Kermode & Mayo’s Take - Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret, Fast X, Beau Is Afraid, Louis Leterrier

Episode Date: May 19, 2023

Mark reviews, ‘Fast X’ - Dom Toretto and his family are back again to confront the most lethal opponent that they've ever faced; ‘Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret’ - a film exploring eleven-year-old Margaret’s entry into life, friendship and adolescence; ‘Beau Is Afraid’ - sometimes the greatest adventures come from one’s darkest fears. From Ari Aster, director of Hereditary and Midsommar. We also speak with Director Louis Leterrier from the Fast X franchise about XYZ Time Codes (relevant only when you are part of the Vanguard): Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret Review Box Office Top 10 Fast X Review Laughter Lift Beau Is Afraid Review What’s On You can contact the show by emailing [e-mail] or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo 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

Metrolinx and cross-links are reminding everyone to be careful as Eglinton Cross-town LRT train testing is in progress. Please be alert as trains can pass at any time on the tracks. Remember to follow all traffic signals. Be careful along our tracks and only make left turns where it's safe to do so. Be alert, be aware, and stay safe. So the thing is, I think what we've learned, and can I just say this is a spoiler conversation right at the very beginning? Oh yes. I just want to mention succession, which we will review properly once it's all done, which is two weeks time. So if you haven't seen the latest episode, I just want to mention something, which is

that you have always said, it was a very interesting theory and it is a good theory that Tom is probably the most evil there because he's choosing to be a part of this. Yes, he wasn't born into it. He has climbed that greasy pole knowing what he's doing. But what we have learned in the last episode is that I wonder if Roman is gonna turn out to be, well, he's clearly a fascist and he's gonna be essentially gobbles

in this new American. That's, I just wonder if that's the way it's heading. The thing is, he's not even a fascist. That's the point, isn't it? He's just a complete opportunist, opportunist who is willing to be a fascist. If that's what needs to be done, there is a there's a weird thing happening, which is that in the absence of Logan, he is sort of stepping into this, I mean, because the last half an hour of the most recent episode, which I watched at your house last night, because I went upstairs to watch the last half of the air of it, you wouldn't, you said, and incidentally, when it's finished, don't come down and start

raving about fascism, about fascism. The thing when he says, we're calling it, we're calling it, we're calling it. And Shiv says, you can't call it. She virtually says democracy we're calling it. And Shiv says, you can't call it. She virtually says democracy is on the line. And he says, you can't call it. And she says, you can't call it. And he says, it's like, yeah, he'll just do whatever's necessary. But when there was a fire at the count,

Roman is the guy who says, yeah, you can blame blacks and Jews, which he goes, okay. And then he says, it was a joke. Yeah, except it wasn't. So I just think it's going to go into a very dark place. It's brilliant, isn't it? It is. It's absolutely brilliant.

Welcome to the show. Hello. Well, incidentally, Matt, I just say to any of our far right Christian Trump supporters who have written in to complain if you're listening to this program and you are a far right Christian Trump supporter, get a new podcast and also get a new religion. Yes. I don't know which version of the Bible you're reading.

It's the one with the Easter Bunny in it. I do believe they've made a God in their own image. They are. And I say this loud and proud to quote new model armies song, a Christian militia. They are worshipping the devil in loud and proud to quote, new model armies song Christian militia, they are worshipping the devil in the name of God. Oh man. This has been a public service announcement.

Also, while we're doing those, Josh R engineer, one of our top engineers, he and his wife, well, Tegan is my, is that I've did all the work. They have a baby boy called Zener. Zener, as in Zener and called. Zener, yes, but on Sunday night, eight pounds, eight ounces. Oh, congratulations. Absolutely. Xenner's got a fantastic Poblin with amazing literary history. What a great name. I've never heard of that. Yeah, it's the first name. That's terrific stuff. Anyway, so congratulations.

So I think we've upset the far right in America. Good. We've spot succession. Good. We've congratulated our stuff. It's time to say what's on the show? Well, we're going to be reviewing a whole bunch of stuff. I'm going to be reviewing, are you there, God? It's me, Margaret, which is an adaptation of a very, very popular book. It's been around 50 years. Bowies are afraid. You can still listen to our interview with Ariasta, which is on last week's show. And fast X with our special guest. Yes, the director of far, are we saying fast X? Well, as opposed to 10. Well, it's fast. I mean, it's going to be fast 11. Fast X, wow. Louis Latterier, who's the director of that movie? Now, we should say, how did that interview go Simon? Well, as I'm sitting here, I can't tell you because it hasn't been done yet. So, when

you review the movie, you won't have that interview. But when you listen to the show, you will hear him speak before I do my review, because it's being done this evening. So I won't have the benefit of having heard what Louis says. Yeah, that's right. So, we look forward to Louis Latteri and FastX chat. Pretentious, more will be, will be, I mean, such a great, such a great feature.

And then what are you doing in the second half? Additional reviews of Namjoon Paik, Moon is the oldest TV, and the other fellow, which is a documentary about people who are called James Bond, and it's the 40th anniversary of local hero, which we should definitely mark.

So when I say second half, what I mean is take two, I mean, I've got to use the corporate language otherwise, I like it thrown out. In take two, sort of all the extra takes, and actually 90 minutes of this, we can watch list, we can not list, take it or leave it, you decide our word of mouth on a podcast feature this week,

what have you been watching? I've been watching Mr. In Between. Can I just say on the subject subject that joke that I just made, I made that same joke in last week's podcast and they cut it out. Well, and he's gonna cut it out again. Yes, absolutely. So that's an entertaining moment for everybody.

The pretentious more score is Mark 14, Mark 12. 12 and a half. It doesn't say, I think if a half has been taken away. No, you can't take that half away because I got the film. We all know that it's 12 and a half. I'm afraid it says, it says 14, 12 here. It's 14, 12 and a half. Yeah, you'll come back to me with a gring that is. Did you watch your revision?

I watched all of your revision. It was for the first time act in a long time from start to finish. Okay, I always watch it from start to finish. It was a week year in terms of songs. I thought it was a strong year. It wasn't though. I loved it. But the songs weren't great.

Cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha. No, that was the standout. But they weren't great memorable Eurovision songs. I mean, I love that, I absolutely love the program. Really enjoyed it. My friends come around. We've got the thing, we've got all the, the odds and everything.

And we keep it, blah, blah, blah, blah. We share it to the television. We do every year, we'd never miss it. But I thought the songs were weaker this year. My favorite point, I don't know what it is about Iceland, but I mean, I love Iceland anyway, but everything they do is unique. So when they went to the Icelandic jury, who, and instead of a very glamorous woman in address, her very glamorous guy, making the most of their 20 seconds, you just stood there in a mask, took off three masks and said

Australia and go off again. Yes, very, very, absolutely inspiring. Catherine Tate. Yes. That was a moment. She was plugged in. She had so many boxes on her belt. And so also one frame back also shrink the box. You need to know Ben, baby, spiff and Sasha Bates, add free on Tuesdays alongside all your other extra content on the take channel. You can also find trick the box wherever you get your podcast. Next on the couch is David and Alexis from Shits Creek. You can support us via Apple podcasts or head to extra takes.com for non-fruit related devices if you are already a Vanguard Easter as always. We salute you. We have to do it together but if you put in extra bits it

doesn't work. Okay, as ever. We salute. What's the secret of comedy? Time. Okay, you ready? I know you're not ready, so on page seven. Page seven, hang on. It's a scripted bit, so you know. Oh, is that the thing that I don't understand? Is that the thing which has got,

it was store plug? Here we go, okay. All right, let's read the script. Stick a pony in me pocket. I'll fetch the suit goes from the van. Because if you want the best ones, but you don't ask questions, then brother I'm your man. Because where it all comes from is a mystery. It's like the changing of the seasons and the tides of the sea. Here's the one that's driving me berserk. Why do only fools and horses? What, oh, is that what that that? What that is? That's what it is. I didn't know that's what those were the things for.

With St. Bede's day coming up on May the 25th, you'll be after that special something for the one you love, or at least tolerate. Why not head to store.com. Is that right? Is that the address? Okay. store.com.

Where you'll find directs, let's talk. Store.com. A lot of things. Where you'll find directs. No, let's talk it up. That's how we store.com. Where you'll find directs, chairs, hot drink cups, key ring torches and pen gift boxes, notebooks, signed posters, non-deface ones are a little more expensive, but we think they're probably worth it.

Stainless steel water bottles, and of course t-shirts. So, to be honest, every single person in your family is now catered for, at store.curbanamer.com, where you'll find a bunch of stuff which is lovely, high quality. It's high quality, it's not a cheap tat. No. If you want a particularly ferocious light to blind any member of your family, he's really really impressed the button by mistake. Don't.

Nice to see you. He's dangerous. It's a nice pen, it's a nice box, posters with us signed posters, very lovely. We're looking particularly gorgeous, I think, in them. And the drinks, the drinks canister say hello to Jason Isaacs on one side and Van Garde is throwing the other as indeed to the coffee market. Yeah, the coffee market's a particularly good store. So easy to hold store.com and a mail.com. Phil Hare has just had this here here, here, just

had this conversation on Twitter and he says, I think you might be interested. Okay. So this is a Twitter conversation which I'm gonna read out. So obviously, I'm gonna read out, absolutely. Okay, fine. Can I just say, incidentally, of course Elon Musk is an awesome.

Phil Hare, dear science friends, best hard in a vertical, as best hard sci-fi film, other suggestions, welcome. So, Captain Science then joins in. In science. Adam Rutherford consults on science in films. I'm sure he has researched it thoroughly. Then, Adam Rutherford joins in saying,

annihilation. I love annihilation. One of her bombas favorite films of that year. Phil Hare says, wasn't that the one you consulted on? I wasn't. Adam Rutherford says, might have been.

Phil Hare then comes back. I think there's room for a podcast where yourself and Professor Brian Cox discuss your experiences on consulting for Mad Sci-fi. Maybe with Mark Kermod to make it legit. Then Professor Brian Cox joins in and says, I'm in. So we can make it happen.

So Professor Brian, Dr. Rutherford, drop us an email, cross-ponets at Kermit-A-Mail.com. I mean, I've clearly noticed I don't have a role in this new podcast. Well, I think the reason that is because I did an onstage with Danny Boyle and Professor Brian Cox about sunshine, yeah. Because Professor Brian Cox was the consultant

on sunshine, and that's when Danny Boyle first told me all that stuff about the God particle. So I haven't seen that because I'm not on Twitter because of Elon Musk. But yeah, let's make that happen, that'd be great. And I haven't seen that because I'm not on Twitter because of Elon Musk. But yeah, let's make that happen. That would be great. And I do what? Will you bring glamour by what? Being there. Not that impressed. You know more about science than I do. Well, exactly. One of us is a trilogy of children's books all around the periodic table. Exactly. And you're precisely so.

How's the opera doing? I've been on Infinite Monkey Cage as well. I was a guest on that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. So, you know, I have a little bit of the opera is looking pretty. I saw some film of two of the arias this week and it's amazing. Are they singing in English or in Italian? No, it's English.

Okay, very, very English. Because we were talking yesterday about the fact they singing in English or in Italian? No, it's English. Okay, very, very English. Because we were talking yesterday about the fact that opera always sounds better in Italian. Well, I'm sure it'll take off and then be translated into Italian. So if you want to get involved in anything, just email correspondentsacolonimero.com

to help you can buy stuff as well. There's always stuff to buy. Too needy. Right, let's talk about a movie that is out to which you might like. Are you there, God, it's me Margaret, which is a new film by Kelly from Craig, who made Edge of 17,

which is adapted from the book by Judy Bloom, first published over half a century ago, 1970. Abbeyrod Foughtson is 11-year-old Margaret. Rachel McCallum's is her mother, Benny Safdie. Did you interview the Safdie brothers when Uncut James was out? Yes. Yes, fine. So Benny Safdie is the dad.

Kathy Bates is her grandmother. Her mother was raised Christian. Her father was raised Jewish. She is being left to decide for herself at some point in the future, which religion, if any, she wants to be in. The family is moving from New York to New Jersey. And we first hear the full title of the film, which, as if any, she wants to be in. The family is moving from New York to New Jersey, and we first hear the full title of the film, which as you know, it offers you the opportunity

to stand up applaud and leave very early on in the film, and she says, are you there, God, it's me, Margaret, please don't let this move happen to New Jersey. I don't want to go to New Jersey, but if you can't do that, just let New Jersey not be too horrible. When she gets to New Jersey, she meets her new neighbor, Nancy, who says, hello, I live in the bigger house up the street, which tells you what you need to know about Nancy's character. They play together under the sprinklers, and Nancy says, oh, you're still flat,

I'm going to have a pretty big chest. And she teaches her about this exercise, which is a apparently thing I must, I must, I must increase my bust. How do you know that? I remember, I don't know. Okay, I think my mum said it. Okay. Anyway, so Nancy then says, we're going to have a secret club. The rule is, you can't wear socks. You have to wear a bra. You have to be interested in boys and you have to do all these rules.

Otherwise, you can't be a member of the club. So the next thing is, she's off to the store with her mother here's a clip. Excuse me, we're looking for a broth for my daughter. Hmm, we don't have many that small, but come with me, dear, I'll measure you. Arms up, dear. Hmm, barely at 28. Not even a double leg. Your best bet is gonna be to go with one of these grow bras here. So one day when you do grow, it'll grow with you. Okay, thank you very much. Thanks, we'll just go try it on.

Okay, thank you very much. Thanks. We'll just go try it on Um oh yeah, can I just I'll just yep here we go This is always the tough bit. I can't even do this to this day. Okay. All right. Can I see? How's that feel? I cannot wait to take it off. Yeah, welcome to Womanhood. She's a great line. Yeah. So you can see from that that there's a touch of Catherine Call Birdie in the tone of this.

There's also a thing going on in the secret club, it's, you know, who's going to get their period first and nobody wants to be the person to get their period last. So again, as in the case of Catherine Colbert, it has a, you know, a very refreshing frankness about subjects that in the past, some literature, and particularly cinema has been very squeamish about. She's resting with adolescence, she's resting with the idea of boys, she's resting with the idea of God. Her, her prayers, which all begin, you know, God, are you there? Are you there? God is me. They're like diary entries. So effectively, we get to hear her inner thoughts by her talking to God. She ends up doing a school project on religion because her teacher tells her that this is what she should do. But because

of this kind of rift within her family on the grandparents side, she says, what I learned about religion is that it makes people fight. I've prayed and prayed, but everything just gets worse. There's nobody up there. There's only just me. The thing I really liked about this is that alongside that stuff, there's also really funny lighter stuff at one point. Somebody gets the father's anatomy book, and they look at pictures, you know, there's people in it, it says, what's that? It looks like a thumb. They play, um, Spin the bottle and the needle drop that they use in the Spin the bottle is, is preacher man. Um, it's, everyone in the film is going through changes.

It's not just her Rachel McCallum's mum has given up her, her art and her teaching in order to, to, to do the move. And she's now facing a life bereft of the things that she loves. The grandparents often behave more like children than the children do. And it's funny and it's really well played, it's really well written. It's a much loved book and a much revered book. It's interesting that it's taken such a long time to get to the screen. I think there is an argument that had it had it been made in the past, it would have had the soft pedal a lot of the stuff that makes the film what it is.

But, you know, I was talking before about sometimes there's a dearth of movies for a younger audience. This in exactly the same way as Catherine Colberti is, it's lovely. It's really charming and funny and open and and hooray for it nice, small all the way through. Elise says, they're super fudge and dini. I was at a packed preview screening of, are you there God? It's me, Margaret, at the weekend. I devoured all of Judy Blum's books in my

pre-teen years. They played in a central part in trying to figure out the whole puberty thing and were a source of information and reassurance that wasn't available to me elsewhere. I was unsure when I heard about the film adaptation because the book had such a special place in my heart, but I needn't have worried. Kelly Freeman Craig has really captured the spirit of the book, and Abbey Rider Fortsen is a perfect Margaret. She's fabulous. In fact, the whole cast is wonderful.

The film is full of warmth, and it handles the awkwardness and angst of being a preteen with great charm. It's depressing to see that some of Judy Bloom's books have banned in parts of America, simply because they tackle the realities of adolescence. Hopefully the film will introduce a whole new generation of young readers to her books, and in doing so, we'll help them understand that everything they're going through is completely normal, up with empowering young girls and down with nonsensical literary censorship. There's Lisa. And can I just add once again, if you are one of the people listening who thinks

that any of those books should have been banned in America, get yourself another podcast and another religion also Lisa on that point, check out the power, which is on which channel I think it's on. It's on Amazon Prime Eddie Marzan with this singular idea to just think he's fantastic. I'm so everything. He is, but what if girls and women suddenly became more powerful than men and everything unwraps from there? And it's fantastic. Should also say, are you there? God, it's me, Margaret is a PG certificate film. A BBFC says, Miles Sacks references references to racism and emotional upset.

Okay. And still to come, Mark will be reviewing these films. We will be reviewing Ariestas Bowies of Fried and we'll be reviewing, what do we see? I know I've always lost text. Fast text, yes, fast text. Yes, fast text. And we'll be back before you can say,

each generation must discover its mission, fulfill it or betray it in relative opacity. Obviously the words of France, Fanon, a Martini K philosopher, Martini K philosopher. That's Fanon, a Martini-K philosopher. Martini-K philosopher. That's a funny drink, Martini. No, it's a philosopher from Martini-K. Oh, I see.

The French Caribbean island. Ah, that went well. Happy Nord Christmas. Protect yourself whilst Christmas shopping online and access all the Christmas films from around the globe! Plus, when you shop online, you'll have to give websites your card details and other sensitive data like your personal addresses. Those websites should already have their own encryption built into their payment systems, but to be on the safe side, you can use a VPN to ensure

that all data coming to and from your device is encrypted. Even if you're using an unsafe Wi-Fi, you'll still be able to shop securely with a VPN. And you can access Christmas films only available overseas by using streaming services not available in the UK. To take our huge discount of your Nord VPN plan, go to NordVPN.com slash take. Our link will also give you four extra months for free on the two year plan. There's no risk with Nord's 30-day money back guarantee. The link is in the podcast episode description box. Highest team podcast listeners, Simon Mayo.

I'm Mark Kermot here. I'm excited to let you know that the new season of the Crown and the Crown, the official podcast, returns on 16th of November to accompany the sixth and final season of the Netflix epic Royal Drama series. Very exciting, especially because SuperSub and Friend of the Show, Edith Bowman hosts this one. Indeed, Edith will take you behind the scenes, dive into conversation with the talented cast and crew, from writer and creator Peter Morgan to the crowns Queen Elizabeth in Melda Staunton.

Other guests on the new series include the Crowns research team, the directors, executive producers Suzanne Mackie and specialists such as voice coach William Connaker and props master Owen Harrison. Cast members including Jonathan Price, Selim Dor, Khalid Abdullah, Dominic West and Elizabeth DeBicki. You can also catch up with the story so far by searching the Crown, the official podcast, wherever you get your podcast. Subscribe now and get the new series of the Crown,

the official podcast first on November 16th. Available wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back. This is from Alice. Thank you, Alice. You can send your emails to Correspondents at Kerber and Merrick. Well, anyway, you like. Dear Mark and Simon, heritage listener, member of the Vanguard first time email.

Like Simon, I too greatly enjoyed the 2004 movie The Day After Tomorrow. We had the film on DVD and it was something I returned to several times to the point that I internalized the scientific reasoning for the climate disaster in the film. Fast forward then to 2008 to my GCSE geography exam, by the way, good luck to all households that are going through GCSEs and A levels. And finals and Scottish hires. Remember, the only piece of exam advice which you need to remember, FTHRTFQ, which is read the flipping question. Oh, very good. Our kids had a geography teacher who used to write that on the board.

R-T-F-Q, read the flipping question. Everything boils down to that. Fast forward to 2008 to my GCSE geography exam. And I'm faced with a question about global warming. I don't know whether the science in the day after tomorrow is out. But I regurgitated the theory minus the characters and plot very convincingly, so much so I came away with an A star. Wow!

To this day, I don't really use it. I don't know if I was being clever or stupid, but the exam boards seem to like it. Hello to Jason and all the good stuff from Alice PS. In case you need a reminder, the theory of the film Global Warming causes large-scale polar ice melting. The freshwater previously held in the ice upsets the salt balance in the sea, which in turn affects the gold stream. Without the gold stream, the world's weather isn't able to regulate itself through ocean currents, and thus we are plunged into the next ice age. Now I've written that out, says Alice, I'm studying

to think I got lucky in my exam. That's genius. It is. How fantastic that a disaster movie got you an A star in a proper, in a proper exam as opposed to your geography teachers. So box office, top 10, at number 20, oh actually before we get to the box office doctor, just this on the Michael J Fox movie, which we're talking about last week. And you said that I would like it and you were absolutely right. You saw it, yes. Yes. Isn't he great?

He is absolutely great. This is... The name has come off the bottom here. Okay. Can you just tell me who this is from, please? The Michael J. Fox did Doc and Mart. Oh, I've got it. It's at the top.

My apologies. You told me I'd like it and you're absolutely right. I did. From Alan Potter, MTL, second time emailer, NVQ Level 5, and winner of a copy of the secret of my success on VHS. As someone who is back to the future in their top 10 movies of all time and a person who is 17 years old, his Friday evenings, consisted of episodes of Spin City followed by Caroline in the city on Channel 4.

There was no way I was going to miss out on an opportunity to see this documentary and not being a consumer of fruit-based products or entertainment. I took a trip down to the Duke of York picture house in Brighton for my one opportunity to see this film. From the opening moments of Michael on his now daily exercise regime, taking a walk, showing him falling over

a female member of the public going to help him. He gets up and tells us she knocked him off his feet. I was smiling. You can tell he is as charming as ever, able to disarm the most awkward of circumstances with a joke and not afraid to make it at his own expense. Still is an incredibly earnest, open no-holes by the count of Michael J. Fox's life in career. The whirlwind success story going from sucking on jam packets because you can't afford food to owning four cars, having the two top movies at the box office and your face on every magazine, vividly told through smartly edited clips of movies, TV shows and interviews with dramatic performance reenactments, use where no clips were available. I think they did that better than any other. The use of clips and dramatization in that

film is absolutely on the money a star. This was also in to cut with his everyday life, now daily physio sessions, talking head interviews, where you can hear he's even entertaining the crew and making them laugh. You can hear the crew laugh, the love of camera. I know he wouldn't want this, but I couldn't help feel sad for the great talent that he was and what he has become at the same time as I was just in awe of his remarkable resolve and determination that this debilitating disease would not define him. I think I would have liked a bit more of the family's point of view in this, especially

more from Tracy, who's his other half, who gains my utmost respect for really giving a meaning to the words in sickness or in health, till death has to part. This is Michael in his own words that his most vulnerable and yet most determined, you can tell this is a story he wanted to get out while he could. He says himself in 20 years time, I'll either be cured or I'll be a pickle. An incredibly moving story. I laughed. I cried. I was entertained and informed what more do you want from a documentary up with stem cell research and down with degenerative disease. I mean, the only you, Alan Potter, the only comment I have on that is I think that he still

is a great talent. I think one of the things I loved about the only thing you, Alan Potter, the only comment I have on that is I think that he still is a great talent. And I think one of the things that I loved about the documentary is how funny his comic timing is. I mean, the thing about Parkinson's is obviously it throws your timing completely off. And yet somehow his comic timing is like Abba's songwriting. It's indestructible. There is just something about his, I mean, he

tells that beautifully when he's got the side of his face is bashed and it's because he fell over and bashed himself on the bedstead. And he says, what you fell over, he says, yeah, this is a really, I fall over, you know, gravity is real even when you only fall from my height. Yeah. Which, and it's, it's perfect. And he, perfect and he he he perfectly delivers that line when the interviewer says how's Tracy and he says married to me still it's I said of course is the name also exactly and it's it's just I think he still is a comic genius as he always was and it's so it's so empowering and uplifting and I'm starting to well-op even thinking about it. So if you get a chance to see it,

you've missed it in the cinema, I suspect, but if you've got Apple TV plus watch it, if you've got a friend who's got it there, then it's definitely worth it. Number 28, Brainwashed Sex Camera Power. Now, there's an incredible epistle here for Bernie Harper, PhD, photographer, and vision scientist. I will just read some of it. Okay, because, photographer and vision scientist. Okay.

I will just read some of it, because as you can see, it's like a thesis. Yes, it is. That's single space as well. And all this is, so I'll just do a bit. Dearest aim, doctors, the academic rigor of Nina Manker's brainwashed sex, which is brainwashed colon, sex, hyphen, camera, hyphen, power is a devastating deconstruction of the male gaze in cinema. It quite correctly shows movies to be an institutionally formulaic subjunction of women. I beg your pardon, subjugation of women. Her remarkable and disturbing examples of actress and

audience manipulation barely scraped the surface of Hollywood's industrialized levels of abuse. But she often struggles to explain why female directors and cinematographers also recycle the same male visual narratives, even her perfect example. From Mandingo fails its own test. The enslaved Ken Norton is indeed photographed in exactly the same way women have been objectified and abused for decades on film. But when his slave master and sexual predator Susan George is portrayed in the same scene, she is lit with beauty lighting, typical of a classic Hollywood movie. The graphic 3D lighting always used for the male

protagonist's gaze is meticulously avoided, and there are good reasons. It's over, and we take a slight left turn. It's over 20 years since Terry Wogan, not someone, I think you imagined, have come up in this. No, I didn't go that's where it was going. Ribbed my PhD research into the flattening and fattening effects of photography, he correctly reported my findings that the camera can easily add 10 pounds, 4.5 kilos, in body weight. He then reassured his audience that in reality, he looked like Errol Flynn. Michael Parkinson warmed to this comedic theme too and said that, quote, on screen, I chunk up like John Wayne, but in real life I look like Callista Flockhart.

However, that £10 excess weight, excess weight was a group average. In reality, men often survive the camera's scrutiny relatively unscathed. It is women that are far more likely to photograph as significantly overweight, older and less attractive. As you all know from personal experience, celebrities almost never look like they do on the screen. Usually they are smaller, slimmer and often younger looking. Well, I'm not sure. So, so this final point here from Bernie, including that was his research, that whole thing on television, putting on.

So what is going on here? The process cameras used to squeeze the infinite depths of 3D reality into a two-dimensional image on film is flawed. It is a compression process that throws away vast amounts of the vital information we need to understand our visual reality. All that is left is a two-dimensional linear perspective with just enough resolution, brightness and colour of information for us to approximate the original scene. Actors of course are not models, but they often feel compelled to slim excessively, and many actresses lose so much weight, they risk their health and even infertility simply to look good on camera. Anyway, so that's just like a flavor.

He says, pay a sorry about the epic length of the mischief, but this is the short version of which I have shortened it even more. Well, here's an interesting thing on the subject of Nina Mankas. So there's a Nina Mankas season at the BFI at the moment, so I said, I'd source the rest. I was at BFI on Monday and I did an interview with her on stage. I asked her to pick a guilty pleasure movie. She picked the exorcist and she picked it because she thinks it's a feminist classic, and she spoke really, really eloquently, and clearly this is music to my soul, about how the central relationship in the exorcist, which is to do with Reagan and

Chris McNeil, and the absence of the father, the father who has abandoned, as abandoned the family, Howard, Captain Howdy, is really what the film is about. And she talked about watching it as a young age in which there was some biographical crossover with her own life. And she said it, she thinks it's a very, very feminist. And it was really lovely to hear somebody. She wasn't talking about it as a horror film. She wasn't talking about it as a thing. And she, she, anyway, she argued. So we bond it. We bond it very, very strongly over the fact that she's just done this documentary and she thinks, the ex, this is a feminist classic.

And who am I to disagree? I'm gonna zip through these numbers to get to the number one. Number 26 is Plan 75, which is a really moving and fascinating film about planned euthanasia that has one foot in science fiction, but another foot in present day reality. Number 12, the Eight Mountains. Significant most of all because it has introduced me to the sublime work of Daniel

Norgren, a Swedish singer-songwriter who has become my new favorite thing. There's an album, Aliburcy, which many of the songs come from that. I've been trying to turn you on to Daniel Norgren's wonderful songs. UK number 10, 9 in America is air. All about the shoe. Number 9, Dungeons & Dragons, honor among thieves. So much more fun than we have in your right to expect. John Lake, chapter 4 is number 8 this week. He's up the stairs. He's down the stairs. He's up the stairs again.

UK number 7, the unlikely pilgrimage of Harold Frye. Enjoyed it very much life of Brian. UK's number six is 2018, which wasn't a press screen. So I haven't seen it. Number five here and number five in the states, evil dead rise. Was away. Haven't caught it up. Sorry, sir. Dog. Get my homework. You did say last week. I know, but I know, but a lot of things happen that you keep saying you're going to see it, and you never see it. I am going to see it. You're probably not.

No, I am, I wanted to see it. I don't think you will ever. Number four here, number three in America Book Club, the next chapter. Well, I'm sure they all heard a nice holiday. Venice does not look like that in real life. It's crammed with tourists. Number three here, number eight in the States, love again.

I didn't get invited to a screening of this, but as we came out of Bowie's afraid, James King was going to a screening of a man. So I feel like that's it. I've, the mantle has not just been passed, but I have been passed over. Number two here and in America, the Super Mario Brothers movie.

Well, I think you were right. The Super Mario Brothers movie, isn't it? Number one here and number one in the States, Guardians of the Galaxy, volume three. This very dark and actually all the better for it. This is just signed by the letter P. So whoever you are, P, thank you for this. Okay. To break up a soggy bank holiday weekend, my wife arranged for a family viewing of Guardians of the Galaxy, volume three, in our local restaurant, Every Man's Cinema. Like my wife and I, my two girls, age 14 and 12, have been Marvel fans for some time.

Although it's been a while since we've felt a Marvel film was special enough to warrant a cinema visit, and apparently, talk in the playground as that Marvel's cool rating is quickly slipping. I came to the screening with fond memories of the first installment, which, like many of the early Marvel movies, was full of wit and well-developed characters. I was also a fan of James Gunn's other work, including Suicide Squad, so was bitterly disappointed to find five minutes into volume three I was already bored and frustrated. The writing had switched from witty to corny, the acting consisted many of shouting and the

music, used so brilliantly throughout the first instalment seemed forced and ever present. My wife and kids enjoyed it more than I did, but still recognized that it was all over the place. Over the years I've been a staunch defender of Marvel, especially in the face of some of my more highbrow friends who've dismissed a superficial trash and an existential threat to our town cinema, which I also love. So just to check that I hadn't been wrong all along, I rewatched Avengers Endgame and the first Iron Man and how right I was.

For me, these two films are the high bar of Marvel, telling relatable human stories in the guise of superhuman players. The scripts are tight, editing is well paced, and the actors by and large play the role straight. They are still mistakenly comic creations but are created for an appreciative adult audience, not children. Volume 3 by contrast felt insincere, over-egged, and simply lacked the heart that these characters have conveyed when on screen in the past. Whilst I'm sure I will continue to enjoy early marvels, I'm beginning to think their time has

run its course. Perhaps, as with the James Bond franchise, when in reaction to the pastiche films of the 80s and 90s, we got a more grown up reboot, Marvel need the same. Hello to Jason and so on. I mean, I'm surprised because I think that, no mention there of the rocket story, which is the, I mean, I think that the film, the bulk of the film, is the rocket back story,

the animal experimentation, the viv back story, the animal experimentation, the vivisection, the Richard Adam stuff, which I found very, very moving. That stuff I'm less interested in is the smashy, bachy crashy stuff, but I thought this was, and actually, funnily enough, it was as we were coming out of that screening with What Past James King,

he was off to see a movie that they weren't gonna show to me, and he said, where are you gonna do? And I'm gonna go see God in the Galaxy's the God, he's the volume 3. And he went, oh, it's really dark. And he was right. Louis Latterier is on the way. This episode is brought to you by Mooby, a curated streaming service dedicated

to elevating great cinema from around the globe. From myConnect directors to emerging otters, there's always something new to discover, for example. Well, for example, the new Aki Karis-Maki film Fallen Leaves, which won the jury prize it can, that's in cinemas at the moment, and if you see that and think I want to know more about Aki Karis-Maki, you can go to Mooby the streaming service, and there is a retrospective of his films called How to Be a Human. They are also going to be theatrically releasing In January Priscilla and there is a retrospective of his films called How to Be a Human. They are also going to be theatrically releasing In January Priscilla, which is new so for a couple of film, which I am really looking forward to since I have an Elvis obsession. You can try Mooby free for

30 days at Mooby.com slash Kermit and Mayo. That's M-U-B-I dot com slash Kermit and Mayo for a whole month of great cinema for free. Get holiday ready joined today by a French film director and producer whose best known for his work in action films, he directed the first two transporter films. The incredible Hulk clashes the Titans now you see me and the 10th fast and furious instalment. Fast X is out this Friday, you can hear my interview with Louis Latterier after this clip, which will be very noisy. You remember my father? I remember his.

My father was a horrible man. Very bad, daddy. But I kind of liked him, and you took him from me when you store money and I've just found out that what's suffering. That's what I came up with. They end that suffering. Oh, and I didn't take that money.

I burned it. As a clip from Farstex, I am delighted to say you've been joined by its director, Louis Latterier. Where are you, Louis? Where are you joining us from? I'm a drawn-to-joinie you from Malibu, California. Very nice to speak to you. Thank you for spending some time.

Before we get lost in the farstex world, I just wanted to remember to say to you, how much I loved Lupin. Thank you. On television. I think you did three of the episodes. Then you just in a movie with Omar C. And I just thought there was one of those COVID things

that we found and discovered and thought it was terrific. Oh, thank you Simon. Oh, thank you so much. No, I love that. It was amazing and out of all more. So I just wanted to do that before I hit it. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention it. So, so introduces to your movie, introduces to the world of FastX.

I know there's a lot of backstory, but just bring us into the picture here. Well, there's a lot of backstory. So obviously, it centers around the Don Torrito, and his family is his white family, which is composed of direct family members and friends. And they have for the last 20 years, they've been defending the truth, fighting for the lights against the darkness and they, a villain, he's coming back from the fast, seeking revenge and he's going to hit Don Gerido where he hurts the most. He's family.

Yeah, family. So, I want to talk about Jason, my mother in a bit, but just to scroll back just momentarily, how did you get the call for directing this movie? I know there's a lot of interest in this, but I still think it's an incredible story. Tell us how you got the call. Well, yeah, I can tell you. I got the call. I literally was finishing a movie with Omar C. I was finishing the Doug Virgin, the English

version of the movie when my phone rang and he was the president of Universal. And it was so late, it was midnight. And so I thought it was a pocket call. I texted him, you must have made a mistake. Thank you so much. Good to hear. Good to see your name on my phone.

And he said, no, no, no, no, call me right away now. And it's midnight. Okay. I called him and he told me that there was a possibly a switch of directors on the first franchise. And would that be interested? The obviously said, yes, maybe. I mean, I was, I was, I was, I, I, the words wouldn't, one coming out of my mouth at this point, it just sounds. And so he said, let me send you a script, read it. If you like it, let's talk again at 5 a.m. And it was midnight, I read it once, twice, three times,

had a call with them at 5, told them how great the script was, how much I love this franchise. And passed, passed because I didn't think I would be able to do what I do when, or any director does, in the, with no runaway, literally, take, you know, take this franchise to a new heights with no prep. It was very, very difficult to do. So they said, sorry, goodbye.

And I walked into my bedroom. So my wife showed up in one eye. She said, you look very pale. What happened? I said, see how it went me fast. And I passed. What a genius, you should be grubbed me by the collar. Shook me. I said, what did you do? Call them back right away.

I called them back. I said, is there still an opening? You have you called anybody else? I said, yes, but, but you know, let's get back on the phone. We did and, and that's it. That's a history of it. You know, three days later, I was on a plane and then for these later I was going action on first ten. You don't pass on fast that's basically what your wife was saying. So she's the hero, never mind Jason or Vin, the hero of this movie is your wife. She's the true hero of this movie very much so yeah. If this had gone conventionally Louis Louis, would you have been a like three months before? Would you have been working on this? Three or four?

Yeah, six months. Six years. Yeah, no, no, it takes a year or so. You know, these movies there, you know, it's 25 cast members. It's five global locations. No, it takes a year or so to prep. So no, it was, it was a, that really is why I passed, because I know the enormity of the task. Yeah. And so, so, so, so yeah, it would have been a year, a year, a year

to half. So, how long from that pocket dial, that wasn't a pocket dial, from the head of universal to you saying, action, how long? Five days, less than a week. Five days. Absolutely. That's impossible. You can't possibly have got up to speed. What was going through your head at that time? Well, I know you've got great experience for these movies, but this is still an incredible story. I have experience, but not that type of experience. So it was the greatest climb. It was the biggest male. It was so, so I looked at it as really a, you know, eating the elephant one bite at a time, like really focusing on the task at hand, you know,

the morning I was going to direct. What was the first thing I was going to do? What was the second thing I was going to do? Then, you know, taking every moment I had off from the set and working and shut listing and rewriting and talking to the crew. The crew was right out of the round. They were like, really they would do it. You had actors in Rome. I was in London. You had actors prepping in Portugal or cruise prepping in Portugal. And I had to gather everyone. And at the same time, being a fast and

serious director, you have to be sort of the general of a normie. You cannot be always in the front line. You need to guide people in the right direction, but from afar. And that's what I did. I had so many monitors. Sometimes it felt like I was the head of NASA calling action in Rome cut and action, posture bill cut and ready in London go and having different channels to talk to my actors or to the second year directors. It was very different idea than people have of these movies. Like, you already are sometimes boots on

the ground, but sometimes you're really remote and you're doing the same thing. It's very interesting. And I think, you know, having done so much remotely in the last three years, that actually was very helpful. I realized that there was possible to get quality interaction through computers.

How many of the people working on this, had you worked with before Louis? I know you came quite close to getting fast eight. So you'd kind of been a part of this world and come close. But how many of these people who you're now working with on a daily basis because you're their boss essentially? How many knew you? I'm not the boss. I'm a member of the family. There's no boss, maybe Vin Diesel. The studio I knew very well. Obviously Jason stayed there because we started our parish together.

And here and there are a couple of actors, but Natalie Emmanuel, I did the dark crystal. She was the voice of one of our galflings. So we, very, you know, it's a part from Jason, say, them who are new and I don't like many, you know, couple of movies with him and a few commercials. Now, I got to know everyone, and frankly, to tell you the truth,

it was like the, it was an instant, instantaneous love with every member of this cast and this crew. Like, I didn't change anyone. I just walked in and sat on the driver's seat and, you know, pressed a turbo enough we were. In these meetings, it's the meeting with Vin Diesel, the crucial work, you know, you guys have to be on the same page, because there was talk

of artistic differences with Justin Linazone, but you guys have to be absolutely agreeing on everything. Is that be right? That's the crucial relationship. Yeah, but I know completely, I cannot will not make a movie with somebody I don't agree with, you know, or a different direction. I mean, I think no one should. Like, no, there's no good movie that came out where people had artistic differences and wanted to do different movies. So I think, you know, we, we getting on that phone call and frankly that was the last phone call,

that was the last Zoom with Vin. And I'm not saying this just because we're doing a press interview today, we finished each other's sentences. We had the same views of the franchise. I am a true fan. My career was defined by the bar that was said by the Fast and Furious franchise.

These characters, I understand, I know they're there. And I also realized the power that they have, the global power that they have over the people. We were in Mexico yesterday with Vin and just to see 6,000 people chanting, Toreto, Toreto, 6,000 people in unison. There's no difference really between Vin Diesel and Dump Torreto for people. And frankly, in real life, there's no real difference between Vin Diesel and Dump Torreto.

What I did with all these actors were actually mid-dem and then bring them closer to the characters that portray. Tell us about Jason Mamo's Dante because he's getting a lot of the press. Quite correctly. He's an extraordinary character somewhere between a Batman, baddie, Jack Sparrow, Eddie Isard. I don't know. Tell us, how would you describe Dante? It's funny.

Eddie Isard is a great, I was lucky to work with Eddie once. Don't tell you. You think that's right. Do you think the Samedi is? I didn't know. That's actually a really great one. You're once. Don't take that. You think that's right? Do you think the Simede is out in there? That's actually a really great one. You're the first one to say that, the sex sex here, right? And meeting Eddie and seeing how Eddie worked,

I actually guided Jason to work this way. I mean, there's so much, I was, you know, I was talking about Viennbelec. There's so much Eddie, he's out in his performance. What Eddie was to meet Jason. And I was like, you are, there's so much life oozing out of every pore of your body,

the hair, the laughter, like easy, is out of all time, out of all universe. It's like, you know, it's like four people at once, just incredible. So what I did was to actually bring Jason into his character and to allow him to be as fun and and operatic as he wanted to be. Like really, we conceived him as a Baroque, a Rococo character, big, fun, an explosion of chaos, but also at the same time, it's because he's a great actor, being able to turn on the dive and be absolutely terrifying. And that's how we've conceived it. Yeah. As you come on at the last minute,

and you're in and you're fully involved and you love all the people, presumably, it's too late to make changes. Is it, there is a vision for 10, there's a vision for 11, I think that's the end of the front. I don't know, but presumably, you're just going with this, or do they give you the space, Louie, to say, actually, can we do that slightly differently? No, you're right, Simon, though or do they give you the space Louis to say, actually can we do that slightly differently?

No, you're right, Simon, though. They really give me the space. The script was great. The script that Justin Nene and Dan Mazzot had written was fantastic, but it's just like every script, it's just a blueprint towards guiding you towards in one direction.

The direction unfortunately could not be fulfilled because we lost the location. So half of the movie had to be changed just by necessity. And then you know, when you change half of the movie, you have to sort of like correct, and on top of that, I had to bring my own, well, yeah, I can only direct what I think is right. You know, so, so I change and twisted a couple of things. But frankly, it all stems from what was created before. Now the next one, the direction, now, the blade, yes, the page is completely blank. My computer in front of me has a cursor blinking right now.

And it's just like, okay, where are we going? Where are we going? I know where we're going. I know where we were ending. Fiendizel was very clear and we talked about this. I talked to everyone about where this franchise is ending. But the road to lead us there is going to be very interesting. So it definitely says, definitely finishing with that thing that you're about to write on that cursor in front of you? Yeah, that's the end of it because some people were thinking that Venn had suggested there was a trilogy to finish, but is that true? You know, the thing about Fast and Furious, I think the thing about any fantastic franchise is that they treat each movie separately. Every movie has to be the

best movie possible. If you think about the next movie, the movie after this movie, you're going to fail. So we're really focusing on the next one. But as I told you some, and we absolutely know where we're ending. So the road might take us in a different direction, because obviously that's the beginning and of our creative process. And also we are also listening to the fans, we're listening to the audience, we are going to see how this audience is reacting to part one. So let's see where it takes us.

But yeah, the end is near, I can tell you, I can promise you. The end is near, but it might not be in the next film, that might be another one. Let's see, we'll see. And just before we finish, it is worth mentioning that in your film, Louis, you have four Oscar-winning women in this movie. I'm not sure many films can actually claim that, but that's testament to what the franchise is delivered.

It's a testament to where the franchise is delivered. It's also, it's very important to say that these women have reached out to be in the movie. And so the most of the actors, you know, this franchise was an ease something that is known in the world, you know, in our creative world as an explosion, an initial explosion of fun on screen where the actors can really give their best and do something quite different that what they do elsewhere. So when Shalice there on came, when Bri Larson reached out and spent a weekend with Vin Diesel and his family, that was out of love. There really was as fans. And it's interesting to see the behind the scene of this movie where everybody really collaborates

and everybody's always talking to each other and really trying to make this movie the next one the fast universe as great as it can be. Louis Littaria, we appreciate all the time you spent with us today. Thank you very much indeed. Thank you Simon. Talk to you soon Louis Latterier speaking to me even though now as we mentioned at the beginning Of this particular podcast mark hasn't heard that interview and in fact neither right because it hasn't happened yet And well my guess is he was outrageously French and very good because of his movie and it's

an astonishing story. I mean, I know this kind of thing happens, but to be in that position where from, you know, you get a call from the head of university, can you take over this franchise to the moment where you actually call action? It's like five days or whatever it was. It's incredible. How do you even begin to get your head around that kind of project in that amount of time? Well, you know, that's what he does. He's the safe pair of hands who can do, and it's not like he hasn't got a very fine box of his track record. So, having not heard the interview and having no idea what he said in the interview. So, this is fast X or fast X as you were sort of calling it then, which is the 10th chapter, but the 11th movie,

if you can't, Hobbs and Shaw. And as has been pointed out, one of the weird things about the Fast and Furious film series, which of course began life as a B-Racing Street racer, as a B-movie Street racer thing, which was inspired by magazine articles. So very much kind of down on the floor stuff. The titles are, so faster than the furious, too fast, too furious, faster than furious Tokyo drift.

Three. Fast and furious. Four. Fast five. Fast and furious, six, furious seven, the eight of faster, eight of faster thanious, F9 and Fast X. I'm very confused. With Hobbs and Shaw in the middle, and exactly where they were geographically. So in the first film, as I said, street racing, little bit souped up, camera going through all the,

well not camera, so CG going into the carb retters and the injection and the nitrous bloody bloody by this. The most that then sort of turned into this behemoth basically mission impossible series in which well it's not really about street racing anymore, it's about huge international stuff. So in one of the most recent offerings they strapped a rocket onto a car and shot a couple of cast members into space. Right. Which is always delighted me, because if you know anything about the air plane movie, the airport

movie, it's not the airplane movie, it's the airport movie. So airport takes place in an airport. Airport 75, plane in the air gets hit by a smaller plane, person winched in on the end of a piece of string. Airport, and I have to get this right, is it 77, is the one in which it goes under the sea and it turns into a submarine. The one after that, the Concorde, which I think is 79 or 80, depending where you were, flips out of the Earth's atmosphere and becomes a spaceship. So it's sort of following that. There's a sequence in the new, uh, film, fast

X, fast 10 as you were calling it, in which a car is in an aeroplane, jumps out of the aeroplane, hits the road running, gets connected to two helicopters that explode, then goes back into being a plane, and then later on turns up underwater. Well, that seems fair enough. There's not much to say anymore, except that if you go and see FastX you know what you're going to see. I saw it on the BFI, BFI, iMac screen in London which is the biggest screen in the UK and the biggest screen in the world. It's not in the world but it's you know, anyway that one can find. So it's really, really big. And you know exactly what you're going to get. If you've forgotten who any of the characters are, I've And you know, exactly what you're going to get, if you've, I've forgotten who any of the

characters are, I've forgotten, you know, what the connections are from the things that, because there's a whole thing that happens that actually happened five movies ago that I forgot about, because I can't remember. There are cameos from people throughout the series who turn up, you know, they turn up for the purpose of cameos. There's whistle stop visits to London features and, you know, a bit of it's in re-un a bit of it's in Rio and a bit of it's in Portugal and a bit of it's in Antarctica and a bit of it's here and a bit of it's there. And people who were enemies become friends and people who were friends become enemies. But then, and then Vin Diesel goes, family. So it goes, bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy,y crash crash bang bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy. Family, bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy crash crash bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy.

Oh, I haven't seen them for a while. Family bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy crash crash bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bang. Who's that? Oh, I thought they were, no, it turns out, ah, bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy bangy I think you're banking back. Is that a bomb? Or is it a death star? I mean, that's, it's very early on in the film, they attempt somebody, attempts to blow up the Vatican. So it's like, okay, you know,

it's like the Michael Bolton thing. You're at the end of the first line of the first, where are you gonna go? Peak too soon. You peaked too soon and the film's two hours, something long. I mean, it is what it is. Jason Mimoe has fun. It's all overcr the film's two hours something long. I mean, it is what it is. Jason Mammar has fun. It's all overcranked loudness.

None of it has any heft because there's a lot of CG. There's a bit after the most massive explosion happens and then a news report goes, luckily no lives for a loss. You go, don't be silly. It's not a casual piece is what kept to a minimum. I think I got a cold. I mean, what is that?

It's a television screen. I'm doing the version of the television screen. But here's the thing, if you go and see it, this is what you're going for. When they rocketed the cast members into space on a car attached to a firework, you know? Yes. It seems a bit churlish to go, well, that wouldn't happen.

You go, no, but it's F9 or whatever it was at that point. It is what it is. My problem is I'm not engaged because there's not because none of it is, none of it is, none of it's got any crunch, none of it's got needs just, loudy loudy loudy loudy loudy loudy loudy loudy loudy loudy loudy loudy loudy loudy loudy loudy loudy loudy, boom! Family, I thought, this is the first fast film I've seen. Loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly loudly know who they are. I thought it's like the arches with guns and cars, because interesting. Even if you've never, I don't like the arches, but if I hear it, it's like, I know what's going on. I know who they are. This thing's happening. I've missed 40 years or 50 years of plot. It doesn't matter. I'll just join in. So I think of this as the arches.

Okay. I think that's a fair enough comparison. Did you enjoy FastX? Well, yes. I mean, on a completely superficial level, I admired the scale of the project, which is incredible. And the stunts are not real stunts. And they can drive quite fast. And the bit with the dam, that was quite good.

But you know, so it's the arches. So, you know, I'm interested to see what happens. That, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that X with Fast 11, presumably, not far away. It's the ads in a minute, Mark, but first it's time to step again into our very entertaining, always very lovely and welcoming laughter lift. I'm looking forward to it. I didn't think you are. All that's loud. Little less, little less there. Hey, hey, Mark. Hey Simon, the good lady's ceramic sister and I was trying to catch me out this week.

Name a country with no R in it. I said, no way. Oh, very yes, that's good, that's good, that's good. Thank you. You're making my funeral plans before it's too late. I've asked to be cremated and my ashes pressed into a record. It's my vinyl request. I've been remembering the Halcyon days

of the London Olympics mark, you know, all the way back to 2012. I do. I pulled some strings and I got child 3 into a practice session of the field sports. He went up to a man with a long stick and said, are you a pole-volter? He said, no, I'm German, but how did you know my name? Anyway, I'm not sure about you. Not sure about you, Matt, but as I get older, not only do I simply forget people's names, I seem to confidently call them by the wrong name.

It's becoming my Aphrodite's heel. I like that. A gentle, gentle. That's nice. Ripple of a human. What have we got to come? These are better than usual. Thank you.

Bo is afraid, which is the Ariaster film, which we spoke to Ariaster about last week. Be back after this, unless you're a Vanguard Eastern, in which case your Instagram feed hates you, like a really fun person to be around and your service will not be interrupted. With banking packages from Scotia Bank, you can put money back in your pocket.

That's how Marcus was able to invest in everything he needed to launch his podcast about his pets. Welcome back to PetGas. Visit ScotiaBank.com slash welcome offer, scoshibank conditions apply. Your business has grown fast, from opening your first location to planning an expansion in no time. And with your business platinum card from American Express, you can access spending power and payment flexibility to fuel your growth.

Sarah, the contractor is here with the plans. American Express, don't do business without it. Terms and conditions apply visit mx.ca slash business platinum. Now an email from Sean, gets in touch correspondents at curbandamay.com, Dear Royal Iris and Ben, my Ben, my Cherey. Ben McCree. I was at that one. Ben McCree, yeah.

Do you want to explain that? It's the name of a boat that goes backwards and forwards between the island and will live a ball, hey, shem sometimes, but I'd live a ball, you should. So Sean says, your recent search for uplifting films without any distressing themes leads me to share a recent idea. And the Royal Iris is the boat that goes around on the mercy with where the Kevin Floating Kevin club used to be.

Thank you. Have you finished that answer now? No, I'm just sorry, but I was just, you know, having young children not old enough to tolerate even the mildest of threat and not the attention span yet to get beyond 30 minutes. I propose the one act you as in use certificate. Wherein you can watch any film with dire outcomes, but simply leave before the first act finishes. So I'd say I'd cite the first Jurassic Park,

an exploration of the morality of scientific experiments, simply exit before the end of Act One and you've got a jolly dinosaur show with a fantastic score. That does work. Just show the first half hour before it all goes wrong. Could your good selves or the listeners suggest any other films that can be converted into a one-act U? Okay, so this is our continuing search for films that you can watch with zero threat. They're good, they have quality, they're worth watching, but no threat. So one act used then, adapt various films, which all falls apart towards the end.

If you will remember, we had a listener email some time ago from somebody who had been taken to see Sound of Music and thought that the intermission was the end of the film because that's when they left. So they thought Sound of Music ended with the tanks rolling into Austria. Yeah, that's not a very good one. Which is not the film at all. No, so that becomes a better film afterwards.

Afterwards, you just want to say, maybe there are films where you just need to see the last half-hands. Where everything is okay. It's all right. They've got away over the hills and it's all fine. I would think in most 30-minute use that Sean is suggesting there are seeds being planted of the bad stuff to come, as opposed to it just appearing from nowhere. Yeah, I mean, I was thinking whether or not you could apply it to, because I was thinking you know, you could do the version of the exorcist in which a young girl is approaching a birthday

and a mother agrees to take her on a site to see a trip and then take her to the cinema and everything's lovely. But of course, that's actually preceded by the Iraq sequence in which Father Mary and Confronts a large statue of a demon. So I haven't seen it. No, I know. And you're not going to.

No, you're not. Keith says, did Dr. Who and Dr. What? And of course, your world class production team and the great redactor in chief. I'm sure you'll get a ton of correspondence. Oh, by the way, we're in the times today. Oh, are we? Yeah, why is that?

Is that the story that you told last week? They don't credit us, but anyway, the story that you told last week about you having a conversation with Oliver Stone and he was surprised that your wife was working. Oh, that's right, because I said, I have to go, he turned up late and then we were talking,

and he said, if you're going, I said, what, he said, he came up, turned up late, and then we were talking, and he said, if you go, and I said, I said, well, he said, I'm going to pick the kids off from school. And he said, well, can't your wife do it? I said, no, she's working. And he went, man, that's tough. So that's the reason, in the time. Is it? Wow.

Yes, very good. Anyway, I'm sure you get a ton of correspondence in whatever spelling on these subject of public information films. Because for a certain generation, then younglings, they were unavoidable. I enjoyed Mark's amused reaction to the mention of polishing a floor and putting a rug on it, which suggested he might not remember them. It is available on YouTube.

Polish a floor and put a rug on it. Your might as well set a man trap. Hurry up and see him in the wall. I'll put the kettle on. Your might as well set a man trap And to think you'd only just come from the hospital that was a public information film That's a real thing. Yeah a real warning against the dangers of polishing a floor and putting a rug on it. Don't you think, wow, that's niche. How do you, um, hi there. Do you fancy polishing a floor and then putting a rug on it? Putting a rug on it.

Anyway, Keith says, you'll never hear the line to think he'd only just come from the hospital in quite the same way. I imagine, and why did he just have to come from the hospitalist? Oh, they've had a baby. Okay. He wasn't carrying the baby when he slipped on the rug. Wow. So imagine don't go anywhere near a fridge, don't polish a floor and put a rug on it.

No, beware of fault lift trucks. Or if you polish a floor, put a rug on it. Oh no, are they saying don't put a rug on it? No, don't put a rug on it. Yes, they're saying if you polish the floor and put a rug on it, but what a rug, the rug slidey. But if you get a rug and you put some of that grip of which is what we do, yeah.

And that's fine. And it's fine. Or just have carpet. Or just don't polish the floor. I imagine you'll receive many suggestions for memorable public information films. It's amazing. It's spirit of dark and lonely water,

which is an invention. My own favorite was Play Safe, Frisbee, also available on YouTube in which, egg-don by I presume his sister, a boy attempts to retrieve a frisbee from an electricity pile on. I'm already nervous. It's like the opening of casualty, with hilarious consequences as they used to say in TV times. A few years ago, there was a very entertaining hour-long DVD on the best public information films, which still survive. It's called Charlie Says, which those of...

Charlie says, wait for the dogding. Of a nostalgic mindset, Maywee's to investigate. Tinkety Tonga down with the unwary, the show off, and the fool. Because the other one, it wasn't Frisbee's. It was never fly a kite near a pylon, wasn't it? Because the idea was that you'd be flying the kite and the kite would hit the pylon, and it would, but obviously, if you do throw a Frisbee, don't climb up the pylon, don't climb up and get it. To try and get it, you know, it's any kind of...

You see those who think, okay, fly a kite near a pylon, yeah, get in a fridge on a thing, yeah. Polish a floor and put a rug on it? Put a rug on it, mate. It's clearly whoever it was that was in that department, it happened to them, and they suddenly thought it was a big deal. Correspondence of Kermanemail.com. So Bowie's afraid. We've already spoken to Ariaster indeed. So this is the new feature from the writer director of He Ready to Read, a Headed to Tree, which he hadn't heard before.

He sort of chuckled, thought of. I still think that's funny. And Mitoomar, it is a sprawlingly picker-esque third feature, which he described as an anxiety comedy, an odyssey of sorts, an elaborate Jewish joke. He talked about it being inspired by Greek plays and Kafka-esque paranoia, which is, you know, I think pretty much true. It has its roots in a short film from 2011, which was on the internet, now pissed of disappeared from the internet, in which essentially somebody attempting to leave their apartment leaves their key in their suitcase,

and then the key disappears, and then they can't leave the apartment, and then a whole bunch of bad stuff happens. That is sort of the initial set up of Bo is afraid in which Wachim Phoenix is Bo who is this anxiety-ridden middle-aged man living in a grim apartment in what appears to be an almost post-apocalyptic cityscape. Outside in the world there are naked stabby killers and he's in his apartment, he's got an air ticket to go and visit his mother. And this is cranked his anxiety levels up.

He talks to his psychiatrist, his therapist, who writes one word down on his pad, which is guilt. I just think the idea that psychiatrists will actually write down the word guilt. It's like, you're a therapist, you're riddled with guilt. That's how it works. He's providing with something decent. And he attempts to leave his apartment and there's a sort of crossover at the beginning. And then what happens is he misses his plane.

Due to car crash circumstances, he suddenly finds himself embarking upon this episodic Odyssey. One of the sections of which is that he wakes up in the bed of people he's never met before, but who I've accidentally run him down, he's a clip. Am I jazz? No, no. You've been healing so quickly. And no organs were hit and your bleeding was really mild. What, this is a room. This is a room in our house. But it's your home for as long as you need. My name's Grace. Oh, this is Roger. This is my husband. Hey, Kai. Welcome back.

Thought you'd sleep in, huh? Roger's a very respected surgeon. He's the one who dressed and treated her wounds. You're a lucky man. What is this? That's my little assistant health monitor. Keep track of your condition. That should say, that's Nathan Lane, who comes in.

Who is... I'm afraid, as soon as he came on, I was going, Akuna, because he's either Timon or Pumbaa, one of the Tikkunas. And that's just such a great moment. And he's great in it, but it kind of took me out. So then he's in this kind of dream home, but in every dream home, a heartache, because in fact, there's this anguish and grief in the dream home that he suddenly finds himself on the wrong paints-plated end of.

Then there is a weird section in which he disappears off into the woods meets a sort of hippie woodland traveling theatre group who like to blur the boundaries between the performers and the artists in unexpected ways. He continues this odyssey en route to his mother's house and we discover more and more about how this situation is getting worse and worse and worse and worse. I mean, I won't say any more in terms of what literally happens, although you couldn't really spoil the plot because it's not to do with plot revelation. The whole thing has a sort of nightmarish logic to it, particularly at the beginning, but the logic of the whole film is nightmarish in the way of David Lynch's eraserhead. It makes sense on a kind of paranoid, anxiety, stressy level.

It obviously makes no absolute real sense. The whole thing is, as Ariasthia was saying, it's very arch, it's very unreal. I mean, he was describing it at one point. I think Nathan Lane described it at one point as a three-hour panic attack, and that's sort of the tone of it. Now, the question is whether or not the film is good, bad, or indescribable. I think the answer to it is, we sat in the same room and watched it. And I think the opening is really taught, and there's a very, very funny joke very early

on in which he has to go out of his apartment and he leaves the building door open and there are catastrophic consequences and it's really, it's funny, like it's laugh out of funny. Some of the sections, it was for you. It was for me and I laughed. You didn't. In fact, you didn't laugh at all during the whole film. I did laugh once when there was a portrait of a woman with me. Oh yes, with the big eyes, like the Tim Burn thing. Okay, fine. So some sections of it work better than others. Some sections, every section feels like it's in a different genre. So it is a game of many halves and many parts and some bits work better than other bits, although the whole thing has a kind of a momentum

that feels a bit like, you know, Voltae goes to hell via Darren Aronowski's mother, which again, is another film which it reminded me of, which I remember you hated. But absolutely hated. I think that when it's at its best, it's got a kind of, you know, a barreling psychological energy that reminds me

of Punch Drunk Love, and as I said, he raised ahead, and I think at its worst, it reminds me of Charlie Kaufman's Sinecto Key, New York. What I do think is, if you don't find it funny, it will be insufferable, it will be like a toothache or a migraine. However, the penultimate section, I thought, as I go, open your curmud and mayo branded bottle because I want people to hear.

I didn't realize how noisy it is, but just do because it's a kettle. The water is lovely and cold and I love the dusted coating. Very good, nicely, nicely made, nicely done. Yeah, it's a solid item. It is. You can put it down. Are you refreshed? I feel so much more refreshed than I am. Like Harry. I'm sorry, Harry. So in that sort of penultimate section, I laughed more than I've laughed in many a comedy film. And it was very interesting that as we finished the entry with Darren Aaron with, um, uh, Ariasta. And he said off the recording, he said,

did you find it funny? I said, I found it much funnier than I thought I was going to because I did think that it was very good answer. No, because I had not expected it to be as funny as it is. And I think that there is, it's not that funny. No, I think bits of it are hilariously funny. Like, and there are jokes in some sections that I've been laughing about ever since.

It is unbelievably indulgent, deliberately so. It is like, I think you asked Ariastra Ombun who did he make the film for and the answer is he made it for himself. Which is, oh, that's got to be a problem, hasn't it? That's got to be a red flag. It's certainly not for everyone. And that's three hours. If you don't find it funny,

and I'll say, I keep saying this, I did. There are things about it that are like slapstick psychological, Freudian humor that I just tickled me. And I do think that whole thing that it's reducible to a shaggy dog story, the main gag of which is what if your mother could hear all those things you tell your therapist, which I do find

a funny idea. So on the one hand, it's long ill-disciplined, unruly, sprawling, headache-y, all those other things. On the other hand, it is peculiar, hilarious, slapstick, absurdist, you know, with nodding its head to matter of life and death one minute and I think to airplane the next minute because there are some sight gags in it that happen so fast you almost miss them. It is a game of many halves and I think it is one of the few films in which it's not possible to say it's good or it's bad and this is why I hate that kind of that binary thing.

There are things about it that I loved, there are things about it that I found insufferable, I think you found all of it insufferable. Pretty much. Yes, pretty much. But it's still possible to admire bits of it as it goes. And I actually even like the bits that I find insufferable. And this information from the National Archive, okay, Polish a floor put a rug on it, and you might as well set a man-tram, right? Like many of the featured public information films, the Fatal Floor, which is what it's called,

is an amusing short of the Fatal Floor as NFL. Oh, yes, very good. Is an amusing short that could easily feature in a comedy sketch show, yet recent findings suggest that there may need to remake the Fat the fatal flaw for the 21st century. Why? Findings released in 2004 showed that certain fashion trends had become more dangerous to the well-being of the nation than criminals or disease. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents reported that the number of victims falling foul of parquet floors or polished floorboards

has risen 400%. Take a falling foul of a rug on a polished floor. Yeah, polished floor or a parquet floor. So they've fallen over because the floor is polished. It's risen by 400% from 2,900 in 1998 to 12,300 in 2003. So this is 20 years ago, it may well be that there's more of a late information. Wow.

So maybe we need the fatal flaw remade to warn people that you have to be careful of your flooring. So the parkay flooring thing, because the parkay flooring is polished, or because parkays got lots of little weird bits in it. Okay, well, I'd like to say something, which is I sneered and laughed at that, but you then presented me with factual information, which proves that my sneering and laughing was incorrect.

Right-wing Christian Trump supporters, take note, you dimwit. Put a rug on it. It's right, yes. Are you a right-wing Christian Trump supporter? In which case, polish your floor and put a rug on it. You know, the way Trump has on his head. What's on? This is where you email us a voice note about your festival or special screening from

wherever you might be in the world. CorrespondenceCominere.com. Here are this week's top correspondence. Hello, Simon and Mark. This is Yula Horsher from People's Palace Projects. We are bringing three incredible indigenous filmmakers from Brazil to London for the Echo's Indigenous Film Festival. They've selected 18 short films exploring the diversity of indigenous storytelling at

a time of climate emergency. Echo's at the ICA from the 19th to 21st of May. Hello Mark and Simon. Peter Blunden here to tell the listeners about the Romford Film Festival, which will run from the 24th to the 30th of May for our 7th edition. You can enjoy movies ranging from first-time filmmakers to some of the most established names on the independent film circuit. We also have special guests, free industry talks and Q&As. Weeks pass is just 35 pounds. Full info can be found at romfordfilmfestival.com. So we have Peter Blunden telling us about the

romford film festival, 24th to 30th of May and Yulah Rosha promoting the Indigenous Film Festival at the ICA on the 19th to the 21st of May, where they'll be bringing three Indigenous Filmmakers to London for Q&A sessions. Thanks for watching you, Leanne Peter, send your trailer, please, to Correspondence at Kermann. Did you get that weird sound of a plane landing in your head? No. You didn't get that. It sounded like a F1 was landing in my head. Have you been taking the medication? No, no, no, it came with some of my headphones. Yeah, literally when you went into the thing, it was like, it really, really, like a,

I think Mark has actually lost it. No, I haven't lost it. You were sitting with it. They're playing you a special thing. They're playing me a special thing. Okay, fine. So, so what's it because almost the first, it was completely,

the devil is sending you message. Is it? it's going Trump won Trump won Trump won anyway, just it was all fine It was all good. It was all particularly great. That was just the most remarkable thing Correspondence to Kerbin and Mayo dot com that is it for the end of take one before Martin loses it completely You know so many music entertainment production the team was Lily Hambley, Ryan Amira, Sancho Pansa, Goli Tikell, Bass Rackert, and Johnny Social's Hannah Tulba,

and the producer was Simon Paul, and the producer was Hannah Tulba, and the redactor is Simon Paul. I mean, basically, they're all in to change. Well, and to be honest, Lily runs the show, it's all hers. Mark, what is your film of the week? You sound as though as sprites,

because I do always end with this particular question. Hello, God. Are you there? Are you there, God? It's me, Margaret. week. time. That's the way it works. Take 3 will arrive in your devices in box next Wednesday.