What Are You Watching?

75: Favorite Films of 2007

October 20, 2022 Alex Withrow & Nick Dostal
What Are You Watching?
75: Favorite Films of 2007
Show Notes Transcript

Has there been a better movie year since 2007? Alex and Nick dive into all the great films of 2007, topics include the Coens vs. PTA, the ‘70s aesthetic of “Michael Clayton,” Christian Bale & Werner Herzog, Noah Baumbach’s career, the Oscars, and silly movies that claim to be “Based on a True Story.”
Follow @WAYW_Podcast on Twitter and Instagram.
Watch Alex's films at http://alexwithrow.com/
Watch Nick's films at https://www.nicholasdostal.com/
Send us mailbag questions at whatareyouwatchingpodcast@gmail.com

Hey, everyone, welcome to. What are you watching? I'm Alex. We're throwing I'm joined by my best man, Nick Dostal. How you doing there? Lars Lindstrom. All excited to be here. I can't believe I did it. You got to tell people who you're trying to do this like it's Vigo. Vigo Eastern. Provinces. Yes, we'll get there. We'll get there. Wow. Favorite films of 2007. We've done some big years. I made it start out with like weird years that produced some really great results. Go listen to our top ten films in 1973. Folks, it's a banger. What are you watching? Podcast episode. They always are. Always right. We've done that. 2011 Inarguable. Great movie year. 1995. Now 2007 is such an incredibly odd movie year. First of all, it's nice because it was 15 years ago. So have a nice 15 year anniversary here. It was a huge movie year in which like almost every month, I'll say starting in March. In March, we have a great A-plus masterpiece movie that gets released in March. And then like in the very end, December, also great a masterpiece movie. And in between that, there's just so much gold. There's so much Oscar bait gold, which is something you don't hear me say a lot. This is a very rare year in which the Oscars got it right, not with the every nomination, not with every award, but they by and large, like it's just a banner Oscar year. I just remember. It sucks because looking back at this 15 years later, I don't know, forever going to get this again, which is to say I don't know if I'm going to go if I'm ever going to get a year again. We're starting in March. I just go to the theater and get used by December. I'm used to seeing incredible movies over and over and over. Almost nothing's letting me down like everything's just hitting. That was 27. It was a it was a great time. But yeah, as we get started, 27 and film. Let's go. What do you think? Oh, man, this is so it's so wonderful and depressing at the same time is this was, like, the happiest I've ever was in my whole entire friggin life. Was this year. And this was also the year and this is also the year that. I've really started to get into film. This was like. And I wanted to get to this because I know that's this is a huge turning point year for you, which we've addressed a few times on the podcast because one of your favorite movies of all time came out in 27. So yeah, this was okay, let me start there and not just like, what do you think a 27 but tell me where you were at, you know, movie wise in 27 because everyone knows I'm just obsessed with this shit. I was from like birth, so I saw everything. I was seeing everything, you know, no news story there. But like, tell me about your evolution of becoming a fan of cinema. It was I think it started like a couple of years before, maybe like 2005 is kind of where it really started. That's canon. When I started to make like a choice where I was like, I think I want to start watching better movies because I like movies. Yes, I love movies, but I want to start getting a little bit more into it. That's when I 25 is when I decided that I was going to be an actor. So that kind of fed itself to, okay, let me watch these great performances. Then that turned into, okay, I love the acting, but I'm starting to really like these movies. What is that? So this was all like I was just a giant sponge from 2000. From the end of 2005 until at least when I was in college that whole entire time period. And this was right in the thick of everything. So I was just watching everything that was at the theaters, everything. And then at home I was taking whatever I could. So I was watching The Godfather, like I was doing the the foundational work on the. Vegetables, going back in the vegetable movie to Citizen Kane. Yeah, all. Of that going back in like I got to. Yeah. At some point if you want to commit to being like a fan of movies, you know, you got to, you got to start digging down. You got to start going extra layers deep because you can be, you know, casual observer movies and just watch what's out there and look at box office numbers and be like, Oh, yeah, I'll go see that. But and that's cool. I think a lot of people see movies that way, but when you want to get at it at kind of an obsessive level, yeah, you got to start diving. You do. And we all got to start at some point. Yeah, yeah. And you do. And I remember thinking that too. I was like, Wow, I'm really watching these, quote unquote, you know, movies like, they're the greatest movies ever made that typically, like any time you look at the AFI top. List they have. There you go. Yeah, there you go. Yeah. So kind of just going through those and deciding what I thought was good. But ultimately, even in watching those, obviously I'm watching movies like The Godfather and I'm blown away. But there were some movies that were coming out presently, like this year in 2007, where I'm like, I'm liking these movies more than I'm liking some of these classics, so to speak. Sure, sure. That's absolutely fair. That was the genius of this year. Again, for me, it was like it was just an embarrassment of riches. It was so much gold constantly that I absolutely got used to just seeing this. And I wish I would. I wish I go back in time and be like, appreciate this because this isn't normal. You don't go see like, yeah. The other cool thing about this year is there are a ton of like. Besides seaside. Movies that I really like a lot. Yeah. Where I was at in my life. I was in college, I was working at an electronics store, I sold TVs, but we also sold like DVDs and shit and just got a discount. So, well, I didn't. Sell fucking eggs, cheeses, rice. I was the most clean cut college kid. I mean. Anyhow, not only did I see like damn near every movie we're going to reference today, I saw in the theater maybe more than once, but I also, because of this DVD discount own so many of these on DVD and Blu ray actually DVD because the Blu rays weren't really becoming a thing at that point. And I don't just mean like the core movies are talking about here. I own a lot of these like B movies on DVD because like whatever that I thought back then that part of being a hyper obsessed movie fan meant owning as many as possible. Yes, I learned that is not the case. Like, that's just not like there is something to say about quality over quantity and like there's I've just gotten a lot of dumb shit in my day. So yeah, I've reformed my ways and that a little bit now like my number one requirement says nothing to do with anything in terms of buying a Blu rays. Does it have special features? Know I don't buy bare bones discs anymore. I don't. I have to have more than a reason to stream it because a lot of movies, you know, I can pay even if it's not a streaming service, I can pay 399 to watch on YouTube like but if I want to investigate it more, I got it. You know, if I want to buy it, there has to be something additional to investigate. That's all. But you're to get into 27 fucking. Yes. Enough of a preamble about where we were at. I've tried a few different formats. This is going to be a little different format than we're used to or that people are used to. But we're just going to start off with the bangers. I did them in chronological order based on when they were released in America. So that means starting with our I came up with like a core 20. Five film because I kept trying to whittle it down. And I have ones that are really important to me. You have ones that are important to you. And then we're going to talk about these core group of films and then move on to other fun sections like what the Oscars were about, some of those B side movies I was talking about, but March 27, we all walk into David Fincher's Zodiac, and I sit for the duration, and then when it comes to the end so many times during the duration of this movie, I went, Why is this march? Why am I seeing this in March? Why is this not a week before Oscar nominations or something like what is going on here? We did a whole Zodiac episode, so we've talked about this film in-depth. Still one of my favorite, David Fincher's one of my favorite of this decade, let alone 27. But because we talked about it so much, I think it's still just very fashionable to call out the Oscar nonsense as it relates to this movie Zero Oscar nominations. Unbelievable. It's just fucking bullshit. Yeah, it really is unbelievable. Zodiac, tell me about it. What do you think? Where does this. Here we go. Where does this rank for Fincher? With you. Oh, man. I know. He went through this, but. It's got its. Top three. Same it. Yeah, it's. But I think it's three. I think it's three. Yeah, that's fair. It's definitely my top three. Two. Nothing will ever be seven. No. And then I think the social network comes in number two. Yeah. That's such like just a really good Fincher film that has nothing to do with, like, murder or. Yeah, crime in that way. It's just. It's so expertly told. Only he could have done that. But how crazy was it to see Zodiac like in March? Like you just walk into the theater and you're like, Oh, here's Zodiac. It's all. I remember. I was in a big theater and I was in the upper right corner and I was looking down at a giant auditorium full of empty seats. There were like maybe 20 people scattered throughout the whole entire theater. But we're talking like the biggest of like screens and like at a Regal or something like that. I remember even thinking, I'm like, This is a David Fincher movie. And like, there's nobody in here right now. All these movies that we're talking about, I've seen most of them in theaters. So I have like I remember vividly every single movie I see in theaters. So that was my that was my Zodiac. That's my take away from being there live. Something that we didn't talk about on our actual deep dove on the movie. The crowds were like, It was okay for me. I went on a Friday, I went to Friday, it opened. But I just I remember thinking, sitting there thinking, like, I don't I wonder how this movie is going to do because it's March. There isn't a lot of people in here. The opening weekend numbers weren't good and it did not do well in 27, at least not financially, certainly not acclaim wise for the Oscars. People who saw it liked it. Critics liked it. But this in the subsequent 15 years has had one of the best reputations of of any 27 movie. And trust me, we're going to get to all the big ones. But this has held up incredibly well. And I think people just revere it nowadays. I think it's really highly respected. One of my best cinematic moviegoing experiences in all 27 was buying a ticket to sit down for three plus hours to see this crazy thing called Grindhouse. Yeah, written and directed by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. It started with Rodriguez's Planet Terror zombie flick, and then it went to Quentin Tarantino's Revenge thriller, Death Proof Car Killer. Revenge thriller. Death Proof. I loved this experience so much. I was utterly devastated like no one showed up for. This might be my screening was sold out. I was there opening night. It was, you know, a bunch of lunatics in there, just how I like it. But as a Grindhouse package, it did not do well. People weren't on board for it. No such thing, because I own both of these separately on DVD. And I actually because of this researching this post, I finally bought the Grindhouse Blu ray that plays them as they were played in the theater with, like, the trailer with the trailers. Yeah. Yeah. Well, first of all, let me just get your high level like Grindhouse thoughts. Oh, I mean, I look at them as both like I actually do have a hard time separating. So whenever people talk about what's your favorite, Quentin Tarantino movie and you break them all down and death proves a part of that conversation, I always kind of feel like like both of these movies, as good as they are, individual, it's better as a double feature. It's just it really, it's it's really, really a perfect way to spend a little bit over 3 hours, maybe less. They're so much fun. They're. They're everything that you want in a movie going experience. It's might be sacrilege to say, I can't believe I'm doing it, but I have to. I got to speak my truth in the parlance of our times. Are you going to say what I hope you're going to say? I thought you were going to say you like planet terror better. No, no, no, no. I'm always I'm always Tarantino guy. I love Robert Rodriguez, but I think it's a more accomplished film as a tighter, leaner, meaner Grindhouse feature. Death Proof. I'm talking about specific. Yeah, yeah, I agree. I 100% agree with that. But no death proof is better than planet terror. Sorry. I like no, I like I like both movies. I really do. But I just my my tastes are a little bit more aligned to death proof. And I love that he got to release it, an extended version of it. I'm the guy who's like, bring the four hour cut a once upon a time in Hollywood. I know it's there. Like he did it with The Hateful Eight. I watched it as soon as it was available on Netflix. But yeah, if if. We have both options, I prefer the shorter one, that's all. Oh, my God. I rewatched this movie last night for the first time in probably 12 years. That is William Friedkin's Bug. Holy shit. Starring Ashley Judd. Michael Shannon Early Michael Shannon yeah if you think his like high jinks in the Michael Shannon this started their take shelter something like that go back to it's here he is. Fully fucking. Nuts in a movie based on a play written by Tracy Letts. You know they did these like back to back. I say back to back. They were like 12 earth, six years apart bug and killer Joe and. Yeah I. Don't bug doesn't go as far as Killer Joe does few films do but I love bugs so much it is so fucking weird. And it's about well, it's just about an impressionable woman, Ashley Judd, who meets a loner. Michael Shannon, who has a few things wrong with him and he thinks that he's been infected with bugs. I can't I can't really describe it. It's not going to do it justice. But I just absolutely love this movie and I love that William Friedkin, like this is decades after The Exorcist is still like, Oh, I can shock, watch this. And it's really good. It's really fucking good. And we, we talked about this movie briefly on our episode of Best Adaptations of plays into films. This is a great version of it. It does things cinematically that I think work with a play. Trent Transition. There's not a single second of this movie that you're not intrigued. It's fast, too. It's a farce. It's a farce. It's a fast. Watch. Yeah, it's only an hour and 40 minutes. I mean, Harry Connick Jr plays her like ex-con, abusive ex-lover. He shows up. It's just it's wild. And the whole time, you're kind of like, what's the deal here? Like, what's going on? But they're so convincing. Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon. I mean, Ashley Judd just I've always really liked her. And this is one of my favorite things that she ever did. She's crazy in it. Yeah, I think this is my favorite she's ever done. I think I have probably. Yeah. Yeah. And I wish more people would see it for that reason. It would have been so cool she got nominated for it never would have happened, but it just would have been awesome. If this were the last things that she's done though. One of the last really good things. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I don't know. I think I haven't seen too much from her. I think I would speculate that some of that has to do with Harvey Weinstein, producer, MeToo ness. I think, you know, don't talk out of turn, but I think her name was mentioned a lot in those conversations, unfortunately. Yeah, which is a real shame. Next up is, well, one of my we're going to get to it one of my favorite Oscar wins in the history of the Academy Awards is Marion Cotillard. Stunning, surprising win for La Vie En Rose playing Edith Piaf. I wanted to mention this because, you know, if you've never checked it out, if you're like a two hour French biopic about Edith Piaf is not for me. I hear you. I get it. This is a really, really good performance and a really, really good biopic. Like, I didn't really know much about her life. I knew about this, her music and stuff, but definitely not the easiest life. And Marion Cotillard transformation is incredible. Not told in order, told out of order. Unconventional narrative storytelling, really good movie. So I just I really encourage people, you know. Marion Cotillard broke through to mainstream American movies because of her Oscar win for this, and that was all for incredibly good reason. I remember watching the Oscars and when she won. So stunned. Because, you know, at that time, too, like, you know, me not being somebody that was really engrossed, even though I watched Oscars my whole entire life, but kind of seeing like, oh, wow, there's this foreign movie that's come in here and I'm hearing all these things about her performance genuinely being shocked that she won, though, because I remember just thinking, I'm like, Oh, that's just one of those that you're going to put in there, let alone win. It was a huge surprise because they really touted Julie Christie to win for away from her. And that was like it was between them. And I remember rumblings of Marion Cotillard, but not like not enough for her to come through and just take it. And that is it's one of those great Oscars surprises that, as with each passing year, become less and less common. Just that huge shock. Surprise. I mean. Well, I mean, Anthony Hopkins, the father that was that level. A lot of people that was really, really fucking nuts. It was very. Can't believe that. Yes. It was very, very shocking for any number of reasons. But give Lillian Rose a try if you haven't seen it. That's all I'll say. And if you're a fan of hers because she's great, the next one, I was very happy to see you add to the list because there's never a bad time for me to talk about any Steven Soderbergh movie, but I want to hear why Ocean's 13 was important for you to mention this core group of 27 movies. I love all the Ocean's movies. The first one is it sets everything up as a great, entertaining and charismatic fun heist movie. The second one you and I both are on and I've been in the island about because we think that's the best one. Yeah. That the people who are on the Ocean's 12 island, we are there together. But that is it's not necessarily our favorite Soderbergh movie, but it's probably the top five as it is for me. And we appreciate. The. Complete inherent middle finger ness of it, because that's what he was doing. He's putting his middle finger up to Hollywood and he goes, If you want me to do this again, I'm not doing it in the same styles. The first one, they go, okay, a lot of people didn't get it. So then with 13, he goes, All right, I'll go back to a little the conventions of the first one. Like, I get it, I get it, but it still works. It's a lot of fun. It still works. I think Ocean's 13 is the most entertaining thing from start to finish than even the first one. Yeah, I get what you mean. Like, they're, they're all really into like like the things, the gags they do in 13. You can't do an 11 because we don't know that. Yeah. Like the nose plays the nose place. Like you can do that in number and number one because we don't. Yeah. And then that wasn't really that playful. This wasn't really the tone of Ocean's 12. That's that's Ocean's 12 is Steven Soderbergh sense of humor, very drive, very dark. That is you know that's he'll be sleeping it's like that's that is Soderbergh like perfectly but yeah 13 is you know you get the you get Al Pacino coming in like Al. Pacino to do what he's really good at doing it, which is way over the top. You know, it's just it's so good. And the great line delivery of you shook hands with Sinatra, like the woman winning that jackpot. And she stands. Up. Oh, yeah, my God. And the chair falls behind her like love that. I love how they David pay Maher how they just like, set him up for this. Complete, like, week of. Hell in the hotel room. Yeah. Like the bugs of stuff that he gets to win in the end. Like, there's a lot of fun gags like that that I really. Yeah, I really like it. This is one of those. Movies like, of course, not getting nominated for Oscars, but I'll put this one on any number of times. It just works for me. I really like it. Now, say. I. I remember leaving the theater with, like, the biggest smile on my face because I had just spent like two years in, like, movie entertainment. Heaven are 2 hours and I was. Like, Oh. Shit, yeah. And as we were thinking, I go, That's a summer movie. Like, that's, that is what a summer blockbuster should be. It should be this fun. And you're right, though, because because we know who the characters are, it allows itself to be there's no set up for anything. You can just launch right into it. Yeah, we all. We all. Were invested. We get it. Yeah, you're all there. But it it it's smart, too. It's not just trying to play you for entertainment, for entertainment sake. Like there is still thought and substance going on with the movie and and then you just get all the gags, too. It's a perfect it's a perfect summer thing. Well, one of my. Favorite bits and I know the movie got criticism for this and I'm sure there was a lot going on just in general, too. I, Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta Jones couldn't be in it. And I think their absences are missed. I would have rather seen them in it. But the way that George Clooney and Brad Pitt are always talking about them. But yeah, but we don't get to hear the starter in the conversation. He's like, Well, how long did it say on the floor? He's like, Till the next morning. Marriages? Yeah, but it's also. I love it so much and you. Know, they're talking about. Them, but we really don't. Even hear them say their names, but they're. Just like, yeah, these two like classic Vegas, these all have. Domestic problems at all. You know, there's still pasta on the floor, whatever the hell it's going to be. I just I love that. I love. That. It's it's so great. Is it was it was probably the freshest element to the movies was the way we saw those to talk about their personal lives for no reason other than just to do that because they don't do that really in the other ones. They do. They don't. They don't. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was a good it seemed. To me it was like a thing they found in absence of those female stars. Yeah, well, it's still. We still want them, like, in our lives and in this world. So it's a way they're not going to like shit on them. But we're just talking about how, you know, certain days of marriage can be more difficult than others for them. And it's a way to really humanize it. I love. That. Yep, absolutely. Oh, now we're going to we're going to change change gears here. This is just how I watch this. Yeah, I watched this last week, like the power of Werner Herzog's rescue. Dawn, you know, Grizzly Man is like a lot of people's responsible for. It was my first intro into Herzog. That's like 2004. And then I took some courses, not just on him, but I took some documentary courses in college and started really getting into him. And I still say to this day, like, he's my second or third favorite filmmaker you got. Bergman, Cassavetes, Herzog, they're all throw up there. Herzog makes probably now actually more documentaries than narrative feature films. This is one of his like last truly incredible narrative feature films, True Story, starring Christian Bale playing Dieter Dengler, a pilot. An American pilot. Well, he was fighting for U.S., but he was a German born guy in Vietnam. And his plane gets shot down. And he was held he was a prisoner of war in Vietnam for a very long time. And it could have been really easy for it to be over. OSI had to do is just pledge his this allegiance to America just you know sign a piece of paper that says America, force me to do this. I don't care about him. And he's like, no, no way. So we see a you know, the prisoner of war drama is a very it's been around for a long time, the great escape like that. It's a very conventional form of cinema. But I mean, it's in there with Steve Zahn. Yeah. I've never done anything like this. He's been he's in there with Jeremy DAVIES. Yeah. It's like he weighs £70. Oh, there are action scenes in this movie. You know, the whole fucking movie isn't about them just sitting there like, Oh, our life sucks. Or In a prisoner of war camp. Now, obviously they're plotting an escape, and their plot to do that is it is wide for that scene alone. I've been tempted to call this my favorite bale performance. I don't know if I still hold that definitely top three for me, but the way he's just like he looks around, his eyes get all big and he's like, Oh my God. And then the music goes and they just go, Yeah, because you have to make that decision to like it. This is life or death right here in the next 10 seconds. They're dead or I'm dead. Here it is. And just seeing him be like, oh, my God, and storm it, it's like I'm getting chills. Like I fucking love rescued on I love this movie. There's a there's an obscure quote that I always do from this movie that nobody knows what I'm talking about and I don't expect them to. But it's during the escape because Dieter Dengler is always positive. Like he's always. And so is a guy in real life. Yeah. And I want to say sorry. I want to say real quick, Herzog made a documentary, Little Dieter Needs to Fly in 1997. And this is like the we'll. Say, the, you know, the. Narrative take on that story so you can have a great double feature. Watching the doc, watching rescue Dawn. Incredible good. And so, so very rarely if ever there is a there is one moment where you kind of feel like Dieter Dengler starts to crack a little bit, but it's never really in the P.O.W. parts of it. But there's, there's a part where they're in the middle of the escape and and they haven't left the camp yet. But Christian Bale is like grabbing things, and something about the plane has gone wrong. It's not like a super catastrophic. Like, I forgot what it is exactly. But he's gone. Oh, yeah, that's where it is. And where you said. Gene is gone. I'm not going to say who plays Jean in case you know what people do, but one of the guys responsible for they're part of the plan is M.I.A. Yes. And it Bale. Is just like grabbing things. He goes, oh, this says Terrible. Yeah, that's a terrible. Yes, it is terrible. You know, Bales, that list sometimes are like, this is terrible. I remember it. And I just remember laughing in the theaters because like because I don't think he. Even really means for it to be dramatic. Like it the character I like I think. He's just be like, oh no. Yeah. Like where he's telling the little one to go away. He's like, shoo, get out of here. Run. Because he does, yeah, yeah. You know, yeah, I'll always do that. And everyone just. Looks at me like I'm crazy and I'm like, Yeah, that's fine. Now no one's ever going to be like, Are you being Christian Bale from Rescue Dawn? No one no one will ever, ever say that. Ever. Speaking of funny. So so this. Is a movie that I am 100% shocked to hear through via text message that a couple of days ago you found this movie to be hilarious. Because I'll just be fair. You have to accept the movie on its. Own terms, that's all. You have to accept a movie on its own terms in order to enjoy it. I fully believe this. And you and I and to just be fair to us as human beings, we do have a difference of opinion and what we think is truly funny. Yes, there are certain things. There's comedy elements that that you get that aren't mine, that I get that aren't yours. But this has to be it's not the biggest comedic agreement that we have is the absolute hilarity of the movie Hot Rod. Well, I don't want. To Jesus, I don't want to oversell it. Just watch it. It's like three days ago. It doesn't matter. You use the word hilarious. Oh, it was. I was, like, laughing right when he started doing the Footloose, like, farce that he's doing. Yeah. Oh, I get it. Because I fucking love Footloose. But when they do that hot rod, it's like there's a huge difference between how do I say this between parody and humorous? Oh, Marge. To me doesn't. Really work that often. And this is like humorous Omar is they're just going for it. And the movie is not like like sorry, it's not like a. Good movie, quote unquote. Whatever. No, still. Hilarious. Just like Gruber, which you really want me to watch. And I sat there and I put off Hot Rod. I put off MacGruber because I just don't think these movies are going to be for me. And I go, Okay, I get what this is like. Yeah, this is really funny. Like, okay, it's just stupid. I'm not like, it's low, bro. 2 hours. Yeah, I'm not like 2 hours later, like pondering over. Well, I'm out to dinner, so it was fun while I watched it. That's all. That's all. That's it. And, and I also feel like it me personally, being a fan of lowbrow comedy kind of don't feel like it even exists anymore, which is like a real bummer because I don't laugh like, I laugh at movies like this anymore. Like I'll see whatever comedy of the day is out there and and I think that they're funny, but I'm not rolling around like that cliff scene where he's falling off the cliff. I'll put that on on YouTube when I'm having a down day, because I just need to laugh. And I will always laugh. And Bill Hader in this movie is fucking fantastic. They all are like a lot of them are. They all were young and like, you know. Yeah, they're Danny. They're cutting their teeth in comedy. Oh, yeah. And yeah. So huge. Huge fan of the comedy of Hotrod. And so glad you liked it, too. We should do like we've done scariest movies with ever seen favorite romantic comedies. We could do just like the funniest movies to us that we've ever seen because it would be a really good window into our senses of humor. Because, yeah, the stuff people think I'm fucking nuts when I tell them the funniest movies I've ever seen, they're like, Oh no. You are like, Okay, dude, like you. You want to. Yeah, people could watch the movies and be like. What the fuck is wrong with that guy? I remember I was the only one laughing. Manchester by the Sea. People get like, fucking look it up, you know? Like, this movie is hilarious. Why are you showing us? Why is he. Showing us struggling to get that stretcher in the ambulance if he doesn't want us to, like, take the piss out of this situation a little bit, or like Lucas Hedges staring down and squinting at him. But I'm the only person at this sold out theater, just. Fucking dying, laughing. And people are looking at me like, All right, sorry. I think he's. Putting this in here to be funny, I guess. Screw me, then. I don't know. And I think you're 100% right, but I think it's. Just a hilarious statement when you say that managed to survive this season. One of the. Funniest movie you've ever. Seen. I never said it was one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. I've said that movies like one of the most literally depressing and saddest movies I've ever seen. But that movie has moments that are fucking hysterical to me anyway. And I think he did that on purpose, like trying to think of other examples. Like, I mean, top five, this is spoiling the list. The number one for me will always be Pulp Fiction. I think so many lines of dialog. I just got to see that in the theater like a few weeks ago, and I'm laughing at things that people just aren't laughing at like that. No, I agree with that. Yeah, that is Jayne Mansfield. Like I don't know if she wants that night off, like just everything about it in brush. It's like, Oh yeah, that's the funniest movie I've ever seen with, like, horrific violence. That is that can be, like, really disturbing. But that's why I love that movie so much. So what I'm getting at is, like, if we were doing a list like that, what a lot of people would hear is they would hear movies that are not on my list. They would hear movies that are not classified as comedies but have very deeply, very dark, humorous elements to them where I'm just like, I don't know, they just tear me up. But then but then I also think the first like 45 minutes of game night are some of the funniest 45 minutes of cinema that I've ever seen and that there's nothing like dark or serious about that. I just think it's really fucking funny. I don't know. Well, we should. We should absolutely. Do this because my mom will be the number one listener because she is convinced that I could do. Some comedies on there for your mom. I'm trying to. Think of. Some other the next movie we're going to talk about. The thing almost everyone can agree is hysterical. Yes, sell it. And this is a movie that I'm still like I still battle the reality that this was 15 years ago. So 15 years ago, in 2007, a a high school comedy by the name of Superbad came out. And this has to be of this year one of the most popular movies that came out. Yeah, like this is a movie. That's never going to get nominated for Oscars, but this is 15 years later. Hey, what are the most movies talked about by everyone, general audiences, everyone that came out in 2007? I don't know if it's Zodiac in the top five. I sure as hell no, it's Superbad. I know that everyone talks about Superbad. I just do. I personally love this movie because it everyone's kind of got generation wise. Whatever year they were, they have the movie that was the most relatable to their high school experience. Yeah. Yeah. This one was definitely mine. I couldn't. I was a little too young for American Pie, but Superbad was the one where I was like, Yup, this. This was almost exactly like how I remember things, except why I didn't go to any parties. But if I did, I'm sure. Neither do they like. The whole thing. They go to like a party. Yeah. Like when they were. When Michael Sarah's lying to the girl, he goes, Oh, yeah, I party all the time. And then they cut. To them in their apart. Like, they're like. Wait a minute. Okay, let me. You like this movie, right? And you like seen in a few times. Ken, can you help me out with something that genuinely never made sense? Like, even I don't find it funny. I don't get why they did it. Like, it doesn't make sense to me. Like. That's the. Detergent. Yeah. Yeah. Like, doesn't even know that. Like, you're. Like, you can't even, like, I think a six. Year old would know, like, you can't feel, even if you, quote, unquote, empty the detergent. There's enough residue in there like that. Yes, none of that's usable. And then when you're shaking it up, I just that's the. Only like I. Mean, come on, we're talking about fucking the nitpick. Yeah, so the nitpick. But, but no, you understood that. I remember watching it being like how? Like, I even get the stabbing. If you're that jacked up, you may not feel at that moment. I get that. Like I get it. Yeah. Like I just get stabbed. Like I get that. The detergent thing, I'm. I just don't get it. No, don't get it. It's my biggest hang up of the it's one of my biggest hang ups of any movie ever, to be honest. It's like all these. Like the movie so much. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I just. I never got that. I don't know. And tell me. Watch it now. I'm like, what? What was the endgame here? Like, you're not that fucking stupid. Like, you guys aren't that dumb. And this is what would have made it better is like, yes, if they were right. Finally what they did, they delivered the booze and then it's not drinkable. Wait, do they drink it in the movie? Yeah, like he brings it. He's the hero. Everyone's like. That's got the booze. Oh, that's right. Yeah. See? Yeah, that's just weird. It's so weird. See, it would have been it would have been funnier if that whole entire time they finally made it to the party, which is the end goal. And the booze that they fought so hard to get can't like it was all for not, but because the point was for them to get to the party that right exactly. But doing like just a spit take of everyone filling their glass with the detergent and spitting. It's like. That's. Where was that? I don't know. That just feels like. Yeah, feels like a weird thing that just got a little lost, but that's, you know, that's okay. I still really, really like that movie. And you really like his next movie, Adventureland? You're a big fan of that one, right? Oh, my God. Yeah, I love adventure. Mottola. Greg Mottola. Yeah, great material, I think. Yeah, Superbad existed so he can make Adventureland. I think like he had to get to do it, you know? Apatow was like, okay, because it's not a lot of people think Superbad is directed by Judd Apatow. A lot of people think that of like the Apatow produced movies and it's not. And I love that he got he made this crazy like high school comedy and then got to make his, you know, coming of age film, which is a really good movie. I really think so. I think that movie's got so many more complex layers than people give it credit for. I don't even know there's this something else going on in that movie that at least to me, like, really hits a chord that I love seeing. I there's it's I guess it's the the disillusionment of life can be better when you're young. Mm hmm. Yeah. Because, like, that movie, like, it sets you up for a coming of age story, but everything, it really kind of just becomes disappointing, and I think that's refreshing. Yeah, maybe, isn't it? Because that's not a 27 movie, right? No, no, it's not. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So we're moving. Move on. I'll sit this next one up for you. It's kind of there are certain directors, not all of them, but a lot of directors have to make their Western. It's like in their DNA and they're like, I got to go do it because Westerns, you know, such a big staple of film that were so popular for so many decades. They were the action films of the thirties, forties, fifties, until like the war film got introduced. But now we come out to James Mangold's Western, which is a remake in and of itself. But you love 310 to Yuma. Yeah. This was just I was a big Mangold fan of After Walk the Line. Yeah, well, see, I've been a fan since Copland, which I know we talked. Yeah, we're like, yes, all that in a theater. And I'm like, Hey, this is one of my some of my guys. I love this dude. Kate Leopold, come at me. Oh, my God. It's hilarious. But no, this. This was one of my early directors because that this was one of the guys that I followed because I was like, Ooh, James Mangold. He directed these movies. Wow. I can't wait to see what he does with Christian Bale and Russell Crowe. I really love the chemistry between the two of them. Mm hmm. I actually think this is one of my favorite Russell Crowe performances he's ever done. I didn't know in 2007 that we were just coming off of, like, Peak Russell Crowe. But yeah, he's still there. He's still he's still there. L.A. Confidential. There's some bold white in there. There's definitely some gladiator, like toughness and stoicism, but it's a really good performance by him. Yeah. And then Ben Foster. Jesus. Oh, that's what I was going to bring up. I go, The reason why Ben Foster is one of my favorite actors to watch, no matter what he does, is because he's just so fucking good. I think he steals the movie, to be honest. Ben Foster's like in his own movie. I don't mean he's told James Mangold I'm doing my own thing. Not that he's just like, I'm going to bring things to. This that. I would have a very difficult time believing are in the script. These are these are character things. Even his posture, like the way he dresses, the way I mean, it's really, really good. We love Ben Foster. Yeah. And this is just like an answer to like I don't like I don't think of 310 to Yuma as like the Oscar movie. No, I just think of 310 to Yuma is like, okay, this is just a fun Western movie, entertaining western. Entertaining Western because some Westerns take themselves very seriously. Oh, yeah. And I think. This one does to a certain extent, like, it's not trying to be something that it's not. But I also don't think I think this was just like exactly said like this was Mangold's Western. This is what he was this was his is a remake. And I just very much enjoyed it when I remember seeing it in theaters and being like that was solid. That was a solid that was a solid 2 hours. Mangold is the king of the solid movie Ford v Ferrari. So it's just a solid movie. It's not asking too much of you silly like crazy or traumatic in it, like Logan, it's just like it's a really solid movie, actually. Like solid. Movie. What was last time you saw Eastern Promises? Nikolai That was a Viggo Mortensen Nikolai impersonation from you. In the beginning, I. Think I saw this movie. Obviously, I saw it in the theaters when it came out. But I it's been a while. I remember watching it when I first moved to L.A. and I think that may have been the last time. So the cool thing about this movie to me, like, I love this, I saw this, this plays in the theater occasionally, the Alamo near me. So I'll just go check it out. I did a Cronenberg binge when Crimes of the Future came out, and I did kind of a solo part about that. My favorite Cronenberg movies, I believe I put Easter Promises at number two because I like this one so much. This is a really, really, really fun movie to go back and rewatch even if you've only seen it once or twice. Because there's the thing about this movie that doesn't get talked about a lot, but it has one of genuinely one of the all time great twists in any movie I've ever seen that I never, ever, ever saw coming. Like never in the way that it is revealed. It's just through dialog. Yeah. I've talked to. Many, many, many. A person who completely missed it and it's not like hidden. It's there, there's some subtlety to it, but I love that for it. And that just informs itself so much more when you rewatch it and then I'm not going to lie to you. 15 years ago I did not pick up on this until like ten years later when I started reading interviews with Cronenberg and with Vincent Cassel, that Vincent Cassel played his character as a closet homosexual in this and I didn't like it's kind of there and I mean now when you go, it's like when some of this shit clicks for you and you go, Oh yeah, duh. Because like the dad references it like a little bit. And some people are like making fun of Vincent Castle's character and saying things like that, but just like the way he forces Viggo to have sex in front of him, like there's all these little things and that's. I didn't pick up on that, honestly. Like the first, like six times I saw this. And now when you go back and watch it, performance is so layered because of this. Like, there's so much. In both, so good. They're both keeping secrets. They're both revealing things, Viggo and Vincent Cassel and it's just great. And the Naomi Watts, I think it's like perfect in this. I love her in it. It's a great triangle of characters because all three of them are doing different things and they're all they all couldn't be more different. And even though it's in the same world, I it's a very, very storytelling process that he does and Viggo hangs donk okay. Yes he does indeed. Jesus here's a movie that. Like no one ever talks about. It was nominated for an Oscar. This movie's really important to me because this is the first movie I ever wrote about all my blog, first movie I ever gave a review to. Oh, this is Paul Haggis is in the Valley of Elah. Now, this was made two years after Crash, which was an incredibly controversial best picture winner. Should not have beaten Brokeback Mountain. That's another podcast. But in the Valley of Elah about a retired veteran, Tommy Lee Jones. He's married to Susan Sarandon. They're absolutely perfect. And he gets wind that his son, who's in the Middle East and war is in trouble, like maybe he's come home. So Tommy Lee Jones has to drive to the base to try to find him. And then a murderer is revealed. And Tommy Lee Jones takes it upon himself to attempt to solve this murder. There's a cop investigating it, Charlize Theron, who's, like, committed, but she works in a really misogynist police department. Jason Patrick shows up here for a cameo. Josh Brolin Not a lot of people talk about this movie. This was like in 2007 with this war, with these wars raging. It's kind of the movie we all needed at the time. And I'm glad Tommy Lee Jones was nominated for the Oscar for It is a bit of a surprise nomination given other movies he was in in two seven. But I've never found a bad time to just go back and rewatch this. It's not like beating you down with war politics either right or left. It's just it's a really smart, emotional piece about about losing your child in war. Really good. Tommy Lee's always good. He's always good. Yeah, he's great. I don't I mean, I don't know how you visualize something as profound as the assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford. But Andrew Dominik and Brad Pitt and Roger Deakins and Nick Cave and everyone else involved realize this to a way that I still it's very difficult to put into words. Talk about the magic of cinema, pure cinema. This is that this is just filled with frame after frame, composition after composition of beautiful, breathtaking cinematography, breathtaking storytelling. Not a film for everyone, obviously. No. Very long didn't do well at the time I was there opening day. This was one that as it ended, I was kind of shaking my head and going, This movie's not going to do well. Like with critics or with the audiences. It's just the title in and of itself is a hard sell. Brad Pitt put in his contract that it had to remain that title. I love that yeah Casey Affleck is like really announcing himself here like yeah I'm not I'm not going away I'm here in two up two movies it came out this year. Really. He's like, I'm here. And then, you know, he wins the Oscar nine years later for Manchester by the Sea. But I mean, what can we say about Jesse James that we haven't already already said? It's just such a good movie and we're going to, you know, Andrew Dominik, I think a lot of people would justly call this his masterpiece. Yeah. Let's talk about Jesse James. And it is it's it is a masterpiece, really. So many levels. I've said it before on a previous episode. Which one? Probably the Roger Deakins one. We talked. Oh yeah. Jesse James a lot. Deakins was. Yeah. That which was one of our first ones. And we have gotten some interest from people to do more cinematography parts like that. So let us know if you're into it, because we you and I kind of think like, are these going to be too nerd heavy or are they going to be too visual? But the Deke, a lot of people like the Deakins one and that was like cheese. 60 episodes ago so. Well yeah. I mean she because this is still to date my number one favorite movie from the cinematography point of view. So maybe it's the kind of do a list of our favorite like top ten favorite shot movies and for whatever reasons they may be. Yeah, I did that on my blog in color and black and white. That was like a long time ago. But yeah, that's a that's a great list. I mean, there's so many to choose from for so many different reasons. Very cool. I feel like this movie is on the verge of. It's a bit of a resurgence. Oh, here it is. Gaining cult status. Yeah, like very slowly, quietly, but steadily for years. And of course, he has this book and supposed to be this amazing director's cut that he's, like, screened a few times in New York but never released. And I'm like. Oh, my gosh, Criterion Collection. Yes. So, like, let us. But we would watch it a heartbeat. This is a movie, though, that I like. I'm hoping that in LA is the city that would do it is to play this in theaters somewhere because this is a big screen experience. Oh yeah. With the sound. I think a big reason why this movie might be getting that cult status is because Brad Pitt, every fucking time that he is asked about his acting career, he always mentions this as one of his favorite roles ever done. Yeah, he produced it like he was not just acting this. He helped what to look for. He helped develop it. He chose Andrew Dominik in part because of Andrew Dominik's first fucking insane movie chopper which hot take like it might be my favorite Andrew Dominic movie. Still, I don't know. I've never seen anything like Chopper. I love that movie so much. But yeah, with based the strength off of that, this weird, indie, crazy, true story movie chopper that is starring Eric Bana. It's nuts. That's what kind of got the conversation going here. And then when he hears about Andrew Dominik's vision, like, do the long title, let's do this really immense style of storytelling. It's this. It's really singular. It's really unique. Sam Rockwell, there's no false note in here anywhere. Nope, anywhere. It's fucking great. You got an excellent horse, huh? Then one of the most meaningful movies of my life. 2007 Sean Penn Into the Wild. I guess what I will say about this movie is why it wasn't nominated for more Oscars than it was is the most baffling thing to me. I think that just has to do honestly with really strong competition, because I think it had a lot strong competition this year. I don't know how well-liked Sean Penn was both then and now. I mean, he's won two acting Oscars. It took him a while to get that first one. And then he won. He won for Mystic River and Milk. But I don't know how seriously they wanted to take him. You know, he's a guy with a lot of opinions. He's a guy who does not toe the Hollywood line. He's not going to play into your bullshit. He's not going to sell your movie the way you want him to sell to necessarily. But I remember reading quite a number of interviews with him and he shared your bafflement as well about like, why isn't this movie nominated for more? So yeah. Because the only one I got was Hal Holbrook. Yeah, yeah. Hal Holbrook for supporting actor. Yeah, absolutely. Much well-deserved nomination. I love that. I'm very yes. My only my selling point to you I reference it in a few episodes ago was our favorite movies directed by women about women vagabond I really think by Agnes Varda that you would see some similarities in here and I think you had appreciate them. But yeah, Into the Wild, just a really good movie. It makes me wish that Sean Penn directed more movies because. Yeah, he. Did one recently that just wasn't a hit. It was a huge misfire. But yeah, I've always liked his vision. He's been making movies for a while. I don't know how many people have seen them, the Indian runner or the crossing guard. I like these movies a lot. Yeah, he's. He's one of the most interesting interviews also you'll ever hear. Oh, yes. Oh, yes, absolutely. Great. If we if we were putting together a list of like how we started in the very beginning podcast with our favorite of the 20 tens of top ten of 20 tens. Yeah, I think this would go in my favor to the 2000s. The Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited. Like your be your number one of the 2000 decade. No, no. It would just be on the list, right? Oh, yeah, yeah. No, no, no, no. Yeah, no, this would this would be on there. I mean. I like the movie, too. Yeah, yeah, I love this movie. We did a West Anderson podcast, you know, we talked about it. Yeah, we both have a lot of affection for this. Yeah. Every time I see it, it means more and more to me. And this is just a very, very special movie. I love it with all my heart. I don't even know what our rankings were. I forget what my Wes Anderson rankings were, but right now it's Tenenbaums, then Darjeeling, then probably Grand, Budapest. Like Darjeeling, just I loved it. 27. It was exactly what I wanted it to be because as I mentioned, the West Sanderson podcast, I had a little trouble with life Aquatic, and that was the movie. And then you did a turn around. Yeah. And then. Well, yeah, I did. I did. I like that movie much, much more now, way more than I initially did. But Darjeeling Limited is one that I've just like, always loved and I don't always love. Wes Anderson's movies right away will often take me a few viewings, but I always really liked this one, you know, Paraben in your face. Let's give it up for Adrien Brody, who I'm hearing a lot. He's coming back. He's in blond. I've always, always, always loved Adrien Brody. Ever since. I mean, thin, red line, Summer of Sam, of course, The Pianist, the movie. I love Liberty Heights. I love that movie. I'm just brothers Bloom. Brothers Bloom. I'm always here for him, you know, I'm really obsessed with like follow up films from directors, not like following up their first film, but just following up a big hit. So when you win Best Director for the this is a very reductive way to put it. But the gay cowboy movie Brokeback Mountain, which is definitely one of my top ten favorite movies of the 2000 and then two years later, he followed that up with an NC 17 rated espionage sexual thriller called Lust Caution. It's like, how hard can you zag in Ang Lee? Like, it's just crazy. I remember Woo, I saw this in the theater and this movie is intense. This is long. Like, it's very long and it seems of really quick extreme violence. But this is just an incredibly sexually frank movie that like goes there and then some it is. I think it's actually a really, really well-made movie. It is a tough sell because it's it's just long. Parts of it are slow. But what Ang Lee wanted to say with this, I think he said it and well, it it just goes there. You know, that's what can you say? I remember the controversy of this movie at the time. The lust caution thing. It's like, I get it, it's the controversy. Yeah, but it's also like it's NC 17. He's not lying to you. He's not. Hiding. It's here. You know what you're getting yourself into. But yeah, I think the rating and the frank sexuality is one of the reasons that it wasn't seen by a lot of people, to say the least. It's America's fault. It is America's fault. Everything's America's fault. It's this is. An interesting one for me to talk about. This next one coming up, because I love Tony Gilroy. I love his style. I love his scripts. I don't think he's directed a better movie since his first Michael Clayton, which is a movie that I've been in love with since I saw it in October 27. This is a fun list for me to do that. I just do in my head sometimes, like, you know, that gritty esthetic of seventies cinema, American 70 cinema that we love so much. This is a movie that like 20 years from now, you might be able to fool someone and be like, Yeah, this came out in 1977 and you know, I mean, I'm being cute, but it just it really fits into the style of storytelling, the shot constructions, the compositions, the acting. It's all very reminiscent of like one of those tense thrillers from the seventies. And I just this features it's not even difficult for me to say without question, my favorite, George Clooney. I love this movie. I love Tilda Swinton. Like every Tom Wilkinson, everyone's great in it. But you and I have never really talked about this. Definitely not on Mike. But no, there's a really good reason as to why. And this is great. It's. Have you ever seen this movie? No, I have. But Chris, thank God. I didn't like it the first time I saw it. And I never really wanted to admit it to you because I have. You watch it. Again. I have. And this is this the great story. This is one of my biggest about faces. Oh, yeah. I literally watched it two days ago. Oh, okay. I saw when I saw this in October and 27 in theaters. Again, not being familiar with the seventies thriller genre that you are talking of. Yeah. Even just like movies like All the President's Men, even, there's like some political movies that this movie reminds me of that were the seventies. Oh, I'm definitely lumping all the President's Men in their parallax View China syndrome. Like, yeah, all that Klute. All that good shit. Yeah. So when I was watching this, I think I got lost in because you have to pay attention. Oh, yeah. Like it means that it may not seem like there's a lot being said or going on. It's sometimes, but everything is being said. And if you are not clued in to one word or scene, then it's not going to add up. Right. I get you. I hear you. It's similar to like the Insider in a lot of ways. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yes. So I think this was a movie that at the time it just didn't land for me. And I never really gave it. It's just do because I just remember thinking when I went after that movie, I think it was just kind of boring and it lost me and I didn't really understand what was going on, so I stayed away from it until two days ago. And every time you've ever brought this movie up, I've been kind of quiet because I'm like. Yeah, that. Movie just wasn't really wasn't really my thing. And now I watched it and I just I couldn't be on the further side of everything. It's so fucking good, dude. From the opening credits alone, that just that voiceover of him, that ranting and raving, you know, I. Oh. I grew up with her rant and rave her in my household and that it's like that was just, wow, I've been here before. Like when I heard that, I was like, Oh my God. Just when he's recording that voice message and it's playing in the background, I'm like. So without going too much into my personal life, I've had a recent situation where someone that I know has has. Yeah. Has been going through. This struggling with mental health. Yes, yes, yes. On this level. On this level. That was what and I thought of you a lot, too, when I was watching it. Yes. It's the same thing now that I was watching Tom Wilkinson's performance in this. It's just another level for me in terms of that, because it was so accurate. It was. And the way they spoke about it, too. Yeah, it wasn't. This delicate, precious. Oh, we need to be careful about how we shred on it. No, it's like you didn't take your pills. Yeah. And now you're up high because you're manic and you're. You're going to be down here and you know you are. And and there wasn't that that sensitivity. It was just flat out. This is how it is. There is a problem. Things are unraveling. You need to get your shit together. Another way this movie gets that so right is that it doesn't even dare to try to explain his behavior. Like why is he carrying 20 baguettes? It does. That doesn't make sense anyone. But that damn sure makes sense to him. Yeah, you could sit there and listen to him, rationalize it and it might kind of link together. But even the rantings like I spent 15% of my life doing, like the way a man, a manic depressive breaks down information and tries to relay it to you as a way of making sense. You're like, and I can just I there's so much in Michael Clayton that I even like saw in some of my self growing up I'm sitting there going like what? Like I don't get these connections you're trying to make and like and that's just one aspect in the movie. Yeah, there's, I'm not going to say who, but there's a fantastic murder scene in this movie that's all captured in one shot. And then it's so it's so effective. And then on the sidelines, you got Sidney Sydney Pollack, one of his last film performances, just like, are you kidding? Fucking soft, like, oh, my God. Yeah. And then Tilda Swinton, who was an indie darling but hadn't not necessarily broken through to mainstream success, is just doing this, like, really frenzied kind of thing. You're like, Who is this woman? What's going on? The editing of her getting ready for that speech. It's like, great. I mean, just that. Yeah, I'm so glad I didn't know you had these, like, kind of lukewarm feelings or even cold feelings about. It. I'm so glad you gave another chance, because this is like, this is just one of my favorite films. This is what I'm saying of, like, there's movies that we're talking about today that I will put on a lot because they're entertaining. There's some like, I'm not putting on assassination of Jesse James all the time because, you know, you have a lot to take. It's an experience I will find myself landing on. Michael Clayton a few times a year, maybe not all of it, but just like it's there and I have it on and now it's I'm like, well, I'm 20 minutes to do I look like I'm negotiating so like I back out now like, yeah. You're almost done but hot take here. I can't stand movies that are names that are titled with a full name of somebody. I'll see. I couldn't I love like name movies the thing I'm working on real name movie. Yeah, yeah. Of course it tells you so. I mean, it tells you so much. The movie's about them. Wanda's about like I don't need. No, I don't mind. Like, oh, no, it's it's like. We already have Michael that's so John Travolta and it sucked. So. Yeah. Yeah, I think. Okay, I think my. Take that I don't like those. Either. I don't I think Michael Clayton is just like a really good, strong name. Like, there are some times when it's not really necessary. And what I don't like when they they do that. But then the movie isn't about that person and I'm like, That's kind of okay, I get it. That's kind of silly. No, I just think it's a great name. I can't think of a better title. I'll take your criticism. If you can tell me a better title. I would call it something like. Like something that has to do with the bag man duplicity. Oh, boy. That was his next movie. Oh, God, that movie. Yeah, that's. What I mean. Like, his directing career, hasn't. He's working on a Star Wars show now, so, you know, do your thing, dude. I would just love to see some more. Michael Clayton. That's all I'm saying. It's all good. Yeah, that's a great movie. I fucking. I'm so glad. I'm glad we did it, because if we didn't do this episode, I wouldn't have gotten around to it. Yeah, and it can be good. Like, I do that too. I go back and revisit some stuff and I go, okay, like, I mean, we just talked about Life Aquatic. Like that's why. Your. Podcast sometimes because I've seen these movies, but you know, we get older so we don't know how like, you know, when you saw Michael Clayton 27, you didn't know me. Someone who comes from a place of, you know, where there's dark mental health back there in the family. You didn't have your current friend that you're talking about. Yeah, life. Life gets in the way and it adds perspective, I often find. Speaking of perspective, one that that this is this is I don't know what that really means. But we're going. To talk about one of. My all time favorites, The Goose he is on the loose. And man, was he on the loose in 2007 with Lars and the real girl. Yeah. Like, I feel like this movie lives in two camps of not people like her. They don't. It's either people love it or people have never heard of it. Yeah. It's what I. Love about this, that this period of time in movies, these types of movies were a thing. Simple stories, simple. I mean, you know, it doesn't mean the movies are bad. It's just simple stories about no, about eat about simple lives. It doesn't have to be this grand, like, murder plot or anything. Yeah, it's just a simple human story. And they were quirky. Yeah, like. And it was okay. They're like, so the plot of Lars and the Real Girl is that Lars? Ryan Gosling is a little bit of a recluse, little bit of a socially, not little bit. He's a socially awkward recluse and he finds that companionship that he needs to function in society with the use of a blow up doll. Basically, the movie is that this small town that kind of bands together and supports this weirdness and that's all that it is. And in this era of time, independent movies weren't afraid to make movies that were not going to really make a lot of money or be seen. They just indie darlings because someone had a a little creative, original idea and they went with it. Well, this is the Matt Damon thing that when he was on. Is it hot ones, hot wings that show. This is the viral clip that goes around every few months where he's like, the reason why this happened is because the DVD market was eviscerated overnight, like back in 2007. All these movies could find new life on DVD and some of the ones we're talking about. Did I think Zodiac got more popular? I think assassination of Jesse James got more popular. And people constantly. DVDs. With the exception of you and I don't really exist if you like people, there's no market for buying a Blu ray or buying a DVD. So They can't recoup these costs like Lars in The Real Girl. You can make it for X amount of money. It may not make it back in theatrical distribution. It's definitely not going to make it back in international distribution, which is how a lot of, you know, indies write their stuff off because they have a star in it and they can. You sell your film abroad so that, you know, you can get a certain amount of money back from international distributors that already cover the cost of your budget. Okay. Yeah. With the DVD and Blu rays just completely gone, people aren't they're not giving 1999 to Lars and the real girl. They're giving 1999 to Hulu that might be playing Lars and the real girl, but that money's not going to Craig Gillespie, who directed the movie. So it's a simplistic way to look at things, but honestly, like a very, very accurate one that I never heard explained that well, except when Matt Damon did it. Cause like, you know, there's Fight Club was not a big movie when it was released. That movie was not well-reviewed. It was not well seen. It did not make money. I don't know, a kid my age or even a little older than me who did not own that DVD when it came out? Yeah. Skyrocketed in popularity because the DVD market, if Fight Club comes out today, there's no DVD to follow it up. So does it find a life on streaming? I don't know. Did Mank find a life on streaming? No. So, I mean, I don't know. It's very true. And it's it's it makes every movie that's made right now a complete crapshoot. Yes. Whether or not does. Well, we live in a time when studios are like, oh, 180 for 150 for white noise, Netflix like 150 million. Okay. But we can't get we can't get 5 to $25 million to make these type of movies we're talking about anymore. It just that market does not exist because studios, unless you're A24 or neon and you have, you know, money to and that's your thing and you're doing this thing. Yeah. And I'm so glad they're doing this thing. That's two companies. When we were growing up, we had Jesus, Fox Searchlight Focus, so many of those small indie things that that's what they did. And those like Fox Searchlight was an offshoot of 20th Century Fox. So 20th Century Fox is releasing in 2007 the 100 million, $120 million movie. But then they were also releasing Fox Searchlight stuff for Oscar fare. Shit just doesn't exist anymore. Not really paramount vantage. Same, same thing. I loved Paramount. Vantage. Yeah, that was my favorite. That was my favorite. The title title title card. Yeah, they clip it. Oh, my God. I love that. I love that. Oh, great talk. Great tangents here. It's all right. This is the hour. It's all relative. It is. Anything else about Lars? I really like Emily Mortimer and that movie, I think she's really. Oh, I love her kids really good. And when they're having that argument and like, her voice is breaking, she's like, this is not true. Like, we've all been behind you. I really like that kind of help. To know her is like a bigger star. And, you know, just a few years later, she's in Mamet movies and Scorsese movies. That's that's really cool. I always loved her. Here's another one that got a lot of press in 2007 day, a bunch of producers started out with this idea like, what if we got a bunch of directors and they made like a nine minute short film set in Paris? And we put them all together and we call it Parodies You ten. And I love this anthology film so much. I don't necessarily like every chapter, but it's so. Cool. To see like that's the prompts. Like you have to set your film in a different area of Paris and you have 9 to 10 minutes. There you go. Go off and do your thing and deliver it back to us. You know, since then they've done like other ones like Rio. I love you, New York. I love you. Interesting to me that none of those have been like, remotely as accomplished as this. Because I love Paris. It's him. I have this. I've watched it a number of times and the others really haven't matched up to it. But I mean, in this we have films by just to name a few Alfonso Cuaron, the Coen brothers, Gus Van Zant, Wes Craven, my favorite and will always be my favorite is Alexander Payne's The Final One with Margo Martindale. Oh, my God. That thing just that's like as perfect of a short film as you get to me. I absolutely love it. But yeah, this. I mean, Perry's attempt, right? Just so good. You know, everything you just said, like this was one of my movies that I had on DVD that I just put on all the time. Same, same. Similar to the way of TV. Now, you know, like I remember, there were times where I'd have to leave the house, but I could only put on something for a little while and I would just throw in Perry's attention and then just watch like one of them. Yeah. Then come back and finish the other ones. Yeah. No other movie of its genre, really has been able to capture the magic that this one does or the success, because this is still talked about. But other ones once you just mentioned, they're really not. You know, there's not I mean, New York, I love you has like some decent ones, but not not enough like this. And I don't think every single one in Perry's It's Him is like grant winners. But that's what you get with an anthology film. Like, the thing is, if you don't like the story you're in, it will over in 8 minutes. So just, you know, sit there and you'll get something else that's coming. That's what I love about them. Ben Affleck directed his first movie in 27. It costarred his younger brother, Casey Affleck, and it was called Gone Baby Gone. And this is still my favorite film. Ben Affleck is directed. I love this movie. Oh, that's my selling point for it. I know a lot of people have seen it, but shot by Bob Elsworth. I love it. There are some there are two really core moral dilemmas in the movie that involve like there's one, there's one in the end that's a big one. That's like a great debate that you can have about. I'm not going to say what it is because I want people to see it. Yeah. There's also one when Casey Affleck discovers something and he has a decision to make of it, he discovers something that makes him vomit. And then he has a very quick decision to make of if he should punish the person who inflicted that carnage. And it's just an interesting movie to watch with people. And then like at the end of it go, was that justified? Were both of those things justified? And the movie is a few things like that, and it's a movie that lives in the gray, and that's why I like it. Not all of life is black and white, a decision that may seem like a quote unquote good one. Who is that good for key bone? Who benefits? Like who? What is the ultimate end goal here? But yeah, really good movie. What do you think? I don't know if we ever talked this one. We haven't. But you just kind of really summed up like, perfectly like what's great about this movie is that it lives in that gray area and it forces you as the audience to ask yourself how you feel. What do you agree with? What do you not? I'll always say this the best art is what raises questions, doesn't answer them. I remember thinking of this movie. My biggest take away when I first saw it was this was at a time where Ben Affleck was about as low on the totem pole as you could get in terms of what Hollywood wanted talk. He's coming off Daredevil. Really? He is not having a good time. Yes. I don't think if he acted in another movie, I mean, there was a real chance that he was done. This was at the time when if you couldn't if you couldn't put together a hit after a certain period of time, Hollywood would be done with. Yeah. Yeah. We still lived in that movie star era where if you couldn't sell, that was it. So he went the complete opposite direction and chose to go behind the camera. Ever since, this is still the only movie that Ben Affleck is directed that he doesn't act in as well. So, I mean. That might be one of the reasons why it's my favorite. And might very well. Could be. I actually think he's good. In the town. Yes Argo and live by night just aren't really movies like fully for me the Argo thing is like I get it I kind of like one don't he's not the strongest aspect of that movie I'll just put it that way as an actor. As an actor, no. I think part of the thing with Argo, too, is like it's like I don't it correct me if I'm but this is just asking your opinion. I think you'd think a lot better of that movie if it didn't win the Oscar. Yeah, this is a core problem of me. Like, I get that. But the thing is, when I saw that movie where, you know, we're getting a little off track here, when I saw that movie, that movie wasn't even in the breadth of being nominated for Oscars. Like when that movie came out, no one was talking about that. It just wasn't a thing. Yeah, and there are immeasurably better movies that came out in 2012 than Argo. I understand. Oscar. Oscar. I also think he won that award in part because, he did not get a best director nomination. And I think that's why they like just kind of gave him, you know, best picture. But yeah, that's part of it. It's not it's not a best picture winning movie to me. But that is true of a lot of the movies that have won in the last 12 years or less. Ten years. Exactly. I don't hate the movie at all. It's just the way the Oscars going like, I don't I don't really want to do the Argo thing now we're getting off topic but that movie sorry one of the reasons the main reason I don't like it is a lot of that movie is complete bullshit and they just made it up to make a good movie. A lot of that stuff did not happen that way at all. And that is a huge detractor for me from true story movies. I did not know that when I was watching the movie, but when I get home and do about a seven minute Google search and find out this is all bullshit, which is exactly what happened to me with black Klansman with Spike Lee's movie, I go forget winning Best Picture. I would have liked your movie a lot more if it didn't say based on a true story at the top. That's all. Yeah, that's a huge thing. It's a. Huge. Huge for me. When you say this is based on a true story, this is a true story. This is happen in anyone with a smartphone as the credits are rolling in. Your movie can do a Google search. Find that that was not the case. And this is true of a lot of biopic movies that I like too. Don't let me talk out of turn. I get it. But that's honestly the main thing I have against Argo because 2012 was not really that good of an Oscar year. So Oscars are like, you know, whatever, I can write that off. But that movie just didn't happen that way. I mean, I don't really know what to say. Like, it just didn't like even the final scene of that movie did not happen that way. That honestly, it just didn't. So, I mean, I'm glad you. Manufactured something that you, you know, manipulated people to give you a best best picture Oscar. But that's not the way the shit went down doing it. Sorry, this is not satisfied. Now, ladies and gentlemen, Alex Withrow. I didn't know that was going to happen. I don't even hate the movie. This is why I sound like such an asshole. I know this because I don't. You recommend. It? I might even Ben for. Are you one of your. No, no, no. Most memorable. Moviegoing experience you experience. Like we're shaking in the chair and you like no water. That's just, like, tensed. You said that I was you. I was all covered up and bundled. But I have I have a big thing. Against using based on a true story in the marketing of your movie pitch. It as this is based on a real account of something that happened but we fudged some details being like this is fact, this happened. It just I'm never like that. That's a whole other podcast episode. It's one of my biggest pet peeves. And I. Have no I got a lot of movies. Based on a true story that a lot of other people love that I just don't like for this reason. And I don't. So if people are like you don't like black Klansman. I'm like, I would have liked that movie if it said it wasn't based on a true story. Like that story did not happen that way. It did not happen that way. Google for 5 minutes and you'll find out just. I don't know. I'm done or you go the opposite way like the Coen brothers did with Fargo. Yeah. Do that didn't fuck with me. I don't mind that at all. Yeah. Fuck with you or. You know something like Scorsese he did with Wolf of Wall Street when he's like not only is is based on a true story, I could not even include the worst shit because you all would not have believed it. Like the shit that these guys did is crazier than fiction. So I'm like, Wolf of Wall Street's like a tamed version of that story. So, yeah, we got off the rails. Have gone, baby, gone, didn't we? But it's like, well, 50 that it arrived there. There's no coming back. So we're just going to move on. We're moving right on to. Okay, that was. Ben Affleck's first film. Now we go to Sidney Lumet's final film, one of my favorite, Sidney Lumet's. Before The Devil Knows You're Dead. We've talked about this one before. Philip Seymour Hoffman podcast. Absolutely love this movie. It just still holds up for me. Was it you that asked me with this movie be better if it was told in order. That you I don't know if it was me that asked that, but that sounds like a question that if we ever talk about this movie before, that just in the course of conversation I would have brought. Yeah, I think, yeah, maybe. You didn't ask me on Mike, but it's a good it's a good prompt, it's a good way to look at it because that's something I like to do with movies told out of order. Not like while I'm watching it. When it's done, I go, Would that have been more effective in order or did they mix up the order just to try to like keep some mystery about it? And this one I just think works. I think all the cuts in it work. I think the changing the vantage points work. I think the robbery is like really, really disturbing, even though it's not crazily violent. But the way he holds the time with it. And then and then of course, the unraveling few actors could unravel better than Philip Seymour Hoffman. So that's just always an absolute joy to watch. I think this is the heaviest movie of the year. I think before The Devil Knows You're Dead is like the because there are some real heavy hitters here. But in terms of just ones that really just there is there's no fucking around like before the devil knows you're dead. Just cuts right to the bone. Yeah. We're going to end on a pretty intense movie. But as I was teasing earlier, I do think it has some humor, but it doesn't have this intensity before the devil knows you're dead. Like, literally, it ends with. It. There's no levity, it. Ends with it fading to white. And you're like, Holy shit. Like it's not it doesn't give you a chance to kind of catch your breath. You, you end on something intense, put it that way. But yeah, God, what a good movie. How good like Albert Finney and Hoffman are together. Of course, Ethan Hawke is just always great but versatile. A solid, acted movie like it's an actor's movie for sure. Even though it's directed the hell out of by Sidney Lumet, it really is like top to bottom, across the board acting wise. It's a homerun hit. Yeah, great musical score, too. And it's like a really good movie about how if you're actually going to pull off a crime, not a movie crime, not like all the shit. If you are actually going to knock off a jewelry store, this is one way to people would do it. Like, actually, I like that, you know, there's an authenticity, a realism to it. It's based on a true story. No, it's not like I mean, I'm sure shit like that, but I listen. To a lot of true crime podcasts. I've heard way, way crazier shit than that. But I should tell you about this one. It's fucking her. Jesus Christ. To get a friend. Good. Talk to someone. Just how do you define. 2007 in a film? I think there are two answers here. We're going to get to this when we get to the Oscars. One of the answers for just any old Joe, they're going to say, Oh, no, Country for Old Men, written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, this is your best picture winner. This was your best winner. Your best screenplay winner adapted screenplay based on an amazing book by Cormac McCarthy that I just talked about in a recent podcast episode. Yep. You asked an interesting question with Argo. Like the thing I don't like about it that won best picture. I don't hold best picture against No Country for Old Men. It's just my age old argument that like I really wish there will be blood could have gotten one of those big ones picture director or screenplay and obviously got actor for good reason. But putting Oscars aside stepping aside from that, I read No Country for Old Men in one sitting. It's such an easy read like couple of weeks ago, put on the movie right after and just sitting there and like, I've probably seen this movie 35 times and I'm just completely engrossed. Completely. Immersed, laughing at times, loving everything about it. Woody Harrelson. Javier Bardem. It's like sneaking up behind Woody Harrelson on the steps. Hey. Hi, Carson. How you doing? It's like. Like God, I love. There's not a single false note in it. It's like, nope, it's not a very conventional Coen brothers movie, honestly, which is really interesting. Like, it's not one that I, I think it's one of their best, but it doesn't, it does not have their zaniness that like you're going to find in or their peculiar ness that you're going to find in Fargo. Big Lebowski Burn. After reading a serious man. But God, this is just like a this is a towering achievement in 2007 film. Absolutely. And this is I just watched a Robert Bresson movie called The Man Escaped. Fuck, I love that movie. What the fuck are you watching? Who are you? What's going on? Right. Yeah. Are you watching all this? Right. That's right. Jesus, it's like 2015, Nick, all the sudden. Well, I watched this. I was just surprised that was bringing it up just for me. That's a relate that to No. Country for Old Men for me. All right. In a man escaped really quick just to give a little preface of the movie, it's all about this one guy who's in prison who is trying to escape. Yep. He's using the only resources that he has. And it's a very, very specific emphasis on objects and how they're being used. Hugely important for Bresson. Yeah, yeah. No Country for Old Men, how these guys are getting their their resources together reminds me a lot of them. I like this. The way that he's trying to hide the briefcase in the event when both of them are wounded from their their battle and they're they're they're treating their wounds, the the importance and the details of how they're using their objects. And it to me, it's one of the most captivating things about No Country for Old Men is that you don't need any fucking dialog for that movie. That's. Yeah. You're taking the words right out of my mouth. Yes, yes. They're gone. You could just literally have that movie going without any. Well, you need the sound because that helps. But if it wasn't, if you didn't have any dialog, you would still understand every single thing that was happening. I think that's one of the coolest things about movie and how it's able to just completely captivate you like I find myself every time I watch that movie, there's moments where my jaw is hanging open in anticipation, even though I know what's going to happen. Yeah. Oh, almost every time I watch it. Because you're just like. You're sitting there, like watching Roland hold that fucking shotgun, and you're like, you're about to get hit with that lock, dude. You're about to get at that. Let's just move. And then boom nails him. And that's that. We talk about realistic violence a lot in this on this podcast. That movie is full of a lot of it because. I've never been hit with like a locked. It's been blown out. But we know what that would feel like that would be going. This is a movie that knows violence and knows what happens when you lose blood that you can just like pass out in of a mariachi band or like, you know, things things can happen. The scenes you're referencing to me, this is like one way to win an Oscar. I think a really common way is to rant and rave in your speechifying. And you're like doing all this stuff and you're crying and you're doing all this. Anton Chigurh could very easily just like have a buddy or have someone or go to someone he knows he's got, you know, there's always the seed doctor who's like a vet who can patch you up. And now he's describing his pain. It's what I'm going to do to you. I'm going to stick you with this, and I'm going to take all the shards of out of yourself. Winning an Oscar is being able to do that on your own without saying a word and you've just in a hotel room and you're like, okay, now he's putting the shower curtain on the floor and watching him like when he gets in that bathtub and he just splashes the water on his wounds. Like we've seen Anton Anton Chigurh a lot at this point since the dude is afraid shit senate dude who gets hurt easily and that would hurt so bad. Everything he's doing right there and just how he gets a little flinch, you're like, man, this is it's so, so strong. It's just I love I love everything about this movie, but and we could it's a movie that's, like, primed for a deep Dove solo episode or a fucking commentary, to be honest. Like, this is like, it's just. Yeah, this this could be the movie. That could be the move. Because everyone's seen this movie. Everyone, most everyone likes it. In the end, as I get older, just makes so much more sense. Yeah, it was such a surprise in the theater, but especially if you read the book, it ends the exact way. Yeah, it just makes a lot more sense as I mean, it all relates back to the title. Yeah, that's what one aspect of the book in the movie is about that like Tommy Lee Jones's character does not know what the fuck is going on. He tells you that in the opening monologue in the movie, crimes like this, it's hard to even take it's measure. It's like, what? What is this? This is not a for me. When you walk around, stop saying, ma'am and sir, it's about all done. You know, it's I just I love all those things that the a scene that I always found boring is when he goes to, like, think that's his uncle, that he goes and visits and that like house or like, you know, an old relative. Oh, yeah, yeah. That scene now. Yeah, I love that scene. Like I always, the guard would come into my life and it didn't. It's just getting chills. I, I watched this movie, like, a week ago, and I just love it, man. I love No Country for Old Men. Favorite Coens. Oh, okay. All right. Here's how I'll answer that. I it's not my personal favorite, but 100% I think it is their most well done. Oh, great. Yeah. I would say either this or Fargo, this could be a rare instance when like, I think this could be their best and my favorite, I don't know, their career tough because like I get this is so weird, but I get just as much enjoyment out of this as I do in the film. They made next year burn after reading. Like, I just love Burn. After reading so much. So I get equal enjoyment from their movies, even though their movies are about totally different things. Did you ever hear the Josh Brolin story that he has? He did this on Hot Ones of all things. Oh, where the briefcase were you? Yeah. Yes. Like maybe we'll see. I got to see a well, we're going back here. I got to attend an early screening of Day directed by Jason Reitman, starring Josh Brolin. And Josh Brolin did a surprise Q&A after and he told that story there, which is really cool that like the Coens do not allow for Improvization Yeah, he wanted something when he like opens that briefcase and sees the money, he wanted to register it. So he just goes, Hmm And then he said, Yeah, because the Coens were like, All right, we'll let you do it. And then at every screening, Ethan Coen sits in the back of the theater. Yeah, is just laughing. That just gives you, like, a clue in to like the way that those guys like because if you ever watch them in interviews, like, they're humorless. Like, like, oh, go watch them win their Oscars. Ethan Coen doesn't say like a word. It's so funny. Yeah, they. They're so funny. And even actors who are like, we have no idea what the fuck they're thinking at any time. Oh, man, it's so good. Yeah. There's just no Country for Old Men is a really it's a banner film of 27. It's one of the movies that makes 27. 27? Yep. I wanted to mention the next one kind of quickly because it's come up recently on a few podcasts. I, my favorite Noah Baumbach film is Still Margot at the Wedding. I don't know why there's like a pessimism and nastiness to it. I think Nicole Kidman is very different than what we're used to seeing from her. And I like Baumbach's work a lot. Were early reviews for noise are coming out festival reviews and a lot of people are saying well that was a. Movie so we're just going to see we're going to see what happens. We get there are 150 million to me is an astronomical amount of money to give Noah Baumbach to make a movie, considering he makes them for usually like nothing. 5 to 10 million. Yeah. Yeah. So what do you think of Margot, though? Okay, so this is I'm so glad we're having this conversation because I've always been traditionally, at least between you and I, are a little bit more a Bombeck fan than you think. That's fair to say? Well. It's a tough one for me. I don't I'm okay with some. I don't get. You're going for with others. Like we tweeted I tweeted, you know, favorite Baumbach movie that someone wrote us back like the Meyerowitz stories. Oh, yeah. A really good tweet about it. And they convince me with their tweet to watch it again. But that's one that to be fair, I only saw once that I went, I get what you're doing here. This is like really isn't for me. While we're young like, I get it, I get it. There's some, I guess for me in general, he can be a little hit or miss. And that's, you know, that's. Just like I don't you know, that I don't shit on him at all. Like, ever. Oh, no, no, no, not at all. This was a movie I remember seeing in theaters in 2000 because I'm only seen it twice. And that was once then and once last. Wow. Yeah. And so I always liked this movie. When I first saw it, I always felt good about it, but I think I forgot about it completely. For whatever reason. This is one of those movies where I remember seeing and being like, I really liked it, but that's it. And then justice has gone. That has just been all tongue and. I just rewatched this and I think it is my favorite Baumbach. Edit Wow. I love this. Oh, I had the best fucking time with it. I and I'm a I love marriage story. I think that was my favorite. That was one of my favorite 2019. I think I definitely have been on record on this podcast. What are you watching? Saying that that was my favorite. Baumbach And now I have to change it because this was operating on a level of rawness. The way that everyone talks to each other in this. Yeah, it's so believable. It's just, it's like I can't even put my finger on even John Turturro coming in there. Like, yeah, really nails it. Yeah. Baumbach does have a style dialog wise that lives in here, but it's not ever the way that it is like this. This is a complete 100% dove into a way of speaking to people that it's so refreshing to. See, it almost feels like in a weird way, as natural as is, it feels like I'm watching another language and I fucking loved it. And man, I will tell you, I fell off my chair laughing when it's towards the beginning of the movie and and they're all sitting in living room and they're talking about like how rough kids have it when like, like bad trauma happens to. Them it and they're talking. About how their dad, like the two girls are talking about how oh yeah, dad used to just, you know, whatever he had his days just take out a belt and just go to town on. Us. Yep. And there's like. And then. And then they're like, it's a shame when things happen to the kids. And then just Jennifer, Jason Leigh goes to Jack Black. He goes, poor Whatever. I forget what his character's name is, but he's like, Poor Jack was fondled by his mailman. And it is it's not even funny. It's not even funny to me. It cuts off Jack like it. It goes, Oh, I'm glad. That's information we're just giving away. Yeah, exactly. Okay, you just toss that out there. Yeah, go ahead. As he said, go ahead and use that information however you want. Oh, God, I'm so glad to hear this, because I. Well, one of the reasons I like about this and he could be like he's one of the goat cinematographers of 27 Harris us. Yes. Yeah you can tell Harris beat us also shot Zodiac and he shot American Gangster, which is a movie we'll be talking about a little later. But yeah, those are three like. Really those are three movies. That are maybe not Zodiac but Margaret the Wedding is a movie that looks better than it maybe should. I think it it's better than most Noah Baumbach movies just with that with his natural light authenticity. So wow, I'm so glad to hear this. I know you were watching it recently. Yeah. This movie. Yeah. This is a very, very, very big fan of this movie. Now, Nicole Kidman, she just didn't play a petty asshole. It's one of those people. It's like. Why did you have a kid? Yeah. What? Me? What possessed you'd want to have a kid, even that. And which is say, did you see me running? It's like. That's what the kid is supposed to say, like, hey, mom, do you see. Me running? The mom doesn't ask the kid that, like, who are you? But it's, it's not really a character with, like, a redeemable quality. You know that about her. I love Margo. I love Nicole Kidman as Margo. For that. Reason. Nicole Kidman is one of my all timers. I love her so well. Same here, same here. I really do too. So I'm not. There is abs. We talked about this movie and our Heath Ledger podcast, but we specifically kind of spoke about the Heath Ledger part of it, the whole is this experiment on the different elements of Bob Dylan's life. But then also like I suppose you could say how I think that movie's stance was. In a way, Bob Dylan is all of us in some sort of way. And at this time in my life, I was very much into Dylan. Dylan was still is one of my most artistic inspirations, but at the time I was just discovering him. So this movie I felt like was made for me and there were still parts of it that I didn't even like. Like still to this day or back then. Still to this day. Yeah, and same here. Same here. I don't think it's a perfect movie. I think it has some perfect elements. Yeah, I really do. I think I. Think kind of in the same way. But what is cool about this is that that actually is Bob Dylan. Like, that's his career, like being a giant fan of him. There are albums, there are eras, there are styles of music that he's gone into that I'm like, I don't know. No, this is. And it's always changing because some of even his recent stuff is actually quite good. But then there's like a four period of shit that I'm just like, I can't even listen to it. So I feel like this movie did like Bob Dylan, the type of justice that no other movie could possibly do to really kind of give you the realest experience of him and what he has done for culture. Yeah, it's it's one of the most unique biopics I've ever seen, whether you like it or not, and you're on board with it or not. I've never seen anything like this. Like characterizing a real person. And sometimes that person, first of all, the never referred to as Bob Dylan. Yeah, but sometimes that person is played by a little black boy. Sometimes they're played by Cate Blanchett or something, sometimes by an old Richard Gere. And I liked it because I appreciated the filmmaking, but it took me going home and reading some interviews with Haynes, who basically articulated everything you just said, that like this movie is representing a very like enigmatic figure in music. Like, how do you tell the Bob Dylan biopic makes me very, very interested for the shallow May one, because I don't yeah. I don't know how you do this in terms of like artist representation with like a cinematic abstraction. It's not going to get any better than I'm not there. It's just such an odd movie as and I mean that as a compliment. Very odd if I had to guess. And what my hope would be is that the, the me movie because he's so young, it's really just going to tackle the early part of Bob Dylan's career, which is arguably the most compelling part of his career. Yeah, I. Mean, and I think it's also the most relevant now, what fame means today, what popularity is what art means. I think it is an interesting, relevant subject to tackle, but if they decide to go into a life. I kind of think biopics work sometimes best when you just take a chunk that's. Just going to say Elvis is like a cradle to the grave biopic, a new where you're see him, the whole thing. I think a lot of modern biopics have found success just doing a one kind of core story, very centralized, very compact. Steve Jobs kind of did that, whether you like that movie or not. But it's just focusing on these key events. Three key jobs in his life. And you're just doing this and not showing like, you know, them being born to them dying. So, I mean, I know Bob Dylan's life, but I would think with this casting, you'll just do one or like a week in the life of Bob Dylan or something like that. And I often find that's like a better way into real characters than showing us age 12 to age, you know, 80 or whatever. Yeah, I agree. Leave that for a documentary. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And there's been a lot of good ones on Dylan by Scorsese. Oh, my God. They're Dylan that's out there. Yeah. If you are a Bob Dylan fan and you are not familiar with some Bob Dylan documentaries, hit us up at what are you watching? Underscore podcasts on Twitter and I will be more than happy to point you in the direction of some amazing concert footage and really good docs. That's W AIW underscore podcast folks. Moving on. To the raising your hands and victory but you got it wrong. I did you said what are you watching. Underscore. Podcast. No fucking. Emmys. You know we got two more of our for 25 and then we're going to go to the Oscars and talk about some of them. We've already talked about a lot of the Oscar movies so far. That's why I'm doing this in this way. But the second to last movie here is incredibly important to you. And I didn't really know this until really, I guess the Philip Seymour Hoffman podcast. Yeah, this savages in 2007. Obviously, this is the year that we're talking about this. I'm thrown from that from not getting our tweet handle. Right. That's all. Right. Yeah. This is like, well, one again, like this for our fellow listeners. Like this was filmed where I grew up in Buffalo, New York, and I still think it is the most accurate portrayal of that city. So that's why it's special to me. But this era in time of movies, you just don't see movies like this anymore, like these in movies that are just so simple and just kind of really about people. Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman play just a brother and sister chemistry that I rank up there with the best brother, sister chemistry connections we've seen on screen. They're so good with one another. They really are. Like, I almost don't even really think about the plot of this movie because I just want to watch the two of them. They're the best part of it that that their relationship is the best part, just like passing, faking it back and forth or, you know. Whatever it is, it's just like. Know she's giving him all this shit about his clutter all over the apartment. It's just it's very, very lived in. You believe that these two are brother and sister? Yeah, you just do. And you know, they're two New York actors who, you know, worked together a lot. And just in the New York scene. I love that you and. Then your love for this made me like appreciate it more. Definitely. And I watch it with a new kind of a new lens. When we did the Philip Seymour Hoffman podcast and you were. A big fan of this one when you rewatched it. Yeah. Yeah, I was. I liked it a lot more than than I remembered. And that's the joy of watching some of these smaller movies that even if they don't necessarily get you at first, again, this is about like parents who are dying. So as you get older, maybe it'll get a little more, you know, prescient and it's more topical to you. Margot At the wedding, they kind of same things like first saw. I liked it but didn't really think much of it. And then you rewatched and you're like, Oh my God, what was I thinking? Like, this is so much better than I remember. So the last minute, I mean, people obviously know what the hell movie you're going to talk about here. That's the last one. And I'm going to skin itself in a very though I would love to see this up in a very at a very kind of fun story time way. So at the end of 27, I did not spend the final month, the first week of 2008 in America. I was overseas, I was visiting and just traveling abroad and doing stuff. I was not in an English speaking country. So basically the month of December, like the key movie month I was gone for and couldn't see anything. So this means because I am who I am, the day that I got back and I'm in a 12 hour time zone difference, so I'm like jet lagged. I don't even know what planet I'm on. The day I get back, I basically create like a three day film festival for myself where I literally I'm not even like I plan to see like five movies on one day for the next day, three the next day. But I plan to see a big chunk of movies. My second movie that I plan to see on the first day was a little movie called There Will Be Blood, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson starring Daniel Day-Lewis. And that was movie number two. Yeah, movie number one was Juno, actually. Movie number two was There Will Be Blood. There was not a movie three, four or five and I was like, the best way I can describe it is when this movie ended, the first time I saw it, I felt like I've been in a few fights. It felt like I'd been in a fight, like it just my body didn't feel hurt. But I felt like the adrenaline that surges through you when you're in like hand-to-hand combat, it's not something you really feel because it's that fight or flight thing. I didn't feel like myself sweating, doing all that stuff. And then the movie ends and those beautiful strings, come on, you know, I'm finished. And you're just sitting there like, What the fuck? That. And, you know, fans of this podcast, we've done Paul Thomas Anderson episode, we've done a Daniel Day-Lewis episode. It just doesn't get better than There Will Be Blood. To me, this it's right up there with my favorite movie of that decade. I think it's Paul Thomas Anderson's best film. I think it is right up there with No Country for Old Men, as when you think of like, give me your number one movie from 2007, I think it's either going to be there will be blood or no country for Old Men, but. It's my asterisk movie. It will, unfortunately. I just don't think it can ever break my top ten of favorite movies of all time. But it will always be the asterisk to it. Yeah, like it will always be the movie that I could interchange with any one of them and then be like, nope, there will be blood. All right. Well, we're going to keep talking about there will be blood as we go into our Oscar conversation category again. Now, it's not often that a really good movie years followed up by also a really good Oscar year in terms of what's nominated and what wins. So I want to go through the main eight categories here. Just real quick. Best picture, No Country for Old Men Wins. It's Up Against Atonement. Juno, Michael Clayton and there will be blood. So like Atonement, we didn't talk about that just first of all, before we pick. Who we would. Choose to win, you know, just thoughts on these these Oscar movies, as were going by Atonement. That's one of those movies where I. Saw it. In the theaters in 2007 and I remember I was feeling like not that I wasn't mature enough for it, but I felt like this movie will be better later. And I've never seen it since. Oh, interesting. Yeah, that's that's an interesting thought. I like the final scene of this movie has always been my favorite aspect of it, but so cool to see like really such a young shershaah Ronan and this we're going to mention her name again, but I love that Juno. Thoughts on Juno. I was a fan. I yeah, I was too. In 27. It was a thing. It was a big thing. It was a big thing. It was a I loved Jason Bateman in that movie. Yeah. He made what was a very tricky thing be believable scene where he says to Juno, I'm going to leave my wife for you. It borderline on the edge of creepiness and just the right level like because it didn't go into disturbing, it just went into disappointment. It was just sort of like, Oh dude, dude, what are you doing? What are you thinking? That's that's not appropriate. But it wasn't it wasn't that that fine line. And I always appreciated that about that movie because that is that is a very, very specific mark that needs to be hit by the performance and the director like you have to make that just right. Ah, otherwise you're going to lose the audience. It's tough. I don't know which one of these first three I would give the there will be blood like to I give a picture director or screenplay. I don't know. It's tough. It's definitely going to get one of them for me. I just don't know which one. I'm fine with that winning picture, but I'm also fine with No Country for Old Men winning. What I would have done is I would have had there will be blood is picture Paul Thomas Anderson for director the the screenplay for no country. Oh interesting. All right let's move to director yes we have Coen brothers win for No Country Paul Thomas Anderson for There Will Be Blood, Julian Schnabel, the Diving and the Butterfly. Jason Reitman, Juno. Tony Gilroy. Michael Clayton. Diving Bell. And The Butterfly is a really fucking good movie. It didn't really mention. Yep, yeah. Really, really, really fucking. Yeah. It's a really emotional movie. I was saving songs. I knew you were going to mention them in the Oscars like that one. But. All right, I'm cool with that. I'm cool there will be blood taking picture and director that for adapted screenplay No Country for Old Men One Atonement Away from Her Great Movie by Sarah Polley, Diving Bell and the Butterfly And There Will Be Blood. I'm Cool With No Country For Old Bad taking that and then director and picture goes there will be blood I. Only yeah because the. Coens I don't know I don't know because they that was the first time they won for director right. No, no, no that yeah. That Joel and Ethan Coen both have a screenplay for writing Fargo. But that's it. That's it. And then all these. No country ones. Yeah, yeah. No best director other than no Country. Yeah. Original screenplay. I really want to hear from you on this one. Mine's a no brainer, but Juno wins. The fellow nominees are Lars in The Real Girl. Michael Clayton, Ratatouille and the Savages. So I'm giving this to Michael Clayton. But knowing your love for Lars and the Savages in Juno, I want to what you're going to go with? I think I'd go with Juno because it also opened up a lot of doors for movies like that. And the dialog was very unique and stuff. Yeah. It was, it was very specific to a certain time and style. But also now looking at Michael Clayton, it's just sort of like, holy shit. Like that's just the it's, it's my phrase. I love to use. Note Perfect. It's a perfect screenplay in every sort of way you could ever write a screenplay. So Juno is very. Juno is very style based and Michael Clayton is more like text story and character based and technique. Yeah, I like the economy of writing in it. The economy of language. Yeah. Best actor is similar to take up by Ford because we have Marion Cotillard wins for Loving Rose. Cate Blanchett nominated for Elizabeth the Golden Age. Julie Christie for Away From Her, Laura Linney, The Savages and Elliot Page for Juno. I would I mean Marion Cotillard that's like one of my favorite Oscars ever. I know you haven't seen it, but just take my word for it. It is an incredibly well-deserved win. That's one of those ones where it's like, Yeah, I know, I haven't seen it, but I completely understand that that would be the winner. And rightfully so. Yeah. And then our next category is like it's kind of a shame when like something as good as Daniel Day-Lewis and there will be blood comes out the same year like George Clooney is so good. Michael Clayton Tommy Lee Jones is really good. And in the Valley of Elah, Viggo Mortensen is great in Eastern Promises and Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd, which wasn't really a movie, a performance for me. But again, a total no brainer here. Like this is doodles all the way. No, no other name was mentioned during the Oscar for this. It was Tim and nor should it be, unfortunately, for any of the other nominees. This was as far as Oscar acting races go. This is one of the best of recent because going into best supporting actress 2007 people didn't know if it was going to be Tilda Swinton for Michael Clayton, who did win Cate Blanchett for I'm not there she there were some rumblings that she could win. Ruby Dee wins the Screen Actors Guild for American Gangster. Could she win the Oscar Shire? Sharon in the young girl from Atonement. Could she sneak in there? And then Amy Ryan and God may be Gone basically won like every festival, critics, awards, all that stuff. So this was sheer Sharon and wasn't really in this, but this was like a four way race and I was and remain still stunned that Tilda Swinton won this. But it's for such good reason. It's like they. Don't they don't give. Oscars for performances like this anymore where there's no, like, teary confession or anything. She's just like a woman, like, spiraling out, like, that's it. And it's a it's such a weird, weird performance. I'm so happy she won. And it's a very weird performance because they're like, that. Is the actor bringing so much to what's not on the page? Oh, yeah. When you look at the screen and you look at what that screenplay basically says, you know, a of scenes, she's just folding clothes or she's in the bathroom getting ready. It's she she's bringing all the nuance to that unhinged weird ass character that she is. So I'm either going to give it to that or Cate Blanchett for I'm not there. Oh, well, she's excellent, too. She's had excellent. Had she not won three years earlier for The Aviator? Yeah, there's this definitely. Could have been her win. Okay, now. Well, we move to arguably the best, most challenging category of the 2007 Oscars. Best Supporting Actor. Wow. Get this, Javier Bardem wins for No Country for Old Men, Casey Affleck for Jesse James, Philip Seymour Hoffman for Charlie Wilson's War. A movie we both really love and talked about a lot in our Hoffman episode. Episode 49 there. Yeah. Hal Holbrook, four Into the Wild, a favorite of yours, of course. And Tom Wilkinson and Michael Clayton, which as we said, is one of the most convincing portrayals of a manic depressive ever. This is a tough, tough choice. But I do think they chose correctly. You know, it's it's 100% true. And it would be the one that got my vote. But my God, like this is this is one of the most stacked acting categories have ever seen. Like, this is crazy because everyone here is just phenomenal. This is Javier Bardem winning. This is like you really won this award. If you beat out all of these guys for their performances. True. Yeah. You put in the work like all those guys who put in work over the years, but it's just is snuck through. It's someone that made it out alive. All right. So as we finish up here, we're just going to we're going to do some quick rapid fire because some people are going to be like, why the hell didn't you mention this movie was released in 2007? You guys are idiots. Alpha Dog, Nick ever seen that one? Great. Ben Foster I've never seen this one. Yeah, you would like it. True story, Alpha Dog. It's good Smoking Aces directed by Joe Carnahan. And not a fan. Not a fan either. Okay, we're. Right. Well, I know you are, though. I know you are, though. No, I'm not. Oh, you're not smokin aces. I know. What's the movie that I'm thinking of? Narc. I love Narc. Oh, no. Narc is good. Okay. All right, all right, all right, all right. Moving on. Okay. I'm just mentioning big ones. 300. Zack Snyder. One of my least favorite movies of all time. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Yes, I happen to agree. I honestly, we haven't really talked about a lot of these movies. So I didn't I don't know your feelings on them. The Lookout, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, directed by Scott Frank is a really good effective like B thriller. Yes. Type that I'm talking about very good movie. Yeah. What one of Joseph Gordon-Levitt has got like low, one of my favorite acting careers for the types of performances that he's ever done. And this is one that I would some some elements of this movie don't work for me, but overall, I think it's really good. And I also think it's one of my favorite purely for him. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Really good in it. Disturbia, young Shia LaBeouf. It's kind of like a rear. Window. Modern update. I liked it in 27. I own it. So, you know, there, there that is. It's a fun, easy movie. I felt the same way. It was actually one of the movies because during this time, like I got, I was a Shia fan because he was like, Oh, he's just one of those kid actors who's getting all these roles, things like that. But Disturbia, I was like, Oh no, this is. This is cool. And it's, it is. Absolutely. What else Hot Fuzz by Edgar Wright is follow Shaun of the Dead. Well, know if you're a fan of that one. I am. I am. Too. I'm too. I don't like some of the others that followed it with with that combo, this one and Shaun of the Dead, I was a fan of. 28 weeks later. Just want to mention that, because I think it's actually a really worthy follow up to a really, really good horror movie. 28 days later, a huge release of 27 that we haven't mentioned once, which is, you know, that was like that was the thing in 2017 for Best Song. It's a good movie. It's a. Good movie. It's a good and I think that I mean, it's unfortunately it's a movie that like it's like it's all about the song. Like that's the one song and that. Right. But that song is a fucking banger. It really is. It really is. I'm so glad it won the Oscar, too. This is a huge 27 release that we've glossed over. Knocked Up by Judd Apatow. Not I like it as much as 40 year old Virgin, and I think the director's cut, it's like, I don't know what you were doing here. Like it goes on for like 2 hours and 40 minutes. Not really. But it's so it's like two and a half hours too long to me. I think I've seen that one. I think that's the one I think is the DVD. I like Knocked Up. I was always, yeah, it's not bad. Yeah it's roommate. So the best part of it I love oh, it's so, so good. They're hilarious. Oh, God. Another sequel I want to mention, because I think it's better than the original hostel part directed by Eli Roth. It's like a good movie. It's basically hostile to is all about. It's like the same story but starring pretty much all women this time. Whereas part one It's All Men so it's just cool, you know, if you're into that sort of thing. 1408 Sorry. John Cusack, do you like this one? I just. Watched the movie for the. First time like a month ago. I never say, Oh dude, it, I mean, but it's a lot of fun. And it really is a testament to Cusack though, because I mean, it's his show like he gets Cusack in a room and if you are at all down for that, not the best movie, but like if you're willing to take it for what it is and just have fun with Cusack for an hour and a half. Great. A Mighty Heart starring Angelina Jolie. She plays the wife of that journalist who is decapitated by the Taliban. That's a very, very intense movie. Good performance for her. Did she direct. It? No, no. Michael Winterbottom directed it Live Free or Die Hard? Any opinion on that one? As like a dedicated fan of, the first and third one, like now we're just turned in John McClane to do a superhero. Yeah. It's such a bummer. It's the exact phrase or the expression of the jumping the shark. Yes, well said. Well said. Interview directed by Steve Buscemi. Have you seen this? Yes. Sienna miller. I love this. I love I really, really liked this movie. Two hander Steve Buscemi plays a journalist who he's like a political journalist and he's been put in charge of interviewing like a Sienna miller type actress, kind of playing like a version of herself. And it does not go well. And it's it's pretty much a real time movie. It takes place over like one night. And I love it. I wish Buscemi would direct more, actually. Yeah. Huge fan of that movie. Great, great indie. Yeah, it really is. Here's a huge cult favorite from 2007 Sunshine, directed by Danny Boyle. I think like works and holds up a lot of people have trouble with like that last act and I think it goes too off the rails and I get it. I get it. It's fair. I don't think it's like perfect, but it's a lot of really interesting things in here for a space movie. Yeah, just a cool movie. I enjoyed it. I thought it was a lot of fun. Yeah. The Bourne Ultimatum, maybe the most badass of the Bourne films by Paul Greengrass. I really like this one. I think that's my favorite of the whole series. It's just like nuts. I still don't know how they shot some of this stuff. Like just a good movie. Got a call out. Bourne Ultimatum. All right, really quick, your top order of Dearborn movies, just the three before they go into the other one's. Probably descending order probably ultimatum The Bourne Supremacy in The Bourne Identity probably. I mean, if I'm going to be in a movie like this, like I get what you're doing with The Bourne Identity, but and it's a different director, but it just it's moving like I just want to see him kicks mess in like a messy shit, like cars crashing with each other. By the time you get to Bourne Ultimatum, it's just like fucking chaos. The whole it is like the car crash, the car chase. It's just. It's nuts. It's nuts. What about you? I'm going to go. I mean this with all respect to this one, cause I love this one. I love the Bourne movies, but I go to one three. Oh, interesting. I mean, two is really good. Oh, I love supremacy. A real quick one. I want to mention the invasion, which is kind of like an update issue of invasion of the Body Snatchers with Daniel Craig, Nicole Kidman. Not a lot of people saw this one, but it basically posits like, could our life be better if we were controlled by an alien race where we all just like got along? It's kind of it's an interesting theory. I like I like the concept. I never seen it, though. Yeah. Halloween by Rob Zombie. I doubt you've seen this one, but I've seen him take that in a new. Yeah, it's a lot of back story for old Michael Meyers. There we go. Like an hour back. So are you a fan? No, no. I didn't think I loved the original so much. And this. Nothing tops that. I'm not a big. I appreciated Rob Zombie a lot. I love that he's got his own style. I like his music a lot more than I like his movies. Yeah, fair, fair This is what I'm really curious. I don't know if we've ever talked about Across the Universe directed by Julie Taymor. You fan of this one, The Beatles movie? Evan Rachel Wood. Yeah. Yeah. This is so funny because everyone who I went to college with loved this movie. Yeah, I had a little bit of that in my college experience. So it's, it's okay. It's not one of my favorites, but like, it's cool. I get it. I like, I like this style. I like Julie more. I like what she does with things. Fair enough. Fair enough. Sleuth directed by Kenneth Brown. I don't know if you saw the original, which was really good with Laurence Olivier. This is just a nice follow up to that with, you know, the original was Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine. Now you have Michael Caine playing the Laurence Olivier part. And it's just it's very good and Jude Law playing the Michael Caine part. So it's really it's a good movie. It's really good movie. I want people to check that one out. Yep. They're a great double feature. If you really want to watch the same movie, kind of back to back, but see the differences in time. Yeah, We. Own The Night, directed by James Gray, starring Joaquin and Mark Wahlberg. This is that kind of James Gray movie where I watch it and I went. It didn't really fully connect with me, but I like it. It's a decent movie. I agree things we lost in the fire. I wanted to mention this one because this was really touted as like Halle Berry is going to win her second Oscar after Monster's Ball and it's a good movie. But Benicio Del as like heroin addict is incredible in this movie. He's just totally goes for it. Show up for Halle Berry if you want, you will stay for Benicio Del Toro. He's great in that really worth mentioning. Love the title. Yeah. And I mean, it's true because it's like, you know, things they lost in a fire. Do you ever see Lions for Lambs? No, but I always want because that was on this movie, Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep. Meryl Streep, Robert Redford and a very young Andrew Garfield. Very young, like one of his first American movies. So it's it's good. It's just kind of weird. It's just, you know, I just I wanted to bring it up as to see if you had seen it more than anything. It's like Tom Cruise's last, like, actual acting movie. One of them. Yeah, sure. It definitely was. It really was all right to left here. We that we've talked about very recently, the mist which is just movie you and I both kind of like for it's a carnage in pessimism. Yeah and then a movie I just watched very recently for the first time. Walk Hard to do. We got a story. Get out of here, do we? Seven. There it is. Wrong brother died. Oh, wow. We've talked about a lot of movies. We've run long, but it's okay because it's like 27 and it's just one of the best years. I mean, could be one of the best years. We talk about certainly of our lifetimes, we have things like 1975 that's always waiting for us, you know, but we did independent lists here because our tastes are a little different. And because there were so many good movies this year, I can do all mine in a row. Then you can go or we can go back and forth. What do you think? I think we go back and forth with ten and ten. All right. You want me to go first? Do you want to go first? You know what? I'm going to be nice. And for the first time ever, I'm going to let you go first. It's not nice. No one wants to go first. That's why I always. Make you know, you know how I feel. Number ten. This was I mean, this was tough. Like I had a little fun as I got down in my in my list. So there are some things here that was stunned, weren't even brought up. But number ten gone, baby gone. Ooh, nice, nice. That's the one that I'm like, like, upset. Didn't make my top ten. Yeah, that's a tough one. It's a tough one. But my number ten is before the devil knows you're dead. Number nine for me Before the devil knows you're dead. So right I go wondering how many will be the same. I just. I know there's no way we're going to have all of the same movies, but we'll see. So number nine for me, as I said before, the devil knows you're dead. Your number eight or no? Your number nine? My number nine. The assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford. Very good. Very Good. I mean, it's got to be on here. Number eight for me, Eastern Promises directed by David Cronenberg. Love it. Love it. Very nice. Very nice. My number eight is Margot at the wedding. Oh, nice. That didn't make my list, but I love that that's on here. Cracked the top ten and it's well into it. It definitely is. Oh, man, I love that. So, number seven for me, I don't know if it's worth the caveat, but I'm going with death proof. Just you. No Grindhouse, but I'm going to put the shorter version up there. That's what I'm putting here. Bit of a cheat. Because it's away from Grindhouse, but it's my fucking list. Fuck yeah. Number seven for you. Number seven, we got the savages. Oh, very good. Yep. Number six for me, Werner Herzog's great film, Rescue Dawn, starring Christian Bale. Steve Zahn, like you have never seen him go check this movie out. Number six from you, Michael Clayton. Oh, God. Yeah. We do have a lot of the same ones here. I'm not mentioning for good reason yet. Yeah, I know it. I'm bummed that that didn't crack the top five. That's okay. I just loved that it made it. I love that you've had this, like, resurgence with it. My number five is Jesse James. It's right there. Top five. Got to do it. You got to do it. Number five for you. All right. Here we go. Cracking top five, Zodiac. Oh, so good, yeah, this is where it's going to get interesting to see how many viewers align. So my number. Yes, Zodiac's great. My number four is your number six. Michael Clayton. Now, very nice. Very nice. Number four for me is the Darjeeling Limited. Okay. Okay. I see that didn't make mine, but I love that movie. I love it. My number three. Your number five, Zodiac. Oh, yeah. Nice people. And we're getting down to it. Oh, you're getting to see where this goes. All right, you're number three. Our number two. Number one are like no one's even going to. Well, so what number? My number three into the wild. Oh, see, I thought this. Might be your number one, because. No, this didn't. Make my list. But this is what I knew was, like, non-negotiable going to be your top three? And to totally get it has to be. I'm just going to do my two in one right now because it's boom, boom, and then I'll see if you're ordered. Same way. Number No Country for Old Men. Number one, there will be blood, you two. The same here. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah, that's it. That's it. All right. Let me go through mine number. Gone, baby, gone. Nine Before the devil knows you're dead. Eight Eastern Promises seven Death Proof six Rescue Dawn five Jesse James four. Michael Clayton three. Zodiac two. No Country for Old Men one. There Will Be Blood Number ten. Before The Devil Knows You're Dead. Number nine The Assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford. Number eight, Margot at the wedding. Number seven, the Savages. Number six, Michael Clayton. Number five, Zodiac. Number four, The Darjeeling Limited. Number three into the Wild. Number two, No Country for Old Men. Number one, there will be blood boom. I mean, this is the solid top ten right there. People go watch these movies, just those and be like, wow, 27 is really good. Yea, I mean it really was. It was a lot of fun to do. This is probably going to be our longest year episode, but like I knew that was going to happen because it's a yes and seven. And you know, as we get into what are you watching here and get into the end, I want to hear other years that people want us to cover like we don't have all this mapped out like holler at us, get at us at WW Underscore podcast on Twitter and we will very seriously consider whatever year you present to us. But let's get on to what are you watching? I'll go first today as cause. Yeah. Oh, oh I'm. Doing a double down and. I have to. Double down. Okay. I plan for this the whole time because we talked about a lot of popular movies today. Like a lot of them. And I know people have seen some of these movies. I don't know how many people have seen Rescue Dawn. And I just I really, really strongly urge people to go watch this like it's PG 13. It's not like going to hammer the war down your throat. It's not like that. It's much more it's much more emotional than that. And like you said, Dieter, as played by Christian Bale, is just like a positive guy. He's not looking at all this stuff, like, what do I do? My life sucks, my life sucks. He's someone who gets thrown in a very intense situation and tries to immediately with like a sense of not like overt positivity. But he's not letting it get him down. He's like, How the fuck can we get out of here? Let's plan to do that. But we don't have to do it like sad sack. We don't have to do it accepting that we're going to die. Let's just go to work. Like let's try to do this so. I love rescue Dawn. You know, I want more people to see Werner Herzog movies talk about him. But yeah, I'm wholeheartedly recommending that one. I really, really like this movie I'm going. To double down with Margot at the wedding. Oh, very nice. I like that. I liked that because you had a little bit of change with it. And it's Noah Baumbach's a big director and a lot of people talk about him, but a lot of people don't talk about this movie. Exactly. That's what I'm going to say, because that my other one was I was going to say Michael Clayton. But I feel like a lot of people know that one. A lot of people feel the same way about that one. But Margot at the wedding might be that under that that missing piece of the Baumbach puzzle that people talk about because everyone talks about Squid in the Whale, even Greenberg gets mentioned a lot. But Frances Ha, like all of the big ones. But like go back to Margot at the wedding if you haven't seen that one or if you have and you were like me or you have seen it, but it's been a bit that was the one of the most enjoyable experience that I had of watching a movie in a little bit. It's so the dialog is just fantastic and all of the performances and big shot of the Jack Black. Yeah, he's really good. He's excellent. I love it. Yeah, yeah. It's sort of a ski scumbag like. Yeah, yeah, he's really good when he can't remember, like the the person in the band's name and he's like sitting there, he's like, Oh yeah. Felix four. But then he's like, Oh I got it. No one gives a shit what he's talking about. They're like, Yo, he. He had he's gone record is saying that that was a very that was very intimidating movie for him. Oh okay that time he he was not used to he was used to doing Jack Black stuff, right. And so to like have to be across Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Jason Leigh and hold up dramatically. And he does, man. He really does. He absolutely does. So many good movies to talk about today. 27, 15 years ago. You'll live in my heart forever. I wish we could get another one of you. But alas, we always have these movies. So we talked about so many today. If we left out some that you love or if you want to double down with us and go, Yeah, thank you for talking about ex movie. Get at us on Twitter or Instagram at W AIW Underscore Podcast. But as always thank you for listening and happy watching. Hey everyone, thanks again for listening. You can watch my films and read my movie blog at Alex Withrow dot com. Nicholas Dose Tor.com is where you can find all of Nick's film work. Send us mailbag questions at What are you watching? Podcast at gmail.com or find us on Twitter at W AIW underscore podcast in honor of Blond. Next time we're going to break the top ten NC 17 rated films. There has never been an easy NC 17 movie. Oh my. Stay tuned.