Kermode & Mayo’s Take - Hugh Bonneville, Bad Sisters, House of the Dragon, My Old School and Fisherman’s Friends: One and All

Episode Date: August 19, 2022

Join Robbie Collin and Rhianna Dhillon as they stand in while Mark and Simon are on their annual cruise. Rhianna speaks to national treasure Hugh Bonneville about his sinister new role in Baback Anvari’s new crime thriller ‘I Came By’. Robbie reviews ‘Bad Sisters’ Sharon Horgan’s new comedy/thriller, ‘House of the Dragon’ - following the story of the Targaryen civil war 300 years before the events portrayed in ‘Game of Thrones’, ‘My Old School’ - a new true crime documentary set in a Scottish secondary school starring Alan Cumming, and ‘Fisherman’s Friends: One and All’ - the sequel to the 2019 hit about the famous sea shanty singing group from Port Isaac. PLUS a surprise from Mark and Simon... make sure you wait for those credits. 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

Trying to escape the holiday playlist. Well, it's not gonna happen here. Jesus' season for a vacation Fa la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la With sunwing seasons of savings on now, why not ditch the cold and dive straight into sun? Visit your local travel agent or... Sunwing.ca Something that's... Hello! Welcome to Komodo Mayo Take. I'm Rihanna Dylan. And I'm Robbie Collin. We're stepping in for Simon and Mark

while they're off on their annual cruise. I believe they're in Mauritius right now. Ah. Very jealous. So Robbie, the production team have asked us to introduce ourselves in the first bit. So let's start with you. Tell me something that no one knows about you. Goodness, okay, something no one knows about me. I can, here's a good one. You'll be amazed by this. I can solve Rubik's cube in under two minutes. Are you kidding?

I have this true, true, if I had one here, I would do it for you now. I do feel like it's convenient that you don't have it. You don't have it. On a podcast as well. I mean, can you imagine? ASMR.

The building tension exactly. Rubik's. And it's kind of tactile ASMR while you're doing it as well, because you can just sit and, you know, practice while you're watching a film or a television. So you just need to be very cool. Two minutes, not every time, but sometimes. So it's the first time that anyone has described that as very cool. So thank you.

It's one of those things that is a very enviable skill that has, I guess, the actual skill itself is useless, but presumably it means that you are an incredibly intelligent person. It's amazingly useless and it's not, no, it's nothing to do with intelligence. If I explain how you can do it quickly, it just sounds really boring and sad. It's to do with algorithms. What's what I mean is that You have to kind of memorize algorithms. I will leave it for a minute. I will do this one now. Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch I sat down to interview Ben Affleck and after five minutes, he had to leave and go and be sick. What was the question that prompted him?

I can't remember, but he was looking very wobbly throughout and I think I put him off so much talking about Argo that he had to leave and vomit. Oh, poor guy. I know. It was quite off putting for me as well. And the worst thing was that the PRs wouldn't let me kind of start again. I had to just pick up where I left off. Oh, no. Pre-vomit. But they released the tape. Yes, they did. So, Robbie, people might know now that you are very into Rubik's cubes, but they don't necessarily know what you do when you're not moonlighting for more commode. So I am a film critic for the Daily Telegraph newspaper and do film criticism you things here and everywhere? And I've seen you many times at many screenings and this is the first time that we've been able to actually work together.

Yes, weirdly the stars are never aligned previously, but here we are. I know and I am a very, very big fan, so this is great. Tell us what's coming up on the show today. Yes, so I'm going to review very big fan, so this is great. Tell us what's coming up on the show today. Yes, so I'm going to review all of this week's essential new releases. We've got My Old School and Fisherman's Friends, One and All in cinemas.

And at Hall One's Dreaming, we have House of the Dragon and Bad Sisters. And I believe you also have a chat with a very stary special guest this week, Rihanna. Yes, today's guest is, well, I know him as Bernie from Notting Hill. You might know him as Robert Crawley, it's Hugh Bonneville. Mr Bonneville is not playing his charming Lord of the Manor role this time. You can find out more about his role in the Netflix thriller,

Babac and Varys, I came by a bit later on. And there's even more. Yes, so on Monday, there'll be another take-to in which you'll hear more Q Bonneville, I hope you'll big fans, will also be delving into the future one frame back, which is this week inspired by my old school. We've been asking you for your favourite true crime documentaries, lots to choose from, Robbie.

There are tons and there are some fantastic listener suggestions. There are! Yes, I think it's a really strong week this week. Central suggestions for great streaming stuff to correspondents at kermodomeo.com and you can sign up to the premium value extra takes to get stuck into all of that stuff and access all of the extra things through Apple podcasts,

or if you want to use a different platform, head to extratakes.com. If you already subscribe, then you're a member of the Vanguard. So thank you. I hope you were all listening very carefully last week because we have a follow up in our first email. Dear the Breakfast Club and the outsiders, since my younger brother Noah emailed your show recently to ask for classic film suggestions, I have felt the urge of light, brotherly competition to send this long, overdue email. Although I cannot claim to be the most religious listener in the church, I have felt the urge of light, broadly competition to send this long, overdue email.

Although I cannot claim to be the most religious listener in the church, I have been so in the recent past and continue to listen with keen interest whenever the show is on in the car or around the house. The summer of 2022 has so far been the summer of film and hopefully will continue that way. Since I turned 15 last November, I can now legally pester my parents about the films under that bracket and whether I can watch them. This summer has so far included the six cents, snatch and an absolute personal favourite

in 1988 running on empty among numerous others out of those three, which is your favourite, Robbie? Ooh, goodness. Probably running on empty. But I have such a soft spot for snatch. Actually, that's what a terrible thing to say. That's going to be an awful deal. No, no, no, no, that has to be deleted.

Keep that in. No, no, no, no, no, no, moving on. Moving on. Risky onto the next point. I would like to ask for your suggestions along this route. Films are such an amazing escape from the frequent bird song and stinky pants wee things that go on around us in the world. For both me and my brother in many separate but similar ways also bringing us closer together. Sweet. Films like Running On Empty as well as others like 1983's The

Outsiders, another personal favourite, are a reminder of the beautiful world and amazing people around us. I would like to ask whether you could suggest any more of these labeled 80s B movies to add to this summer So far soundtracked by Bruce Springsteen's and Nebraska and amazing movies Hello to Jason Isaacs, down with the Nazis and up with 80s B movies Tim Crampton 15 from Durham Yes, so this is an interesting use of the term B movie because when I think of 80s B movies I think of stuff like Commando right and this is slightly higher bro and slightly kind of juicy, and with slightly more more depth. By the way, not that there's anything wrong with Command-O.

That's true, at least on film. Well B-movies absolutely have their place, you know, I think they get a bit of a bad rep. Yeah, a Rodile, a Rodile, of course, being another great Arnold Schwarzenegger B-movie. But what we've got here is someone who I think is kind of craving, genre mixed with depth. So my first thought with this is three hero directors of mine who had terrific 1980s, Brian Dupamma, Michael Mann and David Krulmanberg. But actually thinking back about the films that they made in the 1980s, I have a feeling that they are all 18s, which is obviously no good for a 15-year-old. So with the pamma, you've got body double, you've got dress to kill, you've got blowout.

My command, I mean, fantastic, it was my command thief, manhunter, you know, these are wonderful films, but Tim, being 15-year-olds, I must kind of stress, do not seek out these wonderful films until what you know for another few years. But so I think the ones that I would go for, so first of all, after as by Martin Scorsese, which was, I think, that, now this is 15 rated.

Okay. And it was generally seen as minor Scorsese, I think, until fairly recently, possibly because it wasn't freely available until, it's kind of now you can watch anywhere on streaming. But it's got a very kind of uncut gems vibe as well. I think that was, again, maybe is kind of coming back into fashion. Now, very kind of frantic, very, very mad, very highly strong.

So I would say definitely after I was by Scorsese, witnessed by Peter Weir as well with Harrison Ford that kind of knew our mystery is terrific. And also Jonathan Demi's something wild, you know, can only Griffith. Those are B movies in the way in which Tim, I think, is talking about which is kind of genre, inspired entertainment, but with real kind of substance

and heft and style. So those are my three picks. I was the after-hers witness and something well. Fantastic. Thank you so much, Tim. I hope that's really helpful. Let us know how you get on. Next up, Dear Stan and Oli, vintage listener,

first time emailer. I would like to give a shout out to our local cinema, the Academy Cinema in Central Auckland, New Zealand, an underground cinema showing independent films, foreign films and classics that is literally situated underground. Underground cinema. Nice. Last night while attending a 50th anniversary showing of cabaret, a cracker,

I noticed a sign on the wall regarding Jordan Peel's latest offering, please see, attached. Now, attached is a sign that says, in consideration of our staff and patrons who have not yet seen Jordan Peel's nope, please refrain from discussing the film spoilers in our foie à after the film. Thank you for your cooperation. Fantastic. Have you ever heard a spoiler in a cinema way? I don't think I have. I mean, my mind goes straight to that Simpson scene where Homer's on the way out of Empire Strikes Back and immediately spoils the I'm your father line for the entire queue. I don't think that's ever

happened to me in real life. It's because you're the one doing the spoilers. It's the great privilege of being a critic, is that you can kind of get this stuff into your head before anyone has a chance to tell you. No, and do you know He's always the answer. He's always the answer. He's always the answer. He's always the answer. He's always the answer. He's always the answer. He's always the answer. He's always the answer.

He's always the answer. He's always the answer. He's always the answer. He's always the answer. He's always the answer. He's always the answer. He's always the answer. He's always the answer.

He's always the answer. He's always the answer. He's always the answer. He's always the answer. He's always the answer. He's always the answer. He's always the answer. He's always the answer. He's always the find out what's in a film, just stay off social media. Don't read reviews of the film yet. You can still navigate that now. You can't help somebody talking very loudly close to you when you don't necessarily know.

No, that's true. That's true. So the cinema for you is actually maybe that's a slightly kind of mind-fueling area. They're going to say, I am confident if you visit us on your next cruise, you'll be suitably impressed with our attention to the code. Best wishes and down with the Nazis in Cabaret, BHFs and overheard spoilers, Matt Doors. Thank you so much, Matt. Next up is Steve Davis, who's asked, have either of you seen Triple R on Netflix yet or RRR? If not, you're missing out.

If you have, what did you think? Robbie? I have not seen did you think, Robbie? I have not seen Triple R yet, and I've been waiting to see it in a cinema and because it pops up here and there, it kind of reps greenings. Certainly, in London, it seems to be getting quite a good airing, but unfortunately, I've never managed to get a long time yet.

I gather it's a spectacle that's worth seeing big and with an audience, Rihanna, have you seen it? I have not, although I've read up on it and it's based on a true life, on true life sort of. Oh, so it's to do with colonialism, it's British colonialism. Yeah. But the two, I think there's like these two main characters who are real life, I don't know if they're vigilantes, but something like that.

They were inspired by historical figures. I think very little of the, I mean, the film is not a kind of a very tea documentary, you know, what happened in there, you happened in there? You've got people flinging while animals are each other. Is that not how Warworks, for anyone that hasn't seen it, says Steve, it has non-stop action, set pieces, English baddies, hamming it up. They're very good at doing that. Amazing special effects, and we'll have you grinning from ear to ear to some of the scenes and cringing at others. It clocks in at just

over three hours, but it flies by. And Steve questions himself, why have I never watched an Indian film before? Absolutely brilliant, but nuts and over the top. It's not the best film I've seen this year, but it is certainly the most entertaining. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. I think that the idea that RRR, Triple R is, this is the Indian film that's breaking through to the kind of non-core audience for Bollywood in the UK is really interesting because this is something that has not yet happened and it's strange that it hasn't and there are critics out there

that Mark Cousins being one who really champion Indian cinema in the UK and I don't know, it's felt like it's almost of almost on a tipping point for what I mean in the top 10 will come to discuss Lalsing Chaddard. So it's a beautiful, really enjoyable in a Hindi film that's playing in the UK cinemas now. And I know that paramount when they were releasing that they did have aspirations that this was going to be one of those breakthrough titles that would kind of find a mainstream audience in the UK. For some reason, Indian cinema and Eastern European cinema in the UK are both very much

marketed to those two ex-patent in the middle of communities. And then if it finds people outside of those communities, then wonderful, but that's not kind of what they're aiming for in the same way that French language cinema or Japanese language cinema would be. So I don't know, but it feels like Triple R has been the film to kind of lead people to this amazing world cinema well. And hopefully, you know, having, you know, surmounted that Bondeurne hostel one inch barrier of the subtitles, people will, you know, be encouraged to seek out more. Losing chatter, again, you know, we can discuss this in the top 10. That film is as accessible as Emily.

It is so easy to just sit down in front of and enjoy and lap up. And there's this weird misunderstanding with a lot of friends in a mother because it's foreign. It must therefore be challenging and complicated in our IOC. And it's just, it's not true. I wonder if there is that hangover from very old school, Bollywood, of their hours and hours and so much singing and people,

perhaps who aren't used to that, watching cinema on that way, feel a bit alienated for that. But then, you know what, Arisen Arisen, lots of singing was what Hollywood was doing in the 1940s and 50s. So there's no reason that we shouldn't enjoy this. And, you know, and RRR is,

three hours long and Larson and Chatter is, nearly three hours long, with lots of singing here. But you know, but these are kind of, these are not alienating things and difficult things to watch. You just have to kind of go with it. Fantastic. Okay, we're going to get onto last week's streamers. So Rufus and Anna Loss Week talked about five days at Memorial. This from AH DVD on YouTube, who said, I've seen the first three episodes. It's a tough, but intriguing watch. I did find the

editing distracting from the episodes itself, it cuts between the filmed footage and the archive footage with the aspect ratios changing for a lot of the shots. When it's used for split seconds, it's awfully jarring, but the editing was especially distracting in the first couple of episodes, but I do agree that Vera Farminga and especially Cherry Jones were great in what I've seen so far. So five days of memorial, I've seen so far. So five days of memorial, I've had a tough couple of weeks, Robbie, and I just couldn't quite bring myself to watch a program about Hurricane Katrina. Yes, I've had a very easy couple of weeks and couldn't bring myself to watch it either.

I mean, I think it feels like the kind of series you need to be in the right frame of mind. But what is that frame of mind? I've always wondered that really as a critic as well, to sit down and watch something that you know is going to be incredibly harrowing and difficult. Yes, I mean, so for me, this is because my specialism is film. When I tend to watch a series, it's always to relax. And therefore, I find it difficult to kind of challenge myself at the end of the working day to kind of sit there. I mean, not that, you know, being a film critic as a particularly challenging working day, but if you've been kind of chewing over a kind of weighty stuff that you've been watching during daylight hours,

you just want to sit down and watch Selling Sunset at the end of the day. Is that your guilty pleasure selling Sunset? No guilt involved. It's selling Sunset. It's fine. Yeah, thank you. So she was thumbs up from the booth. Hannah and I have had so many conversations about these sorts of shows and she got me hooked on Below Deck which is, have you seen Below Deck? No, but this is the one that's the one that's the one about Luxury Yacht. Right, now this has a strange tie to the new Ruben Ost and film Triangle of Sadness which is set on board a luxury yacht where things go wrong below deck and also above deck. And yes so look, there are these kind of weird synergies between like very elevated artisans and super trash. Or anyway, this is what I tell myself when I'm watching it,

selling sunset to me as a very kind of mull hole and dry fire. Right? Because you have this innocent girl, Krishel from the country, comes to Hollywood to make her way in the industry. She meets this kind of strange femme fatale figure, Christina, who kind of is she friend as she for, nobody knows, they're up there in the kind of twisting alleyway,

strange houses, very rich, weird figures, you know, kind of spinning around, it's, look, if you want to justify this stuff to yourself, you can find enough linking tissue to make it work. So selling sunset above five days at memorial. You heard it here first. Okay, time for our first review. I am so excited about this one, Robbie. What is it?

Yes, let's talk about bad sisters, which is a new 10-part series on Apple TV Plus, which is written by and co-starring Sharon Horrigan of pulling and catastrophe and divorce fame. It's been adapted from a Flamish TV series called Clant, which was actually broadcast on Channel 4 back in 2016 under the title The Outlaws, Out Dash Laws. Rather than The Inlaws, it's the same. Exactly, exactly. And it's this kind of wildly entertaining comedy thriller who done it hybrid.

And the very heart of the story is this very unhealthy and unhappy marriage. The husband in this marriage is played by Clice Bang, he's called John Paul, and the wife, played by Anne Redough, is called Grace. And it's clear this relationship is built on extensive manipulation and gas lighting and isolation, and very insidious sort of low-level constant abuse. Yes. The reason for this is that Grace was previously very close to her four sisters who played by Sharon Horgan, Eva Berthasal, Sarah Green and Eve Husson.

John Paul is trying to drive a wedge between Grace and her siblings. The last straw in this ongoing low-level war of attrition is one Christmas day where this long-standing tradition of a family swim at the sea, John Paul manages to trick Grace into not being able to go by giving her champagne in the bedroom and she becomes cheat, obviously can't drive because she would potentially be breath-vised. And here we have a clip of him putting this nefarious plan into action. Take the bird out at a quarter past. It'll need to sit for an hour anyway. Be perfect by the time we get home.

Come on, Blondet. What are you doing? We're going to the 40-foot. We'll be back as quick as we can. You had a glass of champagne. You can't drive. I'm crammed, really. No, no, no. You can't drive. You had a large, are you kidding me?

No, I'm not. I'm perfect. There are every corner. Come on now, think. Well, maybe you can drive yourself. Of course'm not. Perfectly. Perfectly cool, and I'll come on now, think. Well, maybe you can drive yourself. Of course I can. I have a class myself. I've not missed a swim since I was little. I'll be perfectly fine. Oh!

No, why would you come make a scene with Christmas day? Oh, it just sends chills up your spine. Yes, he's, look, he's such a great villain in this. Because he's not, I mean, he's, he's horrible, but he's horribly plausible. And the, the, the writing is, is so good around this kind of constant manipulation that he's, he's, he's got going on. It's very, very realistic. And then they just give it that little push into proper kind of genre through the

territory. Anyway, Grace missing the swim is the last straw for her four sisters. And they kind of jokingly talk about, you know, oh, wouldn't it be great if we managed to kill this guy? And then she'd finally be free. And then the not so jokingly begins to possibility of doing that. And then they start to kind of to work out the logistics of how this end might be achieved. Now, at the very, very start of the show, so this is not a spoiler.

John Paul is dead. So we see him in a coffin in a state of, well, with an erection. Yes, with an erection. And, and, and, and we do have his, is kind of tearfully preparing sandwiches for the funeral. So we know at the start of the show that he is dead,

we do not know why he is dead, we do not know who is responsible for his death. But we know that not many people in mourning his death, right? Yes, no, that's right. That's right. The funeral seems to be quite like there's a great scene at the wake where someone says to Sharon Horgan's, Eva. Oh, it's very sorry for your loss and she says, yes, I'm just glad the suffering is over. And someone says, oh, I didn't realize he was kind of a deteriorating illness. Oh, no, he didn't. But yes, so, so, so, so, first of all, you have this, this kind of very, intriguing setup, but then it's the way in which it's structured, is it plays out as two parallel

who done it. So every episode, we wind back in time once or twice for these substantial flashbacks where we see the sisters talking about and and eventually beginning to execute these these plans for how they're going to get rid of John Paul. And in the present, so after John Paul's funeral, we have two insurance people are played by Brian Gleason and Darrow were quiet. Darrow were quiet. Who was in Good luck to you Leo Grande and has that incredibly soothing voice. Oh my goodness and incredibly soothing face He has very soothing voice very soothing. Very soothing. John pose as well They've hit the net the net weariness in this is fantastic

Guy Lord would be very proud exactly But the two so the two of them are trying almost in this an inspector calls We trying to to fathom out what on. So you have these two parallel who done it's running. What happened and will whoever did it get away with it? And because of the really elegant structuring, both of these mysteries are taking along in parallel. It's, as I mentioned, an inspector calls. So it is very much like, and also knives out, it's doing the who done it thing, but also in a way that involves a lot of contemporary social critique. You know, this is very set in a middle class Dublin milieu, and it's talking about, you

know, the kind of, the, the, the lives these people lead, and it's getting kind of right down into the, you know, the compromises and the trade-offs and the agonies that they've had to kind of go through in their own personal lives. It's not just kind of frivolous who done its stuff. To me, it also had a real feel of Martin Macdonough as well, and not just because of the Irish setting, but because of the jet black comedy involved. So dark, the humor so dark, and so with you. The really richly developed characters.

I mean, I can kind of quote lines at you here, and they don't work because it's not the characters saying those lines at this such a great moment where Sharon Horning's character either discussing the demise of John Paul and she says, oh, you know, he's Satan's problem now. And for me to say that is really, it's kind of, okay, so you can kind of see it's a funny line, but the way that she can deliver is that it's also gives it's very, very character-driven comedy, very dark, and it's using that comedy to kind of puncture holes in the toughness of the subject matter, and to allow you to kind of get in there,

and really kind of savor the toughness of it, and the darkness of it. But to kind of arm you for it, if that makes sense, you know, to kind of, you can get in there and you can kind of enjoy. I thought this was, this was really terrific. And as I said before, the performances are fantastic. Clive Bang's villain in this.

I mean, he's so kind of luthsum. In this way that he is, everything that he does is very, very plausible. But again, it's just that way of writing a thriller, when you ground it in reality and then just give it that extra shove and just to kind of heighten it, just that little bit to kind of make it extra addictive and just use it with this kind of electrical current. It's obviously, it's called band sisters, so it's so much of it is set around these female characters.

Do you think that we see enough of them to really get to grips with all of them? There are so many different personalities, so many fantastic actors. I mean Sarah Green is up there as one of my favourites, if she's in something, I'm going to watch it. Did they manage to get the balance right between all of them? Yes, I think so, because they have 10 episodes to play with, they're able to kind of introduce the sisters. I mean, we get to know them all straight away, but then episode by episode, we get more on each one's life and backstory. And there's, I think it's the third episode with Eva Berthasel's character. Who also is such a revelation.

Yeah, no, no, she's just... She's always been brilliant, but in this, it really feels like she shines. She's great. She's a full-time nurse and also a full-time mother. She has this incredibly hectic life. Shine Hogan's character by contrast to Childless. And again, there's depth there that is kind of dug into

over the course of the episodes. I mean, maybe for me, as a film critic, having 10 whole episodes are along episodes to play with means that there is an element of character development that doesn't necessarily need to be that. Not sure, oh. So for example, the fact that the two insurance guys, they have this, their motive is that

if they have to peer on John Paul's life insurance, which is this kind of elaborately expensive claim, that which is what arouses their suspicions in the first place, that will send their farm under. And I don't necessarily think you need that. You could just have an insurance guy or two insurance guys who were incredibly diligent at their jobs. And you know, that was, that was enough. Like the Daniel Craig and Knives out thing, we don't need to know why this guy so kind of determined to solve the mystery. We were talking earlier about, you know, when you sit down on the sofa at the end of the day, what do you want to watch? Do you want to watch something that's got substance and richness

and it's going to challenge you and make you think, or do you want to watch the escapist, frothy stuff? And this kind of hits the middle. Yes, it does. Bassisters is a big thumbs up from both of us. Now, still to come, Robbie. Yes, I'll be reviewing the sequel to Fisherman's Friends. This one's called Fisherman's Friends, the Desolation of Smog. You're sorry, Fisherman's Friends, one and all. We also have True Crime.On Brandon Lee, My Old School. Different Brandon Lee.

Not the Brandon Lee. In fact, not even A Brandon Lee. Not even A Brandon Lee. Plus the new HBO series, House of the Dragon. Will this be the new Game of Thrones? Stay tuned to find out. And you can hear from actor Hugh Bonneville of Downton Abbey fame, but for now it's time for the ads, unless you're one of the hardcore in which case we'll be back after this. Hi, esteemed 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 Tabicki. 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.

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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 bank 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 myConnect 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 it can, that's in cinemas at the moment. And if you see that and think I want to know more about Aki Karri's Mackey, 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, which is a new Sophia Coppola film, which I am really looking forward to since I have an Elvis obsession. You could 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. We're back and it's time for the box office top 10. So at number 27 in the UK, it's not charted in the US, is Eiffel, which is the sweeping French romance during Roman jurist and Emma Mackey. At number 10 in the UK, it didn't chart in the US. This is Prima Fashi, which is... Yes, this is the national theatre live production of the one-room play starring, Jodie Comer, which is doing really, really well for a mega day. That's so amazing.

For events in a matter of... I mean, it's made 3.6 million, and it's been in the chart for five weeks. I've not seen it. I love Jodie Comer. I think anyone who has felt wowed by this, I mean, I know she's done a great stuff as well, killing even everything.

But do, if you've not seen her in the last duel, do seek that out, the Ridley Scott film, which is on Disney Plus, I think she is fantastic in that. At number nine in the UK, number seven in the US, this is everybody's favorite film apparently, where the poor dad's saying it. Yeah, I mean, look, I've not heard a single good review from this.

Well, look, but there has been, in previous weeks, positive correspondence about this film. People are obviously enjoying it. I thought it was dreadful. I mean, my goodness. There's no even any crud, aren't it? Singing or otherwise? Number eight in the UK.

Number three still in the US. Most surprises there. It's Top Gun Maverick. Yeah, I mean, my goodness. What an absolute success story this film has been. It's like 78.5 million pounds in 12 weeks I was also a big fan and I like that it went into the cheesiness as well I could groan and laugh and cheer all in one film which is always fun

At number seven in the UK box office and at number 12 in the US is Larson Chudder which I know you have a lot to say about. Yes, so this is a Hindi remake of Forest Gump of all things, starring Amir Khan, and it's been rebuilt around Indian historical tumult from about the mid-70s through to the present. Look, my deeply unfashionable view about Forest Gump is actually a really good film. You know, shoot it of one best picture over pop fiction, probably not, but do I kind of lie asleep worrying about it at night? You're all because I think it's a fun film.

I would say if anyone and if if Triple R is, is, is either not playing near you, you don't have Netflix and you want to, um, to experience Indian smith. And this is playing near you, then please seek it out. You've really convinced me to go and see this. Good. On a big screen. Losing chatter. At number six in the UK, number nine in the US, it's Elvis. I mean, this has been talked to, talked about to death, I think. Yes. And how delightful to see it doing so well.

Because this is the kind of big creative swing studio should be going for. I agree. Number five in the UK, number four in the US, it's Thor, Love and Thunder. Which is not the kind of big creative swing that should be available. I should have a lot of fun street. I thought it was good. I know that there's very proven weirdly divisive. I don't understand who's going to see Thor. I'm coming out and going to go. Well, you know, I went to the 29th Marvel film.

I wasn't expecting that. For goodness sake. No, we know what we're getting. It's Pekikata, it really is. Yeah, I knew exactly what I was going to get when I walked in. And I was absolutely right. Number four in the UK. Number six in the US,

it's very similar, is minions, the rise of grew, which I had a lot of fun watching. I think it's the best minions film yet. Slash to speak all either, man. I think they're awning now what that property does well, which is that kind of luni tunes ask me him. This is essentially just five minute minion shorts, set back to back.

What would happen if the minions flew a plane? What would happen if the minions learned Kung Fu? What would happen if the minions did a funeral? And that's wicked. And I'm in for that. It's chaotic and brilliant. At number three in the UK and number two in the US, it's DC League of Super Pets.

Yeah, which is just dreadful. I mean, it's... This is why I've not heard a single thing about this film. No, the, it's one of those children's films that just seems hell-bent on being as annoying as possible. And it's just the kind of script is like, ying, ying, ying, yi, smarty pant stuff.

All the times you have Dwayne Johnson playing Superman's dog, Kevin Hart playing a dog who is not Batman's dog. I'd assume he was Batman's dog, because he looks a bit like Batman. He's not. He's a stray who is part of this collective of animals in a pet shop that is blessed Batman's dog. I'd assume he was Batman's dog, because he looks a bit like Batman. He's not, he's a stray who is part of this collective of animals in a pet shop that is blessed with superpowers and then have to defeat Lex Luthor's pet hamster

or a guinea pig. No, you've lost me, sorry Robby. It just feels like a corporate brand extension exercise. Like, how can we hit a younger audience with DC heroes? Let's do animals. And look, Teen Titans go to the movies a few years ago. Legal Batman. Yeah, I mean, they're corporate brand extension exercises,

but they're done with it. And they're done with passion, and they're funny, and they're colorful and sparking. And something for the parents as well. And I guess for this, there really wasn't anything for the adults. No, there's nothing for the adults. Fair enough.

And number two, in the UK, number one in the US is bullet train. And we have an email from Sam in Oxfordshire who says, I caught bullet train in a near empty cinema with a friend on Wednesday night. Expectations were somewhat low going in, but I was pleasantly surprised. Kind of.

There was a very good, funny heartfelt film somewhere in there amidst the blood, gall, and blood coming out of eyes, more blood and more gore. The film really could have done without that. All the jokes were genuinely funny though and the acting was very good. Not a big rap hit fan, but thought he handled the role well. I found the exploration of two contrasting sides of Japanese culture very interesting. The action sequences were amazing.

You felt the bone crunching impact of punches thrown, though as per Hollywood they barely did any long-term damage. Also getting shots seemed to be just like a minor inconvenience. Barely a scratch. Enjoyed most non-sperty parts of the film and laughed many times. Thank you Sam. I had a lot of fun watching Village Train. I feel like I was very much in a minority of critics who did, because everyone really hates doing this. I have not seen the original. And I think perhaps that might be why. Ah, so the original, it was a book. It was a

doubt of my novel. So there was no film. Right. I see. This is the film adaptation of the book. Ah, yeah, I loved it. I thought it was absolutely abominable. And it was just, I, I, that, that email sounds like a description of another film. I film I would have loved to have seen. Two, Two conflicting sides of Japanese culture, excuse me. No. I mean, this is about as authentic to Japanese culture

as Pulsman Pat. Oh, of course, that was the head of one side of the Japanese culture. I don't think we can quite say that. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. And what really struck me about this is, you know, so it's been around two weeks, it's made five million at the UK box office, which is kind of

okay, not great. And it's being held up as this example also in the US, where it's also done sort of mid-lingly as a big Brad Pitt film. Megasides can't open films anymore by themselves. It needs to be franchise based. Brad Pitt, look, Brad Pitt opened once upon a time in Hollywood, like three years ago, by which two weeks it had made more than twice what Bullet Train has made. And that was in that as well. Well, that was Leo plus Brad Pitt. So there you go.

And Tarantino. And Tarantino. OK, fine, fine, fine. But that was opened on the strength of the names of the participants alone, right? And Bullet Train to me does not feel like a Brad Pitt film. It feels like something that was written for Ryan Reynolds. And then for whatever reason, Ryan Reynolds couldn't do it.

Because it has that sort of snarky, weirdly, the same smart, likey stuff as DC League of Superbatchers. And you do keep waiting for Ryan Reynolds to pop up genuinely. You do, you do. Aaron Taylor Johnson, though, he's got a very... The leg Robbie just gave me. I don't think you understand. The go-t did so much.

Yeah, right. I mean, look, he was... And the way that he gets more and more disheveled throughout the film. He has that kind of guy, like not even Guy Richie, but sort of inspired by Guy Richie early naughtys. It's kind of a new generation of that.

It's kind of a new generation of that.. It's called a new generation of that. We're on a Brian Tyree Henry. But do we need a new generation of that? It just felt like so of that time. But no, not for me. No, to Billett Train and at number one in the UK. No, and number five in the US. Chris on Twitter, I thought, no, it was brilliant. The marketing beforehand gave nothing away.

I wouldn't agree with that, actually, because I did see one trailer and it made me furious. There was what there was one shot in one trailer that I thought was, I mean, once you've seen the whole thing, maybe it's not such a big giveaway, because it's kind of intimating at something that you think might be there, and actually is not in the way that you think it might be. Listen, we're doing later, we're doing the kind of spoiler special stuff on Nupso we don't need to talk in this ludicrously secured way. This is true. I mean Chris is saying he went in totally spoiler free and was totally engaged from beginning to end and I do think that is the way that you need to see note, which is why it's a struggle to talk about it in any capacity. To even

talk about the genre that it belongs in I I feel, is a spoiler unto itself. But more on that later, Mary on Twitter says something really similar. I thought, no, it was brilliant. Kiki Palmer's charisma and talent are undeniable. And I love how Jordan Peel is inspired by such interesting things. And how he uses those inspirations as a springboard

to something really unexpected, scary, funny, and exciting. A five-star film from me. Next up from Lee Riches, I was lucky enough to see one of the most exciting directors of the last ten years latest, nope, on opening day, courtesy of Crouch End Picture House. I loved every minute of it, so much to unpack and so much to enjoy doing so. Spielberg has been spread, mentioned and referenced liberally, but this is a Jordan Peel picture, intelligent filmmaking with an outstanding cast and crew.

To invoke the great Barry Norman, his review of ET, if you haven't seen it, you're in for a treat, and if you have seen it, you're in for a treat. And I didn't use YEP as my review. Love and respect to all animals. Thank you so much, Lee Riches. I think every critic who didn't use Y Yep in the review deserves a medal, frankly. Did you?

No, I certainly did not. Come on. That's root one stuff. Sure, sure. No way. Look, I completely agree. And we can get properly stuck into this later on. We will.

We have one more email saying, Dick Hookies and Cream, my name is Jamie, and I'm a first time emailer and a long term listener. I've recently moved to Perth in Western Australia and have been searching for a new local cinema to call my own. On Thursday evening, I took a trip to the Luna Cinema

in Lederville to gun watch the new Jordan Peale film, Noop. I sat myself in a good seat with a beer and a chalk bomb, which sounds amazing. Australian sell these at cinemas everywhere. They consist of a scoop of ice cream and a cone that's then dipped into chocolate. I think the UK should sell these.

They're incredibly more rich. A right treat. Yeah. In our local view. New word is snag food like a street. Come on. That's true. Laminton's.

Laminton's using the Tim Tamas a straw for a cup of tea. I mean, it's slightly depraved, but my goodness, it's very nice. I really love the way you say depraved, is that again? Depraved. It's maybe the Scottish bar. It's a bit private freezer on down the army. I'd only seen the first trailer for Noob, and I didn't really know what kind of vibe it was going to be. I was blown away by the film, and I've got to point, and this is me, real speaking, I've got to point out that the bit is redacted because it is very spoilerific.

The film scared the living daylights out of me and I don't think I've been that scared by a scene since the infamous one in Fire in the Sky. Love the work you do and any who thanks, down with Transphobia and Nazis and up with women's rights and whatford football club. I mean you have me with women's rights, not so much with whatford. Thank you so much Jamie for getting in touch. If you'd like to hear more discussion on Note, there is a lot more to come. Why don't you become part of the Vanguard

and subscribe to our Extra Takes? This week, Robby and I will be talking about Note in the spoiler special. Just visit extratakes.com to subscribe to more good stuff. Our guest today is known for being Mr. Downton Abbey, which is one him in nomination at the Golden Globes and two consecutive prime time Emmy award nominations, and he of course starred in Notting Hill and Paddington. He's out the lead in I Came By, directed by Babak and Vari of Under the Shadow and Woon's

fame. This is a very different role from anything we've seen him do before. The film I Came By, it's about a young graffiti artist who is very kind of down with the privilege and breaks into people's houses, along with one of his friends, to scroll graffiti on their walls, destroy their art. And he sets his sights on a judge who is known as Saint Blake because of all of the work that he's done helping refugees in his work as a high court judge. But perhaps Hector Blake isn't all of it, he seems. This role is very different to anything we've seen Hugh Bonneville do before. You'll hear my chat with you after this clip. I'm broken to that judge's house. I told you to keep me out there.

I don't know what this was. Why would you have a later addressed to Hector Blay? Hector's writing something. I really tried to be kind. But I had this rage. There are so liberating, so empowering. Do you want to know what happened? That was a clip from I Came By and I am delighted to be joined by the star of the film, Hugh

Bonneville. How are you doing, Hugh? Very well, nice to see you. Lovely to see you. Thank you so much for joining us. I was very excited to see a new Babac and Vari film. He's one of my favourite directors. Tell us about how eager you were to be involved in one of his films. Were you aware of his previous work?

I wasn't, to be honest, and the script came along and I was intrigued because it was a complete page turner and full of twists and turns in a very fresh and surprising way. I found it quite disturbing and unusual. And so then I watched under the shadow and was completely blown away by it. Because again, your expectations are subverted. The rug is always pulled and you think you'll get heading in one direction and you find yourself in a different, going in a different direction.

And so then talking to Babak and realizing, well, actually being quite disturbed because he's such a sweet, a gentle soul. Lovely, isn't he? Yeah. And this sort of nervous little chipmunk. And actually, he's got this deeply dark sinister interior. So how did you know how it happened that, you know,

were you kind of always in the conversation to be this character? No, I assume, you know assume some gorgeous hunk dropped out and so they came to me. I don't know what part of the process, I know that George was already on board and I worked with George when he was literally in nappies. George McKay.

George McKay, sorry, yes. And obviously he's grown up to become this, I sound so patronizing, but I did work with him when he was 12 or 13 or something. So to work with him again after all these, it was a delight. And when I bumped into him over the years, he's such a committed and gorgeous actor to watch.

And to have him leading this film was a real coup. So I was very excited to be invited to be in the mix and along with Percy and Kelly as well. You say it was fresh and surprising, reading the script, what was fresh about it? It sort of plays with genre really as much as anything, not in a sort of self-conscious way, but you do find yourself being wrong-footed in terms of where your expectations, not your sympathies, but your expectations lie. And you start questioning your own suppositions about character and character development and story arcs

and all those sort of structural things that as practitioners we sort of get hooked on. But as a cinematic experience, it's completely different. You know, you are there watching a story unfold and it unfolds in an unpredictable way. And that's always, that's exciting and that's what I found fresh. But I've already done such a great job in all of his films about giving his audience a real sense of place. So what can audiences expect from this particular angle of London? Well I think with that being too sort of, to sort of strutted about it or too self-conscious about it, he does reveal layers of society visually. So you do flip from the world of this comfortable,

you know, upper echelon society character, my character, living in this, you know, very nice suburban house, or leafy, leafy streets of southwest London, to the sort of grittier environment of the housing estate where George and Percy's characters have grown up. And everywhere in between, really, you get a sense of the world of the police, of that sort of society, that sort of strata of society, of the establishment, my character being a former high court judge, you see the world that he's been working to help asylum seekers and refugees, and the underdogs of society and human rights, that sort of thing. And then you start to question the value of each of those sections of society.

Yes, the underdogs are out there protesting about the establishment and the unfairness of the system, but what have they got to replace it with? What do they have on offer? There's the sort of helplessness in their protest. You have the assurance and the solidity of the system, but what have they got to replace it with? What do they have on offer? There's the sort of helplessness in their protest. You have the assurance and the solidity of the establishment, the fact that my character, for instance, plays squash with the police chief, you know, so there's a sort of cozy nexus there. And yet nothing is as quite as it seems. And the whole structure of this little world that bad back creates so convincingly is sort of gradually shifts on its axis. I feel like horror often does reflect what is going on in society and it always has done,

and there is so much to unpack in this film with that in mind, and we've had a few horror films recently which look at the class divide and privilege, get out for example, ready or not. Why do you think that does feel so particularly pertinent right now? This film is actually coming out at a time when we're probably one of the greatest national crises of my lifetime. Not only have we got the effect of Russia's invasion of Ukraine affecting the global conditions of food, but also feeding into energy. And we're about to hit this extraordinary tsunami of energy price rises with an establishment that appears just to be on holiday.

And that is angering, and one feels helpless about it. And that sort of chimes in with exactly the feeling of being disaffected that the two young protagonists feel in this, that they want to make a statement about the unfairness of society, of how the rich and the established get away with it, or have a that's sort of right to life that they deserve or something. You're playing a villain in this, it does feel like a quite an explosive performance, is that something that you can find a catharsis in? I don't think he's a villain, he's just a sweet man, he's been misunderstood.

Just clarify that from the outset. I don't know, no, I'm just, I don't mean to sound like I'm belittling what I do, but I'm just an actor who turns up interpreters other people's work, that's the fun of it. Whether I'm playing a bloke with a Labrador in a big castle or a bloke, he's got a lodger who's got a marmalade habit. This is just a sort of different take on that. I'm just very lucky to do something that is as fun as this, to play all these different parts.

I don't feel I'm a spokesman for anything, apart from the character. We're talking about, you know, the other actors, Ken and McDonald, George McCuy, but you don't share so many scenes with them often, sometimes quite a solitary performance. How does that compare with some of the bigger ensemble films that you've worked on? Do you enjoy both?

I really enjoy in any piece. I think you always learn most about characters when you see them on their own. Yes. When they don't know that they're... Because we all perform. You know, we're performing now, you know. I love when you see a stage play and you see a character. You know, what do they do when they're no one else around? Because that's the most revealing.

And that's true, true in this case. You learn quite a lot about the man through what he does. But as soon as you see him interact with others, then there's a different persona. And I think that's really entertaining as well. You're right. I haven't really thought about it. Well, watching the film, I think you don't... I'd forgotten that actually it is quite,

quite compartmentalized and actually, the way that Boback Threadstone weaves the story through is very clever because you feel that you're seeing all their worlds together, but actually they are quite separate. You also have a few tussles in this. Have you kind of done a lot of action stunt work before? Well, basically, you believe me,

some bastes entirely on me. So start off with the serious stuff and then get into the action stuff later on. It was, you know, it was good fun, but I am a creaky man in my 50s and then Percy and Georgia, a lot fitter and younger, but so I taught them a few moves. Oh, I bet you did. Do you yeah. Do you have a stunt person? Is in, did you have someone who looked exactly like you? Yeah. Yeah, it's basically Jean-Claude Van Damme as a young man is my standard.

Wait, so they went back in time to get to work? Yeah, yeah. Right, yeah. Well, they needed someone as chiseled and muscular as I am. How do you think that Downton Abbey fans are going to react seeing their beloved Lord Grant them in such a different light? Oh, well, I think they'll see a lot of echoes and familiarity because who knows really what goes on behind the Green Bay's door, but I think they'll miss the Labrador.

A character, your character does have similarities to the likes of the characters that you've played before. He's very charming when he wants to be. He's in control. He's cool. And you do sort of channel quite a disarming British charm in this role. Do you think that's one of the aspects that makes him even more sinister? I think, leading to what we were talking about earlier,

you know, we put a lot of store by the uniform that people carry or the bearing they have in that uniform, be it a soldier or a policeman, a priest or a doctor. We have certain assumptions and no less over high court judge. We know that they are respectable trustworthy people. And I'm very proud to represent the judiciary in that way. Have you ever met someone like Hector in real life? I hope not. You wouldn't know. You wouldn't know. There was that scene which really made me laugh,

which is you watching Rick and Morty. You have found a Rick and Morty, or is that you? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. My son has introduced me to Rick and Morty. I have to say, I don't quite, I mean, I'm fine with family guy, but Rick and Morty, I just don't quite, I've never quite gone into that loop, but

it was good fun of me having to explain to me why it's funny. I don't get it. You can't explain Rick and Morty, you just can't. Obviously, this is the kind of film that is going to draw Hitchcock comparisons, and I know that a bad act drew from film noir as well. What do you think this type of genre film is almost less prolific now than it used to be? I know, I was thinking about that earlier, actually, because I think it's a great area of film. And that actually really latched on to that by subverting expectations while building on the genre. So I think I'd like to think that the word M-Vari-esque will be coming into the lecture

very soon, because it's got a sort of distinct flavor of its own while building on the great, great noir traditions of the past and the thriller elements as well as shining a bit of a spotlight on some of the themes we've been talking about about society about the sense of frustration and injustice that that so many people you know feel disaffected and how do you how do you conquer that how do you make a better society? Hugh Bonneville has been an absolute pleasure. Thank you so much for talking to us. Hugh is going to be back with us and take two for a further chat. But for now, thanks very much.

Thank you. Thank you. That was a very self-deprecating Hugh Bonneville the star of I Came By. He was a lot of fun to talk to. Sounds like a delightful gentleman. I love his description of his character in Paddington as a bloke who's got a lodger with a marmalade. It's very funny. It's very funny. It's like he really wouldn't say that the word Paddington all the way throughout. That's how he kept referring to that film.

It was quite funny. I mean, I've not seen a film yet myself. I came by. I'm extremely up for the idea of a British noir. I think it's very sad that we've somehow lost that strand of that genre that Hitchcock did so beautifully. Yes, and in the same way that Hitchcock, in frenzy, for example, gives you a real idea of sleazy soho. I do think this does a very similar thing in the leafy suburbs of, I think, Dullich is where it's supposed to be set. I found that really fascinating the way that Babac sort of explores our class system through these houses that we see. You're going to do that, Dullich, just a place to do it. Isn't it just? I don't think it was filmed in Dullich though, it's just slightly annoying. So Robbie, something smells a little bit fishy in here right now. What's next? It's the next review. It's

Fisherman's Friends One and All, which is in cinemas from today. You'll recall this brief moment at the start of 2021 when C-Shanties were suddenly this viral. Do you remember that? My friends just sent them to me. Yeah, it was the Wellerman. And it was such a big thing. The Fisherman's Friends films are both managed

to spectacularly miss this moment where the subject matter was very hot. The initial Fisherman's Friends, which of course was based on the true story of this amateur Cornish choir who were discovered and then had a top 10 album. It was out in March 2019. And now here's a sequel. We're in TikTok now, well, I'm truly moved on to the Gentle Minions and various other

kind of wardrobe-based challenges. But that's sort of apt, because the whole point of the Fisherman's Friends films, this story is it's about success against the odds. It's about taking something that is the opposite of trendy and managing to make it reconnect with a wider audience. So in the initial film, you have Daniel Mays, Jayda's record exec goes down to Cornwall for a last weekend, I think a stab weekend or something

like that, and he discovers a choir and sees something he wants to kind of bring to the world. This one is what happened next, and it leads up to their famous gig on the pyramid stage at Glastonbury. They actually played the festival a number of times, but they had this one year where they were on the main stage, you know, the main attraction of much, much earlier than the likes of Beyonce, of course, but they were up there. And that was a kind of a marker of, I think, how these C-shanties, these ancient songs could still connect with the general population. You know, they weren't this kind of relic, but they still had a real kind of a force and a passion to them, that people, that people enjoyed. So, the story that the sequel traces is to do with

the kind of personal and professional tumble experience by the band and specifically by James Purfoy's character Jim, after that kind of first flush of success. Among the various happenings in his life is that he falls for an Irish singer songwriter played by Emelle D'Amè, who is an Irish singer songwriter. Her character comes to Port Isaac for some peace and quiet and to escape the eye of the media. And here is a clip of her and James Purfoy squabbling over the proper way to assemble a cream tea. He's lovely. Here, hold up. Now, this could be the end of a beautiful friendship. What could? There are two toys for people in this world.

There are those who put a jam on first, and then it was poor lost soul, who reached for the cream. The rules for eating's gone. Once we live and die by, see if you are unfortunate enough to be born in them, and you put a cream on first. On this side of the border,

we let you do things properly, see. Big dollop of cream on the jam. Thank you. You're welcome. You're first. Oh, my God. Oh. For the benefit of those listening,

she just wiped the cream tea across as Beard, which I would not personally, as a Beard owner, would not take to be such an affectionate gesture. But you seem very tickled by that. You don't, that's flirty. I mean, that's frustrating. That would be annoying. That would take some grooming.

I mean, that, and already that clip annoys me because they're having this conversation, like not everyone in the world has always had this conversation every single time they have scones. Yes, it's called Scones, but so first of all. As soon as I said it, I knew you were going to pick me up on that. But this is really frustrating because that feels like it's written for an American audience

in order UK one. Yeah, I don't know. The thinking behind this film, I can't quite get my head around because the first one did fairly well in the UK. You know, it's obviously they thought, well, there's an audience for it. We need to get back together and do a sequel. It has the air of a sequel where they kind of bring together a lot of the people that worked in the first film.

Sat them all down in the boardroom and go, all right, what are we gonna do in this film? What are these people gonna get, you know, and the answer is basically, ah, some stuff. And then they basically need to fill 90 minutes of screen time before they can do the glass and reap. Because you can't build the whole film around glass and reap it. But you need to have glass and reap at the end.

So there's all this kind of soapy activity. Someone falls down a mine shaft like an episode of Skippy, the Bushcan Guru. There's someone kicked out by his wife for talking to this flirtatious woman, a hen party while they're on tour. And if someone new joins the group, Pima Richard Hanted, who's a Welsh farmer, which puts James River, Purpose characters, knows out of joint because for us all, he's not local. And secondly, he's not fishermen. And then also he's struggling, James River, Purpose character, Jim, he's

struggling with alcoholism as well. He's struggling with the death of his father. And it's very much like, kind of, let's have this episodic, something goes wrong, it gets solved. Something goes wrong, it gets solved. Something goes wrong, it gets solved. Something goes wrong, it gets solved. And now we're doing last. Thank you. Okay, we got there and we made a film

and we made it last. Interspersed throughout this is the most superficial cornered color that you can imagine. So people say things like, I've seen dressed crabs that look more lively or they'll have you in a straight jacket before you can say star, gazey pie. And look, I I don't know Nick Murkroft and Meg Lennon, the writer, director's also Pierce Ashworth who assisted with the screenplay as well. I don't know how connected the

art of Cornwall. The sense I had while watching this is if hearing a mouse, we'll click as someone scrolls down the Cornwall Wikipedia tab. Like, should we do pasty here? Should we do pasty, say pasty for later, let's do tribute maybe, our Pirates of Pinsons, yeah, do Pirates of Pinsons. And so it's very kind of, there's no kind of, I mean, to compare this to the films of March Enkin seems mat, but there's no sense of this actually being Cornwall. It's very, it has a very kind of touristy guy,

but Cornwall looks fantastic in this. As of course, it would do. You can't make Cornwall look bad. That's, I don't know, that's anything to do with the film. You can't. And I think this actually goes more for that kind of splendor of the natural landscape than the first film, which I actually found fairly objectionably slapped-dash. I was expecting something charming and corny from the original,

and it just seemed very cobbled together. This doesn't feel cobbled together. It also understands what it has in James Purify to an extent. And that's, I think, why his character is left to do so much of the heavy lifting here. You know, it's him that's resting with the alcoholism, having lost his father as well, this kind of new romance. But with the best will in the world, the writing and the surrounding performances are not of a

standard with him to allow him to do really interesting things. Also, and this is a very kind of like technical quibble, but this singing itself does not sound that great. And I don't know, I don't think it's an issue of time. It's not one job to do, guys. I know, but look, it's not an issue of time, I don't think it's technical, so it's to do with the recording and the mixing. But you know, unaccompanied male voices. In a film like, you know, inside Louis and Davis, for example,

can be so kind of powerful. Which is currently on my record player still. Can we listen to that almost nightly? And even when they have that, I do think it's a C-Shanty, but you know, the, um, and the old triangle at his lowest possible. You're so brave to sing on a blockhust, by the way. It's like, I mean, do you have a bad voice, do you? No, you do not. There's no bravery required, thank you. But, you know, that style of singing can be so,

if it's mixed right, and if it's handled well, and here it always sounds like actors singing along to that contract. Bad show, Fisherman's friends, it's time for the ads. MUSIC friends. It's time for the ads. Trying to escape the holiday playlist. Well, it's not gonna happen here. With sunwing seasons of savings on now, why not ditch the cold and dive straight into sun? Visit your local travel agent or...

Now it's time for my old school or my old school. I don't really know where the emphasis lies, but Robbie, what do you think? Yes, I was reading it as my old school. I think in the case of many documentaries, if the subject refuses to appear on camera, that's basically fatal. Weirdly, in the case of my old school, it's the making of it. It's brilliant. This is a talking head piece about a Scottish hawkster who was known as Brandon Lee, who in 1993, invagled as way under false pretenses into a place in the fifth year at Bereson Academy

in Glasgow, and the director, John and MacLeod, was a classmate of his. Now, the precise nature of this hawk's, it's alluded to very early in the film. It's immediately suggested what's going on when Brandon enters the classroom in the first instance. Here's fellow pupils initially assumed that he's a teaching assistant, but then he goes to sit down on the desk beside them. And it's wearing a school uniform? Yes, right. And also quite an old-fashioned school uniform as well. So not the kind of 90s, Scotch's school uniform of the time, which was like an Eclipse puffer jacket.

That was my era. I saw myself on this, I mean, this was a sheer representation here. I'm so glad it's you reviewing this. But no, he very much looked like someone who had dressed as a school pupil rather than someone who had just turned up to school. And here is a clip of, that has a people recollecting

what Brandon was like in class. Now, Gary, can you tell me the medical term for what I'm pointing at here? Eh, that's all. Wally, you miss. Ah. It became a bit of a running job because as soon as there was a question,

it would be to answer. Everybody's attempting to just turn to Brandon. He said, Brandon, do you know? Of course, ten at ten times he always knew. He always knew the answer. Well, Miss, your fingers on the bulb of your retral gland. It's otherwise known as cowper's gland after the anatomist William Culper. So remember, she said, sometimes Brandon teaches me by knowledge.

It's a shame that you can't see this clip because visually this film is so interesting because they have this brilliant cartoonist who has reenacted all of these past scenes. Yes, and it's in the style of the Green Chill comic strip from the theme tune, which is of course contemporaneous with that period, but in this brilliant concession to the Scottish setting, the sausage that flies through the canteen on the end of a fork is not an English banger, but a square of Lauren sausage. And again, you'll notice that detail. That's brilliant. This is maybe why I'm here this week. So yes, the hawks was uncovered in 1995. It was this brief scandal in the press, Brandon gave interviews on breakfast

television at the time after they say this story would be treated very differently if it broke today. 100%. And we keep saying hoax, but actually that feels so much more whimsical. Yes. It is a very whimsical film, but the idea of a hoax, he wasn't really trying to pull a prank on anyone. He was doing this purely for his own ends.

Yes, that's right, that's right. And so anyway, he's, Brandon, despite wanting to do all these interviews at the time, is less keen to explain himself in person now. So the director of John McClouse compromises East Calumpt with is that he records an audio interview only with Brandon and then has this dramatized by Alan Cumming who silently lip syncs along to the tape of the interview. No, go sit in a desk in a classroom in costume as the adult Brandon Lee.

Now, this is great for two reasons. The first is that it writes this historical wrong because at one point coming this was years ago was attached to play Brandon Lee in a fictionalized feature version of the story. But the second reason, and which is absolutely crucial to the success of the film, is that it absolutely puts front and center

this idea of imposter, you know, someone is pretending to be someone who they are not, and it's not as simple as just watching an actor playing a role. It's like you're watching someone, words being ventriloquized through them, and the puppet master at himself is kind of tucked out of sight. And that disconnect between appearance and truth is absolutely the core of what's going on here. So for the most part of the film, you have the former classmates talking about their recollections of the story and how strange and crazy it was, and then when the truth came out,

how they all reacted. And it's funny in the way that listen to people reminisce about the school days often. I think that was my favorite bit actually, just seeing people interact with each other that they used to go to school with. We don't know if they're still best friends or not. They certainly gave the impression that they were all really, really close. Yes, yes, there was that kind of classroom camaraderie, I think comes across to the line of

clear students. Absolutely, you could see them as children. And the, as well as the talismanic presence of this Lauren sausage flying through the area, you also have clear Grogan aka Susan from Gregory's girl giving the voice of one of the teachers and the animated sequences So it's very much kind of tapping into this kind of tradition of Scottish secondary schooling and you know Harkingbacks that fondly however Later on in the film it does something that I absolutely love which is that it starts to question the recollection of the pupils themselves.

And this version of the true story to which they have reconciled themselves over the course of the last couple of decades also turns out to have holes in it. And this is where the film starts to question the way that you know, you can take a story and something very elaborate and strange that you were tangled up in much earlier in your life. And you tell yourself stories about that story that aren't the whole truth in a way to kind of be at peace with it. So one of the issues is the chronology. People are keen to give Brandon an excuse for what he did. So they move around the events of his life subconsciously to kind of make it make sense. Complicity as well was he acting alone. Well, it's much kind of easier to understand of yes, he was just kind of oddball who who did what he did because it was what he did,

but actually that's not the whole truth as well. Best of all, there is this incident involving a school production of Cyphe Pacific, which insanely he put himself forward for and was cast in the role of Lieutenant Capel. Yes. And so he's you know he Brandon in his interview talks about hiding in plain sight. But the pupils have this and also the staff because there's two teachers at the time who are interviewed as well. They have a recollection of how this play went down and it is not how the play went down. And we know this because it's because they have a video, they have a school video and so McLeod makes his

interviews watch this video and their reactions to it not being the way they remember it and one people in particular, I never say more it kind of will spoil why, but one people in particular their reaction to this is the reason to make this film and look it's not kind of Abaskuristam, you know it's not kind of deconstructing reality and identity in that kind of, I'm curious, dammit, it's not kind of deconstructing reality and identity in that kind of incredibly intellectualized way, but it's kind of on the same path and crucially, it's not pulling a trick on the audience, right?

It's allowing us to discover this stuff at the same speed as the interviewees. I think there are times at which the film labors the irony's a little bit, there's a passage where it goes back and says, oh, wasn't it ironic when? Wasn't it ironic when? And you kind of like, yes, we sort of got this the first time around. We didn't need this extra stuff. But it tells this weird story very grippingly and entertainingly. And as I say, the moment when the true story turns out

not to be true as well is the kind of stuff that jangles around in your head for months. I was hugely impressed. Yes, the first kind of 20 minutes, I thought it was brilliant, and then I did think it dipped rather. It was, I think, maybe 20 minutes too long this film, and then the last 20 minutes was fantastic. And also, just say for the credits, and for Lulu. Lulu, yes.

Lulu who voices the deputy head. Yes, and recording. It seems so. I mean, I love it. Lulu, yes. Lulu who voices the deputy head. Yes, and recording. It seems so. I mean, I love it. I love Lulu. It's a really, really interesting film. But now it's time for What's On.

This is where you email us a voice note about your festival or special screening from wherever you are in the world. Email yours to correspondentsatcomodermayote.com. This week we have a message from Pat Higgins. This is Pat Higgins, writer-director of Powerful Cheerleaders versus the Boy Band of the Screeching Dead, a new musical comedy horror, which is screening up this year's frightfest on Monday 29th August at the Prince Charles

Cinema in Lister Square. It's directly after Mark's appearance in Jouling Egos, so you'll be there anyway, so stick around and hopefully watch it. Cheers! So that was a very enthusiastic pat Higgins, and a massive shout out to Freightfest, which is such a brilliant cult show. And I think the best time was at Freightfest

or was at the pub afterwards dissecting the terrible films. Send your 20 seconds. Not that this is a terrible film, the same stuff. I've not seen it, Pat, but... How are two cheerleaders versus the boy band of the screeching dead? It sounds... That's not a screeching dead. It sounds like art. That's an irresistible title. It is.

Send your 22nd audio trailer about your event anywhere in the world to correspondentsatcomodermayow.com, a couple of weeks up front and we'll give you a shoutout. Or to be precise, you'll give yourself a shoutout. Now, final review is the House of the Dragon, Robby. Yes, House of the Dragon is the much anticipated prequel to Game of Thrones, which has set 172 years before the birth of Amelia Clark's Daenerys Targaryen from the previous series.

House Targaryen, I'm going to assume a little bit of working knowledge here of Game of Thrones. House Targaryen are on the throne, the Iron Throne at King's Landing. And this is telling the story of their downfall. Now, this a strange kind of deep impact versus Armageddon vibe to this, because on the one hand you have House of the Dragon on Sky and No, and on the other you have Amazons, Lord the Rings, the Rings of Piracy, who's both emerging at just about the same time.

Very amusing, and I keep getting confused with all of the different actors who are in both because there's so many brilliant British actors. Both enormous. Yeah, look, the character actors are booked and busy. It's wonderful to see. But these enormous, unimaginably expensive long-form fantasy actors.

And they all have long, long hair in both. I know, putting the area in and carrying, right? But they are designed, of course, to make loyal subscribers of customers. You know, you dip a tool, you get hooked. We know all about, and you know, like the original Game of Thrones, I dipped my tool and hooked is what I was. I'm in a kind of, I think, a slightly unusual position to review this. And I hugely enjoyed Game of Thrones, but I never finished it. The reason was I had kids halfway through

and it was just one of the things that fell by the wayside like Hobbies. You know, fun. At life. Exactly. Exactly. So you know, I'm very kind of on board with the vibe, but.

Where did you get up to? I think it was about season four. Oh, okay, so you don't have these. So certainly the enormous epic stuff after which this has been modeled. So this is the DP on these, is Phoebe and Wagner, who was the DP on a lot of those kind of enormous

bombastic later episodes. There is no kind of tease or slow build to this whatsoever. It opens with, you know, dragons, CG dragons flying over Kings Landing and these splashy, extravagant CG special effects sequences. And, but this is a kind of a moment of levity before we kind of get into the meat of the story, which is that there is a succession crisis in House Targaryen. We have Cape Blanche as a Galadriel-style voice over, at the beginning, not actually performed by Cape Blanche,

but definitely someone who has watched the horror of the ring. Because that's all of the ring. Someone has watched the intro to not actually performed by Cape Landship, but definitely someone who has watched the show for the ring. Someone has watched the intro to Fellowship of the Ring and said, this is what we need to do. So she kind of sets up the situation where there is an ear to house Targaryen, but she is not the ear that anyone desires. And here's a kind of a montage eclipse to set the scene. The dream.

It was clear as an imagery, and I heard the sound. Thundering modes. I'm sorry. It was clear as in the middle when I heard the sound, the thundery moves. It's entering shield of ringing saw, and I placed my hair up on the iron throat. I decided to name the new hair. I'm your hair. The first born child, René, a queen, is ever sat behind from. Do you think the ram will ever accept me as that queen? A woman would not inherit the Iron Throne,

because that is the altar of things. So the present king is Viserys Targaryen, who's played by Patti Constantine. And his daughter is René Rathiger. So she's played as a youngster by Millie O'Cocken in the later episodes by Emma Darcy. King Viserys is desperate for a son to kind of solve this succession issue, and the first episode I'm going to be super cautious with spoilers here because this is a very

spoilable story, of course, as Game of Thrones was. The desperation for a son is the kind of the meat of the first episode, and there is a really clever visual parallel drawn between so the Queen suggests when Rhenera is saying, oh, I want to be out in the battlefield. I want to be like a man, why can't I do manly stuff and why do that? Why is my fate to be bearing children? And her mother says, well, the child bed is our battlefield. There's this very clever parallel between her in the thrills of labour and then cutting back to that. Now, you were allowed to see erection earlier. So, if I see Volvo, is that allowed?

I do, you can say Volvo. Okay, a very Volvo sheeped, jousting arena. And there is, so there's this visual thing between you and others. Very farlet, jousting going on. It's very farlet jousting, there's very, very, very, very, very, very, very loaded in the way that Game of Thrones of course was too. And so you have the succession crisis there and in the future episodes are to do with people jockeying and manipulating and backstabbing in order to put themselves in the best position

at this moment of weakness for the house. Now I will say Paddy Constine is in this a lot and he strikes the perfect tone for this kind of stuff. I think and Risi Fanz as well who plays his Confidant Otto Hai-Toe-er. The hand to the king. Yes, right. They play the roles. I mean, they within the reality of the house of the Dragon world, they are totally serious, delivering this dialogue as if it's Shakespeare or Dickens, very oratund, very prun, you know, enunciated. Does it make any sense, but it doesn't need to?

No, no, no. And then, but without, from you watching it, it says, campers are cocktail. But they kind of get what it is and they get that you treat it with that more seriousness within the bubble that is the house of the bubble that is house of the dragon. I was not entirely, and so I've seen the first five episodes at this point. Oh, done you. I was not entirely sold yet on Matt Smith's character, Damon Targaryen, who's the kind of wayward uncle. He's the brother of the king and he is disillute and lecturist and psychopathic and he has been kept busy in various rules around, you know, around the castle keep him out of mischief. He's currently in charge of

the city watch, which is an epically bad idea because he turns those guys into this private army. the city watch, which is an epically bad idea because he turns those guys into this private army. He's the kind of j off-free equivalent, I think. He's not exactly j off-free, but he's the pure kind of raw scumbag. Because of him, we do end up seeing a severed scrotum on our screens, which I thought was just slightly honest. I actually wondered if if before watching this, if because of Lord of the Rings coming out, he would also try to like slightly turn down the sleaze

and the violence. Nope. No, no, no. There's a big kind of festival of dismemberment in episode one. Episode four gets very, very sleazy, very dirty. And actually, that's the episode where stylistically, it feels like they're trying to do something

a bit interesting and a bit different off the Game of Thrones template. It very, very much feels like, you want more Game of Thrones here it is. There's no risks taken to an elite whatsoever, yet that I saw anyway. Yeah, I think that's the thing that I was slightly disappointed by.

I think perhaps I did want a little bit of a change of direction. Yeah, maybe it's not, you know, we're not talking about we had, you know, the Star Wars trilogy. Now, let's please have Phantom Menace. No, thank you. We don't want that much of a change. But like, let's maybe experiment with things a little bit more. That has yet to manifest. It's very, very much more of the same old, same old.

So look, for all those kind of trifling faults, it's enormously compelling and enormously watchable as game of thrones, all those watts. But for me, we talked about this earlier, this idea that when you sit down on the sofa, what do you want? Do you want the complex and intellectually nourishing entertainment, or do you want the veg out? And for me, something like breaking bad

is the complex and nourishing disguised as the veg out. House of the dragon is the veg out disguised as complex and nourishing. So you feel quite good about yourself after watching it. I did have a nourished, I felt, but yes, I agree. I do. I thought I was entertained, so sorry. Primal beast, urges have been satisfied, I would say. That was House of the Dragon. Thank you so much, Robbie.

Production management, cameras and everything else was Lily Hamley. Socials this week are by Jonathan Imiere. Studio Engineer was J.Beele. Flynn Rodgem is the assistant producer. And a Talbot is the producer, guest researcher, was Sophie Ivan and Robbie. Finally, watch your pick of the week. It's so close. There's so much good stuff.

It's gonna be bad sisters. Ah, yes, I agreed. Next week, Mark and Simon are almost back, but not quite. They're bringing you a highlight show from Take 2. So if you're not yet part of the Vanguard, i.e., a subscriber to the extra takes, then next week is your chance to get a taste of what you're missing. Extra takes available on Monday, and until next time, goodbye. Goodbye.