transcript

Speaker 1:
[00:00] Hey folks, just a quick reminder that submissions are now open at thesummermoviewager.com for your Summer Movie Wager lists. You have until the evening of April 29th to get your submissions in and be included on the Global Leaderboard. Again, that's thesummermoviewager.com. Good luck and enjoy this episode of the podcast. Hello, everyone, and welcome to The Filmcast, the podcast about movies. I'm David Chen, and I, for one, am looking forward to our review of Evil Dead Rises 2. I mean, I mean, Lee Cronin's The Mummy. Joining me today is Devindra Hardawar.

Speaker 2:
[00:52] I can't wait for Lee Cronin's The Exorcist, which features The Mummy.

Speaker 1:
[00:56] And Jeff Cannata.

Speaker 3:
[00:58] Do you think when they finished up shooting each day, Lee Cronin would be like, that's a wrap!

Speaker 1:
[01:11] All right. Those are all vague and oblique references to the fact that today of the podcast, we're going to be reviewing Lee Cronin's The Mummy. You know, before we get into anything, obviously, we're going to have some people watching for you and some film news at the top of the show. But before we get into any of that, guys, I am just curious, like, what is your reaction to the fact that they call this movie Lee Cronin's The Mummy, given that, I'm going to put this out there, I think no one knows who Lee Cronin is.

Speaker 3:
[01:44] That's how you get known, baby. Name above the title.

Speaker 2:
[01:47] Well, you get known by making a franchise that's already been made several times, too, right? It's like, what are we going to do? We have The Mummy, we have Tom Cruise's The Mummy, we have another Mummy coming, like another reboot of the crew, Brendan Fraser Mummy, right?

Speaker 3:
[02:01] I think that's a shrewd move. If you're an up and coming director, you got a kind of a hit, a horror hit under your belt, and you go, you know what? I'm going to mine a franchise that has had so many iterations and has been around so long that the only way to differentiate it is to put my name on it.

Speaker 1:
[02:21] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[02:21] That's smart, that's savvy, baby.

Speaker 1:
[02:23] I read an interview with Lee Cronin where he talked about, first of all, for those who don't know, Lee Cronin directed Evil Dead Rises, which did very well at the box office, and I think we're all pretty big fans of here on the podcast. I read an interview with him where he talked about, I think it was Jason Blund that pitched putting his name on the movie, and he talked about going to talk with his friends and ask them, is this a good idea? Am I going to come off like an asshole if I put my name in the movie? I think it's a combination of, hey, Lee Cronin has earned enough cred that you can say that he has a vision that is going to be in the film somehow, and also we have to distinguish her from the 18 other Mummy movies that are out there. So yeah.

Speaker 3:
[03:11] I want to know, Dave, did it bother you that the title card in the actual movie says the Lee Cronin's Mummy?

Speaker 1:
[03:18] Oh.

Speaker 3:
[03:19] Did you notice that?

Speaker 1:
[03:20] I didn't notice that because in Portugal where I saw the movie, it's called Amomia de Lee Cronin. But then they show via the English title on screen, and then the translation is Amomia de Lee Cronin. So I'm not paying close attention to like, I'm trying to read the subtitles in Portuguese because I'm learning. So I didn't catch it.

Speaker 2:
[03:44] I will say, the typography.

Speaker 3:
[03:46] Sorry, Devindra.

Speaker 2:
[03:48] No, you're right though. But the way I read it was it was the mummy that came in to text for the title card and then Lee Cronin under. So it's like the mummy Lee Cronin is how I read it.

Speaker 3:
[03:59] My recollection is the is above Lee Cronin and then the word mummy. So it's the Lee Cronin's mummy.

Speaker 1:
[04:06] So they just messed up the typography is what we're saying.

Speaker 2:
[04:09] But this guy is really owning his title cards though, his title screens. Like remember the Evil Dead Rise one.

Speaker 1:
[04:14] Evil Dead Rise is that amazing title.

Speaker 2:
[04:16] Iconic, iconic title.

Speaker 3:
[04:17] I like that. Make that your signature move. Like a cool title is always good.

Speaker 1:
[04:22] Absolutely. Well, speaking of signature moves, guys, there has been a lot of news that has dropped from CinemaCon over the course of the last week. And a couple pieces of news coming out of Disney in preparation for Avengers Doomsday that I think is kind of interesting. First of all, here's the headline from deadline.com. Joe Russo teases Avengers Endgame re-release and says, the film will feature new footage set within the Doomsday narrative. It's an opportunity to create a bridge. So here is what, at the Sands Film Festival in St. Andrew, Scotland, we should point this out. Joe Russo revealed during a Q&A with Deadline's Mike Fleming exactly what audiences can expect to see on the big screen on September 25th when Endgame is re-released. Quote, it's critically important to re-release the movie. First of all, let me just stop right there. Wow, critically important, wow.

Speaker 3:
[05:17] We need that money.

Speaker 1:
[05:20] The cash grab is essential to all of our bottom lines. Anyway, and in fact-

Speaker 3:
[05:24] By the way, I love the new teaser for Spaceballs 2. I don't know if you guys have seen it. It shows no footage. It's just Mel Brooks talking to camera. And in the context of the first Spaceballs, his character, who's a play on Yoda, says, you know, hopefully we'll all be reunited for Spaceballs 2 to search for more money. And the whole teaser is about him saying, well, it's actually not called that because we found the money. And it's very funny.

Speaker 1:
[05:58] I wish they had called it that, though. That would have been kind of subversive, you know?

Speaker 3:
[06:01] Clearly, they talked about it. But here's my prediction. I know I'm totally...

Speaker 1:
[06:07] It's okay, go ahead...

Speaker 3:
[06:08] .tensioning us. I apologize.

Speaker 1:
[06:10] No worries.

Speaker 3:
[06:13] The actual title is Spaceballs the New One. Right, right. And I'm predicting that this is a play on, yes, it's a new film, but it's going to be much more about a send up of the sequel trilogy. And there's a new Jedi, there's a new one. There's a new person who has the four or the Schwartz in this case. And I think it's going to be much more making fun of the prequels and the sequels. And it's going to, like, that's a pun in and of itself.

Speaker 1:
[06:47] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[06:47] That's my prediction.

Speaker 1:
[06:50] Fair enough. We will see if that plays out. Bookmark this and we'll come back to this in, I think it's in 2027, that movie's coming out.

Speaker 3:
[06:58] Can't wait.

Speaker 1:
[06:59] Back to Joe Russo's comments. We'll be re-releasing the film Avengers Endgame footage that is set in the Doomsday story that we've added to Avengers Endgame. He was talking via Zoom because he had just presented at CinemaCon. It's an opportunity to create a bridge from Endgame to Doomsday in a very unique way. Because the movie was so successful, we have an opportunity to re-release it. You don't always get the chance to re-release it because it costs money. The fact that we can enhance the story of Doomsday by bringing it to Endgame, and these characters that we worked with for years that we love so much, and continue their story, it's really a unique opportunity. He then continued to describe the upcoming Endgame re-release as a critical companion story, and quote, a setup for what you're going to watch in December when you see Avengers Doomsday, end quote. Now, I know what you all are thinking when you hear that quote. I'll tell you what I'm thinking, which is, what was the point of phase five then? What was the point of phase five, if not to set us up for Avengers Doomsday?

Speaker 3:
[07:58] No, there's just one new scene in Endgame, and it's Robert Downey Jr. as Dr. Doom in a room with Thanos, and he's like, I got this plan. See, you get all the Infinity Gems, and then you snap, you snap your fingers, see, you snap them. So it was all Doom's plan, and that's the big reveal.

Speaker 1:
[08:20] Interesting, interesting.

Speaker 2:
[08:21] You joked, Jeff, but that could be it. It could be like, it was Doom all along. They've done nothing else.

Speaker 1:
[08:26] It's gonna be like one 30-second post-credit scene with Dr. Doom, and that's gonna be it.

Speaker 3:
[08:31] What you do is you snap, see, you snap, and then everybody goes away.

Speaker 1:
[08:35] Here's a question I have for you, Jeff, is, I mean, putting aside that we might have to cover this on The Filmcast, if you weren't part of a movie podcast and everything about your life was the same, everything else about your life was the same, would you go see Avengers Endgame re-release with potential additional extra footage that ties it to Avengers Doomsday? Like, is that something you would go, like, on your own volition to go see?

Speaker 3:
[09:01] If everything in my life is the same, maybe not, but because time is a premium and I have children and they're...

Speaker 1:
[09:08] Right, that's what I'm saying. It's like, does it rise to the level of, Jeff is gonna actually get his ass out there and go see?

Speaker 3:
[09:14] If this was 10 years ago, I'm there 100%.

Speaker 2:
[09:18] But I will say, Jeff, like, you have two whole human beings who are now conscious beings. Like, Endgame came out in 2019. We live completely different lives now. The opportunity to, like, bring my kids to have the Endgame cinematic experience is kind of intriguing.

Speaker 3:
[09:37] But doesn't it have to be built up over 27 movies?

Speaker 2:
[09:41] That's the parents' job.

Speaker 1:
[09:43] I don't think you can just, you know, cold plunge them into Endgame without... I'm sorry, do we have an online service where every single movie is available at the touch of your finger?

Speaker 2:
[09:54] Like, you could do the homework and get them to Endgame.

Speaker 3:
[09:58] And I'm sure there's a million people online telling you what are the minimum number of movies to watch before Endgame. Right, that's right. Yeah, I mean, I do think this is... I know we're mocking and we've been snarky about it, but I do think this is kind of rad. And I hope it's more than just one little scene. I think it would be cool if there's something meatier to it. He says it in an interesting way. I think if it really is an interesting way, if it doesn't undermine everything that happens actually in Endgame in the way that I was kind of, you know, joking about, I think this has the potential of doing something extremely cool. And I hope they've thought of a really cool way to do it. And I would be down to see this 100%.

Speaker 1:
[10:42] I'm of two minds of it. On the one hand, Avengers Endgame is one of the most successful films of all time. And guys, what a time it was to go, like that was just right before COVID hit.

Speaker 3:
[10:51] We had it all, man.

Speaker 1:
[10:52] We had it all. It was amazing.

Speaker 3:
[10:54] Prince was still alive.

Speaker 1:
[10:55] Incredible.

Speaker 3:
[10:56] Oh no, that was 2016.

Speaker 2:
[10:58] No, he was not. Sorry, Jeff.

Speaker 3:
[11:00] Sorry, I got that wrong.

Speaker 1:
[11:03] We're just saying random things now.

Speaker 3:
[11:04] Yeah. It's hard to remember back before the before times. So robots worked for us.

Speaker 1:
[11:12] Yeah. So on the one hand, hey, what a wonderful way to celebrate one of the most successful films of all time and tie it into whatever is coming next to The Avengers Doomstay. The more cynical side of me, which we all know is the dominant side, says, let's go.

Speaker 3:
[11:33] The front side.

Speaker 1:
[11:34] The front side says, number one, this is a shameless cash grab. And also it feels kind of like they're pulling a 28 years later, right? Like it feels kind of like, and what I mean by 28 years later is, okay, so 28 days later came out, then 28 weeks later, and then 28 years later. Now, Danny Boyle worked on the first movie and the third film, and notoriously, they were not fans of the second one. So literally, they just undid the second one in the first five seconds of 28 years later, and basically ignored that any of the events of 28 weeks later ever happened.

Speaker 3:
[12:10] You're saying they're doing this during the entire phase five.

Speaker 1:
[12:12] I'm saying that's distinctly possible that what happens in Avengers Endgame might completely erase or negate anything that has happened with Marvel since Avengers.

Speaker 2:
[12:22] The thing is they don't have to do that because phase five was so inconsequential.

Speaker 3:
[12:27] That's right.

Speaker 2:
[12:27] You don't have to retro change this thing.

Speaker 3:
[12:30] There's just a title card at the beginning that says there were no Eternals.

Speaker 1:
[12:36] I think that was technically phase four, but yes. I understand what you're saying.

Speaker 3:
[12:39] In the way, what I agree with you is that we have this massive movie coming out, Marvel movie coming out, and the big crossover event movie, and for the first time, there's like no build up to it. There's no build up to it.

Speaker 1:
[12:55] There's not like a Marvel film coming out six months before and then, you know, right.

Speaker 3:
[12:59] Right. There's no, this hasn't, we haven't, the audience hasn't been prepped in anticipation of this big crossover event. It's literally like, what prepped it? Well, the last big crossover event several years ago, and that's what Spider-Man.

Speaker 1:
[13:15] Yeah, we don't know how the Spider-Man brand new day might tie into it in a big way. That's a good point. Yes. We don't know.

Speaker 3:
[13:20] I'm assuming it will. The, it's an excellent point.

Speaker 1:
[13:24] The other thing I will, but certainly less build up than in previous years, right? Like in a typical Avengers year, you might have three Marvel films coming out the nine months leading up to, and now we only have Spider-Man, what's it called? Brand new day.

Speaker 3:
[13:42] Fantastic Four was the build up.

Speaker 1:
[13:43] That's right. That's right. But that was like last summer, right? So, yeah.

Speaker 3:
[13:47] The other thing I want to say though is that isn't every theatrical re-release a shameless money grab? Sure. By definition, that's just like, there's no, there's no way to do a re-release, theatrical re-release that isn't that.

Speaker 1:
[14:00] Yeah, that's fair. You know, that wasn't the main area of my critique, Jeff. You know, I think it's more that, what is this footage, like...

Speaker 3:
[14:12] Well, that's the question.

Speaker 1:
[14:13] Yeah, what is this footage? Is it gonna negate anything or ignore anything or whatever? Or is it gonna be completely insubstantial, like a typical Marvel post-credit scene? We'll find out.

Speaker 3:
[14:25] There is a chance that it could be brilliant and cool and everybody thinks it's neat. I mean, nah, a remote chance, but it's a chance.

Speaker 1:
[14:34] What are the odds? What are the odds? Especially compared to Marvel's recent output.

Speaker 2:
[14:39] Probably, like there is room for them to do a lot more of this, by the way. Like make a whole year leading up to Doom say, you want to see Iron Man 1 back in theaters? You want to relive your favorite MCU memories back in theaters? It's in there for a couple of weeks. The super fans can go check it out. Like that should be a thing.

Speaker 1:
[14:57] They used to have these...

Speaker 3:
[14:58] And put Doom in all of them. Just pop them in.

Speaker 1:
[15:02] If I recall, pre-COVID, there were these marathon screenings. Here's all of the Marvel film. It's like a 24 hour, 36 hour thing. And you could watch them all in a row. What an amazing time we used to live in. Anyway.

Speaker 3:
[15:16] Honestly, if they had stuck with Kang, and as a time travel. I guess Doom has time traveled a lot too. You could do this with him still. But I think it would have been cooler with Kang, where you could have re-released the movies and had him show up in all of them, like behind the scenes. That would have been fun. It would have been rad. But the Kang versions of these movies where he's present, he's watching, whatever it is.

Speaker 1:
[15:42] Probably the biggest fumbled bag. One of the biggest fumbled bags in all of cinema history was the Kang, Jonathan Major situation, I have to say. Anyway.

Speaker 2:
[15:49] I mean, it's a lot of things, a lot of things going on there.

Speaker 1:
[15:52] Yeah, yeah. And anyway, I guess we'll revisit this question in the fall, when the Avengers Endgame re-release happens.

Speaker 2:
[16:01] Yeah. You didn't ask me what I thought about this, Dave.

Speaker 1:
[16:03] Oh, sorry. I thought, go ahead, go ahead, Devindra.

Speaker 2:
[16:06] I am so tired.

Speaker 1:
[16:08] I think I already knew that, so that's why I did.

Speaker 2:
[16:10] I'm so tired of all of this. That's how I feel.

Speaker 1:
[16:15] I like how you redirected me, just so you could share that with us.

Speaker 2:
[16:20] I just want to be clear here. There is a certain level of excitement and also, they are really trying to manufacture excitement for this thing, and it just feels sad too. The Russos have not made a good movie outside of the Avengers movies. They can only direct within the Marvel machine, it seems too. I don't know how excited I am to be about anything they do at this point.

Speaker 1:
[16:44] I remember one of the saddest things I remember seeing was, do you guys remember there was this phase four or phase five movie that used Avengers endgame footage in it, but it was a completely different movie? It was Captain America, Brave New World, or what are those other movies where they're like, oh wow, no one's excited about this one, we gotta put some Avengers endgame footage in the trailer to get people psyched up. Anyway, we will revisit this question in the fall when the Avengers endgame re-release comes out and I try to convince you guys to see the movie with me. We should do it.

Speaker 2:
[17:18] You know, on TikTok, I keep seeing clips of, there are clips people are recording in the theaters, like the moment Cap picks up the hammer. And it's like, we did have it all. Like the whole crowd erupting in those iconic moments. We don't have that anymore, so we'll see.

Speaker 1:
[17:34] All right, let's take a break for a sponsor. We'll be back with more film news and what we've been watching right after this.

Speaker 3:
[17:40] This episode of The Filmcast is brought to you by SVS. And we need to talk about a problem. A problem, ladies and gentlemen, that no one wants to admit they have. Oh, I'm talking about the sound problem. You bought the giant TV. It's beautiful. It's basically a portal to another world. And then you said to yourself, Self, I'm sure the speakers built into this ultra-thin slab of glass are totally fine. They're not fine. Those postage stamp-sized TV speakers, they're doing their best. But they're fighting physics by trying to reproduce action sequences, orchestral sound scores, whispered dialogue. It's an impossible job. Impossible, I tell you. But there is hope. SVS exists to fix this problem. They make speakers and subwoofers that bring real, cinematic sound into your home. The kind where explosions actually have weight, music gives you chills, and dialogue doesn't sound like it's coming from the next room. And the best part is, SVS Gear is designed for real people, real rooms, and real budgets. Oh, and they back it up with free shipping, free returns, and a risk-free in-home trial so you can actually hear the difference for yourself with no risk. If you've already gone big on your TV, don't let it be held hostage by bad audio. Go to svsound.com and give your movies the sonic upgrade they deserve with SVS.

Speaker 1:
[19:35] Okay, well, here's another bit of film news, and I'm reading here from nofilmschool.com. I don't know if you guys heard about this, but Disney announced a new premium theatrical certification program designed to rival IMAX and Dolby Cinema.

Speaker 2:
[19:50] I'm so excited, guys.

Speaker 1:
[19:51] Called Infinity Vision.

Speaker 2:
[19:53] Oh, shit.

Speaker 3:
[19:53] I'm tired now, Devindra.

Speaker 2:
[19:55] Yeah.

Speaker 1:
[19:55] Yeah, yeah. This is the one thing that's definitely not gonna tire Devindra out more.

Speaker 3:
[19:59] Perked him up.

Speaker 2:
[20:00] Yep.

Speaker 1:
[20:01] So according to the deadline, Infinity Vision isn't necessarily a new proprietary projector technology built from the ground up. Instead, it's a high-end certification program for existing and future premium large-format auditoriums. It's basically a sticker they put on a theater to say they approve of them.

Speaker 2:
[20:15] It's a sticker. That's all it is. It's a fucking sticker.

Speaker 3:
[20:20] They come in, they test the popcorn, you know?

Speaker 2:
[20:25] They don't do anything.

Speaker 3:
[20:26] Their sneakers stick to the floor.

Speaker 2:
[20:29] You've got a big screen. That's it.

Speaker 1:
[20:31] Disney has already lined up 75 domestic and 300 global screens to launch under this banner. This is what gives you an Infinity Vision badge or sticker as Devindra Durysova calls it. Maximum scale, only the largest screens in a complex qualify. Focusing on vertical height and immersive field of view, laser projection, spatial audio. These are the things that you need to be Infinity Vision. Now, I know what a lot of you are thinking. Why go to the trouble of developing and coming up with the marketing and logo and all this stuff for a new theater certification program? The answer is extremely simple, which is that IMAX has committed three weeks of screens to Dune when it comes out in December 2026.

Speaker 2:
[21:17] Dune 3, baby.

Speaker 1:
[21:19] They did not budge when Disney said, hey, guess what? We're releasing Avengers Doomsday during the same time period. Disney, rather than take their ball and go home and change the release date for Avengers Doomsday, are like, I'm going to build my own premium theater with hookers and spatial audio and large screens, basically. And that's basically what they did. They're like, hey, we can't have IMAX, so we're literally going to invent an entire new certification so that you don't feel sad when you're watching Avengers Endgame in the non-premium format.

Speaker 2:
[21:57] There's always a drill tweet for these things. I'm not owned, I'm not owned, as I slowly shrink into a corn cob. They're completely owned, they're completely owned.

Speaker 1:
[22:08] Another drill tweet would be, don't put in the newspaper, I got mad.

Speaker 2:
[22:11] Don't put in the newspaper, I got mad.

Speaker 1:
[22:13] I'm not mad, don't put in the newspaper, I got mad, okay? I'm fine with Dune having all the IMAX screens. Devindra, your reaction to this?

Speaker 2:
[22:20] Complete bullshit. It is such a stupid corporate move, because there's also room for Disney to be like, okay, we don't have IMAX, maybe we will help some screens, like maybe we will help some theaters get more spatial audio out there. Maybe we will do something to actually improve the cinema going experience for our marquee title, similar to the way that I think, you know, for Avatar and other things, like they really pushed for theaters to get the better projectors, to get the high frame rate stuff. There were stuff done by studios to try to make their movies actually show better or display better. Disney is doing nothing here. There's nothing being done here other than you got a big screen, you've got spatial audio, you get the sticker. That's it.

Speaker 3:
[23:05] You have a flat surface to display the sticker on.

Speaker 1:
[23:09] You're looking forward to Infinity Vision, Jeff?

Speaker 3:
[23:11] Hell yeah. I want to get that sticker in my house. It's a bit of a bummer how vague these stipulations seem to be, the specifications, you know? It's like, oh, you got to be the best. You got to be the best. Well, how do I know I'm the best? Because you get the sticker. Well, how do I get the sticker? By being the best. Oh, okay. Well, that sounds good then, I guess. Yeah, I would love to know exactly, I'm feeling that most of the screens that I'm already going to the movies in could qualify, but I don't know.

Speaker 2:
[23:44] Most of the big screens had all the chains, like will qualify for this. Yeah.

Speaker 1:
[23:49] I just, I feel like, I don't know how generalizable this feeling is, but I feel like the PLF, Premium Large Format Screen situation in the United States is already kind of a mess. And what I mean by that is, are you one of the 70 millimeter IMAX screens that is actually showing sinners in the correct form? This is information that I think is not super easy to find already for the average filmgoer, and introducing Infinity Vision into the mix, in my opinion, will just make the whole situation even more confusing, because it's gonna be some subset of the PLF, Premium Large Format Screens people already have, and then there'll be a question of like, is this Infinity Vision? No, but it is Dolby Atmos. Okay, is that good enough? You know, like, it's just.

Speaker 3:
[24:35] But the good news is, Dave, they get to charge a little more for the Infinity Vision.

Speaker 1:
[24:38] Oh yeah, no, no, geez. I totally forgot about that. Thank you for bringing that up, Jeff. Yes, that's so true, that's so true. So I guess it's all gonna be okay. Anyway, Infinity Vision, it's total BS. And I'm actually impressed a little bit that they went to the trouble of making up an entire new format, just to get around the fact that they don't have all the iMac screens for Avengers Doomsday. That is, I think it's the first time anything like this has ever been done. So you gotta admire, you gotta admire the ingenuity.

Speaker 3:
[25:13] It is the this one goes to 11 of movie formats.

Speaker 1:
[25:17] Absolutely, absolutely. And it has the same level of intelligence as that concept. Anyway, that is a little bit of film news and what's going on in the world right now. Of course, we're all looking forward to Avengers Doomsday when it comes out, which is gonna be December 18th. So look forward to the December 18th premiere of Avengers Doomsday, one of the cinematic events of the year, and certainly one of the big events that we're gonna have on this podcast, talking about it. So, all right folks, it's time to get to what we've been watching this week. I wanna talk very briefly about this movie called The Christophers, which is Stephen Soderbergh's new film. And originally, I thought we might review it on this week's podcast, but it wasn't showing near me. However, at the last minute, I did receive a screener for this film. And so, and it's also possible we might do a full review for An After Dark later on in the next few weeks. So I'll speak briefly about it. But this is Stephen Soderbergh's new film and it stars Ian McKellen and Michaela Cole. Ian McKellen plays a great, brilliant artist who is long past his prime. And Michaela Cole plays a very talented artist who has been hired by Ian McKellen's children in the movie to forge some of his paintings so that they can be sold for millions of dollars on Ian McKellen's passing. And this movie is, in my opinion, really well done. It's kind of Stephen Soderbergh minimalist filmmaking. The whole film is just people talking in rooms and talking about the nature of art and about their feelings. And I think it's a wonderful meditation on what is art, what gives art value. Ian McKellen is wonderful in this film. He plays, I assume, an exaggerated version of himself. Somebody who has had a very long storied career, but at this point, DGAF. And I just found his chemistry with Mikhail Kol to be irresistible. And the questions this movie raises to be quite interesting. So I had a really good time with The Christophers, and I would recommend it. Devindra, I think you had a chance to see The Christophers as well, which is out in theaters this week, right?

Speaker 2:
[27:36] I did, and I absolutely love this movie. I love this movie mainly because it is essentially Ian McKellen versus Mikhail Kol for most of this movie. And the interactions they have, the chemistry they have, these very different performance styles that they're doing here. Because Ian McKellen is this very, he's going big. He's often going big. He's an artist who has a lot of opinions, doesn't give a shit about what he says.

Speaker 1:
[28:08] Yeah, he really doesn't give a anymore at this stage.

Speaker 2:
[28:10] Doesn't give a fuck, yeah. And Mikhaila Kol has always been an interesting actress when it comes to just her stillness and the way she says a lot without actually saying things. Like she's often on the receiving end of his diatribes. But you watch her face, you watch her eyes, and you watch how she's reacting to things. She is such a perfect Soderbergh character too, like a Soderbergh schemester in a way. Like this kind of ends up in a way where it's like, oh, there's a bit of an Ocean's Eleven plan by the end or something. Like there is machinations going on in this movie that feel very Soderbergh-y, and I just think are just very enjoyable. And this is also a really interesting exploration of the nature of art and what makes good art great. How do you value it? It's trying to comment on the ideas of like, people who collect art too and what the value is there. There's a lot going on in this movie. It's nice and tight and also want to shout out, it's an Ed Solomon script too. So I always like it when he works together with Soderbergh. Like they just produce like really unique, fun little cinematic experiences.

Speaker 3:
[29:16] Sounds like the perfect setup for the guy that's going hard into AI.

Speaker 1:
[29:23] Also want to give a shout out to David Holmes, who is a composer who's worked with Soderbergh many times, and I thought the score for this film was quite good as well. So the movie is the Christophers.

Speaker 3:
[29:33] I'm dying to see this you guys. I'm dying to see it. You know, I'm a massive Ian McKellan fan. Was my favorite actor when I was in acting school. This is before Gandalf. And you know, I'm dying to see it, dying to see it.

Speaker 1:
[29:52] Would strongly recommend and you know, I think my Jeff-O-Meter is not operating at its peak capacity, but if I were to say it's good, then I would say this is a movie that's right up Jeff's alley. So, The Christophers is in theaters right now in the United States and it is one thing we have been watching this week.

Speaker 3:
[30:09] You know, I once got to see Ian McKellan's DONG in real life.

Speaker 1:
[30:15] Wow. Was this as part of a play?

Speaker 2:
[30:18] How was it, Jeff?

Speaker 3:
[30:18] Yeah, he did Lear and I saw Lear and there's a part where he gets buck ass naked and he was prancing around the stage.

Speaker 2:
[30:27] Brave man.

Speaker 3:
[30:28] Yeah, it was good. It was real good.

Speaker 1:
[30:31] Thank you for sharing that.

Speaker 2:
[30:34] This week in DONGs.

Speaker 1:
[30:37] Devindra Hardawar, hit us up with something you watched this week.

Speaker 2:
[30:40] Yeah, I've been checking out Beef Season 2 and my God, the cast for this show. I wasn't really fully following that was coming. I knew it was going to be Oscar Isaac. But it's Oscar Isaac, Kerry Mulligan. They've worked together a couple of times. Kayleigh Spany and Charles Melton. Charles Melton, who I loved so much in May-December. It doesn't feel at all like the first season of Beef, which was essentially like a road rage incident that spirals and gets really deep. This feels almost a little bit like White Lotus. It's a bit of a wealth gap exploration here. There's a bit of a generational gap exploration here. I think it's really, really well done. Perhaps a little more cartoonish than season one, but I'm just loving everything going on here. The beef tastes good. The drama is delicious. Oscar Isaac, I love everything he's doing here, because everybody in the show is a dirt bag, a shit bag. Oscar Isaac in particular is somebody who is trying really hard to fit in with the rich clientele that he essentially works for. But he wants to be true to himself. He's in a really volatile relationship with Keri Mogan. The relationship differences between these couples too, I think are fascinating to see. There's a lot going on here. I find it really, really interesting just to sit back and watch the fireworks of the show. I'm very happy that Lee Seung Jun got a chance to make another season of this. Also, really cool to see really familiar faces pop up throughout the season.

Speaker 1:
[32:28] Yes. There are some where I was like, oh, Devindra, I'm just going to like that person is in the show. I've also been watching Beef. I've got about halfway through season two. Big fan of Beef season two so far. In particular, I would say, in my opinion, Kayleigh Spaney is the MVP for me. Kayleigh Spaney has been a lead in multiple big movies.

Speaker 2:
[32:53] Action franchises too? She's been big.

Speaker 1:
[32:56] Alien, Romulus, Civil War. She also played the character Priscilla in the movie Priscilla. I've seen her in a lot of movies. We've reviewed some of them on the podcast. This is a role unlike anything I've seen her do before. She's a down on her luck young person just trying to make her way through the upper class world as an employee of this country club. It's just a side of her that I've never seen before. I think she does a wonderful job portraying this person who is quite frazzled and also yet has revenge on their heart.

Speaker 2:
[33:39] Revenge her heart, a bit of grit and determination to her as well is kind of fascinating. But here's the thing, she's great, but I'm here just looking at Charles Melton. I'm like that guy is just, he's always doing something kind of interesting. The character in this show is a bit similar to the guy he played in May, December. But I think he's a really fascinating actor. Kayleigh Spanning has headlined several films. She has starred several films. I think Charles Melton is the one here who's like, we've celebrated every actor in this series before. But I think Charles Melton has an enormous career ahead of him. I can't wait to see what else he does.

Speaker 1:
[34:16] I agree with everything you said, except I'm really not liking that mustache Devindra.

Speaker 2:
[34:22] It's a bit of a dirtbag mustache, but also Oscar Isaac has this proto mullet.

Speaker 1:
[34:27] Proto mullet.

Speaker 2:
[34:28] He's like a thing that is about to be a mullet. All the choices are really interesting. Kind of fascinating.

Speaker 1:
[34:35] So Beef Season 2, definitely a show that I would recommend. And Beef Season 1 was like a massive, massive success.

Speaker 3:
[34:43] Beef Season 1 was so good.

Speaker 1:
[34:48] Weird ending.

Speaker 2:
[34:49] Weird ending.

Speaker 1:
[34:50] But bold. I'm halfway through Beef Season 2. I'm curious if it's going to go as, let's just say surreal as Beef Season 1. But big fan of Beef Season 2, it's available right now on Netflix as something Devindra Hardawar and I have been watching this week. Let's take a break for a sponsor. We'll be back with more of what we've been watching right after this. Jeff Cannata, hit us up with something you've watched this week.

Speaker 3:
[35:10] We've got a Blue Sky Skeet from Ian D Holmes, a listener of the show who recommended The Dark Wizard, which is on HBO Max, formerly Max, formerly HBO, formerly HBO Max, the one to watch for HBO Max. And so-

Speaker 1:
[35:29] Nailed it, nailed it.

Speaker 3:
[35:30] Emphatic, emphatic recommendations. Checked out first episode of The Dark Wizard on HBO Max. And, oh my goodness, boys. This one is, it gives me the heebie-jeebies watching. Do you guys ever get the heebie-jeebies watching a show? This is a docu-series about one of them, one of their free solo fellas, Dean Potter, he's kind of one of the original free solo dudes. You'll be shocked to learn-

Speaker 1:
[36:09] And bass jumper as well, right?

Speaker 3:
[36:10] Bass jumper, he and his friends like invented the highline, what the highline is. The highline is a slackline that's over a very huge chasm that will plummet to your death if you fall. So, he is a crazy person. He's no longer alive. That is not a spoiler. The first five seconds of the show, you find out no longer alive. You'll be shocked to learn it was a terrible accident.

Speaker 1:
[36:45] I'm actually glad that that's revealed, Jeff, because I've seen documentaries that leave that as kind of this big reveal, and it always feels a little bit in bad taste to me.

Speaker 3:
[36:56] Well, this is not, this is this whole, the take on this docu-series is that it's a post-mortem on his life. It is a look back at who was this enigmatic figure that did all these wild, risk-taking things. And the answer is, really got under my skin. The answer is a little disturbing, but fascinating. I mean, I think the show is incredibly compelling and very difficult to turn away from, even if there were times when my blood ran cold. This is the kind of thing that really chills me. Watching, I mean, there's so much footage of this dude doing things that no one should ever do. And it's hard. I mean, like my heart is in my throat watching a lot of that. I mean, there's a sequence where he does a high line and he decides to take off his safety tether and just do walk on a wire, you know, by himself. He's got no shirt and he's carrying nothing. He's barefoot. And he just decides to walk between these massive chasms with no safety line. And he falls multiple times. Falls and like catches the rope as he falls and then like curses at himself, gets up, walks back to the beginning to start over. It's crazy.

Speaker 1:
[38:27] That's intense. Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[38:28] And there's a, you know, and there's lots of archival footage of him, lots of contemporary footage of his contemporaries that are describing what kind of person he is. And he's also a dude that journaled obsessively. So there's lots of looking into his journals, which is, you know, the one character says he would have hated this. Like, it's very intrusive and kind of, you know, unfair that he, you know, his deepest, darkest journals are just on display for everyone. But fascinating, fascinating. It is a look at a very complicated mind. At one point toward the end of episode one, they talk about how he only wanted to do things that had the death consequence, right? That it forced him to focus his mind to such a, you know, where perfection is the only option. It's perfection or it's death. And he was intensely competitive. He had a huge ego. He was a, you know, he seems like an unpleasant person through large sections of his life. But my goodness, what a fascinating look at what is possible. If a human being just decides to risk their life and push themselves to the upper limits of human accomplishment. Obviously didn't turn out well, you know, at a certain point you roll the dice enough times. But if you can stomach this movie, which, I mean, this show, which I, to be honest with you, had a few times where I had to hold my hands over my eyes. Like it is, and not because anything is gruesome or grisly. It's just so...

Speaker 1:
[40:15] I had that reaction when I was watching Lee Cronin's The Mummy, to be honest with you.

Speaker 3:
[40:18] Well, for different reasons, different, that's what I'm saying, not gruesome or grisly. But this is just the concept, like it is so terrifying to me, the concept of stepping out in the unknown and, you know, being hundreds of feet above the ground and having no safety net. It's insane. But wild, it's The Dark Wizard and it's on HBO Max.

Speaker 1:
[40:45] Very cool. I'm interested in this. I saw it, I never heard of this guy, but...

Speaker 3:
[40:51] He was the, you know, I can't remember the name of the dude from Free Solo.

Speaker 1:
[40:54] Alex Honnold.

Speaker 3:
[40:55] Yeah. So he is the precursor to Alex Honnold, kind of like took what this dude was doing and mainstreamed it.

Speaker 1:
[41:02] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[41:02] But this guy was like intensely anti-establishment and Dean Potter, I'm talking about, and sort of counterculture and really was, you know, he... It's a fascinating journey on that respect, too, that's highlighted in the show, how he sort of got sponsors and then kind of started drinking his own Kool-Aid. But I think he was, you know, Hanel is so very approachable and likable and he still does these things that are inhuman and terrifying to me, but he just seems like a pleasant human, where this Dean Potter, it was just like...

Speaker 1:
[41:42] You don't want to hang out with this guy, necessarily.

Speaker 3:
[41:44] Well, I mean, it might be wild to hang out with him, but he was a very intense person by the account of the show, for certain, yeah.

Speaker 1:
[41:54] All right, The Dark Wizard, something Jeff Cannata has been watching. I want to talk about something I've been watching. So I had a chance to see the movie Six Degrees of Separation. You guys heard about this movie? Will Smith, Stalker Channing.

Speaker 3:
[42:07] Six Degrees of Separation, yeah, the original?

Speaker 1:
[42:09] Yeah, the original. Based on the play? Yeah, based on the play.

Speaker 3:
[42:10] Wow, you've never seen it before?

Speaker 1:
[42:12] No, because...

Speaker 3:
[42:13] Bottle of beer, bottle.

Speaker 1:
[42:15] Yes.

Speaker 3:
[42:15] A bottle of beer.

Speaker 1:
[42:17] Amazing scene, amazing scene. So I don't know about you guys. I have a feeling I'm the only one of the three of us that has this system, okay? But whenever my wife is discussed in an episode of the show, I will give her a heads up. I'm going to say, hey, talked about you in this episode. Because sometimes, on occasion, she listens to the show. And so I want her to know that she's discussed on the show. It's just a courtesy, in my opinion.

Speaker 3:
[42:42] You don't like a little Easter egg, a little Easter egg for when she listens?

Speaker 1:
[42:45] No. If she had a podcast and I was discussed, I would want to know the context. So I mentioned to her that we discussed Greg's email on last week's episode of the podcast about how many movies you see with a partner.

Speaker 3:
[42:57] Yeah.

Speaker 1:
[42:59] And she had a couple of reactions. Number one, she said, hey, maybe we should try to see one movie a week. That would be, and I was like, yes!

Speaker 3:
[43:08] Thanks, Greg.

Speaker 1:
[43:09] Thanks, Greg. And number two, she said, hey, it would really mean a lot to me if we could watch Six Degrees of Separation, one of my favorite films. And so that's what we did. We actually did it on her birthday, and we watched Six Degrees of Separation. And I just wanted to say, I really like this movie. I thought Will Smith was wonderful in this. This is one of his first performances, and he's pretty amazing in the movie. JJ. Abrams is in the film playing an extremely bratty college student. All the children in the movie are huge assholes. But yeah, Jeff, it sounds like you're very familiar with Six Degrees of Separation. What did you think of this film?

Speaker 3:
[43:53] Oh, when I watched it back in 1990, whatever it was? Yeah, I mean, it came out in 1993. Yeah, I was obsessed with this movie when it came out. I mean, I was in love with Stockard Channing, first of all. And yeah, I mean, this is John Guare, right? Is the playwright? So yeah, he, yeah, this was, you know, this was actor catnip, this movie, when I was like all about being an actor.

Speaker 1:
[44:23] Anything specifically about the film resonate with you?

Speaker 3:
[44:26] Bottle of beer. Bottle of beer.

Speaker 1:
[44:32] There is a scene where Will Smith is being instructed on how to speak in the presence of other elite, wealthy people. And he says, this person tells him, you can't say bottle of beer, you need to say bottle of beer. You need to like enunciate the T's a little bit. And it's an amazing scene because you really see Will Smith's code switching on display in the film. It's like really remarkable stuff. But the movie Six Degrees of Separation is really, I think about the stories we tell other people, the currency of stories and how to, how to convert your life into stories without losing your humanity basically, right? Like it's about how to like, like how to tell stories about your life without the actual events and experience that you've had becoming meaningless or cheapened by them. I think that's one of several ideas in the movie, I think.

Speaker 3:
[45:30] Ian McKellen's in this movie.

Speaker 1:
[45:32] Yes, playing a, he has some pretty amazing, extremely racist lines in the film. And he plays a South African in the film. And so, yeah, he is great in the film as well. But Jeff, yeah, any other, Devindra, have you seen Six Degrees of Separation? And you have any thoughts on this?

Speaker 2:
[45:48] I have not seen this.

Speaker 1:
[45:48] You have not seen it?

Speaker 2:
[45:49] This cast is incredible.

Speaker 3:
[45:50] Very good, very good movie.

Speaker 2:
[45:51] Yeah, at some point.

Speaker 1:
[45:52] Jeff, any other thoughts on Six Degrees of Separation?

Speaker 3:
[45:54] It's been a long time since I've seen it, to be frank with you. A long, long, long time since I've seen it, but I was, this was, yeah, this was one of my favorite movies in the 90s. So I definitely have a lot of affection for it.

Speaker 1:
[46:07] Still would recommend the movie Six Degrees of Separation, something I've been watching this week. Devindra Hardawar, something you've been watching this week.

Speaker 2:
[46:13] Yeah, I wrapped up DTF St. Louis, and I believe we're all gonna be talking about that in the After Dark this week, so I won't say too much other than-

Speaker 1:
[46:21] Just FYI, let's pause and say this week's After Dark, we're gonna be doing a DTF St. Louis Season One Spoiler Convo, so just FYI. People can look forward to that if you are a subscriber at patreon.com/filmpodcast. Anyway, go ahead.

Speaker 2:
[46:35] Freaking loved it. Like this is, the show reminds me why I like Stephen Conrad's writing so much, why I love Patriot so much. This is a guy who will never deliver what you expect. And this is a show that feels almost masterful in the way that it kind of swerves and moves around. It starts one way and you expect one thing and you expect certain things out of these characters. And by the end, it's just something completely different and something that's kind of beautiful, honestly. I think there are some tremendous performances in this series. Jason Bateman feels like a lock for an Emmy for him. Like there is stuff that he does that feels so sad. Like it is such a this show feels a bit like, you know, was it Trouble with Fleishman? Was it the flight?

Speaker 1:
[47:26] The flight means in trouble.

Speaker 2:
[47:27] Fleishman is in trouble. It feels like that except a little more, a little more absurdist, a little more, you know, weird, but it's still fundamentally about the sadness of middle age and the sadness of being where you are in life and feeling kind of very alone. And it is a fascinating exploration of that, and especially of men and male relationships. The relationship between David Hardawar and Jason Bateman in the series is, I don't think something I've ever seen on TV before. I think it's just kind of beautiful. So love it, love this show. I think it's also genuinely hilarious while also simultaneously being very moving in time. So this is totally my bag. If you like this show and you have not seen Patriot, go watch Patriot because it's beautiful too.

Speaker 1:
[48:11] All right. That's DTF St. Louis season one. And again, we will be discussing it in depth on this week's After Dark, patreon.com/filmpodcast. Jeff Cannata, something else you've been watching this week.

Speaker 3:
[48:20] Well, there's a new series. I don't know how new, honestly, new to me, newish called Sunny Nights that I've literally heard no one talk about. Not a single person that I know, but it has Will Forte in it.

Speaker 1:
[48:38] One of your favorite actors.

Speaker 3:
[48:40] I will watch anything with Will Forte in it. I adore Will Forte. I think he's brilliant. And I will follow him to the ends of the earth. I, you know, I will, if he's the last man on earth, I'd watch it.

Speaker 1:
[48:56] Even if that show ends with a massive cliffhanger as though it was never completed.

Speaker 3:
[49:00] We, do we ever talk about him revealing what their plans were for the next two seasons if they had gotten to make them? It's incredibly brilliant. Like if, what a loss for, man, I think we just had a question not too long ago, a mailbag question of what would, if you could un-cancel a show, what show would it be? I think I said, I think I said Pushing Daisies.

Speaker 1:
[49:27] Right.

Speaker 3:
[49:27] It might be Last Man on Earth just because I know what they wanted to do because he revealed it.

Speaker 1:
[49:32] Right.

Speaker 3:
[49:33] Anyway, I digress. Sunny Nights stars Will Forte and Darcy Carden, who just feels like she's shown up in everything these days. She's, she has really kind of crafted a really interesting career, starting as the most sort of charactery actors, side character, and really the, you know, co-lead of this show. And they play brother and sister who are kind of scammery, you know, they're kind of hustle, hustle culture, trying to make something happen. And they, they stumble on this treasure trove of, of tanning solution. I don't know, suntan lotion, spray, spray tan. That's spray tan is what it is. And they decide they're going to try to sell it and start this business. And she is, like her character is, is really the highlight of the show because Will Forte plays the kind of the straight man here. He's the straight laced one who's worried about doing things wrong and getting into trouble and, you know, messing things up. And she is just edge of her seat, you know, making deal, figuring it out, you know, spending money they don't have, that kind of thing, like getting them into trouble. And I would, the show, I mean, it's a half an hour show, but it is very much not a sitcom. It is, I would compare it, I think the show really wants to be something like Breaking Bad. And it doesn't quite succeed there. It's a little goofier than Breaking Bad, intentionally so. I mean, it does have some funny, ridiculous stuff that happens in it. But I think it is trying, it's got this whole element of the underworld and organized crime and kind of nefarious characters that they get mixed up with that are trying to kill them. It's got the person that's really close to the family who's also investigating the things that they get involved in. So it's got those kind of sopranos, Breaking Bad template elements where it's like, well, the person who's closest to the family is the one who might find you out and you've got to dance around that. And I like it. I want to love it and I don't love it. There's something that is not quite hitting. I don't know if it's this marriage of tones where there are really kind of goofy elements and kind of broad comedic strokes that you would expect from a Will Forte joint and from the creators of The Good Place and stuff like that. But it also is kind of deathly serious at times. So I don't know if it's really that because I don't necessarily have a problem with those two tones. It just, I'm four episodes in, I find it a little challenging to keep pushing myself forward even though there's moments in every episode I'm like, oh, that was brilliant. There'll be an amazing shot or a very funny concept or some wild turn of events that makes each episode interesting. But then it kind of gets muddled down in kind of some of its own mischigas that I don't really love. So bit of a mixed bag, but again, I don't see anybody talking about this and it's very much worth watching. It's worth checking out. It may click with you a little bit more than it clicks with me. It's called Sunny Nights. I believe I'm watching it on Hulu.

Speaker 1:
[53:13] Yeah, I believe it's on Hulu. And yeah, I think I've seen some reviews are a little mixed. Some people say it gets a little stronger towards the end, Jeff. So I don't know if that's...

Speaker 3:
[53:22] So I'm only on episode four.

Speaker 1:
[53:23] Right.

Speaker 3:
[53:24] I think all of it is out. But man, again, I love watching Will Forte. He's brilliant. There's shots in this movie that are just like tight close-ups on his face as he's realizing something. And he's so good. He's so good at being both that deathly serious, naturalistic take on the moment, but also it's just funny because it's Will Forte and there's something... There's just people that are funny just by being. And he's one of them for me and I love him.

Speaker 1:
[53:58] Well, again, it's Sunny Nights available right now on Hulu. It's something else Jeff Cannata has been watching this week. Let's take a break for a sponsor. We'll be back with a couple final What We've Been Watching is right after this. Hey, Devindra, we got a couple last things. Why don't you go first? You got one thing you want to talk about, right?

Speaker 2:
[54:13] Yeah, I want to shout out The Pitt Season 2, which is phenomenal. Just incredible television. It is so unlike anything on TV right now. And I just want to say like, if you've been avoiding it because you're afraid of like, you know, gross hospital stuff, yes, it gets gross. It gets realistic at times, but I will say-

Speaker 1:
[54:32] If that's why you've been avoiding it, then you are completely vindicated.

Speaker 2:
[54:34] Continue avoiding it, but also it is worth it because I don't think anything is exploring humanity in the way that the show is. Like it is very much a love letter to the people working in the ER and doing this incredibly difficult, soul crushing work, but it's also speaking to things of this moment. Like this is a show that's not afraid to just call out bullshit and call out things that are wrong in society. And I think it is maybe like it could be a little like on the nose. But you know what? It's this is not a time for subtlety. Like things are fucked up. And I think we are not saying loudly how unfair and how broken our society is at times. And this is a show that just kind of does it and is, I think, making some really good points. But it's also like tremendous drama being told in a way that view things are right now, the real time aspect of the show, the way it's juggling things when things get really hectic. I think it's phenomenal. I don't think every single plot point from the season wrapped up in ways that I liked. I don't think it treated every character well, but finale is great. And the overall experience is one of those things. It reminds me of watching old school TV, man. Lots of episodes, you're spending time with these characters. It's a week to week drama where it leaves you hanging in really tremendous ways every week. It's just a great experience to watch. Check out The Pitt S2. You'll probably binge it, but I will say the best way to watch the show is to be on it every single week and have that drama, have to sit with it for a week. Cannot wait for season 3.

Speaker 1:
[56:10] Also a big fan of The Pitt S2. And it's wonderful that, hey, 15 episodes a season and one season per year. An abundance of riches in this TV desert that we're in right now. The Pitt S2 is available right now. It just aired its finale on HBO Max. I wanted to give a shout out to Invincible S4. Have you guys been keeping up with Invincible at all? Where are you guys on the show?

Speaker 3:
[56:37] I have fallen behind and I really kick myself because I really like that show. And I think I didn't finish season 3. I don't think I finished season 3 because season 3 came out in two halves, right? Yeah, I don't think I ever watched the second half.

Speaker 1:
[56:50] I think that might have been season 2. Well, maybe they're both. Anyway, regardless, I agree that the release was not optimal for keeping up with it. So can I like, can I reveal some details about what overall season 4 is about? Is that cool with you guys? In my opinion, season 4 is about the thing that I wanted to know about since the end of season 1, which happened in 2021. So at the end of season 1, right, basically it sets up this battle between Earth and the Viltrumite Empire. And in season 4, we actually start to see that come together in a big way. And I've been waiting five years for that plot line to resolve itself. To be like, you know, they introduced it in season 1. It's very intriguing. And finally in season 4, they did it. And season 4 episode, I think, 7 just aired. And it is the highest rated episode of Invincible according to IMDB that has ever been made. And I have seen the episode, and it is in fact incredible. And I just wanted to give a shout out. Like hey, if you have not caught up with Invincible, season 4, in my opinion, is very strong. And specifically, season 4 episode 7 is really good. It is like, wow, they really did some stuff. Some really ambitious stuff in that episode that I am really impressed by. And it is actually so good, it might be problematic, because it is like, how are they going to have a finale that is even better than this? I do not even understand how that is going to be pulled off. So anyway, season 4 I am enjoying so far. And specifically, season 4 episode 7 was just incredible.

Speaker 3:
[58:37] It was a show that Devindra roasted for having bad animation.

Speaker 1:
[58:41] And sadly, did they up that budget? Sadly, I do not know that the animation is like way better than it was in season 1. But I will say that some of the concepts, some of the ideas and a handful of the visuals that they have in season 4, and specifically season 4 episode 7 are really incredible. So just want to give a quick shout out to Invincible season 4. If you have not caught up, I do think it is worth it. And that is what we have been watching this week. It is time to get to weekly plugs. We are going to do weekly plugs. Weekly Plugs, the part of the show each week where we plug something else we've been making. This week, I wanna plug my newsletter, Decoding Everything, at decodingeverything.com. It's free to subscribe, check it out. This week, I wrote up some thoughts on the Lee Cronin's The Mummy, as well as Steven Soderbergh's The Christophers. Check it out, decodingeverything.com. It's the way to get access to everything I'm doing online these days. You know, guys, I had a question before we progressed with Weekly Plugs. It's not really a question. It's more of a statement that I'm going to follow up with another statement later. And that is, a mummy covered in hazelnut chocolate and nuts has been discovered in Egypt. A mummy covered in hazelnut chocolate and nuts has been discovered in Egypt. Devindra Hardawar, your Weekly Plug.

Speaker 2:
[60:26] Yeah, if you can stomach it after that. Check out the Engadget podcast. We just talked about these very stupid, silly news about Allbirds going from ugly shoes to AI. Allbirds is an AI company now. So anyway, we had a good chat about that. And also my interview with you.

Speaker 1:
[60:42] Good thing I shorted Allbirds last week.

Speaker 2:
[60:45] Yeah.

Speaker 1:
[60:46] Sorry, go ahead.

Speaker 2:
[60:47] Good thing there. My interview with the director of Exit 8, Genki Kawamura, is also in this episode. So go check that out too. We had a good chat.

Speaker 1:
[60:54] Jeff Cannata, your Weekly Plug.

Speaker 3:
[60:56] Limericks, I sell them at cameo.com. It's a fun time. If you have any occasion, any reason to send someone something delightful, most people find it to be delightful. You can check out all the five star reviews over on my cameo page, cameo.com/jeffcannata. I make them bespoke specifically for you and then deliver them via video. And people seem to love it. I certainly love it. It's a blast. cameo.com/jeffcannata.

Speaker 1:
[61:28] patreon.com/filmpodcast is how you can get access to ad-free episodes as well as exclusive after darks like the one that we're going to be doing on DTF St. Louis Season 1 later this week. Thanks to everyone who supports us. Of course, we never want you to donate if it in any way causes you financial hardship. You can only support us for free by just leaving a star rating for us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts, youtube.com/at the Filmcast pod. Give us a like, give us a subscribe. Anything helps. Thanks to everyone who helps to keep this podcast going in some way or another. Let's get to our review of Lee Cronin's The Mummy.

Speaker 3:
[62:00] It's very important you fully prepare yourselves for what you're about to see. No sudden moves.

Speaker 2:
[62:10] No loud noises.

Speaker 1:
[62:27] Archaeologists believe it may be Pharo Roche.

Speaker 2:
[62:32] Wow.

Speaker 1:
[62:33] Pharo Roche, you know, like, Ferrero Roche? Yeah. Pharo Roche, okay.

Speaker 3:
[62:42] Yeah, like a pharaoh.

Speaker 2:
[62:44] Like a pharaoh.

Speaker 3:
[62:45] Yeah, I get it.

Speaker 2:
[62:46] Bit nutty.

Speaker 3:
[62:47] It's a new low.

Speaker 2:
[62:49] Wow.

Speaker 1:
[62:53] Welcome to the Filmcast review of The Mummy, or Lee Cronin's The Mummy, as it's more widely known. I'm going to read the plot summary of this film from IMDB. The young daughter of a journalist disappears into the desert without a trace. Eight years later, the broken family is shocked when she is returned to them, as what should be a joyful reunion turns into a living nightmare.

Speaker 3:
[63:15] But there's nothing about a mummy in any of that description.

Speaker 1:
[63:19] Astute observation, Jeff, and perhaps something that we will talk about in our review of the film. Devindra Hardawar, you and I were huge fans of Evil Dead Rise, the Lee Cronin film that rebooted this longtime franchise. Excited to see him tackle the mummy concept. What did you end up thinking of Lee Cronin's The Mummy? Here's an open question for both of you. Is this movie worthy of putting the director's name in the title?

Speaker 3:
[63:47] Is this movie worthy of putting the title in the title?

Speaker 2:
[63:50] Did it earn its title? Yeah. I will say as somebody who really liked Evil Dead Rise, I spent most of this movie being like, holy shit. I'm in love with everything happening here. This is kind of my favorite sort of horror movie where it's like a sprawling epic. There's like mythology being referenced. It is going places like it's shot on location in Egypt. This is a movie that goes all over the place and I think is building a really interesting narrative too. It also ties into a parent's deepest fears of your child being abducted. What would you do and how would that affect the family dynamic? While also, I guess, sort of being about mummy stuff but not quite. I was not expecting too much mummy stuff here. It's kind of using that idea for like an overall curse. This is essentially an Evil Dead movie, but it's also kind of an Exorcist movie and I kind of am fascinated. Like this feels like a big swing by Lee Cronin to just be like, okay, if I could make my ultimate sort of like horror epic, what could it be? This reminds me of The Empty Man, which is another like sprawling horror movie with a deep mythology that kind of just goes all over the place. But it's also too long and you can kind of feel like where that movie kind of crumbles a little bit. And you can feel that too here. I like this quite a bit, but also by our, by the 90 minute mark, I'm like, okay, let's get on with it. Let's get on with what you're trying to do here. I do feel like this movie could have been edited better. I feel like there's total stuff that could have been evened out to make this, I think, overall more successful film. I think he's going for a bit of Raimi here, a bit of the Raimi Evil Dead stuff by the end. But also, we spend a lot of this movie just in deep sadness too. It's a hard balance of are you going to be funny? Are you going to be deeply sad? There's Bring Her Back in here, a little bit of what I found so sad and depressing about Bring Her Back is in this movie too. But I will say as this movie is progressing, I was fully on board with this family. I don't think anybody is doing that family dynamic in a movie, especially a horror movie like Lee Cronin is. I also like that about Evil Dead Rise. That stuff felt grounded. It felt real. I just feel like he didn't have quite a handle of how he was going to tackle this epic horror story. There's also some stuff here that I just feel troubling, the way it exoticizes curses or what's going on with The Mummies, the way it exoticizes Egyptian culture and ancient Egyptian culture. All of that just feels messy at the same time. I admire a lot of this movie. I can precisely see where it starts to fall apart. I think Lee Cronin, he deserves to have his name here because he is not just shitting out this movie. There is thought put into shot placement. There's thought put into how this story progresses, how everything, this is not a lazy movie, but it may be a movie that is maybe a little over thought, a little bit too, could have been tighter, could have been shaped into something that is, do you want to be funny? Do you want to be sadder? I feel like it's jumping all over the place. I did enjoy watching it, but man, is it a bummer throughout as well. I'm all over the place with this movie. I did really enjoy it most of the time though. Again, the family stuff is good. I don't think anybody is doing that really as well as he is right now.

Speaker 1:
[67:36] Movie, by the way, for those who are curious, two hours and 14 minutes long, which I have to say was pretty long for a horror film. Jeff Cannata, what did you think of the film? Does Lee Cronin deserve to have his name in the title?

Speaker 3:
[67:48] Well, Dave, what I thought of the film is best summed up in the form of a limerick.

Speaker 1:
[67:56] Let's hear it, Jeff.

Speaker 3:
[67:57] Well, you're not going to like this one, Dave. You're not going to like this one.

Speaker 1:
[68:02] Really? On a number of levels.

Speaker 3:
[68:04] I just want you to know going in, that I know you're not going to like this one.

Speaker 1:
[68:10] Okay.

Speaker 3:
[68:13] Grotesque in a way that feels naughty. Its Egyptian connection seems spotty. And because it's a child that gets mummified, it's not so much mummy, but dotty. Because it's the daughter, not the mom. It's not mummy. It's dotty.

Speaker 1:
[68:41] Oh my god.

Speaker 2:
[68:41] Is this a Pee-wee-herb reference?

Speaker 1:
[68:42] Oh my god.

Speaker 3:
[68:43] No, not D-O-T-T-Y. D-A-U-H.

Speaker 1:
[68:47] Yeah. D-A-U-H. Yeah. No, I get it now. That's...

Speaker 2:
[68:53] All right. Okay.

Speaker 1:
[68:54] I'll allow it. I'll allow it.

Speaker 3:
[68:58] I think this is an extremely well-made movie that I could have happily gone my whole life without seeing.

Speaker 2:
[69:06] Yeah, I'm sorry, Jeff. I did feel bad for you, watching this.

Speaker 3:
[69:10] I mean, this movie is gruesome. It is absolutely... It wallows in its grotesqueries.

Speaker 2:
[69:18] Yes.

Speaker 3:
[69:18] And delights in them. And I mean, there's some toenail shit in here that I will never unsee. And I think, you know, from my perspective, I admired the filmmaking. I really did. I mean, there are some really... And the movie shot really well. There's some, I think, expertly disguised setups and payoffs that, you know, when a movie sets something up and then I forget about it and then it comes back, I always applaud the movie like, ah, yep, I forgot that that was a thing and you brought it back. Well done, well done. The movie does that a couple of times, actually. But I mean, it is truly a bleak movie. And I got to say, unfortunately, I have to say that, pretty triggering for me. I mean, this is really about a child that, you know, the doctor's-

Speaker 1:
[70:22] At its core, it's about parents dealing with a troubled child, basically.

Speaker 3:
[70:25] That's exactly right. A child who's different from its siblings and a child that they want to love and acts out in ways they don't know how to handle. Like, I mean, it is, I saw my life. It is exaggerated, obviously. It's a horror movie. It's supernatural. It is, you know, far beyond what I have to deal with. But it is an allegory for, you know, dealing with a kid who has issues. And so in that way, it was really hard for me in a number of levels to watch. And it was also just really sick. Like it's, I mean, not, you know, just, it's a depraved.

Speaker 2:
[71:05] Some imagination in this stuff.

Speaker 3:
[71:07] Yeah, there's depraved shit that happens in this movie. And man, my screening, I walked by a family that brought their little kid to this movie. And I was like, and then I don't, I wasn't sure I was gonna mention this, but on the way out of the movie, I was leaving the movie and behind me, I heard a kid screaming and being held by their parents. And I wasn't certain it was the same kid, but I think it might've been. And I'm like, oh my God, can't you just give your kid a complex that they're gonna have to deal with their whole life from watching this movie? I could understand a kid watching this movie and never sleeping again.

Speaker 1:
[71:42] It is really dark. This is stuff that if I watched this when I was young, would've been traumatizing. It is really dark. I would have nightmares about the stuff that is in this film.

Speaker 2:
[71:52] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[71:53] But I do think the movie is exceedingly well-made, and if you're into this kind of stuff, boy, does it deliver. I, this is not the kind of thing that is, that I'm drawn to at all anymore. And so, you know, and I also will say this, you guys may disagree. We were kind of joking about it on the way in to this review, but I do think if you call yourself The Mummy, you're making a promise to the audience.

Speaker 2:
[72:23] True.

Speaker 3:
[72:23] You know, if you're invoking the storied history of one of the great movie monsters, right? If you're making a movie called Wolfman, I expect there to be a full moon at some point. I expect a guy to transform into a wolf, right? If you're making a movie called The Invisible Man, I want to see some kind of special effect where it looks like glasses are on a face that I can't see. You know, there's like expectations if you invoke these storied movie monster franchises, and this movie just isn't interested in delivering to you the mummy, right? It's peripheral, it's sort of in the background that there's some mummy stuff, but if you're calling a movie The Mummy, I want to see a thing with wraps around it with its arms out, staggering towards somebody. You know what I mean? That's what you're promising me. On a fundamental level, it fails to deliver that.

Speaker 2:
[73:29] It's like, you didn't have to call it The Mummy.

Speaker 3:
[73:31] Right!

Speaker 2:
[73:32] There's so many other words in the English language you could have used.

Speaker 3:
[73:36] Yeah, totally agree. And you're right, it's much more an exorcist movie than anything else. There's a demon. The mummy is tangential to the story, and that's about it.

Speaker 2:
[73:49] By the end, they're practically a deadite. Like, it is so these things that are not the mummy. It's just hilarious.

Speaker 3:
[73:56] Right.

Speaker 1:
[73:58] I overall enjoyed watching this film. I did feel bad for Jeff. I was like, wow, this is probably going to be... As I was watching it, I was thinking, wow, this is probably going to be pretty triggering to Jeff, and I feel bad about that. Because, you know, we don't pre-vet the movies before we decide to review them. That's what gives this podcast a special frisson, you know, is that we're doing it live, right? There's no... We're doing this with no net, you see. But I had a good time, because I think that overall, there is this kind of glee that you can tell that is kind of behind the camera of, I'm just going to show the most upsetting, grossest, most horrifying things that you could do to a human body, parent and children alike, right? And there is like an undoubted... There's an undeniable sort of pleasure you get from watching it, just as you would get pleasure from watching any horror film of like, wow, this is shocking and upsetting to me, but in the safe confines of a film. Having said that, I'm going to put this out there. I feel like Lee Cronin is the Michael Bay of horror films. And what I mean by that is that he is really good at directing scenes. He's really good at directing individual shots, but the connective tissue between the big moments, not as good. Like there is, in my estimation, absolutely no reason this movie needs to be two hours and 15 minutes long. Yes. Like, there is no, from my perspective, real palpable sense of the progress of time in this film. Like, how much, there's a big time jump.

Speaker 2:
[75:42] It drags. It drags for a while.

Speaker 1:
[75:44] But it's like, yeah, like how much time is, like, is it days, is it weeks, is it months that are elapsing between, sometimes it's like, it's cutting back and forth in time in ways that aren't clear to the audience until you like think about it a little bit more. I think that, you were saying it drags, I do think there's like pacing issues and the idea of, hey, we want to have a big buildup to this thing, to the climax, that Lee Cronin does this via big, shocking moments as opposed to really effective plotting or effective storytelling, I would argue. That would be, I think, the biggest issue. I can talk a little bit more about that in the spoilers, but despite those issues, there is some really shocking, upsetting stuff, and the movie is notable for that reason. It is also, like you guys said, unlike pretty much any other Mummy film, and therefore, open question of why it's called The Mummy. It could just be, the Mummy stuff is just very, very ancillary. It's very, very not even a core part of the main conflicts going on in the film. But I would say it's a pretty effective horror film, and you could probably also call this Evil Dead Rise 2, and people, it would make complete sense as that as well. So anyway, overall had a good time, but yes, also was challenged by some of the same things you guys were challenged by, the mummy of it all, and also the pacing and how long this movie took to get through. I'll say one last thing before I get to spoilers, which is I don't think there's anything wrong with using some of this shocking imagery that he uses in the film. But when you do that kind of stuff, I would love for it to be in service of something. I'd love to get to the end of this grueling journey and feel like, oh, well, that was worth it because of this thing. Now, there are themes in the film, specifically around parenthood and sacrificial parenthood and things of that nature. But in my opinion, I got to the end and I was like, wow, did the movie really effectively make that point it was trying to make? I instead just felt pretty exhausted.

Speaker 2:
[78:00] Yeah, exhausted is a word because it goes on for so long. I will say this though, the way he built up the family dynamic is so good. I'm like, I just want everything to be okay. I want this to be good. I want this there to be a resolution here. That is a good thing. You don't hate all these characters. I think that's a good emotional through line through this movie. I will talk more about what happens at the end. But that was my drive getting through this. I just want the story to end up well for this family. That is an effective setup. He is very good at the setup, I'd say.

Speaker 1:
[78:34] Agreed. All right, guys, let's get to spoilers for Lee Cronin's The Mummy starting right now.

Speaker 3:
[78:39] I thought of an ending for my book.

Speaker 1:
[78:41] It makes no damn sense.

Speaker 2:
[78:43] It compels me though.

Speaker 1:
[78:59] There were some moments in this film where I really felt some cinematic highs.

Speaker 2:
[79:04] Oh man, yeah.

Speaker 1:
[79:05] And I'll just say like, just right near the beginning, when they get the phone call, first of all, the entire daughter getting kidnapped, very gut-wrenching sequence, and then cut to eight years later, and he's working at Albuquerque, and then you kind of like fill in all the blanks of what had happened, of like, oh, he didn't do the job. Like, you can imagine this event probably shattered this entire family, and like, he didn't do the New York job like he wanted to do, and he's back at Albuquerque. And then they get the call that they found the daughter, and then Lea Costa, by the way, who is Victoria from the movie, Victoria, she kind of collapses while they're standing on that cliffside, and it's this amazing emotional moment. It's incredible, incredible.

Speaker 3:
[79:50] And also, like, the abduction, when he's chasing, when he's running through the streets of Cairo, and the sandstorm is starting, and you see all of the hanging laundry, which I'm like, oh wow, he's really foreshadowing to the wraps, the cloth wraps of a mummy, and it's like, no, he doesn't give a shit about mummy stuff.

Speaker 1:
[80:13] Well, the mummy has, she is wrapped with stuff.

Speaker 2:
[80:16] That's, of course, she's wrapped with stuff.

Speaker 1:
[80:18] It's kind of indistinguishable from skin, but she's still wrapped with stuff.

Speaker 2:
[80:24] Yeah, she's wrapped with stuff. It evokes mummy curses. It evokes the idea of what makes mummy stories so fascinating, is that there was a culture that preserved the dead, and they did it so well that we can go back and look at those bodies now and be like, we can see these people. There's things we can notice about it, and I think that is inherently fascinating and scary. It again goes back to The Exorcist, which also has the beginning where it starts in the Middle East, where it's talking about this ancient evil. Those things I think are just really compelling.

Speaker 3:
[80:59] It doesn't connect the dots completely though. The idea that this demon, whatever it is, needs to have a vessel, and that vessel needs to have a body, so we need to preserve that body as long as we possibly can to keep it in that vessel, like it's a little squeegee about how it expresses that, and I wish it was a little more explicit about that, because it's a cool concept. It's like we mummify this body specifically to preserve it as long as possible, because once it decomposes, we need to put it in a new vessel. And I think that's a neat concept, but the movie just kind of talks around it.

Speaker 1:
[81:43] The preservation components are not as here, and instead it's like, hey, we're wrapping this girl with these spells, this text on it to prevent them from getting out. Now, Devindra, you were talking about the Egyptian component of this. I do think it's interesting, because there is an entire subplot of this film that is dedicated to this detective character, played by May Kalamawai. Kalamawai, who is an Egyptian-Palestinian actress. And the whole time I was wondering, what is the point, what are we doing here? And it occurred to me that probably the point is that a lot of mummy content in history has been of the gawking variety, has been of the like, oh, like these people over here with their weird incantations and spells, and we as Westerners are like just observers of it. And I did think that despite what you think of the execution, there is something admirable about trying to integrate actual Egyptians into the actual storyline of the movie.

Speaker 2:
[82:59] I appreciate that. I appreciate that. Actually, it seems like they shot in Cairo. It's like this is a movie that isn't just like built on a sound stage. I appreciate all that. But at the end of the day, I think it's just like the way it is.

Speaker 1:
[83:08] Yeah. I think you're right. Your point is also still taken of like, what is the impression you are left with of Egyptian culture coming out of this movie?

Speaker 2:
[83:16] The whole abduction sequence just really felt gross to me. The whole like, there's this dark-skinned woman beyond the fence with long nails. It's creepy and her eyes are creepy and she's trying to tempt this girl over like a witch. The optics aren't great because it's just like, okay, ultimately it's innocent American girl, stolen, kidnapped by these evil Egyptians.

Speaker 3:
[83:39] But also, why did she take so long? She gave her so much candy. Just give her the scorpion first. If she takes the thing from you, put the scorpion in the first thing she takes.

Speaker 2:
[83:52] You get a temper.

Speaker 1:
[83:54] Because they discovered this whole treasure trove of like 30 wrappers, right? So she's like, she's been feeding her this candy for...

Speaker 3:
[84:01] What you been waiting for? What are you waiting for?

Speaker 2:
[84:04] Well, it was her daughter giving her the candy too. So it's like they were trying to like ingratiate her. There's a lot of like logic gaps.

Speaker 1:
[84:10] Maybe they're waiting for the right moment. Like they're waiting for the events of the opening sequence.

Speaker 3:
[84:14] Oh, sure.

Speaker 1:
[84:15] They're waiting for...

Speaker 3:
[84:15] They just passed the prologue.

Speaker 1:
[84:17] Gotta keep these possible vessels warm, right? For when the time comes. But yeah, Devindra, I think it's a good point. But also I appreciated that they made some effort of incorporating Egyptian characters that actually have some meaningful part of the plot.

Speaker 3:
[84:35] I love that we have the old grizzled dude, and then eight years later she's like, well, is that guy still screwing it up? She's like, he's in the cemetery now. I think that was a cool way of handling that character. It was just like, yeah, that dude's dead. I'm that job now.

Speaker 1:
[84:51] I thought that was cool. I gotta give a shout out to Natalie Grace, who plays the dottie version of the girl, who plays the daughter as the mummy. That is a hard performance that she's pulling off. And I think that-

Speaker 3:
[85:13] It certainly looks uncomfortable.

Speaker 1:
[85:14] Yeah, it looks like a brutal shoot. And I thought she did a wonderful job. It's just like, wow, they need to convince you that this girl is not of this world, and there's something profoundly wrong with her. And then also convince you that she's just, by the end, oh, she's just a normal everyday daughter, and everything's fine. And I think-

Speaker 2:
[85:32] They kind of went through a lot. Despite, it seems like by the end, the kids seem okay, but little girl pulled out all her teeth. That boy-

Speaker 3:
[85:42] Somehow they came back.

Speaker 2:
[85:43] Traumatized for life, everything.

Speaker 1:
[85:45] Devindra, they're baby teeth.

Speaker 2:
[85:46] They were just baby teeth. It's all good.

Speaker 3:
[85:48] That's how that works. If you pull those out, everything's fine.

Speaker 2:
[85:51] Everything's fine.

Speaker 3:
[85:53] The moment that I really appreciated in this movie, it came a little too late, because I kept going, why is nobody saying this? But I'm glad it acknowledged it, is the moment where Jack Rainer, the dad character, says, maybe we should consider getting some help.

Speaker 1:
[86:08] Right.

Speaker 2:
[86:08] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[86:09] I was glad the movie acknowledged that, because the whole time I'm just like-

Speaker 1:
[86:11] But then he shouted down, and it's like-

Speaker 3:
[86:13] But I think-

Speaker 1:
[86:14] But he's vindicated at the end.

Speaker 3:
[86:17] It's a reasonable position for the mom to take. I could understand having that-

Speaker 2:
[86:22] She is a nurse. She is somebody who does this work.

Speaker 3:
[86:23] She's like, I'm not going to be the one to be able to take care of my child the best. We want to offload that responsibility to strange. I can understand that. That felt like a very genuine conflict between the parents. I was glad that it got- Because usually these- Because at the first part where the doctor's like, we think the best option is for you to take her home. Lose your medical license, man. Bad idea, Jeans, buddy. But at least somebody in the movie is like, hello, this is a little bit beyond the pale.

Speaker 1:
[87:00] Yeah, it would have been unrealistic if no one brought up, hey, maybe we're not equipped to deal with somebody who is incredibly traumatized.

Speaker 2:
[87:07] This is after several incidents where it's very violent and very scary. I think there's some hilarious little plot gaps here. Like this is set in the modern day. You have video monitors. You have a troubled child sitting here. You want to monitor her health. You want to see how she's doing, how she's sleeping at night. Put a fucking video monitor in that room. Why is that door closed? You have no idea what's going on in that room. What are you doing? We have the technology for that.

Speaker 1:
[87:34] I got to say, another moment in the film when I was left in awe was when the detective goes and beats down the door of a magician woman and shoots her or kills her and then the daughter runs out into the orchard or whatever it is. Then starts digging frantically and then she's like, hands up and then she sticks her hands up and they open the box. It just has a VHS tape that says Katie on it. That's an amazing moment. I was like, oh my God, this is so good. Yeah, just like incredible film.

Speaker 3:
[88:06] I kept thinking like, we're just kind of stuck. The last creepy media type is VHS. We're never going to get to a point where the next generation is like, this was only in 720p. So creepy.

Speaker 1:
[88:24] Ten years from now, it's going to be a remake of Lee Cronin's The Mummy and there's going to be a laser disk in there. They're going to open up this huge container. CD-ROM.

Speaker 3:
[88:35] The moment where she puts the tape in, I was like, please don't make us watch the tape.

Speaker 2:
[88:38] Yeah, they make us watch the tape.

Speaker 3:
[88:40] Shows a little bit of the tape and then it cuts away. And I was like, thank God we cut away. And there's like, nope, we're cutting back. Did you see the whole tape?

Speaker 2:
[88:46] We didn't need the whole tape. We did not need the whole tape. It's like one of those things.

Speaker 3:
[88:51] Let's watch a little child be tortured by people.

Speaker 1:
[88:55] Yeah, that was pretty brutal. That was pretty brutal, I'm not gonna lie. And that's the thing is like, it is, in my opinion, this is just me because of my delicate sensibilities, if you torture a child in a movie, you better be making a really good, interesting point with the movie. Do you know what I mean?

Speaker 3:
[89:13] I wanna see a good reason for the child torture.

Speaker 1:
[89:16] Well, I mean like, okay, so as an example, I'm gonna put this out there, like Speak No Evil, right? Which is a very upsetting movie that a lot of people hate. But say what you will about the tenets of Speak No Evil, at least it's an ethos, like at least they were trying to make some kind of point about the social order and stuff with that movie. With this movie, I don't know, man, like is this movie trying to say anything about fatherhood?

Speaker 2:
[89:46] You're just watching the child get hurt, yeah.

Speaker 1:
[89:48] You know, yeah, we're just watching the child get hurt for kicks, like it's, it's, it's.

Speaker 2:
[89:52] It reminds me of that scene from Doctor Sleep, but at least in Doctor Sleep, it's just one, it's one kid slowly being killed on a baseball field, right?

Speaker 3:
[89:58] Oh yeah, that's very upsetting.

Speaker 2:
[90:00] And that's a brutal scene, but so it's a very tight scene. It's like, okay, you're in and you're out. This one's like, no, we're going to watch this whole, parents, it's important. You torture yourself by watching it. Better watch your child.

Speaker 3:
[90:12] We have to know what happened, do you?

Speaker 1:
[90:14] Do you?

Speaker 3:
[90:15] Do we? I don't want to know.

Speaker 1:
[90:17] You can just watch it and describe it to me and that will be sufficient.

Speaker 2:
[90:20] The key, what happens there, the incantation, that resolves how they move the thing. That's why they did it, but also we've been through so much. Like Lee Cronin, I know you enjoy this.

Speaker 1:
[90:33] It's already been a slog to get to that point in the movie.

Speaker 2:
[90:36] It's just like, it breaks my heart. It's also to the point where I'm like, I want everything to be okay. How can everything be okay? And it does, okay, by the end of the movie, I'm like, you know what? They did figure out a solution and they get a bit of revenge at the end and that's cool.

Speaker 1:
[90:54] Okay, well, let's talk about that. Let's talk about that.

Speaker 3:
[90:56] Well, before you do, I do think, to defend Lee Cronin slightly, I don't think it's entirely point. I think he is trying to make a point about the sacrifice of parenthood and the fact that the father takes willingly, gladly, He takes it on himself. Takes it on himself in order to, you know.

Speaker 1:
[91:13] That's what being a parent is, right?

Speaker 3:
[91:15] You need to just absorb. I think that is, you were kind of making the point that it's devoid of any kind of point. And I think if you asked Lee Cronin, he would point to that as being essential.

Speaker 1:
[91:25] I apologize. I'm not trying to say it's devoid of any point. I will say that the, I will say that that point is fairly thin. I'm agreeing with you, but I'm trying to give. And not an, it is an exaggerate. I should not have exaggerated. I should not have said there's no point. There is a point, but I think that the point is too simplistically made to justify what this thing, this movie does, you know, in my opinion.

Speaker 2:
[91:47] I agree with you. I just want to be fair.

Speaker 1:
[91:49] Yeah, fair. No, that is a fair point. And yes, at the end, he does sacrifice himself, and that is a nice emotional moment when he's like, he takes on this daughter's trauma onto himself and then locks himself in this sarcophagus thingy. Now, what do we think of the ending? Devindra was a fan. I'm a little mixed on this because it feels very much like a studio note of, hey, we can't end this movie on a downer, right?

Speaker 2:
[92:14] Well, it's sort of like you can't end the movie with a dad in the box. Really?

Speaker 1:
[92:20] Because I thought that would have been like, oh, then the movie is making a point.

Speaker 2:
[92:25] You know the solution. You know how to move this thing. So, okay, it's sort of like the ring.

Speaker 1:
[92:30] We got the Egyptians back, guys. We got them back. Don't worry.

Speaker 2:
[92:33] We got them back. It's like the ending of The Ring, right? Where it's like, okay, we're just going to leave this videotape over here. We're going to drive away and hopefully it'll catch and somebody else will have this curse, right? Yeah. To me, it felt like the visceral, screw these guys who torture this girl. Let's get them back fully. It is a full circle comeback moment. Where does it go from there? It's the thing. This is a great evil. You're just moving the great evil to this girl, this lady. This thing's going to be released eventually. If nobody keeps up this cycle of moving something.

Speaker 3:
[93:10] Let's move it up.

Speaker 1:
[93:12] The thing is, they had the dad in the box. They had the demon dead to rights at the end, but then they're like, we want the dad back. So now we got to transfer to this thing.

Speaker 3:
[93:20] The thing that bothers me is that the dad is a demon in the box, but he still morse codes, I love you to his daughter, which is like, okay. That's true love, David. It's not that bad for dad.

Speaker 1:
[93:32] She was morse coding through her teeth as well.

Speaker 3:
[93:35] She was morse coding not, I love you, dad. She was morse coding the name of the girl. Yeah, that's true.

Speaker 1:
[93:44] That is weird, yeah. Why would they do that?

Speaker 2:
[93:46] He's stronger. He's older.

Speaker 1:
[93:47] Yeah, he's strong. He's stronger. He has more control of his morse.

Speaker 2:
[93:51] He's stronger.

Speaker 3:
[93:54] One thing I do want to bring up that we haven't mentioned yet is the sequence at the grandma's funeral is masterful.

Speaker 1:
[94:03] Really?

Speaker 3:
[94:03] It's masterful. I mean, it is disgusting, like seriously stomach churning. But it is masterful. Like the number of things that are happening, you know, you've got all these new characters that you've never seen before that are the sort of the surrounding, you know, people that would come to grandma's funeral. The bit with the deviled eggs, the fact that they're deviled eggs is pretty funny even. But like you get the ladies eating the deviled eggs that have been sneezed on, the thing coming through the ceiling and nobody noticing it, falling into the casket, spilling out, and then that incredible shot that is disgusting but incredible of, we're like behind, you know, the late, the girl, and she's licking the embalming fluid, and we just see tongue come into frame, like we're deep focused but narrow in the frame. The tongue just lick, it's a masterful sequence that I also like never needed to see in my life, but it's a great sequence.

Speaker 2:
[95:06] I love the ladies too commenting on the grandma, but it's also like, oh, they're bringing the funny. Where has this been, the entire movie? Where's the sort of like, we got to balance these tones, guys. Like you can be bleak and also a little funny. Talk to Mr. Sam Raimi about that. I think of like Drag Me to Hell. I'm like what that movie was and how that balance is like an incredibly bleak ending, but also is kind of a romp throughout too, so I don't know.

Speaker 1:
[95:33] There are ways to do it. This movie was not a romp. Not a romp. This movie was not a romp. Not a romp.

Speaker 3:
[95:38] But yeah, it does have moments of levity. And I agree with you, Devindra, they're too few and far between. But also, is this just a thing that houses have like hidden walls?

Speaker 1:
[95:51] Hidden walls, like you can go back there.

Speaker 2:
[95:52] I love the hoplays.

Speaker 1:
[95:53] You can go back there.

Speaker 2:
[95:55] Even the house itself seems like, what are we doing here? This is a giant mansion in the middle of the desert. What? Who lives here? Who lives in this house? The grandma apparently.

Speaker 1:
[96:06] I'm just going to say, Jeff, they clearly didn't maximize the use of their square footage in that house. You know, that's storage.

Speaker 2:
[96:11] Let's keep the crawl space. That's storage, baby.

Speaker 3:
[96:14] Extensive crawl space back here.

Speaker 1:
[96:17] Yeah. All right, folks. Well, despite a lot of what we've just said, at the end of the day, it is really impressive that Lee Cronin made Lee Cronin's The Mummy.

Speaker 2:
[96:28] He does.

Speaker 1:
[96:30] Anyway, that's going to bring us to the end of this week's episode of The Filmcast. You can find more episodes of the show at thefilmcast.com. Email us at slashfilmcast at gmail.com. Our theme song comes from Tim McEwan for The Midnight. Our spoiler bumper and weekly plugs music comes from Noah Ross, who also edited this episode with video assistance provided by Kurt, Megha and John Barry. Next week, it is going to be the Summer Movie Wager. Dun, dun, dun.

Speaker 3:
[96:52] What? I'm not ready.

Speaker 1:
[96:56] Don't worry, Jeff, you don't need to work too hard on it.

Speaker 3:
[96:59] Don't worry, Dave, I never do.

Speaker 1:
[97:02] That's what I'm saying. Anyway, thesummermoviewager.com is where you can get your entries in advance of the Summer Movie Wager. Should be a lot of fun. Until then, they are Devindra Hardawar and Jeff Cannata. I'm David Chen, and we'll see you later. Goodbye.