Episode 159: The Little Things

[00:00:00] Hello, everybody. Welcome back to the Film Buds Podcast. This is episode number 159. And my name is Henry. And I'm Paul. This week we got a pretty packed show. We have a review of The Little Things now on HBO

[00:00:31] Max starring Denzel Washington, Jared Leto, the king of course. And then we have some news to talk about. I think we might touch on the passing of Christopher Plummer as well as some of the new

[00:00:44] trailers that came out during the Super Bowl like Falcon and the Winter Soldier and others, the new M Night Shyamalan film perhaps. We have a can't talk today. We have a listener question, other stuff we watched. So thanks again for joining us. Paul, how are you doing?

[00:01:02] I'm doing well. I've got about a week until I find out if I made it on to the finals of the competition that I'm in for my novella. So that's getting close. The other podcast that

[00:01:19] I work with is dropping its 100th episode this week. And so it's just been a good week. It's been quiet, saw some family, my wife's family pretty recently. So it's been good. How have you been? How are your classes? Not too bad. They're pretty time consuming, but they're

[00:01:39] going well all considering and getting ready to graduate in May. So just trying to prep for that thinking about my next move. And of course any decisions I make with that, I'll make sure to share with the class here. But no, otherwise, yeah, staying busy as always and

[00:02:00] working on music buds as well, doing some interviews for that and doing well, thankfully. Yeah, not too much else to mention really maybe one more plug. If you have not checked out our most recent bonus show, we did it on Disney live action films, specifically some of the

[00:02:22] fantasy reboots and remakes over the last few years. And that's available at thefilmbuds.bankcamp.com for just a $1 donation and all the donations go to help support the show. So it's always nice for people to do that. Yeah, Paul, I mean anything else you want to

[00:02:39] mention, man? I mean, we got a lot to talk about. Yeah, we do. We've got quite the movie on our hands. Yes. All right, well, yeah, let's let's not waste any more time and get into our review of

[00:02:52] the little things. And we do have a clip this time. So take a listen.

[00:03:31] All right. As I said, the little things is on HBO Max now. And it is directed written and directed by John Lee Hancock. It stars Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto. Those are the big three. Any big ones that I haven't touched on, Paul?

[00:04:07] No, I mean, those are the big ones really. Yeah. And the synopsis is Kern County Deputy Sheriff Joe Deacon is sent to Los Angeles for what should have been a quick evidence gathering assignment. Instead, he becomes embroiled in the search for a serial killer who is terrorizing

[00:04:26] the city. So this one has, I don't know how I mean, I guess it's been kind of, I don't know how people are feeling about this one, Paul. No, I feel like it's gotten the reception it deserves.

[00:04:42] Yeah. I mean, it's, you know, John Lee Hancock directed The Blind Side, The Alamo, The Founder, Saving Mr. Banks. Obviously he likes movies with titles that start with the. Yeah. But Paul, what did you think of it? So I'm always up for a good mystery,

[00:05:09] kind of pulpy crime thriller. You know, this movie perhaps too much so feels very David Fincher. You know, harkens back to Zodiac seven at times a little too much.

[00:05:22] And as much as I do rag on Jared Leto, I actually do like him for many reasons. I'm a big 30 seconds to Mars fan. I don't think that all of his film performances are great, but what I can say for him

[00:05:36] is they're almost never boring. Sometimes they're bad, but they're at least memorable to me in one way or the other. And I can't always say that about a lot of actors. He kind of goes for it.

[00:05:49] And he is a screen eater, as I like to say for sure. You know, he's there on screen. And in a way that's an accomplishment, but as I said, it doesn't always work out for the better.

[00:06:04] Denzel, I mean, it doesn't even need to be said, but he's great in this and he's great, you know, really all around. I think Remy Malek, he's hit and miss for me. I, you know,

[00:06:15] Mr. Robot, I like him in and a few other things, but he's very it's good for an actor to have a mysterious side to them. But that allows you to want to know what they're thinking. But he has

[00:06:29] that, but I don't always want to know what he's thinking. Does that make sense? That was very wordy and very messy, but it's like he has a mysterious side. But I'm like, I'm not always

[00:06:39] curious as to what's going on in his head. There's the difference between intrigue and ambiguity and like emotional ambiguity. I don't care. Like mystique you want to there. There should be something underneath it that should be drawing someone in, you know, and I think

[00:06:56] that that's kind of the difference. Yeah. And thank you. The way I describe that really shows how much my schooling has been paying off. But anyhow, kind of circling back around overall there were parts of it I liked. I thought there were sequences that were very well done.

[00:07:15] It built an atmosphere well. Overall though, I did not like it. I think it's not a horrible movie, but I think the worst part about it and perhaps this is a spoiler. I don't know.

[00:07:27] I think the ending ruins it. I think that the third act with how it plays out really hurts the amount of time that you spent with these characters and in this mystery, and it feels very unsatisfying. And so in some ways it is better directed than a lot

[00:07:46] of movies I've seen recently. However, the sum of its parts is not enough for me to really give it a pass. Okay. What about you, Paul? No, I can completely see where you're coming from with that.

[00:08:01] I think that there's nothing wrong. Like you said, with like a pretty straightforward thriller, people enjoy that thing all of the time. That's why we have umpteen million cop shows and detective stories and things like that. People like the story. People like the formula of what this story's

[00:08:24] bare bones is, right? The issue with this movie is that this is so very painfully paint by numbers almost amateurish. And I completely agree the whole time it felt like John Lee Hancock doing his

[00:08:42] best David Fincher impression. That was just like not to interrupt you too much, but the opening scene is almost barf inducing in how close it is to the zodiac sequence on the highway.

[00:08:59] Like immediately when that scene started, I was like, oh, he's probably seen zodiac once or twice. Yeah. But anyways, continue. And even with Jared Leto, you know, people are not everyone, but people are surprised that he got a Golden Globe nomination

[00:09:15] for this performance. He apparently is amongst them. And I can see why it's because he honestly, there's nothing underlying his psychosis. He's just putting on like a bunch of like weirdo affectations and it feels like Jared Leto being like, I could have been on mind hunter.

[00:09:31] See. And so, no, the whole thing does feel like a really bad impression of a very particular filmmakers overall style. And yeah, you know, the issue I think with that, with the third act reveal isn't necessarily so much the core concept. It's the execution.

[00:09:54] It's the fact that like again, Jared Leto's character isn't motivated. Why is he doing this? Why did he choose him for what he's doing? You know, there's that sort of brief bit about

[00:10:04] ego, but it's like, how are you punishing him? Like what's the end game here? And so, I think the issue is just that there's nothing underlying any of his motivations as a character in his actions and performance and in that third act structure.

[00:10:21] I think Denzel honestly, I'm embarrassed that Denzel's in this just because I know that Denzel can do better and he just seemed to not give a shit really. Like he seemed asleep. The most

[00:10:36] awake he seemed was at the very, very end. The rest of the time I was like, oh, this is kind of exactly what you did in the equalizer, isn't it? You look like a kind of tired,

[00:10:45] gruff man. And so, I think that he didn't really bring anything to this character that couldn't have been brought by someone else. I think that this is one of his least memorable performances. I've been kind of disappointed lately by Tom Hanks, but then I saw this and

[00:11:03] I was like, oh well, at least Tom Hanks hasn't found the bottom yet. And Remy Malick, yeah, for me he was kind of all over the place as well. There were times where I thought that

[00:11:14] I understood his character and then he had these random outbursts where he hits the window in aggravation because he's a cop on the edge. And then all throughout the movie, I don't know if you noticed this, and this was something that really bothered me,

[00:11:28] was this weird motivational... The teacher getting the students to understand moment music in just the strangest of places. You've got Denzel looking smacked out of his mind talking about what it's gonna take to get the bad guy and how he's pushing himself

[00:11:54] and that he knows that it's this and blah, blah, blah. And it's got this weird, this really weird musical pick to it. And so I'm honestly not sure what the hell is going on with this movie but it's titled It Get One Thing Right.

[00:12:09] It's the little things that matter. And if a million little things aren't working in your movie, then the whole thing is just gonna be kind of a mess. Yeah, but also on that point, I think the title, it doesn't really speak to the movie

[00:12:24] because there aren't that many little things. There aren't that many... It's not like, for example, in Zodiac, there is so much information and it pays attention to detail so well. And that movie, you could call that the little things and have that make more sense.

[00:12:41] But in this, it's so distant and broad. I felt so removed from everybody. That was like what details and little things, quote unquote, always supposed to be paying attention to? There's that every once in a while but that's the case with every movie that's ever existed.

[00:12:58] It's not like they're constantly finding out information about or having twists because of little things they're discovering. Yeah, they didn't feel like detectives in any kind of way. They just felt like the plot was happening and they were going through it.

[00:13:14] Like it didn't feel in any way like a true detective story. Yeah. And it's just, I'm not sure what exactly it was that he was going for because I think it is rated R. Yeah. But it's also like one of the softest R-rated films

[00:13:32] I think I've ever seen. Yeah. I mean, basically the only really gruesome thing is when you see the body in the apartment. I think that's really the only kind of gruesome part. You get the one full frontal nudity shot from like across the street of the dead body

[00:13:50] and that's about it. You can go and you can find... And this is really the cardinal sin of the movie is like you can go and find considerably better entertainment of this variety on HBO's platform. You can go and watch The Wire.

[00:14:07] You can go and watch True Detective. There are so many other things that are available on their own platform that are better than this, that this offering with like the prestige that it was given is almost ridiculous. Like the fact that this script got this cast

[00:14:24] and this kind of like attention and was given a big platform on a big studios network, is kind of ludicrous to me because like this is like the most standard version of this story that you could possibly do. Yeah. Yeah, I agree. And also with John Lee Hancock,

[00:14:45] I mean, I liked saving Mr. Banks and I've enjoyed a couple of his other movies, but it's kind of an odd departure. Almost how I think of Tate Taylor when he went from the help to the girl on the train to Ma, that Octavia Spencer film.

[00:15:02] It's like, okay, so I would not think the film you're going to do after the help is the girl on the train. And almost in that movie, he felt out of his element. Not to say it's a bad thing for directors, directors to change it up,

[00:15:16] but he almost felt, John Lee Hancock felt out of his element a little bit in this where he was, as we've said, kind of calling back to other directors too much. Yeah. I liked the founder with Michael Keaton. It's a very competently done film,

[00:15:35] but a lot of the thing that I really like the most about that movie is the Michael Keaton performance. I think that it's a very straightforward biopic that's elevated by like an above average performance. Saving Mr. Banks is good. You know, it's a little bit hamstringed

[00:15:51] by Disney not allowing some of the realities of Walt Disney as a person to really be present in that movie. Here's a fun fact, Walt Disney was a smoker and Tom Hanks apparently wanted him to be smoking on screen and Disney absolutely said no.

[00:16:10] And so the sort of compromise that they made was him that one shot of him stubbing out a cigarette. Right as he's telling someone to come into his office and that was their little compromise. So, you know, when you're having to go down

[00:16:25] to that level of detail to scrutinize a film, you know, that's going to hamstring you a little bit. So like I give that movie a lot of leeway and think that it did a pretty good job with what it had to do. No, this...

[00:16:38] And I even like, it's all an execution, right? There's nothing theoretically wrong with this film. So I'll get into spoilers now that we're decently along. Sure. So the whole time you know that there's obviously something wrong with like Denzel's past and his relationship to this case.

[00:16:56] And you can't quite figure out what it is because they're obviously not telling you something, which is fine. But at a certain point, you need to start giving me clues as to what it is and you never really get that.

[00:17:10] So that way when you get to the aha moment of the third act, which is that Remy Malick made the same mistake kind of that, you know, Denzel did. They both killed someone, the wrong person that they needed to kill

[00:17:23] in this case to try and catch the serial killer. For Denzel, he killed a victim on accident. He shoots them in the chest. He shoots her in the chest and they all like covered up. The cops all get together and covered up.

[00:17:39] And then in the case of Remy Malick, he's convinced that Jared Leto was the killer and it turns out that he's probably not. Although there's definitely something wrong with him. He is not the killer. And he ends up getting killed with a shovel.

[00:17:53] And then Denzel comes and helps him cover it up. And that's kind of the whole big finale of the thing. And the problem is you don't get to have any clues to like that aha moment for you as the character

[00:18:05] being like, oh my God, this is what he did. And then like having the realization sort of blossom in front of you as well in the movie, it just ends up being this kind of, look at how twisty we can get.

[00:18:17] Fuck you M Knight, ain't got shit on me. Like here's the left turn. And it just, you know, it doesn't really quite work. It's just, and it's very much like the moment in seven where he's toyed Kevin Spacy's killer has toyed with Brad Pitt to the point

[00:18:35] that Brad Pitt is now willing to commit murder. You know, it works effectively in that movie because he has been the killer. He has been the one driving them this far. And then he goes and he kills someone important to our lead character that finally turns him

[00:18:50] into the sin that he is, which is wrath. And so in this instead, it's just sort of like Jared Littow was fucking with him, like I said, for no apparent reason really other than because no idea what his end goal is.

[00:19:05] And so they just don't earn that ending in any kind of way and it just, it falls apart and it ends up falling flat. And so even though it's kind of interesting for like a brief moment, just in sort of conception the execution of it's all off.

[00:19:17] And so the whole movie doesn't work because the entire execution of the movie is just kind of off. Yeah, no, I agree. And you know, I'm fine with that whole kind of circular nature of it where you're seeing the younger person become,

[00:19:33] you know, the mentor so to speak, you know? And but in this, it's like the ideas or and very much the execution as you said after and again, spoilers here, what happens to Jared Littow and the time that you then spend with Remy Malick

[00:19:51] it's not very thought provoking. You're just kind of watching him sit there and you're like, okay, what am I supposed to be thinking about? And whether that's his performance and or the direction, you know, I don't know but that was, you know, very frustrating

[00:20:06] because in the end it adds up to basically nothing. And so you spent at what I think at least two hours with these characters and in this plot, you're like, that's all we get for this very slow burn pulpy film that is kind of teasing you along.

[00:20:24] And it's so, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth for sure. It's a thriller without any urgency even when they add in a ticking clock of two days it never feels like that is actually urgent. So it's a thriller without any urgency

[00:20:38] that leads to an anticlimactic finale that doesn't amount to anything where the killer isn't caught and two cops get away with murder. Yeah. Yay. Yeah. Now, Paul, you of course anyone that knows you knows that you love Jared Littow.

[00:20:59] You're just, you know, you can't get enough of this guy. How did you feel about him in this one? Look, Jared Littow, I have liked Jared Littow in like a few things. I think that he's pretty good in Lord of War where he plays Nick Cage's brother.

[00:21:15] I think that he's good in that. I even like Jared Littow in. Requiem for a Dream. Oh, yeah, he's great in that. Great movie, you know, honestly. One of his best performances ever. You know, I guess this one, the thing that's offensive about it

[00:21:33] is just its lack of trying, you know? Like it's not as hammy and as ridiculous and to the same sort of like guttural hate that I feel for his interpretation of Joker, which I think is horrendous. But this is just kind of him being sleepy and being weird.

[00:21:54] And it's like I could have been a Charles Manson. You know, no one cast me as Manson in anything. I could be Manson. I look like meth had Jesus. So it doesn't feel like, you know, he's really doing much of anything.

[00:22:08] And so the whole time, honestly, I was pretty, I was pretty bored. I thought that he was one of the best performers in the movie, but that was also, I guess, kind of a low bar for me. And so it's unfortunately kind of disappointing

[00:22:22] because you can't even really watch it and get that kind of visceral reaction where it's at least an attempt at something, you know, so of an interpretation that you either love it or you hate it. It's just there. He's he's just present in the movie,

[00:22:38] which I think is even worse, probably, than than giving me something that I have like some sort of visceral reaction to. Yeah. And, you know, he always, he always has to put on these little affectations and mannerisms to the characters. And again, it's like sometimes

[00:22:55] that does make them the character or the performance interesting. And that's part of the reason why I always like to see what he's doing because you never know what he's going to pull, you know, and that on its own is kind of a success, you know? Oh yeah.

[00:23:12] And in this, I think he was by far my my favorite performance and I always enjoyed what when the movie would cut back to him, it's like, OK, I'm back in now. It's going to be weird. It may not be totally successful,

[00:23:24] but at least it's different and it's out there. Yeah, like, for example, his walk is amazing. Best walk. I mean, give him the golden globe for that. Love the with the with the weird potbelly. Yes. Give him. Give him. I mean, you know,

[00:23:40] his facial expressions and everything aside, just give him the the nomin, the award for the walk, you know, like when he orders the Shirley Temple, great stuff, you know? Um, no, it's like, you know, it's one of those performances that it's not his best for sure.

[00:23:58] But in this movie, it was my favorite part. Yeah, better or worse, you know? Yeah. And I think that that really just speaks to the movie on a lot of levels. Yeah. You know, here's a little here's one other little fun thing I'll throw in about the movie.

[00:24:16] So there's that part where he goes to the strip joint that's on they show you the intersection. It's like victory in Bellingham, right? And it's the strip club and like a walk or a Wells Fargo. And I was sitting there and I saw that and I was like,

[00:24:35] I know where this is. I've driven past the strip club before. Really? And so I go and I look up where victory in Bellingham is and victory in Bellingham is right over by victory in Laurel Canyon right over by the I think the 110.

[00:24:49] And I used to live off of victory. Oh, wow. I used to live over by by victory in Laurel Canyon and that kind of thing. I was in North Hollywood and it's that's that exit that I would take

[00:25:04] to get home. It was like the strip club was right there. And the street that it intersects with Laurel Canyon is where the final car chase is at the end of Nightcrawler. That's right. Yeah, that's cool. Yeah. Huh? Little

[00:25:22] little bit of weird random film history related to geography there. Yes. Everyone this this movie will always be with you, Paul. Oh yeah. Yeah. Fond plays in my heart for remembering that strip club. Yeah. Well, anything else about the little things? Anything in particular?

[00:25:43] That moment that Denzel was like, the past becomes future, comes past, comes future and was like cracked out of his mind in the hotel. All I could think was times a flat circle. You know, I immediately just went right to true detective Matthew McConaughey.

[00:25:59] I was just like, I've heard this before. But no, that's about everything I think that I can think of. Although did you notice that like Denzel's pupils were like enormous the whole time? Not no, I did it. I don't think so.

[00:26:14] OK, go back and like don't watch the whole movie, but like go back specifically to that scene where he's, you know, in there with with Remi Malik and Remi Malik's got him like against the wall and the lights coming in through the window. His pupils are enormous.

[00:26:32] He was on something. So, you know, like I'm guessing it was some sort of contact lens, but I'm like, is that like as he's supposed to all we see him do is like drinking? So like what's going on here? But Denzel's pupils are enormous throughout that movie.

[00:26:46] I can't speak to any any particular reason as to why. But great stuff. All right, well. Out of five stars, Paul, half, half a star, half. Yeah, half her. I'll go to an ass, you know. Oh, wow. Very generous.

[00:27:07] Yeah, I mean, there are parts of it I enjoyed. I I made it to the end. So I I almost I almost quit watching it. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I almost I almost dropped out. I was like, I may not finish it. But OK, let me say this.

[00:27:23] If I wasn't watching it for the podcast, I would have stopped probably. There we go. And that's exactly what kept me going as well as I was like, got to do it for the podcast. Damn it. I do it for you people. Yeah. So you don't have to.

[00:27:38] Yeah. OK, cool. Well, I guess we can move on to some news. So the big thing, of course, is passing of Christopher Plummer, legendary actor and yeah, just passed away a few days ago, was quite old, early nineties, I believe.

[00:27:58] So, you know, and yeah, well, Paul, I mean, of course, it's it's very sad, but he did leave quite a body of work behind. Yeah, you know, unfortunately, he's growing an evergrowing list. You know, you had Chloris Leachman, you had Cicely Tyson, you had

[00:28:17] Oh, there was one more because it was like 94 years old, 95 years old, 96 years old. Christopher Plummer, of course, 91. I like Christopher Plummer a lot. I've always enjoyed his work. You know, I remember as a kid watching Sound of Music

[00:28:30] and that was probably like the first Christopher Plummer movie that I saw. Like a lot of people. My dad, True Story, saw Sound of Music three times in theaters back when it came out when he was a kid. Oh, wow.

[00:28:41] And it's one of his all time favorite movies. But you know, I loved Christopher Plummer recently in Knives Out. You know, he was still producing great work. So it certainly is a shame to see him go. But you know, like it's a stressful time.

[00:28:55] And I wouldn't be surprised if some of the reason that we're losing some of these people is just that this time is especially stressful on on elderly people since they are especially isolated, you know. Yeah. Yeah, I agree.

[00:29:09] And, you know, yeah, Knives Out, he's he's great in all the money in the world. The Ridley Scott film, I enjoyed him in that. I still haven't seen that movie. It's I don't know why I enjoy it so much. It's it's like a wonderfully average film.

[00:29:25] But for some reason I connect with it. I don't know why would be a good one for a review at some point because there are a lot of interesting parts about it. But do you do you think that the reason that it connects with you is

[00:29:38] because you're aware of like the back history of how Christopher Plummer ended up in the movie? That wasn't my my real interest in watching it for the first time. It was I think it's more so Ridley Scott and so I mean, that was a enjoyment of his style.

[00:29:55] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, he was in Shutter Island, the girl with the dragon tattoo. And so he's been in a lot of really cool supporting roles. And of course Knives Out, as we said, is great.

[00:30:08] So yeah, it's really a shame, but he has left so many great films and performances behind him. Yeah, you know, that is always again the benefit of a film is that even if you lose that person, you can always go back,

[00:30:26] you know, it's a pale comparison, but you can at least always sort of go back and have that person in some sort of way through their performance because some part of them is always, you know, in there. Yeah. So yeah, you know, it's a great shame.

[00:30:42] But, you know, if you're ever missing him, you can always go in and watch him as John Adam Gates in the Disney adventure film National Treasure. Yeah. That's on our list. Use. Yeah. Yeah. Let's do both of them. Why not?

[00:30:58] Wait, is there I thought there was three or is there only two so far? There's only two National Treasure films, I think. Yeah, only two of those National Treasures. That's that's a shame. OK, well, I guess we can touch on some of the Super Bowl trailers.

[00:31:15] You know, obviously every year we get a lot of new trailers and promos during the Super Bowl and this year, considering all that's going on, there weren't a huge amount of great ones. But I guess one big one is Marvel's Falcon and the Winter Soldier,

[00:31:30] which is coming on Disney Plus in March, March 19th. Yeah. And it is a series with about the two titular characters, of course. Paul, you're, you know, the MCU head. What did you feel about this one? I'm excited, you know, I'm all here for lethal weapon in tights.

[00:31:53] You know, I enjoy those sorts of dynamics. I enjoy the charisma between those two actors as well. I think that they have great screen chemistry together. And I love Daniel Burles, a Baron Zemo from Civil War. I think that he's kind of an underappreciated villain

[00:32:10] and an underappreciated performance. So I'm excited to have him back. I don't think that this is going to be as much of like a blow away thing for me as like WandaVision is right now just because I think WandaVision conceptually is already baked into be

[00:32:26] more surprising, a little bit more interesting and a little bit more trying something new. Whereas this is definitely a continuation of a franchise that we've had, you know, just being helmed by different people. But I'm very much excited for it.

[00:32:43] This is kind of the arc that follows from one of the more recent Marvel comic universes, I guess you could say, launches, it's from like Marvel now ish, I think, which is when, you know, Cap got old and left and Robert

[00:32:58] and Iron Man was gone and you got Iron Heart and Captain America became Falcon. And I think that's also when Hulk became like an Asian teenager named Amadeus Cho. And that's when Miss Marvel showed up with Kamala Khan. And so a lot of that's being echoed right now

[00:33:14] in what they're doing in their films and TV shows. There's a Miss Marvel TV show coming out. You've now got Falcon taking over the role of Captain America. So, yeah, I'm pretty pumped for it. I think that it'll be good.

[00:33:27] I liked the trailer. I liked the energy. What did you think? Yeah, I Winner Soldiers is my favorite Marvel film. I do love Sebastian Stan and the Winner Soldier character. I think it's my favorite villain of that world as well. I do like Anthony Mackie a lot.

[00:33:46] One thing I will say, though, even when this goes back to that film, for some reason, I don't like the design of his costume. Something about it. It's maybe a little too goofy or a little too colorful.

[00:33:59] I mean, it's a little thing, obviously, but I don't love that. I like him a lot. I think this show is you're kind of saying it's not really going to convert people to love Marvel if they don't already. You know? Yeah. But for everyone who does enjoy it,

[00:34:13] it's going to be, I'm surely a solid entry in the universe. Yeah. So I mean, I'll definitely check it out, but you know, it's not one I'm like, oh my God, it's going to change everything. And so yeah, I'll definitely check it out for sure.

[00:34:29] I think it'll be leaps and bounds better than the Mandalorian either season. Surely. No, I think that it'll be fun. I understand why you don't like the costume. I think would you prefer it? Maybe if it weren't quite so bulky. I don't like the goggles. Okay.

[00:34:52] Yeah, I honestly couldn't tell you why. It's just from the very second that he in Winter Soldier, when he flies up on the rooftop, when he first are introduced to him that way, I was like, I don't like it.

[00:35:06] Again, it's just a purely personal subjective thing, but something about it does not mesh. I think Anthony Mackie is perfect in that, but something about that design, even if it harkens, even if it's very close to the original, it's just I don't know why it just doesn't.

[00:35:23] And I mean, there are other ones in the world that also don't do it for me, but in terms of the Captain America Winter Soldier group, I don't love that. No, I can certainly appreciate that.

[00:35:37] There are some costumes that work for me that don't work for other people and vice versa. I love the controversial opinion. I love Captain America's first Avengers costume, the like ultra star-spangled blue and white and red one.

[00:35:50] I think that that's a great take on like an absolutely fucking ridiculous costume. And so I think that it's super, super fun. And I know that everyone loves the stealth suit from Winter Soldier, but I always like his more colorful ones. I love his World War II costume.

[00:36:07] I love a star-spangled man one from The Avengers. I do like his patriot look, you know, when he's like rugged cap with the beard, you know. But who doesn't? No, I'm glad that they chopped off Bucky's hair. Oh, see, I like the hair.

[00:36:21] I like the hair of the beard. I love the Captain America Winter Soldier look. So yeah, I'm sure I might be in the minority there, but I actually am upset that they changed it. I like it when he's like the highway chase,

[00:36:37] when he's in his suit and he has the hair and all that, I'm in. Love it. Five stars. Okay. Well, you know, the goggles don't do it for you. The hair didn't do it for me. So yeah, that one comes out in a little more than a month.

[00:36:55] Yeah, because we're in episode five of Wandavision that just finished up. So there are four left. So like once this is done, it'll be like starting right up with Falcon and the Winter Soldier. And then I guess right after that will be Loki. Probably. Yeah. Yeah. All right.

[00:37:15] Then the other big trailer, unless there are any others you want to touch on, I guess is M Night Shyamalan's new film, which is called Old. And that one comes out in July, I think. Only in theaters. Yes, only in theaters in July.

[00:37:36] So thanks M Night for that. Paul, what are you thinking about since you've been on the show, we haven't really talked about M Night yet. So how do you feel about him? I like M Night Shyamalan. Not all of his stuff, certainly. But I like M Night.

[00:37:53] I think that the... Oh God, I can't remember what the name is of the trilogy, but the sort of Pennsylvania trilogy we'll call it of unbreakable split and glass. I really love those three, especially split. Split for me is the pinnacle of the trilogy. I like...

[00:38:15] I have the controversial opinion of liking Lady in the Water. Oh, I do too. Okay. I understand why people don't like it, but I actually really enjoy Lady in the Water. But see now, I did not like glass. So... Okay, at all.

[00:38:32] It's not terrible, but I was like, split. You know, I think people were saying, okay, he's back. He's back in action. He's back at the top. And then I think glass for me was a bit of a dud. Have you watched it more than once?

[00:38:46] I think I maybe watched, I don't know, the first half hour again at some point, but I have not watched it all the way through again. Okay. I would suggest going back and giving another watch all the way through. I liked it more on the second watch. Okay.

[00:39:01] I'm trying to think, what else has he done? I did... I don't like the village. I don't like Avatar. I think... I enjoy the happening, but not because it's a good movie, but because it's hilarious. As we all do. Yeah.

[00:39:15] So that is truly just, you know, a comedy, comedy classic for me. I think he was trying to be funny, honestly, and he can't tell me otherwise. Yeah. Mark Wahlberg as a scientist? Come on. Do you guys hear about the bees?

[00:39:33] Everything's a question for Mark Wahlberg in that movie. That's how you know he's a scientist. Oh, Lord. But no, and that one's also Zoe Deschanel before she was just sort of, you know, new girl. Great performance. Yeah.

[00:39:48] But I enjoy that one, you know, for all the right reasons. I like M. Night. I'm interested in old. I don't know much about it, obviously, beyond what we've seen, which is just like a beach where people are just sort of like aging. Great.

[00:40:05] That's going to be a great synopsis plot. Tag. You know, it's kind of like what if the cocoon was actually hell? You know, that's kind of like what it feels like. But no, like I'm interested. Why not? Sure. Screw it.

[00:40:23] I'm disappointed with the whole only in theaters thing just because like it's pretty obvious that we're not going to be back, you know, really truly by summer. Yeah. You know, not the way that I think that people would like us to be.

[00:40:38] And so I think that it's still kind of a bad idea to really force that whole only in theaters thing because you're just you're continuing to cause more of a problem. You're continuing to make the people who made the decision behind

[00:40:54] what HBO is doing right now look more right. If you feel that strongly about it, just wait. If you really feel that strongly about it, just wait. You know, stop all advertising. You know, don't tip your hand anymore. Just stop and just wait. I agree.

[00:41:17] How do you feel about old? I think, I mean, the, you know, it's a pretty quick trailer. I think it looks fine. As you mentioned, I always will watch what he does.

[00:41:27] I mean, he has some bad movies, some truly bad films, but I like Lady in the Water. I like Sixth Sense. I like, I really liked Split. I thought the visit was pretty solid. Unbreakable is good. I like the village or did I already say that?

[00:41:43] No, you didn't say you like the village. And then I think that all the others are ones I'm not a fan of, but should give After Earth a rewatch though. Oh God. You never know. I forget all about that one.

[00:41:58] I'm sure everyone wishes that they can forget about that one. But no, I'll be seeing it probably not in theaters. Sorry, M. Night. But no, I'll, I'm definitely curious. Oh yeah, for sure. Do you like signs? Oh yeah. I do like signs. Yeah, that's one I forgot.

[00:42:18] I'm always great with signs until you see the alien. I agree. Absolutely. Yeah, I'm with you totally. The moment you see the man in the suit. Yep. And it looks worse and worse every year. Yeah. I agree.

[00:42:32] Honestly, it's all, it's not too far from almost looking like the scary movie Spoof. Like we're a few more years from it visually being the same quality. Yeah. All right. Now, I mean, there are some other trailers, any others that in particular that struck you

[00:42:50] as ones you wanted to discuss or? Oh well, you know, let's talk about the new Fast and Furious film, you know. Okay. Yeah. So there is the, there's a new promo. There has been a trailer already for it. This one just, you know, throws in some new footage.

[00:43:09] So, and I know you have some thoughts on the franchise. Like I, at this point, this is the ninth one. They are doing very well financially and they're, God help me. They are doing well critically most of the time. So clearly they're doing something right.

[00:43:31] Whether or not you have to like that, you know, purely subjective. I don't think this looks good. I'm sure it's going to do well. I probably will see it. I have not seen Hobbes, no, I did watch Hobbes and Shaw.

[00:43:45] I think I watched about half of Hobbes and Shaw and gave up. So no, I, it's not one. I'm like, oh my God, I can't, it's all about family. It's going to hit me so hard. That's all these movies are about is family as they say.

[00:44:00] So it, it looks ridiculous. Obviously. I think the CG in this trailer looked brutal. Yeah. Through the building. Unforgivable. Oh yeah. So I, I don't think video game quality. Yes. I, I don't think it looks good, but hey, I'm, I'm surely in the minority there. No, I am.

[00:44:23] So I, I love the meathead soap opera that is the Fast and Furious franchise. Yeah. And I should say there are definitely ones in this franchise that I do enjoy genuinely. So I'm not trying to say it's all bad.

[00:44:37] It's just that we are getting more and more ridiculous and it's like, what are we doing here? You know? Yeah. No, for sure. So I absolutely adore in its own weird way. And like, I don't think that they're all necessarily good.

[00:44:54] Most of them actually on a lot of levels just aren't, but they're the right amount of like true just sort of pulp kind of trash entertainment that, that I absolutely enjoy. To me, it's almost right up there with like a maximum overdrive, you know, or something

[00:45:15] like that where it's ludicrous and it's just absolutely doing it so sincerely, you know, like it is leaning so earnestly into the lunacy of its own concept. I think that it does have to end sometime. You know, you can only keep upping the ante so much.

[00:45:37] And I think they said that it's going to end at like 12 or something. Hmm. Okay. So we'll see what happens. Reboot after that. Just a plus show. Paramount Plus as was, you know, debuted at the Super Bowl as well. Yeah. So, you know, I'll watch it for sure.

[00:46:01] I still actually haven't gotten around to Hobbs and Shaw. We should do a bonus show where we just do the entire franchise. Sure. Let's just take 10 hours out of our day and do that. Yeah, you know. Yeah.

[00:46:15] No, I'm in agreement with, you know, really all that you said. And I've talked about it on the show before, but I think it's a great show before, but like I'm not a car guy. I'm not someone who like sees a car like a cool car.

[00:46:30] I'm like, oh my God, this is like the best day in my life, you know, or or, you know, works on cars. However, and maybe it's the North Carolina and me, I don't know. I love racing. I love like watching cars listening to motors roar.

[00:46:45] Like I love that. You know, for example, like that's one of the reasons why I love Mad Max. It's just a car chase. You know, it's high octane as they say. And so that element, I think it actually is beneficial that they're moving

[00:47:00] further away from the street racing because really there's only so much you can do with that. One person is going to have the nitro. He's going to kick ass and it's going to be, you know, victory.

[00:47:10] And so I tend to watch these movies just because I enjoy watching racing, although I think the more glossy macho element is just kind of there for me. You know, I it you can't really have one without the other most of the time. No, that's fair.

[00:47:29] You know, I mean, if you want like a truly great modern car movie, then you're definitely looking more at something I'd say like a baby driver or even like the very first fast and furious film and maybe even Tokyo drift.

[00:47:42] But beyond that, you know, we're getting into ridiculousness and and and CG land aplenty. So no, I you know, apparently they're going to go to space at some point. Let's watch Vin Diesel do donuts with a moon rover. Yeah. Yeah. Well, yeah, that one.

[00:48:05] That one was just a joy to watch. Yeah. Any others, Paul? No, I mean, I honestly actually didn't watch the Super Bowl. I only watched bits and pieces. No. Well, the Super Bowl was happening. I was watching the little things that's what I was doing. Yeah. Okay.

[00:48:23] Well, with news done, I guess we can do a listener question. So the film buds podcast at gmail.com is where you can reach us at also Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at film buds. So if you've not followed us there yet, please do.

[00:48:37] You can join the mailing list at the film buds dot com very easily and stay up to date with things. And so yeah, please, if you're a new listener, or if you have been listening for a while, please send us any questions,

[00:48:49] comments, doesn't even have to be about movies. Just send us a comment. So the one we got, I think it was maybe early last week, this one was on Twitter from Tarleky. And Tarleky says, hi, do you think we are lowering our quality standards for movies and television?

[00:49:10] For example, is oversaturation of quote unquote, good TV causing people to lose sense of what a truly great TV show is. Same goes for movies. Many of your recent reviews have consistently had lack, luster ratings. Paul, is that the cause? Thanks for the podcast.

[00:49:31] Paul, what are you thinking? Are we lowering our standards or are we just cynics? It's a great question. There's a lot going on with it. Am I a cynic to an extent? Yeah, I guess a little bit. I guess by certain people standards,

[00:49:54] probably some sort of film snob. Yeah, probably. But you know, it's something that I care deeply about and I'm passionate about so whatever. Do I think that our standards are lowering kind of the same? I think that our standards are lowering kind of yes.

[00:50:14] I think that the issue isn't though oversaturation is certainly a part of it and the fact that people are really doing like a time crunch with so many of these movies and it's such a race

[00:50:29] and so much of like you got to get it big in the first weekend. Like that is certainly a big part of the issue, I think. But I think that there's more going on with it than just that.

[00:50:40] But I'll get into that sort of as we keep going. What do you think? I think we kind of are. I mean, with TV for example, I mean we're kind of in a golden age of TV where there's a lot of great TV. But at the same time,

[00:50:56] I think there are so many great pieces of TV and they're all at the same standard that many are being lost. And so it's like, okay, so what is the defining show of our era? Or is there just not meant to be one? Because I think 10 years ago,

[00:51:12] we could look at something like True Detective and that's always one that sticks with a lot of people. But now it's like truly every week, there's a new fantastic show on Netflix, on Amazon, on Hulu, that you have to watch. It's so good.

[00:51:27] And perhaps we're not lowering our standards, but I think we are kind of becoming a little desensitized to quality. You know, with movies, especially now with COVID, I don't know for lowering our standards, we're more so just dealing the cards that we have.

[00:51:44] We can't really do much about the situation and we just got to get through it. And so in that front, no, I mean, I think the whole marvelification of Hollywood has hurt it a little bit. I don't like cinematic universes 99% of the time.

[00:52:02] And I think those are starting to hurt it. They're starting to cause people to be less original and more hog-tied to previous IPs. So I think in that way, I think our standards are going down a little bit,

[00:52:17] but it's not like it's at some desperate point or something. No, I mean, it's not desperate yet. No, I mean, it's not desperate yet. I think that on top of it being... Part of the reason for the oversaturation is that so much of the film industry

[00:52:43] is now so tied up with major conglomerates that are massive publicly traded entities that have to answer to Wall Street and to the whims of the market. And the goal of every business every year that is on the New York Stock Exchange

[00:53:04] is to perform preferably better than you did before. And so part of the reason for the rat race is also because so much of this is now tied up with not just big business, but enormous business. Many, many billion dollar a year business

[00:53:22] to the point that like what these companies are actually doing and making money at pales in comparison really to what they're making from the studios that they own. They're doing it because it's another way for them to brand content and extend further into your pocket

[00:53:40] than they already have. But that's part of the reason for the whole rush. But then on top of that, you also just have like a real decline in like overall like media literacy, I think from people where people aren't really taught how to critically analyze shows,

[00:53:55] how to dig deeper into them. And so I think that part of the problem is that people are looking at the trappings of what looks like a prestige show. Right. And being like, oh, it has a good cast. It has good actors.

[00:54:09] It has these names that I recognize. But it's really just doing the bare minimum at a higher quality level. But it's not actually creating like a thoughtful new exciting experience. That's why things like us and get out stand out is because those are truly elevating the experience,

[00:54:32] introducing new ideas and challenging some themes and doing more. And so, you know, I think that there's a big difference between having to parse through the content that you're looking at and be like what's actually good. Versus what has the trappings of being good.

[00:54:50] You know, like a movie that has all the trappings of being good is the great Gatsby movie with Leo DiCaprio. Great film. That movie has all the trappings, you know, of like, oh, it's a great movie, but like it's not.

[00:55:03] But there are a lot of people who think it is because people are blinded by shiny things. Yeah. I agree. I think also in terms of over saturation with, I think there is a lot of good content being made right now.

[00:55:23] But you know, for example, like with True Detective, you know, with new shows coming out every single week that are of high quality most of the time, it's like, you know, back 10 years ago, if we got a True Detective every single week,

[00:55:39] we would just start to become desensitized and almost take that for granted, almost that quality. But now it's like purely because so many people can make great TV shows or have the opportunity to, I should say, we're losing our sense of,

[00:55:56] like so many shows now they don't really stick with people. It's like, oh, you have to see the new show now and people may love it. But then it's on to the next week because the new season of this is coming out

[00:56:06] or this whole new cinematic universe TV series is coming out. And so it's like people are very quickly losing the shows that have, or the movies that have stuck with them, I think, and that would normally make an impact and leave a longer impression, you know,

[00:56:23] and have more longevity. Whereas now it's just purely like time consumption, you know, seems to be the, or social media buzz. No, for sure. I mean, I think that that's why all those directors when Warner Brothers made that change

[00:56:40] and was putting all the films over on to HBO Max and all of that, I think that the big driving force for the directors was, oh God, we're continuing to sort of YouTube-ify film where everything is streaming. It's all just out there, you know,

[00:56:57] if you have access to these platforms and it's just getting dropped out into the ether for someone to maybe eventually see it, you know, it very much feels like YouTube. And I think that that was why all those directors were very much kind of like, whoa,

[00:57:14] and pulling up on the reins a little bit. And I think that that's why Chris Nolan was irritated and why Denis Villeneuve was irritated was because it suddenly does, I think you're right, sort of devaluate by just making it so like just available

[00:57:27] and I think that the way that they're trying to compromise is by making it a limited window. Wonder Woman's gonna be gone at a certain point, the little things is gonna be gone at a certain point, but like for how long is it gonna be gone

[00:57:37] before it comes back? You know, these are all other questions. Once theater's open, are you recommitted to re-releasing things theatrically, or these things that are... There's a lot at play with what's going on with what's going on with why people are taking content for granted

[00:57:58] and also why standards are lowering to a degree. Because honestly, like this film should have never been made. Like the little things should have never been made or at least never been made with the cast that it was made with. So like I definitely think

[00:58:11] that there's a lowering of standards. I think it's ridiculous that like the Mandalorian got a Golden Globe nomination when there was certainly better genre television coming out years ago, that didn't get the kind of praise that the Mandalorian is getting. So no, I definitely think

[00:58:30] that we're lowering our standards somewhat, but it's definitely an issue that's tied up to a lot of things and over-saturation itself is also tied up with a lot of things. As we would say, it's an intersectional issue. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, that's a good question, Tarly.

[00:58:48] Yeah, thank you. Yeah, and if anyone has thoughts, please feel free to let us know in one of the many avenues that you can. Paul, anything else about the subject? I mean, we could go on for hours about that topic, but...

[00:59:02] Yeah, I mean, it's just a dense one. But I think that it'll... I think that it's... I guess I'll end it on a positive note. I think that it is going to change because I think that some of the issue that's going on right now

[00:59:18] is also just the lack of new influence from younger voices and newer voices and different voices. And I think that once those people actually finally break through and are in positions of power where they're getting to be content creators, I think that we're going to see

[00:59:36] a resurgence in quality of content. Yeah, yeah, that's a good point. So yeah, again, the Film Buds podcast at gmail.com is where you can send us those questions. So cool. I guess we can end off with our picks of the week. Paul, do you have anything or...?

[00:59:55] Yeah, I'm going to go with Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Oh, yeah. My wife and I, each of our movie nights or each of our date nights this month are going to be black stories, black entertainment with majority black productions and cast and things like that.

[01:00:17] And so we started with Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, which is based on a play. Viola Davis, it's Chadwick Boseman's last performance. Great movie, really, really enjoyed it very much. It definitely still feels like a play, but I think that it does a great job of adapting its material.

[01:00:36] I think it hits really nicely with a lot of themes of today about the exploitation of black entertainment and things like that. And it's a tremendous set of performances from everyone involved. I very much enjoyed the movie. And I think that it's worth a watch

[01:00:55] if you have a Netflix subscription. Cool. What about you? What's your pick of the week? I got a couple of quick things. So I rewatched Lars and the Real Girl with Ryan Gosling. And I really enjoy it. It's very odd, but it's very earnest and quite funny.

[01:01:14] I think Ryan Gosling is quite good in it. He kind of has that people give him crap for having that effortless style. But I think in this, he really makes that character what it is and he really carries it.

[01:01:26] So if you want a very earnest, sweet, quirky film, it's worth a watch. And then I have started watching Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt as well on Netflix, which I watched when it first came out the first couple episodes, but I never kept up with it.

[01:01:44] In season two now, overall, I like it. In terms of Tina Fey's work, I think 30 Rock is far better this show. It has a lot going for it, but I think it does have some lesser parts and lesser writing, I think a lot of the time.

[01:02:02] But I think Titus Burgess is amazing in it. I mean, Ellie Kemper is always great. Jane Krakowski, she is essentially playing the character she plays in 30 Rock. And that's kind of a good and a bad thing. It does feel like it's just that character, but out of 30 Rock.

[01:02:20] But no, it is quite funny at times and it does have that Tina Fey genius in it. And so yeah, I'll keep up with it and it's been a fun time. And then lastly, I've been watching this this Iraq War documentary series called Marine Recon.

[01:02:42] And it's possible when it was on TV, it had a different name, but it's on Amazon Prime now. And it's just about this Marine Recon unit, which are essentially the higher level marine infantry in the military going about their daily lives in Iraq,

[01:02:59] having to do traffic stops and security inspections and all of that. And so obviously saying all of that, the audience for that is a bit niche, niche. It's not for everybody, but if you enjoy that kind of thing, it's worth a watch. Interesting.

[01:03:17] I'll also throw out Wandavision also if you haven't gotten into it. It's definitely still getting better for me every episode. That's why I've been here. If you haven't gotten into it, yeah, definitely jump into it. That's another thing that I've been pretty hooked on.

[01:03:30] I'm catching it every week. And yeah, I think that might be about it. Paul, anything else you want to mention, man? About anything in the world? No, keep safe. I can't warn any of you off if you have gone to Super Bowl parties,

[01:03:47] but if you have gone to Super Bowl parties, try and find out if anyone is showing symptoms shortly thereafter, so that way you can quarantine if you need to. Everyone, we're good, but it still is going to continue to be a continued effort from everyone. Keep watching stuff.

[01:04:08] Sure. Keep making stuff. As always, do whatever it is that's making you happy and keep doing it, because it certainly is still a long ride. I mean, it's only February, folks. Yeah. Yeah. Now, next week, Paul, I mean, you've been looking ahead.

[01:04:29] So you want to say what we're going to be doing next week? I guess we've established something, haven't we? Yeah. So next week, we're going to have on Nick Delgadillo, hopefully. He's a friend of mine. He's a film critic. He and I went to college together.

[01:04:47] We were roommates. I think I actually may have met him. Yeah. I think you did as well. Okay. So he's a great guy, and he writes for a few different publications for film and TV criticism. He's a great guy, great energy,

[01:05:04] and he recently did the Sundance Film Festival digitally. And so we're going to be doing Judas and the Black Messiah, which is an upcoming film starring Daniel Coluia and Lekeith Stanfield. And it's about the co-intel pro operation that led to the assassination of Fred Hampton,

[01:05:24] one of the heads of the Black Panther Party in Illinois. And we're going to hopefully have Nick on, and it'll be a three-way chat from us, and it'll be a good time, hopefully. He's a great energy. He's feisty, so it'll be fun. Sweet.

[01:05:37] Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. And again, just stay updated on social media and at thefilmbudds.com for all the details, behind the scenes looks, all that fun stuff. So yeah, cool. Well, Paul, man, as always, thanks for taking the time.

[01:05:52] It's great to talk to you as always. Yeah, thanks for chatting with me. It's always a good reason to go out and watch something new. Yeah. Always a reason to do something. Yeah. Yeah. All right, everybody. Well, yeah, please stay safe.

[01:06:09] Take care and we'll see you next time.