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Episode 036 - Before the Intermission, Mid-Year Review Part 1
21 Plays4 months ago
In this episode, we start our review of the first half of 2024 citing the best and most notable films in what's becoming an amazing year in cinema.
Intro clip from Andrew Haigh's "All of Us Strangers" from Film4, TSG Entertainment, and Blueprint Pictures distributed by Searchlight Pictures
Opening music: https://pixabay.com/music/id-116199/
Closing music: https://pixabay.com/music/id-11176/
Recommended
Transcript
00:00:13
Speaker
Tuosians. Tuosians will begin. um
00:00:24
Speaker
I suppose nothing's gonna fit you anymore, is it? Nope. Yeah, well, abort me some of your dad's things instead. Okay. Oh, look, come on, take these off as well and I'll put them in to dry with the rest. Uh... Oh, will you take them off, Adam? Honestly.
00:00:52
Speaker
God, look at you. Look. You were just a boy. And now you're not.
Introduction and Podcast Overview
00:01:09
Speaker
Welcome to the Tuitions Podcast, where myself, Sufi, along with my friend and refreshing colleague, Scrumpy, discuss film and other media through a decades-long lens of mass media consumption. In this episode, we begin our two-part review of the first half of 2024. This is the Tuitions Podcast, so leave the Citadel, gas up your War Rig, and make your way to the Green Place, as we begin Episode 12, Series 2.
Cinema's State and Box Office Impact
00:01:43
Speaker
Today, Scruppy and I are going to take you through some of our highlights and maybe a couple of lowlights for the releases. The first half of what's shaping up to be another bumper year of cinema. Oh, cinema is dead. Well, this is the thing, the box office receipts. Somebody has a bad box office, therefore it's terrible. Uh, much happening. Sorry. Showed my hand early. Sorry. It's sorry everyone knows our hand.
Comic Con Experiences and Celebrity Interactions
00:02:09
Speaker
They really do better by now. Yeah. So, wow. We're in episode 12 halfway through the season.
00:02:17
Speaker
the the thirty six hours you can listen to this podcast gammering on and on and on and on droning and droning and droning and Yeah, then I had the benefit this week of being able to drone face-to-face with ah Gene Karlo Esposito for a start, which was, i'm going to it was cool. Well, the thing is this Comic Con was in the middle of nowhere and they thought, okay, we'll bring in these big names. We'll spend the money to get them in and we'll get more people. They didn't get more people. And they said they're not going to do it again. They're not going to make that mistake again. Well, that gave you access, right?
00:03:01
Speaker
Yeah. So I got to talk to Gene Carlo. He's, he was talking about, asked him if he was going to be in another Spike Lee film. And he was like, well, he wanted to be on Spike Lee's new project with Denzel Washington, but you know, he's got another commitment on another film. You make a high and low, right? Correct. Yes. The remake of high and low. And he said, especially wanted to work on it because his daughter is actually doing some trainee work. on cinematography. Oh, nice. Look at that movie. Yeah, it's really cool. But he definitely has that kind of intimidating presence, right? Really, really nice guy, but quite intimidating. On the other hand, Christian Nairn, who he probably knows Hodor or We John Finney from Hold the Door, from Our Flag Means Death, he was really friendly. He was really nice.
00:03:52
Speaker
Because they at these these kind of get-togethers, they try to charge you for like taking people's photographs and all kinds of stuff, autographs this. And you know we were we were chatting for maybe 20 minutes. And oh well I hi said, you know can I take a Polaroid of you? And he signed the Polaroid. But they tried to get
Brian Blessed's Eccentric Plans
00:04:11
Speaker
him to charge it. And he's like, I'm not charging this man.
00:04:15
Speaker
And he is awesome. He is absolutely awesome. Oh, that's great. He's, he's, he's big. I mean, and, and Gene Carla is a small guy, but Christian Nairn is, is a massive, massive mountain of a guy, but sadly, yeah, I'd like to see him in other sort of speaking roles, like in her flagpaint stuff, but he's DJing in Belfast at the moment. So. Yeah. He's a DJ thing. That's his, that's like his regular gig, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But he he he's the nicest person I think I'd ever met at one of these things. And then Brian Blessed was just bananas off the hook. Yeah. Oh, it's Nanook. I mean, he kept calling me Nanook and Yeti. and and
00:04:56
Speaker
He is old. i mean let' give them that and and Anyone else who did that, I would have been insulted, but you know it's it's Brian Blessed, right?
Premiere Events and Networking
00:05:04
Speaker
yeah and And he's like, I'm planning to go into space in the next two years. And he's talking about how he's a certified cosmonaut who trained in Russia. And he's a certified astronaut who trained with NASA. I mean, he's just had a crazy life. I have a certified cosmonaut. yeah Oh, man. That's awesome. Yeah. I mean, he need know he's he's really inspiring. He was, he's he's definitely, he's he's not, he's a bit unsteady on his feet now, but his voice is still the same. so Still the same friend listening. And then the premiere to Kinds of Kindness, which was in London at the Hackney Picture House. If you know London, Hackney is like a transport black hole in London.
00:05:52
Speaker
And there is a and picture of how central, which made more sense, but apparently i've I found out because i i I met a few people and we were hanging out there. We were there like hours early and we were chatting. And it turns out that Yorkos lives around the corner, which is why he's like, can you just do it at my local one? Cause yeah, I can't be bothered going halfway across London. no But, yeah, no, that was really, really good. Emma Stone, out of everyone, really kind of impressed me out of that bunch. She wasn't meant to be there. It was meant to be Jurgis Lanthamost and Jesse Plemmons, but Emma came along as well. um Yeah, it was good. And they thought that my ah people who are sort of the outside waiting because I had the kinds of kindness themed two oceans shirt thought I was part of the crew. and They're like, well, we thought you were part of the crew.
00:06:42
Speaker
But yeah, I mean, it was great. I got to meet Shakar Kapur, who is the BBC Asia Entertainment correspondent. Excellent. She had lots of advice for you and I in terms of sort of growing two oceans and whatnot. And we're going to catch up again but next time I'm in London. So so yeah. that all went really well.
Furiosa Review and Analysis
00:07:02
Speaker
But on to the main feature in the films that we have seen in the first half of this year. I think we're just going to have to go on as long as this takes. It's probably going to go over an hour a little bit, but that's fine. I think the first big one and is Furiosa. Furiosa. Furiosa. Furiosa. From George Miller. Yeah.
00:07:24
Speaker
Do you have it in you to make it epic? Yes. Yes, they do. And I think this is going to be a bit of a theme, but I think this is another one where we had the problems with the kind of incels and neck beards kind of losing it. over over this movie, which yeah like and well and which was funny, especially in this, that and you know this was the character from the previous film that is like you know almost-feminist.
00:07:56
Speaker
Film you know your your your main character has bear What does he have like six lines of dialogue in a movie and and he's barely there like you know furious and the women the wives of the lead Characters they're the ones whose story you're really into but for some reason couching it around max made it more acceptable I don't know I I don't get it it as well. I can't think that way. I'm not you know same gender construct, but not I I can't think, I even try to throw myself back to like a 10, 11, 12 year old version of myself, which is about how old these guys are mentally. And I still can't, I still can't do that. I i do think that in terms of the marketing for Furios, that
00:08:42
Speaker
they They really tried to pitch it as the same as yeah Fury Road, and I think that was a mistake. Yeah, because it is not. It's not the same movie, and it shouldn't be. It's not the same movie at all. It's not. It's it's a it's not his story. It's hers. That's going to have a different tone. It's going to have a different pace, and very appropriate. Yeah, no, completely. Not to its lesser. It's just, yeah, like you said, around the marketing, it's like, come on, guys. There's, I mean, Lila Brown, who plays young Furiosa as well, is over i mean amazing. I'm standing. Tom Burke, for for for for what he's given, is really good. He definitely has that kind of presence for the type of character that he was playing.
Editing Styles in Cinema
00:09:23
Speaker
It's basically your kind of max substitute, isn't he, really? Oh, totally. I was like was like, when he came on the screen, I was like, oh, there's a uniform for Road Warriors. Okay. Right. Yeah. yeah I mean, was was he his next cop as well before? right Did he have a charger? But I mean, in in I thought Anya was really good. I didn't think she quite reached the level of Charlize Theron, right? really No, i do I think it was a little bit short, but but by no means bad, just to be clear. I just think they think the Charlize Theron one was, I don't know,
00:09:57
Speaker
with the word more nuanced, I suppose. more Like there was more, she was more informed. And even though you're being informed by the story of how she got there, she seemed more. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, but it was great to see so many returning cast and characters in a film with an entirely different structure to the predecessor. And I get to call it Hemsworth in that too. Oh, totally, totally. Knocking it out of the park. You could hardly tell it was Hemsworth, which is always a good sign as well. And it was just that great combination of the physicality and the humor and the menace and the psychosis and the heartbreak right and the sort of like he had, like he swung for the fences on that.
00:10:39
Speaker
And yeah nobody's talking about that. I'm like it like because he had a big funny nose or something. You know, it's like he's supposed to be. There's supposed to be a cartoonish element to him that you're supposed to. He's a cop man. That's why they dismiss him. Yeah, because he's a cop. Well, because they based him on Trump. Based him on Trump. But the funny thing is, and I don't know if this is intentional or subliminal, but but it kind of reminds me of like the gyrocopter pilot. Right. Yeah. Right. He's all out for himself. You know, there's there's having a character like and the cartoony kind of thing to it. the the The pilot was the same way. He was kind of a, felt like he belonged to more in a roadrunner cartoon. Right, right, right. Yeah, totally. but anyway I think one of my favorite quotes on this film is from Mark Kermode who said, it's like David Lean after doing a line of diesel.
00:11:32
Speaker
Oh my. Oh my. And while we're talking about Mad Max, I would recommend there's a YouTube video from a guy called This Guy Edits, where he compares the number of cuts between Fury Road and a Transformers movie. And it turns out there are way more cuts in the Mad Max movies than in the Transformers movies, which is there's so fluid. You don't notice because they draw. That's one of the things with Michael Bay and those movies in particular, the ones I've managed to stomach that is his style. It's like, why are you cutting? Like, I think it was The Rock I was watching. Like, no shot was longer than 30 seconds. Right. Not one.
00:12:16
Speaker
was a dialogue scene between two characters and you're still cutting at that pace. Why are you doing this? Why are you making us crazy? Why are you giving everyone who watches his ADHD now? ah And and it you know, oh it's there. he He talks about how some of the camera movements as well, they'll make you sick if you just cut to something that is contrary to that. But
Film Reviews: Monkey Man, Boy Kills World, and All of Us Strangers
00:12:40
Speaker
if it flows, it's fine. You don't get seasick watching it. Yeah. Well, again, then you get you know, a quality filmmaker versus, well, Michael Bay. Exactly. ah what Exactly. yeah He makes a product. I'll give him that. He makes a product. And next up, we've got in the action category, Monkey Man. Okay, man. Dev Patel. Oh, man. yeah Yeah, we, and we already, yeah, we already spent a good amount of time on this job to touch on it again. Now that it's coming out on,
00:13:13
Speaker
the the home video stuff's coming out on it, you know, just highly recommend me. It's one of the best action movies I've seen in years, yeah much less this year, much less somebody's first movie. Right, right. It's just the debut feature and it wasn't easy to make as well. yeah hats off to Deb Patel. yeah Fantastic. And I think sort of feeding into that. So the next one on our list is Boy Kills World. And I think the first thing I would say about this is I probably would have loved this more if I'd not watched it so soon after Monkey. Sure. I get it. Yeah. I think it was just a bit too close together and Monkey Man is done so well. I think Boy Kills World is is great. I do kind of wish that when it gets toward the end of the movie, we we sort of lose his inner voice for probably the last quarter. It's two-thirds of a great movie.
00:14:09
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, I think the ending is a little bit messy. They don't stick the landing. Yeah, the tone doesn't remain either. It suddenly gets really deadly serious. No, it loses. It starts to slip. I mean, there's some good performances. Again, I will say it again. Why do you have Andrew Kojima in this movie and not use him for martial arts? Exactly. I do not understand that. at all. Yeah, that did not make sense. And the the final battle is almost entirely lifted from the raid. Oh, yeah. But you know, I wouldn't mind that if they kind of injected the humor that you had in the first two thirds of the movie. Exactly. They needed Yeah, exactly. And well, not kind of live. I mean, you have the same showdown with the same villain.
00:14:57
Speaker
with two people fighting the one guy that you did right the same one guy from the raid is here and boy goes wrong. I mean, it's like, yeah, but you know, the, the, well, that, and that's the thing too. There's, there's those parallels to the, the, the kind of climactic bit in monkey man has is obviously drawn from the raid, but it feels so like, wow, that's an Ama Amaj versus in boy kills the world. It's like, Oh, they've just borrowed that. Exactly. It just doesn't not feel inspired. It does not carry the same drama tone. the character you don't care about as much. You know, you're just not as invested. There's not the emotional tie that again, Patel just nailed. but It totally nails it. and And yeah, it is a fine line between the kind of homage and just lifting. And yeah I think and you can look at Tarantino's work and the early stuff, it feels like homage in the latter work. It feels like a weird hodgepodge. it gets a hodge but Yeah, it gets complicated. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
00:15:53
Speaker
And was there anything else in action from the first half of the year that you wanted to mention? Nothing that i I could remember. Those those were so big yeah or me know anything else. you know I don't know if it'd be fair to bring up or to compare because sure sure that's a high effing bar. That is. Yeah. first step in the drama going way back to the beginning of the year is all of us strangers. yay And this caught me completely by surprise. I didn't know what was going to go on in it. The casting and performances are some of the best and the sound in it is is is off the chart. The sound holds it all together.
00:16:33
Speaker
I'm putting it in drama here, but it would really fit in some of the other categories that we have further along in this list. but The whole story of family and generations and connections. it's It's really, really something. Well, and how trauma is processed and passed and dealt with as well as grief and and love and romance and you know familiar love versus self care, love. I mean, there is is is such a complex piece. And I mean, like I said, I would totally agree. I mean, the pacing of it, the mood, the tone, everything is and almost not perfect. Just the way you that we move the the way we move through the story. I mean, if anybody else had been in that lead role, I don't think it would work. But Andrew Scott was just, I mean, he's an incredible actor anyway, right? Andrew Haig as well is very good. Yeah.
00:17:25
Speaker
yeah at Claire Foy and Jamie Bell. what There's no weakness in that movie. there is no there is no weak point you could really go to and I mean, they the the thing for me is, you know, it's one of the best cinema experiences tend to be quite, you know, transcendental and Roger Ebert had a great coat. that that Mark Commode brings up all the time, where he describes movies as a machine that generates empathy, right? It lets you understand a little bit more about different hopes, aspirations, dreams, fears, different kinds of people. And, you know, being a straight man, watching this movie, which is, you know,
00:18:06
Speaker
openly ah gay, but I wouldn't call it a gay movie because I think that that that sort of creates a kind of ghetto of movies that that this is for gay people. This this entirely, entirely works and is so convincing. And I mean, it's not just the gay love story, it's that that whole connection with the family, which is universal, right? And it just did it so well. It just did it so well. And that unique thing to kind of harken back to for, you know, the spoiler thing with it, with his mom and him being so comfortable with being out and then talking to his mom who was trapped in, you know, 1986 or whatever. And her reaction is like, no, that was the reaction then.
00:18:52
Speaker
And he's like, he has to go back and like a stop and like unpack and rephrase. He's like, oh, I've got to dig up that language again. You know, it's this beautiful little scene. Yeah, they could. And so, yeah, and that's definitely part of it. But that so that I think puts it, you know, definitely for that for that story puts it into queer cinema. Yeah. yeah know it it It definitely does. It definitely does have... But not overall. You're right. It's not the whole... Doesn't exclude the rest of us as well for really
Uplifting Narratives in Cinema
00:19:22
Speaker
enjoying this movie. Exactly. and Next up on the list, I've got Finn Bender's Perfect Days. Have you seen this one? Still haven't seen it. Okay. This is... that Yeah, I don't want to get much away. it's it's It's quite low key. The lead performance from I mean, it's it's just a masterpiece. it's It's an experience piece. It does have a thread of a story going through. Anyone who's seen Vim vendors before will kind of if understand the kind of general ambience of it. ah it's It's just such a great movie. Speaking of cinema of transcendence. it
00:19:57
Speaker
This this movie, if you're feeling low, if you feel like like, you know, you're you're just not making it, this movie will lift you and not in a cheap way. Do you know what I mean? like Like, oh, everything's happy endings. Well, it's it's no, this guy doesn't have a great life. He spends his life cleaning toilets. But, you know, he he finds happiness you know outside of that. And it's it's just great. It's a gorgeous movie as well. Of course, vin vendors. And next up, I've got Hirokazu Karida's Monster.
00:20:33
Speaker
again, child performances off the chart in this, about two young boys who who kind of love each other, right? And and they're just kind of, you know, they they they're they're they're like nine or 10 years old. But, you know, I don't want to give much away because this movie is is is really something. This is fantastic. And Corita is similar to Lanthimos in that he keeps turning these out. Like like you're like, how how do you keep doing this? And they're all so different. and and And they're also assured and you know solid, but yeah, you need to catch up with Monster and well we'll talk about it a bit more.
Visual Storytelling and Narrative Pacing
00:21:11
Speaker
But I think you've seen the next one on the list, Evil Does Not Exist. Yeah, I'm not miss i'm not sleeping on one Yamaguchi movie or Hamaguchi movie now. Yeah, that you were you're talking about the that transcendent filmmaking, good lord.
00:21:26
Speaker
And this one is no different. This one just... I mean... Go in blind. Oh, just go in blind. I mean, the first... What was it? 10, 15 minutes? There's not a single human yeah on the screen. It's all shots of the nature and that and that setting and everything like that. I mean, it's really, you do need to let that first 10 or 15 minutes pull you in, though. Yeah. like It's not like, oh, no you know what's happening? I'll just check my phone. You cannot do that. You know, it's there for a reason. You kind of get immersed into it. Well, and it's you know, this is another long one, you know, from him as well. But it's all very intentional. There's no wasted space. yeah You know, it's like drive my car. There is no wasted space in that three hour movie. I mean, it's yeah, that's another great one.
00:22:12
Speaker
you know It's just that same thing. It's like you've got to... What are you saying about that? That's why it's at this pace and that's why it's with this imagery and that's why it's with this mood and tension and and such. And yeah, the ending just comes out of... I wouldn't say it comes out of nowhere, but it comes out of a place that just really like... It's not headed toward a clear destination at the end. You don't quite know the purpose and then suddenly things start clicking harshly. You know, and yeah, I mean, it's one of those movies where some movies and and people go out and they're on their phones talking to their pals about other things, right? People were coming out of this one, just going like, you know, what was you know what happened there? And what did this what did this mean? and kind of And everybody was kind of a buzz, you know, coming out of the theater. But all yeah, definitely recommend that. I mean, can you believe that all these came out in half a year? It's it's it's a just crazy. Next one on the list, I just got to say, to yeah
00:23:09
Speaker
You know, how many of these we've seen, so I just got to say, you know, touch grass. Just go outside once in a while, making sure you're taking care of you. Yeah, I have thought about this. is like is watching These are just new releases and sort of thinking about all the other films, you know, I watched in preparation for the special episodes that we've done on crime, on the gay episode. And, you know, man, it's been a lot. It's been a lot, but but but but it's been great. Learned a lot in the the first six months of this year. And then the next few, stop me if you've seen these ones. I'm not i'm not sure if you've seen these. Ama Gloria, I only just saw recently at the cinema. Yeah, that one's not familiar. And I mean, it's just a beautiful little poem of a film about separation, loss, and family with this amazing performance from the six-year-old Louise Moroy-Pensane.
00:24:05
Speaker
who is in Paris with her dad, and they have kind of nanny that that takes care of her, but the nanny has to go back to the Caribbean to go back to her family, right? And the six-year-old is is really broken up about it, so they kind of arranged for her to go spend a summer there. But oh my God, if you if you watch the trailer for this movie, if you are not moved, if you do not cry during the trailer and that's a
Upcoming Film Highlights and Anticipations
00:24:34
Speaker
rarity. it you can You can feel the power of it and this this kid just carries the entire film and it's just basically a film about ah having having to let go of those that you love because you love them and you need to let them you know do their thing and it's done through the eyes of a child and it's just awesome.
00:24:55
Speaker
Next one is like like La Quimera from Alice Rorvacher. Again, this is another instant classic. It makes use of sort of magical realism. The lead in it is Josh O'Connor, who was in Challengers this year. He's been getting a lot of buzz. He's he's another one of these up-and-coming actors. He's basically come out of prison. He is kind of a dark Indiana Jones type. He he but he basically divines where's where artifacts are and then sells them on the black market with this gang. But it's also this this got this bit of a mystery and it's got ah Isabella Rossellini in it as well. It it is i'm old it's good. It's good. it's it's It's not quite as weird as Lanthamos, but it does have that magical realism going on and it's it's really good.
00:25:50
Speaker
next one that I've got on the list, I i didn't see this one. It was, it they had like two showings, but everything I hear about it is great. It's called the teacher's lounge. I have heard of this one, yeah. And and everything I had seen in the trailer just looked super compelling. So, anyhow, just a side note there. Not seen it yet. Looks great. Need to check it out.
Gasoline Rainbow and Youth Culture
00:26:12
Speaker
Yeah, we do have recommendations on here of things that we want to see. Yeah, that that'll be the first one. Which is fair. Which is fair. Before you start where you in cells start attacking us, no, it's fair.
00:26:23
Speaker
We're trying. And then next up on the list is one that we both seen and comes from your part of the world is Gasoline Rainbow, yeah Ross Brothers. Yes, which was, yeah, like, I'd say part road movie, part reservation dogs. coming of age sort of thing from that level story and the way they interact with the world and and such too. and this the But it's total road movie flow plus a semi-doc, semi-documentary, because part of it is documentary, but part of it is you know scripted obviously. or
00:26:57
Speaker
you know But it was an interesting way to do it. let's just say Put it that way and it takes place here in yeah in Oregon and a lot in Portland and then out on the coast. It's a beautiful film as well. yo Yeah, it's very well shot. It really leans into the natural beauty of but leans into the natural beauty of of humanity, right kind of like of everything. that That's what it's celebrating. That's what it's tapping into. that's what you I think that's why you connect and feel for these characters where these kids are graduating high school and say, yeah, i don't I live in a small town. There are no opportunities. I don't know what I'm going to do. well yeah and I literally don't know. And you can relate to that. you know's I remember story when we were growing up, we really felt like we were in the middle of nowhere, and let alone actually being, well, you were you were actually in Shelton.
00:27:44
Speaker
I was even worse. Yeah. You were in the big city. Yeah. I was in the crack den. I mean, this is what annoys me with reviewers comparing this to Harmony Korine is because as this film didn't feel like it needed to add shocks, which only kind of perpetuate stereotypes of people in the fringe. Do you know what I mean? It's like, no, no, they can have happy lives.
Exploration of Youth and Identity in Cinema
00:28:10
Speaker
You know, Yeah, that's the problem I have with Corinne's stuff. I do as well, is this kind of- Larry Clark as well, but that's another description. Privileged tourism of lower classes. Exploitational tourism, yep. Exactly. This is like a really gentle effecting the story. Actually, I'll tell you what it reminded me of, because this year I've been catching up on Agnes Varda's filmography, and it feels a lot like
00:28:40
Speaker
some of her movies, because she she she goes over that line between documentary and Bing Shin. And there's one called, I think it's called Uncle Varda, where she goes to this long lost uncle of hers that is actually living somewhere on the west coast on a boat in a kind of artist's commune. And it really does feel like gasoline rainbow. It's very kind of similar. but yeah i i I'm lucky enough to have tickets to actually go see this again with the directors in Manchester in the middle of July. It'll be interesting to see what comes out of that. and then Next up on the list is I Saw the TV Glow from Jane Schoenbrunn.
00:29:21
Speaker
Have you seen this? I did, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. i was I did as well. I was very surprised how much I did enjoy it. I enjoyed it a lot more than than her previous film, We're All Going to the World Fair, which I kind of appreciated the technical bit of it and the out-there-ness of it, but it didn't hang together like this one did. That's kind of what I've heard too. I haven't seen that one, but that's kind of what I heard. the This one, holds together exceptionally well. And just, again, kind of like the previous one, tying in a lot of stuff for youth, stories about, but tying in things around sexual identity as well, and then just blurring that line of, I don't know if it's magical realism per se versus just, you know, what's self-abuse, what's self-obsession versus, you know, how lost in your own head could you get?
00:30:14
Speaker
like And Justice Smith is amazing in it. This is a breakout role. I mean, I thought he was great in the Dungeons and Dragons movie. Oh, that's true as well. I was like, who's this guy? He was really good in that, too. I'm like, oh. But this one's just- But you know what? The Dungeons and Dragons movie, I really enjoyed that. That was a good- That was really fun. That was so much better than it deserved to be. Yup. Completely agree with that. I mean, the well we'll talk about that in a similar way with the Fall Guy movie that came out this year too. oh yeah It has the same kind of like, this shouldn't be this fun. And next to the list, I won't go over this too much, this Tiger Stripes, which is Ginger Snaps Malaysian style, which is is is okay. It's an okay movie. it It is exactly that, Ginger Snaps Malaysian style. But the effects are really ropey, right? They're distracting, but they don't happen very often, and their performances are good. There's a tight script. Very much like, let the right one in, in some respects. But don't expect to have that kind of level of
Unique Narrative Approaches in Film
00:31:20
Speaker
movie. This is a little bit more rough around the edges. And then next up, we got Blackberry. Blackberry. which is from Elaine Nevarani, which is it's a weird one. It's a slow burn, a kind of oddity that actually puts a an older middle aged woman at the center. And it's kind of her story where oh well that i'll never sell this is the thing. So, so as it opens up, she's she's crossing a bridge and she almost falls. And then she imagines herself seeing herself kind of dead at the bottom, the the ravine. And that makes her kind of rethink her life because she's just lived in isolation all this time. And she she tries to start opening up and she takes a lover and all this. and
00:32:05
Speaker
it's It's really good, but it's so different to what you expect in terms of the casting of the characters in it. It's, a you know, tip of the hat to that that movie for for doing that. And then the very first movie that I saw in 2024 was Molly Manning Walker's How to Have Sex. Now, I really hate- How come somebody put this in the film form? This is the funny thing. As much as I hate the the title of this movie, it is a honey trap for the type of people who would benefit from seeing it. I don't want to give too much away. sort of
00:32:44
Speaker
similar to how Americans go to Florida for spring break, though the younger Brits will go to Spain and go to the various islands, New York or Ibiza and all that. And you've got the the this this group of of young women going going out to this island. And you know it's kind of a coming of age thing, but you know there's there's a sting in the tail as well. And it it doesn't linger on the sex. So, so, so for those who are just kind of, or or even any nudity, really, I can't, I can't recall there being, there's implied nudity, but you're not going to get, what do you expect if you're going like, Oh, it's got sex in the title. I'm going to go see this movie. And when I went to the premiere of kinds of kindness, you know, I sat down with
00:33:31
Speaker
this film critic and this this actress. And I was like, oh, yep, the actress. I won't even ask what she's been in. Well, she's one of the leads in this movie. And she she was she was she was ever, ever so kind and kind of nice to to kind of allow, you know, which Let me indulge. yeah Her name's Enva Lewis. She plays like one of the nice friends in the movie, the wise friend in the movie. And yeah, i she
Standout Performances and Biopics Mention
00:33:58
Speaker
was awesome. She was really kind of open about it. And again, you know, this trio of me, her and this this film critic who she knew as well, we're all going to be meeting again. So yeah.
00:34:08
Speaker
Yeah, she was she was fantastic. and She doesn't have any other movies lined up, but she's again, she's got a presence. you know She walks into a room and you think, wow, there's light coming from that person. um but yeah and Then on to biopics as the next category. now I've not seen- Which I still pronounce as biopic. Or biopic, yeah. No, it's biopic is what should be, but I still say biotech. I Now, don't know why. I've heard arguments both ways. You know, I'm on this side of the pond, so. Follow the limeys on this one. Let me add a letter to aluminum. Okay, hands up.
00:34:47
Speaker
I've not seen any of these. Right. Back to black. Same here. Iron claw. Right. Heard good things about them. I'm going to need to catch up with them before we get to the end of the year. And then I added one in there as well that I missed when I was at the local stupidly and kicking myself called the people's joker. I've been trying to remind myself to to chase that one down because I've heard great things about that as well. Nothing but good about that. and using the And so it's using the format for the Joker movie that came out. But like I said, I think the Onion Savvy Club thing was like, but this time good. But using it to a lot of green screen and mixed media, just like everything they could do.
00:35:30
Speaker
for a transgender kind of coming-to-be tale, but using this format for it is like, okay, now now you're talking. It does kind of remind me from what I've seen of it, of I Saw the TV Glow, and it's obviously got some thematic connection as well there. Right, yeah. And in that losing yourself in another character story narrative, yeah. Right. going to have to check that one out. But we'll have to move on to one area that we have seen quite a few movies and that's historical drama.
Cultural Impacts and Storytelling
00:36:00
Speaker
And the first one that I'd seen of the year was Jonathan Glaser's The Zone of Interest. Yeah, yeah. And that was and rightfully winning the awards that it did. um I'm still still very proud of his acceptance speech as well that he gave on that.
00:36:18
Speaker
i think the the buzz like the the dust that creaked up. and It's kicked up dust where you are. Over here, people are just kind of amused by the fact that it's upset people over there. I i think that there's this weird perception when you're in the States that that this is what the whole world thinks is like, no, you're all weird, man. yeah Oh, yeah. I was thinking, is the financers of Israel? Yeah. Yeah. yeah Anyway, but yes, we we talked about, yeah, this one already. and it is yeah yeah It's outstanding. Frickin' good. It is. Yeah. It's like the horror of humanity told in negative space, you know, where it doesn't show the horror, but it implies everything and sounds awesome.
00:37:01
Speaker
But the next one that we have is Felipe Galvez's The Settlers. And man, where did this come from? Because the only downside that I have for this is I didn't get to see it on the big screen because this should be seen on the big screen. And it was also, you know, somebody else pointed out, that you know, some news of other film films trying to be made is that, you know, one of them is those books that are notoriously difficult that people have tried to for years to try to get some film adaptation and they're just notoriously resistant, you know, for a long time. That was Lord of the Rings or Dune, you know, something like that.
00:37:44
Speaker
But one of the other big ones that's out there is Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian. That's a tough book to work get through. Yeah, it's a very tough book to get through. But this movie was about as close, I think, as you could probably get. I hadn't thought of that, but that's right. It's it's on ah on a more, well, more positive than Blood Meridian. Let's put it that way. I mean, that's a pretty low bar, I know. But but this one, you know, has a little bit more, it's not as dire or doom as McCarthy's stuff typically is. I mean, I had to put that book down a lot yeah before I finished it. But there's elements here, especially particular elements that are just like that. I'm like like right i'm like doing the, you know, the the Leo gif, a meme of ah pointing at the screen, you know. I'm like, oh!
00:38:29
Speaker
that's That's right out of Blood Meridian. That could be totally like, yeah and just tonally and story-wise and what you're invested in and everything like that. And yeah, this just, like you said, this comes out of nowhere for at least most Western eyes, I would say. I, yeah, it had it' on no trailers for it beforehand, no nothing. And again, it is a wildly accomplished debut, right? This is the guy's first movie. um Yeah. Yeah, I just cannot wait to see what he does next. And it has this whole opening that is very kind of Leone in terms of the look and feel. And then you kind of have even have some of that humor that you get in Jarmusch's Dead Man. And then it's just starts descending into I don't know if you ever seen the proposition or, yeah you know, a queer wrath of God, you know, you thought of yeah I mean, and then,
00:39:22
Speaker
it just kind of turns it on its head. It's just magnificent. It's, it's, it's really good. yeah Next on the list. It's only just come out this month and I haven't had a chance to catch up, but people around me have told me great things about it. My, I'm, I'm very eager to see it. I've seen, it's weird. I'm sorry, go ahead. I i mean, we can talk about what movie it is. Understand on the bike riders from Jeff Nichols is that, yeah, thank you for reminding me of that. Mystery movie. Guess what we're talking about? is is I think one of the big things that's kind of good to know going in if you've seen the trailer is that Tom Hardy is deliberately in the movie as his character trying to sound like Marlon Brando. He's watching the movie, the you know the wild one, and and and and he's trying to... So people are going like, oh, he's just pretending to be Brando. He's supposed to be that that the person he is part of its good is trying to do that. And it's it's it's not so much about this tough biker gang, but around this whole culture and this group of people kind of coming together. you know They're not... It's not a Hell's Angels movie. It's it's it's it's more like fandom.
00:40:37
Speaker
these guys, right? That they, they see Brando and they see all this, these movies kind of coming out with the bikers and whatnot. And, you know, they want to be part of it. So yeah, next movie, and I had a lot of opportunities to see this one that I just didn't see it, is Tran and Hung's The Taste of Things, which is the Juliet Ben-Ash and Ben-Wam Maggie Nettle. And this looked really good, but it's just one of those movies that, that for one reason or another, I just, uh, haven't haven't caught up on, so I have to catch up on that. Did you see it? I did not. I mean, it looks good. I mean, Julie, Ben, I was on the whole- Yeah, I'm familiar with it. yeah Exactly. Pinocchio's in and I'll watch it probably. Yeah.
00:41:16
Speaker
yeah And the next one, probably one of the duds this year, and I'm not saying it's terrible, but Rosalie from Stephanie de Guisto, it is about ah a bearded lady, but it is so by the numbers in terms of a biopic. And I forget the woman it was based off of, because again, based on a true story. But if you look at the true story, the true story is a lot more interesting.
Anticipation for Directorial Debuts and Influences
00:41:42
Speaker
like They made this a lot very sanitized, whereas as the real bearded lady was well out there where you should be juggling knives at the circus and all this other stuff, but this is kind of more of a merchant ivory type thing. and It's like, no, no, no, we don't have stuff like that, which is a shame because I think the performances are really good in it, but yeah, kind of dry.
00:42:07
Speaker
and and really long, it's like two hours, so. And then the last one in this category, The Dead Don't Hurt from Viggo Mortensen, his directorial debut with Vicki Krieger, and I've not seen this one yet, but again. No, nor I, I'm looking forward to it. so was a little He did a little um so video on the Criterion Channel, where he's making his picks for some Criterion movies and talking about cinema. A little anecdote of meeting with, oh, they know, function to who gives them a little insight. It's a short little thing. It's worth watching, but it's like, and you know, I've liked Mortensen enough just on a personal level. You know, it's like what he's done and everything like that. um It's got me interested to see how he does.
00:42:49
Speaker
yeah I'm interested to see it too. and yeah If you're going to watch a Western in the current releases, pick this over Costner's. Pick this over anything by Kevin's fucking idiot, dumbass Costner. Anyone who lacks the taste to create a trilogy of movies by leaving out part one in the title. is, yeah yeah, they made a mistake. I mean, the funny thing about Ed, you sort of mentioned Vigo and Varda there is, again, Varda doesn't look like the kind of traditional yeah woman character that is kind of expected. And I think she gets sidelined because because of that. But Martin Scorsese on tons of occasions has talked about Varda being like his favorite.
00:43:34
Speaker
yeah a super champion.
Narratives of Human Struggles and Perspectives
00:43:36
Speaker
And there's one anecdote where when he finished the movie Kundun that he showed it to to Agnes Varda and she said nothing, right? and and And he said, Ed, he knew at that point that he he messed up. But Yeah, fun story. Right. The next category is called Contemporary History. And yeah, these are wildly good. And I've only so I've seen both these movies in the last two weeks. The first one is Agnieszka Holland's Green Border. I adore Agnieszka Holland. i You know, it's just
00:44:14
Speaker
She's, saying you know, that I adored Andre Vida and she was, you know, the heir for Polish cinema yeah for him and I just, I've always adored everything she's done and so I'm very much looking forward to finally getting my hands on this one to to watch it because the story looks fantastic. So basically, it is the story of refugees stranded between Belarus and Poland, where men, women and children are bounced as political pawns between the two governments, right, the two different borders. An exclusion zone, this kind of neutral zone is referred to as the green zone. And the story itself is told from multiple points of view. So the first is this Syrian family hoping to reunite with other family members in Sweden. ah So they're obviously fleeing the conflict in Syria. The film begins with them on the plane. It's as if you're seeing a family going on vacation on holiday, right?
00:45:13
Speaker
And it's so normal and it's so understandable. You know, the kids are making noise, a kick in the back of the seats and all this other stuff. And so you see them on the plane and they see them leave the airport and then things descend really quickly into this completely Kafkaesque nightmare. And it's it's it's like Holland is bringing to life a single decimal, the statistics that we hear about so much. And it's just devastating because you're just like, oh no, this is just one story out of all these stories. And then the second story focuses on a new border guard. The third on a group of activists who are helping these people that are trapped in this neutral zone. And finally, there's this woman who's recently been widowed. She's a therapist and she lives near the border and she gets pulled into this. And all these stories kind of intermingle and they're all just so compelling and horrifying.
00:46:08
Speaker
And at times, really thrilling. like It feels like a thriller where you're just like biting your nails and thinking what's going to happen next. So it's it's it's not just like pure misery. i think I think there's a lot that people will attach to in this. So there's you know humor stuck in there as well. It's really good. ah she's As a filmmaker, she's very good at balancing those elements quite well. It's fantastic. And finally, they have an epilogue that kind of underlines all of this, and it's done really well. Ayo Capitano from Matteo Garone is it's it's another film kind of dealing with human trafficking. And Garone, in this film, tells the story of these two Senegalese teenage boys who have these huge dreams of making it big in Europe.
00:46:55
Speaker
and you know You have this dangerous journey to get from Senegal to the Mediterranean across the Sahara through hostile territory. and it you know As a teenager, it sounds like an adventure to them, right? and They have this idealized vision of Europe as well. you know The streets are lined with gold and all this, and and you know they're going to make it. they're going to be famous making music videos, but you know it's all a mirage and you know it's all down to their youth and lack of experience. But the film itself can be, you could I think ah anyone could enjoy this movie as an adventure movie right on one level, right a harrowing movie at times and tense, but but but as that. And it's just so epic.
00:47:41
Speaker
And it is so adventurous in terms of them just kind of throwing themselves at at this kind of mission that they have. But it's got moments of magic in there and color that ah kind of give you a little bit of respite against some of the grueling journey. But it's done so well that it doesn't take away from the tragedy.
Political Narratives and Unique Storytelling Approaches
00:48:00
Speaker
It's really good. It's it's it's fantastic. Highly recommend that one if you get your hands on that. And then the last one in this category is Alex Garland's Civil War. Yes, which is the one id on here I have seen. Yes, and I enjoyed this a lot. like ah Somebody told me going in and it's like, you know whoever made this really hates the press. And I'm like, well, that's that's one way to look at it, but I think the press is a stand-in for political inaction. It's a intriguingly paced. I didn't know quite to to expect from that, especially where the way it moves between moments of pure, you know, just ah release and then into, you know, like those those Tarantino moments of of absolute tension over seemingly nothing, you know, just ah the way it binds those together. And I think it's a really good road movie as well.
00:48:51
Speaker
It's also a road movie. It's got that going. But Kirsten Dunst really just, what she brings is the world weary, war weary eye to it. And she's she's really good when in what she doesn't say and just those looks that cross over on her face of just like, you know I can't believe this is happening again versus I can't believe this is happening versus I'm not surprised this is happening. There's so much going on on her face. Just breaking down. and I mean, it's interesting. Mark Kermode in his review, he liked it, but he didn't buy into the young photographer.
00:49:28
Speaker
And I kind of understand what she he means by that. I should again it could have cast someone that was a little bit older looking. I know she's she is the right age, but she looks really young and young. I'm like, she's supposed to be that. Yeah. But, but I guess i think Jesse Plemons is absolutely chilling in this. Which I love the fact that he he showed up like what, two days? before that or like before that scene that he's in, like he was a last minute replacement and she was like, Hey, my husband could come do this. oh He was like, Oh, okay. And so he just came in like with nothing and just like, like, Holy cow. There's the guy we first met on Breaking Bad. But the funny thing is, is, is, uh, this week when when I, when I, when I seen him, he just seems generally shy and nice.
00:50:17
Speaker
you know and and And I'd just seen Civil War, so that was still in my head. And it was his idea to put on those those wacky glasses. He just picked them up. Right. Just keep things moving. a Thriller noir. The only one that I have for this category is Love Lies Bleeding from Rose Glass. did he Have you seen this one yet? No, I haven't been able to yet. So just very quickly on this, just as a reminder. So this is a follow up to her debut Saint Maude, which is completely different. And this has a feeling of early Coen Brothers noir, that kind of 70s sensibility, especially Blood Simple. Glass puts her on stamp on this. And there are some references to other movies in here that are just brilliant and, you know, out of genre movies as well. So, yeah.
00:51:08
Speaker
definitely need to check that one out. <unk>s It's really good. I don't know if it was Drive Away Dolls this year. It was this year, but I avoided that one because it just got panned by the reviewers over here. Which is unfortunate. It's it's not you know it's not perfect, but it is well worth watching, and it would definitely i'll definitely fall under this. I'll check it out. but would be It might be difficult for me after having watched this one, because I think this is one of the best noirs that we've we've had in in years and years and years. But yeah, I'll definitely check it out. Definitely check it out. Yeah, it's definitely, I would still recommend it. it's yeah Again, it's Ethan Cohen who you know can write characters you know that you just want to hear more about for days, right? Overall, it's not as tight as it should be. you know
00:51:55
Speaker
You know, Joel was the director. Ethan was the writer. It was basically what the dynamic I think was supposed to. So they they were stronger
Conclusion and Social Media Call to Action
00:52:01
Speaker
to together. I was going to say their independent stuff has been good, but not as good. Well, okay. We're, we're getting up to the 57 mark shell. We, I think we're going to have to split this in two, but I think we can do it in two wise for you viewers out there as we get to the end of part one. And follow us on our Facebook page. We've also got the Instagram account now, which is 2oceanspodcast. That's the number 2oceanspodcast, all one word. You'll find us on there. And we'll catch you next time where we're going to start looking at dramedy for 2024 season. January. Knock out a few more genres. Knock out a few more. Well, the rest, hopefully. Well, yeah.
00:52:56
Speaker
Add a letter to aluminum. Two oceans.