Kermode & Mayo’s Take - Christian Bale, Smile, The Woman King, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris and Flux Gourmet

Episode Date: September 30, 2022

This week Simon sits down with screen legend Christian Bale to discuss his role in David O. Russell’s latest film ‘Amsterdam.’ Mark reviews Peter Strickland’s culinary black comedy ‘Flux Gourmet’; ‘Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris’ - a 1950’s period film which follows a housekeeper as she embarks on her dream, starring Lesley Manville, Isabelle Huppert and Jason Isaacs; ‘The Woman King’ starring Viola Davis - about a group of all female warriors in the 1800’s; new horror film ‘Smile’ and the star studded ‘Amsterdam.’ Plus your correspondence, What’s On and the Box Office 10. 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 Somethin’ Else & Sony Music Entertainment production.   Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts   To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Something else. Hello. Hello. What? Hello. Ian Hunter? No, I was thinking public image. And that Ian Hunter does a fantastic one as well.

Anyway, hang on at the back when, when do Ian Hunter do that? I don't know, it'll come to me at some stage. At the beginning of a song. In the middle of a song, I think. Anyway, I'm quite happy to be John Light. No, actually, I don't want to be John. You're so left wing. I know. Still still still to put that on the poster. What are the so and less winged might you most people are in comparison with John Liden about where he's and the IMF they're left wing for certain. Yeah. Have you noticed? I know. Anyway, it's amazing. It is amazing, isn't it? Halloween live show

update before we get lost. As you'll know by now, we're doing a Halloween spook tankiller. Well done. It's at the Indigo at the O2 in London, and it's on actual Halloween, which makes it, I think, this year, October the 31st, as well as tip-top bands and reviews and film, slash Elite Telly, slash chat. We're going to be doing the World Cup final of horror films. We're doing the exciting draw for that later in the show, which is still my beating heart. Spectaculally wrong.

But before we go any further, last week the bespoke spooky Halloween jingle was deemed not very scary at all. So the top production team have had another go. And this time... This one, it sounds slightly less like somebody opening a creaky drawer? Well they say... They say guaranteed to terrify everybody. Is it Donald Trump?

Okay, so here we go. This is what we've got. Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! I mean, that's very good. Thing is, it doesn't qualify as a sting, because it like goes on, it's like a track. It's like a theme tune. Theme tune, that is. That's very good. Thing is, it doesn't qualify as a sting, because it like goes on, it's like a track.

It's like a theme tune, that is. That's very good. I mean, it was scary, and I guarantee that's the voice of Simon Paul. What word do you say? What the wolf? Oh, you do say Donald Trump. Wow.

I had never heard that before, and I just made the, is it Donald Trump gag? Is that flesh-frying or something? Is that what that is? Scary chatter. Scary whispering. Anyway, it's, I've got all their albums. It's on at the Indigo at the O2 in London, on Halloween. When is it at the Indigo at the O2? So the Indigo is in the O2.

We're going to have some very special guests, and Mark will be announcing the least scary horror film of all time. So if you have a thought on that one, you can email correspondence at curbinamayow.com. For your tickets, you head to curbinamayow.com. If you'd like a ticket, where do you go? You go to curbinamayow.com. Yeah, and if you just want to take part in the general chat, where do you go? Curbinamayow.

No, there's correspondence at curbinamayow. Oh, curbinamayow. That's right. But for very good value tickets, you head to go? Curve of the Mayo. No, correspondence of coming up. Oh, correspondence of coming up. That's right. But for very good value tickets, you head to curve of the Mayo.com. How many would you like? How many tickets would you like? Well, one for me, obviously.

You're on stage, so you're not gonna be in the audience watching. Well, in that case, I'll bring all my friends, so I'm good. Oh, do you know what today is by the way? You've gone? 28th of September. Oh, okay. So you were just asking what the date was. Okay, it's the 28th of September, but... It's a wedding day.

It's a very important day. I know it's Friday. It's a very important day. Yes, I mean, this is obviously dropping on Friday. Yes. But people can listen to it at any time. It was on this day in 1745 that God saved the King was sung for the very first time. They found interesting. Drew Lane Theatre in London. And it was Thomas Ann. He was his score. And he was conducting the orchestra. He wrote Rule Britannia. But anyway, today's the first time God saved the King was performed. Thank you very much. I had no idea.

A totally top fact. That's a totally top fact. Our house is, as you know, ringing with them. I was at your house last night, Lady in the Van style, and child three was an absolute mine of information. Torrent. Including the fact that in the USSR, at a period in which the Westons were particularly popular. They had

Austans from East. Yes, I never knew that. This is all genius. This is just the way we rock basically. I tell up at your house, you make me a cup of tea and then Charles III just brings you all. It does. It's like it's the full service, isn't it? So coming up later in Take One, what can we expect Mark? The reviews of Peter Strickland's Flux Gormay, which is, I mean, it's a Peter Strickland film, Sayne Amour, Violet Davis in the historical, historical fictional epic, The Woman King.

And Mrs Harris goes to Paris. What happens in that film? Mrs Harris goes to Paris. And it's that film? Mrs Harris goes to Paris. And it's based on a novel, which is called Mrs Harris. No, Mrs Harris goes to Paris. Really? Yeah, that doesn't work. Anyway, I'm gonna be interviewing the one

and only Christian Bale, who stars, who's a bad star in David and Russell's period, mystery comedy, crime, drama, caper. I haven't seen it yet, so I'm looking to you called Amsterdam, which is out next week, series from Christian Baill on this very podcast. And as if that wasn't enough. On Monday for the vanguard, we'll be going deeper, deeper,

down, deeper and down into the world of film and film adjacent television with another extra take in which you get a bonus review, which this week is Girls, girls, girls. Is that like the, not the 1960s Elvis movie? I was thinking of the smash hit for sailor. Oh, girls, girls, girls. Well, the man, the man, the man, the man, the man. It's very outdated. Doesn't really look in the middle.

Doesn't it? No, no, no. I'm really alive, sorry. No, no, no. It goes, shy girls, sexy girls. And then someone goes, whew, whew, whew. Exactly. What are the... Motley Crew had a song called Girls, Girls, Girls. Did they? Yeah, what is that? What are the...

Motley Crew had a song called Girls Girls Girls. Did they? Yeah, it's not that one. There's Jay-Z. There is Girls Girls Girls. There's a brilliant bit in Legally Blonde in which she does the video for her audition for Harvard. You know, there's a personal video thing for Harvard. And she says one of the things, she's one of the things I can use legal language in everyday situations. And she says one of the things she's, one of the things I can use legal language in everyday situations. And she's walking down the road and someone goes, whew, whew, whew, whew, whew,

she goes, I object! Oh well, she's genius. That film is great. Also the coasters had a song called Girls Girls Girls. But I mean, these are nothing to do with this movie. No, you're gonna be doing that. No, in fact it's Finnish. And in the original title is the word for girls

in Finnish three times. And what is that word? I've got it written down on a piece of paper. Well, I'm worried about that. I'll leave people hanging for that. Yeah, it's just something. I'll go to it when we get to it. So we're also going to be expanding your viewing

and our feature one frame back inspired by Mrs Harris. Where does she go? She goes to Paris. I keep forgetting. We've been asking you for your Parisian films, so lots to choose. It's going to be followed by Mrs. Bermany goes to Germany. And anyone in his thing there was advised to take a long breath. Very good.

Thank you very much. We're the two runners, see you next week. And in Take It All Leave It, you decide our word of mouth on a podcast feature. Mark will be talking about something called Breaking Bad, which seems to be an American drama about a chemistry teacher set in New Mexico or something like that. Never heard of it myself Send your suggestions for elite streaming stuff. We may have missed to correspondents at Kermin a mayor dot com And if all that sounds right up your strasser

Please do sign up for our premium value extra takes through Apple podcasts or if one prefers a different platform Then one should head to extra takes dot com and if you're already a vanguardist as always We salute you. James Butler. Why like that? Oh, as in Butler, as in Blakey. Dear SS Poseidon and Boatiemann boatface. To put this boat versus ship thread to bed. Which is very quickly, SS Poseidon,

the Poseidon adventure, based on a novel by Paul Gallico, who wrote Mrs Harris goes to Paris. There you go. Thank you. There's Kevin Bacon involved at any stage. Almost certainly. To put this boat versus ship thread to bed or rather on its bike or more aptly out

to sea, probably after taking a long walk off a short pier. I walked for many, I worked for many years with the Royal Navy and asked this very question of a very salty NCO one evening and A salty, that's a word that's not used to them. There's a clear and definitive answer to this question. Okay, here we go. This sounds like an actual answer. Okay.

From a salty NCO. Okay. A ship has one continuous deck from Bauter Stern above the waterline, whereas a boat does not. This is why submarines are known as boats, not ships, and therefore why that film is called Das Boot and not Das Schiff. Loving the same old show, especially the new brevity, take the Tonk and down Periscope, James Butler, living the European dream in Leo. So there it is, that's what the ship is. Just read it again. A ship? A ship has one continuous deck from Bautistern

above the water line. I mean, obviously there's not much point to having one below the water line. Well, submarine does have one below the water line. Well, it clearly doesn't. It hints it being sub. Anyway, thank you, James. We appreciate that.

Dr. Lucy Walker now, dear problem and Maria, on the recent sub-subtopic relating to nuns and Nazis. A few more fun facts. Nuns standing up to fascist or violently oppressive regimes of one sort or another, if not specifically in the Nazis, is definitely a thing. There's a brilliant British film called A Conspiracy of Hearts set during World War 2 in which nuns from a Catholic Convent in Italy rescue Jewish children from internment camps and shelter them in their crypt. The nuns are pitted against the German generals who have taken over the Italian camp and they are fabulously heroic. In Heaven Knows Mr. Allison, sister Angela has to confront the Japanese army while stranded on a Pacific

island, admittedly with the help of Robert Mitchum. The nun story concludes with sister Luke leaving holy orders to help the resistance. And the 1960 film, 1960 French film, dialogue de Camelitte, sees nuns standing against the reign of terror in revolutionary France to continue their religious services, although ultimately, they get guillotting. The same story has been the subject

of a brilliant opera a few years earlier. So there you have it. If you want a gang to stand up to the bad guys, get yourself some nuns. They're the magnificent seven in habits. Hail Mary and down with all manner of fascist regimes. Dr. Lucy Walker. Thank you, Lucy. Very good. Very good. And of course, there is a joke in the Despicable Me franchise about non-chucks, isn't there? Remind me. Well, non-chuck or non nonchuck art, as they were called at one point,

flail sticks, rice flails, were in out, they were a, they were a master of arts, you know, two bits of sticks to get together with the chain, which for a while were absolutely banned from being depicted on screen at all by the BBFC under James Furman, which is why one of the teenage mutant ninja turtles movies was cut when one of the turtles picks up a string of sausages that the BBC believed resembled a non-chuck.

And they cut that. So tell us about something that's out there and interesting. Okay, Flux Gormay, which is a new film by Peter Strickland, who you and I interviewed for his short film, Cold Meridian, really. So he made Bebearing Sound Studio, starring Toby Jones, Duke of Burgundy in fabric, which I loved. This stars Fatemahamid, who is a regular in Strictlens film,

as the front woman of a culinary performance collective, and no, I hadn't heard of it either. They have a residency at the Sonic Catering Institute, as you were, in which is a temple of culinary performance, where they're going to workshop their latest project, whilst being recorded by a dossierge, character called Stones, what? A dossierge, somebody who I believe writes, basically he's there to just write down what happens. He's a writer, but that's what he does.

Who is suffering with intestinal pain and flatulence? Meanwhile, there is a rival culinary performance group, the Mangrove Snacks, who get in the way of afternooner speeches by and I'm not making this up, throwing a terrapin through the window. Really, here's a clip. What happened? The Mangrove Snacks. What are the Mangrove Snacks? They applied for the residency.

They didn't get it. And this is how they respond? Happens all the time, this kind of thing. For every culinary collective, I offer a residency too or does an others give me hell for rejecting them. I have a whole fold of field with poison pen letters. I'm sorry. I'm used to it, sadly.

Why did you reject him? I don't like what they do to Tarot. So you only chose me because I'm vegetarian? I'm not going to get drawn on my selection process. Now look, I know that Peter Strickland films aren't for everybody. They are definitely for me. He said that he was originally inspired by the tension between art groups who take sponsorship and then don't want any input from the sponsorship.

And in this, what happens is that Gwendolyn Christie's character wants to be involved in the creative process. She says, you can keep the Epicurian toxicity, but indulge me on the flanger, please, which is one of my favorite lines. And the film is really strange and engaging and weird and bizarre and surrealist in a kind of fine. But the reason it works is because beneath all that strangeness and ritualised oddness, it is, it's engaging, like you kind of believe in the characters. And it's interesting that Strickland, his sights, his influences have been breast-on. Marcel Marso, for the mind.

And the Viennese actionist, no, I had to look him up as well. Viennese actionist. A short-lived art movement of the 20th century from the 60s and 70s. Thank you. Alongside, this is spinal tap because they're all interviewed about the art that they're doing. And here's the key thing with spinal tap. Even when it's ridiculous and Nigel Tuffel is talking about this goes up to 11 and complaining about the folding food. And then you get, you know, I want small bread. Yeah. Or I don't want small bread. You still believe that Spinal Tap are actually a band.

And the genius of what Strickland does is, in the middle of all this, you do actually oddly believe in the characters, even when the situations are out the window of absurd. A colleague of mine described this as Peter Strickland's funniest film. And yes, there is much in it that is hilarious, but it's also got this kind of underlying sadness

and this weird kind of incantatory, Kenneth Anger, those sort of short films. What does that mean? Kenneth Anger made short films that were like spells. They were like literally watching them was like an incantation. In the same way that all that weird stuff about washing machines in Fabric becomes in

cantature, it does here as well. So it's engaging, it's odd, it's bizarre and strange and extreme, but it's also oddly moving. And that's the genius with Strickland is somehow he manages to weld those two things together. Don't know how he does it, but only he does it. Is this at the cinema? It is in the cinema. Thank you very much.

Still to come. Oh, still to come. Reviews of Mrs. Harris, goes to Paris. Yes. The woman king and our interview with... And yes, our interview with Christian Bale coming away in just a few moments. Time for the ads first, unless you're in the vanguard, in which case we'll be back before you can say Fabio Capello. Fabio Capello. Hi, esteemed podcast listeners, Simon Mayow. 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

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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. This episode is brought to you by Mooby, a curated streaming service dedicated to elevating great cinema from around the globe. From my connect directors to emerging otters, there's always something new to discover, for example. Well, for example, the new Aki Karri's Mackey film Fallen Leaves, which won the jury prize

at CAN, that's in cinemas at the moment. If you see that and think I want to know more about Aki Karri's Mackey, you can go to go to movie The Streaming Service and there is a retrospective of his films called How to Be a Human. They are also going to be theatrical releasing in January Priscilla, which is a new Sophia couple of film, which I am really looking forward to since I have an Elvis obsession. You can try movie free for 30 days at movie.com slash kermedonmayo. That's m-u-b-I dot com slash Kermit and Mayo for a whole month of great cinema for free.

I won't be able to think of it as anything other than one. Just while the ads were on, we just had an interesting discourse as to why it is that Mrs Harris goes to Paris, which is we'll talk about this a bit later. And what tense the title is. Yes. You think present continuous? Is it? Well, I was thinking past it, but no, I think it right. She goes.

Goes. I mean, is it going? She's in the process of going. Of going. Is that right? Present continuous means happening now and ongoing. If any of you had listeners at the economists who could help us with these things, correspondence that come in and they got out. Is that a cheonger or is he just doing that? Just don't write for him. No, just turned up.

George in Gloucestershire, I can say, I write to you with regard to your discussion of why the financial times is pink. Yes. Last other news papers. Yes. Yes. Which you threw out last week. Yes. As a question. George says, as a former employee of the FT, don't worry, this is not an exercise in revengeful whistle blowing. I believe the reason is that historically, many newspapers were originally pink, but dyed white.

Due to the cost of this process, and the papers' reputation for being fiscally responsible, the FT chose not to dye their paper. I run it now. The cost of now dying the paper pink is astronomical, but I think most people would agree it's worth it because you know the FT when you see it. Do you see it?

Of course, a current employee could write in and tell you this is all nonsense. And it's because it's based on a fancy banknote. Incidentally, if any of the church on the eastern Paul's Cathedral in London, and have a spare 10 minutes, I would thoroughly recommend going to Bracken House, home of the FT and taking a look around the small museum and its old printing machine. Love the show, Steve, who by the time this comes out, he will be just finishing his daily

show. Well, moving on. Well. Any other show, Steve? Hello to Jason, down with Monochrome Paper paper printing, Georgian Gloucestershire. That's genuinely fascinating and thank you. That's brilliant. And how lovely that it's to do with the financial time is being fiscally responsible.

Exactly. And if you know any other facts about that, we would love to... The economist, the F.T., I mean, how for Luton. Even if our lift is low for Luton, this is high. This is high. But you're going to enjoy this email. Okay. Dear Newman and McQueen, I'm a long-term listener first-time emailer junior member of the Exorcist fan club

I could the proud husband of Lena Durham and the executive music producer on Catherine called birdie. Hey, I want Lena Dunham Yes, Lena Dunham. What did I say Durham? Oh, no, that's Judith Durham's She was in the seekers. Okay, Judith Durham was the lead singer of the Seekers, along with Keith Popper, Athol Guy and Bruce Woodley. How about that? Wow. So my apologies.

Wow. Laina Duttam and the executive producer on Catherine Call Birdie. Which I loved. You did. That's what this email is. Oh good, okay, fine, great, great. First of all, I want to say thank you so much

for watching Catherine Call Birdie. Both Laina and I are huge fans of your observations. And they truly made our release day that you enjoyed it and not just that you went and made it your film of the week. I was dancing around my kitchen shouting, okay now this has to be in the voice of Leto. Okay.

Mama Mia, I cannot believe it. So now you have to do. Mama Mia, I cannot believe it. That's it, that's exactly right. However, I hate to be the guy whose ego makes him email in a small correction, but I am that guy indeed. What do I do? I'm a musician after all.

Yes. Really, it's just a little linear note. Yes. Carter Bowel did the score, features the musical Ensemble Rumpful of Teeth, but Matt Olchin and I, Louis Felber, aka Atowelper, produced, arranged, and performed the soundtrack. Our cover of All Right came out today, forgive the plug.

Okay. Misty Miller sings all the songs minus one, performed by Bella Ramsey. Thank you. Her third is song herself. Yes. And another one, sweet dream sung by Emma Chitty. Her band is called Sugar.

Okay, thank you. If I can just put it very quickly. I did try to research this more fully by trying to see what the tracks reveal. So I apologize for getting it wrong. Here is Tip Topper said. It is complicated. This is from the horses man. The soundtrack alongside Carter's genius score will be released by Amazon on streaming platforms on October 7th and vinyl. Oh, there's another plug. My debut solo record presence by Atta Welp, which is my middle name,

also comes out on October the 7th too. And I'm done. And we're playing a room full of teeth track on school. Catherine Call Birdie will always... Thank you for that. Catherine Call Birdie will always hold a special place in our hearts. We met on a blind date just days before Lainett went on set to commence shooting in Shropshire.

So it's a true joy to receive your review. Thank you for doing what you do, love to Jason and all members of the church, take a deep tonk down with the Nazis from Louis brackets at a well-pa. Thank you very much. Thank you for the correction. I mean, it wasn't for one of trying. Yes. Still, you see, I think that's great. Very good. So if you, what I would now quite like to happen is for them to do a selection of songs by the seekers. For them not the new seekers, not the seekers, Georgie Girl, Morningtown Ride and

very similar. Morningtown rides a joy, isn't it? Also, if you are married to or in a relationship with anyone who has made any of the films that we discussed, please feel free to get in a relationship with anyone who has made any of the films that we discuss. Please feel free to get in touch. We don't mind receiving corrections as long as you are associated to someone who's made one of the films. Is that fair enough? Of course, opponents that come in the middle of the host. I just work here. Right. So, Blackbird, what's the latest mark? Where are we? Here's your in-depth. I'm the car as I've got. So the Monaco

streaming film festival have sent me finally the reports on the 21 at 21 and 22 festival, but they don't tell me anything other than re your question. But in fact, we consider every film and series submission we receive for each award category, but there isn't a list of what those films were. It says, the Gala Awards will recognize and celebrate new ideas shaping the on-demand streaming industry and honor the individuals and content producers who have made a significant contribution to the streaming industry. But I, Michael Flatley won Best Actor for a film which, to the best of my knowledge is not on streaming.

Right. So all I can say is I don't appear to have a list. I can't tell you who he beat. So there are no other nominees as far as we know. I have not been provided with a list of nominees that Michael Flatley beat in order to win the, I think this is, this is the end of it. So I am going to say, I'm sorry, I think that the award for best actor for Michael Flatley from the Monaco streaming film festival isn't worth the paper it's not written on. And the newspaper that then said, this has

slashed his Oscar odds should be ashamed of themselves. And that's my final word. And that's probably it, correspondents at Curbinamay.com. Let's have a word about blonde, which this is from Tom Bolton. Today I took a trip to see blonde. When, as the film began, the certificate from the Irish Film Classifications office appeared. Now, this confused me for two reasons. First, I was not in Ireland.

I was in North London. Specifically, I was in the Crouch and Art House. And second, the rating shown on the certificate was a 16. I had heard all the Huha from America about how this was the first NC17 film in many years, or whatever, and so I was expecting this to be a film that maxed out ratings in all regions. My guess was that either the Irish were less strict than other classification boards, or that I was about to watch a cut version of Blond and not Andrew Dominic's cut. I still do not know why the rating was only 16 or why it was the Irish certificate that was shown. What does Mark know of the Irish classification office? Does he have any

explanation? Do you have any explanation for these events? No. Okay, thanks. If anyone can help, correspondence at Kermann.com. Tom says, any explanation, do you have any explanation for these events? No. Okay, thanks. If anyone can help, correspondence at cominemarran.com, Tom says in other news, the film was great, I would make a great companion piece to my favorite film of last year, which was Spencer.

In the UK, the BBSC gave it 18th certificate and outlined exactly why. And it's, I mean, it's not a film that pushes, there's nothing in the film that will be contentious in an 18-stifigate film by any means. And the whole American system with the R and the NC 17 is so shot. It's not worthy. But talking about weird that you go to see a movie in this country and what comes up is an Irish classification. Yes, that is odd, but it's not the first time it's happened,

but it is so as far as, you know, there isn't an edit, which is, because it's not, not as far as I know, I doubt that's the case. No, there wouldn't be. I assume it's not otherwise, unless the film literally starts opening credits and then finishes, because if they were going to wait out anything, it would have to be the whole film.

From the beginning. Okay, all right. Well, if anyone can help, just get in touch. So the box office top 10 at 50 after Yang, which I liked. I mean, it's a really interesting AI story that's melancholy because I'm lovely score by Ask about Samir, who I'm a big fan of. And is that a aforementioned person going out with the person who made the film? No, I don't believe so.

No. You get a number 35, Juniper, which we were talking about last week with Charlotte Rampling, who was, I thought a fantastic guest. She was. The truth be known, we were both slightly scared of her. We were. We were. But she... And a lot less scared of her when she left,

but I have to say our respect for her, I think, was through the roof. No, no, absolutely. She was a proper, a proper star who gave a proper, intelligent, smart, thoughtful interviews. True. And normally when you ask someone a question in an interview, you can tell from their facial expression

whether they liked the question, whether they don't like the question, whether you've actually got a very good point which they agree with. But with Charlotte Rampy had not a clue. She made a great lawyer. Yes. Yes, she just had that look and then she answered the question. Number 10, Top Gun Maverick. It's been in the Top. Top 10 for 18 weeks. So, presumably not going anywhere anything. Well, I'm so... You would think it might be its last week, but anyway, number nine here and in America, bullet train. And number eight here, no, in America, tad the lost explorer and the curse of the mummy. Yes, I've said, I don't really get the tad series.

And number seven here, number five in the States, DC League of Superpets. I mean, I think it's the vacuum theory that it's done as well as it has because there wasn't anything else. I think that's it. Number six here, number 10 in America, minions the rise of groove. And this is now its 15th, 13th week in the chart.

There's not a lot of change. Makes me very happy. Moon Age Daydream is it number five? Which I just loved and I'm going to go back and see it on iMacs because I know a couple of people have seen it on the iMacs screen and say it adds a whole other dimension to it. See how they run is it number four, number six in the states. Really good fun, fantastic centreforms by Sursha Ronan and just a complete surprise because I knew nothing about the film other than the posters before it opened and it was just an absolute treat in a delight.

Avatar is the UK's number three and America's number three. Yeah, reissue because we have the new Avatar coming in, well, in soon, isn't it? It's amazing that the old Avatar has gone in at number three. But, you know, number two here, number one in America. School smurf since space, isn't it? Don't worry darling, Charlotte Benson, age 16. Mark and Simon, tonight I watched Don't worry darling. I have actually no words to describe

how I felt throughout the film and how I feel now about the film. Okay, go ahead. Although she said she got no words, but here is the result. Then here are some. Florence Pew is incredible as usual. Nick Crowell brought a bit of humor to the film. Harry Styles was amazing. He doesn't deserve any slander over his acting skills.

Who does? The film had some truly shocking events with most of the main events happening in the second half of the film. As a film student, I find it hard to watch a film without thinking about the aesthetic and cinematography. Visually, the film was beautiful and some of the cinematography was impressive. Yes. I think the story was good. However, my friend and I left the cinema with dozens of questions. Yeah. Although I think that's what a film, that's what makes a film great. Anyway, that's pretty much. And also, can you give my dad a shout out, please? His name is Richard. He's a huge fan of your show. Thank you. He says he's an LTL. Good. Well, Charlotte, top dad,

he is, and he's been brought up. Probably. And we you don't worry, tell me number two. I mean, it does look good. It is the Steppford wives. It's way too long. It's not terrible. It's not great. It's just, okay, yeah. That Forage Peer is really good. Harry Styles is really nothing.

Chris Pine, you know, fairly scene stealing. Uh, well, it is funny that whenever I see Chris Pine, I do think William Shatner, and I don't think that's ever going to go away. Um, and when you say that, I just see him, when the interview, when we did the Star Trek interview, I remember him doing... He was doing push-ups, or stop the strange body-building exercises.

Not to the annoyance of his co-star. Although I'm a big William Shatner fan, because William Shatner his cover version of Common People is actually one of my favorite records. But no, I think Don't worry, darling, he's fine, but it's way too long, and it is the stepford wife's. And number one, in the UK, nothing in America at the moment, ticket to paradise.

Which, as we said at the time, good-looking film starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts going on a fanciful mission to a beautiful place in order to destroy a marriage which you know a You know the marriage of their daughter which you know isn't quite going to happen. It is exactly what it says on the tin And you know and it's all Parker. It's all all right. Oh, all right. Oh, yes. Yeah. He's done pretty well Straight in at number one and no surprise. All Parker is at number one. He is.

And the world is a better place. Okay, let's talk to our guest who, there's no point in reading this cue, it's Christian Baal. Okay. So that's just, okay, a man who generally, genuinely needs no introduction. It's his new movie, David Russell film called Amsterdam, and you'll hear my conversation with Christian Baal after this clip.

We find ourselves in a situation where we're accused of killing someone, which is not true. You and Woodman flag the scene. The killer pointed at us. We didn't do anything. Why would you possibly think that was us? Well, there's not too many people that fitted the description of a doctor,

looking for his eye on the ground with his black attorney. Columbia Law School. -♪ Love is money... -♪ We need someone to help us. To find the truth. My friend was killed. Because of something monstrous that he had seen. This is all turning out to be a lot larger than any of us.

That was a clip from Amsterdam. I'm delighted to say I've been joined by one of its stars and its producer. Christian Baal, hello sir, how are you? Hello there. Nice to see you in person. I've been doing most interviews virtually. In lockdown, I didn't think these face-to-face interviews would ever come back. Are you glad that they're back or are you like? Yes, I wish I could stay out. You just look at them while I saw them. You kind of get a different interview

when you can see somebody. Yes, that is true. So on Amsterdam, how did this project come your way? David and I worked together a couple of times on the Fiatry and American hustle. Went well. That felt the same way, yes. No, I thoroughly enjoyed them.

And we talked about doing a couple of other projects, one of which did involve this art dealer with injury to his face, based on a real fellow. We talked about that a bit, and then it just sort of drifted away. And then David called me up, and he'd learn this jaw drop in fact about American history that he'd never heard of before. He wanted to tell me about it and share that with me. And I went and we there was this place called Early World, this diner that we always met. And it started from that and began with sort of building these characters, having a backdrop

of something that was incredibly serious and I mean world changing event potentially, which amazingly hardly anybody knows about, you know, it's because this gentleman featured spoke truth to power and so yeah, he was just squashed and that's the character that Robert Teneiro's character is based upon. And so that began like we were in no rush, we loved to just kind of read in books, looking at photographs, imagining things, listening to music, watching jazz documentaries and stuff. And then gradually David built and wrote, actually tons of scripts. He wrote, you know, I've got at least 14 in my house. I went off, I made different films, but always had Bert kind of, you know, percolate in the back of my head.

So the day you're talking about is obviously David O'Rossel. David O'Rossel, oh yes. Tell me about Bert Baronson, who's the character, who you play. He's an extraordinary character. Tell me about him and why he is kind of the center of our story. Yeah, no, he's a good one. Oh man, he's a great character. I love him a bit. We wanted to create a character that we just really wanted to be friends with ourselves.

And he's someone who has been through the grinder, you know. He knows pain and suffering both mentally, emotionally and also physically. He's a veteran of the Great War and he has this just wonderful outlook on life which defies, you know, all the odds where he should be. You'd expect him to be cynical and full of hate but he's full of optimism and full of love and joy and it's like a living well is the best revenge kind of a story. And then he and his friends who have this wonderful pact of friendship where they will do absolutely anything for each other. Him, self and Valerie and Harold who have played beautifully by Marga, Robbie and JD Washington,

they get pulled into this murder app initially that then ends up being this global conspiracy. So we sort of blended fact with the fiction in the 1930s. Can I ask you about becoming Bert? It's an incredible, it's a very physical performance that you give us. A lot of that comes from the injuries that he's had in the world. Just explain how you become Bert in the film.

It was very nice amount of time that we had to prepare on it and no rush whatsoever. And so it really got kind of baked in. But yeah, yeah you know he's got a back brace which just pulled him together he has injuries scarring he's lost an eye during the war so he stiff he's full of pain but at that time you know these returning vets PTSD wasn't a thing at the time you know people were ashamed of men who had shell shock it was an abysysmal thing, often families disowned their own sons because they were suffering from shell shock and it was just thought to be cowardice at the time. It was a terrible period where these veterans would return thinking they would be treated as heroes or not

in the slightest and then as such with Harold's character J.D. you know, they fought some of the toughest fights, weren't allowed to wear American uniforms and returned to an America that was right in a midst of like the Tulsa Massacre, absolutely abysmal. But despite all of this, their fighters, their scrapers, in my mind, like these guys are true patriots, you know, who really do believe in opportunities for everybody and and just people who want to have a great and fulfilling life. And so all these things come together and then you get mannerisms from these bits of my son, mannerisms that he has that I really liked and I included and the DP Chibo did my hair like him.

There's a little tribute and then just following people around and some little bits and pieces and you know, you piece it all together. It won't be the only person to mention Peter Feltz Columbo. Of course, yes. So, most when you're hunched and the glass eye and you're rumbled and crumpled and you're literally just screaming, that's Peter Feltz.

Yes, yes, yes. And of course, he's absolutely wonderful and a great inspiration. And certainly, yeah, yeah, and crumpled suit and he own burn. He has one suit as well, you know. What role does Amsterdam have? It's given the film, it's titled, why? What is the significance of that? Amsterdam is the kind of housey on days that they have, it's the perfect time, it's bizarrely,

you know, it's the place where they're healing and they're in great pain, but they forge their friendship in the crucible of the great war. And it just becomes this idyllic place where not only can they heal and reinvent themselves, but it's also where Harold and Valerie, who fall in love, can be together. And then they return to America and their love there is forbidden. And sort of the hell of life, you know,

pours in on them. So it becomes that place where everything felt right, where everything just sort of clicked for a while and the place that you want to try to recapture. Yeah, in your life. What's it like working on a David Russell movie? Your relationship with him is always very successful and you've explained how long this movie took to come together.

What's it like to be in one of his pictures? Every great director has a unique take on a movie. That's what makes them great. They really bring their personality and they manage to find a way to actually manifest that in the way that they work. And it's quite shocking for some people, you know, some of the actors who,

well, some of the actors who, you know, like Deniro, it was his fourth film. He's the most experienced. It was my third film. For us, yeah, we just know it from the get-go. This is how David works. He's all over the place. He's never just kind of sitting in a tent somewhere. He's under your chair. He's under the tablecloth. He's behind the camera. He's up a shelf. He's being told he's in shot and scurrying out. He loves to be really close to the actors. He's being told he's in shot and scurrying out. He loves to be really close to the actors.

We shoot the script, which is usually like 200 pages long, but like with American hustle, we shot the whole damn thing. It's all up on the screen. But then he will just start chucking out lines. He'll switch who says what line. And we get this amazing amount of choice. And with this one, he was generous enough to invite me into the edit room as well.

So I got to really see just how many different films he can make from this method that he has. And occasionally though you'd get an actor who it was their first day and they would look like a deer in headlights. Mark and Jenny were both said in other interviews they were a little bit scared on their first day and they looked to you for reassurance.

Well I was kind of considered the ambassador. So if David ever saw that people were a little bit unsure, he would just look at me and go, can you go do your thing? And so I went and it was funny on that first day, I found, Margot was still quite close to the main set where we had been filming. And she was sitting by herself down in a hallway on the floor, just kind of heading her hands, looking like, oh God, what has happened? What if I got myself into? And I went to sat down next to her and just asked her, you know, how she doing, and what she's thinking, and then just sort of explained the way that David works and talked about it. And then I had to go

hunt for JD, because he had found the most remote room he could possibly find that was still like actually within the boundaries of work that he hadn't just left. And I found him sitting there just staring at a wall. And but then the two of them, you know, I managed to rally them and explain it. And then they came back and man, they, you know, once you get it, you get it and you love it. You know, and it's really something. Because it's very liberating. No, no, it really, no, I would have done that anyway. You know, the thing I discovered is somebody director said

to me that I act like a producer anyway, just because I kinda like looking out for everybody and, you know, whatever you can do, you do, you know, to help. So, you know, I've had the very fortunate relationship with a number of directors where I've worked them a few times and so I'm kind of sent as ambassador a number of times for people but on this one it was that just Had a whole thing started with David and the David brought me on so I was on it longer than anyone else other than David And so I sort of it was an actual thing for me to be producer but a creative producer I've got my interest in

looking at spreadsheets and numbers and I don't want to do any of that. It's really creative. Words come up at the beginning of the movie and it says a lot of this really happened. Which makes a change from the based on real events and all that kind of stuff. But that's very loose isn't it? A lot of this really happened. Right. So I think David has said like 50 to 60%. I mean, what do you understand by that?

Well, entirely fictional characters as the main core, the three of us. Yes, based upon actual characters, there's the Dr. Shields, you know, and then Valorist character is based on this sort of Hannah Hark and Oppenheim. And these various Dada, you know, very bold, wonderful artists of the era and Henry Johnson for Harold as well. But essentially fictionalized in their relationships, but there is this factual event which is more

in line with what Robert De Niro's character, General Dillenbeck, is based on a character, a man named Smendly Butler, who I hope that people, after seeing the film, and there's this wonderful juxtaposition that David does at the very end, where you see, oh, this is absolutely based on a real man, and this absolutely was an attempted coup within America, an attack on American democracy back in the 1930ss and people falling in love

with fascism, the businessman. And that is something that I hope people go take a look at. But first and foremost, we wanted to look at the love of this triagal of friends. Final question, because we're running out of time, is about optimism. Can you explain our eyebrows or eyebrows up? Our eyebrows up, so that just became like the quick explanation of what we love so much about

but is that he refuses to become cynical and full of hatred, whereas you would expect him to. If you look at what has happened to him in his life, you would expect that. But I've met people who have had absolutely oppressive abysmal, truly abysmal lives, and there's some of the most joyous people that you've ever met, and they truly appreciate every actually comes from one of David's sons. He used to say it to David when David was concentrating too hard and frowning on something and his son didn't like it and when he was little and he would say eyebrows up daddy meaning hey look happier and positive so that became our little quick thing eyebrows up to each other. Yeah Christian Bell thank you very much thank you so much. Thank you so much. Thank you. Good to see you in person.

Fantastically affable. Very, very, very affable. And I felt a little bit like I felt when when Charlotte Rampton came in, it was a little bit kind of weird because I haven't interviewed Christian Bell before. No. And the first thing was I can't remember the last time I heard him speak in his ordinary voice. Yes, because he's usually in character. Because he almost always stays in the essence. He's always American and he was born in Wales, but that's a kind of a South London voice, as far as I'm concerned. Yeah. But he was very affable.

And I think it's just that we've discussed this before. He is so immersed in this project, as I said, he is a producer on the film. He wants you to like this before. He is so immersed in this project. As I said, he is a producer on the film that he wants you to like this picture. He wants you to be as enthusiastic as he is. Am I going to like it? I'm seeing it next week. I hope so. I liked it. It's what you don't get from that interview is that it is quite grisly. It is quite shocking. Taylor Swift is in it. And there's all kinds of... It's quite grisly. It's quite shocking. Taylor Swift is in it. And there's all kinds of... It's quite grizzly, it's quite shocking. Taylor Swift is in it.

Yes, that's the thing. Yeah, they don't necessarily have to be. Although, actually, it doesn't lead to be. Although, actually, maybe it does. Okay. So, it's a very, very interesting film. I do think it's going to be winning awards. Okay. I do think that.

I choose, also, when an American hospital does begin with the phrase, some of this actually happens. OK, so I'm lusculated. No, but yeah, exactly. I think that's really long. A lot of these David and Rossus next film has to be all of this actually happened. OK, so we'll discuss that next week.

Well, I've seen it. And the program. So let's talk about our old friend, Jason. Mrs Harris goes to Paris. A throwback, old old-fashioned romantic comedy adapted from a novel Mrs. Arris with an apostrophe goes to Paris by Paul Gallicot who wrote the Slogus and the Beside Adventure. This book was previously filmed in 1992 in a version starring Angela Landsbury Diana Regan-Omoschere which I haven't seen.

New version stars Leslie Manville, the fabulous, the saint, Leslie Manville, as Ada Harris, who is a woman who is making a living, cleaning posh houses for people like Anna Chancellor who is horrible and won't pay her in treats her terribly. Dreams of a better life, it's set some years after the war she's been beautifully awaiting her husband's return from war when she finally gets confirmation of his death. She discovers that she is owed a belated Wal-Widdo's pension, which gives her some money. And she decides to seize the day along with some earnings from elsewhere and go to Paris to buy a de-ordress, like the one that she has seen in Anna-Chancellor's wardrobe that

has kind of inspired this dream of a better life. When she gets there, Paris, in the middle of a dustman's strike, she ships up at the house of deor just expecting to walk in and buy a dress, greeted by Isabel Uper, who is Claudine Colbert, who is like, you know, what are you doing here? You don't just walk in here, this is, oh, this is famous people here, but she is sort of taken under the wing of a posh visiting gentleman who thinks she's being badly treated and who invites her in to the fashion show initially. And then she has cash with her and the house of Deore is in trouble. They realize that they can't just turn her away because they actually do need her custom. So, she's staying in Paris, she's going to get the dress and Isabelle who pays character is not happy about this, is a clip.

This is your dress that you desire so much. Where will you wear it? At the Vienna Opera Bowl, or Queen Charlotte? Will you wear it to Polish floors or will you keep it shut in your little wardrobe? A jaw dress is designed to astonish and delight. How will you do that Mrs Harris? You, forgive me for saying this, but you are nobody invisible. How will you give this dress to life in deserves? It's my dream.

Now, one thing it's worth saying is that in that scene, you had Isabelle Hupper and Lesley Manville who were two of the greatest screen talents of all time and this is a piece of absolute froth and fluff. Nothing wrong with that, but it is rather like having Robert De Niro and Al Pacino doing a kind of light comedy. The director has said that the key to the story is magic realism. It has to have an equal dose of magic and reality. If you go too far into magic, you won't believe it. If you go too far into realism, it wouldn't have that uplifting fairy tale quality.

Let's be clear, nothing in this film is real, okay? It is a fairy tale fantasy. Yes, there's a bin strike. It's the cleanest looking rubbish I've ever seen in my life. Yes, there are drunks in the railway station, but they talk about existentialism and they're absolutely lovable. And when one of the characters returns from shopping,

no surprise, he's got a bag with a huge baguette sticking out the top of it. I'm pretty certain there was a string of onions in there and I'm sure there was a stripy t-shirt. The point is, it's not meant to be in any way real. It is a fairytale fantasy. Les the manville seems to be channeling Brenda Blethin in secrets and light as there is a sweet art darling at quality to the performance.

And it also, it's quite funny because in Phantom Thread, she's on the inside of the Oat Kuture House, you know, looking out. And on this, she's on the outside looking in. So actually, you could play them as a very interesting Lesley Mammal, a double bill. Meanwhile, Jason Isaacs, bringing out his best lovable rogue Irish accent. Oh, Irish? Yes, he's Irish. Yes, he's Irish. And he's this character who the minute you see him at the beginning, he's got this twinkle,

he's got this thing and you think, okay, he's the person in whom to invest, you know, faith and because he's, and I won't spoil anything, but there's no surprise in learning that, you know, you kind of fall in love with Jason in about five seconds flat. It's the very definition of a film that to quote you know that thing I would say if it goes down nicely with a cup of tea and a biscuit misses. I mean it's fluffier fluff than the fluff that will be on the if you put a t-shirt in the you know in the the tumble dryer on super hot and it comes out with little bits of fluffy lint on it. It's that. It's the fluff that's on those bits of fluffy lint. It is exactly what you think it is.

It is slightly odd that you've got these absolute powerhouse performers just, you know, a souffle of a film. But I think it's good, you know, it'll find its audience with the, I think the older audience go as I think you and I, but we know, we know, we know, and we know how successful and, I mean, we mentioned Old Parker just to, just to well back, he makes movies that people go and see clearly is number one. So maybe this is going to be another one. And there is that thing about now of all times, it's kind of like you go, what do you want to do? You want us to see Ken look? I want to go see Mrs Harris, because the Paris actually,

well, when everything is tanky. You know, then what are you going to see? Do you want some gritty realism, or do you want to see, or would you like a Frenchman with a baguette sticking out of his thing, and somebody following their dream? Do you stand up and shout hello to Jason when he walks on the first time?

No, because I'll be disrespectful to the performance. The first time he walks on, he's doing, oh, here's the thing. There is a scene, right, very, very early on, in which he is dancing in the background. And I'm sure it's him and not a body double. When did you learn to jive, Jason Isaacs? Oh, he can do anything. I mean, my word. It's seen stealing even when he's in the background.

Excellent. So that's Mrs Harris goes to by by the way, Robert De Niro who you mentioned Yes, in passing and also got a mention from Christian Baal because he plays a general in the David O'Rossal film Amsterdam to be discussed next week. Robert De Niro, we have discussed him before Yes, and he's career trajectory Robert, we have discussed him before and he's career trajectory. But he is currently on Netflix in a movie with Jason Statham called Killer Elite. I mean, it's incredible. Really?

Well, they came up point in his career that he decided that, you know, I think, you know, financing, trybacker and all the rest of it was, he proved the point. You know, he'd done taxidriver, he'd done everything, there wasn't anything left to prove. He was, the next thing he was in, was it dirty grandpa or filthy grandpa or all of those? Horrible grandpa. Yeah, the one in which Zach Efron finds him enjoying himself in a gentleman's way.

Oh yeah. I wouldn't, I wouldn't recommend Good Heavens. Kill it elite to have to say that won't be, someone suggests that for us to check up shit I watched half of it. I think that was fun. I'll leave it there. I love Jason. I think I'm really looking forward to the Meg 2 directed by Ben Wheatley. Okay, so the ads in a minute mark, but but first it's time once again to step into our still low for luten Laughter lift. We just go straight to the ads? No. Hey Mark, I was watching Bake Off Australia this week.

Yes. And the audience cheered and clapped enthusiastically when one of the contestants made a perfect concoction of whipped egg whites and sugar. She's really odd, isn't it? Australians usually boom a rang. Yes. A bit of a mix week for the good lady's pharmacist, her indoors.

She's been doing her family tree and discovered that her ancestors came from Transylvania. Now she can't even look herself in the mirror. Ah, that's good, that's good. With apologies to the Romanian Vanguard. That's very good. Arracist joke, man.

I've got a worrisome call from the show biz North London Police this week. Mr. Mayor, a quiet word, please, they said. It have been complaints from road crews in the area that the good lady's ceramicist there indoors has been stealing street furniture when she's been out on her walks. And now we'd like you to be discreet. Could you please have a word? And I didn't want to believe it. and the ceramic sister indoors has been stealing street furniture when she's been out on her walks. And now we'd like you to be discreet. Could you please have a word? And I didn't want to believe it, but when I got home all the signs were there. Oh, that's what it says.

Anyway, that really is a reverse engineered joke, isn't it? I like it. All the best joke. Anyway, what's still to come up? We're still to review a smile and the woman king. Back after this, unless you're a vangradista in which case your service will not be interrupted and we'll be back before you can say, will you build Han? And now we welcome you to the draw for the 2022 World Cup of horror. Explain to me how this is going to work. How am I...

Hi again. Hi again. Hi again. Hi again. Hi again. This is top production. Is this going to tinkle away underneath me? Or is it going to be a little bit abrasive? I think it's quite good. I've been joined here in the studio by Dr Mark Kermod, also of the radical ethical and political implications of modern British and American horror fiction.

Mark, you're excited for this draw? I am. Why? Am I supposed to be reading something yet? No, no, that's a genius question. I have never done a, I've been told it's like a world cup draw. That's right. Simon Pullger said to me,

Mark, I hate to ask, have you ever seen a world cup draw? And my answer was no. Okay, so what we have on the desk here is a horror tron. Okay, just in the original. So now I have like a cage, like a hamster cage, which I'm gonna turn, and it allows the balls, there we have a series of white balls,

all numbered, each represented like ball four is shone of the dead, 15 is psycho, 26 dawn of the dead, that kind of thing. Okay, and then that will determine who plays who. Okay, okay, you ready? Not really, but that's fine. Right, and here is our first ball. Okay. Let's come out the wrong hole, but there you go. And the first ball is number 29. Number 29. The thing. And I take it, we're talking about the John Carpenter, the thing. Yes, Frank, go, cool. Okay, it's going to play. Yes, fight, go, cool. Okay, it's gonna play.

Oh, here it comes. The thing is gonna play ball number 26, which is dawn of the dead. Wow, okay, well, that's gonna be a toffee. That's a tough match. That's two top teams, both at the top of the air. Am I doing this right? Yeah, am I getting this right?

Okay. This is a bit like being on the national lottery again, on the tally. Yes, I did that work out for you. Very well, Ashley, for three seasons. Thank you very much. Before I was replaced by Philip Scofield. Yes. As you just government from an ice cream sell. I am over it. Next is a 21. The exorcist. Yes. It's how early. Yes. Who's going to beat the exorcist? Well, nobody obviously. Well, I would make it a fixed draw.

Go ahead. It's number 13, American Werewolf in London. Well, American Werewolf in London definitely pulled the short straw because in any other match up, they might have had a chance, but that's gonna be a six-nil defeat. We've got two balls at the same time, that doesn't matter.

It's not a phrase you hear that often on the radio. Number three, let the right one in. Yes, which is great. Three. We'll play number five, the witch. Again, these are very, very closely matched. I mean, both of those are top performing horror titles. Okay, zipping on through here.

Number 31, alien. Yes. Not a big hitter, not a premier, premier team. Oh, that got thrown out. We'll play number 17, Carrie. Again, hard to predict. I mean, you know, both very, very strong contenders. Yes. And number 10, 28 days later. You okay? We'll play Scrappy Infinite. 32. Carlisle United. Oh no, 32.

The Shining. That's gonna be heated because people feel very strongly about the Shining. Number 22, Jaws. Okay. Is that Kazaro film? Of course. We'll play... 42 jaws, okay, so Kazara film of course will play Number seven the innocence that's a kind of

It's yeah, hmm. Thank you for your expert analysis How can a blockbuster 1973 full cut? Yeah, anyway, whatever. Number eight is the descent. Okay, which I would I think it's terrific Anyway, whatever, come on. Number eight is the descent. Okay, which I think is terrific. We'll play film number 30, scream. This is gonna be really hard to predict. I'm sorry, this is actually working out much better and much closer than I thought it was going to.

I thought it was gonna be an absolute obvious winner in each one. Fourteen is the fog. The fog. Yes, John Carpenton. Yeah, no, just helping. Yeah, go on. 25 is the fog. The fog. Yes, John Carpenter. Yeah, no. Just helping. Yeah, go on.

25 is get out. Okay, fine, well that's by by the fog. They absolutely drew the shorts for all there. Next one out of our horror tron 23, Nosferatu. Right, yes. We'll play. Number 15, psycho. I thought that had come out already. Nosferatu, no, Nosferatu and psycho, no, Yes Play number 15

Psycho, I thought that had come out already no no frauds in psycho no use use you say you said when you were putting your thing Not for all to versus psycho. Well that that is a very very that's a that's a big hitting match classic That is an absolute classic matchup 16 is ring okay the original ring as opposed to the American ring so right ring you That's ring and we'll play number 19 the wicker man This is really hard That's really I mean that will be the wicker man, but you know 20 is out next a nightmare on Elm Street the original will play This is actually really well done number 12

Susperia. Ooh. Ooh. Nightmare in Amstri. Okay, yes, probably, but that's, you know, putting it up against an Argento. That's a number. Because, of course, it's going for is Sean of the dead. Sean of the dead.

Sadly not playing Dawn of the Dead. 28 Halloween 1978. Okay. That's a tricky one, right? Yes, but you know. Next out, a 27 Evil Dead. Original Evil Dead. Evil Dead 2.

Oh, Evil Dead 2, okay, dead by the earphone. Is that all right? Yeah, that's the more popular choice, yes. Very few balls left. So Evil Dead 2 against. Number 18, which is Rosemary's baby. Okay, well that's gonna be Rosemary's baby. Next one out is number one.

Don't look now. Okay. Be very careful what you pitch this against. Well, it's gonna be a random selection. That's the whole nature. Yeah, I know. I mean, the weird thing is, although this is radio, he is actually doing this.

I can't be careful, it's not coming out. It's not coming. Nobody wants to take on the challenge. So try them, the balls are literally refusing to come out and challenge, don't look now. It's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, have you closed the door? Ah, hey, okay, and so, the lucky loser is The Omen.

Bye bye, which is a shame, because Jerry Goldsmith won an Oscar for that, so. Okay, and so the lucky loser is the omen bye bye Which is a shame because Jerry goals with one and Oscar for that so She come How can this be There's got it's got it. I'm doing back and forth. Back and forth. Number nine, the Texas Chainsaw Massacara. We'll play Manchester City. Hang on. Clearly, the fewer bulls in there, the longer this thing takes.

Texas will play number six, Night of the Living Dead. Okay, we'll get, okay, this is really hard to call. This is really, really hard to call. This is really really hard to call No, but I mean, well, I think actually that's gonna be night of the living dead in that case the last two won't come out So I can tell you they are if I can read them A quiet place yeah We'll play 24 Is ony bar bar. Wow and the thought you think And the film William Freakin said,

we'll scare the living out of you. Okay. That's a hard, I mean, that's gonna be Oni Barbar. If anyone see this, that completes the draw for the 2022 World Cup of Horror Films. Okay. First round will be played on Twitter, on that there, Twitter, on October the 1st,

with the final tie played live in our Halloween show at the Indigo, the O2 in London on October the 31st. Go to kermodermail.com for your tickets. Have you been there recently? Not recently, no, but I'm looking forward to it. Okay, so the round of 32 is just the case you want to put this in your diary. The round of 32 is on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd and 4th of October to put this in your diary. The round of 32 is on the first second and third and fourth of October, the 16 matches there. The round of 16 will be on the 10th of October, quarterfinals on the 17th, semi-finals

on the 24th of October, and then the grand final, as I mentioned, 31st of October, live during our show at the end of Go. Right, let's do another review. Tell us about this horror movie that we've got. Smile, which is a horror film by Parker Fear and adapted from his 2020 short, Laura hasn't slept. So she's making his rose-cutter, a doctor working grueling hours in a psychiatric unit, terrified young woman

comes into the unit, claiming that she is being followed by something demonic and smiling. Here's a clip. Hey, I just want to have a chat. I'm seeing something. It's smiling at me, but not a friendly smile. It's the worst smile I've ever seen in my life. Whenever I see it, I just get this god-awful feeling

like something really terrible is going to happen. It told me that today's the day that I'm going to... Do you see it right now here? Pfft. Pfft. Pfft. Pfft. Pfft. Pfft.

Blimey, Charlie. So what then happens is her face cracks into a terrible smile. Who's face? The person that we just heard then saying, I'm being pursued by something with a terrible smile. So not the sort of special... No, not exactly. And then attacks herself.

And Rose says she's fine, but everyone thinks that you must be traumatized because somebody just committed suicide in front of you. But she then starts to have visions of the smiling girl and she becomes petrified that she is being followed by a curse. In fact, she is being followed by something very like the curse from the original ring. In the original ringu, there's the whole thing about the videotape, you watch it seven days later, you die. There is a setup that here that it's not the same, but it's similar. So it's not the

most original horror film of recent years and it does rely very heavily. So I think you kind of heard slightly from that on the quiet, quiet, bang loud noises and stuff that we've talked about in the past. It was quite scary, though, I have to say. Yes, and that's the point. What it does do is use a familiar box of tricks, rather well, I jumped or jolted at least three times, and in between, I realised I was actually quite enjoying the anxiety of wondering where the next revelatory job was going to come from.

It's not quite, quite none, which was always kind of really boring. Actually, the creepy smile thing, which is done every now and then, they do the creepy smile thing and it is really, really creepy. And if you are a jar of fan, you will notice names in the credit like Tom Woodruff, who I don't want to spoil anything about the film, but there is stuff in there for the genre fans, which I enjoyed. There is a terrific score by Christopher Tapio de Vier, whose credits include The Girl With All the Gifts, which I know you liked very much. And I think is a really terrific composer whose score gets right under the skin of the atmosphere of the piece. So, look, yes, it's not the most original thing, but it's a nuts and bolts horror film that made me anxious, made me enjoy the anxiety, made me jump a few times, and has got a central riff, which it plays very nicely, and then stops in a nicely dark way.

So I was surprised by how much I thought it was decent. I know that that's not everyone's opinion. Colin Scott in Chesterfield, long-term heritage listener, loving the new format. Just escaped from my local bankrupt cinema complex, having been eligible for a special early viewing of Smile. So in the positive, the opening sequence, which we have seen most of in the trailer, is good. It's creepy.

Caitlin Stacey is perfectly cast as smile girl. Some perfunctory quiet, quiet bang follows, but honestly, once we got to about a third of the way in, my sirens were sounding. Here we are sirens were sounding. Here we are in 2022 with a film that has a central message of, quotes, crazy people are crazy and you should be scared of crazy people because they're scary and don't be around crazy people because it's catching. As, and that bit was in parentheses, as this continued, I became more and more angry. A brief opportunity near the end for some minor attempt at redemption was lost for a generic horror trope ending and a scene that was as moronically stupid as it was lacking in any sense of a decent special effect. I am sure that my anger at this film is OTT for something that is actually too bland for major comment,

but seriously, anxiety, depression, PTSD and psychosis really should be treated more sensitively in this day and age. Colin Scott signs off 10 more years prime dexclamassion and kind regards. Okay well thanks for the email. Here's the thing in terms of that thing about the special effects at the end which was kind of what I was referring to I don't agree I thought they were well done and I enjoyed them but I'm a you know I'm a fan of creature feature stuff. As far as the issue that you raise about the film's treatment of mental illness, it's worth pointing out that the film is about a curse. And a character thinks they are cursed, and everyone says, no, you're not cursed.

It's, you know, you're suffering PTSD. No, it's a curse. In the same way that in the exorcist, the doctor spent a long time saying, we think it's temporal lobe, we think it's this, we think it's that and the other. And the audience is going, no, she's possessed by a demon, the film is called the exorcist. So I do understand that, I mean, I think you flagged this up yourself in the in the email that your alarm bells went off and you took against the film and you say actually very generously, you know, maybe kind of overreacted. I don't think that's not the right way of saying it, that your reaction was heightened. I don't think that smile is any better or worse than any number

of horror films in the way in which it depicts or treats mental illness because it's not about mental illness, it's about a curse. If you look back at the history of... Like a proper genuine curse. Yes. Like Ringo is about a cursed videotape. There is no sense in the whole point in smile is when people keep saying you're suffering from PTSD.

No, she's not. She's suffering from a cursi thing, because it's a horror film in which they're a big bangy cursi things. And I think that it's, it's odd to pick out smile, particularly for criticism, when, you know, in a genre of films,

of which one of the big daddies that we just talked about in the thing is called psycho, and it would, you know, you could make the very same claims about that. I don't think that smile is about mental illness. I think it is about a curse. But that said, any number of films and horror is going to be particularly true of this, can have the appearance or where the clothing of a film that is about, you know, mental illness. And of course, all horror is in the end allegorical. So the point that you make, you can, you could read it that way if you wanted to. I think it's more to do with that. And I absolutely respect your opinion. And I would absolutely respect somebody saying, look, if this is a subject about which you have particularly strong feelings, this is not

the film for you, it also deals with suicide, which is a subject which is, you know, often very, very problematic in terms of films, but it is marketed as a horror film, it says what it is, the trailer makes that pretty clear. I don't think it should be singled out for criticism. You can respond to that. Yeah, that's that's that's that's that's that I haven't seen the thing. No, no, no, no, but you know, if you'd like to take part in this conversation, which I'm sure will continue at com at a mail.com.

Quick bit of what's on now. This is where you email us a voice note about your festival, maybe a special screening from wherever you are in the world. You send it to Correspondence at Curbinemail.com. This week we start with Laura. Hello Simon and Mark, this is Laura from Fragments Festival. Over the course of a long weekend we will celebrate inclusivity through an exciting program, opening preview of the woman king introduced by the director, tracking life, drawing,

reggae night and the great selection of features, shorts and events. Join a set genesis cinema in East London between 29th of September and 2nd of October. Hello Simon and Mark, this is Joe from Sensory of Festival. Sensory of the Sheffield-based Filmer Music Festival offers a packed programme for its 15th edition. Films and music dots cover the stories of Throbbing Gristle, Patty Smith and Sheffield's own studio electrofonique plus many more. Sensory welcomes you to our world of film and music from 30th September to 8th October at venues across Sheffield. Visit censorade.org.uk for more details.

Hi Mark and Simon, this is Lucy from Shotput, a dance theatre company in Glasgow. Our show Ferguson and Barton, which is based on Hitchcock's birth to go, is on tour now. Several venues are screening the Hitchcock film before or after the live show, including a favourite hon of marks, the wonderful Muriel on Shetland. Visit www.shopput.org for all the details and follow us at Shopput Theatre. So we had Laura from East London, Fragrance Festival, a Joe from Sensoria Festival in Sheffield, Lucy from Shotput in Glasgow. Your 20 second, dare about, audio trailer will be great from wherever you are.

He sent it to Correspondence at www.cumpleaweeksupfront.begreat.com and you give yourselves a shout out. So thanks very much indeed for those. What else have we got to look at? The Woman King, which opens here on Tuesday, on the fourth, a new film from Jennifer Inns Brighthwood, whose directorial CV includes Love and Basketball, Secret Life of Bees, and the Charlies Throne Action movie, The Old Guard, which I remember you enjoyed. So historical fiction, Epic,

loosely inspired by real events about the Egoji, the female warriors who protected the West African Kingdom of the homey. The film stars Violet Davis, who has become something of an Oscar tip since it premiered at, I think, was it Toronto, very, very good response. And this kind of is the beginning of award season.

So she plays General Nanska, who is leader of the Goji, who we meet in West Africa in 1823. We are told the spearhead of an elite form of female, an elite force of female soldiers. John Boyega is the king. It's actually, I think it's his best role. Ninesco is his trusted advisor and, you know, confident. Jimmy Urquaya is the warlord, owner of the Oyo Empire, who trades with Portuguese slave traders,

with whom the king is trying to keep peace even if that means handing over some of his own people. And in flashback, we learn of a history between Nanska and that warlord. Thusar Embedou is Nawi who's a teenage warrior in training. The cast also has LaShana Lynch and Shiratim as Izogi and Imenza who are comrades of, and this could both of whom are great. I mean, it's a really, really good ensemble cast. You kind of look at the cast this and you go, yeah, great, great, great, great, great, and then you see them all in the great role, great role, great role, great role. But it is absolutely, while the Davis who owns the screen, here's a clip from the woman king We're going to save us when it's thunderous. Our ancestors demand we ripped the shackles of doubt from our minds and fight with courage.

We fight not just for today, but for the future. We are the spear of victory. I mean, wow. Yeah. Some fierce faces there. But it is a really fantastic central performance by Violet ABC, you know, you interviewed for My Rainies Black Bottom, in which that was such a physical performance. I think it's, every now and then you see a film which really kind of showcases somebody's

ability to command the screen. And I think one of the most impressive things about a woman king is that in the middle of this, you know, you've got a great ensemble cast, you've got spectacle, you've got action, really well-curried graphed action scenes that are, you know, properly kind of exciting and quite brutal. And all this stuff going on and at the middle of it, you have the figure of Vyla Davis just literally drawing all eyes towards her. And there's something really impressive about that. There's something that's like, okay, wow, that's like, that's movie star quality.

And it's such a physical performance. Whole film looks great. It's a shot by Polly Morgan, whose credits include a quiet place, part two, Terence Banshal's score. You know, it's a fairly mainstream movie in terms of its construction. I mean, it's certainly not sort of challenging the way in which Cinemories gets a lot like a Peter Strickland movie, for example. And some people have made comparisons to things like Brave Heart.

And it shares a kind of equal melodrama with that. But I think it's a real crowd-pleasing movie that perhaps suggests that in the wake of things like Black Panther that the cinematic landscape has properly begun to change. No surprise that there is being awards taught for it. I mean it's not perfect, but it's a really big crowd-pleasing, meaty movie with history and action and spectacle and at the centre of it, Vialo Davis just tearing the screen up. And it's not just that the performance is muscular and all that. It's also, there's pain and anguish and there's this kind of subplots about, well, I won't give away what the subplots are. So there's space for

emotion, there's space for the quiet place, there's space for the film to breathe, but it's, yeah, it's a proper get a load of this piece of mainstream entertainment. See on a big screen, see it on a big screen. Now, that is the end of take one production management and general all-round stuff with Lily Hamley. Cameras by Teddy Riley videos on our YouTube channel by Ryan Amera, Johnny Socials was Jonathan Imiere. Studio engineer Josh Gibbs, Flynn Rodham is the assistant producer, guest research Sophie Ivann.

Hannah Talbot is the producer, the redactors Simon Poulmark. What is your film of the week? Well, I know it's not for everyone, but it's my film of the week. I'm going for Flux Gourmet. You can't be the woman, King then. I just said, I know it's not for everyone, but it's Flux Gourmet.

Next week Sally Hawkins will be our guest on the program. Thank you for listening. Our extra takes with a bonus review, a bunch of recommendations, and even more stuff about movies and cinema adjacent television will be available on Monday. We'll see you then.