The Flop House - Ep. #310 - Bloodshot

Episode Date: April 11, 2020

First off, how are you guys? Everyone doing okay? We hope so. Take care of yourselves. Secondly, my lord were we excited to have Griffin Newman, of many, many things, including the Blank Check podcast and Amazon's The Tick, but MOST IMPORTANTLY, the world's #1 Vin Diesel fan, join the show to discuss Vin's latest vinsanity, Bloodshot. Meanwhile Elliott takes us on a tour through the 4th most popular comics publisher of the 90's, Griffin offers a unified Diesel theory, and Stu and Dan do some bullshit, we're sure, but, honestly, that's really the most important stuff, because those two lovable scamps can talk up a storm! Wikipedia synopsis of Book Club Movies recommended in this episode: Funny Face Death by Metal Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning Doc

on this episode we discuss bloodshot a phrase that is never mentioned during the movie that's is that true I can't tell yeah they never say a book called a bloodshot I think they call him bloodshot I think I pure says you are bloodshot now when he wakes up he says he says you're the bloodshot now dog Hey everyone, welcome to the Flop House, I'm Dan McCoy. Hey, I'm Stuart Wellington. I'm Elliot Kaelin, owner of a brand new hot water heater because mine was leaking. Okay, so how's everybody doing today? Save that juicy talk for after we introduce our guest.

You know how to... Not juicy, leaky. You know our guest from the tick where he played Arthur. You know him from the blank check podcast. You know him for being a tie for Microfint Audrey's second favorite podcaster after Halley Haggland, tied with LA Kaelin for second favorite podcaster.

I assume I'm in the top 25 at least. Don't make an assumption, Dan, you know what happens when you assume? It's Griffin Newman, everyone. Hello, hi. If you can please add to my credits, Griffin Newman World's number one bloodshot fan. Yeah, you're a real vin addict, right? I'm a vin addict.

I'm a big Vino, but I also, I like truly I may be the only person who is voluntarily watched this movie two times now. Yes, Stuart. Stuart said you were watching it, and I'm like, I follow him on Instagram. I'm pretty sure Griffin has already seen Bletchette. I'm telling you, I got... Wow, which only sounds a little creepy there, right? I got a lot of new stuff on the second viewing, and I am not joking at all. I am so happy I spent the extra hour and 50 giving it another run.

So before we get into blood shot, because on this podcast we watch a bad movie, then we talk about it. Griffin, I want to know what is it about the Ds? And I'm talking about, of course, Eddie Deason, that really speaks to, that you're such a big fan of him. What is it about Vin Diesel that, like, you really relate to so much?

Because you are a big Vin head. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, you know, it's taken me a while to fully analyze what it is that attracts me to him so much. Because it's, you know, it's what is love. How do you define it, you know? Well, let's say, let's try to kind of graph that out, some kind of VinIN diagram if you will

This this is what I will say. I think an ex-girlfriend of mine Summed up the best because any ex-girlfriend of mine essentially has to take an undergraduate course on Vin Diesel Whether or not they want not like as a prerequisite, but it comes with the territory of spending as a post requisite Yes, it's a post requisite once they've signed up to spend time with me, there's a heavily curated playlist of things that we have to watch, some short form, some long form. But I was explaining my love of Vin Diesel and my love of Guns n' Roses, who are my favorite band

of all time. And she said, I get it. I think I finally get it. You like things that are like a parody of masculinity. Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah. I can see that. There is definitely. I mean, I get the appeal to some extent, you know. You guys all know, I'm pretty into D&D and by that I mean diesel and D's nuts jokes. That's my old joke guys.

That's good. I have good men. I'm out of confusion about this because like I like Vin Diesel, but I'm not quite sure why not in like with him because I feel like in his non voice acting roles, he does not exude much in the way of personality. Well, I disagree with you there. Yeah. I want to hear your defense, Elliot.

Oh, no, I think kind of a caricature or an exaggeration of masculinity makes sense. To me, Vin Diesel, even when he's playing a serious part, is always, pretty, is always winking. Like, he's an important, when he's playing a serious part like Xander Cage or pitch black or fast, because he's in fast in the furious, his character is Johnny Fast and then the late Paul,

let's just say Paul Bettany. Late Paul Bettany. Oh God, perfect. Is of course Roger Furious, but there's something about him that's always kind of like about to look at the audience and be like, can you believe I get to do this shit? And I really find that endearing about him, that he, he doesn't of all, if you compare into someone like, ironically, Jason Statham, who is a much

winkier performer, I get the feeling that he's like, no, no, I could do all these things. If you asked me to do him in real life, I could do him. Whereas Vin Diesel is like, this is all made up craziness, like let's just blow it out. Let's have fun with it. Like, Vin Diesel is like, this is all made up craziness. Like, let's just blow it out. Let's have fun with it. Like, Griffin, is that how you feel? Or? 100%. You nailed that perfectly.

And I think if you want to like establish, you know, three points on a masculinity scale, right? And it's cinematic masculinity. Like our modern action start, right? And it's Statham, the rock, and Vin Diesel. And I'm not ranking them in terms of quality, although Vin is obviously the top. But I'm saying, like, if you look on this pattern here,

I mean, Statham is a pretender to this. There's a lot of baldads out there. I don't agree. I'm doing this. I'm doing this. I just feel like we're running down Statham a lot more than I'm comfortable with, because I feel like.

I love Statham. I love Statham. But I do think there's a distinction, which as Elliot said, Statham is more openly winking to the audience, right? Whereas Vin has a greater level of sincerity than Statham, but is also more self-aware than the rock who is so fully buying his own bullshit, you know?

And Vin's like right between the two. Statham, for me, though I love him, is a little bit too winky to be able to fully emotionally invest in him as a protagonist. The whole movie is always in quotes. And then the rock is buying his own bullshit a little bit too much. And I think Vince is this perfect balance

in terms of the machismo baldies of the 2000s and on. Where he means everything he says in a John Wayne kind of way, where it's like it does not resemble normal human behavior, but it is imbued with as much emotional integrity as possible, but he is also so aware that he is himself like a special effect. Like his voice, the fact that his name is Goddamn Vin Diesel, which was by choice. Like everything about it. Yeah. Someone once told me that the name Vin Diesel, he came up with because when he was young,

he spent time around in the drag community, I guess. And there's something about him that is like. Drag racing, right? Drag racing, yeah. No, there's something in him that is like... Drag racing, right? Drag racing, yeah. Yeah, that's it. No, but there's something in him that is kind of like, I don't know any of him as personal life. I have always assumed he's straight, but I don't know.

Like a straight man who is like, I am going to totally absorb into me that kind of like comment on masculinity that is part of drag, you know? And I'm gonna make that part of my persona in a way that is both straightforward and both commenting. But it's weird that like when you talk about bald masculinity,

the person I would compare Vindiesel the most with, strange enough, strange enough, is Tally Savales? Yes, where it was, it was a head of similar sense of like, this guy means what he says, but he also knows that what he's saying is kind of crazy. And like, but he's going all out with it, you know. Elliot, I hate to tell you this,

but I might fuck you by the end of this episode. Oh, no. It's so turned on. You are taking things out of my mouth. Things I, I, A, have said about Venn to other people and B, things I have never even figured out how to verbalize before. Do you know, do you know that Kojak

is one of Venn Diesel's favorite characters of all time for the last five years? He's been trying to set up a Kojak movie That's crazy that he hasn't been able to set up a Kojak movie. It is his dream job He has it set up at Universal where he makes the fast and furious movies and presumably he should be able to make whatever The fuck he wants and he has been announcing it for five years that he's doing a Kojak movie As he as a tribute to his, who apparently he used to watch it with her all the time, and it was his favorite, when he was a trial.

I'll just try it. He would be a great co-jet. I wish that he was not. They'd have to find some way to make him not look like a superhero, at least a little bit, maybe a mustache, but like, if you've ever seen paparazzi photos of Vin on vacation in between movies, I will say. I think he has the capacity to look

like not a superhero. And he is also, and I say this with all due respect, 52 years old, a fact that I like to circulate as much as possible is Vin Diesel and Paul Giamatti were born one month apart. So he puts a lot of effort in saying doctor, same doctor delivered the same office in the same rooms. So you're saying that the modern version of twins is the Vin Diesel and Paul Giamatti, playing the Arnold Schwarzenegger and David O'Rose. This is like a Salman Rochdi magical realist novel.

Yes. And I'm also saying with all due respect because it is a testament to his work ethic, but pretty much I'd say give him one lazy weekend and Vin Diesel can no longer look like a superhero. This is very stupid, this is very stupid but I need to get this out. Please. Vin Knight's children. Yeah.

All right, that's it. Vin Knight's children, yeah. I like it. Yeah. No, it's perfect. And to Vin Night's children, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, it's perfect. And to go back to comparing Vin Diesel and the Rock, one of the things that I feel like I prefer, one of the things that gives Vin the edge for me is I don't feel like at any point in the future, am I going to have to worry about having to vote for or against him in

a political context. Yes, yes. I feel like there is something to him for as much as he is like was one of these guys who was tip of the spear on social media is constantly posting like fan art of himself with like live love, create happy Friday and shit like that Yeah, it feels like he has cultivated less of a Cult of personality around him than someone like the rock who is also selling us like his fucking workout equipment and his like tequila and is constantly towing that line of like,

I don't know, do you want me to be president? And I also think, as you said, like the rock wants to be, and I'm sorry I'm gonna go hard after the rock here, but you have to, if you're ever talking about Vin Diesel, if you really want to defend Vin Diesel's honor, you have to compare him to the rock. Because the rock is the one who most people accept as the best at what he's trying to do, right?

Which I reject. Because I think the rock, A, is lessen on the joke in what we're talking about. I do think the key to Vin Diesel for me is, Elliot, as you said, that he kind of is giving a drag performance of an action star you know it is like you know he is doing to Arnold Schwarzenegger what like a drag queen is doing to Judy Garland in a certain way it feels like the the only thing that makes the triple X movies bearable is

that Vin Diesel is like whoa this isn't real can you imagine this stuff like any any moment with him he he is playing it, like if they're, to have, and I don't mind knocking Jason Statham, I don't have the same affection for him. But like, if Jason Statham was in triple like return of Zander Cage, the moment when that roomful of women

makes him have sex with them to get his coat back. And it's like the things I do for my country. Jason Statham would say that in this kind of leering, like, yeah, I get to have sex with these women out. Whereas Vin Diesel was like, can you believe how silly this scene is? Is that all right? And I also think you look at the first triple X

and the third triple X. And the third one is the one where it feels like he has claimed some level of authorship over the movie. And it is so much better and so much less toxic than the first one, which is then being self-aware in a movie that is kind of horrifying. The third one feels like it's totally on his level. We were all tired of our daddy's James Bond and it was time for not our daddy's James

Bond. I was like, oh, how many times is my daddy's James Bond going to be inflicted on me? And by the time the third Triple X came out, we were ready for not our daddy's Triple X. No, right. I just, I remember that when the first Triple X came out, and this is a quote I had to re, I researched, because I remembered it, I want to make sure I got it right, and I used it in a presentation

when we talked about Triple X before a live audience, where the producer, or at least the producer the director was like, we basically took the best parts of Dirty Dozen and Kelly's hero, and Kelly's heroism smashed him together into one movie, and I was like, we basically took the best parts of Jirty Dozen and Kelly's Hero and held Kelly's heroes and smashed them together into one movie. And I was like, whoa. That's such a heubristic thing to say, like that's such a crappy thing to say. And it did.

But also, if that's what you thought you did, do you hate Kelly's heroes and the dirty Dozen? No. No, I mean, like, I have affection for the first triple X, but then only on Vin levels and for it being such a painful time capsule of the year 2003. But I think triple X III, I was like, well, I have to do my duty as a civilian and go see the new Vin movie in theaters. And then was surprised by how much I actually liked it.

And to go back to the rock thing, it's like, you go to Hobbs and Shaw, where every character has to exist in a scene next to the rock to prove how masculine the rock is. And it doesn't feel like it's a joke, even though it is supposed to be a joke only in the sense that it makes the rock look funny, so that you know he's funny on top of being kind and the toughest guy,

but also something like that, Vanessa Kirby has to be sexually attracted to the rock in Hobbes and Shaw, despite being 20 years younger than him. And literally, he is not a human in that film. It is scientifically impossible that the two of them are together We're as in like triple X Stay the union or not say the Goms are returns Andrew Cage the third entry in the triple X trilogy The two quote the last of the X's yes triple X. This is the final X. Yeah X X triple X We'll be triple ex-three, one more ex.

X-9. But in that film, the two quote unquote hot girls are attracted to each other, which it just feels like it's something that the rock would never do. Like have two hot women in a movie who are like, we don't want to fuck you, we're going to fuck each other. And it is not treated as a joke. And also there isn't a sex scene. Yeah.

All right, you turn around. You all turn me around. Right. There's a certain generosity to Vin Diesel. Yeah. I mean, when we were watching Triple X three, Return of the Xanator Cage, I got such a moment of genuine joy when Ice Cube showed up. And like the audience I was watching it with just screamed,

even though none of them had seen the second movie. But isn't that like the entire power of what he pulled off with the Fast and Furious franchise is like, Fast 5 has the energy of, this is the Avengers, we're finally uniting all of the greatest cinematic characters. And it's characters that you ostensibly did not care about before. You're like, they got the guy from three and the guy from two. It's the same franchise and he made it seem like somehow it was like

a world-shattering crossover event. Yeah. So speaking of world-shattering crossover events, so bloodshot, the movie we're ostensibly supposed to be talking about today. Yes, this is turned into a podcast about triple X rules. They already done that one. Now bloodshot is the first entry in the valiant cinematic universe. And I don't know how familiar you guys are with valiant comics. And if you wanted me to say, barely, oh, I mean, please talk about it.

I mean, I'm only familiar with them in so much as I know that they were kind of a product of the 90s comics boom. And I know that my friend Alejandro was currently writing Dr. Tomorrow, which is great in being published by valiant comics. I mean, the valiant comics of today is a very different publisher,

like I've written stuff for valiant comics, like the current one. They actually have put out a number of good books now, but Valiant in the 90s was very much like, Image had come out, Image Comics, and it toppled Marvel and DC from the number one spots for a little bit. And Valiant was a bunch of people who,

very talented people who had, who knew comics, who had long careers at Marvel and DC, and we're like, we're gonna create a new universe, and they just couldn't quite capture the magic. And eventually it was sold to a claim, the video game maker, and it was a claim comics. And now it's valiant comics again, and it's just kind of new versions of those characters.

But bloodshot is kind of the punisher of the valiant universe, as opposed to a exo-man-a-wars Iron Man, or solar man-of-the-atoms Superman, or Ninja. Harbinger was like the X-Men, right? or a solar man of the atoms Superman or ninja. Harbinger was like the X-Men, right? Harbinger was just the X-Men. And if this, if Bloodshot does well enough, they have plans for a Harbinger movie.

And there's also like a, but Valiant was this, there was Rai in the future force. Valiant was this, this world that like, they also had, they had some of the old gold key characters. I think Magnus Robot Fighter and Solar in there. But like, just let me pause you for just a second. You said that he was the punisher of that universe. Did he use like guns and such a lot more in the comics?

Because I watched this movie and I'm like, okay, he is now technology Wolverine is what I thought. Well, he always had that the nanotech in his system, blood shot. But he basically used it in Punisher type missions to shoot people. He was like, if Punisher and Wolverine were the same character, which might have been what they were thinking

when they created him, like people love the Punisher, they love Wolverine, what if they were one character? And you know what, slap a chromium on that cover. Give that a chromium cover. So it's really shiny.

It was charged $2.95 on the, not diecast, if you're thinking of diecast, Chromium, I think that was the Turok dinosaur hunter, another one, cover. But I see what you, and die cut, I think is what you meant. Diecast would be like, you're making matchbox cars. But someone right in and correct me, I might be wrong.

I don't know that much about production techniques for these things. Sorry, you would've gotten up to Gold Key before I interrupted you. No, but anyway, so that was, so Valiant was one of these companies that was never was kind of the number four company for a while just because there was room for a number four company. There was no one at the after DC marveling image, but they were never quite as big and

it went through ups and downs. Now, and now they put it, they put out a lot of great books, but like, yeah, I mean, it was back in the day when the only other option was reading what the self-published Elf Quest comics. I mean, that's a great option or bone from Jeff Smith's cartoon books. But it's like a, it's a weird universe to use to try to make a film universe out of it.

And when they announce this, it does feel a little bit like, oh, okay, this is the film universe that you could get because Marvel and DC were taken, an image does not exist as one, it's all created around by their individual creators. And you're not gonna go get a Malibu press universe together because Marvel bought and buried all those characters.

So. Well, also, I will say watching this movie, it was about halfway through that I'm like, oh yeah, I think this is based on a valiant comic because it doesn't necessarily feel like a superhero story so much as just, you know, like a throwback sci-fi action movie. Totally. Yeah, I mean, this same movie I could see watching it on HBO as a teenager, like in the middle of a Saturday. And I'd be like, yeah, okay, this makes sense. I'm neither surprised nor am I disappointed. I was my sort of closest of Vin cohort

in terms of the guy I constantly check in with for Vin updates. One of a couple people I check in with after there have been Vin updates in the world is John Gabor's of the High and Mighty and Action Boys podcast. And I was like after I watched it for the first time, telling him like, my takes on it,

I was like, it feels like a Schwarzenegger in a racer zone. Like it feels like it is pulled off of the timeline from 1997. If I can offer a quick. I feel like Guy Pierce is a slightly more intimidating villain than James Conn. Maybe. Maybe.

I mean, this is, this movie, rather than fitting into like a valiant cinematic inverse, it kind of fits into a, don't trust Guy Pierce as the head of a technology company. Mm-hmm. I was like, how many movies am I going to see where Guy Pierce is? Like an evil scientist business man. Oh, it was like, has he ever just paid a straight up like a good guy? I'm like, well, I mean, like confidential, but he was kind of a dick and I'm like, lock out, but he was also kind of a dick.

I'm not sure. If I can offer a quick addendum to your valiant breakdown, Elliot. This movie was announced as Sony gets the valiant comics rights for movie universe planned. And what they announced was it'll be like Harbinger, Bloodshot, then I think Harbinger II, and then they were gonna do a crossover. That's what I think was sort of thrown out.

And then when Vin got attached, Bloodshot became the first thing, and they were like, we will use this to launch everything else. And to your point, like the weirdness of trying to launch a bloodshot cinematic universe, a thing I experienced from working on the tick is very often these large companies that buy the rights to obscure creator-owned comic book companies and properties. Don't understand that everything isn't as popular as the Avengers. There's this like, there's this assumption where they're like, well they like comic books, right?

So every character has as big of a built-in fan base. But that was announced, bloodshed was announced as the first step of this thing. So you're saying when they put out the american splendor book They were like this is just chapter one hundred percent blender cinematic universe it's comics right then with mr. natural right then Harvey P. Carn mr. natural crossover yes equals where do you think I'm like a comics fan who was alive through that period and if you ask me for a Valiant uh comics character I mean I after Turok I would tap out the same dance dying for the crazy cat movie. Well, I'm amazed that there is not already a movie out

there that's like the Sunday comics Cinematic Universe. Oh, yeah. Domain ones which like crazy cat cats and jammer kids like well, there's that like yellow kid, I guess. Same incomprehensible looking new CGI Scooby-Doo movie, which is that with Hannah Barbera, where it's a new CGI Scooby-Doo movie that's also simultaneously six other Hannah Barbera properties. Well, I mean, but Hannah Barbera's been doing that for decades because they had a lot of Olympics and they had a lot of erasers. But actually, the weirdest one is that Tom and Jerry movie that's also a really Wonka movie.

Yes, right. Well, that's a series of like, the other ones are like public domain because there's Tom and Jerry Sherlock Holmes, Tom and Jerry Wizard of Oz, and then Wonka is so specifically Gene Wilder Wonka with all the same designs and characters. But this is, I don't mean to drop a big bombshell here, but I was doing my research before we recorded, and it turns out as seemingly the move of like dumping things overboard right before the ship hits an iceberg. So many like five months ago sold off all the remaining

valiant rights before this came out. And so they were like, yeah, no paramount, you can make Harbinger, that's fine. So it seems like if any other valiant movies get made, they will not be connected to this in any way, even though that was the explicit design of this movie. I mean, I'm gonna tell you, I don't think Harbinger is gonna get made

because even as a kid when that came out, I was like, well, kind of a name for a comic is Harbinger. It's such a weird word to like make your name a thing. Like, I don't, it doesn't make sense to me. So. I certainly had trouble pronouncing it as a kid. Yeah. Only Christopher Nolan could get away with a blockbuster called Harbinger.

He's the only guy who can just put a Harbinger on a title and people go like, that's not smart. Like that actually. Yeah. Yeah. I bet this is a movie about ideas. Yeah. Speaking about a movie that's not about ideas, bloodshot. Do you want to tell us what happens in this movie? Yeah, let me, so we're about 30 minutes into the podcast.

We're talking about the movie. To be fair, to be fair, we have been on point. Let me, let me look at my seven pages of notes. Wow, somehow, somehow this is both the most time we've taken before talking about the movie and the most on topic we've ever been. So we're gonna appreciate you being here for that. Okay, bloodshot.

We, the movie opens in Mombasa. We're introduced to Vin Diesel playing a character we know as Bravo Six. Later find out his name is Ray Garrison. He's talking to his buddy Marines over his headpiece. They're doing a lot of sit reps. He disobeys a direct order and he breaches the what the terrorists sell by himself

and kills a bunch of terrorists and saves the hostage. There's a hostages and terrorists and he just walks right in. My note I wrote here is a Vin Diesel casually 52 yearyear-old soldier. Yeah, there's like it's it's similar to any time when Tom Cruise plays a soldier and you're like he's not a frontline soldier. Right? This guy's like a grunt. He has, I mean, maybe he was, I wouldn't be, maybe if this was, if this was a different time, if this was, like the Civil War.

Well, no, but if this was like 10 years ago, you could say that he was like, he was called back in. They were doing that a lot with people in the National Guard or people who had their, their hitch and they were being brought in for a new, like, but I guess in the Navy they called it. They should have had like a tour, I should say. Like a, aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper scene? Right, aren't you a little old for a stormtrooper scene? Aren't you a little old-for-a-sulture? I can't really explain it. But he's so good at what he does.

I mean, the real question is, at 52, he really should have been promoted much higher off the race. I was going to say this guy hasn't put in for a desk job yet. There are ways to stay in the military. And I do think, I think you're right, there was a 10-year grace period where you could take any over a certain hill action star and say, look, after 9-11, they wanted to go back

and then go back in. And so it's the battle team. He's fighting in a Mombasa. So this is like one of these operations that the public doesn't even learn too much about it. And like where we're assisting local forces. So it's not like he is fighting the Taliban. And makes me wonder, I don't know what Mombasa looks like, but where they were looked so generic to me that I want it kind of felt like

they it was just supposed to be anywhere and they just kind of named it later, you know, I don't know. This movie was shot entirely in Cape Town, South Africa. I think partially because the director was there and I assume they were able to get some sort of a government grant or tax rebate, but also because it feels like a place that looks like eight different places so they could just shoot different areas and later decide which chirons they would put over identifying like no this is Australia, this is Madrid, like everything is just Membasa. This is Italy, but a different part than the other part of Italy, we're in California. That also explains why, the first time he sees the skyline where his, like, the Geipers'

building is, I was like, I don't know what city this is supposed to be. Like, I don't recognize this skyline at all. I feel the Cape Town skyline, so. I feel pretty certain they did not pick the specific cities until ten months after production wrapped. The movie is supposed to be released tomorrow. Can we name where it's taking place? the specific cities until ten months after production wrapped the movie is supposed to release tomorrow can we name where it's taking place that you have to know some carons up if they're in boot a patch now okay

uh... so uh... despite having a uh... opening similar to the marine starring john sanah wait is it john sanah to remember uh... who's in the marine uh... you got it oh perfect nailed it one so he there's no repercussions he and his buddies go back and by buddies I mean other Marines they talk about why the reason they do this is because of Vin Diesel's wife that's why that's why we fight boys I'm like wait are they all married?

yeah it's just like the end of horse feathers Dan they all married are in the same ceremony Right at the very least they all covet her and They've been on a valid celibacy for 20 years waiting for their chance They call him boss, which I was like boss. I thought somebody else was giving the orders But don't worry about that So they go for a walk along a pier and then they have a candlelight, love scene and they talk about his stars. It's like a very simple post special ops mission vacation. He's going on his covert moon.

That's the little trip of this wife after each covert mission where he just, you know, gets to forget about his troubles. They just go to the Italian coast. They all around in bed in their underpants because like all married couples in PG-13 movies, they wear their underpants when they're in bed together. And what else do they do? They just kind of hang around, they go to a fish market, just laugh and love and life. I mean, they're not, they don't have the underwear on the whole time. There's a like a PG-13 sex scene that happens.

And they like, they're some side-oob. Yeah. Yeah, I don't know whether this is actually the way it was shot in the movie or how I Just remember in the movie, but I remember them having sex in like one of those movie rooms that's like filled with a lot of tools Just sort of hanging from the ceiling like Dekonious like fabrics just sort of like true like like the fabric. Yeah, yeah, I thought you meant tools like you know their house or I Like hanging like the centipites are gonna show up

Like you live in to keep hitting his head on the chains that are hanging above them Yeah, yeah, I don't know if you guys know this too But the actress who plays his wife is Talula Riley who is also on Westworld but was married two separate times to Elon Musk. And I find that fascinating because she seems to only appear in projects that feel like they could have been written by Elon Musk.

That's great. She's drawn to a certain type. Yeah. And Dan, you're remembering it right. They're basically having sex in like the video from, I will do anything for love. Like a pit-ass dinner folder or something. Yeah.

Yeah. Uh, so, and then Stuart, what happens? It sounds like the movie's over. Everyone's having a great time. Yeah, yeah. Okay, so mission accomplished. Unfortunately, the next morning, a team of two guys attack Bravo Six,

aka Ray Gears and aka Vin Diesel. He beats the shit out of them and then as he's leaving he bumps into a guy and then he falls asleep and you're like I guess he got drugged. Smash cut he wakes up tied with like hemp and rope to a chair in a meat locker filled with meat. The guy who knocked him out shows up and then dances to Dan's favorite song. At this point, I'm sure Dan was pretty into the movie talking head psychokiller. When I had the same thought when psychokiller started, I was like, oh, they're pandering to Dan right now. You're also a big talking head fan. I am. I am. But I

just when I think talking heads, I think Dan. Okay. This was the moment where I fully fell in love with the movie. I mean, I was pretty in just from the name above the title. But the second we got to the second best ever use of Psycho Killer in a film, I knew I was in love. Now, the first one I assume would be in my college screen play, Psycho Killer. Correct. And then some making sense is third. OK, yeah, something since number third, yeah. Now, the first one I assume would be in my college screenplay, PsychoKiller.

Correct. And that's not making sense, it's the third. Okay, yeah, it's not making sense in the third, yeah. So what was your PsychoKiller screenplay about? This is a screenplay I wrote in one of my screenwriting classes, NYU. And it was about, there's a serial killer who is stalking New York. And a big time director who's had a couple bombs under his belt has decided he's going to go back to his Indie roots and he's going to make a movie about this serial killer on the real locations that the serial killer is killing people and the serial killer gets really Interested in this movie because he's like, oh, this is what how I'm going to like this is how people are going to remember me and and basically is

Stalking this director and like killing people around him to get him to do the things he wants in the movie and anyway It's like it was written written by me at a time when I really didn't know how movies were made. So there's a lot of stuff where I'm using terminology that if I look back at it now, I'm sure it'd be like, that's not how that works. That's not a thing I can do. That's not what craft services is.

Yeah, weird that you put those into this green directions. There's a lot of like smash cut rack focus, two ultra close up, that kind of stuff. It's weird that you put in screen directions for what was going to be on the craft services table. I got, look, I was really building a world. Okay, so we have forgotten about our palvin, Vin is tied once again with a hemp and rope

to an office chair inside. Thank you for specifying the kind of rope. I appreciate it. I just think it's kind of funny because up until this point, you're like, I bet this like, they would use like high tech handcuffs, but no. So you think they're just going to be intimidating vindies. Oh, but nope, they bring his wife in. Oh, man, they just crossed the fucking line. The guy then uses one of those pneumatic pistol things and asks Vin some questions that of course he doesn't know

because they're above his pay grade. And then he kills his wife anyway and then he shoots him in the face. Yeah. And to the movie, right? No, no, hold on. Now I want to say, now I'm not going to spoil the twist of the movie at this point, even though the trailer does it.

We will spoil the twist in another 20 minutes, or probably an hour, the way we're taking it. The way we're talking, it'll be tomorrow, yeah. But Audrey was watching this with me. She's much more vocal when we watch movies at home than I normally would be. But she's chatting about the movie and she's like, like at this point, she is not angry, let's say, but pointing out that this woman is like the laziest version

of a wife in one of these situations where she's just waiting around at home to like leap on him and have sex in this drapery factory afterwards. And then like she's a beauty. Even with all those candles. A drapery showroom, Dan. Yeah. And then she is immediately fridged to give him a motivation. And there is a reason why this is also like lazy that will come up later in the movie.

But at this point you're like, okay, well, I've seen this movie a million times before. 100%. Watching this for the first time, without getting to the spoilers yet, watching for the first time, I was accepting the sloppiness and the shortcuts and areas like that as like, I guess this is what I fucking have to tolerate to get a vindiesel bloodshot movie. Like as long as they get to the, you know, the good stuff, I'm fine if like this setup is sloppy. Watching it the second time, I am actually kind of astonished by the artistry

of how transparently clockwork all of that stuff is. Yeah, I also want to bring up the rope. Yes, I also, every single detail for me feels so perfectly chosen once you understand what the twist of this movie is. I also just want to point out the way you know that this is a film made by a director who understands Vin Diesel as a star, because I stop watched it. I believe it is four minutes and 52 seconds in. Once they've landed the plane at the base, and Vin turns to all his grunts and says like that's who we're doing it for. He waits no time to immediately take off his uniform and reveal the wife beater underneath,

which is for Vin Diesel pulling off an outer layered revealing a wife theater is like Captain America picking up his shield. It is the moment you know you are cooking with gas. Well, you know Vin Diesel, he's had a lot of foes on film, but his greatest enemy is sleeves. I feel like he overheated arms, Vin Diesel. Yeah, yeah. And I'm glad that he's never, he has yet to come across a necktie or a bowtie, because I feel like that is a battle he cannot win. No, I mean, so just to jump in, I was a battle he could not win. No, so just to jump in, I was originally reported that Jared Leto was going to star

in this film as bloodshot. How different up to this point, do you think this movie would be if it was Jared Leto instead of Vin Diesel? Well, I'll tell you a big difference. I would not have seen it. It's an immediate difference. I would have no opinions on it, other than my absolute

revulsion and the very premise. I also think I think like the thing we're sort of talking around here is that like the movie doesn't work unless you a have someone who is an action star is proven in this genre because of what this movie is ultimately doing narratively. And b is someone who is so self-aware about how their action persona plays if you cast it against Type and pick a guy like Jared leto and go like it's more beest the thing is we've never seen a hero who looks like this before then the whole thing is fucking nonsense Yeah Yeah, well, so so we get our opening credit sequence

We can only assume that Vin Diesel is dead and then of, nope, he wakes up. He's in a secret lab. He's in a secret lab. And he is introduced to KT, a young cyborg woman. And who is this? A doctor, a meal harding who is played by Space Jail himself, Guy Pierce. Now, Guy Pierce. He meets this himself. His casting is a clue to the twist of the movie. You think you're in that? Can you guess it?

He is one of those actors, and I love him as an actor. He's so good in Memento, he's so good in the proposition, the western that he's in. Yeah. But like, he's like Max von Sieto at this point where the minute he shows up, you're like, oh, the bad guy. But at the same time, I think he brings something extra

to it that like, yeah, you might spoil the twist, but at least it's gonna be fun the whole time. Oh no, he does this stuff great. I like it's in his sleep, he can do this stuff, but at this point, it's like, I wanna see him do something where I don't automatically know the minute, literally the minute I see his name and the credits. What's like, it's like in a...

Geostorm? Geostorm, you know when Ed Harris shows up and you're like, oh, the villain. I love that I knew exactly where he was going, how good. Yeah, that was pretty amazing. It's like we were talking with our nanobots, yeah. To this point, I think like, if you see Ed Harris's name in the opening credits

of a film like Geostorm, you go, oh, he's the villain and he's gonna sorta be phoning it in. Like this, I'm not gonna get full Ed Harris here. He's not gonna leave it all in the dance floor for fucking Geostop. This is not a Pollock, he's not gonna do that. It's not milk money. Right, right.

But whereas like, if you see Guy Pierce in the opening credits, you're like, well, they've already spoiled for me that he's the villain, but I know he's gonna have fun with it. Like this guy is actually gonna try to entertain himself playing this. Stuart, just quickly, because I feel like you glossed over this, you said that KT is a cyborg. Now, I assume the parts of her body that have been augmented or something really cool that would help her fight the big robot arms or laser eyes, she got like guns.

Well, we later find out that KT was a Navy swimmer. And she robot legs can swim really fast. Tell me that she got a motor or a fan. What did she got? So she was horribly injured. And the only thing they could do was replace her, what, she couldn't breathe, so they put in a robot breathing tube

in her neck or chest. She's not robot lungs. But that's great because that means that she, what can filter out poisonous gas. Yeah, she can breathe through anything. She's her gas. She's like a human breath filter. Yeah.

Now, I want to say that she is played by Isaac Gonzales, who has been in, you know, some fun movies like Hobbs and Shaw and Baby Driver, but she's also, this is her fourth flop house movie. She was in Jim and the holograms. She was in Welcome to Marwin and she was in Alisa Battle Angel. We don't believe we've released yet, yeah, but we did do it. That's the movie where, and spoiler alert for that one where we talk about Dan's love of backstory and elaborate world-building histories. I do not have that love that is placed on me because I asked for one line of explanation for a key plot point.

But anyway, I gotta say, I don't want to spoil the rest of the movie but for a character with let's just say a limited power suite yes they find many opportunities to use her powers for her benefit I mean that's that's imagination that's what Jack Kirby would do he'd say okay the whole is super strong okay I can add him just punch and lift things but what if he slapped his hands together it created a shock wave? What if he jumped so far that he could basically fly? Like what if he could blow his with his enormous lungs and knock people over? You got to find different ways. What if he would undercover as a robot clown working at the circus?

Okay, he wasn't necessarily undercover. He was hypnotized and they disguised him as a robot clown working at circus It wasn't like he did that as a plan. He just found himself in that situation. Now, that is a reference I can enjoy without actually knowing what it's referencing. Thank, well, it's a major part of Marvel history. Imagine it for the Hulk as a robot clown. Delights, the anime is the matter of life. Very brief time, he was hypnotized into thinking

he was a robot clown in the master in the ring master crime circus Great. I love it So at this point Dr. Harding explains that bloodshot has been killed He's been killed in action and they brought him back that his body had been an honor Anonymously donated by the military and nobody had picked up his body. He had no blood box. He's left him the drop box. That's a. Yep. They put him in the drop box.

They said, please replace blood with nannites, which is what they did. Nannites are nannobots. And this is they call any damage that is caused to his body. What's up? It's called project blood shot. Not project blood shot. Now. And they demonstrate by cutting his hand and he goes,

ow, we. And then, and then we get a close up of his hand, his hand healing. Now, it will surprise no one that these science of all this is questionable, but when they say like, oh, you put nanites in my blood and she's like, no, your blood is nanites. I'm like, what's important to say? I mean, no blood left. Yes, no blood. He, he just say? I mean, I think blood left. Yeah, and no blood. He just says, I mean, to be honest, you don't, as long as you've got something that's

gonna bring oxygen and things like that around your body, you don't need blood. Sure, great. But spoiler alert, there are a couple of times this movie where he basically gets blown apart and then he comes back together and I'm like, okay, I don't know, at this point, now robots explains this. Well, the, and also, I do like that when Dr. Harding cuts his hand to demonstrate his bloodshot powers. He does like, he's like, ow! And that is literally the only time in the rest of the movie when he's getting shot and

blown apart that he seems to register the injury. That's the, when he, he has nanites that heal him, but like literally he's being blown up half his head gets blown away and then reforms It should hurt so much He said he's just like whatever. I don't care guys feels no pain now. It's mind over matter. Okay physical pain is a mental Prison because the whole point is guy Pierce cuts his hand. He thinks it hurts because he doesn't know that he's fucking bloodshot yet I say so every time so now when he gets hurt he's like out and then he looks at his tattoo that says you are blood shot. He's like oh yeah.

Yeah. Right. Because that note that is a big this is important detail. This is where this movie starts to start to you know riff on Robocop and Momento. The guy Pierce of it all becomes a little clear. He also doesn't remember who he fucking is. He doesn't remember shit. Yeah, he doesn't remember anything.

He's introduced to a couple other enhanced soldiers, tibs who lost his eyes, but now has robot eyes and can see everything. And then- His, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his, his're hooked to his eyes. So if he wears a shirt and is not wearing that harness, he's still blind again. He's vinaigling only. Yeah.

And there's Dalton who has a pair of robot legs. And Dalton is played by the guy, he's that hunky outlander fellow, right? Yeah, yeah. And this again is a tip off that if someone has artificial legs, they're gonna be the murderer, just like the real life artificial like murderer. That's awesome. Wow. Oh wow. Yeah, Dan doesn't want to get sued. If someone has artificial legs, they're gonna be the murderer, just like the real-life artificial-like murder. I thought it was a ghost.

Um, wow. Oh, wow. Yeah, Dan doesn't want to get sued by the Oscar-pistory-pistory-pistory-pistory. This movie above all else is anti-pastorious agaprop. That's the number one goal of this film. The scene where Dalton fires through a bathroom door at his wife, and then everyone he thought it was a burglar that seems pretty on the nose. I just want to say South African director filmed in Cape Town. Yeah that's uh... make it connecting the dots. So now it's doing now wait but they're not the

only cyborgs because what about Guy Pierce? Oh yeah I forgot Dr. Emil Harding has a cyborg arm that he lost in a tennis cancer accident. I think I can't remember. Yes. I don't know. I think it's called just called a disease. When cancer is involved, I think that is that an accident necessary. But they make it very clear that tennis was involved in some way.

Tennis was very important to him, but it also makes it strong. Actually, that would have been a pretty good joke if he was, if he just had lift-ups, Robert Arming is like, yeah, tennis elbow. What are you going to do? That's a very Jonah Hex reaction. So Vin Diesel has a nightmare about something or other. He punches the wall and then he's like wait, I can punch a wall.

So he goes down to the base and he starts punching the shit out of stuff and doing curls with the biggest weights. Yeah, exactly what we would all do if we got super strength. This is the solution to shit out of a load bearing. He's- He's- He's- He's- He's punching a support pillar until it's cracking and the ceiling is dropping and he's like,

oh, maybe I shouldn't do that. But guys are missing a very important detail, which is he is also laughing while doing this. It is an amazing touch that he thinks this is so much goddamn fun already. Yeah. So he then watches KT do some underwater Thai Chi. He's very impressed. She gives him this spiel and hands him a coin.

Then she starts doing drinking with him. She hands him a challenge coin, which usually you're given, you know what, I guess she's giving it to him to like accept him as part of the group. Usually you get it for some sort of accomplishment, but she just kind of hands it to him. And that's a big thing, especially for these former military people. You don't just go handing out challenge coins, Willie Nilly. So already you're like, oh, this is pretty hard core for people who just met that day and who she doesn't seem to like him very much until the moment.

They've gone through some shit. It's the ultimate peer to peer currency. And I also want to point out that they start drinking together, but it's not just, oh, let me take a bottle down from the shelf and we'll have some drinks. She steps over to a table near the gym where she's been swimming, and there is a full display of multiple different liquors in spirit.

Because they work hard and they play hard. And sometimes it's like the prisoner You go work out someone tries to kill you you go to a bar You realize you've been poisoned you have to drink a little bit of every single drink there So you throw up the poison is to just like Patrick McGuin So if there was a full bar at most gems I would be going to the gym on a regular And this is a very important point the movie too because this was the point the movie when I googled can Wolverine get drunk

for me raise a lot of questions for me. I mean, he has been drunk in the comics. Yeah, well, this was the answer I got is that he needs to drink a lot more of course because of his healing powers. This is the one part of the movie that I got to give it some shit, Griffin. I got to call it out because the reason they're drinking is because she's like, you lost your memory, you don't remember what you like to drink. And I'm like, that man knows he drinks fucking corona baby.

Yep, no, I agree. I agree. It is actually a major logic flaw in the movie. I don't like to point out plot holes, but that just does not track for one second. He's got corona in his blood as much as he has nae nights in his blood. You can't pull that out of the man. But we don't have time to focus too much on what he likes to drink because speakers that have not been set to any radio as far as we could tell start playing psycho killer. The song I was playing when he kills his wife or when his wife killed.

And when he kills, well, when his wife killed and when he kills it well I mean you'll see but that when he triggers him as almost as if it is some kind of trigger. He's going to play figurative trigger and at no point is he like wait a minute why did that speaker start playing a song? But this is once again like watching it the first time I was like okay this movie just wants to get through the beats as quickly as possible with zero elegance I'm watching it the second time. I'm like the transparency of and now she's finished her final line of dialogue So the music is gonna start playing randomly. It's the same song that was playing is is chef's kiss for me

Yeah, so at this point it triggers him He has a flashback to his wife being murdered. he realizes that his wife's been murdered by this guy uh... what is the name maximilian acts or something martin acts martin acts i'm sorry so he uh... max a million acts is an amazing name that they should have done with max the guy that have playing in his not cool enough to carry the name max a million acts he then he then walks to he just walks with no security to the parking garage.

Takes of course a pickup truck drives away. Doesn't have to see security at all. Uh, he starts talking with Guy Pierce who's like, hey, you can't leave like he's talking to him through the nannights in his blood. You have a speaker phone in your head. Yeah, basically. And this is one of my favorite bits in the movie

where, you know, they're doing a little bit of back and forth and Vince, like, I just got a kill, the guy who killed my wife. And Guy Pierce, like, no, you have to come back. He's like, I always come home, which was a little bit of banter he did with his wife. But for Guy Pierce, he's like, wait, what? Like, he's banter that he does with his wife. And Guy Pierce is like, I'm not part of this. This isn't an inside joke for me Dude, I don't listen to your podcast. Yeah, it's almost like he's reciting hacky action movie dialogue. Oh, winko winko

I wish guy peers had been like Wait, this is just like a temporary residence. It's not your home like we're gonna set you up with an apartment I guess like this is do you really think you live here now? Because we've got fast turnaround. I mean, he's always like, no man, this is my home now. I made it my own. I peed on everything. And Guy Pierce is like, why did you do that? But I also love me.

I mean, sort of the self-aware brilliance. Guy Pierce plays this scene. You're like, he's not putting up enough of a fight. He's not getting freaked out enough about the fact that this guy's going rogue. Because he's playing this scene like he has a hard out and they only have two takes to get it done And he's just trying to do the bare minimum Well, and they they're in in retrospect you know that they are they are putting on a little bit of act because then the tech guy is like

Oh my god He's downloading a million things submitted into his computer brain and the way that people in worse movies are always stating out loud the thing they're amazed at that someone else is doing. And the tech guy is even more apathetic, like he can't even find a take on his character. He is so dispassionate when he says like, sir, there are five vans following him. But also, there's a great touch where Guy Piers says like, Garethson, what are you doing? And then he turns around, there's no response, and he goes to the tech guy, and he's like,

is the mic on? And the guy's like, no, and he's like, Jesus, turn the mic on. And then he just does the line reading again. They should chew the back of this alone. It's the air-rigged open to channel, that's what it is, yeah. Yeah, I would say that this tech guy is one of the things that rubbed me more so the wrong way in this movie

You know once that twist and everything because he is such it because for all the things in the movie that seemed to be cliche for a purpose He is just cliche and there's a bit about how he has a small penis that seems totally unnecessary Not only did he has a small penis, but he wants it enhanced by God Yeah, he wants a name is about to ask He's about to ask to have it enhanced. And it was like, did we really like, is this really worth the movie at the runtime? I can't say.

When they set up that joke. I didn't like it, but when they pay it off, I kind of like, because Guy Pierce is so dismissive. Well, still, like, you know, like sort of like transmitting to the audience. Like, he knows what this guy is secretly asking about, but he like just has no time for it. So I laugh to that.

Well, it's like when you know your staff has some kind of bullshit requests, and you're like, well, I wanna make them say it out loud. But also, I would argue there's a reading of this film in which that character, the tech guy, is the ultimate villain because he is the world's most despicable person, a shitty writer, who is just caching in his checks. Oh yeah, well he's the one who he's just doing a job and he doesn't care who gets hurt.

Right. Just, there's just this moment of like, okay, yeah, the nerdy character has a small penis, I get it. Like nobody else in the movie is held up to that kind of casual ridicule Yeah, you know and considering there's a super cool tech guy later on who be who helps the hero It like just made it even more so like so you're Offended on behalf of nerds is what you're saying. Yeah, basically. Yeah nerds the people on the candy But one guy's an artist and the other guy is just like a hack fucking spec screenwriter, you know Yeah, yeah, so this point spec screenwriter's doing it out of passion. No, this guy's writing specs just to be sold. You know what I'm saying?

He doesn't even like them. So, at this point, as we've already addressed, it seems like a bulldog shot. Oh, so you say he's Max Landis, okay, never mind. Yeah, no, totally, then I get it. Okay, didn't realize he was Max Landis. Now, I hate him. Guys, guys, guys, guys, we're infuriating Stuart Exactly. I don't know, totally. Then I get it. I didn't realize his max land is not a hit him.

Guys, guys, guys, guys, we're infuriating Stuart to unsustainable levels. We're interrupting his class. So he steals a plane, right? Well, yeah, he steals a plane. It seems like he has the ability to download information and skills directly to his brain. He teaches himself how to fly on the fly. Oh, he tracks down Martin Axe and he stages an ambush in a tunnel using a semi-truck filled with flour.

I have to admit, this sequence I found really confusing. What part about it? I mean, just not the purpose of it or anything, but just like the actual Geography. The stage of Geography. I like it was very hard for me to figure out where he was and who was true and what. And it was a tough scene for me to figure out

like moment by moment. Yes, I would like to talk a little bit about this in some of my chats. I think that the film looks good, like the vibe of it like it looks good but in terms of the action sequences other than the final action sequence which was actually like quite a bit. The final one I thought was really good yeah. It is it does fall prey a lot to the problem of a lot of modern action sequences where the fight choreography is not thought out particularly

well the they're trying to cut a lot to make it seem exciting, which makes it sort of confusing just about the spatial, like this, the scene looks great because you're in this tunnel with all this flower around like snow in the garden. And it's lived only by like road flares. It's really like a semi-hands.

Yeah, it's like a samurai movie samurai movie with blood falling on the snow. Yeah, well this director, I just want to say, like his job before this, he has one TV credit, one episode of television, but otherwise he is the video game director of cut scenes. So do with that as you may. He comes from the same company as... Wait, Dan, what can I do with that as you may. He comes from the same company. Wait, wait, Dan, what, what, what can I do with that? You said do it as I may. I don't even know where to begin with.

He said tell to the marine. He's minding away. And then on some, some holiday, you know, like deep into the future, perhaps a birthday, you know, like you can sort of like pull it out, you know, ponder it for a moment. Think about the time this passed and so we had this conversation and then put it back into the old memory zone.

That's sweet. Okay, Kevin, what are we gonna say? I will do that, Dan, thank you. This guy comes from the same, he might have even been a co-founder of the same video game cutscene slash special effects house that the Deadpool guy came from and the Sonic the Hedgehog movie came from.

So they are like the new film brats taking over the industry, except instead of all having the same Alma Mater that they went to for film school, they all worked on the same video cut scenes together. I do like though, even though I think, I agree that the choreography is not great and it's a little incomprehensible. I like that blood shot has to function as like his own art director and his own like gaffer. Like he's setting up good lighting and like the most first fight scenes.

And I like that, I like that all the fight scenes in this movie look different. Like they're distinct different things. Like there is some thought being put in the van. I think this movie has visual thought. Yeah. So he wipes his, he kills all these marks. He blows up a bunch of stuff.

He manages to. Every time you think he's defeated the merks, there's like three more that pop out of a car. That's one of these hosts. How many guys are there? And Martin Axe not only is terrified of being attacked, but he realizes that there's something up. And we learn that Martin Axe knows more about blood shot

than he should, right? But also, Martin Axe, chin stroke, in no way resembles the guy from the opening of the film. Does not seem like the same man who would wear like Bermuda shorts and flip flops and a big, big, tall, dancing, to psycho killer. He seems very timid and terrified. Now we should make it clear, this is Martin Axe

and not the character Martin Axe from the Guardians of the Galaxy. That's a Marvel character, not a valiant character. So of course, Vin Diesel kills him anyway. He heads home, he meets up with the rest of the team at an airfield, where they seem annoyed, but they bring him back anyway. They mentioned something about his nanites, almost being out of juice or something. And this is when we get the twist, guys.

Who wants to talk about the twist? I guess I will. I guess I will. Okay, you do. Okay, so this is when we find out that this is just one of many missions that Bloodshot's been on that he has had his Memory erased and reset given a new implanted memory with a new target each time It's the same script that he's working off of and that explains all of the cliches guys. It was intentional

It's like wild things. It's supposed to be dumb now Now, I want to take a moment here to address this twist. Now, I think you can make a case for maybe why it makes sense, and I will after this, but for the most part, the problem with this twist is it makes a lot more sense as a critique of action movies than it does as like a thing that would happen in life because it's like well wait Dan so wait what if I get interrupt your interrupt your criticism uh you're right in real life if you are using a reanimated marine's quartz filter with nanobots you would probably not go to these elaborate

lengths you might even give it no personality although as we later learn on Guy Pear says he's the perfect assassin for these moments because he's so passionate because he has a reason to do it. But I think you're right, if only, and I'll help you with this one thing, it means every time they reboot him, Guy Pearce has to give him the same tour of the facilities. I think that would get old pretty fast. Well, they had to fix that load bearing pillar each time. Yeah, here's the thing.

I bet that's not even really a load bearing pillar. That's probably an elaborate like universal studios back lot tour thing where they're like, okay, and he's punching it and hit the button so that the ceiling drops just enough. So it looks like it looks like it. Well, you've interrupted me for enough. As Jesse would say, shut your pie hole. I just want to say, like, it makes sense in the, like, you're, if you're subverting the idea of a revenge movie, like this is great, but in reality, it's kind of like, okay, well why not just like reanimate a dude who doesn't care if he's killing a bunch of people

and just have that dude kill a bunch of people without going through this elaborate charade every time? So this is my counter point. It makes no sense in a technical real world level. But you kind of have to accept the movie on like a Paul Verhoeven level, which is because it's even underlined in the dialogue about like explaining to outlander a guy that he's better because he's more passionate because he has a backstory. Like essentially saying, this guy gets to be the lead of the movie and you don't because

he has some backstory. Like essentially saying, this guy gets to be the lead of the movie and you don't, because he has some weird charisma. He is emotionally accessible. And also, the audience has given a reason to root for him. Like he cares. I think the movie works as like a meta commentary on movie stardom. And like what you need to do to make an audience care about an action movie.

There is a throwaway line too, and we have no reason to necessarily believe it because it's from Guy Pearce, our unreliable narrator, but there's a throwaway line about how like he's the one guy they were able to make this work with. And so if that's true, then you can make an argument, okay, like they have to go through this shred because real life, Vin Diesel,, whatever his fucking name is.

Isn't this movie has? Ray Garrison. Has like a moral sense. So they need to like give him a motivation. Watch movie stars have some ith factor that you can't manufacture. Yeah. You can't build it in a lab.

You can harness it. You can develop it further, but either God it or you don't kid. Well, as we know, as we learn, Guy Pierce is eliminating people he used to work with, who are now business competitors of his. And so, if it was something like Dalton, he was sending out, then Martin Axe could be like,

hey, Dalton, I'll pay you twice what Guy Pierce is paying you, and then he just switched. But if the killer, if the assassin thinks that Martin Axe killed his wife, nothing's gonna stop him. So killed his wife, nothing's going to stop him. So you need to, that's why they want those fake memories. Well, he is.

He is a soldier. So I feel like you could give him a simpler lie where you're just like, oh, this is a bad guy who needs to be taken out. Are you implying that our soldiers are not intelligent enough to see through lies? Because I would say so. I am implying that I know that our very intelligence, the the military are actively encouraged to follow the chain of a of command without asking questions but here's the thing then guy appears has to pretend he's in the

military which he could do which would be a different type of choice it's a simpler lies all I'm saying but I'll say that vindies will at then he's got a buy in sygney and uniforms and they then he's up against that that's the idea stolen valor but and sign the un-uniforms, and then he's up against that and then stolen. I'm a money outlet. The idea is stolen valor, but Vindy is, because usually military people only take orders from higher ups in the military. It's not like if you went up to a soldier and were like,

hey, do this for me, they'd be like, I gotta follow orders. Okay. I know, I know, I know. It's like this is the game or surely the man who has engineered all this could not pretend to be part of the military. That is a bridge too far, sir. I mean, then you get a thing like in the game where

the guy is, that guy is talking to him and then he sees the guy later on a commercial for medicine. And it's like, maybe they shouldn't have hired an actor who does commercial. I always show a hard to go, it really works on the stage. I mean, ultimately isn't that part of the game of the Elliot? Oh, yeah, I did. I mean, ultimately isn't that part of the game, though, Elliot? Oh, yeah, I did.

I mean, I guess it's an intricate game. Yeah. It's also like, it has to be emotional and personal for him, because he has to think that he is betraying orders to do, quote unquote, the right thing. Like he has to be motivated by a self-righteousness. I also love that Guy Pierce's big evil plan is essentially, I want to fire everyone else who helped develop this script. So I can be the only one who gets residuals.

You know, like that's his big plan, is like, we're gonna sell it, and I'm gonna make a ton of money, and the ends will justify the mean. I can be the only one with credit on this thing. So in a weird way, if we're mapping the valiant universe onto it, it's almost like Jim Shooter, one of the founders of the former Marvel editor-in-chief,

is like, OK, I got to kill Bob Layton and David Michelin, all these other guys who worked with me on valiant properties so that I can be the only, which is not really a Phil Shooter thing to do. It's kind of more of a standly thing to do in a way. Guys here is just kind of playing standly in this way, but it's a lot of those comic book universes, not the universes, but the actual stories of the publishers

themselves where all the grunt work goes up to the top. And then everyone gets thrown out there like, yeah, I just one day thought of Spider-Man single handedly. Oh wow, this movie is so deep. Yeah, so we cut back to Vin Diesel line on a table. A man apart Vin Diesel line there. Dalton explains everything that's going on because he resents Vin Diesel.

Because he's not a movie star. He doesn't plan it. Yeah, Harding is planning on selling the technology. He just has one final guy they need to kill. Barris, Barris was his final partner who now needs to be eliminated. Shut up Barris. So at this point, they go through the whole routine again.

We see bits of the routine and we can see how it's fraying at the edges a little bit. And it's like a mundane day at the office for everyone. Like now that it's been exposed, it's like his whole emotional backstory can be covered in a really, really wrote montage. He at this point we are introduced to Barris who has an army of goons because everybody seems to be able to hire an army of goons and he has his own tech guy played by new girls LaMourin

Morris with a English accent? Is that his real accent? No, absolutely. No, absolutely. I think he's a shaggy guy. No, that's a pretty heavy Chicago accent. He's got all that. Here we are in the Winnies to eat and we're gonna have some of that deep dish pizza.

Oh, no balls. Put a lot on my hot dogs, mate. I would say he's playing this world with a lot of verve i don't think that the jokes that are given to him are particularly good but he's doing his is his level best to like give everything he can to this ono he's he's very admirable in the in the amount of the asmise giving a special but you know he gets to play himself a local chicago in with that the chicago accent as the second city love but you, with a first city in the hearts of our neighbors.

I will also say I auditioned for and actively pursued this role. And none of that stuff was in the script. It was very lacking in any sort of characterization. So it really feels like he threw on a lot of choices that I think largely worked to try to define this as personality in some way. So was that true? Well, you're trying to get that role. Oh, so badly you have no idea. Yes, yes. A full-port effort, multiple tapes. I made a direct plea. Like I sent like a video testimonial in addition to you offered to have your memory wiped and go all revenge. I said do what you want with my body.

I will anonymously donate it to you. I will imagine that I must give the best performance of my life in order to avenge my wife. Yes. If you put me... Did you do any English accent for the tape? I didn't know because that wasn't in the script. It was just like there was none of that.

It was, I think he pretty much, like the dialogue is pretty much the same, but it feels like none of that, none of his character choices were in the breakdown. I see. So I think he did a pretty creative job with this role. Yeah. And Stuart, did you mention that the swimmer

has started getting upset? Yeah, so she, did you mention that the swimmer has started getting upset? Yeah, so she's she obviously is not comfortable with what they are putting Bloodshot through and she is getting upset with the whole situation, but Harding is like this just one last time that we can sell it and we're done She's stuck on like season six of a shitty TV show and she's like hired a playing this same part over and over again. Yeah. She's, uh, what's her name? From a fresh off the boat. Oh, she's constant.

Yes. Exactly. Which is a show I like, but she's the one where they're like, good news. We got another bloodshot mission. She's like, oh, fuck. I gotta do the bloodshot thing again. Oh, I have like offers. So we now, uh, so bloodshot shows up to Baris' compound

and we have an action sequence that is mainly through like what like heat-based security cameras of him killing his way through goons. Because the NETNights make him really hot in every sense of that word. But also enough that he glows, his red chest glows, much like the Grinch learning to love Christmas. Or I would say much like Iron Man, the first character in a different, much more successful cinematic universe of comic characters,

almost as if they're trying to fool us at times into thinking we're watching an Iron Man movie. that thinking we're watching an Iron Man movie. So he fights his way through there. We find out that Barris is tech guy. What's his name? Wally, Wendell, something Wiggins. Wiggins actually has a portable EMP device that they have to charge up so they can take out bloodshot. And Wiggins is a legendary techie guy.

The techie guy that works for Guy Pierce is like, Wiggins, he's the king. I use some of his code for bloodshot. And Wiggins is d legendary techie guy. The techie guy that works for Guy Pierce is like, Wiggins, he's the king. I use some of his code for bloodshot. And Wiggins is dithering around in a way that initially you think is just because he's like, and gonna be an annoying comic relief character, but he has his reasons for taking his time with his EMB.

He has his reasons? He has his reasons, yeah. Clearly, he's got his reasons, I'll tell you. And they're golden. They're golden. I wrote here my notes. I wrote a guy pierces the hack filmmaker who has indie posters on his wall. Wiggins is the indie filmmaker trying to sneak through the studio system, but he's

too esoteric to make something successful. And in my notes it just says Wiggins, Iro, Wisecracker. So Blunchock fights his way through there. He kills Baris, and you think that he is man to avoid the MP, but somebody who we later learn his Wiggins triggers it anyway, taking out all the power and disrupting Harding's plan and his surveillance and control over Bloodshot.

The end of the movie. End of the movie. There's a moment here where it feels like the movie is trying a little too hard to call out cliche things where the tech guy's like, he's got an EMP, an electromagnetic pulse. That'll shut off all the electricity. And Guy Pris is like, I know what an EMP is.

So of course, Wiggins wakes bloodshot up using some like a car battery. And they basically explain at this point, like, they talk a little bit about his powers and they're like, oh wow, now you're free of their control. We can do whatever we want. And he's like, well, what I want is to find my wife and kill this guy. And we're like, okay, that makes sense. But he's not completely free of their control in some sort of, like, vague way.

I mean, like, they can come back in and hijack him. And this is one of the moments where I was a little confused plotting wise, it felt like maybe something got cut out, maybe the script got changed because we leave Wiggins in such a way where as you think, okay, well he's gonna continue to work for Vin Diesel

on this problem of totally liber liberating vindies from their control. But then the next time we see him, spoiler, the swimmer is like kind of hijacking him and taking him off. So the two of them can work together to help vindies. I'm like, wait, hold on. In between times, what was Wiggins doing? Was he trying to help? Was he just ignoring him? I don't get what was Wiggins doing? Like was he trying to help? Was he just like ignoring him? Like I don't get what he knows.

He was like trying to hack the the Nanite sample that that he gave him. Yeah, well they said that at the end of the scene, but then we don't see any of that. Like he just kind of appears in the movie. The next time we see Wiggins, he also has like his own personal bodyguards. Which can get me.

Yeah, I was so confused because I was like, wait a minute, So is he rich? Like, I don't understand. I don't know what, what we can say. What we can say. He was working for Barris and he reversed himself as an indentured servant. But then like, I, but he also, he writes open source code.

So like, is he a wealthy tech guy, or is he like an anarchist tech guy who doesn't make money, but it's like a crazy master, you know? Well, there's a lot of layers to Wiggins. It's a mostly faceted character. If I can see why you wanted to play the character so badly. First of all, they explain that he is a sort of gone-to-seed former child prodigy,

which is the number one thing I auditioned for. Whenever I see that in a log line, I think that's a chance. Like a Billy Quizboy? Yeah, just broken child genius 10 years later is kind of my wheelhouse. But so yes, he was sort of this child project. I think they show a newspaper clipping that he won some sort of coding award

in like elementary school. But I think yes, he does open source because he's a fucking artist, Elliott, okay? He's not about working for the man. He's got stuff. He's stuck in this fucking shitty contract. He got sold to false bill of goods. He stuck on a first look deal with this shitty fucking guy.

And to continue the analogy, he lets Vin Diesel go because he's still in the seduction period of like, he has gotten access to a coffee meeting with a major movie star who he's trying to convince to sign on so that he could get financing for his project. Like, he's got a vague idea of like, this is how I could use you and it would be for good, but I don't totally have my shit together enough to get you to sign on for this yet. I think the metaphor works perfectly if it's in terms of filmmaking.

It does not make sense in terms of the immediate story of the thing. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. I will consider that. It's like bloodshot. I'm going to work on this problem for you. I'll see, I guess, when I get around to it.

Do you want status updates? Vin Diesel. No, that's OK. I got some stuff to do. All right. Do you want my phone number? No, that's. I'll find that's okay. I got some stuff to do. All right, do you want my phone number? Now that's, I'll find you. It's okay.

I got some. Vin Diesel does have stuff to do because he goes to London. He tracks down his wife, Gina's flat. Mm. Mm. And he knocks on the door and they, you know, they have her union, but then we find out she's actually remarried.

They're not together anymore. She has a child and it's been five years since she last saw him. Not only that, like they broke up long before he then was taken by Guy Pierce. Yeah. Like not only has she moved on, but his memory of them being together up until the end is like far far in the past. I mean, that memory, I would go as far as say what they're telling us is all of that memory is false.

Yes. Yes. This is literally they took his last serious girlfriend and just slapped her face and name onto the idea of a wife and who knows how and she makes it very clear like this it wasn't like oh this you know there was something happened and it got in our way like she did not want to be in a relationship with him anymore. Maybe they saw. Well, she suggested she wanted him to stay and not leave.

I mean, that indicates that she did like him. I don't know. They're a part of her young. Yes. But she also reacts to the little fear of him when he comes on. Yeah, you're sure. If you've been diesel showed up on your doorstep, even if I know, but like I didn't think that it implies because she realized she could just lose her, leave her current life behind to leave with

Vin Diesel. The reaction implies to me that they not only broke up, but it was a bad breakup. And she's like, she is not unhappy to see him in the same way that you might not be unhappy to see someone that enough time has passed that you're cool with them again. And like, it's like nice for old time sake but she seems a little nervous in a way that suggests that things ended very badly. Yes and here there's something very realistic in this scene which is that her young daughter will not stop trying to get her attention and make her come into the house while

this hulking man is standing there upsetting her and so it's like I look on living that life right now people it's's very hard to, like, you could tell a kid, I'm talking to my ex and he's a super marine assassin and so I'm afraid of why he's here. The kid does not care. They just want to come and show you their new Paw Patrol thing. I fully love this scene because I feel like this, the real Gina that we're seeing for the first time,

is the only character who is not in the movie blood shot. It's just like, I just have a day to do. And yeah, the arc of the scene is like, that was a bad breakup, but I've moved on. I don't hold it against him anymore. My life turned out okay. He shows up on her doorstep. She's like, oh, this is like funny and weird.

I guess you're in the neighborhood. We'll catch up for a couple minutes. Then she starts to become scared that he's a psycho. And then she goes all the way around to feeling actually bad for him. Where you can tell by the end of the scene she's like, is he having like a psychotic break? Like he's not making any sense. And my note I wrote here is, love that the genocene is fully embarrassing. Just a completely earnest face plant. Like there is a level of vulnerability to how much Vin is failing in this scene.

And to the point also where Vindy is a famously deep voiced man, his voice cracks a couple times in this scene, where he goes like, what was the last time you saw me? And she goes five years. And he goes, five years? And he sounds like Cookie Monster. Like he's doing both like a false set of a motto. But it is this thing where he just like cannot fathom

that even though everyone was lying to him, he assumed that she must have been waiting out there for him in his life. And he's just being told like he was forced to method act. Like he was using a backstory of a woman to map onto the scene that he was playing on a day-to-day basis. There's something about like you're saying that every other situation it's like, oh I can tough guy my way through this. But there is no way, aside from becoming a monster and doing something monstrous, there's no way to tough your way out of like, going to visit someone you think you're in a relationship with

and then being like, no, this is not happening. And so he's not just dealing with the fact that, oh, all of my memories are different, I don't have a life. It's also like, yeah, embarrassment. Like, oh, this is awkward. I don't even know. Now I feel like a jerk and she feels bad for me and I don't want to be like, I wanted to think,

I'm cool, like, I'm a cool. Like I'm a boy shot. And I'm assuming he's he's thinking all that stuff. He's thinking like, why did that? Why did this specific conditioning work so well on me? What does that say about my personality? So while he's having these thoughts, he then gets attacked by tips and Dalton, who are on the hunt. This must be such a relief for him to be like, oh, thank goodness. I don't know.

I can just battle in front of my extraordinary. I could just battle these guys. This is what I can do. Like that's something I wish they had shown a little bit more of him being like, oh thank goodness. I don't have to be- Oh, I can just battle. In front of my external, I can just battle these guys. This is what I can do. That's something I wish they had shown a little bit more of him being like, oh thank God, I can get into a fight now. Yeah. I have to deal with these emotions. I don't have to find an out for this conversation anymore.

I don't have to pretend like I have to be somewhere. He doesn't have to go vert, vert. Oh, that was my phone. Hold on. That new girlfriend? Okay, I'll come have sex with you. I gotta go. So this is basically a chase sequence where bloodshot is running away.

Dalton is firing these like EMP bullets at him that like sterilizes nannights or something. While tibs is like doing all kinds of hot dogs stunts on his fucking motorbike. This is, and there's some really great comic relief policeman in a car. That is great where he like kicks the car and there's like three slow motion shots of these two cops who despite being in London are eating American style donuts and coffee. Are fucking like keystone cops. Yeah. Yeah. But no, you like, yeah, the car is like sort of like at half-speed spinning around. And then is backing away using the car as a like shield as it rotates. It's pretty good. It keeps cutting to them going, what? I just watched the begin the first half of onward last night.

And like these cops could have been in onward. Oh, yeah. That's suddenly cartoonish they are. Yeah, I kind of wanted a scene with these two cops telling their like friends and family after like the night after this situation, what they saw and what just happened. But um, so, uh, you know, the fight continues. Dalton's robot legs get knocked off. It looks like Vince got him and then Tib's drives up and stabs in the back with a jack knife, which I guess logs him onto the internet and then they shut him down remotely.

Yeah. And he has like three seconds to pull this knife out. And I'm like, I'm just like yelling like, Vin, Vin, when they like jab you with a thing, you pull it out because you got to know that they're trying to high jack them into the matrix, but like, if there's one thing I know about Vindiesel, it's that he never pulls out. No one has ever believed in the pullout method less than Vindiesel. No, he's, he's, he's, he's never enters unless he's invited, but he never pulls out. I want to make this very clear. Okay, okay. The I mean also like just logistically, I don't think he can get his arms all the way around to his back. He's just too mussely.

That is all so. Just let him just lie nice to extend his arms a little bit like come on. I'm also push that thing out. Okay, so now Katie goes on her own mission. She, uh, she waits outside for Wiggins to leave his hotel with a security detail. She uses her special breathing abilities to blow poison smoke into people's faces, but she herself is unaffected by that smoke

because as we've addressed, she has special breathing abilities because of her cyborg lungs. She then beats up some dudes with one of those rods and then captures Wiggins Although when she returns to Harding she says Wiggins got away. What? Now what if now here's guys what if she got mistaken and she went while she was capturing this Wiggins she thought the mission was to go kill Wiley Wiggins

Oh no. It's confused and and but he got away. I mean, you're, so it's, well, you're describing how Elliott isn't an action film. It's a tragedy. I, I cannot even, even for laughs on a podcast, imagine what would happen. We were to lose Wiley Wiggins. Austin, I'm seeing staple. I'm not actually as far to Wiley to be. But the Wiley is the whole Wiggins?

While E Wiggins, he was able to use his acquely devices to get away. So while KT is deceiving them, Harding has a chat with Bloodshot in the what, Neuro Realm, which is basically one of those like inevitable like, you know, is it worth fighting? Yada Yada, you should just do this because what is life anyway? Well, he essentially gives Bloodshot a series of notes. He gives him a round of notes. He's like, and I just give you just a quick pass on something to go into this analogy.

Keep me in the analogy going. I love it. But then it even gets down to, he goes, like, I made you the best version of yourself. And Bloodshot says, your best version of me. And he's like, look, I made you sad, I killed a fake girlfriend. But I got you there. And he's essentially the abusive director saying, look, if I got the performance out of you, isn't that what you wanted at the end of the day? Yeah, Shelley DuVall. Right. It was hard for me to pay attention to this since I was still blown away from the five or six minutes they spent building the fake Italy that they're

in yeah they did a real much a computer graphics serenity where the graphics just sort of you know came out you don't need this much Italy for this conversation they're happy we don't need the mountains so now that Katie is lying said the wiggins is on the runnies in the wind. They decide to stop draining the nanites out of him. And instead, they got a reboot bloodshot, and they have to map Wiggins face back on the murderer of his wife. Katie interrupts the sim, while we find out that Wiggins, who is in the wind, is actually in a van underneath the building and he start he hacks into the bloodshot system waking up bloodshot.

Bloodshot wakes up. KT uses her breathing ability again to sneak around, uh, sneak around guy Pierce. She then uses her breathing ability to blow up the server system. I mean, I don't know that she used her breathing ability. She just walked in and flew away. I don't think you could have done it with your human lore. But also she blows it up with similarly bloodshot-esque, very moody, red-lighting explosives because she now needs to prove that she also can be an action star. She blows it up with great trust that the windows behind her and I'm going to burst, spraying glass into her. And those explosion proof glass, yeah. And the belief

that those servers aren't 100% necessary to the functioning of these nanites. That's a good point. Now, this is around the point when I started realizing that this movie is basically Tootsie as an action movie. when both are about somebody who's forced to really transform themselves and become a new person Not because it's best really for them, but because the system around them has decreed it that that's the only way They're gonna survive in the mode that is you know most comfortable with them the only way they can survive and that Again, there's a woman assisting who doesn't really get her own full life or story, but is still necessary to making a blood shot

or as I call him Tootsie, successful, until he can turn the tables and reveal himself again. Well, because it, look, she's trying to take control of her narrative again. She's trying to restart her career in her own terms and she's the one who proactively reaches out to Wiggins and it's like we should be united in this, figure out how to bypass the studio system.

So you're saying she is Elizabeth Banks creating her own projects. Yes. So that she's more than just like an actress who at some point will have to play moms even though she is only 10 years older than the kid playing her child. Right.

And so she's gonna make her own stuff. I see, I get that, that makes sense, yeah. So now Dalton puts on an exosuit because those robot legs alone aren't gonna kill bloodshot. So he puts on this exosuit that has two extra arms and then he gets in a fight with bloodshot. This is a pretty cool fight.

I like that the exosuit arms basically are just a little bit longer, so it gives him some reach. No, it looks like he's wearing the arms from that scene in Nightmare on Elm Street where Freddie just extends his arms, really silly. Yeah, scrapes the fences. I know it's trying to psychological warfare right there. Yeah, I'm gonna say, I'm not gonna pretend

I didn't like the movie i've been told this point but i also when you put on these extra long robot arms i'm like okay well this is the movie i really want to do this thing 100 percent so i as as i believe i would assume the only person here who has watched all these special features on the digital release of bloodshot that's a fair that's a fair assumption. And this goes back to the point of the earlier action sequences not being terribly exciting, even if the movie itself is kind of stylish overall. This movie had a budget of like $40 million, which is very, very budget for something that

is trying to kickstart a cinematic universe based on comic books. But there is an alternate ending with a director's intro that is this final battle except it just happens without any CGI in the swimming pool that Isaac Gonzales does her dances in. And then he just drowns him to death. Oh, OK. And they said that that was the ending in the script with the budget they had and

they screened it for the studio and they were like, this is the most anti-climatic thing of all time. Oh, shoot. So this entire final action sequence is like the one reshoot in the movie that is them saying, like, we'll give you a couple extra million dollars, make your video game cut scene. Like we know you can do that. Do you're insane comic book fighting and it's why it's the only fighting in this that is actually pretty excited I mean that explains why

they spent a certain good amount of time setting up that swimming pool yes because otherwise there's no reason for her to be a swimmer no reason for her power to be special breathing no reason for them to have a pool swimming pool is supposed to be the check-offs gun that then Vin Diesel transfers so many nanites to this guy that he becomes heavy and drowns in the pool. It is an amazing, terrible, alter-nate fight. Yeah. Yeah, and he's like, I wish I had the lung breathing power

instead. Right. It's the, because this scene is a really fun, like creative action scene. Yeah, turn it down. And the only issue I had with it was that they seem to keep forgetting that Vin Diesel has an an eye in his body and can come back from anything,

because they're just dropping him down elevator shafts and then they're surprised when he comes back. And it's like, yeah, dude, he's full of an eye so I don't know, just like. But then also this is when he like goes turbo and finally transforms into something that vaguely resembles the comic book character. Like he gets his sort of kubuki blood shot get up where he's pale white in his eyes or

red. The thing about this exosuit is it reminded me of the movie Elysium. If the movie Elysium was cool and had longer arms for the exosuit. So yeah, so the they get this big fight. It's crazy. They end up on these like giant elevators, tibs, joins in in the fight and you're like, whoa dude, you don't even have an exosuit. And of course, Dalton ends up letting tibs die.

And he thinks he's got bloodshot, but of course bloodshot kills Dalton. And he falls all the way to the bottom and you're like, oh man, he's almost dead. And then, nope, he's not dead, and he interrupts Harding, who, or, yeah, what's his name? Harding, Hardness, whatever. Harding is trying to escape. He throws a robot arm through his car, and Harding shoots blood shot with a grenade, which Max is out his depletes his nanites, I guess, because using the nanites a lot,

his nanite percentage goes down like 2% or something. But he sees this. Guy Pierce has a read out on his rubbit arm, and it says nanite levels depleted at a certain point. And that is one of those lines, even if it's not spoken out loud if your movie can somehow get to Nanite levels depleted as three words in a row you have me. It's so great because because Lamor and Morris Wiggins is watching the Nanites reducing out his computer screen and as soon as they hit zero all of his monitors turn off.

That was that was one of the stranger things earlier to when he sets off the EMP. His Wiggins monitors don't turn off. They just say no feed. So I guess maybe his stuff was shielded. I don't know, but it just seems very funny that like shuts off everything and then but his stuff is fine. He's got some of his crank computers. Yeah. But I also he has he has a horse walking in a giant wheel and that's what how is this computer? I mean he is the one guy who knew that this was coming. I don't know. That's fair.

That's fair. So yeah, so my partying is also making like the argument of like, well you can't kill me. I'm the only person who understands how to use you. Like I made you. You're you're like inherently tied to me. And what I wrote down here was it's literally about the three POC characters fighting for autonomy and control of their narrative and the conventional white man's fight against a relevance and then my next note is I love this movie. I can't wait to watch it a third time. So yeah, so at this point his nanites are depleted. Guy Pierce shoots another grenade at him. The last bit of nanites are used to strip the casing off the grenade. Guy Pierce walks up and he's like, the nanites are gone, it's just you. And then of course, Vin Diesel reveals.

I mean, at that point you're like, yeah, he's just Vin Diesel, you're totally dead, dude. So he holds out in his hand that he's got the grenade, which he drops on the ground and explodes, killing guy peers, and theoretically killing Vin Diesel finally, he can rest. His hard work is over. He knows for the first time, much like Murphy realizing he is Murphy and not RoboCop. He realizes for the first time much like Murphy realizing he is Murphy and not RoboCop. He realizes for the first time just who he is inside. His true heart is enough to be a hero.

That is something that I feel like it's weakened slightly by the fact that the audience has no idea who you are. Oh no, we have to met Ray Garrison. We don't know him at all. No, all we know is that he has an ex-girlfriend that he's really exploring and otherwise I don't know if he was really a military I guess. So when he says I said I'd always come home and she was like, but I wanted to stay at home. He could have been a traveling salesman. I don't know. Like as opposed to

being a colorful character Murphy was before he became a robot. No, but you see Murphy's fan. You know what Murphy's actual family is. Yeah, you know, the gun pistols around. Exactly. And I think that's one of Verhoeven's jokes is that Murphy has more personality as a robot and he did as a human being. But like, you know, when he's like, I know who I am now, the audience is like,

great, are we gonna find out? Is that because I know your name is your name really Ray? I think it is. Is that a nickname? I don't know. So we, of course, the next thing we we know bloodshot is waking up from a new fresh Injection and nanites. They're hanging out in a trailer somewhere along Pacific Coast Highway one I bet Which is along the South African coast

Wiggins is stressed so stylish. He's gonna Hollywood. He sold his first script. He's now on the other side. He's new money his first script that he's now on the other side. He's new money. Yeah, I didn't quite understand the logic of this where it's just like, okay, well, we blew up the bad guys, so now I guess I'm rich, but whatever. That's the thing. He secretly has been running the exact same con that Harding has been doing, and Harding was his last rival in the game, right? Yeah. Now he controls bloodshot. Although he's not hurt. He's not hurt at all. He's not hurt at all. That's what he's been telling people anyway. But then they now they're all it's really funny because Vin and then Vin Diesel tells KT he's like now we get to choose our own destinies

and they all drive off together and I'm like so why are you guys a team now? Yeah. Yeah. Like it's held. Yeah. Yeah. Except that that you were all part of this but like why what is keeping them together? What are things they can do together? Perfect. Yeah, what can they do together, Elliott? Well, she can breathe shit while he's punching people and Wiggins codes sounds like a Perfect trio to me. No, I mean in terms of powers, yes, it meshes perfectly. So complimentary. But it's like, what Wiggins is like, hey, I've known you for a couple of days

and you tried to kill me for a little bit. And KT is like, hey, I've seen you be used over and over again as a Robo Assassin. I guess we're a family now. And I guess everything with Vindiesel is about family. Every Vindiesel movie is about family. And also, Stinferia, Spledge Shot, all of Garden, it's all about family for him.

And Vindiesel, also, or not Vindiesel, but the movie at large, including Vindiesel, it plays the total recall card, which is you have this shot of them driving into the sunset and then they literally lampshade it and say, driving off into the sunset, or we sure this isn't a simu and a cut-soft lation and goes to credits?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like, yeah, it's the spinning top at the end of Inception. Yeah, well, the end scene is so perfect that it does, it is impossible not to have that thought, like, is this just another level of manipulation and then the movie, as you say, lampshades it. And like, I like how kind of lightly they treat it,

but also the more I think about it, like the idea that maybe they're trying to start a valiant universe, like it's much more ballsy that they end the movie this way, because it's suggest that any possible sequels are also just a fantasy that bloodshed would have in it. And it's all in the same elsewhere kids head,

ultimately, all these movies. But I was waiting for the mid-credits sequence where they're like, sir, sir, this killer on the loose, don't worry, we'll stop him with the Harbinger project. But then what you said makes sense that they don't have a scene like that. But they, I was waiting for that mid-credits sequence to be said, if characters know when it's heard of.

Yeah, they're like, excuse me, Mr. Toyo Harada. We have information about the hardcore project or whatever. Yeah, I mean, aside from the fact that the audience wouldn't recognize those names, it also just feels like to your point then, and I think to this movie's credit, whether or not it was intentional on the filmmakers' parts, few films have ever felt less conducive

to building out a bunch of spin-offs. So since the movie, it is like they tried to make a total recall universe, and they'd be like, oh yeah, yeah, all that stuff was real. All the stuff happened. You went to Mars and all that stuff. What the fuck happens parallel to this? What are you talking about?

Like I love that movie. I mean, it's sort of such a failure at building out a cinematic universe that becomes a perfect self-contained movie it did such a bad job at it that if they were to say bloodshot twos coming out next summer we would all be like yes please yeah so yeah why don't we go into final judgments guys yeah this is where we say it's a whether it's a good bad movie, a bad bad movie, or a movie of kind of likes, but I think we all know that we enjoy this movie.

So. I think there's a continuum of enjoyment. I think we all kind of liked it. I think that Griffin, maybe the only one who loves it correct entirely, and I think it's the best movie you've ever covered on this podcast. So. And I want to plant this flag now before there's some five years later, John Wick, Jack,

Reacher, style, reassessment from the people, not you guys, but the people who have dismissed this movie out of hand. Here's another thing, another little nuance I like in this movie. There's this scene where a KT comes to Guy Pears and is like, I want out of my contract, like I want to go on to a pure and Marvel movies or whatever Constance Wu was trying to do instead. And Guy Pears tries to make the argument for why what they're doing is still like artistically valid. And she's saying like he deserves to like be like go of this, he deserves to not be run through this simulation

over and over again. And Guy Pierce really earnestly says what he deserves is a military funeral because I feel like unlike a lot of movies where they try and fail to build up a sort of ideology that the villain thinks that he's the good guy. This is a movie in which the villain wants to get brownie points for being woke.

Like he wants to pretend that he is actually the most considerate and empathetic and that he is doing this for a better reason and a greater cause and the ends justify the means. Not just that like, you know, ultimately this will pay out, but also like you understand, I'm actually more considerate than you are. I recognize that he's a fucking hero. Yeah, he's the real ally in this situation. Yeah, he's the ultimate ally.

I mean, I will say like I may overvalue this movie just because there's there are a few things I like better than like a scrappy little sci-fi action movie We're a scrappy do our scrappy do love him Most people say you ruin Scooby-Doo not me. He perfected it No, but like it's it's a kind of like knowingly B-level genre movie that I am programmed to respond to anyway. But this is a fun version of that. Totally.

And I think like sort of the parallel to what you're saying, it's one of the reasons I for so long would always argue the value of the, you know, annual January, February, Liam Neeson action film. Because I was like, these are the only movies that are disconnected from any fucking cinematic universe. Even the one series he has taken is clearly making it up as it goes along. And they're just like so in control and like full ownership of what they are and not trying to be what they aren't.

And like living in the beautiful space of just like, this is just like, it's a $20 million action movie that comes out in the winter. And so rarely do we get a film like that that also is a sci-fi film or has special effects or is based off intellectual property because the second those elements get involved, they're like, this has to be a four quadrant start of a larger franchise. And it feels like this movie just backed away from

all of that, whether by design or whether by just sort of a lack of conviction at the studio level, that this could lead to any sequels, it's like this movie is just so fully what it is. And I would say that it's the Liam Neeson parallel also, like how many other films are dealing with the things that the elderly have to face then Liam Neeson's movies or the farewell. That's pretty much it. Yeah.

It's like last year, if you wanted to see a movie about the elderly, it was just the commuter or the farewell. That's like, that's like, that's like, that's like, how many cuts an old man needs to get over a fence? Yeah. Does it look like he's jumping over a fence. Yeah, it's like he's jumping over a fence. Yeah, that's it.

So I mean, so many, like, if I want an action fix, and it isn't going to be like a big, like a big budget franchise movie, I have to go to like VOD Scott Atkins action movies. So this is, yeah, this is pretty nice. The movie this reminds me of the most, now that you've pulled out Scott Adkins Stewart, is I think it's the fourth universal soldier movie, universal soldier, day of reckoning, which is also about a sort of guy

who is reprogrammed over and over again, to think that he is acting out a sort of self-righteous mission but is actually just like fulfilling everyone else's desires. Welcome back to FireSide Chat on KMAX with me in studio to take your calls as the dopest duel on the west coast, Oliver Wong and Morgan Rhodes. Go ahead, caller. Hey, I'm looking for a music podcast that's insightful and thoughtful, but like most

of it helps me discover artists and how it's been I've never heard of. Yeah, man, it sounds like you need to listen to Heat Rocks every week myself and I'm Morgan Rhodes and my co-host here. Oliver Wong talked to influential guests about a canonical album that has changed their lives. Yes, like Moby, open mic, Eagle, talk about albums by Prince, Joni Mitchell, and so much more. Yo, what's that show called again?

Heat Rocks, deep dives into high records. Every Thursday on Maximum Fun. Hello, this is Amy Mann. And I'm Ted Leo. And we have a podcast called The Art of Process. We've been lucky enough over the past year to talk to some of our friends and acquaintances from across the creative spectrum to find out how they actually work. So I have to write material that makes sense and makes people laugh.

I also have to think about what I'm saying to people. If I kick your ass, I'll make you famous. The fight to get LGBTQ representation in the show. We weirdly don't know as many musicians as you would expect. I really just became a political speechwriter by accident, realizing that I have accidentally put my pants down. Listen and subscribe at maximumfun.org or wherever you get your podcast. It's like if the guinea pig was complicit in helping the scientist.

The flop house is sponsored in part by Squarespace. Hey everyone, we're all at home. You know, well not all of us. Some of us are forced to work and my hearts are with you if you're one of them. I said hearts, my multiple hearts. This ad read is going great, but if you are stuck in a- This ad read is going great. But if you are stuck in it. Dan, how did you turn into a solo ad read when we're all here? But if you are second home, maybe it's time to start your own website. You know, you can turn your cool idea into something we can all enjoy on the internet,

blog, or publish content, sell products and services of all kinds. And much, much more. Squarespace allows you to do this by giving you beautiful customizable templates created by world-class designers. Everything is optimized for mobile right out of box. People can look at it on their phones, their tablets, their watcher McCulloch, it's a new way to buy domains and choose from over 200 extensions. Free and secure hosting. Hey, head to squarespace.com slash flop for a free trial and when you're ready to launch, use the offer code flop to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

Now Dan, I had a question, so I have a website idea and I was wondering if Squarespace could help me with it. You know, I thought you might have this question, and I think the answer's probably yes, but why don't you spawn upon it at a link? So the technology, I'm not just not sure if it's there yet. I was so inspired by this movie, I wanted to start a website called BrainSpace, where with BrainSpace, we've got customizable templates

that you can change the memories, fantasies, and also, vengences of individual people, maybe yourself, maybe someone else. I was just so impressed in the movie How easy it was to just go into Vin Diesel's memory and change what things looked like Adam a shetty here change guys face to that I want to make that kind of thing available to people for a reasonable price So it's called brainspace.net brainspace.com of course was taken by my previous website where it was places to put your brain if you're not using it. It's like a store space for your brain. It didn't go great.

Yeah, how did it go? A lot of people paid the deposit and then did not pay the fees for the monthly brain. And we end up having to throw a lot of brains out, you know, just in the garbage. It's in the contract. But so brainspace.net, of course, would be like, hey, go into someone's brain and like, I want it, it's things to be able to scale from ones from dreams to memories I want 24-hour customer service and templates. Do you think they can help me set that up?

I think they could. I just I I'm distracted by like I know it was just a throwaway gag But I am still enjoying how casually horrifying your previous website was. I mean, it was, it was the website for a physical storage space for brains. Because let me, you know what, have you ever heard someone say, hey, this movie, like Bloodshot, just check your brain at the door. Sure. Where you put in your brain when you're checking it. That's a good point. Yeah.

You still hold it in your hands the whole time. That's where your popcorn goes in your hands. And then eventually you mouth. And then it says specifically at the door. So you wouldn't do that. Yeah, yeah, but where at the door? I've been to movie theaters. There's not like a bucket. You can just put your brain in. That's true. Where am I supposed to leave it on the floor? Where it's going to get, you know, fuzz all over it. Or in that box with all the 3D glasses? Exactly. Someone reaches in to get some 3D glasses. They can see a movie the way it's meant to be

seen right in your face coming at you. And they come out with a brain in their hands, and we're seeing it, it's your brain. Nobody wants that. That's a nightmare for them and for you. Because now they got to figure out where this brain goes, or worst case scenario, they just throw it away. And you come back from the movie and you're like, oh, that was great.

I really enjoyed Jingle all the way. And you get into the bucket and your brain's not there. And it's like, where to put my brain. Now I got to find it. Oh, man. So brainspace.com was, it was really a storage space so that you could have a place where you knew your brain was. But a lot of people, we take the brain,

they pay their deposit, we remove the brain and then put them in a cab and send them off their way and we never get to check in the mail for the first month's signature. I'm putting you in a cab, where do you live? I don't remember. Oh, all this again. Yeah, yeah, and so Anyway, so I was speaking which you guys need any brains?

Like like for eating or I don't hey, it's not my job to tell you what to do with them or even to ask what you do with them I'm just saying I've got a surplus of a certain product human brains and I was wondering you guys had to use for it I mean, you know, I normally I'd say yes, but at this time of scarcity, you know, it was sent upon over. Okay, because otherwise I'm just going to have to use my other website, spacebrain.com. That's where we fire brains into space. We don't have rocket ships per se. It's more of a catapult, and we just, we never see them again.

So we just kind of assume that they leave the atmosphere and enter probably low orbital space. We won't find out for a while until NASA. Yeah, they can just be landing in your neighbor's yard or something. It seems likely. He definitely said he wanted to talk to me about something. I would kind of dodge him for a couple weeks. Now Griffith, you are an expert improviser.

What would you say about Ellie's technique? How do you? I don't know about expert. I'm loving it. I'm all the way in. And speaking of improv, look, I know this episode's running long. I tend to be verbose and I seem to make all podcasts longer when I guest on them. I hope you guys don't mind the air against.

But I did come prepared with my own sponsorship if that's fine. I'd like to do a quick answer. Oh, sure. Oh, sure. If that's OK. At least we can do for your being with us. Sure. Oh, of course.

So this is my sponsorship. It is the official bloodshot action figure. Let me unblur my camera figure. Oh, wow. But this is, it looks like a bloodshot, the comic book character, but it very much has been diesels faced despite him never looking like this in the movie. I bought this two months before seeing the film have just had this around my apartment and this was

manufactured by Todd McFarlane another 90s comic edginess luminary so I like that people manufacture it for you. No, no, he makes them at home. He makes them at home. I have a feeling he's probably about to lose a lot of money on this. So I want to just advertise them, tell people to go out. It's the one reason to break self-quarantine, to leave your house, go out and buy an American bloodshot action figure. And Dan to answer your earlier question about whether a blood shot in the comics uses like guns or just nanite punches people. Of course, blood strike comes with a giant knife.

So you can nanite stab. That's my ad read. Okay, great. I hope for that. I think Farland from taking a bath on that one. Look, Tom McFarlane already has, he wishes he had that money. He spent on Mark McWire's home run ball. You got to you got to help him. So not not you know, I have them have the money so we can waste out on more stuff. I took a photo of Griffin holding up the bloodshot

action figure. This is the one time I'm going to tell people to tweet at me if I make a mistake. Tweeted me if I've forgotten to post this on the Instagram and Twitter feeds once this episode drops, and I'll remember to get it off my phone and onto the internet so you can all enjoy this action figure. But now let's move on to letters from listeners. Listeners like you, anyway. This first one. Yeah, we do have fun, Dan. That's the kind of devil-made care attitude that I've printed. Jan last name withheld rights.

Hi, peaches. Yesterday I got offered my dream job. I'm simultaneously incredibly excited about it while also fighting the nauseous feeling that I don't deserve it and or am going to fail at it. You've all had some pretty amazing jobs in your time while also being pretty open about mental health. So my question to you is what have you done to deal with feelings of imposter syndrome? Thanks for all you do, Jen, last name with health. I mean, I know that it took me multiple years to feel comfortable at the daily show as

a writer. And some of that was just learning that like the whole thing doesn't necessarily depend on me, like any organization you're in. Like you have to realize that you're in it together. And so that takes a little of the like stress that might hurt yourself off of it, but you also just have to like, this is going to sound like a platitude, but you can't worry so much about meeting others' expectations of you.

You have to worry about what you can control. You can't control what they think of you. You can control the work that you put in, which will sort of help you feel good about yourself if you feel good about your own work and can take pride in your own work. Well, to add on to that is that, remember that their expectations for, I don't know what the job is, but congratulations on getting it, that's fantastic. Like Dan was saying, you're probably part of a team, even bloodshot was part of a team, even though the business really did seem to rely on his work mostly.

Yeah, if he failed, then the whole operation was going to fall apart, which is not a great way to build a business, then it relies on was going to fall apart, which is not a great way to build a business that relies on one person who you have to brainwash to do the job. But if you are a part of a team, then you don't have to be 100% every day. The best is that you try to get as close to working as hard as you can to a job, but also to remember that they want you to succeed. If they gave you that job, they think you can do that job. Yeah, they're not you're not an imposter to them You are someone who is starting out doing a job and so

They probably understand that you're not gonna be perfect right off the bat It takes time. I remember when I started as a writer at the daily show I already worked there for a number of years and so I was like I know this place I'm gonna hit it out of the park instantly and it took me like a year until I was consistently doing well. And they knew that. And they were like, I'm sure in their mind it was like we're hiring because we know he can do this job,

but we don't expect him to be the best at this job immediately. That's just how anything works. What Ellie just said reminded me of something that has helped me when it comes to performing, but I think it comes to just regular work as well. I always think of that scene in The Simpsons, where Lisa has that dream where she's performing on stage and everyone is booing.

It's her and Art Garfunkel and all the other psychics. Yeah, and then she says to herself, why would they come just to boo us? And I don't think of that whatever, like I have to go on stage for a live show for the podcast or whatever. I'm just like, they're not gonna come just to boo us. And I don't think of that whatever, like I have to go on stage for like a live show for the podcast or whatever, I'm just like, they're not going to come just to boo us. If they came, they want us to succeed, like Elliott said. And so your audience wants you to succeed. Your your bosses want you to succeed. And they they the situation that they've put you in and they're very aware of it is this is a person that we feel can do this job

and they are learning how to do this job. And they've just started. And they know that, you know that because you are not an imposter, you are a person who is starting a job and that's the real thing that you are. Only your enemies and jealous friends want you to fail. And unless you got the job under false pretenses, like if this has catched me if it can, then you should have imposter syndrome because you're pretending to be a doctor and you're not one and that's terrible. My guess is that you went in there under true pretenses and they know it, everybody's aware

of the deal that you are starting this job and you're going to do great as long as you try your best and learn it, you know, and work as hard as you can. That's why it's called, and that's why we're talking about Imposter Syndrome. I thought it was, you have to convince your loved one to shoot the imposter of you instead of you because they're evil and you're good. In that case, you just look for the goatees, or it's pretty easy. No, but what if you already have a goatee? Oh, that's, yeah, if you're Kevin Smith, you're screwed. No one knows if you're the evil Kevin Smith or just regular Kevin Smith.

Yeah. Affable stoner, Kevin Smith. I imagine that would be one of those situations where Kevin Smith would be like shoot him. I'm the one in the bathrobe. I feel imposter syndrome with literally everything I do in my entire life. But as someone who has had a largely unsuccessful career working with people who are successful at different times, the biggest common thread I have found is everyone who I respect, and especially respect more after I've worked with them and see how they work, also feels imposter syndrome. And everyone I know who is completely certain

that they know what they're doing tends to be pretty lazy and hacky at their job. And creative feels at least, I have found that to be the case. Well, who is the person who has the least amount of impostor syndrome is the president and he is the worst at his job. And he's the best. And like you, that's not what you want to be. Right. So I think you three all offered really good lessons about how you should learn to believe in yourself a little more. But also it is important to have a little bit of a fear that you might be an imposter.

Yeah, yeah. There's actually been psychological tests on this, like people who think that they have imposter syndrome tend to be better than their jobs and the people who have this blind faith in themselves. There's a thing that David Bowie said that I only know about because I think it was the moment of Zanna the Daily Show after he died because it's not like I know everything about David Bowie. We're just talking about how when he was working on something and he felt really kind of

frightened and unsure of himself when it felt like he had gone too far into the ocean and couldn't feel the ground beneath his feet. That's when he did his best work and that's when he did his most exciting work because he was kind of, he didn't know what he was going to do and he was afraid of it. And like I've certainly found in my career, I do better work when I am unsure of myself and have to work to prove myself and really put the effort in. Then when I'm like, oh yeah, I can do this.

This is fine, whatever. And I don't put in the work and it comes out fine. So I think if there's a way for you to, instead of running from that feeling to kind of accept it and use it to help motivate yourself, that's a good thing. And if it locks you up and makes you freeze, then it's not a good thing. And you just remind yourself like everyone knows who you are. That's a good thing. You're not fooling anybody because there's

nothing to fool about and you're going to do fine. If I could throw out a word for me. 30 seconds specific. Oh, sorry. Yeah. Yeah. If I get there a 30 seconds specific story, one of my earliest jobs was playing a personal assistant to Carla Gugino on a very unsuccessful TV show. And she's one of those people I think is just like total pro good in everything she does, acts in all different types of things, different size roles. It's just like consummate professional actor to me. Thought House listeners know I have no specific opinions about Carla Gino,

one man or another, firmly established. But she's in no way my deepest crush of all living things. But anyway, she rules, and I will say, working with her only deepened my crush for her as well. But we were on set, and it was the last episode, what would turn to be a last episode of this thing ever. And she was saying, like, I have no idea what I'm gonna do when this show is done.

I don't know if I'm ever gonna work again. And I was like, your Carla Gagina, you're like, you do 18 things a year. I can't believe you wouldn't think that clearly some other things are gonna come along. And she said to me, I just had this moment, I remember my first big job when I was a kid was working on a movie where I played Donald Sutherland's daughter and on the

last day of filming he said to me and then this wraps and I don't know if I ever work again and I couldn't believe that Donald Sutherland didn't know that he was gonna work again and I now realize that I feel the same way. Yeah. Elliot, do you need to do any family stuff? I saw one of your children come in behind you as if we were in that viral video, the newscaster. It was very funny. From my point of view, it was my younger son and my wife bursting at the same time

and then pulling him away. Yeah. As if he was a... It was a pretty son and my wife bursting at the same time and then pulling him away. Yeah. As if he was a recreation of that. It was really funny. It was great. It just means he's up from his nap. And he's at the point in his life where whichever parent he's with is not the one he wants to be with.

He wants to be with the other one. He's got pho-mo. Yeah, exactly. That's fear of momming. Well, let's try. We'll try. We'll try. Oh, no. That's fear of momming. Well, let's, uh, we'll try. Father or mom, oh no, that's for me. Well, try and keep the speed up with the rest of the show then so you can go comfort, Gabriel.

So I can get back to my family, who I love. I mean, someone argue that the podcast is a great source of semi-reliable income during this time of uncertainty, but- I mean, that still doesn't trump love. You're right, Dan. You're right, Dan. I should put the money over my family.

And then shout and then rain it down on them. Oh, let's see here. John, lasting with all of rights, our second and final letter of the show, Dear Floppers, I'm writing about your episode on Mortal Engines. On it, Elliott heckled the movie writers for picking stupid names for its characters, which hit home as our daughter is named Hester.

We named our daughter Hester. We named our daughter, wow, I like Hester. We named our daughter Hester. No, no, no, no, this is me. This is no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, Thankfully, it was as unpopular as it was terrible. My question is, what other times has a movie ruined a name for you that would have been otherwise nice to use? Keep flopping John Elliott. I'm pretty sure you have opinions about names and movies. I just said- Well, I don't have a direct answer for his question, but I would say that my life being named Elliott, which I don't have a direct answer for his question, but I would say that my life being named Elliot,

which I don't know if the letter writer is available, it was also the name of the main character of what it was at one point, the biggest movie in the history of movies in the world, that certainly has been a minor cross for me to bear through my life. And I have to say that like as much as I love that movie, that movie of course being Pete Stragan, and what's the dragon, his name's him.

No, but that ET came out when I was like, I think half a year old, so it was like my entire life that's been, the go to point people have for the name Elliot, but at the same time, and it was really horrible, because every time I meet someone, they'd go, Ellie, yeah. Yeah, it's a specific way eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeehly, eeeh's a bit part of it. I mean, it might be part of it, yeah. Because you're interacting mostly with adults now.

I would get it from adults all the time until like a few years ago. And Mr. Jason Jones of the Daily Show with John Stewart would do it every time we had a conversation. Even if I had known him for years. He's kind of a jerk. Well, he's just a guy that he needles. A lovable jerk. But yeah, so I would say, I think it's good.

It's good for your name to be your child's name, to be something that is associated with them, and not already associated with something else. But on the other hand, I live through it, and look at me. Now I'm the most famous Elliott in the world, probably, right? I will say also, I still on a daily basis have to deal with both a Griffin door and Newman from Seinfeld I'm getting it from both angles oh yeah that's terrible so I used to get Cato Kaelin for Ellie Kaelin and it was

like and luckily that's not something that happens anymore but yeah it's bad when both your names are so there was a guy that I used to work with, that I think Dan still works with, he's still the deli-show, right? The guy whose last name was blog, and he was like, mm-hmm, yeah, I used to just get made fun of for having a weird name, but now I get made fun of for having a name that's a word. Wonderful, what's like.

Yeah, I get Stewie from Family Guy, or the Stewart character from the sketches on the hit-man TV television show, which is great because when people bring up those references, I'm like, great, I don't have to talk to you at all. You have no sense of humor person. Very strange. And I also, I have a friend named Junior

and I am an enormous asshole because I can't not say it with a Sean Connery accent. I'm such a fucking dick. Yeah. I will say though, I mean, like, it with a Sean Connery accent. I'm such a fucking dick. Yeah. I will say though, I mean, like I see a silver lining in what the letter writer said because the only sort of bright side to bloodshot bombing theatrically is that I can get away with naming my future son bloodshot Newman. The name is now to clear.

It's weird, you know? And if you have to be a piano player and a tavern. Oh, of course. And I want to make it clear to the letter writer that I think Hester is a very nice name in real life. I just thought it's one of those names when you give it to a character in a fantasy story. You're like, oh, okay, that's the way it's going to be. Like if I met someone named, like, like, that's the way it's gonna be. Like, if I met someone named, like, there's an actress

who's on the show, Foils War, whose first name is Honey Suckle, and it's like, okay, great. But if I saw a movie and they were like, what's your name? Oh, I'm Honey Suckle, I'd be like, forget it, get outta here. Like, in a fictional world, you're just like, I'm gonna take, I can take less whimsy. I don't know.

No, understandable. Okay, well let's, I mean, we all liked bloodshot, but normally our recommendation section is sort of a, don't watch that, watch this sort of thing, but you know, if you are one of the many people who are spending more time indoors these days. Maybe you get time to watch both. Bloodshot and whatever nonsense we'll recommend.

I just rewatched a movie that I know I saw as a child, but I've forgotten everything about it, so it was new to me, which was Funny Face, the Audrey Hepburn Fred Astaire movie. Now I'm not gonna make, I'm gonna present the counter argument to Fanny Face first and then present the pro argument. The counter argument is that Fred Astaire was 30 years older than Audrey Hepburn, which plays very strangely, although I did some research.

Apparently she was a supporter of him for the role, and also Fred Astaire always seems so sexless that it's not as creepy as it might be with a different actor, but it is not the greatest. And also, the central romantic conflict is Fred Astaire getting immediately possessive Audrey Hepbert once they are briefly together. And the movie makes a faint at presenting his possessive behavior as a bad thing before showing that the guy that Audrey Hepburn was talking to is a cat and possible assulter. So it excuses his behavior.

The pro case is that it's funny, it's colorful, it's got the George Gershwin music. If you want to hear what Audrey Hepburn sounds like singing, don't go to my fair lady where she's dubbed, go to this movie, she was a trained ballerina and she did some dance numbers that are pretty impressive when you don't think of Audrey Hepburn in that light. Also, Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire, two of the most charismatic people ever to be on movie screens. And also, Kay Thompson, the third lead in it. I did some research on her. She was the coach for a bunch of big Hollywood stars, like Judy Garland and Fred Stair, or, sorry, and Frank Sinatra,

but she only had four film roles, and this was by far the biggest, and she, all but still is a movie. And she wrote Eloise, right? She wrote Eloise, that's the other weird thing about her. She had an amazing career, look her up, but it's just a, it's a fun light movie in these trying times. It was exactly what I needed to see at that time.

So funny face. Cool. Who wants to go next? I'll jump in. I'm going to recommend a movie that is a bit of a selfish recommendation, but I am recommending a documentary called Death by Metal. It is a documentary about the Heavy Metal Band Death and the frontman Chuck Scholdner

and kind of tracks his, it's kind of like a VH1 behind the music for this extreme Heavy Metal Band and the like rise and eventual death of this kind of phenomenal heavy metal musician. They're one of my favorite bands. It's really interesting for me and it's cool to see a bunch of these these guys give interviews these like crusty old heavy metal dudes give interviews years after years after they were like young denim clad maniacs making music in their parents garage and it includes like interviews with Sean Reiner who passed away a few months ago which is pretty sad but it's one of my favorite bands death and it's a pretty fun little documentary it's on Amazon Prime.

Now you say that that's selfish and you're saying that just because it is a thing that you like Stuart? Well I say it's selfish because it's I don't know how interesting it would be for people who are not interested in that specific like subgenre of extreme heavy metal. Like death metal, you know, it's like eating spicy food like It would be like eating a fucking ghost pepper first and not like working your way up like it will sound like garbage If you haven't listened to this sort of thing. I guess you're saying it might not have the same wide interest as the usual Korean shock harer or Directive video ninja movies that you like to recommend. That's true, yeah. It's usually...

You have more of a selective audience than the, as, you know, the, you know, the family features I usually recommend. Yeah, I mean, yeah, I just, I brought it up because I think that there's a certain level of, if you don't know us by now, of all of our recommendations, that it can be assumed that if you like this kind of thing

that Dan or Stuart Elliott like, that if you like this kind of thing that Dan or Stuart Elliott like maybe you like this other thing. Speaking of if you like this kind of oh sorry what did you say? No I mean you go first I have a connection to what was just said it will still apply in a second. Then you go and then I'll go last you go and then I'll go last. Well if I can alley-oop off of what Stuart likes I'm to recommend a movie that by chance already came up in this conversation. Universal Soldier Day of Reckoning, the fourth, Universal Soldier movie, the second direct to video one, with Scott Atkins, King of VOD action. It is a movie that is very, very similar to Bloodshot in a lot of ways.

In certain countries and on certain platforms, it seems to have been retitled universal soldier, a new dimension now. So if you're looking for it, that's the same movie. But it's similarly about memories and someone who has sort of been programmed to be in an action movie. And is the kind of movie that you should be comparing Bloodshot to and not Iron Man? Yeah. Yeah, and it also has a little bit of the same meta commentary because it has Van Damme as this agent star and Dolph Lungren as this agent guy, both of whom are like, Van Damme gives his best like, Colonel Kurtz impression in this movie.

I'm gonna recommend a movie that, similarly also to these, if you like the kinds of things that I like, then you might like it. I'm gonna recommend this is a western called Doc from 1971. It's about Doc Holiday and is meant to be a kind of like gritty anti-heroic retelling of the gunfighter of the OKKarau and star Stacey Keach as Doc holiday, Faye Dunnoway plays Kate and Harris Ulan plays Wyatt Earp, Harris Ulan you may remember best as the judge who put away the

scullary brothers and ghost busters too, come on other things. And he's really even the chair. And he's there, it's a real like, it's a movie that I was not super familiar with. It's directed by Frank Perry, who directed like the swimmer and mommy dearest and Diary of a Mad Housewife, the sky who had this very idiosyncratic career. And it was written by Pete Hamill, the newspaper columnist

and memoir writer. And it manages to sometimes be a little too like super grit for its own good and that characters call each other like bitch out of nowhere and stuff like that. But it's such a strangely like low key and yet tense and at times very exciting and at times very like touching story about a guy who is now Trapped in a life that he can't seem to get out of and also the break down in a friendship between doc holiday and wider and things like that and They're all really great in it and I really liked a lot It's a movie that I was not feeling it familiar with before and I went a walked away from it being like

Oh, I'm surprised I haven't heard more about this so that's doc Stacey Keach fade on away and of course hair is you Lynn Cool for recommendations plus blood shot Yep Okay, well this is the point and I guess we normally would just be like you know go out and spread the word of the flop house But I think that at least for the duration of the Of the pandemic we want to more spread the word of the flop house, but I think that at least for the duration of the pandemic, we want to more spread the message of take care of yourselves. If you're in a place where you have the emotional and or money resources to take care of others, we would encourage you to do that as well.

You know, we're glad that we can provide whatever we're service, we ever provide to anyone during this time. And we want you all to be well. And that's what I have to say about that. We get a lot of nodding from everyone else. A lot of empathetic nodding. I mentioned before, but I'd been pretty sick with symptoms matching the COVID-19, and I am feeling almost 100% better, and I feel very lucky that I've been able to isolate and get healthy again. Yeah. If anybody was worried about me. No, I feel very lucky that you've been able to get healthy

against it. So you could have found a new steward. No, I love new steward. I mean, Griffin seems to like a lot of the same stuff that you do. So I don't know. Yes. Yeah. It's more of a chewy situation to have Griffin join the.

I mean, heaven, I mean, the definition of heaven on earth. Yeah. Sure it is. I would never talk again. To all of our listeners, we hope you're healthy. We hope that people in your lives are healthy. If you're not doing well right now, we hope you are through it and feeling better soon. And what Dan said, do what you can to help other people.

And otherwise, please take care of yourself. And as my friend Jenny Jaffee has said to me, let's not all, for any of the creative types listening out there, let's not all feel bad. If at the end of this, we haven't written the great American novel with this time. We've supposedly have on our hands job one is just Taking care of ourselves and take care of each other and let's While she's busy being on the fucking front page of reddit, right? I do not know that I do not have a focus to read a novel during this time Let alone right one so need a novel during this time, let alone, right one. So, we've been doing a lot of dress up, right?

Between a lot of, Ellie, you made fun of that earlier. I mean, like that is the love of distraction, I need during this. I was only making fun of it in terms of that. You sent us the letter questions this morning, when I was like, oh, you seem to have a lot of time in his hands. You don't take that as a coronavirus thing, but no, no.

Now that we have elected to not promote ourselves, Griffin, do you have anything you wanna plug or promote? Yeah, I'm definitely gonna plug taking care of yourself and taking care of others in this weird time. That's my primary plug. I'm gonna second that from all of you guys. What a hero. And then Blankcheck podcast. My podcast with David Sims is a critic for the Atlantic,

which all three of you have been on. We discussed. It's like the candidate remake. Yeah, it's the Cadillac movie podcast. Oh, no. I don't actually don't know enough about cars to figure out what we are. It's the I feel like the Blankcheckbox is kind of like the floppest if we knew what we were doing and put work into it. Like if we if we were any good at this and also were better at it. But also I think you can vaguely map our personalities onto the portally. Portally. So if you like the show, you like that show as well. It was a shame.

Our producer Ben was not there when you guys Recorded and that's a pretty clean mapping of three on to three. Yeah My only request is that listeners from this podcast go listen to blank check podcast but come back and also listen to our show I don't listen to both. It kind of feel like your needs are being met just by the other one. Because I know what the feeling is. You know, take the favorite one. You don't have to tell us which one you like better. We would prefer not. But think of the other one as methadone.

Sure. The one you like the best. No, just you can fit both of them in your life. Just put them on two time speed and have your brain leak out of your nose. So nearly it talks. You're not taking it to get high anymore. You're just taking it to stay even, you know? Yeah, yeah.

Just to reach zero. And I also, I want to promote very relevant and topical. Thank you for reminding me, Dan, I'm doing a weekly Instagram live show with my younger sister called Marilyn Vinn, where she picks a Merrill Street movie and I pick a Vin Diesel movie, are two favorite movie stars respectively, and we compare them.

So I'm doing that every Monday night at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, but then it stays up online for I think 24 hours afterwards. What movies have you done so far? We've just started it. We did it. The first installment was Bloodshot We did it. The first installment was Bloodshot versus Mamma Mia 2. Here we go again, but that was before we figured out how to save the video. So this remains my only record of Bloodshot opinions. So you guys have the exclusive. That's cool. And then where we got scooped. Week 2 was Babylon AD versus the hours. Oh my god. Is that our last episode? That was our last episode. Really?

We've afforded it and then somehow it disappeared. Well, that's pretty perfect because that movie pretty much doesn't exist. Yeah. Yeah, I'm eager for you to do the Manapart. I don't know, Ricky and the Flash. Yeah. I think Manapart is going to be this week at the time that we're recording because that is a Babylon AD man apart and knock around guys are the only vindies will movies I had

not seen before. I'm trying to fill in the blind spots before I go into rewatching everything. I think I may have seen knock aroundaround guys and remember nothing about it. As I think most of America feels about knock-around. Most of America saw knock-around guys, that's why it goes the most profitable movie in the history of film. It was synced with the census forms of DVDs, knock-around.

They said, please classify your ethnicity and how many people in your household, what did you think about knock-a-round? What's your mandatory? What's your mandatory? Yeah, I did a play with. It was a coup on the movie. Oh, OK.

All right, well, thank you, Griffin, for being here. I think that we can say that this movie or this movie, this podcast was 100% better having the world's most foremost and funniest Vin Diesel fan. I'll talk about it. My pleasure and no title I will wear with more honor than the ones you just assigned to me. So until next time, I've been Dan McCoy. I'm Stuart Wellington. I'm Elliot Kaylen.

And Griffin is the one who was the same name. I'm sorry, I'm Griffin Newman. That's... Bye! Bye! F-f-f-f-a-long, bye. Bloodshot, yes. Now Dan, something I do often is I have note, I have a rundown of the episode on my computer, and I have the name of the movie on there. Audience supported.