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September 5 - Bridget Jones Mad About the Boy - Flight Risk - UK Film Club Episode 24
UK Film Club
00:00.25
Brian Penn
Because up I was chatting away. I forgot what I was saying now. but no um But you can hear me okay now?
00:07.61
Chris Olson
Yeah, if anything, you're louder now. I don't know if you you've gone up in volume.
00:12.56
Brian Penn
That's strange. oh okay. Anyway, so I'm back. I'm back. hope you didn't miss me.
00:17.28
Chris Olson
Wow, we always miss you, Brian, whenever you're away. Yeah.
00:19.52
Brian Penn
Oh, well. Thank you for saying so. Yeah, anyway. Okay. Yeah. So, yeah, so Oscar season, you know, they They all seem to spread the net very wide, ah but they never seem to get the films that should be there. But it is a matter of opinion, isn't it?
00:37.38
Brian Penn
And lot of a lot of the time you are comparing apples with oranges, aren't you? You're not comparing light with light, and it's always difficult with any set of walls, isn't it?
00:45.15
Chris Olson
Yeah, I think yeah it goes across not even just film, right? Awards in general are sort of like, okay, what value do they hold?
00:51.72
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
00:53.74
Chris Olson
I like the fact that often they shine a light on stuff that just didn't get that, um maybe that main main street point popularity.
00:59.42
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:02.03
Chris Olson
And also... even people that get i said yeah they get ah nominated, it's enough to sort of make careers, right?
01:09.53
Brian Penn
Yeah.
01:11.43
Chris Olson
To just say that you're you you often see it in the trailers, it would say like Oscar not oscar nominated, and you think, well, actually, it's a massive achievement.
01:14.84
Brian Penn
Yeah. yeah
01:18.32
Chris Olson
So I'm all for them. I think I i ah kind of, I don't hold too much stock in terms of like who wins.
01:20.64
Brian Penn
yeah
01:26.49
Chris Olson
I think it's just nice. you see You see the films that get nominated, so you kind of think, okay, that's a good list of movies probably to check out.
01:29.49
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
01:32.03
Chris Olson
Yeah, it's probably good quality.
01:33.57
Brian Penn
Yeah. I think it's a license to work in Hollywood, isn't it? if you're Even if you're nominated, it's an endorsement, isn't it? It's that ultimate degree of acceptance. And it probably outranks the BAFTAs and the Golden Globes. They all fall hot on the heels of the Oscars, don't they?
01:50.13
Chris Olson
Yeah.
01:50.32
Brian Penn
But because the Oscars was first, and it is the center of the filmmaking industry traditionally, um they will always carry a lot of weight. So... um You can't, it's the it's the one set of awards you can't really ignore or dismiss or say they're just silly, you know, because they're not, they're a barometer for success, aren't they?
02:11.03
Brian Penn
And if an actor or a director can or a writer can point to it and say, look, I've been nominated, it's not bad.
02:11.21
Chris Olson
Yeah.
02:18.95
Brian Penn
it's all about
02:19.19
Chris Olson
no
02:19.87
Brian Penn
and It's not a bad thing to put on your CV, is it?
02:22.92
Chris Olson
No, I do that just to see if anyone notices. I just say best best supporting actor and just see if anyone says anything.
02:25.40
Brian Penn
Yeah, well, what? All right. see ah we See, I'd normally go for best writer myself.
02:28.55
Chris Olson
writer.
02:31.17
Brian Penn
I don't see myself as an actor particularly. So best writer, you know, that kind of suits me.
02:35.82
Chris Olson
that's right and
02:36.44
Brian Penn
I can stay anonymous then, and nobody knows me.
02:37.92
Chris Olson
And that's that's the thing, I suppose, actually, you know, with Best Supporting Actor, they can check it quite easily. But with you, you can go, yep, that is me. yeah like I just write under a i write under a pseudonym and that's me.
02:44.20
Brian Penn
Yeah, and exactly. Yeah, I know, I know.
02:47.27
Chris Olson
So, fair enough.
02:48.79
Brian Penn
And you can enjoy all the trappings of success and fortune without the fame bit, you know. So it's all good. Jobs are good.
02:56.15
Chris Olson
Well, as it is a February episode, we're going to talk a little bit about the Oscars in this ah this show, um but we're not losing our usual remit. Don't worry, listeners. We will still be reviewing cinema releases.
03:06.19
Brian Penn
yeah
03:08.48
Chris Olson
We're going review a ah streaming pick. We've got some indie movies to review and we'll be doing our nostalgia pick. um and sliced in there somewhere we're also going to just quickly ask brian who he thinks is going to win a couple of the categories we're not going to go through all of them by any means um but before we get to that we're going to talk about a new release in a franchise that i have a soft spot for which is bridget jones with a new film called mad about the boy brian come on tell me this is great come on okay
03:21.79
Brian Penn
Yeah. No, no, no. No, no,
03:30.33
Brian Penn
no.
03:34.09
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah, okay then. So, directed by Michael Morris, starring Renny Zalweger, Chiwetel Ijefor, Hugh Grant, Leo Woodall, and a host of cameos to choose from. ah So, this is the fourth installment in the Bridget Jones franchise. We've not heard from Bridget since 2016.
03:57.35
Brian Penn
um So, she's now widowed with two children. Mark Darcy was killed overseas four years previously. And now she has to navigate life as a singleton again. Her friends urge her to start dating.
04:10.15
Brian Penn
Love interest arrives in the form of park ranger Rockstar and the kind but uptight school teacher Mr. Wallach. Bridget inevitably falls for toy boy Rockstar whilst the plainly more suitable Mr. Wallach watches on.
04:23.64
Brian Penn
Oh, it's great have Bridget back. It really is. I've missed her. I don't know about you. I've really missed her.
04:28.44
Chris Olson
Oh, she's great. She has a great character, isn't it?
04:29.81
Brian Penn
yeah and I know. And whenever a new film comes out, it's like catching up with an old friend. And she's so lovable, you wonder why you ever lost touch in the first place. so That's the way it feels. So straight away, there's a natural glow.
04:41.84
Brian Penn
Because Bridget's so human, we we relate to on all kinds of levels. So I would say men and women could relate to Bridget. um Even though there are laugh-out-load moments, there's no overwhelming sadness about this film.
04:54.30
Brian Penn
She's still grieving and trying to help her children through the process. Bit of a tear-joker at the end. but you'll be pleased with the outcome if that's not a contradiction in terms. Great soundtrack to enjoy and a welcome addition to the franchise.
05:07.82
Brian Penn
I really enjoyed it. ah some Some have said that it's better than the original. I wouldn't quite go that far, but it's on par and it maintains the standard, but ah thoroughly enjoyable film.
05:20.12
Chris Olson
Oh, it's funny because I watched and watch all three of the other films over Christmas. And I think they're a great set to revisit.
05:25.05
Brian Penn
All right, thanks.
05:27.19
Chris Olson
They've got a very kind of timelessness to them. And I did enjoy the third one more than when I first saw it. So rewatching it.
05:35.79
Brian Penn
Yeah.
05:36.30
Chris Olson
And I think that's a really powerful thing with movies like this, especially the rom-coms. where yeah if you are still able to get things out them, and in this case more when I went back to it, I thought that was really, really good.
05:46.49
Brian Penn
Yeah.
05:47.46
Chris Olson
So i am, you know, is 100% on my watch list for this year.
05:51.38
Brian Penn
Yeah. I mean, it's interesting you mentioned the third film. It is more of a grower, I think. the you know the the first The first two films are real standouts and um you you desperately want each six-season film to be at at least as good, but not better, of course. But, um yeah you know, there there were just so many good lines. And as I say, you you feel like bridge Bridget coming back in onto this and you think, oh, it's so good to her back.
06:19.19
Brian Penn
And straight away, you start thinking about what the next Bridget Jones might film might be because they come to the end of the books now.
06:26.83
Chris Olson
Right.
06:27.20
Brian Penn
So and Helen Fielding, if they made another one, she would have to come come up with something new. But if you left it for, say, five years, um for example, Bridget would be in her 60s. Her kids would be grown up.
06:41.07
Brian Penn
Where would that leave her? So it's a bit like kind of a you crave it, but you don't want it.
06:47.53
Chris Olson
Yeah, I think it's a franchise that you could do that with. Not many franchises could could you do that, i think because of the nature of the stories and it's it's it's quite a real life sort of um tale being told and she just gets in these kind of comic capers.
06:53.02
Brian Penn
Yeah.
06:56.38
Brian Penn
Yeah.
07:03.75
Chris Olson
You could do that with a character of any age really, and as long as it's not settled down and boring.
07:06.49
Brian Penn
Yeah. But she's all, yeah. know. But she's got this kind of, ah oh, shucks sort of um image about isn't she? She gets things wrong. She makes mistakes. she She says things that she shouldn't say. She puts her foot in it, you know.
07:22.53
Chris Olson
Yeah.
07:22.69
Brian Penn
And that's what we all do, that, don't we? That's why she's so like...
07:26.40
Chris Olson
So we love Bridget for, um, yeah, fabulous. Um, so Bridget Jones is currently, what's at cinemas? Is it still at cinemas?
07:36.23
Brian Penn
Yeah, no, no, it's still going, it's doing great, great business still.
07:39.46
Chris Olson
Okay. Okay. Fabulous.
07:41.15
Brian Penn
It's not been out long. It came out, it came out on Valentine's Day.
07:45.62
Chris Olson
Oh, well, of course. Yeah.
07:47.25
Brian Penn
So it's, oh yeah, absolutely.
07:47.62
Chris Olson
Perfect date night.
07:49.81
Brian Penn
No question. Yeah, good date movie.
07:50.61
Chris Olson
Um,
07:52.00
Brian Penn
Yeah.
07:52.99
Chris Olson
Well, if you've seen it, let us know what we think of it.
07:55.93
Brian Penn
Yeah.
07:55.82
Chris Olson
and We may have had some listening reviews. I'll check in a second. But um I know you have for the next film that Brian went to see at the cinema, ah which is September five Or is it September 5th?
08:06.24
Brian Penn
oh
08:07.09
Chris Olson
I don't know. September 5th?
08:08.34
Brian Penn
Oh, it depends.
08:08.88
Chris Olson
September 5th?
08:09.22
Brian Penn
It depends whether you're in an American state of mind or a British state of mind, because we would say 5th of September, wouldn't we, over here?
08:13.01
Chris Olson
Okay.
08:16.64
Brian Penn
But in America, they'd say, yeah.
08:16.88
Chris Olson
We would because 100% the day comes before the month. And I know we have a lot of American listeners and that might irk you, but I'm sorry.
08:21.98
Brian Penn
Yeah.
08:24.44
Brian Penn
Hmm.
08:26.70
Chris Olson
It is the way it should be. And I'll leave it at that. I don't want to start any more grief, but day, month, year.
08:32.01
Brian Penn
No, no, no. Yeah.
08:35.07
Chris Olson
Smallest to biggest, please.
08:36.25
Brian Penn
that's and That's the rules, isn't it? Simple as that.
08:37.84
Chris Olson
That's the rules. But the rule is now that Brian gets to review this movie.
08:38.76
Brian Penn
Yeah.
08:40.74
Chris Olson
So go, Brian.
08:41.28
Brian Penn
I do. I do. Thank you. and So, September 5, directed by Tim Feierbaum, starring Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin, and Leonie Benesch.
08:53.53
Brian Penn
This is the true story of the terrorist attack on members of the Israeli Olympic team at Munich in 1972. American broadcasters ABC already have a studio set up next to the Olympic Village.
09:06.23
Brian Penn
So they have a perfect vantage point to relay live coverage. But the sports team face competition not only from their own from other broadcasters, but members of their own news team who want to muscle in on the scoop of the century.
09:19.21
Brian Penn
Now this film has got all the hallmarks of a great thriller. It's full of tension and nervous energy. TV executives trying to do the right thing, but at the same time trying not to compromise a great story.
09:30.86
Brian Penn
It feels like a documentary and where I fly on the wall. It's very, very strong. and fully deserves the Oscar nomination for best original screenplay. But this is quality filmmaking.
09:42.75
Brian Penn
You know, this is a film that deserves to be seen. um So a very, very good film. It's really impressive.
09:49.63
Chris Olson
Fantastic. I mean, we had um one listener send in a review.
09:51.07
Brian Penn
Yeah.
09:54.97
Chris Olson
Ethan Jay, who gives it five stars, says, a the filmmakers here seem to respect their audience.
09:57.63
Brian Penn
and
10:00.13
Chris Olson
The pacing of the film was great, with only having a runtime of an hour and 35, and it used every minute perfectly and didn't linger on one scene for any longer than it needed.
10:09.03
Brian Penn
ah
10:09.26
Chris Olson
Even though to some people, having the whole film set in one building or area might seem lazy or boring, the director uses that setting to its full potential.
10:17.04
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah, I totally agree with that. it gives It gives you a good sense of the the um the drama, the inbuilt drama that you have there within that studio. You know, where one minute they think they're going to, you know, at the beginning of the day, they think they're going to be um broadcasting athletics and boxing and show jumping.
10:31.24
Chris Olson
Thank
10:37.84
Brian Penn
And the next minute, they're covering a terrorist siege. You know, it's it's just jumping from two completely different scenarios and it shows exactly what what the mechanics are in a situation like that.
10:54.89
Brian Penn
Bear in mind, this is the early 70s and they didn't have the same technology they have available today. You know, that's satellite TV, that's satellites that could bring pictures live across the world. They could do that. But it,
11:06.51
Brian Penn
it all becomes magnified. And the fact that they do contain it in the studio, more or less, makes it even more effective. And the fact that it is only 95 minutes long makes it even more effective in the in the way it comes across.
11:23.05
Brian Penn
Because it doesn't have time to sort of flesh out the detail anymore. Because I think it is a story that's fairly well known. I think we we know the story of the Munich Olympics quite well anyway.
11:37.16
Brian Penn
And the other films have been made, you know, for example, Spielberg made Munich, didn't he?
11:41.61
Chris Olson
Yeah.
11:41.86
Brian Penn
Um, which is a completely different perspective. This is the first film so look as far as I'm aware anyway, to look at it from, from the, uh, the news angle, you know, how is, the how is it done on the ground?
11:55.15
Brian Penn
And I have very clear memories. I was young at the time, but I have very clear memories of, um, of Munich and Black September. And, um, it does bring bring back some vivid memories for me. So it's such a good film, but it's the kind of I mean, i'm I'm glad it's been recognized by the Oscars, that it has got that nomination there. That's so important because it gives, it gives the director, it gives the stars of the film a much, much higher profile because one thing they haven't got is an A, no disrespect to the actors involved. They're all brilliant, right?
12:26.48
Brian Penn
But they don't have any, what you would call A-list actors involved. Now, maybe you would say that helps the film more because it stands by itself. But um very special shout out, though, to the actress that plays, the actor, sorry, that plays Marianne.
12:44.08
Brian Penn
um That's Leonie Benesch. She plays the interpreter who's caught, basically caught in the middle, who's trying to liaise with the police, liaise the general authorities, cease translate it and bring it back to ABC so they can make sense of it all.
13:01.27
Brian Penn
But such a good film. Very good film.
13:03.90
Chris Olson
Wow. Yeah. I mean, i just touching on the point you mentioned about ah stars in the movies, um I'm often of the mindset of that I think stars can be distracting.
13:15.40
Chris Olson
i get i get the whole system.
13:15.88
Brian Penn
Yeah.
13:17.00
Chris Olson
i understand that often that's the only way they're going to get the film made, right?
13:19.78
Brian Penn
Yeah.
13:19.76
Chris Olson
that If they've got someone in that can pull in the...
13:21.84
Brian Penn
Yeah.
13:22.30
Chris Olson
The punters, as they say. um
13:23.81
Brian Penn
Go ahead.
13:24.39
Chris Olson
But but i was we were watching some animation recently, and I think it was Raya, The Last Dragon or something, and they've got celebrities in that, and I find them very distracting, and especially in animation, where you're sort of going, did that need to be a celebrity's voice?
13:30.80
Brian Penn
right Yeah.
13:38.39
Chris Olson
that could that
13:38.89
Brian Penn
And and I.
13:39.37
Chris Olson
yeah If anything, it sort of makes you think, well, it's not that person at all.
13:39.65
Brian Penn
and
13:42.49
Chris Olson
They're not in the film physically, like visually.
13:43.39
Brian Penn
Yeah.
13:44.83
Chris Olson
um And I think often with movies where you're trying to create an authentic story, they get
13:45.01
Brian Penn
Yeah.
13:51.67
Chris Olson
You could ruin that by sort of showing, oh, here's here's Brad Pitt, here's Angelina Jolie, here's all these people.
13:53.33
Brian Penn
Yeah, I think that's true. Yeah. I know.
13:57.10
Chris Olson
and so yeah.
13:57.61
Brian Penn
I know.
13:58.21
Chris Olson
Yeah.
13:58.64
Brian Penn
Yeah, I agree with that. Where it becomes a star vehicle, um it can be distracting.
14:01.74
Chris Olson
and
14:03.74
Brian Penn
ah so I suppose with September 5th, they've got actors that you recognise. You know, and they're instantly familiar. They all are. And you're kind of thinking, oh, know them from somewhere. And Peter Sarsgaard and Ben Chaplin, ah you know, a reasonably high profile, I guess.
14:17.21
Brian Penn
But I suppose as long as you've got actors that you recognise, that's probably okay. um because really at the end of the day, it's a story, isn't it, that matters. It's a standard of storytelling.
14:27.62
Chris Olson
Yeah.
14:28.65
Brian Penn
And sometimes I think you're right that if the stars are bigger than the film, they're bigger than the script, they're bigger than the story, then it kind of gets buried a little bit, I think.
14:39.58
Brian Penn
So sometimes I think it helps to have ah films that don't necessarily have A-listers. But I mean, inevitably, things being the way they are, Chris, we know they look for a certain type of actor in a certain type of film.
14:57.17
Brian Penn
And if the bigger the budget is, the big you know and the larger they go with but the stars they employ.
15:02.51
Chris Olson
Well, thank you, Ethan, by the for your review.
15:05.90
Brian Penn
Yeah.
15:06.28
Chris Olson
Thank you, Brian. and Speaking of star vehicles, let's see if that's happened with the next film Brian's going to review, which is Flight Risk, starring Marky Wahlberg.
15:14.81
Brian Penn
Oh, yeah, yeah. ah Right, okay. So Flight Risk um is directed by Mel Gibson. Stars, Mark Wahlberg. ah can't I can never pronounce his name properly.
15:27.60
Brian Penn
Mark Wahlberg.
15:27.58
Chris Olson
because you're scared of him, Brian. That's what it is. You're scared.
15:29.04
Brian Penn
Yeah, I know. He's a big bloke, isn't he?
15:32.33
Chris Olson
is
15:32.55
Brian Penn
Michelle Dockery and Topher Grace. um So, story in a nutshell, US Marshal Madeleine Harris places an accountant called Winston under arrest.
15:43.57
Brian Penn
He's agreed to give evidence against the Moretti crime family. She chances a private plane to fly her star witness to New York via Anchorage. The pilot, Daryl Boo, shows up, but it's not all he seems.
15:55.63
Brian Penn
Following an altercation, Madeline has to fire the plane herself. She has sporadic radio contacts and slowly begins to piece together what's happened. Very enjoyable film.
16:07.08
Brian Penn
I like this.
16:07.11
Chris Olson
Yeah.
16:07.97
Brian Penn
Yeah, nice easy plot to follow. Not too challenging, you know. and Doesn't distract you too much from your popcorn or your coke or whatever it is you've got with you. um It's only 90 minutes long.
16:20.01
Brian Penn
So no chance getting cramped, sitting there for too long. Always it's always an important consideration, I think.
16:25.20
Chris Olson
Cramp.
16:26.34
Brian Penn
Well, yeah, I know.
16:26.44
Chris Olson
It's got the cramp avoidance.
16:28.93
Brian Penn
I mean, for a six-footer, it's a particularly um big issue for me. you know But anyway, I'm getting off the pull.
16:34.14
Chris Olson
Yeah. Cramp risk. That's what I should have called it.
16:36.19
Brian Penn
Cramp wrist, yeah, I know.
16:36.29
Chris Olson
Cramp risk.
16:37.75
Brian Penn
um Now, Michelle Dockery pulls off a fairly convincing American accent. A very enjoyable film. it It doesn't require, it's one of those sort of films that doesn't require too much from you.
16:50.10
Brian Penn
You immediately know what's going on. And it's interesting the fact that Mel Gibson directed the film because this is the type of film he would have made back in the day. It does feel like a Mel Gibson star vehicle, but um I really enjoyed it.
17:03.76
Brian Penn
It's really got a lot going for it.
17:06.45
Chris Olson
Well, we had one reviewer send in a review of this, Charles Pugh, who did not take the same um approach. Gave one start.
17:14.56
Brian Penn
Oh, oh, oh, wow.
17:15.15
Chris Olson
Not happy with this one, Brian. Um... I'll just skip right to the end. It's a good review, but as good say yeah Flight Risk, ironically, doesn't take any risks at all in providing anything other than cheap popcorn entertainment, which definitely isn't a bad thing if the characters were interesting if the direction wasn't on autopilot.
17:25.33
Brian Penn
I like that. I like that.
17:33.33
Chris Olson
um So opinions differ, and the film does have a fairly poor rating on IMDb, but Brian makes a couple of really good points, which is one.
17:36.93
Brian Penn
Of course they
17:43.88
Chris Olson
length I'm a big fan of short films.
17:45.10
Brian Penn
do. Yeah.
17:46.36
Chris Olson
Secondly, I think sometimes films do have a purpose.
17:46.90
Brian Penn
Yeah.
17:49.46
Chris Olson
You sometimes there are movies there that are for, you turn your brain off.
17:51.21
Brian Penn
Yeah.
17:52.86
Chris Olson
You just want to veg.
17:54.36
Brian Penn
yeah
17:54.36
Chris Olson
And, you know, Mark Wahlberg, he's been some good films to be fair, but he is often in these sort of films as well.
17:55.15
Brian Penn
time
17:58.82
Brian Penn
Yeah.
18:00.62
Chris Olson
Um,
18:00.83
Brian Penn
Yeah.
18:01.58
Chris Olson
Interesting with Mel Gibson's direction, though, because later on we've got a movie ah related to him.
18:06.86
Brian Penn
We have, haven't we? Yeah.
18:07.73
Chris Olson
Yeah, I'm not giving it away, but yeah, he's he is involved in the um nostalgia pick this month.
18:10.70
Brian Penn
no no. Yeah. Yeah. Nice. Yeah. I think the thing is with flight risk, what you see is what you get. And I think there's a lot to be said for a film like that. That doesn't.
18:21.70
Brian Penn
have any pretensions. it sets it out. This is what's going to happen. It's kind of like a thriller by numbers. But I don't mind that, you know. um it's It's not going to win any awards. It's not that type of film.
18:35.04
Brian Penn
But I think it what it works. But of course, I take on board what the Charles the reviewer is saying. um But, you know, he's got some great airline puns in there as well, hasn't he? I'm really impressed.
18:44.87
Chris Olson
ah i said you know what? The film reviews that come in, i always look for that. i don't say If someone's having fun with it, I'm going to goingnna run with it.
18:50.01
Brian Penn
Yeah. and I know.
18:52.52
Chris Olson
um So film of the month, Brian, I'm i'm guessing it's not Flight Risk. I but i would say, is it September 5?
18:57.21
Brian Penn
I
18:58.63
Chris Olson
Okay.
18:59.65
Brian Penn
No. It's a toss-up between September 5 and Bridget Jones.
19:02.79
Chris Olson
oh Okay.
19:03.17
Brian Penn
But I would give it to Bridget Jones purely for and sustainment value appearance entertainment pure entertainment value.
19:07.24
Chris Olson
that
19:10.75
Brian Penn
And the fact that if he was he was planning a night out at the pictures, what would you go and see? Would you go and see September 5? Or would you go and see Bridget Jones? And I'm almost certain you would land on Bridget Jones, the Bridget Jones movie, every time.
19:25.98
Brian Penn
Because it's it's high on the entertainment factor.
19:26.11
Chris Olson
the
19:29.20
Brian Penn
September 5th is a different, it's a more of a cerebral film and it it makes you think a bit more and it's more demanding. So for periods as good as September 5th is, film of the month, by a whisker, it's Bridget Jones.
19:44.44
Brian Penn
Mad about a boy.
19:44.43
Chris Olson
There you go.
19:45.04
Brian Penn
Yep.
19:45.78
Chris Olson
There you go. Brian is mad about the film and that is film month. We're going to have a quick look at the Oscar categories. Just a couple, not all of them. And we're just going to ask Brian because Brian may have seen them.
19:55.94
Chris Olson
He may not have seen the films.
19:57.18
Brian Penn
well it's funny you should say that yeah okay well well I mean look for for best film we've got 10 nominations now I've seen 6 out of the 10 so if I just briefly mention the 6 that I've seen um uh Complete Unknown um which we reviewed a couple of weeks back with uh Timothy Chamolais excellent film uh
19:57.95
Chris Olson
um Yeah. um Have you got any that you wanted to particularly shout out, Brian?
20:15.70
Chris Olson
Yeah.
20:25.90
Brian Penn
thoroughly deserves the nomination. Conclave, which we also review ah with Ralph Fiennes. Another brilliant film, excellent film. Dune Part 2, I'm a bit surprised that's there actually, to be honest, because I wasn't really sure when I saw that, but that's in there.
20:41.99
Brian Penn
Emilia Perez, which came via Netflix, but it's making a lot a lot of noise for on all kinds of levels, but a very original storyline really about the Mexican drug lord who It was transgender. um So interesting take.
20:59.22
Brian Penn
What else have we got? The Substance, um which we also reviewed a few weeks back.
21:03.86
Chris Olson
Yeah, the horror film, wasn't it? Yeah.
21:06.01
Brian Penn
Yeah, with Demi Moore. That's a bit of a sleeper. I think that's deservedly there. And the final film that I mentioned is Wicked, which is the big screen version of the Broadway musical and West End musical as well. um Very, very good film.
21:24.50
Brian Penn
Visually stunning, great music. And Ariana Grande is very good in the role. Great comic timing. But of those 10, if I had to pick one that I thought was going to win, I've got a funny feeling Amelia Perez might shade it because it is so different.
21:41.98
Chris Olson
Okay.
21:43.62
Brian Penn
It is so incredibly different. And it also um also complies with the diversity and inclusion ah agenda, which is always a big factor, I think.
21:53.38
Chris Olson
Yeah, it does does come up now, I think. um I see that um the Brutalist is on.
21:55.86
Brian Penn
Yeah.
21:58.26
Chris Olson
Have you seen the Brutalist?
21:59.44
Brian Penn
No, not yet. I was going to watch it. I mean, I think I need to book some annual leave to see it. It's so long. its It's about, it's three hours, 20 minutes. What I think I'll do, I may well, if it's still out, ah you know, if it's still out by the time we do the next podcast, I'll review it for then.
22:15.52
Brian Penn
But ah I mean, that's the film with Adrian Brody. it It looks like a great film. It does look, it looks,
22:20.58
Chris Olson
Yeah, i mean, we've had a couple of people sending reviews and um John, was sending a five star review of it. I just want to read a little snippet um just because it's relevant. So yeah, Corbett's direction incorporates many long uninterrupted takes that allow for the performances to feel realistic and grounded wholly in the subject matter.
22:38.08
Chris Olson
There are too many to simply cite here, but when used in tandem with both shaky camera and some scenes wide, stunningly realized shots in others put you flawlessly in the character's perspective.
22:48.80
Chris Olson
The performance by other members of the cast are no less erupturing in themselves. It's what Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones.
22:53.76
Brian Penn
Hmm.
22:55.04
Chris Olson
So yeah, some really good um features there. Interesting list there. ah Sorry, yeah, thank you, John, by the way, for your review.
23:02.67
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
23:04.58
Chris Olson
Interesting list there, and it'd be interesting to see which film comes out on top because I remember reviewing conclave and I thought all that sounds like Oscar kind of territory in terms of the the way that that film um came about so yeah
23:13.29
Brian Penn
Yeah.
23:16.78
Brian Penn
Yeah, definitely. yeah I think it, I mean, it it got, there I think it got the award for best film at the BAFTAs, didn't it? Conclave.
23:24.11
Chris Olson
hmm um yeah
23:25.34
Brian Penn
So, you know, that's, That's not always a good indicator, though, because, I mean, I think there are few occasions where the BAFTAs and the Oscars agree with each other when it comes to Best Picture.
23:38.25
Brian Penn
But it'll be interesting, though. You know, I think that there are some very good films there. Obviously, can only speak for the films that I've seen.
23:46.00
Chris Olson
Yeah.
23:46.36
Brian Penn
But um i'm I'm still keen very keen on A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan film. That is a terrific piece of filmmaking. It really is.
23:55.01
Chris Olson
Well, and it's good to be seeing such... strong films again. i think that obviously when we had COVID, and it was quite sort of lull.
24:01.09
Brian Penn
Yeah,
24:03.29
Chris Olson
um And, you know, we're getting that high quality back again. um so yeah, we'll catch up in the next episode about that, just to see what happened.
24:07.35
Brian Penn
yeah definitely, yeah.
24:11.64
Brian Penn
Yeah.
24:12.49
Chris Olson
um
24:12.69
Brian Penn
Yep.
24:13.41
Chris Olson
Moving now to our streaming pick. And in a, I don't want to say a similar vein to British Jones, because it's not even in the same league.
24:23.91
Brian Penn
ah I know what you mean, though.
24:24.81
Chris Olson
um But you know what mean with this?
24:26.26
Brian Penn
Yeah, I know what you mean.
24:27.38
Chris Olson
The Amy Schumer comedy, Kinda Pregnant, came to Netflix in February. And I made me and Brian watch it because we like to review a film on a streaming platform.
24:33.34
Brian Penn
Yeah.
24:35.81
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah. yeah
24:38.82
Chris Olson
And yeah, essentially it's a film about a woman called Lainey, played by Amy Schumer, who is that point in life where starting to maybe want to settle down, wants to find a partner, now and she's desperate to have a family, um and through one contravence or another, ends up wearing a fake baby bump um and pretending to be pregnant.
25:07.18
Chris Olson
which gets her into all kinds of caper, as you can imagine, and because she accidentally falls in love with um yeah the love of her life who thinks she's pregnant with someone else's child.
25:10.16
Brian Penn
e Yeah.
25:17.50
Chris Olson
And you can imagine what the rest of the film is like. I started watching this film with my wife and she watched half an hour and said she didn't want to watch anymore. so
25:25.51
Brian Penn
Really? ah Right.
25:26.48
Chris Olson
Yeah. um And that, I think, tells you...
25:28.14
Brian Penn
Yeah.
25:31.80
Chris Olson
What I think this film gets wrong, and this is I knew this going in, I could kind of tell, it was the balance.
25:37.09
Brian Penn
Yeah.
25:38.80
Chris Olson
There was the wrong balance between caring about this character, yeah caring about her situation and what she's going through, to the kind of slapstick comedy, the rudeness, there yeah the sort of strange things that are going to just happen, and the shock kind of value.
25:49.15
Brian Penn
Yeah.
25:57.06
Brian Penn
Yeah.
25:57.08
Chris Olson
there's a few characters that are peppered in there that you can imagine in the script, you're seeing that script written down, oh, that that that could be quite funny. But when it's delivered and when it's done, it just kind of comes off as being quite obnoxious.
26:09.14
Chris Olson
And i think that tone is wrong.
26:09.41
Brian Penn
yeah
26:11.18
Chris Olson
We might be the wrong kind of um audience for this, but Brian, what do you think are kind of pregnant?
26:14.09
Brian Penn
yeah i I thought it was okay. I like a Amy Schumer. ah yes
26:20.01
Chris Olson
I do too. I don't i don't mind her at all. I just didn't think this was great.
26:23.88
Brian Penn
She's a very good comedian, very good at visual comedy, which isn't always easy to pull off. And she tends to rely on visual comedy in this film. But, don't know, it just seems incredibly silly in places.
26:35.04
Chris Olson
Yeah.
26:35.19
Brian Penn
Not silly in a nice way. Silly in an annoying way. you know and And in many ways, Chris, I think it it becomes a a one-gag movie because she's got this
26:41.29
Chris Olson
I'll give to that.
26:46.13
Brian Penn
bump, artificial bump, straps on. And she she kind of falls over and she trips and, you know, and you think, right, how many ways are you going to do this gag when it wasn't that funny to start with, if you see what I'm getting at.
26:59.08
Chris Olson
Hmm.
26:59.37
Brian Penn
And it kind of lets the film down. And I don't think there's anything particularly compelling there to hold the hold the attention because, you know, the love of her life, Josh, you know, if he was for real, what would he think of her?
27:12.63
Brian Penn
I mean, I know love does funny things to us, but I mean, you know, you think he'd run a mile because she she does seem slightly um idiosyncratic,
27:23.49
Brian Penn
slightly unhinged as a character. You think, what would he really think of her? What would a guy guy think of her? You know, as attractive as she is and it so as engaging and funny and likable as she is, are they with the right circumstances for him to fall for her?
27:28.27
Chris Olson
And
27:40.49
Brian Penn
I don't know.
27:40.44
Chris Olson
and I think, yeah.
27:40.82
Brian Penn
Well, I'm explaining myself here, but you know you see what i'm getting at. is
27:44.42
Chris Olson
100% is that you you're asked to suspend disbelief. You're asked to sort of, okay, yeah, she she's pretending to be pregnant and there's a group of adults around her nonstop who have not noticed. And that straight away is just like, okay, this is already, yeah you're asking a lot.
27:54.83
Brian Penn
Yeah.
27:58.77
Chris Olson
But then you're right, like then things happen and you're like, yeah, but...
27:59.02
Brian Penn
Yeah.
28:02.88
Chris Olson
okay, but if that's how you're going to react, like I can't trust anything you're going to do because you you clearly are not human.
28:06.24
Brian Penn
Yeah.
28:08.58
Chris Olson
like You don't react in the way that a human would react.
28:09.17
Brian Penn
I know. I
28:11.60
Chris Olson
And yeah, you're right. I think the silliness overtakes it. The... They're asking you to spend a lot of time with one idea that is not even really that funny.
28:22.94
Chris Olson
I think Schumer does well to bring quite a few laughs.
28:23.08
Brian Penn
know. No, exactly. Yeah.
28:27.43
Chris Olson
just There are bits where I did chuckle. with Oh, that that's funny. like They've done well. um
28:32.06
Brian Penn
yeah
28:32.14
Chris Olson
i think I liked her friend a lot as well. but She was really good. like She's...
28:35.51
Brian Penn
Megan, Megan, yeah.
28:36.30
Chris Olson
Yeah, and there's a bit of depth there as well. It was a bit of, okay, that she's actually sort of yeah struggling little bit.
28:38.70
Brian Penn
ah
28:41.51
Chris Olson
But then there was this like other teacher or guidance counselor or someone at the school that was just there purely for like comic relief and just everything she said was just stupid. I'm just like, this is just ah winding me up now.
28:51.09
Brian Penn
Oh, yeah, Anna, Anna, yeah, yeah. yeah
28:55.68
Chris Olson
And i think... as I got through more of the film, I thought, I think they're trying. I feel like they kind of thought, oh, actually, this isn't this isn't enough. We need to try and put something else on here.
29:06.06
Brian Penn
Yeah.
29:05.95
Chris Olson
But it was just too late. They'd already run down this path. And you're like, no, we're on it now.
29:09.42
Brian Penn
Yeah.
29:10.34
Chris Olson
You're goingnna have to see this to the end.
29:10.56
Brian Penn
but um
29:11.46
Chris Olson
And we all are as well. Except my wife who left.
29:14.44
Brian Penn
Well, yeah, I know. But you see, I'm just surprised that ne Netflix gave them the budget for a film like this. Because, you know, if that was...
29:20.71
Chris Olson
Hmm.
29:22.17
Brian Penn
Imagine if you and i were were executives, you know, commissioning new work for for Netflix or or any any online service provider, whoever it is. You know, would you be impressed by the pitch for a film like this?
29:35.76
Brian Penn
I think it would be slightly lost on me if I'm being honest. You know, I'm always one give all films a chance, particularly if we're going to review something here. Then, you know, I pay it i pay that from the compliment of watching it all the way through and because that's what we do.
29:51.26
Brian Penn
But I can understand why your wife got bored with it after half an hour. I'm surprised that it didn't take, you
29:55.26
Chris Olson
And I think also... it's that sense of knowing where it's going, Okay, I know where this is going. i don't I don't need to watch the rest of this.
30:00.63
Brian Penn
Yeah.
30:02.43
Chris Olson
I think that's quite disappointing sometimes when you watch a movie, you kind of go, oh right, yeah we're we're in it now.
30:02.95
Brian Penn
Yeah.
30:08.39
Chris Olson
we know We know exactly what's going to happen and it's not good enough.
30:10.38
Brian Penn
Yeah.
30:10.97
Chris Olson
Like yeah you said about flight risk earlier, like you know what it's doing. You know, it's kind of, you know, slot A, slot but it's not, like it's still engaging.
30:15.00
Brian Penn
Oh, cool, sir.
30:19.04
Chris Olson
it's still, you still like what what's happening. But with this, like I didn't really like what was happening and I just kind saw it through just out of professional courtesy more than anything else.
30:26.64
Brian Penn
Yeah, thanks so exactly. Yeah. Exactly.
30:27.83
Chris Olson
um But yeah, if you've seen Kind of Pregnant, do you know what?
30:28.12
Brian Penn
Yeah.
30:32.18
Chris Olson
You can send me a review, but might not read it. ah just've I've had enough time with that movie.
30:34.85
Brian Penn
exactly Yeah.
30:37.03
Chris Olson
um
30:37.30
Brian Penn
yeah yeah
30:38.64
Chris Olson
But yeah, we're moving on to the indie film section of our podcast now, which is where we review some films that filmmakers have sent to us specifically to review. Because Amy Schumer did not ask us to review that.
30:49.32
Chris Olson
So I don't think she really cares what we think.
30:50.28
Brian Penn
No, no problem.
30:51.29
Chris Olson
And that's it's absolutely fair play.
30:53.25
Brian Penn
Yeah.
30:53.53
Chris Olson
um But we yeah the filmmakers here do care what we want to say. And we're going to review four indie films in this section. And I've got clips from all four.
31:03.19
Brian Penn
Oh, wow.
31:03.86
Chris Olson
Yeah.
31:04.27
Brian Penn
Fantastic.
31:04.76
Chris Olson
which is yeah fabulous. So we're going to start with the action movie White Crow and here is a clip.
32:09.44
Chris Olson
Okay.
32:10.71
Brian Penn
Yeah.
32:10.59
Chris Olson
I was bobbing along for that, I must say. that The vibe of that trailer music just kind of really got me.
32:15.58
Brian Penn
Yeah.
32:15.92
Chris Olson
um
32:16.82
Brian Penn
Yeah.
32:17.04
Chris Olson
The film's called White Crow. I reviewed this on the website, and i also did a video review, believe, of this already. um But I will give the the quick rundown on this. So it's written and directed by ah George Threadgold, and Julian Gam plays this ex-agent called JD, who is...
32:35.61
Chris Olson
a bit annoyed. He's a bit miffed because he's found out the agency that he worked...
32:38.22
Brian Penn
not happy, is he?
32:38.73
Chris Olson
for He's not happy.
32:39.61
Brian Penn
He's not happy.
32:40.15
Chris Olson
The agency that he worked for turns out to be evil.
32:40.98
Brian Penn
Okay.
32:43.47
Chris Olson
And he's now on a mission to avenge himself and to take them down at any means. um They obviously don't like that, so they start hunting him back. And from there, he gets embroiled with a ah do-gooder called Emma, played by Hannah al-Rashid.
32:59.01
Chris Olson
And Emma ends up saving him a few times, getting him out of a few scrapes, and the pair of them end up on the run together, trying to stay ahead of them and make their next move to bring down this ah this terrible agency.
33:13.36
Chris Olson
my review, mentioned some of the big spy franchises like Jason Bourne, James Bond, those sort of things. It definitely has a lot in common with Jason Bourne, I think, where you've got this kind of
33:23.19
Brian Penn
Yeah.
33:25.60
Chris Olson
rogue agent who knows what they're like and knows how to kind of circumvent them.
33:26.70
Brian Penn
Yeah.
33:30.73
Chris Olson
It's obviously on a much more humble budget than those sort of movies, but it's definitely in that sort of ballpark. What did you think of White Crow?
33:39.15
Brian Penn
Yeah. I enjoyed it. It's very slick. I mean, it doesn't feel like an indie film to me. I mean, even though that, yeah.
33:43.87
Chris Olson
No, it's pretty good. It's pretty up there, isn't it? Yeah.
33:46.51
Brian Penn
I mean, even though, um We know they've got a limited budget, but they've made that budget stretch a long way. I really like the opening titles. They're very well done. They feel very Bond-esque. um They've got a theme song as well, which which all goes to make it look look like look a very handsome film.
34:02.81
Brian Penn
um Obviously, you just refer to the Bourne and the James Bond movies. It's definitely in that territory, isn't it, Mission Impossible? And that's a very crowded space.
34:13.31
Brian Penn
You know, that there are lots of filmmakers working in that particular area. And it's very fertile territory, isn't it, sp for filmmakers generally. um So it becomes a greater challenge to make a film on a limited budget with that kind of subject material.
34:29.44
Brian Penn
But I think it does it really well, you know, and there there are some really sort of standout phrases, if you like. You know, they talk about the truth-sayer, we are legion, new world power, division of Valkyrie.
34:40.17
Chris Olson
yeah
34:42.78
Brian Penn
And it it's quite... um eniggmatic and it it stands out and it gives it more more of an edge. So they made an effort so try and to try and build an image and and give it a series of handles and hooks um because a story like this, you know, is naturally very familiar because of what we've already seen, what we already see on screen.
35:05.99
Brian Penn
But I really enjoyed it. I thought it was really good and very well done, bearing in mind that it is an indie film. And it, yeah.
35:12.94
Chris Olson
And I think on those budgets, sometimes you have these films that are, maybe they're just inspired by the films that they loved. Do you know what i love? Bourne movies, so I'm going to make a movie like that.
35:24.49
Chris Olson
And they realise that there's no way they could get anywhere near that. Like, know, it just wouldn't happen.
35:29.79
Brian Penn
Yeah.
35:30.42
Chris Olson
But with this, it feels like, actually, no, he did a really good job. Like there's lots, they're not holding back as well.
35:33.41
Brian Penn
Nice.
35:34.76
Chris Olson
There's lots of fight scenes.
35:35.21
Brian Penn
Yeah.
35:35.92
Chris Olson
There's lots of action.
35:36.41
Brian Penn
Yeah.
35:37.51
Chris Olson
um What i did really like was the pacing. Because sometimes with action movies,
35:41.00
Brian Penn
and
35:42.87
Chris Olson
especially if you are sort of, oh, do you know what? Like, yeah, we can pay for that scene, but we can't pay for all these other scenes.
35:47.89
Brian Penn
yeah
35:48.48
Chris Olson
So they kind of have a lot of downtime to sort of yeah justify it. But actually with this, it it moved at a really good pace and it did not stop. And I love the way that we were given... this flashback to the character of JD, see how he got embroiled in this system and how they just absolutely trained him up to become this sort of super soldier.
36:02.44
Brian Penn
Yeah.
36:08.09
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
36:09.48
Chris Olson
And that arc is really powerful because he's quite cold.
36:12.40
Brian Penn
yeah
36:14.43
Chris Olson
He's quite a hard character to sort of like at the beginning. And you don't really... see things in his way, if yous see what I mean. It's not really, for me anyway, it wasn't until he met Emma that it was like, okay, right, she's a character we can get on board with, she's more of a kind of every person and has more heart, and then he sort of obviously starts to soften slightly with her.
36:23.08
Brian Penn
yeah
36:36.08
Chris Olson
and I liked that development. That felt quite smart. quite it thought It was thought through. it was like we need to have not just loads of action. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot, but we need to have some heart here.
36:48.71
Chris Olson
There needs to be something for audiences to kind of grapple with if action isn't their thing, you know, if if they yeah want something else. So having that kind of balance is really smartly done.
37:00.18
Chris Olson
i thought it was a well-made film, you know.
37:02.64
Brian Penn
Yeah, it's really enjoyable. As I say, i mean, to to make a film like this, with this sort of subject matter, because it's so, as I said just now, because it's been so frequently done, you're you're really going to work hard.
37:18.92
Brian Penn
You know, you to have the chops to do it. And he's done it well. And it takes a lot of nerve to make a film like this and make it look credible. So it deserves a lot of credit for that.
37:30.25
Chris Olson
Yeah, i want to um shout out some of the actors in there because yeah Julian Gam is really good in the leading role. I thought Hannah O'Rashid was actually even stronger for me.
37:35.51
Brian Penn
Yeah.
37:39.25
Chris Olson
I really connected with the performance. I thought it great. But really enjoyed the, um there's the two characters, one played by James Graham and one played by Andrew Rolfe.
37:42.17
Brian Penn
Yeah.
37:47.58
Chris Olson
They play the kind of like agency side. They're sort of higher ups that are like trying to,
37:51.64
Brian Penn
Yeah. senior senior
37:52.50
Chris Olson
trying to put JD down, if you know And I just, I love the way they were just getting wound up.
37:53.81
Brian Penn
yeah yeah
37:57.60
Chris Olson
And like the bit where he's on the golf course, he just takes the phone call, he just ends up missing his part.
37:58.06
Brian Penn
ah know yeah yeah yeah yeah And I'm still in their car like that. It's not on, is it, really?
38:05.71
Chris Olson
Yeah.
38:06.27
Brian Penn
ah
38:06.47
Chris Olson
I just thought it's brilliant. and Also there's the bit, obviously they they're like, they do that classic thing of where they have like their meetings along the side of the Thames.
38:08.17
Brian Penn
No. Yeah.
38:13.93
Chris Olson
Right. And it's like where like MI5 is and all that sort of stuff.
38:14.77
Brian Penn
Yeah.
38:17.20
Chris Olson
I thought that was a really good way of,
38:17.41
Brian Penn
Yeah.
38:20.52
Chris Olson
giving the audience like, okay, yeah, this is what we're talking about, you know, this like type of high-level secrecy, these intelligence agencies and how they operate.
38:29.41
Brian Penn
yeah
38:30.42
Chris Olson
They operate in plain sight, and yet, you know, the things that they do are completely uns scrupulous. And, yeah, I thought they... They paid homage to a lot of those things that have come before them.
38:41.63
Chris Olson
You know, they sort of knew that the things they needed to reference and but also gave you a new story.
38:43.02
Brian Penn
Yeah.
38:45.77
Brian Penn
Yeah. but
38:47.39
Chris Olson
i Well, not a new story, but it gave you a story that you could get on board with. Yeah.
38:51.07
Brian Penn
Yeah, that's right.
38:51.41
Chris Olson
yeah
38:52.07
Brian Penn
i i I think it's difficult to come up with a story that's even vaguely original. And I think it is. they they try they've That's where it's it's brave. It takes guts to do this.
39:03.16
Brian Penn
But they've made it work. And but as you say, they pay homage to all the reference points.
39:11.42
Chris Olson
Yeah. um White Crow was on Plex TV. and Plex TV is a platform we're not associated with them. We're not associated with Netflix either, by the way. um But Plex TV, I believe you can watch it for free. You just have to watch adverts.
39:25.84
Chris Olson
They are annoying. I'm going to be honest. They are annoying because sometimes it's like five in a row. oh But that's the way we used to watch movies.
39:30.88
Brian Penn
Yeah, know.
39:33.55
Chris Olson
You know, if you watch them on TV, we used to watch that.
39:34.03
Brian Penn
I I know. Yeah. so
39:37.07
Chris Olson
um But yeah, it's...
39:38.09
Brian Penn
See, we're spoiled, really, aren't we? We're streaming now, where we can...
39:40.24
Chris Olson
Yeah, streaming has... was going back that way though, wasn't it? They're starting to put ads at the beginning, at the end.
39:44.44
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah, and I know.
39:45.75
Chris Olson
um
39:46.74
Brian Penn
Yeah.
39:47.00
Chris Olson
But I honestly think, you know, if if filmmakers are able to get them on these platforms, though, things like Plex TV, Amazon, whatever, um it's great.
39:51.88
Brian Penn
Yeah.
39:54.41
Chris Olson
And a movie like this, you get a lot of bang for buck. You really do. It it comes in at around an hour and a half, I think. um And... There's a lot in there and it doesn't yeah doesn't go at all slow.
40:06.66
Chris Olson
and so I think, you check out you can, send us a review if you've seen it.
40:08.59
Brian Penn
No,
40:10.88
Chris Olson
um I think you will be pleasantly surprised. And also go to the website and watch my review, you know, spend some time on the website.
40:16.32
Brian Penn
Yeah, I think you will.
40:19.80
Brian Penn
Yeah.
40:20.21
Chris Olson
just Just click around, you know.
40:20.50
Brian Penn
Yeah. Fantastic. know.
40:23.58
Chris Olson
Let us know what you think.
40:24.34
Brian Penn
Yeah.
40:24.79
Chris Olson
um White Crow. oh and also there is an Instagram page, should say, at White Crow Movie, all one word. and We have tagged them, I think, in some posts, so you should be able to find it fairly easy if you can't. Just get in touch.
40:37.19
Chris Olson
um Moving on now to a sci-fi movie called The Space Rodent. And again, we have a clip.
40:45.54
Brian Penn
Mm-hmm.
41:47.84
Chris Olson
I love that. The biggest threats coming this morning. Brilliant. So Space Rodent um is a sci-fi comedy set on Halloween.
41:58.97
Chris Olson
You get a couple of best friends, Mac and Dean, hanging out and they are 00:00.96
Chris Olson
Okay, so The Space Rodent. um It's a sci-fi comedy about best friends Mac and Dean, ah played by Robert Carrera and David Menard, respectively.
00:12.55
Chris Olson
And they're hanging out at their apartment on Halloween. Their partners, Amanda and Skylar, head out on a drive. They're played by um Leah Bernard and Shelby Broadnecks.
00:24.22
Chris Olson
um yeah It's Halloween, and they're all sort of looking for a good time. um but unfortunately... the the world gets invaded by some very vicious puppet rats.
00:34.03
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:36.36
Chris Olson
And when you start this film, I think there's a sense of that you kind of go, Oh no, like, Oh, Oh, this is going to be a slog because it does.
00:42.31
Brian Penn
Yeah. I know. Yeah. Yeah.
00:45.16
Chris Olson
I would say the first, it's about two hours. I think this film, the first half of the film, does move an absolute snail's pace and they are just messing around i think for most of it they're having a lot of fun you can tell you're watching it but they had a lot fun just sort of messing around it's not very engaging you sort of go right okay um but is anything gonna happen guys because you've been here a while now um but the second half the film it actually is really fun because I they did it so that when the actual
00:53.43
Brian Penn
Yeah.
00:56.12
Brian Penn
yeah
01:01.00
Brian Penn
yeah
01:07.15
Brian Penn
Yeah, know.
01:15.05
Chris Olson
rodents in invade they're quite scary they had this kind of like Ghostbusters sort of feel to them it felt a bit kind of visceral what did you think of this one Brian?
01:16.75
Brian Penn
Hmm. It, yeah.
01:22.35
Brian Penn
know, yeah.
01:25.93
Brian Penn
It's hugely likeable, as you say. I mean, so it's a film with two halves, isn't it? First half, you know, not a lot going on, and you're kind of scratching your head a little bit, thinking, mate, You're waiting for something to start, but then it springs into action.
01:39.07
Brian Penn
And I think the beauty of this is that the the what the the monsters, the rats, the giant rats, the puppet glove puppets, aren't they more? But it's amazing how effective they are.
01:50.64
Brian Penn
You know, they they make it work and and they do carry, they're creepy, quite shocking as well.
01:52.80
Chris Olson
ah Pretty creepy, yeah.
01:57.31
Brian Penn
But you've got, you know, you've got to be in the zone, right? It's always the way with horror, stroke, sci-fi.
01:59.72
Chris Olson
Hmm.
02:02.48
Brian Penn
You've got to be in the zone. You've got to be um open to it. But You know, those big staring lines, they do have an effect, you know. And you set it against um modern CGI techniques and all the things they can do on screen now.
02:17.28
Brian Penn
um But it just proves that good horror, good quality horror, stroke sci-fi, depends on you, the viewer, using your imagination, right, and how you how much you buy into it.
02:31.12
Brian Penn
Aside from that, I think it sits that sits within a plot that's quite tongue-in-cheek in some ways, but there's nothing wrong with that. You know, so I i think it's it's really good fun.
02:43.00
Brian Penn
You know, have to speak as I find.
02:43.63
Chris Olson
Yeah.
02:45.00
Brian Penn
It's very, it was, for second half was really enjoyable.
02:48.10
Chris Olson
Yeah, I think the sort of elements of horror worked to me a lot better than necessarily the comedy, because it was just kind of this like awkward mix of stoner comedy with almost like a Gremlins kind of vibe.
03:03.70
Chris Olson
Like, it felt a bit like Gremlins.
03:03.73
Brian Penn
Yeah.
03:05.37
Chris Olson
And... I think that latter part was better. I think when they had the sort of horror bits going on and the characters had something to do and they had something to kind of rail against and they weren't kind of just left to do whatever they want, um that really helped to structure this sort of movie and get it moving.
03:12.46
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
03:18.02
Brian Penn
yeah.
03:22.13
Brian Penn
yeah
03:22.77
Chris Olson
One thing I found in the first half which let it down was that the two male characters are a bit too similar. So, like, Dean and Mac are both sort of buffoons and they're both idiots.
03:33.46
Brian Penn
yeah
03:34.70
Chris Olson
And I think that lack of contrast makes it kind of difficult to enjoy that section.
03:39.13
Brian Penn
but yeah
03:39.21
Chris Olson
Whereas I think if you'd have had, like, a, you know, the buffoon and then you had this sort of this sort of hard-ass kind of character that's ah you got a stick up his butt.
03:45.14
Brian Penn
yeah
03:47.01
Chris Olson
Like that kind of dynamic works, like where you've kind of got odds there.
03:47.24
Brian Penn
Yeah. yeah Yeah.
03:51.51
Chris Olson
But when you have these two characters both being silly for a long time, it's kind of like, yeah, I get it.
03:55.11
Brian Penn
yeah
03:56.60
Chris Olson
Maybe like your mates would enjoy this bit, but the rest of us are all sitting here waiting for this to get going.
03:58.90
Brian Penn
Yeah.
04:01.03
Chris Olson
And I think what will happen is a lot of audiences are going to switch off before the good stuff gets going.
04:01.37
Brian Penn
yeah yeah
04:05.72
Chris Olson
And that's a shame.
04:06.18
Brian Penn
yeah I think that's that that's a good point. I think where you've got a double act there, you need some contrast. you They need to be slightly different. even if you're talking about kind of like a Dumb and Dumber type storyline, you know, there's got to be a difference.
04:18.08
Chris Olson
Yeah.
04:19.80
Brian Penn
There's got to be a contrast there because then they like can bounce off each other if there is. So I think that's a fair point. And that you need that, you need two characters to rub against each other little bit.
04:31.89
Brian Penn
And they they weren't doing that enough, certainly not the beginning anyway.
04:35.45
Chris Olson
Yeah, and I think the the nature of this film, like because it's an indie comedy, like yeah they want to have that stuff and I think you could have done but you could have absolutely trimmed it down but what I think was really impressive about the film was the way that
04:44.35
Brian Penn
Hmm.
04:48.75
Chris Olson
they used the locations really smartly. They didn't sort of over they overdo it, didn't try and go and do loads of things and be in loads places.
04:51.31
Brian Penn
Hmm.
04:55.60
Chris Olson
A lot of it does take place around this house um and in sort of surrounding fields.
05:01.44
Brian Penn
Hmm.
05:02.59
Chris Olson
There's the whole thing of Amanda and Scarlett being on the road and they they crash the car and they come across a stranger and things like that. ah And that stuff felt quite, unnerving quite scary it was like okay not scary but you know i mean it kind of had a bit of an edge to it a bit of a okay yeah we're not not sure where this is going this is actually getting us going and i think that's really good when you have these indie movies that are they know how to sort of play to those strengths i think what this just needed was just like an editor to just come down on it and go wait a minute let me just slice this up a little bit
05:14.12
Brian Penn
Yeah. yeah surena Yeah.
05:30.24
Brian Penn
Yeah.
05:34.95
Brian Penn
Well, yeah. Yeah. I think that's a good point as well. I think a good Edison is as important as a good director because they know what
05:43.13
Chris Olson
Yeah.
05:44.34
Brian Penn
what to keep, they know what to get rid of basically. So, yeah, I think it probably could have done with it with ah someone's like it could have done with a good editor taking out a razor blade and saying, right, let's get rid of this, let's get rid of that, and you just make it a bit leaner.
05:59.51
Chris Olson
Yeah, and it's funny because often when you get director's cuts, they're often longer, right? They go, I've got a director's cut of this, but they could have a director's cut of this where they kind of go, actually, we've gone back and just made a bit more of a streamlined version, um and that's what we're going to present.
06:03.66
Brian Penn
Yeah.
06:08.77
Brian Penn
Yeah, exactly, yeah, I know, yeah. yeah Yeah.
06:12.03
Chris Olson
um But then, the yeah as we've mentioned before with some reviews, it's like each to their own. Maybe people really enjoy that chemistry between the characters. Dumb and Dumb is actually an interesting um point. hadn't really considered that, where you do have characters that are very similar like in terms of
06:22.57
Brian Penn
Yeah.
06:26.32
Chris Olson
outlook but I think it can be done I just think that bit didn't really work as well as the other stuff the rodents as you said and I think um it was Patrick that reviewed it on the website and on the YouTube channel um he mentioned about the fact that these rodents just absolutely put the CGI things we see these days in their place you it really was actually what this holds up against so much yeah and this will this will date so much better than like these CGI films that you watch and you go
06:30.80
Brian Penn
No.
06:36.68
Brian Penn
Hmm.
06:46.55
Brian Penn
Yeah.
06:49.35
Brian Penn
Yeah, it does.
06:53.73
Brian Penn
Yeah.
06:55.28
Chris Olson
Oh, yeah, it's already looking a bit pixelated.
06:57.64
Brian Penn
Yeah. Basically, the thing is, though, CGI does have its limitations because it can almost be too sterile and too slick, and it ends up not having the desired effects.
07:08.87
Brian Penn
So, yeah, I think in that way, it does more straightforward ah effects can hold up for a lot longer.
07:17.74
Chris Olson
And I think this type of film... sets its stall out amongst those kind of movies that did use practical effects and puppetry things like that. And I think it knows that it it wants to appeal to those viewers.
07:27.06
Brian Penn
Yeah.
07:30.67
Chris Olson
It's not going, certainly not for a mainstream audience anyway.
07:33.56
Brian Penn
No.
07:34.09
Chris Olson
um and yeah you You have fun with it you know when they talk. throw a rabbit at someone they got pretend that it's eating them yeah it's gonna it's gonna do it um i think that that's um the fun of this film is you you get on board with that that vibe like said i think it does the horror better than the comedy but the comedy was was a fun touch at times and there was things that happened kind okay that's quite clever um and yeah i said you're happy to watch um
07:39.56
Brian Penn
Yeah, and I,
07:52.36
Brian Penn
Yeah.
07:55.19
Brian Penn
Yeah.
07:59.61
Chris Olson
the second half of that film again. I feel like we keep saying, that I apologize to the filmmakers that we keep saying that the second half is better, but it just really was. It was what I think yeah it's interesting.
08:06.18
Brian Penn
Yeah.
08:07.72
Chris Olson
We talked about that Amy Schumer comedy comedy earlier.
08:09.66
Brian Penn
Yeah.
08:10.26
Chris Olson
It was like, oh, it just stayed exactly where was all the way through. And it was okay, whereas with this, it was like, if my wife had watched the first half an hour, she would have walked out of this film as well.
08:13.41
Brian Penn
Yeah. yeah
08:19.82
Chris Olson
But the second half actually was like, that's where the really good stuff happened.
08:22.39
Brian Penn
yeah
08:22.59
Chris Olson
So you've got to stick with it.
08:22.98
Brian Penn
But you see, the thing is, like Chris, though you could yeah We could easily be saying that about a big-budget Hollywood movie. We could say the first half was superfluous or too long.
08:34.91
Brian Penn
Excuse me. um So you could easily saying that about um any film, not just ah an indie film.
08:44.83
Chris Olson
And I think there's going to be people that aren't going like this baby I'm not going to lie. um But I also think... the people that stick with it and have an affinity for movies.
08:57.07
Chris Olson
Like, yeah, I think Patrick mentioned things like Red Wolf and stuff like that. And and also and some of the Edgar Wright stuff.
09:00.22
Brian Penn
Yeah.
09:03.97
Chris Olson
I think if you like that kind of tongue-in-cheek, you know, also referencing movies, i think a lot of people get stuff out of that.
09:04.23
Brian Penn
Yeah.
09:07.41
Brian Penn
Yeah.
09:12.42
Chris Olson
Like when you've got a movie that's referencing lots of other movies, it just makes you feel like you're in good company.
09:15.19
Brian Penn
yeah
09:16.96
Chris Olson
And I think that does happen here.
09:17.46
Brian Penn
yeah
09:18.52
Chris Olson
You certainly know that these guys are film fans very early on.
09:21.82
Brian Penn
yeah
09:22.16
Chris Olson
um so yeah i mean check it out if you can um i'm not 100 sure where the space rodent is available um i can't remember how we watched it was it on it was it was youtube but i might be unlisted let me check for you dear listener um i think it might be unlisted but it is yes that um
09:32.14
Brian Penn
which Was it YouTube? Was it YouTube? It's YouTube.
09:45.79
Chris Olson
can often change. So do you do a search if you're listening to this in the future, which if you are, hello, hello to the future.
09:47.55
Brian Penn
Hmm.
09:51.98
Brian Penn
Yeah. Hello to the...
09:52.98
Chris Olson
um
09:53.72
Brian Penn
I like that. It's good line. We'll have to remember that, Chris.
09:56.05
Chris Olson
Every now and then it happens, doesn't it? say something that's worthwhile.
09:57.64
Brian Penn
Yeah, I know. Yeah. Yeah.
09:59.49
Chris Olson
um But in the meantime, if you can't watch the film, you can follow resurrectionfilms underscore LLC. um We have tagged them on some posts ah in the sort of recent past where we've promoted Patrick's review.
10:15.74
Chris Olson
So you should be able to follow them and you can ask them where you can see the film. um But yeah, Resurrection Films are the people that you need to chat to. And yeah, that was The Space Rodent.
10:28.13
Chris Olson
Moving on to a short film now called Photocopy, um which we reviewed on the website over a year ago. James Leroy wrote a very good review, um written and directed by Mike Klubeck.
10:38.78
Brian Penn
Hmm.
10:42.57
Chris Olson
um Do to take the synopsis on this one, Brian?
10:44.80
Brian Penn
Yeah, I think the synopsis is fairly straightforward, isn't it? that You know, we've got this um photographer out taking snaps, but begins to lose his grip on reality when he certainly can see his doppelganger.
11:04.43
Brian Penn
And it just studies his reactions and and how he he rationalises what what he sees in front of him. And it's it is mainly visual. there's There's no scripts as such. um But the powerful, the images are so powerful.
11:22.17
Brian Penn
And it's very well done. It's very...
11:26.72
Chris Olson
Yeah, it's interesting you mentioned about the the lack of dialogue. So we do have a clip from the film, but it's of something that's played during It's not actually the the main character because it is largely dialogue free.
11:35.46
Brian Penn
oh
11:38.11
Brian Penn
Yeah.
11:38.25
Chris Olson
But I'll play the clip just so that you've got a sort of sense of the tone of the film. and This is from Photocopy.
12:34.74
Chris Olson
So yeah, that um gives you a bit of yeah know sense of what they're talking about in the film, this whole doppelganger thing.
12:37.52
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
12:42.58
Chris Olson
And I think one thing that came across when you're watching photocopy is that there are levels to this. there There's layers, you there's things that you can, you could read it as just one man being a bit paranoid, yeah going around the camera being paranoid, but actually...
12:56.59
Brian Penn
yeah
12:59.04
Chris Olson
He's seeing, potentially, he's seeing himself. He thinks he's seeing himself. He's getting more wrapped up in this idea.
13:02.46
Brian Penn
Yeah.
13:04.26
Chris Olson
um It's quite psychological, the movie. You're watching, kind of going, oh, wow.
13:10.05
Brian Penn
Yeah.
13:10.78
Chris Olson
um I love the fact that it's filmed on, is it New York? New York streets.
13:14.50
Brian Penn
I think, yeah, I think it's new, yeah.
13:14.54
Chris Olson
um And that adds to, know, because you could easily have this film, you know, sort of be anywhere, just in hallways or like a shopping mall, but actually to have it on the streets,
13:16.30
Brian Penn
Hmm.
13:22.62
Brian Penn
Hmm.
13:25.48
Chris Olson
really gave it a big cinematic feel. it only about 12 minutes long. It's not a long film.
13:30.31
Brian Penn
Yeah, I know. No, it's...
13:31.67
Chris Olson
But that felt, for me, that made it feel really cinematic and that made me really get...
13:35.07
Brian Penn
yeah
13:35.51
Chris Olson
It reminded me slightly of like Taxi Driver. like When I was watching that like character sort of out in the urban space but very much kind of unsteady.
13:38.29
Brian Penn
Oh, yeah, actually, yeah, good comparison. Yeah.
13:44.35
Chris Olson
Not that the character does anything kind of along the lines to sort of being worrisome. You're not going, oh gosh, do anything. But more in that sense of like he's surrounded by people yet completely isolated.
13:57.47
Chris Olson
And I think that is the sort of vibe you or that contrast that you want to create by having the film film that way.
14:00.49
Brian Penn
Yeah, yeah.
14:03.02
Chris Olson
Because you wouldn't choose to use all these urban locations unless they had a meaning behind them, because it's going to cost you a lot of money and take a lot of effort to do that.
14:06.46
Brian Penn
Yeah.
14:09.21
Brian Penn
Yeah, well, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
14:11.16
Chris Olson
But I think now you that choice was made to create that feeling, or or at least you one of the feelings it might create. um I thought it was really powerful. I really engaged.
14:20.27
Brian Penn
Yeah,
14:20.81
Chris Olson
I watched it and remember... When I finished it, I felt so unnerved by it, which is powerful.
14:24.59
Brian Penn
know. I but you see, I think what's what's a a good move there is that if they're portraying a character that is convinced he can see a frightening vision of himself, which is what a doppelganger is,
14:36.50
Brian Penn
but his primary activity as a photographer, where he's used to capturing it images in a certain light, then it heightens that feeling that he's sure he's seen his own doppelganger as well.
14:48.25
Brian Penn
So you almost become even more convinced on his own behalf that what he's seeing is real. But to make him a photographer, to say, right, that's your primary activity. So he's seeing things, he's processing images in his mind via his camera all of the time.
15:06.79
Brian Penn
right? And that's, that's his companion, isn't it? The camera is his companion because, you know, he is a loner. He's isolated for whatever reason. It's just him and his camera. And I think that's very cleverly done.
15:19.42
Brian Penn
And the images are, as you say, very powerful, taken at night. And that heightens the tension even more. And they pack a lot in. You know, I'm always impressed by, by what filmmakers can do with a limited timeframe.
15:34.96
Brian Penn
And it, You know, the average length ah of a typical short is about 10 minutes, isn't it? Nine or 10 minutes.
15:40.12
Chris Olson
Yeah, yeah, so 10, 20.
15:40.86
Brian Penn
And that's not a lot of time, really, to tell your story, whatever that story is.
15:41.67
Chris Olson
twenty
15:45.07
Brian Penn
But they do it very well here.
15:47.03
Chris Olson
And also, funny enough, obviously we played a clip, which does have, that's probably the most amount of dialogue the whole film has. But the vast majority of the film, there isn't dialogue. And I think that's really ambitious as well, to go and say, look, I'm going to make 12-minute film, very little dialogue, that is something that you could talk about for, like, 20 times the length it took you to watch it.
15:57.56
Brian Penn
Yeah.
16:00.74
Brian Penn
But, yeah.
16:05.33
Brian Penn
Yeah, but but what it also means, like Chris, is without dialogue, there are no language barriers either, are they? You know,
16:12.03
Chris Olson
Yeah, and I think that also gives it that otherworldly sense to it. There was this sort of feeling of we're watching something almost supernatural unfold here.
16:17.21
Brian Penn
yeah.
16:21.26
Brian Penn
Yeah, yeah.
16:21.73
Chris Olson
And I think, yeah, you're right. like That makes it more accessible to viewers to sort of watch that.
16:25.23
Brian Penn
I
16:26.75
Chris Olson
And yeah, I thought it was really good. The score was really good. There's a really good soundtra sound design to it that, again, just enhances this sort of
16:30.95
Brian Penn
don't know.
16:34.17
Chris Olson
um atmosphere, but it doesn't veer into melodrama.
16:35.97
Brian Penn
Yeah.
16:38.14
Chris Olson
It's not like, oh, it's meant to sort of like, you know, throw you off the deep end.
16:38.54
Brian Penn
No.
16:41.39
Chris Olson
You know know, it really sort of subtly implies yeah that what you're watching is something deeper than maybe you're taking for granted.
16:42.00
Brian Penn
Yeah. Well, yeah. the the set The soundtrack is particularly important for a film like that. I think without an effective soundtrack, it wouldn't be half as effective or work as well as it does.
16:58.08
Chris Olson
ah tell you what, it is a really good sign of a film, and this happens to us fairly often. you watch a short film like this and then I go immediately to IMDB to check to see if there's a feature length in the works.
17:08.82
Brian Penn
Yeah, but I know.
17:09.75
Chris Olson
ah Unfortunately, I don't think there is um because I would happily watch this as a feature length thriller.
17:14.55
Brian Penn
Yeah, definitely. Yeah.
17:16.33
Chris Olson
Obviously it would be difficult to maintain you know the the minimal dialogue, but I actually think it could be done. But even if you did you know introduce a bit more, I just think there's a, there's a bigger film here. This could really, really work.
17:25.55
Brian Penn
Yeah.
17:27.20
Chris Olson
Yeah.
17:28.28
Brian Penn
Yeah, you're right.
17:28.38
Chris Olson
yeah
17:28.80
Brian Penn
I think this is a bit like a promo, isn't it? It's but it's almost like a proof of concepts, isn't it? It's to say, right, this is the idea. This is how we want to develop it. And I think your analogy with taxi driver is a good one because it does it does have a distinct taxi driver of life.
17:44.49
Brian Penn
And really, if if you if that's what it gives off, you must be doing something right if you're the director.
17:50.57
Chris Olson
Absolutely. And shout out to Mike Krubeck, the writer, director. It's a fabulous film. Play our podcast episode to anyone. there If you want to raise some money for your for your film, get a feature line.
17:58.37
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
18:00.68
Chris Olson
Say, look, you know Chris and Brian, they said we should do it.
18:02.23
Brian Penn
Yeah.
18:03.30
Chris Olson
they said it They said it's as good as Taxi Driver.
18:03.34
Brian Penn
know.
18:05.66
Chris Olson
yeah I'm happy to go on record.
18:06.05
Brian Penn
What?
18:07.02
Chris Olson
I'll go on record.
18:07.29
Brian Penn
Yeah, I know. but more What more could I answer? Right?
18:10.52
Chris Olson
um and also shout out dame clark the second i think he it's a great performance it's i love the bit on the tube where he's on the tube and the characters in the and he sort of sees him go oh that was brilliant um yeah no really really good i believe the film might be available if we watched on vimeo and shout to vimeo i think they're just as good as youtube guys all right come on um
18:10.58
Brian Penn
Yeah.
18:14.40
Brian Penn
Yeah.
18:20.77
Brian Penn
Yeah.
18:33.33
Brian Penn
yeah No, it didn't do well.
18:34.93
Chris Olson
It wasn't parts where protected, and it has quite a lot of views. So, yeah, you can look it up. Photocopy. Mike Klubeck, if you look for his channel, should be able to see it. um Mike might also be happy for us to share it, but I won't do that unless he says.
18:49.23
Brian Penn
no
18:49.67
Chris Olson
And... and You can watch the trailer on our um website. you can go and read James' review of it, which he wrote last year. His review is very good, very eloquent, um much more than me.
19:02.15
Chris Olson
Him and Brian are the people you need to listen to, not me. ah um
19:05.84
Brian Penn
Hmm.
19:06.05
Chris Olson
But yeah, photocopy is the film, and yeah, very, very good, very good short film. Moving on to our final indie film, before we get to the nostalgia pick, we've got a feature length, um and we have a clip of the movie called What No One Knows.
21:10.42
Chris Olson
Okay, so what no one knows.
21:11.43
Brian Penn
Hmm.
21:12.26
Chris Olson
um Before we start this review, going to be very clear to mention I'm trying to avoid spoilers.
21:13.58
Brian Penn
Hmm.
21:18.38
Brian Penn
Hmm.
21:18.48
Chris Olson
Okay, um there's a lot in this film that happens that you need to see and to find that out in this review would be unfair to you.
21:19.33
Brian Penn
hu
21:26.18
Chris Olson
And unfair to the filmmakers. They deserve to have the film watched without spoilers. Apologies to anyone if we do give spoilers. We try and not. I mean, Brian's very good at avoiding spoilers. um We try to not give things away.
21:37.93
Chris Olson
And we're going to do that with what no one knows. So... Lots in that clip, and but hopefully it was yeah not giving away anything there.
21:43.58
Brian Penn
Hmm. Hmm.
21:46.14
Chris Olson
um
21:46.36
Brian Penn
Hmm.
21:46.98
Chris Olson
But yeah, the film is about two two friends, um one Oriomi and the other Ithelula, who are basically friends since childhood. childhood um We meet them at the beginning of the film in a courtroom where they're clearly in a case against each other.
22:05.07
Chris Olson
um But then the film is largely told in flashback where we see them growing up as children, being very, very close, having the usual run-ins that ah girls do with the boys and things like that, but typically being very close.
22:14.07
Brian Penn
Yeah.
22:18.37
Chris Olson
ah Then we see them as adults and they've got a business together and seem to be having a very enjoyable adulthood. um They then meet partners and inevitably comes up the idea of um both of them separately having children with their respective partners.
22:38.16
Brian Penn
know
22:38.87
Chris Olson
um So Oriomi wants to have children, um but her partner is very keen on having a boy. um Whereas if Alula doesn't want necessarily to have children, but her partner does want to have them.
22:51.84
Brian Penn
know
22:53.45
Chris Olson
um and eventually go on this journey together and something happens, which we're not going to get into any of that territory at all.
23:01.56
Brian Penn
Oh,
23:01.68
Chris Olson
That's where we're going to leave it. But just know that a lot happens after that.
23:04.64
Brian Penn
yeah. Oh, yes. Hmm.
23:06.57
Chris Olson
ah Yeah. And yeah, it's, um it's ah as you can tell from that clip, lots of drama, um lots of passionate character exchanges.
23:18.34
Chris Olson
What do you think of what no one knows, Brian?
23:20.74
Brian Penn
I thought it was excellent. I was really impressed by it. And there's an impressive sting in the tail, which is why we've all been very careful about how much we we've described the plot, because so much happens.
23:33.78
Brian Penn
But there are thing there were twists and turns in this plot that I really wasn't expecting. And for me, I'm not exaggerating when I say this, but I think this film has big screen potential.
23:44.13
Chris Olson
Yeah.
23:44.36
Brian Penn
It has Hollywood potential. Not in its current form, but this will surely get picked up by a producer. and remade featuring a more high profile cast. That's no disrespect to the writers or the actors in this film. They were all excellent throughout, but this film is different.
24:01.34
Brian Penn
This could be big, really big because it's, it's dealing with, with um subject matter in such a different way. I've not seen ah film like this before that explores this relationship between two friends as they grow up, where they, they get married and they They both resolve to start a family in their own way.
24:23.26
Brian Penn
But, you know, something happens that affects the rest of their lives. And it is not what you're expecting at all, is it? Well, not what I was expecting anyway.
24:32.75
Chris Olson
No, I think you kind of think you know where the film's going and then you don't. And that, for me, was brilliant. I thought it was really well played out. I think you're right. This could be adapted and and brought into a mainstream kind of audience.
24:42.36
Brian Penn
Yeah.
24:44.83
Chris Olson
yeah It doesn't necessarily need it, but I think it could be done. You could see sort of the execs looking at this, go, oh, this is a great story, because it is a great story.
24:48.87
Brian Penn
Yeah.
24:52.10
Brian Penn
Yeah, it is.
24:52.16
Chris Olson
um
24:52.62
Brian Penn
It's like a story.
24:53.49
Chris Olson
I think...
24:53.50
Brian Penn
Yeah.
24:55.11
Chris Olson
Much like the Space Rodent, there's some editing needed here. there's There's sections that could have been chopped off, especially at the beginning of the movie.
25:00.57
Brian Penn
Yeah.
25:04.06
Chris Olson
I think they they wanted to establish the friendship, but I think they did it a bit too long.
25:06.81
Brian Penn
Yeah.
25:08.46
Chris Olson
It kind of went on. We didn't need all of that.
25:09.27
Brian Penn
Probably, yeah. Yeah, probably.
25:11.21
Chris Olson
I think you'd have a sharper film and had you just kind of
25:13.19
Brian Penn
Yeah.
25:15.45
Chris Olson
done that bit quicker. um
25:16.61
Brian Penn
Yeah, yeah.
25:17.80
Chris Olson
There's scenes where the families are all introduced, their side characters introduced, and I kind of thought actually some of this is superfluous.
25:17.82
Brian Penn
Yeah, fair point.
25:25.21
Chris Olson
You could have actually got away with not having that at all, or you could have
25:25.54
Brian Penn
Yeah.
25:30.68
Chris Olson
just remove I think spent a bit more time shaping the characters that we needed and and giving them more kind of to go on.
25:36.37
Brian Penn
Yeah.
25:39.00
Chris Olson
But I really liked the chemistry between the two leads. I thought that was great.
25:42.06
Brian Penn
Yeah.
25:42.91
Chris Olson
Really well done. um You needed that. You needed that sense of sisterhood and you needed that.
25:48.65
Brian Penn
yeah
25:50.33
Chris Olson
um And i say as as much as I think they overdid it in the beginning, you did need something. You needed something to kind of connect these two
25:55.81
Brian Penn
Yeah.
25:57.74
Chris Olson
and and the journey that they've been on because otherwise the sort of latter half of the film wouldn't have meant anything.
25:57.81
Brian Penn
Yeah.
26:00.35
Brian Penn
Yeah, of course.
26:03.31
Chris Olson
So yeah no, I did you shout out to those guys. this guy
26:06.55
Brian Penn
I
26:07.14
Chris Olson
um Yeah, it's always a shame when we can't talk about this yeah the second half of a film where that's the bit where it gets really, really good.
26:11.75
Brian Penn
know. Yeah. I know.
26:15.64
Chris Olson
um
26:15.89
Brian Penn
Yeah.
26:16.45
Chris Olson
But you kind of just have to trust us on this one that it is really good.
26:19.25
Brian Penn
Yeah.
26:20.56
Chris Olson
There is, like I said, there's some stuff that could have been cut away.
26:21.06
Brian Penn
Yeah.
26:24.00
Chris Olson
It's also, it is melodramatic at times. There's bits where characters kind of, know, they react or or or the music kind of just swells and it is a bit kind of, whoa, okay.
26:34.71
Brian Penn
Yeah.
26:34.98
Chris Olson
So so if that's not your and your your tone, your atmosphere, it's um it's not quite there, but it feels a little bit soap opera-y at times. It's kind of like goes into that sort of realm and you sort of think, whoa, just claw it back a bit because actually there's something really powerful and dramatic going on here that if you can keep that keep that line and keep it really, really moving, yeah, I thought it was good.
26:43.59
Brian Penn
Yeah. yeah
26:49.97
Brian Penn
Yeah. yeah yeah i think i think it's easy to to underplay and overplay certain aspects of the plot.
27:00.65
Brian Penn
And that's probably what what they do. And using the incidental music to overemphasize a minor point in the narrative and doing the opposite. you know So that's that's simply technique, isn't it, really? that you know Bearing in mind that um it's it's her first film, isn't it, Topa Laguna, um to write and direct it, produce it. I mean, she's done literally everything on this film, hasn't she, really?
27:26.14
Chris Olson
Yep.
27:26.18
Brian Penn
and That's hell of first effort, but does need... can you say, a bit of tidying up, a bit of polishing, doesn't it, really? But I think that, you know, any any producer, any film producer will be looking at this and be licking their lips and thinking, we've got something special here, you know, and that's something in itself because they would want the film to stand but on its own.
27:51.80
Brian Penn
They would would want the film to be a success as it is, but I don't think it would work, for example, in America. That's the ultimate test, doesn't it? Would it work in America?
27:59.82
Chris Olson
Yeah.
28:00.46
Brian Penn
And in its current form, I don't think it would. which is quite probably why it'd be recast.
28:03.57
Chris Olson
Yeah.
28:05.21
Brian Penn
I mean, we're speculating here, aren't we, really?
28:07.44
Chris Olson
Yeah. And I'm 100% saying it doesn't need that. of just saying that you could see it happening and because often yeah they go and they pick these stories out from elsewhere because they sort of think, oh, actually, we can show this to a bigger audience.
28:10.02
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
28:17.69
Chris Olson
And 100% with what no one knows, you could do that. It's a great story.
28:21.52
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah, it
28:22.70
Chris Olson
um And there are lots and lots of strengths. I would recommend watching I'm not 100% sure if you can because I think it's on the festival circuit.
28:25.64
Brian Penn
Hmm.
28:30.72
Chris Olson
and We watched it on Film Freeway so that typically does say that that's where it is.
28:31.76
Brian Penn
Hmm. Yeah.
28:36.31
Chris Olson
um They have an Instagram page called What No One Knows The Movie, all one word, so you can check out that Go check out our review.
28:43.82
Brian Penn
Yeah.
28:44.84
Chris Olson
um Jason wrote a review of the movie and you can watch the trailer. You you can get involved. Maybe, obviously you heard the clip, but maybe go watch the trailer because that'll give you a bit more of a feel for for the movie itself.
28:51.14
Brian Penn
Yeah.
28:55.26
Brian Penn
but
28:56.49
Chris Olson
It's just such a show and we can't get into it.
28:58.66
Brian Penn
ah
28:58.68
Chris Olson
But what i did want to do was absolutely shine a light on it.
29:01.48
Brian Penn
yeah
29:01.86
Chris Olson
ah
29:02.31
Brian Penn
Yeah, we've certainly done that, I think. But so with respect to the um the writers, the directors, the actors, they did a fantastic job. And like they've got a ah special product there, for sure.
29:14.73
Chris Olson
Wow. That could go on the poster. Special product.
29:16.40
Brian Penn
Yeah.
29:17.30
Chris Olson
Um, that's all your indie films for this episode. We're going to move on now to our nostalgia pick. This is a film that we watch, uh, that was released a while back. And the way I picked this one, Brian, was I went back through the best picture winners and I tried to find, ah found one that first off was,
29:30.33
Brian Penn
Yeah.
29:33.35
Brian Penn
Oh, I see. Yeah.
29:38.77
Chris Olson
yeah I hadn't seen, and so I haven't actually seen this film before.
29:40.56
Brian Penn
and
29:42.35
Chris Olson
And also it kind of tied in because it's a Mel Gibson-directed movie who stars in the movie Braveheart, and it was released about 30 years ago.
29:45.51
Brian Penn
Yeah.
29:51.56
Chris Olson
Can you believe it?
29:51.73
Brian Penn
Exactly 30. Yeah, I know. I know.
29:53.24
Chris Olson
Can you Adam and Eve it?
29:53.63
Brian Penn
I know.
29:54.96
Chris Olson
Um...
29:55.17
Brian Penn
I know. It's one of those, oh my God, I've blinked and 30 years have passed by yet again.
30:01.54
Chris Olson
And for me, Braveheart was always one of those films because it was like, it's three hours long and um it was a bit violent.
30:01.54
Brian Penn
You know,
30:07.70
Chris Olson
And when it you know and and it came out, when I was, i was just a lad and it wasn't a film I kind of got around to watching.
30:09.37
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.
30:12.63
Chris Olson
And then it kind of went too long that it had all been, you know, it had been done in in popular culture enough for me to i go, okay, right.
30:19.53
Brian Penn
Yeah.
30:20.72
Chris Olson
I get it. I thought, you know what? No, going to, I'm going to, I'm going to do this. I'm going to make Brian watch it and I'm going to watch it.
30:23.98
Brian Penn
yeah
30:26.43
Brian Penn
yeah
30:26.73
Chris Olson
And I really enjoyed it. I thought it was a lot of um fun. It is, you know, it's looking a bit dated now. There are bits to it that are a bit kind of like, okay. um But I just found it to be, know, it was good company.
30:41.46
Chris Olson
I'm guessing you'd seen it before.
30:42.89
Brian Penn
Yeah, I mean, I saw it when it first came out. And it it's the kind of film that I saw more than once as well. I mean, I would actually sit, even though there's not a drop of Scottish blood in me, um I would quite happily sit down after being out on a Friday night and a Saturday night. think I'd put Braveheart Because it's that kind of film. It's so rousing, isn't it?
31:03.16
Chris Olson
yeah
31:03.24
Brian Penn
You know, apparently in ah during Euro 96 in the European Championships in the football, um Scotland were in England's group. And they played Braveheart every evening for them to watch. They watched it on the coach going to Wembley.
31:20.01
Brian Penn
just sign them up but We still beat them, by the way, too ill but I know.
31:23.71
Chris Olson
Brian, don't stop it. We have Scottish listeners. We have Scottish critics.
31:26.91
Brian Penn
ah
31:27.81
Chris Olson
They're going to attack you.
31:28.53
Brian Penn
Do we?
31:29.14
Chris Olson
Yeah, we do. They're going to attack you.
31:29.90
Brian Penn
Well, but but the point I'm trying to make there is that it's that kind of film that you buy into it straight away that you you know you really get into it. You get you got immersed in it because it is essentially a true story.
31:43.03
Brian Penn
You know, i mean, we're talking about the, what, the 1500s, early 1500s, like 14th century. um So it is legend that's purely written down. We don't have the benefit of moving film, do we in any shape or form. um And I think William Wallace is a great character in history who needs to be represented.
32:06.86
Brian Penn
And it was long overdue. You know, William Wallace's story should have been sold long before then. And What he did, you know, historically, is that he gave Scotland their identity. He was one of the leaders of the first Scottish scottish War of Independence.
32:23.79
Brian Penn
And that's significant because he fought Edward the first Edward Longshanks, won the Battle of Stirling, which was a huge battle. um So he's a very significant figure in Scottish history that needs to be, that we all need to be aware of.
32:42.65
Brian Penn
but a significant figure it in British history as well. A great film, a fantastic film, really. And it still is. you know Even though it's 30 years old, and it does show signs of age, but you know that you take that on board, and that's part of its charm in some ways.
33:01.03
Chris Olson
I mean, i i felt that a lot of these films stand up because they weren't heavily reliant on computers or anything like that. There's obviously an elephant in the room, which is, should Mel Gibson have played the role?
33:15.11
Brian Penn
Ah, well, but yeah, so well, should we should we deal with that that that that aspect?
33:15.64
Chris Olson
the voice, the accent? Hmm.
33:22.52
Brian Penn
You know, the ah fact is that at the time, Mel Gibson was pretty much the biggest film star in the world. You know, at the time in the mid-90s, his stock was very high in value.
33:35.27
Brian Penn
But, you know, much there was much talk at the time of Mel Gibson's accent. And it does waver a lot. I mean, ah But bearing in mind that he was surrounded by Scottish actors on set, you know, Angus McFadgen played Robert the Bruce and we had James Cosmo, terrific actor.
33:54.77
Chris Olson
Yeah, I love him. Yeah.
33:56.01
Brian Penn
Right. All great actors. You think it would have rubbed off on him a little bit, but it it does sound like an Australian trying to sound like a Scotsman. You know, you know, ah you know, they'll say, where you're going? And you say, I'm going to pick a fight.
34:10.35
Brian Penn
You know, it's it's, it's, it doesn't really work. And I'm speaking ah as a ah proud Englishman who who loves the Scottish accent. I love the swing and the rhythm that you you have in the Scottish accent. And it's not there with Neil Gibson at all.
34:26.57
Brian Penn
But was there a Scottish actor at the time that could have played William Wallace at the time? I'm not sure there was.
34:34.82
Chris Olson
yeah it Yeah, it's that star power we talked about earlier. And I think, like you they said, often it's who's the most powerful actor at the time because they want to tell this story or do this film.
34:38.14
Brian Penn
Yeah.
34:46.10
Chris Olson
Yeah, I definitely, it jolted me out of the film a few times because I was just like, whoa, wait a minute, that what accent are you going for now? um And I think that's probably my only real main gripe with it.
34:57.54
Brian Penn
Yeah.
34:58.15
Chris Olson
um I liked the exploration of the history of it. and
35:01.88
Brian Penn
Yeah.
35:02.33
Chris Olson
I knew some of it, I didn't know all of it by any means. And like I said, it's got that... Same appeal that films like Lord of the Rings have, which is because they've obviously done this all in live action, real stunts, it's real know blood and gore kind of going on, that it doesn't age as quickly as its CGI counterparts.
35:10.56
Brian Penn
Yeah.
35:15.16
Brian Penn
and yeah
35:22.52
Chris Olson
you know and It doesn't kind of give you that sense of, oh God, what am watching?
35:22.87
Brian Penn
No. Well, yeah.
35:26.54
Chris Olson
Don't get me wrong, there's bits to it that you kind of think, okay, that's not how they would do it now. But typically, it's the vast majority of it is still very watchable.
35:34.12
Brian Penn
it's It's a greater achievement. Yeah, I agree. It's a greater retreat achievement where they've not, you know, the CGI that we have today didn't even exist back then. So where you can now um electronically or digitally put in thousands of soldiers on a battlefield,
35:52.88
Brian Penn
back then, they had to do it for real. So there's no kind of visual trickery going on there that they can do now. So if you compare it to a modern equivalent, a film that was made, say, Napoleon, for example, the Ridley Scott film.
36:07.58
Brian Penn
Now, that that was done with robotics, with real numbers, but it was also done and electronically as well. It was digital. Now, I think the Braveheart kind of holds up better because they're using real people, right?
36:23.12
Brian Penn
They were literally lining up hundreds, thousands of extras to make these scenes work.
36:28.49
Chris Olson
Yeah.
36:29.03
Brian Penn
And they were very well done, and they still hold up even now. you know And bear in mind that it was but it is a period drama. So in that sense, it will never date. But the style of filmmaking dates, doesn't it?
36:41.86
Brian Penn
The approach to filmmaking can date. And that's probably what we notice this now, 30 years after the event. but it But it still works. It still works for me.
36:52.07
Chris Olson
Yeah, I absolutely agree. I'm glad I've seen it. I'm glad I can hardly say that I've seen it.
36:54.81
Brian Penn
Yeah.
36:55.87
Chris Olson
It's on um Disney, if anyone wants to watch it.
36:58.17
Brian Penn
Yeah.
36:58.63
Chris Olson
disney rests Again, we're not affiliated. um we just We just point you in the direction.
37:03.23
Brian Penn
Yeah.
37:03.54
Chris Olson
And
37:03.83
Brian Penn
We're good at pointing, aren't we? We point these things out. that Yeah.
37:06.72
Chris Olson
we're going to point you away now. We're going to point you away from the podcast because that's the end of the show.
37:08.22
Brian Penn
oh
37:11.58
Chris Olson
And we watched Braveheart, your Best Picture winner. And next month, we'll be able to see who won the... ah
37:18.94
Brian Penn
We will.
37:19.04
Chris Olson
The 2025 award.
37:20.16
Brian Penn
Yeah.
37:20.64
Chris Olson
um
37:21.23
Brian Penn
Yeah.
37:21.92
Chris Olson
b Brian's prediction of Amelia Perez. well We'll find out.
37:25.20
Brian Penn
yeah
37:25.21
Chris Olson
um But thank you for listening. And thank you to the filmmakers for sending their movies. Thank you to Brian. As always, yeah my absolute soldier going to watch all these movies so I don't have to fight.
37:35.92
Brian Penn
Pleasure.
37:36.67
Chris Olson
yeah
37:37.13
Brian Penn
Bye
37:37.73
Chris Olson
um It's been the UK Film Club podcast, part of UK Film Review. Do go and um check out the other shows that we have on our channel. There's lots of great episodes for you listen to.
37:48.92
Chris Olson
and But we will see you again next time.
37:52.64
Brian Penn
bye for now.
