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Read the film podcast transcript from the episode titled Trap - Deadpool & Wolverine - Daughters - UK Film Club Ep 18 on UK Film Club part of the UK Film Review Podcast. < Back Trap - Deadpool & Wolverine - Daughters - UK Film Club Ep 18 Listen to This Episode UK Film Club 00:00:00.94 ukfilmreview Hey Brian. 00:00:02.95 Brian Penn ah how you doing 00:00:03.87 ukfilmreview I'm good. Thank you. How are you? 00:00:06.17 Brian Penn I'm very good. You know, can't be bad for a Tuesday evening, you know, hump of the week tomorrow. Assume that it will be Wednesday, tomorrow, summer in the world where everyone's, everyone's listening, you know. 00:00:11.77 ukfilmreview and 00:00:18.40 ukfilmreview That's true, yeah, I mean, giving away the the game, you know, we're but recording on a Tuesday night. 00:00:24.09 Brian Penn Yeah. I know. I know. 00:00:25.20 ukfilmreview Yeah, people think we just wait for that, you know, Thursday morning, 8am, and then we we do it, but yeah. 00:00:30.78 Brian Penn Yeah, I know. The myth is soon exploded, isn't it? There you go. 00:00:35.71 ukfilmreview Wow, so it should be, we can't keep up these pretense, it's so much work, you know, we have to, we have lives to run. 00:00:39.72 Brian Penn That's hard work being that dynamic, isn't it? And that invents it all the time. 00:00:45.39 ukfilmreview Oh, 100%. I mean, and I do delegate most of that, but you know, I do some every so often. 00:00:46.40 Brian Penn Isn't it? 00:00:50.41 ukfilmreview So yeah, no, fabulous, fabulous. 00:00:51.41 Brian Penn the 00:00:53.13 ukfilmreview um But yeah, summer is almost over, I guess. And film has been, it's not been that memorable as a summer. 00:01:03.66 Brian Penn No. 00:01:04.14 ukfilmreview I wouldn't say they aren't though, are they? I don't think summer is really that kind of time for great cinema. 00:01:07.34 Brian Penn No. 00:01:10.14 ukfilmreview It's normally that sort of pre Oscars bit where you get all the really good films. 00:01:13.58 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah, I think, yeah, this summer's been very quiet, relatively speaking, compared to last year when we had Oppenheimer and we had Mission Impossible and Indiana Jones and Barbie, of course, it was a huge summer in comparison, but you don't always get them. There's some ebbs and flows and I still think we're still coming out of that post COVID period where we're, we're finally back to an output that we would recognize, you know? 00:01:41.76 Brian Penn Um, but I think that's something to be expected really, but ah peaks and troughs really, I think it's going to pick up towards Christmas, which it normally does. 00:01:42.15 ukfilmreview yeah well 00:01:50.77 Brian Penn But yeah, we we're at the, we're at the tender mercies of filmmakers, aren't we? really 00:01:56.53 ukfilmreview We are. um Luckily for us, we get sent some films and also you've very kindly gone to watch the ones that are still at the cinema this month. 00:02:00.86 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:02:06.21 ukfilmreview um If this is your first time to UK Film Club, ah welcome, welcome, welcome all. And um we hope you are a film fan because otherwise this is going to be a very long episode for you. 00:02:16.12 Brian Penn I know. 00:02:18.18 ukfilmreview um We're part of the UK Film Review podcast and there's plenty of other shows that you can go listen to as well as part of that. But Ours is a show that covers all manner of film. 00:02:31.36 ukfilmreview Brian has gone to see the latest cinema releases. um We've both watched a ah Netflix film, a Netflix documentary for this this month's episode. 00:02:42.34 ukfilmreview And we also have a big selection of indie and short films that have been sent to us by 00:02:46.53 Brian Penn a 00:02:48.32 ukfilmreview aspiring filmmakers that we're going to review. And we'll also be taking a look back at a classic movie, this one from 1979. Yeah, I'm not sure I should give away the title. 00:02:59.87 ukfilmreview I mean, most people read the description if they really want to know. 00:03:01.80 Brian Penn Yeah, I know. I know. 00:03:02.99 ukfilmreview um Yeah, I leave it as a just as a little mystery yeah that that 00:03:03.08 Brian Penn and know let's let's Let's wait a little. smile 00:03:08.23 Brian Penn but Let's leave it hanging just for a bit, shall we? 00:03:10.39 ukfilmreview Yeah, what is the nostalgia pic everyone's thinking? 00:03:12.50 Brian Penn Yeah. yeah 00:03:14.28 ukfilmreview That'll be later on in the episode. ah But yeah, first and foremost, we're going to head to the big screen. So these are movies that are or should be at the cinema if you're listening to this when it gets released. 00:03:26.25 ukfilmreview um Some stay longer than the episodes are out. Some don't last very long. So, you know, hopefully you are able to see these movies. um But this one was a big one. The first one that we're going to review. 00:03:37.70 ukfilmreview And um I don't think it really needs much of an introduction, but it's Deadpool and Wolverine. 00:03:42.43 Brian Penn well yeah Well, this one is going to last a while, I would have thought, Chris. 00:03:47.31 ukfilmreview Yes, it's got to be one of the biggest movies of the summer, right? 00:03:50.06 Brian Penn It's got to be around for a while. Directed by Sean Levy, starring Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Matthew McFadgin, Emma Corrin and Marina Bakkerin. So, Wade Wilson is seemingly retired and working as a car salesman. He stays as the morally challenged Deadpool are seemingly behind him. However, he's captured by the time-variance authority and Mr Paradox reveals that Wade's timeline is close to extinction. He travels the multiverse to find a variant of Wolverine to save his own timeline. 00:04:20.21 Brian Penn The duo reluctantly team up to defeat Mr. Paradox. Now, not much of a storyline, really. Once you put a Marvel story on screen, it seems less important. It boils down to heroes and villains. You cheer the heroes, you boo the villains. It's all visuals now. It's great fun. Very entertaining. Some good guys. Pokes fun at the genre, which I like. Essentially, it's a buddy movie. Wolverine's the straight man, and Deadpool's the funny one. Jobs are good and really. 00:04:49.04 Brian Penn It might disappoint the aficionados. I spoke to a friend recently ah who's a huge Marvel fan, and he was very disappointed with it. But when you love something that much, you set the bar very high, which means you're more likely to be disappointed. But I speak as a mainstream film fan, and it's comfortably film of the month. But it doesn't have a lot of competition at the moment. It has to be said. But it's a good film. It works. What can you say? 00:05:20.27 ukfilmreview Well, I mean, i I'm a fan of Deadpool as a character. I like Ryan Reynolds' version of him. um yeah the The very first film well the first film that came out in the Deadpool series was really good. 00:05:32.83 ukfilmreview I found the second one a little bit wanting. It wasn't quite hitting the same heights as that first one. I think because of the shock value gone, the yeah they found the format, right? 00:05:40.70 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:05:42.83 ukfilmreview And they kind of went, yeah, we're going to do more of that. 00:05:44.05 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:05:45.04 ukfilmreview And when I heard about this, I kind of thought, OK, actually, this is probably a good direction to go in because 00:05:45.20 Brian Penn yeah 00:05:50.20 ukfilmreview wo yeah wolverine has such a massive legacy cinematically that there's a lot to um bring in there but then there was also that for me there's this danger of messing with that right because i'm not sure have you seen logan 00:05:54.11 Brian Penn Oh, yeah. 00:06:04.07 Brian Penn No, I haven't actually. 00:06:05.44 ukfilmreview So that was an absolutely immense film to finish on. 00:06:05.55 Brian Penn No. 00:06:09.56 ukfilmreview It was such a great, you know, moving piece. 00:06:10.60 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:06:12.61 ukfilmreview it was It was brilliant. And then when I heard, oh, he's coming back for this, I kind of thought, um okay, you know, that feels that maybe you're disrupting that slightly. 00:06:14.24 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:06:20.01 ukfilmreview But then I also feel, This is exactly what Marvel need, right? It's something a little bit more of a twist. 00:06:24.35 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:06:25.94 ukfilmreview It's got a bit more kick to it than all this sort of splurge of lukewarm films they've been putting out since ah Endgame. 00:06:27.71 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:06:31.71 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:06:34.04 ukfilmreview So yeah, i mean I'm glad to hear that it's it's hitting all right with you, Brian. 00:06:38.33 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah, film them up very easily. 00:06:38.54 ukfilmreview Film of the month. 00:06:41.43 Brian Penn And I just like what Ryan Reynolds does with Deadpool because he's very kind of sarcastic and edgy, ever so slightly camp in the way he delivers lines. And it just sends up the genre, sends up the character really well. 00:06:54.16 Brian Penn You're not meant to take it too seriously. I suppose you could say Marvel isn't meant to be taking that seriously generally. But this makes a point ah of delivering some really good in jokes. But you know what, Chris, it's making serious money. 00:07:07.99 Brian Penn Apparently, it cost $200 million dollars to make. And since it was really it was released at the end of July, and it's made currently, allegedly apparently, 1.2 billion at the box office, which is just absolutely mind-boggling. You just can't imagine. It could it could do that well, but it but it is good. It works. What can you say? They're very good at at making this kind of film, Marvel. It's as simple as that. 00:07:37.58 Brian Penn um Obviously, that's going to tail off a bit, isn't it? Give it a you know a couple of months down the line, it will be it will tail off. But this could run run until November very easily on general release. 00:07:47.83 ukfilmreview I think you know because actually listeners, we we haven't got masses of cinema films to review this month and I think that is potentially a bit of the reason why this film is grossing so much is because it's just landed in that lovely sweet spot of 00:08:02.33 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:08:03.22 ukfilmreview it's summer holidays so there are a lot of people off um on holiday xyz and you know potentially want to go to the cinema and it's a 15 so there is a good amount of you know catchment there um it's not an 18 that would isolate that so there's not much else going on yeah maybe it's just it's just here they're not because from what i've heard 00:08:16.08 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:08:25.41 ukfilmreview And I've kind of what you've said in your review is that it's not by any means the greatest Marvel film has ever been made. 00:08:27.70 Brian Penn yeah 00:08:31.38 Brian Penn Nine. 00:08:32.11 ukfilmreview It's more just, it it does what it needs to do. 00:08:32.28 Brian Penn Nine. 00:08:34.15 ukfilmreview it It knows the formula and it's just kind of running with it a bit more. 00:08:34.54 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:08:37.54 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:08:37.62 ukfilmreview And yeah, well fair play to them. Love it. 00:08:40.79 Brian Penn Yeah, and I know. 00:08:40.82 ukfilmreview Don't mind it. 00:08:41.83 Brian Penn No, I mean, I'd happily endorse it and go and say it again, you know, because it's sense assignment, it's sense assigning, it's good fun. But as I say, the purists might pick it apart a bit. 00:08:51.99 Brian Penn But when you're, when you're so into it, you kind of do, because you expect something more from it. 00:08:52.10 ukfilmreview Hmm. 00:08:57.44 Brian Penn But I think that's probably where it's good for me to watch it as not a huge fan. But just ah as a film fan, generally, I can look at it and be quite objective and i can say, yeah, that's good. 00:09:08.32 Brian Penn That works. 00:09:09.34 ukfilmreview Well, funny enough, we have a listener of review, which is lovely. 00:09:13.22 Brian Penn Lovely. play 00:09:13.93 ukfilmreview Thank you to everyone who sends in the reviews. 00:09:14.13 Brian Penn no 00:09:15.69 ukfilmreview We have an absolute gamut. Is that the right word? of ah Yeah, it'll do. 00:09:19.53 Brian Penn That's a good word. That'll do. That'll do. 00:09:21.50 ukfilmreview It might be wrong. word Gamut of of reviews from listeners this month. 00:09:23.12 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:09:25.73 ukfilmreview um Thank you to everyone who sends them in. I do try and get to them all. And and one from James Marshall here, who reviewed Deadpool and Wolverine, and he gave it four out of five. So you know we already know he's a fan. um While many could perceive Hugh Jackman's return as a cynical cash grab, his chemistry with Ryan Reynolds is something Marvel fans have been waiting for since the disappointing execution in X-Men Origins Wolverine 2009. 00:09:53.23 ukfilmreview In their latest offering, this double act takes the comedic rivalry of 48 Hours and Lethal Weapon and filters it through a visceral lens of ultraviolet profanity. There is also the question of how the legacy of Jackman's original run would be respected after his character's sentimental sacrifice in the climax of Logan. 00:10:05.61 Brian Penn Hmm. Hmm. 00:10:11.43 ukfilmreview a question which is answered with tongue-in violently in cheek from the opening scene. The previous Deadpool films have set a precedent for their introductory scenes using slow motion fights, sight gags and sarcastic commentary and Deadpool Wolverine is no different from this potentially gratuitous sequence. The audience knows exactly what they're in for in terms of tone and self-awareness Even if it does trade, good taste for trademark crass. 00:10:35.03 ukfilmreview If you like the previous Deadpool films and Spider-Man No Way Home, you'll love this. I did cut a big section out of the review. I tend to have to be a bit more concise with the reviews, guys. But James, thank you very much, James Marshall, for that was a terrific review. 00:10:48.51 ukfilmreview And yeah, it seems to be echoing a lot of your points, Deborah. 00:10:48.70 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:10:51.44 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. And I like the analogy with Lethal Weapon as well. It kind of, you know, I think there is a strong, obviously there's a strong element of, of buddy, you know, that kind of, that kind of a interplay between the two main characters, but it is there. 00:10:54.67 ukfilmreview Mmm. 00:11:04.66 Brian Penn And Inevitably, it's going to lead to a slew. There's another new word that we haven't used before. A slew. 00:11:10.47 ukfilmreview Sloob. 00:11:11.54 Brian Penn A slew of Deadpool and Wolverine films. 00:11:11.78 ukfilmreview Lovely. 00:11:15.18 Brian Penn But if they're as good as this, I won't complain. But you know the pressure's on to come up with something new and do do what they've always done in a slightly different way. you know And I sense they're repackaging, putting something out again. 00:11:27.59 Brian Penn But you know they've got it right this time for me. 00:11:31.74 ukfilmreview If you go, I mean, you can put that on the poster. They've got it right this time. 00:11:34.57 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:11:35.77 ukfilmreview Okay, now, I didn't know about this film, um which I'm surprised at, because I tend to know about the filmmaker quite well. 00:11:42.44 Brian Penn and 00:11:42.68 ukfilmreview ah Currently in theaters, M. Night Shyamalan's Trap, starring Josh Hartnett. 00:11:48.95 Brian Penn Yes, now I was I was floundering slightly trying to find another film ah that merits review on the podcast because so as we've just mentioned there isn't a hell of a lot around but there was this film Trap. Now let's look at the storyline. ah Cooper takes daughter Riley to watch Lady Raven play life. 00:12:11.48 Brian Penn However, the hottest gig in town is actually a trap to capture a serial killer known as the Butcher. As the net slowly closing it closes in, Cooper and Riley are at the very centre of the action. Now, to me, this is a film with two halves. The first half is ridiculous. It's full of cliches and socially contrived. The second half throws a curveball at you and takes a story in a completely different direction. Up until that point, it feels like a predictable and routine thriller. 00:12:40.96 Brian Penn but I was pleasantly surprised by that change in direction, which I wasn't expecting. 00:12:46.80 Brian Penn I wouldn't give the first half of the film one star if I was writing a review on it, and the second half, four stars. 00:12:52.23 ukfilmreview wow 00:12:54.76 Brian Penn Then it averages out three stars, but there's something vaguely ridiculous about it, but the twist halfway through, and I feel it is a twist. It depends how fussy you are with your twists and turns in a plot, but I liked it. 00:13:08.18 Brian Penn I think it was great fun. 00:13:09.03 ukfilmreview Wow. 00:13:09.97 Brian Penn second half rather than the first half time. 00:13:13.77 ukfilmreview Wow. i mean It's interesting because you do get that sometimes with films and it's often it's the other way around, right? The first half is really good and it kind of doesn't quite keep the momentum and drops off. 00:13:22.06 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:13:24.91 ukfilmreview But when you get a film that is suddenly much better in the second half, of you're like, ah, so glad I stuck with that. 00:13:28.47 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:13:29.69 ukfilmreview um But I mean, 00:13:29.75 Brian Penn and yeah 00:13:33.22 ukfilmreview Shyamalan is a filmmaker, he yeah he's well versed now in what viewers are looking for. and and what what yeah So you do kind of feel that maybe with him, he is experimenting with that. 00:13:39.43 Brian Penn yeah 00:13:45.19 ukfilmreview And also certain filmmakers, kind of like, um like you know, some people like that, they know that the audience is coming with expectation. 00:13:55.68 ukfilmreview It's not like an unknown filmmaker that you've got no attachment to. 00:13:57.79 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:13:58.00 ukfilmreview Like they know with Shyamalan, he's so controversial, like he's either like, great hits, stories have big misses, and I think people are going to come to the cinema kind of, oh, all right, it's a miss. 00:14:04.52 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:14:08.63 ukfilmreview And then maybe it does sort of suddenly ramp up because he sort of knows he's playing with that. 00:14:11.10 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:14:12.53 ukfilmreview Yeah, probably I'm just speculating here, but maybe that's kind of an interesting point. 00:14:14.42 Brian Penn Yeah. But it, as I say, its it it's skillful filmmaking, ah because if you If you applied logic, it's like any film really. If you applied logic to the storyline, to the plot, you could pick this apart very easily because it's set during a ah like a concert, a big gig. And Josh Hartnett's character, sir Cooper, is wandering around backstage whenever it suits, whenever the the mood takes him. And he leaves his 14-year-old daughter in the crowd to go off and do what he needs to do. I'm not gonna give away too much to the plot. 00:14:49.82 Brian Penn ah But you could pick it apart very easily. you know A lot of it, you could think to yourself, no, that's not right. That wouldn't happen. But but you know if you if you omit the logic, just take it for what it is, and pick the film up halfway through. I think it's good fun. It it challenges you a bit. It does keep you more on the edge of your seat, or maybe not on your edge of your seat, maybe in the middle of your seat, rather than you sitting back in the seat. But I enjoyed it. I really enjoyed it. 00:15:20.79 Brian Penn It's the type of film I'm surprised got a theatrical release. It's the type of film I thought might've gone straight onto stream. It looks like the type of thing that Amazon Prime or Netflix or one one of the you know premium service providers would go for. but And I don't think it will be on for very long. So if if people want to see it on the big screen, they they've got to do it soonish. But entertaining, good fun to watch. 00:15:47.11 ukfilmreview Okay. Well, actually, if I don't know if I looked through my ah list of listeners reviews and I had actually missed this one, but we have one from on early, um, who went to see trap. So I will just read as a section of his review because it's a big part of his review where he talks about some issues he had getting into the cinema. 00:15:57.45 Brian Penn All right. Yeah. 00:16:04.88 ukfilmreview So I'm going to just skip through some of those, that but I do feel that actually would be a very funny story. 00:16:05.65 Brian Penn Oh, OK. Right. Yeah. 00:16:09.34 ukfilmreview Um, 00:16:09.38 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:16:10.53 ukfilmreview they beilla So, he gave it five stars, would you believe? 00:16:14.34 Brian Penn Oh, wow. 00:16:15.23 ukfilmreview Five stars. 00:16:16.24 Brian Penn Wow. 00:16:17.18 ukfilmreview um But the review itself ah is... I don't think it's it's fully on. It's early doors. I did wonder if Josh Hartnett's butcher needed to be a killer for this storyline to work. 00:16:30.25 ukfilmreview The show seemed tedious enough that any parent could watch it and identify with the desire to escape your child's preferred activity. My biggest gripe with the movie was probably how many times the father and daughter leave the show during the performance. 00:16:42.89 ukfilmreview But as the plot got thicker than treacle, I found myself easing more into the lunacy and embracing the nonsense ah reminiscent of audiences at 2008's Take Him. The film flew by and my exhilarated son was in snare, reminding me how important it is to break rules sometimes and made me nostalgic for going to cinema. 00:16:59.80 ukfilmreview I think this is going back to talk about him getting into the the the cinema. 00:17:02.36 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:17:03.30 ukfilmreview um do do I didn't want to leave. 00:17:06.31 Brian Penn Well, 00:17:06.93 ukfilmreview He felt really excited. 00:17:09.77 Brian Penn Yeah, we all get that feeling sometimes in the movies, don't we? Yeah, it's says it's it's fair enough. I mean, I would never have given it five stars. I think our written review on the website gave it two, I think. I'm not sure. I think it it got two. I think it was George Wolfe, I think. George gave it two. I don't think that's quite fair. I mean, it's all about perceptions and where you sit. But it's interesting, though, that review you've just read out, 00:17:36.08 Brian Penn did kind of home in on the fact that they were just slipping in and out of the gig. They both were. He was doing it more often. But you think, ah no, I mean, with the manic security, I mean, i mean if you look at WhatsApp, what happened to to ah Taylor Swift in Vienna recently, where they had to postpone a couple of gigs because of the obvious threats to our safety that were being made. 00:17:58.41 Brian Penn you know I don't think it's possible to to do that, to wander around without being challenged at all. 00:18:02.77 ukfilmreview Hmm. 00:18:04.72 Brian Penn They kind of were. but they made it look easy. is so So you could do it whenever you felt like it. And you could just say, you're looking for the toilet and you got lost. you know and um But yeah, that side of it, you you take on bull. 00:18:18.21 Brian Penn But you know it's it kind of kind of grips you it grips you once it gets going, because it takes you to a point in the plot where that you weren't expecting to be at. 00:18:29.79 Brian Penn And I like that. At least it does something. It redeemed itself ah towards the end of the film. 00:18:33.75 ukfilmreview Well, one of those ones I thought it'll be on and I'll kind of go, do you know what? 00:18:35.17 Brian Penn so 00:18:38.93 ukfilmreview I will just check that out. and But yeah, thank you on for your um your review and thank you Brian for letting us know about Trap. We had another listener review from a film we reviewed last month, which was Twisters. 00:18:47.37 Brian Penn and so 00:18:51.95 Brian Penn Oh, right. 00:18:52.04 ukfilmreview um So I will just read this ah little bit from Daniel Ashby, who gave the film three stars. There are many films from past decades which have received long anticipated sequels. I wouldn't say that Twister is one of them. Although a box office success and a disaster film loved by many, it's not as if fans were crying out for a follow up. 00:19:11.47 ukfilmreview For one thing, it's not really needed. The original 1996 film ah didn't set itself up for another film and there is only so far you can take the concept of storm chasing, or so it would seem. Enter Twisters, the 2024 sequel nobody asked for but we still got anyway. 00:19:26.48 Brian Penn yeah 00:19:26.67 ukfilmreview in In the film's defence, it's more of a spin-off, brackets, pun very much intended, love it, Daniel, fabulous, ah than a direct sequel. 00:19:30.12 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:19:35.62 ukfilmreview Although there are few small nods to the original, there are no cameos and returning characters from the first, unless you include Tornado, data collecting device, Dorothy, of course, which I was glad to see Dorothy you came back. 00:19:44.12 Brian Penn hundred Yeah, that's true. 00:19:46.76 ukfilmreview um The dialogue is pretty bad throughout, and apart from main character Kate, And to some extent, Tyler, the character development is pretty much non-existent. However, there is something undeniably a little enjoyable about how, for the most part, Twisters is a straightforward, no-nonsense, silly action film and doesn't try to hide it. This is important to note because the same can be applied when discussing the first film. 00:20:09.50 ukfilmreview Twister is an enjoyable fun roller coaster ride with equally as cheesy lines and only a smattering of character development for Hella Hunt's character Joe. Furthermore, it sort of feels like an appropriate legacy sequel as the original Twister had its fair share of problems as well. 00:20:23.08 ukfilmreview Yeah, I think that kind of aligns very well with what you said last month about Twisters. 00:20:25.90 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, I think that's what we were more or less discussing that there is this kind of dilemma with Twisters is that so much time has elapsed, you wonder whether it's a sequel, a remake or whatever. So I think with regards to character development, I think developing characters in a film like that is a bonus if you get it, but you don't necessarily notice it if it's not there. 00:20:46.32 ukfilmreview Yeah. 00:20:49.42 Brian Penn You know, because the emphasis is on strong the issue visuals and effects, but still a good film. But yeah, I think that more or less bears out what we were discussing. So yeah. 00:20:58.69 ukfilmreview Yeah, happy that. Thank you again for the review, Daniel. and Moving away from cinema releases to our streaming pick. This is a film that's available on a streaming service, typically in Netflix, ah because I am lazy and I just find those. 00:21:13.53 ukfilmreview um But this, I was really glad to find this. This is terrific. 00:21:16.60 Brian Penn Yeah, this is ah this is a gem, Chris, that you found here. 00:21:19.93 ukfilmreview Oh, absolute jam. It's a documentary you called Daughters. And it came out ah in August, I believe. And yeah, um fabulous piece. 00:21:32.51 ukfilmreview It's got some quite big names attached at the back end. But the actual directors are Angela Patton and Natalie Ray. um And it explores this program that's running in the US where inmates at a prison are able to ah attend a dance with their daughters who are obviously on the outside ah for one evening or one day where they come into the prison and they actually have a dance, kind of like a prom. 00:22:01.47 Brian Penn and you Yeah. 00:22:02.35 ukfilmreview ah they they dress up, they have all the sort of things, their pictures taken and things like that. that um And we see the sort of, there's like about a 12 week program, I think that the fathers have to go into where they're having this kind of like, ah group therapy um about being a dad, being a role model and all these things. So we see that and then we see the actual dance and then we see the kind of aftermath of that and how it's really impacted them and yeah what that did. um It was just, 00:22:32.75 ukfilmreview Phenomenal it was so emotional. I say this is a yeah a father of two girls and that I was couldn't help but be moved but I think also there When you have a sensitive subject like this when there's a lot of things going on It could easily have gone wrong could easily have not been a very powerful documentary, but I thought it was absolutely brilliant What do you think I'm guessing you like to burn because you said it's a gem, but you tell me I 00:22:37.10 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:22:50.58 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:22:55.73 Brian Penn yeah is a gem. I mean, this is the type of thing I might have missed, Chris, if you hadn't have alerted me to it. Because you know, when you're you're looking, you're looking, you're kind of spooling through all all these films, documentaries that are on, and you can quite easily miss this very, you know, you know, because there's so much on there. 00:23:10.70 ukfilmreview Oh yeah. 00:23:13.66 Brian Penn But I think this is absolutely riveting. It really is, you know, the idea that you can um invite daughters into a prison, and to spend the afternoon with their fathers, to rebuild their relationship, or reinforce it, or help them back to a point where they're communicating, they're actually talking again. And some of the tools, I mean, they they focused on four couples, didn't they? Because there was Aubrey and Keith, Joan and Frank, Rosiah and Alonzo, and Keith and Aubrey. Sorry, no, it's the other one. Rosiah and Alonzo, Joan and Frank, 00:23:53.05 Brian Penn ah Santana and Mark, that was the other couple. 00:23:57.41 ukfilmreview Yeah. 00:23:58.06 Brian Penn ah But Aubrey was the one that that really ran his resume because she was so young. 00:24:03.22 ukfilmreview She starts the film is actually she kind of opens the film and she's just little like, she must be about five I think at the time. 00:24:03.40 Brian Penn She was like. 00:24:05.76 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:24:09.26 Brian Penn She was she was five, but she seemed to display a maturity beyond the years. 00:24:09.56 ukfilmreview Oh, yeah. 00:24:14.83 Brian Penn And the film jumps forward three years, doesn't it? 00:24:17.87 ukfilmreview Yeah. 00:24:17.96 Brian Penn That once the um once the date with dad finishes, they They trace the the following three years and and you you see what happens to those four couples, if you like. 00:24:30.54 Brian Penn And um it's incredibly moving. What I think was very clever though, was that they deliberately omitted details of their offenses, why they were in prison in the first place. 00:24:40.49 ukfilmreview Mmm, yeah. 00:24:41.41 Brian Penn But you got to learn um the sentences they they were under as the film wears on. And that obviously had an impact on how their relationship develops from there onwards. And the fact they're wearing these are orange boiler suits, it leads me to believe it's, it must be a maximum security person as well that they're in. So they must have been in, they must be serving slime for something fairly serious. ah But they sort of kept away from that because they showed them more as human beings. I think it's an amazing piece of filmmaking and you do invest in these people though, because they're real. 00:25:17.69 Brian Penn You know, these aren't characters on the screen, are they? 00:25:17.71 ukfilmreview Hmm. 00:25:20.14 Brian Penn um They're not actors, they're real people, but they're separated by their father's incarceration. What I thought was was really interesting there was the um the coach, I think his name was Chad, the one who was coaching him through the process. 00:25:34.27 ukfilmreview Yeah. 00:25:37.05 Brian Penn And I always look for one killer line in any film, in any documentary, it's the one line that really sort of sums it all up. And he said at one point to them, he said, um If you don't define yourself, the world will. 00:25:51.06 Brian Penn And that really sums up what the prison system is there for. That if you're a law-abiding citizen, you you follow the law, you define yourself, you decide what happens. But if you break the rules, you go into prison, then someone else defines your life. 00:26:05.88 ukfilmreview Hmm. 00:26:06.15 Brian Penn it's it's It's the prison system, it's the parole system, it's the state that defines your existence. And that is such a perceptive message to get across to them, isn't it really? the Um, they're, they're in prison for a reason, but they're seeing the impacts of that separation that they're, they're losing in contact with their children. You know, I think we more or less accept that the relationship with the mothers is in a certain place and it can get no better, but they can salvage the relationship with their daughters. And they're, they're all, as I say, they're all quite young, but Aubrey is the one that really resonates and Keith who's a father, but that's an amazing piece of filmmaking and you almost want 00:26:47.66 Brian Penn you must want to see something more. you You want to you must want to see a recap. You want to see an update. I do anyway, just to see what's happening to them. And maybe that will come at some point. 00:26:59.30 ukfilmreview Yeah, you're right. I think there's that sense of you get very invested in their journey and also them shying away from the actual details of what these people have done. 00:27:12.08 ukfilmreview I think it helps in one sense because it doesn't alienate us as the audience to suddenly be like, oh, can we root for these people, you know, if they've been convicted of like violent crimes or something. 00:27:20.39 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:27:23.48 ukfilmreview And also it doesn't muddy the waters in terms of like, look actually, the clue is in the title. 00:27:23.65 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:27:29.41 ukfilmreview The film is actually about the daughters, really. It's about these are the victims, right? 00:27:32.20 Brian Penn yeah 00:27:34.23 ukfilmreview These are the people that are going to be left without a role model, without a male presence. 00:27:34.49 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:27:38.77 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:27:39.25 ukfilmreview um ah lot Quite a bit of the film talks about how the the prison system has taken away things like touch visits. So you can't, like, they can't hug their dads. 00:27:46.91 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:27:48.66 ukfilmreview They have to talk. 00:27:48.82 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:27:49.69 ukfilmreview A lot of them as well are saying, oh, we have to talk online. They don't even get to go in and see them physically. 00:27:52.34 Brian Penn Yeah, I know. 00:27:53.97 ukfilmreview and and that that removal, that disconnect about how... 00:27:58.61 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:27:59.40 ukfilmreview yeah Well, first off, tragic, but also I think one of the points the film is making is if you look at this programme they've got running, it rehabilitates people. 00:28:09.83 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:28:11.35 ukfilmreview There was like quite a lot to talk about and there were some stats at the end talking about yeah people that have done gone through this programme haven't re-offended. 00:28:16.58 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:28:20.05 Brian Penn Nice flat set. 00:28:20.93 ukfilmreview even Yeah, a huge percentage. 00:28:22.11 Brian Penn ninety five the percent apparently 00:28:23.58 ukfilmreview And it was like the idea of actually, you know, them having this big, you know, emotional therapy session every week, you know, with Chad and all the other dads, they were talking, a lot of them talked about that how they like opened up, they were crying, they were doing things, then suddenly it was like, 00:28:23.86 Brian Penn yeah 00:28:38.56 Brian Penn yeah 00:28:41.71 ukfilmreview ah totally different viewpoint and also getting them to own up to the fact that actually you guys are fathers. 00:28:43.27 Brian Penn yeah 00:28:47.64 ukfilmreview You're you're different people. you Those people need you. 00:28:49.73 Brian Penn Nice to call it the Senate apparently. 00:28:49.84 ukfilmreview They're counting on you. um I love that. 00:28:51.37 Brian Penn and 00:28:52.80 ukfilmreview I thought it was it was a really, really good um message to send out. 00:28:57.08 Brian Penn Yeah, I mean, I i think you've hit on hit the nail on the head when you say that um we don't know what they've done, so we don't judge them. 00:29:04.99 ukfilmreview Hmm. 00:29:05.09 Brian Penn We see them as human beings. You know, circumstances have put them in prison. So you it's more about the daughters. I do wonder though, now I'm curious. I'm so curious about this because I wonder if there's a similar program for for dads and sons. 00:29:20.77 ukfilmreview Maybe, yeah. I mean, because I think this was ah it kind of stemmed, so one of the directors, Angela Patton, stemmed from the like the girls in an area asked for it, right? They asked the sheriff, can we see our dads and have a dance? 00:29:33.02 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:29:34.20 ukfilmreview Because they couldn't go to the to the local one or something like that. 00:29:37.34 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:29:37.86 ukfilmreview And then he kind of created that idea. And yeah, I thought that too. I also thought, 00:29:43.82 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:29:44.80 ukfilmreview im almost all, I think pretty much all, almost all the and inmates and the children were African Americans, people of color at least, that there's that factor in there as well. 00:29:48.90 Brian Penn Yep. Yep. 00:29:58.47 ukfilmreview you Is that something that's been arranged? Because I think Angela Patton is always working a lot with young black women trying to sort of empower them and and things like that. 00:30:06.08 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:30:07.74 ukfilmreview So these programs, I think they've they've got a lot to them. There's a lot of yeah ideas that they're trying to sort of pursue. 00:30:11.45 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:30:14.37 ukfilmreview But yeah, no, I think, because i'm I'm always riveted by prison-based cinema. Even if it is documentary or if it is yeah fiction, I think prison has such a fabulous set. 00:30:22.54 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:30:29.04 ukfilmreview It's got everything you need there, right? 00:30:30.27 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:30:30.52 ukfilmreview So it's all it's already built in to make it feel dangerous. 00:30:32.81 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:30:33.68 ukfilmreview It makes it feel, you know, the characters are really interesting. 00:30:34.47 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:30:37.01 ukfilmreview And with this, you just couldn't help but just become completely glued into what was going on. 00:30:42.79 Brian Penn Yeah, absolutely. 00:30:43.79 ukfilmreview um Yeah, really good. 00:30:46.86 Brian Penn Well chosen, Chris. 00:30:46.97 ukfilmreview really well it happens sometimes doesn't it um but yeah i strongly recommend it daughters on netflix um i think it did get a bit of press there was some strong reviews going around and yeah i think it would like you said it's an easy one to miss easy one sort of i didn't even see it pop up and because the um 00:30:47.82 Brian Penn Well done. 00:30:52.07 Brian Penn Yeah, 00:31:03.48 Brian Penn it is. I know. ah yeah 00:31:08.11 ukfilmreview the concept of it I don't think obviously comes across that strongly in whereas if they called it you know not saying this would be the title but daddy daughter dance in prison you kind of would be like oh I know what that is um but something like daughters is quite vague even though there's like a girl on the chain link fence as the poster which is great um ah hopefully we can shine light on that because I think it deserves a watch so yeah and 00:31:16.72 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah, I know. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. yeah 00:31:29.51 Brian Penn Yeah. It's very good. 00:31:31.37 ukfilmreview anyone listening um a little tip you know review it it go to the website review it and i'll probably read it out next month if i can um daughters uh yeah we're moving now to our selection of indie and short films these are films that 00:31:34.77 Brian Penn Yeah. but ah Yeah. 00:31:46.55 ukfilmreview filmmakers have sent us to review, and whether that's through the website, or we've now actually opened it back up on Film Freeway, ah so that filmmakers can get a chance to have the podcast review. 00:31:48.06 Brian Penn Oh, 00:31:57.08 ukfilmreview And we've got a big selection today, which is why we've got less, ah well, one of the reasons we've got less cinema releases. We're going to start with a short film from David Bradberg, who is the writer director of My Best Nut, and I am going to play a clip 00:32:13.63 Brian Penn wow. 00:33:24.70 ukfilmreview so yeah gives you a lovely ah taste of that film actually you really do understand the vibe of the film it's a about 30 minutes I think I remember um and the character Jude is actually played by ah an actor called a Jude Rush ah is in hospital ah suffering from testicular cancer having treatment ah but also 00:33:25.61 Brian Penn You know. 00:33:50.17 ukfilmreview doing his best to be a big presence in what is normally a very sort of dark and tragic kind of place. um He's full of life, full of comedy, loves cheering up everyone and being quite inappropriate at times um but in in a very lovable ah kind of way. 00:34:05.31 Brian Penn aye Yeah. Yeah. 00:34:08.73 ukfilmreview and is loads of laughs. He also then tries to inspire the the per the person in the room 312 is having, meant to be having a knee therapy, ah physical therapy, and is very much down in the dumps about his situation and Jude goes and tries to sort of win him over. And that's that's essentially the film. What did you think of My Best Nut, Brian? 00:34:37.32 Brian Penn um I thought it was beautiful, crushing, crushing the side, deeply moving. 00:34:39.81 ukfilmreview Oh. 00:34:43.26 Brian Penn The idea that you can have someone with a condition like that, sitting on a council ward, who raises people's spirits. I think every hospital ward needs someone like Jude. 00:34:52.73 ukfilmreview Yep. 00:34:55.61 Brian Penn You know, um I sat with my dad during chemotherapy as all my family did, trying to keep his spirits up. And as I say, It captures something so important in life that, you know, when people are at a very low step, something or someone can can give them a boost. And Drew does that. the I think the only drawback to this is the nature of the story makes the outcome predictable. Within two minutes of the film beginning, you kind of know how it's going to end. But there's something so it so beautifully observed and beautifully done. The shot of the teardrop falling onto the word deceased. 00:35:35.49 ukfilmreview Oh yeah. 00:35:35.56 Brian Penn And then it smudges. Isn't that fantastic? That is almost poetry on screen. So um whilst it is very sad, it delivers an important message that when someone's going through the very worst time in their life, that it is possible to see a brighter side of things just for a short time. And there was some lovely scenes in the film where he's playing with children, isn't it he? He's in the children's world and he's drawing with them. and It's so moving. 00:36:06.06 Brian Penn It's sweet and it's moving and it's it's a lovely it's a lovely piece. I'm really impressed with it. 00:36:13.04 ukfilmreview Yeah, I think you're right. I think you do kind of get an idea where it's going and you you get the sense that it's not a film that's trying to keep you guessing anyway. I think it's more about observing this character, observing their presence and the impact. I think what I loved about the film was, yes, you've got this central character that is quirky and lovable and very kind of glib at times that there's also good supporting characters. 00:36:42.00 ukfilmreview So like the nurse who we hear in that clip, she's really good. 00:36:44.46 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:36:45.33 ukfilmreview um the The two guys that he has ah treatment with, I think they're really funny. 00:36:51.10 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:36:51.45 ukfilmreview there's There's a lot in the film that could have not been there. 00:36:51.81 Brian Penn yeah 00:36:54.83 ukfilmreview And I think 00:36:55.26 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:36:56.73 ukfilmreview that is testament to the overall result that I came away from feeling actually quite fulfilled by it. 00:37:00.12 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:37:03.15 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:37:03.39 ukfilmreview I was like, actually, do you know what? I feel like I've watched a really good piece there. Everything worked for me. 00:37:08.15 Brian Penn yeah 00:37:08.67 ukfilmreview The only thing I did find sometimes, some of the lines they felt a little bit preachy and in they, yes you know, you're watching something and you're like, this feels like it's been written. 00:37:15.86 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:37:19.77 ukfilmreview It doesn't feel off the cuff from the character. 00:37:21.90 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:37:22.01 ukfilmreview It feels like it's been written down and they're reading it that that did come across slightly. 00:37:22.77 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:37:26.72 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:37:26.81 ukfilmreview But I think because it wanted to tell that it wanted to, as you say, you know, people have gone through this. ive I find myself, I spent a long time in hospital with my dad. It wasn't chemotherapy, but it was a lot of other things um for about two years. 00:37:35.24 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 00:37:38.50 ukfilmreview And Yeah, you just, everyone can resonate with that. And even if you've not been in that setting, you can certainly imagine yourself being in it. 00:37:42.19 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, of course. 00:37:46.41 ukfilmreview the I think there's ah there's a human element there that everyone will connect to. Yeah, very easy to access film. 00:37:51.29 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:37:53.67 ukfilmreview It's also very well made. 00:37:53.95 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:37:54.99 ukfilmreview It's got this lovely kind of brightness to it. It doesn't feel like it's trying to mess around with the tone and and play you up and down. 00:37:57.56 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:38:02.69 ukfilmreview It kind of feels like it was like, no, you know actually this is a vibrant piece. It's very sort of easy to get into. um 00:38:08.48 Brian Penn Yeah. i mean 00:38:09.37 ukfilmreview And i did I came away from it, just like I said, i felt i know I just feel really glad I've watched it. 00:38:13.88 Brian Penn yeah 00:38:13.89 ukfilmreview I've been moved, I've i've laughed, I've cried. 00:38:15.34 Brian Penn yeah Yeah, I know. 00:38:16.61 ukfilmreview It's all you could really ask for. 00:38:17.81 Brian Penn This is it. And it gets in a very limited timeframe. And it does it very well. It's self-contained. And with a lot of short films, you often don't get that kind of end-to-end feel. 00:38:28.75 Brian Penn Because by the end of the piece, you see what effects Jude has had on everyone around him. You know, from the nurses that were treating them, from his co-patients, from the guy who had the problem with his knee. 00:38:41.99 Brian Penn He had an effect on all of them. So you saw the effects he had on people's lives in that short space of time so yeah very well done very well done enjoyed it a lot yeah 00:38:47.09 ukfilmreview Yeah. 00:38:53.66 ukfilmreview Excellent. My best note, as I say, written and directed by David Bradburn, it's not available as far as I'm aware. um At the time of recording this, I don't have any information about that. 00:39:06.17 Brian Penn um 00:39:07.01 ukfilmreview um But do you seek it out? I'm pretty sure. We reviewed it on the website as well. So go check that out. And yeah, and it's ah it's a strong recommendation from Brian and myself. 00:39:20.98 ukfilmreview um Next up, short film that we reviewed in 2021. If you can imagine going back that far. 00:39:27.71 Brian Penn um That far, right? 00:39:29.06 ukfilmreview I mean, my goodness. 00:39:30.89 Brian Penn Three years. 00:39:31.13 ukfilmreview um Yeah, but and the director Farid Karan asked us to ah review it on the podcast, ah his short film called Undertow, which, again, I have a clip, so let's do it. 00:39:42.41 Brian Penn Wow. You're spoiling us, aren't you? 00:39:44.30 ukfilmreview I'm spoiling you. 00:39:45.36 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:40:47.42 ukfilmreview So Undertow, as I said, directed by Farid Khairan, starring Mark Peter Simpson there, ah who here, Paige Heater and Bryony Perdue. It's a film that's almost in two parts. um So yeah, the first part of the film, he's talking on the phone to his daughter who's living in New York, and he's in Paris, I think. And you can kind of sense there's like a, 00:41:15.52 ukfilmreview estrangement there, things aren't quite, you know, perfect. 00:41:17.19 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:41:21.02 ukfilmreview And yeah, so there's those sort of elements. And then later, he comes across this other character, Ella, Ella, yeah, he meets Ella, who's like a dancer, and she's a bit more kind of, you know, they have this very open chat. 00:41:30.16 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:41:36.47 ukfilmreview which you you hear a bit there. 00:41:36.53 Brian Penn um 00:41:39.65 ukfilmreview Apologies about that, I should have said, I was just swearing early on in that clip. um That probably caught a few of you by surprise. 00:41:45.42 Brian Penn yeah Yeah. 00:41:46.32 ukfilmreview But I think it was a good clip to play. I think it's very ah ah useful to sort of hear that tone. You can hear the the score in the background giving you that sense of tone. 00:41:51.28 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:41:53.84 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:41:55.11 ukfilmreview What do you think of Undertow, Brian? 00:41:56.86 Brian Penn I liked it. And also that could be part place carried the best line of all. I've got more baggage than terminal five, but he cried. I think that's a good line though. Yeah. I look i like this. It's a very tight dark cell and it's kind of focusing on a fracture relationship, isn't it? Between father and daughter, but then it kind of tags on this, this separate relationship between foster and Ella and they discuss their, their outlook on life. And it shows how the that rapport gradually develops. 00:42:28.23 Brian Penn I like ah like the approach to the relationship between the father and the daughter because you never see the daughter on screen, do you? You just hear her talking, which is ah an interesting way of approaching it because that crispness in the in the dialogue becomes it. 00:42:39.32 ukfilmreview Yeah. 00:42:43.34 Brian Penn You heighten it more by like not having one person on screen somehow, but um it was really really good. the The characters were very well drawn and it's good. 00:42:54.29 Brian Penn It's very slick. It has that's a nice kind of style to it. So yeah, I think there's real promise there. ah And you you kind of want to want to see more. That's so always the test of any short film, isn't it? You think, would I like to see more of this? The answer is yes, you would. Because and if it leaves you wanting more and being more curious about the characters, then it's obviously works. But yeah, I liked it a lot. 00:43:20.65 ukfilmreview Yeah, I think you're right about Undertow. It definitely has that sense of this could be, yeah you you could be of just being given two scenes from a much bigger film here and it still kind of, it works as a short film, but yeah I think there are certainly massive patches where you can kind of go, all right, well, let's let's find out more about this character's bit. 00:43:28.42 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 00:43:38.05 ukfilmreview I think, the film itself um looks great. There's like this scene that he's walking through the streets of Paris and it just looked really dramatic. 00:43:45.20 Brian Penn yeah Oh 00:43:46.64 ukfilmreview It really captured that that tone um really, really well. 00:43:49.70 Brian Penn yeah. 00:43:50.97 ukfilmreview I liked the the way that that was filmed. There's um theres also this really interesting part actually where he's walking that this sort of soundscape got almost like ethereal it sort of sounded a bit angelic but then it's kind of getting it was getting interrupted by the noise of the traffic the traffic was kind of competing with this like angelic soundtrack and suddenly it all sort of stops because he's looking at the birds and the birdsong kind of comes in it was just something whether or not um um everything is intentional but whether or not it it was meant to have that impact on me because like he said and like you picked out with that line about the baggage i think the the film 00:44:02.35 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 00:44:19.04 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. Hmm. 00:44:27.69 ukfilmreview is really you know has a big depth to it there's a depth you're talking about i think even if you look up the film what the filmmakers kind of wanted to do is it wanted to sort of look at childhood trauma because you can tell we find out that his dad was a policeman and so was his grandfather and you know he's oh he's got hints that he's not wasn't the nicest of dads maybe or or whatever that you know what we passed down to our children what we kind of 00:44:31.38 Brian Penn yeah oh and 00:44:44.16 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:44:49.62 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:44:54.78 ukfilmreview just naturally inflict upon them, then stays with them, much like that kind of coalescing of the the ethereal soundscape with the traffic. It was almost like you could never really escape the legacy of what what he's been given and also what he's done. 00:45:07.20 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:45:10.81 ukfilmreview um But yeah, no, I definitely think there could have been... something else, there could be a lot more story there. 00:45:14.83 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:45:16.07 ukfilmreview But what I was given, I was i was really enjoying. 00:45:16.22 Brian Penn yeah 00:45:18.98 Brian Penn yeah 00:45:18.99 ukfilmreview um Yeah, no, I think some of the lines were um really well delivered. I felt that his performance was really good. Like once he got with Ella, I think that was like a much stronger scene. 00:45:30.80 ukfilmreview I think the bit where he's on the phone wasn't quite as strong as when he had the chemistry of someone to sort of act with. Did you find that? 00:45:37.18 Brian Penn Yeah, I think well, that's always a challenge for any actor, isn't it? It's when you're just talking to someone on the on the phone. 00:45:40.14 ukfilmreview Yeah. 00:45:42.10 Brian Penn I mean, most acting is done with the eyes, isn't it? It's done through eye contact. 00:45:45.29 ukfilmreview Hmm. 00:45:47.00 Brian Penn So it's gonna, you know, when you've got two actors face to face, it's going to be a lot simpler, ah more effective, it gets across, but they still make the telephone conversations work with between the father and the dulcet, which I think is interesting. 00:45:56.10 ukfilmreview Hmm. 00:45:59.71 Brian Penn But it's never as easy. I think you, you can portray ah dialogue between two people, but it's always going to be easier, easier on the eye, easier to watch. 00:46:15.10 Brian Penn You know, when you got both from there on screen, but I think it makes them more challenging, but they still get, you still get something of the the strained relationship between Foster and it's Judy, isn't it? I think you still saw, but yeah, ah but I also like the, ah the way they use sound, you know, the way, 00:46:26.50 ukfilmreview It. 00:46:31.42 Brian Penn ah traffic or life, you know, the noise traffic is really life, interfering with his own thoughts and peace of mind. So it's getting sort of subliminal messages across there as well. 00:46:44.30 Brian Penn So there's a lot going on there that you if you think about it, you pick up on it. He's achieving a hell of a lot. 00:46:50.47 ukfilmreview Yeah and that reminded me as well actually yeah there's a scene with um so not sound but lighting there's a scene where Ella is talking about her experience and there's like her story or still what happened to her and this lighting on her face is just absolutely brilliant it really looks kind of like 00:47:01.34 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:47:06.85 ukfilmreview almost like a campfire, like a cat yeah but she's sitting in a stairwell. 00:47:08.50 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:47:10.36 ukfilmreview And the impact of that, it was really subtle, but I found it just so visually striking. 00:47:15.26 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:47:16.74 ukfilmreview I thought that was great. And I think the film has those moments. There's lots of those moments where you kind of, they've really thought about how they're going to frame this. They've really thought about how they're going to depict this. 00:47:23.27 Brian Penn yeah 00:47:25.84 ukfilmreview um And It's one of those films that the drama isn't just laid out for you. It's not kind of, oh, this is what's happened and this is what's going on and this is how you should feel about it. 00:47:36.93 ukfilmreview It's more like you're given bits, but you're also almost capturing the essence of the film. You're absorbing the all the elements to kind of create your own atmosphere. 00:47:41.99 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, and yeah, it makes you work a bit harder. And I don't mind that, you know, you know, you, a lot of the time you you can watch a film and you you don't have to think too hard about what's going on. 00:47:49.01 ukfilmreview Hmm. 00:47:57.18 Brian Penn But this is a film that kind of challenges you a bit more and makes you work a bit more to work out what the dynamics are between the characters. And I like that. I like a film that makes you think a bit and makes you work a bit harder for your entertainment. So he deserves an an extra, an extra style for that, for making us think and making us work a bit harder. That's good. 00:48:17.99 ukfilmreview There you go. ah Yeah, there's a short film called Undertow. I'm just going to do a quick check ah because I think the link may have been public. 00:48:22.97 Brian Penn the 00:48:26.39 ukfilmreview um It was, yeah, over two years ago. I'm not sure if it is. I'm not going to share it just in case. 00:48:34.36 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:48:34.55 ukfilmreview that is the That's not good for my yeah 00:48:37.43 Brian Penn No. 00:48:37.55 ukfilmreview for my sanity if i I share someone's private link. But if it is available yet, we watched it on Vimeo, ah the platform. So if you go to Vimeo, you search for read Chiron, look for Undertow. 00:48:52.10 ukfilmreview You might be able to find it, but I'm not going to share it just in case. um And also go and read Jason's review from 2021. 00:48:58.73 Brian Penn yes 00:49:00.07 ukfilmreview He also really enjoyed it. So yeah. That is Undertow. Moving now to an indie feature film, which I reviewed. and I reviewed this actually on the on our YouTube channel. 00:49:11.97 ukfilmreview We have a YouTube channel, Brian. 00:49:12.64 Brian Penn No, but yeah. 00:49:13.40 ukfilmreview I'm not sure if you're aware. and We have a YouTube channel. 00:49:15.17 Brian Penn No, no, no, I do know. Yeah, and i tell I know. 00:49:17.29 ukfilmreview yeah um and yeah I reviewed the film and I knew I was going to review it on the podcast, so i' kind I'm covering all the bases here. 00:49:17.97 Brian Penn yeah 00:49:23.98 ukfilmreview but so when we let you You take this one, Brian, what's the xenophobe about? 00:49:26.94 Brian Penn Xenophobe. So this follows, well, this is directed by Penny Colors and Hal Dace starring Svetlana Tulasi, Andrew Smith and Helena Sullivan. This follows a space mission on a six year voyage. 00:49:40.93 Brian Penn to a planet called Jilis. They encounter an armed response, but manage to communicate with the inhabitants. However, they return to Earth to discover that 60 years have passed in their absence. The world is a very different place where countries no longer exist, and people live on a substance called zirksalvin. They're soon faced with a decision as to whether they stay or return to the planet they've just discovered. So that's my reading of it. 00:50:09.91 Brian Penn um I think this film personally is ambitious. it's It tries hard, but I don't think the budget quite matches the ambition. you know But it is a sci-fi story about space travel and the visuals, the graphics let the story down a little bit for me. um They were pretty basic. um You could say that there are limitations on any independent film, but I think for a story like this, for it to be properly supported, you need the budget for it. And whilst they explored some interesting ideas, I found that the second half of the film more in enticing, and more engaging than the first half. But I think the the ah the special effects don't help it because they're not quite as strong as they should be for a story like this. I mean, if you compare it to the last film we've just discussed, under like 00:51:08.99 Brian Penn That film doesn't need any special effects. It's all about the characters. This film, it's it's about the visuals. It's about what you see. It's about what your imagination should be seeing. And I just don't think the visuals are strong enough. Although, as I say, they do explore some really interesting ideas, but it doesn't get there soon enough. It's probably a bit on the long side. It's one of my hobby horses for us both, I think, isn't it? But the length of the film is really significant here. 00:51:37.51 Brian Penn and It probably would have been better if it was maybe half an hour shorter, but I think that's the one whilst it's ambitious and it tries to achieve a lot. It it kind of, it sets too much. It's too much of an answer for it to climb with what they've got available on screen, but it's a good effort. like 00:51:56.67 ukfilmreview Yeah, I absolutely get so yeah anxious about giving a review like this. and It's not at all from the place of like, um wanting to put the boot in by any means. 00:52:08.21 ukfilmreview yeah an Ambitious is definitely the right word. It's ah it's a big film, but I actually you also think it's two big films. It's a big film like on the space mission, the first half, and then it's another big film where they come back and realise, oh, everything's changed. 00:52:19.16 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:52:22.96 ukfilmreview i I think in my my video review, I said, I don't think you needed the first part. ah don't I'm the same as you. 00:52:28.65 Brian Penn no 00:52:29.37 ukfilmreview I think the second half is far more interesting. 00:52:32.02 Brian Penn yeah 00:52:32.15 ukfilmreview the idea that they've come back to Earth and things have changed, as opposed to them going on this mission, which there was a lot of scenes of things on the ship just kind of being shippy, if you know what I mean? 00:52:35.52 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:52:43.86 ukfilmreview It was like, okay, um where are we going with this? 00:52:44.07 Brian Penn um Yeah. 00:52:46.70 ukfilmreview Like, what's actually happening? 00:52:47.72 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:52:48.10 ukfilmreview And like you said, if you're going to do that, you need to have the visual awe of going, wow, that's amazing. 00:52:53.41 Brian Penn the and i Yeah. 00:52:54.97 ukfilmreview Not just kind of it looked like laughing and like okay you guys have created like ah some sets and stuff and that's cool but i'm not believing you i'm not absorbed into this so now i'm just kind of waiting for it to get somewhere so i think that first section didn't wasn't needed and the second section was almost kind of then hampered by that it was like actually if you took all the budget and all the effort and all the resources from that first section you could have made the second section really really good but 00:53:00.90 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:53:06.34 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:53:17.75 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:53:22.00 ukfilmreview Sometimes, you know, obviously this is our opinion as a neutral audience member looking at it and saying, did I enjoy it or not? 00:53:25.93 Brian Penn yeah 00:53:28.17 ukfilmreview And I think that's crucial because i I get a lot of emails, as everyone can imagine, you know, people saying, you know, you've said this about my film, you said, you know, which often it's not me. 00:53:33.27 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. yeah 00:53:38.63 ukfilmreview And the one thing that filmmakers do um need to think about is, it's that the result of the film is the only thing that matters. It's not about how long it took you, how many hours you did it, how long you've been working on it, how many favors you had to call in, because the audience isn't gonna know that. 00:53:55.50 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:53:58.14 ukfilmreview yeah we We may know it, because maybe you've told us, maybe you've sent us the production notes or something, but an audience member isn't, and that's how we try and review it, you know just from a purely neutral point of view of saying, look, you if I was brand new, watch this, did I enjoy it? 00:53:58.40 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. yeah 00:54:11.82 ukfilmreview um And i with the xenophobes, I look at it, I did enjoy it, I actually did, there's lots of bits I did enjoy but I can't wholeheartedly recommend it because I can imagine a lot of people getting hung up on that very slow first hour and the sort of second hour not being quite up to what it needs to be. 00:54:26.87 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:54:30.69 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:54:30.70 ukfilmreview It's overstretched and what I'd love to see, I actually think this is one of those films either would have worked yes as a feature which was just about that second half that's around about like an hour and a half max or it actually would even work as more like a web series where you've had like a few episodes um and then you could really get into it but also do want to shout out um yeah the the ah filmmakers I think they've done very well for a lot of it. 00:54:42.34 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:54:46.64 Brian Penn Yeah. good 00:54:58.13 ukfilmreview Svetlana Toulasi in the lead role she actually does pretty well and I think there's some sort of there's ah There's a bit of banter that goes on between some of the characters and stuff. 00:55:04.67 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:55:07.42 ukfilmreview I think people are in joy. I can imagine also a lot of the people that are involved in the film will watch it with their families and friends and now they'll love it because they'll connect with the people in it. 00:55:09.04 Brian Penn yeah 00:55:13.61 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:55:16.08 ukfilmreview um But as a neutral ah viewer, I can't say that I was one of them. 00:55:18.30 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:55:20.68 ukfilmreview um Yeah. 00:55:20.75 Brian Penn Yeah. I found that um ah found the second half of the story of the film really intriguing and there is a good film there in there but it needs to be moulded and shaped in a different way and as you said earlier on that if they had of um not used the first part of the film they wouldn't have been so reliant on um graphics and visuals you know they could have filmed the second half of the film without so much need to 00:55:44.96 ukfilmreview Hmm. 00:55:52.30 Brian Penn look at special effects or consider what special effects they can use or can't use. It wouldn't have mattered as much and it would have been a much better film. So i I would stand by that point that it's an intriguing idea but the second half is more important, and more significant than the first half. So they've got a good film in there. It's a question of just drawing it out more, seizing it out more. I don't doubt for one second the amount of time and effort that's gone into a film like this because it is ambitious. 00:56:20.24 Brian Penn There's no reason why you can't be ambitious, but it depends what you what your limitations are and what you're working with and what the story is as well. You know, and this would demand something a bit more than they had available, but I think it's a good effort. 00:56:35.12 ukfilmreview Also, I think, you yeah, you you've touched on that really well, which is that, you know, it's a story in there that the editing is often so crucial. 00:56:35.18 Brian Penn Having said all that. 00:56:44.80 ukfilmreview And when filmmakers have maybe spent a lot of time, maybe a lot of their own money or something like creating a film, they don't want to cut things out, they don't want to edit stuff, but you do need to be harsh. 00:56:44.83 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:56:50.02 Brian Penn Yeah? All right. No, let's try. 00:56:55.36 ukfilmreview That's where the story really gets shaped, is that edit, you know, to go, look, is this, 00:56:55.52 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:56:59.80 ukfilmreview Is this making sense to a new audience? Because all of us have been with the film, you know, since it was a script, you know, everyone else, it does this kind of work. 00:57:05.04 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:57:06.85 ukfilmreview um So yeah, more of that kind of um self editing is crucial. 00:57:09.35 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:57:11.40 ukfilmreview But I don't think um it's it's a bad film. 00:57:11.57 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:57:16.12 ukfilmreview I think it's it's a long film. 00:57:16.44 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:57:17.76 ukfilmreview And I think that there's bits there that would just need attention. um It's not available to watch though, but currently. 00:57:22.22 Brian Penn ah yeah I mean, one last point I'd make, though, just pick up on your point about the editing. You would you would have to say the same thing about every film that's made, even films with huge budgets, big Hollywood movies. 00:57:35.71 ukfilmreview Oh yeah. 00:57:36.13 Brian Penn You know, the editing is crucial with any film and there are things that you should include and things that you don't need, things that are going to be what might be seen as self-indulgent. And that that happens with all movies, all films like that. 00:57:49.05 Brian Penn So this particular film is no different. And it has to be treated in the same way that you have to be, you have to be brutal. You have to get the razor blades out and get rid of things that don't work. 00:58:00.55 Brian Penn And it's the editing that can save, save films. And it is strange really is that with some big movies, you you see the, ah the original cut come out years afterwards, don't you? 00:58:11.44 ukfilmreview Yeah. 00:58:11.66 Brian Penn And you, and you can see a lot of the time you can see why it was edited in the way it was originally. So there's a kind of a lesson there for all filmmakers, I guess. 00:58:20.54 ukfilmreview Absolutely. So as I was just mentioning, Xenophobe's not available. We had a password protected link. um But yes, do search out. Watch my video on YouTube or on our website. 00:58:30.60 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:58:31.29 ukfilmreview um Yeah, check it out. um And another one I reviewed next. I reviewed this. 00:58:36.25 Brian Penn Yeah. You've been busy, haven't you? Yeah. 00:58:38.00 ukfilmreview I've been very busy. Do you know what? 00:58:39.02 Brian Penn there Yeah. 00:58:39.16 ukfilmreview August was a very busy month and I had to step in quite a bit. A lot of the writers decided to decide to go on holiday. How dare they? 00:58:47.84 Brian Penn ah Some inconsiderate, aren't they? 00:58:49.55 ukfilmreview How dare they? 00:58:50.42 Brian Penn Some inconsiderate. 00:58:50.51 ukfilmreview um But I was very lucky. i was I meant I was able to watch more of the movies and and actually review them, which I don't always get to do in my busy life these days. so this was And this next film was a particular highlight, I must say. 00:59:02.04 ukfilmreview um The highest Brazil, and I have a clip. 00:59:04.87 Brian Penn Wow. 00:59:07.54 ukfilmreview Here we go. 01:00:18.68 Brian Penn Well, yeah but if that doesn't draw people in, Chris, nothing will. 01:00:19.37 ukfilmreview yeah I mean, eccentric doesn't even cover it. it's ah well um This has got to be one of the best features I've seen this this year. um Absolutely loved it. Really directed by Jeremy Cole, the highest Brazil stars, Gerst Ornton in that lead role of Seamus, who we hear at the end of the clip. 01:00:44.68 ukfilmreview um He is talking to Brendan, played by Stephen Doring, who is this kind of charismatic ah character who almost cultivates a little bit of a cult. 01:00:57.79 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:00:58.80 ukfilmreview The, ah yeah, Seamus is a kind of down on his looks. Fisherman, ah he's got a sort of very ah faltering relationship with his partner Kathleen, played by Jennifer Breslin. 01:01:02.77 Brian Penn That was 01:01:09.79 ukfilmreview And yeah, he seems a bit lost, almost, yeah, Fisherman lost at sea, maybe. 01:01:15.02 Brian Penn very good. 01:01:15.08 ukfilmreview um There we go. 01:01:16.67 Brian Penn Very good. 01:01:16.70 ukfilmreview um And yeah, he sees this flyer for Brendan. It comes through and he's a bit intrigued. He's not quite sure why, but he kind of turns up to this abandoned shopping mall where Brendan is sitting with a few other characters that you heard in that clip ah surrounded by and chairs. 01:01:35.29 ukfilmreview And they're talking about this lost island just off the coast of Ireland called the highest Brazil. where basically yeah all your dreams will come true. 01:01:44.44 Brian Penn Hmm. 01:01:46.42 ukfilmreview It's a maiden serving you tankards of beer and all this sort of stuff. 01:01:50.70 Brian Penn Hmm. 01:01:51.95 ukfilmreview And as you heard, you have free love, basically saying you everything that you've not got in your real life. 01:01:54.13 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:01:57.08 Brian Penn No. 01:01:57.78 ukfilmreview yeah He can get you there. um And that is the sort of concept um But there's so much there in the film. There's a lot going on. 01:02:08.75 ukfilmreview The characters, at times it's dark, ah but other times it's very funny. You know, Seamus himself is a very eccentric character. He's got a lot of sort of personal weirdness, I guess, about him. 01:02:19.23 Brian Penn yeah 01:02:22.72 Brian Penn Yeah, lets and ah yeah. 01:02:22.86 ukfilmreview um and we And we find out why. What do you think of this, Brian? Because it's a weird one, right? 01:02:28.47 Brian Penn I really enjoyed it. It takes a while to get into really because yeah, it is definitely a slow burn. 01:02:31.24 ukfilmreview Oh, it's a slow burn for sure, yeah. 01:02:34.02 Brian Penn You got to be patient. You got to give the You've got to give it a chance. You've got to give the characters a chance to breathe. it And if you do, it's very eccentric. It's weird and it's wonderful. 01:02:44.80 Brian Penn You've got all these fascinating characters that ah just seem to be looking for the ah key to life, don't they really? But they've got to a point in their own lives where they've hit a brick wall. 01:02:57.68 Brian Penn And it just seems to be that he might he might show them. It's Brendan, isn't it? He's the leader. 01:03:05.07 ukfilmreview The leader, yeah. 01:03:05.96 Brian Penn the leader, he might just show them the way out. 01:03:06.04 ukfilmreview yeah 01:03:08.58 Brian Penn And if they find it in a deserted shopping mall, which I think is an interesting place to support that initial meeting, then so be it. But I don't know, how many times have we reviewed an Irish film, Chris, on the indie section? 01:03:21.70 ukfilmreview it's not as often as i' It's not as often as I'd like, because they're often very good. 01:03:24.20 Brian Penn Yeah, but they're always good though, aren't they? 01:03:27.10 ukfilmreview They are, yeah. 01:03:27.52 Brian Penn There's a great consistency in the, you'd have to call it the Irish independent film industry because whenever we see them, They're very, very good. They're very consistent. But of course, the Irish do have that skill linguistic skill, don't know the way that they can project the way they use the language. It's beautiful the way they do it. And you see this on show in this film as well. I thought i think it's great. it you You've got to take time with it. You've got to be patient with it. And it doesn't you don't get the ah the the sort of the burst of entertainment from it. 01:04:04.22 Brian Penn until you get into it properly. But I think the characters are so engaging and endearing. And I think Seamus is great. and I think his wife's great. It's just something very sort of ah comedic and anarchic underneath the surface. And it's very laid back. But I think it's great. I think it's great for him. I really do. 01:04:24.98 ukfilmreview Yeah, I said in my review and that it probably will alienate a lot of people. yeah If you're not into this type of filmmaking and storytelling, which is essentially sort of absurdist, dark filmmaking that, yeah, you could immediately get turned off by this. 01:04:36.38 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 01:04:40.23 ukfilmreview And I think that's fine. yeah People will be yeah okay with missing out on this if it's not their type of vibe. 01:04:43.43 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:04:46.48 ukfilmreview But those who do like this sort of film, if you're a fan of things like Yorgos Lanthimos, then I think you're going to kind of come at this with a, oh, this is interesting. This is different. It's dark and it's weird and it's funny. 01:04:55.92 Brian Penn yeah 01:04:57.74 ukfilmreview um And it's also very moving at times. There's lots of, because you're with the characters for enough time and they they build you up enough in enough way that you do start to sort of root for shameless and the other characters, to be honest. 01:05:14.55 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:05:14.71 ukfilmreview yeah they They all have a kind of an interesting element to them, that you get to the point where you are connected to this film. You're not just kind of, go oh, this is strange, isn't it? It's like, no, no, I was i was in i was in for the fall, right? 01:05:24.08 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 01:05:26.30 ukfilmreview I was really yeah wanting to find out where this was going to go. 01:05:28.60 Brian Penn yeah 01:05:29.81 ukfilmreview And the also, you mentioned the island. I'm assuming it's filmed in Ireland because it looked absolutely stunning. you know There's lots of great locations being used. 01:05:37.57 Brian Penn Well, yeah, yeah. 01:05:39.79 ukfilmreview um Not so much the shopping mall, but I think the shopping mall was, yeah maybe I'm reading too much into this, but I love this. 01:05:42.09 Brian Penn Nah. 01:05:46.08 ukfilmreview is the idea that maybe ah capitalism has failed these people. yeah that's the the yeah and that's yeah it's like Because it looks kind of empty. 01:05:50.20 Brian Penn Yeah, it could be. Could be, yeah. 01:05:53.18 ukfilmreview right There's not really anything going on. 01:05:53.91 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 01:05:54.66 ukfilmreview it's There's no one there. And capitalism has failed these people. And yeah he's promising another life, something a different way of life anyway. 01:06:00.18 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 01:06:01.90 ukfilmreview And he challenges them. He makes them kind of you follow him, but yeah yeah do things. Actually, I think, again, in my review, I mentioned about one of the I think the happiest time that we see Seamus in the whole film is when Brendan gets him to drive the car blindfolded, and it's that sense of like when he lets go, when he fully yeah submits to this programme that shame but Brendan's running, 01:06:25.11 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:06:28.17 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 01:06:30.92 ukfilmreview Seamus does become free. He does actually reach this kind of peak of, rat he looks happy. 01:06:35.62 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:06:36.85 ukfilmreview He looks like he's yeah in a good place, but it's not necessarily sustainable. 01:06:37.78 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:06:41.58 ukfilmreview And also you've got a question, Brendan's motives, what's Brendan really doing? 01:06:42.23 Brian Penn and Yeah. 01:06:45.06 ukfilmreview Is he is he full of it kind of thing? um 01:06:48.07 Brian Penn Yeah. yeah 01:06:49.43 ukfilmreview But I just, you know when you've watched a film, you come by and you go, oh, that was great. I really enjoyed that and I would highly recommend it. 01:06:56.85 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:06:58.20 ukfilmreview Also, it's a feature length. And as we've discussed with the previous film, The Xenophobes, making a feature length film is very difficult. 01:07:02.17 Brian Penn That 01:07:06.22 ukfilmreview while Whilst I would say, you know, look, yeah i I get to watch some amazing short films and I'm very, very privileged to do that. 01:07:06.30 Brian Penn is, yeah. 01:07:13.97 ukfilmreview The challenge of making something yeah over 50 minutes, over an hour, over an hour and a half, that is all really good, that you you yeah you leave the viewer feeling so satisfied with that, is is incredibly hard. 01:07:24.73 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 01:07:28.02 ukfilmreview And the highest Brazil, I think, does this in absolute spades. 01:07:28.04 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:07:33.81 ukfilmreview The whole cast are great. The filmmaking is all on point. I think there's lots and lots of bits that you're just going to love. um Yeah, it's just ah he's a bit of a slow burner, but I think that's fine for me. 01:07:44.54 Brian Penn Yeah. I think, yeah, you need to be patient with it. You need to have an open mind and let the characters to develop and you know, it it wouldn't suit everyone. it, obviously about same goes for all films, really, it's, it's not going to be a universal thing. But that's the beauty of filmmaking is that it appeals to someone or others. But you know, I get a lot from that because I like strong characterizations and you have got them here. You know, strong characters that that carries any film for me. um So yeah, I liked it. I enjoyed it. 01:08:20.25 ukfilmreview and And you may be thinking, is this it? Which is actually a call back to the film, by the way. All listeners are probably thinking, what's he doing? 01:08:26.89 Brian Penn yeah Yeah. 01:08:27.64 ukfilmreview But yeah, there's a bit which is, I think that's on the poster actually, where that sort of ties in. 01:08:30.49 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:08:31.08 ukfilmreview Is this it? 01:08:31.37 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:08:31.72 ukfilmreview But no, it's not it. We're going to review another indie film. 01:08:34.33 Brian Penn Another one. 01:08:35.17 ukfilmreview ah But yeah, The Highest Brazil, um not available. 01:08:35.41 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:08:38.93 ukfilmreview I think we had a password link. And I last I checked, I think he was doing the sort of runs of festivals and things. So Yeah, maybe you're attending a festival, check it out. and If not, circle back and find it as soon as it comes out. 01:08:54.19 ukfilmreview Moving on now to a Bengalese short film called City of Oz. We have a trailer clip, which I'm going to play. 01:08:59.93 Brian Penn another one another one 01:09:01.62 ukfilmreview It is in the original language, but I think it's good to get a sense of tone and atmosphere from the film. So I'm going to play the clip now. 01:10:37.34 ukfilmreview So yeah, thank you for listening to the clip. I think it's really important to have a sense of what what films but naturally so many parts of that clip that you can pick out in terms of the film. 01:10:48.97 ukfilmreview So first off, you've got that kind of yeah, it's a it's a sinister ish kind of film. um The character that you hear at the end is the sort of boy narrator. 01:10:54.43 Brian Penn Yeah, no faces on. 01:10:59.23 ukfilmreview um And also that score, right? That sort of pulsing synth score really does sum up the kind of vibe of City of Oz. 01:11:02.67 Brian Penn ah Yeah. Yeah. 01:11:09.91 ukfilmreview Yeah, it's a short horror film written, directed by Sadiq Ahmed. And at the beginning of the film, they give this morning, or not morning, like a message saying that the the film was yeah shot over like three nights in a small village and that the filmmakers were on hallucin? 01:11:19.64 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 01:11:27.99 ukfilmreview I think, or something. 01:11:29.30 Brian Penn yeah 01:11:29.55 ukfilmreview um Something along those lines, yeah, and they kind of sort of pieced it all together. 01:11:30.32 Brian Penn Something along those lines anyway. Yeah. 01:11:34.58 ukfilmreview um It didn't really feel that way to me. It felt more that actually had so they had an idea of structure of what they were going to film, and it was like a story. 01:11:39.97 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:11:40.85 ukfilmreview um But it is quite unusual. It's a bit of a strange story. So you have this ah this character, this boy, Tanjoo trying to find his mother across this dark and very strange city and is out during the night navigating the the way but comes across lots and lots of different sort of scary characters really. And then there's this other character called Diddy who is collecting children for sort of her own reasons and 01:12:13.73 ukfilmreview with the help of a character called Michal, who's also a bit weird, a bit strange. 01:12:18.85 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:12:19.08 ukfilmreview um And he's essentially going to probably run into Tanju in the streets. 01:12:19.60 Brian Penn yeah 01:12:25.82 ukfilmreview That's kind of, but I don't want to give away too much of the film, because I think it is a bit of one of those ones, you kind of need to see it to believe it really. 01:12:27.54 Brian Penn No. 01:12:31.13 ukfilmreview um What do you think of City of Oz, Brian? 01:12:34.09 Brian Penn It's, I mean, as a horror film, a horror short film, um it's very effective. 01:12:41.15 ukfilmreview Hmm. 01:12:41.45 Brian Penn I think it's, it's actually quite scary and intimidating, isn't it? 01:12:45.10 ukfilmreview It's very, yeah ah the atmosphere of it is that absolutely palpable. 01:12:47.92 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. And I, what I would say about it though, is that it's all filmed at night. And if you film anything at night, you're going to heighten the tension even more. But I think in some ways by not filming any, any part of it in daylight, 01:13:04.03 Brian Penn it loses sort of, you know, literal light and metaphorical light. It does, it kind of keeps the story enclosed too much for me. So it would have been interesting to have seen part of it sold during the day or seen it during daylight, because obviously this, this environment, this twilight world that Sanji the boy is caught in, he's looking for his mother, um you know, that, 01:13:31.37 Brian Penn It can't all be a night, so I would like to see part of it in in daylight. And then you you you see more of the story to me anyway, because it is about visuals as much as anything else. And there are characters like Didi and Michal are very, very sinister characters, aren't they? Scary characters, they really are. um I think the the music really adds to the tension as well. It's a very effective piece of filmmaking. Within that genre of horror, 01:14:00.89 Brian Penn it's really works well it's scary but you know it's not an easy watch for me yeah that's a good word yeah yeah 01:14:06.96 ukfilmreview I think in my review I picked out that it was quite exhausting um yeah because you you you really pushed through a lot of these sequences and they are quite strange and um the sort of hallucinogenic element did spill into the the filmmaking like it kind of looked trippy at times and it was a bit sort of like hazy and vague and what I would say is as from a horror experience and I say this as someone I think I've said this many times in the podcast I wouldn't call myself like a horror aficionado it's not something that I would classify however I do like horror films I like especially like good horror films 01:14:26.64 Brian Penn yeah 01:14:35.85 Brian Penn No 01:14:42.47 ukfilmreview And I think this is one, I think it creates an experience that is horrific, but if that sounds that sounds like I'm being glib. I'm not. it That it is, you you are set in an absolutely bizarre and terrifying world and you are pushed through it and at this sort of pace that you kind of feel, oh gosh, that was that was actually hair rising. 01:15:03.45 ukfilmreview You know you get you feel you feel chilled by watching it. 01:15:03.97 Brian Penn Yeah. ah alright Yeah. 01:15:07.70 ukfilmreview I think the sort of relentlessness of that, Once it wears off, you kind of look back and go, wait wait a minute, what was the actual story? Like what was really going on? 01:15:16.34 Brian Penn yeah ah Yeah. 01:15:17.49 ukfilmreview There's a bit of confusion there, I think. 01:15:19.35 Brian Penn Yeah. This is what I was saying about introducing some daylight into the story because it, yeah, buts that gives you a respite. 01:15:23.74 ukfilmreview Yeah, yeah, there's no respite, is there? 01:15:27.57 Brian Penn It gives you time to think about the story and and where it's going. But where it's all in darkness, you think, Oh God, this is really You feel quite claustrophobic, but but it's it's an effective piece of filmmaking for what it is. 01:15:39.39 Brian Penn But I don't think they let the story breathe as well as they could do, because they're trying to scare, they're trying to shock, and does they do that. 01:15:51.21 Brian Penn It is very gripping. But I think from the the viewer's point of view, um it it couldt they could have eased up a little bit. They could have worked some some ah some phases where it it would have lined up a little bit and it make it easier to follow but very good though for what it is what it does 01:16:10.69 ukfilmreview And yeah we talked earlier about yeah filmmakers being ambitious and yeah if the this is definitely one where they they said outright, they didn't have much budget, they didn't have much time, yeah they didn't have like three nights and to only get that, yeah you put together the film that you can. I just think often it's much like the xenophobes review that you may have needed more time in the edit to to make it, you know, that sort of, you know, have a think about how's your audience going to get through this. And also, what scenes are you shooting? Because I appreciate here, maybe it was more of an experiment, maybe they were kind of like, oh, look, let's just see what happens. And that's fine. But 01:16:51.28 ukfilmreview If you're not going to have that attention to kind of go, look, this is what might be needed here. This is the scene that might be needed here to establish certain things, because at the end of the day, it is storytelling. 01:17:01.58 ukfilmreview We do want that. 01:17:02.28 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:17:02.38 ukfilmreview yeah You want that story to come across. 01:17:03.42 Brian Penn Hmm. 01:17:05.47 ukfilmreview But By and large, it was an effective horror film, really enjoyed the experience of it. And yeah, it's it stuck with me for long after I viewed it, I must say. 01:17:17.00 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:17:17.07 ukfilmreview um I reviewed it again on the YouTube channel, so you can check that out. Or you can read my review at UK Film Review, City of Oz. 01:17:23.66 Brian Penn Yep. 01:17:25.13 ukfilmreview There is a trailer that's meant to be on the review, but it's passed by Protector. I don't know if they're going to release that um anytime soon, but hopefully they will. ah But yeah, no, really enjoyed it. um And yeah, written, directed by Sadiq Ahmed. 01:17:35.41 Brian Penn yep 01:17:37.84 ukfilmreview Well done, everyone involved on City city of Oz. 01:17:39.63 Brian Penn Um, it, it works. 01:17:42.77 ukfilmreview It works. 01:17:43.55 Brian Penn It works. 01:17:43.68 ukfilmreview Put that on a poster. 01:17:44.80 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:17:45.14 ukfilmreview um Now, that is the last short Andy Lee film, but we're not done with you yet, listeners. 01:17:51.75 Brian Penn Wow. 01:17:52.15 ukfilmreview So stick around because we're travelling back in time. We're going to 1979. 01:17:57.81 Brian Penn wow 01:17:58.02 ukfilmreview um Ridley Scott's classic. I mean, you don't get much more classic sci-fi than Alien, do you? 01:18:02.98 Brian Penn No, no, no, no. 01:18:05.66 ukfilmreview It is the absolute, or I'm not gonna say peak, but it's one of the peaks of this type of filmmaking. 01:18:11.15 Brian Penn it 01:18:13.63 ukfilmreview It's the daddy, it is the daddy. 01:18:13.69 Brian Penn It's the daddy, isn't it? It's the daddy and so on so many levels. and you know Look, it's Ridley Scott. I love Ridley Scott as a director. Anyway, I don't think he's ever made a bad film. He's always trying something different. um And I think it's it's good that we review this film now because the the new Aliens film, Romulus, is coming out, which has come out, which we'll will review on the next podcast. 01:18:40.84 ukfilmreview I already have a review of it, Brian. I don't know. 01:18:43.30 Brian Penn i Who have you? 01:18:43.76 ukfilmreview I don't know what you've been up to, but I've got a listener review. So I'm going to read, I'll read that up shortly, but no, you carry on on alien. 01:18:50.52 Brian Penn Yeah. So, look, I mean, look, you've got a great director, sir great cast as well. Sigourney Weaver, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Tom Scarritt, Jaffa Costo. Fantastic cast. And it's look it's it's a simple storyline when you think about it. I mean, set sometime in the future, a commercial spaceship called Nostromo is on its way home. 01:19:12.54 Brian Penn and they receive an instruction to investigate an unidentified craft, but they unwittingly bring back a mysterious and dangerous creature. And we all know what the tagline was, don't we, from that film? In space, no one can hear you scream. That ranks that ranks with Jaws, doesn't it? Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water. ah So it had a classic tagline, but the it's difficult to fool. I think When, when I watched it in preparation for, for this podcast, I hadn't watched it in a few years, to be honest. 01:19:46.46 Brian Penn I'd i'd watch the, uh, the follow-ups, the sequels fairly often, but the original I hadn't seen in a long while, but it's still shocking. It's still grips you. Even though you know where the scary bits are coming, you still flinch. 01:19:59.45 ukfilmreview Yeah. 01:20:01.24 Brian Penn You still flinch when it happens, you know, and you know, where that ability to shock never diminishes. It's still there. It shows you what a great film it was. It still is. 01:20:12.59 ukfilmreview Yeah, that's what I think is the crucial pie, it still is. It still is a film that is absolutely just bursting at the seams with great filmmaking. 01:20:21.07 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:20:22.64 ukfilmreview And it comes down to really, yeah it's a great story and it's told really, really well that it's just lives up, you know lives on. 01:20:25.96 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 01:20:30.81 ukfilmreview um I watched this, this was one of the films that was on, I don't know if I've mentioned this on the podcast before, but when I was at uni, I set myself this challenge of like 50 films. 01:20:41.96 ukfilmreview I've got to see them because everyone talks about them. And I've never, you know, I've never seen all these films. 01:20:44.76 Brian Penn ah how the Yeah, yeah, yeah. 01:20:46.78 ukfilmreview and You know, it's like you're in a conversation and everyone's going, oh, yeah, it's like this film. 01:20:50.81 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah. 01:20:51.04 ukfilmreview You're like, I haven't seen that. An alien alien was one of them. Alien was one of these films that I was like, funny enough, I'd seen it parodied a lot because obviously the bursting out the stomach thing and all that sort of stuff. 01:20:59.32 Brian Penn ah Yeah, yeah. 01:21:03.12 ukfilmreview And the the tagline, even the tagline, yeah it's been done in popular culture loads, but I hadn't seen the actual film. 01:21:06.63 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. 01:21:09.29 ukfilmreview But when I watched it, I was just in awe of it. I thought this is just brilliant. 01:21:12.85 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:21:14.10 ukfilmreview What I love about it is just that claustrophobic setting. They never let you out and you're constantly just terrified. 01:21:18.64 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:21:21.93 ukfilmreview I think that you can't help but come away from that film and and be kind of gripped by the tense ah ferocity of it really. 01:21:25.06 Brian Penn Hmm. 01:21:31.25 ukfilmreview It's one of those films. and having a chance to revisit it like we do with Film Club, we kind of say that actually we'll go back and watch something. It just reminds me that actually even a film that came out in 1979 can still play so well that it is a great reminder because sometimes you watch a film and kind of go like a newer film that you sort of say 01:21:45.84 Brian Penn a Yeah. 01:21:53.78 ukfilmreview Okay, you know, why am I not vibing with this? I mean, is it me or is it the film? 01:21:57.15 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:21:58.90 ukfilmreview It's like, no, no, it's the film because actually films can be great. They can be alien. You know, they can be that great or they can not be. 01:22:04.77 Brian Penn and Yeah. Yeah. 01:22:07.44 ukfilmreview And I think that that is a testament to Ridley Scott and everything. Sigourney Weaver, she's absolutely brilliant in it. 01:22:14.54 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:22:15.24 ukfilmreview Great performance. It's just insane. 01:22:16.51 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:22:19.00 ukfilmreview Yeah, I think it's amazing. 01:22:19.70 Brian Penn And yeah, in home as well as the, I think he's great what he does. 01:22:22.66 ukfilmreview Yeah. 01:22:25.41 Brian Penn I just think it's that's such a difficult part to play though. Somebody who's ostensibly human, but he's actually a robot as as we discover. 01:22:36.14 Brian Penn that's That's difficult to play, but he does it so well. Great voice as well. and Fantastic voice. I mean, I come back to the director again. I mean, when you've got all the ingredients, set with with Alien, you've got a great story, you've got a great director and a great cast, and even the the special effects, even though they're 45 years old, they still kind of hold up okay. 01:23:00.30 Brian Penn It'd be interesting to see, to compare that with the new Aliens film, just this just to look at that kind of gap, 45 years, what you look at the way new technologies move forward in films. 01:23:05.64 ukfilmreview Hmm Oh my goodness, what a huge question Ryan what I mean I 01:23:11.89 Brian Penn um What would your favourite Ridley Scott film be? 01:23:18.38 Brian Penn I know, I know. You know me do it to me, I thought I'd do it to you. 01:23:21.38 ukfilmreview I do, yeah, I love to do it too. 01:23:22.38 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:23:25.24 ukfilmreview Well, because aliens up there, I would automatically kind of put that up there. 01:23:27.42 Brian Penn Yeah, it will be. Yeah. 01:23:30.48 ukfilmreview Oh my goodness, this is one of those things, because funny enough, weirdly enough, he's one of those directors that, have we done a show on him? 01:23:36.74 Brian Penn Hmm. 01:23:40.34 ukfilmreview Did we do a really Scott shot? 01:23:41.62 Brian Penn no i don't think i don't think we did maybe we should actually yeah yeah well well well yeah yeah bla blade runner black um black hort down i think i'd put in there uh thalmora louise which 01:23:41.80 ukfilmreview I feel like we did. We didn't. And they're redoing Gladiator. So I know that was kind of, I liked the original, but I wouldn't, I'm not sure if I put that in my top ones. What about you, Brian? Oh, Blade Runner, I guess. 01:24:06.29 ukfilmreview Oh, yeah. Do you know what? I've only watched that like briefly once, and I think I missed a few bits. I must go back and watch that. 01:24:13.03 Brian Penn is actually a very good film. You see, but the thing with Ridley Scott, though, is that he he does make films that are different. He's like Spielberg. 01:24:20.83 ukfilmreview Mm. 01:24:20.95 Brian Penn He won't necessarily stick to the same genre. I mean, look at Scorsese, for example, he will he will stick to familiar territory. He plays safe really in that way, even though he's a fantastic filmmaker. 01:24:31.35 Brian Penn But Ridley Scott will try will be bold and try things that are different. All right, he's making he's done a couple of versions of Blade run. He's got the new gladiator movie suit coming out. 01:24:42.76 Brian Penn But that was a different kingdom of heaven I thought I thought was an underrated film about the Crusades. um So it does make Napoleon as well, which we reviewed on this show. 01:24:54.91 Brian Penn So but I ah think in some way, sorry, go on. 01:24:56.19 ukfilmreview I thought, yeah, no, you're right. Like there's, he has actually, he's had a couple of films that have been underrated actually. 01:25:03.50 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:25:03.66 ukfilmreview um I think American Gangster is underrated. I think that's a really good, um you know, gangster movie. 01:25:06.58 Brian Penn Yeah. Hmm. 01:25:10.77 ukfilmreview And he has, to I didn't mind Robin Hood. His Robin Hood was okay. 01:25:15.55 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:25:15.55 ukfilmreview um The Martian, I think the Martian is great. I wasn't a big fan of Exodus, Gods and Kings. I did find that a bit meir. 01:25:24.21 Brian Penn Yeah, it could be a bit heavy going, like kind but yeah. 01:25:25.80 ukfilmreview Yeah. But no, it's interesting that actually, you know, like I say, you look back actually on his his list of movies, he's done a lot of different things. 01:25:33.67 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:25:33.88 ukfilmreview It's not like this. Oh, yeah, he's that filmmaker. So it's all over the place. 01:25:35.97 Brian Penn Yeah. It's eclectic. and And that's such a rare thing for filmmakers because I always feel that directors have typecast in the same way most actors are. And that's no bad thing necessarily, because if if they do something that they know, they stick to it. 01:25:52.80 Brian Penn It sticks to what you're good at. There's nothing wrong with that. But I like directors who take chances. And that's an example of a director that will take a chance and try something different. 01:26:03.70 ukfilmreview Well there you go. 01:26:03.88 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:26:05.85 ukfilmreview um Well the film in question Alien was because the new film Alien Romulus is coming out or is out as of listening now and Tom Turner sent in a listen review. 01:26:20.98 ukfilmreview He's already watched it or he's making it up, not sure, could be both. 01:26:25.10 Brian Penn You never know. 01:26:25.42 ukfilmreview i But he gives it 3 out of 5, so let's have a read. 01:26:29.50 Brian Penn oh 01:26:34.56 ukfilmreview Firstly, Spainly and Johnson give good performances. Spainly takes up the Ripley 2.0 slot. Make that Ripley 3 or 4 or 5. 01:26:42.84 Brian Penn Yeah, it's like, 01:26:43.37 ukfilmreview and Regardless, Spain brings great action hero energy and a decisive and strong lead, assimilating caring and empathy with kick-ass and sleeveless t-shirts. Likewise, Johnson gives his synthetic Allen as much range as a synthetic could have, considering they are usually cold and vicious and blunt. 01:27:01.94 ukfilmreview This is a different take on the calculated messiah complex of David from the previous two Alien-Alien adjacent to films. With this, Romulus is a big direction change from the philosophical aspirations of Ridley Scott's previous two entries. Further, there are some new interesting ideas for fans of the Alien universe and its lore in Romulus. 01:27:22.34 ukfilmreview Alien life cycles, appropriate approaches to acidic blood and facehugglers all get a refreshing and interesting new spin. Alvarez throws this red meat to the Alien Universe fans who spend countless hours watching or explaining videos online. Similarly, fans of Alien Isolation, the video game, will have a certain ah but i'm sorry we'll have a few morsels of cinematic red meat to chew on too. 01:27:45.37 ukfilmreview where the set design and certain retro-futuristic objects are incredibly reminiscent of the cult classic games design. So I think, yeah i i again, I always cut reviews down just so because I'm reading them out. 01:27:55.85 ukfilmreview I don't want to read the whole review up. But ah Tom, thank you for sending that in. 01:27:57.56 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:27:59.86 ukfilmreview um Good to see that he's maybe capitalized on the so idea of it being a three-star film. because there's lots of fanservice going on maybe and yeah but but but not to be you dismissed this as you know not worthy. 01:28:06.48 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:28:09.27 Brian Penn Yeah. goodby 01:28:15.62 Brian Penn um 01:28:16.23 ukfilmreview I've seen a few reviews, early reviews of Romulus and it was getting kind of mixed I would say. Have you seen any Brian? 01:28:24.04 Brian Penn ah I've seen one or two, but they're not, they're not universal in their praise necessarily. But I mean, you always get mixed with reviews. How many films do get a universal thumbs up? You know, how many films get a, would average a four style? If you go onto Rotten Smiles, that gives you a good indication of what, what the reviews are like. But the ones I've seen, you know, 01:28:45.57 Brian Penn that it's not great, it's not bad, but they're they're always the most difficult films to review, the ones that are just okay. can see Because kind of like, you can you can write pages about films that you loved, and similarly, you could write pages about films that you hated, because you explain the reasons why. 01:28:52.71 ukfilmreview Absolutely. 01:29:04.23 Brian Penn But when something's just okay, when it's in three-star territory, then that's more difficult to sum up, because what do you say about it? It's not bad, it's not great, but it's just kind of, yeah, you know. um so yeah but i've not i don't think the the reviews last thing so far haven't been brilliant but not bad it's kind of like it it's middling isn't it yes yeah and i like the phrase i like the phrase cinematic red meat as well i like that i wonder if it yeah i was going to say what if they let us use that you know yeah i thought someone 01:29:25.90 ukfilmreview Well, we'll wait with bated breath to find out what you say about it next month, Brian. Yeah, yeah, we used that a couple times in that review, so I'll be stealing that. 01:29:39.66 ukfilmreview Wow, yeah, I'm sure Tom won't mind. I mean, actually, you've submitted it through the website, so it's mine now. 01:29:44.41 Brian Penn Yes, it's yours. Yeah. 01:29:46.03 ukfilmreview ah But no thank you again to everyone who sent in reviews. 01:29:46.75 Brian Penn Good point. Yeah. 01:29:50.58 ukfilmreview um I will try and read a selection of them at the end of this. um I won't keep Brian around, but we'll we'll just read a few more out and because we had so many this month. 01:30:00.86 ukfilmreview I feel bad that we don't read more of them out, so I'll do my best to get through some. um But for now, thank you for listening. Thank you for being here, Brian, as ever. um 01:30:09.05 Brian Penn Pleasure. 01:30:09.82 ukfilmreview on fire I'd say tonight on fire absolutely on fire thank you so much you have to say that but thank you thank you so much because I can cut you off ah thank you for listening um if you are still listening if you're not well thank you anyway and thank you to all the filmmakers who sent their movies in and yeah ah we'll see you again next month and stay cool stay classy 01:30:11.17 Brian Penn Oh, thank you. Thank you. So you by the way, so you by the way. Both on fire. Yes. I mean, yeah, of course I mean it, you know what I mean. 01:30:34.95 Brian Penn Yeah, bye for now. Previous Next

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

Read the film podcast transcript from the episode titled Twisters - Fly Me to the Moon - A Quiet Place Day One - UK Film Club - Episode 17 on UK Film Club part of the UK Film Review Podcast. < Back Twisters - Fly Me to the Moon - A Quiet Place Day One - UK Film Club - Episode 17 Listen to This Episode UK Film Club 00:00.82 ukfilmreview it's ah It's another beautiful summer's eve when we record this. 00:04.77 Brian Penn Yeah, it is. 00:05.78 ukfilmreview ah But how are you now? Because last time recorded you weren't too good. 00:09.31 Brian Penn I know, I know I'm a lot better now. I'm fully, I feel water fully ventilated, you know, I'm, I can breathe more easily. It's amazing what, what difference a four weeks makes. 00:19.39 ukfilmreview I know, I see you at these little intervals and I sort of yeah get a kind of picture of your overall health. 00:19.53 Brian Penn and the 00:25.39 Brian Penn Well, yeah, I know, I know this could be, we could start on something new here, couldn't we? This four weekly check. How do you sound? You know, you know, but no, 00:31.46 ukfilmreview yeah like five fabulous um yeah no good good stuff yeah yeah funny enough i i'm not that well so i think i got it from you i think you passed it through the mic somehow last uh last time 00:33.32 Brian Penn Over the worst, you know, the cold's gone a bit, such a fight for you, but I can cope with that. But as I say, I feel, I feel fully ventilated and I can breathe. It's brilliant. Magical. Yeah. Yeah. How are you? How are you? Oh, you're so narrow, is it? 00:56.64 Brian Penn You don't realize how dangerous it is, do you? These podcasts, you don't know you don't know what could be done. 00:58.92 ukfilmreview and Yeah, no, it's definitely my my daughters. They're the ones giving it to me. 01:03.40 Brian Penn I don't know, I've got to blame someone haven't you really? 01:04.48 ukfilmreview They're these theyre the culprits. um Yeah, and I blame them them for everything, really. bless um Yeah, no, I'm generally fine. 01:11.44 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:12.39 ukfilmreview You will hear me coughing and spluttering a little bit through this, so apologies. 01:15.00 Brian Penn There enough. 01:16.67 ukfilmreview um But yeah, it it's it's just part and parcel, I think. And also, yeah, you said about the hay fever. 01:22.64 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:22.72 ukfilmreview i' I've never really suffered from it. I've got asthma. 01:26.41 Brian Penn Oh, it's starting to, yeah. 01:26.45 ukfilmreview But um this year, oh, it's been terrible. 01:31.23 Brian Penn Yeah, it's not entirely different. I suppose the symptoms are similar. aren't i I mean, you can, you can be sort of congested and watering eyes and running nose is short breath. So the symptoms are similar, I guess, but it's all a kind of a little belongs to the same family of elements. 01:48.52 ukfilmreview they do and yes it's it's it's been hard on people this summer but hopefully moving into the you know when the schools are breaking up it's the summer holidays gonna be some blockbusters dare we say heading to the big screens I mean we've got a couple on the list tonight to review um so yeah let's let's just crack on let's 02:02.74 Brian Penn Well, that slopes though, yeah. We have, yeah. 02:11.75 Brian Penn All right then. 02:13.18 ukfilmreview Let's get right right into it. So if this is your first time to UK Film Club, ah welcome. This is this is it. This is me and Brian with our our microphones and our coughs and colds. But no, we will be reviewing a whole selection of movies. We've got cinematic releases, some big movies today actually. And we've got some indie films to review. So those are ones that filmmakers have sent us specifically to review. And we've got a very special sort of connection film ah in this episode because we're going to be doing a what's what normally our streaming pic but we're also going to be doing a connected ah look back at nostalgia film because we're doing the Beverly Hills cops movies um and yeah so that's coming up later in the show and also right at the end of the show and I will also be reading out some of the listener reviews 03:03.95 Brian Penn Wait. 03:05.49 ukfilmreview and We had a lot this month, so I am segmenting that to its own section. 03:09.77 Brian Penn Wow. 03:10.42 ukfilmreview um Thank you to everyone who does send in their reviews. They're amazing. um Covering a massive um variety of movies. That's what I really like. 03:17.85 Brian Penn um 03:18.36 ukfilmreview So I'm going to save those to the end. um But first and foremost, we are heading to the big screen for the cinematic releases. And this one's got some fabulous stars in it. Fly me to the moon, Brian. 03:31.14 Brian Penn Oh, yes, yes. Okay, then. Fly Me to the Moon, directed by Greg Berlancy, starring Scott Johansson, Channing Taysom and Woody Harrelson. So the story plants itself firmly in the 1960s. NASA is cranking up to the launch of Apollo 11. in 1969. Flight director Cole Davis is frantically fighting fires, but still haunted by the memory of three astronauts who perished when Apollo 1 was being tested. Slippery government agent Mo Berkus must sell the mission to a skeptical American public. So Berkus turns to Kelly Jones, a marketing whiz kid with a dubious past. She soon puts the mission on everyone's lips. However, Kelly and Cole clash as liftoff approaches. Now, Scarlett Johansson 04:18.14 Brian Penn for me stills the film with a very strong portrayal of Kelly Jones sold very much like Marilyn Monroe and looks amazing as the camera instantly falls in love with her. Channing Satan is a straight man, earnest, Lance and George, all American boy, inevitably drawn to Kelly's charms. Woody Harrison delivers a useful term as a duplicitous government agent. And as to the storyline's comedic value, the film itself builds on the established facts of Apollo 11. but also as one of two conspiracy theories that mix nicely with the truth. 04:51.09 Brian Penn A brilliant soundtrack complements a visual palette of colors to create a handsome looking film. I really enjoyed this. 04:58.18 ukfilmreview yeah 04:58.24 Brian Penn um Yeah, very good film. It actually feels like it was made in the 1960s. 05:03.62 ukfilmreview Yeah. 05:03.73 Brian Penn And that's one of its strengths. A stylish, slick and well-designed film, very old fashioned. No swearing, no violence, no special effects to speak of. And because of that, That's the film of the month for me. 05:18.34 ukfilmreview Oh, wow. Straight at the top of the show. 05:19.20 Brian Penn Yeah. 05:20.78 ukfilmreview We've got film. 05:20.83 Brian Penn Straight at the top of the show. 05:21.30 ukfilmreview in the Wow. 05:21.85 Brian Penn Yeah, I think it's a film of the month. Depends what you're really looking for, but it's just such a lovely film to look at. You know, it doesn't demand too much of you. I suppose it affects what some critics might call faction, a mixture of facts and fiction, because it does sort of take the mic a little bit out of the conspiracies that surround the Apollo 11 mission. 05:40.50 ukfilmreview you. 05:45.74 Brian Penn Which is, it's done to comedic effects, you know? So I won't go too much away, but it does kind of build on that. And it does it does give you a kind of ah a sense of, well, what if this happened? What if this was really what was driving it? And I liked it. I really, really liked it a lot. If you're a fan of the 1960s, you're a fan of 1960s music, um this this is a film for you to go and see. and it's I don't think there are many films that I'd say go out and see at the cinema, but this one I would, definitely. 06:19.13 ukfilmreview Wow, I mean, ah because going into this, listeners, i I have the list of films that Brian is going to attempt to see. And I'm always kind of thinking, Oh, which one's he gonna pick as his film? in the I wouldn't have said this just based on the, um but I suppose the other films that we're going to review are 06:32.55 Brian Penn Yeah. 06:37.20 ukfilmreview in Brian's category of sequels so maybe there's something in that but I like the idea of this and I also I think this is quite rich territory right we've had a few films in this sort of era I remember Hidden Figures coming out a few years back that was really good um and yeah I think this sort of is also playing into the modern era that we live in right now but like you say with the conspiracy theories thing where 06:40.88 Brian Penn Yeah. yeah 06:47.86 Brian Penn yeah and 07:04.97 ukfilmreview You know, things take a grip. People start to you know question the moon landing and question these things and all these stuff where they sort of go. 07:08.81 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 07:11.53 ukfilmreview Oh, is that is that real? Is it, you know, I've been lied to and you we live in an information age, but actually we live in probably one of the worst for the truth, unfortunately. 07:13.71 Brian Penn Yeah. I know. Yeah. 07:20.61 ukfilmreview So, um yeah, it's an interesting um concept. And you've got these big stars as well. 07:25.51 Brian Penn ah It's very, I mean, I think the it's release was very low key. I don't think it, it got the sort of attention that say Twisters got, for example. Um, but in some ways that, you know, that like allows it to sort of grow steadily, that when there's a lot of hype surrounding a film, um, it can sometimes be a bit of a letdown and it's not what you think it's going to be. But this is a pleasant surprise and it did surprise me. It surprised me out. how good it was, how funny it was in places. And it's just visually, it's a lovely looking film. You know, it just looks so stylish and so neat and cool. You think the 60s was such a stylish period, a stylish era that we get so much of what we've got today started in the 1960s. You know, that was the beginning of the modern world, in my opinion. So this film kind of represents that era very well. And it came at the very end of the 60s as well in the Moon Landing. so 08:22.26 Brian Penn It's a way of kind of topping, you know, the, the 1960s as well. So it does it really well. 08:28.87 ukfilmreview Fabulous. There you go. Fly Me To The Moon is currently available in cinemas if you're listening as of release of this episode. And it's a 12A as well. So would you say it's sort of for for a you film for families that yeah with slightly the older kids? 08:38.43 Brian Penn Yeah. ah Yeah. Yeah. I think it is. I mean, the, I think it was, I think it's billed as a 12 or a 12. I, um, So that's about right. I think it's one that's good for families. I think if they, the fact they're leaving it to the grownups to decide whether ah and under someone under 12 is able to see it or it's suitable for them, I think it is. I don't think there's anything particularly harmful there or that can corrupt or upset or alarm. 09:11.41 ukfilmreview Oh yeah, we don't want those films that corrupt. 09:13.41 Brian Penn Well, you know you well you know yeah, but that's that's what the rating system is there for, isn't it? 09:13.57 ukfilmreview Those have got to look out for them. 09:19.19 ukfilmreview Does it corrupt? 09:19.41 Brian Penn know 09:20.39 ukfilmreview Yes, sorry. oh 09:21.84 Brian Penn you know but And again, that could that could be what a film has going for it more than anything else, you know? 09:25.76 ukfilmreview Yeah. so Yeah. 09:26.49 Brian Penn I mean, who knows? 09:27.12 ukfilmreview Listeners, do send us in your films that have corrupted you. We want to know. Okay. What are they? 09:31.59 Brian Penn Well, is it's not part of it, though. 09:31.71 ukfilmreview um 09:33.35 Brian Penn I mean, you look at the recent British film, a board classification set up, it was to guard public morals. And that is still in its remits, actually. Although it might seem slightly academic now when you think of how we can access films, that it's not as powerful as it used to be. but I think it's interesting just to look at the way they grade films and what's, what's behind it, what's driving it. It's interesting stuff. 09:59.14 ukfilmreview Well, I think this next film is unlikely to corrupt, but let's find out. Maybe it does. um You mentioned it actually just previously. So Twisters, the the sequel to Twister, which was a fabulous film. 10:07.84 Brian Penn Yeah. 10:11.13 Brian Penn Yeah. 10:11.42 ukfilmreview I and i really enjoyed that film. 10:12.63 Brian Penn Yeah. 10:12.90 ukfilmreview in Really good. 10:12.95 Brian Penn Yeah. I like the original. Yeah. Very much so. 10:16.71 ukfilmreview Yeah, i'd go for it. 10:17.09 Brian Penn So, so directed by Lee Isaac Chung. Starring Daisia Kajonez, Glenn Powell, and Anthony Ramos. So Kate Cooper is a meteorologist haunted by the past. Aren't they always? The former storm chaser now works for a TV company. However, an old friend Javi persuades her to test the new storm tracking device. They travel to Oklahoma where scientists come up against Tyler Owens, a maverick storm chaser with 1 million YouTube followers. Now here's my quandary, Chris. 10:48.39 Brian Penn Here's my quandary. Here's what I'm not sure about. Is it a sequel or is it a remake? 10:53.79 ukfilmreview Ah. 10:53.87 Brian Penn the publicity but The publicity blurb calls it a standalone sequel. Personally, I can't see how that works. The characters are different, but they follow a similar pattern to the original that Starr Bill Paxton and Owen Hunt. To me, this is a remake, or at least a partial remake. Now you might think I'm just sort of picking up bones here, but um I don't think you can call it a sequel in the conventional sense. um But look, it's exciting. The visuals are fantastic. The story is utterly predictable. you You can more or less say, right, this is gonna happen next. 11:25.83 Brian Penn This is gonna happen next. And pretty much you'll be spot on, but it doesn't make it any less enjoyable. ah The storyline, yeah, as I said, utterly predictable, but comparing it to the original, I didn't detect a huge jump in the special effects. 11:41.20 ukfilmreview Ah, interesting. 11:41.56 Brian Penn I mean, yeah, now we're talking about a 28 year gap. But it doesn't feel like 28 years in terms of the way the special effects are put across on screen. Now it could be that whether we're CGI and special effects, we've reached a plus sign and we just don't notice it anymore. We just expect it to be at a certain level. I mean, I've got to be honest. I didn't see the film before I saw this one, but I mean, I've seen it a few times previously, the original, but it doesn't, I don't think that's a huge difference in the CGI. You think there would be, but anyway. 12:13.35 Brian Penn ah That's just my my impression. But otherwise, great fun. It's a total hoot and it's well worth going to see. 12:21.27 ukfilmreview There you go. I mean, i when I was watching a trailer, I felt something similar in terms of the aesthetic that they were going for felt similar to the original. 12:27.12 Brian Penn Yeah. 12:29.57 ukfilmreview And there is that confusion, you know, is is this a carry on? Is this just ah yeah ah but another version of the film? um And I guess I suppose, you know, enough time has passed is absolutely fine, you know, new audience to discover the story. 12:36.59 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. Well, yeah. 12:41.93 ukfilmreview That's fine. 12:42.19 Brian Penn ah yeah 12:43.13 ukfilmreview i'm But the original was just one of those films that was fine. Perfect. You wouldn't really need to remake that film. It was very good. 12:51.24 Brian Penn nine 12:51.96 ukfilmreview It still holds up. um And like you say, if if the CGI hasn't really done anything new, then do we need this story? Do we need it? 12:58.69 Brian Penn Yeah, well, yeah, I mean, look, you've got a very good class as well. 12:59.22 ukfilmreview But I guess it's fine. You know, no reason not to have it. 13:04.57 Brian Penn Daisy, I could Jones is very good. Her American accent is pretty damn good as well. I was quite impressed with that. Van Powell, he's flavor of the month, isn't he? I mean, he's in everything at the moment, isn't he? 13:13.67 ukfilmreview We reviewed him in Hitman recently. 13:14.94 Brian Penn Yeah, I know. And he he was very good in Hitman. 13:15.71 ukfilmreview Yeah. 13:16.90 Brian Penn He's very good in this as well. So it's all all the ingredients are there. But really, I prefer prefer single to plural, if you know what I mean. 13:30.14 ukfilmreview Hehehe. 13:31.65 Brian Penn um You know, I think that was the best film. It had a much bigger impact because it was the first time a film like this had been made. And You only get to be the first to do something like that once, don't you? You know, after that, it's just simply building on what's already been done, trying to explore it from different angles and try and use advances in CGI and special effects to make it better. But I didn't see that. That changed necessarily, but still very good. 14:02.45 ukfilmreview There you go. Twisters are probably going to do good business. I think, you know, it's a big block blockbuster film. 14:09.13 Brian Penn Yeah. 14:09.42 ukfilmreview Lots of press. I've seen lots of things about it. So, yeah, I think it will stick around for a little while. So if you do do see Twisters, let us know what you think. 14:14.43 Brian Penn Yeah. should Yeah. 14:17.43 ukfilmreview um Actually, I don't know if someone did review it. No, no one sent one in for that film. They sent lots of other films in. 14:22.28 Brian Penn Hmm. 14:24.29 ukfilmreview Well, from one sequel or potential sequel to another, um my second ones are getting brilliant, by the way. 14:30.55 Brian Penn and No, no, you're working hard on these, aren't you? 14:30.81 ukfilmreview It's just seamless, seamless. Yeah, yeah that's that's all I do. 14:33.72 Brian Penn I can sell. 14:34.85 ukfilmreview or You do your whole review and all I do is think online to join the next film. 14:38.87 Brian Penn You it very well. 14:38.92 ukfilmreview i hope and Thank you. 14:39.95 Brian Penn You're doing it well, Chris. 14:42.53 ukfilmreview A Quiet Place, day one. Now, if any ah fans of the UK Film Review podcast i'm have already heard, the Phantom Zone episode. They've dedicated a whole episode to this film. 14:54.06 Brian Penn Did I? 14:55.48 ukfilmreview It did. And it was just um Ian and his partner. So I strongly, his partner, Simone's great. I strongly suggest suggest listening to that episode if you really do want to get into the nitty gritty. 15:03.50 Brian Penn Oh, 15:07.56 ukfilmreview It was, ah I think it was quite spoilerific, though. So only, yeah, only this if you if you have seen the film. 15:10.68 Brian Penn was all right ah I to have a listen when I'm, when I'm ready. 15:14.31 ukfilmreview umm 15:16.82 ukfilmreview Yeah, but Brian, what did you think of A Quiet Place Day 1? 15:19.01 Brian Penn Where did I think of a quiet place? They won. Okay. Directed by Michael, uh, Samosky starring, uh, now this is a difficult name, the pizza phone guy, Joseph Quinn and Alex Wolf. 15:30.24 ukfilmreview yongo 15:32.82 Brian Penn This is the third int installment of the franchise, which is technically the prequel to the story. Hence the day one subtitle. Samira is a familiar woman. dreams of one last day out in New York her carer reluctantly agrees but they are confronted by an invasion of alien creatures. The only way to avoid the their clutches is to remain completely slight silent amidst the chaos Samira strikes up a friendship with Eric. He's determined to give her the day she wants in spite of the danger. Now I've not seen the previous two films but not a problem here as it is the sequel so it's you're capturing the story at the beginning so you can get away with it I think in that way. 16:12.23 Brian Penn It's a very good film. Authentic, frightening, gripping. It almost feels like a tribute to the great sci-fi movies. It's a bit like War of the Worlds, a bit like Aliens. It's like sci-fi is greatest hits. That's the the way it came across. Nothing wrong with that at all. Not a bad thing at all. All filmmakers have their influences. Probably more for fans and casual observers. But no denying the power of what you see on the screen. Particularly in the cinema when you've got Dolby surround it makes it even more frightening. 16:44.10 Brian Penn And the reactions of the cast are perfect and spot on. A very well crafted piece. Very enjoyable. I liked it. 16:52.65 ukfilmreview Oh yeah, it's definitely one on my list because I have seen the other two. 16:54.38 Brian Penn Yeah. 16:55.21 ukfilmreview I very much enjoyed, I think the first one is a sensational second one, really good. 16:55.52 Brian Penn Yeah. 17:00.19 ukfilmreview I've only seen it once so I will revisit that. um But with this one, I had a bit of a apprehension about it because it does feel like I think one of those movies that because the first one was this sort of unsuspecting unsuspecting blockbuster hit, they really didn't think it would do the business that it did, that we're still getting these sort of spin offs. That for me, it feels like it could be the sort of law of diminishing return a little bit. But yeah you coming at fresh is interesting because you don't have that ah expectation baggage that I will have. 17:30.67 Brian Penn Yeah. 17:33.82 Brian Penn Well, yeah, you see, that was what I deliberately did that because I toyed with the idea of seeing the two earlier films. 17:35.04 ukfilmreview So yeah. 17:40.58 Brian Penn But I thought, no, I'll just see it by itself, see how it kind of affects me, see what impression it makes on me. 17:46.51 ukfilmreview yeah 17:46.80 Brian Penn And I think it's better sort of viewing it by itself, but you appreciate it is one of the series and it is a common technique that filmmakers use is that, you know, they make a film, then they make the prequel, what came before the previous one. So you accept that's what it is. But you can do that with a prequel, because that supposedly is the beginning. And let's say make another one. And they have a prequel to the prequel. 18:10.77 ukfilmreview Yeah. 18:11.58 Brian Penn I mean, it's been done before, hasn't it really? 18:13.45 ukfilmreview Pretty cool. Yeah. 18:14.94 Brian Penn pre pre prequel. Yeah. But yeah, really good. I really enjoyed it. As to say that that the most safe sort of classic sci fi are there for me. I mean, I'm not, you know, I'm not a huge fan of sci fi. um I'm a mainstream film fan. I will go out and watch a big film because that's what I enjoy doing. And that's why we do this show, isn't it? That we see a complete cross section of films that are on general release, that are streaming, that nostalgia pick and also indie. 18:45.51 Brian Penn So it gives you a broad overview of what's happening in films today. But as I say, I'm not, not a huge fan fan of the genre, but I enjoyed it. So that's, 18:55.25 ukfilmreview Hm? 18:56.22 Brian Penn You know, that's quite an achievement for me to honestly say a film like this I really enjoyed. Like this. 19:00.89 ukfilmreview Fabulous. I mean, it's definitely on my list, as I said. And I do think the world is a rich one for them to sort of do these stories in. 19:07.68 Brian Penn Hmm. 19:07.86 ukfilmreview So I'm happy to to give it a yeah real good chance. 19:10.12 Brian Penn Yeah. 19:10.72 ukfilmreview um It is a 15, and it's in cinemas. 19:12.92 Brian Penn Hmm. 19:13.32 ukfilmreview So people listening, go see it if you are a fan of the genre of the previous films, or if you haven't even seen them, like Brian, because he's had a great time with it. 19:22.40 Brian Penn Oh, yeah. 19:22.57 ukfilmreview And you know you could too. And yeah that's our public service to you. 19:25.06 Brian Penn Yeah. 19:27.24 ukfilmreview And we don't charge yet. 19:28.71 Brian Penn Yeah, well, that that's that's the kind of people we are, Chris, isn't it? 19:29.19 ukfilmreview um That's the kind of people we are. 19:33.33 Brian Penn Yeah. 19:33.55 ukfilmreview um But yeah, those are your cinematic ah films for the month. So normally we would now move to our streaming pic, but we're going to save that for later because it is tied in with our nostalgia film. 19:44.01 Brian Penn um Yeah. 19:46.18 ukfilmreview So we're skipping now to the indie movies. I'm very happy to say we had three terrific movies to review this month. We're going to start with the feature length film written and directed by Al Padilla. um called Coney Island Cousins and funny enough booked as a as a comedy but I think there's there's a few genres at work here um but it is definitely comp comedic so the the storyline is we get two sisters ah sorry not sisters cousins obviously as the ah title suggests 20:11.29 Brian Penn yeah 20:21.13 ukfilmreview um honor they've They've not seen each other for a while, they're estranged. So they're meeting up for a night out and there are a lot of sort of hidden mystery between these two cousins as to what's gone on in the past and what's going on in their current lives right now. 20:31.46 Brian Penn Hmm. Hmm. Yeah. 20:38.30 ukfilmreview i'm But they try and sort of put that aside and and have a crazy night out and everything kind of turns a little bit weekend at Bernie's because um they they're at this party and the the sort of guy, the host, 20:43.34 Brian Penn Mm-hmm 20:52.89 ukfilmreview dies in one of the rooms and from there the pair sort of thrown into this evening of hijinks and you know crazy events the different characters turn up they do sort of venture out of the apartment and they do things because they have access to this guy's computer and he's very rich it seems and Yeah, we basically are given this one night with them to see what happens when they sort of completely let down their guard and throw yeah morals and caution to the wind. 21:24.78 Brian Penn Yeah. 21:28.27 ukfilmreview What did you think of Coney Island Cousins, Brian? 21:31.15 Brian Penn Yeah, I really enjoyed it. 21:32.07 ukfilmreview I thought it was great, yeah. 21:32.43 Brian Penn I think it was really, yeah, I think it's really good fun. Characters are very strong and well drawn. And there's, you know, it's where you have characters at the beginning of a film that seem very one dimensional, very flat. but they're fleshed out. They become fully formed three-dimensional characters. The more you get into the film, you learn more about them. You learn more about Valeria, her relationship, hurt you her job, her lifestyle. And you also learn about Yulia, who's a stand-up comedian, which, you know, um many how many Russian women stand-up comedians standout comedian island andconio islander wonder um maybe there are Maybe there are a few. 22:05.59 ukfilmreview Hehe. 22:06.96 Brian Penn Maybe maybe I've yet and yet to learn learn of them. But, you know, they're very cleverly drawn cla characters the The plotting is really clever, because when they get into Max's flat, this very sort of dubious, extremely rich, mysterious character, it takes you off in a direction that but I didn't expect it to go. Again, but boom yeah my brain working in the way it does, I try and predict what happens next in the plot. And I thought I knew what was going to happen, but it didn't. And it goes off in a slightly different direction. So i liked I like films that surprise you and don't 22:44.68 Brian Penn don't go for the obvious route. Cause you know, in a story, it can be obvious what's going to happen here. It can only go one way, but this was more, as I say, fleshed out the characters more, more of a backstory. Some interesting characters were thrown in as, as it went along. Um, very good. 23:01.51 ukfilmreview I definitely picked up on that sense of it being yeah unpredictable, the characters growing as we were with them, because at the beginning of the sense that there was sort of like Val was the sort of maybe the more timid one or quiet one because she seemed a bit kind of off, like she'd been left waiting for her ride and she seemed a bit 23:07.85 Brian Penn Yeah. 23:18.10 Brian Penn Yeah. 23:20.93 ukfilmreview And then it sort of turned and she became quite so volatile and reckless and almost sort of acting out. And there's a reason for that. I kind of don't want to give it away, but there's a reason why she does that. 23:29.03 Brian Penn Yeah. ah That's all right. 23:30.65 ukfilmreview And then, yeah, Yulia sort of acts conversely to that. And I love the chemistry between the two of them. I thought they were perfect. They played it absolutely spot on, which was these sort of estranged cousins, but they were joined by family and and previous ah history and all that stuff. 23:39.19 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well. Yeah, you you sense they come from a dysfunctional family. And let's face it, most families are dysfunctional in some way. That's what makes them family. And you learn more about them ah and the dynamics between the two of them and their their relatives and how they've grown up. And they were obviously very close as they were growing up, then they lost touch. Now they're back in touch again. And all the old sort of tensions rise to the surface, don't they? But it seems like they bond again. After having this righteous night out or a nice in as well. 24:17.77 Brian Penn I guess, but um so it's quite touching the way the story develops. um So. 24:23.65 ukfilmreview Oh, definitely. 24:23.73 Brian Penn on Yeah. 24:24.25 ukfilmreview Yeah. that That final third had a lot of like emotional heft to it. It was because, yeah, the beginning of the film, you're kind of thinking, where's this going? Like what's happening? um They're setting it all up, but they do it brilliantly. 24:33.31 Brian Penn Yeah. 24:35.87 ukfilmreview It actually gets set up very, very well for you to be very invested by the time things do get a little bit more like heavy themed. 24:37.69 Brian Penn yeah 24:43.34 ukfilmreview um Yeah, I love films where they unfold in sort of not this isn't real time, but it's quite close to real time. It's sort of one night, we basically go from one evening through to the sort of morning after. 24:50.71 Brian Penn Yeah. 24:53.92 Brian Penn Yeah. 24:55.51 ukfilmreview And I love films like that, because it's condensed. It's like that is a story. That's a story that happened and you're already obviously made up. But Whereas ah yeah this could have played out over weeks and months and I think it would have lost that um that sort of dynamism. 25:05.86 Brian Penn Yeah. 25:08.89 ukfilmreview is over Oh, that feels really, really potent. 25:09.40 Brian Penn and Yeah. 25:12.07 ukfilmreview um And also I think there's this that sense of endurance because you're with them for this time and they are also yeah going on this, sort what we would call in the UK, a bender. 25:25.27 Brian Penn Yeah. yeah 25:26.12 ukfilmreview You're sort of saying, they they're They're struggling. know They've got to keep their momentum. They're having issues. And I think, yeah, it it just was very well put together. Great chemistry between the actresses, as I said. And I found it really enjoyable. I did i laughed at times. 25:41.14 Brian Penn yeah 25:42.08 ukfilmreview I was got i got so emotionally invested at times. I think that's all you can ask for in a film like this. 25:44.59 Brian Penn hello yeah It's a film that takes you by surprise. I like films aren't predict but that that will do something that you're not expecting. and you know the best one in the world a lot of films are made according to a formula most films will follow a formula as we've discussed before it doesn't mean to say they're any less good but it's when they sort sort of think right we'll take it off in this direction we'll keep the audience on their toes we'll do we'll do this instead and it gives the characters more depth because people aren't that predictable are they? 26:18.42 ukfilmreview Absolutely. 26:21.38 ukfilmreview Coney Island Cousins, I'm very pleased to say it does have its own website. So Coney Island, as yeah as you might expect it from the place, cousins dot.com um and on there you'll have all the information that you need. 26:31.93 Brian Penn Hmm. 26:34.08 ukfilmreview I love it when this happens because quite often it doesn't happen. and I have to sort of try and signpost people but yeah if you are interested in that movie just google it um you'll find the website or if not go to the imdb page and they have a link for official website so yeah all the information is on there i don't think it is out yet um as far as i'm aware and there are some socials as well but yeah go to the website first and then you'll be able to go from there to where you want to go but yeah really enjoyed it excellent film 26:39.24 Brian Penn Yeah. 26:49.41 Brian Penn um 27:00.99 Brian Penn Excellent. 27:04.25 ukfilmreview um And that was Currently Ireland Cousins. We're going to our next indie film and this is a short film ah Patrick reviewed it on the website for us and we're directed by Farid Karan and starring Sushant Vasish apologies for pronunciation Sukhmani Lambe as well and Yeah um The setup of this film is we are given a couple at the beginning, Sahil and Magana, and there is some tension between them as he heads out, and it looks as if he's cheating on her, and he is, i'm and Magana decides to take her own life whilst he's out. 27:42.18 Brian Penn Mm hmm. 27:48.51 ukfilmreview So that's the sort of setup. And then we skip ahead about eight years, I think, and we then see Sahil struggling to deal with this situation and sorry eight months probably not eight years ah um struggling to deal with this situation at 28:01.92 Brian Penn Yeah. 28:04.99 ukfilmreview that he feels he's created. He feels responsible for her death, can't move on. He's tormented with memories that they've had. you know Little things will set him off. um Little bits that you maybe he's holding something or he's in a certain room. 28:21.42 Brian Penn um Yeah. 28:23.12 ukfilmreview and I think it's one bit where he's holding nail clippers. And that was really tense because I was like, oh God, what's he gonna do with those? so um And what happens is you as he gets more and more into this sort of tortured state, 28:28.33 Brian Penn um 28:34.37 ukfilmreview we then start to see Meg come back and yeah don't really terrify him in a sort of nightmarish way. 28:42.53 Brian Penn Hmm. Yeah. 28:44.42 ukfilmreview ah Very atmospheric, very dark and broody. What did you think of short film, Overshadow Brian? 28:50.20 Brian Penn Well, well, dark and broody really sums up. 28:52.72 ukfilmreview I've done it. 28:53.08 Brian Penn I did. I found it very intense. But it's very strong emotions that come through that come through there. It's interesting the way they're focused on one of him cutting his his nails with clippers and then hers. And he was flashing back and it was flashing forwards again. it's It's very well acted and it identifies what can go wrong in a relationship and what the products of it can be, the fact that you you live with these errors and these mistakes, the fact that you didn't pick up on the signs and that, you know, what I got, yeah, what I got from the storyline as well was that he was cheating on her and that this three-way relationship came to a head, but it was it was very well written. It was well acted. 29:41.23 Brian Penn but very darker and suspenseful, but you can't deny it's powerful and it works. But yeah, not, not the most comfortable watch because it is dealing with, with, with very dark issues. The dark side of life, but doesn't mean to say it's not good because it is. 29:54.49 ukfilmreview yeah I think it's worth playing a clip. I have a clip, I'm very ah fortunate to say. So let's this play that just to give our listeners a little taste of what Overshadow is like. 30:02.42 Brian Penn Lovely. 30:13.85 Brian Penn you 30:59.74 ukfilmreview So really interesting clip. 31:01.07 Brian Penn hmm 31:01.48 ukfilmreview So I wanted to play that specifically yeah when we start talking about this all. 31:04.79 Brian Penn hmm 31:06.37 ukfilmreview thematic depth of the film. um I think there's probably quite a lot of triggering ah aspects to this movie. 31:08.27 Brian Penn hmm 31:14.20 ukfilmreview There's subjects such as gaslighting, which come up, ah mental health. 31:14.45 Brian Penn hmm hmm hmm hmm 31:18.56 ukfilmreview I think Patrick in his review mentioned this quite a bit that you the film does really well to grapple with very large themes in ah in a and a genre that works with it as well. 31:23.09 Brian Penn hmm hmm hmm 31:28.85 ukfilmreview yeah This is a sort of ah horror thriller sort of piece that is suited to those tones and it was one of those movies where you're watching it and you can't not get invested because of the discourse going on and yeah I thought they did really well with it because it's ah it could have veered way too heavy into the horror stuff and really became a bit sort of you know about the ghouls and ghosts and things but that's not what this is at all it's more intelligent than that I did feel and I think Patrick mentioned this that there was an element of the story didn't quite know what to do with itself um in terms of where to go what to do with it like it it's bringing up lots of big things but ah maybe it didn't quite have a narrative that it wanted to also tell at the same time that 31:46.58 Brian Penn Hmm. Hmm. 32:10.65 Brian Penn Yeah. Hmm. 32:20.29 Brian Penn yeah yeah yeah I agree I think it's dealing with a lot a lot of a lot of heavy issues there you know there are there are themes there that are far too complex to explore in any kind of detail when you've only got 10 minutes and it often come back to the same conclusion with short films is that 32:21.79 ukfilmreview I felt that slightly as well um and that's not to say that it's not really enjoyable it's just that there's I think there was more that could have been done there to maybe tie things together a bit more bringing the characters sort of full circle almost. 32:50.67 Brian Penn you've got such limited time really to to make the the characters and the story stick and be credible. And I think it does that just about, but when you when you said that it wasn't quite sure where to go and what to do with itself, it's a good way of describing it because there wasn't a convenient way of tying up all these just issues, you know particularly when he he was confronted by his dead wife's image and he thought he could see her. It could have gone into more detail there perhaps, but Um, it's trying to get a balance, isn't it? And trying to make it even over the time that you got available. But it was a good effort. One thing I would say, uh, about the film though, is that the the dialogue goes from mixes English with, um, their, is it Hindi? I do apologize if it's not Hindi, but it's where they mix dialects together. And it's sometimes in English, sometimes not. I think I would have found it's slightly easier to absorb and take in. 33:50.41 Brian Penn if it was all in English all in sub or maybe that's just me, perhaps, but that was kind of like an issue in following the story and following the narrative, ah because there weren't subs... 33:54.58 ukfilmreview Hmm. 34:02.97 Brian Penn I think there were subtitles coming up, weren't there, occasionally? 34:05.92 ukfilmreview Yeah, it did have subtitles. 34:05.93 Brian Penn but 34:07.04 ukfilmreview And I think, you know, ah some films do that. 34:08.97 Brian Penn But... 34:09.84 ukfilmreview I think even Coney Island Cousins did it as well. There was some Russian and things like that. 34:12.47 Brian Penn Yeah. 34:14.18 ukfilmreview i'm Yeah, i that wasn't so much a problem for me. I didn't mind that at all. I think the um only thing that I did you find was that I ah wanted things to be a bit more earned. I feel like, because it's a 20 minute film, that there's a lot going on in that, even, even, because that's not even a short short, right? 34:33.50 Brian Penn there No, a long show, isn't it? 34:35.94 ukfilmreview That is a fairly sizable chunk. Yeah, it felt that Sir Hill's kind of journey maybe could have been stretched a bit longer. 34:44.36 Brian Penn Yeah. 34:44.60 ukfilmreview and we could have because there's a bit The whole thing about the light, you know, he who doesn't turn on the light for her and that kind of comes back. 34:50.01 Brian Penn Yeah. 34:51.39 ukfilmreview That that was the only thing that did sort of feel like, okay, you've sort of tied it together there. um But for me, It's one of those films that I'm just going to applaud it for being so ambitious and I'm doing it in a way that is not, okay, you've completely missed the mark at all. 35:02.44 Brian Penn Well, 35:06.10 Brian Penn yeah. 35:06.33 ukfilmreview I'm just saying there's things that could be better, but no, it's still a really good film. 35:08.55 Brian Penn Yeah. 35:09.89 ukfilmreview I think it's really strong. 35:10.55 Brian Penn Yeah. I think that's a good word to sum it up really is ambitious. It's brave. It it was trying to get a lot in. And it did it, and you know, it made its point, you know, it got its points across. But because of the complexity of subjects that they're dealing with, it's not always easy to fit it all in and make it coherent. But but It's still very good though. So very, very good effort and very watchable. 35:35.97 ukfilmreview I guess. Films called Overshadow and there's not masses of it online um but you can go and read Patrick's full review on our website. It's written, directed by Fareed Kiron. So yeah to check out if you can and yeah to be aware some heavy themes there which can affect and trouble some people. 35:56.03 Brian Penn Yes. 35:59.50 ukfilmreview um We're moving on now to film that I reviewed on the website, funnily enough. 36:03.24 Brian Penn Yeah. so 36:04.62 ukfilmreview um And I was very happy to to review the short film called Pain. I'm going to play the clip ah now, ah which we've got for Pain. Here we go. 37:10.17 ukfilmreview I should have probably put a slight warning before I played that clip. um Also, never have I before been hovering over a a like button on my laptop so hard as to like end the clip because I was so like triggered by those noises. 37:23.29 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 37:26.65 ukfilmreview But it's so vital in understanding this film to hear that clip because 37:29.22 Brian Penn yeah 37:31.96 ukfilmreview It really does sum up the mood and the atmosphere. I did do a big review of this already on the website, so I'm going to let you take the sort of initial part of this, Brian, so that we get your fresh opinion because yeah people may have already heard my my verdict. 37:43.25 Brian Penn Oh, right. Okay, sure. Well, um, this is written and directed by Marcus Cartel, as you've mentioned, starring Francis Narnary and I've got the, yeah, these are the other person, but Laura, thank you for that. 37:55.22 ukfilmreview Lara Levy. 37:58.47 ukfilmreview No worries. 37:58.75 Brian Penn Uh, so Jim in the Celeste have a damaged and dysfunctional relationship. He suffers seizures and she struggles to care for him. Then they have to care for a baby, which pushes them to the very limit. Um, You said in the review, Chris, that it was unapologetically difficult to watch. I have to agree with that wholeheartedly, but it's the type of film that you have to watch, and you're kind of trying not to watch it, but you know you've got to watch it just the same. And what I thought was very clever about it, it's very good. It's 99, it's good. I think it's it's one of the best in indie shorts that we' we've reviewed in the last few months. It really is. But those moments are calm, went 38:40.61 Brian Penn When they were in the bar together and he was painting her back, they were the just the ah that was the Oasis moment, wasn't it? 38:48.57 ukfilmreview Mm. 38:48.94 Brian Penn That was when there was relative calm, when everything, when they seemed at one with the world, the two of them, they were together, they were alone, they were at peace. But then as soon as that finished, then it all began again. And ah found I found it a difficult watch a bit. A bit like Overshadow, but in a totally different way that it was difficult to watch. But there doesn't need to say that it's not good, because it is. But it's one that holds your attention. And the visuals and the music, the, would you call it noise or white noise, but that accompanied some scenes were really, really engrossing. you You couldn't take your eyes off it. But very good. that There's this real talent at work there. 39:39.11 ukfilmreview Yeah and I found just doing a bit of research on the film really helped me um because i i was it's not one of those films that has loads of information about it but I looked up Marcus Cartel's um Instagram and he was talking about where the film's genesis was which was from 39:39.16 Brian Penn Well. 39:50.11 Brian Penn Hmm. 39:58.84 ukfilmreview when he himself has admitted to having a long history of issues with drugs and and substance abuse that this was a dream he had in a week where he was going sober and was trying to sort of come through it and that was really interesting for me because 40:11.00 Brian Penn Hmm. 40:15.04 ukfilmreview That's the sort of where it's come from as a film maker. 40:17.84 Brian Penn Hmm. 40:18.30 ukfilmreview That's his story. And for me, I i really resonated with it as a parent and because when I had kids and and going through that, especially the newborn phase and the absolute cacophony of noise and stress, and you know it's it's a very tough time. 40:24.42 Brian Penn Hmm. 40:32.52 Brian Penn Hmm. 40:34.39 ukfilmreview It's a beautiful time, but it's really tough. the and And also there's sort of almost a disconnection that you can feel from that because you're almost like, whoa, this is like a whole new person I need to be now and I'm not ready for that. 40:44.40 Brian Penn Yeah. 40:45.55 ukfilmreview I found that really affecting and I think that's so great when a short film like this can work on so many levels and connect with people in so many different ways. 40:51.97 Brian Penn Yeah. 40:53.41 ukfilmreview and that absolute bombardment of noise is delivered in a way that makes it so cinematic. 40:57.74 Brian Penn Yeah. 41:02.44 ukfilmreview I think, you know, it's one of those, I watched it with headphones on, on quite a big screen, you know, biggest, I could sort of really get it on. And it was just immersive, doesn't even cover it. Like I was enraptured with this film that, yeah, really enjoyed it. 41:12.48 Brian Penn Yeah. 41:17.00 ukfilmreview Well, enjoy is probably the wrong word, but really felt it and experienced it in a great way. 41:18.49 Brian Penn Yeah. 41:21.50 Brian Penn but Yeah. Yeah. 41:22.24 ukfilmreview and yeah I think this is the sort of film that the again we mentioned for ambitious but in a very different way and could easily as well have been a film that I didn't enjoy because at times just the soundscape kind of reminded me of like uh David Lynch like you know like a razor head and stuff like 41:23.70 Brian Penn Yeah. 41:26.38 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 41:40.19 Brian Penn yes yeah it's very reminis innocent yeah 41:42.15 ukfilmreview bit lynching and I was sort of going, oh, I could see that tipping people over getting to the point where you get so pushed, you know, so alienated by the sound that you then don't connect with what's going on visually. 41:43.19 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 41:55.26 ukfilmreview but I didn't have that with this. I felt the pain was one of those sort of short films that got the balance right. 41:57.88 Brian Penn Yeah. 41:59.70 ukfilmreview It got the the tone right. That what it wants to achieve. It doesn't keep you too long in discomfort and as you say there are those moments of where it does get a little bit more calm and you sort of need that but I just found it really powerful very stimulating yeah on another level and yeah as I said it is a hard watch it's a challenging watch it's definitely a challenging watch 42:12.50 Brian Penn yeah 42:18.42 Brian Penn Yeah. 42:21.50 Brian Penn yeah Yeah. Really, what you're seeing and what you're hearing is what the characters can see in here. It's what's inside their heads. That's what you're getting from it. So you know, between sort of the script between the them and the viewer, I think them, they're making that clear. They're saying, look, this is what the characters can see. This is what they can hear. This is what they're feeling. And it allows you to sort of disconnects as a viewer a little bit but still appreciate what's going on. It's very good. I was very impressed with it really. 42:54.17 ukfilmreview Yeah, I ah definitely echo everything there. um The film itself, Pain, we had a password protected link, so I'm going to say it's not available online. But do go follow Marcus on Instagram. So ah so Marcus underscore Carter, which is K-A-R-T-A-L. um Yeah, I'm sure he'll be announcing so more information as to where and when you can watch Pain. In the meantime, do go to our website because you'll have my review on there where I gave it, I actually gave a video review so you can watch that. 43:25.91 Brian Penn yeah 43:28.50 ukfilmreview It's your leisure. 43:28.55 Brian Penn nice 43:29.59 ukfilmreview Or you can just re-listen to this podcast as much as you want. Just skip back and just listen to it again. You know, why not? 43:35.21 Brian Penn why not why not Yeah. 43:35.84 ukfilmreview um You know, it helps us. ah But yeah, hats off to to Marcus and to the to the actors. 43:38.71 Brian Penn Yeah. 43:42.75 ukfilmreview I thought they were both fabulous. Francis Nunnery and Lara. 43:45.35 Brian Penn yeah 43:46.61 ukfilmreview I'm saying Levy, but it could be Levi. and And it's not an easy film to have acted in, I'm sure. There's a lot going on there to try and get that right. And yeah, I think it's been pulled off, executed really well. 43:55.86 Brian Penn yeah 44:00.10 ukfilmreview It's got that nightmarish quality, but also doesn't doesn't alienate you too much that you can't penetrate what it's trying to say. 44:06.98 Brian Penn yeah 44:08.20 ukfilmreview I think that's a good sign of a strong filmmaker there. 44:10.91 Brian Penn yeah ah definitely and It must have been a challenging role for both the actors to play as well you know because you've got to inhabit those characters haven't you while you're playing the role. 44:16.03 ukfilmreview Yeah. um 44:22.04 ukfilmreview Yeah, and that headspace is is not an easy one to get into. 44:25.43 Brian Penn All right. 44:25.43 ukfilmreview um But yeah, I can imagine a lot of that being done as well in post-production. So yeah we don't often name check anyone there. 44:30.81 Brian Penn Yeah. 44:32.79 ukfilmreview So yeah just yeah give everyone a round of applause there because they were great. 44:36.68 Brian Penn Absolutely. 44:38.53 ukfilmreview Pulled off an excellent short film there. So that was pain. And that is actually, painfully, the end of our indie film reviews there. But we are moving probably really far back um because we're going to do it sequentially. i'm We normally do the nostalgia last. We're going to start with our nostalgia and then do the um streaming pic because we're getting a double dose of Eddie Murphy um with Beverly Hills Cop. 45:03.22 Brian Penn Yeah. 45:06.23 ukfilmreview We're starting with the 1984 original. And Brian, I often ask you this, is this one that you had revisited or is this first time you've seen it or have you seen this lots of times? 45:11.34 Brian Penn Hmm. 45:17.04 Brian Penn No, I've seen this lots of times before i I saw it when it first came out. And the fact is 40 years old scares the living daylights out me. I can remember ah got going out to see it and being enthralled by the soundtrack. You know, the acts 45:32.63 ukfilmreview Oh, 45:34.72 Brian Penn It's not a great scene though, Chris. 45:34.99 ukfilmreview ah yeah. 45:37.38 Brian Penn I mean, that theme tune by Harold Filsomite to me is iconic. it It ranks alongside the Pink Panther theme. 45:43.82 ukfilmreview oh yeah 45:44.07 Brian Penn It's instantly recognisable and it's what gives the film its its punch and its power. um But it honestly, it doesn't feel like yesterday that it was made. It feels like this morning. It it only it doesn't seem like 40 years ago to me. 45:59.31 ukfilmreview Mm-hmm. 45:59.84 Brian Penn Not in the slightest. um but Look, I um haven't seen the film itself in in a few years, but let's say I've seen it maybe nine or 10 times all the way through, but I've not watched it. This is the first time I've watched it in maybe five or six years. But looking at it now, honest as much as I love the film and I love the soundtrack, I honestly think it creaks a little bit, that it's not worn as well as some other films from the ACs. now 46:31.86 Brian Penn when When I think about action movies from the Aces, I'm always going to think of Beverly Hills Cop, Lethal Weapon, Die Hard. They're always the films that spring to mind. But I think films like Lethal Weapon and Die Hard have worn a lot better than and Beverly Hills Cop. There's something about it that it seems to lack the punch that it's that it once had. And I'm not quite sure why. It it feels dated. I don't know why. It's just odd. Maybe it's Eddie Murphy's laugh that's become quite... 47:02.91 ukfilmreview That's 47:05.68 Brian Penn Do you know what? you no For the new film, apparently, I don't know how true this is, but he had to get rid of that laugh because he felt that it was turning into a parody. 47:07.27 ukfilmreview funny. 47:16.30 Brian Penn I don't know how true that is, but the film itself still works. It still works. Of course it does, but I don't think it's won quite as well as some of the films from that period. 47:28.85 ukfilmreview yeah try interesting because i for me I found that um I was watching it and it felt like a precursor to bad boys it was like okay this is like they've got this you know wisecracking cop doesn't really do what he's meant to but very much kind of 47:39.05 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. Hmm. 47:48.40 ukfilmreview gets into the action when it needs to, but it's largely a comedy. It's it's mostly just making jokes most of the time. um I like the sort of fish out of water element, you know, he's getting taken from the city into the Beverly Hills sort of. 47:58.08 Brian Penn Yeah. 48:01.46 ukfilmreview I think that also could be part of maybe why it hasn't weathered as well, because those cultural shifts, maybe the schisms are probably not as felt as much yeah or maybe not as relevant anymore. 48:09.37 Brian Penn Yeah. 48:14.31 Brian Penn Yeah. 48:14.43 ukfilmreview um but But I did enjoy it. I must say I rewatched it. 48:18.74 Brian Penn Hmm. 48:18.86 ukfilmreview I don't think I've seen it as many times as you. I've only seen it probably sort of a handful of times um and often just bits because it's sort of film my brother would put on and we'd watch some of it. 48:26.70 Brian Penn Yeah. Hmm. 48:28.21 ukfilmreview But I watched this ah a couple weeks back because I went and stayed with my mum, which is having a hip replacement. and um 48:34.26 Brian Penn ah 48:35.58 ukfilmreview We watched them all. We were like, all right, let's watch this, and we watched the next one, and we watched it you know two or three, and just enjoyed them for what they were. 48:38.42 Brian Penn okay Yeah. 48:42.91 ukfilmreview They were really fun, and they were all on Netflix, if anyone wants to go and watch it, we haven't seen them. 48:43.28 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 48:46.87 Brian Penn Yeah. 48:49.50 ukfilmreview um And I do think, actually, two and three are as good, if not better, than the first one, which is always rare with a um franchise. 48:58.67 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 48:59.69 ukfilmreview they are I think they they've sort of fine-tuned it as they went along. 49:03.38 Brian Penn yeah 49:03.99 ukfilmreview They knew what worked. I loved um Judge Reinhold. I think he's great. as he Because in the first film, he's kind of like this sort of wet, behind-the-ears cop. 49:10.79 Brian Penn Yeah. 49:11.57 ukfilmreview But by the sort of third one, he's a bit more... He's he's sort of on Eddie Murphy's character's level. 49:17.02 Brian Penn Yeah. 49:17.22 ukfilmreview He's more sort of there. 49:18.56 Brian Penn He's more hard-bitten, isn't he? 49:18.65 ukfilmreview um Yeah. 49:19.64 Brian Penn And he's obsessed with guns as well. 49:21.51 ukfilmreview He always brings like a massive gun, doesn't he? 49:22.39 Brian Penn Billy, we need to, yeah, Billy, we need to talk. 49:24.15 ukfilmreview yeah 49:25.78 Brian Penn That came up a lot in the second film, didn't it? But yeah, I think you're right. 49:28.07 ukfilmreview Yeah. 49:28.75 Brian Penn Probably Beverly Hills Cop 1 laid the groundwork really for the characters. And it was a buddy movie as much as anything, wasn't it? Between, but it was a three-way buddy movie, wasn't it? Between. ah between Axel and Rosewood and Taggart. So it's a three-way buddy move, body movies and that worked really well. Stephen Birkoff was very good as the baddie, and we always not we know it's one of the rules that Englishmen have to play the baddies in any American movement. 49:55.57 ukfilmreview he 49:56.53 Brian Penn It won't work otherwise, will it? We know that. 49:59.23 ukfilmreview Yeah, we are just pure evil. As there anyone listening to this podcast knows, we're just pure evil. 50:04.58 Brian Penn Yeah, well absolutely. Yeah. 50:05.44 ukfilmreview It's the accent. 50:06.80 Brian Penn yeah 50:06.88 ukfilmreview ah the um Yeah, I think it's one of those films that is still accessible. There's so going to be some references that are not as relevant, but it's fun and it leads very nicely into the big yeah release which was um on Netflix as well, which is what our streaming pick is. 50:13.59 Brian Penn Yeah. Hmm. 50:25.95 ukfilmreview It's Beverly Hills Cop actual F. So this would be the fourth film in the franchise. 50:30.63 Brian Penn Yeah. 50:32.35 ukfilmreview i'm And yeah, interestingly, we've got a different dynamic here because obviously they haven't done a oh he's still you know it's still of the time it it has jumped forward he is older um i i think i agree with that i don't think the films should try and have these guys go back and play you know that aged character you know where where he was and also they introduced a new element with this uh film 50:54.99 Brian Penn Yeah. 50:59.80 Brian Penn Hmm. 51:00.01 ukfilmreview because his um his daughter is involved. He has a daughter and I think that was a really good element to add into the storyline. 51:04.14 Brian Penn Yeah. 51:07.67 Brian Penn Yeah. 51:08.12 ukfilmreview It makes it a bit more serious, he's a bit more mature in some ways and it injected kind of sort of quite a heavy threat level there in terms of why he was doing what he was doing. 51:10.24 Brian Penn Hmm. 51:19.87 Brian Penn Yeah. 51:19.88 ukfilmreview um The storyline was still fairly similar, if i mourn is I'm They brought back ah the characters of Tagger and Rosewood, but they also sort of wrote them out of them. 51:24.53 Brian Penn Yeah, it was. Yeah, it was. 51:32.35 Brian Penn Hmm. 51:34.89 ukfilmreview I think they didn't want to rely on them too much in the movie, if you know what I mean. 51:35.18 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, I think that's a good point, actually, because I think whenever they revive any, any franchise, I think they always like to bring the original cast back as far as possible, as far as they possibly can, because yeah it gives continuity and they want the sense that people have grown up with certain characters in certain movies, and that's the appeal of it, the charm of it, and that's why it works. But you're right, though, they kept Rosewood and Sagat out for as long as they could, but they were there there. There was that kind of degree of continuity and that friendship was there as well. But what I did like, it you see, I think, I don't see guys far to say that 52:13.77 Brian Penn this This fourth film is better than the first one. I think it's a yeah it's it's a much stronger storyline. 52:16.70 ukfilmreview I enjoyed it more, I would say I did enjoy it more, yeah. 52:21.22 Brian Penn It's very similar. you know Something takes Axel off to Beverly Hills. The first time around, his friend was killed. This time around, is his also it's daughter. He's a strange daughter that's in danger. That's what takes him back to ah it's California, to Beverly Hills. But that is a stronger plot line than the first one. because then you've got this relationship developing between Axel and his daughter, one that we weren't that aware of. And um um you get that, you know, that estrangement, why it happened, you know, you've got her sort of firing back at him. Why did you leave him? Why did you, you know, and he's trying to blame her. And there's that kind of relationship between father and daughter and the fact that he feels the need to protect her and not only to save her life, potentially, but also 53:10.90 Brian Penn ah to get to know her again. And I think that's an interesting dynamic because Axel Foley was what you was this wise cracking womanizing cop was me at the beginning. 53:21.01 ukfilmreview Mm. 53:22.04 Brian Penn And now he's he's a bit he's older, obviously, he's a lot older. He's more thoughtful. And he knows that he's got a daughter that he wants to protect and get to know properly. So you saw a softer side of Axel Foley as a result. 53:35.56 ukfilmreview And what I liked about that as well is that they ah shifted it from a sense of it being, he's a fish out of water in the first film. 53:35.91 Brian Penn And 53:42.26 Brian Penn Hmm. Hmm. 53:43.50 ukfilmreview Whereas this, it's almost like he's a fish out of time. ah Because he's older, he's looking at things through that lens of like, oh, that's not the way I did it in my day. 53:46.91 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 53:51.66 Brian Penn Yeah. 53:52.10 ukfilmreview And that works really well because it gives that same feel of him not belonging in this place. 53:54.05 Brian Penn Yeah. 53:57.64 Brian Penn Hmm. 54:00.24 ukfilmreview and he's got all these gripes with the way that well the world is, that it was a really nice move and it made sense because you could easier seen this just as being like, ah oh, it's just a cash grab, they're just going to, you know, benefit from the fact that it has a popular fan base ah who would who would obviously go and watch it. 54:03.10 Brian Penn Hmm. Yeah. 54:15.26 Brian Penn Yeah. 54:19.09 ukfilmreview But what they've done is actually deliver a film that is decent, is good. 54:19.31 Brian Penn yeah 54:22.00 ukfilmreview And like you say, iss is it stands up there. If not, ah you know, it's not the worst of the four. um It's definitely up there. 54:28.44 Brian Penn don yeah I It was a very good film. 54:29.66 ukfilmreview um I really enjoyed it more than I thought I was going to. I didn't think it was going to be that good. And I thought, oh, actually, this is this is decent. this I'm enjoying this. 54:38.81 Brian Penn And for Eddie Murphy, generally, I think you look at his sir his portfolio of work over the years. And the the really good films he's made, arguably you could you could count on one hand what I would call really, really good films. And there aren't many, and they came at the beginning of his career more than the middle or where he is now. But this is definitely one of his best of films. But it just shows though, doesn't it, that Eddie Murphy hasn't always made good films, but he's made films that make money. And it's not always the same thing. 55:12.88 Brian Penn What's your favorite Eddie Murphy film? 55:14.54 ukfilmreview or yeah as you're saying, as I'm going through in my head. um this i mean for us Critically, it's not a great film, but I have such a soft spot for The Nutty Professor because I just found it really funny as a kid, but it's one film I probably haven't seen that. 55:26.33 Brian Penn Oh, right. okay yeah no Yeah. 55:32.96 ukfilmreview in, I don't know, 20 years. 55:36.04 Brian Penn Yeah. 55:36.23 ukfilmreview um I do like him as Donkey in Shrek, come I must say. ah oh um Sorry, I've just quickly looked up his feed and I was like, no, wait a minute, I know what my favourite Eddie Murphy film is, kind Coming to America. 55:40.04 Brian Penn Yeah. 55:45.32 Brian Penn Go on then. 55:47.07 ukfilmreview That is just absolutely brilliant. I love Coming to America. 55:50.14 Brian Penn I'm not convinced by, it I never was convinced by, it I'll have to, I'll have to have a look at it again. 55:52.62 ukfilmreview Oh, you're Yeah, yeah digest that is one of those films that it always makes me laugh. 55:54.89 Brian Penn I'm ready. 56:00.23 ukfilmreview I have watched that yeah more. um There is a really good film where he's with Martin Lawrence called Life, where they're prisoners. 56:07.78 Brian Penn Yeah, that's underrated that film. 56:09.56 ukfilmreview That's a good film. Yeah, that's one of those ones that used to come up on TV and I'd go, oh, I'm going to watch this. 56:10.39 Brian Penn Yeah. 56:13.76 ukfilmreview This is good. 56:14.14 Brian Penn Yeah. 56:14.93 ukfilmreview What about you? 56:15.09 Brian Penn Now, well, I think it's his earlier films. 56:15.61 ukfilmreview What about you, Rowan? 56:18.39 Brian Penn I love 48 hours and trading places with Dana. 56:21.34 ukfilmreview Oh, yeah, Trading Places is great, yeah. 56:22.87 Brian Penn And one film that gets completely forgotten, and my mates bore me out whenever I mention it, because they all say it's one of his worst films, but I think it's one of his best. It's a film called Metron, where he he played a a police detective in New Orleans, I think it was. But he played it straight, Chris, you know, 56:44.15 ukfilmreview okay 56:45.03 Brian Penn It was just a serious cop drama. There was no wise cracking. The laugh wasn't there, but he played it seriously. He played it straight. Didn't do do much business, but have a look at Metroid. You have a look at Metroid and I'll have a look at Coming to America again. 57:01.08 ukfilmreview okay there's some there's some absolute stinkers in his list though when you go through them i'm like oh yeah there was like norbert and stuff like that 57:01.12 Brian Penn How about that? 57:08.08 Brian Penn Oh yeah. Vampire Brooklyn. 57:10.78 ukfilmreview yeah 57:10.84 Brian Penn Oh my God. 57:11.87 ukfilmreview Tower Heist was really boring um but actually Dolomite is my name was a newer film he did that was good and that was quite vibrant and interesting a bit different um but yeah no it's it's a very varied um you know credit list if you go through his films I think there's some good and there's some really bad films there 57:14.32 Brian Penn Yeah. 57:30.37 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. There's a variety there, isn't there? Sort of good, bad, and different. 57:35.76 ukfilmreview Yeah. 57:36.80 Brian Penn That's just like the way. 57:36.94 ukfilmreview um But if you're a fan of Eddie Murphy, you've got to watch this. I mean, it's like, you know, it's up there with the better films. 57:42.42 Brian Penn Oh yeah. It's great fun. It's great. 57:46.69 ukfilmreview And yeah, it's on Netflix. So you've got no real excuse not to watch it. um And hopefully, we'll get some listening reviews of that. Be good to hear what other people think. 57:55.47 Brian Penn yeah 57:56.79 ukfilmreview um Speaking of listening reviews, 57:59.95 Brian Penn Wow, it's his name. 58:00.79 ukfilmreview I'm going to read some out. I'm not going to keep Brian around for that because there are so many. So I'm going to record that after we we finish. We've got at least 15 here. So I'm going to go get so many images to give you a little tent little taste, Brian. 58:13.33 Brian Penn Wow. Yeah. Yeah. 58:16.70 ukfilmreview We've got reviews of things like under the skin. Actually, we do have a review of A Quiet Place day one that would have Yeah, that'd be interesting. 58:26.00 Brian Penn Yeah. 58:26.09 ukfilmreview um The judge Oppenheimer, Claudia, lots of things here. So um yeah, I'm gonna, I'll go into those shortly. But big thank you to Brian for his terrific reviews and and going to the cinema for me so I can live vicariously through him. And um and to you our dear listeners for for sticking with us. And also to the filmmakers who do send their films in. We've really enjoyed the ones we've reviewed this month. 58:52.02 Brian Penn Mm 58:52.12 ukfilmreview We've already got some lined up for next month as well. So yeah, um thank you for joining us on UK Film Club and we'll see you again next time. 59:10.42 Brian Penn -hmm. That's excellent. Previous Next

Read the film podcast transcript from the episode titled Sinners - The Amateur - Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning - UK Film Club Episode 27 on UK Film Club part of the UK Film Review Podcast. < Back Sinners - The Amateur - Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning - UK Film Club Episode 27 Listen to This Episode UK Film Club 00:00:00.00 Chris Olson in time You're always just there and ready to go. You're so punctual. 00:00:05.20 Brian Penn I try to be. I try to be. I mean, do you realise we've just had our last blank holiday until Christmas? Oh, 00:00:14.20 Chris Olson No, we haven't. There's one in August, isn't there? 00:00:16.55 Brian Penn ah that's right. No, you're right. 00:00:18.86 Chris Olson Don't forget about that one. maybe It gets lost because it's in the summer holidays and everyone thinks, oh it's not a real bank holiday, but it is. And I will defend it to my very last. 00:00:24.15 Brian Penn What made me forget that? 00:00:26.24 Chris Olson Okay. 00:00:26.58 Brian Penn but Of course I forgot all about that. 00:00:28.83 Chris Olson How can you forget the August bank holiday, Brian? 00:00:30.46 Brian Penn ah no I know. 00:00:30.75 Chris Olson That's that's insane. 00:00:31.30 Brian Penn Well, I've remembered now, haven't Really. 00:00:33.46 Chris Olson I think you've got mad because this month has got two, right? So that's why you're you know you're excited. 00:00:36.93 Brian Penn It could be. It could be, yeah. Overexcited, yeah. 00:00:41.59 Chris Olson Well, you know it's easily done. And yeah in the UK, it's very easy to just grab onto the small things, isn't it? 00:00:48.47 Brian Penn Well, it is. you youling You cling to those crumbs, don't you? Those shreds of hope, you know. 00:00:51.61 Chris Olson Yeah, shreds. yeah the The two weeks of sunny weather that we've had. but 00:00:56.63 Brian Penn Yeah, well, you see, I don't mind when it cools down a little bit, really. I mean, the odd downpour can actually do some good, particularly if you you've got allergies as well, you know, so... 00:01:05.44 Chris Olson Yeah, allergies suck. um I mean, weather-wise, Brian, if it's ah it's a rainy Sunday afternoon, you're going to put a film on, what's your sort of classic rainy Sunday film? 00:01:13.88 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:01:16.39 Brian Penn Oh, that's a good question, isn't it? um I would have to go for something British, possibly black and white. 00:01:25.77 Chris Olson so 00:01:26.47 Brian Penn You know, a this might be slightly left field, but a 1950s war epic, something like the Dam Busters or the crew yeah the Cruel Sea or Ice Cold in Alex with John Mills and Anthony Quayle and Sylvia Sims. 00:01:33.34 Chris Olson Wow. A war epic. 00:01:41.64 Brian Penn Something like that, something along those lines. It just feels very warm and very cozy. And it's kind of, it is a nostalgic feeling that you, that it engenders, isn't it, on a Sunday afternoon? You know sitting down with a ah cup of tea and a chocolate obnob, you know, and watching a good old-fashioned British movie. 00:01:55.90 Chris Olson Chocolate Oblop. Yeah. 00:01:58.54 Brian Penn So that's what I'd go for. What about you 00:02:00.53 Chris Olson Yeah, definitely. um Sorry, listeners, but we are the UK Film Review Podcast, so we are kind of going to be slanted slightly towards the the British films. 00:02:04.76 Brian Penn you? Yeah. Yeah, just a bit. Yeah. 00:02:08.75 Chris Olson And yeah, it's definitely like, ah ah but for me, it be like a British comedy, you know, something. 00:02:12.31 Brian Penn Oh, yeah. 00:02:13.57 Chris Olson I'm trying to, to be honest, any Richard Curtis film pretty much will do. 00:02:17.82 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, that bit's... 00:02:18.59 Chris Olson um And yeah, anything with like Michael Caine, he just... 00:02:23.28 Brian Penn Oh, yeah. 00:02:24.19 Chris Olson especially something not not sort of like you know the sort of hardcore crimey ones that he's done but more the sort of where he's been the sort of elderly gentleman you've reviewed a few of his films actually in the last couple of years where he's been doing those sort of films um yeah 00:02:33.26 Brian Penn I have, yeah. Yeah, well, the... Yeah, I agree with that. Well, you know I'm a huge Michael Caine fan anyway, but um his last film, I don't know whether it will be his last film, I mean, he is... 00:02:47.44 Brian Penn I think 92 now, but The Great Escaper, which, yeah, which is based on true story. 00:02:51.01 Chris Olson where he goes to France yeah and he's the older guy 00:02:53.94 Brian Penn That's a lovely film. 00:02:55.12 Chris Olson Do you know, watched that because of your review, which is pretty much the way of all of my movie watching is now. 00:02:55.40 Brian Penn Lovely film. 00:02:58.38 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:03:01.01 Brian Penn Yeah, 00:03:01.55 Chris Olson and And yeah, that is is perfect Sunday afternoon fair, definitely. 00:03:05.29 Brian Penn it is. 00:03:06.63 Chris Olson Yeah. 00:03:06.88 Brian Penn Very much so. And it's, it's very, it's a warm hearted movie, isn't it? I mean, it's a phrase that, that, uh, film critics use far too often, but it just kind of fits for some films. 00:03:17.74 Brian Penn But I see it as a positive thing, though, Chris. and Whilst others might see that as a derogatory comment, but it's not. 00:03:24.27 Chris Olson Well, they they do like to argue, don't they, on the internet, I've heard. 00:03:24.64 Brian Penn I 00:03:27.38 Brian Penn i guess so, that's all good. you know We like to provoke conversation and and opinions. That's what it's all about, as the old cliche goes. 00:03:35.05 Chris Olson we do 00:03:36.00 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:03:36.38 Chris Olson And there'll be no arguing here on UK Film Club. If this is your first time, welcome, welcome, welcome. Everyone is welcome, even if you only watch films on a Sunday afternoon when it's raining. But Brian very kindly goes and reviews films at the cinema. So that's what we would normally start off with first. 00:03:52.71 Chris Olson We're then going to review a streaming pick. So that's a film that's available on a streaming platform. We then review a selection of indie films that have been sent to us by filmmakers specifically for this podcast. They say, look, we love your podcast. 00:04:05.54 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:04:05.60 Chris Olson review our films so we do um and then we finish up with what's called our nostalgia pick kind of like the the Sunday afternoon film but it could be you can watch this anywhere it just has to have been out for quite a few while we haven't set an actual amount of years for that um but typically know we're looking at sort of 20 30 years maybe more we're not going black and white this time though um but we won't say what it is we'll save that to the end 00:04:12.88 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:04:20.66 Brian Penn No. 00:04:27.20 Brian Penn No. 00:04:29.60 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:04:29.95 Chris Olson Unless you're going to be one of those people that just looks at the description, you know. i know there's there's those of you out there, classic. 00:04:34.29 Brian Penn yeah Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, we're looking at you, aren't we, eh? 00:04:37.79 Chris Olson um We're looking at you through our screens. 00:04:40.54 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:04:42.19 Chris Olson um But first off, we're starting with a new film out by Ryan Coogler called Sinners. Brian, take away. 00:04:52.17 Brian Penn So Sinners, written and directed by Ryan Coogler, starring Michael B. Jordan, Miles Clayton, Saul Williams, and Adrian Ward-Hammond. So, the storyline. 00:05:03.56 Brian Penn Twin Brothers Smoke and Stack return home to Mississippi after several years in Chicago. They decide to invest in an old sawmill and turn it into a juke joint. Musicians are recruited in preparation for the opening night. 00:05:16.93 Brian Penn However, rumours persist about the sawmill's history and the bad vibes it gives off. First Night unleashes evil that the brothers could only yeah could never have imagined. 00:05:27.81 Brian Penn But will the Duke joint make it to a second night? This is a very handsome looking film. it makes It mixes together two contrasting genres, really. 00:05:38.39 Brian Penn On the one hand, you've got a familiar tale of the Deep South dripping with racial tension. And on the other hand, so a highly effective horror subplot. If you love old-style blues, there's a great soundtrack to enjoy. 00:05:52.64 Brian Penn The lighting and design is excellent. It's inventive and visually arresting. It's a very, very good film. I like this a hell of a lot. And Michael B. Jordan doubles up in the role of the twins, which gives it a certain amount of normalcy value. 00:06:07.99 Brian Penn but um And some may well complain that it actually does an actor out of a job. But you can't complain when it works as well as it does. It's an incredibly good film. 00:06:19.66 Chris Olson Wow. I mean, I've heard a lot about this film and a lot of people asking me if I'd seen it. and I said, no, I haven't. 00:06:23.94 Brian Penn um 00:06:24.38 Chris Olson Wait for the podcast, Brian. I'll review it for you. 00:06:26.29 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:06:26.42 Chris Olson Don't worry. um And it's got a great pedigree. You love the cast. 00:06:29.72 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:06:31.30 Chris Olson Big fan of McBee Jordan. We've got people like Jack O'Connell in there. 00:06:34.54 Brian Penn ye 00:06:35.02 Chris Olson Delroy Linden. It's one of those films as well that just feels like it's got a ah good... sense of authenticity about it feels like you know i watched the trailer i've heard other reviews and things about that and i say they feel that they've they've really sort of captured an interesting period of time um yeah i'm a big fan of blues so i'll be you know this is going on the list this is one of those films right 00:06:48.04 Brian Penn yeah 00:06:53.18 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:06:56.98 Brian Penn oh Yeah. Yeah. The soundtrack is to die for if you like rhythm and blues. It is absolutely brilliant. um It's not often that I'd recommend the soundtrack of a film, of any film, because film soundtracks can be very fragmented, can't they? They can be very patchy at times. But I'd recommend that you purchase the soundtrack this film because it's brilliant. 00:07:19.43 Brian Penn You can just feel the deep south. wafting through you your eardrums. It is brilliant. I just love this film so much. um And it deserves to be seen on the big screen as well. 00:07:30.40 Brian Penn And it's still doing good business in the cinema, site which is good to see. 00:07:30.62 Chris Olson i it's got some fabulous reviews and yeah it's been out a little while um i was yeah my my question was whether or not it was going to be needed to be seen on the big screen but i kind of knew that for myself when i saw the trailer i thought i'd want to see this on the big screen um 00:07:37.76 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:07:46.40 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah, I think so. so Some films do need need it. It's that we've discussed before that with some films, like they can like can be just as if, they can be no more effective on a big screen than they would be on a small screen. 00:08:01.02 Brian Penn So some films are natural. You know, it's when we used to say that this film can go straight to video back in the day, right? 00:08:07.10 Chris Olson Yeah. 00:08:08.14 Brian Penn But now we say, oh it's going to go onto stream straight away, right? This type of film ah belongs on a big screen. it It's got that cinematic feel to it. So it deserves to be seen where where it was made. You know, it was made for the big screen, so. 00:08:22.84 Brian Penn This one's got to be done. But as I say, so I was very impressed by it. you know it's It's easy to pick holes in any film, isn't it, really? But I can't see anything that was really wrong with it. 00:08:35.03 Brian Penn And for added novelty value, to me, there's an added dose of originality there because I've never seen two subplots mixed together in that way that mixes horror with old style, Deep South racial tensions. Now, people listening, 00:08:52.63 Brian Penn might be able to direct me to a a film that did do that. It's already done that. But I don't know of one that's done that. And i think originality in filmmaking is so difficult to find these days. 00:09:02.89 Chris Olson What was that Tarantino film? there anything that's coming to mind? Was that in the deep self though? Where it's like, is it from dusk till dawn or something it's called? Where they sort of suddenly turns into like a ah vampire flick. 00:09:11.11 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:09:13.50 Brian Penn Yeah. I mean, that that was a horror vampire type thing. 00:09:15.74 Chris Olson That's it. Yes, that that was like coming to mind when you were talking about this, but not in this. 00:09:18.35 Brian Penn Was that? Yeah. Could be. Yeah. 00:09:22.41 Chris Olson Yeah, like say, it's it's got a probably different setup to that. 00:09:23.97 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:09:25.39 Chris Olson But I think, um yeah obviously, vampire films, in general actually, we've got one later on in the show, um are yeah it's so it's a very full genre. 00:09:25.78 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:09:31.36 Brian Penn We have, yeah. 00:09:35.05 Brian Penn Oh, it is. 00:09:35.15 Chris Olson But when you do kind of get a nice mixture, especially as well, if they're doing like a period piece, then yeah, I quite like it. I think it's got a lot to offer. 00:09:42.95 Brian Penn Yeah, and also the horror elements of the movie are really well done. um was I was watching this film with my niece and she really had to look away when the 00:09:52.07 Chris Olson Mm-hmm. 00:09:53.22 Brian Penn When the scary bits came on, to she had to distract herself and and just look look somewhere else. and So that's a good indication of how effective that part of it is. And some of the horror scenes were but actually quite scary. 00:10:07.46 Brian Penn you know You know, I'm not necessarily affected by the horror, they so the jump up and scare you type scenes, but this does it really well. um So yeah, full marks really. 00:10:18.83 Chris Olson There go. Well, sinners, um stay tuned to find out if it's Brian's film of the month, but we've got a couple more to go through before we get to that point, which is brings us on neatly next to The Amateur. 00:10:20.05 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:10:27.81 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:10:31.40 Brian Penn Ah, right. Okay. Yeah. So the amateur is directed by James Hawes, starring Remy Malek, Laurence Fishburne, Rachel Brosnahan, and John Bernal. 00:10:42.88 Brian Penn So Heller is a whist kid decoder employed by the CIA. When his wife Sarah is killed in a London terror attack, he gathers intelligence on the court culprits. 00:10:53.93 Brian Penn However, his bosses decline to investigate. Armed with his cyber skills, Heller goes after his wife's killers. Now, this is a very slick and well-executed spy story. 00:11:05.09 Brian Penn The twist here is that Heller doesn't have the field skills, but has the intelligence to stay ahead of the game. So it's a bit like brain overcoming Brawn. So all of that makes a pleasant change. 00:11:17.68 Brian Penn Usually in this type of story, ah you become accustomed to the physical combat elements of the film. Now, there is some of that, but most of it, it's hella sort of thinking, and it's so it's very cerebral, which is unusual for a spy story, because they normally do go in one direction, pretty much. And the interplay between Remy Malek's character and Laurence Fishburne's character is quite interesting, because Laurence Fishburne plays Henderson, who's the the expert field operative who teaches in the ropes. 00:11:52.82 Brian Penn right So... You've got that kind of master and apprentice okay ah going on there, which is good. 00:11:59.65 Chris Olson Yeah. 00:12:01.54 Brian Penn um All in all, ah really good film. And probably underrated and not getting the attention that it really deserves. But it's a very good film. Still just about showing in the cinema. ah So if you're quick, you'll be able to see it your local multiplex. 00:12:17.06 Brian Penn ah But you need to be quick. But it's a surprisingly good film. And Remy Malek is... has properly shed that Freddie Mercury ah look. He's not, you know, I felt initially was that he was lots in his Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody, which he was very good in. 00:12:35.79 Brian Penn But he's shed that image down. You know, you sense that he's moved on and that he's playing other characters that are equally credible. So he's not weighed down by one particular role that he's played in the past. And that's not easy to do, but he's done it very well. 00:12:51.14 Chris Olson Yeah, it's funny because the marketing for the amateur is actually dining out quite a lot on the fact that he's like won an Oscar, right? So they put like yeah Academy Award winner, Academy Award winner. 00:12:57.38 Brian Penn Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:13:00.51 Chris Olson obviously, you know, funny enough, he first came to my sort of notice in the show called and Mr. Robot, which I've not seen it all, but i just know that he was in it where he played a kind of, you know, 00:13:08.70 Brian Penn Ah, OK. Yeah. 00:13:13.60 Chris Olson computer guy. I'm not sure what the correct word is. 00:13:15.47 Brian Penn ah 00:13:16.19 Chris Olson I was going to say geek, but I thought that's offensive, right? 00:13:16.43 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:13:18.67 Chris Olson i can't say geek. 00:13:18.98 Brian Penn Well, it probably is now, yeah. 00:13:20.09 Chris Olson um 00:13:20.42 Brian Penn but Sorry, I don't mind. 00:13:20.88 Chris Olson But yeah, you don't mind. that I thought yeah this is feels like akin to that name casting-wise, because like you say something like Bohemian Rhapsody was such a different role for him to play. 00:13:29.65 Brian Penn Yeah. yeah yeah 00:13:32.61 Chris Olson The tone of this feels quite sort of like BBC sort of spy show to me. like You know when you get a lot of those sort shows on the BBC... 00:13:39.37 Brian Penn yeah like spokes Yeah. 00:13:41.40 Chris Olson Yeah, Spooks. 00:13:41.93 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:13:42.32 Chris Olson I just watched, um not BBC, but Day of the Jackal with Eddie Redmayne. 00:13:42.48 Brian Penn yeah 00:13:45.70 Brian Penn I 00:13:46.01 Chris Olson That was really good. im i So I think there's a big audience for these type of stories, right? 00:13:51.54 Brian Penn but yeah i mean, therere there are certain types of film that we go for. Certain stories that are going to be naturally very popular. And anything to do with spies, you know, it's ah it's a Bond-esque type storyline, a quasi-Bond storyline. I mean, we're going to come to Mission Impossible next. And that is very, that's a spy story. 00:14:12.97 Brian Penn And it's a very popular genre. And there's no sign of the public's appetite for that type of film waning, really. You know, and you've you've got lots of ah examples of how that genre has flourished. I mean, jason the Jason Bourne movies, for example. 00:14:29.65 Brian Penn You know, it's it's a staple, I think, isn't it? You know, it fits into the action movie franchise fairly neatly. But I mean, it's a staple that we're comfortable with, we enjoy it. 00:14:42.49 Brian Penn And it's quite but it's a question of how it's all executed, isn't it? And how well it's done. But this one at one is very well done. 00:14:49.77 Chris Olson This one's well done. 00:14:49.83 Brian Penn like it. Yeah. 00:14:50.79 Chris Olson Well, that's the amateur. As Brian said, you might be able catch it at the cinema. If not, I'm sure it won't be long before it's on a streaming platform. 00:14:55.37 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:14:59.20 Chris Olson um And also, as Brian said, which he he absolutely jumped the gun and, you know, told you what the next film was. But, you know I'll let him off because he is the one who saw it. 00:15:07.97 Brian Penn Oh, okay. 00:15:09.16 Chris Olson um The newest Mission Impossible film, The Final Reckoning. on, Brian. 00:15:14.84 Brian Penn Okay. Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, starring Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, and Angela Bassett. So this carries on where the previous film left off. 00:15:26.86 Brian Penn A rogue AI program called The Entity has infiltrated the world's nuclear command sensors and threatens global destruction. Ethan Hunt and his team have recovered a key to disarm The Entity. 00:15:38.28 Brian Penn but must now find the original source code to complete their mission. Your mission, should you decide to accept, is to stay awake for the whole two hours, 50 minutes of the film. I'm sorry. 00:15:50.00 Brian Penn i am sorry. I couldn't resist it. I mean, it's it's an obvious gag waiting to be picked up. 00:15:54.72 Chris Olson You gotta do it. 00:15:54.82 Brian Penn um But I was very disappointed with this. um For a franchise that prides itself on the action elements of a film, it really is a snore fest in places. 00:16:07.47 Brian Penn There's one scene where Ethan Hunt dives underwater to explore the wreck of a submarine. And it goes on for about half an hour. And it is really boring. I'm sorry to say, it's boring. 00:16:17.18 Chris Olson Hmm. 00:16:19.13 Brian Penn And it makes the film drag where it shouldn't. And they sacrifice a lot of action for deeper contemplation. And it doesn't really go anywhere. You know, there there are scenes where they talk about the, you know, the Earth's destruction and what it could do and how bad it is. 00:16:37.57 Brian Penn And they stare into space, repeating something very similar. And it doesn't really do much for the film, really. The last half an era, it really gets going. 00:16:48.52 Brian Penn And there's a brilliant stunt involving two biplanes. um But I couldn't think, though, that the last film was subtitled Dead Reckoning. 00:17:00.92 Brian Penn And this was the final Reckoning. They could have really put both films together with some brutal editing. because I don't think there's enough material here to make a further film. 00:17:12.87 Brian Penn Because it is part one and part two, but they they could have put it into one film. It would have made an even better um film by itself, rather than try and stretch stretch ah thin storyline. 00:17:26.77 Brian Penn ah Again, it's it's ah it's a quasi-Bond storyline, but what you really impresses you about Mission and Impossible are the visuals. 00:17:30.24 Chris Olson Thank you. 00:17:34.92 Brian Penn And you don't get it quite as much in this film. And I think they could have done it without resourcing to a further film. Needless to say, it will be hideously successful. It will make a shed load of money. 00:17:46.81 Brian Penn And I'm not entirely convinced it is the last film, you know, in in the franchise. Because I think there is, ah they try and tie up some loose ends. They recap and flash back on certain um elements of of previous films. 00:18:02.25 Brian Penn So there's a sense they're wrapping everything up. They're so they're tying a bow in it or they're trying see But there's always a way back, particularly where it can make money. But no, overall, I was very disappointed. 00:18:13.83 Brian Penn But, um you know, it's going to do very well, undoubtedly. 00:18:18.93 Chris Olson Well, your review is not um dissimilar to a lot of ones I've seen. had we had a Yeah. 00:18:28.80 Chris Olson and he he gave it three out five and he says if what you're looking for in the final reckoning is tom cruise doing what tom cruise has always done in this franchise then you'll go home feeling satisfied but don't expect the film to blow you away as a whole ah film has some stunning sequences and some tantalizing stakeaks but goes light on the humour and heavy on the feeling of impending doom 00:18:48.75 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:18:49.12 Chris Olson Mission Impossible The Final Reckoning certainly isn't one of the strongest in the franchise, but it's still better than the vast majority of other action thrillers that are released nowadays. 00:18:49.40 Brian Penn yeah 00:18:57.92 Chris Olson Thank you, Tom, for that review. Do you largely agree with Tom's verdict there? 00:19:01.42 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. Pretty much. I think that's what i would say about it. I think the the earlier... the earlier films in the franchise were much better and more self-conclaimed and seemed to get a lot more done. 00:19:17.65 Brian Penn And this is very ponderous, I think, for me. yeah it As I say, it drags in places where it doesn't need to. And i mean, I love the previous film. 00:19:29.12 Brian Penn I think Dead Reckoning was a fantastic piece of filmmaking. But know personally, I wouldn't, I wouldn't be surprised if it did come back, but I hope it doesn't because um this particular film didn't really do it. 00:19:44.88 Brian Penn And know another installment, which we know is always a possibility, um would be even less fulfilling from an entertainment perspective. 00:19:56.76 Brian Penn But, you know, it's it's still it's still going to be one of the big films the summer um people are going to see. 00:19:57.08 Chris Olson no 00:20:00.74 Chris Olson Yeah, they always are, aren't they? They release these movies and they have a big kind of impact just because they are cinema films, aren't they? 00:20:04.83 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:20:07.35 Chris Olson You know, people just go and enjoy. 00:20:07.70 Brian Penn yeah 00:20:08.79 Chris Olson You get your money's worth, you know, it's almost three hours long. 00:20:11.32 Brian Penn Oh yeah, course you It's an event. 00:20:11.89 Chris Olson Yeah. 00:20:13.16 Brian Penn i mean but It's not just a film, is it? It's and ah an event, a cinematic event. and People think, oh, you've got to go and see it. you know i i saw it, I think, on the third night of release. 00:20:24.43 Brian Penn I think it came out on the 21st of May and I saw it on the 23rd, I think. It was almost full. i mean you know at ah At a multiplex, they probably have maybe 10 or 15 slots a day for a film like this. 00:20:41.06 Chris Olson There 00:20:41.08 Brian Penn And it was almost full, pretty much full. All right, it's only the third day in release, but it's it just gives an idea of how they can get real turnover. 00:20:51.63 Chris Olson there you go. Tom Cruise keeping the ah movie industry going. Thanks, Tom. 00:20:55.42 Brian Penn Yeah, thanks, Tom. 00:20:55.50 Chris Olson um 00:20:56.75 Brian Penn We would have nothing to talk about with without people like Tom, would we? 00:20:58.89 Chris Olson Yeah. Well, apart from us as well, we keep it going. Brian, what's your film with a month, mate? 00:21:03.72 Brian Penn Oh, Film in a Month, Sinners for me. 00:21:05.40 Chris Olson was going to say it's got to Sinners, isn't it? 00:21:06.96 Brian Penn Sinners, excellent film. Go soon. 00:21:08.76 Chris Olson Let's go see it. um Moving on now to our streaming pick, and this is a film largely picked by me. Paul Bryan doesn't really get a look in with this one. um I choose a film from the streaming platforms that is coming out this month, and we review it in this section of the show. 00:21:23.57 Chris Olson And this month, for my sins, I chose Nona's. starring Vince Vaughn as a um a man who loses his mum early on in the film who decides to pay tribute to her by opening an Italian restaurant in her name. 00:21:42.27 Chris Olson ah This is then going to be staffed by known as, and I didn't know that phrase before I saw this film, ah but it's grandmothers in in sort of the Italian-American community, or the, yeah. 00:21:54.84 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, that's right, yeah. It's the timing for another. 00:21:56.14 Chris Olson um Yeah, so Italian grandmothers come and become chefs in this um aspiring restaurant, but as with any film involving a restaurant coming to be lots challenges to overcome and will it open will it be a success that's pretty much the the whole setup of this film um and you can tell from my tone how i feel about this i'm gonna go to brian quickly brian what you think about known as it's it's a sunday film isn't it sunday afternoon 00:22:09.70 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:22:21.48 Brian Penn yeah i really enjoyed this you know at the top of the show we would yeah it's like we were talking at the top top of the show uh about a sunday afternoon film and this is it i really really enjoyed this good storytelling with strong characters based on a true story it's the definition of heartwarming we were talking about it earlier weren't we uh but um 00:22:40.47 Chris Olson Yeah. 00:22:44.28 Brian Penn What really does it for me, though, is the cast. What a great cast. I mean, apart from Vince Wall, you've got um got Susan Sarandon, Talia Shire from the Godfather and Rocky movies, Brenda Vaccaro, highly respected sporting actress, and Lorraine Bracco, who I didn't recognise. 00:23:05.32 Brian Penn So... um excuse me. um So... A lovely film to watch. um The um story itself, it's one of those films where you think they're overcoming the odds. 00:23:23.82 Brian Penn And I noticed that the um the actual person that Vince Vaughn's character was based on um was actually in the film as an extra. 00:23:36.67 Chris Olson Yeah, he's sort of in the crowd and sort near the end on the... 00:23:37.81 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 00:23:39.03 Chris Olson yeah 00:23:39.28 Brian Penn And um you think this is this is based on something real. Someone's struggle, somebody who wanted to honor his mother's memory and had memories of his childhood when his mother and grandmother would would be in the kitchen preparing this special sauce that he could never work out how to prepare. 00:23:59.15 Brian Penn um Yeah, it's such a nice film. And as I say, so many good actors. As say, Lorraine Brackow, I didn't recognise at all. It was only when she started talking that I recognised her because that, 00:24:11.52 Brian Penn Lorraine Bracco was in Goodfellas and she was lots of Melfi in The Sopranos. um But they just give it such a kick. you know It keeps the story moving along. 00:24:23.10 Brian Penn um So yeah, a really, really good film. 00:24:24.67 Chris Olson Yeah, i I didn't feel that way. 00:24:27.21 Brian Penn Really. 00:24:27.88 Chris Olson Well, like the heartwarming aspect to it. I like the Nonas. I thought they were absolutely a great you set of people. will What I found, well, I found a couple of things problematic with the movie. One is i'm Vince Vaughn. 00:24:43.42 Chris Olson I found him so tepid through the whole film. Yeah. 00:24:46.13 Brian Penn he Well, yeah. 00:24:46.74 Chris Olson He never gets into another gear. He just stays as this kind of morose but upbeat, which is a weird combination, character that is on the one hand grieving his mum, on the other hand like being this like super optimistic, kind of almost like a Steve Jobs type character of like, well, I'll just keep doing and I'll keep pumping money and it will happen. 00:24:54.84 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:25:01.79 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:25:04.96 Chris Olson um I found him really tepid throughout. I just didn't enjoy him. 00:25:08.75 Brian Penn fit Well, I have to say, I mean, Vince Vaughn isn't one of my favourite answers, particularly. I think he he's the type of actor that doesn't, doesn't have to work too hard. He knows what parts work for him. 00:25:24.27 Brian Penn But in this film, I i think in some ways, he's allowed the women in the film to do the job for him. But you kind of went, 00:25:31.76 Chris Olson Yeah, they come with a lot of, um you know, vibrancy and there's a lot of, like, this sort of bickering between them, which is, like, I think they're sort playing on that. 00:25:36.32 Brian Penn yeah. 00:25:40.05 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:25:40.20 Chris Olson And, i you know, I thought there was another character in the and the film called Bruno, played by Joe Manginello, who is his, like, and either his brother or, like, his best friend or someone, obviously, best friend, yeah. 00:25:45.23 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:25:48.80 Brian Penn He's best friend, yeah. Yeah. 00:25:50.53 Chris Olson um He was funny. He was bringing a bit of chemistry. He was trying. He was, you bringing in a few laughs. 00:25:55.03 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:25:56.17 Chris Olson i just I just found, yeah, Vince Vaughn was problematic. The other issue that I had with it was it's very low risk and low reward film. Like it's it's not doing very much. 00:26:05.00 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:26:06.77 Chris Olson Obviously the absolute, when you're doing a film based on a real story, is difficult. You know, they're going to not veer too far off. 00:26:12.04 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:26:13.69 Chris Olson But I felt that, okay, well, why were we watching this film? Like what was the point of it? 00:26:18.26 Brian Penn Well... 00:26:18.61 Chris Olson It was just kind of like, 00:26:19.50 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:26:19.96 Chris Olson i it's and it's a nice story and you know they they did it and I think that was fine but when I think about like cooking based movies films you they are from something Ratatouille to The 100 Foot Journey things like that I think of films that are like boiling pot kind of things where it's oh it's really stressful and then it's not and then it's all the tensions of humanity really kind of like on the burner yeah that's the whole point this it just didn't ever get to that point ever 00:26:27.66 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:26:30.24 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:26:36.12 Brian Penn yeah 00:26:39.92 Brian Penn yeah yeah 00:26:46.10 Brian Penn yeah ah I do see where you're coming from. I mean, it's very gentle, isn't it? 00:26:50.02 Chris Olson Yeah. Yeah. 00:26:50.80 Brian Penn There's no sense of jeopardy there. There's no tension, not really, you know. But, you know, that's something probably reflecting what happened in real life. I mean, you think about how you might spice up that story, right? 00:27:05.19 Brian Penn And I think were lighted on a good point between Vince Warren's character and his best friend, Bruno, where there's kind of friction there between the two of them because he's taken advantage of his best friend to get the to get the ah restaurant renovated and up and running. 00:27:23.31 Brian Penn And they could have made more of that. But perhaps, really, it's sort of the easier way out and left it to some great, I was going to say actresses. We shouldn't say that. 00:27:33.88 Brian Penn She'll be female actors to really get the film over the line. And that's what it does. 00:27:37.94 Chris Olson I feel like saying female actors is even worse. Like, surely it's... 00:27:41.39 Brian Penn Yeah, I see it. 00:27:41.58 Chris Olson They're just... They're either just actors or... I i think we've been through before, but I asked an actress and she said she prefers actress. She doesn't like being called an actor because she says it's sort of... 00:27:49.13 Brian Penn That's interesting. 00:27:51.56 Chris Olson It's the whole thing. If they stop using the term actress, they remove all the actress awards, which for a lot of women is where they get a lot of recognition because otherwise they go up against all the male roles as well. 00:28:01.54 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:28:03.99 Brian Penn yeah 00:28:04.08 Chris Olson And it's just even harder for them to break through. So yeah, I I've stuck with actress since then, but I always have to explain myself that I say, look, I've asked someone and she said it was okay. 00:28:10.93 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. but No, that's fine that's fair enough. It's interesting, really, that the Oscars, the Academy, the academy still have best actress and best supporting actress and not best female actor, as they would have to do if they were going to distinguish between male and female actors. 00:28:21.31 Chris Olson Hmm. 00:28:30.57 Brian Penn But um it's the women that take all the honours in this film for me. 00:28:34.34 Chris Olson Yeah, no, I agree. And I think that also, to be honest, would have been a better film. if you I get it, it's a true story, you can't do this. But if it had been a group of knowners decided to open a restaurant, and you didn't have Vince Vaughn as the lead, I think this could this would work not just as well, it would work better. 00:28:44.12 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:28:50.37 Chris Olson It would have... like e yeah you've got Susan Sarandon there she can easily lead this film right you don't need Vince Vaughn um but appreciate yeah they're telling this true story but in terms of what thought I was going to get out of this and what I actually got it was very mild I say gentle is a very good word for it's a gentle film if you want something that's not going to upset people know you've got know you've got the whole family round known as is absolutely fine but none of you are going to come away from that going wow must watch that again 00:28:55.24 Brian Penn Yeah. yeah 00:29:03.09 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:29:07.81 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah, ah I know. yeah i know I mean, Vince Vaughn is that kind of actor. 00:29:20.45 Brian Penn you know He doesn't seem to strain too much you know he's not the type of actor that you feel he's going the whole nine yards he's he's picked on a role that's safe but it's it's almost left the um the female characters to carry the film uh but they're so good you know i like the actors that were involved in this film they're just such good actors 00:29:40.92 Chris Olson Yeah, no. I think you're bowled over with that cast, mate. I think that's what's happened, but that's fine. 00:29:45.49 Brian Penn yeah right apart from vince hall maybe yeah 00:29:47.24 Chris Olson ah Apart from him, yeah. That's absolutely fine. Nona's is available on Netflix. If you want to watch it, let us know what you think. um But for me, it's not a good one. We're moving on now to the indie films that we get sent, and we have a fabulous selection in this show, i'm all of which I believe I have clips for. 00:29:57.82 Brian Penn Fair enough. Fair enough. 00:30:08.20 Chris Olson So we're going to start with... 00:30:08.40 Brian Penn Oh, wow. 00:30:10.71 Chris Olson The indie feature film Ambrosio, the first vampire, and here's a clip. 00:30:15.78 Brian Penn Oh, wow. 00:32:01.35 Chris Olson There we go. I just, I thought about cutting off that clip at one point because the music was kind of swelling. 00:32:06.50 Brian Penn Hmm, yeah. 00:32:07.22 Chris Olson But I thought, do you know what? It gives you such a tone of the film, that last bit, you where the sort of cackling, the theatrical cackling. 00:32:10.26 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, sonny does, yeah. Yeah. 00:32:15.53 Chris Olson Directed by Alex Yavo, who also stars in the film and co-writes here, he plays the titular Ambrosio, um who is a mythical character view that you can find out about. 00:32:27.89 Chris Olson He comes to um live in a new place in America as yeah all vampires have that constant issue of having to move around because they don't age and he has to uproot his life, go live somewhere else and and start sucking necks somewhere else. 00:32:35.37 Brian Penn Yeah, and I know. but Yeah. Yeah, yeah. 00:32:42.08 Chris Olson um He does that, takes over a place and ends up um becoming embroiled with a local historian who happens to have a particular fascination with Ambrosia already. 00:32:54.90 Chris Olson And from there we see sort romance plot play out between two of them but also some baddies are on their way and they're about to make some havoc for Ambrosio ah what do you think of this one bro? 00:33:04.57 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:33:07.77 Brian Penn Yeah, no, I enjoyed this. You know, I think we just mentioned that, you know, um when you explore the theme of vampires, it's very fertile territory. And there's always ah challenge as to how you present it or you present it in a different way. 00:33:23.75 Brian Penn But I think he's done very well with this. um Sorry, Chris, I'm going to start coughing here. 00:33:28.47 Chris Olson No, I'll kick in. 00:33:29.65 Brian Penn Cough, cough, cough. 00:33:31.24 Chris Olson um Yeah, it's it's very melodramatic, very um sort of full of theatrical, like you heard there, the cackling, the laughter. 00:33:42.14 Chris Olson They're playing up to some of these stereotypes of these characters. And I'm not going to name who sort of rocks up in the film because I think they're sort spoiler territory. But it is, it's kind of... 00:33:53.02 Chris Olson Yeah, it's it's it's playing on that, that essence of trying what's that word? you're You're a theatre critic, Brian, what's the word that I'm looking for? 00:34:00.36 Brian Penn Yes. 00:34:02.07 Chris Olson You know, when it becomes like that. 00:34:02.29 Brian Penn um um suppose melodrama is a good word. 00:34:06.91 Chris Olson Menodrama, theatrical, you know, I did. 00:34:07.58 Brian Penn You used that in the review, didn't you? 00:34:09.39 Chris Olson Yeah, I'm trying to not use the same words, but I'm just going have to use my brilliant wording, aren't I? 00:34:11.89 Brian Penn No, I think melodrama fits pretty well, doesn't it? 00:34:13.99 Chris Olson Menodrama. 00:34:17.75 Brian Penn you know 00:34:17.85 Chris Olson It's very much in that wake and it's very much um yeah playing on our sort of knowledge of vampires and and what we sort of already know, but also bringing something slightly new to the table. 00:34:30.95 Chris Olson like I hadn't really heard about this character and I hadn't really known that much about 00:34:33.33 Brian Penn No, it's new to me as well, yeah. 00:34:35.30 Chris Olson Some of the other people that rock up, I had heard of, but it's um is an interesting story to bring this to the table. What I said in my review, and I think that holds true, is I think the... romance angles were handled much better than the horror. 00:34:48.73 Chris Olson The romance between him yeah and the the historian, I thought was actually yeah play Sarah, played Angelina Bazelli. 00:34:49.75 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:34:55.97 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:34:57.56 Chris Olson I liked that stuff. I thought that was like the sort of, more connecting moments as an audience for you. You're watching them and thinking, okay, yeah this is something here. 00:35:03.17 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:35:05.53 Chris Olson The sort of more action-y, horror-y bits, they're on a budget here. you It's not going to blow you away. 00:35:11.02 Brian Penn um 00:35:12.37 Chris Olson And I think when it comes to vampire films, there are so many movies out there to choose from. 00:35:17.60 Brian Penn yeah 00:35:18.64 Chris Olson This isn't going to stand out as one of the best ones from that side of things. 00:35:21.61 Brian Penn I know, yeah. 00:35:22.80 Chris Olson But it's definitely a worthwhile trip just for like something different, something fresh, and that relationship angle that did enjoy. 00:35:24.53 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:35:26.81 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:35:30.06 Brian Penn Well, it's trying to do it in a slightly new way, isn't it? As I said earlier on, it's it's very fertile territory for filmmakers. But there's a challenge there. If you want to make a story about Dracula or vampires, you've got to find a new way of doing it. 00:35:44.62 Brian Penn But you see, they they probably focus more on the romantic aspects of the characters because that is cheaper to shoot. 00:35:51.91 Chris Olson Yeah. 00:35:52.02 Brian Penn than the more explicit scenes, you know, which requires a bit more gloss, doesn't it, really? 00:35:59.15 Chris Olson and when you say explicit, you mean the violent scenes, not the explicit romance scenes, right? 00:36:03.04 Brian Penn Well, yeah, that's right. 00:36:03.66 Chris Olson Yeah, yeah. 00:36:03.66 Brian Penn you know You know what I mean, don't you? 00:36:05.78 Chris Olson Just to clarify, it's not that type of film, listeners. 00:36:06.00 Brian Penn I mean, yeah, of course. But you see, no. But that's like, you know, that element of of the story is cheaper to film, isn't it, when you're just portraying a relationship between two people. 00:36:17.49 Brian Penn But when you you bring in the kind of the more visual and explicit aspects, the violence, if you like, then that can be more expensive on the budget itself. 00:36:31.17 Chris Olson Yeah, and I think you're right. Obviously, you've got a lot more crew involved there and you've got a lot more extra sort of things to film. It is is a lot more. And I think with a film like this, it all hinges really on the central performance. 00:36:38.86 Brian Penn I think. 00:36:46.52 Chris Olson um And when I... I've said this before, when I see films that have got the same person in the director role the writer's role and the starring role, i immediately get sort of conscious of, okay, what are we in for now? 00:36:59.69 Chris Olson Because we will people be honest with that person? yeah Will they get the right feedback? 00:37:02.86 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:37:04.37 Chris Olson Will they be willing to listen to it? um But in the in the case of Ambrosia, the first vampire, Alex Garbo did brilliantly in that lead role. I actually thought he was was very strong. 00:37:13.19 Brian Penn think did pretty well. 00:37:13.57 Chris Olson he 00:37:13.93 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:37:14.21 Chris Olson he's Yeah, he's he's absolutely playing up to that role. Like you say, it's sort of coming across in that sort of theatrical manner. But I like the chemistry that he had with Angelina Bozzelli. And I think that the film was... 00:37:28.60 Chris Olson had that Had that nice time throughout that even when it was getting a little rough around the edges, that it would you'd forgive it. You'd kind of go, okay, yeah, no, but I'm still, yeah, I'm going to watch this today. 00:37:35.35 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:37:37.19 Chris Olson I'm going make sure that I see all of this out. um And what did love as well, like there was some fantastic costumes, which is always... 00:37:44.92 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:37:46.65 Chris Olson ah impressive when you've got a low budget, the fact that they've actually gone and put effort into all the costumes, but also the location. So he takes over this house like early on in the film. um they They sort of remove the current owner and that actual house just worked really well. 00:37:59.66 Brian Penn yeah 00:38:02.85 Chris Olson It looks great as like ah yeah it would be the lair of a vampire, someone that would want to live there. 00:38:06.58 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:38:08.74 Chris Olson um I thought I was and those choices for an indie film are really important. 00:38:11.72 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:38:13.71 Chris Olson it's really important. They don't go, oh, well, we couldn't redo that. So we just filmed it you in the back of someone's coffee shop. 00:38:17.84 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:38:18.67 Chris Olson You know, it's like, you know, they actually did go to so a lot of effort to make it look and feel decent. 00:38:22.35 Brian Penn yeah 00:38:23.88 Chris Olson Yeah. peace 00:38:25.55 Brian Penn They've made the budget stretch a long way, I reckon. 00:38:27.63 Chris Olson yeah 00:38:28.46 Brian Penn you know And it's it's something they've done really well with. And they deserve a lot of credit for that. It's a very good looking film. you know It's very well designed. bearing in mind that, mean, we always come back to the budget that an indie filmmaker has available, and it's always a factor, isn't it? 00:38:44.92 Brian Penn but But I think it's it's a very nice film, and I think the director shows great promise. He's one to watch. 00:38:52.86 Chris Olson Fantastic. um Ambrosio, the first vampire. um You can go on to our website and watch the trailer. You pretty much heard the the audio from the trailer just then. 00:39:04.95 Chris Olson um And you can you can read my review. 00:39:04.98 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:39:08.47 Chris Olson can also go to our YouTube channel and watch my review, would you believe? 00:39:11.96 Brian Penn Wow. 00:39:12.32 Chris Olson um That's something that I've started doing, you know, just to sort of make sure that everyone sees me. um Can't not have people see me. 00:39:17.89 Brian Penn Yeah, I'm going up. I'm going up. 00:39:20.90 Chris Olson and why not um but yeah if you are one of the people who's lucky enough to see it um let us know it's available on amazon prime video um and also on walmart online um if you're in america but prime video i think you can essentially rent it or there's a dvd version as well uh the trailer is on youtube and yeah just let us know if you happen to watch it and let us know what you think And yeah, fantastic effort from the filmmakers there. 00:39:48.50 Brian Penn I 00:39:49.02 Chris Olson Really good. Moving on now to a documentary um called Shaken and Stirred, the story of flair bartending. 00:39:57.67 Brian Penn saw what you did there. 00:39:57.86 Chris Olson And let me serve you up a little clip. Hey. 00:40:42.11 Chris Olson Well, earlier in the show, we were talking about Tom Cruise and classic film Tom Cruise was in, Cocktail from the 80s. 00:40:46.31 Brian Penn Mmm. Mmm. Oh yeah. Mmm. oh yeah 00:40:50.37 Chris Olson um And that leads very nicely into this story of flair bartending. and Written and directed by Deborah Richards, who herself has links to the flair bartending world. 00:41:03.65 Chris Olson um I believe this is one of her sort first big films that she's done. and First feature-length documentary, yeah. And... and Yeah, as the clip there suggested, and as see if you go and read the review on our website by Patrick Foley, you find out yeah it's not just about yeah the tricks that these guys do. 00:41:18.99 Brian Penn Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. 00:41:22.99 Chris Olson It's all about this whole culture, this whole world of bartending ah competing elements. you know the They have different groups, different associations. There's lots and lots of competitions. 00:41:35.77 Chris Olson It's a fascinating world and obviously yeah anyone making a documentary is going to pick a niche or something they're interested in. And here we do get a real great exploration of a world I had no idea about. 00:41:47.29 Chris Olson I'll be honest, I've seen Cocktail and I've seen people make yeah do these kind of fancy tricks with the the glasses and things. 00:41:49.75 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:41:52.49 Chris Olson I've never really given much thought beyond that to it. um What did you think of this, Brian? 00:41:55.10 Brian Penn No. Yeah, I think as a documentary, and what it works really well. But what I always look for in in a documentary like this is that, am I learning is something new? Is it telling me something I didn't know about? 00:42:07.21 Brian Penn And like Hugh, I had no idea that flair bartending was this well organized. I never realized that there was i a world championship, I never realized that there was a competitive element to all of it. 00:42:20.73 Brian Penn And so that that's good. It's teaching me something I didn't know. um But my knowledge of flair bartending is so limited anyway. You know, i I've so i stood in front of guys doing this sort of thing in and a bar, and I've just thought to myself, all I want is drink, you know. 00:42:38.36 Chris Olson Poor the drink man. 00:42:38.74 Brian Penn you Yeah, I know. But if if you see what I mean, no one's denying how skillful it is, how clever it is. 00:42:43.11 Chris Olson Mm-hmm. 00:42:44.20 Brian Penn But like you, my knowledge or Flair Bartending didn't stretch much beyond Cocktail with Tom Cruise, which is a much better film than people give it credit for, by the way. um But yeah, it's all good. I really enjoyed it. And really, some of the injuries they sustain while they're training for it are just blood curdling, aren't they? 00:43:02.10 Chris Olson I think that's what's always fascinating when you get a subject like that, where you find out the sort of raw reality of it. like Because on the surface, like you say, you can just take as, oh, yeah, these guys are just flipping things around. 00:43:07.05 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:43:11.85 Chris Olson But you've got, no no, no, these guys are like injuring themselves. They are competing at like the highest levels. 00:43:14.19 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:43:16.84 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:43:17.41 Chris Olson They're practicing like for hours and hours and hours a day, spending all their money going to these shows and things. 00:43:20.65 Brian Penn Yeah. No. 00:43:22.56 Chris Olson So it was quite gruelling, some of the stuff they have to go through. 00:43:25.34 Brian Penn yeah 00:43:26.30 Chris Olson But I also think, like you, and i think the topic is quite niche. And this documentary, if I remember rightly, was like sort of 90 minutes or 100 minutes. 00:43:31.44 Brian Penn yeah 00:43:36.79 Chris Olson It was fairly long. 00:43:37.11 Brian Penn yeah 00:43:38.37 Chris Olson I don't think it needed to be that long. i think there's a lot of clips where they're sort of pretty much just doing the same thing, the same spinning. 00:43:44.68 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:43:45.01 Chris Olson Like you say, you're almost kind of like going... make me want a drink or like, you get on with it, like carry on with the film. 00:43:47.98 Brian Penn yeah 00:43:49.44 Chris Olson So I do think it's it's slightly overstuffed at times because I think they wanted to showcase all of the things that they probably filmed and the amazing routines and things. 00:43:49.53 Brian Penn Yeah. yeah 00:43:58.69 Chris Olson But I think in terms of a mainstream audience, they're going to look at that and go, yeah, okay, but keep it moving, keep it moving, you know. 00:44:01.18 Brian Penn Yeah. yeah And also, what what I was curious about is that you look at um one routine, then you look at the next one. And they put three or four separate routines together in fairly close succession. 00:44:16.75 Brian Penn you think, I can't sell one from the other. And then I think, yeah, yeah. 00:44:19.51 Chris Olson It looked very similar, like the moves, yeah. 00:44:22.18 Brian Penn And then I think, how do they market? How do they score it? And it would have been interesting to have seen, been given some insight into how they score these moves. Because if they have competitions, if they have world champions, how do they market? It's a bit like, 00:44:37.88 Brian Penn I know, it's a bit like ice skating, isn't it? You think, all right, very technical, but how do they score it? How how does one flair bartender score more than the next one if they're doing what they're doing looks basically the same and it's just as skillful and as technical? 00:44:53.20 Brian Penn So it would have been helpful to have had more explanation there from my point of view anyway. 00:44:57.29 Chris Olson Yeah, I think you're right. There is, is an moment because ah you're being introduced to this world. And yeah, I've seen things like, you about dancing or, yeah, say ice skating. Even what we do, Brian, you're reviewing films. 00:45:07.87 Chris Olson It's quite sort of down to the interpretation by the person, right? 00:45:10.15 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:45:11.59 Chris Olson Because it's a creative thing. I think there are, there was bits where they did mention about, you they had to do a certain amount of things. They have a certain amount of rules they have to follow and they've got to make a certain amount of drinks. 00:45:18.83 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:45:20.34 Chris Olson down There's one ah lady who we follow along ah for a lot and she didn't quite make her drink. And I think that was like really sort of, crushing for her. um 00:45:28.99 Brian Penn yeah 00:45:29.74 Chris Olson But yeah, no I definitely take your point. I think that's, that's important. um I think from a um content point of view, they they bring up lots of really interesting aspects talking about it being quite a male dominated sport. 00:45:41.07 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:45:41.89 Chris Olson um And that, you know, it can be toxic and yeah the the female, you know, 00:45:42.11 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:45:47.18 Chris Olson ah contenders we have to sort of do a lot of different things they have to yeah appeal in a different sort of way i'm and also how this as a sport kind is kind of having ups and downs in terms of it being popular and then it not being popular, yeah funding getting removed and all this sort of stuff. 00:46:01.23 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:46:05.57 Chris Olson And I think one thing I did really enjoy about this as a documentary, because it could have just been an hour and a half promo about it, you know, come on, you you enjoy this, we love it, you you should enjoy it as well, that it was a bit more like they were giving it more balanced views. 00:46:19.01 Chris Olson A lot of the people that were talking were ex-flare bartenders, talking about it being not something they wanted to carry on with, something that they had... fallen out of love with and it wasn't worth all the stress and the effort and they were being quite real about you know the the drawbacks of it so I like that i think that's important know in a movie the um the sound of the film there was a soundtrack or know soundscape it was so overbearing that's one thing I would that was actually very distracting like throughout the sound was the music was so loud I was like I can't really hear like much what's going on and I think they were trying to sort of pump 00:46:36.88 Brian Penn yeah 00:46:48.03 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, I think he 00:46:52.66 Brian Penn yeah. 00:46:55.58 Chris Olson energy into the piece almost like their routines you know they're kind of going yeah we're going to get you in a state of of high octane and it was it all it did was just annoy me i was like can you just tone that down a little bit i i don't i don't need that or i certainly don't need it all the time um 00:47:01.84 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:47:05.53 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:47:09.51 Brian Penn yeah Yeah, I think it did need to be dialled down a little bit and I think it's becoming more and more important, the soundtrack to a film, but actually getting it right and getting the balance right between the narrative and soundtrack, because one should i enhance the other. 00:47:27.16 Brian Penn So yeah, you did feel that at times. that 00:47:30.00 Chris Olson And it had enough tension anyway. It didn't need to sort of do that because you had this whole, like they're building up towards a competition and it started to like play out. You know we, we love sports movies, me and you, and yeah we, we love that sort of structure and it was playing up to like a big showdown and that was enough. 00:47:39.22 Brian Penn Yeah. Hmm. 00:47:45.50 Chris Olson Like he didn't need to sort of really do much more than vamp up. I think, yeah, like I said before, trimming it down to ah a neat 60 minutes and making a bit tidier, definitely. 00:47:52.38 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:47:54.68 Chris Olson But as a first feature length documentary, it's a fabulous effort. 00:47:58.06 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:47:58.28 Chris Olson i I was not bored at all. and I was, I loved the way they linked it to the cocktail film and because I think that will, anyone watching a movie will sort of have at least an affinity with Tom Cruise, right? 00:48:00.56 Brian Penn No. 00:48:06.00 Brian Penn Yeah. that 00:48:09.91 Chris Olson So they're going to know who he is. 00:48:10.14 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:48:11.12 Chris Olson Yeah. 00:48:11.68 Brian Penn Yeah, I think that's quite important because it it gives yeah it gives some familiarity to so the subject matter, doesn't it? 00:48:12.51 Chris Olson Yeah. 00:48:19.28 Brian Penn Because most people would have seen cocktail. Probably not. 00:48:22.60 Chris Olson It actually did make me want to go and watch it, I must say. Again, again 00:48:26.02 Brian Penn Yeah, I think it's a really good film. And another great soundtrack as well, by the way. 00:48:27.90 Chris Olson Yeah. 00:48:30.87 Chris Olson Another one. um So, yeah, so I think there's flaws, but it's definitely and ah very interesting sort of piece. Patrick Farley really enjoyed it on our website. You can go to UK Film Review and look for Shaken and Stirred, the story of flair bartending. 00:48:46.83 Chris Olson And you better read his review. And they will also be able to watch the trailer on there, which, funny enough, the thumbnail for the trailer is actually a still from Cocktail, which is which is great marketing. 00:48:56.48 Brian Penn Naturally. Yeah, naturally. 00:48:57.41 Chris Olson I love the marketing there. 00:48:58.53 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:48:59.04 Chris Olson um And... 00:48:59.82 Brian Penn You've got to take advantage whatever's there, haven't you, really? Yeah. 00:49:02.37 Chris Olson yeah And I think um ah Patrick reviewed it on our YouTube channel, so you can also watch it there. 00:49:03.32 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:49:08.18 Chris Olson um The film has plenty of profiles on socials. So on Instagram, it's shakenandstirrdthedock. And on Facebook, shakenandstirrdflaredocumentary. Those are all one words. 00:49:20.87 Chris Olson And on Twitter, I refuse to call it X. On Twitter, it's shakenthemovie, all one word. 00:49:24.51 Brian Penn yeah 00:49:26.30 Chris Olson um Yeah, you can... Check it out and let us know what you think. And yeah again, yeah well done to the um to the filmmakers and thanks for sharing. 00:49:34.65 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:49:35.51 Chris Olson the a Really interesting film. in fact I feel like I've broadened my knowledge of Flair Barns. 00:49:38.44 Brian Penn Yeah. Well, I know, that's right. 00:49:39.50 Chris Olson I'm going to be so looking out for it now as well. Next time at a bar, I'm going to be like, have you seen this this documentary? 00:49:42.18 Brian Penn You're going to... I know. 00:49:45.13 Chris Olson Let me just tell you about this. 00:49:46.78 Brian Penn You're in tune. You're in tune with it. As I say, the important thing about any documentary film, and I like documentary films, but I want to be taught something new I want to learn something new. And I learned a lot about flare bartending. So, you know, it's a big tick for me in that way. 00:50:02.23 Chris Olson That's how I'm going the tea from now on. When I'm making my wife a cup of tea, going be spinning the cups in the in the kitchen. 00:50:04.72 Brian Penn Yeah, I know. 00:50:06.97 Chris Olson She'll be like, what are you doing? Why was all that crashing? 00:50:09.47 Brian Penn Yeah, it's interesting new dimension, you know. I mean, it brightens up to you tonight, doesn't it? 00:50:13.53 Chris Olson Exactly. And if she was to get upset with that, I would say to her the name of the next film, which is called Always Smile. you see why i did there, Brian? 00:50:21.24 Brian Penn Ah, very good. 00:50:21.51 Chris Olson Do you do like what did there? 00:50:22.50 Brian Penn i like that. 00:50:22.66 Chris Olson Yeah. Indie feature film called Always Smile. 00:50:24.40 Brian Penn That's a good link. 00:50:26.78 Chris Olson I'm going to play you a clip right this moment. 00:51:14.96 Chris Olson There we go. So probably a bit of a baffling clip there. 00:51:16.87 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:51:19.02 Chris Olson i'm But the film itself, Always Smile, written and directed by Jason Park, who also stars in the film alongside Min Kion Kim. 00:51:29.49 Chris Olson And there are two brothers living. We meet them at the beginning from living out the back of their car. um They are essentially homeless and doing what they can to get by. 00:51:40.68 Chris Olson They are following the wake of the death of their parents um and now sort struggling to sort of make ends meet. um One brother, Alex, works sort of a dead end job to try and yeah provide whilst his but younger brother, Johnny, is attending college. 00:51:51.70 Brian Penn Hmm. Hmm. 00:51:57.63 Chris Olson and trying to sort of become that young adult, trying to sort of date and things like that. um But the pair face a lot of kind of scrutiny as a couple of homeless people, and it's very difficult for them to maintain their lifestyle, not least because they then witness um a very sort of violent event and attempt to um prevent a woman from being kidnapped. 00:52:23.60 Chris Olson And it's a feature-length film, We had a review by Joe Beck on the website of it. Joe was not that impressed with Always Smile, but he did pick out some of the strengths of the film. 00:52:35.57 Chris Olson Brian, what did you think of Always smile 00:52:37.74 Brian Penn Well, there's lots of interesting ideas going on there. You know, they gave a lot of time over to character development and delving into the relationship between the two brothers, um what one is doing for the other, how they're supporting each other. 00:52:52.23 Brian Penn That's all good. But in some ways, I felt it took too long to get to the meat of the story. 00:52:59.03 Chris Olson Yep. 00:52:59.23 Brian Penn And they they only really got there maybe in the last half an hour. And this is where I agree with Joe Beck's review, up to a point, where it it leaves too little time to resolve the storyline. 00:53:11.41 Brian Penn You know, we know what the what the main point of the story is, but we don't t see it early enough. Now, you can only spend so much time setting the scene. 00:53:23.31 Brian Penn which they do very well. But I think the quality, in my opinion, the time that you need to spend on a film it is where it really gets going, where the story kicks off. And that was too close to the end, right? 00:53:36.00 Brian Penn So when they saw the girl being kidnapped, from then onwards, I felt like it was being rushed slightly. like 00:53:43.86 Chris Olson Yeah. 00:53:43.99 Brian Penn But I mean, there are lots of interesting ideas going on there. And I like the two main characters. i like the two brothers. I like that relationship that was growing between them. and how they were just getting by and how one brother was supporting the other in his studies you know that's that's a good a good portrayal of brotherly love the way two people help each other because because they're brothers and i think that's great but just a bit a bit more on the the point of the story the main point of the story uh i think you just needed to get there a bit earlier 00:54:18.37 Chris Olson Yeah, I think for me it was like almost like two separate films. like You had this whole idea of two brothers living out of their car and how that would impact their lives. I thought, that's enough for a film. 00:54:28.41 Chris Olson like I honestly thought that was more than enough for you to be getting on with. 00:54:31.00 Brian Penn Yeah. Hmm. 00:54:31.82 Chris Olson Make it a bit more dramatic, but still, you know stick with it. Let's see how the tensions between them rise and fall. yeah There was enough there. And then they... we're sort of alluding to this crime element of what's going to happen, and then it sort of happens. 00:54:44.33 Chris Olson And you say, yeah, it just comes in an absolute whirlwind of events. And it's all rushed, and it's all... The whole film does suffer from amateurishness to it. um there's ah There's a lot of teething issues, even just like the sound, the dubbing, things like that. 00:55:03.12 Chris Olson the The dialogue, again, not to so take too much from Joe's review, but he talked about the dialogue being very unconvincing about how young people speak and and the sort of lots of cliched lines, especially when there's sort of more... um darker characters are saying things. It is very sort of on the nose at times. 00:55:22.38 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:55:22.55 Chris Olson And I think it it suffers from that. But I like the fact that it had this heartfelt emotion to it. There was a warmth to the style of the story being told. 00:55:30.73 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:55:31.81 Chris Olson And it felt different to all the type of films that we're often seeing. yeah These characters weren't being presented as cool, hard, you edgy sort of characters. They were being very... close, very nice, very lovely to each other. 00:55:44.21 Chris Olson Like you say, it was a very sort of lovely bond between them. 00:55:44.32 Brian Penn Yeah. yeah 00:55:47.05 Chris Olson And i was I was on board for that. I actually thought that stuff was was very enjoyable. 00:55:50.10 Brian Penn yeah Yeah. 00:55:52.41 Chris Olson And it's a shame that it sort of didn't quite know what to do with its latter end. And maybe there's a different cut of the film that is stronger, but the one that we saw didn't really hit. 00:55:57.76 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:56:01.40 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:56:05.85 Chris Olson the There's some great footage that of of the film like urban landscape that was really well placed. I thought like some aspects to the filmmaking were impressive. The music choices as well. um I think they were good. 00:56:18.12 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:56:18.31 Chris Olson And I think it's one of those films, like I'm not sure I would say it's going to appeal to a lot of people, but there will be people that will get something from it and they'll enjoy that. 00:56:26.55 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:56:28.22 Chris Olson um Not least that sort of brotherly bond and connection. 00:56:31.31 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:56:31.46 Chris Olson I think that was the core of the film and that there was a lot of mileage to get from there. 00:56:36.52 Brian Penn Yeah. I think if that had started a bit earlier, you know, if they spent less time setting the scene, they would have had more time for... We talk about a character's motivation, don't we? 00:56:49.52 Brian Penn Why they're doing what they're doing. When the girl was kidnapped, from that point onwards, I found myself trying to work out why they were doing what they did particularly. And it, it didn't seem to have time to explore their motivation for doing it, doing it. 00:57:05.44 Brian Penn That's what, what they always talk about is what's the character's motivation? Why is he or she doing that? What, in other words, it's got to make sense. And that was probably the, the end product of spending more time on the setup, on the premise and less time on, on the, 00:57:26.22 Brian Penn the finale, the climax of the story, if you like. But it has its moments. It's got a lot going for it. 00:57:33.48 Chris Olson Yeah, I think you're right. 00:57:33.49 Brian Penn Having said that. 00:57:34.32 Chris Olson I think trying to maybe bring in that stuff earlier on, they the biggest issue with it is it doesn't have that polished feel to it that audiences are going to be used to with films trying to be kind of that more action, thrillery sort of genre where where where the film ends up. 00:57:52.13 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:57:55.60 Chris Olson But the earlier parts the film where it is a bit more sort of low key, it's a bit more kind of like, okay, these guys are just yeah humble guys and it's quite cheesy at times, but it it feels sort of, okay, there's definitely something here um about their bond. I feel that stuff, they could have done, yeah okay, well, there's more to be done here and still kept it on a low scale, not spend loads of money, not do all that, but actually, 00:58:20.28 Chris Olson they wanted to veer into this kind of gangster culture. there' There's lines of dialogue. that Honestly, it was cringeworthy with some of the things they were saying. I just thought I didn't need that. 00:58:27.51 Brian Penn Yeah, I know, yeah. 00:58:29.74 Chris Olson And that isn't down to, that's not down to budget. That's not down to, know, you were forced into a corner. It's like, no, no, you wrote those lines down. You chose to have characters say them. 00:58:38.23 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 00:58:39.44 Chris Olson And that for me did feel like a bit of a failing, um which as i said I feel like it's a shame because i think there's a film there. There's a film there. 00:58:48.35 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:58:48.47 Chris Olson amongst these characters within what they'd set up. I just don't think it worked with the plot line that they decided to put in there. 00:58:53.51 Brian Penn Hmm. Nice. 00:58:56.32 Chris Olson It was too ambitious and it didn't tonally work. 00:58:56.38 Brian Penn Nice. 00:59:00.81 Chris Olson um And so, yeah, a lot of lessons to be learned from that. wish them absolutely well. i don't yeah I didn't come away from the film going, oh God, absolutely. Sometimes you do, right? You come away, ah just I wasted my whole time. 00:59:11.17 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:59:12.50 Chris Olson I hated watching that film. 00:59:13.07 Brian Penn and yeah yeah 00:59:13.51 Chris Olson I didn't feel that way at all. I can't wait it. you know what actually feel? There's some lovely bits to take away from that film, but the the flaws were too numerous to kind of forgive it, really. 00:59:24.26 Chris Olson Too numerous to sort of feel that actually, I wouldn't necessarily recommend that film to people.......... 00:59:24.44 Brian Penn and yeah ah it's it's it bit And it became very distracting as well. you know what you What I see there is potentially a good film that needs... 00:59:38.84 Brian Penn needs to be looked at again, that needs to be. Editing always comes into play, doesn't it? But it's just the balance and the pace of the story and the relationship between different parts of the plot as well that didn't really run as well as they could have done. 00:59:54.10 Brian Penn But as it it has its moments. that There's something there to work with, definitely. 00:59:59.08 Chris Olson Well, you are able to watch Always Smile on YouTube. It's been released on YouTube and there is also an Instagram profile for the film, well, for all for the um for the company, which is Hypertude, which is H-Y-P-A-T-U-D-E. 01:00:16.33 Chris Olson So at Hypertude, probably not saying that wrong, but that's the that's the yeah thing that's written down for me. um the Yeah, as I say, ah said from Jason Park, you can go and read Joe's review. 01:00:27.98 Chris Olson We have picked out quite a few bits of what he said, because I think we both just feel very akin with that review. 01:00:33.08 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, I think that's it really, yeah. 01:00:33.33 Chris Olson It's it's a very strong... strong review. um But yeah, if you not, check out on YouTube and let us know what you think. ah That is always smile. Moving on now to, I didn't have a ah lead into this film's title because it is quite random. 01:00:46.29 Chris Olson So I was hoping for a nice little segue in, but I didn't get one. 01:00:49.31 Brian Penn oh 01:00:49.40 Chris Olson oh Indie feature film called Whisper Breach. 01:00:51.51 Brian Penn Don't you just hate it when that happens? 01:00:53.23 Chris Olson Yeah, I mean, Whisper Breach. How are you going to bring that in? 01:00:56.60 Brian Penn ah know. 01:00:57.30 Chris Olson It's a very, you know, and we'll get into why it's called that, but it's, um yeah, indie film we're going to review now after this clip. 01:01:50.62 Chris Olson should have said some swearing in that clip. 01:01:52.97 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:01:53.27 Chris Olson ah Yeah, hopefully you were okay, everyone, listening to that. 01:01:57.41 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:01:57.94 Chris Olson A few F-bombs in there. um Yeah, so Whisper Breach starring Mike Markoff. I reviewed this, actually, on the website. 01:02:07.17 Brian Penn Yeah, you did well. 01:02:07.59 Chris Olson This is my review, isn't it? 01:02:08.88 Brian Penn Well, yeah, guess. 01:02:09.64 Chris Olson Well, thank you. 01:02:09.94 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:02:10.25 Chris Olson Thanks very much. 01:02:10.90 Brian Penn Yeah. like so 01:02:12.57 Chris Olson I mean, you have to say that because if you don't, I'll just mute you. I'll cut your mic off. 01:02:15.41 Brian Penn well yeah i guess 01:02:16.22 Chris Olson Yeah. 01:02:16.89 Brian Penn yeah 01:02:17.02 Chris Olson um he played So Mike Markoff plays Kent Collins, who was an ex-Navy SEAL, and we meet him at the beginning of the film. He's living with his partner Sandy, played by Chelsea Gilson. um But something is amiss. 01:02:29.58 Chris Olson We see Sandy at the shooting range, firing off a gun with mascara running down her face as she's crying, and... 01:02:34.91 Brian Penn Hmm. Hmm. 01:02:38.30 Chris Olson This is site not really a spoiler because it happens very early on, but she dies from a very sort of serious illness and this sends Kent into a spiral of sadness. 01:02:41.27 Brian Penn Hmm. 01:02:49.87 Chris Olson um he is that a well He gets approached by his friend and who called Winston, played by Garen Grigsby, who knows him from his Navy SEAL days and has this interesting opportunity to present to him, which is this... 01:03:06.92 Chris Olson fantastic AI that he's developed and is hoping to sell to the military, but he just needs Kent to test it out for him. And that's who you hear in the clip is the AI ah software and known as WP, which is Winston's initials, I believe. 01:03:24.58 Chris Olson And it becomes quite quickly clear that this AI can do a lot of things and can invade ah Kent's life quite quickly, but also do other things ah very large scale trouble. And yeah what did you think of Whisper Breach? 01:03:41.53 Brian Penn I was very impressed by this, Chris. 01:03:43.41 Chris Olson It's good, I like it. 01:03:43.99 Brian Penn but Yeah, very well written thriller. And it highlights the potential of AI really well. It's really effective in the way wait it's put across. I found myself comparing it to Mission Impossible because the latest Mission Impossible movie deals with the threat of AI, right? 01:04:00.39 Brian Penn But I'll tell you this, you know, for certain that this film, Whisper Breach, highlights the risks and the potential and the dangers of AI a lot more effectively and a lot and it's more accessible than the way they do it in Mission Impossible. 01:04:15.33 Brian Penn You don't get any real insight as to what AI can do. In Mission Impossible, it just tells you that it's evil. And it's destructive. But it doesn't actually explain why. We just assume that it is. 01:04:26.45 Brian Penn you know Do you see what I'm getting at? 01:04:27.85 Chris Olson No, 100%. 01:04:28.99 Brian Penn ah 01:04:29.73 Chris Olson I'm not being hyperbolic here when I say that you are you saying that this film is better than Mission Impossible. 01:04:34.59 Brian Penn Well, you see, that's why that's what I was coming to. 01:04:34.93 Chris Olson You've said it 01:04:37.10 Brian Penn I'm not saying it it's better, but but it explores a common theme more effectively and does it much better. And you you get to understand in detail what AI can do. 01:04:49.52 Brian Penn But Again, with a by big budget movie dealing with AI, there's less need to do it, I guess. But a film like this can explore the d detail. And i found it quite gripping and challenging and actually quite creepy in places as well. And Ken, you know, the central character, was flipping out, wasn't he, what this this character was doing. at And this representation of his friend was actually quite sinister and quite scary. 01:05:21.24 Brian Penn but But again, it was very effective in telling the story of AI and what it's capable of doing. And really liked the way they did that. Very intelligently written. 01:05:32.49 Chris Olson Yeah, I think it's it's a topical film done in a very accessible way. The action is done well. the The characters are set up well. It's also not overstretching itself too much. You're only really given few characters in this movie. 01:05:47.58 Chris Olson But they're all very essential to the story. 01:05:50.52 Brian Penn Hmm. 01:05:50.93 Chris Olson um I particularly liked... the Kent and Sandy relationship. They have a really reallyde lovely bond. 01:05:56.42 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:05:58.18 Chris Olson It's a great opening. 01:05:58.83 Brian Penn Hmm. 01:05:58.98 Chris Olson You really feel it when she dies. Honestly, it was like, oh, that's heavy. 01:06:02.15 Brian Penn I know. 01:06:02.77 Chris Olson ladies 01:06:03.46 Brian Penn Yeah, know. 01:06:03.74 Chris Olson And you see that a few times in movies where they set off early on and you give a character death that you're of 01:06:05.68 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:06:08.65 Brian Penn Well. 01:06:10.27 Chris Olson what? Like, what are you doing? And the scenes that she's in were very, very good. 01:06:12.16 Brian Penn What, yeah. Yeah. 01:06:14.26 Chris Olson I honestly that thought, oh, that's a real shame that she's gone. 01:06:17.21 Brian Penn yeah 01:06:17.97 Chris Olson Luckily, I'm a big fan of Mike Markov. I've seen him in a film called When Jack Came Back, and really love that film. 01:06:22.99 Brian Penn Right. 01:06:23.07 Chris Olson um but he He holds the film up really well, and a lot of the movie is him talking to WP on a screen or or somewhere else, and that's difficult. 01:06:31.68 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:06:33.94 Chris Olson That's a challenging yeah performance to have to give. 01:06:36.49 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:06:36.90 Chris Olson But luckily, yeah the film was written and directed by Craig Cockerell, and there's some fabulous direction going on you're making sure that as an audience we are not switching off snoozing know because it it could have been an absolute tedious movie right okay all right okay yeah here we go yeah so computer screens all this sort stuff but it wasn't you know there was a lot more to it it was very engaging and as you say it it is tapping into something which as a culture right now we're feeling as a thrill 01:06:49.20 Brian Penn yeah 01:06:51.49 Brian Penn Yeah, 01:06:57.91 Brian Penn it was. 01:07:04.15 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:07:05.24 Chris Olson which is the good and bad of AI. And I think it was done in a really sort of impressive way. It gets quite elaborate. 01:07:11.48 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:07:13.18 Chris Olson And I am going to say this. It's not a spoiler. What is a spoiler? 01:07:16.83 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:07:17.34 Chris Olson The final about 10, 15 minutes of film is absolutely off the rails. It goes off the rails. And for me, it lost me. i was like, oh, no you've dropped the ball here. 01:07:25.80 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:07:26.02 Chris Olson I'm not going to go into it. I think I 100% recommend watch the film, but just know that, well, don't know, but feel that that's coming. Maybe you'll be more forgiving than I was, but that end bit, I was oh, that's a shame. 01:07:37.45 Chris Olson It's a shame you've done that. 01:07:38.19 Brian Penn um Yeah. I mean, if if you're not, if you don't feel technically au fait, if you're not strong in IT, yeah, you may struggle with the concept full stop, whatever it you see in a film. 01:07:52.71 Brian Penn right You know, when a film portrays something like AI and what it's capable of, it's it's going to be easy to lose some people. But I think this film does better than most, I think. 01:08:06.13 Brian Penn You know, coming back to Mission Impossible again, they slide around AI. They don't try and deal with it at all. But this film deserves a lot of credit because it does. But even then, because it's so highly technical, it will lose people anyway. But it does as I say, it does better than most in that way. 01:08:22.52 Chris Olson Yeah, and I think there's enough in there for you to be kind of engaged with. It's not trying to sort of confuse you with the algorithms and, and you know, that sorts of It's more just kind of showing the scale of what could happen, you what could be done, what they could access and things like that. 01:08:35.96 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 01:08:38.35 Chris Olson um Yeah, i would for a film as well, you know, when we get these indie action films, I'm always kind of hesitant to sort of say, well, you know, are you going to be bit capable of pulling this off? yeah Are you being too ambitious? 01:08:50.55 Chris Olson I think they made the right choices, especially with the number of characters, the number of locations that they're going to shoot in to create something of substance, of worth, something that is actually, yeah, you know what? 01:09:00.35 Brian Penn yeah 01:09:02.62 Chris Olson That does stand up. that does yeah It does belong in the same sentence as Mission Impossible. 01:09:04.19 Brian Penn yeah it goes Yeah. 01:09:07.18 Chris Olson I'm not saying they're on the exact same scale, but they are absolutely in the same, they're in the same league. 01:09:08.89 Brian Penn No. Yeah. i 01:09:11.68 Chris Olson You know, they're playing the same game. 01:09:11.78 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. i this 01:09:13.56 Chris Olson um And I think that, we you You reviewed The Amateur as well earlier on in the film. There's definitely all these films in this genre that are going appeal to a massive audience. And I would wholeheartedly recommend Whisper Reach. 01:09:25.45 Chris Olson I gave it four stars. and People can go and i read my review and yeah check it out. 01:09:27.04 Brian Penn yeah 01:09:30.07 Brian Penn yeah 01:09:31.20 Chris Olson The film is available on Amazon Prime. and The director got touch very recently to us recording this and said it's on Amazon Prime Video and on Vimeo Direct. So you can watch it. 01:09:41.29 Brian Penn Nice. 01:09:42.57 Chris Olson And I really recommend that you do because... 01:09:42.61 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 01:09:45.10 Chris Olson It's not often we get an action film that can hold up ah yeah to a candle or to these other big blockbuster movies. 01:09:48.91 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:09:52.31 Brian Penn Mm-hmm. 01:09:52.45 Chris Olson um Yeah, I thought it was absolutely brilliant. and Really enjoyed it. And you can also follow them. 01:09:56.66 Brian Penn yeah 01:09:58.13 Chris Olson ah They have an Instagram, the company Triple C Media. And that's there's full stops in between each each of those words. So Triple, full stop, C, full stop, media. Just to spell that out for you. 01:10:08.94 Chris Olson And yeah, there is a Facebook page as well. And an X page. But yeah, i to be honest, if you're to look at it, just go to Amazon Prime and and watch it. um Whisper Breach, it's called. 01:10:18.03 Brian Penn I 01:10:20.01 Chris Olson And if anyone wants to get in touch to see what could I have done as a segue into that, I'd love to hear it. 01:10:26.42 Brian Penn know. 01:10:27.64 Chris Olson yeah From the last film you know to this film, what could I have said? Because those two words just didn't come to me in any kind of yeah way whatsoever. 01:10:35.63 Brian Penn No. No. It's a tough one. It even defeated you, Chris, you know. 01:10:40.30 Chris Olson and Yeah, and I consider myself to be one of the best, if not the best, especially on this show. 01:10:40.89 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:10:43.18 Brian Penn Yeah. yeah 01:10:44.70 Chris Olson Anyway, yeah. 01:10:45.20 Brian Penn you're You're the Segway master, aren't you, really? 01:10:46.96 Chris Olson so 01:10:47.08 Brian Penn I mean, it's something I can never do, really. 01:10:48.60 Chris Olson Yeah, and I can't even ride a Segway. There we go. um now Brian, are you wearing underpants? 01:10:55.74 Brian Penn yeah Oh, yes. 01:10:56.57 Chris Olson Well, you you are not going commando, as we say, in the business. 01:10:56.67 Brian Penn Absolutely, Gover. 01:11:00.03 Brian Penn oh oh Oh, that's good. 01:11:00.88 Chris Olson Do you see what we did there? no I mean, I shoehorned that in, but yeah I'm going with it. 01:11:04.75 Brian Penn yeah 01:11:05.78 Chris Olson oh That is our nostalgia pick this month, the absolute classic action movie starring none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger, or Arnie, as we like to call him. 01:11:05.85 Brian Penn ah 01:11:16.07 Brian Penn yeah 01:11:16.59 Chris Olson i I've never sent never seen him, never met him, but if I do meet him, I'll probably call him Mr. Schwarzenegger, actually. What would you call him? If you if you met Arnie in the street, what would you say to his name? Or would you just avoid saying his name? 01:11:27.72 Brian Penn ah yeah i don't think I'd say his name. I think I just sort of remain very quiet and attentive. 01:11:33.21 Chris Olson Big fan, big fan, big fan. 01:11:34.62 Brian Penn Yeah, big fan, Arnie, you know. And I am, actually. 01:11:36.76 Chris Olson Yeah. Yeah. 01:11:37.83 Brian Penn I am genuinely big fan of Arnie. 01:11:38.89 Chris Olson Oh, I am too. And the reason why I picked Commando is because this is one of those movies that is perfect for the nostalgia slot. 01:11:39.92 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 01:11:44.84 Chris Olson It's a film that I used to watch when I was younger. Haven't really revisited and in quite some time. My brother and I used to watch it and I want to see, does it still hold up? 01:11:51.94 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:11:53.51 Chris Olson Is it still okay to watch? you know does it yeah or Or is it one of those movies you kind of should have left buried in the past? 01:11:56.39 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:12:00.81 Chris Olson um Honestly, it was very engaging. It's got so much 80s charm to it. 01:12:07.07 Brian Penn yeah 01:12:07.28 Chris Olson it's It's a classic action thriller. If you've not seen it, Arnie is an ex-commando and he's being blackmailed um into killing a president of another country. 01:12:09.45 Brian Penn yeah 01:12:17.38 Chris Olson um in order to save his daughter. But Arnie being Arnie, decides he's not going to do that. And he gets off the plane that he's meant to be on, and he has 12 hours to find and destroy the people that have taken his daughter. 01:12:23.37 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:12:30.45 Chris Olson And um to sum it up, in one ah in a section, the flight attendant that Arnie's on, she says, I can't believe this macho bullshit. 01:12:41.24 Chris Olson And that is pretty much the tone of the film, is it's a lot of macho bullshit. um But very engaging, fun stuff. 01:12:49.51 Brian Penn yeah 01:12:50.77 Chris Olson So you've got to have seen this before, right? And it's kind of been a first watch for you. 01:12:54.19 Brian Penn Yeah, of course I have. 01:12:55.60 Chris Olson 40 years. 01:12:55.98 Brian Penn ah Yeah, I mean, look, again, like some of the films that we review in this slot, I can't believe they're quite as old as they are. 01:13:01.84 Chris Olson That's insane. 01:13:02.55 Brian Penn It doesn't seem like 40 years. 01:13:04.24 Chris Olson forty years since sayinge 01:13:04.51 Brian Penn And I never, yeah, but I never realised came so early in Arnie's career because he'd only just made the Terminator, Red Sonja, Conan the Barbarian, that was about it. 01:13:16.93 Brian Penn And he made this film. So it was literally his fourth film. This was before Running Man, it was before Red Heat, um, So I never realized how early it was in his career, but I always looked upon it as a pseudo Rambo story. this This was Arnie's equivalent to Rambo, really. 01:13:35.26 Brian Penn And it still holds up. It's pretty much of its time, but you can't fail to be entertained by it because you know it's predictable, but it something that sat predictable is quite fun. You think, I wonder how long it's going take Arnie to strip down to the waist. 01:13:49.60 Brian Penn It didn't take long, did it? 01:13:50.76 Chris Olson In time long. 01:13:50.80 Brian Penn 20 minutes, half an hour maybe? um But you know what you're getting there. really. it's It's good overcoming evil, isn't it? Arnie's the hero. He'll save the day. But it's an absolute hoot. 01:14:01.90 Brian Penn And it still works. It still works, even now. 01:14:03.75 Chris Olson Yeah, I think sometimes for these films, there's a worry that they're going to be sort of toxic. You you kind of go back and the characters don't fit in. But actually, his character is quite a sort of generally nice guy. like he he yeah There's a few bits where raised he's kind of like he's just doing what he needs to to get to his daughter. um But he... 01:14:23.13 Chris Olson He's quite sort of ethical, quite moral. and So he's okay. 01:14:25.15 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:14:26.23 Chris Olson Like you say, it's largely about he's just there for absolute storming through these scenes. yeah I think we first see him carrying a massive chainsaw and a massive like log on his on his shoulder. 01:14:34.80 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 01:14:37.69 Chris Olson And that's pretty much what he's there to do is is heavy lifting, right? Yeah. 01:14:40.85 Brian Penn Mm. 01:14:42.24 Chris Olson there there's loads of crazy stunts and I always love watching stunts from the 80s because it's like they genuinely did all this stuff they actually all smashed all this stuff you know cars flying around all that sort of stuff um there's quite a lot of gun porn in the film they have guns and know the ego shopping and all this yeah um he loves all that and you you get a lot of that in the movie 01:14:48.76 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:14:55.94 Brian Penn Yeah. Good phrase. Good phrase. Go on, Paul. Yeah. 01:15:04.39 Chris Olson But Arnie being on, he can't really handle the emotional scenes, the depth scenes. So I don't think they throw too many of those in. um And I think that's a good thing, ah really. 01:15:12.10 Brian Penn Well, yeah. 01:15:15.22 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:15:15.86 Chris Olson It's mostly about his sort of his strength. Yeah. 01:15:19.29 Brian Penn Yeah. they Well, they tried to get to put a bit of heart into the character at the beginning, didn't they? When they featured scenes with his daughter and he's going he's going off and buying an ice cream with her I don't think they were entirely convincing but I think they were put in to make the character a bit more human I think really and the fact he yeah yeah 01:15:27.97 Chris Olson Yeah. 01:15:36.31 Chris Olson And I think that they they rob all that later on when they sort of just have him picking up people in phone boxes and throwing them, you know, things like that, where he's just like, he's just an absolute machine. 01:15:42.50 Brian Penn yeah 01:15:45.41 Chris Olson And he also does a lot of stuff that it's like, I suppose maybe we're watching this with a modern gaze, but it's like, 01:15:45.95 Brian Penn yeah yeah 01:15:51.56 Chris Olson would you have done that? That feels like you're endangering your daughter more. Like he, he does things where like, well, ah okay, before you were being, you forced into the situation, but now you've done so much, you know, killing so much carnage that you're going to prison either way. 01:15:54.92 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:16:02.12 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:16:04.86 Chris Olson Like surely, you know, there's no way out of this. 01:16:05.29 Brian Penn Yeah, and I know. 01:16:07.57 Chris Olson Um, but it's all part of the charm. It's all part of the silliness of it. And it's just a fun film to go. 01:16:12.00 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:16:13.44 Chris Olson Yeah. 01:16:13.82 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:16:14.28 Chris Olson It's here for the ride. Really? 01:16:16.17 Brian Penn Yeah. Look, I think, I say, it is pretty much a film of its time. um You know, would a film like that be made now? I think you get films made like that that have more gloss on them. 01:16:29.30 Brian Penn They're shinier and they're not quite as... What's the word? Brutal? I mean, it doesn't hesitate. say Body count's not an issue for a film like that, is it? But it's almost... The way it's it's presented, it's almost like a comic strip, isn't it, really? 01:16:44.75 Chris Olson Yeah. 01:16:45.01 Brian Penn um And you feel kind of anaesthetised because you know what's coming. And... and they probably won't make them just look exactly like that anymore. So it becomes more of an historical museum piece, but no one can deny that it's it's enjoyable, that it does what you mean you think it's going to do. 01:17:04.72 Brian Penn um But it's still valid now. It still works now. um you I mean, you look at the the films that Marvel and DC studios make. I mean, they are taking a character like Matrix and sprucing them up a bit more. They're giving them a fancy costume to wear. 01:17:20.29 Brian Penn Is it really that different? It's good overcoming evil at the end of the day, isn't it? um If you see what i'm getting at. So, 01:17:27.04 Chris Olson Yeah, 100%. It's a trope that we're all very, very used to. 01:17:31.03 Brian Penn yeah. 01:17:31.86 Chris Olson And the way that it's packaged does have to move with the times as best it can. 01:17:32.30 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:17:36.72 Chris Olson With Commando, I think it's also tapping into such a as sense of Americanism, or I should say United Statesism, in terms of what it's portraying, how it's doing it, you know that sort of gun-toting hero. 01:17:52.31 Chris Olson i think that is a sort of staple of cinema. know, we saw it in the westerns, you you saw it in in these films. 01:17:57.17 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 01:17:58.62 Chris Olson And as you say, I think the superhero films have become that new era of them being able to do that in a way that is going to feel like 01:18:03.49 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:18:06.98 Chris Olson thrilling and exciting and wow, yeah I wish I could do that. 01:18:09.34 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:18:09.46 Chris Olson and have People watched Arnie in these films, so I wish I could do that. 01:18:12.73 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:18:12.82 Chris Olson And I think it's yeah so it definitely is a piece for historical sort watching. 01:18:13.24 Brian Penn yeah 01:18:18.57 Brian Penn ah 01:18:19.76 Chris Olson ah You're not going to watch this film and go, oh wow, I'm blown away. it ah we We reviewed Heat, I think, last month. 01:18:25.79 Brian Penn yeah 01:18:26.37 Chris Olson that still absolutely stands up as a modern classic. 01:18:29.07 Brian Penn Yeah, it does. 01:18:29.71 Chris Olson You could watch that with fresh eyes and go, you know what, blew me away. 01:18:30.18 Brian Penn yeah Yeah. 01:18:32.88 Chris Olson With Commando, don't you're going to watch and be blown away. I think you're going to have good You're going have fun. 01:18:36.52 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:18:38.32 Chris Olson If you come in with the right kind of vibe and you're going to forget about it like 10 minutes afterwards, you're done. 01:18:44.84 Brian Penn yeah 01:18:44.96 Chris Olson With Heat, I still would watch that again tonight if I felt like I wanted to. 01:18:48.98 Brian Penn it Yeah. 01:18:51.52 Chris Olson Yeah. 01:18:51.97 Brian Penn But it it's that kind of film though, isn't it, Heat? 01:18:52.55 Chris Olson yeah 01:18:54.57 Brian Penn Heat is like Goodfellas and The Godfather. It's that type of film that You could pick it up at any point in that movie and be hooked. You know, if you're, I mean, like we all channel, a channel hop, don't we, right? 01:19:06.23 Brian Penn And you're buzzing through all the film channels and then you you land on a film, you think, it doesn't matter what point that film's at, how late it is, you're going to stay up and watch it. And Heat is a film like that. 01:19:16.04 Chris Olson yeah 01:19:17.84 Brian Penn Whatever point you you pick up that film, if you know the film that well, you're still going watch it. You're still going to sit down and it's going to be half past two before the film finishes, you know? But, But you're still going to be there. 01:19:29.17 Brian Penn All right, Chris, what what what's your favourite Arnie movie then? 01:19:33.99 Chris Olson I've played Terminator 2. I love Terminator 2. 01:19:35.80 Brian Penn Terminator 2? 01:19:36.70 Chris Olson Yeah, I just absolutely adore that film. 01:19:39.07 Brian Penn Yeah, it's a great film, no question. I think I would go with True Lies for me. 01:19:44.90 Chris Olson Oh, good choice. 01:19:45.89 Brian Penn But you see, True Lies, the character who played in True Lies is a bit like the character who played in Commando, but with a much bigger budget. Right, because and you you had a heavyweight cast to accompany him, you know. 01:20:01.07 Brian Penn um so True Lies I thought was great. 01:20:03.48 Chris Olson Oh, there go. 01:20:03.47 Brian Penn Really enjoyed that. Yeah. 01:20:05.34 Chris Olson Yeah, I mean, you go back through his movies and there's lots in there to enjoy. i'm but it's also catalogue of films that you kind of go... I wonder what that's like now. 01:20:16.05 Chris Olson You know, because like with what we did with Commando, but you you could do that with lots of his films, like Last Action Hero, Six Days, stuff like that, that you'd be like, does it still hold up? 01:20:21.20 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:20:25.51 Chris Olson But I think with Commando, I was quite confident that I would still enjoy it. 01:20:28.59 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:20:29.16 Chris Olson um And i did, but i I did find it, I was kind of switching off slightly during it. 01:20:29.37 Brian Penn Now, yeah. ah Yeah. 01:20:34.57 Chris Olson was going, yeah, I don't need to sort of use my brain here at all. 01:20:38.65 Brian Penn Yeah, I kind of know what you mean. Because, you know, as a genre, unit you know what to expect, really. um I mean, talking about Arnie films that maybe wouldn't stand the test of time, a film like Twins, the film he made with Danny DeVito, 01:20:52.91 Chris Olson Oh, yeah. 01:20:54.16 Brian Penn Now I've not seen that in years, but I suspect that wouldn't have worn quite as well. 01:20:54.28 Chris Olson Classic. 01:20:58.46 Chris Olson Yeah, well, actually, yeah, it's one of those films that I would potentially have stuck into this slot because it's that, again, another one I watched as a kid and would be intrigued to see, but now I'm slightly worried about doing that. 01:21:08.07 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:21:11.51 Chris Olson Yeah. 01:21:12.27 Brian Penn Well, yes, it's the thing. 01:21:12.92 Chris Olson Yeah. 01:21:13.50 Brian Penn I haven't watched it since it came out. I mean, you know that in this particular slot, I find particularly challenging because We look at films that i've only I haven't seen since they came out often. and 01:21:25.08 Chris Olson Yeah. 01:21:25.27 Brian Penn I mean, sometimes I see them a lot. But it's interesting to sort of revisit them maybe first years after the event. 01:21:32.85 Chris Olson Yeah, and I'll tell what is worth doing. If you don't want to revisit them, is go to IMDb and just flick through the average scores because they give you a really good indication, you because they've been out for long enough. 01:21:39.98 Brian Penn Yeah, that's a good indicator. sir Yeah. 01:21:44.33 Chris Olson It's not like being skewed by crazy new data. 01:21:44.71 Brian Penn ah 01:21:47.49 Chris Olson But you see certain films and you go, oh, okay, yeah. 01:21:47.59 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:21:49.45 Chris Olson So like Predator's got like a higher score than Commando, um Total ri Recall, things like that. 01:21:51.95 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:21:55.93 Chris Olson But yeah, Terminator 2, 8.6. It's one of his best films. And I think that is ah fair. I think it's a fabulous movie. 01:22:03.00 Brian Penn Yeah. Oh, it is. 01:22:03.60 Chris Olson um 01:22:04.06 Brian Penn No question. has made some fantastic films. um He really has. um I mean, I mentioned Red Heat earlier on. One of his earlier films made in 1988-ish. 01:22:15.99 Brian Penn And that was a film with Jim Belushi. Now, Jim Belushi is an actor like Vince Vaughn. He doesn't try very hard. He leaves it to someone else to do all the acting. But Red Heat, where he played a ah Russian cop in New York, was actually a very, very good film that deserves more of an airing, but you very rarely see it on stream. 01:22:36.99 Chris Olson Well, i'll tell you one film we won't be revisiting that Arnie was in, and that is Batman and Robin, ah har where he plays Mr. 01:22:41.99 Brian Penn Oh, of course. It's the freeze. 01:22:44.12 Chris Olson Freeze. used to see you. 01:22:45.41 Brian Penn It was made for him, wasn't it? 01:22:45.71 Chris Olson Yeah, no. we yeah I mean, my segues are bad enough, but those puns, those ice puns, 01:22:48.91 Brian Penn Absolutely made for him. Yeah. 01:22:53.02 Chris Olson um Yeah, but if that is your favourite film, fair enough. you know It's each to their own. Everyone has their own perspective and we've shared ours on this episode of UK Film Club. Hopefully you're still with us, ah still awake and still enjoying it. 01:23:07.21 Chris Olson um If you are listening to this on a public... ah arena, if you're on a commuting vessel, then just shout out UK Film Club and just see if someone shouts it back to you. 01:23:19.10 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:23:20.08 Chris Olson Just see if they do. 01:23:20.37 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:23:21.39 Chris Olson They might not. I'll be honest, the listener numbers, they might not. 01:23:24.24 Brian Penn You never know. Mm-hmm. 01:23:25.19 Chris Olson But if they do, you know that train ride going to be so much better or, you know, that bus ride. um But yeah, thank you for for listening. Thank you for being with us. Thank you to all the filmmakers. especially the indie ones who send us their movies um and ask for our honest opinions, which we've given. 01:23:41.83 Chris Olson If you want signposting to any of those movies, do let us know. i was also going to give a shout out to Time Rewind, which we reviewed on a previous episode. That is also now available on Amazon Prime, as well as Apple TV, Google Play, and a few others. 01:23:54.57 Chris Olson But yeah, Time Rewind is now available to watch, and we both enjoyed that movie. um You can go back and listen to our review of that in a previous episode. 01:23:59.03 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 01:24:00.97 Chris Olson i think it's the the May episode? No, this is the May episode. April episode. April episode. So the one before this that we did. um Time Rewind, yeah, that's out now. But yeah, thank you again to um everyone for listening. 01:24:13.35 Chris Olson Thank you to Brian, mostly, for doing so much of the heavy lifting. You are the Arnie of this show. You lift us up so we can fly. 01:24:20.11 Brian Penn Brilliant. Love that. call me arnie motsu um two point zero 01:24:24.09 Chris Olson Yeah. Yep. I am the Danny DeVito to your Arnie. 01:24:26.51 Brian Penn brilliant 01:24:30.68 Chris Olson I'm always scheming. 01:24:31.96 Brian Penn ah Yeah. 01:24:32.54 Chris Olson um There we go. ah But yeah, thank you again for listening and we will see you again next time. 01:24:39.02 Brian Penn Bye for now. Previous Next

Read the film podcast transcript from the episode titled UK Film Club 20a - Indie Special on UK Film Club part of the UK Film Review Podcast. < Back UK Film Club 20a - Indie Special Listen to This Episode UK Film Club 00:00:00.92 Chris Olson It's definitely yeah that season though, isn't it? Where suddenly everyone gets ill and you have to go off and blow your nose and that's fine. 00:00:05.19 Brian Penn yeah ah that's right that's right clear the old tubes out you know you can't go wrong can you really um i always think to myself though it doesn't make any sense that people get ill during the winter because all the germs should be killed off shouldn't they because it's colder yeah 00:00:19.91 Chris Olson Yeah, it's interesting actually. I don't know what it's about. 00:00:23.76 Brian Penn it's a it's a medical conundrum um not one that we need to worry too much about though because we're film reviewers aren't we not medical reviewers 00:00:23.83 Chris Olson There must be a reason. 00:00:32.56 Chris Olson yeah Yeah, not yet. you know what you know We never know what we have to branch into. 00:00:35.35 Brian Penn but not yeah yeah you mean know well yeah these must have all that yeah yeah yeah yeah of course i think some films require more research and others i think it depends what they are uh but 00:00:38.85 Chris Olson you Suddenly, you have to... What's interesting is when you watch some of these movies, you sort of have to do a bit of research into something. You learn quite a lot. you know Suddenly, you kind of go down the rabbit hole of finding things out. 00:00:52.05 Chris Olson ah I mean, if it helps write the review, it's good, but it also expands your knowledge. 00:01:04.43 Brian Penn you know you think oh god i better do some research on this and then you think no i want to wing it i want to see how how it hits me face on you know which can be a good thing sometimes not such a good thing i don't know but yeah yeah um i think it depends i think i 00:01:16.76 Chris Olson i in Yeah, I think it's interesting. I mean, when you watch a film, and just like typically, do you like to go in blind or do you prefer to have some knowledge of what you're walking into? 00:01:32.98 Brian Penn I prefer not to know, actually. 00:01:34.97 Chris Olson Hmm. 00:01:36.18 Brian Penn I think you can be too wise. I mean, there are spoilers out there, aren't they? I mean, the for the big releases, you could get chats from a verse, couldn't you, before you even see the film. And I'm sure there are some people that do that. 00:01:47.63 Brian Penn But I veer more towards not knowing. um But sometimes I think if you just read the brief synopsis of broadly what a film's about, you think, um I need to know a bit more, otherwise I'll be totally confused. 00:02:02.40 Brian Penn But then again, it could make you even more confused than you would have been. 00:02:05.85 Chris Olson Yeah, I definitely think there's an element of... going in blind to to allow yourself to completely ah reflect on the art that you've seen without any preconception because I think when I've read reviews or someone's recommended a film you can't help but be shaped by something they've said or even just the way they've said it um especially 00:02:17.13 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:02:29.01 Chris Olson if it's a like a friend or someone that you know and they've said oh you should go to this film and they've recommended it or they've told you to stay away from a film it's almost like a challenge to the relationship right if you come away and disagree with what they've said um 00:02:36.72 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:02:41.82 Brian Penn I know, I know. But we do tend to get carried along by what those closest to us say. And we are influenced by some people more than others, aren't we? And that's, I suppose, is the root of what film critics do and also theatre critics and anyone else, TV critics. 00:03:02.18 Brian Penn you know that's delivering opinion but you are kind of swaying it depends who they are what the publication is who that person is how well you know them and they almost acts like a guarantee doesn't it you say oh well they must be right yeah you know you know 00:03:17.04 Chris Olson yeah I mean, we don't claim to be right. We have our opinions and we we hope that people just enjoy them. 00:03:21.02 Brian Penn um 00:03:24.26 Chris Olson And also on this show, if you're new to UK Film Club, you might be wondering, oh, what am I in store for? um This is a special episode because we're going to be reviewing just indie films. 00:03:35.02 Chris Olson And a lot of these are not available. um They're not out yet, or it's very hard to to watch them. So our job sometimes is to just shine a light on them to help you sort of make you want to go and watch it. 00:03:46.52 Chris Olson um We do our best to avoid spoilers, but they are sometimes even just talking a little bit about a film is a spoiler in some senses. So yeah, if they're, you know, if that's not your bag, if you'd rather go in completely blind to any film you ever see, ah maybe just look at the description of this episode and look up the names of the films, because typically, you know, anything that review is always worth 00:03:56.88 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:04:04.38 Brian Penn yeah 00:04:11.25 Chris Olson checking out in most cases so yeah but everyone else stay here listen and because we have a jam-packed indie special show because they were coming thick and fast we were getting so many submissions that we've decided to put on an extra show and this is our bumper crop we've got seven in this episode 00:04:30.02 Brian Penn Is that a record for us, Chris? 00:04:30.39 Chris Olson um it is of indies yeah it's our biggest indie show that we've done and i've also got clips of all of them to play during the show which is that's also a first i am well it's getting near christmas and this is it really this is all you get 00:04:34.20 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:04:40.56 Brian Penn Wow. You are spoiling us now, aren't you? ah yeah This is your presence to us, isn't it? 00:04:49.97 Chris Olson Yeah. um But yeah, if this is your first a time to film club, we normally do cinematic releases at the beginning and a streaming pic and a nostalgia pic as well, which is a film from the past that will be in our regular slotted show at the end of the month. So it's always the last Thursday of the month. 00:05:08.07 Chris Olson But this is an extra show that we're putting in this month just to make sure we give enough time to these indie films, which gets sent to us. and These filmmakers have actually specifically asked us to take a look at their film and review it. 00:05:19.07 Chris Olson And that's what we're going to do in this episode. And all of these, I believe, yes, they've all been reviewed on the UK Film Review website. So do check out those reviews. 00:05:29.11 Chris Olson Some are actually even by me and there's other critics there. 00:05:31.19 Brian Penn yeah He's very good you know by the way aren't you? 00:05:32.67 Chris Olson So 00:05:35.25 Chris Olson Yeah, well, we do try. 00:05:35.81 Brian Penn You're too modest though aren't you? 00:05:37.66 Chris Olson Too modest. um I'm not really. I'm i'm stroking my ego as as we speak. But yeah, we're going to um we're gonna kick things off with a short film called Betrayed. 00:05:48.20 Chris Olson And I'm gonna play a clip first. 00:05:48.53 Brian Penn and 00:05:49.93 Chris Olson Here we go. 00:06:34.60 Chris Olson Ooh, explosives. 00:06:35.80 Brian Penn Yeah, it is, isn't it? 00:06:37.11 Chris Olson I should have warned people, by the way, some of these clips have got swear again. 00:06:41.18 Brian Penn You might need your beeper at some point, then. 00:06:42.72 Chris Olson Yeah, apologies if you've got delicate ears. 00:06:44.23 Brian Penn ah 00:06:45.21 Chris Olson um But yes, betrayed short film. 00:06:48.72 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:06:50.22 Chris Olson Do you want to go with this one, Brian? 00:06:51.38 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, sure, sure. 00:06:51.52 Chris Olson Give the old synopsis a rundown? 00:06:53.67 Brian Penn um So is he the main character has a unique talent, the ability to foresee what hasn't happened yet, power to see into the future? What influence could she wield? 00:07:06.15 Brian Penn However, there are many that wants control and exploit this gift. Is his father Sam sets out to protect his daughter, but is seen confronted by mysterious forces who allegedly wants the world to benefit. 00:07:20.60 Brian Penn There is a flashback to three years earlier, which puts the story in a bit more context. But Chris, we don't want to give away too much of the plot, do we? After all, we want to do enough to hook people in. 00:07:29.89 Chris Olson no not at all 00:07:32.41 Brian Penn And I hope I've done that. um um but But it's to be continued. The very last frame is to be continued and it's called Isabel. 00:07:45.34 Brian Penn Really, Chris, this isn't fair. They shouldn't leave us hanging like that. ah They have to let us review the sequel when it comes out. 00:07:51.59 Chris Olson No, 00:07:53.43 Brian Penn um This is actually a sequel I'd like to really like to see. 00:07:56.21 Chris Olson not at all. 00:07:57.48 Brian Penn I think it's really good. I think it's very tense. it's It focuses your attention. ah It gives you enough detail to make you curious, but holds a lot back. Right. And I presume this will be for the the second part. Uh, but I was really, really impressed by this piece. It's a very sparsely shot. Um, got a great feel to it. Um, really, really good drama contained it in a short time span and just makes you want more and more. Um, 00:08:34.78 Brian Penn I think it is very good. And the director, Ewan Gorman, I think it is, and Dagmar Shriban. I do apologise if I pronounced that wrong. ah But by very promising directors, it is good. Very, very good. 00:08:53.01 Chris Olson Yeah, it definitely um had that hallmark of what we call this sort of proof of concept. ah So this could either extend into a feature-length film happily. It could, like you say, be a sequel, just you know more of this, more short films or a web series or something like that, where it just keeps going because I think they've hit on a really good idea here. um So the idea was written by Caitlin Cameron. 00:09:19.19 Chris Olson Philip Palmorek and Jay Shuri. Caitlin Cameron is in the film actually and I think that idea is it really, really strong. um It's not something that's necessarily completely original, like we've seen lots of stories where people have gifts and yeah the powers that be want to exploit them but I think it was done in a really compelling way. 00:09:35.36 Brian Penn yeah 00:09:41.49 Chris Olson It felt really, it felt that sort of, um it had that energy about it that was 00:09:46.25 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:09:47.33 Chris Olson It was like frenetic and it was frizzing and you're watching it going, all these characters are absolutely on edge. There's so much like palpable tension here that you just don't really know which way it's going to go. 00:09:53.11 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:09:55.35 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:09:57.47 Chris Olson I particularly like the performance of the dad. I thought he was really good, um very, very strong, had that like emotional core of wanting to protect his daughter, but also being caught up with the yeah these people that are basically interrogating him. 00:10:01.84 Brian Penn yeah 00:10:05.72 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:10:09.33 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. That's the bottom of our thing, isn't it? 00:10:13.31 Chris Olson um Yeah, really good performance there. And you need that in in something like this. 00:10:18.20 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:10:19.41 Chris Olson um But yeah, I think if you were judging it just on it being a short film, you could feel a little bit underserved in terms of it being like, well, is that it? Like, but obviously we know it's not, we know there's more, but what we have seen is very, very good. 00:10:30.02 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:10:33.77 Chris Olson I liked that it used sort of simple locations as well, but but enough to keep it moving. 00:10:33.90 Brian Penn Very good. 00:10:37.32 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:10:39.31 Chris Olson It wasn't like just one room, which it could have easily been. 00:10:39.87 Brian Penn you Yeah. 00:10:42.22 Chris Olson They did a a few places um really, really well. 00:10:42.36 Brian Penn I mean, yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think it. The simplicity of making an indie film is one of its strengths, really, is that they do keep it simple. 00:10:56.41 Brian Penn It's not over elaborate. And it's not, as you rightly pointed out, it's a well-worn storyline about someone that can see into the future. It's a well-worn story, but they're kind of doing it in a slightly different way. 00:11:10.20 Brian Penn um And that's because what makes it good is is the amount of it's what they don't tell you as much as what they do tell you. 00:11:10.61 Chris Olson Mm. 00:11:17.26 Brian Penn and Maybe this will be a series of short short features, but this is a very good start, I think. 00:11:24.03 Chris Olson Yeah, I think it's that sense of ah potential here. There's a lot of potential of what you could do with it. 00:11:30.35 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:11:32.42 Chris Olson And they've they've handled this bit really, really well because the filmmaking is strong. I think that's the core because you could see someone sort of fumbling this idea a little bit. 00:11:37.93 Brian Penn and Yeah. 00:11:42.61 Chris Olson um Yeah, no, i really there's like a soft piano score in the background. I made a note of that. 00:11:47.14 Brian Penn yeah 00:11:47.88 Chris Olson like I was really enjoying the atmosphere that was being created. It was really tense and mysterious. I know ah Chris Beatt reviewed it on the website and he really liked it. He gave it four stars. and yeah Go check out his review because he also did a video review so you can watch that and um you sort hear from Chris directly. 00:12:01.37 Brian Penn Oh, fantastic. 00:12:05.16 Chris Olson and 00:12:05.17 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:12:06.33 Chris Olson and ah Yeah, again, just talking about this idea of it being proof of something much bigger that could come. 00:12:11.88 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:12:13.28 Chris Olson um But as it is, there are some really powerful scenes. there's this We've not really talked about the latter section, probably won't go into it. There's a latter section because Izzy becomes a bit reckless and ends up sort of out and about. 00:12:26.47 Chris Olson And yeah, she um gets herself into a situation which is quite traumatic, quite disturbing. 00:12:30.00 Brian Penn um Yeah. 00:12:32.55 Chris Olson um And that for me as well, was ah showing the intentions of the filmmakers to not, yeah because you could create a story about someone with a gift and it'd be fairly kind of, okay, well, that's enough. 00:12:39.27 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:12:43.64 Chris Olson That's enough story there. 00:12:44.67 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:12:45.04 Chris Olson But they actually went quite harrowing there. They went somewhere were quite dark. 00:12:47.44 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:12:47.86 Chris Olson And I thought, oh, that's actually interesting. you Are you prepared to go and do that sort of story? um And they did. 00:12:53.57 Brian Penn and 00:12:54.76 Chris Olson So yeah, I feel fair play to them. um Really yeah ambitious. 00:12:57.62 Brian Penn yeah 00:13:00.65 Chris Olson um 00:13:00.76 Brian Penn I'm looking forward to the next part. but and Yeah, 00:13:02.26 Chris Olson I know, you i because you sent me a message, didn't you? 00:13:05.07 Brian Penn and 00:13:05.10 Chris Olson You said, if we got the other part, I was like, no, know I've not got it. 00:13:06.32 Brian Penn yeah I know. I know. It's tormenting us. But look, that proves though, doesn't it? How well it works. Right. 00:13:15.38 Chris Olson Hmm. 00:13:15.92 Brian Penn As you say, if it had been, if that had been the, the only part, you would have been, as you say, you would have been underserved that you would have thought, well, that's, that's not what we were expecting. 00:13:28.37 Brian Penn But 00:13:28.54 Chris Olson Hmm. 00:13:29.24 Brian Penn where they're holding back more. So, you know, more is coming later. Well, that's good. That's all good. um So yeah, good stuff. That's it. 00:13:38.02 Chris Olson I'm normally more prepared than this, but I'm going to just quickly look up to see if we did get any information about it ah being available because we watched it on a screening link, I believe. 00:13:43.70 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:13:52.24 Chris Olson um But do you remember, do you remember happening if it was public? 00:13:57.94 Brian Penn I don't think it was. 00:13:59.45 Chris Olson I feel like it was unlisted. 00:14:00.66 Brian Penn Yeah, I think it was. 00:14:01.27 Chris Olson um But yeah, it's worth, if you can, seek it out. um when When it becomes available, if it isn't already, then yeah, it was on YouTube, was when we saw it. 00:14:13.91 Chris Olson And yeah, it was really, really good. um 00:14:17.09 Brian Penn matt 00:14:19.54 Chris Olson Yeah, I mean, one thing was, I think ah Chris picked out in his review just about the performances, and I know it picked out that I particularly liked Dad. How did you feel about some of the other characters? 00:14:27.94 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:14:32.77 Brian Penn I don't think you really saw enough of them, to be honest. I think that this first part was more about the the father and the daughter, I think, wasn't it? 00:14:40.57 Chris Olson Hmm. 00:14:41.05 Brian Penn The fact that he's trying to protect her, keep her safe, to find out more about the people that are pursuing her. And i so what I suspect is that the other characters, they're more like ah very brief cameos, aren't they? 00:14:56.51 Brian Penn I think they will come more into the fore as the story unfolds. So I don't think this, I think it's done that way because they're holding more back about those characters. I always sense they're holding more back. So I don't think, I think there's more to come with the other characters. But I mean, they, they, they fulfilled their role, their particular roles really well. And that the, they're all, they're all part of a mosaic really aren't they in the story. and I'd expect them to become more prominent as the story wears on. 00:15:30.12 Chris Olson Yeah, I think so too. I think there's there's a lot of room there to develop them further and the stories as as to how they got to where they are and what happened. 00:15:31.66 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:15:37.53 Brian Penn yeah 00:15:38.80 Chris Olson um Yeah, I've just had a quick look and you are able to watch it actually. If you go to jqsfilms.co.uk and that is the company that made the film. I'm not sending you to some dodgy website, that is. 00:15:47.23 Brian Penn oh Yeah, be careful. 00:15:50.38 Chris Olson um And you'll see they've actually got um the film on their homepage. You can 00:15:55.75 Brian Penn Ah, excellent. 00:15:56.31 Chris Olson and it's a YouTube embed. I think I sent you the YouTube link, Ryan, which is why you thought it was there. 00:15:59.07 Brian Penn Yeah, that's right. Yeah. 00:16:00.63 Chris Olson But yeah, it's on there. So yeah, fabulous. 00:16:02.33 Brian Penn Ah, fantastic. 00:16:03.01 Chris Olson you can um Everyone can check it out. 00:16:03.94 Brian Penn Good stuff. Yeah, watch it. 00:16:05.14 Chris Olson And do give them a follow. um there are There's a whole bunch of Instagram 00:16:08.24 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:16:11.76 Chris Olson um profiles that you can follow. But if you were to follow ShureiJ, S-H-U-R-E-Y-J-A-Y, I'm sure from that profile, you'd be able to find all the others. 00:16:26.44 Chris Olson There's lots of others. If not, there's Betrayed, a short film on Facebook and also a Twitter profile, Betrayed, JQS film. So, I mean, I've just signposted you to everything there. 00:16:38.30 Chris Olson You've got no excuse listener. 00:16:40.35 Brian Penn so The world is that right? 00:16:40.66 Chris Olson You must go, yeah. 00:16:41.99 Brian Penn The world is your western now. Now you know. 00:16:43.40 Chris Olson and how often do we get everything you know you've got Chris Buick doing a video review of it you've got us chatting on here and you can go and watch it so there you go the full package that's what we call it so monday um okay so that was betrayed moving on to another short film now animated film called Little T and again i have a clip 00:16:47.75 Brian Penn I know it. Yeah. What more could you ask for? The full monsoon. 00:17:05.33 Brian Penn Oh lovely. 00:17:44.82 Chris Olson That last little bit just really reminded of me of my daughter. 00:17:46.31 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:17:47.51 Chris Olson She does that please. 00:17:48.00 Brian Penn Sweet. Sweet, isn't it? ah 00:17:50.99 Chris Olson um Yeah, so animated film ah from filmmaker Masha Ellsworth and little T. um is the story of a woman going for a interview ah alexis sch superintendent an interview interview at an architect firm, but she is being plagued by critical voices, as you heard in that clip. 00:18:19.80 Chris Olson um It's a really vibrant, strong animated film. um And as we see Alexis sort of making her way through this experience going towards her interview, it's all about whether or not this will be able to overcome these critical voices that she's got one is a very so critical character and one is more of her like in a child and yeah she's got to be able to sort of confront these in order to sort of move on and yeah I mean in such a very short film it's it's not wrong at all this one um there's a lot going on here what did you think a little tea Brian? 00:18:55.27 Brian Penn um 00:18:58.06 Brian Penn I really liked it. I think this is great. You know, the um ah core of this story really, it's about the the internal ah push and pull, you know, the angel and the devil positive versus a negative, you know, 00:19:15.37 Brian Penn The inner child you could say has no fear and is endlessly optimistic. The inner critic is cynical and destructive, sowing the seeds of doubt. That's inside all of us. And to put all of that into a scenario where which where she's going for an interview and all those insecurities come tumbling out. And it's so real, isn't it? We've all gone for interviews where we're racked by uncertainty and the positive voice is fighting with the negative voice. 00:19:44.88 Brian Penn and you come out of the interview thinking, how did that go? Was that okay? They smiled, they nodded, you you cling onto crumbs of comfort, but you've got these voices inside of you, contradicting each other. I think it's beautiful. I think it's so well put together. And as you say, a hell of a lot going on really, but it says a lot about the the the stresses and the anxieties we all go through, even the most confident of people go through this type of thing. So I think it's so well observed. 00:20:15.67 Brian Penn It really is. 00:20:15.86 Chris Olson I think it's brilliant choice of moment as well in someone's life, which is that interview, because you know, growing up, it's all about what do you want to be when you're older, you know, you have these dreams, you have these aspirations. 00:20:20.52 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:20:26.89 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:20:29.71 Brian Penn yeah 00:20:29.86 Chris Olson And then when you actually hit adulthood, you've gone through some stuff already to get to this point, you that you then have all this anxiety and this worry, all these nerves, like I can, I can 00:20:33.67 Brian Penn Yeah. yeah 00:20:40.65 Chris Olson really remember being such a bag of nerves going for interviews, even for jobs I didn't even really want, like let alone ones that I might want. 00:20:44.75 Brian Penn Yeah. ah I know. I know. 00:20:48.37 Chris Olson um And yeah it's such an interesting choice of moment in someone's life to have depicted here, to be able to confront those two completely opposing 00:20:48.46 Brian Penn Exactly. Yeah. 00:21:00.81 Chris Olson things that, you know, live inside us, which is that inner child in and then the inner critic. 00:21:02.87 Brian Penn Yeah. We've all got that album as well. 00:21:05.56 Chris Olson Yeah, we've all got that sense of, of, you know, conflict and going on in our own minds. 00:21:05.80 Brian Penn little Yeah. 00:21:11.30 Chris Olson And I love the way that that was brought to life here is so vibrant, so colorful. 00:21:11.52 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:21:14.79 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:21:15.90 Chris Olson It's, it's really, um yeah I mean, it's not the same as Pixar, but as in the same look, but it had the same tone as Pixar it kind of was like able to create a really professional really high standard of Pixar sort of feel. 00:21:16.01 Brian Penn yeah 00:21:24.99 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:21:28.85 Brian Penn Yeah, I think you're right. I think it does have a kind of a pixel look about it. Possibly not quite as much shine and polish, but you wouldn't expect it. But yeah, yeah. 00:21:37.39 Chris Olson It was like it had the atmosphere of Pixar, but not necessarily that complete style. 00:21:41.30 Brian Penn yeah But 00:21:42.19 Chris Olson um Yeah. 00:21:43.23 Brian Penn But in in some ways I like that though, because it's taken what's great about Pixar and done something a lot more natural with it, a bit less sterile. 00:21:54.53 Brian Penn We've often spoken spoken about Pixar in the past, haven't we? We've both ah spoken about how sterile it can be, where it's so clean and so sharp that it lacks any kind of rough edges. 00:22:07.11 Brian Penn And I like rough edges on films. 00:22:08.89 Chris Olson Yeah. 00:22:09.62 Brian Penn And this is what it what it gives you. But I think the standard of animation is really high though. 00:22:14.70 Chris Olson I just thought it was great. 00:22:14.85 Brian Penn but It's really high. 00:22:15.82 Chris Olson Every sort of scene, every element, it just seemed to leap off the screen to me. 00:22:17.62 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:22:20.90 Brian Penn yeah 00:22:21.16 Chris Olson And I must, I mean, you hear it in the clip that we played, but a bit with the cupcake. My mouth was watering. I was watching it. 00:22:25.75 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:22:26.68 Chris Olson I was like, this is an animated cupcake, but I am starving. 00:22:29.09 Brian Penn yeah and know and I I know. 00:22:30.75 Chris Olson It was so good. 00:22:32.53 Brian Penn So I mean, yeah you assume though they're working on a very slight budget. All indie films do. All short films do. And it's only six minutes long. And to get that amount of detail in to provoke that much reaction between you and I, the fact that we've, we've hit on it and we thought, yeah, I get that. I understand it. You know, they plugged into a human emotion, something we all feel. And that's not easy to do, you know, in six minutes, but they do it and they do it in ah in a very simple way. But I think it's lovely. I think it's a lovely piece and deserves huge credit. 00:23:07.81 Chris Olson Well, again, Chris Buick reviewed this one on the website. And as yeah we were talking earlier about um whether or not we researched films before we sort of watched them, and Chris being the absolute legend that he has had already researched Masha Ellsworth. 00:23:24.52 Brian Penn Yeah, oh 00:23:24.62 Chris Olson And funnily enough, she has worked at Pixar. and 00:23:29.70 Brian Penn There you go, I never knew that yeah Yeah, 00:23:30.33 Chris Olson lead technical director. So interesting that we were able to pick that up just from the tone of what we saw here. um But obviously, yeah, the fabulous effort. 00:23:41.60 Chris Olson um I think that's what's really great about when you come across these films. 00:23:46.79 Brian Penn yeah 00:23:46.80 Chris Olson um I think this is one of two short films that she's directed. um But she's been involved, yeah, like I said, with some Pixar movies and things. So, yeah, I think I know for a fact there's a lot of fans out there of Pixar, both young and old. 00:24:03.31 Chris Olson Yeah, it is. It's one of those genres that spans everyone. 00:24:04.02 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:24:06.04 Chris Olson And this sits right up there for me. 00:24:06.12 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:24:08.95 Chris Olson Yeah, I would see, I happily watch this on Disney Plus, you know, see it on the on the little reel and watch that. 00:24:12.37 Brian Penn Yeah, of course. Yeah. Yeah. And you can also see this developing into a series of films, couldn't you as well? that deal with different aspects ah of growing up, for example, adolescence or whatever, you know, you think, yeah, this could work, they could they could expand that character. And, and ah portray her life as it develops, it it could turn into a ah very good series as well. 00:24:38.41 Chris Olson Yeah, it did remind me a little bit of, in some ways, inside out, because I'd watched that recently, and funnily enough, obviously, a lot of connections there. 00:24:42.65 Brian Penn ah Yeah, that's a good point. Yeah. 00:24:45.67 Chris Olson But um but this was was slightly different, like because you had like an adult character who had so both going on at the same time. 00:24:46.14 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:24:50.02 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:24:52.24 Chris Olson But yeah, no, it's like you say, you could see this being developed further. 00:24:56.05 Brian Penn Yeah, definitely. 00:24:56.32 Chris Olson um And yeah, more power to it if it is. 00:24:58.43 Brian Penn yeah 00:24:58.79 Chris Olson um Yeah, little t, it's called, and Yeah, i I just really love when we get these films that come across us and we sort of go, wow, I feel really lucky to have seen that. 00:25:09.26 Brian Penn right Yeah. Yeah, it's a gem. And, you know, you have a great tone of phrase, Chris, when you say we're shining a light on hidden gems, and that is exactly what we're doing here. You know, 00:25:20.42 Brian Penn that a film like this might not have got this kind of light shine on it at all. So we're doing something really worthwhile here. You know, we can review the big theatrical releases and they get all the um attention and publicity they they want. 00:25:37.94 Brian Penn But a film like this doesn't get quite as much normally. So to quote your phrase, we're shining a light. Quite right. 00:25:47.50 Chris Olson and And the film itself does that as well. 00:25:47.74 Brian Penn saying 00:25:49.81 Chris Olson It's interesting that the film's title, Little T, we are referring to little trauma, ah traumatic experiences and yeah, sort of, 00:25:53.66 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:26:00.91 Chris Olson not really, really severe stuff, but stuff that can still yeah um affect you. 00:26:04.14 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:26:05.95 Chris Olson and i think 00:26:06.47 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:26:06.91 Chris Olson That's, again, ah the power of this sort of thing. And something that Pixar did really well, like picking up on these heavy themes, but dealing with them really, really coherently and in a way that's accessible for everyone. 00:26:13.52 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:26:16.12 Chris Olson Yeah, I think that's really, really powerful. 00:26:16.66 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:26:18.53 Chris Olson umm If you want to find out more about the film, Little T, it's not available currently. This was definitely was password protected, but Masher has an Instagram. So Instagram dot.com slash Masher, M-A-S-H-A underscore makes underscore movies. 00:26:34.79 Chris Olson um Yeah. give them a follow and yeah, make sure you keep up to date what she's doing. Cause I think it's going to be fabulous seeing more and more work come out. 00:26:42.20 Brian Penn Yeah. Hmm. 00:26:44.32 Chris Olson Um, yeah, that was little tea, which was excellent. 00:26:47.18 Brian Penn Hmm. Terrific. 00:26:48.68 Chris Olson Uh, moving on to a feature length film, uh, this time and yeah, one you reviewed a long time ago, Brian stretch, stretch marks. 00:26:59.48 Brian Penn Oh, stretch marks. 00:27:01.49 Chris Olson You reviewed this in 2019. 00:27:01.64 Brian Penn Yes. 00:27:05.31 Brian Penn Do you know what? now this This is strange, Chris, because I was watching this film, I thought, have I seen this before? 00:27:12.14 Chris Olson I've seen this before. 00:27:15.24 Brian Penn But if it's 20, I know a lot from Google because I've written so much. I've done so many reviews now. I usually Google myself, but I didn't. 00:27:25.32 Brian Penn I didn't go Google it. um no No wonder it seemed familiar, but if it was if it was 2019, God, five years ago. 00:27:33.57 Chris Olson We've had a whole pandemic since then. 00:27:33.71 Brian Penn Now. Yeah, yeah no God, that yeah that has shocked me. 00:27:39.95 Chris Olson well let's Well, we'll put a clip on and yeah just while you gather yourself and then we'll we'll get into it. 00:27:40.09 Brian Penn It really has. But. 00:27:44.92 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:27:46.19 Chris Olson So here's a clip from Stretch Marks. 00:29:39.81 Chris Olson Yeah, really interesting clip. And it does bring back the tone of the film a lot. 00:29:41.88 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:29:44.71 Chris Olson um But yeah, no, a long time ago, you, were you reviewed stretch marks. 00:29:49.59 Brian Penn Well, yeah. 00:29:49.82 Chris Olson But interesting to see what you know, because obviously watching a film that far apart, like five years apart, be you very interested to see how you feel about it now, Brian. 00:29:54.15 Brian Penn Yeah. Well, yeah, I know that. That's a good point, Chris. I was just reading, reading through my review from March 2019 reminded myself of what I wrote. 00:30:01.06 Chris Olson Hmm. 00:30:05.61 Brian Penn Now I gave it three stars back then. Now this is what's interesting, Chris, is that watching it back I think I would give it an extra star now which surprises me a bit because usually I think my my view of a film remains unchanged if I think it's good I'll say it's good you know if I think it's three stars it will stay as three stars but watching it again um I think I'd go for a four star rating for it because it's got so much depth I mean in my original review I actually said that 00:30:41.07 Brian Penn um 00:30:43.69 Brian Penn Yeah, they've delivered a watchable but ultimately low-key film that could have used more of a flourish. I don't think that's quite so important now, looking at it again. um You know, the the first five minutes of this film, you you buy into the car characters straight away. You know, the ah main character, you, Lyle, your sympathy is with him straight away. Totally. You know, he's overweight. 00:31:10.50 Brian Penn he's got a steady job. He's living with bereavement. He's got a brother who's a bit of a Jim Bunny, who's slim, muscular, great physique, he has and all the things he's not. And he's got a mother that's uncommunicative. So and of course, there's the um the girl in the office that he fancies that likes him but doesn't like him in the way that he wants. And he starts to lose weight. And and he starts out 284 pounds and has a target weight that he wants to lose. 00:31:44.98 Brian Penn um For me, the the key scenes in the film are between Lyle and his therapist. 00:31:51.24 Chris Olson Mm. 00:31:51.98 Brian Penn you know it's It's the most perceptive part of the story because he's confessing his deepest deepest thoughts. But the therapist is is gently um interrogating him saying, how do you really feel? How do you really feel about this? You know, are you happy when he gets within within five pounds of his target weight, he'll say he said to him, are you happy? Is that what you want? Or is all of this just a facade? In other words, is his weight really just ah a cover for something else that's wrong in his life? And that is what's very clever and perceptive about this film. So having read my ah original review, 00:32:37.94 Brian Penn And have you seen it again? I would say, yep, I'd upgrade this to a four-star film because it's very naturalistic. It's very believable. we We all know somebody like Lyle, don't we? You know, somebody in the office, someone we live next door to, somebody in the pub, you know, basically a decent guy trying to live a better life. And that resonates much more now than it must have done with me back then. 00:33:05.96 Brian Penn um 00:33:06.07 Chris Olson Yeah and I think having a long time since that film you originally watched it you know you'd have seen a lot of indie films in that time it's interesting when you do have more of that to sort of reflect on but also yeah it's just sometimes I could watch a film a week apart and feel differently about it because it's just I'm coming to it with my own baggage and my own you know situations but what I did find was stretch marks I thought it was a really yeah 00:33:14.91 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:33:33.43 Chris Olson accessible relatable story like you said it's something that I think people will either have felt themselves about their own image or know somebody that certainly feels that way and what I did find I found Lyle a little bit of a hard character to connect with 00:33:41.45 Brian Penn Yeah. there 00:33:49.51 Chris Olson like you said i found him in his therapy scenes they were bits where i thought okay he's being quite open he's being sort of real and okay yeah but then there were scenes where he's with his family or even with his friend where i don't know i found his behavior quite off like he was sort of he was anti-social and 00:34:02.50 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:34:07.21 Brian Penn yeah 00:34:10.23 Chris Olson he didn't make very good choices and it was quite hard to sort of like him at times and that I did find because it was a difficult film to watch where he is the main character for all of it that yeah you do kind of need to connect a lot with him and that's not to say I felt that way for the whole film it was just there were bits where I was like okay like he's not you know he's here but you know I also understand that it's part of like 00:34:11.82 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:34:14.44 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:34:22.04 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:34:25.14 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:34:32.24 Brian Penn Yeah. a but Yeah. 00:34:36.29 Chris Olson his character's suffering, you know, that he's going through these, that maybe he is doing things that are not necessarily that likeable. 00:34:40.90 Brian Penn Yeah. yeah 00:34:42.37 Chris Olson um But yeah, no, it was it was a rich film. um I found the exploration of his relationships, how they were being affected not just by ah his plans to lose weight, but also by the grief, like you mentioned, their dad is this character that sort of been mysteriously mentioned that yeah he's passed away and 00:35:02.12 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:35:02.70 Chris Olson there's a few comments that are thrown around, sort of making it seem a little bit, okay, what what happened? like you And they don't really give you everything on it. 00:35:07.33 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:35:08.90 Chris Olson And I think that was a really good i way of drawing you into this family's situation. 00:35:08.99 Brian Penn Nice. 00:35:14.36 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:35:16.02 Chris Olson um But I also found there like There was that bit, there was the therapy bits, but there was quite ah a lot of the film where there wasn't much conflict. 00:35:27.26 Chris Olson It was just him trying to lose weight. it was And that went on for a lot of a lot of the time, which something which could have pretty much been a montage, right? 00:35:30.61 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:35:35.08 Chris Olson It could have been, all right, yeah. 00:35:35.50 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:35:36.71 Chris Olson And it was like, okay, he's lost a bit of weight. And then we go off again and have more scenes of him cutting out and cutting down and then weighing himself a again. 00:35:41.91 Brian Penn yeah 00:35:44.09 Chris Olson And it kind of, it felt a little bit repetitive at times to me. 00:35:46.32 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:35:47.44 Chris Olson um 00:35:47.94 Brian Penn Yeah. But I think that's may have been deliberate, though, on the filmmakers part, because for anyone trying to lose weight, there is an element of reposition that you follow the same ah line of action, the same train of thought. 00:36:02.34 Chris Olson Yeah. 00:36:02.74 Brian Penn know You cook the same things, you eat the same things, you exercise, it is repetition in order to reach a goal and a target. And for me, um it's getting a point across about somebody who is obese and trying to lose weight, but it's it's not a riveting watch at times. 00:36:22.96 Brian Penn um But what I found interesting about it was, yeah, you're right, it was very defensive when he was taught when he was communicating with people that weren't his therapist. Right. And what a lot of what you saw was underneath the surface. 00:36:36.45 Brian Penn Right. But again, I think that makes the story more compelling. Right. It makes you it provokes a feeling and opinion. 00:36:47.89 Brian Penn You think why does he do that? Why is he doing it? Why won't he be more open with the people closest to him? You know, he didn't treat his best friend particularly well, did he really either? 00:36:57.00 Chris Olson No, I found yeah that relationship a little bit toxic, but both ways. 00:36:59.90 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:37:00.16 Chris Olson They were both a bit horrible to each other at times. 00:37:01.50 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:37:02.98 Chris Olson And I think that is indicative of someone yeah who's not in the best place themselves, that they then do have these toxic relationships because they can't yeah be honest and be open and be, frankly, happy, to be honest. 00:37:03.33 Brian Penn but Yeah. Yeah. 00:37:15.03 Chris Olson And the fact that 00:37:15.51 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:37:17.25 Chris Olson he gets ah obsessed with the regimes and the supplements and he ends up hurting himself, like trying to push his training and and things like that. 00:37:21.86 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 00:37:26.02 Chris Olson um And then his life starts to sort of almost his life starts to fall apart, but he's so focused on the scales. 00:37:30.61 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:37:32.33 Chris Olson that He doesn't really sort of notice it happening that that was like compelling. I liked watching that. I thought, OK, well, at least we're watching this spiral. 00:37:42.39 Chris Olson And and it felt authentic it felt like something that was very believable and um but it's a very heavy film i found like i mean excuse the pun that it's very heavy film and um i felt it needed more levity it needed a bit more jokey bits to make him more likeable even if it was just small um because a lot of it was quite serious and i think someone watching stretch marks 00:37:46.77 Brian Penn no Yeah. Yeah. 00:37:51.27 Brian Penn yeah 00:37:53.87 Brian Penn hey 00:37:59.36 Brian Penn and 00:38:05.64 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:38:08.67 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:38:11.28 Chris Olson You're going to resonate with the drama and you'll probably resonate with the but filmmaking techniques if you're on board with that. 00:38:13.73 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:38:16.02 Brian Penn yeah 00:38:17.13 Chris Olson But I do think that a larger audience may struggle. 00:38:20.57 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:38:20.62 Chris Olson If you don't like Lyle, there's not much else to stick around for. 00:38:21.08 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:38:24.19 Brian Penn No, I know. I know it does need some some levity. I would agree with you there. ah But I think it portrays ah very real picture of what it what it feels like to be overweight and how it holds people back and how it stops them leading the best life that they can ah but what it it it does like that kind of positivity because but even when he starts to lose weight you think he would cheer up a little bit but yeah did you notice that even that when he was losing weight he didn't he wasn't any happier at all which is why I think the sessions with a therapist was so revealing 00:38:57.69 Chris Olson No. 00:39:02.31 Brian Penn Told you more about his character than anything else, really. Because he kept on saying, well are you happy? What do you really want? How is this helping you? and Physically, you're helping yourself. But what about your emotional well-being? Is it making you a more positive person? um And it gradually builds towards that point where he forces the issue with the um this gorgeous girl in the office, um who is who he likes. um And yeah, but a very interesting study. I mean, I suppose really the real test is someone if somebody watches that he's really been through it. And how real does it feel to them? So, you know, someone who was overweight and lost weight. And they look at this film, I think, well, how real realistic is it? Everyone's story is different. like Everyone has a different perception of health. 00:40:03.23 Brian Penn and fatality and being fit and doing things that we should should be doing to make us healthier. But that's the true test of a film like this, isn't it? 00:40:14.15 Brian Penn You know, let somebody say he's been through it. And would they understand that, you know, 00:40:18.03 Chris Olson Yeah. And if you want to watch it, um I think it is actually available. I'm not 100% sure. But ah if you go to Vimeo um and search for stretch marks, it's from Cat Rock Creatives. 00:40:30.33 Chris Olson It's about an hour and a half film. And it's written, directed by Gregory Rocco. ah So yeah, check it out. John Larkin is ah the star, as well. And um if you do get to watch it, it'd be interesting to get some opinions on stretch marks. 00:40:43.72 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:40:44.47 Chris Olson So send them in and if you decide to check it out because I do think you like Brian watching it a couple of times and myself watching it is definitely a film that can get you talking and can you spark some interesting conversations. 00:40:55.88 Brian Penn Yeah, I think I think that's probably the the strongest element of the film is that it does provide a wider conversation. um You know, and that's why I would have given it having seen it again, five years later. 00:41:12.37 Brian Penn Um, I, I, I think I'd squeeze another star into that racing because it is such a strong talking point. 00:41:16.78 Chris Olson Well, we'll review it again in five years and you might give it five stars then. 00:41:20.76 Brian Penn I know you never know. 00:41:21.27 Chris Olson you know We'll come back to it in 2029. 00:41:22.10 Brian Penn Do you never come back to five years? Yeah. 00:41:26.33 Chris Olson um Moving on to a short film, a fan-made film ah called A Train New Beginnings. And I'm gonna play a clip. um This clip does have some swearing in, if I remember correctly. 00:41:37.70 Brian Penn Oh right, 00:41:37.80 Chris Olson And I also think the sound goes up and down. So do don't turn your headphones up. 00:41:43.12 Brian Penn there you go, you've been warned 00:42:46.05 Chris Olson Yeah, I'm glad I warned people there because it was quite a ah splatter um if you if you hear that. 00:42:48.05 Brian Penn yeah no i can't i can't say i did no to be honest um oh well there you go you got the four 00:42:51.90 Chris Olson um So A Train New Beginnings fans of the TV show The Boys will recognize the name. Brian, had you heard of The Boys before seeing this? 00:43:05.05 Chris Olson So ah I'll take the lead on this because I had seen The Boys. um And anyway anyone who is a fan of The Phantom Zone, one of our other shows on the UK Film Review podcast, they i I think they did a whole episode on The Boys. So yeah, you can check that out. 00:43:23.84 Chris Olson um But yeah, The Boys is a graphic novel. It's been turned into a TV show. I haven't read the graphic novel, but I have seen the TV show and the spin-off, which was Generation B. um And A-Train is a superhero, one of Vought, the seven that are the ah ah sort of most popular superheroes, but they're not particularly nice. The seven, they are actually um well they're anti-heroes and they have a lot of um corporate kind of dealings and it's all kind of they are then um they then face off with the boys the boys are a separate group who decided to sort of try and but take them down uh the seven but a train is is one of the seven and yeah this essentially 00:44:05.61 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:44:11.21 Chris Olson is it was a fan-made film and it spins off slightly that it's as if A-Train gets thrown out of the seven decides to start his own ah career where he becomes a rapper ah um which is in this 20-minute film they do pack in quite a lot of storyline into that. 00:44:31.26 Chris Olson um Well, they pack a lot of footage of him being a rapper ah into that. 00:44:32.93 Brian Penn Hmm, cool. 00:44:35.77 Chris Olson And um the clip that you heard was yeah um with Homelander ah kicking him out. And yeah, it it goes from there. um It's written and directed by Chris Carthon, who also stars in the film. 00:44:49.97 Chris Olson And yeah, what did you think of this as someone who hadn't seen The Boys, Brian? 00:44:55.09 Brian Penn um I think it's really good fun. I really enjoyed this. Anything that pokes fun at Marvel, which it does, you know, just viewing this particular piece is poking fun at the Marvel strike DC, DC Comics film franchise. Anything that does that anything that deflates that balloon a little bit is fine by me. I love the idea of a a superhero who gets benched because when he does something wrong, let's put it that but way. 00:45:24.15 Brian Penn And then he reinvents himself as a rapper. And what's the song called that he releases? Mr. Ron Through Your Girlfriend. 00:45:31.38 Chris Olson Yeah, which which is indicative of what got him thrown out of his seven. 00:45:31.63 Brian Penn ah 00:45:34.75 Brian Penn Yeah. And he gets so many streams and competes with Taylor Swift and Beyonce. I loved it. i think it was I thought it was great fun. I think it's very likeable. It looks like a fan-made film as well. And there's nothing wrong with that. um But I um really enjoyed it. i mean it's It's just, that it's good it's a giggle. It's good fun. And it, um, it it gets the thumbs up from me. Definitely. 00:46:01.32 Chris Olson Yeah, I think that essence is there. They definitely captured that sort of rogue, punkish sort of feel that the boys has as well, which is, yes, we've got superheroes, but they are not likable and they are. 00:46:16.17 Chris Olson They've all got their own agenda. They do things to sort of subvert the other. um Some of the special effects actually were quite quite good. We've got the laser eyes and we've got things happening, which for a fan-made film was pretty impressive. 00:46:26.75 Brian Penn and know but 00:46:30.38 Brian Penn yeah 00:46:31.16 Chris Olson I actually thought 00:46:31.55 Brian Penn at point 00:46:33.03 Chris Olson The music videos were the strongest part. They had this music video that A-Train makes and it was really good. Actually, the production of it, it looked like a proper R&B video. 00:46:42.89 Brian Penn yeah Well, yeah, I was quite impressed with it actually in that way. 00:46:44.59 Chris Olson I was like, this is great. um the Yeah. and And the sound design of it was really good. um The initial scene with the ah seven, I think some of that dialogue was a little bit clunky. 00:46:56.02 Chris Olson It felt like maybe not everyone there was as comfortable ah reading lines and things. 00:47:01.16 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:47:01.24 Chris Olson But um again, I think it was like, if you go in knowing it's a fan film, then you actually get quite a good return on that. 00:47:10.67 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:47:11.75 Chris Olson But, you know, 00:47:11.86 Brian Penn Well, you make allowances, don't you really? When when you're not, when you know what the limitations are on a particular film, the way it's being made and you know what resources are available to them, then you kind of take that, all of that on board, don't you really? 00:47:24.47 Brian Penn And when you, when you um score a film, when you mark a film like this, you you do so knowing what what the parameters are in which they're working, which is only fair, isn't it? And I think you enjoy it more when you know what that's what they're working with. 00:47:40.65 Chris Olson Yeah, and I don't know if the plan is to do more because I found as someone I've seen the boys and stuff I was I was I was waiting for something more to happen because he goes off and has disruptor and yeah he does really well and he's doing well in the charts but not really much else happened and I thought Where's the peril? 00:48:00.69 Chris Olson Where's the reckoning? Where's the characters coming to sort of, you know, face off with him? 00:48:04.29 Brian Penn Okay. 00:48:05.36 Chris Olson It didn't really go anywhere. And I was waiting for that. So I did feel that if you watch this on its own completely, you know, as it is, it's like it's fine. And it's fun. But it doesn't necessarily go anywhere by the time you finish. 00:48:16.95 Brian Penn It's like Finale, isn't it? There's no climax. 00:48:18.58 Chris Olson No, so it did feel like it needed something. Although, if you do stick around right to the very end, there's an outtake, which was very funny. 00:48:26.57 Brian Penn Oh, yeah. 00:48:28.78 Chris Olson ah um It was just after the credits. 00:48:31.19 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:48:33.57 Chris Olson But yeah, no, I felt like it was a... A strong fan film. It was flawed. Don't get me wrong. I think there was some sound issues and like I said the think the earlier performances weren't great. But I think there's a lot of potential here. 00:48:42.68 Brian Penn um and Yeah. 00:48:44.32 Chris Olson There is also there's a built in audience that people already love the boys and like you say, people that are. Maybe they've got superhero fatigue and want something that's still in that arena. 00:48:52.19 Brian Penn we Yeah. well, yeah, exactly. 00:48:54.89 Chris Olson This kind of works really well. It has that same spirit that a lot of people really enjoy. And also, I just love the fact that it just shows what someone can do you just with something a passion project that they love. 00:49:05.19 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:49:06.95 Chris Olson um It does come up very early on with lots and lots of warnings about, look, we're not affiliated with all these other people. 00:49:11.57 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. they got made that clear of't though Yeah. 00:49:12.59 Chris Olson sot Don't come and sue us, um which I thought was really funny. 00:49:14.63 Brian Penn yeah know yeah 00:49:16.73 Chris Olson um But yeah, I think there'll be people out there, especially if you are a fan of the boys, you're going to get a big and kick out of that. 00:49:24.71 Brian Penn yeah It's good fun. And Chris, you've diagnosed my condition. Superhero fatigue. 00:49:29.54 Chris Olson Oh, yeah, I mean, I'd love to say I came up with that. But yeah, it's definitely something that's been around for a while. 00:49:33.19 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:49:34.77 Chris Olson But um yeah, superhero fatigue. 00:49:34.92 Brian Penn Right. That's exactly what I've got. It's good. It's good fun. It's good fun. It's rough and ready but you take it for what it is. 00:49:43.68 Chris Olson Um, so yeah, it's, um, a train new beginnings and there are, there's an Instagram profile for it, which is at a train fan movie or one word. Um, and the film link we got given was a YouTube one, but let me just see. 00:50:01.55 Chris Olson If it is I think it's public. Yeah, so I think you can look this up chris carthon's, uh, youtube youtube channel Um, and if you search a train new beginnings, uh fan-made film you'll you'll probably find it Um, yeah, it's only 20 minutes. I think it's worth your time. If you're a fan of this sort of thing, um, definitely Check it out and also head to the website. You can read jason's review. Jason loved it. He gave it five stars. Um, so yeah, I think you can appreciate it for what it is. Enjoy yourself. And yeah, for me, I felt like they could have done a bit more with it. But as it is, it's a lot of fun. So yeah, that's a train new beginnings, we are going to be moving on now to an indie feature film called continuance. 00:51:42.83 Chris Olson So, indie film, continuance, feature length. Do you want to give the rundown this one, Brian? 00:51:48.80 Brian Penn Yeah, sure. So, Continuance, it's written and directed by Tony Olmos, starring and Tony got, Gordakas, Laura Zuki, and Teresa Suarez. Continuance tells the story of Jordan Cassel, a lawyer with an obsessive personality. He lives with his wife Lynn and their housekeeper Lupe, who soon lives up to her name. 00:52:12.26 Brian Penn ah CCTV reveals their dark and terrifying activities as they capture unsuspecting strangers in a tangled web. Now this is an accomplished, well-crafted piece, but I suspect it has narrow appeal. It feels very niche to me. There isn't much in the way of a storyline, just my my feet feel there, but the the visuals take care of any shortcomings from that score. Not pleasant viewing, but it's not meant to be. It's horror. 00:52:40.98 Brian Penn It's definitely one of horror fans and we're going to a ah following in that community for sure, but very effective filmmaking, very dark, disturbing, but that's what it means to be and that's what it does. So very effective, very well done. 00:52:59.26 Chris Olson Yeah it's an interesting film this one because it felt like a bit of an odd mix because you've got this horror storyline ah with what they're doing at the house but then you've got also got this sort of like prepper's story where they're sort of preparing to lock themselves in and ah be away from the rest of the world. 00:53:18.63 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:53:19.02 Chris Olson um Yeah and also there's a strange dynamic because you've got the the main character the lawyer who's really eccentric and really odd and weird um and his wife who's like a new agey kind of healer type woman and then you've got their very odd helper Lupi who's yeah really 00:53:42.75 Brian Penn luy man 00:53:43.92 Chris Olson really strange and quite dark. and So it was a weird dynamic. I like the idea of that. It sort of was that you didn't really know what you were getting there and it was quite exciting to see what was going to happen. 00:53:51.07 Brian Penn yeah 00:53:56.71 Chris Olson i'm But yeah, it it was definitely something that I hadn't, I thought we were talking earlier, I didn't go in reading anything about this. And when I started watching it, it was not at all what I thought it would be. 00:54:09.16 Chris Olson um You couldn't really predict 00:54:09.98 Brian Penn What did you think it would be? What did you think it would be then? 00:54:12.07 Chris Olson Because it's a continuant and I thought that's like a legal term and he's a lawyer and I was like, okay, but it's really not about that. 00:54:14.74 Brian Penn Obviously, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Oh, I get it. Yeah, I see your main. 00:54:22.64 Chris Olson And yeah, it's got this sort of psychotic atmosphere atmosphere the whole time. 00:54:22.73 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:54:29.08 Chris Olson um It's really made it feel unpredictable. um I got kind of American psycho vibes from it in in that sense there's a bit where he yeah yeah he's he's quite weird and I think he sort of gets upset about the homeless at one point and yeah he's really odd um with but this character in the diner and he gets very sort of yeah strong with him that yeah that I think had a good resonance with it that it was that vibe that that tone of film that 00:54:36.51 Brian Penn Yeah, that's true. Yeah. Shakes a bit, isn't it? For sure. and 00:54:53.83 Brian Penn yeah 00:55:02.51 Chris Olson is exploring a very dark eccentric kind of character ah who's also yeah got these side characters that are equally as well not i suppose the the partners she's not really unhinged but she's different she's a bit strange and you don't really know where it's going to go um yeah 00:55:16.90 Brian Penn Yeah. Well. Yeah, I think it's safe to say all three characters are eccentric, aren't they? Unconventional. That's probably the safest way of describing them. 00:55:26.94 Chris Olson Um, but yeah, I found that I thought the performances were okay. I wasn't too sold on, on the lead character. Um, the main guy, uh, Tony Coradecas plays. 00:55:37.36 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:55:38.70 Chris Olson Um, I felt the narration in particular was a little bit crowbarred in, um, like he's reading or yeah why he's doing what he's doing. 00:55:49.28 Chris Olson And I felt. that sort of removed some of the mystery from the film as to who he was, what he was doing. 00:55:53.39 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:55:56.71 Chris Olson And I i don't know, narration's always a weird one. Like sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but I didn't find it worked in this case for me. um And also this sort of special effects that they used, like when Lynn's doing her healing sessions and there's like a lightning and stuff. 00:56:14.23 Chris Olson And um yeah, it felt a bit like, oh, okay, that's a bit weird. 00:56:14.41 Brian Penn Yeah. that 00:56:18.64 Chris Olson um But 00:56:18.69 Brian Penn yeah But yeah, I know i know what you yeah and' what you mean about narration though. 00:56:20.92 Chris Olson yeah 00:56:23.81 Brian Penn Sometimes it adds to the plot, sometimes it takes too much away from it. Because really, any sort of narration on any film, it's really ah it's a bit like breaking the fourth wall, isn't it? 00:56:35.18 Brian Penn Is that you're inviting the viewers and you're making the viewer or the audience your confidence. 00:56:37.74 Chris Olson Yeah. Hmm. 00:56:42.23 Brian Penn And I'm not sure that that quite works in this context, but it's a very interesting film though. 00:56:46.31 Chris Olson and mean We do get insight into him. He does sort of explain things like his need for control and how he likes things a certain way, but they're also that starts to crumble later on. 00:56:49.95 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:56:59.84 Chris Olson He starts to sort of become quite disturbed and that's then reflected with the crumbling of the society outside. There's a really weird scene where he goes out with a rifle and there's this these group of kids that are outside and they're also they've also got rifles and I felt that that needed a bit more exploring. 00:57:17.56 Chris Olson It's kind of like, oh, hold on, like this whole like end of the world type society that's going on was really interesting, but we're getting given this sort of murder mystery sort of thing on the inside. 00:57:18.20 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:57:21.19 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:57:25.81 Brian Penn Yeah. Well, I suppose really, it's a question of what you you found most intriguing is what was going on inside and what was going on outside. 00:57:33.64 Chris Olson Mmm. 00:57:34.00 Brian Penn And I what was outside was more peripheral, wasn't it really, but it may have given it more, um more depth if if we did see more of what was going on outside to give it more of a more of a contrast. 00:57:46.67 Brian Penn I think the goal that played loopy was good. i 00:57:49.30 Chris Olson Yeah, I thought she was a stronger performance and and she was having a bit of fun as well. 00:57:51.74 Brian Penn too Yeah, she was good. 00:57:56.19 Chris Olson It was sort of moments where you could see she was sort of having fun with this film and you sort of felt that energy coming through um because yeah, it's quite it can be quite dark and heavy otherwise. 00:58:01.82 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. Well, yeah, that's right. I think most horror movies will will inject some some humor. You have to do that. Because I think horror can be can and should be very tongue in cheek. You know, it should be taken for the that kind of slightly comedic um element. I think horror that takes itself too seriously. A lot of the time can can miss the point. You know, ah but yeah, it's a good effort. Very interesting. 00:58:35.18 Chris Olson Yeah, I think films like this are really great. i love Horror in particular is a genre that people get a kick out of it for different reasons, and they they attach things to different reasons. 00:58:48.24 Chris Olson And for me, the thing that kept me watching was that unpredictability but between those three characters, that dynamic. 00:58:54.53 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:58:55.95 Chris Olson like said theres There's a mystery going on behind what they're doing and why they're doing it and and what's going on. 00:59:01.92 Brian Penn Yeah. yeah 00:59:03.86 Chris Olson That for me was why I watched it. um ah But I think other people might find different aspects that they enjoy here um because it's a feature length, so there's always a little bit more to go on. 00:59:09.98 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:59:15.29 Chris Olson But I also think that they've put a lot in there. It's a well-packed film, if you know what I mean. 00:59:21.25 Brian Penn yeah they left it all all on there aren't they that's for sure yeah um have you noticed though that the number of indie features that we review that are horror based no it seems to be more it seems to be better represented than any other genre in in the but indie film making I wonder why that is or is it just coincidence 00:59:23.84 Chris Olson Hmm. 00:59:33.01 Chris Olson Yeah. 00:59:41.09 Chris Olson Well, I think... it lends itself right to the budget. So I think sometimes even scary films with no budget like Blair Witch Project can be really scary, right? 00:59:53.95 Chris Olson Whereas if you're trying to make, I don't know, a James Bond thriller, it's quite hard to sort of make it look good with a low budget. 00:59:54.37 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 01:00:01.43 Chris Olson So there's that. And often horror films, I don't know, like locations, you could film it in the woods, you could film it anywhere, right? It could be anywhere that's just dark and scary. 01:00:11.27 Brian Penn So it lenses. 01:00:11.35 Chris Olson um 01:00:12.03 Brian Penn So yeah, that's a good point. So it lends itself more too. 01:00:13.30 Chris Olson So there's this that. 01:00:15.51 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:00:15.60 Chris Olson But I also think that you know ah lot for a lot of people, those are the stories that they found the most compelling. When you were younger, you got told a a scary story. It sticks with you. 01:00:24.05 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 01:00:24.51 Chris Olson And yeah you want to do that. Because like we've said before, you me and you were not necessarily the biggest fans of horror. But we like it when it's done well. 01:00:32.90 Brian Penn Yeah, that's right. 01:00:33.63 Chris Olson But I do know a lot of people that love horror, it's that feeling like that they get. They don't get that from other genres. 01:00:38.47 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, that's right, yeah. 01:00:39.11 Chris Olson It's that feeling of being scared, which they love. um But yeah, I mean, continuance was a password protected link, so we don't have um the actual ah film available as far as I'm aware. 01:00:52.62 Chris Olson as's an Instagram ah page, I believe, instagram dot.com at itchy the scratcher ah underscores between the words. 01:01:03.02 Brian Penn Of course, actually, yeah 01:01:04.16 Chris Olson um So yeah, if you want to, you can look that up um and follow and follow some more details. They often let you know yeah when the film's coming out and where you can see it. ah Go to the site, you can read Jason's review from October. 01:01:15.57 Brian Penn yeah. 01:01:17.59 Chris Olson um And yeah, he he picked up some really interesting parts of the film too. he was talking about this sort of idea of misanthropy and some other stuff. So yeah, yeah well done to Tony Olmos and the cast. 01:01:29.48 Chris Olson I think yeah it's a really interesting film, lots there to unpick. 01:01:29.66 Brian Penn yeah 01:01:33.55 Chris Olson And yeah, I look forward to hearing some um reviews of that. 01:01:38.06 Brian Penn Yeah, definitely. 01:01:39.19 Chris Olson Moving on, one I reviewed very recently to us recording this ah the show, um which is the indie film Death, which is D-E-A-T-H, Death, by the way. 01:01:53.09 Chris Olson It's getting confused. 01:01:53.78 Brian Penn um 01:01:55.00 Chris Olson ah Written and directed by Anmol Mishra. 01:01:55.29 Brian Penn ah right okay yeah 01:01:58.50 Chris Olson now Australian art house film with horror inflections is kind of how I would describe this to anyone yeah looking up death and it starts out with this character Sabrina she's in a bathtub and it's looking pretty yeah pretty dire for her let's just say that 01:02:20.32 Brian Penn Not right. 01:02:22.16 Chris Olson and Not great. 01:02:22.20 Brian Penn Not right. 01:02:22.76 Chris Olson um The film then kind of moves backwards and we see what led up directly to that bathtub scene and then we jump in from further back and we meet ah Sabrina's friends and also her boyfriend Romeo. 01:02:23.10 Brian Penn not 01:02:36.91 Chris Olson um her friends Wendy and her boyfriend Maza they all have this dinner party and we learn that Sabrina so obviously she's got a boyfriend and the boyfriend had proposed at one point but also her and Wendy have a slight um romantic history, shall we say. 01:02:56.74 Chris Olson um And yeah, it's all kind of working towards this idea of how did we get to this opening scene? 01:02:57.75 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:03:04.42 Chris Olson What is that? ah Why did we get here? Yeah, it's it's a really interesting mix. I think films that try and combined well first off art house is already gonna alienate um a massive part of your of your audience and ah a lot of people were throwing around the phrase lynchian when they were talking about this film and i was like i'm not sure i would have said lynchian but i get i get the idea that maybe it's because it's unconventional um and it's it's doing something a little bit different but for me with death it was um it was a and i i did a video review for this um which you can watch on our youtube channel 01:03:19.76 Brian Penn Yeah, like I was saying, yeah. and time ah 01:03:27.14 Brian Penn Hmm. No, not really. Yeah. Yeah. 01:03:44.50 Chris Olson that I talked about, I thought it was a bit of an uncomfortable mix of ah the horror stuff with the sort of silly comedy stuff. ah How did you feel about death, Brian? 01:03:57.07 Brian Penn Well, look, it's well acted. I liked it, but I did struggle to follow it at times. 01:04:02.95 Chris Olson Oh yeah, it's absolutely bonkers, isn't it? 01:04:04.83 Brian Penn Yeah, it is. But I'm sure that's deliberate. That's the intention, isn't it? The premise is intriguing. you know It's portraying the final faults and memories of someone before they die. But to me, they didn't fill that space with a clear narrative. 01:04:19.96 Brian Penn Now, I think, as I said, that's deliberate to challenge the audience. But I think there's a limit to the amount of confusion they portray on screen. They have to rationalize at some point. um Was it a dream? Was it real? um But it's job done for the filmmaker because it's it's taking you to that point of thinking, right, you're scratching your head, you're not sure what it's about. But you know there's lots of interesting things going on there. the um That kind of mix between horror and comedy slaps the cool most 01:04:53.38 Brian Penn you know, doesn't always come off. I could see what they were trying to do. You know, the master was one of the characters that fascinated me. You know, he had a cigar that you never lit. 01:05:04.24 Chris Olson Huh. 01:05:05.60 Brian Penn And one of the characters that actually said that to them, they should really have explained that I was really, really curious about that. But look, you know, as I say, the premise is fine. 01:05:18.35 Brian Penn I like the setup, the storyline, basic storyline is good. um but it's not what I was necessarily expecting but you know it does the job and that's you know it's got they've got it across the line but you know there's always parts of a film like this that you could find quite annoying and parts you quite enjoy you know 01:05:39.17 Chris Olson yeah it's it's the start that Yeah, I think annoying was sort maybe a bit harsh, but I think the it's the that tonal yeah polarity that for me was really... 01:05:49.66 Chris Olson oh so you got that I loved the horror a bit actually. I thought that was just really striking, really interesting. But if I play you the clip, um it's a scene where Wendy and Mazda are talking and it's kind of this will give you the idea of what we mean by that sort of silliness. 01:06:03.74 Chris Olson So this is a clip from the film. 01:06:04.62 Brian Penn Mm. 01:07:06.84 Chris Olson i say 01:07:07.89 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:07:07.93 Chris Olson he 01:07:08.09 Brian Penn All right. I'll take it back, Chris. I forgot about that line about the chickens. That's actually quite good. Yeah. and Yeah. Yeah. but It's it's definitely got something, isn't it? 01:07:18.49 Brian Penn For sure. 01:07:19.66 Chris Olson But I think that clip really does, it shows you how like silly it gets, how yeah that tone gets to real. 01:07:25.85 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 01:07:29.05 Chris Olson like In my review, I talked about this like idea of stoner comedy. It was this sort of like, we're having a scene just for the laughs here, jokes and a lot of... 01:07:42.54 Chris Olson people would enjoy that it would enjoy that as like as a comedy film but when it's been put in the same sphere the same time frame as a horror film with a really sort of interesting and serious arthouse kind of vibe for me i felt that that comedy was going to let it down a bit and i think people would struggle to like both sides and both aspects i could be completely wrong i could find that you know maybe people absolutely love that but for me with death i thought i felt that tonally it was a challenge but i did enjoy a lot of it a lot of the aspects like i said the performances are really good the um the two lead actresses um who i'll give a shout out to samara gold pizar and lauren johnson 01:08:26.57 Chris Olson So Marigold plays Sabrina and Lauren Johnson plays Wendy. um Yeah, really good performances, ah really ah strong acting skills going on. They do some really daring scenes. And yeah, I thought that paid off for that side of it. But for me, they could have chopped out quite a lot of the funny stuff and the goofy stuff and still been left with ah a more interesting film. um But yeah, that was death. 01:08:56.07 Chris Olson So yeah, death let me see if we've got anything on that. I don't believe it's out. So I think we watched it on a film freeway link, which is the sort of festival link. But I think maybe when I went to the website, there was some stuff. 01:09:14.05 Chris Olson um Yeah, so. Let me just check that out. 01:09:19.73 Brian Penn Hmm. 01:09:21.14 Chris Olson Talk amongst yourselves. who It's from Prossia Media um and they have a website. 01:09:22.46 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:09:28.30 Chris Olson If you go to prosya.com, there's some really useful information on there. I think there are some links to where you might be able to see it. Sometimes with these films, they are you ah region specific. I feel like when I looked at those before, there's like a Google one and Apple one. I think they are US links, so might not be ah available for UK viewers. But yeah, um if not, go to Instagram, Prossia Media, P-R-O-S-Y-A, media, all one word, and follow them. And you'll be able to find out when you can watch death because, yeah, fans of art house, fans of... 01:10:04.57 Chris Olson ah yeah wacky combinations, I think you'd be in your element. I don't think it's a film that'll be for everyone. 01:10:08.78 Brian Penn Yeah? 01:10:10.22 Chris Olson and I think that ah the bits that are strong do get kind of outweighed slightly by the things that aren't as strong for me. 01:10:10.65 Brian Penn Nice. 01:10:18.23 Chris Olson But like I said before, I think the performances were great. 01:10:18.35 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:10:20.51 Chris Olson The horror stuff was really good. And I always like a film that does yeah at least try and be original, try and challenge itself. 01:10:22.68 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:10:26.85 Brian Penn Yeah, of course. Yeah. look I mean, we've often said in the past, haven't we, that if you, you have to dare to be different in filmmaking and not play too safe. So they've done that. They've like done something different and they did ah deserve a lot of credit for it. 01:10:42.53 Chris Olson so ah Moving on to our final indie film, a short film called OK Not OK. 01:10:48.50 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:10:48.63 Chris Olson um And I'm going to play a clip for this first. 01:11:23.78 Chris Olson So absolutely baffling clip there for you to to try and um unpack. 01:11:27.50 Brian Penn ah Yeah, well, yeah, it's a little bit. 01:11:30.85 Chris Olson But um written and directed by Padi Sohatta and yeah, starring Beyvari Manohara and Jay Taylor. it is set in, oh, so as we could say, a sci-fi future, ah I think that's what I say, where it's possible to have an AI robot, um essentially, who you can have a relationship with as long as you can afford the subscription. 01:11:46.41 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 01:11:57.73 Chris Olson um And yeah, our lead character, she has one, ah Loretta, she has a boyfriend, um but, yeah struggles to maintain the payments and her lifestyle, all the while becoming quite deeply entrenched romantically with her her robot boyfriend. um The whole film is shot on this static shot of sort of a would youco It's not quite a long shot, is it a mid shot? 01:12:27.15 Chris Olson I would say it's a mid shot. 01:12:28.46 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 01:12:28.99 Chris Olson Mid shot, but they they're very much due. The whole the whole pulp apartment is in focus and the the backgrounds keep changing quite quickly and the colour keeps changing. 01:12:39.37 Chris Olson It felt a little bit like an IKEA advert actually at one point. I was like, oh, they're swapping. 01:12:42.20 Brian Penn cra Maybe started out so you don't know. 01:12:44.64 Chris Olson yeah Yeah, it could double up. um But yeah, we've basically seen the insight into this relationship as she's yeah with this this robot, who looks like a human, by the way, doesn't look like a robot. 01:12:56.60 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:12:57.19 Chris Olson um And yeah, it essentially has problems with it. um And we see how that affects her. um It's absolutely hilarious at times. 01:13:07.75 Brian Penn and Yeah. 01:13:07.78 Chris Olson I thought it was really funny. The bit where she's on the customer service call with the Indian call center. 01:13:11.67 Brian Penn Yeah. and Yeah. 01:13:13.28 Chris Olson And he says something like, oh and oh, if you want me to be more polite, that's premium. 01:13:16.56 Brian Penn Yeah. yeah Get a premium, get a new premium love package. 01:13:21.33 Chris Olson Good. 01:13:22.83 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:13:23.06 Chris Olson um Yeah, what do you think, bro? 01:13:23.70 Brian Penn Right. Yeah. You know what? Yeah. I thought this was really good. In some ways, this is a classic short indie feature. It's basically set in one room, isn't it? Very rich dialogue, strong characters, you know, 01:13:37.80 Brian Penn And really, it's set in the future, but it says a lot about what life could be like in the future, couldn't it? 01:13:45.78 Chris Olson Not that far future as well, I think, yeah. 01:13:47.30 Brian Penn Well, yeah, and I know. But where we're reduced to a series of virtual transactions. um And so it's speaking a lot of truth and it's very perceptive. 01:13:57.99 Brian Penn It's very cleverly done. um As you say, it's very funny when they're on the lines of the customer services advisor. um you know Very, very good. 01:14:09.37 Brian Penn And again, no, it's original. I've not seen anything like this before. If you, you know, I'm in that way. 01:14:14.85 Chris Olson The only thing it reminded me of was, not that way, I've seen things like humans, it reminded me of the TV show where they have these like, ah yeah, robots that you can buy to sort of look after your house. 01:14:22.01 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:14:26.41 Chris Olson And it's a really good show actually humans. But this was done in a way that felt fresh, it felt original in in its own right. 01:14:32.66 Brian Penn yeah 01:14:34.34 Chris Olson It was, what I loved about it was this, um the whole thing had a pace to it that felt like an advert it felt like it was trying to sort of have that high octane energy but then at the core of it you've got this character who's deeply embedded in this situation there's all this stuff going on outside the window and it sounds like riots or gunshots and things like that but inside her flat is just changing lights and it's all quick fire it's all very very rapid that 01:14:43.55 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 01:14:59.22 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:15:06.40 Chris Olson it reminded me of what it sort of felt like it reflected how our society has become. We are very reliant on technology and how capitalism takes over all these things eventually and it will monetize even someone's lifestyle. 01:15:12.01 Brian Penn yeah 01:15:16.71 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 01:15:22.37 Chris Olson um And yeah, the fact that she was like a hermit almost ah by herself with this robot, it felt it felt very like it felt tragic. 01:15:22.70 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:15:27.98 Brian Penn yeah but I know. 01:15:32.76 Chris Olson but funny at the same time and how they've pulled that off is actually very impressive. 01:15:32.77 Brian Penn I know. 01:15:37.73 Brian Penn No, no, it is. I think it's very innovative and says a lot about the way The way things are going in in the way we we rely on sort of convenience and reinforce routine and habit. With this virtual boyfriend, she's watching TV, playing games, chess, eating together, discussing the meaning of life. But there's that disconnect between us and other human beings. It's solitary. And it's a frightening sort of vision in some ways. and 01:16:14.39 Brian Penn You know, it does make make you wonder how far away we are from it and how we we need to guard out against it as well. 01:16:20.60 Chris Olson And I think the tone of the film stops you from realizing how much despair there is going on here. I think that it is using these methods to keep you in a sense of like, this is really vibrant, really playful, really fun. 01:16:37.14 Chris Olson And then you're sort of, as over time, you kind of realize that, Wait well wait wait a minute, actually, this is actually quite a sad story. 01:16:37.23 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:16:42.10 Chris Olson like This is actually, yeah, it hits you really hard and you don't actually understand until maybe a bit later. 01:16:42.57 Brian Penn Yeah, it's quite serious really, isn't it? Yeah. I know. 01:16:47.24 Chris Olson And I think part of that is, yeah, due to the way they filmed it, it's got very high production values, it looks great. 01:16:47.94 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:16:51.99 Brian Penn Yeah, you're right. 01:16:52.91 Chris Olson um And it's also, yeah, the way that they've combined those elements to reflect the way that we're all being conditioned, the way that we're all experiencing life now. 01:17:02.63 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:17:03.96 Chris Olson I think it's a really strong film. um Yeah, I could easily see this doing, very well on the festival circuits and and things like that. 01:17:14.42 Brian Penn Yeah, definitely. 01:17:14.48 Chris Olson um And yeah, i'd I'd be happy to watch more films from Pardip Sahota. 01:17:15.33 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:17:19.59 Brian Penn Yeah, it. 01:17:20.64 Chris Olson Really good. 01:17:21.66 Brian Penn Yeah, it's a natural standout. I mean, very rare. Do you see something innovative? I know you mentioned hum the humans TV show, but um it's not something you see very often. 01:17:32.05 Brian Penn And it's it almost feels like an indictment of the way we are being conditioned by convenience by AI. 01:17:34.04 Chris Olson Hmm. 01:17:41.48 Brian Penn And that's the way it's going. and You think god we need to We need to put the brakes on really. Um, but yeah, 01:18:00.31 Chris Olson Yeah, no interesting, really interesting film. 01:18:03.29 Brian Penn definitely. I mean, it's going to strike a chord because you know, the, the, the facts is that we, we do live a very fast life, a very hectic life. That's. 01:18:14.02 Brian Penn ruled by rooting and habit and convenience. And that's what it's plugging into. And it's it's almost a frightening vision, but it gets it out there. It's important to have this as a serious study of modern living, future living. 01:18:29.74 Chris Olson So OK Not OK is not available in lineably. I think it is actually in the festival circuit. They sent some notes about it having its premiere at the Leeds International Film Festival. 01:18:41.05 Chris Olson and Yeah, so do stay tuned for them. The film itself has its own Instagram profile, which is okay dot not okay underscore short film. 01:18:52.05 Chris Olson So yeah, you might want to make a note of that. 01:18:54.29 Brian Penn Mm-hmm. 01:18:54.78 Chris Olson But definitely worth looking out for and and checking out and following because for me, when I see films like this, I'm always intrigued always think, right, okay, I need to see the next film that they make. 01:19:05.36 Chris Olson I need to see the next yeah one that they take on because I think there's a lot of potential here. 01:19:05.91 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:19:09.27 Brian Penn Yeah, but they put a marker down, haven't they, really, with a film like this. So, yeah, I'm very impressed. 01:19:15.07 Chris Olson And that's your lot of indie films. 01:19:16.97 Brian Penn Mm. 01:19:17.23 Chris Olson um We've covered seven films in this episode. And yeah, hopefully um some of them have piqued your interest. 01:19:20.63 Brian Penn Well. 01:19:24.95 Chris Olson You're gonna check them out. Some are are available online, some are not, but do follow everyone that we've mentioned, especially if we've mentioned their Instagram ah profile, because it's great to be able to, as we say, shine a light on these um these ah very talented filmmakers from across the world. 01:19:36.12 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:19:40.02 Brian Penn Yeah. Big thumbs up to all the directors and all the creatives involved in these films. The standard is incredibly high. I'm very impressed. 01:19:47.62 Chris Olson keeps keeps getting better and better. 01:19:49.30 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:19:49.59 Chris Olson um Or maybe we just become more appreciative, like you have in your five years, you know, since you reviewed. 01:19:49.95 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:19:53.62 Brian Penn ah we As I say, that extra star that, yeah, yeah we're all growing, aren't we? 01:19:55.53 Chris Olson Yeah, maybe it's that. Maybe you've grown. 01:19:59.93 Brian Penn yeah Which is all good. Yeah. No, really good. Very impressed. 01:20:03.82 Chris Olson But yeah, thank you for joining us on this episode of UK Film Club, an indie special this time. And we'll be back again a couple of weeks with our ah regular episode where we'll have, actually we'll have some more indie films in that because we had so many. 01:20:16.73 Chris Olson but We've got even more to do in there, but we'll also be reviewing some cinema releases and actually a couple of Christmas films, would you believe? 01:20:19.36 Brian Penn its no Yeah. 01:20:25.30 Brian Penn yeah 01:20:25.84 Chris Olson Yeah, not long now. 01:20:26.62 Brian Penn Looking forward to that. Getting the jingle jingle spirit. 01:20:27.95 Chris Olson Jingle, jingle. 01:20:30.23 Brian Penn Yeah. All right. 01:20:31.53 Chris Olson But yeah, thank you all again for listening. 01:20:34.36 Brian Penn Bye for now. Previous Next

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Read the film podcast transcript from the episode titled UK Film Club: 001 on UK Film Club part of the UK Film Review Podcast. < Back UK Film Club: 001 Listen to This Episode UK Film Club 00:00.00 ukfilmreview But but. 00:00.00 Brian Penn Something weird happened in there because it said your file was is now uploading or it's now finishing or whatever it says when the recording finishes then what? what? what happened there. 00:06.46 ukfilmreview Yeah, it was weird it just it came on and you just immediately kind of fell off and I was like oh okay, as worth. 00:17.52 Brian Penn And I would it's typical if anyone would do that I'd be me wouldn't it. Let's be honest, Yeah, how how are you do this. 00:20.75 ukfilmreview That's why I thought yeah I thought yeah is is is that enough already gosh Ah much better. Thank you? Yeah, um, it's been. It's been weird because they've had illnesses and illnesses and illnesses and then we had this little brief window where they were okay and thought oh this is going Well this is good and then out of nowhere. 00:35.48 Brian Penn There. 00:40.00 ukfilmreview I thought guys I feel sick come ah come on so 5 and one. So yeah, that age where they lick everything. 00:40.68 Brian Penn How old are they? Yeah well yeah, that's right, they that was going to say they're exploring aren't they and discovering like I Well yeah, let's not go there shall we yeah. 00:51.81 ukfilmreview The although I know some adults that still lick everything. So yeah. 01:00.41 Brian Penn Um I had a terrible cold early on in the week you know if we had to try to have done this on Tuesday or Wednesday I probably couldn't have done it I had a really bad cold but it's it's probably my first buy cold in about a year, but it's thank god it's cleared up fairly quickly. But yeah. 01:14.22 ukfilmreview You do sound a little bit bunged up. Actually your voice has got that quite yeah quite and like a nice ah country in Blues kind of feel to it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 01:19.66 Brian Penn Oh really, oh want a cool I want to so I now add an an interesting dimension to it wont that that how not please this could open up a whole new career for me couldn't you never know hey. 01:26.75 ukfilmreview Bash out the karaoke later on Mate because it does sound it sounds good. It sounds good. Absolutely absolutely well have you been there haven't been haven't spoke to you since last year and I think. 01:39.50 Brian Penn Yeah, no, not all good. All good, busy and work My my department's been dismembered. It's been broken into three but we're all still all right now. Um I I used to work in what was called Bays business ah business energy. 01:46.88 ukfilmreview Gosh gosh. 01:56.38 Brian Penn And industrial strategy. We're now just called db well we're called 3 different departments now you know, no no, one's lost in it and no jobs have been lost. It's just that we're we're in 3 different pieces now. So everyone's running around trying to work out how how we operate now because we've merged with another department called the department for international trade. So. 02:04.91 ukfilmreview I. 02:15.49 Brian Penn Um, don't don't ask me tweeten to go into detail because like I don't explain it Well it depends what you mean buy a property on doesn't it really? I'm what I work in policy which covers the multitude of sins and in the civil service Really we develop. 02:15.76 ukfilmreview Sounds very serious Brian it sounds very serious and you know like a proper job if you got proper job is on your 10 be and. 02:33.30 Brian Penn We Develop policy What it means is that we we make laws. Ultimately, that's what we do, you know in government central government you either work on the on the policy side formulating policy developing laws or you work on the operational side service Delivery. So I'm on the policy side at the moment and I don't Know. Um, how aware you are of these things but there's an economic crime bill going through parliament at the moment which is designed to make ah companies more transparent in the way they trade and do business and that it's less. We're trying to make it less easy for criminals to to use. 03:11.70 Brian Penn Limsey Company structure as as ah as a cover So we we introduced legislation last year to force not just Russian Oligarchs but anyone who's been investing it in foreign regimes that that are. 03:14.71 ukfilmreview Oh wow. 03:30.52 Brian Penn Dangerous shall we say so um, have to declare property they own over here. So when Russia invitedd the Ukraine people were jumping up and down and saying you know the lights of Roman of Ramovvich and others could own prop over and we know nothing about it because it's all through a trust. So it's about transparency and making people more accountable, but that's the area that I'm work in. Are you still a white I usedton. 03:53.20 ukfilmreview I feel I hope I hope you already have the rights to that story right? because you're gonna be yeah I can already see this as a film right? This works you know you're you're going after the russians money they're gonna come after Brian you know they're gonna be chasing you in the street. Ma. 04:00.99 Brian Penn Oh Wow. Well yeah I Guess so but you know it's It's a very interesting area to work in and I wouldn't overplay my role in it really to be honest because I I sort of work On. Ah, special projects you might say um it but you know it's um, it's It's like a kind of roving brief. So Whatever they put in front of market on with it but a lot of it is to is paperwork really or virtual paperwork. So. 04:20.66 ukfilmreview Of course you do. Of course you do. 04:38.41 ukfilmreview So well, hey go. 04:40.12 Brian Penn Yeah, so quite busying work. But yeah, um, I'm all good apart from that apart from the cold and yeah, all good. 04:47.60 ukfilmreview Fantastic. Well thank you for joining me on what is a brand new chapter in the Uk Film review Story which I know you've been a big character already so far. Um, and for those who are listening This is episode. 04:55.63 Brian Penn Well hope. So. 05:04.63 ukfilmreview 1 of a brand new show part of the Uk film review podcast we're calling for now Uk Film Club and we've been kind of toying with this idea for a while I spoke to Brian Ratz last year and the idea was to have a podcast that was kind of like a book club. 05:18.37 Brian Penn Um. 05:23.32 ukfilmreview Where you had maybe like set reading whereas we've got set viewing that we would have like films that we want to watch or that we're going to watch but what we want is actually for our listeners to pitch in you know, send in your voice notes and reviews of the films that we're covering and the films that we're going to cover. 05:26.39 Brian Penn Over with. 05:42.81 ukfilmreview Because everything's better when we share. We know this and it's better connected that someone's slogan I'm going to get in trouble for using that. But um, yeah, and also it gives us a chance to do what you came from review does at its very best which is cover everything like what we want to do is cover. 05:46.28 Brian Penn Um, yeah, yeah. 06:01.85 ukfilmreview Cinema releases which Brian is going to be very much the the lead on that and some streaming and also some indian short films which we are always championing always on the lookout for it for good ones. So in this episode. Um, we've got. And absolute schmorgas board if I'm honest, there is ah I is right? Um, schmorgasord I said it's slower than um, this is great because Brian has seen a whole bunch of theatrical releases and we're going to tap into those first. 06:20.15 Brian Penn Well, that's a good word So there again say again. Yeah. 06:39.22 ukfilmreview Um, but coming up later on as well. We're also going to be looking at the big streaming release everything everywhere all at once which is very timely because the oscars at time of recording this are just around the corner and I know it's been doing very well in a lot of the award shows. We're also going to be doing a couple of. Ah, in the films one is called pavvo nocturnus and the other one is called love and we're going to be finishing up with what I'm currently holding the nostalgia hit or this nowja pick. Um, won't tell out any people what it is because I think you should listen in to get to the end to see which classic film me and Brian are going to review. Um, as long as I haven't put in the description of this episode and you're seeing it. Um, but before yeah I must make a note of that don't make a note with that. Um, but before we get. 07:15.72 Brian Penn Oh yeah, yeah. 07:25.58 Brian Penn Yeah, message to self. Yeah. 07:34.47 ukfilmreview All of that we're gonna head to the big silver screen Brian where ah well I have the Whitney Houston film first. Are you happy to start there all right? So I want to dance with somebody go for it. 07:38.78 Brian Penn Um, yes. 07:42.46 Brian Penn Yeah, we can start there. Yeah, it's a film that's still running. It came out on boxing dy but it's still going strong and for a buyeric I think it's pretty much doned the jaw. There are no great revelations. There. It tells us things that we already know about Whitney but what it does do is showcase a unique talent and also brings to the for a very good accent noma right? Yeah naomi aey who was a wartime slow girl. She's a London girl doing a great. Whitney Houston now she she does sing occasionally but with the hits it's no miakki singing. But I think it's a really good entertaining. Fun movie to go out and watch now I suppose if you are a fan of Whitney that does help a lot. But even if you're not a fan. Um, it's it's worth watching. It's worth seeing just to get some depth of the talent that she had the person she was and the demons that she was always fighting which which are ah ah focused which I focus in on in in this film particularly this. Ah, constant fight that she had to be accepted as a black recording artist when she was always been accused of making pop records or making music for white people when it that wasn't the case at all because r and b is r and b is so and um. 09:17.35 Brian Penn It's a very good movie Stanley Sushi's in it. He plays Clive Davis the um the record company boss who who signs Whitney um, so very good film. Some really good performances. There. We got Clark Peters playing John Houston who that's the the father of of Whitney and a very good film. Great hits to look back on if you grew up in the 80 s it will bring back some great memories for you but also tells a fairly balanced story of a fragile and damaged character who left this far too soon. Think that's the great sadness there is that you know they say the worst thing in life is wasted talent and it was and she was 48 when she died but here's an opportunity to be entertained by a great talent. Very good film. Very watchable. 10:07.64 ukfilmreview Wow! Well I must say I'm a sucker for a musical biopic because big fan music. Yeah a musician song and I I find that there are always good stories because you're dealing with a character that is artistic and creative. So there always trouble. 10:22.70 Brian Penn Course cell. Yeah. 10:26.88 ukfilmreview And you've got. But yeah, obviously when you've got someone with complete household name and funnily enough on the poster for this. It says about it's from the writer of behemi rhapsody that these. 10:32.71 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah. 10:40.59 ukfilmreview Household names people that I'd grow up. We are listen my parents help mentioned this person mentioned that person and suddenly we're getting these films about yeah the fictionalized films about these people or or an attempt to tell a story about this person that it's interesting and I think they obviously from a. 10:43.90 Brian Penn E. 10:58.74 ukfilmreview Um, production point of view. The film companies can kind of count on the fact that they're already tapping into a big base. Yeah know they know that people they're going to get bums on seats people are going to turn up. No one's going to sort of avoid this if they're already a fan of Houston's music so there is that side of it. But. 11:05.23 Brian Penn Oh yeah. 11:12.26 Brian Penn There there. 11:17.12 ukfilmreview I do like about this year I've gone through um the Carson I've seen I also have've watched a trader and I've read your review and things and it's one of those films I know once it comes on like I will watch it. Um, just for the listeners. You might be wondering why Brian sees the the cinema films and I don't I've got two young kids and I find it very difficult to get out. 11:22.32 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 11:36.57 ukfilmreview So um, that might change over the years who knows. But right now we me and Brian already have to reschedule our podcast because my kids are always sick. So um. 11:36.67 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, you know? Yeah yeah, ah. 11:47.98 ukfilmreview Yeah Brian bless him gets to go out and go to the cinema and watch all these great films. But then I get to live vicariously through him. Yeah, he tells me what they're like and now that he's telling you as well. Um, but what would be great if anyone has seen or want to dance with somebody please do. 11:54.91 Brian Penn Um, oh yeah, yeah. 12:03.77 ukfilmreview Send us your um, your voice notes and things. Um, we'll put some instructions on our website on as to how to do that because we would like to add them into our actual show next time. Um, okay, good good. So that's I want to dance with somebody now. 12:21.49 Brian Penn Um. 12:22.50 ukfilmreview Next film I had on your list that you've seen. Um, till is that right. 12:26.36 Brian Penn Ah, till yeah, ah one of my favorite films actually that's still our general release at the moment. This is a true story of Emmet till 14 year old boy who who was. 12:29.25 ukfilmreview Wow. 12:40.78 Brian Penn Lynched murdered in Mississippi in one fifty five because he winked at a white girl. It's an amazing story a terrifying indictment of the way human beings can treat each other just because the color of a person's skin is different. And what's frightening about this and impressive at the same time is that it actually happened you think this couldn't be possible surely but of all the the horrors that happened in the deep south ah of America this has got to be 1 of the most. Troubling episodes you are ever likely to see because you keep on checking yourself when you when you watch your filmist you think god this is true. This actually happened and the star movie is basically the the mother mamie played by Danielle Deweiler ah who was excellent. And the part and she is the star in the film essentially Jaling Hall's very good as Emmett's hill but it's it's Daniel Deadweer who steals the film from everyone because of the way mamie in real life reacted to the the murder of a son she insisted that. His body be viewed in an open coffin just so people could see what they'd done to us son and it led it led to ah a change of attitude really because um, they um, how can we put it. The. 14:13.34 Brian Penn Mood at the time when there's laws in in in America were at a stage where they how can we put it? Um, ah sorry. 14:29.50 ukfilmreview Pardons. Ah, we'll get Ill Now you've been around my kids too much know you right? you? Okay there. 14:29.71 Brian Penn I. 14:41.49 Brian Penn You can you edit that bit. 14:42.63 ukfilmreview Oh yeah, yeah, no worries. Good great take time they worries me. 14:46.44 Brian Penn Yeah, oh I'm gonna make scare drink. 14:53.89 Brian Penn Or I could do I could feel it You know when you get a sick when you throw and it spreads it gets worse right? where and where'd you want to start from. 14:59.81 ukfilmreview Um, once it goes you can't do anything about it. Yeah, you have to just cut it out right? They worry um just talk about the the laws you you were nearly there. So just the the American Um, yes. 15:14.22 Brian Penn Yeah, so so yeah the the beauty of till is that it tells a harrowing story of ah laws that in in America that precipitated the civil rights movement. And it just tells a wonderfully real story of what can happen to people just because their skin is a different color. It's a film that's been sadly overlooked I think ah it has won summer awardves and most films do win a awards in 1 description or another but it hasn't it's been bypass in the Oscars which I find surprising but it's it's an amazing film and this is great storyteing. So it's as to say it's one of the the best films that I've seen on release at the moment. 16:04.43 ukfilmreview I mean I remember the the story of Emmett till when I was studying at Uni and it was um, shocking and obviously ah that period of american history is absolutely fraught with these horrific stories and times of. Discontent and um, we've seen quite a few films come from that period because obviously a lot of the popular figures around that time Martin Luther King who thought that you're going to have those films have all kind of emerged and with something like this. Yeah, you've got. 16:26.57 Brian Penn In. 16:32.60 Brian Penn That. 16:40.79 ukfilmreview Ah, character that would have been unknown is not. You know, not like ah a celebrity character as such., You've got someone that is um and unknown I'm wondering if that's where it's kind of being missed Maybe because like I said yeah yeah I agree I've not really heard a massive amount of about this. Whereas you know some of the other films we're going to look At. There's been a lot of coverage about them. Um, yeah, and it's obviously tackling um or looking at racism that there does seem to be a lot to for people to maybe have to engage with here that maybe it's sort of. 17:01.59 Brian Penn Yeah, so. 17:18.25 ukfilmreview After the tumultuous few years that we're all having that It's what maybe it's been unfortunately timed you know with all that. 17:22.84 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, maybe that's it maybe there is a reluctance to confront the issues that they present in this film because I mean you look at George Floyd for example and and what followed followed that maybe it is uncomfortable to it's not an easy watch. 17:36.75 ukfilmreview And. 17:42.19 Brian Penn To say the least, but it's just it's it's scary, but it's it's riveting you just can't take your eyes off it and as I say Daniel Debweilo is amazing in the role incredible film. It really is but ah, we're quite right too. Um, it's nice to see that out. O. 17:53.19 ukfilmreview Well, it's got a nominated for a bafta so you know we're trying. 18:01.48 Brian Penn Our Academy ah as recognized. It's it's for you but a very good filmer. 18:04.46 ukfilmreview Well, that's tilll so I do hope people seek out again. Yeah with anything Brian recommends goes on my automatic list of must watchtes. So I this sounds right on my street. It's exactly kind I fill my lu watching so I will be looking out for that one. Um, next up is an interest in one because it's been quite a bit about this so I'm intrigued to see what you think about babylon. 18:31.26 Brian Penn Babylon right? Okay so Babylon is the story of the Hollywood Golden Era just as it's transitioning from silent movies into the tool keys. So it's ah it says it's ah, an area that's been raided. Frequently in the past by filmmakers this version stars brad pit as Jack Conrad an actor who fears that his career might be over because the tool keys are now with us and it also stars Margot Robbie as Nellie Leroy who's ah, a very. Smart fast talking kid that's trying to ah wheedle her way into into the filming industry and in many ways it's it's a handsome looking film. It's brilliant to watch but the length would put a lot of people off I'm sure it's 3 hours 9 minutes long and that. That is ah a hell of an ask really to to invest that amount of time to sit in 1 position to watch a film as to say it's a great looking film. You know it's very reminiscent of the classic hollywood era and so far that the the visuals are set pieces. You could say it's cecil b deille it's it's got that kind of. Appreciation is scale. So the visuals are fantastic, but it's very funny in places. It's hilarious. You know they're true within the film they're trying to shoot a scene in a film that um, they're trying to get. They're still getting used to the idea of. 20:04.14 Brian Penn Sound as well as visuals and they keep on trying to take the same scene and they keep on getting it wrong and it is brilliant. It is so funny the way they're all reacting and Margot Robbie does anger frustration so well and it is brilliant but it's buried. 20:10.74 ukfilmreview For fifth. 20:22.88 Brian Penn You know at different points in the script. You think oh that's great I really enjoyed that bit but then it kind of seeps into self-indulgence slightly I think because of the the length of the film I mean they say that all films are 20 minutes too long I would say this film is an hour too long. You could quite easily chop an air off this and it would be a much better film for it. Having said that life. It is good because of the production values the way it looks because you've got margo Robbie you got Brad Pitt and it it does tell that story of rank debauchery in hollywood. That wasn't seen by the masses you know at the top you know the the the visible side of hollywood at the time was very wholesome and very clean cart but underneath it all that it was chaos. You know it was complete the ballry and that's what it. But that's what it it depicts very well. But. You know some places are very dark film as well. But very entertain if you can cope with the length of the film. 21:28.93 ukfilmreview Yeah I always think you know any film that's pushing past or any like two and a half hours to be honest, be pushing past two. It's ah yeah, you got to have a reason this looks like the kind of film that has that cinematic feel to it like it needs to be seen in the cinematic it has that big screen appeal. 21:42.94 Brian Penn Oh yeah, you've got to sit on a big screen. Definitely. 21:46.69 ukfilmreview Yeah, that that feels like that's there obviously'll see um daen Chazelle known for his big epic blockbusters like Lala land and stuff that I think this feels very much in the same ballpark that you you kind of like go see at cinema it's a celebration of cinema and. You've got to I think invest in it I guess but with that kind of cast and the spectacle at least you get your money's worth from a cinema ticket. You know I think that that's worthwhile. Um, but yeah babylon I I will probably watch it. 22:13.85 Brian Penn Oh yeah, no question. 22:21.20 Brian Penn I don't. 22:22.76 ukfilmreview But in my in my typical routine of a 3 hour film I will watch it in about 8 parts say. 22:26.76 Brian Penn Yeah, probably yeah, kind of makes sense. Also if you're a jazz fan. There's a great soundtrack on the film as well. Which is really sort of jazz based. But it's brilliant brilliant soundtrack. So yeah, but I think what will probably happen is that people will wait for it to go online and they'll see it then and as you say. 22:35.26 ukfilmreview Um, ah. 22:45.31 Brian Penn Break it into parts. You know deerro said recently when he was being in when Robert de niro was being interviewed about the irishman which was 3 hours 27 minutes so he was asked. You know are you happy for people to see it in separate parts because it it aired on Netflix he said yeah, it's okay. 23:00.77 ukfilmreview Please. 23:02.49 Brian Penn And people were shot that even deerro said it's okay if you want to watch it in bits. So if deerro says it's okay Chris it's okay. 23:08.41 ukfilmreview Well, we've been doing it since we have Vhs I don't know why people think that we didn't do it before and like it's not Netflix that invented the pause button and I think also there's there is a yeah, a good thing about watching a film or all in 1 go because you'd never. 23:15.68 Brian Penn Oh not cook song Nine nine 23:28.24 ukfilmreview Break your yeah momentum with it. But there are other films that often benefit from that little break, you know sometimes it's like okay, right? yeah and then you can come back in especially if you're looking at these kind of like um, three four hour films I when I watch the extended lord of the rings. We used to have them on Dvd. 23:34.35 Brian Penn Yeah. 23:42.54 Brian Penn O. 23:47.49 ukfilmreview Or a blue rate and they were on separate discs. Anyway, you had to they couldn't fit it all on 1 disc so you had to like get up and change it over and it's just just was what it was it't um, some cinemas they still have intervals and they they still have like breakkes in the middle. So it's not I not unheard of I think people just get all. 23:48.92 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah. 24:00.23 Brian Penn Yeah, that's right? yeah. 24:07.50 ukfilmreview Ah, bit funny about it as if there's some kind of magic that happens if you endure 3 hours without somehow needing the toilet. It's like what. 24:13.46 Brian Penn Yeah, but yeah, but I think also also though that you can make a film 3 hours long if you decide to sit down and watch it all the way through it make it 3 hours long by all means provided that you're doing something this is from the filmmaker's point of view. Do something meaningful with the extra time. 24:30.38 ukfilmreview Um. 24:32.63 Brian Penn Screen time and don't just let it slide into something. It's really self-indulgent thing. Oh this this is good I'll put this in because really, if an editor had sat down with the director they could have taken an hour off they could have kept the the full uncut version for late release. But I think that might have helped it stay on general release for longer. 24:49.87 ukfilmreview Well going back to like the Whitney Houston 1 is it sometimes I feel sorry for historical biopics and with till as well because there probably is so much history and story that it want to put in because it gives context and it gives yeah. 24:52.18 Brian Penn Um. 25:05.20 Brian Penn O. 25:08.27 ukfilmreview Information but as a piece of art you have to be able to tell that story in a way that's going to you because if you go back to the oldest form of storytelling which is just telling people. Yeah, then you're not Goingnna keep them around you. They're gonna wander off, they're going to walk off if you give it's too long if you don't keep it on point and I think that's. 25:16.20 Brian Penn Um. 25:19.23 Brian Penn Who Yeah coax. Yeah. 25:28.24 ukfilmreview Yeah, like say the job of the editor. It needs to be done if you're saying that you could see they're cutting an hour from that film. Then yeah I think that's that's fair enough and like say it seems to be showing as as to the reaction to the film. So well. Well. 25:33.98 Brian Penn There. 25:42.75 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 25:47.54 ukfilmreview Ah, that's that's ah, that's babylon. So um, we're gonna head to 1 of the greatest directors of all time next Steven Spielberg who's latest film. The. 25:56.87 Brian Penn Here. 26:01.52 ukfilmreview Ah, you Pullmans is that I think that's still out that's still in in Cinema's moment. 26:04.48 Brian Penn That yeah that that's still running the fiveos really should should be called the spillelbergs I mean it's the it's the story of Steven Spelberg's family when he was growing up. This is the ah typical family living in America in the Midwest. Ah, the father is a high-f flying technical whiz kid electrical executive who's dragging his family all over the country ah to further his own career and the the mother is a talented pianist but is. Is trapped in domesticity. She's there to keep the home raise the family and they have 3 daughters and a son who's obsessed with film by filmmaking I wonder whether who that is um, but it but it resonates it will resonate for a lot of people where. 26:50.30 ukfilmreview This is. 26:57.92 Brian Penn Where you have this dynamic between 2 very talented parents one has a career the other one doesn't because she's expected to be the mother to be the nurr and I think people obviously are going to relate to that and that was really the story of the spillbergs and it it kind of unlocks a secret. Ah, through his love of filmmaker. So it is pretty close to stevenpielberg's family and the way he grew up and the way his parents works as a unit if you like Michelle Williams plays Mitsy the mother she's been nominated for an Oscar and she's very good in it. Poor Dan I plays the father ah Judd Hirsch ah does a very brief term a 5 minute turn as uncle Boris and he's got an Oscar nomination for it. I still can't work quite work out. Harry's got that. But you know it's all about opinions isn't it. But um, not a typical spelberg film insofar that it's not. A popcorll movie. It's not like Jurassic Park or Indiana Jones it's not like that. So. It's a film that makes you that challenges you more and and a more in virtual level on a more emotional level. It becomes a different kind of Spielberg film but it is Spielberg and it works and it holds your attention so it does all the things. That you expect the spielberg films to do so very good film very watchable and at a more reasonable running length as well. I think this is 2 hours twenty I think on two thirty one I beg your pardon no two thirty one but 28:26.19 ukfilmreview Two thirty on the I give you but but yeah, close enough I mean 10 minutes for for credits right? a. 28:34.53 Brian Penn Ah I was guys got to say take off the credits. It probably is about two twenty but ah, a very good film. You know one thing you can say about stevenpielberg is that he tries something different with every film he makes and there are he's not afraid of experiment I mean this this is a semi-autobiographical sound. But. There are very few directors that are bold enough to try things that are different so you won't stay in his comfort zone and he is. He's confronting his own family story and there are some other uncomfortable home truths. There. Ah that come out as well. So he's brave on on his part to do that. But. Very very good film very watchable and a nice film to go out much. 29:16.45 ukfilmreview Fantastic sounds great. Always gonna watch a spillberg you got to watch all the spill bugs. There's no way around it. 29:20.58 Brian Penn Well, it's it's yeah, it's almost like a kind of an obligation when you become a film fan. You've got to watch the latest Spillbo movie. However, you however, it turns out whether you like it or not yeah Spillbo is that kind of director. You've got you've got a watch where he does. 29:26.19 ukfilmreview The. 29:38.78 Brian Penn You know? yeah he plays the daddy plays. But yeah, he's very good Seth Rogen's in it as well. Who plays the best friend Benny so again, very strong cast all work really wellke. 29:39.39 ukfilmreview I'm also a big fan of Paul Dano and he plays a character in the film. So I'm very happy to watch him if. 29:56.80 Brian Penn It's a nice fill. Very nice fill. 29:58.39 ukfilmreview Here we go. Um, now if you haven't heard of this next film then I'm guessing you don't have the internet because it is everywhere and I'm glad it is because it stars 1 of my favorite actors of all time Brenda Fraser it is of course the whale. 30:12.21 Brian Penn No yeah. 30:16.60 ukfilmreview And I'm gutted I haven't seen this yet because it's been around for a while. It's also Darren Aronovsky who I love so tell me Brian tell me. 30:19.55 Brian Penn Yeah, yes, it's I think you're in for a tree and everyone listening is in for a treat if they haven't seen this film yet stars Brendan Fraser in what you would call a career defining role is absolutely amazing. In this film. He's got the Oscar nomination for best actor and I I think he will win it I think the only other nominee that could challenge him really is bill naye for living. But I think he's he's nailed on to win the Oscar for best actor he plays Charlie who's an english chooseer who's morbidly obese. Ah, trapped in his apartment. He's carer Liz played by Honiao who's also been nominat night for an Oscar plays his carer who's fighting to keep him alive and as his health worses. He tries to repair his his relationship with East Daughter Eie who's played by Sadie think I think it's an amazing film. But it's amazing more for the performances than the film itself. What I think is surprising whilst the the performance of the actors as 1 universal a claim the film's got mixed reviews oddly enough I think if you look on rotten somemaos. 31:33.64 ukfilmreview Um. 31:36.83 Brian Penn It's got like 66% which is kind of like a middling sort of score which doesn't really match up with you know the acts in performances. You think how can that be and I think probably part of the problem here if there is a problem at all. Um, but being critics. We do take these things apart. Don't we um. It's based on a stage play and I think it really shows because the film itself barely ventures outside the room that e more or less inhabits and you think well that's what the character is because he's morbly obese. But I think it's not using all the options that film gives you because there are no. Flashbacks. There is a really interesting backstory there that it develops but they don't use that that option that they can use on film. So. It's obviously a stage plate but you know if you were being hypercritical. You could say that it it's simply filming the story on stage and pointing a camera at it. But that would be a minor quibble to most because it's it's a riveting film. You cannot take your eyes off it. The prosthetics are incredible really because obviously Brendan fraer Fraser hasn't put on. God forbid hasn't put on weight to play this role but the prosthetics are really convincing and it's ah there are the performances are stronger than the film itself I think because it is a stage plan. It kind of feels a bit rigid but I mean again, it's a minor point. It's a wonderful film to watch and by the way the well. 33:12.70 Brian Penn Isn't a reference to him as a carrot so it's a reference to the well in Moby Dick which is integraed to the story. That's being sold here. But it's it's a brilliant film. The acting's amazing. I mean you you just that Characterrot's type of carro see it doesn't make you feel pissy for the character but you're rooting for it. And that's the secret of acting is to make you care and make you want a happy ending for him. It's lovely. It's beautiful. Film. 33:29.91 ukfilmreview Um. 33:36.67 ukfilmreview So well Brian thank you so much for rounding up those cinematic releases. Um, and I think yeah, what an amazing selection this time the year does tend to have some good releases because they're all in the run up to the to the oscars. So. 33:51.25 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 33:53.52 ukfilmreview I'm not surprised that we've got some great films there. But yeah, very impressed by what I'm hearing and yeah, if you're listening and you want to share your thoughts on any of the films that Brian went through please do a heads our website you get from you credit k and there'll be a button somewhere I'll put a button somewhere. 34:10.37 Brian Penn Pull upon it pull up on it. 34:13.30 ukfilmreview Ah, but button. Um, and now we move to the streaming I might put in a funky little guitar there or something but you're not going to know that I would yeah I'm a a double little like in Wayne's world or something you know like that. Yeah. 34:19.19 Brian Penn Right? do and I need something doesn't it. Yeah yeah, something know when it's coming in so people know when they listen when it's coming in. Yeah. 34:32.41 ukfilmreview I'll put it in in posts. Don't worry. Um, but this film much like the whale has been everywhere and everywhere is even in the title. It's just I mean come on come on. Um I should write some of this down really but I don't um, everything everywhere all at once. 34:38.56 Brian Penn No, that's a good link that is a good link. Really. 34:49.90 ukfilmreview I Watch this based on a guy I work with it's like he said it's his favorite film and I'm always very much like if someone says it's their favorite film and it's a new release I'm like okay well it must be pretty good for you to have done that but um for me. Ah. 34:55.81 Brian Penn You. 35:06.73 ukfilmreview It was something I definitely wanted to watch because I'd heard great things I'd also heard it is a multiverse film which we've had a few of those in the last few years and it was apparently the the one to beat them all. We was this is the the multiverse film that's actually done it very very well so I was very intrigued to watch this and luckily it was on. 35:13.34 Brian Penn There. 35:26.60 ukfilmreview Amazon prime as I able to catch it. You see that too right bro. 35:30.40 Brian Penn I've seen it? Yeah but I did what you did Chris I saw it in maybe 4 sections I I felt really on it can't be can I be frank can I be candid with you and I wasn't overly impressed with it. You know. 35:37.59 ukfilmreview Go for it. Oh My goodness. 35:44.89 Brian Penn I fire I find the story like I not I'm baffled I'm baffled by the storyline and I'm baffled that it's got an Oscar nomination that doesn't mean to say it doesn't have its points that it's not a well-made film if I was writing a review of it I'd give it 3 stars because it's very well made. The cinemaography is excellent. The visuals are great. Set pieces the the stunts you know all of that is all good. Say it be a 3 star film in that way but is it an Oscar winning film which is really for me the bottom line because it's got an Oscar nomination I I just I think I struggle with this type of storyline. You know you know the the idea that they're You've got this chinese family who run a laundette and suddenly Michelle Yoh's currents is being confronted by different versions of herself in a parallel universe and you're fighting an enemy of the multiverse and I think right? Okay, but you know it's like 1 minute they're arguing with Jamie Lee Curtis about their tax returns and the next minute they've all got fingers that look like hot dogs and ah I kind of just struggle. Um, and you know, ah, maybe it's me maybe it's me maybe it's the fact that I saw it in sections I don't know but it to me it was like a patchwork because it. 36:47.90 ukfilmreview So. 37:00.95 Brian Penn It felt a bit like a Jackie Chan film a bit like the matrix a bit like enter the dragon now filmmakers that's fine filmmakers borrow ideas from other films. That's so all well and good. But I I didn't see sense a coherent storyline and I get frustrated with films like that because. I like to see a clear story now. Maybe it's me maybe I'm not switched on enough to it. But in spite of all of that you have to accept I have to accept that it's highly rated. It's perform well at the box office people like it and your friend who said it's his favorite ever. Phil. Okay, fair enough, you know the people were spoken people like it. It's got that rating fair enough but I don't find it particularly accessible as entertainment. It feels more like a computer game to me but I accept I accept its its merits and then but people will like it. 37:55.11 ukfilmreview I think 1 thing I would say and you've you've kind of mentioned it already that they're borrowing things from films like the matrix. The matrix actually is probably the best reference because first off, the main character is kind of like Neo in that she's like the only one that can save them and. 37:56.94 Brian Penn You know, but but. 38:02.72 Brian Penn Who. 38:12.16 Brian Penn Um. 38:14.92 ukfilmreview Also when I watched the matrix the very first time I really liked the matrix but it's one of those. It's one of those. It's one of those films that oh my god it it improves every time I watch it I find something else from that film and I think with this I've only seen this once but I think it. 38:17.31 Brian Penn Oh yeah I did as well. Yeah I enjoyed it. 38:32.62 ukfilmreview It's one of those films that needs to be watched multiple times I actually think yeah I don't want to assign you homework Brian but if I'm gonna have to do this. It says I think it's that it's the kind of film. Not I'm not saying because I'm I'm somewhere in between I I think I liked it more than you but I don't get. 38:33.73 Brian Penn It could be Yeah, it could well be no, no noon you. 38:50.95 ukfilmreview Quite why it's got 11 Oscar norms. Yeah I think it's really like wow. 38:53.26 Brian Penn Yeah that's what um that yeah, that's what I don't understand because the ultimate benchmark for film excellence is the Oscars doesn't it. You know it's the baftoss and the golden globes and the critics choice awards. It's all of those but the 1 gold standard for filmmaking is the oscars you were an Oscar. You've got a license to work in America you've got a license to work in hollywood that's the ultimate benchmark for any filmmaker any a and you think really as this film got that number of Oscar nominations. Um I'm not sure I follow the logic and I do worry what as the same whilst this film has its merits. Um, I wonder whether the oscars are being dumbed down slightly you know, um, people listening can can feel free to disagree with me feel free to some conversation with me about it and maybe I do need to see it a second time. Maybe it is a slow burner but I don't see how it. It kind of fits into that bracket. It is just a good film. That's all it is you know. 39:55.50 ukfilmreview There you go you heard it here first. Um I think yeah I I can see some strengths to it but I can also see yeah that there is an element of um averageness to certain bits I was I was dissimilar especially the first I'd say the first third of the film I was kind of like. 40:09.84 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 40:12.71 ukfilmreview This is taking its time like this is really like it doesn't need to go through so much this because then what happens when it goes balmy and it all starts to go all over the place you are left in this kind of like what is going on that I think it needed to slow that bit down and speed the first bit up. Um, yeah. 40:21.63 Brian Penn Um, well it. Yeah, it's it's a great title for the film. Everything everywhere all at once. Maybe they should add on to the end of that all over the place. It's it's kind of like that you know again look I'm the end of a day Chris it's all about opinions isn't it. You know, but. 40:36.27 ukfilmreview A highhood. 40:46.25 Brian Penn Do wonder when when a film gets this degree of a claim even if it doesn't win in at any oscars. It's got 11 nominations and that's that's quite an achievement for any film. Um I do sometimes think to myself. What do other people see that I can't see you know? um, but hey look. All credits them. You know total respects they they've they've created a film that people like and really, they're in the business to make films people want and that's exactly what they've done here. 41:16.80 ukfilmreview There we go well be interesting to see when this comes out and in terms of how many oscars it picks up because sometimes they don't like because this I think this did really work the grammys or another showcase recently and sometimes it does. Not go their way like you have films that have got loads of noms and they come away with 1 or no oscars so be interesting, but um, yeah, that's our streaming film for this episode. We're gonna go now to our indie collection. 41:35.70 Brian Penn Um, yeah. 41:47.96 Brian Penn Oh. 41:50.84 ukfilmreview So we'll start with short film called pavo nocturnus directed and written by Brad case. Um I'm trying to bring up my notes for this film because I watched it a couple of weeks ago I don't want to make sure. Um you go first Brian on this one. 42:01.81 Brian Penn Um, yeah, yeah, again, a very a very short short film. Really, it's 10 minutes the thing. Ah but um. 42:15.65 Brian Penn I mean it's big. It's it's very interesting. You know it's very good very well put together. Well-w writtentten. The the narration is performed by somebody with a fantastic voice. You know you're drawn to the you know acting a lot of actings is about using your voice properly and the as are ah voicing this part. s brilliant is excellent and he's relating ah a series of dreams that he keeps having about a woman and in some ways it feels a bit like an enhanced talking ah audio book. Um, but um, when it reaches the end it. I was surprised by the ending in this film. Actually it wasn't what I was expecting and so I don't know what I was expecting but it gently builds a story you know over that what is just a few minutes and kind of well I was I was surprised by the ending and and I think. If you can get ah an ending that surprises the viewer then it becomes all the more powerful but it's very haunting. It's gripping and it's it's very um, almost hypnotic in some ways. It's the voice again but I was very impressed with it. And but you you get you sense that there should be you want more and I think that's probably a good sign for a short film is that you want to hear more. But. 43:39.57 ukfilmreview Yeah I think it's based on ah like a it's from a book that the actual filmmaker had written and yeah and what got because I sort of was troubled slightly by the film in the sense that some of the. 43:45.42 Brian Penn Elucidation I think the series of short stories called elucidation. Yeah. 43:56.48 ukfilmreview Um, Visuals were quite kind of banal. It was like him making coffee or whatever they kind of went on with a long time and I was like Okay, yeah, so you really are just being told to focus on the narration here like that's what you're you're meant to be doing and I was like would this be better as an audio book. Yeah, would that. 43:58.49 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 44:06.70 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, well I yeah. 44:14.28 ukfilmreview Be more what this would have been suited towards and it wasn't until the actual reveal Once you start to realize what's going on here that you're like oh okay, yeah I should have been paying more attention I guess to to how to why this is important but it still I liked it and I thought that. 44:30.22 Brian Penn Yeah. 44:32.81 ukfilmreview There were bits that were were very good I like the way that the colors had kind of this weird mix of like being dreary but then like the reds would like pop and it would have like ah yeah, quite ah, an angry look to the to some of it. Um. Yeah, and there's a bit where he's like in the mirror and his face goes a weird like he kind of like goes crazy. Um, so there were some good visuals but I thought largely there wasn't a lot of that even in a 10 minute film as like there's not much remarkable from the visual side of things but the the story and the narration is great. So yeah, I'm just wondering whether it would have been better as a. 44:51.83 Brian Penn Yeah. 45:01.24 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah I I think really I suppose what it boils down to it is that the visuals don't add much to the story. Do They really honestly apart from the final scenes and you think it's really got something here. You know the the actual story itself. The way it's being sold. You think. 45:08.40 ukfilmreview And audio. But but. 45:24.91 Brian Penn Yeah, be great if you could hear more of those short stories that this one is taken from but it doesn't necessarily need the visuals. Not really, but but it's very good. It's Interesting. It's different. But I think the visuals didn't really help the story as much as it should have done. Really. 45:42.89 ukfilmreview There you go? Um, so that's pavil nocturnus I hope I'm saying that right? Um, if possible we will drop a link as to where you can watch the film. Um, but I think for both of these we were given private links so it could be that they're not actually out anywhere. 45:59.11 Brian Penn M. 46:02.44 ukfilmreview For some of our subsequent episodes. We're hoping to get more short and indie films that are actually available say like on Amazon prime or something because it'd be great for everyone to be able to watch them and then send us their thoughts. But for this first one this was just a couple of filmmakers that were already found at the website and they they got in touch saying that they were happy for their. 46:11.39 Brian Penn Oh. 46:22.41 ukfilmreview Films to be reviewed um because we do also understand as well sometimes indie filmmakers don't want us to review their films because you know we're gonna be honest and we're gonna put it out there to people and it might put people off watching I Guess um and I I don't like that opinion because I feel that actually yeah, what we do is to. 46:33.14 Brian Penn M. 46:40.56 ukfilmreview Shine The light on things even films that we don't like we're still going to explore them I think you make up your own mind really ah but it's um, we we don't want to hurt. People's feelings if we don't need to. 46:48.93 Brian Penn But I think the thing is though Chris what what we're aiming to do is to to arouse enough curiosity for listeners to say right? Oh that sounds interesting I'll check it out I'll have look at it and that's that's really to me in essence is what reviewing is all about is to give people an idea. What? what? it's like and whether they want to investigate it further at the end of the day. It's an opinion you and I have opinions. It's as simple as that but this is just raising the profile of the films that we happen to review and whatever criticism we make ah of the films. It's always constructive and it's honest. And nothing is perfect. You know? Um, yeah. 47:31.22 ukfilmreview Nothing is Perfect. You heard it here first. Um, we're gonna go do another short film. Um this one written and directed by saab dope and it's called Love. Um, and this one was an interesting one because it did have more of the feel of it. So. Short film that I would normally review for the site. Yeah, it had the I say like a limited budget. Um is not.. It's not a big production here. Neither was pavon octurnus which stands for night terrors by the way. Um, but with love yeah, it very much felt like okay yeah here we go This is like right in our wheelhouse. So We know these types of films. But I did. 47:50.83 Brian Penn Um, yeah. 48:04.81 Brian Penn Yeah, okay. 48:08.75 ukfilmreview Like the story so you've got these two friends they're catching up after a long time and they're having some drinks but it's quite clear that one of the other friends. 1 of the friends is so angry with the other one. Um, there's a tension there even if the first guy can't really see it. Um and it turns out that. 48:28.80 ukfilmreview 1 of the guys is married and that is the cause of this tension I'm not going to go into much more about why because I think yeah if anyone does manage to see the film. It's nice. Good to not have that bit spoiled for you as to why? what's going on there. Um. 48:32.77 Brian Penn The. 48:41.21 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 48:45.51 ukfilmreview But it was an interesting film. It had that sort of classic storytelling know we've got 2 friends catching up simple location. They're not trying to do too much with the limited resources that they had um and then yeah yeah, what did you think about this one by. 48:53.93 Brian Penn Yeah I actually quite enjoyed it I think it it was quite neat and self-contained. It's obvious I had a limited budget but I mean you can still tell a story with just 2 characters and it's. 49:11.27 ukfilmreview Nip. 49:12.66 Brian Penn Ah, course there is the third character that's so always offs screen and that's the the wife of the cool and that's how the 2 of them come together. That's what they begin to talk about I think that the story initially takes time to unfold a little bit I think it could have the first half of the story could have been a bit snappier but. Think it is good storyteing. Ah and it was quite enjoyable. All I would say about it is that um the um, the dialogue was partly in hindi I do apologizeise I forgot the language wrong I think it's Hindi isn' that is that it was spoken partly in hindi. Then they'd go into english and back in su hindi again. Um I found that difficult to keep up with because you're seeing a subty was coming up and then they're speaking in english then there speak you know that side of it I think it should have been one or the other they should have just been speaking in one language or the other I think that's. 49:59.57 ukfilmreview Oh. 50:07.99 Brian Penn Kind of stirred the pace of the story to me just a little bit but. 50:09.69 ukfilmreview Yeah, well ah because sometimes you'll have it like because funny enough I was watching Shang Chi last night. My wife hasn't seen it yet so we were catching up on shang qi and um, they do that a lot like the film's going along and it'll be that they're talking in english and then maninal or chinese or whatever. 50:17.93 Brian Penn Alright. 50:29.60 ukfilmreview And it's like okay way that there' flitting between the two and I don't know if it's because maybe the characters find that what they're saying is better expressed in that language if you know I mean like maybe it's that because. 50:37.53 Brian Penn Yeah, could be. 50:41.17 ukfilmreview Also sometimes it happens when there's obviously different characters around but when there's just 2 characters. You'd you'd assume like ah so that we're talking right now in one language that that would be what they would do. But um yeah I hold my hands up I only know very very little german and french I can't really say what I would do if I knew a whole other language that um. 50:42.57 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. 50:55.73 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, it could well it could well be ah so that that was the that's the only kind of real downside for me. Otherwise it was a very good story very intricate. 50:59.30 ukfilmreview Yeah, maybe that is just what very talented multilinguists. Do you know? um. 51:11.78 Brian Penn Very well put together. That's a say the first half of that film could have been a little bit quicker but aside from that it was very good. It was well put together and um raises some some real issues in the way relationships develop and the dynamics between people that are very close to each other. So. 51:16.32 ukfilmreview Ah. 51:29.58 Brian Penn I enjoyed that I enjoyed the way it was put together name. It was yeah it was very good. 51:32.20 ukfilmreview Excellent. So that's love um Sara Doke I say unlikely, you're gonna be able to find it on a streaming platform right now. We've not been told that it's ah it's anywhere. So um, to yeah, check it out if you can like do a Google and just see if if it's something that you want to watch. Um, so moving on to our final film of the episode. What of what has been a fantastic episode so far Brian well done. You've you've really brought your a game this time haven't you um, nothing you sir. Um. 51:58.14 Brian Penn Ah, um, oh thank you? Oh thank you? Well done you as well. Yeah. 52:07.10 ukfilmreview We are going to review the nostalgia pick which I chose for this episode. Um as it's one of my favorite films Goodwill hunting um, any reason to watch this film I just thought i' go of yeah, let's make this the first one because. 52:09.19 Brian Penn There. 52:16.16 Brian Penn Oh I love this film I love this film? Um, um, yeah going Karen off you. 52:25.20 ukfilmreview Beautiful film I Just think it's a beautiful film and I think it stands up to the test of time. Yeah, you can still watch this now some of the characters because they're so flawed it's still is okay, the things that they say things that they do it sort of like like you're not meant to really agree with them and I think you know. 52:41.59 Brian Penn There. 52:44.77 ukfilmreview This is yeah me getting very dangerous territory. But I think it's potentially Robin Williams ' best performance. So I just think it's an incredible performance. You cannot take your eyes off him when he's when he's on screen. 52:49.66 Brian Penn Well, he did get an Oscar for it. Didn't he he no and I know I think what What's really interesting about Robin Williams performance in this film is that he really reined it in you know? Yeah he said. Trade is a stand-up comic and the the tendency is is to exaggerate a persona but he really pulled this one in and it was very low-ke in some ways but it works even better in some ways I think it is his's film more than Matt Damon's film or that affle's film. It's he's film. He's as you say whenever he's on screen you're you're transfixed and that this just you just realize what a very good answer. He was and how tragic it is that hes his life ended in the way it did I think the film itself. Ah you chose such a good film here Chris you really did. It's It's a wonderful film. It doesn't feel and I've not watched it for a few years and it was like watching it for the first time in some weeks I might have it might be I don't know 10 years since I watched it but it still feels fresh. The the script is excellent. The acting spot. Um you and I love the. I see what I really like about Goodwill Hunting is the subject matter as well because really the focus is on a genius geniuses can sometimes be neglected overlooked dismissed they fall through the cracks sometimes and it's in the story. It took. 54:21.70 Brian Penn University professor played by Stumman Scarsard to recognize his potential because he was a challenger that works out the solution to a mathematical problem. No one can solve and then he gets a psychologist to really get him out of his shell I love that kind of storyline. It's just challenging you in it and on a completely different level. Ah, think it's a brilliant film. Really really love this film. 54:43.53 ukfilmreview Yeah, and I think the the way that it holds up is largely down to the cast I think it's it's a great cast. They've got a lovely chemistry like you're watching this film and whether it's yeah affle and Damon obviously they're going to be getting on like our was on fire. Best buds. 54:53.19 Brian Penn Yeah, um. 55:02.58 ukfilmreview Um, or if it's when Matt Damon's with mini driver I find that their bromce plot is just excellent like really find it very engaging because it's so believable. We we've got this almost Romeo and Juliet thing where he comes from the the poor background she comes from well what assumes to be a a wealthy background. 55:03.88 Brian Penn Yeah. 55:13.76 Brian Penn Yeah, yes, yeah, yeah, yeah. 55:21.65 ukfilmreview And the way that that has caused a central problem for them, especially for it seems for Matt Damon's character I love the way that that's explored and then you have this father figure of Robyn Williams who is like. 55:30.20 Brian Penn Yeah. Who. 55:39.36 ukfilmreview Him and st scarsard are these like surrogate parents they suddenly because because Matt da's character is an orphan that you suddenly have like the the the dad that really wants to push him which is like Stellan and then you've got um. 55:41.41 Brian Penn There. 55:48.48 Brian Penn Um, yeah, that's right? yeah. 55:53.00 ukfilmreview Robyn Williams is like the yeah maybe the more maternal character I'm using gender stereotypes here but more eternal character that wants to just make sure that he can explore his issues and and be helped be a healthy person and I think that's what's really powerful platform them because actually it really does explore very. 55:56.37 Brian Penn Yeah. 56:01.64 Brian Penn There. 56:12.46 ukfilmreview Ah, important things like um, yeah, toxic masculinity and male insecurities and things like that because it's it's doing all that and it is a largely male cast. You know it's It's only really miniage use The the female presence. 56:14.85 Brian Penn There. 56:22.27 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah, but as to say it it still works. You know I think a lot of films will die. You know over time they they do. But I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing when a film does date doesn't mean to say that. The quality diminishes. It just becomes more typical of its time. But I don't think Goodwill Hunting is obviously a 90 s film. You know there are some films that are typically 90 s typically ass but this film could have been made today. It still feels so fresh. Tragically, we don't have Robin Williams here to play that part but its thats can't kind of film. It does I don't think it does die it' so all it's the strength of storytelling. It's what I always obsess about with any film I mean look honestly now seriously Chris you compare it to. Everything everywhere all at once. It's like comparing einstein to a caveman frankly. 57:23.92 ukfilmreview Well I'm not calling it that anymore anymore I'm calling it everywhere. Everything everywhere all at once all over the place like I think yeah yeah I was that was brilliant I'm going to call it that. 57:28.79 Brian Penn All over the place yet. But again, but but you see the point of making though is that we all like we all look for different things in the film now. Everything everywhere all at once has its qualities people like it people have voted with their feet. They say right? We like this. Fair enough, but this is my kind of film. This is a type of film that entertains you and not I don't like action movies I do but the type of action movie. Well I would like I like diehard or lual weapon or Indiana Jones that's my kind of action movie. That's the closest equivalent to everything everywhere all at once that I would like I like strong characters I like story liness like things you can really relate to but not something I mean I think this is quite this works on an intellectual level as well though doesn't it Goodwill Hansi I mean this is about a genius isn't it a mathematical genius. 58:20.10 ukfilmreview Yeah. 58:25.48 Brian Penn Not that it it delves into math mathematical theory very much. It shouldn't and it doesn't but nevertheless it's dealing with an intellectual mass who isn't it's dealing with the mind Robin Wins Place a psychologist. It's it's helping a genius think more clearlyly's it. 58:40.17 ukfilmreview Yeah, and yeah, there's another film called a beautiful mind so Russell Cro and it has yeah similar like vibes but good rule hunting I think is's just leagues above it in terms of like memorable performances and just being a genuinely affecting film and that. 58:43.85 Brian Penn Oh must cry. Yeah yeah, yeah. 58:55.45 Brian Penn That. 58:57.67 ukfilmreview Obviously everyone talks about that scene where Robyn Williams talks about his wife. Um it still on the bench and I like it I'd much like you I hadn't seen it for a good few years which is why I picked it because I'd watched it recently I was like you know I got a talk about this film and it. 59:00.51 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 59:10.80 Brian Penn There and I does. 59:14.39 ukfilmreview Got me again every time I watch this film it just every time and everybody does the bit. You know it's it's not your fault. It's that your fault you're like oh man now I'm going I'm going and I think it's just brilliant. It's got everything going for it and it still as potent today as it is as it was back then. 59:19.86 Brian Penn yeah and I the yeah I mean I mean there are there are powerful emotional scenes throughout that film and that one particular scene that strikes me is again between Robin Williams and that damon. Where Matt Damon where will hunting's baiting him about his wife not knowing the background not understanding Robin Williams ' character properly. He makes a remark then Robin Williams character snaps the psychologist snaps and he he pins them up against the wall. 59:56.42 ukfilmreview And. 59:58.58 Brian Penn And you might think I would ask the end of that one because that was the fifth psychologist that the lamb bro I matched him up with but he he comes out of the office. He said bright Thursday Four o'clock you think great. We're on there. It's sort of like the battle lines are drawn it and we're in for a very illuminating encounter between great characters. 01:00:08.35 ukfilmreview This is. 01:00:17.97 Brian Penn And really cool actors. You know I mean Robyn William inspect Damon Ben Affle Stn scars guard a mini driver aren't they such cool actors you know, whatever cool is you know I I don't I can't define cool but I know it when I see it and this is cool. 01:00:33.27 ukfilmreview Wow. Can't say better than that. Um, well that's our lot for this episode. Um, so for the next month we will probably release a ah more kind of firm list. But. Brian is there anything on your hit list in terms of cinema releases. You're gonna be capturing up with. 01:00:52.48 Brian Penn Um, there's a couple that spring to mind. Ah there is women talking which is well representped in the Oscar nominations that's coming out this Friday I think and also what's love got to do with it. 01:01:08.80 ukfilmreview Out. 01:01:09.81 Brian Penn Not the not Latinina Turner film this is a film starring. Ah Emma Thompson and it's it's about arranged marriages or what they're now calling assisted marriages. So I'm expecting great things of that so it feels more like a light comedy so that. That's two that are will be on minus for the next podcast. 01:01:34.23 ukfilmreview Fantastic. Um, we'll be picking up some indie films from a list that I put out on Twitter this week which where I asked some indie filmmakers whose film were on Amazon prime but I just need to go through and check with those? Um, but yeah. Check back regularly at uk film review anywhere on social. So Facebook Instagram Twitter will put the list out as soon as we can once we know what we're watching and yeah, any of the films that we've reviewed in this episode. You can also send us your your reviews of those I'm happy to maybe play them at the beginning of the episode then I'd be quite cool to just. Share those? Um, we're hoping to to get some contributions if not I'll hit up the podcast crew I'm sure they've all got lots to say about this. They always have lots to say those guys and girls those peeps. Um, but as always thank you for for joining us. We hope you've enjoyed this very first episode of Ukfilm Club 01:02:15.70 Brian Penn You nowhere. 01:02:27.61 Brian Penn Yes. 01:02:28.22 ukfilmreview Very excited about it. Um Brian thank you as always good sir for joining me and for bringing such an amazing array of films to this episode. What a great start. We do um but that's it for this episode I think you get film of your podcast. 01:02:32.27 Brian Penn Yeah, Welcome Yeah needs to keep it going now. Don't we. 01:02:46.70 ukfilmreview We'll see you again next time. 01:02:47.78 Brian Penn Bye for now. Previous Next

Read the film podcast transcript from the episode titled Back to Black - Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire - The Book of Clarence - UK Film Club on UK Film Club part of the UK Film Review Podcast. < Back Back to Black - Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire - The Book of Clarence - UK Film Club Listen to This Episode UK Film Club 00:00.00 ukfilmreview Hey I I'm good. Thank you I I pressed record just in the absolute belief that it was all going to go smooth that you' be able to hear me that I could we tend to have it pretty smooth now I would say i' want to or a early on. 00:00.12 Brian Penn I Chris how you doing. 00:07.92 Brian Penn We I know and I we don't want to say that well you do ah you don't want to say that too loudly do Chris because you don't know what might happen but we're doing all right so far aren't we really we got the squiggly line guy across the screen. So. Now. We're doing right and the red light sun and it's counting upwards so that oh that's all looking good isn't it Fantastic yeah, that's right? Yeah so how have you been. 00:28.88 ukfilmreview Yeah, all the numbers are going in the right direction. That's all we can ask for. 00:39.24 ukfilmreview Very well. Thank you very well the ah the the months are flying by um, but yeah, no, it's going going. Well we're um, the podcast is doing Well we're seeing some listeners and things and we've we've made onto a few like. 00:44.84 Brian Penn Oh I Always? ah. 00:49.29 Brian Penn Nice. 00:56.96 ukfilmreview Podcast Film category play this sort of thing so that's quite cool. Um, but yeah, how about you, you've been okay. 00:59.22 Brian Penn Right? Nice yeah, yeah, been really good. You know where I am we've had 24 hours without rain and I'm getting quite excited about that really and apparently apparently there could still be a drought this summer go figure. Yeah. 01:09.19 ukfilmreview Air. 01:16.58 ukfilmreview It's crazy isn't it I think they've just I don't know I did they just book it in they just so yep, we're gonna have that we're gonna have that. Yeah yep, we're gonna have that just this is already go get rounded but there are there are those people out there that they. 01:17.67 Brian Penn Um, what book some writing? Yeah ah no and I. 01:31.15 ukfilmreview They think that don't they they think that the weather is all orchestrated. This's all man-made. There's it. There's a there's a sector of people that believe that quite fervently if you're podcast listeners you are still welcome. Don't don't don't don't switch off but I just. 01:35.11 Brian Penn Wow! Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah course yeah, we're a broad charge aren't me Chris very broad charge. Yeah yeah, well yeah. 01:47.18 ukfilmreview We are a very broad church. We just think some of you might be wrong about some things. That's all, um, that's cool. Yeah I mean can you be wrong about a film I mean that'd be interesting pose that as a question can you be wrong about your opinion of a film. 01:53.39 Brian Penn Particularly bat films as well. 01:59.30 Brian Penn Ah, it's awesome in some will someone somewhere will think you think you're wrong one obviously. 02:07.25 ukfilmreview Well because I have this debate sometimes and ah you are as film fans I'm sure you do you talk to people about films and you you argue your point that sometimes it's ah yeah, it's just you feel a different way about film and that's fine. But then there's other times when people have actually either. 02:11.38 Brian Penn And. 02:20.14 Brian Penn A. 02:25.29 ukfilmreview Missed the point or they for or the oh they've chosen to not like value a part of what because this is something that I also have to sort of preach sometimes like some people just say are they just threw that in for the sake of it and I'm like. 02:25.47 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, on our the. 02:40.96 ukfilmreview It's very very very rare that any filmmaker would ever do that because you know how expensive it is to make a film The they're like oh they just threw that in. There's no point to it's like no there probably was a point they probably it just might not be the point that you were hoping that they were going to make but. 02:43.72 Brian Penn So I know yeah bottom lines money isn't it every time. Yeah yeah I know yeah of course. Yeah, yeah. 02:59.22 ukfilmreview But yeah, now it's interesting when you have these debates about how people feel about film and and what what have you and um yeah I think it's good. It's healthy. It's healthy debate. That's what we like. 03:08.99 Brian Penn That's what makes it so fascinating really is that we've all got an opinion and film's polarized opinion directs us to access to stories to you get views across the board right? There's you know one end is black. The other end is white but there's a huge gray area where where we. We've all got an opinion a bit about a film a film can sometimes be universally panned or universally laughed or be or people have an indifferent attitude towards it Some hidden gems have passed by our nosis and we've feature some of them on on the podcast haven't we that. 03:43.95 ukfilmreview Yep. 03:44.10 Brian Penn Never get the attention they deserve and that is why it's such an exciting subject Masters talk about because it's so diverse and we've all all got our own views on things and you think how could anyone possibly think that's not a good film or think that's a good film. It's just opinions and it's great. 04:02.30 ukfilmreview And just to quickly sway back to last month where I mentioned about easter and chocolate films and I I very confidently said that there would be more films about chocolate than there were about easter I think I was wrong I ah. 04:07.24 Brian Penn Oh yeah. 04:14.25 Brian Penn I I was gonna say actually yeah, but ah, ah yeah. 04:18.45 ukfilmreview I couldn't I couldn't get that far I did a bit of research and there's films that feature chocolate like chocolate is in there. But it's not by any means the main part of the film and I think Easter because there's been. There's been more about christ. 04:31.29 Brian Penn and yeah, and yeah you see the thing is so Chris if there was potential. It would have been done by someone by now wouldn't it really? so you know it but well done for looking though. Well done for checking. 04:35.35 ukfilmreview But yeah, dying that then there is about chocolate. 04:43.77 ukfilmreview That's true I mean yeah, it was quite depressing but you know when you go down the rabbit hole. Oh excuse the pun down the rabbit hole there are that I was um I couldn't refine much. So yeah apologies. If um, if I ah angered anyone with my. 04:50.38 Brian Penn And oh yeah, yeah I can get now. 05:00.10 ukfilmreview Boastful claim that there were more chocolate films than Easter films because yes or there could be a filmmaker out there now. Just absolutely driven to make as many chocolate films as they can to prove me right in which case fair play go for it make go for it. 05:01.95 Brian Penn But they could but there could be someone very disappointed out now now Chris you never know. 05:10.22 Brian Penn Yeah, I'm yeah yeah, absolutely definitely. Yeah, we've inspired someone then haven't we. That's good. Yeah hi man. 05:19.11 ukfilmreview We've inspired someone through our our chocolate grandstanding. Um, so if this is your first time to film club welcome. Everyone here is welcome as we've said um, we review films across the board that's from your biggest. Blockbuster movies to your streaming films that are available on Netflix and Amazon prime to your independent cinema so that's filmmakers making their very first movies short films indie films and then we finish it up with a look back a classic film which we call the nostalgia pick and. This months um nostalgia pick is not a secret because I put out there on social media saying that we were reviewing mad max and this is because they are releasing ah furioa next month is that right? Brian you're my yeah your mike your my conduit into ah all things theatrical. Um. 05:57.33 Brian Penn And. 06:06.98 Brian Penn That's yep, next month yeah as far as we aware. That's right? Yeah yeah. 06:13.60 ukfilmreview And so yeah listeners you will hear Brian start the show off by reviewing some of the theatrical releases that is films that are in cinemas. Ah right now as of recording or or very very soon. Um, and yeah, so we we've got a. Very varied selection of ah films to be reviewed on this show. But we're starting with one that we reviewed its predecessor his origin film not long ago on the podcast. Um, which we reviewed the ah the classic sci-fi comedy. 06:43.68 Brian Penn Oh right. 06:51.16 ukfilmreview Ah, ghostbusters. But we're here with a new entry into that catalogue called Frozen Empire Brian is this going to give me chills or is this going to freeze me over. Do you see what I did I tried to do something and that was off the cuff. 06:51.44 Brian Penn M. Yeah, yeah, yes. 07:06.40 Brian Penn I said yes, so yeah, it's very good all right. That's good. Yeah, and it's got potential. Um, well yeah, look look. It's there. You've got the choice haven't you when the time comes um yeah, look It's a great brand isn't it. 07:10.62 ukfilmreview Ah I'm not sure it will stay in. That's right. 07:20.84 Brian Penn You know it's one of the few brands that I'm a fan of ghostbusters. It started in the 1980 s which was the the birth of the franchise movie wasn't it I mean during the 80 s we had luhal weapon we had Rambo we had Indiana joins you know so it came at a time when the when the. 07:29.74 ukfilmreview A. 07:41.70 Brian Penn Concepts was was becoming accepted now this latest in installman directed by ah Gil Kenn starring Paul Rudd Cary Coh Dan Akroyd Finn Wolfardd and the Ken of Grace this is the fifth instalment in the guy bustis franchise. Um. And it takes the story back to its origins really the next generation of gasbusters are now operating from their historic base in a New York Fire station the team consists of seismologist Gary Gruberson his girlfriend Kelly Carrie spler and her children Trevor and Phoebe the offspring of Egon Spangler inherited these guyspating jeans as they cause mayhem in hell's kitchen. However, the wrath of Mayor Peck forces phoebe off active juicy until she becomes a legal adult she seeks solace in a game of chess and encounters the ghostly apparition of melody another chess player who died in a fire. Meanwhile founding father Race Stant stances Bey on begins collecting cursor objects for examination theine rasmadi sells him a mysterious brass orb left to embrace grandmother isssuming unleash she's terrifying powers and spirits from the past now. Frozen empire if we can use its subcitle is undoubtedly a spectacular visual treat that develops the original technology really well so we have a representation of the original ghosts from the first movie still there but enhanced so that's good. Ah. 09:12.90 Brian Penn Are some welcome cameos that remind the audience of the brand's lineage fusing past presence is pulled off with a plum and gives a narrative proper structure. However, there's a feeling it veers too far from its true purpose. There are scenems reminiscent of ghost and sections of the of the plot feel like they've been lifted from an Indiana Jones script there's anything wrong with that. But it doesn't have to borrow from other films in quite such an obvious way. Ah parts of the film are quite scary and you know Chris I don't scare easily do I um, yeah. 09:45.66 ukfilmreview Well I did I was going to ask you about his bri because the director one of the previous films. They've done was um, poltageist and that made me think maybe they were coming at this with quite a story and when we did review the first ghostbu film. It did have some quite scary elements. It was. 09:52.48 Brian Penn Ah, yeah. 10:00.70 ukfilmreview This horror is definitely in there as a genre so this is a bit on that like outline is it. 10:02.95 Brian Penn yeah yeah yeah I thought I would say say it is you seem maybe watching the original movie at 40yearsdistance. maybe that part of it's worn off because I always saw ghostbusters as a kind of ah a knock about comedy. Action movie with special effects. You know? Um, but it's kind of to me. It's broad and I'm not suggesting. This is a bad thing in any way. Um, but as you've mentioned about the directorical Ken and you can see where where it comes from but it's moving more authentically into horror rather I mean. 10:31.65 ukfilmreview Are. 10:38.22 Brian Penn Generically I would call this an action moving right? But now it's moving more towards horror if this is anything to go By.. It's very well Done. No Question. It's well done but to me there's less I don't know there's less comedy there. There's less ah Banser. It's It's not as. But it starts prevailant as it used to be but you know even so ah, busting will still make you feel good as the song going. So You know good entertainment. Very good Entertainment. Nevertheless. 11:10.14 ukfilmreview Could yeah because I've see they've had a few outings. Yeah, there was the um, the one before this with rud in it and then there was the female cast that was very ah comedy driven like it was really going for the laughs. Um, and as you say I think when people think nostalgically about. 11:19.18 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. 11:27.13 ukfilmreview Ghostbusters you do remember the the gags and the jokes I think because of um like Bill Murray and and things like that that you kind of put it in that sphere. But yeah like I said when I watched it I was surprised at how much of it was veering into that horror side. Um, and there are bits. 11:35.88 Brian Penn Yeah. 11:45.60 ukfilmreview That did genuinely terrify me as a kid I remember in I think it's a second one with the painting that it was like oh god I was terrifying. Um, so I think there is is playing on is able to play on those genres. It's able to use those aspects. Um, but like you say I think they are also. 11:47.16 Brian Penn So all right now. 11:56.43 Brian Penn Right here. Okay. 12:04.95 ukfilmreview Needing to create these action spectacles to get people into the cinemas because otherwise it would just be like oh okay, you're making a horror film right? That's going to really limit your audience then. 12:05.30 Brian Penn yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah I mean it's raising the bar higher and higher That's what all filmmakers have to do they have to up the antsy because otherwise people won't go out and watch it if people don't go out and watch it. It won't make money so you know it's that simple equation isn't it. They have to. Push those boundaries even further but look it's a legitimate place for the brand to go into horror more because lot ghosts pos age horror. You know is it's in the same bag isn't it to be fair, but you know I suppose I have I've conceptualized ghostbusters over the years because you know it comes from what I think was a great period for mo and filmmaking in the as you know and I suppose in my mind I'd prefer it to sort of stay more more there. But as you say I mean it's perception isn't there. You know I mean I'd not watched ghostbuster as the first the first filmment so we. Reviewed it on on the podcast and um it didn't strike me that way but I'm just trying to think back to how it impacted on me when I first saw it but course he is. It doesn't seem like force he is Chris since the first one scary. Really yeah, that scary. Yeah, you're right? That's scary. 13:23.38 ukfilmreview That's scary. That's the scary a bit isn't it. Yeah, that's that's the scary bit for everyone is how old we were all getting. Yeah oh good. Well if you've seen frozen empire feel free to send us your reviews and your comments. Um. 13:27.40 Brian Penn Ah, but yeah I know and I but a very good film though. Great funswatch So great. It's entertainment. Yeah, so. 13:41.24 ukfilmreview Yeah, it's in cinemas now likely to do good business I would have thought um but you never know with these things sometimes they do just disappear straight to streaming. Um, luckily this next film didn't do that because. 13:42.56 Brian Penn So I yeah could go straight to streaming you know. 13:57.69 ukfilmreview It's a a biography of Amy Winehouse um and as is the new standard of UKFilm club we have a clip I'm going to play a clip for everyone here. We go. 14:00.87 Brian Penn Ah. 14:04.54 Brian Penn Oh oh well. 15:20.61 ukfilmreview Well there you go back to black and I ain't no spice girl that is definitely going to be my catchphrase moving forward. 15:22.11 Brian Penn And. 15:27.67 Brian Penn Yeah, ah, it's it's a good line I have to say that before we get into the reviewer bat to black I saw bat to black at the everyman's cinema for the first time I'd never been before and it's brilliant. You walk through the doors. It's like a simsy timewa. You know I can film myself breaking out in pimples when I walk through the door. It was amazing. Nice deep deep seteas and armchairs to sit in they serve for drinks and food and it's great and they. 15:53.16 ukfilmreview Or Brian right? Let me stop you there. What do they serve you break it down what food did you have what drinks did you have come on. 15:58.70 Brian Penn Well I mean just just beers Really I mean they got ah a range of beers. Um, um, yeah, it's brilliant. It's great. Obviously the the screens aren't as big and there aren't as many screens in individual cinemas. But a great way to watch a film. 16:04.44 ukfilmreview Ah, but well sold sold I'm sold. 16:17.48 Brian Penn In the cinema. It's the old fashioned approach with a few enhancements. That's not to say there aren't other cinema chains out there. We know that? ah but a great way to watch a film and it's the old way of doing it I always say Chris that some things are done better. The old fashioned way. 16:34.61 ukfilmreview Yeah I think the the thing is about what we do this theatrical section of the show because we want to promote films at Cinemas and the Cinema experience is so key like everyone has that what everyone who's a film fan will have that warm fuzzy feeling of going to the cinema. 16:36.60 Brian Penn Ah, but. 16:39.67 Brian Penn I. 16:50.79 Brian Penn And. 16:52.98 ukfilmreview Being lost in that and I think back to some of my favorite Cinema experiences and they are the ones that were a bit more of a treat. They are the ones that are a bit more like where you've got a sofa and you've got a table and things like that. Um, by the way guys I don't want to think we are not affiliated with every mountainma by that way. We're just. 17:01.52 Brian Penn And. 17:10.28 Brian Penn You? Yeah yeah, yeah. 17:10.51 ukfilmreview Brian just had a nice experience so we're just giving it them a shout out. Um other cinemas are available. But um, yeah, no fantastic. They had such a grace view and but let's hear about the film I mean what what film to to go and see on the big screen. 17:19.00 Brian Penn And it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's right um, directed by Sam Tyler Johnson starring Marisa abbela Eddie Mason lesleye Manville Jack O'connell and Juli Cowan so this is the story of the brilliant but flawed genius of Amy Winehouse we probably think we know Amy's story because she lived and died in the public eye and can only really judge the film on the personal view. We've each formed of her. Ah for those are familiar. Let's just recap. Film begins in her late scenes as Amy is showing real promise as a singer-songwriter dad Mitch is a cab driver and part-time crooner excited by his daughter's potential. Mom Janice is similarly expectant but stressed by our lifestyle while adored Nan Cynthia is aiming's inspiration. She signed by 19 management and releases her debut album called frank meanwhile Amy meets Blake field a civil and sets off a chain of events that lead to the landmark album back to black now Marusa Abela Try so hard to sound like Amy which is an impossible task. And only weakens the film in my opinion. Her mannerisms are exaggerated and she looks too healthy to play a woman wreckcked by addiction. Jack O'conn is so ripped he should be in an exercise video. That's not to suggest um, any actor should endanger their health to play a role. 18:47.70 Brian Penn Yeah, only highlights, the limitations of all biopics. Ah Blake field is civil is given a personality makeover. He's portrayed as a lovable rogue a rough diamond with a bad habit. The reality seems different particularly as philda civilil actually admitted that he got Amy into hard drugs in the first place which is the underlying son of the film. It's about addiction. So in conclusion I think it's okay, it does the job. It gets an extra star for me for showcasing a unique talent a bit like the Bob Marley Bio pick one. Love yeah. 19:19.18 ukfilmreview I was gonna say this is this is we're in familiar territory this year we've been doing quite a few while say we you have been doing quite a few of these musical by picks and things like that and. 19:24.53 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, so yeah. 19:32.56 ukfilmreview They don't seem to be hitting the dizzying heights because we used to have a period yeah know when you have things like walk the line there was Ray there were so many great kind of biopics of of musical legends that we're not well this to be fair I enjoyed Elvis I thought Elvis was great. Um, but. 19:34.26 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, that's brilliant, all it. Yeah and I yeah. 19:47.80 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 19:49.99 ukfilmreview Yeah, no, you've you've read reviewed a few recently you saw said been playing a bit safe or been a bit clinical. Whatever. So yeah, interesting. 19:52.94 Brian Penn And yeah, yeah, you know, but but that's that's where where it kind of it works because they're showcasing a fantastic talent you know, but she died at the age of 27. It's in a way. It's a very sad film. And so is one of the Bob Marley by a pit because they're both died so young and you felt that they had so much more to give you know you think about what Amy could have been doing now she was still alive and she'd only be 41 41 you know she'd probably be acting now I think she would have made a great answer. But. 20:24.66 ukfilmreview Um, ah. 20:30.73 Brian Penn You know it wasn't to be and it just leaves you wondering what might have been been one of the worst things in life is waste of talent. But you know you look at that story. You look at a story in retrospects and again we only see it through through Tv through media. Feel. Well as said at the beginning of the review we feel like we know our story her story but I don't feel it. It. It goes very far away from what you see in the tabloids and what was portrayed in in ah in news drs neutral footage you know so I don't feel. It's getting as much further I don't feel like we know know are any better. You know and i. 21:06.56 ukfilmreview Did you watch the um asive cupadia documentary Amy yeah I remember finding that very enthralling like it was very difficult to watch but it was also really powerful and it really that felt like it did get into all the the grimy depths of everything. Um. 21:07.47 Brian Penn Yeah, it is yes and. Yeah. Yeah, what was interesting about that was that I mean anything about Amy Winehouse anything about musicians and singers fascinates me any documentary that charts. Someone's life is is you know, really roots me to the spot I just love it. 21:22.52 ukfilmreview Yeah. 21:38.10 Brian Penn Ah, cappadi's film. Ah I believe one an Oscar didn't it as well. I mean it was very highly regarded. Um. 21:42.80 ukfilmreview Think yeah, he's he's great. Yeah, as party I think his his filmmakings really great if you' seen center that's that's a but I remember Amy being particularly affecting because of the stuff. 21:48.35 Brian Penn But yeah, yes, that yeah it it was but what? what's interesting about that is how it divided opinion particularly where people close to Amy were concerned where a family was concerned. And there was ah I'd also direct you and listeners to a documentary called finding Amy which you might still be able to find on Bbc I player which kind of sets a contrary due. It doesn't deviate too far but it it kind of gives you another alter another view of things. But it just convinces me though that it depends who you talk to you know to get a truly objective account of someone's life particularly someone like Amy Winehouse I don't think it's easy because I do you know I think part of the problem is it's too soon after she died. 22:31.48 ukfilmreview 9 22:39.52 Brian Penn I Often say that. 22:49.22 ukfilmreview I. 22:50.80 Brian Penn So so yeah I feel that maybe it's it's arrived too soon after the event that Amy Died in 2011 and that because there's this too little distance between then and now maybe we don't see her in enough perspective. True perspective. So it gives you ah a proper idea you mentioned walk the line the autobiography of Johnny Cash I mean that was made a fair number of years after he died and I think it was possibly better as a result but you're not going to get right. 23:21.17 ukfilmreview Yeah I wonder I think there' there's ah probably a pressure I think from Studios to go. Oh we should be the ones to do this one but let's do it like sooner and they've realized that there's appetite and also obviously yeah, the fans of that artists are going to want to see the film so they don't want to like leave it too long. 23:24.97 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 23:33.27 Brian Penn So yeah, yeah, yeah. 23:37.47 ukfilmreview But I think like you say sometimes it maybe it needs more distance so that they can do it a bit more truer without ah hurting people's feelings. Um, and also there's that sense of letting the myth and the mythology kind of like evolve about that person because there might be things about them that don't really sort of. 23:51.51 Brian Penn A. 23:57.00 ukfilmreview Make much sense in the moment but later on kind of yeah so it's it's a difficult balance to find but I understand where the where these things come from. But yeah, interesting. 23:57.70 Brian Penn And. Yeah, always yeah yeah, it's it's got It's got some really brutal reviews like um, 1 review review I read gave it one star which I think is really unfair I don't think it's quite that bad. 24:19.87 ukfilmreview Um. 24:22.00 Brian Penn You know, um, again, it's about opinions as we said at the very top of the show. It's about opinions. But I think you can be ah you can be really harsh and to make those number of assumptions that it doesn't portray. Ah, ah that effectively I mean I I gave you 3 stars. Think it got the extra style because of the music because of the soundtrack but it even so it was nowhere near that bad but that you know it's what people think you know, um, but it's a film worth Watching. It's a film worth going out to see definitely that. 24:55.94 ukfilmreview Yeah, and I think it looks it before about the other docks that if you're ah or biopex If you're a fan of the artist then you're going to enjoy it just simply because you're it's spending time in their music. So it's not a bad thing. 25:05.28 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, um, and also if you're a big fan. You won't be quite so critical because you just enjoy it for what it is because it's given you the truth up to a point I mean only the people closest to her would have known the truth. You know? Ah, but it's given you ah a measure of the truth. But it's the music and if you if you love a music you'll you'll love to film I Think that's really what you got to say there you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah. 25:32.57 ukfilmreview So back to black. So let's know what you think if you see it um 1 more from the theatrical releases. Don't have a clip sadly but the book of Clarence Brian what about this. 25:43.14 Brian Penn Yes, yeah, now here's a sleeper another film that will slip quietly across the radar or I sense that it will written and directed by James Samuel starring La Keith Stanfield David aoo James Mcavoy and Benedict Cumberbatch it's an alternativeancy version of the Gospels. It works on the premise that one of the Apostles Thomas had a twin brother called Clarence. He's a bit of a chanceor and owe money to the local heavy to I the terrible things get more complicated when Clarence falls in love with Jed Dyer's sister verinia. News breaks of jus is says the new messiah he seeks an opportunity clarence trys and fails to become the first thingth apostle but with trusty psychic elijah on hand he has a cunning plan to become the new messiah and perform miracles. This is a very solid piece of filmmaking. Devout christians should steer clear of this as they might find it offensive but approach it with an open mind and it's a very entertaining film. Well-acted the cinematography is excellent. There's a great chariot race at the beginning as well and um and it's great particularly if you're a fan of some song music. Ah, and I am personally so it was all right by me. But it's a film that won't be running at the cinema for too long. My local multiplayx only has one showing a day so get it whilst you can, but this is good stuff. It works and if you're prepared to give it a chance. A bit have an open mind. 27:19.25 Brian Penn It presents an alternative version is saying what if? um, but it's well worth a go. 27:27.21 ukfilmreview Yeah I watch a trailer and it's so sort of things I like someone doing him different. Yeah, we haven't had this film before right? This is ah yeah, a new stories have been told and I think that's um, powerful but is it a cinema film. Do you feel? This is it visually cinematic. 27:30.81 Brian Penn And. 27:41.90 Brian Penn Yes I think it is yeah it really is it works well on a big screen as I say because of the subject matter I don't think it's going to do a great business. But I think it works ah on on the big screen it works on a cinema. It's you know some might might. 27:44.58 ukfilmreview Yeah. 27:59.18 Brian Penn Ah, view it as controversial. Um some are thrown so blasphemy at it. Ah you know I think that's probably a bit a bit much but you may fit you may see it that way depends on your um, your religious beliefs and your spiritual beliefs. But you know. If you look at the greatest story ever told you look at the gospels you look at the bible and you examine the life of jesuss you know it is possible. There could be people around at that time who were like clarence who were chances who thought they could make a buck or two you know and. Whilst it's it's it's it's kind of portraying the the gospels but it's kind of bolting an extra story on onto the on sort of fringes and that works. Okay, but as I say I think you need an open mind and it's. Unfortunately, it's not It's not gonna do that's why I think it's gonna fly under the radar. It's gonna be 1 of those types of films. But it deserves a lot of credit for tackling what could be a touchy subject for people and and come um, producing something that's really valid and artistically sound and it works. But. You know I would understand if people didn't say kindness to it because it's again, it's coming back to the big o opinions again isn't it. 29:18.29 ukfilmreview This is and in your opinion. What's star rating our 5 go three here. So I think that's basically both the last two films have been on average with the the general public from what it seems. So yeah, no, ah one of those films at least is so. 29:19.78 Brian Penn I gave you 3 actually I gave you. 29:35.52 ukfilmreview Original don't different. Let's know what you think if you do go and see the book of clarence currently at cinemas. But as Brian says fairly limited. So ah, you might probably catch it on streaming which is where we're heading now. Did you see what I did that I thought that was quite a little smooth. My seways would be a lot smoother if I stopped to you know, highlight. 29:35.94 Brian Penn Yeah. So. 29:46.34 Brian Penn You yeah I saw you that they yo links it I know and know maybe you you would let the listeners work it out themselves Chris you know? yeah. 29:55.50 ukfilmreview I talk about my seggues so much that they're not segways anymore. So I should do they should go oh that was clever but I won't know Brian has to travel I won't no one. No one messages in to say oh good segway. Yeah seggue feedback. 30:05.24 Brian Penn Ah know you aren't I my name and I you see you need that feedback. We need feedback don't We really? um, but but your your your seways are getting better I must say they they're very slick and very smooth. Yeah. 30:13.14 ukfilmreview Specifically they are getting but I mean well what where are we now this episode official 14 But we' done about 16 of film clubs I'm getting there. It's taking it takes to me over a year but we're getting there. Um, yeah, we got we're playing the long game here. It Iss fine. Um. 30:21.60 Brian Penn We all right? Yeah, you go what you you got play yourself in. Um, yeah, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah. 30:32.85 ukfilmreview We are going now to our streaming pick of the month so this is a film that is available on a streaming platform and this month which is quite familiar for us is Netflix again because they're very good at telling us what's coming out and. 30:41.81 Brian Penn E I Yeah, yeah yeah. 30:47.26 ukfilmreview It's a documentary though we don't often do too many documentaries but we are happy to more than happy to um and I should've always say this at the top of the show and amber does that on gay. Actually she does that that spoil awarding kind of like for the whole show but I kind of forget. But. I'm gonna say spoil a warning and the reason for that is I feel this film is Goingnna be quite difficult to talk about this documentary without spoilers because it's a documentary so we're gonna talk about some stuff. So if you don't want to know what happens in what Jennifer did maybe go watch it and then come back to this part of the podcast or or skip it. Ah yeah, skip there. 31:04.40 Brian Penn Yeah I know yeah. 31:17.15 Brian Penn So. 31:22.50 ukfilmreview Get this review but I don't I don't really want you to do that because it affects our numbers and things. So maybe just mute it go go do something. It's probably but gonna be about five ten minutes so you know what make cupity mo the lawn can you move the lawn in 10 minutes probably not us quite a lot that's true. Um. 31:32.60 Brian Penn Ah, yeah, um, but Trans I pick the law so doesn't it really? yeah. 31:40.40 ukfilmreview I'm rambling what Jennifer did um documentary written and directed by Jenny Popperwell um is a very interesting. It's one of these kind of true crime stories. So I know they're very popular with Netflix viewers and often they're done in series. So you have like 10 episodes and. 31:49.24 Brian Penn And. 31:55.37 Brian Penn Yeah. 31:58.80 ukfilmreview They'll go through the whole thing but with this, it's quite unique. It's done it all within one hundred and twenty seven minutes so it's a feature length film and we find a story presented where by a daughter calls 9 on 1 She gives a report that there's been shooting in her house. And we learned that her mother and father have both been shot and we then are witness to the case, the investigation now as you might? Ah um, be aware of the title is what Jennifer did Jennifer is the daughter. We learned that very on. So. 32:24.68 Brian Penn So. 32:32.90 Brian Penn And yeah, yeah I. 32:36.18 ukfilmreview Spoilers but she is involved. There's a way I can't really get round this but that there's more to it than what she's saying and even the poster if you see the poster. There's 2 halves of her face in different lights like they make it quite clear that she's clearly got something to do with it. Um, so yeah that what. 32:42.38 Brian Penn The yeah yeah, the yeah. 32:54.90 ukfilmreview Through the investigation we're given footage of her actual interviews with the police department. It's based in Canada and um, we also get talking head kind of interviews with some of the the cops that were involved and and people that knew Jennifer or knew the parents and things. 33:05.18 Brian Penn So. 33:12.72 ukfilmreview And yeah, over the course of less than 90 minutes you you piece together everything that happens basically and that's quite unique for a true crime thing quite a lot these true crime things are very much like oh this is sort of what happened but we don't really know? yeah maybe sort of left unsolved sort of thing but with this it was kind of tidied up. 33:16.55 Brian Penn So yeah, Thank you. You know you know. So yeah. 33:31.76 ukfilmreview Pretty well in terms of everything that happened it's quite I I found it quite grippin about you Brian what do you think of what Jennifer did. 33:37.92 Brian Penn Yeah, no I think it was really gripping and quite chilling as well. Very well presented I love I love these sort of things murder mystery documentaries you know, but the the best ones put you the viewer into the um, the detective's position right. So you straight away you feel right now you're being presented with all the evidence you're watching the interviews and you're you're being, you're being saying you're being told this is what happened what do you think you know where does this take us and I mean you mentioned something about the um, the neatness the the way it was compact. And all put into 90 minutes and it does that very well but it methodically methodically builds the case and shows you how they follow different lines of inquiry which I likes as well. Um, but you know I was totally in it. You know, completely in it when she when she was described I mean a lot of it really. 34:34.29 ukfilmreview Yeah. 34:34.43 Brian Penn Down to the interviews really isn't it and the point at which they found country evidence that disproved her account which I think was probably key. Obviously we won't say what that country evidence was but um, it got to that point and then they they brought in somebody called a truth analysis expert who some. 34:52.35 ukfilmreview Ah, yeah, a. 34:53.21 Brian Penn Do you know the bit the part I mean where you suddenly got it got really kind of ah aggressive and combatulive because they knew they could because they had this evidence that disproved what she was saying so the evolution of the case and the influence the influence ah of introducing new evidence and then. Taking Jennifer off in a different direction and putting her in in a position where she has to fess up and tell the truth but it's just getting from the beginning where where they've got somebody who's got ah a father had ah had a shotgun wound to the head. But. Mother was dead and they had to interview her from there and she delivers her story. Her version of what happened and then you find yourself thinking? Oh she couldn't possibly have done that how could she have done that you know when she was tired to the balancer. All that sort of thing so I was completely into it you know I was completely in it I was a detective you know I was flashing a badge saying what about this? What about do you know I mean bc some documentaries do that a lot better than others but this documentary manages to put you in the time of the place which is what I often say about films in general. But. 35:53.52 ukfilmreview Yeah. 36:09.66 Brian Penn Particular documentaries where they put you there at the scene they put you in that room whilst that that interview is going on very very good. Very impressive, really enjoyable and it's one to watch. Definitely. 36:23.82 ukfilmreview Yeah I agree they only a slight aspect and this happens to quite a lot in these kind of true crime things that I didn't really enjoy was they they they fall into Melllodrama like because they kind of start using slowmo and they get the character. The. 36:35.64 Brian Penn Yeah, the yeah. 36:42.59 ukfilmreview Interviewees to say sort of really hyperbolic comments about the things and you kind of go okay like but that I think it does and that not to generateize it does feel like an American thing or or at least a yeah North American thing where it's like oh okay, yeah, they they know how to real you in Um, but as we've both admitted it. 36:51.54 Brian Penn Yeah I Then oh who said. 37:01.73 ukfilmreview It worked right because we were real did and we were on it. But yeah, you have to kind of get into that tone of the the film and also as I said anyone that's read the title or seen the poster or both will go in knowing that there's definitely a twist coming that you do spend the first half of the film almost. 37:06.99 Brian Penn Yeah. 37:15.60 Brian Penn Oh you are co and. 37:20.60 ukfilmreview Like you say with your detective brain on going. Okay, but there's clearly going to be some you know inaccuracies here. So you're sort of looking for them and yeah, no I like to I I say I really like the fact that it was compact into one one 1 thing it wasn't like all right now I've got to watch 2 3 series of this ongoing. 37:20.61 Brian Penn Yeah. And. 37:32.51 Brian Penn You. 37:37.89 Brian Penn I know yeah you do it in 1 hit. Don't you you get it in one hit. That's the home. 37:40.27 ukfilmreview Ah, story. Um, and also she's obviously the the daughter of her parents and as a father with 2 daughters. It left me quite worried I'll be honest I was like oh god. 37:49.82 Brian Penn Well well I'll tell you something that I would make a very good feature film as well. Yeah. 37:55.73 ukfilmreview I Did think that too as I that's not I can't be too far away off you probably given if this said that documentary successful. They probably will just commission a film as well. But hey. 38:05.48 Brian Penn Yeah I think it would work really well as a film and this is kind of a taster for it. But you know that's what what's ah ah, kind of I suppose in some ways a bit troubling because look we're all entertained by crime aren't we crime is a big part of the movies isn't it. We're seeing 1 kind of crime perpetrated or another aren't we but this one just happens to be true and it's absolutely riveting when it's done properly and it's done. Well so yeah I think feature film can't be far away really can't. 38:38.48 ukfilmreview Yeah, nope check it out what Jennifer did on Netflix from the date you're listening to this. It's already on there as with all Netflix films you probably have to search for it because it's very difficult to find things. But um. 38:48.81 Brian Penn Oh tell me not an yeah. 38:52.69 ukfilmreview Yeah I can't imagine it'll come off too soon as well. I think it's one of their own so that tends to stay on there for quite some time. Um, yeah, that's our streaming pick for this month and let's know if you do watch it because we're now moving to the indie section of our show which is where we review a selection of. 39:11.13 ukfilmreview Independently made films that were sent to us these have been specifically sent to us and they've asked us to review them and we are happy to oblige very happy to oblige and as luck would have it I have clips from all of them all 4 We're doing 4 in this episode. Yeah. 39:19.60 Brian Penn Oh oh, all of them are you spoiling us. 39:28.87 ukfilmreview And we got clips from all of them so to get us started I will play a clip from the first film which is called rosetta stoned. 39:34.76 Brian Penn Oh. 41:15.20 ukfilmreview There we go I should have warned everyone beforehand a lot of the clips tonight have got expletives. So if you yeah no I Probably gonna leave it. We just put the explicitletive tag on now. But yeah apologies if that offended anyone? Um, but. 41:22.65 Brian Penn Um, are you going to be pair. 41:32.95 ukfilmreview I Do feel that you need to hear that clip to really understand the tone of the film because it really gives you a good insight as to what you're dealing with here and the best kind of ballpark that I would just anyone work with is American pie is that sort of. 41:34.37 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah. 41:47.54 Brian Penn Yeah, absolutely yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 41:50.67 ukfilmreview Genre film. Yeah and you can tell there from like the punk rock soundtrack the um stoner kind of comedy approach and yeah rose a stoned run and director high Benjamin Vomaek and yeah, we um, asked to review this film. I personally have a big affinity for these sort of films because I was a teenager when american power was coming out on a watched a lot of films like that ah road trip and things like those sort of films that there are they a piece of time I think where they make sense because if you are of that age. It. 42:24.60 Brian Penn So. 42:26.73 ukfilmreview It makes sense and now watching this in my mid to late thirty s it's It's quite a different experience because you're very much kind of guy guys. You're making some bad decisions there like I don't hear. Yeah I'm kind of I'm more worried about like this is the life that my kids are going to go into um that it is but it was also a nice throwback to go back and spend some time. 42:28.97 Brian Penn So. You you you very grown up now aren't you Chris thank you? the. 42:46.21 ukfilmreview Um, so to give you a gist of the story. There are 2 main characters. There's Edward ah, who is potentially on the autistic scale I think they they mentioned in the buyer that he's on the autistic scale and yeah, very very smart but socially awkward. And he kind of wants to have more life experiences and in particular he wants to try drugs and he wants to have sex and he doesn't really know how to do either of those things and relies on the help of a very cool but very failing student Ryan who um. 43:12.94 Brian Penn And. 43:23.67 ukfilmreview Is good at things like rolling joints but not so good at passing tests so he kind of uses edward to help him pass the class because he wants to get his high school diploma and yeah, that's essentially the the setup these 2 Um. 43:40.63 ukfilmreview 2 kids who wouldn't normally spend much time together do and alas a friendship is born I don't think it's a spoiler to say that they do start to get on and have fun. But as with all high school style films. Lots and lots of things happen along the way to upset that journey. 43:46.84 Brian Penn And. 43:53.79 Brian Penn Yeah I liked it I mean look you mentioned American Pis That's obviously the template for the film isn that but there's nothing wrong with that. You know all filmmakerrs have their inferences as we said before. 43:56.84 ukfilmreview What did you think of rosetta stoned Brian. 44:04.50 ukfilmreview Yeah, yeah. 44:10.77 Brian Penn I like the idea of this unlikely friendship developing between Ryan who's this cool pothead who's ah you know as far as that Edward was concerned is the is the guy with the experience. He's good with women and he he knows stuff. He knows how to do drugs and that's what draws the pair together. And the tradeoff is that you know he'll say dude. Oh I'll give you all this stuff if you if you help me with my french coursework and that kind of a initial tradeoff leads to ah, a friendship and a genuine friendship by the by the end then I think it's quite touching in some ways. You know he's got a very good heart. It has its moments some funny lines one of which was actually in the clip that you played right in the very beginning of the film when he asked one of the other other kids if he was going all the way and that's symptomatic of his social awkwardness out how he gets things wrong which I thought was a good line. Um. But yeah I like so it it was good for it was good. Fun. They got a limitedmsy budget obviously but they make it work. You know? Yeah yeah. 45:14.56 ukfilmreview Yeah, very actually impressive for what they do on if it is a thirty K budget I believe and for a feature length. That's this ah not polished to polish the wrong word but including enough elements to make it. 45:30.14 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, and I Yeah yeah, and yeah. 45:30.99 ukfilmreview Deserve a feature because sometimes we watch features and go do know that should have been a short I think this actually worked well as a feature because you needed that length of time to see their friendship blossom and and go through all the normal trials and tribulations that they do and yeah thirty K budget. It's very impressive and I use the scenes well because. 45:48.15 Brian Penn The. 45:50.35 ukfilmreview That's another thing that bugs me sometimes the independent filmmakers will do are we' going to have like 15000 um locations in our film you like but you you don't have the budget for that whereas so this I think they use the school really? Well so you you are moving location but you're you're not really and um, yeah. 45:56.10 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah. 46:09.00 ukfilmreview I I thought it was really good. The the jokes were funny but I think really let you say it's that relationship. That's really the heartwarming part of it that you do joy seeing them. Ah and also when you get a bit more of the story. The background like so Ryan's got kind of like a dark background his home life is a bit rough. 46:15.44 Brian Penn Yeah, a. 46:25.24 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 46:28.44 ukfilmreview Like his dad and some of the things that it was oh okay, there's some depth here. There's some depth into because obviously a stone or comedy. You could very easily not do that. Um, one of my favorite scenes is where they have that first spliff together and it's just I was just killing myself laughing. Um, really enjoyed that. 46:40.69 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 46:47.31 ukfilmreview Also sorry also reminded me of a film called ah 10 things I hate about you I'm not sure if anyone's yeah, wonderful film if you haven't seen that movie that film the soundtrack on film is in incredible I put that up they were 1 the best soundtracks of all time 10 things I hit i. Ah. 46:52.10 Brian Penn And oh his's pleasure a pleasure for them. Yeah yeah, love that problem that yeah actually Chris if you if you go back into the volts. So of um. 47:05.23 ukfilmreview Incredible. 47:09.48 Brian Penn Uk Film review. We actually reviewed some things like about you on on a podcast. You might not been on it but we did review it and we we eulogized about about the film. Yeah. 47:20.24 ukfilmreview What please go back and listen to that I will do the same I pretty sure I do remember the episode to be. Um, yeah, no really good. Um I like how the characters were really well sketched. You had this like Ryan being kind of like what lights about Ryan was that he um he had this problem with. 47:28.69 Brian Penn Yeah, so. 47:36.97 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, what? yeah. 47:37.63 ukfilmreview Getting close to people and committing and he was very quick to get rid of you even like he has a good girlfriend who actually's very good. She gives a really good performance. It's a bit later on in the film where she really does well um, but she's he's really like quicks here people whereas Ed was really klingy. He wants to be around which is kind of obviously um. 47:50.80 Brian Penn Me. 47:56.13 ukfilmreview Because he's trying to be this person. He's trying to not be his socially awkward person. Um, yeah, no really good and obviously ah, the title is ah a play on words to do with that um language learning software called Rosetta stone. So yeah I think they had had a little laugh there. 47:58.21 Brian Penn Yeah, so. 48:08.24 Brian Penn Yeah, good. Yeah yeah, yeah. 48:14.84 ukfilmreview Ah, um, which which is also good that my only minor criticism is the teacher the teacher the French class he has some great lines and bits that are really funny I think in the very end of that clip. We just cut it off but there's a bit where his phone goes off and there's ah a voice note that comes over which is quite funny. 48:20.43 Brian Penn Right? yeah. 48:31.92 Brian Penn Oh yeah, and I. 48:34.62 ukfilmreview But I do feel he was given way too much leeway in terms of having these like ah funny anecdotes or funny parts within the classroom scenes that I just found it a bit. Okay, yeah, he's going off on another little bit that's meant to be really funny but I didn't. 48:50.11 Brian Penn And I Yeah yeah I Yeah I I think you're right though I think you've nailed it there because he was a good character son. He had some good lines but. 48:53.11 ukfilmreview I didn't need that as much like I think once or twice would have been fine but they they kept doing it and like every scene he was in he was given like a few minutes to just sort of make a joke scene and it was like okay. 49:09.33 Brian Penn That character would have worked a lot better if you've been in it less often so where it yeah yeah, because yeah, becomes funny as a result because he's only it's like a vignette and he sort of Dives in Dives out again and he thought oh well that was good. You know so it becomes more of an effective cameo. But yeah I think he probably. 49:12.69 ukfilmreview Yeah, yeah, less is more right? Just make it funnier by not having so much of it. Um. 49:23.12 ukfilmreview Um, yeah. 49:29.10 Brian Penn Had a bit had sort of probably more more lines than you needed as a character even though you delivered them well. But yeah, that is right. 49:33.84 ukfilmreview It was I was fine with him I I don't mind him if he was doing that there was like the more serious scenes when he's talking to Ryan about like you're graduating and stuff like that's fine, but it when they do the the more of the jokey bits again again again I just found it. Yeah no, ah yep, yep, you've done this like let's move on but apart from that. 49:44.24 Brian Penn Yeah, so. 49:52.27 ukfilmreview I Actually really enjoyed Roset Stone I found it a nice little trip down memory day it even the the soundtrack was decent because they play these punk rock songs. Um I think there's quite a few different songs there for for you to listen to. But yeah, um, really really good if you want to check it out. 49:59.60 Brian Penn Yeah. 50:10.51 ukfilmreview Rosetta Stone has its own website and I've checked it does work as of me looking right now. Um, and it is rosetta stoned themovie dot com. Um, so yeah, you can have a look at that they have links on there for you to rent the film or watch the film. Um. 50:13.92 Brian Penn No. 50:25.66 Brian Penn 8 So. 50:28.26 ukfilmreview And yeah I really recommend if you're a fan of things like american pie 10 things to hear about you road trip. All those sort of films. Then yeah, you'll enjoy it. It's um, it's a good good film. Ah thumbs up thumbs up. spliffs up 50:35.74 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, thumbs up. Yeah, thumbs up. Yeah yeah. 50:45.62 ukfilmreview Um, we're heading now South America um going to a feature film called manmbo man and again I have a clip and this one is quite funky. Let's go. 50:49.78 Brian Penn And. 50:57.21 Brian Penn Oh wow. 51:59.75 ukfilmreview I was just so enjoyable I've really I was swaying. You can't see me but I was really sweating with that and also yeah, so the film is not in the English language but I think it's important sometimes to play a clip with the dialogue. So that people get a sense of the tone and things that. 52:03.10 Brian Penn Well, ah. 52:12.76 Brian Penn He yeah. 52:18.52 ukfilmreview Um, and mambo man. Ah yeah, is an interesting film. Um Brian Jo to do the description as one. 52:25.16 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah, well look latin's an american culture is so cool isn't it the language the music the dance you know I went to irvanna for a second then when you were playing that clip I really did. Um, yeah, the storyline I think it is quite simple is quite straightforward. 52:35.18 ukfilmreview 50 52:43.00 Brian Penn Ah, the primary character Jc Owns two loss-making farms. He also runs a famous show band specializing in the manbo quite logically um, an old friend called Roberto shows up currently living in Ecuador offers him a deal now. He's financially struggling. The local village is struggling so he sees this the way way of generating funds now this particular deal I won't dive over divorge too many details but it wasn't what I necessarily expected it' to be so be honest, um, but um, so it's a, but it's an ordinary man trying to trying to make a living freeze. For he's his wife and family his local community. Um, he say living it in in Cuba, you've got that client you you feel that cla of styles in the film that you've got the influence of communism of Castro and the fact that it is an island in the caribbe beingan. All these great sort of flavors and infers visually and or or as well. Um, but a nice straightforward story. That's as I say it's it's a man trying to make you hit make ends meet and trying to do his best for his family and but also trying to make an album as well. 53:59.51 ukfilmreview Hey. 54:01.42 Brian Penn Discover in the meantime but now as you say in an interesting movie. The music makes it for me every scene that you could forgive ah any shortcomings in the storyline I don't think the storyline was particularly strong or it's not as strong as it could be but maybe it wasn't needed because it's telling an honest story about a man. 54:21.26 ukfilmreview Yeah I think you're right that that was the thing I got was especially the first half of the film was very light on any there was barely any conflict. There was no like real tangible way as to where it's going. It was really setting up the idea that this character was. 54:21.41 Brian Penn Trying to do his best but. 54:40.86 Brian Penn And. 54:41.80 ukfilmreview The man of the community and he knew everyone and he'd check hands with everyone everywhere where when and he kind of felt a bit like the godfather it was oh he's like the godfather and and actually it reminded me a bit of the godfather because it's quite that bit where it goes to Italy kind of was like quite slow but almost. 54:47.90 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah I. 54:55.90 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah. 54:58.45 ukfilmreview Almost a film that then becomes ah about as you said the flavor it' like the flavor and the taste of that you're kind of soaking in the environment and I was absolutely fine with that here I was kind of like um, you know what I'm enjoying just seeing I say the music's great. They're havingving food and I was just like yeah but there is very light on. 55:02.32 Brian Penn So yeah, no, yeah, yeah. 55:16.20 Brian Penn I. 55:16.48 ukfilmreview Storyline in that first half and it's only really the second half where he starts to ah to go towards this deal and this this trade with the the Jewels that someone's going to sell him they kind of go. Okay, there's actually like there's a story that they want to tell here. Um. 55:25.73 Brian Penn You you. 55:33.44 Brian Penn I. 55:35.70 ukfilmreview But for me, yeah, it's one of those film. That's why the clip was quite important. Actually it kind of gives you the sense of you can kind of bask in this feeling when you're watching this film and it is a film to really just in like the senses. But if you are looking for a narrative I wouldn't say it's the strongest of films around. 55:49.19 Brian Penn No, no, no no. 55:54.51 ukfilmreview Um, but I did enjoy it and I I think I enjoyed it from that sense of God Oh it's kind of like the godfather but in the bit like yeah, it's maybe not quite as dramatic. Um, and it's just got a big slow be water I think. 56:01.17 Brian Penn It? Yeah yeah, ah, you know it it works because that's the same I mean the first thing that strike issue is that you know latin american culture there something about it. That you can't define. It's very stylish and that the visuals work the music works. It's almost like they thought themselves right? We'll put. We'll put a storyline in there but we don't need to worry too much because because you're drinking in the atmosphere. The visuals are great. The sounds are great, but. Can't go wrong in that way. But yeah, you know I I just feel the story could have been beefed up a bit more but that's somewhere in a quibble because it's a nice way to spend an hour on aaron a quarter. Whatever it was. You know it's very nice, very nice film. So. 56:53.70 ukfilmreview Yeah, um, and hats off ah to the filmmakers I think it's one of those films that feels like a passion project for like there's a lot of love. That's been poured into there. Um, and yeah, you could easily see. 57:00.90 Brian Penn The the. 57:09.17 ukfilmreview Yeah, doing another story but maybe something a bit more narrative based but as it is. It's a nice film to to gorge on really? um, yeah, manbo man available I think you can rent it on prime video. So it's available there but they also do have a website. Ah. 57:10.96 Brian Penn It Yeah, it's cool. It's cool. 57:29.90 ukfilmreview Manboman Filml Dot Com and it's loads of information on there all about the film and the the filmmakers Mo Finney and Atdicio Alejandro so yeah go and check it out. Go watch the trailer at least we've reviewed it on the website as well. 57:45.72 Brian Penn Yeah. 57:47.93 ukfilmreview Ah, yeah, go and gorge yourself on that and let us know if you do watch it be great to hear your your feedback on Mamboman Um, okay now next up we are going through a wow it was listed when. It was put through it as a short film but I actually think it's just in the realm of a feature. Um, which is swords of Justice too Now. This is what's known as a fan film? Um, but we're going to play you a clip now from the movie and then we're goingnna review. 58:07.12 Brian Penn And. 58:23.33 ukfilmreview So here we go sort of Justice to. 01:00:01.20 ukfilmreview Okay, so sorts of justice to written by directed by and starring Adam Odaf and yeah we we reviewed part one on the website you hear from review before. Ah, but they've now released this part two and it's a as say it's a fan film. Um, which is very important to sort of understand so it's to do with um a turkish tv series known as kuulus osman. 01:00:23.27 Brian Penn Um. 01:00:36.81 ukfilmreview I didn't understand that when I was first watching it I was like okay, it's like a medieval film very low budget. But then I understood that actually they were riffing on something that was pre-existing that they were kind of as I say ah showing their their love for um, is it's low budget and. 01:00:36.87 Brian Penn So there. 01:00:45.64 Brian Penn The. 01:00:55.53 ukfilmreview If I was honest, a story was quite hard to grasp. But you Brian did you grasp the story of this. 01:00:57.44 Brian Penn Yeah, not really to be honest I struggled with it. it' is's dealing with a period of history that I absolutely know nothing about byanstein s sojuk and monggolia empires I'm sorry to say. It's not It's not a period of history I understand that well and that for me that made me struggle with it even more. Um, but you get you get the you kind of get the vibe. Don't you you get the the gist ah of what's happening there and why it's happening. Um. You know I never saw the first parts to be honest, which I think was a lot shorter wasn't it than the the second part. Um, one thing I would say though is that the ah the costumes are excellent. They really look authentic. Ah, the music was the soundtrack was really good and they'd done this literally on a shoestring of a budget i't how they managed it. 01:01:39.30 ukfilmreview Yeah. 01:01:49.14 Brian Penn Because so I was reading online that they I don't worry, but it's accurate. They spent $1000 on on the on the phone. Yeah, but very good thug I mean I mean whoever did the costumes you know this serves huge credit because. 01:01:55.52 ukfilmreview Yeah, um I know I know it's low budget but I'm not I'm not sure and I can say I was very impressed by the the costumes in particular. 01:02:08.20 Brian Penn They look real. They look all fencing and that really helps over a while I thought it was a good effort when you look at what the resources they have at their disposal and that it is paying how much to ah another Tv series that I didn't know about either to be honest, um, but a good effort. I think some of the combat sequences were a bit hesitant where they were fighting each other but um, that's that's a line a quibble I I guess it's the it's the spirit isn't it. It's what the is the the passion they're they're trying to convey of. And within the characters. So I accept that but no look a good a good effort but you know it it does what it's what it sets out to do so. 01:02:56.20 ukfilmreview Yeah I think the the understanding of it obviously is going to be enhanced if you've seen the Tv show. Um, yeah, go back and watch the the first part of the film or at least read the review on our website there. The. 01:03:00.74 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, so. 01:03:12.25 ukfilmreview Situation when films like this come along for me I'm always I always judge a film based on what they choose to do and and what they what story they want to tell I did find the story quite hard to grasp in this one So that's that I struggled with but like so I like the spirit of it I like the um. 01:03:15.60 Brian Penn I No yeah yeah. 01:03:27.36 ukfilmreview They were really passionate about the scenes there were some I quite like some of the choreography in the fight scenes there were bits that were a bit like oh okay, yeah, they clearly don't have the budget to do that. But there were no other bits that were like oh wow that's quite cool I say was 1 bit which really did lift me out of the film there were they were shooting this scene on a bridge. 01:03:34.96 Brian Penn And then the yeah. 01:03:45.68 ukfilmreview But in the background you could see cars so or you didn't spot I spotted it. It was like they were they were shooting the scene on a bridge and it's meant to be like obviously this sort of you know scene with these bygone eras. But then yeah in the background you could just see cars obviously near a highway or whatever and I just thought. 01:03:46.76 Brian Penn Oh right? No never spied that Really oh I is see that. Yeah yeah, yeah. 01:04:05.24 ukfilmreview Well someone obviously they didn't You didn't notice it so that's fine and but someone chose to film that scene there and film that way that I just thought you didn't have to that's not to do with budget. That's not a budget thing. That's ah, you've not thought that through you haven't thought yeah you that slipped through you didn't. 01:04:06.65 Brian Penn Oh. 01:04:14.16 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:04:20.88 Brian Penn It's a slit. Yeah that I slips out. 01:04:24.64 ukfilmreview Or you've gone to know. Actually we want to use this location. We want to use that angle so much that we don't care that there's cars in the background. Ah in which case then I I do sort of question it. But I think overall if you're making because I think about yeah, what would I make a fan film about. 01:04:27.46 Brian Penn In. 01:04:41.78 Brian Penn I Yeah yeah for oil Actually yeah. 01:04:44.17 ukfilmreview It would be something that I absolutely adore like I love Harry Potter I I love adam sander films to be honest, you know I'd be a you know? Ah I'd love a fan film but happy gil more? um that yeah if I try to do it. It would be absolutely terrible because I just don't know what I'm doing I don't and I don't have the same kind of you. 01:05:00.37 Brian Penn I. 01:05:03.97 ukfilmreview Attention and passion that these guys have they've made something that is is very good with using the resources they have I Just think there is clearly room for improvement and also they can think about. 01:05:08.80 Brian Penn It Yeah thinks yeah. 01:05:20.30 ukfilmreview Things that aren't necessarily budgetary. It's not budgetary to go. Okay, yeah, but where's the camera pointed because this makes sure there's nothing in the background and also let's not much like the film we review previously. Let's not forget to tell a story because at the end of the day. That's what film is it is storytelling that. 01:05:28.90 Brian Penn Um. 01:05:31.83 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 01:05:38.57 ukfilmreview You can get lost in all of the fight scenes and battle scenes and and all that stuff that you know don't forget that the audience is going to want some character is going to want some information about what's going on. Um, but yeah, no hats off for the aesthetic like it costumes the music really good. Um, there's a few scenes where they used I think there was um. 01:05:45.94 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 01:05:57.88 ukfilmreview Stop videos like through the woods and things like that they actually looked really good I was actually suits really well. The tone of the film. Um, but yeah, no, it was. It was a good effort solid effort and there were bits that you people will enjoy I think Swords of Justice to I say we've. 01:05:59.39 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah, good estimate. Yeah yeah, course Absolutely yeah, good. 01:06:17.16 ukfilmreview Done a review so you can go and read that on our website and if you want to check out more about the film. There is an Instagram page I think for the filmmaker or it's for the production company. So yeah, good Instagram and it's. Ah, raday prod. So RAD a e p r d d s so yeah they're on Youtube there's lots of clips and things for you to go and view I think the clip we watch was public I believe um I might be wrong on that. 01:06:47.82 Brian Penn Oh. 01:06:51.81 ukfilmreview But um, yeah, you'd be able to search it out online and have a look and watch it for yourself. It's about fifty odd minutes I think um so yeah, that's what made me think is not quite a short a short I always think is being under 50 Um, but yeah, um, so I think you can judge it as a fan film really. 01:06:57.81 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah. 01:07:04.35 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 01:07:11.51 ukfilmreview And it won't take up too long. You can go and check out moving on now to our final of the indie films. Um David Camper's ah, feature film straight through crew and we have a clip and this one but a pre warning because this one is. Very heavy on the swears, get ready for this. 01:07:29.61 Brian Penn Oh right? Thank you. 01:08:13.38 ukfilmreview So ah, indie each film from David Campion called straight through crew and yeah I reviewed a film by David Camp a long time ago about 2015 called wood fools and really enjoyed it really good film. Really solid filmmaking. 01:08:23.66 Brian Penn That right. 01:08:30.38 ukfilmreview And it has a very similar vibe to this? Um, so yeah, 100% recommend checking out and also this I enjoyed straight through crew and I wish I'd read the bio of this before I I sort of wrote my notes because he sums it up perfectly with 2 words which is. 01:08:33.93 Brian Penn Ah. 01:08:46.75 Brian Penn So yeah, sounds right? right? yeah. 01:08:49.69 ukfilmreview Rural hedonism that is absolutely spot on for what this film is about so you've got this group of friends. Um, living in a small town and a girl comes back for Christmas who used to be 1 of the people that hung around with them and. It's all about this sort of like where are you in your life at this point now. So so she's moved to London and is yeah meant to be presenting this idea that she's doing really well Jamie played by Jessica Pret Pice um is meant to be doing really well and. Living the life and all these people living back in her small hometown are kind of just like yeah, not successful as her. It's not something she kind of sort of says it's just so a vibe that sort of permeates this their their group and their friendship but she comes back for Christmas and essentially they get together for. 01:09:32.40 Brian Penn And. 01:09:45.14 ukfilmreview A variety of drugs and alcohol. It becomes a whole splurging of hedonism. Ah, yeah, that is the best word I wish I had that word in my notes. Um, and yeah, there's lots of sort of scenes of. 01:09:51.81 Brian Penn And yeah I. 01:10:03.49 Brian Penn And. 01:10:04.10 ukfilmreview Drama between the characters. There's drug taking things get quite sort of odd and strange. Um and Jamie used to go out the character called aden played by charlesradock and the two of them have this kind of like intense homecoming experience. But he's also going out with someone else. So. 01:10:11.10 Brian Penn And. 01:10:23.46 ukfilmreview Yeah, there's there's a few other characters involved. They all kind of make sure they get hold of some narcotics whenever they can and they make sure that they get to the Christmas party where they're all going to get off their heads as the kids say um and yeah. 01:10:29.82 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, no yeah, not a Christmas film. No. 01:10:40.54 ukfilmreview Essentially, it's not really a Christmas film I wouldn't say it is a Christmas it's set at Christmas but it's not really a Christmas film. Um, but what are you remind me of because you get these coming of age films. They're very. It's a genre upon itself, but this film felt like more like a of age film. It was like. 01:10:51.43 Brian Penn There. 01:10:58.63 ukfilmreview Characters that are that came of age did all the things that they would have done then they went off and kind of became adults and then they're sort of like not that far into adulthood and they've realized oh yeah, what this is sort of where we're at now and we're still doing these things that we did when we were like 17 Um and all the drama and all this sort of. 01:10:59.73 Brian Penn Button. Yeah. 01:11:09.48 Brian Penn Me and. 01:11:17.47 ukfilmreview Antics that go on with that. What did you think of straight through crew Brian. 01:11:19.77 Brian Penn Yeah I thought it was good very good I Love the title the film as well straight through crew that is that's got something about it and you know sometimes film titles can be a big help in helping to promote the film and have you ever heard of a film called straight through crew before I haven't. 01:11:39.18 ukfilmreview No I was I wasn't sure quite what it meant? Um I feel that it well. Okay, good I don't know if it's going to have something to do with drug taking that's gonna make us sound like 2 old ges. So yeah here. 01:11:39.28 Brian Penn You know, no I'm still trying to work that one out It's very subtle obviously. But. 01:11:48.53 Brian Penn Ah, yeah I know I know that's the problem isn't it hey we're gonna get cool out aren't we yeah and but no I really enjoyed it. Um, very strong characters I like the dynamic between Jamie and Aden that's still there because she goes off to London. She starts living a new life then she comes back and the the old sort of romantic tension starts to bubble away again doesn't it between the servant and I like the way that you know they they have common friends who all feel a bit awkward. They don't know whose sight to be on you know. Ah, think we can all recognize a situation like that can't we as well. Um, but no I think it was very well done. Um, the um, but the 2 were the 2 key keywords that you use to describe it rural hedonism you see hedhenism or heonism a that. 01:12:39.80 ukfilmreview Well I say hedonism by think can say whatever you on I mean? yeah yeah, but's say well we have job Ats. 01:12:45.25 Brian Penn I'll go for hedonism if you're saying here. Yeah, all right then fair enough. Yeah now I thought I thought it was very good though I Love the way the the characters interreate with each other I Love that kind of tension. That's there between them. Yeah, very good, very impressed with it actually. But. 01:13:02.63 ukfilmreview 1 thing I found very impressive from a filmmaking point of view and this is something I'm I don't often talk about but I notice is filmmakers that are happier to let scenes breathe a bit um indie filmmakers I think maybe because of. 01:13:13.82 Brian Penn So. 01:13:20.22 ukfilmreview Being worried about you all the different aspects of what they're trying to do often are quite heavy on the cutting like they'll cut scenes and they don't let them sit whereas with with straight throughugh crew. There's bits where like For example, there's a dancing scene at the rave that they go to and they're just he just lets it play for quite a while. 01:13:27.54 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 01:13:36.39 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:13:39.46 ukfilmreview For enough time to to actually s sinknc into it and it's a really master class move where you don't It's not something that people I don't know who who don't You know we go into depth on films. But I noticed that I Ah he's really let that just sit long enough for the right amount of time. 01:13:48.93 Brian Penn You know. 01:13:56.89 ukfilmreview For you to be really in the moment and I I was really impressed with ah lots of really great dialogue and the characters are very believable. There's a wonderful chemistry I think between them you know much like Rotta stone we reviewed earlier. There's this sort of dynamic between younger Ish characters. 01:14:01.45 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 01:14:07.17 Brian Penn Yeah, the. 01:14:14.29 ukfilmreview And it kind of felt quite genuine. Um, yeah I didn't watch it but it reminded me of skins I know skins was a Tv show and I sort of had seen bits and bobs of it and characters sort of doing these things and it kind of was back in that world. But this. 01:14:22.17 Brian Penn Ah, right? Yeah yeah. 01:14:30.46 ukfilmreview Was very much a product of the filmmaker because like I said about wood fools This film had the director stamp on it like it has a color to it. There's like this sort of quite intimate framings at times and there's like a color tint on it that just feels like it's um yeah, if it was really intense and. 01:14:36.30 Brian Penn So. Yeah, yeah. 01:14:50.22 ukfilmreview That I think was reflecting the sort of age and experience of the characters like this the because yeah, as watching this is someone in the thirty you go? Oh yeah, clearly this is way too much drama for me I would have I been asleep in the corner. Yeah know is it cat corner. Whatever it was I'd be in there. Um, but with the characters that are like. 01:14:53.13 Brian Penn Yeah, pop. 01:14:59.22 Brian Penn I Don't know the the. 01:15:09.58 ukfilmreview You know this to them is is pure life all the angst and all the vibrating emotions that go with it. It very much is their world and they're so into it that yeah the the filmmaking kind of reflected that really well. Yeah. 01:15:12.98 Brian Penn In the. 01:15:20.93 Brian Penn You You sense that the yaktss no understand their characters really well you know which you think would be obvious for all all axes but they plugged into the characters and they just seem very natural and very believable as well and that's something that really comes through really strongly that. Comfortable with the characters they're playing. They understand them. They get them and if you've got actors that understand the characters they're playing it becomes much more effective and cohesive in the way it comes across like very good, very good. Yeah. 01:15:53.61 ukfilmreview For very good. There was also a few little references to Christmas films which I always enjoy. Um so that tick to box for me. Ah, it did should to Christmas. Yeah. 01:15:57.37 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, didn't mention shockly though I did it but disappointing that but there yeah hey that but it was good though. 01:16:08.80 ukfilmreview I mean that's not really been done as a Christmas chocolate I thought deserves its own film. Um, yeah, yeah, no, it was good straight through crew is one of those films that as soon as I settled into it. Yeah I know I'm in for a good time. You felt incapable hands the whole time. The acting was really strong. Um I think across the board. 01:16:15.15 Brian Penn Yeah, enjoy the yeah. 01:16:19.90 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 01:16:27.55 ukfilmreview There's a lovely little subplot about one of their friends who ends up with he just stays in the local sort of social club ah drinking with it with an older lady and he's just yeah, just gets completely curtailed off and we've all got friends like that you got a night out you go what happened to you like oh I I was playing pool with some random person. Um. 01:16:32.71 Brian Penn I All right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, they get I get diversity done. Yeah, and yeah. 01:16:46.82 ukfilmreview And I love that that is is picking up on and I grew up in a rural area. So this was very reflective of that like you got nothing better to do than to yeah, get high and just enjoy the night because nothing else is going to happen. Um. 01:16:50.26 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 01:16:58.35 Brian Penn Click the. 01:17:02.20 ukfilmreview But then also it it didn't shy away from the dark side of that like we see what happens to Aidan and his state of mind and all the things that he gets himself into that. It's it's not afraid to to showcase that as well. It's not all about a good time sort of thing. 01:17:05.92 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, it. Yeah yeah, it's disturbing in but places wasn't it. It's quite disturbing in places. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 01:17:17.89 ukfilmreview Yeah, there was bits that were like oh that's that's quite terrifying know what was he's going through. So yeah, there is lots to it. Um by hundred percent recommend it I'm definitely a strong recommendation. The film was on a ah password protected link. So don't think it's available. 01:17:28.59 Brian Penn I. 01:17:37.46 ukfilmreview Um, but there is an Instagram page black math pictures or 1 word or you can obviously check out our review and everything like that. But yeah, the the director is David Campion and yeah, hats off him. Fabulous fabulous job there. Really good now. 01:17:56.20 ukfilmreview With the release of Furio and next month we decided to travel back not to the first mad max fury road film with Tom Hardy we went way back. We went back all the way to the 70 s. 01:18:05.95 Brian Penn You? Yeah yeah, yeah, that a goodbye describing. Actually it's so yeah, yeah, yeah. 01:18:11.26 ukfilmreview to to Mel Gibson who is you know he is the 70 s Tom Hardy really isn't he. That's what he he was. He was building himself up to to become that um or was it the other way around and yeah, um, so mad max ah, which. 01:18:24.60 Brian Penn I was going sny. Yeah, it's something the right way around. Okay. 01:18:30.41 ukfilmreview It's available currently on now Tv again, we're not affiliated with them. But it's just where you can watch it if you've got a subscription there. It's also available I think on prime if you pay for it. So um, yeah, if you wouldn't you take this one Brian Mad Max what's it about go for it. 01:18:45.59 Brian Penn What's it about then it directs by George Miller starring Mel Gibson of courses John Samuel Hugh Keyesburnne um like you know what I was too young to see this film when it first came now it was an a six could add an 18 racing. You know you watch it online now you see the ah the banner. The health warning come up. Don't you. 01:19:01.32 ukfilmreview There. 01:19:03.38 Brian Penn You know and this one says nu to see violence alcohol use smoking foul language and sexual content I mean I was gonna say anything guarantee to make me watch. It wouldn't put me off, let's put it that way. But anyway I was too years to see it in seventeen Nine only just not by March but so. 01:19:08.89 ukfilmreview There is rule my favorite things. 01:19:21.96 Brian Penn Ah, simple storyline again. What I feel was a simple storyline Australia setting setting Australia many years in the future has plunged into anarchy there. There have been numerous wars and famines ah of various descriptions and we we see we have before us the desolate landscape max. Rockin tasks Rointansky plays a police officer who hunts down the killer of his wife and child I think that's probably it in a nutshell isn't it really? um, but still got it. You know the film has still got it. It still packs a punch. It still has that edge and. Like so many film franchises first cuts to the deepest Chris aren't they really and I think it's a very good film and even I see 79 it's forty four years old now. It doesn't look dated in that way. This film could have been made today. It could have been made. 01:20:16.12 ukfilmreview No definitely holds up. Yeah, and I think that's one of the benefits of making a film that's sort of dystopian right? because I think it's like a version of what a future world might look like that it doesn't necessarily date because if they said it in present day. 01:20:20.56 Brian Penn My Sly easy. Yeah, yeah. 01:20:34.78 ukfilmreview Sydney or whatever you kind of go all right? Well yeah, it clearly looks dated. Um, and I watched this in tandem with the Tom Hardy pure furry road that came out and is interesting kind of comparing the two because they are dealing obviously with the same world. I haven't seen the ones in between there were some films after this wasn't there like with Gibson and there's a few other mad max up I haven't have you seen those? Yeah I didn't know that wow um, but. 01:20:56.42 Brian Penn Yeah, it I've seen them but not recently I mean Tina Suron was in one wasn't she she was on sea entity for I remember Riley. Yeah yeah. 01:21:10.44 ukfilmreview But just going on the two that I've seen it was like okay yeah I know I'm in the same world but they are vastly different in terms of the way that they're presented. 01:21:13.26 Brian Penn It and yeah, yeah, well it moves on though doesn't it the any any franchiser I mean I have to accept graduallydg that franchises are are are the way forward, but um, certain films out today that. Conform with franchise aren't my thing but this is because the characters are actually quite strong. You know the the um I mean we touched on we reviewed guysbusters frozen empire earlier on which is a film franchise that started at the same time. See back then they seemed to have more weight and more characters. Ah you know they were stronger. They were funnier. They were brighter. This isn't there aren't many laughs in mad max but you know as ah as as an action movie. It's excellent. It really? well wasn't Mel Gibson young in this film as well. 01:22:07.75 ukfilmreview Yeah, know he it took me a little while Toap Melkibson is that him? Um, yeah, he looks very fresh faced. Um, then there is how yeah. 01:22:08.87 Brian Penn Does he look old enough to drive a car even you know do his parents know he know he's out driving a co and a Mo blake you know? well. 01:22:22.61 ukfilmreview Have they seen the list of things that this film contains I mean it's it's like my it's like my Christmas list. Um, yeah now I I did enjoy it and I found that um I can say I think because of the genre it lends itself to to not feel dated because it's ah okay, it's like. 01:22:24.21 Brian Penn Yeah, know exactly. But yeah. 01:22:39.95 ukfilmreview Sci-fi really is just dystopian world that you can submit yourself into there are parts that I did find um a bit more kind of like it just felt they were limited because they would be. It's an action film. 01:22:40.73 Brian Penn And. 01:22:55.35 Brian Penn And. 01:22:57.58 ukfilmreview Yeah, that was filmed in the 70 s but there's certain bits was oh okay, they've cut that quite badly or they've this off. Yeah when you compare it to fury road the new one. It was like oh yeah, their worlds apart because that fear is so slick so fast. So bizarre yeah. 01:23:00.47 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:23:10.80 Brian Penn It's yeah it yeah it it's rough and ready isn't it. It's it's ah it's kind of almost like you know it's the equivalent in in pop music to a demo isn't it. It feels like it's It's got that kind of demo cut type fill. 01:23:24.68 ukfilmreview Yeah, oh I hundred percent and actually a film that it reminded me of not so much storywise but just tonally was um, a clockwork orange because when you watch that you get the sense of it being anarchic and. 01:23:26.44 Brian Penn But you may well say that's the charm. That's the quality that it that comes through and. 01:23:35.66 Brian Penn Oh right? Yeah yeah, you. 01:23:42.51 ukfilmreview And it does I feel like at 1 point it feels like a product of its time but it also feels kind of it can try. You traverse those those decades and you can still enjoy it. Um, they just I got a little bit of that. It's just I think it's one of those films that. 01:23:48.32 Brian Penn Ah. 01:23:51.10 Brian Penn I. 01:23:59.56 ukfilmreview If you're a fan of this ongoing um franchise much like ghostbusters I think you have to go and watch this one I it made me want to watch the others as well I was kind of like oh I might check out they were ah you could get them on Amazon but you got paid for them I was like. 01:24:01.69 Brian Penn And. No. 01:24:15.55 ukfilmreview I'll see if I find myself at a loss on like a Friday Saturday night I might just so put one on if I'm not enjoying any rural hedonism that is you know I might might be doing that hedonism headonism ah headit is yeah. 01:24:20.72 Brian Penn Yeah, well yeah I mean nothing's gonna match about rural Hedonism Heonism Hedonism I'm going with hedonism. You know you can you can have hehenism I'll have hedonism. Yeah, um. 01:24:34.26 ukfilmreview Yeah I think that's the most important part of this whole show. This whole episode is how do you pronounce it. Everyone get in touch come on. We'll do it. We do a we'll do a poll someone who? um, yeah, hate and isn't here. 01:24:36.59 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, and I yeah I'm chosen Someone's gonna know aren like someone someone's gonna be definitive and say it's probably neither I bet. Um I bet it's hyyonism or something like that. Yeah yeah. 01:24:52.45 ukfilmreview Although I like that hadonism I like it. Um, well if this has been enough hedonism for you? Um, we hope you've enjoyed the episode. Um yeah, covered a lot of films and thank you to all the indie filmmakers who sent us their movies to be reviewed. Thank you Brian for covering. 01:24:55.20 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:25:11.78 ukfilmreview The cinema releases. Um, what was your film with the month 01:25:13.25 Brian Penn It's a pleasure as always film of the month ah right well yeah the 3 will we looked so they're all equally good. But I think if I had to pick one. It'd be ghostbusters frozen empire. 01:25:23.88 ukfilmreview Wow pure entertainment they should put that on the poster if they haven't done the poster yet which I think they probably have but they haven't put on their pure entertainment from Brian all right? Yeah, they might not know which Brian might and they. 01:25:25.92 Brian Penn For pure for peer sustainment and haven't from in brackets Uk Film review film. Yeah well yeah, know you never like I mean there are lots Sprys around. It's. 01:25:41.70 ukfilmreview They might think it's Brian blessed or something. 01:25:45.94 Brian Penn It's becoming a surprising popular name when with with son. So yeah I see you don't know what I could be doing in my spare time. Do you really? yeah name. Ah. 01:25:47.84 ukfilmreview And I've not seen you and Brian blessed in the same room. So just same just same. There is you heard it here first. Brian is Brian blessed. Um, he's not there. Thank you for listening. 01:26:01.81 Brian Penn Um, yeah I'm not there. Yeah. 01:26:04.10 ukfilmreview To Uk Film Club we are part of the Uk Film Review Podcast Umbrella so there are other shows that you can go enjoy such as Amber and Joyce's terrific Lg B Two q plus show gay actually um, they did a fabulous review of Priscilla recently. Um. 01:26:20.93 Brian Penn Um, yeah, with yeah with Ter Stump was man was it turns thumb. Yeah, very good. Yeah, good. 01:26:21.82 ukfilmreview Queen yeah queen of the desert. You know the original um the the drag film. Um, yeah, um, and they covered that film brilliantly. Really terrific episode to do go and and listen to that. Um, you've also got. Other shows such as the scream test with Rachel. So if you're a horror fan. She's done some incredible episodes on some classic horror franchises. There's also the phantom zone. Ah so it's Chris Ian and the gang. Um. 01:26:49.13 Brian Penn So. 01:26:54.67 ukfilmreview And yeah, they recently reviewed ah the captain america film. Um the winter soldier which I couldn't believe was ten years old and it's getting really worrying now when these Marvel films are making me feel old. Um, yeah. 01:26:59.39 Brian Penn Ah. 01:27:02.72 Brian Penn So really? yeah, yeah, films do that though, don't know you look you just I mean one of the first things I look for in a film What year was it made when I'm just sort of reading about it and you think oh my. 01:27:11.25 ukfilmreview Really terrifying. 01:27:21.75 Brian Penn God is it really that one we are. 01:27:24.60 ukfilmreview I mean and also life is so short Basically think life's so short. But really the only best way to spend that is by listening to our podcast. So thank you to everyone who has listened. We are very very grateful and yeah dude, um. 01:27:29.29 Brian Penn Absolutely. 01:27:38.23 Brian Penn I. 01:27:39.50 ukfilmreview Drop us a comment get in touch. Always nice to hear from you and thank you to anyone that did send in comments and and you about the films that we've reviewed and yeah means a lot to us. But yeah, this is um, end of the episode. Thank you so much for listening and we'll we'll see you again next time. 01:27:54.94 Brian Penn Bye for now. Previous Next

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

Read the film podcast transcript from the episode titled UK Film Club - 004 - Fast X The Mother and Children Of Men on UK Film Club part of the UK Film Review Podcast. < Back UK Film Club - 004 - Fast X The Mother and Children Of Men Listen to This Episode UK Film Club 00:00.00 ukfilmreview Hey Brian I'm good. Thank you you? okay. 00:00.60 Brian Penn Like Chris say you doing yeah fine. Yeah yeah, all good, but it's it's still like Chris I mean the last time we did the podcast it was dark by Quas Fate wasn't it and now it's bright and sunny still or so anyway. 00:14.80 ukfilmreview I know it's throwing me off slightly because it's that time of the year where you can't really watch certain films because you need the atmos. You know you can't necessarily watch like I don't know trying to think of an example but I guess horror films like you can't watch a horror film in the daytime. 00:18.35 Brian Penn I. 00:30.23 Brian Penn No now that that is probably true because it adds to the atmosphere doesn't it really? Yeah so I think you're probably probably right there. There are some films that you can watch at any time during the day others that just needs to be viewed at a certain sign. Don't I suppose it fits the mood. 00:44.76 ukfilmreview I Say what they I did I remember watching um is it the strangers I think it's the strangers where it's like a home invasion film. And yeah, so that it's quite I think it's the strangers and I watched it. Um, oh was I I was on. 00:49.64 Brian Penn No, right? so. 01:01.15 ukfilmreview When I was working somewhere else and I had like a weekday off which was very unusual. So no one else was off and I was watching it must have been about like Eleven o'clock in the morning and because I wanted to create the atmosphere. So I shut the curtains and made it as dark as I could and I was watching it and I was still genuinely scared but it was quite weird that. 01:02.60 Brian Penn Okay, all right? okay. 01:19.54 Brian Penn You Yeah God you go to a lot of trouble. Don't you you love setting. The scene aren't yeah hey um I'm in prayer you see I I Just don't have the wherewithals to do that. But I know what you mean though, it's got it's got to create a move but that's not something you can do in the Cinema is it because it goes to the cinema. 01:19.55 ukfilmreview Kind of finishing and then me kind of carrying on with the rest of my day I definitely. 01:37.56 Brian Penn And it's in darkness anyway isn't it. You know? um so that kind of kills it a little bit but you can do that more when you're at home can't you I think that's ah, an interesting perspective Chris you again, you give me a lot to think about here you know, really only 5 bits in I mean you've already got me thinking honestly, really. 01:39.73 ukfilmreview Um. 01:48.46 ukfilmreview Here you go I'm getting you already set out. Yeah well there go. That's the best way to enjoy horror films you know shortcuts and if the Amazon man comes to the door. You just don't answer it. no no. no 01:55.32 Brian Penn Yeah. 02:01.25 Brian Penn Yeah I know and know yeah I's just back getting into the spirit things isn't there are literally Wow Yeah, scary. Yeah. 02:08.73 ukfilmreview Is? Well we are back with episode 4 of ukfilm club. How exciting? um, it's the show that. Reviews everything really we review right? from the top right down not to the bottom because that sounds bad but to the shortest to short films. You know to the indie films. Um, and if you haven't listened to the show is your first time. Welcome welcome to the show um me and Brian are cricks where you go from review and. 02:19.93 Brian Penn The yeah yeah course yeah. 02:30.39 Brian Penn And. 02:37.42 ukfilmreview In these episodes we like to cover the cinema releases largely by Brian um, and then we do a streaming pick so a film that's on streaming services then we do a couple of indie films and then we finish up with a nostalgia film which is something that basically is. 02:40.53 Brian Penn He. 02:50.10 Brian Penn That is like. 02:54.73 ukfilmreview A little bit older I guess there's not really much and funny enough the film that we've picked this ah for this month is another bleak film. We did fight club last month and I'm thinking we've got to stop picking these bleak films like I know you can imagine me myself. 03:02.95 Brian Penn And I we we've got to cheer ourselves up a bit next month and we a little bit on that school. Yeah. 03:11.21 ukfilmreview Sitting in the dark watching these films getting all depressed like now need's something happier for next month but we'll get to that. Um, and in this episode very specially I everyone round of applause please made it to the cinema and Brian was there to witness this. 03:14.42 Brian Penn Ah, yeah, you need a bit light and show don't you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah. 03:24.72 Brian Penn Yeah I was there I witnessed it I actually saw you go in. Yeah I sat next to you? Yeah, that's right? yeah. 03:31.42 ukfilmreview You're witness that. Yeah yeah, so we were um, very privileged to watch the ah Media premiere I Guess of um, the new fast and furious film fast X and which is really good I reviewed it for the site and I know that. 03:41.33 Brian Penn Yep. 03:49.51 ukfilmreview Mad Wolf They also reviewed it for the site. Um, so I think it's my one that you'll see up there so we'll get into that in a minute but I think I'll first off just got a quick promo I Love a bit of promo. Um, so picture house got in touch to say that. 03:52.55 Brian Penn Oh. 03:58.44 Brian Penn Well tell me? oh yeah. 04:06.45 ukfilmreview They are promoting the sundance film festival London for 2023 and that's taking place in July the sixth of the ninth. So yeah, we put a shout out on our stories. Um, although when you're listening to this. It's probably already gone. 04:07.25 Brian Penn Oh wow. 04:19.56 Brian Penn Oh ready I Wanna never do that. Yeah, someone's got down. Yeah. 04:21.80 ukfilmreview But yeah I was on there but you can go to picture houses with an s at the end. She's a bit strange picture houses. Yeah I wonder who's got picture house someone at someone's got picturehouses.com/sundance and you'll be able to see the lineup. Um, interestingly. There's a short film showcase which a lot of our festivals do and one of the films in there is my eyes are up here and that was recently reviewed on the web site by William Hemingway and he loved it and he's not an easy critic to please. So yeah, he does give his fair share of of. 04:53.46 Brian Penn Um, right? we like we like speaking strots if don't we at the same slim though. Yeah. 04:57.41 ukfilmreview The low scores shall we say so we do we do and don't we wrong? William's a really great writer. Um, so for him to sort of give this 4 stars I'm thinking wow that must be something. Yeah yeah, um, so that's um, part of the the lineup at the sundance film festival London. 05:08.24 Brian Penn It's square price indeed. Then? yeah. 05:15.99 ukfilmreview So yeah, just shout out to those guys for for getting in touch and yeah, that's in July so shall we shall we go with the theatrical releases and then do fast x last does that work because I know you had some other films that you were going to review first. Let's let's do those. 05:20.22 Brian Penn Um, it's stuff. 05:28.20 Brian Penn Yeah, why not? okay, all right? So we do the my 5 for this month what or did you want me to take them in this time Chris any any particular preference right? Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, oh nice one? yeah. 05:38.57 ukfilmreview Okay, I'm gonna I'm gonna direct you this time I don't know why because Normallyman I let you go a free reign but I'm bit more organized this this time. So I'm gonna go well as long as you have seen them. Um, big George Foreman 05:48.13 Brian Penn Yeah, cool course laugh. Oh big George Forman right okay then so right big George Foreman I want to give you the full title here because I don't know how they managed to get it on the poster but the full title title is big George Foreman colon 06:02.66 ukfilmreview Um. 06:06.14 Brian Penn The miraculous story of the once and future heavyweight champion of the world 16 words I mean honestly did they need a subtitle quite that long. It's beyond me I mean surely big George Forman kind of does it don't you think you know. 06:18.40 ukfilmreview I I mean because I'm looking at now and that poster design I probably thought I'm not going to put anything else on. It is no point just put that and the guy and and that's it is to yeah. 06:24.55 Brian Penn Yeah I know know you it crowds it out doesn't it anyway. So this is directed by George Tillman Juniorr starring Chris Davis as foreman and Forst whitakeo is trainer dot brous now this is the story of 1 of the greatest heavyweight boxes of all time. Yeah I don't know how familiar listeners are with boxing if I just mentioned Muhammad Ali Joe Frazier Ken Norton Jimmy Ellis and George Forn himself you had fighters who were at rare quality and distinction and they were all in their prime during the 1970 S ah, formerman won the world title from Joe Frazier but lost it to Muhammad Ali in a fight famously known as the rombo in the jungle. But I guess the bigger part of Forman's story was coming out of retirement to win the world title again at the age of 45 overall it's a solid bypic with a steady pace. 6 auto right? boxes. There are no great revelations unsurprising as forman himself was executive producer so there'll be no skeletons rattling here. Chris Davis is very good in the title role but in many ways, the film belongs to forest whitaker as the battle hardened trainer. What I like about his performance is that he doesn't overplay the character. It's like Billy Wilder the director used to say less is more. He reins it in and makes a bigger impression as a result a thoroughly enjoyable film great soundtrack if you're a fan of 70 soul and funk. 07:56.21 Brian Penn This is the film for you. Ah, yeah. 07:58.79 ukfilmreview There we go I mean I love a boxing film. Um I think we've said this before on the pod. It's it's a genre upon itself isn't it specifically boxing I think um, it's got everything cinematic that you kind of want and I mean George Foreman is household name. 08:04.42 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, it is yeah. Yeah, yeah. 08:16.66 ukfilmreview Ah, even even over here and and even kind of yeah now. 08:17.29 Brian Penn Well yeah, yeah I mean even even if you know him as the promoter of the lean mean grilling machine as well which he made an awful lot of money out out of back in the ases but like. 08:29.30 ukfilmreview I was doing my best not to bring it out but I'm glad you did because you know it's relevant there. We go. 08:34.16 Brian Penn Yeah I mean was Scott I mean they mentioned it in the film. So if they mention in the film we can mention it here. Yeah, it's relevant. It's current and it's relevant now a very good film I likes it I think it's been getting some slightly mixed reviews I don't know whether people expected to see a bit more dirt being dished. But I think it gave a fairly. 08:51.87 ukfilmreview Um. 08:53.63 Brian Penn Balanced account of his life particularly his humble beginnings coming from a very poor family in a very poor part of Houston in Texas to winning the olympic gold medal at Mexico City 1968 cer professional the old story of. Making a fortune then losing it through bad investments bad deals. Bad management deals then having to make a comeback in his in his forces. It does really read a bit like a hollywood film script. But it's all true and I think I know George Forman's story relatively well enough to say that's a fair account. You know it. I mean no pundding intended it. It doesn't pull any punches get it. Ah, it had to be done dent. It really come on. Be honest, ah. 09:31.28 ukfilmreview We are if I'd have reviewed it. It would have just been full of it. That's all I do I'm just full of puns. That's all I do. 09:39.91 Brian Penn Ah, ah, but you see the thing is though boxing's got lots of great phrases that that have entered into alexcon aren't they really you know out for the count beaten sort the punch all that type of thing. Um, but no a very good film I really enjoyed it and it. 09:50.40 ukfilmreview E. 09:57.87 Brian Penn Such is it such is a cold with with people in in some way because pugilism is the ultimate warrior art isn't it and I I take it as art because when it's when it's done properly when you've got 2 great vices in the ring and George Foreman represents a great era for heavyweight boxing. In general. So yeah, good stuff really enjoyed that. 10:21.63 ukfilmreview There you go big George Foreman I'm not going to do the full title because I've already clicked away and I don't want to have to look it up again. Um, now this next one I've got this vague feeling that you said you didn't get to see it. Um, but let's just see if it's the film the unlikely pilgrimage of harold fry. 10:27.22 Brian Penn Ah. 10:30.85 Brian Penn Which was yeah I saw that? Yep yeah I saw that I Okay then so yeah, so what we got then is it's film directed by Hessy mcdonald. 10:37.89 ukfilmreview You did see it all right crack on. 10:47.48 Brian Penn Starring Jim Bent as harold and Penelope Wilson as his wife mooring when I sat down to write this review I had to resist the sensation to use phrases like heartwarming and lifeairming. It's that kind of film. It's based on a book by Rachel Joyce and tells a story of Harold and mooring. 10:59.27 ukfilmreview Um. 11:06.19 Brian Penn Who live in quiet retirement on the South Coast harold receives a letter from queenie who is in a hospice and writing to say goodbye was quite sad anyway, he struggles to write a response on the way to the post office. It has what would you call it an epiphany. Perhaps. And decides to walk all the way to barrackon sweed so he can say goodbye to queenie in person now to appreciate this film. You need to omit the logic because the first thing you think is why doesn't he just get on a train and go and see her but this is Harold's eccentricity at play. 11:37.51 ukfilmreview Um. 11:42.56 Brian Penn Sees the walkers in atonement for all the things he's got wrong in his life. It's a charming film the story gently unfolds and we learn exactly what the deal is between him and queenie and it's not necessarily what you'd expect. We also learn of a troubled relationship with his son David which fills in all the blanks. But I would say it's a very british film and a very likable film. Really really a nice watch. Yeah, it is great. Yeah, absolutely yeah, you've you've nailed it. There. 12:07.11 ukfilmreview This feels right up my street I love a this is my warm Sunday feeling film. Um I watched um the fisherman's friends to the weekend. Um, which is not as good as the first one. 12:18.44 Brian Penn Ah, right? Yeah, what you think of it. You never at the never are are they I spin Never all. 12:24.61 ukfilmreview Um, where they never are the first one was was good but the second one it was very pull in it. Yeah, put in it strings and trying to make something I think that wasn't really that or needed. Um, but it. 12:35.76 Brian Penn Yeah. 12:39.85 ukfilmreview You got to go into these sort of films very forgiving and very kind of like you know what? I just kind of want the sensation of a film washing over me. Um, and that's why I get with that. 12:42.19 Brian Penn You? Yeah yeah, you yeah exactly you want to like it and the thing is I think fisherman's friends not as good as the original courses. But it's so well written and the characters are so well drawn and they're very likeable. Ah, that human quality and you you can't it's the same thing with the harold fry movie. Um, they're just very likable and they do grow on you as people I like Jim Brall bent I like pen. Ah yeah, and I like pet Penelope Wilton so what I would say though is that after I write my review I don't want you to. But do you. 13:07.71 ukfilmreview Oh yeah, he's great isn't there. 13:19.27 Brian Penn Do you write your own view review then read other people. So do you? What do you do here? ah. 13:24.20 ukfilmreview It depends Sometimes if I'm really struggling I go and steal someone's review. No I don't um now I think sometimes I'll go and read reviews then when I've seen the film and I I've got maybe like my draft because sometimes. 13:33.82 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah. 13:39.63 ukfilmreview You think something but you can't quite put it into words. Yeah, not that you're trying to steal it more just trying to shape it in your mind as to what it is that you're trying to write about Um, ah so sometimes but rarely I normally like to just post my review and then I'll go read elsewhere. 13:41.70 Brian Penn Yeah, no you you? yeah. Yeah, yeah, I'm more or less the same as you I mean sometimes reading somebody else's review. Can you can articulate your own thoughts a bit more can't you I think that's what it boils down to. 14:02.10 ukfilmreview Yeah. 14:05.92 Brian Penn But usually I do exactly what you do, but I write my review first then I start looking at other reviews just to see how how close we are in opinions or how far apart we are now I read some of the reviews of the harold fry movie and I have to say I was a little bit disappointed with with the kind of the vibe I was getting. Because they were saying Well I the impression I got was that um, it's a film for older people because the characters are elderly or they're in the in their seventy s and I find that such a shame to think that because it's characterbased and it's good storytelling that. 14:39.20 ukfilmreview Um. 14:44.47 Brian Penn People think it won't be of any interest to people under the age of 30 You know what? I mean it I found that a bit a bit sad. Really. 14:49.72 ukfilmreview It's for it's I think they know Target Demographics but I do think that's very unfair to to put those sort of things out. Um as I say I'm an absolute sucker for a soft warm film and I'm in my thirty s and I've liked these films for you know, a long time. Um. 14:55.42 Brian Penn To. Yeah, yeah. 15:06.75 ukfilmreview I Think genre is applicable because people are often drawn to more some some drop genres more than others depending on their age but it's the same thing like with animation. It gets pigeonholed Oh animation is for kids but it's so not is it at all. 15:13.84 Brian Penn M yeah. Yeah, exactly no not at all. No yeah. 15:24.77 ukfilmreview And it's universal and I think these stories are universal. It's just sometimes they sort of get a bit tied up with their own marketing. But um I Also think sometimes they lose a bit of their audience because of. 15:29.76 Brian Penn Yeah. 15:40.98 ukfilmreview Maybe they're trying to do that you say they're doing things that wouldn't make sense to a younger audience like him not jumping on a train or calling an uber or you know it's like it doesn't make sense to ah to a younger generation. So maybe there's that but I still think they can understand that I think people can and like you know when I watch a period drama. It's like oh I can't understand this at all. 15:43.35 Brian Penn Yeah, exactly? Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, who. And I Yeah I know Yeah, yeah, exactly? Yeah yeah. 15:59.54 ukfilmreview Even though I yeah I because I wasn't there. It's like no I can understand how they lived like that and I can yeah people who grew up without phones can understand how people had to get by without a mobile phone and I'm saying that because I'm seeing him on the trailer inside like ah 1 of those classic post boxes. So I'm guessing that comes into it. Um, but I think it's. 16:12.78 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, that's right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 16:18.33 ukfilmreview It's so in fair are these studios and things that that way and these marketing departments that kind of make these decisions and say oh well, they won't get it. So don't market those people. It's like well that's not really fair. 16:21.71 Brian Penn It and I it's ah it's not fair. It's a missstop opportunity I think because they rob the film of a much wider rep Appealal because it's so narrow and I think that's such a shame because it's. 16:35.33 ukfilmreview And. 16:40.91 Brian Penn It's the type of film that that you know does make you feel it does make you feel.. It's a feel good film and what's wrong with that I think we need more films like that that that don't necessarily go for the jocular right? It's a gentle story that gradually builds and reaches. Ah, a. And interesting climax as a saider touched on it earlier on that it. It's not quite the the finale that you emerge in so it it surprises you as well. I think it does anyway. So yeah, but. 17:12.12 ukfilmreview Well moving from one film shall I say aimed at ah, an older audience to another with book club to the next chapter. 17:15.91 Brian Penn Yeah, right? Yeah book club two. Okay, then. So this is directed by Bill Holderman and stars take a deep breath here. Diane Keaton Jane Fonda Marysteinurgeon Caniceceberg and Andy Garcia Don Johnson and c crazyine nelson pew it it and I is is I've actually forgotten Hugh Quay as well isn't it. So that's an even bigger more quality cast than you could ever imagine. So um, it's a sequel to the first book club made in 20 a c. 17:39.65 ukfilmreview Gosh That's a cast isn't it. So since. 17:55.90 Brian Penn This time four friends go on a bachelorette party swicily as they mark the engagement of vivian played by Jane Fonda now it's a great cast and they they do carry the film up to a certain extent it does't. We've just touched on this actually. It does foul the the test of all sequels. It's just not as good as the original in the first film they read 50 shas a grey and went on to show how the book affected their lines. How their relationships were enhanced shall we say but this story runs more on fumes. It's just not really enough there to keep it going. Um, having said that it's a pleasant watch you get to see skill practitioners at work and it would be less of a film without them. 1 thing I did mention in the review that the written review that I have to mention here though is that italy looks absolutely spectacular. It might it could just as easily be an advert for the italian film board a tourist board like Peggy upon um, suscany rome Venice look they look spectacular now'd be difficult to film italy and make you look na I know that's true, but it does add to the appeal of the film. But. 18:49.31 ukfilmreview Fin. 19:07.58 Brian Penn But it is very lightweight. It's very lightweight but I think the cast do carry it through just about. 19:13.96 ukfilmreview Well we have got fast x coming up and yeah, they did also film in Rome so we'll get into that. But um. 19:16.48 Brian Penn I did yeah yeah that's right well yeah but but yeah I mean a very a very nice film but it's not going to be for everyone to everyone's taste and in some ways it's the I mean we just mentioned fast x we were location filming thisly as well. You couldn't get a. Um, more of a contrast really? but ah I just like the cast I think the cast lifted above mediocrity. It would be nothing without them really if you if you put 7 or 8 lesser actors in that in those roles. It wouldn't work I mean you've got some what used to be some very big players. There. You know you've got Jane Fonder and Diane Ke and Mary Steamberg um you know Candysburg and maybe not quite such a major player but these are all really topno charts. You had their time but are just jumping on on something that did well the first time around and. Yeah they're making the most of a sequel which doesn't really do it but I enjoyed it more for the cast and more for the way they interact together. Um, you can tell there's a natural chemistry. They all get on. They all seem like friends. You know if you ever watched a movie and you thought you think to yourself. They really get on. There's nothing. Act they're not in some ways on an accent because they do see seem to be like friends anyway, you know do you know the type of thing I mean yeah. 20:39.00 ukfilmreview I Do I think you in that chemistry is right? You feel it You do feel it as an audience and whether you believe it I think there? Um, yeah, especially if you're looking at like ah not so much this but like a romantic film like you know whether or not you believe it and funny enough again with fast x. 20:48.90 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 20:56.46 ukfilmreview I'm not sure I believe it I'm not sure I believe they are family but you know but were yeah but that doesn't matter. This is what all my review I I said with Farex It didn't really matter because it's just you're just there for something else. But anyway again, we'll get to that I keep jumping ahead I'm just so excited. You can tell I haven't been to the Cinema for a while. Can't you. 20:56.60 Brian Penn Well now add to see that. Yeah you know? yeah. 21:06.37 Brian Penn Yeah, that's right's right? Yeah, so slight I know I know your hyper right? Yeah I can sense it. Yeah I know. 21:15.93 ukfilmreview Yeah, so that was a book club the next chapter now I'm confused about this next one Ryan because it's called the notebook I thought that film would come out a long time ago. 21:23.15 Brian Penn No yeah, actually the I replaced it with another film I got I got my list Mita see list mixed up all right? So I replaced it with it with another one which is missing now missing. This is an interesting one. 21:31.89 ukfilmreview Um, okay, go on him. 21:38.50 ukfilmreview Yep. 21:43.99 Brian Penn Now this film I was actually going to review on the on the previous podcast but we just didn't I didn't have time to see it but it came out on the twenty first of April um, and it's still running now and it's directed by Nicholas D Johnson and will Merrick. Starring storm read as June and near long as mother grace her mother Grace and ah so yeah, it's an interesting one because it's a genre known as screen life movies which is visual storytelling where all the events are shown on a computer. 22:12.76 ukfilmreview A. 22:19.45 Brian Penn Ah, tablet or a smartphone now. The story is fairly simple Grace goes on the holiday to Columbia with her new partner Kevin she leaves June a list of dos and donmes but a teenage you parents away. Well you make the most of it don't you anyway. June goes to the airport to meet them on the day of their return. But they don't show up. She grows increasingly anxious and realizes they've gone missing back home June begins to track their movements online and you really don't realize how easy it is to find people now. None of us could flow into the rado anymore which is a blessing and a curse and equal measure. Film itself has real pace and sometimes feels like a blur if you're ic literate which I am not particularly um, you'll pick up a lot more from it because I was thinking wow how can you do that I didn't know you could do that I was thinking that all the way through the film but it very compact and very cleverly put together. And a film where well worth catching if you can before it goes goes onto stream. 23:20.67 ukfilmreview Funny enough you you said about this film and I thought oh I've already seen this um and it's because which I haven't by the way. The reason I thought I had is I saw a film um, twenty eighteen called searching have you seen that film with John cho. 23:24.40 Brian Penn Ah, but yeah. 23:32.32 Brian Penn Yeah, it's actually actually you yeah I have seen it and it's made by the same team The same team of directors and writers I Yeah no is it's the same directors Now you've mentioned that it's reminded me because when I was doing my research on this. 23:40.11 ukfilmreview I was going to say because if not, they are really trying to rip off this other film. 23:51.74 Brian Penn Ah, did it reminded me of the fact that I saw that film when it when it was first on but I didn't connect the 2 But yeah, you're right? it is. It's very similar and it's written, but it's written on directed by the same same people. Yeah. 24:02.62 ukfilmreview You sure she doesn't say that is on now Mt B but oh might I think they wrong? Oh no, you're all rightev serve Ohhanan um, big. Yeah because even the posters are like identical. They've got this blue kind of screens everywhere. Um. 24:05.88 Brian Penn Yeah I thought yeah I thought so yeah, yeah, yeah. 24:17.60 ukfilmreview But yeah, no, it sounds great I Love those sort of films when they're done Well they can be awful because you know no one wants any more time looking at screens. But when you when they're done and they're compelling I actually think it's a genre that could be very adaptable and very relevant to audiences at the moment. We all kind of are living a lot more in these. 24:22.31 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 24:31.80 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah I I have to say though the genre itself was news to me I'd never heard of it previously screen life. But I see what it's getting out though because they're containing all the action on a couple of screens. 24:37.10 ukfilmreview Screen So interesting. 24:49.85 Brian Penn But a lot of the time you don't notice it because when the film's playing and you're watching it. You'll see her working on screen but she'll bring up a news report or an Abc report or something and it doesn't feel like it's necessarily. You're watching a screen on a screen on a screen kind of thing. 25:05.73 ukfilmreview Fifty fifty there 25:08.75 Brian Penn If you see what I'm getting at but you don't necessarily. It doesn't necessarily come across that way but very good film very different, very unusual. But yeah, it's a genre that I think will will grow but it has to be properly done and as you say we spend so much of our lives staring at screens. All right when you go to the movies you're staring at 1 big screen but they're kind of this. You know the screen itself splits since 3 or 4 but it's it's scary again. It's that word that I've sometimes come back to with a filmline is is's scary. What? what? But you can learn about people online what you can do. But. Online. We are really living the shroomman show now aren't we um, Lord don't get me slighted about ai. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 25:49.92 ukfilmreview Well, especially with the rise of ai I mean we're all doomed now anyway, so yeah, let's ah, let's enjoy it while we can um by Brian that was four films did you do another one or was it fast x goneip. 26:02.95 Brian Penn I did another one yet I did oh yeah, right? Okay, um, it is what's the fifth one yet. It's called. Are you there god it's me Margaret now. Yeah. 26:17.69 ukfilmreview You're right Brian you have and a little turn. Yeah. 26:19.52 Brian Penn Yeah, you think about in a moment. Yeah, no man. That's really what the film's called. It came out actually on Friday on the nineteenth of may so it's just come out now. Um this is directed by Kelly Freeman Craig and stars Aie Rder Forson Margaret Rachel Macadams plays on mother Barbara. And we also get the brilliant Kathy Batkees ' grandma sillvia now this is a family drama that gently tugs at the heartstrings but is never sentimental or predictable Margaret is twelve years old and about to enter Sixth grade. However, a world is turned upside down when her dad is promoted and they move to New Jersey this means a new school and new classmates Margaret is quickly welcomed into a private club headed by Nancy who to a horror is the owner of a 32 a bra. The girls set each other a series of challenges including who will be the first to get a period the pressure cranks up even more for Margaret whose family is divided by religion. Jewish father and a christian mother puts her in the middle of a domestic war. However, a teacher Mr Benedict makes a suggestion writes a projects about religion and what it means to her I absolutely love this film. It's the film and a month for me at the 5 that I've reviewed. 27:33.87 ukfilmreview Wow. 27:36.84 Brian Penn It's it's my favorite. It takes the girl reaching puberty storyline and adds a unique twist. What does religion mean to a twelve year old is god listening to our hopes fears and aspirations which is where the title comes from originality is such a rare thing in films these days. You know it naturally stands out from the rest. Because of that it does something different it like it takes a world warm storyline and think right? How can we? How can we present this to the audience in a different way. It's based on a book as well. But I think it was very clever I think the the girl that plays Margaret. She's the type of. Type of child out aby rid forson she's the type of actually think god if she can survive growing up. She's gonna be a massive star. She really is you know, but really enjoyed it very good. 28:27.20 ukfilmreview Fantastic, well those are your 5 that Brian has very kindly gone unseen and reviewed. Um, we're going to move to the premiere that we were both able to attend which was fast x um, and. 28:37.50 Brian Penn And yeah. 28:42.86 ukfilmreview I myself am a fast and furious fan would you classify yourself as 1 Brian. 28:47.74 Brian Penn Um, I'm probably um I'm probably on the on the way you know I'm on the way to being a fan I think this this is probably the best 1 for me so far. Ah, maybe because it's still fresh in my mind. 28:50.63 ukfilmreview On the way. 28:56.79 ukfilmreview Wow. 29:03.10 Brian Penn Maybe when the when the next one comes out which it inevitably will do. Ah maybe that'll be my favorite but but yeah, but I think it's difficult not to like a film like fast and furious because it's so visually arresting that you can't help but like it you know I mean they're in the entertainment business and it is about entertainment. So. 29:06.16 ukfilmreview Perfect. 29:21.43 ukfilmreview So. 29:22.39 Brian Penn Yeah, you know I'd class myself as a fan but probably not not in the advanced stage that you are shall we say. 29:29.33 ukfilmreview Yeah, and don't get me wrong I I know everything that's wrong with the films like I've had some people kind of have big chats with me about them saying you know you know this is rubbish and this is rubbish. Yeah I know it's rubbish. But that's not why I like them. Um, if I mean. 29:32.12 Brian Penn E. 29:39.91 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, ah. 29:44.70 ukfilmreview My eyes roll nonstop when I'm watching these films because the dialogue is just atrocious. The dialogue is is it was like it was written by yeah, one in the 90 s who was just yeah on a sugar rush but it's got that kind of first off, it's pure cinema you you. 29:45.17 Brian Penn And I and I and I yeah I and I yeah. 29:59.64 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 30:02.58 ukfilmreview Get about 10 times more enjoyment out of this by watching it on a big screen than you would watching at home and with the screening that we were in at least 5 or 6 times the ah audience erupted into applause and yelling and yeah because of things that happening and that's the kind of experience I think that you only get. 30:05.89 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 30:12.11 Brian Penn Yeah, that is yeah yeah. 30:19.54 Brian Penn Yes, yeah, yeah. 30:20.60 ukfilmreview This sort of film at the cinema. So um, it's got all that going in terms of the actual plot I mean I I was a little bit sketchy in terms of the last couple of films because I think I've only seen them once and they did just they went in and went out like as they always do but essentially dom and in his family. They're all kind of settled. 30:28.44 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah. 30:39.57 ukfilmreview And they're working with the cia and all that lot like they're kind of now in on the same level. Um the character a car remember is named that one who tires Gibson Plays Roman is now kind of going to be leading operations. They're about to go and do one in Rome as we've mentioned. Um. 30:41.40 Brian Penn My own there. So. 30:53.39 Brian Penn And yep. 30:59.40 ukfilmreview But at the beginning of film. We essentially see clips from the previous series of films of fast and furious whereby a character. We didn't know was there was actually there the whole time and it's it's pleased by he was wasn't it and he's not a small guy either I'm surprised we didn't notice him at. 31:06.73 Brian Penn Yeah, hard in play select. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah. 31:17.51 ukfilmreview Jason Momoa who plays Dante and did you think there's some kind of connection with like you know the volcano like Dante's inferno is that what they're doing I thought that's what they were doing but I didn't want to kind of put words in their mouth. Um, okay yes, ah. 31:24.00 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah I guess so that's the reference point isn't it really I think Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, no, it looks like that to me to be honest, yeah. 31:36.13 ukfilmreview So Dante was this son of the bank manager who got robbed in film 5 I think where they're put in the safe across the the city and the 2 cars so he is then has been plotting against Dominicque Toretto Vidy's character for many years and. 31:43.90 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 31:51.17 Brian Penn And. 31:54.96 ukfilmreview Has orchestrated his doom shall we say in a series of incredible as you might expect stunts and scenes and sequences that just kind of they don't stop. It's absolutely relentless this film. Um, it. 31:56.65 Brian Penn No. Are yeah. Yeah, yeah, it is it is It is definitely. 32:11.13 ukfilmreview Just keeps coming and yeah, essentially this is definitely part of at least two films I think it might be 3 films I think there's been some rumors about being three films. Um, whether or not that's then going to be the end I don't know I think it makes too much money for anyone to say just yet. But um, yeah, this is all now part of dominick's. 32:23.21 Brian Penn That. 32:30.38 ukfilmreview Potential biggest foe that he's faced who's always always seems to be at least 3 steps ahead in this film like he just seems to know exactly what's going to happen every single time. 32:31.68 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 32:37.76 Brian Penn And know and I yeah bit too clever freeze I'm good when you think how on Earth can you can he but be that that forward thinking you know and so think that quickly and when you when you're mucking about with cars and explosives and guns and what have you? yeah. 32:45.81 ukfilmreview And I. 32:54.23 Brian Penn Does leave much room for error is it really when you think about it. 32:56.27 ukfilmreview No I mean there was at least 3 or 4 times when the Dante character could easily have been killed in the film and he isn't but I'd thought yeah I'm not gonna tell how to do a job. Vindy's all, but you know, um, there's loads of subplots in this film as well. There's so many subplots because you've got. 33:01.34 Brian Penn Yeah, and we hang on I mean on. 33:14.14 ukfilmreview Char Theron Her character cypher is kind of involved. She used the first one who kind of warned dominic about Dante but then she gets kind of taken away to a um I Don know some kind of secure facility and Michelle Michelle Rodriguez is there I'll try not to give away too many spoilers but there will be spoilers in this review. 33:14.70 Brian Penn Oh yeah. 33:28.99 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah. 33:34.70 ukfilmreview Um, you've then got John Sina who is on a road trip with vindy's or Dominic Row's son and because he's trying to protect them then you got ah the 3 of them have ended up in London which is like the ludicrous tege character Ramsey played by Natalie Emmanuel and roman. 33:42.60 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 33:50.70 Brian Penn Um, no. 33:54.12 ukfilmreview They've ended up there. So everyone's kind of split up at this point. It's very much kind of globehotting again for the fast and furious and what did you think of that. 33:57.90 Brian Penn And yeah. Well, but I think that generally speaking the the film itself is jawroping the good entertainment. It's just no question. It's you're visually stunning the plot itself I think they leave a lot of strands running. Don't they which is obviously a sign that. There. There's gonna be another film maybe 2 or 3 but you know I think the plot though such as it is gets buried by the visuals that you all you it almost seems incidental. What the what the storyline is and where the plot might be going. You're completely distracted by the visuals now. Think it's all about the stunts and all about the visuals to be fair, it doesn't pretend to be anything else. It's very It's very honest about what it's saying out there but but it's it's ah you you we sat there watching it didn't we and you think god that's incredible and it was as you say relentless you think. How and after they do that. It's really challenging the laws of physics some of the things they were doing and I think with a film like this I think I'd even say the stmp men and Stump women are more the stars than than Venn dies always but you can't argue with the entertainment by you there can you really. 35:16.20 ukfilmreview No, and I think again, it's what people know they know about what they're going into by this point I was talking to a friend who he likes the the early films in the series. Whether it's more about the the cars and the racing and yeah and that could have been an interesting. 35:21.58 Brian Penn And yeah. 35:28.78 Brian Penn I. 35:33.58 ukfilmreview Franchise you know where if they did go down that route where it was a bit more gritty and more underground whereas this is more in line with like a James Bond kind of film and and all that sort of stuff. 35:35.73 Brian Penn Yeah, but it is yeah it is kind of guy that way I mean you look at I mean you look at something like mission impossible The franchise there. It's gone so far away from what it was meant to be that you've almost forgotten. 35:45.84 ukfilmreview Yeah. 35:54.39 Brian Penn What mission impossible was all about that mission impossible was based on it on a brilliant series show from the sixty s and seventy s but you would never know that where it is now where it started out and it's the same thing with fast and furious is that they've taken it off it. Off on a route that they know is going to work. They know it's going to please the punners but that I think in some ways when when you get the next one when the next one comes out. They've got to try and top what they've done in this one. You know it's got to get progressively more adventurous. Otherwise you're not. You know you're not going to get any joy if you just repeating what you've already done. You know I mean my overview of a film like fast and furious. Great. It's the same that I enjoyed it but I could use this said the same thing about the previous line films because it it's visually stimulating. You know, um. My reference point for action movies as I'm sure you know is diehard Lethal weapon bad boys that's type of film. You see what they do is that they give you they give you the visual stimulation but they give you strong characters and they give you a good script. 36:54.72 ukfilmreview Yeah. 37:05.14 Brian Penn That's funny and engaging. So it gives you a bit more than just the visuals and that's where I think fast the furorists could they could try a little bit hard. But then again, maybe it doesn't really matter Chris at the end of the day because you you go by how much you've been in sustained. So. 37:12.82 ukfilmreview 50 37:22.64 Brian Penn Might in our function as critics we say well this is where it might be falling down but the bottom line is our people weren't the same by it and you say hell yeah of course. Absolutely. 37:32.30 ukfilmreview Well I don't think I if they haven't put that on the poster I think they should you know? hell yeah there we go Hell yeah um so well fast and furious. It's all about family and what do you need in a family you need the mother and that's where we're going next. 37:36.40 Brian Penn Wow Hell yeah hell yeah. 37:49.81 Brian Penn Oh that is the Seamless link. Oh I am impressed Damn that is good that is so good. Oh God Ah not honestly I'm not worthy now. Oh no, really yeah, okay then. 37:53.24 ukfilmreview Boom and I made that up off the top of my head me know there we go. Ah so it's um, starring Jennifer you've seen this right? you you said it is yep. 38:05.30 Brian Penn Yeah, so yeah, yeah. 38:06.94 ukfilmreview So on Netflix this month I believe ah may if you're listening to it now and stars Jennifer Lopez you want to give the synopsis on this one Brian. 38:15.36 Brian Penn Ah, yeah, yep, ah, that's gettingdding. Let's getp my notes up? Yeah, okay so this is on Netflix then it's directed by nikki carra stars Jenifer Lopez as answer the mother I don't think she actually has a character named does she they just call her the mother I don't know. 38:31.41 ukfilmreview Yeah, which I think is is very telling isn't it. 38:33.78 Brian Penn And yeah, anyway, yeah so Lucy pay has plays her daughter Zoe and Joseph Finenes plays the arch villain Adrian Love well Adrian Lovell but they call him the val don't they see aspirates. We'd say lovell. 38:49.56 ukfilmreview You can imagine you can imagine him in the school yard in the U K or love a love what you're doing ma oh you lovell. 38:50.11 Brian Penn But they call him lavale course they would do? Yeah yeah, no and I so now the mother is an ex army that a trained assassin who has crossed 2 heavy, juicy villains. 1 of whom is Adrian Lavell she later gives birth to a baby girl who immediately becomes a target the Fbi arrange her adoption and give her a new identity. The mother is banished to deepest Alaska but the badies find her daughter called Zoe and this brings the mother out of hiding to face her demons now i. I really enjoyed this that this I think is top nor chance entertainment. It really is for 1 thing. How does Jennifer Lopez manage to look so young. You know I mean she's 50 3 or 54 or something I mean. She's either got a very good classic surgeon or she's got pi of hands's jeans honestly I mean again, visuals are great. The stunts are great. She she is kind of believable ah in the right world is that reason why she wouldn't be but what struck me about this film Chris though was that if it had been made. Thirty years ago or twenty years ago this film would be called the father and the title role would be played by a man. But now we've got the mother title or I played by a woman now the the bus phrase is all about a equality errors you know and there you got a great example of a quality. 40:07.73 ukfilmreview Yep. 40:22.20 Brian Penn Because the lead is female strong powerful determined a leading role that would have been played by a man. Do you know what? I'm getting at and you think isn't that good though to. 40:31.28 ukfilmreview Oh yeah, a hundred percent because when I was watching it I really enjoyed it I thought excellent that what I likes about it that it felt yeah, this feels like it's Liam Leesson's role right? It feels should me and Neland is going to play this role and. 40:35.84 Brian Penn Yeah. 40:41.77 Brian Penn Yeah I know yeah. 40:47.00 ukfilmreview If've not, you've got someone far more interesting. You know we've seen Liam do all those films already and and he's done so many of them now but this felt fresh. It felt a bit newer but also still believable. It didn't feel like they were shoehorning in. Oh it's a female garrot but you know it should be a man is it? No, it is should be ah, a woman because the whole. 40:50.46 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah. 40:59.12 Brian Penn Yeah, you buy into it. Yeah. 41:06.42 ukfilmreview Point of it is that you know, especially in the earlier scenes where there's a very disturbing situation which um, she gets attacked whilst pregnant that it's actually and her maternal instincts are coming out through the film. Um, they're playing on that like with the. 41:11.58 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah. 41:21.97 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah, it is yeah. 41:22.58 ukfilmreview When she's in Alaska and there's these wolves that are around and they're very protective and it's it's it's playing on a lot of themes that actually haven't seen a lot, especially not within the action thriller kind of um genre that I found it. 41:32.91 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 41:37.44 ukfilmreview Very engaging very compelling I was so surprised to see a lot of negative reviews around the mother I thought really I thought it was much better than that and than what I'd seen. 41:45.54 Brian Penn Oh I mean yeah, it does surprise me but I mean it, everyone's got got got a view haven't I you know everyone's got an opinion. But ah, you know I think to to criticize that type of film the way they've approached it the way it's been made. You know you buy into the currency you believe you believe the character you believe it's happened. You know, um, anything's possible. You know, beneath that set you know the surface that we live in our lives of convention routine respectability. There's an undercurrent right? There are things going on that we don't know about. So. It's perfectly possible that a character like the mother could exist somewhere right and could be this skilled be a skilled Mark Marksman be skilled with with in martial arts. You can take care of us so and can come out of hiding. To protect a daughter that she's never met. You know it's it's keeping a sufficient grip on reality but it's it's it's kind of outrageous enough to say well, that's that's a bit of a jump but it's possible. It's feasible and I like storytelling where it's kind of out there a little bit but you can believe it. It's kind of feasible. You know it's possible. It's slightly you know I like that. So yeah, I'm surprised by the negative reviews because I don't know what what else you would really want in a in a film. They're good at action movie you know and it's also got got great Kate Bush on the soundtrack. This woman's work which is a great track as well. 43:17.48 ukfilmreview Yeah, that works really well in that scene when it comes on new. Yeah, yeah, because I always watch with subtarts on and when you see the lyrics over the top of what's playing actually as ah, that's very very telling very potent. Um. 43:18.67 Brian Penn Yeah, ah you know at the end when it's just sort of when the clothes and starts are coming up is Kate Bush this one's work which is a great song. So. 43:28.78 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, very apps. Yeah, definitely. 43:34.34 ukfilmreview I reallyd as well was the fact that they didn't drag out the fact that Zoe was her daughter in terms of because it could have easily been that film where you know ah Jennifer Lopez is being very protective but the the girl doesn't really know why but they she the girl is really they. 43:42.17 Brian Penn Ah. 43:48.90 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 43:53.65 ukfilmreview Cluew her in quite early on and she guesses she's like are you my mother like she kind of works it out and I liked that they they didn't make her like this like fool of a child. It was like no no, she actually is quite formidable herself. So. 43:57.27 Brian Penn Yeah, and ah, yeah, no yeah, she yeah, that's right, she's um, mature enough and intelligent enough to know that yeah I know what's going on here but you see the thing is again. That's where where the. Kind of the notion of common sense kicks in a little bit and you can say to the audience yet. We thought that bit there you know so we've made her a bit wiser that she's not going to be quite that naive I mean she's 12 or first scene isn't she so she's old not to sort of work out. What's going on right? I ah I don't think it's possible that. Someone in that situation would know absolutely nothing about their background at school something will get out. You know I don't think anything can stay secret for very long and that's partly what he trains on but you know great visuals I think Alaska looks amazing. You know of all the locations they could have gone to I mean. Alaska is spectacular that kind of purity and that simplicity and that scene that you mentioned with the wolves looking after the cubs when she's confronted by the wolf and the wolf sees sees her. She sees her cubs. You know it's almost that that trade-off between you know she appreciate. Appreciates what being a mother is you know and I think there's nothing that's said or it's written, but it's just visuals and that's beautiful to look at I think yeah, yeah, yeah. 45:19.74 ukfilmreview Pretty good. That's the mother. Um, and yeah, definitely want to watch I I actually do hope more people seek out because I think it's well worth your time. Um, and that's just streaming pick for this month we're gonna move on now to a couple of. 45:29.77 Brian Penn Yeah. 45:35.82 ukfilmreview Short indie films because what we love doing it and also the filmmakers reached out to me on my Twitter feed which is pinned to my profile if you want to go to that and have a look at some of the other films that people have asked us to review and we've already done a few of them on the podcast. So listen to those episodes to do everything. 45:38.40 Brian Penn Um, yeah. 45:51.84 Brian Penn M. 45:55.93 ukfilmreview Everything listen to everything share everything like everything. That's all you got to do that's all we want isn't it Brian we just want everyone to pay us all their attention. That's all we want exactly? um you seen. Ah, you've seen both of these Brian so it doesn't matter where I start. Ah, let's go with iba. 45:56.84 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah I Saw win. Yeah I I need some life a simple one like really you know? Yeah yeah I see both these No. No, not so But. My home. 46:15.62 ukfilmreview Um, directed by Zan Gilmore and this was an interesting short. This was the first one that I watched that's what I'm doing in this order and it's about this um writer. He's a wouldbe writer and he's on a road trip with his. Um. Think it's his friend I'm not sure if it's friend or partner. But um, they're on their on the way somewhere he is very obsessed with um so scottish mythology I guess in terms of what's going on. Um, and then he ends up speaking to this mystic character and she. 46:33.43 Brian Penn Yeah. 46:42.11 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah I think. 46:51.90 ukfilmreview Tells him of a gateway to another world which is through water. Um, and he's completely obsessed with this meanwhile his friend is getting kind of increasingly worried about him. Um and decides to follow him I'm gonna leave it there with the synopsis because I don't want to give any more away than that. Um. 46:51.62 Brian Penn O m. 46:59.36 Brian Penn The. Yeah I know I know yeah I liked it I think it's very good. It's it's very dark. It's visually very arresting I I think Rachel the friend. 47:11.40 ukfilmreview But what do you think of this one part. 47:18.30 ukfilmreview Um. 47:23.56 Brian Penn We think might be the partner but possibly the friend. Yeah yeah, okay, we'll stick with friend you see I think the way way Rachel was reacting is she kind of represents us the audience because it kind of instills a sense of foreboding the whole the whole sort of setup I mean. 47:23.93 ukfilmreview It says friend on the synoptras on Imdb so I'm going with that. 47:35.28 ukfilmreview Yeah. 47:43.67 Brian Penn It's beautifully put together and you know she is sort of she sort of saying what are you nut so you raving nuts you mad doing doing this because it kind of sit scares her it scares her but he he feels the need to immerse himself in. Celstic Mythology. That's this thing and it as it progresses you you feel that sense of forbodium and that fear for him and it it does feel quite quite claustrophobic the more you you kind of get into the story but it's very well done and it leaves a market. It leaves a kind of a. Marking you afterwards because of the imagery and I find that quite quite arresting and it does leave as I say it leaves a mark on you but it's very good. It's very good, but it's very dark as well though not just in the terms of the light in being quite dark but a very dark story. And lots of sort of celtic crossing sort of emerging as we go Along. So But yeah, um, it's It's very good. It's very good I'm very impressed. 48:44.52 ukfilmreview Shooting. 48:49.37 ukfilmreview Yeah I picked out a few things that I really enjoyed about the film. Um, which first of us the chemistry between the the couple or the friends I Thought that was really good I enjoyed you talking earlier about this about whether or not you believed it and I believed I believed them? Um I thought they their performance is really good. 48:57.20 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 49:06.57 ukfilmreview Love the locations I Always love these sort of locations. Um, when you've got the the landscape forming part of the story. You know it's like this isolation I So a men reminding me of you know during but during the festival We we watched I think it was called Brother Troll or something like that. Yeah. 49:08.35 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 49:20.72 Brian Penn Yeah, the one that was based in the feroh islands. Yeah, yeah, it is a bit like that. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah. 49:26.28 ukfilmreview Yeah, a bit a bit like that just in terms of them being cut off from everyone else because you don't get that really a lot in society anymore in terms of like that in the in the mainstream. So when we see these films set in these places I think it really adds a good depth to the story. It really helps it? Um, love that and then. 49:34.26 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, Definitely yeah. 49:45.70 ukfilmreview The the last thing was the music I liked the music where it was a bit more fantasy and ethere or like it kind of had a weird vibe I wasn't so sure about when this like electronic dance track comes in. There's a bit where the the music pumps him with the when he's in the waters up and I was like I'm not sure if that worked for me but I like the. 49:56.65 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah. 50:03.72 ukfilmreview The other music that was being used I dont know is interesting shift. 50:06.87 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, ah and you do wonder whether that was meant to signpost something significant in the story where whether the incident incidental music changes but I'm not entirely sure. But yeah, it did seem seem to stick out more than it should or maybe it was meant so you see I often take that as a kind of a. 50:10.26 ukfilmreview M. 50:23.96 Brian Penn Something significant but it might not be Maybe it's a kind of a double Glos Perhaps see I overthink things all the time unit know. Yeah, that's what we do. That's what you over talk it? Yeah, it's got be done doesn't it really. 50:30.43 ukfilmreview Buss what we're here for bro. We're here to overthink all this aren't we and over talk it. We over talk everything? Um, but yeah, thank you to Elizabeth Mcnally for um, sending that to me. She's in the film as she plays. The space viona who is the sort mystic that he meets. Yeah so she was the only got in touch with us to review the film and um, yeah, I'm very glad she did because enjoyed it a lot so that's iba I'm not sure if you can see it anywhere um trying to look at our link was it public or not. 50:47.25 Brian Penn Ah, ah she done right? Okay, yeah. 51:00.71 Brian Penn But. 51:04.60 ukfilmreview I don't know it's on vim vimeo but I don't know if his's password but took dude. It's not. It's up a year ago now so you should out. Yeah vimeo.com search for iass which is IMB a s I'm probably saying that wrong. But um, that's online for you to watch and enjoy so that's that one. 51:07.67 Brian Penn I Don't think it is no yeah. 51:23.28 ukfilmreview The second short film that we watched and are now reviewing was called allow tier which is that how you'd pronounce that or or tear now to l a UTIR um this was um also very good different. Um, and. 51:26.47 Brian Penn La Lord said laer boser. Yeah yeah. 51:43.13 ukfilmreview In the opening credit. So this isn't really like a spoiler but you realize that Laoutie is an anagram of ritual and did you miss that? did you visit? Yeah yeah, so the letters all kind of come across and I was like oh um, so yeah, and it's um. 51:50.55 Brian Penn You know what? I never I never spoiled that. Ah I neverpied that Well yeah, why I can. 52:01.46 ukfilmreview There is this. It's kind of set I Guess again in a fantasy slash fairy tale kind of world and where you've got this community who are playedgu by a terror. Um, that comes and takes them people that are sinful comes and. 52:05.71 Brian Penn Okay, yeah, yeah. 52:20.26 ukfilmreview Very violently rips them out of society I guess um because no one in this society in this community has proven themselves to be innocent enough for this demon to go away but there could be these 2 girls who may be the answer who are going to journey I think to the. 52:20.80 Brian Penn There. 52:28.86 Brian Penn Oh. 52:39.63 ukfilmreview Um, to a place where they can stop this demon and they go through the landscape. It's very sort of tranquil and Serene at times it feels a bit like fairtel. But then it gets increasingly um worrying I guess and troubling. 52:41.52 Brian Penn A yeah yeah. 52:54.75 Brian Penn Yeah I know it is like that isn't it. Yeah I liked it off. It was very good again a bit like in bass it creates a great atmosphere but very kind of claustrophobic very foreboding to me. Um. 52:57.35 ukfilmreview What do you think of this one Brian. 53:10.27 Brian Penn Anything set in a Forest or a wood ah is quite intimidating anyway is that sense of desert. But yeah, but is that but you look at it through the prisma of film and cv bad things always seem to happen in a Forest or in a wood because there's that sense of isolation. 53:14.47 ukfilmreview This terrified is the. 53:30.11 Brian Penn Of being alone or they're not alone. There's a 2 of them there but because it's it's it's outdoors. It's in ah in ah, a Forest or a wood. However, you want want to look at it. But that is scary in itself that is intimidating by itself is that sense of being alone and when you. Look at the way the ah the intro sets the story up that the demon has to feed off cut. You know the the demon feeds off something something or someone that's pure and that's what gets rid of the demon and you know something's going to happen and you you get increasingly concerned when you think oh some. 54:05.72 ukfilmreview Persists. 54:08.52 Brian Penn Bad's gonna happen in a minute it is is and they kind of keep on walking and 1 of them says now it's time and then you tense up because you kind you know and you kind of get ready for it. You know? um, but it's very good. You know it is very well done and it is. 54:18.13 ukfilmreview Yeah. 54:26.22 Brian Penn Ah, would you call it horror Would you call it does it fit in a horror genre. Do you think give? yeah. 54:27.55 ukfilmreview I think it does. It's not labeled as such but I I would because that's the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about the film and you I think think about the themes and the way in which they're presenting this story I mean it's got a very big fantasy element to it as well. 54:43.45 Brian Penn Yeah. 54:46.10 ukfilmreview But I would say it's got horror elements and a horror vibe to it. Yeah I think but not in a way that's going to be very offputting. It's not trying to upset you in any way It's more just important for the for the story to unfold in I think. 54:51.34 Brian Penn No, no it. No it. Yeah it Gri is gripping it. It say it takes you long. It's very similar to Iba in a way I think Iba has elements of horror about it as Well. There's nothing wrong with that. But but it makes. It makes the um, the narrative even more gripping in a way the story they're trying to tell is taking you along on a it's not fear, but it's anticipation isn't it I think that's the essence of Horror is anticipating what's coming next and they both do that. They both do that in their own way. But it. It's a slightly different approach to to storytelling but you very good. You know, very impressed that they've managed to tell a coherent story in a very short space at time which is always the test that we we give it does it does it sell ah a story that's relatively end to end and it makes sense and it's complete enough. To be to be a story by itself and it is so yeah, impressive. Yeah. 55:51.72 ukfilmreview And so different as ah I thought it was quite a different story to have told I liked it. Um a lot I'm Martin Hardwick who's the co-director with Georgia Conon who conon wrote the film he got in touch and Martin Hary got in touch with me about reviewing it. 56:02.20 Brian Penn E. 56:06.96 ukfilmreview Um, the film itself is actually available I believe on Amazon prime so quite easy for people to watch if it's still there sometimes I say these things and then it's gone. Um, but it yeah much like our our ah nostalgia pick this month. Um, but yet. But yeah lauti should still be on Amazon prime if you were. 56:13.41 Brian Penn Ah, um, it's always a way isn't it. Yeah. 56:26.40 ukfilmreview Want to watch it is again, not long. It's any seven twenty minutes I think so it's you got plenty of time to watch it. Um, so yeah, that's that we are now going to move on to our nostalwager pick now I picked this film for 2 reasons 1 56:28.82 Brian Penn And I doesn't take up you saw too much use i' all. Yeah. 56:45.89 ukfilmreview A good friend of mine. Always recommended it to me kept saying it was really good and I watched it years ago and I just didn't like it me and my wife both watched it I thought I didn't like it didn't get it did not get all the buzz. A lot of people had said they loved it. The second reason I picked it was because it was emphasis on the was. 56:46.48 Brian Penn A. 56:55.19 Brian Penn Yeah. 57:01.95 ukfilmreview On um Bbc I player which was part of the reason of this podcast was to give you films that you guys could listen watch. Um, it has now disappeared from I play unfortunately, but luckily I had a Dvd copy of it in my garage because that's where I keep my Dvds now. 57:04.66 Brian Penn Ah, yeah, yeah. 57:15.17 Brian Penn Fair enough? Yeah I did yeah because I mean when we spoke about it on the previous podcast I'd never seen it I didn't see it when it came out and I thought well I really want to see this now and when I realized it wasn't on a eyeplayer anymore and I saw it was on Amazon prime. So I thought. 57:17.58 ukfilmreview And um I think Brian you went to the trouble of renting it. 57:35.13 Brian Penn Why not what the hell let's let's have a look at it. Let's let's let's test this metal. Let's see how good it is or not you know? yeah. 57:39.21 ukfilmreview There we go and I am willing to throw my hands up and say I was wrong. This is a good film I very much enjoyed it on a second watch I don't know what happened the first time I think maybe I wasn't expecting something quite as bleak as it is. 57:48.11 Brian Penn Ah, yeah, yeah. 57:56.10 ukfilmreview Um, but actually this now doesn't look so bleak in the world that we live in now this feels very much like I could look out my window and see this now. Um. 58:00.30 Brian Penn Well yeah, know Yeah, but basically it isn't it strange as society moves on and in the light of experience it. It doesn't seem quite as frightening as it once was but we're learning to live with various challenges that confronts us. 58:18.73 ukfilmreview It's weird as well seeing films that you know this was released in 2006 and they are showing a version of the Uk in 2027 so almost yeah or over 20 years in the future but us now being 2023 58:21.69 Brian Penn E. 58:33.42 Brian Penn I. 58:35.92 ukfilmreview It's strange seeing these visions of dystopia that are yeah so close to where we are now in our lives that you know how much that I don't know whether they do affect you. Um, because. 58:51.39 ukfilmreview All right? Yeah, maybe this isn't what the U K looks like but there are places in the world that still are going through incredible incredibly tough times and what what's being a showcase because the idea of the film is um that the the whole world has somehow become infertile and babies just aren't happening. They just suddenly stop happening and yeah. 58:53.88 Brian Penn And yeah. 59:04.59 Brian Penn M. 59:11.00 ukfilmreview Like the the film starts with the world's youngest person kind of being killed in a mob and he's not yeah, he's not that old. He's 18 Um, but there's no 1 younger than him and yeah, so then you've got Clive Owen who's 59:13.93 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, that's right, the racing now now. 59:28.18 ukfilmreview Kind of just trying to get by in life. But we realize that he's linked to an activist played by Julianne Moore who needs his help because someone that they've because she's part of this activist group they have found someone who has become pregnant and is quite late in the term. So. 59:31.89 Brian Penn M. 59:45.10 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 59:47.22 ukfilmreview Is imminently going to give birth so they want to try and get her to safety away from the government who seems to be very corrupt and evil but can we trust this group because why is juliamo gay and Clive Owen involved and essentially that film is him um, getting involved I think that's. Ah, terrible synopsis. But as the best I can do without giving away too much of the plot. 01:00:05.43 Brian Penn Nice. It's good at yeah, no, it's good and that's that's pretty a pretty good sum solution as well as far as I can see I like you I really enjoyed it I mean I this is the first time I've actually seen the film and I yeah I was very impressed by it. It's. In a way it plugs into our very deep spheres because if we think of a cataclysmic event. It might be a pandemic or a virus something that scientistss can deal with but in children and men women are becoming firstile. The human race is no longer able to reproduce and is slowly dying out and that is that is scary. Um, but as you say I think in light of what's happened since then um, where we've had this pandemic. We've we've had covid 19 seen in some ways it takes the urger feet a bit but it's stills still powerful. It's still very ah affecting I think. It might have affected me a lot more if I seen it when it first came out ah but what I did think was very clever about the film though was that they would take landmarks in London like fleet street where the bomb went off that was in fluet street and they also feature region street but it. You can see it's it's for street or it's reach street but they've kind of toned it down to an extent where there is a sense of anarchy here because you know the human race is slowly dying out and they have this issue with with immigration and there's. 01:01:39.50 Brian Penn It's throwing all kinds of ideas that you all kinds of sub notions and concepts. Yeah, the only thing I find I found slightly irritating and it's nothing to do with the film as such, but the story doesn't really explain in any sort of detail. Why it happened in the first place because. You know they they're trying that there is the human projects and they're they're researching into the cause of infitivity. But it doesn't seem to elaborate any further. Yeah. 01:02:08.43 ukfilmreview See I Quite like that when I saw the bit. Um they were talking about some kind of panel that someone had been on and they started saying Oh yeah, they're trying to explain what happened and there was all the usual theories which was. 01:02:13.85 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 01:02:22.62 ukfilmreview All different things like gamma rays and I don't know Cama else they listed but it was like about 5 or 6 different things that it that could have caused it and what I liked about that was having' just gone through obviously covered in the pandemic was you had all these people trying to spout theories as to what was really going on. 01:02:39.13 Brian Penn Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 01:02:40.85 ukfilmreview And how all of that confusion and all of that mistrust with what people are saying and what scientists might say I think that works. Yeah, and yeah, this predating that by so much was was really powerful. Um I think a film like this as well is easier to watch. 01:02:50.59 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah. 01:03:00.22 ukfilmreview Then something that's going to deal with say like a virus or something because it's just maybe a little bit too close to home. But because so many of the themes are so recurring and and what we've we've gone through that. Yeah I don't know maybe I just found it more powerful this time I Love the well there's there's a few bits I Really love. But. 01:03:05.50 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 01:03:14.42 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 01:03:19.82 ukfilmreview First off, there was a bit of graffiti on one of the walls which said last one left remember to turn off the light or something like that I thought oh that is genius um, and then there's another scene where they're in the car and they get roadblocked by the by this group and then the car then has to reverse and this the groups are attacking them. 01:03:23.28 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah that I. 01:03:36.95 Brian Penn Um. 01:03:38.54 ukfilmreview And the whole scene just doesn't quit the camera carries and go and so many things happen in that scene I won't say kind of what happens. But oh it was just magnificent. Ah amazing bit of filmmaking. 01:03:39.88 Brian Penn Yeah, and know that yeah that yeah it was. It was very good. It was very well well sort of well planned Well Full. So and very brilliantly constructs with you know and it. Kind of enters at a point in the film where where it kind of they kind of think right? We need to pick up the place a little bit here now we need to put something and that's going to give the viewer a bit of a Jolt and I think that's what that particular scene does. But yeah I was very impressed with it and as I say um. It's a Pd James novel as well isn't It Peterie James used to write all the mystery thrillers. You know she? yeah. 01:04:24.50 ukfilmreview I didn't even know that as well until I saw it this time and because my mom reads a lot of Pd James and I was so oh I did I didn't know that at all and um, but I'd I'd be interested to see what the book is like to be honest. 01:04:29.31 Brian Penn Like but yeah, well that was got to be my next point really because now I really want to read the book. You know I mean almost always always you've got to be disappointed if if you I always think that. 01:04:38.96 ukfilmreview E. 01:04:48.62 Brian Penn You should either read the book or see the film never never see both because you'll probably be disappointed. But umm, really ah, really want to read the book. Um on which this film was based I mean for pie James it was really left the center for it. She's done something completely different to what she normally did and this is from the writer who created Adam Dlelesh and you. Couldn't get more different really could it. but yeah I but I was impressed with it and a nice cameo by Michael Caine as well. So boop? Yeah Jasper I'm still trying to get used to Michael Kaine with really long hair past his shoulders. But you know. 01:05:16.73 ukfilmreview Yeah, he plays a really cool character. Actually there. Um I know I don't think it worked for him If for Mon is it was a bit distracting for me. 01:05:28.97 Brian Penn Wasn't yeah it wasn't a good look for him was it really? But yeah I mean I'd recommend it. Definitely recommend it. It's I think you you said it alongside the pandemic. You see you keep on think the template you have in the mind your own mind is a pandemic but to me. So watch a film like this is a more of a nightmare scenario than the pandemic because there is a way of fighting the pandemic you know and that's why I kind of when I was watching it I had that kind of Russia concern think why they're not offering me any explanation as to why this has happened you know and. Um, but as you say though it could well be that kind of gives it more of an edge because there are no easy answers there that it does give rise to conspiracy theories which maybe is probably what makes that society to descend in some more chaos because nobody knows why you know. People know what what? the what the yeah, the outcome. What the fallout is and what the effects are but not what the cause is so maybe that's what does give it a edge but you know, um I'm into knowing all about this sort of stuff Chris you know wow what did happen you know, but lose you once and more I guess. That's what a good film should do. 01:06:42.26 ukfilmreview Absolutely and a good film. It is I will hand up hold my hands up I will admit defeat I was wrong and that's what's great about this section of the podcast because it's given me a chance to revisit some films have a reason to revisit some of these films and. 01:06:52.97 Brian Penn M. Yeah, yeah, the friendly. Yeah. 01:07:01.80 ukfilmreview Yeah, children are men albeit very very bleak but also very very good and that was excellent. So I'm going to pick our nostaltropic for next month now because I think we need something funnier lighter ah because we've we've been through a lot. 01:07:04.55 Brian Penn Yes, absolutely. Oh drum roll. Hey yeah. 01:07:21.26 ukfilmreview Um, I'm going to go with 1988 Tom Hanks film see if you can guess what it is not yeah yet 9 96 yep um 01:07:30.80 Brian Penn Oh I see Ah um, oh plan here? Yeah um, I'm not I'm not gonna look it up like could I could Google Glip I'm not going to. Um. 01:07:35.75 ukfilmreview And see if I I mean so I'm giving you so far just the year. Um, yeah, direct directed by Penny Marshall not sure if that helps. 01:07:45.26 Brian Penn Ah, Darris but is he been in a film by Dar by punny marshwell obviously he has um oh no i'm. 01:07:51.86 ukfilmreview Obviously yeah, let's yeah and it's ah also stars Elizabeth Perkins 01:07:59.34 Brian Penn Is it big. Ah big. Yeah yeah. 01:08:00.13 ukfilmreview It is big. Oh you got that pretty quick I thought I was going to have to give you loads all. Um, it's currently on Disney plus so guys and girls and everyone else anyone listening this is currently on Disney plus it may not be by the time we get there. And I don't think I have a Dvd copy of big. So I'll have to rent it if it falls off. Um, but I'm hoping that they'll keep it on because I haven't seen this probably since I was a kid I don't think so um, my brother used to love watching this film and I wasn't. 01:08:18.41 Brian Penn Ah. 01:08:31.20 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:08:35.16 ukfilmreview Always into it so I'll be interested to see how I feel about it now as a 35 year old so I will I will let you know in the next episode. 01:08:40.37 Brian Penn Yeah I yeah I mean I I haven't seen the film since it came out so it will it will be like seeing the film for the first time for me I mean um, you know when when you look you and I were film buffs aren't we we see literally. Hundreds of films and you kind of you hear a film site and you think oh yeah, I've seen that but you know if it's that long ago she's seen it for me. It'll be like seeing it seeing it first time you know. 01:09:09.23 ukfilmreview Oh yeah, hundred percent to be honest now I have this so films I've seen ages ago I can't remember films I've seen very recently I forget very quickly. It's the films in the middle that are kind of stuck with me the films that I maybe watched in my sort of late. 01:09:17.74 Brian Penn Um. 01:09:24.91 Brian Penn My. 01:09:25.69 ukfilmreview Teens 20 s where I'm like I can remember those all right? But yeah, and like yeah, what do we review today. The mother, what's that about guy remember you know that's not true I could still remember the world but it's but it is true like I find that your your brain is like this kind of bucket that can hold that stuff but new stuff just drops out. 01:09:33.12 Brian Penn Yeah, ah yeah, no know you mean? yeah. 01:09:41.31 Brian Penn That Yeah yeah, oh yeah, have you Dreamt So have you drum some but about him lately. 01:09:44.59 ukfilmreview And old stuff seems to be leaking from the bottom I don't know that's the best metaphor I can come up with but um, we're going to review big because we love a bit Tom Hanks anyway he's an absolute um legend but also haven't I want to? no um. 01:10:00.61 Brian Penn No, no then more dreams. Ah. 01:10:04.32 ukfilmreview He does he does pop up sometimes but he's always quite Ah, he's quite nice but then in that one dream where he was trying to um, get me involved in some kind of scheme I've lost a bit of trust. Maybe that's why I've picked this subliminally I've picked this? Yeah, what's what's the. 01:10:17.59 Brian Penn As it. Yeah, he's ruined it for you as know he's just ruined it now. Yeah, ah yeah now I look forward to saying that as I say I've not seen it since it came out So um. 01:10:22.52 ukfilmreview Big idea. Hanks hey come on. That's the best I could do with that. 01:10:30.70 ukfilmreview Yep, and you've got you got Disney plus have you just let you know listeners. We don't have any kind of affiliations with any of these platforms. That's why I kind of jump around quite a lot I have a bit of a distrust now of I player. So I'm not going to ah be recommending them for a while. 01:10:33.13 Brian Penn I have yes no. 01:10:44.47 Brian Penn Ah, and know it's sneaky that though isn't it I you know taking it off like that you know best lay plans Chris these things are sent to trius. Yeah. 01:10:47.71 ukfilmreview How could they do that to me best they plans So that's your lot for this episode and it's what an episode Wow It's been huge. It's been bigger than Fast X To be honest, we've put more in here more stunts. 01:11:04.64 Brian Penn Yeah, and I and I. 01:11:06.88 ukfilmreview More special effects Brian's completely green screened. That's why you can't see him and we've been in your ears for over an hour and hour. So I think it's best that we that you all carry on with your days but thank you very much for listening. Um, it's been u k film club loved having you here hope to. 01:11:26.20 Brian Penn That. 01:11:26.10 ukfilmreview Yeah, well have you here next month um and stay stay good. Stay big is that nothing stay big. Stay big. It could have some connotations I don't want to hear about so ah yeah, um. 01:11:32.63 Brian Penn Stay stay big. Yeah like that yeah that could be a new a new one? Yeah, like that us say you've said it now haven't you really? ah bye for now. 01:11:43.33 ukfilmreview But yeah, until next time. Previous Next

Read the film podcast transcript from the episode titled Bob Marley: One Love - Wicked Little Letters - Spaceman - UK Film Club Episode 13 on UK Film Club part of the UK Film Review Podcast. < Back Bob Marley: One Love - Wicked Little Letters - Spaceman - UK Film Club Episode 13 Listen to This Episode UK Film Club 00:00.00 Brian Penn No no, it's barely a month ago it's not really just about. You know we're kind of in asride now aren't we really have you been? You're right good I know I know it's springtime isn't it. The days are getting longer. 00:05.86 ukfilmreview Yeah, generally been fine. The weather's picking up so that's always good. 00:17.13 Brian Penn Easter's coming that means we can scuff loads of chocolate. So you know it's a win. It's a win-win really isn't it and. 00:18.61 ukfilmreview Thank goodness. Um I mean I don't job because Easter films are not really a thing right? I don't think there's really many Easter films I Think there's like a few because I well I suppose it's. 00:30.90 Brian Penn No no. 00:35.75 ukfilmreview It's probably some religious ones which I I don't imbibe but I think it's a few about rabbits like hop and Peter Rabbit and stuff. But it's not really a genre is it. You really have easter films. 00:37.45 Brian Penn Yeah, well yeah, yeah, no no I mean I think there there're probably a number of films set around easter but it's not It's not kind of an integral part of the film. You know there was a film back in the 1940 s called east of grade which was very little to do with the season itself. It was more just ah, a place to land the the plot on the characters. You know? So it's it's not a genre like to say Christmas films are for example. 01:04.82 ukfilmreview Um, blue. 01:09.73 Brian Penn You know that I pun careful will be will it what it really. 01:12.79 ukfilmreview Yeah, it was like Christmas Halloween yeah, all those ones Valentine's day like there's you the seasonal ones. But I think East Is East is one of those ones where I it's ah it's an odd holiday. It's a very odd holiday because for the kids it's all about the chocolate. 01:18.38 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:26.29 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah, oh course? Yeah yeah, no, no, it doesn't I mean but it. 01:30.26 ukfilmreview And then if you're religious. Yeah, ah, it's a big important message. It should be It should be as important right? Yeah in terms of what it's talking about but it just doesn't feel like it has the same weight. 01:43.91 Brian Penn But it in the u kind at least it does mean the longest bank all it doesn'st it because you got a good Friday and you got easter Monday so you got a four day Bri haven't you really just for the UK of course you know a course? Yeah, and yeah, and probably well. Yeah. 01:50.40 ukfilmreview And it's yeah and it's what Jesus would have wanted really you know more time to sit at home eat chocolate and and watch movies that are not about easter. 02:02.34 Brian Penn Or maybe watch films about the resurrection about the you know the Jesuss and Azareth and you know all those great sort of minieries that were used to be on. That's what used to used to be about you'd always see something wouldn't you about Jesuss and the the resurrection but you know. 02:21.16 ukfilmreview So I'm thinking there's probably more films about chocolate than there is about Easter yeah, if you have right? You got the willy wonkers. Yeah, there's a few of those um is that film chocola that was ah a few years back but yeah that was all right? Yeah, um. 02:21.30 Brian Penn Some Yeah yeah, yeah, that's true. Yeah, oh oh yeah, yeah I forgot about that one? Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah. 02:38.39 ukfilmreview Actually I'm already out I'm already out of chocolate based films. Well technically really won clear. There's like 3 of those films now right? So that's yeah, if you're gonna embard on all of those. But yeah, so too if you if you don't like the Willy Waka stuff ah but yeah. 02:39.17 Brian Penn So well you got as far as 2 which I think is quite an achievement really right? Okay, yeah. 02:52.29 Brian Penn Yeah, well if any if anyone listening knows about other films that we haven't thought about well let us know exactly? Yeah yeah, particularly particularly the chocolate ones as well. Yeah. 02:58.48 ukfilmreview Yes, your chocolate or easter based films. Please send them in. It's very important. Yes, yes because um, it's making me hungry already. We only only 3 minutes in I'm actually it's fine. Um, so this is your first time to Uk Film Club yes 03:10.87 Brian Penn And I and I and I. 03:17.93 ukfilmreview This is the type of banter that you can expect. Um, it's it's it's 2 old boys just having a chat about movies. But we do cover a massive range so whilst we couldn't think of many chocolate based films. We will be reviewing films that are at the cinema we'll be reviewing films that are on streaming. 03:18.64 Brian Penn Oh yes, oh yes. 03:37.82 ukfilmreview We'll be reviewing independent films. So that's like short and endy features and we'll be doing a throwback nostalgic review of a film from the past and um, yes, all of that. 03:45.32 Brian Penn Hi. 03:50.24 ukfilmreview Within 1 episode of a podcast I mean and it's free I can't I can't believe this you're getting to listen to this just for free. You lucky things you lucky dogs. 03:55.61 Brian Penn Yeah, fantastic I know I know fantastic value really is the all for nothing. You know? yeah. 04:03.88 ukfilmreview Fantastic value. Yeah um I mean it's a massive lineup and oh and also in this show because here we are recording um, not long after the Oscars we're going to do a quick. 04:10.27 Brian Penn So yeah I. 04:16.44 Brian Penn Um, yes, yep. 04:17.14 ukfilmreview Ah, chat about that Brian has seen quite a lot of the Oscar movies I haven't um I've only seen a few I think but we will just get Brian's thoughts on the winners and whether they deserved it um because the gay actually podcast which is another show part of the Uk film of your podcast. They. 04:22.35 Brian Penn Oh a a yeah. 04:36.57 ukfilmreview Teamed up with Phantom Zone and did a big huge episode covering all the winners. So if you are a big fan of the oscars and want to go into that I recommend that episode. It's very very funny um hearing Ian constantly lose himself about Christopher Nolan is always worth. 04:40.19 Brian Penn Oh Wow yeah. 04:54.22 Brian Penn Ah, ah, he he still hasn't recovered does he really he still not come to terms a it was he really with crystal. 04:55.28 ukfilmreview Checking in for um, yeah, he he's not happy here. What's what's funny about it is Ian's getting bolder and bolder with his like. Anti Nolan rhetoric. It's now starting to become kind of yeah maybe he's going to become a bit of a cult leader because there is a bit of a Nolan backlash. You know people are sort of questioning whether he should get all theselaudits I think I think Ian will be their leader. Um. 05:07.45 Brian Penn I Yeah I Yeah I won't be surprised I wouldn't be surprised. 05:22.27 ukfilmreview I won't be surprised if I end up in front of the police and they say so why didn't you question him? Yeah, when he was like this I but look I ah barely knew the guy at the time. But yeah, he's a lovely sweet guy loves movies. He just was a bit of a harmless nerd. That's what I thought um, but yeah, got to be careful, especially Roundy and. 05:30.00 Brian Penn Ah, and I know and I. 05:37.10 Brian Penn Ah, you got to be careful. Um, yeah, you just gotta be careful. You never know? Yeah yeah, oh yes. 05:41.96 ukfilmreview Um, yeah, do do check out that episode is very very funny. Um, so we're going to the Cinema releases now these are movies that should be in the cinema If you're listening right away as soon as the episode comes out if you're listening in the future probably not and um, hello to the future but do do. 05:52.68 Brian Penn Easiest. 06:00.39 ukfilmreview Check out the movies wherever they have landed by that point but they are big films so you should be able to find them on the top stream platforms. We're going to start off with an absolute musical icon Bob Marley's one love or he didn't make it though right? This isn't his film. 06:03.30 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 06:18.48 Brian Penn Ah, well I mean Bob Marley 1 love um, directed by Renaldo Marcus Green starring Kingsley Ben adeer James Norton and Les Shana Lynch now the plot lands in the mid 70 s when. Mali has ascended to superstarton as reggae's poster boy Chris Blackwell signed into his iron record label but it's increasingly vexed by Marley's political activism Jamaica is a cordron of political instability and riven by crime Mali plans a concert to bring the people together. However, his enemies are quietly gathering. He moves to the relative safety of London where he enters the most fruitful phase of his recording career. He releases the exodus album and plays a series of legendary concerts culminating at the rainbow in North London however hangers on or exploiting Marley's popularity his long-suffering wife Rita. Bemoans his ignorance and chronic infidelity now all up up. Molly I love ra guy. Um I remember him well when I was growing up. The songs are brilliant ah reminds me of childhood as to say the portrao of London in the 70 s felt all thin sick and was a reminder of. What was a period of great social and political change. But for me personally as much as I enjoyed the music as much as I ah love the man himself. It all feels a bit too safe various members of his family were involved in the production and because of that it glows a little bit too much after all, no, 1 ne's perfect 07:50.99 Brian Penn But good fun to watch a good introduction to Bob Marley's music if you're not familiar with it. But it also gives you some idea of the political impacts he had particularly in Jamaica but a good film. A good solid effort and. 08:05.14 ukfilmreview It's funny with musical biopics isn't it because I think there is a big massive expectation if it's ah such a iconic figure like Bob Marley and we've seen really good ones like we we are talking about Elvis in a previous episode and I thought that was really good. Um. 08:11.30 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 08:16.96 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 08:22.40 ukfilmreview But I always think as well. There's a sense of danger when they're either going to yeah veer too much into the myth and you know you sort of Miss out on that real authentic story or they're going to veer. 08:30.27 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah. 08:37.30 ukfilmreview The other way which is sort of like oh they're going to go so random that you don't feel like he was served well or she was served Well yeah that that way it feels like this kind of plucks in the middle. Um and kind of maybe just went sort of yeah, not not offend anyone and just sort of make something that yeah like you say did a halffecent job and and. 08:41.11 Brian Penn So yeah, that does. 08:53.31 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, ah yeah, a lot I mean look if you were making a film about somebody close to you for example about a close relative close friend. It is. It's going to be positive overall isn't that the picture you paint is going to be positive. 08:55.91 ukfilmreview Is entertaining at least. 09:09.30 ukfilmreview And. 09:10.96 Brian Penn But on the basis that you you realize that everyone has as a downside. There's a downside to and an upside to everyone in life. You know and you're right? It is a very difficult balancing act because you want to paint ah an authentic picture. A true picture of that person and that representation you you went up. There has got to be faithful. Got ah, it's got to give you the the ups and the downs and I think you only alluded there isn't there's nothing particularly sinister about Marley's life not I know of but I think it's important to have a balanced view and portraying Watson. All you know, but I'm very wellmade film I really enjoyed it. You know. As I say if you're a reg fan if you love this music. You'll love this film because you won't really want that much more out of it because you just want to be entertained. You want to listen to the man's music. But you know it's it's a good film. It's a good solid film but you know there is always thatvo so with any with any biopic that. You know is it going to be balanced. So are you going to get a true view view because you don't you don't want it to be too critical either. You don't want want to sling mud at someone's reputation just for the sake of it so you got to get the balance right? But I think they did a reasonable job with this. 10:17.84 ukfilmreview Yeah, there you go Bob Marley won love let's know if you have seen it and what you thought um, a couple of people have sort of mentioned to me that they found it a bit sterile. They sort of said it didn't really. 10:26.60 Brian Penn But. 10:34.50 Brian Penn No it. Yeah. 10:34.91 ukfilmreview Dig that deep and try to sort of yeah Surface skim his like political side and the the music I think the I say it depends on the outcome that they wanted as well because for some people they might be thinking actually this is going to be more of a. 10:52.91 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 10:53.31 ukfilmreview Record of his music and yeah, they wanted that. Yeah, they didn't want to go into that other side of things and yeah, there's there's reasons that people make films and there's stories that they want to tell and parts of that that they want to leave out so it's not for us to decide. 11:00.10 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah, and yeah, right? And also you can't please everyone can you as well. So there's always going to be that side of it that it's never going to be good enough for some people. It's no, it's never going to pick out. The bits of his life that people want want to know more about you know? So yeah star ohll is a good way of describing it. It's a very clean safe portrait of Moley but you know it's all by I mean we got the biopic of Amy Winehouse coming out next next month as well. Um. 11:34.56 ukfilmreview And. 11:37.33 Brian Penn Likes are black. Can it be interesting to see how they portray her you know, just. 11:41.13 ukfilmreview Yeah I saw the um the documentary for her that was really good. That was a ah lot a while back? Um, so yeah I've interested to see what they do there. But yeah Bob Marley one love currently at cinemas. But I doubt it'll be there for much longer. 11:46.28 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah. 11:54.44 Brian Penn I No probably not. It won't have a long long run or to thought but you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah. 11:58.46 ukfilmreview No, that's not what you think I mean you know you can't help but when you talk about Bob Marley you just immediately start singing his songs in your head I'm all already I've got easy skankking going around in my head right now. 12:09.59 Brian Penn But well yeah I know but you see the thing is that that's that you evokes so many feelings and memories and for me, it's it's waiting in vain and stir it up. It's the or um, get up standup get up Standup was was featured in the film that is such a great song. 12:16.55 ukfilmreview Um, and. 12:22.57 ukfilmreview Oh that's a tune the very first time I heard one of his songs in a film was in the beach and they played rendition redemption song sorry when there's a bit of a burial scene and they played it on the guitar. My dad said to me oh that's prop Marley and also. 12:27.35 Brian Penn You know, really is ah. 12:35.84 Brian Penn Ah, yeah. 12:39.13 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, course. Yeah yes. 12:41.79 ukfilmreview Oh yeah, suddenly obviously a name that you'd heard loads suddenly like hearing a song and yeah, that was quite early on and when I sort of started to listen to Bob Marley's records. Yeah I saw it in the trailer I was okay yeah, that's um I've seen that before obviously. But yeah, ah, lovely stuff. 12:51.24 Brian Penn I Yeah and um Redemption song is featured in the film as well. So yeah, yeah, yep I yep. 13:01.50 ukfilmreview Great to start with such a legend Bob Marley let me just click that away because we're moving to the next film and we have a clip which I'm gonna play in the episode because I have it already loaded up I'm actually ahead of time Brian I've I've done a bit of admin. So um. 13:10.29 Brian Penn Oh and well fan and lastly wo done. Yeah, it. 13:20.70 ukfilmreview Yeah, you can enjoy this lovely clip from the film Wicked little letters. 14:12.96 ukfilmreview This is. 14:28.70 Brian Penn I Love it. Ah, love it. Love it. 14:30.41 ukfilmreview So I mean what's really nice about this so usually listeners. We I put the clips in afterwards. Um Brian doesn't actually get to hear them so what's nice is that we've played it and I played like a clip in the show this time of Brian's 14:37.58 Brian Penn E. 14:44.63 Brian Penn Brilliant, yeah yeah, okay, all right wicked little words directs bythea shaak starring Olivia Coleman Jesse Buckley timothy spool and i. 14:46.86 ukfilmreview But its good to hear it again and what a clip to start with that hasvased. It sounds great. But I mean you over to you Bri Wicked little le. 15:03.43 Brian Penn And Jane Oversan is based on a true story rose gooddding is a feisty irish girl who brings her daughter to little hampson in the 1920 s she aims to start a new life in a tightknit community. However, trouble is afoot when she falls out with godfeing neighbor edith' swamp and mysteriously receives poison penlesses. Ah, father Edward is an upstanding member of the community and repulsed by such vile prose soon these wicked little this or lesss are dropping through everyone's letterbox newcomers are always mistrusted and fingers point accusingly at wrong. The police are convinced and prepares to take action. However, Wpc Gladys Mos isn't convinced and wants to investigate the case properly wicked little lessons harks back to the classic british movie era take out the profatasy and this could easily be a classic e comedy I love this film so much I've actually seen it twice Chris oh. 15:56.50 ukfilmreview Oh I said sea of approval from Brian. 16:00.97 Brian Penn Yeah I've seen it twice. My niece want to sit and she said do you want to come I said? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll definitely want to see it. Yeah, the carrots are so rich and likable. It's also very funny and a true story as well. It's difficult to believe the defamation or libel could carry criminal sanction. But that was the case back in the 1920 s the law has changed now. So it's purely a civil action at least in the yeah Uk but a terrific film. Really funny intelligent well written well-acted and you know we've often mentioned in the past when you can sense that the as involved are really enjoying it. 16:34.82 ukfilmreview Um, yeah. 16:36.88 Brian Penn And they are. They're having an an absolute ball and why wouldn't you with a film like this. It's It's a wonderful film. It is such good fun and if you can provided you can cope with the pro fantasy and after all that is the subjects of the film These Wicked little letters are full of Pro fantasy and and they're actually read out but that's half the fun. It's a lovely film. It's a great film to watch and I Only hope that that people do it. The do it The compliment of of going to see it because it is such a good film. Yeah, it is. 17:10.12 ukfilmreview Its incredible cast I mean I aside just you just you could not tell me anything about the film but just show me the castless I got I need to see this film because it's insane Jason Whatkin so Sawiv Coleman Jesse Buckley love all these people. Um. 17:16.27 Brian Penn I I know? Yeah yeah and I yeah I mean it was yeah was a few as I did ah I didn't miss one I went through the introduction but you know it's a fantastic host. You know as that are instantly familiar to British Views anyway. 17:26.61 ukfilmreview Yeah. 17:35.19 Brian Penn Through film and Tv they're very familiar live Coleman she's brilliant Jesse Buckley she's fantastic she's so good. Um, she curses. Well let's put it that way. You know it's it's great. There's some you know there are so many great lines you could pick out. 17:48.30 ukfilmreview Ah. 17:54.46 Brian Penn Um, you know, um, when um, just trying to think for a line that I could I can repeat that doesn't have a lot of bad language and what what can I say? Oh yeah, when they first met now Rose and Edith were really good friends to start with and they fell out and. Rose started to use really bad language and Edith recoiled and said oh you using language indoors on a Wednesday a lot I love that so use language. Oh yeah, but it kind of plugs into that kind of traditional british sense of politeness and manners. 18:21.30 ukfilmreview Um. 18:31.62 Brian Penn And you can imagine the stir that it caused in a town like little Hanson between the wars I can't I can't recommend it enough. It is such a good film. It really is well I was just coming to that actually I was just coming to that it is for me the film of the monk. It. 18:40.67 ukfilmreview O We haven't heard film of the month yet. But it's a contender on Ger saying oh I called it I code it Yes I can tell with the way you're talking about eye. He's in love. He's in love with this film. 18:51.39 Brian Penn Is is I know yeah I know I know and I I mean look as as I say if you like traditional British filmmaking this is this is the one for you and it was co coproduced by Channel four and channel four since but always seem to have a a big run. Sort of a major role in British Films films that are British financed and made over here. You know I think ah a British film. It is a moot point isn't it. It's a question of how you how you class it how you determine it whether it's financed with British money or it features British actors. Um. 19:22.15 ukfilmreview E. 19:30.50 Brian Penn And british creators but grateful. You'll love it. Chris you see it just. 19:35.11 ukfilmreview I yeah I I just feel this is a genre that I am very very um, passionate about which is the Sunday afternoon armchair film that I'm like this is I'm gonna put on and I'll just chill to this film and I will soak up the comedy and I just yeah. 19:39.51 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, the on a no, no, that's probably no, probably best. Not no. 19:52.73 ukfilmreview Not with the kids around it sounds like I won't have the kids are best. Not I mean that they they're already getting a bit foul mouthed as it is yeah the two year old. She's a nightmare. 19:57.75 Brian Penn Yeah, it's for grownups. Oh well. Yeah, for honestly, really I don't know. Yeah, but so yeah, it's um, not necessary one for the kids. It's for grownups really because of the subject matter but you know it's It's just there's so much great period. These summers weren't there as well. You. 20:08.46 ukfilmreview In. 20:17.60 Brian Penn You know they couldn't actually film in little Hampson itself that was where it all happened because apparently little hamson is is quite modern looking now it doesn't have authentic 1920 style architecture anymore and they had to go further down the coast I think to to film. Ah, but you know. 20:32.58 ukfilmreview Over. 20:37.16 Brian Penn Shows that they took the care to get it right? and that it feels real. Yeah ah I can't say much more than that. It's brilliant. Love how good. Yeah. 20:44.40 ukfilmreview There you go I mean film of the month everyone you've been told wicked little letters that means that if you're listening to this, you have to go and watch it at the center Mark right now. So stop what you're doing put this on pause. 20:54.60 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, absolutely yeah yeah, and I Yeah yeah I know I know they it's taking you literally up I Yeah I know? Yeah yeah. 20:57.78 ukfilmreview I'm joking do keep this and it's a nightmare for our numbers. Don't just stop I've told I've done it a few times I told people to stop and they have and it's like no no, no I was joking. Yeah, yeah, don't take anything I said um Wicked little letters. Um I mean just from the clip I played I was like I want to see so much more of this. Um. 21:13.41 Brian Penn But then I. 21:15.60 ukfilmreview But yes, please let's know what you thought? um, our final Cinema film that we were reviewing was covered again in rather extensive detail on the Phantom zone So do check out there. Um, a special episode on this film but this is. 21:27.37 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 21:34.31 ukfilmreview Follow up to lush year door was it a couple years ago now June part one this is part 2 and again I've got a little clip. It's quite a long clip. So I might cut it off a halfway. Yeah I mean. 21:36.67 Brian Penn And oh wow it. Oh you, you're spoiling us now aren't yeah 3 clips in 1 sho. Wow yeah. 21:48.64 ukfilmreview Ah, you have to this is this is a clip as well. That really gets you in the vibe. So hope you enjoy this here. We go. 22:50.70 ukfilmreview There we go I mean seamlessly cut off there where I then realized I'd i'dda also muted my mic so it's going Well tonight it's go really really? well. Um, but I wanted to play that clip not and only because of it gives you a bit of the film but also the hi the background right? what. 22:56.97 Brian Penn Ah, right? Yeah, ah. 23:04.69 Brian Penn Yeah, the. 23:08.33 ukfilmreview When I was listening to the phantom zone I think Simone did it and oh I was just hilarious. So yeah, again, do listen to that episode but Brian come on June part two any good. 23:11.67 Brian Penn And. Right? Well how can I put it? Well all right? Let's let's just go through the basics. So some you know who's doing what? um, directly by dennisvillener starring Timothy Chammerla senddaya Rebecca Ferguson javio bardham Josh Brolin and a host of great cameos. It really is an impressive cast as you'd expect. So the story if you can call it that ah Paul treaties unites with chenai and the freemen to seek revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of and the known universe. Tries to prevent a bleak future only he can foresee. Okay, so think game of thrones meet star wars and you've got the essence of the scripts here. Um, oddly enough I really enjoyed the first part but I didn't enjoy part 2 quite as much. Probably because I feel I've already seen it. You know if you know what I'm getting at um, technically it's brilliantly executed brilliantly conceived ah cgii special effects combat sequences are excellent, but that's something we expect from all films don't now Chris that. 24:12.57 ukfilmreview Okay. 24:29.32 ukfilmreview In. 24:31.61 Brian Penn They've all got to have that in ah I don't think that kind of raises it above other films to say that that it it is visually stunning to watch and it is it just leaves me a little bit cold. It ranks with marble and dc films now. They'll just chur out the same film over and over again. And I wouldn't bet bet against it being a part three I think it's probably safe to assume so we're going to get more of the same. So for me, it was okay but I'm not speaking as a huge fan of this particular genre wherever you feel it fits in terms of genres. Ah. To me it Varis much closer to Marvel in Dc more but for me it was it was just okay. I wasn't so to use a vernacular I wasn't blown away by it myself. 25:18.41 ukfilmreview Wow they get I mean I mean because I really enjoyed the first one but I am worried that I'm going to feel the same way as you because once you're over that spectacle once you've ah you had that that what you're left with is the story and the storytelling and it does seem to be 1 of these stories. 25:25.52 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah. 25:37.10 ukfilmreview Yeah, the book and the original film. Oh the David Lynch one we had to endure recently. Um, available in a previous episode guys. Um, there is a story that does seem to divide people does seem to upset people quite a lot. So um, yeah I don't know because the fatom zone loved it. They were they were really. 25:42.51 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, ah. 25:55.60 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 25:56.24 ukfilmreview Go in for it say how much they loved it. So by I take your point massively because those guys they hold their hands up. They are very much fans of all that Marvel stuff. Yeah, that's kind of how their podcast was born. So for them. Maybe this is that sort of film that's going to appeal to that yeah genre. But um, for. 26:04.62 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah I mean look I'm I'm not a as you know I'm not a huge fan of that seanre. But you know for the sake of the show for the sake of film club. 26:15.63 ukfilmreview Yourself Not so much. 26:23.79 Brian Penn I will watch these films and absorb them and give you my own honest, critical view of a film. You know I am a film fan of but I'm a fan of mainstreaming the movies but I wouldn't say this is necessarily my favorite genre. But for me, it's not giving us anything different. You know there's nothing. It's nothing there that I don't feel I've seen before in part one for example, but it's it's ah a general continuation. But if you're into the genre then you'll be able to dive deep into it and you get much more from it. But I'm speaking more as a mainstream film fan. What does it do for me, you know. If I set that against wicked little letters or one laugh. It won't come close in terms of entertainment value. But that's me but I try and review it and be honest about it and say yes, it's good. It's very good but then it Shara what it does. But what is it doing where is it adding value. Where are we seeing something we haven't seen before wicked little letters for example, um, is a true story. It's based on a true story something I had never heard of and for me the secret of great filmmaking is to uncover stories that have either been forgotten or been buried bring those stories back to life. 27:28.63 ukfilmreview Me. 27:39.60 Brian Penn And that's what they did with wiki little learn as well. That's what think's great about it right? that that. 27:41.56 ukfilmreview And if you look at like the last few episodes of film club that we've done your film of the month has always been that so last month it was the boys in the boat right? which was that story. You said you hadn't heard of that you the George Creamy film and before that it was the one life set. 27:52.70 Brian Penn So yeah, yeah, yeah. 28:01.11 Brian Penn Ah, one life that Nicholas Winson yeah Yeah yeah, 28:01.40 ukfilmreview Yeah, it switer again. Another story which you said look you didn't know this had happened and I think you're absolutely right of June is a story that has been done albeit they sort of said you know it's very hard to tell but it has been attempted but where you're getting these films like wiki little letters that you say oh what? this is a really unique news story that people don't know about. 28:12.50 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 28:17.52 Brian Penn Exactly? yeah yeah yeah I mean but you know awesomely Chris people fight with their feet. Don't they and this film will do very well and it is doing very good business. You know. 28:20.55 ukfilmreview And been delivered really? well Yeah, it's interesting. What people kind of want from their cinema and what they want to experience. 28:34.25 ukfilmreview I wouldn't recommend voting with your feet in reality though guys because you may put a cross in the wrong box just saying and that may be what's happened the last few times not pointing any fingers or toes. Um, so anyway, student part 2 it's still available I think at cinemas it's been out for. 28:36.81 Brian Penn Oh Yeah. So but well yeah I got it. 28:51.68 ukfilmreview Not that long came I marched in it. So yeah, you've you've got probably got plenty of time to watch that one and I'm assuming because the first one did the first one came to Amazon prime pretty quick so I'm assuming this will do the same. Um, but I don't know sometimes they have different agreements in place. But yeah. 28:52.36 Brian Penn So yeah, yep, yeah, it'll be good that will that will run for months I'm sure it will. Yeah I. 29:10.80 ukfilmreview Um, I would definitely watch it because I'm a fan of the first one and I want to see kind of all the fuss is about but I'm probably more excited about watching Wicked little letters following your lovely review there brown. Ah. 29:12.75 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah I Ah well umm I'm glad I'm glad ah I've I've swayed you it in that direction you know, but I know I know you're you're a you're a film buff. You're a film critic and you'll you'll go it. You watch it all in time. 29:31.52 ukfilmreview Watch anything what haven't watched is a lot of these op oscar films. So we have a little quick trickle down here and Brian you can sort of just let me know your feelings on this really because you you've probably seen more of these. Um. 29:31.56 Brian Penn As we always do. Yeah oh right? yeah. 29:41.43 Brian Penn Yeah, of course? Well yeah, um, really I mean it was all about Oppenheimer wasn't it really? um I'm I'm pleased that it did so well it got 13 nominations of which seven of those turned into oscars. 29:51.94 ukfilmreview Oppenheimer did drowell. 30:00.35 Brian Penn It got best film. Best director for christoline olan best actor Colon Murphy Best supporting actor Robert Downey Jr critically and commercially it was the the best film of the year so I think the academy for a change again. It's all about opinions I accept that. But. For me the academy got it got its spot on I think it it was a great film and I personally um, christopher islandlan does have his detractors. He does polarize opinion. We were just speaking about Ian's rather unique views about christopher. No, but. 30:35.16 ukfilmreview 50 30:39.63 Brian Penn Yeah I think he he is a great director. You know, but I think he he attracts more respects than affection. That's the that's the problem with with crystal and on and people have very clear views. You know opinion just just polarizes with him and it always will do but I'm glad he got. Oscar for best director because I think he's earned it and he deserves to be in that club. You know you got to look upon it as a club you know anyone they get see oscar for best director. You know it's the license to make films in hollywood isn't it. You know your your budget for movies. Starting forward is never going to be in question. 31:11.71 ukfilmreview Yeah. 31:17.67 Brian Penn Ah, that's suppose it ever was anyway, but you know so I'm really glad it got the line share of us because we have to mention Emma Stone who got a statueress for um, poor things um wasn't madly came on that film but you know yeah yeah, was kind of got yeah you know. Ah, shrub my shoulders a little bit with without film but fair enough. Um, but you know a lot of the technical os oscars were were gathered by Oppenheimer as well. Unsurprisingly one thing I did notice this though was that um, ah for the fifth year in a row. 31:46.70 ukfilmreview E. 31:56.35 Brian Penn There has been at least one woman nominated for best director and I just wonder now whether the time has come for a new category. Best female director because you know we we have best. We have best acts. The best Actress. You know why can't we have a separate category for best female durant and yeah because I think there are enough women making films to make that category Worthwhile. Um. 32:23.12 ukfilmreview It's so it's interesting because um I I was um, raising this point years ago on Twitter about whether they should have the whole split of gender like should it not just be best you actor you know best best director that's it and then when I put that out a lot of. 32:32.23 Brian Penn Yeah, well yeah, the the. 32:40.30 ukfilmreview Ah, female actors or actresses came back to me and said that no we want to keep the category right? We don't want to like we we're all for a quality. Yeah, we're all for general polly but they don't want to lose that opportunity of recognition and and I think you're right, There is plenty of films that could support a whole extra category for for female directors. 32:46.17 Brian Penn And yeah. 33:00.28 ukfilmreview I Think the question is that is yeah I think yeah you know like the Academy awards. It's already controversial like everything about it is controversial. It always seems to put its foot wrong. 33:09.86 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, of course. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 33:13.76 ukfilmreview Adding a another separate category now is just ah drawing its attention to the fact that they never had 1 and yeah, yeah, sort of like almost ah admitting that they're wrong or is it going to be like oh we're going in the wrong direction should it actually be like you said the just genderless kind of categories I don't know. 33:24.37 Brian Penn Yeah I mean there's an argument for Genderless Cat categories I mean the brittle wallves gone for a tangent for a second but the brittle walls abolished male and female artist didn't they. 33:40.21 ukfilmreview In. 33:41.97 Brian Penn In in their awards categories. They just went for best artists but that led them in into a whole heap of new issues because there were no women nominated you know and you kind of you solve 1 problem you create. Ah another problem somewhere else or further down the line that is the problem. You know you're never going to quite satisfy everyone. But. 33:54.15 ukfilmreview Are. 34:00.84 Brian Penn It just strikes me though that you know have that separate category there give give female directors a showcase you know. 34:08.32 ukfilmreview I Suppose The only thing to so to say for that is that is the direction relevant to their gender because with the roles It was different right because it was like all women played certain roles and men played certain roles. So therefore it was difficult for women to get. 34:21.28 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 34:28.23 ukfilmreview Oscars because they don't play the big roles which is different now anyway, but with the directing it's behind the cameras like is it a case of that women would direct different types of films which isn't it. They wouldn't right? That's not what would happen. 34:34.54 Brian Penn So yeah, yeah, yeah, there's no this, you're right there. There's no clear distinction is there between men and women making films but or being editors or being directors. But it's different if they're on screen isn't it that. 34:46.42 ukfilmreview Yeah, in in general that we are generalizing. But yes, there is like there's going to be a potential that women are going to take women roles and men are go take menros. 34:52.30 Brian Penn I have effort. Yeah, yeah, yeah, but you know I I think it's something they should think about, but it could be the reason they've not done it is because they think they feel the Academy may feel they they will open a account of worm sp. By adding a new category. But. 35:12.98 ukfilmreview Well what? um Ian said on the podcast and I agree with him is he said that why bother limiting it so much because he's only like what is it 5 films or something that ah that make it through to that final list. There's like. 35:23.34 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah. 35:26.36 ukfilmreview Best film surely they could have like 20 or something. Yeah, just have more recognition of more of the films because it's like you're cutting it off so much for it to have the same amount of final films as like costume design or editing not saying those things aren't completely worthwhile. It's just that the director award is such a powerful 1 35:32.64 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 35:45.91 ukfilmreview It's like an absolute career maker. Um, but I suppose several of the other categories I mean the reality is listeners. We don't really know what we're talking about and we're just kind of yeah spitballing ideas here. But Academy if you're listening and you do take this up. We will want our share of the money for sure. 35:46.75 Brian Penn Yeah. 35:57.10 Brian Penn But it. Yeah yeah I mean I mean look it's only right isn't it I think we shouldn't put a mark down and say look we started this conversation off you know it was her idea but it yeah I know I know but aside from that though. 36:05.46 ukfilmreview Yeah. 36:10.80 ukfilmreview We started it with our rambling. 36:16.82 Brian Penn You know I was quite I was pleased here. The the line show of oscars went to Oppenheimer because it is a very good film at the end of the day. It's not been a vintage year for for great movies. I don't think that good. Good films. The output's consistent but very few films will stand out you know and. My my continuing gripe is that certain films will never get anywhere near the academy awards and they should you know. 36:41.50 ukfilmreview Yeah, absolutely listen back to our episodes in your see Brian Shine a light on some very very cool films. Um, that often don't get anywhere near this list. So yeah, that is that's part of what this podcast is all about and actually brings us very nice on to the next section. So. 36:48.56 Brian Penn Yeah. 36:58.58 Brian Penn Oh yeah. 37:00.82 ukfilmreview We're going to be moving on to a quick streaming film and then we'll be looking at the indie films before finishing up with our nostalgia pick and for um, for this month's episode. Our streaming pick was on Netflix and it got quite a lot of buzz. Um. Certainly someone who deserves an Oscar by now surely um, the film stars Adam sandva and was directed by Johann rank called Spaceman um this you know so many people have asked me what I thought of this film and every time I've said the same thing which is. 37:19.26 Brian Penn So. 37:25.94 Brian Penn So. 37:36.41 ukfilmreview I still don't quite know how I feel about this film if I'm more is it's very very strange. Um, so I'll give the synopsis because Brian bless him out to do 3 already. Um, so yeah Adam Sander plays an astronaut who's been sent off on an expedition. Um. 37:40.14 Brian Penn It's that kind of film isn't it. Yeah. 37:56.82 ukfilmreview Through the sidelar system to investigate this purple cloud that has appeared above the skies and he'll be gone for a very long time. Um, and he's on his own. It's a solo mission and essentially the film is following him on the spaceship also catching up with his. Um. Wife at home paper Carriey Mulligan and um, some of the other sort of crew that are helping him on his mission but whilst he's on the ship he befriends I'm not sure that's right word but befriend a creature very much looking a bit like a scary as spider. 38:25.73 Brian Penn Yeah, a a yeah yeah. 38:33.14 ukfilmreview Um, voiced by the always excellent Paul Dano um and yeah, this creature comes on the ship and starts to interacting with Sandler's character and the 2 have this first uneasy kind of relationship. But then they start to come very much attached to each other as. 38:44.92 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 38:51.30 ukfilmreview Ah, sans character spirals towards this purple sky and into a fate unknown do know I didn't worry with that that wasn't too bad for me for synopsis which I do off the Cufff I don't write these down as you probably can tell. Um, but I thought. 39:02.17 Brian Penn It's pretty decent. Yeah. 39:09.62 ukfilmreview With this sort of film like we were saying a bit earlier. It's a different type of story to tell it is unique I've not seen something like this done but maybe it has been done in sci-fi before. But for me this felt like a new story I thought Sandler was great. 39:18.83 Brian Penn But. 39:24.59 ukfilmreview I'm showing his acting chops again like he did in uncut gems which if you haven't seen is excellent. Very much recommend that film but this and this aside turns it being unique and interesting I think it is all those things but I still don't know if I found it enjoyable I Just kind of got to the end of it and this sort of thought. Not sure how I feel it was a very strange introspective kind of film. How did it make you feel right. 39:47.84 Brian Penn Yeah, know it's it's difficult to describe because you know on the 1 hand you you've got this one man who's in space solo what I meant to do before we we came on air was to to check and see if anyone has actually been into space solar by themselves. Because to me that gives it an edge. The fact that he's alone right? He's isolated and. 40:11.58 ukfilmreview There was the Russian guy right? who got put into orbit I remember that this a no no not for that long. No no, no. 40:15.32 Brian Penn But for that long though for for as long as it. Yeah yeah, you see this is it right? So you've got that kind of dynamic there where you think God imagine being alone in space for that length of time and having very very little contact with with earth. And with the people that you want to remain in contact with that He was constantly saying what about my wife I want to speak to my wife you know all the way through and you kind of sense that kind of anxiety right? that the fact that they were used. You know they were using him ah to score political points off to say look It's great look at what we're doing as an ocean. 40:39.73 ukfilmreview Yep. 40:52.38 Brian Penn But controlling what he said who he spoke to um what I found very quite moving was when when there was the the satellite link up and the girl in the audience or holmes said what's it feel like to be the loneliest man on Earth You know that's a very telling line and it tells you a lot about the. 41:05.69 ukfilmreview There. 41:11.83 Brian Penn The character's motivation and about you in your own mind getting straight. Why is out there. What's took him out there and as the film wore on it told you more about the relationship you had with his wife played by Kry Mulligan who it was I thought very good in the role and Isabel Isabella Rossellina you who played the um. 41:31.76 Brian Penn The ah, the senior space commander strike politician the the person that was pulling all the strings really and then you've got this really odd relationship with this creature that apparently was stowed away on board. And he never knew he never realized he and after six months in space. He realizes this thing is actually on board with him. Um, so it's a very odd film. It is a very strange film but there's something quite gripping about it and um, Adam Sandler um s really showing you just mentioned shows. What a good a is now versus someone is because he made his name as a comedian didn't he really as ah as a comica standup you know and it's a million miles away from some of the characters. He's played. You know if you compare compare this character to the character who played in the wedding singer you know. 42:17.22 ukfilmreview There. 42:25.97 ukfilmreview Hey it great film by the way. Love the film. 42:28.82 Brian Penn You couldn't get 2 more different characters. Could you really? and that show. Yeah I love it as well. Absolutely love that? Um, but no so I like you I wasn't sure how I felt about this film because it makes you curious. It makes you interested. But this. Such a high level weirdness there that you can't really come to any real conclusions about the film about a character. He's motivations about the creature as well. You know because it was interesting to see how that relationship develops and how it kind of. Peaked then it deterioated for various reasons that we weren't going into here because it will it will spoil it for people. Um, but aside from that no I wasn't short to make of it. But it's something that you will be drawn to once you start watching it and. 43:16.42 ukfilmreview Yeah I think that people should experience it and make up their own mind I think it's ah, interesting enough film to give a go. There's a lot to take from it and enjoy. But I certainly wouldn't ever say to someone. Oh you're going to love this film. 43:24.30 Brian Penn So. 43:30.45 ukfilmreview I will not have any confidence to say that because I just I think it's gonna be a complete marite sort of film or even not even Marma I think you're gonna you're gonna have a go and go I don't know how I feel I don't I think I think that's terrific that a film can leave you like that can leave you in a space of like oblivion. 43:30.56 Brian Penn No yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Well yeah, just scratching your head all the way through it aren't you really because you're just not sure what to make of it and it's unusual to be confronted with a film where where you don't come out of it with any clear view. Of what it was about the impacts it had on you because you got to think about the impacts of film handss when you watch it, you know and I wasn't sure how I felt about it. It's all like here. It's just one of those strange films. You think? Yeah, Ah, it's got something.. It's definitely got something. It holds your attention. But. 44:16.97 Brian Penn You You can't come out the feeling you've been in sustain but you don't really know what what you feel about it. Um's that kind of film is that it's just an odd one strange. Yeah. 44:18.00 ukfilmreview A. 44:26.38 ukfilmreview It's an odd one but check it out anyway, if you're already seen space fans that's been out a little while on Netflix so let us know? Um, but yes, it's a recommendation but with caution. Um, so. 44:35.74 Brian Penn Yes, this. 44:39.87 ukfilmreview Yes, we're now moving on to our indie films section and this is always very exciting So these are films that filmmakers have asked us to review. They've specifically sent us these films and said please review them on your podcast and we are very happy to do so um and I have a few clips for some of the films. Not all of them but some of them. 44:57.51 Brian Penn Oh fantastic. 44:59.58 ukfilmreview Um I know and I think that's very important to give you a bit of taste of the film and give you an idea of what yeah what it might be like um, we're starting first with an indie feature film written directed by David Stewart Snell called I bring joy. 45:02.69 Brian Penn Yeah. 45:14.39 Brian Penn O. 46:22.82 ukfilmreview Always nice to have the word gyrate at the end of a clip I think I helped. Um, so yeah, but a very useful clip because it gives you such a sense of the tone of this film. Um London -based thriller starring. Um. 46:25.65 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah. 46:37.64 Brian Penn A yeah. 46:40.92 ukfilmreview Alena Rivers as the title character of joy the film Iss called ivoring joy but she doesn't bring joy she brings stabbing um there so she plays a dancer and is part of like a a crew that were they cool dancers. They're called a crew aren't they I think troop troop. 46:56.23 Brian Penn Ah, Troop Troop Group troop. Yeah. 46:59.12 ukfilmreview Trip. Um, and yeah, that's her kind of passion but ah, an altercation happens on one night and she ends up accidentally stabbing someone. Um I think they were trying to mug her and she sort of yeah things didn't quite go the way that the muggers had planned and she ends up stabbing them kind of accidents but she's. 47:10.34 Brian Penn So. 47:17.60 ukfilmreview Feels a thrill from this and also it kind of ties in at the time of her life where she's going through quite things. There's also a trauma in her past that links to so she decides to keep doing it um to people that Chief Bills deserves it um and the film essentially sees her. 47:27.81 Brian Penn And. 47:36.37 ukfilmreview Trying to live this duplicitive life of the dancer but also a psychopath. But yeah and in the background um very dramatic, very powerful. Lots of exploration of themes. What do you think of I bring Joy Brian 47:41.81 Brian Penn You. 47:48.88 Brian Penn I think it's very good very good film very strong characters. You know where where it starts off you know Joy Joy is an inspiring dancer. She's auditioning for film roles and roles in adverts and so on. 47:54.84 ukfilmreview Question. 48:08.81 Brian Penn And doing her best to make make make ah ah, a serious break ins into performing arts but a life has d rowled up to an a certain extent where she she confronts the the mugger confront um, and that leads to a train of events doesn't it where. She begins targeting people that have challenged her people that have wronged her. It's very reminiscent of death wish isn't the devilish movies that Michael Winnerner made with Charles Brunson where someone with ah a seemingly conventional background. Um, turns turns against the society and begins targeting the the darker side of life if you like um, very good film very well written. Well-acted well shot the lighting's great. The the atmosphere is very atmospheric as well. It's a good film. 48:50.94 ukfilmreview In. 49:07.13 Brian Penn It's a very good film and it's um, it's unusual to see a film like that with an indie tag where it see it seems to be very towards are more a film that would have a bigger Budget. You know it's almost doesn't feel like an indie film to me in some ways if that makes sense. But. I Really enjoyed it and if enjoyment's the right word because it's thing with with a very dark subject matter. But and I think it takess all the boxes well written and willll observe. Well-acted and it's interesting to see how that character develops. 49:36.40 ukfilmreview It. 49:45.34 Brian Penn And the relationship she develops online with us a person that she's discussing what she's done. That's interesting as well. Yeah, we yeah the dry writing person. Yeah, that's right? Yeah, so. 49:54.62 ukfilmreview Yeah, yeah, yeah, the person try a rating. Um, so yeah I agree I think it's one of those films that does stand out as being very high quality. You don't feel like you're having to watch a film that's. 50:04.27 Brian Penn Yeah. 50:12.31 Brian Penn And. 50:12.42 ukfilmreview Skimped on the budget for that stuff. Um, but also done things in a way that it's really tonally correct like they've they've captured that sort of dangerous element of London really well. Um, there's a lot of exploration of stereotypes and yeah, but there. There's the 2 black guys that are sort of watching at 1 point and they get stopped by the police and they've got immediately kind of sort of yeah roller eyes or thing. Um and that the news you starts blaming things on gangs and stuff like that and I think it's a film that sort of got that um social unrest. It's foundation. Yeah, it's not just the film you with a. 50:33.50 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 50:46.35 Brian Penn And. 50:50.12 ukfilmreview Very interesting story. It is actually pick picking apart some of these other parts of our society that are also really interesting. Um I thought it was because you mentioned death which I've actually seen defish but it reminded me of American Psycho which was that. 50:54.30 Brian Penn So. 51:05.58 Brian Penn It's yeah, but yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's yeah. 51:06.37 ukfilmreview Idea you know that character that suddenly starts to just see themselves as outside the the norms of society and yeah, it starts to prey on people obviously not. There's not all similarities there but there's just that's just what it reminded me of that It was a character that felt really dangerous. 51:23.21 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah that I know you're right? yeah is powerful and it. 51:23.69 ukfilmreview Because she just decided that she was no longer going to play by the rules and I thought okay wow like this is you don't know where where she's going to go with this? um I thought the the score was really good as well. It's just a really pulsing energy so had sort of synth score throughout. That was really really cool I Really like that. 51:42.46 Brian Penn It kind of adds to the drama doesn't it that and it shows what you can do with a good soundtrack that doesn't necessarily drown out the the film itself. Yeah yeah, so yeah, it's a good film but there are element I mean American like I see the analogy there I can see why white reminded you of that. 51:47.23 ukfilmreview Um, no, it's not obtrusive at all. It's really enhances it. Yeah. 52:00.94 Brian Penn But there are elements of vigilanteism there and that's probably you know that's something a lot of people can relate to in some ways where you see the typical scenario is you know where where films are concerned. It is that a Killer goes free or somebody who's done wrong gets away with it. You know. 52:02.50 ukfilmreview Yeah. 52:20.95 Brian Penn And that's like you know a common emotion is to say right? They should pay for their crying you know and that's where it begins It doesn't end up that Way. It doesn't it doesn't go down that route necessarily. But that's how it starts out. But yeah, good for I mean really coming back to my earlier point about um. About it not being a typical indie film is that often with indie films part of their their charm and quality is that they are done on a limited budget and they are kind of rough around the edges but this seems to have a kind of more more gloss to it. Um, so I wouldn't It doesn't necessarily come across as a typical indie film. Um, yeah, so. 52:58.57 ukfilmreview yeah yeah I agree I think you wouldn't necessarily have known that I mean also yeah, there is increasingly less of an ah distinction between those 2 types of films now. Anyway, you know so a lot of films are independent in. 53:07.59 Brian Penn Yeah, so. 53:13.99 ukfilmreview Quotes because they're just made by people Obviously do not what we're gonna do our way and people will find a way of making the film. Um with I bring joy it just felt that it just have it has that burning ball of energy that an indie film has that it's like a powerful story. They really wanted to tell and tell it their way. They also felt. 53:15.61 Brian Penn And then. 53:25.74 Brian Penn Yeah, and. 53:33.79 ukfilmreview There was a bit of a maybe an insider track here in terms of so there's a whole um section of the film that talks about this legend in the acting sphere. Yeah, the legend you know this person who is unnamed I believe or does he turn up or something. 53:42.74 Brian Penn Of the legend. Yeah yeah, so. 53:51.54 Brian Penn Doesn't they don't appear on screen. Do they I don't think. 53:52.84 ukfilmreview Do here? Good Yeah I don't think so and they basically are a very powerful influential filmmaker or director or or a part of the the to if he talk much to but he uses his position to ipress upon women and and yeah, unfortunately. 53:57.50 Brian Penn So. 54:12.60 ukfilmreview Abuse that power that that's at play here. Yeah, the idea that someone like that and then it all gets hushed up by the other people around him to sort of make sure that nothing's affected. You know business as usual and that these people just need to sort of keep quiet that I think it was rallying against that you know I mean there was like a kind of well. 54:24.39 Brian Penn And. 54:32.58 ukfilmreview This rage needs to go somewhere. And yeah, if the societal norms that we have and the structures we have in place that seems to protect These people aren't going to work then maybe that you have to work outside them and yeah I don't think the film's making any kind of judgment on that I think it's just all. 54:38.90 Brian Penn The. 54:50.17 ukfilmreview Proposing the question. Yeah, what would happen if people did just start taking matters into their own hands and living out that idea. 54:50.99 Brian Penn It? Yeah yeah, it's a pro. Yeah, it's like a proposition isn' it. It's exam question isn't it in a way you know it's putting it out there and saying well what if you know? um so but it was good that I was impressed with it very impressed with it. So. 54:57.96 ukfilmreview Yeah. 55:08.31 ukfilmreview Well good. The film is actually available to rent right away on um Amazon prime I believe if you're in the Uk. So yeah I bring joy if you want to find out more about the film though. There's a Facebook page I bring joy the film or 1 word the director has a Twitter. 55:10.25 Brian Penn Good, excellent. 55:26.21 ukfilmreview So at Davis Snell or 1 word Instagram page I bring the joy filml or 1 word and there's also a website canyonmedia.co/film. do check them all out if you do get stuck. Ah if you saw can't find it or whatever and you've checked Amazon you've checked Instagram you've checked Facebook. Um. 55:27.00 Brian Penn So. 55:40.67 Brian Penn And. 55:44.22 ukfilmreview Also check our website so we have a review of the film and often there'll be a trailer within that review and you can watch that or just send us a message and we'll point you in the right direction we are more than happy to do that? Um I'll forward all the emails to Brian Brian or Ford then to Ian and Ian will deal with it. 55:49.36 Brian Penn And of course. Yeah yeah I leave it. My. 56:01.78 ukfilmreview Um, yeah, no I bring joy do check out very strongly recommended Um, sticking with the indie field features now. Um and from a director that I have a lot of respect for I've been watching his career quite a bit. We interviewed him. 56:04.19 Brian Penn Yeah, is good. It's good. 56:20.53 ukfilmreview I interviewed him for um, a very short-lived magazine that we had running. We had the Uk From Review Magazine and I interviewed the writerdirect Marcus Flemings um and that was I was a very lovely moment. Unfortunately the magazine didn't really last too much longer because why would you go into print I mean that was a silly thing to do. Yeah, what was I doing. 56:23.16 Brian Penn I. 56:36.97 Brian Penn And. 56:40.11 ukfilmreview Um, but fortunately Marcus has made ah better decisions with his career and has launched his new indie comedy film called everyone which again I have a clip. 56:50.57 Brian Penn You Oh wow. 58:24.19 ukfilmreview Okay, so everyone and that clip was from just which Brian is finding there which is just from one part of the film right? So it's a film made up of multiple storylines. 58:25.33 Brian Penn But I hope yeah. 58:40.86 Brian Penn So. 58:43.11 ukfilmreview Um, all set within a restaurant in London and the one that you heard there was the clip of a a footballer and his manager or soon to be x manager having a quite awkward kind of push closing brief I guess ah, he's not happy about being ditched by his. 58:55.55 Brian Penn You. 59:01.41 ukfilmreview Footballer who he spent a lot of time and and money creating and the footballer feels that this guy isn't for him anymore and you know, judging if you just went on that clip I'd say yeah I wouldn't want him as my manager either? Ah um, but that's just one of the scenarios in this film all set in the same location almost for the whole film. Um, there's. 59:10.51 Brian Penn A no I. 59:17.62 Brian Penn And. 59:20.34 ukfilmreview Other Storylines happening at the same time. There's a family of four like siblings that are talking about an inheritance and one of them is alcohol problem which is very very funny. Ah, there's a a mother and daughter. Um the daughter who thinks she's. 59:28.91 Brian Penn A. 59:37.31 ukfilmreview Messiah because she feels she can hear everyone. She's not the messiah. She's a very naughty guy. Um, there's a guy with a camera who's trying to get over his social anxiety by donating on his own and the the waitress who's going through her own stuff kind of comes the app she comes and sits with him. Um. 59:38.95 Brian Penn Um, yeah, ah. 59:46.90 Brian Penn Yeah, befriend them. 59:56.28 ukfilmreview There is a threesome fish with or what do they call it. They called it something a situation or something. Um, where there's the be yeah, not a couple but a trio and yeah, the guy that one of the guys in that in that Trio doesn't feel comfortable with that anymore and there's also a couple. 59:56.51 Brian Penn Yeah, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 01:00:06.50 Brian Penn The trio. Yeah. 01:00:11.88 Brian Penn So. 01:00:16.10 ukfilmreview And older a elderly couple just sitting there talking not talking to each other. Um, yeah yeah I don't think I've missed out any of the story lines in that film. His kid is really good. 01:00:17.26 Brian Penn And they so they think don't they they I think they they put their thoughts on screen occasionally. Ah if I remember right? like? No no, no, you've got it all I think this is brilliant I I absolutely love this. You know I will never go into a restaurant and think of people sitting around me in the same way I'm going to be curious as to what they're talking about now because you know the idea that you can have ah 6 different conversations going on and I think it was all in 1 take wasn't it I don't think they were they stopped then stopped. Choosing again, they were just panning a camera around weren't they the restaurant. 01:00:57.92 ukfilmreview I'm not sure they felt like it. Maybe there was but I think they definitely did it because a lot of the characters are in the background of the shot. So yeah, there must have been a big amount of choreography going on here. 01:01:02.50 Brian Penn But yeah, yeah I think they were close to it I mean it's It's this old. Um, this old boast of directors isn't it where where they say I shot this with one camera you know one take. 01:01:20.70 Brian Penn And Sam Meners in 7 saying of course it can't quite be done. But I think that I think here he got close to it that it was all almost well. It was nearly all in 1 1 ne's take very good editing because I think it almost looked that way because I was trying to work out where they stopped. That's one of my annoying habits now when I watch films is that where did the editor get involved. You know it's a very fine dividing line between where the editors involved and where the directs is saying what? Ah yeah, yeah, real time. Yeah. 01:01:49.29 ukfilmreview It was definitely in real time like or as close to real time as you could really want from a film. Um I think that was important right? because you're having this restaurant scene. You couldn't have it happening over like the course of two days or things. So. 01:01:58.20 Brian Penn No like yeah. 01:02:00.91 ukfilmreview And that would throw up its own logistical issues Anyway, just getting the lighting right? and making sure that yeah they get seen right? So yeah, really ambitious. Nope Really ambitious was literally how I was going to finish that sentence so you go. 01:02:03.14 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, it shows that? Well yeah, sorry Chris off you? Oh okay, that's that's fine. No, but I thought it was great. So I mean that to been really well rehearsed I think the script was brilliant. Really crisp and bright and funny very literate I love the 4 siblings that were squabbling amongst themselves. You know where the oldest sister says to the youngest sister. How did the tongue operation. Go oh she does speak. She's the one who never says anything the um, the ah. 01:02:26.49 ukfilmreview Here. 01:02:35.30 ukfilmreview Ah. 01:02:40.75 Brian Penn The agent with it with a foot bla that was funny as Well. They were all great. They all had great lines. You know there were there were not. There was no sort of padding there that they all had good lines. None of them were kind of passengers. You know the the elderly couple were there to sort of represent. Ah, people in light years who just don't communicate anymore right? But they're not communicate. Yeah yeah I know yeah and I exactly that's it. Um I think the the scenes between the right twist and the lonelyne man with the the photographgrapher. 01:03:00.77 ukfilmreview Which always happens right? You andever, you go to a restaurant and there is always a couple there that aren't talking. They've just been married for so long. They've just ran out of things to say. 01:03:18.25 Brian Penn Quiteluching as well. Yeah, yeah. 01:03:19.46 ukfilmreview Yeah, that added that sort of much needed heart didn't it because you couldn't just have loads of funny tables going on you needed something. But even the funny tables they still have that sense of like um depth. There's still drama that comes out and bits that do move you I think yeah, the photographer who's sort of struggling. 01:03:29.70 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 01:03:35.18 Brian Penn So. 01:03:37.20 ukfilmreview Was a immediate way of saying that this this isn't just like some wacky comedy. That's meant to be funny throughout like you're meant to feel lots of different emotions here. And yeah I think it was navigated really well. 01:03:40.50 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, so I I was really really impressed with it and it's really funny that the script is so sharp and I've not seen that a film with that kind of setup before. You know it's an ensemble piece and that in itself is not easy to work on screen to have an ensemble piece guy in where you've got I don't know how many characters have you got 2 6 8 10 twelve fourteen I think if you include the if you include the elderly couple. 01:04:12.99 ukfilmreview Give a give or take yeah. 01:04:18.46 Brian Penn And to get that ensemble cast working as well as that is wellw writtentten. Well-directed and wellrehearsed because you know as you say it's all taking place at the same time. It's in real time. That's the the correct phrase to use. But I love it I Think it's great. Really good. Fun. Yeah, but. 01:04:40.69 ukfilmreview I Love it when a filmmaker sort of takes an idea like because it could be you someone sat in a restaurant and had that idea right of I Wonder what everyone's talking about but to actually just then and go and make that film is so ambitious. Um, and so. 01:04:45.32 Brian Penn Yeah I. Yeah, yeah. 01:04:55.30 ukfilmreview On the nose as well. It's really captured exactly what it's like which is like you you could imagine yourself maybe being in one of those conversations but also overhearing those other conversations and just being absolutely yeah yeah, drawn in by the T being spilled I think the um, the film. Also. 01:05:02.65 Brian Penn I need. 01:05:13.13 Brian Penn So. 01:05:13.25 ukfilmreview Was able to feel fresh because what this idea probably lends itself to would be more like a theater production because you could imagine that you know the lights going up on one down on another and yeah, yeah, as a theatre production it kind of makes a lot of sense. But as a film. 01:05:20.10 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, it it would work out on stage wouldn't it. Yeah yeah. 01:05:30.61 ukfilmreview I would say that you know this is throwing up so many logistical issues to film it that you would be a little bit like crazy to make it. But the result is really good and what I would say as well I am because it's it's listed as a drama but this is definitely I'd say leaning more towards comedy than it was drama. Um. 01:05:34.94 Brian Penn But. 01:05:48.28 Brian Penn It's a comedy. Oh I think it's a common. Yeah. 01:05:50.47 ukfilmreview But either way it's a very successful comedy I laughed out loud and there is for me. There is no greater compliment I can give to a filmmaker because I don't give my my laugh out louds much? Um, but you know what the bit that got me that they then carried on laughing was the bit where. 01:05:53.16 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah I Like you think. 01:06:09.87 ukfilmreview Foot is saying can you get your receptionist to stop calling me dick and and then the manager goes dick is the nickname for Richard it's just I was balling with laughter at that and from now he' gone I was sold I was just laughing all the way. 01:06:13.96 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, and yeah, yeah, ah ah yeah I know. Um, yeah I think the the football and the agent was particularly funny and. 01:06:31.24 Brian Penn You know where where he's saying look I want to I want to I've grown I've outgrown you now I want to go and play for Barcelona They gave me a powerpoint presentation in a bottle of water. Oh well, that's it then and he said I can get your boscelo and I can get you a bottle of water and not just fizzy drinks. Um. 01:06:43.89 ukfilmreview Here. 01:06:48.57 Brian Penn Yeah I mean what was your favorite um scene I mean they kind of like it. There were a series of set pieces really weren't I what? what was the best 1 Do you think? so. 01:06:56.86 ukfilmreview Um, yeah I think there's a bit where the table of 4 siblings. Oh I don't know what it was. It's where he pours the wine through her hand. 01:07:08.53 Brian Penn So oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 01:07:10.64 ukfilmreview You remember that scene is's getting very tense and he just he just keeps pouring the wine through her hand and I was like this is getting really harsh now and I thought that was excellent and but because that scene as all that the the 4 of them felt at first it felt a bit kind of like oh okay, it's 4 siblings who don't obviously get on. Um. 01:07:17.82 Brian Penn The had I. 01:07:29.99 Brian Penn The. 01:07:30.23 ukfilmreview There's plenty of drama going on here but it felt kind of they were paying just lip service to each other's or okay, yeah I know we're related but and we like each other but as more and more was uncovered about their family and what was going on and the the depths of that and why they were having to have this conversation I. 01:07:36.36 Brian Penn I. 01:07:48.40 ukfilmreview I found that really a great arc to to watch amongst all the other really good arcs are they're all very good but that 1 particularly for me what about uber. 01:07:50.51 Brian Penn I the um I think yeah that the football and the agent are really enjoyed the um the th threesome the the I think that was really very well played that that could. That could be a classic sketch from Peter Cook and Dody Moore or something you know that that was really good. Very clever clever wellserved and you know the the earnest guy sitting in the middle is really hurt by what's going on and the the guy to our right? So he's left who's kind of really. 01:08:08.89 ukfilmreview Here. 01:08:21.13 ukfilmreview It. 01:08:28.13 Brian Penn Super intelligent and really philosophical about it or he's always got an answer and yeah, and yeah, and and of course the guy in the middle is is really upset by it all because he's falling for ah you know and. 01:08:32.74 ukfilmreview He's very confident is he sat there just sort of Smug and like loving it. He's just laughing most of the time. Ah. 01:08:44.38 Brian Penn The guy on on our right is sort of saying Well, what's the problem. You know this is life. You know, um I thought that was great as well. They were all great. They're all really good but you know they they work individually. Don't they they're working as individual sort of set pieces but they work as an ensemble as well. 01:08:47.66 ukfilmreview I hear. 01:09:02.13 ukfilmreview Yeah, you could have seen this film just absolutely chopped up into short films right? each 1 having their own little film. But as a piece together I think it really works because you get that sense of human ah evolutional most that or like societal evolution and also that natural. 01:09:02.24 Brian Penn Um, yeah, yeah. 01:09:14.10 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 01:09:20.46 ukfilmreview Progression because you know it's like when you go for a meal and you know it's that sense of to begin with things feel really kind of odd because you're in a new setting you maybe yourself Even even if you are with someone that you know that there's a sense of like we don't know where we're going. We're in a different environment. 01:09:27.89 Brian Penn And. I mean. 01:09:35.55 ukfilmreview And as things warm up as things intensify the conversation becomes maybe a bit more truthful maybe a bit more honest and painful and then we get that kind of crescendo of of revelation which happens almost in all of the situations and I think the the filmmakers and the cast and the crew they handed it. 01:09:40.67 Brian Penn And. 01:09:52.85 Brian Penn I. 01:09:54.14 ukfilmreview Expertly It's really really smartly delivered. Um, ah but very very funny and that for me is key I think if I'm ever going to recommend a film a comedy it has to have made you laugh and this did numerous times numerous times. Um, be ah, very good. 01:09:58.17 Brian Penn Yeah, it yeah course. Yeah, yeah, it gets lots of lows doesn't it Lots of longs. Lots of lows. Oh well. Yeah. 01:10:12.64 ukfilmreview Lots of loles more than we get Brian but that's okay, that's okay, um, unfortunately everyone is going to have to wait for everyone because I don't think it's out. Um the film has a website londonnewwave.com 01:10:17.66 Brian Penn Yeah, Plus or. 01:10:22.53 Brian Penn I. 01:10:29.96 ukfilmreview Um, Marcus Flemings is available on so Twitter and Instagram things so you can find them. We've tagged him in a few posts. So um, oh that was always going to say Brian did you? So did you watch the credit. We got a name check on. 01:10:38.70 Brian Penn What's that I did we got an name check didn't we like? yeah. 01:10:45.22 ukfilmreview I can honestly say this listen I had no idea I wasn't told or if I was told I've forgotten because I'm like that and I was just I had the on I was in the background I was just sort of you know that mulling of the film I of all just letting the film sink in that's a wait a minute the producers wish to thank UKFilm review and I was like oh. 01:11:03.77 Brian Penn So yeah I know what did we do then? Chris I mean you know. 01:11:04.55 ukfilmreview We go that was a lovely little bit of claim to fame lovely I again could be wrong because my brain isn't what it used to be and that's not I'm not that old I mean my mid 30 s but I have had a lot of alcohol in my life and I think he has done quite a lot of damage. 01:11:13.30 Brian Penn And. 01:11:20.96 Brian Penn Oh I see my ah right. 01:11:22.53 ukfilmreview Um, but I think it may have been that that interview that we did in the magazine and generally we've I think we've shared his um when he was doing kickstarters and things like that to raise money for films I don't know if it was that I mean Marcus can probably tell us more best of why and or he may have put in my mistake and that'll be terrible wouldn. 01:11:39.89 Brian Penn I would not be a disappointment. 01:11:40.68 ukfilmreview Said oh I didn't mean to thank you I meant someone else? Yeah I meant total film. Not you you guys are rubbish. Um, but no, he has been very complimentary about the UK fromview stuff in the past. So yeah, what an honor. 01:11:49.27 Brian Penn Yeah, well, it's it's yeah, it's nice to get that. It's nice to get that sort of accreditation. So um, oh yeah, exactly got a permanent record of it. That's the important thing. Um I mean look I think it's great I. 01:11:55.57 ukfilmreview And I took a picture so he can't remove it now her suck exactly. 01:12:05.61 Brian Penn Frankly I mean you could tell by the way I reacted to it I've done a where to start first. It's just so good where I want to take all of it apart and think right? How did he do that. How did he do that You know what camera angles that he used sips all in real time you know was it Handheld was you know how many you know. 01:12:11.71 ukfilmreview This is. 01:12:22.10 Brian Penn When I when I start sort of going into the the deep sort of technical aspects of a film That's a sign for me that I've really got into it and really enjoyed it. You know. 01:12:33.98 ukfilmreview There you go everyone? Yeah might be harder to find that one. But yeah, do follow the social media links that we mentioned and seek it out. Um moving on to another in the feature. 01:12:40.97 Brian Penn So. 01:12:46.71 Brian Penn We were very busy. Yeah. 01:12:47.10 ukfilmreview We were busy this month weren't we right? We had 5 for this episode so we're on the third and this was another feature length. Um Matthew Butlet heart ah indie feature called dagger not spelt how you think it might be spellt ah DHER and this is the. 01:12:58.91 Brian Penn And I want no. 01:13:05.41 ukfilmreview Last film we have a clip for so I'm gonna play that for you now. 01:13:06.91 Brian Penn And. 01:14:11.78 ukfilmreview So I think that's the end of the clip. It suddenly ended and I thought is that the end of the clip that's end of the clip. Um, so Dagger um a absolute Knockout Horror thriller of the found footage genre. 01:14:12.75 Brian Penn I Para Yes yeah. 01:14:29.32 ukfilmreview Which I am a big fan of when it's done well and as well as this ah the story as you heard there is about 2 social media stars and they're known for their sort of Robin Hood type antics they pose as caterers for a posh commercial but their idea is they're kind of steal. 01:14:30.97 Brian Penn So. 01:14:46.42 ukfilmreview Of stuff while they're there and sort of just generally calls a bit of havoc but when they get there all hell breaks loose because they're in this very spooky house and things start to go awry. What did you think of dagger. 01:14:50.76 Brian Penn I I I liked it I really enjoyed it. Ah you know I have a ah fairly kind of relaxed attitude towards horror. You know it. It doesn't. Don't scare easily Chris when it comes to horror boo. No it didn't scare me, you'd have to try a bit older than that. Actually yeah, but this actually I did find quite quite scary actually and I actually find it quite. Yeah I did find a bit scary actually. 01:15:11.92 ukfilmreview Boo Now you're right? You're right. I did is a bit where she turned round and his behind I was old god. 01:15:26.60 Brian Penn And that saying something for me because I just like the imagination to be scared by horror. That's what I think it boils down to but this was really good. What I liked was kind of like the transition in the characters in the way they come across because Thea and louise were kind of these two sort of ultraconfident, funny. Cocky girls who are just having a bit of a giggle and gate crashing this camera crew making an advert or so they think then suddenly snap it all all changes doesn't it and the last half of the film I think was genuinely quite gripping. You could fill the hair on the back of your neck standing up. 01:15:54.28 ukfilmreview E. 01:16:04.78 Brian Penn You know it it was that kind of film. It did the job I think there were elements of the blair Witch project spring to mind you know all films remind me of another film somewhere along the line. Yeah yeah. 01:16:15.49 ukfilmreview It kicks died the genre right? that very rarely do you know when a film genre was was made but I think yeah, everyone kind of will agree that it was the blair which project that did film footage. Um, yeah. 01:16:23.78 Brian Penn Yeah, but um, you know there's nothing wrong with being being influenced by a film like because within the Horizonre blowr which is is up there isn't it. It's it's a leading light in in horror horror genre. But yeah I likes it. I think it was really good. It was well shot it was it was believable and it it did feel like it did feel like you were watching something on Youtube it did it did feel real so they they kind of got over that that hurdle of making people buy into it because you do you just feel that it's real. You know? and yeah, very good. It's very effective. It does the job and you know the um the one of the scariest parts of it for me though is the is the I think we you played a clip that featured him was the guy with the glass is the. The professor or the the ah the expert historian that's it. Yeah um, but I trouble finding the right words tonight Chris thank you for helping me out there. Ah we see you're gonna do it when I'm not expecting it I'm really gonna. 01:17:21.65 ukfilmreview Like Historian guy. Yeah, who's on yeah that so I'm just waiting the best time to scare you I Just gonna scare you and with the word That's right? yeah. 01:17:38.65 Brian Penn Got a go night. Yeah, but no I thought he's really good I Thought he wass really good and I think he's gone down quite well isn't it. It's been getting some good reviews. 01:17:45.98 ukfilmreview Yeah, it's done very well at certain festivals and things I think it is actually um, quite a bigger film in terms of like it's had some big reviews. It's had some um attention brought to it I think it's it's backed by Apple. 01:17:55.62 Brian Penn Oh right. 01:18:01.14 ukfilmreview Um, because of the found footage I might be wrong I think ah the director if he's in contact with him because um I wanted to get a clip and I had some issues with the watching of it. Matthew Butler Hart very lovely chap um had said something about there. Be involved with Apple. Um, so. I think it's it's showing what can be done using phones now and I think that is incredible. You look at this film. It does not feel any different to the type of horrors that you can watch in the found footage genre. Um, and even even without that you even outside of that because that. 01:18:20.50 Brian Penn And. 01:18:37.60 ukfilmreview Also it's so smartly arranged that I have a couple of gripes towards the end where I am a bit like would you still be holding the camera at this point but even so but but generally for like 99% the film. It's like yeah the way they set that up was. 01:18:45.35 Brian Penn All right? Yeah, the. 01:18:56.00 ukfilmreview Authentically done that you would say yes they would have put a camera there because they explained why there's a camera there or why they're still holding the cameras or doing selfies. Um, and even at the end. My last bit was kind of oh why they still hung the cameras. But I think it was largely because they had lights on them and they were holding them to sort of use them as lights. 01:18:57.23 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:19:10.15 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 01:19:13.32 ukfilmreview More than actually as cameras. So I kind of will let that light pass but why have a problem with when people use the genres often because it's like yeah but people would have just dropped their cameras by this point and run right? That's just what they would do but in this situation The cameras had already been placed. They'd already. There was a reason for them to be in there and the whole. 01:19:24.30 Brian Penn So. Yeah. 01:19:33.26 ukfilmreview Setup of the film at the beginning we get told is that all this footage has been found and used by the police and then a group of filmmakers got together to put it into the film to show you what happened so it gives that sense of all this could have happened like obviously clearly it didn't but you know like with Blair which there was people that felt that the blowitch was real because they just delivered it so well. 01:19:40.22 Brian Penn So there. Yeah, so yeah, it feels real. Yeah yeah course So yeah. 01:19:52.58 ukfilmreview And created that myth around it and I think that this is is just as good as bleitch just as good um feels more modern feels like it's tapping into that social media generation. The idea of like Youtube vigilantes you know, causing chaos I love the fact that their names are nearly thelma and louise right? It's like theater. 01:19:57.58 Brian Penn There there. 01:20:04.91 Brian Penn And I yeah know and but yeah, they did. But yeah and I. 01:20:12.23 ukfilmreview And they play on that right? and he's said why don't you change your names I don't want to change where they um but don't are. That's the other thing I wanted to really draw attention to the chemistry between those 2 actresses was incredible I could have genuinely watched their Youtube channel I hope they start one. Um. 01:20:21.14 Brian Penn Yeah, it was yeah. 01:20:29.79 ukfilmreview Yeah, so Riz Maritz and Elie Duckles were just excellent. They they really secured the film because the first like section of them of them going through the countryside and causing a bit of banter along the way was just what you needed it wasn't like the whole kind of. 01:20:32.48 Brian Penn So well. Where the. So yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, and I. 01:20:46.30 ukfilmreview Oh going to a scary house. Oh wonder what's going to happen. It was like no no, even no I idea what's going to happen with these two girls because they are just so reckless and so like just off the cuff deck. Yeah, she's she's going off for a pee. She decides to keep a a camera on. Yeah, she's just doing that. 01:21:01.10 Brian Penn Yeah, but yeah does and it makes more believable as well because you know with this this approach to filmmaking is that it has to feel real. You have to sort of believe that it's happening and the the fact they do. They seem to have ah a proper relationship there. There is a friendship there. 01:21:01.29 ukfilmreview I Think that really added a sense of comedy to the film as well that you needed. Yeah. 01:21:19.74 Brian Penn There is kind of like chemistry and there's a rapper between them that that you get straight away so that makes it even more convincing. Um, but yeah, you got to be impressed with it the way it's been been done and the way it's been made. 01:21:36.26 ukfilmreview very very good um don't know if I don't think the film is out yet because it sounded like they were still doing lots of touring. But if you um, check out Fiz and ginger films dot code at UK that's fiz with two zeds and ginger. Um, they are the the sort. 01:21:37.37 Brian Penn Yeah, if you're already good. 01:21:41.74 Brian Penn And. 01:21:53.84 ukfilmreview That the company name I believe and they've got Instagram Fis and Ginger Films Twitter Fis and ginger. So yeah, plenty of um, ways to check them out again if not head to our website with the review. There's probably a trailer and you can find it on through there. 01:22:07.60 Brian Penn Yeah, is something. Yeah there. 01:22:09.44 ukfilmreview But strongly recommend it I am I'm really excited about that. It's something that maybe Rachel on the screen test podcast that we have she should review it. You know she should check it out because yeah, that's a really and great piece of horror filmmaking there. So yeah, dagger spelt D a g r by the way I know I said it earlier but' gonna say it again. 01:22:27.55 Brian Penn And yeah, and thorough and thorough. Ah yeah. 01:22:27.79 ukfilmreview Because I am nothing if not repetitive and boring. Okay I'm sorry oh I'm sorry that's what I meant to say not boring thorough. That's dagger we're moving on to a short film now I'm titled the a CTT so the act. Um. 01:22:42.33 Brian Penn Oh yeah. 01:22:46.74 ukfilmreview Which was reviewed on the website already by Jason Knight and we are reviewing him on the on the podcast. It's to do with a community theater I didn't quite catch the name of the the a the aquanic I had what did you have for fit the theater. Yeah, 2 theaters. 01:23:00.60 Brian Penn Yeah qua community Thea Thea wasn't it 2000 as like yeah. 01:23:06.64 ukfilmreview Which they make a joke about in in the ah the film. Um, it's kind of done in this sort of moary style where they're almost sort. Yeah talking about their theater and and the things that go on there. There's a ragtag group of actors and crew. Um, and then you know sort about the idea of putting on. 01:23:14.89 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:23:25.66 ukfilmreview Ah, New play. And yeah, you've got this sort bizarre director who sort of thinks a lot of himself but he's just kind of like a local guy. You've got an actor who she sort of comes from maybe above this sort of type of community theater. But yeah, she's sort of roughing it I Guess Um, yeah, there's a few different characters in there and we sort of given. 01:23:28.62 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:23:35.69 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 01:23:45.20 ukfilmreview Um, an insight into what happens within these these bases. Um, very low budget I think they actually told us that the budget was about $500 which I mean that wouldn't get you very much at all. So yeah, they they've done very well to create this short film it. It's ah it's not a. 01:23:46.68 Brian Penn And. 01:23:54.60 Brian Penn I now and I and I like that. Well really? Well yeah. 01:24:04.45 ukfilmreview Tiny film movie is on um for a little bit and um, yeah, it goes through ah a different type of plot I think in terms of trying to tie in so there's like this main guy who's the sort of um, the lead character I guess. 01:24:17.92 Brian Penn He. 01:24:21.40 ukfilmreview And there's a reason why we're watching it and which happens sort of more towards the end as to why they're struggling financially. But oh I spoil that I feel that's a bit of a spoiler. Um, but yeah, what do you think of the act. 01:24:24.57 Brian Penn I yeah yeah, no ah I think it is a really really good effort I really enjoy watching it the the fact that you've got this It's um, what we would call amdra in the Uk. You know you'd call it community theateratre in America. It's like the kind of the second set or the third tier of this. Ah you know it's where aspiring a learn their trade and. It's interesting to get that kind of friction between different characters where one of them is an equity card holder a professional actor who's used to something much bigger and is used to playing bigger audiences and trying to prove how superior she is which I quite like and then there's the other girl. Who's who's super enthusiastic who's bragging about the part she had in little women in a local production but its not doesn't quite pan out that way and then you've got the ah the direction they've all got huge egos really in their own way. Ah, he's he's trying to big himself up and if they're making ah. 01:25:34.82 Brian Penn they're they're doing he's play basically um and he's directing it so you got all of that going on. Ah I think it's really good fun because it's just what happens in and the amateur amateur fit theatrical companies is that you've got lots of egos that people that have different expectations from what they're doing. Some are doing it for fun. Some see it as a stepping stone there are people on the way up in the profession. There are people on the way down and all that is kind of packed into like 10 to 15 minutes and I think it's really great, really great. It's cute. The way it's been put together and the fact they've done it on such a limited budget as well. I think it deserves a lot of credit. Good phone. 01:26:13.60 ukfilmreview Yeah, I'm always impressed by people that do take an idea in they run with their yeah with limited resources I'm the filmmakers. So it's directed by Colby Cyrus and it's written by Andrew Madeirro and they both star in the film as well. Um, but I think. 01:26:25.45 Brian Penn So. 01:26:30.44 ukfilmreview They've submit films to the site previously and I think I love that passion. There's definitely an element of ah, almost poking fun at this world even like the filmmaking world as well. There's a bit where they talk about a film festival like said, no one cares about your film that won the the larvi da award in the random. 01:26:39.19 Brian Penn I mean Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, fin it the Phoenix It's a film festival. Something wasn't yeah. 01:26:49.13 ukfilmreview Fell through wherever and I think yeah and I thought that's such a yeah important part of this film terms of what they're do they they're sending themselves up almost. You're sending up their own livelihood in their own place. But there's a lot of heart. There's a lot of characters that you could feel that were genuine and and you. 01:26:56.91 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 01:27:09.00 ukfilmreview True to the sort nature of who you come across? Let you say we are amateur dramatics in the uk I do drama at ah, 6 form and yet you had these sort of people that were very much that sort of way. But um, yeah I think it's that film that will connect with people that have ever experienced this type of world. Especially from the inside. Um. 01:27:14.81 Brian Penn Oh. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 01:27:28.42 ukfilmreview I Don't know whether the film has much longevity around other than that I in terms of will a wider audience. Enjoy this I think it's quite limited by its scope. Ah yeah, in terms of what it can do. But I think you that it would it will touch a nerve with the people that that connect with it. The idea of it. 01:27:34.53 Brian Penn Yeah I I yeah you will do I Also I think it's a good showcase for the the directs on the writer it shows what they can do on on a shoestring. Really. 01:27:48.23 ukfilmreview Yeah. 01:27:54.32 Brian Penn And for what it is is well well it's self-contained. It's well put together and it works. But as you say probably not that you know it's probably not as accessible as some stories because as you say it's It's very niche isn't it So people that have been involved in the the. I mean I write this review So I kind of got more of it than maybe some people would have done because I've had some experience of it through the ah reviews I've written for first. So I get it. But it might not work for everyone and some of the they're in jokes aren't they. There's some jokes that might only work. If you if you work in that environment but aside from that. Yeah yeah, exactly yeah. 01:28:33.67 ukfilmreview And it was yeah if you very expect. Yeah if you experienced characters like this before you'll kind of go. Oh yeah, That's yeah, That's what that person's like um, but yeah I think it's a very good effort special on that budget and again proof fear that these filmmakers are capable of doing a lot with. Not much yeah terms of resources I Just think that there is definitely a limitation to the appeal of the act but you can let us know you know you can go and watch the film if and when it's available I don't again I don't think it is um although the link we had. Yeah I mean check out. 01:28:54.12 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, I'd agree. Yeah. 01:29:08.59 ukfilmreview Um, instagram.com and go to skip productions films. They'll have more information there you follow them. But I'm sure they'll be able to direct you to the movie if and when it becomes available for public consumption. But um. 01:29:13.72 Brian Penn So. 01:29:26.36 ukfilmreview Yeah, that's the act. Um, one of the 2 short films that we're reviewing the second short film written and directed by Elias suhel called beneath a mother's feet again. Don't have a clip of this which is a shame because it's a. 01:29:29.43 Brian Penn Is in. 01:29:44.87 ukfilmreview Only powerful film Brian Drnna do the synopsis on this one. 01:29:45.90 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, so tells the story of we dad a single mother who's trying to survive day to day in roco ah very skillfully put together minimal dialogue. But. It relies more on visuals to convey feelings and emotions and it's dealing with a very bleak outlook of very bleak life but you you get so much from it. But they're not it is an overburdened with dialogue I mean like it's only 50 minutes long but it doesn't overdo. It. It doesn't give you too much to. Take on board but you appreciate the situation. She's in and the decisions that she has to make and the impact that it has on her and others around her. The fact that she is a single mother. She has the opportunity to remarry and this gentleman wants to take it. Her and her 2 children on and the conversation she has with her parent that which is the key conversation in some ways where they're saying but not many men would take on ah a woman with 2 children and that's a very sort of a very sort of engrossing sort of dialogue. And it kind of sets it up. Um, but very so very sensitive very perceptive but gets the message across without cramming too much dialogue into the time they've got available but I thought it was really good, really powerful really moving. So. 01:31:15.26 ukfilmreview Yeah I think you're right about the the dialogue as well that that absence of dialogue it really makes you question like the emotion of the piece instead and you start to feel more of what is going through her head. There's a bit where she's on the balcony. 01:31:21.52 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:31:32.27 Brian Penn So. 01:31:34.00 ukfilmreview And she's not doing I think she's just finally catching a breather from her situation and then her neighbor kind of interrupts her and she sort of gets back to work and she just again doesn't really say much even though the neighbor's kind of like rattling off about her day and what she's got to do that. There's this sense of such an internal struggle. 01:31:36.85 Brian Penn The. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. 01:31:52.77 ukfilmreview This character. Um, and like say yeah, the conversation with her parents about this this gentleman that will take her on. It's really strong. There's also a adult I'm not going to spoil this but there is a scene where she goes to the bathroom that something happens and it is. 01:32:05.71 Brian Penn The. 01:32:11.70 ukfilmreview That I mean that was first off, not really expected and secondly wow how well was that film that was amazing. That's so good. Um, and it's tying into for me it tied into sort of these ideas of postnatal depression. It typed. Yeah things about expectations of. 01:32:14.21 Brian Penn But no yeah I know yeah I know it was good. It's very well done. And. 01:32:29.30 ukfilmreview Genders and things like that. Yeah and the way so you've got the silence which is really powerful but there's also the framing they were framing this actor really well often like very strong Close-ups or blurring her family in the background. 01:32:35.50 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 01:32:46.98 ukfilmreview The neighbor who I mentioned you can't actually see her. She's not really brought into the into the picture and it's almost like our central character has just been detached from this this. So her surroundings are not her reality. It's almost like what my why am I here and I think that explains us to what happens in the sort of latter part of the film. 01:32:54.59 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, but she's very good though I think her name's Nisrene adder. Very good, very charismatic. She's got real presence and. 01:33:05.13 ukfilmreview Yeah. 01:33:13.88 ukfilmreview Um, in. 01:33:14.33 Brian Penn You know, certain scenes are so perceptive where they don't say anything you know one of the one of the hardest things to do for a filmmaker is to write silence into her scripts and be confident enough to leave it there and not fill that silence with words. There was 1 thing where she's preparing vegetables. 01:33:32.12 ukfilmreview Yeah, yeah. 01:33:33.10 Brian Penn You know the same I mean and she's kind of cutting an onion in half and just chopping it furiously in her hand and that in itself is so kind of a manifestation of her own frustrations about her life of what's going on and how she wants to change things. But there's no dialogue there. She's not saying anything. No One's talking to her. But it's just her a knife and a vegetable but you kind of get something from that you know the firsticalaxy of that scene is actually quite impressive when you look at it because I watched this film twice I don't normally do it with short films I don't normally watch them twice but I watched this one twice because I was curious and I wanted to pick up more. From it but very good for it. Very very good, Very impressed. Excellent. 01:34:15.40 ukfilmreview Yeah, really powerful. It's got a lot of strong themes strong filmmaking. But it's also that that's all there. But it's also subtle and soft at times as well that the way the lighting is done and the way that kind of telling this film very heartfelt I Ah yeah. 01:34:26.35 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:34:34.68 Brian Penn The. 01:34:35.25 ukfilmreview I was really moved by I mean I'm a parent and and for me yeah, very strong film to watch Gay I watch it twice I do that with most shorts if I can but it was yeah well worth another watch and yeah, even just for that bathroom scene again I was like Wow that's incredible. Um, yeah. 01:34:42.81 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, oh yeah I know I know it stays with you doesn't it really? yeah. 01:34:54.50 ukfilmreview If you are um, looking for information about the film. There's a website dedicated to it so beneath a mother'sfeat dot com or obviously 1 word or there's an Instagram page I believe of the filmmaker which is at DA r underscore elias 01:35:13.90 Brian Penn So. 01:35:13.19 ukfilmreview So E L I a s spelling that out for you. So hopefully you can find it. But if you do get stuck please just let us know or you can head to our social media where if we are able to we would have tagged the film worker when we promoted our written review of the film just give you a little insight into how we help there. Yeah. 01:35:18.18 Brian Penn Me. 01:35:25.93 Brian Penn Yeah, maybe. 01:35:30.96 ukfilmreview Can always go to us. Um I'm going to help another film right now. Um, so this was a film. We reviewed a while back and we're not doing a review and we're just doing a bit of a shout out to be honest swatti verma reviewed it back in May Twenty Twenty Two films called blank shas. 01:35:50.79 ukfilmreview I believe it's a short film and yes it the filmmakers got in touch with us. We reviewed it. Give it a very good review. A Fourstar review they got in touch recently to say that it was now available to watch in full on the Youtube channel called dust which I think shows a lot short films or sciphon films and things. Um. 01:36:02.55 Brian Penn Ah. 01:36:06.72 Brian Penn What. 01:36:10.40 ukfilmreview So yeah, it's available to watch on those channel in full and if you want to you can even watch it on our website because if you go to the review for Blank Shaws at the bottom of the review is the full film embedded in the review currently now I say currently because if you're listening to this in the future that may not be there because often these films. 01:36:16.44 Brian Penn And plastic. Wow. 01:36:28.98 ukfilmreview Don't stay on platforms. They don't stay all Joers Well I'll end up with a broken video but for now very happy to say that it works as all for recording and um, yeah I'm gonna watch it and I don't think I've seen it yet. So yeah, yeah, and what great value. We're providing here you can literally go onto our website and watch a whole film. 01:36:30.36 Brian Penn But yeah, ah yeah I'm I'm gonna watch shit as well cause Love i' seeing. So. 01:36:45.13 Brian Penn Online then. 01:36:48.59 ukfilmreview For free just go and do it blank shores. It's called and so yeah, that is available now. Um, now that's all the indie films reviewed all the streaming all the cinema. So all that's left is our nostalgia pick and we are heading back to the same year I believe that we headed back last. 01:37:01.33 Brian Penn Wow! yeah. 01:37:07.50 Brian Penn Good. Yeah. 01:37:08.59 ukfilmreview Last month we went to, we reviewed ghost bussters from 1984 and we're going back again to 9 8 4 to review gremlins ah written by Chris Columbus who always has a yeah strong place in my heart. He's written many of my favorite 90 s movies. Um, yeah, and even. 01:37:15.45 Brian Penn Oh. 01:37:21.82 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:37:27.90 ukfilmreview Harry Potter he was seated the first Harry Potter directed by Joe Dante um ah do we need to say what gremlins is about I feel most people must know what gremlins is above quick rundown. Um you go for Brian you you love these bits. Don't you. 01:37:35.70 Brian Penn Well, you think so wouldn't you really But oh that's an a quick rundown all right? Then it's a nice simple storyline Randall Paler is the inventor is looking for a present free sum. He buys a mysterious and cute creature called a magwa the celler warns him not to expose him to bright, light and water nor should he feed him after midnight or else biles. We know you've got a set of rules. What do you do you ignore them. Don't you. Simple as that and um, it goes on to ah well it it kind of um elaborates on what could happen if you're told not to do something and it's brilliant. It's it's still. Still one of those films that wears well is false years old which I find incredible I never realized it was forty years old and a bit like ghostbusters you you look at how well the the special effects have worn over the years and if we're really honest, you know the. Some of the special effects look a bit a bit basic now I guess um, but it still works and it's still great fun and there are still great things to pick out. There aren't I you know with the the g grams break dancing and smoking and getting drunk and you know it's still so well done. 01:39:00.39 ukfilmreview Um. 01:39:03.21 Brian Penn And the fact that it's co-produced by Steve Spilberg gives it that extra that extra dose of polish doesn't it really, but still great fun. It's I mean I enjoyed it when it was firsted out when it first came out and I enjoyed it now. It's just one of those films. It's a classic eighty s film isn't that. 01:39:18.99 ukfilmreview Yeah, that's why I picked it because for me I had only a very vague memory of it like my brother used to watch it. He was a bit older than me and I remember being a bit scared because I must have been or been about sort of maybe 5 or 6 01:39:33.83 Brian Penn The the. 01:39:36.89 ukfilmreview 7 when my brother's putting this on. Yeah that age would terrify. Um I've even completely forgotten that it's basically a Christmas film right? because he's he's at set at Christmas and he gets he gets the boy the present for Christmas um, and there's there's some snow and all that sort stuff. But. 01:39:44.50 Brian Penn Yeah I forgot about that Actually I must admit. Yeah, no. 01:39:55.11 ukfilmreview Really holds up and I think it's because of the practical effects being used. Yeah, they're using a lot of puppetry and and things like that and I think you know that's absolutely fine. Just still side note weirdly actually I heard that obviously they're doing a new and beetlejuice film and Tim Burton was saying about going back to more of that sort of filmmaking ah doing the practical stuff and. 01:40:05.82 Brian Penn All right. 01:40:14.60 ukfilmreview Because it wanted it to feel like that again, you know, not just relying on tgi. 01:40:16.22 Brian Penn Well Bc this is the thing though. Chris isn't it I mean maybe that's the key is to go back to something a bit more basic that it you know it's to so I mean this is why my opening comments were focusing on the special effects because they look pretty basic by today's standards but what's wrong with that. 01:40:34.70 ukfilmreview E. 01:40:35.86 Brian Penn You know what's wrong with it being the way it was you know I think you can come up with something that's a bit too clean and a bit too stile. So I'm pleased to hit Tim Button It is looking back rather than just looking forward and just taking the easy way out which is the often the way we seegi now is that. 01:40:53.16 ukfilmreview Yeah, and I think this is that sort of era where you did have some special effects. Yeah, we saw in ghostbusters. You know we sort of see the lights and things that but it wasn't too crazy. Um, especially not to modernize. But. 01:40:53.17 Brian Penn Can sight the easy want. 01:40:58.97 Brian Penn So. 01:41:07.81 ukfilmreview With gremlins like I didn't really feel that there was that much special effects going on a lot of it was just kind of practical stuff albeit not that well done like. For example, there's obviously fake snow coming down like it is obviously that sort of thing but I I think there are also bits to to genuine needs or scary that. 01:41:17.63 Brian Penn Well yeah. 01:41:26.49 ukfilmreview Ah, gremlins do kind of still spook you up a little bit. Um I mean maybe not you Brian because you're not afraid of anything apparently but you know. 01:41:27.18 Brian Penn So yeah, yeah, I so well yeah I know well of course naturally but I mean the thing is one one particular scene that I think is quite um, would be quite alarming for some is whether the is where the ah the bad griman shall we say. Break out the chrysalis or break out of the cocoon that's quite that's quite yeah yeah it was yeah yeah, that's a good analogy with alien yeah islandsia definitely so yeah, it still works on that level and you know I quite like the ah the special effects that were done back then you know we. 01:41:47.49 ukfilmreview Yeah, yeah, that bit alienesque wasn't it. It felt like that sort of film. Yeah. 01:42:05.45 Brian Penn Mentioned guy bosters just now I mean I saw a clip of the new ghost bussters film which we'll review in the next episode the new film but the the effects for the for um, the new ghostbusters film does strike me as being very reminent reminiscent of the first ghost bosters film that. They haven't kind of given it this radical makeover. It's like they kind of taken it and think right? We'll just preserve that and we'll maintain it and there's a degree of constuency there and it doesn't become this very sort of clean sterile treatment that can. But leave me cold. Let's put it that way you know. 01:42:43.35 ukfilmreview Yeah I agree and I think touching back on these films has been such a nice treat because you do sort of capture that sense of films that obviously we're speaking to people that were born in that century. Yeah, that were worn around these object. Yeah that we were going to have that feeling towards them. It might be different for. 01:42:48.95 Brian Penn I. 01:43:00.60 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 01:43:02.71 ukfilmreview Modern modern eyes but I certainly think that especially what we're seeing now with this sort of um, splurge of Marvel films not doing very well because they're just failing to capture the storytelling that they've got all the special effects still but the stories of rubbish that. 01:43:14.50 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 01:43:19.49 ukfilmreview Or even modern audiences are getting turned off from that because they want the good stories and I think gramner's is a great story. It's such a fun thing and ah a cool idea. Is it executed really well over a Christmas period and there's that sort of genuine sense of threat and peril from these creatures. 01:43:23.47 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 01:43:32.50 Brian Penn Yeah, and I it's it. It's it's it's done it I just say it's really cool. You know we use that word call don't we we we know it and we know it when we see it but you can't redefine it being cool but it's one of those films that will always be cool. 01:43:36.14 ukfilmreview It just gets delivered really really well. 01:43:50.47 ukfilmreview So I Brian I already know my mom said that I'm cool. So that's that done? Yep yep! Thank you. 01:43:52.14 Brian Penn And a way and I oh well. Okay, are you the definition of call it. Ah right? Okay, yeah, fair enough fair enough? Yeah ah, but yeah, um, yeah, its I also saw another thing about these these films and the nostalgia slot that we're doing is that. Kind of feel a ah case of where are they now coming on because there are actors featured that you think god what happens to them and in this film you got people like Phoebe cakes and Jake Galligan you know who are kind of you know they're vaguely around somewhere but they're not anywhere near. Being an a-list actor anymore. Do you I mean they have their time in Cory Phil you know now as's interesting. You mentioned Cory Feldman because 2 years after this film was made stand by me came out and we reviewed stand by me didn't we on the nostalgia slot and I can't believe. 01:44:33.65 ukfilmreview Um, yeah, no Corey Feldman I think is in it. Um. 01:44:45.18 ukfilmreview Um, yeah. 01:44:50.93 Brian Penn Ah, two years elapse between these films because Cory Feldman in gremlins looks about 7 8 but in stand by me. He looks about 15 and he's put on a couple of stone I with um, but maybe that's just my imagination I know but um, but i's just interested to see the why a's careers ebb and flow and. 01:44:58.17 ukfilmreview Um, just said out out. 01:45:10.73 Brian Penn They experience different fortunes but they they have their time in the sun. Don't they but it seems to be more common in the a s where you you see a lot of Axs you think they're going to be the next big thing and they fought by the wayside for various reasons and oh yeah. 01:45:25.80 ukfilmreview That's right, it's all down to decision making. Um and if you've decided to listen to this whole episode. Well done I mean this is a long one isn't it. We we have been through so much together Brian we've you know we've understood that you don't scare. 01:45:32.39 Brian Penn So yeah on I Yeah I know I say what we we found a choer list. Um way. 01:45:41.24 ukfilmreview That my mom thinks I'm cool and yet that there's some incredible phones right now. Um, it's massive I mean it's because as we're very fortunate. We get a lot of submissions to review on the podcast. We've already got some lined up for next month um 01:45:49.75 Brian Penn Ah, really good sense. But. 01:45:56.19 Brian Penn Alright. 01:45:59.30 ukfilmreview And yeah, we're we're very very honored to be in this position. But yeah, thank you to the people that listen, especially right to the end my goodness I mean you're as crazy as us. Um, so yeah I mean my only advice would be to follow the Gremlin rules really you know don't get yourself wet. Don't eat after midnight or was the other ones. 01:46:01.90 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 01:46:15.70 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, not bright lights Spriy lights sprayates. No bright lights. 01:46:18.27 ukfilmreview Sunlight was it that I can't remember now. Yeah bright lights bright lights. But yes, thank you ad for listening. Thank you Brian again for your amazing reviews. Um, yeah, absolutely privileged to have you here as our chief film critic. Ah. 01:46:27.58 Brian Penn No problem. Okay, Well thank you. 01:46:36.21 ukfilmreview But yes, this has been the UKFilm review podcast with UKFilm club um and yeah, we'll see you again next time. 01:46:43.70 Brian Penn Bye for now. Previous Next

Read the film podcast transcript from the episode titled UK Film Club #005 - The Flash, Asteroid City, Extraction 2 And Big on UK Film Club part of the UK Film Review Podcast. < Back UK Film Club #005 - The Flash, Asteroid City, Extraction 2 And Big Listen to This Episode UK Film Club TRANSCRIPT MISSING Film club is back with Brian and Chris reviewing some of the hottest films on release in June 2023. Brian, from the UK Film Review team of critics, gives his film reviews of Asteroid City (the new Wes Anderson film), The Flash, Chevalier, Greatest Days (the Take That musical) and Hypnotic (in a rare example of Brian really not liking a film). UK Film Club then sees the critics review Extraction 2, the latest release starring Chris Hemsworth on Netflix. Two short films are reviewed: A Father's Day and Beware! Both of which are zombie-based. The Nostalgia Pick for episode 5 is Big starring Tom Hanks, which the guys review. If you are new to UK Film Club, welcome, if you are already a regular attendee, welcome back. We love to have you here, please drop us a review or comment on social media so we know you are out there.For more from our film podcast visit -https://www.ukfilmreview.co.uk/podcast Previous Next