The Brutalist - Gene Hackman Movies - UK Film Club Episode 25

00:00:00.00
Chris Olson
and I don't know what percentages mean when it comes to my microphone, but I felt 97 was quite high.

00:00:03.21
Brian Penn
No. Well, yeah, 97 sounds quite loud, doesn't it? It's a bit like going up to 11, isn't it, in Spinal Start?

00:00:10.54
Chris Olson
yeah Which, oh, big news. There's a second one.

00:00:13.13
Brian Penn
I know. I know. can't wait to see it. i mean, it's a cult movie, isn't it, really? Particularly if you're a fan of pop music or rock music.

00:00:21.76
Chris Olson
And I think it's that... um well, they call it a rockumentary, but even just generally the mockumentary style, right? You think of mockumentaries and like, yeah, it's definitely one of the first ones that comes to mind.

00:00:30.79
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

00:00:33.39
Brian Penn
One of the pioneers, weren't they, really?

00:00:34.86
Chris Olson
Yeah.

00:00:34.99
Brian Penn
Rob Reiner. ah cant Yeah, it was Rob Reiner, wasn't it, that directed it? And he was the narrator, wasn't he, as well? He was doing the interviews, wasn't he?

00:00:42.77
Chris Olson
Yeah.

00:00:44.31
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:00:44.64
Chris Olson
Yeah. I mean, I love the fact that they've used Stonehenge as the two for there for the poster. I think that's brilliant. Yeah.

00:00:51.24
Brian Penn
What I think is brilliant about Spinal Tap, though, is that when the film came out, all the heavy metal bands, all the heavy rock bands were fighting for recognition. Because Foreigner was saying, no, it's about us. And Black Sabbath was saying, no, it's about us.

00:01:04.70
Brian Penn
And Whitesnake was saying, it's about us. You know, they all wanted credit for it, you know. But in truth, that there are elements of all those bands, you know, from ken

00:01:15.03
Chris Olson
Yeah, it's just like ah sending up all of them, really.

00:01:17.42
Brian Penn
yeah

00:01:17.47
Chris Olson
It's of a pastiche of everyone.

00:01:18.75
Brian Penn
yeah i mean getting lost backstage. That did happen to Foreigner. I remember reading about that. But, you know, it's all based on fact. It's a composite of all those bands, which makes it so good. so you you recognize it straight away.

00:01:32.02
Chris Olson
Yeah, in similar fashion, like a film like Spaceballs, as much as it yeah it's taking the mick out of Star Wars, but there's also loads of references to different sci-fi films within that, like um Planet of the Apes and Star Trek and stuff like that.

00:01:40.94
Brian Penn
and Yeah.

00:01:45.57
Chris Olson
So i think the best sort spoof films are able to take that popular culture genre and really yeah go to town on it.

00:01:46.43
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:01:51.75
Brian Penn
yeah yeah

00:01:53.75
Chris Olson
But yeah, definitely to love that.

00:01:55.94
Brian Penn
Yeah. It's very subtle as well, isn't it? because yeah A film like that, like Spaceballs, The Spinal Tap, you need to watch it a few times to pick up all the new nuances.

00:02:05.06
Chris Olson
Definitely, yeah.

00:02:05.69
Brian Penn
You know, because they'll take... It's clear where the inspiration is coming from, but it does make you think. It makes you work and you think, where's that come from? And very, very good films are very well thought out, and you do need to watch them a few times before you properly appreciate them, I reckon.

00:02:21.79
Chris Olson
And it's funny with films like that, you that have like a very popular mainstream appeal that they become the, like your first exposure to it. So you, for example, like a lot of the references in Spaceballs, I didn't, I saw them there first.

00:02:36.89
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:02:37.04
Chris Olson
So then when I saw them in the real world, it was like, oh, oh this is what he's taking a mick out of.

00:02:40.21
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:02:41.00
Chris Olson
Right.

00:02:41.14
Brian Penn
I know.

00:02:41.28
Chris Olson
Okay. I get it now.

00:02:42.63
Brian Penn
You end up doing it the the other way around, though, don't you? Because you don't recognise the source, but once you've seen the film, you think, oh, that's where it came from.

00:02:44.86
Chris Olson
Yeah.

00:02:49.63
Chris Olson
Yeah.

00:02:49.73
Brian Penn
So it's it's the other way around, isn't it you know But they keep you in your times, Chris. I like films like that.

00:02:55.69
Chris Olson
do And it's, yeah, obviously with them but that Spinal Tap coming back, it's sort of continuing this fashion of resurrecting movies from decades old now and yeah bringing them back to an old and new audience.

00:02:56.51
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:03:05.02
Brian Penn
Yeah, I know.

00:03:08.55
Brian Penn
Yeah, that's right.

00:03:09.90
Chris Olson
so yeah We'll see what happens there, but um I don't think any of those films are in our lineup tonight.

00:03:12.32
Brian Penn
Yep.

00:03:16.14
Brian Penn
No, no, not so right, no.

00:03:16.27
Chris Olson
And yeah, if this is your first time to Film Club, welcome. It's Brian and myself reviewing movies. Brian takes on some similarminar cinema releases.

00:03:26.96
Chris Olson
Then we do a um ah streaming pick.

00:03:26.95
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:03:29.99
Chris Olson
So that's a film on Netflix or any of those platforms. Then we do a bunch of indie films that have been sent to us to review and we finish up with a nostalgia pick. So that's in a film from yesteryear.

00:03:41.55
Chris Olson
Should have been Spinal Tap, really. That would have been an interesting choice.

00:03:43.56
Brian Penn
Yeah, yeah, might maybe we'll do that ah on a future episode perhaps.

00:03:44.63
Chris Olson
Um... ah But this month we went with a Gene Hackman film following his passing recently.

00:03:51.78
Brian Penn
Yeah, oh

00:03:52.82
Chris Olson
and And we've gone with Crimson Tide, which I've never seen before. um And I'd watched it for this podcast.

00:03:57.13
Brian Penn
you know on

00:03:58.70
Chris Olson
So but I'm looking forward to getting into that at the end of the show.

00:04:00.81
Brian Penn
yeah. yeah

00:04:01.81
Chris Olson
But before we get to that, Brian is going to review The Brutalist.

00:04:06.85
Brian Penn
The Brutalist, yes. directed by Brady Corbett, starring Adrian Brody, Felicity Dean and Guy Pearce. So, Laszlo Toth is a visionary architect, fleeing post-war Hungary.

00:04:19.67
Brian Penn
Landing in America, he aims to re-establish his reputation, but has to make do with a job in his cousin's furniture business. His wife, Elizabeth, follows on shortly afterwards with niece, Sophia.

00:04:30.96
Brian Penn
A commission to design a library leads to a meeting with millionaire Harry Van Buren. He employs Laszlo on an ambitious building project, but it has far-reaching consequences for them both. So that's the outline.

00:04:45.17
Brian Penn
Of course, this is a film well represented in the Oscars. Adrian Brody won the Best Actor award. But I have to say, this is the most overrated, overpraised, overblown film I've seen in quite some time.

00:04:55.63
Chris Olson
so

00:05:01.51
Brian Penn
I'm sorry to say that. I don't like saying this sort of thing about any film.

00:05:03.60
Chris Olson
ah

00:05:03.87
Brian Penn
I want to be insane.

00:05:04.14
Chris Olson
The head of the show, the head of the show you've gone with, it's overblown.

00:05:06.03
Brian Penn
I know. I want to be entertained, Chris. I do. You know, but it's just so dull and slow. You know, for once, the running time wasn't an issue for me.

00:05:17.74
Brian Penn
ah Three hours, 36 minutes. There was an intermission of 15 minutes in the middle, which is great. You can stretch your legs, go to the toilet, get a drink, whatever. I can't remember the last time there was an interweb, a movie that I went to in the cinema.

00:05:31.88
Brian Penn
I wish I'd had it with Oppenheimer, but there you go.

00:05:35.49
Chris Olson
Hehehe.

00:05:35.58
Brian Penn
um But you see, yeah when it started again, I soon realised that the intermission is actually the best part of the film. um so you know ah just can't figure out what all the fuss is about.

00:05:48.81
Brian Penn
I really can't. it's it's It's just not... it doesn't It doesn't grip me at all. In any way, it doesn't engage me. is as I say, it's very dull. It's very slow.

00:06:00.36
Brian Penn
The characters aren't particularly sympathetic. As Lode Soth and Harry Wayne Buren. for reasons I won't go into now, ah aren't particularly nice characters. You don't want them very much.

00:06:14.71
Brian Penn
Urzabet, played by Felicity Dean, is the only character you feel any empathy with. And I think that was part of the problem for me, is that you don't engage with the characters, you don't buy into them. there's no There are no redeeming features about the two main characters.

00:06:28.14
Brian Penn
Having said that, it was all very well acted. um And all three actors were nominated in various categories, in the Oscars and other awards ceremonies. um So, you know, yeah the actors were excellent, right? But I don't feel they had to work that hard to be nominated or for Adrian Brady to get the Oscar for Best Actor. But there you go.

00:06:49.72
Brian Penn
It's all very subjective, isn't it? It's all about opinions, but it just didn't it didn't work for me at all.

00:06:52.94
Chris Olson
Oh, yeah.

00:06:55.69
Chris Olson
Well, you are almost alone with that feeling, um just in terms of...

00:06:59.17
Brian Penn
I know.

00:07:00.33
Chris Olson
we've had This is probably one of the most reviewed films we've had in terms of listener reviews sending in. um Going back to January, we've had people sending in reviews of The Brutalist. Yeah.

00:07:09.99
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:07:11.66
Chris Olson
And all of them have sort of have been four or five stars, but maybe that's because they really liked the film. So I think people maybe didn't like the film, didn't bother writing a review.

00:07:16.93
Brian Penn
Yeah. Exactly. Yeah.

00:07:19.36
Chris Olson
um But so Callum McAllister gives it four stars and he talks about the break.

00:07:19.86
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:07:24.64
Chris Olson
He said, personally, I appreciated the break. The first half of the film is weighted heavily with emotion that it can take some time to reflect on the experiences that Toph has endured and to brace for what is yet to come.

00:07:36.45
Chris Olson
As the film begins to meander towards the end, there are moments that arise that feel out of place for me. The second half of the film, I personally feel, does not cherish the emotion at hand as much as the first. um But generally Callum is pretty um right praising of the film.

00:07:51.20
Chris Olson
Yes, William Lawkins sent in a review, gives it four stars, gigantuan, magnificent and entrancing expose that strips away the fallacies of the American dream and leaves its vulnerable, vulnerable, indefensible, unveiling the cruelty and suffering.

00:07:58.43
Brian Penn
Wow.

00:08:06.36
Chris Olson
um John Hours gives it five stars. Absolutely loved it An uncompromising view of a hollow and hopeful dream.

00:08:10.92
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:08:14.49
Chris Olson
The great American epic tale is a tale quite familiar to cinema, and but rarely pulled off with much success and goes on to say how the film does that.

00:08:18.78
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:08:23.33
Chris Olson
Bill Curzon gives it five stars as well. um And yeah, very good review from Bill Curzon. It's astounding ah extent that Brady has crafted this monumental cinematic epic on a mere $10 million dollars production cost.

00:08:38.54
Brian Penn
Well, yeah.

00:08:39.19
Chris Olson
One of, if not my favourite film of the year. Brian, I'm guessing this is not your film of the year so far.

00:08:43.65
Brian Penn
No, no, it's not. Look, as we've as we've often said in the past, it's all about opinions.

00:08:44.98
Chris Olson
No.

00:08:48.47
Brian Penn
And I so want to be positive about every film that i watch.

00:08:51.57
Chris Olson
Hmm.

00:08:51.75
Brian Penn
I want to be gushing with praise for every film that I see, every film that i review. But this one just doesn't work for me at all on any level. And, you know, it's absolutely fair enough that people like it.

00:09:04.54
Brian Penn
You know, you can't deny the fact that it that works because so many people like it. You know, it wouldn't win all these awards.

00:09:09.46
Chris Olson
Hmm.

00:09:12.08
Brian Penn
It wouldn't be nominated unless people liked it. And you've got to respect that view. But for me, no, it was a miss.

00:09:22.06
Chris Olson
Yeah.

00:09:23.16
Brian Penn
But, you know, they' they're obviously seeing something that I don't see You know, so a couple of the reviews you read out there were talking about the film exposing the American dream, right?

00:09:32.62
Chris Olson
yeah

00:09:33.30
Brian Penn
and so You know, in many ways that's true, but there are probably other, there are other films that I can't name off the top of my head that expose the American dream a lot better than that for me personally.

00:09:45.05
Chris Olson
Yeah.

00:09:45.07
Brian Penn
But, you know, I can only give my honest opinion, but um the fact that it is an independently made film as well, I think kind of, shines more of a light on it for people, that it was made for only $10 million. dollars And people would say that's great, an independently made film is getting the attention that it deserves, which is also fair enough.

00:10:07.94
Brian Penn
But I he also feel that for a film to win any kind of award, it has to promote great filmmaking. And I just don't think this is. um But here you are, you know.

00:10:20.67
Chris Olson
There you go. Well, thank you.

00:10:21.51
Brian Penn
it interesting so It's interesting to listen to other people's views, though.

00:10:22.60
Chris Olson
Yeah.

00:10:24.95
Brian Penn
why Yeah.

00:10:25.07
Chris Olson
Oh, absolutely. um You know, and yeah, we say about opinions and just Brian's opinion is more important on this show. No, I'm joking.

00:10:33.95
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:10:34.57
Chris Olson
No, not still. Brian, and thank you for your review of that. And thank you to Bill, John, William and Callum who also sent it in those great reviews. I think we had a few more. But i'm I think that's enough sort of be going through.

00:10:45.57
Chris Olson
um That was the only cinematic film this month, Brian, I believe.

00:10:49.35
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:10:49.86
Chris Olson
But we are going to chuck into the um Oscar winners, um have a little whole chat about that.

00:10:49.94
Brian Penn
That's the only one. Yeah.

00:10:53.06
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:10:54.96
Chris Olson
Because you made some predictions in the last episode.

00:10:57.31
Brian Penn
Yeah,

00:10:57.87
Chris Olson
And I think Onora did a lot better than you thought it was going to do, right?

00:11:01.92
Brian Penn
yeah i know. Well, what I did was, Chris, so as I knew we were going to be discussing the Oscars, I i watched Anora over the weekend. can and Because it's streaming now, you can you can get it on stream.

00:11:10.10
Chris Olson
Oh, nice.

00:11:13.65
Brian Penn
um and You know, I thought it was a pretty solid film. um But not what I would call a film that you would find nominated for an Oscar, personally.

00:11:25.73
Chris Olson
Mm-hmm.

00:11:25.91
Brian Penn
You know, again, it's an independently made film. It's good they're shining a light on that. I mean, we're we're very keen on independent filmmakers getting the attention they deserve, aren't we? But for me, Onora, you know, it won Best Picture, it won Best ah Director for Sean Baker, and it won um Best Actress for Mikey Madison.

00:11:49.42
Brian Penn
But I'm not quite sure why, necessarily. like I mean, when you look at the other nominees... For me personally, there there were stronger candidates there. you know um So umm I'm a bit surprised to Nora. i thought um I thought, which film was it?

00:12:06.45
Brian Penn
It's the the Mexican feature that I thought was going to...

00:12:09.62
Chris Olson
Emilia Perez.

00:12:10.81
Brian Penn
Emily Perez, I thought that was going to do the business. But I think they won they were a few awards. But you know when we when we think of the Oscars, we think of Best Picture, Best Director, don't we?

00:12:21.71
Brian Penn
Best Actor, Best Actress.

00:12:21.86
Chris Olson
Hmm.

00:12:23.89
Brian Penn
They're the biggies. And it was an aura. and But, you know,

00:12:27.30
Chris Olson
Yeah, Zoe Saldana won Best Supporting Actress for Mia Perez, yeah.

00:12:30.65
Brian Penn
that's the one, yeah. Yeah.

00:12:32.44
Chris Olson
um But yeah, I was interested in Sean Baker when winning, I've seen quite a few of his previous films and was very impressed.

00:12:38.66
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:12:39.59
Chris Olson
i remember with watching the Florida Project and i really enjoyed that. um ah Tangerine and things like that.

00:12:43.10
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:12:45.11
Chris Olson
But I think, I haven't seen Honora, but it's always interesting, I think, with the Oscars. They do seem to try and not be too predictable now. um

00:12:54.23
Brian Penn
Yeah, that's true enough.

00:12:54.51
Chris Olson
But it's interesting it's interesting when a film that, like you say, is not necessarily overwhelming wins in multiple categories.

00:12:55.57
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:13:01.21
Chris Olson
But I suppose maybe it just comes down to the voting and how that's done. Yeah.

00:13:04.37
Brian Penn
Yeah, yeah, that's true. I think it is pretty much, I don't know, it's a very mysterious process though, isn't it? The Academy and also with the BAFTA as well.

00:13:16.89
Brian Penn
BAFTA as well. But yeah, I think you're right though. I think they are trying to broaden its appeal a bit more. They're not being quite as obvious. You know, a few years ago, Conclave might have won the Oscar for Best Picture.

00:13:28.64
Chris Olson
I thought that was what was going to win. And that's probably that older thinking of how I feel about the Oscars.

00:13:30.23
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:13:32.69
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:13:33.08
Chris Olson
I feel that they were going to pick that, but they didn't. Hmm.

00:13:35.44
Brian Penn
Because that won the BAFTA for Best best Film. um Again, very well represented. But it that seems to be the kind of film that would win. And maybe they are trying to get away from that.

00:13:46.66
Brian Penn
You know, i mean, as we said before, when you look at the Oscars, the BAFTAs, the Golden Globe Awards, right? You're comparing apples to oranges a lot of the time. And ah don't feel you can really compare Honora with Conclave.

00:14:00.41
Brian Penn
It's a completely different film. Honora is about a sex worker who who meets and marries the son of a Russian oligarch. right You can't really compare that with Conclave, for example, which is about a new pope being elected.

00:14:11.35
Chris Olson
Yeah.

00:14:15.03
Brian Penn
So you can't compare the of them together. But I think it shows that um the Academy are trying to look forward more. and look look outwards so not and not do the obvious thing.

00:14:27.72
Chris Olson
Yeah.

00:14:27.76
Brian Penn
But at the same time, they need to recognise great filmmaking. Yeah.

00:14:32.05
Chris Olson
Well, speaking of, um so The Last Ranger, which we reviewed on, a think, December's episode or January, um The Last Ranger was a short film and about the rhino poaching.

00:14:44.52
Chris Olson
We reviewed that, and it managed to get all the way up to the best live-action short finalists.

00:14:49.01
Brian Penn
Oh, right. Yeah.

00:14:49.61
Chris Olson
It was um in the final five.

00:14:49.91
Brian Penn
um

00:14:51.92
Chris Olson
It didn't win, unfortunately.

00:14:52.20
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:14:53.20
Chris Olson
A film called I'm Not a Robot won. But, yeah, shout-out to The Last Ranger because we reviewed that here, and we loved it.

00:14:57.52
Brian Penn
That's great. Yeah.

00:14:59.20
Chris Olson
We absolutely loved it.

00:14:59.48
Brian Penn
but yeah Well, yeah, well-earned. Very well-earned.

00:15:01.34
Chris Olson
Yeah.

00:15:01.71
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:15:01.84
Chris Olson
And yeah, I mean, congratulations to everyone, really. It's just nice to have had a little early snippet of a film.

00:15:05.76
Brian Penn
Yeah. but ah And perhaps played a small part in promoting the film as well.

00:15:12.88
Chris Olson
Oh, well, they definitely said that. What did Chris and Brian think?

00:15:15.12
Brian Penn
Yeah, I know.

00:15:15.40
Chris Olson
What do they think?

00:15:16.01
Brian Penn
Obviously, naturally, yeah, I know.

00:15:17.19
Chris Olson
Yeah. um Which we loved it. Yeah, so there we go.

00:15:20.21
Brian Penn
Yeah, it was good.

00:15:20.45
Chris Olson
um But yeah, thank you, Brian, for the Oscars rundown.

00:15:20.97
Brian Penn
Very good.

00:15:23.84
Chris Olson
And thank you um to everyone that sent in reviews of cinematic releases. We're moving on to our streaming pick now. um And this was released on Netflix at the end of February, i believe.

00:15:34.24
Brian Penn
Oh,

00:15:36.45
Chris Olson
It's originally titled Sult, S-U-L-T, but the English language his title is A Copenhagen Love Story.

00:15:39.20
Brian Penn
yeah. Hmm.

00:15:44.83
Chris Olson
And funny following on from last month, we reviewed Kinda Pregnant um the and the Amy Schumacher which was, know, regrettable.

00:15:51.91
Brian Penn
um yeah

00:15:55.60
Chris Olson
And... going into a film like this, which, oh albeit slightly different plots, but similarly like a romance story involving preg pregnancy.

00:16:03.79
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:16:05.21
Chris Olson
um

00:16:05.21
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:16:06.47
Chris Olson
And very, very different film. ah So a successful writer has a sort of um quite young and free lifestyle, but she gets a bit fed up with dating um younger men, a character called Mia, played by Rosalind Minster.

00:16:19.78
Brian Penn
Hmm. Hmm.

00:16:22.95
Chris Olson
And she decides to... um be okay with that getting into a relationship with Emil, an older man who has children.

00:16:29.12
Brian Penn
Hmm. Mm-hmm.

00:16:32.69
Chris Olson
He's not old, old, but he's he's a bit older than her.

00:16:34.59
Brian Penn
Yeah, I'll do,

00:16:34.77
Chris Olson
ah he He already has two children and the two have this ah brilliant romance and enjoy the throes of that young passion. And ah Mia becomes what's known as a bonus mum to those children.

00:16:51.28
Chris Olson
So what we would call stepmum or something like that.

00:16:51.77
Brian Penn
yeah.

00:16:54.86
Chris Olson
Maybe that's term that's been become quite villainised. um But yes, she becomes a bonus mum to the children and decides that she also will now would like to settle down and have a child.

00:16:58.78
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:17:05.48
Chris Olson
So Mia and Emil start trying and unfortunately face a lot of complications and hardship in that journey. it's a much more serious story than say Kind of Pregnant but it's also got lots of comedy, there's lots of fun moments in it.

00:17:22.96
Chris Olson
What do you think of this one Brian?

00:17:23.08
Brian Penn
yeah Yeah, I really liked it. I was really impressed with it

00:17:26.33
Chris Olson
Yeah, I thought it was great.

00:17:27.03
Brian Penn
The first, yeah, first 20 minutes, though, it kind of felt like a ah traditional breezy rom-com, didn't it?

00:17:33.86
Chris Olson
mean

00:17:34.72
Brian Penn
Then suddenly, it gets dark and really serious when Mia's convinced that she wants to have a child, that they've got his two children, but she wants a child for the both of them, ah which is a very natural feeling, ah so I guess.

00:17:35.63
Chris Olson
It gets really dark. yeah

00:17:50.89
Brian Penn
But um then it turns serious, it turns darker, and you see what a couple go through with fertility treatment. And I think it's very well handled, very sensitively written.

00:18:04.07
Brian Penn
well acted. I really like the two the two leads. I think they were both really good. ah They acted really well off of each other. um Very, very, very nice film. Very nicely done.

00:18:16.39
Brian Penn
Well shot. It uses Copenhagen really well.

00:18:19.74
Chris Olson
Oh yeah, it could be a tourist film, couldn't it?

00:18:21.14
Brian Penn
Yeah, it could be a film for the Danish Tourist Board, which is no bad thing. You know, when you've got that kind of backdrop and you've got that, you've got that scenery to to shoot against, it becomes even stronger.

00:18:34.81
Brian Penn
But yeah, yeah how it has its funny lighter moments, but it has its deadly serious moments. And it shows what a strain can be placed on a relationship when when they're not merely in enjoying intimacy anymore.

00:18:49.64
Brian Penn
It's all driven by charts and tests some and measurements and and so on. And it shows how a relationship can be disrupted by that that tension that gets created where it doesn't become natural anymore.

00:19:06.49
Brian Penn
It becomes more mechanical to achieve that goal of having a child. So I think that's all very well done, very well observed, well acted. and And the dubbing was pretty decent, you know.

00:19:18.18
Chris Olson
I listened... i So I don't normally go with English dubbed. I normally will just go with the original...

00:19:23.25
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:19:23.88
Chris Olson
voices But on this occasion, I think I sat down to watch it. I'd had a particularly tiring day. And I thought, you know, I don't want to do too much reading.

00:19:28.33
Brian Penn
All right, okay.

00:19:30.09
Chris Olson
So I actually, i did the, I had the English voices and they were really good, really good.

00:19:30.61
Brian Penn
Yeah, and I...

00:19:35.93
Chris Olson
they They fit brilliantly and they really conveyed the emotion.

00:19:36.58
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:19:39.18
Chris Olson
Sometimes, you know, when you're listening to it and they're oh, they've done this in a studio and they've just literally, there's no chemistry.

00:19:42.88
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:19:44.44
Chris Olson
that Maybe they weren't even with the other actor. But this film is so...

00:19:47.67
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:19:50.08
Chris Olson
moving at times there's so much pathos needed that you couldn't have that you had to have that come across with the voice actors and i thought they were brilliant the english ones

00:19:53.26
Brian Penn
yeah

00:19:58.44
Brian Penn
yeah It's synced really well. And a lot of the time, there is a there was a disconnect between the visuals and and what you hear. But they got it as close as they possibly could.

00:20:11.42
Brian Penn
But what I think so but helps, though, is that the Danish language um it is, you know, the phrasing and the vowel sounds are very similar to English. And I think that probably helps it synchronize more.

00:20:24.68
Brian Penn
And it makes it more of a better job as a result.

00:20:25.29
Chris Olson
yeah yeah because sometimes you watch in a film and i don't know the characters are in Japan or something and obviously the language is just so different that like their characters stop speaking and our character on the voice is still speaking for like another another 10 seconds um

00:20:30.95
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

00:20:35.81
Brian Penn
Yeah, and know. Yeah, I know. And that's where you're better off with subtitles when you've got something like that.

00:20:42.75
Chris Olson
um No, I thought it was really well done, very smartly put together. The music choices are great um and they really complement the tone of the film. There's a bit where Mia... she gets quite despondent about the whole situation. She goes on like a drunken bender.

00:20:57.13
Chris Olson
And that whole scene was done really, really well.

00:20:57.15
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:20:59.63
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:20:59.86
Chris Olson
um I love the fact as well that whilst it's looking at quite an age-old thing, right, about a woman gets her own age and you she's expected to have children, but there's also elements in there where it's a lot more about modern relationships and how, you know, like can the dad character, ah he, sorry, Emil, who...

00:21:06.01
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:21:08.95
Brian Penn
Well,

00:21:13.12
Brian Penn
um

00:21:19.69
Chris Olson
He's got his own family. He's getting older in life, but he's still very much in love with Mia and wants to do all that stuff.

00:21:24.95
Brian Penn
yeah

00:21:26.27
Chris Olson
And like he goes to these appointments for the fertility and often he's just treated like he's not even there.

00:21:31.30
Brian Penn
well

00:21:31.42
Chris Olson
And like they just talk to her and eventually she snaps and goes, can you just get him a chair? Why has he never got a chair?

00:21:35.69
Brian Penn
Yeah. I know. know that's quite funny though, isn't it? Because often when they repeat a visual gag, it doesn't, it's only funny once, but that kit, that is actually quite funny. The more you see it, the funny the funnier it seems, you know, oh, he's got, you and just that expression on his face, he's he's got a very expressive face.

00:21:52.73
Chris Olson
Yeah.

00:21:52.75
Brian Penn
Yeah. It's the like, I've got to find a chair again, haven't I? Every time they haven't got a chair for him. They've only got a chair for for the mother. And as I say, the more you see that, the funnier it gets because it's just,

00:22:05.30
Brian Penn
it's played in a deadpan way until she finally loses her temper. And really like that. It's quite sweet the way that was done.

00:22:11.34
Chris Olson
Yeah, it's really clever and really knows its um know is its genres that yeah it's a romance film with bit comedy, bit drama, and it's putting its toes in all the right sections.

00:22:25.39
Chris Olson
It knows how to sort of get all that together.

00:22:25.58
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

00:22:27.77
Chris Olson
um And I hope people give it a chance the sort of film that I think when people... maybe put it think, oh, yeah what is this? Stick with it. It's really good fun. and

00:22:37.46
Brian Penn
Right.

00:22:38.03
Chris Olson
and And moving. and And when it gets into that second section, it's it's you're on the journey then.

00:22:41.37
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:22:43.20
Chris Olson
It's not just gags anymore. like It's more emotional and compelling.

00:22:45.84
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah. So it's absorbing it. As you say, you've got to stick with it. you You know, the um I always say, give any film half an hour before you make any decision about it.

00:22:57.99
Brian Penn
um But I think within maybe 15, 20 minutes, it's got you, this film, it's got you hooked.

00:23:02.52
Chris Olson
Yeah, yeah, I knew that.

00:23:02.76
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:23:03.72
Chris Olson
it went it Whereas the other film, ah yeah Kind of Pregnant, it was within 15 minutes, I was like, oh yeah, I know what we're in for now.

00:23:09.36
Brian Penn
I know.

00:23:09.39
Chris Olson
I wish I could leave.

00:23:10.74
Brian Penn
and I know exactly. But I mean, you were probably glad with that film that you weren't watching it in the cinema.

00:23:15.68
Chris Olson
Oh, yeah, 100%.

00:23:15.84
Brian Penn
um and

00:23:18.20
Chris Olson
But yeah, so yeah, let us know if you watch a Copenhagen Love Story.

00:23:20.38
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:23:21.88
Chris Olson
We really enjoyed it. And it's available on Netflix. So yeah, no excuses. Moving on now to the indie film section of our episode, which is where we review a few films that have been sent to us specifically by filmmakers.

00:23:26.84
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:23:29.16
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:23:34.00
Chris Olson
They have asked us to review these.

00:23:34.52
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:23:35.87
Chris Olson
um And we are always very honoured when that happens.

00:23:39.40
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:23:40.56
Chris Olson
What's really lovely as well is when we get filmmakers coming back to us, which is the case with the first film we're going to review. um Yeah, Richard Fisch was reviewed on our festival episode going back a long time ago.

00:23:57.63
Chris Olson
Can you remember the name of the film?

00:23:59.36
Brian Penn
Oh. Yeah. i Yeah.

00:24:03.19
Brian Penn
I remember his name more than one the...

00:24:04.60
Chris Olson
putting you on the spot now.

00:24:05.76
Brian Penn
Yeah, I know. Yeah. It does, right it rang a few bells for me when ah when I was looking at it.

00:24:11.52
Chris Olson
Yeah, so it was a film called What You Can't Promise.

00:24:11.76
Brian Penn
No, you're going to...

00:24:14.42
Chris Olson
And um yeah, it's where i'm they rent out like an Airbnb and the ah a country house. um And this woman randomly turns up um and like the owner sort of starts to sort of feel a bit weird about but she's

00:24:23.17
Brian Penn
Right.

00:24:30.86
Chris Olson
But she's got something mysterious about her um

00:24:33.09
Brian Penn
Yeah, ah yeah, I remember, I think I remember that, yeah, yeah.

00:24:35.14
Chris Olson
Yeah, it was really good film, really enjoyed that. um And yeah, it's great to see Richard's back with a new film um with a very um memorable title.

00:24:45.97
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:24:46.72
Chris Olson
I've got clips for all these films, so we're going to ah play a clip of Seven Kills, Three Songs and a Banana.

00:24:48.15
Brian Penn
Nice.

00:25:51.39
Chris Olson
So, yeah, I mean, if that clip leaves you baffled, don't worry.

00:25:52.34
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:25:55.33
Chris Olson
It's it's it's a very natural feeling to have.

00:25:55.67
Brian Penn
Yeah, yeah.

00:25:57.69
Chris Olson
um

00:25:58.34
Brian Penn
yeah

00:25:58.58
Chris Olson
So the film is called Seven Kills, Three Songs and a Banana. And it's basically about a character called Amber, who you hear in that clip, ah played by Alexandria Romanoff. She, as you heard there, she does yoga tutorials on YouTube.

00:26:14.25
Chris Olson
And the film follows her ah following the death of her friend, Rachel, at the beginning of the movie. um

00:26:20.43
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:26:21.22
Chris Olson
And what then ensues from there is that this killer isn't done, as the title suggests. There are going to be more killings. And the whole thing kind of plays out a little bit like ah teen slasher sort of film, but with a very kind of anarchic spirit, lots of craziness going on It's a little bit sort of fourth wall breaking at times and characters that are from the...

00:26:33.02
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:26:39.78
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:26:42.76
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:26:45.58
Chris Olson
um LGBTQ plus IA community that and lots of interesting sort subplots going on around this as we try to work out yeah who's the killer, what's going on.

00:26:58.98
Chris Olson
um Seven kills, three songs and a banana and one Brian. Go for it, brian what do you think of this one?

00:27:04.13
Brian Penn
yeah I really liked it. I don't know how you can't like this. It's so screwball, isn't it, really?

00:27:10.35
Chris Olson
Screwable, yeah, definitely, yeah.

00:27:11.49
Brian Penn
It's it like a murder-cum-mystery-cum-comedy-cum-horror-cum-musical. I loved the rap um on the introduction. Loved It gets under your skin. you I've got to listen to that again. um You know, I really liked it. um As we always say on a limited budget, they've done a great job with it.

00:27:32.43
Brian Penn
in terms of mixing different genres. Um, the scripts can be a bit bumpy at times, but you know, i think you, you take that for, for what it is. Um, you've got to really be on your toes watching it. You've got, you know, you could easily lose track of what's going on.

00:27:48.36
Brian Penn
Well, I, I could anyway. Um, the editing could be a bit choppy at times, but i mean, to me, they're all minor, they're minor glitches that you, you always get with an independently made film.

00:28:00.11
Brian Penn
Um, it's got a lot going for it. I think it's something really engaging about Amber as a character. It handles quite serious issues, doesn't it? Really. Underneath it all.

00:28:09.38
Chris Olson
Yeah. yeah

00:28:10.51
Brian Penn
And the phobia, mental health, and grief, and murder itself. So, it it achieves a lot in a limited time frame, on a limited budget.

00:28:21.99
Brian Penn
I liked it. I really enjoyed it.

00:28:24.48
Chris Olson
Yeah, I'd like the ambition there. The the genre bending is definitely part of it.

00:28:26.93
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

00:28:29.52
Chris Olson
You have to go in knowing that they're playing with the format a lot here.

00:28:33.27
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:28:33.36
Chris Olson
They're saying that they're aware that this is what it is.

00:28:35.40
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:28:36.76
Chris Olson
I think the... um

00:28:37.75
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:28:38.43
Chris Olson
i think the budget imperfections can definitely be forgiven. There are certain bits where I did think you need someone to have come and edited this.

00:28:43.42
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:28:48.33
Chris Olson
Like someone else needs to come and chop this up because there are just bits that just kind of went on.

00:28:48.67
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

00:28:52.82
Chris Olson
but too on there's there's There's a scene, what's meant to be a nightclub, It doesn't really look anything like a nightclub, but it's meant to be.

00:28:58.25
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:28:59.33
Chris Olson
And it was given so much time to linger that I just thought we're just we're here too long.

00:29:02.38
Brian Penn
yeah

00:29:04.83
Chris Olson
like we' we're but We're being made aware of how low budget this is because it's just going on so long.

00:29:05.36
Brian Penn
i yeah And know.

00:29:09.50
Chris Olson
ah But there was a point to it ah in terms of but the story. But it just, yeah, they needed to be a bit more brutal with the the cutting.

00:29:16.59
Brian Penn
A bit more, yeah, bit more ruthless.

00:29:17.24
Chris Olson
Yeah. I think some of you're right about the script. Some of the dialogue between the characters felt like they were a little bit unfamiliar maybe with the lines or didn't like have much time to rehearse because it just needed a bit more.

00:29:26.89
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:29:29.37
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:29:30.71
Chris Olson
Say what the best chemistry I saw was when she was having therapy, her with a therapist. Those were the strongest scenes. He was very good. I must say um the actor that played the therapist, those scenes were,

00:29:39.97
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:29:43.27
Chris Olson
really grounded it a bit to go oh do know what actually yeah here we go like this is something we can kind of catch on to and a lot of the other scenes were quite wayward it was like oh you gotta try and you say you gotta try and keep up with this what is what's going but I found yeah that those therapy scenes were really good

00:29:53.19
Brian Penn
and Yeah.

00:29:57.50
Brian Penn
Yeah. I know. and But what's interesting though, Chris, is that you've raised a good point about scenes between a character and the therapist. they're often They often bring a story into sharper focus, don't they? Not just in this film, but in a lot of films, because it allows the character to breathe a bit more. and You learn a bit more about the character because they're sitting in front of an expert, a mind expert, who gets them to talk more.

00:30:25.81
Brian Penn
So that's often the case. And it's probably a good move to throw in ah section where a character is talking to a therapist because they're talking about the way they feel. and it And it fleshes out the character more.

00:30:37.35
Brian Penn
so I think that was probably important for the film overall. Yeah.

00:30:40.86
Chris Olson
Yeah, has that like ability to like reveal inner monologues in a natural way because they have to like reveal those things, things that you wouldn't normally just say out loud.

00:30:44.95
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:30:48.41
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:30:48.98
Chris Olson
So yeah, ah that that worked quite well. um I think the moments in the film where they're trying to sort of raise these important issues in quite a flippant way could put people off. so like it reminded me a little bit of Grand Theft Auto, where if you're listening to Grand Theft Auto, you're you're playing it, and the radio will just have random things come on.

00:31:12.19
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:31:12.44
Chris Olson
And this was happening in this film. like The radio was talking about like some really serious issues, and then it would just like turn off.

00:31:17.92
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:31:18.96
Chris Olson
And it was okay like, okay, you're just going to mention that.

00:31:19.99
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:31:22.11
Chris Olson
um

00:31:22.24
Brian Penn
yeah

00:31:23.00
Chris Olson
But if i it's the tone of the film. It's very much a cheeky slasher. It's it's almost more like a so like were talking earlier about spoof movies.

00:31:28.89
Brian Penn
yeah

00:31:32.11
Chris Olson
It's almost spoofing it all and going...

00:31:32.34
Brian Penn
yeah yeah

00:31:34.36
Chris Olson
Isn't this bonkers?

00:31:35.66
Brian Penn
yeah

00:31:35.68
Chris Olson
And it is bonkers when they're talking about the things they're talking about. um There's lots of things that come up. And yeah, I guess I've not seen anything like it I'll be honest.

00:31:41.36
Brian Penn
yeah

00:31:45.24
Chris Olson
I've not seen anything like this.

00:31:45.65
Brian Penn
um oh

00:31:47.11
Chris Olson
And it's great when people do push the bar. I think if you're going to do it and expect... ah mainstream audience, you're going to need a lot more budget. You need to really make it slick and it needs to be a lot.

00:31:56.56
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:31:58.46
Chris Olson
but But I think on an indie level, it works because people are going to forgive those things which are a little bit like, okay, yep, you needed someone else in there for that and then more more crew for that.

00:31:58.61
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:32:01.55
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:32:04.69
Brian Penn
Well, well, yeah.

00:32:08.20
Chris Olson
But yeah.

00:32:08.77
Brian Penn
Yeah. I mean, you could say that's part of his charm in some ways when it when you're servicing the film within

00:32:12.18
Chris Olson
Oh, yeah.

00:32:15.05
Brian Penn
the indie context, but if you want to broader than that, yeah, it would need a lot tidying up, but you you appreciate that's the constraints they're working within. But um aside from that, it works. You can see what they're what they're what they're trying to do straight away, and um it's it's fun. It's very enjoyable in that way.

00:32:35.80
Chris Olson
And I definitely counted more than one banana. It says a banana in the title, I thought I saw more than one banana. I'm sure I did.

00:32:41.01
Brian Penn
um Really? I'm not sure.

00:32:43.59
Chris Olson
um... maybe

00:32:45.25
Brian Penn
That's a great title for a film, by the way, as well.

00:32:47.86
Chris Olson
It is, and I think it kind of goes in line with that tone that they're shooting from. and And yeah, shout out to Richard.

00:32:52.28
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:32:54.78
Chris Olson
He did a great job. He's originally from the UK, so it's nice to see.

00:32:56.02
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:32:58.92
Chris Olson
um

00:32:59.01
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:33:00.22
Chris Olson
It's called a US culture shock. um I think that is yeah fairly yeah apps apt for what's going there.

00:33:07.49
Brian Penn
Yeah, I think it's...

00:33:09.28
Chris Olson
Yeah.

00:33:09.37
Brian Penn
Yeah, for a description. Yeah.

00:33:10.98
Chris Olson
The musical numbers are pretty fun, I must say. They do the musical numbers in the film.

00:33:13.28
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:33:14.69
Chris Olson
um

00:33:14.79
Brian Penn
i

00:33:15.51
Chris Olson
Yeah, they're quite funny. So, yeah, Seven Kills, Three Songs and a Banana. Amber ah Jackson on the site reviewed this last almost last year. Actually, yeah, pretty much last year.

00:33:27.39
Chris Olson
And, yeah, go read her review and see what she says about She liked the film.

00:33:30.46
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:33:33.08
Chris Olson
She gave it three out five. um And I think it's one of those movies that you are going to Enjoy it if you go in with the right mindset.

00:33:43.58
Chris Olson
If you happen to stumble on this accidentally and don't know what you're in for, it could come across as very confusing.

00:33:43.85
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:33:49.63
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:33:50.36
Chris Olson
And, yeah.

00:33:50.43
Brian Penn
I think, yeah, like I agree. It's not the type of film you'd watch if you were just channel hopping and land on it one one one evening.

00:33:55.33
Chris Olson
Hmm.

00:33:58.03
Brian Penn
I don't know.

00:33:58.83
Chris Olson
Yeah.

00:33:59.46
Brian Penn
I think, yeah, I think you need to be in the right frame of mind for it. It's that kind of film, but, you know, you take that on board, it's it's all good.

00:34:04.41
Chris Olson
Oh.

00:34:07.73
Chris Olson
So good. And you want to find out more about Richard here, he has a website, richardfish.com. i know if it's Fisch or Fish. I never know. I should have asked him, really.

00:34:17.01
Brian Penn
would go for fish, actually.

00:34:17.27
Chris Olson
ah and yeah F...

00:34:18.31
Brian Penn
There's no E on the end, so.

00:34:19.56
Chris Olson
Yeah, F-Y-S-H. Fish. We'll Richard Fish.

00:34:21.55
Brian Penn
Fish, fish.

00:34:22.87
Chris Olson
Badly enough, I have actually... We met on when we did the um festival. He who was on one of the filmmaker things.

00:34:26.91
Brian Penn
All right.

00:34:28.33
Chris Olson
I should have asked him then.

00:34:28.84
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:34:29.77
Chris Olson
Apologies, Richard.

00:34:29.83
Brian Penn
I know.

00:34:31.04
Chris Olson
um But yeah, he has a website.

00:34:31.07
Brian Penn
Never mind. We're sorry, aren't

00:34:33.14
Chris Olson
And also Film Freeway has the film on there. but I don't think you can watch it. ah But there's a trailer, I believe. So if you search Seven Kills, Three Songs and a Banana on Google, it's likely you're going to find the right pages.

00:34:41.29
Brian Penn
we?

00:34:46.87
Chris Olson
You'll find our review, you'll find the IMDb page and you'll find the Film Freeway page. So have a look on there and watch the trailer because it is unlike anything we've seen in a long time.

00:34:57.37
Chris Olson
so

00:34:57.59
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:34:58.61
Chris Olson
Moving on to our next movie, short film that Jason reviewed previously on the website called The Mix. And here is a clip.

00:35:05.81
Brian Penn
Lovely.

00:35:08.03
Brian Penn
lovely

00:36:09.85
Chris Olson
there we go i mean that was absolutely banging in my headphones that was that was that was such a good clip but it was it really threw me right back into the film um so yeah short film uh written and directed by christian lamorte and yeah as i said jason reviewed on website and he'd given it four stars this is um earlier this year and i was really intrigued to watch it uh the filmmaker had reached out about the podcast and that was great that they submitted it for the

00:36:12.92
Brian Penn
Yeah, I know. Yeah.

00:36:15.92
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

00:36:36.67
Chris Olson
show. So it's a about a funny enough about podcast. and so They have a podcast, lot more controversial than ours.

00:36:41.67
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:36:44.33
Brian Penn
Yeah. Just as much, yeah.

00:36:44.99
Chris Olson
And as you can get from that clip, they're going to have someone on the show who is causing quite a stir. And there is a lot of opposition to what they're planning on doing, what they're planning on saying.

00:36:56.40
Chris Olson
So whilst the podcast is being recorded, there is a growing discontent outside of the studio. And it looks as if the opponents to whatever is going to be said by this um sociologist, I believe.

00:37:11.65
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:37:11.80
Chris Olson
Is it sociologist? Or is it a... It's like a...

00:37:14.34
Brian Penn
um Psychologist, clinical psychologist.

00:37:15.72
Chris Olson
Psychologist, yeah, yeah. Clinical psychologist, sorry.

00:37:17.81
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:37:18.03
Chris Olson
um Who, yeah, is talking about this IQ-enhancing serum that's been developed.

00:37:23.55
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:37:24.65
Chris Olson
And, yeah, it's it's one of those films where... It's very much capturing the climate that we're seeing in culture right now, the dialogue that's going on about what you can and can't say, you what happens if you you someone says something you don't disagree that you disagree with, should they be allowed to say these things, yeah what's the responsibility of platforms in this situation, yeah do they just let whatever else go on or yeah is should there be some form of censorship to keep people safe.

00:37:35.31
Brian Penn
Hmm. Yeah. Hmm.

00:37:48.01
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:37:54.33
Chris Olson
And the mix is, is a it's as you heard that clip, it's adrenaline-fuelled. It is so, it's not just like, because you could just easily have this as just a podcast, right?

00:38:00.99
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:38:04.66
Chris Olson
It could have just been like a little podcast clip.

00:38:05.58
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:38:06.40
Chris Olson
But they throw in this whole kind of like action movie in the background of what's going on.

00:38:06.39
Brian Penn
ah no yeah

00:38:09.92
Brian Penn
yeah

00:38:11.75
Chris Olson
All these clips of people getting upset and viral things. And it was just, it was full on and really engaging.

00:38:18.56
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:38:19.34
Chris Olson
What did you think of the mix, Brian?

00:38:20.87
Brian Penn
I thought it was really, really good. I was really impressed with it. um As you say, it's kind of packed, isn't it, with dialogue and sound effects and music. and It really shows them how powerful social media can be now.

00:38:35.34
Brian Penn
That messages can be disseminated so quickly and reach thousands in a matter of seconds. And I love the way the attention was being cranked up. Not too quickly. I mean, it's a short film, right? it's It's going to fill that space very quickly. But, um you know, the engineer, Becca, she senses the danger of what's what's happening because she can hear what's going on.

00:38:57.65
Brian Penn
And she urges him to stop stop the ah the podcast. But the the reaction gets more and more aggressive, doesn't it? Because you can see all the messages coming in. um And they have an angry mob gathering outside the studio.

00:39:10.17
Brian Penn
And a lot of this You don't actually see. I mean, what's going on outside the studio, you don't see much of. But it's all contained in that dialogue between the characters.

00:39:20.73
Brian Penn
It's really good. You've got to be impressed by this, the way it's put together. Really good.

00:39:25.01
Chris Olson
So the filmmaker actually provided us with a little that ah statement about the film. So the mix was born out of a frustration and anger with people close to me parroting headlines and trending topics without ever truly taking the time to investigate them.

00:39:40.67
Chris Olson
And even worse, changing their personalities to fit those narratives. The paradox is stark. Mindlessly diving into online rabbit holes distorts your mind and your relationships, but total disengagement may be even more damaging to the collective.

00:39:54.60
Chris Olson
Though its biting style and dramatic narrative, my hope is that... Sorry, through its biting style and dramatic narrative, my hope is that the mix both entertains and challenges viewers to ask themselves, what is my individual role in our collective issues?

00:40:08.29
Chris Olson
And... It is that deep. It honestly is one of those.

00:40:11.41
Brian Penn
Yeah,

00:40:11.84
Chris Olson
I love it when we get a short film like this that really manages to say something profound in a very short space of time in a way that also feels like a big budget action movie.

00:40:12.22
Brian Penn
thanks. yeah

00:40:17.81
Brian Penn
Yeah. and

00:40:23.56
Brian Penn
no um Yeah.

00:40:23.85
Chris Olson
It honestly did. I love the way that the characters were like talking over each other. It really created this sort sense of impending like you importance. And yeah, I thought it was really moving.

00:40:33.57
Brian Penn
Yeah. But, I mean, even though the characters were often talking over each other you could still follow what was going on.

00:40:38.89
Chris Olson
Yeah.

00:40:39.42
Brian Penn
Sometimes that can be distracting, right? But, mean, this is where the tension is growing and that all the cat characters are panicking, aren't they, about what but the impacts what the effects are ah of what's going on, of what's happening.

00:40:53.31
Brian Penn
And, you know, the the director's summary there, or synopsis, it's a good one, but you don't appreciate first time around how deep it is, but it is saying something really important about social media platforms and the way they operate.

00:41:08.05
Brian Penn
You know, ah as a kid growing up, I used to dream about having

00:41:12.54
Chris Olson
Thank

00:41:13.40
Brian Penn
that degree of control of being able to broadcast in that way. right Back then, you know ah it didn't exist. But now we've got it, haven't we? That we've got this platform to voice our own views.

00:41:26.26
Brian Penn
But at the same time, you know you appreciate what the dangers could be when those messages are interpreted and twisted and given a ah different spin. It's really good.

00:41:38.45
Brian Penn
You've got to be impressed with that. Really have.

00:41:40.35
Chris Olson
Yeah, yeah. um I think the themes of it are really compelling. You know, we've already mentioned, um but like the hyperactive reaction of the age we live in, I think that's just something that, even for me, i was i wasn't aware quite how much that would lead me to think about after the film finished.

00:41:58.71
Chris Olson
I was i was still thinking things like COVID and stuff like that.

00:41:59.13
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:42:01.63
Chris Olson
mean, you're thinking about all the narratives that were being put out. and how you you went along with things, and a headline would really shape how you thought about something. Yeah, it's it's a really thought-provoking movie, but I also really loved the production of it.

00:42:09.02
Brian Penn
Yeah. Definitely.

00:42:13.49
Chris Olson
The sound design is brilliant. As you heard in that clip, the sound design, it just felt like you were on a roller coaster or some kind of yeah moving train.

00:42:15.25
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:42:22.72
Chris Olson
it just Everything felt really palpable.

00:42:25.24
Brian Penn
Yeah, I know, yeah.

00:42:25.92
Chris Olson
um Yeah, brilliant. It's like this sort of cacophony of angry soundbites going on.

00:42:28.45
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:42:31.54
Chris Olson
that

00:42:31.92
Brian Penn
What?

00:42:32.53
Chris Olson
You're feeling that...

00:42:33.82
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:42:33.87
Chris Olson
that that temperature gauge rise, like you're watching it going, yeah, I can feel how this is, everyone's getting stirred, right? They're being stirred by this. And that's the sort of, that's the culture we live in now.

00:42:45.63
Chris Olson
um

00:42:46.18
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:42:46.58
Chris Olson
And like the hosts are quite obnoxious. yeah know, they've got this quite sort of like,

00:42:49.60
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:42:51.31
Chris Olson
cocky smalm to them as if they know what they're doing and know exactly what they're doing what game they're playing it's obviously tapping into council culture you know should people get you removed and and stuff like that um but it's relentless it honestly was so relentless that it's a bit of an exhausting film to watch and i must say you you finish it you go oh gosh

00:42:52.88
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah. Smug. Yeah. Hmm.

00:42:58.96
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:43:05.31
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:43:08.96
Brian Penn
Yeah. know.

00:43:10.86
Chris Olson
But that, I think, reflects what it's talking about, right?

00:43:11.05
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:43:13.58
Chris Olson
It's talking about that we have this like non-stop access to news and and ideas and yeah and things that we have to almost, we feel like we have to partake or we have to completely ignore.

00:43:14.81
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:43:17.63
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:43:24.48
Chris Olson
But with youo there's a ah role there that we play as the consumer, which is a terrible word, really.

00:43:25.94
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:43:30.25
Chris Olson
But it is that we are consuming these things. Yeah.

00:43:32.62
Brian Penn
Yeah. And we're all buying into it, aren't we? We're buying into that that way of life because this there's no way you couldn't. you know so To live a modern life means that you buy into social media platforms. You you buy in into what's on the on available online.

00:43:49.03
Brian Penn
There's no choice but to do that. But at the same time, it makes you think, you know, it is thought-provoking, as you say.

00:43:53.07
Chris Olson
Thank

00:43:57.93
Brian Penn
But very good, though.

00:43:58.26
Chris Olson
um And shout out to um the the actress who played Becca, Sofia Lucia Parola.

00:43:59.20
Brian Penn
Really impressive.

00:44:03.36
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:44:05.40
Chris Olson
She was like the the grounding the film really need. like

00:44:09.10
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:44:09.38
Chris Olson
She's the like conduit that you go into the movie as if to say, oh gosh, like she's trying to sort of make sense of it all and she's worried about the reaction that's growing outside, but she's also conscious of her role within this platform, here this podcast.

00:44:16.93
Brian Penn
Yeah. but yeah yeah

00:44:22.91
Chris Olson
Yeah, great performance.

00:44:23.34
Brian Penn
She's the voice of reason, isn't she, really?

00:44:25.70
Chris Olson
Yeah.

00:44:26.37
Brian Penn
But yeah, good cast. The guy that played the um ah play the ah the DJ, the presenter, was very good as well.

00:44:34.11
Chris Olson
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And yeah, played Palermo.

00:44:36.57
Brian Penn
Thomas Philip O'Neill.

00:44:39.67
Chris Olson
Palermo's Perspectives, wasn't it? Yeah.

00:44:41.66
Brian Penn
Yeah, yeah. Trips off the tongue, doesn't it?

00:44:43.49
Chris Olson
Yeah. You should do actually. Brian's Perspectives on films. Yeah.

00:44:47.48
Brian Penn
Yeah, why not?

00:44:49.20
Chris Olson
Yeah, and I think the the movie works on multiple layers. And I think depending on like your own core value system, the way you watch it will probably affect the way that you come out of the film.

00:45:00.41
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:45:00.56
Chris Olson
Because it does tap into some really divisive motifs, you know things that are going to... I think that's the point of it. is It knows what it's doing. Yeah. But yeah, great production.

00:45:12.46
Chris Olson
I thought camera was really good. As said, the sound was great.

00:45:13.90
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:45:14.84
Chris Olson
The editing is really snappy and and quick and it's quite harsh at times and it you really keeps that momentum going.

00:45:21.31
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:45:22.43
Chris Olson
It is, yeah, it it was really powerful film. I really enjoyed it. Yeah.

00:45:26.42
Brian Penn
Really high production base as well for an independently made film, so. Good on him.

00:45:31.50
Chris Olson
good honour Good on him. Good on Christian Lamorte. If you want to follow Christian, he is on Instagram.

00:45:34.03
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:45:37.54
Chris Olson
ah Christian Lamorte. We've tagged him, I believe, in some of the posts we've done for the mix. um So you should be able to find him pretty easy. And yeah, go and read Jason's review on the website.

00:45:48.58
Chris Olson
And there is a trailer there as well. You can watch the trailer for the mix.

00:45:51.21
Brian Penn
Nice.

00:45:52.49
Chris Olson
um which you largely heard mostly in in that clip. So it's really worth watching.

00:45:57.31
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:45:58.44
Chris Olson
I don't think the film is out. I think it is on a, um yeah, it's on a password link. So I think it's doing like a festival run and that sort of part, you know, that's where it's at right now.

00:46:09.62
Chris Olson
But once it's once it's available, hopefully Christian will be able signpost you to that one. Moving on now to our last indie film of the episode. Again, great title with this one.

00:46:21.57
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:46:21.97
Chris Olson
My goodness, what title.

00:46:23.21
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:46:23.36
Chris Olson
ah The Ego Death of Queen Cecilia. And I'm going to play a clip from the film right now.

00:46:29.93
Brian Penn
Lovely.

00:47:17.95
Brian Penn
you

00:47:54.65
Chris Olson
Not sure if I played the clip twice there. um So, yeah, um' I'm just going to say it right now.

00:47:56.35
Brian Penn
yeah

00:48:00.39
Chris Olson
This is the the best film I've seen this year. Honestly, that so far this year, this is the best film I've seen.

00:48:04.08
Brian Penn
Really?

00:48:06.14
Chris Olson
Now, bear in mind, I don't watch as many films as Brian does, but I was watching this film.

00:48:08.76
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:48:11.49
Chris Olson
I'm really into this. This has got a kind of almost had a bit of a nomad feel just in terms of like the the tone and the atmosphere of it.

00:48:12.86
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:48:17.10
Brian Penn
yeah

00:48:17.65
Chris Olson
felt quite sort of like you got this almost ah solitary female character yeah doing her thing.

00:48:22.66
Brian Penn
yeah

00:48:24.32
Chris Olson
But then it, oh, the gear changed and it does. I was not expecting that.

00:48:27.62
Brian Penn
Hello.

00:48:29.04
Chris Olson
I won't spoil it, but there's a bit on a car park and I was just like,

00:48:29.76
Brian Penn
Hello. Yeah. Hello.

00:48:33.12
Chris Olson
Oh my God, what is happening in this film?

00:48:34.98
Brian Penn
Hi,

00:48:35.26
Chris Olson
It is absolutely brilliant. I really enjoyed it.

00:48:38.47
Brian Penn
yeah.

00:48:39.37
Chris Olson
um

00:48:40.23
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:48:40.30
Chris Olson
it's ready ah so It's directed by Chris Beer and co-written with Daniel Wolfman. It's about, as you heard there, a character, ah Queen Cecilia, she's known as, um who was a huge was a famous YouTuber at the peak of her time, making lots of bank.

00:48:51.28
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:48:54.20
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:48:57.96
Chris Olson
And eventually... yeah but what What we see her in the future, she's now ah delivering parcels ah for Amazon.

00:49:04.46
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:49:05.08
Chris Olson
Obviously, things haven't gone particularly well for her.

00:49:06.64
Brian Penn
Hmm. Hmm.

00:49:07.84
Chris Olson
She's trying to hustle back into yeah that lifestyle. She wants to get the help of gurus to yeah make her a star again. um But life probably isn't going to go that way.

00:49:20.50
Chris Olson
She tries to hustle someone ah for money. who then flips the script back on her and she finds herself mixed in with some very shady characters, one of whom it is played by Holt Boggs.

00:49:36.42
Chris Olson
Now, Holt, again, this is a throwback to the festival, Brian.

00:49:40.67
Brian Penn
Mm, right.

00:49:41.01
Chris Olson
Do you remember Holt? Do you remember the film he was involved in

00:49:44.63
Brian Penn
ah ah Again, I recognise the name, but could I put a song?

00:49:48.81
Chris Olson
it was a short film called Crazy where they're in a diner and he's, it was a very, I think it was 10, 20 minutes, it felt like heat. The movie felt like heat.

00:50:00.34
Chris Olson
And yeah.

00:50:00.37
Brian Penn
Oh, right, okay, yeah, yeah, I know, yeah.

00:50:02.71
Chris Olson
um And yeah, he was in that. And I saw him in this, that's a whole box. So I reached out to him afterwards.

00:50:06.53
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:50:08.67
Chris Olson
I said, oh mate, I love the, um well i absolutely love the film. and Yeah.

00:50:11.38
Brian Penn
yeah

00:50:12.05
Chris Olson
So it was great to see him. But the ego death of Queen Cecilia, Brian, what do you think? Because I love it.

00:50:18.06
Brian Penn
I really, really liked it. ah You know, I i think it's, it's seen it again, a bit like the mix. It's seen with the effects of, um, social media, the fact that we live our lives through the internet.

00:50:33.29
Brian Penn
I mean, Cecilia as a character, I think fascinating really because it shows how transient, uh, uh, the internet and social media can be, that you can be favourite of the month one minute and you can be in the depths of obscurity the next, you know, and she's reduced to low-level hustling to try and get back on track. um I think Jo Schaeffer was excellent in that role.

00:50:56.56
Brian Penn
Apparently, it's her first acting role of any description.

00:50:59.72
Chris Olson
I was going to say, yeah, she's never acted before.

00:51:02.26
Brian Penn
That is that's quite an achievement. if If she's never acted before, ah to come across that way as being so, she's a natural person. you You couldn't so say say otherwise.

00:51:13.68
Brian Penn
i I think it's great. I think it's really good. It's challenging. It's intelligent. And, you know, and there's a few surprises along the way as well. um But I love the the opening titles came up with a quote that really stuck in my mind as well.

00:51:28.43
Brian Penn
Delusions are as necessary to our happiness as reality. That's so perceptive, isn't it? To say that it's a bit like saying, well, the truth it is inconvenient sometimes, you know.

00:51:40.19
Brian Penn
Reality isn't always what we're looking for. And that's quite deep in itself. And it it kind of sets the focus for what what she wants and what she needs and what she might end up with as a character.

00:51:51.61
Chris Olson
Because she's like an addict, right? It's what's interesting.

00:51:53.57
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:51:53.77
Chris Olson
You watch the movie. that She's addicted to the lifestyle that she had, yeah that that celebrity that status that she'd achieved.

00:51:56.08
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

00:52:01.13
Chris Olson
And it's really, obviously, we've seen that done in film so many times in terms of a character with a substance abuse.

00:52:04.06
Brian Penn
yeah

00:52:06.78
Chris Olson
But when it's ah an addiction to a lifestyle or a role that you felt you had

00:52:06.83
Brian Penn
yeah

00:52:10.48
Brian Penn
Yeah. Hmm.

00:52:12.77
Chris Olson
it was really well done. I loved how, um, introspective she was that you could tell she had this like determination on her at all times that she was so focused on that goal.

00:52:14.54
Brian Penn
Oh.

00:52:20.51
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:52:23.93
Chris Olson
And every moment that came up in the film, there's so many twists and turns and things that happened, but every time she just shifted it back to, okay, but how does this support me getting back to my goal?

00:52:28.37
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:52:34.32
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:52:34.34
Chris Olson
How did, how can I turn this into an opportunity to get back to being who I was?

00:52:35.22
Brian Penn
yeah

00:52:39.19
Brian Penn
yeah

00:52:39.27
Chris Olson
And, It was absolutely mesmerising. And there's so many scenes where she's on her own.

00:52:43.22
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:52:44.88
Chris Olson
She's not with other people. that She'll be like ah in her car or on ah on her route delivering things. and it's like Or like, I don't want to spoil the later latter end of the film, but when she gets involved with the shady people, there's lots of scenes where she's just doing something.

00:52:55.42
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:52:59.55
Chris Olson
She's not talking. But I just was gripped.

00:53:00.84
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:53:02.08
Chris Olson
was absolutely gripped. Brilliant.

00:53:03.18
Brian Penn
No. um shit i mean I mean, it's impressive.

00:53:05.26
Chris Olson
Brilliant.

00:53:06.68
Brian Penn
It's an impressive piece of filmmaking, an impressive piece of acting as well. um The But what came comes through so strong for me, though, is that it shows how transient.

00:53:17.40
Brian Penn
She's an influencer, right? Pretty much. But then, for various reasons, she falls from grace. She loses that following. And it shows how transient fame can be on the internet, doesn't it?

00:53:29.13
Brian Penn
And how you how you can be intoxicated by the attention, by being rated and being liked, by people you've never met. You know, it's such a clever exposition of social media platforms, and how they concern ordinary people into stars overnight, but how they concern them back into non-entities overnight as well.

00:53:53.37
Brian Penn
ah That's what's frightening about it. But again, one word i have to come back to, these independent films we're reviewing tonight, just so impressive.

00:54:06.77
Brian Penn
you know It becomes much more than an independent film. but you You sense that this film has got legs beyond independent filmmaking scene.

00:54:16.58
Chris Olson
Yeah, and I think with the earlier two films that reviewed, I'm not sure what the budget was with them. With this film, it feels like it's got a little bit more maybe to it.

00:54:26.94
Chris Olson
It's it's quite a slick production.

00:54:27.52
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:54:28.26
Chris Olson
It feels, you know, you could see this on Netflix, Prime, yeah all those it easily.

00:54:28.82
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:54:31.82
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah, I think so, yeah, definitely.

00:54:34.61
Chris Olson
I think it's had some very good ah festival representation.

00:54:34.63
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:54:38.68
Chris Olson
It was at the Austin Film Festival. and it won Best Feature at Dances with Films New York. um Yeah, it's been some some of those ones where I think they were at South by Southwest as well ah when I spoke to the um filmmaker about Clip.

00:54:53.31
Chris Olson
And yeah, I think it's ah it's a pretty like big indie film, if you know mean. It's one of those ones that we're going to see more of.

00:54:58.09
Brian Penn
Yeah. I don't

00:55:00.60
Chris Olson
And I feel, honestly, it's going to end up one of those sort of low riding films are suddenly going to just pop out. everything else yeah Oh my God, have you seen this film?

00:55:09.11
Brian Penn
know.

00:55:09.14
Chris Olson
And I'm going to say now you heard it here first. All right. Honestly, we're probably one of the first people to review this. Um, it it's absolutely brilliant.

00:55:13.94
Brian Penn
but Yeah.

00:55:16.02
Chris Olson
I really, really loved it.

00:55:17.37
Brian Penn
No, it's good.

00:55:17.74
Chris Olson
I,

00:55:19.09
Brian Penn
It's very, very good.

00:55:20.71
Chris Olson
Yeah, eat The Ego Death of Queen Cecilia. I feel like i I need to move on because going to just yeah ramble non-coherently about how much I love this movie.

00:55:28.46
Brian Penn
yeah

00:55:30.49
Chris Olson
um But before I do, yeah, so you can find them at Wet Denim Productions on Instagram. ah Yeah, definitely. We haven't yet reviewed this on the site.

00:55:40.75
Chris Olson
I think I'm i'm due to review it. So I need to a time to yeah process my feelings and make them into coherent review.

00:55:46.93
Brian Penn
Yeah, ah you yeah, yeah.

00:55:48.46
Chris Olson
um

00:55:48.58
Brian Penn
Yeah, absolutely.

00:55:49.38
Chris Olson
But yeah, really, really enjoyed it. It was absolutely brilliant. I think it's great when we get a film like that come to us because... It's just an honour.

00:56:01.30
Chris Olson
They all were, all three of the films that we've reviewed in the section today.

00:56:01.36
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah. um absolutely yeah yeah

00:56:05.00
Chris Olson
um i think it's great, especially when we get people come back to us as well, like with Holt Boggs in this film and and Richard.

00:56:10.41
Brian Penn
um

00:56:12.53
Chris Olson
It's great that we get to see that momentum, that progression and yeah where people are going. So, yeah, fabulous.

00:56:18.13
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:56:19.39
Chris Olson
Thank you to everyone who um sends us their films.

00:56:19.94
Brian Penn
Yeah,

00:56:22.52
Chris Olson
We are moving on to the final section of our show, which is where we review a film from yesteryear. And we're going back 30 years, um which is what we did with Braveheart last month.

00:56:32.18
Brian Penn
we did. Yeah.

00:56:34.70
Chris Olson
um

00:56:35.28
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:56:35.66
Chris Olson
but We're going back this time to Crimson Tide, a Tony Scott film, which I had never seen before.

00:56:35.82
Brian Penn
yeah

00:56:41.27
Chris Olson
But to be honest, I will say this. It felt like I had seen it before because it's the type of like Cold War thriller that has been done.

00:56:46.08
Brian Penn
yeah Yeah.

00:56:48.94
Chris Olson
Right.

00:56:49.33
Brian Penn
Yeah, of course it has. Yeah, absolutely.

00:56:50.26
Chris Olson
hunt for red October all that sort of stuff.

00:56:51.17
Brian Penn
Yeah. yeah yeah yeah

00:56:53.36
Chris Olson
But we did it ah because of the passing of Gene Hackman, and and we might talk a little about some other films that we like Gene in.

00:56:56.80
Brian Penn
um Yeah.

00:57:01.04
Chris Olson
um But yeah, you want to do the synopsis on this one, Brian?

00:57:03.72
Brian Penn
Yeah. no Sure. Cool. So directed by Tony Scott, as you just mentioned, starring Jim Hackman, Denzel Washington and Viggo Mortensen. um Nice, nice, straightforward storyline. But as you say, Chris,

00:57:16.99
Brian Penn
A very familiar storyline. It's been done many, many times. ah Set on a US nuclear submarine, Captain Ramsey and Executive Officer Hunter clash over orders to launch weapons against a hostile Russian vessel.

00:57:31.11
Brian Penn
And this is basically a power struggle, isn't it? um It's the two commanding officers on the submarine arguing over what an order means, the order being to launch nuclear missiles.

00:57:46.99
Brian Penn
And Chris, you've done it to me again because you've reminded me of a great film that I'd forgotten about.

00:57:53.23
Chris Olson
There go. That's I'm here.

00:57:54.08
Brian Penn
yeah Yeah, exactly, yeah. um I think it's great. i'm But what I found surprising about it was that directed by Tony Scott, ah produced by Don Simpson Jerry Bruckheimer, who established a strong reputation for action movies.

00:58:10.97
Brian Penn
This isn't necessarily an action movie, isn't it? he it All the action takes place within the sub. pretty much.

00:58:17.23
Chris Olson
Yeah. It's like Alien. It kind of is like all in one place.

00:58:19.92
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:58:19.99
Chris Olson
and yeah yeah that That's like important for its...

00:58:20.73
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:58:23.12
Chris Olson
It's more a thriller, right? It's like a thriller.

00:58:24.40
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:58:24.78
Chris Olson
and yeah Yeah, but I know what you mean.

00:58:25.33
Brian Penn
But it's a strong narrative.

00:58:26.29
Chris Olson
Yeah.

00:58:28.44
Brian Penn
It's all about, it's character driven, which again, is unusual for Simpson Bruckheimer and Tony Scott, because they did work together a lot. But, um yeah, ah I mean, to see Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman going toe to toe, two powerhouse actors,

00:58:46.52
Chris Olson
Yeah.

00:58:47.23
Brian Penn
It's a joy to behold. It really is.

00:58:48.94
Chris Olson
It's very rare. I don't, I say this actually, I think I've ever seen a film where Denzel Washington seems to get dwarfed by another actor.

00:58:58.97
Brian Penn
and I know.

00:58:58.99
Chris Olson
He honestly, Gene Hattman overshadows him in so many scenes.

00:59:01.35
Brian Penn
I know he does.

00:59:02.47
Chris Olson
I'm like, that is, I've never, obviously Denzel's quite young in this film.

00:59:02.75
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:59:07.53
Brian Penn
ah know.

00:59:07.62
Chris Olson
ah Yeah. Well, not, not that young, but he's, he's youngish.

00:59:08.24
Brian Penn
Yeah, he Yeah.

00:59:10.96
Chris Olson
But Gene Hattman is absolutely chewing the scenery in this one.

00:59:13.94
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:59:14.12
Chris Olson
He is having way another time. Yeah.

00:59:15.92
Brian Penn
and I know, I know.

00:59:17.95
Chris Olson
i My wife walked in while I was watching this. Sorry, that sounds really dodgy. She sometimes just comes in, right?

00:59:23.03
Brian Penn
and Yeah, Yeah, you're doing, don't worry.

00:59:24.67
Chris Olson
I was wearing trousers. I was wearing trousers. It's fine.

00:59:26.74
Brian Penn
I don't think it's fine.

00:59:26.99
Chris Olson
ah she She came in and she said, that's not Viggo Mortensen, is it? I was like, ah yeah, it is.

00:59:31.32
Brian Penn
Yeah. But the thing is, though, Chris, they they do look incredibly young. I mean, ah Denzel Washington, Viggo Mortensen, and also James Gandolfini as well.

00:59:41.39
Chris Olson
Yeah, he's in it. Yeah.

00:59:42.60
Brian Penn
And he looks, they all look incredibly young. But then again, it is 30 years ago. But even so, you think, God, because you kind of age with the actors when you see them on screen and you you don't think of them being that young.

00:59:54.19
Brian Penn
um They do look good. um But. um

00:59:58.64
Chris Olson
but I think my wife's particular issue with Viggo Monson, though, was that, yes, he looks lot younger, but also, he's got this, like, American crew cut, like a soldier haircut, where she only really knows him from Lord of the Rings, where he's got long black flowing hair.

01:00:07.25
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

01:00:10.87
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:00:12.53
Chris Olson
So she was like, oh no, you've ruined him for me.

01:00:13.14
Brian Penn
ah know.

01:00:14.84
Chris Olson
But...

01:00:15.40
Brian Penn
Yeah, it's a slight image, isn't it?

01:00:16.67
Chris Olson
but But yeah, no, I mean, I like these sort of, you know, thriller, war, espionage type movies.

01:00:24.04
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:00:25.30
Chris Olson
And I thought what was great about this film was bringing you into this conflict where you think there's like a power struggle between... yeah Obviously, you're meant to identify with the Denzel Washington character.

01:00:37.54
Chris Olson
yeah He's the sort of one being presented.

01:00:38.02
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:00:39.26
Chris Olson
But actually... a lot of what Gene Hackman's character does is completely by the book. He is literally following the orders that are set by the you the law of the US.

01:00:45.12
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

01:00:50.53
Chris Olson
And you kind of go, when they get to the end bit, you go, oh God, they they were both right. They were both right. Oh, geez. like yeah And these are the people that are and in control of whether or not the earth blows up.

01:00:57.60
Brian Penn
I

01:01:00.68
Brian Penn
know. um I think the the final scenes, though, were really tied to film up quite nicely because Jason Robards does a very nice cameo as the the head of the disciplinary panel, doesn't he?

01:01:13.02
Chris Olson
Yeah.

01:01:13.43
Brian Penn
And he sums it up really well. in just a couple of minutes, you think, oh, of course, yeah, they're both right, but they were kind of both wrong as well, right?

01:01:22.28
Chris Olson
Yeah.

01:01:22.51
Brian Penn
And that's, you don't see that very often in ah in a big budget movie like that. There's always a very clear right and wrong. But here, the lines are blurred because they're both right and they're both wrong.

01:01:33.28
Brian Penn
And ah very cleverly done. But the um the narrative on the closing titles at the end is also quite revealing because soon afterwards, um a Naval submarine captains lost the right to launch nuclear missiles without the okay only the president can do that now and that was in 1995 it's something i didn't know so it's educational as well this will part of being

01:01:51.53
Chris Olson
There

01:01:58.44
Chris Olson
you go. um Yeah, so that was Crimson Tide, but obviously led us on to maybe thinking about some of our favourite Gene Hackman movies. um Lots come to mind, and he's always one of those actors that I'm like, he is the main character, but he's also not the main character.

01:02:10.05
Brian Penn
know

01:02:15.97
Chris Olson
Like even with Crimson Tide, he's not really the main character.

01:02:16.22
Brian Penn
No.

01:02:19.43
Chris Olson
but he's absolutely like a massive part of it.

01:02:21.69
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:02:21.78
Chris Olson
I always think of him. He's in, um, enemy of the state. I remember him being the character in there. Also the, the replacements.

01:02:27.40
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:02:29.09
Chris Olson
Did you watch that film comedy sort of sports film?

01:02:31.45
Brian Penn
yeah Yeah. No, I forgot all about that, but yeah, I've seen it. Yeah. I forgot about that one.

01:02:36.26
Chris Olson
Yeah, we've got Keanu Reeves in it where they're these like um these football players that come because they the other ones are like striking about pay or something and they come over the picket line.

01:02:36.82
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

01:02:40.43
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:02:42.74
Brian Penn
yeah yeah yeah

01:02:45.56
Chris Olson
Oh, there's a this scene, they always remember the where they get arrested and they do the dance in the prison.

01:02:49.56
Brian Penn
and

01:02:49.86
Chris Olson
So absolutely brilliant. But yeah, I mean, what about you, Brian?

01:02:51.64
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:02:53.45
Chris Olson
are some favourite films he's been in?

01:02:55.38
Brian Penn
Well, there's so many to choose from, isn't there, really? When I knew we were going going to be talking about this, I just jotted down a few few films and you think there's something... I mean, I forgot all about The Replacements. That's a really good film, actually.

01:03:06.40
Chris Olson
Yeah,

01:03:06.57
Brian Penn
um But, you know, obviously, French Connection ah playing Popeye Doyle, that was his big breakthrough movie.

01:03:09.62
Chris Olson
yeah. yeah

01:03:13.94
Brian Penn
It it made Bonnie and Clyde were Warren Basie beforehand, but French Connection, obviously won an Oscar for it with Roy Schneider. Great film. ah The Conversation, where he plays the surveillance expert, ah one of Harrison Ford's early roles in that film as well.

01:03:30.56
Brian Penn
um But for me, my favourite Gene Hackman film, and there are so many I could name, but one that stands out more than any other is Mississippi Burning.

01:03:42.64
Chris Olson
Yeah, i was going to say, yeah, that's an absolute classic.

01:03:44.23
Brian Penn
but With Willem Dafoe.

01:03:47.47
Chris Olson
Yeah.

01:03:47.47
Brian Penn
where they're, it's basically a true story, isn't it, as well, where three civil rights leaders, workers are murdered in Mississippi, ah in 63, I think it was, and you've got Gene Hackman and William Dafoe playing two FBI agents with contrasting approaches to investigation, because Dafoe's the one who's by the book, does it all by the book, but Gene Hackman's character is,

01:04:16.17
Brian Penn
is a native of Mississippi and knows how the locals think.

01:04:22.26
Chris Olson
e

01:04:22.31
Brian Penn
And he'll cut the odd corner here and there to get the right results. Great friction between those two actors. Again, but a fantastic film. But there's so many other films that but do spring to mind.

01:04:33.05
Chris Olson
um I honestly, I go through his list, I'm like, jeez, Unforgiven.

01:04:35.67
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:04:37.35
Chris Olson
He's in Unforgiven.

01:04:38.12
Brian Penn
and know you got an Oscar for that, didn't you?

01:04:38.19
Chris Olson
And that that is just, that i mean, that is the best Western movie ever made.

01:04:40.63
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:04:43.30
Chris Olson
will not argue with anyone on that.

01:04:43.38
Brian Penn
know.

01:04:44.66
Chris Olson
It just is. um

01:04:45.74
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:04:46.57
Chris Olson
But I keep coming to his like comedy roles. Well, he wast he's not really the comedy role, but in and have you seen The Birdcage with Robin Williams?

01:04:54.78
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

01:04:55.49
Chris Olson
where he he plays the sort of uptight parent um that comes to visit.

01:04:59.91
Brian Penn
yeah

01:05:01.07
Chris Olson
And it is so good. It's got Nathan Lane in it, Diane West.

01:05:04.87
Brian Penn
and lines right Yeah. yeah

01:05:06.44
Chris Olson
That, ah my family, used to watch that on repeat. We used to watch it loads at home. We had the videotape of it. And it is brilliant. It is so good.

01:05:14.80
Brian Penn
and yeah But he could do, he could play lighthearted roles as well.

01:05:15.92
Chris Olson
So funny.

01:05:19.03
Brian Penn
though couldn't he I mean, he was very good in the Superman movies when he played

01:05:20.20
Chris Olson
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, i i i'd forgotten about those. i went back said, oh yeah, he was in there, wasn't they

01:05:24.90
Brian Penn
I know. A couple of other films I want to throw in while we're speaking about this, but A Bridge Too Far. He had a very small role in A Bridge Too Far.

01:05:33.72
Chris Olson
he? Yep.

01:05:35.54
Brian Penn
He played Sosabowski, the Polish major. um And he was in one, he wasn't in that much. I mean, they all had cameos, didn't they, that film? It was that kind of film. um But he was on screen with Dirk Bogart, Sean Connery, Ryan O'Neill, and he stole that scene from those three actors.

01:05:53.77
Brian Penn
Without even trying. You know, we were speaking just now that he kind of, he has an understated approach to acting where he doesn't try and be the star, but he ends up being the star.

01:06:05.33
Chris Olson
Yeah.

01:06:05.56
Brian Penn
So doesn't try too hard. And in A Bridge Too Far, he did that. And he managed to upstage three great screen actors, three the greatest screen actors ever. And amazing actor.

01:06:18.27
Brian Penn
um I never realized he'd been retired that long, actually.

01:06:21.25
Chris Olson
Yeah, I didn't realise that. I thought he'd been still putting out films, but it's been um over 20 years.

01:06:24.86
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah, yeah

01:06:27.03
Chris Olson
Obviously, not getting any more now, but he's got a fabulous catalogue. Go back through his films, there's just so many. There's films in there that are on everyone's top 50.

01:06:35.04
Brian Penn
and

01:06:40.28
Chris Olson
Top 50, you're going to have to watch Unforgiven.

01:06:41.76
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:06:42.80
Chris Olson
going have to watch The French Connection.

01:06:43.50
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

01:06:44.96
Chris Olson
yeah. so

01:06:45.63
Brian Penn
they are yeah They're all must-see films, aren't they?

01:06:46.53
Chris Olson
yeah

01:06:47.98
Brian Penn
Definitely.

01:06:48.53
Chris Olson
go in there but yeah my purse either i don't know maybe my affinity with comedy is just ah coming through but yeah the birdcage and the replacements really stood out to me because i was oh i love those films we got a really soft spot for those films um yeah

01:06:56.95
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:06:59.74
Brian Penn
Yeah. No, i as I say, there's such a wide choice there. Also, one one further Gene Hackman movie, and one of the big daddies of this disaster movies, Poseidon Adventure.

01:07:11.58
Chris Olson
oh yeah

01:07:12.91
Brian Penn
And he played the reverend in it, didn't he? He was guiding the yeah survivors out. um Another great part. you he just nailed it every time. i mean, I don't think he ever made a bad film, really.

01:07:26.02
Chris Olson
Yeah, I mean, there are few of them I've not seen, but I think he was a great presence. as i always added a lot of gravitas to movies. like Even like um Enemy the State, where he's up against like Will Smith.

01:07:34.57
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

01:07:38.08
Chris Olson
it's like And in them Crimson Tide, you've got you've got these actors that are like, they've got a lot of charisma. They've got a lot of personality.

01:07:45.45
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:07:45.60
Chris Olson
So to go up against them and and still shine, I think is is really, really impressive.

01:07:48.37
Brian Penn
One

01:07:50.42
Chris Olson
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely great.

01:07:52.21
Brian Penn
the, one of the, one of the, one of the Autism greats without a shadow of a doubt.

01:07:53.21
Chris Olson
um Yeah, that's Gene Hackman. And...

01:07:59.08
Chris Olson
Absolutely. Crimson Tide, everyone, is available on Disney+, plus if you want to go and watch it. If, like me, you hadn't seen it, it's definitely worth it. I was absolutely thrilled. Because ah sometimes with films, if I'm doing themp the nostalgia pick, I won't necessarily watch it all in one go.

01:08:13.26
Chris Olson
Like with Braveheart, I think I watched that over two nights.

01:08:14.49
Brian Penn
um

01:08:15.74
Chris Olson
It was a bit bit long, that one.

01:08:15.84
Brian Penn
Right, yeah.

01:08:17.10
Chris Olson
But with Crimson Tide, I was like... I just can't not carry on with this film.

01:08:20.75
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:08:20.94
Chris Olson
It is just absolutely insanely gripping.

01:08:24.89
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:08:24.99
Chris Olson
ah Really, really good.

01:08:25.39
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:08:25.91
Chris Olson
um Shout out to all the films in today's episode. We've reviewed some fabulous movies.

01:08:29.55
Brian Penn
Yes.

01:08:31.46
Chris Olson
And yeah, thank you again to the filmmakers that send them to us to review.

01:08:31.61
Brian Penn
We have.

01:08:36.21
Chris Olson
Thank you to the listeners for your reviews. with Lots for the brutalists. So you can stop sending them now. I'm not going to read anymore. um Thank you very much. ah yeah thank you to Brian as always for watching and reviewing all the films that I send his way um and thank you to you dear listener for bearing with us through all this time it is lovely if if you make it to the end of the episode if you haven't made to the end of the episode you're not hearing this so I hate you no I'm joking yeah we'll see you again next month with another episode but yeah thank you and goodbye

01:08:50.38
Brian Penn
Pleasure.

01:09:10.35
Brian Penn
for now.