One Battle After Another Review, Predators (#1034)

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spk_0 Don't miss RoofMan, only in theaters October 10.

spk_0 What kind of a show you guys put not here today?

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spk_0 No.

spk_0 Well look, we're going to do this thing.

spk_0 We're going to have a conversation.

spk_0 From Chicago, this is FilmSpotting celebrating our 20th year, I'm Josh Larson, and I'm Adam

spk_0 Kempanar.

spk_0 This is an announcement of Revolution.

spk_0 The message is clear.

spk_0 I'll be seeing you very soon.

spk_0 And how do I see you first?

spk_0 Paul Thomas Anderson's one battle after another may not be a revolution, but it is one

spk_0 of the movie events of the year we've got a review.

spk_0 Plus the new doc Predators, Massacre Theater and more ahead on FilmSpotting.

spk_0 No, what freedom is?

spk_0 No fear.

spk_0 Just like top crews.

spk_0 Welcome to FilmSpotting, a new film from Paul Thomas Anderson is always a big deal, Josh,

spk_0 but one battle after another, it does feel bigger and not just because of the IMAX screenings,

spk_0 the VistaVision screenings.

spk_0 Did you get to partake in either of those in Scotland?

spk_0 You know, the Scotland Theatre Adventure continues.

spk_0 We tried out another one and it was not IMAX or VistaVision, but it was a giant screen.

spk_0 It was a beautiful presentation, huge theater.

spk_0 So yeah, excited about that.

spk_0 And a quick thanks to listener Heather, who just before we signed on here, she left

spk_0 a note about the DCA in Dundee.

spk_0 Dundee is the town we've been traveling to, to see movies.

spk_0 That's a smaller, almost art gallery slash theater.

spk_0 And yeah, I hope to get there as well.

spk_0 They have fewer screens.

spk_0 I've heard they're not quite as big as the one where I did see one battle after another.

spk_0 And yeah, I knew I wanted to see that one on as big of a screen as possible.

spk_0 I didn't have a special experience myself, but I did see it on the big screen at theatre

spk_0 number one in my local multiplex.

spk_0 So that's the best that I could do.

spk_0 We will have a review of one battle after another here in Moments Plus.

spk_0 I'll have a few thoughts on the new documentary.

spk_0 Predators, yes, it is a documentary.

spk_0 Predators, not about the making of any of those Schwarzenegger movies.

spk_0 And we will play Massacre Theatre.

spk_0 A quick reminder that film spotting is now available as a video podcast.

spk_0 You mentioned Heather.

spk_0 That was a comment that came in Josh via Spotify that I shared with you.

spk_0 And if you are a listener on Spotify, you can toggle between video and audio.

spk_0 But you can also watch the show on YouTube.

spk_0 And you can find the link to our video episodes over at film spotting.net slash episodes.

spk_0 Well, look, maybe I can, maybe I can give you some information and then you give me some

spk_0 information.

spk_0 All right, we'll just share a little information.

spk_0 My name is Bob Ferguson.

spk_0 I don't know if you've ever heard of me.

spk_0 All right, I was part of French 75 for years, years and years.

spk_0 Or they used to call me ghetto pad, rocket man stuff like that.

spk_0 Only problem is I fried my brain since then, man.

spk_0 I abused drugs and alcohol for the past 30 years, man.

spk_0 I'm a drug and alcohol lover.

spk_0 And I cannot remember for the life of me or the life of my only child, the answer to

spk_0 your question.

spk_0 What time is it?

spk_0 8.15.

spk_0 Now I need this rendezvous point.

spk_0 Understand what I'm saying?

spk_0 I need it.

spk_0 I understand.

spk_0 And the question is.

spk_0 I think it's appropriate for this movie, Josh, how it just throws us right into this sort

spk_0 of past, sort of present world.

spk_0 We're going to jump right in to one battle after another.

spk_0 And I thought I might go see it with a friend who lives about 20 minutes away from me.

spk_0 Scott.

spk_0 And Scott's one of the biggest movie fans.

spk_0 I know, of course, he beat me to it.

spk_0 As soon as it was available, he went and sought.

spk_0 So I was going to go see it all alone.

spk_0 And he texted me back and he pointed out something that I had missed that Paul Thomas

spk_0 Anderson that night was programming TCM with movies that inspired one battle after another.

spk_0 And here was the lineup.

spk_0 Yeah, here was the lineup.

spk_0 And this will, of course, since you have seen his new movie.

spk_0 This should feel appropriate.

spk_0 The movies were running on empty midnight run, the French connection and the battle of

spk_0 Algiers.

spk_0 So we'll just run through those real quick, right?

spk_0 Running on empty, the Sydney Le Mette film with River Phoenix.

spk_0 Of course, that makes sense, right?

spk_0 You've got former activist parents now in the wind on the run struggling with raising

spk_0 their teenage kids.

spk_0 Check.

spk_0 Midnight run, a film spotting pantheon movie.

spk_0 This new one from PTA is kind of a road movie and you've got the angle with Danero and

spk_0 an element here of almost estranged father and daughter, right?

spk_0 The French connection, the obsessed authority figure that we have in this film played by

spk_0 Sean Penn and also the conspiracy element.

spk_0 Oh, and how about lengthy and very intense car chases or extended chase sequences period?

spk_0 And then, well, the Battle of Algiers, that's an easy one.

spk_0 If there, if there was one film that seems like it's the movie that most inspired one

spk_0 battle after another, it probably has to be the Battle of Algiers.

spk_0 Oh, and it is the movie that is directly called out in this movie, right?

spk_0 Where you have Leonardo DiCaprio's Bob Ferguson.

spk_0 Now this, this aged hippie who is getting high one night and since he's, he's no longer

spk_0 in the game.

spk_0 All he can do is sort of fall back on the greatest hits.

spk_0 He actually puts in the Battle of Algiers so he can watch it and kind of quote along with

spk_0 the movie and relive his glory days through what is, I suppose, essentially the manual,

spk_0 you know, the manual for the revolutionary, the Battle of Algiers.

spk_0 So I'm curious as you, as you hear that, I believe for the first time those four movies,

spk_0 though you probably saw the influence of some of those and of course the Battle of Algiers,

spk_0 any of those really resonate with you in particular?

spk_0 What did you make of any influences and did any others strike you as you watch this movie

spk_0 or did you see this as purely a Paul Thomas Anderson film?

spk_0 Boy, I want to get to that.

spk_0 I think the influences are interesting.

spk_0 It was something I thought about.

spk_0 But first I've got to get out of my system, Adam, because I haven't really been able to

spk_0 talk to many people besides Debbie who is with me.

spk_0 This is the movie I've been waiting for all year and it delivered astonishingly.

spk_0 I knew nothing of its context going in, had not watched the trailer.

spk_0 I had no idea it was going to be this topical.

spk_0 If you remember when we did a Sacred Cow Review of Dog Day afternoon not too long ago,

spk_0 I wondered what films and filmmakers are going to rise to the challenge that we're in right now.

spk_0 The way Sydney Lumet and Al Pacino did there.

spk_0 Of course, we talked about responding to this notion of state violence.

spk_0 Mickey 17, we split on.

spk_0 I thought it took a good sci-fi swing at satirizing the state of things.

spk_0 Not everyone agreed.

spk_0 Eddington, I thought was interesting, but felt a little behind the times,

spk_0 given its lockdown setting.

spk_0 I know some folks took comfort in Superman as a tonal reprieve from what we're going through.

spk_0 You and I did not.

spk_0 For me, one battle after another is it.

spk_0 This is it.

spk_0 This is the movie.

spk_0 This is the movie we need right now.

spk_0 It is, yes, it's exaggerated what we see in this film.

spk_0 But nothing in here is not happening to some degree right now in America.

spk_0 And I am in Scotland, but I am keeping an eye in Chicago.

spk_0 You better believe it.

spk_0 Ice agents there are resting and assaulting journalists,

spk_0 instigating violence.

spk_0 I mean, I could not believe what was on the screen in front of me and how it was reflecting

spk_0 what we are experiencing in America.

spk_0 And what can we do in the midst of this?

spk_0 I think a lot of us feel paralyzed, but you know what?

spk_0 Filmmakers can make films like this.

spk_0 Critics can champion them.

spk_0 And these are maybe small gestures, but you know, they add up or they're something.

spk_0 And at the end of one battle after another, I just, I felt so galvanized about the little

spk_0 list, something because to my mind, there are a whole lot of people doing nothing.

spk_0 And to see a formidable filmmaker like Paul Thomas Anderson take this on and

spk_0 absolutely just kill the assignment was so thrilling to me.

spk_0 So just had to get that out of my system.

spk_0 Maybe we'll come back, I'm sure we'll come back to the politics of it.

spk_0 But I was thinking about these influences, this question.

spk_0 And I think what's so exciting about one battle after another on that front, Adam, is that this

spk_0 might be, I would put this in the category of his most singular works, something like punch

spk_0 drunk love in particular where yes, the influences are there, but it's not something like, you know,

spk_0 I would say Phantom Thread is so obviously my favorite movie, by the way, I'm not knocking him for

spk_0 this. My favorite Paul Thomas Anderson movie, Phantom Thread very influenced by Hitchcock,

spk_0 right? Among other things, it's all over it. There will be blood to me, you know, is so influenced

spk_0 by something like citizen Kane and you go down the line of his filmography, but I look at punch

spk_0 drunk love. And that's a movie that like only Paul Thomas Anderson could come up with, I feel like.

spk_0 And some people might feel that way about something like the master, perhaps, but I am

spk_0 definitely thinking that way about one battle after another. That being said, yes, battle of

spk_0 Algiers, you know, just what a touchstone as well as a funny, a funny aside in that scene, as you

spk_0 mentioned, I thought of that before it did pop up in the movie, French connection, other

spk_0 70s paranoid thrillers. The propulsion of those movies is what I think he borrows here.

spk_0 Yeah. And, you know, just thematically, I thought about Elfonso Coran's Children of Men,

spk_0 which is more of a prophetic many, many years now, a prophetic envisioning of what, in that case,

spk_0 in the UK, totalitarian government response to refugees might look like. I think that's a more,

spk_0 I don't want to say grim, but Children of Men is a more serious take on the subject.

spk_0 But that doesn't make one battle after another any more important. And it's take on the subject

spk_0 just because it is this absurd comic hysterical satire that scene of lot of trenchant,

spk_0 immediately needed things. Yeah. I'm with you on, on so much of what you said, including a

spk_0 couple words you just used right there at the end. So let me get out just kind of my single

spk_0 sentence take on this film. It is a beautifully choreographed fever dream of resistance and

spk_0 reckoning, blending absurdist satire with a poignant meditation on parental legacy. That's the thing.

spk_0 There is such an emotional core to this movie as well that I'm sure we will get into. And I suppose

spk_0 this also indicates how long we've been doing this show though. I don't, I don't know that I can

spk_0 remember examples of you telling me this. I think I always think about you, Josh, when I'm at the

spk_0 movies. But I was watching this film and I was seeing certain scenes and different themes were

spk_0 being brought up. And I was thinking about the police state evidence in this film evident in this

spk_0 film and the the the state sanctioned violence. And I was thinking about our conversation about

spk_0 dog day afternoon. And I was going, Josh is eating this up right now. Josh is halfway around the world

spk_0 eating this movie up. I was having very similar thoughts about the film. And I was thinking about your

spk_0 experience on it from across the Atlantic. Yeah. Yeah. I think so. In terms of the influences,

spk_0 one that maybe he just couldn't program the fifth film. But I have to imagine that the fifth

spk_0 influence and maybe this is just too easy picking. But come on, the fifth influence had to be Dr.

spk_0 Strangelove, right? With Sean Penn's. Yeah. Makes sense. His name is Colonel Lockjaw.

spk_0 What a name after after after Jack T. Ripper. His name's Colonel Lockjaw. He's a military figure.

spk_0 He's full of all sorts of interesting ticks and behavioral quirks. He's got that great haircut.

spk_0 And he will assert his authority unilaterally. And at one point, he does speak of bodily fluids

spk_0 and his power being taken from him. So that seems like a pretty clear call or reference to Dr. Strangelove

spk_0 to me. Hey Jack, Jack, this is telling me. Tell me Jack, when did you first

spk_0 develop this theory? Well, I, I first became aware of it, Mandrake. During the physical act of love.

spk_0 Yes, a profound sense of fatigue, feeling of emptiness, followed. Luckily, I was able to interpret

spk_0 these feelings correctly. Lost a essence. I can assure you it is not my current Mandrake.

spk_0 Where those references ended up bearing fruit for me a little bit in thinking about this film,

spk_0 it actually was the first one running on empty, which is a movie I haven't thought about in a

spk_0 long time. But I remember watching a lot when I was a kid. I think it was just a movie that was on

spk_0 HBO. And for some reason, it, it always really resonated with me. And one difference here is that

spk_0 because it is very similar, you have the, the parents and maybe while I'm talking, you can look

spk_0 it up because I can see, I can see the actress in my head and cannot place her name and it's

spk_0 killing me. I got to purchase the dad River Phoenix is the son, the talented musician son.

spk_0 Man, go, Christine Lottie. I just got it. Christine Lottie, the mom, isn't it?

spk_0 You got it. Nice. For the time. Do I get two points? So Christine Lottie's the mom. And they were,

spk_0 they were activists and they were involved in a bombing and someone died as I recall it unintentionally.

spk_0 Someone wasn't supposed to be at the building they bombed and they've been on the run ever since.

spk_0 I don't think this is a movie. You can disagree with me on this or we can talk about it. But as I

spk_0 reflect on my lone viewing of this film, I don't think this is a movie that really cares about whether or

spk_0 not the acts that Bob or Perfidia, who we haven't mentioned, Teyana Taylor's Perfidia Beverly Hills,

spk_0 the mother, the acts that they committed in the name of of injustice in the name of oppression and

spk_0 the name of revolution were right or wrong. The conscience of what, of what they did, that's not on

spk_0 the, the mind of this movie. Whether Bob or anyone else should have pangs of moral guilt. That is on

spk_0 the mind of running on empty very much. That, that movie is concerned about whether or not the sins of

spk_0 the father and mother should be passed on to or whether it's fair that they're passed on to the

spk_0 children. And this film is concerned with that question like running on empty. It's concerned about

spk_0 whether or not the sins of the father in this case and the mother should be passed on to the children,

spk_0 passed on to the daughter, Willa. But it also asks and maybe we'll get to this in more detail as we

spk_0 get into our conversation. But I think it also asks really interestingly the opposite. It almost asks

spk_0 should we allow the sins of the father and mother to be passed down to the children? It's almost like

spk_0 the movie is saying it needs to be. We need that child. It's okay for that child to have that

spk_0 consciousness and they need to be enlightened about it and engaged in that. And I think that's

spk_0 an interesting spin on that question. Yeah. That's the, you know, dancing around spoilers. I think

spk_0 the movie leaves us in exactly that place. And that's what I found so stirring is, you know,

spk_0 not that it's too late for us to participate. But man, this, this thing's going to be a long haul.

spk_0 I think we're, we're starting to realize those who are paying attention to the movie might say it's

spk_0 actually too late for us. Josh. And that's okay. Our, our, our, our generation. Yes. Our job and

spk_0 this is to support the next generation might be what the takeaway is. I think, I think that's

spk_0 completely fair. And I do want to take a moment to point out as to that moral question because I

spk_0 know this is going to be a talking point. Once this movie, you know, gets out and those who aren't,

spk_0 aren't ready to root for it. See it. It is very clear to me what you pointed out that the movie

spk_0 itself is not necessarily endorsing the tactics employed by this group that Leonardo DiCaprio's

spk_0 character is involved with at the start of the film before we jump ahead 16 years. It does not

spk_0 denounce them. But to your point, it is interested in other things. That's it. And, and, and also,

spk_0 just because a group is using tactics you might object to does not legitimize the clearly

spk_0 unconstitutional anti-American tactics that were initially employed. So I just want to get that out

spk_0 in terms of, you know, this is not endorsing one battle after another. There's not endorsing such things.

spk_0 I think it's interesting. Another question is those personal ones. And this even relates to the

spk_0 Sean Penn character, Lockjaw, because I think it's really key that while he is not at any point

spk_0 sympathetic, he is depicted as a human being with, you know, some perversities because of the way I

spk_0 read it. The sense of unchecked authority he's been given, which means there are no guardrails

spk_0 for him at all. But at the same time, it is one of the supreme comic performances in the film,

spk_0 just that constipated walk. Penn has. And the way he carries himself, I'm sorry, but as I said,

spk_0 like I've seen this on Chicago streets, the performative nature of these ice guys is it's

spk_0 clownish. And that is what Penn is tapping into here. I want to see on a protest sign speaking

spk_0 of the kids, some kid holding up what Bob's daughter, when we meet her as a teenager later, says to

spk_0 Penn in a crucial scene, why is your shirt so tight? That's just killed me because it's not only a

spk_0 great line, but it gets at the root of the performative nature of, there's something about

spk_0 if you are not morally sure of your actions, you're going to perform them even more.

spk_0 And that is what we are seeing now. And that's what we see in the film in Penn's character. But I do

spk_0 like that we also get him as, you know, we don't agree with any of his choices really. But this is

spk_0 not just some faceless monolith that is conducting these things. This is an actual human being with

spk_0 motivations that are, yes, distorted. But I think that's key. It's almost connected what you were

spk_0 talking about this movie having a heart and being interested in the relationships here. This

spk_0 is not a sociopolitical tract. This is a story about a family deeply connected. And, you know,

spk_0 Penn is related to this deeply connected to these events. How it affects them on a day-to-day relational

spk_0 basis. You have to understand, will love. Me and mom used to run around and do some real bad

spk_0 things. They got hurt. Now they're coming after us. Sorry. I didn't ask for this. That's just how

spk_0 the cars were rolled out for me. It's not cards. You don't roll cards. It's dice.

spk_0 Dad, what is wrong with you? You're right. Let's go. I think you made a good case for how for you

spk_0 anyway. This, this almost feels like a bit of a departure for, for PTA. But let me maybe try to

spk_0 make a case for how it fits into a certain paradigm. And we'll see if it works for you or not.

spk_0 When you think about his filmography, he is often reckoned with America's present

spk_0 through its past. Many of his films have been period pieces. And here, he brings the battle

spk_0 from the past into the present, though as I alluded to earlier. And I think I haven't read it.

spk_0 I think this comes from the pension novel. I may have heard this somewhere. I could be wrong.

spk_0 That even though that was set in a different time, that there is a sort of blending.

spk_0 Right. And I felt that watching the film that you're seeing it and you're not quite sure even

spk_0 when we're watching the prologue. When exactly is this taking place? And this feels like the present.

spk_0 But when exactly is this the present? That feels by design. And it feels coherently,

spk_0 incoherent in an appropriate way for the times in which we currently live. And so not every film

spk_0 follows this, of course. But I've certainly talked about his emphasis on mentor, protégé

spk_0 relationships that often takes the form of fathers and sons or surrogate fathers and sons.

spk_0 Con men as well are often found populating his films. And those are among the most enduring

spk_0 and evocative figures in all of American fiction. Neither seem to be what this movie is concerned with.

spk_0 Though maybe we should consider isn't one battle after another about the absence of a mentor,

spk_0 protégé relationship, the mother daughter activist dynamic that should be here. But also the father

spk_0 daughter one since Bob is wallowing an apathy. And you have Willa constantly looking to him, wanting

spk_0 that direction, craving it and not getting it because he is he is completely absent. And

spk_0 according to my reading anyway, to some degree isn't isn't Bob sort of a con man? You could argue,

spk_0 you could argue he's barely playing the role of a father. But I'm really talking about how we

spk_0 meet him in the prologue. Isn't he even with that name ghetto pat? I think it supports this. And I

spk_0 the nervousness that anxiety, how how profidia has to urge him on how he constantly seems to be

spk_0 having to prove himself that he's worthy to be with her, that he's worthy to be part of this

spk_0 resistance group, the French 75, the ease then also with which he falls into fatherhood and domesticity.

spk_0 Right. Ghetto Pat seems to be an upper middle class white boy from Ohio who joined the revolution.

spk_0 Right. And I have to say Ohio because I'm from Iowa, otherwise I'd say from Iowa. Right. But

spk_0 there's a key line and I may not have it exactly right. You may be having it in your notes. My

spk_0 notes were completely worthless to me. But there's a scene where he's talking to his mother-in-law,

spk_0 profidia's mother. And she says to him something like, you'll never be good enough for her.

spk_0 You'll never be up to her standard for my daughter. And I for my daughter. And I think I think she

spk_0 says something like, she's a runner. I think the words like a runner. And that will that will have

spk_0 or something along those lines. And that will have resonance later. But in the moment, it's clear

spk_0 that what she's saying is profidia's she's a hunter. She is always on the move. She is volatile.

spk_0 She's never going to be contained. And it's kind of like she's saying, you're a lump.

spk_0 You just you don't belong here. Really? You don't belong with her. And and you know, even if you

spk_0 reject everything I've said, what are those mentor-protigé relationships fundamentally predicated on?

spk_0 And even what are con artists manipulating? I do think it's all about power. And that's at the

spk_0 core of every dynamic and decision that's made in this movie. If you if you look at every single one

spk_0 of them, including of course that that key scene that that scene where we meet profidia and lockjaw

spk_0 and where we see them interacting in other scenes too. It's fundamentally the story of America.

spk_0 And oh, what what is that type of power? It is specifically white power, right? And that's what this

spk_0 movie hilariously excoriates. Yeah. I think that's right. And I think the mentor-protigé dynamic is

spk_0 at play. Even if to me, it's a little more seen through the prism of the father and daughter.

spk_0 Actually, we should probably say at this point, Willa, his daughter is a teenager. We do jump

spk_0 ahead after the opening section 16 years played really well by Chase Infinity, a relative newcomer.

spk_0 It's almost about Bob coming into maybe mentors a strong word.

spk_0 But coming into the realization that for him to be the best dad to this young woman,

spk_0 he's going to have to shake off the apathy. And he's going to have to be more than what,

spk_0 as you're describing, I think you're right, he was probably something of a hangar on in that opening

spk_0 scene where we see Perfidia leading an attack on a detention center. And he's the explosives expert.

spk_0 And she's telling him what to do. I almost thought he was just the way Decapro carries himself.

spk_0 He's kind of like a gun for hire. I didn't know what sort of convictions he had. And then we realized

spk_0 there in a romantic relationship that raises another question. Just real quick, you get the dynamic

spk_0 that maybe it is almost like he's proving himself like they aren't in a full-fledged relationship

spk_0 yet. You could read it. Maybe that too. But basically the point is you don't sense the cause

spk_0 is what's primarily driving him. At least I didn't get that sense. I don't think he was

spk_0 objecting to it. But he's a little bit along for the ride. And I think in terms of this dynamic

spk_0 you're talking about mentor protege, maybe it reverses where the daughter becomes the mentor

spk_0 to the to the father. Sure. As the movie goes on. Yeah, let's talk a little bit more about

spk_0 the Capriots performance. I think he's just this is a first rate dimmed bulb in the line of the likes

spk_0 of course, you know, we're thinking about Jeff Bridges and the big Lebowski or walking Phoenix

spk_0 in the other pension ad-a-pitch from Paul Thomas Anderson, right? In here and vice, he's as good

spk_0 I think as well. He's almost as good as both of them in those in those films. I really enjoyed

spk_0 him here. Not only the way he dims his bulb, like it's clearly because of the drugs, right?

spk_0 But it's also because of the psychic weight of this failed revolution and the burden of raising

spk_0 a child in this climate because we learn that 16 years have gone by and if anything, things have

spk_0 only gotten worse, right? Their movement people are scattered because of an incident we won't detail

spk_0 their underground as he is hiding and he's trying to make sense of raising a teenager in this

spk_0 environment. It took a while, Adam, but I knew I was on board with the performance. It shifts into

spk_0 high-comic gear when he shows up at a parent teacher meeting, stoned, but also weepy. He just says,

spk_0 if I get emotional, he takes a drag, he takes a drag during it, but you're right. Right in the

spk_0 emotional. If I get emotional, it's just tears of joy. That's all. But the thing about the

spk_0 performance is he's not just trying to cover up. He is. He also means it. He really means it because

spk_0 he's got a good report about his daughter at school. Yes. And this is just what DeCaprio is trying to

spk_0 balance as this character. And yeah, from that scene on, he puts the pedal down and never

spk_0 lets up through the rest of the movie. No, I don't or I haven't come up with yet the right

spk_0 adjective to describe what I'm thinking about DeCaprio's performance. But I like that of course

spk_0 the touch points for it have to be Doxportello because it's PTA and it's a pinching adaptation.

spk_0 But it's a very different performance and it's very different than the other go-to, which is

spk_0 Lebowski. It just it doesn't it doesn't have that same stoner vibe to it. There is something

spk_0 different about it. And I think I think one of the things that's different about it is that

spk_0 it just doesn't feel but I think in a good way, it doesn't feel quite as lived in. It feels like

spk_0 someone who was transplanted into that character and is still taking it on in some way. And I'm

spk_0 really glad that you you mentioned that psychic weight because in the few comments I've seen about

spk_0 him here and there or about the character. Everyone talks about him just as and we have so far as

spk_0 this apathetic character or someone who you know the revolution's been been gone for a while. So now

spk_0 he's just hanging around and he's getting drunk and stoned and and doesn't feel like there's

spk_0 a fight anymore or he's he's too lazy or not willing to fight. Going back to what we've said about

spk_0 the emotional core of this film, I still see him as fundamentally a heartbroken character.

spk_0 Yes. Josh Esselmer. I think I think that is also part of who he is and that's driving so much

spk_0 of his apathy. It's not just that what was me you know quote unquote the 60s aren't here anymore.

spk_0 I think he's a heartbroken character. I used a word earlier at the start of my comments that I want

spk_0 to come back to a little bit because it relates to to Paul Thomas Anderson in the filmmaking and

spk_0 you have to be careful a little bit how often you go to certain words or phrases that as a critic

spk_0 when praising movies especially in the same year when we talked about sinners. I spoke about it

spk_0 having the rhythms and audaciousness of some of our boldest musicals. I know that punchrunk love

spk_0 feels to many like a musical despite there being no no singing in it. And of course there are numerous

spk_0 sequences we can point to in Paul Thomas Anderson's filmography where we can single out the fluidity

spk_0 and the intricacy of the camera, the elaborate nature of the shots right the coordination with the

spk_0 performers. But with battle I had a different sense and it was largely in that extended I'm going

spk_0 especially when we haven't mentioned him yet especially when Benicio del Toro gosh was on screen

spk_0 and I wonder if you were thinking I wonder if you were thinking the same thing I was because

spk_0 even though you liked the movie more than me we were both a little down on the mellowness of

spk_0 Benicio del Toro and the Phoenician scheme and here it couldn't have served this movie better.

spk_0 He is so good as as this sensei in this movie who who ends up coming to the aid not only of Bob

spk_0 when he most needs it but also so many other people in in a scenario that he even himself describes

spk_0 it as as a Harriet Tubman like situation going on. Wait a Latino Harriet Tubman situation.

spk_0 There you go right that's exactly what it is but when he's on screen it it it relates to how

spk_0 the camera Josh slows to match the calmness of that character who truly is like the conductor

spk_0 of the Latino Harriet Tubman like situation all the movements that are occurring I was I was

spk_0 keenly aware of the blocking everything that was occurring not not of the camera how it was moving

spk_0 but everything that was occurring within the frame the choreography of it that's the word

spk_0 for the camera to capture not not how the camera again was moving within this face but how the camera

spk_0 was there to observe for us how we were then able to observe in that space with a sense of

spk_0 often real-time urgency it wasn't like the long shot in boogie nights right where you know

spk_0 we see William H. Macy's character kill himself right and it's it it draws a lot of attention

spk_0 to itself it's about us being able to to observe in real-time and that that sense of intimacy

spk_0 and urgency but it's not overwhelming it's heightened but it's steady bodies are constantly in

spk_0 motion but it never feels jagged or jarring the only way I could really describe it and and here

spk_0 it's just a little bit of a trick that pta pulls off he somehow creates a serene intensity

spk_0 carriage

spk_0 courage yeah thank you hey thank you sensei thank you thank you god damn it

spk_0 that's a great great description of it I the one thing I had to put out there in blue sky

spk_0 after I saw this was maybe Benicio del Toro will save us all because that's what I can't

spk_0 so I think he has this it's this bemused spiritual calm you know we should say this is when

spk_0 the town has been taken over by the military the streets they've instigated among protesters

spk_0 and an attack and that is what proceeds the the underground railroad to go into effect to get some

spk_0 of these mostly women and children not violent criminals women and true children who are being

spk_0 targeted by the military and del Toro's calm balances with de caprio's antichness this relates to

spk_0 our discussion of how invested in the cause is Bob because there isn't until there's a moment where

spk_0 del Toro is giving him clear calm directions about what to do where to go and and Bob pauses

spk_0 catches a breath and that's when he screams out Viva revolution right yeah it's not it's not so

spk_0 much because he's about to you know to to make a blow against the authorities it's because he knows

spk_0 what to do he's he's he's been told let's do it but del Toro in this scene and yeah the blocking

spk_0 in the camera because we're following him upstairs downstairs through back rooms in and out of shops

spk_0 this elaborate system he's put together but he just has this this sense of assuridence to him

spk_0 that is so reassuring and to your point about the Phoenician scheme yeah that was one of my

spk_0 my main qualms about that movie is how is it constricted del Toro into a Wes Anderson type

spk_0 of character other actors have given their best performances as of that type but to me it just

spk_0 did not fit del Toro who needs to have a certain looseness I don't know if I identified it as much

spk_0 while watching the Phoenician scheme until I saw him here and I think this might be a career best

spk_0 turn for him because there is even when he's playing villains like really scary guys which he's

spk_0 done in the past there's this same sense of calm or looseness where he's not always he's not

spk_0 necessarily taking the scene or the the actions as seriously as you think he should be but it's because

spk_0 he knows what he has a firmer grasp on it and this this whole sequence just allows him to be this

spk_0 this grumbly sage who's who's rumbling through these halls not being heard because he knows exactly

spk_0 what to do it's wonderful in addition to the politics of the film is we're describing it that we

spk_0 were on board with the emotional core of it that we've talked about that that didn't resonate with

spk_0 us the humor of the film you can find humor in all of pta's movies I'm pretty sure I had a scene from

spk_0 licorice pizza is my funniest moment of 2021 or it was the runner up I'm certain I had a scene from

spk_0 inherent vice is my funniest moment of 2014 I probably still put boogie nights as his funniest film

spk_0 but I think this would be my number two Josh and it's it's also obviously his most action oriented

spk_0 film his most suspenseful despite that steadiness I was talking about and there is a chase scene at the

spk_0 end this is one of those movies where I'm sitting in my seat with my knee bouncing in rhythm to the

spk_0 score you know wondering where this is exactly going and feeling the intensity of it and actually it

spk_0 it is a steadiness where you're feeling it kind of the entire film so you've got that right you've

spk_0 got that intensity that's that's maintained for almost the entire two hour and 50 minute running

spk_0 time but all those elements are are culminating with that humor and even though I I'm not someone who

spk_0 has read pension I I understand that pension ask some of it through films like inherent vice that

spk_0 pension ask postmodern sensibility tinge with paranoia as it is here that absurdist sensibility and

spk_0 the bottom line is we haven't mentioned this part of the story yet and I want to mention it here

spk_0 because it relates to the humor I mean hails Saint Nick this will mean something to you when you

spk_0 see the movie if you haven't wow Saint Nick is one of the funniest three word phrases you'll hear

spk_0 all the year at the movies and I want to praise I want to praise Paul Thomas Anderson and whoever

spk_0 I should look it up whoever his casting agent is because whoever is responsible for coming up with

spk_0 this group of completely unrecognizable for the most part unrecognizable but innocuous looking

spk_0 evil middle aged white dudes they deserve a raise I'm thinking I'm thinking and I what for the record

spk_0 I I wanted to give them praise I went to IMDB and I just did not have the time to scroll through

spk_0 every name and try to identify them I couldn't I couldn't pick them out you know the pictures didn't

spk_0 line up or whatever but the I'm thinking of the second in command to lock jaw who we see interrogate

spk_0 to some people yeah perfect right every single person and one of them I can't believe I didn't

spk_0 I didn't recognize this guy even though now of course I see it he's the tone bar yes but but other

spk_0 than Tony Goldman who you do most of us do know the one guy who we see later in the house who at

spk_0 first is silent and we're not sure that he's going to talk oh yeah that's that's Kevin Teg that's

spk_0 Kevin Teg from the bar owner of the double doose in Roadhouse so clearly a classic that guy we

spk_0 we kind of recognize him right yeah otherwise all those other guys are that guys that we don't know

spk_0 and I'm calling these innocuous looking evil middle-aged white dudes the Tony gold when all stars

spk_0 and every one of them in this movie Josh is just so perfect this is the Christmas adventures club

spk_0 this is like adventures here we see pulling the strings we learn and it's so funny I saw it just

spk_0 on blue sky today Alyssa Wilkinson the New York Times critic say something about being out in New

spk_0 York and she's pretty sure she I think she says I'm like pretty sure I saw a member walking

spk_0 down the street I'm sure I we had the same thing here what would that be now we're walking down

spk_0 and we saw a guy sitting like a really nice house in town here and he was out in his yard just

spk_0 sitting on the patio in like a you know innocuous but but very expensive clearly like sweater vest

spk_0 and we both were like we looked at her like oh he's in the Christmas adventures club yeah has to be

spk_0 so this is so funny and it is it is really fun and it's sometimes it's beautifully I'm

spk_0 going to call it a sequence that has the humor and also the filmmaking chops and this is actually

spk_0 part of the entire sensei sequence but at this point del Toro's character has sent Bob off with

spk_0 some skaters he said these guys will get you safe where you need to go and the route is across

spk_0 the rooftops because as I said the military has taken over the streets and are just you know

spk_0 shooting at random below this is shot by Anderson and cinematographer Michael Bauman from a distance

spk_0 and in silhouette and so you have these these skaters these younger guys with their boards just

spk_0 you know very beautifully leaping in silhouette from but one building to the other and just as

spk_0 you're thinking like oh this is a I have this sense of like mythical resistance and yes then we

spk_0 have Bob stumbling behind them right barely able to keep up yes and and that's just you know the

spk_0 this is what's so great about this movie too is it's willing to puncture those moments that's the

spk_0 word yeah it's not taking itself too seriously even though right it's probably going to be the most

spk_0 serious movie that comes out in the United States this year but it doesn't get hairy itself this way

spk_0 rising shine hi what's up what's up home it's it's me again Bob Ferguson I don't

spk_0 if you remember but we we we spoke earlier on the on the phone I think we had a little misunderstanding

spk_0 I think we got off on the wrong foot I was trying to get the rendezvous point for my daughter

spk_0 right if you can't answer what time is it I cannot give you the rendezvous point this is a key

spk_0 ten in the room I'm surprised I do love that it punctures that mythos there but what it does with

spk_0 that imagery is still astounding that shot that silhouetted shot of those those younger men on

spk_0 the skateboard is still among the the most vivid shots in his filmography and think about what he's

spk_0 given us through ten films I have one that wowed me even more and it's during the climactic car chase

spk_0 which we won't even say who's involved but it is taking place on this stretch of desert hills and at

spk_0 one point it's they must have placed the camera on the hood of one of the cars three cars are

spk_0 involved and as the vehicle kind of rolls up and down this this road the road is like an unculating

spk_0 road and the experience of watching it from that point of view was it was anxious but also mesmerizing

spk_0 and it it was inducing in me because it kind of is repeated and goes on and it was inducing

spk_0 me in me like a nausea but also a sleepiness and and the only thing I could think about is when I

spk_0 got out of the movie and even a day or two later like what was that all about is oh that's how I

spk_0 felt for the last ten years I've exited life has felt like being on that road of dipping up and down

spk_0 and not knowing what's over the next hill and what it might do to you and my goodness however they

spk_0 got that shot and sustained it so that it works in terms of suspense but also on a certain level

spk_0 just pure beauty is incredible well it kind of goes back to what I was saying and we were talking

spk_0 about it is intense and suspenseful and yet it feels I I remember the feeling of watching it and

spk_0 what you're talking about with the undulation there's a certain serenity to it as well isn't it

spk_0 so it's it's it's it's crazy how they they managed to balance that in this film there is

spk_0 I think we've we've had the discussion we probably wanted to have and we could close here

spk_0 but I will at least raise that I knew within about 10 minutes of this film that among the conversations

spk_0 that we're going to be had about this film there was definitely going to be the discourse

spk_0 around a certain issue with the movie one that one that the two of us probably aren't the best

spk_0 people to weigh in on but I knew there was going to be a discourse and sure enough I woke up

spk_0 this morning and I actually these days I'm not on social media much at all but I I will usually wake

spk_0 up and just sort of check in and the very first thing I saw this morning it had begun Josh I don't

spk_0 know if you know what I'm referring to but I guess I will throw out vaguely do you want to get

spk_0 feedback on an upcoming show and get into whatever this discourse might be yeah I mean we're

spk_0 going to have to I'm unaware of it okay I've I was I was in a bunker before seeing this and I've

spk_0 tried to be in a bunker aside from you know that Alyssa Wilkinson comments and if you other things

spk_0 sense until we've had this conversation I okay cannot wait till tomorrow to be able to dive into

spk_0 okay all the critics who I respect their takes and I'm sure there's going to be some pushback I

spk_0 surprise it hasn't started already because so far it's just been a wave of raves seen star ratings come

spk_0 through on on letterbox so yeah I'm gonna dive into all of that tomorrow and perhaps we'll pick it up

spk_0 yeah when we we get some feedback which sounds good because lines I I had thoughts

spk_0 because they relate to the experience I had watching the movie they don't relate to the thoughts

spk_0 or I should say the specific criticisms that this person had because they just came out this morning

spk_0 and I didn't have time to read though so I wasn't I wasn't going to be reacting to that article

spk_0 necessarily or not at all I was just going to be talking about what I saw on the screen now as it is

spk_0 the the discourse will pick up in the days before our next episode and maybe we will be more

spk_0 informed and we can talk about it and hey this is a movie that needs to be interrogated I mean just

spk_0 because I'm in line with it's totally relative politics if you want to say that doesn't mean that

spk_0 it's a film that has everything lined up perfectly right it's capturing chaos and capturing a way

spk_0 to to honorably respond to that chaos from my point of view but it doesn't mean that it has

spk_0 everything right along those lines so I'll be curious to see that and I think you know the only

spk_0 other thing I would say on the on the political front is I almost part of me was like this doesn't

spk_0 even really feel political because it's it's not arguing against you know a political direction we

spk_0 may be heading towards you know and it's not even offering an alternative political vision to our

spk_0 current circumstances that goes to your point about you know whether it's it's endorsing the

spk_0 this guerrilla groups actions it's it's just mirroring what we're in right through this comically

spk_0 absurdist lens and all I can say is that by doing that it goes back to what I said at the top it

spk_0 felt like this desperately needed fresh air to me it's like that this is what I've just been feeling

spk_0 why are we not talking why are we not recognizing this and and one battle after another is at least

spk_0 doing that is it doing it perfectly um probably not and yeah we'll see we'll see what quams other

spk_0 people might have about it it's a good thing I don't expect perfection from art even from Paul

spk_0 Thomas Anderson one battle after another is currently playing in wide release if you see it and

spk_0 agree or disagree you can email us feedback at thonespotting.net

spk_0 Adam as we've mentioned a couple of times on the show here I'm across the pond spending a year

spk_0 in Scotland pursuing a master's degree over here and so yeah I've been scrambling to figure out

spk_0 where am I going to see movies to keep up not only with movies but for the show have found a couple

spk_0 of theaters in a nearby town including one how about this Adam I can be loyal to our sponsor regal

spk_0 cinemas because cinnab world the theater just a few towns away is part of the regal family so

spk_0 I have to figure out yet if the regal unlimited benefits which we've been talking about in the

spk_0 show and our great for regular movie goers if they have something like that at cinnab world for now

spk_0 I can tell you that regal unlimited is a fantastic program for those who want to see the latest

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spk_0 get 10% off all non alcoholic concessions sign up now in the regal app or use the link in the

spk_0 description and use code film spot 25 to receive your discount imagine this you're a man down on your

spk_0 luck and your brilliant plan cut a hole in the roof of the McDonald's sneak in before opening

spk_0 and rob the place not once but 45 times this isn't some Hollywood fantasy it's the unbelievable

spk_0 true story behind the new film roof man starring chaining Tatum as Jeffrey Manchester after his

spk_0 arrest he escapes prison by literally clinging to the bottom of a truck and then he secretly lives

spk_0 inside a toys rs for six months eating baby food exercising on store bikes even installing his

spk_0 own surveillance system using baby monitors all while planning his next move it's directed by

spk_0 Derek C in France who's an interesting director and it stars two actors we appreciate quite a bit

spk_0 here on film spotting kirsten dunce does Lee she's the woman who unknowingly falls for this man

spk_0 living a crazy double life and chaining Tatum of course as Jeffrey who is one of those actors who

spk_0 brings charisma and some charm and humor to every role that we've seen him in this is a movie that's

spk_0 rooted in real life events and supposedly Josh has some real edge of your seat twist in turns

spk_0 as well it's one I'm interested in seeing looking forward to catching it when it comes out on

spk_0 October 10th roof man one of the wildest true stories you'll ever see again in theaters only

spk_0 October 10th well listening is the number one thing you can do to support an independently

spk_0 produced show like ours here are a couple of other things you can do take a minute to give us a

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spk_0 spottingfamily dot com we want to thank family member Ramie must say in Lee lind Michigan

spk_0 Ramie's letterbox handle is our m a s s e yeah this is tough because producer sam did a great job

spk_0 of phonetically spelling out the name and I'm not sure where he got that from maybe he reached out

spk_0 to this family member but the problem is you do have to put where the the emphasis is so is it

spk_0 Ramie or is it remy this is me I look this up because I do I would be I would be saying this and

spk_0 I would have to I think it's remy I'm gonna go ready okay I checked it on far four vote so we'll

spk_0 will see we'll hear from remy you're ready and see what they say from here on out we're gonna

spk_0 call him he and I'm gonna hope that's right please tell us remy or remy which pronunciation is correct

spk_0 after moving to a city where I knew nobody other than my now wonderful wife I found myself missing

spk_0 the movie conversations that regularly sprung up with my college housemates after watching the

spk_0 banshees of an asheran I was desperate to have a discussion with someone anyone film spotting

spk_0 was the first result online and adam and Josh hooked me in and haven't let go since a favorite

spk_0 review or segment top five movies for graduates found me at the right time the respect for hyomi

spk_0 isaki from both adam and Josh let me know I was in the right place and because of their top five I

spk_0 watched Columbus and Icaru for the first time and adored both good job by us what review did we get

spk_0 wrong I can't find it on film spotting but here at kazoo korea does monster I thought it was

spk_0 brilliant and one of my favorites of the year sorry Josh you didn't like that movie Josh yeah

spk_0 I was a little down on it but hey in the case of korea I'm probably wrong so that's okay

spk_0 letterbox top four spirited away I mean here you guys are simpatico again fantastic mr. Fox

spk_0 there will be blood that one there will be blood is great in the fall I love the fall as well

spk_0 okay tarzum sing a favorite movie that remy revisited recently bongjun hose memories of murder

spk_0 good one a random filmmaker that he loves rob reiner not necessarily because I think he's one of the

spk_0 great filmmakers but he certainly doesn't get enough love from film nerds a movie you credit with

spk_0 becoming a cinephile he says my dad love gym carry movies when I was a kid and after showing my

spk_0 brother and I ace ventura when nature calls we watched the Truman show and it completely altered

spk_0 what I loved about movies I can still love a terrible exquisite film like ace ventura but the

spk_0 Truman show let me down a path of loving movies for something a little different I can see that

spk_0 terrible exquisite for ace ventura that's kind of great thank you remy for joining the family

spk_0 and for all those years of listening in addition to keeping us doing what we're doing your support

spk_0 comes with perks Josh they get to listen early and add free I'm not sure if you're aware they get

spk_0 our weekly newsletter they get exclusive opportunities like being part of the film spotting family

spk_0 discord just an unruly bunch now actually they're they're quite really great group of film spotting

spk_0 family members over there having wonderfully insightful and sometimes absolutely absurd conversations

spk_0 and you get our monthly bonus shows we have channels over there devoted to music books sports food

spk_0 but yes also movies new releases older films TV you name it September bonus show was our

spk_0 trivia spotting addition that is now available Josh the one you know you slept through because you're

spk_0 in Scotland I did I slept quite well how did you do where did you place that's all I really want to know

spk_0 I I did not podium who I didn't I didn't make the top three but but my team fared well I mean we

spk_0 I think we got at least seven right both rounds and I went quite deep in the in the lightning

spk_0 round the captain's lightning round I think I was the topic it was it was directors and it was

spk_0 of directors of Sundance winning films okay I think I was the last I was the third from last out

spk_0 so I I had it I had a shot and and the one the one I went out on is so depressing because

spk_0 as Sam and I were talking about later there were ones throughout where you were you were just

spk_0 praising the Lord that you didn't get because you you should have known but you just could not pull

spk_0 the name you know Josh how it is yeah I can't pull the name and and and then there were others that

spk_0 that you knew and you were so grateful that you got those the one that I went out on the one

spk_0 of my movies the the movie that I championed years ago on the show and I mistakenly said

spk_0 the duplos brothers because I thought about Mark duplos being in the film right right right

spk_0 I'm not going to say well I'm gonna say that I thought Thomas was a little too quick on the draw

spk_0 and I think you should be allowed to think out loud for a second like why does the first thing you

spk_0 say have to be your Thomas why does the first thing you say have to be your final answer why can't

spk_0 you think out loud but right after I said it and everyone jumped on me for being stupid I it hit

spk_0 me of course that like Lynn Shelton Lynn Shelton of course directed hump day I mean I knew it it took

spk_0 me a second but wow that's the way it goes yeah it is it's how Trevor you spotting can go yeah it's a

spk_0 October bonus we are going to do a draft with a family member looking forward to that please do

spk_0 learn more about becoming a member and supporting the show at FilmSwitingFamily.com

spk_0 Hi you sound so sweet are you nervous about talking to me yeah

spk_0 you know we got to be like really careful about doing this yeah Adam you caught up with a new film

spk_0 called Predators as you mentioned earlier this shouldn't be confused with the animated predator killer

spk_0 of killers which came out earlier this year still hope to catch up with or Predator Badlands which

spk_0 is coming to theaters next month this is totally different Predators is documentary from director David

spk_0 Oset about the reality TV program to catch a Predator the premise of this show was basically hunt

spk_0 down child Predators lure them to a film set where they would be interviewed and then arrested it

spk_0 ran from 2004 to 2007 so yeah I'm fascinating idea for a documentary I'd love to hear what they

spk_0 do with this sort of material in the doc they do a lot yeah they do a lot and I I don't know I

spk_0 could be wrong I don't know if they actually learn them to a TV set or if they learn them to

spk_0 an actual house that had basically been turned into a TV set but I'll say this the the opening of

spk_0 the trailer that that you just heard is also the opening of the movie so yes right from the start

spk_0 it is as deeply unsettling as you might expect this material to be Predators lingers long after

spk_0 the final frame I remember to catch a Predator on TV I remember seeing bits of it this isn't

spk_0 revisionist history because anybody who did watch it regularly if they watch this show they might

spk_0 after it feel like maybe I shouldn't say that out loud or maybe I should feel guilty about it all

spk_0 let others wrestle with their conscience or not I do remember seeing maybe an episode or two but I

spk_0 certainly was not familiar with the lore around it or the fact that people would go to conventions

spk_0 around of course true crime and Chris Hanson I knew he was a celebrity but I didn't realize that

spk_0 he was a celebrity to the extent that he was and that there were all these to catch a Predator

spk_0 wannabes now on YouTube basically doing this same and to be fair just like Chris Hanson they are

spk_0 working usually with police with authorities and they are catching actual Predators right so you

spk_0 you can point to real justice being done but there is a downside to a lot of this whenever you

spk_0 have punishment as entertainment there is a downside to this that this movie and you can imagine

spk_0 that will this movie explores that and I mentioned that I didn't know the lore I also didn't know

spk_0 about some of the recurring gags almost on the show or some of the catch phrases at the end of

spk_0 the trailer you hear the documentarians say to Chris Hanson you're free to go some people

spk_0 watching this may feel like you have something to answer for what do you say that

spk_0 you're free to go apparently that's what Chris Hanson would say to all these Predators who

spk_0 would somehow and the movie talks about this would stay there and talk to him rather than run out

spk_0 the door but it wouldn't have mattered either way he says you're free to go of course they're not

spk_0 free to go as soon as they walk out the door they're police there to apprehend them but when I say

spk_0 deeply unsettling I want to be clear that yes occasionally it's the behavior of Predators like

spk_0 the guy we hear there on the phone in the in the trailer but mostly it's it's the movie's project

spk_0 in a good way it's the it's the questions that it it wants to and does pose that there

spk_0 are just no answers to Josh I mean that that you're going to be wrestling with I said it lingers

spk_0 the questions you're going to be wrestling with throughout and and maybe for days after like I was

spk_0 I can answer the question of whether or not the show was terrible I think it was terrible even if it

spk_0 did result in legitimate Predators being caught even if it did provide something in some cases

spk_0 cathartic for victims of sexual abuse but the movie considers what it wants us to think about what

spk_0 what it poses as its main goal is to get us to think about and get some of the people on camera to

spk_0 think about is what happens when the camera turns off and we see when we have to see these people

spk_0 as people as human beings can we do that should we do that and there are two scenes I will say and

spk_0 I won't get into a lot of details because I want people to see the movie to see this and and

spk_0 experience it for themselves but there are two scenes in the movie Josh where you watch

spk_0 catchers of Predators both pretty hard line both enured to this when confronted with their humanity

spk_0 they soften they do they they do see their humanity and what I appreciate about the movie is that

spk_0 the documentarian the director oset he doesn't take those moments as clear victories

spk_0 he doesn't try to simplify things he actually reminds you usually in these moments that

spk_0 let's not forget that these people these Predators did show up because they were going to have sex

spk_0 they thought they were going to have sex with someone underage and in one case they brought alcohol

spk_0 because they thought they were going to have sex with a 14 year old predators is a documentary that

spk_0 the dares to question everything including itself and I think that's really bold about the project so

spk_0 from the comfort of my TV I can sit here as an enlightened liberal man and talk about how we need

spk_0 to see their humanity but what if it was my child what I be what I really be feeling so generous

spk_0 and I can't wait to discuss this movie with someone who's seen it I haven't had that chance yet Josh

spk_0 because I am as much as I do appreciate the movie and I do I really recommend people see it

spk_0 I'm very conflicted about the ending it's not a spoiler because it's in the trailer and I alluded to

spk_0 it earlier but I didn't know it I hadn't seen the trailer I was waiting the whole movie

spk_0 and I said to Sarah who was watching it with me like when are we going to find out the whole

spk_0 movie has been building to this it has to be building to it are they going to interview Chris Hanson

spk_0 they they have to confront Chris Hanson or they have to tell us that they tried to get Chris Hanson

spk_0 on camera and he refused to be interviewed but but if they don't if we don't get the interview or

spk_0 we don't get the disclaimer honestly the movie is is almost worthless because the whole movie has

spk_0 been in some way building up to it oh so it would be derelict in his duties as a documentarian

spk_0 and the journalistic enterprise would be sunk here well he gets him he gets him and and the interview

spk_0 is is entirely appropriate I think the inquisition if you will is entirely appropriate but how it

spk_0 concludes how it concludes aesthetically I feel icky about I'm not I'm not sure I'm on board with

spk_0 the choices that that Osset makes again something I would love to discuss with someone

spk_0 so I mean this is grueling subject matter and you know someone who watches predators may not be

spk_0 in the mood to see something else along these lines but the way you're talking about the humanity

spk_0 the question of that in a reminds me of this documentary I saw way back I think 2015 at Sundance

spk_0 called pervert park and it was about a Florida trailer park that was basically founded to provide

spk_0 a place for registered sex offenders to live because their their options are severely limited you

spk_0 know can't can't live by schools can't because a condition of their parole and it's a movie that's

spk_0 very much about you know that one aspect it sounds like predators is partially interested in is

spk_0 what humanity might there be right people like this now this is on the other side of justice

spk_0 in this case so it sounds like it's very different to that to that end but still interested in

spk_0 that question so so yeah if if people are up for thinking about these sorts of really difficult

spk_0 issues a little bit more I'd also recommend pervert park predators is currently playing in limited

spk_0 release next week here on film spotting we've got a top five inspired by our conversation about one

spk_0 battle after another with Leonardo DiCaprio I think I've read this or heard this somewhere that

spk_0 it was a dream of his to get to work with Paul Thomas Anderson and certainly fans of PTA's work

spk_0 like I am and so many people are and I know you are Josh as well it it only seemed fitting that

spk_0 we finally got a big star like Leo working with Paul Thomas Anderson so what are the actor director

spk_0 combos that we haven't had that we'd like to see I should know the answer to this because when I

spk_0 proposed this top five at a film spotting production meeting several weeks ago I think I looked up

spk_0 or maybe on the call we looked up we've done something similar to this before I can't remember if

spk_0 done exactly this top five or something like it but either way certainly worth revisiting because

spk_0 it's been a while that we've done something like it and I haven't started the work yet but I'm

spk_0 excited to do it yeah I I'm struggling where do I start do I start with the directors or do I

spk_0 start with the actors yeah yeah right now I'm feeling like starting with the actors might be

spk_0 a bit more fun yeah because there I can certainly think of five and I'm not going to name them

spk_0 here but like five you know relatively new names and it doesn't have to be it could be veterans we

spk_0 could go with but right now I'm thinking about new names who I'm excited about where they're at

spk_0 in their career and thinking about where they might go and you know pairing up with a a

spk_0 top flight director is a way to to kind of move up in in your career so I'm leaning towards that

spk_0 path but yeah I haven't really sat down to think about it much yet as soon as you said it I have to

spk_0 say my immediate thought was to start actor because I think I can build the director off of I can

spk_0 match the sensibility of the director to the performer I know you can do the opposite to but for

spk_0 some reason it feels more natural for me to to match the director to the actor doesn't this go

spk_0 back to the del Toro conversation and maybe with Wes Anderson now I think he's brilliant in

spk_0 Wes Anderson's the French dispatch but that allowed him to have in that case a little bit of the

spk_0 mournfulness that he can carry in some of his performances whereas the Phoenician scheme was a

spk_0 little bit a little bit more prescriptive of what he needed to do so yeah it's I don't know if I

spk_0 would have ever said but in CEO del Toro an actor I love he needs to pair with Wes Anderson I

spk_0 probably wouldn't have thought of that I don't know if I would have thought with Paul Thomas Anderson

spk_0 either and would have missed out on one battle after another but but yeah it's yeah it'll be an

spk_0 interesting experiment to conduct Sam had a very good related prompt in the film spotting family

spk_0 discord and in the newsletter this week he said Paul Thomas Anderson can only make one more film

spk_0 and I'm gonna knock on wood and hope that that doesn't happen the star of the film can't be anyone

spk_0 that he's ever worked with before who is that star and I think I might take up that mantle for

spk_0 one of my five picks why not I mean I'd love to I'd love to the great question I'd love to do the

spk_0 decaprio pta pairing that inspired the top five why not go ahead and use it for one of my picks

spk_0 yeah I like it'd be fun I'll maybe steer away from that and let you have that one okay thank you

spk_0 you can you can go with Wes Anderson and we'll have the battle one battle about Anderson after

spk_0 another you can send your actor director combo picks to feed back at film spotting.net and yes we

spk_0 would love to share some on next weeks show also next week results and your comments from the current

spk_0 deeply flawed and deeply difficult film spotting pull I said you know it's actually not a deeply

spk_0 flawed poll it's a really good one when it feels impossible to answer and I will stall and procrastinate

spk_0 and do almost anything to avoid answering it you agreed the other way you know it's a really

spk_0 really good poll is when the answers are almost evenly split I have not looked at the results

spk_0 Josh in about five days so it's possible that it has changed that there's been a shift but the last

spk_0 time I looked it was about 33 33 33 33 and in fact right now wow the the number one answer has

spk_0 has taken a little bit more of a lead but it's currently 36 33 30 yeah think about that deeply

spk_0 difficult deeply difficult in that deeply flawed okay you can still vote at film spotting.net

spk_0 and yes we would love for you to leave a comment we might share your thoughts on air if you'd like

spk_0 to see our current show schedule some of the episodes we have planned the reviews we have coming up

spk_0 go to film spotting.net and click on episodes we want to keep you up to date on what they're doing

spk_0 on our sister podcasts the next picture show looking at cinema's present via its past it's part two

spk_0 of their till you drop pairing so this week they're talking about the Stephen King adaptation the

spk_0 long walk which just came out previously they set that conversation up by looking at Sydney Pollock's

spk_0 1969 film they shoot horses don't they that one featuring Jane Fonda new episodes of the next picture

spk_0 show drop every Tuesday and you can find them wherever you get your podcasts I want to mention one

spk_0 more time maybe we'll get another plug in but at least one film spotting family member posted in

spk_0 the discord they heard me plug this last week Josh and they must be somewhat in the area because

spk_0 they heard the promotion and said that sounds great I got to get a pass I'm going to refocus if

spk_0 you're anywhere in the vicinity of Iowa city Iowa film scene is having their fourth annual refocus

spk_0 film festival celebrating the art of adaptation it's October 9th through the 12th and you can come

spk_0 a live taping of a film spotting top five segment Friday October 10th 4 30 pm that will be with me

spk_0 and since I can't record with you I'm going to bring on you know our great third wheel our regular

spk_0 third wheel Michael Phillips will be taping that with me we are going to share our top five Iowa

spk_0 writers basically grads of the famed Iowa writers workshop or people people who were born in Iowa the

spk_0 films that have been adapted from their works one of the things I'll say we haven't totally ruled

spk_0 this out yet I guess I haven't made a ruling but I think I know where I'm I'm going to lean

spk_0 what you have to also consider is what do you do with people who are famous for teaching at the

spk_0 Iowa writers workshop not that there's a lot of great film adaptations of his work but if you go

spk_0 that route it opens you up to all of Kurt Vonnegut's adaptations for example Josh yeah so you know

spk_0 there's different criteria you could include but some great films I mentioned last week the new

spk_0 park Chanuk film is playing the new film train dream starring Joel Edgerton is playing at the

spk_0 the zodiac killer project new documentary from Charlie Shackleton which is very really interesting

spk_0 yeah playing at the fest so worth getting a pass if you're in the area please do check it out

spk_0 refocus film festival dot org all right let's embarrass ourselves with some massacre theater this is

spk_0 where we perform a scene and you get a chance to win a film spotting prize last time was this the

spk_0 video debut of masquer theater atom that I think there's an addition to floating somewhere

spk_0 video on the other but really the the official debut and yes you have me totally self conscious now

spk_0 but that's fine we'll get to that all right well last time we masquer this scene smoking

spk_0 rooster flares that was close we're out of flares man

spk_0 he's already on us

spk_0 oh this is not good

spk_0 tom crews and miles teller in 2022's top gun maverick written by Eric Warren singer Aaron Kruger

spk_0 and Christopher McCory and directed by Joseph Kaczynski that masquer was part of our five

spk_0 years five movie show a couple weeks back we also had reviews of spinal tap two and the history

spk_0 of sound on that show there is always a tie in so why that scene from top gun maverick well

spk_0 Alexa doubly has the answer I believe the masquer theater was top gun maverick the tie in would be a

spk_0 movie sequel that was released years nay decades after the original was released as is the case

spk_0 with spinal tap two and I'm just going to put this out there so all the true tap heads get it

spk_0 are you sure it's deadly and not doubly there you go Josh I'm sure they appreciated that

spk_0 yep here's David Allen who said it's got to be top gun maverick here are the connections one like

spk_0 spinal tap two this is a sequel that came many years after its predecessor two one could say tom

spk_0 crews feels like a continuation of Robert redbirds dashing smile and swagger I don't know we may

spk_0 have to discuss on our upcoming top five rubber redford movies Adam David Allen's third point

spk_0 the right stuff has some thematic crossover with the top gun movies and I believe that came up

spk_0 on your list Adam for Glenn Powell's next vehicle is the running man which like rear window is

spk_0 an examination of voyeur culture okay rear window on my list that's right we close with Ron and

spk_0 have a town PA you both went above and beyond on this mask or theater I laughed out loud on hearing

spk_0 you both pretend to have mask on playing out the pivotal ending scene where tom crews maverick and

spk_0 miles teller rooster are in a dog fight against the nameless bad guys flying next gen fighters thank

spk_0 you for making my day you're welcome Ron you're welcome everyone you know who's not welcome all

spk_0 the people who just wrote in top gun the original it's not the original it's the sequel Josh of course

spk_0 just like spinal tap to get with our listeners also yeah can you imagine Adam if we had a prop budget

spk_0 like how good we would have been if we had actual masks okay not just you start hands maybe next time

spk_0 and yes as at least one listener one entrant pointed out we did go with coal for the name of

spk_0 maverick referencing coal trickle from days of thunder we went with Andrew from miles teller's

spk_0 rooster a reference yes to whip lash Josh reach into the not very brimming film spotting hat and

spk_0 pick out this week's winner our winner is David Zobal from Roswell Georgia congratulations David

spk_0 email feedback at film spotting.net and we will set you up with your very own film spotting t-shirt

spk_0 film spotting tote bag or trial membership to the film spotting family broad sheet journalists have

spk_0 described my impressions as stunningly accurate well they're wrong i've not heard your Michael came

spk_0 but I assume it would be something along the lines of byna and sparkle came that is where you were so wrong

spk_0 we move on now to this week's edition of massacre theater i think the tie-in is going to be

spk_0 pretty obvious here Josh and we don't have any fancy sound effects that we need to employ here no

spk_0 no masks that we have to pretend to be putting on though producer sam picked a scene that does

spk_0 involve throwing our voices a bit. multiple voices yeah he's basically making us each play two

spk_0 characters yeah and he should run that struggle enough each playing a single character that's

spk_0 that's correct i struggle playing myself every week how also expect me to do this apparently he

spk_0 thinks i've been about a month in the uk here and i have a firm command yes of a british accent

spk_0 but i'm up in scotland it's totally different sam i mean i haven't been hearing people like this i

spk_0 mean come on yeah this is this is going to be rough it's it's going to be rough but we're going to

spk_0 go for it you are going to hear us attempt multiple voices in at least one instance maybe maybe two

spk_0 back to back and we are going to change the names in a couple of cases as we are want to do here

spk_0 on masquer theater josh you started off are you ready yeah let's do it and action where are we

spk_0 can't to bury we're close anyone know if there's a hotel around here what didn't to promise me a

spk_0 little bit of action you still like it in the afternoon would you do rob a train low up a building

spk_0 you told me he was swath why ain't got a drunk he swath should have seen him in the old days when

spk_0 he was a real activist you were a activist i just wanted to get laid one time the police came to

spk_0 throw us out of our squat and Dalton invited them up for coffee to negotiate only coffee was spiked

spk_0 with ketamine and see i played in america live we got out of our play in america there that was easy

spk_0 i don't know that i performed otherwise if you know what film we just masquerred email the

spk_0 movies title in your name and location to feed back at film spotting dot net your deadline is

spk_0 monday october thirteenth we'll select the winner randomly from all the correct entries i'm expecting

spk_0 just a big full film spotting hat and announcing in a couple of weeks josh that's our show

spk_0 if you want to connect with us on social media you can find adam and the show on instagram

spk_0 facebook letterboxed youtube all as film spotting i'm at those places also hanging out on blue sky

spk_0 as larson on film we are independently produced and listener supported you can support the show by

spk_0 joining the film spotting family at film spotting family dot com you can listen early and add

spk_0 free you'll also get a weekly newsletter from producer sam monthly bonus episodes our latest

spk_0 just went out as well as access to the entire show archive for show t-shirts and other merch go to

spk_0 film spotting dot net slash shop in that film spotting archive you can get past Paul Thomas Anderson

spk_0 conversations like our review of licorice pizza eight fifty three phantom thread that was episode six

spk_0 sixty four inherent vice episode five seventeen the master was episode four fifteen there will be blood

spk_0 episode one ninety three the more in depth conversation was for its tenth anniversary episode six

spk_0 fifty eight and we talked about magnolia on episode seven fifty two that was part of our nine from

spk_0 ninety nine series and we just put that back in our feed a little from the archive episode

spk_0 just this past week so you can find that available to all listeners in the main film spotting feed

spk_0 quick note adam as you are going through that list i meant to say while we were reviewing one

spk_0 battle after another and talking about the humor phantom thread you know underrated for a funny it

spk_0 is very dry very dry very dry but quite hilarious yes almost anytime

spk_0 or would cock it monishes anyone is is high comedy right exactly yep okay streaming or out

spk_0 the od you can see play dirty this is with the key stand field and keegan michael key written

spk_0 and directed by shane black in order to score a major heisen expert thief played by mark wallberg must

spk_0 outsmart a south american dictator the new york mob and the world's richest man okay i'm curious

spk_0 the lost bus is out Paul greengrass has a new movie out josh a man rescues a teacher and her students

spk_0 from a wildfire with matty mccanae in america for rarah huh been a while since we've heard from yeah

spk_0 mr greengrass obviously very interested in this one anemone daniel de luis returns to the screen

spk_0 in son ronans feature directing debut hope to catch up with that one good boy as dark entities

spk_0 threaten his human companion a dog must fight to protect the one he loves most yes it's a horror movie

spk_0 josh told from the perspective of the family dog indy wire gives it four and a half stars

spk_0 oh saying one of the years scariest movies and one that doubles as a tribute to the bond between

spk_0 people and their four-legged friends this is killing me i i was going to try to fit this in adam and

spk_0 then as you know unless nurse and viewers probably can tell got hit with a bug and

spk_0 have been down and out so had to take it off the viewing list but man come on that sounds great

spk_0 you know you know you want to see that can you see that or is that one that maybe you can get a

spk_0 screener too i was going to ask for a screener link but maybe it'll maybe it'll get a release

spk_0 around these parts as well okay happy end this is a feature debut from japanese american director

spk_0 neosora a near future japan braces for a devastating earthquake michelle bopray our friend says maybe

spk_0 the best looking film of the year also outlimited is predators the documentary recommended by me

spk_0 earlier in the show golden i is being re-released for its anniversary and very eager to see this one

spk_0 bennie safty solo directed the smashing machine it's the story of mma fighter mark her starring

spk_0 dwayne johnson hope to see that one but next week we are planning our top five actor director

spk_0 combos weed like to see if you've got a pairing you want us to consider or you just want us to read

spk_0 on air send it our way feedback at film spotting dot net film spotting is produced by golden

spk_0 joe de so and sam van hogren without sam and golden joe this show wouldn't go our production

spk_0 assistant is so fee campanar special thanks to everyone at wbe z chicago more information is

spk_0 available at wbez dot org for film spotting i'm josh larson and i'm at him campanar thanks for

spk_0 listening this conversation conserve no purpose anymore the bot

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spk_0 film spotting is listed supported join the film spotting family at film spotting family dot com and

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One Battle After Another Review, Predators (#1034)

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