The Cinephile's Aisle
Two film haters and a microphone covering cinema classics, box office blockbusters, and everything in between!
The Cinephile's Aisle
Episode 8: Holiday Special
*Contains key spoilers from MAY DECEMBER (15:00), LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND (25:50), and THE CREATOR (42:45)*
Ofili and Steve say goodbye to 2023 by reliving some of the later releases of the year, including Zack Snyder's first installment of the Rebel Moon franchise (37:10). Happy Holidays from The Cinephile's Aisle! Hope you enjoy, and see you in 2024.
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube at @CinephilesAisle.
Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to the Christmas episode, Christmas special of the Cinefazile.
Ofili:I'm not gonna lie, we're recording this on December 27th, 851.
SPEAKER_00:So Christmas has passed.
Ofili:It's post-Christmas, my guy.
SPEAKER_00:Honestly, it's a thing of the mind.
Ofili:It's a thing of the mind. I'm not going to lie, bro. We are most likely releasing this in the new year.
SPEAKER_00:Christmas. Welcome to the Christmas slash New Year episode of the Cinecals out. How's that sound? Is that better? I think that's better.
Ofili:Yeah, last episode of the year.
SPEAKER_00:Speaking of, what's your you know how this period between Christmas and New Year should be off permanently? Yeah. What are you what are you doing this week?
Ofili:Man, all I've been doing this week is thesis work and I've been binging slow horses. The Apple TV show. Slow horses? Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I've not seen that.
Ofili:Man, it's just like British crime driller. What am I saying? My bad. British crime thriller. Yeah. You know that Grammy stuff with police. So good. Always so good. Always so good.
SPEAKER_00:I don't even know what that means, man.
Ofili:I don't know how to explain it, man.
SPEAKER_00:I haven't seen the show, so I wouldn't know.
Ofili:Yeah, man. It's so good. I don't okay. Maybe it's because I grew up watching Luther. Okay. So like, yeah. It's just like, mmm. This is clutch. This is clutch. So I've been watching that, that's been good. Apart from that, I've been watching a couple other things. Finally caught back on Sound of Metal.
SPEAKER_00:Um like your first time watching Sound of Metal?
Ofili:First time finishing Sound of Metal.
SPEAKER_00:Oh.
Ofili:I have started it like four times, but this is my first time finishing Sound of Metal.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Um, I have certain I have certain films that I promise myself not to rewatch because I like I had a somewhat spiritual experience watching it for the first time. That I don't want it to be tainted or I don't want to change my memory of that. So Sound of Metal was one of those that I had to rewatch it. Because I was seeing comparisons or parallels with Whiplash on online. So I when I saw Whiplash, I went to watch Sound of Metal just to see, you know, if there's if it touches if if Whiplash even like leases the boots of Sound of Metal and it doesn't, but I had to go back and see.
Ofili:I would say they're two different types of film. Yeah. Okay, like Sound of Metal is about transformative change and essentially what's lost is lost. Yeah. So it's a more emotional. Yeah, it's learning where to let go. It's a more emotional development of a character. Whiplash is tortured artist doubling down on your craft. Yeah. That's it. So I don't think it's the same kind of film.
SPEAKER_00:It's very different. It's just drum. Drummers go crazy. It's just drummers go crazy, bro.
Ofili:Yeah. Yeah. And um only other thing I have planned is to go watch Ferrari tomorrow. Okay. Because you remember that was one of my major things of the year.
SPEAKER_00:This for time now. You've been talking about Ferrari for some time.
Ofili:Man, why wouldn't I? It's Ferrari. It's bloody Ferrari.
SPEAKER_00:Fair enough.
Ofili:But I have created a little bit of a path to enjoying Ferrari, if you would like to hear me. It's like a little bit of homework.
SPEAKER_00:By all means, go ahead, because I know you're itching to get this out.
Ofili:So you start off by watching Ferrari, which is set in 1957. Right now, Anzo is ball or bust. Ferrari might go out of business if they mess up. Then you go into Ford V. Ferrari, which is set 1963 to 1966.
SPEAKER_01:Okay.
Ofili:So now Ferrari, you know, they did not bust. They're up there. You know? They're cooking. They're cooking. They're kind of the antagonist in Ford v. Ferrari.
SPEAKER_00:Okay.
Ofili:Then you go into Lamborghini, which is I don't know if you watched Lamborghini, but that was funny things, too. You should, bro. And that was said 1945 to 1992. So whole time this is like the Lamborghini um competition and everything that's going on. Like the beef that's happening. Because Enzo has beef for so many people, bro. Enzo has beef for so many people. And one of the funniest things is that um a lot of people don't know this, but Ferrari is the reason Lamborghini exists.
SPEAKER_00:How?
Ofili:In the form that it is today. Initially Lamborghini was they made tractors.
SPEAKER_00:Okay.
Ofili:And it was he was super successful making tractors. Okay. And I think he he owned a couple of Ferraris, and he was like the clutch of shit. And then he like complained to them, and I think they they laughed at him or some shit. And he was like, alright, I can do it myself. Yeah, yeah. It was like essentially like that. Because I think they also clowned him, like, oh, you you make tractors, stick out of this business. So what do you mean? So after Lamborghini, you can just like this is slightly unrelated, but you know, actually, no, I think Ferrari is very much related. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And Nicki Lauda drover Ferrari. So the last one is Rush. So that one's set in 1970 to 1976. And that's the Nicki Lauda James Hump movie. Yeah. Which one of my favorite fucking movies ever. So if you really just want to have a sit down and have like a four-movie run that's pretty beautiful, that's it. If you want to like toss in this is which now, this is a great pivot to what I want to talk about and what I want to hate on. I will dive into hating on it a little bit more to see later on. Yes, you toss in Grand Turismo. Because man, I have a lot to say, but we can talk about it later in this episode. Steve, tell me, how's your weekend?
SPEAKER_00:You might as well add fast to the PS while we're at it since we just calling all the cars, all the movies with cars going crazy.
Ofili:No, but like no, but like all these films, almost all of them have like it's a timeline thing, and they're almost all related to Ferrari in some aspect.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get that, you know, I get that. Um my week, so I'm still working. You know, it feels like a regular ass week to me, but it's good because half the company's off. I just used up on my PTO when my parents were here, so I have no more off days. So this feels like a regular day-ass week to me. I was planning on seeing a lot more movies, but it's been freaking raining. Like it's raining right now. We've been boring. I haven't seen I haven't seen anything. I don't plan on seeing Ferrari. I'm just hoping in the next three days I could squeeze in somehow squeeze in Wonka, poor things, ironclaw. Yeah, those three. Maybe zone of interest within the last four days. If I can do one every day, do a double header, I'll be fine. But that's my plan for now. I haven't seen anything. Just been just been working. All the ones have been out at home. Um, I started them. I started the new Percy Jackson. I feel like it's so much gas.
Ofili:I like when I started the new one too. Yeah, yeah. It's only two episodes are out, yeah. Yeah, I've I've watched it. And um I don't know how to say like you're super excited about it, but for me, I think like I just find myself comparing so much.
SPEAKER_00:To what?
Ofili:To like the original, the original Percy Jackson.
SPEAKER_00:I don't think I saw the original Percy Jackson.
Ofili:With Logan Lerman? You never watched the the OG?
SPEAKER_00:I don't think so. No.
Ofili:There were like three or four movies.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, movies. We saw that in high school. We had like movie night for them. I thought you meant like a TV show.
Ofili:No, there was never a TV show. Like this is what people have been arguing for. Like all these all these shows, I mean all these books that have multiple series, instead of making TV shows, I mean instead of making um, what's it called, movies, because you can't have enough content, it's just better to flesh them out into like mini-series or TV shows as a whole.
SPEAKER_00:So we saw it in Loyola um for movie night, but I haven't I don't remember that. It was a long time ago. So but what I was going to say is I just like when they act, when they cast kids, they act as kids as opposed to casting. Because I also saw this I binged this Netflix show. Um My Life with Walter Boards, I do not recommend. Zero over ten, like strong zero over ten. Absolutely do not recommend. But I binged that with friends over the weekend, and it's like 23-year-olds, 25-year-olds acting as teenagers, and it's so obvious that they're teenagers, that they're grown adults, you know. Um, but the Percy Jackson show looked like you know, like kids.
Ofili:I think it looks like kids, and that's a very good thing. But I think it also makes me feel worried for like some of the I don't know, man. What do you mean? Like because it's I guess it's because of our age now, because it's kids, and they look very, very, very much like like I'm I I'd be better if they were like age at 15, 16.
SPEAKER_00:Why? Because some of the worst that what's going to happen to the Harry Potter cast is going to like you know, they're going to get so engulfed in like basically their lives are no longer theirs. Is that what you're saying?
Ofili:There's there's that worry, one, but the second worry I have is that I feel like it's just going to be a bit infantilizing, if you get what I mean. Oh. Yeah, it's gonna feel like a kid's show.
SPEAKER_00:Oh well, it's not in the hands of kids. Like the showrunners are they're very capable of making of not making it go down that route, if that makes sense.
Ofili:No, I get it, I get it. Yeah, but I think it's also funny because this is one of like the first shows where it's like you're really seeing like grown adults like beefing with like young kids. You know, like at your big age. Yeah, like because I think Edge is one of the ops. I think Edge was casted as Ares, so it's a bit it's like, oh, are you a big age?
SPEAKER_00:Well, yeah, so I started that as well, and I've mostly for the most part though, I've been re-watching stuff. I rewatch Past Lives, we watch Uncut Gems, I rewatch Barbie.
Ofili:That's funny because I re I rewatch Past Lives too, and I think one of the craziest things about past lives is how you like spin the block on your on your ex that you make her marriage stronger.
SPEAKER_00:Why would you say that?
Ofili:Oh how insane that is like you make her marriage stronger.
SPEAKER_00:I think I think but that's uh let's not talk, let's not get into past lives because I will not stop. But I think that's part of Celine Song's genius, you know, like because it's not to be interpreted. I was reading this review after I saw it, because people make the mistake of interpreting it as a love story between um Nora and um Hei Song. Hei Son, yeah, and it's it's not meant to be, you know, like it's it really is letting go and it's a goodbye, like it's their goodbye tale, and you know, or more so resignation, or accept accepting defeatedness, or accepting that what was isn't to be. And so that's why it seems like it's making their relationship stronger. I do I just don't like that sound because that's that's going to hurt me more, like saying it's going to hurt me more than the film itself already did.
Ofili:But realistically stated, yeah, yeah. He did make the relationship so much stronger.
SPEAKER_00:Bro, when she was making the walk back from the cab back home, and her husband opened the door for her and hugged her. Someone was like, someone that was watching was like, wow, this man is so understanding, they pretty find a good man like that. And I'm like, bro, that man does not exist, bro. Like it's not possible. It's there's no way you're going to just like be crying about about your long lost ex in my arms, and I'm just there hugging you like Kulino, you know, but that's the beauty of it, that's part of the beauty of it too.
Ofili:No, I I hear what you're saying, I hear what you're clicking, but what I think why I think he comforted her, and why I think he she should have been comforted, is that she was more so crying about the chapter in her life she has to close.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
unknown:Yeah.
Ofili:Yeah, that's what it was. Yeah. So she's she's not crying, oh my ex is gone, or like it's just more so like my life, like that part of me has gone. That part of my life has gone.
SPEAKER_00:Which is like it's grief, you know, it's grief because you know, she's not crying because oh she wants to be with Hei Song. It's more so like she's grieving that, like it's the five stages of grief have happened over the past two days, she's finding acceptance, and the acceptance is you know, it's sad, but it's a different type of sad than it's a different type of sad than if you just got a breakup or something.
Ofili:But but I think it's also interesting because we discussed um what did we talk about? I think the first time we talked about past lives, we majorly focused on the immigrant story, on the immigrant experience, yeah. Yeah, but it's just so interesting that we barely touched on how the the emotional aspects of it though. I know we talked a lot about the goodbyes, but it's just it's an interesting film, it's a great film to be watching.
SPEAKER_00:I feel like we can do multiple, that we can come back to revisit it, and it's going to get like it's in I have this weird feeling that it's going to surprise people at the Oscars. Um, I don't want to be a words driven, you know, but I've just been thinking about it a lot more, and I have this feeling it's just going to come up more because right now people don't really have it at the books for many. Um, you know, outside of the story. Um, yeah, outside of the story, people don't really have it on the books for many, but I have a feeling it's going to do a lot more than people are thinking right now. But yeah, we can talk about we'll talk about it some more. Um okay, so we've talked about what we've been watching. I think I'm gonna start off with May December. I think that's the one I want to start off with because I don't have much to say about it. I don't want to, I'm never going to re-watch it. And after this episode, I'm probably never going to talk about it ever again. Because I felt deeply unsettled watching May December. Um for a few reasons. One is so Charles Melton is acting as uh the man, if you can call him that in the movie. Um I looked his age up and he's like he's in real life, he's actually he's younger than the character that he's portraying.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:So is Gracie. Um she's in real life again older than the character that she's portraying. So it's like you know, that in a in and of itself is obviously intentional, and I think it just goes on to highlight how emotionally and like mentally stunted he is, Charles Milton, um, versus how uh much of a predator like she actually is. The fact that she's uh you know this um predator, this um preying on this young man is even like highlighted by the fact that she's older than the character, and the fact that he's this shell of a man, he's this emotionally stunted person who doesn't even know how to be a parent to his kids, how to be a partner to his spouse, or how to be a friend to the to the actress. Like that's all highlighted by him actually being younger than that character. So I thought that was you know that was deeply unsettling. But also how normal the story felt. Like it's a weird script, it's a weird plot, you know. But the acting, the acting is so so good that it makes everything feel normal. Like I feel like I could go spend Christmas with this family, you know. I feel like I could I feel like I could have dinner with this, like I feel like it's not, it's not it's not a fantasy. It's like it feels like it's it's based on real event, it's loosely based on real events, it's not a semi-autobiography, it's just like loosely based, you know, it's heavily fictionalized, but it feels so real, it feels like a proper, proper biography, bro. And that just made my skin crawl. I'm not even kidding.
Ofili:No, no, no, it's truly, because I remember seeing the when the movie first came out on Netflix, I think it was when it was first announced, the videos were making rounds of the interviews where she was like saying that who was in charge thing, who was in charge. And in my head, I'm like, ma'am, this child was 13. Bro. You're talking about he was very and I think one thing that's always kind of ticked me off is the abuser language of oh you're very you're very smart for your age, or you're very mature for your age. Immediately I see that or hear that, it's such a massive red flag. Absolutely insane red flag.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, this just it just rubbed me up the wrong way, and then obviously the part that the way it ended, you know, which was referenced to when she was in that drama class and she was talking about intimate scenes and how you know sometimes you get so into the scene that the line between what is fiction and what is reality gets blurred a little, and then we see the film, you know, we see how it goes, and we get to the end of the film, and she's actually shooting with that kid, and the exact same thing is happening, like she's she's getting so into the seduction scene that the line between reality and filming gets blurred, and it's just like bro, have you not learned anything from the past two hours? Like, you know what I mean? Everything about it just made my skin craw. I I guess which is a testament to good filmmaking, but I just did not want like I don't want to I don't want to engage in this anymore.
Ofili:No, I completely understand.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, sure.
Ofili:I feel like Malta's performance was it was a d for me, eh? I feel like it was a deeply uncomfortable film. Yeah, and I feel like that's such a good thing. Yes, the way he portrayed it was so deeply uncomfortable. Um to the point where even in as an adult, you see the deficiencies in the effect of what happened to it. Like you see it on that scene on the roof with his child, yeah. You see it whenever he's struggling to like get his words out and say how he feels. Yeah, you see it when you know when the yeah, the sex scene that happens at the end.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
Ofili:And yeah, so it's it just feels different.
SPEAKER_00:She said that's what grown-ups do. That line is going to haunt me, bro. Like that's just what grown-ups do. And it's absolutely the same age, they're meant to be the same age, right? Their characters are at the same age, and here she is, because she's mature and she's grown, referring to this shell of a man again as you know, not one of the grown-ups, talking basically like you talk to a kid. Essentially, it's just like, yeah, I think that was the nail in the coffin for me. That's when it was like, Okay, um yeah, I'm not doing this.
Ofili:I think that was a very interesting aspect of the film, though. I felt like that could that did not need to be included, but it does contribute to like, like I said, it contributes to the story and shows the effect of how much and all the different aspects of his life that have been stunted essentially.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, all right. Um but deeply carried by the acting. I've seen praise for the music, I did not like the music, it would get loud. Yeah, I really hated it, and it didn't help because I was also because I was unsettled. Um, I think something that unsettling would require a score that either accompanies it or like amplifies, or the opposite like calms you down. It just felt like so out of place and it felt so like haphazardly put together that it was so distracting to me. Like it was distracting, that's the word. It was jarring, it didn't go, it wasn't going with the with the rest of the film, and it was just so out of place, and I hated the music. But I guess like people like people like music that is just so there, like so present and so overbearing that I guess that's why there's praise for it. But I actually hated the music. Um yeah, I like the acting. It's I think it's a film that's heavily carried by its acting. I mean you have Natalie Portman you have Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore like having uh for lack of a better term, like they're having a who can serve the most cons. Like, and they're going back and forth.
Ofili:It's like Steve, I don't like that term, bro. I don't like that term. Oh fuck, I just heard that.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, bad, bad, bad.
Ofili:I know, I know you were joking, I know it was a little joke.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and they're just going back and forth. It's like a tennis game, especially every time that they're on screens together. It's like uh, okay, who's winning?
Ofili:Who's who's who's yeah, it's very much like a challenging thing, like uh stew type vibes, which I think contributed nicely to the film.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
Ofili:I think another thing that's very interesting about the movie is that it was no, it's not interesting about the movie, it's interesting about the award season. You know, I think I tweeted this, but May December was in like musical comedy.
SPEAKER_00:I saw that at the Golden Globes, yeah.
Ofili:Yeah, and honestly, that sent me over the bloody moon. I was I was I was livid, bro. I was so confused.
SPEAKER_00:That one I also tweeted about this. People are people are upset, you know, because they're it's been categorized as a comedy or a black comedy, and it's like and I someone tweeted, oh, if if if like if people watched May December and you know felt like this was a comedy that they're so concerned for media literacy or whatever, and I'm like, well, first of all, sure, it's a drama, it's obviously fucking drama, but if it has comedic elements in it, the fact that there's abuse being portrayed, that doesn't negate the comedy aspect of it. Like there is still comedy in the film, like you're still allowed to watch something and find aspects of it funny.
Ofili:No, I completely understand, but Steve, I I felt like there was the the quote unquote funniest line, and I like cross-reference this with other people that had watched it, and in my head was like the hot dog scene.
SPEAKER_01:The hot dog scene.
Ofili:Yeah, where she's like, Oh, we need hot dogs, and then I zoom in and the music goes dun dun. Like that's the only like quote unquote funny scene. And maybe the other scene where she's like, Oh, I'm so proud of you that you could wear the dress like that with arms like that, or something like that. But for me, I felt like there was very little that was actually very funny in this whole thing.
SPEAKER_00:It's it's dark, it was it's a it's a dark, it's like borderline satirical, it's a dark comedy drama, you know. Like it's it's little it's little bits here and there, it's neither here nor there, though. Scenes with Georgie, her first son, the son that you know okay. I could see parts of that were funny. The the the part at dinner where you know she was talking about how she got her a scale for graduation. When she snapped back at her, she was like, you know, you're not wearing the necklace I got you as your graduation person, like little things like that, where it just like chuckles, haha, here, like you know, here or there. So I had no qualms with it being nominated in the comedy. I feel like the fo if the focus of the film, because there've been movies about race, you know, we went through this when Get Out was nominated under the drama under the comedy section as well. And it's we go through it over and over again. The fact that the fact that it's a very, very serious, you know, key aspect of the plot, I don't think that negates the underlying tone of the film, if the underlying tone is comedic, you know? So fair, yeah, yeah. But good film, good acting, terrific acting. Did not like the music, but I can recognize why people like the like the pictures, beautiful pictures. I will definitely never re-watch. Um I would never re-watch. I would not be re-watching this, so um happy for everyone involved and good luck to them.
Ofili:Now I have a question about a movie that I feel like I feel like we both hated this. I I generally feel like we both hated this. But how do you feel about Leave the World Behind?
SPEAKER_00:So everything I just said, this is the opposite. Terrible film. I will definitely re-watch though. So the reason why um, I guess more generally to answer your question, um, I didn't think it was terrible. I just felt like it was a waste of time because because you know Obama has been riding pretty hard for that. You know, his I think that's one of the more touted, like the more promoted ones from their production company this year. They have they have Rustin, I think they have American and Leave the World Behind. And I think they put more to market this one than the others. And so I'm like, yo, you know what, Mahashala Ali, like, bro, come on, I will be there. And I was actually looking forward to and the girl, Mahala, Mahala, yeah. I forget her last name. Mayala Heron. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, I really like both of them as well. Ethan Hunt.
Ofili:Ethan Hunt did a great job. Ethan Hunt did a great job. Yeah, Julia Roberts convinced me very much so that she could play a good racist.
SPEAKER_00:Bro, my default is to think that every white actress that's worth their soul can play a good racist. I don't know, man.
Ofili:She just my default to believe she just pushed me in a way that like I was just like, and it wasn't just like microaggression, it was deep racism, bro. It was deep racism, but it it wasn't like super overt, where you know you just get you're getting caught with the N-word. Yeah, so like when she did that, I was like, oh, I was I was gripping my C and pissed. It was absolutely bloody pissed.
SPEAKER_00:Um but yeah, no, I generally I think it was a waste of time because we've seen one for one, we've seen films like this before. Bird Box is you know has a similar feel. I don't think so. Don't look well, it does. Feel it's not it's not the same themes, but it has a similar feel to it. Huh, okay.
Ofili:Okay, I I will listen to that.
SPEAKER_00:But same with Don't Look Up. I felt like there was a maybe I'm just maybe I'm just taking the Netflix aspect. If I can't do it, I feel like there's I think you're grouping a couple of Netflix movies together. Coupled with the fact that it's uh super super A-lister or a couple A-listers in the film with like a bunch of nobodies. Um, and the plot is not held together. Like these are money grabs for Netflix. I think that's why I'm grouping them together. And then I'm also going to throw Don't Look Up in there because you know, also again, Apocalyptic A-Listers. The plot is good, but overrated, if you ask me. Um, but yeah, anyway, I felt like I've seen a few of I had seen this before when I started watching it, and then the movie kept going on, and I'm like, bro, I'm trying to figure out what's happening. And by the third act, I realized like, bro, I've never seen anything like this before. Like, I actually don't know what this is. Like, I've seen films that try to build up and fall flat, and I've seen films that like hint at going one way and then go a separate different way. This film seemed like it was building up and going one way, then it started to go around and then it fell flat, but then it tried to like pick up the the falling pieces, and then it just ended. Like it literally just ended up. There was no coming together, there's no culmination of the scenes. What happened with the animals? What happened to the rich family that was going to that bunker? What happened to you know the guy that was prepared for the end of the world, like doomsday prep man over there? Like, what happened to the the kid that lost his teeth? Like, you know what I mean? Like, what happened?
Ofili:No, I understand. There's no but I think it's also meant to like contribute to that feeling of hopelessness. But I think in general, for me, it just felt like a film about me. Nothing. Do you understand? There was just a film. It might be a movie made for money laundering. I'm not gonna lie, because I don't see it, I generally don't see like the most expensive thing that they probably did in that whole movie was crashing all those Tesla.
SPEAKER_00:All those planes, yeah. Oh, the Tesla's even too, yeah.
Ofili:Yeah, maybe the planes, yeah, maybe the planes. But honestly, it just pissed me off because it felt like there was nothing going on, and it felt like a movie that you could feel that nothing was really going on, yeah. But like the 35-minute mark.
SPEAKER_00:Um nothing, yeah. Um, and there's just so many things that had me like I thought, okay, maybe sure, the animals are trying to warn them about something. Maybe you know how animals might have this like intuition, but that went to nowhere, you know. And you know, the the thing with the dare and how they were all pulling up to that girl. I thought it had something to do with the girl, and then that like big the big like king of the dare or whatever that was like approaching, like that just meant nothing. The ship, I guess, okay. Um, they cut off their satellites, ship navigation was messed up, and you know, so it was the planes, and I'm guessing one of the planes crashed should have led us to their mom died, but that also led to bro, it was just I could go on and on. All the all the subplots, and at the end of the day, exactly all the subplots. Only one the only subplot that mattered was the fucking friends one, which is just like of all the ones that you could have picked, that's the one you decide to actually hold in on.
Ofili:No, I I hated the friends thing. I genuinely didn't. It pissed me off so much. Especially when, like, and like the fact that they went looking for her and everything, like it just yeah, I know I I understand that you're gonna look go look for your child if they disappear, but just for fuck's sakes, man. Do you get me?
SPEAKER_00:Someone said it's the most expensive ad for physical media ever. Because the whole point, I guess, is that even in the end of the world, your physical media is going to prevail so you can watch the final episode of friends. So I guess.
Ofili:I guess. I I bloody guess.
SPEAKER_00:Um, but yeah, that that one um I wish I left behind. I will probably re-watch as a joke, or just for you know, shits and giggles. If I'm with someone that hasn't seen that, we'll not take that. I don't take that serious. Obama, you're so far zero for one this year. I plan on seeing the rest, but so far zero for one. I don't know if you saw, but he dropped his his um his.
Ofili:Yeah, but like I feel like majority of them are movies that he was involved in. He was involved in, yeah. Because like I watched Rustin, I was like, oh, this is your movie? This is on your list. Okay.
SPEAKER_00:But he made that, that's why.
Ofili:That's it. That's it.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Yeah. I haven't seen Rustin yet, and then I plan on seeing I don't know. So American Symphony is John Baptiste's um, it's his documentary, biographical documentary. Uh, making his first it's like talking about his life and his wife struggle with leukemia, and he's organizing uh like a concert in somewhere in New York. I don't I haven't seen it. But I was watching this video with him and Billy Eilish and Dua Lipa and Olivia Rodrigo, it's basically people that are touted to be nominated for Best Song this year, and he's like talking about his journey with his wife and how he wasn't sure. I I don't even know why Obama Obama's company picked this up. It doesn't seem like anything up their alley. Um, but he's talking about this his journey with his wife and and whatnot. And I'm like, this is so deep, bro. I don't know if I want to see this film. Like, I mean, this my mental health is in this state right now that a sad movie that I'm not expecting it to be sad might actually break me. So um I'm very worried about that one. But I plan on seeing it, so I guess we'll see.
Ofili:I think man, I don't know if it's gonna be worth it, can't lie. I don't know.
SPEAKER_00:But another movie that came out heavily reviewed though.
Ofili:It's been it's received very good reviews so far, so there's another movie that came out that received polarizing reviews recently.
SPEAKER_00:Polarizing.
Ofili:Yeah, it's Maestro. Did you watch Maestro?
SPEAKER_00:I haven't.
Ofili:I think we're gonna have to talk about it when you do.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
Ofili:All I wanna say, Cillian Murphy, killing my killing your Oscar is safe. Your Oscar is safe. Oppenheimer, your Oscar is safe.
SPEAKER_00:So you know why I haven't seen it, so I haven't seen it. I need to see to make my judgment, but you know why I don't necessarily agree with those Killian, your Oscar is safe, takes the Academy loves and sucks a good biopic. And Oppenheimer I was gonna say it's a biopic, but that's not like the biopic bio, like that's not it's not, it doesn't feel like a biopic. Like if it's such epic sci-fi, if you call it that, or it's such epic by like biography that the the biopic part of it, aspect of it is so like reduced, especially because we're looking at it from different points of views. We have the different camera. There's a lot going on.
Ofili:There's a lot going on.
SPEAKER_00:There is a there is a whole, there is bombs, you know. It's like it's so epic that um it becomes almost out it's like the performances are almost reduced in the way that you know sci-fi performances tend to not get nominated. Um, and then we had Angela Bassett last year break that barrier and not get any awards. So um yeah, they tend to focus more on like actual actual biopic because to them that's quote unquote real acting, and that I think Maestro might stand a chance because that feels more like the type of biopics than you know than what Oppenheimer is.
Ofili:I will say this when you watch it, when you when you get a chance to watch it, we'll re we'll rediscuss, we'll have these points together. Yeah, and especially the fact that it is very much far from a traditional biopic.
SPEAKER_00:Especially the fact that it's far from a traditional biopic.
Ofili:It's far from a traditional biopic. I don't know how to explain it. It's the way I feel like it's it's either this way. You either love it because of the way it's made, or you hate it because of the way it's made. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I'll I'll be seeing that soon. I plan on seeing that very soon.
Ofili:So when I get when you get time, when you get time.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, when I do, we'll talk about you.
Ofili:There's no rush right now for that.
SPEAKER_00:Another one, speaking of things that you would love because of the way they're made, or the way or you hate because of the way it's made, um, Rebel Moon part one out of fire. Yeah, so I hated this one specifically because of the way specifically because of the way it's made. And more than and and miss other things. Um, I think for one, if you're writing a story that's sci-fi, um, especially sci-fi of this nature, if you're trying to, if you're attempting to make something that you know would feel like a Star Wars or feels like Rogue One or something along those lines, I think you want to heavily invest in you know, editing visual effects. I think that would be an easy starting point based on other people that have done films like this. But that doesn't equate like having so much post-production, like it felt like there was a slow mo scene every other scene. Like it felt like a lot of it was just like slow, slow shots, and then at some point um like they try to talk about the robots and the like the robotic futuristic aspects of it, but that is so reduced. Like we get to see it in some scenes, and then we don't get to see it in some scenes, it's kind of hard to picture what type what timeline we're actually in. And the pacing, God, that's one of the worst paced movies I've seen this year, easily. Because you're dragging out they dragged out, they dragged out certain times or scenes, and then we brushed through certain times that I couldn't really tell how much time. Granted, I was high when I watched it. They dragged out certain aspects and they like reduced the condensed certain aspects that it was actually hard to deep how much time had passed through the lack thereof, you know. And again, it's just a part one. We might need to see the part two to see how everything ties out, but I also couldn't tell the dead from the undead, especially in that one scene at the end after that guy had died, and he went up to what I believe was artificial intelligence, heaven, and he was talking to this other guy that kept banging his stick on the ground.
Ofili:Oh, I think it was I think that was just like a neural link thing, so just like I think honestly, I don't I don't think he was dead. I weirdly enough, I think he's a robot with skin, which is weird, or there are parts of him that like they upload basically like you know what they say FaceTime is gonna be like in like four years, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, so holograms and everything, just super immersive. But that was very interesting. Shall I read to you my notes I was I took while watching the movie? Honestly, I had to stop taking notes when I noticed the film was just gonna be nothing.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, sure.
Ofili:Go on Rebel Moon. You can definitely see that he's been doing the slow motion thing a lot better than the last X Lyder movie. Okay, I lied. There was too much slow motion here. Exactly. Okay, we need to cut he needs less slow motion. I don't understand.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
Ofili:Why do the space guys have Irish and Australian accents? You can definitely see the team up thing from Justice League, but it's very uh this is really not done well. There's like almost no character backstory.
SPEAKER_00:No character development.
Ofili:Yeah. There are too many shots of Charlie Hunan making an eh, I don't know about that face. Honestly, the way that he's not really involved in any of the actual fights, he might just be the op. There are some fights where they just let a character solo someone, and it's like, damn, can they get some help? I see why this shit was released on Netflix. Keep the rest of the parts.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
Ofili:That's and that is really how it is. That is really how I felt throughout watching the whole thing.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. I went back and forth as well in my head, and I was just like, I don't know, man. I I do not want to see if this is the future of sci-fi, this is what Snyder has been cooking for us.
Ofili:This is what Snyder's been cooking for us, brother. Do you know another thing that pisses me off? Well, it's the fact that it's the fact that they. Man, I'm I'm just like completely baffled by this whole thing that we're doing here. Cause why is it so ass? And he and I feel like he knows he's gonna release a shit movie, then he's gonna come out and be like, the director's cut is so much better. It's a whole different movie, it's a whole new movie. Why does every fucking one of your movies have to be four hours for it to be good by your standards or by any like decent standards? Your movie has to be four hours.
SPEAKER_00:I genuinely believe I think it's um I think it's the it's a major payday for him. I think Netflix just threw a a ton of money towards him, and so he's just using it as like a major payday. That's the only way I'm able to reconcile because I refuse to believe the guy that made Justice League and 300 made this. I refuse to believe that. So yeah, yeah, yeah. That's my that's my spirit there. And then I I happen to, I wasn't planning on, but I happened to see the creator right after. Okay, and it was just it just felt like too much sci-fi. So I think I'm going to go to uh to Maystrew, definitely Maystro important after this, take a break from this futuristic BS. But that the creator was weirdly slash oddly refreshing because I had seen reviews, like I've been seeing reviews since it was in theaters. I don't think it's in the more. I saw it on Hulu. But the reviews were basically hating on it like so much that I was I partially wrote it off even before clicking play. But when I pressed play and from the get-go, you know, everything was looking good. So I didn't even know who did the cinematography before, I didn't know who did the music, but it was Greg Fraser and Han Zimmer, both of who obviously worked on Dune. I think Greg Fraser also did um The Batman. So it looked beautiful and rightfully so. But the thing I would say is in like I just mentioned Dune and Batman, there's a whole bunch of like you know, calming scenes, but the films follow the characters, and because both of those are very action-based, when for example, when the Batman is chasing the penguin, or when he has an explosion, you know, the camera goes crazy, like the pictures go crazy, or when there's a sandworm, like those pictures go crazy. But then so it's a lot of like it's a lot going on, it's a lot of a lot going on. Same with the music. I didn't think he knew he had a mellow button, but in the creator, everything follows because it's an emotional story, it's a it's a love story before anything else. And I think they're both I didn't know that they had that aspect to them. Um but they it weirdly it they weren't very in line with the rest of the film, and they actually like you know toned it down a lot. They had this, you know, intermittently they would go freak mode, like all like they always do. Yeah, but yeah, I just think everything um complemented itself so properly. I thought the acting was good. I think the script could have been better. Um, the story was a little bit all over the place. Um my main issue with it though, it wasn't even that. My main issue is have you seen the creator? I don't think you have.
Ofili:I have seen the creator. It wasn't it just for me did not feel like a great movie. I felt like the easiest way for me to say is that it bit off a bit more than it could chew without diving into some things as well, as you kind of flesh them out.
SPEAKER_00:I think that would be the that would be the issue with the script. Yeah, it was it was a little bit ambitious and they didn't have the pacing to accompany it. But the technicals were great. My biggest issue with it, my biggest issue with it is And John David Washington was also great. Yeah. But my biggest issue with it was so you somehow make a movie that loosely sounds like 9-11, right? Explosion in the US, um, foreign quote unquote foreign enemy, you know. And like you decide to replace the human enemy aspect of it with AI. Oh, that's great, you know, you know, it's a terrorist thing, but we're not going to blame any humans. We're not going to go and um bombard, like you know, send drones and bombs to this foreign country, but you somehow find a way to include race as a subplot into it. And I'm like, bro, they were calling it New Asia, and I'm like, New Asia sounds a lot like Afghanistan, if you ask me. And they were calling the creator Nimrata, and I'm like, bro, Nimrata Bin Laden, like I kind of see where you're getting these things from. So I don't know. I would have just liked it better if we didn't have to get all like imperial imperialist about like bombing somewhere in the Middle East again and again and again, and treating, you know, looking at people as less than you know, just all of that, you know, shocking it up to the side and saying, Oh, it's AI, they don't feel anything, it's just programming. But their faces are obviously another race. That just that just kept rubbing me off the wrong way, but maybe I was really into it too much because of what's happening right now.
Ofili:You know, realistically, I don't think you were reading. I I don't think you were reading, I'm gonna be honest it.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you.
Ofili:Yeah, I think it's also like uh but yeah, I think the major thing is that it's a propaganda film, and it's not really a good one. And I I don't know how to say it, it's just it's a bad propaganda film, and you just get kind of tired of having to watch it midway.
SPEAKER_00:Fair enough. I loved it, I loved that, but yeah, I get I can I can see I can see why it's mixed. Why do we use it mixed? I I think I needed it, and again, after watching Rebel Moon, I feel like anything I saw would have been a step up, and it just happened to be that, but I really did like it. Um and I like a good girl dad film too. I like a film Yeah, I like a film with heart, and this has a lot of heart, so that's another thing that's going great for it.
SPEAKER_03:So yeah.
Ofili:I think that was a great grace. And to like our movie discussions. Okay. Do you have any recs for people to watch before the new year?
SPEAKER_00:Rex before the new year. If you can squeeze poor things in, I haven't seen them yet to see bad reviews for that. If you can squeeze poor things in, strongly recommend.
Ofili:Strongly recommend poor things in.
SPEAKER_00:Strongly recommend poor things, strongly recommend Ironclaw. I think it's even open to better. He had good reviews prior to opening, but post-opening, it's open to better than expected.
Ofili:I wouldn't recommend Ironclaw if you're not used to if you don't want to be sad, if you don't want to be broken. It's not like a fun little WWE movie. Just want to say, um, yeah, I would recommend a bit of weirdness. You want to have a weird little vibe. Saltburn is out for everyone, so enjoy that. Enjoy Saltburn. Um, Emerald Fennel. I love Emerald Fennel, the director. I hate Emerald Fennel, the writer.
SPEAKER_00:I've been seeing a lot of that flying around. Yeah, Emerald Fennel is so crazy because it's for writing. That's why it's so crazy.
Ofili:I know, I know. But I enjoyed Saltburn. If you enjoy like a little grandiose Ether Rich film, you know. Honestly, I feel like bad calling it an Ether Rich film. I'd just rather call it a capitalist film. Opportunities around us, man. Open your eyes. That's exactly what he did. Okay.
SPEAKER_00:I don't know when I'm gonna see Saltburn. Um, I don't like seeing films that are getting a lot of discourse because I feel like it it just it just rubs me, like it makes me put layers onto it while I'm watching it. So I want the discourse to die before I see that.
Ofili:I think the discourse has pretty much died down.
SPEAKER_00:So I still like y'all. It's a lot of y'all, yeah.
Ofili:All I'll say is check, just give it like two more days, and I think you can probably watch it though. Okay, now the next thing on my mind is to close up this episode, we're gonna play a couple games. Christmas themed. Okay. Christmas themed. Okay. You know, Christmas movies are so popular that it's really hard, and they're so nichey that you can't really do it without you know. Okay, but I will try. I will try. A kid's family goes on vacation, forgets him at home, some robbers try to break in, he sets traps.
SPEAKER_01:Oh my god.
Ofili:Oh my god. Okay. Guy visiting his wife gets stuck fighting bad guys in the building she's in, he fights them without shoes on.
SPEAKER_00:Say that again.
Ofili:A guy visiting his wife gets stuck fighting bad guys in the building she's in, and he fights them without shoes on. Tricky, this one's a little tricky. There's debate about whether it's a Christmas movie.
SPEAKER_00:Diehard?
Ofili:It is diehard. It is diehard. Um since your face looked a little bit.
SPEAKER_01:I was so confused.
Ofili:You looked a little goofy, so I'm gonna give you an easy one. An elf goes to New York to find his dad. Um, Elf? Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Who's his dad? Santa?
Ofili:Yeah, I'm no, it's like that's why they told him to leave. Oh he literally went to New York to find his dad. That's funny because I watched Elf for the first time this year.
SPEAKER_00:For real?
Ofili:For real. I've always kind of hated it because of the vibe it has and just what it looks like. It just always kind of made me a bit uncomfortable, but I watched it this time and I was right to hate on it. I was right ahead on it.
SPEAKER_00:Okay. Wait, speaking of John Favreau, the director, yeah. He also he's been he was happy in the in the MCU.
Ofili:Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Do you like John Farreux the director or John Fevre the actor better?
Ofili:I prefer John Farew to Oh, okay. So I don't like John Fevreux the actor in in um what's it called? In the MCU. But I like him in movies like Chef.
SPEAKER_01:Okay.
Ofili:Yeah. So I like I like his other stuff. Man, I don't know.
SPEAKER_00:Just like when when the boys get into MCU stuff, they just like dim, they dim their lights so I saw Discourse about what's this called? The guy who accessed um the home.
Ofili:Mark Ruffalo and like because of what he's doing in poor things.
SPEAKER_00:They're surprised by his active age, and I'm like, where have you been, bro? Where have you been? But I guess if you're you know, and I hate to use that term, I'm so sorry to anyone that's offended. You want to say a casual? Yes, I was gonna say. If you're a casual, then that's what you're more likely to see him in. But he's not even in, he's in mainstream stuff.
Ofili:Bro, he's in now you see me, he's in he's in what's it called? Shutter Island, he's in like classics like begin again, like he's in a lot of stuff.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so but anyway.
Ofili:Zodiac.
SPEAKER_00:Oh my god.
Ofili:What else was he in?
SPEAKER_00:Spotlight.
Ofili:Adam Project, that one. Yeah, yeah. Oh yes, um was he in the Eternal Sunshine and Spotless Mind?
SPEAKER_00:I don't know. I just know he was in Spotlight, but internal the Jim Carrey thing. Oh he was, oh shoot, he was. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I forgot that.
Ofili:It's okay, it's okay. Alright, so last couple to wrap it up, but these are not Christmas themed. Are you ready?
SPEAKER_03:Mm-hmm.
Ofili:Okay. Jewelry Guy tries to get a super special rock.
SPEAKER_00:Um I just saw this. I was cut gems.
Ofili:I just saw gems today. Absolutely, absolutely. That's a good one. Okay. Being single is against the rules here. Guy has to run the lobster. Yeah. Good one. Um guy loses his hearing and starts throwing up sign language. I was gonna say start storing up gang signs, but I was like, you know what? Let me let me behave. Let me just say, let me chill.
SPEAKER_01:Nah, you should have definitely gone with gag signs.
Ofili:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Uh sound of metal.
Ofili:Yeah, sound of metal. Going from the jungle to London.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, Pennettin.
Ofili:Yeah, bad is it. The jungle to London.
SPEAKER_01:You know that jungle to London is crazy.
Ofili:Yeah, but if I said London to the jungle, you'd say Tarzan. So, yeah. Ladies and gentlemen, this has been another great episode of the Cinephiles Iowa. Thank you so much for tuning in.
SPEAKER_00:Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.
Ofili:Happy holidays, my guy. Happy holidays. And I hope you guys have a getting too many.
SPEAKER_00:You just gotta wrap it all up in happy holidays.
Ofili:I hope you guys get a great upcoming New Year's. Alright.
SPEAKER_00:We'll be here.
Ofili:We'll be here soon. More episodes to come. Thank you.
Podcasts we love
Check out these other fine podcasts recommended by us, not an algorithm.
Popcorn for Dinner
Bankole Imoukhuede