Grand Budapest Hotel / Glaze the Frosting (Guest: Sam Bullington)

In our most demure and mindful episode to date, Guest: Sam Bullington checks in for a stay at “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” (2014 d. Anderson / Writings - Zweig) by way of a Review Review. Starring: Ralph Finnes, F. Murray Abraham, and Adrien Brody. This episode gets almost as charming as this clearly (that’s Willem Dafoe) Wes Anderson film, until Corporate Overlord Gerrah Joees comes in to make us talk football, for no compensation. And we talk what he tells us to talk. Cause, “That’s, Dallas.” 8/5!

**All episodes contain explicit language**
Artwork - Ben McFadden
Review Review Intro/Outro Theme - Jamie Henwood
"What Are We Watching" & "Whatcha been up to?" Themes - Matthew Fosket
"Fun Facts" Theme - Chris Olds/Paul Root
Lead-Ins Edited/Conceptualized by - Ben McFadden
Produced by - Ben McFadden & Paul Root
Concept - Paul Root

Chapters

• 1:51 Guest Intro
• 7:53 What You Been Doin'?
• 15:45 What Are You Watching?
• 24:22 "Grand Budapest Hotel" Facts
• 33:13 FUN Facts!
• 41:11 Brought To You By
• 44:50 Cinephile Round
• 46:10 First & Current Experiences
• 58:10 Start The Movie (discussion)
• 1:25:51 Meet Me Halfway (through the movie)
• 1:51:22 Final Ratings

Transcript

You're a human computer, a learning machine. I'm a cyborg, a learning computer. The more I enact with humans, the more I learn. He just got We're always hot and ready with that one. Yeah.

Exact same phrase. So this is on you. Hey. Welcome in everyone to the review review. This is a classic review review.

Nothing no no bells, no whistles. Good old fashioned review review episode. What is a review review episode? You might ask. Did you ask?

I do wanna know. I thought you might. I'm gonna tell you. It is a movie podcast. Okay.

Yeah. Where we, myself, Ben, one of the co hosts, and this gentleman over here. My name's Paul. I'm a cohost. And what we do is we ask someone to bring us a movie.

That movie should be at least seven years old or older, something that they feel passionately about. One way to do that. Rules. Yes. These are important rules passionately about one way or the other.

Something they can talk about a lot. They wanna bring to us for one reason reason or one reason. Oh, God. One reason? Well, no.

One reason or other, we will then watch it in our separate domiciles, and then we will, come together and we will discuss our rating out of five in our first viewing of this movie and then our current rating of five. And we'll talk, we'll laugh, we'll discuss, and we'll see where we get to by the end. Maybe maybe the real journey was the friends we made along the way. Can I point something out Yeah? Real quick?

I would like to say everyone here is wearing a hat. Mhmm. And I think that that is special because the movie we're talking about today, costumes are a big part of it. That's true. Mhmm.

I think this is kind of is this the modern lobby boy hat? I would say the hat you are wearing perfectly fits with the shirt you have on. Mhmm. I agree with that. Thanks so much.

Low in the baritone voice that you're hearing that's not mine or Paul's is, Sam. Hi, everyone. Sam is here. He's an actor. I am.

I met Sam. He he was on stage with guest of this podcast. My wife, Jessica and Martin. Right. Probably the most talented actress ever met in my life.

Still to this day. Yeah. She's fantastic. Sam's not too bad himself, though. Thank you.

Sam, tell these people about yourself. By these people, I mean me and Paul. But no one's listening. You're really trying to make this, like, very intimate. I also wanna say, Sam, one hell of a model American and a flag football quarterback.

Absolutely. Yeah. So I I I got my start at the University of Michigan, and I was a I was a fifth stringer, And I worked my way up. I worked my way up the ladder, and coach didn't even wanna put me in my senior year. But but, I worked my tail off, and I came back against Alabama at the Orange Bowl game.

And, even though I got drafted in the sixth round, you know, here I am. I had a I have a storied twenty year career, and some people call me the greatest of all time. Also, your storied career as a draft pick and catcher for the Montreal Expos. Yes. An old known piece of trivia about you.

Yeah. I guess, hi. My name is Sam. I'm an actor. Why I I love these guys and like hanging out with them so much, we originally bonded up over football.

And these two are avid, Seattle Seahawk fans. And I am, of course, being from the beautiful state of Dallas, Texas. That's not a state. That's a city. Well, one of It's a city and a state.

It's a city state. More of a nation state, actually. And at any point, you guys just beware. At any point, we can succeed. And it's the choice of a new generation.

Coco beware. Again. Okay. Coco beware. Of course, being from Texas, I became a New England Patriots fan.

Oh, yeah. I mean Naturally. Yeah. As one does. Because the Dallas Cowboys are abysmal.

Mhmm. We agree on that. And they aren't America's team. Like, they literally aren't. Like, a They're my team.

They're jurors' team. Alright? You understand what I'm doing here? I know football. This episode is brought to you by Jerry Jones.

They'll play what I tell them to play. I know what they're doing. I hope the hawk, and I talk the talk. Within the first thirty minutes. I love that.

Shit. This episode brought to you by corporate fascism. Corporate fascism signs off. Let's keep it going. Yeah.

Anyway, so, yeah, from Texas, moved out here to California 01/01/2019. Oh, good time. Good timing. One of the best timings to be an actor and to work right before, just a big explosion of boom in the industry. Mhmm.

I got involved in a play at the Chance Theater in Anaheim, and I met Jess. It was the first thing I ever did, out here. That was the first thing you did here. Yep. Oh, wow.

I didn't know that. Yeah. I went to school at Lee Strasburg, like, you know, whatever. Because I googled method acting schools like an idiot from Texas, and they're like, I'm up at this place where you can spend $6,000 for twelve weeks. By the way, love Lee Strasberg.

Yeah. Cough. Exactly. That's how I would react to $6,000 for twelve weeks. Yeah.

Corporate fascism. Pretty good. Yeah. Kind of the Jerry Jones of acting school. Looks like we'll have to steal some other baseball team.

I'm in here. I'm gonna teach you how to act. I'm gonna teach you how to comedy. I'm gonna teach you how to flip. I'm gonna teach you how to twirl.

I'm gonna teach you how to quarterback. Same. We don't need a quarterback. I can do it. Lee Strasburg and Jerry Jones have a lot in common.

Both of us. So And now, Sam, you I feel like you're working all the time. I have been. Yeah. Of late.

That was you know, I feel blessed because that's always what I wanted to do. Yeah. I came out to do plays because I was, like, similar to the mindset that I have when I was in Texas of, like, what can I do? The you can get on stage and you can sing. Okay.

Well, I don't know how to sing. Yeah. Alright. I'll figure it out. Okay.

We can get on stage and act. Okay. I don't really know how to do that. We'll figure it out. What I always loved was, you know, obviously, film the TV.

Yeah. I wanna do that for forever. Paul and I have a question about one of your credits. Go ahead. Paul.

Oh, it has to be me? Well, I just I wanna know what you're working on and excited about, but we also need to know about this stalking Amish boy, Amish boy's stalker. Yeah. So that's one of that's one of the best films that's ever been made. If you guys wanna go take a look, it's a Hell yeah.

Top a 100, Lifetime movie. It's it's Was it a Lifetime movie? It is a Lifetime movie. When I signed on to do it, it was originally called, Abduction. It's a better title.

That's a great name. Yeah. Well, that's And then Lifetime bought it, and they turned it into Stocked by My Amish Boyfriend. Yes. Now Ben Yeah.

When you see that title Yeah. What thoughts and feelings and emotions elicit out of you? And, like, what do you think at the end of the day? Oh, this could be a what is this gonna be about? Is it like a space opera maybe?

It, I think it kind of puts it out there for me to to know right right off the bat. Like what you're gonna get? What exactly I'm gonna get? So funny story. Not much stalking happens in the movie.

Okay. And so there you go. Are you Amish though? Yeah. Is there is there much Amish?

Is there much There is. Barn raising? Yeah. Is there much, yeah, building and, working and, milking? What what is that?

Is it witness? Yeah. I wish there was I wish there was some witness. Kingpin? Oh, yeah.

Or yeah. Witness. Witness is good. What's the one with Tim Allen and Christy Alley? For richer or poorer?

For richer or poorer. What did you say? I said home improvement. Oh, and we got it to that one now. Every time we mention someone Shit.

Fuck. Paul's going to pop it in. Well and there's a big cast in the movie we're gonna talk about, so it's a crazy cast. Mhmm. So feel free to pop in at any time.

Saw you did, Horizon? I did. That's pretty cool. Well, yeah, I did Horizon two, and it premiered at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, and I have no idea where it's at right now. Okay.

I have no idea when it's gonna come out. I know nothing other than, godspeed Kevin, and I wish you nothing but the best. Mhmm. Mhmm. Should we talk about why we're excited?

Anything got you excited these days? What's got me excited? I guess, could we could stay on, like okay. I did this movie a year ago, and I'm really excited about it. It's called Watching Mister Pearson.

Okay. And it's a film about actors and specifically older movie stars. I'm a badass. The lead actors played by this guy Hugo Armstrong, who's pretty big in the, LA theater scene. Okay.

I would say. And he is a elderly actor who used to be a movie star, who is struggling from dementia. Oh. And the film follows his, I guess, you would say, deterioration. Yeah.

I got the opportunity to work with him, which was a dream of mine, and I'm really excited for that whenever it decides to come out. To rear its head. Yeah. Because I got to play the younger version of him Oh, wow. Which is really cool.

That is really cool. Yeah. So I got to be like like an old nineteen fifties movie star, like, Paul Newman, which I thought I would ever get to do. So that's something I'm excited for. That sounds good.

Yeah. But it was like a indie film, and I made, like, nothing. But it was built but it was worth it to go and, like, do that. That was a film I'm excited for. Yeah.

And working on a period piece like that must have been really cool. Yeah. Because they shot, like, a bunch of different films from, like, that time period at different times. So it was like, here is your Eden. What's the what's the James Dean movie?

We're East Of Eden. Here's your East Of Eden. Here's your who knows? Yeah. News newsroom?

What's the one? Help. Network? Network. Yeah.

Here's your network scene. Here's all that stuff. Anyway, so yeah. That is cool. That is cool.

Yeah. Jumping around in time. Yeah. In order to, like, play these different people. And I'm only, like, in it for, like, ten minutes, but it's a fun little ten minutes.

Yeah. I had a good time. That's awesome. Yeah. And you're just always somewhere in time, essentially.

It's like Yeah. I love that. Then they made, like, a bunch of, like, movie posters. You know I love it. Based on it.

He had a reference somewhere. That's cool. They made movie posters for all the movies too? Yeah. And they're, like, throughout the house that they look at my friends, and they go Yeah.

Yeah. Talk about it, and there's just, like Was it shot locally? Yeah. It was shot locally in Connecticut. Excellent.

Locally in Connecticut. Excellent also. I wrapped principal photography on Roughways, which is my short film that has been in the works for many, many years. My western my short Amazing. Yeah.

We were supposed to shoot last August, and then I got COVID and my lead actor also got COVID. And so we we scrapped that and we pushed it. And I didn't know if it was going to happen, to be honest. Like, over the last year, I was like, I don't know. Even up to, like, the day of I was like, well, here we go.

It was definitely one of the most ambitious projects that I've spearheaded. We shot three nights, seven p. M. To five a. M.

Back to back to back. So that was slightly brutal doing doing that. But we did it. And despite tensions flaring and all these things that occurred during a someone described this to me really well because I'd never really been on the director side of it when when you're really pressed against time. I've been on the actor side of it, but that there is a level of pain and a level of pleasure that is occurring kinda simultaneously.

Somebody And it's sometimes hard to Please think of this stuff. See through that. Just kinda take a bigger step back and kinda take it all in. People kept asking because I shot it up in Washington state. I shot I shot it on my dad's property, which I grew up on.

Mhmm. And I shot movies there when I was a kid, like, in the nineties. And so people kept asking me, like, is this surreal for you? Is this weird for you to be shooting here? And I was like, I have no fucking idea.

I'm just looking at the clock. We got, like, three hours left of darkness, and we have these many shots left. So, like, I don't know. I'm gonna be honest. When you said all that stuff, I saw the pain in your eyes.

It flash. It was wild. It was definitely, tense and, stressful. You know, the solid things that I had were amazing fucking actors. The photography does look incredible.

And, you know, that's obviously what always takes the longest is the setups. Actually, I won't jump into this yet. I'll say it. I'll save this part for the next Oh, teaser. So Paul, what's got you excited?

But in my Teaser. I'm gonna just hold up this glass to the camera. Is this the Blazers? It's Damian Lillard. Who Is he come coming up?

Who he is, which is very exciting. He's not gonna play this year. Agency. He's not gonna play this year. He'll probably play next year.

Who knows? May you know? Yeah. But this is, like, as an NBA fan and particular a Portland Trailblazer fan, feels like a stamp of approval in a way where it's like this person that left the team is now willing to come back to the team. It's like, yeah.

The organization, the city, what the team has been doing on the floor. I wanna be a part of this, and that doesn't happen a lot. You can part of that. Oh, Get your dingle hopper out of here. They're so fast with the Disney is on the hook.

Yeah. They're very fast. Singing their songs. No. Absolutely not.

So I'm just super excited for that, to be honest with you. I'm ready for next year's NBA season. That's that's a while away, man. We got a whole football season between that. Which is great.

That'll be great. Fantasy football and all that stuff and yeah. Cooper Kupp. That's super duper super duper Cooper. Let's do it.

Hey. Did he sign with Seattle? Yeah. Dude. He's a Washington State home he's from Washington State, so he just Everyone's coming home.

Little bit. Yeah. Little. I do kind of I don't think he's gonna be great. I think he'll be fine maybe, but I do wanna get a Seahawks Cup jersey just to wear in LA though because King.

Yeah. I wanna ask you guys this, little Sports Boys. How do you guys Welcome to little Sports Boys. Yeah. Little Sports Boys.

Little Sports Boys. Jerry Jones boy. Jerry Jones boy. Jerry Jones boy. I'm gonna coach you guys on how to do this podcast now.

I'm gonna help you make a lot of money. We're gonna infuse some advertising. We're gonna split it up. We're gonna corporatize. Well, that's Dallas.

How do you Seattle homebodies feel about OKC winning their Oh. Championship? Well, Paul's a Blazers fan, so he doesn't have Sonic's love. Gary Payton, I think, puts this more perfectly than anybody before OKC won their championship, went to him and said, we wanna retire your number. And Gary Payton was like Oklahoma City fans never watch me play a game in Oklahoma City.

Yeah. Who watched me play all the time? Yeah. Seattle fans. Why would I disrespect the Seattle fans by putting my going up there, getting in a getting in a celebration, and then and on a on a court and let them get that when I disrespected them.

That is, like, fucking fake history. None of that makes sense. So to me, I I think Seattle kept the chips and the the colors and the the records and stuff like that. And, like, OKC is making their own history. Fucking good for them.

Like, Sam Presti is made an absolute fucking steamroller. Yeah. I mean, we have our trophy. We have our banners. I think if you looked it up, it'll say, like, they have another championship via this Sonix.

But that to me, like, I saw a guy wearing an OKC Casey hat recently, and was like, Oh, you must be happy because you're a Sonix fan. I was like, I don't want to I don't want to talk about like, don't talk to me. And that's. A weird thing. Yeah.

That that sort of thing, like, where people think that I would care is the funny part where I'm like, I don't care about them. And it'll it'll all be settled in a I don't care. I don't care. Get off my brain. We have to talk about we have to talk about what we've been watching because none of us have been watching sports recently, I don't think, unless you're watching baseball.

I've been watching WNBA and a little baseball. Yeah. The greatest sport. What have you been watching? Definitely have you guys seen adolescence?

I have not yet, but I got nominated for a shit ton of Emmys. I watched the movie. The movie that is the precursor to the show, but I haven't watched the show yet. I didn't even know there was a movie. Are we talking about the same thing?

Yeah. You're talking about Adolescence with Stephen Graham? Yes. That's the that's the prequel. There's a movie called Burning Point that I have no idea.

Came out a few years ago, and it's all, like, one shot. And it's it's through a kitchen, through a night of him running the the kitchen, and it's fucking great. I really wanna watch this show. Please go on. Sorry.

I think it is the best four hours of television. It's only four episodes? Yes. Oh, wow. You could sit down.

You could watch two tonight, and you could watch two the next day, and you would be changed forever. I've never seen camerawork like that in a long time. Can I am I am I allowed and can I spoil, like, just a shot? Can I say a shot? Sure.

The most impressive shot to me was we were tracking with two characters as they cross the street. Out of nowhere, a drone somehow picks up the camera. And by the way, we've been rolling for thirty five minutes. Uh-huh. Drone picks up the camera.

We fly across town following a student on a bike, pass the student on a bike. It's all a one shot. All one shot. Land, pick up with another character across town to finish the episode with a final touching emotional moment. Blew my mind.

I've never seen anything like that. 19¢. I didn't see it. I mean, beyond. There's a cat butt.

Oh, there's a cat asshole on the screen. Sorry. And there's say apple. And there's a kitty. There is a kitty.

Oh, yeah. But there's also Paul, the cat asshole. No. That's right. That's right.

Exactly. Cat Whisperer had can't recommend by someone else. I well, I was gonna I I saw how many Emmys I got nominated for, and I was listening to the NPR episode about it, and they recommended it strongly. And I was like, okay. Because the the subject matter, it wasn't that it turned me off, but it just felt hard.

And it felt like I like I needed to be in the right place to watch that. It's not an easy watch. Yeah. Hard recommend, but not an easy watch. I can imagine, like, you were talking about the the craftsmanship of it.

Mhmm. Watching the the movie, I know a lot of people really love Birdman, and that's a movie that tries to thank you, Sam. I'm with you, Sam. I I do enjoy that movie. I'm with I'm on the with Sam.

But the the another Edward Norton movie. But the movie, you know, tries to make itself look like one shot and that burning point or boiling point, I wish I could remember the exact name. But I assume the the craftsmanship from this, which I think is, like, way more impressive than, for instance, Birdman, probably translates in a fucking crazy way to TV. And, Ben, you also mentioned, like, the subject matter. I that's what I've been worried about watching it is, like, is this going to stress me out to a point that I cannot handle?

Maybe. What have you been watching, though, so that you haven't been getting stressed? Sam used the word, godspeed. And I wanna say, as short films are very tough because you were talking about your short film, Roughways, I went and saw a short film at the Kiggins Theater called Godspeed. There's just a cat tail right in front of me.

Know. Just flipping her. Like, I know. She demands satisfaction, so she's getting it. Attention must be had.

But Godspeed and I wish I could remember the full name of the director's name's Cameron. I know one of the actors is an acquaintance of mine named Finnegan James. Short film is so difficult because so much of it is about tone and mood and just, like you need themes to carry and dialogue can be your enemy depending. And they really fucking knocked it out of the park. I think like they they didn't end up on the doing too much countdown, with short film, which I think sometimes is difficult.

People try to do a lot in a short amount of time. Yeah. And Don't I know? I started rewatching Schitt's Creek. I can't wait to see Ben's short film, by the way.

As someone who's nodding at all the things I'm saying about the no nos of short film, he's like, right. Right. Right. Right. I did all of that.

Great. Here we go. Yeah. I put an entire western into a short film. You could always just make it forty five minutes.

Dallas. And Yeah. That takes more money. Exactly. Oh, boy.

So that was good, but also I started rewatching Shits Creep. I forgot how fucking great that show is. That is part of the problem I think with binge watching. I binge watched that show a few years ago. Yeah.

Me too. And forgot most of it. And now I'm trying to go a little bit slow. There's almost like an Arrested Development kind of like, oh, this is like really layered with the jokes and the way things come back and etcetera. It's a damn fine program.

Good. Fine. Damn fine cup of coffee. Yeah. Damn fine.

Bad. I watched I watched the the National Geographic Jaws fiftieth anniversary special. It's like an hour and a half of just sort of the phenomenon of Jaws. And I'm also in the process of reading the play, The Shark is Broken, which was written by Robert Shaw's son, Ian Shaw, that was on Broadway, last year. That's about the shooting on the orca itself.

So the three characters are Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfus. It's well, first off, the play is great. I'm enjoying it. And they hate each other, which is especially and Dreyfus. They hate each other, which I would imagine.

Famously new. But Dreyfus is, like, insane. I mean, he's just driving everyone insane with his, like, manic shit. The the thing that I was going to reference earlier was there's a line that was in the fiftieth anniversary special. Nice fucking model.

From Roy Scheider when one of his interviews, and it's also in the play. And he says, I believe I'm gonna butcher it. But he said, like, it's not it's not the takes that are taking too long. It's the it's in between the takes that takes longer than taking the takes. They're also pissed about how much time it's taking for them to get to the fucking takes, and then they do the takes so quickly, and they're just sitting there.

I think I mean, I'm a jazz fan. I think it's I think it's a masterpiece. But when you start to deep dive into behind the scenes, you're like, this was inches away from being an absolute catastrophe and disaster piece to balance because they just kept they just had to keep going. Imagine just shooting what Spielberg was in his twenties, like shooting on a fucking so they're saying, like, you know, you have the orca and then you have the camera boat and then you have the electric boat. So, like, the boat with the generators on it, they'd be shooting and then the boat would start even though they're anchored, it would start moving.

So they have to move the camera boat to readjust the angle. And if they move that camera boat too far away from the electric boat, the power would go out. And then you have to get this fucking thing in the water that, like, generates the fucking shark. It just sounded like a fucking nightmare. I can only imagine that they just wanted to fuck.

Spielberg says he has PTSD nightmares to his date. He'll wake up and just be like, in sweat, cold sweat. I Sounds like a nightmare. I don't doubt that for a second. I we talked about this very briefly in our water world episode where Spielberg even chimed in where he was, like, don't don't do it.

Don't shoot. Don't do it. Yeah. I mean Like, you'll regret it. Shoot in a tank.

Again, pain and pleasure. Buy yourself Making movies. Just record yourself. Is challenging. I'm gonna be surprised.

Jerry Bruckheimer also lamented all of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies Yeah. Being shot on water. That's why they build their own tank for, like, the majority of, like, all their stuff in The Bahamas. I wonder if that's also why we didn't get another master and commander because I love that movie. Oh, that movie.

Rules. Again, like, they were like, this is fucking too hard. Grace Scott. About because introducing water into that anyway, we should get to the movie. How about that, Paul?

We should get to the facts. Let's talk about the facts. Let's get to the film. Archaeology is the search for facts. It's the Grand Budapest Hotel.

That's right. Indian paintbrush, and somebody tell me American Empirical. Is that what Sanderson's tell me? Sanderson's? I believe so.

I believe it is. Hooray. And Fox Searchlight. It is rated r twenty fourteen. And how many hours?

I wanna say one and how many minutes I wanna say forty one? Thirty nine. Thirty nine. Thank you. Whoever did this sheet's a fucking idiot.

Budget, $29,000,000 adjusted. That's 39,300,000.0. Opening weekend, 03/09/2014, it made $811,000. Adjusted, that's 1,100,000.0. That's not good.

Pretty well. Final gross North America, 59,300,000.0. Adjusted, that's 80.5. Final gross worldwide, 174,500,000.0. Adjusted, that's $237,000,000.

Other releases this weekend, 300, Rise of an Empire, mister Peabody and Sherman, Grand Piano. Do you have a thing to say about 300 Rise of the Empire? God, they made a sequel. That wasn't Snyder during the sequel, is it? That was just 300 yeah.

He produced it. It was just like the 300. That was like a prequel. Right? I forgot about it.

Maybe it is. I think it is a prequel. No. Because Charming write us, won't you? No.

He's not. He's not. It's like the tertiary characters in it. Yeah. It did.

The eye patch. Cersei's is in it, though, the bald dude. Yo. Yeah. He's in it.

The young Oh, good. Thank goodness. Paul, I know you were concerned. Okay. Good.

Weekend top five was 300, Rise of an Empire, mister Peabody and Sherman, nonstop, The Lego Movie Oh, funny god. Son of god. This finished seventeenth in its first weekend. It then climbed to eight the following week. It peaked at six in its fifth week of release, and it was in the top 10 for six weeks consecutively.

Other films from 2014, Transformers, Age of Extinction, Big Hero six No. The Fault in Our Stars, The Nut Job. Did you fist bump him for Transformers? Yeah. He did.

Yeah. One of the greatest movies As I was saying, the nut job. I'm the nut job. Fury, God's Not Dead, Dracula Untold. Letterboxed average is 4.2.

Follow us, won't you? I'm, on Letterboxed at Run B M C. I am at Paul X Badly. Sam, do you have a Letterboxd? If so, would you like to share?

I don't have a Letterboxd, but if you guys wanna check out all of the reviews of Stalked by My Amish Boyfriend on Lifetime Letterboxd, you may earn without a doubt some of the funniest shit you've ever read. I will definitely do that. Yeah. It's not great. That might be my favorite Lifetime movie title.

It may have hopped over a deadly adoption. That is such a good title. That is a really fucking great title. When did you learn that they changed the title? A week before it came out.

It's We're all just waiting in suspense. Patient. I can't wait to watch it or read the reviews. Why not? Major awards.

Ride. No doubt. Kate Erblend from film.com recommends this film, Rotten Tomatoes. It's a 92%, 87% popcorn. Metacritic 88, 8.4% user, major award wins and nominations, nine Academy Award nominations.

Best picture, director, writer, cinematography, editing, It won four costume design, makeup and hair design, production design, and original score. That score slaps. We're gonna get to the score. Director is Wes Anderson. This is our first Wes Anderson film for the podcast.

Crazy. Crazy. Yeah. Same matter. Bottle Rocket, Moonrise Kingdom, Rushmore, amongst many others.

Writers, Wes Anderson, Isla Dogs, and Hugo Guinness, the French Dispatch, and Stefan Zwig was original writings based on, I think. Director of photography is Robert Ehman, Love and Mercy Spy from 2015 and Dogma Music. Alexandra Alexander Desplat, Naiad most recently, Naiad Zero Dark 30 and The Queen. He's great. I think he I feel like he kinda falls like, he kinda goes under the radar a lot, but his his stuff is always strong.

He can clearly do anything. Yeah. His score in this is really, really strong. I believe that's the same person that Wes has used for every one of his films since Rushmore. That might be true.

I think that might be true. It may be. I wouldn't doubt that. Producers Scott Rudin, Marcy x, and Wes Anderson, Asteroid City, and 10 other producers. In the cast of this movie, and this is just, a tasting menu, if you will, because it's not every this cast is huge.

It it was menu on purpose. It it was. Yes. Yes, chef. Because our first build is the great, the amazing, probably one of my favorite actors working today as well.

Talk about that. Right. We're gonna talk about that. I don't look like a clown when I go to stop. Amongst ourselves.

Spectre quiz show. Why is Spectre on here? Helicopter Was he not m? He is, but I just hate that movie. Well, some fucking dipshit made this sheet, so I don't know what to tell you.

Like his m. I just don't like that movie. Quiz show the English patient. F. Marie Abraham plays, Zero Mustafa.

Adult Zero Mustafa. Amadeus Serpico, last action hero. How old is adult Mustafa, by the way? Because this is thirty years after young Mustafa. Right?

So how old It's gotta be it's gotta be longer than that. I isn't it 38 and 68? No. It isn't it 88? It's in the eighties.

I thought when we win the visiting of the gravesite. Yeah. Well, I don't know. Myself. Times w w wobbly.

People aged differently back then. You don't understand. I was talking about this year old person from that time, which is what I'm assuming. That's his age at that point. Looks like they're 79, 80.

I mean, look at George Costanza. Right? He's supposed he's in his thirties. It's busting. Man, looks like have a lot more hair.

Man, looks like he's in his late forties. It's a handsome man. I do love love him. Matthew Almerich plays Gustav x, Quantum of Solace, The Sound of Metal, Munich. Adrian Brody plays Dimitri.

Predators, The Village, Dummy, Solo from '96. Willem Dafoe. Is that movie star Willem, the famous actor Willem Dafoe plays Looks like top shelf pussy to me. Joplin, American Psycho, Vox Luxe, The Boondock Saints. If you haven't caught on, go listen to our Boondock Saints episode.

It is one of the funniest episodes I think we've ever Oh, good. Jeff Goldblum clip plays Kovacs, The Fly, Independence Day, Resurgence, which is the sequel you shouldn't watch, and Earth Girls are Easy. Listen to our Earth Girls are Easy episode. Pretty nice. Harvey Keitel plays Ludwig, the young Americans, Pulp Fiction Bad Lieutenant.

Jude Law plays the writer, Gattaca, Dom Hemingway, the talent of mister Ripley from '99, and Bill Murray plays m Ivan, Stripes, Operation Dumbo Drop, and Scrooged. I think it's pronounced. Scrooged. Listen to the You have to listen to the episode to know. Can I step in?

I did not put Edward Norton as Henkel's. Or Tony Rav at all. Some of this is cold from IMDB. Some of this was just some fucking dipshit that did this sheet. But maybe we all just say an Edward Norton Yeah.

Credit here. You start. I just like that he also gets a woman's head in a package like his friend Brad Pitt that they were in a different movie together, but what? Fight club. Let's say Fight Club.

I'm gonna go with the most racist movie, American History x. Yeah. I'm wearing an Alabama hat. I'm sorry. What a weird fucking movie.

What a Moonrise Kingdom. I love I love them in moon moonrise kingdom. We did it. We nailed it. Tony Rivoli plays Zero, the lobby boy who's not on there, and that's crazy because he's, like, the second lead.

And, obviously, he's in all the Spider Man movies. That's the credit I was going Flash. To mention. I don't know where he falls on the where the IMDB is or whatever. I don't know.

But either way, thank you for I mean, I think this was one of his first things. That was the first thing I remember seeing him from. Mhmm. Oh, wow. So celebrity guest shot appearance, Jessica, Aaron Martin Wertz Oppenheimer's Jessica, Aaron Martin just made an appearance.

I believe that is how they say it. Anyway, it's time for fun facts. Fun facts. Fun facts, everybody. It's fun fact time.

The part of monsieur Gustave was written with the intention of And I hate I hate to make you do this again, but the Internet got choppy, and I think I might have lost you. So if you could just start over and just say that fact once more. Can you say it like it's the first take, though? Yeah. I still want the same energy.

Don't fuck it up. Everything is riding on this. No pressure. The part of monsieur Gustave was written with the intention of Ralph Fiennes to play the role. Fiennes partly based his character's vocal traits on English comic actor Leonard Rossiter and modeled after the writer of the stories by Stefan Swagg.

I'm mindful at work. He threw away my fucking note. I gave him a note. He just threw away the fucking note. And and you know what?

It was brilliant. It was so good. It was really good. You know? You know?

Damn good. It's alright. We're moving on. We gotta move on. Moving on.

Listen. And then, when Ludwig says, good luck, kid, and he slapped zero across the face, that was shot 42 times until Wes Anderson was satisfied. Harvey Keitel actually slapped Tony Revelore each time. And I'd like to also point out Harvey Keitel also stayed in the jail cell for, I believe, three days before they shot. That's wild.

So Harvey Keitel What? B to the w Please think of it. As any opportunity regardless of if it's a Westlake. He's always he's always hot and ready. Pretty much.

Yeah. I'm always hot and ready. I told Harvey you gotta stay hot and ready. We might need you to play running back for the Cowboys if you're not tied up with a movie film. They'll play what I tell them to play.

Jerry Jones, get out of here. Wes Anderson also had all of his cast members grow their head or facial hair in the months leading up to production, and they were each stylized once they arrived on set. Quote, I think we certainly have the maximum supply of mustaches in this film. That Does Anderson. Definitely true.

Those mustaches go hard. This movie just visually is stunning. Really fucking something. Yeah. The fictional Republic Of Zubrowka was named after a Polish vodka liqueur named Zubrowka.

Same matter cannot occupy some space. This is not brought to you by Zabravka. I'm still kicking. Tony, you can't have a bot nearby for Zabravka. It's not American.

Oh, and also loosely based off of Ross Perot? I must be on Broadway. And also based off of Ross Perot. The Ross Perot Museum. Who else is here?

Which if you if you know anything about Ross Perot Is it in the state of Dallas? I'm sure I'm sure Jerry Jones knows a lot about Ross Perot. Yes. Exactly. Yeah.

Absolutely. Well, please. Is that the end of the fun facts? No. That no.

There's a little bit more, but I can I can I add a can I add a fun fact there? Please do. Please do. So so Stefan Zweig, his hometown is Vienna, Austria. Mhmm.

And that is what inspired mostly the look of Zabravka in not only his writing, but also in presentation of the film. This was the highest grossing independent movie of 2014. As we heard from Paul, he had really kicked it up there towards the end, and the highest grossing limited release movie of 2014. Other recognizable faces in this film are Sorsy Ronan, Jason Schwartzman, Leah Sadeau, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson, Owen Wilson, Bob Balaban, Fisher Stevens, Wallace Walder Ski, rider from the Simpsons, Jean Desjardins. Wait.

Okay. Hang on. Jean Desjardins. Jean Desjardins. Is that actually him that pops out of the door there?

That that two frames? Is that him? I believe so. I cross referenced I gave this to So wait. My dipshit underlings.

I gave this to my I gave this to my lobby boy. Our producer. He's a junior lobby boy. Boy writes this. Uncle Bob.

Yeah. And then he gave me hands up. I proofread it. I proofread it. I added the more important facts.

Everyone thinks that is George Clooney, but it's not. You were fooled. And is it this is right after Jean de Jean won his Oscar? I believe so. For the farthest?

The artist? The farthest. Yeah. Isn't that a real movie, though, the farthest? Isn't that a real I had the farthest chair.

Paul, I had the farthest chair, and I had to give it up because I didn't Oh, no. That's the end of the, fun facts. Thank you for letting me say those. I had a great time doing it. Of course.

Paul, would you like to ask Sam the question? Why don't I take a break? Why don't I have to do it? Because I don't have it up in front of me, and you have it in front of you. Do I?

You're certain? Yep. Think about it. Sam, if you were gonna log line this movie, what would that log line be? Your your three ish sentence elevator pitch of this movie.

I have a question as the attack helicopters are flying over. We're being invaded, yep, by the corporate fascists. Way off the line. Albuquerque. Am I pitching this solely, you need to watch this, or, like, am I pitching this to someone to sell it?

It's like the plot. You're just giving us the plot of the movie. Just the plot? Yeah. The plot is through the lens of storybook and storytelling, we hear about, god, this is so hard.

It is a hard one. I don't know. How am I gonna how am I gonna explain? It's a difficult Because I can I can state my own personal opinions on it, but, like, to sum up the plot in, like, three sentences? I've read I've read the log line, and they simplify it down quite a bit.

So I think it just just dilute it to its, like, core story. A lot of pressure. So don't worry about all the structure around it, I think. Okay. We must honorably adhere to the rules that we are making up.

Sure Gustave and Zero, a lobby boy in training at the Grand Budapest Hotel, go on an adventure of epic proportions and learn about the tragedy of humanity. Okay. That's really good for me, and I wanna say two specific reasons. Your first go, what you were saying was making me think of princess bride a little bit. Yeah.

And I didn't realize that this movie actually makes me think of princess bride a little bit now that I'm thinking about it. And this movie absolutely is an adventure. Yes. This is princess bride coded. Great.

I agree. I think overall your log line was damn solid. The actual log line Please. From these fucking whoever, Jerry Jones, the writer encounters the owner of an aging high class hotel who tells him of his early years serving as a lobby boy in the hotel's glorious era under an exceptional concierge. Interesting.

Before we go to break, can I give Sam's log line? Like, what you would say? What I would say to somebody? Yeah. Go.

The Grand Budapest Hotel is the greatest movie from 2010 to 02/2020, and you can't tell me otherwise. That's a hell of a pitch. That isn't really strong. I would have maybe seen in my head the movie bingo best magical erotic old people hotel with the other m with Judy Dench. You know what I'm talking about?

That You thought it was that movie? I used to mix those two things up in my head all the time. I've never seen either movie, but they both have Hotel. From James Bond and So does hotels. So does hotel Rwanda.

What are they doing? Alright. We're gonna take a break. Our corporate fascist has decided that he needs to come in and advertise whatever the fuck he's doing. Gotta make some goddamn money.

Gotta pay these boys. Play football. We're gonna come back. Do they play football? That's not what I've seen.

They'll play what I tell them. We're gonna come back and play cinephile, and then we're gonna talk about our first experience with the movie Grand Budapest Hotel. Hardy, partners. It's Jerry Joe's, the head of the Jerry Joe's corporation, and telling you about the Review Review podcast, which I own, and the city state of Dallas cowpokes, which I also own. I'm here to tell you something.

This is how I do my business. Very prudish, real plugged in. And you don't see me in the headquarters in a karate outfit or like a Ghostbusters costume or nothing like that. I don't look like some kinda know nothing jester when I'm in the building. It's my building.

I'm the owner around here now. It's my business. These boys on here on this podcast look like Marge Simpson, like Patty and Selma. That's why no video. Not fancy, not good looking.

Me, I'm rugged, handsome. I'm rightly very humble. Number one at the top of the humble list. See my shirt? Only the logo on it for the city state Dallas cowpokes, not the Brandon.

We ain't about no Brandon. Here's a reality check, diva. I ain't paying you. You're part of the corporate team now, review review podcast. Follow them on letterboxed at run b m c and at paul x badly and maybe help them out.

I don't know. I don't care. I'm not paying these boys nothing. I'm not gonna pay these boys not a cent. You can follow them on at review x two podcast on Insta and Blue Sky if you want, but they won't see a dime from it.

They're part of the Jones group now, those boys. Those Jones boys. Now they'll play what I tell them to play. Hurry on back to hosting this this here programming now, boys. I ain't paying you nothing for nothing.

And not a day in my life have I been faithful to my wife. We're doing it now. We're doing it live. I'm not paying you, boys. Pretty good first half there, Sam.

What'd you think? What'd you see out there? Yeah. They were really driving the ball there, and I thought they were paying all of you. You don't pay us.

We're paid by the network. Shoot. Should've let Sam speak, like like, one, two words maybe. No. Actually, I shouldn't.

You yes and ed, Paul. I yes and ed and ed and ed. Yeah. It's like whenever you ever just got an improv show and you see two people and they're doing a pretty good job, and then a third person comes in and they can just completely just Fucks it up. Not fucks it up, but just adds a new element that you weren't really expecting.

That's Paul. And I'm the microwave. And you're like, oh, okay. That's where this is going. Was it expecting us?

That made the texture less kind of like really textured improvisational scene that's really rich with character. And all of a sudden something was That get yours. I'm the microwave. I make the text I've never been faithful to my wife once. That was better than anything I've said, by the way.

Ben is holding the cinephile cards. He's always holding them. The only way to slay him is to get the cinephile cards from him. Listeners, how does cinephile work? Ben, tell the people.

Cinephile is a card game which has an actor on it with a weird little drawing of them, and their name. It also has a movie. You will pull a card k. And you will say the actor's name and the movie on the card. That's a freebie for you.

So you get time. It will then go to Paul. He will name a movie that actor is in. I'll go to me. I have to name a movie that actor is in, and it'll come back to you, name a movie that actor is in.

And we'll go round robin until one of us inevitably fails. And then once whoever fails first, we'll then talk about their first experience with the movie Grand Budapest Hotel. They're rating out of five as well as their current viewing, and they're rating out of five. Does that make sense to you? Yes.

He is picking a card. Oh, yeah. Oh, god. He picked oh, god. He picked that one.

Bill Paxton, near dark. Twister. Aliens. I have no idea who this is. Oh, man.

Okay. No idea who Bill Paxton is. Okay. And I'm so sorry. Is that the Gen z?

That is the Gen z effect. I don't have no idea. Is he in Twisters? No. He's dead.

He's RIP. He's RIP. Yeah. He was frequently, they would confuse Bill Pullman and Bill Paxton. They're very different actors, but he was he did a lot of character work in the, late eighties, nineties.

Can you name a third movie that he's in? Yes. Yes. The Vagrant, One False Move. What was the axe movie he made that I can't remember the name of?

He directed it too. Frailty. Oh, Edge of Tomorrow? Weird Science, The Terminator? Have you seen Edge of Tomorrow?

That Tom Cruise picture? You've never seen that movie? Nope. That's your homework, Sam. Oh, wow.

I'm glad I'm I I I I think I think that's Welcome to the jungle. Welcome to the jungle. I believe it came out in this exact time frame, 2010 to 2020, and I think that it's worth your time. Okay. Maybe my opinion that I have will change.

It probably won't. Go ahead and tell us about your first experience with the movie Grand Budapest Hotel, your rating out of five, and your current viewing and rating. I was actually talking to my mom about this on the phone, as as I often do because you need to to Call your parents. Call my parents in order to do anything in life. Everyone should call their parents.

Everyone should call their parents. If you're not doing it, do it now. If you need help, hang up and then dial your upper And we were having a conversation. I said, I don't remember my first interaction with Grand Budapest other than I think it was in a theater. I think maybe I watched it with a film going for because I was a senior in high school when this film came out.

Okay. So I don't Dating yourself. Dating yourself. Yeah. A little bit.

Oh, you're fine. Which would put me on the cusp of Gen z Mhmm. Which would put me in that realm. The point is It's all your final up here. I don't remember much about it other than I saw it and I went, I like it.

I think it's good. I think it's a good movie. I think it's great. Eight out of 10. Or in this case, I guess, four.

Yeah. Four out of five. Perfect. Four out of five. Perfect.

Yeah. Perfect. That was my first experience of just being like, hey. This is a cool movie. I like Ralph Fiennes.

I don't I think I called him Ralph Fiennes at the time, so that probably is what would date me. Fienis's name favorite actor. His name is neither Rafe nor Fiennes. Discuss. I can't talk about it anymore.

It's gonna be a headache. So that would be my first impression of it. It's just I think I saw it in a theater in Texas, and I was like, wow. That was a cool time. I think I saw it with my friend Zach who's now a filmmaker out here, and we talked about it and we're like, yeah.

It's a it's a good movie. I'm sure he liked it way more than me because he's way more intelligent about those things. And, yeah. Standard. What I think about it now Yeah.

Is going back to what I said earlier. I truly believe that this is the greatest film that was made during this time period. Like, it doesn't get five out of five. That doesn't even cover it. Six out of five.

Woah. And that If we could go that high Is that one? I think we can. And we've never had a guest asked to do that. But Okay.

Can I ask them? I feel I feel obliged to let it happen. Can I let emotion be your favorite of favorites? Is it the best of the best? No.

It's not the best of the best. There are films that I believe are better than this. I think there's honestly, maybe potentially, five to six films from the eight from the years 2000 to 2010 that are better than this movie. However That's that's a statement in my opinion. It is just that's a hell of a statement.

But, however, I think this is the quintessential movie of this time period from 2010 to 02/2019. That's what I have. This is what I think, Ben, with this case is I don't think we need to argue it really. Yeah. But there is such a confidence here of Yeah.

From Sam of, like, I can argue for this baby. Like, I I got it. I feel like you give it whatever fucking score you want, kid. That's how I feel today. Rock and roll.

Rock and roll. Passes. So simply the five of them. Okay? Motion passes.

Absolutely. Six out of five of this. Yeah. We are making So that is my that's my current opinion. He is essentially guaranteeing folks that he's gonna bring somebody's score up here.

Well Mine and or Ben's. Paul, you're next in line. It's true. To be fair, I don't know who Bill Paxton is, so I don't know who my He doesn't really know shit. That what the fuck are we Your opinion still matters.

It's true. Real pretty shit now, man. I had never seen this movie. Similar to I knew that. Bingo, erotic, magical, old people, fuck hotel?

You should Google that. I think I think I think you'll find something other than what you're looking for. Really interesting. Yeah. Especially with a young guy.

I had never seen this movie. I really like Wes Anderson. Royal Tenenbaums is, one of the pantheon favorites of mine, like a top 20 for me probably. I'd seen all of Wes Anderson's catalog up until French Dispatch, Mhmm. Which wasn't super for me for whatever reason.

Me neither. And neither was Moonrise Kingdom. And this movie is kind of sandwiched between those movies. And that was, like, this was, like, the one that I and I'd seen Isle of Dogs. I'd seen Fantastic Mr.

Fox. I'd seen those things. But this is that the one movie that was kind of sandwiched between movies that I didn't have the best experience with, but I liked Isle of Dogs and Fantastic Mr. Fox. But and came in with, like, a mild level of, like, oh, no.

People are gonna tell me they love this fucking movie, and I'm gonna be like, I haven't liked all everything from Wes Anderson. And thank goodness that was not the case here because this movie was so fucking fun. The adventure aspect of it, I am, like, frothing, and I maybe this is what Wes Anderson wants. I want, like, a Wes Anderson, like, studio adventure movie. I don't know if that's really possible is Wes Anderson makes Wes Anderson movies.

It's a specific genre. It's its own thing. And the big thing I get from this movie outside of all the really cool magical realism and practical effects and layering and matte paintings and models and beautiful costumes and incredible just people working so fucking hard. Like, the movie has a soul. Rey finds to me now I'm like, uh-oh.

Is this the greatest living? Like, holy shit. Is a reality check, do you think? You have a good argument for that. I I think he is phenomenal as in everything.

I've made this argument about Nick Cage to a degree. I don't like every movie he's in, but I can always rely on the performance being something. Like, there's like, that's an actor who's done work that gives a shit. Whether you like it or not, they took it a direction, and they they put their heart and soul in it. And I feel that in this movie.

And now I'm like, do I wanna see asteroid city? Do I wanna do I wanna see Phoenician scheme, which is kind of a fun thing. We're not allowed quarter measures based on just some of the things that Sam has said, but we've been so good at not overdoing it here. We're not glazing it too much. Mhmm.

I can't give it a 4.25, and I don't wanna round up too high. I I I'm sticking at my four. Mhmm. Okay. Four.

That's a very high school. That's a pretty high school. Just two just two chicks in a painting, just fucking getting it on, man. Just two chicks getting it on in a painting. Two six three time.

Four two four two ladies just having a Eight eight out of 10 great time. Five. For Paul, that's a that's a high score for you to come into with a movie you just saw. I agree. I was definitely, like, hypnotized by it at times.

I will admit, I knowing that this was a a blank spot for Paul, I was excited for him to watch it, but I also was like, no. I also we haven't talked about Wes Anderson a lot on the show, so I wasn't sure where you stood on Wes Anderson. I hope it wasn't on his throat. Never. Never.

Can I talk about me? I wish you would, please. Can I just do a quick numbers check-in here real quick? Just making sure. So that's a six out of five.

That's a four out of five. So the average right now is five out of five. It's a strong average. That is absolutely that math that math maths just like your math earlier. Yeah.

Can we check? Yeah. Nice try. Is that math math math math? Nope.

Okay. Nope. Nope. That's the whiskey talking. Sorry, everybody.

I'm not eating peanut butter M and M's. I am drinking whiskey. I got roasted for eating peanut butter M and M's on the on the podcast. Got it. So I saw that As well, you fucking should.

You should've gotten that little fucking spank for that. Well, I would love a little fucking spank if it's. Does he give those out? You know, I do line up, baby. You can take it in lieu of pay, and you will.

It ain't an option. I never been faithful to my wife. Not a day. You're taking Sam's joke. I had to.

It was the best line. It was more of a line reading. You know what I mean? Yeah. I was like, hey.

So when you do this scene I'm a mimic. I'm a little creep. You offer me. So I saw this movie in the movie theater with previous guests of this podcast, and I'm sure future, Matt Barrow. I do like Wes Anderson quite a bit, and I kind of always have.

I didn't have the same experience with with this earlier work as I think a lot of people did with Rushmore and Gene Hackman one. Tenenbaum. Tenenbaum's. I know that that's like it speaks a lot to a lot of people. It speaks I mean, I enjoyed it, but I didn't have the, like I remember in college, there was just, like, a cult following for that and specifically those movies.

Tenant bombs? Okay. Tenant bombs. Yeah. And I like it.

It's just maybe a movie I need to revisit. But I remember seeing this in the theater and immediately going, oh, that's his like, that's his masterpiece. That's your masterpiece. And and the reason it's your masterpiece, not only is I think it all the things we've all said already with all the amazing production and practicals and the models and the and the script, I think, is so fucking smart. But I I ultimately came to the kind of the same conclusion as Paul where I said, oh, his writing with Ralph Fiennes delivering it The way I came elevated it into this way I go to the stratosphere.

And it just it became so it just became so natural and so normal even though it's, like, so highly theatrical as all of this stuff is, you know. But Rey finds deliveries. There there's a use of profanity in this movie that I find absolutely fucking hilarious. So charming. Paul, I you know, I don't laugh by myself watching movies.

I watch this movie. I own this movie on the Blu ray, and I watch this movie by myself with my cat, and I was laughing. I was straight up just, like, go falling because You fucking got him. Just the little toys he gives where where he's in the train, he starts to go on some diatribe about life, and he goes, oh, fuck it. And just kinda, like, gives up.

So, anyway, it's always been that for me. It's always been my favorite Wes Anderson without a doubt. I'd say second for me is probably Fantastic Mr. Fox, which I also think is pretty brilliant. Really good movie.

On on its own level. From my first viewing to my second viewing in a second. I've seen it multiple times. To my most recent viewing, my rating hasn't changed. It is, unfortunately, it is four and a half dead cats.

Oh, yeah. Smashed cats. If Sam, I'm frequently used if there's a cat in the movie, I frequently use a cat as my rating system. That happened I had to stop. I stopped because we were gonna start overlapping too much.

That half point usage. Is is a little bit to the dead cats unfortunate demise. Just the Unlike Boondock Saints, although there is a comedic, edge to it, it's done by a nefarious character, and it is done as a threat. It is not done in light like in Boondock Saints. And Jeff Goldblum is very upset about it.

He continues on his business as that character would, but he's clearly upset about it. Yeah. It's upsetting. So four and a half, which is a really, really high score for me, and I'm really excited to talk about this movie. And if you ever get out, that's that's $69.04 20, y'all.

Now I'm not paying you nothing for that, but it's $69.04 20. Oh, yeah. What's the average now? It's That's 5.420. 4.75.

5. 4.75 total. So then I wanna ask, what is the highest that you guys have ever gotten on this podcast? Not that I'm not an avid listener. Five.

Let's check. Five total from everyone. Everyone was, like, five. And then you said five. And then whoever the guest was was, like, five.

Do we have And you guys plays all over the b. I mean, Alien for me is a five, and Aliens is a four and a half. So I think Paul was reversed on that. We both rated Blazing Saddles a five, but we didn't have a guest on that episode. That's true.

That is an excellent question, Sam. We need to do our re we need to get our lobby boy to do that research. Okay. And then We would we would have to. But I think we should start the movie and talk God damn movie.

Movie. Suck hell movie. And now, our feature presentation. Life as a house. It's really nice, the white on black titles and just like, you know, courier, whatever.

And it's just it does that thing with the narration in that. And this is the other thing too. I'm like, oh, when nor narration's done well, it's like, I just don't like Harrison Ford narrating Blade Runner. I don't I don't dislike narration. I think the thing I love so much about Wes Anderson, which I know sometimes it turns people off.

Paul, you saw Time Machine. I really I really enjoy that level of storytelling, that level of telling the story to the audience too frequently, especially in a film. You get filmmakers who don't want to, admit that this is a story being told. They want it to be real. In some movies, that's that is what it is.

It's just we're just telling or showing a story. And I feel like Wes Anderson always does such a good job of giving us those bookends or those structures of someone. Someone is the person we're following who's telling us a story in some way. So to my recollection, and I I might get chastised for this because I know Royal Tenenbaums did it. But then it's like Sam.

It's okay. Sorry. Yep. That's how it Oh. This is the first Wes Anderson film to think about structure in that way.

Mhmm. From the remaining films that we have seen since then, it has been, like, story within a story within a story. Asteroid City is one of those. Okay. Dispatch is one of those.

Yeah. And I haven't seen Phoenician scheme yet. Neither have I. But I believe that one is more straightforward in this in that scenario from what I from what I understand. But in terms of, like, starting down that rabbit hole, a young lady approaching a gravesite, we are then going to the back of a book cover.

Now we are inside of that that man's world who is on the back of the book. Yeah. Speaking to the general populace about his writing process. Now we are at the younger version of this writer. Yeah.

And now after that, we are now with an another character who used to be the proprietor of the hotel, who is now Telling story. Going to lay out the process of the story. That to me is like Yeah. Dude, this I I agree with you. This is the first time that I've really felt an a to b to c in terms of the the writing with a lot of stuff.

And the first time that, and as funny and wonderful as everybody is in this movie in terms of the cast, this is the first time that I'm watching a Wes Anderson movie and going, oh, Wes Anderson is funny. Oh. Wes Anderson knows how to use the frame. Like, this isn't and Wes Anderson was always funny. There was no question about that.

But it's a similar thing to Spielberg where it's like Spielberg doesn't necessarily give you a straight up comedy. This isn't a straight up comedy. Sam, you fucking nailed it. It's like an adventure movie. We're set up by a writer or Peter Falk telling us that this is Tom, what is it?

Wilkinson. So Wilkinson. And it's Yeah. And it's Ray finds essentially as, like, okay. Here's your Indiana Jones in this world.

It's set up so clearly. I just have to mention when Tom Lucas is telling the story, and I think his grandson is, like, shooting up the gun. The gun. He's, like, he's, like, knock it off, like, really quickly. And the kid runs away.

And then a kid comes back in the frame and goes, sorry. He goes, it's okay. It's, like, really quick. Mhmm. It's like this really quick thing that it's so funny and it adds layers and nuance and it's Well, it sets it up perfectly for what's gonna happen in the rest the film.

Yeah. That's true. Yeah. It's basically gonna say, listen. There's gonna be some action.

There's gonna be a lot of people talking, but at some point, there's gonna be some humanity that's gonna come in, and it's gonna rescue you from the fact, and everyone's gonna be okay. Yeah. And and there's gonna be some absurdity, and there are gonna be some things that people are gonna need to apologize for, and you're gonna need to listen to them do it. Yeah. Because there's gonna be some contrition.

Like, that little kid is pretty sorry that he does that, but that shit is hilarious. So funny. So funny. And you got Jude Law wearing slutty little glasses, you know? And so always love slutty little glasses.

What everybody wanted for at least, like, a six month period, what was it when it was, like, Sky Captain in the world where he had, like, five movies come out in, like, a six month period? Is And you were gonna say something way more important, I'm sure. Is Jonathan Bailey the new Jude Law? Discuss. Who's Jonathan Bailey?

Great. Great. Great question. Alright. Keep going.

It's Bill Paxton. You recognize stuff. Alright. Feed. We have to move on.

We have to move on. I know. I know. I know. But I love that the setup of the dinner with Mustafa and that he's gonna tell him the story and goes all the way back to 1938.

Was that right? Mhmm. Yeah. When Europe fell into pre fascism? It's really cool that you immediately fall into this thing with the models and layers of photography and stuff like that when you see, like, the mountain elevators and the hotel.

The miniatures and all of that. It's so great. And Same miniature designer who did inception and Oscar. Oh. Oh, wow.

Yeah. Incredible. And I I forget his name specifically. It was a YouTube video. Probably Odyssey as well.

I would be so interested in that. I mean, Wes Anderson, it was experimenting with miniatures and stuff like that during, obviously, Fantastic Mr. Fox. Uh-huh. And then brought that into Moonrise Kingdom, which Paul, you said, didn't have much of a good experience with.

I like that. Good time. Wasn't my my personal favorite noodle salad. What brings Grand Budapest Hotel home and why we're glazing all over it. It's the greatest thing ever is because that's when he finally got it right and was able to, I think, to truly marry the two correctly.

We've seen the miniatures that were in Moonrise was just like, here's the town. Here here's, like Yeah. Here's here's the camp. Here's this is a first where it's like, we're using it, actually, in the same way we did in Fantastic Mister Fox to tell the story. Yeah.

We're gonna show the characters from a big broad perspective. We're gonna show it from a little tiny perspective, and we're gonna get really intimate. This it's, it's truly phenomenal. Yeah. And the blend of everything is insane.

And you don't get it a lot anymore. You don't get someone No. Taking that risk and and jumping in and being like the structure that he put in the script allows for that. Right? The the concept of the story of the story of the story allows for that level of theatricality because we're we're seeing this from the perspective of someone telling a story.

And immediately, just like Princess Bride, you're allowed to have these, things that you might not normally have in in a movie. Right? I wanna say this as quickly as I can. That's part of the reason why As quickly as you can. Go.

Royal part of the reason why I love Royal Tenenbaums is that Gene Hackman is just a scoundrel, and the movie doesn't have these miniatures or anything. And it has levels of storytelling or interstitials or pictures, but he makes you fall in love with a scoundrel. And it's a really intimately told story that's really painful at times. And you just you've nailed so many things for me already, Sam, where it's just like you're taking this person that's so incredibly talented on multiple mediums, and he he just married that so perfectly for me in this movie. Faster than Paul on something?

Micro machines? Okay. So this is what I'm gonna say right now. I can't do it. Sorry.

You're you're you're I'm not paying you for that. Exactly. I'm not paid to that. I'm I'm paid to drive the ball down the field. Actually not.

So what you're talking about with Gene Hackman and why I think World Tenenbaums works so well is you have an actor that is now not normally in a Wes Anderson world being put into a Wes Anderson world. Yes. A charming world and he's a scoundrel. The Bill Murray is always in Wes Anderson movies. Yeah.

And he's, like, essentially always plays Wes Anderson. Yeah. He has the ability to then, like, deliver dialogue flatly, and then have the other characters around him deliver it flatly, and then maybe have another character like Willem Dafoe elevate a performance like in the Life of Black Sure. Or something like that. Oh, yeah.

This, similar to the Royal Tenenbaums, we have a main actor who is driving the story based solely out of I am not going to deliver things the way you want me to. Yeah. He he's a hero, but he's also human. It's interesting that he's flawed. And the At times.

And that he is yeah. I mean, you're right. You you haven't seen you know, I would say, like, George Clooney in Fantastic Mister Fox is doing a Wes Anderson delivery. Correct. Ray Fiennes isn't doing a Wes Anderson delivery.

He's doing the character. I do. Playing the character. And it works. It fits the dialogue perfectly.

Mhmm. You're right. You're right. Ray Fiennes is actually doing something a little bit different, a little subversive from what Well, no. It's emotional.

Yeah. I would say, like, most Yeah. Of films of that are Wes Anderson's where everyone says they fall short is that they lack substance whereas style Yeah. It's calculated. This calculated performance is this calculated thing to hit story beats that tells story in the way that I wanna tell it.

Yeah. Where Ralph Fiennes comes in and says, I'm not doing that. I I am going to tell it in the way that is the most authentic to the next emotional beat in the next emotional moment. He's so kind and caring and particular. Like, you're immediately rooting for him.

I think partly because he seems to immediately care that he's like, I'm going to meticulously train you, lobby boy, and this place is very important. Mhmm. And everything is just so in this play, and he's essentially in charge of it, and he's very passionate about it. But he's even kind to this to Tilda Swinton in this great makeup, this old woman, and he's like Strong makeup. And he says, like, shaking like a shitting dog.

And you're like, oh, this guy has, like, empathy for this scared old woman, and we don't know. This is part of the reason why I wanna give it a four. It's like, I don't know he's in love with her at that moment. But as I thought back on it and as you're saying it, where it's saying it at the end of the movie too is like, no. He's saying that because, like, there's a level of give a shit.

There's there's a level of true emotion coming through this actor, like, all the time. I also think the way it's written, he can turn on being the, the host because, you know, a great host, a great any any great server or anyone you've had Oopsie. Immediately tune into their, like, it can make you feel like you're the most important person in the world for those however long you're interacting with them. Anticipate your wants and needs. Yeah.

And he does that with every single like, when you watch him walking through the lobby, he's able to, like, turn it on between the people that he needs to turn on to, and then he's able to go and be, like, whatever he, like, gives note. This row, call the goddamn plumber. Yeah. Yeah. And I again, I Can't do the menu right now.

I'm doing that in a few years, but I'll do we'll do the menu. The use of profanity in this because I think it's so well in the script, I think it is so well written Mhmm. Yeah. And placed that it's not overly done. But when it is in there, it because it's this world of, like, you know, you know, it's this nice hotel.

You're like, you know, there's a facade you put on to respect and treat this world in in in a certain way. And then when he just says certain things like, oh, shit or fuck it. Like, they're so fucking funny. Mhmm. They're so fucking funny.

And that's partially the script and also mostly Ralph Fiennes delivery. But as we're going along, this old woman who we learned that he has had a, a cabal. Is that is that the It's his friend. He sleeps with all his friends. He has a lot of older women friends that he sleeps with.

Bond, needy, insecure older women. Yeah. And they're all the exact same way. Mhmm. This is someone that's also living vicariously through probably, I'm gonna get real technical, his mother, who we don't really talk about, who we find out later he's an orphan, all these things.

Yeah. It's yeah. Which most of his most of Wes Anderson's characters are all orphans. All of them are suffering from grief and loss and some sort of Yeah. Dan takes amount of loneliness.

Royal Tenenbaums like a scoundrel father that damaged them exactly. Mhmm. But I love that he sees something in Zero, like, a Yeah. Zero busts his ass. We meet Jeff Goldblum and Jeff as, like, the lawyer who's, like Who represents the owner.

Who represents the deceased. Like, we find out very that yet. Well, first, we meet him What's gonna happen? Right? But first, we meet him as the because they talk about we've never met the owner of the hotel.

Right. Right. He comes mister Kovacs comes as a representative of the owner of the hotel. Oh, the owner of the hotel. Which is important.

Yeah. I don't expect necessarily this Wes Anderson movie that feels very charming and stuff. We go on this train journey, and suddenly there are soldiers asking for papers, and this movie starts becoming, like a different, more complex thing than I really expected it to become. And when when Rafe says, fuck it. Like, it's just like, the use of profanity like you were saying, Ben.

I just don't expect it. And it's refreshing in a way, in a weird way. Yeah. Can I make my first of several points as to why this is a six out of five starting with that? Yeah.

Here. I believe West Anderson had the foresight in this moment. This is why I think it's so important that it came at 2014 too, which is so interesting to me. And not to get too political on this podcast, but currently in our administration, we are currently going through a time where people are being stopped. And if you have a certain type of different immigration status than most people, you're not treated as kindly Yeah.

As someone who does put it lightly. Yeah. To put it to put it lightly. I mean, people are being ripped out of their homes and families are being broken apart. Specifically, a lot of these people that are in this country right now are seeking asylum, similar to Zero's character.

What makes this a refugee. A refugee. This film, specifically is ahead of its time in terms of understanding not only where our country is about to go, but also where we just came from. I mean, if you wanna think about, yes, we have the Iraq war, we had Afghanistan, we had some stuff that was difficult in this country that we were dealing with involving other people on other soils. But in terms of this country, we're coming out of a surplus.

Barack Obama was our president. Things were good. We were in an economic boom in terms of how things were going. And then for some weird reason, Wes Anderson was able to go like, hey, we were in this place. And also isn't it interesting that we're in 1938 and now this is what's about to come Yeah.

About what's coming forward. Yeah. And it kinda blows my mind that a film that's so goofy and so silly at times can also be so poignant and be a film that I can look back on and go like, oh, that was a singular moment in our nation's history of, like, hey. Here's what's about to to kick off. Really great point.

But I also think, like, as we're as we're going along in the movie, we discover that, like, it's not just like a throwaway thing about, like, oh, yeah. This is also happening in the country. It is the driving force behind the antagonists who are we're going to meet very soon. The fascism that they're falling into, that the Europe is falling into, is a huge part of the driving force of the movie. Mhmm.

And it's not just, like, set dressing. No. No. Because as we get to Tilda Swinton's family home, she's passed away. Head of their servants are, like, calling to talk to mister Gustave about something.

He stumbles into the, like, will. They're displaying the will by by Jeff Goldblum's character, and we meet Adrien Brody and Willem Dafoe, who are the Two time Oscar winner from the pianist and the brutalist, Adrian Brody. Yeah. He's won two Oscars. I we we know too.

We know. Yeah. He'd just making sure. He talked as if he won four. Yeah.

I mean, I think I love that we introduced them and that they're just I'm not going to repeat it because it's offensive. But the first line, I think one of the first lines, Adrian Brody said. Shitty people say shitty things. Shitty people are saying shitty things. This fucking when he sees this fucking drops the f bomb.

Yeah. Yeah. This guy. It's it's so funny. Dude, the way he's so incensed and and whatnot, I I think the movie also does a really good job of just showing that a lot of people, people who have immigrated, who are minorities, who are LGBTQIA plus friends and stuff like that.

People who are in the the servant class or make less money. Like, peep like, it's fucking hard out here. And that this movie does a really good job of displaying kind of an idea of what it must be to struggle, how it is to struggle, etcetera, etcetera. It's just a really emotional, like, very nuanced movie. And that being that character's very first line, I think is so fucking important.

It's all good. It's all good. It's all good. It's all good. It's all good.

It's all good. It's all good. It's all good. It's all good. It's all good.

It's all good. It's all good. Shitty, rich. Yeah. That's the thing.

So, like, if you think about, like, the pantheon of directors that we've had in, like, from the twenty first century, and I'm not gonna get into, like, a huge lisp. Who do we really have? Greta Gerwig? Sure. I would say Fincher's 90.

Oh, twenty first century. Twenty first century. And I only am saying Wes Anderson because, you know, we had two films from the early nineties. So to me, he's a Gen Z director. Okay.

Okay. What I was gonna say, when's Adam McKay really get moving? Anchorman? Sure. Adam McKay.

I've been in there. I would Jordan Peele. Yeah. Sure. Yeah.

Excellent. Julia, Du Condeaux, she did, whatever. Raw and Ari Ari Aster. Yeah. I think there's more of Ari Aster.

Yes. Yes. There's, like, some Who did anatomy of a fall? I mean, there are a few. Yeah.

But, like, so we have these, like, an insane titans. Bong Joon Ho was the last person I have to say it. Yeah. Oh, shit. Yeah.

Okay. So we have these titans of, like, the early two thousands. And I would put Wes Anderson in that of, like, these are the 10. Quentin's not in there. Scorsese is not in there because their films still to me feel like we're in the nineties, and we're all referencing films in the Eighties, seventies.

Yeah. I mean, for me for me, Inglourious Basterds is my favorite Tarantino. But Correct. But that's me. Yes.

But I I would say he's not a I would say he's not a 2 thousands director. Sure. Sure. Sure. As as we're on this conversation before we move on, does any does anybody have an opinion on casino v Goodfellas?

Casino's better. I think casino's better. We all think casino's better. Ding ding ding. I'm looking for somebody who think I'm looking for a good person.

And he does slot machines. I'm the fucking now. That's amazing. Yeah. You don't even have to and you don't even have to pay me.

I'm not paying me, man. You You can get him for birthday parties, bar mitzvahs. I mean, he's available a lot. Yeah. Going back to the point, to see that from a a a director who we consider, like, in the top 10 who mostly makes he mostly makes movies that I think are adult movies for children.

Mhmm. If there were children or, like, adult movies that children could enjoy. John, they're very fanciful. They're very fanciful movies. Yeah.

Usually, I I think I see what you're saying. Depth. That is the only film that I can think of in his discography, The Grand Budapest, that has actual themes that are outside of what he normally steps into, which his main three are, hey. Isn't it suck that people die? Mhmm.

Hey. Isn't it, like, difficult, to deal with the fact that your family isn't always who you choose it to be? Mhmm. And then, like, hey. Doesn't love suck?

Yeah. So that's that's what he hits on on every single film. And he does it in this movie. Yeah. But he also goes, hey.

Here's my opinion on life from a broader perspective. Not many people get to do that and and see that from a And also he's doing class stuff, which he doesn't usually do. Like, he's he's making strong commentary on on class. And I think so too. And how hard it I mean, Paul, you hit it on the head, I think, with that with especially because these guys, Zero and mister Gustav, despite him having this very fancy you know, he works a very fancy hotel and he presents very fancy.

They show him, like, he eats by himself in this, like, very small kind of a shitty apartment, you know? And so, like, to show these two servants, quote unquote, as coming in and he gets this, like, you know, knives out style, he gets the fucking however many millions or whatever this painting is worth from this Maybe five boy with apple. Boy with apple. I love that. It's a statement too.

You're saying a lot of good shit when the boy with apple comes off, and then just it's just two chicks getting it on, man. No one notices. No one cares. I until they do, and they what the fuck is that shit? But, like, that also to me is a statement about Wes Anderson being, like, hasn't this been, like, quaint and charming?

I look just, like, whatever. This is what we're doing now. What else is they don't doing a different this is gonna be, like, more, adult, more complex. Talking about the rich like, they don't care about the fucking painting. They just want the money.

Right? So that's why they didn't even notice that it was gone. They didn't even, like, look to see where it's like, don't give a shit about art. This is what it's so funny with them stealing the painting and wrap wrapping it up. Yeah.

The letter that goes in it. The comedy of the punches of the the, like, the physical comedy timing of the Oh my god, dude. Punch punch and then turn it Willem Dafoe turning around and facing the camera and the the, like, the yeah. The spotlight vignette Part of what I love in casino. Is, what he does as well.

Edgar Wright does this too is the practical lighting adjustments in frame that we do. It happens right when ZeRo starts to tell the story where the background lights fade out and then, like, light on him. You can almost see the lens adjust. Gotcha. It's just so cool.

It it hits so hard for me, and I I love I love when Andre Wright does it. I love when Wes Anderson does it. It's it's a challenging thing to do in camera, but I always appreciate that. Mhmm. One It's a level of care.

So, yeah, they take they take the boy with apple. The servant puts the I love the painting. The painting that was bestowed to him by this late woman who has passed away. Really? Wes Anderson has behind his desk.

Yes. Oh, really? Yes. Legally passed away to him. He gets the, painting, and him and ZeRo book it out to then we'll we'll see.

But there's there's a little confrontation between him and a couple of the other servants. There seems to be like a like a unspoken alliance between the other servants of the house. And also all this all the all the front of house managers of all the hotels. Yeah. So Oh, man.

Yeah. We'll expound on that. So I think I said cabal earlier, but this is a real cabal. Right? Yeah.

It's a it's a secret society. Yeah. Truly, they're the skulls. When he gets when does he get a he gets arrested on the train next. Right?

They make it back to the hotel. They put away the boy with apple that the other, we'll say the manager of the estate, rather has wrapped up for them so intricately. He has put it away Without seeing the letter. And then immediately the police are here. Oh, and and the the painting looks like Ralph Fiennes according to Ralph Fiennes, which is hilarious to me when he recreates the painting.

And how quick they're ready to sell it from like I have to save this because I love this woman to like, oh, we gotta sell this thing. It's, like, immediate. It's very funny. Edward Norton, we learn, is, like, the head of the, like, local ice, and he also used to be a kid there. Doing his job.

He he liked to go to the hotel. But when they show up the hotel and I love I just love the, like let me get this straight. You are looking you think that someone has stolen this painting, and you believe that person is me. And, like, yes. We think you killed her.

Yeah. Or they think you killed her. Yeah. And then he just starts running. And it's not even, like, a full sprint.

It's like a it's just like a run. And they're like Wait. Lively jog. What do you and then all told one take. Yeah.

What's so great about that? Oh, yeah. The framing is it no. Like, the framing of it is, like, he he rarely ever does it. If you watch the choreography of the scene, we get to watch them track down the stairs.

Yeah. All the way up, we see Norton walk into frame, turn around, examine the piece of paper, and we get he we get a moment with him of, I don't wanna do this Yeah. But it's my job, which is going to be the the remaining theme for the rest of, like, anybody involved in that. We'll call them the ice Yeah. Group.

Yeah. I mean, they are. The SS officer. They they show their faces. Exactly.

We we get that shot. They come up and they have the little interaction, and then the interaction goes away and they chase. And that entire time, if you watch Tony, he gets to he walks up one frame to, like, go and, like, interact like, watch, Ralph Fiennes run away being pursued by officers. And then, like, almost in syncopated rhythm transitions to another location. So then we get a perfect framing of the other four.

So it still stays in the Wes Anderson style even though it's so chaotic. Yeah. It really is. And that's what the the framing holding everything together, almost feeling like everything's gonna stay there when the camera's set and everybody starts moving in the run. And by the way, I'll say I saw Ray finds his high kick.

I am looking for a practice squad w r six. I have to give credit. He's willing to not be paid. No. In a in a shot like that, you got to give credit to the assistant camera pulling those focuses.

Yeah. Yeah. That's not that's not easy to do. Not at all. You know?

The whole camera team for shit like that is deserves a lot of credit because that's very impressive. And he gets arrested, and he gets put into jail, which and this is where we meet Harvey Keitel in in jail. And this is when we start to introduce the short Saoirse Ronan love interest who works for the very fancy, bakery. Mendels. Mendels.

Mendels. Which I want frosting and glazing everywhere. I wanted to eat the fucking two hours. They looked so delicious. Oh, man.

When he says get out the throat kata, they oh. It's like Like their dirty hands come in and take it. I love that they can bring things into the jail cell, and they're, like, cutting up sausages. They're cutting up bread, and then they get to this beautiful looking cake, and they're, like, nah, we're not gonna cut that. It's a great shot too.

Just see these things, like, pass along. But It's really nice. There's a, I guess, a mildly satisfying predictability to the tools coming in through the cakes. Sure. And people not wanting to ruin the cakes.

But that's, like, part of I guess, part of why I give it the four is, like, I can I can kind of anticipate some of these things? But I guess they're a little more satisfying than I realize now that we're talking about them again. But I could not anticipate, like, when Ralph Fiennes delivers the mush to the big dude, the big dude was gonna come back and play, like, a big important role in the movie. Some of that stuff I couldn't anticipate, and it's a really big credit to the writing is that we've been frosting this. I mean, we we also have this other story where Adrien Brody and Willem Dafoe are trying to track down where the fuck their painting went or where this dude went, and they, like, threaten mister Kovacs by killing his cat, sadly, which is awful.

But that moment, Willem Dafoe is just holding this cat petting it, and they're like, we'll be back. And then you just see him go and it's so fast. The way that Jeff Goldblum is just like, he just throw my cat out the window? What the fuck? There is a noise, but yeah.

And the three we haven't mentioned the three, daughters to Tilda Swinton are, like, the two. Oh, yeah. Shakespearean. It's very Shakespearean. It's very strange.

Yeah. And they seem to have, like they seem to not wanna be, like, evil. Like It's it's it's a complete opposite. They actually are, like, leaning on the air. I'm not really sure why I'm here or what I'm here to do.

Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Which which I think is is kind of interesting because you have Adrien Brody kinda driving this whole villainy. Yeah.

We get specifically, did we get this specific shot of, like like, the most villainous walk of all time down a hallway? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that's a two time Oscar winner for the brutalist and the pianist. Yeah.

I think two times. The pianist. The pianist. The brutal the brutal pianist. Brutal pianist.

Combined, that's a seven and a half hour movie. If he wins three We're gonna have a seven and a half hour Oscar speech. That'll be cool. Yeah. The way that Willem Dafoe is presented in this movie is so funny.

He looks like a Goomba from the Mario Brothers. He looks hilarious. He has, like, an underbite and happy birthday, bud. Happy birthday, Willem Dafoe. His costume in this, which we can we don't have to touch on this.

Obviously, it won the Oscar for best costume, if I remember correctly. So, like, we don't have to touch on it. It's astounding. But his haircut too. His haircut Looks great.

And his teeth. I don't I don't know if you if there's any, designers listening. His entire outfit is custom Prada, all specifically made. No shit. Yeah.

All specifically made for the character. Brody shoes look like Pradas? Yeah. Yeah. But, like, specifically, his little high heeled boots that he wears that are, like Yeah.

Look like strangely feminine in a way that I'm, like, when he walks, I'm like, that's that's interesting. Oh, he's a detective. He's gay. He's new in town. He's like classical music.

His dog. What's the dog's name? I can't remember. My golden retriever, Ralph. There's many things that are interesting.

Let's go back to the stories. We we have just they have just been arrested. He's now inside prison, and they're they have to escape. Yeah. They have to escape.

And there's a love story between Zero and Saoirse that's starting to blossom. Mhmm. Zero is working with this Mendels to get them digging tools. Right? To get Yeah.

And they bring in Rafai. They bring in Gustave to help them. He's he's very good at communicating. He is. The little love story moment too that they have in Saoirse's makeshift bedroom where apparently volumes don't exist or whatnot, and he gives her the coated paper for the boy with the apple.

It's, like, it's very fucking cute. It is cute. That whole thing, like, it does a good job of building again the everything has just like a layer of charm. Yeah. And you would think, like, with the amount of people in this movie, you would think, like, in in lesser hands, it could be not handled well, like, too many characters.

But Wes Anderson handles them super well because all on theme and it all is still following Gustav and zero and zero. Ultimately zero. Right. Zero is ultimately the character that we're following. It's a two hander for sure.

It is. But he's the one telling the story, right? Yeah. It's his journey in some way, even though, like, obviously Gustav goes through a shit ton. But he gets out.

They escape. They escape prison. He feels like a reliable narrator. Yes. It all feels like it essentially feels like the truth.

It does. Everything I'm hearing feels like the truth. The museum chase, by the way, with Goldblum and Defoe. Oh. Okay.

This is where I'm like, I wanna see a Wes Anderson horror movie. Like, it shot in a way. It's so fuck. I get, like, that Sleepy Hollow vibe or what I don't know. It's very fucking cool, though.

The random action. And the way that things are framed. Yeah. The violence Yeah. And Wes Anderson, I find shocking.

It's like the profanity. They pop. Because in this world of, like, beautiful pink colors and storytelling storybook telling, the violence and the profanity is just like it just, like, kinda pops out at you. It's fun, and it's funny and it can be jarring, but the fingers the fingers getting cut off is a jarring moment. I literally went, oh, shit.

No way did I think that was gonna happen. Yeah. I mean, the cat was, like, a setup for that. Right? And that's sort of why I, like, understand why it again, I have a hard time with killing cats in movies, but I understand why they do it because it ultimately leads to his demise.

So it's not like it's not just a throwaway thing. They can't get what they want out of him. So see you later. Sayonara, buddy. Yeah.

You win for us. Violence has a, like, a a theme that's that runs throughout Wes Anderson's movies of, like, we have all this, like, these perfect things that are propped up in this perfect storytelling and then out of nowhere, like in Royal Tenenbaums. What's his name? Oh, oh, and Luke Wilson's character slashes his wrists. Yeah.

And all of a sudden now things are are real again. And, in this movie, obviously, fingers get severed. Yes. You're good. And and he gets murdered.

And and he gets murdered. And there's also at at the end of Life Aquatic, there's a huge, like, pirate fighting scene that goes nowhere. Just like and you're like, where did that come from? Because for the first two hours and thirty minutes, that was not this movie. And then all of a sudden, I don't know where now we're okay.

Now we're now we're doing okay. This is the most effective use of violence in terms of, like, storytelling. And, like, the because it's more emotional You shut up. I would say than anything else. Whereas the other one seemed random, we grow to care about COFAX because we care about the fact that he's helping out Tony, and he wants to help mister, Gustave get out And the hotel.

And he wants to help the hotel. We we care about him from the instant he starts. So the moment that he dies, we're like, oh, no. This guy's we're taking it seriously. Well, and also and I guess I mean These people are evil.

And also to add to it, he's mister Kovacs. He's he's Jewish. He's played by Jeff Goldblum. Like, definitely Oh, I didn't think of the intentionality there yet. They're definitely leaning into we see later on, Brody's just running an SS fucking resized armband or.

Yeah. But they're definitely leaning into what it feels like when fascism is on the rise and what it feels like to be on the side of the servant class and what it feels like to be in the 1% or the rich class. Like, there's strength. So Wes Anderson's a Texan. Oh, I didn't know that.

Yes. He is. Yeah. The University of Texas at Austin to study filmmaking. See what Dallas wants for the cow.

Did you notice what the birthmark is on Circe Ronan? Mexico? Mexico. Yeah. In Mexico.

Yeah. In his face. I I I think that the foresight of that is, I think, just brilliant. I I don't know how I think we could all say that Wes Anderson's a painter Sure. In terms of, like, directing.

And I and and I say that mostly because similar to, like, when we go see a Van Gogh or we see Picasso, we go immediately. That's a that. Right. You know you know it feels like a Monet to me. Yeah.

So the same thing happens when we watch a Wes Anderson movie. We go, that's a Wes Anderson movie. Why? Because of the framing, because of the lights, because of the colors. The reason why this is a masterpiece and why it's the best film, in my opinion, of the decade is because that is the only film that I can think of that where we have someone like a painter, we have someone like an artist that we can look at and go like, okay.

And that is the only one that I feel like truly draws a parallel that's going to be, that services the past as well as the current future Yeah. We're dealing with right now. Yeah. I don't think you're wrong. I think you're right.

I look at the camera zooming in on Sam a little bit right now as Ben is admitting this. I wanna say too that I think it's really great in this moment that we're walking into here where Ralph Fiennes has gotten out of prison and Harvey Keitel with his hilarious, like, self drop tattoos and stuff. Although, he, he may have a future as an artist, so I shouldn't say. It's quite a throwaway it's a great throwaway line that gives him so much character. It's so good.

But it also You understand why people like him. Yeah. Exactly. And, like, he he knows how to make people feel good for the future that he's with them. That's why he's so good at his fucking job.

Mhmm. Keep going, Paul. He sweats the details. He's super particular, and you like that about it. I don't look like a clown.

When Ralph is, like, laying into Zero and then Zero's like, by the way, like I'm a refugee. It's a it's an interesting thing like Ben was saying about class and I I I feel like we're all like in agreement about, but that there's this moment where Ray finds, like, breaks. He loses himself Mhmm. And then has and comes back to himself Yeah. And immediately is contrite, immediately apologizes.

You feel the shame, the recognition that he immediately has. And just this message that like our heroes are flawed. Royal Tenenbaum is a scoundrel. Like, he's like a shit person. This person is not a shitty person.

He just stumbles like we all do. It's weirdly in this more fantastical world, it feels more human. Yeah. Yeah. And this is where we like the movie goes super duper fantastical.

And maybe this is real though, but the, what is it? The secret society of the crossed keys, the coalition of concierges? Yeah. And you get Oh, great. Fisher Stevens, not in brown face in this movie.

Right. You're making me I'm about to short circuit what you just said. My brain is freaking out. What? Johnny five is alive.

Do you know this movie? No. Great. He's too young, idiot. Can I ask a question?

Yeah. Who's Bill Paxton? Your dog. Not in this movie. Do Do you know Fisher Stevens?

Boom. He's one of the he's always one of these, concierges. He's the one with the big ass head that looks like a driving CPR guy. Just say CPR guy. CPR guy.

The guy that kinda looks like Bill Murray, but he's got brown hair. He's got, like, the big long handlebar mustache. Okay. There's the guy that goes, got it, Dino. That's, of course, Dino.

He's, like, doing, like, a thing there. Is that the I think that might be him. Is it, like, after he does the CPR thing and the lobby boy steps in? This is cool too where we see how important the concierge lobby boy bond relationship is. Mhmm.

Yeah. And Batman and Robin. Correct. Yeah. And when not Ralph Fiennes, but when Bob Balaban is testing the suit.

And the and the next, the lobby boy goes, too much salt. Like, I died. I died last night. Repeats him. Yeah.

It's so Take over. Good. Yeah. By the way, the casting choice on that, that's clearly just some kid from Hungary where they were filming or wherever or Germany. I forget what Probably.

Right? Had an accent. Perfect. Just came in on stupid. Yeah.

He might have been a PA. And well Drunk. Drink. Drink. Drunk.

Nice. Zoomed out for that. Uh-oh. Oh, it's changing the framing to lock everybody in. With them, we have Owen Wilson who's taken over the hotel.

Right? Right. As a concierge under this new Regime. Regime. And that's the other interesting point because also if you think about it, that's when shit starts to get real Yeah.

In terms of, like, the country. Because what we're paroling here, Nazism from, you know, '19 Yeah. Thirties. So, like, now at this point in the film, we we're we're dealing with serious consequences of what has been allowed for the past. Mhmm.

Is that about the film or you're talking about our current I'm talking about both. Okay. We're talking about serious consequences of what's been allowed for, for, like, the past ten years. And now all of these characters that are in this fanciful world are now having to deal with that. Fuck around and find out.

Pretty much. Mhmm. I mean, you've you've you've given an inch to fascism, and they are taking miles. Pretty much. Yep.

So now they're taking over this hotel. They've they've literally turned it into their barracks, which, there are hotels in Glendale right now that ICE have, you know, no big deal. You know, they're just So thanks to Bill Murray and company, our our two heroes, Zero and mister Gustav h, have now, found themselves back at the hotel. They have disguised themselves in the Mendel's costumes. Which are great.

Yeah. They're social running. Social running in that little tiny truck. Mhmm. They are they are now trying to break themselves back into the hotel to resteal The boy with apple.

Boy with apple to sell it on the black market and GTFO for good. That's their plan. I wanna back up half a step. Go ahead. Back it up.

That the Sledd Chase stuff with Willem Dafoe So good. Is so fun. Miniatures, the, like Oh, that's a huge part of the perspective and Can we go back photography. Let's go back a half a step. Can we go back a half a step?

Half a step. With the the head in the basket scene who we find out is the Thank you. Sister. Which they build up to thinking Saoirse. What's in it?

Mhmm. It's the sister with the clubfoot. And then the chase sequence is Sir, just sister. Fucking good, hanging on the ice, and that he is just hitting the cliff, and then he just gets fucking rocked off of that clip. Paul, did you mention the Anne Jones?

Because there is Yeah. The Anne Jones esque adventure to this movie. I agree. I think I really, really, really, of course, love. It really works for me, like, in a The chase sequence is a big part of it.

Yeah. Well, can I tell you a part of the movie that I don't like? Oh, my God. You're at a six out of five, Sam. I'm at a six out of five, but now I I am telling you there are parts of the movie that I don't that I that I don't like.

The parts of the movie that I don't like is the fact that it's not perfect. Oh, no movie's perfect. Correct. But there's, like, little moments. Amadeus exists, but yeah.

Okay. Amadeus does exist, which F. Marie Abraham's also Exactly. Yeah. So there's little moments that I think aren't that necessarily achieved perfectly.

And I can see, like, Wes Anderson watching his masterpiece and going, like, it needs to be more, and then making the French Dispatch and making Isle of Dogs. Oh, this was, like, patient zero for that. Yeah. So, like, you're what and then, like, transitioning then into, like, okay, asteroid setting, which is even more technical. Yeah.

It gets even more insane. There's, like, little things where, like, Harvey Keitel is, like, we're sitting here, we're laying out the plan. And if you watch him, he's making, like, these involuntary muscle spasms. Yeah. Yeah.

That's, like, are kind of distracting from what's happening in the movie and, like, laying out the story, which is totally just, you know, Harvey trying to be in the moment, and we're trying to have, like, a he's doing his thing where he's been in the prison cell for three days, and he really believes what's happening. And Wes is like, okay. Can we narrow it down? Can we just do it one more time? Can we do it like this?

Can we do it like this? Can we do it like this? And he's like, and he, like, can watch him, like, have these to get a cartel, actually. Yeah. Okay.

I'm no Jerry Jones impersonator, but but I'm pretty good. Get are you do you book in parties? I don't. Okay. Farm and whist?

I don't. There's also, like, just a couple of other little scenes. I've got another moments where it's not perfect, but I think that's what adds to, like, the greatness of it. Is that, like, Wes looked at that still and was like, I can make it somehow more syncopated and more crazy. Yeah.

And then added to it. So there's still, like, a human element to it, which gets me into the chase scene, which gets me into my favorite acting moment from Ray Fikes. Okay. He has made his way up into the monastery. They have just disguised themselves as monks.

They are now waiting to meet Surge x, who is the manager who has helped them wrap up Boy with Apple. Also knows all of the information that can help set them free from the current situation where they are running from the police and they're out on the lam. He's sitting across from him, and they have made it to this pinnacle point where they are finally meeting. And for whatever reason, he needs to get the information from Serge in order to figure out what is happening next. And now Serge isn't talking, and Rafe loses it.

And at this point, Rafe actually displays some of the most human emotion from any Wes Anderson film and goes, it's been a complete fucking nightmare. There's nothing going on. There's a ton of stuff that's going on. It's so good. Every every time he freaks out, it's totally satisfying.

Where is that in any other Wes Anderson movie? Well, I I can't find it other than when Gene Hackman pulls, his son into the to the thing and goes, like, where Ben Stiller delivers back to him and very it's like, why are you being so upset right now? So, like, why are you being so mean to me? And Gene Hackman goes, yeah. I am being mean to you.

You son of a bitch. I don't think you healed your mother's death. You don't get a lot of that, like, actual raising of voices and emotion in Russ Anderson. And, like, it pops and then it's contained. Yeah.

And then it may pop again or whatever. And that's like, what's really fun about it is it has a tendency to have a real randomness. As I was saying, some of the story beats or things that are happening in the writing, I'm anticipating these may happen, but what's really satisfying are the things that I'm not necessarily anticipating. You're not I have a feeling zero is going to get up after, you know, Willem Dafoe puts his whiskey and his gun away and his dope costume Great. That zero is gonna push it that zero is gonna save him.

But when he says, holy fucking shit. You got him. Like, I I have no idea that's coming. And it The profanity is so good. It makes it so special.

That moment so special. Like, where it starts to equal like last crusade where it's like, I thought I lost your boy. Like, it's really good. And I think the best part of that ending scene though is whenever Rafe has that moment with sorry, the best part of the ending scene, however sorry. I moved away so that I could scream.

Like Yeah. Right. Right. The best part is when they are, having that moment that after they push Willem Dafoe off the ledge and holy shit, you got him. They still have a moment where they acknowledge the fact that he is a member of the servant's class who was just doing his job Yeah.

At the end of the day. And and Surg ex as well. So wait. Was he not I think for both of them. Was he he's not he's he's literally just a hired assassin.

He's a henchman. Yep. So they have a moment of silence where they both, like, go pray to God and go, like, well, this was just a person who was just doing his duty. Him him and Surgex, they take a moment for the two of them. Because Surgex is is dead now.

And, again, one man who can put it all together that's alive. Fast forward. We're back at the hotel. Right? And they're in the The barracks.

It's a barracks now, so they're basically in the lion's den. Does the hotel staff recognize them by the end? 100%. Go through I think they do too when they have the Mendel's boxes. They see how could you not reckon that's their that's their main boss.

I like how they're they're just letting them do whatever it is that they might be doing, like, that they're not causing a stir about it. I just In the new lobby boy. Real quick, I wanna mention that when they would, when mister Gustave would give their, like, nightly sermons, Just like we skipped over this, but it was just so funny because he would go on and you'd see them, like, go ahead. And everyone's just, like, eating, like, fucking animals while he's giving this, like, really calm sermon. It's so fucking brilliant.

And then there's a poem. It's 46 stanzas. It's so good. And the gunfight that happens after, like, you were saying, Sam, like, this chase through the hallway between Saoirse Ronan and Adrian Brody. Oh, yeah.

That that Thrown off the window. The thing that breaks the tension is that it becomes this ridiculous gunfight that is successful at killing or killing. In life aquatic. Like, they have, like, that they have, like, that moment in life aquatic where, like, no one really dies. But this feels a little bit better.

Yeah. And then on top of it, I I think going back, I I think I might be lost here. So if someone was to take over, they can't. But there there there's a moment there's a there's a specific moment that, like, I I think about all the time when I'm watching this movie. And and it's just why why is it just why is it leaving me now?

Is it the drunkenness? You think that's what it is? It might be the drinking. The whiskey drink. Whiskey does that.

Why can't I think of it right now? And if anyone wants to take over, they can and they'll come back and they'll come back. You made so many good points. I feel like the gunfight leading to, like, social Ronan and being thrown out and Yeah. Boy with Apple being the thing that she's is she holding on to that?

Is that right? Mhmm. It's all it's connected to a ledge above her. Like, the zero buildings holding it. Zero goes out to Yeah.

Very valiant. And sees this as they're like it's like ripping the, like, paper off of Boy with Apple, and we Yeah. See this hidden message on Pretty picture. Yeah. In there.

And this envelope well, so the this firefight, I forget how it settles. How do how do we settle the I don't know if it does. Go ahead. Please. The alliance of the working class is something that I don't think is seen a lot in any of his other films.

To me, it always just kind of seems like we're all very rich. We're all very well off people, and this is the one that kinda seems like it's us versus them. Mhmm. Yeah. You can see that automatically when they come in and everyone knows what's going on.

So the point that I'm talking about, ZeRo meets the new lobby boy. Oh, really? That's great. Replaced him. Right.

And he has notes. And he has notes for him because what what immediately happens? He gives him information that he should gives him information that he shouldn't have. Yeah. And that moment sticks out to me.

It's like, again, another moment of Wes being like, listen. I know I've been a successful director, and I've done a lot of things. I made a lot of quirky movies about things that maybe people don't entirely understand in the life. And I know I'm eccentric, and I know I'm a hipster, but I still come from Texas. I'm still a working class people, like, around a lot of people.

We know that we stick together and we keep our mouth shut I understand. About about things, especially Because it gets stitches. Especially when fascists and very rich people come knocking on the door. Fascist capitalism. You betcha.

Yeehaw. It was just setting him up to do that. Yeah. No. But you're right.

Snitches get stitches. Right? Exactly. Loose lips sink ships. Zero has been trained to a tee and understands his position because of mister Gustave, and he is delivering that.

And it's not like he's even, like, mad that there's a new No. Hobby boy. He gets it. He understands the flow of how it works. He's just more like, listen.

If you're going to do this correctly, keep your mouth shut. Yeah. He knows that he's earned his place as he know he's like, we're gonna be successful in what we need to do. I'm no longer the lobby boy. I'm I'm moving on up in the world.

Mister Gustave is, like, seeing what I'm cape that I'm a capable lobby boy. And maybe Get your hands off my lobby boy. Yeah. Oh my god. That's so fucking good.

The soft landing for Saoirse Ronan and Into the cakes. Zero into the cakes. And, you know, I remember Edward Norton stopping the firefight for a moment, but then it continues. I don't know how that ultimately stops. Gustaf and Zero and Saoirse Ronan and Agatha all end up on a train together after this is all settled.

We find out that Oh, that last train moment. Yeah. That Edward Norton cuts open the letter and it's like, Gustave gets everything. Well, he also gets the hotel. The hotel.

And then that that's when they reveal that she's the owner. Right? We didn't get that. Tilda Smith's character was the owner of Was the owner of the hotel. Was there so much.

Yeah. And why she frequented it so much for nineteen consecutive seasons. Yep. He really was what kept her coming back. Coming back.

Regardless of ownership back to a conclusion. To a decision. To a decision. To a decision. Oh, we're coming to the conclusion of the movie though.

More of a junction. Yeah. It's so great and so satisfying that this movie is basically, like, yeah. This all worked out for this story for these people because we don't need this huge backstory right when you start to get that tiny bit of it. You know, I was a lobby boy, maybe the best until you came around.

And and then, of course, it brings back, like, this thing that, like Fascism still going. Doesn't go doesn't go away. And when he, like, rips up the card essentially where it's like, this police state doesn't matter anymore. My police state matters now. And the thing that was gonna save Zero from his terrible, you know, situation with these guys.

And what does he say? I will see you court martialed, and I will see you hung, and whatever. And it's just in the narration just like in the end they shot him, and my wife died, my son died. Yeah. I'm seeing the emotional and violent moments of this hit perfectly.

I mean and and that we get a we get a satisfying conclusion to the the story of Boy with Apple and the story of how Zero became the owner of this hotel, which is ultimately what we're what what the author is looking for. Tell me your story of how you became here. But we get this sad, very sad, kind of tragic backstory of basically his father figure Right. And his love of his life that were, you know, and that and that is also very un Wes Anderson. He doesn't go to that conclusion normally.

That usually is something that maybe starts things. He loves the tragedy of human condition. That's what I would say. He does that, I think, better than any other director in terms of, like, storytelling he loves, but there always kinda seems to be an uptick Yeah. At the end of it.

This is the only one that ends in, like, I would say, underlying melancholy state. That's a really good word. Yeah. Or even just, like, banality of human like, of living. Yeah.

That is he's just, like, yeah. All these great things, crazy things, wonderful things happened, and I'm so grateful that they did. I also, like, I don't have those people anymore. It's a very pragmatic approach in some degree because, like, it's really hard sometimes to think like, oh, your love of your life died two years after you got married. I forget what his exact response was, but it's it feels like I got to have her for those times.

And we were happy for a little while. Yeah. At the hotel. And that's why he keeps it for her. And it's a really nice thing too where it's we get to see this really great adventure.

The really important thing we the journey we need to be on for an hour and a half or whatever. And then as you were both putting, like, the melancholy of it and the the truth of it where it's like, yeah. And then people died. Sickness happened. People were killed by fascism.

People were killed by starvation. Like, whatever. Like, this you know, that's life. I I miss my wife. I keep this hotel for her.

I'll love her forever. But And he still stays in that little And but life life is full of difficult, like, hard upsetting things. We lose people. And like you were saying, Ben, like, he stays in that little tiny room to remember where he comes from and class that he comes from as we've been talking about. And then we see back to the writer, Tom Wilkinson, and him then passing and, like, is there anything we we missed?

Is there anything I mean, I'm sure we could talk about this movie for hours. Oh, he's a He's a word. This is still my favorite Anderson. I'm spoiling now. I don't feel like Sam.

We're gonna go now around in order and see if our rating has changed. Sam, I think you're still a six. I think I'm still a six. I talked a little bit about this. I know Parasite's a better movie.

I know it's a better film. I know that it's more important specifically in the zeitgeist of filmmaking. And also where it landed and how it did right before, everything that happened, in in our in our country and our All I saw that together, didn't we? Romantic. We did.

Holding hands. We saw Little Women together. Greta Gerwig, Little Women. We did. We also saw, what was this Nazi one we watched?

It was his zone of interest. Zone of interest. Woof. Luca Guadagni Ningo. Ningo?

What is it? Ningo? Guadagnino? Guadagnino? Guadagnino?

Guadagnino? Guadagnino? Guadagnino? Guadagnino? Guadagnino?

Guadagnino? Guadagnino? Guadagnino? Guadagnino? Guadagnino?

Guadagnino? Guadagnino? Guadagnino? Guadagnino? Sure.

Yeah. Denny Nolan. But that's more nineties into Oh, yeah. The point is my rating hasn't changed because I still look at it, and I'm like, that is the film that I think jumped us off into the later section we are now. And the be able to have that foresight, again, like I said previously, to where I can look at a painting and see where it came from and where it's going, and it's and it works in both time periods for where it sits.

I mean, it doesn't get, I think, any better than that. So you're both are you both revealing? You're basically just I haven't I haven't revealed mine. Okay. I started at four just painting a two chicks just fucking getting it on.

Pretty cool. And this has been a really good, really lively talk. We've talked about royal tenon bombs a lot, which I really, really love. And I think the man, you know, you hit the right person at the right time, and it's just a movie that I think can be so effective at the message of, like, this is the the damage you can do, just as one person. This is, you know, it's never too late to make amends, things of that nature.

And this movie I I really love because it's this convergence of what what we were talking about, like, almost like two different Wes Anderson eras before it went more one direction and still had some of that royal tenon bomb stuff. And it's this really great mixture of it, and it reminds me of, as I was saying, didn't hit me till this talk, like princess bride, a lot of the class stuff. And and that's the really cool thing that this one does is some of those themes is are, you know, you can't keep people down, and people are very resourceful and care quite a bit about what they do. And it it has a lot of soul, but I don't know what it is about about the movie. There are just, like, a couple points.

I don't know what it is. And it this I get no. I'm just gonna go to five. Fuck it. What's the name he wants to be?

If I'm willing to say that I think Ralph Fiennes might be the greatest living actor in the conversation as I don't know if I've ever said that. That's a big deal to me. This this movie is a lot more layered than I expected. A lot more layered. I just wanna be clear.

Yeah. You went from a 4.25. Well, a four to a five because I can't I'm not the guest. Shows the whole story. I don't know if you've ever done that, Paul.

Post conversation, I don't know. We'd have to go back. You might be right. But I just think this and Royal Tenenbaums are both, I guess, like, super, super duper special to me. I really like Bottle Rocket.

I like Rushmore. I like Fantana all this stuff. They're they're all great. I think it's also really important to say is we're mentioning all these great directors that have been around in the last several years. This is a Wes Anderson movie.

It's in a Wes Anderson world, Wes Anderson genre. Like, you know, it's it's a very specific thing that only Wes Anderson does. I mean, I'm not gonna beat around the bush. I'm I'm gonna go to five from four and a half. Yeah.

I I think that if this is my favorite Wes Anderson, and and it is And that. And it always has been. He's Dallas. I'm I'm not sure why I'm I was held back from the five. I'm always sort of hesitant to go five because it feels hyperbolic at times.

But I think everything this movie does is purposeful. And I don't think there's anything in this movie that feels like it's thrown away. And And there's nothing in this movie that's off theme. Everything is in line with the story that it's telling. And I think you're right, Sam, that he took maybe some of the wrong lessons from this movie into some of his next films in a way.

I I think I don't think he took the wrong lessons in. I think he just decided I'm now gonna start making films about my art, which is what I think, French Dispatch is about in a asteroid city. It's about the exact same thing. Sure. Yeah.

Wes Anderson is gonna make Wes Anderson And I I enjoy I didn't really That kind of thing. Dispatch at all, but I did enjoy asteroid city to a to a degree, especially the alien stuff I thought was very funny. That's great. He has never done and you could call this historical fiction in a in a way. And I don't think he's ever done something.

I mean, I guess Asteroid City, you could call historical fiction. But I feel like this similar to how I feel about Inglorious Basterds being Tarantino's greatest movie. There is something that's so rich and ripe when you're telling a story about oppression and the rise of fascism. And and like you said, when it's allowed. And I think that he found that really fine nuance spot of the balance of comedy and humanity, and theatricality, which I think is a huge credit to him.

Like, that is not an easy line to walk. And he walked it really, really fucking well. So I'm gonna go to five dead cats. Smash cats, really. That poor kitty.

Five. But his dad his dad died, too. So, you know, it's true. In the plastic bag. I love that he takes him home with him.

And we're we're here. We're at the end. We final this was a long episode. I think it's I think it's gonna edit real, real nice. Just like this movie that I I paused it thinking, am I, like, forty minutes into this movie?

And it's was almost fifty five. I think the movie also just moves at a good fucking clip. It's a good clip. Yeah. No.

Like, it's a movie I think that's impossible to be bored in. Yeah. Yeah. It's a it's a great speed along movie. Yeah.

I was not really on my phone outside of, like, a few notes and whatever. Like, it was not difficult to just tune in and just believe you had never seen it, Paul. I never, never seen it. What a gift. Felt happy.

What a fucking gift. It's like Six out of five minus Harvey Keitel's muscle spasms, which are distracting. And a few other weird character moments that are that are just strange. I mean, you just dropped like a beautiful, like, on like a post route toward the corner, just dropped it in the basket. That was beautiful.

What's in the box? Randy Moss. Same thing that's in the basket. In the corner and you knew And Brad. So you just threw it up and you're like Moss will get it.

He'll get it. Randy Moss running out on the cross. He got Moss. Absolutely. Our book and themes are Jamie Henwood.

Why you excited and what you've been watching are Matthew Foskett. Ben does some of our interstitials. I just wanna before we go, Sam, is there is there anywhere people can, see your work or follow you? Or Yeah. So, my Instagram is at Sam Bullington.

That's my whatever find me on there. It's the only social media I have. You can watch, the cult classic Lifetime film, Stalk by My Amish Boyfriend on Lifetime. I have a film coming out, that's a western called the war between. It'll be coming out sometime this fall.

It's not sales from that. It looked cool. It's a cool little thing. And then, other than that, dude, like, hit me up, man. I don't care.

Like Yeah. You know? I'm pretty easy to I'm pretty easy to find. Great. Special k, get ready.

Like, we are locking into Stocked by My Amish Boyfriend. I'm so excited to watch it. It's gonna be team viewing. It's happening. It's got it.

Wait for the letterbox. Our letterbox are Yeah. At run b e e m c run b m c. And at pollox badly. We'd love it if you gave us a follow.

Don't forget our fun facts theme is by Chris Olds, and you can listen to us wherever you want, but we're on Goodpods. And you'll be able to hear when you hit the stadium this year. I'm not paying them goddamn thing. I ain't paying them nothing there. Dude, shit.

Cowboys record this year. Go. Six and, whatever. 10? Ten.

Six and eleven? Or six and eleven. Six and eleven. Maybe six and eleven. I was I was going to say seven and ten.

Yeah. I was gonna say seven 10. Okay. You heard it here, everybody. It's spicy.

You ever done anything dangerous? It's dangerous. This is fucking too hard. Hi, everyone. This is JJ, the cofounder of Goodpods.

If you haven't heard of it yet, Goodpods is like Goodreads or Instagram, but for podcasts. It's new, it's social, it's different, and it's growing really fast. There are more than 2,000,000 podcasts, and we know that it is impossible to figure out what to listen to. On Goodpods, you follow your friends and podcasters to see what they like. That is the number one way to discover new shows and episodes.

You can find Goodpods on the web or download the app. Happy listening.