F1 - Jurassic World Rebirth - Superman - UK Film Club Ep 29

00:00:00.00
Chris Olson
on a bit earlier no ive it's the summer holidays I think the yeah the kids are tired they think well let's go to bed and I'm like okay fine go for it yeah finally it's cooling down a little bit though finally

00:00:00.98
Brian Penn
That's alright, you caught me unawares there, wasn't ready for that. We're not in a way this early. Very...

00:00:08.56
Brian Penn
Ah, right.

00:00:11.58
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:00:14.16
Brian Penn
Yeah, see the hot weather's worn them out bit, hasn't it, eh? Well, it's just as well we don't live in Turkey, isn't it? I mean, I heard they recorded a temperature of 50 Celsius. 50 Celsius.

00:00:26.54
Brian Penn
fifty sosers

00:00:26.75
Chris Olson
it's just too much that's just too much

00:00:29.26
Brian Penn
That's about 123 Fahrenheit. That is crazy, isn't it?

00:00:32.86
Chris Olson
yeah

00:00:34.58
Brian Penn
Makes you glad we're living in such a damp, usually damp, mild climate, doesn't it, eh?

00:00:39.93
Chris Olson
It does. It puts us all in a bad mood, but we're not hot.

00:00:42.73
Brian Penn
um no Yeah, I know. We're not wired that way. We're not wired for those sort of temperatures. um You know, i'm nice sunny weather, warm weather, her fine. Bit of a breeze. You know, that's all right. The only the only weather extremes of weather I really dislike, though, is snow. Snow's the worst.

00:00:59.96
Chris Olson
Yeah, snow's one of those things that I'm I love it in theory. And then when I see it, I get very quickly of awed by It's oh, wow, that's amazing. But then by day two, you're like, I'm done with this.

00:01:11.37
Chris Olson
Please get rid of it.

00:01:11.64
Brian Penn
and I know.

00:01:12.41
Chris Olson
Don't leave it around here with this slushy mess getting in the way.

00:01:13.42
Brian Penn
Yeah. know. Visually, it's lovely. It's lovely to look at but you try going out in it, then if it freezes open, and it gets icy. So I don't think we like extremes of weather, theyre do we, in Britain? Because we don't normally get it.

00:01:28.02
Brian Penn
But, you know, ah you got money if you want to paralyze this country, just lob a snowball at us. That works better than anything, really.

00:01:34.12
Chris Olson
But then if you've ah if you took away the weather, we'd have nothing to talk about.

00:01:38.10
Brian Penn
I know, exactly.

00:01:38.36
Chris Olson
Be honest. like We talk about movies all day long, but the weather really is what connects everyone.

00:01:39.76
Brian Penn
Yeah. I know. know. I know. It's a staple part of our conversation, isn't it? You know, people live in California never talk about the weather because it doesn't change out there.

00:01:52.00
Brian Penn
You know, but we we it's an art form to us, isn't it? Because it's so changeable.

00:01:57.90
Chris Olson
you know That's not really been done, has it? like We get lots of films about the...

00:02:00.21
Brian Penn
What's that?

00:02:02.31
Chris Olson
um crazy weather or like extremes, you know like flooding or hurricanes and that sort of stuff.

00:02:04.57
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:02:07.18
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

00:02:08.82
Chris Olson
But like, just have a film about the monotony of the British weather. Like just, and it's just that how it drives people mad and it's like, you know surrounds everyone's conversations.

00:02:17.26
Brian Penn
Yeah. well

00:02:19.44
Chris Olson
like I feel like that could be a good film.

00:02:21.39
Brian Penn
yeah Well, you know what would make a very good film? There is a play called Pressure, and it's about the the build-ups of the D-Day landings and the meteorologists that were arguing amongst themselves about the best time to go.

00:02:29.49
Chris Olson
right.

00:02:33.65
Brian Penn
right And I've seen the play on stage. It would make a brilliant film. Excellent film, because you've got the British meteorologist who understands British weather conditions, and the american East American counterparts He said, well, what's the problem? Let's go tomorrow or go the day after. And the British meteorologist is saying, you don't understand, do You've never sat on a British beach in your entire life. But it could be sunny one minute, then it could be driving rain and hailstones the next.

00:02:59.55
Brian Penn
So I think we have a great film that are waiting to be made, David. David, Chris, Jack, f Fred.

00:03:03.78
Chris Olson
Wait to be made the British weather.

00:03:06.36
Brian Penn
Sorry, it's been a long day.

00:03:09.12
Chris Olson
So, uh, anyone listening, if you'd like to see our film, uh, about British weather, do send us in your like suggestions for the name.

00:03:14.16
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:03:16.81
Chris Olson
I, cause I'm, I bet you there's some good puns out there. I can't think of any off the top of my head. um but I would, I would accept some of the very best.

00:03:21.42
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:03:24.04
Chris Olson
Um, and I'll read them out.

00:03:25.71
Brian Penn
We need a good title.

00:03:26.12
Chris Olson
Um, Yeah, it has to be good title.

00:03:27.23
Brian Penn
A good title.

00:03:28.37
Chris Olson
And if you want to cast the film as well, I'm open to that.

00:03:28.75
Brian Penn
Let's draw us down.

00:03:30.85
Chris Olson
I think there's you some... It has to be British actors. I'm sorry, i'm going to pull that card. The reason being is anything else is unacceptable when it comes to the British weather. Like Brian just you intimated, only we know it truly in depth.

00:03:39.94
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:03:42.68
Brian Penn
don't know. We get it. We get it, don't we?

00:03:44.75
Chris Olson
We get it.

00:03:45.12
Brian Penn
We understand. Yes.

00:03:46.72
Chris Olson
What we also get is movies, generally.

00:03:48.41
Brian Penn
Yes.

00:03:48.85
Chris Olson
And this is a UK Film Club. If this is your first time, welcome. And on our show, we review all types of movies. So we review some of the cinema currently. We review something from the indie yeah sorry the streaming platforms and also indie films that get sent to us.

00:04:05.72
Chris Olson
And we also finish up with what's called our Nostalgia Pick, which is a film from the past.

00:04:08.98
Brian Penn
Yeah,

00:04:11.43
Chris Olson
And I'm happy to say again, I've managed to do it where I've linked it to something in the cinema. So there we go.

00:04:16.46
Brian Penn
you have.

00:04:17.88
Chris Olson
i mean, it shouldn't really be that difficult, but yeah I find things challenging these days.

00:04:18.00
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:04:22.39
Chris Olson
um But we found an absolute classic and we won't go yeah we' spoil it just yet, but stay tuned for our nostalgia review.

00:04:22.52
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yes. yeah

00:04:29.48
Brian Penn
yes

00:04:30.26
Chris Olson
You're going to love it. um But first up, we so always start with the films at the cinema. And as it is this summer, ah you kids are off. It's time to hit the cinema. So we're hoping for some absolute you know smash hits here.

00:04:44.78
Chris Olson
um So Brian's going to take us through the selection that he's seen recently, starting with F1, the movie.

00:04:50.03
Brian Penn
um Oh, yes. F1 the movie. All right, let's bear with me a second. Oh, there we are. Right. Okay, then.

00:04:59.76
Chris Olson
That was not a speedy start. you know to to To bring on the whole like idea of Formula 1 and you kind of did a little full start there, it's brilliant.

00:05:01.37
Brian Penn
No, it wasn't. I know. I know. ah ah lost I lost my place for a second.

00:05:07.01
Chris Olson
You're

00:05:08.62
Brian Penn
Right, I'm back now. I'm back in the room.

00:05:09.98
Chris Olson
back.

00:05:10.99
Brian Penn
Right, okay. So directed by Joseph Kaczynski, starring Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, and Javier Bardem. Back in the 90s, Sonny Hayes was Formula One's most promising driver until a near-facial crash ended his career.

00:05:26.86
Brian Penn
Since then, he's underliving as a driver for hire. He dreams of the glory that eluded him and now struggles with the gambling habit. But salvation arrives in the shape of former teammate Ruben Cervantes, who now runs a struggling Formula One team.

00:05:41.49
Brian Penn
He convinces Sonny to rejoin the big time. Driving alongside him is hotshot British driver Joshua Pearce. But how will they cope as teammates? Now, this is a classic rookie and veteran storyline.

00:05:54.38
Brian Penn
You've got the older man who sees something of himself and the new kid on the block. It's everything you want want it to be. Exciting, adrenaline-filled, lots of action. It's co-produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, so you kind of know what you're getting. This is the man who brought us Top Gun, amongst many others.

00:06:11.41
Brian Penn
Lewis Hamilton is also a co-producer. So he adds a degree of authenticity, so it seems that much more real. And, you know, Brad Pitt still kicks it as a leading man, Chris.

00:06:23.60
Brian Penn
He's 61, 62, going on 62.

00:06:26.67
Chris Olson
Is he really? 62?

00:06:27.82
Brian Penn
Yeah, know.

00:06:28.23
Chris Olson
Wow.

00:06:29.10
Brian Penn
It'll be 62 in December, I checked earlier on.

00:06:29.17
Chris Olson
He

00:06:31.54
Brian Penn
And he's not looking bad on it, is he, really? Can you think about it?

00:06:33.44
Chris Olson
he never does. um i I consider myself a heterosexual, but he is always fabulous looking.

00:06:34.80
Brian Penn
yeah

00:06:39.85
Chris Olson
Always.

00:06:41.29
Brian Penn
ah You know, yeah you've got to hand it to him. I mean, in the storyline, his character can't be more than 50. You know, if he was an up-and-coming Formula One driver in the 90s, you wouldn't think he'd be more than 50 now. But, I mean, I suppose that could be where where the credibility of this story shakes a little bit, mumbles little bit, because he'd be 50 now. How many 50-year-olds do you get?

00:07:04.45
Brian Penn
in Formula One. I don't think you get that now. But, you know, that's a minor quibble. He still looks the part, Chris, and I think that is so difficult for a leading actor as they get older, where they don't necessarily play those roles and they move into more character-based roles.

00:07:20.01
Brian Penn
But he still does it. He still kicks it and it gives all of us hope, doesn't it, really? But, you know, nonetheless for that, you know, when you look at, when you think about summer blockbusters, great films at the movies during the summer, this is right out there.

00:07:34.98
Brian Penn
It's a very, very entertaining film. Visually, it's great. It's just so exciting to watch. um So, yeah, I like it. i like it a lot.

00:07:43.15
Chris Olson
I mean, racing films as a genre are synonymous with cinema spectacle.

00:07:49.10
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:07:49.36
Chris Olson
I think they're always, you don't have to go too much into detail before you realise, yeah, it's a film for the cinema because of you the absolute yeah adrenaline, the the editing, the sound.

00:07:55.71
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:07:59.34
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:08:00.54
Chris Olson
I remember seeing, always talk about this film, but right ah so Rush, I saw Rush

00:08:01.14
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:08:03.87
Brian Penn
Oh, Rush is great. Yeah, I love Rush.

00:08:05.06
Chris Olson
in the cinema, um I think it was in the Dolby cinema, and it was absolutely amazing, just the feel of that film. It was like a ah sensory overload.

00:08:12.80
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:08:13.00
Chris Olson
um But there's been some incredible yeah racing movies. talk about like Ford versus Ferrari, not that old.

00:08:18.80
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

00:08:19.52
Chris Olson
you've You also reviewed Ferrari not that long ago um on the pod.

00:08:22.41
Brian Penn
yeah but

00:08:24.06
Chris Olson
And it's it's a it's kind of like boxing.

00:08:24.67
Brian Penn
yeah

00:08:26.97
Chris Olson
like Boxing has got a load of really good films in that genre, and I think racing does too.

00:08:29.93
Brian Penn
yeah but

00:08:31.69
Chris Olson
Where does this sort of sit in that list?

00:08:32.14
Brian Penn
yeah

00:08:34.56
Brian Penn
I would put it fairly high up. You know, some people might look at this and say it's it's very sort kind of brash and loud and doesn't quite match something like Ferrari ah or Ford versus the thing with Christian Bowing.

00:08:53.37
Chris Olson
Yeah, Ford versus Ferrari, wasn't it?

00:08:54.60
Brian Penn
Ferrari, yeah, that's it.

00:08:54.69
Chris Olson
Yeah.

00:08:56.25
Brian Penn
ah that I mean, if you go back further than that, you could talk about Grand Prix as well with James Garner, which was a great film.

00:09:01.11
Chris Olson
Mm.

00:09:02.77
Brian Penn
That was back in the sixty But it I think it it's more towards the top than it is to the middle or the bottom ah of that pecking order, if you like. you know um So, yeah, i think I think it's good. It works. you know But motor racing lends itself very well to the big screen, doesn't it?

00:09:20.95
Chris Olson
Mm.

00:09:21.23
Brian Penn
You don't have to try very hard to make Formula One look sexy on screen because it just is. right You know, compare it to other sports. I mean, you mentioned boxing. that That's a natural subject for for movie makers.

00:09:34.28
Brian Penn
But you look at and ah another mass spectator sport like football, it doesn't work nearly as well. And it's not easy to explain why, but motor racing does have that kind of adrenaline feel, pump action feel to it.

00:09:48.28
Brian Penn
And you don't need to do a lot to it. You know, you can almost train a camera on onto a Formula One circuit and you've got it. It's there. You know, the drama's there already.

00:10:00.15
Brian Penn
And what they've done with this film is that they've, They've packed a familiar story around around the film itself. Something that you know, you get it, and it's master and it's sorcerer and apprentice, isn't it?

00:10:14.58
Brian Penn
You've got the the old hand with the young kid, you know, and how they how they may or may not work together. I'm going to give anything away because you've got to go and see the film to find out. But, um you know, really enjoyed it.

00:10:27.51
Brian Penn
It's really, really good fun. um

00:10:29.53
Chris Olson
there you go i mean yeah i mean anything like that um always brings people in think it's a good option for people this summer the sound of it um if you see f1 the movie do send us in your reviews or just put a comment on our social posts for this podcast it's always good to see what other people thought of it um

00:10:30.35
Brian Penn
yeah

00:10:34.76
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:10:45.12
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:10:48.35
Chris Olson
Yeah, no, it's one of those films I of would always try and look out for. i always find it funny with racing movies, though. There's always this one thing which they always do, or almost always do, which is they'll be going along, and then they're like, you whoever's their competitor will be coming up close behind them.

00:10:59.41
Brian Penn
Yeah, yeah. yeah

00:11:03.71
Chris Olson
And then they'll suddenly go, all right, well, now I'm going to put the foot down to the floor. And I'm like, why were you not driving with the foot to the floor before?

00:11:07.90
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:11:11.14
Brian Penn
yeah

00:11:11.38
Chris Olson
Like, what were you why were you sort of half-arsing

00:11:11.91
Brian Penn
Yeah. and

00:11:14.21
Chris Olson
Just dawdling.

00:11:14.28
Brian Penn
Yeah. So you're dawdling, aren't you? You're literally dawdling.

00:11:16.77
Chris Olson
Yeah.

00:11:17.13
Brian Penn
Now you put the pedals to the metal all of a sudden. Yeah, I know.

00:11:18.96
Chris Olson
yes and yeah i Yeah, I'm not, a ah maybe yeah maybe Lewis Hamilton would explain this to us because I don't know why, um but maybe it is a thing.

00:11:24.15
Brian Penn
Yeah. yeah

00:11:27.65
Chris Olson
But that feels like a cinema thing rather than a racing thing.

00:11:27.79
Brian Penn
Yeah. I think so. I think that's for for dramatic effects. And it is almost like a Artistic license, isn't it? It's just something like that they throw in to to give it to add to the tension.

00:11:41.37
Brian Penn
But you know you've got all these great machines whizzing around the track. And of course, you watch Formula One for real, or if you was at a Formula One circuit actually there, that's frustrating in itself because you just see a car whizz around, cars whizz around, that's it, they're gone. got to wait for come around again. that's Well, on screen, you know you can you can follow it all the way. um So, and also, of the three films that we're looking at on general release, it's that it's been out the longest out of the three, but it's still going great guns in the cinema.

00:12:10.96
Chris Olson
oh

00:12:11.90
Brian Penn
You know, which is good to see as well.

00:12:14.05
Chris Olson
Doing good business. It's put its foot to the floor. That's what it's done.

00:12:16.51
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:12:17.05
Chris Olson
yeah Look what I did there. I brought it back. How nice.

00:12:19.68
Brian Penn
I know.

00:12:21.00
Chris Olson
If only the whole show was that smooth.

00:12:21.52
Brian Penn
I know.

00:12:24.08
Chris Olson
um

00:12:24.21
Brian Penn
We try, it we try, don't we?

00:12:26.29
Chris Olson
Brian, it's meant today that we're reviewing three films, so we're going to move on to the second of the cinema releases. And I won't do the soundtrack, which I like to often do when I'm with friends, um because it is absolutely iconic. But I believe they took the soundtrack off this installment of the franchise. Brian be able to correct me on that.

00:12:44.63
Chris Olson
um But we're going to be looking at Jurassic World Rebirth next.

00:12:48.25
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah, they they you're right. They did too they did fiddle with with the ah with the soundtrack, but i don't think you necessarily notice it quite as much.

00:12:57.11
Chris Olson
Well, it's just I heard this might be absolute rubbish, but I heard that Spielberg wanted certain things removed from this film or or or wasn't happy for certain things to be included.

00:12:58.49
Brian Penn
Strangely. Yep.

00:13:06.43
Chris Olson
i don't know if that's true.

00:13:06.81
Brian Penn
yeah Yeah, I've heard this heard the same thing, but I think that's probably born out the fact he wants the film to stand by and sta on its own. You know, because even though Spielberg is executive producer, it's still got Spielberg's paw prints all over it you know yeah If you didn't know any different, you'd swear it was a Spielberg film or directed by Spielberg. So I think where that's coming from, I'm speculating here, but I think Spielberg's anxious for it to be to be ah not necessarily a Spielberg film.

00:13:37.35
Brian Penn
but a Gareth Edwards film who directed it. ah That's what I think is behind it. As I say, I'm speculating. But yeah, you're right. he what He was tinkering a little bit, um particularly when you know it's the latest installment in the franchise.

00:13:50.62
Brian Penn
um Perhaps they're trying to give it more of a standalone film, but there you are. um So it stars Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, and Rupert Friend.

00:14:04.82
Brian Penn
So as I just mentioned, this is the seventh installment of the Jurassic Park franchise. The story begins in 2009 on a dinosaur research lab on the island of St. Hubert in the Atlantic.

00:14:17.92
Brian Penn
The lab creates hybrid dinosaurs in a desperate bid to generate more interest. However, the creatures escape and the island is abandoned. 17 years later, pharmaceutical rep Martin Krebs recruits ex-soldier Zora Bennett.

00:14:32.53
Brian Penn
Their mission is to return to the island. and collect blood samples from the three largest surviving dinosaurs. They believe this holds the key to the written to the treatment of heart disease.

00:14:44.23
Brian Penn
This is great filmmaking, Chris.

00:14:46.75
Chris Olson
Ooh.

00:14:46.86
Brian Penn
Really is outstanding. They've reinvigorated the Jurassic brand, which I didn't think was possible. you know If you look back at the sequels that followed the first film, you kind of knew what to to expect, roughly, generally.

00:15:00.80
Brian Penn
This type of film relies on its ability to surprise the audience. And they managed to do that in spades. You know, at one point, sitting in my seat in my local multiplex, watching this film, I actually ducked in one scene.

00:15:16.68
Brian Penn
and like Oh no, look, look, look out. You know, literally, that's what I was doing. And it's not often a film does that to me, where I get that engrossed in it and that involved in it, that it made me duck. You know, I'm always shouting out, look out, careful.

00:15:31.57
Brian Penn
um But that's that's how good it I think it is. um And it's interesting because you look at the the subject matter, the storyline they're developing here is that, you know, they they were experimenting with crossbreeding with dinosaurs.

00:15:51.38
Brian Penn
And they came up with what effectively became a mutant that's on this island that nobody ever visited, but they've gone back for a reason to further medical science. And some of the things that are,

00:16:03.51
Brian Penn
i've kind of shifted into conventional horror in my opinion now um whereas before I never thought Jurassic Jurassic Park, Jurassic World was ever really a conventional horror movie not in that way but now I think it's done it it's it's kind of it's stepped into the horror genre as well as the adventure action genre um and it's brilliant it's really really good and it's got Scarlett Johansson in it Chris you know and any film Scarlett Johansson is alright by me

00:16:31.71
Chris Olson
Yeah, I mean, she's great. And i think it's interesting that she's gone back into a franchise yeah of the after all the Marvel stuff. um

00:16:38.70
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:16:39.93
Chris Olson
Whether or not she'll do more, I don't know. But I think this in particular, this franchise was reinvigorated when they did the Chris Pratt one.

00:16:49.70
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:16:49.81
Chris Olson
um But I think it started to show diminishing returns again.

00:16:52.45
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:16:52.95
Chris Olson
so it's interesting they of rebirth. They bring again. think...

00:16:56.25
Brian Penn
Well, yeah.

00:16:57.10
Chris Olson
and i think It does have a lot of longevity. It's something that a lot of people enjoy, um the idea of it anyway.

00:17:04.21
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:17:04.52
Chris Olson
And often the execution can be really cool. Like you your reaction to it, your visceral reaction in the cinema to it shows that there is something something primeval about it, obviously.

00:17:11.98
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:17:16.08
Chris Olson
But also the filmmakers know that they've got us in their palms. We go, all right, let's yeah give them something that's going to really...

00:17:23.26
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:17:23.55
Chris Olson
g him up um finally so it's when you mentioned about the fact that you reacted in the cinema you said something out loud reminded me of the funny time um we went as a family as me my brother my mom and dad to watch the dark night uh at the cinema so we're going back quite a few years ago my mom is notorious for doing two things in films one falling asleep and two saying things out loud because she just doesn't really have like much of a filter so something happened in the film i think it's when um

00:17:27.59
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:17:35.82
Brian Penn
Alright, okay. Yeah. Yeah.

00:17:45.49
Brian Penn
but yeah.

00:17:51.74
Chris Olson
ah the yeah the Joker sets fire to all the money. i think that there's a scene where he sets fire to all the money. And my mum just out loud just went, oh, they won't like that.

00:18:02.66
Brian Penn
I

00:18:02.70
Chris Olson
Just burst out. It was like, no one laughed either. Everyone just was like, oh my God, she's mad.

00:18:06.08
Brian Penn
don't know.

00:18:07.14
Chris Olson
Like, what why is she saying this?

00:18:07.68
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:18:08.96
Chris Olson
But yeah, was just wondering, you know, with you reacting to all these dinosaurs, whether you was there any reaction to you or was everyone else doing it as well?

00:18:09.08
Brian Penn
Well,

00:18:13.20
Brian Penn
yeah. Well, yeah. home not Yeah, I think other people were as well. yeah you wouldn't necessarily say there was this huge roar that went up, but I did hear other reactions as well.

00:18:24.67
Brian Penn
I don't know whether anyone noticed what I was saying or what I was doing, but I think it was quite quite busy. you know i'd i'd say it was the auditorium was maybe 90% full.

00:18:35.83
Brian Penn
you know It was quite pretty full up.

00:18:37.81
Chris Olson
Good business, we call it. Doing good business. That's we like.

00:18:39.85
Brian Penn
Oh, yeah, absolutely. absolutely Yeah, and I can believe that as well, and it deserves to. These are the sort of films that bring us out of the bring us out of our holes, Chris, bring us out of our homes and take us into the cinema.

00:18:51.41
Brian Penn
This is what you want to see. You want to see that something that's different. You want the wow factor. So, you know, deeply impressed by it all. and to so

00:18:59.67
Chris Olson
Deep impressed.

00:19:01.36
Brian Penn
But to call it, and to subtitle it Rebirth, it's really appropriate because the storyline is about rebirth. but it so But it's also about rebranding, resetting the brand. Because, you know...

00:19:14.33
Brian Penn
what The great thing about a franchise is that you can serve up the same or similar entertainment knowing it's still going to sell, right? But you've also got that challenge of making it fresh and new because it's easy to fall into a trap of just doing the same thing, you know, over and over again. And you know it works. We know it works.

00:19:34.19
Brian Penn
You give people what they want. But you also challenge people as well because you're giving them something slightly different. And know as I said earlier on, I think it's very difficult. to be that original when you've got a franchise because it's too safe to keep to a formula but as I say when you see it and you see what they've done and you see how they've refined and developed the st structurets the traditional structure of Jurassic Park and Jurassic World they've done something really really clever with it and I like ah really like that yeah

00:20:03.94
Chris Olson
Well, we're on to some winners already. and And I've got good feelings about this ah this third one as well, because it's doing interesting business.

00:20:11.44
Brian Penn
yeah

00:20:11.58
Chris Olson
um A new iteration of Superman, directed by James Gunn. on, Brian. Tell us.

00:20:17.13
Brian Penn
ah can Okay then. So it stars David Curran Sweat, ah Rachel Brosnahan and Nicholas Holt. So the storyline. We begin with the premise that Superman is the most loved and powerful superhero on Earth.

00:20:31.21
Brian Penn
However, his popularity is in jeopardy following his mission to stop the nation of Baravia invading Jahangpur and warns Baravian president Vasil Gokos to leave Yohangor alone.

00:20:47.02
Brian Penn
um

00:20:47.93
Chris Olson
You're doing well, Brian. Keep going. These names are absolutely kicking your in the bat, aren't they?

00:20:49.33
Brian Penn
know, I know, this is, I know, knew I was going to struggle with all of this. Why don't they give us simple titles that we can remember?

00:20:58.38
Chris Olson
Just change them.

00:20:58.76
Brian Penn
Anyway, I know, I know, no one's going to notice, yeah.

00:20:59.06
Chris Olson
I won't know. Just go, it's Bob and Fred.

00:21:02.68
Brian Penn
After losing a battle for the first time, Superman is saved by Krypto the Superdog. He later seeks refuge in his fortress of solitude in Antarctica. Solar radiation is used to heal him.

00:21:13.61
Brian Penn
However, billionaire Lex Luthor is waiting in the wings and launches a monster on Metropolis as a distraction. But can Superman rise to the challenge? It's a thoroughly enjoyable film.

00:21:27.02
Brian Penn
As you'd expect, the visuals are stunning. The set pieces are amazing. I think it's difficult to get Superman wrong, really. It's such a strong story. Superman is deeply ingrained in popular culture.

00:21:38.73
Brian Penn
We've grown up with it and has a familiarity that gives us comfort and reassurance. if it has a weak spot and it's not that much of a weak spot, but I feel I need to point it out. Um, it's crypto, the super dog, because it's, it's all CGI based, right?

00:21:54.82
Chris Olson
Careful here, Brian. You're going to annoy the dog lovers. Careful.

00:21:57.67
Brian Penn
Yeah, I know.

00:21:58.25
Chris Olson
Oh,

00:21:58.34
Brian Penn
ah But, but I'll say why I wouldn't, I'll say why I wouldn't because the dog, it's all CGI based, but the dog almost puts the human characters in the shade. The dog is absolutely brilliant in it.

00:22:09.46
Chris Olson
oh okay, cool. You like the dog.

00:22:10.66
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:22:10.89
Chris Olson
Phew, because I literally thought we're going to get letters, Brian.

00:22:11.66
Brian Penn
The,

00:22:13.22
Chris Olson
If you don't like this dog, jeez.

00:22:13.82
Brian Penn
well but The dog is fantastic, but it's it's all CGI generated. Now, apparently they used a real dog on set, so they got the actors' reactions right.

00:22:24.70
Brian Penn
But pretty much what you see on screen is CGI generated. And it's amazing, Chris, right? And it's getting to a point now where you literally can't tell that it's CGI.

00:22:35.64
Brian Penn
You know, certain scenes you think, ah, I can see that CGI. But most of the time it looks real. And it's almost distracting because when the crypto is not on screen, you're thinking to yourself, I want to see crypto again.

00:22:50.43
Brian Penn
I want crypto. I want to see crypto. And to me, I find that a bit of a distraction because because it is about Superman. It's about what he can do and what he can achieve and what he overcomes.

00:23:02.12
Brian Penn
And this is the beauty of the story that we know so well. And it's good overcoming evil, isn't it? But Crypto the Superdog steals the show. um which could have a detrimental effect. I mean, maybe I'm being too picky, but it it' so it's a very, very good film, very enjoyable.

00:23:20.87
Brian Penn
And you know what what else, Chris, about any Superman film? Each one feels like the first one to me. You know, it has that standalone feel. You enjoy it as much.

00:23:31.64
Brian Penn
You don't get judgmental about various Superman films. I mean, know I can think of when I first saw Superman with Christopher Reeve in. And I enjoyed that just as much, but it stands on its own.

00:23:43.47
Brian Penn
And it's it simply a different version of the same story. So you don't feel when you don't necessarily recognise a franchise and a never-ending list of Superman films. like There must be loads.

00:23:56.37
Brian Penn
How many Superman movies have been made?

00:23:58.41
Chris Olson
Oh, you need to ask Ian, really, don't you, from the ph Phantom Zone.

00:23:58.55
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah. 30 or 40?

00:24:01.57
Chris Olson
He he loves Superman. and

00:24:03.11
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:24:03.73
Chris Olson
I think they've done an episode.

00:24:03.93
Brian Penn
thatsly

00:24:05.55
Chris Olson
Well, there was the franchise that we saw recently, wasn't there? trouble he He turns up in some films as well. like in the Yeah, I wouldn't know, but a lot.

00:24:12.14
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:24:15.74
Chris Olson
i

00:24:16.02
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:24:16.38
Chris Olson
More than enough. And especially if you include like animated stuff as well.

00:24:19.34
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:24:19.38
Chris Olson
He's in all that stuff.

00:24:20.41
Brian Penn
yeah I mean, the thing is you also got ah Superman versus Batman, that film as well, which...

00:24:25.65
Chris Olson
Yeah, there was a Man of Steel, which then led to that.

00:24:27.25
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:24:28.27
Chris Olson
Then there was, I think he was in the Justice League and all this sort of stuff.

00:24:31.27
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:24:31.53
Chris Olson
But yeah, go listen to Phantom Zone if you love all that.

00:24:32.11
Brian Penn
So... Yeah.

00:24:34.64
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:24:34.77
Chris Olson
You know, Chris and Ian and the gang, they love all this.

00:24:37.13
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:24:37.59
Chris Olson
sound like I'm 400 old, I, yeah, not,

00:24:37.81
Brian Penn
Yeah, I know.

00:24:40.85
Brian Penn
Well...

00:24:41.75
Chris Olson
no

00:24:41.84
Brian Penn
i'm you You know, Chris, i'm not I'm not a massive fan of Marvel and DC because of the way they make films. is so It's so calculating, really. And I don't feel it always does justice to the comics because that's where it comes from, right?

00:24:56.02
Brian Penn
And the comics are just unsurpassable. The films are never going to going to match up to the comic strips, the original stories. And to me, they don't always take care of the of the legacy, if you like.

00:25:09.33
Brian Penn
But I really enjoyed this. I i really did enjoy it. It was great fun to watch. And, you know, which is unusual for me because, i you know, with any Marvel DC film, oh I will pick it apart and say, oh, no, it's the same old, same old. But this was great. I really enjoyed it.

00:25:27.03
Chris Olson
Well, this is the awkward bit though, because I normally yeah have a good inkling as to what you're going to pick as your film of the month for the cinema releases.

00:25:33.45
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:25:33.47
Chris Olson
And I don't know which way you're going to go.

00:25:35.57
Brian Penn
Well, yeah. I mean, usually,

00:25:36.91
Chris Olson
what's film of the month, Brian?

00:25:38.27
Brian Penn
well Well, I mean, usually one jumps out at me, one's obvious, but this time it's not. I think probably for the first time ever, it's actually not easy to pick one.

00:25:49.52
Brian Penn
But of course I've got to, haven't I, really? And that would have to be Jurassic World Rebirth, just about.

00:25:56.92
Chris Olson
Oh, wow.

00:25:58.35
Brian Penn
Just about.

00:25:59.36
Chris Olson
If you'd have told me that before, I'd have said no way.

00:25:59.38
Brian Penn
It's very

00:26:02.40
Chris Olson
Brian is not a fan of sequels. He wants like you know the original stories.

00:26:05.94
Brian Penn
and

00:26:06.76
Chris Olson
So, wow, that must have been an impressive film for you.

00:26:06.86
Brian Penn
Yeah, exactly, yeah. but But for the reasons I've described, because because it's it's done something new to refresh the brand, the franchise, because it's too, you know, you find a formula that works, you stick to it, don't you?

00:26:22.22
Brian Penn
If you're a filmmaker, you think it's making money. People want it. Why not? Why change anything? But they've got to a stage where they think, right, now we're going to try something different. but gonna We're going to throw a curveball at the audience, you know, and so and so see if they like it. Now, I i think this is,

00:26:39.70
Brian Penn
just the job when it comes to breaking a mould within a franchise. Carry on with it, but you do something new with it. so And that's why it's Film of the Month.

00:26:48.56
Chris Olson
Film of the month. There you go. um Listeners, don't switch off because we've still got way more to go through.

00:26:53.61
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:26:55.07
Chris Olson
Some people realise they think we only review films at cinema. No, no, no We review loads of films.

00:26:58.87
Brian Penn
No.

00:27:00.05
Chris Olson
Don't switch off.

00:27:00.13
Brian Penn
Yeah, we do.

00:27:01.36
Chris Olson
And the next one is available on Netflix.

00:27:01.39
Brian Penn
No.

00:27:04.43
Chris Olson
It's our streaming pick of the month. That doesn't mean that we like it. It's just what we've picked. um And this film is a sequel. It's The Old Guard 2 starring Charlize Theron as the central character of Andy, um who we met in the first film. It turns out she's immortal.

00:27:22.80
Chris Olson
um But left at the end of that film, she is not.

00:27:23.97
Brian Penn
Mm.

00:27:26.31
Chris Olson
yeah She's no longer immortal, which was a bit of an interesting twist.

00:27:27.63
Brian Penn
No.

00:27:31.35
Chris Olson
It gets kind of played about in this second film um where she's back um in with the gang and they are kicking ass whilst living in exile, basically.

00:27:42.36
Chris Olson
um But the emergence of a long buried character sets them on a path to threaten the peace that they so much enjoy. Yeah.

00:27:51.37
Brian Penn
Mm.

00:27:52.62
Chris Olson
Yeah, it's it's a one of these sort of fantasy films that to say too much about it would just spoil it because there's only a few twists and turns in there and it would sort of ruin it, I think, if you haven't seen it.

00:27:58.62
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:28:04.87
Chris Olson
I definitely think you need to see the first one. If you haven't seen that, I would watch The Old Guard first. I quite enjoyed that. I thought it was quite good. With The Old Guard 2, going to ask Brian his opinion first before I give mine.

00:28:18.10
Chris Olson
Go for it, Brian.

00:28:19.70
Brian Penn
Right. Well, look, it's very well done. Again, it's the C word for me. It's competent, right?

00:28:27.15
Chris Olson
Oh, not that C word. Right.

00:28:28.00
Brian Penn
oh No, no, not that sort of word.

00:28:28.04
Chris Olson
A different... Gosh.

00:28:30.18
Brian Penn
I've caught you twice now.

00:28:30.35
Chris Olson
Whoa.

00:28:31.49
Brian Penn
did that you once before, didn't

00:28:31.82
Chris Olson
You have, yeah.

00:28:33.51
Brian Penn
Yeah, but it's competent, right? And that that could be a ah kind of a negative or a positive thing, right? Insofar that I don't think it's taking any chances of a film like this. I think the first one was better than the second one.

00:28:47.01
Brian Penn
um But this kind of goes by the numbers a a little bit, right? um I don't feel the characters are that strong. Apart from Andy, you don't you don't feel the characters stand out quite as much as you think they would.

00:28:59.86
Brian Penn
you know that So it could do with with a bit more character building, building the characters up a bit more. um Again, it's look it's a familiar theme, isn't it? you know it It's about keeping humanity safe and ah using that.

00:29:15.78
Brian Penn
mean, it's almost like a superpower, isn't it, being a morsel?

00:29:18.77
Chris Olson
Yeah, I thought it felt like Netflix is trying to start at like a little franchise, you know trying to create...

00:29:18.86
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:29:24.08
Brian Penn
yeah

00:29:25.47
Chris Olson
I think it's based on some graphic novels. and

00:29:28.00
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:29:28.90
Chris Olson
And considering that, i didn't I felt the same as you. It wasn't fully fleshed out in terms of the characters.

00:29:34.79
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

00:29:35.45
Chris Olson
There's a lot of skimming along. I've just got, okay, this is that person, right, fine. We're just sort of given to accept it. um I think the villains are...

00:29:47.83
Chris Olson
and and this is quite typical of this genre, the villains are quite melodramatic. um Like it has kind of like the mummy vibes.

00:29:51.88
Brian Penn
yeah and

00:29:55.07
Chris Olson
It feels a bit like that, but not as...

00:29:55.33
Brian Penn
yeah

00:29:56.94
Chris Olson
I love the mummy. The mummy's a great film, but it...

00:29:58.85
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:29:59.52
Chris Olson
yeah the The original, by the way, not the one with Tom Cruise. i

00:30:02.75
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:30:03.44
Chris Olson
But this this has that sort of like, oh, yeah, we're we're jet setting, we're going across the yeah the globe and they're fighting crazy you know things from the past. um

00:30:13.23
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:30:14.28
Chris Olson
But it also has... Almost like a sort of spy thriller-esque to it, le with the sort of beings that are trying to sort stop everything. um

00:30:23.26
Brian Penn
yeah

00:30:23.89
Chris Olson
It's clunky. I think you can't get away from it being clunky. And they are riding a lot, I think, on Charlize Theron sort of bringing that star power to it.

00:30:34.00
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:30:34.39
Chris Olson
If this was just a group of no ones...

00:30:36.86
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:30:36.90
Chris Olson
ah Sorry, not no ones, but unknowns, I should say.

00:30:38.27
Brian Penn
Yeah, no, I'm not student.

00:30:38.85
Chris Olson
um It would feel like, do we need to watch this?

00:30:39.67
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:30:42.17
Chris Olson
And I always think Charlie Stone picks some amazing movies.

00:30:42.53
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:30:46.47
Chris Olson
um I don't think this is one of them.

00:30:46.63
Brian Penn
Yeah. No.

00:30:48.57
Chris Olson
The first one was more watchable. This I found I didn't

00:30:50.74
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:30:54.60
Chris Olson
sort of feel it was slow I didn't sort of feel oh gosh oh when will this end I was more like it finished I kind of went okay and just just didn't think about it ever again until right now and I think the um i think that says a lot really

00:30:58.75
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:31:01.31
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:31:04.86
Brian Penn
yeah

00:31:07.49
Brian Penn
Yeah, you didn't feel any any real pangs, did you, when it ended? You think, oh, okay, that's fine, you know.

00:31:10.63
Chris Olson
no i liked the banter between the group i thought that was fun i liked that it did have a sort of fast pace like they were moving around a lot and that kept things moving there's an opening scene where they're sort of in this mansion and everything's kicking off that was really well done there's lots of great stunts but i think you need so much more than that now with audiences like you know you talked earlier about f1 the movie that

00:31:14.76
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:31:21.44
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:31:26.08
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:31:31.65
Brian Penn
yeah

00:31:34.86
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:31:35.34
Chris Olson
We've seen that before. I've seen that being done.

00:31:36.87
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:31:37.10
Chris Olson
But when you've got a heartfelt story and something that you can connect to, I don't feel that I really connected to anyone in this. Not even Andy, the main sort of character.

00:31:45.55
Brian Penn
Yeah. i mean I mean, it does it does the job. The fact they've they've made a second film, it must have done well enough. you know it's

00:31:52.52
Chris Olson
I don't know with Netflix. They seem to cancel the things that are popular and then they they keep the things that no one wants.

00:31:54.13
Brian Penn
Well, yeah. Yeah, they're just contrary, aren't they? But I think there's great potential there for this story.

00:32:00.04
Chris Olson
Hmm.

00:32:02.15
Brian Penn
I mean, The basic premise for the story is that you've got these eternal warriors who who are immortal, who survive through the centuries. So there's all kinds of possibilities there.

00:32:12.94
Brian Penn
You could take them back in time and put them, I don't know, and put them ah on the centre of the battlefield at Waterloo, for example, or something.

00:32:19.62
Chris Olson
yeah

00:32:20.33
Brian Penn
You know, there's so much you could do. So it's a very good idea that hasn't been unpacked properly. You know, they've just sort of gone for the juggler, think, right, this is this is the market we want to hit.

00:32:32.85
Brian Penn
Right, so, ah yeah, yeah, yeah,

00:32:34.13
Chris Olson
I think you're right as well in that sense because that premise, that concept of like, you've got these warriors that just, know, they could have been anywhere across the timeline. But to stick them in a modern timeline kind of feels a bit like pointless.

00:32:47.50
Brian Penn
well, yeah, no,

00:32:47.91
Chris Olson
It's like, why are we not given something a little bit more interesting? um'm I suppose there's no threat, I guess, if you know they're going to survive, but you wouldn't know necessarily because these aren't key figures.

00:32:56.72
Brian Penn
yeah

00:32:57.22
Chris Olson
It's more they're just...

00:32:57.48
Brian Penn
um

00:32:58.56
Chris Olson
superheroes but yeah The Old Guard 2 felt to me like the type of film that was okay enough as a concept but it's not been executed in a way that's been anything brilliant it's it's fine and it's sturdy but it's not and anything brilliant and I think once you sort of

00:33:13.09
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

00:33:18.09
Chris Olson
settle into the film, you go, okay, right, it's not going to go any further than this. It's just, this is all we're getting. And you kind of thought that because Charlize Theron was in it, that there was going to be something else, but it never gets there.

00:33:29.84
Chris Olson
It never gets to the point where you go, oh, that's why she's done it.

00:33:30.46
Brian Penn
Yeah. yeah Yeah, I know.

00:33:33.38
Chris Olson
and and

00:33:33.89
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:33:34.07
Chris Olson
yeah No, no, it is just just probably for the money.

00:33:37.04
Brian Penn
Yeah, that's fair enough, you know.

00:33:37.12
Chris Olson
um And that's absolutely fine. Don't okay rob yeah get wrong. Get paid. That's fine. yeah Make your next indie film.

00:33:41.47
Brian Penn
Yeah, yeah.

00:33:42.66
Chris Olson
Speaking of indie films, we're going on to indie films now.

00:33:44.21
Brian Penn
Uh-huh. That's a good link, Chris.

00:33:46.24
Chris Olson
i'm That segue, that was brilliant.

00:33:48.14
Brian Penn
Yeah, segue, yeah.

00:33:48.43
Chris Olson
That so smooth.

00:33:49.77
Brian Penn
Oh,

00:33:49.93
Chris Olson
um This is a section where we review films that have been actually sent to us specifically. They've said, please review our film. um And I'm very say that for the first film, we have a clip.

00:34:01.35
Chris Olson
This is from the indie film called Tiny Little Voices.

00:34:01.74
Brian Penn
wow.

00:34:05.50
Chris Olson
Here we go.

00:34:32.97
Brian Penn
Hello? Hello?

00:35:14.78
Chris Olson
So there you go. Sorry, I was getting really into that. was so oh yeah, it's we're watching the film again.

00:35:17.92
Brian Penn
And

00:35:18.62
Chris Olson
um

00:35:18.72
Brian Penn
yeah

00:35:19.60
Chris Olson
So Tiny Little Voices, are possibly and one of an early films in what's going to be a new genre, which is post-pandemic films you and stories.

00:35:29.61
Brian Penn
and

00:35:30.94
Chris Olson
um It is set on the sort of tail end of the pandemic when things are reopening again. And we have two characters who... cross paths, ah both of whom have now got serious issues with germs and touching people and being near people and yeah this whole reopening of society.

00:35:50.87
Chris Olson
And they happen to sort um find their way to each other. um And as you heard in that clip... calamity ensues there's lots of ah comedic set pieces going on and essentially it's about how these two people navigate this journey out of lockdown and back into society um and you know trying to sort of re-acclimatize themselves with that um what do you think of tiny little voices brian it's fun isn't it

00:36:18.27
Brian Penn
I really liked i think it. was I think it was well acted, great scripts. At times it was very, very funny. you know when The idea that you've got all these inanimate objects speaking to her, and it plugs into Many people's insecurities surrounding COVID that when it ended, when the lockdown finished, they had to come out of that cocoon again, didn't they? And it suited some people to have the protection of being enclosed and being indoors.

00:36:46.38
Brian Penn
For someone living on their own, you could see how that behaviour could escalate. But I think the idea that a toothbrush or a tap could be speaking to her and then a friend drags her out into the park, onto Clapham Comet,

00:37:02.99
Brian Penn
And, you know, there was a duck that was walking past and it said to her, I want to talk to you about foie gras. I mean, I just think it's so clever.

00:37:09.43
Chris Olson
Hmm.

00:37:12.48
Brian Penn
It's it's so original to do that. But it it's kind of illustrating what what can happen to someone when they go to extremes and what um and being in clothes for so long can do.

00:37:24.72
Brian Penn
Because being made to stay in and not go out changes people's mindsets. I mean, most people cut an itch to get out after COVID finish, could they?

00:37:33.82
Chris Olson
Hmm.

00:37:34.00
Brian Penn
right But some people became cocooned by it. And this is what the the central character is is really about, isn't it? It's trying to live a normal life again.

00:37:45.00
Brian Penn
But at the same time, it weaves in a ah surprising romance, doesn't it, really? A relationship developing between two people that are very similar and have the same fears, haven't they, about COVID.

00:37:55.46
Chris Olson
Yeah, I think that yeah that's what sort of cements it for me, um was that there was this strong storyline behind it. Because on the one hand, yes, you have this character that is hearing things, and that could have just been the film, right? It could have been, she's struggling to get past all this, what's going on, and she hears his voices.

00:38:14.64
Chris Olson
and But actually... both characters are equally as yeah troubled by what's going on and they both have their own situations.

00:38:22.65
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

00:38:25.02
Chris Olson
um And I think, so I'm not going into too much it, so I don't spoil it by the way.

00:38:29.60
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:38:30.11
Chris Olson
umm And I think the film touching on how, impactful the the pandemic was on people across the board.

00:38:36.75
Brian Penn
yeah

00:38:37.12
Chris Olson
Like said, whether people were desperate to get back, that had an impact, or whether they were desperate to stay back inside.

00:38:42.78
Brian Penn
know

00:38:43.02
Chris Olson
um I love the quick editing between the voices talking. that

00:38:47.67
Brian Penn
yeah

00:38:48.14
Chris Olson
It wasn't like, oh, you've just got this like one bar of soap talking, right? It's like, no, there's lots of little things all happening all the time.

00:38:53.52
Brian Penn
I know. Well done.

00:38:55.23
Chris Olson
And it felt like it was claustrophobic for her.

00:38:55.57
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:38:58.11
Chris Olson
It felt like a cacophony of noise.

00:38:58.11
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

00:39:00.72
Chris Olson
I love that.

00:39:00.79
Brian Penn
know.

00:39:01.85
Chris Olson
ah The sound design and the music is really great. It's got a lighthearted atmosphere for the audience. The whole feel of the film feels... so uplifting it feels like it's uplifting even though it's actually turning quite a sort of sad story really about how this is impacting people it's done in a way that's fun it's it's bright you're gonna watch it and come away feeling a little bit sort of warmed by it and I think the lead uh she's great she has such a great straight uh you know um Thornton Rice um which plays Anna I I thought she was

00:39:24.19
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

00:39:28.48
Brian Penn
Yeah. yeah this yeah yeah

00:39:35.37
Chris Olson
break She was really great at handling both sides to that role, where she's got this sort of you know more anxiety-riddled person, but also someone that is trying to reacclimate and trying sort of help other people. um I thought it worked really, really well.

00:39:50.52
Chris Olson
My only real criticism with it, and this is not going to shock anyone, is I think it's too long. I think it's about two hours.

00:39:57.53
Brian Penn
Yeah, and I know.

00:39:58.81
Chris Olson
And I just... I think... I'd be very surprised to see a list of films that are hilarious for two hours.

00:40:05.66
Brian Penn
Yeah, I know.

00:40:05.92
Chris Olson
I just don't think it's possible because you run out of steam um unless you're doing something that is just absolutely incredible.

00:40:13.59
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:40:15.04
Chris Olson
I think it's baggy at times.

00:40:15.17
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:40:16.60
Chris Olson
There's scenes that kind of go on.

00:40:16.78
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:40:17.80
Chris Olson
It needed a much, much stronger edit um because it goes off on tangents. and I think, unfortunately, that does.

00:40:25.19
Brian Penn
yeah

00:40:25.39
Chris Olson
I think some people may come away feeling a little bit like they found it funny and uplifting and great, but they also feel it overstayed its welcome a little bit.

00:40:31.14
Brian Penn
Yeah, I agree.

00:40:32.72
Chris Olson
like COVID.

00:40:33.11
Brian Penn
Well, yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah very good. I hadn't thought of it that way. But yeah, I think you're right. Look, we often talk about the running length of films, don't we? And i think yeah I think it's something that needs to be considered because it's part of the viewing experience, isn't it?

00:40:48.11
Brian Penn
So if you're going to sit down for two hours and watch a film, you want the filmmaker to use the time well. This type of film, I think... what't doesn't work as well as it should do because it's too long and it is just ah think it's just a touch under two hours but this could have been a brilliant 90 minute film

00:41:07.42
Chris Olson
Yeah, I think it, because I tell you who can do it, and this is something which I wanted to bring up in this review, is Richard Curtis, right? Richard Curtis can do a two-hour comedy film because often his have got enough, his his focus is so much more on the romance aspect

00:41:17.53
Brian Penn
yeah yeah yeah

00:41:24.34
Chris Olson
and the comedy is just always there that it's like you're you're really swept up in the romance of it and this had Richard Curtis vibes I will give it that you had the yeah the the lovely use of like locations yeah there's a brilliant bit in Borough Market where they sort of get food that's really great and it did have that sort of like

00:41:33.21
Brian Penn
Yeah, a little bit. Yeah, a little bit, yeah.

00:41:38.29
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:41:41.17
Brian Penn
Yeah. Mm-hmm.

00:41:46.48
Chris Olson
quirky characters going through something interesting i think it's a little bit more high concept than maybe that um but the the execution of it like i said it felt like someone doing a good attempt at a richard curtis film it's it's clearly not in the same league but it's the it's in the right direction you're in the right path know if you want to get to that level i think you do need a stronger edit you need to yeah trim that down get it get rid of the baggy stuff

00:41:52.26
Brian Penn
Mm-hmm.

00:42:01.54
Brian Penn
yeah

00:42:04.44
Brian Penn
Yeah. i yeah

00:42:11.46
Chris Olson
or put stuff in there that is more meaningful, that is going to sort yeah cope better.

00:42:13.94
Brian Penn
Yeah. yeah

00:42:15.67
Chris Olson
um

00:42:15.83
Brian Penn
and Yeah.

00:42:16.60
Chris Olson
But yeah, no, of I love it when I get a film that's a comedy film that actually makes me laugh. This genuinely made me laugh.

00:42:23.48
Brian Penn
yeah

00:42:23.94
Chris Olson
um I would yeah strongly recommend it.

00:42:26.63
Brian Penn
And I've not seen a film that that deals with the subjects in that way where the central character literally can have conversations with inanimate objects.

00:42:38.06
Brian Penn
I've not seen it deal with COVID, the issue of COVID dealt with in that way. And it's a new way of approaching it. But they do it, you know, they handle the the kind of the serious aspects of it, the psychological aspects of it.

00:42:50.60
Brian Penn
But they also inject moments of humor. And that's what life is, isn't it? It's a series of dramas with moments of light relief. And that's That's the Richard Curtis way, isn't it, of doing it?

00:43:02.55
Brian Penn
So if you're to be influenced by anyone, be influenced by the best. And, you know, there are kind of elements, ah chinks of light that you think, oh, yeah, that is a kind of Richard Curtis thing to do, where you're filling the screen with quirky characters who are very likable and quite endearing, but are real at the same time.

00:43:22.69
Brian Penn
You know, and that's what Richard Curtis can do. So there's no harm in being influenced by someone who's good.

00:43:26.55
Chris Olson
Yeah, and it has it has its own sort of freshness to it as well.

00:43:29.31
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:43:29.61
Chris Olson
There was like, you know, it's tapping into LGBTQ plus themes. There are the post-pandemic elements being dealt with really, really well.

00:43:35.75
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:43:39.81
Chris Olson
I don't think it's, you know

00:43:39.91
Brian Penn
ye

00:43:41.87
Chris Olson
trying to do that solely but it comes across the way actually you know what you've you've been influenced here whether you whether you like it or not and i think it's a good thing the film itself uh tiny little voices is available currently to watch on amazon prime so if you're in the uk and you've got prime you can watch it for free which is great so you can go and watch it let us know if you thought it was too long old video and also yeah anything else yeah there's

00:43:48.49
Brian Penn
Yeah. ah yeah

00:44:03.18
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:44:05.45
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:44:06.33
Chris Olson
It has an Instagram page at tiny little voices and we've reviewed it on the website. I believe it was James Leroy. Yeah. James Leroy reviewed it. A terrific critic.

00:44:17.53
Chris Olson
um He wrote a fabulous review to go read that.

00:44:21.57
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:44:21.69
Chris Olson
And on his review is the trailer. So if you're not quite sold on whether you want to watch it, you can also watch the trailer. I don't know. I can do any more plugging for that film. That was, I covered my bases surely pretty much there.

00:44:29.94
Brian Penn
No. I think so, yeah. Yeah.

00:44:33.71
Chris Olson
Um,

00:44:33.76
Brian Penn
That's done it. Yeah.

00:44:35.28
Chris Olson
Moving on to a short film, and also reviewed on the website by James Leroy. This is from filmmaker Michael Cook, who writes, directs and stars in the short film Up Down.

00:44:47.07
Chris Olson
Sadly, I don't have a clip for this. um It's a fairly short film, and... um It doesn't necessarily need us to play a clip from it.

00:44:55.67
Brian Penn
yeah

00:44:55.70
Chris Olson
yeah If you have time, definitely go read James' review. He's done a fabulous review on the website.

00:45:01.00
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:45:01.01
Chris Olson
um But Up Down sees a character essentially in limbo.

00:45:01.15
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:45:05.66
Chris Olson
Something's happened and he finds himself in... the purgatory or somewhere purgatory adjacent. um And we see him go through a sort of very interesting looking ah space.

00:45:19.97
Chris Olson
It starts to feel quite ethereal. And then he ends up in a chat with an angel, ah basically where they're going to decide where he goes next.

00:45:26.01
Brian Penn
yeah

00:45:29.78
Chris Olson
Does he go up or down?

00:45:29.82
Brian Penn
Yeah. Mm.

00:45:31.41
Chris Olson
Or does he stay where is?

00:45:33.04
Brian Penn
Well, yeah.

00:45:33.24
Chris Olson
And... and Michael Cook's made some really great short films. um I think this is a fantastic short. It's slick production, has this really like dark and meaty atmosphere that you're in throughout.

00:45:48.12
Chris Olson
And obviously playing on a very common theme of yeah what happens to us when we die? yeah Have I been a good person?

00:45:56.43
Brian Penn
Mm.

00:45:57.33
Chris Olson
yeah How will I be judged? And it's yeah it's pulling that off. Cook himself is actually great in the lead. um And also Hunter Bishop as the angel. But Brian, what do you think of up-down?

00:46:09.71
Chris Olson
Do you like it?

00:46:10.07
Brian Penn
Oh, this is good. I like this. This is really good. You know, the thing is, straight away, it sets his stall out. very um mean, it's a short film anyway, so it can't hang about. But you know straight away where it's headed, what it's about.

00:46:22.64
Brian Penn
You know, you've you've got the guy at the center of this story who's really in a waiting room. He's halfway between heaven and hell, isn't he? Right? He's talking to the angel and he's saying, why am I here? What's happened?

00:46:35.86
Brian Penn
What's happened? He said, talk to me, man. Tell me about yourself, man. But why? yeah i it it's ah it's a fascinating sort of exchange and it's done very quickly. But you can see exactly what his anxieties are.

00:46:48.07
Brian Penn
And he's it's sort like the angel saying, well, tell me where you think you belong. You know, do you belong down there or up there? You know, I think that is so clever. It's such a kind of ah it's lateral thinking, isn't it?

00:47:01.64
Brian Penn
You think, this is this is someone who's caught between two worlds.

00:47:01.75
Chris Olson
Mm-hmm.

00:47:07.44
Brian Penn
You know, think it's excellent. I think it's, I love the simplicity of it. You know, one word I always use when I describe a film, if it's good, I say, ah love the simplicity of it, right? it's It's presenting you with with a ah simple premise, right?

00:47:23.36
Brian Penn
This man, by the look of it, is about to meet his maker, right? But this commanding angel is saying to him, We're not sure where you belong. What have you done in your life?

00:47:34.86
Brian Penn
Explain to us. Tell us about your life. Tell us what you've done. And that, I think, is so such a clever way of presenting a story and doing it very quickly as well.

00:47:45.90
Brian Penn
So...

00:47:45.99
Chris Olson
but i I've seen films as well where they've done this like idea. I think James even mentions a couple of films where you have this sort of idea of meeting your maker or or whatever it is and and being judged.

00:47:58.47
Chris Olson
And often they can come down on two sides. I think it can be quite schmaltzy and it's very sort of like...

00:48:03.74
Brian Penn
Yeah,

00:48:04.94
Chris Olson
yeah almost nostalgic looking back on your life, or it can be very kind of like suspenseful. And I think this falls in the latter camp.

00:48:11.36
Brian Penn
I was gonna say, yeah.

00:48:13.09
Chris Olson
You know, the sound designs, it gives it sort really thrillery kind of feel.

00:48:14.52
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

00:48:17.78
Chris Olson
It's so pulsating at times.

00:48:19.67
Brian Penn
yeah

00:48:19.77
Chris Olson
It's very, you know, you're in a state of unease for a lot of this. um And I think, you when you get given John's memories, it's like the emotional core of the film.

00:48:30.25
Brian Penn
yeah

00:48:30.52
Chris Olson
That really worked well because we connect to that character. The thing I found with it was it felt a little rushed, which was interesting because yeah when it's a short film, there's always that potential.

00:48:40.32
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:48:43.12
Chris Olson
But I think here they gave a lot of time for him waiting to see the angel.

00:48:43.38
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:48:48.42
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:48:48.87
Chris Olson
ah which was great because it added mysteries. Okay. What's going on here? And it felt, um, you know, that felt kind of arty.

00:48:56.04
Brian Penn
yeah

00:48:56.60
Chris Olson
And then we get this scene where it's very dialogue driven, um, but it's not that long.

00:48:56.65
Brian Penn
yeah

00:48:59.56
Brian Penn
yeah

00:49:01.30
Chris Olson
And it felt like, Oh, okay.

00:49:01.41
Brian Penn
yeah

00:49:02.30
Chris Olson
But we just got going. Like you gave us all that waiting time.

00:49:03.68
Brian Penn
yeah

00:49:04.78
Chris Olson
And then suddenly like that scene was very, very quick.

00:49:06.06
Brian Penn
yeah

00:49:07.61
Chris Olson
Um, I don't know if that was down to any kind of budgetary reasons or if that's just what they wanted to do.

00:49:12.87
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:49:12.89
Chris Olson
Um, but I, I, I suppose it's a good thing, really. I just wanted more of it. um i just thought it did feel a little bit rushed.

00:49:17.95
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:49:20.15
Chris Olson
And I think you would likely come away pondering the themes that it's going to bring up. It brings up lots of about religion, beliefs, mythology.

00:49:26.07
Brian Penn
Yeah. no

00:49:29.25
Chris Olson
So it's got a big, wide appeal. But I think you're going to either come away feeling you're going to ponder about those themes, or you're going to come away feeling a little bit like, oh, was that it? like Was there not more? Like, I wanted more from that.

00:49:39.10
Brian Penn
yeah

00:49:39.12
Chris Olson
ah

00:49:40.07
Brian Penn
yeah

00:49:40.18
Chris Olson
So, yeah, depending on which side you land, I think will determine how much you enjoy the film.

00:49:43.00
Brian Penn
and um I mean, I i would say ah I came away wanting more. Whenever I see a short film, flat if I finish the film and I think, you know, that feels a bit like a trailer, right? If I think that it feels like a trailer, there's kind of feature-length potential there. And that tells me I want to see more.

00:50:04.12
Brian Penn
But with some short films, you think that's it, it's done sort of thing, you know. But that has something more to it. There's there's there's more... it's more It's much meatier because of the way it's been filmed.

00:50:14.71
Brian Penn
And I take your point about it being rushed, but I suppose that in a 10-minute time frame, right, they, as I said earlier on, they can't necessarily hang about.

00:50:25.40
Brian Penn
But I think that is probably integral to the story they're telling, is that this man at the centre of the story is trying to justify his place in the afterlife.

00:50:37.92
Brian Penn
You know, is it going to be down there or is it going to be up there? So, in some ways it is a rush. He wants to justify himself. So I think that's part, that I think that was intentional myself.

00:50:50.13
Chris Olson
Yeah, and absolutely. yeah I think you someone like this filmmaker, Michael Cook, he's done enough films now to not yeah rush what he wants.

00:51:00.15
Chris Olson
But sometimes it can be you things outside their control, you know, actors had limited days or whatever it is.

00:51:00.36
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:51:05.84
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:51:06.44
Chris Olson
um i just All I can say is how I felt like when I left. I was like, oh, okay, that's a shame that that's finished.

00:51:11.33
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:51:12.19
Chris Olson
Yeah.

00:51:12.63
Brian Penn
No, no. Yeah.

00:51:13.75
Chris Olson
But yeah, as I said, I think it's a good thing, really. So the film's called Up Down, and Michael Cook has an Instagram, which is Michael underscore Cook with an E ah underscore official.

00:51:16.70
Brian Penn
yeah

00:51:24.88
Chris Olson
um You can also probably find him on our socials where we've tagged the film and XYZ. ah Go read ah James's review. He also really enjoyed the film and he had some very eloquent things to say.

00:51:35.96
Chris Olson
And yeah, let us know if you get to see it. I think the film we were given was unlisted on YouTube, so it's not available far as I'm aware. But that may change because often when it's on a YouTube link, it might mean they just make it public. So stay tuned.

00:51:50.25
Chris Olson
Moving on now to a documentary um from filmmaker Solon Solomon ah called Migrating Fears. And in what I think is possibly a very first, I have a theme tune song for a documentary.

00:52:03.59
Brian Penn
Oh, ah okay, yeah.

00:52:05.04
Chris Olson
um I'm going to play a bit of it.

00:52:05.88
Brian Penn
and

00:52:06.56
Chris Olson
i'm not trying to play a bit it. I'll play a bit of it now.

00:53:22.65
Chris Olson
It's very rare that we get to play music on the show. I was swaying there a little bit with it.

00:53:25.22
Brian Penn
Yeah. and I liked it, actually.

00:53:27.43
Chris Olson
Yeah, it's got a bit of tune.

00:53:28.10
Brian Penn
i And Solon Solomon, I think he wrote the song as well, didn't he?

00:53:32.11
Chris Olson
He did, yeah. so I asked him for a and clip from the film, like I do for everyone, and he said he didn't really have a clip, but he liked the the some of the songs to be played out because, as say, he wrote it ah for the film.

00:53:32.94
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:53:36.45
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:53:42.90
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:53:44.29
Chris Olson
It's um very unusual for a documentary to have a song, but hey, it's all gravy. um

00:53:49.76
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:53:50.65
Chris Olson
Migrating Fears is a documentary all about the fear ah in the UK surrounding immigration and... obviously a hot topic right now.

00:54:01.52
Chris Olson
it it feels like it's always a hot topic, to be honest.

00:54:03.16
Brian Penn
yeah

00:54:03.51
Chris Olson
I don't think you'd ever find a year where we went, oh no, no one cared about it that year.

00:54:04.46
Brian Penn
yeah aye Yeah, know.

00:54:07.67
Chris Olson
um um But yeah, it's ah it' it's a documentary about that and it's got the, it opens with that song and a lot of the film has, well, a lot of the opening of the film has, the filmmaker Solon actually talking about people that he's going to make this documentary, and he interviews people about that.

00:54:26.09
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:54:27.39
Chris Olson
And then later on, we get more of a kind of traditional talking head kind of approach to people in the fields, talking about various aspects.

00:54:31.65
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:54:35.81
Chris Olson
Lots of things come up, such as Brexit and you so housing and and and all these things. Talking...

00:54:41.81
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:54:43.11
Chris Olson
i'm not to I'm not displaying, I think you should watch this film. It's actually very, very interesting.

00:54:46.66
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:54:48.01
Chris Olson
I've got a lot it because he's talking not just about what's happening right now.

00:54:48.42
Brian Penn
No.

00:54:50.88
Chris Olson
It's talking about England's kind of historic attitudes to migration and and how that has changed. And the fact that obviously we're an island, there's always been lots of, fear about yeah people coming over, um but also how important migration has been to the success of the country. um And yeah, it goes through about that.

00:55:12.00
Chris Olson
There's some really, really powerful bits, like asylum seekers and refugees giving their kind of powerful stories. What did you think of migrating fears, Brian?

00:55:19.12
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:55:21.12
Chris Olson
Yeah.

00:55:21.57
Brian Penn
Very interesting. You know, it provides a an excellent posted history of migrations to the UK. And it hits all the right marks because it touches on colonialism, the empire, hugenitis, fleeing persecution, wind rush, Russian Jews, fleeing persecution. You know, it does all of that really well.

00:55:42.08
Brian Penn
But for me, it only really gets going about halfway through.

00:55:46.07
Chris Olson
Yep.

00:55:46.17
Brian Penn
when it becomes more of a conventional talking heads documentary, as you just alluded to um when I start interviewing politicians like Margaret Hodge and Lord Alton and Lord Lilly, then you get, you know, as a viewer, you get more clarity in what the issues are. um Not easy to reach any conclusions where, where ah migration is concerned.

00:56:07.31
Brian Penn
Cause as you say, it's, it's always going to be a hot potato. It always has been. It always will be, you know, there are so many moving parts, aren't they, to, to the, the issue. um So i don't think it's easy to tie it up, really, but but it it kind of opens the viewer's mind to what the history is and how important immigration has been to the UK. And in fact, to every country when you think about it, ah but particularly to ourselves. I mean, we're all immigrants, aren't we?

00:56:38.42
Brian Penn
You know, i mean, even, you know, the ancient Britons were descended from the Norsemen and the Picts and the Anglo-Saxons. So we're all ultimately immigrants and we're all building blocks as part of one great nationality.

00:56:54.05
Brian Penn
That's what I get from it, you know. So i think in that way, it's very interesting. But, you know, the problem with a documentary of this kind is that you can't really draw it any proper any real conclusions because it's still ongoing, if you see what I'm saying, you know.

00:57:11.13
Chris Olson
Yeah, I think, you and the best documentaries, they're not there to sort of provide a final answer to anything.

00:57:14.76
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

00:57:16.30
Chris Olson
It's more just shining a light. And I 100% agree. Listeners, you won't know this, but me and Brian don't actually confer before we go on the podcast. We just come on here and and say what we think.

00:57:23.47
Brian Penn
Yeah. not yeah yeah

00:57:26.53
Chris Olson
And I thought he was just nodding along to Brian's movie because like, yeah, felt the exact same way, which was... the first half of the film, or at least the first section, is ah Solomon actually in the film.

00:57:37.68
Chris Olson
He's in the film a lot, and they're creating these kind of almost like fictional scenes of him talking about setting up the documentary and what he's going to do and making a film.

00:57:38.53
Brian Penn
yeah

00:57:42.10
Brian Penn
yeah yeah Yeah. Yeah.

00:57:46.07
Chris Olson
And you have that song playing as well, which I think isolated the song is fine, but over the top of the documentary, is very heavy-handed.

00:57:48.22
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:57:53.92
Chris Olson
and It comes across...

00:57:54.18
Brian Penn
yeah

00:57:55.65
Chris Olson
like a big punch in the face um to to sort of try and get your attention. And I think that is the biggest misstep of this film, unfortunately.

00:58:03.92
Brian Penn
and

00:58:04.43
Chris Olson
I think it is that the filmmaker put too much of himself into the movie and didn't let the good stuff which was there just have more breathing room.

00:58:08.13
Brian Penn
yeah and

00:58:11.38
Brian Penn
yeah

00:58:13.16
Chris Olson
Because as Brian said...

00:58:13.41
Brian Penn
yeah

00:58:14.27
Chris Olson
A lot of the talking head stuff was very fascinating. A lot of the, there was like archive footage.

00:58:17.08
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:58:19.42
Chris Olson
There was a bit of animation at one point.

00:58:21.40
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:58:21.44
Chris Olson
That stuff worked really well. I think that that was a great movie.

00:58:22.95
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:58:24.64
Chris Olson
And I think that yeah the strength of Migrating Fears is the the yeah the history and the evidence and the you know the stuff that we're talking about and raising really sort of potent themes in a way that is quite,

00:58:32.01
Brian Penn
yeah

00:58:35.78
Brian Penn
yeah

00:58:37.79
Chris Olson
disarming I think it's not trying to be volatile or hostile. It's not trying to point loads of fingers everywhere.

00:58:42.17
Brian Penn
yeah

00:58:43.77
Chris Olson
I think it's sort of raising interesting aspects. I think it is largely a positive story about migration.

00:58:48.97
Brian Penn
yeah

00:58:49.37
Chris Olson
um I think that's fair to say.

00:58:51.11
Brian Penn
yeah

00:58:51.30
Chris Olson
But that's when it's at its best, when it's doing that stuff. I think it needs to learn from that and go, OK, right, yeah that works.

00:58:56.65
Brian Penn
yeah

00:58:58.05
Chris Olson
If you're going to do a story, a film like this again, it needs to be less about the person making it and more about the subject matter.

00:59:04.28
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:59:05.41
Chris Olson
and because it seems well-intentioned just at times it's awkward and it's dry and it's like right okay but can we get back to like the stuff about why we're here yeah

00:59:05.46
Brian Penn
ah Yeah. yeah

00:59:12.74
Brian Penn
yeah Yeah. I mean, the at the beginning, the conversations he had with the yeah the Tasmanian lady at the beginning where they were chatting, That put him in a position where he had to act.

00:59:23.52
Brian Penn
And with a great respect, he's not an actor. You know, he's yeah he's a lawyer, he's an academic, he's a lecturer, and he's very well qualified and very good at it, obviously.

00:59:26.04
Chris Olson
it was cringe-worthy I have to be honest yeah

00:59:33.29
Brian Penn
like But it may it put him in a position where he had to act. And that's you can tell that's not his fault, though. right And it would have been better, I think, to have started off with with a conventional documentary format, which is what they got into a bit later.

00:59:50.14
Brian Penn
But even so, nothing wrong with the content. The content's fine.

00:59:54.98
Chris Olson
And I think if you're going to inject yourself into a film, yeah if you want to do that, if there's a reason for you to do that, if you're a historian, yeah you want to bring your...

00:59:55.26
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:00:03.52
Chris Olson
Maybe you've written a book. yeah whatever Whatever it is, maybe you want to bring attention to it.

01:00:05.75
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:00:06.80
Chris Olson
I think there's other ways of doing it. I don't think you need to do it in that way where it feels like, you say, it's he's clearly not that comfortable even doing it.

01:00:08.37
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:00:14.40
Brian Penn
a

01:00:14.56
Chris Olson
It felt but how quite awkward. And this is one of the things that I don't like in a lot of films when people are the director and the writer and they're the star, it can be very dangerous.

01:00:16.98
Brian Penn
yeah

01:00:22.58
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

01:00:24.90
Chris Olson
I mean, unlike ah the Michael Cook film we talked about Up Down, I thought his performance was great.

01:00:25.64
Brian Penn
and Yeah.

01:00:30.06
Chris Olson
And even though he's the one yeah with the big credits,

01:00:32.89
Brian Penn
yeah

01:00:33.37
Chris Olson
It's fine. Someone must have said to him, you know, giving him notes, giving him, OK, this needs this, you need that. I think here that didn't happen. I don't think there was any kind of like feedback going on. This is actually quite awkward um because and i what i think it's a big shame.

01:00:48.39
Chris Olson
I'm glad we're able to review migrating fears is because a lot of people are probably going to give up after that first section and go, oh what's going on here?

01:00:50.19
Brian Penn
yeah

01:00:55.38
Brian Penn
yeah

01:00:55.79
Chris Olson
it's Obviously, we we're going to watch the whole thing. And the second half is so great. It's really interesting.

01:01:00.52
Brian Penn
yeah

01:01:01.35
Chris Olson
There's lots of things to come away. Of of all the films, the indie films we reviewed, I wrote more notes about this one than I did about anything else because I was like oh, that's fascinating.

01:01:07.65
Brian Penn
yeah yeah no but it it gets it gets its point across eventually but as you say i mean you

01:01:08.39
Chris Olson
know That's interesting. you know I think the content there is really, really great. I just think the execution at times was poorly chosen. That's all.

01:01:22.93
Brian Penn
the film The film lasts for, what, an hour, one hour, 12 minutes or something like that, isn't it?

01:01:26.89
Chris Olson
Something like that, yeah.

01:01:27.76
Brian Penn
Yeah. And because of the way it starts, you know, it may not hold people's interest, right? So they should have got into the meat of the the matter a lot sooner.

01:01:42.35
Brian Penn
And they could have probably done without that that opening segment. That could have been just a more conventional, you approach to making a documentary and just to set out with just some talking head interviews to begin with as well because that's what it is. It's it's a serious documentary, isn't it?

01:02:02.84
Chris Olson
Absolutely. um

01:02:03.86
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:02:04.52
Chris Olson
The film Migrating Fears, I believe, is available on Fawesome TV, which is F-A-W-E-S-O-M-E.TV.

01:02:10.89
Brian Penn
Hmm.

01:02:13.16
Chris Olson
ah Whether or not it stays on there or not, I'm not sure. um I've not heard of that platform really before.

01:02:16.15
Brian Penn
Hmm.

01:02:17.93
Chris Olson
It was fine to watch this when when I watched it.

01:02:18.39
Brian Penn
Hmm.

01:02:20.41
Chris Olson
So yeah, if you can go and see it, as said, and it raises loads of interesting things. I think if you're

01:02:26.85
Brian Penn
Yeah,

01:02:26.99
Chris Olson
someone that has an interest in English history, in politics, yeah obviously see all that stuff. I think there's so much great content there.

01:02:33.98
Brian Penn
yeah definitely. Hmm.

01:02:34.42
Chris Olson
i'm

01:02:34.45
Brian Penn
Hmm.

01:02:35.11
Chris Olson
Yeah, and let us know if you do watch it. And also, Jason reviewed it, i think, on the website. Yeah, so go and read Jason's review. He's very positive about it. He he really likes that that sort of stuff. So, yeah, good stuff.

01:02:46.49
Brian Penn
and

01:02:46.50
Chris Olson
um Also, let me just check if there's any socials. Yeah, I don't think there was actually any social media for this. So, yeah, probably just look at that foursome TV if you do want to find out more.

01:02:56.71
Brian Penn
Mmm.

01:02:57.69
Chris Olson
Moving on to an indie feature film from Sayun Jiang called Nictophobia. um Chris Buick reviewed this on the on the website if you want to read that.

01:03:08.20
Chris Olson
And yeah, it's an experimental feature. um Lots of interesting use of black and white colour here, but it's all primarily about the central character of Liz, who has a ah fear of the dark and her whole attempts to try and get to sleep something I sympathize with massively as the father of two children uh two young children I must say and yeah it has a very kind of dreamlike quality to it um there's sort strange scenes and visuals and like I color like colors popping out sometimes uh what did you think of this Brian?

01:03:28.02
Brian Penn
yeah

01:03:42.78
Brian Penn
I liked it. I thought it was very good. You know, the you can't argue with the artistic integrity of this film. There's not much in the way of a script, is there, for really honest. So it's all visuals. But they were very arresting sites. And we can all relate to someone, know,

01:03:58.49
Brian Penn
I'll be honest with you, Chris. I never knew that nyctophobia was a fear of darkness. I know about a fear of darkness, but I never knew it was called nyctophobia.

01:04:07.01
Chris Olson
There you go

01:04:07.22
Brian Penn
I never knew that. God, I'm ignorant, aren't I? But there you go. Anyway, so I've learned something I've learned, right? um But the sequencing with was excellent. Now, we were talking about the length of tiny little voices, weren't we, that it was two hours long and a little bit too long.

01:04:23.33
Brian Penn
And this is 90 minutes. And The first thing I thought was, how are they going to sustain visuals for 90 minutes and keep you interested? But they do. I think they it it keeps you engaged, which I think is quite an achievement because the imagery is quite powerful. And I love the different sections. you know i mean, you imagine that these are, you know she's trying to fall off. She's trying to get to sleep.

01:04:47.53
Brian Penn
And the metronome, she's trying all kinds of techniques to get her off to sleep with the metronome and all the rest of it. right But this is her. I think, trying to focus and concentrate and relax and finally fall off to sleep.

01:05:01.82
Brian Penn
But there were some quite interesting images there. a love the disco section as well.

01:05:05.36
Chris Olson
Yeah,

01:05:05.53
Brian Penn
and That was really well done. I like that. But other parts of it were quite alarming, particularly with with the clowns as well.

01:05:14.34
Chris Olson
yeah I think it's playing on some of the sort of like classic themes of like nightmares and horror, right?

01:05:21.49
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:05:21.88
Chris Olson
So it's like that whole idea of yeah clowns. I've got a place that everyone hates, right? and And I think it's that sort of...

01:05:28.49
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

01:05:30.45
Chris Olson
um yeah's going through the idea of like how people try and get to sleep and some of the reasons why they maybe they can't.

01:05:37.49
Brian Penn
yeah

01:05:37.63
Chris Olson
um I think it's got that kind of universal appeal because it is a bit of a of an art piece.

01:05:41.09
Brian Penn
and Yeah.

01:05:43.27
Chris Olson
And it's quite, let's say the visuals are so arresting and and so is everything to it.

01:05:47.69
Brian Penn
Oh, really? um

01:05:48.83
Chris Olson
Like the score and the sound, it's got a very chilling kind of atmosphere throughout.

01:05:49.21
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:05:53.71
Chris Olson
And I think people are going to connect with that on a level of, okay, this is something based that everyone has to go through. The idea that you're being tormented almost, you you can't sleep. um I think there's certain scenes which go on a bit longer than they need to.

01:06:09.03
Chris Olson
There's a scene where she sings, i think there's a song, idea.

01:06:09.44
Brian Penn
e

01:06:13.39
Brian Penn
Yeah, that jazz thing, wasn't it?

01:06:13.46
Chris Olson
ah

01:06:15.15
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah. yes

01:06:16.06
Chris Olson
i think they sort of... and then Actually, you mentioned the disco scene, but I i thought that actually was great, but it again, went on too long. as ah We need to move on now.

01:06:22.47
Brian Penn
yeah

01:06:24.28
Chris Olson
i umm

01:06:24.37
Brian Penn
yeah

01:06:25.32
Chris Olson
Because... there there was a lot of potency to the scenes and it felt like oh, wow, that's really interesting. But I think by moving on a bit quicker, you keep that going, you keep that intrigue going.

01:06:35.92
Chris Olson
Whereas I think once it started to labour a bit longer, there was a sense of, like okay, yeah now I actually feel like I am getting in that.

01:06:36.33
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:06:43.19
Chris Olson
And I think it's probably done purposefully like to try and elicit, okay, yeah, I've got a reaction from you because...

01:06:47.08
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:06:50.57
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:06:50.75
Chris Olson
you know you're meant to find that maybe a bit tedious or you're meant to find that frustrating, you know like the character does.

01:06:54.60
Brian Penn
But. Yeah.

01:06:57.04
Chris Olson
But from a viewing point of view, I don't think it's necessarily going to be i'm as thrilling.

01:06:59.18
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:07:01.30
Chris Olson
I think it loses momentum ah because of that.

01:07:03.31
Brian Penn
yeah

01:07:04.12
Chris Olson
But fans of horror and experimental cinema, you're going to love this.

01:07:05.45
Brian Penn
Yeah. um Yeah.

01:07:07.77
Chris Olson
It's got like this nightmarish chaos to it that is going to be enthralling.

01:07:08.16
Brian Penn
Yeah. yeah

01:07:13.81
Brian Penn
No, it is. Look, it's very well put together. it's for You know, all the in the indies that we've reviewed on this particular show, like all the shows we do, you know, are all very good. They're very well put together.

01:07:25.39
Brian Penn
Bearing in mind they have a limited budget and they almost they're they're indie films that don't seem to have an indie budget. then you know, they look like They've had more money to spend than they've really got. And that's a skill in itself, isn't it?

01:07:37.84
Brian Penn
It's to make it look like it's a big budget film when it's not. um But it with regard to the timing of of different scenes, and they go on for a bit too long, you're right, they do.

01:07:49.58
Brian Penn
I think they do go on for too long. But this is where you have time available. You think, if you're a filmmaker, if you're director, you think, how do I fill that time? How do I fill that space? I mean, am I filling that space for the sake of it?

01:08:02.13
Brian Penn
and making a scene longer than it should be? Or am I putting something integral in there that gives more meaning to the story? It's all about the narrative. And if it's not doing anything for the story, then it shouldn't be in there.

01:08:14.11
Brian Penn
Again, it's down to editing, isn't it?

01:08:16.60
Chris Olson
And I think there's definitely, yeah, definitely. edit seen this is is We've mentioned it, I think, for most of the films tonight.

01:08:22.10
Brian Penn
Oh, yeah.

01:08:22.69
Chris Olson
It is a sense of, often with indie films, they're more susceptible to this because there are less people involved. And it's often, know, it's a balance, right? Because some of the big studio films,

01:08:34.83
Chris Olson
yeah the execs come in and they do their tampering and and tinkering and they cut and they spoil just as you much as the opposite happens.

01:08:39.59
Brian Penn
Yeah. Hmm. Hmm.

01:08:43.25
Chris Olson
But think with indie films, often because they are sometimes the products completely of the filmmaker, yeah whoever wrote the story or directed it, if they're that ah one person thing, they're going to leave it as like untouched as possible because that's their vision for it And that's absolutely fine.

01:08:59.75
Chris Olson
I think sometimes the reason why film works really well is because it's a collaborative effort, because there are often, you know, many, many ah people there.

01:09:04.56
Brian Penn
and

01:09:07.40
Chris Olson
And the editing is such an unsung hero of filmmaking because that's the shaping of the story, right?

01:09:11.32
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:09:15.22
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:09:15.28
Chris Olson
That's the, okay, but how do we get from the beginning to the end in the best possible journey that's going to get the best possible reaction for the most amount of people?

01:09:21.41
Brian Penn
Yeah. yeah

01:09:23.47
Chris Olson
um If that is your ambition, it might not be. And I think with experimental cinema, there is definitely a case that sometimes filmmakers are just doing something to make a point or they're doing something to see, you know, test endurance or whatever it is.

01:09:35.41
Brian Penn
yeah

01:09:36.37
Chris Olson
ah ah And that's absolutely fine too. and Because like I said here, they are playing on things which people ah going to connect to in a sort of cliche way of like, okay, so we've got clowns, we mentioned you exams, I think one point she's just sitting in exam, they're singing in public.

01:09:44.70
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

01:09:49.57
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah, that

01:09:52.81
Chris Olson
These things yeah that are playing on the human condition, yeah these things which are typically worrying.

01:09:56.29
Brian Penn
was and

01:09:59.71
Chris Olson
I think that there's a strong possibility that there's a reason why these films, these scenes are a bit longer. Um, I just want to also mention there's a really cool scene where she's playing Tetris in the air and that was brilliant.

01:10:11.69
Chris Olson
I really enjoyed that scene.

01:10:12.09
Brian Penn
yeah yeah that was

01:10:13.35
Chris Olson
Um, it was so smart and was so clever.

01:10:16.08
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:10:16.19
Chris Olson
um it's just, it's little things like that, which show me this filmmaker has a lot of promise. And I think I'm right in saying their debut.

01:10:21.60
Brian Penn
Yeah, definitely. um Absolutely.

01:10:24.88
Chris Olson
So say you and John, um, Yeah, massive congratulations.

01:10:29.16
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:10:29.58
Chris Olson
I think it's it's got...

01:10:29.83
Brian Penn
Yeah, that's

01:10:31.65
Chris Olson
Actually, might not be a debut, but if it's if it is either way, it's very impressive.

01:10:34.29
Brian Penn
good.

01:10:37.74
Chris Olson
I don't think it's for everyone.

01:10:38.57
Brian Penn
And

01:10:39.18
Chris Olson
This is absolutely a Marmite type of film. I don't think everyone's going watch and go, oh yeah, i loved it. But I think for those who enjoy a bit more of a challenging piece of cinema, it's there.

01:10:49.38
Chris Olson
But it would also have a connection for a lot of people in terms of you know tapping into your fears and sleepless nights and things like that.

01:10:55.39
Brian Penn
and think we can all relate to it. I mean, you know, we've all had issues with sleep over the years, haven't we, for one reason or another.

01:11:04.79
Chris Olson
I've had an issue with clowns and not to mention my mother twice in one episode, but I'm going to, is that she in our house when were growing up had this artwork on the wall, which was clowns.

01:11:14.31
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:11:15.05
Chris Olson
These they were clowns, right?

01:11:16.82
Brian Penn
yeah

01:11:17.32
Chris Olson
i And it was meant to be like arty, but they were terrifying, honestly. And one night i remember my brother saying, oh should should we see if we can get them removed from your room? I was like, ah yes, please.

01:11:27.67
Chris Olson
Like, I don't know why they're there.

01:11:28.04
Brian Penn
hu

01:11:29.35
Chris Olson
Why are they here? There's no connection. and they were like, oh i didn't think you'd find that scary. It's like, It's terrifying. Why would you put clowns on the wall?

01:11:34.33
Brian Penn
and I wonder why that is, though, that clowns can be quite scary.

01:11:36.35
Chris Olson
Mad.

01:11:40.03
Brian Penn
I mean, they they should be happy characters, shouldn't they? They make people smile.

01:11:44.82
Chris Olson
Yeah, Stephen King ruined it all, really, didn't he?

01:11:47.80
Brian Penn
it's got thought It's got a lot to answer for, hasn't it?

01:11:49.24
Chris Olson
He's got a lot to answer. for And not just that.

01:11:51.46
Brian Penn
I know.

01:11:51.62
Chris Olson
and But don't get me started.

01:11:51.72
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:11:52.91
Chris Olson
No, I love Stephen King. So Nyctophobia is available on Plex TV, um which is where we watched it. ah It's a free platform. So absolutely yeah hats off to filmmakers putting their films there.

01:12:05.95
Chris Olson
One thing that viewers will have to be aware of is you will have to put up with quite a lot of adverts.

01:12:06.30
Brian Penn
ye

01:12:10.88
Brian Penn
Oh, yeah.

01:12:10.94
Chris Olson
They kick in like every 10 minutes.

01:12:11.76
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:12:12.90
Chris Olson
it's like, oh, here we go

01:12:13.13
Brian Penn
I know. I meant some internet earlier on yeah

01:12:14.85
Chris Olson
And they tell you that it says like six adverts or something. like, all right, go make cup of tea then.

01:12:17.75
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:12:19.29
Chris Olson
Come back.

01:12:19.57
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:12:20.53
Chris Olson
And i think I think with a film like this, it totally disturbed the momentum.

01:12:20.59
Brian Penn
You can't fast forward it either, can you? You can't.

01:12:25.44
Chris Olson
And I know why filmmakers do.

01:12:25.71
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:12:27.00
Chris Olson
i'm not absolutely I'm not having a go at them at all. I know what they have to do to survive.

01:12:28.98
Brian Penn
No.

01:12:30.56
Chris Olson
It's just absolutely...

01:12:30.87
Brian Penn
That's the commercial reality, isn't it, really?

01:12:32.12
Chris Olson
It is. It really is.

01:12:32.47
Brian Penn
like

01:12:33.50
Chris Olson
But if this was available on like YouTube or something without ads, I would say go there.

01:12:36.89
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:12:37.48
Chris Olson
But it's... yeah

01:12:38.08
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:12:38.63
Chris Olson
go Go watch this and you support the film because they'll hopefully get a bit of money from it. and

01:12:42.22
Brian Penn
yeah

01:12:42.85
Chris Olson
But yeah, just be aware there's ads. The film also has an Instagram profile, which is film underscore nyctophobia. And you can read our review, which was done by Chris Buick on the website ah by going there.

01:12:55.27
Chris Olson
And yeah, why not do it? Unless you're scared of clowns.

01:12:59.35
Brian Penn
ah Yeah, yeah, right, exactly.

01:13:02.12
Chris Olson
ah Which most people are.

01:13:04.22
Brian Penn
Nice people are, yeah, and I know.

01:13:05.05
Chris Olson
Most people aren't, Mum. God.

01:13:06.67
Brian Penn
Universal, isn't it, really?

01:13:07.64
Chris Olson
yeah

01:13:08.52
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:13:08.93
Chris Olson
um Other things that are universal are our love of dinosaur films, which is if you're wondering what our nostalgia pick is.

01:13:13.57
Brian Penn
Oh, yes. Yeah.

01:13:16.98
Chris Olson
and da a um I'm not to do any more than that case we get sued.

01:13:19.50
Brian Penn
yeah

01:13:22.56
Chris Olson
um

01:13:22.63
Brian Penn
yeah Yeah, you never know, do

01:13:23.87
Chris Olson
You never know. they haven't got enough money, have they, these people?

01:13:26.82
Brian Penn
No, of course not.

01:13:27.34
Chris Olson
um

01:13:27.56
Brian Penn
don't know how they get by, do you?

01:13:29.37
Chris Olson
Yeah, very difficult.

01:13:30.24
Brian Penn
do they manage?

01:13:31.56
Chris Olson
and Jurassic Park, a classic film from 1993, currently available to watch on ITV.

01:13:34.72
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:13:36.94
Chris Olson
i'm not sure if it's still available there. um We are not affiliated with any of these platforms, by the way. and We just give them a shout out. um If you don't know what Jurassic Park is about, And that I, before I would be kind of sort of, how could you not?

01:13:50.97
Chris Olson
Um, but actually I realized that is a long time ago, isn't it?

01:13:53.83
Brian Penn
Oh, it nice to see it.

01:13:54.39
Chris Olson
That's a very long time ago. um

01:13:56.09
Brian Penn
I didn't think it was long ago actually, to be honest.

01:13:58.04
Chris Olson
Yeah, it's a Steven Spielberg film, and it's about ah this creation of an island park where they have been able to bring back cloned versions of dinosaurs and using it mosquitoes in magma, I think.

01:14:15.43
Brian Penn
Yeah, yeah, inamba, what's that?

01:14:16.23
Chris Olson
Yeah, the blood. So yeah that was it yeah so they suck the blood of dinosaurs.

01:14:18.57
Brian Penn
Inamba, yeah.

01:14:20.54
Chris Olson
They're preserved in the magma.

01:14:20.78
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:14:21.78
Chris Olson
They were able to bring them back.

01:14:22.77
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:14:23.13
Chris Olson
And basically they have to bring in um a few experts in the field to sign off on the safety of the park because the investors are getting a bit skittish after someone is grisly eaten near the beginning of the film.

01:14:28.74
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:14:36.31
Brian Penn
a yeah

01:14:38.02
Chris Olson
um Sam Neill and Laura Dern star as two of those people coming, as well as... the absolute classic legend that is Jeff Goldblum rocking up in what is, this is for me definitive Jeff Goldblum because this was, I think the first film I saw him in and became aware of him.

01:14:46.91
Brian Penn
He

01:14:51.70
Brian Penn
was great, wasn't he?

01:14:55.33
Chris Olson
And then it was independence day. I think later that I saw him in, but it's got incredible class.

01:14:57.50
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

01:14:59.83
Chris Olson
You've got Richard Attenborough, who's the park owner. um

01:15:02.89
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:15:03.99
Chris Olson
Even Samuel Jackson is in this film.

01:15:05.40
Brian Penn
yeah he turns like He's in the control centre, isn't he, Samuel Jasmin?

01:15:07.70
Chris Olson
he's i mean When I saw him, was like, oh my gosh, how did you not get a bigger role in this?

01:15:09.66
Brian Penn
Yeah. and I know.

01:15:12.09
Chris Olson
Yeah.

01:15:12.95
Brian Penn
But, I mean,

01:15:13.05
Chris Olson
um yeah

01:15:14.08
Brian Penn
You can't imagine him not being a star, can you, Samuel Jackson?

01:15:16.33
Chris Olson
No.

01:15:16.64
Brian Penn
You can't imagine him just being a a support, which is all he was in this film at the time.

01:15:21.69
Chris Olson
Yeah.

01:15:22.43
Brian Penn
You know, and he he was it was kind of on the fringes for so long, wasn't he? He was like Denzel Washington. You know, you catch him on the fringes and there'd be films here and there. But I think soon after this, he broke really big, didn't he?

01:15:35.63
Chris Olson
Well, interesting, something like Sam Neill, right?

01:15:35.76
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:15:37.56
Chris Olson
He was this big person in this film, right? But I don't think he became such a big star after this.

01:15:41.03
Brian Penn
Hmm.

01:15:43.93
Brian Penn
No, not really.

01:15:44.08
Chris Olson
i don't yeah I've seen him in a few things, but nothing kind of major.

01:15:46.37
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:15:47.76
Chris Olson
um Obviously, they brought him back for the when they rebooted it, but...

01:15:50.89
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:15:51.21
Chris Olson
um Yeah, matt incredible cast. But I think one thing about Jurassic Park, which is why I would be surprised if not at least seen or heard something, simply because of the magnitude of merchandise that's available.

01:16:04.53
Brian Penn
Oh, yeah, I know.

01:16:04.59
Chris Olson
Jurassic Park is on T-shirts, on everything.

01:16:06.59
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:16:06.82
Chris Olson
um You know, that that classic red and black logo and with the words across mouth.

01:16:10.56
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:16:12.10
Chris Olson
It is just everywhere. And one thing I think back to with this film...

01:16:13.80
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:16:17.20
Chris Olson
is this was probably the first cinematic experience I had where I was absolutely changed by it because I was quite young when this came out and I went to see it with my family and I remember being utterly, utterly terrified.

01:16:28.43
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:16:32.79
Chris Olson
Like you were saying about the your your reaction to the new one.

01:16:32.89
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:16:35.70
Brian Penn
know.

01:16:35.88
Chris Olson
you and you're You're an older man.

01:16:36.34
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:16:37.84
Chris Olson
It's like, you're not yeah i I must have been about...

01:16:38.28
Brian Penn
I know.

01:16:40.80
Chris Olson
seven I think or something when this came out and or not even that and I was utter I mean I was way too young to see this to be honest but it absolutely terrified me and I watching it back and you you talked about this a bit earlier about whether ah yeah the new film broke us into that horror genre but for me this absolutely was a horror film because of just the age I saw it but also when you watch it does there's a lot of scenes that are scary you know yeah the trembling cup of water and

01:16:41.60
Brian Penn
yeah i

01:16:47.80
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:16:51.04
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:16:54.87
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:16:57.39
Brian Penn
know. know. Yeah.

01:17:00.71
Brian Penn
yeah

01:17:05.72
Brian Penn
sad

01:17:09.31
Brian Penn
ah no

01:17:09.75
Chris Olson
um all this stuff.

01:17:10.02
Brian Penn
and i

01:17:10.93
Chris Olson
It is just brilliant. And I think it's one of those films, it's pure cinema. like you You go to see this in a cinema, it's it's it's exactly what you want to see.

01:17:22.33
Chris Olson
The big spectacle, great characters, it's funny, it's scary, it's heartwarming.

01:17:22.35
Brian Penn
Yeah. i mean

01:17:27.60
Chris Olson
Even though you've got these two kids that they end up having to look after, it creates that heart, that moment of peril.

01:17:28.00
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:17:31.08
Brian Penn
Yeah. Well, yeah.

01:17:33.29
Chris Olson
you they they They're suddenly thrust into this role of guardians, looking after these kids amongst all these incredible...

01:17:37.95
Brian Penn
I know. and yeah um

01:17:39.74
Chris Olson
ah yeah And practical effects, right? And loads of practical effects.

01:17:43.31
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:17:43.46
Chris Olson
It's just brilliant. It's jaw-droppingly brilliant still.

01:17:44.81
Brian Penn
I know. It's a classic for me. It's a modern classic and it changed all the rules, you know, It shifted the goalposts. showed filmmakers what's possible, what you can achieve because there'd been nothing like it before Jurassic Park.

01:18:01.12
Brian Penn
And I've related this story before on the podcast, but I want to mention it again because when I

01:18:13.55
Chris Olson
All right, you cut off there, mate.

01:18:16.60
Brian Penn
yeah, so I have to relate this ah story that I've that I've told before on the podcast about when I first saw Jurassic Park when it came out in 93. It was one of only two occasions when I was part of a cinema audience that was a sellout.

01:18:30.66
Brian Penn
Every single seat was taken. Every single one. And it's a rare thing, particularly when you've got multiplexes, because there are so many times you can go now. But it was a full house. And the the effects were so jaw-dropping that people were screaming in the audience.

01:18:46.35
Brian Penn
People were shouting and screaming at the screen. Just ah in a similar to how I described earlier on when I when i said I darts, this was more magnified than everyone was doing it because people had never seen anything like it before. you know It was so different and so exciting to watch. and this is When Spielberg talks about popcorn movies, a great popcorn movie, this this is this is it. This is the bomb, isn't it?

01:19:13.67
Brian Penn
This is what you're looking for. It's something that's jaw-droppingly good. And One thing that struck me, when I watched it again for for this review we're doing here, um I am why and never realised how good the script was. you know Because you're looking at the visuals, and you know the script is really clever. It's very smart.

01:19:33.92
Brian Penn
Because ah Jeff Goldblum's character, I think it's Ian Malcolm, he's having an argument with Hammond, the character played by Richard Attenborough, the guy who set it all up.

01:19:45.70
Brian Penn
And he's saying, look, What you're doing here takes no discipline. You're standing on the shoulders of giants. You're so impressed by what you've done, you haven't stopped to think about whether you should. you know And Hammond says, well, if I created an island of condors, you'd have nothing to say.

01:20:02.27
Brian Penn
And that raises important questions about nature and the ecosystem. you know With the technology available, is it right that we manipulate nature in this way? So it was raising lots of interesting questions about nature about the environment and what we're able to do.

01:20:19.41
Brian Penn
But that kind of got lost for me anyway. But so you've got a very intelligent script that's been written there, but you don't necessarily notice it.

01:20:27.23
Chris Olson
I think that's the thing with this film. like Having watched it in very different parts of my life, like going from one of my earliest, possibly, no, probably wasn't the first film I saw at the cinema, but definitely one of the earliest ones, i certainly that i remember, to now watching it you know as yeah ah podcast host in my late 30s is like,

01:20:33.75
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:20:38.84
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:20:45.71
Chris Olson
is like

01:20:45.89
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:20:47.15
Chris Olson
It's such an incredible film. It's so layered and there's so many aspects that you can enjoy. that i must have It must have been one of those films that you know when parents go to the cinema with their kids, like, oh God, that was a brilliant film to watch.

01:20:56.19
Brian Penn
Yeah. i

01:20:57.89
Chris Olson
it you actually read yeah Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it because there's so much here.

01:20:59.85
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:21:01.41
Chris Olson
And you take different things from it. you and yeah It's pinning on lots of themes because of our environmental impact, right? Not just yeah good and bad, yeah we science and what we do and all those things.

01:21:10.89
Brian Penn
yeah

01:21:15.17
Chris Olson
But it's also that primeval link that we have to these ancestors who used to be the dominant force.

01:21:19.38
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:21:21.46
Chris Olson
It's got so much relevance. Like it's always got relevance. I think that's why it spawns so many more films because it's a story that can just keep being told and and slightly tweaked. to make it more relevant to a modern an audience.

01:21:32.64
Chris Olson
But I think the spectacle of it, the film it gives me most kind of connection to is probably Jaws.

01:21:32.95
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:21:39.63
Chris Olson
Cause obviously similar for a lot of obvious reasons, but it, yeah, in terms of the actual,

01:21:39.81
Brian Penn
Hmm.

01:21:44.03
Brian Penn
Some of the vibe, isn't it? Yeah.

01:21:48.63
Chris Olson
ah physical predators that we're seeing in the film and the way that they're delivered elicits such a stark reaction from audiences. It creates that whoa moment and that is magic.

01:21:59.13
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

01:22:03.90
Chris Olson
That is cinema magic and I think that, like you said, that's why the filmmakers look up to this sort of film.

01:22:07.68
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:22:08.88
Chris Olson
Their score helps. I mean, that score is absolutely incredible.

01:22:10.49
Brian Penn
who

01:22:12.75
Chris Olson
um The cast is brilliant. talked about that. I think It's a film that is like, if you're going to do the, when people hold up the scoreboards at like a recital, it's like 10, 10, 10, like everything is just on the money here.

01:22:25.10
Brian Penn
yeah i'm like and i

01:22:27.53
Chris Olson
Yeah, it's absolutely perfect.

01:22:29.07
Brian Penn
It's an amazing film and its power doesn't diminish at all. Even though we've seen six Jurassic films since then, it's powerful. It still carries that punch. Even though I would imagine that how many people have seen that film at some point in the last 32 years, it's still got that punch. It still doesn't diminish in its impacts.

01:22:53.74
Brian Penn
And you realise what a genius, I mean, genius Steven Spielberg is. Really incredible. You know, and I mean, going back to one of your earlier points, though, that, you know, it's quite endearing, quite heartwarming. You know, the characters played by Sam Neill and Laura Dern.

01:23:10.73
Brian Penn
They're a married couple. And yeah you notice how they kept on getting trapped with these two kids and she wants to have kids and he doesn't.

01:23:17.25
Chris Olson
Yeah.

01:23:17.87
Brian Penn
They're being put in a position where he has to look after kids and he he and he starts to de develop up kind of a parental instinct then because he thinks, oh, well maybe, yeah. So that's... It's got a human side as well.

01:23:30.08
Brian Penn
you know the And that's quite endearing. And it's clever to mix it in with all the action. Because you you could just look upon it as an action movie. So it's it's as you say, it's multi-layered. It's got so much going on there.

01:23:41.19
Brian Penn
And the seeing it once, you don't always catch all the nuances. and Which is why I picked up on the the ecological debate in the script, which you wouldn't necessarily get first time around.

01:23:53.83
Chris Olson
Absolutely. And that's why we revisit these films, um these nostalgia picks.

01:23:57.33
Brian Penn
Exactly. Yeah.

01:23:59.79
Chris Olson
And yeah, that was a really good one. and and I thoroughly enjoyed going back to that. and And after you giving the new one, Film of the Month, that has really, really made me want to go see that. um

01:24:09.37
Brian Penn
you love it.

01:24:10.11
Chris Olson
Rebirth.

01:24:10.18
Brian Penn
You will love it. You will love it.

01:24:12.43
Chris Olson
So, yeah, that's been our episode ah for this month. Thoroughly entertaining and very varied. yeah We've reviewed films across the spectrum. I hope you enjoyed them. And big thank you to the filmmakers who send us their movies, as always.

01:24:26.36
Chris Olson
Big thank you to Brian for going to the cinema, braving the outdoor world in this post-pandemic life that we have.

01:24:31.43
Brian Penn
Yeah, know, yeah. Yeah, I'm a brave little soldier, aren't I, really?

01:24:33.45
Chris Olson
um You know... You are really.

01:24:36.32
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:24:36.44
Chris Olson
um But I don't like to sort of brag about it really for you too much. I don't want you getting a big head. I don't want you feeling that, you know, because otherwise, you know, the demands will start, you know, nightmare.

01:24:45.56
Brian Penn
I've got to keep my feet on the ground, I, really? Yeah.

01:24:47.82
Chris Olson
um Thank you to everyone um for listening. If you've made it this far, congratulations. You've stuck with us. You know, we talked earlier about running times, but, you know often we run our mouths way too long.

01:24:56.85
Brian Penn
Yeah. ah Yeah.

01:24:59.19
Chris Olson
um So, yeah, if you made it this far, thank you. And we'll see you again in August.

01:25:04.59
Brian Penn
Bye for now.