Kermode & Mayo’s Take - Raging Grace, Priscilla & Scala!!!, BEST and WORST films of 2023

Episode Date: December 29, 2023

This week sees Mark review ‘Raging Grace’, a social issue drama-come-gothic horror about a Filipino single mother working in a sinister British family mansion; ‘Priscilla’, Sofia Coppola’s adaptation of Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir about her complicated relationship with music icon Elvis Presley; and ‘Scala!!!’, a documentary telling the riotous story of the famed London cinema, which inspired a generation during Britain’s turbulent Thatcher years. Plus, Mark talks us through his best and worst films of 2023. You’re welcome! Time Codes (relevant only when you are part of the Vanguard): 10:36 Raging Grace review 21:16 Priscilla review 31:30 Scala!!! review 41:32 Mark’s Top 5 and Bottom 5 Films of 2023 A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The McNugget buddies are back! But this time, they got a fresh look as part of the new Kerwin Frostbox at McDonald's. We're talking all new buddies, dressed head to toe in the freshest fits, all designed by the artist Kerwin Frost. So when you order the Kerwin Frostbox with your choice of a 10 piece McNuggets or a Big Mac meal, you'll get one of the fliest McNugget buddies to go with it. Think you can collect them all? But up, up, up, up. for a limited time, while supplies last,

at participating Canadian McDonald's. You know that bit between Christmas and New Year? Twix, it's like the space time continuum kind of goes on. Yes. And no one knows what day it is. And everyone eats all the time. And they have bailes for breakfast. Right. There's some stolen here. For example. OK. Very, very bad to eat in a podcast. Which one is the stolen? And which one of you paid for? The bit that isn't the mince pie.

Is it that one? What is it? Stolen. No. Thank you. What is the stolen? Too much marzipan for my liking. It's kind of traditional German cake with the currents,

but an awful lot of marzipan. It's a velocity-rapid favourite thing. You'd have thought a velocity-rapid might like to rip someone's throat out before it has stolen for pudding. What do you think? I think it's quite hard to swallow. Well, it does have a nice taste. What does it, I can't quite figure out what it tastes of. Marzipan and currents. A lot of Marzipan, because I don't like Marzipan, there's too much of it. Marzipan is made of almonds, right? Rosy Pan's made of almonds, right? Mm-hmm. Almond paste.

Honestly, I'm not crazy about it. Nice to hear you masticating though. Hear the contents of your mouth. Fantastic. Sounds great. Don't put it back on the plate. Someone else will eat it. I walked into that room, and I thought, there's a nice bit of stolen.

It looks like it's a nice place. Did you finish your piece? No, no, so we have. Well, you got a plate? I ain't got a plate. Put that. You stolen, my plate was stolen. It looks like it's a finish your piece. No, no, it's heavy. Yeah. Well, you got a plate. I ain't got plate. But that you stolen. My plate was stolen. Could you put that?

It's stolen. Stolen. Gone. There you go. You got a big thumbs up for the catering. I would say. But the satzuma looks really nice. Not quite sure I could cope with them in spiders.

Yeah. Well, the satzuma's the best satzuma's ones when they're near you see. Okay, the best sat yeah. But are the best at simmers when they're at no you see okay the best at simmers are the ones where the satzimmer has slightly shrunk inside so the skin just falls off but these aren't just falling off. God that's stolen is really moist. No it's not moist it's sticky. Anyway um you carry on just doing Christmas. Christmas has been and gone even though we're still eating as though it is.

Well, though, actually, it hasn't, because the 12 days of Christmas begin at Christmas day. No, don't they begin on Christmas Eve? Well, it lasts until epiphany. So it lasts until January the 6th, so you don't take. And remind me, what was the epiphany? The epiphany on January the 6th. That is when the... What happened in the epiphany on January the 6th, that is when the...

What happened in the epiphany? That is when the wise men arrive. Is it? Yes. The epiphany is when the wise men arrive. I think you're making that up. No, I don't think so. The wise men don't arrive in the nativity scene along with the shepherds. The wise men come later.

Yeah, and here's an interesting thing. The three kings, although they're more than three. I saw three ships come sailing by. Is that you eating now? I saw three ships come sailing by. they sail it into Bethlehem. Well, isn't Bethlehem landlocked? What's that going to do with anything? Well, how can they sail it into Bethlehem? Is it that the three ships of ISIL three ships, are they camels?

Are they ships of the desert? I have no idea. The Piphany. She's a great listen. It is. Particularly with the Sans Vienn, contents of your mouth. Also known as Theophany. It's a Christian feast.

They commemorating the visit of the Mager, the baptism of Jesus in the wedding at Cana. Okay, so it's the wise men and the kings, that's what it is. Yeah, and the wise men were not there at the same time. Oh, they sail it into Bethlehem. No, they did not. For it was a landlock. But back in the kings, that's what it is. And the wise men were not there at the same time. Oh, they sail it into Bethlehem. No, they did not. For it was, it was a landlock. But back in the day, maybe they...

The lyric mentions the ships sail it into Bethlehem. But the nearest body of water is the Dead Sea, which is 20 miles away. The reference to three ships... I was right! I was right! The reference to three ships is thought to originate in the three ships that bore the purported, maybe I'll not write. The rest of the three ships is thought to originate in the

three ships that bore the purported relics of the biblical mageye to cologne cathedral in 12th century. So that bellowing that you just did was inappropriate. Okay, everyone out to their Christmas. Not a possible reference. In Wentzless last two. Okay, welcome to take one. Zero three, I don't know. We can't have say it into Bethlehem in any way, because it's not possible.

Apart from all that, did you have a nice Christmas? I did. Did you shout at people that you were right every now and again as you got questions right? Well, that's not to do with Christmas. That's just to do with generally me. Okay. What was your favorite thing about Christmas?

It's after Christmas. So what was your favorite thing, would you say, of all? Well, very, I know. Let me ask you a question, so how was the weather at Christmas? The weather was about eight degrees as we drove out to Heathrow Airport. It's cloudy. Listen, you're talking to someone who late eighties record pre-recorded a Christmas Eve show with Steve Wright like three weeks beforehand

right in in Cardiff and Steve did weather and travel okay three weeks ahead of time it sounded fine it was it was it was very vague Could he just say the M4s were it sticky? Yeah. I'd avoid the M25 and cloudy warm in the place. The chance of meatballs. Yeah, exactly right. So, Christmas day, I would say it was quite mild. What mild? Although I am slightly concerned about the... There might have been a storms going through. There's been some named storms every week. I mean, you know, the main thing to be concerned about is the collapsing polar vortex. Because if the polar vortex does collapse, then we're going to get another beast from

the east. What is the polar vortex? It keeps all the cold weather in the very north. Does the vessel with the vessel have the brew that is true? That's the one. So, that could well happen. So the winds are weakening. And if they weaken altogether and then they go into opposition, then the vortex collapses and all the coldness which has been kept

in place, it's a bit like the day after tomorrow. It collapses. And then we all freeze. Sorry, is this a true thing? No, that is true. There is always this like the earth is slowing down. That is up, but that is also true. The earth is slowing down and the polar vortex is slowing down. Right. And the polar earth is slowing down and the polar vortex is slowing down. Right. And the polar vortex is slowing down faster than the earth is slowing down. Yeah, because if the polar vortex does indeed collapse, we'll know about it in the next few weeks. Okay.

Even if happened. And is that how you get a beast from the east? Yes, also, I think it's El Nino. The Nino? I think it's El Nino. I'm not sure if it's Nino or Nino. El Nino, I'm not sure if it's El Nino or Nino. El Nino, isn't it?

Which means it's mild now, mild until the end of winter, early spring, in which case, then it gets very cold. And if that coincides with a collapsing polar vortex, then it's time to stay in a heat room somewhere. So anyway, so that was your Christmas. You haven't answered the question. It was in a sentence. It was, it was, it was, it was unremarkable, unremarkable. So much so that you can't actually,

I can't recall. Did you have any, what was your, okay, here's the question. What is, what is it that you're likely to eat at Christmas? This is not a riddle, is there a treat that you particularly look forward to having from a food or drink point of view at Christmas, which you would not normally have at any time? So in this period of Christmas in New Year, is there something in your house which you would not have normally bought that you enjoy that you wouldn't have the rest of the year? Terry's chocolate orange. So you only have a Terry's chocolate orange at Christmas? Yes, although I'm not sure whether we have one now because I imagine they're not vegan.

I don't know whether they are not. because I imagine they're not vegan. I don't know whether they are not, I imagine that they're not. So could you not have a non-vegan terrorist chocolate orange? Well, the thing is that the house is going very stolen probably wasn't vegan. No, but the thing is that I'm not at home. The house is becoming very vegan. Oh, so vegan house, but when you're out of the house, there are different roles. Well, it's not rules. You know, I'm a pescatarian. I eat fish, but in our house, there is fish from a rillian. Fish from a rillian, yes.

There's no longer any dairy because the good lady professor has decided that she's going to try as best possible to be vegan. And the child one and child two are militantly vegan. So you're vegan adjacent. I'm vegan adjacent. Yes. And I do try, you know, I do try to not to do dairy, but you know, as you know, when you're out and about, there's only certain number of okay. Vegan, vegan, big max, Terry's chocolate orange. And do you attack it with a hammer? Or would you? No, I tap it on rapid individual.

Like, you know, each kind of thing. Remember the, remember the, the adverts still running on rapid. Is it still okay? And the way it's playing is brilliant. And because the very best bit of it is the big chunk of chocolate in the middle that isn't any of the bits. You tap it on rapid and then there's a big like, nodule of chocolate. The best chocolate, unwrap it, and then there's a big, like, nodule of chocolate.

The best chocolate, there was always the Easter egg, I know, because it's thinner and somehow thin chocolate. It's better than the best chocolate orange is a bended bit of mint. Yeah, okay. Well, you can have some in a bit. What are you doing? That's like, I didn't come to your house because you had family. Well, last night, of course, as we are in this Christmas period, obviously, you were in your house, and I was in my house.

Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, yes. So what else would you say is coming up on the show today? We're going to be reviewing a bunch of movies. Raging Grace is one of them. Priscilla is another one. And Scarlett, exclamation mark, exclamation mark, exclamation mark. Right. Three of them. Yeah, three, three exclamation marks. There may be four actually,

but yes, three exclamation marks after Scarlett. And that's a documentary about those three. Thank you for the loss of your rapture and chief. Plus, also all the best of worst movies in 2023. Oh, yes, we're doing that as well. Yes, I've got that. It's a good job. I have prepared that, you know, unlike the words of wisdom, I actually have actually done that bit of preparation. And then it take two, you can hear our best bits of the best reviews, most ranty reviews, inspiring interviews and so on, but we're going to start with I like raging grace is a great title.

Yes. So let's find out if the movie holds up to it. Okay, so raging grace is the debut feature by Paris, the Silla, and it is a modern mix of Gothic horror and social satire. It put me somewhat in mind of, do you remember Babac Amvaries under the shadow which I really liked? What do you think? I think no, no. So Max Ironman plays joy. Undocumented Philippine cleaner, moving from house to house in London with a daughter grace. Basically they couch surf wherever they can. At one point they ring one of the houses and they get message say, oh well, sorry, we're away for it.

So they go there and they stay there for a while. Joy is also trying to pay off someone who promises that they can get them citizenship to avoid deportation, but he wants 15,000 pounds. She only has 10,000 pounds. He says, no, it's 15 or nothing. Things look bleak until she lands a job in a mansion, this huge big house, into which she smuggles her daughter in a suitcase. Yeah, because she's not meant to have a daughter with her. Takes her upstairs to the bedroom that she's been given to stay in and puts the daughter in the cupboard, says you're going to sleep in the cupboard.

And the employer Catherine, who am best, tells her that she's going to be says, I can't pay you agency rates, but I can pay you £1,000 a week in cash. She thinks, this is it. This is the answer to all my problems. Sounds great. Until she meets Catherine's uncle, master garret, played by David Heyman, who at first appears bed-written and at the end of his days, if not actually dead, but then starts to change.

Here is a clip. How would you like to have your own bedroom? What do you mean? Well, your mother's gonna come and work for me now, and you can both come and live here for as long as you like. I can have any bed here. It's great. Almost any, but in one condition, And you can both come and live here for as long as you like. I can have any bed here, please. Almost any, but in one condition, you call me your Lolo.

Grandpa? Er, okay. Thank you for your look at it. I'm so happy. You're my family now. Mr. Garrett, do you already have any... Let's do away with Mr. Oh, lola Garrett, do you already have plans for

the no no, I prefer master. And you could hear from climbing what's happening in the soundtrack. But so this is apparently the first British Filipino film produced in the UK, premiered it south by Southwest last year now, picked up best film in composition, best debut. More recently, it got two Biffan nominations, the Maverick Award and best breakthrough producer. It is an old film. It has a growing, it has an atmosphere

of kind of growing dread and it's laced through with this kind of political satire. There's lots of stuff like this one moment when she encounters some people and they just see how they go, oh, you must be the new cleaner. So there's a lot of stuff about the way in which you're perceived, the way in which one of the, one of the employees, I'm not sure you must call me by my first name, but not meaning that in any sort of, there this one thing which we have a montage of people who are with whom she's working, and one of them says, oh yes, no, yes, the Philippines, I've been there. I loved it. It was so spiritual. But it's about a lot of things, and I think that sometimes, I think in its later sections, it perhaps bites off more than it can

chew, but it's really got a distinctive vision. It's a really good, sort of calling card of a film because it's clearly the work of somebody who is a filmmaker who understands that the story is not just to do with narrative, it's to do with establishing an atmosphere, establishing telling the audience stuff that they know because of things other than

dialogue. Like, for example, the Scoris by John Clark, who won a best original composition in a feature film at the Music and Sound Awards, and the music really does a lot of kind of getting, it kind of scratches at the edges of what's going on with the narrative and it tells you that there is something brewing that's really dark. I said occasionally, I think it's, if anything, it's slightly over ambitious, but it's very well judged. The performances are very good. And there are just a couple of, you know, really, really creepy moments in it. And it has substance to it. It might be very, very interested to see what Paris's Oscillular does next because this is a very impressive, I mean, the first time I encountered

Paris Oscillular's working on the, you know, on the strength of this, I'd like to see much more. Okay, and that film is raging, raging, raging, as the cinema release. Yes, and that opens the 29th. What data we know? and that opens the 29th. What day do we know? When does this drop? Today, then, time for another mince pie. And a quick break. We'll be back in a moment. But first, which song are these lyrics from? Is it you or me now? Well, you never have anything prepared. So the fact that it's prepared, actually, it's... Remember, the reactor is not with us, the reactor is skiing. Okay. Okay, so this is...

Skiing, this is by the Velociraptor. Okay, okay. Word on the street, centers coming tonight. Rain deer's flying through the sky so high, I should be making a list, I know, but I'm under the mistletoe. Happy Nord Christmas. Protect yourself whilst Christmas shopping online and access all the Christmas films from around the globe.

Plus, when you shop online, you'll have to give websites your card details and other sensitive data like your personal addresses. Those websites should already have their own encryption built into their payment systems, but to be on the safe side, you can use a VPN to ensure that all data coming to and from your device is encrypted. Even if you're using an unsafe Wi-Fi, you'll still be able to shop securely with a VPN.

And you can access Christmas films only available overseas by using streaming services not available in the UK. To take our huge discount of your NordVPN plan, go to NordVPN.com slash take. Our link will also give you four extra months for free on the two-year plan. There's no risk with Nord's 30-day money back guarantee. The link is in the podcast episode description box. Highest team podcast listeners, Simon Mayo. I'm Mark Kermot here. I'm excited to let you know that the new season of the Crown and the Crown, the official

podcast, returns on 16th of November to accompany the sixth and final season of the Netflix Epic Royal Drama series. Very exciting, especially because SuperSub and Friend of the Show, Edith Bowman hosts this one. Indeed, Edith will take you behind the scenes, dive into conversation with the talented cast and crew from writer and creator Peter Morgan to the crowns Queen Elizabeth in Mel Distant. 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 DeBickey. You can also catch up with the story so far by searching the Crown, the official podcast, wherever you get your podcast. Subscribe now and get the new series of the Crown,

the official podcast first on November 16th. Available wherever you get your podcasts. Word on the street, Santa's coming tonight, reindeer's flying through the sky so high, Dady Dahl, anyway, it's from 2011, mistletoe by Justin Bieber. Oh, well, I don't know that. How would I know Justin Bieber? I, it gives me another opportunity to tell you

how I was in a steam room with Justin Bieber. That was very exciting. How was he? Well, he was shouting at his one of his... Oh, yes, that's right, because what... Like, the room was the wrong color of pink or something. No, there'd been... As I, in an interview, there had no, no, no.

There'd been a concert. It had been... As I recall, it had been too brief, and he was getting some stick for it. And I went to the same gym that I normally went to and he was there working his body off. And he clearly had some words to say to one of his employees and they chose to say in the steam room because the steam was only like room for about four or five people. And I thought, okay, I'm

quite interested to know what you're saying. So we're all wearing towels, by the way. And thanks for clearing that up. And I walked in, they both turned around and walked out. So there you go. So I didn't really get to hear anything because they decided not to continue their brief. But anyway, but he was shouting. Well, he wasn't, he was clearly on, yes, I think he had negative vibes. Negative vibes. Leaking through his towel. Okay. Just in case you're interested.

So thank you very much for all the correspondence that we get. We appreciate you very much. Correspondencecoadermayon.com. This email comes from Natalie. Best hat in the cheap seats, Cheltenham 2007, and hoping for some of your excellent merch for Christmas. Obviously, this sent us before Christmas, and not here we are in the after Christmas

period. Right. Because the Christmas has happened. That's right. And it was just fine. It was just fine. Mark and Simon, I've been wanting to email you both for a long time, but can never find a good enough reason.

But here tonight, I'm currently writing this email whilst feeding my baby girl. By the way, this is a moving email, sad and positive. So you can carry on eating. I'm writing this email whilst feeding my baby girl and during an intermission of the film, clause, clouse. Clouse. Because if you saw it, that's Claus,

as in Claus Wunderlich. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But it's Claus. Claus Wunderlich, Popp-Farty Volume 25. Correct. The unplanned break came at a fortunate moment, seeing as my husband and I were quietly and secretly both in tears.

Being a long-term list since 2005, which started with my then boyfriend and now husband, your show has been a constant in our lives. You've seen us through a particularly difficult and challenging period trying to increase our family. The podcast has always been a familiar friend on a particularly sad Sunday morning with the knowledge that things weren't going to be all right in the end this time. We found ourselves at a loss as to what to do. We found ourselves gravitating towards the cinema to escape

and went to an 11 a.m. showing of Toy Story 4. We sat and watched and laughed and cried. Film is always been discussed on your wonderful program on how healing it can be. Nevermore so have I agreed on that sad morning. Four years on and watching Clause, Clause, we are taken right back. The pain of what might have been is something that

is always carried and is perfectly depicted in a particular scene in this wonderful animation. I said here now so grateful for our two beautiful little children that we were fortunate to eventually have, but who just took longer to arrive than expected. I'm watching this, I felt this has been redacted. I'm watching this, I felt the need to email you, I'm not confident in my writing, but I just wanted to convey how much I love the program, I felt this has been redacted. I'm watching this, I felt the need to email you. I'm not confident in my writing, but I just wanted to convey how much I love the programme. Isn't that nice? Lovely. Thank you. You've been there in good times and bad,

during cleaning sessions and night time feeds, the thoughts and questions of my fellow banker, these things always keep me wondering. I've been introduced to a world of cinema that would have not been on my radar, if it weren't for you. The Lunchbox, Florida Project, and the more recent, unbelievable recommendation to name a few. The last of us is not something I may have normally watched, but if Kermit and Mayo

loved it, then let's give it a go. Of course, we loved it. Initially, music that makes you cry, the theme to Planet Earth 2 by Hans Zimmer and the soaring strings. Keep up the excellent work. Natalie, thank you very much. Thank you. And thank you very much for getting in touch.

I hope you had a fantastic Christmas, as indeed did we, because Christmas has passed. Who's your favourite present? A pair of headphones that I got given. That was very nice of you. I was very grateful for the two. That's not a joke, Insanely. That is my favourite present. I know that that's what I'm getting.

Oh, OK. I particularly liked the two French Shepherd puppies that I got. Really? Yeah, it's very, I never thought I was actually going to get the puppies that I've been waiting for for all my life, but... You say puppies like Glenn Close in 101 Damation? That's not a puppy. Not a good thing at all.

Get me those puppies. Correspondence at COVIDaMail.com, that's our email. What else is out? Priscilla. This was doing 35 mill previews from the 26th now in cinema. So new film by Sophie Kepler, who is the director behind Virgin Suicides, Mary Antoinette and much more. This is based on the memoir Elvis and me by Priscilla Presley, who is also gets an executive producer credit. me by Priscilla Presley, who is also, gets an executive producer credit. And it follows the strange and often disturbing relationship between Priscilla, who was 14, 15 years old when she first met the superstar that was Elvis Presley, took a shine to her through one

of the so-called Memphis Mafia who was sent to Inviter. Have a look at the clip. Tell her who was, what's her name? Chris, you're a billionaire. See, you come in here, L.A. as your family station, too? Yes. You'll be from. Texas.

My dad just transferred here in August. That's so... How do you like Germany? I booked the entertainment here. My wife plays here sometimes. Me? You like Elvis Presley? Of course. Who doesn't?

Well, I'm a friend of his. A wife and I go to his house sometimes when his people go up. I was glad to see folks from back home. We're going this weekend if you want to join. Have to ask my parents. All right. See you around. So, that's Rising Star Kelly Spani who want a Volpe Cup for best actress when the film premiered

at Venice. Why don't you want? Volpe, V-O-L-P-I. It's just the name of the particular award. Okay. It's not over, you know, it's what it's called. And then Jacob and Lordy, who of course you will remember from Saltburn. You know, the main guy in Saltburn, who's, well, the main guy who isn't Barry Keogun. Yes. Barry Keogun. He's Elvis, which is a kind of near impossible task to play Elvis in the wake of the performance by Austin Butler.

He was so fantastic. He was so fantastic in Baselurman's movie, but actually, I think Jacob Edelord, he does a pretty good job. So the thing is, unlike the Baselurman by a pick, firstly, this doesn't feature Elvis music. This has got things like, well, there's some anachronistic stuff, so there's the Ramones cover, baby I love you. There's music from the French rock band Phoenix.

Copa's been married to Thomas Mose since 2011. And then stuff from sons of Raphael. And the air of the film is, you know, the story of Priscilla and Elvis, do you know the story? I'm roughly asking. Okay, so he met her when she was still at school and she then moved into Graceland in a platonic sense that she was, you know, shaperot. Now you did, you did, I did, you know, it, it is, yes, so she, she moved into, she was basically, she became the guardian, she was guardian at Graceland. And then she ended up marrying Elvis. But of course, their,

their relationship was non-physical for, you know, until marriage. Is that actually true? It is actually true, yes. And in fact, this is, you know, she, she, if you, if you read Priscilla's account of it, this is very, very close to it. There is a strange thing, which is almost like a kind of gothic melodrama, that she's moved into Graceland, in which it's almost like she is preparing to become Elvis' bride. Elvis, meanwhile, I mean, there's a touch,

you've seen the Hitchcock Rebecca. There's that weird thing about moving into a house in which you're kind of a fish out of water and very, very young. And the strangeness of this life in which she goes to school by day, she comes back, she's Elvis's girlfriend. But Elvis is out in the world, you know, having, making headlines because of all these girls that he's being seen with. So out in

the world, he's behaving like a kind of pop star, and back at home, he's behaving like a southern gentleman. So it's a really, really strange thing, and I mean, it is strange, and what the movie does, what the movie does in a very kind of non-judgmental way is flag up the weirdness of the situation that Priscilla Bolio and then later Presley found herself in. And I think that what's really interesting about it is that Copeland sort of finds a way of telling that story without being in any way sensationalist, without being in any way avertly judgmental, but allowing the audience to see this kind of, I mean, it is, it's like a twisted fairy tale. You're one of these people who everyone loves Elvis.

You said, you live a everyone loves Elvis. People are screaming about the idea of Elvis. And then this idea that you go to school and everyone loves Elvis, then you go back to Graceland and you are Elvis's chosen one, but Elvis is off around the world being Elvis. And then there's this kind of really weird thing that as she grows up and she then, you know, marries Elvis and, um, maybe a child and he sort of becomes, he kind of, if anything, he regresses with the story of Elvis is that the more famous he became, the more he kind of regressed into the surroundings of those around him. I mean, it was in, in, uh, in Elvis, the Baselurman film, it's really about him kind of sinking into the clutches of Colonel Tom. And Priscilla has always had this, she's been the keeper of the

flame. She's a person who kind of managed the Elvis estate to what it is. And she's a formidable character. And I think that this does a very good job of telling her story in a way that there's no, I mean, there's just no getting around the weirdness of it. I mean, it is really, really weird and peculiar. I mean, again, look at the story of Jerry Lee Lewis, which is even more weird and disturbing. And I know everyone's saying, okay, well, different times, different places, and there are different stories. But essentially, there's a story about a young girl being plucked from one world, put into another world in which she's on the one hand, you know,

cared for and looked after. But there, but there's something very, very strange going on. And then as she sort of grows into herself, the world around her doesn't grow with it. It's melancholy. It's sometimes it's sweet. It's got a very delicate touch. The film's got very, very delicate touch. And it does a really impressive job of allowing the audience to make their own judgments about just how strange this is. And it is,

there is no getting around the fact that there is a sort of sense of gothic melodrama, that it is, there is a Rebecca thing going on. There is a, you know, like a Disney princess suddenly transported into the layer of, you know, you think of beauty in the beast or something like that. And you have to keep reminding yourself, no, this is true. This story is true. And, you know, Elvis and Priscilla were together for a very long time. And then, and then they weren't. And she has always been considered by, I mean, you know, Elvis fans of the whole are in great reverence because she was the person who sort of, fans of the whole are in great reverence because she was the person who sort of, you know, took on the mantle of all that stuff. But it is, it's a, I thought it was, I think it's a very fine film. I think the performance is a terrific. I think it really captures the

period well. And I think that what Jacob and Aldi does is keeps on the back foot. So you're not getting that thing. When Austin Butler is on in Elvis, every single scene, he's lighting up the screen. And remember the scene when he plays at the Louisiana Hayride, and it suddenly goes all Jimmy Hendrix. And you're, you know, you can't keep your eyes off him. Well, in this, you can. And it's, it's a quite clever thing to do with a performance of Elvis in which you are not the most interesting person in the frame. The most interesting person in the frame. The most interesting person in the frame is Priscilla who doesn't say very much, who quite often

he's being pushed to the sides of the drama by this whole kind of machinery of stuff which is going on around Elvis and the family and Graceland and the success. And there is something really clever about making a film in which a sideline character, who his narrative is quite genuinely sideline is the center of the story. The more I think about it, the more I think that, so if you come to a very, very good job of telling this very complicated,

and often very, very disturbing story, in a way that is just, okay, this, and then this, and then this complicated and often very, very disturbing story in a way that is just okay, this and then this and then this and then this and then trusting the audience to find their own way through the emotional and philosophical and moral mind field of what's playing out. So big thumbs up then. Yeah, I liked it. I mean, I liked it very much. And I was surprised because it's, there's something, there is something so

artful about making an apparently sideline character, the centre of the drum without giving them big speeches. It's not to do with big, it's to do with, well, it's to do with, it's to do with what you don't say

rather than what you do say. Cinematic release for four years. And as I said from the first day, we're doing 35 mil release of it and then a movie have it. So, more in just a moment. This winter on Showcase. Look into someone for me. Hello, MacIrini, who's developing artificial organs.

Medical miracles. It's experimenting on people. From the Hitwondry podcast. She's sitting there with a bloody time bomb in her throat. Based on the breathtaking true story. We have to figure out a way to stop this guy. Your patients, they really trust you. They trust me.

Edgar Ramirez and Mandy Moore star in Dr. Death, new season premier Sunday January 7th on Showcase, also available on Stack TV. Imagine how lonely it can feel to be facing mental illness or addiction on your own. Now imagine how lonely it might feel during the holidays. That's why Cam H needs your help to light the way forward. Your year in donation can help us make sure no one is left behind by fueling progress in mental health care and patient experience. Visit CamH.ca slash donate now to double your impact with a match donation. That's CamH.ca slash donate now. Slash Don't Eat Now. Coming very soon, top 5's best films, worse films of the year, but we're not done with the reviews.

What Mark has done with the reviews. Because there's a film, maybe for the first time, with three exclamation marks. Yes, so this is a documentary called Scarlett, exclamation mark, exclamation mark. This is not a documentary about the classical radio station that gives you classical music for modern life, for which we both are fantastic. This is a drama about London's cinema club.

I mean, I think it's a riotous, the entertaining, also, I think, impressively serious account of the legacy of London's wildest cinema club. The rise and fall of the scarlett code directed by Jane Jarz who ran the cinema for a long period, and Ali Caterall, who is probably best known to many is an author he wrote to get a book called Your Face Here,

which is a book about British cult movies. It follows the establishment of the Scarlett cinema club from its original home in Tottenham Street to its then iconic home up in King Trust. You've gone past the scarlet many times, course, and now it's a nightclub, I believe. So what happens is we hear how this was set up to show a very, very diverse range of films

from classics, lost classics, established classics to cult movies, exploitation movies, horror movies, Kung Fu movies, LGBT, QIA Plus movies, strange, weird kind of double bills of things. Sometimes stuff from television that they would do all day as of, they would have the Lauren and Hardy fan club in their sons of the desert. I mean, literally everything. Now I remember, so I'm the age I'm 60, I'm 16 now, when I was a kid, I used to, you know, love going to late night cinema. Obviously during the 80s, most of the time I was in Manchester and the cinema there was the arbonne, but I would go to the scholar when I was down.

I remember for example, going to a slasher all nighter with my friend Simon Booth, it was six slasher films back to back. You know, you started about 10 o'clock and you end up six o'clock in the morning. I remember going there to watch, there's a film called Thundercrack. Scarly used to play Thundercrack all the time because technically because it was a cinema club, they were able to play films that didn't have BBC certificates. And remember sitting there watching Thundercrack thinking we are all going to get arrested it cannot be legal to be watching this and what Scarlett exclamation my exclamation mark does is it blends archive images footage

clips from some of the movies and then interviews with people like John Waters whose movies, you know, movies, Pink flamingos and all that stuff were a kind of staple of the scholar, with patrons such as Mark Moore, Joe Cornish, Alan Jones, obviously Ralph Brown, you know, from With No The Night, who used to work in the coffee bar and in this clip, Stuart Lee. Well, I really remember, though, it's not so much the people that felt that they belonged here in this audience as to people that had kind of just turned up perhaps to Shelter i'n gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweith as it became more and more bizarre and obscene, kept standing up, turning round and sort of addressing the rest of the room. So Vaske and us, why we were there and what was wrong with us? And yeah, he would then sit down and continue watching it.

You know, you don't get that in a multiplex. LAUGHTER I love that clip because that is literally what Scarlett was like. I mean, it was... All the rules are being broken there. Yes, I mean, it was... So one of the things that Scarlett was famous for in the King's Cross of Scarlett was the Scarlett mean, it was. All the rules are being broken there. Yes. I mean, it was, so one of the things that the scholar was famous for in the King's Cross scholar was the scholar cat.

Okay. The story of this is in the film, but the scholar cat would prowl around the cinema and people would be watching things at like three o'clock in the morning. Some people would be awake, some people would be asleep, some people would, you know, know why they were there. And the scholar cat would jump on you and completely out of nowhere. The seats were fiercely uncomfortable, which is actually quite good if you're watching an all night because it was a thing that would sort of stop you from falling asleep. In the course of the documentary, you discover that in the history of the Scarlett, there's things like Iggy and the Stooges and Lou Reed being photographed for album covers

at Scarlett. We hear about it's key rollers of, you know, a venue, key rolling punk and then a new romanticism. The most important thing, however, is this is that I was somebody who I loved the Scarlett, I loved the kind of the mythology of it. I loved the, I don't mean Joe Cornish when I said Joe Cornish. I mean Adam Bucksdon. I love the way in which it was a home from home for misfits. And what the film does is it has all these accounts of people, you know, many from the LB LGBTQ plus community talking

about how they could be whoever they wanted to be when they were there. Wherever you were in your revolution, whether you was somebody who was it was the way you dressed or the way you acted or the way you bit, there was something about the scarlet that they didn't care. They genuinely didn't care. It was a come one, come all, you know, we're going to show this weird selection of movies and you're going to, you know, you're just going to enjoy it. And it's the documentary is funny and wild, but it's also serious because it does talk about how this was a hub of inspiration. There was a number of people who were there who who then went on to do really, really good work, you know, become, whether it's podcasters or filmmakers or musicians or there was something

happening. And if you're an aficionado, obviously it hits all the bases, there's all the stuff about, you know, the weirdness of the building, the whole process of getting the tickets, the strangest of the films, the brilliant interview with John Waters about when they got, you know, they got taken a call for showing Clockwork Orange and, you know, and him talking about, oh, that's a badge of honor if they take you to court for showing stuff. But also, it works if you've never, ever known about or cared about. So, did you ever go to the scholar? No, no,

okay. So, I went, but not to see a film. I think there was some gig. Yeah, there's a gig. Yeah. Was it, was it a new romantic thing? Was it the Span Labale thing? No, it was already a one thing. Oh, okay, fine. So we did a screening of it down in Exeter, where it was shown to students who were too young to have been around with the scholarship and many of them from overseas as well.

And they just loved it. They got it and they absolutely loved it. And the reason is because the documentary does that, you know the thing I always say that documentary should make you interested in the subject, you're not interested in what is one thing me looking at it and going, oh yeah, remember that seat, I remember that double bill because I actually programmed one of the, when I came down to London, I was working for Time Out. They got into, I used to do the listings for Time Out and the Scala program would come in. The Scala program was just like the most mad collection of films and like so many of them. And I would sit there doing listings

having to get the scholar listings into time out and you'd get one of them wrong. You know, in somebody would turn up to see Hitchcock's Rebecca and unfortunately they were showing thunder crack. You know, you know, you had these are real world consequences. And so I'm looking at it and thinking, I know all that stuff and I remember all the stuff stuff about the cat. Oh, I remember that person being there. I don't remember them, but then they weren't famous then and all that kind of stuff. And then Alan Jones is, you know, his memories of it, of doing shock around the clock there with him and Stephanie Vaughn's in. So, fine. So for me, it's like a trip down memory lane, but it's also really encouraging because it reminded me of this kind of this weirdly dangerously safe space.

On the one hand, it had an air of danger, but there was a thing about acceptance. But the best thing about it is, if you'd never known about the scholar, if you'd never had any knowledge or interest in it, it would make you interested because it's a story about something that this weird artistic eruption that just happened, almost spontaneous, obviously hard work and enthusiasm behind it. But people going, we want to give people a full encounter with all the extraordinary stuff that cinema can be and cinema can do. And some of it will be extreme and some of it will be old and some of it will be weird and some of it will be in color and some of it will be upside down and back to front because the projection

is put the reels in the wrong way. And it's so funny and it's so exciting, but it's also got a really serious purpose to it because I think it is about a community of people who are, you know, misfits and outsiders and people who are sideline finding a place in which they could be. And so the Ralph Brown tells this story about this bloke comes in. He's got hair like this. He's sitting at the coffee bar at three o'clock in the morning. He starts singing a song.

He thinks, oh, he's got an all right voice. Won't see him again three weeks later. He's on top of the pops and it's boy George. You know, it was that kind of place. And I love the documentary. I've now watched it three times. And I just thought it was joyous and really invigorating and fired by that love of cinema

that you only get from a cinema club. That is so, you know, what's that, what's the phrase about? If somewhere didn't exist, you'd have to invent it. I see I'm losing you slightly, but you're... I'm just looking at the... Our next thing. Okay. All right. It's called Bing.

I'd swam. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no Great. When do I see it? It was in cinema also the BFI had doing a scarler season in which they're going to show some of the films that they would show at the scarler. I think they're showing thunder crack. It's thunder crack on over Christmas. Christmas Eve? No, has it never been on television? No, Simon. Why? It's unbroadcastable. I mean, that thing when Stuart Lee says, I don't know if even I'd watch it now with those. I literally sat there in the cinema. I mean, I'd seen a bunch of stuff there and, you know, I remember sitting there thinking, we are going to get arrested. There is no way it can be legal to be watching this film. We have, thank you very much for top fives and bottom fs, which have been sent in. So we'll just do a little drift through some of these before we get to yours. No one has asked me for mine, but I, you know, might couple it together.

Michael on Twitter. His bottom five. The exorcist believer. Big fat greet wedding three. Is this five to one or 1 to 5? No particular order. Okay. Big Fat Greek wedding 3, some other hood, the whale and Meg 2, the trench.

Favorite 5? Past lives, Oppenheimer, Anatomy of the Fall, Saint Omer and Rye Lane. That's good choices. Ben Bradford in Leeds, Mark and Simon, my top five films of the year, Brother, was released in the year 2023, Spider-Man across the Spider-verse, the creator, Till and Saltburn, I also really liked Empire of Light. So my top five for ages, but Saltburn knocked it out and absolutely loves Olivia Coleman and Michael Ward were brilliant to go. A powerful film with its own quiet down at the sea front kind of way.

Lucas Shrimpton. for filming its own quiet down at the seafront kind of way. Lucas Shrimpton, yes. Favorite movies, anatomy of a fall, dream scenario, Godzilla minus one, Oppenheimer, and number one, Bozer Freide, which would be one of my least favorite movies of the year. Mark Harrison, BA, MA in film studies and MA from the University of Manchester, apparently. Mark and Sam, by the end of the year, I will have seen over a hundred new films, and hereby present to you my top five films of this wonderful year for cinema. Okay. Number five, past lives, this is a debut feature, incredible. Four, women talking. How was Hilda Goodner-Dotter not nominated for original score at the Oscars? I know. Well, women talking. How was Hilda good enough to not nominated for original score at the Oscar?

I know. Well, that was a question that I asked many times on score three on scholar as opposed to on scholar mission impossible dead reckoning. Part one cruises attempts to always outdo himself, never seemed to get boring to the holdovers give divine joy Randolph the Oscar now. Number one, Oppenheimer. Sometimes the obvious answer is the right one. Very good. Very happy to have the year. And on a high with Godzilla took me back to the early 80s and gorgeous 50. Barbie, Fabelman's, great escapher, Godzilla minus one, and the champions worst, teenage mutant ninja turtles, knock at the cabin, Super Mario Brothers, Saltburn, and the Boogie Man. And I just do one more from Adam Ferrand, possibly Farrand. I hope you, oh yes, have you ever stuck to a new year's resolution? Happy to say that I

did this year wanted to get fit and I've lost seven stone. Wow, which is. Wow. Top five films, Oppenheimer, Mission Impossible, Dead Rekening, Spider-Man across the Spider-Verse, Love Without Walls and Saw X, Bottom Five, Winnie the Pooh, Blood and Honey, Infinity Pool, the Cantavill Ghost, Luther the Fallen Sun, agree with that. And 65. Find out what the team think after this. Your honey could use a little extra... A bit more. Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Or maybe a whole lot of.

Add some extra. To your holiday gatherings when you add ice cold coke to your cart. Coca-Cola. Real magic. I feel motivated, I feel capable. I feel included. Resilience. At ease. I feel strong. I feel confident.

These are just a few of the things you'll hear our members say when you join the YMCA. The Y is not like other gyms, and not all benefits of being a member are visible, but you'll surely feel them. Try the Y-Free for some reason. I feel confident. These are just a few of the things you'll hear our members say when you join the YMCA. The Y is not like other gyms and not all benefits of being a member are visible, but you'll surely feel them. Try the Y free for seven days and feel how the Y is way more than just a gym. Learn more at trytheY.ca. And we're back and we're going to bring you a crescendo here with favourite and at least favourite. I haven't done a least favourite.

Okay, fine, but you've done favourites, right? Yeah, and these are in no particular order. And I agree with a lot of the correspondence. So I have put in the creator. Okay, let me just get my, yeah, so fine, yep. I'm putting in Oppenheimer and Barbie because that was truly an incredible event. Plus, I thought they were both fantastic films. Barbieheimer. Yes.

Past lives, Celine Dion came on the show and anatomy of a fool, which I have seen since you. So you said, I think you'll like it. And I absolutely did like it. Isn't it just? Yes. Thought about it quite a lot, actually. Great in, you know, afterwards.

And also, apart from the tip top adult actors, the child actress is astonishing. And the dog is also astonishing. So I'm not, I can't put them 5'31, but all of those would be my favorite. Okay. so what do you think? Well, so here's what, so firstly, the way that my list works is it's to do with films released in the UK in 2023. So for example, when the email that was referring to Brother 2022 film, but it opens in the UK in 2023, we've always done this because otherwise,

you just get lost around the edges of things. That's fair enough. So firstly, let me tell you the films that didn't make my list, but that I think were absolutely brilliant. And this is a long list, because whenever people say, you know, cinema, it's not like it used to be. It's not as good as it used to be. Yeah, okay.

These are the films that I think were great that didn't make my top five list. Polite society, how to blow up a pipeline, the beasts, pearl, close, Close, Broker, Blue Jean, EO, May December, Bow is afraid. Infinity pool, Rye Lane, Reality, Talk to me, how to have sex, scrapper, dream scenario, saltburn, bottoms, Eileen, St. Omer, and women talking. Those are the ones that didn't make the list. Now, I defy anyone to tell me that in a year

in which those did not make the top five was not a cracking year. So here are my top five. Are these in order? Yes, okay. Because I thought that was what I was meant to do. So, okay. Number five, one fine morning.

You interviewed Mia Hanson-Luva, didn't you? Yes, about one fine morning. And you liked the film? Mia Hanson-Luva. Well, it's well loved, but didn't you say it was Luva? And now I've forgotten. It's because such an important thing to get a name right and now I've forgotten.

I believe that you said Mia Hanson-L Lever. I think that's what you said. Because I had always said me a Hanson love, but of course it's an O with a strike through the middle of it. So the thing, I believe that you said it was me a Hanson Lever. And you really... I'll go with that. And if you remember, I said to you, can you please tell her that I think she's a genius and you did and she went, okay, thanks. Number four, return to soul, just brilliant. Against 2022 film originally, those are both 2022 films were open here in 2023 and I just thought really terrific and incredible story about somebody in search of themself but in search of their

cultural heritage and toll so well. Number three, in his main, an absolute masterpiece by Mark Jenkins, an extraordinary follow up to bait, the rebirth of Cornish cinema, a film that is made in a way that you can only do if you literally live and breathe the film and the story, and such a fantastic central performance and a brilliant, so I think it won an award for, I think, best down at the Biffers. Wonderful. Number two, anatomy of a fall.

Just flawless. I mean, edge of your seat drama, that for most of the time, is people talking in rooms. And yet, it's nail's nail biting stuff. Sandra Hullar's performance is amazing. The boy you play is amazing. The way in which the language is switched to talk about the different things. And at one point when she says, I can't answer this in that language. I'm trying to use another language because it's so smart. And at number one, I said this at the time and I stick with past lives. So

Lee and Song came on the show. And I just so, I mean, how brilliant that out of that, you know, you interviewed the director one five morning, you interviewed the director of past lives. I've done many interviews with Mark Jenkins about any smate. I mean, that is a fantastic five films. Obviously, we're only these things are present, but look at that list. How can anyone look at that list and go anything other than wow, cinema is great. You hit your whole hitmables. Okay, so that's the top five and that's a very interesting thing. And you could program that quite happily. Couldn't you?

You could do that over across the weekend. Yeah, we have a very, very good time. I also, can I add to this? Sorry, I just realized I... You're going to do the worst one. No, in a minute. There are other films that I left off my list of other things that I thought were great this year.

To where do these fit in? They didn't make it into the top five, but they were also great. But the one... Yeah, the list of it, there's even more. I realize that I did, but the list went further out, which was documentaries, The Automat, which I loved, in the court of the Crimson King, which I loved, still a Michael J. Fox film, which I loved. And then in terms of the blockbusters, Godzilla minus one, creator, barbieheimer, yes, all of it, mission impossible dead reckoning, part one, spider man across the spider bus. And actually, I would include

John Wickfall in big blockbuster movies that really earned their keep. And just to say, in terms of things coming next year, because two of these were mentioned, poor things, zone of interest, the holdovers, which somebody said, you know, that's officially a next year release. But so the greatness continues. And I should say at the beginning, I am less interested now in telling you my worst choices, and there are far fewer of them. Just tell us. so I did my thing about you know listing all the films that I hadn't liked okay it's as much shorter list than 80 for Brady who the hell's Brady I don't care Luther the fallen son well like the TV show air and then they licensed a shoe the remake of haunted mansion um in the sequels, big fat wedding three,

the none two, fast X, book club, the next chapter, don't care. Some films that were critical darlings that I didn't care for very much, I didn't like Babylon, I didn't like the whale. The things that I finally got to the list of the worst, number five, Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey, which is a feature film, which opens with a promising short film, and then it spends the rest of the, it's

running time just not doing anything that's good in the short film. Number four, Scream Six, that sound you can hear is Wes Craven spinning in his grave going, no, I didn't mean that at all. Number three, Ant-Man Quantumania. The film which, if you remember, I mean, I do. If Michael Douglas said the best way to watch Ant-Man Quantumania was off your face on magic mushrooms. He came on the show and he did. And you very bravely interviewed him about it. It was quite, it was an entertaining interview.

It was. The film was rubbish, wasn't it? It was. It was absolute interview. It was. The film was rubbish, wasn't it? It was absolute pants. It was. And it was so CGI that you just kind of, you just did it. You just did it. Well, you didn't care. That didn't care. At number two, sound of freedom. Film that proves that Jim Cavizel, having played Jesus, thinks he is Jesus, propaganda, porn for QAnon conspiracy theorists and alleged Christians, which being the devil in the name of God, only much more boring than that sounds. And at number one, well, take a while, guess.

I've got no idea. Exorcist believer. I see a film made by people who have watched the exorcist but not seen it. I think they made it specifically to come top of you all. They did. Most hated, well done. They did.

You know, hate is a strong word. You said to me the other week I said I hate you and you said you should really, you know, you said that twice and I realized I had I know what was weird that thing When I was younger I used to get very very angry about bad films and I've just lost that now I don't I just don't care enough about the bad ones. That's probably more healthy. It is. I, the thing I want everyone to take away from this is, bad films are bad films, but there's so many good films, there's so many good films in which case? In which case.

In which case? What is your film of the week? Of this week? Scarlett exclamation mark, exclamation mark, exclamation mark, I loved it. There will be a, Christmassy a New Year'sy edition of questions,

shmessions with you, surprisingly on New Year's Day.