Kermode & Mayo’s Take - Level up or game over for SUPER MARIO GALAXY?

Episode Date: April 2, 2026

Some exciting news—The Take is now on Patreon: www.patreon.com/kermodeandmayo Become a Vanguardista or an Ultra Vanguardista to get video episodes of Take Two every week, plus member-only chat rooms, polls and submissions to influence the show, behind-the-scenes photos and videos, the monthly Redactor’s Roundup newsletter, and access to a new fortnightly LIVE show—a raucous, unfiltered lunchtime special with the Good Doctors, new features, and live chat so you can heckle, vote, and have your questions read out in real time. More movie musings and cinematic chat this week on Kermode & Mayo’s Take. The Good Doctors will be reviewing this week’s biggest big screen releases—plus a bit of TV for you too today. First up, there’s The Drama, a black comedy starring Robert Pattinson and Zendaya as a soon-to-be-married couple whose romantic bliss is derailed by a shocking confession. Then more white-knuckle stuff in Fuze—a bomb disposal meets heist thriller starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Theo James and Sam Worthington. On a much more colourful note, we’ve got Super Mario Galaxy—but will this latest screen outing for the videogame franchise be a level up or game over? On the small screen, the spotlight turns to the BBC’s Twenty Twenty Six—a brand new sequel series that catches up with Hugh Bonneville’s Ian Fletcher in all his bureaucratic glory. This time he’s been appointed ‘Head of Integrity’ on the organizing committee for an international football tournament taking place in summer 2026, which definitely isn’t the FIFA World Cup. Simon sits down with the ever-charming Hugh to unpack the series—plus a word on his latest stage outing in Shadowlands, and little bit of Downton chat too. All that, along with the usual listener correspondence and presenter cantankerousness—you won’t want to miss this one. You can contact the show by emailing [e-mail] or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo Please take our survey and help shape the future of our show: https://www.kermodeandmayo.com/survey EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/take Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts To advertise on this show contact: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey Mark, you know I'm a really massive techie, right? No. If you saw me at my local coffee shop in Showbiz, North London, you'd probably mistake me for Neo. From The Matrix, without the illegal hacking or sunglasses indoors, obviously. What are you talking about? You're having some sort of breakdown. Do you actually even own a computer?

What I'm talking about... I'm on it now talking to you. Is the transformation my web browsing has been through now that I've got NordVPN on all my devices. I use NordVPN to keep my online activity safe with encryption, threat protection and dark web alerts to guard against hackers and to secure public Wi-Fi. Well, welcome to the future, Simon. I've been doing that for ages. And with one click, NordVPN can change your devices virtual location so you can access all the things you need when you're abroad.

Unwrap a huge discount on NordVPN by heading to NordVPN.com slash take. With our link, you'll get an extra four months free on the two-year plan. and it's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee. Check the link in the description. This episode is brought to you by Mooby, the global film company that champions great cinema. From iconic directors to emerging otters, there's always something new to discover. With Mooby, each and every film is hand-selected so you can explore the best of cinema. Yes, a new to Mooby in the UK this March is the brilliant, no other choice from Park Chanwick. If you're a regular listener at the show, you will have heard me reviewing the film and raving about it.

Actually, kind of struggling to describe it because it's a black comedy, it's a thriller, it's a social satire. It's about a man whose life starts to fall apart, and he takes unreasonable measures to correct things. I was absolutely fascinated by it. I thought it was a terrific film. And as I said, it's coming to Mooby in the UK from March the 13th. You can try Mooby free for 30 days at Mooby.com slash Comodin Mayo. That's M-U-B-I-D-M-A-R-M-A-for-A-for-M-A-for-M-A-for-M-F for a whole month of great cinema for free.

There really is no other choice. Before we begin, a quick reminder that you can become a Vanguard Easter and get an extra episode every Thursday. Including bonus reviews. Extra viewing suggestions. Viewing recommendations at home and in cinemas. Plus your film and non-film questions answered as best we can in questions, Schmestin.

You can get all that extra stuff via Apple Podcasts, or head to extra takes.com for non-fruit-related devices. There's never been a better time to become a vanguard Easter. Free offer, now available wherever you get your podcasts. And if you're already a vanguard Easter, we salute you. The only problem with technology. Well, actually, there are lots of problems with technology.

Lots of problems with technology. But in general, because we've up the standard of the visual side of this audio production. Yes. by giving ourselves high-deaf cameras. And now... That's a terrifying thing. And now I can see that I haven't shaved, and I'd forgotten that. So whereas before, on the webcam, it was...

You wouldn't know. So now I just look a shambles. I, on the other hand, have showered and shaved, but I still look like a shambles. I've showered. I have standards. Yeah, are you showered, but you haven't shaved? Yeah.

But I have showered and shaved. That's good. and permaided my hair. Beautiful. But we've just spent a very sweary half an hour trying to set these new cameras. You were there too. Yes, but you were doing the swearing.

I'm just making that very clear. You're always very surprised when I say you're quite sweary, but I think the last half hour is proof. And anyway, we're all fine. Are we putting that out as an extra? Yeah. All Mark's cussing. To the tune of All My Loving.

All My loving. us in... Here's the thing. Yes. Talking about technology on Blue Sky, social media platform, someone called Nick Hilton posted this. He said he'd use ChatGBTGBT as a search tool. Right.

Okay. But this made him laugh. Okay, so I think I can probably guess what made him do this. But anyway, what he asked ChatGBT for? This is a lesson in not trusting AI, okay? Okay. All right. He said, who were the first openly gay radio hosts on Radio One?

Please tell me it said us. And to which the answer from ChatGBT, GBT, with the wisdom of the entire internet loaded into it. It says, the first openly gay presenters on Radio One were Simon Mayo and Phil Jupiter's. Excellent. And then it says hyphen. But with an important nuance, one, Simon Mayo is not gay, so he doesn't count. in this sense. Two, Philip Jupiter's is also not gay. I mean, could also add, he was never a presenter on Radio One. Other than that. But I thought, okay, well, you know, that's, it's so it

contradicts itself in, in its own text. That's mad. It gives me and Phil as the answers and then says, actually, no, not them. And then it says, the commonly accepted answer is actually Chris Evans, brackets, not gay, and others hosted the station early on, but they weren't open. openly gay. So in other words, chat GBT has absolutely no idea what it's talking about. But I did tell you that last week, Chad GBT made my day by telling me that I was a member of the Panic Brothers. I'd always wanted to be a member of the Panic Brothers. Is there anything? I mean, it's clearly just wrong about everything. What's the capital of Scotland? It would probably say Cardiff. Phil Jupiter. Or Phil Jupiter.

Phil Jupiter is going to come up later in our various recordings today because he was present at the first Pokemon movie, which I went to taking child one aged about five. And I was sitting next to Phil who'd taken his child. And we were both complaining. I'd brought newspapers and I wanted, and then of course the lights go down and you can't so you have to watch this

awful, awful picture. But anyway, apparently it's much loved. So, you know, hello to Phil Jupiter's just in case. He's listening. Anyway, you're looking cool and groovy with a guitar over your left-hand shoulder. There was a bottle of beer over your right-hand shoulder, but that's been moved. I'm in Ali's house. I've made quite clear.

We're having our roof done. And so I'm just, so this show in the next world, I've been recording in Allie's house because in our house, it literally sounds like we're in the middle of an air raid as the slates come off. What beer was? Was it a breakfast beer? It's this, isn't it? Ned's Wanda... It's a Wanda stuff beer.

Well, it's like a promotional freebie. Yeah. How strong is it? Ali's a big Wanda stuff fan. So this is Ned's Wanda. 4.1 alcohol. Okay, that's not a breakfast beer, really. It says a balanced ale with a floral start

and a subtle caramel finish. Depending on whether the technology works or not, you might want to use that later. You might want to take the top off and just consume it all. I'll tell you what I really want to do. I want to put this in front of the web camera so it looks like this is my holding picture. That's right.

I mean, that actually does look like you from last week, I think. We should say that was, Marcus just held up a picture of Elvis quaffing his quiff. Of King Charles, the bird, in all his pomp. So on the show, a bit later on, what are you doing? Honestly, we've got such a packed show. We have reviews of Fuse, which is a, London-based thriller. We have Super Mario Galaxy movie, which is the latest animated incarnation

of Super Mario. We have The Drama with Zendera and R. Pats. And from the world of television, 26, with our very special guest. Yes, young Hugh Bonneville, reprising his role as Ian Fletcher, who now is Director of Integrity on the Oversight Team in Miami for the 2026 World Cup. Exactly. You can't call it the World Cup and you can't say FIFA because of contractual reasons. So they're bleeped out, which is... Which is actually very funny.

Hugely entertaining. And in Take 2, Mark. In Take 2, we have reviews of... Well, there's a 25th anniversary reissue of Amelie... Oh, with Audrey Tatoo. And a documentary, McCartney, hunt for the lost base in which they hunt for Paul McCartney's lost base. I mean, that could have been about anything, couldn't it really?

really good. Also in take two, you'll get even more of the good stuff including the five-question film club. Three questions you match to. Available for you on Patreon. Our intros to Cold War, The Silence of the Lambs, Heathers and the Elephant Man, among many others.

So head on over to Patreon. If you'd like to join the club, plus you get all the other top-quality content, ad-free. Although some people love the ads. So you can't say, I'm on Patreon, but please can I have these ads? You can't do that because you're either ad-frey.

or you're not ad-free. That's basically the way it is. We could just do a bonus which you get. If you get the Patreon, there is just a bonus which has got the ads in it. Maybe we could do a take three with all the ads, which is just ads. It's just us selling any old ad. And with the release of Super Mario Galaxy, which Mark mentioned, we asked you for your favorite Nintendo-themed films in one frame back, assuming that you have some.

And questions from which Mark and I will answer this question, apart from many others. Apart from the artistic merit and our pure enjoyment of our favourite films, do we think these films resonate with us because of the age we were when we first saw them? To which the answer is obviously, yes. Did these films capture a fascination with us because of where we were in our life and so caught us just at the right moment? Anyway, we'll do that more detail a bit later on. Okay.

Who's this? Oh, Clive in London, very long-term listed, Dear Jelly Bean and Sean Bean, with reference to the conversation about Jelly Babies. Yes. And the preference for the black, green and yellow ones. This was my preference, certainly. It may be worth noting that, I mean, in the pecking order, I would say the green and black are best and the yellow ones just behind,

and then the red and orange fit for nothing. And the pink ones, you just pass over because they are an abomination. It may be worth noting, says, Clive, that the pink and red ones make the other ones taste better, as described by the contrast effect. Quote, a cognitive and sensitive and sensory phenomenon where the perceived intensity, sweetness or desirability of a sweet item is enhanced or diminished by a preceding or simultaneous stimulus. The fact that I'm always reminded of whenever I eat Terrell's vegetable crisps, where the beetroot and carrot is made all the better

by the obviously inferior parsnip, which is definitely true. The only trouble with the beetroot Crisps is that you have to remember the following morning that you have been eating beetroot crisps. Because? Because otherwise you might get a bit of a scare. Why? You might think there is blood in your stool, Mark. Oh my word.

So it's a problem with beetroot in general, really, that you just have to remember. But that's interesting. But the thing is, I would enjoy, if they marketed the black, green and yellow without the other ones, I think I would still prefer it. Yes. I mean, I would definitely go for that. I mean, it's the pink ones are the ones that absolutely do my head in, but the black and green ones are fabulous.

Go on. No, we're just going to say black jelly baby. I mean, I love all jelly babies except the pink ones, but black jelly babies are something very, very special. And the really sad thing is if you get a packet of jelly babies and you open them up and you sort of spray them out, there's only every, you're about three of the black ones in there. They know that they're the best ones.

So they ration them, whereas they just put a ton of the pink ones in. Yeah. Yeah, which is. is very disappointing, but is there a greater pleasure in life than opening a tube of smarties and tipping them all in your mouth at the same time and then throwing away the tube? Have you done that? I always wanted to do that. And my brother also.

And then, of course, it's a bit reckless when you're a kid. Okay. I think that's very exciting. Shane in Dublin, regarding the ongoing conversation of when the right time is to show more teen or adult orientated movies to your kids. Yeah. As the father of two young girls about to turn eight and ten this month, I've been wrestling with this for a number of years.

I distinctly remember taking my seven-year-old brother to see Robocop 2, certificate 18, on ourselves, in 1990, and having the us to ask me a 12-year-old, hey, are you sure he's old enough? And then waving us in. While we emerge with just mild trauma, the psychotic. foul-mouthed child and it was a highlight. I've tried to protect my kids from repeating my mistakes. As I'm an engineer, says Shane, I decided to code my way out of the problem. I built the web app, showmykids.com for myself to note down films, music and books I want to introduce children to

in the years to come, right when I think of it. I get to decide what age they should be and after each birthday, the app checks what my kids are now old enough for and sends me an email to remind me to take the time to expand their horizons. It also shows you what other parents are recommending for your kids' age is giving you further ideas for great content they might like. Hopefully all Wittertaynees will find it useful and lead to many more special but age-appropriate moments with their kids. That's very good.

Take it to talk down with all things orange bloated and full of hot air. So that is showmykids.com, which is a very good idea. this is a very personal thing because what's fine for one eight-year-old will not be appropriate for another eight-year-old, but it's always good to have the wisdom of the crowd, don't you think? I've told you a million times that my dad took me and my sister to see all the president's men because he is the root of my Nixon obsession, and we weren't old enough to see it because it was a double A certificate film, so he had to be 14, and my dad refused to lie about our ages, but what he did was that when we got up to the counter and the woman behind the counter,

said three tickets for all the president's men. And she said, are they both over 14? And my dad just went, just gestured towards us. Right. So the gesture that you're doing there is a, what do you think? Yeah. What do they look like? Obviously, they're 14.

And so he didn't actually lie. He didn't actually lie. He just implied. And I remember thinking, wow, the adult world is complicated. Yeah, that's very true. Okay. So tell us something that is out. new and interesting.

Okay, let's start on a high note with The Drama, which is a darkly satirical, it's got a non-rom-com, written and directed by the Norwegian filmmaker Christopher, I think it's Borgly, B-O-R-G-L-I, so I say Christopher Borgley, who made dream scenario. Remember I reviewed dream scenario,

which is the film in which Nick Cage is this kind of slubby guy, who suddenly starts turning up in everyone's dreams and becomes a sort of superstar as a result of it, and then everything goes blackly horrible and wrong. So that film was produced like this new film by Ariaster. Now, you remember how much you and I love Ariester? No, you love Ariester?

You remember how much fun? I'm quite happy not seeing it anymore. Okay, well, you know what the kind of tone of Ariasters movies is like? Yep, you're not allowed to make that noise any more than I'm not. Don't tell me that this is another one like that. Well, there is a tonal connection. So the new film, the drama stars Zendaya, R. Pat, Robert Pattonson, Mamadu Ache, Ache, I beg you pardon, Alana, Heim, Haidigate and Zoe Winters.

So Zendaya and Rpats are Emma and Charlie. This young couple, they were like 30 or something, which to me is young. They're approaching their wedding. We meet Charlie. He's writing his wedding speech. And he's telling the story of how they met. So we see a little bit of flashback. They met in a coffee shop.

He saw her reading a book. He hadn't read it, but he was trying to impress her. So he pretended to have read it. He started talking to her. She didn't hear him because she's deaf in one ear and she had an ear pod in the other ear. He found the whole meet you incredibly charming, fell in love with everything about her, including her weird laugh. One day, on evening, they go out with the maid of honour and her partner, and they are finalising the food and drink for the wedding. They've all eaten and drunk too much.

And they start having one of those conversations in which they start playing a game, which is what's the worst thing you've ever done, which is a foolhardy game for anyone to play. Never ever play games like that. Never, particularly when you've eaten and drunk too much. So one of them says a confession about something to do with a dog. Another one has a confession about cyberbullying. Another one has a confession that they once locked this kid in a cupboard. But when it gets to Emma, who's Enderé's character, she confesses to doing something, in fact, not even doing it,

but having thought of doing something that she then didn't do, that is considered to be so outrageous that it basically derails everything. Here's a clip from the trailer. So you're saying Charlie is your first love? Yeah. First love or your first crush? Boast, I think. Wait, is that insane? At 30?

So I want to say this thing about her laugh. You know how it's very cute, but it's also kind of like... Perclusive even. All right, so before we got married, we did this thing where we said the worst thing we've ever done. Okay. I'll tell mine if we all do it. Promise? What did you? You do. This dog.

Beer bottles and porn. You left to know every night. Yeah. That's the worst thing I've ever done. Okay. Are you serious? I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

I'm not order an over. Emma, what the fuck? So, the maid of honor is shocked. Charlie is so baffled that he starts to wonder whether he actually knows his bride to be. All of them are. basically astonished that she could even have thought such a thing, despite the fact that they live in a country where this particular thing, which incidentally she did not do, but she thought of doing, is horrifyingly common. And the rest of the film is this kind of toe-curling black

comedy in which the rails come off as the wedding approaches zooming towards them. The irony of it all being that the person who's at the centre of it is sort of being vilified for thinking about doing something without doing it is actually probably the most reasonable of all of the people. I mean, I thought it was, I didn't know anything about it. I didn't know what the thing was. Obviously, it's not revealed in the trailer, actually weirdly enough just before I went into the film, which I didn't even know who was in it. I only knew the title was the drama. And Tim Robey, who's a colleague of mine, said, do you know the twist? And I said, I didn't even know there was a twist. I don't even know what sort of film it is. He said, great, because everyone's

been telling me what the twist is and I didn't so I had no idea at all. So if you can possibly go and see this just thinking I like those actors, I, you know, maybe I like the director's previous film. Don't find out anything else about it. I thought it was excruciating but in a good way, although I remember that you and I, you and I have different versions of what excruciating, you know, because it was Bowies afraid, wasn't it? The more you didn't laugh, the funnier I thought it became. I thought watching people tying themselves up in knots whilst trying to deal with something that didn't happen was profoundly, I mean, entertaining in the worst sense of the word. I mean, on the one hand, it's a classic kind of bourgeois social satire in the manner of something like, you know, Robert Altman's a wedding or that, Margot at the wedding, you know, which again, it's all these forces sort of coalescing around something in which you have to maintain the illusion of politeness. even as existential chaos is lurking.

I also think, and this may be personal, I think it is a rather pointed political satire. There is, in fact, one moment in which the discussion has become very heated. And somebody says, oh, so America is to blame, to which I thought, yes, it is, absolutely. I think others will feel differently. And I think that one of the things that impressed me about the movie is that the way in which you respond, both to the revelation and also to the way people respond to the revelation will depend very much on how you yourself view and contextualize the central revelation.

I mean, personally, I was on side with Zendaya's character, but the movie is clearly designed to allow you to have a number of different responses. I mean, it helps that the performances are pretty much no perfect. And the script, although the script is outlandish, it never descends into ludicry character. I mean, yes, things get out of hand. If you've watched the trailer, you'll know that things definitely come off. The wheels definitely come off when it gets to the wedding. But like Bo is afraid, I suspect that I found this a lot funnier than you would find it. But I think that you would find that there is a really interesting idea at the center of it, which is,

you know, on the one hand, it's how much do you know people, how much, there's a lot of stuff, about when were you going to tell me this? Well, you know, have you, do you tell every, do you tell every detail of your past life to everybody, you know, if you're about to get married, you say, incidentally, there are things in my past that you don't know anything about, and here I am clearing house. And the thing that makes it work so well is that it comes up by mistake at the end of a drunken evening when they are playing a stupid game. And for me, the moment when they started to play the game of what's the worst thing you've ever done?

because bear in mind, I hadn't even seen the trailer. I didn't even know they were going to do that. It was like, stop, stop, get up now, get a cab, this will not end well. Particularly if it's not the worst thing you've done, it's the worst thing you thought of doing, which takes it into a whole new category. Precisely, because what was that phrase that you once used? You said there were three sides to anybody, which is... This was Gabriel Byrne.

So this is in the Gabriel Byrne interview that he did for us, and he talked, this is, it was something like you have a, public, there's a public side to you, there's a private side to you, and there's a secret side to you. It's something like that. That's right. And also, there's the question of, well, you thought about doing it and you, and you, you, you started to think that you were going to do it and then you didn't do it. At what point is thinking about something, anyway, whatever, I thought it was a really interesting, maybe, I thought it was really engaged where I thought the performances were great and I found a lot of it absolutely excruciating, but in a way that I really, enjoyed. Well, if anything is going to make me watch an Ariasta film, it's having Zendaya and Robert Pattinson. Yeah, but it's not an Ariasta film. He's a producer. So it is, it is from, as I said, it's from the director of dream scenario, but his name is on it. And the moment his name came up, I thought two things. I thought, firstly, that says something tonally. And secondly,

I really wonder what Simon May would think of this. But that, it's interesting. So the two of the biggest movies. So when Robert Pattinson was on, I think then we talked about how every decision he's made since being in Twilight was to make him less of a movie star. Yes. Whereas you can't get a bigger movie star at the moment than Zendaya. She's just absolutely huge. But maybe Robert Pattinson is now becoming a movie star again. Yeah, but the film plays very much like an indie A24, you know, that kind of film.

So coming up after the break, which is a very entertaining thing, unless, of course, you're a subscriber. Mark is going to be doing Super Mario Galaxy movie, Fuse. 26 and our special guest is going to be Hugh Bonneville talking about that TV show plus the laughter lift which Mark loves very much indeed. The jokes are going to reach new levels this week. I'm excruciating. Yes, on the way. Hey Mark Kermud. Yes, Simon Mayo. When we first started our journey in Wistertainment, did you worry that people might not listen or care about what we had to say? I did. What

have we made fools of ourselves? Well, thankfully it turns out people love it specifically when we make fools of ourselves, so we needn't have worried. That's good because we're very good at that. That said, wouldn't it have been great if there'd been something like Shopify to help us get started? Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world, from household names like Heinz and Mattel to brands just getting started. Get the word out like you have a top marketing team behind you and easily create email and

social media campaigns wherever your customers are scrolling or strolling. It's time to turn those what ifs in. to with Shopify today. Sign up for your £1 per month trial at Shopify.com.uk slash take. That's Shopify.com.com.com.uk slash take. As the day wraps up, get the scoop on what's been happening with Here's the Scoop, a new podcast from NBC News with me, your host, Gasmu Musugian. We'll take a deep dive into the day's top stories with NBC News's trusted journalist. It's a fresh take that's sharp, thoughtful, and it's informative, bringing you closer to the headlines and conversations that are shaping our world. From the front page to the zeitgeist. Here's the scoop

from NBC News. Listen daily wherever you get your podcasts. Okay, so now it's the time to the box office top 10, Mark. Excellent. At number 10, number seven in America, scream seven. Yeah, and it's on its way out and not a moment too soon. Number nine, number 26, over there, how to make a killing. So this is in its third week, so this is the last week that it will be troubling at the box office. I just hope that everybody goes to see, kind hearts and coronets, or goes to see it, sees it. It'll be on streaming services and television, and, you know, that is the superior film,

obviously. More on Mark's attitude to this film later in the show. Oh, okay. Yeah, number eight, nothing in America, but number eight here, Mother's Pride. There is, maybe the last week, but doing pretty well. Yeah, it's, you know, look, it is, it's the fishermen. friends of pubs. And it is exactly the film that you think it is, and that is perfectly fine. Number seven here, number five in America, new entry, They Will Kill You.

So this is a kind of riotously blood splattered comedy horror adventure romp, which I enjoyed. I mean, I enjoyed, I couldn't remember anything about it, almost five minutes afterwards, but whilst I was watching it, I enjoyed it, there is, of course, the question of Patricia Arquette's accent, which we played a clip from last week, and I said to you, what accent do you think that is? It was apparently Irish. This is an email from Amman.

Simon and Mark, a long-term list, occasional emergency mailer. I came away more confused than anything else. The main issue is that it never really decides what it wants to be. It flirts with horror, leans into dark comedy at times, and tries to inject a bit of stylized, almost kill-bill-type flare, but none of it properly lands. As a horror, it's not scary. There's tension in places, but no real payoff. It certainly didn't pass the Six-Lath test,

and there just aren't enough genuine moments that land. And when it tries to be cool and stylized, it ends up feeling more like a low-rent imitation than something with its own identity. It's frustrating because there are glimpses of a better film in there, but it needed a clearer tone, tighter writing, and more confidence in what it was trying to be. Okay, I mean, I enjoyed it more than you did. I mean, I think, think it's no masterpiece. As I said, I think it clearly takes from a lot of other films, absolutely, and it doesn't rewrite the rulebook in any way. But whilst it was playing, I enjoyed it. And I was, I think it's kind of Friday night popcorn fodder, which I've got,

there is a time and a place for. Well, Friday night, obviously. Yes, obviously. Number six here, number six over there is ready or not to, here I come. Rich Ellis says, I enjoyed every minute. It picks up straight after the original and builds steadily to a wonderfully wild finale. Elijah Wood looks like he's having the time of his life. Samara Weaving and Catherine Newton have completely believable sibling chemistry, walking that love-hate line with ease. I appreciated that no one suddenly became superhumanly competent and that the self-serving characters who'd sold their souls for luxury were, fittingly, rather stupid. And as someone who had total eclipse of the heart at his wedding, one sequence brought me particular joy. With feminists of all hair colours,

down with Nazis and their cosplayers. Yeah. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it. And it's better than we had a right to expect, considering that the original was a while ago, and again, was a bit of a surprise treat. So, yes, I enjoyed it very much. Number five and four over there is reminders of him. Which a reminder that Colleen Hoover is becoming the Nick Sparks of today. And that in itself is no bad thing.

I think it's a very baggy, sentimental story that is lifted a little bit by the fact that it's got very good performances that kind of raised the material. Michael Monroe, for example, I think is terrific in it. Number four in the UK, number three in the states Duranah the revenge. Now, I said last week this wasn't press screen, then I asked if anyone had seen it to send in an email. Do we have an email?

No. Well, there we are. And that's that. Number three, here, two over there is hoppers. Not the best Pixar, but not the best Pixar is still pretty good. And number two is a new entry, and that's the magic faraway tree. So here's some emails.

Can I just say I like it, I liked it very much. And somebody forwarded me a thing from whatever Twitter is now called X that apparently Simon Farnaby had said that he listens to the show and he was very pleased that we liked it. Well, here is an email from Rosie Grace. Dear Silkie and the Angry Pixie, me and dad went to see the Magic Fire Away Tree as our first cinema trip of the year.

Oh, fab. Three exclamation marks. And we loved it, three exclamation marks. I was really nervous because I love the books, and some in blind adaptations I've seen are not really good, but I really love this film, three exclamation marks.

It didn't stick the closest to the book, but it really captured the spirit of the book, five exclamation marks. It was so much fun. Me and Dad laughed all the way through six exclamation marks. My favorite character was definitely saucepan man. Yeah.

I laughed every time I saw him and when he misheard everything and I loved the land of the sweets and I could have gone down the slippery slip all day. Forget the lands I'd have just gone up and down the tree all day. I did miss the squirrels at the bottom of the slippery slip to take the cushions back up to the top but that's just me being obsessed with grey squirrels and the slippery slip. Although it did look exactly as I've imagined it, it was a really good film, brilliant film. I really enjoyed your review. Thank you. Best fishes, I mean wishes to crying emoji laughing faces, Rosie Grace. That's fantastic.

Thank you, Rosie, and thank you for all the exclamation marks. One of my favorite cags in the film, I don't know whether it's in the book, is the saucepan man. And he says, why are you covered in saucepens? And he goes, because I'm saucepan man. Duh. When I did my first adult book, as opposed to a YA book or children's book, the first note for my editor, my very wise editor was too many exclamation marks.

Oh, really? Because you can, yeah, you can have them in children's fiction, NYU, but fewer, please. Do you think that in the script for Project Hail Mary, Amaze, amaze, amaze, has exclamation marks? I think it absolutely has to. More of that in a moment. Hugh says, medium term, term, this the first time emailer, excitement was high, the kids gasping at the giant screen, settling into our seats, handing around popcorn, pure joy, just under 30 quid for two adults and two kids, the perks of the North East. We all loved it.

It has that Paddington Wonka Sheen and looks marvellous. It's undeniably silly, but engaging enough that I genuinely cared how it ended. We've been reading the books to my five-year-old, so this was also her first, why doesn't it look like my imagination moment? Thankfully, she approved of the design. Some moments were surprisingly moving, and the theme of family reconnecting after drifting into tech-induced distance is genuinely touching. Claire Foy is wonderful. Andrew Garfield hits exactly the right tone and the rest do what's needed. My two found bits, my two found bits a little scary, but their peril threshold is low. We once had to stop the Paw Patrol movie for being too spicy. Ooh. A perfect family film, go see it, usual send-offs.

Wow. Wow. Okay. And this is from Nigel, MSC in mining geology and six-tenths of the way to a 10-meter front-crawl badge in 1986. which presumably means you didn't make it. Gnid Blighton, I think this was your reveal from last week. My delight at discovering I wasn't the only child confused by the font on the front of her books. However, I went a step further than Mark and had additional challenges with the why, thus spent many years thinking it was Gnid Bluton. More of that kind of thing later.

and number one in the US and number one in the UK. And clearly it's going to be one of the biggest selling movies of the year, if not the biggest, is of course Project Hail Mary, which I have now seen. Oh, great, great. But first of all, Phil, from the teacher's trenches in the church, Dear Rocky and Adrian, last Friday I was sitting in a packed screening of Project Hail Mary at my local independent cinema,

the island in Sunny Lidham, St. Anne, accompanied by Child 1, when my inner classroom pedant, happily clocked in for duty. For context, I am a science teacher of some 26 years, which absolutely does not make me a scientist. If it did, I'd be earning far better money doing some actual science rather than explaining it to Year 7 on a wet Thursday. Very good. Two moments leapt out. Firstly, early on when the astrophage organism is being examined on Earth, on the warship or in the war room, a scientist asks whether it reproduces by mitosis or meiosis.

Unless I've been misleading generations of pupils, nothing reproduces by meiosis. That produces haploid, is it gametes? I think it is. Reproductive cells in animals and plants. So sperm and egg cells, they would be haploid gametes. Anyway, not a new organism. The intent is clear, but the wording gave me a quiet biological eyebrow rays.

Surely the world's best scientists know better than me. Secondly, later aboard the Hail Mary, when Grace analyzes material from Rocky and the system identifies Zenon, he dismisses it with Zenon as a gas, which it is at standard conditions. But in space, at sufficiently low temperatures, xenon can quite happily be solid via a straightforward state change. At this point, I may have murmured a code-compliant state change into my popcorn to the mild concern of child one.

Having read the book as is standard practice for science geeks, we know the source material gets the science spot on, which makes these little moments all the more enjoyable to spot. It feels very much in the spirit of your excellent wrong hawk, wrong swimming stroke tradition. And frankly, it's one of the most fun bits of the podcast, apart from the excellent redactors' laughter lift, tinkety tongs, and old fruits loving that show Steve from Phil in the teacher's trenches of the church. Okay, wow. Wow.

So packed screening round the corner, which was great. I don't think I'd been around the corner since James Bond, just out of COVID. Wow. And I quite enjoyed it. Oh, I would say. Oh, okay. That's slightly... Yes, for particular context.

I finished the book three hours before I went to see the film. Right. Which I think is very much part of the way I saw the film. So for me, in the book, the comedy from... the main character, Grace, makes the science bearable, because the science is nonstop, as Phil the science teacher has just mentioned. And it's the juxtaposition of the two that makes the story great. I found the film annoyingly goofy. So when you take out the science, because obviously that rumination is what we don't get, we, so, for example, when Grace, the Ryan Goshen character

takes control of the spaceship for the first time, it jerks around. It jerks around. like it's a kid driving a remote control car. Yeah. That what? I just thought, oh, okay, this is, I just thought it was goofy when it wasn't necessary. So I'm now going to, unless you censor this later, go ahead. I'm going to talk about the ending without talking about the ending. Okay, sure.

In the book, I thought the ending was very clever, appropriate and nicely worked out and satisfactory. In the movie, it felt like an episode of the Muppet Show. And I thought, oh, okay, that's not quite right. Okay. So, that was, that was my take. So, you know, I enjoyed it as a cinematic experience, good for it, and Ryan Gosling is great. I haven't read the book. Is the ending of the film substantially different to the book? No, it's almost exactly the same. But when you, but when you saw it on screen, you thought it was like an episode of the Muppet Show, but when you read it in the book, it read differently. Yep. But narratively the same thing happens.

Yes, narratively the same. That's why I said I was influenced by the fact that I just finished the book. Wow. Okay. And I thought it was great and it was well worked, but I was disappointed. I was only disappointed just because everyone has been raving about it. Yeah. And online giving it lots of thumbs down, which is of course an in joke because that's what Rocky thinks is thumbs up. Oh, right. Okay. Fist my bump and so on. And I love all the in jokes, amaze, maize, maize, and I could have done with more of that. But mainly I think it was the fact that because you get less science, it felt too goofy. And that was my take on it.

Okay. I mean, one thing I would say about this is I went in to see it knowing nothing about it at all and with a slightly heavy heart because I just, you know, it was a late screening. And then I loved it. You went in having had weeks of me telling you how fabulous it was and everybody else telling you how fabulous it wasn't having just read the book and you were slightly disappointed. And I think that does tell us something that we do always need to remember is the circumstances under which you see a film are significant. I would say, for example, in the case of the drama, which we just reviewed, part of what I really enjoyed about it was, as Tim Roby said, do you know the twist? I didn't even know there was a twist. I didn't even know there was something that I didn't know.

In the Donald Rumsfeld sense, it was the unknown unknowns, you know? So that is important. I just, this is what I think is most important about it. It is big-hearted and kind. And I think right now we could do with more of that. No, absolutely, I absolutely agree with that. But I was just, given how meticulous the science is in the book, when the spaceship jerks around just because he's driving it badly,

I thought, come on, this is, that's ridiculous. You never see anything move in space like that. I mean, I know a lot about spaceships. and flying in another service. I know the most about spaces. But anyway, I'm still glad that it's there and Ryan Gosling can do no wrong, clearly. Correspondence at covenomero.com.

We'll have further discussion on films that have been out for a while in the overflow car park, which is part of Take 2, available ad-free on Patreon. We'll be back with some Hugh Bonneville in just a moment. Okay. When I sell my business, I want the best tax and investment advice.

I want to help my kids, and I want to give back to the community. Ooh, then it's the vacation of a lifetime. I wonder if my head of office has a forever setting. An IG Private Wealth Advisor creates the clarity you need with plans that harmonize your business, your family, and your dreams. Get financial advice that puts you at the center. Find your advisor at IGPrivatewealth.com. Okay, so it's Hugh Bonneville time.

Known obviously for his stage work at the National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, and on the West End, Shadowlands until the 9th of May, plus, of course, Downton Abbey, Paddington, Notting Hill, Mansfield Park, Glorious 39, Breathe, I mean, this is just some of the highlights, Iris, the Monuments Men, the Gold, I came by 2012, and now, 2026. Will? Well, oh, hey, yeah. Hey.

I found you. Yeah. I wonder where you were. Yeah, no, I'm here. Yes. Could I ask you to do something for me? Yeah, cool, yeah. I'm not too busy at the moment.

Well, yeah, no worries, yeah, cool. I'm about to go into a meeting in the meeting room. Okay. What I was thinking was, if you could wait a bit and then bring me in a coffee in about ten minutes time. Okay, cool. A coffee? Yes, you know, from the machine. Cool.

Actually, no, five minutes, actually. Okay. And that might be better. Yeah, it's better, yeah. You know, and maybe a couple of biscuits or something, you know. Okay. Okay, cool. So what, like into the meeting? Yes. Okay.

No, you don't have to say anything. You don't have to knock or anything. You just bring it in and then go out again. That's all. Yeah. If that's okay. And that is a clip from the new series 2026. Hugh Bonneville stars again as Ian Fletcher. Hugh, hello. How are you, sir? Very good to talk to you again, Simon. It's very nice to see you. I think you were just, I think the last time you were on the show was for Paddington in Peru and you were surrounded. and you were surrounded by ferns and jungle paraphernalia.

So this is a lot, this is a lot calmer this time. So Ian Fletcher, back from 2012 and W1A, as Ian would have it, this is the kind of thing he would say, take us on the journey that we're experiencing together on this series. Well, once Ian had risen to the heights of Head of Values at the BBC, which unfortunately were eventually outsourced, so that he had to depart.

He did have a patch with the National Obesity Institution, but that didn't really go anywhere. So he's now been, after the very sudden departure of the Director of Integrity at FIFA, he's been parachuted in, almost as his predecessor tried to parachute out. And so he's come into really a dead man's shoe, so to speak, and has got to, you know, big shoes to fill, to try and steer the team, the oversight team, towards the opening ceremony of the 2026 World Football World Cup.

Sorry, I should say soccer World Cup, because that could get confusing, bearing in mind that the three host nations are Mexico, Canada and the USA, who if not yet at war, at least, you know, could be say sometimes, we're at loggerhead. So it's a very interesting path for Ian to navigate in this current climate. Now, you mentioned the World Cup and you mentioned FIFA. Now, I've seen the two episodes, and each time FIFA or the World Cup comes up, it's bleeped, from which I concluded that FIFA's lawyers have made it very clear that they don't want this to be the World Cup or FIFA. Yes, I think there are certain parameters, which I'm not entirely clear about.

I mean, it's beyond Ian Fletcher's remit to understand these things. But I think the over-mentioned of the institution and indeed the whole tournament can get into murky water. So I think probably the executives on the show decided it might be just easier to bleep everything. Right. So it's FIFA adjacent. It's World Cup adjacent, but it's still a world tournament that's based in America, Mexico and Canada. Yes, you can't copyright that. So, yeah, it's a big old football tournament.

that's happening opening on June the 10th. I think the opening ceremony is on June the 10th. So, yeah, with this, the cameras have been following the oversight team over several months leading up to this, this great opening ceremony. It's a wonderful show and a memory about how painful the previous two have been. The joy of it for me is that the last one, W1A, I had to stop watching because it was too much like real life. now it's exactly the same stuff but now with international actors so tell me about what it was like doing this show written of course by john morton who's done and has written and produced all of these but now working with american actors and mexican actors because it feels a very british show

which has now gone international absolutely and what we were blessed with was a team of actors who loved, luckily, 2012 and W1A, so they were absolutely up for it and new John's style and his writing style and his directing style. What they hadn't quite anticipated was quite how hard it is to do because every umanur is scripted and the pace of the thing as we sit around these boardroom table, meeting room tables is quite relentless. Added to which we were filming in probably the hottest part of last summer in a studio that wasn't designed to be a studio. It was a former printing press And so air conditioning was a sort of foreign word. And we were just incredibly hot a lot of the time.

So the pressure on those sort of meeting room scenes brought an added dimension. But the cast were wonderful. We became a very tight little team. We have Alexis, who's notionally from Belgium. He's actually French. And then we have a Canadian. We have two Americans and we have a Mexican. And this really does add to the wonderful international

the international joke, if you like, of each country rooting for its own side. Can you compare doing a scene for this show, for 2026, and say doing Downton or any other TV show that you've done in terms of learning what you have to say, reacting to the other actors in your scene and just getting through the thing? How does this compare with all of the others? it's a very different thing i mean in terms of the sort of energy of the thing i always used to think of downton abbey as a stately galleon and this is a sort of jet ski you know it's whizzing around the bay at full pelt um it's it's probably that it is the hard definitely the hardest job i've ever done in terms of learning because a lot of the dialogue doesn't make sense and and you are learning you know there's a difference between yes no but and but no yes uh you know and the and the little

ticks of the ticks of character and the ticks of dialogue that john morton is so brilliant at skewering. They're really quite hard to get into one's brain. So I was, I was, you know, I've been for some reason doing the show on and off for 15 years now. And we, in its three different incarnations. And it doesn't get any easier, the older you get, put it that way. Because in the edit, it feels like it's almost improv, you know, it feels that parts of

it are improvised. It really does look like that. And it's, and that's the pleasure of watching it back. It's a bit like root canal. When it stops, you think. oh, that's a good job done, you know, but at the time, you think what the heck's going on. And it is painful to film. It really genuinely is. I mean, it's, I used to have sleepless nights, literally. But when I watched the finished product and it looks so effortless and it looks

improvised and it looks natural, then, you know, job done, really. But that's down to the skill of the team and John's brilliant editing. And his, you know, he's had the same editor throughout who just really is able to stitch it all together, even though there were plenty of bumps and scrapes along the way. So it's always a tough one to do, but it's always a pleasure to watch. And of course, it's not really about the World Cup at all, in the same way that W1A wasn't really about the BBC in 2012, wasn't really about the Olympics.

It's about bureaucracy and lofty goals and all that kind of nonsense that we have to sit through. Would that be fair? I think it's absolutely fair. I mean, they're both, all three iterations are, you know, great backdrops against which you see the playing out of, you know, basically management strategies that are destined to go wrong, particularly because your team, you know, has got their own vested interests or indeed wasn't listening when the question was posed, you know, and will you do it by Thursday? And you just know in your heart of heart that that's not going to happen. So I think

we've all been in those meetings. And as I've said before, you know, everyone has been on either a parish church council or a, or a Futsi 100 boardroom, you know, will recognise the dynamics of, as you say, big ambitions and, but always having to manage one's expectations, particularly when there are other agendas, you know, afoot. You know, for example, in the opening episode, we're trying to decide where the, one of, where the semifinals are going to take place. And there's a lot of back and forth about that. And then, of course, suddenly it's just decided, you know, from overhead, above our heads, it's been decided by someone higher up the food chain. So all that work and all that stress and energy has been, you know, has been wasted in effect. But there are big ideas,

you know, there's a whole sustainability thread again of, you know, if we could just use more toilets in the stadiums, they could be carbon neutral and that sort of thing. So there's some lovely absurdities that John Morton is very, always very good at picking up on the sort of dotiness of life. But actually, you know, let's be honest, you could not have written, I mean, if he'd written an episode in which the football organization gives a peace prize to one of the presidents of one of the countries, he would have said that's too ridiculous, we can't do that. And presumably that's why this show will work, Hugh, and I think it will, having seen two episodes, is that although this is fraught with problems, the World Cup

is fraught, you know, we all know about the kind of person Trump is, we know about what's happening, you know, there's a war in Iran at the moment. We know about it. We know about. about the tariffs, but that is very much in the background. That's not really what you're dealing with. And whatever happens in those difficult areas, this show will still work because it's not really about them. Absolutely. No, I mean, there are references to the real world, obviously, and to iconic footballing characters, you know, are referred to. But as you say, it's not really about the real world. It's actually about the interaction of characters and the sort of hierarchy within within the team and it even down to which desk Ian Fletcher sits at and that becomes a little

ballet of its own when he realizes that he's been plonked by his supposedly junior but actually turns out to be his effective senior you know plonking him at a desk that's in the middle of the bullpen if you like and so Ian has to navigate his way to a desk that's got a bit more prominence as far as he's concerned so it's all those minutiae of office politics there's you know how to use the coffee machine, who gets to use the coffee machine, whose biscuits you're allowed to use? You know, who gets the better biscuits? So I think, you know, we could all have fun identifying, you know, those characters. Ballets, a, ballet is a very good word as well, because even the excruciating meetings where you feel as what you want to bash your head against the wall,

that's what it is. It's a ballet, isn't it, with being performed by a group of people with various solos chipping in? That's right. And there, and the, and trying to make it all appear, effortless and intentional, where of course there's usually various wheels coming off as the machine rolls along, interrupted by a very willing assistant trying to bring in coffee. It becomes about a battle of who's got the better coffee and whose assistance is better at bringing it in. So again, all those little details while the main motor of the show is running, I think, you know, delicious little observations about office life and office dynamics. What does the Director of Integrity actually do? Oh, God. Basically, he herds cats.

You know, it's his role to try and streamline all the objectives, you know, be it discussing if a problem comes up with a potentially a problem with a Chinese chip in an American football, how to swing the PR on that. Right. You know, when there's a confusion over who is going to be the ambassador, the sort of public-facing ambassador for the tournament, and it seems that two people have been contracted and only one can actually do it.

So there's a bit of an issue there. It's trying to, so basically to streamline any wrinkles that appear in the pitch, if you like, the pitch of life. Yes, yeah, yeah, absolutely. I think we're speaking to you. I think you're doing Shadowlands at the moment. I am, yes, yeah, that's right, at the Old Witch.

Yeah, so your head is somewhere else, really. It is rather, yes. Yes, my head is certainly in the, the world of C.S. Lewis and Narnia in the evenings and then dipping into 2026 at the moment to ahead of its launch. Yeah. I saw Nigel Hawthorne in the lead. Oh, wow. A couple of decades ago and interviewed Anthony Hopkins as well when he did it. It's an astonishing. It's an astonishing piece, isn't it? It's a beautiful piece about love and loss and grief and coming to terms with all those things that we all encounter at some point in our lives.

that we can't escape it, it's going to happen to us. And it's a beautiful story, you know, based on the true story of CS Lewis falling in love late in life. And then his beloved contracting a terminal illness and how they navigate that. But it's about, you know, challenging one's own faith, one's own resilience about how you cope with loss. And in C.S. Lewis's case, it was devastating.

He actually wrote a book called, a grief observed, which was a sort of memoir about his own passage through grief, which he published anonymously. And people kept giving it to him, saying, I think this might help you in your journey. And of course, it was his own work. So it's a, it's a thoughtful and beautiful piece. I wish I'd seen Nigel. In fact, I'm probably glad I didn't see Nigel Hulthon because it would have, I know how brilliant it was. He was absolutely wonderful. In the week that we're speaking, Hugh, the hereditary peers have finally been kicked out of the House of Lords. Just wonder what the Earl of Grantham would have made of that. He said, he'll probably say, well, I'll miss the steak and kidney

puddings, probably. If indeed he ever went to the Lords, I don't think we ever saw him do that. But, oh, well, a new era. Well, I'm sure it'll be a vastly improved system now. I can't even remember what's happening now in terms of the elected peers. As we look forward to 2020, and the fact you described doing it as like having root canal surgery. Dare I mention the 2008 Olympic Games because it's kind of coming down the tracks. Oh my gosh. I can't imagine that. But, you know, as Ian Fletcher often says, you know, every problem is just a solution waiting to happen. And I'm sure the LA Olympics in 2828 will offer a huge solution to everyone.

Hugh, it's always a pleasure to speak to you. Thank you very much indeed for your time. Love you to chat. All the best. Hugh Bonneville, I thought it was fascinating because when he started talking about C.S. Lewis really came to life. He was clearly, really, really. I mean, as he said, that's where his head is. That's what he's doing every night and that's going to dominate your thoughts. Yes, but might I point out that I thought it was almost ungentlemanly of you to say, well, I saw Nigel Hawthorne doing the role and I interviewed Anthony Hopkins about it, which is a bit like, so what are you doing? I mean, I would like to have seen it. But the thing about that interview with Anthony Hopkins that I remember is that there is a bit in the movie where C.S. Lewis breaks down. Yes, it's one of the most famous scenes from the film.

Yeah. And I just asked him about it, wondering whether he had a particular process or, you know, whether he thought of sad things or whatever. And he, I just remember him sort of being utterly disdainful about the question because it's just, you know, was just acting, as far as he was concerned. It was just something that he could do because he is Anthony Hopkins. But it is an astonishing scene and it's a great role and I'm sure Hugh Bonneville is perfect in it. And as good, every bit as good as Nigel Hawford.

Yeah, it's just, you know, I remember when I stepped down from being film critic at The Observer, I said if there's one thing that working at the Observer taught me, it was don't step into the shoes of somebody who everybody recognizes as having been probably the very best in the world. So I took over from Philip French. And when I left, there was a whole bunch of tributes to Philip French from a number of filmmakers, including Martin Scorsese, who used the word irreplaceable. Ah.

Okay. Well, next time I won't make that. I think he was fine. I think he was okay. He was good. He was good about it because it's an extraordinary play. Anyway, he was on to talk about 2026, which is on the BBC. Yeah.

And did you enjoy it? Yeah, well, like you, I've seen, two, to the first two episodes. Like you, I had that really strange experience of W1A of thinking, I almost can't watch this because it is too close to being. I mean, I know people always say that as a joke. You know, it's not a comedy, it's a documentary. But we've, we've said many times on this show about the time in which we were hauled into a meeting in the BBC, in which somebody showed us a graph, and said that on this particular axis, we were doing well because we scored 32. And we said, out of what? And they said, well, no, that's, that's not how it works. It's just that you've

scored 32 and most other shows on this graph are 26. We went, yeah, but 32 out of what? And then it became evident that nobody in the room understood what the graphs meant. Because 32 out of 40 is a pass and 32 out of 100 is not doing so well, which was why it was very funny. When you said to him, what does the director of integrity do? And he burst out laughing. Because obviously in in 2012, he was head of deliverance of the Olympic Deliverance Commission. And in W1A, he was famously, and I think this will go down in his head of values. Which is absolutely a role, which probably does exist. Probably does exist.

And I suspect that head of better exists as well. So it was really interesting hearing him talking about just how almost Pinteresque the dialogue is in terms of the ums, the errs, the ars, the a's, ares, are, all absolutely scripted. And I think the phrase he said was that there is a difference between, um, but yes or, but yes.

And that is exactly what anybody has ever, you know, studied or watched, Pinter knows is that every single pause, every single stumble. None of it is improvised at all. It is down to the very last detail. It is specified when William Friedkin made a film of a Pinter play

when he did the birthday party, he showed the first cut to Pinter and Pinter said, well, that's not my play. And it turned out they had switched two words in it, that they then had to go back and re-switch in order for it to be done. And I think we've always had this thing about the more fun people have making things, often the less fun people have watching them. And I think in the case of this, it is entirely fitting that it was very, very painful to make very, very hot and very, very hard to remember this off. Because all that pain pays off. on the subject of not mentioning FIFA or the World Cup,

I actually think that's one of the funniest jokes. And whether or not FIFA or the World Cup actually had any legal restraint on the use of it, the fact that every time David Tennant, and God bless David Tennant as the narrator, because he is just fantastic as the narrator in this, returning narrator, every time he says, and then it's bleeped, and world, and then it's bleeped, and it's bleeped, I laughed out loud because we all know what it is.

And also there is just something about a word beginning with F being bleeped. But it's the joke about not being able to say FIFA or World Cup is consistently funny. And from my point of view, you know, one of the reasons I'm not particularly looking forward to the World Cup is because it's run by FIFA, you know, who are just so, who are just so appalling. So, yeah, I think, as opposed to. to W1A where you kind of might wish the organisation well, which we do, or the Olympics at 2012,

where you kind of hope that it was going to be great, as it turned out, as it turned out, as it was, as it was absolutely fantastic. Here you're just thinking, well, the basic organisation you're defending is appalling.

Yes. So who knows where that fits. But I think on the basis of two episodes, it's going to be another, you know, another wonderful and painful experience. I mean, I'm enjoying it very much. He's absolutely right.

that of course it's really, it's not to do with football, but then, of course, FIFA isn't really to do with football, is it to do with a whole bunch of other things? I think I was very, I was delighted when Will turned up because I didn't know that Will was coming back. Yes, no, yeah. And it does miss Jason Watkins. I do think he's fantastic, and he's,

I don't think he's in this series. He's certainly not in the first two episodes. But, you know, it is a very good cast. When you were talking about Harold Pinter and changing two words and not recognize it in his own work, I went, I remembered the interview that I did with Martin McDonough for Banshees of Innesheria. Oh, yeah, yeah.

And how he famously, you know, he won't, he won't allow anything to change because he says, I'm the best screenwriter on set. So even if Colin Farrell was to say, can we change this? The answer is no. And if you write to him saying, you know, we're putting on one of your plays for a school, can we change it? The answer is no, you can't. I have written it like this and this is how you will perform it.

For a purpose. And also, I mean, I have to say the writing here is very good. I laugh out loud at VP optics and narrative, just because it's one of those brilliant phrases. The thing when they accidentally kickstart the power of poop campaign, which is just ludicrous enough to be possible, the meetings in which people just talk endlessly about nothing at all. And then this isn't spoiling anything. There's a whole thing about climate and about how hot it is and whether or not it is safe. it in this heat, and they start trying to fudge a graph by turning a line into a zone,

and then Humonoville's character suddenly gets this whole speech about how this could be the moment that will reframe the narrative and reinvent the story. You go, yeah, we've all been in those meetings. It is funny, however, how with W1A, I know exactly what you mean, that there was times when it wasn't funny because it was too close to home. For me, the nice thing about this is it's far enough away from home and I have enough contempt for the organisation that it is involved in to just find it funny. Yes. One of our neighbours who's very high up in one of the most eminent museums in the UK always said how much he loved W1A because it was just like working in museums. So it's funny because it's true. And that's what it is and people recognise

it. Okay. So that is new and that'll be on BBC and it'll be on IPlayer. Time now, as if that wasn't funny enough to furiously press the up button and step into the best love part of the show, The Laughter Lift, which starts unusually with an email from Jeff in Mexico. Mark has a particular disdain for the phrase elevated horror. Yet surely the laughter lift is elevated comedy, discuss. though we could be going down. Yes, and in many ways we are. Yes. Hey Mark, a dogmatic theology joke for you first this week.

I know how you love those. Where do you find a cat that's half good and half bad? In Schrodinger's, no. I don't know. Purgatory. Oh! I thought he was going to be Schrodinger, but it's not. Okay.

Hey Mark, I went to the doctors a couple of weeks ago with a bit of an embarrassing condition. Doctor, I said, I can't help. I can't stop letting one go. Every time I float an air biscuit, they're silent with absolutely no smell, but I've let out 20 trouser trumpets in the past five minutes. She gave me some pills and told me to come back

the following week, which I did. Doctor, I've been taking these pills as directed for my excessive cheese cutting. The fizzlers are still 100% silent, but now they absolutely reek. Great, says the doctor. we've cleared your sinuses. I booked you in for hearing test next week.

It's a long, a long setup. It was. It was. But I just enjoyed all the euphemisms for farting. Well done. Some of which I'd never come across before. You've obviously never read Viz magazine. Well, I was a strip in Viz magazine, so it wasn't.

Were you? Yeah. Simon mayonnaise or something like that. Okay. Yeah, I was Mark Commode's movie bloopers. What's still to come, Mark? Reviews of the Super Mario Galaxy movie, which is exactly what it sounds like,

and fuse, which is a thriller. On the way. Okay, got an email here from Aula, who's in Ireland, which is a little vague, but there's no specific place, it's just Alla in Ireland. Ola, thanks for the email. Mark and Simon, a long-time listener, first time writing in.

I was introduced to your show during lockdown by a friend whose film knowledge rivaled that of Mark's and who loved sharing it with anyone who would Listen, also like Mark. He had a real instinct for cinematography and storytelling, and while we couldn't get to the cinema during lockdown, we worked our way through your back catalogue of recommendations, which was the perfect tonic. His passion for life went far beyond film. It showed up in music, art, brewing, boating, and in the way he brought people along with him. He was endlessly curious and made everything feel like an adventure, living life to the last drop. His name was Alex

and he passed away last week. I just wanted to share this because your show was part of our friendship and those memories. They say those who shine brightest, sometimes burn out quickest, but his warmth is still very much with us. Thanks as ever for what you do, Ola. Well, thank you very much indeed for telling us about Alex, and we really appreciate that email. Correspondence at curmanabeyer.com.

Okay, there is something else that is out, and I'm not sure that I want to go and see it. The Super Mario Galaxy movie, which is the animated sequel to the Super Mario Bros. movie, which was based on the 2007 video game Super Mario Galaxy and the sequel and stuff. So if you remember when I reviewed the 2023 Super Mario movie, I kind of liked it enough, not least because I am old enough to remember the live action 1990s Super Mario, the Bob Hoskins one, which although fine, you remember that, right? Yeah.

Yes. Yeah. I mean, financially successful, but absolutely awful in every way. And so the animated version was better. I mean, it wasn't great by any means at all. I mean, it was peppy and nippy and empty and very bright and shiny and obviously closer to the game than the live action version. Feature the voices of Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Anya Taylor, Joy, Jack Black, King and Michael

key, all of whom return in this new movie with new cast members, including Benny Safdi, Donald Glover and Brie Larson. So the other one was, it was OK. What it wasn't was anything above OK, but OK was enormously far above the previous installment in the series. So as with the previous movie, the new Super Mario Galaxy movie is produced by Nintendo and Illumination. and because it is made by Elimination,

that means it starts with an elimination gag with minions in it, okay? So it started well. There's a minions gag at the beginning, and I laughed, and I laughed because I find the minions hilariously funny, and also because I understood the gag, because the gag made sense, which is more than can be said of the rest of the movie that followed. Now, for clarity, I'm going to tell you the official plot synopsis, okay?

of the film because there's literally no way that I can make any sense of this. So, Mario and Luigi, the twin plumbers, apply their let's-go attitude to solve everyday problems all over their new home of the Mushroom Kingdom. As they support Princess Peach and work to reform a miniaturized, imprisoned Bowser, they meet a new companion, Yoshi. Princess Peach's birthday party sparks a galactic adventure, sending the brothers into space to stop Bowser Jr.'s wicked ambitions

and save Rosalina. Got that? Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, absolutely. It sounds great. Good. Here's a clip. My coupons. Your king has returned. Long live the case. Shall be feared once more. One calm. Pack our things. Let's go. Let's go. Oh, princess, you're going to regret that.

So that kind of overcranked hyperkinetic thing is pretty much. the tone of the whole film. And I remember talking about the previous animation saying, look, it's not the Lego movie and it's not the Minions movie, but it's okay. But the thing about the Lego movie, for example, is the Lego movie was good for everybody. I mean, I think the amazing thing about it was, when we heard it was happening, it was just like, how is that going to work? And then it was absolutely great. The previous film had Easter egg jokes for people who are immersed in this world, which isn't me, but that's fine. In the case, in the case, case of this, they have leaned right into those jokes. And I only know this because people I know

who would understand those Easter egg jokes have told me that they were there, not least my friend Van, who's a film critic, who I saw the film with, who does know all those things. And then after the screening, said a whole bunch of words to me that literally meant nothing to me at all. So it's leaning towards a younger audience, absolutely, and that's fine, although I've seen films aimed at younger audiences that I've got something out of. I mean, for example, the Magic Far Away Tree right now. This is PG for mild violence and threat, but it's loads and loads of fan service Easter egg stuff.

Now, okay, that's fine, but I think that for any of these movies to be actually good, they have to do that stuff and work for those people, but they also have to work for the broader audience. And I have to tell you flatly that in the case of the broader audience being me, it didn't at all. And it didn't at all to the point, that I confess. And I'm ashamed of this because it's not something I'm proud of at all, but it's something that happens to older critics. I started to drift off because it just

became noise. And my friend Van sent me a text, which I got, which I'll read to you, and you may have to bleep a word in it. I'm not entirely sure, but it said this. It said, Hey, Mark, I have to ask because I noticed you nodded off during a part of Mario Galaxy. But when you woke up, did you feel like you were tripping balls? And that, I think, was Vans' way of saying, on the one hand, I noticed that you were just resting your eyes. And on the other hand, when you were not resting your eyes, what did you make of all that madness? And I think the issue here is that if you're going to do this properly, you do it in a way that makes sense to people who aren't immersed in the world. And I understand the thing about fanzo is, boy, I'm a horror fan.

I know about horror fans talking to horror fans, and I understand that there is a market for that. I also understand that it's a big, shiny, you know, glimmery, explosive animation movie, that for the particularly ill-dissearning or undiscerning, you know, it'll tick all the boxes, and it'll probably do very well. It's not good. And certainly, if you're not in any part of that, it is like that thing, as I said, I've used the phrase before about being shouted to sleep. and it was the middle of the day as well.

So it wasn't even like it was kind of at that critical period. I just found it really spectacularly unengaging, which is not to say that there aren't people who are going to get stuff out of it. If you get all the Easter eggs, if you're in that world, or if you just want shiny, bangy, crashy stuff, that's fine. And there were a couple of moments when I did chuckle, but I confess it just was like being banged repeatedly in the first. with a candy floss machine.

It's kind of fun every now and then, but not for the length of a movie. Correspondence at codomo.com. What else is out? Well, a completely different film, Fuse, which is a Sky Movies crime thriller written by Ben Hopkins, playing in cinemas,

but also on Sky and Now. And honestly, I presume that Sky and Now will be its primary platforms because it does look oddly television, despite being directed by David McKenzie, who's the Scottish filmmaker, who CV-C-V-E-Foeh,

start-up, Hell or High Water, which I think you and I both love. And most recently, Relay, which was that kind of twisty thriller with Riz Ahmed, which I really liked. And which I really liked. So Sam Worthington was in that. Sam Wellington's back here, co-starring with Aaron Taylor Johnson, Theo James, Guggoon Bartor Rohr, who we really, really like of like since, you know, back in the days of Bell.

So Aaron Taylor Johnson is a bomb disposal expert who is called in when an unexploded World War II bomb is uncovered on a busy construction site in the central of London. So they find this bomb, they have to lock everything down, have to evacuate everything, and they have to turn the power off, which, as anyone who's seen diehard knows, is the perfect cover for the kind of heist, which can play out furtively in the middle of a lockdown when they turn the electricity off. Here's a click from the trailer. We're on. An old bomb has been discovered on a building site nearby.

Mom, look at this. We need to investigate. We think people could still be there. Right. Copts out here, go, go, go, go, go, go. Stick for the plan. It appears there's been a massive bank job on Edgeware Road. What about feeling about this? And you've got a bad feeling about it for very good reason. So look, this is, it's lively watchable fare.

It's got plot twists which are outlandish as the range of accents that are employed by the various cast on screen. It's one of those films in which double crosses turn into triple crosses and everyone is pulling the wool over somebody's eyes. And there's lots of moments in which it's, oh, you didn't see that coming. Maybe some of it you did, maybe some of it didn't. It is solid, if unremarkable, fair. It's perfectly entertaining a Friday fair, although my own feeling was, I can't imagine many people rushing to the cinema to watch it. I think it is something that's probably best viewed from the sofa.

But as such, it's perfectly decent, and I enjoyed it. And that is it for this week. This has been a Sony Music Entertainment Production. This week's team, Jen, Eric, Josh, Heather and Dom, redact to Simon. the pod already, please do so wherever you get your podcast. Come and join us on Patreon for all the good stuff. Mark, what is your film of the week? By a country mile. My film of the week is the drama. Back next week with Brian Cox, the actor, not the scientist. We'll be talking about his new film,

Glenn Rothen. I shall bestow a year's ultra membership to science teacher Phil, who wrote to us about Project Hail Mary about his science teacher quibbles. With the film, Phil, you have a year's ultra membership. You can get in touch. Correspondence at covenomero.com. Thank you for listening.