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TSP Ep 133: Five Movie Review or SPOILERS, WILL ROBINSON!
11 Plays5 days ago
In this episode, Tom and Steve review and discuss five films selected by Tom: A Matter of Life and Death, Yor: The Hunter from the Future, Harakiri, Les Diaboliques, and Ninja III: The Domination. That pretty much sums up the episode. There's SPOILERS!
So come along with us as we spoil movies for you!
Recommended
Transcript
Emotional Defenses and Life Challenges
00:00:00
Speaker
How you doing, buddy? It's been time, that's for sure. It's been a rough one, huh? Hell yeah. You always act so heartless, but ah in that exterior. That's just defense. It's just defense.
00:00:14
Speaker
it's just a defense you know you should die It's better to be ah heartless than ah than hurt. That's true. easier that way Yeah, because, damn, sometimes that once ah the those swings keep coming, you know, it's like, god damn, can't I have a break?
00:00:32
Speaker
And when they don't stop. Yeah, I know. I was talking with my friend. He was like, you got to get play the lotto. You're doomed. like I don't think that's how the universe works, but who knows?
00:00:45
Speaker
I mean, you did make a movie, so maybe... You know, it'll smile upon you for that. Yeah, I know. Come on. Can we get some good? I mean, fuck the, I mean, it'd be cool to win the lotto, but can we just get dickhead? Like, can that just kickstart us for the rest the world?
00:01:00
Speaker
That's what everyone wants. Just some dickhead. Everyone just wants some, I mean, there's plenty of dickheads to go around. That's for sure. yeah Well, are you ready? Yeah, I'm ready. Well, buddy, you comfortable? You set up?
00:01:13
Speaker
Yeah, more or less. All right. All right, everybody. All right. Buckle in.
Introduction to Twin Shadows Podcast
00:01:20
Speaker
It's 2025 and this is Twin Shadows Podcast. Podcast about film, filmmaking and filmmakers.
00:01:25
Speaker
Brought to you as always by the two most ingenious dumbasses you've ever met. Tom and Steve. Sorry for that pause there. Buckle my pants there. oh right Get ready. Loosen those pants.
00:01:38
Speaker
You know, we're at we're in a new year. We used to like having last year's guests come on and find out about themselves. But with how busy we are, that's been extremely difficult.
00:01:49
Speaker
Yeah. So... i mean, look, at we're podcasting in the daylight. We're podcasting in the daylight. That's how difficult it's been. The nighttime creatures have come out in the day.
00:02:01
Speaker
But, you know, New Year, hopefully a chance to... Look forward to our new things to look forward to and opportunities. And our movie is a big one. Yeah, definitely. Hey, we're starting this podcast off. the first one of the new year. So, you know, there's nothing that teaches you about, i don't know, reflecting and and ah just appreciating what you have. Hey, buddy, we got each other to make it through this year. Cheers.
00:02:34
Speaker
Cheers.
00:02:37
Speaker
And it's been a hell of a hard one, but hopefully this new one will bring a much more levity when we're in 2026 looking back at 2025 and be like, yeah, man, that was a good year. ah you'll be like, wow, goddamn, Steven died in that horrible accident.
00:02:55
Speaker
If only he just looked behind him, that idiot. There are only two nukes dropped this year.
Reflections on Hardships and Hopes
00:03:01
Speaker
i mean, that's what I was thinking. I was like, God, dude, it's just... Pretty much since like 2020. It's just been like everything. It's like the world's just so ominous. and Yeah. there's a It doesn't really seem like on a macro level of humanity that there's a lot to look forward to. but Well, then I think it forces you to look at the micro level and, you know, there's a lot good. I mean, you know.
00:03:29
Speaker
Your family's going through hard times, but also yeah you guys are okay for the most part. you know? Yeah. Yeah. Like there's those fires destroying people's houses and livelihoods being destroyed. And then it's like, well, what now? So mean, it's still happening. I mean, yeah if you you're listening to this episode, this was recorded.
00:03:50
Speaker
know, those fires are still raging down in LA, destroying Hollywood. Yeah. So, I mean, you just kind of have to, to find the good in the, in your life and hold on to that dearly because man, you realize how precious it all is and how quickly it can go.
00:04:06
Speaker
Yep. You know? So in segue to what this episode will be about, what is this? We didn't start the fire? Yeah. I like i was thinking, so I wanted to, I wanted to add something like that. Yeah. And just like, well, why don't we just, you know, we didn't start the fire, right? Like, but it, cause it's always been burning since the world's been turning. Ain't that true.
00:04:33
Speaker
And you know,
Philip K. Dick and Empathy in Film
00:04:35
Speaker
There's always and so always going to be another disaster around the corner. There's always going to be another tragedy. There's always going to be devastation on the horizon.
00:04:47
Speaker
So I wanted to take an opportunity to use this episode to kind of like bring it back to the things that we love. And that's you know one of the things that really brought us together is you know film.
00:05:00
Speaker
Our appreciation for it too. And i pretty much our main topic is we ah gave Steven some homework and we watched a bunch of movies.
00:05:11
Speaker
And he knows how bad at homework I am. So we had ah so we yeah we had some prep and we watched a bunch of movies. and No Criterion movies. by by you know Really? None of those are on the 50? No.
00:05:27
Speaker
That's why I specifically picked those. Harakiri might be, actually. Yeah, what about Le Diabolique? It is not.
00:05:37
Speaker
Fairly certain. Now I have to check. That's surprising because I always hear that movie. Is it Le Diabolique or is it Diabolique? Because I saw where it's Le Diabolique and then I think on HBO Max it's just Diabolique.
00:05:51
Speaker
I think it depends because Le just means the. Yeah. So i think it I've seen it both ways as well. I'm not, I think I've always put because I think it's better. Le Diabolique. It has a nicer sound to it. The Devils. It's better than just Devils.
00:06:07
Speaker
I think that's a cooler title. Yes. But yeah, we watched... We're going to be going through some films that we watched. And just so everyone knows, if you haven't seen any of these films, ah probably don't listen.
00:06:22
Speaker
Just stop now. Because we're going to get into spoilers, I'm sure. i don't want to get into too many spoilers because I think some of these stories are really worth just experiencing. um But I don't see how we're going avoid it. We never do.
00:06:35
Speaker
um so If you don't want to be spoiled, do you want me to read
Adapting Books to Movies
00:06:40
Speaker
the movie titles? Sure. That we're going to be discussing? So we're going to be discussing masterpieces across the board with You're the Future Hunter, or Hunter of the Future, I think is the full title.
00:06:54
Speaker
And a Matter of Life and Death.
00:06:59
Speaker
Harakiri Hit my kitty as we like to say my kitty And Ninja 3 The Domination None of those films are on the list by the way Les Diaboliques And lastly Did I get all of them? That's it yeah Did name them all?
00:07:18
Speaker
Yeah just went missed one Well there you go those are the five Yeah Yeah, so before we get into that, um there's a few things. Oscars, it's January. Oh, yeah.
00:07:30
Speaker
I saw your show notes. Oscar nominations will be coming out ah on the 17th, as long as nothing is delayed due to fires or whatever. they I don't think they would delay it. but Well, there's already been a delay because my sister, she was going to come down this weekend to catch the Ram game at SoFi Stadium.
00:07:49
Speaker
It got canceled there. Yeah. And it's it got moved to Arizona. Yeah. Yeah. So i was like, oh, shit. I've never heard of something like that happening. I could see that. SoFi is pretty close to the Palisades fire.
00:08:01
Speaker
Yeah. And ah my cousin was telling me so the way the architect built SoFi was so it would like incorporate the ambient temperature and use it as a cooling mechanism for the stadium. So it's actually pretty hot in summer.
00:08:16
Speaker
But if it uses the open air, well. Exactly. And it it was pretty bad down there. um And I heard the winds are supposed to pick back up and be bad, which which is horrible for the fires.
00:08:30
Speaker
Not good. we got I was seeing the news and it said winds up to 94 miles per hour. was like, what the fuck? Oh, it was terrifying. um Never had winds like that in California. I mean, no, no.
00:08:42
Speaker
yeah I was like, so I just remember it it felt like the apocalypse because of all the tree branches and the roads. Well, you you went down there, right, for work? Yeah, I've been driving down for work. Yeah.
00:08:56
Speaker
And yeah, just most of my coworkers that live in the area, they're they don't have power. So they're coming in just to like charge their phones and and shit like that. It's like, holy crap. You know, and like work has been providing lunch for everybody so that people have food.
00:09:09
Speaker
Yeah.
Rewatching Films for Deeper Understanding
00:09:10
Speaker
um It's just, you know, it's, it's just been, it's for, if you live in LA, it's like everyone, it says it's like, you that's like nothing they've seen before.
00:09:20
Speaker
Yeah, because in the and what in the um town hall meetings they had or whatever it is, with all the um the heads of every department, they had the water and sanitation person on and she was saying, don't use your water because that's taken away from the water pressure that the firefighters need.
00:09:40
Speaker
But also, um what do they call it? Potable water? Potable water, yeah. Potable? Mm-hmm. So you got to boil. It's potable? Mm-hmm. So what does that mean exactly? I think it's... I'm nature person.
00:09:53
Speaker
Potable water, I think, is water that's like safe to drink. Okay, well, all this water is not potable then. Or it's the ah opposite. I think it's the opposite. But basically, they were saying for residents who are using the water that they're going to have to boil it because it might not be... Or it's not up to the standard for drinkable.
00:10:13
Speaker
So that's fucking crazy, you know? I mean, you're talking about this for Los Angeles. You know? Millions of people. Our biggest city. Okay, potable does mean it's safe to drink.
00:10:24
Speaker
Yeah, so this isn't potable water then. I thought it was potable. I've always heard it potable. i always thought potable because like you put it on the pot and you could use it. I only remember it from a Celebrity Jeopardy.
00:10:36
Speaker
Yeah, you probably know better than do. Potent potables is one of the categories in Celebrity Jeopardy. Yeah. And I always remember thinking, like, what the fuck does that mean? this like Fancy word. It's a fancy word for, yeah, like alcohol
Children's Reactions to Classics
00:10:50
Speaker
maybe. i don't know. But yeah, I mean, you know, I've been up here in the desert.
00:10:54
Speaker
So, you know, it's very much on the outside looking in. Like, you're one of my only windows into the mayhem going on down there. And just from your descriptions, it sounds...
00:11:06
Speaker
Yeah, apocalyptic. Yeah, and it's very much just at the mercy of the wind. Yeah. The wind is blowing in our direction. It's like you can't breathe. It's raining ash, snowing ash, maybe is my better term.
00:11:20
Speaker
Then the wind blows, and it's like blue skies, clear day. and Really? Because we're ah where my office is, it's like directly between the two big ones, the Eaton Fire and the Palisades. Yeah. And ah yeah, we're just we're like a couple miles from the tip.
00:11:36
Speaker
Oh, wow. Of the evacuation zone. Are you guys worried about it
Werner Herzog's Filmmaking Style
00:11:41
Speaker
reaching your headquarters whatever? No, I'm not worried about that because that's the evacuation, like the get ready to evacuate zone.
00:11:49
Speaker
Yeah. It was more just worried about like losing us losing power. And then like at any job sites because a couple of our job sites are close. Oh, okay. Our Tesla job site is really close.
00:12:01
Speaker
Yeah. well Well, that sunset fire got put out. The one that was in the Sunset Hills by the Hollywood sign. oh really? There was a big fire up there, but that I think was under control. But yeah, I mean, if its the winds switch and it comes back and it goes more towards downtown.
00:12:18
Speaker
Yeah. The thing is, buildings are great for great for fires. because Yeah, i was going to have I was wondering about that because it was like, well, if it hits any like cities, those won't burn easily, will they?
The Criterion Collection's Value
00:12:30
Speaker
Or would they? They will ah but only because it's like...
00:12:34
Speaker
as long The thing that's tricky is like a lot of the buildings are are made of like concrete, right? So that's not really a concern. But it's like, how do you maneuver all those fire trucks in there with all that, like right all the cars that are packed in there and all that shit that people are just going to leave? yeah like you can't ah Those cars are going to go up in flames, right? Cars burn pretty well. and Surprisingly. Yeah, they like a lot of things like that. and It's like once the fire gets inside a building, you got to hope that the fire suppression system pretty much takes care of it.
00:13:06
Speaker
Wow. So that's the scary thing, right? And then those things go down and who knows?
00:13:13
Speaker
That's crazy, man. Because like the thing is, the embers, right? They just attach to a ah palm tree. They attach to it you know the a bush that's outside of an office building and then, whoosh.
00:13:26
Speaker
Yeah. And then with the winds being as bad as they are, I mean, it can push those embers so far too, right? Yep. Miles, yeah. It's scary. Damn. And it's, you know, the all the the fires have always been in the hills, right? Contained to the hills. like Yeah, it's like, ah, the hills. That's like, fuck those people. But this like, it's like only people that can live there going to be fine if their shit burns down, right? Yeah, it's like, yeah, it's just the rich people, whatever. It's like, yeah, sure, they lost, they might have lost some sentimental value, you know, homes, their family.
00:13:56
Speaker
But, you know, they're rich. They're gonna be they're ah going to build a house right exactly on the same spot. Yeah. It's like, You know, I feel, but it's like, it's, this is different. Yeah. This different.
00:14:07
Speaker
Well, I went to the location of,
Appreciating 90s and Trash Films
00:14:11
Speaker
oh God, I'm blanking on the name because I'm so tired. Paradise. You know, up north when it burnt. Yeah. I went there like a little bit after and And the only people who were there were literally just people who lived there, you know, kind of just picking up whatever they could find left of their homes.
00:14:32
Speaker
yeah But mostly it was workers, you know, um like electric trying to build their lines back up or tearing stuff down, you know, whatever, interest ah trying to get infrastructure back under our control.
00:14:44
Speaker
Yeah. And man, I was just walking through there and I was photographing it. And man, I've never seen... such devastation, you know, just seeing all this stuff melted, like just melted glass, you know, into like little pools and all of the, you know, just seeing these homes, like literally like, yeah, you understand they burned down, but to like see the aftermath, I mean, I, I never had seen anything like that.
00:15:15
Speaker
And that's severe because then you're you're seeing these plots of just foundation and understanding like, oh shit, that was once a house. And there's no sign of a house, just literally just the foundation. Yeah, all that's left is those concrete slabs they build them on. Yeah, and then just all the you know material ash, burnt to ash on top of it. And it was just so so bizarre to see that, powerful to see that.
00:15:39
Speaker
And to think that's happening so close. I also think that's like a ah privilege of living in the U.S. is that like we kind of have the infrastructure to kind of deal with a lot of this stuff so you don't... Yeah. When things are working properly... It's foreign.
00:15:55
Speaker
Right. When things are functioning as they should, we don't... You know, that's the reason that only happens in the hills, right? Because because we... Well, we live in the desert it gets pretty bad here, but shit, I mean, nothing like...
00:16:08
Speaker
Yeah, like normally, yeah like normally, like, right, like, They put that flame retardant stuff all over the place and it kind of keeps things away from the, you know, going too far in the tract housing essentially.
00:16:22
Speaker
But, you know, i think that's another thing is like you can go down some conspiracy theories right now where it's people are. I'm like, and I'm just trying to ignore all that. I'm just like, let's see. What what do people need? Well, while also, I was hearing that they they're establishing a curfew in some of the areas because of looting.
00:16:40
Speaker
And it's like, dude, how are you going fucking do that right now? And then there's all sorts of scams going on with like fake insurances and, you know, getting money out of the victims. was like, dude, that's a whole different type of evil.
00:16:53
Speaker
yeah that's Yeah, that's the thing that's so shitty is how susceptible... aren How these people are so susceptible, they're so hurt, and then people just take advantage of that. And that that's the American system right there, you know? The American pride. like That's capitalism at its finest. like Yeah, you see a one man's... What is it One man's tragedy is another man's... like goldmine you know I don't know if there's a say I'm sure there is but you know just for the opportunist to see this and be like oh yeah there's some money to be made right now and they're not wrong it's just like with COVID right yeah how many people you know people were just buying up all the toilet paper and reselling it people that were yeah it's disgusting but yeah it's shit that's the world we live in and i don't know if there's part human nature I guess it's the shitty thing you know
00:17:49
Speaker
I just finished reading on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Oh, really? and ah How'd you like it? It's really good. Because I've been reading um Man in the High Castle.
00:18:01
Speaker
yeah. It's a collection. Yeah, Philip K. Dick is good. And Philip K. Dick's an amazing writer. I kind of scoff at sci-fi writers because, like, eh, you know how to write. Philip K. Dick, he's interesting because his...
00:18:12
Speaker
his He uses um so his science fiction as like a way to overtly explain things. like His stories aren't like ah you know and traveling through space, fighting space monsters, shit like that.
00:18:29
Speaker
It's like there's an empathy box. there Or Man of High Castle. That's the one where we lost World War II, right? Yeah, and Japanese take over California, and then the Nazis take over the East Coast. Yeah.
00:18:42
Speaker
Yeah, and there's like a Berlin situation in the United States. I haven't read that one, but I've heard it's good. Yeah, well, I haven't finished it because it's actually, I thought it was short. And I guess it's a short story, but it's really a novella. So, you know, it's like around 100 pages. And I mean, he was a very smart man because his writing is, I got to use the dictionary a lot. i was like I've never seen this word.
00:19:03
Speaker
Yeah. ah And the thing too that I like is, well, in Androids, because it you know it's based off Blade Runner. And it's like, damn, you know, they really adapted Blade Runner in interesting way because and they're almost like ah two completely different stories.
00:19:19
Speaker
um the The interesting thing is like, there's this thing called Mercerism in ah the book. And it's like this new religion because people like connect into this box and they feel it's all about the whole book is about empathy.
00:19:34
Speaker
It's about humans' capacity for empathy. Well, makes sense. with the and what android And androids and their lack of empathy. or The replicants. is it? Well, then they call them androids in the book.
00:19:45
Speaker
ah Replicants is a movie-only thing.
00:19:49
Speaker
it Was android like copyrighted or something? that's why No, I think it's just cooler. right They don't call them Blade Runners. They call them Bounty Hunters. The thing is, like it's also...
00:20:02
Speaker
just directly parallels American slavery. Where it's like, yeah you know, it's like, i can't be I'm surprised I can feel empathy for an android. yeah You know, and it's like, you know, you're hunting them and murdering them. Yeah.
00:20:18
Speaker
Yeah, like a Blade Runner, right? yeah Is he really the good guy here? Exactly. And that's kind of like the whole thing. is like the But there's a lot of cool parallels to to that. Essentially, like the American slave trade and bounty hunters that would be tracking down slaves to bring them back to their owners. Yeah.
00:20:36
Speaker
And the pretty much had carte blanche to do whatever they want with runaway slaves. and Yeah. Fucking awful. And it's kind of like, he could have wrote that.
00:20:47
Speaker
Yeah, because you were talking about the movie. Yeah, but then he kind of made it. He made it robots, you know, that because then normal people could buy into that shit, right? Like, people don't want, like, white people with their white guilt will buy into that, in a sense, to to not pussyfoot around the ah subject.
00:21:05
Speaker
A lot easier than it is to read a story about people, like, torturing hunting down slaves. Yeah. so So you just... You put the veneer of sci-fi in androids to express just something. And that's, I think, a Philip K. Dick. like Yeah, that's true.
00:21:20
Speaker
And that and this he does the same thing with, because I didn't realize, actually been doing a lot of Philip K. Dick, because I also did a Scan of Darkly. Oh, nice. Which was really, really good.
00:21:31
Speaker
Yeah, he's a great writer, dude. He really is amazing. and ryan And he uses technology to kind of like as a veneer for addiction and surveillance and like just essentially how we connect as people.
00:21:46
Speaker
And everyone in that book is like a sleeper agent, which i don't know if you've seen the movie, but book... I've seen the movie. The book's way better, but of course, books have the ability to be better because... But I don't imagine the movie's very much like the book.
00:21:59
Speaker
It is. It is? Yeah. Because there's a they're sleeper agents, but I don't remember everyone being like a sleeper agent, just maybe like one. I don't think they get into it too much in the movie because they like they just don't have the time. Oh, it's just too dense.
00:22:16
Speaker
Yeah. Because like in the book, yeah, of course. Well, not they're not sleeper agents, but they're all undercover, essentially. Yeah. Yeah, kind of like reported on each other. That's interesting. Yeah, and none of them, and they're so undercover and in different agencies that they don't know about each other. Yeah, yeah, that's really, a oh, that's that's an and an extra layer layer right there. That's pretty interesting. yeah So with... Sorry, yeah. um Electric Sheep in Androids, do you think the, so far, do you think the story is better than the movie?
00:22:47
Speaker
Or is it just too different? It's very different. And I think that's the, I was thinking it because I was like, we could probably, I was going to say like, maybe we should even do something like that where you read the book.
00:22:57
Speaker
Oh, I'd be down. I mean, I'm going to read it eventually. Because it's not too long. and you And then I was like, well, Stephen could read the book and then we could watch Blade Runner. And then, because I think it's the best way to adapt something.
00:23:09
Speaker
Because you mean you take the components of the story. I think Kubrick did this a lot too. You take the components of the story that are the essence of the story and then you adapt that into something that would work in a 90-minute or two-hour film as opposed to trying to just one-for-one the book because you can't do it in film.
00:23:26
Speaker
It's too long, right? A book's too long. And then Blade Runner does a lot of things where – it like the world is completely different in Blade Runner than it is in the book.
00:23:38
Speaker
Okay. Because in the book, it's like, there aren't that many people left on Earth. Oh, really? It's mostly androids, then? It's mostly people that, because there's and it's after World War III,
00:23:51
Speaker
And there's like nuclear dust, like radiation. yeah that And once you get to a point, you become ah what they call a chicken head. and And it's like yeah chicken heads can't go off world because they're too dumb.
00:24:03
Speaker
so people are like, the only people that are kind of left are like the people that like are haven't, you know, really ah figured out that they want to leave. Because once you leave, you get an android that's your personal servant.
00:24:14
Speaker
does all your work for you. and you just so there's a lot of people in space then? Yeah. Because Earth is, ah it's not potable? Yeah, exactly. Oh, no, it's not a potable? It's not very potable. Yeah, they're just vast deserts of like nuclear wasteland, essentially. and everyone And the thing is, it's like everyone is obsessed with animals. Well, then they kind of show that in 2049 then, right? With yeah Vegas?
00:24:36
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. Okay. and And the only status that people really have left are animals. Oh, yeah, because that's like glossed over in the movie. Yeah, it's not really a theme in the movie at all. like, oh, you got a snake? like Because of shit the only reason that Deckard is hunting the bounty hunters is because he wants to buy a real animal.
00:24:59
Speaker
Okay. For his wife. Yeah, because everyone just has, well, in the movie, they just have a replicant animals. They just have, yes, they just have, and and he has a robotic sheep because he had a real sheep and he's trying to trick all his neighbors into making them believe that it's real.
00:25:14
Speaker
okay And like his neighbor has a horse, like a real horse that's pregnant. and So they're not living in like apartments? They are. But like the horse lives on the roof.
00:25:26
Speaker
it Really? Yeah. Oh, shit. Yeah, I could see why they cut some stuff. Yeah. and right and like ever And it's like, well, you can buy like a spider for like 800 bucks or whatever, like a real spider.
00:25:38
Speaker
But he really wants to buy an ostrich. And the ostrich is so fucking expensive, he'd have to kill like 40 Andes. And he's like, That's what they call him, Andes? Yeah.
00:25:50
Speaker
And then he goes and gets the job for to track down and hunt ah Roy Batty's group. Yeah. And he's like, well, with that, you know, i can... And Batty's a Batty, so that's some good money? Mm-hmm.
00:26:00
Speaker
Okay. And they're the new Nexus 6 type. Oh, the new models. Androids, yeah. And it's like there they have far more empathy capabilities. And then there's even a point where it's like, well...
00:26:12
Speaker
Are they capable of empathy? Right? And that's like, that's like empathy is everything in this book. It's like, can people actually feel for other things? Because of the the whole thing is like, the androids don't.
00:26:24
Speaker
They delight. like there's a scene There's a scene in the book that's like, actually going to make my skin crawl. Because they're staying with that they're saying with that guy. Well, in the book, in the movie, he is one of the designers of the androids.
00:26:37
Speaker
that guy That weird guy that they lives with all the dolls. yeah that Yeah, well, he's in the movie, right? He's a designer, too. Yeah, but in the book, he's not. He's just a chicken head. he's like ah Oh, he's a chicken He lives in a giant apartment complex all by himself because everyone else has left, and he can't leave because he's a chicken head.
00:26:55
Speaker
He's a chicken head. And so the radiation has brought away his brain so much. So he's just real simple. And the androids have like, us they're using that to their advantage. So like, they're being really nice to him and and he's never had friends. He's not good at talking to people. I'd be a chicken head. And they start living with him.
00:27:12
Speaker
And one of the androids finds a real spider and he's like, oh my God, you can't, I've never seen a real animal before. And she starts cutting off its legs to seeing how many legs it can have until it dies. Like, it it can survive with.
00:27:26
Speaker
And he's just, like, screaming, like, no, don't do it. And they're just, like, delightfully, like, using toenail clippers to, like, clip off the spider's legs. And they, like, go into, like, super detail about yeah how it stopped moving. So they light a fire.
00:27:39
Speaker
Roy Batty lights a fire under it to see if he can get it to move. And, like, fuck those androids. I know, right? And then you're like, fuck the androids. But then... You know, they only live for four years and they're implanted with all these memories. that they the androids. yeah And yeah, it's like it's like an interesting... The book is interesting.
00:27:55
Speaker
And i think the movie... Well, that's interesting because, you know, you're about this empathy. So it makes me think like it talks about like what it is to be human and have those ah empathetic notions. Yeah.
00:28:10
Speaker
But I think for the movie, it's really smart to not go that route because it's better to have them as replicants. And then when you really delve into what a replicant and is, and it's not an android, but just... It's not that different from a person. Well, it's just essentially a human, right? Yeah, artificially created human.
00:28:25
Speaker
Or I would say it's a designed... human Right? You know, it's fashioned in a certain way to expire after a certain amount of time. And I think that's better for the movie because you can relate to that quickly. Yeah. You know?
00:28:43
Speaker
Well, they are Phil K. Dick also does this interesting thing in the book where essentially he describes... The androids are almost more human than the humans. Yeah. Because... well Like good and bad? Because you're talking about the spider? Yeah. Well, while they don't necessarily show empathy, they show a desire they want to live. They want to live in a community.
00:29:06
Speaker
they don't like they don't... They get lonely, right? They don't want to be alone. they And things like that. And... um You know, like in the book in the movie, he you know you know the story. He tracks them down and kills them all.
00:29:19
Speaker
When he kills... There's an extra android in there that's Roy Batty's wife. When Deckard kills his wife, he shrieks out in pain. And he's like, uh... so And the whole time, right, Deckard's growing more and more empathy. And the Rachel character is- Towards the- The androids. like Because at the beginning- Deckard's clearly ah human.
00:29:43
Speaker
Yes. And- he's so ah he's a He's clearly a human, but like it comes into question like what it is because he finds there are like entire communities of androids that are operating alongside people and nobody knows or realizes that there's a ah ah secret police station that's run by androids that employs human bounty hunters oh to track down androids to bring them in.
00:30:11
Speaker
oh interesting. Yeah, and and he figures that he figures this out and like... He's like, do they even know that they're Andes? and the boun Because the bounty hunter that is there, and he's like, I don't even know if I'm a fucking android.
00:30:25
Speaker
He's like, you gotta test me right now, Deckard. You gotta to test me man. And he's like, if I test you and you're an android, you're gonna fucking kill me. So right now, us not knowing is good. that's interesting. That paranoia element. Yeah. Wow, yeah. And then they eventually get out and they test him, and he's and he's almost worse being an android. He's a human without empathy.
00:30:47
Speaker
like, fuck. Because the only thing he loves is his cat. Yeah. well he's got some He's got a real cat. And that cat is the only thing he loves. Yeah. And it's really cool. It's really cool. Yeah, we should do an episode like That's really cool. yeah because.
00:31:01
Speaker
Especially with how different the book is. But yeah like you said, just targeting those bigger aspects and how they do it. Because one really good adaptation i that comes to mind whenever I think of adaptations is Fight Club.
00:31:15
Speaker
Because it's a really good adaptation, and I would say the movie's better than the book. I don't know if you've listened to the book. No. um You should. You should get it because you'd be like, oh, shit.
00:31:27
Speaker
I think the movie is actually better. um But this one, they're like so divergent. It seems interesting to see how they then come together to express certain elements.
00:31:39
Speaker
it's it's It's really good. i think it's a it was a really well done adaptation. Kubrick's a master of adapting. Everyone knows that. He spend like 10 years on a single adaptation. Well, I mean, just even then, he you know he didn't write any of his own screenplays, right? He adapted works, right? They're shining. Well, 2001, he helped write that, I believe.
00:32:00
Speaker
He did. well he he didn't. Or he did. Or he helped write the scripts. Because it was He write something. He did. He helped write both. The novel, right? So, him and... um Not Philip K. Dick. It was... ah
00:32:17
Speaker
the with The alcohol. It's... ah I know I've seen the name, but it's no one recognize. Arthur C. Clarke. Arthur C. Clarke did... 2001. two thousand one Did Arthur... What else did he do?
00:32:31
Speaker
Some other stuff. I don't know. Oh. That's a pretty famous name. He's a famous sci-fi author. For sure. So he wrote a story... And that was the inspiration for 2001.
00:32:44
Speaker
And Kubrick couldn't figure it out. So he worked with Arthur C. Clarke to write... The novel? The novel. And then from that, they then... Because it's an adaptation of one of his stories, The Sentinel...
00:32:55
Speaker
And that story then morphed in into 2001. And then while he was filming 2001, Arthur C. Clarke was writing the book and saying, hey, and then, you know what, this happens. And then, you know, this happens. And and that's where they kind of had a struggle where Kubrick's like, that's stupid or I'm not doing that. And then- Well, Kubrick put a giant baby in space. So, I mean- Which happens in the book too. So so there you go.
00:33:22
Speaker
Yeah, I think they argued about something ah like which planet he travels to. um Because I think he goes to Neptune in the book, and they go to Jupiter in the movie. seems like a silly argument, but I'm sure Kubrick had a very smart reason why. yeah there were, you know.
00:33:40
Speaker
You don't understand the gravitational pull. ah artist you know And they would write, and that's how that kind of story. that and that's Yeah, so that's. Look at, we're talking about five movies we haven't even touched on.
00:33:53
Speaker
Well, hold on. But that's interesting. That's really interesting. Yeah. yeah That's fascinating. I always like listening to you tell me, explain all of this stuff. Oh, yeah, man. All I do is, this is all I do, man. This my life. Remember when I said you're the brains of the operation?
00:34:06
Speaker
I'm a chicken head. And you're the one living in into my apartment complex. You're my Ratatouille, baby.
00:34:15
Speaker
Speaking of Ratatouille. Criterion. Criterion. This was my vow. I wanted to do it on this podcast. Our first one, 2025, is that we will actually continue with this list. Hey, man, I already started. I did eight and a half.
00:34:28
Speaker
Well, there you go. But I was going to say, you know, i and I think I mentioned this already, but I think it's it's fine if you watch a movie because I think there's a lot of value in re-watching Oh, of course, of course. You know, because then you just see all these extra elements. um For instance, I was showing Karen because we we watched this movie ah called...
00:34:49
Speaker
Oh, no, we watched Le Diabolique. She liked a little too much. It kind of scared me. But I was like, oh, you want to watch something in a similar... Don't bring your mistress home. That's I'll say. You want to watch something in a similar vein?
00:35:01
Speaker
Check out The Usual Suspects, right? Which I think has the greatest twist ever. and And I had to leave to take care of the kids, so she kept watching it. And she's like, yeah, I already knew what was up.
00:35:14
Speaker
I was like, you fucking liar. You didn't know that. Well, that actually guys think goes into my pitch here. But... But I was watching some of it with her because when i had because it was one of those movies I loved watching as a kid. I would watch that movie because I loved ah Gabriel Byrne and Stephen Baldwin. They were like my two favorite characters and Benicio.
00:35:34
Speaker
So I'd watch it over and over just to see again. Well, that whole nuts. Yeah, I mean, that cast is nuts. And... um and And as a kid, I was just quite never sure like how much of it was truth, how much of it isn't, because it's from an unreliable narrator.
00:35:52
Speaker
And so I think you can lean either way. like None of it's true. um Some of it's true, whatever. You you can lean in a lot of different directions. That's the beautiful thing is because it's an unreliable narrator, it's how you feel it is true.
00:36:08
Speaker
yeah Exactly. But watching it this time... you know, a little bit more mature, i was like, oh, there's a lot of truth here. And a lot of it doesn't change until certain elements are then exposed that then changes in the narrative.
00:36:23
Speaker
But it's like, because, you know, the reason why cops interrogate over and over and over again is because if you're lying, you're then your narrative is going to change over time, right?
00:36:34
Speaker
Things aren't going to line up. right But if you're telling the truth, things tend to line up perfectly or pretty closely every time because it's the truth. Yeah. And so unless Kaiser Soze, which he is, is boogeyman.
00:36:51
Speaker
But unless he's this boogeyman, I mean, certain elements aren't going to line up perfectly every time. So it's like, okay, well then the narration has to be true to some extent.
00:37:02
Speaker
There has to be truth in there. And so I was like, oh, I bet that part is true, but that part isn't. And then I was like, I bet that's the truth because you can see the manipulation that's going on in certain scenes.
00:37:15
Speaker
And it kind of is like, oh man, that's so fucking, that's so good, that's so good. Because I see manipulations that... aren't that clear. Because like with Science of the Lamb, i love that movie, but i think it's such a beautiful script because it's written...
00:37:34
Speaker
very intelligently for stupid people. Yes. And what I mean by that is like, you're dumb, but you can follow along and you feel smart because you're able to follow along. But, you know, that's through the orchestration of the writer.
00:37:46
Speaker
Until they get to that part, he's like, what does he covet? I'm like, what does covet mean?
00:37:54
Speaker
You lost me. You lost me there, mister. But with the usual suspects, they don't really kind of give you that, they don't hold your hand as much in that script. But then there were elements that I saw and I was like, oh, shit, I think he's found the truth here and I see this manipulation going on here.
00:38:12
Speaker
But then this element happened. So then the narration, the narrative changes to accommodate this new um revelation of truth.
00:38:23
Speaker
And it just became this much more rich and deeper story that I was i was really kept quite fascinated on. i don't I don't recall why I went into this whole tangent.
00:38:34
Speaker
But you know what's really cool about that? And I wanted to hammer this in before you go into your tangent. No, I already went on my tangent, but I just kind of forgot why. Not a single frame of that film has changed since you've ever seen it.
00:38:48
Speaker
Oh, I love the usual suspects. Right? So it's like... The film stays the same, but you evolve. and you're That's why i was saying to watch a movie a second time. Yeah, yeah and and that's why you go into the re-watching. But this was kind of my pitch for... i was thinking every like other week or maybe like once a month...
00:39:11
Speaker
We would just as a fa we'd just get the family together. and we would watch Because I know like Katie wants to watch movies. I know Karen wants to watch movies. And then we just get could do once here, do once there. We'd do a dinner night.
00:39:23
Speaker
Then we'd watch the next Criterion movie. And then we don't podcast. We're not working. We're just hanging out with the kids. We're just hanging out. That's going to hard, though, man. Because, I mean...
00:39:35
Speaker
I'm like, once a month. No, but I mean, it's going be hard in the sense that like eight and a half, that ain't for kids. And not to say it's like, you know, inappropriate, just... yeah It's just not a movie for kids. And honestly, like, there's some of these movies...
00:39:53
Speaker
You really got to, are all of these movies, I don't think I've seen a single one where it's not true. You got to watch it. Well, we're going to be watching. You know, the women get the, oh, okay, okay. I see, I see. Look, we're doing it for work.
00:40:06
Speaker
They're doing it just because they get to tag along. They get to enjoy the ride. graces. Does that make more sense? Okay, okay. I see the angle now. Because I would say, you know, we're going to be watching it and paying attention and, you know, like, ah hear a cry or a scream and it's like, we're not getting up.
00:40:22
Speaker
Yeah. They're going to get up and do it. But then I was thinking like, you know and then the kids could play, you they can do that. And they could get exposed to some of these movies because ah I'll say, what movie was... Sophia was... She really loved watching Ninja 3 and Yore.
00:40:40
Speaker
Of course. She's got good taste. But she also really liked watching...
00:40:49
Speaker
god what did she like watching?
00:40:53
Speaker
Maybe... no it must have been a different movie i was watching that's not on the list that we saw. But she was... oh she was digging 8 1⁄2. And it gets a little risque at some points. And i was like, oh, shit. i don't think I could watch this in front the kid.
00:41:10
Speaker
But... um Yeah, she was really liking that. i was like, okay. That's cool. You know, just giving that like introduction to... like Not just movies as...
00:41:21
Speaker
simple, mind-numbing entertainment, but like cinema as an art form. Like that's cool to kind of introduce the kids. Because I wanted to show her King Kong. And that's what I always did with the the kids too, especially at this age.
00:41:36
Speaker
Like right now, like I can't, I have to like bribe Luke to watch a movie with me. But so surprising don surprisingly, watched... he we watched ah Nosferatu last night.
00:41:46
Speaker
ah original no no The film? No. Werner Herzogs. Herzogs, yeah. We watched Herzogs last night. Which I heard is amazing. And Luke watched the whole thing with me. I was like, oh, so maybe good movies will attract them.
00:42:00
Speaker
And it's good. The end is terrible. Like... I was like, it kind of almost ruins the movie, how bad the end is. I had no interest to see it. um But I feel like I should because it feels so like historical in cinema, like Nosferatu, the original, and then maybe Hercoc Eggers. It's very skippable.
00:42:22
Speaker
It's good. Don't get me wrong. it's But it's not the best. Well, that's what I would say It's not better than Coppola. That's what I would say about Bad Cop 2. But you love that movie. Bad Cop.
00:42:33
Speaker
Isn't that? Herzog did Bad Cop 2? Oh, ah Bad Lieutenant. Bad Lieutenant. Yeah, I love Bad Lieutenant. Because I heard Bad Lieutenant's amazing. And then he did Bad Lieutenant 2, right? Port-a-call, New Orleans. Portable?
00:42:46
Speaker
Portable. Portable. Portable. Portable football call? New Orleans. Portable. No, yeah, dude, that movie's fucking wild. Yeah, it is. But that movie is all, it's just, it is so Herzog. And Nosferatu is too.
00:42:59
Speaker
i always I think, I was thinking about and I was like, Herzog is, um he's the melodramatic version of an art house film. Yeah.
00:43:13
Speaker
And that it's like mellow art. It's like the the drama all the drama is taken to a point of absurdity, right? It's like, this makes... People don't react like this. this is We're so far past realism.
00:43:27
Speaker
We've jumped past art house. We're in some deeper territory where... and we've We've become a satire of that. You're embracing... um It's poetic to a degree of, you know... Absurdism something? Absurd... Not ah necessarily, but... I mean, there it's just like it's just like that.
00:43:48
Speaker
Just like Bad Lieutenant, his Bad Lieutenant. It's like a lot of Herzog films. Yeah. He's like... The moment is yeah you're shocked beyond. He's French. Oh, he's German, right? yeah yeah Yeah. I remember I was trying to listen to for his audio book, but he reads it. I love his accent, dude.
00:44:05
Speaker
And I'm like, he's like, and then my father has chopped my finger off and I just looked at the bone and then I used that stump to finger fuck Fraulein right in her ass. And I'm like, oh my God, Herzog. Hell yeah. Hey, Bukowski liked him.
00:44:22
Speaker
He's a wild man. because he appears in Hollywood. Hollywood, he does.
00:44:29
Speaker
But yes, I think you're absolutely right with the Criterion. I'm ready, man. I'm just so burnt out with new movies being so bad.
00:44:40
Speaker
um It's refreshing to see, because that's how I felt with... some
00:44:48
Speaker
Le Diabolique. Like, it's a classic kind of tale. You've seen it a million times, that kind of story. who Right? It's nothing new. It's definitely been retold a lot. Yeah, if you watch, especially ninety s Like, I grew up in the 90s. I watched the movies of the time.
00:45:04
Speaker
You know, you've seen those movies. Stir of echoes. So, it's nothing new, but still, like, and and this was in my review of it, like, La Diaboleique just is so refreshing to just see something good.
00:45:21
Speaker
Just good. And also, a lot of those older films, you know,
00:45:27
Speaker
When you watch a lot of movies, you become jaded. And it's like, okay, I know where this movie's going. Okay, I know what's going to happen here and here. And like with Le Diabolique, I figured out three quarters the way.
00:45:41
Speaker
Yeah. Parakiri, I didn't figure it out until the very end. But you know, like you you you already know, you've seen these beats before. You've seen the story told before. You know where it's going to go. Cinema, you know, it it there's a reason why people maybe call it lowbrow at times.
00:45:58
Speaker
That's why I picked my quote is perfect. But. My quote is perfect. And I didn't realize how fucking. um I actually might have something going on in the brain department. Oh, yes. You're the brain of the operation. I hope so. I was just thinking like. i Don't make me doubt now. It was ah all instinct. It's all instinct. ah But.
00:46:16
Speaker
My brain only works when I don't pay attention to it. You know, that's kind of the problem. That's why I imbibe. Yeah.
00:46:23
Speaker
But man, it's just been it's been a breath of fresh air to see some of these older movies. Like literally just the other day, i wanted to watch Chungking Express. press Older. Isn't that from the ninety s 30 years ago, dude. Oh, God. You're not wrong. I wanted i've actually wanted to watch this before we podcast, but I ran out of time. But the last movie I saw was A Rebel Without a Cause.
00:46:48
Speaker
I mean, I've always heard it. My family i would always say, Stephen, you're just a rebel without a cause. And not to say that's necessarily a masterpiece, but it's always just like... One of those films within the zeitgeist of film.
00:47:02
Speaker
You know, James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause. That's funny. as that It's that kind of movie. I have a small tangent about Rebel Without a Cause and James Dean. You saw it? No.
00:47:12
Speaker
Okay, well. I've never seen a James Dean movie because I haven't seen East of Eden. I saw East of Eden. need to see Rebel. Oh, I saw Rebel Without a Cause. The only, because he only did three, right? Yeah. I only know those two.
00:47:24
Speaker
Well, because mud. I've never seen that. Right? No, not mud. That's Matthew McConaughey. Yeah, i was going to say that. It's something where he's an oil driller and they drill for oil. ah other i always hear those are the two James Dean movies.
00:47:37
Speaker
I'm sure there's others. the third one is where they do the oil drilling. Longest Yard? The longest yard, yeah. He drove the longest yard. But, you know, just just seeing these older films has just been so refreshing because honestly, you watch a Rebel Without a Cause, it's kind of like He called you a chicken head and you want to kill everyone? Like, what's so offensive about chicken head? Come on.
00:48:00
Speaker
Yeah. And he's like, you call me a chicken, I'll fucking kill you. And like, the way these kids are played and shit and where the story goes, like, it's not surprising after the halfway point.
00:48:13
Speaker
But like that whole first, second half act, I was like, holy shit, what's happening here? I didn't expect this. where are we going? And it was it's it's been such a breath of fresh air watching just these older classics slash masterpieces.
00:48:31
Speaker
Because I watched 8 1⁄2. Yore. Yore. No, but also I watched Fallen Angels, which is by Wong Kar Wai. Yeah, yeah. He's my new favorite director. Warkong, huh? Yeah, he's not number one, but he's like... Is he the one that did Stoker? Move for Love. in Move for Love. Which is, I keep telling you, Tom, you gotta to watch it It's the list. And that's on the list.
00:48:55
Speaker
ah He's in my echelon of like... masters it after I saw Fallen Angels and then seen in the mood for love and seen like this juxtaposition in um ability.
00:49:08
Speaker
I was like, holy shit, dude, you're fucking amazing. I love you. love I love you. love you. And I see how you inspired The Matrix and so many like edgy 90s films. It's like, oh, they took this shit from you.
00:49:22
Speaker
fucking- And you know what? It actually gave me a whole new appreciation for 90s films because then we I showed Karen The Usual Suspects, which I don't know when it was made, but I'm sure it's the 90s. 96, I think, or 95. I was like, damn, you know, the 90s doesn't get enough credit, but it's kind of like a decade for film.
00:49:42
Speaker
It was. It was like...
00:49:48
Speaker
50s maybe, right? The golden era? 70s? No, 50s. It was ah the golden age. I think it was the 40s. 40s. But, you know, they had World War II, which we'll kind of get in with um A Matter of Life and Death.
00:50:04
Speaker
But, like, you know, you had seventy s And that's like the rent, like was like the Renaissance. I don't even know if it's a film, but it was like death of the Western. It was like, it's like this discovery of cinema, right?
00:50:16
Speaker
Yeah. But dude, the nineties, man. That's like not a talked about era because the 90s kind of sucks. It's kind of in this gray zone between the 80s and the 2000s. It's like with Tarantino with the 80s.
00:50:30
Speaker
The mainstream 80s and the mainstream 90s aren't great. No, they kind of are. There's some good ones. The Usual Suspects was mainstream. Pulp Fiction was mainstream, dude. But those are indie.
00:50:42
Speaker
No, but those were mainstream. um But I'm saying exactly, but the indie became mainstream. Exactly, in the 90s, like Google hunting and all that. Right. I mean, the 90s has fucking amazing films. Are you kidding? Yeah, it does. Ninja Turtles 2.
00:50:54
Speaker
two and one And 1. And 1? 1990. The 90s is full of fucking amazing films. No, I was thinking about that watching. But then it has a lot of shit.
00:51:06
Speaker
Well, every decade will. Of course. But I'm just saying, like, there was a lot of shit that was... But what I'm saying is, like, you can really look at the 90s and no one is right now. I think they're starting to a little bit because the 80s is dying out with the nostalgia rip. Yeah. Because I'm going to get into that more.
00:51:22
Speaker
ah With Ninja 3. Oh, my baby. But, like, you can... I think you can really look at the 90s with some rose-colored tinted sunglasses.
00:51:35
Speaker
and see a really well-done era of films that really doesn't get a lot of respect right now, probably because it's a little too recent. No. I think it's a little too recent to get the credit it deserves. The 90s. Maybe in 20, 30 years, I think the 90s will look back upon very highly. I think the ninety s the problem is a lot of...
00:52:02
Speaker
The filmmakers we hold in high regard and high esteem now as like the filmmakers got their start in the 90s. Because all of the ones that like, other than like, there's a few of the old guards left. Same thing with the 70s. Right.
00:52:17
Speaker
But there's only a few of those guys. Like there's Scorsese's making movies. Coppola. Coppola. Lucas. He ain't making movies. No, but I mean, I mean, Star Wars. But I mean, still making film.
00:52:29
Speaker
Okay. The Palma, I think... Well, they're all dead, dude. That's what I'm saying. is like but And now, it's like... their Heat came out in the 90s. The Palma... yeah Well, no, not necessarily Turrentino.
00:52:45
Speaker
The Palma is... The filmmakers that were starting out in the DePaul is an anomaly, huh? Because he's always seen. He's a weird one. He's in this gray. He's a weird one He's like in this black hole. I don't know. What's his name? He's just in this weird space.
00:53:00
Speaker
So what I'm trying to say is this. The era of the 90s, those filmmakers that were starting, they were looking to De Palma, yeah Coppola, but blah, blah, blah, blah.
00:53:11
Speaker
The filmmakers that are making things today are looking to those filmmakers now. And that means that a lot of people are now starting to discover... How good they are because the copiers are the shit now that we're being so inundated with.
00:53:26
Speaker
How many filmmakers – But what filmmakers do we have now? We have Chazelle. We have Bong Joon-ho. No, you're talking about it the best. You're talking about the good. I'm talking about everything that's coming out.
00:53:38
Speaker
talking about the Greta Gerwig's. I'm talking Ari Aster, Robert Eggers. I'm talking – Bombac. Bombac. I'm talking these guys – No, no, Wes Anderson, he was a 90s guy. He's a Tarantino. Yeah, but Wes Anderson didn't really come into his own until like... Bottle Rocket is like 93.
00:53:57
Speaker
His big breakthrough was the ah submarine. Rushmore. No, submarine. No. No, that submarine movie when it came out, it was like... Like, everyone discovered Wes Anderson with that one.
00:54:08
Speaker
No, but what I'm... He entered the mainstream. Yeah, but what I mean is he got his start in the 90s. Yeah. He got his start with Linklater. He got... Well, like, Linklater has the... Linklater's old as fuck, so I don't know where he... Linklater has the privilege of being the OG.
00:54:23
Speaker
He's the OG. He was the OG because I think he's, like, the late 80s. Maybe Jim Jarmusch is the other OG. um He's the OG OG. And then, because, like...
00:54:34
Speaker
There's a couple that are like like that because they're Spike Lee. Spike Lee is kind of like that. because But again, 90s, right? Of course. But I think his first films were in the late 80s. Yeah.
00:54:45
Speaker
um So like there's a couple of those, right? There's are Jim Jarmusch, Linklater. Yeah, but I'm not looking at like when they did their first movie. I'm looking at like when they were hitting the stage. But i'm I'm saying the first movie because I'm saying this is – these are – Don't judge us by our first movie, buddy, please. I'm not. I'm saying... Please. We make us we didn't make slacker. What I'm saying is is like these guys are now the dadd like they they're like the daddies of cinema.
00:55:14
Speaker
All the current filmmakers are looking to them, and then the hipster edgy filmmakers are looking further back. Right? You got your your substance that's looking at Kubrick. You got us looking at Halloween.
00:55:26
Speaker
You got, you know, a lot of- No. Please. What's ah Red Shoes guy's name? Powell. Powell and Pressburger. We're looking at Powell and Pressburger, okay.
00:55:37
Speaker
Dickhead, yeah. Yeah.
00:55:40
Speaker
Allen Pressburger would be. Hey, PP Tom, man. But what I'm saying is like, right, it's like, and then those, so we're like, but those guys had their daddies and then their- Yeah, of course. Right?
00:55:50
Speaker
We're like so many generations in now. Georges Millet, man. But that's why the 90s is starting to really pop too. No, I just feel this. I don't think anyone's really saying that yet. No, I think it's true. You feel this too, right? Oh, yeah. Because you've been like, dude, that's cool. Yeah. Well, like i was watching White Squall. I watched The Presidents and I'm like, fuck, the 90s has some fucking banger, like some really great films. Yeah. And just solid type films. necessarily like- say You know what else I was watching? Because I've been listening to Alec Baldwin documentary. Whenever I listen to these memoirs- Glenn Gary Glenn Ross. Glenn Gary again. whatt Ross, The Edge.
00:56:26
Speaker
The Edge, yeah. I'm like, fuck. Anthony Hawkins. The Edge is cool. Yeah. But like, yeah, the 90s is full of these films. I mean, Starship Troopers- Oh, that was, yeah, that's a film. Yeah, that's 90s.
00:56:37
Speaker
I mean, the 90s is beautiful. the best films. No, Total Recall is huh? Late 80s? No. It's got to be early 90s. Shit, I want to say it's either 88 or 90. It might be 90 because I think I saw it in theater.
00:56:51
Speaker
Because Basic Instinct was 94. Like, the 90s is great. like had the The cool thing about the thing is, though, is like, The 90s had a lot – hold on, because the piano – Yeah. um There's a lot – yeah, the 90s is great.
00:57:07
Speaker
Yeah, it's – I think people that are saying the 90s are bad were like – Were people who grew up in the 90s. Well, no, it's like the people that didn't watch the good movies of the No, but it's also people who grew up in the ninety s because I grew up in the 90s and I've never looked at the 90s nostalgically.
00:57:22
Speaker
Yeah. Until Wong Kar Wai. But, motherfucker. Literally with Angels. Dude, I got it. No, no, no. You ready for the slam dunk? Because, motherfucker, when you grew up, the best film you ever saw was Powder. You know, like the but the best film you ever saw was fucking Saving Private Ryan, which is great.
00:57:39
Speaker
Honestly. But you know what? That didn't win the fucking Oscar. it was Babe. But the second greatest movie I saw in the 90s. Oh, fuck. was I going to say? Space Jam. You said Powder. Groundhog Day.
00:57:50
Speaker
Great film. But you know what I'm saying is like, the thing is, is like we were in we were of that decade, but With the big asterisk. But we were kids. and We were and we didn't watch. I watched all those. didn't watch Old Boy. we didn't watch. But watched all those films as kids.
00:58:09
Speaker
I remember. ah Not Old Boy. Not actually foreign, but I mean, I saw like all of those films. The only ones I couldn't watch were like Pulp Fiction, Basic Instinct, like anything too adult. But what I'm saying is like, you weren't watching fucking War Kong Walk. No, that's what, yeah, I wasn't watching You didn't watch, i mean, maybe you watched the piano, you fucking queer. and I'm kidding, of course. God, dude, the piano's great.
00:58:35
Speaker
But like, you know, like, that's the 90s, man. The 90s was fucking amazing. Like, Literally, the No, you were at the bad 90s, though. You watched a lot because you like that Surf Ninja shit.
00:58:46
Speaker
Oh, yeah. love Surf nin Ninja. whatever their' Surf Ninja, Three Ninja. Three Ninjas. There you go. i was like, what the fuck is this shit? love Surf Ninja. This motherfucker here watches, what is it, from Clear and Present Danger.
00:59:00
Speaker
What's his name? That Harrison Ford plays Red October. Oh, Tom Clancy? No, but the- Jack Ryan? This motherfucker here watches Jack Ryan. I didn't watch Jack Ryan movies.
00:59:12
Speaker
I don't think I've ever seen- Yes, you have. I thought you saw them all. No. and I thought you saw Claire in Present Danger with Harrison Ford. No, and never seen it. Never seen Hunt for it October. Oh, you've got to watch some Jack Ryan stuff, man. Never watched those. But yeah, that was like... ah The Fugitive.
00:59:28
Speaker
The Fugitive. I've seen that a million times. I love that one. Yeah. He had one arm and he beat my ass. i don't I'm a doctor, not a fighter.
00:59:39
Speaker
I'm not in the UFC, god damn it. I did not kill my wife. Okay. So. Let's get into the actual... Well, you said you have a lot to deliver like with a quote and your genius and all this basic. We're going to get into...
00:59:58
Speaker
The actual main ah story of this podcast. We're only an hour in, so. Yeah, so few we have only five more movie reviews to go. Five.
01:00:10
Speaker
Shit. So I like to be – I've been liking to grab quotes – I think that's great. And I think it's a cool thing. it's ah And this one, I don't know why I picked.
01:00:22
Speaker
American history. I don't know. Find someone smarter than you and use their quote in your essay. Exactly. Because I ain't that smart. And I just steal. app Pauline Kael, famous film critic.
01:00:35
Speaker
Probably the most famous film critic. And I don't know why I picked this because this is essentially our critic episode. and Could I ask you a quick aside? Sure. Have you ever read any of her critiques? I have. Are they really... i think you shared one of Alien.
01:00:47
Speaker
Yeah. And it was really like Thoughtful and yes ahead of its time. Yeah, she was. Because I only pay attention Siskel and Ebert that I grew up with. Yeah.
01:00:59
Speaker
And they're really good critics, I think. But I've never come across Pauline Kell aside from what you shared. Yeah, I have always known her because and ah Tarantino talks about her nonstop.
01:01:11
Speaker
Yeah, his last movie that he said he's going to make, people were thinking it was going to be about her with the female protagonist. Yeah, but he kind of canceled that movie. But he's like, I hate women. I only like their feet. Yep, and he was going to call it The Foot Critic.
01:01:24
Speaker
Yes, yes. um So, her quote. Movies are so rarely great art that if we cannot appreciate great trash, about shit we have very little reason to be interested in them.
01:01:38
Speaker
Damn. And so... Damn. That's... Wow. She said in two sentences what we've been trying to say a entire hour. For my whole life. And she was like concise and right on it. And we completely circling around it. Wow, that's...
01:01:56
Speaker
And so, yeah, I picked that quote and- Did that inspire any of these picks or you just picked that after? this was a I picked this- Okay. Because there's two films in this collection that are like, eww.
01:02:10
Speaker
Well, this is a this was why i thought it was beautiful. because So let me just kind of like explain a little bit and then we'll get into the first reviews. first reviews
01:02:20
Speaker
I had watched a bunch of bad movies. like I was watching the new horror films. Like what? i was well Like Smile 2, Trap. I liked the Smile 2. No, no, no. I didn't dislike any of them.
01:02:32
Speaker
but I was what like these i was like watching them. i was doing like my my new movie, Ketchup. yeah I was just like, I just felt like, I was like, ugh. They're fine.
01:02:43
Speaker
They're good. I didn't hate them. like I really liked Smile 2. I liked ah Josh Hartnett and Trap. Everything else, i I don't know. The substance? Substance, right. I like these films. But I was just like, there's something I just don't like about new movies.
01:02:58
Speaker
And so normally when I do that, I was like, I'm going watch a bunch of shit movies. I'm gonna watch like the worst movies ever. This is going to make these new movies look good, right? And so I decided I was going to do a best of the worst type movie day.
01:03:12
Speaker
And so I picked like five movies. And then I was like, I'm going to pick the two best. and i'm gonna And I was like, let's see what happens from there. And so I watched a bunch of shitty movies. I ended up with Yore and Ninja 3 as the movies that were like the best of the worst that I watched.
01:03:28
Speaker
Oh, so you were just watching these and then you you were like, oh, kind of like that one. It was like Tropic Thunder. No, it's not Tropic Thunder. It's an 80s flick where they go on an island and someone shoots a rocket at someone.
01:03:41
Speaker
We watched it. It's one of those classic like The Room type movies. yeah, yeah, yeah. Remember that? Hard ticket to Hawaii. Yeah. And it was like, holy shit, this is amazing.
01:03:52
Speaker
Yes, exactly. That's what this was. So bad it's good. Yes, that was the search, the hunt. But the hunt for that, you got to watch a lot of bad. And I went in. yeah watched a lot of bad. But I was like, there was something interesting about the two bad movies I picked. And I was like, these are perfect trash.
01:04:10
Speaker
These are like, you, it's like you just watch and you enjoy. there You're not going to get anything out of this. You're just going to hopefully have a laugh at the ah how absurd some stuff is.
01:04:23
Speaker
And you're going to see some cool shit because the cool thing about trash films is how you see so much ingenuity. Like how they pulled shit off. Because they had no money. These movies have no money, right?
01:04:35
Speaker
so Are you sure? they got Because Ninja 3 was like, damn, no um You guys had some money. That motherfucker is called Ninja 3. The domination. It's not three times the budget.
01:04:48
Speaker
Ninja 1, which is theater you know, that's like, um so yeah. I mean, you see ingenuity. You see the way that these films are made. And there's something always kind of cute about it to me. And I use cute because it's like, oh, that of course that's how they did it. Or, oh, wow, i how did they pull this off with, you know, like five bucks?
01:05:13
Speaker
And that's what you really get out of watching, as Pauline Kael would put it, trash cinema. And, man, I love me the trash, you know, the best times you can have. I sure, I'll think about ah the other three films, the good films, for the rest of my life.
01:05:35
Speaker
And the beauty of Ninja 3 and the beauty of your... I should probably wait for Steven to say this, but got i I guess I can't wait. is The beauty of the those films is... No, I gotta wait. i got I can't and need his reaction. you know It's selfish of me and Holy macaroni and cheese.
01:06:00
Speaker
The things are... Tonya. Nicaraguan beer. Steven Gotts. T-O-N-A-A. Tonya? I'm probably saying that terribly and I apologize.
01:06:16
Speaker
But it's a solid beer. It's a beer beer. In the sense that...
01:06:24
Speaker
beers range from all kinds of things from your ales and pales and sours and stouts and browns and, you know, you can break down beer in a lot of ways, but there's like a, that standard classic like beer taste. And, uh, if Sean ever listens to this episode, Stephen's cousin, Sean, he would know i'm talking about. I remember he's like, I like beer that tastes like beer. And I always thought like, yeah, that is a thing, right? It's a little different. Like,
01:06:55
Speaker
like Maybe that comes from like the your standard ah king of beers, like your Miller's, your Budweiser, just the plain old hoppy ale.
01:07:07
Speaker
like Not a lot of hop. And there are some beers that just like take that to the next level, right? They're just like ah very strong. like No, not strong. because like The idea is like it's not that strong.
01:07:21
Speaker
But it's easy to drink. And ah
01:07:30
Speaker
you can get like, you know, everyone has like that drink, right? Like Tonya might be the Nicaraguan beer, but all right, Stephen's back. God.
01:07:42
Speaker
You're just feeling the dead air, huh? Well, I was like, I was going to say something, but then I got selfish and said, I need to see your reaction to what I was going to say. And to get back on topic on what I was going to say, and thank you for opening my Tonya.
01:07:57
Speaker
T-O-N-Y-A. No, it's like a Karen was telling me. She's like, this is the accent, Mark. Tonja. I know. Tonja. Enya.
01:08:09
Speaker
Because it's Enya. It's an interesting beer. and ah i said it's a very beer-y beer. It's a good beer. but What I was going to say is, while I will remember a matter of life and death, El Diablo's... Le Diabolique. Le Diabolique and...
01:08:30
Speaker
Harakiri or Hold My Kitty for the rest of my life. The beauty of something like Ninja 3 is I will completely forget it one day accidentally watch it again and just have a really good time with it.
01:08:43
Speaker
Because it's a movie that's fun to yell at. You can be loud and stupid and you're just like, what the fuck? Why everyone raping her?
01:08:53
Speaker
i know, that scene too. I was like, what the fuck is going on here? This is the Why is everyone watching? Why is her boyfriend guy watching? like that oh yeah why He's a cop. why He's just going to watch her get gang raped? He's a cuck.
01:09:08
Speaker
ah But we'll talk about that as we get into it. And so... Yeah, we're going to talk about some of the greatest films ah you could watch possibly and some of the most fun and worst films. and Some of the greatest films in the abstract sense.
01:09:24
Speaker
Because, you know, there is something to like bad movies, bad movies that are so bad they're good. Yeah. Like The Room. Absolutely. I mean, i enjoy that film. I legitimately enjoy that film. And there's a lot of bad movies that I just love. I mean, ah Virtuosity.
01:09:41
Speaker
Oh, yeah. I love that movie. you might I know you saw it. You're like, Stephen, really? You made me watch this shit? It's a movie. That's for sure. And, you maybe Babe might be there. Babe is good.
01:09:53
Speaker
yeah I think Babe's excellent. But I also think Virtuosity is excellent. So, you know, there you go. But you also think Come and See is good. like But there's something to it. And you know what? La Ventura, you know.
01:10:06
Speaker
Pauline Kael? Yeah. Like Pauline Kael said, you know, there's something to these... She said trash movies? Yeah. that That's harsh, but I give her credit for that because that's some harsh words. She's not wrong.
01:10:19
Speaker
But there is something to them, and you you have to appreciate them because- I guess that's art within its entirety. I mean, look at books, right? Books are like one of the finest art forms, right? Yeah.
01:10:31
Speaker
You know, you have like, well, you have literally the Bible, and but you also have like- Literally the Bible. You have more ah War and Peace, right? Yeah, Tolstoy. You have ah Crime and Punishment.
01:10:45
Speaker
You know, you have some of these finest pieces of literature, but you also have Goosebumps, Return of the Mummy, or Return of the Dummy, whatever it is. Return of the Mummy Dummy. You know, like how many good books versus how many bad books are are written ah in a year?
01:11:00
Speaker
I mean, you know, we talk about how many movies are made in a year. How many books are written in a year? Too many. were Way more books come out than movies in a year and no one knows them. And I've seen some books because I'm on a ah book subreddit and they're like, hey, look at my book that I self-published.
01:11:18
Speaker
And it's like. This is about a ah lichen lichen or whatever. It's like, they're a werewolf. And they're trying to find their mom and dad who are long dead. And it's it's just like, damn, this is some shit right here. And you're a grown adult. like like Not only is the story bad, but literally the grammar of the writing is bad.
01:11:42
Speaker
Because you know you can excuse something that doesn't have a story. Eight and a half. As long as everything else is good. Or even... ah You know what Kausi said? Don't try. just Those guys are just doing it.
01:11:57
Speaker
Well, like the story of Infinite Jest or Ulysses by a James Joyce. As far as I know, story ain't necessarily there, but just the writing and what the writing's conveying and trying to capture. It's like, oh, masterpiece.
01:12:11
Speaker
Yeah. Well, shit. Not to say any of these films. Well, some of these films, Harakiri. You forgot about the lichen that wanted to go and find his mommy and daddy because he was lost and orphaned as a kid and he wasn't always sure why he was so different. And then the moon rose and he turned into a lichen.
01:12:29
Speaker
there's so Because I remember reading this because I actually read a lot as a kid. There's this book I loved. It was about the Loch Ness Monster in a cave and that's where these kids found him or her. And it was such a bad book, but I remember reading i was like man, this is the coolest book ever. i loved it.
01:12:45
Speaker
And same thing with some of these movies where like Yore and Ninja 3, because I was telling you about every year you brought up the Oscars um earlier and every year we try to watch all the best movies.
01:13:00
Speaker
picture nominations at the very least. Yeah. i mean, we want to see more because, you know, there's some best actor nods and some ah best director. I don't necessarily watch all the animated. best director aren't always all best picture. Right. um And then best actor.
01:13:17
Speaker
And we try to watch like the collection of the great films that came out in a certain year. And man, honestly, like after four films, five films, it's like, fuck, I can't watch anymore. Like half these movies are pieces of shit.
01:13:31
Speaker
And maybe what at least one was worth the time. And then a second one was worth half the time. And then all of that, the rest is like, oh, this is just... Best picture shit.
01:13:44
Speaker
This is the kind of movie that gets into the best picture category, but it's actually quite shit. There's a lot of just very forgettable films. I'm not really grabbed...
01:13:55
Speaker
um They're good ones. Don't get me wrong. They just don't grab me. I'm never going to really think about them ever again. They're like- ah You want some examples from last year? Anatomy of a Fall.
01:14:06
Speaker
that I was going to name that. are I will never probably watch that movie again. Was it good? No. Yes. Mine would be the Auschwitz one. ah Yeah, that's- Zone of Interest. Zone of Interest.
01:14:19
Speaker
But that would be my number one. But- You know, they're really good films. I mean, look at the one Cate Blanchett. Tar. Tar. I watched that movie. i was like, dude, this is fucking amazing. Yeah.
01:14:31
Speaker
But it kind of fell in that category a bit. It might be also... um
01:14:40
Speaker
the The problem is is, too, is these films are very young. Yeah. And um and then... No, there's that's not true. And... That's not true. Because I watched Parasite and I knew...
01:14:54
Speaker
But Parasite's on a different level. Even La Land I knew, man. And yeah, La La Land, I knew. was just like- Maybe that's true. This is something different. Is there something wrong with that? No.
01:15:05
Speaker
That's just called making a goddamn good movie. I wonder ah about that. Like, I guess that's true, like- Not every movie is- Maybe Chazelle's best movie. Not every movie is meant to just be this like remembered film you watch all the time.
01:15:21
Speaker
No, of course not. Of course not. And that's good because- But you didn't grow up in that decade, so do you really have to waste your time on that? Exactly. But that's what's interesting too is we still get to we still have experienced them by watching them and we've gotten something out of it.
01:15:36
Speaker
They might not make any top 10 lists outside of being the best film of that year. God, ah god that's so pretentious. But it's true. But, you know, it's like these films, they might not necessarily be remembered anymore.
01:15:54
Speaker
But someone might discover it, right? In 10 years or something or yeah tomorrow. Yeah, they're going to be of high quality. Or tomorrow. And they're going to be like, what's this tar? What's going with this? Or, you know, people that like love Cate Blanchett, they're going to fall down some rabbit hole. And it's like, oh, I'm going to watch tar. and Thor Ragnarok, man.
01:16:12
Speaker
But.
01:16:16
Speaker
I think that's interesting. Yeah, there's something to unpack with that. Because you know shakespere a Shakespeare with Love is one I always like to shit on. Because it's like I remember watching that as a kid. We rented it um because it won the Oscar. and yeah we would like My grandma rented it.
01:16:32
Speaker
She was like, I want to see that movie. i like that. Drew Barrymore or whatever that bitch's name was. Uma Thurman. Gwyneth Paltrow. Yeah, Gwyneth Paltrow. was like, wait, watch Blanchick? And remember watching it.
01:16:45
Speaker
It's not a bad movie. Did you watch it recently? No, but... It's pretty damn good. But at the same time... Is it better than Private Ryan? But what I'm saying is, like... that but But, like, how Private Ryan, like, has probably lasted... You know, it's it's kind of the issue... It's kind of also the problem of...
01:17:05
Speaker
There's so much shit. I mean, not shit like so much bad stuff, but there's just so much out there. Yeah, there's too much saturation. It's so easy to get lost. and like The TARS of the world won't be remembered because the drive me by... ah Drive me by my... Name? No, i drive my car. drive no i you know, I saw that movie and was like, should I watch that? i was like, I don't want to see this shit. Armie Hammer, Timothee Chalamet suck and come out of a peach. i don't want to see that.
01:17:35
Speaker
Call me by my name. Yeah. But drive my car is the other one I was thinking No, you know what? On an aside, this is a big aside. Because you were asking me about a film in 2023 for Oscar.
01:17:49
Speaker
And I was going to say this is the best film I've seen in 2024, but I looked it up and it came out 2023. Probably late 2023. Probably could get considered late 2020. Yeah, 2023, but be considered for 20. Anyways. yeah twenty twenty three but be considered for twenty anyways Dogman.
01:18:07
Speaker
Dogman. Yeah, you have it on your Plex.
01:18:14
Speaker
That movie. Because, you know, we were saying with the best movie of 2024. I think in a previous podcast that's going to come out. I said Saturday Night. No, Dogman.
01:18:26
Speaker
But technically it came out 2023. Dogman. that... and that was my number one film of the year. That was so fucking good. And as I was watching, I was like, man, this is giving me such like Luc Besson, such Luc Besson vibes and the professional vibes.
01:18:44
Speaker
And lo and behold, it's by Luc Besson. Oh, that movie? Yeah. The like weird assassin in a... Did you watch it? No. Yeah, it's by Luc Besson. I saw it at the end. I was like, holy shit, this is Luc Besson. And I was like, oh fuck, is he back?
01:19:00
Speaker
I thought it was going to be shit. He sucks. Is he back? Yeah, I saw a Lucy. And I was like, oh my God, Luc Besson, what the fuck? But then I saw Dogman. I was like, holy shit. like Valerian though, I will say.
01:19:11
Speaker
I like Valerian too. It's kind of like that guilty pleasure because no one else liked it. It's like yours. But dude, I saw Dogman. I loved it. Oh, now I'm going to watch it because I i love Luc Besson. I'm probably raising the bar up. It's probably like a virtuosity for you.
01:19:28
Speaker
We'll see. But um I'll just say, you know who Edith Plath is? Yeah. The French singer? Yes. All right. They have a little moment to her where someone sings her song.
01:19:44
Speaker
And instead of like someone actually singing the song, no, he just used her actual voice for the song. And I was like, God damn, I love this.
01:19:54
Speaker
love this. yeah I loved it, man. I loved Dog Man lot because I think Karen just put it on. She just puts on these random ass movies that and she has really good taste. So they're usually really good.
01:20:09
Speaker
And she's like, this movie's kind of lame. And I was just like, love this. I love it so much. I loved Dog Man okay so much. that was I thought it came out this year.
01:20:22
Speaker
um i guess not. I guess it came out in 2023.
01:20:27
Speaker
But certainly um for a recent film, that was... i was maybe like very hesitant. Maybe if Oscar consideration, it might be considered because it came out late 2023.
01:20:37
Speaker
You think Dog Man's going to get... No, he ain't getting shit. But I was like, dude, this is the best film I've seen for this 2024 period. Outside of like anything great like Harakiri Eight and a Half and shit like that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:20:54
Speaker
Outside of the old films. Yeah, yeah. Outside of like old master police masterpiece classics. But I was like, dude, I fucking love this film. If you like the professional, you'll like Dogman because it's kind of in that same vein.
01:21:10
Speaker
And if you like Luc Besson as a filmmaker, yeah you'll like Dogman. Well, I do. And i' and now I'm now going to watch it. Because, you know, Luc Besson, he's definitely had stinkers.
01:21:24
Speaker
oh he let Let's not pussyfoot around that. it had some stinkers. But like, oh yeah I saw that and I was like, holy shit, is this motherfucker back? Because it was like,
01:21:34
Speaker
Yes. Yes. Yes. You're doing this instead of doing that. You're kind of going to little artsy-fartsy here. Yes. Okay. Okay. i i High recommendations for Dogman. thoroughly love Dogman. All right.
01:21:50
Speaker
By far. Well, now let's get into... all How do
Film Reviews and Historical Context
01:21:54
Speaker
you want to do this first? Well... I don't know how you want to do it. um When i I wrote my reviews, they're probably not as long as yours, but I wrote them in order that i actually watch the films and I try to put a certain order behind them because you mentioned like A Matter of Life and Death being by Powell and... Emmerich and Powell and Pressburger.
01:22:16
Speaker
Pressburger. Which I love Peeping Tom um of them. I think I love Peeping Tom more even though Red Shoes is probably the better film. I love Peeping Tom.
01:22:28
Speaker
So yeah mean obviously that was on my number one. i I did want to do Harakiri followed by Ninja 3. Beautiful pairing. It didn't line up that way so I watched Ninja 3 the very last.
01:22:44
Speaker
um Your... i Hunter of the Future is kind like, okay, I know what I'm in for. I saw the cover. um So I just kind of just watched it while I was watching the kids. And then Diabolique, I've always heard of that film, like a classic to watch.
01:23:03
Speaker
um For a while ah when Netflix sent out only DVDs, yeah I think I rented that a few times. I never got around to watching it. You know, it's one of those DVDs you keep for like five months that you never send back. It was one of those for me.
01:23:16
Speaker
yeah And then Harakiri, that's like... If you're at all into Japanese cinema, you've heard that title. Yes. You've heard it. Exactly. That's why I picked It's like Seventh Samurai.
01:23:31
Speaker
you know It's just... yeah It's like Godzilla. Maybe not like Godzilla. Godzilla's its own thing. No, yeah. It's just like Godzilla. Godzilla's like King Kong. No, Godzilla's not even King Kong. It's just its own thing.
01:23:42
Speaker
Godzilla's a monster. But... later like But you know what I'm saying? Like, if if you're into this cinema, you've come across this title mentioned at some point.
01:23:52
Speaker
Yes. And Harakiri was always one of those. If you ever type in into Google, top 10 best Japanese films ever made, Harakiri is on that list. Yeah, it's just, if you look into, the it's like if you look, delve into Korean cinema, it's a title that's come up at some point.
01:24:11
Speaker
No, but I'm saying like, for me, because I feel like Korean cinema is where it's at right now. I get what saying. You know, it's like one of those titles that just pops up. Um... so So I kind of went, I tried to go in a certain order, um but I don't know if there's maybe a certain order you have. Oh, that sounds great to me.
01:24:29
Speaker
Okay. Your order. So I say, you know, beauty for age. So why don't you go ahead and read ah ah your first review? so this is what I'm thinking. So we're going to go in your order.
01:24:41
Speaker
Yeah. You're going to start. You're going read your review. I'll read my review of that film, and then we'll talk about the movie. Okay, good, because that's actually how I broke it up. And... um I'll say i wrote this yesterday and at some point I was just getting more and more angry. Okay. ah But I think I did the best review here.
01:25:01
Speaker
And this is for a matter of life and death, which was the first film I saw because this was probably the one I was most excited about. All right. A charming tale of love at first death.
01:25:15
Speaker
I had high hopes for this film from the filmmakers of Red Shoes and Pee Pee Tom, the latter being one of my favorite slashers, but I was a bit disappointed. I too felt like I had been knocked out of heaven.
01:25:29
Speaker
This is all said with the caveat of it being of the highest order in the annals of filmmaking. I will say there is something about post-World War II films that is lost on modern audiences.
01:25:42
Speaker
I think the films are so heavily scarred by the time period that a lot is lost. like the subtle edge of a fine razor after a shave. Films like Casablanca or Third Man that have an extra depth that only those coming out of the greatest modern war can understand.
01:26:00
Speaker
ah unique experience to all those who experience such dark times that even with my understandings of the echo of Vietnam, the live event of the Gulf War, and the terrible stagnation of the Iraq War,
01:26:14
Speaker
There is something lost and not fully understood, leaving aspects of the film woefully flat.
01:26:24
Speaker
Harsh. I don't know if it's harsh, but I would certainly say that, you know, these films that are literally post or during World War two like, there's just something that they were going through that if if you weren't in that time period, you you just don't understand.
01:26:42
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. There's there's a zeitgeist there that is lost. Oh, for sure. You know, and and I feel like that was the case for a matter of life and death because there were some jokes and some sentences or lines of dialogue being uttered that were like, and it's just, I'm not feeling it here. You know, this isn't grabbing me like it should, but I'm sure for an audience of that time period,
01:27:09
Speaker
they would laugh or they or they would enjoy it or be moved in a certain way. Oh, definitely. But for me, yeah just, I'm not from that time period. So it, you know, it it felt flat because it felt so ah movie of its time.
01:27:26
Speaker
Okay. Oh, but beautifully written, buddy. This is why I wanted to do this because I was a big fan of your cocaine bear review. And so I was like, I'm going to challenge this. Also, was like, I'm going to make this motherfucker write. I know he ain't writing. I need him to get on the typewriter. He knows it.
01:27:41
Speaker
You're so true. You know what? That's why with this one, i was like, I'm digging this. you know And I was like, i and it was just also just a lot of fun. to I was like, we could write our own reviews and then talk about it. And then so here is my review. Much less eloquent, I will say, than my friend here. But A Matter of Life and Death, 1946.
01:28:02
Speaker
Directed by Michael Powell and Emmerich Pressburger, the two behind the fantastic Red Shoes, we are brought into the lives of Peter Carter, a British Royal Air Force pilot. He radios in before jumping to his death.
01:28:14
Speaker
But before he does, he falls in love with the radio operator who receives his final message and wakes up miraculously on the beach. Heaven, or whatever you wish the other world's name is.
01:28:26
Speaker
Missed picking him up due to some heaviness of British fog. The film is a wonderful piece of love on a grand scale. The set pieces are phenomenal in this film.
01:28:37
Speaker
The love story between should-be-dead Peter Carter and his American love interest, a boston a woman from Boston named June, sets you in for a film that has just as much humor as it has hope, sadness, and most of all, love.
01:28:51
Speaker
great characteristics which ah Great characters which may be a bit stereotypical, even for the time, but go to show you that existence is always a matter of life and death. A courtroom drama, fantasy, and romance, the film Pressburger and Powell present is wonderfully charming and exquisite to view.
01:29:09
Speaker
Breathtaking craftsmanship show these two knew how to create a majestic world. Life may be bittersweet, but it will always remain a matter of life and death. So I wrote elements to discuss.
01:29:21
Speaker
Do you want me to go through them? and Yeah. Because I know you'll have something to say. Sure. And then you can just add on your aspects that you want to talk about. So for all of these, I didn't want to get too deep into story in case people want to watch them.
01:29:35
Speaker
um Just because all of these films, no, three of these films are worth watching. You know, and yeah some people care about spoilers.
01:29:47
Speaker
I don't, but some people do. Yeah, and if you do, probably keep... If you do, you really shouldn't listen to Twitch channel's podcast. I mean, we're spoiling shit left and right. But one element I wanted to... I mean, there's quite a few for this one. That's fine.
01:30:03
Speaker
But one element I wanted to discuss that I wrote first was the use of Technicolor in black and white. Which I imagine Technicolor was probably... Our color was probably... Fairly new. Fairly new, yeah. Maybe a few years in.
01:30:18
Speaker
Yeah, and it was awesome to see... Them going to black and white and then Technicolor and then even the French angel mentions like, oh, this is how I look in Technicolor. And I was like, man, this is beautiful. And I loved how they played between the two to show heaven and earth.
01:30:38
Speaker
And it's actually very interesting that they showed and heaven in black and white. Yeah. Right. And then they show earth in color. yeah And I just love the colors. I mean, Technicolor, it's such it's such a beautiful, rich color, right?
01:30:53
Speaker
it's It's like, it has a dullness to it, right? It's not like vibrant, but But it's rich. It's just this rich looking color that modern films just do not get anywhere near capturing. you know It's just this beautiful richness in the color. Sure, you're not seeing all the pigments of red, but the red you're seeing is just rich.
01:31:16
Speaker
But there's also a craftsmanship behind Technicolor that it's not perfect.
01:31:26
Speaker
What do you mean by not perfect, though? Like... the like There aren't hard lines in Technicolor. The reds bleed over a little bit. Oh, there's yeah. There's a softness to that, huh? There's kind of like this, it almost feels like a painted world in a sense. Yes.
01:31:43
Speaker
And adds- Like watercolors kind of bleeding in. And it's like that's why it's so perfect for fantasy films because it just adds this surreal element that it's like, oh, your eyes go a little fuzzy a little bit.
01:31:56
Speaker
and And then the harsh black and white, right? Which is just so strong and contrasting and black and white. And it's just but also beautiful. And everything is so big.
01:32:08
Speaker
They don't just sit on stairs. They sit on the fucking stairs to heaven, dude. Yeah. And I don't know if you're – I didn't do what you did. That was mine. But it's like the – the stages, the sets.
01:32:22
Speaker
Oh my God, this movie just takes you. And it shows me that like, we really have gone in the wrong direction when it comes to like CGI backgrounds there.
01:32:35
Speaker
I don't know what it is, but to me, this film completely captures this sense of awe. Like, When they are in heaven, they fucking go for it, man.
01:32:48
Speaker
They like go so hard, and that's what I love so much about this film. um It's one of the reasons I wanted you to really watch it was to show there's this grandeur. yeah ju like Yes, they don't get black and white, but look at what they get.
01:33:04
Speaker
That's true, right? They don't get the color, right? They're in black and white, but like, oh my God, right? This epic aspect to this. yeah that's what i that was one of the other elements was the sets and the set design.
01:33:19
Speaker
Like at one point in the movie, they're on a staircase that's more like a… um Escalator. Escalator. And then you're watching it and they're still going up that escalator. It's like, how fucking big is this escalator?
01:33:32
Speaker
Like this escalator is enormous and you feel it. I mean, i don't know if that escalator, I don't know at what point the escalator was real and not real. Cause it felt like it was entirely real.
01:33:46
Speaker
And then you see the grandness of this staircase, this escalator. And it's like, holy shit, how did they do this? How was this possible? Did they really build this? Because if you build this, this feels like that should cost millions.
01:34:01
Speaker
Yeah. and and And yet you have actors that look like little ants going up this escalator and it was just so epic. And then you have these beautiful statues of historical figures, right? Because David Nevin, it's like,
01:34:18
Speaker
Who do you want to represent you? Do you want Plato to represent you? You know, the great Plato? Yeah. he like You know, he's a little stagnant. a hoi. You motherfucking don't know about love. He wants Greek boys. Right, exactly.
01:34:30
Speaker
and And you see these beautiful, and it's like, where is it not real? Like, not a physical object there in that background? And then when is it real? Like, I couldn't, it was hard for me to see that difference. You know, like,
01:34:48
Speaker
Nowadays, you watch tons of movies, you're like, okay, that's all CGI. That whole background is CGI. yeah But right here where the actors are, part of that's real. You can easily tell that in modern films. But with that film, I was like...
01:35:03
Speaker
Shit, i don't know where're I don't know where real and where not real is. like The special effects, which is another element that I'm talking about, were breathtaking. I mean, they showed some bird's eye views of people walking down the halls of heaven.
01:35:20
Speaker
And you know when you look closely, you can tell the people aren't moving. They're just objects being dragged across the screen. Yeah. Because there's no like arms. There's no limbs moving.
01:35:31
Speaker
But it's so well done throughout. And then there are some actors in there that are still moving. And it's like, what the fuck? I don't know what's going on. like like They really go to heaven? You're really dumbfounding me here with with how you're pulling off these effects because they just look so gorgeous, these practicals.
01:35:52
Speaker
you know and And it was executed to such a high degree. It was it was quite marvelous. I mean, again, like I said, This film is a film to be acknowledged and remembered.
01:36:08
Speaker
I still have my issues with it. But, you know, i mean, that's with the caveat of that. You know, like, yes, this is an amazing film. I'm not denying that. And it is. And what they did with their effects, like the Technicolor going into the black. one I thought that was just so genius to play with those two things. And then also, see this is what I'm saying. Like, a matter of its time. Like, we're so used to color.
01:36:31
Speaker
But imagine only being used to black and white, and then all of a sudden you see something in technicolor. Yeah. like You'd be like, what the fuck? What the fuck?
01:36:42
Speaker
His skin color looks like mine. like What the fuck's going on? you know Yeah, His lips have color. What the fuck? you know Just think of how amazing that would be. You can't. devoid of understanding that world.
01:36:55
Speaker
Yeah.
01:36:58
Speaker
and And so there's some there's a lot lost to that, but the set design, the Technicolor, the special effects were so—they appeared to me to be groundbreaking.
01:37:12
Speaker
And from what I could gather just intellectually, I was like, I bet this was probably groundbreaking stuff. I bet that Technicolor joke was probably kind of groundbreaking to acknowledge like, hey, look what you're seeing. Exactly.
01:37:25
Speaker
And one of the other aspects that was kind of groundbreaking because you kind of mentioned it with like white cast and stuff like that was that, you know, back then all these motherfucking movies were white people. Nothing but white people.
01:37:40
Speaker
But in this film, it's predominantly white, but it still showed like black people, the black soldiers, Indian soldiers.
01:37:50
Speaker
I think there might have been Asian people too in there. and was still showing them equally in heaven alongside everyone. Yeah. And for them to be judge and jury together.
01:38:03
Speaker
ye Well, I guess not judge, but at least to be jury. yeah He was amongst his peers as what a jury is supposed to be. right And I was like, dude, that's kind of groundbreaking to that thought process that a black person is equal to a white person here.
01:38:18
Speaker
Like, sure, he's they're not showcased, but you're still saying They're right there alongside you. And it's like, dude, that's pretty intense to show something like that, you know?
01:38:32
Speaker
Especially coming from the US, you know, race still to this day, it's such a hot topic. it is, yes. So I would be bequeathed or bequeathed. I would be a remiss to not talk about how funny the movie is.
01:38:46
Speaker
It's fucking hilarious. Yeah. There are some laugh out loud moments in the film that And it's the script is very smart because... What were some of the laugh out but laugh laugh out loud moments for you? Oh, the um the French guy. The French the french ah guy is pretty hilarious. The angel?
01:39:09
Speaker
Yes. Yeah, he was great. But yeah, no, there's some just really funny moments um like them trying to like decide who his lawyer is going to be and... I don't know. And then it's just such a fucking beautifully written, like the whole thing's in his head or is it, you believe it's in his head or you would hope that that's what but the afterlife is. You felt like that dynamic happened where, was he crazy or was he not?
01:39:33
Speaker
Cause the whole, the. I thought it was pretty clear. Like he went to heaven and it's a. Well, the film says it all takes place in his head. The opening crawl.
01:39:43
Speaker
Oh, I didn't feel that at all. I felt like it was clearly established between heaven and earth, and then everyone else of earth was like, yeah, you're crazy, bro. But... That's interesting. That's an interesting element that eluded me because I didn't feel that was...
01:40:03
Speaker
clearly established. Yeah. Because the doctor does order like a lobotomy essentially, right? I don't know what he was doing to his brain, but he was getting some He a tumor. I think that was one of the laugh out loud moments for me too was when David Nevin came out of his, um,
01:40:20
Speaker
his soul rose from the operation and he looks at his body and he's like, I don't know you caught that, but he's like, that was so funny. There's a lot of funny moments. The French character is hilarious. It's so absurd, the fact that he didn't... There's a lot to do with stereotypes. He has to wear the scarf because he lost his head in the French Revolution.
01:40:45
Speaker
And his, you know, the French, you know, he doesn't understand the British. The Boston guy hates him just because he's British. And he was like from the Revolutionary War. And it's like, what?
01:40:57
Speaker
You know, and it's like, there's all this stuff that's like kind of playing against each other. And I love how... ah
01:41:05
Speaker
um Pretty much this all just happened like because i don't really buy the love, I guess. it happened so quick. It's so spontaneous. like Who are you?
01:41:17
Speaker
i love you. well, you're going to die soon, right? Yeah. um You're just so memorable. Yeah. Yeah. And that's like, eh. But what I mean, if you're in that situation, I mean, maybe you might fall in love with some hot voice on the other end, I'll just say is i the technical aspects of that film make up a lot for me.
01:41:39
Speaker
um I remember i was high as fucking shit. And when I watched it again, it's the second time I've seen it. I will say, I think that matters because when I was watching a lot of these films, um it was like first thing in the morning.
01:41:53
Speaker
Where there's a brief period where the baby is satiated and on her own where I can actually pay attention.
01:42:04
Speaker
Or late at night when they're all asleep. Yeah. So it's kind of in these weird head spaces to watch a film. You know, it wasn't like me just, okay, I've got to worry about shit. I can actually just sit down and enjoy a film.
01:42:17
Speaker
I didn't have any of that throughout any of these films. Yeah. I don't think that's possible anymore. You know, it's always like, okay, no one's bothering me for a few hours. Let me sneak this in. Yeah, exactly.
01:42:29
Speaker
um Another thing I would say that I felt that this film was ahead of its time was in the critique of colonialism. Oh, yeah. They actually, without directly criticizing it, they did, right? Because he's like, well, what about the British in India?
01:42:45
Speaker
who And you never, I mean, I'm barely hearing about colonialism being bad now, today. you know And I was like, oh yeah, maybe colonialism wasn't really cool.
01:42:56
Speaker
ah But how do you feel about David Nevin? Because this was the first film I've ever seen. no the first film I've ever seen with David Nevin was where he plays James Bond in the wooden Woody Allen flick.
01:43:09
Speaker
Oh, the Casino Royale? Yes, with Peter Sellers. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, Casino Royale. That's the first time I've ever seen David Nevin in a film. But, you know, that's a comedy, satirical.
01:43:21
Speaker
But this was the first, like, this is me being David Nevin, the actor. Because I've always known about him, heard of him. But I've seen him in. How did you feel about him and a film? Because I felt like...
01:43:35
Speaker
He was very charming. He was supposed to be like 20... In his 20s, late twenty s Yeah. And motherfucker looked like he was in his 40s. That's the 40s. You know? But it was like, well, he's still... That's the old times, buddy. He's still so charming. and And he brought a lot to the character in himself where...
01:43:56
Speaker
A lot of it was, you were asking the audience a lot to believe like in love at first hearing, hearing the operator's voice and to kind of go along with it.
01:44:07
Speaker
But he allowed you to go along with it through his performance, I felt. Yeah. Yeah. No, he was good. He was great. Yeah. I felt like he was, it was like, okay, I see why you were i mean i such me a stud at the time. I gave this movie an eight out of 10.
01:44:24
Speaker
I think that's fair. Yeah, I'd probably 80 of 10. Maybe 7.5 out of because to me This film's up like a technical masterpiece.
01:44:35
Speaker
It's almost like in a playtime level of how beautifully technical everything is. Yeah. I mean, yeah, i i can see having issues with the story. It's definitely, like I think I wrote about it. It's a film of its time, 100%.
01:44:49
Speaker
But holy shit. Do you agree with what I said where I i feel like World War II films specifically feel like films of their time where it's like,
01:45:01
Speaker
You kind of had to be there because i was listening to one of our like our second podcasts from last, episode 126, I believe. And we were talking about Casablanca and you were like...
01:45:14
Speaker
Yeah, they were talking about going to the camps or the camps, but the concentration camps, but they didn't really know about the Holocaust at the time. Yeah. You know, no one really knew what was happening at those camps.
01:45:27
Speaker
Yeah. And at the time of Casablanca, I mean, World War II was still happening. No one knew who was going win that shit. Exactly. And and so I feel like some of like these these films specifically of those eras just are so much of their time because of how impactful World War two has been. I mean, of all the great wars in our zeitgeist, what's the war, man? It's fucking World War II. I mean, we're still watching films on World War II, right? I mean, Zone of Interest just came out last year.
01:46:02
Speaker
i mean, World War two has never...
01:46:07
Speaker
World War II is interesting because it's the most obvious case of good versus evil. And it's so easy to frame that. That's true, right? It's easy to frame war in at like like one side versus the other. Okay, like Vietnam War. you know Why were we there? fucking stupid. We shouldn't have been involved. you know Every other war Korean War, same thing.
01:46:27
Speaker
Or even more modern. Like what I mentioned, the Gulf War or Iraq War. I don't know. None of those you can really argue that we were in the right, doing the right thing.
01:46:38
Speaker
Yeah. But World War II, I mean, even World War I, it's like, you know, motherfuckers were killing each other. It was like, I don't know. Dukes, like, who the fuck? Like, I don't know. There was trenches and it was bad. That's I know. shit was going to blow up.
01:46:52
Speaker
Like, and it was like, it could have went either way, you know, kind of thing. Like, it was, World War I was more vicious, but don't know. World War II is like, you have imperialist Japan, which was doing the most horrible, fucked up shit.
01:47:05
Speaker
And then you had Nazi Germany. Doing the most horrible, fucked up shit. and You know, it's like, it don't get more Dr. Evil than this, you know? Like, nobody cares if you kill Nazis, except for Nazis. And no one cares about Nazis.
01:47:21
Speaker
Well, actually, it seems like that's changing now. Well, I mean, yes shit. You know, everything has a cycle. But that era, it's looked upon as like,
01:47:34
Speaker
This glorious just to like time of good. There's glorification of it, huh? Because the good guys were good beating the evil bad guys. Even though the good guys really aren't that good. Yeah, and no matter how evil you were to the evil guys...
01:47:50
Speaker
Look what they fucking did. They had it coming, right? Yeah. Even though like swing kids, right? Like, yeah, maybe and not all those Nazis actually wanted to be fighting, you know? but They just wanted to be swing dancing or maybe they were just gay or something. Yeah. You know, they're like, shit, I'm Hitler. I know Hitler. Like, I'm killing you, Nazi. Right, exactly. They're people too.
01:48:12
Speaker
But... But they're Nazis. so Yeah, and it's like, well, fuck. Pour acid down their mouth. Yeah, it's kind of like, fuck you. That's why Jojo Rabbit was kind of so interesting. um And kind of brave, I would say, with its portrayal. Oh, it's ballsy as fuck. know, that was kind of ballsy for Taika to go there because it was like, ah you ah you're you're humanizing the Nazis, which is like, ah hell I wasn't even alive then, it's like, I don't know if I want to humanize Nazis.
01:48:40
Speaker
I mean, the thing is, it's like,
01:48:44
Speaker
They are people. Absolutely. You know, and then it's like. Well, if they're not, if you're treating them not like people, then what are you becoming? Exactly. And that's where you can go like, well, I get your point.
01:48:56
Speaker
But at the same time, it's like no one feels good. It's like, it's not like they were Galactus, you know, they they they weren't. You know ah the Nazis weren't some supernatural evil. You know, they're not actually Satan.
01:49:10
Speaker
They're just dumb, misguided people. There are people like you and us that, and we could easily follow along with the Nazis. That's what they always say, right? There was that famous ah test, right, with the Nazis where as long as the superior gives you orders to do something heinous, you'll do it.
01:49:26
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. yeah um One of the elements I wanted to ask you about, what was what up with the American rhetoric there? You know, like this ah harsh critique of Americans and English. And it was like, wait, you're talking about him being in love with this chick, but yet you're talking about like, fuck the redcoats.
01:49:46
Speaker
Because that was just- What was that about? What was that about? That but yeah i was just the peer characters. The character was going to try to frame it towards- But it felt like there was a deeper element to the story overall, but that didn't quite settle on this anti-American- No, I think it's a joke.
01:50:04
Speaker
i think that was ah I think it's all but then it was all for the the fact of humor because it's so- of its time. But it was also so respectful to the American side, right? Which was like, ah, you fucking redcoats. and was like And he made some good points where even the English guy was like, I yield? Touche, good sir. That's because the whole thing is like, they're also two people of completely different times. but also And the thing too is like, the British guy's like, I'm trying to, the British, the the doctor,
01:50:35
Speaker
But why was that even a defensible point though? he was trying out Because he was trying to disprove his character. that the There's no such thing as a good Englishman. and the Ever. Oh, okay.
01:50:48
Speaker
Right? He's trying to like... Also then kind of maybe relating to Nazis then? like I don't know if it's related Nazis. I mean, for us, not necessarily that. In that discussion, yes. But like, there's no such thing as a good Nazi. Right. he That character of that time, he was the first person killed in the Revolutionary War. Yeah, he was, right? He was the first person shot.
01:51:07
Speaker
He killed. Yeah, by British. And it was like, ooh, that's the guy who's going to go against him. And the British... ah like britt One of the British guy's arguments was like, you know George Washington was a Brit. you know he is a brit He is British.
01:51:20
Speaker
um you know So how can you say they're not of good character, sir? you know right like The whole thing was like he was just trying to – he hates British people so much he could not see an an American woman with a British woman because that would be like having sex with a Nazi to him.
01:51:36
Speaker
Yeah. For inches See, that's what I'm saying. Like, some of those elements that just don't really necessarily click right away for me. And that's what... Because this movie is for history nerds, too. Right? This is such a history nerd kind of movie. It's like... Yeah, yeah. I mean, there's just there's just something...
01:51:52
Speaker
of its time. Our American education system does not prepare us to be ready for this film. My social studies book did not cover the World War II in depth enough. Not only World War II, just this movie calls upon so many famous things from the past. yeah And if you're not aware,
Cultural Critique in Classic Films
01:52:10
Speaker
it's just like it flies right over your head. and But also, and this is my last element to discuss, is it felt ahead of its time because it placed a critique on a lot of these things. Even a critique on Plato.
01:52:24
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, who critiques Plato? No one critiques Plato in this day and age. He's like Jesus Christ now. And, well, I guess that'd be Socrates. Yeah. But, you know, Plato's like at least an apostle. He's like Jesus Jr. So, you know, I mean, this film in every aspect felt like it was ahead of its time.
01:52:48
Speaker
Watching it, I was like, this film is leagues ahead of the era it's been made in. It's just way ahead of its time. Like, I felt that throughout the entirety of that film. And even still today, like...
01:53:02
Speaker
Watching it, there were some elements, like I said, with the backgrounds and the set design that still hold up. Where was like, how the fuck are you doing this? who How are you? is Oh, that's actually real. That thing's, that stair's still moving. So that's a real staircase.
01:53:17
Speaker
And all those people are actually moving their arms and legs. So those are extras. Like, holy shit, you're making this grand movie. Which kind of was interesting because I heard Pimpin' Tom was...
01:53:29
Speaker
their last big film and they kind of fell out of grace because of how risque the film was. Yeah. Did Peeping Tom came out before this, right? No. Oh, okay. That explains a lot. yeah Cause I looked at, I looked at their filmography. I hate IMDB cause it lists everything they were involved in. It's like, no, I just want to see what they directed. you know, I don't care what they produced or, and it lists everything in the world.
01:53:53
Speaker
But it was like, shit, man, these motherfuckers had film after film after film after film. It's like, did Peeping Tom really destroy their career? 1960. It didn't feel like it. This was 46. Okay, yeah, yeah, okay. That 20 years, about 20 years ago, that could destroy your career, 14 years ago.
01:54:09
Speaker
Yeah. But, I mean, this film truly felt ahead of its time. And it was a marvel. um It's a great film. It's interesting.
01:54:21
Speaker
You know, it's a film of its time. It's a great film that's a film of its time. And ah as anything, when you look with at things with hindsight, obviously it falls under that big thumb of critique that is unjustly fair that I probably lobbied against it.
01:54:43
Speaker
um So ah do you recommend the film? Oh, absolutely. It's a great film. I mean, like I said, it... It's a film of film history. You got to watch it. Yeah. if you If you even want to know about David Nevin as an actor, watch this film. yeah Fuck the filmmakers, you know, or anything like that. Just him alone as an actor. It would be a film worth watching. And then watching them as filmmakers, some of the greatest, two of the greatest filmmakers ever. I mean, one of the greatest duos.
01:55:13
Speaker
Oh, yeah. I mean, Red Shoes. Dude, I fucking love Peeping Tom, dude. Yeah, me too. I love that movie. That's one of my favorite Favorite slashers? Maybe like ah top three favorite slasher films. It's really fucking good. Peeping Tom. It's really fucking good. I mean, ah yeah.
01:55:31
Speaker
And they're so ahead of their time. and the courage they took took from back then too. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. So what was
Review of Yor: The Hunter from the Future
01:55:37
Speaker
your second film? So of course, the next film I saw to wash my palate was YOL!
01:55:45
Speaker
um All right. So I figured I would now I'll read my review of your and then you can do yours. Your. Then you can do yours. ah um
01:55:56
Speaker
Your. The hunter from the future. Cocaine is a hell of a drug. Well, we've only left the realm of our first three films and have gone full 80s.
01:56:09
Speaker
I bring you the Italian answer to Beastmaster, Conan, and Star Wars. It's Italian, feel like? Yeah. Director Antonio Margarete throws an awful wig on actor Reb Brown and tells you the story of yore. Not so bad. A wandering hunter who doesn't know where he belongs.
01:56:28
Speaker
Along the way, he finds his past is deeply rooted in the future.
01:56:35
Speaker
Does it have space lasers? Yes. Does it have dinosaurs? You bet. Crazy sand mummies? Led by a woman using the same technology as the people of yore? Yes, it does.
01:56:48
Speaker
ah has all of that, too. It's a wild, crazy piece of cheese whiz. and now Yes, cheese whiz. And now and then you need that whiz. It's all empty calories and we'll give you i will 100% give you cancer. But if you don't laugh, then you're not paying attention. That's perfect. Yore is cheese whiz. And if you like cheese whiz, you'll love yore.
01:57:10
Speaker
ah That's perfect. That was perfect, buddy. That was perfect. I wrote, your terrible fun. Your will have you yelling for more until you hit the 30 minute mark and you realize you've been staring up yours ass this whole time.
01:57:28
Speaker
I love blood, big fake monsters, and beautiful barbarian women. The best thing about your was its badass soundtrack. Ass, ass, ass.
01:57:41
Speaker
God damn, did you not see yours ass like for that whole movie? i was like, this movie is misogynistic, huh? But then the only ass I saw in that whole movie was yours. And I think, I mean, you see up his ass. Oh, you do. was like, okay. Yeah. Yours don't leave a lot to the imagination. i was like, that's fair.
01:58:00
Speaker
You know, it's primitive times. The loincloth don't cover much. You got to poop. But this is like the most Italian ripoff movie ever made. That's Italian film, huh? Oh, yeah. Why why ripoff movie?
01:58:13
Speaker
ah It's just a thing Italians love to do, man. But what was it ripping off? Oh, dude, that shit is like fucking Beastmaster. Like he talks to that. ah Did it coming around come out around the same time? Yeah. Because it gave me like Conan vibes. But I'm sure Conan came out way later.
01:58:30
Speaker
about the same time, I think. I think this is like 87 is your Conan came around the same. Damn, yours a piece of shit looking film, dude. I thought yours was in the 70s or something. No, dude. Yours like 87. Wow.
01:58:45
Speaker
I'm telling you, these Italian masters. um But I will say, in credit to your that I really felt was like, okay, this is fucking cool. What's the soundtrack? 1983 is your. I loved the soundtrack for your.
01:59:02
Speaker
Oh, yeah. it had it I was like, okay, this soundtrack, though, like most this film is shit. What I love is like this movie is just... It's so bad, it's good. But that soundtrack, it was like, no, this soundtrack is fire, as the kids say.
01:59:16
Speaker
But like I love that it's like... Some weird caveman dinosaur movie that all of a sudden there's fucking UFOs and spaceships and shit. And you're like, what the fuck is going on?
01:59:28
Speaker
And ah it's just so fucking absurd. There's big giant monster puppets. There's an army of robots. axe. That's the crazy thing because you see his axe and it looks dull as fuck.
01:59:41
Speaker
But then he the first dinosaur comes up and he's like, crack on its eye. it's like, wow. and all this blood. It's like, holy shit, that axe is fucking... What is it? Like, plus five to piercing damage? What's going on, man? He rolled a 20 on that axe. Shit, that dinosaur is gushy blood. Yeah, dude. And there's just so much, like, crazy shit in the movie that is so fun. Like, his caveman girlfriend is, like, gonna murder... Oh, she hates every woman because yours, like, you're likey. You're likey a lot. You're gonna be mine.
02:00:16
Speaker
And... You know, and she fucking like chokes out the bitch and she's like going to murder her ass and then she gets killed. It's just so funny how jealous. I love how you went to the turkey immediately and started talking about your. How jealous she was of every single woman.
02:00:34
Speaker
And even when Yor found his Aryan soulmate, right? Because it was interesting how the perfect humans genetically modified. Interesting how they were all blonde, blue-eyed.
02:00:48
Speaker
Italians, what can I say? And then his his soulmate was blonde and blue-eyed. But of course, his barbarian woman killed Arf led to her death.
02:01:00
Speaker
And then every other like hot chick that shows up, she's like... you you better not be looking at her too much and he's like uh-uh ain't looking at her no you're no like you're no like she's like one of those bitches that brings their dad along you know and yeah but her dad was pretty he was fucking awesome remember when he swung from the vine upside down with his legs and he's like Here, you're.
02:01:22
Speaker
but he flips. And then he flips, too. Yeah. And then I thought he was her dad was going to die or her guardian. It was her dad, right? No. Oh, i thought it was her Her parents died and he took her in. she's like a princess of the village.
02:01:36
Speaker
Oh, I don't know about that. chief pris What's a chieftain's princess? Well, her parents died, right? and Yeah. And then he took her under guardianship. Yeah, he was like, I'm going marry you. yeah No, but the dad was so cool, dude. No, the dad was the chief.
02:01:51
Speaker
Her dad was like the old chief or some shit. Oh, yeah. He definitely died. Yeah. Yeah, that fucking dinosaur. Because remember they were- Oh, no. The chief guy. And you know what's up with that? All the ugly cavemen are brown?
02:02:03
Speaker
They're mummies. Mummies? Motherfucker, would you see some toilet paper on their head? They weren't mummies. They weren't just brown people. They weren't wrapped mummies. They were just brown. were when you unwrapped the people.
02:02:16
Speaker
I was like, shit, man, this film. all ah All the darkies are the dumb barbarians. And all the Aryans? Well, they're the chosen people. Of course. Well, what I say? I'm not Aryan.
02:02:31
Speaker
but But I did find that funny. And you know, looking back at the these older films, you shouldn't critique them so hard on these ah points of view. Because it's like, ah, fuck you. you know If you were alive back then, you'd probably have the same point of view.
02:02:46
Speaker
Like ah Ninja 3 we'll get into. But... um But it does stand out, right? I mean, in this day and age when everyone's so critical of every, eat like, you fucking fart in the wrong direction. It's like, oh, you're a piece of shit.
02:03:00
Speaker
And there's no coming back. Yeah, there's no coming back. And and then at the Senate, it's like, take it easy, bro. It ain't affecting you that bad. Trust me. If you're on here, if you're on Reddit typing this shit, ain't affecting you that bad.
02:03:14
Speaker
Shit ain't that bad for you. got fucking phone. always think it's like, dude, social media is such bullshit because everyone complains using their phones. Yeah. You ain't staring down no dinosaur.
02:03:25
Speaker
Well, that's your. Well, let me see some other elements to... It was very fun. Terrible fun is what Oh, it was. It was another one of those so bad it's good because, I mean, your was like an hour and 30.
02:03:41
Speaker
Yeah. yeah Maybe a little longer than an hour and 30. um That's pushing it. It was. It was pushing it, but it didn't overstay its welcome.
02:03:52
Speaker
Bad movies always feel like they're too long, but yours is so epic that it should be. If it had a high budget, it'd be like a three-hour movie. But so hour and a half movie we feels like a three hour. That was perfect. You didn't have to do any more, any your than that. any You're already doing too much. But that was pretty cool. And it flew. They flew away on that airplane spaceship.
02:04:13
Speaker
Yeah. And then I was like, holy shit, is that a real airplane that they designed as a spaceship? Because then it actually flew. Yeah. I was like, drones didn't fucking exist back then. know how they did it. This shit is actually, right? As the spaceship flew into the sunset?
02:04:27
Speaker
Yeah. That was pretty fucking cool. um Bang all the women. I love that. That Conan aspect. Because Yor was like, you're like you.
02:04:40
Speaker
You're no longer alone. And then she was like, you gotta marry me. And he was like, ugh. But I will say, one of the... ah
02:04:52
Speaker
One of the aspects that when you see this film and you know what you're in for is when you saw the vanity card and it said, oh no, that was for Ninja 3. That's for Ninja 3. Sorry.
02:05:04
Speaker
I wrote this before I did the Ninja 3 review. An old-fashioned canon-esque movie that at least exploited the men instead.
02:05:15
Speaker
So, you know, you can be critical of it because it kind of had this misogynistic tones, but it's like, whose ass were you looking up the most? Yours. Because I was like, oh, that blonde chick. Let me see.
02:05:28
Speaker
She was fully clothed. Yours, just, you know, swipe, swipe. Oh, the chieftain chick. Swipe, swipe. I will say- Oh, the tribal chick by the beach. Come on, you're swipe, swipe.
02:05:38
Speaker
Compared to some things, they were very restrained in the- They were. In the- yeah female department. Exactly. You got to give some credit because the only ass I saw what was yours. it was And after a certain was like, God damn. Far more respectful than a Deathstalker. Far more respectful than ah um you know any other kind of 80s movie. Even Ninja 3. Yeah.
02:06:03
Speaker
Yeah. yeah And it was like, look, dude. If you think this is misogynistic, what are you really watching? Because all I see is a man's ass in my face. Yeah, you are.
Masterpiece of Harakiri
02:06:14
Speaker
It was fun. It was good fun. but So what's next? So next, after having to cleanse my palate from yours, was Harakiri.
02:06:25
Speaker
Oh, we're going into Harakiri. Okay. You want to read your review? Sure. After I get refill.
02:06:41
Speaker
Harakiri, let's go. Let's sit back with this because... This is my longest by not even close. Spoilers. Harakiri. Masterpiece. It's a fucking masterpiece. My last word on the my review.
02:06:55
Speaker
Masterpiece. Without a doubt. it's it's Because Karen was watching it with me and then I i think... Wow. Kids pulled her aside, I i believe. So I was just left watching it and I was just like...
02:07:08
Speaker
holy shit, this is ah fucking masterpiece. This fucking film's a masterpiece. And I was like, goddamn, Tom, what are you making me watch? but you know yeah I got a a matter of life and death, which, I mean, I wouldn't say it's a masterpiece, but certainly it's it's a it's a movie of historical value. you know It's that good.
02:07:31
Speaker
It's like, this is a movie to watch historically. And then I see Yorn, it's like, this is a movie to forget. You haven't watched any movie that existed. And then to see Harakiri, and it's like, holy shit.
02:07:47
Speaker
ah This is a movie of movies. Yes. You know? So, what I wrote was, what can I say other than a masterpiece? That fortunately for me sent me on a spiral into watching other masterpieces, which I think I mentioned on here. i saw Eight and a Half, Fallen Angels,
02:08:09
Speaker
um ah Rebel Without a Cause. I feel like I saw one more. Maybe not. But yeah I was just like, oh my God, watch all their movies.
02:08:21
Speaker
A film that can inspire any filmmaker, including myself. With our film, which was that sting. Yeah, that's cool. That's interesting, yeah.
02:08:33
Speaker
And then this is real short. A beautiful film, because i I kind of don't want to... I don't really want to... ah get too deep into this movie because I think it's worth just... do a little bit....watching. Well, I don't want to be too spoiler heavy with the story because I think it is worth watching.
02:08:54
Speaker
um A beautiful film that elevates Japanese cinema as a whole. Unfortunately, after watching Harakiri, it will make you want to commit seppuku after watching any following film.
02:09:07
Speaker
And then I have some interesting facts. Interesting fact... Harakiri is considered the quintessential samurai movie, as stated by the internet.
02:09:19
Speaker
Another interesting aspect, I watched a YouTube short on Harakiri verseppuku because I've always understood. So in Harakiri, they go to commit Harakiri to save their honor as samurais, which is essentially suicide, right? Because the Japanese believe if If you lose, then the only way to preserve your honor is to commit suicide.
02:09:48
Speaker
Yeah. And so from osmosis, or no, fuck, I watch animes, motherfucker. Through watching all that shit, it's always called sepulchre.
02:10:01
Speaker
So another interesting aspect, I watched a YouTube short on Harakiri versus Seppuku, the differences. The title Harakiri, which could be a title that I think got mixed up, you know, just bad translation or something, but more likely a genius foreshadow.
02:10:22
Speaker
I didn't notice what the characters were saying because I was trying to watch the frame and then the subtitles and they speak fast. So, you know, you- Yeah, there's a lot. reminded it a lot to to get the subtitles. There's a lot of talking. Yeah.
02:10:36
Speaker
ah But what the samurai went to do yeah what they went to do at the is that how you pronounce it? you anyway Ii-wei? Ii-wei? Ii-wei?
02:10:48
Speaker
um At the Ii-wei clan. Yeah, Ii-wei. And what they assisted with was actually seppuku, which is the ritual aspect of suicide by disembowelment, followed by a second decapitating the protect the practitioner.
02:11:05
Speaker
Whereas Harakiri is a less formal version of seppuku with possibly only disembowelment. And in the film, you see less formal acts of ritual suicide. so I was like...
02:11:22
Speaker
Hmm. Is this like genius that you call it harakiri because no one actually commits seppuku because seppuku is are a very... Well, hold on. Maybe you can enlighten me on this because seppuku is a very ritualistic practice that...
02:11:39
Speaker
You know, you you cut your... You disembowel yourself, and then, i guess as a show of mercy, you have your second person cut your head off so you don't suffer that pain. I would say the film shows you both versions of the term.
02:11:55
Speaker
Well, I don't think it does. Because... I don't think it does because... The boy does it. No. Seppuku. He doesn't. He does disembowel. He starts... No, no, no.
02:12:07
Speaker
But he doesn't because he has to do it with a fake... Yes. A wooden blade. He does it with a fake wasashi, I think is the ah short sword. That's wooden.
02:12:17
Speaker
Yeah, he does it with it made out of bamboo. So that's not Seppuku because Seppuku's like... you know And Hayakiri is like this kind of ugly, dirty thing like what the film also got into, which was very historically accurate, which I appreciated because the Japanese glorify samurai so much, but don't glorify ronin.
02:12:44
Speaker
and the ronin are the dirty ones, right? They're the samurai without a lord, the masterless samurai. is this what you wrote? No, this is what i'm talking about. well Well, then let me read mine. no, no, but this was an interesting fact. Okay.
02:12:56
Speaker
But then, you know, um then the person does, tries to do seppuku, but it's so dirty and ugly, and then it's like, Okay, well, then maybe, yeah, Harakiri, no one does actual seppuku. No one actually truly has that formal ritualistic right to preserve their honor. They just preserve their honor out of Harakiri as opposed to seppuku.
02:13:25
Speaker
I just found that very interesting because you know you always hear about seppuku, but this is the first time I've ever actually heard of harakiri as the alternative to that.
02:13:36
Speaker
And then in the YouTube short, they were saying like, no one really says harakiri because that's so informal. People just say seppuku because that is the like formal right ritualistic practice. Right.
02:13:52
Speaker
Go ahead. Sorry. Okay. My review, are you ready? so Oh, sorry. Round carry too much. Yes. good You're good. you Harakiri. The 60s belonged to the Japanese.
02:14:05
Speaker
Sure, the 50s had some outstanding seminar cooking in Japan. The 60s saw a rise in kick-ass samurai films, yet... You are as critical of Japanese culture, history, and cruelty as Harakiri.
02:14:19
Speaker
Cruelty? Cruelty as Harakiri, directed by Masaki Kobayashi. This is a film that takes place during the Edo period of Japan, ah time of the ronin.
02:14:30
Speaker
Harakiri starts as a poor and down-on-his-luck samurai, well, son of a former samurai, Sugomo. See, there are rumors of samurai seeking harakiri seppuku self-difference embellishment as a form of keeping their honor at the remaining clans in power.
02:14:46
Speaker
We're offering money so that the ronins would not be disgraced. This desperate Chichiwa brings only wooden swords in which he is forced to use in the ritual. Cut to Hashiro Tsugumo, who shows up shortly after telling a tale of his fate and mocking the clan as to their adherence to Bushido and the hypocrisy therefor.
02:15:09
Speaker
The film tells a devastating tale of the end of the Sugoku period and the collapse of many prominent clans. Many leaders who did the ritual of Harakiri left many poor ronin desperate to make a new life in the new Japan.
02:15:22
Speaker
As the story unravels, you begin to understand more and more the desperation and utter defeat suffered by Honshiro Sugumo and his rage, not only at the clan who cruelly disgraced him, but those who have forsaken him.
02:15:34
Speaker
The gorgeous look of the film coupled with the outstanding acting from all involved, Harukiri will leave you enthralled throughout. You know where it's going, but you wish to all the heavens for things to be different.
02:15:48
Speaker
But there can never be anything different. Then there is no one to answer for the cruelties and suffering nature of humanity for those who stand against the fight with everything hoped to sow a seed of change.
02:16:00
Speaker
Harakiri is one of those films that stays with you long after the final credit has rolled. 10 out of 10, a masterpiece.
02:16:10
Speaker
So yeah, in case you're curious, i absolutely loved Harakiri.
02:16:18
Speaker
um There are no weak aspects to the film. you are You bear witness to a piece of history and...
02:16:31
Speaker
ah the movie just, and there's something just about realistic or what feels like a realistic form of, of fighting in the samurai style in those films. Like you go watch that in Kira, Kurosawa films, like just the, the frantic fighting, um, of the, of sword fighting samurais and of that time. And,
02:17:01
Speaker
It just feels so desperate. And it also shows the difference between... like they capture that a little bit too. like The difference between like how soft and how easy these new samurai have it. They're still part of a clan that has it easy. like They don't know hardship type of thing. like it's It's done so well.
02:17:24
Speaker
Such a beautiful film. Well, I'm glad you you broke down the film in your review because I think this this one specifically does require kind of a synopsis for what happened.
02:17:35
Speaker
One of the things i I really loved about this film was that, you know, there was that time of peace that happened in Japanese history where the samurai weren't necessary.
02:17:47
Speaker
Right. And so a lot of the samurai became ronin because they're like, well, we're not going to pay for you guys. There's a time of peace. What do we need samurai for? What do we need soldiers for? And a lot of times samurai were just glorified people who just got to sit around and do nothing because, hey, if some other clan is attacking us, well, then that's when you're going to be called.
02:18:11
Speaker
But that didn't always happen. You know, they were kind of just these glorified figures. And then once this time of peace comes, well, then there's no need for any of them. And as a result, all of these samurai don't know, have any actual skills outside of combat or warfare. So then it's like, well, what good are you? Mm-hmm.
02:18:32
Speaker
and And so a lot of these samurai just fall on hard times. And it's just like this desperate period for this class of people who were once elevated, who have now lost all of that and are in ruin. And the film does this great, like almost juxtaposition of...
02:18:50
Speaker
The samurai that remained, they are just more like a figure yeah of the past than they were of anything of power because you show once in this, i don't know how I don't want to get into too many spoilers, but, and I talked about this a little bit in the review, at the end of the review, is there's this clear distinction that the film makes between samurai that saw fighting in the battle and the young new samurai that had never seen shit And you see like just the way that
02:19:23
Speaker
the it almost looks silly in a sense because yeah the the boys, the new samurai, the samurai that never fought, how cowardly and one if it very much how hesitantly they approach and how the fights feel.
02:19:41
Speaker
They feel so much like these. It does critique itself, right? Yeah. it It doesn't glamorize the samurai. like to be that It's not like ah does not a ninja scroll, right? With this badass ninja, which isn't a samurai. But still, you know you get my point. like It's not glamorizing this figure. It's it's kind of criticizing it too, like the silliness of it.
02:20:04
Speaker
For instance, Sugomo. the lead ah protagonist in this film. Yeah. What does he do after he's no longer a samurai? He's just making umbrellas and fo and ah fans.
02:20:17
Speaker
Mm-hmm. And it's not even enough. He doesn't even do it good enough To make a ah really good living and then they go off into their village, you know, and have their vacation home.
02:20:28
Speaker
Yeah. It's not a not nothing romantic. He's just making this shit to just have enough money to support himself. Yeah. Really. and And I love that aspect of this film that it just doesn't glamorize any of that, which you see in so many, at least modern Japanese um media.
02:20:49
Speaker
You know, they they glamorize the samurai quite a bit. um One of the other things I loved about this film were the characters. And what I loved was the change of perspective.
02:21:04
Speaker
For instance, Chijiwa. The young kid samurai, right? Where you first see him at the Iwa? What did you say? Iwa Iwa? Iwa.
02:21:16
Speaker
Which one do you prefer? i think it's Iwa. When you first see him going Iwa Castle. Or IU? IU? by you It's I-Y-U. It's I-Y-I.
02:21:27
Speaker
It's I-Y-U. I have it as I-Y-I because I wrote it down because I forgot these names.
02:21:36
Speaker
I don't even know. Well... Did I write it down? He goes to this castle from this lord. And what a lot of the samurai are doing are going to this castle to come in. And they're like, hey, don't do this in my fucking backyard. Here's some money. Go away.
02:21:51
Speaker
Yeah. And so you just see this character, this like hustler, right? Just trying to get some money out of these people. and they're like, no, motherfucker, we ain't giving you no money to go away. You want to kill yourself in our courtyard?
02:22:04
Speaker
Go ahead. And you see him, right? Chijawa, like as this coward, this cowardly hustler who's going to kill himself. But by the end of the film, you see him literally as the most honorable samurai.
02:22:19
Speaker
Well, because... You see his... you see the desperation behind his act. Well, I wouldn't even say that. Well, yes, yes absolutely the desperation behind his act because he literally commits seppuku or harakiri with a bamboo sword.
02:22:38
Speaker
Which he has to stab himself multiple times. Like he's literally just trying to stab his gut over and over and over with the bamboo sword. And they're like, drag it over, drag it over. yeah and it's only because it's pointed and they know that it's not a real sword.
02:22:54
Speaker
They force him into this. They know it's not a real sword. So finally he's able to stab into himself yeah at the point. And after they've had enough, they just chop his fucking off. he can't even drag it across himself because it's not sharpened.
02:23:09
Speaker
but you see the honor in him in the sense that his honor is to his family. And, you know, there's there's some things that are going to get lost because... He didn't just go work at McDonald's? Well, but yeah. Well, while in samurai culture, it's kind of like Native American culture where the topknot, that's a sign of like high respect, and to lose a topknot is is a sign of great insult.
02:23:40
Speaker
And I'll get into this in a little bit more. But also within the film, your katana, yeah That's like your soul. yeah That is your being as a samurai, your katana. That's where you exist.
02:23:55
Speaker
The wakasashi or whatever it's called, the short sword that's work that you would disembowel yourself, that's more for a flight fighting in close quarters, but the katana is your sword of honor.
02:24:10
Speaker
And Chijawa sells that. in order to afford healthcare, care literally healthcare, fuck the CEOs, right?
02:24:23
Speaker
To afford fucking healthcare care for his family and his yeah sick child. He's willing to sell his sword because he values his family more than that.
02:24:34
Speaker
And earlier in the film, he disparages any samurai who would go to any castle to commit harakiri in order to extort money out of the clan.
02:24:48
Speaker
Right, because essentially... and And how much of a disgrace that is. Essentially, it gets pitched like, this might not be a terrible idea. Well, it's like, no, it is a terrible idea. I would never do that. but Exactly. But he has to resort to such low efforts or not low efforts. He has to resort to such desperation.
02:25:12
Speaker
To save his family. And so you see this Chijewa character in the film, like within the first 15, 20 minutes, you just see him as like this despicable hustler. You're like, yeah, fucking make him commit hard to carry. Fuck that guy.
02:25:26
Speaker
You know what he's trying to do. He's just trying to get some money out of you motherfuckers. But then the film reverses that and you see him as, in my opinion, the most respectable character because he gives up literally everything, including his life to help his family.
02:25:46
Speaker
But of course, he's a samurai and he's obliged by the laws of the samurai. And so, you know, there's a point where he's like, no, no, no, just give me a day. Just give me a couple of days. I'll come back. I swear I'm going to commit harakiri.
02:26:00
Speaker
ah I'll do it, man. I'm ready. I'm i'm fucking killing myself, bro. I'll kill myself. Just give me a couple of days and I'll come back. I promise. Yeah. And you're like, fuck this guy. Nah, he's just trying to get out that He ain't never back. He ain't never coming back.
02:26:12
Speaker
But then you realize like he's still obliged by these samurai obligations and these laws that, yeah, he just wanted a couple days to tell his family.
02:26:23
Speaker
Yeah. It didn't work. I didn't work. ah My bluff didn't work. But also- I got to do this thing. Maybe take those two days to like sell everything he has to get the medicine for his kids. hey, you guys, listen, I got to do this.
02:26:39
Speaker
So you guys have to prepare for the aftermath. Yeah, or like go to stepdaddy and be like- You got to get that baby. Hey, papa- You got to get that other daddy. You got to get that sugar daddy. like Maybe you sell your sort, papa. You know, shit.
02:26:54
Speaker
Yeah. So- I love that. And honestly, um i had no idea where any of this was going watching this film because like I had mentioned earlier, like I've seen so many films, I can kind of guess where films are going. But i was like, wait, Chichiwa is not this despicable character. You're now showing him as a young boy that's like a part of this honorable samurai family and this really respectable character. It's like, how did we get from here to there? Like,
02:27:24
Speaker
Yeah. And there's the unreliable narration coming from. Like how, how did this happen? And, and, ah and that engrossed me in the film more. Like I was just like, holy shit. Like, i don't know what's going to happen.
02:27:35
Speaker
I did not expect this to be that I did not expect this despicable hustler to then become this magnificent, honorable person.
02:27:48
Speaker
yeah. Which was really nice for me because you know just not being able to figure out a story right away. like i i really value that because so many films, especially in cinema, so many films fucking copy off each other, man. Yeah. you know you've seen a few If you see all of the masterpieces, you've probably seen every other film after that.
02:28:10
Speaker
Exactly. you know You've seen something of it, yeah. But then... The other character to talk about is the badass Sugomo, right? The protagonist, right? no Yeah.
02:28:23
Speaker
And like you were talking about. So, I mean, not to get into spoilers, but the Iyuu clan. I'm going to say Iyuu. The Iyuu clan has their master swordsman.
02:28:39
Speaker
Their top, the top motherfucker. Yeah. Yeah. And there's a point where i don't want to give too much away. um God. There's so many good aspects of this film where you're like...
02:28:51
Speaker
I want him to be my second. Oh, he's sick. I want him to be my second. Oh, well, he's sick. I want him to be my second. Well, he's sick too. Yeah. Okay, you you call it all the sick motherfuckers out. What's going on here? you know I'm going to kill myself yeah for you guys. And you're telling me you can't even bring in your best guy?
02:29:09
Speaker
Someone here to me? Come on, I'm killing myself here. This ain't no fucking joke. I'm actually going to do it. And then I was like, well, these guys are saying they're sick. They're they're not dead. Like, what's going on here? And Sugomo with their top swordsman, I thought that was one of the most badass lines where he was like, and this is a little spoiler-ly, but not to give too much spoilers. He's like, it would have been easier to take his head than it would have been to take his top knot.
02:29:44
Speaker
yeah it was like, holy fucking shit. And Sugomo is going around taking the top knots off of these samurai. He's not killing them.
02:29:56
Speaker
And it's the sweetest revenge. He's taking their top knots because you know that's a that's another form of honor. you know like Next to the katana, you have the top knot, which is, you take my top knot, you might as well have fucking taken my head at that point. And it also goes to show...
02:30:15
Speaker
How pathetic and cowardly the clan is because they're hiding out, being sick, growing it back. those men, right? They don't want to come out because they want to grow it back in time. So no one knows. So they're sick. That's why he's like, he can't show his face. But also, like you said, the ah inexperienced samurai versus the experienced samurai. Because even Sugomo humbly says, like...
02:30:36
Speaker
Well, I'm not that experienced. The last time I actually fought was 16 years ago. And before that, who knows, he may never never have even fought. But he would he's seen enough combat to know not to stand in the fucking wind when it's hitting your eyes.
02:30:52
Speaker
yeah But their top swordsman, with all his training, all his schooling, he didn't know the simple aspects of actual warfare, right? Like not to be downwind where the sand is kicking up in your eyes.
02:31:06
Speaker
And i was like, oh my God, that's, that's so beautiful. That's so fucking cool, man. yeah That's so fucking cool. And then also, Right. He ain't Neo from the Matrix.
02:31:17
Speaker
Right. He's just that dude from Platoon. Right. He's just, what you know, like he's just the guy that's seen some shit. Yeah. Yeah. What was it? Doctor whatever in ah Scrubs.
02:31:31
Speaker
Is that who you talking about? Platoon? Yeah, no, yeah, yeah, no. Which are you talking about? Not Tom Berenger or Willem Dafoe. No, yeah, the kid. Oh, Charlie Sheen. Charlie Sheen, right? I thought you were talking about the doctor from Scrubs who fakes that he's dead. Oh, yeah. And he's like, I'm alive, man, I'm alive. And he gets up.
02:31:50
Speaker
No, no, I just mean, he's just like a Charlie Sheen, right? Like, he was just a guy that was there and he saw some shit and he learned some shit. He learned enough shit to know, don't stand down win, motherfucker. But it also showed how badass he was.
02:32:03
Speaker
And one of the aspects I liked about how, I mean, he's such a rich character, dude. Because you're introduced him as this like hard badass.
02:32:15
Speaker
And then to go into Miho and Kingo. Oh, yeah. And their fates. He's so good with them. As a parent, Kingo is like, King go, no. that was That was heartbreaking.
02:32:27
Speaker
And how quickly it all happened. That was a heartbreaking scene. just shows like, and him as like a samurai, he's just sitting there. He has no idea what to do. yeah He's just watching his grandson slowly slip away, his daughter slip away. And and then they just dump his fucking corpse in the fucking house. Chijewa's corpse in the house.
02:32:51
Speaker
And it's just, and then- Yeah, I mean, the tragedy of Miho, right? Because they were offering her to be a cocubine where she would have lived a very lavish life and she would have been happy.
02:33:04
Speaker
But he was like, no, I don't want that for my daughter, you sick fuck. I want her to be with someone she loves and she who she's going to be happy with. And she was. And they were all happy. And you see Tsugomo...
02:33:18
Speaker
You first see him as this hard character and he's like, no, I'm here to commit Harakiri. I ain't that motherfucker who was here a month ago. I'm here to do it. Yeah. I'm here to die today. Yeah.
02:33:31
Speaker
And you believe it. But then you see this juxtaposition of his character where he's happy and he's playing with the kid and he's buying him toys. he's singing to the so happy and it's just like, oh my God, how do we go from here to here?
02:33:46
Speaker
um I'll tell you. The film will show you. Yeah, and the film shows you that journey, that arc of all of every single character. it shows you the arc of all these characters.
02:33:59
Speaker
Not so much Miho or Kingo because they're more side pieces. But that final fight of Sugomo, like I loved it so much because... you know i You know, all these Marvel films, they go around.
02:34:14
Speaker
Like, it was cool back in Vampire Hunter D days where it's like, yeah, he's fucking killing everyone. But now you see John Wick killing like 5,000 guys and nothing's stopping him.
02:34:26
Speaker
But Sugomo? Nah. He killed four dudes ah ah in a castle. He was surrounded by like 20 people at all times. He kills four guys and he injures eight.
02:34:38
Speaker
Yeah. That's all. That's it. That's all he does. And I was thinking how interesting it was because he was fighting to not die. And all of them were like apprehensive, not attacking him. It's because, like yeah, this motherfucker is surrounded by 20 people. How's he getting out of this? Am I going to be the first one lunge in and get killed?
02:34:59
Speaker
So you see all these samurai apprehensive, right? And you see him being this badass, like, yeah, motherfucker, I cut you. I cut you. and then he I felt like he would, at that point, it's just rage personified. like He knew he's not getting out of there, and so he was just he ride and die he was just trying to fucking take as many motherfuckers with him as he could. because But also at the same time, it's like, you're still stabbing me with a spear or a sword. yes and And that hurts. yeah So it's like, you know, also fighting to kill, but also fighting not to die.
02:35:35
Speaker
But he knew he was going to die. But the apprehension of death at the face of Harakiri, the fear of the, what what was the planes in World War Where they crashed. Oh, um oh shit. Kamikaze. Kamikaze.
02:35:53
Speaker
The fear of the kamikaze, right? Like Godzilla. I didn't want to die, man. of I'm scared of kamikazes. Right? there's yeah that There's that actual fear of you know your life is now not going to be it. And Sugomo, he was humble enough to be like, yeah, I'm here to kill myself. But yeah, you know I'm not ready to die just yet. I want it to be in a specific way. Because I feel like the thing was...
02:36:18
Speaker
His whole life was over. and to He had nothing essentially to piss on the ashes is what these guys did. Yeah, because they laughed at Chijua for disemboweling himself with a bamboo sword. It's like, you're going to laugh at this motherfucker that killed himself with chopsticks? like Yeah.
02:36:41
Speaker
And the thing like too- Like, come on. And the thing is- Like, before he even knows, like, how fucked up it is, that motherfucker already got the top dots. You what saying? He already had the top dots. Yeah. It was just... Because, you know, the the EU clan, I mean, they easily could have just paid everyone off.
02:37:03
Speaker
But they chose not to because they didn't want to be exploited and they didn't want other samurai to come there and exploit them. But it was never really an issue of finance.
02:37:14
Speaker
yeah It was just like, I just don't want anyone to bum more more money off of me. yeah That was it. i don't want to give any fucking freeloaders more They didn't want to set a precedent that they will pay out.
02:37:27
Speaker
To be known as a clan that will pay out. That's it. That's it. There was... There's no indication that it would actually burden them other than to be known as a clan that would pay back. They were that guy that didn't want to loan money to the drug addict because they know he's just going to be back the next day asking for the same amount of money.
02:37:45
Speaker
Exactly. And it's like, well, yeah, you don't want to give money to those freeloaders. But then, of course. Right. When he runs out, he'll be right back. And then we're going to pay him off again. yeah exactly. and And you can understand that.
02:37:58
Speaker
But then you also see the other side. And just, it was so refreshing to also see Sugomo, who you wanted. I mean, I was like, okay, I'm ready for him to kill every motherfucker in this fucking castle. That's what I thought. He's going to take every fucking head. Dude, I 100% thought this was going to be a kill bill. Not only did I think that, I wanted that. I wanted that.
02:38:20
Speaker
I wanted that revenge. I thought it was going to be the bride versus the 88s. I thought it was going to be that. i thought that's what koop I thought that's what Tarantino stole it from was going to be this. wanted him, but then it was realistic. It's the real, and it's like so heartbreaking because it's like it's so desperate.
02:38:35
Speaker
it Yes. like he all he like He only killed four people, which is a lot, but he's this badass samurai dude. He's like literally bested their top samurai. But what I like, too, is kind of when he stops and the dead end of the chase...
02:38:53
Speaker
or the rampage, the dead end is the honorable samurai armor, right? It's this yeah it's like it's the symbol of what the samurai is. Well, the EU clan too. It's their armor. Oh yeah, I didn't even think of the samurai as a whole.
02:39:10
Speaker
yeah so It's like, right, it's this the armor the samurai has. symbol of that, yes yeah. And then what did what does he do? He just grabs onto it, bleeding and like just tearing it down. like Tearing it down and using it as a shield, right? Exactly. Just throwing it at them. Like the symbol of the samurai, the symbol of your clan and just disgracing it. And just chucking at them. And then what does he do?
02:39:33
Speaker
fucking disembowels himself right there, right right after essentially pissing on the samurai. Because the whole thing is he's just like, you you had no honor. like Because he's like, yeah, okay. well he also came here my my My son-in-law came here to fucking kill himself. I get that.
02:39:51
Speaker
But you didn't have the honor to give him a fucking sword. You didn't have the honor to grant him the actual thing. Like you essentially- Like the couple days he requested. Exactly. You couldn't give him- To get his shit in order? He would have come back.
02:40:06
Speaker
His baby, like, when my baby died, my grandson died, then my daughter died, and I kill you, motherfucker. But what they talked about, right, was the phoniness of the samurai, right? Yeah, exactly. facade of it all, right? that's what he was quite That's what I love about this movie. It didn't glory it was like questioning...
02:40:26
Speaker
The samurai. It was like, you believe you follow Bushido? You believe you have fucking honor? You have no honor. You're fucking fat, rich pigs. And I have no honor here too because I'm fucking lying to you and I'm here to get my fucking revenge on you. Exactly. And then it ends so beautifully because it just shows how callous and just gross it all is because the lord of the castle is like all those men who had top knots Anyone who was injured beyond repair from Sugomo, say they were sick and force them to mit to commit Harakiri.
02:41:06
Speaker
Yeah. And they did not commit Harakiri. They just died from sickness. We're going to not only cover it up, but we're going to force them to die the way all of the others died. Yeah. And it was like...
02:41:19
Speaker
I mean, yes, I wanted to see the Lord die because it was like, fuck that guy of all people. Yeah, that's the one you want to see die. you know, like, is he wrong? I mean, these motherfuckers are coming to his castle kill themselves and get some money out of him, and he's saying no. And that's the thing is it's also just so real.
02:41:34
Speaker
like Exactly. Of course that guy don't die. That ain't the guy that dies. He ain't the guy. He's the guy who runs and lives. What's the the song? I ain't a fortunate son. he ain't no fortunate son, man. No shit.
02:41:47
Speaker
I ain't a senator's kid. Yeah. He ain't the guy that dies. And it's just like. But that Daimyo, he's a. It's poignant. And the way he orders everyone else to die, who they can't cover it up with, has to die time.
02:42:04
Speaker
terrifying death of like, and then no one also gets know. It's not even just killing yourself. It's like, I'm going disembowel myself. Like how scary is that? Right. As a death. I know. It's like, like, can't you give me some cyanide pills or something? All right. Well, so, and to wrap up, um, I would say this is my, ah favorite film, um, by far.
02:42:28
Speaker
I think oh yeah this was this was a standout of my favorite. One of the other aspects I wanted to comment on it, and I think maybe it lean lee are maybe it's due to like Japanese architecture, but the cinematography, man.
02:42:49
Speaker
Just Japanese cinematography is so geometrical. You know, to just follow these clean lines and just the way it lines up with everything.
02:42:59
Speaker
oh my God. I just... It made me think of Tokyo Story a lot. I love that too. I just love that geometrical... era of Japanese cinema. The camera is so still.
02:43:10
Speaker
It's so beautiful. it just Every angle is just so gorgeous. They just... Even if it's still- Sometimes the camera moves sometimes. It's just like a perfectly framed- Yeah. Sometimes they'll pan. Sometimes they'll do. But for the most part, that camera is just- But even when it pans, it's like perfectly framed pan into perfect framing.
02:43:30
Speaker
Yeah. And it just lines up with like but the lines- Beautiful. The architecture of the building. It just frames it nicely. Just- I guess Japanese architecture to me within the framing of these films is just a lot of linear lines and squares, rectangles, and then just lining that that frame up along those rectangles and squares.
02:43:52
Speaker
And it just, everything just sits nicely in that frame. And it's just gorgeous. Do you know what aspect ratio this was? i i didn't catch that. don't know. I feel like it's just probably like standard.
02:44:06
Speaker
Because Tokyo Story, I think, is four by three. Let me see. I think Tokyo Story is a very square aspect ratio. Harakiri, don't recall it. um But even still within that aspect ratio, it just framed it up so nice. Yeah. it's So beautifully. It's like so it's staed the standard 2.35 1. What the fuck is that?
02:44:29
Speaker
We're 2 by 1 for our film. but Yeah. Pretty rectangle. So it's a little bit more. It's little bit more rectangular? Yeah. Yeah, I mean, just the cinematography in this film. It's like the anamorphic two-by-one type of thing, maybe.
02:44:45
Speaker
Oh, okay. I don't know. The cinematography.
02:44:51
Speaker
right, Kitty, I can't say enough. I know we gave a lot of spoilers, even though I i didn't want to. I know, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. But it's kind of a hard film to talk about without the spoilers. It's also a movie that... Because it's a film of revelation.
02:45:03
Speaker
ah Because it also yeah's kind of starts at the end. Yeah. And then you kind of go back. So yeah. Yeah. Like the usual, so like literally all the story is before yeah we get to the present.
02:45:16
Speaker
You start at the end, then you go to the beginning and then the very end is the very, very end. Yeah. So i I love this film.
Suspense in Les Diaboliques
02:45:24
Speaker
What's, what's next?
02:45:27
Speaker
So the next film after Harakiri because you don't want to just end on downer. um So you kind of have to try to follow it up. So was Le Diabolique. Oh, Le Diabolique.
02:45:41
Speaker
And do you want to do your review first? Well, I did mine first. So how do you feel? I'll go first. Okay. Les Diaboliques, or The Devils, a black and white psychological horror film in the same vein as Psycho, which would come out a few years after its release.
02:46:00
Speaker
Henry Georges Clouseau sets the world for Les Diaboliques, a boarding school set in Paris, is run by the tyrannical husband of Christina. His mistress also, who works at the school. What the mistress's name?
02:46:12
Speaker
um I don't know. I didn't write that. i can If I didn't write No one ever remembers the mistress. um Plots with k Christina to murder the bastard and take to school over themselves.
02:46:24
Speaker
But murder is never a simple thing. ah descent into madness, paranoia, and mystery sends these two devils spiraling out of control throughout this 114-minute
02:46:35
Speaker
Clouseau uses the black and white cinematography done by Armand Thriard to great effect, making the shadows a place to fear. constant sense A constant sense of unease and anxiety as plans unravel and we lose ourselves as much as poor Christina.
02:46:52
Speaker
A beautiful and haunting piece of classic cinema overshadowed by the popularity and force of a film like Psycho. Much like Preschberger's Peeping Tom, Les Diaboliques is a film that inspires, haunts, and causes you to hold your breath as everything begins to spiral out of control.
02:47:11
Speaker
So before I get into my review, let me ask you this. What was your standout aspect of Les Diaboliques? i The performances, to me, the acting, I thought was phenomenal.
02:47:26
Speaker
um Like when he slapped her, was like, oh,
02:47:31
Speaker
And also just... Kill him! The suspense is real. What would I would say, the aspect that sounds out the most, honestly, kind of the suspense. It's really potable. It's fucking, like, it hurts kind of watching it because you're just like...
02:47:46
Speaker
Like, bitch, shut up. Shut up, bitch. There's so many times, right, where they're like, they are almost caught. Almost something really. and then as it's almost And then it's set up to be designed that way.
02:47:58
Speaker
Like, oh, my God, it's so brilliant. And how it unfolds, so brilliant. And that suspense, it's like you only wish as a filmmaker to be able to capture that much suspense. Like, when they're doing the pool,
02:48:11
Speaker
Right? And there she's just like, they're going get the pool. And then she pushes the kid into the fucking water. Yeah, dude. It's like, what the fuck are you doing? Goddamn, bitch. Just shut the fuck up. Shut the fuck up. I know. it's there You know? And it's like, shit. You're just like, your heart's pounding and racing. And then it's like, you know, we found the body. like And it's like, who fucking knows? Like, who else fucking knows?
02:48:36
Speaker
How does anyone fucking know, man? Yeah. Right? And you're just like, The whole time you're like thinking, there's a twist. Where's the twist? Like, where's the twist going to come from? Where's the mystery going to resolve itself?
02:48:50
Speaker
Heavy spoilers from this film. That midway twist of the body not being found where it should have been found. Yeah. i was like, what the fuck? What the fuck? it like I was like, is this supernatural? What the fuck's going on? Like, holy shit. You know, I mean, like I said, at the three quarters mark, i was like, I think I know what's going on.
02:49:11
Speaker
But when that happened, I was just like, what? What? The body's not in. It was so simple. Especially with the way ah he looked after he dies, after the wife and the mistress kill the husband.
02:49:28
Speaker
I was like, oh, that motherfucker dead. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Like the way he looked, I was like, he's clearly dead. And then when they were like, And then they dump the body in a pool at the school. Rhymes.
02:49:43
Speaker
um And then they're going to ignore it, pretend like, oh, he just fell in drunk one night. And then when the body's not in there, was just like, what? What?
02:49:55
Speaker
ah Excuse me? What just happened? Because you the beautiful thing about the film is as it unravels, it starts to make more and more sense. Yes, as it should.
02:50:07
Speaker
also, it's... and also ah it's ah But it throws you that curveball in the middle of the point. This film is it's so French in the way of how fucking cruel the French can be.
02:50:21
Speaker
Explain yourself. You know, when we watch a lot... If you ever start getting into French films, you start to really see that like French motherfuckers, they are fucking mean. like They don't fuck around, huh? They go grim dark and they do not blush. They don't wink at the camera. It's just...
02:50:39
Speaker
I mean, to to talk about a film, even a film like Breathless, right? Like how fucking bleak that fucking film can be. Yeah, mean, he literally starts the film off with killing people. Yes. Right?
02:50:50
Speaker
Yeah. And you're just like, we are in love. Murder, murder, murder. right Here we are Breathless. But, you know and then to go into this film...
02:51:01
Speaker
And at first you think, man, maybe, like, was he that bad to, like, deserve being murdered? And then you're kind of going along with it. Well, it's being like a victim, right? because Because then he's nice and it's like, well, do you deserve this?
02:51:14
Speaker
But then he shows you some reason why he deserves and it's like, fuck you. Kill you, motherfucker. And then the film goes... Oh, not only is everyone evil, they're extra evil. Yeah. Like, holy shit, the cruelness, the coldness to be able to pull off what they do and to know that that's so human. That's dark. You can definitely picture this thing kind of happening to somebody. But also the extra darkness of to make children.
02:51:45
Speaker
be involved to find the aftermath and be traumatized by their discovery. Right? like Like throwing the kid in the pool.
02:51:57
Speaker
Find my keys. Oh, there's a dead body here. Like, what the fuck were you expecting? I know. Like, traumatize that kid forever? don't need to do... And I was telling Karen, I was like, you know, dead bodies float.
02:52:09
Speaker
It don't take that long. I mean, a dead body floats. Well, that's what they were saying, right? That's what they do. They fill up with gas and they float up like a balloon. That's just what they do. That's what they were saying. And then it's like, there's no dead body. It's like, let's drain the pool. And then there's no body in the pool.
02:52:26
Speaker
What the fuck? And then the kid, you know, says, I saw him and he gets fucking punished. And then it's like, what the fuck? He saw him. Like, what is this? A ghost?
02:52:37
Speaker
Is this the orphanage? What's going on? You know? And then you get to the end and it's like, no, it's just this wicked, evil plan that is this wicked game layers and layers deep of duplicity and it Yeah, it's fucked up. Did you read your did you read your ah review? No, i just wanted ask you that. Yeah.
02:53:05
Speaker
Because I, you know, well, I always just value your your views, buddy. I mean, I always think I have a i have a good understanding and then I'll listen to you ah describe your point of view. And was like, oh, okay. I i'd never considered those aspects. So it's always just so enlightening for me.
02:53:27
Speaker
Hey, it goes both ways, buddy. You see the yang, I see the yang, you know? who's the yin and who's the yang? You pull the wang, I... You pull the yang, I pull the yin, you know what mean? Yeah, but... We make it go round round.
02:53:40
Speaker
That's right. I wrote beautifully French in the movies of this golden era that might have given rise to French cinema as a force before fully separating itself with filmmakers like Godard.
02:53:54
Speaker
I have no idea. But this is what I assume.
02:54:00
Speaker
Because Le Diabolique is a little bit more traditional like American cinema. who you know that's and my opinion, that's a progenitor of cinema is Hollywood.
02:54:14
Speaker
Oh, yeah, of course. And so they follow that. But then you have films like Breathless, which completely break away from all of that shit. Le Diabolique is a diabolical film full of devilish twists and turns that had me guessing through most of the film.
02:54:32
Speaker
A film that stressfully captured the tension and paranoia of keeping dark secrets, so much so that you want to strangle the protagonist by the end to keep from being so obvious.
02:54:48
Speaker
Le Diabolique is masterfully done suspense thriller that in this day and age is a much needed breath of fresh air. Which is interesting. I like that we have a thinguffoc him like how we both incorporated breathing into this.
02:55:03
Speaker
yeah as a talk I talk about that the end of my review too. and don Don't hold your breath. um But one of my biggest elements to discuss. So in the film, spoilers.
02:55:16
Speaker
Obviously, the wife and the mistress plot to kill the husband, who is extremely abusive. He's a piece of shit human being. Yes.
02:55:28
Speaker
And the wife finds out about a man who committed suicide. In the river Seine?
02:55:38
Speaker
What is that famous French river? ah Yeah, ah sign the Seine. Seine River? think. That matches the description of the husband because the body is not in the pool that they disposed of at the school.
02:55:55
Speaker
And so she runs into this detective who's just waiting there. But my issue with that detective, because then he's like, yo, madame, French husband is not in the pool. He's not in the river. i will find your husband. Maybe he fucking, you know, you're the mistress.
02:56:11
Speaker
I don't know. We French, we like to fuck. Yeah. And I'm like, I like, I'm French too. I like, I am French too. Okay. Okay. But what the fuck's up with the detective showing up at the end?
02:56:25
Speaker
Of the film, right? Because you have this protagonist, this poor woman. She's I'm ready to confess it all. I tried to kill my husband. I killed him. I killed him. I killed him. And then she dies from a heart attack because she's weak.
02:56:38
Speaker
She's this weak person because she has a frail heart. Yeah. And so the husbands continuously from the beginning and they establish this, they foreshadow this.
02:56:51
Speaker
That he wants her, he's hoping she'll just die because she's just so in poor, bad health. And he even tells the mistress, like, don't worry, we're going to inherit all this riches as soon as she's dead.
02:57:03
Speaker
and And even the wife's like, well, how did you feel about this statement? And the French woman, or the mistress is like, well, do you really want to know? I mean, I didn't really know you then. you really want to hear? And she's like, don't don't tell me your opinion.
02:57:17
Speaker
I kind of know what you're going to say. You you wanted me dead.
02:57:22
Speaker
And then, of course, she dies from her weak heart. It can't handle all the stress she's going through of keeping the secret of killing the husband who's now this poltergeist haunting her.
02:57:34
Speaker
yeah You know, it's like, oh my God, he's telling you this, his ghost is telling this child to be in detention for breaking a window and he's haunting me. And so ah she sees him and she has a heart attack. She's like, oh God. you know, the telltale heart, it it caught up to her and it causes her to have a heart attack.
02:57:56
Speaker
And then immediately after that, of the detective pops up. He's like, ah, you killed her. I see. you. You're going to jail. It's like, motherfucker. She was alive five minutes ago. Why didn't you just be like, Hey, you're alive.
02:58:13
Speaker
And you have this diabolical plot. Why did he have to catch him with the knife in his hand and let the, the protagonist die? What's up with the French detective, man? He's a piece of shit.
02:58:24
Speaker
Like, was he in on it? Like, because it's very, because she even acknowledges a coincidence or they acknowledge the coincidence of a French detective just waiting at a morgue for someone to find this body and then go on this goose chase to find this person.
02:58:42
Speaker
Person. That's true. And it's not really ever addressed. It's not addressed. Because it's just like, oh, you're going to jail. I'm a French detective who was an actual detective. And now you are going to jail.
02:58:53
Speaker
the only thing I could think is like, maybe that's part of just the. The paranoia. No, just the way they were just like, we just have to wrap it all up. Because it did wrap up very quickly. Yeah. But it's like, dude, you probably could have saved her.
02:59:09
Speaker
yeah just just step out of the shadows a little sooner and be like, ha ha, don't worry, madame, you are safe. ah Cool your heart. I have arrested your husband. I found him, like I said I would. And he is an asshole. You know, and it's like, oh, well, too late. So so that was my biggest criticism. It's like,
02:59:30
Speaker
And me and Karen, we were like, what the fuck? He was there the whole... Come on, dude. You could have saved this woman's life. But you did it just to catch the killer in the act. You let the killer commit the act to then catch him in the act.
02:59:46
Speaker
It's like, what? I don't want to go to France, man. Don't let me die before they catch a killer. But I will say an aspect to discuss. Well, that was an aspect to discuss. that was ah That was a little bizarre to me um as a resolution to all of this.
03:00:04
Speaker
But the fact that it felt very Hitchcockian. Yes. This was a very Hitchcock kind of movie where it's like, what's in the wicker basket? them lifting the wicker basket out of the apartment that the person was drowned in having just bystanders and there's water leaking out, you know, just that like tension of, right.
03:00:26
Speaker
No one knows what's, no one knows about the bomb under the seat. Except for the audience. Yeah. The drain. And we're following all of that. And you're just like tracking. right He writes down the time of the fucking drain going off. The drain went off at this time. So I knew you were taking a shower at this time. And at this time, the drain drained. So I know you had your tub full of water from this time to this time. Yeah. And it was like...
03:00:53
Speaker
Holy shit. You know, just very Hitchcockian. Just no one else in the world knows what's going on except for us as an audience. Yeah, and we're just seeing like this the rope slowly unravel, slowly, like piece by piece where the paranoia can be built and it's justified. And it's yeah you're like, oh my God, he was actually paying attention?
03:01:14
Speaker
We're so fucked, right? like he know But it's justified only for us. And that's why the... You're yelling at the protagonist, shut the fuck up. No one knows what's going on. Just shut the fuck up.
03:01:27
Speaker
Don't go to the morgue. but Don't do anything. Just hang out in your classroom. Teach class like normal. You know, that's that guilt weighing on her heart. That heart.
03:01:39
Speaker
She's hearing it, and it's done so brilliantly. Yeah, it's done so brilliantly. um But in Hitchcock was around the same time as all of this, right? He's directly said this was the film that made him make Psycho.
03:01:54
Speaker
Oh, of course. yeah That's beautiful. Thank you for sharing that. Yes, I can see it. Goddamn. American cinema is so slow. One of the other aspects is that just the beautiful locations.
03:02:06
Speaker
I mean... You got to see eight and a half. You got to see eight and a half. But just these locations that, like European locations, you don't got to do much, man. They just have so much history and richness. That's what were talking about with Breathless. Just point the camera. Point the camera. In Paris, anywhere. It just looks gorgeous. its It's beautiful.
03:02:29
Speaker
And the best aspect I can say about Le Diabolique, Because it's a little more formulaic in respect to these other films. Because like, Harakiri really had me guessing.
03:02:43
Speaker
um Your, I don't know what was going on. And of course, with A Matter of Life and Death, i was like, oh, okay, this is like Heaven Can Wait.
03:02:54
Speaker
Yeah. that That retelling of the story. But... Le Diabolique, it's a really just tight story. It's just a tight, neat story.
03:03:05
Speaker
You kind of know where it's going. Maybe you don't. The thing I love about it- it's just tight. It's just a tight film. and so Even though it's like two and a half hours or two hours. It's like an hour and a half. No, it's it's two. Two hours?
03:03:17
Speaker
It's got to be two hours. it's To me, that film is the best way I can describe it is it's like lighting a bomb. And you're just watching the fuse just trickle down. gets smaller and smaller. And then the explosion is literally her heart.
03:03:33
Speaker
And it's just like every little piece goes to build to the anxiety of yeah the Christine character. And the sec it's like ah from the second they decide to go through with it, it's like the fuse is lit.
03:03:50
Speaker
And it's just like this slow fuse and you just keep watching it. And you're just like, you're going insane. like Just watching fuse. you were saying, screaming at him like, shut shut up, bitch. Just shut the fuck up. Keep your mouth closed. But you know they don't. And it just keeps going.
03:04:06
Speaker
And you're just like, is there a fucking ghost? like Is he fucking not dead? like What's going on? like There's no way. like Oh, fucking, is the mistress in on it? Boom. Yeah. and And that's what leads to the tightness of it is because you're watching that wick just burn.
03:04:20
Speaker
Yeah. And it doesn't stop. It's just burning. It's continuous burn, however fast or slow it's going. And it's just, it's a pretty tight film. it kind of reminds me of Alien a little bit in that respect where Alien's just a fucking tight film.
03:04:35
Speaker
Yeah. You don't need to add all anything else. It's just a tightly made film within the time frame that they give it.
03:04:46
Speaker
It has its conclusion and its end within that arc. and it And it gets there. And it's just this tight little film. And it was beautiful, glorious.
03:05:01
Speaker
I can see why so many people comment on it. i don't know the history of cinema well enough to be like, okay, well, li diapolique is
80s Nostalgia and Ninja 3
03:05:10
Speaker
ah project r this film was a progenitor to Diabolique or whatever.
03:05:17
Speaker
So for me, it's like, okay, well, Led Diablo League is a progenitor to the 90s cinema. That's why 90s was sticking out to me so much because it's like, oh, man, this is like so many 90s suspense thrillers that came out in that era. And that's when all those were being remade, like the Breathless remake, and they even remade Diablo League.
03:05:35
Speaker
They even remade Harakiri. Yeah. Really? They remade Diabolique? Yeah. It was just called Diabolique in 1996, I think. Yeah, good luck finding separating those, right?
03:05:49
Speaker
Yeah. Let's see. Who was in the
03:05:58
Speaker
Let's see. Our cast. It's an American remake.
03:06:06
Speaker
Jean Reno. Sharon Stone. so Okay. And a Isabel Adjani. Oh, maybe i need to watch it. She's one of my favorite actresses. She was in Dos Aratu.
03:06:17
Speaker
She's hot. Oh, is that the girl you had the kathy bates you had this weird crush on for a while? Yeah, Kathy Bates is the detective. Yeah, Kathy Bates. That's one you had the weird crush on for a while.
03:06:29
Speaker
Yes.
03:06:32
Speaker
But yeah, Sharon Stone is in the Yeah. Oh, that'd be interesting to watch. It'd be interesting to watch the remakes because me and Karen, we watched Speak No Evil.
03:06:45
Speaker
Yeah. I think we mentioned this before. We saw the remake and the original and watching the original is just like... And the original is like two years yeah younger. And it's just like, fuck.
03:07:01
Speaker
We got to do the... ah Do androids dream of sheep? Electric sheep, yeah. Electric sheep. So then, of course, the last film... Speaking of sheep....was Ninja 3, The Domination.
03:07:19
Speaker
And I'll do my review because... you do your review. After watching Harakiri, this movie will make you want to commit seppuku with a can of V8 juice...
03:07:30
Speaker
Such an 80s film with its odd character behavior, like a tented gang rapes in front of a crowd, V8 used as a method of seduction, or a woman dancing the protagonist, the poltergeist, away.
03:07:50
Speaker
But also the sets, like the Leeds bedroom that looks like a locker room with a bed and an arcade machine, are the infamous 80s workout outfits that made me think of yoga pants today.
03:08:04
Speaker
and of course, a high body count. Watching an actual 80s film makes me hate all these current nostalgia films even more. Here's looking at you, Stranger Things.
03:08:17
Speaker
If your film doesn't have direct misogyny and not-so-subtle racism like a Chinese man playing a Japanese mystic with foul-mouthed teens,
03:08:29
Speaker
ah then get the fuck out of the eighty s Give me my goddamn Nintendo gun so I can shoot ducks and still miss while the fucking dog laughs at me.
03:08:41
Speaker
After watching this piece of shit film, I wish I were a ninja so I could smoke bomb my ass onto a ninjatu. But what do you expect when the vanity card reveals the words, canon?
03:08:59
Speaker
All right. That was my review. All right. I'll read my review. Ninja 3, the domination, has no connection to Ninja 1 or Ninja 2, which aren't even called that.
03:09:13
Speaker
They're part of the Ninja trilogy, which is an anthology of series of films that came out in the 80s when nothing was cooler than Ninja. This is one of those direct-to-video masterpieces that you would rent and watch 16 times on a weekend.
03:09:28
Speaker
The plot is insane, and that's just perfect for this film about a kick-ass telephone lineman line woman sorry who finds the dying ninja master who just previously assassinated some dudes on a golf course. This ninja then possess possesses the line woman whose name is Christy, which is direct to Christine in our other film, Lady Abelique.
03:09:51
Speaker
Oh, yeah. And through her gets his ninja revenge on the cops that brutally murdered him. Another ninja who is seeking his ninja revenge on that ninja master arrives in the US. And with his help, they hope to kill the evil ninja master forever.
03:10:07
Speaker
Because only a ninja can kill a ninja. Which was like, what the fuck? Hell, what else can you say about this film? It has an exorcist scene with wild flipping on chains and weird love affairs between a creepy cop, super-powered ninjas, a weird almost gang rape which leads to another almost gang rape.
03:10:24
Speaker
It's a B-movie as it should be and you're here to laugh at how crazy everything is and enjoy some of the asserting because goddamn cocaine is a hell of a drug. Five out of five.
03:10:37
Speaker
Yeah, see that's... 5.5 out of 10. That's why I said my elements to discuss. It's very 80s. You know, people want to have this nostalgia trip with these 80s films. It's like, nah, man, you got to have some inappropriate shit in the 80s.
03:10:53
Speaker
Because that was eighty s films, and then we all laughed at it. Or we look back at it now, and we're like, whee! Like that gang rape scene. Literally, there's five dudes assaulting two women.
03:11:05
Speaker
Yeah. And there's a crowd around them who... Including a cop. Including the cop ah love interest who are protesting the entire time this gang rape going on, but no one does anything.
03:11:22
Speaker
They just watch. Until the woman, of course, uses her ninjutsu powers to then ah dispose of the five assaults.
03:11:35
Speaker
Yeah, and what I love... Dude, I love this movie. And I know you said it's a giant piece of shit. And and you're probably not wrong. Oh, it is a giant piece of shit. but But it's like... But God... A movie so bad it's good. But dude, it it's a film where it's like, okay, you get a little bit of everything in this movie. You get some VA juice. But I mean, that if right? It's so crazy. Like, what? She pours VA juice down her chest and he's like sucking it off her. I mean, that would work on me. But not only that...
03:12:05
Speaker
It's like, so this ninja assassin is killing all these dudes on a golf course in the start of the movie. Yeah. Which leads into a police chase where he's just killed and shot by a bunch of cops, but he pulls himself to find this woman that he possesses, which there is exorcist-like exorcism in the film where she becomes full demon, flipping, floating, spitting, vomiting.
03:12:31
Speaker
But not only does he kill these cops, he kills like... 30 people before he's done. He kills like, what, five security guards, random golf course people. They're like, yeah, he killed a scientist.
03:12:50
Speaker
I was why is he killing all these people? He's just killing every motherfucker. And then he kills like 30 cops. Right? Yes. And then he's killed. And then he gets... And then he's like, fuck you guys for killing me. And using her body, she gets her the ninja revenge by killing all the cops that killed the guy.
03:13:09
Speaker
the one. And you know what? I wrote this. Where did I write this? Oh, I know why I wrote this on my phone. I know why you picked this film.
03:13:24
Speaker
Because of the male cop.
03:13:28
Speaker
what did i what What did I put? Did I put anything creative? Probably not. I erased it. Tom likes Ninja 3 because the cop was as hairy as him.
03:13:41
Speaker
ah right That's right. i That's why I picked this like this movie because he was as hairy as you. yeah but if I was like, oh my God, the back hair. He looks like fucking Teen Wolf.
03:13:52
Speaker
What I liked about this movie was that it just fucking goes. It just tries so hard. right like I love that it's essentially like trying to be the exorcist. like They have a full-blown exorcism scene and it is so cool.
03:14:06
Speaker
And then there's like, why does the ninja have super strength? like She can lift a fucking truck. Fucking ninjutsu, man. Like, why are they... i don't like I don't understand why ninjas are like Kryptonians, essentially, in this universe. They're so badass.
03:14:22
Speaker
And they have like... yeah She has like this secret ninja stash in the mountains that she like sneaks away to that like will magically refill itself with like ninja stars and shurikens and shit.
03:14:34
Speaker
Yeah. And it's like... It's so fucking crazy. It makes no sense... like I don't know why she falls in love with the cop. He's a creepy asshole, and she even says so. Yet, all of a sudden, she starts pouring VA juice all over herself.
03:14:48
Speaker
And he she falls in love with him to a point where she can fight the possession, and he's trying to like help her get unpossessed, which leads to them ah tricking the ninja's spirit back into the ninja's body, which they fight on the side of a mountain forre like 30 minutes. Yeah.
03:15:06
Speaker
Yeah. Until I don't even remember how exactly how it ends. Like that's how crazy everything gets. Like they like bury the ninja in rubble and the other ninja like cuts him. Well, they kill him and then like he makes the San Andres fault happen.
03:15:22
Speaker
But I will say this sent me on a downward spiral to look into the movie trilogy. Yeah. And I feel like I got to see Ninja 1 and Ninja 2, which is, i don't know the titles, but it's like... Revenge of the Ninja. Revenge of the Ninja is 2. Yes.
03:15:38
Speaker
I don't know what the first one's called. I don't know. I should have wrote them down. it's like Ninja 1. No. It's like Ninja Cometh.
03:15:52
Speaker
Let's see what Ninja 1 is called. Because I was a big fan. I used to always rent those movies when I was a kid. The Ninja cometh. Like ah American Ninja? The same American Ninja.
03:16:05
Speaker
I used to watch a lot of American Ninja. I think I have a few books by that guy. Shit. ah He's like, you gotta dress up as a gardener and then you're gonna poison them with snakes.
03:16:20
Speaker
So, Enter the Ninja. Enter the Ninja. Well... Enter the Ninja. Revenge of the Ninja. Ninja 3. The Domination. So, yeah, that sent me on a downward spiral. The interesting part is the ninja played by Shou Kusugi huh actually was a standout star throughout the films and played the villain in the first film.
03:16:44
Speaker
But in the first film, he was just a standout, so he actually kind of took over. Okay. So he was the ninja with the eye patch. that a show I kept thinking, you can't put an eyepatch... His eyepatch was the like little slot, this little handguard on the sword.
03:17:01
Speaker
And I thought, he's got to have a so point where a sword goes through that, right? Like, it kills him. like That's how he dies. But no, he just has a... Eyepatch, that's the hand guard on a sword. Yeah, so in the first one, he's the villain, and he dies.
03:17:18
Speaker
In the second one, he's the protagonist, and of course, he's the hero. Gets some revenge. In this third one, he's the side character, and he, of course, beats the ninja.
03:17:30
Speaker
So, yeah, that's how he got his ah breakout star within that Which was kind of interesting to me because he was a badass.
03:17:43
Speaker
He was, yeah. Actually seeing him in this makes me want to watch Ninja, Enter the Ninja and Revenge of the Ninjas to see this. Because i was like, okay, this is kind of cool. like i just I need to see the other two ninja films. for I have a special love of this kind of like cheese. But he's not the same person throughout any of this. He's a different ninja in every single ninja movie.
03:18:07
Speaker
And that's cool. That is kind of cool, right? The thing is, I bet a lot of people probably would never appreciate a movie like Ninja 3. No, it's a cult classic. So apparently, people appreciate this film. Because to me, it's a film where... Because you know, you have your A-level movies, right? Your Lady Abolix, Man Life and Death, Harakiri. Yeah.
03:18:31
Speaker
And then you have your B-level flicks, which would be like Terminator. Yeah. would Alien. Alien as a B movie? I would say Alien. Well, maybe Alien's more of an A movie, but like... It's an S movie now, but I mean, back then, I don't know. It's probably like The Thing is like a B movie in a sense.
03:18:51
Speaker
Yeah. Right? Like, these aren't high art kind of films. Mm-hmm. but Ninja 3 is like Z or ah x level. Yeah.
03:19:05
Speaker
Like these movies are... It's like... They're just... It is just... li Like it's cocaine. like That's why i just think of cocaine when I think of movies like this. Canon. I think i can like think of Hollywood because... Because I think Jean-Claude talked about that, right? Too. Doing these canon. He's like, I was just on a lot of cocaine at this time. And it's like... And it's also like...
03:19:29
Speaker
Canon films are the kind of movies. I love Canon films. That's like you know your my film. Because, well, Canon did Barfly. And that's the big part of. Well, Canon did Bloodsport, dude. Yeah.
03:19:44
Speaker
You know? Canon is like the. So, like, when you talk about, like, high level, like, Zflix. It's like Canon, Troma. Yeah. I've never seen a trauma film, but I've always seen canon films. I've seen lot of canon films. Well, you've seen Toxie, haven't you? No. You've never seen that?
03:20:03
Speaker
Toxie? Yeah. ah Toxic Avenger? Not really. Oh, you yeah. I've only seen parts of it. I've seen as like Big Dick grow, and then i was like, what the fuck am I watching? Oh, yeah. Something. I mean, it's a completely different kind. But canon was a little more grounded.
03:20:21
Speaker
Canon is like- We... They're like the Miramax. Like, what can we get away with for 50 bucks?
03:20:32
Speaker
Canon was the, would you want to be paid in cash or cocaine kind of company. Well, that's what I wrote. Crazy, the parts they spent a lot of money on and some of the parts they didn't.
03:20:45
Speaker
Like... There's one part, I mean, he's killing like 30 cops. And then you see literally a helicopter fly distressed because he's killed everyone in the helicopter and then it explodes.
03:20:58
Speaker
Obviously, it's a fake explosion. But then literally, I swear, there's a part where they show the the ninja sword, the ninjatu.
03:21:10
Speaker
And... It looks like the hand guard on it around the hill is made out of foam. but Literally. There's one scene where it looks like it's just made out of foam that they stab through the the ninja sword to to make it look like...
03:21:29
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. And it's so cheap. It's like, what are you guys spending your money on? Where is this money being spent on? Like, okay, i I understand you want to get big explosions and shit like that. Like, okay, you spend your money on that.
03:21:46
Speaker
But then then you you you stop spending money on shit like that. Like, you just put a foam little cutout on the ninja sword. And we're going to go with that? like It's just so weird.
03:21:59
Speaker
It's so weird where where the money stops in these kind
Comparing Harakiri and Ninja 3
03:22:04
Speaker
of films. You know what I'm saying? I'll say here there's a couple things. Ninja 3 had some money. Oh, yeah. It had some money that was being poured into it.
03:22:12
Speaker
And then you see the film and it's like, where did you put that money? Where was all this budget going? The white powder, buddy. um But I will say that there are a few standout things about Ninja 3 that I think kind of separate itself.
03:22:26
Speaker
V8. V8. Well, one. The aerobics outfits. is It's about a woman. V8 and aerobics outfits. a female protagonist that gets inherits the power of a ninja.
03:22:37
Speaker
A woman yeah inherits the power of a ninja that goes around killing and kicking ass until she's freed from the ninja curse. The ninja curse, yeah. Another thing that really stands out in this film.
03:22:51
Speaker
The aerobics outfits. is that but also it's kind of scary like it's got some legit horror in it yeah it does like when she's going on the chains like woo woo and if you just see the w yeah like woo woo woo yeah and uh that's ninja three um yeah You know, like I said, it's um it's a rental masterpiece in the sense that like when you couldn't get Top Gun or Saving Private Ryan because they rented out all of those and you'd already seen all the Bruce Lee movies that the rental place had.
03:23:30
Speaker
You would look at this cover for Ninja 3 and think, okay, it's cool. And you would rent it and you'd watch it all weekend because your ass would get beat if you didn't watch it. And you'd love it.
03:23:42
Speaker
Because you were a kid. And it was ah it's a film that's just adrenaline. and Yeah. And Sophia loved it. I was like, God damn it, stop watching this kid because there's V8 juice coming out. I don't know what's going on. Is this PG-13 or rated R? I don't know. It's PG-V8. That's all I know.
03:24:01
Speaker
Well, let me ask you this. In wrapping. yeah Let's wrap it up. Give me some rating numbers here. um we know it We do it out of 10, right? Out of 10, yeah.
03:24:13
Speaker
um So the first one I saw, ah matter of life and death. 8 out of 10. I would say 7 out of 10. Your. ah Your, I gave Oh,
03:24:28
Speaker
ah shit. he's that He actually rated this shit. His notes. Four out of ten? Seven out of ten for absurdity and silliness.
03:24:39
Speaker
I mean, if you're in the right mindset, yours a masterpiece. Yeah, there are some some of these films I was like, man, I wish I were high watching this shit. Okay, yours is a seven out of ten.
03:24:50
Speaker
I'd say four out of ten if you're sober. Seven out of ten if you're drunk or high. um Or just looking for a good time. Harakiri. Ten out ten.
03:25:02
Speaker
10 out of 10 is fine. Maybe 9.5. Harakiri is... Probably 10 out of 10. After talking with you about it, there's no doubt in my mind that it is literally a masterpiece. Oh, it's a masterpiece without doubt. um There's no doubt in my mind that that film masterpiece. It's like if you talk to somebody that is interested in film, likes film, has any interest in the history or love of the cinema...
03:25:32
Speaker
Harakiri is a film that must be seen because of the way that it uses ah the film medium to tell a story. um it where It starts at the end and you have a perspective on what's going on and then that evolves as the story unfolds.
03:25:51
Speaker
And you just watch it and you're just, I always i think I wrote it in my notes. You were gone. You stepped out. I was like, it's a film like Psycho where you watch it and you hope to God that something could be different.
03:26:03
Speaker
yeah You hope it's like, because when he starts telling the story, because you know where it goes, you fucking already saw it. He's already there. you You already saw it. He's already there saying, I'm going to commit Harakiri. Wait, wait, wait, wait. Yeah. Don't do it. We know. We know what you're going to do. Don't do it. Don't do it.
03:26:20
Speaker
Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it don do it. Don't do it. And wait we saw it already happen. We saw it unfold. And we know that poor little boy at home is going to die. Yeah.
03:26:35
Speaker
We know his wife is going to die. Yeah. And there's nothing we can do that can make that better. Yeah. We're we're victims of this shit. And you just watch it and you go... Imagine... You you have kids.
03:26:52
Speaker
No, I know. I have kids. That's why it hit so hard with Kinga. I was like... But it's just like... And that that's why... it It hit extra when Sugoma was like, Chijiwa sold his swords to pay for everything.
03:27:09
Speaker
And he was like, I never even thought in my mind to sell my katana and my wasashashi for money. It never even occurred to me to sell my blades yeah to save my family.
03:27:26
Speaker
It was never even a thought. And he's just like... it was just like... And the thing too is, right? It's like... And it was like... Maybe if you... So the Katana... Because the Katana's got to go for some good money, man. But the film establishes so much history. Yeah.
03:27:43
Speaker
Chijiwa's dad was... Segoo's best friend. Yeah. And he promised him... It would be like... would like... You were like... well i Don't tell me to take care of Luke. I'll be like... Hey, bro. Oh, my God. I'm going to kill myself it and everyone else. It's like you're like... Hey, dude. I'm going out with the boss.
03:28:00
Speaker
ah I'm sorry. i you know i can't make him go alone I'm going out with him. I don't want him to to that. But don't you go out with him because you got to take care of my son, my family. You got to take care of my family. You got to be there for him. And he's like, bro, you know, I don't.
03:28:19
Speaker
What? Yeah. I know how to make umbrellas. Because he was ready. He was ready. He was like, I'm going to go out with with my. ah with With my Lord. With my Lord.
03:28:31
Speaker
And he was like, No. You stay behind because I'm going before you. Yeah. you better Not you better, but I'm going out. But please, I know you would go out with the Lord.
03:28:44
Speaker
But please take care of my son and in my honor. Yeah, because they're kids. And it was just like... And this is like, and then you see, and it's like, ah right? And it's like, and then it's like, Kingo, Kingo, you poor little.
03:29:01
Speaker
then the kid, right? And it was just like such a simple fever, you know? It's just like. He just needed some fucking rice and some juice. Yeah, man. Just get him a humidifier. Like, shit, he's going to be good. Like.
03:29:13
Speaker
Fuck, man. ah Right? And you know what? And he's just sitting there. So you say 10 out of 10? 10 out of 10. Because you can't
03:29:27
Speaker
you can't watch this film as a person and not... It's like Tokyo Story. You can't watch this person, especially we're parents now. As a parent, you just can't just watch it.
03:29:41
Speaker
You can't just watch this film. We should watch Tokyo Story again. I wouldn't mind watching this now with my new perspective. But it's just like, dude... When you watch, it's like, have you, you know, like every revenge film that you've ever seen, it's like, you raped me, so going to murder everybody. Or like, you did something horrible, some unspeakable thing to me, I'm going to kill you. There's payback of that unspeakable thing. But Hari Kiri, you know what they did to him?
03:30:10
Speaker
They disgraced his son. They showed him the utmost disrespect. Yeah, literally. it was just disrespect.
03:30:20
Speaker
not It wasn't ah just a bullet to the head. It wasn't just a simple fact of anything. It was the utmost disrespect. Disrespect. Dishonor. Because they're laughing at him for his fake swords. And it's like, you fucking stabbed yourself with a bamboo sword, you fucking asshole. Like, fuck.
03:30:41
Speaker
Yeah. Fuck you. Fuck you for knowing what you did. Okay. Yeah, exactly. That's not what this film does to you. Fuck you. That's what this film does to you.
03:30:54
Speaker
And if you watch this film, you know, i was I watched that Red Letter Media when they talk about Nosferatu. Oh, I haven't seen the Nosferatu one or the one.
03:31:05
Speaker
Because they were talking about the substance and I stopped watching it. Yeah, I watched both of those. But i I haven't seen those two. But I was watching the Nosferatu and the thing that they kept saying and a lot of people were saying was the film was just boring. It was boring. Well, it's Eggers.
03:31:21
Speaker
But I could see people watching like Harikiri and saying it's boring. it's just a dude talking and telling a story. But I'm like, did you forget? do you forget? like But I didn't feel bored though.
03:31:33
Speaker
But I'm just, this film is. Because you know, I'll say lot of masterpieces are fucking boring. Eight half. Kind of fucking boring. Kind of fucking boring. It's like, is it going to end yet?
03:31:48
Speaker
But Harakiri, man, like, i was I was engrossed in that. Where are we going now? Because Chichiwa is not who I thought he was.
03:32:01
Speaker
And Sugomo is not who I think he is. What's happening? what's What's happening? I kind of know what's happening. I can't kind of put the pieces together, but what are you doing? What's going on? The thing about Harakiri, and we could probably talk about this for hours and hours and hours, easy, is and How this film that is not on the criterion list, I don't know.
03:32:31
Speaker
i mean, i don't know if it just has to do with it was never remastered or why it's not on the list, I don't know.
03:32:39
Speaker
I'll never know, in fact, because it's insane. The thing about this film is that it is just
03:32:51
Speaker
so...
03:32:56
Speaker
Carefully and beautifully crafted. Most films, I mean, every film is like, you got people just just take a lot of care. But Harikiri, a film like this, it it's capturing something. It's saying something. It's showing you something that if you give any shit about,
03:33:20
Speaker
it it just, man, explodes. That's why there ah so many Japanese films have this like power that just transcends
Fun in Popcorn Cinema
03:33:31
Speaker
so much. like I think of Onibaba, another film Japanese film, about like a similar time period involving two women that capture and extort slash murder samurai running away from the battlefield and or returning home And you look at yeah other Japanese films at the of the time, and it's... Yeah, they they they might be considered slow to you know fast Fast and Furious standards.
03:34:09
Speaker
That's what I watch. Luke Evans. I recently watched ah Fast Five, Six, and Seven. I know. and And I was like, I got to see seven.
03:34:20
Speaker
Because that's the one with Luke Evans. No, five is one with Luke Evans. That's the only one I want to see. Six is the one with... No, five is not Luke Evans. Five... I think seven's with Luke Evans. Five the one where they are in Brazil and they rob the bank.
03:34:35
Speaker
And they get the money. is the one with Luke Evans. Six is the one with Luke Evans. Okay, then I need to watch six. Seven is one with Jason Statham.
03:34:46
Speaker
And eight is the latest. Charlize Theron. Nine is... Nine is the latest. No, ten is the latest with Jason Momoa, who is the guy from Five's Henchman's Brother or something.
03:35:02
Speaker
I kind of like those films. No, no, they're they're popcorn, perfect popcorn American cinema trash. like That's the Ninja 3 of today. That is the Ninja 3 of today.
03:35:12
Speaker
And that's disgusting. So, Lady Abelique. 9 out of 10. I think this film, especially if you consider the time it came out at all, which is like in, I think I want to say 56 or 58, is I can't remember exactly, but it is one of those two dates and it predates
03:35:39
Speaker
and shows you the power of cinema. And there's something very cool about watching old movies that essentially set the bar.
03:35:50
Speaker
And in some places, it's it's so like sometimes the bar was set so high and you don't even know. You didn't know the bar was already up there. you you know, it's sometimes it's like it's like imagine the best film you ever watch was like Lockout like with Guy Pearce, which is like not a bad movie.
03:36:11
Speaker
ah He's escaping a space station and and love Lockout. Yeah. I love Lockout. But what I'm saying is like, imagine that was the best film you've ever seen. Yeah.
03:36:21
Speaker
Right? And you're like, oh. like Thank you for explaining the movie because was like, oh yeah, that's that Guy Pearce movie. I loved it Yeah, i
Enjoying Trash Cinema
03:36:30
Speaker
know you do. It's kind of like Die Hard-esque. It is Die Hard.
03:36:34
Speaker
It's very much like a remake of another movie.
03:36:38
Speaker
But it's fun and it's exciting and the gra and you know everything. and like Guy Pearce is amazing and everything he does. And you watch it and you're just like, oh, wow, that could be that could be somebody's best movie.
03:36:51
Speaker
And then they watch a film like Les Diaboliques. And they fall asleep. And they fall asleep. And you're like, how is that possible? How could you fall asleep? You watch We Halu Balthazar and you fall asleep.
03:37:04
Speaker
And it's like, we've watched that movie. We sat through it. I think I can understand why people would fall asleep. And we can understand it because we've been exposed to what modern cinema is. Yeah. And we've been exposed to the less appealing side of what film and cinema can be and that's you know your avatars like james cameron fuck you that's what i feel like dude post true lies you are fucking hack for a loser i said post yeah that's interesting fuck you dude like you ruined everything by thinking that
03:37:47
Speaker
you can do this Titanic everyone. he But gross. He has. Give me John Waters. Give me Aster. Give me some Pink Flamingos, man. Give me fucking Le Diabolique.
03:38:04
Speaker
Give me a film that is pretentious in the fact that it has no pretension. It's just. Then I got to say this to you.
03:38:18
Speaker
Ninja 3, The Dominion. The Domination. Domination. What do you give it? And then what's your stance on that film? Because five you're saying this about James Cameron, but... Ninja 3, a 5 out of 10.
03:38:33
Speaker
Okay. That's fair. Yeah, that's pretty accurate. I give it a... but i mean The only reason I give it a 5 and not a 4 or 3, because truthfully, it's probably a 4 or 3.
03:38:48
Speaker
There is definitely a strong personal connection to me. Probably a two. For ninja films. But you like V8, so that ups the amount before you minus.
03:38:59
Speaker
You know what? You better give Muck and Ninja 3 the respect that's due, good sir. It is not a two. Not even close. It's not a three. Bullshit. It might be a... No, its it's a two, like... If if you're gonna... Like Harakiri. Yeah.
03:39:16
Speaker
And the world of Harakiri, it's a two, maybe a one. No. No, hold on. It is. But in the scope of like cinema and enjoyment in a film and just having a good ass time, I don't even know if I would give it a five, man. It might be even like a 5.5.
03:39:37
Speaker
Yeah. five It might be a six. Because the thing that I love... I wish she... It it might even be an eight. A V8. to to You know, you're a fan of virtuosity.
03:39:51
Speaker
Yes. There are issues with that film that you can actively ignore in the fact of fun and the fact... Ignore? just You mean two Academy Award winning Best Actors in one film?
03:40:05
Speaker
Ignorance can be bliss is all I'm saying. And you can actively enjoy trash. Now, Virtuosity might have you know a lot you know far higher budget than our our friendly Ninja 3.
03:40:20
Speaker
Virtuosity is a great film. But I will say... i will die on that, Ninjato.
03:40:29
Speaker
Pretty much what I want to say about trash cinema, and I like that Pauline Kael was brave enough to pretty much just call it trash, yeah is that... You don't have to feel bad about enjoying a bad film.
03:40:43
Speaker
ah Some films are so bad, they are made just specifically for the right kind of person. But does but does it even have to be trash films? like Because RoboCop, to a lesser degree, is a trash film.
03:41:00
Speaker
Yes. And I think RoboCop's a masterpiece. it It is. You know? Paul Verhoeven is... Starship Troopers. A masterpiece. Another trash film.
03:41:12
Speaker
I consider that another masterpiece. I do. You know, those films are amazing. There's... There isn't... Even...
03:41:23
Speaker
um And I gained a lot so much respect for it lately was ah Total Recall. I used to hate that fucking film. Just watching it again, I was like, Jesus Christ, this movie's fucking amazing.
03:41:39
Speaker
Amazing. It is. So... hovin But a caveat would you say is, Verhoeven has never touched Howard Keighley.
03:41:52
Speaker
Weir Hoeven's never touched Le Diabolique. Yeah. Weir Hoeven's never touched La Aventura. Weir Hoeven's never touched The Third Man. so so what where does that film exist then? For instance, where does Robocop exist in this scope?
03:42:11
Speaker
it bridges a gap between favorite and best. And it lives in this kind of like perfunctory- Between favorite and best. Wow. Yeah. This perfunctory limbo yeah where a film can be so well crafted and good that you ignore its absurdity, its ah lack of humanity in a sense, because- It's never going to touch a Kubrick. It's not going to touch The Shining. As it shouldn't. and But you know what?
03:42:47
Speaker
As it doesn't want to. doesn't want to be. it doesn't want to be Barry Lyndon. It doesn't want to be Harry Caray. Yeah, man. It doesn't want to be. And that's what's so beautiful about movies is Dickhead doesn't want to be Citizen Kane. Yeah.
03:43:05
Speaker
No. Dickhead wants to be... It doesn't want to be Halloween. It doesn't want to be Halloween. It wants to be two guys in a desert. yeah yeah know It wants to be that. It wants to be ah you and me. you know it's ah And that's what's beautiful about film is that you can enjoy Ninja 3 and Yor as much as you can enjoy Harakiri or Le Diabolique or A Matter of Life and Death. It's...
03:43:35
Speaker
there are tears and pedestals of enjoyment that you can just have a good time or you can, you know, sometimes film doesn't let you have a good time.
03:43:49
Speaker
Sometimes they come and see it challenges you and it hurts. And those can be, that can be very powerful, but at the same time, sometimes just want to have a good time. Like Pauline Kael said,
03:44:02
Speaker
Not every film is a great masterpiece, and you have to enjoy the great trash to enjoy the great masterpiece. Did she pass away? She's been long gone. i got to i gotta to read more critiques by her because, damn.
03:44:20
Speaker
Literally, she within this entire episode... She said what we we've been saying this entire time within two sentences, and she was spot on and far braver than us.
03:44:33
Speaker
And I can't think of a better way to say cut.