The Flop House - The Flop House: Episode 54 - Gamer

Episode Date: February 7, 2010

0:00 - 0:36 - Introductions and Theme0:37 - 33:42- We welcome Matt Koff, our second guest host of a still-young 2010, and we introduce him to a rising star named Gerard Butler, in a little film called Gamer.33:43 - 37:57 - Final Judgments37:58 - 48:38- A very navel-gazing movie mailbag.38:39 - 51:47 - Two out of three  bastards recommending aint' bad.51:48 - 52:37 - Goodbyes, theme, and outtakes.

In this episode we ask the question, can the filmmakers who brought us the Hong Kong cocktail really deliver a boring movie? We discuss gamer. Hey everyone and welcome to the flop house I'm Dan McCoy. I'm Elliot Kaylen. And I'm Matt Koff. Yes, Stewart's away. He just got a promotion at work. So, congratulations Stuart, you did it, you're living the dream. I certainly was doing something relating to that. Going to strip clubs, getting very drunk with other managers, which is as I understand it, what his job and

tales. Well, he's the guy who entertains the clients when they're in town. Takes him to strip clothes, his four houses, snuff films, places where you can kill people for money, underwater casinos, space brothels. This is where you can use a flame thrower on a bear. That's his dream. Yeah, someday he'll open that place and be shut down instantly. Not in Germany. Matt tells us a little bit about yourself. So we replaced Stuart with another deep voice, lethario.

Hello. I don't actually don't know how my voice isn't that deep. I guess. Compared to mine it is, unlike a slide whistle. The top end of the slide whistle. Like Dan's is Mr. Deep. You've got like sort of a sleepy voice though. I do it did so that okay. I'll be the sleepy guy Yeah, you won't say much

My favorite Jonathan Silverman sitcom you've already got the sleepy guy Matt all you already has a more memorable hook than I do yeah I was listening to that the other day how we were trying to think of it hook for you and one of the ones I suggested was I'm so sleepy So Matt is running all the way to the bank with it and I think he's doing great awesome I don't know why you didn't take that one you still need a hook. I'm sorry guys. A doctor hook if you will. Hey, well that may be brought up again during our letters section. Oh, I don't know what you're talking about but sounds one two three four shadowing I'm not new catch phrases It's because R.O.C.K. the USA was getting a little old. Okay. Yeah, that's a keeper

So the film that we watched tonight Was titled gamer You speak the truth and it started Gerard Butler I don't speak French. What's weird is that he's an actor because it seems pretty clear he's born to be a butler. Well, he's to play a but I don't know if he's played a butler in a single film yet. Yeah. Yeah. He'd be good as a butler. So for those unfamiliar with Gerard Butler, imagine a Less Dewey-Rosal Crow without the charisma. Wow! Gerard Butler's gonna cry when he hears these, so that's true though. I like to a less dewy, rarcial crow without the charisma. Wow. D'Ard Butler's gonna cry when he hears these,

so that- Well, it's true though. I like to, I like him fine in 300. I did not like the movie that much, but I thought, okay, this guy's solidly holding down the center of this film, but he could not be more absent in this movie. This one, I don't think he was involved in it the way

he was involved in 300, where I believe he was also writer director He's a good producer of the film right and makeup artist He wasn't but yeah in in three I liked 300 and in it I felt he provided the right level of like Brio and gusto And in this he just seems very I mean sleepy is The right way to put it from what we're talking about before. Like, he just seems like he's walking through it, sleep walking through the movie, not really that interested in being there.

I'm not, don't blame him, because it's not a particularly good movie, but- Well, Ellie, do you think that he was doing that for character reasons? Do you think he was doing that? Because- Wait a minute. He plays a video game character who is under the control of a third party, or a second party, I feel. When he's released from the control of a third party or the second party

when he's released from the control of the third party and we'll get to that when we do our plot summary if anything He is more sleepier and lessen less yeah invested in the film that's a more sleepier. Yeah, well whatever anyway He is his his performance rivals that of Raymond Burr in Godzilla king of the monsters for energy level And he's like punching people and shooting guns and stuff, but it seems like he's just not interested in So this movie yeah Basically the running man, but updated for our second life world of work craft modern lifestyle Running man is just about TV, but this is about video games craft modern lifestyle. Running Man is just about TV, but this is about video games.

Allow me to explain. If I can get to do the plot summary in an earlier episode. So, it's misted. Yeah, I know. We're in a dystopian future, as it says in the very beginning in text, it's, what does it say, the far future from this moment or something, or many years from this exact moment? Yeah, similar to that. And it is the dystopian future.

Everyone in the world is obsessed with these two video games that are owned entirely by Michael C. Hall, playing the character of Castle. And not Castle, the crime writer, from the TV show, Castle. And not Frank Castle, the Punisher, from Marvel Comics, title of the same name. Right.

I thought both of those things were true actually. Oh, no. It clears up a lot of things for me. You were very confused during the course of this movie. Yeah. I thought he was an actual castle. I was like, why does he look like a human? Why is he talking and moving? Yeah. He should be protecting a princess. Yeah, exactly. I don't know.

Well, anyway, castle owns two huge video games, society and Slayer and in them you what's so amazing about them is that you're not controlling a video game character get this You're controlling a real live person who has tiny nano cells in their brain which control their actions. And there's a lot of made up science to explain why they have nano cells that take over their brains. So you can control them. Society is kind of a second life type world where everyone stands around in crazy revealing outfits and just kind of dances in a public park and then has sex or yeah or like they hate each other. And even though they're real life people in a real life environment they still

move around like they're in a sims game like a herky jerky way yeah um and the and it's based society is basically about seeing women's breasts and uh and they're having dance parties and having dance parties yeah people dancing and women exposing their breasts and making out with each other and also one guy dressed as like a priest Running around with a bunch of balloons. Yeah, yeah, I want to know one of those kids are going that Balloon priest and this this this game did not seem appealing But one thing that one me over at first and which didn't last is that they have you know balloons popped up next everybody so you can see what the names of the characters are and one of them a guy in a suit riding a vest by think maybe and it might be the same guy who had a

pig nose on later for no reason his character name is my balls hurt which strikes me as a name that someone might give to their avatar character in one of those games the other game slayer is kind of a death race slash, running man type thing. These are all death row inmates, and they're in a fight to the death on some sort of abandoned city landscape, and they're being controlled by players at home.

But if the prisoner survives 30 rounds of this game, then he is supposedly free and he can go back into society. It doesn't make sense because he's not really doing anything. The gamer is controlling him. The whole thing is kind of screwed up. But anyway, Gerard Butler is cable, the most popular slayer character. He survived 27 rounds being controlled by this kid, whose name I don't remember. And it's not important. It's not really that important. It turns out.

He was very unlikely. He was really a knight. And he's got a wife and a daughter on the outside. The daughter is been placed in a foster home and the wife is a society character who's controlled by a ludicrously fat man. Although I mean it's a real guy but he's she's being, for for some reason is reserved by a shudden who is enormously overweight yes and is meant to be disgusting to the like he is meant to repulse the viewer yeah no he he we first get introduced to him

uh... he has some waffles that he's eating and he has a little bowl of maple syrup that he dips the waffles and it stops it up and the maple syrup is the consistency of motor oil and he uh... you know you see close-ups of his double chin as he uh... puts this in his mouth. And he's also a pervert who makes the character do terrible things. Yeah, I mean like these people on society are basically you know forced into you know prostitution

or a dance partner or a dance bar or you know balloons but clergy balloons drug Butler has he has some sort of information castle doesn't want him to escape they're gonna try to rig it so that he dies but he has some kind of information in his head that people need to know or something and his gamer gives him the bill unlocks his control so that George Butler can escape from the game, find his wife and daughter, and reveal this big secret. And if any of that sounded exciting to you, it is not. It is super dull. And the

movie ends with, with one of those things where it's like, the ending is broadcast all over the world. It seems to be a world of the future where you're either playing society, playing slayer Where you spend your life milling around in the streets waiting for the giant TV screens to show you what's happening in society or slayer and also For as dystopian as these video games are everything else in society pretty much just looks like it does today It's everything the same except there's more neon and people have more piercings to wear more latex Yeah, like it's the whole thing is and this is something I was

talking about when you're watching the movie. It's a very like 1990s vision of what the dystopian future would look like. Like a very strange day is Johnny pneumonic type of virtuality. Virtuality. It felt a lot like Johnny pneumonic like the scene where they go into the club and Udo Kier is there. And it's like in the future everyone's decadent and they have beer sings and they lick each other. Like that's what happens in the future. And everything's lit with neon lights and you've got an underground of people

who are fighting somebody. That sounds great, Ali. That future that you just described. No, it's terrible. I don't want it to arrive. This idea that in the future everything is fetish porn of the most latexie sort. And it wasn't hell with the fact

the soundtrack. Twice they play Marilyn Manson's cover of the sweet dreams are made of these erythmic song. It's like it feels like a movie that was made in 1996 and they locked it into time caps and they released it now, you know. And somehow Gerard Butler of today was able to start it. And also the internet is a big room now. It's not just like on the screen. Oh no, you're in a room and the screen is all around you on the walls and you lie on a bean bag chair or something. Wow, it seems a lot less convenient than the

current internet. Oh, which is portable? Yes. Yeah, I got to go home and go on the internet. Since now you have to be in a big room and you literally have to turn around to see parts of the screen. Yes, it is inconvenient. But it's a movie that's the first couple minutes had a little bit of promise in them and then it quickly ran out of anything to say or do. Well, it's directed by written and directed by Neville Dean and David Allen. By Woody Allen. Strangely enough. By David Mammoth.

By David Mammoth. This is the script that Woody Allen, David Mammoth and Inmore Bergman, worked on before Bergman died. No, Mark Neville Dean and something Taylor, I don't know. But the guys who did Crank and Crank 2, and they also did a little scene thriller called pathology about med students who are killing people and then challenging each other to figure out how they killed them and that's the little morbid game they play which was basically dismissed by critics but I kind of liked it and I really like the

crank movies I think they're stupid in a really fun way. And so I'm like, oh, maybe this movie will be stupid in a fun way as well. And at the beginning, it seemed like it was just that same sort of amped up trash forever. Very interactive, yeah. Yeah, like, okay, they're not shying away from a bunch of sex and violence, which is certainly true

throughout the film, but it's done in such a just despeared way after a while that it starts up a wall of noise. It starts out very tongue in cheek and you expect it to settle down into like, okay, then we'll watch the movie, but then it just keeps up like that and it stops being tongue in cheek and they felt that they had there certain movies that have have the right balance between, you know, the commentary on society and the future life is cheap, but also like this is wrong but we're still gonna provide you with like the cheap thrills that you want in this kind of movie some movies strike that

balance well and this one does not well man yeah I was not interested in anything but this movie had to say I know it could have just been like a fun future romp you know I mean I haven't seen the Craig movies, but yeah, it's like trash right? It's like yeah, gonna go see some people die. It's gonna be great. They're gonna be colors It's gonna be awesome bad not sure if you're aware of this but that you can see colors just all around you I can't see colors We'll talk about that later. You can see them when you go to see the movies. Yes

see them when you go to see the movies. Yes, we'll do that. In the after this we do a vision psycho somaticism podcast. Well, that's why I'm here. Yeah, I was gonna. I was gonna ask you. I mean, you, uh, guessed it once before, but you came in and you saw one third of the movie. Jumper. Yeah, you saw the last of Jumper. Wow. Yeah, movies that related to K-BAR. Yeah, that too. Jumper and get it and they make characters near K-BAR. Have you award winning writer for the Daily Show at John Stewart? And I just made a joke about Jumper cables. No, but I was curious, not being used to watching bad movies at the rapid clip that we do here in the club. I try to watch good movies, generally.

That's a mystery. That's a mystery. To approach life. I shouldn't live that way. But actually, I had this similar talk with somebody recently where I feel like they're watching too many bad movies and not enough good ones. I want to form an intervention for him because he's like, I've been watching so many Lucas at Junior Action movies lately. Like, no, you should watch things that you will enjoy legitimately. Was this person's name?

Did it rhyme with Blubert? Blelling to him? No, no, this was a different person. But no, I was going to ask like, how does it feel like coming in on such an assault of movie for your first full flop house experience. I feel I feel like a victim. I feel Violated. That's a thing. It's just boring. It's just like you know what I mean? Less is more dude

Neville Dean First of all look any time that there's like a Director and you only see one name for a guy like like Mick G it says written written by Neville Dean slash Taylor directed by Neville Dean slash Taylor like they don't use their name I know and I'm like is that one person or like white just I don't know is it a law firm yeah which if it was I could forgive this movie I don't know what they're doing Yeah, no, that's not film is not their specialty No, no, personal injury

Yeah, exactly, torts But delicious torts Well, it been torts If I'm not interested at the beginning It's just not going to get any better for me I mean, there were things, I'm not going to say this movie was I like Michael C Hall Yeah, well Michael C Hall say this movie was, I like Michael Seahaw. Like, uh, you know, well, Michael Seahaw's performance was the one like bright spot in the movie.

I felt like he really like gave, he went so over the top. Yeah, right. For no reason had a heavy weird southern accent and, you know, just is very, he's not apparently, he's unfortunately not in enough for the movie. Like, yeah, he's this very very like enjoyably flamboyant like just completely evil character with no gloss of even pretending not to be evil. And he's just, he's really only in like what three scenes when it cuts down to it. Yeah. Like a couple of sprinkled like moments. Right. Right. He knows what movie is. And by like, yeah, Michael C. Hall and a LUM of my school my college yeah really I think the only famous actor to come out of my college what are the

kind of famous people of come out of the college so when you said famous actor you met one famous person I think I think I think a cult leader Jim Jones had something yeah yeah I don't know the specifics He founded it Jeffrey Jeffery Jeffery Jones who wants your college or a leader Jeffrey Jones? Of the mom and dad saved the world cult. Yeah, it's dangerous that call Jesus this, you said, Elliot, that this movie is one of these movies where the rebellion is more powerful than the government.

They managed to hack into the system, they managed to set this guy loose. There's just four of them too. Yeah, I mean, and by the way, the rebellion, the weirdest conglomeration of people, ludicrous is the leader, and then you've got Alson Loman in Redlock's. And she rides a motorcycle. White girl, Redlock's. And then Kira Sedwick, who is introduced to us

as a TV anchor. Well, because she's not part of the underground, but she sort of comes into it. Yeah, she joins it by the end. And you can tell because she wears a hoodie over her regular clothes instead of the the other yeah but she sort of comes into it yeah she joins it by the end you can tell because you wears a hoodie over her regular clothes instead of the bright yellow Dick Tracy raincoat that she's wearing to the rest of the movie yeah but it's and there's a and there's a like a young Asian guy whose name I didn't get yeah he got shot pretty quick yeah well but it's

that like these four guys who for people and I think there was one extra that we saw for a moment playing an arcade game in their headquarters Yeah, they've got a bunch of old arcade games show that their old school I heard we got Gallagher in the background and wish that they had like Gone with that more like I wish that it was less that they talked gave the speech But like if everyone's controlled by these things then we're all slaves to the system Da-da-da, but I really wish that it was more like they were angry that the purity of games had been there had been it and I feel like maybe if Stuart had written this movie that would have been the main thrust like these new games aren't real games what happened

to the purity and the beauty of the old arcade games let me show you games like burger time and the pop like it and the ET for Atari there's for Atari. These games are about working within limits to get to a set goal and overcoming those limits. These new games are all like I wish that had been their philosophical bent instead of in the future that everyone loses control of their lives. Great, that's what happens. Well that seems like a big theme lately. Just Opie in future. You know this was one of three movies that came out last year, just off the top of my head that I could think of about avatars. Well, Avatar.

Yeah. There's that one. And Anata. And there was this one. And there was the movie. And there was the Ophati with Jack Lemon. And Armala Deuce. So Avatar, this one.

And Surrogate. Surrogate. Which we also talked about maybe watching tonight, and I still kind of maybe want to watch the Vovos. I think we could still surrogate, do surrogate for Vovos. Yeah. But obviously this is in the zeitgeist. Well, people jumping on the second life World of Warcraft, Manwagon.

Yeah. And what it's done, it's the thing though, and the Simpsons World of Warcraft episode bugged me with this, where it's like, oh my god, people are spending so much time in this game they're creating their whole other world, and then they extrapolate that to a video game that is far more lifelike and realistic and all-consuming than any of the games that that's actually happening with R and it's like and I know that they're exaggerating it for dramatic effect but it gets to a point where it's like how would you

run a game like this like how do these people pay for it like if they're spending this much time in it like how do they have jobs to get money to pay for their subscription rates you know which is not I mean it reminds me of when we, was it untrasable a long time ago? Right. Where it was like, this guy has a snuff film website and he's getting 40 million hits, 40 million viewers watching people dying on his site. And it's like, that's crazy.

Who, well, one, how is the server holding up to all this traffic? But at the other, but on top of that, like, really 40 million people are sitting at their computers right now watching someone being murdered. Like, it's an unrealistic number. It's a dark commentary on human nature. Dark commentary on crappy writing.

And well, but also to say nothing of the fact that as you said, this second life, the society game is basically just so much people hanging out in a plaza dancing. So you got to really love that. They put so much work hanging out in a plaza dancing. You've got to really love that. You've so many of them. They've put so much work into this video game, but apparently the parameters of it are just like a bunch, it's just a boring party.

Yeah, you know? I can understand the appeal of a game like Slayer. I mean, you wouldn't want to really play a game where real people were being murdered, but video games most of them are about killing things So you can at least understand the appeal of an action game, but society I mean, I guess people spend a lot of time on second life just wandering around like well I'm likewise like the Sims which is much even you know smaller scale

but still to have a real life video game and not have these people just sort of Wandering around doing anything you can imagine. You know like I don't know it just looks like they're in an episode of M2B's The Grime. Yeah. For the whole thing. Like if you bought that video game, maybe like this video game sucks. Nothing's happening in this video game. Like I mean unless you just want to watch your character of sex with other characters which they did a lot of I guess the implication was that maybe there, it's just people watching people having sex,

but like, but is that like, I don't know that you need a game for that. Also, there's pornography all over the video. Inside the movie, there's pornography everywhere. It's being broadcast all the time. So. So is this like the first video game that has sex? You know what I mean?

Like in this, in this in this you know this is an alternate world where leisure suit larry was never developed right that's what it is custers revenge never happened that would have been that would see they could have made this movie so much better if there was a if it was a prologue where there the man who does who designed leisure the leisure suit larry games is murdered before he's able to make the first game and that is that what diverges this universe from our own

it's an alternate time it's like lost it's like lost I'm on spoiler alert sorry uh oh I didn't watch the season premiere yet or any of the preceding seasons oh man we totally apt it up for you yeah do you guys curse on this oh we fucking curse all the fucking time oh my god all right let's just open up a whole world of communication for you. Yeah, an alternate timeline where you curse. There's the clean version of the flop house in a separate timeline. In the world the cursing has been outlawed by the government. In the world where Stuart fell into a pond as it's one show. This is a movie, it's a movie also that the villain at the end, his plan is like super villainish.

It turns out that he's going to use these nano cells to basically take over the minds of everybody in the world. And so the movie jumps from impulsively futuristic to insanely impulsively, you know, just silly. But I mean, I kind of liked that that leap happened. I don't know. I mean, maybe ultimately there's like better stakes in the sense of the idea of like, okay, this person has this narrow technology that taken to his logical limit could mind control anyone they wanted.

And that's a little more interesting than just another retread of death race. However, once that leap was made, you don't believe that one really burly dude is gonna be able to take him down. You know, you're like, okay, well he has mind control powers over pretty much anyone. I mean, in the other movie, the climax basically comes down to, oh my god, his willpower is greater than I assumed. But the twist, this last thing comes so late in the movie, it's like within the last eight or nine minutes, I feel like. So it's almost like the movie is like,

this guy's got to get back to his wife and child. Got to get back to his wife and child. And then the last time, it's like, you don't really care if he gets his wife and child, do you? Well, he's going gonna take over the world! Uh-oh! Cable's on last hope. Yeah, I mean, and also, it was one of these situations where,

I mean, it's half his willpower and half, like, oh, we gotta have some reason that that kid was involved in the movie earlier on. Oh, yeah, that's right. And so, he does some hack-ing. He hacks back in with the aid of Kira Sedgwick and what's her face? Strike me that, Alison Loman.

Who appear to be helping him hack from, I don't know, an ATM somewhere? It's just a computer key ask on a street somewhere. But it's one of those movies also where hacking consists of pressing a button that says upload, and that somehow infects the system. And at the end, it's such an anticlimactic ending that like Michael C. Hall's employees are watching him fighting

cable and cable kills him. And then cable turns the employees as they're filing out of the basketball court where this took place. And he says to them, turn it off, turn off the nano cells and they go, okay, and then they shut them off and they walk they go well played and they walk out like he's outweated them by asking them to do it didn't see that what coming yeah I didn't expect you to ask us politely actually either at that point you have to it has to go one of either ways you know like those people have to be you know people Michael C. Hall has had under his control. And that's the reason why they are willing to, you know, go with a Gerard Butler after Michael C. Hall's out of the picture, like, oh, you've set us free.

Now we're going to set everyone free. Or they have to be, you know, consumed with the... Or just desire to rule the earth themselves and have to be an actual threat rather than being like, oh okay. Or just sure you told us to, you told us to turn it off Mr. Butler. We'll do it. But it's almost like, they don't even seem scared.

They just sit like, it's like, these are his henchmen of the villain. He sends them out to kill people. They know he's going to take over the world. And then when he's killed, they're like, yeah, I guess that happens. Can you turn this stuff off? Yeah, I guess so. Anyway. I guess you happens can you turn this stuff off yeah I guess so I guess you won the game yeah it's like you know pack up stuff now like they seem to have even like the

henchmen of the villains seem to have no stake in what happens to the villain what are they gonna go do now yeah at the very least they're unemployed now I doubt Slay is gonna keep running or society. Yeah, Kable could you as a job? We help you out with the turning off the now, might. It feels a little and also like the underpinning of civilization now is these two video games and they're both over. And it's like at the end of Escape from LA where Snake Pliscan shuts off all electronic equipment in the entire world. It says if that happened but nobody will mind it that much. You know, like, all of society is back to basics. All right, okay, I guess we'll just make do without, you know.

We're gonna be here. I'm hungry, man. Let's get a bite, huh? The one thing I actually liked at the ending, and I said it at a time, was it comes down to this thing where they're fighting over a knife, and Michael C. Hall has his, like, nanomites in George Butler's head. and I said it at a time was it comes down to this thing where they're fighting over a knife and Michael C. Hall has his like nanomites in Gerard Butler's head Michael C. Hall has special ones in his head which allow him to use his mind to control other people's minds

Yeah, so basically anyone who's infected with this technology he theoretically has control over and he makes them do a dance number Point to a cover of I can't remember again. Yeah, I say cover. It's not like any I don't know the whole is covering it. Frank Snatchers is the definitive version I would think but maybe not. But I'm so songs for swinging lovers out. Yeah, Michael C Hall is arranged by Nelson Rital. I'm trying to get I know about it. It's a jar Butler to stab himself and jar Butler is resisting a little you know a little bit because he has someone hacking in and he also has the willpower But ultimately what makes him able to stab Michael C Hall as he says somebody will see Hall

Don't think about me stabbing you with this night. I thought he said think about me Stabbing yeah, yeah, I think about me and I know that was kind of clever as far as it goes. Once he's implanted that ideal, the D.M.C. Hall's head, he can't not think of it. And so it gives him the edge to. It makes it happen. Yeah.

I wish it's kind of a clever, twist way to destroy that villain, but I wish they just did it in such an anticlimactic way. It was like, think about me putting the knife in your chest. Make it happen. Oh, it's in my chest, I'm dead now. Yay. And then everyone watching cheers, like everyone

on the streets, everyone watching on the jumbo tron. Because they hate the guy who runs the game they love. It's one of the, it reminded me of V for Vendetta in a way where a lot of V for Vendetta is people in England watching TV and Living under an oppressive government, but anytime someone on TV says the government is bad. They're like, yeah, yeah, he's right All right, why the fuck do you live in this government? Like what's it doesn't make sense that you have an oppressive government where that There's five policemen and everyone in the country hates them and yet they are completely unstoppable Anyway, that's my problem. That's one of my several problems with be from indena. That's another podcast. That's a podcast for a different story

Wait, I said it backwards My my my you know the rest of the podcast. Yeah, now I'd like to pitch my ending to gamer Which I told you to a Dan and Matt Reuer. Maybe you guys tell me, but I didn't get, you know, I'll pitch it again. Maybe you'll buy it this time. He's defeated Michael C. Hall. He's hungry. He and his family go out for a nice steak dinner, or maybe he gets lamb, you know, some kind

of meat. And the waiter delivers the food. They start eating, waiter comes back and says, sir, how is your meal? And Jura Butler turns to him and says, it's a little, and then he turns to the camera and winks, GAMEY.

And then the title GAMEY comes up right afterwards, and then written by these guys and the audience is sitting in the theater thing was the movie named Gamer? I don't care. I wish the movie had had the guts to change its title by the end of the film and then you open up for a sequel where he bill where he starts a restaurant yeah it's like the old mystery science theater 3000 times. Santa Claus cocker's the margins like wait a minute there they're they're spelling Santa Claus but they're saying Santa Claus or or that they're the brain that wouldn't die at the end when the title comes up it's the head that wouldn't die.

Wow. Yeah. The title was wrong with it. That is a that's a much worse title of the brain But it's more accurate. It's a full head And it won't die. Okay, it just refuses to Fine, that's a good point. Nope, not gonna do it. I'm not gonna die But yeah, gamer felt like it was going through the movie. And maybe that was the larger feel of these characters are being controlled by outside forces, but it was a movie where I felt like half the time we could guess what the next line of dialogue

was gonna be in any given scene. And a guy, you know, there's this other killer who is in the game with Thrad Butler who no one's controlling him. He's just a crazy psycho, I guess. And he says, there's no one controlling me. I got no strings. And then he starts singing the song from Pinocchio about he's got no strings. And it's like, seriously? There like, that was my idea of a joke

that you would then start singing that song. Or like, you know, that there's a fight set to, there's a fight scene out of a dance number that's set to I've got you under my skin And it's like get it. It's a violent scene, but it's not violent music Like that's the thing that we do Yeah movies. Yeah, juxtapose. Yeah, I remember thinking of like when I was 12, you know, I'd be like, oh, when I write a movie, it's gonna have a violent scene with some like somewhere over the rainbow. And it's gonna be so clever because it doesn't go together. And then that happened in face-off? Yeah, I don't know, yeah. Maybe I had just seen face-off.

But I mean, it goes back to... Maybe the writer's a face-off had just seen you. Oh my God, I hadn't read your mind. I mean it goes back to maybe the writers of face off had just seen you I think that idea really is only worked once which is maybe twice it's in Clockwork Orange when he's singing singing in the rain. Mm-hmm. That was really yeah, and maybe in reservoir dogs when he cuts his ear off And they're playing the stuck in the middle with you song. I think that's our signal Yay and they're playing the stuck in the middle of a U-song. I think that's our signal. Yay. To give final judgments on this video. Final judgments.

Do do do do do do do do do do do do do both parts because do it's not here. So usually he does the do do do do do do do do do do do do do sum up I'll get I'll get the symbols this time. Sum up the categories for this podcast star. Yeah. This is a good bad movie, a bad bad movie, or a movie that you actually liked. So I'm gonna go to Elliot first. I'm okay. First judgment on this film.

I am going to say, this was a bad bad movie. It had the potential to be a good bad movie, or even It had the potential to be a good bad movie or even like a movie I actually liked Even if it wasn't like even if it was likable trash like there's even crank movies But in the end it just didn't have it didn't have the the pretend it didn't have the thing, you know What what people in the industry call the thing factor in the industry call the thing factor. But what do you think? I'm going to say this is a bad, bad movie. And if there's something worse than that, can I have that? Can I say that?

Oh, man. Oh, young Pat and one learner. Yeah, there's so many worse movies that we have. Oh, we've barely scratched the surface here. No, I agree. No, I'm not saying this was the worst movie ever. You just did. I heard it. We won the podcast. No, I agree that no, I'm not saying this was the worst movie ever. You just did. I heard it rewind the podcast. No, no, no, no. But I mean, is there ever like a can I say this is a bad, bad, bad movie? There's a can break in all the rules. Look, I'm

gonna go off. John on the spectrum of the movies we watched this is actually near near the top. I mean, I still rather watch this than 10,000 BC. Oh God. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I gotta say that this movie, it cranked, it cranked, it cranked my expectations up at the beginning. I'm glad you said it three times. I wouldn't have gotten it the one. I still haven't got it. But then those expectations didn't stay Speaking of stathom like I feel like As we were I maybe if Jason stathom was the star of this movie like that would be enough to put it over the top Into something that I would have enjoyed maybe although I mean like I don't know if you did you see Death Raist 3 make of that? I like Death Raist more than you did. Yeah, I didn't really care for all but I think if he I don't think he was so good in that.

But I think if you had someone like that in this who in in a way like both put took it more seriously and took it less seriously. Yeah. Then it would it would it would have been much better. Yeah, the movie around a George Butler seems to have a sense of humor and George Butler doesn't seem to have any sense of humor in the role. And I don't know that that's necessarily his fault. He may have been asked to sort of anchor the movie.

But because I mean he's a comic genius in his other films. He's he is America's favorite clown. He's like the Jim Carrey of Hollywood. Yeah I guess the do carry of the legitimate states. Yeah, exactly Broadway. Yeah, no, I thought it was going to be a movie that I actually enjoyed and it quickly plummeted the disabused you a bad film territory. I Don't I think that draw Butler Like as far as I'm concerned it he could they could have just taken an extra or like you know like a production hand

And just like put him in the center of the movie because that's how bad he was thinking wow like he was just nothing It wasn't even there. He's bad. It's just literally nothing. He was like a vortex of energy Yeah, he did suck a lot of energy out of the movie. True art of Valor is gonna come and beat the shit up. You seen how ripped that guy is? Like guys also, he also seems really tired. Yeah, that's true. So maybe as soon as he starts punching you,

he might be really worn out and just fall asleep. Yeah, exactly. And I think that's what it's like. You're gonna take a little snooze. Yeah, wake up, you're beating me up, Trim. Really? You want to wake him up and bringze. Yeah, wake up, you're beating me up. Really? You want to wake him up and bring it? Remind him. Yeah, I mean, I would. Oh, man, it doesn't want to feel neglected. Yeah, come on. I just came all the way here. That is what you start your

art, Butler. So, before we go on to our recommendations, I have a firestorm of letters, some firestorm. So many that I'm going to save. Firestorm. No, it is now. No, it's a nice. I'm going to save some letters for the next show. Steward Storm. But I have a nice mention here from Guardo, from the Hot Cakes podcast, which you so kindly mentioned in the Hannah Montana episode of the flop house. While listening to the listener letter portion of the latest episode, I was feeling shebush remembering my failure to recall your name during my recording. Don't be.

I often forget Dan's name. After you were finished reading the lovely young ladies letter, I was shocked and surprised that the semi-private shame was directly referenced. I pledged to you on my copy of the room that I will never forget the name of donate dan the militiaman the core uh... you got i think that you're new hook i i i i was very nice and yeah i foreshadowed that uh... we'll be discussing the issue of my lack of memorabilness and we have uh... no i i i i know that that's what your new hook your a donut guy and you hate

the federal government one certain militia we talked about this in the previous I don't like the second one I feel like that's gonna get put on tape and it's not true and then there's gonna be ATF people outside of the apartment it's gonna be FBI I'm gonna be shot down in some sort of failed rate no one will ever forget you I don't want to be not forgotten. You won't only be famous, but was it worth it? Yeah. That's the question I'll ask in my e-logic.

In the words of what you want. What was it worth it? In the words of Woody Allen, I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying. That's good. So, anyway, well placed. Yeah. I got one here, anyway, well placed. Yeah.

I got one here. It was well placed. That was too well placed. But that was very nice of him to make me think of you. No, I want to assure him that I was more touched than he had kind of words to say about the podcast than I was angered that he forgot my name. I was angry on your behalf. The shards of broken vases in the apartments say otherwise.

Yeah, really. I tell that they tell their own two. Vos smash or McCoy. Yeah, that's his other book. You're cutting yourself with it right now. That's to feel. That's to feel. Oh, oops.

This one's called Powder Blue. It's from Selena last name withheld. And it says, on the latest podcast, you mentioned powder blue, but said that as a straight to DVD release, it doesn't really fall under your purview, and Elliot mentioned something about its turbidity. I'm begging you, please, flappetize powder blue. I've had the most fortunate to sit through this travesty of a film, and I have to tell you it is Turgent. There's so much to work with. They could just like a beel a character named Quirty

Ray Leotus ridiculous death bright blue snow falling on Los Angeles plus its Patrick Squaisy's last movie. Oh I'm not just writing you this letter So that maybe you'll say my name in the flop house, although that would be a sweet bonus. I'm writing you this letter because I think the world needs your thoughtful and hilarious commentary on powder blue. Also I'm not actually some nut in case the tone of this letter suggests I am, just so you know. I hadn't thought of it, but you know what makes you.

I'm a nut, yeah. Well, maybe we'll do powder blue sometime, I don't know. I didn't realize Ray Liotto was in it. Yeah We've had you had two requests for it now. I think we I think we should at least put it under consideration We'll put it on the well. We won't table this one guys. I say we're doing it Wow Matt is large and in charge. Yep.

So, um... Was words rhyme for a reason? I have an email that I will quickly run through because it is the most inside email that you could get possibly, which is... It's from my own liver. Does it get more inside than that? It says, dear pancreas. I'm totally lost.

Stay on your side. I drew a line down the middle of dancing sides for a reason. No, this is from, I will say his full name, but I'll probably pronounce the last name. It's from John Syracusa. And I'll say that name because he is a he's a tech writer of some note on the internet and he was kind enough to tweet about our podcast. Oh that's very cool. But he's also familiar with my

brother and he writes to say. In a biblical sense. It's not even the phrase. You're right to ask, dear Dan, in what way are you not identical to your brother, John? I've known John for many years and I've just started listening to the flop house. From the very first episode I was struck by how I like you to are in all possible ways. Every thought, every phrase, every mannerism is identical. Your literary and pop culture references are the same. Your voice is even sound alike, right down to the accent. Chemicals, tents, etc. I was a heavy French accent. I was not aware that I said chemicals and tents in an odd way, but apparently I do.

We're John to secretly replace you on the show. I probably would not notice it's unnerving. We would though. You may take this as a question, this question is an opportunity to just to distance yourself from John to sparing him in a forum where he has no ability to reply, which to be honest is probably where I'm going to go after this email is done. Standing right by you. Or you can consider this letter I compliment and answer my question by

affirming the similarities between yourself and your brother. I heard that you're looking for a hook for your character on the show. This could be it. You could go evil twin, good twin, partially formed twin brother inside the brain, like the dark half, fraternal psychic connection, childhood, shared brutal martial arts training, etc. So that's from John and um... I like this new hook, I don't know. It might be better than you're hating of the hatred of the government and wish to overthrow it. Oh my god. Yeah, what is in which I'm different? My brother, again, this is so inside that I'll just run through it. I'm taller, uh... Take that.

thinner and younger. Take that short fat old brother of Dan. So I'm clearly the improved second generation version. M'quay 2.0. Yeah. No, my brother John is 10 years older than me and took a very strong interest in my raising. And thus I have a lot of similarities with him. To the degree that he often chats me on things Assuming that I know exactly what he's talking about and have the exact same interests as him and I don't know what he's saying

Sometimes do you and him ever switch places so that your wives don't know but you're using each other's wives? Again, I'm taller thinner and younger than my brother I guess are now? Yeah, you also have the opportunity since the two of you are a gynecologist together. I mean, he's been going a little crazy. But I will say that my brother is a math genius, which I am not, although he did not do anything with that math genius. He wasted potential.

Yep, that's something that I do have in common with my brother. How do you know you're not a math genius? 14 and he did it. I was two times two 14 well I thought you said seven times two Anyway, let's put your brother common go this with us What does he do if he's not a if he's not a mathematician? he works at Boston College he's not a mathematician? He works at

Boston College and he has a freelance design and illustration thing on the side He did the 9 a.m. Meeting website, which is is something that I mean 9 a meeting dot com Yeah, something that Matt cough and I you mean N I N E a M 9 okay the letters a.m. This is the kind of thing you need to make the word meeting really that shoms N-I-N-E-A-M-B-N-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C-O-C- It'll get you up in the porning. Wow. Come on, anyone? Okay, well, so this is... I liked it. Thank you. Lastly, this email is titled Dance Hook, and it's from Marina.

And she says, I think Dance Hook should be that he drinks Tuscan whole milk. You could reference it now and again, especially as we occasionally hear the glass clinking in the background. Hmm, what good Tuscan whole milk? Or perhaps you need your own beverage instead of relying on old cultural references like another drink perhaps. Ah, how I like to drink a trusty Tom Collins. Sort of like Bond's trademark, shake and not stirred. The drink that's already taken is the peanut clota, the peanut clota song, but maybe something like a Manhattan that identifies who is a New Yorker.

I'll give you my final judgment. Just as soon as I pour myself another, Manhattan, you can see how it would go. So that's from... It's an interesting hook. It's pretty good. I do enjoy cocktail. So let's see, what are the choices so far? And I think the viewers at home should vote on this,

and you have to follow their digits. No, I think that we can, I think we can milk a few more choices for a hook. OK, well, so OK, well, anyone I have has any other ideas for Dan's hook, please write them in. So so far, the suggestions have been very specific beverage preferences. Yeah, I like that in. So so far, the suggestions have been very specific beverage preferences. I like that one.

Evil Twin. I mean, the good ones that we already had of So Sleepy, Loves Donuts, hates the government, wants to overthrow it, establish his own secession village where he practices free love with his multiple child wives. So he keeps going along good. Oh, and also it ends in a blood bath But uh and what did we have what were the other hooks were the right? I don't know

I mean it's your hook man. Yeah, I think that's I think that's pretty much it so far so which one jumps out of you I think he might need more more options or right now like the drinks, but um What about garlic glasses? I don't think that would really translate to the listeners. I don't know at all. Especially since at the moment all three of us were in glasses. No one stewards back. Then the glasses quotient will drop to only two thirds of the post. Alright, well we're in contacts and there we go.

Alright, so that done, we should rapidly run through our recommendations of movies that we've seen recently and actually did enjoy. I'll go quickly first. I saw, speaking of Alison Lomon, I saw Night of the Demon, aka Curse of the Demon, depending on whether you're in America or Great Britain. There's not an Alison Lomon movie. No, but... So, 1950s... Drag Me to Hell was loosely based on that film, in that there's a curse that is transmitted by the giving of some sort of token item to the person,

and they have to get rid of the item or pass it on to pass the curse along, and there's also a say-out scene. It's not a very close retelling, but it is a inspiration for Drag Me to Al. It's directed by Jacques Turner, who did, you know, I walk with a zombie and cat people. My main problem with it is I thought that Dana Andrews as the protagonist was pretty dull. It's a movie where the main character has to spend 90% of the time in the film

denying that anything supernatural is going on when the audience knows that something supernatural is going on and so that can quickly become boring and irritating for the audience watching the film and you need a charismatic person to carry that off and Dana Andrews is your typical square jawed kind of dull 50s and 60s protagonist so yeah, that's not very good. You get Gerard Butler. Mm-hmm That would have done it. I need someone with that sweet Gerard Butler that effect I hate Ger art, Butler.

Wow. Was he really good in 300? He was fine. All right. But that movie was bad, right? I didn't care for that much, but many people did. All right. So Matt, what do you have to say about that movie you enjoyed?

Well, look, I'll be honest with you. The only movie I've been watching lately is The Room. Have you talked about The Room? I'd be surprised if people hadn't mentioned it on this podcast already. It might have been mentioned in passing. Alright, well that's my recommendation. Room is a horrible movie, but it's my favorite horrible movie ever. You know, that's a thing. It's different from gamer because

while gamer sucks the life out of the room, I mean, the room that you're in while you're watching it, the room is just, you know, it's inadvertently entertaining. And every time I watch it with a group of people, everybody loves it. And yeah, I don't to give away anything about the room but go and see it. And don't go and there are screenings like in New York and LA but I would recommend seeing it with a tightening group of friends first because

if you go and see it in a theater you won't be able to hear anything because everyone shouts like a maniac and throws plastic spoons at this screen Okay, well Elliott has had to Leap out the window So Elliott also recommends the room. Yeah, Elliott loves the room so For the flop house. I'm Dan McCoy. I'm Matt coughff. And I remain Elliott Kaelin. Good night.

Good night. If they aren't Mega Man 2 levels, then I'm not interested. Seriously, great game. Much better than the one we saw in this video. Capcom quest. Oh, that was the game that we were playing. Yeah, it was the far future dystopian version of Mega Man 2. That's why when he killed guys he got their leaf shields and

Bubble makers and whatnot That's why George Butler was called rock man in Japan