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Violent Night
20 Plays28 days ago
Daryl, Nick, and Lauren unwrap Violent Night, where Santa trades sleigh bells for badass combat moves! The crew breaks down David Harbour’s epic take on Saint Nick, the perfect blend of holiday cheer and bloody action, and whether this film could become a new Christmas classic. Grab your eggnog and join the chaos as they dive into the festive madness of Violent Night!
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Transcript
Welcome to Casual Nerdity
00:00:31
Daryl
Welcome back to the Casual Nerdity Podcast, everyone. i am Daryl.
00:00:36
DarthSylar
And Nick?
00:00:37
Lauren
And I'm Lauren.
00:00:39
Daryl
And we are back again to have some pop culture-y fun.
RPG Game: 'Everyone is John'
00:00:43
Daryl
ah It feels like it has been just weeks and weeks and weeks since I have seen or spoken to the two of you, considering considering we just left Nick's house like two hours ago.
00:00:50
Lauren
Yeah.
00:00:54
Lauren
Mm hmm.
00:00:55
Daryl
ah where we had some fun playing a seasonal game of the Everyone is John RPG, and it was a lot of fun.
00:01:02
Lauren
Yes.
00:01:03
DarthSylar
That's what everyone says.
00:01:06
Daryl
Nick, everyone has said that they had fun. every Everyone was laughing and enjoying themselves, which is the point of every Everyone is John.
00:01:11
Lauren
Nick, mc I never even got a turn and I had fun. So you you know that they you did it. You won, Nick.
00:01:22
Daryl
Yeah, so just stop beating yourself up. it It is mine and Robert's job to beat you up at the end of every How We Roll Gaming episode.
00:01:32
Lauren
and And you do a very good job of that.
00:01:34
DarthSylar
is This is true.
Analyzing 'Violent Night' (Spoilers Ahead)
00:01:36
Daryl
So, but we are going to kind of stick with the holiday theme this time around. Last time, Nick and I were just discussing various holiday specials and waxing nostalgic and pseudo-philosophical about them.
00:01:53
Daryl
And we missed you, Lauren, in that conversation.
00:01:55
Lauren
Oh, I'm sorry.
00:01:55
DarthSylar
We did.
00:01:57
Daryl
But this time around, we're going to be taking a look at a pretty recent Christmas movie, Violent Night. And, um, you were, as we do, when we talk about any movie, we're going to start off with, uh, with the trailer, but do be forewarned that there will be spoilers all throughout the episode as we discuss Violent Night.
00:02:06
Lauren
boy.
00:02:23
Daryl
And, um, i I believe even the trailer, I don't recall. ah the The trailer is going to earn us our explicit E for this episode.
00:02:33
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:02:34
DarthSylar
Oh boy.
00:02:35
Daryl
but But let's take a listen to the trailer.
00:02:40
DarthSylar
Mm-hmm.
'Violent Night': A Unique Premise
00:05:23
Daryl
So first of all, I don't know who had the fever dream to combine an ultra violent die hard with Santa Claus, but I love them.
00:05:36
DarthSylar
um really
00:05:37
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:05:38
DarthSylar
It has been done before.
00:05:38
Lauren
Mm-hmm. you
00:05:39
DarthSylar
it was done as a B-horror movie involving a professional wrestler in the past.
00:05:46
Daryl
Yes, but ah was with an
00:05:48
DarthSylar
But it was it was meant to be... It was not this good.
00:05:54
Daryl
But was was that with the real Santa Claus or was that with a serial killer dressed as Santa Claus?
00:06:02
DarthSylar
No, no, it was meant to be like a Santa Claus actual that just went crazy.
00:06:07
Daryl
Gotcha. Gotcha, gotcha. Because I was thinking of Silent Night, Deadly Night.
00:06:14
DarthSylar
Which it has actually is getting a reboot this year.
00:06:20
Lauren
Huh.
00:06:21
Daryl
Now... I didn't see Violent Night in theaters, but wanted to ah my wife my wife and i were
00:06:25
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:06:28
DarthSylar
i did and
00:06:31
Daryl
My wife and I were going to go see it with a friend of hers and her husband, and for some reason the timing didn't work out, and then we were going to go the next week, and it was gone.
00:06:43
Lauren
Ooh.
00:06:44
DarthSylar
Oh yeah, it was very sort of I saw it with a with high school friends.
00:06:50
Daryl
But somehow I missed the part of the marketing that made it abundantly clear that David Harbour was playing actual Santa Claus.
00:07:01
Daryl
For some reason i For some reason...
00:07:01
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:07:01
DarthSylar
Oh, I never saw the trailer. I only went there because friends of mine wanted to see it. I did not see a trailer.
00:07:12
Daryl
for some reason I thought he was playing like a hired Santa Claus. And the movie was going to go for a a coy, maybe he is, maybe he isn't, but he probably isn't.
00:07:25
DarthSylar
ah bad A bad Santa type.
00:07:28
Daryl
Yeah. You know, like, it just wrong place, wrong time, which it was wrong place, wrong time, but he was just, you know, your typical hired Santa and
00:07:44
DarthSylar
mall san Mall Santa die hard.
00:07:46
Lauren
hundred
00:07:47
Daryl
Yeah, and...
00:07:48
DarthSylar
Which honestly, was that that's what I expected when my friend brought me to it as well.
00:07:49
Lauren
Of course.
00:07:54
Lauren
Of course, in the trailer, we do see him open up the nice list, which definitely gives an idea that, like, it'ss it's a magical nice list.
00:07:58
DarthSylar
Yeah. ah yeah like and the
00:08:02
Daryl
up the nice list, he's on the roof with the reindeer.
00:08:02
DarthSylar
Again, like, without the trailer,
00:08:05
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:08:06
Daryl
you know...
00:08:07
DarthSylar
without the trailer, I did go in there it's like, oh okay, we're going watch that. Without the trailer, you don't have the context.
00:08:16
Lauren
Yeah.
00:08:17
Daryl
Yeah, i was I was tangentially aware that the movie existed and kind of what it was about, but hadn't really paid attention to the marketing. So I i went into this thinking, yeah.
00:08:29
DarthSylar
Honestly, I felt the marketing was pretty low.
00:08:33
Daryl
So I went into it you know just totally thinking, yeah, this it's just you a guy in a Santa suit. It's David Harbour in a Santa suit.
00:08:45
Lauren
Meanwhile, I watched this... i
00:08:48
DarthSylar
again, not a bad concept.
00:08:50
Lauren
mean Meanwhile, I watched this movie for the first time three days ago, and I'd never heard of it before.
00:08:55
Daryl
ah
00:08:55
Lauren
but
00:08:56
DarthSylar
Again, honestly, it is a sleeper hit.
00:08:59
Lauren
Well, it's more than just it's more just...
00:09:00
Daryl
is
00:09:01
Lauren
I just don't pay attention to movies in general, so even if it even if it wasn't a sleeper hit, I probably wouldn't have heard of it anyway.
00:09:04
DarthSylar
No, I'd say in terms of like, in terms of...
00:09:05
Daryl
This is true.
00:09:10
DarthSylar
I would say like in general, it's kind of a sleeper hit.
00:09:13
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:09:14
Daryl
But I'm walking in with with those expectations. Nick is walking in with
Setting the Tone: Santa's World
00:09:20
Daryl
those expectations. You're sitting down with no expectations because you hadn't even really heard of it.
00:09:24
Lauren
Yeah. Yeah.
00:09:26
Daryl
And Meanwhile, in our opening scene, we get this
00:11:59
Daryl
And yes. And then you know i i didn't keep the rest of the clip because it's not much dialogue.
00:11:59
Lauren
An excellent introductory scene.
00:12:03
DarthSylar
And I will have to say, like, the...
00:12:10
Lauren
Yeah, it's mostly visual.
00:12:10
Daryl
It's just sound.
00:12:11
Lauren
Yeah.
00:12:12
Daryl
She goes she is up to the roof.
00:12:13
DarthSylar
And...
00:12:14
Daryl
She sees him taken off with the reindeer. And she's like in complete and total awe that she has seen you Christmas magic in front of her.
00:12:25
Daryl
And he circles back around and pukes on her.
00:12:28
Lauren
Yep.
00:12:29
DarthSylar
But he here's where... Where I have to say, like, what makes the movie work is entirely David Haber's performance.
00:12:39
Daryl
Yes.
00:12:39
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:12:40
Daryl
Yes.
00:12:40
DarthSylar
And then...
00:12:40
Daryl
David Harbour is just chef's kiss in this movie. I know that currently that it is it is fashionable to believe David Harbour is problematic.
00:12:44
DarthSylar
But he...
00:12:56
Daryl
But, you know, he he did an amazing job in this movie. He carried the whole movie.
00:13:01
DarthSylar
Maybe because here's where, and I've been through the multiple times with, uh, with Lauren and they agreed with me. Like you can't be a downtrodden Santa without being Santa first.
00:13:19
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:13:20
DarthSylar
You gotta start.
00:13:20
Daryl
Right.
00:13:23
DarthSylar
You have to be core Santa to build off of that properly.
00:13:30
Daryl
Right, and it's...
00:13:31
Lauren
You know, one one thing that I like about this introductory scene is that it feels like it really sets up the thesis for the movie in the way that Santa himself is being very cynical, very down on everything.
00:13:39
Daryl
Yes.
00:13:44
Lauren
But then the other Santa in the room, the fake Santa, is still supportive of him. He, you know, he buys his drink for him.
00:13:51
DarthSylar
Even when he even he starts with, he starts with saying, like, it's for the money, but it's like, he's also like, but also you can't deny, like, that the little kiddies, the smile on their face.
00:13:53
Lauren
They're...
00:13:59
Daryl
Yeah.
00:14:01
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:14:03
Lauren
And it really helps establish that while Santa might be cynical, the world still has goodness in it. It still has people who care about each other in it.
00:14:13
Daryl
Right.
00:14:14
Lauren
And I think establishing that from the outset is important for the overall tone of the movie because it does have cynical elements in it, but it is not 100% cynical the whole way through. Santa finding himself again is the core of the movie.
00:14:32
Daryl
it It is.
00:14:32
Lauren
And I think that that's really important.
00:14:33
Daryl
and And it's very unique...
00:14:35
DarthSylar
It's why you didn't have a character playing Santa at the beginning. like He is Santa. He's just feeling down. He needs that re-ignition of the spark of Christmas.
00:14:44
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:14:48
DarthSylar
but it's like again a great It's easier to play like a cynical, bad Santa than it is to be like a Santa who's feeling and down.
00:14:49
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:15:01
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:15:02
Daryl
Right, and it's not a unique...
00:15:04
DarthSylar
So it is a good...
00:15:04
Daryl
I mean, we we've we've seen disillusioned Santa before, and we've seen it across a variety ah of approaches from you know like thinking that ah that Doris and Susan are kind of a test case for whether or not Christmas has gotten to Commercial and Miracle on 34th Street.
00:15:09
DarthSylar
Uh-huh.
00:15:23
Daryl
Another movie, which is very coy about, is Chris Santa or not? And we've we've from that example to you know the Santa that just wanted to stay in bed and cancel Christmas because he was tired and burned out in The Year Without a Santa Claus, a Rankin-Bass animated special had that theme.
00:15:51
DarthSylar
like Roughly around like 40, nearly 50 years. Mm-hmm. nearly fifty years
00:15:55
Lauren
Oh,
00:15:56
Daryl
Well, I mean, Miracle on 34th Street was what, 1930-something?
00:16:04
Daryl
Now I got to look it up
00:16:09
Daryl
it up.
00:16:14
Daryl
So nearly 80 years ago, we had a movie with a disillusioned Santa.
00:16:22
Lauren
yeah.
00:16:23
Daryl
But, you know we also very quickly see that, you know this absolutely is the Santa.
00:16:31
Lauren
Yes.
00:16:31
Daryl
yeah they They don't waste any time showing us that he is the real Santa.
00:16:31
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:16:35
Lauren
and
00:16:36
DarthSylar
Unlike any other movie that does that, again, like a Miracle on 44th Street, it's like, nope, this is Santa. He is Santa.
00:16:45
Daryl
Yeah. Yeah. Miracle on 34th Street totally plays it coy. And there is enough evidence for and against throughout the entire movie that you can read it either way.
00:17:00
Daryl
I want to say the filmmakers said, no, he's not Santa. But there's enough contextual information there and the way that the movie leaves you.
00:17:10
DarthSylar
Hell, even the remake made certain, like, well, we're actually using actual law and actual, actual, the actual version of the post office to make sure, like, yeah, there's still a veneer of, like, it could be, it could not be.
00:17:26
Daryl
Yeah.
00:17:33
Daryl
But like like Lauren was saying, it's a very well done and efficient and useful introductory scene because we are less than five minutes into the movie and we have already established our tone and our thesis. We have done it in a way that doesn't jump up and say, this is our thesis statement for the movie.
00:17:55
Daryl
It sneaks it in.
00:17:55
DarthSylar
No exposition. No exposition.
00:17:58
Daryl
Yep.
00:17:58
DarthSylar
It's all this dietetic.
Lightstone Family Dynamics
00:18:01
Daryl
yep And so then we transition to the Lightstone estate where Jason Lightstone, his estranged wife, Linda, and their daughter, Trudy, arrive for Christmas to put in their annual appearance.
00:18:06
Lauren
Oh, boy.
00:18:14
DarthSylar
And they are an adorable family.
00:18:17
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:18:17
Daryl
Yes.
00:18:18
Lauren
They are.
00:18:19
Daryl
Yes. And I don't have it in the notes here, but it is you know very ah worthwhile to point out that as soon as Jason gets in the car, when Linda and Trudy pick him up.
00:18:33
Daryl
She starts referencing Home Alone, and Trudy makes a point of saying she got to stay up late and watch Home Alone last night.
00:18:41
Lauren
Yep.
00:18:44
Lauren
Beautiful.
00:18:44
Daryl
ah But Jason... Again, we are shown, not told, that he's clearly the most considerate member of the family because his sister immediately insults him, ah state states her hope that this year she's hoping that their mother will finally retire and leave one of them, preferably her, in charge of the company.
00:19:13
Daryl
She's nasty to the staff. There's both regular staff. yeah You can tell contextually that there's staff that works there full-time year-round.
00:19:22
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:19:22
Daryl
And then there's hired staff for the event.
00:19:22
DarthSylar
the ah front hundred get
00:19:24
Lauren
Yep.
00:19:25
DarthSylar
one cake The front gate guy is like he recognizes everybody by name.
00:19:30
Daryl
Yep, I have that here next in my notes. you know By contrast, Jason is cordial to the staff, even the hired staff. temporary staff for the event and the longtime staff like Al at the front gate.
00:19:45
Daryl
Al recognizes the family. All three of them are friendly with him and have like a nice little back and forth.
00:19:50
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:19:54
Daryl
But you you also get the sense too that he understands that and the family as a whole, not Jason, Linda, and Trudy, but Gertrude Lightstone and the larger Lightstone family. It's kind of a shit gig because here he is working Christmas Eve.
00:20:16
Lauren
Yep. it was It was his Christmas wish to not have to work on Christmas Eve, and he ah didn't get it.
00:20:23
Daryl
Yep.
00:20:23
Lauren
He didn't get that wish. Oh, well.
00:20:25
Daryl
He did not. But what we get then is we get some exposition, which it it's a very nice narrative.
00:20:30
Lauren
Oh, boy.
00:20:34
DarthSylar
It's actually well done. Very well done, narrative expert.
00:20:37
Daryl
It's well done because they have worked in a reason to give expository dialogue in that Jason and Linda are separated.
00:20:38
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:20:49
Daryl
And she doesn't know what's been going on with the rest of the family.
00:20:56
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:20:57
DarthSylar
To quote her, she wants, she wants, she wants the gods.
00:20:57
Daryl
So we get this.
00:21:02
Daryl
She wants the hot goss.
00:21:14
Daryl
Thank
00:21:54
DarthSylar
Yeah.
00:22:24
Daryl
And so we can tell just from that, so it begins, that this kind of thing happens every year.
00:22:30
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:22:34
Lauren
Yep.
00:22:35
Daryl
And we can see that the Lightstones are a super totally non-toxic family.
00:22:41
Lauren
Oh, yeah, yeah, definitely.
00:22:42
Daryl
and certain
00:22:43
Lauren
Mm-hmm. Yep, totally. Mm-hmm.
00:22:45
Daryl
um But I just, every time I watch this, I i lose it at hashtag blessed. Yeah.
00:22:52
Lauren
Mm-hmm. yes, the influencer's son who has been charged with harassment. That is, uh, yep, that's how that profession goes. Mm-hmm.
00:23:02
Daryl
Yep. And kiss me in front of my son. It's like, what? Yeah. and for e
00:23:08
DarthSylar
Honestly, I will give credit where credit is influence of the son could have been cringier.
00:23:16
Lauren
Mm-hmm. He could have been. Mm-hmm.
00:23:19
DarthSylar
But it's just enough. Just enough to make it make it work for the comedy.
00:23:24
Lauren
Yes.
00:23:25
Daryl
yeah And I just, you know, this throughout the entire movie, the the movie and the characters walk this tightrope between
00:23:37
DarthSylar
Oh, yeah, yeah.
00:23:38
Daryl
between being a satire of consumerism and capitalism and all of that, and over-the-top just buffoonishness.
00:23:56
DarthSylar
Bad, bad people.
00:23:56
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:23:59
Daryl
it it walks this tightrope and it does it really well that yes, it,
00:24:04
DarthSylar
then you' like yeah a a A lesser movie could have turned these into like developed doomed characters that we want to see die.
00:24:15
Daryl
but instead, you know, they're, they're caricatures. Yes, but they have just enough character that, you know you are invested in in what happens to them.
00:24:24
DarthSylar
And humanity.
00:24:27
Daryl
And yeah, thanks.
00:24:28
DarthSylar
We don't want to see them get hurt.
00:24:31
Daryl
Right, and things are heightened, yes, but this is a movie where Santa Claus is real.
00:24:37
Lauren
Yeah, it's important for the overall theme of the work because the idea of Santa regaining his Christmas spirit again requires the characters involved to be capable of engaging in Christmas spirit in the first place.
00:24:38
DarthSylar
Dang it.
00:24:53
DarthSylar
I mean...
00:24:56
Lauren
So they can't be the absolute worst people in the world.
00:24:56
Daryl
Right.
00:25:00
Lauren
They have to at least have some capacity for compassion and empathy for others.
00:25:04
DarthSylar
In a lesser slasher version of this, they'd be on the naughty list and get destroyed.
00:25:13
Daryl
Right.
00:25:14
DarthSylar
This is them. They're not necessarily nice, but they do become nicer. Nice. sir
00:25:23
Lauren
Yeah, and no none of these people, well, with the exception of the main three that we're following, they're not good people, but they're not the worst people either.
00:25:23
Daryl
Right.
00:25:34
Lauren
And that's important.
00:25:34
Daryl
Well, and as we'll see when we get there, you know, spoilers, it's an argument to be made for Jason not being a great person either.
00:25:38
Lauren
Oh, yeah.
00:25:42
Lauren
Yeah, yeah, this is also true.
00:25:43
DarthSylar
there's's There's a case that we made.
00:25:44
Daryl
But...
00:25:46
Lauren
And the grandma is also probably the worst person in general. it's gets cut
00:25:49
Daryl
Oh, yes. Yes, you you can tell just from what is and isn't said in the two hours of this movie, you know exactly how Jason and his sister were brought up.
00:26:04
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:26:06
Daryl
You know that they were always pitted against one another.
00:26:10
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:26:11
Daryl
You know it was always...
00:26:11
DarthSylar
Oh, yeah. The whole sequence where there's like, oh, he's positioning himself down the back at the back of the room.
00:26:23
DarthSylar
He's trying to position himself.
00:26:23
Daryl
know something We should go do that. you know it it Everything is a case of one-upsmanship.
00:26:31
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:26:33
Daryl
And you know that Gertrude has encouraged that their entire lives.
00:26:37
Lauren
Yes.
00:26:38
DarthSylar
Well, you could also, for the relation that Burke is Bertrude.
00:26:44
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:26:45
Daryl
Yes. I mean, they make a point out of that. you know Trudy's full name is Gertrude, and she's named after Gertrude.
00:26:48
DarthSylar
Yeah.
00:26:50
Lauren
Yes.
00:26:52
Daryl
And Jason's sister, whose name I can never remember, um you is like, well, you know you were sucking up to mom because you named your daughter Gertrude.
00:26:56
DarthSylar
Yeah.
00:27:02
Daryl
And like, yes, but you named your son Bertrude.
00:27:07
Lauren
That's not a name.
00:27:07
DarthSylar
Which is not what they're naming.
00:27:09
Daryl
It's not even a name. And so it's definitely a pattern that has been with them from the moment they were born.
00:27:20
DarthSylar
Again, we've made a point of it, but it's like in the movie, that happens like within like three minutes.
00:27:29
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:27:30
DarthSylar
You get all that information.
00:27:30
Daryl
Yeah, I mean, we're maybe, maybe 10, 15 minutes into the movie at this point, and we already know these people's entire lives.
00:27:42
DarthSylar
All tropes, the tricks. Yeah.
00:27:46
Daryl
But then there is a Christmas crisis.
00:27:48
Lauren
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:27:50
Daryl
Because with the separation and other things that Jason has been busy with, he didn't take Trudy to see Santa like he always does. And so she never got to tell Santa what she wants for Christmas, and she's freaking out about it.
00:28:08
Daryl
And so Jason, yeah he, yeah, he thinks fast.
00:28:09
DarthSylar
But luckily, he goes to find fine
00:28:16
Daryl
He goes to the game room in the mansion, finds a walkie-talkie and some earbuds, wraps it, and as they're putting Trudy to bed, like, You've been so good, we're giving you an early present.
00:28:32
Daryl
And they tell her that the walkie-talkie is a magical direct connection to Santa Claus. And that he may not be able to answer, but he can hear and she can tell him what she wants for Christmas through this magic walkie-talkie.
00:28:52
Lauren
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:28:54
DarthSylar
But it also does get to the fact that despite, like, many people could write off this as, like, oh, it's just, like, a violent lint with ah Christmas parody. Like, it doesn't have any, like, heart to it.
00:29:14
Daryl
Oh, I'll tell you how much heart it doesn't have, because as soon as she starts telling Santa what she wants for Christmas after they've left the room, the only thing she really wants for Christmas is for Jason and Linda to get back together.
00:29:14
DarthSylar
That's rough.
00:29:25
DarthSylar
Barely.
00:29:31
Lauren
oh Now, but
00:29:33
DarthSylar
is it Honestly, what makes this sort of better is like, oh, we're going to fiery Christmas movie. This movie actually does have the Christmas period involved.
00:29:48
Daryl
Yep, it absolutely does. um And speaking of, go ahead, go ahead.
00:29:54
Lauren
well now but between the notes here. So it's around this point that actually Santa arrives at the Lightstone house. And he starts rooting around in the house.
00:30:02
DarthSylar
Yep.
00:30:06
Lauren
He finds the cookies that the family made for him. The the daughter, she made cookies that looked like Santa. ah He pours out some milk and finds some...
00:30:14
DarthSylar
There's one that was kind of weird looking
00:30:18
Lauren
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. he He pours out the milk and finds some alcohol instead and starts going to town on that. And just as he's in the middle of doing all this, I will say that the the scene very suddenly changes without warning, where...
00:30:34
Lauren
ah
00:30:35
Daryl
Before we talk about that sudden change, though, I want to point out he appreciated the cookies.
00:30:38
Lauren
even
00:30:42
Lauren
Yes, yes, he did.
00:30:43
Daryl
he he He noticed yeah when he when he took the first bite, he noticed that they were homemade.
00:30:50
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:30:51
Daryl
And he appreciated them. Now the milk, he's like, oh, milk? Oh, skim, too. dump That's when he dumps it out and pours in some of the good stuff.
00:31:01
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
Mercenary Attack at the Lightstone House
00:31:02
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:31:03
Daryl
And finds the massage chair.
00:31:05
Lauren
Oh, yes, yes, the massage chair.
00:31:06
Daryl
edit
00:31:08
DarthSylar
yeah. That was part of it.
00:31:12
Daryl
yeah And so, you know, he's there and we now see that the catering crew is made up of armed mercenaries.
00:31:25
DarthSylar
Oh, this is where the tone changes.
00:31:25
Daryl
They all...
00:31:30
Lauren
and And the reveal is is sudden.
00:31:30
Daryl
Yes. Yes.
00:31:32
Lauren
we We go from Santa in the massage chair to just instantly, all of a sudden, that the crew is getting together and it's like there's it comes out of nowhere.
00:31:43
Lauren
It's like, whoa, what's happening here?
00:31:46
Daryl
The crew is getting together out of nowhere, but we see that one of the members of Lightstone security staff that appears to have been there for a while triggers a signal to them.
00:32:02
Daryl
And that's when they all move into action. And they have... they they have
00:32:10
DarthSylar
we go we go from ah We go from a ah classic Christmas story and now we go into Die Hard.
00:32:19
Lauren
yep
00:32:19
Daryl
Yeah, they have a plan. This is obviously very carefully planned out. um
00:32:27
DarthSylar
Heavily planned out
00:32:27
Daryl
they're they Their leader is not part of the catering crew. In comes John Leguizamo.
00:32:35
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:32:36
DarthSylar
Which is, again, a more of a comedian, but
00:32:37
Daryl
Yeah.
00:32:39
DarthSylar
Does a great job as the bad guy. Mm-hmm.
00:32:43
Lauren
Yes, as Mr.
00:32:43
Daryl
Yeah.
00:32:44
Lauren
Scrooge, as he calls himself. Because they they also have all these...
00:32:46
Daryl
Yeah, they all have Christmas code names.
00:32:48
Lauren
Yeah, yeah, these they have these Christmas code names. One is the Krampus. There's Mr.
00:32:52
DarthSylar
Mm-hmm.
00:32:52
Lauren
Scrooge. I don't remember. I think that one of them is Peppermint. I think that's one of the ladies.
00:32:56
DarthSylar
Yep.
00:32:57
Daryl
I think so. I think so. And so as they're sweeping the house, Santa gets attacked and demonstrates that he seems to maybe have some kind of fighting skills.
00:33:04
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:33:13
Lauren
and But that said, as he's attacked, ah the guy, they have they have a bit of a gunfight where Santa grabs a hold of the gun and mis-aims it up into the roof.
00:33:24
Lauren
But that's where his reindeer are.
00:33:28
Daryl
And the reindeer take off.
00:33:29
Lauren
Yep, so Santa is stranded, at which point he ends up throwing the guy out of a window and onto a big ice spike.
00:33:41
Lauren
he got he that That guy got Mega Man'd.
00:33:41
Daryl
Yep, it's...
00:33:43
DarthSylar
Yep.
00:33:43
Daryl
Yeah, that that was a pretty gnarly pretty gnarly death there.
00:33:47
DarthSylar
That was an art that I killed.
00:33:48
Lauren
over
00:33:50
DarthSylar
But it was also like he also did have always like, oh, I i did not want to do that.
00:33:50
Daryl
and
00:33:57
Lauren
Yeah, he he doesn't want to murder people. he that that he might This Santa might be cynical, but he's not like murderous.
00:34:03
DarthSylar
like here yeah ah yeah He was like, i do I wanted to fight you.
00:34:04
Lauren
Yeah.
00:34:09
DarthSylar
I wanted to cause to make you didn't hurt everyone. It was like, oh, ah
00:34:17
Daryl
And you when
00:34:17
DarthSylar
yeah.
00:34:19
Daryl
and he yeah he sees the reindeer have taken off and he's having...
00:34:23
DarthSylar
yeah That's obviously the most upset he was. was like, and the reindeer are gone. I can't get here.
00:34:28
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:34:29
Daryl
yeah and Yeah, and he's... At this point, he's just upset that he accidentally killed the guy, he's trapped without the reindeer, and he's gonna have to take off and finish his rounds on foot because it's still Christmas Eve.
00:34:39
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:34:52
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:34:52
DarthSylar
he still has the bag.
00:34:53
Daryl
He still has a job to do. Yeah, he still has the bag, which...
00:34:55
Lauren
Yep.
00:34:58
Daryl
I know we don't really see it in much use yet, but I really love this movie's concept of the bag.
00:35:06
Lauren
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
00:35:07
DarthSylar
three Every piece of the bag was great.
00:35:07
Lauren
It's great.
00:35:11
Daryl
You know, they're theyre their way of handling Santa's bag, that it's a magic bag and he just reaches in and the present comes out.
00:35:19
Lauren
there's there's also There's also an important thing about Santa's abilities where Santa has a lot of magical items. The deer are magical. The bag is magical. He has his magical naughty and nice list. But most of but Santa himself doesn't do a whole lot of magic with one exception, which is ah magically going up and down the chimney.
00:35:43
Lauren
But as...
00:35:43
DarthSylar
And even he doesn't understand that entirely.
00:35:46
Lauren
But but as as the mercenary is coming into the room, he's trying to activate his magic to escape, to go up the chimney, and it's not working for him.
00:35:57
DarthSylar
Yeah.
00:35:57
Lauren
And that is... ah
00:35:59
DarthSylar
That's part of the story arc.
00:36:00
Lauren
that
00:36:03
Lauren
Daryl, play the sound bit.
00:36:08
Daryl
sorry i had to get to the button
00:36:10
DarthSylar
I think it.
00:36:11
Lauren
Yeah, there we go.
00:36:11
Daryl
but
00:36:11
Lauren
Ha ha ha!
00:36:12
DarthSylar
There it is. like Part of these the story arc is that Santa isn't able able to summon the magic. Not because he doesn't understand it, but a part of it because he doesn't understand it.
00:36:22
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:36:25
Lauren
I mean... Yeah, like, he he also doesn't understand the magic in this movie.
00:36:27
DarthSylar
But it's basic is like
00:36:29
Lauren
He he see makes note of that several times over.
00:36:32
DarthSylar
but the main thing also is like he also needs to believe in it.
00:36:37
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:36:39
Daryl
Yeah, and as our opening scene clearly established, he's not really believing in it right now.
00:36:48
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:36:50
Daryl
I would presume that up until this point, it has worked this night because he doesn't really believe, but you know he he's he's kind of down, he's out, but he still has the job to do.
00:36:50
DarthSylar
so he
00:37:05
Lauren
know
00:37:06
Daryl
So that's just enough belief in the power that it works.
00:37:11
DarthSylar
But he still has to believe in it when it works.
00:37:11
Daryl
but now
00:37:15
Daryl
But now he's panicking.
00:37:17
Lauren
ah
00:37:18
Daryl
he's trying to you He's trying to use it to escape, not to do the job, not because he believes.
00:37:24
Lauren
Yeah. who
00:37:27
DarthSylar
So it is part of the story arc.
00:37:30
DarthSylar
It's him understanding himself, the magic of Christmas, and to like help get him out of these situations.
00:37:30
Lauren
Yes.
00:37:44
Daryl
Now, I want to say that John Leguizamo looks like he is having an absolute blast, chewing on every piece of scenery that he can find.
00:37:51
DarthSylar
Oh, he's...
00:37:53
Lauren
Oh, yeah.
00:37:57
DarthSylar
Honestly, that's what, again, he's traditionally a pure comedy actor. Him being a being a villain of this caliber, not his usual thing.
00:38:10
Daryl
Now, his plot...
00:38:11
DarthSylar
Is he doing a great job? Yes.
00:38:14
Daryl
Oh, he is. Yes.
00:38:15
Lauren
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
00:38:18
Daryl
Now, his plot is, so Gertrude has been given $300 million dollars in cash by the U.S. government to spread to various agencies throughout the world.
00:38:37
Daryl
Basically, the the government is laundering money that they want to send to other governments by way of Gertrude.
00:38:42
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:38:43
DarthSylar
Um, uh, gasp, uh, they would never do that. Uh,
00:38:52
Daryl
But Gertrude has stolen it.
00:38:54
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:38:56
DarthSylar
oh no, that, that, that also, that would never happen.
00:38:56
Daryl
And it's in her personal vault.
00:39:01
Daryl
what's the And what's the government going to do? Go public and say, hey, she stole this money that we're laundering.
00:39:12
Daryl
So she's basically got $300 million dollars in cash, free and clear, that she has in her vault, and Mr. Scrooge wants that money.
00:39:27
Lauren
Oh, yeah.
00:39:29
Daryl
And the money seems to be a surprise to the rest of the family, too. That's how well-guarded this secret is. So there's definitely some...
00:39:41
DarthSylar
It's even the vault. The big old vault.
00:39:43
Daryl
There's definitely...
00:39:43
DarthSylar
And they have that. They have the Asian one of the of the team doing doing the cracking. Crack the vault.
00:39:55
Lauren
Speaking of cracking, isn't this around the time where the nutcracker scene happens?
00:39:55
Daryl
Yep. yep
00:39:59
DarthSylar
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
00:40:01
Lauren
Because I believe that that's rather important.
00:40:04
Daryl
Yeah.
00:40:04
Lauren
they they're They're trying to open up the vault, but they need more information. Or, well, no, actually, it's more that they find out that there is a Santa on the property.
00:40:16
Lauren
that they didn't know about.
00:40:16
DarthSylar
Yeah. Yeah.
00:40:17
Lauren
they find that that They find the dead body of their buddy and they they start interrogating the family using the nutcrackers that are strewn about the room as torture devices.
00:40:28
Lauren
And that's when the little girl says that she has been talking to Santa. And everybody's like, no, she hasn't. That's just the walkie-talkie that I gave her. Daughter Santa isn't real.
00:40:44
Lauren
And upon hearing that, she she escapes the room.
00:40:47
DarthSylar
please so Please don't place my nuts in the nutcracker.
00:40:48
Lauren
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
00:40:53
Daryl
But, you know, yeah, i I meant to put that specific moment down in the notes because, yeah, they they had been, you know, to you know having the the whole Santa Claus conversation with her.
00:41:06
Daryl
And now that they're being tortured and, know, they think that she's playing this whole, you know, I'm talking to Santa and he's going to save us. Jason blurts out, Santa's not real. That's just something that grownups tell kids.
00:41:23
DarthSylar
Well, again, he also has is
00:41:28
Daryl
Yeah.
00:41:28
DarthSylar
his chestnuts on the line.
00:41:29
Daryl
but Like I said, that they are being tortured, yes. So...
00:41:35
Lauren
Meanwhile, the little girl using her walkie-talkie has actually been talking to Santa because Santa got one of the the communication devices off of the guy that he killed.
00:41:46
Lauren
And...
00:41:47
DarthSylar
have to remind you, like,
00:41:47
Daryl
Yep.
00:41:52
DarthSylar
Like, Lauren has not seen Hard. So did not doubt this was a Die Hard reference.
00:41:56
Lauren
This is true. Mm-hmm.
00:41:59
DarthSylar
getting Getting the walkie-talkie.
00:41:59
Daryl
yeah
00:42:03
Lauren
Yes. But this does ultimately lead it to the little girl escaping the room and going into an attic where she and Santa continue to talk for most of the movie at that point.
00:42:05
Daryl
hence so
00:42:16
Daryl
Right. um After another fight with another one ah of the mercenaries, Santa gets a knife wound and... He goes to sew up the wound and we see that he's covered in what looked like Celtic tats.
00:42:35
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:42:36
Daryl
And then he briefly passes out and we see him as a Viking?
00:42:44
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:42:46
Daryl
Very briefly. You know, just very brief.
00:42:49
DarthSylar
Incredibly free. It's like roughly like two seconds.
00:42:53
Lauren
Probably not even that.
00:42:53
Daryl
Yeah. I mean, it's enough for you to
00:42:55
Lauren
Like, it's ah it's a very brief flash.
00:42:57
Daryl
It's enough for you to register, hey, that's David Harbour in that helmet.
00:42:58
DarthSylar
Yeah.
00:43:02
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:43:03
DarthSylar
And like like if I can count it, it's like, hey.
00:43:06
Lauren
With his shirt off.
00:43:09
Daryl
And then the thieves, then they they just they start pouring more and more salt onto all of the wounds.
00:43:19
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:43:19
Daryl
they are They are taking great pleasure in being kind of sadistic about this whole thing.
00:43:26
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:43:26
Daryl
Especially one of them.
00:43:28
Lauren
Yeah.
00:43:28
DarthSylar
It
00:43:29
Lauren
The Krampus guy.
00:43:29
Daryl
wa Yeah, he's he's just, you yeah, he's being crazy excited about just being sadistic to them.
00:43:39
Daryl
But they have them start opening their presents because some of you might not make it to mourning.
00:43:46
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:43:48
DarthSylar
it is kind of sadistic, that whole concept.
00:43:54
Daryl
Yeah, and so... Jason is very...
00:43:56
DarthSylar
Especially with us, but also like directed to like the, uh, the matriarch of the family, which is also like, it's like, yeah.
00:44:04
Daryl
Gertrude, yeah.
00:44:08
DarthSylar
yeah Okay. You're going to do like a whole bunch of trauma, but also do the trauma to like the fact that she's probably the trauma maker.
00:44:19
Lauren
oh
00:44:19
Daryl
And while we're talking about Gertrude, Just ah a moment here to point out that Gertrude is played by Beverly D'Angelo, co-star of a completely differently toned Christmas movie that has become a classic, even though I've never seen it.
00:44:43
Daryl
I know, throw your stones at me. Christmas Vacation.
00:44:45
Lauren
don no
00:44:48
DarthSylar
What? why
00:44:50
Lauren
I mean, I've never seen it.
00:44:50
Daryl
Yeah, she she's Clark Griswold's wife.
00:44:55
DarthSylar
ah You haven't seen Christmas Vacation? Yeah.
00:45:00
Daryl
No, I have not seen Christmas Vacation.
00:45:04
Lauren
I'm guessing that's aimed specifically at Daryl because this isn't a surprise about the fact that I haven't seen it.
00:45:11
Daryl
Yeah, I haven't seen Christmas Vacation. And now it's at the point where you I just never had interest in seeing it. And at this point... there's no way that it would live up to any of the, the hype that the people who do really love it have, have generated over multiple decades.
00:45:34
DarthSylar
It's a classic. It's one of the classics.
00:45:39
Daryl
Yes. Well, as you recall, I have also never watched and never will watch home alone either. so
00:45:45
Lauren
I mean, I've seen Home Alone.
00:45:49
Daryl
Well, there you go.
00:45:53
Lauren
Even I've seen that one.
00:45:54
DarthSylar
Ah!
00:45:57
Daryl
But Jason is oddly nervous about his gift to Gertrude, which is a bottle of her favorite whiskey a note.
00:46:10
Daryl
a note And we never find out what the note, I mean, we we understand the gist of what the note says later on.
00:46:18
Lauren
Yeah.
00:46:19
DarthSylar
fly the known ovens Also, you did you haven't watched Christmas Vacation?
00:46:26
Daryl
And, but she reads the note, doesn't read it out loud, and seems, I don't know if satisfied is the right word, but it's,
00:46:41
Lauren
Yeah, yeah, it seems reasonable, especially with ah what she ends up saying later.
00:46:42
DarthSylar
It
00:46:46
Daryl
Yeah.
00:46:47
DarthSylar
it actually does fit It's actually a good, like, ah especially what we find out about later. It's like...
00:46:55
Lauren
Jason is very nervous about this fact.
00:46:57
Daryl
Yes.
00:46:58
DarthSylar
Yeah, because of the intention.
00:46:59
Daryl
Yes, he is very nervous.
00:47:03
DarthSylar
But...
00:47:05
DarthSylar
You've never watched Christmas Vacation, Daryl?
00:47:08
Daryl
Get over it, Nick.
00:47:10
Lauren
Nick, we're moving on. We're moving on to the next scene. Mm-hmm.
00:47:14
Daryl
we're We're moving on to the next clip where we have some more interaction between Trudy and Santa Claus.
00:47:22
DarthSylar
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:49:49
Daryl
And so...
00:49:49
Lauren
Beautiful.
00:49:51
DarthSylar
Beautiful. Incredible.
00:49:52
Lauren
An excellent scene right there. And also wonderful foreshadowing as well.
00:49:57
Daryl
Yes.
00:49:58
DarthSylar
Oh, yeah?
00:49:59
Daryl
Yes, we... we um
00:50:03
Lauren
this this is There we go.
00:50:03
Daryl
yeah But um yeah we we see him starting to kind of not really get the Christmas spirit back, but to have something...
00:50:19
DarthSylar
To believe it.
00:50:19
Daryl
to actually believe in other than just, okay, I've got this job to do.
00:50:26
Daryl
And, and i like that we have this, yeah, and I like that we have this vague sense of,
00:50:26
DarthSylar
He's something willing to fight for.
00:50:32
DarthSylar
and he knows how to fight.
00:50:42
Daryl
what he was before he became Santa Claus. But we don't know how or why he became Santa Claus.
00:50:45
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:50:49
Daryl
and But there's there's also...
00:50:51
DarthSylar
Honestly, there's some head-handics to work with that. But there's like, honestly, the
00:50:55
Daryl
There's some cannons to work with it, but given that he doesn't know how the magic works, what he was before, and what he is now, it it almost seems like there's some kind of I don't really want to say punishment, but task of atonement has been put on him.
00:51:18
Lauren
It seems like something happened to him.
00:51:19
DarthSylar
Kind of like, like a, I call it
00:51:21
Lauren
that that he didn't He didn't set up being Santa himself. He became Santa because of something that happened to him, basically.
00:51:29
Daryl
Yes.
00:51:29
DarthSylar
I was calling it a reversive curse. It's like, hit he did some, he was naughty. Now he must reward those who are nice.
00:51:43
Daryl
Right. But i I like that it's vague. i hope So I don't know if Nick mentioned this when when the two of you watched it the other day, Lauren, but there is a sequel coming next year.
00:51:50
DarthSylar
And it gives you who else to make sense of life for.
00:51:57
Lauren
Yes, yes, Nick did mention that.
00:51:57
DarthSylar
Yes.
00:51:59
Daryl
And I hope that we don't get... Well, I would like to know the answer to what happened.
00:52:06
DarthSylar
I'll say it here. I don't want an ex... I don't want to backstome.
00:52:13
Daryl
See, I don't want one, but I want one. Which is why I don't want us to have one.
00:52:19
Lauren
o
00:52:20
Daryl
If that makes sense.
00:52:20
DarthSylar
The main thing is I want some
00:52:22
Lauren
Yes, I get you.
00:52:27
DarthSylar
so flashbacks, similarities a little bit more explain like how he got there, but not explaining the magic.
00:52:39
DarthSylar
Honestly, that's the main thing.
00:52:40
Daryl
Yeah.
00:52:41
DarthSylar
The Christmas magic could never be explained because otherwise you'll break the joke. I'm like, I don't know how the Christmas magic works.
00:52:48
Daryl
Yeah. Now, i my my whole dichotomy of wanting the answer but not wanting the answer can kind of be summed up in a line from the the original series of Star Trek where Spock says, having is not so pleasing a thing as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true.
00:53:13
Daryl
And so it's like, yeah, the the wanting to have that information keeps me coming back, but I don't want to really know because I want to keep that, that secret. I want to keep that magic.
00:53:31
DarthSylar
It's Christmas magic. It's like, no one wants, here's the thing, like, every person that wants to, like, every kid that wants say, I want to see Santa. It's like, you don't.
00:53:44
DarthSylar
You don't want to meet Santa, because, like, then you break the magic.
00:53:47
Daryl
but Well, every kid is like stares at the presents under the tree leading up to Christmas.
00:53:54
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:53:56
Daryl
And they want to know then.
00:54:01
Daryl
i'll tell you, one year, i was probably about 11 or 12.
00:54:03
DarthSylar
Yeah. Yeah.
00:54:06
Daryl
One year i was about 11 or 12 and i figured out a way to sneak open the ends of my presents and slide them out of the wrapping paper and see what it was. And I knew everything going in to Christmas. And so it, it Christmas was nothing.
00:54:30
Lauren
Oh.
00:54:32
DarthSylar
That's the thing, it's like, get you you want to keep
00:54:38
DarthSylar
keep that magic. it
00:54:40
Daryl
Yeah. um So, speaking of magic, they get the vault open.
00:54:46
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:54:49
Lauren
Well, first, but before that, I think there's another scene. Don't don't they capture Santa before they get the vault open?
00:54:55
DarthSylar
the, the, the
00:54:58
Lauren
there's there's the there's a scene where where Scrooge and the group, they capture Santa and they start interrogating him.
00:54:58
DarthSylar
the
00:55:00
Daryl
Yeah.
00:55:04
DarthSylar
Yeah.
00:55:04
Lauren
And I feel like this is this is a pretty important scene right here.
00:55:07
DarthSylar
Oh yeah.
00:55:07
Lauren
Because for the entire time, Scrooge and the gang, they haven't believed that this was the real Santa.
00:55:08
Daryl
Yes.
00:55:14
Lauren
ah But now, they have his bag, and they keep pulling toys out of the bag, and it's like, how how does this thing work? And at one point,
00:55:22
Daryl
And
00:55:22
DarthSylar
And he's being honest.
00:55:23
Lauren
good Yeah. Santa just tells them, I am Santa Claus.
00:55:26
Daryl
he... I'm Santa Claus. And then he calls Scrooge by his name.
00:55:32
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:55:33
DarthSylar
Calls them all by their name.
00:55:35
Lauren
Yeah, he he calls them out with all the gifts that they that he'd given them before, whenever they were kids.
00:55:41
Daryl
And... And we we hear Scrooge's backstory. And i I almost pulled the clip, but I didn't. I apologize. ah But you find out that...
00:55:51
DarthSylar
no, no, no, dude.
00:55:51
Daryl
you
00:55:52
DarthSylar
We don't want to spoil it. Like, honestly, recommend heavily.
00:55:54
Lauren
Yeah.
00:55:56
Daryl
I mean, where this is not a spoiler-free discussion.
00:55:57
DarthSylar
Watch the movie.
00:55:59
Daryl
so
00:56:00
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:56:00
DarthSylar
But still, watch the movie.
00:56:02
Daryl
what
00:56:03
Lauren
Yeah.
00:56:03
Daryl
what when he was a kid, his father was big on Christmas and got laid off.
00:56:10
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:56:12
Daryl
The year that he got laid off, they had no Christmas.
00:56:15
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:56:16
Daryl
And he was looking in. the He could see into the neighbor's house their beautiful Christmas. Yeah. And so he broke it. He was what? He said he was what? Like 11?
00:56:27
Lauren
for something like that yeah
00:56:28
DarthSylar
Yep.
00:56:29
Daryl
He broke into their house and was going to steal it all. And he startled the grandfather in that house who fell and died.
00:56:39
Lauren
mm-hmm
00:56:41
Daryl
And so he he has had this mat on for Christmas his entire life because of this.
00:56:53
Daryl
And he still you know he he still refuses, despite everything that happens, he refuses to accept that it's Santa Claus. he He thinks that the bag is a trick bag.
00:57:14
Lauren
And he throws it into the fire.
00:57:15
Daryl
He throws it into the fire, and Santa loses it.
00:57:16
Lauren
And and it's it's... Oh yeah. he He starts screaming. He goes, No! Those are the those are the hopes of what children across the world!
00:57:28
Lauren
Like, he he sounds genuinely pained about this.
00:57:28
DarthSylar
luckily there is yeah you know like this is because you're like you can't be a dejected santa without being santa you have to start in that as it is an actor to like build up like the characters like you can't be a dejected santa unless you're
00:57:28
Daryl
And
00:57:30
Lauren
Like, it's great. It's great acting.
00:57:34
Daryl
yeah, yeah.
00:57:54
DarthSylar
The Santa. like Even when that happens, it's like, no, no, no, you you you you are breaking everything.
00:58:00
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:58:02
Daryl
And so, then in in in a beautiful story bit that has the audience thinking it's Christmas magic too, it starts to snow in the room.
00:58:18
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:58:20
Daryl
And the two other the two other mercenaries ah in there, they're already starting to buy that he's Santa because of
00:58:22
DarthSylar
It worked.
00:58:30
Daryl
the things that he's told them that there's no way he could know.
00:58:35
DarthSylar
And also was pulling presents out of nowhere. They were driving them in the back.
00:58:40
Lauren
yeah.
00:58:42
DarthSylar
It's like...
00:58:42
Daryl
Yeah. and And so they they they're like, it's snowing. And then you Scrooge you know checks is like, it's styrofoam. And then we we see that Up in the attic, Trudy has torn up styrofoam and has been pouring it through the air vent to make it look like snow in the room.
00:59:09
Daryl
Which buys Santa an opportunity.
00:59:10
DarthSylar
It's just enough time. But here's the thing. in the In the room, there's enough people that are believing in magic, in the magic Christmas.
00:59:25
DarthSylar
and And that's why he's able to do the Gypsy thing.
00:59:26
Daryl
That he's able to do chimney thing.
00:59:30
Lauren
Yep, he he gets out by using his chimney power. the one thing The one magical thing about Santa that is specifically Santa's power. like Like I said, everything everything else is like a magical object or a magical creature.
00:59:38
DarthSylar
But does require
00:59:42
Lauren
This is the one thing that Santa does where it's like, this is the thing that he does. This is his power.
00:59:48
DarthSylar
But part of it does imply it's like it requires like belief, other people's belief.
00:59:53
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
00:59:55
Daryl
And now, worth noting is that when he goes up the chimney, you Scrooge is like, wow, you he had some kind of pulley system that yanked him up there.
01:00:05
Daryl
And ah the the one...
01:00:05
Lauren
and
01:00:07
DarthSylar
Everyone else like, I have both of them are like,
01:00:10
Daryl
Well, no, the one makes a point of saying a person wouldn't fit up there.
01:00:17
Lauren
Yep. but substance
01:00:18
DarthSylar
Yeah.
01:00:19
Lauren
Indeed. and then there's there's some other thing that happens another thing that happens.
01:00:21
DarthSylar
So it was moment of belief.
01:00:22
Daryl
And...
01:00:24
Lauren
but Oh, yeah?
01:00:26
Daryl
Yeah, the the the the kill team shows up.
01:00:30
Lauren
Yeah, the kill team shows up.
01:00:31
Daryl
cur
01:00:32
Lauren
Because that that's the thing, is that Gertrude and the family, they were waiting for her special operatives to show up. That was their that was basically their win condition. Hold up until their own mercenaries show up and take these guys out.
01:00:44
DarthSylar
they live they but They basically have they basic they have ah ah Hillary Clinton's kill team.
01:00:45
Daryl
Because...
01:00:50
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:00:51
Daryl
they They establish early on that when... Gertrude was young. Her brother was kidnapped. And their father didn't deal in ransom with the kidnappers.
01:01:10
Daryl
He had them killed.
01:01:11
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:01:12
Daryl
He had them tracked down and killed, and the brother returned. And so, for a crisis situation like this, she has a retired military...
01:01:25
Daryl
affectionately known as the kill team on standby that she triggered, you know, an alarm for.
01:01:33
Lauren
And when they show up, the actor husband gets really excited about it and rushes out of the room outside the building and runs up to the kill team. And he's like, yeah, yeah, they they got they got the rest of the family in there.
01:01:48
Lauren
And then they shoot him.
01:01:48
Daryl
And yeah, he, they're like, but, but I think they know that you're coming.
01:01:51
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:01:54
Daryl
Like, they better know that we're coming and shoot him where we now know, oh, they're working with the thieves too.
01:02:04
DarthSylar
It was an inside job.
01:02:04
Lauren
Yes, Santa on the roof sees this and he checks up on all these people and he realizes that all of these people are on the naughty list.
01:02:12
Daryl
Yes.
01:02:13
DarthSylar
It makes sense. But I was like, oh, yeah, the odds are now changed.
01:02:15
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:02:21
Lauren
Mm-hmm. And things get really bad whenever finally they open up the vault.
01:02:23
Daryl
Yep.
01:02:27
Daryl
And the vault is empty.
01:02:30
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:02:33
Lauren
They are not happy about that fact.
01:02:33
Daryl
And... No. Now, I appreciate the fact that, again, yeah Nick says that you haven't seen Die Hard.
01:02:43
Lauren
No, no, I have not.
01:02:44
Daryl
When the vault opens, the only thing that is missing for this shot to have been framed like the vault opening in Die Hard would be Ode to Joy playing.
01:02:54
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:02:57
DarthSylar
Yeah.
01:02:58
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:02:59
Daryl
Because it's framed almost identically.
01:03:00
DarthSylar
and is the wreck is It the, the,
01:03:03
Lauren
Nice.
01:03:05
DarthSylar
oh my
01:03:07
Daryl
So, Santa, down on the ground now,
01:03:12
Lauren
Yes, he he enters into a shack.
01:03:14
Daryl
yeah, he he enters into what looks to be like a a groundskeeping shed.
01:03:19
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:03:20
DarthSylar
the bagup the the the ground team shoots it down with heavy machine gun and puts it down there.
01:03:30
Daryl
Yeah, and he he's hiding out in there.
01:03:30
Lauren
Not... Yeah.
01:03:32
DarthSylar
He's hurt, man.
01:03:35
Daryl
You know, Trudy's talking to him back and forth a little bit.
01:03:38
Lauren
and
01:03:39
Daryl
he He sets a few traps and takes some of them out.
01:03:44
Lauren
But then he gets the hammer.
01:03:46
Daryl
Then he finds a sledgehammer.
01:03:47
Lauren
a
01:03:50
Daryl
And goes to town.
01:03:53
Lauren
Oh yeah.
01:03:54
Daryl
He goes full Viking.
01:03:54
Lauren
Santa is coming to town.
01:03:56
Daryl
Yeah.
01:03:56
Lauren
o
01:03:57
DarthSylar
Yeah!
01:03:59
Daryl
He goes full Viking on the kill team ah
01:04:04
Lauren
They
Santa's Viking Revenge
01:04:05
Daryl
while while Brian Adams' something about Christmastime plays over over the carnage.
01:04:05
Lauren
don't stand a chance.
01:04:10
Lauren
and Yes.
01:04:12
DarthSylar
It is......is
01:04:14
Lauren
It's beautiful.
01:04:17
Daryl
My favorite moment...
01:04:17
DarthSylar
badass. It is awesome.
01:04:19
Daryl
Go ahead, Nick.
01:04:21
DarthSylar
It is beautiful. As he's just going, he's somehow stealthy, but also just destroying everyone.
01:04:32
Daryl
He's a beast.
01:04:33
DarthSylar
But we have the outside, we have the outside guy with the, looking at the, ah the, at the body cam thermals.
01:04:40
Daryl
The body cams.
01:04:41
Lauren
Yeah.
01:04:44
DarthSylar
It's like, oh no. Oh, oh.
01:04:46
Lauren
They're all going down.
01:04:49
DarthSylar
And then he comes out and is like, oh, and he just throws the hammer and kills.
01:04:55
Daryl
The
01:04:59
DarthSylar
It's so good.
01:04:59
Lauren
yep
01:05:01
Daryl
But my favorite is the very last one that, you know, he he takes a grenade, shoves it down the back of the guy's pants, calls it a stocking stuffer, starts to walk away, and then says, no, I gotta watch.
01:05:10
DarthSylar
ah where
01:05:14
Lauren
but
01:05:14
Daryl
And he turns around.
01:05:16
DarthSylar
breaks Which breaks the rules of like, usually it's like, cool guys don't look at explosives. No.
01:05:25
Lauren
Santa doesn't need to be cool. He just needs to be Santa.
01:05:27
DarthSylar
He wants to see it.
01:05:28
Daryl
already cool.
01:05:28
DarthSylar
like He wants to see it.
01:05:29
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:05:31
DarthSylar
It's like, oh.
01:05:34
DarthSylar
Cool.
01:05:37
Daryl
And then back in the house, the truth comes out.
01:05:39
Lauren
Yes.
01:05:43
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:06:30
DarthSylar
Anyway.
01:07:20
Lauren
Now, notably, so he turns out to have hidden it in ah the... ah I suddenly can't remember the name of the thing. Yeah, the nativity scene.
01:07:30
Lauren
And notably, as they're walking out to it, Gertrude says to him that she's so proud of him because a member of their family really just is supposed to take whatever they want.
01:07:30
DarthSylar
Oh
01:07:39
Daryl
Yes.
01:07:43
DarthSylar
yeah, they're supposed to be like, the they are the worst, but also like, Gertrude's the worst, but at least there's a weird Otter Bug Thieves concept going on.
01:07:43
Lauren
Mm-hmm. Gertrude is the worst.
01:07:51
Daryl
Yes.
01:07:57
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:08:00
Daryl
Yeah, she she's proud of him for stealing from her, saying through the note, I stole from you, leave me alone, middle finger...
01:08:14
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:08:16
DarthSylar
Because he respects him. He's like, no one else, everyone else is like trying to like butter me up and try and take from me.
01:08:22
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:08:23
DarthSylar
You.
01:08:23
Daryl
You just took it.
01:08:27
DarthSylar
Because we're all, because again, like the whole idea is like, they're all thieves.
01:08:28
Daryl
So.
01:08:31
DarthSylar
They're all criminals.
01:08:35
Daryl
And like like I said, totally healthy family.
01:08:39
Lauren
Yep, yep, totally.
01:08:41
Daryl
Totally healthy family dynamic.
01:08:44
Lauren
in any case, more violence occurs.
01:08:44
Daryl
And. Yes, that add that that pretty much sums up the next few minutes. um
01:08:52
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:08:52
Daryl
you Pretty much everyone gets some violence in.
01:08:57
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:08:58
Daryl
oh
01:08:58
DarthSylar
It's, it's, in case anyone realized it.
01:09:01
Lauren
the The Home Alone scene happens.
01:09:03
Daryl
Yes, the Home Alone scene happens, which the absolute...
01:09:04
DarthSylar
Yeah.
01:09:07
DarthSylar
It's actually an R-rated version of the Home Alone record.
01:09:11
Lauren
Oh, yeah. the that The traps that the little girl, she she was up in the basement the entire time. She set up a bunch of traps around her space. that They were violent traps.
01:09:21
Daryl
Yeah, like, the...
01:09:22
DarthSylar
They were actually Home Alone tracks, but it's like, it was Home Alone, but like,
01:09:25
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:09:28
DarthSylar
we We raise the rating to R.
01:09:31
Lauren
Yeah.
01:09:32
Daryl
Well, and the most difficult thing in this entire movie for me to watch is when the nail goes through the guy's chin.
01:09:40
DarthSylar
Oh, the day of the 10, which honestly not the most deadly of the drops, but the most, yeah, it's...
01:09:44
Lauren
Yep.
01:09:49
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:09:50
Daryl
well it's Well, I mean, but by the same token, in the original Hellraiser... I can sit there and watch all 90, 120 minutes, however long it is, of yo know a a bloody half-corpse walking around and chains, mystic chains, flaying people.
01:10:14
DarthSylar
Yeah.
01:10:16
Daryl
But when the dad cuts his hand on a nail sticking out on the banister, I can't take that.
01:10:22
DarthSylar
Oof.
01:10:22
Lauren
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
01:10:23
DarthSylar
Yeah.
01:10:24
Daryl
Because I can relate to that.
01:10:26
Lauren
and
01:10:27
Daryl
That's something that could happen.
01:10:27
DarthSylar
Yeah.
01:10:29
Daryl
You know, mystic chains aren't going to come and flay me, but I've cut my hand on something before.
01:10:36
DarthSylar
Yeah.
01:10:38
Daryl
So I have a frame of reference.
01:10:39
DarthSylar
Either way, it really, really got off.
01:10:41
Lauren
Of particular note is the ending of the trap scene where the the one, the peppermint lady, is still up and she's still coming towards the girl who's flinging whatever she has at her.
01:10:54
Lauren
Whenever suddenly Santa arrives.
01:10:55
Daryl
Yeah.
01:10:58
Lauren
And he tells he tells little the girl, you know, turn around and cover your ears and sing a song as loud as you can. As he takes his hammer and just crushes that lady.
01:11:09
Lauren
He's like, you were just trying to kill a child.
01:11:09
Daryl
Yeah.
01:11:13
Daryl
Yeah.
01:11:14
DarthSylar
Yeah. That was rough.
01:11:16
Daryl
And so we we have a chase where Scrooge has at least one of the bundles of money.
01:11:27
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:11:27
DarthSylar
Yep.
01:11:27
Daryl
He's on a snowmobile and he's taken off.
01:11:31
DarthSylar
we're We're in the final arena.
01:11:31
Daryl
Santa chases him down.
01:11:34
DarthSylar
it is really good arena.
01:11:34
Daryl
And yeah, and you get to what looks like the remains of a cabin.
01:11:42
Lauren
who
01:11:43
Daryl
And there's a fight there.
01:11:47
Lauren
this is This is when Scrooge starts believing that it actually is Santa, and he realizes, if I kill you, then this whole holiday is out.
01:11:47
Daryl
ah Scrooge.
01:11:51
Daryl
Yeah.
01:11:55
Daryl
Yeah. Because he he opens the list.
01:11:56
DarthSylar
He's going all out. He's final bossing this.
01:12:00
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:12:01
Daryl
he He opens the list.
01:12:03
Lauren
Mm-hmm, yeah.
01:12:03
Daryl
And because he's the one opening it, it shows his information.
01:12:07
Lauren
Mm-hmm. And of course, he's naughty.
01:12:09
DarthSylar
And he's like... Very, very dark.
01:12:14
Daryl
And so there there is a It's a good final fight.
01:12:17
DarthSylar
It is a good final fight.
01:12:19
Lauren
i
01:12:20
Daryl
It's a protracted final fight between Santa and Scrooge. Scrooge actually has the upper hand on him and has Santa yeah with a blade to his throat pressed up against the remains of a chimney.
01:12:40
Lauren
and
01:12:43
Daryl
And so Santa...
01:12:43
Lauren
And then he does the thing.
01:12:44
Daryl
He does the chimney power,
01:12:47
DarthSylar
Fatality
01:12:48
Daryl
pulling pulling Scrooge up through the chimney with him since they're in contact. And remember when they noted that a person wouldn't make it through a chimney?
01:13:00
Lauren
Mm-hmm. He basically tele-frags the guy.
01:13:01
Daryl
He doesn't make it through a chimney. Yeah.
01:13:05
DarthSylar
Fatality Flawless victory
01:13:11
Daryl
And... the The leader of the kill team then comes in and shoots Santa. And Gertrude just headshots him.
01:13:21
Lauren
Yep.
01:13:22
DarthSylar
Just straight up, like, yeah.
01:13:22
Daryl
Because he's been disloyal. Yeah.
01:13:25
Lauren
But now, Santa is down, bleeding out on the ground from multiple bullet wounds.
01:13:30
Daryl
Yeah, and so he's he's succumbing to his wounds.
01:13:34
Lauren
Mm-hmm. He's dying.
01:13:35
Daryl
And here' here's where we get the Ernest Christmas movie where...
01:13:43
DarthSylar
Honestly, I guess, like, that's what, Lauren, I think that's where you honestly said it best when we were watching.
01:13:53
Daryl
but how was How was that?
01:13:53
Lauren
Yeah.
01:13:54
DarthSylar
You take it.
01:13:55
Lauren
ah Well, but Nick, what what was what was it exactly that I said that you remember? Because i said a lot of different things.
01:14:00
DarthSylar
talk about like You were talking about like how this this movie wouldn't work without like a earnest
01:14:08
Lauren
Yes. Yes, that's it. Yes, it the the the movie, it does, it requires a degree of sincerity in order to work.
01:14:10
DarthSylar
text.
01:14:16
Lauren
It requires ah ah ah genuine appreciation for, you know, family and for Christmas spirit.
01:14:17
Daryl
Yeah.
01:14:24
Lauren
Because otherwise, if if the movie was all just violence and cynicism, it wouldn't have that element of connection. But this scene right here, it really helps to make everything come together with an actual sense of, yeah.
01:14:41
DarthSylar
It wouldn't even work without that.
01:14:41
Daryl
yeah
01:14:45
DarthSylar
Without the build-up, all the stuff that we've been building throughout the whole movie.
01:14:45
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:14:46
Daryl
yeah
01:14:51
DarthSylar
it this movie This moment wouldn't hit, nor would we care about like Santa possibly perishing.
01:14:52
Daryl
and
01:15:00
Daryl
And if we if we look at the if we look at the pendulum here, you have Scrooge and his guys on the far, far end of the bad people.
01:15:12
Daryl
And then I would say there's gro Gertrude.
01:15:14
Lauren
Yeah, yeah.
01:15:16
Daryl
And then you have...
01:15:16
DarthSylar
But that the rest of the family, its are they are actively coming around and saying, like I believe.
01:15:22
Daryl
Well, and then there's...
01:15:23
DarthSylar
I believe.
01:15:23
Daryl
in kill Well, I'm just saying in terms of of people being horrible, we have Scrooge and his people, then we have Gertrude, then we have the rest of the family, then we have Jason, then we have Linda, and then we have Trudy.
01:15:29
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:15:29
DarthSylar
Yeah.
01:15:41
Lauren
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
01:15:41
Daryl
And Trudy is on the earnest side of things, whereas Scrooge and his guys are on the the most... cynical edge of this scale that we're looking at.
01:15:52
Lauren
who
01:15:53
DarthSylar
And dead.
01:15:56
Daryl
And they are now gone. And with Santa there, the rest of the family, they're never going to be as earnest as Trudy.
01:15:58
DarthSylar
Yeah.
01:16:05
Lauren
no
01:16:05
DarthSylar
Oh, obviously.
01:16:05
Daryl
but
01:16:06
DarthSylar
But they're trying. They're starting.
01:16:08
Daryl
heaven And even if if you look at Jason, yeah, Jason did a horrible thing. Jason stole $300 million dollars in already dirty money.
01:16:14
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:16:19
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:16:20
DarthSylar
all. um
01:16:20
Daryl
He did it to get away from the toxicity.
01:16:26
DarthSylar
and threw it on onto the onto the...
01:16:29
Daryl
Yes.
01:16:30
DarthSylar
to even give it a little bit of warmth.
01:16:30
Daryl
as That is a good point. That is a good point. They were trying to keep Santa warm, hoping that that would keep him alive. And he just starts grabbing the money and throwing it on the fires that are going out around them.
01:16:44
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:16:47
DarthSylar
The Truthstones are not the best people, but they're trying. They've learned a lesson. And that... As a family that has a whole lot of problems.
01:17:00
Daryl
And you know true
01:17:01
DarthSylar
We like to sacrifice whole lot to bring back Santa.
01:17:06
Daryl
and so they're they're all around Santa. Trudy is crying over Santa's body, saying that she believes. And then Linda and Jason chime in that they believe.
01:17:21
Daryl
and Bert and the sister start to, and then Gertrude is literally like, what the fuck? I think I believe too.
01:17:31
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:17:33
Daryl
And at that moment, the Christmas, and then as Santa says to explain it, Christmas magic, I really don't know how it works.
01:17:35
DarthSylar
It works.
01:17:44
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:17:44
DarthSylar
But honestly, that's the thing. It's like they all learned something from that, from an example of someone of true Christmas spirit and part of the family showed the true Christmas spirit.
01:17:51
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:18:02
Lauren
And now that all the action is over, the reindeer show up. With his spare sack.
01:18:07
DarthSylar
Yep.
01:18:07
Daryl
Arraigned it.
01:18:09
DarthSylar
does even send self up From
01:18:10
Daryl
And...
01:18:12
DarthSylar
mrs clas who also brought back skull croter
01:18:16
Daryl
Skull Crusher.
01:18:17
Lauren
Yeah!
01:18:19
Daryl
And then, you know, although it's been quite a night and there's been this wonderful moment with the family, Santa still has a job to do. So we've got one last clip.
01:19:38
DarthSylar
Again. this um present relax come
01:19:46
DarthSylar
oh and listen
01:19:56
DarthSylar
again
01:20:07
DarthSylar
without the heart Without the heart of like genuine like Christmas spirit, you could easily make a movie without it.
01:20:07
Lauren
Beautiful.
01:20:16
DarthSylar
You could make it cynical.
01:20:17
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:20:20
DarthSylar
But without that like heart that you heard in that final moment, it wouldn't it wouldn't be good. it It wouldn't be so iconic.
01:20:35
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:20:37
Daryl
Yep. I mean, the the movie, it's a hodgepodge of genres that really shouldn't fit together. It's an earnest Christmas movie. It's a parody Christmas movie. It's a satire of capitalism and consumerism. It's an over-the-top violent action movie, but somehow it all works.
01:20:59
DarthSylar
Because, and and I'll say at the core, it is a earnest Christmas movie.
01:21:00
Daryl
It.
01:21:09
DarthSylar
It's about a character learning about or relearning what it means to be the spirit of Christmas.
01:21:09
Lauren
It is.
01:21:20
Daryl
Now, one ah the executive producer of the movie um is David Leitch, who also directed, I'm just going to run down a few highlights on his resume here.
01:21:27
DarthSylar
Mm-hmm.
01:21:34
Daryl
Atomic Blonde, he directed Bullet Train, he directed Deadpool 2, and he directed The Fall Guy.
01:21:36
DarthSylar
Great movie. ah Awesome. Cool. Oh.
01:21:43
DarthSylar
Oh, pretty good.
01:21:44
Daryl
and And he's also an executive producer on at least one of the John Wick movies.
01:21:45
DarthSylar
Isn't good.
01:21:52
Daryl
So I think he's got something of a type of movie that he gets involved in, but I'm kind of here for it.
01:22:00
Lauren
I mean, i like Deadpool 2.
01:22:00
DarthSylar
Oh, I like it.
01:22:02
Lauren
Haven't seen any the other ones. Mm-hmm.
01:22:05
Daryl
Atomic Blonde is a lot of fun.
01:22:07
DarthSylar
Yeah.
01:22:08
Daryl
ah Atomic Blonde is a Cold War spy thriller.
01:22:14
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:22:14
DarthSylar
Which is is more an action movie than than like a spy thriller.
01:22:15
Daryl
um
01:22:20
DarthSylar
But is is is ah it's other things.
01:22:21
Daryl
Yeah. um So take the violence of this movie, ramp it up by about 5, 10 degrees, 5, 10%, and have it all perpetrated by Charlize Theron.
01:22:41
Daryl
ah With a, with a, yeah, it's really,
01:22:42
DarthSylar
Really good.
01:22:45
DarthSylar
We're a good soundtrack. The soundtrack really good.
01:22:47
Lauren
Nice.
01:22:47
Daryl
yeah um And it, Bullet Train, I finally watched recently. It has a little more in common with the overall tone of this versus Atomic Blonde.
01:22:57
DarthSylar
It's really fun.
01:23:01
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:23:01
DarthSylar
Really fun.
01:23:02
Daryl
Yeah.
01:23:03
DarthSylar
Let's say really fun, but very like
01:23:08
DarthSylar
It's a very quick accent flick. It's like really fun.
01:23:13
Lauren
Nice.
01:23:14
Daryl
and And the fall guy was better than it had any right to be.
01:23:18
DarthSylar
Oh yeah. But, uh, I think we should probably, uh,
01:23:24
Daryl
Well, yeah, we'll we'll start wrapping up here. um Now, we mentioned earlier that there is a violent night two coming.
01:23:31
Lauren
Yes.
01:23:32
Daryl
I don't remember if it's supposed to be 26 or 27 that it's coming.
01:23:36
DarthSylar
26 is wi at least currently slated to.
01:23:39
Lauren
Nice.
01:23:40
Daryl
Now, I haven't heard confirmation on this. but I have heard them say that they want to include Mrs. Claus into...
01:23:50
Lauren
Hmm. I mean, Mrs.
01:23:52
DarthSylar
And I am.
01:23:52
Daryl
wait Yeah.
01:23:53
Lauren
Claus did get brought up a number of times. It seemed like his relationship was strained with her. so that But that was also a subplot that didn't really get fully resolved because Mrs. Claus never shows up in person in this movie.
01:24:04
DarthSylar
But if so, I think that that would be really fun.
01:24:05
Lauren
So, yeah, that that that that is a reasonable way to expand upon what already is present in this movie.
01:24:08
Daryl
But... and yeah
01:24:13
Daryl
And see, I never got the impression that it was strange because whenru when he's talking to Trudy about her, he's like, you know, we've been together for 11, we're going on 1100 years and, you know, we've we've had our ups and downs, but yeah, she's she's awesome.
01:24:26
Lauren
who
01:24:28
DarthSylar
Honestly, it's like, I felt like that they were having like minor issues, it was like,
01:24:28
Daryl
But...
01:24:34
Lauren
that the The thing is that there there was also the, he also says that sometimes, even whenever you care about somebody a lot, it's difficult to to keep the magic going, as it were.
01:24:35
DarthSylar
and like
01:24:45
Lauren
So he he says...
01:24:46
Daryl
Yeah.
01:24:46
DarthSylar
But I heard at the end result when she does, like, she did send back the sleigh and brought also gave back Skullcresser.
01:24:52
Lauren
and
01:24:56
DarthSylar
So it's like, it sounds like the next,
01:24:59
Lauren
There was also the moment where ah she asks Santa, if you could have anything right now, what would you want? And he says, I'd want to be with Mrs. Claus again.
01:25:08
DarthSylar
So I think that like that would be the sequel option was like them teaming up together.
01:25:08
Lauren
Which was...
01:25:17
Daryl
Which, you they
01:25:17
DarthSylar
That would be fun. That would be really fun.
01:25:19
Daryl
yes there yes, that's kind of been done in Christmas Chronicles 2.
01:25:24
DarthSylar
Yeah.
01:25:25
Daryl
hit And part of that was stunt casting. Since in Christmas Chronicles, Kurt Russell plays Santa Claus and Goldie Hawn is Mrs.
01:25:33
DarthSylar
Mm-hmm.
01:25:36
Daryl
Claus. Yeah. But if we're going to do any fan casting here for Violent Night 2, if it's not too late, ah my vote is the aforementioned Charlize Theron as Mrs. Claus, where she gets to do Atomic Blonde stuff again.
01:25:51
DarthSylar
My choice would be Uma Thuron to do some of the bride stuff.
01:26:02
Daryl
See, I just, partly I go with, with Charlize because there's already a David Leach connection there.
01:26:10
DarthSylar
Yeah, yeah, like, it's just saying, like, either way, I would think both would be, either would be nice.
01:26:19
Daryl
But, but, uh, so, so closing thoughts on this one. Um, Nick, you go first this time.
01:26:24
DarthSylar
Oh, really fun. Amazingly fun. it's like Perfect to put in your like non-traditional ah Christmas playlist.
01:26:42
Daryl
Yep. Lauren.
01:26:45
Lauren
It was a wonderful movie. I enjoyed it a lot. It had some excellent action scenes and also some substantial heartfelt moments. ah It had elements of cynicism with elements of sincerity that I think ended up mixing really well with the ultimate message of the movie. it it was It was a lot of fun.
01:27:04
DarthSylar
It makes it, again, makes it a solid ah part of anyone's Christmas list.
01:27:10
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:27:11
Daryl
Yep. And i i really, really liked it. I went into it with honestly kind of low expectations and came out of it really, really enjoying it.
01:27:19
DarthSylar
Saying here that if if
01:27:23
Daryl
I liked that mix of all of the genres that all of us have mentioned. And, ah you know, it...
01:27:29
Lauren
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
01:27:31
DarthSylar
And also being just a genuine heart filled. It does have that heart. It's like you, you kind of the the warm fuzzies of ah of a holiday story.
01:27:40
Daryl
Yep. Yep.
01:27:42
Daryl
Yep. who Who would think you would come out of something called Violent Night that is being billed as a you know violent Santa Claus beats the shit out of people movie with warm fuzzies?
01:27:55
DarthSylar
Which does have a whole lot of gore and prowl. But at the end, it is the final scenes are like, yeah, what Christmas means.
01:28:10
DarthSylar
like The Christmas magic, even if he doesn't understand what the Christmas magic means, it the audience does get it.
01:28:15
Lauren
Mm hmm.
01:28:18
Lauren
Yes.
Engage with Us!
01:28:20
Daryl
So I think all three of us would recommend this. I know it's in it's in our home annual rotation after we finally saw it year before last.
01:28:23
Lauren
Yeah.
01:28:31
Lauren
Nice.
01:28:32
Daryl
ah It is in our annual rotation.
01:28:33
DarthSylar
is it it's a it's in your flex that's how we watch it
01:28:37
Daryl
Yep. Well, so I watched it Wednesday? No. Thursday night when we
01:28:49
DarthSylar
okay yeah
01:28:49
Daryl
Thought we were going to be recording last night on Friday. And you know i watched it, took notes, you know got the clips and everything. And then when we postponed our recording from Friday night to tonight, it's Saturday night as we're recording this, folks.
01:29:06
Daryl
We are some party animals.
01:29:06
DarthSylar
Woo!
01:29:06
Lauren
Yes.
01:29:08
Lauren
Oh, yeah.
01:29:09
DarthSylar
ah
01:29:09
Daryl
We are some party animals recording a pop culture podcast on a Saturday night.
01:29:14
Daryl
Wow.
01:29:14
Lauren
Totally.
01:29:14
DarthSylar
Woo-hoo!
01:29:16
Daryl
Um, but last night, you know, I was, um, I was sitting out in the living room and my wife called in from the other room and said, uh, violent nights on AMC. I was like, Hey, I watched it last night. B it's going to be cut up on AMC.
01:29:34
Daryl
and ah
01:29:35
DarthSylar
Yeah, it really got up like really bad.
01:29:38
Lauren
over
01:29:40
Daryl
Although. So what was it that I was watching?
01:29:40
DarthSylar
Cause honestly.
01:29:44
DarthSylar
Oh yeah.
01:29:45
Daryl
I was watching something.
01:29:47
DarthSylar
The only problem on the Plex is like we had some issues with the, uh, with the subtitles.
01:29:53
Lauren
Yeah, yeah, there weren't any subtitles.
01:29:57
Daryl
It's probably probably the file that I have on there doesn't have any.
01:30:00
DarthSylar
Yeah.
01:30:01
Daryl
ah So here's here's the funny thing, though.
01:30:03
Lauren
Uh-huh.
01:30:05
Daryl
Later last night, after we postponed our recording, and I was doing something else on the computer, and I had the TV on as background noise, I ended up putting it on AMC, or background noise.
01:30:17
Lauren
ah ah
01:30:19
Daryl
Now, remember I said it's going to be chopped up on AMC.
01:30:23
Lauren
Yeah.
01:30:25
Daryl
Every fuck and shit was still intact. They... they censored the line where I believe it's Sean Leguizamo calls someone sugar tits.
01:30:38
Lauren
Hmm. Interesting.
01:30:39
DarthSylar
Oh, really? What?
01:30:41
DarthSylar
Oh, that's...
01:30:41
Lauren
Huh.
01:30:41
Daryl
Yes.
01:30:42
DarthSylar
That's bizarro.
01:30:44
Daryl
Yes. Every other obscenity was still there.
01:30:49
Lauren
How odd.
01:30:50
Daryl
ah
01:30:51
DarthSylar
And honestly, that was really funny. that That was a fun moment.
01:30:55
Daryl
So... go Go figure. Go figure.
01:30:58
DarthSylar
yeah
01:30:59
Lauren
it is what it is.
01:30:59
Daryl
But it it is what it is. In the meantime, ah you by the time this episode drops, you'll still have about a week left in the Christmas season. If you're like me, you stop watching movies once it hits midnight, the night of Christmas Day. And I don't watch them again until Santa shows up at the end of the Macy's parade on Thanksgiving.
01:31:24
Lauren
you
01:31:25
Daryl
But ah you know you still have time to watch it. Heartily recommend it. Yes, we have just spoiled a lot of it. But if you haven't seen it, watch it. If you have seen it and enjoy it, watch it again and re-enjoy it again.
01:31:39
DarthSylar
It's really fun.
01:31:39
Lauren
Oh yeah, it's beautiful.
01:31:42
Daryl
And ah in the meantime...
01:31:43
DarthSylar
It really is what puts you in the Christmas mood for actual, like, actual good Christmas moods.
01:31:49
Daryl
Yep. heads In the meantime, I'll just hit our normal closing business now and say to be sure to follow us on socials, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, and Twitter or X, you know whatever we're calling it today.
01:31:56
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:32:05
Daryl
ah
01:32:05
DarthSylar
On with good things.
01:32:06
Daryl
we We are casual nerdity, all is one word, on all of those platforms. And you can help the podcast get a larger reach if you give us a hopefully good review on your podcast platform of choice.
01:32:21
DarthSylar
Mm-hmm.
01:32:22
Daryl
And if you are listening through YouTube, then do all of the cliched YouTube things, like subscribe, notifications, all of that good stuff.
01:32:33
Daryl
We want to train.
01:32:33
DarthSylar
The bell thing.
01:32:35
Daryl
We want to train all of those nasty algorithms to get more eyes on ears on the show. So we, we want to thank you for listening.
01:32:42
Lauren
Oh yeah.
01:32:46
Daryl
We are going to have one more episode for 2025, which by my calculations will drop on new year's Eve, which will be us looking at the pop culture year of 2025 review to,
01:32:51
DarthSylar
here
01:32:55
DarthSylar
bye
01:33:05
Daryl
ring out the new year. So we want to thank you for joining us and we hope you come back next time.
01:33:06
Lauren
Mm-hmm.
01:33:10
Daryl
Until then, thank you and we'll see you then. Bye.
01:33:14
Lauren
Bye-bye.
01:33:37
Daryl
you