Isn't that like They're work boots that are English would use in the coal factories, I think.
01:33:43
Speaker
And then they became popular, I i think, through skinheads. Image generators churn out ersatz versions of Da Vinci and Van Gogh.
01:33:54
Speaker
And in every case, banal commentary is slowly occluding the art. seeping into it it in bold-faced titles or explainers that speak over the sound or cover the image.
01:34:08
Speaker
It's hard to say which came first, our so-called media literacy or the dumbing down of the media. Complaints about our inability to read, interpret, and or discern irony, subtlety, and nuance are as old as art.
01:34:21
Speaker
What feels new is the expectation. On the part of both makers and audiences that there is such a thing as knowing definitively what a work of art means or stands for, aesthetically and politically. This strikes me as a blatant redefinition of art itself.
01:34:40
Speaker
I mean, that was a pretty bold statement. I mean, I'll give the author... It's such generalization. But also, I'll give ah the author credit and... And the extreme language they use. Because, you know, you're taking an extreme stance. I'll give you some credit for that.
01:34:57
Speaker
I just don't agree with them, the ah praise. and And we're both on the same page. like It's like, yeah, you were kind of there, but then you were off.
01:35:09
Speaker
Because it's like, there's greater movies than the Conclave. Yeah. But also, it's there are more egregious films than Anora. There are more egregious films than even A Complete Unknown. I guess they were just trying to be timely.
01:35:23
Speaker
And then there's sensationalism in that, right? It's like... Like, shitting on... I don't know. um When Harry Met Sally wouldn't be as exciting as shitting on Anora.
01:35:35
Speaker
So... That's probably a part of it. So they're kind of... committing the same crimes in a sense. You know, yeah. it It was just badly worded.
01:35:47
Speaker
i I think it's... It's so hard to discern what really matters anymore. and you Did you watch that Red Letter Media video where they were complaining about movie theaters again?
Sustaining Audience Interest in a Content-Saturated World
01:36:00
Speaker
is that in the ah new latest one?
01:36:02
Speaker
Yeah. No, because I was kind of waiting to see the movie, but I don't know if I should watch the movie first or their review first. i didn't watch I didn't watch the movie yet. I think I put on the Plex, though. I'll probably watch the review then this weekend.
01:36:15
Speaker
like I want to say the movie's called like... Possession. possession procession It's with right? Perception? Procession, I think. It's the new Soderbergh movie.
01:36:26
Speaker
Steven Soderbergh? Yeah. Oh, no shit. Yeah. Well, then it's already I'm behind it. Yeah. It's his new iPhone-y movie. Yeah. Okay.
01:36:36
Speaker
Yeah. hu ah Something. Yeah. But you know they're talking about like... Movie theaters sucking and not going to the movies. And I think it's fascinating because this article kind of brings up some interesting aspects where it talks about repetition and yeah i don't know. It's tough because because we have so much art to build on.
01:37:08
Speaker
You know, we were talking about Mad Max and I always think It's like you can't go back. The world knows Mad Max. And it's like a great title.
01:37:20
Speaker
So, you know, you have like like, I always think of this, I was thinking about this earlier, not always. Not like I'm constantly thinking about titles. But you have like Mad Max, and I was like, well, what how do you like, what do you do to build off of that? There's like Furious Sam, right, which is a video game series.
01:37:39
Speaker
It's like, do you go from there? right It's like the, the there's such an influx of media and content and names. That's like, we're so burdened by the idea that everything has been kind of touched in some degree where we're,
01:38:04
Speaker
We suffer because of it. you don't You can't escape the past. ah And at the same time, because of the past, you you're kind of trapped by that. We always talk about the this is why like we always talk about like the seventy s The seventy s were was a great decade for film because it was like a reinvention of the of the medium. And you could only reinvent. Well, the 60s too.
01:38:38
Speaker
You can only reinvent so many times yeah before you are reinvention of the reinvention. and Yeah. Right? Like flow, right? There's only so many cycles that you can get through before.
01:38:51
Speaker
Before you're like, okay, we're going through another cycle. Yeah, and with film, i we it was like the 70s, and then the 80s was like kind of like a return to this big franchise. like Not franchise, but right studios. Well, Jaws, right?
01:39:08
Speaker
Set up the blockbusters. And you got your ETs, and you got your other shit. like right like Films that like Blade Runner and The Thing were not critical successes. those That came later.
01:39:23
Speaker
And then the 90s was again like ah the 70s again, where you had your independent films. You had your Tarantino, like the Tarantino Linklater,
01:39:41
Speaker
Soderbergh, What's-His-Face, Jim Jarmusch. Oh, yeah. Explosion of these films.
Independent vs Studio Films: Creativity and Distribution
01:39:50
Speaker
do the right thing what's his name Spike Lee you got right like these guys exploding on the scene and we're like in this weird place now in the you know 20th or the 21st century the where like twenty twenty s ah twenty s where
01:40:15
Speaker
like We were talking about what it means to be independent nowadays. And Anora is not an independent movie by most degrees. You wouldn't consider Anora independent?
01:40:29
Speaker
No. Could you consider any of those movies you listed? I think any movie that... Except for Linklater? Any movie that has some kind of established distributor...
01:40:42
Speaker
promotion, those are like the new, those aren't independent like it used to be. Mm-hmm. um where you know A lot of people would argue like Tarantino is always independent because he doesn't always have like big backing.
01:40:58
Speaker
He's not like a Kubrick where Warner Brothers is funding his every whim and need. right Getting NASA lenses sent to his fucking backyard.
01:41:11
Speaker
Unfortunately for Tarantino, Weinstein went to jail. Right? But like... We're not like that, but we're in a world where, you know, Joe Schmoe or literally Joe Greenling or whatever the hell his name was, you know, he picks up a camera and he makes hair trigger.
01:41:30
Speaker
Or you have people that pick up a camera and they make the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord or Dickhead or direct Director's Cut. Right? We don't got backing. We got fucking hopes and dreams.
01:41:44
Speaker
That's what we're building our empire on. Yeah. It's shaky ground and we're building it. You know, we're that's this is where like we are now. These. Everything she's talking, you know, she didn't bring up kill her.
01:42:01
Speaker
her article, she didn't bring. We were talking about the theaters, but we But at the same time, it's like these movies are most movies aren't going to theaters.
01:42:13
Speaker
The smallest percentage of films go to theaters these days. Like, yeah, that's probably 1% of movies actually make it to a movie theater.
Film Budgets and Audience Perception
01:42:22
Speaker
a lot of these films let's just live on Tubi.
01:42:24
Speaker
If you're lucky. Tubi. You know I'll say, I think Tubi is the best streaming service. It's very good. And I ranted quite a bit there because Stephen walked out.
01:42:35
Speaker
But yeah, like, where are we? Like, Sorry, I said like twice. Fuck. Three times. Because I clarified. But in reality, what wait what are we doing? like we're so There's so much content and you have... I don't even know.
01:43:01
Speaker
ah such a there's like different degrees because You know when you're watching a movie that's been made with millions of dollars. Oh, yeah. you can it There's a difference.
01:43:14
Speaker
You can see it. I know you you you mentioned earlier, and I don't even know if you were podcasting at the time, where you were saying, like no it's all it's all ah it's all about story. It's all about story. And yeah, you're right. But fuck, it looks better. Well, yeah, that's why I said— you Fuck, it looks better on 70mm.
01:43:29
Speaker
That's why I said— It looks a whole lot better with Adrian Brody in front of that camera instead of, you know— That's why I said, you know, you can see the difference between a movie with 10,000, 100,000, and a million, and even 10 million.
01:43:41
Speaker
yeah There's a difference. Now, maybe 100 million versus 200 million, you can't see the difference as much. But you certainly can see the difference when you're talking about really, really low numbers. The big numbers, not so much.
01:43:55
Speaker
The small numbers, yes. know It's just it's just a and a magnitude of numbers there.
The Role of Theaters in Film Success
01:44:04
Speaker
I don't care how good the writing for Enora is. On a $20,000 budget, that movie ain't going to the Oscars. yeah Same script.
01:44:13
Speaker
You can have the exact same script. Yeah. and That movie ain't going anywhere. um Yeah, I mean like a mickey Mickey Madison.
01:44:24
Speaker
Mikey. Mikey Madison. I mean, she was like in Scream. Yeah. You know? She was in Once Upon a Time but ah of in Hollywood. she says well You know? It's like these aren't... I mean, it's kind of crazy seeing Once Upon a Time in Hollywood for that cast for the...
01:44:39
Speaker
ah Charles Manson scene because it's like oh Sidney Sweeney um the Elvis guy Austin Butler Austin Butler Mikey Mikey and then Margaret Qualley yeah it was like shit you guys wow well well tert say what you will about Tarantino.
01:45:02
Speaker
Well, hey, say something about that casting mother that costume director casting director was on it. Tarantino, on it what what movie has he not cast brilliantly? Well, then pay attention to the casting director there because, yeah. cause yeah um Right? I mean, fucking, yeah, I was going to say, shit, I had a ah good point. You know,
01:45:28
Speaker
because Because we're alluding to the to theaters and their place now and how they're going to do And, you know, I don't think enough has been said about the theater's culpability. Is that the right word?
01:45:46
Speaker
But their part in all of this. Because they also bit on the blockbuster pie train that was going there.
Future Trends: Video Game Adaptations in Cinema
01:45:56
Speaker
Right? You know, with like Jaws starting it off and then Jurassic Park and all these Marvel films.
01:46:02
Speaker
Well, I'll ask you this. Hold on. Okay. Which Best Picture nomination did you see in theaters?
01:46:10
Speaker
Dune. I saw that on IMAX. Same. But which other one? ah Well, I mean, that's a little unfair because it's hard for me to go to theaters anymore. No, no, no. But seriously, ah they were all in theaters.
01:46:28
Speaker
They have to be to be nominated for an Oscar. Yeah, I think only Dune. That's the same for me. That's the only one I saw in theaters. But, you know, we we kind of exist in a weird space because we don't get a lot of movies, too. Mario.
01:46:43
Speaker
Yeah. I saw Mario in theaters. Yeah. But that's what I'm saying. Like theaters. I saw Long Legs. Like theaters are a little bit to blame for this too, you know, because they only show movies that are going to bring an audience.
01:46:57
Speaker
Yeah. To make money. And there has to be something said about their partaking in this. And i I think movie theaters, because in the question it was like, are movie theaters dead? I think you put in the show notes.
01:47:16
Speaker
Yeah. And... Are theaters dying? Are theaters dying? And I think the answer is yes. I think theaters are dying because they they latched on too much onto these blockbusters and supported these blockbusters too much.
01:47:34
Speaker
And these blockbusters are fads. And sure, you're going to see the next growth within ah video games. Those are going to be the next big ones. You know, we're going to see a lot more video game films coming out.
01:47:47
Speaker
Comics are dead. It's going to be video games. And video games are a great resource for movies because they're very movie-like. What game are you looking forward to most?
01:47:59
Speaker
Well, I've always looked forward to a Resident Evil movie. ah There is going to be a new one. Yeah, I know. But, you know, they always suck. and For the most part. supposed to be directed by so somebody. It was kind of exciting. i always get hyped up for a Resident Evil Well, going to be a Carl Urban as Johnny Cage in the new Mortal Kombat movie.
01:48:20
Speaker
I'm excited for that. Give me Carl Urban. Give me, ah well, don't give me Mortal Kombat. But, you know, certainly the big one. Oh, the guy that directed Barbarian.
01:48:34
Speaker
barbarian and And Companion is doing the new Resident Evil. See? And, you know, I put a little more faith in him than I do... Was it W.S. Wes Anderson? Paul W.S. Wes Anderson? Yeah.
01:48:48
Speaker
that's it There's no Wes in his name. I put a little more faith in the Barbaria guy. But I liked Paul. I like his movies. Are you true? He's a...
01:49:01
Speaker
He's great popcorn filmmaker. Yeah, but you gotta admit, a lot of those Resident Evil films just aren't Resident Evil. No, none of them. and Well, those back those games kind of go off the rails, though. But also, you know, you have Silent Hill, which are really good films, and they kind of tapped on it a little bit with the Silent Hill trilogies, whereas, like yeah, you're kind of tapping on it. Not quite there, but you you're getting close, and these are great games and great stories.
01:49:28
Speaker
Yeah. And so I think we're going to see that. I have a lot of faith because of Last of Us. The HBO series was done really well.
01:49:40
Speaker
I haven't seen it. For the video game. Is it worth it? Oh yeah. I'm not going to watch the second season because I know what happens in Last of Us 2. Mm-hmm. But we're going to see transitioning into that and and it's going to do better because because it because those because video games are more movie-like.
Global Film Markets and Universal Appeal
01:50:02
Speaker
Right? they Yeah. They're just more movie-like. But the big separation is being in the movie versus watching it. That's the big separation between the two.
01:50:14
Speaker
like Silent Hill is terrifying because you are in Silent Hill playing the video game. Whereas watching the movie, you're not. So there's going to be that separation, but they just naturally play strongly.
01:50:33
Speaker
um
01:50:36
Speaker
But with theaters, you know, I think they are going to die because these blockbusters really just can't continue because they're just so disingenuous. you know They're just so corporatized.
01:50:47
Speaker
They got to be so safe to make the biggest right to make the biggest budget. right like You got to be able to not speak the language to still enjoy the film.
01:50:59
Speaker
And you can watch any of the Marvel movies, not know a single word of dialogue, and you can still follow through with the movie. Essentially a silent film for non-English speakers.
01:51:13
Speaker
And when you're talking about a globalist market, where's the money at? I'll say also the trend is just gone.
01:51:25
Speaker
Nothing and nothing's really stepped up to replace that trend. um And like capitalism and market trends don't like it when things have a reduction.
01:51:41
Speaker
So how Riot... what something has to take place or something has to fill the void of everyone going to see the new Marvel movie. i haven't... Maybe this could just be my lack of interest, but I don't remember hearing anything about that new Captain America movie with Harrison Ford.
01:52:01
Speaker
But it's doing okay. i I don't think I've heard anything about it. I've been watching... I've been kind of following the box office and and it's doing okay, but... It released...
01:52:13
Speaker
But it had a massive drop-off the second week. It released, and then the next thing I noticed, it was on Disney already. It was already released on BOD. Oh, wow.
01:52:24
Speaker
Well, but that's see, that's what I'm saying, is that I think we're going to see the death of a lot of... We're we're we're going to see a reduction in the profilition of franchise theaters, like Cinemark and all of them. They're they're going to get hit hard.
01:52:40
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. and they're not going to do as well. And you're probably going to see a lot of them close down because people aren't going to see these movies and there's better alternatives.
01:52:53
Speaker
Yeah. You know, if you're going to watch this Captain America, you're probably going to watch it at home and you might spend the $20 to watch it at home. It's like the same with Snow White dropped this weekend. And ultimately, that's cheaper.
01:53:08
Speaker
Because when I go to the the movies, like $40 to $50. I'm spending like $20 on the ticket. and then i'm spending thirty dollars on concession Yeah.
Niche Theaters vs Blockbuster Chains
01:53:19
Speaker
That's like about $50. But we do it because it's a nice outing. you know it's and Especially when you're a parent, it's a nice outing to get away. Just wait until the kids are old enough to go. And then you're like, we ain't going no more. where's What's drive-in plan?
01:53:34
Speaker
But you know what I'm saying? like like That's a nice little outing that you can have yeah um that doesn't require too much. but it's a relaxing It should be like a relaxing affair.
01:53:45
Speaker
Yeah. but But I will say this. I think we're going to see a huge reduction in these chains. But we might see smaller theaters doing better. Because the smaller theaters like the Laramie or Le Mane or whatever is out in LA.
01:54:02
Speaker
Where they only show like independent films. Where they're only showing a Nora. Because at that theater, I snuck into three films. And I saw Moon because I talked about this before. I saw Moon.
01:54:15
Speaker
I saw Hurt Locker and 500 Days of Summer. I went to see 500 Days of Summer because it was only showing in this theater in Pasadena. And then I snuck into fucking Hurt Locker.
01:54:28
Speaker
And then I snuck into Moon. That's so funny because that's where I saw Moon too was in Pasadena. Yeah, it's like the La Main or something. La Miel. La Miel theaters, I guess. Or La Miel.
01:54:39
Speaker
I don't think there's an at the end. La Mel? La Mal maybe. You know what I'm talking about. Where they only show kind of movies you you just can't find anywhere else. Yep. And I think we're going to see those smaller theaters doing better because they're going to show the movies you're not going to catch at Cinemark because they got to get the blockbuster.
01:54:58
Speaker
But if you want to watch like Nosferatu, you got to go to the smaller theater. The best... um Film-going experiences I've had recently were seeing older movies played on theater. And you can see you can see those movies at those theaters.
01:55:15
Speaker
Because I remember I got into an argument with some YouTube content creator guy on movies. And I was like, well, in my area... they only showed at that time, Avengers films. And i was like, there was no other movie playing other than Avengers. Like, no, that's not, that's not true. That's not true.
01:55:35
Speaker
I'm looking at the stats and it shows that that's not true for your area. And I was like, dude, I looked up tickets to see other movies and all that was playing was event or Marvel films, the Avenger.
01:55:48
Speaker
It wasn't Avenger, but it was Marvel. Mm-hmm. and And, you know, there's a lot of moviegoers like us who really love the theater experience, who who appreciate seeing it on a big screen.
01:56:04
Speaker
It's not about the audience. It's about the big screen and seeing it there with all the sounds and the bells and whistles as it should be seen. And I think those theaters are going to...
01:56:18
Speaker
If they do it right, they're going to pick up. Not to say they're going to expand, but they're just going sustain. But we're going to see a major decline in the expansion of franchise theaters.
01:56:30
Speaker
And so thus the death, the slow decay, because there's just too many alternatives. Streaming is just too advantageous. Yeah. Like I would love to see Solaris in a theater. Yeah.
01:56:43
Speaker
Oh, my bucket list is to see 2001 in a theater. Yeah. But guess what? I would, I mean. But guess what? You can go on Max and you can watch 2001 on stream at any time.
01:56:56
Speaker
Yeah. Any time of day, whenever you're free. At the comfort of your own home. And you can't beat that. You just can't. but Well, you can because... But like is Cinemark going to start showing those films?
01:57:10
Speaker
No. why Is Anora going to play on IMAX? Because I would love to watch Anora on IMAX or The Substance, especially on IMAX. You'd have to clean up the floor around me.
01:57:23
Speaker
But you know what I'm saying? like Yeah. So I think we are going to see the death of of stuff like that. Yeah, I mean, it's... And it's because they they bit into that blockbuster pie. I'm not going to say like I'm some rabid movie going guy.
01:57:41
Speaker
um maybe saw three movies last year in the theater. That's more than me. And also look look how long these movies stay in theaters. Like Gone with the Wind is by far the most successful film ever in theaters. Yeah. Right? If you account for inflation. Yeah, but it was also in theaters for like 56 weeks. Exactly. Yeah.
01:58:00
Speaker
Exactly. yeah if Like up here where we're If Nosferatu's in theaters... That motherfucker was gone with the wind. That motherfucker was gone with the wind.
01:58:11
Speaker
Once that sun is set, it was plain. And then once that sun rose, it was gone. yeah And if you don't see it within that two-week or one-week window, if you're lucky... It's at least...
01:58:23
Speaker
You got like two weeks. And then if it's a bigger movie, you probably have four weeks. You have a month. You have a month. And if not, it got two weeks. Yeah. I think Nosferatu came out on Christmas and it was gone by January.
01:58:39
Speaker
See? Yeah. Which is... Like, that's... Yeah. is That's not even two weeks. It was definitely out of theaters before February. At least where we're at, right? Yeah. And then, if you want to watch a movie, if you have the time to watch a movie, well, what's the movie you're going to watch?
01:58:55
Speaker
Oh, that's playing the Super Mario Brothers. Yeah. Are you going to... It's going to like, oh, well, they only got Super Mario Brothers. And then there's, of course, different types of theaters. It's like, well, they got Nosferatu in the smallest theater. Yeah.
01:59:11
Speaker
I don't even really want to see that movie. Yeah, the bulb is flickering. The seats are all torn and jizzed on because they showed the substance before that. It's like, you know, I don't know if I want to even stick around. So I think that's going to have a huge impact and we're just going to see...
01:59:29
Speaker
We're going to witness theaters declining. the The chains, the major franchises really declining.
Challenges in the Theater Industry
01:59:36
Speaker
AMC's already gone out of that area. We don't have any. Yeah, we don't even have an AMC. so So I think that that's very true.
01:59:45
Speaker
it's It's sad, but at the same time, i i wish I could lament it, but I i don't. Well, also, how much money are they going to make on Enora?
01:59:57
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know. You know, if you got to fill the theater, how much are you going to make on an order? You can't take the family. Yeah. I'm not going to take the in-laws. I'm not going to take my parents and watch that. yeah You know, that's yeah that's a film I'm going watch with my significant other at most. And that's about it.
02:00:14
Speaker
Yeah. You know, even watch she even if i if Nora was out and you were like, hey, Stephen, let's go see it. You know, I don't want to see you with your little boner. know, like, ah what am I watching?
02:00:25
Speaker
Hey, Steven, get some more popcorn. no There's a hole in my popcorn bucket. is there extra butter? Yeah, there's no butter there. Just extra protein. um Yeah, it's... I wish I could say it's a sad thing, but...
02:00:44
Speaker
I will make the time and effort to see movies in theaters that I want to see. Oh, I want to because i I like to support even if I don't necessarily want to see the movie. It's just like, sometimes I like Mickey 17.
02:00:58
Speaker
I don't really have an interest to see it. I mean, I love Bong Joon-ho. I love Robert Pattinson. Yeah. But the biggest incentive for me to watch it is just to support it in a theater.
Box Office Performance and Creative Filmmaking
02:01:11
Speaker
Because it bombed hard. It bombed hard. it like I don't even know if they'll break even on that film. No. And what's that going to do for Bong Joon-ho? I don't know.
02:01:23
Speaker
I… You know, and then and that's how we gauge these people. Like, Robert Pattinson's going be fine because he was smart. He did the Batman. And the Batman was good.
02:01:34
Speaker
I mean, i won't I won't shit on that. It it was a good… Yeah. Comic book movie. And he can rely on that, but like Mickey 17, like that's going to hurt. That's going to hurt theaters. That's going to hurt the people involved in the filmmaking.
02:01:49
Speaker
And that's going to affect the market. Yeah. In a negative way. And until they start just accepting that and taking the risk and being like, you know what? Let's just leave this movie in another month and let's see.
02:02:02
Speaker
But can you? Can AMC, can Edwards leave a movie another month in theaters and hoping word of mouth will generate profit for that screening?
02:02:14
Speaker
Well, we're in post overinflation, overinflation. There was a time in the probably early 2000s and then because of Marvel, right? Iron Man came out in 2006. That long ago? two thousand Yeah, probably somewhere around there. 2006, 2007, maybe 2000s, Iron Man came out. And... eight and know early ah late two thousand s iron men came out
02:02:46
Speaker
and
02:02:49
Speaker
Everything just made money. Gang up busters, right? It was just like, you movie movie everyone was going movie theaters. bob It was great. Great time. But now, we see this big reduction.
02:03:02
Speaker
And you also are seeing like, well, we're making great movies for Brutalist $10 million dollars budget. Yeah. Nor a $6 million dollar budget. I'm still here. 50 pesos. You know, like, or whatever. 50 billion. Yeah.
02:03:21
Speaker
50 million Brazilian bucks. like These movies are cheap compared to what a Mickey 17, 70 million, 100 million.
02:03:35
Speaker
guard and on Garden State. Electric State, 200 million. And that went straight to streaming. 200 million dollars. million dollars What but are you talking about? But also look at the latest Godzilla movie from Japan, right? Yeah.
02:03:51
Speaker
I mean, less than 10 million, but also how far did we have to travel? Well, we wanted to see an IMAX. But was it really playing around us? I think it was for a week.
02:04:04
Speaker
Literally week. think we had h yeah. you know We had to travel to really see that film because i mean it's Godzilla. How are you not going to see it in IMAX? And was it that theater crowded?
02:04:16
Speaker
It was. But we also drove down to the Egyptian to watch Parasite in Black and White. Oh, we saw that at the Egyptian? Yeah. Nice. we saw that We saw that movie so many times. You're like, ah I fucking hate this movie. No, I love that movie.
02:04:32
Speaker
But remember when it came out? We saw it probably like 10 times. Yeah. But it's that good. It's that good. And honestly, it after a while, i was like, yeah, you're right. We've seen this movie a little too much.
02:04:45
Speaker
There's got to be other movies. Yeah. But I mean, you're right. It's it's a masterpiece. Like... Movies don't just come out like that anymore.
02:04:56
Speaker
i mean, it's a very it's a rare occurrence that movies are as good as Parasite.
The Film Industry in 2024: Creative Direction
02:05:00
Speaker
And that's a good thing. Yeah, I mean, it's a good thing. It because it shows where the bar's at for like fine cinema. like If you want to go to the the theater and see an art piece, it's it's a good thing. Because it shouldn't be a low bar.
02:05:15
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, we just did a, I don't know. Somewhere around a three-hour podcast. Three-hour podcast talking about movies, the Oscars.
02:05:29
Speaker
And there were we there are no real but bad movies. No, none of these films were bad. I didn't see a single one that was bad. Yeah. like ah But other years I have.
02:05:39
Speaker
For instance, Green Book, that one. and that That's not bad. It wasn't bad. No, there have been bad ones for sure. Yeah. But, you know, Amelia Perez, I think a lot of people could argue that was a bad film.
02:05:54
Speaker
It definitely has bad elements. So. It is a very weird, it's too weird to quantify. but let's wrap this shit up. Yeah. 2024 was not a necessarily a great year for movies.
02:06:09
Speaker
But it was a year for movies. And that's all I can say. Cut.