Knock at the Cabin with Marie Bardi

[00:00:01] Blank Check with Griffin and David, Blank Check with Griffin and David Don't know what to say or to expect All you need to know is that the name of the show is Blank Check Why are you here?

[00:00:23] I suppose I'm here to make friends with you and your dads too, but my heart is broken. Why is it broken? Because of what I have to podcast today. Come in! I think, no, what's the question? Oh, sorry. Who's there? Podcast. What's the follow-up? Podcast who?

[00:00:58] Podcast at the Cabin. That's so stupid. I don't like this voice you're doing. I know! It's kind of unsettling. It's me. It's the podcast at the Cabin. Look, there's a filmmaker who once every two years decides to knock at our door with a new film.

[00:01:14] He really is like clockwork, isn't he? Yeah. There are— We've been doing this show. This is now— We're coming up on our eighth anniversary. We're going into our ninth year of doing this show. Is it four new movies he's released during that period?

[00:01:27] The only guy who's matched him is Spielberg. Steven Spielberg has had four films since we covered him. Shyamalan obviously was the first director we covered as proper blank check miniseries. So he had a head start on everyone else.

[00:01:41] But even still, I believe it's Spielberg has four, Shyamalan has four, every other director has one? Yeah, there's no one with two. Berhovin's made one. Gina's made one. Zemeckis has made one. We're talking since completion of miniseries. Cameron's made one. Pretty good one, though.

[00:02:01] Yeah, pretty fucking killer one. Yeah, pretty good one if you think about it, actually. Do you know about Pyrokon? The outcast told me. Well, Nolan will have made two this year. He's going to get us two. Right. Yes. Right? Nolan's getting us two.

[00:02:13] His Tenet was the only one that we hadn't done. Correct. Right, because some of them it's a little unfair— Well, Dunkirk— You know, Dunkirk, we timed it to Dunkirk, right? Some of them it's unfair because we time them a little bit. Same with Detroit.

[00:02:25] Same with the Power of the Dogs. Right. You know, but you know what? To revisit a director. What's important is that Shyamalan is working a lot and efficiently and successfully. Not only that, but he has made four movies since we finished covering him in 2016,

[00:02:46] and all four of those films have been self-financed by the Bank of Shyamalan. Sure. That is the wildest part. And I don't know how this one's going to go, but it is basically tracking to make its budget back in its opening weekend.

[00:03:01] So it's going to be basically four bets in a row that paid off. Right. And look, varying levels of success, but he basically seems to have established a model where he cannot lose money, where at least all these films are going into slight profit.

[00:03:13] Glass made $250 million worldwide, and that movie was not liked. People hate that film, whereas I think it's a glass-trap piece. I do too. But this is the thing. He has basically kept the budgets at the exact same general level that is easily passable.

[00:03:32] Basically, in opening weekend alone, he pre-sells distribution and foreign and everything. And it's like either the movie's a big hit or it makes a little profit. And either way, every time he's fucking mortgaging his house— It was basically like—

[00:03:43] Sorry, it was like the visit was five, split was like ten, and then like Glass on, they've all been about 20. 20 is his own now. And like actors want to work with him so he can get them for reasonable prices.

[00:03:56] And like you say, he just kind of, you know, delivers in the same time slot usually. He's an efficient filmmaker. He knows what he can pull off. He builds films around locations that he knows he can shoot in, right? It's pretty impressive.

[00:04:10] We're talking, of course, about Minaj Knight's Shyamalan. Yes. M. Night. Shyamalan. How old is he these days? 52 years old. He's like LeBron. He's got like another 40 years in him making these things. It's wild how young he was at his sort of like peak of cultural prominence. You know?

[00:04:31] Look, this is a podcast called Blank Check with Griffin and David. I'm Griffin. I'm David. So fast. He hasn't made a movie about a fast guy yet. What if the guy was fast? Yeah. They should do more like... They should do— Oh, they should do Fun Knox? Yeah.

[00:04:45] Is that the official name of that shave and a haircut? Two bits. Yeah. Eddie! Please, Eddie! He should also do a Roger Rabbit movie. That's another thing I'm saying. M. Night Shyamalan should do a movie about a fast guy.

[00:04:58] He should do Fun Knox and Roger Rabbit he should bring back. Not make a Roger Rabbit sequel. He should just cast Roger Rabbit as an actor. As in a role. He's a good actor. I mean, people love him. You ever see Tummy Trouble?

[00:05:10] Anyway, this podcast called Blank Check. A podcast about filmographies, directors who have massive success early on in their career. Say, making the six cents. Right. And are given a series of blank checks to make whatever crazy passion products they want. Sometimes those checks clear, say, signs.

[00:05:25] Sometimes they bounce baby, say, Lady in the Water. And then sometimes, as we've said, a man establishes his own line of credit and is able to issue the checks to himself. Yeah. Funny.

[00:05:37] He's worked with every major studio now, but I feel like he'll never leave the Universal stable, right? Like, he's so... We were so excited when the old school Universal logo came up at the beginning of the movie. We started clapping. Yes. Yeah.

[00:05:51] And the opening credits of this thing are great. The opening credits. It was very fun to discover what they meant after watching the movie because it's all of the visions on, you know, the Mexican restaurant menu, the nurses lock, the school stuff.

[00:06:08] See, I'm already excited to watch it. This is Knock at the Cabin. Yeah. This is now... What number movie is this from? 13? Is this Unlucky 13 for M. Night? 15. Wow. This is including Praying with Anger and Wide Awake, of course. You have to include Wide Awake. Yeah.

[00:06:24] My feature film debut. I know that. And Praying with Anger. M. Night Shyamalan's feature film debut as an actor. And, yep. Is he in this movie? Yep. Oh yeah, Ben. Yeah. You didn't spot him? Are you joking? Did you go to the bathroom? He's on the shopping channel.

[00:06:38] He's selling us air fryers. Really good salesperson. Oh, yeah, yeah. You think he just like vanished into the role? Just vanished. I was just like, that fried chicken looks good. I loved his cameo. Yeah, I'm so curious about this QVC type channel that also has breaking news.

[00:06:56] I had a lot of questions about this. It's a real channel. I mean, that's a real thing. I was trying to make out the letters because they sort of make it so it looks like MSNBC. But then if you look closer, it's like NLMNFSFBQ.

[00:07:08] If planes started falling out of the sky in their hundreds, would QVC break into that? Well, what did they do on 9-11? I don't know. They probably had to address it on 9-11. Yeah. This is my question.

[00:07:20] Maybe QVC, like the guys are like, hey, turn off that feed. I'll say this. Wait, I'm going to Google this right now. QVC 9-11. My sister, Romani Newman, young person, right? So when 9-11 happens, she's three.

[00:07:32] I remember there being a thing where my parents were like, she can't process what's happening. Despite the fact that was happening out our window. And my mom and dad were like, here are the channels you can't turn on. Sure.

[00:07:46] Because a lot of entertainment channels were pre-empting their coverage with the news coverage of their sister networks. So whatever conglomerate they were under, it was like Nickelodeon was maybe uninterrupted, but ESPN was playing ABC News. Right. You know?

[00:08:02] So I have an answer for what QVC did during 9-11. Great question. Great answer. Give it to me. I'm going to read this from Lost Media Wiki dot com. Big fan of Lost Media. Came up when I Googled QVC 9-11.

[00:08:16] American free-to-air shopping channel QVC was in the middle of airing live programming on September 11, 2001, when the September 11th attacks occurred. With their increasing seriousness and scale, the events eventually led to abandonment and temporary suspension of network programming during an airing of Denim & Co.

[00:08:32] A few hours after the attacks began. A slide was put up to note that the program was suspended and that one should turn to a news channel. Alongside later adding an additional slide with contact information to donate to the American Red Cross. So they just said stop watching.

[00:08:48] Yes, they said move on, shopper. Yeah. Yeah. I thought you were going to ask, David, if planes started falling out of the sky, what would you do? What would I do? I'd be like, told ya! Yeah. It's interesting. If you think it.

[00:09:04] Look, M. Night, one of the few people who is sort of a brand name in and of himself. And because of that, he's been able to get original films made throughout his career. Right?

[00:09:15] His last two films adaptations, obviously, he did Last Airbender before, but that felt like an anomaly in his career. And now he is like using other starting points to craft proper M. Night movies. Old, of course, was loosely based on a graphic novel. And this is both.

[00:09:33] And I was looking at the credits. I thought this was interesting. I don't know if you caught this. It's both based on obviously Cabin at the End of the World, the book that came out a couple years ago. Yes.

[00:09:41] But there also is a credit that says it is loosely inspired by Griffin Newman's current worldview. Yes, exactly. It does say that. Yeah, it says that. Loosely, like the comedy stylings of Tim Allen. It's like sort of we crafted.

[00:09:55] Obviously, you couldn't make a movie out of my despair spirals. But you could. You could loosely, you could use it as a jumping off point. It's a movie called Knock at the Cabin about how everything's bad. Not everything's bad. Not everything.

[00:10:09] That's that's that's that's the lesson in the movie. I don't know if I mean this is some of what I've struggled with was struggling with this movie. I will say, David, you far and away liked it the most of the four of us.

[00:10:22] Yeah, the three of us had pretty mixed opinions. I said this is a real turd. He said it was a turd. It was a turd that you can't get to flush. Yeah, you know that kind of turd. Producer Ben did not like it.

[00:10:34] Marie Barty, Marie Barty, party barty. Hey Griff, nice to be here. Native of M. Night Shyamalan's stomping grounds. Correct. QVC also a Philadelphia area. Didn't know that. Company. But yeah, I'm back once again for a Shyamalan. Of course. Yes. Happy to be here.

[00:10:51] I'm still I'm still chewing on this film. I am too. It's not going down easily. It's not. And it's like a turd. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a turd. Yeah, it's it's like one of those like really crusty baguettes.

[00:11:08] That's like a little rubbery too. And you're just chewing the bread, you know, like you're eating a sandwich and you like the meat inside the sandwich. Yeah, but the bread itself is like, how's this metaphor doing? It not well, it doesn't it doesn't flush easily.

[00:11:21] You're trying to be gets not going down the toilet. It's not I don't I don't want it. Before you I don't want to bring the toilet. Mistake being made. I've been trying to cut out the middleman. I go, maybe I don't have indigestion.

[00:11:33] If I get my feet to go bring it home, put it straight into the toilet. I'm still chewing. I haven't been able to swallow and sit content with my meal. And I'm still chewing. I would say I was pretty amped for this movie.

[00:11:45] I think without having unreasonable excitement or expectations, but I've just loved the run that M night has been on. Not without exception. I struggle with split, but I've liked this recent run a lot and on paper.

[00:11:59] I'm like, yes, this is exactly what I want to see him doing. Right? This is a great setup for a film. Matisse is a really interesting actor for him to be working with one of my favorite guys right now.

[00:12:10] And I just sat there and kept waiting for it to click for me the feeling I like and look we talk about this a lot. He is an aggressively unsubtle filmmaker, right? And his tone and his pitch and his style are so weird and can be so

[00:12:28] off-putting for people that a lot of folks watch his movies and immediately go. I can't fucking handle any of this, right? Just immediate turn off for me. Whereas I'm very much on the wavelength of everything he tries to

[00:12:38] do, but I feel like in most of his movies you sit there and whether or not it's a twist movie. I feel like there's a lot been made already about this is a movie that feels like it's building towards a twist and the twist is

[00:12:50] almost the lack of a twist. The twist is almost this film being exactly what it presents itself to be. Okay, I have to do you are you aware of the books? I am I am all this to say I spent the whole movie going when am I

[00:13:04] going to click into what he's really trying to do here and I kept on feeling like I was getting close and I couldn't quite understand what he was trying to say David. Let's talk about the book. Well because I watch this movie unaware.

[00:13:16] I knew it was based on a book but I didn't and I knew that there was a little chatter out there from people who read the book being like I wonder if he's going to do the plot of the book in that kind of concerned tone. Sure.

[00:13:27] I watched this movie and then I looked up the book and if they had put the book on screen, do you know what happens in the book? I do know so we're about to get into cinema score zero. Yeah, we were about to get into spoilers.

[00:13:38] We dug into this after the movie yesterday. We did some book digging but yes, we're spoiling both the book and the movie proceeds at your own risk from here on out. But beyond the fact that I think the books plot would have been

[00:13:49] kind of unpalatable for a movie that he read that book and then fundamentally changed its takeaway is fascinating to me. I Internet the semi-reliable resource of facts. Yes, what I read yesterday made it sound like and perhaps you will correct me here.

[00:14:11] This was a book that was optioned as a movie in its manuscript stage before it was even published. I believe Universal gets the rights to it. They hire two writers who are the two writers who get credit on this film with Shyamalan. Yeah, Shyamalan has his deal.

[00:14:28] What's his company called Blinding Edge with Universal now for distribution at some point Universal throws to him. Hey, here's a thing we have would you maybe want to come on board as a producer? He goes, this is interesting. He reads the script.

[00:14:42] Yeah, he reads their script adaptation of the book. I think before he reads the book goes this is interesting comes on as producer then goes. I'd like to have a pass at this as a writer and then decides he's going to direct it.

[00:14:53] So he's working off of mostly the adaptation that already existed in script form more than sparking to the book, but I don't know if I think the adaptation was straightforward. I think so too. I don't think much had been changed at that point that he read

[00:15:07] that story and changed it. So profoundly is so is just is so M night. Yes, he read a book that is so profoundly pessimistic in its viewpoint and anti-religious in a way and was like I see sort of

[00:15:24] like a spiritualism in here and I see a chance for optimism and future sort of like it's just it's just so M night. What a guy. Yeah, what a wild guy who was the guy? Oh, we were talking about with Danny Boyle.

[00:15:35] He was saying it's weird how many filmmakers start out thinking they maybe want to be priests. Yeah, totally and M night's a classic example of it. Yes, not that he you know, obviously is a Hindu but he went

[00:15:48] to Catholic school that he's so fascinated by faith went with Maria to make life of pie. That was like his huge passion project, which is about like this person, you know, struggling between faiths. This immigrant who goes to a Catholic school just by not being

[00:16:04] Catholic because it was the best school and he's in an environment where he's indoctrinated with this. I wouldn't say it was the best school. It was a good school that was slightly more affordable than some of the fancier schools.

[00:16:17] I think his parents at that point in the 80s or whatever thought that was the best place for him to be even if it was not their religious dogma. Yeah, so he's like inundated with this thing that is not necessarily

[00:16:29] his religion that he was raised with but faith has been a very interesting thing throughout all of his talks about it. I feel like quite openly. Yes, how interested he is by it. So the plot of the cabin at the end of the world is very similar.

[00:16:41] Just I know you guys know this but yeah, just to put it out there basic setup very similar. The setup is the same. There's a gay couple with their adopted daughter. They're on vacation for weirdos show up at the door with medieval

[00:16:51] weapons and they're like we don't know each other but we've all had visions of the end of the world and we've all had visions that one of you has to kill another one of you. It's it's a stop. What do you call the trolley car problem? Sure.

[00:17:03] You have to choose between the three of you which one dies and one of you dying will prevent the apocalypse. But you have to intend to kill. Yes, you know like it has to be a conscious thing, right?

[00:17:14] The plot plays out the same except when about halfway through one of the guys gets his gun and tries to challenge them. Yes, the gun goes off in struggle and kills the daughter. Yes, the small adorable girl little cute girl, right?

[00:17:29] And they're like horrified and also like is it over and the guys are like it's not over because you didn't mean to she wasn't a willing sacrifice. It was an accident. So they all kill each other the yes invaders. Yes intentionally.

[00:17:43] They're all you know, killing themselves off one by one and then the couple decides not to kill each other because they're like whatever God would do this is not a God worth sacrificing ourselves for we will face the end of the world together.

[00:17:55] Correct if it is happening which is the very least we have each other our love is the one true pure thing in this world and and and also beyond that even like what kind of God would not be satisfied by our daughter sure what an asshole. Yeah.

[00:18:07] Yes, and I mean what an asshole what this guy what an asshole sure he made flowers overrated just be funny. I'm just thinking about God in that way. We're like yeah, there's things I like sunshine got never directed unbreakable though.

[00:18:22] Well, but then in a way did he did he was his hand guiding Menage and I think in the book there is a little more ambiguity as to whether the end of the world is really happening or if it's just a really shitty day, right? Right.

[00:18:36] This movie is pretty definitive. This movie is more definitive as it goes on sure that the end of the world does seem to be happening and basically their sacrifice me real. Yeah, God is real. Yes, I guess yeah, and yeah, and that the choice they make

[00:18:53] will stop it. Yes, obviously the movies progressing in the same way of it seems ludicrous to begin with and you know, blah blah blah more and more bad things start happening. But and then of course this movie has totally different ending

[00:19:06] of one of them does decide to kill the other one and does seem to stop you in the world. Also that kid doesn't die. Yes kid doesn't die little when lives live another day with her one daddy with one with one remaining parent Ben Aldridge. Yeah, daddy Andrew.

[00:19:19] Yeah, daddy Andrew daddy Andrew daddy Eric. Yes, if Jonathan Groff is daddy Eric you have the great Dave Batista and then the other three intruders are Abby Quinn Rupert Grint and what's the other act Nikki a suga bird. So good. I'm Luca. Oh Luca.

[00:19:34] Excuse me is so good. She was also in old. Yes. Yes. She's just a great actor. She's been in lots of things. She's a Brit. Yeah, she is a Brit well notice while it was that this is the only other Rupert Grint movie to get wide distribution

[00:19:51] the United States outside of the Harry Potter franchise. I mean, I can believe that because he's made so few films and they're all like British films. He was in the CBGB movie that the yes involuntary manslaughter guy one of our most criminal filmmakers. What's his name? Randall something.

[00:20:07] Yeah, and O'Meara. Randall Miller. Yeah, he really is only the movie about the farting boy that never got an American release never got a miracle. It's huge in the UK. Yeah, that would kind of hit me you can yeah, but he doesn't do a lot.

[00:20:18] He's been doing a M nights servant. Yeah, do you guys watch servant? No and Emma Stefanski who I saw this film with keeps telling me to watch it and she says he plays a dang ass weird freaking that one too. I'm sorry.

[00:20:31] I'm about to be a little mean. I thought he was terrible. I thought he was really good in this. I thought he was terrible. I thought he was really good in this. Yeah, he's good in this. That's crazy. He's terrible.

[00:20:42] I when he died I was like thank God we can move. I was disappointed. Yeah, you were like I wanted more Roop. Yeah, like whatever accent he was trying to do. Let's do an accent mean guy accent. He's kind of doing hill Blandry bag.

[00:20:55] Yeah, I just love that he's because everything I've heard about him is he's rich straight chiller. He's a straight chiller. Yeah, he's working. Yeah, only is doing it because he's like interested right and I have nothing against someone. He's just decided to be Shyamalan's little freak boy.

[00:21:12] Yeah, that's cool. I just was not impressed with what I saw from Weasley in this movie. I liked him. He's not impressed. No Ben impressed. I mean because we're grins in the Ben zone Grin could play Ben. I mean, but he's a he's like a bad scum.

[00:21:28] He's a bad guy. Well, but what you mean in this movie Ron Weasley is a cute Ron Weasley's cute. I guess you never really did the Harry Potter thing. So you don't really know you never seen any of them, right? No, I did finally see that.

[00:21:40] Oh, you did like over pandemic. Sure. Yeah, watch them. That's weird. So you never watched them like well, I guess you're a little older you didn't care about the books. Yeah, I was this Griffin and I are the same age as you know

[00:21:52] Radcliffe and so we like but the Harry Potter is the exact type of thing Ben is designed to hate absolutely in every way. Absolutely. Weasley you must have like Ron a little though. No, he's got a rat friend. I yeah, I listen. I watch those things.

[00:22:08] Yeah, and I did not absorb them at all. Sure. Okay. It's just not for me. Yeah, it's a pretty dope. Position. I was gonna say Ben. Yeah, you're fine. No one's ever gonna attack you from now on.

[00:22:20] It'd be weird if you were like I watched them and I fell in love. Yeah. The Wizarding World now. No, the rest of us are frantically trying to square this circle and you got out clean. Yeah, never was into it in the first place.

[00:22:32] You're like let me in. Let me in. Yeah, watched it later didn't like it. I mean, it's just I had no impact on me. Yeah, and I do believe in magic. Yeah, any young girls have? It's just it's interesting to track their three separate careers.

[00:22:48] Well, yes, it is. It's funny. I think he and Radcliffe are in similar zones. It's just that Radcliffe does more stuff. He does but they're both in the zone of like I'll play nasty little freaks. Yeah in indie stuff.

[00:23:00] And then Emma Watson has been in the biggest things post Potter but also feels like the least successful element of all of them and now maybe a soft retired. She's I feel like she's retired unless yes, the right offer comes along or whatever and it is crazy how

[00:23:18] it's so I was talking about this as I walked out of the screening like yeah, she's in one of the most successful films of recent years. Yes, and everyone everyone on Earth 100 out of 100 people on the street would agree.

[00:23:30] She's the worst thing in it and she's not even that bad and she's talking about little women. Oh, I thought you're talking about Beauty and the Beast. No, like we're talking about financially successful. Beauty and the Beast. Okay, but no one remembers that.

[00:23:40] But that movie made a lot of money. It's little women kind of did to right. It was a huge hit that everyone is rewatching. It's becoming a Christmas classic that movie is getting etched in stone and everyone's like Barnes Pugh Saoirse Ronan.

[00:23:52] Yeah, fuck even the other one Scanlan. Yeah, Bob Odenkirk. Everyone's posting Odenkirk. Do you ever see an Emma's Watson gif? No David. I think similarly though to Marie's point. I don't want to talk about Beauty and the Beast. Yes. I need to say this.

[00:24:06] I need to say this you do it is hard to think of an actor who got less of a bump for being the lead of one of the 10 highest grossing movies of all time. It's not one of the 10 highest grossing movies at the time of its release.

[00:24:20] It might have Beauty and the Beast. It's not might it was seven. It was in the top ten. Did that make a Billy? Yes. One two. Oh, that's ridiculous. It was humongous. I mean, I did see it in theaters opening weekend.

[00:24:30] For someone who is already a big ass celebrity. But that's the thing. To then be the lead of that movie and have the takeaway be she's pretty much done right? The thing that's the thing. Yes. Harry Potter is it? Yeah, you can't you know bigger.

[00:24:44] No, but that she had a huge hit everyone's like let's forget about that. It's not bigger. She can't be bigger than Harry Potter. And you're like she's in This Is the End. She's in Perks of Being a Wallflower, Bling Ring like on paper.

[00:24:53] She has the best post Potter career on paper. You're like big projects. Yeah, she's worked with good directors and high-profile. Good star all that. Yeah, we're talking about she's not in this movie. Obviously. Yeah, I know but like the Beauty and the Beast thing is not

[00:25:06] interesting to me in some way because it's sort of like those Disney movies are just it's just so irrelevant. Yeah, there's so little culture. No one gets out of them. I shouldn't badmouth the mouse, you know, oh sure, but like who got a bump out of any Disney?

[00:25:19] They won't send me the poster. Yeah, who got a bump out of any Disney live-action movie? Great question. No one Lily James got a mild bump. I do think it helped her be financeable. Sure at a lower level she gets to be the lead.

[00:25:35] That was when they were still some novels right and she was more unknown than most of their picks at the time. She was cast. The Aladdin leads especially the guy notoriously wouldn't get hired for anything. I know. What movie did they bump me?

[00:25:46] And then I mean you have like the racial aspects of that. Right, but I think it's bigger than that. It's like no we liked that. Well, we didn't like it but you also we didn't even register you. But what what the Jasmine lady? What's her name? Naomi Scott.

[00:26:01] Naomi Scott. I would argue she had more heat going into Aladdin than she does post-Aladdin. Yes, she had more heat off Power Rangers than off Batman. She was the one who was kind of like, oh, Naomi Scott's like doing shit. That's why I think Little Women is interesting.

[00:26:11] But yes, don't even think she's bad in that movie. She's not like amazing but she's fine. But also Meg is like everyone's least favorite sister. It was supposed to be Emma Stone. I know. And you cannot find a person who thinks, oh, the Emma Watson version's better.

[00:26:27] Emma Stone's not a Meg though. No, Emma Stone's a better. Emma Stone's a Jo. Yeah. Yes, but she's too old to be a Jo. But forget Stone. Okay. Cast the stone aside. She was in a beloved movie. Yeah. People are posting screenshots from it all the time.

[00:26:41] The youth found it. The Zoomers love it. People basically forget she was in it. Yeah, they do. I'm struggling to remember that she was in it right now as I talk about it. Second build. I think she should focus on her non-acting work. Yeah.

[00:26:55] She seems to care deeply about literacy, feminism, and sustainability. Yeah. Use your platform, girl. She hasn't made a movie since Little Women. She seems to be soft retired. I also think it's interesting that at the time of Potter,

[00:27:09] it felt like everyone was like, well, she's the one who's going to go on to have the longest career. Absolutely. Azkaban was the first time anyone thought any of the kids were good in that movie and it was her. Right.

[00:27:18] And you'd hear the stories of like, she's a little pro. Yeah, she's the biggest find of those kids. Yeah. And then you even get to this point where you're like, Harry Melling's good. He's not just good. That guy's amazing. He's fucking do great shit. He's fucking great.

[00:27:32] Is that Dursley? Yeah. Anytime he pops up in a movie, people are like, you know who, you know, walked away with it. Melling. Yeah. He's great. Another theft. Call the cops. Yeah. He walked away with Buster Scruggs. He didn't have arms or legs. That's true.

[00:27:43] Dottie was someone I did like. The little guy? Dobby. Dobby. I'm Dottie. You like Dobby? I mean, Dobby was the one. Yeah. He's got your energy. Hits himself in the head with pots and pans. He's kind of always making mischief. Yeah.

[00:28:02] He's sort of like, you know, what if Yoda but sort of, you know, funny, I guess. Yeah. Does he, has he been in anything else? Dobby? Yeah. Yeah. He's on an NBC show right now. Is he the good doctor? He is. He's the good doctor. Ooh.

[00:28:19] He's like the good doctor's rival. So, Enid Shaman has made this film. Yep. I saw it at an Alamo screening when you were in LA. Hummel Run. Thank you. And you guys saw it at the Regal Essex? Yesterday. We did.

[00:28:35] We saw just the very nice hour we were reporting it. Danny Boyce yesterday. We, now, let's just say this, okay? Because we ran into a listener at the theater. Okay. And Marie, you said that they on the Discord had proposed

[00:28:48] the theory that perhaps there is a curse upon the three of us. Yes. Because of course, Ben, Marie and I last main feed new film from a previous director, Avatar of the Way of Water. We went to see it at the Regal Union Square. Day of first screening.

[00:29:02] First screening. Publicly, the first screening we could possibly go to, the earliest one on the first day, and the movie broke down. We had to go to a different screening. And then a month later, they announced that that theater is closing. Right.

[00:29:15] Yesterday, we went to the Regal Essex, a different theater of the same beleaguered chain. Yep. That they're not closing. Nope. It's for now. Yes, for now, not on the list. The lease is probably far from expiring. I think their whole reason they picked Union Square is

[00:29:29] because the lease was ending. And expensive. Yeah, but I'm sure the Regal Essex one is expensive too. But we went to the 5 p.m. Thursday showing once again, the earliest showing we could find at any theater yesterday. Yep. Twice, David, the movie just froze. Yeah.

[00:29:46] It looked like someone hit a pause button. Yeah. It wasn't like glitching or stuttering. You think someone did? It just straight up. And both times they were in like high stress moments. There's not a lot of low stress moments too. Like fucking Batista walking towards the camera with

[00:29:59] the axe and then it just stopped. And one time it was Ben Aldridge with the gun in the axe. This is an interesting choice by Shumell. I thought truly because Marie was like, he's not playing with the form as much as he has been recently.

[00:30:11] And then the movie stops and I was like, okay, where we going? And the house lights came on. You were like, interesting. Interesting. Then a guy came in and he was like, theater's broken. And you were like, this is good. Oh, yeah.

[00:30:23] No, it was that scary thing where it like happened. It happened for like 30 or 45 seconds to start up again. We went, oh, I guess we're in the clear and then 15 minutes later it happened again. And then everyone in the audience went, no. Is it gonna keep happening?

[00:30:34] And then we were safe. But. So it only happened twice. No one even went to complain. No, it was, the pauses were I think less than 30 seconds. Still quite annoying. A weird thing happened to me at the Alamo.

[00:30:47] Not to call the Alamo out, but they usually, you know, run a tight ship over there. Did they not bring you your food? No, they brought me my food. Thank God. That's the worst case scenario. That is a bad scenario. Yeah.

[00:30:57] No, the movie ended and then they were like, no one can leave. We forgot to give you your checks. Usually they drop the checks around 40 minutes before and then they like clearly began the check process. Oh, so I was in that theater for another half an hour.

[00:31:13] Sitting with Emma stewing. I thought you were making a joke about critic payola. I thought you were saying the universal checks payment. No, I my food check. They didn't buy you food. You had to pay for your own food.

[00:31:27] Yeah, it was just look the reason I started the Alamo was I just you know, they do those screenings sometimes where they just oh this was a critic. This was an early jump. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I just it's just too easy.

[00:31:38] I just took two seats because I was like that means I don't have to go to the press screening at Lincoln Square. Sure. That's all. Thanks. But it's closer to my house. Yeah, and I have dinner with it. Gotcha. That's wild. Punch a point.

[00:31:49] They lock the door from the outside and said no one can leave until you paid the check. They was one of those things where I was like what happens if I leave and then I was just like I bet they just like I don't know.

[00:31:58] I don't want to take the day, but he's to walk in said a grave error has been made today. One person has to pay everyone's bill. Every 30 minutes in Alamo Draft House employee will commit suicide until the check is paid anyway.

[00:32:15] So we both had little funny looks but my my feed my viewing experience was not interrupted. Sure. I was with knock at the cab. Look, I bring this up to say not that I think the blank check curse is real.

[00:32:25] I think Marie Ben and I can go see movies and not destroy the theater going experience. But for all the hand-wringing about how to bring the theater going experience back to prominence for people's minds. Maybe these theaters should make sure their movies work. It is fairly damning.

[00:32:40] Look, I don't want to say anything bad about regal as a chain, but they are pretty bad. Look, I saw fucking puss in boots. The last wish I made a last wish the other night. It's fucking week five of that movies release or whatever. Yeah, I was okay.

[00:32:56] The funniest thing though was the griff was kind of Matt on it and then in the in the doughboys chat you're like, you know, I just haven't been liking movies that much lately and I was like I was asleep but I would have said like

[00:33:06] Griff you like to avatar you like for you this movies. You like it's okay if puss in boots. I like there are a couple movies. I love I've been I've just been put a little you know, I've been a little muted on things.

[00:33:17] I saw avatar three fucking times because it made me feel something. Yeah, just like puss in boots. No, it's not delivering is I will say this it started here was my arc on the last wish and then we're going to talk about a knock at the yeah.

[00:33:30] Okay, he was my arc on the last wish. I think I've made it clear. I do not have much fondness for the track franchise franchise. I loved when it came out people think I have no nostalgia for it.

[00:33:41] I do I just when I've tried to give those movies a modern spin. They don't do much for me, right? Yeah, because they're bad. David I will let you take the slings and arrows on that one easy easy. Al Pacino would beg to differ.

[00:33:55] Yes, he would everyone keeps on saying puss in boots. Flash last wish surprise banger, right? Yes. Yeah, so I go into being like everyone's telling me this is a surprise banger right first five or ten minutes. I'm like, okay, this is cute. Whatever.

[00:34:09] I just don't I don't want to see this right and somewhere around the 10-minute mark. It really starts clicking for me, right? There's a Harris went, you know, and full news. There's his performances in crowd. I mean, he's so good.

[00:34:19] Yeah, he really there's the scene where the doctor starts recounting the different lives and you're like this is funny. It's kind of visually inventive and then it gets into a good run and the introduction some of the supporting characters

[00:34:28] as fun and I was like, okay, I see what everyone's talking about. This is good. And then like two-thirds of the way through I was like I maxed out on this thing and I felt like a grumpy old man

[00:34:37] where I was just like this movies too loud too much is going on. Your arms are increasingly full. Yeah, I was just like this thing has the modern animation thing where it's like so relentless and whiz band. It's also isn't it?

[00:34:48] Like it's kind of like an hour 45 or whatever. It's like it's like a 45 and it feels like the last 45 minutes are like a series of set pieces on top of each other that start to feel abstract because it's just like nothing but

[00:35:00] guitar solos and then by the end of I was like, it's good. I just it wore me out. Yeah, there was a point in the middle where I was really jamming. You liked Megan. I like Megan. She's good. Megan's good. Yeah, I didn't love it. I like Megan.

[00:35:13] I'd like to what was the other thing? I saw wasn't crazy about a man called Otto. I'm sorry. I know I said we had to talk about man. I've been waiting for a more time. Do it. This was fascinating and I have not heard a single person

[00:35:27] mention this man called Otto. The mildest of spoilers. Your film. Uh-huh movie about the grumpiest man in America, right? Pretty early on you find out. Oh one of the reasons he's grumpy. His wife is dead. Right? I don't think this is a major spoiler.

[00:35:40] There are more specifics to their whatever that are on hold right Otto spoiler, but pretty early on you sense the absence of the wife, right? And he goes to damn, but he's Dave Bautista keeps trying to kill him. Yes, that's bugging him.

[00:35:52] Otto you're gonna have to make a difficult decision. Megan Megan is there. He doesn't want to hear it from her. Otto would be able to solve and knock at the cabin pretty quickly. That's all I'm gonna say. Be like I volunteer as tribute. Absolutely.

[00:36:04] He's ready to go early in the movie. Otto goes to the gravestone of his wife with a thermos of coffee and talks to her on the gravestone. It says whatever 1960 blank to 2018, right? So I'm looking at this and I'm like, okay, so his wife

[00:36:19] he's died like five years ago. He's like five years on from the death of the wife, right? Doing the math on the timeline and then later in the movie. He talks about the fact that his wife died less than a year ago.

[00:36:32] It has been less than a year than from her death and I'm like film set pre pandemic. That was the thing. I was like, why would they make it that she died in 2019? Why would he make it? They don't want to announce the pandemic. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:36:44] It was just the first time I've seen a movie do that. Well, it's interesting to see the approach. It's like he's been alone without his wife and he's been miserable and you're like if he then has to live through

[00:36:54] the pandemic his entire mental state is so much different. They don't want to think about that. Do we see the wife? Is it Rita? No. How was how was Rita's son? Oh, they get it. The wife. Good joke. Yeah, I have comedy point.

[00:37:06] It's what the woman I really give her name is really good actor. She's on Fargo and Legion. She's a Holly vet. Okay, but how's Rita song? It's okay. Does it play over the credits? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Good for her. Yeah.

[00:37:23] I'm trying to I don't know who played his wife. I don't know what her name is. I don't know. That's my out there. I just hadn't seen that yet. And I think we're still in the era of figuring out how

[00:37:29] different movies deal with does this take place in a timeline where the pandemic existed or not. Wait, it's Rachel Keller. Yes. Thank you. Oh, she's young. But you only see the wife in like long flashbacks, right? Okay. Okay. Correct. Yeah, I like Rachel Keller.

[00:37:42] I think she's really good. Yeah, I'm yeah, I'm fond of her. You know, it's a similar thing with like succession being like pandemic never happened. Yeah. Well, some shows are like, let's not do it. And a movie like this essentially being like this needs to

[00:37:53] be a period piece because it has to be set before the pandemic. What were you gonna say Ben? I was one of a handful of people that went to see House Party. Oh, how was it Ben? Bad. Three-round house party. Nobody came.

[00:38:03] Yeah, no one showed up to this house party. It was just weird. It was like LeBron was the one of the producers and it's like he's it's his house. The movie is all about it being his house, but it's just

[00:38:16] he's way too close to the material and the thing I was saying to the guys. It's like basically all of the jokes are like LeBron is one of the greatest people to ever live. The premise of the original house party. Like that's the premise of the comedy.

[00:38:29] Premise of the original house party. Two friends are like, I wish we were more cool. Right? Throw a house party. Yes. In a house. Right. Uncle is like you better not throw a house party come chaos ensues. Right? Right.

[00:38:40] This movie is guys get hired to house it or clean a house. Clean a house. They realize LeBron's house. They realize it's LeBron's house. They go we should bird in the hand have a party at this incredible mansion. LeBron has a security system involved where he talks them

[00:38:56] through pre-recorded hologram messages. Yes. Where he talks about how great he is and it's like you better not be throwing a party at my house. Oh my God. There's like a motive. It's like why is this movie about LeBron?

[00:39:06] But isn't there also not to spoil house party a thing where Kid Cudi reveals that like the Illuminati exists? Yes, of course and he is so he's going for it. Kid Cudi is going for it and it's bad. Ben doesn't turd alert. This guy's smelling turds.

[00:39:21] It's a 2023 bar. Box office rebounds. No says Hosley. I'm glad we're doing a lightning round catch up on the December Jan movies, but but a knock at the camp. A knock at the camp. David you go to see it a couple days before us.

[00:39:35] We saw it last night. You liked it a lot. Yeah, tell us why you liked it David. No, I have more complicated reactions. I was very distressed by it. I found it incredibly upsetting. Yes. Yes. I agree with that.

[00:39:45] Griffin and I sat in silence during the entire credit sequence and didn't know what to say. I found it. Look, I find it effective on that level. It certainly did. I think it's quite well made and yeah, I kind of walked

[00:39:58] out of there with Emma being like, well, I thought that was quite effective. Don't like it as much as old which I think is just so wonderful. Yeah, and I like the sort of swirl of goofiness with him, right?

[00:40:10] Like I like this sort of super sincere plus like, yeah, kind of wacky fantasy and this was more straightforward. Yeah, but I do think it's just like a really interesting weird Shyamalan moral parable. It's and I just respect the hell out of it and who's making

[00:40:27] movies like this? No one. And I just like when you were looking at this body of work, it's just like he just keeps like swerving and doing interesting stuff and like challenging himself. Yeah, not doing the same kind of thing over and over again,

[00:40:41] like not just doing genre exercises. Like if this was just a genre exercise, it would probably be pretty good. Mm-hmm. You know, like a kind of home invasion Twilight Zone II kind of thriller. I know the book is, you know, he's going off the book. Sure.

[00:40:55] But I much prefer him doing this like from the mind of a night Shyamalan shit. Yeah, I like this movie more zooming out and looking at the filmography as a whole. Yeah, rather than having to like talk about it as a new

[00:41:09] release which in and of itself, I find a lot less interesting than I do within the larger narrative of his career. When we look back on his career at the very end of it 87 years from now, it'll be like remember when he did that? That was odd.

[00:41:22] Here's my biggest problem with this movie and I'm saying this to Marie and I don't know if this is just where my head's at right now. I for as much as I did find this movie effective in creating

[00:41:37] a sense of unease in me from beginning to end, right? I will say I did not really feel any narrative tension from this movie. This is what Marie said just because I from the beginning was like, I think this is real. Yeah.

[00:41:52] It felt like he was tipping the hand too much too early in ways that took some of the ambiguity out of it. And so I sit there going when does shit start getting really bad? I know there's an inevitable outcome.

[00:42:07] We're sort of trudging towards where does this final decision land? The movie I was comparing it to with Marie, which is one I've tried to rewatch a number of times and I still struggle with on the same level is like hateful 8 is a movie for

[00:42:18] me or the hour and a half in the middle where it's like which one of these people is a bad person has no tension for me, right? And I'm just like I know there's going to be the point where everyone takes their guns out and start shooting

[00:42:27] at each other. Right. And the fact that it takes so long to get there. I think for hateful 8 is not a short film. No, it's not but I think these are both filmmakers who are usually really good at finding some central area

[00:42:40] of tension and like stretching that wire out as far as they can until it frays and frays and frays and frays and holding it really taut until the right moment. Right. How would that work here? I don't know.

[00:42:55] I mean, here was my first thought kind of feels like a strategic error to me in a visual medium as opposed to a book where the reader is creating images in their head and thus are questioning what they're seeing because it's their own interpretation.

[00:43:09] I kind of think the TV is a misstep in this movie. So that that's a change from the book? No, no, but I just think it plays differently if you an audience member are watching news footage that a director created and the thumb is being put on

[00:43:22] the scale there. I mean the suggestion brought up by the skeptic Daddy Andrew that maybe the broadcast was being like fed in from these like... Yeah, either it's totally fake or they knew... These are things that have been going on. They're hitting a fever pit right now.

[00:43:41] That to me was way too big a leap. I agree. I start to feel it's weird how quickly the more Daddy Eric and Daddy Andrew start to rationalize why it couldn't be real. It feels like their leaps are becoming bigger than the leaps of Batista and co.

[00:43:57] And it also it's the fact that like those news broadcasts are directed by M Night Shyamalan. So they all have weird M Night Shyamalan tone. I hear you on that. So I look at them and I'm like, well, it feels like the world's ending. Okay. Go on.

[00:44:08] Not to see I don't go all Griffey Newman on you. Please. But if you turned on the TV and there was news of a pandemic, you wouldn't be surprised. There was news of a tsunami. You wouldn't be surprised.

[00:44:18] There was news of planes flying falling out of the sky. You probably start to get weirded out, but you can imagine it some kind of cyber attack. Two tsunamis within... No, it's the same. It's the same tsunami. No, it's the two different earthquakes.

[00:44:32] Yeah, but they're in the same place. Well, the Aleutian Islands and then off the coast of... But it's supposed to be the whole plate. It's the thing. There's a New York article about it. We've all read it. The big one. They're referencing a real thing.

[00:44:47] It's a real worried about there would that maybe 500 years ago, there was a gigantic tsunami that wiped out the Pacific Northwest and maybe it'll happen again someday, you know, whatever blah blah blah. It's in the realm of possibility.

[00:45:01] Feels in the realm of possibility for the reality we live in. I feel like that's what M Night Shyamalan is trying to tap into. Of this kind of thing of like, are we kidding ourselves every day when we watch stuff like that and we're like,

[00:45:15] well, that's just the reality we live in. Stuff like that happens. Look, I did have the thought. I don't know anyone else who's making movies about contemporary life that way. No, as I was walk away from this movie, I was thinking

[00:45:27] what could I see on the news that would genuinely shock me now in that way? It does feel like we're at a point of just being like... I don't know, a good sitcom? Well... Folks! David, Night Court's back. I don't know, Congress? Getting stuff done?

[00:45:43] This is what I'm saying though. Folks! In terms of like apocalyptic things happening, it's hard to imagine a thing I would be fully surprised by. No, but there are things. A volcano just erupted in New York. Okay, that's weird. Godzilla? Kaiju? Yeah, a monster appeared. Sure, sure, sure.

[00:46:01] The last couple of years have contained a lot of things that felt like I could never imagine this feeling normal to me. And as you're saying, David, it is weird to turn on the TV or open your phone and seeing these headlines

[00:46:11] that start to become a little blasé that is unnerving. I get what he's doing there. I like it. He's turning the dial up. Yeah, I just think it is... Once again, it speaks to M. Night's house style. Anytime they do one of these news broadcasts, yes, sure.

[00:46:26] These things could be on the news any day and we'd maybe accept them. We wouldn't think it was a sign of the apocalypse or people would just be making glib apocalypse jokes on Twitter, right? Immediately. But all of the news footage they show feels like...

[00:46:38] I hear you on the news footage. It's a little... It's his thing. And they don't even cut to steep. Who's steep? In the studio and he starts drawing, you know... Oh, like Harnacki. You see these planes? And they could have... The guys in Universal...

[00:46:53] They could have brought him in. It's also the most... The juice of this movie is the idea of Dave Bautista who we... Let's talk about. Great performer. He's incredible. Right. But the idea of like this guy who is such a walking contradiction

[00:47:07] in and of himself, you cannot really get your hands around. Immediately frightening but then very gentle in his presentation. And those things are coexisting at all times. The idea of this guy looking you in the eyes and going, you have to trust me. Right.

[00:47:22] I can't prove this to you, but this is real. Is so much more interesting, the more ambiguous it is. And him saying that to you is always going to be more effective than any imagery you can show. But you have to have the television. Well, right.

[00:47:38] Because how do you expand the world outside of the cabin? I don't know. It is just that thing. I start... I very early on in this movie go, why are Eric and Andrew being so... No, I didn't do that though. Yeah. Very early on this movie.

[00:47:53] I was like, this is definitely... This is just me. No, I know. But I'm saying we had the same initial reaction where I was like, this is true. Yeah. This isn't fake. Yes. But then I had the same reaction, which is like my reaction

[00:48:03] would be to fight that. Which is just like the human reaction. No, I'd give him. I'd fight my cousin. But not if you had a kid. Well, I don't. Thanks for rubbing it in. But I'm saying like, that's the tension of the movie. Sure.

[00:48:16] It's you're like, I can't kill my child's father. Yes. I can't do that. Yes. I can't do that. I can't do that. Plain lands. I have to do that? Like, it's such a crazy thing. It's so upsetting and interesting.

[00:48:31] Like, you know, whereas if it's just the two of them, you know, if it's a bunch of friends, you know, then like then it's like, well, who do I like best? But the fact that there's a kid makes it so like wrenching

[00:48:42] which is why I don't get that the kid dies in the book because then I'm just like, then I would just be like, kill me now. I don't know. I like the idea of the ending more of just being like, well,

[00:48:51] we have experienced the most apocalyptic thing to our personal lives, which is our daughter. I just want to die. That's their point though. They're like, no, but then it'll be just like, just kill me. Fine. Who cares? They're going into the apocalypse.

[00:49:02] Yeah, but they're being told if we kill one of each other, you'll fucking save the world. I would have been like, fine. Sure. At this point, sure. No, but I think their whole point is like, we refuse to give you a fucking inch. Right.

[00:49:11] If you're telling us the worst thing that could happen is that we also die, who gives a shit? Yeah, but it's the rest of the world's gonna die. Is the world worth saving? Well, that's the difference between Daddy Eric and Daddy Andrew. Yeah.

[00:49:22] As we learn in the flashbacks, Daddy Andrew has, you know, it's not easy being a gay person. Yes, Daddy Andrew has been like homophobically attacked in his life. His parents didn't support him. Right, right, right. He is a much more—

[00:49:38] This is a series of concerns that were thoroughly covered in the film I ended up watching as part of a double feature after Knock at the Cap Man. Which was? I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry. Okay.

[00:49:48] I put it on and then was like, why am I fucking watching these two movies back to back? It was pretty jarring. I'm gonna go look at the wall like the Blair Witch Project. I'm in a Sandler phase. I'm in a Sandler phase.

[00:49:59] That's the one I put off revisiting. How is that one? The Payne and Taylor? Not great. Because I remember it just tries to have its cake and eat it too at the end and you're kind of like, I don't buy it.

[00:50:09] There—look, there are scenes that I was genuinely a little surprised by where I was like, huh, that's kind of well done. Sure. And then a lot of it is exactly what you think that movie would be in 2007. I'm not interested in that one. Yeah, no, it's not.

[00:50:22] Didn't Payne and Taylor write it? They wrote it and then it was Sandlerized. Right, right, right. But the— Their title—their script is called Flamers. Oh my— Wait, was it really? Yeah, because they're firemen. Oh, the Sandler script? No, the Payne and Taylor script is called Flamers.

[00:50:37] Because it's like based on a true story in some way, right? No. Or whatever. No. Based on a news report. It's based on true friendship. No, it's not. I think it's based on thought experiments. Anyway. It's based on things that Republican congressmen say to

[00:50:48] spread fear into Fox News watchers. What if you had to marry a friend, though? Right. This fucking Kevin James guy. For health insurance. Yes. And then I'm paying for it? I can't believe I was about to speak about homophobia and

[00:51:02] you went on an I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry Detour. A movie about homophobia? All these friends mentoring against it. Ben, you can just sort of like highlight the section and we can evaluate it later, you know? Kevin James gives a very touching monologue where he

[00:51:16] says when Chuck bailed you out after you lost all your money at Atlantic City that check he wrote you that check wasn't too gay for you. Was it? Isn't there also Rob Schneider and yellow? Occasionally we get new listeners when we do new movies. Occasionally.

[00:51:33] Sorry, we don't do this all the time. We do it all the time. You're right. I tried. Yeah, no, but of course Ben Aldridge's character Andrew has a more negative view of like society and like literally just a pain of being a bit of a great.

[00:51:50] Like but yeah. But the other you would never own a gun the film does I would never own a gun. Absolutely. The film I think does make that his viewpoint feel valid even though it chooses the other viewpoint. Here's the thing.

[00:52:05] I like is yeah, they make it clear. He's a he's a human rights lawyer. Yeah, and he's like I do a noble thing. My life is committed committed Jesus. Where did that come from committed to trying to fight against atrocities in the world, right?

[00:52:21] That is why I have a lower opinion of the world, right? I am not some cynical jack off. You see, I'm not just some kind of whatever right cabin dwelling, you know, it's like happy. I'm in the shit trying to get better every day, which means

[00:52:35] I'm so much more exposed to how awful things are than you. It is hard for me to maintain any optimism, right? And then Jonathan Groff's character has come from a religious background that he clearly is fighting two different degrees. So it's a little aside.

[00:52:50] Yes, an interesting fact is both the actors Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge are gay men who were raised. Yes in very strict religious. Groff was men in a night man. I yeah, and Aldridge some form of like UK evangelical Christian.

[00:53:11] Yeah, and I think I mean I am the other he's very clear like I'm not religious anyway, and I think his parents aren't either whereas I think Groff's family I would assume is still religious. Yeah, his mom is not men in night.

[00:53:26] His father's men in night and his mom is a Methodist raised in the Methodist right? But I am the daughter of a gay man who goes to church every Sunday and it is a thing that I constantly push back on not

[00:53:44] only who goes to church every Sunday but who was annoyed at you for saying that you weren't that Catholic on the Ben Adedep episode. Yes, and I was like, well, I mean so annoyed at you that he complained to me. Yeah, yeah.

[00:53:55] He's supposed to keep you in line on your public expressions. Sorry, sorry we can cut that out again. No, no, no you can leave it at it. But it is I think a question that a lot of you know, queer

[00:54:11] people struggle with who want certainly if they were especially if they were raised in a religion that does not accept their identity. Yeah, what is your relationship to faith? The new it's now been on for what fucking eight years but

[00:54:26] the Netflix Queer Eye there's an episode in the first season that I think about a lot where Bobby was raised like very religious and knew he was gay very young and was constantly hearing basically his internal identity that he was too afraid

[00:54:40] to verbalize to anyone be demonized and it's like once I was old enough that I was out from under my parents roof. I was never stepping foot into a church ever fucking again, and then they work with someone in one of the episodes who's

[00:54:53] like part of a church group. Yeah, and he just has this firm line of like I'm not walking into the building. I'm not doing this and he's sort of dealing with this woman who's like that is not the way we were on our church.

[00:55:04] That is not what we believe we would accept you all of this and he's just like you have to understand like my oppositional resistance to this entire institution. I think it's a tough thing but then yes, you also you have

[00:55:17] people like your father where it's those things are sort of it's it's able to coexist. But I think it's the the idea of having the sacrifice at the end. Yeah, Groff choosing to be the sacrificial lamb. Well, it's it's a very Christlike scenario. Yes.

[00:55:38] I mean and I think it is quietly radical to have a queer person take on this role in the film. I agree. I there's an interesting aspect to this. Bautista says maybe their love is quote-unquote more pure. Mm-hmm. Uh-huh.

[00:55:57] And there is that kind of like I feel it and I can't I want to tell him a chum law what he thinks right but I get the vibe from him where he's just like I mean they worked harder to be in a relationship than I ever did.

[00:56:09] Right? Yeah, it's harder to be gay, you know, there's a little patronizing well-meaning right they kind of like maybe there's just something more maybe they take less for granted blah blah blah. Right. I mean they're and then they're how hard it would be for them

[00:56:22] to have a child we get these little flashbacks and there's the one where they they go overseas to China to adopt their soon-to-be daughter. And it's so quietly devastating when they address them because Tiny moment where they go like mr. Mrs. Brooks and he goes I'm mr.

[00:56:35] Brooks my wife couldn't be here today. This is her brother and it's like oh this little tiny lie. They have to make in order for both of them to be able to meet the child at the same time is yeah, it's upsetting and I guess

[00:56:49] that's the central counter tension of this movie right that their immediate reaction to this is this is a hate crime that we are being persecuted because we are gay they go from being are these people insane to is this some sort of con to this

[00:57:06] is a targeted attack and sort of their internal narrative is built of the Ripper Grant character. He pieces together as a man who attacked him right and a clear act of you know, this was an issue this I had an issue with this.

[00:57:20] Yeah, I talked about it after we left the movie where let's say, you know, we're looking for tension as is this is the apocalypse really happening sure and let's say we're not getting it from the news report aspect.

[00:57:34] We believe that that's real so then they try and introduce this. Well, maybe this was formulated on a message board because Rupert Grint like 10 years ago. Gay bashed daddy and hit Ben Ardridge over the head with a beer bottle right?

[00:57:54] Yeah, and in what was clearly a homophobia motivated right and attack right and he served time in jail for that notice that we were served a pre-roll of Boston tourism ads before the movie. Oh, yeah. Grint served time in prison when he shows up at the house.

[00:58:15] He's given a fake name to them even his cohorts. Yeah, so Aldridge very quickly thinks he radicalized these people online to get revenge on me dreams. He's been messing with it right Batista's a bartender right so I connect these people very quickly and also the Sabrina Nikki.

[00:58:38] The nurse character is a nurse and in the flashback of the bar situation that he ends up having to get stitches. Yes, so I'm like is this all like a manifestation of his fears of being like like sure gay bashed again.

[00:58:52] Like I was like what is you know, is that what this movie is about and it's trauma. Yeah, well, it's it is about but it's about yeah, isn't really about but I think it's more like it's like you can see things

[00:59:03] everywhere if you want to look for them right and that's sort of what Andrew saying is like look the world might be bad, but like you know, the world's just bad that doesn't mean it's about to end it well and that's the fucking each other

[00:59:16] in or not now is anyone can find any pattern they want anything and use it as proof that this is happening or will have this Is an interesting and devastating contemporary parable by M night Shyamalan?

[00:59:26] Yes, and so I said out so much of the film is about choices. Yes, you have a choice right and you can choose to see the world as worth saving right or not or not but the thing about

[00:59:45] the choice in the book that kind of drives me crazy and in in the movie too is like the idea of just like well, we'll just face the apocalypse and we'll at least be together and I'm like together.

[00:59:55] What do you mean planes gonna land on you in five minutes? So come on, you're gonna be together the world's gonna end but that's their point is you basically already ended the earth world for us right?

[01:00:06] What more is there to live for at least we can die on our own terms, but then everyone else is gonna die. Okay, who gives a shit people suck? Yeah, how can you love your neighbor if neighbor hates you? I understand.

[01:00:17] Jesus said love my neighbor after this has happened to them. I don't know you feel there's billions of people on the planet. I would hope you'd feel some empathy of learning that hundreds of thousands of people just billions of people are going to die including children, right?

[01:00:33] You know, right? Yeah, like I feel like you would feel that yeah, just like you feel the violence of watching someone be murdered in front of you, right? Well, I really found violence and just the messaging of the

[01:00:46] violence and it's just like I know this movie is has this whole exercise and trying to really say like a lot and they have these big ideas but like the violence to me like why aren't they so traumatized beyond belief after the first

[01:01:01] incident of death in front of 100% 100% violence and pain are some of the worst things in life. Yeah, let's let's clearly come out anti real-world violence on blank check with Griffin and David. Sure, not fans against it. Yeah bad avoided at all costs and pain sucks to live through

[01:01:21] after they present this choice to like will you kill one of you sure and the family's like what no, of course not they like put a sock over Rupert Grint's head and like hit him in the head right barely see any violence in this.

[01:01:32] Yeah, it's almost all not but it's so gritty and realistic sure. There's something just so yeah, but now blanks. Yeah, and they made their own weapons. Yeah, they were told to make their weapons in this specific way.

[01:01:46] If you're trying to like present a crazy idea to like these people maybe not with the weapons like right in hand, right? Maybe keep those off to the side keep them in a bag. But this is the whole I mean and that fight face Bautista

[01:02:02] makes right at the beginning of the movie when he meets when she's like I have two daddies and he goes like And you can tell this is going to look bad for us. Yeah, that in beyond that that they are going to have the

[01:02:14] reasonable reaction of like you are specifically targeting us for sure. This isn't some fucking Twilight Zone episode. You guys are just a bunch of homophobic violent people and Bautista has to be like I swear to God swear to God didn't know you were nothing.

[01:02:27] He's doing the Seinfeld thing. Not that there's anything wrong with that. This is this is a totally unrelated. I had visions of planes falling from the sky. Yeah, I didn't know you were gay. It's my own thing. He says it in this tone of voice. He does.

[01:02:38] Yeah, right. Yeah, Emma leaned over to me and said he just realized he's going to have to do a hate crime like essentially it's sort of like that extra realization that for whatever reason within the bounds of this strange story sure.

[01:02:49] They didn't know who these people were going to be. How would you convince people of this to I wouldn't be able to Ben I'd pass him a badass bone big old spleef and we'd smoke and then I'd be like, but they're not of sane mind.

[01:03:06] They have to be that's why him getting the concussion. He had to recover from it. They have to be like they have to clearly choose you have to there has to be like intention. Yeah. Well now I'm stumped.

[01:03:19] Can I can I roll back to just talk about the central difference between what the book ends up being with the movie ends up being right with the full acknowledgement. The four of us have only read the Wikipedia and 100% 100% Yeah, but some people like the book a lot.

[01:03:31] Although other people have told me they really didn't like the book. Yeah. Yeah, this is the thing I find most interesting about the Movie though and it gets to why I'm in such a like absolute dislike.

[01:03:41] I would tell them to go fuck off and just face whatever comes with my partner right is that I know you're talking about trying to appeal to my sense of empathy of would you actually want all those people to die just to stubbornly prove a point

[01:03:54] or to be vindictive against these people caused you this much pain right or because you feel so numb inside that like why does it fucking matter anymore? There's the other element of this we're not discussing which is if they are correct and the apocalypse is about to happen.

[01:04:11] If you just walk off into the sunset with your partner and go people be damned that is the deliberate act of a vengeful God. It is not like oh, there's an existential there. There's an environmental disaster that somehow you have

[01:04:25] the ability to stop that might be random right? This is the thing about religion. Exactly. There's something inexplicable but I think in reading stuff about the book. That's what people say is interesting about the ending is they're basically like if you're telling me that this is

[01:04:38] what we need to do in order to appease God to stop this from happening and God has already taken our daughter and that's not good enough for him right then fuck God this whole thing. It sucks. It is the thing I find most interesting about this movie is

[01:04:52] the way so many M night Shyamalan movies are hinged on not even the twist ending as much as what is his thematic concern? What is the thing he's dealing with something like signs where you're like crop circles. Could it be aliens?

[01:05:05] Is he actually making an alien movie is unbreakable actually going to be a movie about what if superheroes are real right? He'll make these movies where it takes a concept that we're used to in genre fiction pulpier concept and bring them down

[01:05:18] to a more terrestrial level character based and sort of how would real people quote-unquote deal with this right and this is his one movie for how much his body of work deals with faith. This is one movie where that central question is basically

[01:05:34] what if God was real and what if the proof you had of it was terrifying, you know, yeah, if you take this movie at face value, it's like and God is deciding that all planes fall from the sky at the same time that tsunamis are happening at

[01:05:47] the same time that a pandemic starts evolving at extraordinary speed. So it's like you're it's like the story of when one of the guys had to kill his whole family. He's God which to me is like an awful story. The binding of Isaac is what you're talking about.

[01:06:02] Yeah, Isaac. Yeah. Okay. God said to Abraham kill me. I've never been to church. I don't know anything about the Bible or organized. You know Bob Dylan. I do not Abraham bring me a song. Shit. Is that what that's right? That's from the Old Testament.

[01:06:17] My friend on high. How I said Bob said got Bob Bob. Don't know God says to Abraham like all right, you believe in me, right? And Abraham's like, yeah, you're God and God's like, I'm not really feeling it.

[01:06:31] You know, your only son a Isaac who your wife had when she was like a hundred years old. Thanks to me. He's like, yeah, he's like top of the mountain dead by morning please and Abraham does it.

[01:06:41] Yes, and when he's about to kill Isaac God's like, all right, all right. It was a test. It was just kidding. Good job. Good job. You passed this this movie. Live the rest of your life normally. This movie coming from an outsider who then went to Catholic

[01:06:54] school and was indoctrinated with all the stories of the Bible for years and years and years of his life studying them closely right and using them to build up his own sense of narratives. Yeah, right and how stories are told in all of that here this

[01:07:07] movie you present the log line of this film to anyone for strangers show up in a cabin hold your parents and their young child hostage and say the world's going to end unless you make a terrible choice. I just whatever it's like you said the control.

[01:07:19] He popped right? You're like what a great classic horror movie thriller set up cabin in the woods, but if you actually take it that face value like no, it's like any of these Bible stories that are terrifying where God's voice comes down and he's like, here's the deal.

[01:07:30] I'm going to flood fucking everyone. Everyone's gone pick animals and say goodbye to everyone else. You know why because they suck fuck that and you close the door your children, you know, am I supposed to take away from

[01:07:43] that and you go to like and look there are the all these are terrified especially Old Testament ones and you go to like theologians and they have all kinds of interesting readings on them and there are people who can give you informed sort

[01:07:53] of take sure like here's what was going on at the time when these things were written thing that can yeah, but the binding of Isaac it is kind of it's like that's we're trying to define how faith is baby.

[01:08:03] Yeah, it's it's something like in irrational and insane like it's and it's like Mafia rules. It's like leading through fear. And so this is so I don't make an example of you. I don't know what God's saying through a fucking Bush has a

[01:08:20] profile of someone that's in the New Yorker. Which is worth reading and at one point Shyamalan says that he thinks you could take his ending, you know, I don't think they spoil the ending of the story but like you could take

[01:08:30] his ending is darker and I know what he means because like his ending essentially confirms. Yes. There is some sort of unknowable force and he is appeased by human sacrifice that sucks right that does suck. No, I agree. It's dark as hell right? It's dark.

[01:08:45] But then of course there is also this sort of like weird Shyamalan flipside where he's like, but humans are kind of magic and love is kind of transcendent and that is some sort of like force that like balances that I just so wild. Yeah, it's wild stuff.

[01:09:02] I know you're sort of recently, you know, you're you're viewing films differently as many people do when they become a parent found this film so hard to write but but new films hit you differently rewatching old films hit you differently, though.

[01:09:15] I weirdly knew the kid was not at risk. There's just kind of that thing in your you're like, there's no way but I love how flat like whenever something bad is about to happen. They're like get out of the room away. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah cover your ears.

[01:09:26] Let's also say good kid. Shyamalan is always good with kids. He's good with kids. Outside of Avatar The Last Airbender. We don't talk about that. But your review is your review for the link which is very good was mostly about him making these movies.

[01:09:39] He seems to be very hung up night on how do you bring children into a world? How do you keep them safe? Right. Is this a moral act? In a world that feels so hostile and like out of control. Old is so much about that. Absolutely.

[01:09:53] He talks about that in the profile. I don't know. Have you read it? Yes, I have. Yeah. These are my fears. I got married when I was 22. I have three girls were incredibly close. Yeah, parents are nearby. My sister is nearby. Our family's incredibly tight.

[01:10:06] Like it's clearly like, you know, like that's what he. But all I'm saying is I think it's interesting that he got married young, kids young. His daughters are like young adults. Now they are like in their 20s. I think the youngest is in her late teens.

[01:10:20] Like he's he's grappling with stuff not as a new parent, but as someone who's rapidly becoming an empty nester. Yeah that feel like new parent concerns. That is interesting to me and I even think so much of blast ends up being so much still about Elijah's mother.

[01:10:40] It does that stuff. So interesting in that movie. Yeah, I should rewatch that movie. And I liked it's a glass to piece. The visit is obviously a weird movie about parenting. Yeah, you know what else the visit is the bug nuts. Book nuts.

[01:10:54] Did you see I think Adam Neiman said it was his best movie did he in that profile? It was either him or in Bilge's thing. It's a dang good one. No, no, no, no. Bilge says this is the best since the village.

[01:11:05] I think oldest is best movie since the village. I think the village is the best movie. I put old top three. I old is forget how we ranked. I have it fourth. Yeah, because I do have unbreakable in six cents over six cents is just so right.

[01:11:18] See I put village below right? You don't live the village. I do unbreakable six cents old village village is another movie that just feels so related to this though. So I think and I think that's where Bilge is coming from

[01:11:28] because it's also a movie about like that's a movie about a people who are like I cannot deal. Yeah contemporary society. It is too depressing. Yeah, let's live in a village. Yes, and you know, like, you know, the the consequence of

[01:11:41] that, you know are what the movie is about but it was kind of came out after 9-11 and it just so so profoundly is like a post 9-11 movie. Yeah, it's just fine to me that the the parental fears feel

[01:11:54] more front and center now in his career at a point when they were and he's also talked so much about the era where he felt like he lost his way a little bit as a director. He was like the more became a dad and I had young daughters

[01:12:05] and I was surrounded by kids the less I wanted to make aggressively scary movies and like this recent swing back where he's like making stuff like The Last Airbender or Lady in the Water. After Earth, right? Yeah, you know even happening feeling a little hollow

[01:12:20] despite it being like oh he's going to go hard. This movie feels like a better happening to me as well. I agree with that. Like that like there's sort of like the earth is turning hostile to us in ways we can't understand.

[01:12:29] But this is also my problem with the news broadcast is the news broadcast feel so happening to me that it's just like that skews it. I don't want to harp on that. The news broadcast make your teeth hurt a little bit.

[01:12:38] Their teeth can be a little better made. Yes, you have right you have to have them in some form. Some recognition, but maybe you just look yeah, it's M. Night Shyamalan. It's M. Night. There's the whole thing with him. His movies are so sincere.

[01:12:50] The dialogue is so sincere. It's true in this movie. Yes, and if it goes wrong, it's a disaster. If a Mark Wahlberg God bless him. Mm-hmm handed that dialogue. It just comes out. I have to make a tough decision here today. It comes out in this way.

[01:13:05] Someone's gonna have to die. Like no one has ever spoken this way. I'm a defender of the happening. Okay, because I think some of this is you side with the trees. Yeah, I think some of the set pieces in that movie are extraordinary.

[01:13:16] There are some I grew some chilling opening and moments in the happening. There's no question. And I don't think there are any set pieces in knock at the cabin. No, there's not it's totally that is I was hungry old felt like a visual feast for me.

[01:13:34] You know, he was doing a lot of fun stuff. Yeah, the the the the the lady going all broken bones got a lot of interesting Warners. I think that knock at the cabin started interesting. Like I love the opening scene.

[01:13:50] Yeah, how the camera we just get insane close-up. We get closer and closer on David Bautista and I think her name is Kristen Chu. Her name is Christian Cui. I don't know how you pronounce it. Do you? I don't know.

[01:14:07] And and and the angle the canton every time they cut back and forth that stuff was incredible. The Rupert Grint putting the cameras on Grint when he's yeah, that was cool. And then it just kind of what about the when the camera like a degree

[01:14:26] is that what that movie called? Yeah. Yeah, but that doesn't give me any more of those moments. I'm Marie those close-ups throughout the film. Do you want to talk a little tea what we're talking about yesterday because you made some interesting revelation.

[01:14:42] Oh, there are two credited cinematographers on this film. And I think night is publicly saying that it was a scheduling conflicts situation and my secret source has told me that it is not it was it was a creative differences. It's a fairly contentious split. Yes.

[01:15:10] Yeah, is it Jaron Blasch who got fired? Yeah. Yeah. Well, so Jaron Blaschke, I believe is his name is Robert Eggers cinematographer. Correct. You shot all his movies. Yes, and then the other guy credited is a guy who works on servant correct? Yeah.

[01:15:22] Yeah, but the thing Marie was saying yesterday is that it also sounds like perhaps this movie was shot in chronological order because this is a film that would be easy enough to do that. Yeah, the cabin sequences were mostly shot in chronological sure.

[01:15:36] Well sure you know then there's a flashback. Yeah, but it definitely felt like the movie lost some juice. The most interesting stuff cinematically is all happening in the first 20 or 30 minutes of the movie. Sure, I can see that. Yeah, and I don't know.

[01:15:51] I mean, I don't know if what we're seeing on the screen is like a choice or it is the product of a difficult production that the movie feels that way but yeah, can we can we do some some Batista digging? Yeah.

[01:16:09] I love how his glasses fit on his anytime he wears glasses in a movie. I know he's usually wearing glasses of some sort and they always work. They always were they felt so tight around his head his little shirt his top of his head.

[01:16:24] It looks like you can see his brain. Yes, it looks like the wrinkles of the brain. I love when guys have that there's a guy I used to work with named Datu who had like brain wrinkles and I would just when I would zone out at work.

[01:16:36] I just stare at the back of his head everything about him is just so physically. He is compelling. Yes. He is a visually compelling figure before he even starts talking. Yeah. Yes, but then his you know, his his way of delivering dialogue is also just incredibly compelling. Yes.

[01:16:53] I mentioned this in my review, you know, he played a very sincere character in the Guardians of the Galaxy. Yes, he's playing a similarly sincere character here in a wildly different style. Yes, he's very good at sincerity. Yes, which is good for Shamal.

[01:17:07] Yes, like and he's like a very emotionally open actor and Shumalon has a tendency to often go who is the biggest star right now like that I can get or who's like a very interesting fairly new on the scene guy, but also I mean he made movies

[01:17:24] with Willis Gibson Will Smith all at their career. Those guys were huge, you know, like a list man extent is Is Wahlberg is that post departed? Happening comes out right after I want to say it's the immediate follow-up to the two years after.

[01:17:44] Right, but maybe the first movie he signs up for after that. Right. Yeah. Yeah, but but Batista is kind of an outside the box leading man for him in some ways. I mean, I think more recently it's more because it's like

[01:17:56] McAvoy sure Gail Garbusier Bernal and Vicky Creech. So ensembly though too, but I'm saying he's more picking, you know, interesting well-liked critically. It's also look he's a fancy doesn't want to pay people with big quotes for actors. Yeah, but like not cheap in like a bad.

[01:18:14] No, no, the thing with Batista I interviewed Rian Johnson. Yes. Where's my applause? Yeah. Yeah, I have your check arrived in the mail. He just he just handed it to me. Sure. He just gave it. Yeah. No, I think it was nice things about a movie you couldn't

[01:18:32] possibly like about glass onion. Sure. And one of the questions I asked was like, well first I asked like are you writing for actors and he's like I don't do that because you're going to disappoint yourself, right?

[01:18:44] You know, like if you write with an actor mind that you can't get them it's going to ruin it and then I said like who did you cast who you didn't expect or whatever and he said Batista. Yeah, because who else would have played he wrote that part

[01:18:55] entirely differently that part was supposed to be skinny men's rights basically. It's he should have been Jordan Peterson and as I've heard him basically say like the idea of the guy being that physically dominant went against my entire initial concept.

[01:19:08] That was my idea kind of a whim and he said that his casting person. Yeah, I forgot her name was the one who suggested Batista and then he was just like Paul Thomas Anderson is someone who's going to use that guy.

[01:19:19] Yeah and make everyone else look like an idiot. He's like the most interesting actor. Yes around right? Yes, and I was like I said like he's the best wrestler to Actor ever and it's not even a comparison right? Yeah, it's not and look there are other acting wrestlers.

[01:19:34] I like a lot but Batista both and how he is structuring his career who he is working with how he's testing himself. Yeah, and it feels like he's finding some internal. I mean how many wrestlers in all of his castings could do Stuber.

[01:19:51] Here's the thing I find really interesting. That's rare. Wait, so his name is Stu and he drives an Uber get out of here. Yeah, you'll never finance this film David's best review headline of all time. What was that? I give Stuber five stars parentheses out of 10.

[01:20:07] That seems generous. It's a five. It's a it's a five. Hey look, I haven't seen it. We didn't know how lucky we were getting three studio comedies a year in theaters just four short years ago Stuber apparently the last Golden Age.

[01:20:22] This is what I was going to say Guardians of Galaxy obviously his big breakout, right? That role ends up being more of a comedic role. I he's you know, a thing I love about the guy is he does not mince words.

[01:20:32] He speaks very openly and honestly in every single interview in a way where you're like Dave Dave watch a little bit but I have to love how much this guy is not playing any optics game, right?

[01:20:43] He's not he's not trying to get his Q score higher or play nice with the studios or wherever and he's basically like Drax is a pretty tragic character on the page. I was cast drawn to that right the more I showed myself being

[01:20:56] good at the comedy the more everyone started leaning into the comedy and it now feels like the characters mostly become a comedic character and that's a little sad to me. I feel like there are a lot of dramatic sides of this guy. I never got to play right?

[01:21:07] Yeah, everyone's like well fuck this guy just proved himself. What's he going to do now with his career? He doesn't really go and do a bunch of action movies. He weirdly does like a couple direct-to-video like kickboxer three and escape plan to kickboxer vengeance, but he doesn't

[01:21:21] immediately go and get his own Europa Corp movie. He doesn't do his own screen gems January Revenge Thriller or whatever right? Then he's like, okay, I could do a couple comedies. He does my spy and stuber both of them.

[01:21:33] You're like this guy should be there should be a better playing against type comedy for Batista than what we're giving him. He's pretty good in Hotel Artemis. He's very good in that but this is the thing off to the side.

[01:21:45] He's like here's my supporting character actor career, right? What are interesting scripts? What are parts that play against my type who are directors I want to work with Blade Runner right that stuber obviously at a time when obviously the rock and John Cena are so algorithmic

[01:22:02] right in the moves of you need one of these for your portfolio and one of these and one of those and whatever you have to win every fight and you better always be the hero and you better be so macho. He also even though he is huge.

[01:22:13] Yeah, I don't know why he just doesn't he doesn't have that problem of like well, this is the largest man in the world. Like like you're not real. You're not a real person Marie was talking about his use of glasses in different movies, right?

[01:22:28] And he's a really good glasses actor. He's got tiny little glasses and Blade Runner right in Army of the Dead a movie. He is really really good in the movie. You wish was kind of at his level. Sure. He's that's his most conventional like action movie badass

[01:22:43] role, right? And he is as soft-spoken in that movie as he is in this and he does the entire film wearing glasses with like an old person chain around them around his neck. So they stay on his head and everything, right? Yeah, and he doesn't take up space.

[01:22:58] No, like it's he's so compact like the way that he holds his body the way that he's embarrassed to be small. He doesn't want to be taking up people's space but I was maybe our friend Mike Ryan maybe did this interview with him.

[01:23:13] He did a new one but I'm trying to remember around when Army of the Dead came out and they asked about the glasses thing and what unconventional choice that was for the lead in an action movie and he basically said like I look like a silverback gorilla.

[01:23:26] Like I just have insane proportions and I know how extreme I look on screen and I'm covered in tattoos and I have this really deep voice and I think a lot of other guys like me are constantly doing the math on how to look tougher on screen.

[01:23:40] And I think it's so much more interesting to find things I can do visually that cut me down to size right that play against it like I want to find ways to normalize myself and he said when he met with Shyamalan this was in the Mike Ryan interview.

[01:23:55] He met with Shyamalan right after he finished filming Guardians 3. This is in the micro yeah, it's really interesting where he's like I'm going to be huge. Drax is like he's like that's the biggest guy ever get right and he comes in on Drax mode. He's like, I'm sorry.

[01:24:06] I'm so big I can cut it down and Shyamalan said can you get bigger right and he said like it's easy for me to get bigger. Yeah, I just eat a lot of food and like lift a lot.

[01:24:15] Are you sure you want this and he's like I want to push you to even more extremes. I want you to go quieter and performance than you ever been. I want you to be the biggest you've ever been on screen. Wow. Well, he looks big.

[01:24:27] Yeah, but he's then yeah, he's got his nice little button up tucked in. Yeah, he looks like a he looks like a nice parole officer. He does or a nice school teacher. Yeah, he look I mean you buy him as a school teacher even

[01:24:39] though he like our second grade teachers allowed to have tattoos like a lot of visible ones on the place. Yeah, I don't know, you know his thing people ask him like how many tattoos he has and he's like three.

[01:24:54] They're like what he's like because they're like all connected right? So basically there's like left right back. I remember walking out of Guardians and kind of being like low-key the best one was I remember he's saying that you

[01:25:09] will not believe this but David T says the best is everyone was so excited about pretty much everyone in that movie bought him because he was just sort of like the oh, it's a wrestler when he was announced.

[01:25:19] I think it was everyone saying like, oh really they couldn't get my moa like yeah, right. They couldn't get some a little cooler than that. Yeah, and then I walked out and I was like, he's very funny. He has like like 12 good lines.

[01:25:30] Like it's not just like a couple jokes. Like he's kind of hits hits a layup or hits a three-pointer like every 10 minutes in that movie, right? He also just the whole press tour for this movie keeps on saying these things that are so endearing about like that

[01:25:42] Lee Pace quote that when he went to audition for Guardians and the casting director told me just cast Lee Pace as the villain right and she went do you know Lee and he said no and he went that guy's incredible.

[01:25:52] He can do anything and he was like in that moment. I crystallized. That's the career. I want to be able to say that about me. I want and I feel like I play so specifically on screen, but

[01:26:03] I would like to prove myself to a point where people say Dave Bautista. He can do anything. I think Lee Pace is really good in Guardians of the Galaxy. It's just cool that he did. No, I love that too. Yeah. Yeah.

[01:26:13] Um, I you know recently he was quoted as saying that he wants to be cast in romantic comedies and no one's but no is he not cute enough? Yeah. Well, I mean they don't really make rom-coms. No, there's a couple coming out this year.

[01:26:27] There's always the hope for the kind of like who would you cast opposite Bautista? I also feel like Holly Hunter. Stuber. Stuber he does not have a love interest. Stuber he's like a single father. Yeah, and his partner is dead.

[01:26:39] The rock vibes of like that's often how he gets cast, right? And then my spy. Yeah, with the of course he is like in his what late 40s? No, he's like 50 something. 54, you know, so like there's a little bit of like he can't

[01:26:51] be playing someone who's like, well, I'm just young and single and hitting the bars. Like he has to have some backstory. He's very protective of his daughter in that movie and he's mourning the death of his female partner. My spy, I admit I could not make it through.

[01:27:05] I don't know if they give him perfunctory love. I'm not gonna I'm not gonna fire up my spy. I'm gonna be honest with you Dave. Don't hit me. Not gonna do it. I don't want to do it. Don't make me watch my spy.

[01:27:14] The most watched film in the history of Amazon or some shit. Sure. Anyway, I don't know. It does feel like he doesn't get love interest and Drax is haunted by his dead wife and children. Yes. So sure give him a love interest. Yeah. Reese Witherspoon.

[01:27:27] Oh, she's so small. I want the poor Christmas's poster where she's standing on top of. Right. She uses him as some sort of like. Yeah. Soft and. Yeah. I do Holly Hunter. Yeah. She's also short spark plug.

[01:27:40] I do think gruff is great and as I have quite enjoyed gruffs career near fan graph. Yeah, I'm a fan of graph or your all fans. I feel like you particularly a fan of graph. Yeah, I like graph.

[01:27:50] Yeah, you know, I thought he killed it in Matrix and then this I like it graph. Boy. You sure? Yeah, he was good in. I saw him on Broadway and Hamilton Spring Awakening. No, and Little Shop of Horrors. Yeah.

[01:28:10] Yeah playing the Griffin Newman part to playing the Griffin to honking. I waited for Gideon Glick. I said call me when your Seymour is under six feet. Yeah, like quick fun. Glick was good theater camp. You know, that's coming out.

[01:28:22] Did you guys watch the Spring Awakening those we've known thing? I just watched the relevant clips. Did you watch the video? Watch the relevant clips. Did you watch the footage of Jonathan Groff's Amish country sleepover where they bust the entire cast in school buses

[01:28:38] to spend a night on Jonathan Groff's family farm in Lancaster, Pennsylvania? Yeah, so fun like a good time. He's just such a perfect for Shyamalan's thing because there's stuff in this movie that would fall very very flat in the wrong hand. No, you're right.

[01:28:53] You need earnest wet on earnestness. Right? Yes, and he is good at that without you just sort of feeling whatever like you're watching a episode of he's he's one of those look and it's something like the Matrix.

[01:29:05] It's fun to watch him rip into and relish playing the opposite and certainly Hamilton's the same thing but Groff is unusually good in a way that few people are at playing uncomplicated people, you know, and there there's some inner complications

[01:29:20] to this guy but Groff is the rare actor who can sell like oh, this is just a good person if he needs to right, which is a sort of crucial this movie as well obviously because like there's only so much time for that kind of stuff.

[01:29:33] You do have to kind of quickly be like I get this guy I get that guy, you know, like I get everyone when they do the flashback to the meeting with the parents. Is it Aldridge's parents or or it's all just parents.

[01:29:43] Okay, right, right contributing to his world. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Okay. That's what I thought. Yeah, you have this brief scene where they kind of don't even know how to make small talk right boyfriend for the first time. They've essentially driven for hours to come and sit with

[01:29:56] them quietly. It's the good line of they drove seven hours to talk for 45 minutes and then you also see I think the phone rings and then Groff's like that's my parents calling to see how it went. Yes mom who's clearly like more engaged with the family.

[01:30:11] Look, this is the fucking like it's pretty impressive economical screenwriting from Sean Malone. Good movie. People can you know shit on him for all the reasons of taste and tone they want but I think that bugs me that when people

[01:30:27] go like and how does this guy still not know how to write a screenplay and I'm like structurally the guys really fucking strong and he knows how to convey information really quickly and effectively much like how people made fun of that.

[01:30:41] Top Gun screenplay nomination and other people justly were sort of like this is nomination for like structure and economic storytelling. Like it's not like script is rock solid. It's an incredible script and even though it's written by eight people or whatever like, you know, and it's like, you

[01:30:55] know cheesy lines. Sure. Okay. Good job. You spotted a cheesy line. Right who gives a shit Maverick said not today, you know, asshole. Yeah, I said, you know what I walked up to the box office and I spent $17 and I said one ticket to Top Gun Maverick, please.

[01:31:09] I would be disappointed if he didn't say shit like that. What are you complaining about? I don't know movie about Maverick. Do you think there's a line like a line of action in the dial in the script? That's like Maverick throws the rule book in the trash. Yes.

[01:31:24] Rule book is thrown in the trash. So sick. You've said this before David. It would be funny if he sat down with a rule book. He's like, hey, so rule one of course is don't fly your plane too fast and rule two is always listen to instructions.

[01:31:37] Rule three throw the rule book in the trash. Oh shit. Everyone's furiously scratching out the first. No, they ignore those last two rules and all the other rules. Trash. David you've made this defense before in the past when Shyamalan's getting attacked.

[01:31:53] I'm sure when Shyamalan's in trial and I rise to my feet. Yes, but I feel like the comparison point I've heard you make before is like no one criticizes Yorgos Lanthimos for his dialogue being as stilted and heightened and stylized. Right. Old Yorgi.

[01:32:09] Yeah, and and you're like the difference is that people think they're smarter than Shyamalan and he is trying and failing to write realistic conversational dialogue. Yeah, rather than accepting the man has chosen. Yeah, the thing he wants to do. We can't all be Ed Burns.

[01:32:25] No, I mean look. Snappy New York repartee at any moment in time. God, I'm so neurotic. I put my ear up to the sidewalk of New York. 80 films. Yeah, with the, you listen to the sidewalk. And I just hear Ed Burns. Podcasts of New York. The Brothers McPodcast.

[01:32:43] Oh, the Brothers McPodcast. Look, I recently. We do the Sunday on the Bracket. I have gone dad mode. Uh-huh. And I don't mean that. Now you like all Ed Burns movies. No, I recently rewatched Saving Private Ryan and I'm currently watching Band of Brothers.

[01:32:55] Oh yeah, you've been watching warshit. I watched Band of Brothers last year. Incredible experience. And I'm reading a lot of Wikipedia articles about battles. Like dad, my wife will keep being like, what are you reading? And I'm like, well, she's reading. What is the matter with you?

[01:33:12] That you've been reading over the last couple years. You've read a lot of books about presidents. I have read a lot of books about presidents. That's the most dad shit I've ever heard. My boys. Who's your number one? LBJ. Me too.

[01:33:22] Yeah, I mean, I read all the caribou. Have you been to the library in Austin? No, I would love to go. They've got an animatronic LBJ there. Uh-oh. Does he bully you? Well, no, there is like a standout like cardboard cutout of him like leaning over.

[01:33:37] So, you know, so take a picture of yourself with getting the Johnson treatment. Fine, I can talk about going dad mode. Although now I can't remember why I was talking about doing Ed Burns. Ed Burns. Oh right.

[01:33:50] And I rewatched Saving Private Ryan and I was like, it's a real insult that the one who lives is fucking Ed Burns. You know what's crazy? I rewatched Saving Private Ryan. Diesel dies, Goldberg, that guy's fun. Tom Hanks, her to him. That's like War is Hell.

[01:34:02] They're like, not only is war really bad, Ed Burns lives. You watch your best friends die in your arms and Ed Burns lives to make 16 more movies. Knock at the cabin. A TNT series. Life isn't fair. Yeah, life isn't fair. Life isn't fair. Bad things happen.

[01:34:15] You know what's crazy? The deck gets stacked against you. Great movies, the great masterpiece is part of the fun is every time you watch them there's somehow something new that reveals yourself. It reveals themselves to you in the film, you know? Yeah.

[01:34:27] I rewatched Saving Private Ryan as well, David. I had never picked up on before. Ed Burns' character is from Brooklyn. What? What? Are you kidding? Wait, are you sure? I did not rewatch Saving Private Ryan. Yeah, that's not a rewatch.

[01:34:41] I'm no Bill Simmons, but that's not a rewatch. Yeah, he's from Brooklyn. Is it Brooklyn, New York? Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. I feel like he writes it somewhere on his clothes maybe. Really? Because I was watching 4K, I didn't see it anywhere.

[01:34:53] Do we confirm it's New York though? Because there's other Brooklyns. Yes. I'm from Brooklyn in the Netherlands. Brookline matches yours. Brooklyn. Brooklyn. I just want to give a shout out to the one actress we haven't really talked about. Abby Quinn? Abby Quinn who plays Adrienne.

[01:35:08] So I don't know her. I mean she's in Little Women. She's not thinking of anything. She's in Landline. She's in Shit House with Dylan Jalula. Yeah. Close friend. Not really. We worked together once. She's nice. Dylan's great. We love you, Dylan. She's probably not listening. Not listening.

[01:35:23] But I thought she was great. She's really good. She's got a great face. I think he really cast really well with all four of the people where you very quickly are like this person seems like not like they believe what they're saying. Yes.

[01:35:39] And also like someone who might be a bit of an odd loner in their life. Well, he's also sort of doing the Demi thing. It's so many real extended close-up your face filling the frame near monologue and they're basically staring straight

[01:35:55] down the barrel and you as the audience member going can I take this person at face value or not? Do I believe what they're saying? I'm looking into their soul. Do I believe what they're saying? I almost once again feel like it is a hindrance to the

[01:36:08] movie that all four of the performances are this good where I just from basically their entrance into the house feel convinced by them. I see. I just I don't know. I think that's a strength. I think this is just where we disagree, but they're all

[01:36:23] they're all for their very good. You don't like Grant. Yeah, I don't. Right. Yeah, I don't. Expelling armis. Maybe you would just drop anything you were holding. All right. That's all that one is. That's just knocking your books down in the hall.

[01:36:38] But usually it's to disarm your wand. Saying face. Stupefy. Does Crucio, is that the one that turns you like it? Crucio tortures you. Limbs. Yeah, that one's pretty cool. What's the one? You can't do that one. It's unforgiving. What's the one where you like break someone's brain to

[01:36:51] the extent that they're willing to destroy their entire reputation online over like petty tweets. Let me check that when he's a I don't want to even do the trick. She sucks. Yeah, she's bad. Yeah, so the cabin seems nice. Yeah, I would want phone signal personally. Yeah.

[01:37:12] I also they cut the the court. I mean, Blake basically before they show up. It's a nice looking Airbnb cabin. Yeah, there's one downside to it though, which is for people show up and tell you that you're going to have to make a terrible terrible choice.

[01:37:25] Feel like it's been a tough couple of months at the movies for Airbnb. Yes, got barbarian. Yeah, not get the cabin. We got David's Toronto Airbnb story. The most terrible. They're stuck. Sorry, Raider. It just know it'd be funny if the cabin was bad.

[01:37:45] Yeah, and then because then like Ben Aldridge could say like first the you know sheets were scratchy. Now this is happening. Yeah, at the end of the movie. The last line is two stars. Water pressure bad also, you know home and the cabin

[01:37:59] industry must be so excited that the new evil deads in apartment building. They're like finally a break someone else going to shoulder PR teams like we can take a vacation. We can take we can finally sales are going to bounce my last episode was the avatar episode.

[01:38:13] I talked about Legos. Yes, because my therapist's office is famously next to the yes Lego store. So I went in yesterday and I was like, this is so stupid like they're not going to be knock at the cabin Legos, but guess what? They have a cap.

[01:38:29] They have a cap. They don't have there's no one knocking right? No, you don't know. No little I mean the whole thing of Lego is you I guess you could buy a garden using your imagination. So put drags and Harry Potter's. Stay tuned.

[01:38:46] There's a Hamilton set you could get Groff there isn't yeah, I think I'm trying to think of Groff is just a classic like yellow Sven you could get a Sven from frozen. Oh, you're right. Okay. So now we're only three cast members away.

[01:39:02] Maybe Sven is the good boy of the reindeer. Is that what he plays? Yeah, right. And that's why everyone was mad that you didn't sing in the first frozen. Yes, he sings like he's a good singer five seconds. Yeah, sure. He sings reindeers are better than people.

[01:39:13] That's it. But then in the second one he had that lost in the woods song. Yeah, and it was pretty good. It was oh frozen to rewatch that one still still weird weird is still a movie that takes a lot of right turns all I know

[01:39:28] where I went see with Romney. She just turned me halfway through and she went is this bad but it was one of those experiences where you have to ask it as a question. You're like am I like missing something here? Is this movie not good? Oh boy.

[01:39:42] Is there anything else you want to talk about would knock at the cabin? You guys have air fryers. No, I do. I don't have the counter space. I do. Why are we bringing this up because M night plays an air for sure.

[01:39:54] Of course that chicken does look good. Yeah, I'm pro the night cameo in this one. Yeah, it's it would only heighten my believability of like the world my pending isn't that in my show? You want proof watch this? Can you believe they let this man on television 12 hours

[01:40:11] a day? I'm very interested by what he does next because I do feel like he's consistently surprising right now. Like he's he's like he's working quick. I was gonna say doesn't feel like he's overthinking it is just following whims of what excites him and nothing hinted

[01:40:29] at next right? Not that I know of. Yeah, he had a two-picture deal. Which is part two of hands, right? Yeah, but I'm assuming Universal is going to re up. You know, this movie's tracking to open around 15 to 20 like and it costs 20.

[01:40:42] So do we what do we think comes out on top this weekend knock or 80 for Brady? Okay, so I think knock will yeah. What do you think Griffin? I mean, I guess this is our version wondering now is 80 for Brady about to over perform right?

[01:40:59] Is there going to be some secret, you know, 80 something Brady fan right? I'm going. Yeah, are you? Yeah, I'm making my fiance go because I need context. Double hump of bracket. Sure. I know. For the Super Bowl you're saying? Well, no, I know just for his life.

[01:41:16] Yeah for just football in general. Okay, and this is like I 80 for Brady is one of those movies where not just the poster but any promotional image of it. I'm like this Photoshop. Yeah, like it just sort of looks fake. Devlin meets Lily Tomlin.

[01:41:29] Not only that but like Pat's Jersey. Third-party Photoshop replacement app on a phone. Like doesn't this look fake? Yes. Yes. Now it looks real to me. It's also it's it looks like some real ass hair on James Bond.

[01:41:42] It looks like the poster was done on a phone app over 3G. 3G that was in and out. Yeah, some of it was too right. What would you call this like micro genre of this sort of book club genre?

[01:41:56] Yeah, it's like let's take a bunch of Oscar nominees at the book club to trailer. I saw before auto. How's that looking incredible? Oh, yeah. What are they reading this time? Candace getting fuck. It's of course. Where does it open with Candace Bergen doing a 360 spin and dunking?

[01:42:12] Are they guys just Tomahawk? They're going to Italy, right? Are you reading like an Elena Ferrante novel? What are you reading trash in that book club? That's not too good for them. No Marie. Can you look it up?

[01:42:23] Yeah, you got your computer in front of you one was one of my best slash greatest movie going experiences ever. I'd had a great. I saw it at the Americana. Yeah in Glendale on a bunch of edibles and could not believe what I was watching.

[01:42:37] I can't wait for BC to I mean that movie with the like YouTube karaoke backgrounds. Like it's so funny. 84 Brady. My question is they did these sort of special preview screenings with a free glass of wine and a tumbler or whatever.

[01:42:50] Yeah, and those seem to do really well. And I think that's and people were obviously posting who went to them and I think that's why people are like, oh fuck is this movie about to open a lot bigger than we thought.

[01:43:00] I wonder if that took a lot of the excitement out of it. But yeah, I guess people are saying it's fun. Also fun fact. It's directed by the guy who made The Climb. You see The Climb? Yeah, good movie. Yeah, good movie that played at Cannes.

[01:43:12] Yeah, I mean, okay. Okay, but you know there was something there. It's pretty good. Yeah, no a lot of good people, but my friend Zach Cooperstein DP of Barbarian DP'd The Climb. It's a good-looking movie. I yeah, I remember that movie being a little cute.

[01:43:27] This is directed by the producer of The Climb. No. No? Are you sure about that? It's one of the two guys. Okay. There were like two Mike's. Yeah. And one of them its name isn't Mike Cimino, but it begins with a C.

[01:43:39] And it's written by the women who originally wrote Booksmart. I hate to tell you this Marie, but Griffin is correct. It's directed by the producer of The Climb. Kyle Marvin. No, Kyle. Kyle's the guy in The Climb.

[01:43:53] Okay, I think he also produced it, but he did not direct. He's didn't did Michael direct it? Well, I'm going to find that out for you. Kyle is the one who directed Michael Angelo Covino is the guy who's the other guy who's in The Climb.

[01:44:05] So Kyle wrote it. Yeah. So yeah, one of the guys right? Yeah, they climb what do they cheat on each other's wives or whatever? I don't know. I saw it. Spoiler alert for that tiny indie movie. They cheat on each other's wives. Something. One of them.

[01:44:18] There's some cheating. There's some cheating, but yeah. I think Knock at the Cabin is going to open at number one. I think Edie for Brady will outgrow it. Maybe. Because Book Club lagged it out. Yes. So if it's gone for that.

[01:44:31] And I think I think Knock at the Cabin is probably going to be front-loaded as a lot of the recent Shyamalan's are. I think it's going to be something like Knock at the Cabin doing like 17 and a half. Edie for Brady doing like 13 and a half.

[01:44:48] Avatar 2 doing like 10. Man from Otto surprisingly beating them all with 400 million dollars in its sixth. It's finally ready. It's been simmering for a while. That movie is bizarre. Yeah, it's a Forrester right? Yeah. Another Forrester. He keeps notching him up. Yeah, the guy works.

[01:45:08] He's one of those guys where every once in a while someone will start a rad thread being like the case for Mark Forrester and I'm like the opposite. No, he's like Ratner to me where I'm like, yeah, he is the diametric opposite of what we're talking about.

[01:45:19] That is journeyman. He is the ultimate journeyman. Yes. Yes. Maybe there was a world where he could have been different but like didn't happen. Quickly picked the route of like, no, I'll just be like a reliable guy that gets called on to make these kinds of things. Yeah.

[01:45:32] Yeah, but then sometimes it gets called on to make the kind of thing that isn't what you would assume hire him for. I didn't realize he was Swiss. Yep. I have been told by some people that they think that's why

[01:45:46] he keeps getting big jobs in Hollywood is that he presents smarter than he seems because he's got this European accent. He has that vibe to him. No offense to Mark Forrester who has genuinely made movies that I like. He's made some films.

[01:46:00] He's also made movies that I don't like. Yeah, and that's the mark of a journeyman. He does look smart and in interviews he is very well composed. He has a scarf and stuff. Yeah, you know kind of handsome. Yeah, it looks like an opera director or something. Right?

[01:46:14] You know, he looks like you'd say something and you would yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Anyway, I don't know what else we have to say. My favorite weapon was the one with the chains and like a big heavy thing.

[01:46:25] I feel like you'd be so into these weapons. Yeah. Well, I like that. They are like, what if we took two weapons and right? Taxes together plus me. So there's nothing better than that. They've invented weapons. They're basically sporking weapons. I really appreciated.

[01:46:44] I think it's like this movie really bummed the three of us out big time. Oh, I was really upset by the movie. I think has a hopeful and sort of hopeful dark, but they're like there look there are certainly lots of movies that

[01:46:59] bum me out that I walk out hooting and hollering about how good it was like Armageddon time. I remember texting you when I walked out and I was like that movie is thoroughly depressing. What a masterpiece it is fucking bleak in its world. He is depressed. Yeah.

[01:47:12] Yeah, the cabin is so good, but I felt pretty amped by how good it was despite the fact that it put me in a bad mood. I was like the fucking craft of this thing. Gray sharpened blade, you know, whereas this I couldn't quite

[01:47:25] get my head around it. I like talking about it. I do think it's interesting. Very interesting. Knock at the cabin. We're done talking about it. Yeah, it's over. Great. So we did our box office prediction game. I don't know. Yeah. Oh, where do you put it?

[01:47:43] Oh, that's a good call. Actually, let me see where I put it. I put it low. Whoa. Yeah. I haven't I didn't think to formally update my rank. Let me see if I have my Shyamalan list here. Okay, put it below.

[01:47:56] Okay, so I'm assuming your top five probably in some order has unbreakable the six cents old class. Maybe the village my friend. Let me tell you I'm pulling it up. I'm nice. I'm a list. Where is this? I'm nice. I'm list. Okay, so this is 15.

[01:48:12] Okay, so I have everything here my list as it stands right now. Yes, knock on ranked boy. I got some weird ones in here. Okay from top down on breakable six cents. Old. Glass the village lady in the water the visit signs split wide

[01:48:35] awake happening after Earth praying with anger last airbender. That's crazy. Yeah, I'm a lunatic. I forgot my list was this wild. My inclination is that I would put this between split and wide awake. I mean split and wide awake. Yeah, I'd have this at like nine.

[01:48:56] I have it at five right now. Okay, give me your list village unbreakable six cents old village unbreakable six cents. Okay knock glass split is it signs that sort of the next year then praying which I kind of have in this sort of sentimental like look man sure.

[01:49:13] It's a bad movie, but you know you were working the way you had and then I have this sort of like I'm not sure I can forgive you know, I can really defend these entirely beyond being weird things happening wide awake lady after Earth last year, but

[01:49:28] if you're harder on wide awake than praying with anger. Yeah, why do we can noise me? I hate that shit. I hate that fucking fucking David fuck you Marie works so hard on that movie. So hard on Robert Loger. Don't worry buddy.

[01:49:43] It's not it's okay David the movie is called wide awake and he can't stop because sleep. It's a paradox. I can't resolve. He's a type type boy. He's falling asleep on brush teeth. That's a honk shoe King. I know he's asleep behind honk shoe King and that's great.

[01:50:01] Me me me me me. But God all that Robert Loger shit bugs me so much. I hate that shit. I'm sorry. I'm night Shyamalan if you're listening, it's not the worst movie. It's Robert Lucia. He's dead if he's listening Robert if you're up there. We're down there.

[01:50:20] I don't know you seem to a little irascible at times. Yeah, so I'm not if you're listening sorry about the turd stuff. Yeah. Oh also, sorry. I forgot to rank Darkman Darkman's my number six. Sure. I would probably slot Darkman in around six on this one. Yeah. Yeah.

[01:50:36] Yeah, five or six. Yeah. I just love old. Yeah. Yeah movie old as a banger. Yeah. Did we review that on this show? Oh, we did no memory of that. We liked it, right? Yeah, we loved it and people have been yelling ass for two years.

[01:50:51] I think it's a science. Yeah. Yeah, it's also I can now reveal it's a sign. Yeah, I also and we were paid hands. But then the money turned to dust. It did unfortunately the money got old so quickly or even

[01:51:03] better if it's like it's like got like Queen Victoria. I'm like shit. They give us like Aztec gold and it's a tear in between our fingers. I famously asked people to at us on Twitter why they thought

[01:51:19] a movie like Black Widow was better than old because I could not follow it was like in the summer of 2020. I could not fathom having that perspective. Yes, the people like that where they common chill. They were super calm and chill.

[01:51:32] I did get some people being like old is weird and Black Widow is competent and that was that was the take but is it though to each his own competent ain't the word I'd use immediately be done. There's things I don't mind about that movie, but it does

[01:51:53] not strike me as a company made one not knock at the cabin. I did not love but we did watch a very dour trailer for Ant Man in the Wasp colon quanta mania. Also, I mean the number one inescapable trailer now.

[01:52:07] It does not matter what movie you are going to see you can you could see a fucking like go on Brackets short film collection and anthology film archives and somehow the quanta mania trailer comes up. Well, if the first one they were showing had that like kind

[01:52:24] of nice Elton John. Yeah remix who's like I would long for the days of quanta mania trailer one. Yeah, but now that we're three months into the reign of quanta mania trailer to yeah now I'm like so that'll be my new thing, you know, let me know.

[01:52:40] Yeah, Erica blankies why Ant Man and the Wasp colon quanta mania is a better film then not get the carry pretty look maybe it'll be fantastic. I have no idea. I like Peyton Reed. I like it to Ant-Man movies.

[01:52:54] Like I read did you know that they use the volume on this one? We got a Maria Menounos new thing where they said actually would you believe I'm sorry? Noom does not sponsor this podcast. Nope.

[01:53:07] Do not talk to us as if that is a present tense thing because you're listening to episodes from four years ago. Maria Menounos newvie. Would you believe that the production of quanta mania use the same technology for virtual backgrounds as seen in The Mandalorian?

[01:53:27] It's like no movie has ever looked less like it was shot in any real space. They didn't go to quantum realm for that one. No, no, I think they went to Atlanta. You know why? Well, that is the quantum tax incentives were really bad in the quantum.

[01:53:39] Well, they've got a whole political thing going on right now. Yeah, they're Kathy Hodge. All is boring with the State Senate. We got to get you to on newvie. Like Ben said that he was getting angry seeing these other guys. I don't want to be on newvie.

[01:53:55] I would do it for like a really sick amount of money. Here's the thing. I don't want to David here was the exact conversation. We're all watching newvie. They do some talk fucker shows out some movie trivia segment

[01:54:07] with some tick-tock fucker Ben turns to me and goes, why aren't you guys doing newvie? And I say David would hate that. Yeah, I would hate that. But what was that thing you did that people made gifts of the movies that are not really good? The Paramount thing.

[01:54:26] Yeah. Yeah, people didn't make gifts. I believe Paramount made gifts of it. Yeah, I'm saying like if the checks big enough, you'll do it. I don't want to speak ill of anybody but the check wasn't big. I think that was just like, I don't know.

[01:54:41] I was like, you know, you want to come sit in a studio for a couple hours and riff about some movies. I was like sure. Okay. So then Maria Minov's call us. You know what? Fine. I'll do newvie. Finish the prices, right? Yeah.

[01:54:54] Although the thing about it was, I'll say this off mic. It's one of those things where like you take some freelance gig and they're like, so now we're happy to pay you. Give us all the information on your life.

[01:55:04] We have to load it into our stupid system to give you, you know, dollars. Not that many dollars, you know, like that kind of thing. Can I have like the last five years of your tax returns? It's the freelance existence of constantly having to do all

[01:55:18] the paperwork as if you're starting a new career anytime you do a one day gig. Viacom can give you dollars. Yeah, I mean, I'm not trying to complain. Right. And then like for the next 15 years Viacom can send you

[01:55:29] W-9s or W-4s, W-2s in the mail that just say like we're not paying you this year. You didn't make any money from Viacom this year, FYI. And I'm like, oh, I know. Zero, zero, zero. Yeah, I figured. Yeah, I don't think those gifts have residuals.

[01:55:44] Newvie, any theatrical chain except for Regal, call us. Yes. You know, you're looking to. But isn't Newvie, Regal and AMC something else? Oh, is it? Doesn't AMC have the better one that everyone likes more? I thought Newvie was an independent entity.

[01:56:00] I know, but I feel like they like they contracted Regal and AMC contracts with whatever. I think they have a deal with all the Regal locations. Sure. There used to be Regal first. Look, I remember that. Yeah. Right.

[01:56:10] And there used to be the 20 before that, which I loved. Because I just remember. Show up early for the 20. You show up early. Yeah. Like I remember that era when I was going to. It's the only time I'd ever show up early.

[01:56:18] Going to the fucking Regal like eight times a week. And, you know, I would just see the stupid pre-roll about the Ben Schwartz spy show undercovers over and over and over. Does AMC even have a branded thing anymore? Also, how long is this episode? We're done. Two hours.

[01:56:31] Great. Like exactly. We have a big clock now. Oh, hey. It's exactly two hours, 51 seconds. Well, I hope people like this episode that ended up being a grab bag of a lot of different things. Yeah. These new movie episodes are often that way. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Fine.

[01:56:48] I should have a cabin. I'm sure you all hated it. Sorry, Ben didn't like. Yeah. And look, I don't love every M. Night Shyamalan movie there. Are you happy? But I do think you're he it's interesting. Not a lot of people. I agree with that David.

[01:57:02] Not a lot of people are making stuff like this. Hey, our friends at the super Yaki. I believe it was Andrew Ortiz the head of super Yaki himself who runs the Twitter account tweet this out the other day,

[01:57:15] but he said there's the line and signs where they talk about Joaquin Phoenix's disastrous baseball career and they ask him why he had like such a bad hit record or whatever and he says it felt wrong not to swing right and he was sort

[01:57:31] of reclaiming that as like the M. Night Shyamalan mantra where he was like, it's hard to think of another filmmaker who in a career now spanning like 25 years of working at a really high level within the studio system basically every time takes a wild swing

[01:57:48] right and even his worst movies are bad in ways that are confounding right, right. He never does something after if it's the closest. Yeah, but he never does something where you're like, well, he just found this out. He's not doing the obvious version of that right? Right.

[01:58:01] Yeah, it's so that's exciting. I you know, I'm as happy for when he misses in a way for me like this that is unique and singular and the work of one man and it's just it's also just fucking endearing that

[01:58:16] this guy is doing shit on his terms fully that he has figured out this way to sort of one foot in one foot out exist in the mainstream studio system and also completely own his own destiny and I'm always excited to see what he does next. Me too.

[01:58:31] Yeah. Anyway next week the beach. Oh, yeah, this Beach does not make you old. No, I mean makes you old in the regular sense, you know, one minute you age in real time, right? Yes, they do leave the beach older than when they got there.

[01:58:45] Yes next week is our episode on the beach. The beach. The mama of the blankies. Yes, Emily Ishida is back. Back for the first time in a long time. Not that long. Year and a half. We didn't realize how long it had been. We're sorry. Yeah, we're sorry.

[01:59:00] You know, she did move to LA. Moved to LA. How dare she? How dare she? To move to LA and experience great success. Anyway, yes. The beach next week. We're back into boil. We'll obviously be taking a quick another quick break for the blankies.

[01:59:15] Yeah, that's in like three weeks from now. I think yeah beginning of March. Yeah, whatever it is, but otherwise keep tuning in Patreon obviously we're now about to start the Men In Black franchise. We're yes. Well the next episode on Patreon will be about Mib Men In

[01:59:32] Black and yesterday we posted our our thoughtful and you know, you know analytical take on Street Fighter Street Fighter episode has come out. Okay. That was my question. Yeah, so you can listen to a Ben's Choice on Street Fighter. You can listen to the spoilers.

[01:59:49] Zangief is in that movie. Zangief is in that movie. Zangief himself? It is the second best performance by Zangief in a movie. Yeah, Wreck-It Ralph. Yeah, he's really good in Wreck-It Ralph. Yeah. Hi Duken. Yes and as we've been trying to remind people every

[02:00:08] Patreon episode gets unpaywalled after three years to the day. So every 10 days on Patreon there's going to be a new exclusive locked episode, but we're also unlocking an old one. We're unlocking episodes from early 2020. So the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe of commentaries along

[02:00:25] with the Star Wars commentaries are out there and I think we're now into Toy Story commentaries. No, so we're still now sort of halfway through Star Wars. Okay. Yep. Well then that's what's going on over there. Check it out. You can check that out.

[02:00:37] Just go to our Patreon. Yeah, patreon.com slash blank check. You can adjust then the year. Yeah, look at 2020 releases. Yeah, and it's just truly the post where the episodes went up in 2020 are now just open and unlocked for the public

[02:00:51] if you want to listen to them there. That's all I gotta say about that. Thank you all for listening. Please remember to rate, review, and subscribe. Hey, thank you to our good friend Marie Barty. You're welcome. Coming up on the two-year anniversary basically. Love you guys.

[02:01:08] You started working right before March Madness. 2021. Yeah, and we, look spoilers, but we just spent a lot of time right before this basically tense war room negotiations to settle March Madness for this year and I think it's gonna be fun and normal and everyone's going to be chill

[02:01:26] online. I insist. Thank you to Alex Barron, AJ McCann for their editing. AJ Burts for his research, which he didn't do on this episode. Hope you enjoyed the time off, JJ. Thank you to Pat Reynolds and Joe Bowen for our artwork.

[02:01:48] Thank you to Lane Montgomery and the Great American Hall for our theme song. You can go to blankcheckpod.com for links to some real nerdy shit. As we said, next week, we're taking a trip to the beach and as always... Hello.