.png)
Mufasa - Better Man - A Complete Unknown - UK Film Club Episode 23
UK Film Club
00:00:00.69
Chris Olson
i never I never read the instructions.
00:00:03.40
Brian Penn
oh no I don't either yeah yeah yeah yeah I know you see I'm the same really because if you read the instructions then it's one hasn't it you know it's defeated you right because you know I think it I think it is a main thing as well you know I'm really on it yeah
00:00:05.13
Chris Olson
If you get a new bit of tech, you kind of go, I'm just gonna wing it and I'll learn as I go. And i I know it's the wrong way to be, but I got a new mic and now I'm paying for it.
00:00:20.30
Chris Olson
Yeah.
00:00:26.16
Chris Olson
Oh, 100%. And um I've got children and we we we had Christmas not that long ago, although it does feel like a long time ago now.
00:00:33.74
Brian Penn
ah know yeah
00:00:34.09
Chris Olson
um And yeah, if they get like a ah toy or something like that, I immediately assume I can put it together immediately. I just think, yeah, I've got this. Just give me the box and I'll have a look at the picture and oh we I'll stick this together.
00:00:43.18
Brian Penn
e
00:00:46.83
Chris Olson
And I would say 10 times out of 10, I do have to go back and get the instructions because something's gone wrong.
00:00:46.83
Brian Penn
and i
00:00:52.59
Brian Penn
So it's like when you've got a flat pack, isn't it? And you put it up and then you've got three screws, a couple of brackets left over and you say, Oh God, no.
00:00:54.85
Chris Olson
Mm-hmm.
00:01:01.11
Brian Penn
And it's cause I haven't read the instructions. Same thing every time.
00:01:05.04
Chris Olson
but Also, they're throwing you off slightly there because sometimes, and I know this to be true, they've put extras in just in case you need them.
00:01:10.80
Brian Penn
Yeah. Spares.
00:01:12.19
Chris Olson
And you look at it and you second-guess yourself, but actually, Brian, you did a great job.
00:01:16.02
Brian Penn
I know.
00:01:16.11
Chris Olson
All right, I'm here to tell you, you did a great job.
00:01:17.33
Brian Penn
Oh, thank you. Thank you. That they they're wicked. They're awful. Those people, aren't they? You put extras in like that.
00:01:22.03
Chris Olson
They are, yeah.
00:01:23.12
Brian Penn
Make you think you've done something wrong.
00:01:24.80
Chris Olson
Yeah, essentially the worst.
00:01:25.83
Brian Penn
I know.
00:01:26.40
Chris Olson
Essentially, they are the worst people.
00:01:27.50
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:01:27.77
Chris Olson
um
00:01:28.25
Brian Penn
It's evil. See, it's, it's, it's cruel and sadistic.
00:01:31.90
Chris Olson
Exactly. Speaking of cruel and sadistic, we're back for another year of podcasting.
00:01:35.93
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:01:36.37
Chris Olson
um Yes, it's our first episode of 2025 and we've had a nice little break and have refreshed. We're ready to take on the year, but so much has happened that we've already given up hope.
00:01:50.70
Chris Olson
um Yeah, no, we we we we're absolutely brilliant, aren we aren't we, Brian?
00:01:54.74
Brian Penn
Yeah, course we are.
00:01:54.87
Chris Olson
We're ready to go.
00:01:55.88
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:01:56.06
Chris Olson
um If this is your first time to Film Club, the way this works is Brian and myself review all manner of films. That's films at cinema, documentaries, on streaming platforms, ah small, short indie films, and we also take a look at a yeah a classic film from a bygone era.
00:02:14.46
Chris Olson
And this month is potentially, I think it is the furthest back we've gone in history.
00:02:19.32
Brian Penn
Yeah, it is, isn't it? Yeah, and actually, yeah, it is.
00:02:20.56
Chris Olson
um Yeah, going really far back for this one and it and it is slightly topical.
00:02:24.16
Brian Penn
Hmm. Yep.
00:02:26.75
Chris Olson
I won't spoil it, but yeah, you can read the description if you are desperate to know what film we're going to review at the end of the show.
00:02:30.95
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:02:32.62
Chris Olson
But beginning with the cinema releases, we have a bumper crop, not least because not only has Brian very kindly gone to the cinema to watch and review some of these movies,
00:02:40.18
Brian Penn
Hmm.
00:02:43.26
Brian Penn
Hmm.
00:02:44.11
Chris Olson
film critic Chris Buick has also chipped in a couple um that I have asked him to review.
00:02:47.64
Brian Penn
Oh, wow. Yeah.
00:02:50.09
Chris Olson
Bless him. He he he gets all mad.
00:02:50.83
Brian Penn
Fantastic.
00:02:51.89
Chris Olson
Not only do do I boss Brian around, I also boss Chris around.
00:02:54.74
Brian Penn
ah
00:02:55.44
Chris Olson
And he's um he's reviewed a couple for me, but um we'll slot those in seamlessly ah in the episode.
00:03:00.89
Brian Penn
Cool.
00:03:00.93
Chris Olson
But kicking things off is a film that I am tempted to take the family to. So I am very intrigued to hear Brian's review of Mufasa, The Lion King.
00:03:08.07
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:03:12.16
Brian Penn
Okay, then, directed by a Barry Jenkins, starring Aaron Pierre Kelvin Harrison Jr. Seth Rogen, Mads Mikkelsen, Sandy Newton, and many, many more. So this is the prequel. Simba is now established as the Lion King. He and Nala have a daughter, Kiara, but are expecting another cub. They leave for the Oasis so Nala can give birth, and leave Kiara in the care of Timon and Pumbaa. They are under strict instructions not to tell Kiara stories, but Rafiki, the wise old mandrill, arrives to take charge. He tells Kiara the greatest story of all.
00:03:48.52
Brian Penn
how her grandfather Mifasa became the Lion King. Now, I really enjoyed this, really did.
00:03:53.85
Chris Olson
Yeah.
00:03:55.12
Brian Penn
It's a very neat backstory told with a lot of heart. You learn more about Mifasa and why Scar became something embittered. So it's a very, very smart, well-drawn backstory.
00:04:06.07
Brian Penn
and um The one downside for me are the songs. They're so corny and cliche. Typical Walt Disney, you know, in one ear and out the other.
00:04:16.75
Brian Penn
They do nothing for the film, in my opinion. And if anything, it drains the story's dramatic impacts, drains the energy from the film slightly. And I would honestly say it would have been better without the songs.
00:04:28.32
Brian Penn
But otherwise, a very, very good film. PG-rated, I find that slightly surprising. It looks to be a use for me, one for all the family, but you know I get confused with classifications like you, Chris.
00:04:41.38
Brian Penn
So there you go.
00:04:42.25
Chris Olson
well yeah that interestingly because that's one of the big factors that i really really care about now when i've got you know i've got a seven year old and a three year old and when i see pg i am very aware okay there's definitely like that is potentially not appropriate for my kids because i even my seven year old she's i'd say she's a young seven like she she gets very easily scared and when we saw the trailer
00:04:43.05
Brian Penn
Take that with a pinch of salt, but you know,
00:04:50.11
Brian Penn
Hmm. Hmm.
00:05:00.35
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:05:04.73
Brian Penn
Right. Yeah.
00:05:06.48
Chris Olson
We saw the trailer for this when we saw Moana 2 and they saw it and they were, Daddy, can we watch that?
00:05:08.84
Brian Penn
All right. Okay.
00:05:11.87
Chris Olson
I was like, do you know what? I'm going to wait to see what Brian says because, you know, and and if you're saying, yeah, maybe it is a bit more for you.
00:05:15.83
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:05:18.55
Chris Olson
But I think but sometimes it's surprising what things scare a child because you obviously, you know, us being film critics, we very much remove ourselves from that stuff.
00:05:23.27
Brian Penn
Yeah, it is. Yeah.
00:05:29.01
Brian Penn
we We've become hardened to it, haven't we really?
00:05:30.06
Chris Olson
Oh, yeah, 100 percent.
00:05:31.52
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:05:31.95
Chris Olson
Very hard to scare us. um
00:05:33.96
Brian Penn
I think ah think if you've got children that um aren't particularly, I was gonna say grown up, but kids are kids, aren't they? So they're not grown up, but you know, if you've got children, I think it's a difficult one to charge, but I didn't see anything particularly harmful in that or might scare a very young child.
00:05:53.44
Brian Penn
ah certainly not not a seven year old three year old.
00:05:56.69
Chris Olson
Yeah, I think that the PG part of it is very important.
00:05:57.30
Brian Penn
I'm not so sure it's a difficult one.
00:06:00.28
Chris Olson
I didn't really realize that when I was yeah and a non-child bearer.
00:06:04.89
Brian Penn
Yeah. her
00:06:06.01
Chris Olson
You think, oh, PG is just like a certain level, but I think it really is important that yeah that parent will know their children and they'll know what they get.
00:06:12.04
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:06:13.20
Chris Olson
My children, honestly, they get scared like sing, you know, they'll watch sing and there'll be a character that's like a, that's like a baddie, you know, someone just being mean could be enough to set them off.
00:06:16.96
Brian Penn
Oh, right. Okay. ah Yeah. ah Yeah, mate.
00:06:22.33
Chris Olson
So yeah, something like this, where it's very visceral, I think could actually be scary for them.
00:06:23.66
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:06:26.68
Brian Penn
I mean, it's there. There are some elements of confrontation in the film, which you would expect anyway.
00:06:30.53
Chris Olson
Yeah.
00:06:33.51
Brian Penn
um But I don't think it's quite that severe. But it's a difficult one to call. And maybe they are on the side of caution, really with.
00:06:41.97
Chris Olson
yeah
00:06:42.24
Brian Penn
ah
00:06:42.40
Chris Olson
I think they don't want to get in trouble, especially as well with their platform as well. They've obviously this will end up on streaming and they don't want to be traumatized in other kids who watched it by accident, you know.
00:06:47.85
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:06:51.96
Chris Olson
um Yeah.
00:06:52.21
Brian Penn
Yeah, so I do get that. um It's had some one one or two bumpy reviews, but all films do, I think most films do, but I found it really entertaining, very enjoyable, and my launch, a good one for the family to go and see.
00:07:06.55
Chris Olson
There you go.
00:07:06.90
Brian Penn
So really good.
00:07:07.23
Chris Olson
You heard it here first.
00:07:08.75
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:07:09.79
Chris Olson
And this is one you'll also probably hear first because Chris Bjork is going to chip in with a review of street trash.
00:07:17.00
Brian Penn
Oh, fantastic.
00:07:21.15
Chris Olson
And that was Chris's review. um Just peek behind the curtain on this, guys.
00:07:25.66
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:07:25.87
Chris Olson
Brian isn't hearing these reviews. I'm going to put them in afterwards. So he's going to have to just...
00:07:28.94
Brian Penn
I know.
00:07:30.11
Chris Olson
What do you think of Chris's review, Brian?
00:07:31.14
Brian Penn
I know.
00:07:31.39
Chris Olson
Do you think...?
00:07:31.90
Brian Penn
I know. I know. I've got some views about it now.
00:07:33.06
Chris Olson
Oh, it was great, wasn't it?
00:07:33.64
Brian Penn
Oh yeah. But yeah, I know. But you see the thing is though, I'll be in the same position as listeners when I listen in.
00:07:41.56
Chris Olson
Exactly. And I know you're a big fan of the show.
00:07:42.42
Brian Penn
Cause I, of course I am. Yeah, absolutely.
00:07:45.72
Chris Olson
um
00:07:45.92
Brian Penn
No question.
00:07:47.26
Chris Olson
But yeah, we are going to ask Brian to do another review now because Chris has had his time.
00:07:47.80
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:07:51.23
Chris Olson
He will be chipping in another one.
00:07:51.82
Brian Penn
Cool.
00:07:52.47
Chris Olson
But before we get to that, i'm this is another one I'm very intrigued about because it's been all over the place in terms of its um dynamic and the setup. a Better man.
00:08:04.20
Brian Penn
Oh, well, okay, then. So, directed by Michael Gracie, starring Jono Davis, Steve Pemberton, as the stubborn and Robbie himself. um Robbie is played on screen by computer generated chimpanzee. It charts his life and career from his early days would take that the acrimonious split. He's wildly successful for a solo album, a slow descent into addiction, his relationships with girlfriend Nicole Appleton, his father Pete,
00:08:32.23
Brian Penn
and songwriting partner Guy Chambers, but also marks his gradual recovery to sobriety. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Before I go on, I am a huge Robbie Williams fan.
00:08:41.02
Chris Olson
Ooh.
00:08:46.21
Chris Olson
Are you?
00:08:47.03
Brian Penn
I am, yeah, a love ah yeah um but I know.
00:08:47.88
Chris Olson
So you're to blame. Okay, right, come on then.
00:08:53.30
Brian Penn
I do race him as a performer, as an artist, and a songwriter. But to use the CGI chimp, was a huge mistake. um When Robbie was asked about this, he said that, oh, like chimps, I feel less evolved. People are kinder to animals than humans. That is psychobabble, in my opinion. That's a poor reason, a poor excuse to turn a film into a gimmick, which is what this is. I don't know why he ever agreed to it. It only undermines the film's credibility. um The narrative is skewed
00:09:32.34
Brian Penn
and very one-sided, take that feature very briefly, but deserve more credit for their part in in his career. Whether he likes it or not, there would be no Robbie Williams without take that. right um It's interesting that it's been nominated for an Oscar, Best Visual Effects, and I find that very telling. It's the film's only real strength. It's just the wrong time to make a biopic about Robbie, and entirely the wrong approach.
00:09:59.23
Brian Penn
um so I miss for me, unfortunately.
00:10:03.14
Chris Olson
Oh, interesting. Yeah, no, I was intrigued to see what you're going to make of this one.
00:10:04.30
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:10:06.82
Chris Olson
And it hasn't appealed, I'll be honest. so And I've seen the trailers and the clips and things.
00:10:10.12
Brian Penn
yeah
00:10:12.05
Chris Olson
I'm not a Broly Williams fan. And I thought, you know what? I will be giving this a miss unless Brian comes back and says it's like the greatest biopic he's ever watched.
00:10:19.48
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
00:10:20.03
Chris Olson
I'm giving this one a miss.
00:10:20.24
Brian Penn
Yeah. Well, there you go. And I'm a fan of Broadway winning Spain. I'm saying, no, don't, don't do it.
00:10:25.29
Chris Olson
Oh, I tell you what I did need to tell you, Brian.
00:10:27.52
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:10:27.79
Chris Olson
Last year on the show, you reviewed a film called The Boys in the Boat. Do you remember?
00:10:33.07
Brian Penn
yeah oh yeah yeah sure of course yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah oh thanks thanks for that view i was wondering for a second yeah i thought he was yeah i know but you enjoyed it yeah
00:10:34.10
Chris Olson
And you it was a Clooney film he directed, right? And you gave... Yeah, you gave it, um you said it was filmed a month. You've been to cinema. I, on that recommendation alone, forced my wife to watch it with me.
00:10:47.66
Chris Olson
And we both loved it. Brilliant recommendation. Really good. ah but You were worried there, weren't you? you thought i was good You thought I was going to reel you out in front of everyone. But yeah, no, it was a very good film.
00:10:59.18
Chris Olson
Very good. It's on Amazon, if anyone wants to watch that movie and go back and listen to Brian's review of it.
00:11:03.56
Brian Penn
there Very underrated, very underrated film.
00:11:04.66
Chris Olson
Very good. Yeah, it's such an under the radar kind of movie.
00:11:08.74
Brian Penn
Yeah, yeah.
00:11:09.49
Chris Olson
um I don't wanna, I'm not gonna do any spoilers, but there was, there was a bit, you'll know what I say if I do this right. say There's a character near at the end, quite a prominent character, shall we say, in history that is attending the games.
00:11:16.11
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:11:20.59
Brian Penn
Right.
00:11:22.27
Chris Olson
Do you know the character that I mean?
00:11:22.52
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:11:24.80
Chris Olson
That was, ah it was a bit of a, I don't know, there was a lot of focus on him, but it was sort of like, oh, where's this suddenly come from?
00:11:30.78
Brian Penn
and and and I I That's a bit of a kill ball though, isn't it?
00:11:31.02
Chris Olson
yeah But,
00:11:33.06
Brian Penn
Yeah, I know.
00:11:33.34
Chris Olson
but But generally, that it was really good. I really enjoyed that. um We are um heading back to Chris for another review.
00:11:37.87
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:11:41.59
Chris Olson
This one is of the damned. So here's Chris.
00:11:49.55
Chris Olson
And again, Brian hasn't heard that review. So Brian, what did you think of that?
00:11:52.19
Brian Penn
Fantastic.
00:11:52.95
Chris Olson
Was it a good review? Do you like what Chris said? Fantastic, wasn't he?
00:11:55.61
Brian Penn
I mean, he should be on air. He should be on air with a shoot and he really, he should be
00:11:57.47
Chris Olson
Yeah. I can't believe he was swearing so much.
00:12:00.60
Brian Penn
on i
00:12:00.69
Chris Olson
How dare he?
00:12:02.14
Brian Penn
Mind you, it makes it stand out though, doesn't it?
00:12:04.47
Chris Olson
That's what I say. um I should just say um both. ah So Street Trash was a cinema release. It was in cinemas on the 10th of Jan, um if you're listening to this sort of in real time.
00:12:15.60
Chris Olson
And it's also going to be on digital and Blu-ray 17th of Feb. And The Damned was also available in cinemas from the 10th of January. I don't know how well both of them did. um Brian didn't go see them.
00:12:24.96
Brian Penn
right
00:12:26.90
Chris Olson
So I can't imagine they did that well.
00:12:27.00
Brian Penn
not you know
00:12:29.81
Chris Olson
um But yeah, thank you, Chris, for both of those reviews that you did in the show. and Brian will move onto his last cinema release cover and again with a biopic but one I am a fan of the artist this time Bob Dylan um a complete unknown
00:12:41.53
Brian Penn
Ah, yeah. Ah, right. Yeah. So directed by James Mangold starring Timothy Chamelee, Edward Norton, Ellie Fanning, and Monica Barbaro. So we begin in the early sixties, aspiring singer-songwriter Bob Dylan travels to New York and meets his hero Woody Guthrie, who lies stricken in a hospital. He also meets folk singer Pete Seeger and plays them both a song.
00:13:09.89
Brian Penn
Seager is impressed and introduces into the New York folk community. Dylan become ah sorry dylan begins to date Sylvie Russo, but he's also distracted by Joan Baez, another up and coming folk singer. He's later signed by CBS and recalls his first album. Dylan is looked upon as the savior of of folk music. However, his fans are horrified when he plans to go electric. I absolutely love this.
00:13:37.19
Chris Olson
Yeah.
00:13:37.44
Brian Penn
like you i'm ah I'm a huge Bob Dylan fan. I mean, really, who who couldn't be a Bob Dylan fan? um This is how you make a biopic really. I mean, if you take into account what we just discussed about the Robbie Williams biopic, this is how you do it. They concentrated on a five-year period and they've made it sequential. It's signposted with major political events like the Cuban Missile Crisis, the JFK assassination, the March on Washington. Absolutely brilliant. Now there's nothing wrong with flashbacks.
00:14:07.60
Brian Penn
It's a technique used in most films, but with a biopic, it should always be chronological. That's how an autobiography reads, so why should a film be any different? It doesn't try to cram Dylan's life into two and a half hours. It's sensible, highly intelligent filmmaking. Eight Oscar nominations, best picture, best director, best actor, best supporting actress, and six BAFTA nominations. So well deserved. I'm calling it now, Chris, one of the films of the year.
00:14:37.45
Chris Olson
Yeah.
00:14:37.47
Brian Penn
And it's like in January. Brilliant. Absolutely.
00:14:40.70
Chris Olson
Wow.
00:14:40.88
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:14:41.47
Chris Olson
So what will happen now, listeners, is that's the film that I'll then watch for next year's pod when you listen back.
00:14:46.63
Brian Penn
yeah like can on like can on yourly Yeah.
00:14:47.63
Chris Olson
Like I've just done with the boys in the boat. You know, OK.
00:14:50.49
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:14:50.90
Chris Olson
Oh, i by the way, Brian, I've just watched it.
00:14:52.44
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
00:14:53.37
Chris Olson
ah But no, I will I'll be seeking this one out because I'm a big music fan as well as a big film fan.
00:14:55.84
Brian Penn
yeah yeah
00:14:57.49
Chris Olson
So it ticks both boxes. And I agree with you. I think there is an element of I think when they focus on a time that's more condensed, not trying to do the whole sort of killing the people of everything that they've done, and also not trying to get to...
00:15:10.29
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:15:13.67
Chris Olson
caught up in the gimmicks like with the Robbie Williams there's a big gimmick going on there.
00:15:15.97
Brian Penn
Yeah. Oh, cool says yeah.
00:15:17.36
Chris Olson
um i'm I'm actually okay with sometimes with they're doing flashbacks because obviously they sometimes want to show the artists like at the end of their life and they kind of are looking back on when they were popular or whatever but yeah I think with Bob Dylan there's just too much like he's so influential he's got so much you know in his back catalogue that to focus on this period just makes complete sense and the absolute caliber of the filmmakers and the
00:15:24.98
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
00:15:34.06
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:15:41.38
Chris Olson
cast here it's just enough to make anyone go yeah this is going to be a corker over and gurgle i love that that is brilliant
00:15:42.19
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's gonna, I mean, for any film fan, it's going to make you roll over in Google. I mean, it's so good. You know, even if you're not particularly a Yeah. I know. Well, I'm glad you do. I thought I should try that one out. We'll see if that works. But you know, it's it's that type of film, even if you're not particularly a particular Bob Dylan fan, particularly still a great story. and Right. But I mean, you've got the songs. I mean, what can you say about the songs?
00:16:12.55
Brian Penn
They are landmarks in popular music. There's got to be at least one Bob Dylan song that you like.
00:16:19.04
Chris Olson
Yeah, especially a lot of people don't realise that songs they like were Bob Dylan songs, if you know what I mean?
00:16:19.20
Brian Penn
you know
00:16:22.93
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:16:23.66
Chris Olson
They'll know a version of it, a cover of it, and they'll go, oh, it's Bob Dylan.
00:16:23.93
Brian Penn
well well Well, I mean, look at Adele ah to make you feel my love.
00:16:30.02
Chris Olson
Yeah.
00:16:30.30
Brian Penn
That's a pub much later in his career, but that's a Bob Dylan song. And you wouldn't have had that down as a Bob Dylan song, not really.
00:16:35.88
Chris Olson
Yeah, there's just so many here.
00:16:36.70
Brian Penn
um and I mean, what they could also do, though, is that um like could take another phase ah of Dylan's life and say going into the 70s and make another film about that you know and I'd sooner it be that way rather than just try and crowbar everything in to a limited time span whilst I accept that flashbacks are an important technique in film ah but i I just prefer it better with biopics when they do it like this you know and I expect it to fare very well at the Oscars it already you could say it already has because the nominations is gone
00:17:08.36
Chris Olson
Yeah I think it's got that type of movie about it that they'll like and it's also one of those ones where it's kind of inoffensive if you see what I mean that people kind of go oh yeah that's fine like for that to do well um but I also oh you know these these days the award seasons and things they do get
00:17:13.95
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
00:17:27.83
Chris Olson
though they do throw some different ones up there and sort of you have some random films winning but there's also a strength that James Mann got when he's done some incredible movies so I think yeah I could see this doing very very well but we'll see
00:17:33.43
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:17:37.67
Brian Penn
yeah
00:17:42.67
Brian Penn
yeah Yeah, I know, but it's not really much more i can I can say about it. I mean, you can run out of superlaces, but it is a fantastic film, you know, and go see it.
00:17:56.70
Chris Olson
There you go. That's it. You've been told.
00:17:58.02
Brian Penn
Go watch it.
00:17:58.44
Chris Olson
Brian's told you. Go see it.
00:17:59.18
Brian Penn
Go see it.
00:18:00.17
Chris Olson
um Except me. I will watch it next year, which is what I normally do. um But yeah, those are all the movies that are out at the cinema that we're covering.
00:18:04.11
Brian Penn
Yeah, well, yeah.
00:18:08.16
Chris Olson
um And yeah, ah thank you, Brian, obviously, for going to watch those. And thank you to Chris to for reviewing the ones I sent across. um We're moving now to what's called our streaming pic.
00:18:19.29
Chris Olson
And this is where we watch and review a movie from a streaming platform, quite typically Netflix, I'll be honest, um most most months it's Netflix. And this month is no exception.
00:18:31.43
Chris Olson
We are reviewing a documentary though, ah called Don't Die, The Man Who Wants to Live Forever. And this was an interesting pick from ah for a few reasons.
00:18:37.86
Brian Penn
Hmm.
00:18:44.94
Chris Olson
Brian, he watched this one, yeah.
00:18:46.64
Brian Penn
Yeah, I did.
00:18:47.25
Chris Olson
Caught this one, fabulous.
00:18:47.28
Brian Penn
Yep. Yep.
00:18:50.56
Chris Olson
It's about this, well, I call him an influencer now, but yeah, he's a he was a a rich guy who decided to focus all his resources and energies on becoming um but reversing the aging process.
00:19:03.32
Brian Penn
Hmm.
00:19:06.27
Chris Olson
um and yeah I'll try and remember the guy's name, Brian Johnson.
00:19:11.73
Brian Penn
Brian Johnson.
00:19:13.05
Chris Olson
Brian Johnson um yeah he he' been yeah very yeah openly talks with the cameras, but also has there's loads of clips of him online where he goes to very extreme lengths to um prevent himself from aging and trying to reverse the clock.
00:19:14.00
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:19:29.33
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:19:30.12
Chris Olson
doing things, yeah such simple things to begin with, you so diet, exercise, all the sort of things that maybe most people did, but then concoctions of pills and transfusions and all kind of manner of things yeah um to the point where
00:19:43.83
Brian Penn
Gene therapy. Gene therapy as well.
00:19:50.39
Chris Olson
Yeah, it's clearly doing something, whether or not, what harm it's doing and good it's doing is up to your sort of interpretation of everything.
00:19:56.39
Brian Penn
Hmm.
00:19:59.11
Chris Olson
But I think it's ah it's a powerful story about our age and where we're living. And also, it had this kind of sci-fi feel to it. yeah It did feel like you could even very quickly make this into a you ah fictional movie.
00:20:07.97
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
00:20:13.72
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:20:13.78
Chris Olson
um What did you feel about this one, bro?
00:20:16.05
Brian Penn
It's interesting. There's something quite engrossing about this really. I mean, it's true. What you say, this is typical Netflix fodder, isn't it? Really? It's the type of thing they will put on, but it's very watchable.
00:20:23.63
Chris Olson
Hmm.
00:20:27.40
Brian Penn
Um, I mean, he's walking experiment, isn't he? Uh, he's devised the program to reduce his age and live longer, but taking a hundred pills a day, um, regular blood transfusions, gene therapies, we just said, I think you get a real insight into the mind of Brian Johnson.
00:20:44.01
Brian Penn
This obsession. What else could you really call it? I mean, I know he's making money from this. Let's not forget. He's a tech millionaire, isn't he? Or billionaire. He's a very wealthy man anyway. ah But he's still making money out of this. um But all of this seems to be a product of his earlier life. He had difficult relationships with his parents, his son, former partners, et cetera. He seems to be a very troubled soul. But what strikes me is that something important is being lost here.
00:21:11.89
Brian Penn
amidst all the inferencing and the sound blacks and the YouTube videos and what have you, because he could be doing something quite unique and quite valuable for medical science that's getting buried. um I don't know whether you remember or not, but one doctor was being interviewed for this documentary and he sent him a ah message. He sent Brian Johnson a message ah saying what he was doing was really interesting, but it shouldn't just be him on this program. It shouldn't involve a thousand people.
00:21:40.95
Brian Penn
on a proper clinical trial, then you have data that would mean something because you have comparisons. Now I'm paraphrasing that, but that's what he was getting at.
00:21:49.32
Chris Olson
Yeah, no, I remember that bit and it was it was quite important because it was the idea that actually everything he's doing is actually getting wasted because it's not the scientific community will not accept it.
00:21:50.53
Brian Penn
Yeah. but Yeah.
00:21:58.95
Chris Olson
It's not a true evaluation of what happens, but he yeah Brian Johnson himself.
00:21:59.04
Brian Penn
yeah
00:22:04.77
Chris Olson
So he's kind of like pushing himself to the pure limits like he's doing stuff that she ah admits is unsafe.
00:22:07.90
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:22:12.04
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:22:12.74
Chris Olson
to see what happens, to see if it works, to see if there's any kind of worth to that. But it's yeah it's like it's it's interesting that there's this underlying feeling that everything he's doing is almost pointless because it is just a one-person experiment.
00:22:27.50
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:22:28.18
Chris Olson
And he is, yeah as we all know, everyone's unique.
00:22:28.69
Brian Penn
yeah
00:22:30.80
Chris Olson
There is, obviously, there's the element of his son. His son is kind of following him, doing similar things.
00:22:34.65
Brian Penn
yeah
00:22:36.00
Chris Olson
He's starting to take it on. And that relationship, to be honest, That for me was more of the heart of the film because the whole structure of the documentary is set up around the fact that his son, who has chosen to come live with his father even though they were estranged for a bit, is also now about to go move into his uni lodgings and he's going to leave.
00:22:44.59
Brian Penn
Yeah. Hmm.
00:22:53.42
Brian Penn
Hmm.
00:22:57.37
Chris Olson
And it's this idea of like what's that impact going to be on Brian, who clearly is enjoying this relationship with his son. They're working out together, they're eating meals together, they're doing all this stuff together.
00:23:10.83
Chris Olson
um And it's like, you know, I think, like you said, the the story talks about the issues that Brian's had in his past, the family issues he's had, the trouble he had to with religion, I think it was, was it Mormonism?
00:23:24.65
Brian Penn
lins Yeah, moment.
00:23:25.10
Chris Olson
Yeah. um And Yeah, you can see that yeah he even himself admits that his relationships is really important for development for the process of staying healthy, staying yeah young.
00:23:39.20
Chris Olson
um And yet, he's so obsessed with giving his mind over to the algorithm and yeah releasing himself from all this stuff and just living in a way that's just going to keep his body young.
00:23:41.06
Brian Penn
There.
00:23:51.11
Chris Olson
But it's actually his relationship with his son, which seems to bring the most fulfillment in the documentary anyway.
00:23:51.30
Brian Penn
yeah yeah it's very true actually it does come through yeah but yeah but funny thing is though to me it's just my opinion he doesn't look that healthy he's got a good physique he's honed and ripped and all the rest of it but he looks a bit pale to me a bit do you not think
00:23:56.11
Chris Olson
And I found that I found that really powerful, just watching him as a character and saying, well, actually, this is all just a byproduct of what's going on. um Yeah, that was interesting.
00:24:19.11
Chris Olson
like well I suppose if you think about one of the worst things to do if you don't want to age is like sun right you don't want to go out in the sun because it's terrible for your skin terrible for everything really they do say that going out on Sunday is not good for you and so I think that's probably why he does look a bit pale or it could be that he's not really human you know there is that chance as well um um but you know I think
00:24:27.00
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
00:24:38.54
Brian Penn
Well, yeah, it could be, I suppose. yeah You never know, do you? And this age of like AI, who knows?
00:24:46.21
Chris Olson
like all good documentaries this isn't just a promotion of what he's doing there is there is definitely a double side to it and anyone watching it will know yeah you know you don't feel like you're being fed a line or anything like that um they do give plenty of time to his critics they give plenty of time for the the other side of the the argument um but
00:25:04.33
Brian Penn
Yeah, I do. It's very balanced. Yeah. Yeah.
00:25:10.13
Chris Olson
i I honestly didn't think that he was scamming people because you know when you watch some documentaries and they they can easily find out they can oh be well about all this stuff that you're doing that's underhand.
00:25:20.60
Chris Olson
Like I know he's selling stuff like he has like affiliate links to oil or whatever on his i'm he cooking oil on his like homepage or whatever but I honestly just think that's just a natural thing that he would do.
00:25:27.42
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:25:32.38
Chris Olson
um
00:25:32.41
Brian Penn
yeah
00:25:33.71
Chris Olson
I thought it was a very contemporary documentary that I think a lot of people are going to be interested in, especially with the rise of social media, how it is impacting people's knowledge around ah health and medicine, science, all these things, because it only takes one video to go viral and suddenly everyone thinks that's gospel.
00:25:39.38
Brian Penn
and
00:25:45.60
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
00:25:53.17
Chris Olson
They think that's true, right?
00:25:53.41
Brian Penn
yeah
00:25:54.91
Chris Olson
um Whereas actually, If yeah it's like you see these things online, someone say, oh yeah, do these four ah workouts and you'll have ripped abs like me.
00:26:01.04
Brian Penn
Hello. Yeah.
00:26:03.93
Chris Olson
It's like, no, no, no, you already had ripped abs. Like that's not, you let's question what you're saying here.
00:26:06.70
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
00:26:08.68
Chris Olson
um And I think that's a really, he's an interesting character to be around in this time that we're in.
00:26:11.58
Brian Penn
yeah we is Yeah.
00:26:14.71
Brian Penn
I think, I think you're right. I think diet and health and fitness is at the forefront of everyone's minds. Isn't it? We want to stay healthy. We want to stay fit. We want to stay, we want to age well, don't we?
00:26:26.72
Chris Olson
Hmm.
00:26:26.89
Brian Penn
Um, but when it comes to reversing the aging process, which is ultimately what he's trying to do, that's something slightly different. That's where science takes over. Now, I don't think he's trying to scam anyone. You know, people have a choice, don't they? But it's a question of whether people buy into his worldview and his perception of what's good for you. Now, that's not a scam in itself. You either believe in it or you don't. But you see it, I think what you need to bear in mind with anything like this is that it's a bit also about genetics. You know, it's about individual metabolisms. So we don't always respond
00:27:06.68
Brian Penn
treatments in the same way and that's what you've always got to bear in mind with this but it will no doubt no doubt go down very well and and it will be of interest to many many people.
00:27:09.22
Chris Olson
Yeah.
00:27:17.18
Chris Olson
It struck me as like that one of those older, you said it was like perfect fodder for Netflix, but it struck me as one of those ones that's like, ah do you remember the channel five documentaries?
00:27:21.72
Brian Penn
yeah
00:27:25.26
Chris Olson
That used to be the the platform for the kind of wacky ah doc.
00:27:28.80
Brian Penn
oh yeah yeah yeah
00:27:29.89
Chris Olson
It was like you channel five, you know,
00:27:30.50
Brian Penn
yeah yeah
00:27:32.55
Chris Olson
why why is my brain hurting or something like that you know it'd be like uh that it felt a bit like that but it's got good production values lots of modern uh footage and clips and things being used but i think as with all good documentaries you've got the balance but you've also got the heart there there's a heart there behind this character because if you just took it on the surface as to what this guy is preaching and what he's talking about
00:27:34.41
Brian Penn
and and yeah Yeah. Yeah.
00:27:58.71
Chris Olson
Yeah, it would feel very flat and clinical.
00:28:01.29
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:28:01.90
Chris Olson
But actually, when you get those moments about his family, his yeah history and what's going on, it really does have a lot of depth. And yeah I was very compelled.
00:28:09.87
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:28:11.06
Chris Olson
I can't say I was bored watching this.
00:28:12.17
Brian Penn
Yeah. And you do feel concerned for him in in some ways, you think, well, this, this is what it what he's chosen to do. This is the journey that he's he's making. And that it does involve an element of danger and risk.
00:28:24.28
Brian Penn
But you also, you do feel concerned for him in some ways, you, you want it to to work work out all right. But the very most important thing about about the whole documentary, though, was that Um, there were contrary views being, being posed that, um, there were, uh, talking heads being interviewed who put the country view, who was skeptical, who were interested, but s skeptical.
00:28:50.47
Brian Penn
And then probably you've got that in there, right? You know, you take that side of it out. It just becomes an advert, doesn't it? For what he's doing, but this isn't, this is a ah proper documentary.
00:28:58.56
Chris Olson
yeah
00:29:01.92
Chris Olson
Yeah, yeah, definitely. ah i yeah I think that's important to make that that point.
00:29:03.68
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:29:06.35
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:29:06.47
Chris Olson
ah It's called Don't Die, The Man Who Wants to Live Forever, and it is on Netflix. So yeah have a watch, send us your reviews, let us know what you thought.
00:29:13.69
Brian Penn
Hmm.
00:29:13.90
Chris Olson
so It's always good to hear some opinions. Moving on now to a couple of indie films that we were sent. These are from filmmakers who have asked us to review their film and and one is very nice of those it's very kind they want to hear what we say.
00:29:24.41
Brian Penn
That's nice. Isn't it? Yeah. Yeah.
00:29:30.02
Chris Olson
um One of these has been a long time coming because I know there were some issues with something to do with the song rights or something but we eventually got to watch it and I'm so glad we did because it's available on Prime Video at the moment called Because We Are Too Many and we will get into the review shortly but first I'm going to play a clip and a quick warning it does have ah some wearing.
00:29:49.16
Brian Penn
wow really what the heck
00:30:47.57
Chris Olson
So absolutely incredible movie written and directed by Eve Lynn Walsh, who also stars in the film.
00:30:51.85
Brian Penn
Mm hmm.
00:30:56.75
Chris Olson
And the sort of quick synopsis is it's about a single mum ah living in Glasgow with her autistic son. And they're attempting to navigate the difficulty of life, really.
00:31:09.83
Chris Olson
Morgan and Ronan, we, as you hear in that clip, that's actually Morgan's mum talking to her because a lot of the film is actually set in flashback in in the past and we are privy to see what happened in her childhood with her parents in a very sort of challenging upbringing and what that then means for her now in her modern life. What do you think of Because We Are Too Many, Brian?
00:31:41.19
Brian Penn
Well very dark but also very very good. Very impressed with this. I really like the approach to the film itself because it's It's kind of part documentary, isn't it?
00:31:52.53
Brian Penn
It feels like a fly in the world, isn't it? It feels like almost reality TV and the way it was meant to be made, that they just turn a camera on a series of events and they film it.
00:32:04.47
Brian Penn
And that's what it feels like. I found it very reminiscent of the director Ken Loach, who specialized in gritty real life dramas.
00:32:10.76
Chris Olson
yeah yeah yeah Yeah, I thought that too, yeah.
00:32:15.08
Brian Penn
You compare it to something like I, like Daniel Blake or Raining Stones,
00:32:19.05
Chris Olson
Brian, it's like you're literally taking my bullet points. Stop it.
00:32:21.37
Brian Penn
o Sorry about that. But, you know, and I'm not suggesting that it's as good as Ken Loach, but it's, it's, you know, it's in that ballpark.
00:32:32.09
Chris Olson
Can we say lochian?
00:32:32.10
Brian Penn
You know, it's...
00:32:33.17
Chris Olson
Is that a thing?
00:32:33.83
Brian Penn
Loachian.
00:32:34.52
Chris Olson
load yeah because there's Because obviously lynchian, R-I-P, David Lynch by the way, ah is a thing, but lochian should also be a thing.
00:32:34.53
Brian Penn
That's good. I like that. We'll we'll go with that.
00:32:38.92
Brian Penn
Yeah. Loachian. Yeah. Yeah. So it's very much in that and that ballpark. And that's what makes it so good. Right. It's very real and very authentic.
00:32:50.96
Brian Penn
But there's one part I didn't get about in this film. The kid in the tunnel, was he a refugee?
00:32:55.22
Chris Olson
Mm.
00:32:57.44
Brian Penn
I wasn't really sure because I had flashbacks to Africa, didn't they? Or what seemed like Africa that gave you a backstory of where he came from. um And um I think it kind of partly derailed the story, but then he quickly got back on track again.
00:33:15.01
Brian Penn
But I wasn't entirely sure why that was there.
00:33:18.22
Chris Olson
Well, funny enough, the film's title comes from that scene. We see a flashback of him with his mum, I think, or something like that. There's a speech that goes on and that that's the title comes from that.
00:33:26.90
Brian Penn
All right. Yeah.
00:33:30.69
Chris Olson
But, yeah, I took it as this yeah characters like the character that she connected with because everything around her just was so chaotic and everyone had their sort of...
00:33:43.41
Chris Olson
fallibility. No one was perfect at all.
00:33:45.31
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:33:46.79
Chris Olson
And also how fragile this person was you in this tunnel. And then the kids start to sort of pick on him and then it escalates from there.
00:33:52.56
Brian Penn
ah Yeah.
00:33:56.58
Chris Olson
um And one of the themes that kind of came up for me was this idea that no one seems to be able to rely on anyone. no in In a world where there are so many people, whether we are so so surrounded by other humans, no one's able to really rely on anyone, um not in any meaningful way, not in this world anyway.
00:34:09.60
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:34:16.77
Chris Olson
um and even like the teachers at school are a bit useless you know they're not picking up on the signs of the kids being in trouble or or they're like giving Morgan detention when actually it wasn't anything to do with her there was a boy like picking on her and it was there's it's a and the to just say i think this is right um that the filmmaker uh even Walsh um the autistic child in the film is her child it's her kid who's got autism and
00:34:26.26
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
00:34:34.33
Brian Penn
yeah
00:34:42.67
Brian Penn
It's okay. Yeah. Yeah.
00:34:48.52
Chris Olson
the that relationship isn't you know it's not being presented as oh everything isn't everything perfect okay yeah you know everything's fine so no no it's not fine um everything is not fine by the way it's not a documentary this is obviously fictional um but it's set um during the pandemic and i don't think that's you know a
00:35:03.54
Brian Penn
Yeah. Hmm.
00:35:10.80
Chris Olson
coincidence, it's done because that was a time, right, where we were suddenly alone, we were suddenly isolated, people's lifelines were cut off.
00:35:14.32
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
00:35:19.44
Chris Olson
And a lot of those lifelines come in the form of community in the form of a network, people that are going to help you.
00:35:23.82
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:35:25.86
Chris Olson
And I myself know as a parent, I had a child during the pandemic. ah Well, not me, my wife did it, actually. I say I say i had a child, yeah.
00:35:31.65
Brian Penn
Yeah. fardo thank you so cla Thank you for clarifying that.
00:35:34.71
Chris Olson
and birds and the bees, that's my next podcast.
00:35:36.58
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:35:37.02
Chris Olson
um Yeah, no, that that time was very difficult for people having children because as the old saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child and it does because
00:35:40.07
Brian Penn
Yeah. um
00:35:48.66
Chris Olson
there's so many important things that are needed. and You mentioned I Daniel Blake and that was immediately came across to me in the job center scene where there's a woman coming and she's walked like three miles or something and she's just come to be told to come back and they're acting like she's being aggressive and it's this idea that even though there's so many of us so much within this community when times get tough
00:35:56.14
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
00:36:01.71
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah. um and Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
00:36:12.74
Brian Penn
yeah
00:36:13.67
Chris Olson
Sometimes we rally for each other, but other times we don't.
00:36:15.62
Brian Penn
yeah
00:36:16.51
Chris Olson
And actually, I think that's what that child under the tunnel represented is how easy it is for people's worst behaviors to come out to someone that did not ask for any of that, did not ask for any of any of the ah yeah horrible behavior that came towards them.
00:36:19.97
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
00:36:24.69
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:36:28.03
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
00:36:32.79
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:36:33.34
Chris Olson
And yeah, that that was something that kind of, because I was the same, I thought, this is an interesting character of thrown in here.
00:36:33.70
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:36:39.59
Brian Penn
yeah But.
00:36:40.11
Chris Olson
Um, but I also think if you look at it in a, in a way that maybe it was a sort of parallel story that was, yeah, I don't know.
00:36:43.55
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:36:49.17
Brian Penn
Yeah. No, but now yeah you describe it like that, Chris. I'm seeing it in a slightly different light now.
00:36:55.18
Chris Olson
Wow.
00:36:55.30
Brian Penn
Yeah. That kind of makes sense, doesn't it? But the, the girl that plays Morgan as a child, wasn't she good?
00:37:00.88
Chris Olson
And, and try to, oh yeah, very good.
00:37:04.56
Brian Penn
I think it's ay king Ailey Keene.
00:37:05.04
Chris Olson
Very good.
00:37:05.85
Brian Penn
Ailey Keene, I think her name is. Um, she was fantastic. You know, that, you know, she, someone's very young who can portray, uh, so many moods, you know, confronted with what she, what she has a around her.
00:37:22.13
Brian Penn
ah that kind of degree of coldness and disinterest that her mother and the other people close to her were showing her and getting nothing anywhere else from school.
00:37:33.97
Brian Penn
um You know, it's heartbreaking. And I think she's more the star of the film than Eve Lander-Walshits.
00:37:43.03
Chris Olson
Yeah, you don't get a lot with the modern storyline, do you? it It does spend a lot more time in the past, but I think that was yeah purposeful.
00:37:47.53
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
00:37:51.85
Chris Olson
I think that was a reason for that.
00:37:52.27
Brian Penn
Yeah, but but it's a wonderful film and it deserves much credit and I'm glad it's got that platform on on Amazon Prime.
00:38:01.67
Chris Olson
Yeah, because and I honestly was watching, thinking Ken Loach definitely came to mind. I was like, oh yeah.
00:38:06.12
Brian Penn
yeah
00:38:06.78
Chris Olson
Another film, ah in terms of the calibre, in terms of that, like if you're going to watch this and you want to know what's the vibe, what am I going to expect, was um Wild Rose.
00:38:06.87
Brian Penn
yeah
00:38:15.75
Chris Olson
Did you ever watch Wild Rose with Jesse Buckley?
00:38:17.72
Brian Penn
a yeah lot and
00:38:20.35
Chris Olson
she's like she gets out of prison and then she but she wants to be a country singer but she's like very uncouth and it's really gritty i'm not saying the story i'm necessarily saying but just the vibe of it that it was this like realistic portrayal of yeah life in the uk and it does have that same kind of um tone there's that sort it's kind of like a melancholy to it it is like you're watching it thinking
00:38:30.94
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
00:38:45.75
Chris Olson
OK, life is hard, but you can't help but watch this movie and come away and go, I'm so glad I watched that.
00:38:48.10
Brian Penn
Yeah. so Yeah. Yeah.
00:38:54.14
Brian Penn
yeah
00:38:54.18
Chris Olson
Yes, it was difficult, but it was so rewarding.
00:38:55.75
Brian Penn
and Yeah, exactly. I mean, it's it's one of those times when you you see life staring back at you on screen, don't you?
00:39:02.39
Chris Olson
Absolutely, yeah.
00:39:02.67
Brian Penn
And and you know you have to watch it. And you do come out of it ah feeling a lot wiser. It so it teaches you more. ah thought I always feel we're learning more and more about life as every day.
00:39:16.50
Brian Penn
And you see a film like that, and it sees she just some strikes a chord. It teaches you something about life. And films like that need to be made. Films like that need to be seen.
00:39:26.62
Chris Olson
I definitely want to give a shout out to the music as well. so Whenever I make make notes on films that we we're doing for the podcast, the music does often pop up for me, and I made three notes on the music for this one, so it definitely ah caught me.
00:39:29.36
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yep.
00:39:38.86
Chris Olson
um But yeah, absolute shout out to Andre Barras.
00:39:42.96
Brian Penn
Hmm.
00:39:44.78
Chris Olson
The original music that they did was brilliant, um but the sound design in general was really good. There's this like classical kind of going on, there's oboe or something or cello or something, and it is really
00:39:50.06
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:39:55.76
Chris Olson
really good at creating that gravitas to what we're watching and underlying everything with this kind of, like I said, melancholy for me, worked perfectly.
00:39:58.67
Brian Penn
yeah but yeah Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Soundtracks very subtle, isn't it? But that's why it's good. know Doesn't intrude too much, but it kind of sets the mood, which is what a soundtrack should do. So yeah, very good.
00:40:15.17
Chris Olson
Very good. ah Because We Are Too Many is available on Amazon Prime. and When I watched it, it was included within the Prime subscription.
00:40:24.20
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:40:24.21
Chris Olson
So please, please, please go and watch it. I actually, you know, often people ask me like, how how do you rate a film if it's five stars?
00:40:26.65
Brian Penn
yeah
00:40:32.31
Chris Olson
Like, why do you give it five stars? I would give this five stars and the reason is that I would go out of my way to encourage people to watch this and that's why I'm saying it's not just like if someone asked me you know did you like a movie like the Netflix one we just reviewed oh yes good yeah you might want to check it out with this I'll go out of my way to say hey do you know I watch this really good film the other day let me tell you about it and then you look on their faces at oh god Chris is off on one again here we go
00:40:38.65
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:40:54.19
Chris Olson
Um, but more often than not, hopefully they they take it in and maybe go have a check out and i'm telling you now check out because we are too many because it's on prime and you want no reason not to watch it so Thoroughly recommended.
00:40:57.44
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:40:59.99
Brian Penn
Hmm. I already recommended.
00:41:06.92
Chris Olson
Um, go for it. We're gonna review another movie now again when we were sent this documentary, um, and This one is called rhino man, and I have a clip
00:41:19.37
Brian Penn
well
00:42:32.89
Chris Olson
So yeah, a documentary called Rhino Man.
00:42:34.12
Brian Penn
hmm yeah yeah yeah
00:42:35.49
Chris Olson
um And just before we we get into this movie, we reviewed a film, I think it was on the last month's podcast, called The Last Ranger, which had a very similar ah theme.
00:42:46.47
Chris Olson
It was wasn't a documentary, it was a fictional piece, but all about Rhino poaching. um Short film, really good. We we really like that movie. It's also been not nominated for Best Short Film, by the way, at the Oscars.
00:42:58.10
Chris Olson
and So, yeah, fingers crossed it wins. But yeah, a Rhino Man, looking at the same issue, same topic, but in a very different way, and documentary style and also
00:43:05.81
Brian Penn
Hmm.
00:43:12.64
Chris Olson
not so much about the problem don't get me wrong they absolutely do explore the problem and the crime around it but with this film it's far more about the process of recruiting people to help it's all about this idea about you what does it take to become a ranger that's going to be able to you know
00:43:17.92
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:43:33.34
Chris Olson
join the war. It honestly is a war.
00:43:34.63
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:43:35.42
Chris Olson
um And they describe it as such.
00:43:35.47
Brian Penn
It's a wall. Yeah, absolutely.
00:43:37.22
Chris Olson
They say, you know, this is a war and because people are dying. Lots of people, way more than need to, it's insane, um over the the the hunting of rhinos simply to take their horns for this this trade.
00:43:51.81
Chris Olson
And set in South Africa, um I say they do talk about the scale of the problem and how terrifying it is. um But the film focuses on these candidates that are gonna become hopefully the Rangers.
00:44:03.68
Chris Olson
So they have like 40 odd ca candidates and they're only gonna pick 16 over the course of a five day training process. And it is absolutely grueling.
00:44:13.70
Chris Olson
It kind of reminded me a bit of like Full Metal Jacket.
00:44:14.25
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:44:16.42
Chris Olson
I was like, oh my gosh.
00:44:17.03
Brian Penn
Yeah, and I know.
00:44:17.90
Chris Olson
And they even say at the beginning, they prefaced it with saying that, you know,
00:44:18.22
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:44:20.94
Chris Olson
these tests are meant to yeah be strong and you you might find it difficult to watch, but it's because of the nature of what the type of person they need at the end of it. um And their difficulty isn't so much choosing five out of the 41.
00:44:37.60
Chris Olson
It's more like, or 16, sorry. It's more, will 16 even be left by the end of this training?
00:44:43.05
Brian Penn
and I know.
00:44:43.66
Chris Olson
Because so many drop out because it's so hard and they are so demanding. um What did you think of Rhino Man, bro?
00:44:51.65
Brian Penn
I thought it was fascinating and engrossing. It's heartbreaking how these magnificent animals are being hunted into extinction. And you can only admire the rangers that risk their lives on a daily basis to protect the rhino. What I found particularly interesting was the, um, the senior trainer, Reuben the cock.
00:45:11.51
Brian Penn
who has a great backstory himself. That's what pins much of this film down is that he gradually tells you his story and his experiences and the relationships he's formed, the friendships he's formed with other Rangers.
00:45:25.98
Brian Penn
And it follows him out as he puts 44 recruits through their places. And that graphic 44 appears on the bottom right hand corner of the screen, doesn't it?
00:45:36.30
Brian Penn
Every source.
00:45:36.62
Chris Olson
Yeah.
00:45:37.78
Brian Penn
And you think, right, how quickly is this going to dwindle down? because they are looking for a particular type of person aren't they to do this job. I mean, it's physically very dangerous.
00:45:48.42
Brian Penn
There are people who would not hesitate to kill if it meant getting getting what they wanted.
00:45:48.88
Chris Olson
Hmm.
00:45:55.30
Brian Penn
And that in itself makes it doubly hard to find ranges that are mentally and physically tough enough to do this job and have the the ah sense and the logic and the coolness to remain calm in the outback.
00:46:14.55
Brian Penn
You know, I think it's Kruger National Park, I think, isn't it?
00:46:18.29
Chris Olson
yeah and it it gets into the the nitty-gritty of these ah rangers lives like what they've had to endure ah so obviously we're looking at the candidates but we're also finding out more about the rangers who are already working and things like you know they have their families attacked or
00:46:18.52
Brian Penn
We're set to work at, but it's a fascinating story. It really, it really draws you in.
00:46:33.10
Brian Penn
Hmm.
00:46:39.95
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:46:44.95
Chris Olson
the crime syndicates will spread misinformation about the Rangers.
00:46:48.42
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:46:49.10
Chris Olson
Oh, they're working for us. They work for us.
00:46:50.55
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:46:50.94
Chris Olson
And so that these Rangers are then being targeted. And yeah, some of the stuff that happens when it won't spoil it, but is absolutely horrific.
00:46:57.30
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:46:58.30
Chris Olson
And I found that so compelling because it was, again, with
00:46:58.80
Brian Penn
Shocking. Yeah.
00:47:04.11
Chris Olson
a lot of say films or documentaries that are going to talk about such an and yeah important issue they are going to focus on the problem and they're going to focus on the you know what's happening and you know make people want to
00:47:09.63
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
00:47:17.14
Chris Olson
want to get involved with this it focuses on the people that are actually already involved the people that are already doing stuff and it's proactively being quite aggressive about you know this is what we're doing you know this is what this is a stance that we've had to adopt but and it's sort of trying to fight and a few of the rangers talk about how the reason why they do it is because they want to be able to say that you know when this war was happening they did something you know and It was genuinely, like i say it's it's like a war film.
00:47:44.74
Chris Olson
On the one hand, it's like a war film.
00:47:44.74
Brian Penn
Why not?
00:47:46.34
Chris Olson
You've got a documentary aspect, but it's also a bit like a sport movie because you've got this whole like candidates and who's going to be left at the end.
00:47:49.64
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:47:52.64
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:47:52.70
Chris Olson
There's a bit where they're doing a trial and they're in teams trying to carry someone on a stretcher.
00:47:57.97
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:47:58.54
Chris Olson
And that was fascinating because I thought, okay, it was one team's doing really well, one team's not doing so well.
00:48:02.88
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:48:02.91
Chris Olson
So it it had these different genre sort of elements going on. But overall, I found it a really refreshing approach to discussing this issue to be more about actually
00:48:12.19
Brian Penn
yeah
00:48:15.39
Chris Olson
could you be doing something you know these people are trying to do something i mean you see so many of these candidates some drop out because they're sort of they're clearly just it wasn't for them there's other people that just they really wanted to but just physically couldn't do it they just that and they can they say so a few of them say well i'll you know i know what to expect next year when i try and apply again and i thought that was really powerful that these people just sort of thought actually i'm going to come back and the
00:48:19.29
Brian Penn
Hm. Hm. Hm. Hello. Yeah.
00:48:40.36
Chris Olson
the drills and all that stuff is not just about yeah are you physically able to walk around for this long in the heat and do stuff it was about what type of character do they have will they be broken by you know criminals that are going to offer them money to you
00:48:48.12
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:48:50.61
Brian Penn
I know.
00:48:55.64
Chris Olson
get them on their side and yeah i've not seen it explored that way in such detail with such great access to what was going on some of the stuff is really startling when you actually see this sort of the stuff with the rhinos and yeah i found that very hard to watch um if you're if you're an animal lover it's it's going to be difficult but it's worthwhile definitely
00:49:01.54
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah. and I know. Oh, yeah, it's it's got a bit. Yeah, it will be a soft watch for anyone because I mean,
00:49:20.81
Brian Penn
There was a lot I didn't know. you know I like films that teach me that tell me something I didn't know. And I never realized the sort of risks they were being exposed to. you know you know you And you think of them as gamekeepers, but it's a bit more than that. you know They've got to be trained almost with military precision. right It's about obedience and discipline. It's about being physically and mentally strong enough ah bit to be a ranger. And that is not easy.
00:49:49.78
Brian Penn
You see, other other films and other documentaries are focused on you know the practical impacts on rhinos. We know that part of it. But we don't know how they try and combat it. We never knew the detail until now. And this sheds light on it um on how they combat the problem and how they train rangers, which is something I don't think we've seen before. So it makes it even better.
00:50:18.08
Chris Olson
Really, really good. ah Really powerful.
00:50:19.17
Brian Penn
yeah
00:50:20.24
Chris Olson
and I think people that are interested in wildlife and conservation will already be yeah fairly well versed in these sort of movies.
00:50:30.52
Brian Penn
Hmm Yeah, hmm Hmm Yeah Hello
00:50:31.24
Chris Olson
as There are a lot of them. I said we reviewed The Last Ranger on the last podcast and I know there's been others. um but the scale of it in this, with something like The Last Ranger, it was very focused on a sort of specific story within obviously the narrative at all.
00:50:47.23
Chris Olson
With this, it is looking at a much bigger picture and you come away yeah far more kind of, oh gosh, like in terms of what's going on, because it is a documentary as well. um But both yeah both very powerful movies um and strongly recommend
00:51:00.46
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:51:02.78
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:51:02.78
Chris Olson
watching it if you can. It's on Amazon Prime, but I don't think it's included. You might need to pay for it. um But I do think it's worth that money.
00:51:11.33
Brian Penn
Yeah, I'd say so.
00:51:11.35
Chris Olson
I'm saying.99 on my screen, so go for it.
00:51:14.89
Brian Penn
Hmm.
00:51:16.11
Chris Olson
i'm You can also check out our reviews of both of indie films we reviewed. um So Jason loved Rhino Man and gave it five stars. um We also loved ah because we are too many so yeah if you're not quite ready to watch it maybe go read the reviews and sometimes I'll have the trailer on the um on the review so check it out and yeah let us know if you do watch it let us know what you think and you can find those films on social media as well they've got their own Facebook and Instagram pages if you need directing let us know
00:51:30.81
Brian Penn
Hmm. Yeah.
00:51:44.45
Chris Olson
ah We tend to tag them in the posts on social media, so you can often find them that way um But yeah, that was rhino man, and that was the last ah Short and indie film we're gonna review in this ah episode we're moving on now to our final film of the show which is our nostalgia pic and
00:52:02.99
Brian Penn
Hmm.
00:52:04.58
Chris Olson
ah very cleverly in all my wisdom chose a film that was topical because of the recent release of Nosferatu which sadly I've not got around to watching I'm guessing you haven't either um but it is causing ripples amongst the film-loving community and I know we've been sent a few reviews of the one out now um so we thought we'd journey right the way back to 1922 and watch
00:52:07.66
Brian Penn
Hmm.
00:52:13.18
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:52:16.10
Brian Penn
No, not me. No, not me.
00:52:22.43
Brian Penn
Hmm.
00:52:30.62
Brian Penn
Yeah. i a hundred and Three years ago, you know.
00:52:33.32
Chris Olson
yeah yeah And like I said, that is the furthest we've gone back for the nostalgia slot. I don't think we'll go much further back than that, but we might.
00:52:39.04
Brian Penn
No.
00:52:40.45
Chris Olson
And and yeah, um this is a silent film. So it's before the old speakeas jumped in.
00:52:49.97
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:52:51.08
Chris Olson
But it felt like it'd been remastered. I'm not sure what you thought about that.
00:52:54.85
Brian Penn
it No. ah The first thing I thought about the film was that it's the condition it was in. It it looks like it's been restored.
00:53:02.56
Chris Olson
And that the music as well felt like that's that's new, it doesn't feel like that.
00:53:02.98
Brian Penn
and yeah ah no Yeah.
00:53:06.10
Chris Olson
yeah um But yeah, ah black and white, you've got music playing over the top, you've got the title cards coming up with the scripts and things like that.
00:53:06.61
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:53:14.26
Chris Olson
So yeah, if you ever watched a silent movie, you you know what you're in for. um And also Nosferatu's likelihood is you know the gist of this story already.
00:53:25.50
Brian Penn
um
00:53:25.83
Chris Olson
I'm not going to be spoiling anything for you, and but it deals with Dracula and all that stuff.
00:53:28.94
Brian Penn
Yeah. Oh, yeah.
00:53:32.80
Chris Olson
um Have you seen this before, Brian?
00:53:35.47
Brian Penn
No, I haven't actually. um I had to do a bit of background reading on this because I kind of knew of it, but apparently Bram Stoker's widow sought the filmmakers to call and they destroyed, or they thought they destroyed all the copies, ah but a few survived, which is why why we're seeing it now.
00:53:56.80
Chris Olson
I know it's on Amazon Prime.
00:53:57.33
Brian Penn
So, yeah, I know.
00:53:59.18
Chris Olson
They are, really.
00:54:00.38
Brian Penn
Strange how it comes full circle, wasn't it?
00:54:01.77
Chris Olson
Yeah, now anyone can watch it.
00:54:03.81
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:54:03.89
Chris Olson
ah But yeah, no, i hadd seen I've seen plenty of iterations of um this story done, but I hadn't watched this one before.
00:54:11.53
Brian Penn
Hmm.
00:54:13.74
Chris Olson
And I'm always wowed when I watch these, sort i mean obviously I so film buffs and yeah things that we care about. You're watching this with the eye of someone, okay, well that's how they filmed that.
00:54:23.75
Chris Olson
And that's how they did that.
00:54:24.17
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:54:24.79
Chris Olson
And it is absolutely incredible. It's an incredible movie that they've made.
00:54:26.99
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:54:28.83
Chris Olson
um I think the quality of the film was surprising for something that was made over a hundred years ago.
00:54:28.89
Brian Penn
yeah
00:54:38.01
Chris Olson
But like I said, maybe it has been restored, but even so, it is brilliant. And it shows you why, you know, cinema is visual storytelling.
00:54:41.86
Brian Penn
is it Yeah.
00:54:44.81
Chris Olson
It's got so much potency. It's so powerful to you. This story coming across um in this way, we haven't moved on that far.
00:54:55.77
Chris Olson
Don't get me wrong. Movies are different now and movies are different. But that legacy, that foundation of a film like this, it's so crucial to why we get to enjoy the movies that we,
00:55:07.43
Chris Olson
that we do. um And I think it is worth revisiting these movies.
00:55:08.66
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:55:11.16
Chris Olson
Don't get me wrong, it's not, I find when we watch some of these movies, the the old films, you are watching it with a modern view.
00:55:19.06
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:55:19.15
Chris Olson
You kind of go, okay, well, you know, that's not holding my attention as much as I'd like. But I found this very interesting throughout just kind of from a filmmaking point of view, interested to see how they put this together.
00:55:31.64
Chris Olson
um'm But yeah, obviously it's it's the story of Hutta, Hutta I think is the main character, Hutta Hutta, who are goes off to assist someone looking for an account from Transylvania to get a house.
00:55:38.11
Brian Penn
so sir but sir yeah but so
00:55:48.34
Chris Olson
um And when he turns up and meets him, it's slightly bemused when he turns up, he thinks he's got mosquito bites on his neck.
00:55:55.03
Brian Penn
yeah
00:55:56.92
Chris Olson
and You see where we're going with this and and what happens.
00:55:57.38
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
00:56:00.69
Chris Olson
um
00:56:01.12
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:56:02.10
Chris Olson
but Yeah, it's one of those movies that if i when I was at uni I had this list of 50 films I have to watch and you kind of feel like there's certain movies that you need to watch.
00:56:12.58
Chris Olson
I tell you one that's on there that's in a similar era to this I've not seen that I need to see is Metropolis.
00:56:14.81
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
00:56:17.38
Chris Olson
Have you seen Metropolis, Brian?
00:56:18.67
Brian Penn
Yeah, I have. I've seen it. um it's It packs a punch. It's surprising.
00:56:23.94
Chris Olson
Yeah.
00:56:24.39
Brian Penn
um You know, I think it shows you how effective silent movies can still be. 90 years, say, after they stop making them and they they still have an impact ah because the emphasis is slightly different, isn't it?
00:56:40.56
Chris Olson
And I think the ability of something like a platform like Amazon Prime to present these in this way, because in yeah if you when I was starting out as a film critic, the way you'd watch all these movies used to be that like place like the BFI or something would be putting them on.
00:56:55.52
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
00:56:56.77
Chris Olson
They'd do, okay, yeah, you can go and yo rock up and watch like an old film and they're doing, obviously,
00:56:58.71
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:57:03.36
Chris Olson
loads of stuff around it and you can learn loads of things and it's great. But having the ability to just try it and put it on a platform like Prime or Netflix or whatever, where you can just see what it's like.
00:57:18.00
Chris Olson
If you're not enjoying it, you don't even have to watch the whole thing. I did on this occasion.
00:57:20.50
Brian Penn
yeah
00:57:22.54
Chris Olson
But I think that's really the strength of a lot of these platforms, that you're able to give something a chance that maybe you wouldn't necessarily have done if you didn't have the chance.
00:57:25.38
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:57:29.65
Brian Penn
Yeah. Well, yeah, I think that's absolutely right. These platforms are so important there. ah Because they give you that element of convenience. I mean, there's nothing like seeing a film at the at the cinema. We've said that many times in the past. But what you have is is an alternative when you can see it online. And you can pause it, you can stop it, you can go back to it, or you can see it in one hit. And but you get to see aspects of the film you might have missed if you were seeing it in the cinema because you can just go back and look at it again. um And one thing that strikes me about this film though is that um it's locked upon as a perfect example of oh the horror genre. That's where it all started. And you think, but it's silent. can it Can a silent film still be scary? Can it still grip you?
00:58:24.90
Brian Penn
And I think it can, because it's you know it hits you more, it plays on you um the imagination more deeply as a result.
00:58:35.18
Chris Olson
Yeah, it's a different viewing experience. It's different yeah being asked to be in that mode you to get you to imagine maybe their voices or imagine what there what that
00:58:46.85
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:58:50.32
Chris Olson
yeah vibe is because obviously with modern storytelling and visual storytelling, they're trying to put you as much as possible in the thick of it. You know, we've got things like 3D or we've got animation that looks incredibly lifelike.
00:59:03.59
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:59:03.67
Chris Olson
um But this, yeah, it does put you in a totally different atmosphere and I think it's something that to yeah immerse yourself into if you can and enjoy it. um Interesting, we had a couple of reviews of the new release of Nosferatu that I just wanted to pick out because I am very aware that lots and lots of lovely listeners and and people that find the website send us some great reviews and I don't always get much chance to read them out but this we have a chance to just shout out a couple of Nosferatu so Grant Stitchbury sent in a review thank you Grant gave it four stars the Robert Eggers version
00:59:41.61
Chris Olson
um she says is a masterclass in atmospheric horror capturing the eerie unsettling tone of the 1922 classic while giving it a modern twist that resonates with today's audience. um yeah It goes on to yeah talk about from the opening frames Nosferatu casts a spell of uneasiness and horror that persists throughout the entire running time. The film's meticulous use of light and shadow combined with an almost monochromic So monochromatic colour palette harkens back to the German roots of the original film.
01:00:13.57
Chris Olson
And that is definitely something that I picked up and you were talking about there about that scariness and yeah the use.
01:00:15.86
Brian Penn
Hmm. Yeah.
01:00:18.27
Chris Olson
I think that is enduring, right? The use of shadow, the use of light in visual storytelling is crucial to its effectiveness.
01:00:23.87
Brian Penn
Yeah, yeah.
01:00:26.22
Chris Olson
And it sounds like Eggers hasn't left that out in the new version.
01:00:28.77
Brian Penn
Yeah. Well, it seems to me you're reading out that review, they could almost be talking about the original couldn't they really, in many ways.
01:00:36.91
Chris Olson
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
01:00:38.04
Brian Penn
and So it shows that they've paid due respect to the original, and that The original we still valid is still the template that you have to work with. So um it'll be interesting for me personally to see oh what they've done with it this time, but it all sounds highly promising to me.
01:00:55.49
Chris Olson
So to give a bit of counterbalance, because we're all about balance here, um we had a review from Freddie Smith, who also saw Nosferatu.
01:00:58.96
Brian Penn
no
01:01:03.34
Chris Olson
Gave it two out of five, um so not as much.
01:01:06.33
Brian Penn
Harsh.
01:01:07.80
Chris Olson
ah and Well, I've not seen it, so ah could be I could be on Freddie's side, I could be on Grant's side, I don't know at this point.
01:01:13.19
Brian Penn
Yeah, that's right.
01:01:14.82
Chris Olson
so
01:01:15.67
Brian Penn
We don't know if we've seen it, do we?
01:01:16.19
Chris Olson
um And Freddie through, I've read it both writers sent in plenty long reviews.
01:01:17.35
Brian Penn
so
01:01:22.42
Chris Olson
I tend to just pick out a few little bits and Freddie does pick up some good stuff like the lighting and performances and things. um But yeah, just talking about, let me find the section where it's a film so focused on its visual own visual style that everything else feels left behind.
01:01:40.72
Chris Olson
And the style itself is not that impressive. um It's not all bad or disappointing ah to be clear. um ah Certain aspects are captivating. Lily Rose's debt provides a solid horror performance, one that falters rarely and ties the film well together, if at times inconsistent and frustratingly exaggerated. um Nicholas Holt, once again, is able to prove himself as somebody who really does deserve more leading roles.
01:02:09.73
Chris Olson
um
01:02:10.59
Brian Penn
Hmm.
01:02:10.84
Chris Olson
so he is picking out obviously some of the good stuff ah but the bottom line is the film just wasn't enjoyable aspects really do work but way more frequently than not i would find myself asking why does this exist it's it sits they're not going to put that on the poster freddie uh or they might you know if they finally got a sense of humor um it attempts too much and too little all at once all being hurried along at a wildly inconsistent pace
01:02:13.49
Brian Penn
Hmm.
01:02:25.33
Brian Penn
Oh well. Nah, probably not, nah. Yeah.
01:02:37.57
Chris Olson
not quite matching a snail's but perhaps a slug's. There is an intrigue around the alleged director's cut but whether it warrants existence is a question yet to be answered unless it completely revamps the film and makes it run smoother whilst also adding well-needed layers of depth.
01:02:54.71
Chris Olson
So there, contrasting reviews there and that's what you have to understand about film reviews guys, you're not all going to agree
01:02:56.87
Brian Penn
Yeah, but yeah. But it's interesting that we mentioned the directors can't because sometimes that can can either put a film in an insanely new light or it or it could bury it for good. good
01:03:11.84
Chris Olson
Also, I find sometimes with the idea of a director's cut is, if it's especially if it was done on purpose, that there's this sense of, okay, but why?
01:03:20.07
Brian Penn
Hmm.
01:03:23.00
Chris Olson
like Why was that not given? And I get it sometimes, like you can know when you need these DC Marvel comic ones or whatever, where they kind of go, well, actually, yeah there were so many people involved that it did just get absolutely brutalized.
01:03:36.42
Chris Olson
But when it's more of a kind of, uh independent or like a standalone movie where it was just like the director was brought in like surely that was their cut like why was this going on um but yeah i but yeah yeah i know it happens i know a lot of stuff happens in that in that field but for me i i'm never that enticed to kind of go oh i must go watch a different version of this film if i didn't enjoy it i'm kind of like that you know i didn't enjoy it like i'm good i'm not gonna go back to this
01:03:47.60
Brian Penn
and I know, yeah.
01:03:53.70
Brian Penn
yeah
01:03:58.74
Brian Penn
Yeah. Well, usually, I suppose the director's cut is one for fans of that film. all that director isn't it because there are lots of extras in that i mean yeah yeah but but usually i mean like they've ended up on the classroom floor for a reason um so it depends it editing everything in a film isn't it
01:04:09.31
Chris Olson
Is it like um Blade Runner has got one, isn't it? Like that's like what our directors cut that's like meant to be really good. um But yeah.
01:04:29.38
Chris Olson
ah Yeah, absolutely. Funnily enough, actually, one of the top sort ones that comes up for doica is The Lord of the Rings, which I'm watching at the moment. I'm rewatching it. um It got re-released in cinemas, didn't it?
01:04:40.31
Chris Olson
um yeah they The theatrical versions.
01:04:40.86
Brian Penn
for Yeah, had a short run. Yeah.
01:04:43.96
Chris Olson
um because the sorry no Sorry, the extended versions.
01:04:47.29
Brian Penn
yeah
01:04:47.41
Chris Olson
Extended versions are much, much longer. And yeah, that's interesting because often yeah running times are a marketing point.
01:04:57.46
Chris Olson
yeah If they go, oh, God, you've you've you want to release a four and a half hour film, it's never going to sell. No one's going to go watch it.
01:05:03.54
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:05:04.27
Chris Olson
ah But often that does justice more to the story. But yeah, that's an interesting one. um Yeah. Well, if you're listening to this and you've made it to this far into the podcast, send us your ah favorite director's cuts.
01:05:16.85
Brian Penn
Yeah!
01:05:17.38
Chris Olson
What's the movies you've been watching? that kind of I'm so glad I watched the director's cut of that one.
01:05:18.93
Brian Penn
Yeah, yeah. Oh, I think we got ourselves a new category, haven't we?
01:05:21.84
Chris Olson
um Yeah, I'd love to love to hear it.
01:05:25.77
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:05:26.29
Chris Olson
um But that has brought us very neatly to the end of the show. and There's no director's cut on this episode.
01:05:30.74
Brian Penn
Hmm.
01:05:31.12
Chris Olson
It would just be whatever I decide. um I don't have any overlords. I am the overlord on this one.
01:05:36.19
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:05:36.65
Chris Olson
um so But if there are any mistakes, Brian put them in. Okay.
01:05:40.84
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:05:41.44
Chris Olson
Brian got in somehow like a little gremlin.
01:05:42.97
Brian Penn
I know, I know, I have my ways and means.
01:05:45.50
Chris Olson
He does. um He's wily. And thank you so much for listening. um So this is UK Film Club, part of the UK Film of Review Podcast. There are other shows on the channel, so do go and listen to those and keep subscribed so that you get our next episode. We release on the last Thursday of every month, generally. That tends to be the way it goes. And yeah, we'll be back in February with another episode. I i don't know if it's before or after the Oscars.
01:06:14.27
Chris Olson
um
01:06:15.11
Brian Penn
Might be just before actually, I'm not sure.
01:06:16.32
Chris Olson
Oscar dates 2025. Listen to me.
01:06:18.25
Brian Penn
Is it early March? Is it early March?
01:06:19.88
Chris Olson
3rd of March. Yeah. So just before, um, so maybe in that episode, we might just ask Brian to give us his, uh, what he thinks.
01:06:21.31
Brian Penn
Yeah, just before.
01:06:27.59
Chris Olson
So they're going to win the big categories. Um, yeah, that'd be good.
01:06:29.44
Brian Penn
Yeah, pleasure.
01:06:32.09
Chris Olson
And yeah, thank you to the um independent filmmakers who sent us their movies for reviews.
01:06:32.33
Brian Penn
yeah
01:06:36.85
Chris Olson
If you have a movie that you'd like us to review, you can do that on our website. So you go to UKfilmreview.co.uk fromwview dot code at u k and click Get Reviewed. There's plenty of things you can choose to decide how you want us to review you, but one of them is the podcast.
01:06:49.87
Chris Olson
And yeah, if you've also had your film already reviewed on our website, you can have it reviewed on the podcast separately. It's absolutely fine. um If we were very mean to you and gave you like one or two stars, you may not want me and Brian to review it.
01:07:02.23
Brian Penn
Hmm.
01:07:04.68
Chris Olson
Or maybe you do. Maybe you want a new fresh set of eyes.
01:07:05.99
Brian Penn
Yeah. the Yeah. Fresh perspective, you know.
01:07:07.76
Chris Olson
That's fine. We always come very yeah politely towards movies. We are respectable to them and make sure that they get treated fairly.
01:07:16.13
Brian Penn
Of course.
01:07:18.18
Chris Olson
But we will also not hold back if we feel that you are presenting us with something subpar. um
01:07:25.11
Brian Penn
Yeah. I would like that. Sapa.
01:07:27.60
Chris Olson
Subpar.
01:07:27.81
Brian Penn
Sapa. That's another good phrase. We'll keep that.
01:07:29.91
Chris Olson
We'll keep that in. What was the one you said earlier, something about being on your back and gurgling or something?
01:07:31.24
Brian Penn
Yeah. We'll keep going.
01:07:34.30
Brian Penn
Oh no, something's so good. It makes you, it makes you fall on your back and gurgle.
01:07:38.64
Chris Olson
Yeah, that I think was the, that's the phrase of the year. um So yeah, I'm gonna go fall on my back and gurgle, but probably with beer.
01:07:42.62
Brian Penn
Oh, good stuff. Right.
01:07:47.71
Chris Olson
um Enjoy, the dry January didn't last long with me.
01:07:47.98
Brian Penn
yeah
01:07:50.71
Chris Olson
Enjoy um your your month.
01:07:50.72
Brian Penn
ah
01:07:53.20
Chris Olson
We'll see you again in February. Thank you, Brian, as always. um Thank you to the UK Film Review Writers and thank you to you, the listener.
01:07:56.03
Brian Penn
Measure.
01:08:00.56
Chris Olson
That's your show. Goodbye.
01:08:02.61
Brian Penn
Bye for now.
