Episode 396 - Tribeca Festival 2024 Begins, "Venom: The Last Dance" & "Piece By Piece" Trailers

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[00:01:35] And the Oscar goes to...

[00:01:38] Thank you so much.

[00:01:39] This might be the one time I'm speaking.

[00:01:41] This is not a joke.

[00:01:42] Moonlight is one best picture.

[00:01:43] Could you double check the envelope?

[00:01:44] And I can't deny the fact that you like me.

[00:01:45] Thank you life.

[00:01:46] Thank you love.

[00:01:47] You guys are just standing up because you feel bad that I fell and that's really embarrassing.

[00:01:48] But thank you.

[00:01:49] This is nuts.

[00:01:50] It's a top.

[00:01:51] I'm the king of the world.

[00:01:52] And the Oscar goes to...

[00:01:53] The Oscar goes to...

[00:01:54] The Oscar goes to...

[00:01:55] Gentlemen, my only objective being here is to try and get at you.

[00:01:56] Flashlight.

[00:01:57] Your watchlight.

[00:01:58] Please look what you've done.

[00:01:59] Frankly, my AI don't give a...

[00:02:00] I could have been a contender.

[00:02:01] It's passing you a signal.

[00:02:02] I could have been somebody.

[00:02:03] They can only kill me with a golden bullet.

[00:02:04] What have I done?

[00:02:05] Call me Mr. Tibbs.

[00:02:06] I'm going to make him an officer.

[00:02:07] I'm going to make him the best.

[00:02:08] I'm not going to be a soldier.

[00:02:09] I'm going to make him a doctor.

[00:02:10] I'm going to make him a doctor!

[00:02:11] I'm going to make him a doctor.

[00:02:12] I'm going to make him a doctor!

[00:02:13] Welcome to the

[00:02:41] next best picture podcast.

[00:02:44] And my eyes see Oppenheimer.

[00:02:49] Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Next Best Picture Podcast.

[00:02:52] I am your host, the owner, editor in chief of Next Best Picture dot com.

[00:02:56] Matt Neglia. The time of recording is June 9th, 2024.

[00:03:01] Here to join me for this week's episode, I have Cody Derricks.

[00:03:05] Hello. And Josh Parham.

[00:03:08] Hello. Hello.

[00:03:09] So the Tribeca Festival is now officially in full swing.

[00:03:13] I don't have Dan and Gio here this week to comment on some of the films

[00:03:17] that they've been seeing,

[00:03:19] but I will provide you all with some of the stuff

[00:03:21] that I have caught up with in the in the first couple of days at the festival.

[00:03:25] But other than that, we don't really have like a main topic

[00:03:27] to discuss this week so much.

[00:03:29] It's really more about these little pieces of news

[00:03:32] that drop throughout the week, but no real unifying theme so much for all of them.

[00:03:36] So we're going to just answer some fan questions.

[00:03:39] We'll probably do some random musings on what's been going on

[00:03:42] within the industry here today.

[00:03:43] We'll go over the polls as we usually do.

[00:03:45] We got two trailers to discuss here for Venom, The Last Dance and Piece by Piece.

[00:03:51] So before we get to any of this, though, I do want to know

[00:03:54] what everyone has been watching this past week, starting off first with Josh Parham.

[00:03:58] So this week has been an opportunity for me to catch up with some stuff

[00:04:03] that had already been released that I just didn't have a time to,

[00:04:06] mostly because we were in Cannes and there was just no time

[00:04:10] to do anything else except see those movies.

[00:04:12] So there was some stuff that's come out that I've been meaning to watch.

[00:04:15] And I did that this week.

[00:04:16] One of them was the Dead Don't Hurt, which is the new film from Viggo Mortensen.

[00:04:21] And wow, I mean, just maybe just walking in with the expectations

[00:04:26] of what his debut feature was helped this one immensely

[00:04:29] because it is such such an improvement to that particular film.

[00:04:34] I had the exact same reaction, Josh, when I saw it at TIFF.

[00:04:37] I went in arms crossed like I really don't want to put myself through this again.

[00:04:42] Truly. And when I walked out, I was like, oh, my God, that was actually pretty decent.

[00:04:47] Yeah, I thought it was a good movie. It's not perfect.

[00:04:50] I think that the story itself has some trouble like

[00:04:54] coalescing all of its themes together.

[00:04:56] And I don't know if it really had anything profound to say.

[00:05:01] I think it was close to it, but never quite got there.

[00:05:03] But I liked the overall environment that it established.

[00:05:07] I liked the characters for the most part, and I thought it was a pretty engaging film.

[00:05:12] Nothing amazing.

[00:05:14] But as you said, compared to his previous movie, this is the dramatic step up.

[00:05:19] So congratulations, Viggo, for finally making a good movie

[00:05:23] because it was a little dicey after falling.

[00:05:26] And then the next thing I saw was in a violent nature,

[00:05:29] which I had been really looking forward to.

[00:05:31] I've been wanting to see this movie for a while now, and

[00:05:35] I'm sorry to say that I have to admit to being slightly underwhelmed by it.

[00:05:40] And that really kind of bummed me out.

[00:05:42] And I think this movie has a really interesting premise.

[00:05:45] I really love the idea of it, which is basically

[00:05:48] it's sort of like if they made a Friday the 13th movie

[00:05:50] completely from the perspective of Jason.

[00:05:52] And I really do like that idea.

[00:05:54] But the execution to me felt a little off at times.

[00:05:58] There are moments where this movie, which is presented to be pretty somber

[00:06:03] and mostly serious, kind of has some goofy moments that happen

[00:06:09] where like lines of dialogue from characters just sound really weird

[00:06:12] or even the special effects don't look all that great.

[00:06:15] And if it was going to steer more into an over the top, maybe campy direction,

[00:06:21] I could understand that a little bit, but it didn't really fit

[00:06:25] with the overall tone that they were going for.

[00:06:27] And I just found that that style just did not really work for me.

[00:06:32] I was very, very disappointed by it.

[00:06:34] And it's a shame because, as I said, I like the idea

[00:06:37] and I do like some of the concepts it does bring up.

[00:06:41] But the execution was just not really there for me.

[00:06:44] And I was really, really let down by that movie.

[00:06:46] I'm sad to say.

[00:06:47] See, I kind of saw the whole bad dialogue

[00:06:52] element of that movie to be almost like some sort of an odd meta commentary

[00:06:57] on we the audience know that the teenager dialogue

[00:07:03] before they have sex and get killed by Jason Voorhees or whatever it is,

[00:07:06] is pretty atrociously awful.

[00:07:08] And I feel like it's deliberately written so because that's just the genre

[00:07:12] at this point.

[00:07:13] So I almost looked at it as, OK, if this is told from the perspective

[00:07:16] of the serial killer who's going to murder them anyway,

[00:07:20] it would make sense for him to hear this dialogue and also kind of think

[00:07:23] to himself, yeah, they deserve it.

[00:07:25] And they sound terrible.

[00:07:28] So I almost like saw it as not so much a bad

[00:07:33] like like bad screenwriting, but actually like like a deliberate choice,

[00:07:36] if you will, to kind of play into typical genre tropes.

[00:07:40] But at the same time, I do agree there's something off about that movie's

[00:07:43] overall sense of like pacing, I found.

[00:07:46] And totally, yeah, I was also wondering, too, is this supposed to be funny?

[00:07:51] Is this supposed to be over the top?

[00:07:52] Is it meant to be serious?

[00:07:53] Because there are some kills in that movie that are horrifying

[00:07:57] in how meticulous and drawn out they are.

[00:08:00] And then there are others that are like fist pump the air.

[00:08:04] Holy shit, what did I just see?

[00:08:06] Crowd goes nuts, you know, kind of moments.

[00:08:09] So it's a mixed bag for me.

[00:08:11] But it's definitely one of the more unique horror horror movies

[00:08:14] I've seen in recent years at the risk of being accused of self-promotion.

[00:08:18] I actually got to interview the writer director Chris Nash a week or two ago,

[00:08:23] and I brought up that the the kind of contrast of the dialogue

[00:08:28] being so cheesy with the violence being so visceral.

[00:08:31] And he actually offered a sort of self critique.

[00:08:34] He kind of said maybe they leaned in a bit too hard on the 80s

[00:08:37] pastiche in the dialogue, like making it too cheesy and goofy.

[00:08:41] And I found that really interesting because the most common critique

[00:08:46] I hear about the movie, which I personally liked a lot more than most people,

[00:08:48] it seems is about that kind of dichotomy of dialogue with tone.

[00:08:54] And so it's really fascinating to see that the director himself

[00:08:56] kind of agrees with that.

[00:08:57] I mean, they respect the movie a little more.

[00:08:59] Well, that is interesting that the director himself has that perspective

[00:09:03] because, yeah, it was a persistent issue with me.

[00:09:07] And I definitely do get the point of view that, yeah, he's sort of in

[00:09:12] an 80s horror movie, and so that's what he's experiencing.

[00:09:15] But I still feel like the tone itself does not really steer into it that much.

[00:09:22] And it just really wasn't that interesting to me.

[00:09:26] And because of that, I ended up feeling like I respected the ambition behind it

[00:09:31] and the storytelling they were going for.

[00:09:32] But the execution just did not really pull me across the finish line,

[00:09:36] unfortunately.

[00:09:38] But a movie that I did see that I did really like, though, was Babes.

[00:09:43] I finally caught up with this.

[00:09:45] Oh, it is so good.

[00:09:47] I was smiling throughout all of this movie, laughing quite a bit through it as well.

[00:09:52] I think that it's such a smart commentary I felt of adult friendships.

[00:09:58] You know, you walk into that movie feeling like it's going to be

[00:10:01] almost like a knocked up type of thing, where it's all going to be about,

[00:10:05] you know, the the wackiness of this pregnancy.

[00:10:07] But I found that it actually had a very profound message

[00:10:10] of relationships as you get older.

[00:10:13] And that was very moving to me.

[00:10:14] And I loved all the performances, too.

[00:10:17] So this is a movie that if you have a chance to see it,

[00:10:20] please go out and support it because it's a really, really good movie.

[00:10:23] And I highly, highly recommend it.

[00:10:26] Yeah, Cosine, it's definitely one of my favorite comedies of the year so far.

[00:10:30] Might even be my favorite overall, honestly.

[00:10:32] I quite enjoyed it.

[00:10:34] But then again, it's like one of those things, too, where I can understand

[00:10:37] like some people being put off by Ilana Glazer's

[00:10:41] energy, if you will.

[00:10:43] The same way like Billy Eichner just works for certain people,

[00:10:46] but doesn't for others and bros like I kind of got that vibe from it.

[00:10:51] But I think if you love her brand of comedy like this is this is a blast

[00:10:54] the whole way through.

[00:10:56] For sure.

[00:10:56] And if you do find it to be a little bit grating,

[00:10:59] I think Michelle Buteau is a perfect balance to that.

[00:11:02] I think they're both great, but she is

[00:11:06] was actually my favorite performance in the film.

[00:11:07] I think she is just exceptional in it. Totally agreed.

[00:11:10] And then outside of that, because it is June and it is Pride Month,

[00:11:15] I do my annual tradition of trying to see at least one

[00:11:20] queer related movie every day.

[00:11:22] And so I've been doing that.

[00:11:24] And the one that I actually do want to talk about is the newest release,

[00:11:26] which is another one that I just caught up with.

[00:11:28] And that is Drive Away Dolls. Oh, my gosh.

[00:11:31] And it was fine. Oh, no. Yeah. Come on.

[00:11:34] I mean, look, did I have a good time with it?

[00:11:37] Yes, absolutely. I. Oh, OK. OK. Yeah.

[00:11:40] I did have a good time with it.

[00:11:41] I do think, though, that the story just kind of

[00:11:46] was very weirdly constructed at some parts.

[00:11:48] And it also felt like momentum was a big problem.

[00:11:51] Like I'd be really into it.

[00:11:53] And then it would just slow down a lot for no real reason.

[00:11:57] And I found that inconsistency to be very problematic at a certain point.

[00:12:02] And yeah, I don't know if Ethan Cohen is great at storytelling,

[00:12:08] but he is definitely the funny one out of that pair.

[00:12:11] I think we definitely have confirmation about that.

[00:12:14] So I did enjoy myself.

[00:12:16] I did have a good time with it.

[00:12:17] I just didn't think it was amazing.

[00:12:19] So it was like a perfect streaming movie.

[00:12:22] Yeah, I agree with it not being amazing either.

[00:12:25] But at the same time, it's like one of those things where

[00:12:27] given the time of the year in which it was released,

[00:12:30] it was like the perfect kind of movie that one needed

[00:12:33] during that point in the year where it's nothing amazing,

[00:12:38] but it was certainly better than a lot of the other stuff

[00:12:40] that was being put out at the time, at least for me.

[00:12:43] And, you know, anytime there's a new Cohen brother film,

[00:12:48] I guess we'll say now, you know, that's always cause for intrigue

[00:12:52] and excitement, I think.

[00:12:54] But yeah, I agree.

[00:12:55] It's very, very clear now following this and tragedy, Macbeth,

[00:12:59] which Cohen brother is which?

[00:13:01] And I think we would all agree they work best together.

[00:13:03] Yes, it is so fascinating that the the split between them

[00:13:07] in terms of the raucous comedy of their movies and the extremely

[00:13:10] dour pessimism of their movies is so divided into each individual brother,

[00:13:15] seemingly by their solo movies.

[00:13:17] I find that fascinating.

[00:13:18] And I'm interested to see where it goes from now.

[00:13:21] Now watch them both make like one more solo movie each.

[00:13:23] And if flip flops this time around, you know,

[00:13:27] and then we're all just like left wondering, wait a minute.

[00:13:29] I thought he was the serious one.

[00:13:31] Yeah, but so far it's a really interesting

[00:13:34] dichotomy that we seem to have evidence of right now.

[00:13:37] And I also just want to say Margaret Qualley really becoming

[00:13:41] one of my favorite modern actors working today.

[00:13:45] I think that she just has so much screen presence

[00:13:48] and everything that she does.

[00:13:49] And she is just so captivating in this movie.

[00:13:52] And I am just now fully invested in whatever she's got coming up.

[00:13:57] I think that she's amazing.

[00:13:58] Oh, man.

[00:14:00] Cody, I cannot wait for you to see the substance.

[00:14:02] Oh, yes.

[00:14:04] You know, that's top my list.

[00:14:06] My God.

[00:14:07] Oh, yes.

[00:14:08] I cannot wait for everybody to experience the substance.

[00:14:12] It's it's going to be it's going to be something like, let me tell you,

[00:14:16] the people are not prepared.

[00:14:18] Nope, not at all.

[00:14:19] I'm sure it'll be substantial.

[00:14:20] Oh, there it is.

[00:14:22] All right, Cody, let's hear from you next.

[00:14:24] Now, what did you catch up with this past week?

[00:14:26] So I haven't actually been doing a lot of recent movies from this year.

[00:14:29] I've been kind of catching up on things from the past I've wanted to see.

[00:14:32] I've been rewatching stuff.

[00:14:33] This is kind of the time of year

[00:14:34] where I relax a little bit on being hyper into all the new releases.

[00:14:38] I'm currently watching a few films virtually for Tribeca.

[00:14:42] Nothing I can really talk about yet, but keep an eye on my reviews

[00:14:46] coming out on Next Best Picture.

[00:14:48] Something I did watch recently that was new was a documentary

[00:14:51] called Flipside, and this movie really surprised me.

[00:14:54] It's a very unassuming documentary by director Chris Wiltshire,

[00:14:59] and it's very similar to Kristen Johnson's camera person in that it's

[00:15:04] a lot of footage from past projects that never got used, whether because

[00:15:08] he didn't finish making the documentary or it was unused footage or something else.

[00:15:13] And he kind of uses it to construct something akin to like

[00:15:17] and this is going to sound troubling, a cinematic midlife crisis.

[00:15:21] He goes back to revisit his childhood or rather his first job,

[00:15:25] which was at a record store, the titular Flipside Records,

[00:15:28] which is coincidentally like 15 minutes from my childhood home.

[00:15:31] So I really relate to that.

[00:15:33] And it's a really interesting look at the kind of ways

[00:15:36] that we make concessions along the way in life

[00:15:40] in the short term that eventually lead up to the entire breadth of an existence.

[00:15:45] If that sounds heady, this is a really enjoyable documentary.

[00:15:49] It's really funny and captivating and moving.

[00:15:51] And I I really like this one.

[00:15:53] It was very surprising.

[00:15:54] So I really recommend checking it out.

[00:15:56] Other than that, again, that's kind of I'm looking at my letterbox

[00:15:59] diary has not been a lot of recent movies.

[00:16:01] I saw Furiosa a few weeks ago, like everybody else.

[00:16:04] And I was kind of like everybody else, a little bit let down by it.

[00:16:06] It's still no well-made.

[00:16:08] Not I listen to the podcast, Matt.

[00:16:10] I know, I know.

[00:16:12] I'm just saying I'm not everybody else.

[00:16:14] I know, I know.

[00:16:15] I don't speak for everybody, but I feel like the general reaction.

[00:16:17] And again, the audience, you know, the box office is really depressing.

[00:16:20] Obviously, it's just not quite where we kind of hope to be for a Fury Road

[00:16:25] follow up.

[00:16:25] And that was not helped by watching Fury Road after Furiosa

[00:16:29] and just being reminded of, wow, this is not only one of the best action films,

[00:16:34] one of the best films of the past decade.

[00:16:35] It's one of the best films ever made, period.

[00:16:37] It just becomes more clear with each passing year

[00:16:40] that there's something really special there in what George Miller constructed.

[00:16:43] Yeah, I completely agree.

[00:16:44] Fury Road is one of those movies that will stand the test of time.

[00:16:48] It was like pretty much deemed an instant classic as soon as it released.

[00:16:51] And, you know, I think the production of that movie

[00:16:56] also almost like in a apocalypse now sort of way

[00:16:59] has also like gone down in infamy at this point as well.

[00:17:03] And it's pretty amazing how much like George Miller,

[00:17:08] his entire career is defined by Mad Max, like all four.

[00:17:12] No, wait, sorry. Five, five of the movies that he has released.

[00:17:16] And my hope at this point now, I don't really know

[00:17:20] because there's so many factors at play, obviously, that go into these movies.

[00:17:24] But, you know, the thing I'm most disappointed about regarding its box office

[00:17:29] is I really, really was hoping that we would get a chance to see Tom Hardy

[00:17:32] return and see this other Mad Max film from Miller at this point

[00:17:38] because we got the Furiosa movie.

[00:17:39] There was supposed to be another Mad Max film with a focus on Max himself.

[00:17:45] And I just don't know if we're going to get that now at this point.

[00:17:48] And Miller's not getting any younger either.

[00:17:51] So it's it's a shame what's happening to that film at the box office,

[00:17:55] as far as I'm concerned, especially considering two.

[00:17:58] And I know we've said this before about some of his other movies,

[00:18:00] even if they don't necessarily land.

[00:18:03] Look at the ambition.

[00:18:04] Look at the artistry.

[00:18:06] You know, nobody out there.

[00:18:08] I mean, very few, if any, are doing it like the way he does it nowadays.

[00:18:12] All right. Anything else?

[00:18:14] I saw Speed for the first time, if that's worth mentioning.

[00:18:17] I'm sorry. What?

[00:18:19] I know. I know. Wow.

[00:18:21] My friend and fellow critic Brian Roe came to visit to check out

[00:18:25] Death Becomes the Musical here in Chicago, which was also excellent.

[00:18:28] And yeah, I had never seen it.

[00:18:31] So he brought his Blu-ray all the way on a plane just to show it to me.

[00:18:35] And it was yeah, it was pretty good.

[00:18:37] It lives up to his reputation.

[00:18:39] I had a good time watching it.

[00:18:40] And it's it's funny to watch a movie that somebody's star making vehicle.

[00:18:44] You know, it really ascended Keanu and brought Sandra Bullock into the limelight

[00:18:48] and to watch that after the fact and go, oh, of course,

[00:18:51] Sandra Bullock became a huge star after this.

[00:18:53] Look at how fun she is.

[00:18:54] And charismatic is really something special.

[00:18:57] I like watching Pretty Woman now and going, oh my God, Julie Roberts, what a star.

[00:19:01] If you guys have never heard Chris Tapley, who used to

[00:19:07] run the site Incontention, he has a great podcast

[00:19:12] called 50 Miles Per Hour or 50 MPH.

[00:19:15] And in it is all about the making and legacy of speed.

[00:19:21] It's pretty in depth.

[00:19:23] He's interviewed like everybody from it that you could possibly imagine.

[00:19:28] And if you love that movie, it is it is just awesome to kind of dive

[00:19:32] into the production and also just how that movie has changed.

[00:19:38] And I don't want to say so much reception, but like

[00:19:41] how it's only grown over time to have like this lasting legacy

[00:19:46] because it was pretty well acclaimed.

[00:19:47] It was a box office hit.

[00:19:49] It was nominated for a few Oscars the year it came out as well.

[00:19:53] But it won two.

[00:19:54] Oh, and it won two. That's right. Yeah, exactly.

[00:19:57] And so now it's like you look back on it and it's like, man,

[00:20:00] everybody thinks like, especially with Keanu Reeves,

[00:20:03] that the Matrix was his coming out party.

[00:20:05] But Speed was really like the first film that made people stand up,

[00:20:10] take notice of like, who is this guy?

[00:20:12] And same thing, like you said, with Sandra Bullock as well. Yeah.

[00:20:14] It's just wild that Yonda Bond made like two of the most straight up

[00:20:18] bangers of the 90s.

[00:20:19] And then I'm checking here, I guess, never made a movie again. So weird.

[00:20:24] All right. Anything else?

[00:20:25] Now it's all I got.

[00:20:26] OK, I've got a couple of Tribeca titles that I can speak about here

[00:20:30] now that some of the embargoes are finally lifted.

[00:20:33] I'm going to start off first with one called The Damned,

[00:20:37] which is starring Odessa Young, Joe Cole, Rory McCann and a few others.

[00:20:42] It's about.

[00:20:43] A group of people who are basically in an Icelandic fishing village

[00:20:49] and a ship sinks off the coast there, and they're like these survivors

[00:20:52] are trying to get to them, but they refuse to help them

[00:20:55] because they don't have enough food and it's hard for them

[00:20:59] to just survive even on their own.

[00:21:00] And then they are haunted by this decision afterwards.

[00:21:04] And it's such an atmospheric, bleak film.

[00:21:09] I was really, really impressed by the direction of this movie

[00:21:12] and how it was shot, the sound work.

[00:21:14] And God, I love, love, love, love, love Odessa Young's work.

[00:21:18] I think she's one of the most underrated, most fascinating actresses

[00:21:22] that we have like working today,

[00:21:24] whether it's in Shirley or Mothering Sunday or Assassination Nation.

[00:21:29] She's always like delivering something

[00:21:32] interesting and worth watching as far as I'm concerned.

[00:21:34] And Joe Cole is also a nice presence as well in this.

[00:21:38] But for the most part, like, you know, I thought this was actually pretty decent.

[00:21:43] It's only eighty nine minutes long and it's not it's not great.

[00:21:47] But that's like kind of like the theme of Tribeca in general is like

[00:21:49] like you never see anything.

[00:21:51] I feel like truly great at this festival.

[00:21:55] And so what you hope for is you hope for.

[00:21:58] Solid.

[00:21:59] I mean, that's where the expectations lie.

[00:22:03] But another one, too, that also kind of meets that criteria for me

[00:22:05] was The Devil's Bath, which had its world premiere at Berlin.

[00:22:09] And oh, my God, this might be one of the most depressing movies

[00:22:14] I think I've ever seen.

[00:22:17] It's from the directing duo behind Good Night, Mommy and The Lodge.

[00:22:21] So, you know already that this is going to be pretty impeccably well crafted

[00:22:25] and have this chilling atmosphere.

[00:22:27] And this is no exception.

[00:22:29] The lead performance from Anja Plaszczyk is absolutely.

[00:22:35] Devastating in how emotionally committed she is.

[00:22:38] She has like one scene in particular where she's confessing before God as she prays

[00:22:42] and the camera just stays on her face the entire time.

[00:22:44] And what she does in that scene is just remarkable.

[00:22:49] I don't want to reveal too, too much about this film, but I will say that

[00:22:52] I did think it ran a little too long.

[00:22:54] It got a little too repetitive.

[00:22:55] It's about two hours long and I felt like it should have been 90 minutes or so.

[00:22:59] But other than that, I mean, it's just another winner for this great,

[00:23:04] great, great, great directing duo here of Veronica Franz and Severin Fiala.

[00:23:10] They're they're just

[00:23:12] they're such gifted filmmakers.

[00:23:14] And I swear, every time they have a project, I'm always standing up

[00:23:18] and taking notice.

[00:23:20] I've been hearing so many intriguing things about this movie,

[00:23:22] and I am really, really interested.

[00:23:24] And, you know, I didn't really like Goodnight Mommy all that much,

[00:23:28] but The Lodge I loved.

[00:23:30] So, you know, they're they don't have a perfect filmography so far for me,

[00:23:35] but I'm still really interested in whatever they've got coming up.

[00:23:38] And as I've said, I've heard nothing but really,

[00:23:42] really intriguing things about this movie.

[00:23:44] So I'm excited to see it.

[00:23:46] Speaking of a film that played in Berlin that also is playing here at Tribeca.

[00:23:50] Guys, oh my God, this is just cinematic heaven.

[00:23:54] If even if you know about Powell and Pressburger's filmography made in England,

[00:24:00] the films of Powell and Pressburger is just

[00:24:03] cinephile like buffet

[00:24:07] dessert snacks.

[00:24:10] It's just it's a feast.

[00:24:11] It's everything.

[00:24:12] I loved this so, so much.

[00:24:15] It is over two hours of Martin Scorsese, just Martin Scorsese

[00:24:21] being interviewed and talking about the works of Powell and Pressburger

[00:24:24] literally in chronological order from the first film that they directed together

[00:24:27] all the way to the last film by film, piece by piece.

[00:24:31] And it's just Scorsese talking for over two hours.

[00:24:34] It is the best like, you know, you feel like you're watching an episode

[00:24:38] of TCM or you're at a live Q&A and you're just listening to the master discuss

[00:24:43] cinematic art at its highest.

[00:24:45] And it just oh, God, I could I could have watched it and listen to it

[00:24:49] for hours on end. It was fantastic.

[00:24:53] And like I said, so many information you might already know.

[00:24:55] It doesn't matter.

[00:24:57] It just doesn't matter when you're listening to Scorsese talk.

[00:24:59] You know, it was it was great.

[00:25:02] I loved every single moment of it.

[00:25:04] Highly recommended, especially if you love Powell and Pressburger's work.

[00:25:08] We saw Bad Boys Ride or Die

[00:25:11] Podcast review is up for that.

[00:25:13] So no need to go into that so much.

[00:25:16] What else did I see going back to Tribeca again?

[00:25:19] The Shallow Tale of a writer who decided to write about a serial killer,

[00:25:22] one of the best titles of this year.

[00:25:25] I wonder if they will keep that for release.

[00:25:27] I imagine if it goes straight to VOD or something, they will.

[00:25:30] But if it gets any kind of major theatrical release, they might change it.

[00:25:34] I don't know.

[00:25:35] But it's a it's a story about what it sounds like.

[00:25:39] It's about a shallow writer who writes about a serial killer

[00:25:43] who is played by Steve Buscemi.

[00:25:45] The writer is John Magaro.

[00:25:46] He's having relationship problems with his wife, Brit Lauer.

[00:25:49] It's a dark comedy that is pretty funny at times.

[00:25:53] It was actually much funnier than I was expecting it to be.

[00:25:55] I love the performances from all three of them.

[00:25:58] I did feel that it like kind of lost a bit of steam.

[00:26:02] The more it went along, I actually thought it could have gone

[00:26:04] more deeper and far more expansive.

[00:26:07] And what it ends up doing is serviceable.

[00:26:09] But it didn't stick the landing so much for me by the time we got to the end.

[00:26:13] But other than that, I mean, man, this movie was far,

[00:26:17] far better than I thought it was going to be.

[00:26:19] I thought it was going to be because this is the thing.

[00:26:22] When I'm at Tribeca, I go in with the worst expectations

[00:26:25] you all could possibly imagine.

[00:26:26] Like I expect to see some of the worst movies of the year

[00:26:28] when I go to this festival sometimes.

[00:26:32] And so emerging from this, I quite enjoyed it.

[00:26:35] And I love all three of these actors.

[00:26:37] So, yeah, very, very enjoyable film.

[00:26:40] And like I said, you can't really miss it with a title like this.

[00:26:43] The shallow tale of a writer who decided to write about a serial killer.

[00:26:46] Well, another one that was on my radar just from that title alone.

[00:26:50] And I'm also a big fan of both Buscemi and John Magaro.

[00:26:54] So, yeah, that's another one I'm still very much looking forward to.

[00:26:58] Yeah. Like there's a good comedic bit where

[00:27:03] because John Magaro doesn't want to admit to his wife

[00:27:05] that he's interviewing the serial killer for this upcoming book

[00:27:09] and they're having marriage problems, there's like situational comedy

[00:27:14] where Steve Buscemi has to pretend to be a marriage counselor

[00:27:17] that he's hired for the two of them just to kind of, you know, evade discovery.

[00:27:24] And the way Steve Buscemi plays these scenes as somebody

[00:27:27] who has no experience in relationship counseling of any kind,

[00:27:31] it's just so funny.

[00:27:32] It's really, really entertaining. Highly recommended.

[00:27:36] There's Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall, which is starring Jenna Ortega

[00:27:41] and Percy Hines White, who I was watching him in this.

[00:27:45] And I was like, where have I seen this guy before?

[00:27:47] I know I've seen him in other films and I was trying to piece it together.

[00:27:51] And I remember he was in a film I saw at Sundance

[00:27:54] where he also had a standout romantic comedy kind of role

[00:27:58] called My Old Ass from Megan Park.

[00:28:01] Did either one of you see this?

[00:28:03] No, I missed this one.

[00:28:04] Yeah. So this guy, he's he's a pretty fairly young actor,

[00:28:09] but like he's got such great romantic chemistry now with Ortega

[00:28:14] and also in that film as well.

[00:28:17] I would definitely put this one on your radar

[00:28:19] just to keep an eye out for him and where his career goes from here.

[00:28:23] But, you know, this was fairly standard.

[00:28:26] It's about two teenagers who fall in love

[00:28:29] and she's got plans to go off to college.

[00:28:33] He does not really have that.

[00:28:35] And it's sort of, you know, just like one of those relatable look back on,

[00:28:42] you know, young romance and things that you thought were such a big deal

[00:28:46] when you were younger, but didn't turn out to be such a big deal

[00:28:48] and regret and lost opportunities and so on and so forth.

[00:28:52] It's kind of done in a

[00:28:56] Richard Linklater before sort of style, I suppose.

[00:29:00] A lot of walking and talking.

[00:29:03] It it definitely is not hiding its influences throughout.

[00:29:09] I liked it. I didn't love it.

[00:29:11] I thought it was fairly just standard.

[00:29:16] And that was that was part of the problem, right?

[00:29:18] Is that like it didn't really do much to like kind of separate itself

[00:29:20] and make it stand out?

[00:29:21] I think what carried it for me mostly, though, was Ortega

[00:29:24] and Percy Hines White and their chemistry together.

[00:29:27] So pretty standard stuff, but, you know, not terrible.

[00:29:32] And then there was a mistake with Elizabeth Banks.

[00:29:37] And this movie was another one where I walked into it thinking, OK,

[00:29:43] this is probably going to be like awful.

[00:29:47] I don't know why I keep going in with these expectations all the time.

[00:29:50] But this one's directed by Christine Jeffs, who previously did Sunshine Clearing,

[00:29:53] which is a movie I think we all saw maybe at some point or another.

[00:29:58] Maybe at one point.

[00:29:59] I do not remember much from it. Same. Yeah.

[00:30:02] OK, that's fairly fine.

[00:30:04] But anyway, Elizabeth Banks plays a surgeon who

[00:30:09] is covering up for a mistake that was made during a surgery

[00:30:13] that resulted in the loss of a patient they are operating on.

[00:30:16] And it's all about the bureaucratic behind the scenes

[00:30:20] dive into what went wrong during the surgery.

[00:30:24] What's the hospital stance on this?

[00:30:25] What's their agenda?

[00:30:26] What's being driven in terms of

[00:30:29] their decisions to disclose this information or not?

[00:30:32] What do they tell the parents of this individual?

[00:30:35] How are the other surgeons dealing with it?

[00:30:38] And I actually found it to be quite compelling and gripping throughout.

[00:30:42] Once again, nothing like remarkable here.

[00:30:48] But Elizabeth Banks is doing really strong, dramatic work.

[00:30:50] And the man, you know,

[00:30:54] I am convinced at this point that this actor

[00:31:00] saw I'm going to get his name right.

[00:31:01] Simon McBurney, he is by far

[00:31:07] one of the best in the industry at being a character actor

[00:31:11] who like picks and prods at the lead characters

[00:31:15] and just annoys the fuck out of them.

[00:31:19] I mean, there's like an ascent and a good way of like he just does.

[00:31:21] He just does such a good job of playing an antagonist or somebody

[00:31:25] who maybe is not so much like straight up evil, but like feels like they're just

[00:31:30] right in their own mind.

[00:31:32] And that clashes with our lead character's viewpoints on the situation.

[00:31:37] But like he just does such a good job of playing

[00:31:40] these roles of like just like antagonists

[00:31:44] who do a really good job of poking and prodding their way

[00:31:49] into the protagonist's life or moral viewpoints or whatever it is.

[00:31:54] I love every time he pops up on screen and he's no different here.

[00:31:57] So that was another standout.

[00:31:59] And then finally, Sacramento, which I just saw last night,

[00:32:04] is a film from Michael Angarano, who, you know,

[00:32:08] you guys have probably seen him in various films over the years.

[00:32:11] Also in This Is Us, he directed this film and wrote it.

[00:32:15] It's a very personal movie for him.

[00:32:17] He's also starring in the lead role.

[00:32:19] He's basically a free spirited individual who has this long

[00:32:24] but fractured relationship with Michael Cera's character,

[00:32:27] who is an expecting father.

[00:32:30] His wife is played by Kristen Stewart,

[00:32:32] who unfortunately is kind of in a sidelined

[00:32:36] supporting role where she just stays at home and doesn't really do much

[00:32:42] while the other two characters go off on their own

[00:32:46] buddy comedy like road trip.

[00:32:48] I was kind of surprised at how small her role was in this, actually.

[00:32:52] And Maya Erskine also has a supporting role as well

[00:32:57] as somebody who Michael Angarano's character

[00:33:02] like meets up earlier on in the film.

[00:33:05] And they have a relationship and then she doesn't like come back

[00:33:09] until the third act in the movie, and you kind of start to understand

[00:33:13] why she's missing in the second act later.

[00:33:17] So, you know, I thought that Michael and Michael

[00:33:21] had fairly good chemistry together and were able to carry this movie

[00:33:24] all the way through.

[00:33:25] It's pretty heartfelt and funny at times, but I do wish that the supporting ladies

[00:33:29] had a little bit more to do here because I quite like their presence

[00:33:34] when they were on screen.

[00:33:36] But overall, once again,

[00:33:39] not a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination.

[00:33:42] In fact, actually, this might be one of my favorite Michael Cera performances.

[00:33:46] He is playing somebody who presents

[00:33:50] themselves as emotionally stable, understanding.

[00:33:54] He's got great communication with his wife, but the anxiety

[00:33:58] and pressure of becoming a father is something that is peeling away at him

[00:34:02] and slowly revealing emotional insecurity that I actually thought

[00:34:07] he did a great job of conveying and playing here that, you know,

[00:34:10] I walked away from it by the end of it all thinking to myself, holy crap, like

[00:34:14] that's one of Michael Cera's best performances. Wow.

[00:34:17] So fairly, fairly good movie.

[00:34:20] I think it has distribution from vertical, if I remember correctly.

[00:34:23] So it'll be going around at some point, but not a bad one

[00:34:27] to check out if you get a chance.

[00:34:29] Oh, that's nice.

[00:34:30] I will see anything with Michael Ingerano in it, so I will go see it regardless.

[00:35:00] All right. And that's it for Tribeca this past week.

[00:35:09] So what I want to do now is I do want to get into just

[00:35:14] various bits of news and information that was dropped this past week.

[00:35:18] We could do that via fan questions, which we usually save

[00:35:21] till the end of the episode, but I'm happy to go through those throughout here.

[00:35:26] So why don't we first start off with this one?

[00:35:29] This one, I'm like still very puzzled about.

[00:35:33] Peter Rabbit's Awards Buzz is asking.

[00:35:36] Do you guys think that Bong Joon-Ho will eventually get final cut

[00:35:40] for Mickey 17 or not?

[00:35:42] Will it be a complicated situation like Terry Gilliam's Brazil

[00:35:45] or will it end up being like Robert Eggers, the Northmen

[00:35:49] where he won't get final cut ever?

[00:35:52] I mean, the comparison to Brazil, I understand that.

[00:35:55] And, you know, the story there was they kind of had to ferry out

[00:35:59] the director's cut eventually. Is that correct?

[00:36:00] I don't really remember the exact specifics there, but I know that was

[00:36:04] his original vision was not the film that was seen.

[00:36:06] And I I think something similar might be happening here.

[00:36:09] I really don't think we're going to see a final cut anytime soon

[00:36:14] if the studio isn't letting that happen.

[00:36:16] It reminds me so much of his production history on Snowpiercer

[00:36:20] with Harvey Weinstein and how I'm just hoping that there's like a story

[00:36:25] to be told here with regards to Bong Joon-Ho lying to David Zasloff

[00:36:30] to release his cut somehow the way he lied about his father

[00:36:33] and the fish and the fishing village or whatever it was.

[00:36:36] You guys remember that story?

[00:36:37] Oh, yeah, I remember that. And

[00:36:40] yeah, it's it is definitely one of those situations

[00:36:43] where it feels like Warner Brothers wanted to hire, you know, a prestigious

[00:36:48] director, you know, newly minted Oscar winner,

[00:36:52] but forgot that they hired Bong Joon-Ho, who, yes,

[00:36:56] I mean, Parasite was this great breakout hit.

[00:36:59] But, you know, that man makes some very weird movies at times.

[00:37:04] And even Parasite is kind of weird at some points.

[00:37:06] It's just more palatable in that film.

[00:37:09] So I don't really have a lot of hope that whatever version of this movie

[00:37:15] we're going to see is the completely one intended by its director.

[00:37:20] I'm sure it will be hacked to pieces.

[00:37:24] And I'm hoping that whatever we do get will be good,

[00:37:27] but I'm not really holding out hope that it's going to be intact when we get it.

[00:37:33] I mean, even something like Okja, like did they watch Okja?

[00:37:36] Probably not, because and that's what I'm that's what I'm kind of hoping for here

[00:37:41] is like I'm hoping that certain people are watching this movie and thinking,

[00:37:45] oh, man, that's that's very odd.

[00:37:47] That's weird. That doesn't make sense or whatever it is.

[00:37:50] And I'm just hoping that it's their reaction, like akin to hopefully

[00:37:55] what they would see in something like Okja.

[00:37:57] But then when we see it, we're like, oh, no, this is great.

[00:38:00] Like, I don't give a shit that Jake Gyllenhaal is going all out

[00:38:02] and giving a bonkers performance. This is awesome.

[00:38:05] And that's what I'm kind of hoping, like with Mickey 17 is the suits

[00:38:08] are scared of it.

[00:38:09] But when we watch it, we're all going to be like,

[00:38:11] well, what were you guys like freaking out over? This is great.

[00:38:15] Right. And to further the Okja comparison, that was back

[00:38:18] when Netflix was like, oh, tours come here.

[00:38:20] This is a safe space for you, which they seem to be slightly walking back.

[00:38:23] And I fear that the studios are, you know, they've been there

[00:38:26] for a little bit now and that might be what's happening here. Yeah.

[00:38:30] Ben Sears, which of the announced cast members of Wake Up Deadman,

[00:38:35] a Knives Out mystery, are you most excited to see?

[00:38:39] I feel like I got to say Josh O'Connor.

[00:38:43] It feels predictable.

[00:38:44] But yeah, I mean, anything that he gets cast in, I

[00:38:47] immediately have my attention towards it.

[00:38:50] The one that made me stand up and go, oh, OK, was Thomas Hayden Church.

[00:38:57] Because all I could think of when I saw that was

[00:39:00] Rian Johnson definitely to rewatch sideways recently and thought,

[00:39:04] you know what? We need to bring that energy back.

[00:39:07] We need that. Or he rewatched Spider-Man three.

[00:39:10] I mean, we'll see based on what role he has in the movie, I suppose.

[00:39:15] Is it cliche to say I'm just most excited for Glenn Close?

[00:39:18] I mean, come on. No, no, no, no, no. That's a good one.

[00:39:21] She has a weird side.

[00:39:23] You know, she can get a little zany.

[00:39:24] And I mean, depending on what type of role this is,

[00:39:27] I could really see her cutting loose here.

[00:39:30] Also to Josh Brolin, please.

[00:39:33] Like more comedy, Josh Brolin, because between

[00:39:37] Hail Caesar Men in Black three inherent vice and her advice.

[00:39:41] Yeah. Oh, he is so, so funny.

[00:39:43] When he wants to be or when he's allowed the opportunity to be.

[00:39:47] And I'm hoping that he gets a role like that here.

[00:39:49] I'm sure he will.

[00:39:50] He's he's got to be goofy as hell, right?

[00:39:52] You would think so.

[00:39:55] I'm most interested also in what like the setting is going to be,

[00:39:58] because it's such a different location and tone between the two knives outs.

[00:40:03] And like maybe I'm reading way too much into this, but the font they use

[00:40:06] and the title itself kind of are giving me like Western vibes.

[00:40:10] Maybe I'm not quite sure.

[00:40:12] Max Sloth.

[00:40:14] Do you think Megalopolis will inevitably end up with a limited IMAX run

[00:40:18] and nothing else in terms of distribution?

[00:40:21] I think something will come around to give that movie distribution in the US.

[00:40:27] I don't think it's going to be on a very wide scale,

[00:40:32] but I think something will happen for it.

[00:40:36] I do not know if I'm being completely honest with you.

[00:40:39] You know, when I hear stories about even something like Hitman

[00:40:43] after its premiere at Venice, Josh, which you were there for.

[00:40:46] And now, yes, is streaming on Netflix at the moment.

[00:40:50] When I hear stories of Richard Linklater saying

[00:40:53] studios were passing on it and nobody was willing to go to bat

[00:40:57] for even a movie like that.

[00:41:00] It then does make me wonder what will they go to bat for in this day and age?

[00:41:05] And I think we know the answer to that.

[00:41:07] But Megalopolis to me is not it.

[00:41:10] No, it is a very wild beast to try to to tackle and release.

[00:41:17] And I completely understand why a lot of the major distributors

[00:41:21] don't want to touch it.

[00:41:23] But I also feel like at some point financial decisions will become paramount.

[00:41:29] And, you know, I think that it will get some kind of a home.

[00:41:33] As I said, I don't think it'll be a very widely distributed film.

[00:41:37] But I do think somebody will want to pick up the new Francis Ford Coppola movie.

[00:41:43] I mean, the thing is like this is going to lose money no matter what happens.

[00:41:46] So it just depends on the studio being willing to maybe not even like,

[00:41:51] you know, cover that cost themselves, obviously, but just know that

[00:41:55] when they release it, which to me points to something more of specialty

[00:41:58] in terms of distributors.

[00:41:59] But we haven't really heard anything yet.

[00:42:02] So I don't know unless this is a self-distribution type thing.

[00:42:05] I don't know what I'm going to get to see it.

[00:42:07] I mean, I imagine you'll get to see it probably during its fall film festival run.

[00:42:11] I have to imagine there will be programmers who will want to show it

[00:42:16] during September, October.

[00:42:18] But as far as it coming out like soon after that, like,

[00:42:23] I don't know, I'm starting to believe that Francis Ford Coppola

[00:42:25] is going to have to just personally like distribute it himself at this point.

[00:42:30] But, you know, we'll see.

[00:42:34] Anura, speaking of release dates from Sean Baker,

[00:42:38] now has a release date of October 18th.

[00:42:41] I kept I kept seeing people saying online that this was getting a summer release.

[00:42:45] I don't know where that ever came from.

[00:42:47] You know, typically speaking, a movie like this that wins the Palme d'Or

[00:42:51] will then do the runs, you know, through the fall film festival season,

[00:42:55] playing at NYFF and, you know, a bunch of others.

[00:42:58] It'll probably most likely go to Telluride, I imagine as well.

[00:43:02] Maybe, you know, it would probably play very well in TIFF.

[00:43:04] So I think it's going to go everywhere.

[00:43:06] But it coming out October 18th makes a lot of sense to me here.

[00:43:09] And, you know, Josh, I haven't really had a chance to like talk to you

[00:43:13] about this more in depth, but given its placement right now

[00:43:18] with that awards friendly release date, it will definitely be brought back

[00:43:22] from the major fall film festivals.

[00:43:24] How are you viewing Anura as potential major Oscar contender at this point?

[00:43:28] Well, I think it is definitely going to be in the mix.

[00:43:30] I think it's pretty clear that this will more than likely be a

[00:43:36] a top priority for Neon, if not their number one top priority.

[00:43:41] So I could definitely see it getting a lot of respect and admiration.

[00:43:46] And I could also see Baker getting nominated for director.

[00:43:50] I could see it in a picture play and for writing, maybe even editing.

[00:43:54] I would love an editing nomination for that movie.

[00:43:56] I don't really see it winning anything right now.

[00:44:00] Just personal gut feeling, it doesn't really feel like that kind of a movie.

[00:44:04] But that remains to be seen how the season will shake out.

[00:44:07] But I do feel like right now it is one of our big, big players in the Oscar race.

[00:44:13] Well, the good news is that he's already somewhat familiar to Oscar voters.

[00:44:17] Granted, it was for just a veteran actor's fourth nomination,

[00:44:22] which is maybe the most easy call for Sean Baker of movies, Oscar chances.

[00:44:27] But it's not it's a lot harder when you're somebody that the Academy's never gone for.

[00:44:32] It's much more of an uphill climb, whereas here there's some sort of it.

[00:44:36] You know, they can say, oh, you saw the Florida Project for Wolden Defoe.

[00:44:38] It's the same director. Remember that one?

[00:44:41] This is not really I don't want to say like new information so much,

[00:44:44] but it's nice to get some confirmation from somebody high up within the Academy

[00:44:49] itself. Empire reported that the Academy Motion Picture Arts

[00:44:53] and Sciences are indeed actively having discussions about adding a stunt category,

[00:45:01] which is something that, you know, we've been now saying for quite a while.

[00:45:06] Academy President Janet Yang spoke with them and mentioned

[00:45:10] that they are speaking with members of the stunt community

[00:45:12] and how they are excited to be bringing the casting directors Oscar,

[00:45:17] you know, in two years time to the ceremony.

[00:45:20] So they are open to having these conversations and they have been having them.

[00:45:24] I think that.

[00:45:26] Obviously, with each passing release that we get, whether it's a Furiosa

[00:45:32] or if it's, you know, whatever it is, it ends up coming out

[00:45:35] that features like stunts to a pretty large degree.

[00:45:38] We got to just keep banging the drum for this.

[00:45:39] We can't let this discussion die.

[00:45:42] And I think the more we keep doing that, I have a feeling,

[00:45:46] you know, maybe this would be really nice.

[00:45:48] Wouldn't it be great by like the 100th anniversary of the Academy Awards

[00:45:51] that that we got this new Oscar introduced?

[00:45:54] You know, it's very cute, but I do think I can see something like that happening.

[00:45:59] Possibly. I I do think that with every year.

[00:46:03] Yeah, the tracks get laid a little bit more.

[00:46:06] I I still feel like we might be a little bit of a ways off because, yeah,

[00:46:11] we're finally getting the casting Oscar.

[00:46:14] Like how long that took.

[00:46:16] I mean, they've been talking about that for decades and we just now finally got it.

[00:46:20] And the stunt performers, they don't even have an official branch

[00:46:23] within the Academy like I. I know there's like

[00:46:27] they were invited into kind of a subdivision of one of the branches,

[00:46:31] but they don't have their own individual branch like the casting directors got.

[00:46:36] And even when they got that, it was still like another 10 years

[00:46:38] before they announced the category.

[00:46:40] So I feel like the wheels are turning for sure.

[00:46:44] But I also think that there's still a lot of steps

[00:46:47] that they need to clear in order for this category to come.

[00:46:50] But I can see it on the horizon for sure.

[00:46:53] We got confirmation this past week that Wallace and Gromit Vengeance Most Foul

[00:46:57] is indeed a feature length film from Aardman

[00:47:01] and is going to be released later this year by Netflix.

[00:47:06] Very excited. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:47:08] I'm always here for Aardman. They have yet to let me down.

[00:47:10] Yeah, they they really do have a perfect track record, don't they?

[00:47:13] Seriously, I didn't see that one about the cavemen,

[00:47:16] but everything else I've seen. Pretty great. Yeah.

[00:47:20] All right. Let's talk about one of our first trailers this week.

[00:47:23] This is for Venom, The Last Dance,

[00:47:26] which is going to be released in theaters on October 25th.

[00:47:30] Let's take a look at this trailer.

[00:47:31] Let's see what Eddie Brock and Venom are up to this time.

[00:47:35] You should probably know that I have a really dark

[00:47:40] and unpredictable side to me.

[00:47:44] Stop speaking.

[00:47:46] I'm giving you a chance, sweetie.

[00:47:49] Say when.

[00:47:51] When?

[00:48:07] What are you?

[00:48:09] We. We are.

[00:48:14] Venom!

[00:48:15] No.

[00:48:16] Oh!

[00:48:17] Yeah, we.

[00:48:18] We.

[00:48:19] Oh, you're going to need to work on that.

[00:48:23] Lassos! You take me to all the finest places.

[00:48:30] I need to tie up my...

[00:48:32] OK. Yeah.

[00:48:34] I like that this franchise has, you know,

[00:48:37] leaned all the way in on what made the first Venom film

[00:48:42] a success, and that was the idiosyncratic,

[00:48:47] bizarre performance from Tom Hardy, but also the

[00:48:52] just very odd dynamic that he has with this Eddie Brock

[00:48:57] and Venom character as this like

[00:49:00] a very messed up relationship

[00:49:03] that almost plays like a romantic comedy at times.

[00:49:07] I like that the franchise has just fully embraced that and they run with it.

[00:49:12] But at the same time, I just, you know,

[00:49:16] I didn't particularly care for the first film all that much.

[00:49:18] I definitely didn't care for the second film.

[00:49:21] And now with this third one, you know, you take away

[00:49:24] Michelle Williams from it on top of everything else.

[00:49:26] And I'm just like, you know, it just seems like everybody's

[00:49:29] like just over this and wants to be done with it.

[00:49:32] Yeah. The thing with these Venom movies, and I did see the last two,

[00:49:36] although I have seemingly no memory of whatever happened in the last one,

[00:49:40] is that they really seem to want to feel weirder than they actually are.

[00:49:45] You know, they play with these ideas of like, we're a weird,

[00:49:48] almost like romantic comedy couple, like we're trying to be like

[00:49:51] Hey's Girl Friday at times, but it just never quite actually fully goes there,

[00:49:55] which makes sense because you're still making a big blockbuster comic book movie.

[00:49:59] You seem to be a bit more palatable than that would allow.

[00:50:02] But the kind of teasing of that energy, I find very tiring.

[00:50:05] And really, the only thing that these have going for them, if you ask me,

[00:50:08] is Tom Hardy, who is giving it all the energy he can muster,

[00:50:14] really because the movie is not meeting him at that level.

[00:50:17] He has to kind of make up for it, it feels like.

[00:50:21] Yeah, I have not liked either of the Venom movies.

[00:50:26] I think they're both pretty bad.

[00:50:28] And the only reason to watch them is for Tom Hardy,

[00:50:32] although I would also argue that he makes a far greater impression

[00:50:35] in the first movie than he does in the second one.

[00:50:37] So even that was diminishing returns for me.

[00:50:40] And this one, I like I can understand why some people are really excited by it.

[00:50:46] I do feel like there's just some things in this trailer that are just made for

[00:50:50] an Internet audience to share, and that doesn't really impact me all that much.

[00:50:55] I didn't really find myself thinking that it looked all that great.

[00:50:58] Like the best part of this trailer is, yeah, the Venom horse.

[00:51:03] But that feels like it's going to be just one gag.

[00:51:05] And I don't know if it's

[00:51:08] representative of what the entire movie is going to be like.

[00:51:10] I am not really sold on this movie based on this trailer.

[00:51:13] I know a lot of for a lot of people it was enough.

[00:51:16] But I I see no evidence to think that this is going to be a good movie.

[00:51:20] Yeah. And, you know, there's a couple of red flags all throughout here.

[00:51:25] One is the presence of God is so weird me saying this, but Chiwetel Ejiofor

[00:51:31] like being here to be is like like I literally do consider this a red flag

[00:51:37] because that man has, in my opinion, not chosen good projects

[00:51:42] since his Oscar nominated turn 12 Years a Slave.

[00:51:46] OK, wait, you know what?

[00:51:47] I take that back like slightly a little bit.

[00:51:49] There's like a few things here and there.

[00:51:52] But I think when he tries to do like these more

[00:51:55] commercial projects that are high budgeted, it just doesn't

[00:52:00] it just doesn't work, whether it's the Lion King or Maleficent

[00:52:05] or Doctor Strange and Multiverse of Madness like

[00:52:10] something about like his choices

[00:52:13] just as an actor, like in these last couple of years for me.

[00:52:15] It's it's now become like this.

[00:52:17] Oh, God, Chiwetel signed up for this.

[00:52:21] Oh, man. OK.

[00:52:23] You know, I get very, very worried about something like that.

[00:52:26] Now, the one thing I am excited to see in this, though,

[00:52:30] is I'm excited to see more Stephen Graham.

[00:52:32] Yeah. And I want to know what role he's playing and, you know,

[00:52:36] how much screen time he has in this.

[00:52:38] Stephen Graham is one of those character actors who I think is consistently great.

[00:52:43] And I know that he was in the previous film,

[00:52:48] which if I'm being completely honest with you all,

[00:52:51] I honestly don't remember who he was in it and what he did in it.

[00:52:54] So sorry. Did not remember he was in that movie.

[00:52:57] Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[00:52:58] Like I just I know he was in it, but I just don't I don't recall.

[00:53:01] Just didn't make a lasting impression on me.

[00:53:04] No. So I'm excited to see like what he does here, because he

[00:53:09] unlike Chiwetel now at this point, like for me is one of those actors

[00:53:13] that when I do see him in something, I do get excited.

[00:53:16] So although him and Tom Hardy in the same thing, it's like these two

[00:53:20] weird inverted mirror images of each other.

[00:53:25] That should be an interesting dynamic.

[00:53:27] Yeah. And as I mentioned before, no, Michelle Williams.

[00:53:31] She, I think wisely realized I got to get out.

[00:53:36] Yeah. Made my buck with the first two.

[00:53:38] I don't need to do this again. Yeah, exactly.

[00:53:40] Yeah. But there is one one intriguing element here, and that is

[00:53:46] Kelly Marcell, who is directing this movie.

[00:53:49] She previously wrote the last two movies,

[00:53:53] also wrote Saving Mr. Banks, Fifty Shades of Grey.

[00:53:56] This is her directorial debut.

[00:53:58] So, you know, there is this kind of a blank slate opportunity to see if,

[00:54:03] hey, you know what?

[00:54:04] Maybe this will be the best one of the three, because I don't

[00:54:09] I've not seen her direct anything else for me to say,

[00:54:12] you know, like from an expectation standpoint that, yeah,

[00:54:15] this is probably not going to be great, you know?

[00:54:18] And I'm only saying that based on the previous two movies, which,

[00:54:21] you know, she wrote.

[00:54:24] So there is that.

[00:54:25] But as far as directorially speaking, like what the set pieces are like

[00:54:29] and the flow of the movie overall and does it land its comedy

[00:54:34] or whatever ends up being like, you know, at least for me,

[00:54:37] there is kind of that blank slate of, OK, let's see what you got.

[00:54:42] Well, I'm just glad that you didn't say

[00:54:43] that the most interesting element was Risa Fonz.

[00:54:46] I you know, I thought I saw him in this for a brief second.

[00:54:50] He wasn't featured in the trailer enough for me to stand out.

[00:54:52] But yes, Risa Fonz, another great character actor.

[00:54:57] Yeah. But his inclusion now has people thinking like, oh, is he the lizard

[00:55:01] or the tiger back to the other movies?

[00:55:03] And it's like, oh, why people are excited

[00:55:07] to tie back into those awful Andrew Garfield Spider-Man movies.

[00:55:10] I will never understand because they you know, it's like they they had to.

[00:55:15] They just had to do it with the

[00:55:21] with the Jesus Christ.

[00:55:23] Which which movie wasn't now?

[00:55:25] No Way Home.

[00:55:27] Was it the end credits for No Way Home?

[00:55:28] Oh, the end. Oh boy.

[00:55:30] I can't even talk to the end credits.

[00:55:32] I have no idea what that there was one MCU movie

[00:55:35] where Tom Hardy did show up in in a cameo at the end.

[00:55:39] And I'm trying to remember which one it was.

[00:55:41] Was it Morbius? No, it wasn't Morbius.

[00:55:43] Well, no, Morbius shows Michael Keaton.

[00:55:45] No, it was No Way Home. You're right.

[00:55:47] It was Spider-Man No Way Home.

[00:55:49] He shows up in the mid credits cameo at the very end of the film.

[00:55:51] Yeah. So yes, I oh God.

[00:55:55] I'm over this.

[00:55:56] I'm just over this whole crisscross.

[00:55:58] Oh, we pulled like this character from this other franchise

[00:56:01] and we're bringing them into this one like I just don't care.

[00:56:04] It makes me dizzy.

[00:56:05] I just can't. Well, it's not even that.

[00:56:07] They just don't do anything interesting with them anymore.

[00:56:09] Well, they don't need to do anything interesting

[00:56:11] because people who actually care about it are just happy for them to appear

[00:56:14] and not do anything of substance.

[00:56:16] Exactly. Yeah.

[00:56:17] They just want the applause line.

[00:56:18] All right. Enough bashing.

[00:56:21] One other positive I'll just say about this.

[00:56:22] I love the tagline for the poster.

[00:56:24] Till death do they part.

[00:56:26] Clever. That's good.

[00:56:27] Really reaching now.

[00:56:29] Hey, listen, you know,

[00:56:32] got to take what we can get.

[00:56:35] All right. The polls.

[00:56:38] Here we go for last week's poll for the release of Hitman.

[00:56:42] We asked everyone, which is your favorite Richard Linklater film?

[00:56:46] Cody, do you have an answer for this one?

[00:56:49] Is it really boring to say before sunset?

[00:56:51] But it's true. It's his best film.

[00:56:54] It's a masterpiece.

[00:56:55] It's one of my favorite films of that decade.

[00:56:56] An incredible screenplay, incredible performances.

[00:56:59] I think it really is.

[00:57:01] A summation of what he does best, which is paint

[00:57:04] really human characters who are still heightened to a cinematic degree,

[00:57:09] but believable and the character's background allows them

[00:57:13] to have these very heady discussions.

[00:57:15] And I mean, it's just kind of the ideal, not just sequel,

[00:57:19] but middle chapter to a trilogy.

[00:57:21] Josh, do you feel the same way?

[00:57:23] Do you prefer before sunset to before sunrise or do you prefer

[00:57:26] prefer before sunrise?

[00:57:29] I think between the two of those, I would say that I actually do prefer sunrise.

[00:57:36] But I also think before midnight is my favorite of the three.

[00:57:41] So that's actually my answer for my favorite Linklater film.

[00:57:44] I really love the darker complexities that they explore in that movie.

[00:57:50] And I am a really, really big fan of Before Midnight.

[00:57:55] The thing with that trilogy is that whichever you say is your favorite,

[00:57:58] there's no wrong answer.

[00:57:59] Agreed. Yeah.

[00:58:01] To me, it's like the original Toy Story trilogy or the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

[00:58:05] Like to me, like these those three are the perfect trilogies

[00:58:12] like and anybody who wants to say either one of those films

[00:58:16] and either one of those trilogies is their favorite.

[00:58:18] I would agree with them wholeheartedly.

[00:58:21] Unlike those trilogies, the before ones never made extraneous additional chapters.

[00:58:25] So that is true.

[00:58:27] We came close potentially, but no, no cigar.

[00:58:31] And I kind of am.

[00:58:32] I kind of did want them to revisit it every nine years and keep the pattern going.

[00:58:36] But I'm happy to have this perfect trilogy, as is if that's all

[00:58:40] the people who made it feel as needed to be done.

[00:58:43] Yeah. Just like on our recent Bad Boys Ride or Die review, how I said it.

[00:58:48] Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are going to get back together

[00:58:50] one more time for a fifth movie.

[00:58:52] They got to be like senior citizen old and play into that.

[00:58:55] I would not mind seeing a movie with Julie Dubley and even Hawke

[00:59:02] like in their golden years, you know, Matt, enough with the bad boys

[00:59:07] before comparison, people are always saying this.

[00:59:12] I just think that that would be an interesting angle, you know, like

[00:59:14] like let's revisit this couple when they are, you know, closer

[00:59:18] to the end of their lives than near the you know, the middle in the beginning.

[00:59:22] Agreed.

[00:59:23] Cody, have you seen Hitman yet?

[00:59:25] I have not yet.

[00:59:26] I was literally online to see it at Sundance and got cut off.

[00:59:29] So I tried my best, but I did get a picture of Glenn Powell before the movie.

[00:59:32] So, you know, close enough.

[00:59:35] Yeah.

[00:59:36] Did you guys see that story he was telling about his sister's friend?

[00:59:40] Oh, my God. Yes.

[00:59:43] And he picked the perfect medium to tell that story, which is on a gay guy's

[00:59:46] podcast, so he could get a really dramatic reaction.

[00:59:48] Yeah.

[00:59:53] My favorite Richard Linklater film is Boyhood.

[00:59:55] I think that movie is a cinematic miracle.

[00:59:58] Also, for personal reasons, I just relate to a lot of elements

[01:00:01] in that film throughout,

[01:00:03] particularly because the years that it covers.

[01:00:06] I was close to the character's age during that time.

[01:00:09] So for personal reasons, I will say Boyhood.

[01:00:13] But let's see what the MBB film community did here.

[01:00:15] I'm very curious to see how this ranking turned out.

[01:00:18] Starting off at number 10.

[01:00:20] Oh, oh, this might be low.

[01:00:23] I think this is too low.

[01:00:25] Number ten is Bernie.

[01:00:27] Huh? That does actually surprise me.

[01:00:28] It's that low.

[01:00:30] Huh? It is very enjoyable, but I feel like it's not very substantial.

[01:00:33] Like I watched it once 10 years ago and haven't really had a desire to revisit it.

[01:00:38] So number nine is Apollo

[01:00:42] ten and a half, a space age childhood.

[01:00:45] Now that feels very high for the.

[01:00:48] It does, but I do like it got some kind of recognition

[01:00:52] because I do really like that movie.

[01:00:54] People really, really love that movie, too.

[01:00:58] I remember particularly whenever we were talking about the animated feature

[01:01:01] race that year, everyone was saying, Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[01:01:04] I know these movies are going to get nominated,

[01:01:05] but this is the movie we should be talking about.

[01:01:08] Like that movie has its supporters out there for sure.

[01:01:11] It's definitely a movie that when I watched it, I was like,

[01:01:15] I have to show my parents this because this is like very,

[01:01:19] very squarely aimed for them.

[01:01:21] Number eight, one of the more enjoyable, breezy

[01:01:25] hangout movies I've ever seen.

[01:01:27] Everybody wants some.

[01:01:29] Oh, I love this movie.

[01:01:30] It has no right being as good as it is, but it's really just something special.

[01:01:35] And it's also like one of those great like look back at the cast

[01:01:38] and see where they are now type of films.

[01:01:41] Yeah. Geez, I'm just scrolling through this cast list.

[01:01:43] It's pretty impressive.

[01:01:45] Oh, yeah.

[01:01:45] And I feel like that movie because of Glenn Powell is now getting a little bit

[01:01:49] of a resurgence and people going back and discovering it.

[01:01:53] He really was the organic standout, though.

[01:01:56] It's not just people like looking back.

[01:01:58] I remember watching the film at the time and going, Who is that?

[01:02:01] Yep. I had the exact same reaction.

[01:02:04] Number seven is Hitman.

[01:02:06] All right.

[01:02:07] Already in the top ten, which I'm actually kind of surprised to see

[01:02:11] so many people this past week now that it's on Netflix.

[01:02:14] And maybe this is, you know, inevitable saying that the movie is bad

[01:02:20] or just all right.

[01:02:21] And like they're kind of baffled at how well received the movie is.

[01:02:25] I'm trying to piece together what did people not enjoy about this movie?

[01:02:28] That's the risk of putting your movie on Netflix, I suppose.

[01:02:31] Yeah. I mean, I do think that crowd element was certainly a really big factor,

[01:02:38] I think, in how much you did enjoy that movie.

[01:02:40] And it's hard to replicate that, obviously, at home.

[01:02:43] I also just feel like I heard some people talk about the ending to the film

[01:02:46] that I didn't really agree with their interpretations of.

[01:02:50] But, you know, that's that's another conversation.

[01:02:53] I'm sure Nathan Jones agrees with you on that as well.

[01:02:55] Josh,

[01:02:57] that was an inside joke for those who have not been paying attention this past week.

[01:03:01] Number six.

[01:03:03] This is low again.

[01:03:06] Number six before midnight.

[01:03:07] Matt, you know, it's low, but I'm looking at my own personal ranking

[01:03:10] and he is a really strong filmography.

[01:03:13] So some things have to be shunted to the below top five.

[01:03:16] Yeah, I guess that's true.

[01:03:18] That is true.

[01:03:19] But dammit, it should have been top five.

[01:03:22] All right. Number five.

[01:03:23] Dazed and confused.

[01:03:25] Oh, well, OK.

[01:03:26] I know I just said the opposite, but that feels wrong.

[01:03:30] I take back everything I just said.

[01:03:31] Never mind.

[01:03:33] Number four, featuring what is probably for me,

[01:03:40] I think his best performance today, Jack Black School of Rock.

[01:03:45] Yeah, this movie totally holds up.

[01:03:47] I was at a like just group gathering a few years ago

[01:03:51] and somebody just threw it on in the background.

[01:03:52] And pretty quickly we all were just watching the movie.

[01:03:56] It's a really, really enjoyable movie.

[01:03:58] All right. Number three is boyhood, which makes the top two very obvious.

[01:04:02] It's just a matter of which order.

[01:04:05] And by a difference of I'm not kidding, one vote.

[01:04:09] Wow. Mm.

[01:04:12] Number two is before sun set.

[01:04:18] Oh, number one is before sunrise.

[01:04:20] Wow. But by a difference of one single vote.

[01:04:24] I mean, just further evidence of how strong they are.

[01:04:28] Absolutely.

[01:04:29] It's always so interesting that I agree with you, Cody,

[01:04:32] that they're like whatever answer you give of what's your favorite before movie.

[01:04:37] Like there's no wrong one, but I do find it to be very revealing,

[01:04:42] at least in terms of maybe what your own interpretation and feelings

[01:04:46] about relationships and love are.

[01:04:48] I do find that to be an interesting conversation to have.

[01:04:51] All right. And now for this week's poll for the release of

[01:04:56] Disney Pixar's Inside Out two, we are asking everyone

[01:04:59] which has been your favorite Disney Pixar film over the last decade.

[01:05:04] I wanted to choose this because I definitely think that there is a massive

[01:05:07] difference in the Pixar output

[01:05:11] over the last 10 years versus, you know, what came before.

[01:05:16] And when I look at like so many of the films from this era.

[01:05:21] It's very interesting how for me

[01:05:24] the worst ones are the sequels primarily.

[01:05:28] What's the exception of Toy Story 4?

[01:05:29] I'm a Toy Story 4 defender.

[01:05:31] I think that film is pretty damn good,

[01:05:33] but it really concerns me the comments that were made recently

[01:05:37] regarding how they don't want to release these

[01:05:41] personal movies for their filmmakers so much anymore.

[01:05:43] And they're looking now to double down on preexisting IP and sequels.

[01:05:49] And I just I look at these films that are in this poll and I think to myself,

[01:05:54] no, the best ones are the ones that were original stories

[01:05:58] that resonated with the storytellers who were telling them.

[01:06:01] And I just I don't understand that mentality.

[01:06:05] Other than obviously just trying to get pure profit margins.

[01:06:09] But right. Exactly. Yeah.

[01:06:10] Yeah. And it's also kind of weird when they did make that comment of saying,

[01:06:14] like, you know, yeah, we're not doing the personal stories anymore.

[01:06:18] We want to do things that feel like safe bets.

[01:06:20] But it's like Lightyear is one of the biggest flops that they've ever had.

[01:06:25] And that movie was made purely based on Toy Story nostalgia.

[01:06:29] So, yeah, I don't really feel like the future of Pixar

[01:06:33] is looking particularly bright from my perspective.

[01:06:36] But I guess that remains to be seen.

[01:06:39] But over the last 10 years,

[01:06:43] quite a gap in quality

[01:06:45] in terms of the ones that I did like and the ones that I didn't.

[01:06:48] And not a lot on the side of light, I have to say.

[01:06:52] Yeah. I mean, for me, it's kind of just like Coco is obviously my number one.

[01:06:58] And it's so head and shoulders above everything else on this list.

[01:07:00] Even films I like. It's just such a masterpiece.

[01:07:04] I think for me.

[01:07:07] Soul would probably be near the top.

[01:07:11] Um, hmm.

[01:07:13] Inside out up there as well.

[01:07:16] Yeah, that's a good one.

[01:07:18] Although I really don't have much expectations for the sequel,

[01:07:23] even though I liked the first film.

[01:07:24] I think it's good, though.

[01:07:25] I like I'm heading into the sequel with this blank slate feeling of,

[01:07:30] you know, because I haven't rewatched inside out in the lead up for this, too.

[01:07:34] I don't want to.

[01:07:34] I'm worried it will diminish my enjoyment of the sequel.

[01:07:37] But I'd like that I'm going in with level expectations.

[01:07:40] Hopefully that results in a better experience.

[01:07:42] And much like The Incredibles,

[01:07:44] it does feel like a Pixar movie that lends itself easily to a sequel.

[01:07:47] So it doesn't feel too just cash grabby.

[01:07:51] No, I did not like Incredibles two, though.

[01:07:54] I thought that was the I thought that was a bad movie.

[01:07:57] I mean, honestly, for me, I really loved Turning Red.

[01:08:01] I thought that was an incredible movie and honestly might be my answer here

[01:08:05] in terms of my favorite of the last decade.

[01:08:09] Turning red was such a welcome return to form for them

[01:08:11] after a really rough few years.

[01:08:13] I agree with you.

[01:08:14] All right.

[01:08:15] Well, head on over to the polls page and nextbestpicture.com cast a vote.

[01:08:19] You could choose up to three films and let us know what has been

[01:08:22] your favorite Disney Pixar film over the last decade.

[01:08:25] And we will announce the winners on next week's show.

[01:08:28] And now for our second trailer for this week,

[01:08:32] it is surprisingly an animated Lego film

[01:08:37] that is also a documentary

[01:08:41] directed and co-produced by Morgan Neville,

[01:08:44] who previously won the Oscar for 20 Feet from Stardom

[01:08:46] and also directed the wildly popular.

[01:08:49] But Oscar snubbed Won't You Be My Neighbor?

[01:08:53] This is piece by piece documentary about the life

[01:08:57] and musical career of Pharrell Williams.

[01:09:00] Quiet on the set.

[01:09:02] Hey, Pharrell.

[01:09:03] Hey, how you doing, man?

[01:09:04] You know, be cool as if we told my story with Lego pieces.

[01:09:09] Hey, seriously?

[01:09:11] Yes. Lego. Just be open.

[01:09:15] It might seem crazy what I'm about to say.

[01:09:18] When I was a kid, I knew I was different

[01:09:21] and people would say, oh, that's an odd child.

[01:09:24] And that crushed my spirit.

[01:09:28] But I loved music.

[01:09:29] It was mesmerizing to me.

[01:09:31] I would see beautiful hues of light cascading.

[01:09:35] I just thought that's what all black kids did,

[01:09:37] stared into the speaker like, whoa.

[01:09:40] This is so odd.

[01:09:42] I love it, though.

[01:09:43] I think this is like so fascinating and so

[01:09:47] like it's just one of those things where

[01:09:50] I do kind of I don't know, I'm like a split of a split

[01:09:53] two minds on this.

[01:09:53] On one hand, I would love to know if they reveal

[01:09:59] the decision as to like why do this as a Lego production

[01:10:02] and if there actually is any kind of reason for it

[01:10:06] or is it just going to be?

[01:10:08] No, we wanted to just do it because

[01:10:12] just because

[01:10:14] and and either way, it's like I don't know which one

[01:10:16] which one of those answers I would prefer

[01:10:19] because I watched this trailer and I'm so fascinated seeing,

[01:10:24] you know, because we've seen animated documentaries before.

[01:10:26] This isn't anything new, but to see it in Lego form

[01:10:30] that that feels new and fresh and something that I'm

[01:10:34] quite frankly, very, very intrigued by.

[01:10:37] I cannot wait to watch this.

[01:10:38] And I have a feeling this could actually be

[01:10:40] a massive, massive hit for Focus Features

[01:10:45] if they market this correctly,

[01:10:47] which so far from what I'm seeing, they are.

[01:10:49] Yeah, I mean, I guess if the idea is to get people like myself

[01:10:52] who are not inherently fans of his music

[01:10:56] necessarily excited for a biopic about him,

[01:10:59] I guess this is one way to do it.

[01:11:01] I just need to hear whether it's good or not first.

[01:11:04] Yeah, it's just the subject is is so strange.

[01:11:08] Like like it's obviously a wild idea to do this.

[01:11:13] And that does interest me.

[01:11:14] But it's like for a Pharrell story,

[01:11:18] like it just seems like such a weird thing to do.

[01:11:22] I just like I am intrigued, but I'm also sort of

[01:11:27] like very confused at the same time.

[01:11:29] I also like, you know, Pharrell as an individual,

[01:11:32] as a human being, I don't know his story that well.

[01:11:36] I know his music and I'm familiar with obviously his big hits

[01:11:40] and seeing him perform at the Oscars and, you know,

[01:11:44] various other things over the years.

[01:11:46] But as far as going into this and learning about

[01:11:49] who he is as a human being and as an artist, like that's

[01:11:52] the element that I'm looking forward to seeing and to see it

[01:11:55] then play out via animation, where the possibilities

[01:11:59] of how you can tell that story are endless.

[01:12:02] That definitely intrigues me.

[01:12:04] And Morgan Neville is a director who, you know,

[01:12:08] I mentioned before 20 Feet from Stardom and You Won't You Be My Neighbor.

[01:12:12] But there are other films also that he has directed over the years

[01:12:15] that have also been quite captivating and, you know, worth checking out.

[01:12:19] So I would think that even though he's never done animation before,

[01:12:23] we're in good hands here.

[01:12:25] My guess is this will probably premiere at Toronto.

[01:12:30] Is what I'm is what I'm guessing.

[01:12:33] And I think that would be a really good launching pad

[01:12:36] for this film before its theatrical release.

[01:12:38] And based on the names attached to it, right, because they've got

[01:12:42] Gwen Stefani, they've got Kendrick Lamar, they've got Justin Timberlake,

[01:12:46] Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg.

[01:12:47] I mean, like there's so many people involved in this that combine that

[01:12:51] then with animation, it remains to be seen like what rating this will receive.

[01:12:59] But if families are able to go see it like I'm

[01:13:03] I'm just curious to see if this does huge box office numbers for a documentary.

[01:13:07] That's the thing I'm like most curious about here.

[01:13:09] Yeah, it almost feels like the Lego animation is a way to disguise

[01:13:15] what the movie actually is and maybe even like trick families

[01:13:19] into going to see it.

[01:13:20] I don't know.

[01:13:21] But that's the thing.

[01:13:22] It's like, as you said, we don't really know his story.

[01:13:26] And I and I think that's the element here that just leaves me so puzzled

[01:13:30] because it's like you're doing this really unique execution for a subject matter

[01:13:36] that I just don't know what the reach for that is to begin with.

[01:13:39] Also, to Williams did compose two new original songs for the movie as well.

[01:13:45] So could be.

[01:13:48] I mean, you know, you know how our brains work.

[01:13:50] Animated feature contender, documentary feature contender,

[01:13:53] original song contender, who knows?

[01:13:56] There's almost one every year.

[01:13:57] Yeah, you did.

[01:13:59] He is a previous nominee for a terrible song.

[01:14:02] So anything could happen.

[01:14:05] I like happy.

[01:14:08] I'm so sorry.

[01:14:09] My partner is a musician, and ever since he pointed out that he basically rewrote

[01:14:13] if you're happy and you know, I clap your hands.

[01:14:15] Great success.

[01:14:16] That song is just ruined for me. Oh.

[01:14:22] Yeah, this this took me by surprise.

[01:14:25] I knew it was coming, but then watching the trailer for it, I was like, oh,

[01:14:29] this is this is the direction that they're taking with it.

[01:14:31] OK, and yeah, we'll see how it how it plays out.

[01:14:36] It could be something wholly unique and interesting and, you know, might lead to

[01:14:42] further projects down the line where we use Lego animation to tell stories and.

[01:14:48] Just different ways, you know, I would I don't know,

[01:14:51] like I don't know if I'm for that or against that yet.

[01:14:54] I think this movie will prove to be a,

[01:14:57] you know, proof of concept, if you will. We'll see.

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[01:15:44] Now back to the show.

[01:15:48] All right. And now to finish things off here, we got some more fan questions.

[01:15:53] Let's go over to Anthony Oscar Obsessive first.

[01:15:56] In honor of Inside Out to rank these Pixar sequels from worst to best.

[01:16:02] Monsters University Finding Dory, The Incredibles two Toy Story four.

[01:16:09] OK, I got this Toy Story four Incredibles two

[01:16:13] Finding Dory Monsters University for me.

[01:16:15] If you swap Incredibles two and Toy Story four, I'd agree.

[01:16:18] I still like Incredibles two.

[01:16:20] And I just did not like Incredibles two.

[01:16:23] I the Toy Story four is the best out of that group.

[01:16:27] I don't think there's a question, which is to me, still not a great

[01:16:31] signal of those movies qualities, but I do think that is the best.

[01:16:39] Man, you know what?

[01:16:40] Monsters University, I don't think is that bad.

[01:16:42] It's not great, but it was a little better than I was expecting heading into it.

[01:16:46] But it's still not great.

[01:16:49] And then the other ones are everything is so interchangeable after that

[01:16:52] in terms of my level of apathy towards those movies.

[01:16:56] Edwin Arroz, with so many good horror movies being released this year,

[01:17:00] tell us your favorite and what was the scariest scene so far of 2024?

[01:17:05] My brain immediately went to the first Omen.

[01:17:09] But I can't think of like a moment in that that like scared me, though.

[01:17:14] You know, the first Omen was is impeccably made in a really fine film,

[01:17:18] but it didn't really scare me.

[01:17:20] I get the scariest scene is where she's, you know, it's clearly an homage to possession

[01:17:25] and she's having that freak out.

[01:17:27] Yeah.

[01:17:28] Which is awesome.

[01:17:29] Yeah, no, it's great.

[01:17:31] You know what?

[01:17:32] I can't reveal, but there's a scene in the Devil's Bath that while it didn't like

[01:17:37] scare me, scare me, it like riddled my body with just anxiety.

[01:17:43] So I'll say that for quote unquote scariest moment.

[01:17:49] But I got to say the first Omen only because of, like you said, the craft of it all.

[01:17:55] But almost in a very similar way, Josh, you can probably relate to this.

[01:18:00] Actually, no, you can relate to this.

[01:18:01] The Girl with the Needle.

[01:18:03] It may not be like a horror movie per se.

[01:18:06] But it's got some of the most horrific imagery I think many people will see this year.

[01:18:13] And that has definitely filled my brain with thoughts of horror ever since I saw it.

[01:18:19] Sure, yeah.

[01:18:20] But that movie also hasn't been technically released yet.

[01:18:23] So it's why I can't really say it regardless.

[01:18:25] Same thing with the substance.

[01:18:27] I wish I could just say the substance.

[01:18:28] Yeah, I mean, that's the real that's probably the real answer here.

[01:18:32] Yeah, like in terms of a favorite horror movie that I've seen.

[01:18:36] But also just like in terms of scared, I don't really get scared that often in horror movies

[01:18:42] anymore.

[01:18:43] And that's not to say that they're like bad or anything.

[01:18:44] It's just usually it doesn't hit me on quite that level.

[01:18:48] But I will say, even though I did just kind of trash talk the movie a little bit,

[01:18:52] there is a moment towards the end of In a Violent Nature that involves somebody

[01:18:58] just basically sitting and looking out into the woods that I did find to be pretty effectively

[01:19:05] unnerving.

[01:19:05] And it, you know, I don't know how well it worked just in the entire context of the movie,

[01:19:11] but isolated, I did find that to be very, very effective at unsettling the audience.

[01:19:18] So it's not even really necessarily a horror film.

[01:19:21] But the scariest moments I've experienced this year were in I Saw the TV Glow.

[01:19:26] There's two or three instances that just gave me full body chills when I first saw it at Sundance,

[01:19:31] and I got to rewatch it a few weeks ago in a theater and like the film even more

[01:19:37] and was still just terrified by it.

[01:19:40] God, Justice Smith's moment that he has in the third act.

[01:19:44] Oh, his freak out.

[01:19:46] There's that there's the first time Mr. Melancholy shows up and you're like,

[01:19:50] what the fuck am I looking at?

[01:19:52] Yeah.

[01:19:53] Yes.

[01:19:54] Yeah.

[01:19:55] Josie DeMarco with the release of Bad Boys Ride or Die, favorite buddy cop or buddy comedy?

[01:20:01] I have an answer that will satisfy both.

[01:20:04] Hot Fuzz.

[01:20:05] Oh, that's a good one.

[01:20:06] Hot Fuzz is so good.

[01:20:08] I love that movie.

[01:20:09] I was also thinking of The Nice Guys.

[01:20:12] Oh, yes.

[01:20:14] I haven't seen this movie, these movies in years,

[01:20:17] but I remember really enjoying the Jump Street movies.

[01:20:21] Yeah, both of them.

[01:20:22] Just really fun.

[01:20:24] Just funny.

[01:20:26] Also, the heat with Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy.

[01:20:30] I again haven't seen in probably a decade, but maybe laugh my ass off.

[01:20:34] That was good at the time release.

[01:20:35] Still good now.

[01:20:36] I definitely agree with that.

[01:20:39] Yeah, because it wasn't directed by her husband.

[01:20:40] That's why it was good.

[01:20:44] Dan Allen, based off of what has come out in theaters and how the box office has been,

[01:20:49] has the first half of 2024 been affected by the writers and actor strikes from last year?

[01:20:55] I don't, you know, that's interesting, right?

[01:20:57] Because you would think that the films that are released in the first half of the year

[01:21:01] were ones that were already like in the can and being worked on in post production.

[01:21:07] So I don't think so.

[01:21:09] I actually think we're going to see the impact of the strikes

[01:21:14] in the later part of the year and the beginning of 2025.

[01:21:19] Yeah, that feels like more of the sphere of influence with that.

[01:21:24] I just feel like the movies right now, just they aren't engaging audiences on a certain level.

[01:21:31] And I kind of just felt that way, even just looking at the summer from the beginning

[01:21:36] and what was coming out, it already looks kind of bleak to me.

[01:21:40] I feel like week to week, we hear a new reason,

[01:21:43] a new justification, a new excuse for a movie under or over performing.

[01:21:47] And we have yet to kind of level out exactly what audiences want,

[01:21:51] need and what works for them post pandemic.

[01:21:54] So we're still kind of in like a follow phase and like,

[01:21:58] sure there's the stuff with the strikes too,

[01:21:59] but I still think it's just a matter of audiences are unpredictable.

[01:22:03] You know, like I think another factor is we're not letting movies have legs,

[01:22:07] obviously, which is a big problem for movies that get chopped off and sent to

[01:22:13] VOD the week after they don't do well.

[01:22:15] And I think we just need to allow a bit more patience and organic buzz to build.

[01:22:19] But studios financially don't seem invested in that.

[01:22:23] And then finally, our last question for this week from Nadia Maria 2022.

[01:22:29] What's your most anticipated movie for the fall of 2024?

[01:22:34] Hmm, I think I'm going to say queer.

[01:22:40] That's a very good answer.

[01:22:42] I think I'm going to say Conclave.

[01:22:45] I mean, I have to be who I am and say Wicked Part one.

[01:22:50] I mean, I am looking forward to that as well.

[01:22:52] Yeah, I mean, I'm nervous, but.

[01:22:54] That second trailer definitely went a long way towards

[01:22:57] beefing up my excitement a little bit more.

[01:23:00] Here's the thing.

[01:23:00] The trailer could be like just a picture of my face with an X over it,

[01:23:05] and I would still see the movie because it's just what I'm, you know,

[01:23:09] seemingly legally obligated to do.

[01:23:11] So none of that really matters.

[01:23:12] But I am hesitantly excited for it.

[01:23:16] I just hate it's a part one still.

[01:23:18] Yeah, give us the four and a half hour cut, you know, of both films together.

[01:23:24] They should just call it Act one.

[01:23:26] Oh, yeah.

[01:23:26] Why not playing into the theater idea of it all?

[01:23:29] Exactly.

[01:23:30] Yeah.

[01:23:30] I mean, we all know where it's going to end.

[01:23:32] Yeah, that too.

[01:23:35] We'll see how audiences respond to it.

[01:23:37] You know, I'm curious to see, you know, almost like with Horizon and American Saga, Josh,

[01:23:43] like, is it going to stand on its own as a sole movie going experience?

[01:23:49] Or is it only going to be appreciated when viewed alongside the other part?

[01:23:56] Or in the case of Horizon parts, I mean, I've seen so many people come out of the

[01:24:00] woodwork over the last couple of weeks and say that about Dune part one and part two.

[01:24:04] So the same might be true here.

[01:24:07] Yeah, I don't know.

[01:24:10] I also just feel like the whole marketing of this movie is just sending people up to

[01:24:14] be disappointed because not only are they hiding the part one of it, they're also sort

[01:24:18] of hiding the musical aspect of it, too.

[01:24:20] And while on the one hand, like, yes, I know that for most people, they are aware that

[01:24:25] Wicked is a musical, but I was going to say, but but that's not everybody.

[01:24:30] You know, you're still trying to get a very wide audience to come and see this movie.

[01:24:35] And even if you go in with the assumption that everybody knows it's a musical, the

[01:24:40] fact that they don't show anybody singing in the trailers still makes me feel like they're

[01:24:45] trying to disguise that fact a little bit, which is wild because you cast two big singers

[01:24:52] in the leads.

[01:24:52] But I digress.

[01:24:54] All right.

[01:24:54] Well, more to come on that.

[01:24:57] And we will definitely have more updates on the summer movie going season over the next

[01:25:01] couple of weeks, not to mention people.

[01:25:05] We're going to be revealing our first Oscar predictions pretty soon as we get through the

[01:25:10] first half of the year and we start looking toward what's coming out in the second half.

[01:25:16] I'm actually pretty excited to start doing our roundups, too, on what have been some of

[01:25:19] our favorite films from the first half of the year so far.

[01:25:22] So there's much to look forward to here, along with the continuation of our 2010 retrospective,

[01:25:27] which will be going on all throughout the summer.

[01:25:29] So if you want to hear more on that, you can subscribe to our Patreon.

[01:25:33] I hope you guys are already subscribed to the podcast as is at large, but there's still

[01:25:38] much more to come over the next couple of weeks that I'm pretty excited to dive in

[01:25:42] with all of you on.

[01:25:43] With that said, Josh, where can they find you on the Internet?

[01:25:47] You can find me on Twitter and Letterboxd at JR Parham.

[01:25:51] Cody Derricks.

[01:25:52] I'm all over the Internet at CodyMonster91.

[01:25:55] And you can find me at Next Best Picture.

[01:25:57] Thank you so much, everyone, for listening to the Next Best Picture podcast.

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[01:26:21] Thank you all so much for listening as always, and we will see you all next time.