Kermode & Mayo’s Take - Aimee Lou Wood on Film Club + a DOUBLE BILL of films of the week

Episode Date: October 2, 2025

Vanguardistas have more fun—so if you don’t already subscribe to the podcast, join the Vanguard today via Apple Podcasts or extratakes.com for non-fruit-related devices. In return you’ll get a whole extra Take 2 alongside Take 1 every week, with bonus reviews, more viewing recommendations from the Good Doctors and whole bonus episodes just for you. And if you’re already a Vanguardista, we salute you.  Our very special guest from the small screen this week is Aimee Lou Wood. The White Lotus star is back on British screens this month in ‘Film Club’—a BBC rom com that celebrates the healing power of love and, of course, movies. Wood has co-written the series too, and she sits down with Simon to unpack it. She shares what her writing debut has taught her, how she’s channeling the spirit of classic rom coms and bringing back “neurotic chatterboxes falling in love”. We might even have a scoop on her next big writing project...     Plus Mark reviews the week’s most exciting cinema releases. First up, ‘The Smashing Machine’—Benny Safdie’s UFC fighter biopic starring The Rock as you’ve never seen him before. Plus, the much-anticipated directorial debut from Harris Dickison—who you’ll know from ‘Triangle of Sadness’, ‘Scrapper’, ‘Babygirl’ and more. His social realist tale ‘Urchin’ stars Frank Dillane as the homeless Mike—and it looks an indie treat. Last but not least, another nail-biter from Kathryn Bigelow, ‘A House of Dynamite’, which charts the terrifying moments following a nuclear missile launch headed towards the US. Not soothing viewing.     We’re keeping the banter coming too though with the Laughter Lift and the Good Doctors’ thoughts on your stellar correspondence—plus news of our upcoming LIVE Christmas Extravaganza! Tickets here—available from 3pm TODAY: fane.co.uk/kermode-mayo       Timecodes (for Vanguardistas listening ad-free):    Urchin Review: 03:39 (clip 05:37-06:32)  Box Office Top Ten: 12:06  Aimee Lou Wood Interview: 22:47  Film Club Review: 38:23 (23:14 – 24:02)  Laughter Lift: 45:18  The Smashing Machine Review: 51:19 (clip 53:02-53:57)  House of Dynamite Review: 1:01:34 (clip 1:02:52-1:03:45)        You can contact the show by emailing [e-mail] or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo  Please take our survey and help shape the future of our show: https://www.kermodeandmayo.com/survey   EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/take Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!  A Sony Music Entertainment production.      Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts    To advertise on this show contact: [e-mail]  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey Mark. You know we had Warren Ellis on the show last month? I do. It had me thinking about fabulous outfits. If I wanted to dress like Warren, do I really have to go all the way to Australia? Well, how about going there while never leaving showbiz North London? With NordVPN, you can surf like a local unlocking global content with a single click in 111 countries. I could get there cybernetically while keeping my activity encrypted. And now they have an app too, handy for banking and sensitive data. Plus, Nord are collaborating with Marvel superheroes on a new digital comic. Info on their website.

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a curated streaming service dedicated to elevating great cinema. Mooby is the place to discover ambitious films by visionary filmmakers all carefully hand-picked. So you can explore the best of cinema streaming anytime, anywhere. Mark, what have Mooby got up their sleeves for us this October? Well, Simon, there's a very exciting new release coming to UK Cinemas on October. The 204th, The Mastermind.

It's the new film from Kelly Reichard, the brilliant director of Meeks cutoff, night moves and first cow, which we interviewed the great Toby Jones. It went down a storm in Cannes early this year. It stars Josh O'Connor, of course, another Kermode and Mayo favourite, alongside Lanaheim, Gabby Hoffman, Hope Davis and Bill Camp. Visit mooby.com slash mastermind for showtimes and tickets. And to stream great films at home, you can try Mooby free for 30 days at Mooby.com slash Kermud and Mayo. That's Mubi.com for a whole month of great cinema for free. Before we begin, a quick reminder that you can become a Vanguard Easter and get an extra episode every Thursday, including bonus reviews.

Extra viewing suggestions. Viewing recommendations at home and in cinemas. Plus your film and non-film questions answered as best we can in questions, Schmestian. You can get all that extra stuff via Apple Podcasts or head to extra takes.com for non-fruit related devices. There's never been a better time to become a vanguard Easter. Free offer, now available, wherever you get your podcasts. And if you're already a vanguard Easter, we salute you. Stephen Spielberg is the consummate director of contemporary cinematic childhood. His films are drenched in

youth, as is this book. Children have been his most... This is very good. Anyway, my latest internet delivery has arrived. Fantastic. That was my internet shopping of the week, and it finally came. It only took like 10 days or something, two weeks. God, it's amazing living in the modern world, isn't it? Everything moves so fast. The Christmas, the Cumberdomew Christmas movie Spectacular is back. It is. It is amazingly. It's back on December the 7th. It's at 2.30 p.m. in the afternoon. at the Prince Edward Theatre in the West End, the glamorous West End of London.

Yes. Festive, cinematic witterings and characteristic bickering, live on stage in a sequel that gives this year's biggest blockbusters a run for their money, it says here. A Christmassy extravaganza, it says here, will feature all the best bits from the podcast, so reviews of the week's newest releases, interviews with the stars of the silver screen,

and I'm afraid the Christmas Cracker Laughter Lift, I'm sorry. Is it still a silver screen? Well, actually, funny enough, some of them are, some of them aren't. I was in Sonny the other day, and I was talking the projection next. I had two screen options, not that Sonny, the other Sonny, not Us Sonny, the other Sonny. Not Wayland Utani, Sonny, but Sonny, Sonny, Sonny. When I said to Adam, which are the two screens of the bed? He said, well, that one's got a silver screen.

So, okay, fine, I'll go for that. It's slightly brighter. Plus the return of Simon and Marks to mind, our Christmas quiz, where the audience members will go head-to-head in a film buff battle for the ages for a VIP pass to come and have a mince-by with backstage and prizes do not get more worthless than that. How important do you have to be? And tip-top guests, I don't know who they are yet, but of course last year we had the brilliant Nick Park and Wallace and Gromit. Sunday 7th of December, 230pm, ticket start £27.50, and the dedicated link is

Fane.com.com.com.comboe-mao. It's a lot of punctuation here. So that's Fane-F-A-N-E.org slash ker-mode-hifon mayo. is going to be live from 3pm on Thursday. We look forward to seeing you there and you can email correspondence at kerberdemo.com for any other business. I have got my outfit already sorted.

Have you? That's something very, very lovely. What are you going to wear? I am going to come dressed as Leonardo DiCaprio's character in one battle after another, which is very similar to the guy, what's the name of the Lee character?

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Arthur Dent. Arthur Dent. So Arthur Dent in his dressing gown is pretty much where Leonardo DiCaprio is for one battle after another. Arthur Dent or as he is referred to all the way through by Slarty Bartfast, Dent Arthur Dent. Because Slarty Bartfast says to him

what's your name and he says Dent, Arthur Dent. Arthur Dent. Arthur Dent. Okay, very good. So in fact, that could be quite an interesting thing. If you come with your dressing gown, you would instantly look like either you're in hitchhikers or you're in a Paul Thomas Anderson film. Yeah, I think that kind of depends on... I just realise that.

The bedraggled demeanour of the rest of you. I actually haven't got a dressing count. So that's going to have to change, I think. Okay. I know what to want for Christmas. Anyway, correspondence at codemoe.com. We look forward to hearing from you. Tell us about a movie that's out and fabulous,

or just interesting. Yeah, well, fabulous as it happens. Urchin, which is the feature directorial debut from Harris Dickinson, British actor who came on the show. I think he came on our show. Did he come to talk about Scrapper or was he talking about Triangle of Sadness? The ship film.

Triangle of Sadness. The ship vomiting film, yeah. Obviously previously in Beach Rats County Lines and then co-starved with the Cole Kidman in Baby Girl. Also writes this and appears in it

in a cameo role in Urchin although I had interviewed him on stage at the BFI and he said, yeah, I only came in to that role. Actually, it's not a cameo role. It's a fairly major role. He said there was somebody else earmarked for it. But at the very last moment, they couldn't do it. And because we've done so much prep, I stepped into it because we didn't think somebody else could get up to speed fast enough. So, stars are Frank Delane, who won the Uncertain Regard Best Actor Award at Cannes. So he's Michael, who we meet apparently

living rough, seeing him begging on the streets. Someone tries to help him out, office to take him to a cafe to buy him, you know, some food. Instead, he assaults them, beats them up, steals their watch, and promptly gets arrested. The assault is brutal. His manner is desperate, and as I said, the consequences are fairly swift. And then, when he gets out of prison, the film basically follows his attempts to find his feet in the world. We see him being processed for temporary accommodation. We see him trying to find work.

We see him trying to make friends and contacts and then finding work and trying to hold down the job. But something is fundamentally out of whack. His personality is very abrasive, very aggressive, and he essentially blames everyone else for his problems. Here's a clip with a little taste of Urchin. Why are you acting like this for no reason? I come in here all the time. Hold on one time, I'm sorry. I'll come out with leftovers later.

I drop it back. I'll do that for you, my friend. My friend? Go and get it, I'll give you this stuff. Just go and get your money and then come. Say, why are you acting like this? Acting like this for no reason? What's wrong with you?

Why don't you trust me? Why don't you trust me? I get some long papers. Why don't you trust me? I'm an honest person. I'm fucking work hard. I'm trying to be... One ponder.

You know? Thank you. Every day I wake up to this feeling, man. It's like, someone's there just saying, no, you can't come in, you know? It's like, no, no, no, not for you. Not for you.

So you get a sense of it. The music for the film is by Alan Nicon, who's a British composer, who I hadn't actually come across before. Sounds like a John Carpenter score. With that kind of, yeah, that sort of electronic strange. It's a little bit of Salton Precinct 13

going on in the back end there, isn't it? Yeah. So the thing is that he's essentially very hard character to like. I mean, and the thing that I was thinking of immediately was like the Safty Brothers, that film, Heaven knows what. And in fact, there'll be more talk

of the Safti Brothers later on in the program. And the challenge for filmmakers, in both cases, is how do you make an audience care about a character who is basically doing everything they can to alienate everyone around them, everyone on screen, and therefore by implication, everyone in the audience. And I think it is a real credit to Harris Dickinson and his filmmaking that he is able to do that. He is able to kind of draw you into the world of a character who is really, really hard to get on with because they are struggling with getting on with themselves. And there's

no sense of soft soaping the character's behavior. I mean, as I said at the beginning, when you see him assaulting this guy, he's trying to help, it's, you know, it's horrible. But the approach is very non-judgmental, and it encourages us, the audience, if not to sympathize with this character, but to empathize with them, to attempt to understand how it is that they are, where they are, and why they are. So on the one hand, the film has this kind of gritty edge, which whenever you talk about, I suppose, some British movies with a gritty social realist edge, you end up saying, well, it's like Ken Loach, because you think, you know, that what you're watching is a kind of snapshot of life on the streets, and it seems to be very realistic,

but, you know, the kind of depiction of how people can fall through the cracks, how people can fall through the cracks in a system and get lost in the system. But there is also another element to it. There's this kind of strange, dreamy, slightly hallucinogenic element that takes us into this this other world, apparently going, apparently the camera sort of goes down a plug hole and then into this mossy cave with a shaft of light, which seems to be something different and transcendent. And, you know, I mean, if David Lynch did that, it would be deeply sinister. Actually, I think in this particular case, it's kind of a, it's like a fragment of light breaking into his world. I mean, I thought it was, it was meant to be uplifting. And I thought it was meant to

sort of to flag up an element of hope in the story. Anyway, that's what I thought. So, The style, the filmmaking style, has been compared to Andrea Arnold. I think I'd add to that, it reminded me of people like Claire Barnard and Lynn Ramsey. And those are very, very good touchstones. I mean, if you're talking about a homegrown, down-to-earth filmmaker who manages to mix the grit with something transcendent, I think that's incredibly good company to be. And as I said, it's a very promising debut. And when Harris Tigginson came in the show, the thing I remember about him was that he was really dedicated.

I mean, do you remember this? He said that he really needs things to be, you know, to work and to be in order. And he really studies and he thinks about what he's doing. And he's really, really dedicated to it. Now, the same thing when I interviewed him at the BFI, I think he's, you know, he's a very committed filmmaker. And I think on the basis of this, he's got a very strong career behind the camera as well as in front of the camera ahead of him. Can I ask you a question here, just because it's, I find these things interesting. What do you think an urchin is without looking it up?

What do you think it means when you see the word urchin? So the first thing I would think is street urchin. That's the phrase that I would think of. So it's like a young, scrappy kid on the street. That's what I think urchin means. But you're about to tell me that it doesn't mean that. Well, I would just find, you know, I mean, that is precisely exactly what it means. It's a 13th century, you know, it's from 1,300 roundabout.

And it means hedgehog. No. A hedgehog, a small spiny mammal of the old world. And so here's how it's been applied, right? It comes from Cumbria in Yorkshire in origin. Used to apply to people whose appearance suggest hedgehog from hunchbacks in the 1520s, goblins in the 1580s, bad girls in the 1530s, and then poor and raggedy-clothed youngsters a bit later on like 1550s.

But I found that, I just think that's amazing. So we've applied urchin to whoever we think is the kind of person to avoid of the moment. Wow. Wow. I never knew that. Like I said, when I hear it, I always hear it with the word street urchin. And I think of sort of young, raggedy, raggedy, you know, street raking kids is what I would think of. Like a ragamuffin, that kind of thing.

Yes. Anyway, but how good to know that Karis Dickinson is going to be with us for, you know, whether he's making movies or starring movies for many decades. Yeah. No, he's very, very. talented. And I just remember the intensity of when we first met him. And that was, you know, was present again when I told him, he's very serious about his craft. He takes it very, very seriously. Going to be back in just a moment, unless you're one of the hardcore, obviously,

with what particular? I was just going to say your bit, but you might as well say your bit. Well, still to come, we have reviews of the Smashing Machine, House of Dynamite, and of course Film Club with our special guest, Amy Lewood. And we'll also have our UK and US box office top 10. And of course, Mark's favorite feature, which is the laughter lift, which just gets better and more incomprehensible. And, of course, Amy Lou Wood after that. Now, Mark, if you've shopped online, chances are you've bought from a business powered by Shopify. You know that purple shop pay button you see at checkout. The one that makes buying so incredibly easy, that Shopify. And there's a reason so many businesses sell with it. Shopify,

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and start selling today at Shopify.co.com.uk slash take. Go to Shopify.com.ukuk slash take. Shopify.com.com.uk slash take. Now, Mark, you just realized your business needed to hire someone yesterday. How can you find amazing candidates fast? Easy. Just use Indeed. When it comes to hiring, Indeed is all you need. Stop struggling to get your job posts seen on other job sites.

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to get your jobs more visibility at Indeed.com slash Kermode Mayo. Just go to Indeed.com slash Kermode Mayo right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com slash Kermode Mayo. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring, Indeed is all you need. Okay, so here comes the box office top 10. Number 14 is the dead of winter. Which I think is terrific. I think Emma Thompson is great in it. And I think it's got, you know, it's a really well-told thriller that I didn't know anything about it other than the title when I went in. And obviously, it's a bit far ago in the accent and also in the tone. But it's, no, I thought it was terrific.

And Emma Thompson is great in it. It's number 13 in the US and Canada. Thomas Toole. Let's go with Thomas Toole. Greetings, more camera and wiser. A trip to our local fleepet in Swords County Dublin on Saturday to enjoy dead of winter. as I do not want to reveal anything about the plot I will merely say impressive performances all round

with Emma Thompson excelling in her role that I now think of of thanks to one specific scene as Granbo now we look forward to our next cinematic adventure thanks to you for you and your crew for stellar work Thomas Tool thank you very much Thomas so does Granbo make sense to you

I can kind of imagine where that's taking us it does but I think that thing about you know, let's not say, because one of the reasons I really enjoyed it. I said this in the review was that I knew so little when I went in other, I mean, I didn't even know what genre it was. I just assumed that from dead of winter it was a thriller, but that was, you know, that was all I knew. Number 13, Spider-Man 2.1. So this is the slightly longer version of Spider-Man 2 because the Toby McGuire movies are

back in cinemas because it's some kind of anniversary. Number 10 here, number 10 over there, a big, bold, beautiful journey. About which we had a very interesting list of correspondence last week saying that somebody had been to see it and really liked it and really found it moving. It didn't work for me. I think it's Koganada's least successful film, but I admire its ambition. I do. I think that it's, I just wish that it came together better than it did. And number nine is bad guys too. 10th week. 10th week in the charts. And I have nothing more to say about it than what I've said

every time, which is it's bad guys too. You know bad guys? It's that, but two. Number eight in the UK, number three in Canada, demon slayer, Kimetsu No, Jaiba, Infinity Castle. So, again, as I said, when I talked about it last week, visually, I thought it was really impressive. I can't pretend that I understood what was going on all the time because I didn't, because I'm not sort of steeped in this. But just from a kind of visual point of view, I enjoyed it. Obviously, the people who have made it the big hit that it is know much more about the story and the story arcs than I do. Number seven is they call him, is that Og or OG? Well, I imagine it's OG.

So I haven't seen this. This wasn't pressed screen. This is an Indian action crime film. If anyone's seen it, let us know. We say this every week. It wasn't pressed screen, so didn't get a chance to look at it. When I saw this, I thought it was the Stranglers Chapter 2, but it's not at number 6 here. Number 5 in America is the Strangers Chapter 2.

Yeah, the Strangers Chapter 2, not to be confused with the Strangers 2, they pray at night. this is actually the Strangers 4, and it's part of the Rennie Harlan trilogy, which is 3, 4 and 5. And considering that the first Strangers movie was not that great the first time round, but is now considered to be a cult classic, I think largely on the basis of the fact that so many of the sequels have been so pedestrian. I mean, I just, well, it did give me an opportunity to say that at one point the heroin is attacked by a bore. She was nearly bored to death.

So were the rest of us. So for that, I'll give it a pass, but it's rubbish. Adam Kamak says, as a fan of The Strangers 08 and its sequel, along with Rennie Harlan, I straight up don't understand the point of this trilogy. They might be the most unnecessary movies in existence. Very good. And that's from a fan. Yes, exactly.

Top five at number five, although 24 in America, is The Roses. Yeah, still haven't. I still haven't. I mean, I'm going to, every time I see that poster. No, you're not. Well, no, I will. Look, it was that or demon, it was that or demon slayer, okay? So I did demon slayer.

Give me a break. So how many weeks does it have to be in the chart until you go and see it? What would you say? I don't know. I keep hoping that it's going to be gone. Apparently it's quite good. I mean, people I know. So you're not going to see it?

No, I will try. Look, I was off for a week. I was off for a week. And there's one film that I haven't seen as a result of being off for a week. There it is. Number five, The Roses. But it's number 24 in America, so he gets. The Long Walk is at number four?

Again, fascinating correspondent. Last week, from somebody who wrote in and said, for them, it was a film about friendship, and they found it really moving as that. I mean, I found it an incredibly bleak, dystopian portrait, which rings true in modern-day America, despite the fact that it was written specifically in response to the Vietnam War. So it's Long Walk at number four, number seven in America. Number three here, four over there is the country.

during last rights, about which we have said enough, probably. Yes. Number two here and number six in America is Downton Abbey, the grand finale. So you have to say, that's doing pretty well. Yes, but we never thought it wouldn't. There was never any suggestion that downtown Abbey, with the huge fan base that it has, in a movie that does exactly what it says on the tin, was going to do well. The one point that I made about it when it came out, and I stand by this is,

as far as independent cinemas are concerned, this is the kind of, of thing. This is the gift that we'll keep giving, because particularly with the older audience, you know, you can keep playing this and it will pack the cinemas out. And so good for it. I mean, I thought it was a very unremarkable film, but it was doing exactly what it needs to be doing and it is bringing people into cinemas. A left wing dressing gowns, ahoy, at number one here and over there, one battle after another. Well, why don't you do emails first? Because, I mean, honestly, I looked back at the length of the review last week, and it was one of the longest reviews I'd done. So I'd

think I've said a lot. I mean, I loved it. What are the emails think? Dear Glottal Stop and Mumbles, this is from DT. I greatly enjoyed Mark's review of the latest Paul Thomas Anderson film, but couldn't work out for the life of me why it was called wombat laughter another. Perhaps I missed heard. So, wombat, laughter, another was the three-word title that DT heard, as opposed to one battle after another. Anyway, apparently lots of other people have said the same thing. So it's the wombat film. Thomas Kirkby on our YouTube channel, Johnny Greenwood is the Leonard Bernstein second coming. Just got out of a screening and wow. In Mission Impossible, the stunts were great, but you knew Tom was going to make it because he's Tom Cruise.

Here, the car chase, in the car chase, I didn't know who was going to live or die, highly reminiscent of Sam Peckinpar, Dr. Strangelove, French connection, Cohen Brothers and Russ Mayer, question mark. Tony and Todmorden just wanted to say on Johnny Greenwood's score for one battle after another the use of chaos in the score was beautifully resolved in those little password devices that detect each other in close proximity

after hours of chaos and the most artful car chase I've ever seen we finally hear harmony when the lead characters see safety and its dietic, masterful stuff I think it's the kind of thing although that's a bit of a spoiler

I suppose there's a thing that gets set up very early on you think, okay, we're going to, that's going to resolve itself a little bit later. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yada 7360, that car chase scene by itself needs a nomination for cinematography. It does. Dear Paul Thomas and Anderson, from Arthur, student of the Portsmouth Karate Club,

Shota Khan of the England Karate Union. And it has that, which is the key, I think, to this email. Right. What a disappointment one battle after another has been. Admittedly, I went in with very high expectations following PTA's past work and excellent recent reviews, but I would never have anticipated leaving the theatre feeling so uninspired. Despite the film being in many ways well produced, with interesting performances, it invokes and plays around with a great deal of extremely present issues and movements,

immigration, racism, white supremacy, black revolution, without ever feeling like it's able to connect with any of it. While I can't claim to be an expert on these topics, I suspect many people closer to these elements in real life will have a great deal to say. The best metaphor I can use is the one scene I can offer informed opinion on, the brief scene in which the young Willer is performing Hyann-Niedon Carter at her local karate club. As a first Dan Black Belt, I was able to recognize the cutter immediately and that the actress was using the right moves in the right order, but without apparent

understanding how each movement is applied. The result is a cutter lacking the dynamism to give impact or show that the student understands what they've been taught. While the scene itself didn't bother me, it provided a useful metaphor for the rest of the film, for the whole film, all the right movements in all the right order, but no sense it understands any of it, according to Arthur. Okay, I mean, we used to have a sort of long-running correspondence on the hill upon which I shall die. And actually, this does sound a little bit like that. I mean, when Paul Thomas Anderson was talking about that central piece of casting, he said we had, we were looking very specifically for, you know, a person of this age and this ethnicity

and the background in martial arts. And he said, you know, we looked for however long it was. I think he talked about, you know, like years and years and years. I mean, look, I'm deferring to your knowledge of what she's doing. But I think that the phrase that stands out there is that she gets all the moves right. I think, I think you may be looking for, I think you might be looking for a different, you know, for a level of depth in an actor who's playing that role. Then again, it was the setup for then a very neat, oh, and this is a metaphor for the film itself. So although I don't agree with you, I admire the writing. Thank you, yes. Thank you, Arthur. You can get in touch and you can email correspondence

at cumberlander.com. What's happening next, Mark? Well, coming up, we're going to have reviews of The Smashing Machine, which is a wrestling movie and also House of Dynamite, which is Catherine Bigelow film. But before that, we're going to be looking at TV Film Club with our very, very special guest. Who is Amy Lou Wood along in a moment? With

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Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread Plus at one, So this week's guest is Amy Lou Wood. She became something of a worldwide name with sex education. Clearly her talents have reached beyond that. Most recently seen in White Lotus, season three. She's back with Film Club, a comedy for the BBC, which she both wrote and stars in. You'll hear a clip from the show and then my conversation with Amy Lou Wood. I'm moving away. When? Four weeks. Four weeks?

Yeah. Bristol. Got a job. New one. Good one. Family law? Well done. Yeah, that's what I've always wanted.

I know. That's what I've been aiming for. I know. I'd be remiss to turn it down. Remiss? miss. Sorry, I get four more or whatever. You're nervous, yeah. I'm so happy for you. And that is a clip from a brand new TV show which is called Film Club. It stars Amy Lou Wood, one of the stars. Amy is with us. How are you, Amy? I'm good. How are you? I'm good. Thank you.

And thank you very much for speaking to us. Thank you for having me. So this is promotion for a TV show, but it's kind of different, isn't it? Because this is your show. It is. And it's not like any feeling I've ever had before. The level of vulnerability is so much higher. And it's been, yeah, it's so different to just being the actor. Like it's, it's, it's, it's a lot more personal and it's a lot more raw, the feeling and the nerves. Are you liking that feeling? Are you thinking, okay, this will be something I might be doing again? I love it.

And I always wanted to be a writer rather than an actor. And then the acting kind of came about as a way to build confidence and make friends. But my heart was always in writing. I wanted to be like a Bronte sister. You know, I didn't want to be an actor. So I think I definitely want to write. But it's really great because my best friend's also written. a one-person show and it's the happening at the same time so we both are completely understanding

each other's like it is like your heart when it's your words it's just different it's just different uh so you've co-written this with ralph davis so explain how how you came to work together and quite how long this project has taken so we met at drama school we met at rada and it was the first day it was induction week and we had to do one of those like bonding games it was like a team building exercise and we just got on immediately and we had this shared language like straight away and jokes and we got each of the sense of humor instantly and so we and that day we were like we'll end up writing something together one day and then we did but it's been the actual like conception of the idea to now has been five years and whose idea was it

It was both of our ideas, it was during lockdown, and obviously like the way that everyone kind of started to experience the world was through film and TV. Like we needed film more than ever. Everyone got, it was that was our kind of portal to the outside world, was our, was our screens. And I think everyone just needed story so much and needed adventures, and we couldn't go on them. And so that it kind of came from that feeling of, you know, let's write about someone who is can't experience the world, the real world, because of, you know, an EV, the girl that I play in this, she's had a wobble. She's not left the house for six months. And so her way of expressing herself and also through experiencing it to, is film. It's her film club that she has every Friday evening, which used to be very popular. And now it's just kind of one person turns up who's her best friend now.

When you say had a wobble, what does that mean? So she has, that's what they kind of, all the characters refer to it in the show because they don't really know or want to look at the. from your horrible former flatmate. Yes, exactly. She's kind of the only one who says it as it is, which is she had a, which is, you know, she had a breakdown.

And she just kind of, I think it's a snap. And I think that the world just got way too much for her. And it all got a bit too overwhelming. And she just, she goes back home to her mum and she doesn't leave for six months. And so films are her kind of comfort, but it's more than that. It's like that film club is everything to her because it's kind of her last bit of hope that she's got in this time where she feels so lost.

So did this come out of you and Ralph having a mutual love of film? Was it or was it just expedient for the plot? Well, we wanted to write about friendship for sure and how important that is. always spoke about how platonic love is just as kind of valuable and beautiful and wonderful as romantic love. So we wanted to write about that. But also, we missed, so most of my, I am a, I'm film obsessed, but we missed the kind of old, more nostalgic rom-com. We just thought everything was getting quite kind of silent simmering. Everyone who was

falling in love on TV and in films, it was all very kind of sparse dialogue. everyone was kind of on the back foot it was all kind of like you know these like simmering looks but not really saying anything smouldering and we were like we miss I was like my favourite film is broadcast news I miss Albert Brooks and Holly Hunter

I want those people back I want when Harry met Sally I want chatterboxes like neurotic chatterboxes falling in love like I want Meg Ryan I miss that feel and I think that was kind of our both of our main desire was to kind of bring back that nostalgic kind of those characters, the kind of clever, chatty messes, you know, that fall in love. Your film club has a rule, which is no phones.

And on this show, which I've done with Mark for a number of years, we have a slightly more rigorous code of conduct, which includes no phones, also keep your shoes on, also no snacks, also no drinks, which allowed. Nothing, and if you're eating, nothing harder than a soft roll. Because no one wants to hear you eat, no one wants to hear you drink. Wow. I'm just passing it on for the next series. And you know what?

You need to talk to Evie because she needs some. I mean, no one will even do the phone thing anymore. That's like she can't even get people to give their phones into the basket anymore. Everyone's really getting sloppy in this film club. But I'm with you. I'm very strict as well. And when, if we're watching a film, we're watching a film. We're not, if anyone gets their phone, I take it as a rejection.

It actually hurts my heart when someone gets their phone out during the film. So in the first two episodes, the movies that you're watching are Alien and Wizard of Oz. Yes. Is it a problem that you, do you, did you ask for clips? Did you ask to be able to have some of the music or something? Or is that really not the point? Well, we were obviously, ideally thought, I think we were quite naive in the way we thought, we can have all these clips and you can't, but.

It actually helped in a way with the writing of it because you couldn't, you had to really make sure you were getting the feel of the film within the dialogue and within the atmosphere rather than relying on just clips. But it also kind of, I think, they're also thematically linked to what's going on for Evie

that you kind of, they're the way in. But obviously I was like, oh, can we have somewhere over the rainbow? Can we have this? Can we have that? Can we have that? And everyone's like, do you know how much that cost? This is BBC 3.

Yeah, exactly. I think we've got that budget. Exactly. But it made us have to be really inventive. And I think in a way, it was even more fun of a challenge because we couldn't just rely on. You know, we had to make sure that we were evoking the feeling of the film without having the film.

There's a section early on where your mom played by Surant Jones has taken something that your character wrote at the age of eight from the fridge and reads it out much to your embarrassment. Is that like some, is that you? I mean, were you writing at the age of eight? You said you always wanted to be a writer, but I just wonder if that's part of your life. Well, my mum definitely wouldn't have embarrassed me like that.

But I was writing when I was, when I was little, and I was writing a lot of poems, and I was always reading. So, like, I was less, when I was younger, it was less films, and it was more books, and then it became more film. But, yeah, I definitely was writing, I think quite profound things when I was eight years old.

We always think we're writing profound things at the age. Yeah, but then when you look back at them, you know, when you go, like memory boxes and of all the, like, my schoolwork, I'm like, that's pretty good. And then I look at what this, I was just doing a film and one of the little girls in it wrote me a letter. And it was the most accidentally poetic letter I'd ever read.

Because it was just so from, she was only seven, and it was just from her. And because it was just pure self-expression without any kind of, like, filter and judgment. It was just beautiful. So I think children do, they should be allowed to just be unfiltered and express themselves. The last three things that I've seen you in, this is about, this is a writing question. So living with Bill Knight, written by Katsui Shiger, Toxic Town, written by The Brilliant Jack Thorne who is who writes absolutely everything yeah Robert Carlis came on the show to talk about that and and White Lotus with Mike White now you

so you've written you have been working with some amazing writers yes does any of that do you watch and learn or have you absorbed any of that and what kind of a writer do you think you are oh I love that question and it's very it's it's actually been so incredible because they've all got such different approaches like There's no one right way because it's, so Mike, I think he wrote season one of White Lotus in a week. He's just, he's just stream of consciousness. He just sits down and it just pours out of him. And it's just, he doesn't plan.

He just writes. I hate people like that. He's a genius. It just comes from here and it's just, and it's there. And I think he thinks about it all for a long time. But when he actually sits, a bit like Shakespeare, because he used to think, didn't he? And then he just wrote it all like last minute. Is that right?

Yeah. So he's kind of like Shakespeare. And then Ish, Kaseweu Shiguru, he's like, I just love how he's so, his writing is so tender and it's so delicate and it's so precise and it's, and everything's in the quiet moments and that kind of like, so I think he's just got this very, in Mike's, like, pure energy, pure kind of, chaotic energy, is like this very gentle. it's like he's sculpting something like in the most delicate way and then Jack is so specific he's so so specific he's so I think he's he's very he's one of the most individual people I've ever met he's amazing and I think that he very much likes detail he wants to make sure that everything's extremely clear

and he wants to make sure that the story is very clear And I love that as well Because you never feel I feel like with Jack Everyone feels involved No one feels No one feels left out or isolated When you're watching a Jack Thorne

Everyone It's for everyone And I think that's because he values clarity And honesty And like just Human truth so much So that's what I've learned from them

So if someone comes up to you On set of your show And says Can I say this differently? Yeah Are you collaborative like that Or do you say no no no no I've written, I'm the best writer here.

I've written it, you say it. Certainly not. There were certain lines that I wanted to be said as they were wrote. There were only a few, whereas like it has to be, just because they made me laugh. And then Saran said them, and the first day hearing Saran, because she was always in my head, I always wanted her to play series from the beginning of writing it. And because I just always saw her interview, saw how funny she was. And I felt like she hadn't had an opportunity to be like, show how funny she is.

And so her voice was in my head when I was writing Sews. And so there were certain lines, I was like, I'm saying, because I just need to hate it. When she said it, it was just so, like, better than I imagine. But there were definitely bits where people come up. You know, I loved that part of it. I felt like Holly Hunter in Broadcast News. I was like, had my little script, and they were coming up going,

can we talk about this scene? I was like, absolutely. What would you prefer to say? And then going away and, like, typing it out. It was so fun. So more of it then. I just wonder, as you're the co-writer in this, will you stay as a co-writer?

Or is that slightly difficult sometimes, and you'd quite like to just write your own? Well, I think that Ralph is already writing. He's got a couple of exciting things that he's writing separately. And I think my next thing would be a lone venture also. You know what it is, don't you, already? I think so, yeah. And it's a film. Has it already been agreed?

No, it's just an idea in my head at the moment. But I was actually writing it in my head when I couldn't sleep last night. Is there anything written down? No, nothing's written down, yeah. Is it quite exciting then? I think it will be good. I think it will be good. Are you in it?

I don't want to be in it. No. I really don't want to be in it. I've had that thought a few times in doing film club. I loved it, but my favourite bits were hearing everyone. The days that I wasn't in the scenes and I got to hear Saran and I got to hear Napan and I got to hear the words being said by these amazing actors, that was my favourite bit. My final question, because it's a question which is posed by your show, I don't think it's answered.

If you're having a sissy spaycheck season, do you end or begin with Carrie? I think you end it with Carrie. You end it with the blood and guts. You have to, I think. What do you think? You could argue it both ways. You could argue it both ways, and that's why it's a big question. That's right. Amy Lou would wish you all the best for Film Club

and season two and season three and this other. movie which you've written in your head all begun. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. They were such thoughtful questions. Thank you. I'd do my best. Episode one and I talked together myself there. What did I say at the end? Well done. You were just saying, you know, she said how thoughtful it was and you know, once again, once again you leave somebody that you've interviewed just astonished at your interviewing prowess. Episodes one and two of Film Club

are on at 10pm on BBC 3, October the 7th. The seventh full box set available on iPlayer from 6am on that date. Before we go any further, I'll say, first of all, that movie that she's talking about, she'll be in it. Yes. Even if she doesn't think she'll be in it. And secondly, what is your answer to that, to the question of if you're having a Sissy Spey Check season, do you begin or end with Carrie? Okay, well, first thing, Sissy SpaceSec, not Check. You're giving me a look.

Question is still the same. Yeah, but she's Sissy Space Sack. You end with Coal Miner's daughter. You don't end with Carrie. I mean, I'm sorry, you just don't. You end with coal miner's daughter. I mean, not just because Cissy's Poste won the Oscar for Cold Miner's daughter,

but because you end with Coal Miner's daughter. As a logical argument, that makes absolutely no sense at all. But if that's what you think, then that's absolutely fine. You can't just say you end with it because you do. Well, no, because I would say you end with Coal Miner's daughter because that is, of all the performances, I mean, and there's so many astonishing performances. I mean, you know, she's, it is an amazing filmography and, you know, you can argue that you start, that you end with badlands because you go right back to that or, you know, you come forward to old man or any of those things. You could make any of those arguments. But the thing with coal miners' daughter is that that was, I mean, certainly in terms of the acclaim of it, that was one of the greatest moments of her career in her Oscar speech was absolutely lovely. So I would, I would say that. I don't think you, I don't think you, I mean, she was, I think she was nominated for Carrie, but she

I don't think she didn't win for Carrie. But, yeah, no, I think there is an argument. I think starting a Sissy's Basic season with Carrie is fine. I mean, you should actually really start it with Badlands, but I think it's fine. Okay, it was just a mere detail in Amy Lou Woods' opening episodes. I did indeed. No, well, it seemed to be a decent question. Anyway, Film Club.

Yes. What do you reckon? Well, so just to recap, as you said, a six-episode TV series on BBC 3, and therefore I presume I player, starring co-written by Amy Lee Wood with Rappell. She's Evie, who's a young woman who's retreated into her mum's house after having a breakdown. Essentially, she's become agoraphobic, can't go out. She's very good friends with the number of his ones, Noah, who is her best friend. They've been doing this film club for years in her garage, but now he is moving away to pursue his career.

So there's a whole sort of bunch of crisis things going on. She's got an incredibly slimy boyfriend who literally has a label on his head, which says, do not trust me as far as you could throw me. seems to get on very, very well with her mum. And the idea is, yes, exactly, suspiciously well. And as Amy Lewood said in that brilliant interview, which was a brilliant interview, the idea came from lockdown, everyone's stuck at home and suddenly realizing how much they rely on films. And there was that famous thing, but if you don't think the arts are worth funding,

try getting through lockdown without reading a book, watching a TV program, listening to music. and the films that are cited in the film club and that refer to in the film club sort of provide the backdrop. So the first episode, they're doing Alien. Then later on, there's Wizard of Oz.

I actually watch the whole series because I did find myself being swept up in it. Then we get Shortchank Redemption, brief encounter towards the end. I mean, I love the fact that Amy Lewis's favorite film is broadcast news because the amount of times on this show,

I quote that line from broadcast news about, I can't believe it. I say it here, it comes out there. Or the thing about, you know, I know you like him, but he's the devil. All that stuff is great. I also like the fact that she said in that interview that what she wants is neurotic chatterbox is falling in love,

which is kind of the sort of definition of old screwball comedy. So here's what I thought about the series. I have to say for the first few episodes, I wasn't really on board, which is kind of strange because that idea about that obsessive devotion to film is very much in my wheelhouse. But it really grew on me. And because the episodes are like the sort of, you know, half an hour long, they're quite

easy to just go, let's watch another one. And I ended up binging the whole thing. And it definitely builds on itself. And by the time it gets into, you know, episodes four, five and six, I was really invested. I really kind of started to like the characters. It had its hooks in me. And it was doing that thing about being a program about the way that we mediate our. lives through films. And I, you know, that's something that we have had so much listener

correspondence about on this show. And you often say this show isn't really a film show. It's a correspondent show that happens to be about films. And that's kind of what's going on here. I mean, weird as well to see Owen Cooper from adolescence as the kid on the bike. Did they make this, they must have made this after adolescence, right? Yes, presumably that must be the case. But he's got, you know, it's a, it's a sort of fairly, it's a small but significant role in the film becomes more significant as the thing goes on. But I was going, where do I know that kid from? Where do I know? Oh, that's the kid from adolescence who's really, really good. So I, yes, what I'd say is, if you watch the first episode and you're kind of a little, I'm not quite

sure about the tone of this, whatever it is, just stick with it. Because what I found was watching the whole thing, it had a cumulative pound. By the time I got to the last episode, I was really on board. I was really moved and really touched. I mean, I'm very fond of Amy Lou Wood anyway. And I love the fact that it's about the way that we really mediate our lives through filmed entertainment. And I thought that it's probably one of the best things you can say about a series is it gets better and better, because the last thing you want to say is it gets worse and worse.

Is it about film? Well, yes, it is. I mean, it is about the way that we use film, in the same way that we use pop songs or that we use clothes or, anything like that as a mediation tool for the things that are going on in our life. And the central thing is she's retreated. She's retreated into this garage and she's retreated into this screening room. She's almost at once to step through, you know, become, it's like, you know, Ms. Havisham or

brief encounter, whatever it is. But those are the things that are seeing her through this incredibly dark period. Okay. So that's the new Amy LeWood show. It's called Film Club. And as we said, it's on BBC 3 and you can watch the whole thing. on iplayer and it's the ads in a moment

unless you're a Vanguardista obviously in which case you don't have such things tawdry trinkets really but no disrespect to our great advertisers first it's time to step once again into our very very fabulous laughter lift

I had to check one of these with the well with Child 1 first of all because I thought he might get it and he didn't get it so I then had to get in time touch with the great redactor

who explained it was kind of less significant than I thought it was but you'll be able to spot it when it arrives. Hey Mark, it's very nice to see because of a bit of a kerfuffle at a funeral this week there was no mobile coverage and I was

expecting an important email so I asked what the Wi-Fi password was have some respect for the dead you're at a funeral you Muppet said the good lady ceramicist her indoors that's unnecessarily wordy I it, but I'll have a go. Is that all lowercase? Is that the joke that you had to rompast child one?

No. Okay. Anyway, I got asked to leave. Not sure if I told you, Mark, but a little procedure. I've got a little procedure coming up. We had the pre-op meeting with the surgeon. I've always fancied being a doctor, and I asked if I could administer my own general anesthetic. Of course, she said, knock yourself out. Hey! And Mark, I don't have you seen the trailer for the Mandalorian and Grogu. I haven't.

It's very exciting. He's from the same species as Yoda, isn't he? Lovely tiny grogoo. Do you know what Yoda's surname is? No. Lehi-hoo. Yoda Lehi-hoo.

Yes, it's a yodeling joke. Did you have to ask Charles one about that? What I thought was, this is a Yoda, there's something, because he's immersed in Star Wars and Mandalorian, and I thought at half-by-sixth this morning, is there a Star Wars Mandalorian Yoda?

a thing that I haven't got. And actually, no, it was a yodeling joke. It's just a yodeling joke. This is like Child 2 explaining to me the Biggie Smalls and Notorious B-I-G are the same person, and they duet together on that record. Did Child 1 write back and go, no, Dad, it's a yodling joke? No, he didn't have any idea either. So it went to the redactor at half-past six to say, it's a yodling. Anyway, he was kind of not really worth the effort. happening next? Two big movies to review. The Smashing Machine and the House of Dynamite, both of which sound explosive, Bumtish, on the way. Hit pause on whatever you're listening to and hit play on your next adventure. This fall

get double points on every qualified stay. Life's the trip. Make the most of it at Best Western. Visit bestwestern.com for complete terms and conditions. You can email the show, Correspondence atcomcom, Kim Syncock's on our YouTube channel for Simon. The cuckoo horror movie. We were talking about cuckoos and about how their lifestyle is basically a horror movie. It is. It has already been made. It's called The Godsend from 1979 and stars Angela Pleasance as the human cuckoo who leaves her newborn with a young family leading to disastrous results. There you go. So it's already happened. Have you seen the godsend? I don't recall it immediately.

Immediately, but I can tell you that when we were in the car, the good lady professor her indoors got off her bike and said, you do know, don't you, that cuckus are now severely endangered. They are part of the ecosystem. But because of the way that the climate is changing, the birds that lay the eggs are laying them too early. So the cuckus are turning up too late. So the cuckus are now and you need to. And I said, well, why don't you write an email to the show explaining all that? She said, I can't be bothered to do that. Was she on her bike in the car? It was on her bike in the car. Yes. You've got some big station wagon there. So she was launching a staunch defense of cuckoos, and she said, we need to stop demonizing them. Matthew says, after hearing the thoughts about the long walk, which I loved and thought was bleak but heartwarming, I couldn't shake this one feeling. And it's this to do with a different film. I can't stop watching K-pop demon hunters. Yes.

And I can't stop listening to the soundtrack. For context, I'm a 39-year-old man. Why, on my morning walk, when I listen to what it sounds like, which is one of the songs for the movie, from the soundtrack, was a lot. I on the verge of tears. As someone with a history of addiction, you might call it a pattern of addiction. I've been trying to shed it throughout my adult life. The lyrics spoke to me, and for context, the lyrics are, the worst of what I came from, patterns I'm ashamed of, things that even I don't understand. The scars are part of me, darkness in harmony, my voice without the lies, this is what it sounds like. Sure, it's about demons, but when we talk about addiction, we often talk about

patterns, patterns I'm afraid of, things I don't even understand. In the same way, horror often is an allegory for deeper subjects. The songs and themes of this movie are more than what they appear on the surface. I've often looked back on times in my life where I've inexplicably done things I wish I hadn't or hurt people in ways I couldn't fathom. Hearing those lyrics spoke to me in a way that I've never really experienced, and it's why I think this film speaks so loudly to me. The entire film is about shame overwhelming you and hiding in it and not being able to be your true self. I mean, it's a silly cartoon about demons, sure, but it really hit home for me, says Matthew. Again, another email getting straight to the heart of what you bring to the movie is what you take away from it.

And also, tying in very nicely was what we're just saying about Film Club, about the way in which films often offer you a way of talking about things that you aren't able to talk about. and that's what we're talking about, mediating through films. I did enjoy that animation very much, and those tunes are absolutely machine-tooled earworms. So how brilliant that you've got that out, but fantastic. And I went back because I haven't seen the film, but I listened to the soundtrack, and I got to that song, and it's testament to the fact that he was listening

because for all the world, it's a classic kind of Disney, it sounded to me like a Disney princess kind of song, you know, but clearly in the context of the movie, and with Matthew's history and the lyrics that they've written into this bright and shiny song, it's clearly very powerful. Yes, absolutely, absolutely.

There is a lot going on. Most of us would have missed. Correspondent to cairmanoA.com, Matthew, thank you very much indeed. What else is out? Okay, so let's do The Smashing Machine, which is an A24 biographical sports drama from Benny Safdi,

who better known previously for collaborating with his brother Josh on films like Heaven knows what that I was talking about when I was talking about urchin, good time, and uncut gems, you know, the panic attack one with Adam Sandler. This is based on a documentary from 2002, The Smashing Machine, the Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr.

Now, I need to say initially, I haven't seen the documentary, and what I know about extreme fighting, ultimate fighting, MMA is nothing at all. So this features Dwayne Johnson as Mark Kerr, one of the original, I suppose not was the MMA fighters, whose name story I didn't know. And in fact, at the end, in the end credits, they say nowadays, these fighters are, you know, they're known all over the world and their celebrities, but this is his name and you need to remember it. So, MMA, Ultimate Fighting, whatever it is, it's basically what it sounds like. It is a very brutal mix of kickboxing, wrestling, punching, throwing, and at the point that we join it occasionally biting, it's politely referred to as full contact or ultimate fighting. The main move, at least as described in the film, is to get your opponent on the ground and then punch their face into a bloody pulp.

It looks to me closer to street fighting or bare knuckle fighting than boxing. And we see Mark Kerr, played by Dwayne Johnson, in the ring, literally beating his opponent's face to pieces. But then we also see him outside of the ring where, at least initially, he is incredibly sweet and polite. Here is a clip from the trailer. Probably looking at my eyes. How'd that happen? Well, have you ever heard of the ultimate fighting championship, the UFC? That's the bloody thing they're trying to ban.

This guy is the best he has ever seen. Do you hate each other when you fight? Absolutely not. How do you know Mark Kirby? Oh, we go way back, but he's a buddy of mine. Come on, baby. Too much? Never.

Too much? No. Please welcome in his Octagon debut, Mark Kerr. Winning is the best feeling there is. It's 40,000 people. And they're cheering you on. There's no other highlight getting the world. When he's doing the Mark Kerr, I joined everyone else going mode.

Mode. I know. Yeah. But you can, I mean, you can't imagine. what an alien world this is to me, but I did the same thing. So, basically, the central character, he can't contemplate losing because he's won all the time. And the film follows his ascension in the sport. His first time in the octagon you heard there was, you know, he's referred to.

He said, it's a cage. He's bouts in Japan as part of the Pride tournament, his friendship with Mark Coleman, who's played by MMA heavyweight Ryan Bader. Again, I don't know these names because I don't know anything about the sport, against whom it turns out he may end up having to compete in the ring, which would be a challenge in itself. And we see how the sport changes. We see at the very beginning the Japanese outlawing a whole bunch of things

that Mark does, sort of signature moves, head butts to the head, you know, headbutting characters, and kneeing somebody in the head when they're down on the ground. Apparently, it's... Oh, is that banned? But, yeah. But, well, apparently banned for safety, although then I did some research about it. And somebody said, no, no, they just banned it because it

made the games really short, so they want the games to last longer. We also see his home life with his partner, Dawn Staples, who is played by the great Emily Blunt. We see how his devotion to the sport makes him turn to painkillers, the strain on his relationship. She can't be in his head when he's doing the sport. She wants to be beside him, but he says, no, no, you know, every time she walks into a room when he's training, everyone gives her filthy looks because they think that's going to take his mind off it. Now, here's the thing. The story itself isn't that It's remarkable. I mean, it's not Raging Bull. It's not got that kind of epic King Lear thing through it. It's not a voyage through a man's life. Stylistically, the film owes something to, well, Darren Aronofsky's the wrestler, particularly the kind of the shots from behind the central character following on and off the ring through the corridors, you know, down lifts, that sort of stuff. And of course, David O. Russell's The Fighter. Both of those movies, the wrestler and the fighter, were both big awards contenders. And I think that this is being sort of lined up as a big award. contender for Dwayne Johnson. I mean, this may be the film in which Dwayne Johnson,

in the same ways, you know, when Zach Ephron, when Zach Effron was in Sean Durkin's eye and claw, and people were talking about that as being an awards film, although I didn't quite work out the way it was winded, but I think that this is being lined up as this is the performance by Dwayne Johnson, that you haven't seen him like this before. This is the one that really proves that he's an all-round actor. I mean, he is unrecognizable when you first see him. And, you know, he, but I, he obviously has always been massively bankable, but that kind of critical plaudits out

other than for his sort of comedic work. People haven't talked about him as a great actor, and his performance here, he's really, really good. Benny Safdi won the Silver Lion for Best Director at Venice. So again, that's very much an award season launch platform. I mean, it's very well made. The fight scenes are authentically brutal. I mean, it's really like watching people beating seven bells out of each other,

and it's really, I found it quite hard. As for the story, the story feels like it's a very, truthful version of a story, I have to say it is somewhat dramatically inert because the story isn't in and of itself particularly remarkable. I kept wondering when, you remember there was that film Foxcatcher, which is a sports movie, but then has got this unbelievable thing that happens at the end that I didn't know anything about because I didn't know anything about it. And I kept wondering, is this story going, is it going towards some terrible thing that I should know about? No, it isn't. It is literally just the story of somebody finding their way in this

sport and through their relationships. Emily Blunt is great as Dawn, although I have to say I think her character feels underdeveloped. There's one point in which she, because she has to be out of the narrative so much when he sort of steps away from her. So there's a point where something very significant happens with her character. It kind of seems to come out of nowhere. And I felt that she did the best with what she had, but the drama isn't particularly, there's not enough there for her to work with for that character to be fully rounded. Very interesting use of some pop needle drops. I mean, you heard there Elvis doing my way during the Vegas period. And actually, there's also a version of Don't Be Cruel by Billy Swan. Do you know that version? It's like a

slower version from the 1970s. No, I mean, I know Billy Swan and I know Don't Be Cruel, but I don't know that version. Well, it's my new favorite thing. It turns up in the film and I thought it was, I thought it was great. So anyway, look, it's really well made. I think if it gets awards attention, it's going to be for Dwayne Johnson. I think the story itself is, I confess, somewhat unremarkable. I think that's the problem, but there's also the strength because it is unremarkable because it's true, because it is just a period in someone's life in which they are finding, and they're so nice and so sweet out in the world when we first meet them.

And then the fighting is so brilliant. I don't know whether you've ever seen Ultimate Fighting or MMA fighting or Cage Fighting. I can't imagine. But surely, if the point is to smash someone's face to a pulp, you don't last for it. long in that sport. Yeah, well, that's, that's it. Yeah. I mean, people are literally in the movie, and I've never seen one of these. I've only seen it in the film. You get them down on the thought, and then you just punch them in the face until the referee stops you, because you've broken every bone in their face. Doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun, but anyway, but the movie is

the smashing machine. The smashing machine. The smashing machine. Correspondence at kerberdemeanor.com, just before Markovuse, one more film for us. We are, we are encouraging you, again, to send us what's-ons, anything cinematic or cinematic adjacent that's happening to you or near you, we'd like to hear about it. Here's Dan. Hello, Simon and Mark. My name is Ludo. You might recognise me from such films as Jim Henson's Labyrinth and, well, just the one film at the moment. I'm here to tell you about the third Wellington Film Festival in Wellington Somerset, UK, taking place on the third, fourth and 5th of October 2025 will be showing such eclectic films such as Lauren Hardy in the Flying

Juses F. W. Manu's 1926 epic Faust with a live score, Monty Python's life of Brine, the result of the local 48-hour short film contest. Fisherman's friends, Mr. Bones, some Buster Keaton shorts, and Jim Henson's Labrith, which, shine in. We'll also have a Q&A with the writer-director Sharon Sheehan and festival patron James Purefoy. Plus we'll end Sunday with an outdoor showing of Mamma Mia. Bring a blanket and a picnic and have anaba sing-along. For details and to book tickets, visit wellingtonfilmfestival.org dot UK. I think that's the way to do it. I think it's, you know, get up, and sell it. I was impressed by that.

He sounded like he was somewhere between Rick Mail and Edmondson. I thought it was a bit Python. I thought it was a bit Python in there. I thought he was like... I like that. I think all... I think, you know, it's... Yeah, good for you. Good for you. Well done. Okay. Anyway, so third, four and fifth of October. It sounds a lot of fun anyway. Wellington in Somerset. Dan, thank you very much indeed. If you want to advertise in a similar style, or feel free to turn it down a little bit

if you fancy, maybe have it not quite so long. Anyway, just send it to correspondence at kerbrimo.com. There is something else to go and see. A House of Dynamite, which is the new film by Catherine Bigelow, who of course made Near Dark, my favourite vampire movie,

The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark 30, the first woman to win the Oscar for Best Director for the Hurt Locker, which, of course, famously beat Avatar to the Oscar for Best Film. So this is in theatres, select theatres in the UK from Friday, then globally on October the 10th, so we're getting it early, apparently,

and then it's on Netflix from the 24th, so it's a limited thing. So you want to see it in theatres go now. So written by Noel Oppenheim, whose credits include co-writing on the Mays Run on Divergent series, but more importantly, Pablo Lorraine's Jackie. So it is set in and around the White House in which US government officials pick up, up an apparent ballistic missile launch launched from somewhere they're not entirely sure where that appears to be on course for America and how they deal with the ensuing just about 20 minutes before it looks like it's going to make impact. Here is a clip from the trailer. Approximately three minutes ago, we detected an ICBM over the Pacific. Current flight trajectory

is consistent with impact somewhere in the continental United States. Have we seen death gone too before? No. Is this real? Stratcom is asking for launch instructions right now. I'm going to need you to breathe. We're talking about hitting a bullet with a bullet. So it's a coin toss?

That's what $50 billion dollars buys us? Get in the car. and just start driving. If we do not take steps to neutralize our enemies. Now, we will lose our window to do so. If we get this wrong, none of us are going to be alive tomorrow. So, essentially, you get the same 18-minute period seen from several different angles in which the various authorities are attempting to interpret

and then deal with whatever's happening. I mean, essentially, the question, is it, firstly, is it a drill? Is it an accident? Is it a mistake? Is that ICBM actually coming towards us? If so, will it explode on impact? Can we do anything about it?

And more importantly, where has it come from? And a lot of this is people sitting in rooms watching things playing out on big computer screens, having, you know, video conferences with each other in which they're all trying to make sense of exactly what's going on. And the countdown is ticking down from around about 18, 20 minutes. Taking it out is, as you heard in that clip, like hitting a bullet with a bullet. And the situation itself is described as effectively playing out in a house built of dynamite because the question is, what do we do? do we retaliate on the basis of we don't know where it's come from, but if we wait until it lands, we may not be able to retaliate, or do we wait until it lands and hope that it's a mistake

and hope that it doesn't actually happen? And everyone is trying to figure out, you know, what do we do? And the timer is counting down. So if they get this wrong, again, it's a line which is in the trailer. If we get this wrong, none of us will be here tomorrow. It has an amazing ensemble cast. Rebecca Ferguson is the intelligence analyst, Captain Olivia Walker. She wants everyone to keep calm, but she's also got to deal with her own family.

Tracy Letts is General Anthony Brady, who wants the president, played by actress Elba, to act now. Jared Harris is the Defense Secretary, who realizes that his daughter is in the potential impact zone. Incidentally, terrifying as the film may be, and it is equally terrifying that that role is currently being played in real life by Thirsty TV host Bozo Pete Hegseth. So, you know, there's terrifying films and then there's terrifying reality. I mean, this is a film in which Idris Elbert is the president. And even though it looks like you may have 18 minutes left of the world, you still think, well, it's not all bad.

Now, considering that so much of the drama, I mean, obviously there are. things outside of rooms, but considering how much of the drama is playing out in confined spaces, people in rooms talking on screens to each other and on the telephone, it is really impressive just how dramatic it is. I mean, the whole thing has a horrible feeling of helplessness and impending catastrophe. Too little time to make decisions, but too much at stake to get those decisions wrong. You know, we see Idris Elba with the guy who carries the nuclear, you know, the suitcase, telling him, you have to make a decision about this. You have to make a decision about this. You have to make a decision about this, and you've got four minutes to do it in. I mean,

Bigelow is really good at these procedurals, particularly military procedurals. Barry Aykroyd, who's the DP, makes everything look like a kind of really, really terrifying documentary. And of course, I mean, that is one of the things, which is that, you know, Kathy Bigelow has always had that way of making you think that what you're watching is real, which is very much in the kind of, in the mode of Paul Greengrass. I was going to say, didn't Barry Aykroyd worked mainly. Was he always with Paul Greengrass? Well, he has worked with a number of people including Paul Greengrass. And Barry Akron has basically got that kind of ability to do. So if you, when we were talking about, for example, Captain Phillips, you know, we were talking about the way in

which it looks like you're actually there. So that is, you know, that is Barry. He's also worked with Ken Loach. So he's, you know, he's, he's the guy who you go to when you want it to look like it's actually real. And when I was watching this, I was thinking, You know, what does this remind me of? And I know some people have talked about, well, it's like an unfunny version of Dr. Strangelove. Because it is what would happen. It also reminded me, there's a film from 1988 to kind of cult classic now. And we'll talk about cult movies in Take 2 by Steve Zagat called Miracle Mile,

which is set on the Miracle Mile in L.A. In which somebody answers a phone, they make a phone call them, they answer a phone, and they got this guy saying, the 70 minutes left of the end of the world. And he goes, sorry, what number are you calling? And he realized it's a wrong number. So he's been told that there. is they going to be a nuclear Armageddon in 70 minutes, but you don't know whether it's true. You don't know whether that's a thing or whether it's just a prank phone call. You don't know.

And I was thinking of that when I was watching this because all the way through, what they're trying to weigh up is, is this actually happening? Why is it happening? Is it a mistake? Where's it come from? More importantly, what do we do about it? Because if we do nothing, that may be catastrophic. And if we do something, that may be catastrophic. And I have to say, it's the first time for a long time that I saw a new, A nuclear war thriller that literally reminded me how panicked we all were in the 1970s, in the early 1980s, when CND was at the height of its, you know, we kind of all sort of thought, it's all right, it's all settled down. The mutually assured destruction thing is, you know, but there have been mistakes. I mean, famously there was a mistake in which a flock of birds was picked up and was interpreted as being a potential strike.

And it's this thing about the potential for catastrophe is, you know, beyond comprehension, and the time period is tiny. And the other thing that's really good about the film is it lands the ending because the film is very much the start of a conversation, not. It doesn't provide answers. It raises questions. And it is the kind of film that you will come out of and you are immediately going to want to talk to people about what you think. Right. You know, so, I mean, you know, it's no surprise that Catherine Bigger, I could do this stuff, but I did find it very gripping and really did take me back to that

period in the 70s when we all thought we were a sneeze away from nuclear warfare. Here's a question, because I haven't seen the film yet, but it sounds, though, it's epic. Do you remember when we were talking about the amateur and Lawrence Fishburne, that was the Rami Malick film, and Lawrence Fishburn came on the show? and I could I just had to say I was just broaching the subject at the end and I my interpretation is he kind of agreed with me but I said it sort of makes a difference to this kind of film when America is you're not you're not the same country anymore you aren't the good guys we don't look at you and the people running your country think we're on there so we just we just

don't no so in the storytelling of House of Dynamite which clearly has been in the work for a long time, you know, written long time before, I imagine Trump too. Does it make a difference when you... It does. When you follow the story thinking they're not the good guys anymore. It does. And one of the difference that it makes, and I was sort of referring to this apparently fatuously, but seriously, in a film in which it looks like the world might end in 18 minutes, the fact that Idris Elber is the president and Pete Hegseth doesn't exist is weirdly reassuring. And also, weirdly, I wish we were in that world. I mean, that's, that, that is the thing. You look at it and go, this is a portrayal of America that does not exist at the moment.

So that's House of Dynamite. So how long is that in the cinemas for? Well, it's coming to Netflix at the end of the month. So you've got a few weeks, but if you want to see it in cinemas, go now. Thank you very much indeed. That is the end of take one. This has been a Sony music entertainment production this week's team, Jen, Eric, Josh and Heather. The producer was Jim. The redactor was Simon Paul McPoolface. And if you're not following the pod already, please do so wherever you get your podcast. You can also watch every episode now on your YouTube channel. And what a thrill that is? The Christmas show, you can get the tickets at www. fainfane.com.com.com. Mark, what is your film of the week? Well, I'm delighted to say that it's a double bill. My double bill film of the week is Harris Dickinson's Urchin and Catherine Bigelow's House of Dynamite. There's an interesting pairing. Go see both of them. We'll be back next week, and Take 2 has landed alongside this podcast, so we'll talk to you very shortly.