The Final Action Sequence

On this episode, we discuss the Mandalorian and Grogu. Because Hollywood said, what if the movie Dutch was Starworth? Yeah Hey everyone, and welcome to the Flop House. I'm Dan McCoy I'm Stuart Wellington. My name is Elliot Kalin. and before we get into the laughs and the giggles and the riballed Jeckanappes, I wanted to mention that we have a special guest with us today. Returning to the podcast, we have one of our favorite guests, even though we haven't had them on in a while. decades abs. or improviser, author of the book, How to Be the Greatest Irovisor onn Earth, which is a great book. I genuinely recommend it. Co host of the podcast, Screw, we're just gonna talk about comics, one of my two favorite comics podcasts and the podcast. Scw, we're going to talk about the Beatles, my favorite Beatles podcast. We have joining us, mister Will Hines. Wellill, thank you so much for being with us today Every fifteen years, I'm gonna be on on this show. It's like there was a periodwk. There's period in Spider Man comomics where every fifteen issues, Venom would show up. You're our venom, except it's years. Will is the Hailey's comet of the pod. Will, what was the movie on the episode that you were on before? Swing vote. Swing vote. Yeah. That was your episode. I was on. okay. We got on it. Yeah There was I was just going to chalk everything up to a lifetime of drinking too much for my that. but that's why we haven't Stewart has been his attendance record has been too good since then. We haven't had a need to break There's a have a case that says break in case of Stewart absence and Will is in that case. Yeah Yeah The funny is B to be I' recording today with strep throat. So there's, I mean, what could stop Nature wanted you to not be here. Yeah. the universe was fighting for the balance to be restored and you did not be here way Stuart heard that willill was gonna to be on her re place. and he goes, No, I'll be there. You know I want to talk about comics for a change. Stuart. It's funny, you weren't there too, 'use that was like an early Paul Schrader riff That's right. while you were absent U wrriter, director of Heartbeeps. Yeah, I know. It was the episode that gave us Chopen Gatables. I remember That was a episode. We should have a lot more often, that's great You guys are really funny when I'm on. Yeah. I don't know, I'm like a bass player I guess. Like Wow, ourr guitarsolos were good when you were here. C is sound this is gonna sound like like an insult when I mean it to be compliment. Many have talked about how the Marx brothers were better when Zeppo was with them. Oh I know serely does nothing, you know. Yes. I'm proud to be the Zeppo of the flop house. I would love it I truly would put it on my business card, which I just I just got business cards for the first time. And just confuse everybody Hi,, I'm zero traraveling back in time or something Wh do you? I got to go door to door, selling vacuum cleaner. It's like, what do you do with these things? I remember like I got We got, you know, daily show business cards. I remember being like excited. I got a daily show business card and like there was like this huge box of them and I was finding them for years afterwards because I didn't do anything with the When I stuck that on my own, I ordered business cards and I still have almost all of them. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I got them because I I operate an improv theater in Los Angeles, notot a big dog, you guys. But it's like a physical space and our box office staff once accidentally threw the trash out in the wrong dumpster outback. We threw it out in the back of this beauty supply store and they were so mad at us that the landlord of art because we're in like a shopping center called me and was like, hey, they're really upset about whatever you guys put too much garbage in their dumpster and they're mad at you And so I ordered business cards just to go over to the Beauty suppupply store and hand them one and say, I'm so sorry that happened. Call me if there's ever any trouble And so I ordered a thousand business cards to you one 'Cause you't buy business cards in units of less than like a million. You're not allowed to get like just like ten cards But someday, when you, when you break into the the corporate improv market in Japan, you're going to be glad you have those businesses.es a very elaborate trade off of those c bow just the right amount, just so it's polite and hand over a business card. They call that yes ending is you bow as well, but you end it, you bow a little bit more than the other. It's trying. Oddly enough, this is not a business card podcast. This is a podcast It could be Where we watch a movie that was either a flop critically or commercially. is this is an unusual case. I would say on a correlor that sometimes we just want to talk about a specific Well let let me let me finish this sence This is the's let' orans going, mayaybe takes us in different D the lowest opening of a Star Wars picture So or a live action one. I don't know what, you know cartoon ones There have been no I think there been no cartoon theatrically released Star Wars film. Well there's Clone Wars. That was It wass a TV show, right Yeah, but there was, no, there was a movie. It was anid Cone Wars movie. They did they absolutely did a Clone Wars release in the theaters. was right. Fascinating argument. but My point is In Star Wars terms,, you're right In Star Wars's the Clone Wars two thousand You was right. And you I was right from the beginning This is the patented fluff house you know, barely veiled hostility plus can't get the show started that you all tune in for. What was I say? You say this is the lowest opening of a live action Star Wars on a Star Wars metric and has had some mixed reviews. and yeah, we just wanted to talk about it as Elliot U Star Wars movies that rarely get alt like stellar reviews, right? I feel like that's generally they're pretty mixed said new ones, newew ones. I mean even the first ones got mixed reviews, but that was one case of like people didn't really know what they were dealing with to a certain extent. But it's true that I mean often often big but often entertainment, popcorn movies, even when they're great, don't always get reviews. You know, because reviewers often they just don't know it feels like it's relatively recently in the life of film reviewing that they have understood that there's a metric for movies that are not trying to be high art but instead of just trying to entertain and recognizing that as a worthwhile achievement. That being said This one I think got I think got particularly There were a lot of reviews I saw it was like, The reviewers almost felt like it's gonna be too obvious if I say I didn't like this movie. So I have to find a way to say that I didn't like it that doesn't feel like I'm just dumping on it because it is a movie based on a television show based on another movie. you know I also think that like To some degree, I mean, this is much lesser than what you said. But like to some degree, I feel like the art form of movies is now old enough that People have seen enough movies that were like, oh, this was just made for entertainment become classics over time that they realize like, oh, yes, of course, like these things that we think of as established classics like many of them were light entertainment. likeike we can we can appreciate craft in a way that maybe There were averse two and it was like, okay, well this is a new art form. We have to hold it to like, I don't know I'm just I'm just making it stself up now, but I think there's something in that. I'm sure you guys have said this and said it better. so please correct me, but I feel like the Star Wars moovie franchise has got to be the like Fest number of actually good movies Proportional to, it's like real estate in the culture. You know what? Like we haven't realal estate in culture I think is an important point. Yes, yeah likeike Just like how much it occupies everybody knows Star Wars, how like ubiquitous it is, how how beloved it is, how powerful it is. How like Tuly iconic in a way that few movie franchises could ever hope to be And yet almost all of the movies are mid or bad. I think well I think it's because you have like, I mean, you're right, because it's one of the few movies that has like influenced that where people are like, yeah, I'll put Jedi down as my religion. You know, it's rare that mov starts a religion. You're re I think it's because what Star Wars really is is You have a the original trilogy of movies, which are Pretty great For all that Turn of the Jedi is like a little bit of a drop, like they're still really great. And then you have people trying to recapture that spirit now And it's I think we're now, it feels like we're finally like fortunately or unfortunately running out of the fumes from those original movies because they had to create do things that are good on their own like Andor or, you know, Mandalorian seeason one of the TV show was delightful. It's all right. And the end But in mainline film, I mean, those are both TV and mainline films like You know, it a it's a contentious movie, and I think that the people who don't like it are wrong, but I don't scare they're wrong. But But Last Jedi was the one that tried to do something new and it scared them so much that they're like, I don't know, Lets not. when I saw Last Jedi Theaters, I really liked it. watchatching it again recently I don't like it quite as much, partly because they're taking the focus away from white people. do not like that. But which is is not why I'm kidding I'm just kidding That's justy drawing idiot don't like for that reason. But it's watching again Eespecially watching it with my son He found it very boring and confusing. And watching again, I was like This movie, the plot is like a little too complicated. and it's a for considering it's got it's an action movie with cool set pieces, it works much slower. And so it's one of the things where I'm like, if there's a Star Wars movies and setting setting Andor aside, which is a different kind of I mean for something a different Ns aTV show. If you release a Star Wars movie that a kid finds boring and hard to understand. Yeah, you missed. I feel like you're missing the mark somewhat. Yeah. As a childless man, I don't care. I know, but as aatric as a child. as a gu who understands the place of Star Wars, a space fantasy series. I feel like I feel like they're interesting a whole span of types of Star Wars things at this point. I Well But I would say that that's not it's not successful as a whole span of Star Wars things. I mean Star Wars at its best does the thing where it is taking childish entertainment and uplifting it onto a higher level of production. meet like like storytelling.s it's a for lack of better wor, everyone talks about or if there was that period recently where people talk about like sophisticated horror or like what do they call it? eleated? Elevated horror, like Star Wars the original star was essentially elevated B serial, you know. likeike they're taking B serials or science f not necessarily even science fiction, but space opera, kind of the goofiest. least serious type of science fiction. I do it an elevated way. And this then so you got to I feel like but if you try to elevate it too far, then it's like, well, this isn't really you're not doing the thing you need to do. you know. E I agree with everything everybody's saying and yet I also want to talk. And But that was the subtext of everyone on a podcast ever. You you encasulated this so well. You know, Elliot, as you know, my comics podcast recently Not even lastast year we did a thing on the teenage ninja Turtles. We did like a little look at the turtles, which you were a guest. I was grateful to Poopi here on one of those episodes. learned about TMNT number three, I think. Yeah acccidentally gave you the least consequential of all the early one's just a quick c a c was issue. We't Look, here's the thing. was I was too old to have really been caught up in turtle mania wave one And so I never really read any of that stuff. So out of a curiosity, my brother and I said, Hey, let's read all the original Eastman and Laird and they were really delightful and great and then sort of watched some episodes of the original Saturday morning cartoon and the original movie and just kind of like, what were the rocket ship proponents of? Turtle mania. it one.o And you know, I was like, Oh, yeah, this stuff's all great. I can totally see. But it was like, oh It opened my eyes to how a lot of these Beloved franchises would sometimes have well crafted entries and sometimes have just kind of stuff that misses or is bad They're like toy movies. They are toy designs first and foremost. And Star Wars was the first movie where the effects were good enough that it's like, look, say what you want about the plot or Mark Hammel's acting or the pace. These are the best toys that have ever been made on Earth to this point. I will say I think Mark Hammel's really good. I like themem a lot I like Mark Cambeel too, but he was a he was a lightning rod, right for critis people want he jump on star people it was easy for people to like for people to make fun of him because I think because that character such a I think Hammil's a good.. I think's really good. Heays he's playing a dwib and he's doing a really good job of it. Yeah the misfortune of being cast next to Harrison Ford, which is likees, is rough. Yeah, you know, most charis evenven like Ryan Goslyy N next to Harronord like, who's that nerd Gosy? I think yes, right, right, right. But I think yeah, there's this like this like great cool like toy design quality and stuff and that it's those first movies I've talked about for the podcast, that first movie I find to be such a miracle of storytelling where when it starts, you don't know anything about that world of those characters. And by the time they're going after the Death star, you're so invested in it. And when Hans shows up, a character you met An hour and ten minutes earlier. When he returns to help Luke, you're like, Yeah, he's back. Yeah. It's just a big the way they pulled it off. mmeric. And I haven't seen that pulled off again in a movie the same way until the Mandalorian and Grotha again. the bullseye I was gonna to say wellsy. We've talk in our bs and diging. We've talked a lot about Star Wars on the macro level. Let's talk to about it on the micro level.ang toall really fast if we people. I'm going to stop you again because I've only been on this podcast once every fifteen years. I got to ask, is this how it works?one dragging it off the rails and Dan, you just like selflessly grab it with ropes and drag it back on the track. Yeah Eot Yeah. Elliot passed me the ball there. so it wasn't just, you know, it' a team effort sometimes to drag it back on, but Usually Elliot's the one throwing the ball. Things of changeince the swing window. Things change. I am the guy we're playing a baseball game. I'm the guy who instead of catching a foul ball and throwing it into the stands, I'm catching a fair ball and throwing it into the sts U But mro micro level you were saying Yeah, yeah The yeah, yeah. it was, you know, you know, he's a little guy Grogo is a little guy, Yeahah a little guy. The Mandalorian and Grogu. title built Look, we're just telling you what it is. We know this show is called The Mandalorian. We know you're in it for Grogu. Don't worry. He's in the title. know What's a title with zero poetry any Stamp it on the box, tellell themone what's in the box. Yeah. Someone wakes up from a coma. The Mandalorian and Grogu. and the new language? Well yeah, no than. I don't like foreign films And also the way the title looks on the poster I think is very funny because it looks like it says the Star Wars Mandalorian and Grogo, which is like just the way they pl is very funny to me. Oh, that's really funny. A Grgu seems like an afterthought. It seems like it was called The Mandalorian for months andths and some studio execs like, Where's that little green guy And they're like, Jesus, just put it in the title. We can't have this guy the problem wasary A first they misunderstood. He goes, Where's that little guy Yogurt? They called it the Mandalorian Yogurt and Ell Broz' like, I'm in this movie. Hold on a second. finally the spacebl. guess I got to starts raining again. What What if Mel Brooks entered this movie like with all the gravity of like You know,, the way like and sometimes like late period superhero movies like an old like You know, ike a deadpooled wolverine like when yeah Ch enters as human torture or whatever, but this is Mel Brooks Miss yogur shows up in the real Star Wars. would I reverversse all my feelings about thisie. It would be the greatest movie ever. That be so good, yeah Um, Okaykay, so we start off The Mandalorian We start off we on season one of the Mandalorian. We all know what a Mandalorian is. There's no reason to explain No, the Mandalorian, of course, look, I actually didn't even make it I know that everyone loves the first season. I didn't even make it for the first season of the Mandalorian. I'm like, okay. I'm just genuinely surprised by that. I found the first season I mean, light, but really watchable. It's super watchable and really fun, but he's such a thin character. I love Demmyarious as a character. I guest stars, yeah What I saw I found perfectly watchable was just like, I think I was already feeling like, I don't know if I need this much Star Wars anymore. Okay byy that Hog. come on. He loves that baby I mean, the fact that I love that the Verner Herzog was in the was in the Mandalarn show because they're like, we need another great director to suddenly appear as a surprise in the movie. We'll just get Sorsy? Like we did like in the Mandalarn and Grogu too, who's gonna be the director that's in it? Like are they finally gonna get a like J ghost back in or something like that Yeahing or something shows up. I mean Cerese might be the best acting performance in this movie. Yeah. So the Mandalorians, are they like all bounty hunters? They're pretty much as we know from thear they were like a one race like just like a certain kind Yes, in Star Wars, everyone in the one race does the same job. But two it's like the muppets. But the Mandalorians are also like it's like a religion or like a culture, right? So you can be ind into it Yeah, they're like Jedis. exxcept their rules are we're bounty hunters. We never take off our masks, which is dumb because how do you eat, drink, any of that stuff? You never kiss or do we They come off pretty easy. When they h right off pops right off, right? You know what I would do? if you never want anyone to see your face, you know what you put underneath your mask? a fucking ski mask. Just cover it Yeah Ballic lava, Sure. Yeah, Ballic Lava. They don't have that technology. Oh I guess you have light spepeed technology. You don't have the ability to make fabric that doesn't cover your eyes and weird be like shaves down to a mustache. I would think be I assume my helmet does that. I have to assume the helmet does that That's why to wear it. Yeah Okay All Mandalorians must have a secret mustache. So by pointing this out, we're highlighting, I think one of the things that we had circled around before, which is the idea that the more we examine the Star Wars universe and the more we attempt to elevate it, I think the more it shows that there's just a general shallownness to the Star Wars universe. I think feel like I'm not like Hey, I have loved Star Wars in my life, but I feel like There is the more you you start kicking over stones, the more you realize you're like, oh, there's no m down here. they partart of that by design. likeike it's it's supposed to be simple. Yeah. Yeah, But but the thing is when it's simple and then you Explore it. And it's like my younger son loves to play Minecraft, partly because he lik to explore the worlds. And it's like there's not really that much there. Like it' not he's not discovering new things. It's just the same old trees and animals over and over again. But I think that With Star Wars, people talk about like, oh, the Star Wars world is such a cool world. There's so many corners to look into, but there really aren't. Like it's not there's not that much going on. Yeah. Well every hang on be. Tatoo. There be. could be, but they just keep going back to the same way. So the closest thing you can compare it to is probably like the Marvel Universe, right? whereere there are a lot of corners the Marvel Universe, That's because it was there's eighty years, ninety years of publishing behind it of people trying out different stuff and most of them with multiple creators with multiple cate with many, many hundreds, if not thousands of creators working on it. And so you have a it's just tough. It's really tough. And it's just not yeah, it's not the most complex world, but you also don't have the most complex character in the Mandalorian who is so I didn't remember this from the show dumb in the show No in the movie, he's very dumb. He believes whatever anybody tells him at face value all the time. There's the bad guy he's looking for at first, noobbody can find this Imperial commander. It turns out he didn't even change his name. He's just operated into the same name on another planet. like, that's everyone's fault. That's not just. That's everyone'sault But the Mainan in particular, two very obviously evil characters lie to him And then when he goes to some else and he goes, Oh, they lied to you. He's like, I don't think so That's not what they told me. What. Explain. He's very dumb. He's a very dumb guy. But let's talk about that. Well, let's get back to him because we haven't even learned what he's done yet. Okay He's on the mission. you know, like at this point, he's working for the new Republic. He's hunting down which which are the good guys in this not a right wing. Like commentary magazine or something like that.s He's basically a Nazi hunter. He's fighting ref you know, empire refugees. It's like marathon manan, but with monsters and lasers. Yeahah. Yeah it is not the empire has turned into like weird little like crime bosses fieifoms. There's these little warlord fieifdoms left overver And that's I mean, and that's a cool idea. and that's a realistic idea that when the empire, when you kill the emmperor, it's not like the emmire just everyone sudlyes whoops I guess're not doing this anymore. Yeah They power bases they're trying to maintain. And he's going after them. And it turns out his he has one move, which is walk into a room and start shooting people in the head and that is Yeah. He is not a master of stealth strategy planning It works great most of the time except that it gets into every so I'll just sking slightly but like he comes back from Michig goes, Th things went sideways and's like, they didn't go sideways. You did a bad job. likeike like you did the did this in the worst possible way. Yeah. Well this war ye, this warlord is abusing his like sort of like under under, you know, like the local towners Yeah. Yeah. and which leads to, you know, a joke that I would have found funny if it wasn't so telegraphed, which is like when Mando comes in and like shoots everyone and like they're all supposed to cover his exit, but they all just point to where he went. And I'm like it could have been funny, but I don't know whether it was the direction or whatever. I just saw it coming so far away that Um Anyway See there's an AC AT. chase or add at depending on how if you're n. You want to say it wrong if you'reing. Yeah, there's somealking on the most precarious little led. Yeah. Like goats. like Yeah Yeah, that's because yeah I guess ATs are full goats and howf're able to maneuver around rocky ledges. Yeahah. And But you know Gu shows up, you forgot Grogu Bw He's got his know child. You know that the Mandalorain is the hero of the movie because he shoots a lot of people dead He does not stop to help anybody if they are in trouble. and he brings a baby with him into situations where he gets shot at and shoots people dead. Yeah baby the movie Hle itself. can that baby's a powerful baby. And the main Lorine is really he's really He's got all those Yoda powers because again, every race is the exactly the same. So it's so funny because I was reading someone was making the point that like Yoda looks the way he does in the Sars movies because he is elderly because he is eight hundred years old. and the idea is that the force has been keeping him alive all this time. But then they're like, we got to have more Yoda aliens. I guess they all look like little old men and they all dress like Jedi and they all live hundreds of years. you know, Yeah every race, they're all the same, you know. If you're roadie, you're going to be a bounty hunter, you know. I would agree with you But he's very cute guy. He is very cute. And veryute. And he is prim he at least appears to be primarily a practical puppet Yeah little like man. He's love I love a little guy. Gime little guys, and you know what? this movie delivers more handy with little guys. I don't care if it looks quote unquote fake. I love him. I love the way looks when he's running around. Dan you love it if you could see the puppeteer's arm sticking out of his butt the whole movie. You would be loving that. If somebody yeah, if somebody told me that they didn't like it because it looks fake, I think I'd slap their face t care that much. I just I'm like that's the good part. Yeah. I mean you have to Every Star Wars character, you have to evaluate how good of an action figure slash toy is this character Y And Grogu is an A plus. Oh yeah, five star. Koy. One of the all time greats right up there with Boba Fett and Hoth Han Solo. Yeah. I't The rankcor was pretty good. That was great toy. So I think so the mand So so Boba Fett and the Mainalorory in the show that if you have a cool looking helmet You don't say very much, you can with you can get away with being pretty bad at your job and still be the coolest guy in the universe. Yeah. But and because the Mandorine also he benefits and it seems to be aware of that he's benefiting from what I would call Star Wars protagon protagonist defense shield technology, which is if you are the hero of the movie Nobody's going to hit you when they're shooting at you with lasers. They could be an inch away, but stight' like super He has like a John Wick suit on, right? basically, right? Y Yes, exactly. Well's It's made of that fancy That fancy steel, super blaster proof. Yeah. Yes. you know, it's different IP, but it's basically adamantium. Yeah I let me say that because we saw this in the theater, I was not there with like a little glowy pin making notes I'm heavily relying ' it. I do care about my fellow audience members Oh so it works at the Alamo, I guess. I mean, Ion the Alamo' is where you should have gone because they have lights underneath those little tables. So at Alamo movies and makes it easier. No, I'm just saying I'm heavily relying on the Wiki summary. So if anyone wants to jump in, please feel free after a big snow battle with ATATs and ATSTs, he captures this guy Brings him back to Sigorney the guy He blows him up. Oh he blows.m. Sigahorney's like, we wanted him alive because That's how we find other people. And you know, Sigori Weaver. You get to see her in a rebel suit. so that that's a mark in the plus. some nerd somewhere was just ejaculating into his pants and he rly open in a ro. I think. A it's looking in the mirror right now Um, but she wants Look, when when you nerd into the abyss, the abyss nerds back into you. yeah, for sure. Yeah. I don't know. I'm sure I was projecting and I did think Sigoroni Weaver was cool casting, but every line she said, I felt like she was just a whisper away from Bursting into laughter. I mean Especially when she ends up in the X wing flying or whatever at the end of the movie it just it looked great and insane. I mean, she has she is, I mean, I love her and she's so good. it had there was this feeling for her life life All right, whatever. No no. Totally. I love Sorney Weaver. I was so happy to see her in this movie. It does It has big like we have you for one day energy. Right, right She didn't have the dedication that she shows as the villain in the movie holes with Chilotes, you know U, But yeah, she the next assignment for Mando is a big one. They got a find Commander cooin, who I guess is like a The war Lord of all war Lords. And like she literally has like a deck of cards of like bad guys the big Yeahah, bad war Lording said. Yeah. I mean, this is and this is a takeoff of a real thing. Like when we invaded Iraq, I think it was, they they handed out decks of cards with the with the images and names of like the high up guys and Saddam Hussein's It was stupid when our government did it and it's stupid here I mean, they used to andly, especially when the main card she gives him has no information.'s funny is they're like all we know about this guy, Commander Coin is that his name is Commander Coin. He's the worst or the worst. And what I was like He's a Nintendo villain, Commander Coin. But I was This movie is so this and this is this is an overriding note for this one. It's so boilerplate and flat And not detailed in the way you want it a Star Wars thing to be. They don't even give him like a story of something particularly bad. He did. They don't have he's not like the butcher of Bes Bin or something like that that like commander coin, the butcher of Bespin. Instead he's just C commander C coin, we don't have to tell you anything about him. Wh who cares? There's there's many places where they could have add a little bit of color, a little bit of like if you're be a good TM you know, flash out. I mean, a little bit and they don't's she's giving him a playing card, which traditionally in the world of playing cards, there is info and stats And like a fun fact. And you gave him just truly a coaster with a silhouette of a humanoid. I have to object to you. Traditionally in playing cards, we have clubs, spades, cards and dionds, but in tradingards trading trading cards trading cards. trading cards is a form of play, you know I just wanted to make a dumb joke. You're exactly right. But the funny thing is all she had was the name and as we've already said, that turns out to be all you needed to find this that was the exact amount of info that you did need to find. If you had shown up on the world and said, Hey, do you know where cooin is? they'd be like, Oh over there? Yeahah, sure.. 's in hiding. No one knows he's like a ghost. He disappeared. But this is I was talking to somebody about this the other day and they point out that that is a Star Wars universe thing is when you want to hide, you'd use your same name because that people assume, well, if I'm looking to the son of Anakin Skywaler, surely he would have chosen a different name than Luke Skywalker. So thatywalk Kenobi. We don't have one of those. Its got have been Kenobi though What are the odds? Ituch an obvious such a common., no, no me. That's a different guy. different guy. differentiffere dude. different If he wanted to go incognito, he wouldn't use the same last name. Soaybe it's maybe it's a sideci op. It's like, well, surely he would. Yeahah, I this just said It's like's being's thinking one step ahead, you know. They'd expect it's like It's like it is the logic contestants me sorry to say. It is the logic that contestants on the traitors use to determine who's a bad guy based on how they're voting. Yeah. That exact sort of thing. sorry. But so he goes to so he goes to this planet where he's going to find Commander Coin Well, though first he has to go to see the hut or whatever. like there's a couple of he's see the Hutt twins. So N Rublic has made a deal. The Hutt twins will give him will give them the where to find Commander Coin if he if Mandalorine first gets their nephew Rod of the Hutt, son of Joba the Hutt Yeah. very clear. We're going be Th hut nums are evil. They're literally big slimy grubworms who talk like this. Oh, well of course well miss our nephew. We just want him to be safe. So this is And Mlord's like checks out. you're loving a planet. This is like the first time we see now Huda right which is has you know as a Star Wars fan is the H ome All the buildings are like these big like fungus grown structures with like a little bit of metallic stuff. It looks kind of cool, but it's all lit like dog shit. so any action later on just looks terrible It's too bad. it's all dim brown light, but but the designs are cool. The designs have a real moobius type of quality or like a Miyazaki quality. I think those look cool Yeah, and I feel like a lot of the designs in this one are drawn from classic sci fi things. as we'll see when we see the dragon, what? the dragon snake or whatever later dragon, whatever. But dragon when it comes to the hutts, definitely for me, it is Diminishing returns every time I see a different But found found they found two new ways to make the hutts less cool. One as we'll get with Robert oneack is to make one jack just have a small hut. And the other doesnt hate it. The other is that they speak English through most of the movie and they look ridiculous Saking E. It's sounds awesome. And H s so cool. It is like it is the most fun Star Wars language to say. No ajaba Wongo. Like that's the best, you know. Like Their mouths are too big and gross to be able to speak Galactic comet or whatever. You imagine if in the middle of a Star Wars movie Chewbacca turned to Han and said, So what are we to do next time? Like you'd be like, well, Steth Rogan. Terrible Good casting. Yeah It would be the casting yeah. And like Not only are their mouths too big and gross, but also like the hutts are fucking conceited assholes. Why would they speak this other language? They want to speak their perfect blah, blah, blah language. That sounds awesome You know So it's a it's a couple of big mistakes there. And I think it's just for ease of. so you don't have to have a lot of subtitles up and then you can cast a famous name as Rot of the Hut because that's what makes the laying his bare credit to be Rot of the Hut Um Hey, he's in a star War, man, you know. If you get offered a Star War Yeah. You're gonna to take that. Again, I feel like that is currency that has been deffalu. over the toour even now, Elliot, you're going to say that if someone wants to catch someone st someone said this to me someomeone said this to me yesterday. I was complaining about this ag go. So if they offered you a star Wars movie you wouldn't take it. Of course I would. One Yeah a chain. but also two. yeah, of course I would. I'd tryed to do the best job I could. It probably would come out, not great What are you going to do? Like, of course, you're going to take it but that doesn't mean, like just because you're going to take a job doesn't mean you think that everything they're doing is amazing or that they should No that that's a separate issue. H his work in. should have been maybe speakingudies the whole time, honestly What what are you? Yeah, I was like Mm. With the hutts, what have we seen this many hutts before in any of the other? we were lousy with huts in this movie. Crazy one twin huts, the nephew hutt. And there's just a random hut that you see sliding along a burrow and then going slipping just like NPC hut. they're like they're walking through the halls and like looking down the hallways and seeing like huts all over each other like it's fucking irreversible or something. Yeah Yeah This is from the Clone Wars, right? I didn't watch the series, but I believe these guys these these the Hutchwins show up Rada is but and the Hutch twins show up in Either Mandalorian seeason three or Boba Fett or something like that. I didn't see it. I just heard. Okay they've been introduced in the show Oelcome one of the shows I think it's a funny it's a funny layout for the hut. palace which is that there's a tunnel that leads to a huge gate door, which just leads to one big throne room. And I'm like, what is the layout of this building doesn't make sense. And if I'm watching the Starus movie, I shouldn't be thinking about how the layout of the building doesn't make sense. IP that gets like too successful. It's so funny when things that were probably initially decided you know, to be good in one sequence, then have to have like a whole likeike leg of the of the lore resting on them. It's like Job of the Hut and return to the Jedi needs to be the big scary bounty hunter that's after Han and He works great as this giant literal slug lord just kind of grow limited in how much he can move It works great for the sequence. He looks great. he sounds great. a big greatime boss He's Sidney Green Street. it works fantastic. It works great. And now to have to build a whole hut world and like government system and like and modes of enterertainity. How do they what are there cars for a slug land? Is it just huge flatbed trucks are going around? Is it just tanks of water drag If it keeps to the Star Wars thing and they're all mobsters, that's a terrible economy. No it' got have someone's got to have a legit job to. I mean to be fair, that is the that is what the United States is turning into is a mobster economy. So we'll see what it's like to live in a hut world. Also like the idea like At a certain point you have to be like, so so they're intergalactic gangsters. Do they have the wheel? I don't know that they do. So how they accomplished all these things, you know Anyway, Mando is looking for Rada. He goes to Sikari, which is kind of a Las Vegas planet, or at least this part of it its this L Vegas. That the thing is in Star Wars, all planets are the exact same all over the entire planet. You're a desert world, you're in an ocean world, you're a city world, as opposed to in real real life when all those things exist on our one planet Yeah ye He finds out that well, first he goes he's like the first thing he does is look for information by talking to Martin Scorsese monkey Monkey Scorsese. Yeah He's gotarms He does what anyone would do. He goes to the first street food vendor he sees and basically bullies him into accepting money for information. And this is Mark Scorsese, ye,s like a forearmed monkey man who pretty great It's I mean, this is how honestly might be the best performance in the film. I mean sayays he is is great at like he's he's, it's not like he's this is his first time acting. The same with Vern Herzog and Mandalorian L likeike this these guys are professional actors in addition to being directors, you know, Yeah Wh's better than you better He's better than Sigorni. I love Sigorni's casting But I thinkays he's a better performance. He's better than Pedro Pascal, and I don't think that's Pedro Pascal's fault. Yep I mean Gu I cannot count as a performance. Thank I think it's the number one, you know, if this if they're going to go for Oscar Bait, it's got to be Martin Scorsese, best supporting actor, Mandalorian and G guess better than that Fisherman fisherman lizard guy on myine He's better than that. Yeah, betteret than that I a lot better. All these other people are very functional and good at what they are. What about the guy who plays the charac Wh's like the Mandalorians like sometimes co pilot? Oh yeah character for looking as a sort of Wild this he does makes no impact whatsoever. No Yeah. And he's a character from other stuff, but I don't know the name or they don't bother to I don't know if they say his name in the movie. mayaybe they do once, but I don't remember it. It want to point out that the when they get to S is it Skatari Atari This planet Atari. Yeah. Siakari Sakari Sikari sorry, Skitari of course are the Skitari. It's not like she' the foot soldiers of the Adeptus Mcanicus, But in Shiakari, of course that's thearakar from who course are devoted to the emmperor, you know, in the Dune. Yeah the Godd emmperor of Dune. The Well, the emmperor of universe different than the God Eperor of Dune, of course. So then they continue, yeah, yeah Yeah, do. Are we going to talk about forty K or are we going to talk about that soon? I mean, if you're honestly asking me which I'd rather talk about, but continue Start. Yeah Um The soundtrack changes and we start getting like a like a like a synth wave door And the song sounds there's something about the melody that reminded me so much of Low by Flow Rider. I was very distracted. I loved a lot of the music in this. I liked it when it got cnthier. This is the guy who did sinners and like a bunch of other stuff. That's always been be Aard winner. One of the strengths the Mandalorian showhow is the music. The opening music is so good and it sets it all up. This This movie, the music's really good, but that's also that's always been a Star Wars secret weapon. Like that you imagine those that first movie without John Williams score. it's like it's still it's just not quite as great a movie. Music has always been a really major thing in Star Wars. design in general is like incredible in the Star Wars franchises. Every just kind of sounds cool But the newspan this is really good likeike, you know, I know that they've done different things in the shows, but for a movie, I feel like this is the first time they've like gone away from like pure orchestral John Williamsy stuff. And so it's This is one case where This movie is doing something different for but it more the same. But it's aping what it did in the. It's the same composer who did the show So Ludwig Gornson right Gurenson. And so the it's it's continuing the style from the show. But that was one of the exciting things about the show, right? When it started was that it sounded a little different, you know U But yes, it's like like Apple computers, they were thinking different. E though they should have been thinking differently. that's u That's why you're a PC user, Dan because you're not cool enough to drop the LY and get her that b I I am an Ale youer. What am I talking about? you're like a PC user who in an know Martin Monkey sccors. No, I wanted to say about Martin Scorses. That's what it was. It is funny that like Mando keeps going back to this Mkey Bnder who like there's no evidence that he like particularly knows more stuff than anyone else on the street. No. And he actively is like, go away, go away. I mean tal you. I mean also we should make it clear in case so people don't write in mad. We don't see that do we see if he has a tail or not? Because if he doesn't have a tail, then probably he's not a monkey, but an ape of another kind. Sure. it's all right Is it if I' had a prim.?'s safe. tons of email windows closing. All right. I willon't stay addressed it my view. But it does He does have he does have one of the funniest moments in the movie, which is which I think wasg legitately funny, but also Wh makes the Mor look like an idiot also. where whereere he goes, he goes, I'm looking for for Rot of the Hut. and he's like, oh, you mean The the most famous guy on the planet and he points and Mainloyine is standing next to a billboard that says like R of the hut with a new picture R the hut on it. Yeah too yeah we find out Rod has been working as a gladiator for the local crime Lord Janu Uh and there's one thing we know about Rada He's not his dad Yeah doesn't He doesn't want to be like his dad He he left he left fucking was so he's not anched. There is no way he is his dad. No, no. he is so he isn't he is' a good a beef hunk of meat just a be space lug is he's a so he has a real character arc where he starts out as seeming like a pretty good guy who doesn't want to be a gangster. And by the end he joins the new Republic and becomes a pretty good guy who doesn't want to be a gangster. So that this is the movie's idea of of an arc is they introduce R out of the hut. He's, Hey, I don't want to be a gangster. Myu uncle are trying to kill me so I'm just trying to stay away from them. and M Lor's like, no, they care about you. They really want you back so they can because they love you so much. And then But he's always the same character. No one No one no, I wantm to grow at all. He's the freelancer in the beginning and he's on salary at the end Okay He goes from ten ninety nine to W two is his argent They should they should have visualized should they should have visualized his change then by him changing the paperwork he files. This is a bit of an overall critique maybe early in the show for it, but like that is the fundamental issue with a lot of this movie is that like no one has any sort of character arc. Everyone is the same Tue att the beginning of the movie, as they are at the end of the movie. I mean setting aside Mandalorian stupidity, the basic structure of the story is we need somebody to get this bad guy and Mandalorian goes in and does that. And that happens like five times and then the movie's over.cept by the end of it, it goes from we're trying to we're trying to mop up the bad guys of the of the emmpire. There's still around two Yeah, I guess we'll bring in X wings just help the Mandalorian with his personal vendetta because he has to murder people who have seen his fight. I mean, they do no, they do. then afterwards they're like, Oh, it turns out those hutts were also selling us out. So it was good that we blew them up. But you don't know that til after they bomb them to shit. But But anyways, but but the there is one character arc in it, which was described to me by Coworer recently as At the beginning, the Mandalorian doesn't let Grogu press a button on in the starship. And at the end he lets them press the button at the starship. you know, W. Grou has really grown in responsibility by the end of the movie. Yeah. Yeah. But anyway, Rod is like, hey, man, I'm not a prisoner here. I I'm exactly where I want to be. I'm working off my debt to this Johnu. He's going to let me go after the next fight I'm going to be a hero on this planet. People love me because I fight good. and it's going to be great And he doesn't want to be saved So what happens next? So the So Mord goes to see this I think this is when is this when or is it after when when Java Rot of the Hutt is liked Oh, yeah, Johnu. He's the guy He's John Coin or That's later. That's later. goes he goes to see Johnu at assault. That's right, Right. He goes you find him at a bar. He like You intimidates one of his goons like you know, like knocks one of his tusks off the end of his tusk Yeah Yeah. Johnu comes out and he's very civil, very civil with the situation. Yeah. And and so this is salt is very valuable on this planet. He's a gangster who trades and big hunks of salt and he's like Mandorian beats up aun It's like the real world for a time, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Like Yeahah beats up the bar. I don't remember why John who like tells him that like, oh, I'm lying to Rada. I'm just gonna to kill him after this Be because the movie needs to get moving forward and Mandalorian is not smart enough to figure it out for him. He's also trying to convince him to participate because he thinks that the Mandalorian would be his next great glady. But it is very funny for him to be like he goes you should join my stable. You're a great fighter. I'm going to kill Rada. I'm about to trick him and kill him Then you a new guy If you overperform, that's what happens.f the Mand Lorine seems to be considering it almost because he's so dumb. You know he's not going to do it but he I was like, okay, that's not you will have an opening. I' been looking for more job security. Yeah. But he goes back to the jail late at night to tell Roda like, hey, this is what's going on. You're going to get killed at the next thing Rada is so convinced of this crime Lord's goodness for some reason. He wouldn't do that to me. Everyone's d in this movie. And he calls for the guards and Mando gets gas. It was trap it was all trap. It wasnt jish Yeah now's that life part to tell him that's a trap? Oh, he died. He has to fight Rada in the gladiatorial arena. Meanwhile, Grogu is in a little cage byanu. It is. Grogku forgets that he has force powers and just watches everything happen and it doesn't do anything A gladiator fight That's fine. Mando and this jacked hutt. Guys, I cant stress enough how much I detest the design of Roba Hutt. I mean if you told me there was aob the was there was a h There was a hut that was like a gladiator fighter. I'm like, okay, we got a big big old fat slug rolling around knocking dudes over. That sounds great They made him like weirdly muscular. and the more they mo, like I like Huts in theory, but like them moving around all digital style looks like dogshit. It's horrible. And there is not say there are you could have him like you're saying, you could have him be an intimidating fighter just by him being super tough and just a big thing that will get you and there are wrestlers who' just big stronger are like huge. Yeah. Stuart, what do you feel about the Hulk Hogan aesthetic? Do you like wrestlers? Did you like the Hulk Hogan character in the world of wrestling? Because the other thing about this this about Rada, he can't stop doing the Hulk Hogan like lifting his arms over his head and flexing and stuff. I mean I like the idea of a like a peacocking wrestler type guy. I think that's fine. But I think it would be better if he was just a giant blobbies slg. Yeah but also he doesn't Jeremy All White's performance as R of Hutt is, don't believe this is a character who would be peacking for the crowd. He seems like like, yeah, well, you know, I just want to live my life. I don't want to be I just want to get out from under job of shadow and be my own man somewhere in the universe. I became a famous gladiator fighter. That's the only way to do Let me kill you please. It'd be funny if it turns out that he's just a showbiz guy like he's like like he becomes a tap dancer L you the first like song and dance hu. I would love that. That'd be great. I like a Jackie Chan type background. Yeah. Yeah exactly.. Yeah, a kid forced to perform and then you train the greatest martial arts star of all time. But tap dancing would even work. I mean he'd kind of be the only one on this planet who would do it. It would be he's got to get little prosthetic feet. Yeahar. showing us something we haven't seen before again. That is true Well speakinget to have a big good. I mean They tried in the return of the Jedi Special edition, but we've yet to have like a really good cool big musical dance number in a Star Wars movie, right? Yeah. Yeah. spepeaking of his peacocking, it's his undoing He's flexing for the crowd, but that allows Mando to get the upper hand. but he tosses his weapons away. U he yields. he's like, oh, he, you know Rot of one so let him go forcing Johanu to you know, enact his evil plan with both of them in the ring and they'll both have to fight all these monsters he floods the ring with do. You're shaking your head I I disagree. So because this ends like this day have this gladorial fight between all these monsters. it ends with like one of them like managing to disable the electric fence that's keeping in them and monsters then rampage over the Star Wars city. I'm like, yes, I've not seen monsters rampaging through a city in a Star Wars movie. like I'm with you. I'm shaking my head because the monsters of choice are a direct reference to the first Star Wars movie. They're the holog the chest Yes, right? Oh yeah. And so them some of the same thing bumm me out is that I'm like they're just doing that Well and what bummed me out was, that didn't bother me as much, although I got kind of bored of it. at first I was like, oh, that's funny that they used some of the guys from the from the hologram chess game and they're doing the same moves even, you know. But what bum me out was the monsters go on the loose in a movie that has a hero The hero has to catch Rod of the Hut, right? But he keeps getting distracted by these monsters because he's got to round up these monsters and save the innocent civilians who are now being attacked by these monsters Instead the mandalorian goes, I don't give a shit and just flies after Rod of the Hut, leaving behind people being, I have to assume killed by these monsters. And Iam that was one of the cou I don't know whether they deserve death for it, but they were all coming to a blood sport. they were those monsters No those monsters are out on the streets. There are people on the streets Not everybody in townend this gladiator battle. like if it was if if I was if if there was a like A Freddy versus Jason match in an arena. and you dropped an innocent person into it. That audience, they are culpable in whatever happens. But if Freddy and Jason get loose and are rampaging through they've left Madison Square Garden, they're rampaging through New York, Not everybody in New York was tuning into this bloodport. Now is Freddy in the real world or is he in the dream world? They' not going to be the real world. They brought him into the real world. Yeah. Yeah power. They wanted to stop being polite and start getting real. But I saw this was one of a couple moments in the movie where I feel like one of the issues with the Star Wars franchise beyond the quality of the storytelling or the characters, whatever, is that the moral underpinning of the series has degraded over time in a way that I find really troubling, where in the first movie it's like The emmpire is obviously bad. they do bad things, They kill Luke's parents or you know, his aunt and uncle. And the good guys are against that. The bad guys are all faceless, you know, or or effectless, you know Almost robotic figures, and the good guys stand for freedom, individuality, life, etcetera The over time it has become that The good guys are just the good guys because we say theyre the good guys. The bad guys are the bad guys becausecause we say the bad guys. And in the Mandalorian movie the Mandalorian does not act, he's not a heroic character.'s He doesn't help people. And by the end of it, it is by the end of it, it's like, well, I have to kill these two hutts because they saw my face. And I'm like, well, that is not That is not something I could stand behind if you're supposed to be a hero. If this is a movie like payback or a blank with Lee Mvin, then I okay I buy it. But if it's a Star Wars movie, do I cannot accept that. Saudy hunter. Like that's thing. Like he's a different type ofure. But then you shouldn't make the movie as if he is a heroic character, which they're trying to do. I mean, this is a pro capitalism movie. He's a freelancer. He's He had clear terms for his contract and they were violated you are allowed to stand up for it. And also if you're there to get rot of the hut and that is what you are being compensated for That's all you should do. This is This is the most capitalistic movie I've ever seen. Maybe. but Star Wars has moved away from its Marxist communist real. I don't know, but it's on the side of the workers. you know, he's slaughtering his his bosses because they've ot held up the contract. I don't know about that. What it really comes down to me is that is this moment where L Mandalorian just lets innocent people get attacked by monsters and which would have been a cooler sequence if hen actuallyoped What I said isn't true is because he viol his own contract all He violated it multiple times. He's mad at his job. But also at the at the end when he's the one violates the contract to be honest. He does actually know, that's right But also when they take his helmet off to shame him. And he says they go, hh, now you're an outcast because we've seen your face, and he goes, O I could just kill you. And is the audience supposed to be like, Yeah, exactly. Go ahead and kill them because they saw your face. Like that's a bad rule. That's a dumb rule. And I can't I can't that if he's a bounty hunter who is a Morly Greay character or he's the villain. I totally buy he would have this rule of if you see my face I have to murder you. but to be like, well, he's the hero the movie, because he's got this cute kid with him. But if you see his face, he has to murder you. That's not. I don't this I mean bother me. I' I'm like o yeah, he is a morally great character who happens to be being used as a weapon for peopleople we like and he has a cute kid, but that doesn't mean he's not. doing these you know, bounty hunter things. But then I think it has to I just feel like the movie has to present him in that way. And I feel the movie is not presenting him in that way. He that way Theyt have even do these things. They're But they're down on this point. like you're absolutely right, Ellie what you're saying But I don't remember that as being like when he took his mask off, I just was like, they want us to see Pedro Pascal. like that wasr They're just like Oh these h the Hut twins, as you say, every single thing they say is so clearly evil. That we don't mind when they meet an untimely end Whatever the logic of you're right But I would so much r was like if he was like, you lied to me,'re, you know, you ruined people's lives as opposed to, oh, you saw my face. now I got to kill you. I have to admit, also I'm weaking it off with the plot, I apologize. I have to admit also I can't erase the fact that I'm seeing this movie at this point in time where it feels like morality is degrading all around me in the world that I live in. And we live in a gangster country now that is run by a hutt essentially. Like there's no if there's any fictional character that Donald Trump reminds me of, it is Job of the hut. And so to then to be thrown into a Star Wars movie where Part of the fantasy of Star Wars is not just I get to be in space and shoot lasers, but also There's a world of good and evil and good is fighting evil and good will triumph over evil. And so to be thrown into that I feel like if this movie came out during the Obama era, I'd be like, eh, whatever, But coming out now, I'm like, Star Wars, don't you succumb to the darkness as well. Like I don't want you to be corrupted the same way that the government and the Justice Department and big business and tech have been corrupted. So maybe that's it. Maybe that's why I'm so frustrated with it, you know. Anyway, we're R. Rond tries to take it on the run, but they chase him to get them with the help of Zeb, the pilot friend, I guess who makes no impression just kind of shows up when they need him and doesn't do anything else. Yeahah. Yeah And Rodt's like, don't take me back to my My uncle on aunt, I guess Don't take me back. They just want to kill me so they can take over the family business which would normally fall to me even though I don't want it. And Mand was like o no, well, I got to give you the to them to get the location of coin. and Rob was like, Ohh I know coin is. It's Johnu. And this is the point where I'm like, Look, I know this movie is going to be just a series of kind of unconnected quests But you really make me feel like I'm wasting my time when you're like, Oh was that guy we just left?? But it's not even like they have to scramble the letters in his name or' like John N Noyiak, John Nuin. He justes, Ohh yeah, John Nu Coin. That's my boss. like Yeah. He doesn't have to like pull a mask off or anything or No. It doesn't even reach the level of complexity of a scooby doo plot figuring out who the bad guy is in this one, yeah So ahead Jannu's mansion Yeah. It is I love that he does have like a mansion like an eighties like drug lord in an action movie And they're like, oh, there's bunch of stormtroopers here. Checks out that he's like an empire guy. U I don't know, they just do a big raid and they just capture him. Yeah They capture him. There sequence I have memory of, even though I saw it. Well this' the goofy comedy stuff with like they're trying to explain, you know, Mato is trying to explain to Grogu over the Cs, like I need you to get the ship running so this happen And like he just keeps pressing buttons at shooting missiles You know funny him shooting the missiles was funny. And I did like the designs of the luxury land spepeeders which look like sports cars, basically likeike I thought that might be. I thought it was crazy that these fucking storm these stormies are just blasting away at the the land spepeeder that's carrying They boss They' boss. They're like ye this open top land speeder. One of these will probably hit him criticized the comedy filmmaking with the gag earlier, but I do think I've Remissal st is funny yeah Well, the fact that he's like, no, no, don't do that. That's why there's a protector over it. And then he just does it with the second one that has a it's funny that it goes from it was an accident to. He just wants to do this.. Like Ru is a kid. This is the most kid behavior from him. The whole movie where it's like ye, but I want to do it so I'm gonna to do. U Anway. so what happens? That was a good moment. That is funny. Yeah. He gets he gets these u and Zelans They' baby they're four Babu Fricks is what it is. Yeah. Babu Fricks. Rember four Babu Frickick. I dont remember Babu Frick being so much like the minions for the minion movies, but they talk just like the minions. He was pretty. I mean, like he was a little bit more like old man like . But it's also the thing of every Star Wars race is the same. So Babu Frick seemed like he was a little old man. so his race is just little old man. I would have they all Well and they're all mechanics. And they they're also all mechanics. I would have lo mechanics. So so these guys show up and they're gonna be part of the adventure later on. and I would have loved if either A, there have been like a little bit more variety between the Babu Fricks. Sure. that you could tell they were a part in anyway. Or if they did Cool stuff Other than just, like if they like build. I mean I love that they're constantly doing like sort of popeye style chatter where it's like most of it's like air. And every once in a while, you'll hear like actual words my baby they're always called baby baby. Baby this way baby, way baby. Like I love all that. I just wit like, hey I'm very happy with the meal that's been given to me, but could I like for it to be moreure. It could have been could want you want a better meal than what's been getting, even though' even though it's filling your tummy.. But I do think and I do like another gag that I did think they pulled off well was whenen they're taking the Mandalorian to their ship at the end to escape and he sees the Babu frick ship is tiny and he can't fit in This just augers the best you know, like the best sort of stretch of the movie is about to show up, which is when The tiny little guys take take st. But when it essentially becomes Star Wars Mions for sure. Grogo and the minions, ye. Yeah, hell yeah, give it to me. And in the drops of coin Yeah, they go to a like What's his face? The Mandalorian, our main guy. Well he's like face that'sropriate. They go to right? like I need a break. I need to take a little vacation. I need some R and R. So he goes off with Grogu to just hang out in your shack for a while. W little baboo frick dudes. Yeah. Yeah And u And a bounty hunter from the Huts shows up. And I like the design of this S bounty hunter' a space Ninja, you know? Yeah. he's kind of a little bit kung Lao And he's also a little bit taller and he has like a hat that is armor basically. He's a tallin guy. He's got one of those wide hats that you see in like Ninja Scroll but he uses as a shield, you know, yeah. It's hard to tell where whether he's a robot or not at times. Does he have any lines of dialogue? I don't think so. I't think so.'t I don't remember his name is ever rem. he does he communicates menace Yeah for a guy who doesn't speak, like the visual design is effective. It's a great he is constantly aura farming. Kids would say that. But he's the Boba fett of this movie. White kids have've been hanging out with Stuart? I'm concerned about this. I mean the k ass I'm assuming most of the people who are posting on the internet are kids these days.. But Boba Fett is to like the Epry strikes back, this guy is to the Mandalorian. He's the.'s he's cool looking silent bounty hunter who comes and do the job. And again, he's got a pet wolf. So And so the Mandalorian is you know manages to you know, sho Grogu and the four little guys off to safety before he gets captured. I looked up what the name of that species is. We can't just keep calling them the No, they' and and I just don't know how to say it. It's A N Z E L L A N S. I have it in front of me and Icellen. Okay, that'sllen. Yeah. Um You know, Mando's taken to the twins. They are they've got Rada. He didn't escape They're going to slowly torture him with over his hut lifespan of hundreds of years by Zapping them in the brain, it looks like.. This movie is so dumb And just hear you have to say The events that happen in order and there's no connective tissue There's no one. No there's its really to I mean, this is it's just like the next cuts sccene begins. This is this is the this is the big criticism the movie has gotten, which it feels like two episodes of a TV show slammed together. And I think we can't deny that criticism. Like it really does feel like two episodes not even a showV show. like there's no There's no cause and effect. It's just like another toy enters. You know, Will, I can't disagree with you, but also like the dumb is what I like about it. So I don't know. It's a tough one for me. point you're out in the movie now, I gotta say like you guys told me you have to go watch this movie for your if you want to be on this podcast, you have to go the price to pay Yeah So I So I did and I was kind of excited to do it, but just because of my schedule, ended up having to watch a ten thirty PM showing on the Mgalorian. upp at Americana and which a fine a fine theaterre. it's a theaterre fine. I wish you didn't to pay for parks. st. Oh, it's quite open. I love doing the Americana. I like buying tickets on the old app Yeah ye. but at this point in the movie where it's about like twelve forty five AM, twelve thirty AM And I'm sitting there and it's like And I'm like, I looked up at the screen and I go, what is the problem? Like why what's happening that's bad? Like just can't everybody just go home and like everybody's free and they're out and like why are we stressed? And it was just like so inse ps are never gonna forget They hurt their crime Lord. It's like if' cool people see in your face, this movie's over U no, they they yeah. well they punish him as you say by removing his helmet. the ultimate shame And they get revealing I don't care. go home revealing that face. That mustouache. Yeah, U and they they drop him into a pit of water beneath them. Classic hut. Yep, which it's even that it's likes I guess all hutts have monster pits with trap doors that they people in when they're mad at them. like house swming party, they're like, show me your pit.. a monster down there. Oo, veryery nice. Yeahah. And first he did this is where the magic happens. Uh welcome to my pit. firstirst he defeats these smaller monsters. And those like I did like these are my understanding these are a mana Mans. Yeah likeike the so they took the background's character from Eeturn of the Jedi and they made them into kind of like creature from the Black Lagoon type I didn't recognize him. When would we have seen it in Jed J? I mean, Jedi, he is so far in the background of Jedi at Jobb's Palace. It is the I had a couple of the figures, so that's how I remembered. They made a toy of him to. He's got like a staff with a skull on it and that's easier to see in the background than the actual figure. like if they hadn't made a toy of him, nobody remembers You can see vagly seeing this kinner toy in my head. But you get back to the so he defeats these and you're like, oh, you know He's he's defeated. Oh, no, no, no, my friend. There's a big skull headed water dragon that is in there. And then I saw this is like a direct like like seventies sci fi not like paperbag cover, right? It looks. I mean, it looks exactly like If it isn't a direct lift, it looks so much looks like that kind of monster. Yeahah. Okay. that's like monster from a seventies paperback cover. Yeah. Because I thought it looked cool and I don't care. it didn't look cool. but it looks really cool. And that's some of the best effects in the movie, I think, are ye are that creature. It was nory And and in a in a otherwise fairly drab environment, it's this like pale, sickly white color, which Yeah is this pop of brightness. And I think the fight between him and the Mandalorian is one of the better fights in the movie.'s like. And we haven't mentioned. So he, you know, he's fighting it. he gets he defeats it but it's like He's poisoned by the bite. I have not madet his hell it on so you know you want to be in these scenes. Yeah. Goggu and and Zeelans have been on their own adventure flying in their tiny little spaceship. Mbe maybe this is part of the thing is there's so clearly things in this movie that are meant to appeal to children which is Grogu, the Babu Fricks, to then have that being the same movie as the character was like you saw my face. I have to murder you. is's a clash of tones. you know's true. I would agree that's a clash of tones that you pointed out. because I clash of prim I was primarily thinking of this as a kids movie, you know, like Yeah. And you know like I was going to sayve this to the end, but like You know, Lucas said Oh, these are movies for kids. and that was always kind of annoying when it felt like it was a justification for why the prequels were bad. Yeah. But now there's been so much Star Wars. like there' been so many movies made that I am fine with the idea of like, yeah, this one's for kids. Like maybe it's not pointed at me pointinted at younger audience the dads for kids, makeake it a movie for kids. You know, donon't try to have it both ways. But anyway, but they're having their adventure. They I would love they're running around here this is like little rubber guys running around. J. I just constantly come over here baby. come over here. watch out all It is very fun. If the whole movie was that stuff, man, it would be one of my favorite Star Wars movies. There a lot of subspecies in Star Wars where they just kind of mumble and throw a word out every now and then, like the Jaahwuas Yeah I think you could get them all together in a room and it wouldd be so fun. If you did a movie You did a series called Star Wars Little Guys, and it's the Jelas, the Babu Freaks, Baby Ooda. It'd be great. especially if in the background you have, you know the high stakes crazy stuff going on, but it's the little guys like doing the little stuff. it's So here's my pitch for what I think would have made this a better movie. call called it Star Wars Roggu in theandaloran Brogu is the star of the movie. It is his point of view. The Mandalorine stuff is kind of happening in the background. And so he you're seeing like rogu dealing with stuff, and you get more of the fun st say less less No no, I'm shaking my head because I'm like, man, like I think I enjoyed this movie more than you guys, but like this is the version of the movie that would have been great. Like I cannot argue that you have fixed it in one idea Flip that title. flip the billing Was the M Gin J Jarin he asked F topop billing all the time Is that his contract or what? you know? So But anyway, Grogo and the Azaelans arrive in time to get Mando out of like the little the pit he's trapped in Uh, they'll run off you know, like Mando is poison at this point, obbviously, so he's You know that there he's in danger still, but like he's still got his strength enough to run away. And there's the great gag that Elliot mentioned before where he like goes to the space shhip. he's like Oh, I can't fit in that. because the space size of a box that like the toy Millennium Falcon would have come in. you know Yeah. So he he tells them to go He tells Grogu to go We don't see Grogu going notably. Is that going to be important? You know we ain't going anywhere. No come So theandor Yeah we of people and then collapses by people We're talking about battle droids. They're all robots.t this point, at least from this point in the movie, except for the two Huttss, it's anything he's shooting is a robot Yeah. And So Grogu uses his Force powers to like heal the wound, but the poison' still in there. like Aando's like basically in a coma at this point. There's a very funny part where he makes a he makes like a hut to store not a job of the hut. a hut dwelling to store Mandalorian in and he's using his force to move in, but the hut is not big enough and he keeps bonking Mandalorian's head against the back of the hut. Yeah. I like, I'm like more of this, please. I like this Um yeah. and then, you know, like there's like a whole sequence where sort of Grogu's left to sort of fend for himself and care for the sick Mandalorian and he keeps running off to A local fisherman on the planet. whole fish A little confusing about it J because it was like, oh, so there's other people on the planet who are not part of the hut kind of world? I guess that would have to be. it's a plan,.. No, that would make sense in a normal movie, but in Star Wars that doesn't it's very weird, ye Yeah I'm going to say this is very akin to the Beatles movie Hard Dayss Night when Ringo breaks off from the band and walks around by himself and it's like this quence of kind of sweetness and innocence and it's also a break from all the loud mania and it ends up being a lot of people's like favorite part of the movie, not that it's everything you want, but it's such an oasis Yeah Yeah. Joy calmness. That's what this is like Grogu was like the ringo of this group in a good way in a good way. It's like just let me just, I don't need to see John Lennon cracking wise. Let me see Ringo being sweet and earnest walking around. It iss such a we talk about the Beatles for a moment one, I love that section of that movie. I mean, that's a great movie but I love that section the movie but also what a You have to give Ringo credit We're having the understanding and not the like the ego that he's like, oh, if I'm portrayed as this kind of like you know, kind of like simpler member of the Beatles who's not the fast talking fast thinker. And I just have this moment where I'm kind of worrying about myself a little bit, like that it's going to look great as opposed to like, well, I don't look cool in this section.. ' it really does look seem like a lost child whose parents have let him wander away But he's like he's like, well, I'm one I'm the third most popular member at that time, I guess the most popular member of the band, right? Be they would always say he would get the most fan mail or something like that. I mean, there's nobody in the history of the human race who played the cards they were dealt better than Richard Starkey. You're a mediocre drummer in one of the least famous cities on eararth, and you will become the most beloved human you would P McCartney walk into a room. drummer. He's not a great typical drummer. I would argue. That's what I say brings lot ofoy He knew exactly what the songs needed. He was great. play the cards that he was dalt. you never have to do a complicated film in your life Stewart is looking at his phone Okay look like beetles. that Ringo is Ringo is like, I'm on it I'm on it in a band where The third genius is George Harrison. I'm working with three geniuses. I do not have to be a genius. I just got I just gota be I just gott to be adorable, you know. So would them be able eventually quit the band then kind of come back and then who knows and sure and all that st. Let's get let's let's take a trip back to N Huta and about how So the whole point of this the, How would the movie be different if the Beatles were in it? Where would you put the Beatles? If you were either casting this movie in the the sixties and you had to put the Beatles in who would they play? or would the Beatles be characters in the movie? I mean, none of these characters are as interesting as the Beatles, but if I had to do it, I think I'd make the Mandalorian George because I think George is the most amoral beetle. What I with all his spirituality and all that? Yes. he just was the most grumpy and kind of like, let's get on with it. Like I are die in the street. Come on Not all the time. George Harrison was the most like shoulder shrugging like who cares want to go home and go to sleep I think Okay Like when the p got together than theist, that would be the argument for being the Mandalorian in mind. Well, if you're both agree doesn't matter. George is immoral. Okay. But I think he's the Mandalorian Grogu's Ringo U Paul is the guy on the ship who's like flapping his arms around a lot and try and really doing a lot of activity, but we don't need him And John Lenon you know, you could have gotten a little bit easier on here, that kind of stuff. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know who Jhn I guess John Lennon's Rada. I don't know where else to put John. See, I think I might play Maybe Johns Sigorney Weaver. I don't know. Maybe. I think I might put Uh, let's see, you know, I might make George Rada Okay That's funny. And and Paul would be Grogu. I can't figure it out. No I can't, I can't do it. Okay. I don't know Rgo is really Grogu Iinges Grogu. It could be John is the Mandalorian Paul as Rada And who George could be the the hut twins. Hey, let's take this let's take this long and windy road back to Nal Huta where Okay road is the whole point of this fisherman character is he's just there to gett grow goosome. some magic some medicine. the antidote to the poison. And so he takes it back gives it to the Mandalorian who wakes up And they go to the ship and he's like, we got two options here, kid We can go on the run and we'll always be on the run or we can stay and fight and Krro' like Hell yeah, brother. He doesn't say it like gaga Let's fight. Yeah. R needs blood. He pulls out, you know, he like puts on his little gizmo from Gremlins two headband I mean ten thousand percent I wased so Brou could run. There was no question. Yeah. So they break back into the twins palace Um, battle through the the droids out there. I didn't even realize this this bounty hunter that is coming after him throughout this. He's from other Star Wars's from he was in Clone Wars and stuff like that. I didn't realize that. So this is not his first experience Design wise, he feels very of a piece of the Clone Wars my understanding that the new guy, the new Star Wars guy in charge is very keen on bringing back a lot of these Clone Wars things. Yes because that's what Clone Wars was his thing Yeah Yeah, so he wants to bring those characters. But not knowing the Clone Wars at all I was like, oh, this's cool new guy. guess I'll never know what his name is, but he was introduced in aat thing, you know I don't care much about the stuff that happens in this last action sequence other than What if he's the last action hero? We get these two giant robots that are Phil Tippet and veryer Warhammerry, thoseiant robots. And that was cool. I like to see the stop motion on those things. Y And G who helps the mandal Orient to defeat them. Yeah. Yeah, the young protect the old and the old protect the young. That's the way. That is the way the way the way along by fastball, Thank. N mind Um I don't know. they they they fight their way in They free Rada They fight the twin Bada fights the twins, they all collapse into fight everyone split up into their different fights. Bando is fighting Embo R is fighting his aunt knuckle. Gumbo is I don't know Harpo is fighting Chicko. Harpo is fighting Chicko. Harpo Harpo punches Margaretum which is the old lady that he's slaygard. So Oh yeah, she can't take it there It' just Margaret Dumont does. And does?. Is it Margaret Dumont or is it the other woman that he punches? I can never remember.,re.'s Margt Jimont. It's one of the women in theard. And he instigates a fistbike and he punches her in the stomach so hard that it lifts her off the ground. And Chick goes, Ohh yeah, she can't take it there It's It is such comedy fighting.s b ro all laughing. At no point do you think he' has really heard this pro? Yeah, yeah it is all very It C clearly a gag. It was not a thing he did on set because he was so into the harpo character and they left it in, you know Uh, Anyway Anyway they're all fighting, they all collapse into the into the pool of Yeah the dragonake is going to kill them all. Yeah. Force powers to pull Rada up so Rada is safe. So the good guys are safe and the bad guys are worm Rada. And the bounty hunter just goes like beasts out just leaves. Yeahah. Yeah You paid me to fight for you, not to save you. You should have said that Be doesn't talk. so they they got to escape and so u They call they call in No no they get up just appear. They just and they go up And they do an airirstrike. They're like, we' got to blow up the Hutt palace and and and they're like, but we're in the Hutt palace. Well, we got to get out in time. And so they have to butch Cassidy jump from a high point asand insist They fire on his location and they're like, arere you sure dude? And he's like, neverever been You're sure. we can't do that Yeah. This is the beat of the movie one hundred percent. I would lose if I was in charge. like like It feels so much like, well, it's a Star Wars movie. It's gott to end with some like X wings coming and shooting something. Yeah We don't need it at all. So unnecessary. it raises even more questions for me about like so the mission of the X wings now they're going to they're going activate an entire Xwing squadron to save this like free agent bounty hunter who keeps screwing things up for them. they just blow up this hut building for no real reason since The huts have just been eaten by a giant snake. you know There's no It's just totally un And they jump from a high height and Rodto's like that moat isn't that deep, but of course, they're fine. It doesn't step. it's just a waste who ca. Well, we learn after the fact, as I said before, they were feeding information to the empire. so Yes. So that's why they had to take them out, you know. Yeah, Rado stays and decides to work with the new Republic folks And the co pilot or whatever pilot iss like think they' got a suit that' fit you. It's, No, you don't Look at this guy That's weird. He's wearing he's weing a new Republic Mu. Like there's no there's no suit that flight suit that fits a guy with his slug body shape. come on. Mando and Grogu is what I meant to say They get in their ship and fly off into a new adventure. Mandal in season four, who knows? Maybe that's where they're going Ma it That's the story. That's a movie. to boil it down and grow who as we as I said to boil it down, the plot of this movie is the Mandalorian takes on a job messes it up gets in trouble get saved from messing up the job end of the movie. And like ye this was I could see a version of this where it's a stripped down crime thriller version of a of a Star Wars movie or where it works really well, but it still has to be so big and end with an X wing blow up at the end and it's just it's yeah. It's the movie doesn't fit that the it's like sometimes you see a movie and you're like, Oh, this is like ten pounds a movie in a five pound bag. They put so much stuff. This feels very much like three pounds a movie in a twenty pound bag where you're like, I can't even find the movie in the bag. Yeah. Yeah. We're you know, we're trained in there already. Let's do our final judgments whether this was a good bad movie, a bad, bad movie or a movie we kind of liked U, I'm I'm gonna to say that like Yeah, what you're saying is correct. The biggest problem that this movie has, I think, is it doesn't justify why it's a movie. Like it doesn't feel like a movie, and I'm not saying the stakes have to be high, but there has to be a character arc, you know, like there it has to feel like thingsings are happening sort of in an inevitable progression rather than like, and then this thing happened and then this thing happened. It has to me like there's a story. It is telling you a story, you know, and it doesn't really f. That said I kind of like this movie I think that it benefited from me having Pretty rock bottom expectations. I'm at a point now where like I still love the Star Wars stuff I love And the rest of Star Wars stuff, new Star Wars stuff I don't know, Maybe I'll check on it if there's a reason to, but I don't care that much anymore So Hving those low expectations and feeling like, oh, this is a movie for kids, not necessarily for me, as I said before I enjoyed it enough particularly the stuff with the little guys my whole letter box review was, quote Let's do a silly one and that's the way I felt about all that stuff where it's like Yeah, we can be a little goofy here So you know, I have almost already forgotten about it, as you can see from my trying to summarize it, but I enjoyed it enough while I watched it. What what Elliot, you give a Oh sure I'm going to say that similar to the movie solo I think that this was not a Star Wars movie and was otherwise the same movie. I probably would have liked it more If it was just like this bounty hunter episode of an addventure in a far off space fantasy world, but I think Once you slap the Star Wars name on it and are in that world Even after the devaluation that that world has had over the past twenty some odd years, I still feel like I'm expecting a little bit more. I'm expecting something a little bit more magical a little more special. And I think this is the first Star Wars movie where I dozed off for like a minute in the middle of it while saying it. L this is the first st like seeing this with my this was my son's first Star Wars movie that he was seeing in the theaters And he seemed pretty kind of like not that engaged by it. And so even if this is supposed to be like one for the kids, like it didn't It didn't satisfy the kid. And I was curious about that. Yeah. Yeah. afterwards he was like I was like, didid you like it? He goes, it', o And like that's pretty fair. How old is your son? He's seven and a half. Okay. And he's seen the other movies and he got so into the world of Star Wars a as a thing to know about. you know, I liked the original movie so much. And so And then there's that for me, at least there's that tinge of light If this is the one for kids, why is this the one where the hero is supposed to be morally gray character who has to kill to protect the memory of what his face looks like and things like that. It It feels like this movie is it's like a Mishmash and so I'm going to call it s badvie but it we've seen worse movies. It's not it's not like I was while we were watching it, I was not like U inststead of just like, Uh. All right. I wish they had I wish they'd like just try a little harder instead of It felt a lot like, oh, we have the release date for the Mandalorian movie, so we got to get something done, you know, As opposed to what's the greatest, coolest story we could tell with these characters, you know, orr what's one moment with them that's going to be so memorable that we gott to put it on the big screen, because it's gonna be so cool. you know. And that's the kind of stuff that I hope for when I see a Star Wars movie Stu, Will, what do you think Yeah, I mean that's I'm gonna to jump in. I'm going to say this is a movie that is just about a movie I kind of liked U I feel like it wastes a little bit too much time in a bunch of places. U, and as much as I like Uh, you know, when I Watching the original Star Wars movies, like that stuff would be like the establishing shots was the stuff that got me so excited I feel like that I've kind of lost a little bit of that now. I don't know why. Maybe something changed inside me. But all the stuff with the little guys I was a big fan of and But yeah, yeah, I don't need I don't need to see a jack hut. I'm not into that Somebody is sure? Yeah ye, it's kind of missing any it's missing any like u magical moments that I feel like Even u You know, I feel like last Jet I had a few moments that were like, oh, wow, that's pretty that's pretty crazy to even or u Uh what's theh what's the one with the prequel one? damnit Uh The one that Chris wrote, Yeahah, yeah. Yeah wrote one. Yeah, I think that had some good stuff in it too. But yeah, I don't know. Yeah, this one didn't really have any magical moments for me. Will, when you were just watching the movie, you just texted me, callall the Oscars. So what did that mean It's my f. it's a five star Transcendence, statement of where we are as a country. It's a statement of what the star was French. I should beat. No, I'm only kidding. This movie forgot to exist. It's a bad bad movie. It's s the equivalent of yeah, it forgot to have any point of view or stance or comment really on anything at all It is like watching someomebody else play with action figures for two hours and you have to every now and then be like, why is that guy doing that? And And the kid kind of goes like,? 'cause he's bad. And it's like, okay And u That's what it was like for me. And again, I probably influced it. I started watching it at eleven o'clock at night And so this movie finished at one twelve AM and I've never been more glad to see the closing credits come up. I was like, thank God. and I I just got out of there. And you're still tired from it Still I'll never recover So it's a little bit of an unfair review, but I'm going to say It' it's not it's ineoffensive more than bad, but I'll say bad, bad movie I feel like we live in a world right now where The general feeling in terms of consumer products, things that are sold to people or stories they're told people is that's good enough. This will be good and Yeah, you know. And I feel like anal is the equivalent to that. It's not terrible. And it's like, this is good. To me, it's like the smartest kid in class wrote a term paper an hour before it was due Just so that he didn't get in trouble. It's like, this is all right I don't know. You obviously were not inspired when you did this and There's enough glimmers of competence in here that I see. you could do something interesting, but you didn't do it here. So John Fabr gener'ally care about competent enough Yeah. And I think the first season of Mandalorian is a really good time and and does and like earned its Rnt timee basically I don't think I needed any more seasons of it, but it was it was a delight and it filled it filled a had a nice simple story that a lot of Star Wars stuff didn't have and it wasn't exposition heavy. and I thought it was I did a Star Wars thing that I had not seen done before in a nice enough way. and this is sort of like a video game cutscene that goes on for two hours and twelve minutes Let's put that on the poster Yeah. all. . Sunscreen companies calculate SPF by testing it on volunteers' butts. There is a can of spam in the Mariana Trench. A Nobel prize winning physicist from the Manhattan prorojects invented modern speed bumps. Mesoamerican native people invented kidney medicine that glows in the dark. On the podcast secretly incredibly fascinating, we explore this kind of amazing stuff stuff about ordinary topics like sunscreen and spam and speed bumps. Topics you'd never expect to be the title of the podcast. Secretly incredibly fascinating. Find us by searching for the word secretly in your podcast app and at maximumfun. org If you like too many podcasts, you'll love Sound Teep with John Lick Roberts. It's got clips from all your favourite podcasts such as Diary of a Tiny CEO, Leonard Sprag. Tell me how you make your money. I go to the beach and I steal people's towels. Remember Armor. Do remember the trend of everyone whacking themselves in the head with hammers and mallets when they wanted to lose weight. And Eltie Jhs loobberly songs. I'm here today with Kickie D. Hello kicky De. Hello, Elto There's dozens of episodes to catch up on and brand new episodes going out right now. So if you want far, far, far too many podcasts, then look for Sound Tap on maximum fun Boop, boop I'm going to take a moment to talk to you about factor The Fop house is sponsored in part by factor. 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C website for more Details Are you looking to connect with your family You know Our brains make memories But we forget those sometimes, especially as we get older and more pally me One way to keep those memories front of brain is with photos And one way to share those photos is with Aura Fames The great thing about the Gift of Aura frrame is you can preload all the photos and add a gift message before it ships so that your dad can put that on the shelf when his friends come over and say, Hey, look at my cool kid. and he doesn't have to pull up his phone and pull up his Instagram and show you the pictures. He's got them on a frame and they just show him those His friends are gonna have lost interest by that point if you know Uh No, you can have you can have those photos on display in his aura frame You can also share your photos and videos effortlessly. You can download the app on your phone and text the photos straight to the frame. so you don't have to worry you can cut out the middle manan. You do not have to worry about your parents figuring that sort of thing out And you can keep adding anytime from anywhere So maybe you get caught up in some kind of international game of espionage and you're trapped and you need the only way you can survive is by sending an image of yourself to your parents ora frame You can do that from anywhere That's actually a pretty good idea for like a movie sink Anway. Yeah This is an easy way to shop for your parents, specifically if I think we got Father's Day coming up. Hey, it's a great Father's Day gift If you want the digital photo frame that is picked as number one by wirecutter, you can save money on it now by visiting aurifframes dot com For this limited time, listeners can get thirty five dollars off of their best selling Harvver Matt frrame with code Slop A UR A frames d. com promo code flop u the show by mentioning us at Cck out and conditions apply I'd like to take a few moments before we move on to mention some things I'd like to plug from the world of Elliot Kalin. And guess what? it's all the same stuff that I usually plug. My new comic, Barbarian Behind Bars, is roaring towards the finish of its five issue miniseries. As we're recording this issue four just came out and issue five will be coming out soon. Find out the exciting, thrilling conclusion for now perhaps to the story of Darkor the barbarian. Will he get out from behind bars? You're going to have to read issue five to find out. Harley Quinn, I continuue to write for a DC Comics despite the the wishes of many Harley Quinn fans. and my my my BatQuinn storyline, the Hark Night return the Hark Kight returns is a currently running and it's actually getting some of the best feedback. that I've gotten during the run so far, so I hope you people enjoy it. This is Harley Quinn as as her understanding of what a grim gritty Batman would be like and that That one's continuing and it's a six issue storyline and I think it's it's goingong well. finally it's a comedy book that features primarily female characters. I would imagine you're going to get you're going to get weird eyes complaining about you The weird thing is I mostly get complaints from people who are who don't like that it's a funny book They want it to be they want it to be an adventure book rather than a or like this is how are we supposed to take Harley Quinn seriously? I'm like the clown lady. The clown lady, Yeah. Yeah. But I love writing it. So I hope that some people enjoy it, but this backQuin storyline people seem to be liking. And my book joke farming, how to write nonsense, sorry, joke farming, how to write comedy and other nonsense from the University of Chicago Press is still out there and will continue to be out there forever, I guess Pick it up. I just finished recording the audiobook version of it. People have asked me about will there be an audiobook? I just finished recording it. And I'm not sure when that will be out, but I think relatively soon. So stay tuned to this space. I heard more information. When that comes out, if you listen to it on like two timees speed, it's actually illegal to do it. You'll get are arrest It's too dangerous. Yeahah, ye Hey, let's let's answer some letters from listeners. Sure They've done so much for us. Let's do the bare minimum for then Yeah and I'm sure they don't even know who I am, but I'll happy I'll get in on this this this first let is a John. Let's get in on this This first letter is from a John L last name with Held. Hey guys, I just came out with a Mandalorian movie. I hope you like it. know what to say about it from John Jeff, Last name with Ell John you know was an improvisor. did he was on an improv team in Io, Chicago backack in the early nineties. Yeah. Like Row when, like Seth Myers was doing it and Ian Roberts and other I mean for I will. I will never forget seeing swingers for the first time when I was an adolescent. I saw it I used to do this thing where this guy in New Jersey had a program where you would see a movie before it was released. He would arrange to have a movie before it was released and sometimes youd have speakers afterwards. And I would see this every week and they showed swingers and it was just it was like I was, I think fourteen or fifteen or whatever age I was when it came out that I was like, I thought it was so funny, and I was like, what a cool movie? Like what it cool funy. And I haven't watched in years, but I'm like There's something about like seeing thatie movie being like this guy's gonna, I can't wait to see what else this guy is gonna to do. Yeah. And I just I want him to do more stuff that's his own. The funny parts of Swingers are really genuinely funny. It's got like a really sure hand on itss comedy. and it was very cool until every uncool person wanted to be cool. Well, it's like how Aust Powers when Austin Powers came out, it felt like it was the cutting edge of movie comedy and it soly became Like ogh, this wor him Yeah, do I make you your horny baby? Great. No, baby, no. This letter is from Kevin Last N name with Held. Who writes peaches In twenty twenty four, I finished the book The Brothers Karmazov. IQ must ask you While reading it, I found my receipt for the purchase of the book in the pages purchase from B. Dalton In December of two thousand six This book this book had been in my possession through multiple moves for nearly two decades before I actually read it What's strange is I read many longer and more difficult books in that span. But for whatever reason, I continued to pass over Brothers Karazov again and again Whenever I finished a book and needed a new one Brotherers Kare Mazffv was excellent. I'm glad I read it. and now it's a title that's been on my shelf the longest without I sorry. and now the title that has been on my shelf the longest without being read is the Adventures of Augie March. which I'm sure I'll get around to eventually Your recent episode of the film Mercy featured two book related letters, so I figure this is fair game What is the book or series or author you keep putting off, even though you tell yourself, you want to get to it someday. Best Kevin lastast name with. I think this is a funny letter to me because I'm literally sitting next to a bookshelf with many books on. This is my two read bookshelf. and there's so many books on it where I'm like, yeah, I've owned this book for a long time. Yeah withithout reading it. There was like I had I think it was a year or two ago, I finally read the science fiction Hall of Fame volume two A volume two B books that I remember buying on vacation when my son was a baby and he is now twelve years old. and I'm like be So I feel like nobody should feel ashamed for holding on to a book for a long time and never getting around to reading it and they finally around read it, especially when it's b like the brothers Karamas off, which is like That book is already one hundred years old, you know, more than a hundred years old. Like it's, it's not going to the the time is only going to help you appreciate that book more because you're going to be older and you'll have more life behind you. That being said, I also have I have the first volume of Rembrance of Things past or in seearch of Lost timee the proies pro series. And I'm like, I'll get to that at some point probably. But the other one is I keep telling myself When I finally finish the job that I'm on I will finally take out from the library Garganta of Pentigal, and I'll finally read it. I've wanted to read it for years. It sounds like it's super funny, as funny as a seventeenth century French philosophy book can be that's one where I've been putting it for a long time. That being said Just on a whim recently I've got from libary and read the biography of Samuel Johnson, which is like nine hundred pages of just Samuel Johnson going out to dinner and saying witty things. So I should really pick up these books and finally read them. I can't remember whether I mentioned this specific thing on the show before, but that's never stopped us in the past Um, I don't think it's like been on my shelf for particularly long because I can remember exactly when I got it and I'll get to that in a second. But The thing that sprung to mind is the mirror in the light, which is the third book from Hillary Mantsel about the Tudor courourt after Wolf Hall and Bring up the bodies And the thing is like I read both of those books, their're earlier books I love them I was excited to read the third book But I got it for Christmas right before COVID hit and we all went into lockdown And my brain was not equipped to read something that complex at that point U and now it's years later And I'm like, I can't remember the like hundredundreds of historical figures she has put into these books and what their relationship is to one another And so I just haven't picked it back up again because I'm like, I don't think I'll follow it. anymore Uh, you know, much as if George R. R. Martin ever plished the next books? I'd be like, I have no idea what's going on at this point Oh I could fill you in, buddy I have been meaning to read the Fafford and the Grey Maouser stories by Fritz Lieber forever. I know I would love them. I just never get around to it. so that I would really like to read a series You know what we should do? I just read for the first I started reading those recently and I read Volume four because is the first one that fell into my hands and volume one, we should read those together. You should should you should read let's read them together because they they're super fun. We I'd love to talk about them with you. Yeah awesome. I have I guess it's a boring answer, but when I see when I hear this question, I'm It's the book Dune I've had Dune since I was fourteen years old and been meaning to read it. and I'm sure I would like it. I love a lot of sort of adjacent things I like I mean, not that these things are all identical, but it's like I like Lord of the Rings, I like Game of Thrones. again, and I like All the Isaac Asazimoff Foundation series and I like Stranger and E Strangeer. I mean stuff where it's like, well, you're this is probably gonna to hit something. for you and Ive just I've had it since then. I don't know what I don't know what it is. Every time I pick it up I'm like, I don't know. There's just So much happening. I just put it down You know even to someone who likes Dune less than people who like Dune, I find it very readable even at, you know, eight hundred pages or whatever. I know I think the u The thing about Dune is I think you should try to go into it Now I've read it I've read the first book, Doom book, I don't know, probably four times and the sequels I have It's like as you get farther into the series, I have read them less and less until there's some I just have not read because they you only really need to read the first book. But I think Go into it being like as you would with any science fiction or anything, there's going to be a lot of world stuff. I don't quite get hang of let me not worry about it because it's so I think it's written so so beautifully, you know really for me at least doed cast a specific kind of spell. And the only thing I can really compare it to is when I finally took Stuart Wellington's advice and started reading Gean Wolf novels and it was like once I started reading a Shadow of the Trture where I was like, oh man this is like if This is like Dune kicked up a notch even in terms of like, I got to figure out what's going on here. but so I guess read Dune. orr read Shadow of the Trturer and then readune, and you'll be like, oh, man, this Dune is a breezy read. This is. he's not using every page doesn't have five antiquated words I have to look up on my phone to figure out what he's talking about Uh, the second u Very, very important letter is from Jonathan Last name with Held Who writes Hello peaches. I was listening to an old episode of the show where Stewart explained He could make many songs into songs about him by replacing you with Stew I real I realized you could do this with Man and Dan She you you songs like The Beatles, Nowhere Dan, Leonard Cohens's I'm your Dan, and the classic song where Neil Diamond explains to a girl that she will soon need a Dan Songs about Elliot pending. hard last name with. It was a real problem when my kids realized that Elliot is an anagram for toilet. That was not helpful. No. I mean, I have one more L than the word toilet, but otherwise it mostly works, but you know It'soy did the songs, yeah. Yeah Will, there must be a lot of songs you could put Will into. And sometimes Im just still will Yeah Full Island will I'll get back to you, but I'm excited to figure that out Will crazy after all these years. will Schoolhouse rock, I'm only a willill Yeah And of course the Metallic's first album Willem all. and the Willing Moon Any License to will Yeah shhoot to will. He Bungalo Will. What did you will? Bungalo W? G the ruin said Just okay, S. Just taking one name and replacing it with another name. Yeah They're similar name Bill and Will are basically the same name. You it's heartbreaking It is Ch. Oh, I'm shattered Let's recommend some movies, Mvie we've seen recently or not so recently. It doesn't matter I don't know why I always specify that. That might be a better use of your time I I went out and saw The Sheep Detectives, a movie that The moment My wife like I saw this trailer. I sent it to my wife because I'm like This is one hundred percent going to be up Hrees. U Allie, because it's she c murder mystery and cozy mystery with cute animals. Yeah.. Yeah. we've made this mystery even cozier with the addition of sheep. Yeah. It's kind of amazing. likeike the movie manages to be you know, a fununctional mystery. Extremely funny. and also like touching and about reeled emotions at the same time, while also being a movie about who are solving a crime And u I feel like, you know, the There are certain like special familyily films that come along like your Paddington T'os or your babes, and I'm comfortable now adding the sheep detectives to that class, I really, really enjoyed it. U So that's my recommendation I saw that movie and I also reallyjoyed it. I thought it was really good I'm gonna to recommend another big budget sequel similar to Mando and Grogue But this one I think captured kind of the spirit of the original material a little better for me. And that of course was the recent Sash hit The Devil wears Prada too. As a fan of the original, I feel like it updates a number of the things. It omits the elements you don't like, specifically Adrianne Grrenier. I feel like it's such a joy to get more of Meryl Streep doing this character. she's so fun and she's such like I don't know, She's such a great performer. It's just great to have her in a movie, being kind of mean. And the movie also takes advantage of putting her in situations that are comedic just because of course, it would be very silly to see her have to go to a normal cafeteria or fly coach, for instance U so I found I found this to be a lot of fun and it was like just just what I was like kind of hoping for from this movie. Yeah It delivered. Yeah and it as a sequel kind of over deelivered because there's always a little bit of doubt with a sequel like are they going to be able to recapture? So when they do it's kind of it's kind of it's a feat It's a feat to be a good sequel. Especially considering how much time has passed, you would think that there would be a lot of effort to just do a lot of like, remember this?. And they did not that much of that Yeah I think a lot of the original team was involved. That's often Yeah Uh that can that can help My recommendation is going to be a bone temple. twenty eight years later the bone temple. I just saw it last week And I know it came out like a year ago I was a I I was a Fan of twenty eight days later Didn't see twenty eight weeks later? twenty eight years later. I thought was good, but in a lot of Danny Boyle films, I although I really enjoyed the ride, it felt like a little bit sort of Disheveled in a way, although I enjoyed it well enough and the bone temple was like Awesome. It was just like a really Well constructed story with a terrifically fearsome villain And I was compelled and just thrilled the entire time. and I'm not in the bag for zombie stuff always. I'm not a guaranteed give a crap about the zombie landscape, but I was this whole movie had me and I just was so grateful to be Um You know, I just just to be like my attention was just so thoroughly held that I had finished I'm like, oh, yeah, good story, good movie, just a solidly good movie in a way that I was I loved it It's really It's really good. and I feel it's too bad that it was released soon after twenty eight years later because I think that affected how many people to see it and how well it did. I think it If they I think people kind of didn't realize it was a different movie. I did at first when it came out. Yeah. I remember seeing theillboard for it and I'm like, didn' they just come out with one Is this Let'sL see. What's going on here Yeah. But I got a littlecnted. And twenty eight years laterk I liked twenty years later, but this was this was really a special film. Yeah. It's incredible And that it's rare that you get to get into the psychology of the zombie you know, to like which just really good. And I was genuinely moved by that whole bit. Yeah That's a good movie. I'm also gonna recommend a movie that's got a little bit of the spooky, a little bit of the creepy about it. And is it a Czech comedy directed by Oldrich Lipsky? Yes, indeed, it is. That's right. This is a movie that was mentioned briefly in our Evndorken episode. This is the Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians. This time it is a parody parody of a specific Jules Verne novel, but with a lot of added stuff to it. and it was not as immediately funny to me as Dinner for Adele or Lemonade Joe, the other lipky movies that I've recommended on this podcast, but it gets really, really funny and it's just like These guys are this opera singer is vacationing in the Carpathian mountains. and the whole thing is hes his singing is constantly shattering glass and things like that. And his love has disappeared and he's got a he want he's looking for her. And he becomes convinced that she is in a castle near this village that he's in where people think that the devil is there and there's spooky things going on. It turns out to be a little bit more science fictiony. And there are some there are some gags in that I think are so funny. And there's a lot of Janfankmeyer designed kind of like steampunk things and it looks really good. as it went on, I thought it got sillier and sillier and funnier and funnier. And it's readily available on Tuubbe. so there's nothing stopping you from watching it. And that's the mysterious castle in the Carpathians. Again old His movies are the closest I feel like I've come to finding Mel Brooks movies made by someone who's not Mill Brooks. and E think funny. I came close to dialing one of these up the other day. I know that's not as good as actually watching it, but that is the furthest you've gotten me toward watching a Czech newew Wave movie.. Well, these are not checkch newew wave movies These are movies part of the new wave. M you could make an argument that lemonade Joe is a little new wavy in some ways. You gott to sneak like a bikini in the title or something and dance all over it No, the thing is like, I'll know I'll like it. I don't know what's like I This is like that book question. I don't know why I haven't. I should watch That' a genuine classic of I should watch cllosely watchatched Trains. You should watch Closely watchatched Trains is legitimately a movie on a different level. That's just I think that's an amazing movie. But there's something there can be something as much as it makes me feel like a Pilistine sometimes, there are times when I'm like I don't know if I want to watch a subtitled movie right now. Th then when I watch them really enjoy them. you know, the it's you start I start to forget that I'm having to check the subtitles and it makes me look at the screen and not get distracted. But you you do have to be in a movie sorry, a mood already where you're like, I'm not s going to be distractable right now Like sometimes I'm like, I know that I can't do this. My attention is not where it needs to be. Yeah. evenven if I' going don't like it. I think the one you might like the most and is dinner for Adle, or Adele has not had supper yet or whatever. because that's the most it's not a parody of Sherlock Holes, It's parity of like American detective pulp fiction, but it's a There's something kind of I think you might like that one more but I don't know. I think his movies were very funny. I saw another one of his movies recently called Four Murders is Enough, Dar. and like that one, I think didn't think it was quite as funny as the others that didn't quite hang together the same way, but there was still very funny stuff in it. It is a great title. That's a Gallo title right there, baby. That' true. That one where this was one where there twos two comppeeting crime gangs that are looking for a million dollar check that has fallen into the hands of this school teacher who's kind of a nevishy guy. And they keep killing each other, the different gangs, but he keeps getting caught with bodies. So people think that he's a serial murderer and he becomes famous in the town and everyone's afraid of him and respects him now because they think he's a serial killer. And he's like every time he opens a door, a body falls out and there's a scene he' with the police he's like, every time I open a door a body falls up, se see, and he's just opening doors in his apartment as dead bodies fall Amazing. Well, Before we close up shop on another episode, Will, is there anything you want to plug? I guess just my podcasts, which are screw it. We're just gonna to talk about the Beatles and sccrew it. We're just going to talk about comics. They are what is advertised. It's just folks chatting about those things. So check them out if You say that there is another podcast inside of Screot We're going to talk about comics called Scre We're just gonna talk about War games. And that comes up a fair fair amount. coming up more and more, which is weird because that movie is Lessess less important as time goes on and we somehow keep fighting very important to go into our sub podcasts. But like there's a couple of podcasts where when a new episode comes out, I put them right to the top of my quue. and what we're going to talk about comics is we're just going to talk about comics is one of them. And I was I do with my brother and his opinions are steadfast and immovable bristled recently because If I don't like something and he likes it, he will not let the podcast move on until I change my opinion out loud. And then we can continue. it's kind of p. And you and your brother Kevin are both master improvisors, you know, like you're so funny at picking up a bit and then just running with it. And you know, I think that's an overstatement, but I do appreciate it. You invented improv when you and Kevin started at the compomass players know, you know, I have two brothers And none of us are emotional people. We are dead pan, low energy, non dynamic. and all three of us do improv comedy on stage. it's and to me, it's the funniest thing that any of us have ever done is just that we do that Thanksgiving dinner are three of the stoniest, most still men And we'll be like, what'd you think of how's your improv going? How's your improvised comedy career going Three guys you should be librarians and arging about how to properly categorize enncyclopediais and yet on. Well, but I would say if you're looking to if you're interested in improv and you live in a place where they don't have an improv, class or theater to go to Will's book, How to Be the Greatest Irovisor on Earth is a genuinely really good book about it. It is And honestly, if you want a free copy, this is true. I'm going to say my email address right here. Wines at Gmail, W HINS a Gmail. I'll give a free copy to anybody. If you're curious, I wish I'd known that before I bought a copy of it. That's right ye Just becausecause I know I improvisers are broke a lot. So yeah, that's I certainly would appreciate it if you buy it, but But when I when it was a text that I went to multiple times when I was writing my book, Joke Farming. becausecause I thought what you said about improv and how it works, I thought was just really helped me get to the heart of some comedy principles. that was very spe You know, I'm a I'm a I'm a dead pan unemotional unemotional man. And I have a I've doneo OK in podcasting and I'm not a good improviser. so if you want someone who has qualities, but also is talented in some way, then you should listen to Will's show. D Stewart and I are constantly like, how is it that Dan's the only one of us that has any improv training of any kind when he's so quick to shut down bits? He'll start a bit and he'll go, don't put me on the spot. I don't know It's Honestly very funny response. Well I mean, there are rules in improv where you're not supposed to just like throw someone else into a thing that you invented. Yeah, I don't know I haven't taken any an improv classes. Yeah, I would have that U Anyway, thank you for being here. We'll try and make it look less than how many fifteenty plus years. it's been Let's have Will back. Hey.' fifteen years schedule. I'm happy. I'm truly proud to be a part of this podcast universe to whatever degree that has happened, so I love it. Two episodes, I'm psyed about it Thank you for going out and seeing this movie, making the effort to leave your for this podcast. And to be the least happy member of a four person audience ten thirty at the American U A my theater, there were some old people who were cheering every time Grou did anything. And that kind of made me happ..omeome like wine moms were in the nighthawks. That's great. Loving it at three PM. was people loving a movie is great. It was a noticeably stony audience when I went to see it. They did not seem to be reacting to it much at all But maybe they were still they were still dealing with the hangover having to sit through the Masters of the Universe trailer. So Um Hey, maybe it'll be on a future episode, mayaybe not. But you know, stick around, find out if you like this podcast. We're part of a network Hey, we're part of aetor of podcast. It's called maximum Fund. Go to maximumfund. org Check out the other great podcasts on S Network Also, thank you to Alex Smith He goes by the name Howell Daoty on the internet. He is our producer and makes this all work It's it's kind of important to have someone do those things. The reason when you're listening this epode, you won't hear my younger son walk in and ask me When am I going to be done is because Alex will do the work of removing that from the audio. So than you, Alex. You're doing. Thank you, Alex. But for the flop house, I have been Dan McCoy I'm Stuart Wellington I'm Elly Kalan, and we've been joined by guuest Will Heines. Expert experxpert Apervisory pick that cQ right up. Yeah. It takes years of training to be able to do what I just. Yeah. So we're talking about a movie about a little kid and his dad Adopted and going on adventure. It's called Dutch. Man, we can't stop talking about Dutch. We can't stop talking about Dutch. Just like America. Dutch fever. Everyone Join the national conversation. Watch Dutch. It' be so funny if they're like to bring Amer America together to heal us, we're starting something called the national conversation. We're all gonna watch the same movie and then talk about it together And then They have it like a rotating barrel with mov videios in it. They pick it up. mov is Dutch. Sorry, No O'Neil. Yeah. And that's how the Civil War finally started again Maximum fun