Sardonicast - Sardonicast #64: Do the Right Thing, The Last of Us Part II

Episode Date: July 13, 2020

Support the Show for $2 a month and receive all future episodes early at https://sardonicast.com and https://www.patreon.com/Sardonicast. Buy Sardonicast T-Shirts, and other merchandise at https://teespring.com/stores/sardonicast. Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/sardonicast Website: https://sardonicast.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Sardonicast Reddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/sardonicast Twitter: https://twitter.com/sardonicast Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sardonicast Ralph's channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/ralphthemoviemaker Alex's channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/IHEOfficial Adam's channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/YourMovieSucksDOTorg Alex's Twitter: https://twitter.com/IHE_OFFICIAL Ralph's Twitter: https://twitter.com/ralphsepe Adam's Twitter: https://twitter.com/2gay2lift Adam's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/YMS Intro music by: https://www.youtube.com/user/anUnkindnessvideo Fanart: https://old.reddit.com/r/Sardonicast/comments/hkmllf/needed_inspiration_to_practice_illustration_felt/ https://old.reddit.com/r/Sardonicast/comments/h9kwqb/sardonicast_cast_photo/ https://old.reddit.com/r/Sardonicast/comments/hkl3pj/comin_at_you_live_from_dimension_s4%D1%8F0/ Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 01:20 - Do the Right Thing (Spoilers) 37:32 - The Last of Us Part II (Spoilers) 01:30:20 - Questions Alex Film Recommendation: Incendies (2010)

Three, two, one. It's feeding time. Hi, this is Sardonicat. I'm Adam from your movie sex, and that was a quote from a great movie called Artemis Fell. Yeah, yeah, that's right. I heard it recently. I'm Ralph from just Ralph. I'm Alex-Mah, and I didn't actually, I've seen that movie, and I'd already forgotten.

I'd purged it from my mind, so I didn't recognize that, actually. Great moment, though. Yeah. Probably the only memorable moment of the entire film. Yeah, it's the only one people have, like, a frame of to put in thumbnails on YouTube. It's just so bizarre. Judy Dench? I think she was pretty memorable.

Yeah. She was there for sure. She was in the movie. He can't deny that. Please. I recommended something kind of unconventional for the podcast. I want to talk about the film recommendation right away. Yeah.

So we'll talk about The Last of Us, too. after this, anybody who's curious about that. Which we all want to talk about. It's very interesting. But I think it's an important movie, and I think it's a sensitive subject matter for the movie. It's relevant to what's going on in my country now, so I just want to talk about it right out of the way.

The movie I recommended to do the right thing from 1989. It's directed by Spike Lee. We say spoilers, so spoilers for this movie as well. The movie's about, like, a Brooklyn neighborhood. Spike Lee's in the movie. actually. He wrote it. He produced it, I believe, and he plays the character Mookie, who's like working at an Italian-owned pizzeria in this neighborhood that he lives in. And it's mainly about the simmering, like, racial tension that kind of builds up as a result of them not hanging

African-Americans on the wall. Not literally. Yeah. The pictures of Africans, Ralph. Photographs. Should I rephrase that differently? Should I, like, write it out and go down? Oh, no, that's fine. I was just making a dumb joke. Because you set me up for it. You had the golf ball on the tee. I couldn't not take it. Sorry. So, the owner of Salis Pizzeria is Danny ILO, Sells Femeser, he was nominated for an Oscar for this performance.

The Academy didn't nominate any other performances in the movie, I believe, which I think are exceptional, including like Giocarlo Esposito and Sam Jackson, who's like the host of like a radio talk show. Yes, excellent. Esposito, many of you know from Gus. He plays Gustavo Fring and Breaking Bad. He plays Buggin' out in this movie. And he's the one who's on the mission to get the block to boycott Salas Pizzeria. And it's about the relationship. of the black community with this Italian family and also in Asian-owned like supermarket, not supermarket, just like local market, you know, dollar store kind of thing. And it's clearly like a microcosm for things going on in New York at the time and things going on like in America

as a whole. Like many Italians at the time who lived in New York and who lived in America had a very hard background. And when they came here in the early 1900s, they, they brought, oppressed as well. They were treated like total shit basically. In this neighborhood you see a few Italian-Americans not only Salz Pizzeria but his two sons who are clearly more racially intolerant than him and also Frank

Vincent who's in Goodfellas and the Sopranos plays Phil he drives his car his very nice convertible through the neighborhood to just show the Italian American dream realized that they accomplished and got wealth in just a few generations and were able to build businesses and something. And how characters like Mookie or Buggin' Out or many of the characters in this neighborhood weren't able to kind of achieve that in that same way. And it's because of systemic forces. And as this movie says, police brutality that is,

the cause of maybe so many African Americans not being able to achieve that same status or that same kind of wealth to be able to afford businesses in their own neighborhoods or to be able to afford nice cars. And that's just something I wanted to address about the movie because I think it is a very real examination of that and a very real examination of how Italians and blacks interact, even the commonalities we share in like the, the arts, music and film, like Frank Sinatra and Al Pacino, like bugging out just wants that same acknowledgement of them as well. In a few generations, it's found so many, so much success. And

it's just, it's an interesting film about that. And I think that's why it's really important to me. Anyway, especially that it takes place in Brooklyn and me being from New York, Queens, and even Long Island, I have some familiarity with that environment and with those people. So it's an important movie to me. I also think it's an excellent movie in every regard, both writing, acting, technically. I love the warmness. I love how hot the movie feels. It's sweaty and orange.

You know, it feels like the whole movie shot at like Golden Hour. It's beautiful. So I'm glad I could recommend it and that you guys could watch it. So let's get more back to a normal discussion now. So I just wanted to stay on topic and make sure that, even if we're being very funny and entertaining, which I want to be, it's, it's to, we have to keep our eye on the ball and the theme of this movie. And that is important. I mean, it's an emotional movie and it strikes at salient time. Like, it's more relevant than ever, arguably.

It is. It's shocking how relevant it is. Yeah, yeah. I was kind of blown away by that aspect of it. It's my first time viewing it. I don't know how familiar you are, Ralph, clearly, more than I am. It seems to be a staple for you. But yeah, I really enjoyed it.

I think it's his strongest film out of the selection I've seen. It has a lot of texture to it. A lot of really likable characters. As you said, the visuals side of it, I thought it was really impressive. So much creativity, the way everything was displayed. A lot of kind of character to it. It felt very improvised at points, very natural. It kind of displays the,

complexity of the situation in a way that doesn't seem to reduce it into you know kind of comical exaggerated Hollywood kind of features it does do such a good job of getting you invested in the characters before the shit hits the fan at the end for that gut punch because it is fairly comedic for the first kind of two-thirds and then yeah it really kind of goes in at the end there and for that emotional payoff which yeah really struck me hard I don't know if it was yeah kind of a more intense reaction because of just the state of everything at the moment. And I definitely recommend to watch this.

These characters are really likable too. The one who's killed Radio around him is like a, he's just such a great character. It's so memorable. Yeah, yeah. A lot of nice little details and touches. I especially liked the way Spike Lee himself with his character. Just a little details with him and his relationship with his girlfriend, I thought, was just really well thought through, presented in a really nice way.

There's just a lot of like thought. obviously and passion coming through in the movie. There's a lot of detail to it. Yeah. Adam? Hmm. Well, okay, here's my conundrum. I enjoy the movie.

I, it's very, very obviously about an important political issue. And yes, you're right that it is incredibly relevant today. Racism is a serious issue. Police, at the very least. least need some serious reform right now. I'm not huge into the narrative structure. I think that it's largely repetitive. I still think it's a good movie. I'm just not huge on it. And my conundrum right now is I'm struggling to find a way to properly criticize the film without appearing as though I'm attempting to devalue the larger issues that the film addresses.

Sure. I mean... Well, I have criticisms of this film, too. Yeah. Plenty. So, we could get into those, too. Yeah. It mainly goes actually into what, like, Alex was saying, with Mookie's girlfriend

in the movie. Apparently, she was uncomfortable with the scenes. Yeah, I read that clothes. There's, like, actually some treatment of that character that's... It's just uncomfortable to watch and is kind of dated. when the rest of the movie isn't. She said that the reason you couldn't see her face in that shot is because she was crying and she didn't want Spike Lee to be rubbing her nipples with ice cute.

Yeah. Yeah. And that was like her first film role too. Uh-huh. And he's the director. Yeah. But I don't want to be talking about this movie where it seems like I'm trying to be like, wow. It's not like racism's an actual problem.

Like, I don't want to appear like I'm doing that when. really my criticisms are just with like the narrative the narrative's overall structure. I just think that it's, you know. So what do you mean by the repetitive side? I'm curious. It takes a long time to say a lot of the same thing. I get that the inclusion of such a large cast of characters is less about a specific narrative goal and more about, I guess, the atmosphere of. setting up this environment and giving a character to the neighborhood for sure like I get that

but at the same time I do feel like the elements of the film that it is getting at are pretty pretty explicitly pretty clearly explored and explained but it just does the same thing for a while in my opinion yeah I understand what you mean for the the first half, I was a little unsure what direction it was going, but by the time it rapped, I was convinced that it was a good approach, because you really feel like you're invested in the community, so when it does all fall apart at the end, it hits that much harder because you feel like you're more invested in it. I love the characters. I love the characters a lot. They're all very likable characters and very interesting and very watchable. I just, it's something that I wish I

saw those characters in that had a bit more of a hook for me. Not trying to imply that racial issues are not important and that those aren't interesting. It's just that it didn't feel like there was as much of a narrative goal in terms of like characters for me. There weren't a lot of like clear motivations outside of like the pizzeria and like the broader social issues that it was tackling and I just felt like it took a long time to explain that and I don't want to I don't want to spend a lot of time criticizing this because people are people are gonna look at me as though I'm trying to like take away from the discussion so why don't you two talk about it for a while and then I'll just pop back in after

well I want to talk about it with you too okay okay things you liked about yeah like I enjoy these characters a lot I enjoy that it's mostly like a character piece It's just a day in the life of all these people and what they're doing. It's almost kind of like linklater-esque in a way. Right. It does feel kind of like it's not trying to be a movie. It's just life. Like, this is what these people do.

And underneath, just this normal day is this simmering, like, tension going on. And it erupts toward the end. Yeah. Literally simmering. I really like the character of Sal, too, as well. I think he's a, you know, at times a good guy, at times a really horrible guy. And, you know, you could argue he deserved what happened to him at the end or he didn't. Or like if Mookie like throwing that garbage can actually saves Sal in some way because it got the riot off of him.

Yeah, distracted them to pay more attention onto his property rather than his person. Yeah, or if that's what started it. And like it was such an interesting dynamic between those two characters. I felt like those were the main two that you were supposed to focus on. And in like plot descriptions, Sal is like described as the main character. They don't really focus on him. Like the other... That's interesting.

Yeah. I wonder. John Totoro too is excellent in this movie, although he's really just a piece of shit. And talk about not like being grateful for what you have or like your family built up this business over. generations and this wealth over generations and he just didn't give a shit he's like fuck it i hate these fucking people i hate serving the pizza it's terrible yeah yeah yeah he was a necessary character to there's that whole sequence where they go through showing everyone's kind of underlying racism towards all the different groups i thought it was quite a good way of displaying

that just how everyone has their own kind of group that they attack at some point yeah that was a great scene it was like an eye of the duck moment it's like so distant from the rest of the movie You're talking about the zoom-in to each individual characters. They say racist shit sequence? Yeah, yeah, whether we're directing the camera. Yeah. Yeah, that was fun. It has a personality to it, for sure.

I think that some of the personality also comes from the soundtrack, Public Enemy, I really like. I previously used the instrumental in some of my reviews for harder than you think, which is also a really good song and yeah I watched it with subtitles this time this isn't the first time I've seen the film I saw the film once before

before I made my old boy review because I wanted to you know I wanted to like challenge my perspective of Spikely a bit and be like okay well this is like the one so I guess I'm gonna watch this one

and watching it with subtitles it actually had the subtitles for the lyrics for Fight the Power and there was some really hard-hitting lyrics in that song that are really powerful and also, yes, relevant today too. And to the story. Yeah, yeah, exactly. So I thought that that music choice was really fitting. I also really liked the orchestral soundtrack, the string instruments, the saxophone. I thought that that was an interesting fit. I thought it worked really well. Yeah, just the presentation in general kind of

blew me away. I was a huge fan of the costumes, especially, and the special. the way they used it to kind of contrast against the, a lot of vibrant kind of colors against like brick walls with the graffiti and everything. It's all like very intentional and striking in a lot of different ways. I never got bored of the presentation. They keep coming up with new tricks to show things in a kind of creative and energetic way. Well, the movie opens too with like a little interlude like separate from the rest of the story of just that, that, what's that actresses name? Rosie Perez. Yeah, I guess it was her. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. She's, She's just, she's dancing, doing like some...

It was just awesome, and then the movie goes into that. Yeah, I like that. The movie just does whatever it wants. It has these little interludes, and it does make it a little, like, long and feel like it could be trimmed down. But I enjoyed the indulgence of it. And there's not a lot of subtlety either with what the message is. Not at all. Police brutality, fighting the power and, you know, all that.

Yeah, yeah. But that's the point, too. It's about beating the message in because, like, this is a problem. And clearly, yeah, yeah. Like, it's weird because, like, that's definitely a criticism of mine is just how unsubtle it is. And I want to, it's something that if I'm going to criticize it, I want to make clear that I'm not saying, like, oh, yeah, like, it's not like this film should only hint at microaggressions or something. Like, that's obviously not the goal. And so my criticisms aren't necessarily with how straightforwardly it presented these social issues.

my criticisms regarding the subtlety of the film is that I wish that there were other subtleties within it. I wish that there were more subtleties when it came to like the characters or something. I thought there's a lot of subtlety between the different dynamics in the cast, yeah, because it shows the whole gambit of like every different possible opinion you could have on this kind of subject matter and it shows all of them in a realistic kind of context. So when the conflict comes together, it is, I don't know, there's something. quite realistic about it. It's nuanced.

I don't know if I would call that subtle, though. Oh, no. No, that's the thing I've had with Spike Lee for a while, is I don't think he's the most subtle, but he certainly has a distinct voice, and that's what I like about him. Like Black Klansman has literal lines that are like, man, if we had stuff like that today, it would be, you know, like really on the nose. Like, oh, that's the latest movie to his similar stuff. But I've always seen Spike Lee is he makes dark comedies or, or, or, you know, or, you know,

like really dark comedies that are dealing with serious issues but there's this comedic tone to it and the characters are just so fun and they're clearly just talking shit you know and i i feel it gives a movie like a freedom when it's a comedy to just kind of indulge in in little moments like that moments of character interaction and and not about being subtle it's about enjoying the experience and getting a message out of it that's good and and this is spike lee's message and i do think it's something that you know you can you have to fight these these toxic thoughts and people every day in life people who abuse power and are just terrible to other people you got to do the right thing and it's a constant fight it's it's not going to go away it'll be something we deal with forever

because it's just ingrained in humanity it's just awful yeah i do think that comedy is a good kind of vehicle to be tackling these sorts of issues, not necessarily saying that it has to be explicitly comedic, but like I enjoyed how these issues were handled, not identically, obviously, but in the film, sorry to bother you, I felt like it was a really funny kind of like,

ha-ha, little jab, and it was clear what they were going for. It was clear what they were saying, and it worked well in that film, I felt. Kind of like satirical, I guess. Yeah.

Yeah, it reminds me a bit of like blind spotting, or I guess it's the other way around. This is probably, you know, dealing with similar themes and that comedic tone that suddenly jumps into being more serious. Yeah, I got to watch that one again. I just picked up the Blu-ray.

That movie clearly is inspired by this. Yeah, yeah, big time. Yeah. It's such a good film. I like this idea of ending the film on the two different quotes from Malcolm X and Martin Luther. they both had different perspectives

and it kind of leaves it up to you to decide which one do you think is the correct measure? Yeah, honestly, yeah, I felt like I got more out of the quotes at the end of the movie than I did the movie in terms of like the issues that or at least the philosophy

behind the issues that it was expressing. Not to like downplay the film. I mean, they're really good quotes. Yeah, I thought they do a good job of exploring that and kind of adding a bit of grayness to it with just how complex a situation is and how, yeah, it is just such a cluster fuck by the end. And there are no like real clear heroes and villains. So there was apparently when the film came out, there was, it's quite, it was quite controversial in terms of people blaming the main character for starting riots

and things, kind of in the same way the discourse is going around with what's happening in America and all over the world at the moment. Yeah, and just what people would focus on. Yeah, that wasn't really my takeaway at all. I thought it was kind of doing a good job of leaving it up to the viewer to kind of decide and take away what they wanted from it. Mm-hmm. And the scene is really well directed, too.

There's a lot of extras and just chaotic shit going on, and it's really well put together. Yeah, the intensity of the, when they go into the shop with the boom box and how everything's like close up and just ramps up gradually. Yeah, really good. Interesting shots. Like, there was a point, he was, Ray De Rahim was talking to Spike Lee, and the camera just swooped in into Spike Lee's POV, and then that's when he started talking about love and hate with his rings or whatever.

But that was, like, such an interesting, like, angle to do. There's so many creative choices like that, really wide angles. Yeah, that is something that jumps out to me. It is more interestingly shut than the average film, for sure. Mm-hmm. And I think when Spike Lee, like, really, is passionate about a project and is using his full potential. Like she makes something like this.

I think it's incredible. Yeah, I think it's the perfect project for the way he, you know, directs and approaches stories. Yeah, you can always tell when something is an actual passion project for him and when it's not. Like Black Lionsman was obviously something he's passionate about and that movie turned out really well. Old Boy, 2013, not so much.

This is a film that is obviously. very culturally relevant. And it has its place in history for sure. It is something that has inspired a lot of other works. And I think the message behind the film is probably greater than the film itself, in my opinion. Yeah, I appreciate it more than I enjoy it personally. I have issues with it technically too, and clearly with that character or like that. That scene of her getting nice cubes rubbed on her nipples, of course.

But I do find it so entertaining. Like, I find it so enjoyable that I still want to watch the film every time to get to that, like, because the characters are so entertaining, even though something so horrible happens at the end. Yeah. Like, there's so much to keep you watching and to keep me going. Maybe it is because I find it relatable too. Oh, yeah. Maybe that's part of it. But, like, Sal's Bisserie.

I just, I love saying that. It's not really an environment that I've ever been familiar with in my life. So, like, I'm not as close to it. Yeah. And even if you're familiar with it or not, just you can tell if it's authentic. You can tell when it's like a studio making a movie and they don't give a shit. They just shoot on a block. And, like, this movie, it's one block of the city, but it means everything.

There's so much going on. There's, like, people coming in and out. There's, like, the guy who just lives there who has a Celtic shirt on. have a whole little tussle and like he steps on his shoes and it's like it's like this conflict that spurs up because there's so much detail and attention paid to how the city actually works and how people live and I love that there's not many movies that capture that in such a beautiful way I think it it felt more personal than just being like pandering it felt it felt genuine in that sense and that's you know that's the aspect

of the film that I really love is like I love the community I love the environment I love the characters it's just the narrative that's like my only big issue that keeps me from being like super invested is that it's like I love seeing what it shows me but then it just

I feel like it's just stagnant like it's showing me the same thing for too long and then I kind of drift drift away investment wise until the end but it's like this long chunk of character development and then like a little thing that happens at the end. It's like the structure of it.

Yeah. Almost. Yeah. It's bizarrely structured in a way. Yeah. No, because there are scenes they show with like characters just having day-to-day dialogue that seems completely unrelated to any kind of main thrust of the plot. Because when they first established the drama in the in the pizzeria with the wall,

I figured it was going to kind of ramp up in a different way from that point in a more kind of traditional way you'd expect. But I thought the way they explored it was way more interesting actually. But as I say, you have to kind of get to the end before all the disparate parts come together in a satisfying way. Because I do feel for what you're saying, yeah, just the structure of it being the way it is. And I think he denied some studio, they wanted a more happy ending or something. They wanted the main characters to like hug at the end and make up.

Yeah. Spikely refused, you know. Yeah. That would be just a moronic, like, simplistic, reductive way to take it, you know, more Hollywood way. So I like the approach and his willingness to stick to what he believe the story should be about. And that's the reason it is, the classic it is. Mm-hmm. It's definitely, it definitely has its place in film history for a reason, that's for sure.

Mm-hmm. Yeah. It's almost like seeing film as like, you see all a film in, like, one context, like a world of film. Like, this is, this is all a film. place in this one like world or whatever and Spike Lee is adding to that by like putting this moment in film history with like this gruesome police brutality which I don't think any other film up to that point or since has really captured in such a way like that and and I think that's the importance of it it's like he

made an audience a mainstream audience come and watch this film and then spread this message and expose them to that and even in the world of cinema which we we in and we enjoy and we laugh and have fun, he's exposing us to something so horrific and that is in the real world. Yeah. Yeah, he's giving something important of us. You got what I'm trying to say. Yeah.

And in the way that he communicates it, like, even though, yeah, we can say that it's something kind of like new and groundbreaking to be promoted in that way in a in a film production, I think also kind of what it gets at is that the angle and the perspective that it's coming from is something that has been clear matter of fact really obvious to this community for a while. You see that shot of

I forget which character there was just this random white guy that was kind of being a dick and as he's like walking up the stairs saying like oh I live here or whatever I forget exactly what the line was but the reaction by

the other people in the neighborhood the crowd forming around him just immediately that oh like everybody like tilts their heads back and screams in unison and I think that that's kind of like a good representation of just like yeah it's obvious to these people

what's been happening this entire time even if some others are oblivious of it yeah he says he's from Brooklyn yeah they go aw I love that scene where the the brothers fight in the kind of stock room

with the light fixture swaying. I really liked the way they pulled that off. Added like an energy to it and dramatic stuff going on. And also, I think evolving in all of his films, I think there's a like a subtext of the Academy Awards and that kind of systemic racism as well.

How they don't nominate black actors or black films really. And we saw that with like Green Book. He like got up and stormed out of the room. He was so upset. I mean, it's fucking green book anyway. I'd be mad regardless. At this film, like, the fact that it got so few nominations, it's actually insane. Sal got nominated, and he's great. He deserves it, 100%.

Sam Jackson and Gio Carlo Esposito, I think, deserved the nomination as well or something. More recognition than they got. Yeah. This was Martin Lawrence's debut. Yeah, I was shocked to see him. He was excellent. Yeah, he was playing a... Is this his debut, really?

Like, the first film he was ever... I'm pretty sure that was his debut, yeah. That is fantastic. Ozzie Davis is in the film as well. He plays like this old drunk kind of going around the neighborhood, but he's very lovable as well. Yeah, I like that character. I enjoyed that character.

I enjoy that character a lot too. And he like saves a kid from being hit by a car. There's not a character that I don't find watchable and interesting in this movie. That's one of the better aspects for sure. In a way I feel, I wish it was longer. Like I wish there was more character time. And like I just loved seeing all these different people how they pop out of the house and just have a scene and then go back in. That mother character who came out to discipline.

son for a little bit and then don't you tell me how to raise my kid yeah i'm sorry man yeah it's it's a it's a living breathing world that was created i just wish that there was more of a narrative hook for me but and what was the what was the budget on this it's fairly low wasn't it that's a great question that is a good question on i mdb it says six and a half estimated okay yeah so if it is around the six six and a half million range that's quite impressive for how the film looks it I never once thought that the film looked cheap or anything like that

it's no never if anything the opposite I was actually wondering how they managed to do some of things they did if it was especially if it is kind of quite low budget and with the actors they have in there yeah they all clearly cared about it maybe they were willing to take a paycheck or something what do you think with inflation that would be probably like 10

million right yeah I was thinking about that yeah maybe It's still good. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Do you want to get into ratings? Yeah, sure. Okay.

Well, I think it's... I'm going to give it a five out of five. I think it's obvious. I enjoy it a lot. Every time I think it's really entertaining, really captivating characters and funny, just a really funny film, naturally. It's not like funny because it's satirical or stupid.

It's funny from the character. and how they interact with each other. It just feels very natural. And I enjoy films like that a lot. And it has, you know, social commentary that's obviously important. But there's other things about the film, too, that makes it worth watching. So, yeah, five out of five for me. Yeah.

No, I really enjoyed it. I took quite a lot away from it, this kind of mutual understanding message. And I liked that point where they kind of give a bit of direction of where you should be channeling your anger. and rage into something useful and productive. And there's just a lot to take away from the movie, aside from the overall messaging that's hitting today, but just the filmmaking here was so impressive to me. Yeah, I really liked just the feel of it. And you said that I really like that heat aspect.

They do a good job of establishing just kind of how sweaty. And it does add like a real sense of mood to it all with the, you know, everyone's sweating all the time and dunking their faces in ice water. It's just a really unique movie with a lot going on that, I'm sure it's spraying it. Yeah. Yeah. It feels awesome. Yeah.

As far as the score goes, I'm thinking four and a half stars for now. Yeah. Really enjoyed it. A lot to appreciate about the movie. I love the icing more than I love the cake. That's a good way of putting it. Yeah. Yeah.

The icing is, it's some great icing. I was just hoping there would be a bit more cake underneath the icing. Yeah, I'm between like a six and a seven out of ten. I'm a gigantic piece of shit. Everybody direct your hate comments towards me. I'll be reading every single one of them. No, you want to be honest to how you feel.

What's the point of lying? Exactly, exactly. Thanks for the recommendation, Ralph. That was a good one. Sure. Yeah, yeah. I'm really glad to find it. seen. Yeah, it's one of his best things for sure. What would you say are his two next best

movies? I enjoy Malcolm X a lot. That's like a really good like period piece and biopic. I was considering watching that one before the old boy thing, but it was, it's very long and I kind of just wanted to get into my review. I watched a little bit of Shy Rack. I didn't watch the whole thing. That one, I didn't really, that didn't really grab me. I also saw Inside Man, which is like, that's like a studio, studio one. I really like one of his first movies. She's Got to Have It.

I've heard good things about that one. I thought that was good. That was on Netflix, I believe. And so you re-watched Old Boy, 2013? Oh, oh, yes. Oh, did you? I did. Oh, that's interesting.

Has your perspective changed at all? A bit, yes, looking at it more objectively. I think the film is pretty bad. I think before I liked parts of it. I saw it like with, I saw it in a theater and I enjoyed parts of it. I also saw the original one a few times recently, which added a lot of context too to like how much more just lazy. Yeah, how much more lazy the new one is. especially that that that fight scene

which I think you examined pretty well but like it's so bad like the new one the cutting of it the continuity there's like a whole section they just deleted and like it's it's less of an issue of laziness and more of an issue of just like

completely missing the point of each scene from like a directorial standpoint I think it's obviously just like totally inferior to the other one but like I think Josh Brolin was okay he's not as good as I wish I knew the other actor's name he's like a famous South Korean actor mm-hmm oh okay well he was great an old boy and I thought Josh Brolin was good too Elizabeth Olson I didn't think she was all that great and uh Sharpeau Copely is like laughably

oh yeah yeah oh I've called her Rahul oh yeah the flash Back scene with them is brutal. Father. Oh, God. Pau. Classic. She's got to have it. It's so good.

And you guys should watch that one. She's got to have it. Oh, yeah. It's very early, Spike Lee. Black and White as well. Oh, cool. He is in that movie, too. Yeah.

He's in a lot of these movies. Not a bad actor. A little personal. No, he's not a bad actor at all. I wouldn't say he's the best actor and do the right thing. He doesn't deserve an Oscar for it, but he was, he was good. He was very, like, believable.

Yeah, it was the right way to take that character. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I'm glad he's not really in his own movies anymore. He's not, like, as bad as, like, Tarantino. It would be so good if he was. Current Spike Lee and just, like, all purple. Mm-hmm. Fucking Walloichi costume.

Oh, he's so good. Like, lead role. He's also now playing, he's not playing, like, a character that diverges much from his actual self. He's clearly just like, you know, like a guy who's being himself. Yeah. All right. So there was a video game that everybody's mad about called The Last of Us Part 2. And we all beat it at this point.

I finished playing it yesterday. Oh, it's fresh for you then. Yeah. You talked about it briefly last time, but we didn't finish it. Yeah. Yeah. So this is a spoiler discussion for The Last of Us Part 2. including the second half of the game, which is super secret.

They didn't tell any of the, they told the critics to not say anything about it. Like when the review embarrows, you know. Yeah, that was a strange choice. It makes all the reviews of when it came out just kind of worthless because they just have to tip to around every interesting thing about the game. Yeah, which is weird. You'd think, I don't know, were they allowed to include that as part of their score or just not talk about that narratively?

They don't know. To mention that it happens because it had to be a. secret. Yeah. Well, at least they didn't pull a persona five and not let people stream past a certain point in the game without take down notices. Oh, weird, yeah. Yeah.

That was a good view. Yeah. Yeah. At least they didn't do that. All right. So how do we start? How do we start this? Should we start with like what happens in the second half?

Like what the reveal is? Sure. Or the shit reveal in the first ten minutes. There is so much. How many unsatisfying reveals can be a... Yeah. Well, why don't we start top level with... Do we like it?

No. You don't like it at all? So you're solidly on now, are you? No. I like certain elements of it, of course. Like, it looks beautiful. Like I said before, it looks beautiful. There's really good performances that carry over from the last game.

The score, I actually like. I think it's going for a little more subtle. Like, it's not trying to be as, like, present, I don't think. there's like a lot of droning like boom boom or whatever that I think works yeah yeah I think Mac Quail

Mr. Roba yeah there's like I forgot what the term is but basically it's like how I enjoy video games anyway

is I like watching a movie and basically being able to play in it right and there's some kind of term for this but so basically this movie or this video

game is very similar to children of men so in gameplay execution and like just walking around I enjoy the game a lot because it reminds me of just being in that kind of post-apocalyptic environment and that kind of that dark setting that Alfonso Caron kind of created for that movie like I enjoy that segment of it a lot I enjoy the combat it's a really violent game too almost to like a silly extent incredibly so yeah which also reminded me like children of men and something like that and I enjoyed that too the issue is the story and it's very very uneven and does a lot of different things that I don't think work and it's it focuses on the character in the second half that I didn't enjoy I didn't like yeah it takes a lot of narrative risks and unfortunately when you take risks they don't always pay off because that is what makes it a risk and I like things that are different I like things that are

challenging and this game narratively is pretty obviously trying to challenge its audience and I like things like that and I respect those types of choices. However I don't think that in a direct sequel

to your very popular video game franchise that people love and they love the characters a lot and they love what was happening narratively in the first game I don't think that a sequel where you're implying that people will get some sort of similar experience or some

sort of satisfying continuation, I don't think that that is the place to do it. If they wanted to make this type of super challenging narrative where things were more about, like, I guess the ideas that it's trying to get into your head more than it is about the actual narrative experience itself, they want to do that? Perfect. And I'm not just saying, like oh yeah do it in another game so I can't so I won't play it like I would love to play that game but I think that it's inappropriate to put it in the last of us too and I think it's really naive not to have assumed that people would be really upset with what was with what they got in this game yeah it wasn't the time or place to do this with these characters I don't

think I feel like this would be a good end trilogy kind of point to hit yeah where you've explored all the relationship that is left with Joel and Ellie. Because that was what I was expecting, if anything, if I was expecting from part two, was them to explore that nugget that they end the first game on with the conflict with Joel and Ellie. But they kind of deliver it in a way I don't think anyone was expecting, mostly through flashbacks. It feels unsatisfying because the first game left so much up to imagination about where the

story could go and then they just immediately end that storyline and then just do something completely different basically. Yeah. And it's unsatisfying because like people wanted more of that. There was so much more that could be explored. They didn't really thoroughly delve into everything that they could have. And I'm not saying they had to leave every stone unturned and milk it until it's dry. But if you're going to kill off.

Joel maybe don't do it right at the beginning of the game maybe maybe like halfway through the game or something like just have have more of what people wanted and then take that away because the issue with what they're doing when they do it right away is like sure yeah they Ryan Johnson does it subverted my expectations but the implication when you do something like that very clearly from the scene they're expecting some sort of emotional reaction, like we're supposed to feel that sort of loss, but unfortunately, the emotional weight isn't there because it happened so early in the game. It was just like, oh, what? This is how we're starting? I didn't feel anything from that death, unfortunately. Yeah. It didn't feel earned because

Joel, actually in this game, doesn't have any character up to that point, really. We're with him for just a few minutes, and then he's killed, where if we spent more time with him. What's supposed to make it impactful is that we spent the whole first game with Joel. And like, we got to know him and we know that whole journey he went on. It's the whole revenge forgiveness angle that they really want to hammer home that I think is the core issue because they kill off Joel, the character you're already invested in, kind of in a shock value moment. But then they expect you to retroactively empathize with the character that just killed one of the major things you're hoping to get out of the game. So we're a position to put you in. And really, they couldn't have revealed anything about the story because then the story.

because then the story wouldn't work because it relies on so many surprises to get you invested at anything. But then the way I described this game is from like a broad top level sense. It kind of works. But the more you start delving in and going into the details, everything just falls apart for me, just from a narrative level. Like, yeah, we've kind of briefly mentioned Abby, but that was a section of the game. I teased it in the last episode we talked about where once I got to it, I was like,

well, all of the thrust of this narrative has been. sucked away at this point and I really I'm not interested in yeah learning about this character at this point because A they don't do the best job doing it and B that that scene where she kills a Joel is like so horrendous

it's not just like a revenge murder it's like actual torture shooting his leg off with a shotgun then like making sure he stays alive so then he can she can beat him to death with a golf club in front of like basically a surrogate daughter's eyes it's like

It doesn't get much more horrendous than that. And telling like a revenge story in this world that is so nihilistic, it doesn't work for me. It doesn't make much sense the way they're tracking each other across states and all of this. It just seems really convoluted and confusing in a way that they somehow managed to avoid. The only way she's able to find her, Abby, is because they describe her as like big arms. She's got big arms like me. Yeah. And that was like, I found that moment, I found that whole element kind of silly with her arms.

It is very silly. They modeled her after a crossfit trainer And even then it's like It looks like she's taking roids It is pretty common She had bigger arms than like that guy she was with Oh yeah She's fucking intense

It's insane She's like on something Like really you think you're You want to kill this girl Ellie By yourself Jeez Don't you think they really took the cheap road In trying to get you to empathize with that character

They did. I was not on my eyes, hardcore. The first day is Abby, I think, is the weakest part of the game with the dad flashback. Because, yeah, you get to flashbacks within flashbacks at certain points with, like, Abby, younger Abby with her dad. And guess what? He's like the fucking most chill, relatable guy. He saves zebras. He's so nice.

He's about to save the world, you know? So they really push that side of it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's really corny. The dialogue in that scene. The whole, like, she said some mud. He's like, you got some mud on you too. Where?

Right. there? Mm-hmm. Like, just a terrible dialogue like that. The whole game had dialogue like, there was some anime line. Like, it's better than being home, sent at home watching anime, something like that. Yeah, I noticed that. I don't know what they're doing.

The first game had such good writing and such good structure. Oh, yeah. And like the surprise of just playing his Abbey halfway through the game. I feel like it would have been better if maybe we played as Abbey for a while in the beginning and intercut between. Ellie and her and then maybe she kills Joel like really into the game once we know her character once we know like why she's doing what she's doing yeah but I guess it's a surprising and shocking moment for Ellie so it's supposed to be for us I think it just made people piss and they broke their

game but that's also not everyone who is leaving a negative review of the game I don't think everyone who hates the game or is critical of the game just played up to that point and then threw the game away. And I've heard some people say that. I think the structure of the game is so bizarre. And I did enjoy playing the second half of it. I really didn't enjoy playing the first half of it either after Joel was killed because I didn't enjoy Dina much as a character. I thought all the characters were super weak compared to Joel and Ellie. I didn't like very many. You spent the whole first game with just those two. They would meet other people along the way, but really it was those two and you got to know them the most. And it was about like challenging

what they're going through. Like they run into like a two brothers like along their journey in the first game. And it's supposed to mirror like the protector relationship that like Joel has with Ali and like the childhood that Ellie lost and shit like that. And there's like nothing like that in this game. There's like this guy Jesse who comes in. He's a fucking jerk. I don't know who he is.

Like Eddie gets shot and you're like, why should I give a shit about this guy? Why should I give him shit about any of these characters? So Ellie can have a baby. Yeah. Yeah, he has two purposes to get Dina pregnant and then to die. Yeah. That's it. It works out really well for Ellie.

And then she throws it all away. Yeah, for revenge. Yeah. That was really corny too. Yeah. But there was a point in the game where Jesse like puts his hand over Ellie and holds her back. In a trailer that's Joel. Yeah.

To make it look like it's Joel. I don't like deceptive marketing like that. I can see why people are being dead. That was a mistake. Uh-huh. Just another reason to dislike the game. Yeah. So saying false expectations, you're expecting something different going in.

And I get why they were trying to throw people off, but I just not the way to do it. Because no one wants to play the game where Joel dies in the first 10 minutes. And so they're like, let's just keep it a secret. Yeah. But it is kind of deceptive marketing, because it's most of the game is not that. I don't even really have an issue with the ideas that it's trying to express. It's just how it's handled, really. And I didn't really have much difficulty at all empathizing with the goals of Abby.

And then the last third of the game, I guess, they're spending the entire time trying to get me to empathize with her perspective and her as a character when I didn't really have all that much difficulty doing that before. So it just felt like I was getting beat over the head with it. And there's so many weird. manipulative ways that they try to do this. Like, first of all, we got the, you know, Ellie's a dog murderer. You have to be. There's literally ones that are inescapable,

plot-wise, that you have to, like, be murdering dogs. And then Abby, it's like, ooh, I'm playing fetch with the dog. And she doesn't murder a single one. It's like, okay, I see what you're done. And, like, at first, when it was, like, the dog killing, because I had heard about that, like, people were so mad. Like, oh, man, they try to make you feel so bad.

I'm like, I don't give a shit. They're just pixels. Whatever. And then at the moment where it's like as soon as they introduce the dogs you kill and then you have to walk through the abandoned pet store, I was like, oh, come on. That's too on the nose. It's like, it's so obvious what you're doing right now. It's so sloppy. And then the Gustavo soundtrack, which I love from the first game, really only seemed to be present in Abby's story. Like second half of the game, it's like, whoa, the soundtrack's back. Whereas in the first half, They used Mr. Robot guy a bit more, I think, the composer from that guy, that show. Mr. Robert, sorry. And, yeah, it was just like, it seemed like a manipulative way to try and get you to more closely empathize with Abby than with Ellie. But I just, I wish it wasn't as manipulative and just so forced.

like I feel like it should be earned in a sense and again like I didn't have issues relating with the goals of Abby like Joel did something terrible and like he was obviously going to piss a lot of people off even if it wasn't her father directly involved being killed in that in that sense like he I don't have any issues at all with her motivations as a character just after a while it just it it it seemed so forced And so it was just beating me over the head with it. And I just wasn't that interested in what it was doing narratively.

It's clear Abby feels some guilt too or has some PTSD from like that moment. And I guess she kind of, her way of dealing with it is helping these two kids she comes across in like day two or three. The scars. The scars, these two scar kids. Because there's also these different factions, the wolves and the scars, which I also thought was dumb that you have to like focus on all these different factions. And then I think the point of the game was to make you empathize with them. Like, oh, see these people you're killing in the first half of the game, they're actually these people who are, you know, when they're not trying to kill you,

they're eating and they play fetch with dogs like you were saying. But it doesn't, it's just so corny. It doesn't work. Yeah. Because it's all in service of this idea, this theme that look at the grayness of this world. Everyone's basically the same. So everyone you kill is equally kind of guilty or innocent in the same way. Everyone's on the same playing field, but in doing so, they have to...

Could have been more subtle. Yeah, they have to jump around. Mm-hmm. Yeah. At the very tail into the game, you come across another faction that's just introduced, and they're like one-dimensional, like, scumbag murderers. Like, that's it. It's like all the dimension you were trying to give this other faction and showing that

there's actually humanity in these different groups, like that Ellie is trying to hunt down and kill. It's like, it's completely removed at the end. It's a crazy... Because you're just fighting a bunch of guys who are just fucking crazy people. Yeah. Yeah. combat scene and you have an assault rifle

you have a silenced assault rifle yeah the I really it was really weird that they started exploring the cult aspect in the second half of the game only and like suddenly lines of dialogue

that aren't even like scripted for the sake of like a you know like a forced narrative cut scene or anything but lines of dialogue just from these characters walking past saying things like we will ascend with her forgiveness or whatever they're just like casually walking by saying that shit

it's like Ellie saw the exact same group of people earlier in the game and they were never saying shit like that and so it just felt really weird that all the sudden it's being explored all the sudden you're seeing these paintings on the wall and shit that it was just like okay now it's time to develop this storyline I guess and so that was kind of annoying

and also it's so tropey in a video game to have the religious cult element like Halo 2 Dead Space Resident Evil Silent Hill Like it's such a video gamey Trope

It's far less present In movies than it is in games It just seems to be like this Super super common cliche That it's like Okay so this is the second half of the game We're just getting boring

shit that I've seen A billion times Like it just wasn't interesting to me That aspect Mm-hmm I totally know I was okay with that kind of thing

Because it was I don't know fitting for the world and they hadn't explored like any religious themes particularly in the first game from memory so i like the idea of of doing that kind of thing but yeah as you say it is wedged in in such a way where it is hard to to really be invested or give a shit about anything because your lens through it is through a character who is has a bunch of dumb shit surrounding her like we haven't even mentioned the i can't stand the like pregnancy angle of this game where they're like mirrored pregnant characters and it's like well you killed the pregnant

one is elderly. It's another form of manipulation. It feels cheap. It feels so cheap. Just like having a dog die in a movie, it's like, oh, okay, now it's sad. It's like, fuck off. It feels like a lazy way to get people to care and be invested in something, whereas I would rather have that earned through the characters and the narrative.

There just aren't that many new characters, and the ones they do add, they just say, just don't remember anything about them because that was one great thing about the first game is that yeah that structure the first game was so brilliant with the the seasons and each each section was kind of its own mini story and it helped really it helped with the pacing a lot and like there's a point in the first game where you switch to a different character but that is such a like exciting moment with so many questions and you you weren't expecting it and but you're also really excited to see what's going to happen next you know whereas it's kind of the opposite in this game where they do that switch, it robs all the momentum from, it does feel like just starting

a game again. It is really weird to just cut to black as soon as the two meet up, like right before they start fighting, like, next time on the last of us. Like, it just so weird. It seemed like they were more interested in exploring the world of the Last of Us instead of the characters they established in the first one, because even like Tommy, Joel's brother is kind of an essential character in the game. he's he's hardly in it too

he's he's he's he's got an interesting motivation and you want to see that fleshed out more but again he's kind of reduced to kind of background he's he's like a mcuffin effectively for one or two of the days where they're trying to find him and he has a terrible end go killer for me ellie you gotta do it well yeah the same this problem is every character is affected by the same theme in the same way so just everyone is fucked by revenge basically So there's not much like complexity within that Really?

Yeah, because in the first game you saw this This massive character growth between these two people They're wildly different at the end They are at the beginning And while Ellie is different and she kind of The story's basically about her forgiving Joel through Abbey It is just so clumsy in execution I did like the kind of cut seam right at the end

even though it is so bizarre kind of pacing-wise and structurally to have a flashback to an event that happened 20-plus hours ago where Joel and Ellie are kind of having a talk on the porch and it's more like the first game. And Joel kind of explains himself a bit and says if he had a chance to do it all again, he would. I like that kind of thing and that was more of what I was expecting. A lot of the flashbacks were that way actually. like I really liked the Dino the Natural History Museum and the

astronaut section. I like that kind of stuff. That's more of what I was kind of hoping from, but you get it in a way where by the time you do get it, it almost feels hollow because Jill's dead. I think they wanted it to be more weighty because I kind of have that irony of look at this

this is what you wanted, but he's dead, remember? Kind of angle, but it doesn't affect you emotionally, like you said Adam, like in that scene where he's killed, you're angry and frustrated for wrong reasons than I think they're anticipating. Yeah, I wasn't even like that angry. Like, I was just like kind of annoyed. This is like, oh.

Yeah, you're just like MIFT. I didn't really feel anything. Not with like, not with the characters in the story. Yeah. I don't know. But I don't think anyone would have a problem with Joel having some kind of come up and sort exploring that idea. Not at all.

People taking revenge for his decision making. Like, that's what I mean by top level. I think a lot of the choices were pretty good. But to make it work, they have to cut so many corners and rush over so much, it does kind of, you know, it's kind of a cluster. It is very unsatisfactory. It is very unsatisfying. It is very unsatisfy. It would be improved.

I would have felt a bit more. It's like it's so dependent on you having played the first one to even hint at getting some kind of emotional response from that, which is just so lame. Yeah. It is lame. Because, yeah, if you took out your investment, they're using your investment from the first game as just a way to pull the rug from under you in a way that, like, as its own thing, doesn't work nearly as well. Like, if you hadn't played the first one, you wouldn't give a shit about this character. They just suddenly offed. It's all based on your, they know for well how invested you are on this character.

And I don't know if they think it's, like, really clever and subversive to take him out the way they do. Yeah, it's just, it felt cut. So short in terms of the narrative and there was just so much more that I wish they explored with these characters. The jumping off point of the end of the first game was a great way to start new ideas and explore what was going to happen even just between those two characters. And I felt like I didn't really get much of a satisfying payoff from that. I enjoyed Ellie as a character more in the first game just being around like walking around Ellie was much more entertaining yeah I enjoyed just like a teenage girl who also is throwing bricks at people and like stab at people it's something kind of funny about it and she's like fuck

you motherfucker yeah but now she's just like an older woman you know she's she's grown up she's jaded yeah jaded and killing people and it's like okay well she's fucking brutal yeah am i supposed to like No, I guess I do. I like her more than Abby, but it is like, once Joel is gone from the game, it loses a lot of its heart. And I didn't enjoy being around many of the other characters. Like just Dina and Ellie going around the city was not nearly as interesting to me as Joel and Ellie in Boston or when they got ambushed in that city. You know, it's just the game didn't work for me at all. Even as a horror game, like the zombie elements I thought were much

creepier in the first one than this. This one actually felt more like an action game with like that sequence where this like a giant car chase and stuff like that. I liked the gameplay, although the first game was more

difficult. Like, regardless of accessibility settings. The first game had some really challenging sections that I had to do many, many times. But every section in this game I more or less was just able to do it without much issue. Yeah. Just playing on normal difficulty.

Once you unlock all the like gizmos and gadgets, you can really wreck shop. Yeah. Yeah, it depends on the section. But yeah, I just, it was, all I'm thinking of when I think of the first game is like that, that snow level. Like that was a really good sequence and super challenging too. And I'm pretty sure they like took away all your weapons at that point also. So there wasn't really much like that. Yeah, no, I remember.

Yeah. I'll play it again. Yeah, I'll play it again eventually. Yeah, I want to, maybe a PS5. I'll do it on the harder difficulty settings at some point. The ending. When you let Abby go, after all of that, after, I don't know, I murdered, like, fucking hundreds of people to get to her. Yeah, that was my.

Yeah, between Santa Barbara and Seattle. Yeah. And then it's like, okay, I'm going to let her go. But I didn't let, like, 10 minutes ago, I had some. someone on the floor and I was pouring a shotgun at them and they're like, please don't kill me. Yeah. And now I'm like gonna let Abby go. It was like that contrast between

the gameplay and what's actually going on in the story. It just didn't work. Like, just how brutal gameplay was and then compared to that, that she would let Abby go at the end. What's the body count after you've thrown like 50 molotovs on people and, you know, slice their neck open as they beg for their lives and scream for their loved ones?

That's what I mean about the setting being kind of weird. Like in a Western, for example, when they tell revenge stories, there's something that works better about it because there are more rules to the world. There is like a law aspect to it and we can relate to it a lot more. I don't know really what the point is of exploring this universe in this way when it is just so fucking hopeless and everyone is just such a psycho. It's like, well, revenge at this point doesn't have as much weight or meaning behind it.

If life is so meaningless, then it's like you might as well go get revenge, right? Like, what do you? Yeah. Yeah, I really didn't like, I didn't like empathize with Ellie's journey all that much. Especially when she's like already happy living with girlfriend and a baby. And then she's like, well, time to throw all that away. And then she doesn't. I mean, she throws it away, but she doesn't even do what she, what the goal was to accomplish

that. I do love when she gets back and she tries to play guitar and her fingers are missing. Yeah, it's got a good end scene. I think that that's actually perfect. I think that that visual representation perfectly encapsulates just how brutal and broken she is and just how much she's lost. Loved that choice. Yeah, Joel kind of lives on through that guitar in the game. So it's going to have to learn how to play left-handed. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, if we're going to talk about like the other elements of the game, like, you know, gameplay, very similar to the first game, fun, I enjoy it.

You know, I love the stealth-assets and everything. In that regard, though, I really liked each segment where they had kind of multiple factions in the same arena. So you could, like, throw a bottle and then the, like, zombies will go crazy. and it was just like complete chaos. I really liked that aspect of it. There were like zombies on chains toward the end. Some of the environments are like so memorable to me.

Like that underground kind of section on the train lines with that like really harsh red lighting. It's so impressive. The lighting is like it's probably the best lighting I've ever seen in a video game. That's probably my favorite aspect. Yeah, looks great. No doubt. And the environment of storytelling.

as Abby are like fun to play. Yeah, that's what kept me going as Abby. I just kept jumping off cliffs. I just kept jumping on the second day as Abby to get a bit of kind of world building stuff because just by the tone of the game, it seemed like they weren't interested in exploring that side of it. So when you go to that hospital, even though the reason you're going there is for something personally I wasn't really invested in, the fact they kind of established that it was like

a ground zero zone and like this like particularly old infected was like a really cool setup to me and the kind of boss fight there was like a real resident evil kind of horror moment which I quite enjoyed and wasn't expecting yeah a couple of the parts in this game felt very resident evil-esque honestly oh yeah I loved the the bench animations I thought that those were super cool when you're like upgrading your weapons yeah my brother described it is it it feels like you're learning when you're like watching that Like, it's so detailed. Mm-hmm.

Uh-huh. That is cool. I enjoyed that a lot. There's a lot of detail in that regard. That's super cool. Like, gameplay-wise, graphics. One, like the motion capture and facial animation and, you know, or the texture, the skin and the lighting and the sweat. It's, like, crazy.

I couldn't believe that side of it. And the performances, too, even if I disagree with a lot of the kind of choices and directions, there's a lot of, like, really good performance work. And I'd never blame any of the actors for any of those choices or anything. about that? No, I don't think so either. It was just the narrative itself. I'm going to let the actors know how I feel on Twitter. Yeah, I don't get that kind of mentality either. But there's a point, so they go to that hospital, they fix her arm or whatever, right? And then that kid goes off back to his home base, the scar home base, and then they go with the girl, lost her arm,

and she gets killed, well, go in a rescue. I was like, what the fuck? Making all the day two, like, pointless, basically. All day two is, like, pointless. We went all that way, and then we have to go back. For some reason, she has to come, I guess, to help her. It makes so much of the time feel, like, wasted and pointless. Like, it's not building to anything, because they keep just taking it away.

The entire point is just to make you feel more empathy with Abby. And it's just, it just felt so useless because I never had any issues with that. I didn't like her that much as a character in terms of like how interesting she was or anything. But I didn't have any difficulty relating with her goals. And then it just like... Yeah, I understood why she did what she did. Yeah. But I didn't enjoy playing as her, you know, like as a character.

And all these pointless flashbacks. I didn't want to. The boat sex scene. Like, I can see why people make fun of that. It feels like so pointless. Yeah. Yeah. I thought it was going to be for another pregnancy review.

That's what I honestly thought it's. Everyone's pregnant. Yeah, why not at that point? Yeah, I barely even remember the names of the new crew from Abby's side. Because what's the point? Like, they make such a, they highlight as Ellie when you're like hunting them down, like from that group and then showing them from the other side. But they don't really do a good job of characterizing them on the other side.

So it's just kind of like, well, like that section in the hospital when you're Ellie and you're chasing that woman in quite an exciting sequence. And then you see her from the other side. It's like, well, yeah, you're showing that she, like, helps Abby a little bit, I guess, but is this supposed to be, like, a striking moment? Yeah, we don't really learn much from that at all. Yeah. It just feels so wasted and cheap. I'm imagining, like, The Last of Us Part 2, and it's advertised the whole game, like, with not being about Joel and Ellie, and you play as Abby and, like, Neville or Leve, what's their name? Leve.

Whatever it was. Lev, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, his name. Yeah, if you played the whole game as them, and that was part two, and then maybe it ended on the reveal of how she's connected to the story, and then in part three, your investment would be way more,

it would be way more gray in the way they would intend. But then I guess you wouldn't have the Joel stuff. This is what I mean. Like, I've been trying, ever since finishing it, I've been trying to think of a way to restructure it in a satisfying way, because people say, like, yeah, if you put the Joel flashbacks at the beginning and stuff like that. I don't think that would

that would work in the same way It's structuring the way They're attempting yeah They would have to have different narrative goals I feel like you have to learn about so much about Abby Before the game Like before they'd have to change it up so much Yeah

Like yeah Just the way the story takes place and it starts It's so jarring Yeah For an audience to get invested in this character at that point I think it's asking a lot I don't think that's much of This idea of playing day one as Ellie, then going to day one Abbey, and then doing it that way.

Something more concurrently I could get behind or something where I didn't have to play as Abby for such a long chunk. Yeah. But they thought it was going to be short. They need the reveal. They need the reveal that her dad is to circle all the way back too to like that moment where she shoots Jesse and has Elliott-Gumpoint and Tommy. It needs to circle all the way back to that. And when it got back to that, it wasn't satisfying. I was like, we need to sit through all that shit.

Half of it was pointless because she just got killed, like, later on. Like, come on. They could have had the Abbey sequence in the exact same spot, but if they had shortened that down to the length of any other flashback, instead of it being, like, a new part of the game entirely, then I think I would have enjoyed it more. Because so much of it feels so unnecessary that, like, it could, it easily could have given us a highlights real sort of thing of the events of Abby and it would have

worked much better in my opinion because that's what made it so frustrating is because I just felt like I was being beat over the head with the same thing over and over. I was like yeah I get it like I wasn't really learning much I wasn't feeling more from playing as her for that long I really wasn't it was just kind of frustrating I don't think they used the time that well from a storytelling perspective that From a gameplay perspective, I understand why they did it the way they did, because they need to feel like you're kind of building up a character in some way. Because that's what's so weird about when you're in that second half, everything is reset or your upgrades or your guns and everything.

They're all different. So I can see why that's a ridiculous challenge from a gameplay perspective to put you in another character. How long did we play as Ellie in the first game? It wasn't very long. It was only that segment. It was like a couple of seasons. It was like winter segment.

Yeah, not even the whole thing. Yeah, it was, and then within that segment, you start jumping between Joel and Ellie, so you get your stuff back pretty quick, and then you never plays Ellie again after that. Mm-hmm. Yeah, it's, I think the biggest issue is just how quickly they decided to completely abandon the story that they've been building up, and then just decided to tell a completely different story, basically. It's like, yeah, this is the same character.

but it's not really a continuation all that much. Technically it is. There's just so much they could have done with it, and then they didn't, and then they just erased all opportunity for them to explore more with it. It's just a waste of the universe and the characters. The other half of the game is a continuation.

The other half of the game is just like this random thing they just came up with, that I guess they want to continue? Like, what are they even going to do with that HBO show now? Oh, yeah. Because Joel is dead. Is he dead in the show? Is this before? Yeah, who knows what's happening with that?

It's the thing about taking risks this large. Like, it's working for some people, and I'm glad for those people. But for those it doesn't, it kind of is a disappointment. The thematic goals came at the expense of the narrative experience. Yeah. Because, yeah, as you were saying, like, when you try to restructure it and try to fix things about it, it's like, okay, well, then it doesn't have the same point. of what they were going for.

But perhaps that was the problem the entire time. Perhaps if we remove that or have a hint of it rather than it being the entire goal of the game, then there could be a better structure and a better narrative. Yeah. Since I'm basically playing this game like it's a movie, the narrative is like the most important part. Exactly.

I can appreciate the rest of this stuff. It's a naughty dog game. It is. Aldi Dog game. Insanely cinematic. A little better writing than that. Yeah, even Uncharted 4, I'd better write. And it adds similar elements to this, too.

And honestly, it's not even that much of a graphical improvement. I mean, it might be a little bit, but that game looks pretty. Over what, the first game? Over Uncharted 4. Oh, okay, yeah. I liked this more than Uncharted 4. I don't like Uncharted 4 very much, though. Really?

Yeah, I don't. Yeah, I've never been that crazy about the Encharted games, but... He has a long-lost brother. Yeah, who just shows up in the story. Just like, oh, this character that's existed the entire time that we've never mentioned up until this point. This is totally not unnecessary and like we're just milking it dry. Sully was like not in the game even really. One of my favorite characters was just like not there.

They had a stupid Sony product placement. It was just, yeah. And then they changed the composer. The music is so important to me, especially in the uncharted games. They didn't even have the same composer. The theme of the game. The score wasn't there. It was replaced by bullshit.

It was just so annoying. Music means a lot to me. And that's also part of why I didn't really enjoy The Last of Us 2 as much. It's like there wasn't as much Gustavo until the second half. And then when they were showing, when they were playing that in the second half of the game, I was like, wow, I love this music. I just wish that it wasn't for this manipulative purpose of trying to get me to associate the feelings of the first game with this new character that you didn't really earn my respect for in any way other than these manipulative ways that you're doing right now. Yeah.

There's just the wrong time in this universe to tell a story like this. It's a waste. It's a waste. There's so much more they could have done with it. It does feel like a waste. Yeah. It's an example where it kind of, it doesn't make you want to replay the first. game, I'll put it that way. It doesn't feel like it's building on the universe. It feels like it's

kind of just going, it's a complete tangent basically going for something completely different to the first game. So I really understand the kind of split because the expectations are not being met. Yeah, you can't be surprised that people are going to get angry. I'm not like angry at The Last of Us too. I was just like, well, that's dumb, right? Like I still enjoy the game and like I said, I'll play it again on a higher difficulty. I'm not like, you know, It's disappointing. I'm not, like, furious about it. It's not going to affect my life in any meaningful way.

Yeah, I don't care about that kind of thing. Although, seeing the discourse is quite disheartening, like... People are dumb. Even from the creators? Yeah, like, um, Jason Schreier tweeted about how he thinks it's too long. And then, like, Troy Baker, like, jumped on him, and I think Neil Druckman did as well. It's like a really weird response. They must be feeling very defensive at the matter.

Oh, yeah, incredibly. You spend seven years making it. Yeah, they kind of got to justify the decisions at this point. Yeah, and attacking actors is just such a gross look, you know. Yeah. It's not the way to convey what, like, the message of what people have a problem with. When it gets to this point of discourse, there are people that just literally hop in that don't even give a shit about the game and might not have even ever played it and are literally just jumping into harass people because they see. it as an opportunity and they're you know like that's literally what people do there's people just

waiting for the next like super divisive issue so they can piss people off and be like i influence the world in some minor way and my life has a modicum of meaning now so yeah people are so did you guys um did you guys see any of the leaks or was this all a surprise to you when you're playing it um this was all a surprise to me it was inevitable to like it wasn't possible not to see anything and um yeah i mean like i there there were aspects to the game that i was aware of before i played it but i still feel like i got my own experience out of it i didn't watch anyone's reviews i didn't you know i didn't like seek out anything about the game there were just some like memes of people redrawing some frames from

from certain parts in the game that were kind of funny. That's basically what was going on. Yeah, it doesn't actually seem to be affecting response that much. You say, Ralph, that you didn't really know what was going to happen and it still didn't really work for you, so, I mean, it's still

polarizing. Surprising doesn't always mean it's going to be a satisfying reveal and I'm going to like it. Just because you don't like the game doesn't mean that you're some crazy anti-SJW that's mad that there's trans people in video games.

And just because you like the game doesn't mean that you're some lib-tard cuck SJW that is only liking it because the people that you're against don't like it. So everybody chill the fuck out. So annoying. And I was expecting the criticisms to only be coming from like one direction. But there's people that are just like mad at me. It's like, you don't like the game as much as you should because you're not paying attention It's like, holy fuck, calm down.

It's just, everybody just needs to take a chill pill. It's not important. There are bigger things happening in the world right now. It's also ironic considering the theme of the game of two sides, you know, two extreme sides and learning to see that actually we're all pretty similar at the end of the day. Yeah. Yeah. I understand why people are upset

And I understand why people would enjoy the game I'm somewhere in between I think you know Yeah The game has a lot of stupid narrative decisions Well guess what that's most games So it's just it's just more upsetting with this one because the first game was so good If this was like a completely new IP it wouldn't affect people and these are characters people care about and they're just so careless

It's unsatisfying conclusion almost to the same degree as like M. Knight-Sharmelan's glass in terms of just how unceremoniously these characters are handled in ways. Yeah, the story was a miss, but I respect the game design, though. I think the environments are way better design in the first game, the way you're funneled through it, while a lot of the gameplay is like, just find where you've got to go. I mean, it's still fun to me, the gameplay loop of, like, collecting things and, like, leveling up your character. I love looting.

I enjoyed the, like, journey a bit. Picking things up is fun. I like the water physics of it. Just like crouching in the water. Yeah. You can like prone and like deep water kind of. Yeah. Swimming it and kind of sneak in.

It's cool. Lots of detail. Pay attention to the mocap. Yeah. There's some good level design too. It feels really varied in terms of like how you can tackle each scenario. And yeah, the environments too. There's lots of variation.

I liked the setting of the final kind of section. of the game, you go to a different state. I liked the switchup with it being on like a beach kind of sandy location. I liked that kind of switch up. Yeah, that was good. I enjoyed that too. That's probably the best like gameplay section of the game

that last part. Yeah, because it kind of have everything. It's kind of have everything. Yeah, and just a satisfying gameplay payoff. It's set up specifically to be satisfying, unlike the plot. Yeah. Which is the opposite.

Yeah, I'm torn because I do appreciate the kind of balls it takes to do something risky with your story and not play it safe, but at the same time, the risk is it might wind up like this, and you've potentially kind of ruined any momentum. Just don't do it with a sequel. Do it, just don't do it with a sequel that had nothing to do with those sorts of ideas or goals, really. I mean, like, people can argue that there's, like, similar themes and everything. That's fine, but, like, the first game wasn't specifically made, to be like an unsatisfying

super challenging experience sure the ending was challenging in a narrative way in terms of like the morality is like what was what he did right or wrong sort of thing but the character's conflicted it it all had a very effective emotional purpose towards

it and it just really didn't pay off as well in this game I actually think the first one's pretty straightforward yeah yeah the story just like a little road trip story but it's also all about character it's all about Joel their relationship and it grows as the game goes along.

We didn't really get anything like that in this game. And sure, like, yeah, you could draw some parallels. Perhaps depending on the type of person you are, you could play that game and get the same thing that you got from the first game, depending on how you, you know, how connected you are to the characters in this game and what they're going through.

But I just, I did not feel that. Yeah, I was really disappointed by that aspect because the first one is quite a roller coaster in terms of that kind of stuff. Lots of emotional beats that work really well. The first game is probably one of my favorite cinematic experiences from a video game in like a straightforward, pretty linear game. Yeah, I was really shocked by how good it was.

Yeah. Love it. Yeah. But yeah, I'll play both of them again on harder difficulties or whatever. Do grounded mode. On PS5. They'll put them together in like a box set. And everyone will play the first one and no one will play the second one.

Like apparently they're not doing DLC for this game or some shit. That's what somebody in my chat said that they had no plans for DLC, which is just kind of annoying. Yeah. I'd play the DLC. Yeah, the first one had an interesting DLC. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I enjoyed that. I enjoyed it more than this.

It had more heart. I think they're releasing that factions multiplayer thing. I guess all the does. Oh, they are making multiplayer. Okay. Yeah, they're just going to release it at a later date. Yeah, it's just like a campaign and that's it. Like a very hollow game.

Something else there, really. Yeah, especially for a story. game like if the story isn't doing it for you because if i really like the story i would have been fine like replaying it new game plus all that kind of shit but without that drive i just don't feel the need to jump back in any time seen there's other story games kind of like like the walking dead i guess is a good one where you have choices and i think that's the replay value for me for a story game is making those choices and i get naughty dog style they don't want to have really choices or that your gameplay choices as ellie would actually have a consequence on the ending maybe like the size

honored, but they don't really do that. They just want to tell a story like one way. It's a movie. It's a movie. Yeah, exactly. And that's fine. I just, I want a little bit better writing if you're going to do that. Yeah. If you're not going to let me have that input. You're allowed to kill people, but then if they're pregnant, you feel bad. You're not allowed to get a double kill. They want you to feel bad for people you have to kill. And I honestly thought it was pretty entertaining. They played these game play sections to shoot people ahead. I'm like, oh, wow. It was pretty good pretty detailed naughty dog

How you got that high guys had to blow up when I shoot Yeah Wow the way it exploded But I wasn't taking it that seriously Yeah I thought it was pretty fun The uh The exploding arrows were a lot of fun

Yeah I used those a few times Yeah I didn't use a smoke bomb the entire game I kind of just forgot to Oh really? Yeah I used them funny in the first game

A cinch I just never fun I use those things if I'm like really stuck And I don't know how to Get past a point but there wasn't really a point in this game where I felt like I needed to use one, so I never did. Maybe on a harder difficulty for something.

Yeah, probably, exactly. Yeah, I'm looking forward to playing it on a higher difficulty anyway. Fuck PSVita owners. She deserved it. Yeah, that was my main takeaway. The one character that deserved it. That's another example of a weird one where they, like, show them on both sides, and neither time it really means anything.

Yeah. Exactly. It was so weird. Yeah. So pointless. The goal of the narrative was clear, but it didn't fulfill what its goal was in any meaningful way. It felt like they thought it was a bigger deal than it actually comes across in terms of any kind of emotional response. Yeah.

Should we give our ratings? The gratuitousness of it. Yeah. It's just so silly. I would, I don't know what to give it. Do we rate it like a movie where I would just rate the movie where I would just rate story? I mean, have you ever rated a game?

I'll give it a 5 out of 10. Not really. No? No. I guess a 5 out of 10. I would give it that. I think that's fair. Yeah, I'm giving it a 6 out of 10 for now.

I don't think it'll be bumped up to a 7. Just the problem is like, even though I love the gameplay, gameplay is super fun. The narrative experience in these types of games is so crucial and important that if you fuck that up, it really does take away from the overall experience. it's not another type of game where it's like oh I could just skip the cutscenes or whatever sort of thing like this is like sure maybe you can I don't know if the options there but that's irrelevant like the point of the game is the story the point of the game is the narrative really yeah I wanted to watch them they're really well done from a like a cinematography standpoint like you said the lighting it's just yeah those characters I wish they went different directions yeah yeah that's why I'm struggling because as an overall package is like a video game I'd probably give it a six or seven that story I'd give like a five so bit of a miss I think for all of us

it's a shame one of us didn't like it more but whatever we I mean two of us gave positive ratings so yeah that's a thing whatever yeah whatever

yeah that's how I feel about it too whatever but it's the worst kind of game it can be is if it's a whatever game at least if it was gone off we would have had fun like talking about how stupid it was and there are

plenty of moments in here where I was just like rolling my eyes or I wanted to shut it off. But yeah, it's not enough to make it like a one out of ten kind of game. It's not ride to hell. It's not, I don't know what is some of the worst games out of? I don't even know. Is that really considered one? Hunt down the Freeman. I love that game. What do you mean? Yeah, I love it too, but you know. All right. Uh, question time. Okay, let's move into the questions segment. If you want to leave your own questions for us to answer on future episodes of Sadonikas head to the subreddit where there'll be a suggestions thread or you can ask whatever you like let's start with this from from jar jar jacobs who says what movie will be improved by completely removing one character

i don't know if jar jar would improve the phantom menace if you took that out especially the username i don't know if i agree i actually think it would improve that movie genuinely i think it would actually make it better yeah without jar jar being in there i do yeah Yeah, because that's when it really goes off the deeper when he comes in and you just can't tell what the fuck he's saying. I don't know. There's like shitty comic relief characters in kids' movies that piss me off.

Sure, I was thinking like Milan, Eddie Murphy's character. Really? It's like a little... I think he's too much in the movie. Not that I think he should be removed, but he kind of takes away from Milan a little bit. There are a few Disney sidekicks that do that.

And he comes in, it's like a crazy person. you know with this crazy improv and everything yeah it kind of takes away from Mulan for me my opinion I think a diary of the Wimpy Kid would be better without the Wimpy Kid

in it that would improve it never seen it it's dark crystal without the main character that's a good one yeah we've got that we've got the Netflix show

which is fantastic just about the you know the weird creatures whatever they're called the skis Skexies. Skexies.

Skexies. His gig. Yeah. Damn. What do I even say? There's that Thor movie with that really bad character relief. Yeah, that's a good one. Natalie Portman and Cat Dennings.

She could get rid of either of them. Yeah. Cat Dennings. That's the one I was thinking of. What fucking movie? What about Godfather 3 without what's the face Sophie Coppola

yeah no because it wouldn't be nearly as entertaining it would just be so boring it would make the movie worse yeah it's like the only thing I remember about it yeah gravity would be better without

Sandra Bullock yeah yeah flip on round so I go to another one I'm sure there's something I'm missing but whatever sorry everybody say in the comments if you think of anything better yeah unlucky leo asks

david russle once put christopher nolan in a headlock so my question to the sadartards is what are your favorite hollywood feuds uh depends how legitimate the feuds are i guess there's we talked about the uh michel gondry commentary on the criterion being john malcovich blu-ray that was really weird it's just shit-talking people the entire time. My favorite is Tyrese Gibson getting angry at The Rock for delaying Fast and Furious a year because he wanted the money.

Wow. Yeah. I have no idea. You're like bitched about it on Instagram. Doesn't Spike Lee have beef with Quentin Tarantino or something? Yeah, over Django? Yeah, Jango. I don't know much about it. that's interesting they both come in

tarentino is actually quite a dramatic figure there's that there's that interview with him on channel 4 where he says like I'm shutting your butt down yeah he's quite emotional that was a good accent yeah he has tons of interviews like moments like that talking about how violence in movies is fun which yeah he's like a sassy person too

yeah very passionate about it yeah would you count like to be McGuire in the car, like, trying to get away from the paparazzi. I don't think that's a feud, though. He's like, I can't see, move out of the way. There's, like, I don't know. There's not a lot that sticks out in my mind in terms of Hollywood feuds.

I don't like to focus on Hollywood feuds. He's like, fuck, what's her name? I'm sure there's too much to choose from. Yeah, there was like Miley Cyrus and Shanaid O'Connor were like really pissed off at each other. It was kind of sad because, like, the wrecking ball music video and, like, the hairstyle and, like, the close face shut was very clearly trying to emulate Shnade O'Connor and her Nothing Compares to You video. So there was, like, a lot of, a lot of, like, respect there. And then they just got into some dumb feud and blocked each other or something. It was like, oh, shit, that's sad.

It's, like, Hodorowski and Winding Refund. in a very, not like a serious feud way, but like when he tells his wife to divorce him, like that was really funny to me. Oh yeah, and then there's like Vincent Gallo

with everybody. Oh, yeah, we touched a bit on that, didn't we? And yeah, David O. Russell seems to piss a lot of people off too. Have you ever seen the clip of him like absolutely losing it

at his actors on I heard Hugby's set? just being a complete asshole there's a point he like leaves the set and then comes back in through a set door it's hysterical like I thought he was gone and then he just pops in I haven't seen that one so you have to come back to yell

I have the last word oh yeah Amy Adams David O Russell made me cry every day on American hustle God yeah he seems like a dick seems like not a lot of people get along the autistic field like it's where you're going to find

to hype sentage of, you know. Apparently, Joe Pitca is also kind of an asshole, director of Space Jam. Oh. Oh, right. Yeah. People say he's a yeller. And then there was an interview with one of the visual effects artists, I think one of the animators on Space Jam, and he was recounting a story

about how Joe Picka had no idea what the fuck he was doing and was basically like, yeah, you just figure it out in the animation. I've got a, you know, we've got greenscats, footage here and then the animator was trying to explain to the director like okay like I can I can animate things here but if you have someone in a green suit walking in front of Michael Jordan that I'm it's it you you won't be able to see Michael Jordan there right so so I can't do anything about that and it's going to look like shit and this footage is going to be unusable and apparently Joe Pickett just like yelled at him like you figure it out just like no understanding of like

how the visual effects would be done in the film. Yeah, some people are really high-strung. Oh, yeah. Especially with the pressure of like a Hollywood, you know, all this money that's being thrown around must be horrendous. The pressure if you've got $150 million movie on your back or something like that. Josh Trank. Yep, we saw it with him.

It fell apart. Ooh, Stephen King versus Stanley Kubrick. That's a classic. Yeah, it's very good. Yeah, that is a good. good one actually. That's a great feud. There's going to be a few we just, we haven't mentioned that people will mention. Yeah. I'm going to be like, damn it, that's a great one.

Yeah. Everybody, everybody's really immature and childish. Everyone has massive egos, yeah. Yeah. And they need to protect them. At all costs. At all costs. All right, next question.

Let's do this one from the Fallen 164, who says, after listening to you three talk about adaptation, What books slash comic books slash game do you think is unadaptable into a movie? That's a good question because I think the point of that movie is you can adapt anything. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah, I think there are some... I think it's something cool. Yeah, obviously it depends on the people making it and, you know, but there are some stories that you just have to have the right person.

Whereas I'm thinking of something like Cloud Atlas. I think that's a book that, well, as we see, it doesn't really translate to screen that clearly because it's just so ambitious and so kind of goes against the grain of a typical kind of story that is one of those gamble

kind of really ambitious tales to try and adapt. Yeah. You can adapt anything, but you might have to change it into something completely different. Yeah, it's why when those rumors of like when they were developing,

a mass effect game. I was kind of against that idea because it seemed the whole point of that, that, that universe was the kind of decision making. Yeah. So like, what's the point of reducing it into a movie that takes everything about the interactivity and robs it of that?

The universe is cool to explore and everything, but. Yeah, I think the universe kind of lends itself well to, you know, storytelling in general. The universe does, but could you trust them to,

if you just took select parts from the games and had a, you know, just made the most succinct narrative. I just think it would be weird with the main character. I don't know. I think it would be really hard to do something like that. Mm-hmm. Yeah, most of my issues when it comes to terrible adaptations are not really with the idea of like, oh yeah, this is something that could never be adapted. Mostly it's just like, okay, you just did this wrong. Like, Death Note, come on.

You could, you could make a good adaptation of Death Note. note. I think it is possible. I think it is possible. It's just you have to be more thoughtful about it. Is there a radio a live action movie that they made in Japan? Yeah, that one's bad too. There's two Japanese movies. They fucking suck.

Oh, right. The Netflix one is the worst thing ever, but yeah. A lot of people said Watchmen was unadaptable before the Zach Snyder version came out. And I think that movie's kind of weak for the same reasons. Like, it's literally an adaptation of the book, like almost frame for frame in some parts. but the structure It doesn't really work in a movie And there's like too many characters

Too much going on He already had to cut out a lot I watched like the extended cut of it So I could see just all of it Including like these these animated segments With like a Pirate Ship and everything It's interesting

But I don't think he Succeeded in capturing what the book did At this point Right Yeah You're gonna have to have different goals I mean there's things that Were previously seen as

unadaptable like naked lunch and perhaps even Lord of the Rings that turned out really well. Yeah, but you talked about how much you have to change it to kind of fit the structure of a movie. Like I think Scott Pulgram works well too. That's seven books into one movie. And, you know, it has a it has a narrative that works within that movie that is different, totally different from the books. Speaking of adaptations, Charlie Kaufman's new movie has a release date, the good one, the Netflix one. I think it's like September 4th. I'm thinking of ending things.

Hell yeah. That's cool. I wonder if that means that they think it'll be awards worthy. I saw a few people on the Reddit asking if you're going to be reading Charlie Kaufman's new book that he just released. I have it pre-ordered. It has not shown up yet. I think it will in the next week.

I don't know how fast I'm going to read it. My roommate also wants to read it. So if he thinks he's going to plow through it, I'll probably just give it to him first. But it's called Antkind as yes Yeah I'm glad that he's doing something like that because you know I think that there's enough people There's no restriction as a writer Yeah, and it doesn't seem to be like

So incredibly difficult to get on the New York Times best selling list for a novel It seems like every book that's released Achieves that But yeah he's got a good fan base and I'm like hopefully that's something that is at least somewhat lucrative For him too I haven't heard about this So, yeah, I'll get that. Yeah, he got approached to write a novel by a publication, and he was like, yeah, fuck it, let's do it.

And so, good. It'll be the first novel that I've read in a very long time. Yeah, I like audiobooks. Yeah. Yeah, I wonder, they'll probably have an audiobook version. It's just Nicholas Cage reading it. That would be. Yeah, I don't know.

The, um, there's a lot of things. Like, the Last of Us, I think, would be one of the more challenging things to adapt into a film. Because it already works perfectly as a game. And the narrative experience of that game is one that comes through it being a game. Mm-hmm. So it'd be very difficult. Yeah. I think a lot of game worlds are like that.

Like when they talk about making a bioshot movie or a Halo movie. where it's like the games are kind of the universes and that's what makes them good and the interactivity side of it. The plot gets a little convoluted in Halo after a while. Oh, tell me about it, dude. A great journey. One more question? I figured we should probably end on shouting out NEO Morricone.

Oh shit, yeah. Because he's just passed away. Yeah, sorry about my butchering of his name, but we've, how many movies? We've already done a few movies that featured his soundtracks, cinema parodies, so, God, what was the other one? There was definitely another one we've done. Scored the Hastefully, I'm pretty sure. Yeah, yeah, the thing.

Yeah, he's crazy, he's got a crazy backlog. Once upon a time in Hollywood. Yeah. Once upon a time in the West, I'm sorry. Once upon a time in the West. That's what I meant to say. Yeah, all those classic Westons. Yeah, a lot of them.

Yeah, there's like over 500 credits for composers. are an IMDB. Yeah. That's a lot of good work. Big do. It's one of the greatest, yeah. Sad. Yeah, you know, it is sad when we lose someone so talented.

I don't consider it a gigantic tragedy when someone dies at 92. And I don't want to seem insensitive at being like, oh yeah, I don't feel sad about his death. But I see it like, I don't know. I try to look at death in a way that is a bit more, I guess, like, emotionally healthy or productive to be. recognizing and praising the accomplishments and kind of feeling good about their life's work. Like, I don't see, when you look at, like, the end of this guy's life, sure, it's sad that we're not all immortal, but like, wow, what a crazy life. What a great list of accomplishments. Like, you beat the game, you know? He was making great music up till the very end of his life, with hatefully.

Like, he won an Oscar just a few years ago. If life is a contest, he's a winner. For sure. It's like you can only, you can only try your best and very clearly this person did. So I don't see it as a, I don't see it as a tragedy. To see someone's life cut short for sure. But yeah, I definitely, you know, respect the accomplishments and, you know, feel good about this long life that they've lived and everything that they've achieved. Yeah, there's quite a history of work to lead behind.

For sure. I don't know if you guys agree in that sense or not. I don't want to sound like it's sensitive. Oh, no. Does that make sense just from philosophical perspective? I know exactly what you mean. I like thinking about that kind of side of it, what you're leaving and your legacy.

Yeah. It's like the best that anyone can do. Mm-hmm. For sure. So I guess we'll see him in the April Oscars Memorial. Oh, yeah. The Oscars. Yeah, they're pushing it.

Oh, yeah. They're pushing it forward a couple months. Yeah. Yeah, everybody check out some of his works. There might be some on Spotify. I have no idea. Sometimes it's really difficult. Yeah, just look through the list.

Chances are you'll already be familiar with a lot of it and just not unknown. Hateful Eighthoutes soundtrack was fantastic. Mm-hmm. Obviously, there's a gigantic library. And I'd, I would. be trying to find more familiar ones by scrolling through, but there's just so many titles here that

I can't... So many. And a lot of them are in Italian too. Yeah, exactly. It's hard to read. Very influential, important person. Yes. Great scores. Really great music. All right. Well, I guess that about

does it for questions and stuff. There is a film recommendation for the next episode, and I believe it is Alex. This is turn. It's me. It's me. I've picked a movie that I think two of us have seen.

I'm not sure if Ralph has seen it, but it's from a director we mentioned a fair amount. It's an evil nerve. I want to talk about incendies, so you say it. Nice. It's pronounced incendi. Incendi. Yeah. Incendi.

No, I have not seen that. I'm looking forward to it. So have you seen it, Ralph? No. Okay, cool. It's going to be great. Yeah. Yeah, it's one of the few films of his I haven't seen.

It's just that and Polytechny. Oh, you haven't seen it? Yeah, I haven't seen it. Oh, okay. Cool. I thought you said two of us have seen it. Not maybe you said have it. Oh, sorry.

Sorry, yeah, I was like looking at my phone trying to mess up. Okay, cool. Yeah. Perfect. No, it's just been on my watch list for a long time. I'm excited to watch it again. My roommate really loves it too. I'm sure he'd be down to check it out again.

Awesome. through. That's awesome. Okay. Yeah. We'll see you next week. Next two weeks from now. Two weeks. Thanks for supporting the show. Thanks for listening.

If you want to support the show, weird phrasing. $2 a month, sardonicast.com. You'll get these episodes early. Sign up for premium. Also, patreon.com slash sardonicast. Same thing. Also, we got merch if you want to check out some merch. Thank you so much.

Bazinka, how do I end this? Bazinga's good. Yeah, we talked about the big bank theory. Bye, everybody. Take care of, farewell.