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205 - Venom (2005) image

205 - Venom (2005)

S5 E205 · Disenfranchised
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“Blood works best.”

This week, Spooky-thon 2024 keeps on trucking as we get prepped for Venom: The Last Dance to arrive in theaters by talking about a horror film also conveniently called Venom! Along the way, we find time to talk about Tucker’s mozzarella stick obsession, 2002's The Thing video game, the life of an old-school projectionist, and so much more!

Feel like you have snakes crawling under your skin? Follow us on social media! It probably won't fix anything, but might distract you for a few minutes!

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Transcript

Introduction to the Disenfranchised Podcast

00:00:27
Speaker
No, please don't kill me, Mr. Ghostface. I want to be in the sequel. Well, come on in, sit on down, and welcome to the disenfranchised podcast. That podcast all about those franchises of one. Those films that fancy themselves full-fledged franchises before falling flat on their face after the first film. I am your host, Stephen Foxworthy, and joining me is always the man quickly attaching his keys to his belt loop. It is my co-host, Tucker. Hey, Tucker.
00:00:56
Speaker
Hello, Steven. How are we doing tonight? Uh, I'm okay. You know, I did attach a big ring of keys to my belt loop today.

Tucker's Key Story

00:01:05
Speaker
I know. Actually, strangely enough, I was, um, so we have to turn off the water on the hill because like there's so many pipes that even if we left it on, like in the cabins or whatever, it just, it would all freeze anyway. So we have to like flush the pipes, like blow air through them. So there's no water in them. And I was doing that today.
00:01:26
Speaker
The cabins and I had all the cabin keys on one key ring. It was like 30 keys and they're all mislabeled. Yeah, they are. But i that's that's funny that you said that, Stephen, because I normally don't put keys on my belt loop. But today, today, today I did.

Horror Character Design Critique

00:01:46
Speaker
And today we're dealing with a want to be iconic horror villain with a ring of keys on his belt loop.
00:01:53
Speaker
Yeah, that's that's a thing this movie does. Doesn't really put too fine a point on it, but apparently that was one of the defining characteristics of the character to hear to hear the producer talk about it. So such a bland and like generic design like that. So if you're going to make a franchise with ah a killer, you know, a slasher franchise, it's got to look he's got to look interesting in some way.
00:02:22
Speaker
But there's nothing going on with, with good old Ray, dude. It's like, what if we gave Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger skin type? And that was about where it, where it ended in terms of design. Not even like that. It's like, let's take a man and just swap his color palette.
00:02:42
Speaker
Like everything. Let's put some kind of filter on him. Let's make it him look like every Aughts movie makes you feel inside. Yeah, such a boring and generic design. And it's it's kind of unfortunate because there are some cool things, potentially cool things about this character. We don't read it like.
00:03:08
Speaker
We're like, oh, that could be cool if this didn't suck. If everything about this didn't fucking suck.

Brett's Absence and Music Taste

00:03:15
Speaker
We're going to get into all of it before we do. I do need to mention that our good buddy Brett, uh, is currently on a trip through the backwaters of, uh, New Orleans. We wish him a, or I guess of Louisiana. We wish him straight up Bayou just, just down on the Bayou. Um.
00:03:32
Speaker
And yeah, we wish him a very, a very speedy return. Uh, one of these days he'll come back to us, but until that day, Tucker and I just holding down the fort and giving it real for you.

Analysis of Venom (2005) and Music References

00:03:43
Speaker
Was that a CCR reference, Steven, bringing in credence into this dude. I i do love credence. You know what? I burned myself out on them when I was a teenager, but lately I've been kind of craving it.
00:03:57
Speaker
And I think I could get a couple days of enjoyment out of their greatest hits and maybe Willie and the Poor Boys. I really liked that specific record of theirs. That's a good album. Yeah. No, I had Chronicle, their greatest hits compilation as a teenager. And I i played that thing now. I fucking love Creedence.
00:04:15
Speaker
and And for a band that popularized itself with the sounds of the bayou, we're looking at a movie today that tried to be popular by capitalizing on the sights of the bayou, which is to say the 2005 film Venom.
00:04:32
Speaker
Then, you know, this movie, Steven, this movie could take some advice from CCR, actually. Just keep it simple. Keep it simple. Because CCR is a band there. I mean, anybody could play a CCR song on any instrument. It's a very, very simple shit. But the way it's put together, it's fantastic. This movie.
00:04:57
Speaker
could have shaved a little off of it like just everything wise. And it's 85 minutes long. And I mean, I don't even mean running time like you could have just like, just kind of break it down to its essential elements.
00:05:12
Speaker
and stop trying to be so flashy and fucking 2005 dimension about it. I mean, well, that's that's the biggest flaw of this movie. I think we're going to get into all of it. We're kind of. We're too big for its britches, Steven. It's something for sure. 2005's Venom, directed by Jim Gillespie. Oh, ah he of I know what you did last summer. fan Yeah, I know. The screenplay by Flint Dealey, John Zorplatin and Brandon Boyce, a story by Dealey and Zorplatin based on a video game, but an unproduced video game that the two of them had created called Backwater. um No, I played that a video game. That would be a fun video. You know what? They should just bring it back now and make it like all the other horror games. Remember we were talking about this, how they're all exactly the same survivors versus killer.
00:06:04
Speaker
online multiplayer, you could totally do that with this. then You can get we're really creative with Ray. You get really creative with Ray. I could see what this would be a great game. Yes, please. Or as he was going to be in the video game, Jangles. Ray Jangles. No, just Jangles because his keys Jangle. I'm going to change my name to Ray Jangles. I kind of want to. I like the way that sounds. I feel like you should. Can you imagine? that ah Mr. Jangles. ah Call me. Mr. Jangles is my father. Call me Ray. Mr. Jangles is the mouse in the good in the green mile. Call me Ray. Even better.
00:06:46
Speaker
ah ah Produced my name would be Bo like B.A.U. There you go. B.A.U.

Shared Film Love and Podcast Anticipation

00:06:57
Speaker
Yeah. Mr. bowjangles Jangles Jangles. Raybo Jangles.
00:07:02
Speaker
Yeah, that's awful. Good ol' Ray. Produced by Scott Fay, Karen Lauder and Kevin Williamson. Yes, that Kevin Williamson, because it's an aughts dimension film. And he's not. What's he doing in 2005? He's not doing anything. I will. We can get into that. We can we can get into the the Kevin Williamson set of 2005. I'm into that. Yeah, actually, I'm a Kevin Williamson guy. Like, yeah I mean, scream is my favorite miss franchise. So yeah. But when he hits, you get shit like scream. but You get shit like the faculty. Future episode of this podcast, the faculty. Oh, I can't wait. I love that movie so much. And every time ah it's one of those movies like Buffy we were talking about last week, every time I watch it, like it's one where when I initially revisited it, I thought I was going to like it less. But every time I watch it, it just gets better. It's so fun. It's such a fun movie. It's so good. And starring Agnes Bruckner, Jonathan Jackson, Laura Ramsey, Megan Goode,
00:08:01
Speaker
Making good. OK. Good. Yeah. Yeah. Who's making good? Which should I know her from? Making good. She's she was in the Shazam movies. um She plays the.
00:08:17
Speaker
I saw the first one. ah She's the the grown up, the superhero version of the of the little girl, the little nerdy girl. Yeah, they popped in like for two seconds at the end. She's like my favorite part of that first movie. Like she is so good in it. Who's playing this? ah She is Sisi. She is the she gets squished by the car.
00:08:38
Speaker
No, she's the one who gets um she's the the granddaughter of the voodoo lady. Oh, she's a brick. She's a brick. Oh, yeah. she Oh, oh, wow. Steven, I didn't even realize that was her until right now. Whoa. I was going to say there's a movie she was in that you love her and I had to remember it was brick.
00:09:00
Speaker
She's so petty in that movie. She's so like mean girl, but like sophisticated mean girl. She's also looked on her future episode of this podcast alongside star of the faculty, Debs. oh I have not seen that surprisingly, but I love the poster. Yeah, I mean, yes. ah No, I know it's about Debs.
00:09:24
Speaker
No, of course not. ah No, it's a it's the the the lesbian action comedy. it's Sequel to Baps? No. not No, if it was a sequel, we wouldn't cover it. Oh, you're right. it's ah It's about spies. It's about lady spies. Debs? It's called Debs. Debs, D-E-B-S.
00:09:46
Speaker
That's what ah wasn't that like discipline, energy, but beauty, strength. That's what you called your girl in the fifties. It's your dad. No. What the hell are you talking about? Like if you were in a fifties like Greaser Gang.

Tucker's Birthday Plans

00:10:01
Speaker
And like your girlfriend would be like your gang name, Deb, like let's say you're the Tomahawks, right? Mm hmm. Your girl would be a Tomahawk, Deb.
00:10:14
Speaker
I'm gonna take your word for this. I have no idea what you're talking about. i was I exist outside of space and time, so I was there. Okay, Billy Pilgrim, whatever you say. Yeah, dude. Anyway, Agnes Bruckner, Jonathan Jackson, Laura Ramsey, Megan Good, you know it's gonna be a good episode when Tucker can't stop interrupting the preamble. I have so much to say. DJ Katrina, also from the Shazam films.
00:10:42
Speaker
ah Paul Shida, Rick Cramer, Bijou Phillips, Devetta Sherwood. And M-E-T-H-O-D, man. M-E-T-H-O-D, man. You know that one, Steven?
00:10:56
Speaker
You heard about this? You seen this? yeah I do. Do I know of it? Yes. Am I am I as intimately familiar with the works of Method Man as said you are? No, no, I am not. This is perhaps no one at the SOG Method Man, otherwise known as M E T H O. D. Man um has this really fantastic intro where they're just talking about all these mean and nasty things that they'll do to you. um And one of them, among many others that are very creative and vile, is he says, we're going to put your nuts on the dresser, just your nuts, son. And then we're going to take the drawer and just just bang them shits. Yeah. It's really funny.
00:11:43
Speaker
I'm so so close and just feed you and keep feeding you and keep feeding you. And then the song comes on. I am, I am glad that brings you joy, Tucker. It really does. I am so happy. I love a good hip hop album, Interlude. I loathe the bad ones. that That seems like a pretty fine line to ride sometimes. It really is. And it it kind of puts me at odds with some of my favorite artists. The first two Dr. Dre records, The Chronic and The Chronic 2001. I do not own on vinyl because I cannot skip.
00:12:19
Speaker
one of the interludes.

Movie Theater Memories

00:12:21
Speaker
o They're that bad on each one. Wow. Yeah. I'm just like, no, I don't ever want to hear that again, actually. As it happens. No, which sucked, which sucked when I was a teenager because I had the cassette tape and I had to fast forward through it. And like one of my favorite songs on the record is right after it. Right. And so I'm always missing the intro to that song. Always.
00:12:45
Speaker
Yeah, there's a bummer. Yeah, and that's why God gave us CDs compact. Yeah, that's I was so thrilled when I got the chronic on CD. I was like, i even better it just mp3 so you can just rip it and only take the tracks you want. Dude, I have a playlist and it's all of Dr. Dre's records in chronological order with the two interludes that I despise completely excised.
00:13:09
Speaker
There you go. That's the way I can listen to them in order or I can shuffle them bitches. Mm hmm. Yeah. I have a playlist of every collaboration between Meatloaf and Jim Steinman. I mean, that's most of them. It wasn't he was like his guy like that dude is for Elton John, though, right? Like, I mean, all the good shit. Yeah. ah There's a guy's name. Bernie. top burnt Yeah. OK, thank you. I knew that, but I couldn't, you know.
00:13:37
Speaker
And of course you knew that I could because I am broken, just fundamentally as a person. And you're just not as stoned as me. Like I know it, but I have trouble pulling up names, like very easy names that I say probably every day I have trouble pulling up if I've had too much. No, but I do have an old fashioned in my hand right now. So do with that information what you will. Yeah, well, yeah, well. Made with hard truth bourbon, bitters, maple syrup, and a little dos hombres mezcal for the smokiness.
00:14:07
Speaker
Hey, speaking of um alcoholism, Stephen, guess what I'm doing on my birthday, which is in, I don't know, maybe three days. I don't know. Could be three days. Could be the day this episode drops. Yeah. ah So me and Marv aren't going to go do something which I will reveal in the next Patreon. What are we watching episode?
00:14:37
Speaker
So subscribe to the Patreon, patreon dot.com slash disenfranch pod. ah Because I'm going to reveal the thing that Marv and I are going to do on my birthday that is going to change the course of both of our lives forever. And everyone adjacent to us. The world is going to change on Thursday, Steven. Your world in the small, tiny way is going to change. Everyone listening to this, your world is going to change just the tiniest bit because of something Marv and I are going to do on Thursday on my birthday.
00:15:07
Speaker
But then after we get done doing that world shattering shit, we're going to go and we're going to go to this bar that Marv says has the best mozzarella sticks he's ever had. So like that, I mean, okay.
00:15:22
Speaker
I have a lot of questions. Okay. And I've considered, Steven, you need to know my love for mozzarella sticks. I have very, very many times, um, considered and gotten very close to a few times starting a YouTube channel, just like ranking mozzarella sticks at different places, like tier list. I would love that if you did that Tucker. Do you have any idea how much I would fucking love that if you did that? Yeah. have Yeah, I figure every video would be about five, 10 minutes, you know, just like discussing um because I'm sure like cool stuff would happen on the adventure there. Maybe there'd be some footage from going to the place and getting them and and maybe some, some eating. I don't want to be like one of those YouTubers that's like stuffing their face. And that's disgusting. Like I'm not into that. Like, but you know, get the whole experience and then rank it and then have a whole tier list. Yeah.
00:16:18
Speaker
Just surprisingly, made mozzarella sticks to the to the show notes here. Surprisingly, ah some of the best mozzarella sticks or mozzarella stick adjacent items that I've ever had are the mozzarella stick twists they have at Texas Roadhouse. Interesting, Stephen. I don't know that I have. It's like two real skinny. It's like you had the mozzarella fries at Burger King. No.
00:16:45
Speaker
Okay, well, they're like the chicken fries, but they're mozzarella sticks. I'm not a mozzarella stick enthusiast the way that you are, clearly. But but listen to me now. Anybody who's had a mozzarella fry or has had ah a chicken fry, ah that's it's like two of those twisted together. It's like a bagel twist with fried mozzarella. And it's really good mozzarella and the breading is perfect.
00:17:12
Speaker
And you know they make that ranch there at Texas Roadhouse. I didn't know that. That is good to know they make it's that real thick shit. Look, I am I am a big proponent of homemade ranch dressing. I have a feeling if we start talking about food, that's just going to be what this episode is. I don't remember why. Why am I talking about my mozzarella? Oh, because so we're getting those mozzarella sticks and go go wish Tucker a happy birthday today. If you're listening to this the day the episode drops, he would really appreciate it.
00:17:41
Speaker
have to it's not a huge deal but it would you don't have to if you want to would appreciate it I'm not look I'm not gonna like you less if you don't but I like you more if you do I can't say I won't like you more if you do so if I know if I know Tucker I know that much is true this place is a bar

Pinball Enthusiasm

00:18:00
Speaker
that has these mozzarella sticks and it's up on ah Lake Winnipesaukee okay that's a lake i close to the gun stock ski range snowboarding mountain area of fun times in the snow. And then we're going to it's a bar, like I say, so I'm going to be drinking. um And then we're going to go to a bar in ah Portland, which I've been to before I was taught I texted you guys while I was there. It's called ah Arcadia. Oh, yes. And so we're going to go there because. It has two of my favorite
00:18:41
Speaker
pinball machines ever, which are, uh, the machine bride of pin bot and the 2013 Star Trek table by Stern based on the first two reboot movies, which like held in timeline films. Look, if that Star Trek machine is at your place of business or venue, and I come in and play it, I'm sorry. I know it's embarrassing. I can't help it.
00:19:11
Speaker
I get so psyched. I'm like, I i hate people like me. Okay. But like, if I'm playing this pinball machine, no matter where I am, I have to say all the dialogue with the machine. It just gets me so fucking pumped. And it's so embarrassing. And I'm sorry to anybody who has to be around me while I'm playing that machine.
00:19:34
Speaker
Because I get ah something about certain video games and pinball machines. they it It makes it difficult to control some of my stranger urges. Much like if I'm playing like Halo online, I can't do that after the kids go to bed. Because I can't control the volume of my voice.
00:19:56
Speaker
Which is and it's exactly and it's so weird to not be able to control that because you're like, OK, I know I need to be quiet. I know and I need to be quiet. I know that I know I need to fuck, you know. like And I probably just woke up everybody in the house. Yeah. Yeah. And and really, really peaked at your your audio there, too. But you're the editor, so you're you're the one that fire fail I'm going to bleep it and pretend I said existo. That's the move.
00:20:27
Speaker
but That's 20 minutes. Got it. Write that down. OK. By the way, we should all acknowledge Tucker's masterwork of beeping in the last episode. You guys when Brett and I were revealing work information and Tucker just so proud of himself. He texted the group chat. Hey, guys, five minute mark. Check it out. And comp he didn't say this, but it was implied compliment me on my beeping skills. Look, no, yes, because I didn't I didn't know it was going to I didn't know it was going to come out that well. like I just I just did my best and like, ah, I'm so proud of it because it it doesn't cut any words off. It specifically bleeps specific words. It doesn't bleed into other stuff. It is. It's a perfect editing job. And I'm proud of it. Tucker's growing. I don't as an editor. Like it's OK. I think sometimes it's OK to pat yourself on the back when you do a good job. I think I fucking killed that dude.
00:21:26
Speaker
There you go. Killed it. Timing on that? Perfect. Perfect. I'm just really impressed with myself and I hope that everybody else is too. The 2005 film Venom is the movie that we're here to talk about tonight.

Kevin Williamson's Horror Franchise Attempt

00:21:41
Speaker
Perfectly awful. Hey, hey.
00:21:44
Speaker
um According to Kevin Williamson, the producer of this film, he got a call from Bob Weinstein, who had acquired the rights for the, again, aforementioned, um unproduced horror survivalist video game Blackwater, or Backwater, sorry, excuse me, Backwater, ah which featured a horror villain by the name of Mr. Jangles, or just Jangles, because he had two things. He had a crowbar,
00:22:10
Speaker
And he had the jangly key rings. Those were his two like weapons or things that he had. So the the jangling keys was going to be a a video game mechanic. Like if you heard the audio of the jangly keys, you knew he was like approaching a thing. This movie does not use nearly well enough in my thinking. And if I can ah just kind of bring us over to the video game side of it, ah since we're here. Right. Tucker's video game corner.
00:22:42
Speaker
This was 2005, so you'd have your PS twos and your OG X boxes. Mm hmm. And Nintendo GameCube. Right, right, right, right, right. And PC, whatever. sure um So in that generation of gaming, I feel like That'd be a pretty ambitious game. And I feel like if it came out at that time, it would probably be underappreciated, but I'll bet it'd be getting a remaster this year because so many people had found it since then. Right.
00:23:27
Speaker
much like ah John Carpenter's The Thing, that game that came out in 2003. Right. Like nobody gave a fuck area. Yeah. I played it then and I thought it was fantastic. It's so good because there's like this trust and fear system and like how you act around the people around you and the decisions you make affect how they see you. And like they have a little meter that shows how much they trust you.
00:23:53
Speaker
And like if if they don't trust you, they won't do what you say. They might like get aggressive with you. Like it's really wild. Plus, you also have to like set a bunch of monsters on fire to all at the same time, which I mean, that's fun. Yes, it's a really good game. And I'm very excited for the remaster because it was really ahead of its time. And some of the mechanics while groundbreaking don't work as well as they can now. Sure.
00:24:22
Speaker
And that's, that's why I was really excited when I saw the trailer for the remaster or for the remake, that they were going to do a bunch of quality of life. Improvements to make it modern, to make it as good as it can be. And I'm day one, as soon as that comes available for pre-order, cheer boys on it. Right on. And I don't want to spoil anything, but, um, there's a voice cameo.
00:24:49
Speaker
by one of the main characters from the original film. It is canon, by the way. The video game is canon. It is a direct sequel to the first film. That's what I've heard, and that's the thing that kind of irks me about it, is because it's it it solves the ending, and the end the ambiguous ending of the thing is one of the things I love most about it.
00:25:12
Speaker
Well, that's what's great about the game is the game focuses on itself. It, it has to make a decision on that ending to move forward. Sure. And it does. And it doesn't make a big deal out of it. Moves forward. It's its own thing. Like I get where like you could, you wouldn't want it to be ambiguous, but it's such, it's such a non thing in the thing.
00:25:42
Speaker
You know, I mean, this is my number one favorite horror film of all time. So yeah I'd say watch a play through, but like, I don't know if it would be the same experience because it's such a, it's such a stressful experience in a good way. Because like I say, you're trying to act a certain way and like make people trust you and shit. All the while it's in survival horror mode. Any second a thing monster could bust through somewhere. Yeah.
00:26:12
Speaker
OK. You get to give people guns and stuff like if they trust you you, give them guns. You don't want to make them not trust you because they might fucking shoot you. like Sure, sure, sure. It's it's just so good. It was so ahead of its time. I'm so glad it's getting that ah remake. Anyway, ah this game would have been interesting is what I'm saying. I think it would have been similar to that. It would have had some very groundbreaking mechanics that bless you. That may not that may not have been appreciated at the time by the masses, but would have a master de cult following to give it some kind of remaster or remake today. Right. yeah And there there is a because I feel like this movie is itching for a franchise both as a film and as a video game. Like I feel like both of those are things that this movie is or that are they're trying to happen kind of
00:27:02
Speaker
simultaneous with each other. The video game never comes out, so we never really get it. But this movie is trying really hard. And that's that's one of the things that attracted Williamson to it, according to to him and him, is that he loved the main villain and wanted to help create for the early aughts.
00:27:20
Speaker
a villain that is as iconic as the Freddy Krueger's and the Jason Voorheeses of the 80s. I mean, he had already given us Ghostface, but the point of Ghostface is that Ghostface can be anybody. That's the conceit of that character. So that's not really, he didn't set out for that the way he set out to create something like basically him doing this is what Wes Craven was trying to do with Shocker.
00:27:49
Speaker
Like Craven, and we talked about this on that episode. Go listen to our episode on Shocker with our buddy Brian Kuyper. Great fucking app. um and We talk about this on the episode where Freddy Krueger had kind of gotten away from Craven in ah in a very real way. And so Craven creates that character as a way to kind of control that narrative and to create basically his own answer to Freddy Krueger and it doesn't work.
00:28:14
Speaker
obviously doesn't work. But this feels like Williamson's attempt to kind of do that with um as as kind of a ah more solid entry in the horror canon to someone like Ghostface. um And by and large, by 2005,
00:28:33
Speaker
The horror scene has kind of moved away from Scream and has moved on to Saw. Like, Saw has become the new hotness in horror and kind of left Scream in the dust. Like, Scream 3 comes out in, what, 2000? Yeah, 2000, 2001. Yeah. And then, like, Saw comes out, I think, the next year or the year after. And then after that, it's all Saw, a baby. Saw was 2003, I believe, the original. I'm going to Google some shit right now.
00:29:01
Speaker
Okay. While you're Googling, may I add to what you're saying? I think really Kevin Williamson picked the wrong person to collaborate. I think if, uh, I mean, because they made this movie in a good way, it's called fucking hatchet. Oh, there you go. Yeah. You get, you get Kevin Williamson with Adam Green.
00:29:20
Speaker
In 2005, I think he could have done this some justice. Like tell the Weinstein's to fuck off and make this movie the way it should be made. That's the problem though, is in 2005 he's in deep with the Weinstein's. You can't really tell them to fuck off in 2005.
00:29:36
Speaker
No, I mean, it was it it has historically been difficult up until very recently to tell the Weinstein to fuck off. Let's be honest. The law involved. I think right. I think the Bob Weinstein of it all is part of the problem with this movie.
00:29:53
Speaker
Um, is the fact that you, you get a guy who is all about, I mean, this is the same, this movie comes out the same year that cursed comes out, which is the known as the other Wes Craven, Kevin Williamson collaboration, a movie that was hacked to shreds by the wine. So good. I want to see that original version so

Weinstein Influence on Venom and Cursed

00:30:16
Speaker
bad. Girl, me too. I want to see the original version of almost every movie that the Weinstein's produced.
00:30:22
Speaker
Whether it's bad or good, I don't care. I want to see it before they got their grubby little sexually assaulting mitts all over it. Oh, and aside from that artistically dull and pandering mitts. Yes.
00:30:37
Speaker
ah Like, for there are a few pops of genius within the stuff that they worked on, but by and large, it is stuff that they just exerted an insane amount of control over. And I feel like the things that I want, the things that would have made this movie more interesting to me are the things the Weinstein's, Bob in particular in this instance, probably would have left on the cutting room floor. Things like character development.
00:31:07
Speaker
None of these characters are actual characters. They're not even, they're not even archetypes. I can't tell them apart. No, they are indistinguishable one from another. I mean, there's one that's darker complected than the rest. That's it. ah So I mean, just visually, it's like, oh, it's, it's that, it's that girl. I hate it when like someone's skin color is the only way that I can define it.
00:31:37
Speaker
Yeah. Is there a defining characteristic? Tell them from anyone else. Yeah. And that's just it. like And then you also have Bijou Phillips, who is playing the girl who you know is going to die early enough in the film because she's so awful. Now, granted, she dies after like four black people die, um which is another problem with this movie is it's horribly fucking racist. Holy shit.
00:32:03
Speaker
I mean... The first four people that die in this movie are black people. I mean, I guess Ray Kramer dies, but he comes back to life immediately, so I don't think that really counts. He's coming back to life as he's dying, I feel like. Right. ah But, i you know, when I saw Method Man and the credits, i at first I was excited and I was like, wait a minute.
00:32:23
Speaker
He's dying in the first 10 minutes of this movie. ah He's, he's out of here by at it outside of 20 minutes. I never heard of any of these motherfuckers before. And the ones I had in the first reel, the ones I have heard of weren't doing shit when this was made. Correct. ah So.
00:32:40
Speaker
He gon' die. And it's not a, it's not a Busta Rhymes and Halloween resurrection or a LL Cool J and Halloween H2O kind of thing where you know they're going to stick it out for a while because they're a big name. This is like a we can't afford you for more than X amount of days. And so we're going to get as much as we can out of you as quickly as possible and then send you back to civilization. Don't even go to wardrobe. It doesn't matter if your police uniform is ill-fitting. Doesn't matter.
00:33:10
Speaker
That's not me. It's fine. It's fine. But you get the the Cece's grandmother dies first. Then you get the the morgue attendant. Now, here's can I say something about Cece's grandmother? ah God rest her soul. um I'm sure she's a fantastic woman, and a fantastic actor and probably like one of the most wholesome and best people in the world. But shut you. Deborah Duke is like, don't close your mouth. Close your mouth.
00:33:41
Speaker
You know, if there's one thing I can't stand is when people walk around like this. Yeah, for the listener at home, Tucker is is kind of mouth agate a a slack jawed expression. And this lady in the five minutes of screen time that she has three and a half minutes of it, she got a damn mouth open.
00:34:01
Speaker
I breathe through your nose, lady. Breathe through your nose. Look, she's panicked. She's trying to get that suitcase out of Dodge. Not an excuse. There's never an excuse to not practice proper breathing etiquette, Steven. Nobody wants to see that. If you're sick, fine. You're already gross. We've established that. But if you're not sick, nah, dude, come on, spray through your nose. It's fine. It's like chewing with your mouth open. Don't nobody want to see that shit. Get the fuck out of here with that shit. Close your mouth.
00:34:32
Speaker
So you get Miss Emmy, Stacy's grandmother, the first to die. Then you get the Morgan Standard, Terry Parker, yes um played by Marcus Lyle-Brown. Then you get and Deputy Turner, played by the the the great method man.
00:34:49
Speaker
yeah May he rest in peace? Deputy Turner, not Method Men, yeah. And then you get um then you get Patty, Devetta Sherwood. and And only then, after four black people have died, do we deign to let a white woman die. It's almost like we killed four black people, we can kill a white person as a treat. And it's the sassy one too. walk It's the bad girl sassy. yeah it You don't want to get into the wholesome versions yet.
00:35:16
Speaker
No, absolutely not. Like after because get that mouthy bitch and squish her. It's a horror movie. So we got to kill off the black people and then we got to kill off the the blonde, the blonde, slutty bitch, basically. Yeah.
00:35:30
Speaker
is is essentially the order of operations here. And boy, howdy, are we ticking them fucking boxes, which I expect more from a Kevin Williamson production. But again, like, I think something that would have benefited this movie greatly is a Kevin Williamson script, or at least a class. But I think Kevin Williamson would have infused some of that in there. Like, I'm amazed he let this thing go as a producer. ah Kevin Williamson is kind of, in a way, proto-Joss Whedon.
00:36:01
Speaker
Like there's no Joss Whedon if you don't have Kevin Williamson, like he, he crawled so that motherfucker could run because he was the one originally. And I know Joss Whedon was around at the same time, but Kevin Williamson had, he had success with writing those snappy, witty, self-aware meta characters. Right.
00:36:22
Speaker
And I think he kind of blazed the path for that kind of thing. And there's nothing of that in here. And it could use just a little bit of that. Definitely did it better. It could. A little bit. I mean, these characters are completely interchangeable. They're completely indistinguishable, except, as you said, a couple of them are darker complected.
00:36:41
Speaker
like there there's there there is nothing to distinguish one of these characters from another. They all look more or less the same in terms of like how they're put together, which is the problem I think I remember having with sorority row as well when we covered that movie on this podcast is I can't tell these these these girls apart. And it kind of goes the same here like one guy has slightly longer hair One guy has slightly slightly darker hair. One guy has slightly lighter hair. That's how I can tell the three guys apart. But the the females, with the exception, again, of the great Meghan Goode, she's great. I love Meghan Goode. Don't get me wrong. She's great. The rest of them I can't fucking tell apart. yeah Well, for the boys, Steven, if you need to know, there's the cute one and there's the handsome one and there's the silly.
00:37:33
Speaker
but which one is fucking which, Tucker? That's my question to you. I'm telling you, that's what they're supposed to be. Do they succeed on any of those counts? No, no. And I think that's ultimately my problem is that this is and I'll just I'll just show my hand. I think this is a really great concept for a horror villain. But everything about it is executed in the most boring way possible. And it pisses me the fuck off because I wanted to like this. In fact, there was a there was ah a period of about 10 minutes in this movie where I was having a fucking blast.
00:38:07
Speaker
which 10 minutes. ah that stuff in the house where like he's throwing like where they're they're actually fighting the vet where he's like throwing the chain through the window and strangling the kid and pulling him out where the milk gets ganked in between the tree. Like I fucking love that. shit that I should have went that should have went through her head, though. the The camera was implying that it was going to go through her head and then it went through his stomach. I was like, that's bad. And that's this movie kind of pussying out on some of the the song saw comes out the year before this movie in 2004.
00:38:38
Speaker
And you expect it to make more of a difference on this movie. Like you can almost see Weinstein kind of trying to rejigger the thing so it looks more like salt. Like you've got the kind of greenish filter, like that that gross patina over it, like that we get in a lot of those aughts films. And that almost works because of its setting. Right. Right. I agree. It's too it's Like too. it would work if they made the setting a part of it. They mention it. We know where we are, but I don't, I don't feel it. You know, I don't.
00:39:14
Speaker
I mean, outside of the outside of the voodoo elements, which we'll talk more about that later, because holy shit. um But outside of the voodoo elements, there is nothing to ground this this movie in any kind of place. Let me get this straight. So according to the logic of this movie, if you don't have the if you have the blood from a blood relative of someone. You can make a voodoo doll out of them. So out of the disease, couldn't you just make a voodoo doll?
00:39:45
Speaker
For anyone? I mean, because we're all so interconnected and, and related in, in some way. Can you imagine? Like Abraham Lincoln comes back as a zombie and the only way to kill him is with a voodoo doll. And you're like, all right, well, like who has any Abraham Lincoln blood?
00:40:05
Speaker
probably thousands of people. I have a feeling that would work better in certain parts of the south than others. um but ah No, I'm just saying it was such a stupid thing where they hand wave it away. She's like, her you can make a voodoo doll. I'm like, well, I need some hair or something. The guy's like, yeah, we go and go out and get that. What about blood? And then she cryptically from his son.
00:40:28
Speaker
from his son, and apparently it's part of his bloodline. Bloodworks best. And then are rightly horrified. Two of those characters are rightly horrified and appalled by what is happening. And everyone else is kind of like, I don't know, seems like a good idea to me. So let me get this straight movie. I'm talking to you, Venom 2005. Let me get this straight. So Genghis Khan comes back as a zombie, right? Right. And the only way to kill him.
00:40:57
Speaker
is a voodoo doll. So you just take a blood sample from anyone? and I mean, with Genghis Khan, yes. Anyone? Or Wilt Chamberlain. You know what I'm saying? Okay. There it is. dude. There it is. Wilt Chamberlain, the Genghis Khan of the 70s. He comes back as a zombie and you're like, uh,
00:41:24
Speaker
I'll just take my own blood. I'm probably in there somewhere. Like, here you go.
00:41:32
Speaker
Oh, what a fucking legend. Anyway. Sure. Let's go with legend. ah To answer your earlier question, Tucker, regarding what Kevin Williamson was up to in 2005, the answer is, well, Dawson's Creek had been over for two years. He was probably working on developing the film Hidden Palms.
00:41:55
Speaker
well What's that? I've never heard of that. It's a rebellious teenager moves in with his family in Palm Springs, who moves with his family to Palm Springs. It's ah Michael Cassidy, Taylor Handley, Amber Heard. I know we know who she is.
00:42:10
Speaker
We heard about her. Right. Yeah. Tessa Thompson's in there. OK. Leslie Jordan, the the late, great Leslie Jordan. Fucking love that guy. um Yeah, I ran for eight episodes on um probably judging by the poster, like a CWW thing. Yeah.
00:42:31
Speaker
um Scandal, suicide, murder. Some towns have all the fun. It feels like an OC ripoff. It feels like ah an attempt to OC the OC or One Tree Hill. At least something in that vein. Yeah. Right. Yeah. yeah But, you know, it's like the guy from Dawson's Creek going, I bet I could get in and on this new thing, too. The Dawson. The Dawson. James Van Der Beek. That's the very same. The Rules of Attractions, James Van Der Beek. The the one in the same. Nice. Well, I need to watch that movie again soon. I wonder if I still like it. I probably do. um Yeah, you probably do. I probably do. Yeah. it's If I know you, you

Film Adaptation Comparisons

00:43:12
Speaker
probably do. ah
00:43:13
Speaker
It's full of stuff that I've kind of gotten prudish about in my old age, but it's kind of grandfathered in. I think you could probably say that about most Kevin Smith movies by this point, to be honest. That's not Kevin Smith. That's Roger Avery. Oh, I thought you were talking about. um I thought you were talking about Jay and Tom Bob strike back. Sorry. No, the rules of attraction. I literally said the rules when I was when I said the Dawson, I was referencing, but we we had moved on. I missed. I missed the rules of attraction. yeah No, I'm familiar with the rules of attraction. OK, that was a movie that I didn't like when I saw it in college. So, oh, have you seen it since? No. OK, that's fair. I mean, yeah, I could see where you probably wouldn't like it, but I think it's really, really
00:44:00
Speaker
good I think it's kind of, it's, it works in the same way that the American Psycho movie works for me, both Bredy Sinellis novels, BT dubs. Patrick Bateman and character in both. Yes. And it works for me in the same way because it's a great adaptation of the source material while also adapting that source material for that exact time. Right.
00:44:31
Speaker
And I think Roger Avery, uh, with the films, I don't know if you've seen killing Zoe or any of his other movies. I don't believe so. He's pretty good. He's good at it. He's good at di directing. I tell you what. And, uh, I think the rules of attraction is it's, it's out there. It does a lot of things that it's still have not become.
00:44:56
Speaker
regular practice. Like a third of this movie is backwards. It literally in reverse. um It just does some weird stuff that like I can get where it doesn't gel with other people. But for me, I don't know, man, I really dig it. I think I probably I haven't watched it probably about five years, though. I'm looking at the DVD right now. I need to watch this. shit I think it's I'm looking at it. I'm looking at this man's filmography and I've seen exactly one of his films and it's that one.
00:45:22
Speaker
What else do you do besides killing so ah killing? So he did a TV movie called Mr. Stitch. ah The Rules of Attraction Glitterati. Oh, that's a the Glitterati is not a real thing. Well, it is. But it's a bonus feature on the Rules of Attraction. It's all of Victor's vacation video that they cut together into like a minute and a half. It's like an hour of that. It's an hour 30. Yeah. It's um boy howdy. Wow.
00:45:51
Speaker
Yep. I mean, it's Glitterati, a film by Roger Avery. So do with that what you will. And my list, ah I have a list on my um notepad, my electronic notepad that's called band names. And it's all the band names that I think of clever names that maybe I'll need to use one day or give off to other people. And one of the band names on my list is Clitterati. In honor of Glitterati, Glitterati. Yeah.
00:46:21
Speaker
Yep. Yeah, so. Cool story, bro. I imagine it would be if I met a roaming ah musical group of of gals, I'd be like, you know what, you guys? And you're you're doing the glam thing. There's a lot of glitter incorporated into your show. Let me drop this on you. Cliterati. Royalties for the rest of my life.
00:46:46
Speaker
So just know, any anyone listening to this who wants to adopt that as their band name, Tucker wants royalties for the rest of his life. I'm gonna need it, because that came straight off the top of my dome. ah The two other films he directs are La Voie Humaine, based on a jock cocktail script, and Lucky Day, a movie that begs to ask the question, what if there was a Lucky Day?
00:47:12
Speaker
What if you were lucky one day? I haven't seen either of those. ah Lucky Day has k Crispin Glover in it. Your boy Crispin Glover. I am interested in Crispin Glover. Is he always great? No. No. By no means. But he's always he's always trying something weird. Always interesting. He's always making. Is he always great? No, but he's always interesting. He's always making the weird choice. Always.
00:47:38
Speaker
Some and work all the time. No, but when it does. Holy shit. Crispin Glover, when you get Crispin Glover on fire. Holy fuck. You seem Willard, Stephen, the remake of Willard. Oh, I did not see that shit. Arlie Ermey and that motherfucker to feature episode of this podcast, Willard. Oh, yes. Because you know, the original Willard got a sequel. Also, yeah, I know Ben also the spooky. So since there's maybe a movie we're doing um for straight up this October that is Similar in theme maybe to Willard. So what if we did it next spooky season? Put it on the calendar, Stephen. On the calendar. Halloween day. Halloween day. Halloween day, I think. As close as we can. I was going to say, I think there's a straight up next October as well. OK, I'm writing down 48 minutes. It's going to be a it's going to be two movies, two years in a row, Stephen. Forty eight minutes. Got it.
00:48:38
Speaker
Uh, one of my guys in lucky day as well, Clifton Collins Jr. Fucking love that guy. That guy, he is such a sweet man, Steven. You know, I tell you, I've spent time with him. Um, he just seems like the night. He just seems like the coolest guy and he's such a good actor. He plays intense so well.
00:49:01
Speaker
Like, loved him in Capote. He's so good as one of the one of the murderers in Capote. Like, so fucking good. um Traffic. He's amazing in traffic. Like, he's one of those that-guy actors. I always forget about traffic. It's just like, when's he bad? Like, when's he fucking bad? Clifton Collins, Jr.
00:49:22
Speaker
Like, be my friend, please. And he's even in an otherwise shitty movie, for example, Boondock Saints Two and or The Stoned Age, which is the first film I ever saw him in. He's the thing I remember in love about both of those movies. There you go. And I really love him in the Rules of Attraction.
00:49:47
Speaker
to bring it back. He's he's the cocaine dealer man with the old Jamaican guy friend. OK. And James Van Der Beek goes to his house to get drugs, but he owes him so much money and Eddie goes real nuts. And his Jamaican friend says, you need to sniff less cooking. I don't know why it sounded Russian, but you get honestly probably better Russian than Jamaican, to be honest. with Oh, I don't know. I think I do.
00:50:17
Speaker
Why? Because of racism, Tucker. Speaking of racism, Venom, 2005, a movie where the main character literally appropriates a cultural artifact to beat the villain.

Cultural Appropriation in Venom

00:50:33
Speaker
Literally just grabs that pocket. What I mean, life and death. Life and death, man. Come on. I'm not going to be worried if anybody cancels me for cultural appropriation if it's like you're going to die if you don't do this thing.
00:50:45
Speaker
i'm like but sorry it She does it as an afterthought and it ends up being the thing that saves her life. She's just like running out of the house for her life stops voodoo. Oh, that worked. picks up the the talisman the baka talisman that CC had taken off of her grandmother at upon her death, just just grabs it and runs out of the house with it and then 25 to 30 minutes later, she's using it to try to slow down the villain. Like what the actual fuck? You know, I honestly don't know. And I got to tell you, Stephen, I tried. I really did because I like to. Have something to say and, you know, have things to talk about on this podcast about movies. I tried so hard to pay attention to this movie, Stephen.
00:51:37
Speaker
even while looking directly at it, listening only to this movie, right I still could not pay attention to it. yeah I still could not pay attention to it. It was so boring and stupid and I didn't fucking care and so disappointing. And even the, like, a serviceable cinematography can't save it. Because there's some, I mean, there's some cool shots in here.
00:52:05
Speaker
I stopped. No, it i sucked because like I stopped noticing because like I said, my eyes just kind of glazed over at a certain point. Like I even though I'm only paying attention to this movie, I could not. Nothing was sticking in my brain. I'd watch a scene and be like, oh, I guess something happened there. Here we are now. I guess something had to happen. Like missing reels all over this bitch. Oh, God. Missing reels, but they're only in your brain. Oh.
00:52:35
Speaker
it No, it's look it's not an interesting movie. And here's the thing, it's only 85 minutes and it's still too long. But again, I think the things that could have benefited this movie are things like character development. Make me care about one of these people. I defy you.
00:52:51
Speaker
to make me care about one of these people. Care about anything in this movie. Make me care about the characters, make me care about the villain, make me care about the setting. Give me a good fucking score or something, something.
00:53:06
Speaker
Something the villain is such a huge missed opportunity in this movie Such a missed opportunity in this again. The concept is so fucking cool. He is the is living embodiment of evil That's fucking cool. How do you fuck that up? By making it the most boring thing possible and that's it. This movie wastes its villain premise, which is so Good in any other movie, in in the hands of a capable screenwriter, that could have been something. Well, that's what really it's nothing. That's what stings about this movie. That's what's the most disappointing thing about this movie is if it didn't have such an interesting premise, this would be an OK sci-fi channel movie. Yeah. Like I if I were flipping channels in 2005 and this came on and it didn't have such an interesting premise.
00:54:05
Speaker
I'd probably watch it, whatever. yeah But the fact that it has such an interesting premise and the ideas are so fun, it just makes it that much more disappointing. And this guy's two screenplays preceding this are apt pupil and wicker park.
00:54:26
Speaker
oh I liked a pupil. Did you see that Steven? That was a fucking magneto and ah Brad Renfro for our I directed by he who must not be named. Yeah. Yeah, but he did direct fucked out of that movie. Fuck that guy. did No, fuck like absolutely. I have that on VHS, actually.
00:54:47
Speaker
That's no. I should probably upgrade. I remember really liking Apt to Pupil. um And Wicker Park was a movie I remember enjoying as well. Josh Hartnett. Yeah, Josh Hartnett. And then his next movie is this. And you're just like, dude, what are we doing here? What? Yeah.
00:55:03
Speaker
What are we actually doing here? What have you done? Like, what the fuck, man? What what is going on? And yeah, it's a big fucking bummer, this screenplay. And again, Kevin Williamson is your producer. Yeah. Like, that's the thing that really irks me is, yeah, you've probably got the wine scenes hacking this thing to bits behind the scenes, but you would hope that Williamson as a producer would salvage some of the story of this thing.
00:55:32
Speaker
I don't know. You said he was doing a TV show at the time. He was probably developing. He was developing. and The show didn't come out until 2007, so he's probably just working on developing the thing. Gotcha. But like, I mean, and and and to be fair, I did not look into his other production credits of this film.
00:55:50
Speaker
So maybe he was working on producing other things. I just looked at his writing credits by and large. um But yeah, let me check his production his producing credits because those there might be something else in there. I hope there is because otherwise what's the I mean, it's this and it's cursed are the two things of his that come out in 2005. Wow.
00:56:14
Speaker
wow Well, well, I think there's a good movie in Cursed. I agree. It's in there. Yeah, you can see it. But that's his script. You're like, wait. There's there. There you are, movie. The difference is that's his script and he's that's coming out in 2005, but that thing was filmed like three years before.
00:56:34
Speaker
Yeah, the funniest. Oh, yeah. Of that movie shelved. Oh, yeah. The funniest artifact of that movie is that the there is the the main character played by Christina Ricci. And I think I mentioned this on the episode is um played by or she works for the late, late show with Craig Kilborn.
00:56:58
Speaker
oh which original host of The Daily Show. Yes. That show ran until 2004, which means that that movie was filmed while that show was still on the air and did not come out until after Craig Ferguson had taken over the role. That I liked Craig Ferguson. Oh, same. I like Craig Kilborn, too, but I didn't so much like him after he I don't think his late night show was as good as his daily show.
00:57:29
Speaker
I liked him on The Daily Show. In fact, I was very slow to come on board with Jon Stewart because of how much I like to go born. Me too. And I honestly, I liked his his late show too. Like I loved Yumbo. I loved like just I loved five questions. I still love five questions. Like I I fucking loved his bits. He had good bits. And but yeah, that's the funniest artifact of that movie is that it's It's filmed when that show is is extant and comes out when it is done. That is hilarious to me. I love it. It's so good. um But yeah, like that's that's kind of the the the the thing is like Williamson's not working on much else. You'd think at least he would want to do a pass on the script. You would hope anyway. Right. But no. But no. No.
00:58:26
Speaker
The kids are all right, right? Do what? I said the kids are all right. Right. I mean, that's what he's saying. He's like, this is good. I can do I don't need to pay attention on that. Right. Right. And and and it it kind of makes me wonder the extent of his hands on this as as producer, like it it feels like he's Basically an EP and everything but title like because it doesn't it feels like they attach him as producer just because He's Kevin Williamson and it's the name in the odds It's like Wes Craven in the 90s and all those B movies. He put his name on yes, which master then Fickin Dracula 2000 which if you don't know that is a trilogy
00:59:14
Speaker
Oh, I know. And the reason Dracula 2000 is not a movie we can cover those movies. I cannot believe they put those movies. They came out in spite of themselves, man. I can't believe they made those movies. That's ridiculous. They're all right. I don't dislike them. It's just so weird that that got those two sequels and that it was originally planned as a trilogy. Apparently, like the original deal was like, yeah, we're doing this movie, but we're also doing the other two. And whether it be.
00:59:44
Speaker
theatrical releases or direct to video, they are getting done based on the success of the original. So Dracula 2000 made this much money. So direct to DVD. Mm hmm. They were all right. You got that one London boy and the other two. One of them London boys. Oh, those London boys. Yeah, they look the same. to All those London's look the same to me. I can't tell apart. You've seen one London. You've seen them all.
01:00:14
Speaker
I tell of a part by you've got days to confuse London and mall rats London and they are not the same London. There you go. That's so that's how I tell apart. Is it mall rats London or is it days? That's what you got to tell me. I look, I will tell you, speaking of Dracula 2000, the third entry in that trilogy comes out.
01:00:37
Speaker
in 2005, the same year as, comes out actually a few months before, comes out in July and um Venom comes out in September. So it comes out just a couple months before this movie. Also released by Dimension Film. Other Dimension releases in 2005 include a future episode of this podcast, The Amityville Horror. word Past episode of this podcast, Cursed.
01:01:05
Speaker
a movie I've referenced recently on this podcast Mind Hunters with Val Kilmer Christian Slater and LL Cool J. That's on my list, by the way. The Crow Wicked Prayer. That's the one with David Boreanaz, Tara Reid and Eddie Furlong. Yeah. Hellraiser Deadder. Oh, sweet. The Prophecy Uprising.
01:01:29
Speaker
The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lava Girl, which is a movie I don't know if we can cover. The same. Actually, I don't know. So many prophecy movies. No, this is the one that does not include Christopher Walker. I was going to say, he hung on there for a while. Way longer than I thought he would have. It does have Doug Bradley playing his role and features Sean Pertwee and Carrie Werer. Neat.
01:01:54
Speaker
Mm hmm. The Adventures of the Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3D, a movie I'm not sure if we can cover or not. Bobby Rodriguez. Right. Terry Terry Gilliam's The Brothers Grimm. Oh, I like that one. Hellraiser, Damon and and Heath Ledger. Yeah. Yeah. um And then um Wolf Creek is the last movie that they released in 2005. Yeah. You see Wolf Creek? I have not. It's real good. It's Australian horror.
01:02:23
Speaker
And it's got a very, very fun main character. Very fun, very enjoyable to watch. It is kind of a grizzly slasher. It's it coming out around that time where everything had to be real graphic and all that shit. So it's um it's much it's a bit much, but it's so much fun, Steven. It's such a fun experience. You should put it on your list somewhere. No rush. No rush. Yeah. Yeah.
01:02:50
Speaker
um but Yeah, I mean that's that's what's going on with de dimension Tucker it occurs to me. We're about done with this episode Yeah, but we haven't done a lot of this movie who gives a fuck really ain't nobody gonna watch this don't watch this movie don't Don't watch it. I mean, there's a voodoo slasher basically is what it is. it's It's better in concept than it is in execution. Had this film been executed better, I can see them getting the franchise they were clearly hoping for with this movie, but it is so poorly executed in every conceivable way. conceivable way
01:03:25
Speaker
I cannot imagine this movie getting ah getting a sequel. Like I to do that segment that we sometimes do, but often don't and just shut up already because who cares? um Which is what we apparently are calling it now. That's the name of it. Yeah, that's what it's always been called. Yeah. It's procedurally generated the name. Yeah, right. This movie time is different, but very similar, but it's always the same. um This this movie does not deserve a sequel.

Venom's Failure Analysis

01:03:52
Speaker
like I doesn't deserve a plot reading either nobody gives a fuck I and for the for the for the 10 minutes of this movie where I was having a good time where I was totally vibing on this movie's whim like where I'm like, is this a good movie? No, but is but is it without its charm? No, like it's not without charm. Like it does have some things in it that I like. And literally it's just like the 10 to 20 minutes in the house.
01:04:16
Speaker
It's just not enough. it It's not enough. This is a movie that runs almost 90 minutes. I need more than 20 good minutes in ah in a 90 minute run. That's 70 minutes too long for this movie. The only thing, Steven, the only thing in this movie that I'm going to remember.
01:04:33
Speaker
after I wake up tomorrow, maybe maybe is when they pulled the side of the house off. That was fucking rad. That's fucking radish. That was fucking rad. The chain looked like shit. Terrible CGI on the chain. But the house coming. That was. That was come cool shit. There's some there is some cool shit in this movie. no That's the only thing.
01:04:54
Speaker
yeah I love the idea that the snakes are under his skin and like there's a hole in his skin and the snake guy kind of like pops out and he can see behind her behind him like that's fucking again in service of what though yeah and it's done so poorly like the idea is there sure yes but fuck you for fucking it up so bad I want to see that People are always remaking really like good movies and remaking them really shittily. Someone needs to remake a shitty fucking movie like this and make it fucking work. That's what every remake should be. We should never remake good movies. We should only remake movies that had fantastic concepts, but for some reason just didn't quite nail it. That's it. That's the only remakes we need.
01:05:42
Speaker
And I feel like anytime someone sets out to be like, I want to make another iconic horror villain, it almost always turns to shit. Like if that's your goal, you're trying to do yeah exactly. If that's your goal, stop. Focus on the story. And when you have a concept this cool for a villain, you need to make sure the story surrounding it.
01:06:04
Speaker
is just as cool and it doesnt matter way about shocker too cause i love yeah no i like chaer more than more than most like i think that would be shocker fun that movie's fun i like i got x i like i like shocker i really do i think i gave it like three and a half stars and on road i might yeah for me for sure yeah yeah like i like that movie a lot and i like that villain but it is craven setting out to try to intentionally do what he did by accident with Freddy Krueger. And that's a recipe for disaster. Like that will never work. If that's what you're trying to do, stop and reevaluate your life choices that brought you to this point. And it's the easiest genre to hand wave in to look right at your thing. Kill them if if it's part of the story, if it serves the story, kill the motherfucker off at the end definitively, because this is the horror genre. We will find a way to bring that bitch back in the second. that's it We will find a way.
01:06:57
Speaker
And nobody will care, because as long as it keeps the same spirit and tone of the original, it doesn't fucking matter, dude. All of the horror movies, all the iconic horror villains have died at some point and just been hand-waved away. Why? Because we gotta have the fucking villain. Because we can't have a Friday of the 13th without Jason. We tried it for that one movie, it sucked, so we brought him back. We can't have a Halloween movie without Michael Myers. We tried killing him, fuck that, didn't work, we're bringing him back. Cult of Thorn, whatever we gotta do.
01:07:27
Speaker
Uh, the dog, the dog pees fire on Freddy's bones. Yes. Just a random dog. No explanation for why he can pee fire. No motherfucker just walks on over there, has himself a little fire pit right on Freddy's bones, coincidentally, and your boy's back.
01:07:45
Speaker
back like that, like you never left. And that's all it takes. That's all it takes. Look, this is if you want to bring back a villain for the next movie, you can like this movie has two snakes crawling out of a severed torso. And that's your setup for the sequel. Yeah, like you don't need to do much. Honestly, you really don't. They didn't even need to do that. And we would have gotten it. We would have figured it out.
01:08:11
Speaker
kind figured it Unfortunately, this movie was like delivered into the the the the cinematic landscape like a wet fart. First of all, let me say this movie is set entirely in the state of Louisiana, and it was released two months after the events of, or not two months, two weeks yeah after the events of Hurricane Katrina. Yeah, dude. One of the most, up until recent memory, one of the most devastating hurricanes in national memory. Motherfucker took out of Six Flags. Yes. Come on. Among many other things.
01:08:50
Speaker
Uh, the death toll is like 1300 people, like yeah ridiculous. Huge um maybe steal straight up mindy yeah People, people were displaced all over the country. Like I remember people, I was working at a wet seal at the Greenwood Park Mall, the wet seal at the Greenwood Park Mall at the time. And I remember people like coming through my line and seeing like Louisiana licenses and being like, Oh, what brings you to Indiana? They're like, Oh, Greenwood.
01:09:15
Speaker
the hurricane. And I was like, Oh, right. Oh, hey. Yeah. That's a thing that displaced hundreds of people. Yeah. Hundreds of thousands of people even. You said Greenwood, Steven. I did. Greenwood Park Mall. All right. All right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I worked at that mall for a while. I at first, for some reason, you said Greenwood, but I thought of Castleton. I was like, Oh, I worked at the Sun Coast at the same time. Maybe we passed by each other. No.
01:09:44
Speaker
Not knowing how many times you think we've done that, Steven, in our younger lives, passed by each other. It's not telling that we'd be here right now talking about movies and shit. I did see movies at one of the theaters you used to work at the Lowe's cherry tree. So, girl, me too. I mean, obviously I saw the village of those cherry tree. and Yeah. Were you working there when the village was out? I don't maybe.
01:10:11
Speaker
What year did that come out? M. Night Shyamalan's The Village? Das Village, as they call it in Germany. Is that what they call it? That would have been the year before the year before this movie, 2004. Oh, no, no, no. I worked at the movie theater at the lowest Cineplexa cherry tree in between in 2000 and 2001.
01:10:37
Speaker
OK. Because. Well, no, it would have been 1999 and 2001 because I turned 17 in 1999. And as soon as I turned 17, as soon as your boy hit 17, I applied at the movie theater. In fact, I applied a couple of days early on a birthday. Got that motherfucking job. Stay there for two years. So we're we're coming up on the like what, 25th anniversary of you applying at the movie theater? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, dude.
01:11:09
Speaker
Started out as a lowly usher, worked my way up to the concession stand. And eventually I was trusted to be a projectionist. so The loftiest of all aspirations within a movie theater. In those days, yes. Now it's just a computer runs it. So whatever. So yeah you used to put in the work back in the day. Right. Actually change them reels. Well, we have to change them. It had a big platter and we had to put them together, though. They bring the movies.
01:11:38
Speaker
FedEx would bring them in these big film canisters. There'd be like four or five for each movie. And not only would you have to cut those and splice them together at the, the real changing points and then spool it onto a big spool. Cigarette burns. and Yeah, dude. But also they have to be Fight Club point to the corner. where scream Yes. Uh,
01:12:04
Speaker
Also, all the trailers came as their own little reel of film. So each movie would, the trailers would come earlier in the week. And sometimes when a movie would leave, you'd take the trailer off of that and put it on something else. But the movie would come on Wednesday for Friday. And with each film, there was a sheet that told you what trailers to put before each movie and in what order. So you had to, you had to do those as well. Each one, you had to put each one on there. Yeah.
01:12:34
Speaker
It was it was a whole big deal. And like, I'm really happy that it's easier now because, you know, work smarter, not harder or whatever. But boy, that was fun. That was fun. Cutting that shit together, man. Putting it on there. I'd take gals to the movie theater on dates and stuff. Oh, I bet you would. And the shit would be out of frame or slightly out of focus. I'd be like, hold up. And I'd read a book by code, the door wrote the projection booth. Go to that one. be like And there it would be perfect. Perfect. Yeah. but It's easier to do it myself than like tell the manager on duty. Hey, if you'd reach out a focus man. Right. They're doing myself like it. When I saw the Scott Derrickson film Black Phone, there was like something horribly wrong in the projection booth and they could not figure it out. Like they had to move us to another theater to get it solved. Like it was it was awful.
01:13:30
Speaker
That's that's weird in the digital age. It is. And it truly, truly was was not it was not prepared for that at all.

September 2005 Film Releases

01:13:37
Speaker
um But this movie comes out on ah thanks so September 2005. I was trying to get there and you went on this whole oh projection. handsents are fun Hey, man, like every time somebody brings up a job that I've had that does not exist anymore, mostly, I have to talk about it. There's i but a good third of my jobs that I had as a younger man just do not exist. Then again, I've had a lot of I've had some around like 35 jobs since I was eight years old. I believe that. I've done everything, man. I've done everything, man.
01:14:15
Speaker
Anyway, this movie did what at the box office? Nothing. Cause it was directed DVD. Gotcha. Uh, yeah. So this movie comes out on September 16th, 2005. It opens number 20 at the US box office. It did get a limited, was it a limited release at least? Like they didn't expect they didn't put 489 screens. It opened on more screens than Jim Jarmusch's broken flowers.
01:14:39
Speaker
Oh, I didn't like that. I like Jim Jarmusch, but he's really hit or miss for me. Like there's no movie. There's none of his movies that I'm just okay with. I either, I either love them or I'm just like, I have broken flowers. No, dead don't die. Fuck off. But dead man, coffee and cigarettes. Now you're speaking my fucking language.

Box Office Hits and Genre Transitions

01:14:57
Speaker
You know, um the number one film at the box office is a new ghost dog called Just Like Heaven with Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo in between his prestige era and his prestige era where he's doing ah romantic comedies like when he's like working his way back into theater after his or into film after his cancer scare and he's just doing a shit ton of rom coms like this. And um what's the 13 going on 30 like he's just doing a shit ton of that one.
01:15:27
Speaker
That one's fine. um In second place, speaking of Scott Derrickson, it's The Exorcism of Emily Rose, which is a fucking good movie. Yeah, it's got the gal from Dexter in it, man, and and she does all that shit for real.
01:15:42
Speaker
Yeah, she does. Like a special effects on her face. She can do all that shit with her face, you guys. Right. That's I like that one because that that deals with the the faith versus reason debate that has long fascinated me. And I guess, dude, agree. Fucking love that shit like ah that movie. We should do that for a I love her. Oops, I'll Christianity Corner sometime because I would. I love how it's presented to from so many different angles. It's.
01:16:07
Speaker
It's so good, dude. Fucking Laura Linney in that movie. Yes. Yes, please. Yes, please.

Lord of War and Real-life Inspiration

01:16:16
Speaker
Third place, Lord of War, the Nick Cage movie, Lord of War. So that they just let that guy out right in some kind of prisoner exchange. Did they really? This year. Yeah, Russia and the U.S., I think they swapped some people. They got that basketball gal back. I mean, and yeah good they let they let they let Lord of War out.
01:16:37
Speaker
because they had Lord of War, Nicholas Cage's Lord of War. They had that actual guy in captivity and they let him out for the basketball gal, I believe. yeah And my memory of of ah at one time current events is stable, that is. Is it true? Are you looking it up? Have I heard about this?
01:17:00
Speaker
um I'm not. Yes. So you're typing it. When did Russia trade the basketball gal for the Lord of War? I'm literally just looking at the film Lord of War, honestly. Yeah. Look at that dude's name. Find that dude's name and then Wikipedia would probably be honest. Wikipedia is. Well, here's the thing. He doesn't have a Wikipedia because Yuri Orlov, the name of the character is. Oh, but what's that guy's real name, though? Checking the tree. It'll tell you, right?
01:17:26
Speaker
Let me let me IMDB this show. You guys seen that Lord of War movie, John Cusack in that motherfucker. You believe that? I mean, it's got a good cast. Nicholas Cage, Ethan Hawke, Bridget Moynihan movie. um It also regrettably has Jared Leto Ian Holman that some bitch. Dude, yes. Love that guy. Yeah, it's got a good cast. And I actually I liked it. Like, fuck that guy, but it was good movie.
01:17:58
Speaker
It was kind of like um it was. Yuri Orlov is a composite of five real arms dealers. Oh, well, one of those dudes they traded for the basketball gal. And I am sorry that I'm just calling her the basketball gal. I do not remember her name. She got like caught with a like a weed cartridge or something in Russia and they were like, oh, you're a spy. Like, OK. Yeah, I remember. OK, Russia. Our Brittany Griner was her name. Yeah.
01:18:28
Speaker
Um, she, let me see here. Uh, welcomes release, uh, of Americans in prisoner swap, blah, blah, blah. Released from detention in Russia in a prisoner swap in 2002. Uh, 22 rather sorry, 2022 with Victor bout was the, uh, that was the guy Victor bout. That's one of them dudes. That's a Lord of war dude. He's one of them dudes.
01:18:53
Speaker
He gets that Stark tech without Tony Stark's permission. You know what I'm saying? Under the table fell off a truck on his Wikipedia page. The 2005 film Lord of War is reportedly based on allegations about both personal history and black market activities. There you go. See, I pay attention to the news. I listen to NPR all fucking day.

Emotional Impact in Films

01:19:10
Speaker
Your voice is on point with the news. um In fourth place at the box office after five weeks down from number two after I mean, doing very well, it ushering in a new age of comedy, a movie I watched earlier this year, Judd Apatow's The 40 Year Old Virgin. I was actually just thinking of that today. yeah because I was outside smoking a cigarette, sorry, um before we reported. I'm apologizing to myself because I've been doing it for way too fucking long and I'm i'm sick of being a slave to some bullshit. Anyway, I was outside so hi i was inside outside smoking a cigarette before this podcast and I was thinking, ah you know, we've been talking about this movie, about how it's just everything that it does, is just it just does it so bad and it has so much potential. And I was saying, I was thinking to myself that
01:20:01
Speaker
ah No matter how objectively good or bad a movie is, there are two things that it has to do for me to like it. It has to, um, make me feel something or make me relate to something. And that could be a million different things that I could feel a million different things that I could relate to. And that's how I'm going to be entertained. And I was thinking not everything has to be Schindler's list, right?
01:20:29
Speaker
And not everything has to be the 40 year old Virgin, right? Like all the economy can exist. Yes. And it's funny that you reached the 40 year old Virgin because that was the because I have conversations like we're having right now in my head several times a day. So I was having.
01:20:46
Speaker
a podcast in my head outside before we started. It happens. Fair enough. In fifth place, a movie called Cry Wolf that I know literally nothing weird. No, that's a different one. That's that one's OK. It's all right. Yeah, and ah it has John Bon Jovi in it and Jared Padalecki. Yeah. So there you go. I mean, yeah. The only thing I know about that movie, I mean,
01:21:15
Speaker
Rounding out the top ten, you've got the transporter two in sixth place. The constant gardener in seventh. Oh, man. What if someone constantly gardened? What if? um In eighth place, speaking of West Craven, we have Red Eye. Yeah. In ninth place, we have Wedding Crashers, which in in 10 weeks has earned over 200 million dollars. Good for them. Still haven't seen it. Don't care. That movie was a big fucking hit.
01:21:43
Speaker
No, nor do I. And in 10th place, March of the Penguins. What if the penguins marched? Winter's Bone. I do. Winter's Bone fucking rips. That movie rules. Speaking of Winter's Bone, Steven, you know, the 50th anniversary special is coming in December for Saturday Night Live. You know that that three hour business time that we're going to have.
01:22:04
Speaker
Last time we had one of those was the 40th anniversary, which is why remember for when we say Winter's Bone.

SNL 50th Anniversary Speculation

01:22:11
Speaker
Winter's Bone. This joke has been done three times. Has been, because he's right because he like not he's not as precious about his Canadian accent anymore. He does not even try to hide it.
01:22:24
Speaker
Uh, but it, do you think there's going to be a Wayne's world sketch? stephen There's got to be, right? You can't not. One can only hope. I mean, they did one for the 45th too. So. Yeah. Well, they did one when Dana Carvey hosted. There wasn't a 45th special. No, there was the one where they were like, Wayne and Garth were doing like the top 10 things about SNL. That was the 45th, right? That wasn't the 40th. The 40th was Oscars. Um,
01:22:54
Speaker
The other thing you're talking about, I'm pretty sure was Dana Carvey hosted. It was a couple of years back, well, a few years back, maybe five years back. No, because Kanye was there and they kept going, Kanye, sit down because it was right after the Taylor Swift thing. Well, what's the oh, the winter's bone one is from the Dana Carvey episode or maybe the episode. Why did I think that was from the I've seen that so many times, though.
01:23:22
Speaker
And I feel like I've watched the 40th anniversary special way more than I've watched that Dana Carvey or Mike Myers episode. I have to feel like it's probably Dana Carvey. I don't know what for. I think just because he's Dana Carvey. OK, you know, you're right. The one I'm thinking of is actually the 40th anniversary. But now I need to know what the Wayne's World Oscar thing was. You know, what it's ah speaking of things that should be fantastic, but they suck ah the fly on the wall podcast with Dana Carvey and David Spade.
01:23:52
Speaker
Man, I mean, that David Spade, it all kind of loses it for me. But yeah actually, it's the opposite for me. Wow. Harvey is the most annoying fucking person in the world. I cannot stand to listen to him talk about anything because he's so annoying. Shut the fuck up. I don't want to call on his wife or everything that you say. I mean, I love Dana Carvey a lot.
01:24:18
Speaker
Leave leaving me pretty cold this season. I liked it. I liked it up until this most recent episode because it's like they focus grouped it like the things that were funny about it before because he peppered it in. It was all he said in this most recent episode. It's funny when you pepper it in. You don't make it the whole bit. It's the seasoning of the bit. So it worked for me up until the Michael Keaton episode. Oh.
01:24:43
Speaker
my I'm sure we'll talk more about that on an upcoming episode of. I did like I did like Mikey Day and Andy Sandberg, though, as Beetlejuice at the beginning. I did. That's that's normally not something I would like because it it seems too obvious, but what they did, but that was really fun. ah Andy Andy Sandberg historically has a very good Beetlejuice impression. So, yeah. Yeah, dude.
01:25:09
Speaker
um Where the fuck was I? Oh, I was. No, I'd done the top. Okay. Wayne's World. Wayne's World. Oscar's. Excellent. um yeah The Tomatometer score. But what's the Oscar's sketch from? What episode is it from, Steven? You were looking at it. It's season 36. Episode 10.
01:25:32
Speaker
36. That's before 40. Steven, I don't understand. Winter's Bone. this joke because it was 2011. And so the 40th anniversary would have been in 2015 or 2014. So it would have been three years prior. Yeah. Fuck, dude, this. Wow. I think we both hopped timelines this time. We'll get to the bottom of it. It doesn't matter at this point. I've lost interest, even what's number 10 at the box office. Doesn't matter. i've I've also lost interest in that, which is to say I closed the window. um Hang on. I'm a find it. I'm a find it.
01:26:11
Speaker
So Vina made $1 on a budget of $3. So the Oscars sketch was the Dana Carvey hosting. That was Dana Carvey hosting in season 36. I was right. You were. I was right, yeah.
01:26:25
Speaker
um And the Tomatometer score on 2005's Venom is a 13%.

Critics' Reviews of Venom

01:26:34
Speaker
The critics consensus a voodoo horror flick without the mojo Venom is chock full of gory impalings of interchangeable teenage girls and hunky guys by an unstoppable zombie whose unimaginative rampage quickly lulls us to sleep.
01:26:49
Speaker
Sounds oddly reminiscent of your experience with this movie. Yeah, dude. I had to drink two cups of coffee. Ooh. That's true. Ooh, that's rough. Because I was trying really hard not to fall asleep, and I wasn't even tired. The meta score on this one is a 25, based on generally unfavorable reviews from 21 critics. And Tucker, care to take a stab at the letterbox score for 2005's Venom. This is going to be in between 2.5
01:27:21
Speaker
to two because you could be silly with this. You could be a very Mimi five star review for this. um I'm going to OK. Final answer between two point two and two point six. Two point four. I fucking did it. You did it again. I leveled it right in the middle. I fucking did it. Can't believe it.
01:27:49
Speaker
And what about your personal ranking of 2005's Venom Tucker? What are you giving that out of five stars? It's going to be one star. Steven, will you do something really cool with me for the 50th anniversary special of Saturday Night Live? What's that? Steven, since we're really good friends and we're definitely both going to watch that. um I will probably not watch it live just as an FYI. Too bad. No, we'll schedule it out far in advance. um We'll make sure it works. I'll get with your people.
01:28:19
Speaker
Um, anyway, can we, will you do bingo cards with me? Like what's going to be in the 50th anniversary special? Yeah. Like, and it could be anything like particular characters or recurring sketches or even like a musical guest, which was something I really found interesting about the 40th anniversary, uh, how they kind of just wove all of the older acts, the newer acts together and the newer acts were singing songs that the classic acts like Miley Cyrus is 50 ways to leave your lover. Holy shit. She nailed that. du You got to appreciate that. Such a build up like I'll just go back and watch that over and over the build up on that shit before she start really starts really getting her voice into it. You're waiting for it. And when she does it, you're like, oh, yep.
01:29:11
Speaker
Here I was, that was the carrot on the stick, and somehow I got that carrot. I don't know how. Here it is in my mouth. In the immortal words of Jerry Seinfeld, it's so nice when it happens good. That's true. Anyway, since you asked so nicely, Tucker, I'm giving this move one at a 1.5. I'm just so excited about our bingo cards. I think there's so much promise in the premise that I... That should be a rap lyric.
01:29:37
Speaker
I'm writing that down from a rap song. Right. Because you do so many

Personal Growth and Learning

01:29:42
Speaker
of those. There's so much promise to the premise of this character um that I want it to be I want it to be so much better than it is. Like, I want to give it just like a half star of credit um for for having a good concept of a villain, even if the execution is shit. Agreed. um Yeah, my little star is is half.
01:30:04
Speaker
ah Good idea guys and half man. They pulled that like room out of that house. Do you see that? Yeah That's my review of this movie pretty fucking cool um So yeah, I'm giving it a one and a half star that gives us an average of a 1.25 for this movie. Fair. um I mean, yeah, very, um perhaps some more than. um And that's, I mean, again, ah we're, we're, we're covering this movie because there's a new Venom movie in theaters this weekend. And it's called The Last Dance. And so it's probably the last Venom movie they're gonna do for a while. And damn it, I wanted to cover the 2005 film Venom.
01:30:55
Speaker
I don't think I ever mentioned why I wanted to cover the 2005 film Venom, is because there was a podcast I used to listen to called the Infinity Pod, yeah where it was Patrick H. Willems, Rachel, Quirky Schenk,
01:31:11
Speaker
uh actor scott name is escaping me right now um i will i will google him real quick um sweet but he uh the three of them used to host a podcast together and uh when the movie venom came out the original 2018 marvel film venom came out uh they they were sent a copy of the 2005 film venom and decided that they were going to watch it as a bit. And I thought that was very funny. And that movie kind of always stuck in my head as a result. And I was like, well, if we don't cover it when there's a Venom movie in theaters, then when the fuck are we going to cover it? So we were we were able to finally get it to work. And that makes me very happy.
01:31:59
Speaker
I don't know if you've seen recent ah cover art for this film. Scott Thomas is the name of the actor, Scott Thomas. Is he related to Wendy's founder, Dave Thomas? I doubt it very. Is he related to Canadian SCTV actor, Dave Thomas? I also very much doubt. Two different people. Yes. Same name, two people. Yes. One's a hoser, eh? Eh, take off your hoser.
01:32:30
Speaker
Dude, I will watch Strange Brew now. Bye, Stephen. I mean, Strange Brew, could we come? We could probably cover Strange Brew. That's going to stop existing characters. I would too. We could probably do an entire month of movies based on sketch characters. Yeah, I'm into that. We can we do it as Strange Brew. We could do its path, but why would we want to do its path? Because I think it's I think it's something that needs to be re-examined.
01:32:57
Speaker
Not because not because it's going to we're going to find out it's good or anything, but I feel like the gender politics with I feel like the gender politics of that thing are probably pretty dicey. I'm saying it would be a good conversation. Maybe I don't know, get some people with some skin in the game in on the conversation.
01:33:19
Speaker
so i like some of our friends that feels a bit exploitative no i don't mean i i realize that it comes off as that way but that's not how i mean it i'm just really interested in different perspectives and especially stuff that was from a time where people were ignorant and i i think that i don't know it's just really interesting to hear what people have to say, I don't, I'm not trying to be exploitive. I apologize if it came off that way. i just I'm just so no i am really interested in conversation about that kind of shit. as I'm trying to understand

Debating Sensitive Topics in Media

01:33:52
Speaker
shit like that myself. Cause I want to be like, like I am an accepting and loving person, but
01:33:59
Speaker
You know, you're subconscious as a motherfucker. Yeah. And you're constantly battling that motherfucker. It's like, oh, racist thought. And you're like, no, no, you are not. Nope. That is not true. There's always something about that that feels vaguely tokenistic or exploitative about that.
01:34:14
Speaker
um with the movie or my want to discuss these sorts of things. there's There's a podcast that I love that very often when they're covering a movie that has noted themes, like when they covered Silence of the Lambs, they had a trans guest on. And when they covered the entire filmography of like an African-American filmmaker, they would have African-American guests on the whole month. Oh, no, wait, Steven, you're right. You're right. I wasn't trying to be exploitive, but for a movie as frivolous and stupid and not worth talking about as its path. It would be kind of explain. You're right. It needs to be something important. I feel like at least something that deserves to be talked about. That's my bad. I apologize. I'm growing. I am 42 years old and I am growing. We're a learning. We are all of us learning and just trying to be the best as we can. Exactly. I'm just trying to be good and and and nice to everybody.
01:35:13
Speaker
Absolutely. Absolutely. We're all growing as men, me and you Stephen. We're growing as men right now in this moment. You just witnessed us grow, you guys. That's growth. Were there what you just heard? That's growth.

Encouraging Listener Engagement

01:35:25
Speaker
Yeah. And speaking of growth, we're we're the disenfranchised podcast. You can find us ah wherever you get your podcast. That's probably where you're listening to us right now. Hey, while you're there, if you could do me a quick favor, if you could just leave us a five star rating and review, let other people know why you like us and that you do, in fact, like us, that would be really helpful. Thank you so much for doing that. In fact, if you leave a five star rating and review on Apple podcast, I'll i'll you know what I'll do.
01:35:52
Speaker
just for you, this is the thing I'll do. I will read it here on the podcast. That's ah that's a thing I will do for you. And if you want us to do it in ah any kind of voice, we'll do we'll try our hand at any celebrity impersonation that you want us to do. We can't guarantee that we'll be able to do it, but we'll try. you don't know It's either gonna be good it's either going to be good or it's gonna be so bad that it's funny, I feel like. I will try anyone because I think that impersonating someone's voice, I don't think you can't really. I just never understood how that could be bigoted. I guess if you're. I could see it, but that's if you're affecting the typical tones and mannerisms, then I think it could be. No, I would be I would be impersonating someone's specific voice. I feel like that would be on them.
01:36:49
Speaker
Like, I mean, I'm I'm doing what they're doing. I'm impersonating that with no intention. It's complicated is what I'm going to say again. Growing, growing, growth, growing, growth. Still still figuring shit out, man. We still we always are. If we if we stop, we're dead.
01:37:09
Speaker
um Uh, but yeah, leave us a five star rating interview, please. And thank you. We sure would appreciate that. Uh, if you want to, you know, throw some monetary support our way, head over to the aforementioned patreon dot.com slash just in French pod for five bucks a month. You can, so you can hear what Tucker is going to do on his birthday or by the point time this comes out, what Tucker is doing slash has done on his birthday. If you listen, depending on when you listen to it during that day, you could be listening to it. Well, no, cause we're good.
01:37:39
Speaker
I might I could I mean, while you're listening to this episode, he could be doing the thing. But now that I think about it, if I could probably as long as as long as we don't look crazy with the beeps, I could probably get that thing edited.
01:37:55
Speaker
pretty quickly and have it out Thursday. I mean, when or when are we going to have? When are we going to record the what are we watching? Because Wednesday, we're not supposed to record. What are we watching? We're supposed to record top five. I'm going to announce it on the top five. I'm announcing it on the top five. I decided that in my head. I i forgot that I neglected to get let you in on that. I apologize.
01:38:14
Speaker
ah But yeah i' do you know dis and five tries on our our rankings of the the five Ghostbusters films That is that is a one that is a thing we're going to do And we're recording it Wednesday night and I'm gonna have it I'm gonna have it scheduled to post at the exact time that I'm gonna be doing the thing and I'm going to reveal in that episode. It's you guys. I can't just I can't just say it. It's it deserves a big build up. This is it's it's a big thing. I mean, you could say it and beep it. you We know you're fond of beeping. No, Stephen, because I'm not going to tell you until then either. Oh, it wouldn't be right because Brett's not here. No, because you guys are my friends and I want you together. And I want to tell you. And yeah, it's it's a big deal. It's kind of a big deal.
01:39:08
Speaker
Something I never thought I'd do ever. You're going to skydive again. Again, I'd love to go skydiving just one time. I haven't been. I might skydive though. And maybe on his birthday, but that's now no, no, that's not what I'm doing. ah So I'm doing my birthday. It's too cold for that shit on my face or or is it? Something I never thought I'd do. Wink.
01:39:36
Speaker
Well, actually it's something I've done before, but not this way.
01:39:47
Speaker
Um, you can also find us on most forms of social media. We are at disenfranch pod, shoot us an email, disenfranch pod at gmail dot.com. Um, and Hey, what else? Why not? Um, I'm your host, Stephen Fox with you. You can find me on the socials at chewy walrus by my book, check in, check out on Amazon on Kindle or hard or paperback.
01:40:08
Speaker
Not hardcover um ah Our friend Brett is sometimes on Instagram mostly on letterbox at sus underscore warlock and Tucker where can we find you these days? Well I first if I could move it back to the patreon here ah I'm sure we said that patreon dot.com slash disenfranch pod is the official conversation of the disenfranchised podcast, which means you both paid members and free members have access to the main feed episode on our Patreon, which is convenient because we can just declare that the home of the chat.
01:40:51
Speaker
So anybody, you don't have to pay us money to have a direct line to us because I answer 90% of all comments that are left. So if you want to guess what I'm doing on my birthday based just on the very vague things that I've said in this episode, please, please go ahead.
01:41:12
Speaker
Please. Well, you wait for the dis and five tries to post. Yeah. Ooh, it's going to be nice hearing that theme again. I miss that one. That one's fun. That is a five. That might be my favorite tea theme you've composed for us. It is a good one. I hope you're not broke this evening, you guys. We do top fives, top fives. And but, yeah, your socials.
01:41:41
Speaker
Yes, of course, my socials. um I'm on Instagram but and also on YouTube. but At Ice909, that's I-C-E-N-I-N-E, the number zero and the number nine. ah We recently had a guest post on Tuckmugs. Who was it, Steven?
01:42:02
Speaker
It was, uh, our good friend, Brett Wright, our, our, you our friend or absolute coorst right yeah who's here with us every week in spirit, even if he's not physically here, he's literally haunting us every waking moment in spirit. You know, some people hear it. Some people fear it. Some people just won't go near it. If Brett were here, he'd get that reference. Um,
01:42:24
Speaker
He posted a guest mug as his tradition. It seems like I think he's he's my go to spooky season guest mug from now on. He's got a lot of spooky mugs. Yeah, we're going to make it Brett month. I feel like make a whole month out of it. Maybe see if he's up for that next year. I will let you know that I have been the recipient of not one, but two mugs that I have procured in the past week. Well, then shit post a man, get him to the social media coordinator.
01:42:55
Speaker
I don't know if we want to post them like so quick together. I do have one that honestly would probably work well for spooky season. You know, the least exciting of the two mugs that I purchased, but it's a good mug. What I would really love if if in a perfect world where I had the time and the ah networking skills to make an Instagram page like Tuck mugs work on a really fantastic level.
01:43:25
Speaker
I would have a post once a week. Mm hmm. On a specific day at a specific time every week, there'd be a new tuck mug. But man, we don't have the manpower for that. We don't have the funding for that. don't And even if we knew how to do that, I don't know if I have the tools to do something like that. steve We also don't have the guest submissions for that. Exactly. Yeah. Speaking of a holler at your girl, maybe because I still have a legally binding guest mug that I'm waiting on. Yeah. So that's me. Tuck underscore mugs on Instagrams. Uh, enjoy that because it really is a fun place.
01:44:10
Speaker
Well, that's our episode on 2005's Venom. Steven's been your host, Steven. I'm so glad we had this time together just to have a laugh and sing a song. Yeah, dude. Seems we just get started and before you know it comes the time we have to say so long.
01:44:31
Speaker
Uh, am I singing the Carol Burnett theme song on this show? Fuck yes, I am. better um But yeah, that has been our episode. She's just out there mopping. She is. You know what? tucker It's your birthday. I'll let you close out the episode. Go for it. You were you were doing a. Oh, but now I'm on the spot. I don't man. I don't know what to do. Uh. The end.
01:44:58
Speaker
This has been the episode of disenfranchised on 2005's Venom. I said that already. The penultimate episode of our 2024 SpookyThon. Join us next week for the first ever spooky episode of Straight Up. Yes, I'm so excited. Tucker's very excited. I can't wait for you guys to see this movie. One thing we are not doing is covering the movie.
01:45:24
Speaker
So we're not doing no. Fuck you. OK, 145. Got it. We will definitely not be covering you again. Instead, we're going to be covering a brand new movie that Tucker has chosen. This one, an overt out and out horror film. That's not a brand new movie. It's from the 80s. Well, it's brand new to Brett and I. Oh, I can't wait. i I really think you guys are both going to like it. I hope you're right. I hope I'm right to it. But if you're not,
01:45:52
Speaker
even better, let's have a good conversation about it, dude. We will definitely. Is three dudes agreeing how much something rocks? That's all right, I guess, every once in a while. Not a lot of not a lot of conversation fodder in three dudes agreeing, so. Well, oh, yeah, I thought that was cool, too. Do you think that was cool? Yeah, I'll dislike it on the principle. How's that? Yeah, somebody's got to be the devil's advocate. And I advocate for the devil pretty well, but I have history with this movie, so it's going to have to be you, Steven.
01:46:20
Speaker
Right. you're You're pretty biased already. So until then, I'm your host, Stephen Foxworthy, for my co-host Tucker and the absent Brett Wright. Until next time, ah stay out of the backwater because those those undead mechanics, they'll they'll get you. Good night, folks. Good night, America.