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28 Years Later - Ballerina - The Phoenician Scheme - UK Film Club Episode 28
UK Film Club
00:00:00.44
Brian Penn
I know, I thought I might make an early start, you know, show a bit willy.
00:00:04.27
Chris Olson
You have to, don't you, these days? know
00:00:05.68
Brian Penn
Oh, of course do, yeah. You're a little bit faint, Chris. I don't know if that's me or your end.
00:00:11.62
Chris Olson
Let me and me change that for you. How's that? Better?
00:00:16.98
Brian Penn
a little bit, a little bit. like my
00:00:19.18
Chris Olson
Hold and
00:00:20.39
Brian Penn
Maybe it's me. I can hear you, but you're a...
00:00:22.36
Chris Olson
on. No, you're right. I can see my sound wave is really really low. Hold on. Let me just have a little play around.
00:00:27.57
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
00:00:31.28
Chris Olson
This is the trouble with the technology. You have to deal with it all the time.
00:00:33.64
Brian Penn
Oh, yeah, I know. Tell me about it.
00:00:35.68
Chris Olson
you it is I think it's whenever I um take out my microphone, it then resets everything and goes, oh, you don't want to use that again. iss like well ah
00:00:43.96
Brian Penn
Oh, I see. Yeah, yeah.
00:00:45.31
Chris Olson
i I clearly do. i clearly want to use it again.
00:00:47.72
Brian Penn
know. Yeah, machines getting too clever now, aren't they, really?
00:00:49.73
Chris Olson
oh right this tell me it this hold on let me put it down on here first i'm going back up again hold on right how's that yeah it literally had dropped me down to like 50 for some reason is is that too loud now
00:00:57.49
Brian Penn
Oh, that's better.
00:01:01.99
Brian Penn
ah ah Just down just a touch. That'll be perfect.
00:01:06.09
Chris Olson
but down on a touch uh about there perfect well yeah because oh now i can see my sound wave is very big there we go probably a little bit too big yeah
00:01:08.09
Brian Penn
Yep. Yeah, that's perfect. That's really good. Yeah.
00:01:15.64
Brian Penn
Yeah, exactly. Stop showing off. Stop showing off. The sound wave is big and all that, you know.
00:01:21.31
Chris Olson
My big sound wave. That's what we are so everyone's here for, Brian.
00:01:22.38
Brian Penn
Yeah, I know.
00:01:24.19
Chris Olson
My big sound wave.
00:01:24.35
Brian Penn
Well, that's why people listen, I'm sure. um Do you know what? It's amazing where cinema screens pop up now. I was out on Saturday night in Covent Garden. And they've got a big screen.
00:01:35.53
Brian Penn
Well, not a so big screen, but a fair-sized screen set up with deck chairs that people can buy and sit down and watch a film, which I think is great in this weather.
00:01:43.10
Chris Olson
Yeah.
00:01:43.70
Brian Penn
It's lovely. I don't suppose they'll be showing anything on general release. It'll be like a classic movie, I reckon. But all good stuff, though. You know?
00:01:52.88
Chris Olson
Yeah, think we talked before about outdoor screenings.
00:01:55.13
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:01:55.20
Chris Olson
I think the the film has to lend itself to that experience, doesn't it?
00:01:58.11
Brian Penn
Oh, yeah.
00:01:58.36
Chris Olson
Like ah I saw one where it was like Jaws and they were doing it like in a pool, right? You could sit in a rubber ring and watch Jaws and I thought, yeah, that's really great.
00:02:02.99
Brian Penn
All right, yeah. Yeah.
00:02:06.06
Chris Olson
Or you can watch, you know, like Shawshank Redemption and it actually like,
00:02:08.44
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:02:09.69
Chris Olson
they've got this um rundown prison and they were putting the screening on it.
00:02:12.16
Brian Penn
Yeah. know.
00:02:13.47
Chris Olson
and But I think with outdoor screenings, if you're just watching a general film, I guess you need something that they say is not going to be something new. And also is going to, I suppose it depends on the time of day as well.
00:02:20.53
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:02:24.91
Chris Olson
Like if you're watching something in the day, I saw one, they've got an inflatable screen.
00:02:27.12
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:02:28.75
Chris Olson
They literally inflate the screen and they take it wherever they want.
00:02:29.84
Brian Penn
Oh yeah. Yeah, I've heard about her.
00:02:32.58
Chris Olson
That's pretty cool.
00:02:32.59
Brian Penn
Yeah, I know. Yeah, i think it's I think it's great. I mean, anything that helps to popularise cinema and make people want to come out, and so that's all good, you know. um Yeah, I think it's great.
00:02:43.80
Brian Penn
But i mean, really, when youre so when you talk about watching Jaws in a pool, it gives an immersive feel to a film, doesn't it, as well?
00:02:49.41
Chris Olson
o
00:02:50.64
Brian Penn
Which I think is unusual. something you don't normally get. so it's ah it's all good. you know, it's popularised in the genre, isn't it? Which is what we want.
00:02:58.51
Chris Olson
it's also interesting that yeah obviously there's a lot of talk all the time really about the impact of technology on arts and you know cinema being quite a forerunner with that in terms of people sitting at home streaming xyz and i think what was quite
00:03:06.42
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:03:09.18
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:03:13.32
Chris Olson
um obvious was that a lot of audiences still crave that communal experience. They still want, because when we had lockdown and everyone was watching films at home, it just wasn't the same.
00:03:19.24
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:03:23.21
Brian Penn
yeah
00:03:23.87
Chris Olson
And we we felt it with a film festival, like we did an online film festival, but everyone was just gagging to get back into the real world and do it.
00:03:26.42
Brian Penn
yeah
00:03:30.79
Chris Olson
So these like immersive experiences, these pop-up screens, they often do really, really well because people just love sharing cinema outside.
00:03:30.86
Brian Penn
yeah yeah yeah
00:03:37.29
Chris Olson
I mean, I wish I could do more of it, but often I'm sitting at home these days watching films, which is what I've done largely for this podcast.
00:03:41.73
Brian Penn
Well, yeah, I know. but you see, that's the thing. But I think we all fall into that trap, don't we, and certain in some ways. And it's it's not what it's about. It's about getting out and having that communal spirit, like you say.
00:03:55.59
Brian Penn
And also getting feedback from the people that you're watching, even people you don't know. you know Even when is you know and there's a funny scene ah and there's it causes a big laugh there.
00:04:06.28
Brian Penn
You get some form of atmosphere there because you're hearing the feedback from the audience and the people watching. So there's that as well.
00:04:12.26
Chris Olson
We sadly don't get that when we're doing this podcast. So we've no idea if people...
00:04:14.99
Brian Penn
No.
00:04:16.22
Chris Olson
The only only indication I get is when I look at the stats and it shows that people have clicked off. They've normally clicked off by this point because they're in the wrong place. They kind of go, oh, right, it's two guys chatting about film.
00:04:24.95
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:04:26.11
Chris Olson
Right, I'm off.
00:04:27.16
Brian Penn
know.
00:04:27.22
Chris Olson
um I'm not quite sure what they were expecting from UK Film Club, but ah hey...
00:04:27.34
Brian Penn
I know. Closing the title, isn't it, really? Yeah.
00:04:33.43
Chris Olson
clues in the title but if this is your first time and you're wondering if you should stick around the answer is yes and this is uk film club where me and brian review loads of films all the films basically every film no not really we review some from the cinema uh we review a streaming pic so that's something on ah on a streaming platform
00:04:38.37
Brian Penn
Mm-hmm.
00:04:50.87
Chris Olson
We review indie films that have been sent to us and we review a nostalgia pick, something from the past, something that you might see on a pop-up screen, something that might appear.
00:04:50.93
Brian Penn
Mm-hmm.
00:04:58.13
Brian Penn
Mm-hmm.
00:04:58.70
Chris Olson
And today's one could actually lend itself very keenly to a you an immersive setting, couldn't it?
00:04:58.84
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:05:04.79
Chris Olson
um you The Beach. I'm just giving it away from the top of the show.
00:05:07.42
Brian Penn
Oh. Yeah, yeah.
00:05:09.61
Chris Olson
That's the ah nostalgia pick. um yeah You could easily watch that on a nice beach.
00:05:11.32
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:05:14.17
Chris Olson
yeah That would be particularly nice.
00:05:14.72
Brian Penn
Yeah. and
00:05:15.95
Chris Olson
Just make sure you um keep an eye on the tide.
00:05:16.27
Brian Penn
Perfect.
00:05:18.35
Chris Olson
That's all I'd say if you are going to do that.
00:05:18.88
Brian Penn
Yeah. and
00:05:20.43
Chris Olson
We don't want anyone getting swept away and say, oh, Brian and Chris told us to watch it on the beach.
00:05:21.73
Brian Penn
No, don't get too close. I know.
00:05:24.64
Chris Olson
No, no, no.
00:05:25.37
Brian Penn
Yeah, know. You see this. like and Words carry such weight, don't they, as well? and know You never know what people might do.
00:05:31.16
Chris Olson
Absolutely. Now, in in a in a rare um situation,
00:05:31.97
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:05:36.10
Chris Olson
Brian's going to review the cinema films and I'm going to ask him to pronounce the first film because I do not feel confident to pronounce it.
00:05:40.97
Brian Penn
Oh, I know what you're going to say. know what you're to
00:05:45.23
Chris Olson
ah ah Because it's a Wes Anderson film, I would give you that much.
00:05:45.27
Brian Penn
And I haven't rehearsed it. I'll tell you that, I haven't.
00:05:50.45
Chris Olson
But Brian, this is it at cinemas right now. What's it called and what's it about?
00:05:53.71
Brian Penn
yeah It is called the Phoenician Scheme.
00:05:58.21
Chris Olson
I would have absolutely butchered that, just to say.
00:06:01.28
Brian Penn
Really? um well Well, maybe I did better with it than I thought, actually.
00:06:02.24
Chris Olson
Yeah. I was going to go the Finnegan scheme and as that was nowhere near.
00:06:07.20
Brian Penn
No, no, I think I'm closer to it than you, to be fair.
00:06:07.23
Chris Olson
The Phoenician. Is that... The Phoenician. Is that right?
00:06:11.19
Brian Penn
Phoenician Scheme, yeah. um So, written and directed by Wes Anderson, as you just mentioned. Starring Benicio del Toro, Mia Thrupleson, Scarlett Johansson, and a host of cameos. Well, it is a Wes Anderson film, after all. um So, Zaza Korda is a millionaire industrialist and arms dealer.
00:06:31.47
Brian Penn
Unsurprisingly, he has made enemies along the way. When he survives the latest attempt on his life, Korda resolves to change his ways. He appoints his daughter Liesl as sole heir to his estate.
00:06:44.55
Brian Penn
She happens to be a nun and still resents her father, sending her away to a convent as a five-year-old. Corda starts a new venture and invests Finicia, where he employs slave labour.
00:06:56.20
Brian Penn
However, he becomes a target for unscrupulous business partners, terrorists and even more determined assassins. this is ah It's a typical Wes Anderson film.
00:07:05.73
Chris Olson
I was going to say, even without... i mean, you could have not told me it was Wes Anderson, and then you read that out, and I've right? It's a Wes Anderson film, right?
00:07:11.87
Brian Penn
Yeah. yeah you you know We know what we're what we're looking at. it's It's a typical Wes Anderson film. It's very easy on the eye, beautifully shot, full of quirky and unusual characters, some great cameos to spot along the way. That's always always good fun.
00:07:27.21
Brian Penn
But you get the feeling that Anderson's not exactly stretching himself. This is you know ah huge comfort zone for him. and you know I'd like to see him do something a bit different.
00:07:38.04
Brian Penn
But It's beautifully made. you You can't really complain about the ah the artistic integrity of the film, but you sense that he's done it all before and he's on automatic pilot, but it's a lovely film to look at, always. It's always a delight to watch a Wes Anderson film.
00:07:55.30
Chris Olson
You've got to say as well, Anderson's films, they always lend themselves to the big screen experience.
00:07:55.41
Brian Penn
but
00:07:59.93
Chris Olson
Like we were talking earlier about going to the cinema, like, you know, you know, you're going to get bang for buck with these movies.
00:08:00.15
Brian Penn
Oh yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. yeah and No question, yeah is's it's well done. it's the The amount of care he takes over each frame, right?
00:08:11.85
Brian Penn
you can You can see the the the attention to detail and the um need to get every sort of frame right. It's almost a bit like an old-fashioned animator working for Walt Disney who's tracing out every single scene.
00:08:26.84
Brian Penn
And you see it. it's It's a trademark for Wesley Anderson, but not one of his best, I would venture. But it's it's a film worth worth seeing on the big screen because It has that cinematic quality. It always does.
00:08:41.11
Brian Penn
The colour, the lights, the lighting, everything is just beautifully put together. But no not one of his best, I'd wager. Yeah.
00:08:50.19
Chris Olson
I mean, this might just be me that can't pronounce it, but it might affect the film's box office if people try and go and you get tickets and they just don't know how to say the title.
00:08:56.36
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:08:57.78
Chris Olson
You know, they kind of go, I want to see that that film.
00:08:58.29
Brian Penn
Yeah,
00:09:01.00
Chris Olson
the Oh, do you know what? I'll go see 28 years later.
00:09:03.50
Brian Penn
yeah I know. you see you You could be right there, though, Chris. I mean, the the title of the film, is very important to the way you market it.
00:09:11.22
Chris Olson
you can't even spell it as well.
00:09:11.29
Brian Penn
And but yeah, I know.
00:09:12.35
Chris Olson
Hmm.
00:09:13.43
Brian Penn
But you see, the thing is, it's not like a Hotel Budapest, for example, or Asteroid City. It's short, it's snappy. But, you know, you too you do wonder what whether that's really harming the film.
00:09:25.68
Brian Penn
ah I don't suppose it is, but it doesn't it does look good on a poster. Let's put it that way.
00:09:29.82
Chris Olson
I think it probably gives it a sense of intrigue. People might think, oh, you know, not heard that word before. And there you go and look it up.
00:09:35.14
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:09:35.94
Chris Olson
But then I think that, like it says, it's about marketing and and that side of things. But one thing is, if you're going to attach Wes Anderson to a film, you're going to know that there's a built-in audience there of cinephiles that are going to want to go and watch it.
00:09:40.56
Brian Penn
Right.
00:09:50.06
Chris Olson
But it doesn't sound as if it's going to be one of the ones that is going to stand out amongst his very large filmography of other films. Is that fair to say?
00:10:02.23
Chris Olson
Lost you, Brian. You've gone on mute. <unk>ve You've disappeared. is it because I keep slandering the film's title?
00:10:08.55
Brian Penn
right po For some reason, the um the mute button came on. I never touched it, Gough, be honest.
00:10:14.05
Chris Olson
you mean mute You didn't touch the mute button, Gov.
00:10:16.28
Brian Penn
I didn't touch it. um but Do you want to leave a bit of a gap? Oh,
00:10:19.80
Chris Olson
yeah I think the listeners at this point are quite happening. But i I'll see. I'll make the note. you know If I want to cut it out, I will.
00:10:23.46
Brian Penn
okay.
00:10:24.24
Chris Olson
If I don't, then we'll carry on.
00:10:24.46
Brian Penn
um Yeah, okay. Yeah, apparently, though, Phoenicia is actually part of the Lebanon now, by the way.
00:10:31.71
Chris Olson
Oh.
00:10:31.70
Brian Penn
um
00:10:32.94
Chris Olson
You heard it here first.
00:10:33.01
Brian Penn
Did you know that?
00:10:33.99
Chris Olson
Yeah, I did.
00:10:34.08
Brian Penn
Yeah. I didn't know that. I didn't know that until I looked it up. But, you know.
00:10:37.68
Chris Olson
i've I've never learned so much from the first 10 minutes of our our own podcast as I have tonight.
00:10:40.80
Brian Penn
yeah
00:10:42.12
Chris Olson
This has been enlightening.
00:10:42.65
Brian Penn
ah every book yeah Every podcast is ah is a training podcast, isn't it? really
00:10:48.50
Chris Olson
It is, and you're only as good as your last one. So we are, you know, absolutely smashing it, and unless by which you've already switched off.
00:10:50.80
Brian Penn
Oh yeah, tell me about it
00:10:55.00
Chris Olson
So sorry about that.
00:10:56.17
Brian Penn
it. One further for the point about the film. um us Mia Threeporten, who's the daughter of Kate Winslet, very, very good in in the role.
00:11:09.28
Brian Penn
plays it just just right and has real potential.
00:11:09.33
Chris Olson
good
00:11:12.47
Brian Penn
And it's it's obviously obviously in the genes.
00:11:16.09
Chris Olson
There you go. Fabulous. Well, I mentioned another film at the cinema. We're going to go quickly to a different film next, which is part of the John Wick universe.
00:11:26.99
Brian Penn
i
00:11:27.15
Chris Olson
um Len Wiseman's Ballerina. Go for it, Brian.
00:11:30.53
Brian Penn
Yeah. OK, Ballerina. Starring Anna De Amis, Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane. Gabriel Byrne and Angelica Houston. So this is basically a John Wick spinoff.
00:11:42.88
Brian Penn
He also makes a cameo appearance. Just to put it in context, this story is set between the third and fourth John Wick films. It all seems incidental, really.
00:11:53.93
Brian Penn
The film title is prefixed from the world of John Wick to give it that vital or boost in case anyone's not sure where we're going here. um So the storyline, very briefly,
00:12:05.54
Brian Penn
ah Eve Macaro is a ballerina turned assassin who takes on an army of killers as she seeks revenge against those responsible for the death of her father. That is pretty much all you need to know.
00:12:17.37
Brian Penn
It doesn't bother you with much of a plot, really. But then again, John Wick films never do. But I don't think it really matters. That's not the essential thing. But you can enjoy the action of which there is plenty. so It's non-stop.
00:12:28.98
Brian Penn
It really is. The the combat sequence is breathtaking. It's incredibly well put together. very efficient, very slick. it's a very It's a film that's very alive. You know you you don't have but have a chance to sit back and and sink into a lull because it's keeping you occupied visually with with what what they're doing.
00:12:49.82
Brian Penn
um Very good film. Very well done. I was impressed with it.
00:12:53.87
Chris Olson
Are you generally a fan of the John Wick films?
00:12:57.07
Brian Penn
I am, but I think they're very similar. I think when you've seen one, you've seen them all. you know And this could easily have been a John Wick really. Really. I mean, the thing is, I think he maybe had 10 minutes in the film.
00:13:08.89
Brian Penn
um And it does vaguely tie in with the third and fourth installments. But you wouldn't notice necessarily. You know, I don't think the storyline it is especially strong or complex. But that's not always what you want with a film.
00:13:21.64
Brian Penn
You don't necessarily want a film to give you a headache because you're trying to work out what the plot is, you know. But this kind of presents an action movie ah franchise that's going strong and will continue to go strong, I'm sure.
00:13:36.40
Brian Penn
But this is just another strand of drunk John Wick. I mean, it works well. There's no denying it works. But ah it's slightly predictable. I think that's the only drawback with it.
00:13:47.05
Chris Olson
Yeah, I think the whole genre was called Gun Fu, right? Where they've got this sort of like ba handheld martial arts sort stuff.
00:13:51.45
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:13:54.57
Chris Olson
And then you've got, um i mean, a great example of it was The Raid. ah The Raid was a really good precursor to John Wick.
00:13:59.27
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:14:00.80
Chris Olson
And I think you're right. the John Wick films are very similar. I think it's one of those things where they've got their... you their method and they know it works so they kind of kept kept on just vamping it up and yeah just making the set pieces more and more choreographed to the point where it's kind of like wow and' think there's anything wrong with that I think it's good fun I've not seen Ballerina but I've seen the other John Wick films and i've I've not had a bad time with one I've never come away going oh i regret watching that but I don't think like you say you don't come away going oh I've been challenged you in terms of any storyline or character work
00:14:15.15
Brian Penn
Yeah. well yeah ah No.
00:14:31.64
Brian Penn
No, not at all. I mean, look, i you know I like all kinds of of movies, but I often gravitate towards a film that's more cerebral, that makes you think a bit more.
00:14:42.64
Brian Penn
But I do enjoy action movies that don't require anything of your intellect at all. You know, you know what you're getting. does what it says on the tin. But, you know, surely we will get to a point where we think, isn't isnt this enough now?
00:14:57.92
Brian Penn
Let's do something different.
00:14:59.39
Chris Olson
Well, that begs the question why they've done this spinoff. and yeah Obviously, Keanu Reeves is getting on yeah He's probably going to be to the point where he can't do these sort of films forever.
00:15:02.98
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:15:08.55
Brian Penn
Yeah, well...
00:15:09.10
Chris Olson
So is it kind of that, oh, let's try and set up a strand that could then carry on the franchise?
00:15:12.13
Brian Penn
yeah Yeah, I think you could be right. and and And John Wick can become a bit like Ian McShane's character, like a kind of a father figure, you know, a wise owl, a guiding light, you know.
00:15:25.98
Brian Penn
But I think you're right, though. I i think Keanu Reeves has got to be realistic. I mean, he's 60 now. And how much longer can you carry on in that kind of role? I mean, it's interesting because you, I don't know whether you heard that interview that Liam Neeson did.
00:15:41.03
Brian Penn
ah They asked him, you know, how do you carry on doing all these action movies? And you're like 68 or whatever it is. And he always says, motion is the lotion. Stay on the move and you'll be all right.
00:15:52.22
Chris Olson
just
00:15:52.48
Brian Penn
You know? So if Liam, if it's good enough for Liam Neeson, it should be good enough for everyone. Shouldn't it really?
00:15:57.47
Chris Olson
yep yep that is the motto when it comes to action movies and so let us know if you've seen ballerina and enjoyed it or not enjoyed it it either is fine we don't judge um we just share that's all we do going to share well brian is anyway a review now of danny boyle's latest film 28 later
00:15:58.75
Brian Penn
No?
00:16:07.78
Brian Penn
No? No? That's all? Yeah.
00:16:18.29
Brian Penn
Yeah, right. Okay, then.
00:16:20.09
Chris Olson
Oh, that was an interesting year.
00:16:22.29
Brian Penn
Well, yeah, and I'm...
00:16:22.69
Chris Olson
Let's see where this goes.
00:16:24.11
Brian Penn
Yeah, maybe I'm throwing you a bit of a curveball here. We'll soon see, won't i um So, starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, Ralph Fiennes, and Alfie Williams.
00:16:34.90
Brian Penn
So, this is the third instalment of the trilogy. It's 28 years since the outbreak of the Rage virus. A quarantine is strictly enforced. but some survivors have established small settlements.
00:16:45.95
Brian Penn
One such group live on an island separated from the mainland by a heavily guarded causeway. Jamie, one of the island scavengers, aims to teach his son Spike how to survive in this new world.
00:16:57.61
Brian Penn
Armed with bow and arrow, they cross the causeway onto the mainland. They find infected creatures who have mutated into a different species. Meanwhile, Spike's mother, Isla, is laid low by a mystery condition back on the island.
00:17:11.01
Brian Penn
This film will divide opinion. It's certainly the best of the three films that have been made so far.
00:17:16.12
Chris Olson
wow
00:17:16.40
Brian Penn
um Danny Boyle seems to be treading a fine line between drama and parody. The early part the film features clips from Henry The fifth the analogy seems obvious. Society has reverted to a medieval lifestyle, such as the impacts of the virus.
00:17:31.62
Brian Penn
But amid the block blood and gore, there were some laugh-out-loud moments, so you're never quite sure how to take it. Reasonably entertaining, but not quite the blockbuster I expected. Oh, and sequel alert.
00:17:43.89
Brian Penn
There's got to be another one. I'm almost sure there's got be another one.
00:17:46.81
Chris Olson
i think I've got a feeling it's been announced already, i think.
00:17:46.89
Brian Penn
But...
00:17:49.39
Brian Penn
Oh, I see. I see. I'm...
00:17:50.94
Chris Olson
ah might be wrong, but yeah.
00:17:50.94
Brian Penn
Yeah. but not Behind the curve a little bit. Yeah, I'm sure you're right.
00:17:55.66
Chris Olson
29 years later, they're going to call it.
00:17:56.55
Brian Penn
Yeah, I know.
00:17:57.18
Chris Olson
No, I don't know what they'll call it, but...
00:17:58.95
Brian Penn
That, you could be right. Who knows? I mean, um but it seems obvious. I mean, when you see the film, you'll see... You know when they just lay these little little bombs in the plot that, you know, right, they're going to go off later on in a new film, innit?
00:18:08.81
Chris Olson
Yeah.
00:18:12.47
Brian Penn
They've laid those sort of hints in in the in the storyline, which is inevitable, really. It's the name of a game, isn't it? But I just don't know. Well, actually, I do have an idea where they might take the story.
00:18:23.38
Brian Penn
um But we shall see. But reasonably entertaining, as I say, but not um not a blockbuster. Not what the will we come to expect from a summer.
00:18:31.36
Chris Olson
Not a brother, sir.
00:18:36.15
Chris Olson
Oh, you're going on mute again, bro. Nope.
00:18:40.10
Brian Penn
I don't why that's happening.
00:18:40.31
Chris Olson
Ooh, let me just check what do I do.
00:18:42.41
Brian Penn
you want leave a cat?
00:18:43.37
Chris Olson
Yeah, it might do. 18 minutes. Hold on. you were saying from the son of...
00:18:51.91
Chris Olson
Okay. Go.
00:18:54.42
Brian Penn
Okay, so yeah, I mean, it it will it will make money. It will do very well. And as I say, it's the best of the three films made so far, but it's it's not exactly the summer blockbuster I was hoping for.
00:19:08.62
Chris Olson
Hmm, well, divided opinion. I don't know if we... No, we didn't have any reviews of that, far as I'm aware. um But, yeah, I mean, i I like the premise of it. I've seen the other ones, and I enjoyed them as far as you do enjoy sort any kind of zombie film.
00:19:25.70
Chris Olson
um I think if you've seen one zombie film, you tend to have seen most of them, to be honest. But he's he's always a strong filmmaker in terms of he's got, like, yeah he knows how to connect things together.
00:19:30.38
Brian Penn
yeah yeah yeah yeah
00:19:35.04
Chris Olson
But it's been interesting, the feedback from 28 years later. There's been some really good reviews. There's also been some quite middling reviews, quite like yours, where it's always like, yeah, it's good. It's just not really doing anything transcendental.
00:19:44.02
Brian Penn
yeah yeah there's a comma there's a but there for me um but you know like I say look Danny Ball is a good director he knows what he's doing um but yeah you know this it just makes you go yeah you know
00:19:47.93
Chris Olson
Yeah.
00:19:59.36
Brian Penn
And I'm not sure what it's trying to be, whether it's trying to be a a serious exposition of a post-apocalyptic event, or whether it's just sending itself up, because in sections it does.
00:20:11.38
Brian Penn
um And they're quite funny when they come. They kind of break the tension a little bit. But, you know, some people might say, right, it's got to be one or the other. You know, but, I mean, going back to 28 Days Later, that is probably one of the best films of its type, you know, where there's an outbreak of a virus, and it portrays how people survive from that point onwards.
00:20:37.18
Brian Penn
But watching the watching the film, though, The Walking Dead is just a straight lift, isn't it, from what...
00:20:42.76
Chris Olson
Yeah.
00:20:43.80
Brian Penn
I i mean, people disagree with me there, um but I think it's just the same thing. They're they they're just killing zombies or something similar to a zombie before they they kill them or infect them.
00:20:56.78
Brian Penn
But that that's like the subgenre, isn't it, really? I suppose we've got it.
00:21:01.91
Chris Olson
Yeah, I think also it depends because like they're based on graphic novels, I think, um The Walking Dead.
00:21:05.86
Brian Penn
Hmm.
00:21:06.63
Chris Olson
So i don't know what came first. But in terms of, yeah, if you i've actually I think once you've got the premise, there there are good versions of zombie films out there and there are sort of not so good ones.
00:21:14.48
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:21:15.78
Chris Olson
remember seeing one at the time he was called Ellen Page. um It was set in Ireland. It was a really low-key zombie film.
00:21:23.02
Brian Penn
All right.
00:21:23.58
Chris Olson
um And that was really good. But where you get these kind of more big blockbuster things, I think they sort of... um they they They do feel quite similar. um Something else that feels quite similar is the film that I went to see at the cinema, Brian.
00:21:36.42
Brian Penn
Oh, yeah, you've been out, haven't you?
00:21:37.97
Chris Olson
I've been out.
00:21:38.12
Brian Penn
Been yeah.
00:21:38.49
Chris Olson
They've let me out. They let me out. They let me go to the mainland, you know, and survive a walk amongst the infected.
00:21:43.50
Brian Penn
Nice.
00:21:46.14
Chris Olson
And it was to see the new How to Train the Dragon live action film. Now, I have to call this really a remake because it is almost scene for scene a remake of the original animated film, which is also based on set of books by Cressida Cowell.
00:21:58.90
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:22:02.49
Chris Olson
Now, I was very, very lucky because they invited me to go with my daughter, who's a big fan of the animated films.
00:22:08.89
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:22:09.13
Chris Olson
And it was great. You we went to see the film, but it is shot for shot almost exactly the same. That is my only real criticism of the film.
00:22:14.29
Brian Penn
Hmm.
00:22:17.39
Chris Olson
But if you haven't seen of Trained Dragon, it's basically set um on an island called Berk where... these Vikings live live and they're plagued by dragons. Dragons come and steal their stuff and set fire to their houses.
00:22:28.80
Brian Penn
Hmm.
00:22:30.17
Chris Olson
um And the Vikings try and fight back. And amongst them is a Viking called Hiccup, who's a bit useless. He's not your typical Viking.
00:22:37.59
Brian Penn
Oh.
00:22:38.40
Chris Olson
He's not very strong.
00:22:38.85
Brian Penn
Oh.
00:22:39.40
Chris Olson
He's a little bit... um but struggling to you come of age as a Viking. And he does get a chance to kill a dragon, but he doesn't take it.
00:22:50.41
Chris Olson
He can't quite bring himself to do it. And instead he befriends this dragon,
00:22:52.34
Brian Penn
and
00:22:54.94
Chris Olson
Oh, it's lovely. And calls it um toothless.
00:22:55.68
Brian Penn
ah
00:22:57.82
Chris Olson
And the the pair need to navigate the sort of ah world they're in in order to stay safe. Whilst Hiccup learns as much as he can about dragons in order to not just, you know survive with them, but actually thrive. And his his methodology becomes sort of legendary.
00:23:17.28
Chris Olson
um As said, if you've seen the first film, you've already seen this film. But there's a few really good things about this and it brings me on to a bit more of a wider discussion about live action remakes where we get this situation because they are sort of damned if they do, damned if they don't.
00:23:29.05
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
00:23:33.30
Chris Olson
you If they change it all then everyone gets upset because they've changed it and if they don't change it then they get people like me come moan that they've not done anything different.
00:23:40.95
Brian Penn
yeah
00:23:40.97
Chris Olson
So there is a little bit of that going on. And what would say with this is there are certain elements that do elevate it above the animated one, and just in the sense of something different, which is you've got the actors actually bringing to the table that interaction, which you don't get with an animated film.
00:23:56.59
Chris Olson
Obviously, you get their voices.
00:23:56.80
Brian Penn
Hmm.
00:23:57.60
Chris Olson
But when you see actors, yeah this is the power of their craft.
00:23:58.64
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:24:01.18
Chris Olson
yeah You see that they can bring that to them.
00:24:01.60
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:24:03.42
Chris Olson
One person in particular is ah Nick Frost. He's in the film. He plays one of the side characters.
00:24:06.28
Brian Penn
All right.
00:24:07.22
Chris Olson
He's great. He's having a lot of fun. um
00:24:08.96
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:24:10.22
Chris Olson
But in general, with live action films and these remakes that we're getting, especially you with Disney movies that they were doing, they just lost all their soul. There was no soul in some of these.
00:24:19.35
Brian Penn
Well, yeah.
00:24:19.45
Chris Olson
It was like, Hmm.
00:24:21.22
Brian Penn
Yeah, you so you see, the thing is, when I'm faced with the choice between an animated original and a live action remake, I would always fall back on the animated original because there's something more, much more poetic about it where you're just, where you you can imagine animators creating something from scratch, frame by frame.
00:24:43.91
Brian Penn
And I would generally, my default default position would always be to say that the animated film is always going to be better. But the clips I've seen of How to Train Your Dragon look really good to me.
00:24:55.50
Brian Penn
You know, it's, But it's surprise I'm surprised that they've gone for a frame-for-frame remake. you know Because with the technology you have available now, and there are so many things you could do.
00:25:05.80
Brian Penn
But like you say, it's you're down whatever you do, aren't you, really? Because you're not going to please everyone. But you think that would have been an opportunity to try something different. But it is a classic story, or that we would see it as a classic story.
00:25:19.31
Brian Penn
And you would perhaps say you don't mess with a classic story. You yeah you want to sort of appreciate the essence of that story. And that's based on what, what they did originally.
00:25:30.37
Brian Penn
So that kind of makes sense as well.
00:25:30.69
Chris Olson
Yeah. I think sometimes it's like, you know, they've got a blueprint that works. They know this film was successful, so they go, okay, well, let's not veer too far away, because yeah that's a gamble, right?
00:25:42.31
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:25:42.45
Chris Olson
But with... It begs the question, why are you doing it? like Why you remaking this film? which yeah this film The animated one is only about 10, 15 years old.
00:25:52.64
Chris Olson
It's not that old.
00:25:53.00
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:25:53.90
Chris Olson
that you know
00:25:53.96
Brian Penn
you
00:25:54.63
Chris Olson
well People still like that film. you that's fine
00:25:56.54
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:25:56.89
Chris Olson
One thing is that this film has done very well at the box office. It's absolutely seen off loads of other movies. I think it's done very good business.
00:26:02.82
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
00:26:04.62
Chris Olson
that I know they're clearly going to make another one. And i think they the idea being that they will start to vary it a little bit and start to bring it, because also they've got the original book to draw from.
00:26:13.14
Brian Penn
yeah
00:26:16.29
Chris Olson
So actually they don't need to necessarily keep so much to the films. They've got a different structure they can follow.
00:26:19.61
Brian Penn
yeah yeah
00:26:21.55
Chris Olson
and they've now got yeah people in place. they So the two sort of main characters played by Mason Thames and Nico Parker, there's a great chemistry between them and they're quite young actors. So they've got plenty of you mileage in terms of more films.
00:26:35.24
Brian Penn
They can grow yeah i con gra up with the franchise, can't they?
00:26:35.29
Chris Olson
You've got... Yeah, yeah. Yeah, which was absolutely fine. You've got Gerald Butler, he comes back because he actually did a voice in the original film and he plays that character now in person.
00:26:42.48
Brian Penn
Mm-hmm.
00:26:45.17
Chris Olson
So that's a great way of you connecting the dots.
00:26:45.18
Brian Penn
Hmm.
00:26:47.24
Chris Olson
But it'd be interesting to see with this because it's not a Disney film. It's ah it's a DreamWorks, a universal sort situation. So it'd be interesting to see If they do go, do you know what? We're going to do something a bit more risky. We're going to roll the dice on this next one.
00:27:00.91
Chris Olson
But um I can I enjoyed it. you can um If anyone wants to, you can read my review on UK Film Review website. um I gave it four stars because I thought it was really really, good. um But Brian, you didn't see that. So I'm going to just ask you, what's your film of the month for the cinema so this month?
00:27:15.58
Chris Olson
I've lost you again, Brian. 27 minutes, my goodness. my goodness
00:27:23.05
Brian Penn
Chris, I honestly don't know what's happening there. ah ah don't I don't go anywhere near the mute button. ah like Unless I want to cough or or something, you know.
00:27:29.82
Chris Olson
Yeah, yeah I think sometimes it might just be a glitchy thing. It's just maybe something that's been pressed.
00:27:35.51
Brian Penn
Yeah, okay. you want to leave a bit of a bit of a gap there?
00:27:38.80
Chris Olson
Yeah, so hold on. It's hard to ask you. So, Brian, what's your film of the month?
00:27:42.82
Brian Penn
Film of the month, I would have to go with Ballerina. You know, it's I mentioned earlier on, it it's it's a film that's more constantly alive and it's keeping you with
00:27:46.17
Chris Olson
Hmm.
00:27:51.14
Brian Penn
It's keeping you engaged. and And as good as the other two films are, 28 years later and The Phoenician Scheme, Ballerina holds your attention for a different reason, because it's all action.
00:28:05.09
Brian Penn
It's back-to-back action. And that kind of tipped the scales in its favor a bit more for me. So Ballerina this month.
00:28:14.21
Chris Olson
ballerina you heard it here first and you can twirl your way to a screening near you it's currently in cinemas uh and well depending on when you're listening to this if you're listening to this in the future say 28 years later on then it might not be it probably won't be um but yeah
00:28:15.73
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:28:29.88
Brian Penn
Well, it's probably there might have been a sequel made by then. You never and know.
00:28:34.06
Chris Olson
imagine Imagine how many John Wick films. Actually, do not. Just in the the rare opportunity, of this podcast is still going in 28 years' time. Let's make a bet. How many John Wick films are there by then? I'm going to 17.
00:28:44.12
Brian Penn
Right, well, ah I'd say 12.
00:28:46.12
Chris Olson
12.
00:28:48.24
Brian Penn
Say around dozen.
00:28:48.48
Chris Olson
well Hmm.
00:28:50.02
Brian Penn
How many for the ballerina, though? Because if we say 12 for John Wick, there's going to be at least four for the ballerina, aren't there?
00:28:56.61
Chris Olson
Whoa, I suppose yeah time will tell, won't it? Do you think this is popular enough to get another film?
00:28:58.81
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:29:02.41
Brian Penn
ah I would have thought so, for sure. Yeah.
00:29:04.94
Chris Olson
Yeah.
00:29:05.24
Brian Penn
um
00:29:07.55
Brian Penn
Chris, sorry, can can we stop for a moment? My bell's just gone.
00:29:11.13
Chris Olson
I thought I could hear that in the background.
00:29:11.99
Brian Penn
my Can we just stop for a moment? Sorry.
00:29:13.93
Chris Olson
Yeah, and I always was pausing.
00:29:14.60
Brian Penn
Yeah,
00:29:15.87
Chris Olson
So, yeah, do you think Ballerina will be popular enough to have more films?
00:29:19.54
Brian Penn
yeah I think it will. I think it will. it I mean, it's it's like a um it's like ah an additional strain of John Wick. It's very similar, but it's kind of partly different. So I think it will be. I think it will catch on because of the John Wick connection. So if you've got John Wick fans, they're goingnna they going to be a fan of this film as well, you know, because it's it's a similar setup.
00:29:41.27
Brian Penn
But I think I can imagine John Wick becoming like the the mentor to the to the ballerina.
00:29:47.82
Chris Olson
Also, you've given it Film of the Month, so that's probably got it another yeah three films at least.
00:29:50.97
Brian Penn
Well, I hope so. I hope so. hope so.
00:29:53.92
Chris Olson
you know The power of Brian's Film of the Month stamp of approval.
00:29:56.67
Brian Penn
Well, yeah.
00:29:57.52
Chris Olson
you know That's That's huge for a lot of films.
00:29:58.50
Brian Penn
Yeah. I know. Yeah. Yeah.
00:30:01.35
Chris Olson
um But that's yeah that's your cinema films listeners. We're moving on now to the streaming pick of the month. Again, a Netflix film. We do a lot of Netflix films here. um And this one is Tyler Perry's latest film called Straw.
00:30:14.41
Chris Olson
And yeah, it's about a single mother. And she is having what can only be described as the worst day of anyone's life I've ever seen. It is honestly just goes from bad to worse.
00:30:23.37
Brian Penn
a yeah
00:30:25.29
Chris Olson
um yeah she lives in sort of rundown apartment we first meet her in this absolutely boiling environment um she's got the fans on it doesn't seem to make any difference she is there with her daughter um who needs to get to school and yeah it's um obviously a tough living they live in this sort of cramped apartment seems to be broken all the time but uh our lead um jenny she can't make rent and yeah she's being hounded for that
00:30:34.83
Brian Penn
Hmm.
00:30:53.15
Chris Olson
She's also being hounded from the school for lunch money for a child. And we see her at work and the boss is hounding her, know, being of particularly nasty to her. And yeah, she's just struggling to survive this short single mother situation that she's in.
00:31:05.18
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:31:08.52
Chris Olson
um And she wants to go back to the school because she's getting paid today in order to pay for her daughter's lunch so that she's not going to get bullied.
00:31:14.47
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:31:16.25
Chris Olson
And... and
00:31:17.01
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:31:18.60
Chris Olson
Basically what happens is... I'm going to just say spoiler warning straight away because there might be things that just come up in this film. We're going to try not to give away too much, but there is certain we've got to talk about.
00:31:23.86
Brian Penn
yeah oh
00:31:26.68
Chris Olson
So basically she ends up killing someone early on when they come in to rob the store that she works in and she's gone to get her money and it's...
00:31:26.67
Brian Penn
yeah
00:31:31.32
Brian Penn
yeah
00:31:35.09
Chris Olson
From there... She's still trying to... She's not quite sure what's going on. um She goes to the bank to try and get her money.
00:31:41.21
Brian Penn
yeah
00:31:42.57
Chris Olson
She's still in this sort of haze of confusion as to what's happened.
00:31:45.31
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:31:46.02
Chris Olson
She ends up holding up the bank ah with this gun that she's taken from this would-be robber.
00:31:50.37
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:31:51.81
Chris Olson
Then... the Because she's got her daughter's science experiment with her in the bag, they think she's got a bomb.
00:31:57.80
Brian Penn
Yeah. Right.
00:31:59.71
Chris Olson
And they then stand right back from everything and try to yeah ah negotiate a peaceful release.
00:31:59.97
Brian Penn
Right. Yeah.
00:32:07.35
Chris Olson
But there's lots of other things at play here. Not least of all that she had a run in with a police officer early the day who showed quite violent intent towards her, who is now outside the bank.
00:32:12.50
Brian Penn
and
00:32:15.34
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:32:16.88
Chris Olson
um There's a lot going on there.
00:32:19.17
Brian Penn
Yeah, hell of a lot.
00:32:19.29
Chris Olson
And i honestly was i was very thrilled with that like that opening third of the film. There was so much going on.
00:32:25.69
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:32:27.14
Chris Olson
What do you think of Straw, Brian?
00:32:30.07
Brian Penn
ah like so I did like it. i have to say that the the way they they they carried the action forward, you know there was no opportunity to be distracted by it. I like the way the action just sex escalates and spirals to an impressive climax. It's all very well well made.
00:32:45.98
Brian Penn
I mean, obviously, Janiya is having the day from hell. I mean, you you couldn't write it any better or worse than that. um The only thing that nagged at me a little bit is that there was still ah a sense of her being portrayed as a victim.
00:33:01.47
Brian Penn
And up to ah a certain extent, she is a victim, in a circumstance, a victim of the social environment in which she lives. But the things that she goes on to do, in my mind, makes her less of a victim, kind of, sort of, if you see what i'm getting at.
00:33:14.43
Chris Olson
Yeah.
00:33:15.66
Brian Penn
But aside from that, I really liked it. I think it's so well done. It's so well executed that you can't help but be riveted by what happens to it. You think, right, what's going go wrong next?
00:33:30.26
Brian Penn
What's going to go wrong? yeah Really, that can't possibly happen. And it does, you know. i just love that spiralling effect in the script, and that's what Tyler Perry's done very well here. is that he gradually winds why is the script up to a climax. And the final frames of the film were very well well shot and very well done.
00:33:49.51
Brian Penn
But it's just that, as I say, it's that sense that she's still held up as a victim, but I don't think she is quite so much of a victim as you might think.
00:34:00.44
Chris Olson
Yeah, I mean, I get what you mean. And I think that early on in the film, they are portraying her very much as this sort of passive character of like, those characters being overtly horrible to her.
00:34:12.53
Brian Penn
Yeah, there are.
00:34:12.84
Chris Olson
And she's not giving any kickback. There's not much where she's kind of going, oh, actually, you know, I'm an adult. You wouldn't talk to me like that. Like, that's just not not okay.
00:34:19.61
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
00:34:21.17
Chris Olson
But I think they are... Okay, don't want to spoil the end of the film, but something that maybe sort of explains that in terms of how this scene is coming across.
00:34:27.76
Brian Penn
yeah Yeah.
00:34:29.05
Chris Olson
That being said, it felt like a bit of a mash-up of a film like Falling Down and Inside Man.
00:34:35.98
Brian Penn
Yeah, it's a bit. Yeah.
00:34:37.35
Chris Olson
It reminded me of this, like, yeah, because yeah Falling Down is a great film. If you've never seen Falling Down, go see It's amazing.
00:34:40.86
Brian Penn
oh lot like Michael Douglas.
00:34:43.82
Chris Olson
Michael Douglas, where he literally has a breakdown over the course of a day.
00:34:44.66
Brian Penn
Brilliant film. I love that film. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Hmm.
00:34:48.17
Chris Olson
And that's what this sort of reminded me of. And then you had the whole bank job kind of side to it as well. But she's like unwittingly doing this. She doesn't quite understand why. But she knows if she leaves, she's going to either get arrested or get killed.
00:35:01.11
Chris Olson
um
00:35:01.26
Brian Penn
and
00:35:01.77
Chris Olson
So there a lot of tension there. There lot of really great cinematic moments.
00:35:05.90
Brian Penn
yeah
00:35:07.42
Chris Olson
I felt it lagged very much in the middle because there was a lot of this... sitting around revealing emotional dialogue between different sort characters that are still in the bank.
00:35:14.73
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:35:16.83
Chris Olson
And it felt that was fine.
00:35:17.23
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:35:18.81
Chris Olson
I didn't mean, didn't mind a bit of grounding. I didn't mind a bit of that, but it kind of went on for quite a while. I think they absolutely outpaced itself in the beginning that it sort ran out of steam and suddenly was like, Oh, we've got all this other stuff.
00:35:23.97
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:35:29.35
Chris Olson
This other is other a dialogue we've got to get through. But yeah,
00:35:31.42
Brian Penn
yeah
00:35:32.42
Chris Olson
but yeah I think it holds up really well because not only does it have these elements of cinema, like you've got bank job, you've got robberies, you've got all this sort but you've got loads of heavy themes as well there, like the fact that she is a single parent, the fact that the cost of medical care in the US is insane um you know even when it comes to a child not being able to get the right meds.
00:35:50.15
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
00:35:53.88
Chris Olson
and you've got
00:35:54.06
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:35:55.24
Chris Olson
They're touching slightly on the idea about yeah cops being racist and or or at least you're being overtly aggressive.
00:36:01.88
Brian Penn
very good.
00:36:02.05
Chris Olson
um So I think yeah Tyler Perry does well to balance a lot of that stuff. um And it does rely heavily on that central performance from Taraji P. Henson.
00:36:14.49
Brian Penn
she's very good She's really Yeah.
00:36:15.36
Chris Olson
Oh my gosh, I thought she was brilliant. She absolutely carried the film.
00:36:17.47
Brian Penn
Excellent. Yeah. Yeah.
00:36:19.87
Chris Olson
And... I honestly would strongly recommend this. I've actually have gone out way to recommend this to a few people but to say, look, get through it because there's, yeah, you need see it to the end.
00:36:25.42
Brian Penn
yeah
00:36:29.82
Chris Olson
I don't want to say anything else because it's going to give something away, but yeah, see it to the end.
00:36:30.46
Brian Penn
yeah no ah yeah it's true yeah I think it's I think it's really good and it's well worth watching it really is and it doesn't it doesn't allow you to relax and snatch back in your chair you know in your armchair it makes you it makes you take notice it engages you and that's what you want to film to do yeah I mean the
00:36:33.82
Chris Olson
It's really, really worth it. Straw is great.
00:36:54.00
Brian Penn
We always discuss the weak spots in the in the storyline and the characters, but the standard of acting is so high, and the pace of action I really liked. um And it does make some valid points about ah American society and the way it's going. ah so So it packs a lot in.
00:37:12.56
Brian Penn
But, yeah, very impressed overall.
00:37:16.15
Chris Olson
There you go. And it's available on Netflix, so do go watch it if you can. um Moving on now to the indie film section of our show, which is where we review a selection of movies have been sent to us ah by filmmakers from around the world.
00:37:28.86
Chris Olson
And all of these have been reviewed on the website. I myself have actually reviewed one of these.
00:37:33.33
Brian Penn
What's
00:37:34.13
Chris Olson
And um we're going to start with a short film called Whispers of Freedom, which Chris Buick reviewed recently.
00:37:39.63
Brian Penn
up?
00:37:41.97
Chris Olson
i don't have a clip, sadly, for this and film, and but you can watch Chris's review on our TikTok and YouTube channels if you want to go there.
00:37:53.24
Chris Olson
But... The film is written and directed by Brandon Ashplant, and it's set in East Germany during the Cold War, set in the 1980s.
00:38:03.34
Chris Olson
And it's all about, it's based on a true story about a young man who is desperate to get over to the West Side because he has dreams of becoming an actor and and not yeah know living in this Russian-led society, doesn't want to be drafted into the army, wants to escape all that stuff.
00:38:05.84
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:38:22.98
Chris Olson
and But at the moment, it's yeah probably one of the most dangerous things that you could do. And that is where the story is. i don't know whether it's worth sort of spoiling it because it's based on a real character, but I'm going to try not to spoil it.
00:38:35.22
Brian Penn
yeah
00:38:36.80
Chris Olson
um What do you think of Whispers of Freedom, Brian?
00:38:39.60
Brian Penn
on
00:38:39.83
Chris Olson
It was great, wasn't it?
00:38:40.22
Brian Penn
Chris I loved it I thought it was brilliant the first thing that occurred to me though is why wasn't it a feature length film yeah
00:38:42.09
Chris Olson
It was so good.
00:38:48.98
Chris Olson
Honestly, I thought that too. It's always nice when you get short. be honest. We kind oh, we like a short. We do like short films on this show.
00:38:55.56
Brian Penn
yeah yeah look you see the thing is um it's it's a true story as we said and it's a fitting tribute
00:38:55.90
Chris Olson
but But you know when you're watching your one, you nope, need more of this. I want more of this.
00:39:06.93
Brian Penn
to those who died trying to get over the Berlin Wall. You know, the at least 140 people have died trying to get to the West Side. And it's a tribute to all the people that died in the attempt, right?
00:39:19.97
Brian Penn
Obviously, it's based on a real person, Chris Griffroy. not sure pronouncing that right. But um it's a brilliant piece of filmmaking. But, God, we could have done with more.
00:39:31.20
Brian Penn
ah Because it's dealing with such an important subject as well. And right I struggled so so give me atra struggled to work out where Christopher Eccleston was. Because see he played the ah radio announcer, didn't he?
00:39:44.94
Chris Olson
I didn't actually realise until you were just talking about it. like, oh yeah.
00:39:48.63
Brian Penn
ah I thought, hang on minute, where is he? you you know you think Have I missed something somewhere? And watched it again because wanted to. I thought, ah, right, okay. And Paul Freeman played, I think he played Eric Honecker, didn't he? the Again, it was it was a radio broadcast, wasn't it?
00:40:05.58
Brian Penn
But I loved it. I loved the way it was put together. I loved the styling of it. um And mean it just portrays a very simple message, you know. I love the title of the film as well, Whispers of Freedom.
00:40:18.19
Brian Penn
Because it starts on on the premise that um Chris is convinced that the shoot kill policy has been lifted.
00:40:27.45
Chris Olson
Yeah.
00:40:27.61
Brian Penn
Because, was it a Swedish dignitary or Swedish politician was visiting? And on that basis, he he He does a runner and it takes takes his friend with him, Christian.
00:40:40.80
Brian Penn
So, you know, it's a very human story that I think needs to be seen, needs to be told, but I think it needs more space to stretch out. There's so much more you can do here.
00:40:53.06
Chris Olson
ah It's interesting if like that stories of the Cold War 40 years ago and coming to the end of the Cold War ah now ah these are historic documents and historic pieces of yeah film that were being provided in a narrative and
00:40:57.51
Brian Penn
Hmm.
00:41:03.30
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:41:09.02
Chris Olson
This is one of those really strong ones that does go and out of its way to tell the story in a very authentic way. It feels, know, they've got the the tone of the film brilliant. It's quite somber, as you might imagine.
00:41:20.70
Chris Olson
um But that's getting reinforced with the filmmaking. It's not just the storytelling. You've got the lighting, the colouring, even the like sound design has been really crafted here to make sure that you feel immersed in that time period.
00:41:28.38
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:41:33.31
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:41:35.01
Chris Olson
And that's crucial. If you're going to tell a story about yeah someone's actual yeah life and situation, then you need to do justice to and absolutely get that right here. um
00:41:44.55
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:41:45.64
Chris Olson
But the tension is just, especially in the latter part of the film, um you've got
00:41:48.08
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
00:41:52.28
Chris Olson
his mother you in sort anguish in the beginning of the film. There's lots and lots of signposts there to to give you those emotional notes to go, you know what, we're going to bring you into this really, really quickly.
00:41:59.58
Brian Penn
I'll
00:42:04.95
Brian Penn
happy.
00:42:05.44
Chris Olson
Like you say, I think that's possibly why you leave the film feeling but you want more is because they've just done such a good job of bringing you into it all.
00:42:09.88
Brian Penn
Yeah. yeah ah the hand
00:42:13.42
Chris Olson
Yeah, it was just, and yeah, I really love the way that they got attention to detail. That's what I like because
00:42:17.95
Brian Penn
um
00:42:19.61
Chris Olson
in in different hands, they could have absolutely fumbled this. and And it would have been pretty tragic to have done that.
00:42:25.90
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:42:26.22
Chris Olson
But what they've done here is is excellent.
00:42:28.76
Brian Penn
Yeah. There's real skill in handling a ah story like this because it's still ingrained in our consciousness, isn't That, you know, the the Cold War, the the Iron Curtain, we we think that's consigned to the past, but it's more recent than and you think.
00:42:44.55
Brian Penn
And, you know, it's like the old cliche, you know, Yesterday is the birthplace of today. And the things that we're were dealing with today in terms of geopolitics has its origins back then.
00:42:55.50
Brian Penn
and So it still seems like a relevant story to tell. ah One final point there, though. um What I think is really choking about the story is that the Berlin Wall came down a year after these events were portrayed.
00:43:06.64
Chris Olson
Yeah, not long after, yeah.
00:43:08.53
Brian Penn
And that that is absolutely heartbreaking, isn't it, really? And it it kind of dawns on you when you see the closing titles and and the the captions come up. to tell you what happened. And you think, oh, that's just unbelievably sad, unbearably sad.
00:43:24.41
Chris Olson
Yeah, it's... ah Honestly... but I always feel very privileged to see any of the indie films that get sent to us, but there's certain ones that really, really stand out.
00:43:29.05
Brian Penn
definitely.
00:43:32.11
Chris Olson
And this was definitely one of them. um Yeah. So the film is from golden goat films and you can follow them on Instagram at golden goat films. We've tagged them in a few things. so it should be fairly easy to,
00:43:46.03
Chris Olson
to find them as i said go to the website or go to our tiktok youtube channels to watch chris's review chris buick he does a really great review of the film he also really enjoyed it just spoilers we're we're all pretty much in agreement here um yeah absolutely excellent definitely going to stand up as one of those films to to watch out for i don't believe it's out yet we weren't given a public link so yeah stay that's why i say follow them uh on instagram if you can because they'll let you know when you can see it
00:43:58.39
Brian Penn
Yeah, absolutely.
00:44:11.40
Brian Penn
Wow.
00:44:13.81
Chris Olson
Moving on now to a short film I did review for the website. um And I believe that i do if I did do a video review of this as well. So you can watch me on TikTok if you'd like.
00:44:22.69
Brian Penn
know
00:44:23.80
Chris Olson
You don't have to but what else you going to do?
00:44:25.37
Brian Penn
Bit added value there though, isn't there?
00:44:26.94
Chris Olson
What else are you going to do?
00:44:27.07
Brian Penn
You know.
00:44:27.98
Chris Olson
You know, i just say.
00:44:28.55
Brian Penn
Yeah, why not? Yeah.
00:44:30.10
Chris Olson
and and also for this one, I do have a little clip.
00:44:30.88
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:44:32.63
Chris Olson
So this is for short film Starborn.
00:44:32.95
Brian Penn
Ooh, lovely.
00:45:08.85
Chris Olson
So written and directed by Starry Venus, possibly the shortest film we've seen year.
00:45:14.60
Brian Penn
Yeah, I know, I think it is.
00:45:16.14
Chris Olson
That clip is almost half the length of the film, by the way.
00:45:16.27
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:45:18.67
Brian Penn
Yeah, I know. was going to say, you could have shown the whole lot, couldn't you?
00:45:22.05
Chris Olson
Yeah, is a it's a 90-second film.
00:45:22.41
Brian Penn
played the whole lot.
00:45:24.70
Chris Olson
And as said, I reviewed this on the website, and so i do recommend going and reading my review. But it stars Andrea Wright as this goddess who has come back to Earth and she's wandering the desert.
00:45:41.20
Chris Olson
And it seems that everything's sort of bereft of life and hope um and... it seems the perfect setting to have this cosmic ah fallout from whatever's happened to her.
00:45:51.87
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
00:45:53.89
Chris Olson
But it also becomes clear that There is a connection to be made. There are other people out there that she's not alone. And there are others that she could connect to.
00:46:00.02
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:46:03.11
Chris Olson
It's a very ethereal type film.
00:46:05.81
Brian Penn
you
00:46:06.04
Chris Olson
it's it's ah It's more of an art piece than it is a narrative piece.
00:46:09.67
Brian Penn
yeah
00:46:09.88
Chris Olson
And I think what well you can absolutely watch this a dozen times if you want to. And you probably get different things each time you watch it.
00:46:14.29
Brian Penn
yeah yeah
00:46:16.94
Chris Olson
ah But it's very immersive. And it's very... um touching on multiple senses at one time. I think that's one thing that came across from this piece was that it's been made with a lot of imagination and care.
00:46:24.13
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:46:31.57
Chris Olson
And I really respected that. It's nice sometimes when you see a film like this, you know, actually they've done something very different here. They are challenging you to bring your own um interpretation as to what's going on.
00:46:42.67
Chris Olson
they They also have, you know, they've given signposts in terms of what they want people to think from it. And I picked up on some of those.
00:46:49.20
Brian Penn
you know
00:46:49.42
Chris Olson
i'm But it's triggering the audience. You know, there's doing things about, um I think there's a they mentioned about grief and being pulled back from the brink. So I think this is one of those really great examples of an art film where you're going watch it and go, depending on how you feel and depending on what emotional baggage you bring to the table, it's going to impact how you experience that film. How did you experience Starborn, Brian?
00:47:11.72
Brian Penn
Wow, it's amazing what you can do in 90 seconds, isn't it? You know,
00:47:14.79
Chris Olson
It is. I've always said that.
00:47:17.86
Brian Penn
very good. Yeah, I set that one up for you, didn't I really? um like It's beautiful to watch. Heavily interpretational, as you mentioned just now, and as you also mentioned in your review.
00:47:29.17
Brian Penn
um I get a sense of protection from it.
00:47:33.34
Chris Olson
Okay.
00:47:33.35
Brian Penn
You know, there is this spiritual being that offers protection and solace to others, offers comfort. You know, it touches on grief and pulling someone back from the brink. You know, are they a guardian angel of of some description that their their purpose is to protect others?
00:47:52.74
Brian Penn
Whether it's because, someone who's physically standing on the edge or someone who's depressed and down or or grieving for a loss, that someone is there to help them through that period of loss or grief or uncertainty, you know, where someone is so dispirited, they might be considering, you know, jumping, for example.
00:48:15.00
Brian Penn
Um, so to me, there's a sense of the guardian angel, uh, protecting all of us. Um, But it's what you what you see in it yourself, isn't it? Now, I mean, someone else might get something totally different from it.
00:48:27.68
Brian Penn
But I think that's the idea, isn't it? That you take from it what you think, what you get from it is is important. So that's the way and I see it. But it it's good. It makes you think. And to do that in 90 seconds, it's quite, it's a hell of an achievement, really, I think.
00:48:42.06
Chris Olson
It's so much stark imagery in it as well. When I was watching it, I was really impressed by the way that
00:48:45.14
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:48:48.50
Chris Olson
you could have had something more linear, but it wasn't. It was like, okay, well, actually, you're being offered quite a lot of stimulus here. And one of the things I did, i again, I picked up on my review, but going to go for it here, was more the there's this setting in the background of the desert.
00:48:55.14
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:49:02.52
Chris Olson
And that was so crucial because the desert has this sort of double meaning. in the one yeah On the one hand, depending, of yeah maybe this is a kind of glass half full view. How do you view the world?
00:49:12.13
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:49:13.07
Chris Olson
Because the desert could be lifeless, right It could be lifeless. It could be this big void expanse where, nothing can survive and you can't be there but on the other hand the desert has often been the the frontier it's been where people have been pushing societies where maybe you've gone to experience something away from your norms and and existed on a different plane and i think that again is crucial they've clearly gone look what is going to trigger the best reactions in our audience and what's going to
00:49:20.12
Brian Penn
yeah
00:49:25.33
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:49:30.08
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:49:40.42
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:49:40.89
Chris Olson
what is going to help us cement this piece in a way that is going to have a big yeah feeling come out from it.
00:49:44.35
Brian Penn
yeah
00:49:46.98
Chris Olson
And that I really take it on with. I think as with any art kind of film going to get like this, and it is an art project, you can't, yeah you can't see it any other way.
00:49:55.73
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:49:57.61
Chris Olson
It's got no cinematic kind of mainstream appeal.
00:49:59.45
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:50:00.43
Chris Olson
I think it is going to be, yeah it's going to have a limited audience. So I think you it's one of those movies you're probably lucky to come across it at like a film festival in their like short film showcase.
00:50:07.90
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:50:09.87
Chris Olson
And I feel that that's one of those ones you will remember because even though it is very short, it makes you feel something quite profound and because it's making it's making you get quite introspective.
00:50:16.84
Brian Penn
a
00:50:19.72
Chris Olson
It's going to bring out things about how you feel about the world.
00:50:19.98
Brian Penn
yeah
00:50:21.86
Chris Olson
And that I think is is very powerful.
00:50:22.21
Brian Penn
yeah
00:50:24.64
Brian Penn
and It's asking a lot of questions. You know, they focus on the desert. I mean, that could signify isolation, loneliness, but it could also signify freedom as well, or the start of something new.
00:50:37.05
Chris Olson
Yeah. Yeah.
00:50:38.95
Brian Penn
So, yeah you know, yeah we all get something different, but but it's it's very cleverly done. And you don't necessarily, um mean, there's not going to be much opportunity for scripts in a film that short, but the images serve the you know serve its purpose really well.
00:50:54.54
Brian Penn
Because it's leaving it's leaving the conclusions in your own head. And what what you... It tells you something about yourself, doesn't it?
00:51:03.85
Chris Olson
Absolutely.
00:51:04.04
Brian Penn
So very cleverly done, you know.
00:51:06.96
Chris Olson
So the film, as I said, it's called Starborn. and I think it's doing the sort of festival runs at the moment. I might be wrong. um But I definitely think it will end up on streaming and places like that.
00:51:19.85
Chris Olson
Like probably like, I think they might already be on Vimeo. and
00:51:22.92
Brian Penn
yeah
00:51:23.39
Chris Olson
The filmmaker is called Starry Venus. That's S-T-A-R-R-Y Venus as in the planet. um And they have an Instagram as well. Let me pull that up for you because it changed whilst they submitted the film.
00:51:36.76
Chris Olson
I believe it's at starryvenus.world on Instagram. Again, we've probably tagged them in some stuff. So if you can't find it, just go through our posts and you'll get to them quite quickly.
00:51:43.64
Brian Penn
Yeah, it
00:51:46.81
Chris Olson
Also head to the website because there's a clip on that. i think it it might actually be the whole film on the clip. So if you want to watch it, you can do that and you can watch more.
00:51:52.03
Brian Penn
probably is. It's a trailer, isn't it? It's a trailer.
00:51:57.02
Chris Olson
it's So i think you you'll get a really good sense of that film. um
00:52:00.73
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:52:01.47
Chris Olson
And also it's a filmmaker that I'm really intrigued to just see what else they do. because
00:52:06.02
Brian Penn
Hmm.
00:52:07.36
Chris Olson
when you get these films that are a bit more artistic, yeah going for the more immersive experience and doing something quite sort of different, if they do try their hand at something more narrative based, more story based, more kind of linear, I guess, um they can often approach it in a really cool way.
00:52:24.23
Chris Olson
So yeah, I've been intrigued to see what happens next there.
00:52:26.06
Brian Penn
It shows great potential though, Chris, because really it's the length of a trailer or possibly a TV ad, isn't it?
00:52:32.42
Chris Olson
Yeah. Yeah.
00:52:32.69
Brian Penn
And that is where a lot of great filmmakers start their careers, isn't it?
00:52:36.86
Chris Olson
Absolutely.
00:52:37.09
Brian Penn
With a something of that length, like ah like a TV ad or a jingle of some sort. So, you know, it shows great potential and it will be interesting to see what what they do next.
00:52:46.84
Chris Olson
And you've also got an opportunity to find out more about Starry Venus on the website, starryvenus.com, think, because there's also lots of links on there to music and playlists on Spotify and things.
00:52:55.62
Brian Penn
All right.
00:52:55.92
Chris Olson
So, yeah, loads of things to go and immerse yourself into.
00:52:56.70
Brian Penn
Okay.
00:52:59.60
Chris Olson
Once you've finished listening to this podcast, I must stress that.
00:53:02.24
Brian Penn
Of course.
00:53:02.92
Chris Olson
I've said this before.
00:53:03.34
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:53:03.60
Chris Olson
Oh, you should go watch that. And they go and watch it.
00:53:04.83
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:53:05.36
Chris Olson
no, no not right now.
00:53:05.65
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:53:06.44
Chris Olson
what Like, come on.
00:53:06.83
Brian Penn
Not right now. No. No.
00:53:07.99
Chris Olson
This is...
00:53:08.08
Brian Penn
Once we're finished, then you can go and watch it.
00:53:08.39
Chris Olson
this This is our time.
00:53:11.12
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:53:11.46
Chris Olson
um And we're moving on now to another film that we've been submitted, which is The Tale of Ksoe 2, which Patrick reviewed on the website, ah written and directed by Joshua Cowie, who also stars in the film.
00:53:11.49
Brian Penn
That's right.
00:53:26.28
Chris Olson
And um mean I've been doing a lot of synopsis today ah for the indie film. So Brian, why don't you take the the realms on this one?
00:53:32.08
Brian Penn
Yeah, I do my best. So, ah ah is it Casey Wee? Casey Wee is a ninja arts specialist working in the new Ninja Arts Academy that aims to train the next generation of martial artists.
00:53:39.26
Chris Olson
K-so-wee, I think K-so-wee.
00:53:48.55
Brian Penn
He struggles with his feelings for my my man, which places him at odds with the Academy's rules. Worse still, he feels threatened by a new student, Duomant, who apparently has dark magic powers.
00:54:02.22
Brian Penn
Now, whilst it's obviously a student film, it's ah it's a college production, a college project, which is all good, and they're operating on a shoestring. Taking all that into account, I really liked it.
00:54:13.96
Brian Penn
thought it was really good fun.
00:54:14.10
Chris Olson
I thought it was great. I really enjoyed it. yeah
00:54:17.46
Brian Penn
You know, the there are some likeable performances there. They all have good timing. You know, they that potentially, it's a very good cast of actors. You think what they're doing works. They they know. They understand comic timing, a lot of them.
00:54:29.31
Brian Penn
They really do. And they've got it already. And the fact that it's a sequel, ah they must have something. I've not seen the first one, but I think it was really good fun. And they they kept, they maintained the interest, right?
00:54:42.04
Brian Penn
It's ah it's about an hour, isn't it? An seven-ish.
00:54:44.09
Chris Olson
Yeah, hour 10, something like that.
00:54:45.75
Brian Penn
Yeah. ah So, yeah, I thought it was great fun. ah I liked it more than i I thought I would, because often when when I see something like this, you think it's it's an art project. It's a thesis-type production. But it it was better than that. was better than I expected. So, yeah, I was i was really impressed with it.
00:55:04.07
Chris Olson
Yeah, I agree. I know what you mean. like You get presented with a film that has an aesthetic that you go, okay, right, we know where you're at in terms of your filmmaking career.
00:55:13.23
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:55:13.75
Chris Olson
And even obviously we get notes as well. And in the notes it said student film, and first time directing, and it's also slight musical.
00:55:16.29
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:55:21.71
Chris Olson
So immediately alarm bells are ringing for me. I'm going i'm not a massive fan of of musicals and it's a student film.
00:55:24.33
Brian Penn
but yeah
00:55:26.87
Brian Penn
and
00:55:27.81
Chris Olson
So... ah what I was really really pleased about was it had this sort of Scott Pilgrim kind of uh vibe where they had the cool animations like a comic book coming out uh or even like Heartstopper that tv show that was really good um that lent that self to it because that rawness of a student production it it fitted really well with this sort of
00:55:36.53
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. yeah
00:55:52.47
Chris Olson
out of this world cosmic stuff that's coming in in part of like a comic book, like aesthetic that actually played it really well.
00:55:55.62
Brian Penn
and
00:55:57.93
Brian Penn
yeah
00:56:00.61
Chris Olson
And as you said, they've got good comedy in the film. I don't think it all works. I'll be honest. There's scenes where you go, okay, yep. That's probably the best you could do.
00:56:09.52
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:56:10.45
Chris Olson
Like moving on. Like that's absolutely fine.
00:56:11.60
Brian Penn
It's timeless, isn't it, in places?
00:56:13.02
Chris Olson
um Some of the musical numbers were pretty funny. um
00:56:15.57
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:56:17.47
Chris Olson
What I think, like first off if you're making this sort of film is you know that you've got limitations you know that it's not going to work like on every level and they were having a lot of fun with that like there was like these punching sounds at one point where they did the old like from like the it was like uh i love it um it's got this kind of wacky appeal that i think is where you're going to find an audience for a film like this and often you do get these kind of
00:56:30.75
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
00:56:41.57
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:56:43.44
Chris Olson
uh raw indie movies that have just got something about them got a charm i guess it's a charm that brings you to them i absolutely think it needs refining a lot of refining if you're going to try and present this in any shape or form to like like a netflix audience yeah this is never going to make it's going to make the cut but i think it's got the the grounds of something to go okay right
00:56:48.00
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah. Oh,
00:56:58.55
Brian Penn
he's got, yeah.
00:57:02.03
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:57:05.94
Chris Olson
yeah where do we build from here? And there's lots of great things. One of it being the fact that it didn't try and stretch itself too much because you could easily, oh, they've gone on and on for like two hours thinking they're really funny.
00:57:16.04
Chris Olson
said No, no, they kept it sure as short as they could.
00:57:16.64
Brian Penn
Hmm. Hmm. Hmm.
00:57:18.98
Chris Olson
im They've got those special effects that are really fun. they are They're bringing a level of imagination and creativity to the piece, which otherwise it could have been very stale just watching these guys in their school film something.
00:57:30.83
Chris Olson
So they tried to make it kind of more cinematic with the tools that they've clearly got. um one thing I think is you need a more clearly defined story. The story was quite like, okay, um is is that what we're doing?
00:57:44.21
Chris Olson
like Is that it? Okay, fine. It didn't feel like it was a big story that needed to be told.
00:57:46.65
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:57:48.73
Chris Olson
It felt like something that maybe they were having fun with.
00:57:48.88
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:57:51.77
Chris Olson
It also felt like... they were paying homage to things that they liked. yeah Maybe they liked that sort of background story because it's set in like a ninja academy.
00:57:59.21
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:58:00.74
Chris Olson
um And as the yeah the sort title suggests, it's got that yeah ah martial arts, maybe background and things like that. But i don't I didn't find the story all that compelling.
00:58:07.68
Brian Penn
yeah
00:58:11.71
Chris Olson
But what I did love was the characters. I thought they were cheeky. They were comedic. They had this great on-screen appeal. And I would have really happily seen them in another type of high school scenario where it's going to be really funny as opposed to this kind of fantasy-based story, which for me, i i think they needed a lot more to bring that to life.
00:58:24.17
Brian Penn
yeah
00:58:32.07
Brian Penn
yeah yeah I think so look what they've got there is raw material haven't they really that has potential they can go somewhere with it and I think they've got a talented class there as well and when and they was obviously having a ball weren't they really
00:58:36.90
Chris Olson
Yeah.
00:58:46.52
Brian Penn
And when you see ah film like that, and you can tell they're enjoying it they're having fun with it, you kind of enjoy it as well.
00:58:46.67
Chris Olson
Yeah.
00:58:52.83
Brian Penn
You get swept along with it because so it's very easy for people involved in a production like that just to go through the motions where they're literally just dragging people in from a classroom, you know, do you want to be in a film kind of thing, you know.
00:59:07.47
Brian Penn
um
00:59:07.65
Chris Olson
Yeah.
00:59:08.58
Brian Penn
But you didn't get that vibe because like they were all up for it. They were all enthusiastic. They were enjoying the experience. And for a school project, for a college project, then it it works really well.
00:59:22.46
Brian Penn
They've got something to work with, which is which is the aim, isn't it? It's to hone their skills, to cut their teeth.
00:59:30.51
Chris Olson
Yeah, and the filmmaker, even when they submitted it, they were very clear. They want to get honest feedback and yeah hopefully we're not being too cruel. I don't think we are, but i was I'm always surprised.
00:59:37.50
Brian Penn
not No.
00:59:38.86
Chris Olson
We've had a few issues in the past where we've said things and upset people. And and i don't mean to do that at all.
00:59:43.00
Brian Penn
Well, yeah.
00:59:44.36
Chris Olson
There were definitely strengths here.
00:59:44.58
Brian Penn
No. No, that's
00:59:45.68
Chris Olson
There were things that I did thoroughly enjoy, as you said, went in with a bit of this sort of foreboding feeling of...
00:59:50.88
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:59:51.50
Chris Olson
okay, what are we in for? And actually, there were bits that made me chuckle. There are bits that I found visually really fun.
00:59:54.67
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:59:57.11
Chris Olson
And I definitely think there's room for improvement. But I think it's one of those films where if you're on board for the chaos, if you like the vibe here, there's so much fun to have.
00:59:59.55
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:00:06.82
Chris Olson
You just need to be in a bit of a forgiving mood, I think, about...
01:00:09.55
Brian Penn
That's right.
01:00:10.23
Chris Olson
you know the technical things know there's sound issues there are things like that and don't get me wrong these aren't you experienced actors that are going to be able to completely lift you away but it is actually ah lot of fun um it's on uh instagram again i i must i need to get shares in instagram i'm just promoting them all the time that's all i'm doing
01:00:12.57
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:00:16.19
Brian Penn
No. No.
01:00:21.22
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:00:31.65
Chris Olson
um
01:00:31.69
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:00:32.68
Chris Olson
yeah at tale of kawoosi to movie all one word um again we've probably tagged them so go to our posts and you'll be able to find them probably a bit easier than what i said also go to the website and read patrick's review because he you he also enjoyed it but he had some critical feedback as well and absolutely hats off to them i wish them all the best i i feel really happy that i've seen it and
01:00:39.48
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:00:52.62
Brian Penn
yeah Yeah.
01:00:57.06
Chris Olson
Honestly, if they said, oh, we've got another one, would you want watch it? Yeah, bring it on.
01:00:59.64
Brian Penn
Yeah. im sure yeah definitely um
01:01:00.11
Chris Olson
Yeah. i But maybe just bring me a bit more story. That's what I want next to More story.
01:01:04.49
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:01:05.83
Chris Olson
But bring the fun as well.
01:01:06.06
Brian Penn
yeah
01:01:06.99
Chris Olson
The fun and the chaos was great.
01:01:08.48
Brian Penn
Just, just beef the story up a bit. That'll do us.
01:01:11.46
Chris Olson
um Hey, Brian, put a sock in it.
01:01:13.10
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:01:14.19
Chris Olson
Do you know where that phrase comes from?
01:01:16.62
Brian Penn
Yeah. I, I know this. Where have I heard it? Um,
01:01:19.91
Chris Olson
Well, in the next documentary that we're going to review.
01:01:22.18
Brian Penn
Oh, that's where I've heard it Yeah.
01:01:22.55
Chris Olson
Yeah. yeah um The Music We Call Country, and which is a documentary all about the um country scene in ah Bristol, but not Bristol in the UK, Bristol in the US.
01:01:36.82
Chris Olson
And we have a clip from said documentary, which i'm going to play right now.
01:02:43.58
Chris Olson
So a clip there from the music we call country and yeah, the put a sock in it thing just came up in this film and I'd never known what it came from, which is where they had, they used to have the big horns attached to like the gramophones and things like that.
01:02:44.48
Brian Penn
um
01:02:50.29
Brian Penn
Yeah, did. No, i never did. Yeah.
01:02:56.65
Chris Olson
And people would put a sock into the horn to stop it being so loud because it just, you couldn't control the volume. And honestly, I feel so much better for knowing what that is about. Um,
01:03:06.89
Brian Penn
ah Yeah. Yeah.
01:03:07.86
Chris Olson
So it's great yeah when a documentary can really...
01:03:09.48
Brian Penn
yeah
01:03:09.62
Chris Olson
yeah But there's so much more to this documentary, written and directed by Greg Gross.
01:03:11.98
Brian Penn
right yeah
01:03:14.34
Chris Olson
And as you heard in that clip, and that is very much the tone and and vibe of this whole piece is very much like a giving you this exploration of country music origins and not just within ah Bristol in America.
01:03:25.09
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:03:32.18
Chris Olson
It's actually yeah looking at America almost as a whole and how people yeah going back further and how music, musical instruments but were sort of being brought into the society there and culture.
01:03:37.98
Brian Penn
Yeah. Mm. Mm.
01:03:43.97
Chris Olson
um But then, yeah, then it does start to look much at the sort of bedrock of, recording artists and the technological advancements that came with that and how that tied in with the groups that were in this place that and there's still so much artistic communities going on in in this place what did you think of this bro
01:03:50.45
Brian Penn
Mm.
01:03:53.87
Brian Penn
on
01:04:04.43
Brian Penn
I really liked it a lot I love music documentaries I love documentaries I love documentaries about Americana about
01:04:07.77
Chris Olson
me too
01:04:14.76
Brian Penn
you pop music in general I mean it's ah it tells me things that I vaguely knew but I wasn't really aware of you know insofar that the home of the country music is Bristol, Tennessee that was where Jimmy Rogers and the Carter family first recorded and it It makes a good point because um they said at the beginning, they said, look, jazz is New Orleans, blues is Memphis, Detroit is R&B, and Bristol, Tennessee is country music, not Nashville.
01:04:45.67
Brian Penn
And I still fall into that trap of thinking that the home country music is Nashville, and it is. It's the recording capital of country music, but it all began in Bristol, Tennessee. And I love the way that brings it, makes it more obvious, I think,
01:04:59.96
Brian Penn
Because you know when you know something vaguely in the back of your mind? um And you think, ah, right, it all makes sense. Even putting a sock in it with a gramophone, you think, right, I never knew that. So it teaches you something new.
01:05:13.45
Brian Penn
And also, the the background that fills in about the Victor Talking Machine Company and the producer, Ralph Peer, and how influential ah the record company was in popularizing country music.
01:05:26.63
Brian Penn
And ju are you a country music fan, Chris?
01:05:29.14
Chris Olson
Yeah, it's definitely in my wheelhouse.
01:05:31.27
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:05:31.30
Chris Olson
I'm a guitarist there myself anyway, and yeah you can't escape the importance of this, or a lot of these artists that were here.
01:05:33.11
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:05:39.48
Chris Olson
um
01:05:39.73
Brian Penn
Hmm.
01:05:40.55
Chris Olson
They mention a few bigger ones, you know people like Elvis and things sort of briefly get mentioned, but not, I think this is going far more into a more
01:05:43.45
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:05:48.18
Chris Olson
lesser known side of things.
01:05:49.19
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:05:49.66
Chris Olson
And they talk a lot about the Bristol sessions and all the sort of famous music that came out of that.
01:05:52.42
Brian Penn
Hmm.
01:05:55.47
Chris Olson
And I found it absolutely thrilling. I, I, for me, as you I'm just like you, I love a music documentary and often,
01:05:58.16
Brian Penn
Hmm.
01:06:01.61
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:06:04.37
Chris Olson
yeah you you're drawn to ones of artists that you particularly like because you just want to have more in in their time. But actually, it's great watching something like this where you go which I wouldn't have necessarily chosen to watch this specific era, but I'm very happy to.
01:06:14.39
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:06:15.33
Chris Olson
I'm so glad I did.
01:06:16.42
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:06:16.63
Chris Olson
Because like you said, it was that mixture of what was happening at the time with these field recordings in that they needed more artists to sell their music machines and like how that then tied in with the artistic proliferation of these bands that came out of the era or groups.
01:06:26.92
Brian Penn
yeah yeah
01:06:32.47
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:06:33.67
Chris Olson
um and also how important that was because previously one of the things that they said was about lot of things were lost to time because these bands and these groups were just sort of in their areas and people in the area knew them, but that was it.
01:06:46.62
Chris Olson
And actually something where they could be recorded meant that it could then expand out to everyone.
01:06:46.63
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:06:52.54
Chris Olson
You know, they they're talking about sales of like half a million copies and things.
01:06:55.86
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:06:56.28
Chris Olson
I was like, gosh, I wish I could sell that many copies.
01:06:56.89
Brian Penn
I know. Yeah.
01:06:58.52
Chris Olson
That'd be amazing.
01:06:59.69
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:06:59.92
Chris Olson
but, But yeah, and and also was really endearing when you're talking about the way that they had to record. it Often it was like just like one microphone that was like probably the most state-of-the-art thing they had.
01:07:08.94
Brian Penn
and Yeah, I know.
01:07:11.61
Chris Olson
And you had to have the loudest musicians at the back recording because it would just pick up too much of noise. So there was this like famous thing about Louis Armstrong having to be in the hall because he's just so loud.
01:07:22.78
Brian Penn
Yeah, I know.
01:07:23.29
Chris Olson
um i think that's great. But yeah.
01:07:25.11
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:07:26.00
Chris Olson
Yeah, I think it's one of those films that if you're a film... Sorry, if you're a music fan, you're going to love it. If you're a um ah documentary fan, you're going to love it.
01:07:35.04
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:07:35.22
Chris Olson
It's brilliantly put together. Loads of great music.
01:07:36.79
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:07:37.66
Chris Olson
I felt... One thing I did find about it, wanted more music. And I think because of the era that they're talking about, there's not as much visual ah footage from that era.
01:07:43.49
Brian Penn
Hmm.
01:07:47.94
Brian Penn
No, I got...
01:07:48.21
Chris Olson
Obviously, they're talking very much about the audio, the birth of the audio recording.
01:07:49.08
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
01:07:52.17
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:07:52.91
Chris Olson
um
01:07:53.11
Brian Penn
Yeah,
01:07:53.52
Chris Olson
That you're like, well... They obviously clearly don't have video footage from this time. and I think that is where the film as a piece does get let down slightly because ah we as an audience, we want to see the bands play as well as hear them.
01:07:57.71
Brian Penn
course.
01:08:03.50
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
01:08:06.09
Chris Olson
We want to see the footage of them playing and they just don't have that.
01:08:07.10
Brian Penn
Yeah. course yeah
01:08:09.26
Chris Olson
A lot of it is talking heads.
01:08:09.89
Brian Penn
and
01:08:10.86
Chris Olson
It's obviously experts and things like that.
01:08:11.10
Brian Penn
yeah yeah
01:08:13.01
Chris Olson
And the music's there. But think that was one element that was lacking was that visual side of things.
01:08:16.44
Brian Penn
Yeah. I think, yeah, you are limited because we're talking about the 1920s. So you've got less archive footage. But, you know, 10 years later, you would have had so much more you could draw on.
01:08:28.49
Brian Penn
You know, if you wanted to tell equivalent story about jazz, you could do it much more easily because you would have footage of Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington and Count Basie and all these people, right?
01:08:41.49
Brian Penn
But because it's the very origins of country music, the 1920s. It probably goes back earlier than that, but that's their starting point. And it is difficult because you can tell a story much better when you've got film, archive footage, when you you've got the recordings there, but you haven't got that additional visual to bring it away.
01:09:00.35
Brian Penn
But one thing that really came through really clear to me was how influential country music is on other genres, that there is a crossover between blues and folk and r and b And all the influencers are there, aren't they, really? And you can see the impact that they had.
01:09:19.34
Brian Penn
But it's not quite as obvious. But this documentary makes it more obvious. So it's it's very educational in that way.
01:09:27.76
Chris Olson
Yeah, I definitely think that's the phrase. It's ah it's an educational piece and there's there's bits in it that are very um entertaining.
01:09:35.25
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:09:35.35
Chris Olson
I think where they didn't... that it Because I think what they're trying to do is they bring a lot of attention to the this town that people hadn't really heard of. As you said, everyone associates Nashville with being the home.
01:09:44.31
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:09:47.89
Chris Olson
And I think they wanted to sort of change that. So that's why this story encapsulates this period because it is so yeah and important.
01:09:56.20
Brian Penn
yeah.
01:09:56.83
Chris Olson
But I think a simple... won't say simple, but a different way to have approached it would have been, okay, yes, these songs from this era, and they're talking about how influential ah they are and how important they are. It's like, have someone modern play them.
01:10:09.57
Chris Olson
yeah Maybe they're playing them on stage and modern on this.
01:10:11.29
Brian Penn
but yeah
01:10:12.22
Chris Olson
And that would have just given it that visual element of being able to tie the two together because otherwise it is often, it's like they've got photographs and they've got talking heads and they've got the music playing in the background.
01:10:14.38
Brian Penn
yeah yeah
01:10:22.33
Chris Olson
I just think it was just missing that rock because you do you see that a lot of bands, like they'll do like,
01:10:22.32
Brian Penn
yeah that yeah yeah yeah I think that's a good point you can temporise it don't you if you if you have modern recording artists I mean
01:10:27.41
Chris Olson
talking about the Beatles or something and they'll have someone who was in the recording studio yeah do the song so that they can kind of put just give it a little bit of life that's all I think yeah
01:10:44.59
Brian Penn
if they got somebody like, I don't know, it would just say Bonnie Raitt or Shania Twain or someone, ah ah a modern ah country recording artist who's helping to interpret the songs.
01:10:59.36
Chris Olson
Yeah.
01:11:00.47
Brian Penn
um So somebody you know, you you give it more relevance, don't you? And then they can talk about how influential they were.
01:11:04.50
Chris Olson
yeah
01:11:07.35
Brian Penn
i mean, the Carters, a very influential family in country music because they were there at the beginning. And they I think Carleen Carter. In fact, they could have got someone like Carleen Carter, who was, I think, the third generation ah granddaughter, great-granddaughter, perhaps. i not sure.
01:11:24.79
Brian Penn
But yeah, you're right. So they that would have been one way of doing it. But you know even so, it's still good good stuff.
01:11:32.95
Chris Olson
I mean, there's also there's always going to be logistic issues with that. It could be rights issues. It could be loads of things so as to why they didn't do that.
01:11:36.88
Brian Penn
Yeah, cool. Yeah, cool.
01:11:39.21
Chris Olson
and I'm just saying it from a an audience perspective. There will be things about it.
01:11:42.52
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:11:43.91
Chris Olson
That being said, I absolutely never felt bored once in this film.
01:11:48.12
Brian Penn
ay
01:11:48.31
Chris Olson
I was watching the whole thing. I watched it all in one go because I just was so like interested in it.
01:11:52.34
Brian Penn
yeah um Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:11:52.82
Chris Olson
was talking to my mum about it later on, on on the phone. um She's a big music fan. And I think that you've got so much there. And in um Patrick's review, he talks about this, the way that the film is so confident about what it's talking about.
01:12:06.41
Chris Olson
It doesn't feel the need to draw on loads of like bigger names and and trying to sort of
01:12:06.60
Brian Penn
Hmm.
01:12:10.71
Chris Olson
give you more modern examples because it just actually says you know we're really proud of this this period and and what happened here and a lot of people won't know about this and that's what's so crucial they only sort of briefly mention people like Elvis and Bob Dylan and people like that and it's more about actually these artists that maybe you didn't know so much about especially us being in the UK like yeah we we certainly wouldn't be as exposed to these these these artists um the film itself is available on Prime Video so you can actually watch it and the Music We Call Country
01:12:11.02
Brian Penn
Hmm.
01:12:14.94
Brian Penn
Hmm.
01:12:22.21
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:12:28.31
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:12:31.02
Brian Penn
No, not so. Yeah.
01:12:40.09
Chris Olson
And if you go to our review of the film on our website, you can watch the trailer. So maybe you want to do that just to sort of see...
01:12:45.97
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:12:46.91
Chris Olson
if it is sort of thing you want to watch. And if you do watch it, let us know.
01:12:48.82
Brian Penn
Mm-hmm.
01:12:50.00
Chris Olson
Let us know what you think, because it's always lovely to hear the feedback.
01:12:51.22
Brian Penn
Mm.
01:12:54.61
Chris Olson
Those are the indie films for this episode. We're going to move to our nostalgia pick now, which is where I should normally inject some harps or something. You know, when they go... little little little little um to go back in time.
01:13:03.89
Brian Penn
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:13:07.52
Chris Olson
Because we're going back 25 years ah to a film by Danny Boyle called The Beach.
01:13:07.66
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:13:13.04
Chris Olson
And if you've not... seen the beach. um You've probably seen it referenced in a lot of pop culture.
01:13:16.27
Brian Penn
Hmm.
01:13:18.33
Chris Olson
There are bits from this film that have become quite sort of popular and in the cinematic world.
01:13:20.75
Brian Penn
Hmm.
01:13:23.87
Chris Olson
um The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as this go jetting a traveler called Richard who is desperate for thrill in his otherwise mundane existence he goes traveling to Thailand and seems to be seeking thrills wherever he can find them whether that's drinking snake blood or living in a particularly roach infested place
01:13:37.80
Brian Penn
Hmm.
01:13:46.27
Brian Penn
Hmm.
01:13:48.95
Brian Penn
Hmm.
01:13:50.47
Chris Olson
um in which he comes across a character called Daffy, brilliantly played by Robert Carlyle, who tells him of this incredible beach, something off the beaten path. You can't find it really. It's very difficult to get to, but when you're there, it is absolute paradise.
01:14:05.21
Chris Olson
And he's only left because he is sadly very, very ill. And
01:14:08.74
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:14:09.99
Chris Olson
Along with a pair of French travellers, Francois and Etienne, Richard travels to the beach where they do find this paradise beach, and but there are lots of other things there. There's a community there growing, led by Sal, the always brilliant Tilda Swinton, ah who...
01:14:29.87
Chris Olson
Leads this, well, I guess you call them like a commune, really. they kind of you They're living together, they're self-sustaining for the most part, um and they are trying to create this community on this island.
01:14:32.85
Brian Penn
yeah
01:14:41.42
Chris Olson
On the other side of the island is ah bunch of drug-dealing farmers.
01:14:46.13
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:14:46.30
Chris Olson
ah who who walk around with their machine guns and there is this very uneasy balance between the two sides.
01:14:46.77
Brian Penn
What?
01:14:53.48
Chris Olson
But at the moment, everything's fine. But with Richard's arrival and with what happens, is he going to upset the apricot? You bet he does.
01:15:00.18
Brian Penn
Hmm.
01:15:01.31
Chris Olson
um
01:15:01.50
Brian Penn
but
01:15:02.10
Chris Olson
And how long can they keep this paradise intact? Now, we reviewed this because Danny Boyle released a new film and it's always good to go back. And I actually remember watching this a lot when i was younger.
01:15:12.51
Chris Olson
Is this one of those films, Brian, where I've made you go back and watch something you hadn't really watched? Or have you seen this a few times?
01:15:16.40
Brian Penn
Yeah. No, no, no. I've not seen this since since it came out. And ah I was probably more impressed now than I was back then.
01:15:21.56
Chris Olson
Ah. Really?
01:15:27.55
Chris Olson
Really?
01:15:27.72
Brian Penn
ah It's the sort of film that's grown on me. Very stylish. Very beautifully shot. all right It'd be difficult to go wrong when you're shooting in somewhere like Thailand and the surrounding regions, right?
01:15:36.68
Chris Olson
Yeah.
01:15:39.12
Brian Penn
But even so, you still need a good eye so to capture these shots and get them looking the way they should. ah Very atmospheric, great soundtrack.
01:15:50.19
Brian Penn
um And I think, I don't know, but it um we've we've all got standout scenes from this particular film that we can recall very quickly, but the standout scenes for me remind me of scenes from classic movies. Now, I don't whether I'm dreaming it, because when I was watching it, you know this scene um when they're at the top of the waterfall and ah Richard's there with Francois and who is it, Etienne, yeah, and they're sort of wondering whether they should jump or not.
01:16:21.18
Brian Penn
That reminded me of Butch Cassidy in the Sundance Club when they're at the top of it ah cliff and they're kind of goading each other and saying, shall we jump, shall we not? And I don't know.
01:16:29.73
Chris Olson
Yeah, could be right, actually.
01:16:31.25
Brian Penn
I don't know whether I'm just drawing that comparison there. Whether that was deliberate on Danny Boyle's part or accidental, I don't know. It's a scene that might might have been made many times before.
01:16:42.74
Brian Penn
And when Sal was... involved in that conversation with the um but drug farmer. And he hands her a gun with one bullet and he he spins the ah chamber.
01:16:54.28
Brian Penn
And she points it at Richard. um That reminded me a little bit the deer hunt, so I don't know why.
01:16:58.75
Chris Olson
ah like I knew you were to say deer hunt because that's classic, right? Yeah, that whole...
01:17:01.33
Brian Penn
Yeah. ah I mean, um I might sort of over-imagining that, but it it just seems very similar. There's nothing wrong with borrowing scenes from classic movies. It's been done for ah hundred years. You know, they borrow ideas from each other, but It gives it more of an edge where they can, it's like a homage to another great film that we're putting it into a new set of circumstances.
01:17:22.84
Brian Penn
But it reminds me that but it is a much better film than I thought it was to start with when I first saw it. Now, I don't know why it's done that. I don't know why I've not seen it since then because it is the sort of film that's very easy to watch.
01:17:37.88
Brian Penn
um But not necessarily, its i mean, it's on, Disney, isn't it? But um it might not be easy to find for some people, but a really good film. Very, very good film.
01:17:50.69
Chris Olson
Well, I put it out on our socials to see what people thought of. And we got some really nice comments back.
01:17:53.35
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:17:54.81
Chris Olson
ah Lily on our TikTok channel, her handle is DiCaprioLover911.
01:17:58.46
Brian Penn
Hmm.
01:18:02.61
Chris Olson
So you can see how Lily may have found us.
01:18:03.04
Brian Penn
Oh, okay. Yeah, fair enough, yeah.
01:18:05.40
Chris Olson
um I love it so much. One of my favourite Danny Boyle movies. I think it's heavily underrated.
01:18:11.48
Brian Penn
Yeah, it is.
01:18:11.56
Chris Olson
um
01:18:12.32
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:18:12.87
Chris Olson
Frank also commented on our TikTok, FrankB2012, underrated. Again, he uses the same phrase. um But really didn't like the video game bit. and We know which bit he's referring to.
01:18:23.49
Brian Penn
Oh right, okay, yeah.
01:18:24.68
Chris Olson
um i but This is, again, probably similar to what you said. When I watched it originally, I remember thinking, oh, that was a bit weird.
01:18:29.04
Brian Penn
Hmm.
01:18:32.10
Chris Olson
Where's that come from?
01:18:32.52
Brian Penn
Hmm.
01:18:33.48
Chris Olson
But when I watched it through a 2025 lens, I actually thought, that that fits in absolutely fine. i didn't I didn't feel the jerk that I did when I watched it originally because I think it's all to do with, obviously, his mental state and how he's yeah absolutely fallen to pieces.
01:18:38.19
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:18:40.93
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:18:44.99
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:18:47.25
Chris Olson
um I didn't mind it as much. Yeah, I think it stood out at the time because it was a bit of ah a weird...
01:18:51.85
Brian Penn
yeah
01:18:52.27
Chris Olson
And if I'm right, i I might be wrong, but I think Danny Boyle has is suggested he he wasn't as happy with this film, um with everything. yeah when he When he got some distance away from it, i think things went wrong.
01:19:03.47
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:19:03.63
Chris Olson
I think it was a particularly hard shoot or something.
01:19:05.83
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:19:05.97
Chris Olson
But I think it actually stands up very well. I think it's a great thriller.
01:19:08.68
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:19:09.99
Chris Olson
It's got a lot of... them yeah mixture of themes going on because it of starts as this adventure film then it turns into like a thriller but with romance elements because he's so he's he's falling for the the French lady but then if it turns into this sort psychological horror by the end yeah there's a lot of twisted things that sort of start to happen and as he sort of unravels and I think that blend is handled brilliantly I think the film does really well to bring those elements together
01:19:22.78
Brian Penn
yeah yeah
01:19:28.88
Brian Penn
yeah yeah
01:19:37.60
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:19:41.19
Brian Penn
Yeah. No, I think it does. I mean, and it's not easy to do when you're trying to bring together the desperate elements of of approaches to making a film.
01:19:48.74
Chris Olson
Hmm. Hmm.
01:19:51.56
Brian Penn
And yeah, it has done that, done that really well. And I think, having seen it
